The Sport Village

Unless you currently play semi-professionally, or are gearing up for a Senior Tour run sometime in the next few decades, the answer is most likely no. For the common golfer, golf balls are fairly disposable. This isn’t a recommendation to use just any junk that might be sitting the abandoned golf bag in the attic, but shelling out 30 to 40 for a sleeve of high performance golf balls simply isn’t practical for those with mid to high handicaps.A multilayer golf ball offers increased spin and control for the striker, but frankly, 9 out of 10 (estimated figures) people who take to the tee box do not have the necessary skill level to take advantage of these benefits. There’s no golf ball that will magically make your shot spin backwards towards the whole like you see in PGA approach shots, even if a particular top end ball boasts maximum spin potential. Yes, the ball will spin faster, but there is still a prerequisite level of stroke proficiency necessary to see any results manifest on the green. Precision control benefits are also mitigated as even the greatest golf ball in the world isn’t going to rectify a skull, shank or extreme slice. (more…)

If you’re going to play in the NHL, you will have hundreds of hockey sticks at your disposal, making wooden sticks, optimized for flexibility and versatility a very viable option but lacking in durability. Unfortunately for the more casual consumer out there who can’t afford to break a stick on a semi-nightly basis, buying a top end hockey stick as an amateur simply isn’t a feasible solution for anyone who wants to spend their free time playing hockey rather than watching from the side of the rink or pond. Here’s a useful look at the different types of stick shafts that prove to be more reliable sticks and which ones may be more appropriate for each skill level:

• Fiberglass Fiberglass sticks are the least expensive composite sticks, making a great starter stick for beginners. As most beginners will not immediately engage in cross-checking or other more advanced hockey maneuvers, the mediocre stick sturdiness shouldn’t come into play, assuming the stick is well taken care of. Fiberglass sticks contain a wooden core, reinforced by a fiberglass outer layer.
• Aluminum Aluminum makes another great starting material, and is much stronger than fiber glass, though slightly more expensive. An aluminum stick will feature a metal shaft with no traces of wood what so ever. The aluminum stick is also noticeably lighter than the fiberglass stick, lending itself well to younger players.
• Graphite Graphite sticks can come in both pure form or as part of a wooden composite. They are more expensive than Fiberglass and Aluminum, but generally offer a more efficient mix of lightweight feel and stick strength. (more…)

Obviously, the goalie stick is the most strikingly different apparatus on the ice, specifically designed to keep pucks out of the net, with its widened base over the stick’s bottom 24 inches. The exact width of the blade can vary by player, but it should be noted that though puck-stopping surface area increases with each additional inch, too wide of a stick may compromise maneuverability. Most goalie sticks have blades ranging from 3.5 inches to 15.5 inches wide, with a loft between 11 and 15 (close to a driver, for golfers out there). This means there is potentially a lot of extra wood which will increase the stick’s weight. (more…)