Golfers in the greater Albany, NY area know that Stadium Golf Club in Schenectady will almost always be the first course to open and the last to close each season.  Once the temperature warms up a bit and the grass turns green you can all but guarantee that the course will be in great condition.  The consistently outstanding conditions are quite an accomplishment considering how much traffic the course gets each year.

In truth, even with excellent conditions, Stadium is seldom my first choice of  area courses – it may not even be in the top 10.  The layout isn’t the most challenging (or interesting), but it is wide open, which  makes it an ideal spot to chip away at a winter’s worth of rust.  The staff is friendly enough, and more often than not I enjoy myself – even if there is a bit more of the slow playing, jeans and t-shirt crowd than I prefer.  It doesn’t hurt that it also happens to be the only legitimate golf course in the area open, which is why I couldn’t have been happier to score a mid-morning tee time last weekend.

Conditions were a bit rougher than I generally expect to find at Stadium.  Downed limbs and branches came into play on just about every hole, and I don’t recall ever needing to be so well versed in the rules covering loose impediments (or standing water for that matter).  Considering there was still snow on the ground and ice on the ponds, it’s hard to nitpick too much.  The course is still thawing, and I was more than happy just to be playing golf again.

I’d be lying if I said I was happy with the way I played.  I couldn’t bring myself to tally the score, but I have not doubt I hit triple digits.  While I was demoing a few of the new for 2009 drivers, my local pro noticed that right hand was setup exceptionally week.  I’ve know that I’ve let my grip get away from me for a while now, but fixing it is no easy task.  The more I tried to get back to neutral, the further right I hit the ball (thank god for parallel fairways).  Anytime one has to make a change (especially one that feel so awkward) it’s going to take some time to adjust.  I’m not all that concerned about it, and I’m supremely confident I can work it out.

Prior to actually getting out on the golf course, I spent my last couple of range sessions working with the Tour Striker training club.  While my score didn’t indicate any real breakthroughs, I felt like my wedge shots (at least those I didn’t decelerate and flub) were some of the best I’ve ever hit (especially on the little chips and pitches close to the green).  I’ll post a full review on the Tour Striker after I’ve spent a bit more time working with it, and after I’ve gotten more comfortable with a neutral (repaired) grip.

The first round of the year also provided my first opportunity to play 18 holes in the Opedix Posture Shirt (review coming soon), and to check out the Golf Tint sunglasses my friends at Tifosi sent over for the 2009 Golf Gear Guide.  I wore the PAVÉ (interchangeable lens) model for this round.  It sounds almost ridiculous, but I’ve actually never golfed with sunglasses on before (in the past I have worn tinted contacts).  Quite frankly I don’t know why I waited so long.  I’m going to experiment with the different lenses (and another model or two) to see what I like best, but so far I’m quite impressed.  The glasses are extremely lightweight, and the golf tint definitely does improves contrast.

I’ve also been wearing Tifosi’s Fade model as my everyday sunglasses for over a month now as well.  I find that design a bit too small for golf (my eyes catch the edge of the lens and mental dwarf that I am, I lose concentration), but they’re extremely comfortable and they do a fine job of killing the glare on my long drive home.  Not too long ago I was considering purchasing a very similarly designed pair of Oakleys for nearly 5 times the money, but dollar for dollar, you can’t beat the Tifosi lineup.

As you can probably tell, I’ve already gotten my hands on some great products for 2009.  With a little bit of luck, they’ll keep coming in and we’ll have new products reviews here at Qwowi Golf all season long.