brutal brutus

Have you thought about refurbished balls? They sell used Titleists at Walmart... Titleist Golf Balls, Used, Mint Quality, 15 Pack - Walmart.com or some NXTs... Titleist Golf Balls, Used, Good Quality, 24 Pack - Walmart.com

Got a couple more "sessions" in with my TSi3 this week. Played 18 on Sunday at Legendary Run in some pretty high winds. The first six or seven holes it wasn't too bad and I ripped 3 really good drives on the 1, 2 and 7. All three were pretty much dead straight ranging from 260-280yds. Hit a bomb on the par5 9th but I blocked it way right. I'm guessing it was pushing 300 but it was also sitting in hole 1s fairway,  lol. I absolutely killed my round on the two par3s and then holes 8 and 9. Played those four holes a combined +11...
Took a crowd pleasing 54 on the pretty much flat and wide open front.
The back nine was pretty rough for driving but I did hit a decent one on #10 just off the fairway left and then nearly drove the green with the tee on #13 moved way up. On the par 5, 14th, I tried to hit a low liner under the strong headwind but flighted it too low and hit a bullet right into one of the rolling hills <200yds from the tee i did hit a pretty decent 2nd shot with my TSi2 3w to help salvage a bogey. Knuckled one on #15 with a ripping tailwind but got some decent rollout.
Standing on 18's tee, we had a strong R->L headwind with OB left and plenty of space to the right. I tried to hit a sweeping draw out over the rough on the right side but I rolled my wrist a bit and hit a towering draw OB left...🤦‍♂️ Laying 3 about 280yds from the green, and with more of a headwind, I pulled my 3w and hit maybe the best fairway wood shots of my life. Was on a bit of a down slope, so I figured it should help keep the ball low with a normal swing and hit it dead pure. I'm guessing it carried 240ish yards and then careened off the mounds short and left and nearly chased onto the green. Hit a beautiful little spinning pitch shot with my 58° and I damn near holed it out for a birdie but it checked up six inches short.
So, on the very hilly and tighter back nine... in 15-25mph winds... I shot 45... Go figure.
Well... at least I kept it under triple digits with those last two shots. LOL
I went to the range and hit a small bucket on Thursday but it was fairly windy. So, I treated it as a "build up swing muscles" session. I wasn't really trying to work any specific shot shapes, just trying to put good swings on the ball.  
Played a quick nine Friday afternoon before the weather kicked up and it was... again... pretty windy. Hit a decent drive on the par5 2nd but didn't carry very well with that L->R crosswind. I fanned my only other shot with the driver on 8 into the woods. First really bad slice I've hit with it on the course(The one I pushed way right on #9 last Sunday was more of an alignment issue. It flew pretty straight, just in the wrong direction, lol). Nothing to worry about though, I think it was just a combination of falling temps and a lack of concentration.
All in all, I think I chose the right club. As well as I have been hitting the TSi2 3w, I was afraid that I should have chosen that model for my driver. But I think the lower spin and flight the TSi3 driver produces will better suit my game in the long run. I just can't wait for a nice warm spring day, with little or no wind, so I can take this thing to the range, tinker with the weight system and see what this thing is really capable of...
 

