Leaderboard

Who I am – MGS Tester Introduction My name is Chris and welcome. I am a 65 year old male and I live with my artist wife Sue and two huskies in Oakville, in the greater Toronto area in Ontario, Canada. To put things into perspective the province of Ontario is 1.5 times larger than the state of Texas and 4 times the size of the U.K. Why I am testing: I am very grateful to MGS and L.A.B. and excited by this opportunity. I am keen to see if the L.A.B. DF3 and its lie angle balance approach to putter design works as claimed. It was designed to eliminate torque and produce a repeatable swing. The DF3 is the smaller, sleeker version of its bigger brother, the directed force, DF2, but does it deliver the goods? It has gained significant traction on tour and begs the question of how it stacks up to my fitted reference putter(s). VERSUS But this is no ordinary Evnroll. It has been fitted and modified with a stability tour shaft and an Evnroll gravity grip. For more information on this and my putting statistics, see, What am I looking for in the L.A.B. DF3: I gave a lot of thought on how I would test this if given the opportunity before applying. I am a fairly decent putter averaging 31 to 32 putts per round based on my Arccos data. If it proves to deliver the putter more consistently to the ball and results in more one putts, less three putts and overall, less putts per round, it will be a candidate to go in the bag permanently. I am particularly interested in how it performs from 10’ feet and in. Does it offer good value for the money? My putter testing protocol including testing on Quintic to follow in a separate post. Moreover, thorough testing of the L.A.B. DF3 will focus me on improving my putting and working on my putting drills. So thankyou MyGolfSpy. Making those short putts is critical. Who I am: I am driven by challenges and the constant need to learn and improve and I’m passionate in what I do. I am also data driven and analytical in nature. Needless to say, I am a golf, data and equipment junkie. I have had many careers. After graduate school, I did medical research looking at factors involved in preterm labour. I then moved onto organ donation and transplantation, eventually running the organ donation program based out of Toronto General Hospital. Toronto General hospital (TGH) is one of the premier transplant centres and hospitals in the world. They pioneered both successful single and double lung transplantation in the eighties. I had the distinct pleasure of working in multi organ transplant in the early days (80’s/90’s) and worked with many brilliant and incredibly smart people. Where the driving principle was you do what’s best for the patient and what does the data show. What is the source of that data, is it evidence based, is it fair, balanced, and non promotional in nature. You had to know your stuff and be prepared for anything. Back then it was routine to work 24-36 hours straight procuring and transplanting organs. Think of the guy getting off the Lear jet in OR greens with a cooler. I was that guy. I’ve been in every teaching hospital and most ICU’s (intensive care units) across Canada and many in the US. No frequent flyer miles I’m driven by the need to learn, push myself and enjoy what I do. I then transitioned to career 3, moving to the “dark side” starting with Wyeth and then Pfizer in their Rare Disease group and the launch of Rapamycin for organ transplantation. So, I stayed in transplant, interacted with all the people I worked with for many years, although now in a different capacity. If you’re going to go to industry, it’s the best way to go. Over time, bleeding disorders (hemophilia) and growth disorders were added to my portfolio but the same guiding principle of doing what’s best for the patient and what does the data actually show, guided me. Career 4, presented itself during the pandemic and the opportunity to take early retirement with no more Zoom calls and the opportunity to be a full time golf aficionado and pickleball player was too irresistible to pass up. My other passions are building, home renovation and cooking. When I was young, I bought a water access shell of a cottage as my first property. Not being handy at the time, I proceeded to take courses in construction, carpentry, electrical and plumbing. I then proceeded to completely wire the cottage, plumb it, insulate it, drywall, install flooring, build the kitchen, bathroom, etc. I’ve built and rebuilt docks, decks, so hence the handyman moniker. There’s not much I can’t do, although with age comes wisdom. Golf: I have been playing golf on and off for 40 plus years. After not playing golf for 10+ years, I got back into golf at the age of 60. I was inspired by a friend who once said, golf is the only game you can play for 30 years and never improve. When I thought about it, it is rather true, so I was determined to do it right the second time around. At the time I was about a 25ish handicap. Hence lessons, fitted equipment and diligent practice. I was inspired again when I went to Tour Experience Golf (TXG) 5+ years ago and came out not only with expertly fitted and built clubs, but many new friends. I now go at least twice a year to tweak my setup. My current handicap is 6.3, but I have been as low as 4 or high as 8.5. Most of my rounds are in the 78 - 82 range. My home course is TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley featuring 3 courses all ranked within the top 60 courses in Canada and all 3 in the top 20 public courses in Canada. TPC Sawgrass, I’m the guy in the middle in the blue and black. I love scenic, challenging courses, especially mountain or coastal courses. What drives me is hitting good shots and being consistent. My philosophy is if you hit good shots the score will “usually” take care of itself. If you don’t like the score, play better. I am competitive, however, I play more for the joy of the game. I strive to improve each year and keep father time at bay. Now, my day job is golf, pickleball and my two huskies. Myah (front) and Hazel (rear) Thank you for your patience and understanding in reading my introduction.

