Brett Kowalczyk
Editor of Fairway Shelf
About
Commercial real estate broker, Scottsdale. Ran seriously for fifteen years, tracking splits and weekly mileage the way some people track their stock portfolio. In 2020 a knee injury ended that. The surgeon gave me a list of things I could still do. Golf was on it. Hadn't played since my late twenties and wasn't good at it then, so I started over. The obsessive-measurement part of my brain found a new set of numbers to follow pretty quickly.
The notebook lives in my glove box. Every round gets logged: course, date, temperature, which ball, any gear change since the previous outing. Spiral-bound, nothing elaborate. After forty rounds with the same push cart (Kierland in March, Papago in August heat, a scramble at Aguila where the wind made the braking feel different), that log knows things a demo day wouldn't uncover. The cart rattled loose at week ten of summer. Wrote it down. The putter I hated for three weeks I ended up using two full seasons. That's in there too.
Two to three rounds a week at three Phoenix valley public courses. Over four years of rotating through bags, push carts, putters, and ball configurations, I've stopped trying to count exactly what I've tested. Some gear I still use. More I returned. A few went to Goodwill after the notebook made the verdict clear. Not a teaching pro. Not a club fitter. Nothing to say about swing mechanics or shaft flex. What I can tell you is how gear holds up across a real season in Phoenix heat. The rounds are there and the notebook backs them up.
Wrote the first review because I kept looking for something like this and kept finding first impressions dressed up as long-term takes. Round thirty is different. That's what this is for.
Articles by Brett Kowalczyk
- How to Clean Golf Grips to Prevent Slipping in Dry Heat
- Best Irons for Golfers Transitioning Away from Hard to Hit Blades
- Best Hybrid Golf Clubs for Reaching Long Par 3s from the Fairway
- Most Durable Golf Balls for Desert Courses with Hard Scrape Areas
- Best Golf Cart Bags for Frequent Use on Public Desert Courses
- Best Waterproof Golf Shoes for Early Morning Dew and Rain
- Best Sun Sleeves for Golfers Playing in the Desert Heat
- Mallet vs Blade Putter for Amateurs with Inconsistent Strokes
- Best Golf Shoes for Walkers with High Arches
- Best Performance Golf Balls for Moderate Amateur Swing Speeds
- Best Spiked Golf Shoes for Traction on Hard Desert Terrain: 2026 Refresh
- Best Golf Gloves for Sweaty Hands: 2026 Scottsdale Summer Field Notes
- Visibility vs. Glare: Field Notes on High-Optic Golf Balls in the Arizona Sun
- Low Compression Golf Balls in Triple Digit Heat: A Scottsdale Survival Guide
- Best Spikeless Golf Shoes for Walking 36 Holes in Heat: 2026 Field Notes
- Stop the Twist: The Best Golf Stand Bags for Walkers Using Push Carts (2026 Refresh)
- Best Oversized Putter Grips for Golfers with Chronic Wrist Pain: 2026 Field Notes
- Best Non Electric Golf Push Carts for Hilly Arizona Desert Courses: 2026 Review
- Best Electric Golf Push Carts: Why the Alphard V2Pro Saved My Knees
Disclosure
Some outbound links on this site are affiliate links. Buy through one, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. That doesn't change what gets recommended. The notebook does. Full details in the Editorial Policy.