Hi from BirdieBall Australia

[gaetan]

Hi guys.
My name's Gaetan and I play at Kogarah GC, Sydney. Handicap is 10. Work-wise, I'm the Australian distributor for BirdieBall.
Looking forward to checking out ozgolf and getting to know a few of you. Hopefully I can contribute here and there.
Cheers
Gaetan

[Eag's]

Welcome gaetan, I have heard a bit about Birdieball, interesting product.

[kpac]

interesting product mate - haven't heard much about them before.

[gaetan]

Thanks for the hi Eag's and kpac. I've been trying to catch up with a lot of the threads but it's an active board - I guess I'll always be one step behind...

[AndyP]

Welcome to the forum, gaetan.

One of our members here, Jono, uses the birdie ball, and I had a warmup hit with several before we played with St Micks. They definitely highlight your bad shots.

[swanny]

Hi Birdieball hope you enjoy the forum as much as i do.

[BrisVegas]

can you shank a birdieball ?

[PeteyD]

Bet you can! I hit my first shank yesterday. Scared the crap out of me.

[BrisVegas]

infectious aren't they!

lucky i'm cured.

[gaetan]

Thanks swanny.
BrisVegas, there's nothing I can't shank.
PeteyD, don't worry, hit 'em enough and you get used to them.

[AndyP]

If you ever get used to shanks, it's time to give up.

[Jarro]

Welcome gaetan !!

Got any free stuff for us :mrgreen:

[PeteyD]

Not sure how you get used to the ball whistling off sideways.

[BrisWesty]

Gaetan,

I tried to order some of your gear for a work social club day last year with no success. Website was misbehaving. Will give it another go in the future.

Welcome aboard.

BW

[Courty]

Hi Gaetan. :smt006

[jaybam]

Hey Gaetan welcome. I had one of these a little while back but now cant find it. Might be time to buy another it was good fun. :)

[Rusty]

i saw alo using some of these warming up for Nambour. looked pretty interesting. it's gotta be better than aerodynamic serviette rings, surely.

welcome gaetan - how do pronounce that? surely not gay tan? ;)

[Rusty]

Welcome gaetan !!

Got any free stuff for us :mrgreen:

or maybe some Members' Specials unlock codes?? :) :smt038

[SupaSubi]

whats the go with these things?

they look like hollow cylinders - do you have to align them in a certain way when you hit them?

do they go far?

i had a look at the website - but since i couldn't access the vids at work - i have no idea how they work.

[goughy]

From what I could see, you just stand the cylinder up and hit it like a normal golf ball. I think the way the 'ball' reacts to bad swings is more pronounced. I believe the farthest you can hit it is about 40 yards tops. So good for those big back yards, like the 3/4 acre blocks we're looking at ;)

[gaetan]

To AndyP, jarro, BrisWesty, Courty, jaybam, Rusty, SupaSubi, goughy. Thanks for all saying hi.

[gaetan]

Gaetan,

I tried to order some of your gear for a work social club day last year with no success. Website was misbehaving. Will give it another go in the future.

Welcome aboard.

BW

When the time comes you can just give me a call and do it over the phone if you want.

[gaetan]

i saw alo using some of these warming up for Nambour. looked pretty interesting. it's gotta be better than aerodynamic serviette rings, surely.

welcome gaetan - how do pronounce that? surely not gay tan? ;)

Unfortunately you've got it right. My mother has a lot to answer for...

[Scottt]

LOL. My missus went to school with a guy called Gaylord. Some parents make dud calls!!

Gaytan makes me think of all those blokes at Bondi you have to sidestep to get to the water.

Is Goughy a chick?

[goughy]

Is Goughy a chick?

Don't go there girlfriend!!!

[PeteyD]

Well he is a big girls blouse ;)

[Jono]

Great product, this. Great way to warm up at your golf course if there is a spare 50m area. Not as satisfying as hitting a real ball but much better than a plastic whiffle ball.

