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BombAndGouge

Member
  • Posts

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About BombAndGouge

  • Birthday 02/01/1995

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    NJ

Player Profile

  • Age
    29 and under
  • Swing Speed
    111+ mph
  • Handicap
    0.9
  • Frequency of Play/Practice
    Multiple times per week
  • Player Type
    Competitive
  • Biggest Strength
    Driver/Off the Tee
  • Biggest Weakness
    Approach
  • Fitted for Clubs
    No

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  1. Scotland Run is one of the better public courses in the area. They are with the ownership that has AC that went private again this year. We don't have a lot of affordable public courses in good shape. Either public and good shape = expensive or public and affordable = not ideal.
  2. We played at Town & Country Golf Links. $40 for 18 on a Sunday at 10 isn't bad. Weather was supposed to be much better. Won my match by 18 strokes though which was nice. I also have a box or two of 21 ProV1s... wondering if I can trade them in. They are that good.
  3. I wanted to put together a quick review after playing my first round with the new 2023 Titleist ProV1 ("23V1"). I have played the 2021 ProV1, ProV1X, 19 Left Dash, 22 Chrome Soft X LS and Snell MTB-X over the last few years. I picked up a box of 23V1's and 22 Chrome Soft X's to try out. My intent was to play about 9 holes each and get a feel for them. The weather was approximately 48 degrees with steady 20-25 mph winds with gusts close to 40. Legitimately one of the windier days of the year (and it began to drizzle some unexpectedly). The Round: I played from the courses "tips," which were listed around 6700 yards at sea level but seemed to play much longer (probably wind induced). I put the Chrome Soft into play first which led to a nice bogey-bogey start. With that being less than ideal, I made the switch to the new 23V1. First drive was nuked close to 300 yards. The approach was about 211 into a par 4 which was hit to twelve feet. The ball seem to hold dead straight with wind more at the back, slightly right to left. Played even golf rest of front. Switched back to the Callaway and barely parred the long par 5 (as a result of a hooked second shot). Switched back to the 23V1 and played the remainder of the holes (total 15/18 with the ProV1). Finished one over with the ball and only because I lost massive strokes to poor putting (zero practice this year). The Ball: I couldn't tell in the temperature that the ball was supposed to be softer than the prior gen, so it was probably close. One change that I didn't notice was long game spin. The 23V1 is supposed to be less spinny and have lower launch than the prior gen. With all of my long approaches (6 iron+) I did not fail to hold a green. Maybe there was so wind help, but approaches were dropping and stopping as expected. This also includes a lower "wind cheating" style shots. Many were 1-3 clubs added to normal distance based on wind. I hit a 6 iron from 143 dead into the wind and stopped the ball six feet from the cup for a smooth birdie. Lower trajectory may be more noticeable than a loss in long game spin. Other than wind factor, the ball did seem to be going as long or longer than the last ball. This could be attributed to a great striking day, but I think the ball is slightly hotter. As for the wind, with it behind the ball, it didn't seem to affect it as much as into the ball. By this I mean that I don't think the wind pushed the ball the same amount of distance as you would lose going directly into it. My 211 approach would likely have blown over the green with another ball hanging on the gust (lower spin less hang up?) with how cleanly it was hit. But overall, the 23V1 wanted to stay dead straight into the wind. It was noticeably strong eliminating a difficult day on the course. This was one of two important findings. The next important finding was greenside spin. A couple of holes needed a green side chip or bump and run style. I don't play with a lot of spin on these shots, typically try to find a landing spot for it to roll out. Not often do I attack the ball well for a hop-skip-bite-check/die close to the hole (need to get better with these shots). Most of the time we played "winter rules" so the chips were essentially fluffed (leading to more scooping action and run out). HOWEVER, the ball wanted to check up. My playing partners notice how much bite these soft 10-20 yard chips were one hop then bite/dying. It was amazing not putting much up a "clipper" swing into the ball and getting it to bite and finesse around the pin. One of the playing partners decided to check out the 23V1 after seeing this 2 or 3 times and commented that cover felt like sand paper. While I don't know if I agree with that, it does feel grittier than a 19 Left Dash. This may be due to the increased number of dimples where your finger can feel the edges of more of them so it feels sharper, but it was supremely noticeable. Just slightly "more aggressive?" of a cover compared to the Left Dash which felt a little smoother and almost polished. Both are urethane, however. Result: The 2023 Titleist ProV1 impressed me and gave me confidence in a small money match. It made me want to abandon my game plan of testing balls to make sure I take care of business with the best tool in my arsenal. The wind performance was the best out of any ball I've play, greenside play was great, The balls held up well including hitting a tree they placed in the middle of the fairway on a dogleg (??), and it should putt like any other ProV1. I did not address putting as I don't think my poor putting day was reflective of either balls performance, even the Chrome Soft X with the triple track didn't drop a bunch of birdies. Speed control was the biggest issue... winter greens are slow. I'm not a shill and don't work for Titleist. I even just chose a Ping club over a Titleist in my recent fitting. Edit: I think it may be beneficial to add my driving stats as well. I am a good driver of the golf ball. Trackman has me 113-115 club head speed. Crappy negative 5 angle of attack makes me only carry 275ish. But I am very straight off the tee and its the best strokes gained part of my game. For holes using the 23 ProV1: 3 - Fairway, GIR 4 - GIR (Par 3) 5 - Fairway, GIR 6 - Fairway, GIR 7 - Fairway, GIR 8 - Par 3 missed GIR by 3 yards (hit 4 iron dead into wind at 166....) 9 - Missed fairway by 3 yards, playable in rough, (chunked bunker approach short), up and down from throat 11 - Absolutely perfect nuke with a terrible left kick into rough, GIR 12 - Fairway, GIR 13 - Par 3 missed by 1 yard, easy up and down 14 - Drive too far into bunker, lay up (par 5), GIR from 185 15 - Fairway, GIR (missed 4 footer bird) 16 - Par 3 GIR 17 - Fairway, (slight shank short right), No up and down 18 - Found casual water in rough next to winding fairway, missed green by two feet from 200 into wind Overall every ball in play. Either hitting fairway or immediately next to it. GIR or very close, like puttable to minimal chip.
  4. This is still available. No Stealth headcover as it was warrantied from a different model.
  5. I'm about 1:15 south on edge of Cumberland County. I think Pennington is where they would do the demo days? I've been there once or twice and played one of the Mercer courses. I remember it being good for a "county" course. Also before I got into golf. Would love to play sometime.
  6. Hi Everyone, I'm selling a 10.5* Stealth that has never been hit. I received it from TM as a warranty replacement. I'm getting fit for a new driver in a few days and don't need it/don't want to hit it and ruin value. Happy to answer any questions.
  7. I'm in the market for a driver. My M6 is dying - I love it, but it is time to be replaced. It.is my best club in the bag. My strokes gained compared to other clubs is easily best with driver. I probably have 110+ plus on course swing speed but have not been fit and don't have much launch monitor experience... yet. I'm going to be fit in one week for a driver. My first order of business with be identifying a shaft. I'm leaning towards the Ventus TR 6-7 range. I'm curious about my angle of attack - I think I hit down too much to maximize my speed, so a blue might win over black. Want to work on hitting up more (we'll see what numbers show). Once I get shaft, I'm curious in the Ping G430, Stealth2, Cally TD, TSRs, and oddly enough the Wilson caught my eye. Why I'm interested in each: Ping has been super forgiving according to everywhere and though I don't really need it, I don't want to create more misses chasing a faster face. Not too concerned losing speed as most are pretty close at this point. Coming from TM so Stealth2 is natural. Head shape should be similar. Hopefully V2 fixed some of the face issues. Callaway seems to be making a big step lately in technology and product offerings. Never jumped out as a leader in those areas but they seem to be dumping money into being the best. Don't like some of their head shapes but if the numbers are there I'm in. Playing callaway irons now. Interested in Titleist as everyone should be. Industry leader for a reason. Lot of good reviews on their already released drivers. If they hold up I might put my first Titleist club back on the back since I dropped my Vokey wedges and 2014 AP2s. Wilson just looks good black and red. Afraid is chinesium and will break, be inferior, or deteriorate. I do rock a Wilson putter and their irons are historically great. Summary: need to identify shaft and monitor AoA. Then see what my numbers are for each head. Consistency in launch numbers and fairways more important than the longest overall.
  8. I cannot in good conscience play a "used" ball. You don't know if the ball is actually what it purports to be. You don't know how long it had been sitting in the elements. You don't know if it is water logged. Maybe it's non-concentric and was a reason it got lost. There are just so many potential issues that I would be nervous relying on a used ball. I want to eliminate equipment issues as a reason for a bad shot. What percentage would be acceptable? If a used ball is 99% good, is that good? What if it has only 5% defect or issues? 10%? Even if these balls are mostly good, and you can't confirm that, then you are risking bad shots or offline good shots, distance losses, spin issues etc. If you care about your score or try to play competitively, this just ain't it. If you play once a week and don't want to spend too much on balls and don't track your handicap, do whatever you want.
  9. I'm planning to be fit for a driver in January or February (depending if I can wait or not on the Stealth2 February release). I really want to see the difference in the Ventus TR shafts. Early favorite is a black or blue 6x TR. We shall see
  10. I was in a similar spot and decided to remove my Sim2 3 wood. I've been hovering around 0-2 handicap but could not play it consistent enough to warrant it. That coupled with the fact that my driver was very consistent so I never clubbed down on driver holes and I almost never needed to play 250+ into par 5s on my most common courses. So I really didn't need a $400 club that didn't improve my handicap. I picked up a 2 hybrid that I try to play to about 240. I have gotten a hold of a few to 260+, but it's been much more consistent and usable in different conditions/lies. It fits the gapping of my bag better. I am much better off with 3 wedges than 3 non-driver woods/hybrids. It's not required to carry a 3 wood.
  11. I'm glad to hear that Ping is helping you out. I'm going through something similar with Taylormade. The positive reviews on Ping clubs coupled with stories like this have made me seriously consider them. My buddy sent a club in the be reshafted (hybrid that must have had a set shaft with no sleeve?), and apparently they found a small crack in the head. Instead of telling him he's beat, they sent him a new hybrid and shaft that was 1-2 model years newer. That's awesome.
  12. I like your idea of keeping the 4 iron as a driving style iron, especially in an easier to hit and launch head compared to blades. I don't love the gap between the 5wood and 4 iron though. Might want to put the 5 wood down a degree in loft to try to get more out of it. 6/7 iron gap similar. Too close. Getting more traditional lofted set will help. Might drop 5 wood and get an additional wedge to help with shorter, scoring distances (maybe go 50-54-58 or 50-54-50 or 50-56-60)
  13. I'd worry more about lofts compared to numbers. Lot of brands jack the shorter irons up. I agree you don't need 175-195 for the 7. Likely a players iron would be best to dial in more consistent distance. Maybe take a look at Sub70s 659MBs or CBs. If you really want to get fit, it wouldn't be a bad idea because now you are questioning length instead of just heads. Definitely want to mess around with length, shaft flex, and try t100, Mizuno Pro 223, and maybe srixon Zx7.
  14. I have the black finish on their 286 50*, 54*, and JB 58*. The finish looks good, especially at first, but I have a little bit of an adjustment period coming from my black Vokey's. Vokey is lighter black, like charcoal, compared to the Sub 70 which is pretty standard black. I've had my JB 58* for a little over a season and it is very much my go to around the green and 60 yards and in. I try not to swing a full wedge if I don't have to. The finish is definitely wearing away on the face on the lower half. It is wearing away on the sole some also. I use it at the range and in bunkers so it is pretty well used. The face almost looks like a raw finish in the spots that are "exposed" now. But there is no rust - mostly just metal coming through the black finish.
  15. I would game this. Has a little Radspeed look to it.
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