Got a couple more "sessions" in with my TSi3 this week. Played 18 on Sunday at Legendary Run in some pretty high winds. The first six or seven holes it wasn't too bad and I ripped 3 really good drives on the 1, 2 and 7. All three were pretty much dead straight ranging from 260-280yds. Hit a bomb on the par5 9th but I blocked it way right. I'm guessing it was pushing 300 but it was also sitting in hole 1s fairway,  lol. I absolutely killed my round on the two par3s and then holes 8 and 9. Played those four holes a combined +11...
Took a crowd pleasing 54 on the pretty much flat and wide open front.
The back nine was pretty rough for driving but I did hit a decent one on #10 just off the fairway left and then nearly drove the green with the tee on #13 moved way up. On the par 5, 14th, I tried to hit a low liner under the strong headwind but flighted it too low and hit a bullet right into one of the rolling hills <200yds from the tee i did hit a pretty decent 2nd shot with my TSi2 3w to help salvage a bogey. Knuckled one on #15 with a ripping tailwind but got some decent rollout.
Standing on 18's tee, we had a strong R->L headwind with OB left and plenty of space to the right. I tried to hit a sweeping draw out over the rough on the right side but I rolled my wrist a bit and hit a towering draw OB left...🤦‍♂️ Laying 3 about 280yds from the green, and with more of a headwind, I pulled my 3w and hit maybe the best fairway wood shots of my life. Was on a bit of a down slope, so I figured it should help keep the ball low with a normal swing and hit it dead pure. I'm guessing it carried 240ish yards and then careened off the mounds short and left and nearly chased onto the green. Hit a beautiful little spinning pitch shot with my 58° and I damn near holed it out for a birdie but it checked up six inches short.
So, on the very hilly and tighter back nine... in 15-25mph winds... I shot 45... Go figure.
Well... at least I kept it under triple digits with those last two shots. LOL
I went to the range and hit a small bucket on Thursday but it was fairly windy. So, I treated it as a "build up swing muscles" session. I wasn't really trying to work any specific shot shapes, just trying to put good swings on the ball.  
Played a quick nine Friday afternoon before the weather kicked up and it was... again... pretty windy. Hit a decent drive on the par5 2nd but didn't carry very well with that L->R crosswind. I fanned my only other shot with the driver on 8 into the woods. First really bad slice I've hit with it on the course(The one I pushed way right on #9 last Sunday was more of an alignment issue. It flew pretty straight, just in the wrong direction, lol). Nothing to worry about though, I think it was just a combination of falling temps and a lack of concentration.
All in all, I think I chose the right club. As well as I have been hitting the TSi2 3w, I was afraid that I should have chosen that model for my driver. But I think the lower spin and flight the TSi3 driver produces will better suit my game in the long run. I just can't wait for a nice warm spring day, with little or no wind, so I can take this thing to the range, tinker with the weight system and see what this thing is really capable of...
 

Pffft... pa-leeze... we've played with this guy, this data is clearly fudged 🤣.

Looks like a fun project Chris and will be following along to see which, if any, is a standout.  I'm a little surprised the MTB isn't in the mix?

Honestly, not sure there will be much in the 100y wedge differences, expecting more divergence in the 7i/Driver rounds. 

I am not a qualified ball fitter, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Looking at the consistency of all three, I would go with ball 2 was the most consistent in ball speed, spin, and launch. But that's splitting hairs as I think they're so close. 

I've decided to put to GC3 to some ball fitting. I used the MGS 2021 ball test as a starting point, then went to the local golf shop and bought sleeves of a number of the ones I was interested in. And since this is a slow time of year for golf, I decided to drag out this process as long as I can. 
So, my plan for this is to hit ~ 20 shots with each ball for each: 100y wedge, 7i, and Driver. 
I'm going to only do 3 balls at time so that the information is easier to parse. I'll do the wedge shots for the first 3 balls, then post the data, followed by the 7i and driver. I'll likely only do 1 set per day. After 3(or so days) and you all can see the data sets for 3 clubs for the 3 balls, I'll let you all pick "the winner". 
"the winner" will stay in and I'll redo the whole test with 2 other contenders. 
And to remove biases, I'm not going to tell you all which ball is which. I'll just give you the list of balls I'm testing right now. That way, if you want to guess at which is which you can. 
Bridgestone BX, Bridgestone BXS, Callaway Chrome Soft X, Callaway Chrome soft X LS, Vice Pro, Taylormade TP5X, Maxfli Tour, Srixon Z-Star and maybe a ProV1. 
So, that is the plan. 

Rd 1: 100y wedge shots

Really pounded it on the range yesterday afternoon - My average carry was 221 vs. 215 a couple of weeks ago with the SIM 2.  My average clubhead speed was was 94 both sessions, ball speed was 2 mph faster with the stealth, launch angle an almost identical 13.9.  
 
On another note one of our pros came over and gave me a brief lesson on part wedges (I have been struggling with them and he saw me flailing away).  I hit one drive after that applying something he told me with the wedges and my swing speed was 99 mph with that one - and I was tired at that point - carry distance was over 230 - that wasn't in the mix on the 221 average. 🙂

I played 9 with LarryD at his club today after another video lesson the beginning of the week. Hadn’t hit balls since the lesson other than into the net.
 
Hit it pretty well today after the first couple of holes hit irons very well actually.
 
More important to this thread hit several very good drives with the stealth. Larry cracked several long ones with it also. 15 yards or so longer than the M4 he’s currently gaming. 

Yes.  I  picked up a two pack the other day and can say they are very good.  they are worth the money.  Enjoy

Well... You know what they say about opinions and Aholes, right?

Put one of these thru a true test yesterday at The Vineyard.
Early in the round, i hit two trees dead center and then bounced it off the cart path on the par3 4th. I was expecting it to be unusable after watching some reviews and hearing some of you guys talk about them. The second tree hit did leave a small cut all the way thru the urethane cover but it didn't seem to scuff up any worse than the other balls I've used recently.
With there not being ball washers on my local courses yet(cold temps), i had been throwing any that picked up an excessive amount of mud back in the bag to clean  later but i kept cleaning this one off and using it just to see how "bad" it got. It seemed to perform just like the fresh ones up until i hit a "practice" shot with it on 9's tee and forgot to pick it up.

Finally got out for a round yesterday and I'm liking these balls more and more. They have tremendous stopping power on the greens(especially noticeable on chip shots) but at the same time, I don't really notice any loss of distance off the tee like some have stated. Maybe it's because I didn't start playing them until late fall/early winter? We all lose a bit of distance as the air temps fall.
One thing I have noticed, and maybe it's just the shaggy greens on this particular course(it is known for having some of, if not the slowest, greens in town), but they don't seem to gel with the blue insert that's in my Ping G2i Craz-E putter... I have left many, many putts well short of the cup.
I would hate to have to get a new putter just because I like the way these play everywhere else on the course...

Put one of these thru a true test yesterday at The Vineyard.
Early in the round, i hit two trees dead center and then bounced it off the cart path on the par3 4th. I was expecting it to be unusable after watching some reviews and hearing some of you guys talk about them. The second tree hit did leave a small cut all the way thru the urethane cover but it didn't seem to scuff up any worse than the other balls I've used recently.
With there not being ball washers on my local courses yet(cold temps), i had been throwing any that picked up an excessive amount of mud back in the bag to clean  later but i kept cleaning this one off and using it just to see how "bad" it got. It seemed to perform just like the fresh ones up until i hit a "practice" shot with it on 9's tee and forgot to pick it up.

My gosh man. What is your ball speed? DeChambeau at 200 mph?? lol

I finally got to go out and play today. Hit a small bucket and then played whites on the little 2500yd 9holer(Little Miami Golf Center Regulation 9). Took me a half a dozen shots to get in a groove on the range but when I finally did... 🔥 Was hitting tight draws and power fades on command. Since my return I've had trouble with the intentional draw without snap hooking it but this driver seems to be more attuned to my swing than the old TS3. Not sure why, maybe it's the hosel being set more upright?...
During the round, I hit it 3 times. On the 500yd (ish) par5 second, I pulled it a bit but made solid contact, 270ish. On #4, I hit a towering draw that just barely ran thru the fairway where the hole kinks to the right towards the green, 290ish.
Then I got to #8... I was a bit mad about 3 putting for dubogey on the par3 7th, so I went full on rage mode for my teeshot on the 325yd par4... Hit one of the best drives of my life. Was about 25yds short and left of the green on a beautiful tight draw. On a normal summer day, when it's drier(and also not blowing 15mph right in my face, lol), that shot probably winds up pin high left.
It's gonna take me some time to get used to it but True Love is looking like a winner for now...
 
 
Though, MLT is a close second... ahead of Toxicity, lol.

(Moving this from the driver sub-forum)
Figured I'd go ahead and document my journey with my most expensive purchase to date. Though it's not my first "top of the line" driver. Bought a new Hawkeye VFT back in the early 2000's and got it at a discount. But even at full price, i think they were something like $399. Though i did pay more for that one... Stay tuned for that story.
Let's start with the specs:
Titleist TSi3 10°
HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX  60g 6.5(extra stiff)
Standard length. Sure-fit set to D2 and at present, the adjustable weight is at neutral. 
 
Aesthetics:



I mean... Dayuum. She reminds of that song Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress by The Hollies 
If you like a "blacked-out" color scheme(which i obviously do, LOL), then you will probably like the looks of this thing. I also like how the weight track is hiding in the back and not interrupting the body lines on the sole. It is also very pleasing to the eye at address.
The sound this thing makes is very satisfying. The 915D3 i was using for a month sounded like a decent little league bat. My old TS3 was more like a loud cracking noise. The TSi3 is somewhere in between.
 
Now to the story behind my purchase. I will keep it brief as i went into more detail in my WITB thread... 
 
