Shapotomous

That looks familiar! I had the same pattern show up as a scuff when hitting a clean shot on quite a few balls in the last 5 dozen I bought. I don't see the pattern out of the box like you do though. On mine it seems like the paint comes off the edges of the dimples in that same pentagon pattern. I know they had ball durability issues with what they called higher swing speed players but my driver ss is only 100 at most.

This will be an exciting project to follow! We have a synthetic green in our backyard which like yours has heavy clay, poorly draining soil. Our solution was to create a raised green with a layer of 2" stone topped with a layer of 3/4" stone topped with crusher run topped with stone dust. A swale behind the green catches surface water and routes it to a small waterfall stream beside the green. It has been there over 10 years and works very well, only the heaviest rain has any puddling on the green and it drains away within 30 minutes. Obviously your top layers would be different for real grass but you may want to consider some stone layers at the bottom to promote drainage. I will say this was a great project for us (me!) as it gets a lot of use throughout the year. It is fun to clear it of snow in the winter and hit some putts on a warmish sunny day in February with snow all around you! It has a rubber membrane under the grass layer that can accept wedge shots without bouncing like they hit concrete. So I can practice up to 60 yard shots which gets me to the edge of the trees on the other side of the yard. It was worth the $$ to put in and has cost me less over its lifetime than a boat or motorcycle would have!

Congrats to rhe testers!! Cant wait to see if the shaft adds some yards!!

Lie angle would be affected by the shorter club but not loft.

I start with 6 gamers in the bag and might end up with 3 or 4 that i find that are worthy to keep around.

It doesnt take much to fall back to the pack. A simple slip on some steps (DJ), wrong step in a hole or slippery cart path (BK) can tweak a knee or back and throw the swing timing off. A new baby and family life can take time away from your schedule pretty quick. Or like in Duvalls case maybe dominating the game loses meaning and mentally he checks out enough to become a mere mortal on the course. I dont see anyone making a run at this point and if he does fall back it will be a flavor of the week at the top.

AMEN to the pain management!! My swing changes week to week depending on the physical challenge. The most common due to back issues limiting turn is a trail foot slide and spin that makes me look like Scheffler and Players love child! The other one showing up this year is left shoulder & arm pain that makes a 3/4 swing the max. I just play the swing of the day and aim left to allow for the ugly ball flight to get back on target.

My draws seem to run out more than my fade.

Congrats to the testers and thank you to LAB and MGS for making it happen.

Congrats to the winners for their picks and for excelling in reading comprehension!!

We had some exciting weather this afternoon....the putting green will need some attention from the leaf blower. VID_20240415_160343864.mp4

I wonder what the sports books would do if Schefflers wife goes into labor tonight?!?!?!?!

Yeah...I would wonder what that's like..... Except I'm married!

I don't think Morikawa needs Scheffler to struggle in order to win, he has two majors himself and his iron play can be at least as good as Schefflers. I was looking for his rank in putting this week but haven't found it yet to compare to Schefflers rank at 36 per @cnosil .

I think a certain infamous Odyssey putter would be an appropriate prize for last place!!