It's a peach!

It is no secret that L.A.B. Golf has taken off because of multiple wins on the PGA Tour and a greater professional presence overall. Its success in MyGolfSpy testing and the hype around the newly released L.A.B. DF3 has only increased its notoriety. What Is L.A.B.? L.A.B. stands for Lie Angle Balance. These putters, unlike other putters, are not toe-hang or face balanced. They are balanced to point at the target, meaning no twisting, no struggling to keep the face directed at the target—the putter does this naturally. As each golfer is unique in their putting stance and stroke, the fitting process for L.A.B. is crucial. L.A.B. has made this easy by way of their online submission. A simple step-by-step process is sent to L.A.B. and they use this video to dial in your specifications. L.A.B. is best known for their big and unique-looking DF 2.1, a putter that has many nicknames and certainly does not appeal to all golfers. This is where the DF3 comes in. Please welcome and congratulate our testers! @jbern @MattWillGolf @CFreddie @Cfhandyman @GolfSpy MPR @Steve F

Happy Thursday all! Pumped that it is another community call day and we have a new guest lined up for two weeks from now. Thrilled for another Live Q&A where you all will have a ton of questions to ask about the insights of their product. Exciting times and looking forward to a great weekend as well!

Happy Friday all! I hope that everything is able to watch as much of the Masters as they like and for all who are out on the course to go low. Looking forward to a relaxing day today and hopefully this weekend with a round booked for Sunday. May miss some of, but not all of the Masters. Got my Newton 5 dot to go test out as well! Oh and I need to get my next Stack session in today as well.

Good morning Spies on this Community Call and First Round at the Masters Thursday from a wet Michigan. Raining here, and supposedly lasting all day today through tomorrow morning. Although we can use the rain and I don't have golf plans until the weekend, not a big deal to me. Hope you get the t/stat and wiring issue resolved @cksurfdude, a lot of great advice, but with you knowing exactly how the house heating is laid out, you will make the best decision for yourself. Hope that all here have the best day they possibly can, that something fun and enjoyable may be in your plans, and hope to see many on the Community Call later today,

Good morning spies! What an exciting week this is in the world of all things Golf and MGS! So many testing opportunities, and so many new members!!! The next few days will be bringing typical April storms down here, which means I may only be able to get 9 in this morning before GC duties today. Hope everyone gets through Humpday with ease!

Some photos from Findlay, Ohio. Totality: Diamond ring: Sunrise effect: Shadow effect - horizontal shadows (shoulder line) are sharp and others are blurry:

Right with you there. Watch a bunch and then when I did try to sleep the baby was up and before i knew it my alarm went off to get into work. I do have a tee time booked for 2 hours so we will see how that goes and I had a fun round yeterday at a course I don't particularily like, but was able to give the Newton 5 dot another good run. Was better for sure after a few minor tweeks, but think I found a few things out along the way and was able to get a few good photos.

Good morning everyone! It's the first day of the Masters and I'm looking forward to seeing how things go with it today. It's also community call day and I can't wait to get on the zoom call with all of you. I hope y'all have a great day!

Good morning! Up and at it early as I have a build walk for a clients home this morning across town and I'm expecting a 1.5hr commute. The Newton 3w shaft arrives today and I'm hoping to get out to the range to test it out. Hope everyone has a great day!

Good morning spies! Starting out the day with a cool 38° but it should be around 71° this afternoon. Taking the clubs to work with me just in case everything goes my way and I can get a round in after work. Mother Nature is definitely going to challenge the golf community around here this weekend. Weekend forecast is for sun and high 70s to low 80s while The Masters is on. Have a great day everyone! ️

Good morning Spies on a cool and clear Wednesday here in the Motor City. Did manage to get some real outdoor practice putting in yesterday evening at the course close to home. At least that green has been rolled and mowed, so more normal surface than what I have seen out on the courses so far. Normal work day for me here, although the number remaining is getting smaller fairly quick. Hope that your day is the best it can be, and that something fun and enjoyable is in your plans.

