Off for a Week

I will be in Las Vegas for work for the next week, so the blog will not be updated for a awhile. I am still here, and will be back on duty Monday the 7th.

I leave you with these handsome Men, on the first tee at Long Bay!

Oyster Bay, A VB Crew Golf favorite back for 2010?

There is a good chance that we will be playing in 2010, the Legends package, which includes Oyster Bay. Now, we usually don't return to the same course, but this maybe the year we repeat a course.

Oyster Bay was one of our favorites 3 years ago, a tough course with great marsh views, gators, great staff and awesome conditions. This would be the perfect place for the Thursday round, the "drive in" round as it is on the way to Myrtle coming through Wilmington.

With us staying at the Legends Resort, and having 3 courses outside the condo doors, this would be the only "travel" round. We could include the Heritage or TPC, but they would be a good 50 minutes south, and raise the price.

I would like us all to weigh in on the idea of playing the same course twice, as I have always tried to get us on different courses each year.

Also, remember the free trip give away for founding members of the VB Golf Crew for next year. http://sites.google.com/site/vbgolfcrew/home

Hireko Caimen Irons Review

The following is a review by Kiel Christianson, Senior Writer for Worldgolf.com

Hireko Golf has been offering components and assembled golf clubs since 1980. Hireko’s quality and affordable prices have built a strong following in Asia and North America.

Over the past several years, Hireko has added well-known brands like Acer and Pal Joey, and recently added the highly-respected Dynacraft line to their stable.

Another one of Hireko Golf’s brand names is Power Play, and the new Power Play Caiman irons offer a passel of game-improvement features for a mere pittance.

The following is a review by Kiel Christianson, Senior Writer for Worldgolf.com
How Hireko Golf’s Power Play Caiman irons play
I recently tested the Caimans against my current favorite big-name, mid-handicap irons, the Cleveland CG Gold, on the excellent practice range at Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana, Illinois.

The game-improvement features of the Caimans are a bit more pronounced than in the Cleveland sticks, with a thicker top-line and slightly larger offset. However, after the first couple of swings – which produced lovely shots the likes of which I can rarely hit on an actual course – these features completely faded from view.

During the several hours of testing, in which I was trying to eradicate the chronic hook that bedevils my game, I began to hit too strong of a fade with the Cleveland irons. The Caimans, with their anti-slice design features, produced shots with a straight to soft-fade ball-flight without changing my swing at all.

Importantly, the height and distance of shots didn’t change a bit when switching back and forth between iron sets. And if anything, the Caimans were a tad more forgiving on off-center contact.

The verdict on Power Play Caiman irons by Hireko Golf
New irons might be a tough sell in this economy, but the Caimans are worth a serious look as alternatives to higher-priced, higher-profile sets. The clubs can be ordered directly from Hireko’s website already assembled with Apollo shaft and Golf Pride grip for $30 each – that’s 3-PW for under $250.

Here is the link to Hireko Golf's custom online fitting tool, then build your irons, custom, and exactly fitted for you and you only!

http://www.hirekogolf.com/hireko/graphics/orderportal/modules/get_fit.html

New Adjustable Cobra Driver, Nov 1st

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Several top Cobra Golf staff players are currently testing the company's new adjustable-face ZL driver here at Liberty National. Among them are Geoff Ogilvy, Ian Poulter, Camilo Villegas and J.B. Holmes. In fact, Ogilvy and Villegas have both Tweeted about trying the club.

According to Brian Parker, Cobra's manager of tour promotions, Ogilvy saw the club as a prototype, but Tuesday was given the final product for the first time. The Aussie had been using a Cobra S9-1 Pro D (10.5°), but after just one afternoon's practice with a ZL (9.5) set 1° open with an Aldila RIP 80X shaft, he is planning to use the club this week in the Barclays Championship.

(Alidla's RIP shaft will be available in 2010.)

"The club is easier to draw and easier to fade [than the S9-1]," he said during his practice round this morning. "But it's harder to hit it really wide."

The ZL driver has a titanium face and body, but the crown is made from weight-saving carbon fiber. A weight plug—which is not adjustable—has been positioned on the lower-back portion of the club to increase the moment of inertia, lower the center of gravity and create a higher initial launch angle. Using an included torque wrench, the ZL driver will allow golfers to set the head into one of three different face angles – 1° open, square or 1° closed.

Cobra's ZL driver will be available to the public November 1.

NMCRS First Sponsor

Special thanks to Jeff Guinn, of Guinn Graphics for his creation of the logo for the VB Golf Crew. Jeff is a graphic artist who can do all sorts of jobs. He has worked for years in the fashion industry and does graphic jobs, big and small for very low prices.

Be on the look out for the official NMCRS Tee shirt he will be designing later in the year when all the sponsors are set.

Twenty Dollar Group Lessons

Every Saturday, 10am, at Bow Creek Driving Range from Ed Collins, PGA Professional and all around nice guy. The lessons are relaxed, everyone talks, and Ed moves from person to person and I am telling you, he spots things right away for you to work on.

Ed Collins, PGA
Head Professional

I began my career as assistant professional at Pasadena Yacht & Country Club in Gulfport Florida where I worked for 9 years. While working there I took lessons from tour pro Bill Buttner and PGA teaching professional Bob Ellsworth.

Later, I moved to Ft Lauderdale where I worked to complete my entrance into the PGA of America. While working for Coral Ridge Country Club, personal course to Robert Trent Jones, I began taking lessons and seminars with Chris Toulson, PGA Director of Instruction for Jim McLean at Doral in Miami.

Upon arriving in Virginia in 2003, I worked as PGA Head Professional at Cahoon Plantation in Chesapeake. I began teaching while at Cahoon which later became a full time position at Indian River Golf Center. Now, I am living my dream of teaching full time!

River's Edge Reopens to Rave Reviews

The first four holes at Rivers Edge are very good, but as golfers make the climb to the fifth tee box, the beauty of one the Myrtle Beach area’s most stunning golf courses is fully revealed.

The 143-yard par 3 is secondary in thought to the Shallotte River and the surrounding marshland that come into full view. From the fifth tee box, the ninth hole is visible along with the expansive marsh. It’s one of many views the course offers that rival any along the Grand Strand.

The course’s natural beauty and Arnold Palmer’s design work have long made the layout a favorite of Myrtle Beach golfers and the game’s elite. In 2007, Golf Digest ranked Rivers Edge among “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses,” and it has consistently been ranked among North Carolina’s best layouts (Rivers Edge is located in Shallotte).
(qouted Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday)