New Look, New Format

Alright, we're mixing things up here on The Mass Hacker.

You may have noticed that I haven't updated this page in a while. Well, first off, it was winter and you can't play much golf in the winter in Massachusetts. Secondly, while I'm still keeping tabs on my quest for golf mediocrity, I've decided to update that offline and release it all at once in some sort of book-form, though the format of that book right now would best be described as 'fluid.'

So, starting now I'm going to make this a more traditional golf news blog, with comments about the latest stuff happening on the PGA, LPGA, Nationwide Tours or any other golf item that becomes newsworthy. Hopefully this format will lend itself to me updating the blog more than 25 times in two years. It could be great, or it could suck. Let's find out together.

The 10 Minute Swing Tune-Up

This weekend was the Boston Golf Expo over at the Seaport World Trade Center. I've heard about this event for a couple of years, but had never made it over. I finally secured tickets in advance this year and so was commited to going.

The Expo is much like any other trade show, in that it has rows and rows of booths from various companies. There were sections for country clubs, travel deals for various locations and deals on all kinds of golf equipment from balls to complete iron sets. There were also areas to try new equipment from just about every manufacturer around. Now, I just got a new driver and bag, so I wasn't really in a shopping frame of mind. I did enter to win a couple different golf trips, but all I think happened was I put myself onto a lot of mailing lists.

For me the best part of the Expo was an area where, for $10, you could have a 10-minute swing tune-up from a PGA-certified professional teacher. I figured this wouldn't go against my "no lesson" philosophy and was anxious to just have a professional give my swing a once over. I've always believed that it's not practice that makes perfect, it's perfect practice that makes perfect. If you're doing something wrong, then doing it wrong 1,000 times doesn't make you any better. Basically, all I wanted to know was if I was way off or on the right track.

My instructor was Paul, the club pro at Fall River Country Club. This guy was awesome. We didn't just get right into watching me hit balls into a net, but he asked about what kinds of clubs I used, how long I'd been playing, things that I had been having issues with and what my golf goals were. Then we got into to breaking down my club address and grip. He said my grip was good, but I might be squeezing the club too hard, which was causing my accuracy problems. But my posture wasn't bad, my swing plane was good and my swing overall was pretty good for my level of golf. He gave me a couple things he wanted me to work on (being over the ball more and my balance pre-swing), but I walked away feeling much better about where I am in my development. Overall it was an extremely positive experience and I can't wait to get back to the range.

Illegal, But Awesome

I asked for a lot of golf equipment for Christmas this year and chief among the requested was a new driver. Now, I'm still not to the point of my golf obsession that I can justify spending $300 for a driver, so when I found a one online that was not only inexpensive, but also perfect for me I was very excited for Christmas morning.


The driver is from Nextt, was only $44 (plus shipping) and it's called the "Green Monster" (perfect for me, no?). Now, it has a 520 cc head which is so large that it is actually considered illegal. But, I'm sure that means for tournament play and it's not like I'm going to be entering into any tournaments any time soon, so what do I care? It's like the new groove rules. Change them all you want, I'm not going to be a PGA Pro. The head is huge though. It looks like a cantaloupe on the end of a toothpick.

The face is also monstrous, with a huge sweet spot and designed to give me even more power off the tee. Now, I took it to the driving range today and unfortunately discovered that even with the new, large, illegal driver and a month off to refine my mechanics, I still had the same swing. The only difference is that my shots are no longer gentle fades to the right, they are rockets in that direction. Good thing I was in the last stall or I could have killed somebody.


Also, I got a new, large head cover so even if it is illegal for me to use this driver, no one will be able to see it under the Fighting Irish head cover. This thing is the size of a muppet.

I Love This One

Normally, I have a sort of take-it-or-leave it attitude towards the "This is SportCenter" ads. They're funny for a viewing or two, but that's enough for me. Not this one, I can't watch it enough.



It's brilliance is it's simplicity.

I like to imagine that this is really how the cafeteria is at ESPN, even though I know that isn't the case. Also, if you've never had an Arnold Palmer you should try one, cause they aren't bad (add a little Absolut Citron to make it a John Daly).

One For The Road

As the golf season creeps into the late fall, I wasn't sure how much longer I would be able to hit the links again before the window closed, the calendar switched to '10 and the ground thawed a little. With that in mind, I wanted to get one last round in before winter came calling, so I was determined to get out and play one more time before I cleaned the clubs and packed them up for the winter. Given the way that I played last time I was there, I headed back to Willowdale, because I wanted to see if I could shatter my personal best round of 49 on the course. I was convinced that I could go lower if I concentrated. I had a score of 45 in my mind.

It had rained for much of the day before, so the greens were extremely slow. You would assume that I would have taken that into account before I headed out for the morning, but as I was forced to three putt on the first two holes because I was way off with the speed it was clear that I am a slow learner. Also, my slice was in full effect, as a tree was the only thing that prevented my drive off of the fifth tee from landing in the fourth fairway. Overall, it was not the best round for me as those wet greens slowed me down considerably. I was forced to repeatedly three-putt time after time as I couldn't figure out the speeds. I ended up with a 52 for the day, though I could at least take some consolation in the fact that my tee to green play was better than at the start of the season.

So, the end of my second season of golf did not end on the high note that I expected, but I am light-years ahead of where I was at this time last year. I still need to invest in a new driver, but I feel like an entire new set of clubs would be overkill. I think the best thing is to stick with my current clubs and work on swinging more consistently. Either way I think a little time away from my slice would be very good for me mentally. Unless I can book a trip to a warmer climate for some golf, in which case forget rest, get me a tee time.

I Saw That Going Different In My Head

Ever since I started playing golf last summer, I've been trying to get my dad to hit the links with me. He used to play, but hadn't picked up his clubs in years. On top of that, last December he had knee replacement surgery and he's still a little iffy on his other knee. So, he was reluctant to commit to the full swing over that many holes. I got him to go to the range a couple weeks ago and he was able to swing without pain, so I finally badgered him enough to go to Lost Brook, which is the closest course, and play a half-round. What I didn't see happening was that my father is a damn good putter.

We got a cart and headed out. While my dad might have had some reservations about the full swing he would need to get from tee to green, once he was on the putting surface he was killing me. I'm three putting from 10 feet, he's nailing 25 footers. Also, as it turns out his knee was also a bit of an advantage. Because he was hesitant to put a full-body swing behind his drives he swung with little-to-no movement below the waist. The result was less power, but more accuracy. So while he may have only been hitting it 140 yards and I may have been hitting it 160 yards, he was in the fairway while I was in the woods. I knew he was having a good time (winning will do that) because as we were on the 16th tee my dad said, "Wait, we only have three holes left? This round is flying by."

I'm not going to pretend that this was a duel on par with Watson vs. Nicklaus from Turnberry, but it was close. In the end my erratic driving and sub-par putting was not enough to save me and my dad ended his 20-year golf retirement with a 49-52 victory. Beaten by a guy who hadn't swung a club in two decades... yeah, that should to wonders for my ego.

Speed Golf

Last offseason I discovered winter golf and enjoyed it (still wouldn't use 'lift, clean and place' though). One of the places that I gave it a try was Little Harbor in Wareham. I really enjoyed the course and found it an easy walk so I wanted to try it once the weather turned nice. However, I still would rather play by myself than with a group of strangers and Cape Cod in the summer is not really condusive to pulling that off. Instead, I waited until the season was winding down to make my way back down to Wareham to give Little Harbor another shot.

Back in the winter I played the whole course except the 11th hole, which at the time was unplayable due to excessive ice (just one of the hazards of winter golf in New England). Since I only had time for 9 holes I wanted to make sure it I got the chance to try the only hole that had eluded me over the winter. I timed it perfectly as the local golf league was teeing off from the first hole and so I had the back 9 mostly to myself. The only people I had to worry about was a twosome of guys in a cart who arrived at the 10th hole at the same time as I did. But, they wanted to take a small break and after speeding my way through the first couple holes I had some breathing room and I was able to leisurely play the final 5 holes.

Again, I played ok, but not great. It seems I've had a good run of avoiding rediculously bad holes, not having to put down a snowman or worse. But the best part was that I cruised through the course - there was no hunting for balls or spending 20 minutes hacking my way down a fairway.