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Today I played in a comp with a 2 handicapper who hit the ball really high and really long, his short game was money and most putts threatened the hole. He was on average 25 yds ahead on my career best drives, he had a few bogies and a double with a lost ball but still shot 72! he then told me he played with a young pro at St Andrews who's not on any tour, who was at least 35 yds ahead of his drives and hit wedges in a way he has never seen before and shot -4 each day he played with him! It really made me realise there isnt just a gap between low handicappers and pro's, there is an almighty cavern and a different dimension to the way they play. The St Andrews pro expects to hole at least five 30 footers a round....and he did when this guy played with him. Yet he isn't on even the most basic tour! If you are not shooting at least 5 under EVERY time you play you havent a chance of even doing ok on a basic tour, plus its expensive. I'll just stick to sinking the winning putt for the Open and the Ryder cup in my dreams.

The bold part is a huge thing for me to see someone mention, especially the active part! Thanks! When I first came to the site three years ago, I honestly could read an entire days worth of posting in about 30 minutes, that's really not an exaggeration. This forum has grown in members and activity in such a way i can't even come close to keeping up with all the topics and threads. I know we--As Moderators--- have said it many times, but I'll say it again...That's all due to the great membership, all the vets that have been here since the beginning and all the newcomers over the past few years like. Almost to a member everyone conducts themselves in not only a professional way, but a truly welcoming and helpful way. That's the type of participation that will keep new members around and get them active. So THANK YOU ALL!!

And that ladies and gentlemen, is how a smart married man thinks.

So I may be the only j@ckass in the world that just said no to “hey want to play Pine Valley on Sunday?” And yes I said no thanks In fairness to me it is my 18th wedding anniversary that day and we made plans to have an early dinner after the Eagles game. Also in fairness to my wife she would have let me go play with no issue but not even fair to ask on Friday night. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just so we're clear, this is a post about a putter and not about my game....You'll see. For the last few months I've been contemplating getting a new putter. I was playing with a TM Mini spider for about year and for the most part was very happy with how it rolled and the overall performance. Within the past month or so, I've been messing round with other putters at various stores just to see what else is out there. I recently traded in the Mini Spider and bought a TM Ardmore 2 patina. The thing is absolutely gorgeous and feels great. I love the fang style and the old in me really likes that it can pick up a ball. Last night I stopped by a local shop that carries used equipment to buy a different shaft for my driver that they just s happen to have in a staff bag. While they were putting a Callaway sleeve on I spotted a putter that looked somewhat familiar but I haven't seen it in years. It had these crazy bars on it and had grooves that looked like Evnroll grooves. Sure as shite, it was a Rife 2 bar mallet. Ugly as hell. I started putting around with it and was sinking everything. It felt like the Caddyshack priest! I couldn't miss! I thought to myself "surely this thing is a small fortune. They have the keep the lights on" I looked at the price tag...$50 freaking dollars. I looked it up on Google, $200 freaking dollars! Ummm sold! This thing looks fairly new. I had the day off today (lucky me) and went out to a local muni that has some fairly decent greens. First hole, I hit a nice approach. Nothing too amazing. I drain it from about 20 feet for birdie. Alrighty...So the round goes on and I knew I was playing pretty well but I try to never add up my score as I go along. I've psyched myself out too many times doing that. Anyway, I get to 18 and hit a really good drive and knock it to about 15 feet with a nice look at birdie. Make it. Added up the score and to my surprise, I shot my personal best 66. (-5) I guess I'll be taking the Ardmore 2 back for a refund and taking the wife out to a nice dinner with the proceeds. I used the MGS methodology of if you hit something that works while you're shopping just buy the damn thing. Here's hoping this old girl holds together for a while! I'll be on the lookout for a backup soon.

Not very well, ball striking betrayed me, but I made some good up and downs and started to exorcise some putting demons. There were some positives to take away from today I guess.

Also a 41 2/7 fir 4/9 gir 17 putts Two costly doubles. Ironically, made the longest out of the 4 birdie putts I saw today and missed the other three.

Friday afternoon 9 at Navy Marine Golf Course. 41, 29% FIR [emoji34], 67% GIR [emoji846] and 19 putts including three 3 jacks. Finishing with a birdie was nice though and I did hit some decent shots. On to the next round!

