. This made the start of the fitting a bit more challenging for my fitter, John. But he was absolutely terrific. After I calmed down a bit, I started to hit the ball much more solidly and we were able to get things going. 
Or maybe something like that. Truly though, to have Chip Brewer and the staff take the time out of their day to spend with us like this was an incredible opportunity, and we are lucky to have had it.
I love everything about this even though the title of the post is Tuesday Part 2: Get HardTuesday Part 2: Get Hard
Breaking into groups of 4, we are given the rotations. The range, for our fitting. Upstairs, for our introduction to softgoods. And importantly, the putting studio, aka the Candy Store. Already knowing our groups, I was paired with @Nappy @Afizzle2100 and @RealPretendPsychic . We just needed to know which station to start on.
As luck, or more likely favor from the golf gods, our group started at the best possible spot: Putting Studio. Now, the other 3 guys may not be as enthusiastic as I was, but we were all ready to get this going!
You enter this room, that was basically utopia. Putters against all of the walls, a large green, a SAM fitting setup, and a headcover case that took my breath away. Or what little breath I had after walking into this room of love.
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I think it was @JasonFinleyCG or @Luke WilliamsCG that cracked the joke about if anyone would dare step in front of me to be the first to roll the putters and have a fitting. Contrary to belief, I was so enamored with just being in the room, that I needed a moment to take it all in, so no, I would not have attacked anyone that stepped up first. But, these guys are so gracious that they insisted that I needed to go first. Truly, I think everyone stepped up to make sure when there was something that another teammate was interested in, we made sure to help make that special. That’s the level of family that this group became.
So, onto the putter fitting. I have had SAM fitting before, so this was nothing new. But where we were doing this one, surely changed things. Nick Arthur was conducting the fitting. Awesome. After going over the basics, he had me roll some putts with a new blade *********. I made a few, missed one, and that was all we needed. I will never forget Nick saying: “You’re a good putter”. Double Awesome. I was already smiling as big as I could, and somehow it got bigger. Then, we went over my numbers. I had a tendency to forward press a bit, and continue to accelerate past contact. Nick proceeded to give me a mini lesson to help with my putting stroke right then and there. Man this keeps getting better and better. Okay, all set, it was time to go talk to @Luke WilliamsCG and Tony Toulon to write up my build order.
34” length
Standard lie
4* loft
Stock pistol grip
Bang. Done. Let’s do it. I’m happier than a butcher’s dog right now. Salivating would be a proper term, and maybe drool jokes were made. I was able to spend a good portion of time asking @Luke WilliamsCG and Tony a few questions and roll some ****** putters, but more importantly, watch the rest of my group go through their fittings. Some very cool moments, as Nick continued to give some impromptu lessons, and @Luke WilliamsCG helped some of the guys walk through the offerings and shapes they could go with. Some very interesting mallets and semi-mallets in this group…..
A few pictures later, and also having Tony Toulon, Nick Arthur, and @Luke WilliamsCG sign a putter cover to go into a collection (and later Sean Toulon), our time in putter paradise was over. Unfortunately @JasonFinleyCG would not let me trade in time at the other stations in order to remain in the putting studio, so my guys rallied me upstairs for the softgoods presentation.
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Softgoods is an area I am very familiar with from Callaway, but not always with the best results. I have had a few bags that I was not quite as happy with, and some struggles with Tour Authentic gloves. This was the first real chance to meet @AT_CG and Brett Robinson and go through what Callaway was trying to do differently heading into 2022. We were able to thumb through the catalog while listening, and we started with gloves. I really appreciated the opportunity to provide my experience and feedback on previous year products, and for them to discuss how these new ones would better address some of my specific concerns/situations. All in all, I came away very impressed with some of the new gloves for sure. I see a lot of potential in a couple of the new lines, and comfort was next level!
Next up, bags. This one was really a surprise. A lot of new technology and innovation to make carrying, riding, and pushing, much easier and more enjoyable. This conversation led us outside, to the now infamous Pushcart Derby Obstacle Course….
Now, remember previously when I mentioned the cloudy skies and cooler weather? Yeah, it rained. And here we were, ready to take on an obstacle course on concrete in golf shoes. @AT_CG was there, @DNevsCG , Brett, @JB , and of course @JasonFinleyCG . This started as a pretty standard circuit, up the pathway, veer to the right through a patch of earth up against @blazinden wall, then loop about 180* around to the left, straight through some dirt terrain, then another hard left, and straight to the finish line. Easy enough? Yeah I thought so too…. I believe I went 3rd in my group, after @Afizzle2100 and @Nappy .
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I was ready for this!
Much like some golf equipment, I dropped my center of gravity, and took an athletic stance at the starting line. Now, I don’t really know how to describe what happened next, but it could be described as controlled chaos. This was your typical 3 wheel pushcart, that spent a majority of my run on only two, and sometimes even one, of those wheels. I was making KILLER time, through the dirt, avoiding walls, taking out cones, the whole thing. And then, tragedy arose. The wetness created a cartoon like sequence on that last hard left. The home stretch was in sight, and I was beelining for a victory. Then I lost traction. All I heard was the sound of @JasonFinleyCG trying to get out of the way as I lost control and came at him like a smiling wrecking ball. I don’t know how, but I managed to avoid Finley, the wall of the little shed, and from falling into the bushes. And during all of that, the bag and clubs, somehow, survived unscathed. Pretty strong promotional material there, I’ll await royalties… j/k
You can see more of the sequence in @DNevsCG post HERE and @Nappy ‘s post HERE
I absolutely love @JB ’s face in this pic, soaking up all the humor of us trying hard
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To be continued…
I felt like this needed its own quote. A perfect description from a fringe(?) lunatic
