Drivers

Fairway Woods

Hybrids

Irons

Wedges

Putters

Golf Balls

Golf Bags

Golf Shoes

Head Covers

Grips

 DRIVERS    
     
Ping G5 460 9.0 I purchased this used G5 driver in December 2008 somewhat reluctantly, as I really liked my Cobra (see below). But when I tested this driver against my favorite, I consistently hit the ball straighter, slightly longer, and with a +10 swing speed. After trying it out and getting adjusted to it for several rounds in Florida, I now have put my Cobra on the shelf in favor of this one. A
Cobra 460 9.0 The Cobra driver is one of the best drivers I have ever found. The head is solid and well-balanced with ample room for error. Balls struck high on the clubface travel much farther than you expect. The club has a nice feel and sound on impact. Overall, I love this driver. A
TaylorMade R5 10.5 D The R5 is the junior model of the R7 that has four adjustable screw weights. The R5 has two weighted screws which can’t be changed. It comes preset for either a fade, draw, or neutral. I chose the D (draw) model, because I tend to hit with a slice. The club did help my slice, but occasionally I would drill the ball dead left.  
     
FAIRWAY WOODS    
     
Walter Hagan 3W I bought this adjustable-weight 3W to see if it could help reduce my slice. After multiple attempts, with different weight settings, I gave up.  
Nike SQ Sumo2 3W This club received the highest overall rating of new technology 3-Woods in Golf Magazine’s April 2008 edition. I bought it on 3/15/08 for $229 and played with it that day. I used it off the tee and it performed very well. I also hit it easily off the fairway. I’m hoping it will become a dependable club for me this coming season.  
     
HYBRIDS    
     
Walter Hagan 2i As with the 3W above, I bought this hybrid because of the weight adjustments. I still found it hard to control, sometimes pulling it left, other times pushing my shots right. Changing the weight settings didn’t have much effect.  
TaylorMade I bought 3 TM hybrids—4, 3, 2. The 4 had a steel shaft, the others were regular graphite. I hit the 4 most consistently, but I still couldn’t predict where the ball was going to go. For all three clubs, the heads were very heavy and I tended to hit my shots significantly left. The 2 was hardest to hit off the fairway, but I found I could drive with it about 200 yards.  
     
IRONS    
     
Adams Idea A3 Irons/Hybrid set I purchased this game-improvement set of irons/hybrids in Feb 2008. I had the lie angles adjusted for my unorthodox swing-plane, and I began hitting them very well from the outset. The PW-6 irons come with light-weight steel shafts. The 5,4, and 3 irons are replaced with grafite-shafted hybrids, which are easy to hit and which are more consistent than other hybrid’s I’ve tried. Overall, I like these irons/hybrid very much. This set was normally $589, but I purchased them on sale from Dicks for $489.  
     
WEDGES    
     
Cleveland 64 GC 14 I bought a new Cleveland 64 cavity-backed high spin groove wedge (normal bounce) in March 2009 for $109.99. I’m replacing my old Cleveland 64 wedge to try the newer technology. I will report back soon on my findings.  
Cleveland 56 GC12 I bought a new Cleveland 56 wedge with high spin groove design in January 2009. My old 56 copper wedge was so old and worn that I wasn’t sure any grooves were really left. I’ve only played with it one round so far, but it felt really good and my pitch and chip shots were very effective. Update: March 29, 2009: I’ve been playing with this new club for several rounds now and I am very happy with it. Good performance on all wedge shots.  
Cleveland I have four Cleveland wedges—64,60, 56, 53—and I love them all. Well, except for the 64, which can be difficult to master. The 56 has a copper clubhead and they all have steel shafts.  
Moe Norman History Stick This uniquely designed rounded 60 degree club has ample "bounce" and is designed to make sand shots much easier to execute. The shaft is fiberglass and the club performs very well from the traps. It also plays well around the green and can replace a standard lob wedge.  
     
PUTTERS    
     
Odyssey 3-ball I purchased this oversized-head putter on sale for $99 in January 2009. I’ve used it for several rounds now, and I am very, very happy with it. Ball contact is excellent almost every time. This could be my main putter for quite a while. A
Walter Hagan WH003 blade putter This round-backed blade putter ($49) reminds me of the one Phil Mickelson uses much of the time. I just bought it (3/16/08) and plan to give it a good trial during the first month of the 2008 golf season. C
Cameron Futura Mid-Belly Putter 44" At $299.99, this was clearly the most expensive putter I’ve ever owned. I’ve heard great things about Scotty Cameron putters and again, this one putted "lights out" in the store. But I was never able to groove a consistent stroke with it. Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a belly-style putter. C
Odyssey White Steel #1 (blade) I never felt fully comfortable with this heavy-headed blade putter. It would put well in the store, but on the course, I was always erratic, so it didn’t last long. C
Walter Hagen (WH002) Cut Face Technology (oversized head) I liked the concept of this beveled, large-head putter. The design keeps you from sticking the leading edge into the green before contacting the ball. I used to use an oversized Ping DOC-17 standard-length putter, which I liked for a while, so I thought this would be an improvement. But again, after a while, my enthusiasm dwindled. D
Nomad PS10 (mallet head) This heavy-headed mallet putter was intriguing at first, but I quickly lost confidence in it. C
MacGregor V-Foil (Bobby Grace) (mallet head) This heavy-headed mallet putter was intriguing at first, but I quickly lost confidence in it. C
Ping Doc 15B Belly Putter (oversized head) This large-headed belly putter was exceptional in the store. I literally couldn’t miss, from any distance. Once I bought it, however, it became less dependable. I tried it many times, with different swings, but never felt confident with it. The lie is such that you have to stand away from the putting line, so this may be part of the problem. C
GOLF BALLS    
     
ProV1x I’ve been testing out the ProV1x balls for several months now and I have been very impressed. I switched from the Calloway HX Hot because I found that the ProV1x was the highest rated ball for both distance and green/spin control. The cost was $45/dozen but has recently come down to $39.99. I believe these balls have taken 2-3 strokes off my typical round score. Shots to the green are now holding better, when in the past they might have landed and rolled off.  
Maxfli Rev Solid I began playing this ball in Feb 2007. Before that, I was playing ProV1s @ $45-$50 per dozen. These Maxfli balls were on promotion for $19.99 per dozen. I found that I hit them about as far as the ProV1s off the tee, and I didn’t loose that much distance or control with other shots in my game.  
Calloway HX Hot I tried out these moderately priced ($24/dozen) balls in June 2007 and I’ve been playing them ever since. I had tried a Calloway Black Tour ball in March, at Myrtle Beach, but felt it was a bit too hard on contact. The HX Hot (orange logo) felt more like a ProV1, but for half the cost. This ball also has a very nice feel on putts.  
     
Practice balls I recently purchased a bag of 48 soft wiffle balls to practice in my basement at home. The price was $17.99, which I thought was reasonable. There were many other types of plastic balls available, some solid and some wiffle but they were all much harder and more likely to damage surrounding objects. I like these balls a lot. They are made by Acuity and they are called "Orange Practice Balls" because they are yellow-orange in color.  
     
GOLF BAGS    
     
Walter Hagan Sunday Carry Bag I’ve been looking to try out a scaled-down, very lightweight carry bag to try as an alternative to my push cart. The one I chose to test on March 28, 2009 was the Walter Hagan Sunday bag @ $49.99. With a Dick’s $10 discount coupon, I only paid $39.99. The bag is very small and I have oversized grips on all my clubs (including putter), so I’ll report back on how this performs.  
Acuity Pro Series Plus Cart Bag I purchased this bag in Myrtle beach, when my existing cart bag fell apart. The bag served me well. It had good club organization design and lots of storage room. It was also light-weight and priced at only $67.  
Acuity Pro Series Standing Bag I decided to switch to a standing bag when I bought my new Adams irons in Feb 2008. I went for an inexpensive bag ($39.99) and when it was fully loaded in my house, the weight of the clubs busted the flimsy bag stand, so I returned it in favor of a more sturdy, expensive bag  
Walter Hagan Position ECM Standing Bag I returned the Acuity standing bag in Feb 2008 and purchased this bag for $79.99. So far, the bag has functioned well. The storage space is not as ample as with a cart bag, but I was able to get all my gear on board.  
     
GOLF SHOES    
     
E-Comfort (brown) These $79.99 golf shoes are not flashy, but they are comfortable and that’s all I require. I usually go with the water-proof type of shoes, but decided to give these a try (Feb 2008) because they felt so good.  
     
HEAD COVERS    
     
Castlebay Oversized Clear Iron Covers I’ve used Castlebay iron covers in the past, but I decided to try these clear covers for a change. Because they have no markings, they are one size fits all. They fit all my Cleveland wedges and new Adams irons, but they tend to slip off the wedges much too easily, and I have lost several of them during my rounds of play, but was fortunate to recover them all.  
     
GRIPS    
     
Tiger Shark Putter Grip I decided to try out this oversized grip which I purchased for $15 on March 28,2009. Will report back on how it performed.  
Natural Golf grips I’ve been using Natural Golf grips for several years now and they are useful because of my Natural Golf swing. NG recently came out with a new type of grip, which is softer than the former rubberized hard grips. I purchased these in early March 2009 and have been using them for several weeks. So far so good.