Top 10 Hottest Golf Clubs Aug 2009

Here are the Top 10 Hottest Golf Clubs for the month of Aug 2009. These were the hottest golf clubs in demand during the month of August. Do you know which one is the hottest?

1. Callaway Golf X-20 Iron Set
2. Ping Eye 2 Iron set
3. Ping G10 Driver
4. TaylorMade Burner 460 Driver
5. TaylorMade R9 Driver
6. TaylorMade r7 Iron set
7. TaylorMade Tour Burner Driver
8. Ping G10 Iron set
9. TaylorMade r7 460 Driver
10. Ping G5 Iron set

There were a lot of changes since my last post for the Hotest Golf Clubs. The first time in over 2 years the Ping Eye 2 iron set has lost it's #1 spot. It was replaced by the Callaway Golf X-20 Iron Set. The Ping G10 Driver made the biggest move from #9 to #3. The Ping G5 Iron set dropped the most from #5 to #10.

What's really amazing is that TaylorMade had 5 of the top 10 golf clubs this month and Ping followed close behind with 4.

Just in case you missed it, here's my post of The Hottest Golf Clubs Mar 2009, which is how the top 10 clubs finished for the month of March 2009.

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, Callaway X-20 Iron Set, golf equipment, Callaway, Ping Eye 2

What's In Johnson Wagner's Golf Bag - 2008 Shell Houston Open

Johnson Wagner won his 1st career PGA tour event last weekend by winning the 2008 Shell Houston Open at Redstone Golf Club in Houston, Texas. Do you want to know what Johnson was carrying in his golf bag during the win?

Driver: Titleist 905R 8.5° with ProLaunch Red 65 shaft
3 Wood: Titleist 904F 13 ° with NV 85 Fairway shaft
Hybrid: Adams Idea Pro 18°
Irons:  (3-9) Titleist ZB Forged
PW:     Titleist Vokey 47° with Dynamic Golf shaft
SW:     Titleist Vokey 54° with Dynamic Golf shaft
LW:     Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 60° with Dynamic Golf shaft
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist Prototype
Ball:   Titleist Pro V1x

Johnson went wire-to-wire with an opening round of 63, which was a course record. Wagner shot a 1-under 71 to finish at 16 under, two shots ahead of Chad Campbell and Geoff Ogilvy. Billy Mayfair and Fred Couples shot 66's to finish three shots back at 13 under. The win gave him an automatic invitation to Augusta, Georgia to play in the Masters. Johnson took home $1,008,000 million for the win and a great start for his 2008 season. The win also put him on the board for the FedEx Cup point race.

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

Cleveland CG Red Irons As A Gift

I was lucky to receive a new set of Cleveland CG Red irons for Christmas. I've used them a few times and I have to say I'm impressed. I've been using Cleveland irons for 6 years with my last set being the TA2's, which were hard to part with.

At first I wasn't sure about the red insert in the cavity back of the iron, but once you're at address you don't even and see it. The club is very attractive looking at set up and it has nice top line.

The CG Red's are a very solid golf club. They do well with off center hits and they're pretty accurate too. I hit probably hit the CG Red's a couple yards longer than my TA2's, but that wasn't the reason I asked for them for Christmas. These irons are just as workable as the TA2's so I'm looking forward to getting a few more rounds under my belt.

I've always liked Cleveland's irons and I felt the CG Red's were the next step to take because 6 years of technology these days in the golf club industry can make a couple of strokes difference in your game. So I had to hang up my TA2's and put the CG Red's in my bag. I had them shafted with Stiff True Temper Dynamic Gold with Sensicore shafts, which are what I had in my TA2's. I almost went with the Black Gold shafts, and even though I read some nice reviews about these shafts I decided to stick with what has been working.

I did look into the Project X shafts, but I read a lot of mixed reviews on them from other golfers so I didn't want to take the chance.

If you're on the fence about the CG Red's then I hope this helped you in your decision.

