Leaderboard

The Masters provided some excellent drama for us all. Tiger's first win in 11 years was a momentous occasion that was felt worldwide. Aside from the greater golf public, three special Golf Spies especially benefited as the first winners of #SpyStaffSlam of the season. Thanks to some improvements in the process, we're now able to release the full scoring spreadsheet for each to view their own ranking. I encourage anyone interested to download a copy to mine the data for interesting stats and charts. The link has been posted in The Masters thread, but here it is again: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RRiDBlLOeOQpB9jIKbyNsXvDbfW6qzXq-5l7Q-9izhw/edit?usp=sharing Before we get into announcements, here's some quick stats: 1150 Entries total making this year's Masters the largest #SpyStaffSlam yet. The Chalk picks of Rory, Kuchar, Poulter, Kisner, ZJ did quite poorly as a group but were pulled up as Kisner rose above the chalk curse by being a perfect in his Tier. As a group, Chalk finished at #608 on the leaderboard. Technically, "None" was the most popular pick for Tier 5. Apparently, reading is not fundamental. The Anti Chalk picks didn't fare any better; however, as they finished at #903 A perfect team would've been: Tiger, Xander, Webb, Oleson/Kisner, and Harding. Our winner had 4/5 correct!!! Speaking of winners, here's your honorable mention: 10) @TrippleBogie757 with $3,036,632 9) @curtis majeran with $3,050,571 8. @tbs0001 with $3,053,880 7) @dead aim with $3,144,591 6) @Sucina with $3,262,031 5) @David.lomberk with $3,361,311 4) @D_Golfer with $3,361,311 The margin was slim with a mere $300k separating these guys from 10-4. One different pick could've made the different and there was certainly room for improvement since 5 of these guys had invalid/none for Tier 5. Missed it by that much! Now, onto the prizes: 3rd/2nd actually came to a TIE!!! Both @GreasedUpStingers and @daviddvm picked the exact same team: Tiger, Xander, Cantlay, Kisner, Bjerregard for a total of $3,455,090. NOT ONLY THAT. Both spies picked -13 as the winning score. Equally close, equally PERFECT. You guys must be like soul mates or something. Wilson, being awesome as they are, has decided to give each of you both the 2nd and 3rd prizes: a D7 driver and a dozen golf balls of your choice. WOWZA. After the commotion of the co-runner ups has settled, time to announce our grand prize. With 4/5 perfect picks, our winner of ANY Wilson Staff Irons is: @Big Moody Winning Team: Tiger, Xander, Webb, Kisner, Mitchell for a total of $3,484,270 Congrats to the prize winners! Be on the lookout for a PM from me for fulfillment. If you didn't win, I hope you enjoyed the event. See you back at the PGA!!

Skytrak!!! Partly influenced by @GolfSpy MPR and his very positive experience as told in his 'Single Digit Project"* quest; I'm also looking to .. among many other things .. sharpen my short game and work on wedge distances. Also splurged on a Real Feel mat to go with it. *EDIT: Ooops.... and also MPR's "Dude .. I'm Getting a SkyTrak" excellent thread on his experience using and learning with the SkyTrak.

During my i500 review, I took a few rounds to play irons only so I could play them from literally everywhere to stress them to the max. I've been searching for a similar test doing this G410 Plus test and think I've got it. Since my irons are at Ping for repair, and the spring is in full effect, I've decided to do some sans-irons rounds. This means I've got Driver, 3w, 3h, 52, 56, and Putter in my bag. It's a lot lighter!!! The special rule I've adopted is to play from the reds so I can swing away with driver and give myself as many eagle putts as possible. Today was my first time out with this experiment and I managed to get 12 holes in. I didn't play particularly well but I'll share the hole-by-hole for entertainment: Wind: Howling at 18-22 mph (per Arccos) hurting on 1, 3, 5, 16 across/hurting on 2, 4, 6, 17 and helping on 7, 8, 9, 18 Ground: Soft due to heavy rains last night ***Perhaps these weren't the best conditions to try an experiment. Oh well. For science!!! Hole 1: Killer wind dead into the face. Nice 3W Hole 2: Should've taken an easier swing at the driver. Launched it into the penalty area behind the green. Hole 3: Not relevant to driver, but missed a beauty of a shot by inches as it caught the lip of the bunker and rolled down. Hole 4: Launched drive #1 wide right thanks to harsh wind and compensated the other way for #2. Made a bomb of a putt to card a good double. Hole 5: Good shot dead into the wind (again) but left an awkward chip. Hole 6: Good shot, landed on front of green then scooted off. Nice up and down. Hole 7: Wind finally behind me. Tee shot into hazard I only ever reach with my second shots. Course management ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Hole 8: Wind still behind, bombs away. Landed in the trap on the fly. Hole 9: Still wind, still bombs, smacked a tree Then onto the mini loop: Hole 16: Smoked dead into wind. The 2nd shot was all I've got with that club and it appeared to be coming backwards on the way down. Hole 17: Pin high, but left an awkward chip Hole 18: Wind helping, Smoked, but smacked another tree and came backwards. Cool little hybrid shot. Obviously, I'm not counting this round to my Arccos stats but it was a great time nonetheless. This was a poor display of short game so I've got room to grow there. Will probably get to do it again before my irons show up. Any fellow testers gonna give it a try??

