A lot has happened in year 1 of Driving Range Heroes. We thought we’d take some time to share the various things from the year that caught our attention or made an impression on us. Here is the official Driving Range Heroes 2018 Year In Review.
Bill’s Year In Review:
Driving Range Heroes is Born
Not without some eye rolls around the internet, a lot of ideas and presented opportunities came together and this very site was born. A lot of time and effort went into just getting the foundation poured and getting this thing put together. Hopefully we can maintain the focus of our ultimate goal of delivering relatable and conversational golf content with a lighthearted approach that makes our site an enjoyable stop. We threw a lot of caution to the wind to try and carve out our little corner on the internet and it’s been extremely humbling to receive all of the support we’ve received from within the golf industry, our audience, and our friends and family.
All of us like to think we’re just getting started here and the next year will bring some new ideas we’ve been kicking around for awhile. Either way, we’re extremely grateful for all of the support and look forward to keeping this thing going for all of you.
VA Drago
While VA Shafts has been on my radar for a couple of years now, the Drago shaft was released in 2018. After catching up with Victor Afable around the time we launched this site, I was excited to review the Drago because I knew it would be good and Victor definitely knows what he’s doing when it comes to golf shafts. The Drago was one of the first pieces of “premium equipment” that came through our doors and to have that “wow” experience early on was motivating. Yes, the Drago is brilliant, but it also went a long way in reminding me, “yep, that’s why we’re doing this.” I’ll forever be grateful to Victor for that early support.
I Golf for Fun Now
Man, that picture above is getting a lot of mileage on this site recently… Anyway…
Let’s be clear. I still want to hit a lot of good shots, I still want to play the best that I can, but the reward of the game is much different for me now. I’m not going to be on Tour, I’m not closing business deals on the course, and no matter how low I shoot, either A) people won’t believe me unless they were there, or B) there will still be a billion people shooting much lower than me. So the whole purpose for me is to have fun on the course with good company. Playing the Eskimo Open at Cog Hill with Tommy and complaining about how dumb we are for not buying a cart heater is much more rewarding to me than “breaking par” or “breaking 80.” (We finally got a heater last year and ended up not playing in the event, naturally.) I don’t care if my handicap climbs to a million (especially for sandbagging purposes, am I right?), but I’ll remember these ridiculous experiences with my friends much more than the random 76 I shot at Mill Creek.
The launch of this website, and this past year golfing with Jon and Tommy especially, has been a huge reminder of how much more I value the experience of golf rather than the score. Hopefully I can get out with the boys a bit more at some sweet courses this next year.
Tommy’s Year In Review:
A great year for golf…
Since moving to Chicago, golf was typically a once-per-weekend activity at most, which only happens during the summer. Due to some life changes, however, I found myself on the course a ton more this year. Usually I was able to play both Saturday and Sunday, and sometimes a few rounds sprinkled in during the week. It was by far the most golf I’ve played in a Summer since moving to Chicago, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
I also got to take a life changing trip to Ireland. While I haven’t put words to paper yet to detail my trip for the site, amazing would be an understatement. I got to play 7 rounds in 7 days all over the South of Ireland, and it was seven of the best days of my life. Amazing golf, amazing people, amazing beer. You can’t really beat that. It’s a trip I’ll never forget, and it was definitely a bucket list item to check off.
Overall, the golf gods were pretty good to me this year. Found some solid bag adjustments, played a ton of golf, and got to play it in some cool places. Can’t beat that, amirite?
Oh my goodness, did Tommy find a driver?
For anyone who knows me and my golf game, they know I change club more than probably any other person they know. I go through multiple drivers a year, a few iron sets, and definitely a few putters. Hell, even after I got fit for the “perfect clubs,” I swapped out a driver shaft and switched iron sets, even though they were performing great. Yeah, I know, nutjob.
Well, this year, I think I finally found a driver to stay in my bag for an extended period of time: The Ping G400 Max. While I’m usually someone who plays clubs I have no business playing from the “these clubs require way more skill than I have,” I thought the G400 Max was completely the opposite. This is a super game-improvement driver, I’m gonna balloon the hell out of it and spin it like crazy, right? Wrong. When paired with the right shaft, this thing is an absolute bomber off of the tee, and super forgiving. I’ve picked up about 5-10 yards of distance and I’m hitting more fairways. If only I can find a halfway decent short game, I’d be throwing up scores. Bravo, Ping. Bravo.
Toulon is the real deal
Again. I am a club ho. I cycle through clubs like nobody’s business. So naturally, this year, I picked up a Toulon Garage putter to try. Man, these guys are the real deal. The quality of the putter is second to none, their work is gorgeous, and the putter feels amazing. While that’s a super subjective thing, they have a great soft feel that isn’t dead and bleh. As soon as I rolled it, it went straight in the bag, and it’s been there most of the year.
Jon’s Year In Review:
How’d I get dragged into this again?
I remember the moment clearly. Bill and I decided it was a brilliant idea to go tee it up at Cog Hill #1 in January. This was an absurd idea. It was no more than 25° out and probably ⅓ of the golf course under ice. Even “teeing it up” was not really an option as the turf was so frozen you could barely fit in more than the tip. Alas, off we go.
Two things stand out: On the first hole, I see our guy BB in the trees off to the left. He’s gabbing away about KBS shafts or something, takes a swing, hits a tree dead center, ball flies directly at him like a laser beam, and he just Kris Bryant snags it out of the air. He turns to me (in the fairway of course) and smiles. Alpha.
Later in the round, he starts telling me about some ideas and early outlines of a new site he was working on. “We’re going to do this, this, and this, and our message and topics will be about the things that get US excited as golf guys.” Well hmm. He says, “you play more than any of us, you’re going on a ton of trips and finding your way onto cool courses – write about that.” I pointed out the my writing skills fall in between sixth and seventh grade level, but he assured me that if I take some pretty pictures I can misspell my own name and we’ll gain 10,000 readers in a month. Sounds good to me!!
Bag stories…
2018 was a turbulent year as far as what’s been in and out of the ole golf bag. I’m a big fan of trying new stuff, but I’m usually reluctant to change. I’ve got a set of Mizuno MP-32s, that will always find their way into my hands about a quarter of the time. I played the Taylormade r5 TP and an Adams 9088 driver for like six years each. This year I really jumped into the Callaway lifestyle and added the Epic, an XR16, a half dozen shafts to tinker with, an 816 Alpha 3 wood, some Apex cf16 irons (oh baby, just discovered the Project X iron shafts!), and some MD Forged wedges. I’m a junior staffer almost. Will any of it survive in the bag to May of next year? Who knows, but they’re shiny and new and it’s fun to score a good deal here and there. Oh, and I grabbed a Sun Mountain Clubglider travel bag to replace my old three-segment hard shell case that weighed a half ton. Let me give it a try and I’ll report back.
Hey guy, did you actually play or what?
2018 turned out to be one of the most fun years for me in a while! I’ll zip through some top moments here…
The Chicago area (home) had a rougher than usual winter. Cold and unrelenting frozen landscapes make a golfer dream of moving to friendlier climates, or at the very least escape to the local range dome. My year started by playing in some of the worst weather I’ve ever been in. Sideways hail, rain, soggy conditions… a kind of training round for my upcoming trip to Ireland in April, right? Was it worth it? NO! Because when I got to the Emerald Isle, it was mild and comfortable and I barely needed a light jacket. Anyway, my first Irish adventure took me to the wonderful Portmarnock in Dublin, and the superstar Royal County Down. I did also get to walk a fair bit of Royal Portrush, and let me tell you that I’ve only been left speechless on a golf course a couple times – this being one. The most beautiful drive in, the pure dunescape, the humble “this is our town course” manner of the locals. Will be back ASAP.
Mid year, I got to take a quick tour of central Ohio’s finer public courses (look here!) of Longaberger/The Virtues, Denison, and NorthStar. Checking out the Memorial and getting next to that Eldrick guy a couple times never fails to exhilarate. Throughout the summer, I checked off a couple local Chicago winners (public category) like The Preserve at Oak Meadows, Mt. Prospect, Sunset Valley, and Ravisloe. Each of these recently had some amount of renovation work done, so glad that I got to experience some before/after. There was also the magical afternoon the DRH guys got to spend walking Chicago Golf Club… essentially having most of the place to ourselves.
The highlight is always Michigan, and not because it’s home, but because the golf is amazing. I did my annual tour of the Upper Peninsula (click here for MI Week!), and also paid a visit to the phenomenal and off the radar Diamond Springs, and the pretty darn solid Meadows (Grand Valley State University course, near Grand Rapids). Oh, also, Crystal Downs. It was just ok.*
In all, 2018 was a great year for me. I played 23 new golf courses, bringing my total up to 334. There’s no goal to put a notch in my belt or knock off any “best of” list, but I’m always looking to see new places, meet new people, and keep my handicap high due to being unfamiliar with the course I’m playing. With the year wrapping up, I’ve got a couple good ideas in progress, and a golf itinerary that’s shaping up quite nicely. Hop on our mailing list and you’ll hear about it!
*Sarcasm, people… Crystal Downs is arguably the greatest golf experience you can have on this planet. You’ve got to see it to believe it.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it folks. If you’ve made it this far, you’ve seen some of our reflections on our 2018. Rest assured, there was plenty more, but there’s just not enough time in a day to go through it all! Thank you for all of your support this year. We hope you had a great 2018 and we look forward to bringing you more content in 2019.