Welcome, Gaetan. I emailed you once. I bought mine from the States and weren't sure if I received the right version. Have they come up with a way to pick up the birdie balls easily? Hard to flick these with the wedge. :lol:

[gaetan]

Thanks Jono

There is a BirdieBall shag tube that holds twenty balls. Similar to normal shag bags but obviously altered to fit BirdieBalls. We haven't got any in country though. Likely we'll have them mid year.

Glad you're enjoying them.

Gaetan

[Peter]

Welcome Gaetan,

Interesting product you have there - the range at my home course is only about 130m, and this looks like a good way to practice without having to limit the clubs I hit. Plus I'm lazy and don't want to walk more than 50m to pick up balls!

Any chance of damaging my clubs with one of these things?

[gaetan]

Hi Peter

They won't do any damage to your clubs. Although made from a high density polymer for durability, the ball actually compresses. Indeed, over time you'll actually notice slight deformation in the ball. (It won't affect your ball flight though because of it's symetrical rotation.)

If you want to try just some BirdieBalls, use the code bbdozens to unlock our current member special and get up to 25% off. Although the special is for blank balls we sold out early in the weekend but we're going to continue to honour the offer a while longer by dispatching regular logo balls. Makes the special even more special!

[chrisal]

Thanks for the offer, just ordered a couple of dozen for my home practice facility!

[Hooker]

Unfortunately you've got it right. My mother has a lot to answer for...
G'day gaetan, just out of interest , would gaetan be a Maltese name, as I know they have a St. Gaetano there and is quite a popular name.

[gaetan]

I have heard of St Gaetano but as far as I know the motivation in my case came from the French. I've also seen Italian Gaetano's and it's supposedly popular in Mauritius. Just not so common in this part of the world.

[TS]

Hi Gaetan

I received the StrikePad Set, I was wondering how long do you expect the strikepad to last.

Wouldn't the plastic pad be breaking after a few weeks.

TS

[gaetan]

I received the StrikePad Set, I was wondering how long do you expect the strikepad to last.

Wouldn't the plastic pad be breaking after a few weeks.

TS

You'll likely be tired of using it before it breaks TS. In over a year of demo days and school clinics, we've never had one break. The only reason we swap them over is because the print gets completely worn off. Having said that, if you drive a club into the edge of the pad then you will start cracking it but to do that you'd have to miss the ball by 20 inches!

With use, the pad will flatten out. To renew it, re-bend it evenly at the marked lines. You can do this time and time again. There is a pdf showing this on our website (navigate to the StrikePad category of the shop). Otherwise, PM or email me and I'll send you a copy.

Hope you enjoy them, look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Gaetan

[Grunt]

Are these balls(?) any good for chipping practice? Was having a hit around the backyard today and I got some of those plastic practice balls for her to hit around. I tried them and found they were to light to get any feel for the lob/high chip type shot. Too much glass around for me to try to hit normal balls.

[gaetan]

Hi Grunt

The BirdieBall really shines with 3/4 to full shots because you can shape the flight just like a real ball. But they are also good for chipping. Of course they don't roll when they hit the ground so you're working on your flight distance and aiming for a landing spot. And compared to any other foam or plastic ball they feel much heavier at impact with one disclaimer ... with excessively lofted clubs (say 60 degrees) the BirdieBall won't spin as much as possible so it will tend to 'float' in flight a little bit.

I don't know if it's of interest but today a new members special was released. I don't want to go into a sales pitch here so just use the unlock code of 'teesleeve' to check it out at BirdieBall's website.

If you've got any other questions, post here or pm me.

Gaetan

[Grunt]

Thanks for the quick answer Gaetan, will look at the site later tonight.

[markTHEblake]

I have never gotten around to saying this, but big thanks and appreciation to SMS316 for his gift to me of 12 Birdie Balls and a the Strike Pad, and to Gaeten for donating them to the 2008 Champs.

My preferred warmup these days is to hit 6-10 x 7 irons into the lake, cos our practice fairway landing area is actually the golf course, so i cant hit em there durijng the comp. But with these birdieballs i can hit whatever club i want and go nowhere near golfers.

