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Ping G410 Plus Driver - Stage 2 Review - jlukes It has been a great 6 weeks testing the G410 Plus driver. Over the testing period, I have played about 12 rounds of golf and had about 14 range sessions. I tested the G410 in every weight setting and every hosel setting. I tried to hit draws, fades, cuts, hooks, high bombs, low bullets and everything in between. I was able to get G410 on trackman and purchased the Arccos system that I had in play for the last few rounds. I made it a point to make this the most thorough club testing I have ever done. I hope that my fellow forum members enjoyed following along as I posted regular updates and answered questions throughout the testing process. I always enjoy forum testing for MGS, but this one was my favorite by far simply because of how much work I put into. Now onto the scoring... Looks Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder and everyone has their own preferences when it comes to how their golf clubs look. For me, the G410 Plus is a knockout. I always thought Ping turbulators were gimmicky, but I never spent any time with a Ping driver to really form a real opinion. Now that I have spent a ton of time with them, I love them. Yes, they provide some sort of aerodynamic properties, but where they really shine for me is how well they work as an alignment aid. The shape and size of the turbulators do such a great job of framing the ball. I have never had a easier driver to line up. I also have to say that I am glad that Ping decided to invert the Dragonfly Crown and “hide” it under the hood this go around. The combination of the turbulators and dragonfly crown on the G400 was a bit much for me, but G410 has a much cleaner look. The paint job is a beautiful matte dark grey and it is such a great finish to look at (and there are no glare issues). The red, black and silver color scheme is simple and clean on the underside of the club, and the implementation of the weight ports/track does not take away from the aesthetics of the club at all. Another thing that is often overlooked, but plays a huge role in how the club looks at address, is the size of the adjustable hosel. Ping has the cleanest implementation of an adjustable hosel in the industry. When looking down at the club, it is barely noticeable. The shaft seems as if it transitions seamlessly into the head. Just a small detail, but it really completes the look of the G410. Score: 10 (out of 10 points) Sound & Feel Having played composite-crowned drivers over the last 6+ years, it was definitely adjustment when I first started hitting the Ping G410. Heck, I wasn’t even sure I liked it. It isn't a bad sound like the Nike SQ, it was just very different. There is definitely a tingy-ness to the sound rather than the “thwack” you get with a composite driver. The more I hit it, the more my hearing adjusted to the sound and it became more and more pleasing. It is definitely a distinctly “Ping” sound, but it is a good sound. Feel is often linked to sound, but for me, the G410 felt softer than it sounded. That might not make sense to some people, but I feel that sometimes people associate loud with harsh, but that is not the case here. The G410 feels explosive. Stability is also a strength of the G410 as I found the feel of the sweet spot to be rather large. If you followed along with my regular updates, you would know that I don’t always find the center of the face. The feel and sound does differ a bit off low-face and heel-side hits, resulting in a more “thwacky” sound when compared to center and even toe strikes. For me, the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha was my favorite feeling/sounding driver ever. It felt explosive and had an intoxicating smooth sound at impact. How does the G410 compare? All I can say it is different. At first I was slightly turned off, but like one of those deep album tracks from your favorite band, it grows on you over time. The sound never once impacted how I would swing or my confidence in the club. Is it my favorite sounding driver of all time now? Honestly, it likely isn’t in my Top 3, but it still sounds good and feels even better. If I could separate the sound and feel scores, it would be 3 out of 5 for sound and 5 out of 5 for feel. Score: 8 (out of 10 points) Basic Characteristics Now that we have the vanity stuff out of the way, it is time to get into the nuts and bolts of the review. Performance. From the moment I had my initial fitting, I knew that the G410 was going to be something special. I have struggled with over-draws for much of the last 36 months and with the Flat hosel setting and weight in the fade position, I was actually able to hit baby fades. That is just not something I felt I could pull off with my current (and soon after getting the G410 on the course, previous) gamer. After I got the G410, I went to Club Champion to get some Trackman numbers as well as test shafts. I posted full details of that experience right here. What I saw on Trackman were ball speeds in the low to mid 160s and carry distances that were in the 270s and occasionally touching 280+. Those are lifetime best numbers for me all around. I was really really happy with everything I saw on trackman and couldn’t wait to hit some balls outside to see real ball fights. I spent a lot of time at the range for this review (twist my arm) and the more I hit the G410, the more I am impressed with it. I find the G410 to be low/mid spin and very easy to launch. The ball gets up fast and then flattens out for a very appealing flight. As I mentioned above, I tested just about every combination of adjustments the G410 had to offer and I found them all to make a noticeable difference. Loft down to open the face, flatten the lie, and put the weight in the toe and you’ll notice a drastic difference in flight than when you loft up to close the face, neutral lie, and weight in the heel. I played around with the settings to find an ideal setting for me and I have just about settled on the weight in the neutral position with the hosel set to the big minus sign to open up the face. This setting gives me a desirable baby draw with my standard swing and gives me the ability to hit a power fade if the situation calls for it. In terms of accuracy, the G410 puts out what you put in. I didn’t find any issues where a ball didn’t react in a way that wasn’t dictated by the strike. The ball flew where the face to bath relationship says it should have flown and that is really all you can ask for in any golf club. When it comes to forgiveness, I found the G410 Plus as stable and forgiving as any driver I have ever tried. Where the the G410 really impressed me was on ball speed retention on low face hits. Yes, I saw lower launch and higher spin on low face shots, but the ball speed retention was so good that the distance losses were more than acceptable. Heel and toe hits also produced above average results and I can’t think of one instance where I lost more distance or was more offline than I expected. Where I think the G410 really shined for me was the distance category, and more specifically, the consistent distances I was seeing. The G400 Max was an extremely forgiving driver, but it didn’t produce the best ball speed numbers. I feel as if the G410 Plus kept the stability of the G400 Max and added in ball speeds that allows it to compete with every driver on the market. Is it the longest driver on the market? No. It isn’t. However, that isn’t because of a lack of ball speed, it is because the G410 isn’t a super low spin head. I demoed drivers like the M5, Epic Flash SZ, and TS3 and while all 3 drivers would give me slightly longer drives on well-struck shots, they penalized me more on off-center hits more. As someone whose miss is a hook, super low spin can spell disaster on a mishit because it leads to ugly quacking duck hooks. While the G410 will never save me from a truly awful swing, I know that there is a greater margin for error. That greater margin of error allows me to swing more freely, resulting in faster swings and better drives. When on the range, I felt like I was in cruise control with the G410 in my hand. But we all know what really matters is how it performs on the course. Score: 19 (out of 20 points) On-Course Performance So as many of you know, I undertook a big swing change this offseason, which is still in