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Michael Lee, you can only control your play. Play smart, with respect for others and you can carry your head high. Just try not letting the music from others bother you. If you are playing as a single, make sure the Starter puts you with others. The round can be more enjoyable when you meet others from around the world. Be safe, Play golf.

80 (40/40) at Dancing Rabbit Azalea Course in the middle of nowhere Mississippi. I had a 50% off card so it was only $30!!!! One over through 7, proceeded to add an additional 5 over on 8 through 11…… Ugh. Bogeyed 17 & 18 to finish “weak”. Cold day! Was supposed to be sunny and mid 60s, ended-up overcast 55* with a breeze. I had to buy a jacket in the pro shop! I’ve played here three times and I’ve never been fortunate enough to have good weather. I’ll try again… And again. It’s one of the top courses in Mississippi.

I told myself I wasn't going to jump in, but here I am. I'm going to come at this from the perspective of using my current line of work as an example. As some of you know, I'm a legal aid attorney. We have contracts with governmental entities to assist those who can't hire an attorney at cost, instead getting paid through grants and stipends for our time, usually at salary and not billable hour rates. In that way, we are working "for free" for our clients. Now, I mention this not to say that the quality of representation depends on the amount people pay for it, but that the perception is held by some that this is the way it works. Therefore, people who need the help are sometimes less gracious with my time because they feel like I'm a 'public pretender' or not a real attorney. Nothing is further from the truth, but it can be disheartening in dealing with people who treat you as a means to an end and not someone who is investing their time in to seeing them through a difficult situation. It's why I didn't understand when I was starting out why my old boss used to charge a fee for a simple consultation, $50 for 30 minutes (rolling back into the cost for the retainer for her to take the case if you chose to), but now it makes all the sense in the world to me. Present your value and eliminate those who want to take advantage of it for selfish needs. In my opinion, the same goes if all fittings were free. These professionals are taking their time, lending their expertise and skills to you. I worked at a big box store during law school as I mentioned here many a time and was very straight with how limited our fitting process was and our options and where to go to get a fit. I told those people they may have to pay for the fitting, but that the options they would have to chose from would be well beyond our means. I've been fit twice this year for clubs and have paid twice and will be paying a third time in 2022 when I got get new woods at the end of the season. My fitter respects me, knows me, and works with me and he should get my money for cultivating that relationship and taking the time to get me right. I mean, that's my .02 on the thing. Not all fittings should be free and making a blanket statement to paint everyone with a wide brush is never a successful way to actually engage in a meaningful conversation around actual important points in the future of an industry we all love.

i’ll be lucky to get a few more rounds in this year. it’s effectively the off-season, which means it’s time for non golf pursuits. when i started playing last year, i was in the best shape of my life. i've definitely been stronger at times, and leaner at others, but last summer i was the overall fittest i’ve ever been and because of that i’ve had well above average speed since day one well, since then life has definitely gotten in the way. my son was born last september, we sold our house and moved, and i’ve taken on a bunch of added responsibilities at work. this is all to say, it’s been well over a year since i’ve done anything close to what i’d consider training. i’m slower than i was last year. i’d attribute that to a loss of explosive strength and mobility. last year i had 135+ on tap. now i’m lucky to hit 130 and mostly cruise at 122-125. poor me, i know you’re all shedding a tear for me. well, it’s time to right the ship. time to get back to training. ive got about 25lbs to lose to get back to my fighting weight and a lot of explosive power to regain. my goals are lofty: by the time i tee it up next season i’d like to be back at 195lbs and seeing 145mph on my coach’s trackman. last year i set a goal of getting from “brand new golfer” to a 10 hcp in one season and got myself down to an 11.9, so i’m not scared of taking on big tasks this won’t be a thread to track my progress. i don’t have the time or attention span to get in here with training plans and regular updates. i’ll pop in time to time when i remember and when i start to see the needles move. i’ll also answer any questions anyone has for me. i hope everyone has a great offseason and you get out there chasing lofty goals of your own.

Day 2 post surgery for SWMBO going painfully slow but okay for now. Meanwhile I got more steroid injections in my lower back today. So back is stiff and I am moving around very carefully. I think I know why Atty’s sue for pain and suffering….

That’s my personal choice as a Professional Firefighter to refuse any first responder discount. I shop small as much as possible. We are here discussing the topic of how free, hurts many of those small vendors. You do not need to sling insults about me not being worthy of serving this country. I decline 10% off discounts. Shopping small helps that business owner pay their mortgage, and their children’s college. It funds their summer vacation and more important, keeps business alive in our community. 10% discounts in a world with small margins does not help me as much as it hurts them.

Hit balls for the 2nd time since spinal fusion back surgery in April -- last week was the first. Back and core are stronger due to 1 hour stretching and strengthening workouts every day. However, I'm still not fully back...by a long shot. Working with a ½ to ¾ swing length, swinging in rhythm and not forcing anything. Gap wedge was about 10 yards shorter than before, but I anticipated that. Just glad to hit and not feel pain...any suggestions out there as to how I should progress, let me hear it!! I've rehabbed both shoulders before, but not a spine!!

No, it's just poor course design or tee placement. If it's intended to be played by average golfers then it should be set up so that average players can play it. Having said that, players should ensure they play off tees appropriate to their abilities. If I were faced with a 200 yard carry to clear the water, with no option to play out to one side, I'm playing off the wrong tee and should move forward.

Kinda like I told my boss when he put me in the brand new at the time 2015 Mack--- I was in the oldest truck in the fleet ( 2002 Mack) and ran the most miles on a daily basis. That new Mack had 9 different computers in it and it was a manual shift ( 10 speed) they tell me the automatics have 11 different computers. I told him if something went wrong I could not maybe redneck engineer and get it in. The truck I had when I got hurt was a 2018 Mack same set up. Really I did not have too many problems with either one. I had read up on them and had done research on the net. I did outwit the computer on the 2018 one time. Some kind of glitch put it in derate limiting the speed to 35MPH. I unhooked the speedo sensor and drove it back with no speedo. The Mack place replaced several sensors and I never had a problem again. The big boss got a kick out of that last one told someone he had a redneck engineer truck driver that could out wit a computer

Not sure where to post this but thought it was cool that Rick Shiels had some nice comments about My Golf Spy and their testing process vs his own personal reviews of equipment and how they are different. Nice recognition guys! Discussion starts at about 20:55.

Which is funny because the women golfers I've met, my wife included, can't stand pink. But hey, let's put it on everything to denote Women's gear.

What??? Where are you getting this information from? I can go on titieleist website right now and order the u505 or t200 utility without any fitting and can choose any of the available lofts and shafts in their matrix. I don’t know if any brand that requires a fitting to order their clubs including XXIO.

I'm old enough and have been married long enough that I have given up on looking better naked. The sole reason I do any sort of workout is to benefit my golf game.

Fun topic! I do struggle with the size of the "Snell" logo. It seems as if it's everywhere on the ball. I play Bridgestone "almost" exclusively, and I do like the solid "B".

Older thread, great topic. I haven't played Titleist balls for 50 years because the Titleist script always looks crooked to me. Just can't set the ball down and make it straight. Even when I hide the logo by turning the ball to a white space on top, I "feel" the crookedness of the logo script on the bottom. I also have wedges that my eyes just cannot square up--put that with a Titleist ball and it's a really bad day.

Ball flight is high doesn’t say anything. Alot of golfers think they hit it too high and some don’t hit high enough and others the height is good. Describe what the ball does once if reaches its apex? Does it balloon and fall out of the sky or does it continue to ride it then have a normal descent? Two way miss could be the shaft but it could be swing fault as well. Also possible that the shaft is causing the two way miss but without seeing swing and/or launch monitor numbers it’s all a guess. The bad news is that getting new clubs would be the only way to fix the feel that you don’t like. Other bad news is that nobody can recommend the exact shaft you would need and getting fit is the best way to go

After using the system for a over a year I now have 257 rounds captured by Arccos, 18,700 shots. What the Arccos system has allowed me to do is get a much clearer picture of my golf game. What does having a better understanding of your golf game give you? 1. Now I know realistically how far my clubs go. I make better club choice selections and hit more greens. 2. Now I know how often I use certain clubs. I have made changes to my bag based on this. There were yardage gaps. A couple clubs needed to have their lofts tweaked. A couple clubs weren’t being used because I didn’t have confidence in them or they were a poor fit for me and for the course I normally play and were replaced. 3. Knowing what my strengths and weaknesses are and where my lost strokes come from has redefined how I practice and play. I spent the last year reading Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible and Putting Bible and putting the new knowledge in to play based on what Arccos showed me I needed to work on. Putting and Chipping are now my two greatest strengths. 4. Post round reviews and looking at the online dashboard really shows what your tendencies are after a short while of using the sensors. 5. The Caddie feature is great to use when playing unfamiliar courses or to map out your strategy for playing a course that you want to play better on. Any type of effort you put into capturing information about your game will give you good insights. What I like about the Arccos system is that it is the easiest system I’ve used so far and the insights have been the most actionable for me.

Pro Launch Red for me. It turned my G10 from a balloon factory to a laser maker.

Exactly, is golfers have fragile egos about the game. Just try to convince us we don’t hit it as far as we think

**** i don't want to make this into a debate on whether the purchase of the machine was worth it or not for my current build and future endeavors**** My MOI machine has arrived. Got it calibrated and started take some measurements of my optimized 8 iron, but haven't made it any further yet.