I also have a small park about 3 doors away that is about 80m long, perfect for hitting any club I want, and when I visit my parents, i hit them from the front yard into the empty lot across the road - so many opportunities for practice (if only I took them though)

I was quite skeptical about this gimmicky little thing, and baulked at the cost initially, but I now that I have used them I wouldnt hesitate to buy more if I ever need them. The best thing is, with 12, i can hit 50 balls in 15 mins or so, and that includes picking them up. I am also gunna give some to my pro mate, he will enjoy using them on the 70m practice fairway he has in his backyard at Hope Island.

It is really easy to pick em up using the grip end of the club as well.

[AndyP]

The question is, what service did you provide to sms to receive them?

[markTHEblake]

The question is, what service did you provide to sms to receive them?

He gave away a bunch of the prizes he won to whomever was standing nearby, cos he thought he had no more room in his luggage, so you could say I saved him the excess baggage costs.

If he didnt spend a months salary at the bad taste shorts shop, he could have kept most of his prizes though.

[sms316]

He gave away a bunch of the prizes he won to whomever was standing nearby, cos he thought he had no more room in his luggage, so you could say I saved him the excess baggage costs.
True. I would hate for people to think that I did it out of the goodness of my heart.



If he didnt spend a months salary at the bad taste shorts shop, he could have kept most of his prizes though.
:roll:

[goughy]

I should get some of these birdie balls once I move. Will have about 60mtrs of backyard to hit them in.

[markTHEblake]

I should get some of these birdie balls once I move. Will have about 60mtrs of backyard to hit them in.

A friend of mine had an acre in the hinterland and being a landscape architect and golf nut, he built a golf green, which cost him a fortune by the way.

The longest tee shot was 70m though so it really wasnt worth the effort. however with these birdie balls, and 3 tees, he could have had a fairly complex golf course. The options are endless (just swap with a real golf ball to putt) or avoid the expense of proper greens and use a bucket for a hole.

[Bruce]

I won half a dozen as well and have been using them at the practice facilities at Mirboo. Helps save quite walk for picking up long irons.

I guess I'll have to think about the tee option as I wouldn't mind only having to walk 100m to pick up tee shots.

[gaetan]

Thanks for taking the time to post the message markTHEblake. Until now I didn't even know who had won the prizes.

It's great to hear that you are enjoying them so much and just as your experience confirms - until you hit them yourself (or at least see them in action) you just can't bring yourself to believe the reviews and claims about them.

Your mate with the 70m hole has the perfect setup to take advantage of these and you are on the right track with swapping in a normal ball if you want to putt or just finish the hole by chipping the ball into a target. The First Tee in the US uses the first option on their short courses and we use the latter for clinics and corporate days.

Thanks again for letting me know that they are being put to good use. It's good to know that it was a worthwhile prize.

Cheers

Gaetan

[dc68]

Hey Blakey I swapped you 6 for a TM hat where is my thanks???

[markTHEblake]

Hey Blakey I swapped you 6 for a TM hat where is my thanks???

Well first things first, I only have 15, 12 from SMS and that makes 3 from you. Where are the other 3 sunshine?

[just]

Blakey
Do you have a strike pad? And if so, is it worth it?

Gaetan
Do you have any Ozgolf specials?

[gaetan]

Hi just

No specials at the moment sorry and you're not the only one to ask so we might have to do something shortly. If we do then I'll post the promo code here for anyone to use. We only deal in the one product so it can be difficult to keep specials interesting!!

Bye for now.

Gaetan

[markTHEblake]

Blakey
Do you have a strike pad? And if so, is it worth it?

Gee mate, this is not the politics thread, should be much easier to keep up :razz:

yes, dont know.

I have not used it yet. I feel like it will be just noisy enough to attract attention and then have someone freaking out that i am playing golf amongst the houses.

[AndyP]

Where's my thanks for looking after it all for 6 months, Blakey?

[gaetan]

I won half a dozen as well and have been using them at the practice facilities at Mirboo. Helps save quite walk for picking up long irons.

I guess I'll have to think about the tee option as I wouldn't mind only having to walk 100m to pick up tee shots.

Won't even need that much, Bruce. World record long drive with a BirdieBall is only 78 yards. Still held by Long Drive Champion Mike Dobbyns. Of course, maybe with a tail wind ...

Gaetan