Author: Hal

Nike Slingshot Irons on Test

Hal

It’s been quite a while since I last played golf with anything like regularity. In my last post I wrote about the new Nike Slingshot irons I was given as a gift, and the Taylor Made Burner driver that went with them.

For the last week or so I’ve been going to the driving range (the rather excellent Elsenham sports and leisure centre in Hertfordshire) and spending an hour at a time smacking golf balls up the range. So what’s the verdict?

The Nike irons are a joy to hit. Simple.

In the time since I last played regularly and now, I have lost some flexibility and probably picked up some bad habits. However, I was delighted to see the ball generally flying straight and largely to the place I intended it to go! As a guide, the seven iron was landing at roughly 150 yards and rolling on well past that. I don’t consider myself a long hitter by any means, so seeing a seven iron go past 150 was quite pleasing. I’m sure that in more experienced hands it would go even further, but I’ll settle for all I can get.

The five iron shot to about 170 and rolled on from there, and the hybrid irons were simply awesome. A hybrid 4 was reaching nearly 200, and the hybrid 3 was just a touch longer as far as I could see. It is actually quite difficult to assess the actual distance that far away – and I am only talking about where the ball landed first, not where it subsequently rolled to.

The Tour Burner Driver was frequently breaking 220, and at times I could have sworn it landed nearer 260 (but was probably 230).

My biggest issue was that I enjoyed hitting the balls so much I got through them at a rate of knots. The other slightly annoying niggle is that I normally have a very slight draw, but was pushing a lot of shots wide to the right (as a right handed player). The driver was prone to slice. I adjusted my grip, slowed down the swing (lost some yardage) and got some very straight and true shots. I don’t know about you but I’d rather use a 3/4 swing and lose 20 yards than be forever digging a ball out of the right hand side of a fairway.

I then took the pitching wedge out onto a pitch and put area, and was very glad I did. This wedge is superbly forgiving and I found I was more accurate with it than any other I had used before! Working from ranges of just a few yards to approximately 70 or 80 yards I was dropping the ball right on the apron of the green with apparent ease. If I knew how to apply back spin I’d be very happy to drop the ball right near the pin. I can say that boldly because I believe this pitching wedge allows me to be far more accurate. I can’t imagine I have somehow managed to get more accuracy through not playing the game for ten years…

All in all these irons seem to suit me very well indeed. They hit longer than I expected and they seem to be very forgiving. Having worked on my grip a little and stopped pushing everything wide, I am confident these irons will help me take quite a few shots off my game. A very, very minor issue is that the grip on the irons doesn’t have those very useful lines that help you form your grip consistently. This means I have to stop and think about the grip every single time, which itself is no bad thing. I still have much to learn about golf, and am in no way a ‘good’ player with a low handicap, but I would say if you are looking for some new irons, and think you’d benefit from some forgiveness, go and try out the Nike Slingshots. American Golf have them in stock, and should allow you to test them in store, too. I am very pleased I got them.

Nike Slingshot Irons, golf clubs for returners, game improving irons

Hal

Let me say from the outset that I am not a real golfer. I enjoy a game here and there, and have been known to win a few times, but I don’t get much of a chance to play these days. Even when I did play during the nineties I was not that good, a real beginner, but I did manage to learn how to swing the club and got quite in to the game.

And then life intervened. About ten years or more of an intervention, before I was once more thinking about having a regular game of golf.

I started to look for clubs in earnest, thinking I ought to be able to find a half decent set for not much money, but actually it is very hard to do. I read review after review, I read technical specifications and advertising. I read until my eyes were sore, and finally settled on some TaylorMade Tour Burner irons. Heck, American Golf were selling them for less than £300, and I had to get a set! I was very fortunate that this coincided with my birthday and I was offered new clubs for a present. Well, it would have been rude to refuse…

When I visited American Golf in Braintree, Essex (Freeport) I found the staff to be very good indeed – much better than I had anticipated. I explained that as a former golfer I didn’t really class myself as a beginner and didn’t want irons that a beginner would use. I had my heart set on TaylorMade Tour Burners, and that was that. The salesman (Mark) was excellent. He listened patiently, nodded knowingly and selected a range of clubs for me to try out on the electronic analyser at the back of the store. I had some Taylormade irons, some Callaways, and two types of Nike, including the Slingshots.

So onto the machine I stepped and swung the clubs as best I could. The machine plotted the trajectory, speed, flight direction – everything! It turned out that I was getting a 7 iron about 160 yards on a good swing, which isn’t too bad at all in my opinion. The thing is, I got consistently good readings from the Nike Slingshot irons and only sometimes good from the Callaways. I was rubbish with the TaylorMade clubs!

I was pleasantly surprised at the way I could tell the difference between the clubs after all these years, and with the way I was able to swing them… I thought I’d be pretty poor at both, actually. I know the machine environment is not a golf course, it doesn’t have wind, sun, rain, slopes or the mocking laughter of your comrades trying to put you off… so it wasn’t a real test. The thing is, it was a consistent test, and I really enjoyed the work out it gave me.

So much so, that I left the store with the Slingshots – a good weight, consistent distance and direction, forgiving in those awkward moments and pretty good value for money. They are not top flight clubs, but I am not a top flight golfer. They are not necessarily for beginners, but they would be a very good first club. They seemed to suit me as a returning golfer, and I think they’ll actually help improve my game faster than others would, and that’s what I am after achieving!

I did also try a TaylorMade Burner driver, and loved that – much better than the Nike equivalent or the Ping G15 that was there to test too. So I added that to the set and finished it off with a putter.

