Dave, Are yours nickel? I could have swore Tony had the cavity backs in chrome. If yours are chrome and they are not holding up that is a bummer I didn't know about. Anyway, you're right. The rust is nothing if all you are interested in is performance, but it's a detractor with customers. On the up-side, the chrome blades seem to be holding up well for my customers.
Cub ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Tutelman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "Jim (Stargrip) Jennett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 4:13 PM Subject: ShopTalk: Followup: Raven NearNet Cavity Back irons and Star Grips > Following up my post on Raven NearNet Cavity Back irons and Star grips... > > I have now been using these clubs for a month of at least twice-a-week golf > (yes, I've found enough days even in the rainy northeast). I put the Star > Grips on my older irons (Jetstreams), so the comparison would be more > realistic. > > Bottom line: the Ravens are still in the bag. I hit them straighter than > any other irons I can remember using. I lose distance (but surprisingly not > direction) on toe hits. I hit a bunch of very good irons shots today, > including two wonderful 4-irons of about 190 yards. (Both left me makeable > -- and made -- putts, one a tap-in.) > > I do have a beef with them: the finish is, as Cub also noted, far too > delicate. I corresponded with Tony Miller of Raven who noted: > * The finish is more for feel than durability. (No kidding!) > * They may possibly make the same design in soft stainless next year. > That sounds like a good idea to me. > > Anyway, the way I'm hitting them I'll put up with a little cosmetic rust > and extra maintenance for a while. > > Two points about the Star Grips: > > (1) There was some discussion earlier of their being harder to install. > I've found a very easy technique that is halfway between conventional and > blowing the grips on. (My basement compressor is broken, and I probably > won't fix it during golf season.) > - Apply a 3" strip of 3/4" grip tape. Just apply the middle of the > strip to the butt, and extend the "flaps" down the shaft about an inch on > each side. > - Now proceed to apply solvent as if there were a full length of > tape. You'll be wetting mostly metal with the solvent. > - Slide the grip on with two hands. It will be easier than it was > with a full-length tape job. You just need enough tape (thanks, Arnie) to > get it started. > > Advantages: > * Easy to do -- very easy. > * Use very little tape. > * Almost no tape to remove when you regrip. > > (2) I was concerned about how the grips would perform when my hands sweat. > Today I had a chance to test that. It was 92*F and humid on the course. I > used the stick anti-perspirant trick on my hands, then compared the Star > Grips to the few Victory Cord grips I still have. The Cords did stay drier. > But I had no slippage problems with the Stars at all. They were certainly > better than other wrap grips I've used. (The Golf Pride Tour Wrap gets > positively SLIMY in these conditions.) > > Hope this is useful info for somebody. > DaveT > > At 06:37 PM 5/22/03 -0400, Dave Tutelman wrote: > >I thought it was worth following up my reply to Dan with a few real > >numbers. I measured some dimensions on the 3-iron for each set: NearNet > >and Jetstream. (I chose the 3-iron because one of each was in the garage.) > >The dimensions were the distance from the center of the hitting area to: > > (1) 1/2" from the edge of the toe. I figure that is where the ball will > > flatten over the edge if you miss by that much, and will cause a > > particularly severe lose-it-to-the-right. (A toe hit will be lost to the > > right anyway, as the blade twists during contact. But this is a second > > effect moving the ball right.) > > (2) The point where the ball has to be to touch the hosel. This is how > > much you can miss toward the heel before it becomes a shank. > > > >Here are the measurements: > > > > NearNet Jetstream > > 1/2" from toe 1.1" 1.3" > > Ball touches hosel 0.8" 1.2" > > > >So why do I keep playing the NearNets? > > * They feel better than the Jetstreams, whatever that means. > > * The ball will usually be closer to the direction I intended. (True, > > the misses are worse; but the decent strikes are better.) > > * I think the shorter blade gets through thick rough better. > > > >Once I have Star Grips on the Jetstreams, I'll probably alternate rounds > >for a while and see which I prefer. > > > >Cheers! > >DaveT > > > >At 04:59 PM 5/22/03 -0400, Dave Tutelman wrote: > >>Dan, > >>I'm pretty sure that all but one were toe misses. Yes, the direction of a > >>shank and a bad toe miss will be similar. But consider: > >> - A shank and a toe shot FEEL very different. These felt like toe shots. > >> - These are new clubs, with a near-virgin mirror finish except in the > >> striking area. For most of these misses, I could look at the clubface > >> and see a fresh ballmark out at the toe. > >> > >>But the larger point is that the short blade is less forgiving than the > >>Jetstreams of misses toward either the heel or the toe. There isn't as > >>much room on the face, and there isn't as much moment of inertia. > >> > >>Hope this clarifies it. > >>DaveT > > > > > >
