June 2006

I played another round today at Lafayette Golf Club, once ranked #2 here in the great state of Kentucky, and I’d have really gotten a whipping by this monster, if not for my wedges saving me several times.

I have the 52, 56 and 60 degree models in my bag and would not trade them. The shafts are a big part of the feel factor and here’s some info I dug up about them.

Further establishing itself as the industry leader in short game innovation, Eidolon Golf announced the introduction of the exclusively marketed Rifle Graphite Spinner shaft, a proprietary shaft design which is now offered as an exclusive option for premium V-SOLE™ wedges.

With the addition of the new Rifle Graphite Spinner shaft as an upgrade option, Eidolon Golf has further separated its premium line of V-SOLE wedges from those offered by general golf club manufacturers. The Rifle Graphite Spinner is designed and manufactured by Royal Precision in conjunction with Eidolon Golf, and Eidolon Golf is the only golf equipment company to offer the premium Rifle Graphite Spinner shaft as standard equipment.

” The new Rifle Spinner Graphite shaft mirrors the performance characteristics of the Rifle steel shafts exactly,” says Terry Koehler, President of Eidolon Golf and former Ben Hogan Golf executive. ” The higher flex point and slightly softer overall flex ensures an optimum feel and shot-making sensitivity at the wide variety of clubhead speeds common to wedge play. We’re very proud to have worked with the engineers at Royal Precision to bring this new graphite shaft to our line of V-SOLE wedges. The combination of these premium products provides a level of short game performance that is truly unmatched. ”

The Rifle Graphite Spinner weighs 95 grams — 20 grams lighter than Rifle Spinner steel shafts — and Eidolon Golf will apply its proprietary tipping procedures to offer the Rifle Graphite Spinner in both Regular and Firm flexes, with the former recommended for players whose normal 9-iron distance is 120 yards or less.

Equipped with either steel or graphite shafts, Eidolon Golf’s premium wedges offer more spin and more control by combining precise CNC groove and face milling with its own patented V-SOLE™ technology. Unlike most mass-produced wedges, Eidolon painstakingly CNC-mills each wedge face and then CNC-mills individual grooves in every wedge to achieve nearly 100 percent of the groove specifications allowed by the U.S. Golf Association. In addition, Eidolon’s patented V-Sole design features a very aggressive bounce on the leading portion wedges - about one-quarter of an inch - of the sole. This pronounced bounce (18 degrees on the 52-degree lofted wedge, 30 degrees on the 56 wedge, and 25 degrees on the 60-degree wedge) ensures that the leading edge never digs into the turf. The primary rear portion of the sole features minimal bounce — three degrees on the 52 gap wedge, seven degrees on the 56 mid- wedge and six degrees on the 60 lob wedge, so they play exceptionally well from the fairway and tight lies.

Eidolon Golf designs and manufactures premium golf wedges about which the Golf Club Review reports as having “enormous stopping power.” Headquartered in Port O’Connor, Texas, with manufacturing facilities in Houston, Eidolon Golf produces the only wedges in golf that feature the patented V-Sole™ Technology. For more information about Eidolon Golf, please visit their website.

Do you ever get the urge to head north and play some summer golf in Canada ? Me too.

I only wish I had the time and the extra dollars to do just that. When I get those or if you do now, here’s a site that can assist you in finding just the right Canadian Golf Vacation.

Ever thought of watching the TELUS (Canadian) Skins Game in person ? Me too. Here’s where you can get it done.

What about playing golf on Stanley Thompson’s masterpiece, Banff Springs ? Me too. Follow this yellow brick road and you can do that too.

There’s info on many ways to enjoy the beauty of Canada and mess it up by golfing, so click thru and enjoy.

Tell ‘em a country boy from south of the border sent you !

I just bought a new pair of golf shoes from my buddy Tom Howard, owner of Tom Howard’s Golf Superstore in Evansville, IN. I got the Etonic G-Sok in White/Bomber Brown.

The new footbed in these shoes makes these the most comfortable shoes I own period, not just golf shoes. I will be ordering another pair or two to try and I’ll let you know how they hold up and wear. I’ve only played 3 rounds in them so far, but I do like them a lot. A whole lot.

UPDATE : Played 31 holes today in Leitchfield, KY, at Legacy Golf Course. These shoes are great ! No pain, my gain !

Check out their website and let me know which one’s to try next. I’m thinking the ST-GT in White/Teak.

Anybody know where I can find some size 13’s ?

Damp & Wet. That’s how I was welcomed into The Netherlands. After my 10-hour flight from L.A. and another 2-hour drive from Amsterdam to Eindhoven, I finally got to bed Monday night. Although the Netherlands is as flat as a tray, the late evening drive in the rain was more tiresome than the flight.

Eindhoven’s lush greenery combined with Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s on and off showers made it feel like I was in Oregon. The beauty of Holland is that it is a culture of cycling. Regardless of the rain, there were hundreds of people using bicycles to get to work, to shop at the local farmers’ market ( with the cute little basket on the front of the bike ), and simply to stroll along miles of bike path in Genneper Parks, the deep green forests around Eindhoven.

The feeling I have from my trip to Switzerland two weeks ago and with this stay in Eindhoven this week is that Europeans do take time to live first, work second. Quality of life has a much greater importance here than the work-work-work pressure we have in the States. This gives them an overall sense of self that we sometimes lose in our constant drive to succeed in the U.S.

I took the time after my practice sessions to jog along the path in Genneper Park. I also drove past Philips’ big research center – I was told that this is where 1,400 of their researchers work around the clock to bring us many of the HDTV and wireless technologies we use today. The big attraction here, aside from the Netherlands’ biggest Friday night disco dance at the 100,000 SF ice arena, is Philips Stadium. This heated and covered 35,000-seat soccer stadium is built the old-fashioned way with fan seating near the playing field. The feeling you get from sitting there is the same as when you have floor seats at a basketball game or sit behind the glass panels in a hockey game – you feel the power of the action !

My rain gear came in handy during my Wednesday and Thursday rounds. I even had to wear my head cap to cover my ears as the wind was making it feel a lot colder than it was. I was striking the ball well, though I was not getting the distance I wanted. I can’t wait to get my new clubs from Cleveland Golf next week when I go back to see them at their headquarters in Huntington Beach. That should really help me increase my long and mid-irons distances.

There are 7 golf courses here, most quite flat, a little tight and narrow, and fairly large green surfaces. The Eindhovensche Golf Club where we’re playing the KLM this week is a private club that opens tee times to the public after 3 pm. It’s not a long course, but certainly nicely designed between small hills that do not allow you to see one hole from the next. While your G.I.R. percentage will look good here, you will frequently get long lag putts. I’ve found that the greens in Europe are quite slow, but with the rain here, they became horrendously slow. I felt I had to stroke the ball “ as if ” it was a long lag putt while the distance was much shorter.

One final thing about the Golf Club, their rules were posted on one of the hallways in the Clubhouse. This one cracked me up : “ Gentlemen are obliged to wear calf-length socks ”.

So apparently, no short socks allowed here…must be the sexiness of the ankles they’re trying to hide 

Friday, Round 1 of this 3-day tournament. Follow my scores on my homepage, Megan Golf.

Cheers,

Megan Heckeroth

Over at Life Hack, they did a post about Working Like A Pirate, so I thought I’d adapt it and see if we can golf like a pirate.

Let me know how I did.

A Pirate Is Not His Ship - You aren’t bigger than the game, whether you’re Greg Norman, Tiger woods or any other wish-I-was-a-mythical-hero egomaniac. Norman came, burned brightly and then left. Tiger will to. Unless you leave a legacy that includes more than a few victories, you won;t be remembered like Jones, Hogan, Snead and Nelson.

Today’s heroes include Gary Player, Arnold Plamer and Jack Nicklaus, though not for any of their course designs. I’ve played courses designed by all 3 and only Player’s course near Gatlinburg, TN , Bent Creek, is any fun.

Nicklaus’ courses are too much like him, in that they take all day to play and Palmer has put his nake on Lost Key in Perdido Key, FL and that thing is a mess.

Pirates Move Fast - And the game of golf is much more enjoyable when it does the same. Do us all a favor and learn on the range or at home. If you have to go thru a mental checklist that takes 2 minutes, after you’re over the ball, get a bowling ball and get off the golf course.

I have played with a guy that was so slow that I actually moved to my ball, setup, hit it and moved back….all after he swung and before his ball hit the ground, just to show him that it ain’t that hard. The best part was I was on the green and he wasn’t even in the same zip code.

Pirates Are A Team - And you and you’re playing partners should be too. When someone hits into a bunker, grab a rake and wait for them to hit, then rake ot while they clean their spikes and get their putter. Always watch your partners hit and note where it went. Read your putt while they read theirs. Make sure they have enough clubs, if it’s cart path only and move the cart for them.

Pirates Live By Results - Your results will be better golf, more fun and more invitations, if you adopt these credos and even better, add to them.

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