progress. However this review isn’t a review of my swing or my struggles - it is a review of the performance of a driver. On the course, the Ping G410 Plus was everything I could want in a driver. Stable, forgiving, and long. I played about a dozen rounds over the last 6 weeks, most of them at my home courses, and I had drives that left me yardages into greens that I’ve never had before. Irons into Par 5’s where I am normally hitting at least a hybrid. Sand wedges instead of PW. Mid Irons instead of long irons. No matter the hole, the G410 gave me great results. I have only begun using the Arccos tracking system, but it has already showed me some great data. Even on poor shots, my drives are still going 250 yards, which is a true testament to how good the G410 is. I had two rounds where a really struggled with my swing, but even then the G410 produced relatively great results. I mentioned above that I seemed to get good results off strikes low on the face while at the range. That proved true on the course as shots where I felt like a nearly missed the face entirely still traveled 250 yards, or about 88% of my average distance. My fairways hit have been around 40%, but that number is more indicative of my swing struggles than the club itself. For me to be carrying drives in the 270s consistently is really something else. Unfortunately I don’t have any hard data to show what my tee game was before the G410, but I know my max carry was in the low to mid 260s and I needed some good roll out to 300. Now I am seeing my really good drives carry almost 280 and even with the wet conditions we’ve had in the North East I have seen several drives crack 290. On dry days (but before I had Arccos), I had several drives go over 320 yards (measured with GPS watch). That is just absurd for me. I cannot wait to get out of this wet spring and hit some summer fairways with this bomber to see what new parts of the course I can explore. While my scores may not have improved yet, mainly due to the swing changes and iron play being worked on, I have no doubt that the added distance and consistency will eventually lead to lower scores. All of the strokes gained data that MGS publishes shows that distance is king. Hitting longer drives, leading to shorter approach shots, which in turn lead to closer proximity to the hole, is the single most efficient way to improving scoring. Seeing what the G410 has done over such a short period of time, even while I go through the growing pains of implementing my swing changes on the course, makes me believe that the G410 will absolutely be leading me to lower scores. I will continue to update this thread as my time with the G410 continues to show just that. I mentioned in my Stage 1 that I had never gamed a Ping club before. I always had a perception of Ping that wasn’t quite favorable: I thought they were weird and gimmicky. Testing the G410 shattered that perception for me and made me really gain a appreciation for the Ping engineering team and what they look to accomplish when they create a club. I gained so much respect for Ping that I even tried out the G410 fairway wood at a local multi-vendor demo day and to my surprise the G410 LST 14.5* beat out every fairway wood on the market for me and earned a spot in my bag. So I went from no Ping clubs in my bag ever, to two Ping Clubs in the top of my bag. I won’t lie - Ping firmly has my attention and I will be giving their clubs a shot at earning any spot in my bag going forward. The G410 Plus is a great step forward from the G400 series. At the time of this review, the LST head has just been announced and I can definitely say that while I want to try it, I am not sure how good of a fit it will be for me. I really enjoy the stability and predictability of the G410 Plus and wouldn’t want to sacrifice any of that for a few extra yards. I really don’t see anything I would change in future iterations. If they Ping engineers could fine tune the sound a bit more, it would appeal a bit more to the masses, but that is really the only major improvement I could see them making. From the adjustable hosel and the movable weight, to the way the turbulators frame the ball, the G410’s feature set all serves a purpose. I love that Ping fine tuned their hosel to add flat lie setting for better players, and the weight ports absolutely influence the closure rate of the head. I hope Ping sticks with the adjustable weights and I wonder if they are already looking at what else they could possible do with them. We know they will never add adjustability if it means sacrificing weight placement and performance, so I am not sure how much more they can tweak this design. It would be cool if they could offer a front/back weight tuning similar to the Cobra F9, but I am not sure they’d be able to do so while maintaining the weight distribution they desire. Score: 29 (out of 30 points) Miscellaneous I have always heard how customer-service oriented Ping was, and this testing proved it. We received our drivers extremely fast and mine came to the exact spec that I ordered. The packaging was more than acceptable from a protection standpoint. Another thing I wanted to call out is the cost of additional weights. I wanted to experiment with a slightly different swing weight in both the G410 driver and the LST 3W I purchased. The price of the weights are noticeably cheaper than competitors’ weights. The Ping driver and FW weights retail for $18 and $13 respectively. In comparison, Cobra F9 Weights are $25. Titleist TS2 weights are $25. Just a great price point from Ping. In MGS’s write-up of the Ping G410, they mentioned that Ping redesigned the headcover to be a bit heavier so it would would not blow away in the wind. While I normally use my own personal headcover for my drive, I did bring the Ping headcover to several range sessions and rounds and can confirm that it definitely doesn’t blow around as easily as other headcovers. Not something that would make or break the driver, but just a pretty cool detail from Ping. Score: 10 (out of 10 points) Play it or Trade it? Considering the G410 Plus knocked my Titleist TS3 driver out of the bag in less than two weeks, it should be no surprise that is is now my full-time gamer. I truly believe that the Ping G410 maximizes my overall tee game and my game is better for it. The LST version of this head does intrigue me. Did Ping simply create a lower spin version of the G410 plus, maintaining the stability and consistency of the G410, but in a lower spin? If so, that head could potentially change my tune. I did win a full bag fitting from True Spec Golf, so it is only a matter of time until I find out just how good of a fit the G410 is for me. Until then, it isn’t going anywhere. I believe the G410, due to all of its adjustability, will fit an extremely wide range of golfers. We already see tour players using the G410, and there is no doubt that 20+ handicaps could game the G410 as well. Throw in the SFT and LST heads and Ping has created a line of drivers that literally fits every golfer. I believe the $499 price point is right in line with where it should be. $500 is the going rate for a new premium driver, and that is just a fact of life. The G410 is the total package and is appropriately priced. Can someone find a used driver from 2017 or 2018 that performs close to the G410 for less money? Of course they could. But if someone is looking for a new driver in 2019, the G410 should absolutely be at the top of the list to try. Score: 19 (out of 20 points) Conclusion So if you’ve made it through the entire review and reached the conclusion, you already know what I am going to say here. If you have skipped to the conclusion with hopes of getting a quick recap, you’re in luck. The Ping G410 Plus driver is simply the most well balanced driver I have ever gamed. It gives me great ball speeds and fantastic stability that result the best drives that I have ever hit. Throw in the adjustable hosel and weight ports and you have a driver that can be customized to fit just about any golfer. A driver should give you confidence the moment you pull it from the bag, remove the headcover and set it down behind the ball and for me the Ping G410 Plus does just that. I am excited to have the G410 Plus as my driver moving forward and will continue to post updates throughout this thread as the season progresses. Final Score: 95 out of 100 points

Here's a little video of me trying to get to know the F9 driver...

Loving the driver, when I remember to keep my head down, left arm straight, and finish high (hooks show up if I finish to flat). It has a sound that definitely turns heads, but I love that. The wedges are probably my favorites, they look amazing and they are sweet to hit. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Pre Orders are now available for the TS1, the first driver Titleist has introduced for for moderate swing speeds. It will be interesting to see if this moves any player who has said, "I'm not good enough to play Titleist" into trying it's drivers. The TS1 driver is an ultra lightweight product to help moderate swing players generate more distance. We believe TS1 will attract an entirely new audience of golfers into our club line. These golfers have always wanted to play Titleist, but perhaps felt they weren't good enough. Now they'll experience a Titleist driver that really performs for them!

Played in league tonight - last round of the first half, we are tied for first with the team we are playing but slightly behind in points. Thanks I’m playing the A spot and we start on a 173 yard uphill par 3. My opponent gets it on the front 45 feet away, I hit it to 30 feet pin high left. He knocks his first putt 8 feet past I hit mine 3 feet short. He knocks the next one 2 and a half feet by. I tell him to pick it up and calmly roll my 3 footer in. My playing partner goes, “Why did you give him that?” I said, “Hey we’re A players, we don’t miss 2 and a half footers straight in uphill.” And we are good sportsmen. I had the tee from there, never missed a fairway and went on to win 8 holes and tie one - 10.5 to .5. My opponent got tired of 245 down the middle before he had even hit. Needless to say we won the first half of the season as a team. :) Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Played 18 with the Cobras today. Was -1 through 6 then someone had to say “man you’re -1, you’re killin it” then proceeded to double, double, bogey to finish at +4 at the turn. I knew I was playing exceptionally well, DON’T talk to me about it!! Almost got these F9s dialed in. Need a mental game (cough cough) GB13 Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I like how you laid up your driver at 309 to work on your 4 iron approach. Regards, Team Bardle Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Second day of my running odyssey. Monday I thought I was going to have a stroke and today it downgraded to a heart attack! So far, so good.

I like the logic behind this. But, in my case I don’t practice it enough. When I try backing off I get sloppy and end up blocking it out to the right, or hooking it left. Just need to retrain my brain to ease up a little and not try to hit it 300yds every time. All my timing/tempo has been set swinging 90-100%. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I call on that source every day as well. Thank you VERY much! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Feel better soon Mook and I lifted you up to my source that I depend on.

Even par my last 2 times out [emoji56] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One of my golfing buddies at the office heard I was playing Bethpage Black in Sunday and asked if I had a light bag. I really did not so he cut me a great deal on a Titleist Players 4 bag and it is even in my college colors. Well worth hosting him for a round at my club next month. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok folks, somehow I have reached 1000 posts and I thought I would show you all a few grabs from one of my favourite things from Arccos. Here are the caddie suggestions for a few of my favourite holes from Augusta

Stage One – Rob Introduction - 5/22/19 Intro Follow me on my Instagram! @rob.c.slade (I'm in the red shirt). Also on Twitter @robslade. First and foremost, I want to thank MGS again for the chance to review another product. I was lucky enough to be selected to test the Snell MTB Black a while ago as well as having the chance test out the new SuperSpeed Golf program. I’m really starting to see the benefits of the Superspeed in my swing speed now that it’s warmed up. The link below to my Snell review gives a little background on me and my game but I’ll recap some info as well. I'll also include a link to the SuperSpeed program review. Snell MTB Superspeed I’ve been a pretty decent golfer since I started playing at age 14 (now 37) and currently carry a handicap of 2.4. I live in NC and do most of my playing in the Southeast region where it’s hot a humid. I’ve always been an equipment junkie which led me down the road to building golf clubs as soon as I started playing and I’ve been a clubmaker now for over 23 years. My favorite club has always been the driver and is one of the strengths of my game. My ball striking is very consistent and pitching and chipping are solid. Putting can be streaky and some days are better than others. My swing has a very smooth tempo and even when I feel like I’m swinging all out, it still looks very smooth and lazy like an Ernie Els or Fred Couples. I used to hover around 100 mph with a driver but now I’ve been recording 104 mph and have even steadily hit 106-108 mph in my practice sessions. I attribute this to the SuperSpeed program as well as warm weather and wearing normal short sleeve golf clothing. I’ve been into weight lifting and working out at the gym since I was in high school and visit the gym 3-4 times a week religiously. Over the last few years I’ve added quite a bit of muscle mass but unfortunately as I’ve gotten older I’ve also gained a bit of undesired weight as well. I currently weigh around 240lbs at 5’9” tall. I don’t stretch as much as I should and my flexibility could use some work. The TLDR Personal Golf Stats: Current HCDP: 2.4 Smooth swing tempo w/ driver swing speed currently between 104-108mph. Driver ballflight is usually Mid/High with my miss being a pull fade. My driver carry distance, on average, is NOW around 250-255 yards. Currently playing a Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero 9.5* set to 8.5* w/ Aldila Rogue 125 Stiff at 45” and D2 swingweight. I love driver and have a TON of different drivers that I like to take out and play with on a rotating basis. I wasn’t officially custom fit for any of them but know my game and what works best for me. I am very accurate with a driver and am not afraid to aim exactly where I want it to go. Given my recent slight increase in swing speed I’ve been able to hit more aggressive lines and reach a lot more par 5 holes in 2. First Impressions: I was very excited when the Tour Edge Exotics EXS driver arrived. They asked us what specs we wanted in the driver and I requested the following: 9.5* Loft 45" length (-.5" from standard) Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue 60 Stiff (I'm still wondering if the X stiff might have been better) Pulling it out of the box it looked very high quality and the color scheme of Black/Blue really looks classy. WARNING picture overload! Exotics claims on their site that the EXS has all the features of the major (expensive) drivers and performs as well but costs much less. It has an adjustable hosel, adjustable weights, carbon fiber, exotic titanium, variable face technology, dual roll on the face and a premium shaft. "The tech-loaded EXS driver features a Flight Tuning System (FTS) that includes 9-gram and 3-gram interchangeable weights, an adjustable hosel that allows for plus two or minus two degrees in loft, RollFace Technology for an expanded sweet spot, Dual Carbon Fiber placement for ideal weight distribution and a new and improved SlipStream™ Sole for faster clubhead speed. The EXS 460cc head features premium Japanese exotic metals; TSP 910 Beta Titanium face plate featuring Variable Face Thickness Technology and a 8-1-1 Titanium chassis. The TSP 910 Beta Titanium face has been made even thinner and lighter in the EXS over previous Exotics driver models to produce a greater spring-like effect. Engineers paired the superior TSP 910 Beta Titanium face plate with the exceptionally light Carbon Fiber Crown and with additional Carbon Fiber located on the toe of clubhead, allowing weight to be strategically repositioned lower and deeper in the head for optimal spin and creating an extremely high MOI. The Dual Carbon Fiber Technology also helped Tour Edge engineers to significantly improve the acoustics of the driver and enabled them to account for the gram weight of the FTS weights and the adjustable hosel. A new RollFace Technology incorporates modified bulge and roll on the toe to create straighter shots for shots hit off the toe, which is where the majority of miss-hits with a driver are made. In conjunction with the sweet-spot enhancing Variable Face Thickness technology, the RollFace makes this the most forgiving driver face ever produced by Tour Edge. The aerodynamics in the EXS driver are greatly enhanced by a more sloping crown and wider speed channels on the sole. The new, more tapered head profile also reduces aerodynamic drag. An ultra-premium Tensei CK Blue 2G shaft series by Mitsubishi Chemical is the chosen stock shaft for the EXS driver. Extremely light yet extremely stable throughout, the Tensei Blue CK features advanced materials like Carbon Fiber and Kevlar mixed with other lightweight materials that weigh in the 50-70 gram range depending on flex." In an up close inspection there is NOTHING about this club that would indicate it should cost less than the $499+ price that other OEM's are charging. The only thing that was slightly off was some glue in the seems of the carbon fiber on the sole and that is nitpicking at best. I've played and tried various Tour Edge Exotics drivers over the past and still have a Tour Edge Exotics XCG-V Driver and a Tour Edge XJ1 Supermetal Driver in my collection. The XCG-V was my favorite Tour Edge driver and the XJ1 seems to share a lot of similar technologies as the EXS but was VERY expensive when it came out. The common theme around the internet (and one that I shared) seems to be that Tour Edge makes some of the best fairway woods on the market but their drivers never quite lived up to the performance of the other OEM's out there. The original CB2 fairway and now the CBX are considered legendary in performance. I'm really excited to see if the EXS can live up to the performance of other drivers out there, especially for hundreds of dollars less in price. The EXS has a slightly triangular shape to it compared to the more traditional shape of the XJ1 SuperMetal. It also has a slightly different type of carbon fiber weave in the crown. XJ1 on the left, EXS on the right: EXS on the left, XJ1 on the right: EXS carbon crown weave: XJ1 carbon crown weave: Triangular shape comparison to the Callaway Fusion Driver: So far I've been able to get the EXS out to the driving range and compare it side by side with a number of drivers. I've also been playing around with the settings and weights to optimize the performance for what I am seeing on the range. Next steps are to get out and play quite a few rounds as well as get some launch monitor numbers and really get it dialed in to my swing. I won't give away too much until Stage 2 but let's just say that initial testing has been looking VERY promising....STAY TUNED!

Getting ready for another installment of the Golf Trip of a Lifetime. My cousin Paul (known here as @3PuttPaul) and I are heading to St. Andrews this weekend, We leave Boston Saturday night and arrive in Edinburgh Sunday morning. We're staying at The New Inn in St. Andrews - it's about a half mile or so from the golf complex. Here's the itinerary: Sunday - June 26: Afternoon golf at an undisclosed location with Gavin Dear and +1 from ShotScope Monday: 12:20 tee time at the Castle Course Tuesday: Early tee time at the New Course, afternoon at Jubilee Wednesday: 11:20 at Jubilee - 2nd tee time to be arranged at other St. Andrews Course Thursday: Open - in case we get on the Old Course via ballot. If we get on another day, we'll reschedule golf to this day. Friday: 10AM at Lundin Links - considered a hidden gem in the area - checked the website, it's right on the ocean, looks awesome! Saturday: 7AM at Kingsbarn - if we're not golfed out, we'll find someplace for an afternoon round. We have some flexibility on Monday-Thursday - with unlimited St. Andrews golf for the first three days of the week. We'll be on the Old Course ballot every day, and since the sun doesn't go down till around 10PM at that time of year, we'll try to cram as much golf in as we can. We chose to trade accommodations for more and better golf - so the New Inn isn't right near the course, but it is near the water and looks to be an interesting place. Pub and restaurant downstairs with modest rooms upstairs. We'll post pictures here and on social media, so hope you can follow along. It's gonna be a hoot! As for weapons for the trip, here's what I'm looking at bringing: Driver: Honma 747/Sub 70 639D/Tour Edge EXS (2 of the 3) FW: Either Wilson D7 or Srixon F-85 strong 3 Hybrids: Callaway Apex 19, PXG 22 Irons: Srixon Z-85 combo set Wedges: Cleveland 50 (bent to 49), Hogan Riviera 56/60 Also bringing Cobra adjustable utility iron (VERY useful in Scotland) Putter: Odyssey Stroke Lab and maybe Edel Willamette or Bettinardi Baby Ben, just to keep the Odyssey on its toes. Balls: Srixon Z Star XV/Bridgestone Tour B X The trip was put together by Jack Sallis of Halcyon Travel from England. I met Jack at the PGA Show - we're interested to see how this goes. Maybe, just maybe, we can put together a MyGolfSpy trip next spring/early summer if enough of you would be interested. Lemme know either here or via PM if you are...

I can subscribe to that after all you are from California and California and funky go hand in hand------ By the way I refer to all hybrids as "little funkys" all hybrids look funky to me. We can refer to them as the Funkadelic KZGs from now on. Rock On

wind was HOWLING yesterday in the burbs during league play.... some holes at least a 2 club wind.... short par 3's I had no clue what to do... choke down, way down, on a 5i for a 120 yard shot? Flight a wedge? Even with all that my partner and I managed -5 for 9 holes for a nice 30 and opened an 8 stroke lead after the second week of play. Had 5 birdies in a row.... it was a good day.

Warranties are a beautiful thing. Now I can tell my wife I actually know something. [emoji23][emoji23]

I haven't played a full round with them yet but I'm thinking Saturday will be the day I have played a few nine hole practices with them and they look like being awesome. I am falling in love with the wedges too and the driver is wonderful . With the irons I have to remember to take dead aim because there ain't no big draw in them but that's a great thing

Holy crap, you guys are making me think I haven’t got it so bad!

Ya, I'll help, as they say, those who can't, coach. Just keep your head in the game, and don't worry about other people. One shank at a time. -1 is an extremely good start, sounds like those F9s are really starting to get hot. Are you liking the driver? Regards, Team #terriblementalcoach

I'll be doing it again tomorrow then I'm gonna wash it. My friend asked me when I got out on prison work release lol

“Sharp Dressed Man”[emoji106] One of my daughters can catch poison ivy if she’s in the same city!! Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Decided to rebuild my KZG’s with some R300’s instead of the R300 High Launch in there now. Figured I’d give them some bling so I ordered these. I think I’ll do the paint fill to match. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I actually pulled off a ridiculously stupid one on the fourth hole. 115 yards out from the green. Only chance of getting to the green was to start right of one tree and draw left of the tree 20 yards ahead. Hit the 5 iron perfectly, sliced through the window, and ended up on the back fringe. Nine times out of ten that shot hits the first or second tree, and I'm in more trouble than when I started...

Gave the true fit a try last night outta Curiosity and of course it came back with the driver I have my eye on. This must be fate

Welcome to Stage 2 of my review of the Ping SFT! Unlike other reviews, stories or articles, I’m going to give you my conclusion first and then tell you why. Am I happy with the 410 SFT – NO I’m not. I am THRILLED with it! There is nothing I don’t like about it. https://vimeo.com/337165176 So, a bit of background, for those of you that didn’t read my stage 1. I started my driver experience a few years ago with a G20 which was the result of my Club’s fitting day. That driver went through literally tens of thousands of hits on both the driving range and the course. Many hits later and coupled with lessons, I still had a nagging slice. Even more lessons later (I’m a slow learner), combined with a GBB which has lots of opportunities to eliminate the slice with an adjustable hosel and a sliding weight, the result was now a push fade. Oh and in between I had a lesson with a recommendation to use a stronger grip. Yup that takes care of the push fade and moves it into the pull hook category. This is great - I now know that I can “work” the ball. Too bad I can only do it by accident! But wait, after reading many tomes on shaft’s, with my low to mid 80’s SS I figured out that I needed a senior flex shaft. So now out goes the Hzrdus X Green stock shaft and in comes an Aldilla senior flex. Yes, I know that I need some expert advice – but that’s the commonsense thing you do only after things don’t work out – right? Ok, so here I am – late winter 2019 at the driving range with the Aldilla shaft in that GBB and they are mostly pull hooks. Not getting much distance but then it is winter = very cold and old range balls. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. And now a marvelous opportunity comes along from MGS to be a tester for the 410. (Note Mod’s have I told you how much I like you ). What’s not to like after all it’s always the arrow not the Indian right? This time I decide to go to a real fitter – too bad he’s booked until May 1st. So, with SS in hand I go to the Ping site and follow their onsite fitting tool. The result is a 410 SFT with a Soft Flex (aka Senior), standard length shaft. Ok, I was good with that so off goes the spec to Golfspy Stroker. Order me up a SFT, standard length CB-55 shaft with the Jumbo GP Velvet Grip. Talk about speedy customer service – it only took a few days to arrive. Opps sorry Stroker did I forget to mention I’m a lefty - no problem Ping’s superior customer service came through, as they overnighted the new lefty SRT to me. So on to the evaluation: Let’s start with looks: Score = 9 out of 10 Perhaps it’s because I spent so much time with a beaten-up G20, I’m very comfortable with the matte finish. But then it’s not something I pay attention to as I’m standing over the ball. Overall pretty standard Ping driver look with the “Turbulors” on top but with a striking series of red stripes on the bottom. As reported in my Stage 1, the stripes look good enough that you don’t want to put a cover over them. The only thing better would be if they had red flames instead of stripes on the bottom. The cover is a nice upgrade from previous years, incorporating the Ping 410 logo with red stripes and it slips on and off easily. I’m glad they did away with the old “sock” type of covers from years ago that were more difficult to take on and off. Sound and Feel: Score = 9 out of 10 Before I got to the fitter, I had a chance to use the driver both at a range and on the course. I also took my GBB along on several occasions as a comparison. I quickly realized that even without the fitter dialing it in for me this club was going straighter than my GBB and my G20. The one thing I really didn’t like about my GBB (outside of the pull hooks) was the sound – more dull than the sharp crisp sound I had with my G20. The sound of the SFT is a bit clunkier if you hit it off the toe but overall a much better sound experience. I can tell, without looking up how I hit the ball – which as a side note helps me keep my head down. I am hitting - the ball well. Is it the SFT or am I getting better? Not sure and who cares . Basic Characteristics: Score = 18 out of 20 Thankfully, it’s now May 1st, so onto the fitter and none too soon because a big complaint is that I’m not getting the distance that I thought I would. This is my first real fitting session (I’m not counting Club fitting days) and initially it was a bit unusual because I’m hitting in front of an audience (a few “guests had stopped by). The result is I’m spraying the ball all over the place (see Trackman graph below). Very Embarrassing! Finally, they leave, and I calm down and I’m driving the ball relatively straight. The first thing the fitter said to me is ‘you’re going to really make me work for this aren’t you’. He then proceeds to put me into a Ping 400 Max and Ping 410 Plus as a comparison to make sure I didn’t make a mistake ordering the SFT vs. the Plus. Neither 400 or 410 Plus worked well for me and then he puts me into a Regular Flex CB-55 shaft on the SFT and I immediately pick up 14 yards of carry at 2 mph less of SS and a close dispersion. He also stated that because of my swing (which he termed “violent”), I need a slightly shorter shaft, so for $72 I ordered a 45 1/4” Regular Flex and as a result I should expect slightly more yardage gain. Obviously, I need continued work on my swing especially on the “Attack Angle”, but the following trackman graph is very telling. I only included the SR Flex shaft = dark green, the regular flex shaft = turquoise and final loft adjustment to the regular flex shaft = brown. I didn’t include the other combinations as they weren’t relevant and would make the graph tougher to read. Additionally, there is a fair amount of dot overlap – however, the turquoise and brown dots are still representative. Obviously, the (somewhat faint) horizontal line represents center line and yardages. The brown dots were the result of the SFT set at 6* loft, which is what I’m sticking with since those drives are closest to the center 0 yds to approximately 15 yds right (draw). Again, based on the numbers: Attack Angle, Face Angle, etc. I still have some work to do on my swing. However, regardless of the that, I am still more consistent and longer with the R Flex than I was with the SR Flex. And longer than my GBB and G20. Note: My on-course results are averaging 200 + yds. My score of 18/20 is based on the following; The sound: it’s more of a thwack vs. a thud of the GBB. Since not quite as crisp as my G20, but still nice. Trajectory is high – but then that’s the result of both the shaft and the loft adjustments by the fitter and it’s working for me. Accuracy: If I had to give marks for just this as a category it’d be 20/20. It is right on the money. I am nailing the fairways right down the middle or close to it! Adjustability: It’s currently dialed in by the fitter for optimization. Could I easily adjust it? Of course, but why would I want to since the fitter has it dialed in. However, keep in mind that the SFT doesn’t have a sliding weight, on the other hand I don’t think I need one. On-Course Performance: Score = 40 out of 40 I don’t have access to ARCCOS or another measuring device so I’m including 2 pic’s of the GPS app for our course. As a point of reference, this hole #10 at our Club is a 462 yd par 5,– so the first night with the new R Flex shorter shaft, I drove it approx. 207 yds smack dab in the middle of the fairway. (A special note to Mods reading this, I’d like to be an Official Tester for ARCCOS . This SRT, especially for high handicappers like myself, makes one want to do a happy dance! This driver inspires my confidence and as a result I’m scoring better – that says it all! I have a high level of confidence that when I walk up to the tee I’m going to launch the ball straight and high. At this point, with really less than a month in (because of the shaft change), I would advise Ping not to change a thing when it comes to the actual club. Let me say this again: this SFT is straighter and longer than my GBB and G20. I see more GIR’s in my future. On the other hand, I do feel that the online fitting tool steered me to the wrong shaft – the Senior Flex vs. a Regular Flex (cut down). I’m now even more convinced of the importance of a real fitting – not just a fitting day at the course or a casual tryout in a big box store. Play it or Trade it? Score 20 out of 20 You’ll have to pry this driver out of my hands before you get it back! I won’t even let my men’s league partner (who’s also a lefty) try it. I’m not going to give it up for anything! Overall Score 96 out of 100

As many of you know I am a history buff, with Seve Ballesteros, and Arnie topping the list of my favorite golfers. Ben Hogan is cool too, as is Nick Faldo... Speaking of Faldo, I just read an article about how he didn’t hit anything over 80%. Known for his accuracy over length... and being a stellar iron player makes me wonder where this type of golf went, and why. Yes, that era is gone and it isn’t coming back, which is fine. But for me it is way more entertaining and fun to play that way. Anyways, the moral of my story here is... I’m going to play to my strengths from now on. I am not an accurate driver, I consider myself pretty good with my irons, and the wedge game being my best. I’m going to give the 80% rule a try through the entire bag, and if I lose a few yards so be it. I know we shouldn’t be swinging 100% at everything or anything for that matter, but I am going to make a conscious effort to feel like I’m swinging 50%, that should dial it back to that 80% mark for me. I tend to go after shots that don’t need gettin after. Report to come sometime in the future.

I had the opportunity to get the Epic Flash onto a Trackman yesterday afternoon for an additional "fitting" at Maple Hill Golf in Grandville, Michigan. Maple Hill is one of the largest golf retailers in West Michigan, and I had been curious to experience a Trackman fitting there. Jake, my fitter, is a huge MGS fan and was more than happy to help me grab some numbers and also play with some other shafts and heads as comparisons. As I mentioned a few posts above, I played 18 holes yesterday morning and struggled mightily with a two-way miss all day. That continued on the Trackman, but I'm still really glad I did the fitting. The biggest question I had going into the fitting was whether my original setup was right (10.5 degree Epic Flash, HZRDUS Smoke Black 6.0). After my session I can say, "Yes, for the most part." I hit a handful of shots with my current settings and shaft - the Tensei Blue I purchased on eBay, head turned down to 9.5 and Opti-Fit adapter in draw position. As the numbers show, my swing imparts a large amount of spin on the ball with a poor smash factor, making me very inefficient. Jake tried all sorts of different shaft and head combinations, and none really brought down the RPMs into a reasonable range. I did see some progress by swapping in a HZRDUS Yellow 65 6.0 shaft with the Epic Flash head. I believe the Yellow is one of the no up charge options. My original fitter did not have this available to try. So what did I take away from the fitting? 1) I'm going to go back to the HZRDUS Smoke Black shaft, with the head turned to 9.5 and in draw position. The Tensei Blue may not make it to eBay right away, but the numbers definitely show I need a low-spin, low-launching shaft. A HZRDUS Yellow could also be in my future at some point. I hit the Smoke Black on the range today and it still feels nice, just different from the Tensei Blue. 2) I need to improve my swing because none of the drivers and/or shafts can mask my swing faults. I really struggle with a pronounced over-the-top wipe that adds a ton of spin to the ball. It's a major distance and consistency killer. My better swings recorded at 102-104 MPH. Based on Trackman's algorithms, I could be seeing carry distances routinely in the 240s and maybe low 250s if I optimized my swing. I'm leaving at least 20 yards of carry on the table in some cases. 3) The Epic Flash, for me, stands out. I hit the Cobra F9, PING G410 LST and Titleist TS3 for comparison but really preferred the feel and looks of the Epic Flash. (That's not to say those drivers are bad or ugly, but I'm comfortable with the Epic Flash now, and that's huge for me.) 4) As the HZRDUS Yellow is backweighted, I may need to play with some counterweighting. My clubhead speed and smash factor improved a bit with the HZRDUS Yellow. Maybe I could get similar results with something like the Tour-Lock system? Or perhaps just some lead tape at the base of the grip? Based on my quick research it's possible the HZRDUS Yellow could play up to three swingweights lighter if swapped into the same head at the same length. Something to play with. We're getting closer to our Stage 2 review deadline. is there anything else anyone would like to know in the meantime?

