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Spent the morning with my True Spec fitter Jason in Bend Oregon. We finished a little after noon, so I went back to the condo and picked up my wife and we played 18 holes at Eagle Crest Resort outside Redmond, Oregon... on no lunch!! Absolutely beautiful day!! Shot a mediocre +11, but was only +3 on the back nine. I had a very hard time reading greens and getting the speed correct... no time for practice on the putting green!! We finished at 5pm, just in time to see the deer come out. As we rolled around to the cart return, I counted 12 deer in the driving range... could have been more, many were lying down.

Played River Marsh in Cambridge, MD at the end of our quarterly meeting with my boss's boss and two low handicap sales reps. Nice course, but very wet, lying hard against the Chesapeake Bay. Front nine was a scramble, and my team underachieved at -4 (I was the C player), but no team scored well, so we took that. We played our own balls on the back, where I managed a nifty little 38 and got into the pocket of one of the reps. Overall a nice day.

Post work 9 at Navy Marine with @yungkory. 41, 22% GIR, 29% FIR and 13 putts. It was my first time playing in almost 3 weeks since I tweaked my back lifting so all in all I’m pretty pleased. There weren’t many ‘WTF’ shots and my chipping was surprisingly good. Looking forward to playing 18 this weekend!

41 3/7 FiR 3/9 GiR 17 Putts =\ Struggling off the tee the past two rounds losing shots mostly to the right, and can't make a putt!

First time out after full bag fitting and with new Ping irons... Must say - I'm pretty pleased.... still getting used to the distance differences on the new irons but had a good round overall (for me!) 38/41 - 79 12/14 fwy (I was pretty shocked when I added these up!) 9/18 GIR (could get better once I get more familiar with the iron distances) 34 putts (no 3 putts! can only get better from here...) 8 bogies 9 pars 1 birdie My game is pretty boring - I typically don't get really big numbers (i.e. doubles and triples) and I don't make many birdies... hopefully with the new irons I'll get a bit closer to some pins. I did get on in 2 on a par 5 with a very nice 5i from 190... missed the eagle putt but fun to have a chance!

Great fall day for golf outside of Leicester, MA at an old farm called Kettle Brook designed by Brian Silva. Mother nature was putting on a show...end of the leaf peeping season but some of these pics don't do it justice... I knew that my new bag and clubs would be a good match but didn't realize that it would also match my push cart! One of my least favorite shots.... Severely downhill I was a good 30-40 feet above the green here.... 77 yards... wind in my face. I couldn't hit a normal wedge so I end up having to hit a short punch shot - I rarely practice these and they're all feel. I was able to pull this one off - hit an 8 iron and rolled the ball onto the green. Ended up at the red dot on the back left where I two-putted for par. One of the longest and most demanding par 3's in all of New England. 230 to the center, pretty much all carry, uphill and if there's any wind you better be ready. I hit a knock down 3 wood (on a par 3!) and ended up pin high but way right.... This is looking from the tee box - pretty intimidating because they put a big bunker right in front of the green too. My tee shot looking back at the box... I was playing alone and I typically turn on some Pandora on my phone... I must have had it on the 60s/70s/80s station....

So me and my buddy were playing a round last night at the local club when we got to the 2nd tee box, and I looked over in the trash , and noticed this baby in there... After pulling my jaw back from the ground, into it's proper place, we stuck this baby in our cart, and commenced to continue our round. But by the next hole I noticed that the grip was leaving marks wherever it went. No problem, it needs a new grip, but seriously, who would just chuck a perfectly good putter? So we wrapped a towel around the grip to keep it from bleeding onto everything else in the cart, and then I took it home. I pulled it back out this morning to take these pictures, and to show a buddy online, to see if he wanted it, because as you might notice from the pics, this is a left handed putter, which is no good to me. (Well, both of my buddies who I showed the images to think that I might putt better left handed but I digress) So rather than chuck this baby, it was suggested that I could donate it to the local first tee chapter and see if they would like it. Certainly costs nothing to ask. Oh, and for you spies who ho gear, this is going for about $25 on ebay, in the right handed model. It has to be re-gripped at minimum, but otherwise, a nice little putter for someone who plays lefty.

Last night my wife wanted to run out and play 9 after she played Bridge all day. Other than being a bit chilly it was a spectacular fall evening, albeit a bit chilly. She had a great 'bump and roll' on this Par 5 within 4 feet of the cup but missed the cup for a par. The fitting and the most recent lesson are paying off for her.

They're here! So lets look at this timeline for a second, I was fit on Sunday afternoon and the clubs were at my door tonight when I got home from my football game. They were built, packaged and shipped all within FOUR days! I couldn't be more impressed with PING right now. That was just fast. Now I coach football at my school and we had a game tonight so I didn't get home until after 8. The box was sitting on my kitchen island waiting for me. My wife looks at me and say, "I think those might be your clubs." So just like every teenager at Christmas, I played it super cool, I just gave a reply of, "oh ok" as if it was no big deal. Now inside I wanted to rip the box open and giggle but again, I played it cool. After I scarfed down my dinner, my wife stated that she was going to take a shower and go to bed. This is one night when I was happy she decided to do this so I could play with my new toys. I quickly opened up the box and took a look. The fist thing I noticed when I opened the box was unmarked black neoprene headcovers. Don't judge me, I didn't put them on. So if you use headcovers and you want some, they are all yours lol. I took out the clubs and noticed the clubs felt heavy and firm. That is how I like them. I want my clubs to feel like a baseball bat (it's what I am used to). The clubs were weighted to D4 swing weight so I am stoked. I ordered them with the midsize black and red multi-compound grip to match the black and red of the head. The shaft logo is turned down so at address, I am looking down at just the steel of the shaft. Tomorrow night I will compare the looks of the head to my Mizuno's and provide more pictures.

Pelz has a two page spread of pictures of putter faces with impact tape after 10 or 20 putts of tour pros all the way to high handicappers. The pros impact area was 5% of the area of the high handicappers. If you can hit the same spot every single time, the grooves aren't going to be that helpful, especially if you have hit more putts in the last year than most of us have hit in a lifetime. However, it doesn't take too long before that impact zone really starts to spread. These weekend warriors are the players that will see the most benefit from the EVNROLL. I do not work for EVNROLL, nor do I own one. But I have held one at the store and I slept in my own bed last night.

Thanks...that's my attempt to use MS Paint to indicate where the tee box and flagstick are....

Your style is contagious. I just couldn’t let you have all the fun! Our division is, by far, the most active in this regard so it’s really great to be part of all the activity. Seems like we’re all playing hard and that’s evidenced by how small the spread is in our standings. For science, here’s the division tallies for total trades this year: Berg: 5 Shooter: 3 Stud: 24 (including pick trade) @Undershooter and @Berg Ryman, are your divisions even playing bro?

I was able to get out for my first round with the new sticks... Pleased with the ball flight and trajectory. This is a well struck 5i from 190... the ball lands and sticks pretty well. Still getting used to the new distances and was surprised by a few shots. 4 par threes...parred 2 and bogied the other 2.... Pretty sure I used everything but the 4... I'm going to need to do an iron-only round to really get a good feel for these. Didn't activate Arccos yet; it's a 3 month trial and if I activate it now I'll only get to use a few weeks out of it so I'm going to wait until next year. Hoping to get out at least 3 to 4 more times before courses close shop for the season.

Yep I know--- Back in the day we did in house training and Now I think in SC it is a minimum of 100 hrs to get your firefighting interior structural certificate. I know down here in Horry County SC they are screaming for volunteers. They are going as far as advertising on the local news media and on billboards. I said it 25 years ago when SC built the new fire academy and started upping the requirements that the local citizen Volunteer FF would become extinct.

While I’m sure it wouldn’t work, that would be amazing to see some Arccos hope recap of that event. Looks like so much fun! Idea Fairy: Just to test them out, do you mind submitting that to Arccos to see if they can create a course for the event? They claim that all they need to create a course is a scorecard.

Well , my son’s driver shaft showed up in pieces so today I made the executive decision and got him a TM M2 with a Fuji stiff shat to fit the bill. Kid is now just under 6 feet tall at 13 and I may be fitting him in an X next year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yuck... Bacon Boys 9, 1st couple holes just fine, no problems, hit ball well decent putting then as a foursome we all forgot how to play golf. It was nasty As usual breakfast was fine. One health freak ordered Turkey Bacon. I think he has a doctors appointment Monday. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I stopped using my Arccos shortly after our contest ended. It was nice to finally play a few rounds without having to look at my phone every hole to make sure shots were captured and the pin was moved to the correct location. I have an Arccos Link on pre-order so I'll probably wait to pick it up again until that gets shipped next spring. I probably only have one round left this year. Recently the high temps have been stuck in the 40's with frost on the ground in the early mornings. My last round of the year is scheduled for Nov 2nd in a Cross Country Shoot-Out. They turn the 18 hole golf course into a 9 hole, 6000 yard par 52 course. It's a little strange cutting across holes to play different greens but it was a ton of fun last year. Hopefully it doesn't snow that day.

The Mizuno shaft optimizer is a plastic device that is attached to the shaft of a club, in this case it was a Mizuno iron. I had to take three swings with this club and with each swing the Optimizer was able to record: swing speed, tempo, how much load I put on the shaft at the top of my transition, toe angle and lie angle. Once you do all three swings, the Optimizer spits out a list (about a dozen) of shaft options for you in numerical order with number one being what it thinks will be the best performing shaft for your particular swing. It recommended the Dynamic Gold 120 X100 shaft for me. I would have never picked that shaft for myself, but after trying a few, that one felt the best and gave me the most consistent ball flight. I tried the Modus (shaft that I game) and I could feel the shaft loading in my transition. I could not feel load in the DG shaft. I like that better. I want the feel of just one stiff board as I swing (I am probably in the minority here).

Awesome stuff! Love your test plan. Can you please provide your street address - there are a few of us spies who would like to come over and use your indoor range .

