Big Stu Update

[BIG STU]

Well I don't switch clubs as much as some of you do but I have sorta a new list

 

Driver Same one Wishon 949 9* UST 65 gold stiff

3 Wood Same one Cally Steelhead UST 65 gold stiff

7 Wood Taylor Made V steel 21* UST 65 Gold Stiff

1 Iron ( yes I said 1 iron) Ping Karsten 1 TT S-300

Irons 4 thru PW 1980 Power Bilt Scotch Blades Power Bilt C shafts ( frequency checked same as S-300)

Gap Titleist Vokey 55* bent to 53 8* bounce FST High rev stiff

Lob Titleist Vokey 60* 8* bounce S-300

All irons bent up 1*

Putter Ping Zing (circa 1990 my long lost friend)

The Scotch blades were purchased at an estate sale 6 years ago for $25 full set 1I thru SW. They were still in the box with cotton socks over the blades . They had never been hit. They still had the factory grips but dry rotted. I had actually forgotten those until a month or so ago. I stumbled upon them in the warehouse. I dug them out regripped them with some cheap grips (golfsmith meadilist velvets) just to try them. We checked the shafts on the frequency machine and the numbers matched up to S-300 specs which I suspect they are but labeled as Power Bilt "c" Set them to my specs 1* up Darn things hit good. They are in the bag for now

Bag Infiniti Staff (same for 3 years now)

Yep I made a few sutile changes which is odd for me I do experiment with different clubs but am reluctant to change my gamers in the long run

[BIG STU]

Thanks RJ I have trouble taking pictures I am not quite a high tech redneck yet but working on it. I do know how to take pictures with my cell phone but don't know how to transfer here yet. I do not know if I am going to stay with the classic setup now. I still hit the driver good about 275 avrg with roll out but on the longer courses I have been playing lately have trouble with mid irons etc. I never was a range rat just played a lot. I am getting older and don't hit the blades in the sweet spot as often as in the past.I am thinking seriously about going to the old mans setup with a 24* hybrid and 6 thru pw cavity backs. I am planning to test hit some Rocket Blades today. I have been experimenting with the 24 hybrid for a few months now and have not really been gaming it yet. I am thinking about building a set of Rocketblade clones and see if they work out or not on overall gameplan. If they don't I can sell them to get my money back. I also have a friend that is an Infiniti dealer and I am thinking about going to a set of Infiniti Assures. I built a set of 422 Infinity irons a few years back but never warmed up to them but at the time I did not really want to and I never tweaked on them to fine tune them I have never played anything other than blades. I think what my problem is now that I have the driver dialed in and am killing it with no effort but I am trying to push the issue too much with the older irons and I know I cant do that anymore at my age. I think the aggressive lofts and forgiveness may help me even though I will sacrifice feel. Feel free to comment because your opinion is always valued and welcomed

[Paul S]

I'd be extremely interested in what those blades look like. I have a set 2-PW of Powerbilt Momentum blades from 1983 that I got from a secondhand store for $50 and they look like they've only been hit a handful of times and then sat in a garage for 30 years. They're some of the best feeling clubs I've hit, and they've got a great, small frame. Shafts on them are True Temper Dynamic (just dynamic. not gold) with a B on the shaft label.

[Mr_Theoo]

Thanks RJ I have trouble taking pictures I am not quite a high tech redneck yet but working on it. I do know how to take pictures with my cell phone but don't know how to transfer here yet.

 

If you have smart phone you can upload the to the site directly from the phone

[BIG STU]

Well the redneck went high tech for now. After doing some research I built me some Infiniti Assures. My friend is an Infiniti dealer so I got a deal on the heads. I put them together Monday afternoon and was on the range at Indian Wells this morning at 07:00. Put together 6 thru PW. Hit about 300 balls today with them. Distance improved vastly without trying to push the envelope so to speak. The clubs were pretty workable so to speak and forgiving. What surprised me the most is that they had feel not as much as a pure blade but pretty good. I did practice the bump and run with them today for about 2 hrs and the faces are hotter than the blades so I am getting used to that. My friend who is the Infinity dealer talked me into it. Told me I could set them up like I wanted All the heads except the PW were dead on factory specs out of the wrapper. I did have to go up 1* to std on the PW. I went up to the new Golfsmith store in Myrtle this afternoon and messed with them. I hit a Rocketballs 6 I and the monitor numbers looked good and they felt good. I tried a Cally 6 iron and the numbers were ok. I tried the Adams and it was not as good but not bad. Then I put the barb in They let me go to the truck and get the Infiniti irons. I told them I was thinking of selling them. I hit the Infiniti irons and blew the competition away. I don't know much about the high tech launch monitors but they were impressed. we were having a ball. One of the Golfsmith employees said he had never seen a clone club hit that good. I had to straighten him out on that. Informed him that Infiniti was a COMPONENT manufacturer like Wishon etc of course this guy did not know anything about Wishon I was surprised they were giving me the numbers especially on the Infiniti stuff but they did. I think I am gonna like them but time will tell. I am supposed to play tomorrow or Friday on a pretty hard course that I have played before recently and I know it will take time but I am looking forward to it. This will be a drastic change for me

[BIG STU]

I'd be extremely interested in what those blades look like. I have a set 2-PW of Powerbilt Momentum blades from 1983 that I got from a secondhand store for $50 and they look like they've only been hit a handful of times and then sat in a garage for 30 years. They're some of the best feeling clubs I've hit, and they've got a great, small frame. Shafts on them are True Temper Dynamic (just dynamic. not gold) with a B on the shaft label.

If I remember right the Scotch Blades are a little bit more rounded on the toe than The Momentum or the Citation Irons. The toe on the Scotch Blades are rounded sorta like the Mizzy 33s but are a tad bit smaller

[fozcycle]

Hey Big Stu,

 

I grew up on a set of Powerbilt Momentums. My Grandfather gave me a 1/2 set (3,5,7,9) when I graduated from High School in 1968.

 

Terrific feel! I played them for 20 years then passed them on to my godson.

[BIG STU]

Dude, ya gotta nice iron to work with. That dual flanged sole will definitely help prevent digging or fat shots and that low COG will help with trajectory. Yep, those are sweet. I looked very seriously at their Tour Strategy TS-12 forged irons. They are a double forged combo set with the 3-7i being a muscle cavity(think MizzyMP-57s, which I really liked) and the 8i-PW being a beautiful MB blade. I ended up getting a set of pristine Titleist 735.cm's from Matt(KyGolfer) for a new Scotty GoLo putter, so I went in that direction, however I hit the TS-12 5, 7 & 9 irons and they are fantastic irons. Infinity makes very nice irons.

 

The Best with them this season.

 

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever

Yep the Tour Strats are like the old 322s been re engineered a little. I went with the Assures because they had a little more aggressive lofts and don't look too "clunky" at address and liked the weights on them because they were a gram or so heavier

[BIG STU]

Hey Big Stu,

 

I grew up on a set of Powerbilt Momentums. My Grandfather gave me a 1/2 set (3,5,7,9) when I graduated from High School in 1968.

 

Terrific feel! I played them for 20 years then passed them on to my godson.

I played a set of 66 model Citations for 10 years or so back in the 80s and I literally wore them out I had pulled and junked the shafts was going to send the heads to Golfworks to be regrooved and rechromed but never did. I think the heads were either left when I moved to the beach or they are in a box somewhere in all my stuff and I aint found them yet

[BIG STU]

