Topic: Golf Equipment / Plugging clubs

What do you mean by “plugging”

Topic: Golf Equipment / cheap sets vs fakes

From previous experience fake clubs are very different to the authentic ones. They are very unbalanced and difficult to control.

If anyone was tossing up between a brand new set of fakes or a cheap set of clubs, I would recommend neither. I think the best option would be to buy a used set of clubs that are half decent.

I take it by that comment that you are recommending purely OEMs. I wonder just how many on this board have disassembled sets of OEMs and checked head weight progression (should be 7g) and a frequency progression (most prefer a slope of 4cpm) on the standard shafts they use. You might get a rude shock.

Topic: Golf Talk / Sledging your mates lesson

Along the same lines as other’s comments with short putts “The putter head got caught in your petticoat again Doris”

Topic: Golf Equipment / Golf Scope

They are pretty inaccurate and are a rough guide only. Golf flagsticks are a fixed length (or they should be) which appear to your eye to be shorter the further you move away from them. These scopes have distance markings printed on the lens which decrease as they go up the lens. By looking through the scope and aligning the base mark at the bottom of the pin, where the top of the flagstick appears will rest on a distance mark. The further you move away, the shorter the flagstick appears and thus the greater the distance printed on the lens. They are a purely mechanical distance gauge.

Topic: Golf Talk / Range Finder

So Whambam, what would you have us believe? That there is a conspiracy to bankrupt everyone living outside of the US?

C’mon man!

2 reasons behind pricing – profit and competition. Bushnell and most other companies will look at the Australian market and see a small market in the first place, they will then see the hassle involved in having a satellite office if they oficially distribute there. To make it worth their while they price accordingly.

Exaggerating what I say it does not lessen the validity of my argument. I adopt the position I do because I see long term damage to Australian business. You have undermined your own position and reinforced mine if you check your earlier post….......while justifying your local sellers necessity to charge much higher prices in order to remain in business you then proceed to buy from the U.S. because you can get things cheaper there. How will he remain in business with that attitude. Sort of sounds the death knell for your local suppliers once what you are doing becomes widespread. Finally why do you assume that Bushnell is charging the higher prices…....Bushnell has no presence in Australia and I’ll bet you my bottom dollar that they are selling their product to Australian distributors at pretty much the same price as their American distributors. No, it is time for Australian business to realize they now operate in an easily accessible international trading environment and conduct their business’ accordingly. Just read this forum and see the growing purchases made directly offshore.

Topic: Golf Talk / Range Finder

Whambam – I got a fair idea of what I am talking about? What industry do you work in?

drafroswus – Read my posts again – I didn’t say all, I said “things like clothes and electronics” and from what I have seen first hand having been to the US several times is that is very true. I am not saying 100% of electronic goods are cheaper in the US but most are.

We get touched up in Australia because we have a smaller market in which to make the money.

Are either of you guys in the retail or wholesale industries?

Just ask Boz what it’s like trying to sell a golf product in Australia and make a buck.

Hopefully the internet will empower the people and lower prices but that will probably just mean fewer products will be available locally because noone will take a chance to be a distributor and keep stock when there’s less margin in it.

Use your “Edit My Profile” link in the right hand sidebar to add in your signature

So it is your contention that retailers in say Sydney with a population base of about 4.5 million cannot supply goods at a similar price to retailers in Dallas which has a metropolitan population somewhat the same and moving the same amount of product. How then do Dallas retailers remain in business if Australian business cannot sell at these same prices and survive. Are you not aware of the laws of supply and demand …......... ie higher price will mean fewer sales while lower price means increased sales…....it is a balancing act. Look at this very site. How often has a discussion re. rangefinders come up with potential Australian buyers baulking at the prices asked here…...therefore no sale. Are you arguing that Bushnell for instance, is supplying rangefinders to retailers in Dallas far cheaper than they are supplying them to Sydney retailers(both of whom are moving the same amount of product). Sorry but it does not compute. And yes I have been in business for a very long time and are currently still in retail so that won’t fly. I stand gob-smacked that not only do distributors/sellers get away with it but my fellow Australians insist it is a good and necessary thing. When all Australian golf distributor’s business’ are dead and buried because of lack of sales they will have nothing to blame but their own shortsightedness.

Topic: Golf Talk / Range Finder

Whambam – It’s the same in most industries not just golf. Walk through a mall in the US and things like clothes, electronics etc are way cheaper.

It’s just how it is unfortunately – they have an economy with 300 million people and talk in a GDP of trillions while we have an economy of billions with 21 million people.