My Story …. Golfinnut … Yep, that’s me. The infamous sarcastic, sometimes irritating Golfinnut. Some of you know me & have even played a few rounds with me. Those of you that have, know that I’m a decent golfer that can hold his own on the course. I despise slow play & also despise playing like crap. I can shoot anywhere from 68 to 88, depending on the day and to which swing I bring to the course that day. I like to have fun on the course. If you have a horrible shot, I will make sure you know it with a few sarcastic remarks. All in fun of course. I don’t do it to harp on anyone, I do it to lighten the mood & to not be so stuffy on the course. Some people enjoy the light heartedness brought to the group but sometimes there are some who find it irritating. I normally figure out which pretty early. LOL But trust me, you will hear some somewhat colorful commentary about my own play throughout the day. You will be smiling & just saying “what did he just say?” Most of that colorful commentary isn’t for everyone’s eyes here, so I’ll leave it at that. I’ve been playing this lovely game of ours for over 40+ years. My father started me when I was only 4 years old (yes, do the math, I’m pretty old!) with some clubs he cut down for me. I would swing out in the yard and as I got older I would play on weekends with him and his buddies. By the time I was 10 years old, I was beating him & taking money from his friends. I would have to give them strokes but I still won the money. I continued playing religiously all the way through high school and college. The lowest my cap got was a 2 back in high school but that was when I was playing or practicing every day of the week. I had nothing else to do except that. I wanted to be the best on my team and beat the best on the course. I became dedicated to getting better and better every year. Then as what happens to all of us, family & work obligations took over. And so declined my time I could put in to my golf game. I still made time for it at least once a week, but my game still suffered. But as with anything else, I found a way to keep at it. As I’ve aged, I’ve learned to appreciate what little time I must dedicate to the game by not getting as frustrated as I did when I was younger. Knowing full well I don’t have the time be as good of a player, I just take what the game gives me day to day. What makes me love the game? The test of your mind & your ability. To actually think your way around a course. It’s just You vs the Course … no team, there is no “I” in Golf either, but the game can really frustrate the hell out of you and bring you to your knees or it can make you jump for joy … all in the same day! What region do I play out of? I’m a northern VA golfer, born and raised here just outside of DC. So, I play in all surrounding states as well. There are probably very few courses I haven’t played in VA one time or another. My golf ball Needs? What I need a golf ball to do? Well first, get in the damn hole! Now how it gets there is another matter. I’m a natural high ball hitter. So, I really don’t have any issues getting any ball into the air. I tend to increase the loft at impact (an issue I’m working out now). So, I need the ball to be of a more penetrating flight, that really bores through the air vs ballooning. I also need the ball to drop & stop when it’s called for. Which is pretty much all the time because I fire at every pin regardless of its location. LOL I currently play the 2019 ProV1 & really like it this year. The previous iterations weren’t all that great, but this year’s ball is fantastic. It just has the perfect trajectory and “drop & stop” performance that the ball is known for. The Golf Questions My handicap is normally “myself” but if we want a number, it’s usually around an 8 or so. My typical flight is either a straight ball or a slight fade. I’m more of a “point & shoot” type of player. I pick the target and aim straight at it …. Whichever way it decides to move, so be it … I’ll live with a fade or a draw. I don’t play for a certain path anymore. Now when I was younger, I had a natural draw that would just turn on command. As I’ve gotten older, stiffer, & fatter it’s become a fade. My miss is usually a slice. Not an “off the planet” type of slice but one that is still playable. I was hoping the Maxfli could alleviate some of this. I’d like to think I have a great short game. Well more like a scrambling game because I always seem to be getting myself out of trouble one way or another. I have the ability to get up and down from anywhere. At least, I keep telling myself that. My only issue is putting. I’m too inconsistent. One day I’ll have 26 putts, the next 36. The NUT CAVE is full of putters of every make and style. I have yet to tell myself that it’s not the putter but the putt-ee! LOL Maxfli Tour & Tour X CG (Center of Gravity Balanced) I was really impressed when I took out both balls from their simplistic box. The box brings attention to the name Maxfli but nothing really grabbing your attention to the new technology, except small print at the top left corner. Two different color variations … Tour is white while the Tour X is gray metallic cover. The cover of the ball itself feels decent. Doesn’t feel cheap. (when I initially think of Maxfli, I put them in the category with Top-Flight, rock hard cheap balls. That’s one reason why I never considered playing them). Fingernail test done … no real indentions or scrapes. Bounce test …. Done. So, the point behind this technology is to “Point the alignment line towards your target and hit your tee shots longer and higher.” My original thought was “now how is that possible, I’ve been doing that for a long time now & it doesn’t help.” I always mark the alignment line with a sharpie and then align the line on the tee down the target line. It’s just been a habit of mine for a long time, regardless of the make of the ball. So, having to do this as a tester was a no brainer for me. Maxfli throws around terms like “Moment of Inertia” & “Center of Gravity” which when done correctly, is supposed to reduce sidespin & create longer distance and higher flight. Now I’m no physicist, nor claim to be one, but wouldn’t the highest moment of inertia on the ball be at the middle of where the mantle or cover meets the two spheres together? I get it that it has to do more with the core than anything else but still. Now we all know of the “line” at which the two spheres of the cover of the ball meet, right. I’ve always harped on manufacturers that didn’t put the side stamp exactly on that line. Which brings me to the question, how do they decide where the highest moment of inertia is on the ball to put the stamp? Is each ball gone thru a myriad of testing, forces put upon it from all sides, etc to find this mysterious MOI or COG? The Center of Gravity is officially the place in a system or body where the weight is evenly dispersed, and all sides are in balance. Now how is that accomplished in a golf ball? Especially when the alignment aid is put on the ball in any random spot? I would think that all sides would be in balance at the meet point of the two spheres, as I spoke about above. But hey, I’m no physicist or engineer, so maybe someone can clue me in. But on to more important discussions …. Now I do like the feel of both balls off the wedges just chipping around the yard. After 100 or so chips back & fourth, even with my dog interrupting by retrieving a few Tour’s, the ball seems to be still ready for play. Barely an abrasion to be found. Putting … good feel off the putter face on the indoor mat. Now comes the real test on the course. Will I be able to control the distance with both? Yes .... both balls perform equally well on the green. The X seemed to have more of an audible click to it but not overly harsh. Does It Go Further & Higher? This is going to be a fun test. I really want to see if this claim is true, just by “pointing & shooting” the alignment line to the target. That’s the way I play golf anyway, so it won’t be hard. I’m going to test both balls side by side, along with my current gamer. Now I hit a high ball naturally, so it may be hard for me to decide if it goes any higher. But I will notice the distance difference, if any. I’m going to be anxious to see if there is a lack of sidespin on any of the shots … cause straight balls are a good thing, but just hard to hit. Not having any preconceived notions, I think I will probably like the Tour X ball a bit better, just because of the layer difference, from 3 to 4. edit ... they do go higher! I'm a high ball hitter as it is. But these ... wow do they go high! Especially on the short irons. If you get the distances dialed in, you can potentially fire at any flag cause they stop on a dime coming in at that decent angle. Yikes! I love ball testing! The story continues ….

