jeffy

Couldn't help myself...just ordered a 60* Tango & Cash grind in brushed nickel to do battle with my M grind for the LW spot. Interestingly, I learned from Ari that the M grind I have is most useful for opening the face, something I don't do a lot of since I carry a 64* XL. Since I like to use the 60* from bunkers (my home course is a Donald Ross design with small greens that always seem to run away from you), the T&C should arguably perform better out of the sand (unless the sand is really hard). And, since I use the 60* for most shots around the green (except when the 64* is needed), the middle trailing edge grind should be an advantage there. Guess I'll find out in a few weeks. Jeff

FairwayFred wrote: It was actually from about 125 yards. I used my new Scratch Weight Slot 53*. The raised COG was exactly what I needed on that shot, trajectory was perfect! It was a thing of beauty: medium-low trajectory, hit pin high, bounced once then backed into the hole. Beautiful shot. BTW, there is no way I can outdrive Ari: it was a short par 4; he hit an iron or hybrid and I smoked my 3 wood. He's definitely a lot stronger than me! Jeff

I played with Ari on Wednesday (at the Ghost Creek course at Pumpkin Ridge outside Portland) and saw his "Tango and Cash" grind wedge. It looks very nice! Also, he brought along a wedge he's made for Stan Utley (from specs I was able to give him that were based on my conversations with Stan), which also looks really great (58* loft, 15* bounce, Ping Eye 2 sole grind, very square head shape, 3* flat, 35.5" shaft length, DG shaft, antique finish, white paintfill). I was really impressed by how good the antique finish with white paintfill looks in person. I'm tempted to get my wedges redone in that finish (as well as order a "Stan Utley" grind 60* to compete with my "M"-grind). For those who want a non-glare finish, I think antique is the one. BTW, we had a lot of fun playing together, particularly when Ari holed a 140 yard shot for an eagle (sadly, I failed to get a half from 115!). It was really good to meet Ari in person and I appreciated his driving up from Eugene to join me. I'm hoping to organize a Bandon outing with him sometime in the future. Jeff

I can get too steep when I move toward the ball on the backswing. To correct this, I concentrate on getting into a good posture at address (knees flexed, butt out, back straight, arms hanging straight down) and maintaining that base throughout the swing. I also find that too much tension in the shoulders, arms and/or wrists can "pull" me toward the ball on the backswing. If I maintain my base, let my wrists load and keep my left arm soft, I'll usually hit it with a litle draw. Good luck! Jeff

I picked up a 15* and 19* from JK and had them shafted with Fuji Vista Tour Series 70 S flex, a very smooth shaft (I demo'd an X flex and it felt good, even though my ss is only ~95mph with the driver). Heads are "Tour" weight so finished club swingweights at ~D6. Very solid, very square, look great at address. If you have a strong swing, they really go and have no draw bias. Not very forgiving though. Jeff

If the clubs are too upright, the ball will tend to go left; if the lie is too flat, the ball will tend to go right. The pro's recognize this: for example, in Darren Clarke's "What's in my Bag" interview in the April Golf Digest, he said his long irons were 3* upright to facilitate a draw and his short irons were 1* flat to make them easier to fade. You can easily demonstrate why this is the case. Hold a pencil or something similar perpendicular to the center of the face of an iron. When the sole is flat to the ground, the pencil should point straight at the target when viewed from above. If you raise the toe off the ground and leave the heel down (which happens at impact with clubs that are too upright) the pencil will point to the left of the target. When you raise the heel of the club (club is too flat), the pencil points to the right. Strangely, some very skilled golfers believe that when a club is too upright or flat the heel or toe "catches the ground first" and turns the blade, causing the left or right ball flight, but that is nonsense. The Z101's are easy to bend so go to a clubfitter and make sure they are the correct lie for you. Jeff

I read about it in a golf magazine when he gave it to her a month or two ago, although the holes she had drilled is new news. Jeff