I’ll take living in Australia and paying higher prices any day though :)

Use your “Edit My Profile” link in the right hand sidebar to add in your signature

You are simply wrong and falling for the usual claptrap given for why we in Australia need to pay far higher prices here. This argument may well be true for locally produced goods such as the car industry where design,tooling up, lower production runs etc for for a smaller market will result in substantially higher local production costs per unit. In this particular case Bushnell has a production run of X number of units at Y overall cost, leading to a fixed production cost per unit. They simply do not have a production line producing rangefinders at one cost per unit for the higher sales volume U.S. market and a separate line producing lower volume units at a far higher cost destined for export to smaller markets such as Oz. I don’t want to disillusion you but the equation “advantage of living in Australia=paying far more that the rest of the world” is just one more of the furfies offered up as a justification. Local distributers of goods need to open their eyes. Their business will simply vanish as the local consumer becomes more internet savvy and aware of their ability to shop overseas for more competitive prices.

Topic: Golf Talk / Range Finder

A a further example of how we Australians are treated like fools let’s look at rangefinders:

Bushnell 450 Pro in Australia

Bushnell 450 Pro in the U.S.

Now that U.S.$151-00 price is a retail price available to ordinary retail customers in the U.S. (wholesale cost to distributers here would be substantially lower) and equates to Au$168-00. Lets allow a maximum of Au$40-00 freight to Oz (of course that is freight one at a time) and 10% GST and we now have a total of Au$229-00. Comparing that to the offering of Au$418-00 by our Australian distributers, somebody is on a nice little earner. Never mind, the usual lame-duck excuses of freight, exchange rates, etc.will be offered as justification for the necessity of having such prices rather than a simple attempt to gouge the Australian consumer. I wonder when we in Australia will ever wake up to ourselves, particulary when it comes to anything related to golf.

Topic: Golf Talk / Play abandoned at NZPGA

You sure it wasn’t because sheep started grazing on the course?

Hawaii. All right, that’s good. That’s hard to trace, I guess. Wait… you changed your name to… McLovin?

Why are people so unkind?

Topic: Golf Equipment / Lady seeking help in buying a golf set

I would not. I feel that as you are a beginner you should get a second hand set ( much cheaper) that suits you (ladies flex, club length etc) and once you become more proficient and your swing becomes more consistant then go for the new clubs.

Topic: Golf Talk / Distracted while putting

Looks like a photoshop job to me. Can’t see that green remaining there in such good nick with waves like that crashing up on such a fine day.

Topic: Golf Talk / Attacked - Take Cover !

1. A couple of years ago (in Florida) my caddy was searching for my waywood drive and an Alligator took a snap at him.

2. I also remember playing at Bribie Island golf course (Qld) many moons ago and went to move a stick and it was actually a snake.

3. Komodo Dragons in some parts of Asia are also a good idea to stay away from.

I was under the impression that Komodo Dragons were only found on the Indonesian island of Komodo.

Topic: Golf Equipment / US shipping?!?

Sorry to bring up this topic again, but I was thinking of buying from 3ballsgolf and I have bought stuff from them before using the US Postal option for delivery.
I notice now that FedEx is the only delivery option. Would there be a problem with customs duty on arrival in Australia?

Thanks in advance.

Relevent Customs Page

Topic: Golf Equipment / US shipping?!?

I believe the threshold for duty/GST has been upped to $1000 on all types of delivery services into Aust now. I have not been charged duty/GST in well over three years and some of those orders have been up around the $800 to $900 range, all delivered by Fedex or UPS. They are both far quicker than USPS and not much more expensive when using the bigger sellers in the states that have special rates arranged with them.

Cheers
Brett

That’s odd for it has been my experience on numerous occasions that there is no delivery time difference between USPS “EMS” service and either Fedex or UPS . USPS “EMS” is a deal cheaper and like the others provides an item tracking number.

Topic: Golf Talk / Wild Life

An assorted array of frill necked lizards, red belly black snakes, pelicans, ducks & a ridiculous number of corella’s & don’t they make a mess of the course.

And flys.

What is it with those Little Corellas digging their holes in the course. What are they after? Must be roots or bulbs in the top soil.

Topic: Golf Talk / How long can you drive

Can’t remember if Italy is yards or metres and obviously the frogs are metres so I am not 100% correct am I.

Not a 100% correct? All European countries with the exception of the U.K. are based on the metric system (Eire also is metric). Virtually every country in the world is based on the metric system and have been so for a very long time. The only countries ever based on the Imperial system were Brittan and its colonies (which included the now U.S.)

Topic: Golf Talk / How long can you drive

Why take off distance? 406 yds is still 406 yds no matter. Its only Australia and China that work in metres, the home of golf is all yards.

Really? The Europeans would be interested to hear that.

