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Dude, Where’s My Driver? – Part One

Published

17 years ago

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After more years service that I care to remember, I decided that my venerable old Cleveland driver should be retired. It’s so many generations behind the current crop of drivers that I almost expect to see it telling other clubs to get off its lawn before taking its teeth out and having a nice nap.

The trouble is, buying golf equipment can be a minefield. Your options are either to pony up a big wad of cash at your local shop, scour BST boards on reliable websites or use everybody’s favourite auction site and run the risk of being royally ripped off trying to get a bargain.

My local shop is pretty good but the prices are enough to take your breath away. Ebay is, unfortunately, a wretched hive of scum and villainy and buying from there means running an unacceptable chance of being ripped off. Golfers are easier prey than people who play other sports for various reasons but mainly because of the high turnover of new and used equipment and the generally higher than average discretionary income of a golfer. We are all looking for the next great thing that will cure our swing ills or give us that extra distance – and we are prepared to pay for it. We are, in the scammers parlance, easy marks for fakes and knockoffs.

Because of this when I decided to buy a new driver I knew what I wanted to do: I would dealt with someone I knew (or rather thought I knew) through online forums, avoiding eBay, I would make sure he wasn’t overseas and do all my research so that I knew exactly what I wanted.

A few months ago, in an idle PM with another golfwrx user, I casually mentioned that I was looking for a new Driver and would value some advice on how to go about buying one on BST. This person was one of the most active posters on this website. He said he was an ex-touring pro having played on tours just below the European Tour. He said he nearly made it once at Q-school, but that the number just slipped away from him at the end so he called it a day, gave it up and got his amateur status back. He offered advice to beginners and the sort of insights that only someone that has been on the other side of the ropes would know.

No need to go on BST he said, as luck would have it he could get me a great deal on a driver as one of his friends from his tour days ran a golf shop. He could offer me ‘mates rates’ and save me a packet and at the same time get me a top quality product that would be built to my specs. ‘Result!’, I thought. The only problem was that because I had specified a custom shaft, it would take 5 weeks to order and get built. Not a problem for me as while my current driver was not all I wanted it to be, it was still more than serviceable, and anyway I knew that the standard order time for this club was about a month. So I arranged a bank transfer into his account so he wouldn’t be out of pocket and waited for my new driver.

Five weeks later, having arranged to meet up for drinks at the end of the week so that he could give me the club I got a phone call from him telling me that the driver had arrived but there was a problem; it had the wrong custom shaft! Apologies and offers of money back while it was sorted out assuaged any suspicions I had. While it is uncommon to get a mis-specified club, I could imagine that happening easily enough, especially to a club in notoriously high demand where turn-around times are bound to be a concern, so the sense that something was not quite right could be easily dismissed as the paranoia that I would be scammed.

A couple of phone calls and PM conversations later, he got back to me saying that they would rush this one through and that it would take no longer than 4 weeks. Again not a problem I thought, I’m dealing with a good guy not some scam artist so I was happy to wait. This time, rather than meeting up for a drink so that I could get the club, we would play golf instead. This was going to be exciting for 2 reasons: firstly I would finally get my new club that I had waited 10 weeks for and secondly, he was a member of one of the most prestigious courses in the UK – one that had been the host of a Ryder cup – so I was as excited as a kid before Christmas for the chance to play at a venue that that.

Because the previous order had turned up with the wrong shaft, I thought that it would only make sense to check up when it was supposed to arrive. On the Monday five days before we were supposed to meet up and the day the driver was supposed to be delivered, I emailed him to find out about tee times and also whether he would mind checking that the driver had turned up with the correct shaft this time. As I would be travelling about 300 miles there and back, I wanted to sort out my travel arrangements and to make sure that there wasn’t going to be a repeat of last time.

Silence.

What the………This was when I began to doubt that all was well. This was a guy who normally posted online at least twice a day, why was he suddenly silent? He had logged on a couple of hours after I had sent my message so I knew that he had received it.

In the week previous, he had told me that he had been a bit tied up at work so it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that he was so busy at work that he literally couldn’t get back to me. And not everybody has a computer at home so maybe he was unable to reply there.

Still the days dragged on, and after multiple emails, PM’s, messages both SMS and left on his mobile phone answerphone he had still not got back to me. By Friday it was obvious that our golf was going to be a bust (which in itself was pretty rude and fairly disappointing but nothing to get my knickers in a twist about), so that just left the club. What was happening with that?

More silence.

He wasn’t answering his mobile phone but we had exchanged emails before, and he had emailed from his work account. This meant that I had could phone up his work. If he was still working there that would have been a great opportunity to ask him what was happening but unfortunately when I rang up I was politely informed that he was no longer employed there. When I say ‘politely informed’ I mean of course that they said he was fired and weren’t surprised that he wasn’t in contact with me for various reasons that they felt unable to go into.

Just great.

As the only contact details I had were his work email address and what could well be a work mobile phone number, this meant as far as getting in contact with him I was stuffed, and he appeared to have no inclination to contact me.

This left me with 4 options: go through the hassle of phoning everyone in the phonebook with his surname that lives in the same area, phone the club where we were supposed to be playing and where he was supposed to be a member, phone the police or just walk away. None of the options were palatable as all would involve a fair amount of hassle and/or embarrassment but there was no way I was going to stop now.

Read "Dude, Where’s my Driver? – Part Two" next week.

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2 Comments

  1. Pingback: Bag Chatter » My First Tour Club

  2. Mike K.

    Oct 15, 2007 at 9:05 pm

    …Really, That sucks! I hope part two at least gets your money back.

    I loathe doing any business on-line with private parties. Paranoia – maybe, but with all the scams out there it is more and more likely that you could become a mark.

    I look forward to a decent resolution to your problem!

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News

Tour Rundown: Six-pack of tourneys follows Masters

Published

8 hours ago

on

Apr 22, 2024

By

Brazil and Texas were kindred souls this week, at least when it came to weather. Both regions experienced torrential delays, and three tournaments were held up. The LPGA, PGA Tour Americas, and PGA Tour Champions were compelled to reduce play or work extra holes into Sunday. As if that weren’t enough, South Carolina and the PGA Tour fell victim to nature’s wrath, with lightning postponing the conclusion of the event to Monday.

The year’s first women’s major championship was celebrated in Texas. The Chevron is gaining a bit of tradition in its second year after relocation. This year’s event culminated in the continued coronation of the game’s current best. The Korn Ferry Tour saw a top-twenty performance from a 15-year old amateur, while the second event of the week on the big tour found a winner in the Dominican Republic. Six events is more than a handful, so let’s get right to it, with this week’s (delayed) Tour Rundown.

LPGA @ Chevron Championship: Korda corrals second major title

The winter of 2022-2023 seems so distant for current Nelly Korda. A mysterious ailment sapped all of her energy, just as the world appeared to have finally emerged from the pandemic. We never quite secured the complete information that we desired, but no one can say that any of us deserved to know more than Nelly wished to share. One thing is for certain: Nelly Korda has returned to top form, and the world number one golfer is at least one level above anyone else on tour.

Korda began her 2024 campaign with a January victory in the Drive One Championship. In her next start, in March, she continued her assault on the record books, with a win at the Se Ri Pak. She won again the following week, at the Ford, then defeated Leona Maguire in the final match at the T-Mobile Match Play, for a fourth consecutive victory. Would the increased hype around a major championship have an impact on her game? Well, no.

Korda began play at the Chevron Championship with a score of 68. She trailed Lauren Coughlin by two after 18 holes, but caught her with a second-round 69. Coughlin would ultimately tie for third spot with Brooke Henderson. Henderson played with Korda on day four, but the middle third of the round was her undoing. Making a late move was Maja Stark. House Stark closed with birdies at 17 and 18 to reach 11 under par. Both Korda and Strak played the final three days in identical numbers: 69 each day.

Korda held a firm hand on the tournament over the course of the final day. She stood minus-four for the round through ten holes, before a bit of sloppy play made things competitive again. Bogeys at 11 and 15 opened the door a wee bit for Stark. Korda was equal to the test, however, and closed stylishly with birdie at 18.

PGA Tour 1 @ RBC: Scottie, so hottie!

Nelly isn’t the only golfer on fire, although Scottie Scheffler still has a ways to go to match her. Scheffler proved this week that he has a game for all courses. After winning comfortably at lengthy Augusta National, Scheffler shifted gears and game to the wee Sea Pines course, and won again. That’s two weeks in a row for the man from New Jersey/Texas, so let’s learn how he did it.

Scheffler totaled 69 on day one, and found himself six shots behind leader J.T. Poston. Scheffler revealed that his teacher, Randy Smith, would tell him that he didn’t need to be the best 15 year-old; just the best 25 year-old. It was easy, then, to play the long game and consider all 72 holes, instead of just 18. Scheffler improved to 65 on Friday, and then went even lower on Saturday. His 63 moved him to the top of the board, and caused the golfverse to wonder if Scheffler would win for a second consecutive week.

Sunday saw all the chasers fall away. Scores between 70 and 72 from Patrick Rodgers, Collin Morikawa, and Sepp Straka meant that others would need to seize the day, if Scheffler were to do more than coast. Wyndham Clark and Justin Thomas each moved inside the top five with fourth-round 65s, but no one ever got close enough to the world number one. The win was Scheffler’s 10th on tour, and made him the betting favorite for next month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

PGA Tour 2 @ Corales Puntacana: Baton Boy claims 8th Tour triumph

If you’ve ever seen Billy Horschel toss a club, you know that he doesn’t do so in anger. More likely is a calculated, soaring arc, paired with a look of fractured disbelief, followed by a quick catch of the cudgel. Ergo, Baton Boy. This week on the island of Hispaniola, the native of Grant, Florida, outworked and outhustled everyone else on Sunday. Horschel gathered seven birdies and an eagle, on the way to a 63 and a 23-under par total.

The former Florida Gator zipped past the four golfers in front of him, and left the remaining field in the rear-view mirror. Horschel’s round was two shots better than anyone else, and moved him two shots ahead of third-round leader Wesley Bryan. One of the famed Bryan Brothers, Wes closed with birdie at the last to post a 68 that would have won the week on any other day.

Korn Ferry Tour @ LeCom Suncoast: It’s Widing in extra holes

Miles Russell probably won’t have to serve detention for ditching class on Thursday and Friday. The high school freshman made his KFT debut, survived the 36-hole cut, and toyed with a top-ten finish. He ultimately tied for 20th at 14-under par, six shots behind the three co-leaders. My guess is that Epstein’s Mom will write him a note, and he’ll get a pass. By finishing top-25, Russell earned a spot in next week’s event. Yikes!

Back to the top of the board. Patrick Cover, Steven Fisk, and Tim Widing all found their way to the magic number of -20. Fisk made birdie at the last, after bogeys at 16 and 17. Cover had three bogeys on the back nine, but a birdie at 14 was enough to get him to overtime. Widing was plus-one on the day through four, but played interstellar golf over the final 14. Six birdies moved him from Russell-ville to extra time.

The trio scurried to the 18th tee, where Cover drove into a fairway bunker. He was unable to reach the green with his approach, made bogey, and exited the overtime session. Widing and Fisk returned to the final deck once more, and matters were resolved. Fisk was unable to convert a long par putt, and Widing (pronounced VEE-ding) tapped in for his first KFT title.

PGA Tour Americas @ Brasil Open: Mr. Anderson finds a way

Golf is a funny game. Matthew Anderson held a lead with one round to play. He made six pars on Sunday, and sprinkled the rest of his card with birdies and bogeys. In complete contrast, Ollie Osborne played consistently on the day, posting four birdies and zero bogeys. Connor Godsey was not far off Osborne’s pace, with seven birdies and but two bogeys on the scorecard. So, of course, Matthew Anderson won by a stroke over Osborne and Godsey.

Not how, but how many, is another one of those platitudes that we all learn early on. Despite five bogeys through his first 14 holes, Anderson summoned the defiant grit to make birdie at the 71st and 72nd holes. After making deuce at the penultimat hole, Anderson’s swerving effort at the last looked as if it should miss low, but it had enough pace to stay inside the hole and fall for a closing four at the par-five finisher.

PGA Tour Champions @ Invited Celebrity: Broadhurst stands tall

What do you call a tournament that begins on Friday, takes Saturday off, and finishes on Sunday? Fortunate is one adjective to use. A weather system moved through Texas this weekend, and made a mess of things in Irving. After Thomas Bjorn signed for 64 on day one, rain and all things counter-productive moved through the Las Colinas resort, ensuring that Saturday would be nothing more than a rest day. When Sunday arrived, conditions had improved, and the game was on. Bjorn was unable to preserve his Friday magic, although he did record a 70 for -8. He finished in a third-place tie with Y.E. Yang.

David Toms, the 2001 PGA Championship victor, presented Sunday’s low round, and moved to 10-under par. Toms made one mistake on the day. He lived in the rough on the 9th hole, ultimately making bogey. The rest of the day was immaculate, as seven birdies came his way, resulting in a six-under par 65. Only one golfer was able to surpass Toms, and that was Paul Broadhurst.

Broadhurst nearly matched Toms for daily honors. His mistake came early, with bogey at the second. He bounced back with eagle at the third, and added three more birdies for 66 and 11-under par. Over his first three seasons on the Tour Champions, Broadhurst won five times, including two major titles. His fifth win came in 2018, making this win his first in six years. A long time coming, for sure, but well earned.

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Morning 9: Rory: I’m not joining LIV | Masters ratings | Nelly: We just need a stage

Published

5 days ago

on

Apr 17, 2024

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up to this week’s RBC Heritage.

1. Rory: I’m not going to LIV

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…McIlroy said neither he nor his agents have ever discussed a potential deal to lure him to the LIV Golf League, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

  • “I honestly don’t know how these things get started,” McIlroy told Golf Channel while on the practice range at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the site of this week’s RBC Heritage. “I’ve never been offered a number from LIV, and I’ve never contemplated going to LIV. Again, I think I’ve made it clear over the past two years that I don’t think it’s something for me.
  • “It doesn’t mean that I judge people who have went and played over there. I think one of the things that I have realized over the past two years is that people can make their own decisions for whatever they think is best for themselves, and who are we to judge them for that? But personally, for me, my future is here on the PGA Tour, and it’s never been any different.”
Full piece.

2. Masters ratings down

Yahoo’s Jay Busbee…”Ratings for the full Masters week are now out, and 2024’s version ranks as the lowest since the COVID-impacted years of 2020 and 2021. There was a brief moment when four players shared the lead at the 2024 Masters, but Scottie Scheffler took care of business quickly enough and strolled to what qualifies as an “easy” Masters victory — a four-stroke triumph that wasn’t in doubt for most of the second nine.”

  • “Perhaps as a result, Sunday’s final round averaged 9.59 million viewers on CBS, according to Sports Media Watch, a 22.8% decline from last year’s 12.06 million. Scheffler’s win two years ago averaged 10.17 million viewers. Worth noting: Sunday’s final round was down 20 percent against last year’s victory by Jon Rahm, but last year’s final round fell on Easter Sunday, which created a significantly higher out-of-home percentage of viewers — 21 percent in 2023, as opposed to 9 percent this year.”
Full piece.

3. Chevron gets purse boost

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols…“Chevron’s commitment to the LPGA went a step higher on Tuesday with the announcement of a purse increase to $7.9 million in 2024. The move brings the tour’s first major in line with the purses of other championships. The U.S. Women’s Open purse of $12 million paces the tour, with the KPMG Women’s PGA second at $10 million. The AIG Women’s British Open purse checks in at $9 million while Amundi Evian is $6.5 million.”

  • “Chevron, which moved the event away from Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, to Texas, last year, has increased the purse by $4.8 million since assuming title sponsorship in 2022. The company has committed to title sponsor the event through 2029.”
Full piece.

4. Shipley on “notegate”

Alex Myers for Golf Digest…”So what was up with “notegate”? During his hilarious spot with McAfee, Shipley reiterated there was no note from Woods, and that he was only looking at the moderator because he was so confused where the question was coming from:

  • “I looked over at the moderator like ‘Who the hell is this guy?'” Shipley says in the clip. “Because it just didn’t happen. I was so confused and so shocked in the moment.”
Full piece.

5. Nelly: We just need a stage

Iain Carter for the BBC…”Korda is the first American to win four consecutive tournaments on the LPGA since Lopez won five straight 46 years ago. This astonishing streak made the then rookie front page material for Sports Illustrated.

  • “Korda’s feats have yet to transcend the golfing village, and perhaps that suits her as she “tries to stay in my bubble”. But the American Solheim Cup player does recognise that more could be done to tell the increasingly compelling story of women’s golf.”
  • “I feel like we just need a stage,” she told reporters here at Carlton Woods just north of Houston. “We need to be put on TV.
  • “I feel like when it’s tape delay, or anything like that, that hurts our game. Women’s sports just needs a stage. If we have a stage we can show up and perform and show people what we’re all about.”
Full piece.

6. Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

  • Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event!
Full piece.
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

Published

6 days ago

on

Apr 16, 2024

By

GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.

We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.

We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.

Check out links to all our photos, below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

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WITB

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