What's In Stephen Ames' Golf Bag

Stephen Ames won the 2006 LG Skins Game at the Trilogy Golf Course in La Quinta, CA last weekend. Do you want to know what he was carrying in his golf bag during his win?

Driver: Nike SasQuatch 460 Tour 9.5* Driver
Irons: Nike Forged Pro Combo (3-PW) Irons
Wedges: Nike Forged (55* & 60*) Wedges
Other: Nike SasQuatch 3 Wood
Putter: TaylorMade Rossa Siena AGSI Putter

Stephen Ames from San Fernando, Trinidad was able to defeat Fred Couples, John Daly, and Fred Funk by winning $570,000 worth of skins. The 18th hole had a carry-over of $270,000 and it was pushed. They went into a playoff with Ames winning the remaining $270,000 on the 3rd playoff hole with a birdie to John Daly's bogie.

Stephen's only official win of 2006 was at THE PLAYERS Championship where he was 6 shots better than Retief Goosen. He had 3 top 10 finishes and made the cut in 14 of the 21 events he entered. This was somewhat of a rebound year for Stephen after having a dissapointing 2005. He finished the year with $2,395,155, which puts him at 35 on the World Money List.

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, golf equipment, golf products, Stephen Ames

Top 10 Golf Clubs (Nov 29th)

Here it is again by popular demand. The list of the Top 10 Hottest Golf Clubs. Here are the hottest golf clubs for the last week of November.

1. Titleist 905R Driver
2. Ping Eye 2 Iron set
3. Ping G5 Driver
4. Nike SasQuatch Driver
5. TaylorMade r7 quad Driver
6. TaylorMade R580 XD Driver
7. Callaway X-18 Iron set
8. Mizuno MP 60 Iron set
9. Ping G2 Driver
10. Titleist 983K Driver

The Ping Eye 2 Iron set had a long hold on the #1 spot, but it slipped to #2. The hottest golf club is the Titleist 905R. The Ping G2 Driver has dropped to the #10 spot with the TaylorMade r7 Quad Driver holding steady at #5.

Just in case you missed it, here's my post of The Hottest Golf Clubs (Nov), which was from the first week of November.

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, golf equipment, golf products, Titleist 905R

Is The Titleist 905R Driver Worth The Money?

I was at Golfsmith golf shop over the weekend getting my son fitted for some clubs when I saw a Titleist 905R driver with a Speeder stiff shaft. It was a demo club and I wanted to hit a few golf balls with it because I had heard a lot of good things about it.

After my son was finished with his club fitting, I asked the Golfsmith employee helping my son if I could hit few golf balls with it. Golfsmith has a pretty nice launch monitor set up that provides all kinds of feedback like launch angle, swing speed, spin rate, etc...

I stepped up to the launch monitor and made a few practice swings. The club felt nice and was very attractive looking when setting up to the ball.

On my first ball I was definitely stiff and only got about a 260-yard carry with 105 mph swing speed. The golf ball came of the face nice and it felt very solid. I hit a few more and with each swing I was getting warmed up. On my last swing I made my best swing and had a 321-yard carry with a swing speed of 116 mph.

I was very impressed by the Titleist 905R and might be interested in trying one out. The only complaint I had with the club was the stiff Speeder shaft... it just wasn't stiff enough because all of my shots had a fade, which meant the club was getting stuck and open at impact.

I currently play with the Taylormade TP r7 Quad with a XS Speeder shaft, which I hit very well and really don't want to part with it.

So "Is The Titleist 905R Worth The Money?"... absolutely. It is very popular on the PGA tour and it's currently the most popular club on eBay.

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, golf equipment, drivers, Titleist 905R

What's In Padraig Harrington's Golf Bag?

Padraig Harrington won the 2006 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan this last weekend. Do you want to know what he was carrying in his golf bag during his win?

Driver: Titleist 905R 9.5* Driver
Irons: Wilson Staff Pi5 (4-PW) Irons
Wedges: Wilson Staff Tw5 (56* & 60*) Wedges
Other: Wilson Staff Fws 5 Wood
Putter: Odyssey White Hot 2-ball Blade Putter

Padraig Harrington from Dublin, Ireland was able to defeat Tiger Woods on the 2nd playoff hole to win the 2006 Dunlop Phoenix golf tournament in Japan. Padraig had an off year in 2006 on the PGA Tour by his standards with no wins and only 3 top 10 finishes. He's currently ranked #9 in the world.

A bright spot in 2006 for Padraig was being part of the European Ryder Cup team who defeated the Americans handedly 18 1/2 to 9 1/2.

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, golf equipment, golf products, Padraig Harrington

What's In Lorena Ochoa's Golf Bag?

Lorena Ochoa won the 2006 LPGA Tournament of Champions this last weekend. Do you want to know what she was carrying in her golf bag during her win?

Driver: Ping G5 7.5* Driver
Irons: Ping i5 (4-PW) Irons
Wedges: Ping Tour (50* & 56*) Wedges
Other: Ping G5 18* 5 Wood
Putter: Odyssey Tri Hot 2 Putter

Lorena Ochoa from Guadalajara, Mexico had her best year on the LPGA tour this year. With her win last weekend Lorena captured her first Rolex Player of the Year award ending Sorenstam's 5-year reign. She will be ranked as the #1 player in the world.

Her 2006 stats are amazing. She won 6 times in the 24 tournaments she played in with 19 of her 24 appearances finishing in the top 10. She ranked #1 in birdies, eagles, and GIR on the 2006 LPGA Tour. She also finished in the #3 spot for putts per green and #4 in rounds under par. She doubled her earnings from last year with $2,492,872. I would say she's the Tiger Woods of the LPGA Tour. What a great year Lorena!

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, golf equipment, golf products, Lorena Ochoa

A Simple Putting Tip

Here's a really simple putting tip. It's not for everyone, but if you have a tendency to move your body during your putting stroke then this putting tip could help you out.

A lot of amateur golfers have a tendency to move their body when they put, which is probably the cause for them missing a lot of their putts. I see them swaying their body with the putting stroke.

If this describes your putting stroke then try this the next time you're on the putting green. Try setting up like Arnold Palmer used to do when he putted. Arnold would point his toes inward so that he was in a pigeon-toed stance.

This may feel awkward at first, but it will definitely help lock your body into position throughout your putting stroke. You really don't have anything to loose by trying this putting stance.

So give this putting tip a try and let me know if it works for you.

Tags: golf, golf tips, golf instruction, golf lesson, putting tip

What's In Adam Scott's Golf Bag?

Adam Scott won the 2006 Tour Championship last weekend. Do you want to know what he was carrying in his golf bag during his win?

Driver: Titleist 905R 8.5* Driver
Irons: Titleist 695 MB (3-PW) Irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled (56* & 60*) Wedges
Other: Titleist PT 906F2 15* 3 Wood
Putter: Scotty Cameron Prototype Putter

Adam Scott from Australia had his best year on the PGA tour this year. With his win last week Adam Scott improved his golf world ranking by replacing Vijay Singh in the #4 spot and behind #3 Phil Mickelson, #2 Jim Furyk and #1 Tiger Woods. He also moved up to the #3 spot on the Money Leaders list behind #2 Jim Furyk and #1 Tiger Woods. In addition to his world and money list ranking he was is #3 in scoring with 68.95 average scoring round again behind #2 Jim Furyk at 68.66 and #1 Tiger Woods at 68.11.

Adam's great year on the PGA Tour included ten top 10 finishes. Even though this was his only victory he had three 2nd place finishes and three 3rd place finishes. He was very consistent by making 17 cuts of the 19 tournaments he played in and won $4,978,858.

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, golf equipment, golf products

Top 10 Hottest Golf Clubs (Nov)

Back by popular demand is the list of the Top 10 Hottest Golf Clubs. Here are the hottest golf clubs for the early part of November.

1. Ping Eye 2 Iron set
2. Titleist 905R Driver
3. Nike SasQuatch Driver
4. Ping G5 Driver
5. TaylorMade r7 quad Driver
6. Callaway X-18 Iron set
7. Titleist 983K Driver
8. Mizuno MP 60 Iron set
9. TaylorMade R580 XD Driver
10. Ping G2 Driver

For 3 months in a row The Ping Eye 2 Iron set remained as the hottest golf club. The Nike SasQuatch Driver moved from #5 to #3. The Mizuno MP60 Iron Set and the TaylorMade r7 quad Driver both dropped two spots. Just in case you missed it, here's my post of The Hottest Golf Clubs (Oct) from last month.

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, golf equipment, golf products

What's In K.J. Choi's Golf Bag?

K.J. Choi won the 2006 Chrysler Championship last weekend. Do you want to know what he was carrying in his golf bag during his win?

Driver: Nike SasQuatch Sumo² 9.5* Driver
Irons:  Nike Forged Blades (3-PW) Irons
Wedges: Nike SV (60*) Wedge
Other:  Callaway X-Tour 13* 3+ Wood
Putter: Odyssey Tri Hot 2 Putter

K.J. had a good year on the PGA Tour this year. Even though this was his only victory he was pretty consistent with four top 10 finishes. He made 21 cuts of the 25 tournaments he played in and won $2,267,348.

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, golf equipment, golf products

Golf Tip: Golfing Barefoot

Here's a golf tip that I discovered quite by accident.

I was at Golfsmith to get a few golf gloves and golf balls and decided to head over to the 2 hitting booths they had. I noticed they had a couple TaylorMade TP R7 Quad's in the pre-owned golf club area. I found one with a Speeder 757 X-Stiff shaft and I wanted to give it a few swings, but I had my flip-flops on.

I really wanted to hit this club and decided that I was going to swing the club in my bare feet. I stepped up to the golf mat and put a few golf balls down. I then took my flip-flops off and made a few practice swings to warm up. These golf hitting booths were hooked up to a launch monitor so I was going to see how well I could hit the R7 Quad in my bare feet.

I knew that if I was going to have any success hitting the golf ball in my bare feet with the R7 that I'd have to keep my balance throughout the swing and to swing within myself. I was able to do this and hit some monster drives in the 300 yard carry range. See my previous post Taylormade TP R7 Quad vs Taylormade R7 to read how well I hit the remaining golf balls.

I was hitting the ball so pure that I realized that hitting in my bare feet was an excellent way to help me stay balanced throughout my swing.

I now on occasion will hit in my bare feet at the range and I get some strange looks at first, but once I start hitting the golf balls pure one after another I think they wonder if they should be doing the same.

Have you ever tried this golf tip?

Tags: golf, golf tips, golf instruction, golf lesson, taylormade r7 quad