Gusset
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Posts posted by Gusset
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I got a Garmin R10 late last year. To date, I've only used it hitting into a net in my yard. I use it probably every 3 or 4 practice sessions to check progress on clubhead speed and carry distance. Every so often I'll play a round with one of the free E6 courses, which helps scratch the itch if I can't get out on the course for one reason or another. I have 11 RCT balls that I use sometimes if I want maximum spin accuracy, such as the day before a round to get a current baseline for iron carry distances or when playing E6, but most of the time I'm using regular balls. I started with 12 RCT balls, but hit a wedge over the net into the woodsy/brushy stuff.
Now I limit RCT shots to 8 iron and longer. 
I thought I would care about the potential inaccuracies in side spin directionality, but for various reasons, it turns out that I don't really need that to benefit from the device.
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Until recently I had a decent idea, but isolating carry was a bit of guesswork. I recently picked up a used Garmin R10, and it's helped me dial things in more accurately. Adds a bit of confidence to club selection.
- William P, TJ Hall and Rob Person
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My 7-iron carries 150, +/- 3 yards (or is that +/- 10 yards???).
Old school loft, 37 degrees (Tommy Armour 845Ti).
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On 3/25/2024 at 9:31 PM, Gusset said:
I've got a dozen mid-sized Star Grips that are supposed to show up tomorrow, including the installation gun. I removed the grips off a few clubs in preparation, and it brought up a question: does anyone know how the air installation works when the leftover tape from the previous traditional grip installation is still somewhat tacky? How about removing a Star Grip after installing over tacky tape?
I had been hoping to avoid the mess and raw skin that in my experience is always an after-effect of cleaning off the old tape. I suppose I could just put a layer of masking tape over the leftover tacky grip tape.
Anyone have any experience to provide answers to this one?
Update...the leftover tacky grip tape didn't seem to hinder installation. However a few minutes later I tried removing it, and it was more difficult. It seems a reasonable expectation that the degree of increased difficulty will go up with time. So I threw some frog tape over the tacky stuff before re-installing.
As was mentioned earlier by at least one other poster, the air tool makes installing/removing so easy it's almost a joke. 10, perhaps 15 seconds. All you really need to pay attention to is that you keep your pushing hand behind the shaft, as the instructions say, to minimize potential friction. I wish I'd have known about Star Grips before now.
Haven't played them yet, and I'm not a reviewer here, so I'm limiting my thoughts to the installation side of things. But I will say these seem to be about 1/4 - 1/2" shorter than the grips I'm replacing. I could probably get them to stretch to the same length, but I don't really see a point.
Thanks to everyone who replied to my original post.
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I've got a dozen mid-sized Star Grips that are supposed to show up tomorrow, including the installation gun. I removed the grips off a few clubs in preparation, and it brought up a question: does anyone know how the air installation works when the leftover tape from the previous traditional grip installation is still somewhat tacky? How about removing a Star Grip after installing over tacky tape?
I had been hoping to avoid the mess and raw skin that in my experience is always an after-effect of cleaning off the old tape. I suppose I could just put a layer of masking tape over the leftover tacky grip tape.
Anyone have any experience to provide answers to this one?
- Rob Person and EugeGall
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12 hours ago, LeakyValve said:
For those who wanted to see the whole process… Enjoy!!
Thanks for going to the trouble of posting your video, very useful.
General grip question...I'm no stranger to installing my own grips, but I've never layered up tape to reduce the taper. A number of folks in this topic have either tested with it, such as LV here, or had questions indicating they prioritize the ability to manually impact the taper. Is this what the majority of folks do? Or does it just seem that way (because the people that don't do it...wouldn't be asking about it)?
- BallsLeon, Rob Person and William P
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Interesting video, potentially useful for judging one's ball striking. Unfortunately, it could also be just a bit misleading. He mentioned at the outset that loft is going to play a role...the 1.9 factor is applicable to the 7-iron he was hitting, but I believe he also stated that someone hitting a stronger lofted 7-iron wouldn't see the same relationship. Seems pretty obvious.
So what was the loft on his 7-iron? I watched to the end, and I don't recall him saying anything attaching a loft number to either his club or what's out there. I currently play 90s vintage clubs (TA-845Ti), and I suspect my 7-iron's 36* loft probably would not match up with the 1.9 factor. My R10 numbers with a 6-iron (32*) seem to meet the 1.9 relationship on a good strike, and I've seen loft numbers for some modern 7-irons that are even stronger than my 6.
Any guesses as to what he was hitting?
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Per one of Garmin's tech support articles, the radar needs enough flight distance to permit two full revolutions of the ball in order to get a measurement. Judging by the chart they provide, 8 feet doesn't look like enough to get an actual measurement at your ball speed unless you're spinning it pretty high, so it's likely estimated.
https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=COFCXdRAJv2m8r9MBtLrf8
(on this link, click on "Determining Distance From Tee to Net" for the chart)
The shot data should tell you whether the spin number is measured or estimated.
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You might consider the Fiberbuilt Flight Deck style of mat. Several weeks ago, I put up a YT video summary of my thoughts after having one for 2.5 years, for what it's worth. I've got the mat-only version that I built a platform to use with, but they sell it coupled with a nice standing mat as well. As with other options in this thread, it's very joint friendly, among other qualities.
Whatever you decide to go with, good luck!
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I'd love to have room for a 15-20' mat, but my experience suggests there are still benefits to be had with something shorter. I've been using a smallish mat, max putt distance ~7.5', most of this season. It's one of those kidney bean shaped surfaces with three holes, so you can come at things from different angles. I walk past it multiple times/day, and I often stop for a minute or two and hit a few putts. My main goals have been to 1) build a consistent smooth stroke with quiet wrists and a good follow through, 2) get so I can better hit my intended line, and 3) mix in some non-block practice benefits with the sporadic mini-sessions.
It definitely has paid off. I'm missing a lot less from 5 feet and in, and making more in the 5-12 foot range and beyond. It clearly can't help me read greens better
, but a smoother stroke/follow through, and less pulling/pushing, have paid dividends. I also think a more consistent stroke and follow through help at least a little on the distance control, but I wouldn't argue that one too vigorously.
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I've never seen one in use at a driving range, but for home practice the Fiberboard Flight Deck is a great "mat" for reducing injury potential and for not concealing fat contact like a flat mat. Needs an elevated surface to stand on is about the only negative.
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Looking forward to hearing people's thoughts on this one.
I do both, mainly as a method to regulate distance, with both chipping and pitching clubs. For carrying it up to 20 yards, I use no wrist break. Beyond that it's gradually more wrist break (with a longer swing).
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If you decide that the balanced/zero torque potential is most important to you, you might also have a look at Axis1. They've been making "torque free" putters for 10 or 15 years now, with the shaft axis passing through the CG/impact point of the head. The look bothers some players, but their more recent offerings have gotten less weird to look down at. Their latest designs are usually available to try out in larger golf stores or pro shops. Their web site also has most of their historical offerings. Not common on tour, if that matters to you, but they are out there in the hands of a few players (Justin Rose is the most well known). I play an Umbra.
Whatever you decide, good luck!
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No line for me. To my thinking, my eyes need to be directly over the ball to see correctly to get the line on my putter aligned with the line on the ball. When I tried it, I didn't think I was getting that alignment correct and it threw me off.
I have to say, though, that a good roll from someone that uses a line is fun to watch.
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One tip that I recently took from Mark Sweeny when he was a guest on the Sweet Spot podcast: you're usually better off overestimating the break on a putt than underestimating it. I'm over-simplifying the entirety of his discussion with that summary, but I've found it helpful.
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Similar to OP, I wanted something I could track better in the air, both in clear skies and overcast. Red is a color whose visibility seems to vary with different individuals, but for me it showed up the air really well...a nice black dot that I could follow as far as one could hit it on most shots. Unfortunately I found it sometimes a bit harder to pick up on a green fairway or in the rough.