What a spectacular Oregon fall day. I was up in the Cascades exploring waterfalls yesterday and was wishing my clubs were in the truck especially when I stopped in to Tokatee to take a peak.

As I outlined in my initial post, I am taking an approach that blends on course performance and indoor launch monitor analysis to test the balls. Today was a launch monitor day. I am limiting the number of shots that I take in the sessions to remove performance issues due to fatigue. Using SkyTrak and my set up in the garage I added about 30 shots today brining the total so far up to ~300 shots. Once outlier shots are removed I have about 100 shots right now that are in the analysis. Using 4 test groups; Control, ProV1, Tour, and TourX what I am looking for is if the claims of this ball having a higher ball flight are true. I also want to see how both my current ProV1's compare to the test balls and control group. Before I draw any conclusions I do want to increase the population of the analysis dataset. What would you be looking for out of the ball you play when it come to the launch monitor? Total Distance? Amount off line? Apex? Decent angle? Spin rates? Let me know and I will be sure to pull those datapoint into my analysis.

I didn’t mention it prior but I had to take a little over a week off because of an infected bug bite (IV antibiotic followed by a week on a heavy duty oral one.) I hit about 40 balls late today, mostly 7 irons, 2 7 woods and 3 5 woods, the sun wore me down quickly. In fact I feel like I spent the day on the beach in the middle of the summer tonight. It’s going to take a few days to get this out of my system. The bite site looks great! So so hitting balls but that was to be expected. Going to try some chipping and putting tomorrow. It’s really hot for this time of the year, even in Florida. There’s no relief in site. :( Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Very nice job guys, I’m enjoying the read. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I’m very disappointed in it right now. However I really like the presentation of the stats much better than ShotScope. I’m hoping Arccos will start working properly soon so I can give it a proper head to head against ShotScope.

I totally agree about the shoes, very comfortable, great grip and completely waterproof. Everything you could want performance wise and stylish too

You guys were onto something with the F9. It has been an accuracy hog. I have loved it since it has been in the bag. I have tried both an Evenflow black and the stock Atmos Blue, with varying degrees of success. When my swing is on and I can get after it, the Evenflow is a great shaft. At the moment, though, it has taken a back seat to the Atmos and I think that may ring true for the duration. Tour spec model is almost perfect at 44.5". I would share some Arccos stats, but arccos as been anything but reliable for the past few weeks. When I first started all was great with a small learning curve, had my apple watch rocking in place of shot scope. Out of the blue, the apple watch combo won't track the whole round. In fact, it recorded shots on 9 of 18 holes my last time out(1-8, 18) and missed shots on those 9 holes (yes, my phone was in my pocket). Now onto the Pumas, these are without a doubt the best golf shoes I have ever had on my feet. The ignite foam is holding up extremely well, even with walking most of my rounds. Even the occasional jog hasn't depleted the foam. The rubber soles grip the heck out of the turf with 0 slipping in wet and dry condition. They have kept my feet bone dry in morning rounds and they still look relatively brand new. On top of all of that, they provide very good support throughout the swing. I cannot recommend these shoes enough.

She’s off to a good start! Great job Dad! Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Thought I would dust this thread off for an update. I have been "tinkering" with my driver (and maybe my swing) and trying some new settings. Having put the heavy weight to the front for a low spin setting I then thought I would drop from 10.5* to 9* to see what would happen. Well that experiment lasted 2 weeks. All I could do was hit fades and cuts with the occasional huge hook. My driving went down the toilet and so did my scores . So I finally put it back to 10.5* and BAM my draw was back baby. It's amazing to me how such a small change can have such big ramifications to your game. It also re enforces to me that we should leave the tinkering to the experts, get fitted and leave it alone!!

Thats hilarious- I didnt even see the dog until I read some replies and looked back at the picture- maybe I have the brain of these birds!