Tournament done, and some good new data that backs up a thought that I noticed earlier in the test. Results coming soon!

Have you heard of any politician named "Honest ____" since Honest Abe?

I’m not sure if this is old news or not nor if I am posting this in the appropriate place but I was on the Ping website today and saw something quite interesting. As many of you know, Ping and Arrcos have begun to partner up recently and they are offering a promotion. Ping is sending out 14 Arrcos sensors to qualified owners of Ping equipment for free along with a 90-day trial of the Arrcos System. There are 30+ qualifying products and it is easy to sign up. Shipping is free for the sensors and you can cancel anytime within the 90 days. I have been interested in trying Arrcos and this seems to be the most cost-effective way to do it. Again, if this is old news or in the wrong place, I apologize but I wanted to pass the info along to my fellow Spies. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Gotta love golf on Saturday! The new hybrid was phenomenal. I adjusted the loft lower and made it more draw biased, and I am in love. It has a nice piercing ball flight and great sound at contact. I used it off the tee on a few holes, and I think I’ve found my safety club when I don’t want to hit driver.

I’d like to introduce everyone to the newest addition to the Shankster family. Say hello to Seve!!!

It’s better to hear something twice than not at all! Thanks Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Not very well yesterday - too embarrassed to tell you the final tally. Went from wearing shorts and polo to yesterday 3 layers, long pants and was still cold. Should be warmer this weekend into Monday so hoping i can quickly recover otherwise my Index is going to take a beating.

That’s OK, I liked both so I liked everything. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Not to worry I just "liked" your post so you don't feel out of sorts. Feel free to like my like. [emoji23] Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Just wait for the small batch, hand crafted, aged in a dark closet for 14 days special edition

I remember BombSquadGolf in the early 2000’s. They were BigHitter’s [emoji6] in pushing tour van gear and Matrix Ozik shafts. There wasn’t an alternative on the internet and anyone who was a golf gear head had limited choices in where to talk shop. Why bring them up? They were heavy on pushing their internal sales and self-promotion. The key here is that each site and forum has their “thing” that attracts people. THP and WRX each have their thing and for me, MGS is the one I’m drawn toward. I’m exclusive to MGS. The equipment studies and transparency are up there but above all, the quality of discussion and discourse keeps me coming back. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Looks like both offenses headed for the showers at halftime. You see, it was never in doubt .

Rohan, keeping me company on the putting green.

And also the reason she doesn’t bat an eye when I buy golf gear. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's only one round. Could be the change in clothing bunching up yur swing .

A number of years ago I purchased a set of Vokey wedges from a website at a descent discount. When they did not arrive after a few weeks I contacted the company and they sent out replacements. A couple of weeks later I received both sets within two days. The logos did not look as crisp as I thought they should on a few of the heads and grips so I contacted Titleist. I asked questions and they had me check details right down to the smell of the grips to determine they were counterfeit. Ended up buying from a local store and received a full refund for the counterfeits no questions asked. Still have them in my basement never hit. They might be OK to use but not by me. When my kids started playing I went to a custom builder and they both ended up with Maltby KE4 irons and my oldest with a Wishon driver she can hit farther and more consistently than me. Everything was older stock the builder had since I was on a budget as I was not sure how much they would play. I would not hesitate purchasing Maltby or Wishon clubs in the future for my kids or myself. As far as where the equipment is made I don’t care. There are crap and quality items manufactured in the US, Europe and Asia. Buy brands you can trust at the price point you like.

I’ve been married 52 years next month and yes you made the right on many levels and have kept peace in the kingdom [emoji106] Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Link: https://ping.com/en-us/arccos-sensor-promo

What a catch!!

Nope. They are hard to play that way.

... I agree with that. But just keep in mind I am in Chicago, a quarterback starved city and have had to watch Favre and Rodgers destroy the Bears for over 20 years while 50 starting QB's marched thru the line ups. Cutler was the only legit NFL passer the Bears in all that time and I had such high hopes for him having followed his career from Vandy to Denver. But of course he was not a leader which is essential in the NFL. Trubisky shows promise but knowing the Bears could have had Mahomes will always sting. But no hard feelings and I love watching him play more than any other QB in my lifetime.

