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Bluesman57

 
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Posts posted by Bluesman57

  1. On 3/10/2024 at 5:21 AM, berkeleybob said:

    I’ve had this club for a year, golfed more in the last six months than the first.  DLC coated black finish._DSC0023.jpeg.1cd891ab4ce03d531b74a775ff634139.jpeg

    _DSC0025.jpeg.32010cd34a13a5d966cbc8ea61591013.jpeg

    _DSC0030.jpeg.464712bcb2164a39151bfed40fd6017b.jpeg

    _DSC0035.jpeg.5828a008588b1bcd6fc748cfa618fa03.jpeg

     

    Thank you for posting the pictures. That doesn't look bad at all.

  2. Does anyone have any experience with black coated irons? I'm looking at the Honma Beres Black, which look fantastic new.  But I'm concerned that the black surface will wear off, and of course,  unevenly, which would leave me with some pretty garish-looking two-toned irons sometime down the road.

    The Honma web site states that the black finish is applied using Ion Plating, which itself is a form.of Physical.Vapor Deposit.  All I could find about these is on watch sites and metallurgy sites.  Way too much chemistry for me!  

    So I'm counting on any real world experience that any of youse guys can share.  Tanks!

  3. The place where my swing coach works installed a Quintic system a couple of years ago, and since he knew that I was looking for a putter, offered to fit me for free if I was willing to be a guinea pig.  Umm, yeah!

    I'm a retired engineer, and as such, am a sucker for numbers, gadgets and anything technical.  And man, the Quintic spits out a lot of data! I won't go into everything,  but I had a tendency to miss putts to the right, and I always thought that I was pushing them.   Nope.  The data showed that my path was fine, but that I was leaving the face open, and was imparting a cut spin on the ball.  The fitting turned into a lesson, and we fixed that.  

    I ended up with  Bettinardi BB8-W, in no small part because it got my putts rolling the soonest.   

  4. 19 hours ago, Shapotomous said:

    Slow play is obvious so i will play ready comment and hit my next one!

    I hate course abuse.  Whether it is divots or ball marks there is no excuse for not fixing them other than being lazy.  

    And in the lazy category another thing that i hate to see is carts being taken up close to the green.  The back 9 at the course doesnt have many cart parhs and people drive carts onto the mounds within 10' of the greens.

    Yes, this!  I work maintenance at a local muni, and the abuse of the course is beyond belief.  Unrepaired pitch marks and divots, unraked bunkers, empty beer cans all over the place and yes, carts right up to the collars. 

    And this is only the damage from neglect.  The intentional abuse really ticks me off.  Large, wedge-sized divots gouged out of greens, broken flagsticks, dozens of holes poked into the greens with the flagstick... People are idiots.

  5. I'm shopping for a new set of game improvement irons, and this has definitely given me second thoughts about having Titleist included in the mix.

    Forgot to ask: where are these clubheads made?  As I shop, I'm finding it nearly impossible to find out, but if it's not an expensive Japanese forged head, it almost seems safe to assume that the answer is "China".

  6. My friend told me that a member of his club games the XXIO 12, and had the counterbalance weights in the butt end of one of the clubs came loose, rattling around in the shaft.  Has anyone else heard of this happening?

  7. +1 on clubs depreciating faster than a new car. 

    When I was shopping for new clubs  4 years ago, I asked about how much the shop would offer me for trading in my old set.  I was insulted by a ridiculously low number, so much so, that I just walked out of the shop.  As I told the manager, I'd rather donate my clubs to a good cause than to you.  So they went to a local program, which is similar to First Tee in that it's goal is to open up the game of golf to kids that otherwise would not be able to afford their own clubs.  I also tried to sell some newer clubs here in the MGS forum, but didn't get a single reply in a couple of weeks.  Those also got donated.

  8. 3 hours ago, MNBogies said:

    For me, its place specific. There's a sim close to my house that requires you to use the plastic pyramid looking tees and I've never been able to hit with those reliably. There's another course slightly further that has a Trackman but you can use your own tees and I hit just fine there. Both are pretty much the same size wise but for me I think its the tees (or at least that's what I blame it on to make myself feel better).

    I thought it was just me!  I cannot hit off of those miniature badminton shuttlecocks for the life of me.

  9. I'm looking to replace my 2021 Titleist T300 irons, and have 3 potential replacements in mind. I'm 67, and my driver clubhead speed is now down to 90 mph. I'm recovering from lumbar decompression surgery, so it's going to be a few weeks before I'll be cleared to make full swings, so I have time before having to make a decision, but if anyone has experience with any of these, or even a strong opinion, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Here are the 3 candidates:

    Mizuno JPX 923 Hot Metal HL

    XXIO 13 (or 12, if not much changed)

    PING G730

    Thanks, guys!

  10. On 7/30/2023 at 7:03 PM, GolfSpy_APH said:

    Are there any specific drills it has recommended or suggested which you had never heard of before or never thought of doing before?

    My great area of weakness, as reported by the SwingU app, is chipping and pitching.  A couple of issues that I have (had?) are hitting them to the right, and the occasional, yet maddening thin, topped pitch.  Almost psychically, two videos that showed up for me addressed these very issues; both are very simple, and worked wonders for me.  First, I was, apparently, not setting my weight forward consistently.  The video simply instructed to use one's *nose* to shift the weight forward; that is moving the nose towards the target, and the weight follows.  It's also easy for me to lean to the left to point my nose at an area a couple of inches in front of the ball and verify that it stays there.  The other was even more simple.  I moved the ball back in my stance, which greatly reduces my tendency to hit thin shots to the right.  Now on to distance control!

  11. On 7/23/2023 at 7:06 PM, Sluggo42 said:

    I’ve had to give up on the “free” version unfortunately. I really like it, but the never ending freeze ups became too bothersome to continue trying. I’m pretty sure it’s the ads that are causing the problems…

    hopefully the paid version doesn’t have this problem. But , it is what it is… 

    FWIW, I've used the full version during my testing several times, and have not had a single instance of freezing.  Also, the app finds the correct hole much quicker than my GPS watch, especially with confusing/adjacent tee boxes.

  12. 5 minutes ago, acatalano32 said:

    I can’t see the photo you posted, but you are able to post fairway or not/ which way you missed the fairway. You can enter score and number of putts. I believe that feature appears when you get on the green. 

    Thanks.  It seems that direct access to the app from a phone is necessary for strokes gained analysis. 

  13. 9 hours ago, acatalano32 said:

    I didn’t have any issues with it freezing, my tracking on the watch would freeze be slow some times but I played a course out in the country where service wasn’t the best. The way I’m going to use it is, my phone will act as the yardage book showing an overview of the hole to see any trouble and yardages to the trouble. The watch will be for pretty much everything else.

    So you *are* able to input all the data necessary for strokes gained as in the screen shot below directly from the watch? 

     

    Screenshot_20230629_154354_SwingU.jpg.fcf5489a2178ef2faa46c47287b735ef.jpg

  14. 8 hours ago, acatalano32 said:

    From my round today, it gives you front middle back yardage. It also allows you to track shots from your where you are standing and you can leave the phone in your cart or bag. You can enter your score at the end of each hole with your watch as well. 
    The way I used it was, I got a line for my tee shot using the apps satellite to see how far trouble was and where I needed to aim. Then I would use the watch to get front middle back yardage. Sometimes using the phone to see the “plays like” number. I only used my range finder 3 times today, shot 76, definitely not a bad round but could have been better. 
    I hope this helped a little, I will focus more on the watch features next time I’m out. 

    Thank you!  Sounds great if you already have an Apple watch (what is it with the iOS bias with golf software anyway?).  But especially since I already have a GPS watch, I'm not going to buy another to trial SwingU.  I would love not having to use my (Android😆) phone during a round, but I assume that one still has to do so in order to collect strokes gained data.

  15. 6 hours ago, acatalano32 said:

    Played my first round with the app, it was awesome. Using the Apple Watch with the app was awesome, loved being able to track shots and keep score from the watch as well as the phone. Seeing front middle and back yardages were spot on. IMG_2517.jpeg.535fd1666685cc3028486488c948f1b5.jpeg

    Can you (or @Wrong_Fairway) tell us what additional features having an Apple watch bring to the on-course experience of using the SwingU app?  Thanks.

  16. The Review

    SwingU Official MGS Forum Review by Dave Orzechowicz

    Introduction

    It's great to be selected to test the SwingU app!  I'm looking forward to trying it out and seeing how it can help  my game.  At this point, I am most interested in seeing my strokes gained (lost) numbers; I have an idea as to where I need the most work, but actually seeing the real numbers will hopefully motivate me to put in the work where it will be the most beneficial.  My handicap index, now with a soft cap from GHIN 😳, is 15.0.  Since my purchase of Ping's 430 Max HL driver, my swing speed is back to the low 90s, with total distance down to 240 yards.