If you keep all your weight on your left foot, flex your knees, use a square stance and allow yourself to pivot both back and through, you can chip the ball from your left instep without fear of chunking. Going back, allow some wrist hinge or "load", let the right elbow fold and rotate the left arm clockwise (try to minimize your arm swing). Going through, keep your shoulders back, let the left arm rotate counter-clockwise while turning your hips toward the target; hold the finish low and shorter than you took it back. This is the controlled mini-swing that Stan Utley uses and teaches to chip and pitch with. With a 58* wedge, Stan can pitch it waist high or over a house from the same forward ball position: opposite the left instep. This forward ball position, square clubface and square stance approach is a lot easier for me to start the ball on line and get consistent distance than the open stance, ball-back method advocated by David Pelz and others. Of course, no weight shift is allowed (weight stays on the left foot throughout the swing) or you will skull it. (Hal Sutton's propensity to weight shift probably explains, to some degree, why he is considered by his peers to be the worst chipper on tour). Also, make sure that you are maintaining a stable posture and not changing levels, such as dipping on the backswing, or moving toward the ball, which can happen if your shoulders get tense (which can easily happen if you're afraid of a skull!). Good luck! Jeff

I've played Rifles in my irons and wedges since 1998 and like them very much. Since we have similar swingspeeds (driver ~95mph), I'd also recommend the 5.0 flex for you. In my case, I have Project X 5.0 in my irons and pitching wedge, Tour Flighted Rifle (TFR) 5.0 in my sand wedge and TFR 4.5 in my lob wedges. The reason I stayed away from the Spinners is I'd heard that the Spinner has a lot of tip flex and hits the ball high whereas the TFR wedge shafts are designed to hit the ball low. If you have a crisp release through the ball, you might like the PXs in your irons. Some think they are too harsh but I like them just fine. Nice flat trajectory, ball goes straighter, good spin. I don't think they would feel very good, though, if you block or drag your hands through impact. Jeff

I don't think mixing shaft flexes will be very helpful for a handicap player. The TFRs and the PXs already have a flexpoint progression built in. I've used the 5.0 in both the TFR and PX and prefer the PX in the irons because of the flatter trajectory. I don't really think the PX is that much stiffer than the TFR, it just has an entirely different feel. In the sand wedge, I use the TFR 5.0 and drop to 4.5 in the lob wedges. If you want more height in your irons, go with the TFR. BTW, both of the Royal Precision shafts are softer than the DG from a vibration standpoint. I'm going to get on my soap box again and promote the 5* loft/0.625" shaft length progression set I had made by Ari. To me, a set makeup similar to mine will help a handicap player much more than a conventional set of 3 through PW (which has 3* then 4* loft increments and 0.5" shaft length drop per club). To illustrate: Conventional set (690.cb): 3 iron 22* 38.75" 4 iron 25* 38.25" 5 iron 28* 37.75" 6 iron 32* 37.25" 7 iron 36* 36.75" 8 iron 40* 36.25" 9 iron 44* 35.75" PW 48* 35.25" Typically, players will add a 53/54* SW and 59*/60* lob wedge, causing sizable (6*-7*) loft gaps between the most important scoring clubs. To solve this, others add a 52* gap wedge, a 56* SW and a 60* LW, but that becomes 11 irons, which limits the player to two woods in addition to the putter. To add a 64* XL becomes really impractical. My set (5*/0.625"): 3 iron 20* 39" 4 iron 25* 38.375" 5/6 iron 30* 37.625" 7 iron 35* 37" 8 iron 40* 36.375" 9 iron 45* 35.75" PW 50* 35.25" SW 55* 35" LW 60* 34.75" XL 64* 34.5" The length increments in the 3 through PW are 0.625" to compensate for the dropped iron (the wedges drop only 0.25" per club). The loft increments are consistent, right through the wedges, leaving fewer awkward distances. I've played about ten rounds with this set and I'm convinced it is right for me as well as for most handicap players. The only change I've considered is dropping the 3 iron and adding a 7 wood. The wedges are really great and the 64* XL is my secret weapon. Importantly, I've had really no difficulty adjusting to the slightly wider distance gaps in the irons. My apologies to those who've seen me post this information before, but I really think it is a better way to assemble a set and will result in lower scores, provided the player learns to use the wedges. Jeff

Six irons: Scratch Proto CBs, brushed nickel finish, no paintfill; D-4; Project X 5.0 shafts; Titleist 962 triple grind sole, Tourstage Z101 toe shape; 9 iron has 45* loft, 36.375" length and 63.5* lie; irons progress 5* in loft and 0.625" in length to a 20* loft, 39.5" length and 60* lie 3 iron. There is no 5 iron as the 30* loft 6 iron is midway in loft and length between the 25* 4 iron and the 35* 7 iron. Four wedges: All brushed nickel, no paintfill; round head shape like the Mizuno MP series or Callaway wedges; D-4 50*: 35.75" length, 64.5 lie; PX 5.0 shaft; 6* bounce; Titleist 962 triple grind sole 55*: 35.5", 64.5* lie; TFR 5.0; 12* bounce; blunted leading edge; moderate camber; a little heel and trailing edge relief 60*: 35.25", 63* lie; TFR 4.5; 8* bounce; rounded leading edge; moderate camber; moderate heel, toe and trailing edge relief; lie 63* 64*: 35, 63* lie; TFR 4.5; 10* bounce; blunted leading edge; moderate camber; a little heel relief, moderate trailing edge relief I bent the lob wedges flatter to facilitate a more shallow swing on the short shots. All of the wedges played beautifully right out of the box; although the 60* is the most versatile, I really like the feel of the 55* (mostly full shots) and the 64* (pretty much pitches to downslopes or really tight pins). CBs look and feel great; the PX shafts are terrific. The 5* loft progression is a very workable solution to the "I've got too many irons and wedges" dilemma created by the modern set makeup. You can find a picture of the set in my image gallery folder. Jeff

xxio wrote: Would someone know? Speak to David Whitlam or Shannon at Gauge Design, 760-591-9869. Jeff

tsg4tch wrote: I think it is important to swingweight your irons in the D2-D4 for these shafts to shine. My Scratch CBs are D-3. Jeff

Most people who have tried the KZG Gemini love it. I demo'd them this morning and ordered a 10.5* 355cc to replace my 975J. Jeff

Demo'd the Nakashima and the KZG Gemini this morning. Nothing wrong with the Nakashima, very nice head, nice looking, good feel, etc., but it sets up a little closed, as does the 395cc Gemini. My misses are mostly hooks, so I selected the square sitting 355cc Gemini in black, as I knew I would before I even hit any. Will pair it with a Fuji 569 Speeder. Jeff

The CB-201 are beautiful and could easily be the best stock irons available. I was close to ordering the Miuras, but opted instead to go with the Scratch forged CB. The primary advantage with the Scratch is that they are totally custom (each head is individually ground, then plated by Scratch) so I could chose the best features of the irons I like (e.g., Titleist 962 triple grind sole, Tourstage Z101 toe shape) and have them incorporated into the Scratch set. I also was able to have them make the irons with 5* loft and 0.625" shaft length progression (instead of the standard 4*/0.5"), which eliminated one iron and the gap wedge, allowing me to carry 10 iron clubs and wedges progressing from a strong 20* 3 iron through a 64* x-lob with consistent distance gaps. That leaves room for a driver, two fairways and the putter. I just finished a week in Florida and three days in Scottsdale the prior week and I absolutely love this set make-up. I hit my irons close and did not feel that the slightly wider distance gaps were a handicap. The 64* wedge is fast becoming my favorite club. In both Florida and Scottsdale, I got up and down for pars each time I used it (typically after pitching to a downslope) except for once when I holed a short pitch for a bogey (which saved the round). I wouldn't have room for the 64* and 60* wedges with a conventional set (3-PW, GW, SW) without dropping two other clubs I'd like to keep in the bag. Before you pull the trigger on a premium stock set, such as the Miuras or Tourstage, you should really talk to Ari Techner at Scratch first. Just so you know, your swing speed is much higher than mine; I was on a launch monitor this morning and my driver swing speed was in the 93-94 mph range. Going to add a KZG Gemini 10.5* 355cc with a Fuji 569 Speeder to the set. Jeff

I have the 5.0 PX and like them a lot. Replaced TFR 5.0 and don't think they are too stiff at all. Just got back from a week in Florida and hit my irons very well. Definitely straighter, have a nice kick at impact, ball jumps up and travels on a nice flat trajectory. Mine don't seem to stop as fast as the TFRs, but it could be because the greens were very hard. Jeff

Ari Techner (FairwayFred) confirmed to me that, in his experience, the backweighted RC BBD H-type (similar to the Sonartec NP-99) has a higher launch angle and flatter trajectory than the non-backweighted models (RC BBD Super SS and Super SS Pro, Sonartec SS-03, -02, -01) which is what Sonartec says is the difference. Jeff

I spent some time in the practice bunker today, my first opportunity since seeing Stan last week. I think the key to his technique is the bending of both elbows, keeping the hands low and the arms close to the body. The club is cocked straight up in front of the body, then released it straight down. Body rotation alone creates the turn back and through. I found that I tended to want to keep the left arm extended in the backswing which doesn't work at all. Pull both arms in towards your body as you cock straight up and turn away, then drop the flange of the club straight down behind the ball. It is also important to have an extra wide stance (wider than with a driver), keep your weight left (otherwise you'll hit too far behind the ball) and a deep knee flex. Hope this helps. It produces a nice high feathery shot when done right. Pretty nifty with the 64*, BTW. Jeff

huntdog99 wrote: How much was it to see him? What a rude question! But since you asked, half-day is $1K, hourly rate is $300. Expensive, but cheaper than a Pelz school, and, for my money, an awful lot better. Jeff

onthelinks wrote: Sounds like you had a great time and came away with a lot of good info. Thanks. BTW, I've added some more to the description of Stan's sand technique in my reply to primo above. It may be tough to get it without some in-person guidance, though. I'll be interested to see the reaction to his article on sand play. Jeff

primo wrote: I'm curiious does he recomend that same inside move for pitching as well? You also mentioned that the bunker shots veered from the normal swing theories. If you don't mind I'd love to hear what some of his swing theories are behind these shots. He recommends the same move for pitching as chipping, there is just more body pivot, right elbow fold, wrist cock and forearm rotation (as in a full swing, just less for a partial shot). The sand technique is different and he'll describe it in his next Golf Digest article (June probably). Pictures have already been shot at Grayhawk. The basics: stance is extra wide, knees deeply flexed, weight left, right shoulder high. Hands low at address, slightly behind ball, clubface open a bit to add some bounce. The arms stay in front of the body, the club cocks straight up, arms and hands stay in close to the body with both elbows bent, left wrist cups, all as the body rotates away from the ball. Hands stop at the right hip on backswing. The pivot, not the arms, provide all the turn away from the ball. On the downswing, the club is dropped straight down into the sand (it feels like it is dropping behind you, well in back of the ball) as the body rotates through. The hrough rotation and straightening of the right arm delivers the clubhead into the sand behind the ball. The right palm releases straight up and faces the sky at the finish. Hands stop thigh high. Gotta run to the airport! Jeff

nino wrote: what did Stan say about the Scratch clubs? did he hit them? what did he say about your Gauge putter? i bet he didn't care for it since he is in Cameron's back pocket. Stan said they all looked great but did not hit the CBs. He was intrigued by my set makeup because he does not carry a 4 iron in order to accomodate an extra fairway; has a weak 3 iron and a strong 5. Stan hit the wedges and liked them very much. Way softer feel than his cast Vokey. As I mentioned above, he liked the sole grind, especially the ample bounce, and the weight of the wedges. He liked the look of the Gauge because, like the Cameron he currently uses, it is esentially a copy of the Ping Anser, which he used until signing with Titleist. The Gauge is a little heavier than what he prefers. By the way, I don't think Stan is in anyone's back pocket; however, he appreciates his endorsement deal with Titleist and, as I mentioned above, goes beyond his contract's requirements by playing a Vokey when he is not obliged to. Jeff

I was lucky enough to spend two and a half days in Scottsdale last week. On Thursday I spent the morning with Stan Utley getting a total short game makeover, then played the Raptor course at Grayhawk (where Stan teaches) in the afternoon. On Friday, I had a two hour refresher with Stan in the morning and golf at Talking Stick in the afternoon. Saturday morning, nine holes again at the Raptor course at Grayhawk, then a 12:30pm flight back to NYC. This trip was my first opportunity to play and practice extensively with my Scratch Proto CB irons and wedges as well as my Gauge Design GA03 Tour putter. Doing so while working with Stan at such as nice facility at Grayhawk was an awesome bonus. The one line version is that I couldn't have been happier with the clubs and Stan's teaching. Brief reviews of each follow: Scratch Proto CBs and wedges: The first thing Stan Utley did, after he introduced himself and glanced at my bag, was to say "gee, that it is slick looking set of irons; you're going to have to tell me about those". That was easy, as Ari and I had designed an unusual set that covered the distance spectrum from a strong 20* 3 iron to a 64* x-lob wedge with only ten clubs: six irons and four wedges. The irons started at a 45* 9 iron (3 degrees weaker than the current standard) and decreased by 5* in loft per club (instead of the usual 4* then 3*) and increased in shaft length by 0.625" per club (instead of the standard 0.5"). There is no 5 iron because the 6 iron is midway in loft (30*) and length betwen my 25* 4 iron and 35* 7 iron. The shafts are Project X 5.0. Finish is brushed nickel, no paintfill. Swingweight is D-3. The sole grind is from the Titleist 962 and the toe grind from the Toursatge Z101. At set up, the clubs look perfect. The irons also play beautifully. I originally thought I'd probably substitute my 7 wood for the 3 iron, but the 3 iron was so easy to hit (got up quickly and went straight on a nice flat trajectory), that I kept the 3 in the bag. The irons are at least as forgiving as my old 962s and, as you would expect, much softer. I liked the feel of the Z101s when I demo'd them and I think the Scratch compare very favorably. Although it is a little difficult to compare distance against my 962s because the sets are not identical in terms of loft and length, I feel that the Scratch are maybe a little longer than the 962s, which may be because of the Project X shafts (I have TFR 5.0 in my 962s). Interestingly, Royal Precision did not recommend the Project X to me because of my modest swingspeed (90 mph with the driver), but I love them. I think they may spin the ball a little less than the TFR which may account for how straight they hit the ball as well as the additional carry. The one thing about the irons that was intially a worry was how would the slightly longer distance gaps between clubs affect playability. This turned out to be a non-issue. Relatively quickly I became comfortable with the distances of each club and was able to club myself without much stress. In fact, I think the slightly bigger distance gaps (about 3 yards wider) actually makes it easier to settle on a club, particularly if you subscribe to the "when in doubt, take the lower lofted club, grip down and swing aggresssively" approach advocated by Nicklaus, Hogan and others. Despite the concerns of another TSG member, the distance gaps are reasonably consistent throughout the set and do not balloon between the 3 and 4 iron. The four wedges are 50*, 55*, 60* and 64*; no need for a dopey gap wedge here! Project X 5.0 in the 50*, TFR 5.0 in the 55*, TFR 4.5 in the 60* and 64*. Round head shape like the Mizuno MP and Callaway wedges. Also brushed nickel finish. Stan Utley admired the weges a lot. He favors a lot of bounce and particularly liked the sole grinds on the 60* and the 64* (he'd never seen a 64* before). He also liked the swing weight on the wedges: D-5 on the 55*, D-6 on the 60* and 64*. After working with Stan, I think the 60* will be the club I use 90% of the time around the green, reserving the 55* for longer pitches and long bunker shots (I hit several beauties with the 55* in those circumstances). The 