Golf Course and Equipment Reviews

Makray Memorial Golf Club is an 18-hole layout in Barrington, Illinois. It re-opened a few years ago after being renovated from the old Thunderbird Golf Club.

It plays 7,000+ yards from the tips. It features bent grass tees, fairways and greens and blue grass rough.

I’ve played this course twice now and it offers quite a challenge. Each hole is unique and requires some thought on the tee as to which club you’re going to pull from your bag. It’s definitely target golf!

Most of the greens are elevated making the approach shots very challenging. The putting surfaces are a little bumpy but roll pretty quick.

The bunkers at this course are filled with a nice white sand and most of the lies were pretty consistent. However, they didn’t rake the bunkers the day I was there and some of them were clumpy from the rainfall the night before.

Overall the course conditions are excellent. The rough is thick but fair and the fairways are nice and tight.

My favorite holes were three, nine and eighteen. Nine and Eighteen are great finishing holes leading up to the club house. And number three is unlike any hole I’ve seen in the area (see below).

The courses GPS system could use an upgrade. It simply shows you the distance to the center of the green. It would be nice to have distances to hazards and pins. And with many blind shots a full GPS system would be very useful.

Pace-of-play was pretty decent, although the course wasn’t very busy either time I played it. The rangers make frequent appearances and it seems like they do attempt to keep things moving. I played round #1 in just under four hours and round #2 in about 4:15.

I’d give the course an 8.5/10 rating. I really enjoyed Makray Memorial and I’ll probably play it a few more times this year.

This club is NUCLEAR!

I’ve been using this club for about a year and I’m still amazed at how something so small can produce such powerful results.

This is the TP version which means, “Tour Preferred”, so the club head isn’t as large as some of the other fairway metals these days. If you’re not a good ball striker, this is definitely not the club for you!

Like most of the r7 line, this club features TaylorMade’s “MWT” (Movable Weight Technology). I have the weights configured with a draw bias (4g, 10g). The weight set up really does make a difference.

The classic top line of the club head disguises all of the technology built into this club. The club is made of titanium and produces a nice high ball trajectory. However, it’s workability allows for low liners as well. The workability of this club is simply amazing. It’s design allows me to tee it up and crush it, hit it from a tight fairway lie or even from some hairy rough. I could probably even hit it from a bunker…but I’ve never tried.

Many “fairway” metals on today’s market are really more designed for players who can’t hit drivers. Thus, their 3-wood is going to be the substitute. That makes these clubs hard to hit from the turf. Not the r7 TP! And that’s another thing that makes this club so great. I don’t use it from the tee very often as I have an r7 460 TP driver (also nuclear) which is very easy to control. The r7 TP driver/fairway metal combo is a Par-5 killer! Getting home in two has never been so easy. Unfortunately, you still have to make the putts…

My r7 TP fairway has a Fujikura Vista Pro 80 weight 82 grams with an R flex. It’s also available with a steel shaft.

You can get this club for around $300 new….and it’s worth every cent in my opinion

Home of the Western Open qualifying rounds, Village Links is a well-maintained challenging layout. This course is straightforward with no gimmicks. It’s a classic Midwestern layout that plays to 7,200 yards from the tips, 6,700 from the blue tees and 6,400 from the whites.

I really enjoy this course. Its greens are some of the nicest in the area. They’re quick and true! The course was renovated in 2004 by Garrett Hill, the son of the original architect. Virtually every hole was changed in some way. The 16th was converted to a par-5 from a par-4 and is one of the most interesting holes on the course.

The bunkers look as if they were just re-filled with brand new sand. And LOTS of it…making these traps true hazards. Water is in play on 12 holes and these hazards seem to be set up to penalize the right-handed slicer.

Pace of play is generally kept to four hours or less. And the staff truly seems to loathe slow-play!

Overall, I give The Village Links a 9/10 score. It’s challenging & interesting, the greens are true, it’s not expensive and it’s one of the best-maintained courses in the area.

Scotty Cameron Newport Detour 2.5

I recently picked up this putter after using the original Detour as a practice aid for a year. I’ve been using a Studio Stainless Newport Beach 1.5 for the previous two months or so. As the name suggests, this is a combination of the Detour and the Newport style heads.

In my opinion, Scotty came up a bit short with this effort. While the concept is money, the execution isn’t what I’ve come to expect from Scotty’s putters. The aluminum inserts he’s been using since the Studio Style line was first released is, in my opinion, JUNK!

He did score with the grip though. I’ve always preferred the Studio Design grips over the Winn style or Baby T grips he’s used recently. The Newport Detour comes with an Orange Studio Design grip with silver lettering. Nice!

The look and feel of a putter don’t matter one bit if it helps you sink more putts. I have only used this putter once on a course and it was early in the season when the greens were fuzzy. I will update this review once I’m able to get a bit more time on the greens w/ the Newport Detour. But for now, I’d rate this baby at a 7.5/10. Would give it an 8 if it weren’t for the disgusting orange headcover it comes with.

To be continued…

Nickent 3DX Ironwood DC (3+ 18.5-degree)

I recently switched from the Nickent 3DX Ironwood to the 3DX Ironwood DC. These are the first and only hybrid clubs I’ve had in my bag. The Ironwood replaces a 3-iron I never used because I couldn’t hit it w/ any consistency. I’m glad I made the switch.

The hybrid is far more versatile than a 3-iron. Hitting from the rough is just as easy as hitting from a nice tight fairway lie. I use the Ironwood from the tee, fairway, rough and even from some fairway bunkers.

I have the club fitted with a 75 gram Aldila NV hybrid shaft. I’m not totally sold on this shaft and I may replace it soon. The new 4DX’s actually have a UST shaft now (probably results in a higher launch).

The Ironwood’s distance and trajectory control are great. I added a few small lead weights to the existing factory weights behind the club head. This has helped me eliminate the pull hooks that were popping up on occasion.

This club has become a very valuable part of my game. However, I am tempted to give the Taylormade Rescue TP a try.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Taylormade r7 460 TP Driver (10.5-degrees)

I don’t have much to say about this club other than, “Bombs-away, son!”

Only the second driver to spend more than three rounds in my bag. And it’s basically the first driver I’ve ever been 100% confident in using.

I have it fitted w/ a Regular flex Fujikura/Taylor Made Re*Ax 75 TP Shaft. I cut it down to 44.5-inches for extra control. Cutting it down actually makes it play more like a soft flexing stiff flex.

I have the weights (MWT) configured for a draw bias @ 2, 6, 10, 14 grams.

The club came with a pretty sweet magnetic head cover. It actually works pretty well although I leave it off most of the time while playing.

Overall rating: 10/10. I wouldn’t change a thing!!