Well played with them Thurs and Friday. Results pretty good had to get used to the distance and hotter face. Played a private club called DeBordieu on the Pawleys Island end Thursday. Wonderful private course Pete Dye and P.B.Dye design played 6569 yds 72.3/135 shot 80 Blew a few balls over the green not used to actual distances on the course using a good ball. Played my home course yesterday (Indian Wells) shot 77. Still having distance control issues to a point just not used to hot irons. Also switched from the Cally 3 wood to a Wishon 919 16.5 4 wood. I got a deal on it at a local pawn shop that I sell some clubs for. Gave him $20 for it. Steel Fiber 55/90 shaft tipped stiff that thing rocks and rolls. We think my friend who is the Infiniti dealer built it. We were checking the numbers on it yesterday because I was going to change the shaft because it was marked regular flex but it checked stiff because it had been tipped so I left it and tried it.Like I said it rocks! I may play today depends on the weather they are calling for severe thunderstorms this weekend. All in all this hardheaded Redneck is impressed with technology. The last 2 days I have hit quite a few off center hits that I got away with so I say thank God for technology

[BIG STU]

Well after quite a few rounds the Infinitis are here to stay for a while. I have went all Infiniti on the Irons. I have had a lot of wedges over the years but these are absolutely the best wedges I have ever played. This is the first time in probably 40+ years that all my irons match. I did sell the Wishon 4 wood though I still hit my Cally 3 better. also kept the Taylor7 wood because it is sorta a go to club even though I hit the Infiniti 4 iron further. Changes back to my old Hogan CS-5 driver because it is lighter. Been playing pretty decent with this setup the main thing is that I got my confidence back an am having fun again

[BIG STU]

Well latest update. Finally got sorta current in the driver department. My friend talked me into a Hathaway V-4 10* with a Creation Nanomet Tour only shaft. I don't know why but it is the straightest driver I have hit in a long time and I have gained quite a substantial bit of yardage with it. It in the bag for now

[HighFade]

Driver - TaylorMade SLDR 10.5 Std Loft, R Flex, 50g shaft (just fit at The Kingdom )
3W - Callaway Big Bertha 15*, Stiff shaft
5W - Callaway Big Bertha 18*, Stiff shaft
4-PW Mizuno JPX 825 Pro, Steel, KBS Tour
Wedges - 50, 54, 58 Mizuno MP T-4
Putter - TaylorMade Rossa Monza Spider Putter

[GolfSpy WD]

Driver - TaylorMade SLDR 10.5 Std Loft, R Flex, 50g shaft (just fit at The Kingdom )

3W - Callaway Big Bertha 15*, Stiff shaft

5W - Callaway Big Bertha 18*, Stiff shaft

4-PW Mizuno JPX 825 Pro, Steel, KBS Tour

Wedges - 50, 54, 58 Mizuno MP T-4

Putter - TaylorMade Rossa Monza Spider Putter

 

Loved those irons, great feel to them. Almost enough to kick my own irons out of the bag.

[BIG STU]

Well guess what I have made a few changes to the bag again. My friend who is one of the top fitters and teachers on the beach has built me a set from scratch. I think he has gotten tired of my Frankenstein old school ways of me building things so he built me a set from scratch his way. He had built a 9 iron for me to try and I have been hitting it for a couple of weeks and liked it. He would not tell me what steel shaft was in it but I had my ideas and I was wrong. He had done some various experiments with different shafts on the 7 iron and so he knows. He sprang it on me Monday I had been hitting a FST 115 tipped stiff for me. The 7 iron and 9 iron I loved. They are the Infiniti Tour Strategy TS-10 irons which are a forged CB. I hate to say this but they have a buttery feel like my old MP-33s but hit better. That FST is a lightweight shaft but it helps me feel the clubhead and that is what I play by. He had done some experiments on me by putting an unmarked KBS tour shaft in a 7 iron and having me hit it. I had hit it and could not feel the club head at all. I cracked at him that the head was light and I put 3 pieces of lead tape in it and I could feel the head then he just chuckled and said ok. What he did is he got the factory to get the heaviest heads they had matched and combined it with the light shafts with 50 gram Tour Wrap grips. He does know what he is doing since he is the one who built my Hathaway driver and I have hit it good with no lead tape modifications. He has been busy lately due to the snowbird season but the irons are supposed to be ready this morning because he worked late last night and I am going to pick them up at 7:30 this morning. I have a tee time at 10:30 at a course 1 hr away so they are going to get their baptism by fire so to speak today. I have never had a good club builder custom build me a set from scratch before so this is new for me. So here is the new lineup for now.