64* will be used whenever pitching/lobbing to an ultra tight location or onto a down slope (only used the 64* twice in 45 holes, but got up-and-down both times). Feel is of course very soft. Gauge Design putter: My new black Gauge Design GA03 Tour putter also worked very well. It is 36" long (same as Utley uses) and has a Newport style head with a yellow sight dot. About 340 grams head weight. Once Stan adjusted the loft (he likes at least 6 degrees of loft so you can forward press and lead the stroke with the hands and still have ~3* loft at impact) and reworked my stroke, I putted like a genius the first afternoon: my playing partners kept remarking about how well I was putting and how much I must love my new putter. Lost some of the feel the second day but got it back on the morning of the third day. I feel like I'm going to putt very well from now on. Stan Utley: As far as working with Stan goes, I loved it. From now on, I don't plan to spend money on lessons with anyone else. He is expensive (and in high demand) but his approach has many very good things going for it. First, although he does very much teach a specific technique for each type of shot, his techniques (other than for bunker shots) are based on the fundamentals of the full golf swing (this includes his technique for putting). For me, that made his putting stroke and chipping and pitching swings relatively easy to learn. Second, the methods work right away and became easier to execute relatively quickly. No need to make 10,000 "perfect strokes" on a putting track to learn Stan's technique! Third, since his techniques are based very much on full swing fundamentals, working to learn them improved my long game as least as much as the short shots: the second afternoon I striped it down the middle of 12 of 14 fairways using a swing thought from my pitching session with Stan from that morning. If I continue to see Stan regularly, I don't think I'll need to see a "long game" teacher again (sorry David Glenz!). This was indeed an unexpected bonus but one Stan says happens with many of his students. Finally, Stan is one of the nicest people you will meet, a good friend and a very positive coach. A great combination. If you do decide to see Stan, I strongly recommend that you book him on consecutive days and take notes. He imparts a lot of information and seeing him a second time will help you recall what you'll inevitably forget from the first session. In terms of how much time, I saw him for six hours total over two days, which was enough but by no means too much. Next spring, though, I plan to do two hours a day for three days. I think it would be hard to book too much time with him (other than the cost!) as he can teach you so many different shots that are a blast to hit. For those of you who are interested, Stan's lob wedge is a 58* raw Vokey that has 15* of bounce and a Ping Eye 2 sole grind. Stan used a Ping Eye 2 lob wedge his whole career before signing with Titleist and, although his contract with Titleist does not require him to play a Titleist wedge, Stan feels obligated to use one of their wedges, although it is really a Ping in disguise. The shaft is either a S200 or S300 (Stan wasn't sure). He favors a shallow angle of attack with the wedge, so the lie is (he thinks) about 3* flat from standard. I'll be flattening my lob wedges by a degree or so (all of Stan's clubs are flat, but the lob wedge is more so). Interestingly, Stan prefers a lighter putter and has some extra weight ground out of the cavity on his hand-stamped Cameron Newport Beach prototype. I hope this information is interesting and useful to those thinking about new clubs and/or seeing Stan. I'm sorry this is so long, but several TSG members expressed an interest in hearing about my experiences so here it is. Anyone can feel free to PM me with any questions they may have. Jeff

I think they cost ~$275, that's what I paid for my black GA03 Tour, which has a Newport head shape. Don't know about the GAA1 or GAA3, but the head weight on my GA03 is ~340 grams. Easiest thing to do for more info is to call them and talk to David Whitlam, the owner/designer. Jeff