First Look: 2018 Srixon Z-Star and Z-Star XV Golf Balls

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, May 18th, 2018
Categories: Golf Balls • Golf Equipment • Golf Gear
Tags: Golf Balls • Srixon

In for review from Srixon are the 2018 Z-Star and Z-Star XV golf balls. These are the top of the Srixon line.

It has been five years since I reviewed the Z-Stars, dating back to my 2013 Z-Star golf ball review and the 2013 Z-Star XV golf ball review. The Z-Star is a super golf ball and I’m anxious to see how the ball has changed and improved over the last five years.

The Z-Star (above) is the softer of the two balls, with the XV model (below) being the harder one for higher swing speeds.

I plan to put these into play over the next 4-6 weeks. So look for my full review of each ball around the end of June 2018, with social updates on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook in the interim.

Iron Game – Something’s Got to Give

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, May 17th, 2018
Categories: Golf • Hackers • Miscellaneous
Tags: Ben Hogan Golf • Bridgestone Golf • Miura

I’ve been putting in lots of practice this season compared to the last few. I live next to one of my home courses now, so it is more convenient. The last couple of years my ball striking has been quite suspect, especially the irons. This season the work has me feeling much better physically, and hitting the ball very solid and farther than the last couple of years. But I’m not hitting the irons accurately. I’ve been averaging 33% greens in regulation (thanks to Shot Scope V2 statistics), which is not good for where I want to be. I’m a deadly putter, but if I’m missing 66% of my greens, my deadly putting is trying to save par or bogey, instead of trying to make birdie or at the worst, par.

Look who's winning the Thursday audition. @MiuraGolfInc pic.twitter.com/M5VOPNsZV4

— Tony Korologos (@TheGolfSpace) May 18, 2018

I started this season gaming my old 2002 Hogan Apex Edge Pros because those were what I hit the best early in the season. I’m still hitting them solid, but not accurately. The last two 9-hole league days which were 3 GIR and 2 GIR respectively, where the last straw. Tonight I hit the range for an open audition with three sets of irons I own. I had many, many more sets, but scaled them down in the fall when I moved.

Tonight it was a test between my Hogans, the Bridgestone J15DF Driving Irons, and the Miura Series 1957 Limited Edition Small Blades.

I had to put the Miuras away last season because I started s****ing them. But early this season I s****ed a couple with the Hogans too. I changed my setup as part of my move was pulling me closer to the ball at impact. That seemed to solve the problem (knocks on wood).

In tonight’s audition I all but re-fell in love with the Miuras. They flew very high and straight, and felt like butter. The only club I had issues with was the 4-iron. It’s so damn small it’s like the club face is the size of a quarter. Still, with how great I was hitting the rest of the set, they have won the starting position once again. I’m tempted to put the Hogan 4-iron in with them, as it still is a great club for me, and probably easier to hit than the Miura.

The Bridgestones, as great as they are, just didn’t work. I think something has changed in my swing and the shafts aren’t quite a match at the moment.

Blade-a-licious! Could you hit this?

So there it is. I’m switching irons two weeks before the biggest, most important tournament of the season, and the one that means the most to me. Nothing much to lose. I can only hit a couple less greens in regulation per round before I’m down to zero.

Review: MyCharge AdventureMax Rugged Portable Charger

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, May 16th, 2018
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Gear • Reviews
Tags: myCharge

Whether golfing, exploring the outdoors, traveling, or just doing our daily routine, we rely on our mobile devices for communication, guidance, research, photos/videos and more. We all end up in a situation where we’re low on battery power and there’s nowhere to plugin and charge up. Enter MyCharge, maker of a large selection of portable chargers. I’ve reviewed a few MyCharge units previously, check the links at the end of this review. Today we are looking at the AdventureMax rugged portable charger.

AdventureMax Feaatures

AdventureMax ($49.99) is a portable mobile charger with a battery capacity of 10500mAh. The internal 10500mAh Lithium Ion battery holds enough power to extend the battery life of a smartphone, tablet or other USB powered device up to six times.

The unit offers two USB ports, allowing simultaneous charge of multiple USB devices and can even charge devices while it is being charged. With “Hyper-charge” the unit can charge devices up to 65% faster, and the unit charges up to 50% faster than other brands.

The casing of the unit is rugged and includes a carabiner clip to hang it on bags, tents, backpacks etc.

On The Course / In Action

When I do my golf blogging and traveling I rely on a couple of USB devices, my Google Pixel phone and a small Sony pocket camera. Both charge via USB. I even use some golf GPS devices which charge via USB as well.

I use the camera a ton when doing golf course reviews and golf travel reviews. On some golf press trips I’m away from wall power for 12+ hours. I rely on my MyCharge to keep my phone and camera charged so I can capture all the imagery and post social posts.

Final Comments

MyCharge makes great portable charging and USB accessories. My AdventureMax is invaluable for me on the road and it performs perfectly. Consider the AdventureMax as a great gift for Father’s Day, Christmas, birthdays and more.

MyCharge HubMax portable charger

Review: Shot Scope V2 GPS Watch with Automated Performance Tracking

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, May 14th, 2018
Categories: Apps • Golf Accessories • Golf For Women • Golf Gear • Reviews
Tags: Shot Scope V2

This has been, and continues to be an extremely interesting and informative golf accessory review for me. I’ve been working with the Shot Scope V2, a GPS Watch which also tracks all shots, distances, and statistics. The Shot Scope V2 combines the best of the GPS watch world and the shot tracking worlds of Arccos and Game Golf. Shot Scope V2 has some major advantages, which I’ll highlight shortly. For now let’s take a look at the features of the Shot Scope V2.

Shot Scope V2 Features

There are three modes in the SCV2: First is a standard GPS. When running in GPS mode, the unit quickly and accurately shows yardages to the front, middle, and back of the green. It also shows yardages to hazards.

The 2nd mode is Pro mode. In Pro mode the golfer tracks his/her shots with each club. Each club’s distance, accuracy and result is tracked. Later on at the computer or mobile device, the user can look at each shot over a map, or look at highly thought-through and educational club, game, and performance stats.

The 3rd mode (my go to mode) is GPS + Track. Yes, this is the combination of GPS watch mode with full shot tracking.

How Shot Scope V2 Works

As strictly a GPS Watch, Shot Scope V2 is fantastic. The GPS is very easy to read and the yardages are quick and accurate. There’s not much more to it than making sure the watch has the course loaded before the round starts. The watch will automagically pick the course if you’re on property.

GPS Mode

The GPS unit will also show distances to hazards as seen below.

322 to the water hazard. No problem! Swing away.

To do the shot tracking, sensors are put on the end of each golf club. The sensors (seen in the first photo in the lower-middle), easily screw into the air hole at the end of the grip. In Pro or GPS + Track mode, the unit senses practice swings and real shots and what club hit them. The unit must be on the golfer’s wrist.

Full swings and even putts are registered. However the unit does not “know” when the ball goes in the hole, nor does the unit know where the hole is. So the golfer must “tag” the hole location when finishing, and also select the number of putts. This “tagging” of shots is very similar to using other products like Game Golf, except the only tagging necessary is the final putt. Even so, I often forgot to tag the final putt and had to fix the mistake later with the application.

After the round, the user syncs the data via the Shot Scope application. After syncing the data is available for analysis and editing if necessary.

On The Course

I don’t wear watches and I’ve resisted wearing GPS watches while golfing. In fact, I typically connect the watch to my golf bag and check the yardage there before I pull a club. I gave a good faith effort with the Shot Scope V2 and wore it while playing. I was surprised to find that the watch didn’t bother me or interfere with most of my shots. I say most because there are a couple of situations where I did have issues. I’ll mention those in my critiques section below. In general, wearing the watch was not an issue, and the convenience of instantly knowing yardages by looking at my wrist is great.

After The Round

This is where Shot Scope’s awesomeness shines. Following the round I sync my unit with my computer, which uploads all my shot data to the Shot Scope website. Once synced I can view every shot mapped on a Google map, see ball striking, fairways hit, putts per round, and more.

Map of all my shots at Bonneville. User can zoom in to each hole and even closer.

The wealth of statistics is tremendous, and very educational if not slightly depressing. Yes I realized where my weaknesses were, but I also realized that…well, I’m not as good, or as long as I thought I was. The only part of my game I knew was good is putting, and the stats back that up.

Below I’ll show a few of the interesting ways that Shot Scope V2 shoes the shot data and analysis. This is great stuff.

Tee accuracy and how it translates to scoring

Above you can see scoring stats, and how they relate to accuracy off the tee.

Sand wedge accuracy breakdown – I never miss left! I never GO LEFT.

Above is a very educational analysis of my sand wedge. I hit 50% of my approaches with it, and 100% of my attempts are right of center. Quite telling.

Performance average

In the “performance average” above, outlier shots are thrown out so they don’t skew the numbers. What can I learn from this? Like most amateur golfers, I do not hit the ball as far as I think I do.

Above are some putting stats (not all of them). I 1-putt 39% of the time and 3-putt 7% of the time, or 7 times out of 100. I average 28.9 putts per round. I’m not unhappy about these stats.

Critiques

In all of my reviews I try to post some critiques and thoughts on what can be improved. Shot Scope V2 is a fantastic system; probably the best out there for this type of data collection of one’s golf game. That said, having to wear a large GPS watch can sometimes be inconvenient or interfere with the swing.

The metal fork that goes through the holes on the watch band can stick out. It often does not lay flat. When I’m choked down on a short game shot that fork has caught the club in my swing, causing an errant shot.

Tagging putts is something I’m not used to and even after many rounds, I still forget. It’s not what I’m thinking about when I just missed a short putt to go 2-down in a big money game, or in league tournaments etc.

Occasionally shots are not registered, or the wrong shot is registered. This is an issue which happens across every shot tracking system I’ve ever tried. Missed or incorrect shots can be edited after the round.

Final Thoughts

The wealth of information I’ve accumulated about my personal golf game this spring has opened my eyes to my weaknesses. I knew some of them, but seeing the raw numbers really clarifies and shows me what I need to work on. As a result, I’ve been practicing harder on those weak areas. One such area is greens in regulation. I’ve been around 33%, which is not very good. But with lots of work at the range and focusing on my irons and approaches, my last round was better, 50%. Still not as good as I want, but getting better. For reference, the best player on the PGA Tour right now in greens in regulation is Henrik Stenson at 74%. The worst on Tour is 53%.

Thanks to the Shot Scope V2 I now have a much better idea of my tendencies with each club (sand wedge above for example), and how far I really hit them. Armed with that information I can make better club choices and more confident swings on the course.

I can’t help thinking that Shot Scope V2, if used to its full capabilities, can really help golfers improve their game in both physical ball striking ways, but in the form of better game and course management.

Wallaroo Shelton Sun Protection Hat Review

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, May 10th, 2018
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Apparel • Golf For Women • Golf Gear • Reviews
Tags: Wallaroo Hat Company

During yesterday’s sunny golf round the temperatures reached 87 degrees. Knowing how sunny it was going to be I chose my hat scripting wisely, the Wallaroo Hat Company Shelton sun protection hat. Great decision. I kept my head, face, neck protected and kept myself cool. Let’s take a look at some of the Shelton’s details.

The Wallaroo Shelton is great for hiking….

Shelton Sun Protection Hat

The Shelton features an 8.5 inch flap on under the back half of the hat. See photo below. This flap protects the head and neck from the sun, as the 1005 cotton fabric in the hat provides 50+ UPF protection. 97.5% of ultraviolet rays are blocked.

The soft and flexible brim of the hat is 2.5 inches. The inside of the Shelton’s brim is a drawstring for the user to be able to adjust the fit of the hat.

The hat is packable, so it can conveniently be shoved into a pocket in the golf bag and conveniently ready for use when needed.

As mentioned, the drawstring helps the user adjust the size. The base sizes are M/L and L/XL.

On The Course

I’ve enjoyed the Shelton on the golf course. It helps keep me cool and free of frying my head and neck. I’ve also used the Shelton while hiking (first pic), working in the yard, and on family walks. The hat is very comfortable.

The neck cover also helps prevent insect bites. In the spring and fall when we can have a lot of mosquitos here, the neck flap protects against bites. I haven’t tried the Shelton in rain yet. I imagine it is great in light rain, but the cotton may soak up the water in heavier rain.

Final Thoughts

The $48 Shelton is a great investment in personal skin health, sun protection, and heat protection both on and off the golf course.

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