Equipment

Q&A: Dirty Larry Golf, makers of the Navigator

Published

8 years ago

Feb 10, 2016

As golfers, we’re always looking for the next best training aid or piece of equipment that’s going to take our games to the next level. And a new training aid that’s promising quick results is the Navigator by Dirty Larry Golf, a putting aid made to improve putter face aim.

After testing the putting aid in our review, the company may be onto something. The Navigator helped reviewer Ross Durren drastically improve his putting and aim within just five minutes.

Recently, Durren had the opportunity to speak with co-founder and co-creator of the Navigator, Dave Nastalski, to hear more about the company and its product.

The Interview

Ross Durren (RD): Tell me about the origin of the company’s name?

Dave (Nastalski) (DN): Larry, my business partner, got his nickname at the local track by hustling myself and other college kids out on the golf course. He was 65 when I met him. I was a 19-year-old freshman at NC State, and I played to a +1. I lost $55 to him the first time we played. He didn’t hit it a long ways off the tee, but he made everything with the flat stick. Eventually, someone hung a sign in the pro shop with his picture attached that said, “Don’t play with this guy. He’s dirty, and he’ll take all your money.” When the company was formed in 2013, we felt it fitting to name it in his honor since the idea was born from his putting prowess.

RD: When and how did you get the idea for the Navigator?

DN: Dirty Larry doesn’t have the prettiest putting stroke in the world. In fact, he cuts across it like Billy Mayfair. But like Billy, he knows what’s important when it comes to getting the ball in the hole. That starts with face angle. Larry wanted to give golfers an easy way to tap into what he knew about putting. And the Navigator was born. It shows you where you’re aimed and trains your eyes to start the ball on line, regardless of what your stroke looks like.

RD: Why a putting aid?

DN: Because it’s the fastest way for any golfer to improve his or her score. We know it’s not as glamorous as hitting the long ball, but if more golfers would spend some time on the putting green, the national handicap average would plummet. We’re trying to spread the word and get that message out there. We built a simple and fun device to help golfers make more putts, and ultimately enjoy this game more.

RD: How long did it take to develop the first prototype? The final product?

DN: We started about three years ago with initial prototyping that included sandwich bag clips and pipe cleaners. From there, it took nine full scale revisions on 3D printers before we had the features and design exactly how we wanted it. We built an instrument that is high functioning and very detailed. We’re not talking about some cheap piece of plastic.

RD: How is the Navigator different from the other putting aids on the market?

DN: Simplicity is key. A lot of other putting aids on the market require a doctorate just to get it on our putter or get the station set up. Either that, or they use lasers that have expensive batteries and a lot of times don’t train the correct motor memory process. We’ve found that with the Navigator’s alignment rods, you focus more on starting the ball on line and not where a laser might be pointing down at the hole. Thus, the skill retention is better. We built a device that makes your training easy, portable, and instantly effective. “No Laser, No Batteries, No Hassle.”

RD: In as few words as possible tell me why golfers need the Navigator.

DN: Most golfers have no idea where they are actually aimed. Spend five minutes with the Navigator, and you’ll know immediately why you’re missing putts you should be making.

RD: Where can our readers go to buy the Navigator?

DN: We sell direct from our website. To learn more about the product, please visit our product page.

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Whats in the Bag

Kevin Streelman WITB 2024 (April)

Published

19 hours ago

Apr 29, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Kevin Streelman what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X

3-wood: Titleist TSR3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Kevin Streelman’s clubs here.

5-wood: Ping G (17.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 10 X

Irons: Wilson Staff Model CB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5

Check out more in-hand photos of Kevin Streelman’s clubs here.

Wedges: Wilson Staff Model (48-08, 54-08), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-L @59)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (48), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (54, 58)

Putter: Scotty Cameron TourType SSS TG6

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos of Kevin Streelman’s clubs here.

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Equipment

Choose Your Driver: Which 2012 driver was your favorite?

Published

19 hours ago

Apr 29, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

The year was 2012. Gangnam Style ruled supreme, its infectious beats and ludicrous horse-riding dance moves hypnotizing us with their stupidity. Everyone was talking about the Mayan calendar, convinced that the end of days was near. Superheroes soared on the silver screen, with the Avengers assembling in epic fashion. Katniss Everdeen survived The Hunger Games. And the memes! The memes abounded. Grumpy Cat triumphed. We kept calm and carried on.

In much the same way that automotive enthusiasts love classic cars, we at GolfWRX love taking a backward glance at some of the iconic designs of years past. Heck, we love taking iconic designs to the tee box in the present!

In that spirit, GolfWRX has been running a series inspired by arguably the greatest fighting game franchise of all time: Mortal Kombat. It’s not “choose your fighter” but rather “choose your driver.”

Check out some of the standout combatants of 2012 below.

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Nike VRS

Often harshly critiqued during its years releasing golf equipment (right, Phil Mickelson?), Nike’s tenure in the club-and-ball business gets a gloss of nostalgic varnish, with many of its iron and putter designs continuing to attract admirers. Among the company’s driver offerings, the 2012 VRS — or VR_S, if you will — drew high marks for its shaping and toned-down appearance. The multi-thickness, NexCOR face was no joke either.

Check out our coverage from 2012 here.

Callaway RAZR Fit

Callaway’s first foray into moveable weight technology (married with its OptiFit hosel) did not disappoint. With a carbon fiber crown, aerodynamic attention to detail, and variable and hyperbolic face technologies, this club foreshadowed the tech-loaded, “story in every surface” Callaway drivers of the present, AI-informed design age.

Check out our coverage from 2012 here.

Cleveland Classic 310

Truly a design that came out of left field. Cleveland said, “Give me a persimmon driver, but make it titanium…in 460cc.” Our 2012 reviewer, JokerUsn wrote, “I don’t need to elaborate on all the aesthetics of this club. You’ve seen tons of pics. You’ve all probably seen a bunch in the store and held them up close and gotten drool on them. From a playing perspective, the color is not distracting. It’s dark enough to stay unobtrusive in bright sunlight…Even my playing partners, who aren’t into clubs at all…commented on it saying it looks cool.” Long live!

Check out our coverage from 2012 here.

Titleist 910

While there’s no disputing Titleist’s “Titleist Speed” era of drivers perform better than its 2010s offerings, sentimentality abounds, and there was something classically Titleist about these clubs, right down to the alignment aid, and the look is somewhere between 983 times and the present TS age. Representing a resurgence after a disappointing stretch of offerings (907, 909), The 910D2 was a fairly broadly appealing driver with its classic look at address and classic Titleist face shape.

Check out our coverage from 2012 here.

TaylorMade RocketBallz

The white crown. The name. You either loved ‘em or you hated ‘em. TaylorMade’s 2012 offering from its RocketBallz Period boasted speed-enhancing aerodynamics and an Inverted Cone Technology in the club’s titanium face. Technology aside, it’s impossible to overstate what a departure from the norm a white-headed driver was in the world of golf equipment.

Check out our coverage from 2012 here.

Ping i20

Long a quietly assertive player in the driver space, Ping’s i20 was more broadly appealing than the G20, despite being a lower-launch, lower-spin club. Ping drivers didn’t always have looks that golfer’s considered traditional or classic, but the i20 driver bucked that trend. Combining the classic look with Ping’s engineering created a driver that better players really gravitated toward. The i20 offered players lower launch and lower spin for more penetrating ball flight while the rear 20g tungsten weights kept the head stable. Sound and feel were great also, being one of the more muted driver sounds Ping had created up to that time.

Check out our coverage from 2012 here.

GolfWRXers, let us know in the comments who “your fighter” is and why!

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/29/24): Krank Formula Fire driver with AutoFlex SF505 shaft

Published

23 hours ago

Apr 29, 2024

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Krank Formula fire driver with AutoFlex SF505 shaft.

From the seller: (@well01): “Krank formula fire 10.5 degree with AUtoflex SF505. $560 shipped.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Krank Formula Fire driver with AutoFlex SF505 shaft

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules