COMMUNITY

Over five years ago, after I finished my first semester in college, dad took me to a demo day when I got home for the summer.

I was in the market for a new set of irons that year, so I went to all the demo days so I could try out all the brands and models of irons. After getting back to school for the school year following a summer gig at a golf course, dad and I went to the former 2nd Swing Golf store in Monroeville on US 22 and I made my final selection. Earlier this year, I had my irons regripped before I made a single stroke in a round.

Here is what is in my bag:

Driver: Almost two months ago, I bought a second-hand Titleist 975J driver with 9.5* of loft. If I make the Dean's list at any point during the 2009-2010 school year, I will get a new driver with my paychecks from Dunham's, money from selling spring 2010 textbooks, and Dean's List bonus money. (Plus any Xmas 2009 cash remaining by late April, too...)

Fairway Woods: The heads of my fairway woods were almost ready to break off, and the grip on my 3 wood was wearing out, so with my employee discounts at Dunham's, I bought a Jack Nicklaus 747.LD 3 wood and a Golden Bear Mega PT 5 wood. In an August round at Rolling Hills, I flew the par 5 10th in two using the 5 wood and wound up saving par. If I make the Dean's List in any semester during the 2009-2010 school year, I will get new fairway woods with my paychecks from Dunham's, money from selling spring 2010 textbooks, Dean's List bonus money, and any Xmas 2009 cash remaining by late April, too.

Irons: Here is why I bought a Titleist 690.CB 2 iron: I had a feeling that I was going to get the 690.CB irons, so that is why I bought the 2 iron with some of my money from my summer 2004 gig. Although I still use this 2 iron, my other irons are Titleist 704.CBs (3 iron through pitching wedge). In most rounds I will use my 2 iron. In the history of the most recent incarnation of the Penn State Shenango golf team, I am the only player that carried a 2 iron in his or her bag.

Wedges: You have to have a sand wedge in case you hit your approach into a greenside bunker. My sand wedge is a Titleist Vokey Design 56* sand wedge with 10* of bounce. In rounds that I do not use my 2 iron, I substitute it with my other Vokey, a 60* lob wedge with 8* of bounce. (I still have to get this club regripped, though.)

Putter: I have used a myriad of putters since 2000, and the one I have in my bag is a Pinemeadow Xeon M-4 with a Penn State Nittany Lions C-Thru Grip. My first round with this putter was at Deer Creek in Hubbard and I shot 78, including just 30 putts.

Headcovers: I prefer to cover my woods with Penn State Nittany Lions zippered headcovers. These headcovers were purchased at the campus bookstore in March 2006.

Ball markers: In order to maintain my loyalty to Penn State, I use Penn State Nittany Lions ball markers to mark my balls. They came as part of a package that included a Penn State Nittany Lions divot tool that I use to repair my ball marks on the greens.

Food and drink: If you're playing on a hot day, you have to stay hydrated. In all types of weather, you have to stay hydrated. Many golfers lose a lot of water when they play 18 holes, so that is one of the reasons why I always carry a 1-liter Aquafina water bottle with water from my tap and refrigerated until the days of my rounds. After each round, I refill the bottle with tap water and refrigerate it until my next round. On the course, I like to munch on Nature Valley granola bars. They are the official energy bars of the PGA TOUR. After a round, I like to relax and drink an Arnold Palmer mixed drink (half iced tea, half lemonade). You can find these at your local Sheetz convenience stores.

Tees: Whenever I am on the range, I use different colored tees. I prefer that you should practice with only the tees that match the colors of the high school where you earned your diploma (in my case, red and black). On the course, I use my Penn State tees. I go through about 7 of them on average per round. This year, I got a chance to tee my ball up with these tees during the Penn State Greater Allegheny Invitational at Butler's Woodside course in Elizabeth, PA.

Balls: I prefer Titleist balls, whether new or recycled. They were the subject of my sales presentation in my personal selling class in April of this year. I mostly use the ProV1x, but I am willing to use DT Carry, DT Roll, NXT Tour, NXT Extreme, or ProV1. I prefer to mark them with a black "M" on both sides of the ball under the number. It doesn't matter what the number is.

Bag Tag: Once again, staying loyal to Penn State, I have a Penn State Nittany Lions bag tag.

Glove: I carry two gloves per round. I suggest you do the same too. In my case, I have two FootJoy gloves. They are both left handed gloves, and are the best choice for a right handed player.

Ball retriever: In case I or any of the people whom I happen to b