Wondering about the Guru Golf Club

I bought one new from a fellow egger about 4 years ago and hooked it up to my MAPP TS4000 and was not happy. The pressure on my tank is either on or off. Checked with the head man at the GURU and he said I needed a torch head where I could control the flow of gas. Mine had toooo much pressure and just blew the flame out. Work a deal if interested.

Are you now using the MAPP and getting the sparks? which is normal.

Does your MAPP torch head have an adjustable gas flow or on/off?

What do you have it hooked to for gas source?

I have a plastic tube that slips over the tip and the other end on the guru.

A Benzomatic TS4000 torch + MAPP gas.

I have the same thing and the pressure on 12 inches of hose blows the flame out. Spend more time relighting than using. Any help is appreciated.

Up until recently I used it all the time. Bernzamatic 4000 head, small cylinders. Just on-off but no problems keeping it lit. Bury the head in the lump to avoid sparks. Light in about three places, takes about 30 secs each with Mapp Gas. Also good for stirring lump, raking out ash, and lifting the grid.

Recently have been using the paper towel and oil method, just because it's simpler. But the golf club does work as advertised.

I have one and I LOVE it. I use a MAPP torch with adjustablt flow. I had lots of sparks before using the golf club and none after.

Hi Kent,
Like many others I was looking for a nice easy, trouble free way to light my (med) egg whatever the conditions.
Here's a little about my various methods:
1. Chimney on a Weber performer - not great for small amounts of lump but pretty good, means I can light some fresh lump in the chimney (I think it gets rid of the volatiles better) while I stir the old coals gently in the egg and try and make sure there is suitable airflow. Seems a shame to keep the Weber as a table and lighter - it could have a better home (and me a tidier garden / some brownie points if I re housed it) plus it runs on butane which is pretty hopeless in cold weather.
2. I have a ferocious weedburner connected to a 3.9kg propane tank that works even when it's cold but it sounds like a jet engine and requires constant attention. In fact it doesn't really like the confines of the egg as it can't get enough air and I guess this affect the performance as presumably the charcoal and the propane are competing for oxygen. I also feel pretty foolish using it so give it a blast for a minute or two, think it is OK only to have to repeat a few minutes later. It's just too powerful for the task - slower and steadier would be preferable.
3. Mapp torch (Bernzomatic TS7000 - adjustable flow)
This seems OK but I think it must be easier to light a large than a medium as I don't seem to get the chimney effect quite as readily. The flame is pretty compact so concentrated on a small area and the cartridges are small and hence relatively expensive. Again the effect seems to be to superheat one small part of the charcoal with resultant sparks.
4. Electric Looftlighter picked up a week or two ago on a whim, this is actually very good but means finding and trailing a mains extension lead out to the egg (seems almost wrong!?). I think it works well because it combines heat and air. It is pretty cumbersome to deal with afterwards though, while it cools down (who thought to build a bottle opener into it...?).

5. Veg oil paper towel - I haven't got this to work , but have only tried a couple of times. It would be a firm favourite if I mastered it for simplicity, economy and "neatness/fit" but suspect it works better on a large and better with (some) fresh lump.

The Guru golf club seemed to address the shortcomings of the above methods - the flame isn't a pencil jet but a number of small flames that heat a slightly larger area so not just concentrated on one piece of lump.
It isn't a jet plane approach that aims to blast the whole contents of your firebox into submission in five seconds flat or even to take a few coals to high temps amazingly quickly but more of a slow and spread burner desgned specifically to be buried in charcoal to light below the surface and hence get a wider area burning and to encourage the natural chimney effect.

In use I have it on a propane torch (I don't think I've used it on my Mapp torch head yet) with adjustable flow (looks like the Bernzomatic JT539) and it works smoothly, quietly and unattended.

It seems to take quite a while to get a fire established, this is based on lighting used lump which is always harder, and one has to be a little careful with the gas flow as it is liable to be too high for the club, blowing the flame out. It is by no means "unsnuffable" but it is designed to be pushed into lump and copes well. I've found I stir the coals up and try to make sure there is suitable airflow then light the club, nuzzle it into a suitable position and leave it for at least 10 minutes with vent and lid open, which is a fair amount of gas from a small torch canister. Then I am usually ready to shut the lid and let the fire consolidate for another 15 minutes before thinking about vent settings and leaving to stabilise.
The only other reservation I have is the "swivel" connection is actually an interference fit into the top of the club so one has to make sure it is pushed home before leaving the thing in place, I would hate the tube to ping off mid light.
In short the guru club is pretty good at what it is meant to do, certainly better than more ferocious torch methods, and has been made for burying in charcoal so you can light from below rather than above a particular piece of lump. The bracket that comes with it is useful as well, so you can hok or hang your torch in a suitable place. If I could mount the club to a low power torch on my propane tank I'd probably love it because I wouldn't be worrying about the rate of consumption of the Bernzomatic cartridge. (in fact a friend once had such a device for their coal fire - they called it a gas-poker).
My suggestion - try it I suspect you'll like it.