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OH BOY! OH BOY! OH BOY! Too bad its not 4/20 cause the Smoke has showed up… Inappropriate? To much?! I didn't get a cool shot of it on the porch because the wife took the Ai Smoke Max D in the house She as excited as I am I think

Adding a couple since I was able to visit Sand Valley last year. Really love their Sandbox (par 3 course) logo: And unfortunately I wasn't able to play their new Lido course but their logo is also pretty awesome:

I love this logo simply because it's a bucket list course for me and would probably eat my lunch, but it's so beautiful!

Love "real" Par 3s like that! Yeah agree those are great practice rounds

Played ok. 20-30mph winds so I worked on lower, penetrating shots. I was successful! I’m liking my improvement. Numbers were pretty high at the start of the season. I still have work to do. But not too bad today!

I'm playing it in October! It'll definitely eat my lunch but I can't wait

My favorite round (really 36) of golf - I was able to get a headcover with this logo on my 7W (favorite course = favorite club). Here are a couple of my favorites: Shorty's (New short course at Bandon) Pasatiempo Brora (playing here next year - absolute top tier logo): Sleepy Hollow Burning Tree

Since I have lived in the Detroit area my whole life, and my Dad worked for an OEM vehicle manufacturer while we were growing up, he had some friends / business associates who were members at these courses and I played both of them with my Dad and brothers a few times over the years. I also worked for a person whose family had a membership at Oakland Hills, and he would take some of the employees who played golf out once a year. Haven't played either of them since 1996 but both are still awesome courses and host PGA and USGA events.

Played 9 this afternoon with my honey; same course / same front 9 as a few days ago... Today was 8 (EIGHT) shots better over 9 holes, for a +9/44. Gold tee 65.6/116/2557 yds. And that's with (count 'em up folks)... a 3 putt a 4 (FOUR) putt 3 (THREE) x 2-chips OTOH I pulled off 3 (three!) up & down Par saves, and had one other 1-putt! Golf #amiright

Got out for 9 holes, plus a couple extras yesterday afternoon at Lochmere Country Club in Tilton, NH which was a blast. Saw 2 other groups on the course the whole time. Started to feel the rust coming off when shoot +3 (38) for the front. Started off hitting 3 straight greens before some iffy drives and missed greens led to the bogeys. Short game needs a bit more warming up to be sure. Driver was hit or miss, I had a bomb on the 5th that plays way down hill, and might have gotten a touch of cart path help. Still was the longest drive that I have hit ever. Also the second drive shown was into #10 a really tough driving hole to avoid the water left but playing right leave a long way in on an uneven lie to an uphill green. This is by far the best drive I have ever hit on the hole, even though it was into the wind rolling out down the fairway.

SO the all-timer is the old Aldila NV 65 in Green green green. Current weapon is the Fujikura Speeder NX Blue... for now. Always searaching.

I saw this Barstool Sports article (forgive me, my friend sent it to me) about the top 10 courses that this guy has played that make other people jealous. These weren't necessarily the best courses to play, but rather the courses that would strike envy into your golf buddies when they see you wearing a polo or hat with their logo on it. This made me start wondering about what the best golf course logos are. It seems like everyone has a different opinion when it comes to their favorite, so I would like to see which logos you think are best! Feel free to just post photos of your favorites and/or give explanations for why they top your list! Here are some of mine (in no particular order):

Not as flash as some of my other posts, but nonetheless recent acquisitions. Maltby Pro Series Ultra Light wood shaft, 44g L-flex. For my Otto Phlex experiment. Avon Chamois jumbo grip. SuperStroke Cross Contact midsize grip. Grips are to test for shock reduction, and overall quality and gripiness as potention Golfpride replacements. Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

Posted my Introduction for everyone to read and see who this selected tester is and what he's been doing so far getting ready for all the Smoke and Mirrors for the Magic on the fairways!