Good morning everyone! @jbern @Josh Parker thanks for the photos of the eclipse, those all look phenomenal! It's looking like it's going to be a bit of a rainy day here later on. Right now it's still dry so I'm enjoying a cup of coffee before heading in to work. I talked to my sister last night and she's holding up pretty good. She's still a bit sore, but she is keeping in good spirits. She says she's seen the path report and read of some things to me and it sounds positive. She'll find out for sure Thursday. I hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Good morning and happy Monday! Coffee is brewing and I have a full packed day ahead. It was a great weekend full of family time, golf and watching some golf. Hope everyone has a great day!

Good morning to all on a wet Friday. Rain, rain and more rain. Thankfully, it’s Friday, espresso is delicious and it’s The Masters weekend. Can Tiger’s leg and body hold up to make it through the day. Will he make the cut. I’m hoping yes and yes. @cksurfdude see good things happen when you ask for help. Glad you got it sorted out @GolfSpy_APH great write up on the monthly recap. That should be a regular feature moving forward. Well done. Todays, daily chuckle is

Good morning MGS! Hoping to get on the CC today! Always excited to see who the mystery guests will be @GolfSpy_APH ! Heading out to prep for a charity tournament today. Hopefully they learned a little bit about tee time blocking lthis week. Weather was nasty last night and looks like it pushed from us to The Masters (so go ahead, blame me, get it out of the way ) Have a great day!

Good morning! Ready for Masters 2024. Hoping the weather holds but doesn’t look promising.

Morning all, a grey, overcast start to the day here but it’s dry at the moment. First day of the Masters and the weather forecast isn’t good for there so could be a challenging day. Looking forward to seeing how it shapes up. Hope you all have a good day

Good morning! The weather outside today has been fantastic and I'm hoping to get to an outdoor driving range today. I'm planning to call it Masters prep. I do need to download the Masters app on all my devices like @MattWillGolf, @Rob Person and @Preeway! This is the only tournament I watch a significant amount of on all 4 days. All these car issues people are having reminds me that I have an appointment to fix a recall in my Subaru tomorrow! Thanks for the reminder GMT! Have a good day everyone!

missed you all yesterday! a bit chaotic here -- my son is going on a 10 day class trip to Greece tomorrow and there's a scramble to get ready. Really really excited for him. Going to be an amazing adventure! popped over to Golf Galaxy for my 4 dozen Maxfli annual deal and decided to stop at the range on the way back to figure out the driver. My weights were all sorts of mixed up and I'm hoping it's functional again. hope everyone has a Master-ful day....

Good morning everyone. Happy Masters Eve. Never been a big fan of the Par 3 competition but it is fun to see the players families and some caddies take a few shots. Perhaps we need to set a MGS Forum over under pool on the number of aces? Anyone calling in sick tomorrow to watch all day? I’m tempted but my soccer team has a game in the afternoon. Pretty sure I’m in trouble if the coach doesn’t show up. Hope everyone has a great day ahead.

Good morning Spies - daughter came home sick yesterday so I’ll be WFH with her and hoping for a quick recovery! Sorry to hear about your engine issues @russtopherb! And I’m VERY jealous of your golf this past week @Northern Monkey(heck, I think we all are)! Excited to watch the Par 3 on TV today as we get close to the Masters! Hoping the weather holds out for Thursday- would love to see a more “firey” Augusta for once. Enjoy your days!

This is my first time posting in the Good Morning Thread! Hi everyone I have Mondays off, so my mornings are always an early round somewhere in the Los Angeles area. This was a view of the 18th green of the Wilson course at Griffith Park Golf Club. 7:00am and a brisk 46*. Happy Monday, and I hope you all have a great week ahead! ✌

Good morning fellow spies and happy post Masters Monday. What a performance Scottie put on yesterday to run away with the championship. Truly in the midst of witnessing greatness in the game of golf. He has been on an absolute tear and if it continues I could realistically see him challenging for a handful more victories this year. Absolutely incredible. Had another article post to the main site today with some different strength exercises to add to your routine to boost your performance on the golf course! Would appreciate if you gave it a read and comment! https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/golf-performance-training-strongerfasterlonger/ Have a great day!

