Month: May 2019

Categories
GOLF

ACER XK FLIPPER CHIPPER – ON THE COURSE FIRST IMPRESSIONS – ONGOING REVIEW

Have I seen a difference?

First of all it’s important to note why the Acer XK Flipper Chipper is in my bag in the first place. I am a strong believer in high percentage golf. What I mean by that is hitting the shots that you are most likely to succeed in executing. These are not necessarily the shots that could lead to you shooting the lowest score. They are the shots that will prevent you from having massive numbers on your scorecard though. In simpler terms I would rather hit the shot that guarantees me a Par or Bogey, than the shot that could get me Birdie but makes Triple Bogey a possibility.

You got it? I hope so. Now lets move on.

Last season I hit a lot of low percentage shots with my 60 degree Lob Wedge. Quite often what should have been an easy Par turned into a Double Bogey because of a bladed or duffed 60 Degree Wedge. One of my last Rounds of the year had an additional 6 strokes due to poorly struck Lob wedges. That was enough for me. If I’m going to successfully break 90 on a regular basis I would need to take that club out of the bag. So I did and the opportunity to test a Chipper style club arose. Why I chose the Acer XK Flipper is simple. It had the most loft and with the 60 degree gone I would need a club that I could pop over hazards short distances.

To answer my original question, YES I have seen a difference!

Overall utility

Lets begin with the number of poor shots. I’ve easily used the Chipper around 50 times on the course at this point and I’ve hit four poor shots. I’m not talking about shots that sent the ball into a hazard or skipping across the green to no man’s land. This is just poor contact where it didn’t travel nearly as far as I had hoped, or I clipped it and it went left instead of straight. Four out of fifty, so 8%. My poor contact rate with the 60 degree Lob Wedge was greater than 30%. Keep in mind that a bladed Lob Wedge usually meant serious trouble. Poor contact with the Acer XK just means you will have to hit it again. To be fair at least two of those poor shots with the Acer XK Flipper happened because I was testing to see what’s possible with the club.

Which brings me to how versatile the club has proven to be thus far. I’ve used it successfully from up to 35 yards out, and stuck it to within 8 feet of the Pin. I’ve used it to not only clear greenside bunkers, but to get out of them as well. One area the Acer XK Chipper has really excelled that I hadn’t considered before is punching out of the woods. A sliced or hooked Tee shot into the woods can leave you with some really awkward lies. The tight putting stroke you use with a Chipper makes dealing with some of those lies much easier. The heavy head goes right through the assorted rough you will find in the woods. Distance control is also far easier in those situations. Something I did expect the Acer XK to be great at is chipping from just off the green no matter the lie. I haven’t sunk one yet but I’ve come within inches of doing so multiple times. Instead of trying to land it close with a Wedge. Now I’m trying to sink it with the Chipper.

Control and Feel

I wish everything I had to say about the Acer XK Flipper Chipper was positive but alas it isn’t. When it comes to control and feel there are some negatives. It’s not all negative mind you but there is one particular area that’s lacking. SPIN. If you were wondering if you can generate spin with a Chipper. Well the answer is yes you can. You just can’t generate much of it. I have been able to generate enough spin to make a couple of the shots I’ve made with the Acer XK Chipper check up a bit. Would I rely on its ability to do so? No way! This brings up my first real concern. If you are chipping to a Pin that’s downhill than don’t expect to slow down the ball with backspin. Hopefully you hole it, or be prepared to watch it roll on by. Now fortunately controlling the height of your chip, or the speed of your chip is very easy. If you can lag putt than you can control distance with a Chipper. I control the height of my chip by simply changing the position of the ball in my stance. It took me one hour at the practice area at Centennial Park Golf Club to get a feel for it.

So sure there are some shots that you definitely can’t manufacture with a Chipper, but do yourself a favour and don’t try to hit them. Focus on what the Chipper can do, and you’ll probably shave strokes off your Round if you are a Beginner.

Categories
FANTASY Uncategorized

MOST IMPORTANT PICKS OF THE 2019 NFL DRAFT

Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals – Round 1 Pick 1

The Arizona Cardinals did what I expected and selected Kyler Murray with the first pick. This would come as a surprise to some because they already had Josh Rosen who they picked 10th overall last season. What this means is that the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury was a calculated gamble to not only switch to his Air Raid Offensive scheme, but acquire Kyler Murray to run it as their Quarterback of the future. Kyler Murray is a two sport athlete and had already been selected by the Oakland Athletics in the first Round of the Major League Baseball draft. This adds a considerable amount of risk to selecting him first overall. What if the Arizona Cardinals aren’t a success? What if Kliff Kingsbury’s system doesn’t work in the NFL? Kyler Murray is significantly undersized as NFL quarterbacks go, so there will always be injury concerns. What if Kyler Murray decides that baseball is a better fit? Lastly what if Josh Rosen, now a Miami Dolphin goes on to have a hugely successful career? That’s a lot of what ifs when you are talking about the number 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Clelin Ferrell – Oakland Raiders – Round 1 Pick 4

The Oakland Raiders, and in this case more specifically Mike Mayock selected Clelin Ferrell 4th overall. What makes this a particularly important pick for the Oakland Raiders is that practically every analyst including myself expected them to select somebody else. Somebody better to be honest. Clelin Ferrell wasn’t as highly rated as a number of other players in the draft so his selection came as a surprise to everyone. Josh Allen went after him. Ed Oliver went after him. Devin White went after him. That’s three players that were seen as potential stars on whichever team selected them. Mike Mayock and especially Clelin Ferrell will be judged by how well he performs in comparison to the players selected after him. Mayock has gone on record as saying that Clelin Ferrell has not only the skill but the character to be a leader on the field for the Oakland Raiders. Now that’s either a clever way of saying that he might not be the best player at his position, but he will make up for it with leadership, or that they had concerns about potential character flaws with the other players available. Whatever it may be Clelin Ferrell was a risky pick at 4th overall.

Daniel Jones – New York Giants – Round 1 Pick 6

As surprising as the Raider selection of Ferrell was. The selection of Daniel Jones by the New York Giants two picks later was totally shocking. Aspirin sales probably spiked in New York the next day because fans woke up with a headache. When ranking Quarterbacks before the draft I had Dwayne Haskins first, Kyler Murray second, Drew Lock third, and then who cares. The remaining Quarterbacks I saw as second round or later selections. Most analysts did, although Daniel Jones had become somewhat relevant leading up to the draft. By relevant I mean it was looking like depending on what happened early Daniel Jones could sneak into the first Round. He did more than sneak. He was selected 6th overall! Even Daniel Jones was shocked to be selected so early. He will be compared to every Quarterback selected after him, and it was obvious that he considers at least a few of them to be better Quarterbacks. Talk about a pick that Giants fans deserve to feel worried about.

Montez Sweat – Washington Redskins – Round 1 Pick 26

Was this pick a total steal, or have the Washington Redskins been duped? Montez Sweat has the size and skill to become a dominant pass rusher in the NFL. Before the draft there was conflicting information regarding his health. Specifically a heart condition which could limit his time on the field. Early reports were that teams should be concerned about the situation but news surfaced on the day of the draft that early reports were incorrect or at least overblown. As Montez Sweat continued to fall in the first Round while other pass rushers quickly came off the board. The Washington Redskins decided to trade back into the first Round to grab him at 26th overall. I have a feeling that they got an absolute steal but it remains to be seen.