    I'm a 66 year-old retiree; I have what I consider to be the ultimate retired guy job-- a seasonal gig doing maintenance at a local Muni golf course.  Think Carl Spackler without the C4.  Here in NE Indiana, "seasonal" with respect to golf is defined as mid-March to mid-November.  The other four months are recliner season. 😴  I started playing golf around the age of 30, and used to play a moderate amount when I was in my 30s and 40s.  Work travel and then a back injury when I was 48 led me to give up the game, but once I got this retirement gig, I got bitten by the golf bug again, so after 15 years off, I re-started playing 3 years ago.  Modern lessons and modern technology had me playing better golf at the age of 64 than I ever did in my life.  My GHIN index was down to 11.8, and I was hitting my drives 25 yards further than I did when I was in my mid-thirties.  Another setback: hip replacement surgery last November.  But intense physical therapy and the new hip had me ready to play again last April.  Unfortunately, on a cold and wet day, my strong right hip overpowered my neglected "good" side, and I re-injured my back.  After more PT, I returned to golf last month, but with a whole new attitude.  No longer is my enjoyment of a round inversely proportional to how many strokes I took.  I'm just happy to be able to play.

    I play a couple of times a week with some fellow old guys at work.  We play fairly seriously (no gimmes, mulligans nor preferred lies), but prioritize having fun over score.  A few of us carry flasks of bourbon, and take hits whenever anyone in the group gets a birdie.  Most days we have to modify the rules to sips after pars or even "Dave tried hard on that hole".  Anything to avoid the humiliation of going home with a non-empty flask.  Nobody keeps track of "who won", we all shoot just below bogie, and make that our goal.  Oh, I did join a country club, which, given my injuries and the weather, was probably a mistake.  And the level of seriousness I found there is just not me anymore.

    I'm keenly interested in seeing how SwingU works, and how much in-game attention (other than GPS) is necessary.  I had the Arccos free trial that came with my new Ping driver, and found it beyond annoying.  It missed about a quarter of my shots, and having to remember to babysit the app while playing was just not going to happen.  Post-round editing was pure drudgery.  But what killed the deal for me once the free trial period was done was the fact that there was no option to pay month-by-month; only annual subscriptions were offered.  Given that I be paying for it during the 4 months a year that I couldn't use it was the final deal breaker for me.

    I've downloaded the SwingU app, but haven't looked at it much, because I want to wait until instructions and full access are available.  Can't wait to review it!
     

    The formal review follows.  Subsequent to that are updates with impressions that I had while using the SwingU app.

     

    First Impressions (10 out of 10)

    Downloading and registering the application was seemless and completely intuitive.  Once signed in, I noticed that my account had already been upgraded to access the SwingU Pro version, which was a nice touch.  I also would like to add that I emailed Chris Chaney, our SwingU point of contact, about not being able to select a set of tees at my home club on the application.  Chris responded in minutes, and a short time after that, all tee options became available.  I appreciate good customer service, and the above and beyond attitude of the company bodes well for any future support questions. 

    I've used the application for two rounds so far, and want to hold off on comments until I get at least a few more in, but since this is the first impressions section, I want to put a coupla those in here.  I haven't used the GPS nor green map features yet, just the scoring.  Here is the screen that you get after you touch "Play" and then select a course.  Activating the Versus feature is necessary in order to get strokes gained analysis, which is the main aspect of this (or any application of this type) that I am interested in.

    Once you are ready to start to record your round, this is the screen that appears on your phone:  Inputting the required information is very intuitive, and I had no trouble knowing what was required for each field.  The user inputs, in black, are selected by scrolling that field up or down.  At this point, and again, first impressions, I must say that I am not a fan of having to enter the data after each hole.  I find that it detracts from my enjoyment of the round, and having my face in my phone screen got me some perturbed looks from my playing partners, and I can't say that I blame them.  For my next round, I am going to hold off on inputting the stats until after the round; I should be able to recall all of my shots, so all I'll have to do is to write down first putt distance.
     

    Screenshot_20230629_154201_SwingU.jpg.32ac708fe9b8530e9161ddbe5f2280bf.jpg

     

    Screenshot_20230629_154354_SwingU.jpg.bb220e42d305d5a29a709c4bfe36feec.jpg

     

    Aesthetics (10 out of 10) 

    The SwingU app worked perfectly with my Samsung S21+ Android phone.  The maps of every hole loaded quickly, and being able to zoom in and out while determining distances to hazards, out of bounds, etc. were accomplished while keeping the maps sharp and clear.  The screen on which one is to input the various parameters necessary to determine relative handicap/strokes gained was clear and the ability to quickly scroll through the available values was smooth and, after a short time of using it, intuitive.
     

    The Numbers (18 out of 20)

    The yardages displayed by the app matched up closely with what my Golf Buddy GPS watched gave; usually within 2-5 yards.  When I had the time to triple-check yardages with my laser range finder, SwingU numbers usually were the more accurate.  I assume that this is the result of the GPS receiver in my phone being more precise than the one in my watch.  Obtaining intermediate distances, say to reach and/or to clear a water hazard was very easy, and I came to trust the data that SwingU gave.  Yes, my watch provides the same data, but on a tiny screen and by using cumbersome distance arcs to various hazards, rather than exact distances to specific targets.

    On the other hand, the "plays like" distances were not helpful.  While the yardages based upon wind adjustments seemed reasonable, elevation calculations were not accurate.  For example, there is a 145 yard Par 3 at my club, which plays straight uphill.  Having played it a few times before being chosen to test the SwingU app, I have learned that it plays much closer to 155 yards; on a calm day, SwingU stated that the hole played like 147. I deducted 2 for this feature which I would like to use, but do not trust.

    Setup:

    The instructions for downloading, installing and using the SwingU app are very clear and straightforward.  Any questions that I did have were answered by viewing the instructional videos provided.   There was an problem with a missing set of tees for my club.  I sent an email to our contact, and within 30 minutes, the tees were added to the app, ready to be selected.  I was very impressed with this quick response.

    For me, the most useful SwingU metric/feature is Versus, which is their take on strokes gained, together with recommended instructional videos with drills to work on in order to improve in those areas which are in most need of improvement.  On the other hand, the putting green display, showing degrees of slopes was, for me, information overload, and after trying it for one round, dismissed it as not helpful for me.

     

    On-Course (17 out of 20)

    At first, I tried to input all of the data for each hole as I completed it.  Not being used to this, I forgot to do so for several holes.  However, before the round was even half over, I came to the conclusion that I could remember everything required except for first putt distance.  Ever since, I just write down that distance  for each hole on my scorecard, and have found that recalling everything necessary and entering the data after the round was over was much easier to do.

    I am of the type that frowns on people using their phones on the golf course, and even though all I was doing was using the app, found myself getting annoyed at how much time I needed to spend with my face to the phone display, rather than enjoying the round, the course and my playing partners. There was also the feeling that using the app to its fullest potential took away from my concentration and normal routine. For me, this is a major drawback of using the app, and deducted 3 points for it.

    After using the app and limiting myself to those feature that I feel to be helpful, using the app has become second nature to me.  Yardages, and especially intermediate yardages given by SwingU are so vastly superior to those I get from my GPS watch, that it's not even close which one is better for me. Having an accurate, intuitive and easy to read way of determining intermediate yardages has definitely improved my scores, and might have even won me a drink or two about one's ability to clear a water hazard. 🤑

    The Good, the bad, the in-between (18 out of 20)

    For me, "The Good" features of the SwingU app is easy to discuss. First and foremost, I cannot stress enough how much the Versus feature is helping me.  I already had a feeling that my short game was my major achilles heel; however, seeing the numbers of just how bad chipping and putting were hurting my game was/is truly an eye-opener.  But even though just seeing the glaring weakness, with the big number, highlighted in orange  is motivation enough to want to improve, being provided with instruction on how to improve is exceptional.  The other feature with which I am the most impressed, because it is to helpful to my game, is the calculation and display of intermediate yardages.  Being able to zoom in and see what are the reach and cover distances to hazards and dogleg turns has definitely helped my game.

    During my testing, the only part of the app which I can honestly consider "Bad" is the plays like calculation. While the yardage adjustments for wind seem to be reasonable, the adjustment made for elevation change on a hole with which I am familiar was so off that I do not have the confidence to use it, and I deducted 2 points for this.

    As far as "In-between", I would point out those features that, while seem to function correctly, are just to cumbersome and/or intrusive for me. The green maps provide a lot of data; so much so, that I had trouble reconciling what I was seeing on my phone with what my eyes and feet were telling me.  Using this feature added at least 30 seconds to the time I was taking for each putt, without a commensurate improvement.  One more feature that was not useful for me is the club tracking feature.  Remembering to select a club before each shot was virtually impossible for me to do, and again, added to the time with my attention on the phone, rather than the game.  I must stress, though, that just because these two features were not beneficial for me, I am sure that many (most?) golfers will find them very useful.

     

    Play it or Trade it? (17 out of 20)

    So far, I've only discussed the positives and negatives of the app.  Would I use it for a tournament or a big money game?  Definitely not all of the features, but I would definitely trust it for total and intermediate yardages.  However, pulling out the phone multiple times during a round that is not necessarily being played with understanding and patient friends, I would definitely hesitate to use anything besides the GPS.

    In order to have access to what is, to me, the best feature of the SwingU app, Versus, one would have to upgrade to the Pro level of software, the cost of which is currently $99.99/year.  In my geographical region, decent weather for golf is limited to at most 6 months, which brings the price to $16.67/month of actual use.  That's a tough sell for me.

    For golfers that are more used to using digital assistants during rounds, do not feel put out by having to spend a portion of their concentration and time during a round interacting with their phone and have a longer season, SwingU, with all of its many benefits, would be a great addition to their game improvement arsenal.  Given the features that I would not use, and considering the cost/benefit of the app, I deducted 4 points for the overall rating.

    Conclusion

    The SwingU app has the ability to provide a golfer with a ton of data, all aimed at improving one's game.  At its most basic, the GPS feature, especially when using one's phone display, is vastly superior to GPS watches, especially with its ability to provide intermediate distances to hazards, out of bounds, dogleg breaks, or any location on the hole, with just a touch of the screen.  If one is willing to keep track of statistics such as the lie resulting from the tee shot, distance to the green, chips and putts taken, etc, the Pro version of the app calculates strokes gained and relative handicap values for different areas of your game, putting, driving, chipping/pitching, etc.  But what is even better is that the app will then suggest and provide videos with drills to improve the part of your game in the most dire need of improvement.  There are additional features that add to the potential value of the app, with the obvious tradeoff that you will have to take time out during your round to access and analyze the data. But the user always has the option of how much of the data they wish to use during any given round or even any given hole.  Finally, SwingU has 3 levels of feature sets, from free to $99.99/year, and one can choose among these levels based upon how much data about their game that they would like to analyze.  Customer service is top-notch, with very quick responses to assistance requests.

    As is the case with any golf aid, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting.  In the case of SwingU, the goal is to improve one's game through the collection of data.  Well... When I started tracking my information with SwingU, my relative handicap for chipping/pitching was 29.2  Most of my misses were thin shots that sometimes went through the green, and/or shots that missed way right.  Somehow, the program knew my main types of misses, and provided some short video lessons with drills to work on in order to correct these errors.  I spent a lot of time in my back yard working on these, and lately, chipping/pitching have actually been saving me strokes.  My current relative handicap for chipping/pitching is now 22, and for yesterday's round was 8!
     

    Final Score (90 out of 100)

     

    Mid-Testing Impressions

     

    Strokes Gained (Versus)

    For the first couple of rounds, I concentrated on the Strokes Gained (Versus) facet of the app.  Entering the data as I describe above was clear and easy.  But, as I suspected, I quickly became annoyed by the "obligation", as I came to feel, to enter the data after each hole.  When playing a round with friends, I had the feeling that I was removing myself from the silly banter that my group of friends and I participate in, so I feel that having to spend time with my phone negatively impacts the social aspect of golf.  I also used the Versus feature of the app while playing a couple of rounds alone.  In this scenario, I feel that I lose some part of my favorite reason for playing golf: the aesthetics of the five senses that being on a golf course brings to me.   Moving forward, I will be entering the necessary data after the round, as I suggest earlier.  It has been easy to recall the information right after the round, except for first putt distance, which I jot down on the scorecard as I play. 

    Lots of negative so far.  However... However!!

    The SwingU feature that I was most looking forward to is Versus, which is what the folks at SwingU call their feature for calculating Strokes Gained.  The SwingU app absolutely excelled at its execution of this feature.  The user chooses their target handicap range, and, using the numbers that the user enters during (or after) the round, SwingU calculates strokes gained relative to this handicap for Driving, Approach, Chipping, Sand and Putting.  It then provides relative handicap levels for each of these parts of the game, which is, to say the least, a bit, ummm, humbling.  The screen shot below clearly shows my strengths and weaknesses:

     

    thumbnail_Screenshot_20230707_111013_SwingU.jpg.77edda324c85f036eb28d438fe2ad8f4.jpg

    Yikes!  Looks like I have a few things to work on!  But here we see my favorite feature of SwingU so far.  The app doesn't just mock you with hard data, it offers a suggestion for the area of the game which needs the most critical attention.  In my case, which is obvious even without the orange highlighting, its chipping and pitching from 50 yards in.  And it doesn't stop there.  It directs you to selections from its very extensive library of instructional videos to help with this facet of your game.  Here's a screen shot of a sample of videos that the app recommended for me:

    thumbnail_Screenshot_20230707_111039_SwingU.jpg.bc376e9690fb7aa39af66c27a52dfdfe.jpg

    Two of my big problems with chips are (were?) missing to the right and blading.  Wait, let's call it what it really is: cold tops.  Two of the recommend short videos had drills that addressed these very issues, and with their relative simple fixes, have given me things to work on without leaving my own back yard 12 yard "pitching area".  Next: GPS and course management.

    20230525_112457.jpg.3ddf35b908fcf3dd3044ff81c86be387.jpg

     

    GPS and Course Management

    Now that I've used the GPS features for a few rounds, it's time to update this review with my impressions.  I'll start by admitting that I was skeptical of the value that I would find in using my phone for course management.  I have been using the Golf Buddy AIM W10 watch for three years now, and have been very satisfied with its performance.  Yardages are accurate, the course library is huge, and I have never had a problem with the watch finding me as I was about to head to the first tee.  I also liked the screen with distance arcs to various hazards on each hole.  Also, of course, the convenience of checking yardages to the front, middle and back of the greens (75% of what I use the watch for) by just flicking the wrist like checking the time is a huge plus.  What I don't like is that the watch periodically seems to get lost, suddenly changing holes while I'm busy playing a shot, requiring me to manually scroll through the hole list until I get to the correct hole.  Another drawback with the watch is inherent in its required small display size.  The font on the screen with the yardage arcs to various hazards is almost too small for me to read, especially in bright sunlight.

    Using the SwingU app on my phone was a completely new experience for me, and it is taking me some time get used to consulting my phone for yardage information.  However, the information that the app provides makes me strongly think that it will be worth getting used to.  I'll go through some of the information provided, using the first hole of a course that I play often.  First, here is the screen that I see as I arrive at the first tee with my playing partner:

    thumbnail_Screenshot_20230718_123209_SwingU.jpg.1c5b27071e956c82003c72e29f3d9e30.jpg

    I love the clarity of the satellite view.  The club selection is based on my manual input of approximate yardages for every club in my bag.  Note the "plays like" yardage, which takes wind and elevation change into account.  This is a pretty flat course, so uphill/downhill adjustments are pretty minimal.  The next screen shot shows what to me is a very valuable feature of the SwingU app.

    thumbnail_Screenshot_20230718_124545_SwingU.jpg.9a8d317bf2650d0b38058c526d8b3e03.jpg

    After a less-than-stellar tee shot, you can see that I was left with 144 yards to the pin, which the app correctly recommended that I attempt to cover with a 9-iron.  Without further user input, the total yardage is all that is displayed.  However, I was keenly motivated to stay out of the bunker at the front left of the green.  A single tap on the trap brought up the screen at the bunker gave me the yardage to it, while informing me that I would have a 20 yard chip with my 58 degree wedge left.  (I didn't do the simple pinch zoom in order to be able to check yardages to reach and to clear the bunker.)  This feature, together with its easy to read display really impresses me.  Hitting the red "X" clears this screen and returns you to the display of the entire hole.

    From this distance, I could see the pin location, so I wanted more specific yardage than just front, middle and back.  Tapping the Green Map button on the bottom left of the full hole display gives me this screen:

    thumbnail_Screenshot_20230718_125235_SwingU.jpg.52685c2fd8a7933a9803bcda7e13b496.jpg

    Yardages from my location to various parts of the green are shown, together with the recommended club to get me there.  Since I know this hole well the green slopes fairly severely from back to front and, where the pin was that day (front right, behind the right hand bunker), right to left.  Knowing this allowed me to make an informed decision on where I wanted my approach to end up, which was, of course, short and left.  In this case, I went with the pitching wedge, knowing that it was unlikely to get me to the putting surface, but hopefully a short bump and run to the hole.  That's exactly what happened; I ended up in the light rough in front of the green, 12 yards from the pin.  I missed the chip by 3 feet for a tap-in par.  Without SwingU, I would most likely hit an 8 iron 30 feet past the hole, leaving me with a knee-knocker 3 putt.  I am always thrilled to par this hole!  Next up: Green Maps.