Yellow Ball has started his voyage to the southern half of the country. I'm allergic to blue balls. But although I already had some visits, I am currently on tour for the wounded warriors of golf program. I am doing some motivational speaking to get my fellow YB's ready to get back into action to help the golfers of the world practice their passion.

Here is my entry into the ugly putter category.... complete with duct tape! Although the way I've been putting lately it wouldn't hurt to give it a try!

Love MGS, but it’s foolish and irresponsible to make a blanket statement that all club fittings should be free I made it through less than half of the podcast before I had to shut it off. Kudos to Ryan for trying to explain his point thoughtfully. I wish I could say the same for the MGS side of things And a big eye roll to the Free Fitting T-shirt tweet sent out. Not a good look

There are golfers that bring beer from home? I'm shocked. Shocked, I say.

...I am doing some motivational speaking to get my fellow YB's ready to get back into action to help the golfers of the world practice their passion. I knew you were an f...ing range ball by the way you flew... 25 yards short!! Now I have another excuse!!

Cut the head off the shaft, remove the grip and use it as a Tomato Stake

I've known Ryan for many years as we worked for the same company in the golf business. He knows the golf industry as well as anyone BUT, I will not agree with the idea of totally free fittings. In my 17 years a a Certified Custom Fitter at Golf Town I saw the pendulum swing in several directions regarding fittings. At one time I was doing $100, full bag fittings, and then the company promoted free fittings for 60 days. It was then that the vampires appeared. What is a golf vampire? It is someone who will suck every last drop of information from the free fitting and then rush home to scour the 'net for the best deal on what I recommended based on the hundreds of hours spent on PK's, video sessions and product seminars I attended put on by the OEMs. So in one swoop, fittings had no value as I could have sold $500-$1000 of gear in that hour to a customer who was ready to buy. To be sure, many customers honestly took my advice and bought from our store and that was much appreciated. When something becomes "free", it has little or no value.

AND .... you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, right? ROTFL

i’m adding this to the shaft testing stable this winter. Grafalloy Tour XX.

What we have here gentlemen is the inability to have fun at this wonderful game. At 75 I feel bless to be able to go out and actually ride and play with all the medical issues, unfortunately I have, and enjoy myself and play in 3.5 to 4 hours three days a week with my men's senior league (ages 60-93). We have a few Karens in our group also, but not this bad. Their main complaints are about slow play. I am a reformed smoker (stopped cold turkey in 1990 and choose not to play with those who smoke) our guys purchase their drinks from the cart girls and we do not allow cooler on the course. This type of behavior is totally the responsibility of the management of the course should be addressed with them. If it cannot be resolved, recommend changing courses. Getting an ulcer is not the answer. Hakuna matata.

Should all fittings be free, absolutely not. Should all golfers have access to a certain caliber of fitting at no charge, yes. - Adam seemed to continually ignore the business side of the argument saying that he is only looking out for the golfer. If we want to go further down that line- all practice facilities should be free and club manufacturers should allow trade in their clubs when a new product fits them better because- It's best for the golfer! - I am guilty of what Ryan said would happen if fittings were free. I have gone into a big box golf store, spent 30 minutes getting fit for a driver and then left and ordered it through my pro shop or online. - Adam suggested that doing free fittings would lead to increased club sales. According to a previous My Golf Spy article a driver sold at retail for $500 costs $350 for the store to buy leaving them with $150 of profit. If two stores both fit every customer for their clubs but one charges $75 for the fitting, the store that doesn't charge has to sell 50% more drivers to make the same margin. I am very skeptical that free fittings would lead to a 50% increase in sales. - In a scenario where all fittings are free, options are going to be limited- 50 shafts in the fitting cart vs 300 for example. Every fitter isn't going to carry the AutoFlex shaft in their fitting cart for the chance someone is willing to pay for that upgrade. This is why TXG exist: to provide customers, who are willing to pay, access to more options and better expertise. I believe all golfers should have access to free fittings, but all fittings should not be free. There is a difference.

Part will be player dependent. You could gain speed or lose speed depending on how the swing impacts your sequencing. You could get tired at the end of the round and not swing the club as well. The additional total weight to the club may slow how you rotate the club and leave the face a bit more open. You may also want to check the actual weight since shaft weighting isn’t measured the same. A 65 and 75 gram shaft may actually weigh pretty close to the same thing; a 65 gram shaft could actually weight 69 grams and a 75 gram shaft could weigh 70 grams. If the shafts are different brands and models you now get into shaft profile and flex differences which would could significantly impact performance for you.

THIS ^^^^^^

thank you for all your input. i’ve been doing this a very long time, so i’m well past any newbie gains. at 195 i deadlifted 625 and squatted 545. i was also a nationally ranked oly lifter so i know a few things about explosive power. 5/3/1 and starting strength are excellent resources and i’ve used them both in the past. it’s never too late to go back to fundamentals.

Said no one EVER!