To make a long story short, my TS3's weight cartridge broke loose and was rattling around inside the head. I had built a relationship with the owner of a small shop near my house and had him contact Titleist even though he's not an "official" Titleist dealer. Even though it was well out of warranty, he was able to get me $100 off if i did get another Titleist. I couldn't really justify spending that much on a new driver, especially after i had just purchased a barely used TSi2 3w, so i told Greg I would take the 915D3 he had and call it even and would be there the next day to get it... That night i won $300 on a scratcher and then another $150 the next morning. I took that as a sign and placed my order.
For those of you thinking about placing an order with Titleist, that was Dec 2nd. Since he isn't an official dealer, it worked the same as if i had ordered it off their website myself. Even if he hadn't gotten me the rebate, i would have ordered it thru him anyway so i got the free fitting session. It finally showed up the first week of this month after 9ish weeks. It also didn't have the correct shaft. I ordered a 6.0 stiff but they sent it with a 6.5 extra stiff and said they could give me the correct one when they got back in stock. Not sure what I will do yet. I kinda like the ES but I can feel a day not too far down the road when i won't have the swing speed to properly load the shaft.
During my fitting session, i tried a couple different shafts for comparison. My old Adila NV, Tensei Blue,  Proforce V2 and another I can't remember the name of. The HZRDUS was clearly the better of the three and we settled on D2 for the hosel setting. I may tinker with the weight at some point but I'm content for now.
Got a good range session in this past Monday. Took me a few to get loosened up and dialed in but once i did, i was killing them. It's amazing how far a ball can travel at that low a trajectory with a 15-20mph tailwind. My "at or near 300yds by late spring" prediction might be a bit underestimated. I'm pretty sure I hit multiple over 300, though it's hard to tell at this particular range. It has a hill out around 280-290ish and while my eyesight isn't the greatest, I'm pretty sure i hit half a dozen over it.
 
 
 
 

But the question is...  Did you ask why he wasn't a MGS member?

I recently played with a low single index player here in Yuma who was playing Kirkland.  This guy plays blue tees and is one of the longer hitters I've seen/played with in the area. I figured they must be the originals but, nope, the V2's. He knew all about the MGS ball test data (not a member) and prevailing thoughts about these balls. I asked why he chooses this ball and his answer was simple; "they flat out compete with any balls I've played".  

Finally got out for a round yesterday and I'm liking these balls more and more. They have tremendous stopping power on the greens(especially noticeable on chip shots) but at the same time, I don't really notice any loss of distance off the tee like some have stated. Maybe it's because I didn't start playing them until late fall/early winter? We all lose a bit of distance as the air temps fall.
One thing I have noticed, and maybe it's just the shaggy greens on this particular course(it is known for having some of, if not the slowest, greens in town), but they don't seem to gel with the blue insert that's in my Ping G2i Craz-E putter... I have left many, many putts well short of the cup.
I would hate to have to get a new putter just because I like the way these play everywhere else on the course...

(Moving this from the driver sub-forum)
Figured I'd go ahead and document my journey with my most expensive purchase to date. Though it's not my first "top of the line" driver. Bought a new Hawkeye VFT back in the early 2000's and got it at a discount. But even at full price, i think they were something like $399. Though i did pay more for that one... Stay tuned for that story.
Let's start with the specs:
Titleist TSi3 10°
HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX  60g 6.5(extra stiff)
Standard length. Sure-fit set to D2 and at present, the adjustable weight is at neutral. 
 
Aesthetics:



I mean... Dayuum. She reminds of that song Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress by The Hollies 
If you like a "blacked-out" color scheme(which i obviously do, LOL), then you will probably like the looks of this thing. I also like how the weight track is hiding in the back and not interrupting the body lines on the sole. It is also very pleasing to the eye at address.
The sound this thing makes is very satisfying. The 915D3 i was using for a month sounded like a decent little league bat. My old TS3 was more like a loud cracking noise. The TSi3 is somewhere in between.
 
Now to the story behind my purchase. I will keep it brief as i went into more detail in my WITB thread... 
 
