TJ Crawford's Abstract Ideas

So a few months back I updated my Driver from the Cleveland HiBore XL from 2007 with the Cleveland Launcher DST. I will say I really tried hard to go the Titleist his year as I love the looks and marketing around the 909D line but I just didn't hit them as well.

Moving from the HiBore to the Launcher (which I have not liked the looks of in years past) was seamless. Usually you have that period where your hitting it well but can't really put it where your looking, however I had none of this break-in time. The best part is I got another 7 to 20 yards depending on how hard I choose to swing at it.  I got the Tour version which is 430CC's instead of the 460CC of the regular version. I found that my club head speed suffered by about 4-7 mph with the larger head. That has been the case for the last few drivers I bought, so if you have not tried a bit smaller head you might want to.  The major improvement is the sound, the HiBore wasn't known for it's solid acoustics but the Launcer's is light years different and better. i also like the larger grip. I'm not sure if it's an extra wrap larger or more but it fits in my hands alot better. With that said, my only complaint here is that it does make it harder to work the ball. The larger grip and longer shaft are likely the culprits here. It just doesn't respond as much to the rolling over and holding off of my hands. Also i would have like to have seen a few more loft options other than the  8.5, 9.5 & 10.5 in the tour versions. The 460CC version comes in 9, 10.5 & 12 degree lofts.

Overall this was a great update to my bag and welcome addition with the extra distance down the fairway. Being able to switch from 3 year old tech to new and not have to suffer much was fantastic.

I’m a tech geek and a golfer so I think it is just awesome that Stewart Cink is engaging the golf community in a social, web way. He is using Twitter the micro bloging service and is giving some updates pre & post round, with a little during practice round info. The below picture was taken today during his practice round with Chad Cambell and really gives you a hole and weather perspective. For the many people who live on their mobile devices this is fantastic as we can follow when we aren’t in front of TV’s & Computers.

Great stuff and thanks to Stewart, keep it up.

Eric Ewe, the Internet Marketing Manager, over at LostGolfBalls.com contacted me and asked if I would do a review of their LOST but now found golf balls.

To do a good review though I feel it was important to take a look at the site and it’s functionality since it is really part of the brand experience. For this post I’m only going to review the Golf Balls section of the site. However they do have other areas covering Apparel, Equipment (yes clubs), Accessories (Gloves, markers etc), Logo (NCAA, NFL & MLB branded golf stuffs) plus a Specials section.

They do stay true to their name and when you hit the site it’s mostly golf balls on the home page. Even though they have used balls they sell new ones as well. All the new ball rates are commensurate with retail store prices (at least on the Pro V’s I hit). I found out this is because Titleist sets the retail rate and even if a store wants to give up some of their $ they can & will yank your contract. Can’t blame them when 50% of the balls sold are Pro V’s and they are one of the highest priced. Definitely worth it in my opinion though.

Back to the LostGolfBall.com review though. Needless to say there are all kinds of sorting and filtering features, but the one that stands out for me is the cool and easy grading scale. They rank the quality of the balls and have them priced accordingly. For the Pro V1x’s I hit they start at an AA rating (Practice) @ $7.95 and for the AAAAA rating (Like New/Excellent) they top out at $28.95. That’s $17 off a dozen balls. Not bad.

I’ll post more once I get the balls and hit them around a few times. Hopefully that’s soon as it’s turned pretty cold around Reno lately.

Thanks to a friend of mine Scott Hilson for mentioning a great new course in Verdi, NV. Crystal Peak is touted as the only Love design on the west coast, is an absolutely fantastic layout. This track is not for the feint at heart though. It’s not tremendously long but you definitely have to hit well directioned shots. The green fees are super reasonable and for Trevor and I to play was $65. Definitely felt very economical considering the challenge and layout.

The fairways were in good shape but it was the greens that stood out. We waled the course which let you take more of the picturesque qualities on most of the holes. They look like they had barely been played on and rolled very true. I definitely am having some internal conflict on writing a blog post because the less people know about it the easier it will be to get another tee time.

I have just one gripe and it would be that on the Par 3 third hole there were several branches that hung out right in the flight path of the back tees. I don’t mind trees being strategically placed but for a 122 yard par 3 it just doesn’t make sense to hit and hope you don’t hit a branch right down the middle.

The Numbers
9 Hole, Par 36
3,274 From the Tips & 2,558 from the forward tees
Rating 71.2 & Slope 131 again from the tips

Crystal Peak Golf Course
(775) 345-1551

So a spoon is really just a nickname for a 3 metal or 3 wood. So confusing is golf some times.

Yesterday I wrote about the Cleveland HiBore XLS driver and compared it to last years XL. In that article I said I wouldn’t spend the bones to upgrade just yet, however this one I would. I stopped carrying a 3 wood for the last 5-6 years as I just couldn’t find one I couldn’t hit. I traded it for a 2 Hybrid. However after getting Trev this XLS I’m SOLD. It has a very low profile but a larger head (from volume) that creates some great stability. The face is relatively flat on the bottom and has a great shape on the sole plate that won’t let you dig it in an chilly dip it.

Now how do I convince my wife I need this bad enough to spend the $179?

Last year I replaced my Ping Si3 Driver with a Cleveland HiBore XL (9.5 degree, S-Flex, Gold shaft). I love it. I spent the time to get on the launch monitor and got it fit perfectly. Trevor tried out for the golf team and as incentive, and reward we told him if he made the team we would get him a new set of clubs. He had been using my wifes set of Golden Bears because he was in this weired transitional period where he couldn’t fit a full set but out grew his junior set.

So to cut to the chase he got fit as well and ended up with this years model of the HiBore XLS (12 degree draw, R-Flex, Gold Shaft). Despite the differences in bias and shaft I will have to say it feels great. It has a little bit more of that buttery feel and the acoustics are a bit louder with the increased size.

You can see the most prominent difference in size in tis photo of the Sole as they stretched and widened it.

Here you can see the stretch in depth as well as the change in scalloping on the XLS.

This also show how the slope on the back has changed. I was surprised it didn’t look more pronounced.

On the face of the XLS you can see how they widened the contour on the bottom and it looks a little more like a boat. They also deepened it up. How can you miss the ball with a face this large? Answer: YOU CAN’T!

They also differentiated the XLS with a reverse color scheme on the head cover, new graphics on the shaft and grip as well as the coloring on the club head itself. Also there is a logo on the toe that changes color in sunlight and UV lights to help prevent counterfeiting.

I am definately a gadget and tech junkie so clubs fit right into that, as the golf marketers have found out. I would love to have a new one but one years change in tech just doesn’t justify it for me. I will say Cleveland has figured it out better than any of them by pricing their driver line $100 cheaper than Taylormade and $150 cheaper than Callaway’s FT-5. They are turning out some fantastic clubs that perform as good as they look and feel. These will be flying off the shelf.

Trevor made the golf team for Reed High a few weeks ago and we picked him up some new clubs. Since we were going to be playing I needed to restock my golf ball reserves. The golf shop was running a special where you got a free sleeve if you bought a box of a dozen. Sweet, except the fact that it excluded only Titleist. Evidently Titleist dictates they can’t do any promotions except the Titleist approved ones, and will revoke their license for any Titleist product if they are found violating their laws. THAT SUCKS.