    Green Maps

    I have to admit that this is the feature that I have been the most skeptical about.  Not that I mistrust the ability of the app to report slopes, nor do I doubt the benefit of having this information readily available.  My concern is that I don't want to be "that guy", walking around the green, sizing up the putt with my head bobbing back and forth between my phone and the green.  However, in the spirit of testing all of the functionalities of the app to the best of my abilities, I gave the green maps a go during my last round.  Revisiting the home screen, you can see the "Green Map" icon in the lower left part of the display. 

    thumbnail_Screenshot_20230718_123209_SwingU.jpg.b1a6b2d997cf9871a238cc631d48b5fc.jpg

     

    Once on the green, tapping that icon brings up an overview map of the green, with both temperature and numerical indications of relative degrees of slope and direction throughout the green.

    thumbnail_Screenshot_20230725_154916_SwingU.jpg.32aff9246b8cb35f6222de2e3bb5ae5b.jpg

    Additionally, as indicated on the screen, double-tapping the map will zoom in on the display, also with the ability to move around the map.

    Screenshot_20230725_154922_SwingU.jpg.5a68ad226a212d6165a0932205263986.jpg

     

    Looking at the screen shots that I just uploaded, I have to say that this is a very impressive feature to have in a golf app!  While at the course, however, I found myself taking what I judged to be an inordinate amount of time trying to superimpose the slope map on my phone with what my eyes are seeing on the green itself.  Just guessing, I would say that trying to use this feature adds 10-15 seconds per putt in my case; none of my playing partners ever said anything, but I felt annoyed with myself every time I used this feature.  I'm pretty sure, though, that using this feature throughout several rounds would speed things up as I became more familiar with it.  For now, I don't feel that I would use this feature much.  I consider myself an OK putter, and the SwingU stats seem to bear that out.  Given my horrendous skill level at just about every other aspect of my game, especially pitches and chips, I have much bigger fish to fry!

    Update

    I'm now twelve rounds into the testing of the app, and I have a quick update.  As I've mentioned earlier, SwingU has identified my chipping/putting as my main area of improvement.  I also pointed out the excellent, and almost prescient suggestions that the app provided with respect to video drills.  As this is my favorite part of the app, I have religiously followed the suggestions, and practiced in my 15 yard "chipping area" in my back yard.  Improvement was almost immediate, with small, incremental increases in strokes gained in chipping and putting almost every round.  I started with s a -9.3 strokes gained in this area; to date, my average through 12 rounds improved by 4.9 strokes, and is now -4.4!  Yesterday, for the first time, I had a positive strokes gained chipping/putting (+3.2), and had an uncommon break of 80, shooting a 78 (senior tees, of course).  I am thrilled with this result, and will continue to prioritize my <50 yard game. 

    Although I don't plan on using the club selection feature going forward, I will try it during my next couple of rounds, for the sake of testing completeness if nothing else.

    Club Selection

    I've played two rounds since deciding to try the club recommendation feature.  For the first round, I almost never remembered to select the club that i was going to use for the next shot; for the first 6 holes, I think that I remembered to use it 4 times, two of which ended up being duffs.  I grew frustrated with trying to remember to start and stop the process, and gave up using it.  The second round was a bit better, and I collected some worthwhile data on four clubs, all of which verified my manually-inserted yardages, which I based on Trackman data and past performance during my playing this year.  While I suppose that this might be a valuable feature for some, given my reluctance to be using my phone while playing golf, together with my fairly established knowledge of what clubs to hit from various yardages, this feature would not be of value to me.

  17. On 1/25/2023 at 6:06 PM, NC Golfer said:

    Don't know why many bash DSG/GG. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have much golf retail in the Raleigh-Durham area. I like ease of picking up equipment at easy to get into and out locations.  I actually like these stores and the quality of staff has improved. 

    Because there is more to life than just golf, and Dick's has repeatedly and loudly proclaimed its agenda-driven disdain for what was once a major component of its customer base. 

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