Stage One – Bettinardi SS38 Armlock - 4/15/19 My sincere thanks to MyGolfSpy and Bettinardi Golf for the opportunity to review this Armlock platform. Rather than bore you all over again with my story, I'll just leave this link to my Ping G400 LST review intro from last year - Stage 1 - Ping G400 LST If you'd rather not click through: (the short story) despite a very serious and time intensive approach to the game over the past 25 years, with age and hopefully increasing wisdom, it has become clear that truly having fun on the golf course was both an essential and missing ingredient from my experience. Don't get me wrong, I still _love_ winning, but have discovered it's personally a flawed foundation to build upon when the subject is playing my best golf. If you're interested WITB, my signature is up to date - all have spots for one reason... they work. My body (and life in general) no longer allow me to bang 500 balls a day, so I spend the majority of my time at the short game complex. I really enjoy working on all areas of the short game and my stat lines in that area are typically tidy. But the subject today is putting - more specifically Armlock putting (of which I am insanely curious). What the heck is Armlock putting? I'm glad you asked - it involves using a longish putter intended to take your hands/wrists out of the stroke via a design that intentionally "locks" the handle against your lead forearm. Why do I need an Armlock putter to take those body parts out of the equation? Another excellent question - technically you don't need an Armlock putter to neutralize their potential movement in your stroke...but it makes the task much easier. Why is important to neutralize those body parts? Many people actually don't think it matters much, but I disagree with those folks and I will explain further in Stage 2. I have not always been a good putter. In fact, I used to be a terrible putter or at the very least terribly inconsistent. Through High School my stroke was super handsy, some days it worked fine and others like I had never putted before. The stroke improved greatly in College but it was still pretty sad how close to the hole I was usually thinking "just don't 3-putt". I went through 4 putters over that stretch, all toe hanger blades. In 2004, I was introduced the concept of high-MOI faced balanced mallets. In my case, it was in the form of a center shafted Macgregor Bobby Grace V-Foil M5K GT. And it opened up a whole new world. It's been my gamer ever since, despite going toe-to-toe against 25-30 different face balanced mallets over the past 15 years. The M5K just won't go away. Let's talk a bit more in depth about my stroke - specifically path and face rotation. I adopted a straight back-through path in College. The face opens 1.5 degrees in my back stroke and is typically within 0.5 degrees of square (in relation to line) at impact. I'd say my tempo is somewhere in the middle of the road - not hurried but not really slow either. It's probably a combination of the M5K being a great putter for my tendencies, the experience of gaming it for over a decade and my love for practice, but I do not know anyone that putts better. Last season I played a stretch of 96 holes without a 3-putt. And there are also a few Spies that can additionally attest to the M5K's affinity for dropping bomb after bomb. Alright, thanks for staying through all the background, but I know you really came to hear about the Bettinardi SS 38 Armlock. Mine happens to be 40” long with a 71 degree lie angle and 3 degrees of loft. I say happens to be but those are actually the specs for which I was fit at my local Club Champion. I am of the opinion that being fit for your putter is important. And since this was my first real foray with the Armlock concept, I put myself in Mitch's (Manager - Club Champion Highlands Ranch) capable hands. First we confirmed my stroke stats with the M5K and then started comparing results with the Bettinardi Armlock putters they have in inventory. Almost all of my putters are set up with a 71 degree lie angle and 3 degrees of loft (2 degree of loft at impact is my ideal for USGA qualifier green speeds). At the end of my SAM Puttlab session, I was surprised to learn that my Armlock loft/lie specs were identical to my current gamers (more on why they matched and why I was surprised in Stage 2). Now let's dive into technical aspects of the SS38 Armlock with some putter porn. Bettinardi's packaging is both secure and classy. The deep etched blue cord grip (a Lamkin specialty product) is 15 inches long and feels firm, tacky and of a quality that will last for decades. I think Bettinardi has one of the cooler shaft band labels in the biz and the SS38 head is easy to sole squarely. 303 Stainless Steel is on the hard end of the metal spectrum from which putters are typically made and to soften up the face (and probably also improve the impact sound), Bettinardi milled some seriously deep grooves into the face. The top and face are both a matte gray finish but the polish can still shine back a bit under the right light (read: high noon). The sole is a much higher polish with a classy arrangement and paint fill, as is typical of Bettinardi. It's important to regularly check for cavities and also instructive to see the before/after of the rear cavity view to highlight how Bettinardi bumped up MOI on the relatively compact SS38 mallet. It's not quite face balanced (Mitch called it an eighther - roughly 10 degree toe hang) What does all this mean to me? Well, I'm intrigued but not certain of anything at the moment. Except that I intend to roll at least 200 putts a day on different practice greens (and a lot more dry fires in the living room sans golf ball) until I can conclusively determine what (if any) effect an anchored handle has on my path/face rotation, feel for pace and overall putting stats. In my experience feel -vs- reality can sometimes present an astonishing disparity, so I intend to continue analyzing and updating with video throughout the review process. Thanks again for reading and please reach out in the review thread if you have any specific questions or additional testing requests.

There's a difference between rumors and stuff you just made up...

First and foremost, a huge thank you to both MGS and Bettinardi Golf for providing the opportunity to test and provide feedback for this product. I’m honored to be a part of this test and will strive to provide an honest review that will give the readers more insight to this putter. A bit about me before we delve into the nitty gritty of the putter. I took up golf later in life around the age of 38 after retiring from the US Submarine Service. For some reason, brass frowned on driving a golf ball down the narrow passageways of the sub. I’ve been playing golf for around 30 years now and thoroughly enjoy the game. Until recently, I carried an 8 handicap. Following neck and knee surgeries, my game has slipped quite a bit, as has my handicap, moving up to between 10 and 12. I carry a driver and 3 fairway metals, all TaylorMade M4. My irons consist of custom fit Callaway Apex CF19 6-AW and a 54 and 60 degree Callaway Mack Daddy 4. Since the review is on a putter, I’ll only discuss my putting. I’m currently putting with an Odyssey Stroke Labs 7S putter. Prior to this putter, I was gaming a Taylor Made Tour Spider, both being toe balanced mallet putters and both being found by Club Champion as suitable to my putting stroke. Until going with these putters, I used toe balanced blade putters exclusively. My putting grip is conventional. Over the years, I’ve attempted to adopt other putting styles, including left hand low and various claw grips. None of them felt comfortable and I always returned to a conventional grip. I’ve never been a lights out great putter, but I’ve always felt as if I were a decent putter. My biggest fault putting is not aggressively stroking the putter to get the ball past the hole, preferring to die it in the hole. This method has often left me short or getting more break than I had planned for. I’ve tried to be more aggressive, but have never achieved comfort putting that way. Another fault is that occasionally my left hand will twist counter clockwise, closing the face at impact. Having said all of my, I stand over putts fairly confident on short putts from tap in to 6 feet out. On putts 6-15 feet, I feel confident that my line and distance control will leave me a tap in. As I get further out than 25 feet, I’m far less confident in my distance control and have a tendency to get further off line when taking longer strokes. Perhaps this armlock putter will be the answer these issues. Now on to the more important matters – the gear I and others will be testing and reviewing -- the Bettinardi Studio Stock 38 Armlock putter. The specs from the website list it at weighing 400 grams made of 303 stainless steel. It is face milled and comes with a custom 15 inch Lamkin grip. They further describe it as a compact mallet with maximum forgiveness and easy alignment with 20% deeper groves for a softer feel at impact. It comes in a hand polished platinum finish with a sharp sapphire blue paint scheme. They offer a number of fit options regarding length, lie, and loft. I opted to go with standard length of 40 inches, standard lie of 71 degrees, but I wanted a more lofted face and chose to go with 7 degrees of loft. It was suggested that length should hit your forearm 2 inches below your elbow. My reasoning to go with more loft was to overcome any forward shaft lean at impact while still providing 3-4 degrees of loft. From reading, the amount of forward lean is significantly affected by ball position. MSRP is a hefty $450. First Impressions! From the custom Lamkin blue grip with white lettering to the polished head, it is a good looking putter. It is a face balanced putter and it feels well balanced in the hand. The grip has a very nice texture to it, but isn’t too rough on the hand. At address, as you look down on the putter head, you see a duller matte finish to minimize glare. The compact mallet head has a single alignment line on the body of the mallet, leaving the top line of the putter void of markings. The design of the head also has a stepped build that also acts as a ball centering aid. The face has a blue logo on the heel of the putter and the center is adorned with grooves. As you look down at the putter, you notice the added loft but once you press the grip against your lead arm, the effective loft is offset by the forward shaft lean. While the head cover is attractive, it is a very tight fit on the putter and uses a Velcro closure at the heel. Personally, I would have preferred to see a mallet style cover with magnetic closure. I’ve been out on the putting green with it a few times and I have to say that it’s an awkward feeling to get used to putting with this style putter. After adjusting ball position and how far down the shaft to grip, I believe I’ve found the most comfortable position that is delivering somewhat consistent results. While it’s rolling the ball nicely and I’m controlling distance fairly well, I’m finding it difficult to align, mainly because of the forward shaft lean and the way my eyes want to set over it. Thank you for the opportunity to review this putter. Feel free to ask any questions and I’ll do my best to give you my thoughts on that. Below are a couple of links to videos (no Oscars for them) 20190412_123900 by Carl Harsch, on Flickr 20190412_124913 by Carl Harsch, on Flickr

OK .. did it .. ordered!! Everybody seems to be having the same -$300 off sale, so got the "GIP" add-on which also included the metal case; plus splurged on a new Real Feel mat to go with it.