To make a long story short, my TS3's weight cartridge broke loose and was rattling around inside the head. I had built a relationship with the owner of a small shop near my house and had him contact Titleist even though he's not an "official" Titleist dealer. Even though it was well out of warranty, he was able to get me $100 off if i did get another Titleist. I couldn't really justify spending that much on a new driver, especially after i had just purchased a barely used TSi2 3w, so i told Greg I would take the 915D3 he had and call it even and would be there the next day to get it... That night i won $300 on a scratcher and then another $150 the next morning. I took that as a sign and placed my order.
For those of you thinking about placing an order with Titleist, that was Dec 2nd. Since he isn't an official dealer, it worked the same as if i had ordered it off their website myself. Even if he hadn't gotten me the rebate, i would have ordered it thru him anyway so i got the free fitting session. It finally showed up the first week of this month after 9ish weeks. It also didn't have the correct shaft. I ordered a 6.0 stiff but they sent it with a 6.5 extra stiff and said they could give me the correct one when they got back in stock. Not sure what I will do yet. I kinda like the ES but I can feel a day not too far down the road when i won't have the swing speed to properly load the shaft.
During my fitting session, i tried a couple different shafts for comparison. My old Adila NV, Tensei Blue,  Proforce V2 and another I can't remember the name of. The HZRDUS was clearly the better of the three and we settled on D2 for the hosel setting. I may tinker with the weight at some point but I'm content for now.
Got a good range session in this past Monday. Took me a few to get loosened up and dialed in but once i did, i was killing them. It's amazing how far a ball can travel at that low a trajectory with a 15-20mph tailwind. My "at or near 300yds by late spring" prediction might be a bit underestimated. I'm pretty sure I hit multiple over 300, though it's hard to tell at this particular range. It has a hill out around 280-290ish and while my eyesight isn't the greatest, I'm pretty sure i hit half a dozen over it.
 
 
 
 

Played the front 9 holes at The Vineyard today and used the TSi3 on 3 holes...
Smashed my drive on 1's tee but pushed it right. Twas a pretty flight/trajectory(no slice, just didn't quite finish my first swing of the day). Had an 80ish yard flop shot over a pine but caught it fat. I then tried to get cute from under the pine and partially bladed a LW over the back edge.  Chipped up and made a 10fter for bogey.
On the 500ish yd par5 8th, I picked my head up and hit a 100yd worm burner. Then I crushed my 19* hybrid up to about 165 before yanking my 7i left of the green. Flopped one over a trap and then 3 putted for dubogey, ugh.
Hit a tasty draw center cut on 9 but pulled the wrong iron(still working out distances with my AP2s and it's not easy this time of year with distances down a tick across the board) and left it short and right. Chipped up and lipped out from 8-10ft for a bogey finish.
I'm getting off the tee really well to start the season, with both woods and hybrids. Hopefully a little tip from one of the gents I was playing with today continues to help my iron/wedge game shape up like it did for the last few holes.

I wonder if I can get Maxfli to replace the number for me with this?

I call it the Maxfli Tour CG drop dot

I had my fitting today at my club, but first over the past couple of weeks I was able to play 2 rounds with the Stealth. I hit 2 drives off every tee box with TP5X balls. 
 
My SIM2 has a slight fade bias, and the Stealth has a slight draw bias. They were basically ending up in the same area just had slightly different ball flights. On the first round, the Stealth was the clear winner by a few yards. After that I went ahead and signed up for the fitting. It then got postponed because of weather. But I took the Stealth back out on the course for a second round. The SIM2 out performed the Stealth by a few yards every time.
 
Moral of the story, there didn’t appear to be much difference in the 2, or enough to justify the expense. However, I still had my slot, and was planning on giving it up to a friend, but he couldn’t make it, and I didn’t want to embarrass the pro by a no show. So I went and explained what happened, I also said that while I didn’t think the Stealth was worth changing to, I wanted to try the Stealth Plus since it was a lower spin head. I said my spin was way too high now with my current set up. SIM2 Max 9° turned down to 7° On a VENTUS Blue 5S shaft. I was launching at 11-12° but 2800-3300 rpm’s. I was fitted for this club last year, but I have made significant changes since then. While I have improved in every other area on the course, my distance with the driver has actually decreased slightly. Accuracy is up but obviously if I’m turning the driver down to 7°, I’m trying to cut the spin and stop the ball from ballooning. I have been hitting the SIM2 reasonably well, but because of the excessive spin it was affected by the wind much more than the others in my group. 
 
After several shaft combos, the Stealth Plus 10.5° turned to 9.75° on a Hzrdus RDX Red Smoke 6S gave me 14-15° launch with 2200-2300 rpm’s and 12 more mph ball speed. Couple that with the fantastic looks, feel, and sound and now I’m going to have to change drivers. I may be able to play a loaner configured this way tomorrow. If so this will be like moving up a tee. 
 
It is funny how the VENTUS Blue was a great shaft for me last year, and then I made swing changes. I now hit up on the driver much more. I was actually very surprised about the Hzrdus shaft fitting me although the Kai’li also was a good fit.