Joey's Golf Bag

This afternoon, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville, on a sunny, warm spring day. There was a light, variable breeze that shifted in both strength and direction.

I started out hitting the new PCF Micro sand wedge to warm up, followed by the reshafted 770CFE pitching wedge, then working my way through the bag hitting every other club. I hit all the clubs well, including the 4-iron, but not the 4-wood or driver. I then hit several balls with each new iron, running down through the bag. It was immediately apparent that I hit the newly reshafted 770CFE irons better than I do the 550c irons, but I was surprised at how well I hit the 4-iron. Practicing and playing the 550c irons has made me a much better ball striker with the 770CFE irons. It looks like I hit all the iron pretty well with the 770CFE irons, whereas I can’t really hit the 4-iron well at all in the 550c set. So, I’d say my plan to practice with the 550c irons and play with the 770CFE irons is definitely the way to go, and that will be my plan moving forward.

I spent quite a bit of time working on the longer clubs today, especially the hybrid and 7-wood, which I’m hitting pretty well. I continue to struggle with the 4-wood and driver. The driver particularly mis-behaved today, hitting either low hooks or high slices. Yeech! 🙁

On the other hand, I continue to gain confidence with my new wedges, especially the PCF Micro WS lob wedge. I hit some really nice cut lobs with it off of fluffy lies, very consistent distance (other than one nasty one hit very thin). I also hit very nice cut lobs with the new PCF Micro sand wedge as well, so both clubs are now in the bag.

The putting green at Hank Haney continues to come out of dormancy, but I didn’t putt today, as it is still a bit bumpy and inconsistent. In a week or two it should be in good shape and a month from now should be back to the outstanding putting surface it was last year.

This afternoon, I put the PCF Micro WS lob wedge to the test at Golden Bear Golf Center. The day was heavily clouded and cool, with scarcely a trace of a breeze. I went to the short game area, where I ran the sand drill with the sand wedge, simulating chipping and then pitching. Next, I hit a few balls out the bunker to get warmed up. My first couple of shots out the bunker were well done, but left two in the bunker when I took too much sand. Still, I was pretty happy.

Next, I got out my new PCF Micro WS lob wedge. For the first test, I hit some short, up-hill chips off a tight lie (the bermuda grass is still largely dormant, but showing some green sprouts here and there). My first chip was a beauty: perfect trajectory and distance, the ball ended up 6 inches from the hole. I hit a few more chips at that hole and even got another ball closer. Next, I hit long chips at another hole on a tight, sidehill lie. Again, good control of trajectory and distance; I really had only one badly struck ball (hit thin). I moved on to hitting short and medium length pitches from an up-hill lie, and these shots were just magical. With seemingly little effort, the shots were very high with little roll after hitting the ground. I was very pleased.

Next, I got some balls and went to the range. I warmed up by hitting a few sand wedges, and then alternated clubs through the bag, hitting about 5 balls with each. The sand wedge shots were very good (except one fattie). I had a good warmup except for the longer clubs. I then hit a few full shots with the new lob wedge, and found that this club is more consistent in distance than my previous CX Micro lob wedge and definitely more forgiving on mishits. The new lob wedge has earned a place in my bag. I didn’t notice much difference in the PCF Micro sand wedge vs. my old CX Micro sand wedge, so the jury is still out on that club. Might need a playoff to decide…

Next, I got out the longer clubs and spent the rest of my available practice time alternating the hybrid, 7- and 4-woods and the driver. I struck the hybrid and 7-wood very well, but neither the 4-wood or the driver would cooperate today.

I’m really pleased with my new PCF Micro Wide Sole lob wedge. It’s kicked the CX Micro lob wedge out of my bag due to more forgiveness on chipping and pitching, and better distance control on full and partial swings. I’m really pleased with it. The new sand wedge hasn’t yet kicked the CX Micro from my bag, more testing will be required to determine the winner.

I’ve built three new wedges from Tom Wishon Golf Technology. A few days ago, I reshafted my 770CFE irons with True Temper Black Gold shafts (soft-stepped one club). I needed an approach (gap) wedge to fit between the 770CFE pitching wedge and my new wedges, so I built a 770CFE approach wedge to complete the set. I’ve not yet reshafted my 3-iron.

In addition to reshafting my 770CFE irons, I built two new wedges, a PCF Micro 56° sand wedge and a PCF Micro WS (Wide Sole) 60° lob wedge. I’ve not had any issues with my current CX Micro sand wedge, but I’ve been inconsistent of late with my lob wedge. The PCF Micro WS is more forgiving than my CX Micro lob wedge, so I wanted to give the new PCF Micro WS a try.

All three clubs were built with TWGT V-Series Oversize grips; the 770CFE was built to a swingweight of D-6 and the two PCF wedges to a swingweight of D-8.

Here are the specs:

Here are some photos, left to right:, PCF Micro WS 60°, PCF Micro 56°, 770CFE AW.

PCF Micro WS 60°, PCF Micro 56°, 770CFE AW, back.

770CFE Approach Wedge, back.

PCF Micro WS, face.

Tonight, I completed the construction of my reshafted Wishon Golf 770CFE irons. I also added the 770CFE approach wedge to the set and built two new wedges, a PCF Micro satin sand wedge and a PCF Micro WS lob wedge. Pictures and specs tomorrow.

Two articles on Michelle Wie today. The first, Injured Wie likely out until May, notes that she won’t play again until the Michelob ULTRA Open:

Michelle Wie’s withdrawal from this week’s Safeway International because of a wrist injury disrupts her competition schedule built around a leave of absence from Stanford University’s spring quarter. It likely also means she won’t return to competition until the second week of May, according to those close to the situation.

According to Wie’s managers at the William Morris Agency, Wie aggravated the left wrist she injured while running last year while practicing at Stanford earlier this month. Apparently, she was practicing shots out of the rough, where she spent much of 2007, and on one shot there was a ball embedded under the ball she was hitting, causing the injury.

That’s really bad luck hitting an embedded ball. Yikes! 😥

Another blog quotes David Leadbetter as saying:

This girl is so talented, she could do anything she wants to do in the world of golf. But people in her camp — and I’m not going to name them — have been a bit off on what she can and can’t do. It is tough that she’s a part-time golfer, unlike the other girls who work at it 24/7. In the past she’d go to school, pick it up and just play. Now there’s a lot more pressure on her. These girls — Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Annika — these girls are good. And it is hard for Michelle to be a bit player.

Tiger’s quest for a sixth straight PGA Tour win came to an end today when Geoff Ogilvy hung on to win at the Blue Monster.

Geoff Ogilvy didn’t think nine pars would do it. Not on your life.

With five of the top 10 players in the world chasing him as the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship finally came to a conclusion, the talented Aussie wouldn’t have given you a dollar for his chances if he parred in Monday.

That’s exactly what happened, though, and as a result, Ogilvy claimed both the Gene Sarazen Trophy and a check for $1.35 million. The victory made him just the third player to win more than one World Golf Championships title, although he and Darren Clarke have a ways to go to catch Tiger Woods’ total of 15.

Nice win, Geoff!

The PGA Tour was unable to complete the 4th round at the Blue Monster today due to two weather delays. Tiger is at -12 after 11 holes, well behind Geoff Ogilvy at -17. Since the winning score is likely to be -18 at best, Tiger will probably need to score -6 on his remaining 6 holes just to tie. And with both Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh nipping at Ogilvy’s heels at -15, Geoff may need -19 or higher to win. I’m thinking -19 will get the job done for one of these guys.

I can’t count out Tiger at this stage, but things certainly don’t look good for him to keep his winning streak alive.

Tiger went backwards at the Blue Monster during the rain-delayed third round, finishing with an even par 72 (-11). You have to go all the way down the leader board to the 31st position to find a round that was higher than Tiger’s (Steve Stricker had a 73). Vijay Singh and Graeme Storm both had rounds of 63 to get past Tiger to -12, along with Adam Scott, Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk. Geoff Oglivy had a nice 68 to give himself a 4 shot lead at -16 heading into the fourth round.

What a fantastic final group at the Blue Monster today!

Michelle Wie withdraws from Safeway International after reinjuring left wrist

Michelle Wie withdrew from the Safeway International on Friday after tweaking an injury to her left wrist during practice last week.

…

“Fortunately, X-rays, an MRI and a CAT scan didn’t show any major injury,” Smoller said. “Her doctor diagnosed it as a sprain, and advised Michelle to rest the wrist for a few weeks to allow it to heal properly.”