Monday mornings…with the discussion about making the day after the Super Bowl a holiday, I’d support making the Monday after all 4 majors a holiday as well! Hope everyone has a good start to their week!

Good morning all and happy Friday! Some excellent golf played yesterday in round one and looking forward to round two of the Masters today! Need some members of my pool crew to pick up the slack a bit so I can get into the mix . I am a criminal offender of changing my lineup repeatedly for pools like this, and it once again did more harm than good. Maybe this time I will learn my lesson lol. Heading to the in-laws cabin after work today to do some fishing, and hoping to squeeze a round of golf in when we get back Sunday, but yard work and general cleaning of the house beckons.

Good Friday morning! @cksurfdudeglad to see mission accomplished. @Erin B good luck today. Busy morning and then hopefully a round this afternoon. Have a lesson tomorrow morning and looking forward to hopefully learning something. Hope everyone has a great day!

Good morning everyone and happy Friday! I'm glad the work week is almost over since it's Masters weekend and my job just doesn't understand I would rather be watching it all day as opposed to working. They don't understand priorities. I had a great time on the call yesterday and can't wait for the next one. @cksurfdude I'm glad you got your thermostat issue rectified, Chuck. I hope you all have a good start to your weekend and that it's filled with golf whether your playing or watching it.

The Master’s is here! A conversation with my 6 year old last night: - Me: do you know what this week is? - 6 YO: (with a puzzled look) no - Me: it’s the Master’s! - 6 YO: what’s the Master’s? - Me: it’s a tradition like no others - 6 YO: what’s a tradition like no others? (As my wife is laughing at this conversation) I may have failed as a parent!!!

Morning all! Another testing opportunity, community call day (hopefully I can make it today), day 1 of the masters (delayed but that’s okay) and I get to wear my azalea shirt . Easy day at work and a work from home day tomorrow….cant beat it!

Good Morning all! Masters Thursday is finally here (even if things are going to be a bit delayed), I have my first round scheduled for 7am Sunday, now if it was not going to be cool and rainy the next couple days that would be a real plus. Can't win them all but in this case 2 out of 3 is not bad. Have a great Thursday everyone!

Top of the pot spies! Slept like a mummy last night after making and eating this dish. My wife, who's not big on certain seafoods, couldn't resist and stole a few . Simple, quick and tasty is my cuisine motto. 0852 tee time at Cimarron this morning. Men's league individual low net, with gross & net skins. This afternoon, our Grand Fishing Club is having our annual BBQ at the lake pavilion. Lot's of fish stories... some real, most a stretch . Have a great hump day everyone!

Goood morning all! Up and at em early this morning. Workout is complete and am now taking the dog for a quick stroll around the neighborhood. Long day of work ahead of me today, so a good workout to start the day is a great start. Unfortunately, no golf for me today, but lots of golf in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully the same goes for all of you! Let's have a wonderful Wednesday!

Good morning all! Yesterday was just an absolutely beautiful day here. Bright sunny skies and in the 60s. Kids ended up being outside for about 7 hours and I was able to join them for the last 4 or so once work was done which was beautiful. @russtopherb glad things have worked out, and hopefully there are a few pennies left over for some golf too. Back to grinding through report errors for about 8 hours, rinse and repeat lately. At least there will be more Masters coverage to fill the next three days! Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Morning all, a nice sunny start to the day here and hoping it stays that way. Will be out for another 18 this afternoon, 6th round in 7 days, so it certainly seems that the golf season has started. Hope you all have a good one

Good morning everyone! It's a dreary, rainy morning here in TN, but I'm enjoying my coffee before heading in to work. I'm just happy it's hump day and the weekend is just around the corner. @russtopherbI'm just glad to hear that losing oil like that you didn't blow your engine. I had an issue similar to that happen over 10 years ago and my engine was toast. I couldn't afford to get out fixed at the time as I was trying to but a house and couldn't risk taking a loan out to get it fixed. Fortunately, I work for an automotive company and they offer leases. I'm looking forward to tomorrow with the community call and the start of the Masters. I won't get to watch any of it until Saturday, but at least I can keep up with all the action. I hope y'all have a great day!

It's hard not to wake up psyched when you get to see the pristine kingdom that is Augusta National!!! Stay away rain....#bestweekoftheyear

Good morning MGSpies from a dark post Total Solar Eclipse downtown Buffalo outside the building on a workday in the office Tuesday enjoying my coffee and Davol's Lucky Day on Pandora soaking in the good vibes before the day gets rolling. Yes true to WNY weather, clear skies dominated the day and hour after the eclipse with this as the best glimpse after totality. Niece 6 miles south had a great view so location was everything. Hoping for golf after the workday with forecast high in the 70s, and hope golf is a part of your day 50

Scratched a couple itches today This matches the 54 & 58 that I picked up last month and replaces an SM-8 that was worn out. And I absolutely did not need this, but y’all know how this goes… Early returns, but this is fun to hit and I’m anxious to see how it fits into the bag

Good morning Spies, and Happy Monday!!! I'm SOOOO sore this morning. Really reminds me how out of shape I am and how I really need to step up my efforts to get back into a shape other than round. What I'm doing isn't working, so a change needs to be made. Beautiful day yesterday for golf. Almost too warm for that first day out of hibernation at 85*. Got a light sunburn on my arms, but luckily I did put some block on my face/ears/neck to help prevent it there. The course was a bit mushy from all the rain. Cart path only, made the day a bit longer putting almost 9k steps on my new shoes in just that round alone. I was able to wipe down the mud/dirt that got on them when I got home, which was great. I'll just need to do that whenever we get these soggy rounds going forward. Going to be a nice day today and tomorrow at 80* and partly sunny. There will be lots of golfers on courses the next couple of days. Then the rain is back Wed thru at least Sunday. Ugh. I do have a lesson this Saturday, so that helps offset the rainy weekend a bit. Anyway, everyone have a great day and start to your week.

MORNING MASTERS COVERAGE !!! WOO HOO! wake up with a cuppa and masters coverage reminds me of the Open Championship. Love watching early morning golf. Mama Nature opened up with some serious wind gusts and buckets of rain putting my afternoon round in serious jeopardy. Maybe I'll just do it anyway.... 60s and 70s on the horizon and I CAN'T WAIT. Would love to play 40-50 rounds this year, if not more. Monday is a state holiday for us up here in the birth of America, Patriots Day, and I'll be out on the course. Patriots' Day is an annual event, formalized as a legal holiday or a special observance day in six U.S. states, commemorating the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy, some of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. The holiday occurs on the third Monday of April each year, with celebrations including battle reenactments and the Boston Marathon. Wishing nothing but the best for you all. Have a fabulous weekend and I hope you get to watch golf, play golf, practice golf, buy golf and enjoy golf.

Morning all. Community call was good! Always a pleasure to hang out. @cksurfdude congrats on your home improvement mission accomplished! That’s always a satisfying feeling. Nice write-up @GolfSpy_APH! After Day-ish 1 of the Masters I’ve exceeded my expectations in the pool! I assumed that I’d be in the mid/low hundreds, took a look this morning and found that I’m #255! Go Nicolai Højgaard! This is probably my best ranking in the times I’ve joined the pool, so I figure, why not celebrate? Have a good one all.

Morning Gents, and any Ladies who may be present!! Glad I got some range time and a few practice holes in yesterday, before a few wet and dreary days here (yes I prefer to be a fair weather golfer ). So this morning's adventure is an eval for cataract surgery... Apparently it's so common now that there are clinics everywhere .. and they're busy!, booked a few weeks ago .. and apparently the surgery itself is very quick. This came up recently after I went for an eval for LASIK, where the nice young lady did several tests and checks and measurements .. then explained carefully they couldn't do LASIK on me because of developing cataracts... Yep getting to be an oooold man Would be nice to see more clearly! TBD. K hope everybody's day goes well for them, and maybe see a few of you later on the MGS-CC!!

And speaking of storms... BOOOOM!!!

Good morning Spies! up early today, had some trouble sleeping with the storms that rolled through mainly because the puppers likes to be on the bed when that happens. There is nothing like the day before the Masters. The par 3 contest, the lead up, the interviews, it’s like Christmas Eve for golfers. I hope hope everyone does well in their pools, just not better than me . Have a great day everyone!

Morning all. Happily went out for exec nine holes this morning. It was a bit of spring briskness outside, and I think I needed this fresh air and exercise. @russtopherb Count me as one of those guys who dealt with an engine suddenly losing oil while out driving. Ugh. Hope your engine is salvageable. I also drive a Hyundai, but I think my model is unaffected. Hope you guys have a good one.

Good Morning MGS troops! Am I the only one who didn’t look at the eclipse? No pics here so I thought I’d share a few I have collected the last couple days. Happy Tuesday and be blessed!