I bought her a fun little Top Flite set that she can grow into progressively as she's learning and growing. D, 3w, 5h, 5i - 8i, PW, SW, and putter. I've taken all of the clubs out but the hybrid, PW, SW, and putter as they're just too big or she's not ready for them yet. I purposely bought a set big enough so when she choked all the way down, the butt would touch her belly button and stay touching through the swing. Almost like body rotation "training wheels". When she grows bigger and works her way back up the grip, hopefully she'll have a decent rotation grooved in. So throughout the round I would sett up little "win" shots for her i.e. would drop the ball 10 yds from the green and let her feel what it's like to chip and land on the green and then finish with her putter. Also set up some hybrid shots from 30 yds out, let her hit her hybrid off the tee box from a tee to feel like she's driving the ball, etc. She was having some consistent contact with her PW so I thought to add this little element of intimidation. She aced it! Hopefully this year we'll be getting her into a Jr. league with some real instruction and can post more of Kaylen's progress here ala @GolfSpy MPR and his little guy Kirke

Struggled on the front nine playing bogey golf shooting a 44. Turned it around a little bit on the back and shot 39 for an 83. Good news is that the hip muscle, while sore, didn't hurt during the swing.

Let me begin with a huge thank you to MGS and Maxfli for giving me this opportunity. I am a golf nerd. I have not always been a huge golfer. I started playing about 10 years ago, but was a 5-10 rounds a year guy. Back when I was younger I dabbled in most sports. As I’ve left my twenties, I find the desire to compete and give everything to a sport has not dwindled. Enter golf. I am fortunate to coach high school golf in Southern CA, and am entering year four of that job. Being the insanely competitive person that I am, I am constantly doing research to find ways to help the team (and myself) be more successful. I want to know how every aspect of every club works, what grass types can do to ball flight, how each part of the swing impacts the end result we see on the course… Like I said. Golf nerd. Learning about golf balls has been a big part of the process for me. I’m at a point where I’m trying to zero in on the ball I am going to play moving forward. I’m really down to ProV1 (which I really wanted to not be, it's just such a good ball) and Snell MTB. I have yet to try the Srixon, but that is for another day. Due to budget, Snell MTB is the current choice of the two. What I’m looking for in a ball is one that feels consistent off the tee, holds a line with long irons, and I can spin on the green when I need it. In essence, I want a durable ball that is low spinning with a penetrating trajectory off the tee, but is workable around the green. A little about my game. I can hit the ball a mile, but cannot manage to pitch a shot 15 feet. I practice short game incessantly, but it just isn’t where I can get up and down consistently yet. My driver swing speed is up around 120 mph, so I’m definitely a longer hitter. I tend to hit a higher ball, and my miss will typically be a fade. Every once in a while I get a dead pull, but those are becoming less common as I improve. I’m currently sitting around a 14 and trending downwards. Bad days are in the low 90’s of late, good days in the low 80’s. I’ve hit 80 on the nose a few times, but just can’t manage to crack into the 70’s! It is coming though, I can feel it. The Maxfli Test (and what many may be scrolling straight to, because who cares that much about my story?!) Given the current trajectory of my game and my desire to find an affordable golf ball that I can stick with, I am thrilled to be able to participate in this study. A golf ball that is designed to go straighter along its center of gravity, with a urethane cover, and the never ending pursuit of comparing to PROV1?! Sign me up! As I awaited the arrival of the Tour and Tour X balls, I took some time to do some background research. From what I could tell, the idea of the ball is that it is low spinning off the tee, feels soft, has a mid to high trajectory, and gets some spin going on the green. There doesn’t seem to be much data as to whether or not the CG line impacts the trajectory or line of the shot, so I am excited to see how this works out both off the tee and on the putting green. To answer the question as to how they stamp the ball, Maxfli claims they locate the CG and put the stamp there. When the balls finally arrived, I opened them up like a kid on Christmas. The packaging of the box is sleek and simple, a win in my book. The balls themselves feel great, like a premium ball should. The covers do not seem to show any imperfections, and the ‘CG’ line is a nice touch for alignment. Having my name custom embossed on the ball was an awesome surprise, hopefully no one finds one on the course… My only gripe so far is the Maxfli logo. To me, it is the only part of the ball that doesn’t look ‘premium’. Now that I have had the opportunity to play a few rounds with the ball, I am even more excited to dig into the test. You’ll have to check back to see why, but in my small sample size the results have been fascinating. I’ll be sure to track stats as closely as I can, I think they’re going to be quite intriguing. I want to make sure my review is a comprehensive as possible. To this end, I will do a variety of tests. Epsom salts have been purchased. Water testing eminent. Will the CG line be accurate for all of the balls? I’ve already seen a few questions pop up about this one! Par 3 challenge! We have a great par 3 course nearby, so I want to see how the balls respond inside 150. I’ll keep track of launch, spin, and trajectory for every shot. Obviously, I will have to test out the CG line with the big stick as well. Will it go straighter? Further? I can’t wait to find out! Love to hear any questions you might have, I will do my best to provide answers!

I first wanted to thank everyone who made this happen. I am excited to test these golf balls because I have never used them before. Up until this year my golf purchases have been based on brands/advertising more than anything. This is the first year I have started to look at performance more than going with what is said to be the best. Professionally I lead a strategy & analytics team for a major risk management firm as well as being an adjunct professor for both masters level and doctoral programs. I am looking forward to bringing my research, data and strategy skillsets to this testing. My Game- I started golfing as a kid, but never really got into it as an adult, other than social settings. About 5 years ago I decided to get back into the game and played 30 times that year, after probably playing less than that in all years previous combined. I had sold my old clubs, so I was really starting from scratch when I went out to buy everything I needed, not really knowing how to best get fitted for the right gear personally. After a few years of about 30 rounds a year I took a few years off due to a lot happening in my personal life. This year was the year to get back into the game, and I currently have just over 60 rounds in. As I’ve been getting back into it, learning more about the mechanics and adjusting my swing throughout the season, my handicap has averaged out to be high, currently 22. As some of the regulars I play with on the weekends say I am actually a 10 handicap on 1/3 of the holes and a 30 on the other 2/3’s. I’m looking forward to getting more consistent as I work on my swing in the off season to get my handicap average lower and lower. What I look for in a ball is consistency and feel. Since I am not a very consistent player, I need my ball to be, so it takes one variable out of the equation. I am not looking for more yards or a pillow-like soft feel but a ball that feels firm off the clubface and builds confidence with its flight shot after shot. The ball is one thing you can have control of consistency in this game, especially for someone like me who is still getting the mechanics down and getting rid of old habits that feel better but don’t have the accurate follow through. I have played a lot of balls over the years but only this year did I start to focus on one. My wife got me a few dozen ProV1’s this past summer, and it was the first time I had those to play with. I like the feel compared to other, less expensive, balls that I have tried, but I am not sure how much of that is the ball or psychologically knowing it’s a “nicer” ball. My Plan- Being that I am a person who focuses on where strategy meets analytics, I approach most everything at the intersection of art and science. I am approaching this ball test the same way. My overall analysis will be based on both things such as feel, appearance, on course performance, and gut reaction, as well as hard numbers. For the hard numbers this is my plan: using my SkyTrak to test 4 categories of balls; shag bag, current ball, Tour, and Tour X. The shag bag is the control group made up of old practice balls, found balls, my mom’s annual Christmas gift of Top Flights (and other low-cost balls). This group will help identify how both the balls I have been playing and the test balls perform. My current ball is the ProV1 and the other two groups are the test balls. Looking at distance, yards off line, and spin rates will provide a good fact base about how the balls perform. Using statistical analysis and outlier detection will help zero in on the performance of the ball and control for me as a variable. Data collection will span most of the testing window to build a large sample size for this analysis. All shots will be taken with my indoor set up and hit with my practice 6 iron. Stay tuned for how the testing is progressing and let me know if you have any tips or questions.

I don't really give it much thought. I suppose I've played so much for so long that I can feel and see the proper height most of the time. I will at times make a quick check by placing my driver behind it after sticking it in the ground with a ball. Teeing it forward and Tee height are two different things. Teeing it forward refers to and means playing a set of tees more forward on the tee box. Not a golf tee.

I seem to have quite the collection of WR: Cooper Kupp Tyler Lockett OBJ Christian Kirk Kenny Stills If anyone in the 'Stud' division has a fair trade for a RB I'm all ears... (PM me on here before sending an offer so that we can negotiate...)

Horrid morning but definitely not clubs fault. Hit the ball fine first few holes and just lost my tempo/swing. Only good part is my ball height, launch angle is coming back. Attributing this to Sr shaft. Monday new day, work in tempo/plane maybe tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Tour Edge HL4 #4 iron-wood. Have had a gap in my set makeup b/w the 6i and the 4H .. can't really hit the 5i consistently; have tried a few different hi-loft hybrids along with the Ping Crossover, with which I've had an on-and-off relationship .. so decided to trial the HL4 #6i-w (only option available; $40 and can return it for full refund w/in 30 days). Took it right out to the course, had a shot where I could give it a good test (150ish uphill from the left rough, ball a little below the feet) and the shot felt solid and hit the front-left corner of the green. OK! That exhaustive test completed .. I went and ordered the #4 (don't call me impulsive...); took it to the range yesterday and dare I say I feel like I've found "it" that I've been missing. A solid strike seems to go exactly the distance I was trying to fill, and a mishit, while of course will lose distance, still flew straight enough. Also hit the 6 hybrid and 5 Crossover that have shuffled in and out of the bag and this new HL4 iron-wood is definitely the better choice for me!

I had my first surprising result last night. I've just finished the first round of testing with 4 of my 6 putters. The current standings: So last night I put my EXO Indy (with its DIY shaft and Gravity Grip) through round 1. It scored pretty solidly in every category; the 18 Putt drill score could easily have been higher, as I burned a bunch of edges. The most impressive and surprising result was in the Straight Putt drill with the PuttOut gate. Not only did I make 8 of 10, but I had one miss left and one right. But contrast, the three putters before the Indy combined for 12 misses out of 30, with every single one being a pull. A fluke? A pattern? We'll have to see!

Only a few days left on this True Spec fitting special. Anyone close to Bend Oregon, I highly recommend scheduling a fitting with Jason. He's a great guy to work with. I'll be posting more about results when I get home this weekend.

Today, I loaned my Wilson testing irons to another lady golfer to try out . So far after one round, she likes them and how they feel. Like me, she especially likes the graphics on the soft grips that help her line up the club face. She's going to keep them for a couple of weeks then I'll post her comments.

You’re in Horry County!? Good buddy of mine is a boss on the water rescue team. He loves working there and he’s said the most difficult task they face is losing guys to City of Myrtle Beach for better pay. I agree with you that the writing is on the wall. The stronger tax bases will survive, I’m interested in how smaller towns and rural areas will get by with their fire protection.

Oh I am really enjoying the Mevo. It "solidified" and brought piece of mind that all my Driver SS range test sessions were confirmed and I could/can in fact average 114mph with one of my drivers, over 18 swings and this was swinging and playing ON THE COURSE (which I think is important, not a "range ripper swing). It also showed me (and confirmed) I do in fact swing my OTHER heavier driver slower but my efficiency is higher. I say all this to say: the Mevo is alot of fun. I've just now begun to use and identify that the driver I swing the fastest in fact has a crappy ball speed and carry. Whereas my other driver I swing slower is better in both even though it is down on SS. So, I'm starting to work on how to marry the 2...........so this year instead of just focusing on SS like I did last year, my goals are moving to ball speed and carry goals to better match my speed. Second and only other reason I got it was to work on nailing down carry numbers for 1/2, 3/4 and full wedges through the bag. Mevo does not reflect a Total D number, so given your comment above you might keep that in mind, it only gives carry.

Enjoyed scrolling through your pictures, until I came to the ones with your outfits, which immediately melted the pixels of my laptop screen.

I didn't have time to listen/watch the entire video above. Their stuff is generally pretty good but too long I think. Anyway... I don't have a problem with a fitter using a lie board. I also don't believe that fitters should solely rely on electronics. I think the board can be an integral part of any fitting. It's just another tool IMO. I personally wouldn't rely on a fitter that only uses electronics. They can lie as well.

Played a beautiful new course, played it poorly, but one of the top few courses that I’ve had the privilege to play on. Had a very bad ball-striking day, but was proud of how I recovered and ground out some decent pars.

I've got a check-go device that's spins balls. I'm going to spin some of them and see if the alignment line matches the line the check-go finds.

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FED X made a delivery short time ago..... Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy