Golfsmith driver fitting

My driver is over 5 years old and its time to take advantage of new technology so I decided to look for somewhere to do a driver fitting in the area. I decided on Golfsmith since I've had good customer service there in the past. Let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed this time either, service was above and beyond.

I had a short list of drivers I wanted to try based on some reviews I'd read beforehand, the TaylorMade Burner 2.0 and Callaway Razr Hawk being the top two, leaning heavily toward the Razr Hawk. 

When I walked in I immediately was approached by an employee and asked if they could help. I explained I was looking for a new driver and had a few I wanted to try out. Within a ten minutes I was set up at one of the testing bays and had the two drivers I requested as well as a few other clubs. They set up the launch monitor to start tracking my results with each club and I was on my way.

The launch monitor was great, this wasn't just hitting balls into a net and picking one. It tracks club head speed, club path (both side and overhead), launch angle, face angle, back spin, side spin, distance, dispersion, etc. Even better one of their club fitters is there to interpret it all for you. 

While Golfsmith has a free 15 min driver fitting, since the bays were open they allowed me to keep trying drivers for a full hour. The club fitter also noticed a few errors in my swing and asked if I'd be open to some pointers, I said I was and he suggested a few changes that made a noticeable difference on my ever present slice.

After trying five different drivers, including the two I was looking at ahead of time, I walked out spending a little more and going with a different club than I had planned, a TaylorMade RBZ adjustable driver.

I've been extremely pleased with it and will be writing a review on it and how its improved my game later on.

I'll definitely be going back to Golfsmith for club fittings as I continue to replace clubs in my bag. They are friendly, helpful and make sure you're getting the right club for your swing.

Course Review: Rock Pile Golf Course

Course Review: Rock Pile Golf Course


Rock Pile Golf Course is a public par 3 course about 10 miles from Dent, MN right across from Star Lake. I was able to get out and play a quick round of golf there with family this past weekend while I was in the area. If you're looking for a quick, & inexpensive round in the Dent, MN area this is the course for you.

The Course 
The course was well maintained and about as simple and straightforward as they come.

• There are no bunkers
• Water comes into play on one hole but is not a forced carry
• Trees hug the fairway on three holes
• The rest of the holes are wide open and forgiving
• The tee boxes tend to be uneven
• The greens are domed for the most part
• very little elevation change until the last two holes
• Easy going pace, no rangers

Just the facts

• Par 27 1283 yards
• Shortest hole: 90 yds
• Longest hole: 212 yds
• $12 for 9 holes $6 for each consecutive round
• No dress code

My Impression


With the easy playing pace, lack of hazards, dress code and forgiving fairways on a most of the holes it's a good place for a first time golfer to play or a beginner golfer to hone their skills. For any golfer beyond beginner it lacks any real challenge but is a fun outing with friends particularly if you make it more competitive with a skins game or bingo, bango, bongo.

I give it a 5 out of 10 ranking purely for the lack of challenges/replayabilty. That being said I would definitely play Rock Pile Golf Course again with a competitive group to increase the challenge.

CER VX Custom Irons Results

As you may have noticed I ordered a set of custom clubs last month. Well I just got out to play them and to describe them in one word "amazing"!

Having changed nothing else other than using my new irons instead of my 8 year old set of cheap big box irons I've dropped my score on a 9 hole round by 4 strokes on average and 18 hole round by 7-8 strokes.

The biggest difference has been the consistency of shots, keeping the ball in the fairway and far more precise shots overall.

The hybrids are easier to hit out of the rough than the typical 4 and 5 irons though I still need to get used to hitting them off the fairway. They play much like a 3w or 5w in that regard.

The gap wedge is a big help and fills the need between the PW and SW that I have though I'm having some trouble dialing in the distance. All in due time.

Overall these were well worth the $200 and gave me an instant improvement. To answer the question are custom clubs worth it? Definitely! Especially if you are playing with off brand and/or clubs that are a few years old.

Next up a new driver!

Maltby CER VX Custom Irons ordered

I recently ordered a set of Maltby CER VX irons custom fit for lie and length. While more expensive I've been reading more and more about how custom clubs can be an instant improvement especially for amateurs. As I'm currently using a cheap set of clubs I got from a big box store 8 years ago I figured it was about time to get a new set.

The new set omits the 3 iron and adds a gap wedge as well as replacing the 4i and 5i with hybrids which should be extremely helpful considering I have troubles hitting the long irons and currently have a gap between my PW and SW of around 40 yards. The rest of my clubs have a 15-20 yd gap, the GW should fill that hole nicely.