What's In Tiger's Golf Bag - 2007 BMW

Tiger Woods won his 60th PGA tour event last weekend by winning the 2007 BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club Lemont, Illinois. Tiger posted all 4 rounds in the 60's. Do you want to know what Tiger was carrying in his golf bag during his win?

Driver: Nike SasQuatch Tour 8.5°
3 Wood: Nike SasQuatch 2 15°
Irons:  (2-PW) Nike Blades
SW:     Nike Pro Combo 56°
LW:     Nike SV Tour 60°
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Stainless Newport 2
Ball:   Nike One Platinum

Tiger shot a final round 63 to win by 2-strokes, but Steve Stricker and Aaron Baddeley put the pressure on early in the round by matching birdie for birdie with Tiger. Tiger pretty much shut the door on the par 3 12th by draining a 50-footer for birdie. Tiger made 3 more birdies going in to finish at -22 under, which is a tournament record. Tiger took home $1,260,000 for the win and went above $9 million for the year. He also hit the $75 million dollar career earnings mark in only 11 years on the tour.

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

What's In Steve Stricker's Golf Bag - 2007 Barclays

Steve Stricker won the 2007 Barclays last weekend at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, New York. This was the first tournament of the FedEx Playoffs. Do you want to know what Steve was carrying in his golf bag during his win?

Driver: Titleist PT 905T 8.5°
3 Wood: Titleist 906F2 13°
Hybrid: Titleist 585.H 17°
Irons:  (3-PW) Titleist 755
SW     Titleist Vokey Design 200 series 54°
LW     Titleist Vokey Design 200 series 60°
Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2
Ball:   Titleist New Pro V1

It took 6 1/2 years and 146 tournaments before Steve Striker won again. He went from +2 for the day to -2 by birdieing 4 of hist last 5 holes on Sunday to shoot a 69. Steve won by 2-strokes ahead of K.J. Choi and ahead of 10 other players within 5 strokes of the lead. His birdie on 18 sealed the victory when K.J. could do no better than par. Stricker took home $1.26 million for his win.

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

Top 10 Hottest Golf Clubs July 2007

Here are the Top 10 Hottest Golf Clubs for the month of July 2007. These golf clubs were the hottest golf clubs in demand during the month of July.

1. Ping Eye 2 Iron set
2. Callaway X-18 Iron set
3. Ping G5 Driver
4. Callaway Steelhead X-14 Iron set
5. Titleist 905R Driver
6. TaylorMade r7 460 Driver
7. Nike SasQuatch Driver
8. TaylorMade r7 quad Driver
9. TaylorMade r5 Dual Driver
10. Ping G2 Driver

Again The Ping Eye 2 Iron set still holds the #1 spot. It's official... the Ping Eye 2 iron set will be the most popular golf clubs for 2007. It has been the #1 hottest golf club 7 straight months since January. The hottest golf club for this month is the Callaway Steelhead X-14 Iron set, which came out of no where to take the #4 spot. This iron set wasn't even in the top 10 last month. TaylorMade had 4 drivers in the top 10, but the r7 425 dropped out.

Just in case you missed it, here's my post of The Hottest Golf Clubs Of June 2007, which is how the top 10 clubs finished for the month of May 2007.

Tag(s): golf, golf reviews, golf equipment, golf equipment, Callaway, Ping Eye
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What Are Your Golf Clubs Worth?

This is a quick post, but I wanted to share with you a new golf website I found. I'm not exactly sure how long they've been around, but it's definitely worth a look.

It's called GolfBlueBook.com and as you can probably guess they provide a blue book value for golf clubs. They give you the average trade-in value and the average auction value (golfexchange.com).

The values are broken down into 5 categories (Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent, Average) so you can determine what your clubs are worth based on the condition.

I think this is a great idea and a good place to go if you're in the market for some clubs. You can use the prices as a guide when looking for clubs to make sure you're getting the best deal or not getting ripped off.

Have you seen this golf site before?

New Golf Clubs or Used Golf Clubs?

I have a lot of golfers ask me if they should get new golf clubs or used ones and the answer is... it depends. There are several factors you should consider when deciding whether or not you should get new golf clubs or used golf clubs.

Get used golf clubs if...
1. you're new to golf and want to see if you're going to like golf. No reason to plunk down a bunch of money for something you may not like doing.

2. you want a name brand set, but you don't have the money to get new ones. This is really common sense because you don't want to be eating Top Raman for the next 3 months because you had to get a $1000 set of irons.

3. you can get a good deal on a used set. Golf clubs are kind of like cars in that once hit them they depreciate quite a bit.

Get new golf clubs if...
1. you're more serious about playing golf. When you're golf game gets to a certain point then the clubs can make a 1 or 2 stroke difference, but if you're still relatively new to the game then getting expensive clubs will not make you better.

2. you can afford them. If you have the money then by all means get them, but remember what I said in #1 above.

3. you're one of those people who don't like hand-me-downs ;-) Some people just don't like getting used things.

I've been playing golf for 30+ years and I've bought both new golf clubs and used golf clubs. I'd have to say it's about 50-50 of new to used golf sets. I bought my current TaylorMade R7 TP Quad driver used from Golfsmith and got an excellent deal on it. I was fortunate to find one with the specs I needed. My previous 2 drivers I got off of eBay. So you can see that it does really depend and you can't go wrong with new golf clubs or used ones.

One caution you should be aware when purchasing new golf clubs used ones. I highly recommend you get the clubs fitted to your swing.

For used golf clubs you're buying a set that more than likely isn't fitted for your swing and this could make the difference in a couple strokes in your golf game. Try getting fitted at Roger Dunn's for a set, but don't actually by them because you just want to get the specs of your swing like lie, shaft stiffness, shaft length, etc... You can then use your golf swing specs to find a used golf set that's right for you.

With the a new set of golf clubs I'd do the same thing, but this time you have the sales guy custom order the clubs based on your specs. If you're really serious then I'd go to an independent golf swing analysis shop like Maxout Golf or TaylorMade MATT. Both of these places will dial your swing in and provide you with all the specs you need.

Where to get used golf clubs? Go to Golfsmith, Roger Dunn's, Nevada Bob's, eBay, or any large golf shop. Also, ask around in your circle of friends if they have a set of golf clubs they'd like to get ride of.
Tags: golf, golf tips, golf equipment, golf review

Get Golf Equipment Your Own Size

Over the weekend I played golf with my 13-year old son. We brought a friend of his along to play with us on a near by executive golf course. He had his own golf equipment that looked to be an old set of his dads. After the first few holes, my son's friend was struggling and was getting frustrated.

I took a closer look at his clubs and realized they were probably handed down from his dad. I immediately knew that the clubs were not right for him. I compared his 7-iron to mine and his was a 1/2 inch longer than mine. The poor kid was playing with clubs that were too long, too stiff, and too heavy.

I tried giving some tips to help him swing the club better, which is something I normally don't do on the golf course. I told him to choke up on the golf club and to widen his stance, but it didn't seem to help. I felt bad for him because he had a descent swing, but the clubs were holding him back.

The clubs were definitely not the right size for him and after the round I suggested he ask his parents to see if they could get some clubs to that were his own size. This is probably the biggest problem I see with kid golfers. They're given some old clubs their dad had and they either play with them as they are or have them cut down, which is even worse. By cutting down the shaft at the butt you end up changing the flex to be more stiff, which ends up hurting the child even more.

Tag(s): golf, golf equipment, golf tips

53 Degree Sand Wedge Over The House

Now I'm sure you're wondering what in the heck do I mean by saying hitting a sand wedge over the house. Is it a new analogy for hitting a wedge shot? Nope it means exactly what it says... hitting a sand wedge over a house. More specifically an old 53 degree Ram sand wedge.