Hi everyone. I wanted to introduce myself...I was toying with the idea of getting these sticks for a number of months. I started reading this thread about 2 months ago and seeing the success of many people on here I decided to purchase the sticks and the radar (£300 for both here in the UK). I wanted to start posting on here and say thanks to everyone who has posted their stories on here as it inspired me to start the training! I’m in week 3 of the training now and have been really impressed with the results. I’m 26 and in relatively good shape but have always had a slow swing speed for my age, especially compared to my golfing friends. So anyway I started out with a max of 91mph on the radar (with ball) 3 weeks ago and now at around 97 with a max of 101 which is really encouraging. I’ve been keeping track of my max speeds with the sticks each week so will be sure to post them at some point. In my last session I decided to hit some drives after the drills and was a bit concerned...I was hitting some big fades with the club face often wide open on impact. I tend to tee the ball quite high and noticed I was hitting making contact with the ball really high up on the face of the driver so will try teeing it further down. I’m used to drawing the ball so this was a bit of a shock! I think hitting drives immediately after the drills probably isn’t a great idea as I’m likely to be imitating my superspeed swings. Anyway I look forward to joining the community on here!

Contact is King! So - if a golfer can make better contact, and ... do it more frequently @ 80 or 90% then they will see better results. I'd also hazard a guess that if that golfer were to "pure" a (full swing) shot @ 80% it may even fly further than an off-center hit @ closer to 100% effort..?

Haha, I like that! The KZG Funkadelics. I tell you Stu when I’m hitting the persimmons well I do, as George Clinton says, “get a little glide in my stride and a little dip in my hip”. [emoji16] Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You were correct. [emoji846]

For some reason it still shows you on the wrong side of the ball.. LOL

My Stage 2 Review is up! ------> Click HERE!

Our scramble team took second at -10 at the National Sporting Goods Assc conference. Finished -8 on the back to charge from fifth to second. We played at Chateau Elan Woodlands Course in Braselton, GA Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

That’s awesome! The only thing my swing speed will cave in is a plastic milk jug [emoji16] Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I have the go ahead for a new vehicle. With 3 small children an SUV is really my only option. I've driven several and have narrowed down to a 2016 Acura MDX or a 2016 Volvo XC90. I love the look of the Volvo, but the Acura actually drives a bit nicer. The Volvo is also about $7,000 more and I'm just not sure I can justify that. Anyone have any experience with these models?

I was fit for a driver by Club Champion just this year. The process is very detailed. You will love it. Be warned though, they will want to build you a set of irons probably for close to $2,000. They will have you in high end shafts, custom grips etc etc They wanted to order me an Epic Sub Zero with upgraded shaft for the low low price of 1100, ummmmm no. So I agree, get the specs and order directly from the company or your local golf shop. Just make sure when you go to Club Champion that you tell them you want to hit stock shafts like the Nippon Modus or Proj X or Tru Tempr. They will give you a print out at the end of everything they recommend, loft, lie club head and shaft. I have Mizuno irons and they are amazing! That being said, don't go in thinking small. Hit every head you can and don't worry about brand. The numbers won't lie. Have fun!

After a bad round on Saturday with healy drives, ballooned push fade drives, thinned irons and 1 'unmentionable', I came across some recent drills Claude Harmon posted re driver and irons, describing my issues perfectly. The drills are outstanding on the range, and simple to execute, really enjoyed an hour hitting crisp irons with draw and solid drives. Cant use it on the course (well you actually could but might look a bit silly) but hoping it will bed into my swing with practice. Heres a link if anyone is interested........... https://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/features/instruction-features/january/april/driving-tips-with-claude-harmon/#drills

My outlook on life: I used to cry because I had no shoes, then I met a man who had no feet.

Well I attempted this new method I thought would work for me, but after some very, very, very, very poor results I decided I’m not going to mess with what I have.

Boom [emoji573][emoji573] Sent from my Pixel 3 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Got home from Orthopedic Doc appt and House was 85’ and A/C running. Hottest day of the year, great timing. Outside compressor not running. Tried restart system, nothing. We’re sitting on the Lanai waiting for the service guy. Sure am glad we put a mini-split 1.5 ton unit out there 2 years ago. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Hmmm

Went from Kidney stones to a Crohn’s flare-up. Have to have another scope again this Friday. That’s three in a year......... 2018 and 2019 have not been good to me health-wise. Frustrating because I’m ready to start feeling normal again. Crohn’s/IBS is causing me to miss work, miss family events, etc. It’s horrible. I’ve hit my out-of-pocket max by mid-May the last 2 years. Sucks as I’m only 50! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Had to get in one more range session before put the finishing touches on my Stage 2.

I took today off to play 18 this morning, but I probably should have just gone to work with the way I played. 49/48 for a 97. Miserable play all around. Practice green was really quick this morning, the actual greens no so much, so round started with leaving everything short and ended with blowing everything by the hole by a mile. 39 putts. Had multiple chips that went nowhere. Skulled a handful of wedges and irons. Pulled everything left with my 54 degree, which I usually am accurate with. Two-way miss with the driver, either a pull left or a high, weak fade short and right. Can't do that on my home course because it's all tree-lined. On a high note I am now quite adept at the 5 iron stinger with draw to get out from behind and around trees. Must have hit at least five of those today. Tried to enjoy the walk this morning, but this was a tough pill to swallow after having two really good range sessions in a row. Oh well.

I have been club champion fitting once. The fitters and process was good. They build clubs for you if you choose to buy there. With their clubs they match everything and are very detailed but with that comes a pretty stiff price. You can take the specs and order anywhere though.