On June 1st, four VaHGA members met at Old Trail Golf Club in Crozet, VA to play Gutty Golf. Masks in the pro-shop, foam filled cups, single carts, social distancing. Beautiful weather, beautiful course, and after some negotiation, everyone settled on playing the Vardon LF ball from McIntyre Golf to even out the competition(s). Three of the four players were new to this ball. Here’s Terry’s reaction:
“I’m now sold on the “Gutty Bramble Limited Flight Vardon Flyer” – thanks for having enough in your bag for all of us, so as to level the playing field for the matches (and I still owe you $ for mine). Compared to the Park Gutty in my opinion it’s much more fun – it’s cheaper, flies a little longer but not that much, doesn’t cut, putts / rolls truer, and doesn’t have the in-flight butterfly wobble like the Park. Here’s a picture of both balls after 18 holes of play on the Bramble and 36 holes on the Park (I did clean up both). Unless tournament rules require me to play the Park, I’ve become a Bramble fan.
Terry”
Terry shared pictures of his Park ball after 36 holes and his Vardon ball after 18 holes.
For our VaHGA Gutty Competitions, we leave it up to the competitors to settle on handicap differentials, balls played, tees played (length and sand or not), and any other variables. To level the striking playing field, Terry and I both like the Vardon ball as the “usual” ball.
P.S. Webmaster and Hickory Golfer, Eric Johnson says the Park ball is his favorite! And, when you hit it in the water it floats!!! Yes, it is a bit pricey, but they are made by hand and are a true representation of the gutta percha experience. Thanks for all you do Dave Brown!
P.P.S. Also…Keep an eye on these matches. Seems like the retired guys like to schedule them so the working stiffs have to take a day off to participate! 🙂