Golf - Star Buys

The most under-used and most easy to give-up club in the bag is the number three 15 degrees fairway wood for me. A fairway wood is nice and easy to use off a tee on a tighter fairway simply because it is shorter than a driver and has a higher loft of 15 compared to a driver's 10 degrees, therefore, useful as a second driver. However, hitting one off the deck with consistency is a different story favouring those with a flatter swing plane. I have tried them all including all the major brands and models over the years in particular those that lay claims to be the most forgiving which usually means a bigger head.

I came to a point where my longest club after a driver is a number two hybrid of 18 or 19 degrees. This however, is not sufficiently long to put a two-on on a par 5 or long par 4 or when you are playing off the Blue tee. Any hybrid of lesser loft and longer shaft is no longer as friendly. So that brings me back to be between a rock and a hard place. Titleist did not appear to be an easy club to use let alone a Titleist fairway wood that comes in a smaller head which to some may be too intimidating. I got one that came in a Mitsubishi Diamana Blue "stiff" shaft at 43 inches and 15.5 degrees loft. It turned out to be the best fairway I have ever hit! For this, I have one man to thank - Mr. N. Samy.

(See link on my previous article- http://gforce-guru.blogspot.com/2011/03/titleist.html)

Singapore Golf Market

The Singapore golf market or for that matter any market in Singapore is a tough one simply because we lack a critical mass. In previous articles, I have mentioned that there are two extreme types of golfers - one who always change their clubs and the other who never. There are very good and average players on both sides of the scale. I have also lamented on the lack of options and choices. For example not many carry 9 or 9.5 degrees "Regular" shaft drivers and those that do carry very small numbers in quantity. Except for a few brands, there is not enough in club-fittings especially for drivers.

The other concern I have is that with the advent of the Internet the world has become a different place. It has changed countries, politics, lifestyle, businesses and everything. As I have shared before, one could buy books, CDs or DVDs online but to buy clothes or golf clubs it is a different thing which I prefer to see the real thing, touch and feel them. However, if at your disposal one can find similar and identical products at a huge savings or at prices that makes it sensible to consider then this may change future patterns of purchases. I am a concerned consumer because I am a "people" person and I like to be in a real golf shop for retail therapy not in cyber space. This is where "Golf Direct"plays a part in bringing golf to the masses just as some public golf courses or our NSRCC for NS men.

Golf used to be a very expensive hobby where you have to pay exorbitantly for memberships, green fees and golf equipment. Sportsmen are being paid astronomical sums just to endorse products and such costs are borne by end users. Despite the competition of many brands, retail prices are incredibly marked up. For the world to go round, everybody should make some profit so that we could all have a better quality of life. I am all for better ideas, great quality of products and service as a way to compete rather than a controlled market environment.

With the advent of the Internet, everything has changed. You can see the prices of golf clubs being sold in other parts of the world. Golf Direct is like that Internet store, bringing golf products at cheaper prices locally. Two of their main brands are Titleist and Ping where they get their stocks locally. (These Callaway bags in the pix are quite sleek).

They have their own brands like Dunlop, Lynx, Slazenger, Giga and Team Yoshimura.

Others like Callaway, Odyssey, Nike and TaylorMade are parallel imports. Their prices are attractive and compelling especially their "Star Buys". There was a time where I was looking at all these brands and certain models of golf clubs which at these prices would turn me into a child in a candy shop or maybe eventually turn myself in to Golfaholics Anonymous. You know you could be the first person to borrow from loan sharks to buy golf equipment. I am a more discerning golfer now and I look for specific types of clubs to not only sharpen the game but to have greater feel as well and although the experiment for higher knowledge is a continuous process, this is a place where I can increase these experiments. In case of failed experiments, it hurts less.

Some of you may not be aware but Mr. N. Samy is a golf industry veteran. He was with Ping local distributor "Winston" in 1973. He had lived and worked in the golf industry in Taiwan for many years before.

The range of bags, shoes, gloves and many other accessories are aplenty too and also friendly advice from the man himself - Samy. Ample parking is available at Enterprise One at Kaki Bukit too and if you are lucky you can park just outside the shop to load up. Golfers are like hunters trying to seek out the perfect shot for the perfect kill. I will continue to give you the legs up for a better game. Tell Samy you caught a glimpse of him here. Happy golfing!

Golf Direct opened another outlet at 1 Commonwealth Lane, #01-03, One Commonwealth. You can meet Mr. Guna, a golf expert of 25 years trained by Samy.

Golf as in life, play as it lies!