60 - No Vokey No Cry...Well Maybe Just A Little...

I have only gone and done it; I’ve turned my back on the Titleist Vokey and bought myself two Mizuno MP-R wedges instead. I feel a little sad, but after the snooping around my blog by the manufacturers of the world most popular golf ball I felt I had to take a stand. It had nothing to do with the fact that the Mizuno clubs got rave reviews in Golf Whine Monthly or the fact that I got them at a knock down price, no Sir!

After searching the internet I found the wedges cost around £90 each and come in all manner of loft and bounce options depending on what you need. Personally, I needed the cheapest I could find to be perfectly honest as I hadn’t budgeted for wedges in my running total. When you need crap at discount prices there is only one place to go; eBay! Boy was there some crap on eBay.

After a couple of weeks searching I was almost ready to give up. The clubs on offer were either brand new and cost the same as in the shops or had been battered into submission by cack-handed municipal hackers who were trying to convince gullible tools that the scrapes, dings and wear actually provided more spin. I know clubs designed to oxidise help increase spin but chrome clubs that have been abused just don’t.

All I was after was a club that had been used for a few months, had been looked after and was being sold because the person was getting a new wedge for Christmas. As I was about to give up my search I found a pair of clubs that were new this year, had been looked after and were being sold because the person was getting new wedges for Christmas. Spooky.

The more observant out there may have noticed I said ‘pair of clubs’. That’s right; I had found two bats that fitted the bill. The seller had a 52* and a 56* up for sale in the same auction and the best part was that they were up for sale at a reasonable price. What’s more, he was even willing to accept a ‘Best Offer’ for them that would save me 18%. It sounded too good to be true but I decided to take a gamble and bid on them.

After a couple of days I received an email saying I was the winner. Result! I paid and then waited for the clubs to arrive. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t best pleased to hear later that day that staff at the main sorting office in Liverpool were planning strike action over the proposed closure of the facility (oh I agree with them 100%, just not when I’ve got golf clubs winging their way to me!!!) but I hoped they would arrive before the staff started sitting around burning oil drums at the main gate.

I got a phone call yesterday saying that a box with Mizuno had arrived. Whoohoo! I was certain that the whole deal was too good to be true and that some battered auld crap would fall out of the box when I opened it but I was delighted to find that the clubs were exactly as described and showed little sign of wear. You can tell they have been used but it doesn’t look like very much, in fact the 52* looks almost brand new. I’m a relieved man.

New, the clubs cost £90 each but I had managed to get two in excellent condition for just £65. I honestly cannot complain. In fact if the clubs had been a bit more battered I STILL couldn’t complain at that price. The face of both clubs is excellent, the grooves are still sharp, the shafts are unmarked and the grips look virtually brand new. I’m a happy camper today but still have a tinge of sadness about turning my back on the Vokey.