I settled on OnCore's matte green (Vero X1). I see it easier in the air than white, yellow, or orange, and also a bit easier on the ground as well. On a slightly different track, I like looking down at a matte ball. Not entirely sure why...maybe there actually is something to the marketing claims about that. Might try Vice's lime green someday.
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1 hour ago, thechrisgibbs said:
My home sim mat is a fiberbuilt (See video below). The fiberbuilt shows me I hit the ball fat and punishes accordingly. It also allows me to hit down on the ball without punishing my arms. I get it, though. This is not what mats are like at courses.
+1 on the Fiberbuilt mat. Really nice for full swing work...you definitely know when you hit it fat, and it's pretty easy on the joints. I have the small version, the Flight Deck, and I had to construct a platform to stand on in order to use it because it puts the ball an inch or two off the ground. But it's far and away the best mat I've tried at home (backyard/net), and it's still in good shape after 2 years of pretty hard use.
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I really like my Fiberbuilt Flight Deck hitting mat...it's easy on the joints, feels closer to being real turf than most of the less expensive mat offerings, and lets me evaluate contact- I can tell if a shot would have been fat because I can feel that the impact was high on the face. It's holding up very well after two years of heavy use, some of that being chipping/pitching across my yard (up to about 55 yards), but mostly full iron shots into a net. I also like the portability since I move it around the yard a fair amount. The only real drawback of its design is that it's on the tall side, so I generally have to be standing on a platform if I want to get the ball at the same height as my feet.
So it's a great hitting surface. However, a lot of my short game shots on the course are out of the rough, so I'd like to find something that better simulates imperfect lies. I see that there are a few small mats on Amazon that have "rough" sections. Has anyone tried these? Do they get any closer to simulating shots from the thick stuff? Are they reasonably durable? I know that an artificial mat can't truly simulate real conditions, but something with a bit less optimal lie than the typical hitting mat would still make at-home practice more profitable.
Any recommendations?
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My stat tracking is transitioning. Breaking through the "90 wall" has been the goal for some time, but an elusive one. When I've been able to break 90, it's been interesting to experience that it didn't take miracle shots or a dazzling approach game- just gotta keep the ball in play/don't waste strokes. So, for much of this season, I've been tracking "un-useable tee shots" (including penalties) and 3-putts, since those were the biggest pareto items leading to wasted strokes.
Lately, due to improvements off the tee and on the green, the "85 wall" is the new target. Still tracking tee shots and 3-putts, but I've started also keeping tabs on GIR and short game proximity/up-down (and proximity) as the next pareto items.
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3 hours ago, Middler said:
I watched the LIV tournament on YouTube for 4-5 minutes this morning. Poor resolution/production quality and a gimmicky scoreboard, but it's too early to judge their product, even though I won't be watching. Didn't see any shot tracer, but maybe I didn't watch long enough. Phil was playing, his gallery was literally two dozen people - hilarious. Scores weren't that great, most players over par. I didn't recognize the voices of the commentators, but I don't care enough to do a search on who they are...
Can't be easy to judge the broadcast on such a small sample...maybe you caught a bad 4-5 minutes?
Quality was good for me (I watched on livgolf.com). There was a fair amount of shot tracer, but a lot of shots didn't have it also. Maybe they don't have it on all holes, and it gets lost due to the shotgun start and covering the whole course throughout the whole broadcast?
After a few minutes to get used to it, I liked the leader board concept. I also like that it was constantly present, instead of coming and (mostly) going as I'm used to on televised PGA Tour events. LIV's leader board is definitely a big improvement once you understand it, IMHO.
One criticism I have, though, is that they never showed distance to the pin for shots. I could also do with less sugary LIV cheer leading from the commentators, but I can't hold that against them, given that it's the inaugural broadcast and they're trying to drum up support...other than that they were fine.
- GaDawg, MGoBlue100 and ryan.mzzz
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One of the MGS ball test summaries noted that when wet, a matte ball has "significantly" lower spin (or similar wording), but the overall test report didn't provide numbers, so I don't know what "significant" means. I've also seen a post by a MGS member with a launch monitor that shared methodology and numbers from his own testing of wet/dry glossy/matte balls...I didn't see great problems with his test process, and his results consistently had the opposite trend. So I don't know what to think.
I use matte because I like the reduced glare at address.
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Wish my contact points were consistently like that...looks great to me. Not much chance of hitting fat.
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On 2/10/2022 at 12:41 PM, Clayton said:
Hey guys - we are seriously thinking about moving to Vancouver, WA. I'm originally from Bellingham but have been living in Europe for the past 5+ years (Svensk wife who I met in B'ham).
I am wondering if any of you live in the area and what courses you typically play? Another member told me there's quite a few MGS peeps in the area. In the pictures of courses and the homes we are looking at, it seems like grass is hard to grow in that area. So many houses with dying lawns... curious about that.
But I'm mostly looking into the golf there. Royal Oaks looks really nice but has a $30,000 fee!!!!!
I'll be in Bellingham in March if anyone wants to tee it up and I plan to drive down to Vancouver to take a look around the areas we think we would like to live (open to opinions about that as well).
I'm in the Vancouver area. I'm not sure what to tell you about grass being hard to grow, that's not a generalization I'd make (though where I am, in the hills to the east, I've got more clay than I'd like). Last summer was a little on the brutal side, though.
I can't speak to Green Meadows or Royal Oaks, the two main private courses I'm aware of...I haven't played them since high school in the 80s when I was on the golf team.
There are a number of public courses in the immediate area to investigate. Generally what you might expect for a $40-60 green fee. Everyone will have their own thoughts, here are some of mine.
Camas Meadows is probably the most upscale and well kept public course in SW Washington. Not much margin for error off the tee. I like the layout. It's uncommon- stretched out and meandering through the local woodlands and neighborhood...not a lot of side-by-side fairways. Most tees are a 2-3 minute walk from the previous green. Only drawback there comes when I'm walking and my playing partners are riding.
Heron Lakes, just over the river in North Portland, has 36 holes. Being close to where the rivers meet, drainage isn't the best, so not my #1 option for winter golf. Good courses, tons of bunkers.
I play most of my rounds at Tri Mountain in Ridgefield. Wind usually picks up in the afternoons. They keep it in pretty good shape...only complaint I have is with the bunkers (in need of a sand refresh/replenishment).
Lewis River Golf Course, about a 30-45 minute away in Woodland, is probably my second most played course, largely because it's so peaceful and quiet. Front nine has a few holes that are a bit on the short side. #12 is the longest hole I've ever played, 620/647 from white/blue. This course recently came under new ownership, and yesterday the starter told me he's hearing mixed messages about the future.
I'll let others speak to what's over the river in Portland and further south...some really nice courses there. If you don't mind a 5 hour drive, you can also keep going south and head for Bandon.
I hope this overly long post is at least a little bit helpful.
Losing your groove in a round after a delay
in Lessons, Drills, Mental Game, and Fitness Tips
Posted
Yesterday I was playing 18 at Tri-Mountain in SW Washington. Front nine I was playing alone. Pace was about average for what I experience during the afternoon/early evening on this course, about 2:10 for the front nine. I was playing very well for me: 4 over for the side, no blow-ups. Though I had the occasional pull or slightly fat iron contact, my swing was in a nice groove, especially off the tee (everything long and either in the fairway or first cut).
For whatever reason, there was a delay making the turn; approaching the #10 tee, the group in front of me had obviously been waiting. I teed off 15-20 minutes after finishing hole #9, having been joined by another single from behind me. The entire back nine, my swing seemed nothing like what it had been. I started off double-double-double, played from trouble off the tee on five holes, lots of thin/fat irons, etc. I managed to scramble my way to four pars out of the last six holes, but the groove I'd been in just seemed to have evaporated.
Golf is 18 holes, and perhaps the greatest challenge is maintaining consistency and focus to get through all of them with the fewest blow-ups. But this isn't the first time a brief layover has derailed me when starting up again (maybe weather, maybe stopping for a hot dog, or just a log jam like I describe here).
What have folks found to be helpful for maintaining consistency after a stop-start in play?