Product Review - Ping Sigma G Wolverine

Welcome to another product review and this one looks at the Ping Sigma Wolverine putter. This is one of the new Sigma range of sixteen putters (in the UK) and has been available in the shops for the last few months. Unlike the previous release, "Vault" which had a milled face, with the Sigma G range Ping has gone back to an insert.

However, both the milled face and the insert on the Sigma range still has their "Tru Roll" face pattern which varies in depth and dispersion. This is less deep and wider at the sweet spot and then becomes deeper and spaced tighter for off centre hits which Ping claim speeds up off centre strikes and leads to less three putts. Now as a fourteen handicapper, the chances of me finding the sweet spot every time is unlikely so it's interesting to see how this plays out

Ping Sigma putter overview

Another new feature, much overdue in my personal opinion is the introduction of a new pistol type grip. I had one of the Cadence Anser's from a few year back and these came with a blue midsize grip (on the standard weighted putters) which I didn't feel comfortable with and I found became very slippery in the wet. This new Sigma G Wolverine comes with a PP60 midsize pistol grip which has a tacky but ribbed feel and sits nicely in the hand.

Ping Sigma G Wolverine

The Wolverine is designed for a straight back and through type of stroke. It's a large mallet type putter and on first sight, there are definite comparisons with the Odyssey Fang putter (below) or the Taylormade Spider (also below)

Odyssey Versa 2 Ball Fang Putter

Taylormade Spider

I've done a video to show the putter in action on my Youtube channel running in conjunction with this blog. I've attached a link to it here (Ping Sigma G Wolverine review). While you'll over there make sure you subscribe to the channel to get ongoing reviews, updates and on course logs and don't forget to thumbs up the video as well. If you have any comments please feel free to leave them under the video and I'll read each one and respond.

In action, it's very stable as you'll see and visually the big head and the distinctive white line makes it very to line the ball up, especially on the crucial short putts. One this you may not be able to pick up from the video sound is that it has a distinctive "ping" off the face. In the test I used both a premium ball (Srixon Z Star xv) and a firmer all (Srixon AD333 tour) and the noise was noticeable /with both balls. While I didn't mind this, clearly this may not be to every players taste.

The putts were from around two feet, five feet and out towards fifteen feet. As I've already mentioned, the putter has this "Tru Roll" polymer insert and while I was happy with the quality of the strike I made on each putt, I can't verify how many came off the centre as I don't have access to SAM Lab technology or similar. I can only describe it as I feel and see it.

Since the video was filmed it's been in my bag and I was pleased with the way it performed (31 putts with a distinctly flaky short game which meant there were very few tap i/n putts for up and down scrambles). Speed control was consistent which I guess you could argue vindicates Ping's claims about this insert and "Tru Roll". Of course I'd argue it was my smooth putting stroke but the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle somewhere/.

As I've done with all my other recent reviews I've broken it down into a couple of key sections

Looks - Visually it's definitely big, but I don't feel it's "in your face" big and no different to most other mallets on the market of similar design. It's clear, single white sight line is very simple but works well. The grey finish works well in the sun and glare is minimised 8/10

Grip - The mid size PP60 pistol grip definitely enhances a soft and light grip pressure and sits nicely in the hand which should promote a smooth action. It fits nicely in the contour of the hand 9/10

Alignment - As well as the vivid white line, the top of the putter does also contain other lines in the grey head which are of varying length. To be honest, I tended to focus solely on the white line and didn't really notice these other alignment aids. That said, the shape and the white line made it very easy to line up. I felt confident the putter was aligned correctly especially on the 2-3 footers on the course and it did provide an element of confidence boosting 7/10

Feel - The insert (and "Tru Roll" design) does give a pleasant, and perhaps more importantly a consistent feel off the face with both a soft and harder ball. As said, I can't vouch for the validity of the "Tru Roll" design but distance control was good. There is a distinct sound off the face that some golfers will find annoying 8/10

Stability - As with most mallets, it's very, very stable. Designed for a golfer with a distinct back and through, straight putting style, it has a large MOI for added accuracy. The shape definitely maximises the perimeter weighting Ping have put on the extremes of the Wolverine

Down behind the ball it sat very nicely and squarely. I've had putters before that will feel as though they are sitting distinctly open or closed and I've always had an inclination to then try and manipulate the face to sit squarer. With the Wolverine, it sits solidly behind the ball and begs to stroke the ball to the hole 9/10

Price - This (and I believe most of the other Sigma range) retail in the region (in the UK) of £169 although I'm sure as the range is now a few months old, deals will start to appear online and in shops. It's comparable in price to some of the similar putters from Ping's main competitors in the putter market and certainly much cheaper than the predecessor, the milled Vault range. 7/10

Overall - The Ping Sigma G Wolverine is a no frills putter. It's decor is plain but efficient and relies on the technology and consistent quality of build that Ping are synonymous for and is a reputation garnished from over 50 years of building top class putters used not only on tours around the world but which have been in the bags of the weekend golfer too.

That said, I couldn't verify the claims of "Tru Roll" as I didn't have a SAM Putting unit (GASP - Sam System to dissect my stroke and show where I struck the ball, However it was a stable, functional putter with a distinct sound, and from a variety of distances performed well. It's definitely one I like and I've a feeling it could be finding it's way into my bag and usurping the current incumbent soon. If you like a bigger mallet style putter then this one is definitely worth trying out 8/10

A Quest For Single Figures Video Update

Welcome back to the Three Off The Tee blog and there's a new video blog for you to enjoy on the Youtube channel running parallel to the blog The "Quest" April update). It's here to update you on "The Quest For Single Figures" and discusses my progress and has some updates over and above my last post on here with details of the first honours board event at Royal Ascot Golf Club played over the Easter weekend.

This was a bogey event. a tough format that's essentially match play against the course. Keep tuned as there's some good news in there. On top of that it'll update you on some other videos that are coming to the channel soon. I hope you enjoy the update, and don't forget to click on the subscribe button. If you have any comments or ideas on how to progress "The Quest" please put them in the comments box below the video. I'll look at them all and reply.

The Quest For Single Figures - Update (5th April 2017)

Welcome back to my slightly revamped blog site. I hope you like it and have had a chance to check out the Three Off The Tee youtube channel that now runs in conjunction with the blog. There's now a link on the front page or you can go to it here (My youtube channel). Please check it out, subscribe and thumbs up the videos. There's a lot to come soon including a couple of putter reviews (Ping Sigma vs Odyssey "O" works) and an Aimpoint video

With all of that out of the way, it's time to update you on my "Quest For Single Figures". Once again, there have been issues, primarily on the health front and so tuition, practice and playing time have been impacted and I've not moved forward as quickly as I'd hoped. That said, I'm now back out and playing regularly again and now the clocks have changed will begin to work on my game, especially the short game with renewed vigour. That's the one area, perhaps bunkers aside, that's still woeful and is causing issues. I had hoped the linear method for pitching and chipping would have resolved this but having not invested any time into this method or indeed what you may consider a more conventional method, both are failing on the course and testing patience and resolve.

Since my last update, there has only been one competitive round, a medal (Royal Ascot Cup qualifier) played in breezy, damp conditions. I have to say, in my defence, I had come back from the latest illness with no time to work on the changes I was still bleeding in from the last lesson I'd had (Live Lesson). I actually started reasonably well and then hit the buffers at our 5th, having been in a green side bunker for three on the par five and walked off with an eight. Don't ask!

I frittered a few more shots away on the front nine to go out in 45 (+10 gross or three over handicap) and was back in a familiar scenario of not trusting what I'd worked on in the lesson, over thinking as a consequence, and getting myself into a world of hurt.

My back nine started with an ugly double bogey which led to a mental meltdown and a string of car crash holes, going double, triple, double from the 12th to the 14th. I managed a couple of pars over the closing few holes, chucked another almost obligatory double bogey in on the 16th for good measure and walked away dazed and confused with a net 79 (+9) which was still good enough for a mid-table 13th place finish in division 2 but of course led to an inevitable 0.1 handicap increase. My statistics for the round (such as they were) are here to peruse.

March 2017 Medal Statistics

Since this medal on the 18th March, I've had another lesson. I spoke in depth with my teaching professional about the video from the previous lesson and in particular how steep the shaft appears to be on the down swing and how trapped it seemed to make me. I had tinkered, as is my way, at the range at trying to lay the club flatter behind me at the start of the transition and down swing to come on a flatter plane and pass more in front of me at impact with a degree of success. My professional looked at the footage and could see the issues (cupped left wrist, high right elbow, and taking the club away outside the line) and we had a productive time sorting this out. Unfortunately, despite having the camera set up and working, the file corrupted and I wasn't able to download it to review at a later date and compare this lesson alongside the previous one as I hoped.

The positive note was the quality of strike which was better. Tempo was, and no doubt will remain an issue, but when I was in a decent rhythm I had so much more time to make a compact swing with the right elbow in particular in a far better position and not "flying". So of course I diligently worked on it on the range and rocked up for the usual Sunday morning roll up, feeling good and seeing some positive returns in practice and ready to compete. What transpired was my lowest point to date on this rocky road to single figures. I walked off after eleven holes. I was crap. Not even that good in all honesty and despite trying to have fun, swing slower and all the things you're suppose to do on an off day, everything went to pot. I was getting more and more wound up to the point where I was aware it was impacting on my playing partners. I didn't want to be there and as the tag line on all the betting adverts on TV says, "When the fun stops, STOP" so I did. I wasn't proud walking off but my head was a mess and I would rather have been anywhere else than enduring another two hours on the course and another seven holes of abject misery.

You would think that after 0.1 back in the medal and then this disaster the "Quest" would be over and I'd come to my senses and admit it's never going to happen. Not on your life dear reader. This stubborn old goat is made of sterner stuff and still has a deep ingrained desire to get to single figures and enjoy proving so many naysayers wrong. It's going to happen.

Of course you have to get back on the horse. I did so with a solo practice round the following week and some structured practice. The solo round was patchy at best, but I then took advantage of playing the back nine last week after work as soon as the clocks changed and that was far more like it. It felt like the old me. I was fortunate to have been invited back to Kingswood (where the Jolly Boys "Play Golf trio of videos on the youtube channel were shot) last Friday and it was a chance for a relaxed social round with no pressures on the swing. I was looking forward to it.

I then made the cardinal golfing error. I only went and boomed a drive down the first, only a foot into the semi rough, hit a pitch from 106 yards to three feet and holed the putt for birdie. It's well known that a round starting in such fine fashion can only go one way and that's down. To be honest I actually held it together reasonably well going out and had 21 points at the turn. That in itself was amazing but add in the condition of the greens, which frankly were a disgrace and it's even more amazing. They were like a ploughed field having been hollow tined but the holes hadn't been filled in properly and some of the grass was allowed to grow in patches. It was a lottery and if I hadn't been on a freebie would have been asking for a refund.

I let things slide on the back nine although these holes run across the top of a valley and played into a stiffening wind. A lost ball didn't help the cause but my last six holes were disappointing and my 33 points could have been so much better. There was some good stuff in there especially off the tee (bar two very wild drives) but the irons again felt off point and out of kilter. The greens were a nightmare and it was a job to two putt, let alone thinking of holing anything of meaning but all in all it did what I wanted from the day and got my game back on something of an even keel

And so to the weekend just gone. I was selected to play in a club match away at Maidenhead Golf Club. This isn't a course I have particularly fond memories of and have always struggled to play well there. The format was pairs, better ball and so I had a wing man in Gordon Barr, a Scotsman off 7 who I've inflicted my recent form on several times in recent months in both roll ups and competitions. I'm not sure what he'd done to deserve another dose but he accepted his fate with a stoic resignation. Maidenhead is one of those course that I simply can't find a way to score on and it somehow doesn't suit my eye and there are very few holes I stand on the tee and feel comfortable.

In the end, my form although again patchy, was enough with Gordon's rugged play, to ensure we got a half having been one down with three to go. I came in a few times with the odd win or a solid putt for a half although I left the course with a slightly bitter taste having saved my best drive until the last and was left with a simple eight iron into the green. With the match all square and the opposition not on the green in two, a decent approach would have given us a good chance to nick a win. As with the round the day before at Kingswood, it was the iron play that had been lacking and my approach came up short into the right hand bunker. I escaped well to about twelve feet and had a putt to win, but it missed left. To be honest the match had been played in good spirits on both sides and a half was perhaps the correct outcome. In the end, it wasn't pivotal as Royal Ascot came out 4-2 winners.

That dear reader brings you fully up to date (are you still with me?). As you can tell, the "Quest" is still stuck in first gear and my game shows no real sign of catching fire soon. I'm taking a more relaxed approach to it all and not forcing it. I'm going to scale down my long game practice, and that will focus on iron play. The remainder is going to be all about putting and the short game which is the real problem areas. With a medal to come this weekend, I'm wholly convinced it will bring anything but another 0.1 (and getting dangerously close to 15) but I live in hope and remain optimistic in my own ability. It's somewhat annoying that the work and time I've invested in my practice and lessons has failed to reap any reward yet but there have been signs over the last two rounds of some good stuff loitering somewhere near the surface. I just have to find a way, much as I did when I filmed the Jolly Boys "Play Golf" (Jolly Boys Round) and simply find a way to get it round. That was my first game after my stay in hospital and while the golf wasn't pretty I got it round enough to score close to handicap. That has to be the focus going forward. If I have to score ugly then I'll do that.

Despite it all, I remain in a golfing happy place. I'm still enjoying the process of trying to get better, enjoying the challenge of playing with card and pencil in hand and enjoying the robust banter of the social games. There is a vast amount of room to improve but I'm taking a far more chilled approach to it all. Meltdowns will be avoided and we'll take the good with the bad. The season is only just starting and so I've a whole summer and many, many more competitions to get the "Quest" back on track and get the handicap heading south back to where it should be. Hopefully by the time I post the next update, everything will be far rosier and I'll have good news to report. Keep your eyes out on here and my youtube channel for the next instalments.

Vistas And Incidents - The Jolly Boys "Play Golf"- The Conclusion

Welcome to the new look Three Off The Tee blog. I hope you like the new design (if you do, or even if you don't please comment at the bottom of this post). I've uploaded the final part of The Jolly Boys "Play Golf" to my youtube channel (Three Off The Tee Youtube Channel) that runs in conjunction with the blog. I've also included the link here (The Jolly Boys Conclusion Upload). Please subscribe to the channel (PLEASE!!) and don't forget to thumbs up the video and post any comments you may have.

Please feel free to visit the channel and look at the other content. I've got a lot more coming soon including an honest review of the Ping Sigma Wolverine Putter and one with an Odyssey O works putter including the micro hinges on the face. As a mid-handicapper I'll give you a totally unbiased opinion of the goo points, any negatives and there will be some footage of me with it to show how it performs in a (very) average golfers hands. Similarly once the Odyssey arrives I'll give you feedback on whether I think it works or their advertising blurb about this "being a new way to roll" doesn't apply to my level of golf.

There will also be an in depth report similar to my other reviews (check out the Suaoki Range finder review here to see what I mean - Suaoki Range Finder) and there are more on course vlogs coming soon. I also want to give a big thumbs up to a guy called Liam Harrison and his youtube channel. A very funny guy from the North of England and a decent player, his channel is here (Golf VlogsUK) and we are hoping to get it on later in the year for a match for £5 a man and it'll be captured on our channels for you to enjoy. There will also be footage from Sunningdale (Old and New courses) and a few others.

Anyway, that's all to come. Back to the final part of The Jolly Boys "Play Golf" at Kingswood Golf Club in Surrey. We have some stunning views over the Surrey countryside and several "incidents" for which you'll need to watch the video to see. As in parts one and two (Part One and Part Two) there are some fantastic shots, some mediocrity and the odd horror shot in there as well. It's my first eighteen holes after illness which is my excuse for my inconsistencies and I need to ensure going forward that my "Quest For Single Figures" golf is much better to start getting those handicap cuts. Again, the "Quest" is for for a further blog and video. Check the channel, check the videos and I hope you enjoy them,

Birdies And Near Misses - The Jolly Boys "Play Golf" (Part Two)

Welcome along to the second part of the Jolly Boys "Play Golf" (Jolly Boys Part Two) which is basically myself, my best mate Rob Dickman and a golfing mate Yan meandering our way around Kingswood Golf Club near Banstead in Surrey.

This was my first full eighteen holes back after being hospitalised in early February and then struggling to shake off the after effects of the viral infection. I wasn't expecting to play well, and if you've seen part one already, and if not here it is (The Jolly Boys - Part One) you'll know I wasn't to be disappointed on that score.

The Jolly Boys Enjoy Some Post Golf Drinks - They' Had Golfed Hard For Them

Here is part two of The Jolly Boys "Play Golf" (The Jolly Boys - Part Two) and finally there are one or two glimpses of golfers out on the course. I was actually getting it around and making the odd par and plenty of net pars to keep the scoreboard taking over. As the title hints, there is also an outbreak of fine golf and someone comes very close to sticking an approach straight in. You'll have to watch to find out more.

I hope you enjoy this second helping of the Jolly Boys. Please visit my Three Off The Tee youtube channel that ones parallel to this blog here Three Off The Tee Youtube Channel and watch my other content. There is a putter review coming up on the Ping Sigma Wolverine, as well as the conclusion of the Jolly Boys outing to come in the next few days. There is also the latest "Quest For Single Figures" update coming on here and the channel.

If you enjoy the channel I implore, nay beg, you to subscribe and if you like any of the videos please make sure you give it a thumbs up. If you want to make any comments please do so and I'll reply to your thoughts.

Finally, I hope you like the slight revamp of the blog itself and you like the new layout. Again, please comment on the bottom of this blog and let me know what you think. Winner or stinker?

The Quest For Single Figures - Update (Jolly Boys Outing - Part One)

Welcome along to the latest update on the Quest For Single Figures. In truth the whole project has been in hiatus for the last month or so and aside from nine holes I managed to play on my own at Royal Ascot (and captured on film here Royal Ascot vlog) I've not managed to set foot on a golf course.

That isn't to say the project has ground to a complete halt. Granted, recuperating from my illness has taken longer than I thought and the virus took far more out of me than anticipated, but I have had another lesson recently again captured in full glory which has proven a valuable reference tool (Live Lesson). My swing is a million miles from where I want it and where it needs to be and despite the changes from the lesson, I am still struggling. Granted, range time has been at a premium and sessions have been few and far between, and coupled with a lack of playing means my swing has lacked tempo and consistency. I've been working hard on the changes from the last lesson and in particular the changes to the back swing and the tighter coil but there still seems to be issues when I start my transition and in particular the shaft seems very upright coming into impact. I can see this producing a number of issues and it's something I've acutely aware of not only in the full swing but in my pitching as well and I need to find a way to shallow everything out and get the club coming in on a flatter angle and more on plane

Again, having said that, at recent range sessions, I've found a "feel" of rotating my hips faster and swinging far more as I did when I was having lessons under a teaching teaching professional, Rhys Ap Iolo and we were working on the Plane Truth swing (Plane Truth) which had a much flatter takeaway and swing and required the club to exit lower and left. Now it's been a long while since I've been down that road but to be honest this "one plane" swing alleviated a lot of the persistent takeaway issues I've been having as it requires a lower and more inside start. Align this to a quicker rotation and it has "felt" much better and ball striking, direction and dispersion seems to have been better.

Again this isn't something I've had a chance to work on fully or take out onto a course and really try other than a game last Saturday with my best friend, Rob Dickman and his mate Yan, who I've had the pleasure of playing with several times before and is a great golfing companion. We played at Kingswood Golf Club, near Banstead in Surrey and it was purely a social round.

It was really an opportunity to get out on the course and playing, with no expectations and no stress, although I did throw an extra ingredient in the mix by deciding to film all of it. Part one of "The Jolly Boys Golfing" is already on my Youtube channel, also called Three Off The Tee (The Three Off The Tee Youtube Channel). Please get yourself over there, and while you are there, click the subscribe button and hit the notification icon to see all of my video content as it becomes live. Don't forget to give the video a thumbs up and please post any comments you have. Be warned both Rob and Yan have a bit of a potty mouth so it may be advisable to keep away from impressionable children. I've posted a link to part one here (The Jolly Boys "Play Golf - Part One") so go ahead and enjoy. If you are a connoisseur of fine golf swings and expect to see dazzling golf I'm afraid you're in for a huge disappointment. If you want to three guys having a laugh, playing some golf and not taking it or life too seriously, it's a fun way to spend a few minutes of your time.

What I learnt from my Kingswood experience is that my game is so out of sorts. I managed to get it round and indeed managed to cobble something like 34 or 35 points including a lost ball on the seventeenth but in overall terms there were a lot of iffy shots in there and it was more to do with the fact that my handicap currently sits at 14 and so I've plenty of shots to play with. I did manage to course manage my way round well and where I hit poor shots, especially off the tee, I managed to get the ball back in play and by and large get it round functionally. I certainly didn't think it was a good ball striking round and as I've alluded to already, there is much, much work still to be done on my swing to get it somewhere that I can trust on the course and more importantly is repeatable enough to transport my handicap downwards.

All things short game also remain areas requiring huge remedial work and again its something I've simply not been well enough to address in recent weeks. On the positive, the clocks change in a few weeks and light evenings are here and I can be at the club each night after work grinding this away, especially the chipping and pitching. I can also get a few holes in regularly and playing is where it's at for 2017 as I move away from trying to work too much on technical things but simply work on what I've been shown in lessons, work that in on the range and then get out and trust it when I play. If I can spend more time on the course and less time on the range or practice ground I think that I'll be more confident of my game when it comes to qualifying competitions and there shouldn't be any hidden surprises lurking that I've not encountered in the sanctuary of a range mat or practice ground.

I had a road map of what I was going to be working on, what I needed to do and how I was going to make serious changes to my game in preparation for the season and beyond to hit the ground running and get that handicap down from 14 to 12 and achieve my first goal for the year. That has take something of a battering and I didn't plan on spending time in hospital sampling the state of the NHS in the UK in 2017 or for it to take so long to recover. I really feel my game is at least a month behind the others at my club who've been able to play on a fully open course for the last six weeks or so (even if the ground conditions have been wet) and that my short game and everything I needed to be ready has stagnated.

That said, dear reader. it is not all doom and gloom. As mentioned, I feel I've a light bulb moment to work with on the range that I can then take into my next lesson and get that firmed up or tweaked (or written off it it's way off the mark, although it doesn't seem to be). I can get back to my short game work with a clear head. I was beginning to get a head full of chocolate frogs, especially with my pitching and practice was dragged down by technical thoughts and a fear of failure fed and developed by a series of fat, heavy strikes, a steep angle of attack and a sense of frustration. That can be wiped away and the slate is clean once more. I have neglected bunker play and chipping (and that showed at Kingswood) and can start afresh on these areas. My putting seems to be holding firm, although I'm not as consistent on the 2-3 feet putts as I was. This can all be rectified. I do have my eye on a new putter, a Ping Sigma Wolverine although this is on hold for now but is something I feel is really right for me. More on that to follow soon

And there you have the latest update. It's a case of a baby steps forward in terms of practical work in practice and on the course, but with shoots of recovery now in full view. There is an air of optimism in my game once more, galvanised by a game on Saturday that turned out far better than it could have done. I am in a happy and more importantly health place. I have a qualifier this coming Saturday (18th) and while I have no expectations, especially as it's a medal round, it's good to have the season upon me.

I'm not ready. Not by a long way. I am even prepared for the handicap to go out further to 15 in the coming weeks as I get my game in order but I have a steadfast, nay dogmatic, belief in what I can do, what I can produce and what I can achieve. If that means I have to go from 15-12 first then so be it. I can do that. I WILL do that. Once I get back to my 2016 level of 12, I can reassess, see what is that isn't working, take action to improve my weak areas and bolster my strengths and go again. I've always said The Quest For Single Figures is a long term project and may and may not be achieved this year. If not 2017 then maybe next year or the year after. Fear not reader, it is going to happen.

I hope you've enjoyed the latest update and you'll follow me as the season progresses. I hope you managed to view the Youtube offerings and that you enjoyed these as well. Please subscribe to both this blog and the Youtube channel and don't forget to thumbs up the videos and comment on both the blog and the videos. In the meantime, as Spring is upon us and the Masters is on the horizon, let me wish you all well for your own golfing exploits in 2017 and I hope you achieve whatever golfing goals you've set and that you play well, have fun and that the golfing gods treat you well.

Quest For Single Figures - Live Lesson

Quest For Single Figures 

Please ignore the above link - video corrupted. Correct version in the link below

2017 - Live Leson