After 15 Years

No, this isn’t another posting about fitness. Well, not unless you consider being active and having hobbies a part of fitness. In that case, I guess it is then.

After countless games, tournaments, years of inactivity, and then a resurgence of interest; I have officially retired my old golf clubs. I know, it’s a sad day but their time has come. Not only are they ancient technology fit for a museum, but the company that makes them exited the golf club business all together a number of years ago.

My old clubs were purchased around the summer of 1991 and were made by Head. Notice a distinct lack of golf links on their site. They make great tennis rackets and skis but couldn’t hack it in the golf market. I always did love the name of the clubs though and continue to use the word to this day, Premise. It’s a fitting word and was in fact the username for my first unix account at school. It’s a sad day, but time and technology has evolved and it’s time for me to do the same.

Enter my new found favorite local golf store, EJL Custom Golf in suburban Chicago. It’s only 15 minutes from my house and has a number of friendly helpful people working there. Their site is sparse at the moment (under renovation as we speak) but they offer custom fitting using launch monitors and other cool technology. I had my appointment 3 weeks ago and picked up my clubs last weekend. I was planning on posting about them sooner but there was this little back problem I wrote about earlier (nothing to do with golf mind you).

Anyhow, after 2.5 hours of testing out a number of different brands, heads, shafts, lofts, lies, etc. here is what I ended up going with:

• Cleveland Hi-Bore 10.5° driver with Aldila NV 65 45” shaft and D2 swing weight
• Cleveland Steel 15° fairway wood with Aldila NV 75 43” shaft
• Cleveland Halo 22° hybrid utility wook with Rifle 5.5 39.5” shaft
• Mizuno MP-60 3 – PW irons with Rifle 5.5 shafts, D3 swing weight, and 62.5° lie
• Cleveland CG10 Black Pearl Wedges
  • 52° loft, 10° bounce (2 dot), 35.50”, D4 swing weight
  • 56° loft, 16° bounce (2 dot), 35.25”, D6 swing weight
  • 60° loft, 8° bounce (1 dot), 35.25”, D6 swing weight
• Bettinardi Hogan Baby Ben center shafted BHB-9 33” putter

I know a lot of it’s gibberish to most of you but for you golf geeks out there, you know exactly what it means. Custom fitted happiness!!!

I actually picked up the wedges and putter during last season but figured i would add them to make the list complete. Needless to say, I have a completely new set of clubs. Out with the old and in with the new. Though I have to say that my old putter might make a reappearance from time to time.

I haven’t played yet with the woods or irons but I have used the wedges and putter at the range and in a few rounds. I love the feel of the black pearl wedges, the level of control I have with them is amazing. I feel like I can drop the ball anywhere I want on the green. My only complaint about them is that they show wear pretty quickly on the face. I don’t mind it too much as it shows a bit of history but if your someone who wants that pristine look for a long time these are not the clubs for you. the putter is quite a change from my old Titleist Bullseye blade but it’s a welcome addition. I love the feel of the center shaft and the alignment with the sight is precise and easy to look at.

I’ll try to put together a better writeup later in the season as I get more use out of all the clubs. Until then feel free to shoot me any questions. Wish me luck at the range this weekend on their maiden voyage.

• Another Weigh-In, Surprising Results
• Help Choose Transformation Photos
• Feeling Sick And Working Out
• Realization: I’m Still Fat
• Working out in my Vibram Five Fingers