OK, hmm .. this just happened... ..not sure why the app or forum software doesn't .. ha ha .. "like" me..!! [emoji12]

Played 3 days in a row, a new "record" for me, and yes .. my middle back (not lower, interestingly) is now paying the price! But it was fun; wife and I were away for a long weekend and played a short muni 9-hole the first two days and then a regulation 18 (Senior tees for me). Each day my tee shots were getting better and better, which is a huge improvement from the start of the season where I was all over the place. No, not every tee shot this weekend was great but most were good and the misses were playable; except for one should not have been lost ball .. just nowhere to be found...! The downside of the first two short course days, though, is that too often I totally mis-hit the second shot .. short iron and wedge technique just plumb evaded me. The 18 hole day started out very promising - good tee shot into the middle, second shot was solid and to where I was aiming, third hit the green (yea!) slightly left and deep of the middle pin; get up there to see my ball lying through the green about 5 feet off. Hit a soft chip just onto the green to where I'd intended .. only to watch the ball roll past the hole and roll and roll all the way to the far side of the green. Didn't sink the comeback putt so an outside chance birdie turned into a bogey. What we realized by the second hole was that the greens were not just fast .. they were actually dried out and very firm; many even had brown and bare patches. As we went around I noticed a distinct lack any any pitch marks, too. Hmmm. On the flip side, a number of the fairways were also dry so a lot of our tee shots got a lot of extra bounce and roll! So despite some good ball striking and a few decent approaches, chipping and putting on those greens was more than, ummmm, "challenging". Had my first in i-dunno-how-long FOUR-putt and then FOUR 3-putts on the Back 9. Ouch! Ended up with way too many doubles and a few "others", but managed to scratch out three pars and even a birdie on a Par 3.

Haven't posted here in a while (a looong while, as I made an early season commitment to focus on my swing and game with the good-enough-for-me gear I have), but.... got a single club trial of the updated Tour Edge HL4 iron-wood. Which I guess you could call a "hybrid" but I think is somewhat similar in design and intent to the Ping Crossover. Hit an older version that my mother-in-law had and kinda liked it, actually, so we'll see how this one works for me.....

I kind of wonder what kind of shape Rosemont is in, financially. I had heard Davey Tree bought them a few years ago and two years ago they had non-prime time tee times on Golf Now for $40 - it wasn't clear whether this was trying to make extra money or a marketing campaign to get people in the door. If it was a marketing campaign, they failed, because there was very little effort to recruit that I saw (a couple emails was about it). Hell, who knows, they may have seen Mike and I coming and decided they wanted nothing to do with us.... .

I'm an "off-brand" player if you want to call Tom Wishon an off-brand guy. I don't know Tom personally but he's certainly (or was) producing original designs that are great playing clubs by any standard. IMO just as good as any BIG name brand. Perhaps even better? Debatable. His heads and other items are not mfg. in the US either. That's no secret. My Wishon irons were custom fit and built by a 30 year fitting/building veteran/professional. Now, you might not have access to a top fitter for Wishon in your area like I did and you might not find a Wishon design/model that you like but that doesn't mean they are off-brand or inferior in any way. They're not. There are several BIG name brands which I don't find particularly suitable or to my taste .. in design or play-ability. You can save a fair amount (but not always) buying so called off or boutique brands such as Wishon, Alpha, KZG, Vega, Maltby, Fourteen, etc. etc. My Wishons ended up costing quit a bit where I could have actually saved some by purchasing a fit set of Mizuno, Titleist, Ping, Cobra, TaylorMade, etc. Where my cost went up was with the time spent fitting, shafts, hand-built, and using a boutique shop. But that's ok because I wanted and chose all of that. I think the bottom line is that many guys just don't want a club in their bag that isn't seen on TV/tour. I think perhaps they feel others will see these in their bag and think they are el cheap-o's or that they are not a very good player, a beginner or some BS like that. However, my off-brand clubs have done the talking for me and destroyed that notion. Would I purchase another set of Wishons? They'd certainly be at the top of my list.

@MaxEntropy .. Great review / comparison; really helpful info! I had a ShotScope earlier this season, and here's a few FYIs I discovered while using it..... 1. Battery - after it's fully charged (at home) turn it OFF. Then don't turn it On until literally a few minutes before you start playing. In other words, don't use it as a "watch". 2. Distances to doglegs, intermediate hazards,etc. - this is supposedly in their development queue and so will be coming out in a future software update. 3. Positional shots - if you remember to mark a punch-out, etc. as "Positional" then it will not be included in the distance metrics for that club. *Important! - (super important imho) - ShotScope considers EVERYTHING after the tee shot as an Approach shot! So... If you're on a Par 5, or long Par 4, or botched your tee shot, or whatever .. and going to hit a layup next then you should mark it as "Positional". Then that shot won't be included in your "Approaches from .." nor "Shots to Finish from.." metrics. Note you can also fix this in post-round editing.

I regularly visit three different golf forums, including WRX. For me, the Rules section at WRX is more active than at any of the others, and there are a number of well-informed and knowledgeable posters there. There is also an occasional interesting thread in the Instruction and Travel areas. The rest just holds no interest for me. But as many others have said, there are quite a few rude, sarcastic, and just plain nasty posters along with the good ones. I think that each of the forums that I visit has good points, obviously, or I wouldn't use them. MGS has without a doubt, the most civil and considerate users of any.

There's no such thing as Titleist 718 TS3 clubs Congrats on your cheap imitations Did you pay for them with money out of your Guchi wallet while wearing a Rollex watch?

These OEMs are not paying me to use their clubs. I would rather game no-name custom clubs for a fraction of the price. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Stage Two – Tommy Armour Atomic Irons by BigtazzGOLF Oct, 2019 Hello Spies, let me start off that I would like to apologize for the delay in getting my stage 2 posted for you guys. I’d like to thank MyGolfSpy and Tommy Armour (DSG) for the chance to review these irons. I started off hoping not to make it a competition between what I currently gamed, TM Speedblades, and these, but it just didn't happen. A month into the test and I was putting them against each other. Sadly to say I loved them equally and can’t pick a winner. I will say with 100% honesty that these clubs are very nice and I think anyone from 10ish handicap up would really like these clubs and at the price point, you really can’t compare them. Looks (9 out of 10 points) I really love the look of these irons from the top. If you look at the bottom, you’ll notice a wide sole that may put you off. So to fix this, I didn’t swing the club upside down In my opinion you can’t see it from above or when addressing the ball. For looks I give it 9 only because the sole will be noticed when the club is in your bag and it may make you think bad things, like why is this shovel or hybrid in my bag. Rest easy, you’ll be fine. Sound & Feel (8 out of 10 points) These irons sound crisp when hitting the sweet spot and as expected, off center hits have a different sound. Not clicky just not the pure sound you are supposed to hear. They are forgiving on these mishits and feel really good during the swing. The club feels well balanced to me and if you ever sliced butter with a knife, then you know how these clubs feel on well hit shots. Basic Characteristics (17 out of 20 points) When I first started testing these irons, short irons were the first ones to get dialed in and to be honest I’m still having issues with the long irons, 4-6 but that isn’t the irons, that’s me. I injured my knee at the beginning of the season and since then I’ve swung the club to try and protect and guard against the pain and not put so much torque on my knee. This has caused a bad over the top path and we all know what happens then. Distance, I had a mixed bag. I figured with the jacked lofts it would mean and increase in all my irons, but it didn’t happen that way. I did see an increase in some and none in others. My trajectory is usually high because of a flaw in my swing and I’ve learned to play to it. I didn’t see any difference in the ball flight compared to the Speedblades. Just nice high long shots that would go a certain distance then drop from the sky like a duck shot during the season. Some will understand that metaphor. At my skill level, working a ball and controlling a ball are accidental not purposeful. But I’d like to say that once I got used to how the ball would react I could depend on the flight and dare say “control” it. Maybe you noticed my post earlier about making a bird from 103 yds with the wedge down at Ole Miss. I’ve had on more than one occasion some very nice shots. Was it the club? Me? Ball? Dumb luck? Who knows? On-Course Performance (25 out of 30 points) This is where it all matters; I’ve mentioned the good and what to me could be bad. Playing with confidence is part of golf and if you have it then you’ll likely play better. After a week or so in my hands I was oozing confidence with these irons and didn’t worry about what would happen.Sometimes with new clubs you’re hesitant on pulling the trigger to use it in a pressure situation. With the Tommy Armour irons, I wasn’t worried. I just pulled the trigger and let it go. With these irons, what pleased me the most is the ease of getting used to them and how smooth they feel when playing from various lies. On the other end of the spectrum is the lack of customization. I mean you get what you order and ordering options are very limited. Here lies the curse of a big box store selling golf equipment. You really can’t have it your way, you have to have it their way for the most part. Final Performance Comments: Overall, how did it perform? These irons performed great for me and I really enjoyed hitting them Did it help improve your scores? By how much? Not really improve, but with new sticks in your hands, it didn’t hurt me either How, if at all, did this product change your overall impression of the OEM? It really opened my eyes to Tommy Armour and I could only imagine how clubs built by them really performed during the companies peak. What feature would you change or eliminate from the next generation of this model? Find a way for the consumer to get them ordered with more options, ie grips, shaft options. What features do you really like, and would most like to see continued or evolved in future models? Love it as is, don’t change a thing except to give the golfer some options Miscellaneous (5 out of 10 points) Here is where DSG is lacking and needs to improve, but the lack of grip or shaft options really hurt in my opinion. Then again, maybe these irons are marketed for golfers who care about this and stock is good for them. If that’s the case, then one of us doesn’t know the golfing audience like we think we do. Play it or Trade it? (17 out of 20 points) I will play these irons for the time being and will continue my search for a grip I like. Then will re-grip these again (3rd time) and hopefully the last time until the grips are actually worn. Conclusion My conclusion on these irons if you read nothing else is if your a mid capper or high capper and are looking for something new that won’t bankrupt you, then really look hard at these irons. You will be surprised and if able to demo them, please go do so and compare them to your own. Final Score: (81 out of 100)

Absolutely they play at another level... like sea level (us) and stratosphere (them).

Thanks Rick. Was a stray from what we can tell. Has really coarse hair. Most interesting dog at the shelter. Ran right to our kids. Perfect fit for the family.

got a first look at the putters. I still like the bird of prey. Some notes: 1) the insert did change to a firmer/ louder type of insert. Or at least it makes a louder sound giving the feel of a firmer insert although it may not be. 2) The copy cat thing is kinda funny in that Toulon was part of the design team when with TM so,,,,,,, lets call it an extension of the design. 3) the black line will include some old friends in return of some other designs from popular putters past. stay tuned.

Well... did some tinkering with some lead tape on the irons. Added about 6-7g on the 7, 8, 9, PW. Played this morning and man, huge difference in ball flight. My swing felt much smoother and the ball had no erratic snaps to the left or right. Absolutely loving the difference. Now to try it out with the 5, 6, and AW. P790s, Recoil 760 F3(67g), 6-7g lead tape on the heads. In love with the irons again. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

52/50 - 102; 32 putts, 6% GIR, 33% FIR Is there such a thing as a good 102? Take out my 11 (3 drives straight into a field), a quad and two triples... Felt like I putted and chipped well, but good lord it was sloppy AF out there. Was driving the ball great until the back, then kinda lost it. Approach game was iffy at best. Felt like I was striking the ball well enough to break 90, instead made some bonehead decisions and went triple digits.

Happy wife, happy life. I turned down Winged Foot and Bethpage last summer on a summer weekend...kicked myself but it was the right thing to do. Life goes on.

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Exactly. Options and various prices isn’t bad for golf or any consumer market. There’s a market for Ferrari’s and another for sedans. Neither of those consumers get mad when rolls Royce or Bentley have a new product.

I was doing some research on shafts and ran across this most excellent article by Tom Wishon. My apologies if it's a repeat from a prior thread, but I found it so well written and informative, figured it worth any time in the penalty box. http://www.golfwrx.com/6419/tom-wishon-talking-to-wrx-readers-10-myths-about-shafts-factual-info-about-shafts-to-help-you-all/ I found this statement particularly interesting and perhaps the single most reason club fitting is essential - one companies R-flex is another's S-flex and vice-versa. It is VERY IMPORTANT to understand that such variations are by intent and DO NOT represent a mistake or lack of quality in any manner by these companies. Remember, each company is free to determine their own standards for the actual stiffness for what each flex of each shaft is to be. It is not wrong – it just is the way it is.

I actually like the look at address of the Odyssey more than the TM. Everyone expects all putter companies to have an Anser style putter in their lineup so why should we not expect companies to have different, more modern shapes like the Spider style in their lineup? Odyssey isn't alone in this... @westonmaughangolf via Instagram:

Yea we talked about it this year I don't think many people did until it happened. I was careful in this thread to not run out lol. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk