Home Improvements

Nick Momrik3 Comments

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been busy with home improvements. First my Dad came down for a weekend and we did some odds and ends, but the big project was installing a ceiling fan/light in my bedroom. Previously there wasn’t a light in the room and with it being a pretty large room it was hard to see with just a corner lamp in the room.

Neither my Dad or I are electricians or have any experience, but we got the project done and learned a lot along the way. The original configuration had a switch at the door of the room which controlled the top plug of two outlets. In the end, this switch draws power and is connected to another switch inside my closet (which is right by my bed). So now I can turn the light/fan on when walking in/out the room and also when jumping into bed. All of the plugs on the outlets are always hot now and no longer controlled by a switch. The entire project too a whole day, 4 trips to Home Depot, and who knows how many trips up into the attic. It sure does make the room look nice though.

On Sunday I started tearing down wallpaper in the closet and sink area of my bedroom. The original plan was to do both this are and the bathroom at the same time. After over 5 hours on the first room, I decided to turn them into two separate projects because not having good lighting and a mirror by the sink really sucks! Monday I moved all of my clothes out of the closet (the wallpaper stopped right before the closet area of the room) and took down all of the shelving and clothes hanging bars, then scrubbed any remaining glue from the walls and wiped them down. Last night I sanded and patched up all of the holes and marks on the walls. Hopefully tonight I can sand my patch jobs, wipe down the walls, put on some Kilz where it’s needed, and get the painting done. That would leave Thursday night to put everything back together in the room, move in my clothes, and finally unpack some boxes which hadn’t been done since moving in.

Every project turns out to be much harder and more time consuming than you originally think, but of course I then add on to them as well. I don’t like to do shit half-ass, so I do the extra work. I figure if I’m working on it, might as well do things right the first time and spend the extra time.

Owning a home is really a lot of work, but it feels great to accomplish something and know you are adding value to your home at the same time as you’re making it look great.

Review: G.R.I.P 460cc Beta Titanium Driver

Nick Momrik2 Comments

Golf Research In Play (G.R.I.P) announced a new 460cc Beta Titanium Driver at the end of April and I jumped all over the chance to review one.

G.R.I.P.

Specifications

The driver sells for $129.95 which is nearly giving the club away for free compared to the prices of similar drivers on the golf market which usually sell for $300 or more. The club is available with 9, 10.5, or 12 degrees of loft with the shaft length of the first two being 45.25 inches and the third at 45 inches. In addition to a choice in lofts, you also can choose a shaft made of graphite — regular, stiff flex, senior flex, lady flex — or true temper steel. These options should be enough to satisfy any amateur golfer in the market for a new driver except the lefties; the driver is only available in the right hand model at this time.

Photos

G.R.I.P. 460cc Beta Titanium DriverG.R.I.P. 460cc Beta Titanium DriverG.R.I.P. 460cc Beta Titanium Driver

About the Driver

Directly from the web site…

The Craftsmanship — Aerospace-Grade 460cc Beta Titanium

Our G.R.I.P. Driver offers an enormous 460cc beta titanium clubhead, the largest allowable by the USGA. It is constructed using aerospace-grade, beta titanium, with the maximum allowable COR (Coefficient of Restitution), enabling the clubface to give slightly at impact and spring back.

Additionally, the clubface’s generous sweet spot produces exceptionally long and straight drives, and fewer mis-hits. Its deep clubface also promotes a high launch angle and low spin rate to maximize distance.

Elevated MOI

The G.R.I.P. 460cc Driver’s innovative design boosts its MOI (Moment of Inertia) by moving the club’s weight from its center, decreasing side spin and increasing ball speed. The elevated MOI also significantly reduces twisting of the clubhead, allowing for straighter shots even on off-center hits.

Rear-Sole Weighting

The GRIP 460cc Beta Titanium Driver features swing-correcting, fixed weight ports in the club’s rear sole, providing for a lower, deeper center of gravity that helps you close the clubface at impact and eliminate or reduce slicing. The G.R.I.P. fixed weighting system also reacts effortlessly to off-center hits by squaring the face during contact, making it the benchmark in fixed-weight driver technology.

G.R.I.P 460cc Beta Titanium Driver

The Look

The craftsmanship and design of the G.R.I.P. driver really shows when you pick it up and look at it. At 460cc the head is obviously going to be large, but it’s shape and construction don’t make it look odd like a lot of the drivers taking advantage of new technology. The shape of the head stays along the same lines of traditional drivers from 2-3 years ago. As you address the club it is very visually appealing next to the golf ball on the tee. The top of the club and the shaft are an attractive blue color which doesn’t show in the photos from the G.R.I.P. web site. For full disclosure, blue is my favorite color. I didn’t care for the grip on the shaft, which was kind of navy blue and black design if I can remember correctly. I don’t use normal size grips, so after testing out the club, I quickly had a new shaft (Winn Grip 6G8X-BBL which is a midsize with 3 layers of tape) put on to match my other clubs.

The Feel

As you swing the club everything feels very balanced. I like to start with a slow back swing and then really come at the ball on my downswing with an agressive weight transfer. With GRIP’s driver I feel like I’m in control of my swing.

In Action

The driver was delivered last Thursday, so I took it to the range before golf league. I wanted to determine if I should put it in my bag. After a couple of minutes I had my mind made up; I was giving the club a try in my bag. I was hitting pretty consistent shots that were long and straight. When I looked at the club face, I wasn’t even hitting the sweet spot yet. Every ball was high and towards the toe of the club, so the driver really is forgiving on off-center hits. On the course was a bit of a different story but not because of the golf club. I’ve been struggling with my swing timing on the tee, hitting some dead pulls or nasty pull hooks. When I did correct things I bombed a few down the fairways.

On Friday I went to the driving range to fix my swing and compare the G.R.I.P. driver to the 10 degree Makser AS440 I’ve played the last two years. When comparing the two drivers side by side, the new GRIP driver has a larger head and the shaft was over an inch longer. This year I’ve had a problem topping the ball on a lot of drives and this seems to have been resolved with the longer shaft. I hot both drivers, switching back and forth. I only hit a few slices using the G.R.I.P. driver and it played a lot more consistently. When the ball comes off the face of the club it has a nice rising ball flight and it goes long and straight.

On Sunday I played 18 holes at Bay City Country Club, using the driver every chance I could. The first few holes found me just off the fairway because I’ve been so used to compensating for a slice or slight fade. Once I learned to trust the club and aim down the middle, I was hitting bombs over the fairway bunkers. I don’t think I’ve ever hit so many fairways with a driving during one rough of golf in my life. I was hitting it 270-300 yards right down the middle nearly every hole. I only hit one bad slice all day long. My Dad took the old Makser driver home for my brother to try out since I have no use for it anymore.

Today I played 9 holes at Twin Oaks Golf Course and my swing was horrible. I didn’t make solid contact once off the tee, so I can’t say how the driver performed.

The Verdict

I’ve never felt more confident in a golf club in the 8 years I’ve been golfing. I’ve never hit a driver as consistently long and straight as I can hit the G.R.I.P. 460cc Beta Titanium Driver. For only $129.95 you won’t find a better buy on a quality driver anywhere. Is there a driver out there I can hit just as straight and will give me another 10 yards off the tee? Probably, but it’s not worth the $300-500 it would cost. I can’t wait to get out for my next round of golf and hear the “ooohs” and “aaahs” after I hit a drive.

Poker Buzz Faded

Nick Momrik3 Comments

What happened to all of the poker buzz in the United States? Two or three years ago you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing a conversation about poker. Now it rarely happens. I believe the legislation that put a lock down on online poker really hurt the poker industry in the US. I know I haven’t played a single hand of online poker since it came about. But I also hadn’t played for quite some time before it passed.

My main reason for quiting was that it took up way too much of my time. There are much better things I’d rather be doing and it’s paid off for me. I dropped 25 pounds and work out nearly every day. I bought a house which is a lot of work. I spend more time golfing and doing other things I enjoy. I’m no longer sitting in front of my computer for 3-4 hours a day watching the cards go by.

If you’re someone who has stopped playing…why?

Blame it on the Wind

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Today was my first day golfing at Bay City Country Club for the SVSU golf league. The temperature wasn’t much higher than 60, especially with a steady 2 club wind. When you start off with a 10 on the first hole you know the end result isn’t going to come out how you want. Add in an eight on the other par 5 and it all adds up to a nasty 52. At least I went bogey-par-bogey on the last three holes.

The course is definitely one of the nicest, if not the nicest, I’ve played in the Saginaw area. It’s definitely one of the most difficult and probably has more sand than the other 3 courses I play most often combined. Nearly every hole had fairway bunkers near the landing zones and the greens seemed to be surrounded. It’s a good thing I can hit it long enough to bomb it past the fairway bunkers when there isn’t so much wind.

I was happy with my iron and wedge play for the most part, but my putting pretty much sucked. The greens are a lot faster than I’m used to and they were also recently air-rated (or whatever you call it) so the ball bounced a little here and there.

I’m really looking forward to playing a more challenging course each week, compared to my other league which is basically on a 27 hole course that little more than a field with trees and nice grass. I shot a 44 for league there on Tuesday after being unable to hit a sand wedge. I was inside of 100 yards for my approach shot on every single par 4 and 5. Ugly!