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Thursday, March 28, 2024



Hello Golfers!

Unfortunately my trip to the USA has had to be postponed until March due to complications with my US Visa. I won’t bore you with the details, but let's just say that these things do happen. I’ll be in Cape Town on Monday for an interview with the consulate so hopefully all will be sorted within the next few days. A bit of a pain in the rear-end but a first-world problem none the less. My trip has now been moved to the 12th of March and I’ll be away for that week.

The good news with all of this is that I got the opportunity to finally do some proper testing of all the new equipment that was released last week. For those that have played with me, you would have noticed that my equipment is not exactly what you would call “latest and greatest”. All my clubs (barring my wedges) are all between 3 to 5 years old and if you read my newsletter a few weeks back, I wrote that I would be the perfect candidate for new clubs. I am a fairly regular golfer, averaging 1 round a week, so the chances of me finding an improvement on what I had was pretty high.

The numbers don't lie

Even though I own and run a golf store, I don’t always get the time to test everything we stock, so I was really excited at the prospect of finally doing a proper fitting on myself. I have to admit that the whole process was completely invigorating as it really opened my eyes to what I had been missing out on. There are still so many golfers out there that think new clubs won’t make a difference to their games, but let me assure you, if you get fitted correctly and trust what the numbers are saying, then new equipment can make a massive difference. I’m not saying that you should be buying new clubs every year, not in the least, but if you’re in that bracket of 3 to 5 year old equipment then I would most definitely recommend it. If your clubs are older than 5 years, I can almost guarantee that you’re losing out.

So, with all the above being said , let me tell you about what I found over my two days of club testing. I am not going to tell you what brands worked for me and which ones didn’t, because ultimately all of our brands make incredibly good equipment and the purpose of this piece is not about the brands, but rather about the process.
  

I started out looking at my irons and I’ll be the first to admit that I definitely had a preconceived idea of what I thought was going to work best for me. However, what amazed me the most was that the heads that I thought I would love, failed to deliver the results and the brands that I thought wouldn’t work, performed better than I could have imagined. I probably hit close to 150 balls on Thursday afternoon and tested 8 different models. My goal was to find a set of irons that were forgiving, yet playable, whilst giving me an improved ball flight. I tend to hit the ball quite low so I needed something that flighted a little higher and in the end the iron that worked best ticked all those boxes. My ball speed went up, my launch angles improved and not only did I gain a little bit of distance, my overall dispersion was the main reason I opted for this particular set. Without the numbers, everything would have just been a guess and I can’t stress enough the importance of getting yourself tested on a launch monitor so you can actually see the facts behind each and every strike.

On Friday I decided to look at woods and again the improvements on what I had was just incredible. I tested 5 different brands across fairways and drivers and the by the end of the testing I had gained almost 10 metres in carry and nearly 15 - 20 metres in total, especially on the driver. I tend to hit my driver with a strong draw so by testing different heads and shafts I was able to see not only a gain in distance, but also how the new technology was able to reduce my curvature and with it a massive improvement on my dispersion.

Great fittings = great results

The whole process took almost 3 hours in total and I probably hit 250 balls across the two days. I probably tested 15 to 20 different clubs across woods and irons and by the end of it all the results were there for all to see. Andy and Philip were incredible throughout the whole process offering objective advice on what could work and having them help me figure it out, showed the importance of having a pro who knows what they’re doing. I am very fortunate to have pros in my business who not only know their stuff, but also have a true passion for what they do.

Remember that no matter how good the equipment is, there will always be the human element involved and that no matter how good you are, everyone is prone to the odd bad swing. We as golfers are far from perfect and new equipment will never fix that, but having clubs that help reduce those imperfections is something you all should be taking advantage of.

My new woods will be put to the test this week for the first time and although I am seriously excited to hit them under pressure, I also know that it will take time to get used to something new. My irons only arrive in a few weeks and I look forward to playing with them soon.

Stevie Rumball gets fitted and plays his best round ever!

     In closing I’d like to share a story of how a good fitting can result in some magical results. On Tuesday I had the pleasure of spending some time with Stevie Rumball and helped him find a replacement for his driver that he had been gaming for almost 4 years. After nearly 2 hours of testing, he walked out with a driver that we believed would give some added metres and improved ball flight. 3 days later, he took it out for its first game and not only did he see the improvement off the tee, his scorecard saw the improvement as well. A 68 gross (which is a personal best) and a happy golfer that got fitted properly. Sometimes this stuff just writes itself.

Be sure to check out Andy's review on the new PING GMAX Driver which has been described as the most forgiving driver PING have ever released. Also, our Weekly Deal is an absolute cracker with 30% off all men's and Ladies Nike golf shoes.
 

Until next week
Pete


 
Thank you to all our sponsors


Over the last 2 weeks we've had the privilege of hosting some equipment suppliers, both on the range and in our store. We greatly appreciate the time it takes to run these days and providing their services and expertise.

A massive thank you to the following:
Anton Prinsloo - XXIO and Srixon/Cleveland
Neil Walsh-Tucker and Riaan Spanengberg - Callaway
JP Barnard - TaylorMade
Wayne Mcfall and Johan Botha - Puma Cobra

Better fit, better game!


We have another fantastic demo day coming up on Monday 5 March when Roux Burger from Titleist will be on the range and in our store to walk us through everything Titleist has to offer. (click on image to enlarge)


scratchgolf34@gmail.com






Hey Golfers,

This week I would like to review the new PING G400 Max Driver, it has finally arrived in store and at just the right time, I might add.

PING is one company I have always admired, they make great products and they stick to what they know, they let the product do the talking and with the new PING G400 Max Driver this is no different.

This driver performs well because of the following Technology:

Larger profile - The head has been made bigger from a 455cc Head in the normal G400 to a 460cc Head.
Satisfying sound - Research provided PING engineers with an idea to patent a rib architec-ture that fine-tuned the frequencies to produce a deeper, more muted sound while also en-hancing feel.
MOI to the MAX - Keeping the forged face thin creates more discretionary weight. This allows for considerable tungsten weighting and a higher-density back weight to achieve a higher moment of inertia.

The G400 Max Driver sounds amazing off the club face and the technology based in this driver truly is unheard of, which means that PING is definitely onto something as their product continues to bring some great success when doing fittings.

'til next time, see you soon to test the new product.

Andrew
 



  EUROPEAN TOUR
Pepperell claims maiden win in Qatar - For more on this great win - click here.
     
  PGA TOUR
Thomas digs deep to win Honda Classic - For more on this great win - click here.
     
  SUNSHINE TOUR
Enoch wins it on the last at Cape Town Open - For more on this great win - click here.



adidas is giving away R50 000 to one lucky customer. Come in store and purchase any adidas apparel/shoes worth over R1000 and go into the main draw to win some serious cash!




 



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