Adam's big point about making fittings free was about reaching more golfers with the fiiting experience and giving them the chance to become better, sooner, with better equipment. There is a large (to very large) category of golfers out there whom a free fitting might not serve all that well. Nor would a $50 fitting, to use Adam's price point. That category is the flawed swingers. To an extent, until the golfers swing is at least fundamenetally correct (not flawless) the difference in equipment is going to be negligible, no matter what they spend on getting fit for it. Those golfers would get much more return on their first $50 by seeking a lesson rather than a club fitting.

I played from the Forward (Red) tees today. I was going to post this in the How'd you play? thread, but this was purely practice. It was a nice calm day and 50º, and I decided to walk. The tee sheet was full, but my wife was playing with her Ladies group and was about to make the turn when I got to the course. One lady was only playing 9 holes and left, so I joined them. I thought it would be easier if we all played from the same tees. I took all my long clubs out of my bag and left them in my car. Played 4i-LW. The reason I did this was to practice using my Mizuno MP-20 HMBs, and I didn't want to be tempted to use my driver on the short holes. Overall, I shot 38(+3), no birdies, so not as good as I have done from tees further back, but it was a very controlled 9 holes. I hit 6/9 greens (as many as I typically hit playing 18 holes); hence, the 3 bogeys. I ended up hitting every iron except the 6i. All long holes were 4i off the tee, and they were all dead straight, although a couple were not as solid as I'd like. I was practicing Monte's Broom Force drills, and it's starting to feel good. Putting was not great today; the course applied the Blue stuff on all the greens and it affected my speed and line for some reason. I think it's a fungicide; they apply it 4-5 times a year.

You sound delightful. I bet you are a hoot at parties

I think it’s ugly and arrogant. You don’t know why others may be riding. In my case two spinal fusions, three knee surgeries, and psoriatic arthritis. I’m lucky to be able to play. If I had to walk, I probably wouldn’t be able to play, or at least play as well as I still do at 60. I’m glad you have the great gift of a strong healthy body, don’t worry about how others play.

MGS meet-up/outing threads, complete with pics and trash talk, are mandatory .

squat and deadlift. that's the beginning and the end of the list. once you hit a certain strength threshold, adding in accessory movements to support the joints involved can help, but 99% of people never get strong enough for that to matter and waste their time doing "fluff" exercises that don't actually do much.

I understand the goal, I disagree with the premise. The "for free" just stings because I lived through it. After working in golf for a dozen years (a member of the PGA in my final 3) I took a burn to them (PGA of America) pushing free lessons while making a paltry wage. Lesson revenue was a big part of making ends meet and an organization volun-telling us to give free lessons while offering us no true benefits was terrible. Giving away the technology and skills that set certain retailers apart is bad form because it places the entire acquisition and maintenance costs on that shop. If one of the large Mfg's were paying to outfit shops with launch monitors, maintaining them and paying to train employees, I would be a little more inclined to listen but we know that wont happen.

While I prefer to walk (and carry), I ride more than I should for my game and health (it's better for me, and I'm more connected to my game when I walk). So... Dear OP I usually drive a cart and follow the course rules for cart paths/90 degrees as needed for respect to the course I haven't had a knee or hip replacement, though I did get a new pair of Footjoys last month. I live in Houston - about as far south as you can get I don't smoke, though some days you can smell my bad game from 100 yards away I don't drink alcohol on the course My course has a cooler attached to all the carts...so I don't have to bring my own I replace and sand my divots, and others in the vicinity of my own I fix my ball marks and others I see on the way to my ball on the green I rake my traps, and other players footprints while I'm there (more often than I would like) I play faster in a cart which allows me to spend more time making the course and experience better for my fellow golfers I DO zoom around the course when there is nobody holding me back and can play 18 in 2.5 hours on occasion... but also have played rounds at 5+ hours when the course is busy. It's golf. I patiently wait for the the 4 walkers in front of me to wave me through when they are looking for their ball in the hazard. I am not a detriment to any golfer on the course... rider, walker or limper While I'm not confident in my game from day to day - I am confident in my etiquette on the course (etiquette for the course AND for my fellow golfers). I am not unique in the above bullets Your comments are over generalized and directed at the few, not the majority.

I think fittings should be free, or at least highly discounted (>50%) IF the person buys a club. If I'm dropping $500+ on a Driver, or $1200+ on irons, that should save me roughly whatever a fitting will cost. FWIW the one fitting I've done was discounted almost to nothing because I bought the recommended driver that day. There are good places out here that already do this.

So i didn't buy this, but just something i found when cleaning out the closet. Didn't think i would ever describe a putter looking like a butter knife, but this does. I hit some putts with this and this putter sucks. It feels absolutely terrible. Feels like i'm putting with rocks instead of golf balls.

ARRCOS relief is spelled 'Shotscope'