Well... just ordered a Callaway Rogue 3W from Amazon through CPO, couldn’t pass up the 25% off they’re running. Only a couple more clubs to complete my bag and I think I’ll be done buying equipment for a little while... [emoji6]

Played an 18 hole Par 3 (last week) down near the beach that I really like .. it's a little scruffy, the greens can be rough and bumpy and are usually frustratingly slow - ie. my first putts are almost always way too short! - and as the course meanders around the wind is always coming in from a different direction .. but it's a lot of fun and *great* wedge practice! I've made one of my golfing goals to hole out from 160 and in with an average of 3.50 strokes -- so that's 1/2 the holes down in 3 and 1/2 the holes down in 4. Obviously near-term goals I may have to move that closer in to 100 yds and/or move the average up to 3.67 .. which would be 1/3 of the holes in 3. So this course, and two other Par 3s near me, are really good for working on this. Here's an overview pic (from ShotScope) of the course... That big "X" sticking out at the top-center? That's my second shot on the lone Par 4 on the course (#13) which can actually be played as a Par 3 - but it's a totally blind shot over pines and bushes and you don't know if the group ahead is clear of the green. So that day I didn't .. but probably should have .. gone for it... Tee shot was placed nicely into the center of the dogleg right but the second shot i-dunno-what and skulled it across the green and into the underbrush opposite... Took a drop and still managed to flub the next chip .. from 35 yds! .. so there I am with FIVE to get on and then 2 putts for a 7 on a 105 yard hole! There goes the scoring average! Ha but actually the rest of the round was pretty good with 10 bogeys, 6 pars and 1 birdie. So even with the one blow-up hole the 100-and-in average for this round was 3.67 (with one 3-putt and two 1-putts, rest all 2-putts). Parred #18 for the first time which I was happy with as this 100-yd hole is one of the most exposed to the wind and usually into it but not straight at you - the wind is typically coming in from just enough right or left to make it a little, ummm, extra "interesting" Hit the tee shot solidly and straight, though a little higher than I'd wanted, but it held its line and dropped straight down onto the front of the green .. yea! Oh, PS: Ended at +12 which I'm pretty sure is my PB to date on this course.

This topic seemed like as good of a place as any to post this. I was doing most wanted testing last night and Sam was mentioning the mizuno shaft optimizer to some students that were at headquarters. After my session I asked Sam if I could see what it recommended. We did the swings and the top shaft for me was KBS Tour 120 in stiff. Don’t remember the next two but my club champion fitting recommended the same shaft. Have to give a thumbs up to what the shaft optimizer recommends. Looks like I have the right shafts in my irons.

Well, I suppose 1106 out of 1150 isn't too bad. Right? Huge thanks to Stud and Wilson for putting this together, and Stud, I have to know, how long did it take to create that whole sheet? Looks like an insane amount of work.

OFFICIAL MGS FORUM REVIEW -BETTINARDI STUDIO STOCK #38 ARMLOCK PUTTER Stage 1 - Tester Introduction 4-15-2019 by GB13 I'd like to start off by thanking MGS and Bettinardi for the wonderful opportunity! I've was super excited to be selected for this test, and want to do my best to give y'all a killer review! INTRO I was lucky enough to do a review on True Golf Fit and Global Golf's U-Try program last year, so if you want to learn a little bit more about me personally, you can check it out here. (These reviews are a great read too, if you haven't checked them out already.) My bag hasn't changed too much since my TGF review. Obviously the Wilson C300 was added, and I also added a Callaway Rogue 3W and removed the Aeroburner 3W. I'm still a 4 handicap who is terribly inconsistent, (although I am improving with some swing changes). If I can get my putter to cooperate, I should be really close to scratch. Anyway, the club we need to focus on is the putter. I currently putt with a PING Sigma G B60 putter. It was 34" and standard lie. It's been in my bag for almost 2 years, and if I hadn't been selected for this test, it could have easily stayed for another 2 years. (Maybe, I'm kind of a club ho...) My putting is really streaky, (read: inconsistent). I usually hit a high number of greens per round (11-13), and end up leaving myself a lot of tough two putts. This puts my average putts around 32-34. In rounds where I miss more greens, my putting average is around 26-28. As you can see my putting stats can be very deceiving, so I wouldn't put too much stock into my putts per round. I'd focus more on whether or not my speed and line improve. While using the B60, I putted left hand low, with a quick tempo, and waaaaay too much wrist hinge. I chose the B60 because it fit my quick tempo and had 40°ish toe hang. I'm hoping to slow down my tempo and remove the wrist hinge with the armlock technique. My putting strategy is pretty aggressive. My goal is normally 2 feet past the hole. However, unfortunately, my goal and my reality is not the same. My speed is inconsistent at best and usually I end up leaving too many putts short. This is usually caused by an off-center hit. Then, later in the round, I overcompensate, hit one out of the center, and hit the putt 10 feet past the hole. To summarize this paragraph, my speed is extremely inconsistent. I usually start the ball on the line I want to. I putt with a line on my golf ball and just align the putter to the line. For me, it really allows me to focus on speed, and treat it like a straight putt. All I have to do is put a good stroke on it. I don't intend to change this with the armlock. What I do hope to change, is that pesky making a good stroke part... I make a lot of putts at 8-10 feet and am extremely confident from the 8-10 foot range. I really struggle with 3-5 footers. I know I should make most of them, but I just don't have the confidence standing over the ball that I'm going to make it. I'd rather have a 10 footer than a 4 footer, that is how bad I am putting from close range. Otherwise, I'd say I'm a pretty average putter from outside 15 all the way out to lags. One of my goals with the armlock is to get some sort of consistency from 3-5 feet, while not compromising the rest of my putting. INITIAL IMPRESSIONS First off, this putter is BEAUTIFUL! Bettinardi did a great job making a visually appealing mid mallet. Mid-Mallets (to me) are usually chunky and just ugly. Bettinardi shortened the heel-toe length and the SS#38 has a surprisingly small footprint. Bettinardi always nails the small details that set their putters above and beyond the competition, and the SS#38 is no exception. From the deep etch grip, to the premium milled face, to the classic graphics on the sole, every part of this putter has a premium feel and look. Now, you'll probably think I'm crazy for adding an entire paragraph for a headcover, but I just need to mention how nice and classy the graphics are. Bettinardi does have a reputation for their limited edition headcovers. I've almost always found their limited run headcovers, obnoxious. Bettinardi has definitely not made an obnoxious headcover here. It is actually quite simple blue with white accents, and an American flag. Super classy. Bettinardi is billing the SS#38 Armlock as "compact mallet with maximum forgiveness and easy alignment..." and having "20% deeper grooves for an even softer feel at impact." Does the SS#38 live up to what Bettinardi says? I'm not convinced yet, but I've only begun to get know my new Betti. I ordered my Betti at 41", 6° of loft, and with a 72° lie angle. The stock model is 40", 5° of loft, and 71° lie angle. I went longer because I'm 6'2". I went with the higher loft because of the armlock technique, which requires a lot of forward press. And, I went with the more upright lie angle, well, because I putt with the shaft more upright. I'm super intrigued by the armlock putting style. It has been gaining a lot of traction on tour, and as we know, our games perfectly mirror tour pros. Kidding aside, I'm really hoping to end up with a more repeatable putting stroke, that can start the ball online with decent speed. I'm trying to grip the putter fairly "conventionally" just with the putter grip/shaft running up my left forearm. After I grip the putter, my goal is to just rock my shoulders. I'm trying to keep it simple, and not over complicate things. So far, my results have been mixed. I've been able to get a great end over end roll, with decent speed, however I'm struggling to get the proper alignment. Not only has the armlock technique opened my shoulders at set up, this putter has a full shaft of offset, and sets up open to my eye. When I first tried the armlock, it was really uncomfortable. This is not a technique that you will have a quick adjustment period to. I've been hitting around 500 putts on my putting green everyday, and about 2 weeks after first receiving my Betti, I'm just starting to get comfortable with my set up. CONCLUSION If you got bored halfway through reading that (heck, I probably would have too), here is the summary: I previously putted left hand low with a PING Sigma G B60. I have a quick tempo and lots of wrist hinge. My speed is inconsistent, but I'm pretty good on hitting my line. I'm looking to improve on my short putts while retaining my performance long putts. Bettinardi created a beautiful premium putter. I'm struggling to adjust to the armlock, but am improving every day. My goals, and what ultimately drove me to switch to armlock are; -Better speed control -Eliminate wrist hinge -Slow down my tempo -Help on short putts -And to MAKE MORE PUTTS If any of the above goals aren't met, it will be tough for me to keep the SS#38 in the bag. As of right now, I'd say the odds are 50/50 that it gets a "permanent" spot in my bag. My testing has come to a screeching halt with this lovely mid-April snowstorm, however, you can expect plenty of updates from me until the stage 2s drop. Again, I'd like to thank Bettinardi and MGS for this opportunity and providing us an place where we can write unbiased reviews! Y'all are awesome!

Yes I would. As a 10 year old watching Jack win the Masters in 86 with my Grandfather was the moment that really got me into golf and turned me into a golf nut. Watching Tiger win yesterday with my three children gave me that moment a second time. My kids knew of Tiger but none of them actually got to see him in his prime and yesterday was a glimpse into one of the greatest athletes that I will ever see in any sport. Not to mention Tiger now has three new fans in my house. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd like to see him pass Jack, and then I'd like to see the next phenom come along and pass Tiger. I love seeing golfers perform super-human feats.

Ping G410 LST 14.5 3 wood w/ Ping Tour 75x

We (SWMBO & me)had a chance to spend quality time @ Disney ESPN with 2 of our granddaughters and their parents. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

My shot of the day today had to have been my green side bunker splash to within 12” to save par. I really had to take a half swing and just clear the upper lip, and then it dribbled down to the cup. I shouldn’t have been in there anyway after a killer drive which left me 104. I don’t know why I swung the SW instead of the gap W. But it all worked out in the end...

Sheesh- that’s a bomb period. For me to get it 290, I need warm, dry, downhill, and with the wind. But every now and then..... bam!

I’ll bite.... Tigers signing a ball deal with Bridgestone made sense seeing as Nike’s ball was made in Bridgestone‘s factory. With that said all of Nike’s balls were made in their factory to my knowledge. To say Tiger never played a Nike Ball is 100% true is 100% FALSE! He did play a Nike ball. A lot of different companies’ balls are made in someone else’s factory. That doesn’t mean it isn’t their ball. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I hit the range after the Masters Sunday for a full-bucket session. After warming up, I started in with the 410 SFT and it's "new" Alta R-flex shaft I picked up off of the Bay for a trial. This was the shaft my "fitter" recommended for me, but it just felt wrong in some way which is why I ordered my driver with the stiff Tensei Orange. First his with it were awful. Fiddled with loft a bit and this shaft just did not work for me. Chucked the Tensei back up on the neutral 10.5 setting and wham! 240 right off the bat with a slight fade. Tried that shaft once again later and just confirmed it is just not for me in any way. Hit my 400 and was steady with it out to 230 on my better hits, but the 410 feels like it maybe has more in the tank. I hope to hit the range again Thursday and than maybe play sometime this weekend. Side note: Our Range Troll coach dude offered some unsolicited help and identified that my grip needed some work. He was actually correct that my grip was overly weak and got me working on a much better strong grip that is proper. I had thought the way I was holding the club was with a strong grip, but I somehow had it backwards with my right hand way under the left. So this new feel will take some time to adjust to, but I see "hope".

Hey guys! Just made my intro thread here (since I've decided to focus on my golf game, more than golf carts these days - which I custom build in my spare time). But had to search the forum to see what golf cart chatter was going on! I built (flipped) 7 carts last year. Usually buy mid 2000s (2003-2008) carts for around $1,500 - spend $1,500-2,000 on mods and then sell them for $1,500-$2,000 in profit. It's more of a hobby than a business, but I definitely think the OP was smart to get an older cart and modify it. You can make them look GREAT. What @downlowkey said is spot on. Rear seat is a must. I do want to add that I used to get my rear seats from Buggies Unlimited... but I have more recently been finding some killer deals on Golf Cart Accessories (rear seats, wheels and tires, etc.) from the Golf Cart Tire Supply. They have a good quality rear seat kit for $278.95 that folds into a cargo bed with diamond plating - and comes with a free safety grab bar. Same seat used to cost me $359.99 from Buggies. My latest build picture is attached Good luck with the continued build! PM me if you want any free cart advice

Found it! I searched high and low for this. Somehow it wasn't updating in my followed threads and I had completely forgotten about just looking under this topic.. 100% User error I'm sure. Yeah man, AZ poor man's golf requires a special kind of ball flight. Most local budget courses have pretty stiff greens due to the dry air and limited watering.. especially in the afternoon. Dropping in from the clouds is usually the best way to have any chance of holding.. or at least not bouncing and rolling out the back. As you witnessed, this course actually played fairly soft due to unlimited muni watering. I will also admit that the Bridgestone e12 Softs played a decent part in the height and distance piece (shameless plug) If only time and $ would have allowed, it would have been fun to tag along on your following golf outing at TN. 25+ years in the valley and never had a chance to play there or TPC.. one day.

Klipper is in good shape. It was garbage for a while B/C they lost 4 greens, but they are all back. I never had an issue walking on without a t time. Get after it, it’s a fun track. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Did the Bryson test with the e12's today and was very impressed. Every ball I tested had great balance. For those who don't know about the test you put the ball in very salty water (I added about a salt shakers worth to the water to get it to float) then you mark the spot that has floated to the top. You then spin the ball and if it comes back to the same spot, you do this a few times and if it keeps coming back that means the ball is unbalanced. An unbalanced ball can lead to a skewed roll which can negatively affect putts. Sent from my SM-G950U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

You're not wrong! I expect to see a different handicap other than Me! at the end of the year.

As these things go, you save yourself future work if you invest the time to develop it early. I made the core scoring spreadsheet last year then make a few tweaks this year. The real breakthrough this year was capturing the data easily. @GolfSpy MPR got us started with his method to capture betting data from the Super Bowl props then @GolfSpy Stroker pushed us across the line with big improvements to that process. These two guys are the ones you should be thanking for allowing you to see a #1106 finish Now it's down to nearly a science so we can just flip and flop data around instead of needing to create any new stuff. time to start working on the next big thing.

Great start everyone! Sent from my SM-G955U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Nice stage 1's!

Yeah I sure did. In the pics from the course thread. Posted it that night. Ha. You seriously need to reevaluate your definition of greatness. But it was a GREAT time!!

On Core Elixr to try out .. they had a flash sale for $25/dozen.

ShotScope! Only two rounds with it so far, and while it's not perfect it's pretty good and they seem to be receptive to feedback and to evolving the product. Looking forward to actually tracking stats - especially approaches from 150 and in.

Right about where it really popped for me too! Great job! Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Congrats to the winners. For all those that chose Rose, I apologise for picking him and causing him to miss the cut! Sent from my Moto Z3 Play using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Dunno if you guys are holding back or not waiting for more placeholders but don't worry about it. I'll post those in line when they happen. Almost forgot the irrelevant award: Cheers to @GolfSpy Stroker for doing the best of the staff. #123 ain't to shabby.

windy for me also on Saturday, and cold, very cold in the wind, it was exhausting, I was knackered at the end and sore the next 2 days! some drive and wedge holes were drive and 4 iron (still short). Hit the ball quite well but when you have to swing really hard just to go 150 yds with a 6 iron it loses the fun element and becomes a slog. Thank 'F' I dont do this for a living

I shot 91 there on Saturday which is the first time in over a year that I've shot above 80s. That course and the winds over the weekend were NOT fun. Some of the pin placements were crazy hard as well, if you don't know all of the undulations in the greens it's impossible to set yourself up. I don't play there often so I'm unaware and just fire to the flag whenever I have an angle, which was often times making me end up off the green because the pin was just in front of a huge dropoff.

Played awful on Saturday. Driver was a 2 way miss including one drive that was 2 fairways left (I managed to only bogey that hole). Irons were awful, just absolutely awful. Chipping and putting was about average for me. Posted a triple digit score. UGH! The good news is that it was 75F, the sun was shining, I walked 18, and I was the "new guy" in a local club and really enjoyed the other 3 gents I played with. Back to practicing this week.

I found two like new white E12 Speed balls this week and tried them for several rounds. For the last three years my usual ball has been the Bridgestone Tour B330 RX or the new Tour BRX. Prior to that I played the E6. What I experienced was that the E12 Speed is very HOT! Off of the driver, a good 10-20 yards further. Irons were all at least 1/2 club longer than usual. Pitching and chipping, the ball rolls out more . Putting, same thing. Feels harder off the putter face with more of a click. Rolled out further too. The ball is definitely a brighter white than the B330 RX and as other testers noted the cover scuffs fairly easily. But, so do the B330 RX balls. My normal ball flight is a low to mid height draw. No problem getting the same flight with the E12 Speed. Overall, the distance was very satisfying. Around the greens took some adjustment to account for the roll out. My feeling is that this is a good improvement over the last generation of the E6. For me, Bridgestone succeeded in delivering more distance. If you are looking for more distance and don’t mind a little more rollout on and around the greens this would be a good choice.

Stage One up and at 'em Official Forum Member Review - Bettinardi SS38 Armlock Please reach out in the official review thread if you have any questions

From the settings menu...I knew I wasn't crazy

Could we have a chance at the Tiger slam come The Open Championship? How cool would that be! Sent from my Moto Z3 Play using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Honestly, it feels great. It feels like you have less variability in your putting stroke. It's one of those things that is very hard to adequately describe, you just have to do it to understand, but I have no complaints about it at all. It seems very stable and the follow through is not uncomfortable once you get past the initial adjustment period.

Considering she’s had some surgeries and stuff it’s more than just a hypochondriac and actual injuries. I feel bad for her because the injuries and how her parents handled her as a teenage cost her realizing the potential she had. When healthy she can be a force

Howdy MGS's. Well, in addition to having played 5 rounds now with the G410 Plus, I was able to get a day at the range to see just how it was comparing to my Callaway Razr-Fit. With respect to the golf rounds, it was in the bag when I shot my best round (77) of the winter season at Mesa Del Sol. Not really sure how much further I was hitting it than my RF, but I did hit all but two fairways and the two missed were not bad misses. My last two rounds with it were not as good. At Cocopah GC, I was having trouble with fades. At Las Barancas both fades and hitting high on the face. But to be honest, the rest of my game was not exactly clicking on either round, so the G400 gets a pass. The Challenger Now bear in mind that I just recently (January 2018) purchased this used Callaway Razr-Fit, to replace my GBB Warbird, and have subsequently felt like I had stepped into another era of golf. While I immediately gained distance, perhaps 10-15 yards, the most striking benefit was the forgiveness in miss hits. As the the 2018 season rolled along, my driving accuracy kept increasing as did my confidence. I only wish I had taken the advice from friends to upgrade my driver years earlier. I'll also add that I picked the RF up at a shop in Tempe, AZ for a whopping $65.00 (which included a length adjustment and new Callaway grip). I mention this only because for me to hand over $500.00 for the latest in drivers would take some serious performance results. While I love being long off the tee, the decision is predominantly based on scoring... will that club help lower my handicap? Mr. PING G410 Plus, meet Mr. Callaway Razr-Fit (which, btw got some high praise from MGS https://mygolfspy.com/callaway-razr-fit-driver-review/). At the Desert Hills CG range, I onced again warmed up with my 6i and captured the data. Another big shout out to George for letting me use their LM and providing a free large bucket of balls - Thanks George! I hit about a dozen balls with each driver just trying to get into a nice hitting groove. I then alternated between the drivers, capturing this data and culled out the two best and two worst from each. George told me that their range balls are typically 10-15% shorter in distance to game balls. Club Smash Factor Spin Ball Speed Club Speed Carry Distance Razr-Fit 1.47 2132 128 87 206 Driver 1.46 2203 130 89 209 1.46 2218 131 90 211 1.42 2394 128 90 206 1.47 2174 132 90 213 1.51 1978 133 88 215 1.48 2102 130 89 213 1.50 2096 129 90 212 1.46 2223 130 89 210 1.49 2138 131 90 214 1.47 2165.8 130.2 89.2 210.9 G410 Plus 1.52 1954 137 90 222 Driver 1.51 1978 133 88 218 1.47 2160 131 89 215 1.43 2386 132 92 213 1.51 1978 133 88 215 1.44 2404 133 93 215 1.52 1936 134 88 217 1.51 1978 133 88 215 1.46 2248 134 92 217 1.50 2042 135 90 219 1.49 2106.4 133.5 89.8 216.6 PE2 6i 1.48 4827 101 69 141 1.49 4834 101 70 141 1.51 4931 103 68 144 1.52 4644 102 70 138 1.47 4853 100 68 134 1.50 4743 101 70 143 1.48 4805 100 68 140 1.49 4805.3 101.1 69 140.1 Bill's Most Wanted Swing Typical Hits on the G410 The numbers are improved across the board. To be really honest, I did not expect this. I am by nature suspicious of marketing claims. This certainly supports PING claims of the club heads aerodynamic performance - less resistance yielding faster club head speed and ball distance. What I cannot share in this test is the lower, more piercing ball flight I get with the G410. As I mentioned in my original stage 1 thread, I tend to hit high shots - driver included. I really love that my trajectory is lower with the G410. During my course rounds thus far, it's been REALLY nice seeing my drives roll out a little. I do plan to repeat this same test with my club fitter in Bozeman, MT who has state-of-art LM equipment and has graciously offered to help - Thanks in advance Woody!! So, this is exciting. Thus far, I really like the way the G410 feels and I'm not debating which boom stick to put in the bag. I have a few return to home (ranch) base projects that will occupy a bit of my time in the next month but, weather permitting, I hope to get a few more rounds in on the local courses - in advance of the peak season. Reading what @jlukesis experiencing using the weight adjust feature, I plan to monkey with that a bit - especially if that fade tendency comes back. I sure hope this is helping those of you out there interested in PING's latest driver. More to come, Thanks for reading!

New practice net.. the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get..

Star Sidewinder golf grips So in a recent order from the Golfworks I purchased a UST driver shaft that I previously posted here. With that order I also picked up a Star Sidewinder grip to try out. It looked similar to my Pure Pro grip and got strong reviews and were compared to the Pure Pro's in one review. I particularly liked the grip because it's "unbranded". As a perpetual tinkerer, I'm always adjusting the loft in my driver between 8.5*, 9*, and 10* (as if that makes any difference in my game).. but I digress.. so with there not being a brand name printed on the grip, it doesn't change the visual whenever I switch lofts. So after a good month of playing the grip, I couldn't be happier. It performs and feels just like my Pure pro's. I've been wanting to get matching grips for my XW-1 wedges to match my blue Pure Pro's but they've stopped selling them at most of the retail stores in my area. So I was about to place an order with Golfworks for more of these Star's in the blue but before I did.. and as I do.. I looked up Star grip to see where they were located as the grips shows "made in USA".. well wouldn't you know it, the factory is 10 min from my house! actually in my city Chandler, AZ. So I called them yesterday, talked to a very friendly guy named John.. who could be the owner.. but I never asked to find out.He informed me that their business hours just weren't conducive to my work schedule so that was kind of a bummer.. Well John asked what time I go into work.. 5:30 a.m.. then he responds.. "I'm here at 5 so just swing by on your way to work".. So this morning I just headed out a few minutes early and stopped by the Star factory. John was there waiting for me. He had 4 grips packaged up and ready to go. 3 blue for my wedges and 1 black for my other driver shaft. $23 out the door! $5 + tax per grip is cheaper than I paid through Golfworks and I'm just a Joe Shmoe consumer.. Additionally, John could sense that I was a super golf dork from my endless questions that most people don't ask.. he took me on a quick tour of the factory (it's still dark out).. Another interesting fact that I learned from John is that Star grips is the predecessor of Pure. Some guys left Star with what they perceived to be the correct formula and started Pure a few years back and moved to the other side of town (Mesa, AZ). He explained that most of their clientele is in Europe and Asia.. Areas where golf equipment is sold at a super-premium price i.e. Korea for upwards of $15 per grip. Similar to the Pure grips, the compound in the Star grips is made to last a very long time without breaking down or absorbing moisture causing the grips to age and crack. Additionally he said that their practice regimens are much different than in the US. Because of the scarcity of golf courses and very high round expenses, playing is limited mostly to practice.. If your sport is golf.. practice is 6-7 days/week for 2-3 hours/day.. so when paying such high prices for something that takes so much punishment, their concept works very well. (so far I'm on my 3rd year with my Pure's and they're in perfect condition!)

Came across these on IG earlier, and just so happens I need a new pair of shoes. Couldn't pass these up, order placed. [emoji91][emoji91]

Ping G410 Plus Driver Review - Stage 1 Hello to all my fellow MGS’s who visit the Official Product Testers sub forum for some no-nonsense, candid Intel about all the new products that promise to rock our golf world. For me personally, this sub forum and the product reviews written by the staff are what made MyGolfSpy my choice as the golf forum to spend time being part of. First off, a HUGE Thank You to MGS and PING who, along with other manufacturers, make these product testing opportunities possible! What a fantastic way to engage us mere mortal, non-professional golfers, and get feedback from a wide cross-section of players. Seriously, the whole “product tester” thing is crazy cool and I am both honored and excited to have been selected for the Ping G410 Driver testing!! I would also like to give a quick shout out and Thank You to George at Desert Hills GC, Yuma, AZ for offering to do my club fitting. When I told him the situation (being selected by MGS as a product tester), he scheduled me right in so I could get the data back for the order. If you are ever in Yuma, AZ, play a round at Desert Hills and say hi to George and Drew - great guys doing a fantastic job running that course. My Background So, just who is this @fixyurdivot dude? My name is Bill, now 58 and I started golfing about age 7 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. My Dad absolutely loved the game and introduced me to it. A used set of junior Chi-Chi Rodriguez clubs and a plaid golf bag became the tools of my trade. On Saturdays, myself and a couple of other neighborhood friends would get dropped off at a course where we’d get lessons and then play a small par 3 until late afternoon when someone would pick us up. A year later, I was playing in Junior Golf of America (JGA) and spending Saturday’s chewing up courses around south Florida which included Doral CC, Jackie Gleason Inverrary and Bonaventure GC. I never won a single event but the memories are still with me. I continued to play the game all my life – with bursts of focused effort/interest followed by periods of lackadaisical play. While in the Air Force, I once again got the bug and played quite a bit. I shot my lowest round ever (74) at Mather AFB in Sacramento, CA. Upon getting my Mechanical Engineering degree, my wife and I relocated to WA where I went to work for Boeing. I soon joined a work golf league and played pretty regularly – up until the last 5 or so years of my 30 years with them when travel, workload, and responsibilities made finding time a challenge. In 2016 I opted for early retirement and we moved to the golf capital of the world – Montana! Now I must confess that fly fishing is my #1 passion and I handle a 5 weight much better than a 5i, but golf is a really, really close second and I soon found myself playing the local courses. Combine that with our “snowbird” travel from Nov-Mar here in Yuma, AZ, where I play 3 times a week, and my fly rods are feeling left out. My Golf Game My current game has been pretty steady and I typically shoot in the 80’s. I don’t keep an official handicap, but my math has me at 13 presently. My best official handicap (11) was in the early 90’s. Inconsistency tends to be my nemesis – shooting a 38 on one side and a 47 on the other. Staying clear of “blow-up” holes when having a good round going is also problematic and most often it’s a drive gone OB that was the cause. I would say iron play is my strength as is my chipping. I have a pretty compact swing (not a huge rotation), not a really long hitter, and my typical driver ball flight is straight to slight fade. Another challenge I have is keeping swing tempo down. I’ve really been focusing on that the last couple of years and made BIG improvements, but I still get in trouble with that. I find myself playing courses much smarter these days then years ago. I lay up a bit more rather than trying to reach a par 5 in two – and to be honest, I’m still hitting as far, or further than a decade ago. While I still take aggressive lines off the tee, particularly when I’m driving well, I pay more attention to course conditions when choosing to do so. The “swing for the fence” mentality has slowly changed to a “manage the course” approach. I also find the "swing easy, hit well and far" approach to work for me. What’s in my bag? Well, let’s just get right to it – I still play PingEye 2 irons. I purchased these new in 1988 and have been playing them ever since. Up until last year, I gamed a Callaway Great Big Bertha, 8.5 degree driver. What can I say; I’m German-Irish stubborn, frugal, and not easily hooked by slick marketing and bling. It was only after repeated suggestions (ok, harsh teasing) from friends, that I needed to move into the current century in golf technology, that I purchased my current Callaway Razr-Fit driver in January 2018. I was fitted for the driver and it was among three I tested at the Kartsen Golf Facility at ASU. I immediately saw significant improvement in driving distance, accuracy, and forgiveness – silently asking myself why the hell I did not make that upgrade years earlier. Bill's Antique Clubs: So, this opportunity to test PING's newest driver technology is really interesting in my case. Having just made a logarithmic shift in driver technology, 1990 to 2014 circa, how much more could I possibly be missing? I am hitting the Razr-Fit very well and have confidence with it. The G410 Plus has a steep hill to climb. Will it reduce those OB score killers? Will its selectable “draw/fade” weight option, or 8 position shaft tuning feature allow me to get more draw ball flight? Will it yield faster club head speeds and carry distance? We shall see…. we shall see. First Impressions To be brutally honest, I do not find the G410 to be the sexiest looking driver. In fact, to me, it has a Chevy Truck vs. Lamborghini look to it. More utilitarian than posh, it has a brutish appearance that simply says “I’m ready for work”. The black, matte finish crown has no contrasting sheen areas, no logos, and no ball alignment mark. The “Turbulators” (small raised humps) on the crown are carried over from the G400 for improved aerodynamics – faster club head speed. At 455 cc in size, the G410 looks pretty compact compared to many of its competitors. This is a plus for my taste as I really dislike the “VW Bug on a stick” look. In comparison to my current driver, which is also smaller in look for a 458cc size, the G410 gets a thumbs up. At address, it looks great to my eye. The head cover is of nice quality and well made; sporting the PING logo and G410 designation. The graphics on the Alta CB shaft picks up the red accent on the driver head quite nicely and looks great. The Spec Sheet: The sole of the driver, interestingly enough, provides a bit more glitz with the PING name in bold chrome letters along with the G410 moniker. The leading edge of the sole has a black mirror chrome appearance which transitions into a v-shaped wear area. The forged face is fairly nondescript having a milled finish with contrasting white and light grey groove marks. It's as if PING is saying “it’s not the bling on the outside, but what’s under the hood that really matters”... and I'd be the first to tell you I'm good with that. Ping’s first “moveable weight” system for ball flight control is likewise kept demure with only a thin, red pin stripe following the arc of the weight track along the trailing edge of the head. The weight can be moved from the center “neutral” to either a forward “fade” or rear “draw” position. This feature is the principal difference between the "Plus" and "SFT" - the latter having a fixed periphery weight designed to prevent fade/slice ball strikes. On the surface, these seem a bit "gimmicky" to me. I'm really curious just how this feature will affect ball flight. I still tend to push more than pull shots and would love to see this feature work as advertised. This is something I will be evaluating and reporting on. My Fitting My fitting took place at the range and using the ES14 launch monitor. George had all of the available driver lofts and the four shafts. Both my Callaway GBB and my current Callaway Razr-Fit are 8.5 degree loft. Because I tend to still hit these pretty high, I told George I think the 9 degree would be a good baseline for me - he agreed. I started off warming up with my 6i and he used that to get some initial impressions of my swing and speed. He suggested the Alta CB Red in stiff, standard length. I hit the first half dozen or so shots well, fairly straight, and out just past the 200 yard marker. I then had a couple of hard pulls left. He switched me to the regular stiffness shaft and I again hit the first handful pretty straight and to about the same distance, but with higher trajectory. We then change from the neutral (0) to the (-) position - which changes loft from 9 to 8 degrees. I started seeing a bit more fade and contact marks out towards the toe. We changed back to the stiff shaft and with the same (-) setting. I was back to hitting more to center, with lower trajectory. He felt I could probably make either the regular or stiff work, but that I would likely see more accentuated pull and fade with the regular when I really lean into the shot. I asked about the other available shafts; (Project X Even-Flow, Tour, and Alta Distanza) and he said that except for the Distanza the others were more tailored for a player with much faster swing speed. What's Next OK Mr. G410 you’ve peaked my interest, but this is range time, not game time. What are you bringing to the course? Next up are some initial rounds with the Razr-Fit left at home – providing no emergency backup . Hopefully I can squeeze in another day at the range using their LM for some further fine tuning of the loft/lie and some head to head data against my Razr-Fit. We will then be heading back home to Montana where I have scheduled some time later this spring with a club fitter in Bozeman that has a ForeSight GC Quad launch monitor. My plan is to repeat the comparison with my current driver, but also get ball flight data using game balls. As the snow and frost clears, more rounds will be played ultimately seeing if PING's new “top gun” is better than my $60.00 Razr-Fit. Stay tuned for updates and Stage 2. Thank you so much for taking the time to read!

STAGE-1 TESTER INTRODUCTION for: Official MGS 2019 PING G410 SFT Driver Review SUBMITTED BY: PING Apologist #9 Greetings Fellow Spies! My name is Robert and I am here to share my initial thoughts about one of PING’s newest driver models for 2019; The PING G410 SFT (Straight Flight Tech). First, I must thank everyone at MGS and the fine folks at PING Golf for entrusting me to test & evaluate the performance of this newest driver. It is a true honor and one that I take very, very seriously. I hope that my experiences with it will help you determine whether or not it lives up to the maker’s claims and if it will be worthy of your hard-earned dollars to consider buying for yourself. Stay tuned as I hope to answer both of those questions over the next several weeks. A bit about myself as a “golfer”. I live, work & play here in Southwestern Idaho, and though I’ve golfed here and there over the span of 30 years, I’ve never really considered golf as a serious hobby. But just over a year-and-a-half ago, I got the bug and started the journey with club purchases, constant upgrades and endless tinkering. Now I consider golf to be my “primary” hobby with fly fishing being a close second. My golf skill-set at this point is still mostly self-taught and I sit at a rather high and unfortunate 21 handicap. I’d much rather go out and play than practice most days, and this mentality probably holds me back quite significantly. My game strengths are chipping, wedge play, short irons and I love hitting my 3 and 5 woods. However, hitting driver is still an adventure for me. Even though I currently game the G400 SFT which is supposed to correct a slice (and why I chose it), my general shot shape is still a fade and my miss is the bad slice right. About 50% of my drives are “good” and travel 230-240-yds with a slight cut...Here's a "good-un"... Just like many, I really need to be able to make driver more of a consistent asset and not a continued enigma since I tend to use it a lot. I hit it on most par-4s & almost all par-5’s. I do not possess enough distance with my longer irons for those 160-190 yard shots (my true weakness) to avoid hitting driver from most tees. My 3 & 5-woods will save me usually when I need a 190-220 shot and sometimes I can get to some par-5’s in two with one of those clubs, but not too often. Plus, driver is just plain fun to hit! I need and want one that helps me have consistent distance and most of all, goes straight! After MGS declared the G400 LST as the Most-Wanted Driver of 2018 (https://mygolfspy.com/2018-most-wanted-driver), I knew I had to get into a 400…and pronto! That’s just what I did last August, and all though I didn’t fit into the (then) vaunted LST, the SFT model was a better suited to me and it remains my current gamer. So when PING announced the pending release of the new G410 line late last year, I was honestly a bit surprised. To me it seemed that the G400 series was cooking along just fine and really hadn’t been out long enough to be in need of any sort of upgrade. PING is constantly noted for their engineering prowess, and they too are also known for not just willy-nilly releasing new gear out to market “just because”. My first question I had for them when introducing this new line-up was “Why?” Was there something wrong with the G400’s?! Was an improvement needed so quickly???!! Their mantra has always been that a replacement line of golf clubs must have some true data to back up the fact that they really outperform the one they are intended to replace. This current paradox shall be the primary crux of my evaluation and I am very curious if this “improved” design does indeed give enough added benefits that are good enough to kick my beloved G400 out of the bag... But let’s be honest here. Ping hasn’t truly embraced the “adjustability” trend, especially with their driver, however this newest offering seems to have finally addressed that; especially considering other clubs in this same generation (like their newest G410 hybrids) now offer removable shafts and an adjustable hosel, where the same clubs from the 400 series did not. For driver they now have 8-way adjustability up from 4-way options before which did not include any loft settings. This is a leap in PING’s thinking, but is it too late and too redundant? Well, here is what PING states about the G410 SFT (https://ping.com/clubs/drivers/g410-sft “The G410 SFT (Straight Flight Technology) provides maximum fade and slice correction while delivering all the performance benefits of the G410 Plus such as a high MOI and faster ball speed. A fixed weight on the extreme perimeter and 50% more heel-side CG than G400 ensures straighter ball flights. A lighter D1 swingweight helps square the face at impact.” And this is what they had to say about the G400 SFT (https://ping.com/clubs/drivers/g400-sft “The G400 SFT (Straight Flight) is custom-engineered with more heel-side tungsten weighting and a lighter swingweight to help square the face and generate right-to-left shot bend (right-handed golfers). The multi-material design combines reduced drag and a thinner, stronger, faster T9S+ forged face to increase speed and distance. With a combined MOI over 9,000 and a deep CG, improved accuracy leads to tighter dispersion.” Are the G410 drivers better than the G400’s? Both descriptions sound very, very similar with the only exception being that the 410 has “50% more heel-side CG” than the 400 which you can easily (I hope) see below. Standard-issued swing weights are similar (both D1) and they both claim “faster” ball speed which is this year’s buzz term from everybody this year, or so it seems…. We shall see and I intend to find out if that 50% is the “shiznay” or just so much smoke. Just a day after I was awarded this honor, I set an appointment for a fitting. While my current driver was fitted to me, it was done so without the aid of a launch monitor. This time was to be my first foray into a hitting bay with a fitter. It was ugly. Swing speed was lower than I thought (only 90 at best) and I couldn’t seem to hit one straight to save my life. Add to that, they didn’t have a demo SFT head, so had to hit the “Plus” head with the weight in the “Draw-Bias” position which I don’t believe has the same “umph” for the draw-bias an actual SFT head does. Anyhow, I tried several shafts, and though the slices continued to rack up on the monitor, I settled for the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange in stiff. Regular flex just felt weird and I didn’t see much in the way of improvement, so I stuck to stiff which also will allow a more accurate “apples-to-apples” comparison between it and my 400. I had it cut down by ½” from the 45.75” norm which actually makes it a D0 swing weight according to my official PING "Birth Certificate". And I had the standard size GP Tour Velvet grip put on which suits me just fine... As for testing, I will put this 410 in direct competition with my 400, which may wind up being a bit of a battle... So, I will be gathering side-by-side data on the range with my basic launch monitor, shot scope app, in hitting bays with launch monitors and then game them and see if there are any differences at all between their performance. Most of all, I want to know if the added 50% of heel-side CG will help me have a more consistent and straight ball flight that is noticeably better than my 400... Strap in Spies and please send me any questions or testing ideas you’d like to see done. I will be happy to also share my "first-impressions" with you, just ask. I am here at your service. Please be looking for my Phase-II coming soon. Thanks for reading! Cheers all!

Stage 1 First and foremost, thank you MGS Mods for selecting me to be an official tester for the G410 SFT. My name is Tony, I just turned 72 and even though I started playing after I retired, I am obsessed with this game. Prior to retirement I always thought golf was a silly game – after all, how hard could it be to get that LITTLE white ball into that BIG hole. Numerous times on the way home we would pass several fairways at our Club’s golf course and on those cold, or rainy days we would invariably see someone out there playing. My son and I would laugh and talk about those crazy guys out there – what could they be doing or thinking, playing golf in the cold or rain! And then it happened for some unknown reason my wife and I decided to start playing golf. It took one game for me to catch the bug and become obsessed with the game! We’re fortunate to live adjacent to a combined Marina and Golf Club with an Arthur Hills 18-hole Links course in northwest Ohio. It is a picturesque course adjacent to Lake Erie, with strong headwinds and it is also a qualifying course for the U.S.Open. These past few years have been a long journey. After being fit for G20’s, I took lessons from the head pro which was interesting to say the least, as he was telling me to do several things at once. It reminded me of that Einstein story of taking up golf where he threw 5 balls back at the instructor and said catch, the instructor responded I can’t do that – yes exactly! With those lessons in the back of my mind I went off to the driving range. The irons weren’t too bad, but my drives had a beautiful slice that from an aerial view would have made a fishing hook proud. Enter instructor 2 at a Muni. We worked on a lot of things, but he always focused on Position, Grip and Alignment. Several lessons later: the driver had become more of a fade with a too frequent slice, the irons were ok, and the chipping was a big improvement (due to lots of practice in the backyard). At this point my index is still in the 30’s because when the driver is working, the irons aren’t and vice versa. Exit this instructor as he decided to move to South Carolina. I found a new instructor, who immediately recognized a couple of issues and I started working on the improvements, including spine angle and a stronger grip. Now it’s a consistent draw. Not so bad since most of our penalty areas (aka water hazards) are on the left (remember I’m a lefty). In the meantime, my driver evolved into a GBB with an Aldilla SR flex shaft. With lots of work at the range, reading and playing as much as possible, my index dropped last summer to a 22 and I did break 90. Oh, and as a side note I was an Official Tester for W/S C300’s – thank you Mods! This past Fall, we got to play at our course until late November – my index did bump up slightly but only because there’s something about shivering in cold weather that’s not conducive to golf. Overall game evaluation 1-10 with 10 being best/most consistent Driver = 5 Irons = 7 Wedges = 9 Putter = 6 This past Winter I spent my time reading even more and watching instructional videos and when weather allowed, a few trips to a heated driving range. Since I was working on my swing, I intentionally slowed it down to around 76-80 mph (using my SC200) to focus on accuracy. With the slower SS I was getting a much narrower dispersion. I didn’t pay much attention to distance since it was cold, generally windy and the range was using their “winter” balls. Next step will be working on SS. Then the MGS Official Testing for the G410 SFT happened and I was lucky enough to be selected. My reason for applying was threefold: #1 gain more consistency resulting in a narrower dispersion, #2 distance, and #3 sound. Note: with my G20 I could tell by the sound when I had a mishit. On our course, the first two priorities take the penalty areas out of play for me, along with the potential for higher % GIR’s. First impression: With the GBB and SR flex shaft as background, and a prior fitting with the Ping G and SR shaft (which I didn't buy), I ordered the driver with 10.5* loft and the Alta CB 55 shaft in SR flex which is about 10 grams lighter than the Aldilla. The G410 also came with Tour Velvet grips. I’m a big fan of MCC+4 and with my XL glove size, I decided to order it with the orange option which is their jumbo grip. The driver arrived very quickly, especially given the “less than common” configuration of a lefty head and a SR shaft. The grip initially felt too large – but I did have a pair of FJ rain gloves on when I tried it. Putting one normal golf glove it felt fine. However, at some point I'll replace with the MCC+4. The head is what I expected with a satin finish on top. What was a nice surprise is how good the bottom looks with the red “streaks”. I never noticed that in the stores. It looks so good in the bag – I hate to put the cover over the driver. The head cover, however, is good looking and a nice improvement over previous Ping covers. The one thing that was a slight surprise, but only because I didn’t pay attention to the online description is that the weight on the SFT is fixed. In the scheme of things that’s not a big issue for me. However, if you want a sliding weight, you’ll have to move to the G410 Plus. The connector is easily adjustable, and the instructions are clear and concise. If you happen to lose the instructions – no worries the connector is clearly marked and has eight settings. Of course, the club did come with a wrench, however, I doubt I’ll be adjusting it once it gets set at the Fitter’s. Next steps; Get to a fitter to set the correct loft adjustment. My guess is that it’ll be either set at neutral or .06* configuration. While I’m at the Fitter, I’m bringing my GBB as well to do a “head to head” comparison. It’ll be my Ping vs. Callaway challenge so stay turned for that. Additionally, with 2 lesson certificates that my wife gave me for Christmas – I’m going to use one to further improve my drives. My expectations are that the 410 SFT gets me 7-10 additional yds. plus, a much narrower dispersion and looking for that 5 to move to at least a 7 or 8. . Let the battle of my drivers begin!