Who I am:
My name is..it's not Hov, it's Brian.
I'm a soon-to-be 34 year old (thank you to Mom and Dad for the
wonderful Christmas Eve birthday) golf enthusiast living in
north-central New Jersey. I work full-time as a chemist in the
personal care industry and have started loving to play golf even more
in 2013. I went out with my grandmother during the summers in junior
high and high school and played a par 3 course. I may have hit the
range with my wooden woods a few times in college, but I didn't play
a full round and picked the game up again after graduating and
getting a job. The cosmetics industry is a great field to get to
know a lot of people through golf.
Where I've been:
I began again in 2001 with a
RAM starter set-in-a-box and eventually graduated to a used set of
Callaway X-14 irons. After my driver cracked, I got a TaylorMade
R580xD and have used TaylorMade woods ever since (2008 Burner). I
also stayed with Callaway irons when I traded in the X-14s for the
Diablo Forged line. I liked them until I broke the 7-iron while
trying to hit under a fence at Rutgers. I found a replacement club
and then traded that set in for the Razr X Black series. I really
like their look, except that they seem to only be painted black and a
few of the faces are starting to scuff after a season of use. It's
not a big deal, but I generally like to keep my belongings looking
new. It certainly won't be affecting my game anytime soon though.
What's In My Bag:
TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2
driver 9.5º (Rocketfuel
50g - stiff)
TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Tour
TS 3 wood 13º
(Rocketfuel 70g - stiff)
TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 3H
19º (Rocketfuel 65g -
stiff)
Callaway Razr X Black irons
4-PW (True Temper M-10 XP - uniflex)
Callaway Forged 50º/10º
bounce gap wedge (TrueTemper Dynamic Gold)
Callaway Forged 56º
/11º bounce sand wedge
(TrueTemper Dynamic Gold)
Maxfli Black Max 60º
/10º bounce lob wedge
Odyssey Divine Line 2-ball
33” (Winn Jumbo Lite Excel grip)
Balls – TaylorMade TP Red
LDP, Bridgestone e6
I'm going to test some
TaylorMade Penta TP5, Bridgestone B330 S, and Srixon Z Star XV balls
next season. I've made a lot of changes and improvement to my game,
my swing, and my bag in the past year so I'm still looking for the
best ball for me.
I'm excited about the
adjustability of the woods and also with the gap wedge that I added
towards the end of the season. My Burner driver was a regular flex
with 10.5º and I had gotten tired of hitting sky balls so I stopped by Golf Galaxy on the way
home from playing Colts Neck one afternoon. I hit balls for almost
an hour and a half with about ten different drivers and finally
decided to get the Stage 2 and go down a degree of loft. The sole
plate on the R1 was just a little more than I wanted to think about
on the course since it's generally hard to turn my brain off anyway.
My swing speed was about 105, even after walking and carrying 18
holes and a 30 minute drive, so I got the stiff shaft. I am loving
the new setup when I'm making good face contact!
Where I am:
I've
played just over fifty times in 2013. I carded my three best scores
this summer (82 at Ash Brook, 83 at Meadows, and 86 at Colts Neck)
and I finished the 2013 NJ season with an index of 14.5; a hefty
improvement from 20.3, the high water mark of 2013, and 16.6 at the
end of 2012. I played 27 different courses this year, but that
number should decrease in 2014 since I joined a club (Shackamaxon CC)
in September. I'm sure you'll be able to find me on a regular basis
there once the weather gets warmer and there is more daylight after
work. Until then, it's going to be a lot of putting and chipping and
hitting half-swing wiffle balls in the living room during the winter.
What's
next:
I'm
looking forward to consistent warm weather again. I will get out and
play on seasonable days during the winter (I'll be the idiot wearing
shorts) because I don't think I'll be able to go three months without
a round. I'm stubborn and have never taken a lesson, but I really
need to next year (I mean it this time!) because I really want to be
more consistent. I know improvement is generally a matter of
diminishing returns as you get better, but my goals are to break 80
in 2014 and have a single digit index by the end of 2015.
I
also need to get myself back to a regular routine in the gym this
winter in order to get better on the course. I'm still 33, 6'3 (but
only weigh 165..yeah, I'm a skinny guy), and have played some sport
for basically my entire life (Little League, Ultimate Frisbee,
softball – slo and fastpitch, volleyball, lacrosse). I know I'll
regret wasting the amount of athletic ability that I have if I don't
make my body better and stronger.
I'll
be messing around with the design and content over the winter so if
anybody is actually reading this, please feel free to say hi and
comment on whatever you like, on-topic or off.
Mr. Moose and I would
like to say thanks to oobgolf and legitimategolf.com for giving me
the idea for my new golf blog.
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