Driver Hathaway V 4 Creation Tour Only shaft

3 W same old Cally Steel head 13* UST 65 Gold stiff

7 W TM V steel 21* UST 65 Gold stiff

Irons 4 thru PW Infiniti Tour Strategy TS-10 FST 115 stiff

GW Infiniti Assure 52* DG S300 with lots of lead tape

SW Infiniti Assure 56* DG S300 with lots of lead tape

He did not want to mess with me on the wedges since they do not make a GW in the TS line and I like those two wedges so much and I do have the soles ground like I want them and have the effective bounce working for me.

Putter My old Ping Zing the one I did the old putter story on and yes lead tape been that way for 25 or so odd years.

Bag Same Infiniti Staff

Walking bag My old Cleveland Tour Staff carry bag I have had for 10 years or so

[BIG STU]

Well I stated one thing wrong in the above post. The shafts are FST 90s instead of 115s. Also I did not have my beloved 58* Vokey listed because I found out last week it was non conforming. Saturday I played a great course called Farmstead which is on the NC/SC border literally part of the course is in both states one hole starts in NC and when you hit your drive past the 150 marker you are in SC. It was a weird but good playing day. The course was wet with the wind gusting and the greens smooth but hard dry and fast. Play was crowded and slow due to the snowbird season nearing the end but that worked out for me in the exploritary operation. It gave me time to dial in my distances on my new irons and swing for feel. I had my notebook handy and it gave me lots of time to think on my course management. I did find out that my 56* was not suitable for sand for me because it has too much effective bounce. Found out I did not need the gap wedge at all any more because I can control the distance with the PW at 48*. I did not even keep score for me but I hit the ball really good. When we left I stopped by several golf shops to check on conforming wedges and did not see anything I liked and the prices wheew. Got home and started searching through all my old wedges and found a pristine Wilson Staff JP 56* that I bought back in the day and played little. I bent it to 58* and started checking the effective bounce for me. I did do a little grinding on it and got it satisfactory. Took the wedge out yesterday to the range that has a practice trap and hit about 100 balls with it and found it worked as good as my Vokey and I know it is conforming since I bought it in 79 or 80. The Infiniti 56 will stay for now because it is so good for 80 yd or so shots and out of rough and pine straw

[fozcycle]

Hey Stu, I noted that you said Indian Wells was your home course in Garden City.......my wife & I were there in Sept 2012 with a buddy & his wife.....we played Indian Wells as one of our 5 rounds.  Great little course....reminds me of my home course in FL due to the layout and trees. We stayed at Wachesaw Plantation East and played Wicked Stick, Indian Wells, Wachesaw East (twice) and Founders Club. Had a terrific time.

[DanUsh]

It sounds like you are getting ready to have a great year.  And it looks like the slow play was a good thing for you.  I have played Farmstead a couple of times and really enjoy it.  I will be playing there again at the end of April when i make my trip down there.  

[BIG STU]

Hey Stu, I noted that you said Indian Wells was your home course in Garden City.......my wife & I were there in Sept 2012 with a buddy & his wife.....we played Indian Wells as one of our 5 rounds.  Great little course....reminds me of my home course in FL due to the layout and trees. We stayed at Wachesaw Plantation East and played Wicked Stick, Indian Wells, Wachesaw East (twice) and Founders Club. Had a terrific time.

You were definetly in my backyard on playing Indian Wells I live a half mile from it. If you go by the way the crow flies it may be a good par 5 from me. Wacheasaw East is about a mile from me and I play there some too I love their practice green. Wicked Stick is also one of my favorite courses. Founders Club I have played 3 times and do not like but to be honest I am like some of the other old guys that resent it being made over from the old Sea Gull club in fact I am playing in a charity event May 3rd at Founders. I don't normally play in charity scrambles ( read cheatfests) but one of my customers in the towing business has invited me and paid my way for the second year in a row. By the way if you come out of Indian Wells and make a right on the 17 bypass and head north my Episcopal Church is one mile up on the right. If my real job was not in Dirty Myrtle I would never leave the GC Murrells Inlet area I have it all here

[BIG STU]

It sounds like you are getting ready to have a great year.  And it looks like the slow play was a good thing for you.  I have played Farmstead a couple of times and really enjoy it.  I will be playing there again at the end of April when i make my trip down there.

Thanks Dan in this case slow play was good for me got my yardages dialed in on the new irons the best I could in the wind. It was indeed playing tough the greens were dry from the wind rolled good as they always do but was fast. Have fun when you come down in April

[BIG STU]

Another up date 5/11/2014

Infiniti TS-10s in to stay

Hathaway driver here to stay

Old Cally 3 wood here to stay

Taylor V Steel 7 wood here to stay

Ping Zing 2 here to stay

My big changes are on the wedges I got lucky Saturday and went to the Goodwill store and found a Scratch 1018 60* for $2.99 no joke two dollars and ninety nine cents

I was messing around at another local golf shop and found 2 wedges I like and traded a Ping I 20 hybrid that I could not hit for them straight up got a Taylor gap 52* ATV and a Srixon WG 504 in trade. The specs are as follows

Scratch 1018 60* Forged 8* bounce S300 I set to 65*lie

Srixon WG-504 56* loft 12* bounce set to 65* lie S-200 shaft

Taylor Made 52* lob 8* bounce KBS Tour wedge shaft I set to 65* lie

All these wedges are conforming I checked myself so I should be good on comp. I did have to add a little weight to the Scratch and the ATV (read lead tape) I practiced yesterday and today after church and I am well satisfied with the set up and results. This probably will not change much because up to 5 or 6 years ago I did not change clubs much and I am as satisfied as I have been in years. I know that in a previous post I said I did not need a gap wedge but I have found out that I do use one a lot around the green where others tend to use a 56* or 60* so I had room on the club count so I carry a 52 it is a pretty versitle club for me

[BIG STU]

After extensive practice Monday I done a mod to the Taylor ATV. The feel with the KBS Tour did not feel right to me and I was having trouble with the distance control on the chip shots. I decided to change out to an S300 Wedge shaft Problem solved. I am not badmouthing the KBS Tour shaft but it did not work for me in that club. Probably will not get to play any this week or next due to bike week and then the Memorial Day weekend.

[BIG STU]

Yep the tried but tested. The FST 90s in my irons hit good because they are stiff but are lighter and have softer tips. That KBS in that wedge did not "feel right" to me for some reason when chipping. It hit good on full shots but I seldom use a 52* on full shots. I mostly use a 52 for pitch shots and bump and run around the greens where most people use a 56. I hit flops with a 56 usually and only use the 60 out of a greenside bunker. I have not tried the shaft change on either the course or a green but in my hitting net off my mat it "feels good" and I am on target. Maybe tomorrow I am supposed to be off work I have been working all week due to the Harley rally and am supposed to work all next weekend for Memorial day. Maybe I can practice with it tomorrow afternoon

[BIG STU]

I love that "old Cally three wood."

 

Love puttin that in the bag.

 

They sure don't make em like that anymore!

 

Have a great season Bro!!

 

My Best,

Richard

You are 110% correct on that by saying they don't make them like that anymore. I have tried others but I have not found another 3 wood I hit like that one including the new Cally Hot series. It may be the shaft club combo. My late friend that I worked at the golf shop with built that club for me. handed it to me one day and said "hit this" man it went good. He named that club "The Pocket Rocket". This is the same friend that told me "You hit the ball good but your course management sucks". I have worked hard on the latter and I hope he is looking down and laughing and saying "by God I think he is finally getting the picture"