Now, for putting I am an old fashioned sort, and I like the ordinary looking putters. I went for a Rife ‘Aussie’ – it felt excellent in my hand and on the carpet putting green, I was having a lot of fun watching my ten foot puts drop in the pot. If only it was like that on a green…

I’ll be testing the set out on a course as soon as I can, and will report back on how they were (and how I was). I am expecting good things.

Scott Kelby, Digital Photography

Hal

Whilst browsing in Waterstones this weekend I was pleased to find another volume from Scott Kelby. I have bought both of the earlier books, all entitled ‘The Digital Photography Book’ and have to say I’ve learned heaps from them. The style of writing is so easy to read and the tips and information priceless for those, like me, eager to know more about how to take better images.

This book, volume 3, leads on from the earlier versions and spends a good deal of time going over studio work, flash and lighting, portraiture, product shots and lenses. If you think you know all about these things, think again. Scott doesn’t go into deep theory about any of it, but gives practical hints and tips on how to achieve consistently good results. The emphasis is on giving simple information, much the same as you might get if you were right next to him on a shoot.

I think I have got so much more to learn, and am pleased to find books like this that take me on another small step. Much of what the book tells you is actually obvious the moment after you read it – I had a lot of  moments where I smiled to myself and said ‘so that’s how…’

Throughout the book are useful tips and links to online resources, and I found myself downloading things I wouldn’t normally have looked at, including updating the firmware on my trusty D200. I also spent a few hours with the camera just going back through the settings and finding ways to get better quality out of the shots I take. I would think that had I not read the book, I wouldn’t have bothered! I even found myself playing with HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, taking five bracketed shots and using Photoshop to set up the HDR stuff. OK, so I wasn’t on a shoot, and was playing around in my garden, knowing full well the light wasn’t right, but it was a chance just to test out the process. It worked as Scott said it would, and I feel more confident about working with HDR as a result.

I even got out my SB800 flash unit and re-read the user manual. Boy… that’s not much fun in there! However, I found ways to get it working that I hadn’t tried before, and whilst I am far from confident with flash units, I found I enjoyed trying things out. It was a bright sunny day, and I had a perfect chance to take dozens of images to test out things like fill in light, remote triggering and manual control of the unit.

So, thanks again Scott – volumes one and two are perfectly complemented by volume 3. What I need now is a trip to the US to sit in on a seminar, or for you to visit the UK and run some sessions over here!

provisiondirect, buy video camera, camcorder purchase

Hal

Today I was caught up with the need to buy a decent camcorder and a few accessories. In the past we have used Sony HVR-Z1 cameras (the same used on the BBC Blast tour) which are well featured and durable, and produce great shots for video work. Sadly, they are now discontinued, and although there is a strong second-hand market for them, it is sometimes better to upgrade.

So up steps the Sony HVR-Z5. Almost identical, but with better optics, more considered ergonomics and additional settings in almost every feature it is a direct replacement and all of the Z1 accessories will still fit. This looked like the right piece of kit, but who to buy from? With almost every site in a google search for camcorders returning some price comparison or review site it is easy to find these things reasonably cheap (OK – £2,500 isn’t cheap, exactly). The thing is, they are mostly offered for sale with the standard one year warranty, and I had hoped for slightly more.

As usual, for all things video we call a select list of suppliers. Today we were delighted with the service from Jeremy at provisiondirect.co.uk. This company has an enviable reputation for great value and excellent product range. We have recommended them to clients looking to purchase kit, and indeed we have made one or two modest purchases there ourselves. Today was the day for buying again!

Jeremy is one of the most knowledgeable and friendly folk when it comes to pro and prosumer video gear. He is often very busy, but when you do get him, he finds the most brilliant pieces of kit for you, and tells you exactly ‘how it is’ with everything. After talking to Jeremy today I was satisfied that they still provide one of the best routes to buying kit, and the value he gives is second to none. So it was that we bought a Z5 with 2 year warranty at probably the most competitive price available. Not content with that Jeremy also added a few extras for us, which was brilliant… unexpected and not asked for. That’s the kind of person you are dealing with – full of information and very willing to help.

It is with great pleasure that I recommend to anyone looking to purchase a decent video camera, lighting, accessories, sound equipment, anything related to video, really provisiondirect.co.uk.

Yorkshire and Humber Grid for Learning

Hal

It is with great pleasure I find myself trekking around Yorkshire again, revisiting schools we used as case studies in 2007 when working for YHGfL to produce ‘Virtually There: Learning Platform Research’. This publication was probably the first of its kind in the UK and for 2007 was fairly comprehensive in what it attempted to do. Launched at the annual conference in Castleford, the publication was accompanied by a DVD which held film clips of the teachers actively involved in implementing learning platforms. It was a lovely piece of work to be involved in.

So when we were asked if we would revisit the same schools to capture the next steps in their journey, and create ‘Virtually Where?”, we were delighted! This new project will explore the progress made in two years and once again be presented at the annual conference. This time, however, it will be an entirely online affair, with videos forming the majority of the experience. Our role is to interview, capture, edit and produce the site and content. Wonderful.

In the course of our first trip to one of the most beautiful counties in England, we happened upon Compo’s Cafe. Anyone who has ever heard of ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ will know immediately who Compo was! We went past it before, but didn’t have an opportunity to stop… this time we did, however. Whilst the restaurant was pretty full and busy, the take away chippie was fine – we ordered a portion of chips and sat outside ion the Yorkshire sunshine watching the world go by. A blissful 20 minutes in a hectic schedule! If you get the chance, visit Yorkshire. And even better, grab a bag of chips from Compo’s Cafe!

Compo's Cafe, Holmfirth
Compo's Cafe, Holmfirth