Sup world,
Welcome to the weekend... Friday Beers are right around the corner lfg. Grab your morning bev and take a read through this week's newsletter. This morning I'm sippin' on some Jose's Gourmet Vanilla Nut coffee that was ground and brewed fresh this morning. This is my favorite bean right now and you can get a 3 lb. bag for $18 at Costco.
Vlogs are Back
Vlogs are back, baby. Here is a link to our first episode back. This is a pilot episode with very low effort. But it's just me taking y'all with me to our round at Rancho Bernardo Inn. I will be tracking my progress as I try to become a scratch golfer.
Current Index: N/A
Most Recent 3 Scores
• 80 - Rancho Benrardo Inn
• 86 - Golf Club of CA
• 93 - Golf Club of CA
Taylormade Stealth Giveaway
Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered a Henley 2.0 and participated in the Taylormade Stealth Giveaway. Congrats to Gerald Robinson, the winner of the giveaway! Gerald has been a part of the collective for a min now and has been supporting damn near every drop. Gerald also let me know he hasn't been playing for very long but I'm sure this Stealth will get your ass on the course a lot more. Cheers bro and thanks again!
Understanding Titleist Vokey Wedge Grinds
During this week's round at Rancho Bernardo Inn, I unfortunately found myself in a few bunkers throughout the day haha. I just got some new Vokey SM9s that I am still breaking in. One thing I sort of "winged" during my purchasing process was selecting the grinds for each wedge. I have a 50*, 56* (bent to 55*), and a 60*. Titleist offers explanations for each grind on their website. They go into detail on which grinds work best for certain conditions. I honestly didn't want to read all that shit. My approach was to skim all the reading at a high level then make my decision. It's been about a month or two and I've learned a lot about them. And I'm getting kinda naaasssttttyyyy with em ;) What I've learned is some work better in the bunkers than others. Some interact with the fairway a lot different. So it's something you have to pay attention to when you're trying to throw darts at pins.
50* - F Grind 8* Bounce
This wedge has a very unique purpose for me. I'm usually only picking this club up if I'm 100-120 yards away, and ideally out of the fairway. With the F grind, it feels the club interacts with the turf just like one of my irons. On Titleist's website, it's the "traditional" grind. It has a very thin sole. Not a very versatile wedge around the greens (for me). To me, it's best for full shots out of the fairway and a bump/run shot around the green.
55* - D Grind 12* Bounce
This wedge grew on me and has defined itself as my favorite wedge in the bag now. The reason for this is because the D Grind is sooo versatile. I can use it around the greens to hit low and high shots. And it's filtthhyyy out of the bunkers. The grind looks "shaved" off so it kind of just slides through any turf or cuts through the sand. All I have to do is chop at it in the bunker and it flys out with spin. I thought my 60* was gonna be my bunker wedge but this one kind of does it all for me. If there is a con, it would be with full shots out of the fairway. It's kind of hard to hit my normal divot it because the shaved grind kind of make it slide under the ball. I've missed shots right a lot because of this but I'm learning to adjust for this miss and come at it with a steeper angle of attack.
60* - S Grind 10* Bounce
I've missed having a 60. I have been playing a 58 for the past couple of years and it just ain't the same. This is my club solely for around the greens. It's only for < 50 yards and if I need to hit some creative, filthhhyyy shots. The S grind has a thicker sole at the bottom of the club. It works well in the bunkers too for getting over high lips. But if I'm being honest I think I prefer the 55* for the average bunker shot. This one's mid (for me).
Beginner Lag Putting Tip
This one is for all of my beginner golfers just picking up the game. If you're intermediate this one is common sense for you so feel free to skip over. If you're still shooting in the 100s, you're most likely losing a lot of strokes just on the putting green. The goal for every round is to walk off the green with 2 putts at most. That's it. I mean, it's easier said than done tho, I still 3-putt so much hahahah. But 4-putting should never be a thing. Ever. And I sometimes see it playing with 25+ handicappers.
That's the mindset you should have. 2 putts, and that's it. Then you'll have the occasional 1 putt that falls first try.
Here's the actual tip: For longer putts, your focus shouldn't be too much on your "line" or "target." You shouldn't even stress to much about making the putt. Your focus should be on speed. Visualize a 3 foot circle around the hole. Your job is to just have the ball end up in this 3 foot circle. This will immediately increase your 2-putt percentage because you'll be leaving yourself in a better spot after your first putt. The 3 foot circle also helps you plan your line a lot better. Lines and speed, these two go hand in hand. A putt will break a lot more with a slower pace. If you hit it firm, the ball won't turn as much until it starts slowing down.
Try it out. And if it doesn't work, no hard feelings, keep looking for stuff that works for you! Everyone plays the game differently!
Newsletter Plans
I want to provide some sort of value for all levels of golfers in this newsletter. Ideally, I'll have a segment that writes/speaks to every audience. Beginners all the way to veterans. The idea is the beginner golfer will start reading what speaks to them... All of the newbie stuff. But as they invest more and more into the game, the intermediate and veteran content will speak more and more to them. So I want to provide value on all levels to get more people into the game.
That's it for this week.
If you haven't pre-ordered a Henley 2.0 yet, you can do so here:
Hit 'em straight this weekend and I'll see you guys next week.
Cheers,
JR Montes
*if you liked this email post and you'd like to help us grow, tell your golf foursome about us and tell them to subscribe on our website at montescollective.com.
