WRX Forum Buzzz
FTF: Takes on Spieth’s slow play penalty, and the worst equipment trends
The GolfWRX forums exist so golfers have access to the latest equipment releases, hottest discussions, real equipment reviews, best instruction, new technologies and everything golf you can imagine.
So if you love golf, the GolfWRX forums are your sanctuary.
In the From the Forums weekly feature, we bring you the hottest, most buzz-worthy topics from our forums for your convenience. I’ll be your trusty tour guide to navigate the latest buzz.
Here’s a peek behind the curtain into golf’s sanctuary.
Worst golf equipment trends in recent years?
Like any other industry, particularly those with short product cycles, trends emerge rapidly in golf equipment (and often fade just as quickly).
Arpegge started a thread asking for WRXers opinions on the worst equipment fads in recent years.
Here’s his list…
- Counterbalanced putters
- Mini drivers
- Multiple sliders
- Racing stripes on crown
- Oversized putting grips
What do you think? Agree? Want to defend your counterbalanced putter? Join the discussion.
Graphic image ahead!
Something so obscene words cannot do it justice…
This is just a reminder that there’s a lot of humor in the forums. Thanks GolfMonster09!
Check out the responses to the horror.
The popularity of Scotty Cameron putters
Takeachance68 took a chance and posed a question that’s been debated many times on GolfWRX: Why are Scotty Cameron putters so popular? After some abuse for rehashing the topic, good answers started to trickle in.
Matt J: “Scotty Cameron hit a pretty special niche milling popular designs and encouraging players to play the loft, lie, toe flow, length, and weight that fits their stroke. Success in tour events cemented the deal.”
2bGood: “Start with a top class product (No need to argue if it is the best or overpriced etc, I am simply saying it is good and well made). Then add in great marketing. I do mean marketing in the comprehensive sense – not just ads and endorsement, but pricing, targeting, segmentation etc.
“There are loads of putter with equal or better quality to Camerons, but I think no one touches their marketing.”
TPDawnPatrol:
- Consistent quality
- Lots of exposure on Tour
- Prominent placement of graphics
- Eye-catching headcovers
- Early commitment to milled putters
- Consistently higher price point than the other big brands
- Alignment with Titleist
- First big putter maker to commit to interchangeable weights
- Good marketing in building a brand with a cult-like following
- A bit of good luck with Langer winning a major with a Scotty
- A lot of good luck with Tiger winning all his majors with Scotty’s
Debating Jordan Spieth’s slow play penalty
If you hadn’t heard, the European Tour has laid out new guidelines for dealing with slow play.
Here’s the new rule and what happened. “Basically, players will be subjected to sustained monitoring as soon as their group is deemed out of position. Any player who then exceeds the time permitted to play a shot – 50 seconds if first to play and 40 seconds thereafter – will be issued with a “monitoring penalty”. Two monitoring penalties will result in a fine of £2,000.” (James Corrigan, The Telegraph).
Spieth’s words:
“It was a bit odd. I got a bad ‘monitoring’ time on my putt on the eighth [17th] after they had taken us off the clock and the guys behind us hadn’t even reached the fairway,” Spieth said. “So it didn’t make any sense to me. If I can, I’ll try to wash it away… because it doesn’t affect this round but if I get another one, I’ll get fined and I don’t think there was necessarily a reason to get that bad time. Rory and Rickie [Fowler] were very surprised.”
So, the Spieth group was on the clock, then off, then back on (seemingly without their awareness), and Spieth was warned on the green of his second-to-last hole of the day.
Trivial? A firm statement the European Tour means business?
See what the forum members are saying and offer your take.
The worst weather you’ve played in (and why the heck did you play?)
MtlJeff, one of the GolfWRX forums’ most prolific and entertaining posters, started the thread and recounts his worst weather experience, which came as part of his bachelor party celebrations.
Golfing in late September, Jeff says, he and his buddies ignored the forecast for torrential rain and “decided to drive up anyway because we had plans in the town near the course later in the day anyway.”
No other brave souls were willing to endure the monsoon, and Jeff and his friends were the only golfers on course. “We got basically pelted with rain the entire time,” Jeff said. “They left the course open because it hadn’t rained in a while prior to that day. We were the only people who played the course that day.”
So, why’d they decide to play? While “bachelor party” is a viable explanation, Jeff indicates that the prevalence of libations made the rain much less bothersome.
Equipment
I’m a 31 year-old male and I turned my apartment living room into a driving range stall – GolfWRXers react
In our forums, our members have been reacting to a post from ‘GolferTodd’ who has turned their apartment living room into a driving range stall. ‘GolferTodd’ produced the following photo in our forums with the caption:
“To the exclusion of furniture. Bachelor life.”
And our members have been reacting to the post in our forums.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- MtlJeff: “This is amazing……When i was 28 i lived in an apartment that had my winter tires in the kitchen, i only had one plate and 1 set of knives and forks, and i cooked pasta in a witches cauldron from 1835. And i still convinced a woman to marry me. So i am all for this. In fact this is way better than what i had to offer.”
- TiScape: “Love it Todd. Go Dodgers!!”
- imkirby34: “Based on the view out the window, it looks like you’re on the first floor, which is probably a good thing because I’d hate to live below you, even if you have an extremely shallow AoA. Haha.”
In our forums, our members have been discussing classic irons. WRXer ‘DonaldDunes’ has caught the vintage club bug, and wants to know other members’ favorite iron models that “have stood the test of time or were the top performers for their day.”
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- Maine Golfer: “I love a lot of clubs but ’69 Wilson Staff’s are an all time favorite. Easy to hit in relative terms and they look amazing.”
- Wilsonian: “No surprise from me, but the Wilson K-28 irons, specifically blades with the glide thru sole. I grew up playing Ram clubs, but got away from them as I got older. My return to vintage was with the Wilsons, and my first set of hickories were the Wilson Plus Success irons. You’ll try a lot of sets, but I think it’s a matter of what feels best in your hands, specifically your 7 iron which is the best indicator imo.”
- Hawkeye777: “Hogan Redlines. Macgregor Nicklaus Muirfield 20th. Wilson Staff Tour Blade. Those are mine, don’t play any of them these days (no real reason to) and didn’t really “collect” them. The Wilsons I played with for years.”
In our forums, our members have been discussing how much wear is too much wear when purchasing used irons. WRXer ‘con_mon2’ is interested in a used set of iron and kicks off the thread, asking:
“Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this! How much wear are you comfortable with?
I found a set of irons on eBay that I am very interested in buying, but they have a bit more wear than I’m comfortable with. I have attached a few pictures showing especially the wear on the sweet spot on the PW and 9 iron. Maybe you can convince me that I’m being too picky and I should just buy them? Or maybe I should be concerned about the wear? I’m not really sure. They are Ping i230s which came out in 2022 so they aren’t that old. And the seller had this to say about the condition: ‘Good: Normal wear for their age. Excellent playing condition but they have cosmetic wear on faces and soles. Sweetspot wear is visible.’
Beyond the cosmetic, I’d really like to know this: At what point do you start to worry about the grooves being so worn that they have a substantial effect on the shots you’re hitting?”
And our members have been sharing their thoughts in response.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- rsballer10: “The term you are looking for is “browning” and these irons have some of that going on. They are completely playable, but I’d say they’ve reached their half-life.”
- Nessism: “Those heads are stainless steel. The “browning” that some people reference, is really the yellow shade of the nickel layer under the chrome. When forged carbon steel heads wear through the chrome, the “brown” is RUST. These heads will never rust. People applaud the old Ping irons as being “indestructible”. Those heads had no chrome. These heads, even if the chrome is beginning to wear through, on one head, are miles more durable than the older unplated “indestructible” Ping’s. And even further ahead of any forged club.”
- phizzy30: “Hard pass for me. I would rather get a new set of DTC irons and would be glad to spend the extra couple to few hundred.”
Entire Thread: “When buying used irons: How much wear is too much? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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J
Jan 25, 2016 at 6:01 pm
s
KoreanSlumLord
Jan 24, 2016 at 12:10 am
White club heads and colored grips on mens in clubs are so weird to me when I visit the states. In South Korea only girls get the color grips. It’s for guys who like other guys.
J
Jan 25, 2016 at 5:58 pm
unless you’ve been playing golf only with seniors over the age of 70, your observation is far from true. many Koreans use colored grips. even if your observation was true, Korean golf fashion is far more flamboyant and colorful than any other country in the world (especially for men). Does this also say something about their sexuality?
Fahgdat
Jan 22, 2016 at 9:27 pm
“Recent” years – how far back are we talking? I would include belly putters and other anchored types.
Oversize, crab-looking mallet putters should be added too.
And colorful grips. Grips should only be black.
Lazer range finders & Electric carts with GPS and all GPS units on either phones or wrists (roll eyes!). Courses all should have yardages to front middle back from multiple sprinkler head locations and markers, and golf courses should have to provide yardage books instead of players relying on electronic gadgets.
Chris
Jan 23, 2016 at 1:32 pm
Hey old timer, maybe you should go back to using wooden shafts and heads as well. Times change, so does equipment. Get over it. Roll my eyes.
Sarc
Jan 23, 2016 at 6:20 pm
Chris doesn’t get sarc
Josh
Jan 23, 2016 at 4:40 pm
You can pry my orange grips from my cold dead hands!