When I was around 13 years old me and my brother used to do all kinds of crazy stuff. You know how kids at this age can be (see previous post about a Golf Ball Rubber Band). Well one day we were bored and my brother dared me to hit a golf ball from our front lawn over the house across the street. Behind this house was our grade school field so if I cleared the house then I'd be safe from hitting and breaking anything. I figured it would take a 100-yard sand wedge to safely clear everything.

Well of course I took the dare. When you get dared by your younger brother you pretty much have to do it because he looks up to you and you want to show him how tough & brave you are. Now it makes sense why my 13-year old son does the things he does :-)

I went into the garage and took out a couple golf balls from our shag ball bucket (see previous post Golf Balls... The Other White Gold). I dropped them down on the lawn and took a few practice swings with the Ram sand wedge to warm up. I was pretty nervous because the house across the street had a huge glass window in front. I was thinking that if I catch this sand wedge a little thin then I'll be doing some big time in my room... probably for the rest of the summer... and I'm sure my dad wouldn't of hesitated to bring out the belt either.

Anyway, I set up behind the ball and started to get even more nervous. I had to hide my nervousness from my brother because I couldn't let him see his big brother getting scared. If you think hitting over a lake on your approach shot is nervous time... try this out on your nerves. I took sand wedge back and came back through hitting the ball. It was a pure shot and it cleared the house with no problem. I know you were hoping to hear that I drilled it right into the window. It probably would have made for a better ending, but not this time.

We both started to laugh and yell... and my brother wanted me to hit another one. I told him no and made up some lame excuse why I couldn't. Have you ever hit a sand wedge or other golf club over a house? Have done some other crazy things with a golf ball and golf club?

Tag(s): golf, golf stories, golf clubs

In Search Of Golf Equipment

Getting the right golf equipment to play the game of golf can be daunting for someone new to the game because of all the choices. You just need to be pointed in the right direction with a few tips and it's really pretty easy.

Here are some tips to get your started on buying golf gear:

1. The first thing you must do is determine your budget. How much are you willing to spend on a complete set of golf clubs. When I mean a complete set of golf clubs I'm referring to the irons, woods, putter, and bag. It's important to set a limit on what you want to spend because a complete set can cost from $150 to over $2000.

2. The next thing you need to determine is how often you'll be playing golf. If you're just starting out to see if you like golf then you'll probably want to get the least expensive set that does the job with no emphasis on brand names. A lot of the sports shops carry complete golf sets and they often have great sales on them. I know Costco even carries a nice set by Jack Nicklaus that's around $200. This is a great price for a complete set and it can definitely be used for many years.

3. If $200 to $300 is still out of your range then I would look into used or second hand golf sets. Pretty much all golf shops carry second hand golf equipment and you can get some really good deals on them. The majority of the time you're not going to find a used complete golf set so you'll have to purchase the irons, woods, putter, and bag separately. Later on if you decide you want to get more serious in golf then you can usually trade your existing clubs in and use the money to purchase a brand new set.

4. Now when it comes to determining one brand from the other it's really not something a beginner should worry about. Don't be pressured by a salesman if he's trying to push a brand name set on you. When you're just starting out it really doesn't matter what the brand is. If you're interested in brand name sets then the salesman should be able to provide you with information describing the difference between the brands.

5. I suggest looking through the Saturday or Sunday newspaper for sporting good ads and look for complete golf sets. Golf specialty stores are also a good place to get pricing on sets. I'd also search the Internet because there are hundreds of golf sites offering complete golf sets. EBay is an excellent place to get golf equipment, which includes complete golf sets. I've purchased and sold a lot of golf equipment through eBay and I've been very pleased with the quality. Craigslist.org is also another place you can look for used clubs that are local to you.

6. As a last suggestion I'd ask some of your friends if they have any old sets they'd be willing to sell you, which often time they'll give you an extremely good deal. If they don't have any then they may have a friend who does so there's no harm in asking.

Good luck on your search and if you need any additional help place a comment for this post.
Tag: golf, golf tips, golf equipment