25 Apr update- today was a focus on the Edel 7i day. From long approaches to shorter bump and runs - worked the iron to really get a stronger feel. The club did not fail and showed its stuff especially on 13 (a par 5). Driver off the tee had me about 275 out. As I typically hit a solid 7 somewhere in the 140 range, I figured 7 - 7 and it would be at worst an up and down for par, at best birdie. The iron did not fail as I nailed the third to 7’ left/pin high - the only birdie of the day. Good fun with this club as it was solid in all the scenarios it was is in today…

The Sand Box logo is SO GOOD

Right now I’m loving the Newton Driver shafts! I just took my Velecore to get shortened and tipped 1/2”. I’ll try it out when it’s done. And I still like the Jupiter 1+.

A couple of years ago, I joined some other golf junkies on our forum and participated in an unofficial test of lightweight and flexible driver shafts. For those that haven't read the thread it is called Shaft Hack The Otto Phlex Journey started by @azstu324. At the time I participated in this test, I had a Fuji Ventus Velocore shaft in my driver and 3 wood. Now I have 2 driver shafts: a UST MP5 in Ladies flex and a ProLaunch Blue 45 in stiff flex. Both of these shafts were around $60 and I hit both very well.....enough so that I am not looking for something better. I still have the Ventus Velocore in my 3 wood and I won't be changing that one out any time soon.

Congrats to all the testers, especially my buddy @chisag. I look forward to reading all the reviews.

All things golf and saving money allowed here!!

The difference between me receiving a product to test previously and me receiving my 6th product to test is (not boasting here mind you - showing maturity or so I'm deluding myself) now it is here, how do I set up an unboxing worthy of the product that is creative, unique and interesting to the membership and public who will access my review Previously it was, "oh I will just do it over there" (somewhere within a few strides) and blah blah blah, click click click, whatever. Experience gives me an understanding that the test will take a while, I get in 4 rounds (9 holes) per week on average, and there is only one unboxing so it is worth doing it right - and I have been thinking of what I want to do for a week so far...

Played decent today. Still have a few hole where I hit it out of bounds or blow up for a triple. Shot 94. Had my first birdie of the year. Putted better today also #2

Got out on the practice green for some chipping and putting practice with the brimstone tour bx. The mindset was not working for me on the greens. I was struggling with the arrow pointing exactly where I wanted it to. I don’t use a line on the ball when putting so it doesn’t work for me. I like having the green dot to stare at while putting though, so I started pointing the arrow in the opposite direction and it has worked well for me.

Subbed in a league last night and shot 45 with a 9. A 9! Pin high in my third shot on a par 5 buy in some absolutely gnarly super deep awful rough. First hack was essentially whiff and the ball settled in even more. Hack two results in the classic deep rough hosel grab and a dead left to behind the green where I'm short sided. Tow bad chips and and two putts later and I am on the way to the next tee with a quadruple bogey.

I received my two dozen of Bridgestone Tour B RX Mindset balls today. So, starting next Thursday (my next round) and the month of May, I'll be dedicated to utilizing the Mindset principles (prompted by the graphic) to see what impact (if any) they have on my overall performance. Above, you'll see I played four rounds with a Tour B RX to see how it stacked up against my current go-to ball Maxfli Tour S. The numbers suggest that both balls performed equally as well with the same distance, accuracy and score-wise. That should remove any significant performance number impact by switching balls leaving me to focus on the impact of following the Mindset philosophy. Packaging seemed consistent with every other dozen golf balls packages I've gotten in the past with the exception of the enclosed Mindset card. The 4"x6" card outlined the Mindset general process steps and gave a QR code for applying the principles. Given the previous feedback that participants found some defects, I decided to inspect all 24 golf balls under a pretty intense (and unforgiving) LED light. There was some static attracted debris which was likely cardboard that easily brushed or blown away. Of the 24 balls, I did find two that had a very small nick between three adjacent dimples. I likely would not have seen the very small surface imperfections without the intense light and looking very close to the balls' surface. The nicks were so small, that I couldn't catch the edges with my thumb or fingernail. Given they were difficult to see and feel, I can't imagine they would have a noticeable impact on any of the performance metrics. I found all the Bridgestone printing and Mindset graphics clean, crisp and without defect. Now it's time for a Mindset refresher, find ways to incorporate it into my existing pre-shot routine and head out on the golf course to see what happens.

There's a par 3 course (Robins Nest) about a dozen miles from me. I've always wanted to check it out, but finally got there this morning. It's certainly not the pitch and putt I was expecting, with multiple holes over 200, up to 260, and I only used a wedge off the tee once. The greens were on the slow side, but they rolled quite well. I expected perfectly round greens (seems to be the norm here), but these had some real character, and a few very difficult slopes. Unfortunately, I was epicly bad. There was a slow foursome a few groups ahead (everyone else was singles), so I did some much needed extra chipping and putting on most holes. (There was nobody behind me.) For $9.75 for 9 holes, I'll go back to use it as a good practice site.

Just as the title says.. it's unperfect this game. But im glad you are still gaining confidence and working to get better!

Wtg on the eagle @birdiesandbags !!! Today was a first on many levels for me playing golf... I played a local benefit scramble tournament today and was part of a 4 man team from the PD, just one team of many from work. There were 55 teams total iirc across 8 departments participating. We'll over 200 players. 2 of the guys I work with are newer to golf, and the one is a coworker on my sqaud, they are 25 hcps Avg We started out with birdie birdie, then 1 team mate hit for an eagle. i had 2 natural birdies and a natural eagle!!! 465 yd par 5. Caught the downhill side of what should have been a nasty ob hook, and it kicked right and rolled 30 more yards into the middle of the fairway. 165 to pin, hit a low straight shot with the 4hy, and it rolled 4 feet from the pin. They let me putt for the eagle. We placed 9th overall, but with hcp adjustments took 3rd at the final tally!!! Got my 1st golf trophy too! Since it was a charity event, naturally we bought a few mulligans, and a ton of raffle tickets for bonus things like throw the ball, drop a stroke, etc. We only ended up using 2 mulligans and 3 throw a ball. We had to declare it to the tee Marshall before we teed off on the par 3s ans par 5s. We forgot about the drop a stroke tickets though! One of the guys used a throw a ball ticket after coming up short on a par 3 (186yards) he was 20 feet from the pin, and I came up short too off the drive. He underhand tossed it and it rolled into the cup. While not a technical ACE, on the card it was!!! The DB performed very well, sinking 10 of the 18 holes we played! Overall it was a great day, I'm slightly over heated as it reached 91⁰ out, even though I stayed plenty hydrated. Really didn't have a ton of opportunities for pics. But managed to get a couple in.

Patrick Reed #nuffsaid

I think for me it's Patrick Cantlay. I hate slow play and some of his comments and attitude have just been a turn-off for me. I'm sure a lot of that is media portrayal, but I just don't really care for him. On the other hand I'm a fan of Xander and they're best friends, so maybe there's something to him I'm not seeing.

Wyndham Clark, and it's not that close. I can't stand his arrogance. "They only play 54 holes, so I can catch up." He has clearly been caught cheating with no repercussions. I hate how much his Caddie helps on the green.

If I'm going with current PGA Tour players I think Kitayama. Not even because he has some sort of attitude or anything, but because he has burned me so many times during Fantasy Golf that it just makes it hard to route for.

Tiger Woods. Great golfer but also a very self centered and arrogant person, even though the media portrayed him as some godly icon. Not even a nice person but most people didn't care as he'd been engrained in your minds as synonymous with golf. I never watched golf for years as the only person you could see on TV during a match was Tiger, even if he wasn't playing good, they'd show him over the tournament leaders, over, and over, and over again. Even if your favorite player was in the top 5 you couldn't watch it cause Tiger was on the screen. Really made me give up watching golf for 10 years as how do you follow favorites when they got zero screen time? I see the PGA still hasn't learned this lesson. Thus the rise of tours like LIV where everyone gets coverage. Like who cares what kind of sandwich Tiger was eating.... show me golfers in the hunt!!!!

Ventus Blue 6X. Fitted back in February. Absolutely love it

Oban Kiyoshi Purple, not fit for it but haven't found anything I like better yet

The Mitsubishi Tensei 1K white is such a great one…It paired well with my G400 LST. Great load, feels amazing and has a great dispersion.

The TPT Golf Power Range 18 LO driver shaft that I’m testing and reviewing as part of a current MyGolfSpy testing opportunity is proving to be the most stable, accurate and dependable golf shaft I’ve ever used in a driver. It is also one of the longest as well. Fit by Jon Sinclair in Euless, TX.

Right now, VA Composites Raijin 54, stiff flex, 45 inches Was not fit, just wanted to give it a try and it worked well for me.

Newton 5 dot tipped and shortened to 45” followed by Steadfast shortened to 45”. steadfast in fairway until I can get the Newton 5 dot

What kind of golfer are you? Do you like to warm up a lot, a little, none at all? It seems to be a fine line - too early and you can end up with a full blown range session where you're working on drills and end up in a poor mental state - too late and you don't have enough time to get your mind and body ready to go Are you someone who likes to have a full warm up (wedges/irons/woods/pitch/putt), just likes to chip and putt, walk straight to the first tee like a baus? something else? I personally try to get there at least an hour before but not more than 90 minutes before since I end up hitting too many balls.

Yes, you can shot shape, and it does measure spin. I have only used it on the range, and I have been very impressed with how well it tracks the ball and the accuracy of the distance. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello, Corentin - JMD95 gave you excellent wedge advice. Let me throw in another "loft thought" because I am a proponent of fewer clubs in the bag in hopes of you learning to do different things with your wedges. I recommend a: Pitching Wedge (44-45*) - this would be the PW that comes with your iron set for full shots or for low pitch & run shots. Gap Wedge (50*) - this would be a club used for chipping, low-to-medium pitching and medium-to-long bunker shots. I would recommend a 10-12* bounce for this club. Most companies "standard - S" or "fairway - F" grind works best. Sand Wedge (56*) - this would be used for short, soft chips, medium-to-high pitching, medium-to-short bunker shots and lob/flop shots. I would recommend a 10-12* bounce for this club with a "heel-grind" on the sole so it can be comfortably opened for specialty flops & lobs. PING calls this an "H" grind , TITLEIST it a "D" grind and CALLAWAY calls it a "C" grind. Other companies have similar grinds too. Finally, try to watch some YouTube videos by Seve Ballesteros, as he used to do all of these shots with just a PW and SW and is considered by accomplished players as having one of the most creative and successful short games in modern history. Hard, smart work in this area will pay off greatly! BTW, eBay is a great place to try different used wedges/grinds before emptying your wallet on new ones.

I would have to agree, they did a really good job with the shaping of the putters. How do you think the dual finish looks in real life? Notice any differences under direct sunlight?

I try to start each round with a dozen. I can be a little wild off the tee and my home course has plenty of water, tall grasses and woods. But I recently played a course with fewer hazards and played one ball for all eighteen holes.

Does it give you Left to Right Spin? Meaning Can it show shot shapes?

I cannot recommend that enough! Every course I saw was stunning and I love views on the courses! So mountain courses are worth everything!

Thank you!

I have benefited from many discussions on the forum so thought I will dive in too.

I’d have to go back and look but it will either be the 15th or 22nd. I had the 18th on my mind, but given that is a Thursday, it isn’t that. We’re still working out some of the technical details of the new format, so stay tuned for an announcement coming soon.

Blast Motion is probably your best option if you want an electronic device. You could do iPing, but would have to find a holder for the phone (DIY or try to find one since they are now fitter only items); some will say the phone is too heavy on the putter. IMO, there are only a few things that you need to look at when putting face angle at impact impact location distance control rhythm Depending on who you listen to face angle controls 85-95% of balls direction so you want to get your degree of error as low as possible; path/arc is not very important to look at except as fitting information. Center contact gives you more consistent ball speed and will reduce any possible twisting at impact. Distance control is the most important thing in putting and is difficult to practice in your basement unless you have space to roll 20'+ putts. Consistent rhythm is good for distance control since it helps with getting the same ball speeds for each distance. To measure these things you can use putter gates, ball gates, and a metronome app.