Greg D'Andrea

Why Piper Golf Should Be Your New Golf Ball

September 22, 2021 | By Greg D'Andrea | 4 Comments

Selecting new golf balls is never easy, but new Atlanta-based company Piper Golf provides both an outstanding ball and the best buying guide I’ve ever seen.

*Piper Golf will customize your ball to your game.*

We’ve previously posted about used or recycled golf balls. And while we feel playing second-hand balls would be a good choice for the recreational golfer, we also understand that many golfers simply want to play a new ball.

The problem is, the golf ball market can give weekend golfers a nervous breakdown. Which brand do you choose? And once you’ve picked the brand, which model do you go with? And will you hit it well once out on the course?

What about price? Will more expensive balls improve your game? Or should high-handicappers stick with inexpensive balls?

Well fellow golfers, to both answer these questions and find your perfect ball, look no further than new start up and Atlanta-based Piper Golf.

Born out of the pandemic, when golf was among the few socially distanced sports one could engage in, Piper Golf aims to both educate and arm players with the ideal golf ball, customized to their game.

Piper Golf manufacturers four incredible golf ball models…But they also offer a wonderful resource on how to choose the correct ball

Make no mistake, Piper Golf manufacturers four incredible golf ball models: Green, Blue, Black and Gold (very reminiscent of Johnnie Walker). But they also offer a wonderful resource on how to choose the correct ball. From the difference between 2-, 3-, and 4-piece balls, to which ball cover (urethane or Surlyn) is right for you, golfers simply cannot go wrong.

In fact, one of my favorite aspects of their website is the short quiz to help you select the correct ball for your game.

After taking the quiz myself (which took less than a minute), I was matched with Piper Blue – all based on things like my handicap, swing speed, and how far I hit my 7-iron.

Now in full disclosure, the good folks at Piper Golf sent me a sleeve of Their Blue model so I can test them out (I also received sleeves of Green, Black and Gold too).

There’s just something about the Piper logo that is very classic, yet unique and still easy on the eyes and calming when you’re about to strike the ball

*Piper Golf has a classic look that helps you get in the zone* .

Blue is a great fit for me. I’m liking them far better than my Bridgestone e6’s – perhaps due to the Blue’s Surlyn cover and three-piece construction. The feel is simply fantastic and there’s just something about the Piper logo that is very classic, yet unique and still easy on the eyes and calming when you’re about to strike the ball – be it off the tee or on the putting surface.

As for their other models: Green is of 2-piece construction and meant for beginners or high handicappers.

Meanwhile Black and Gold feature the softer, more spin-generating urethane covers lower handicappers love with the Gold model also rocking a high-performance 4-piece construct.

*Piper Golf Gold – the top-of-the-line model features a urethane cover and 4-piece construction.*

On a separate note, I’d be remiss to not mention Piper Golf’s Get Trashy guide, which is filled with side bets for unique circumstances (e.g. a “Sandie” is when you get get up and down for par from a green side bunker). It’s very reminiscent of our own Average Hack Golf Glossary!

We here at GolfStinks would like to wish the folks over at Piper Golf all the best – they make one hell of a golf ball. We’re really looking forward to watching this company grow!

Two Guys With Balls Is Used Golf Balls Done Right

November 22, 2020 | By Greg D'Andrea | 6 Comments

Recreational Golfers: Now is the time to start saving money and the planet by making the switch to used golf balls.

*GolfStinks Reviews* *TwoGuysWithBalls.com*

For over a decade, GolfStinks has been an advocate for the recreational golfer. This blog exists to help average golfers relax, save money and have fun playing this great game. So it should be no surprise I think recreational golfers should play used golf balls all the time.

There are two simple reasons for this:

It will save you money.
Golf is expensive and golf balls are no exception. Think about how many times you’ve pulled a shiny new ball from your bag, only to promptly slice or hook it into the woods. Now ask yourself, was that money well-spent?
It will help the planet.
The lastest research estimates around 300 million golf balls are lost annually. The environmental impact of that stat is staggering. Purchasing used golf balls will help offset that disheartening figure.

These days, most online and brick-and-mortar retailers have a small selection of used or recycled golf balls. But we golfers are finiky folks. A mesh bag of mixed-brand golf balls, or a dozen of one specific brand just isn’t going to cut it.

Enter Two Guys With Balls.

First off, their selection is incredible. Used golf balls from nearly all the major brands: Titleist; Bridgestone; Taylor Made; Callaway; Top Flight; Srixon and more. Finding not only your brand, but your specific model should be a non-issue.

For example, I play Bridgestone e6’s and was able to navigate to them within 5 seconds on their site. Once you locate your ball of choice, you can choose between “Eagle” (A quality); “Birdie” (B quality); or “Par” (C quality), depending on your budget.

Now for transparency sake, Two Guys With Balls was more than happy to send me a dozen Eagle-quality e6’s to check out free-of-charge. But if you’re a long-time follower of this blog, you’ll know I pride myself in conveying nothing but my honest opinion in a review.

That said, I made a point of going through the shopping cart process on their website; learning about the company; and scrutinizing the product I received.

What I found is the Eagle-quality balls really are like new golf balls. No scuffs, scrapes or blemishes of any kind (at least not the dozen I received). Some have the faded remnants of Sharpie marker visible, but that would hardly be a reason not to play them. For most recreational golfers, these Eagle-quality balls would be like pulling a brand new ball out of the sleeve.

*Two Guys With Balls’ “Eagle” quality balls may have some Sharpie remnants, but otherwise these look and feel like brand new golf balls.*

What I wasn’t expecting was Two Guys With Balls to also include Birdie- and Par-quality balls in the package for comparison purposes.

The Birdie-quality balls had only slight (and I really mean slight) blemishing on them. In fact, I wasn’t able to tell the difference between the Birdie- and Eagle-quality when pulling one out of my bag for a drop.

*Two Guys With Balls’ “Birdie” quality balls show very faint blemishes, but still have a like-new appearance.*

Meanwhile, the Par-quality balls look like what you’d expect a used golf ball to look like. Visible blemishes, scrapes and scuffs. But, still totally playable. If I were down to the Par-quality balls towards the end of a round, I’d have no problem teeing-them-up over the last couple of holes.

*Two Guys With Balls’ “Par” quality balls do have visible blemishes, but are still totally playable.*

Now I mentioned at the beginning of this post that going the used golf ball route will save you money. I wasn’t fibbing – using my Bridgestone’s as an example, a dozen brand new e6 balls retail for $22 USD. You can get Eagle-quality e6’s on Two Guys With Balls for just $13. As a recreational golfer, I’ve never been able to tell the difference between a grade A used ball and a brand new one. The $9 savings here is simply a no-brainer.

I would even venture to say most of us can probably get away with the Birdie-quality balls – at $10 a dozen for Bridgestone’s, it’s hard to pass-up. And at $7 for the Par-quality balls, beginners and new folks to the game simply cannot go wrong.

Now you will have to pay shipping on orders under $89. But if you buy in bulk, you can stock-up for the season and enjoy free shipping to boot.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Two Guys With Balls likes to give back. A portion of all their proceeds go to various golf charities including kids- and military-related golf organizations.

For more than a decade, I have played mostly used golf balls. Not only does it save me money, but I know I’m supporting clean-up efforts for all the balls folks like me have left behind – either in the water or in other natural surroundings. As recreational golfers, there’s absolutely no reason to not play used golf balls. And now, Two Guys With Balls makes it easy to do so on a regular basis.

Should You Golf During COVID-19?

March 26, 2020 | By Greg D'Andrea | 12 Comments

Some golf courses are open. Learn the precautions they are taking; what you should consider before playing; and a potential silver lining post-pandemic.

Golf Courses are feeling the effects of Covid-19 too, but post-pandemic could see an industry boon — *Golf courses are feeling the effects of COVID-19 too, but post-pandemic could see an industry boon (photo by Greg D’Andrea)*

After a couple weeks of being stuck at home due to COVID-19, I can hardly blame you if you’re going a bit stir-crazy.

This virus has us all on-edge. And with the milder spring weather rolling-in across the country, playing a round of golf sounds pretty amazing right about now.

To that end, I received an email from a local golf course yesterday announcing they were open for business!

My fingers couldn’t tap on that email fast enough.

It wasn’t a joke – they are really open. Albeit with the following guidelines that included:

Stay home if you’re not feeling well
Book your tee-time and pay online (the clubhouse is not open to the public)
Please walk if you can (just 1 person per cart)
Maintain social distancing with other players and course workers on all areas of the course
Holes have a foam insert so golfers do not have to touch flagsticks or reach into the cups
No scorecards or pencils – the course suggests downloading and using the digital scorecard on their app
Ball washers, rakes, benches and water coolers have been removed for safety
There is now 10 minutes between groups teeing-off (normally 8 minutes) to help avoid close contact on the course

It sounds like they put a good deal of thought into keeping people safe out there. And to be honest, I’m wrestling with the notion of actually grabbing my clubs and going to play!

But I won’t.

As much as I’d like to support local businesses – especially golf courses, that little voice in my head is telling me “now is not the time.”

There is just too much uncertainty for me, a family man with young kids, to venture out for several hours where others, whom I don’t know, are also occupying space (albeit from at least 6 feet away).

Of course your situation might be different and you’ll need to use your own judgement based on several things including your risk-factor and local laws and mandates. At the very least, I would definitely check to see if your local course has taken specific safety precautions first.

As for me, I’ll be staying home and I apologize in advance to my local golf courses.

However, there is a silver lining in all this for golf courses and golfers in general.

Once COVID-19 dissipates and life begins to return to some sort of normalcy, golf is going to be an extremely viable recreation activity in a post-pandemic world.

To begin with, golf is outdoors and in groups of no more than four. So social distancing shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

With booking online, you’ll never have to walk into a crowded clubhouse. And the foam hole thing is a great idea. With the aforementioned “rules” listed above, you could probably play an entire round without ever getting within 6 feet of another human or touching something that doesn’t belong to you.

I’d venture to say golf might even experience a little boon later this year.

So hang in there – things will get better and when they do, golf should be at the top of your list!

UPDATE! (as of November 2020)

I ended up playing a couple of rounds over the summer when the virus calmed-down a bit here in the northeastern US.

I actually scored my best round ever the first time out this season (what a crazy year this has been) and then back to normal on my second outing. Either way it was great to get out there and play!

That said, it wasn’t totally comfortable. For example, I did have to enter the clubhouse to pay – and the person behind the counter wasn’t wearing a mask (I was). And we were paired-up with a twosome who kept getting within 6 feet (I get it, it’s so hard to remember to follow the social distancing rules – especially when you are doing something familiar – it’s simply force of habit to get within a few feet of someone on the putting green for example).

But I surmise folks will get better the longer we live with this pandemic (and it does seem it will be with us well into next year at least). Overall I’m glad I got out there and played and glad the game I love is a viable option during this surreal time.

Before you go play, I echo my sentiments from this post: Call the course first to see what their COVID-related rules are and once on the course, don’t assume every golfer will follow them; wear a mask (I did pull my down when no one was nearby, like walking in the fairway or rough); keep your social distance; and stay safe!

You Need Big Balls to Make More Putts

December 2, 2019 | By Greg D'Andrea | 3 Comments

Yes, that’s right; having Big Balls will help you convert more putts – especially from shorter distances. But I’m not talking about doing something ballsy on the golf course. I’m talking about gaining the confidence you need to drop more putts from 6-feet or less.

*Do you have Big Balls on the practice green?*

Pro golfers rarely miss short putts. In fact, from 4-feet or less they are more than 90% accurate. But the same can’t be said for weekend hacks. Heck, I miss 4-foot putts multiple times per round!

If I’m putting from 6-feet it gets substantially worse for me (pros are 70% from 6′). And farther back from that is anyone’s guess (pros are around 50% accurate from 8′-9′). The reality is, if recreational golfers want to convert more short putts, they need to practice. But let’s face it, practicing stinks.

Who wants to hit putts from 2-, 4- and 6-feet over and over again? The answer is simple: No one. Especially if you’re not getting paid for it (and even then you probably still don’t want to do it).

But what if we shook things up a bit? And maybe threw-in a little fun at the same time? After all, golf should be about having fun!

This is how having those Big Balls can help:

Big Balls are oversized golf balls to use as a training aid for 2-6 foot putts…The concept is simple, warm up and practice with Big Balls 10-20 times around that distance. Then when you go back to your ProV1, it will feel like you are putting a marble into a bucket, building confidence at that [critical] distance.

Recently, the good folks over at Big Balls sent me their product free to try out. After having a good chuckle unboxing them, I took a moment to wrap my brain around the fact that these were in every sense a golf ball, only in a much larger size. It was a bit surreal to be honest.

Big Balls are 30% larger than normal golf balls. It’s enough to immediately notice the novelty of it all. But it’s also super effective at building confidence: “There’s an immediate boost in confidence that gets you reading putts and sinking putts with more consistency,” it says on the Big Balls website. And they’re right, go back to a normal-sized ball and you really do feel like you’ll make every putt.

*Big Balls are 30% bigger than regular golf balls*

Despite being bigger, Big Balls are actually the same weight as a normal ball – helping them preform with true feel and roll while you practice. But the increased size provides an immediate impact that sticks in your mind – even after you switch back to your actual ball out on the course.

And while I’m sure practicing with Big Balls is actually helping your putting stroke in a physical way, these balls are really intended to mentally make you a better putter. And everybody knows golf is half mental!

So the next time you and your golf buddies hit the practice green, toss a couple of Big Balls down on the turf and begin putting. Not only will you be building confidence for the actual course, but it won’t be long before the rest of your foursome takes notice. And once they do, you’ll have a great putting tip for them and a few laughs to boot!

Will the 2019 USGA Rule Changes Really Help Slow Play?

January 11, 2019 | By Greg D'Andrea | 4 Comments

The USGA has Published a New Consolidated Set of Rules for 2019 in Hopes of Speeding Up Play. But will Recreational Golfers Benefit?

In case you haven’t heard, on January 1st new rules of golf took effect. The USGA created the modified rules mostly to simplify the old rule book and alleviate slow play. Of course these are things we here at GolfStinks have been complaining about for quite a while, so I was excited learn more.

But after having a chance to review the new rule changes, I wonder if slow play will really get better? Take a look at the top 5 changes below:

Top 5 USGA Rule Changes for 2019 (visual asset from USGA.org)

And now take a look at the specific pace-of-play rule changes:

Pace-of-Play Changes to the USGA Rules (visual asset from USGA.org)

My initial reaction to the new rules was; “This is great, slow play will soon be a thing of the past!” But after digesting it a bit, I’m restating to; “This is a step in the right direction.” Sure, the pro tours and even local tournaments might see a pace-of-play increase using these new rules, but will the recreational golfer enjoy a quicker round?

Considering recreational golfers are already employing many of these changes, my guess is the impact on the weekend golfer will be minimal.

IMO, recreational golfers need to hasten play themselves by letting quicker groups play-through and/or picking-up on a hole when necessary. These things should be taught to all new players and embedded within golf etiquette. Courses can help too by employing more rangers. But until these things happen across the board, 5-hour rounds will continue to be the norm – especially during the weekends at public facilities.

But I want your thoughts too – will the changes to the USGA rules really increase the pace-of-play for ALL golfers? Let me know in the comments.