Topic: Golf Talk / How long can you drive

i think we all over estimate the word avge, 260m is not a long drive by any stretch of the imagination

but tour pros avgs are spread over a lot more shots than we hit

and i dare say we are all talking total m not carry like they do

Tour pro driving distances are driving distances (one with the breeze plus one against the breeze divided by two =average.) Carry has nothing to do with driving…....a drive is the distance the ball is from the tee. Those tour pros should hang their heads in shame and count themselves lucky they never come across some of the boomers who post on this site. Poor ol’ Bubba would fall on his knees if he were confronted by some of our posters. My home course’s first hole is a gun barrel straight 325 metre par 4 and in thirty years I have never seen anybody at that mark (without a gale behind them) and I have played with some mighty big hitters. Wipe your mouth boys, the B.S. is dribbling out.

Topic: Golf Equipment / Regripping technique

Andre-w You hit the nail on the head!!

I just cut of the old grips using a ‘hook blade’ in a Stanley knife clean up the previous tape. Put on one strip of 2” wide water based ( not solvenet based) tape. Soak the tape in water, slide the NEW grip on, wipe off the excess water. Leave for an hour and there’s the new grip. No smell, no squiting solvents, no compressors just a $3 knife and blade. AND and nice NEW grip. Total cost, 20c for the tape and 5USD for a new Golf Pride Grip.

Golf Pride have a really good video on their website on how to change grips.

The grip removal techniques I and others have posted are directed solely at those who, for whatever reasons, wish to salvage their current grips.

Topic: Golf Equipment / Regripping technique

I use a GMC that cost about $100 and it’s fine.

Here are the basic instructions:

First you buy a blowing gun with a nozzle small enough to fit inside a golf grip.

Second: you bring down the pressure of your compressor to 60-75 psi, maybe even 40-50.

Third and very important: Find a piece of plastic pipe or tubing just a bit bigger than an installed grip.

The trick is to put the pipe over the grip until one inch of the grip shows at the end of the pipe.

You then put a drop or two of solvent in the grip vent.

Apply the air pressure to the grip vent while trying to turn it with the resting inch of grip.

After a couple of grips you should have it.

Use more solvent than that. I use a 50ml syringe (without needle) and squirt this amount down the grip vent. Push the nozzle into the vent and while holding the club (head up, butt down), the air expands the grip and blows solvent up between grip and shaft thus dissolving the adhesive (place a small cloth around the grip mouth to prevent solvent spray and make sure you hold the shaft otherwise you make be left holding just a grip as the club shoots across the room). Can’t stress the aforementioned tube enough though especially on non-cord grips. For what it’s worth a piece of Telstra’s PVC tube (38mm O.D.) will do nicely.

Topic: Golf Equipment / Reshafting Callaway ERC Fusion Woods

It is not a job for the faint hearted….......

ERC head removal

Topic: Golf Talk / How long can you drive

An interesting fact…....the longest drive ever in a PGA tournament is 514 yards (470 metres) set during a PGA Seniors Championship in 1972 by 64 year old Mike Austin using a persimmon headed driver and a balata ball. A new record was claimed in 2007 by Mike Dobbyn who drove the ball 551 yards (504 metres) during a U.S. Harmon Tour event however there is a little conjecture about the new record as it is said to have gained quite a bit of extra distance when it bounced off rocky surfaces on the way to the green

Topic: Golf Talk / How long can you drive

Longest drive I ever hit was 250m (based on the markers on the course). I think I carried it about 195-200m, had the wind behind me, hit a draw (not intentionally) and the course was very dry. All the planets aligned for that one. Usually drive about 200-210m otherwise. Mishits travel about 180-190. That gives me an average of 195 assuming I have my fair share of good hits and mishits.

In the bag:
Driver: Ping G5 12
Hybrid: Nickent 4DX IW 17
Irons: Ping G2 3-PW
Wedges: Cobra m/52, Ping Tour 56*
Putter: Ping G2 Anser
Ball: Titleist DT SoLo

No,no,no! You’ve got it all wrong. As a forum golfer that 250 is counted as your “average” drive

Topic: Golf Talk / How long can you drive

I’d rate my average drive at about the 250m mark. Anyone that believes that their average drive is longer than that it either playing on tour or kidding themselves

So, X100 can hit an average drive 250m, but if anyone else claims to better him they are delusional.

This thread will naturally attract longer hitters, so if people claim to be averaging 230 – 240m, that seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Or maybe it’s the Sauvignon Blanc talking.

Reverse every natural instinct you have and do just the opposite of what you are inclined to do and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing. – BEN HOGAN, POWER GOLF

Or the weed is getting the better of them. As I said before forum golfers are always the longest hitters…......check out the U.S. PGA stats here

Wham bam thankyou M’am

and then tell me about those average 270 metre drives. Remember those PGA averages are yards so deduct 10% for metre average.
2007

1 Bubba Watson….......288 metres

2 John Daly…..............286 metres

3 J.B. Holmes…..........286 metres

Topic: Golf Talk / How long can you drive

It is a well known fact that the drives of those who post on golf forums are at least 270 metres. (without wind assistance)