Snake Eyes Compressor Ti  Driver Head

Grade: Incomplete

Like most golfers, I've got a shed full of drivers. Even though I know better, I'm convinced that a new driver will produce better results.

The Fire Forged Compressor Driver is based on the old Zevo Compressor design, which Golfsmith bought last year. The head of the club is held together under 12,500 psi of compression, using an internal cable system. This is supposed to keep the head from distorting at impact, keeping the ball straighter, and transferring more energy to the ball.

I put this club together with a Snake Eyes Fire Forged driver shaft in an R Flex.

For me, the results on this club are mixed. It is certainly the longest driver I have ever hit -- at least 20 yards longer than the next longest. I attribute this to the compression technology.

However, I have had trouble developing any sort of regular tendency with it. At the beginning of the season, I hit it with a high fade -- my normal shot. Then, it was a low screamer on a rope to the left. Lately, though, I have been slicing it off the fairway; so badly, in fact, that I have abandoned it in favor of my 3 Wood.

Much of this is probably the gradual disintegration of my swing over the summer. I'm now in a phase where only my short game stands between me and quitting golf altogether. Still, the thing does not inspire my confidence.

One bad thing about it: the sound. It makes a horrible, very loud, popping sound at impact. People on the teebox one fairway over will turn around to see what happened. When struck just right, it sounds like an automobile hitting a tree. Of course, when hit just right, I hit it 280 yards.

I'm going to have to give it an "incomplete" for a grade. I think I like it, but I just don't know for sure yet.

Since thegolf season in Michigan is coming to an end, I thought I'd dedicate this week to reviewing some of the equipment that I have made and used.

Snake Eyes Strike Line OL RH Putter Head
Grade: A+

I really haven't been in the market for a new putter for some years -- ever since I bought my Scotty Cameron. But this was an unusual design. So I thought I'd give it a try. I put in a standard steel putter shaft and cut it to 36 inches. It has a Lamkin pistol style cord grip.

After two rounds, the Cameron was in the shed.

This is, without a doubt, the best putter I've ever tried, and I've tried a lot. (I like to go to Golfsmith and spend an hour or two trying every putter on the rack).  The extreme perimeter and backweighting provided by the curved steel bar keep the ball right on track. The center shaft allows me to get my head right over the ball, giving me a good view of the line.

When others have tried it, the first thing they notice is that its heavy -- really heavy. But I find that the weight encourages a smooth, shoulder driven stroke. No flipping the wrist with this brick

The wide bottom also helps. I never skid or stab with this club.

I dropped my handicap three points this summer, and I'm sure it's due mostly to my putting -- especially since my swing has gone south for the last month or so. I'm confident that if I get the ball anywhere on the green, I'm one -- at worse two putts away from the hole. Others at my club have commented on what a deadly accurate putter I am.

I don't tell them the secret.