[TPT "3-in-1" Golf Shafts]

Interesting opportunity, and good luck to all who enter! @GolfSpy_APH is this not advertised on the top banner because of the locality requirement, or is my account just being uncooperative? Didn't event realize this test was open for signups!

[Maxfli Tour Series with MAX ALIGN Technology]

IMO the most underrated, best value ball out there (don’t @ me Kirkland!). Good luck to all applying!

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

1 hour ago, vandyland said:

For anyone that is still on the board these days, how are these holding up? I have a net that has last for YEARS but it is short (like only about 5 feet high) so I can really only hit mid irons into it. Curious because if I got a radar based launch monitor I would need a taller net. 

My ears must have been burning to have returned when I did! Mine still works like a champ (stored indoors FWIW), though the bottom frame has become slightly bent from being stored upright against a wall in my garage. Quite frankly, it's JUST cumbersome enough to have to put away after every use that I just don't bother. The bend doesn't impact performance at all and I have the space to keep it stored in that manner, so c'est la vie.

I did end up purchasing the white projector impact screen, though I have yet to get the projector set up. Ideally, I'll have the projector hooked up to my laptop, which will be connected to the Mevo+ for a barebones home simulator. More to come on that though!

[Arccos Caddie Bundle]

Congrats @DiscipleofPenick, @tommc23, @Getoffmylawn, @Ben_Howell34! Here's to hoping for a later winter for an extended testing opportunity!

[Arccos Caddie Bundle]

4 minutes ago, Peaksy68 said:

Hey @GolfSpy_BOS, just retweeted, when do I start?

This would be a lot funnier if the “How to Become a Tester” wasn’t such a dumpster fire . Good luck to everyone applying!

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

A tile-cutting station has occupied the same space as my garage hitting bay for some time while we're remodeling our bathroom. I wanted to practice my chipping and found myself reaching for my Maxfli Chipping Net instead of dragging out the XL net to the yard. If anything, I've further solidified in my mind that the chipping target has minimal value to me. I might see an argument for pitching practice if you have a means to practice 30+ yard shots (and want a larger target). At that point though, I have to imaging you'd have enough space in that scenario to not need a hitting net in the first place.

I continue to use the net at least weekly, and still feel like my confidence is growing in my irons and hybrids. No new holes in my net or drywall to report since posting final reviews!

[Stewart Q Follow Electric Caddie]

Easily four of the most recognizable names on the forum to me - a home run of a group selection! I'm VERY excited to see the content for this one. Congrats!

[Edel SMS Wedges]

I've already sent my "like" spam, but just wanted to say job well done to everyone on their reviews! It is easy to recognize that a lot of hard work went into them, and what bigger praise to have been cited by edel themselves!

Thanks again for the reviews!

[Shot Scope ProLX +]

Got my LX+ last week and finally getting around to getting everything set up. I was concerned about the strength of the H4 magnet given the experiences of some losing it off their belt clip. I was pleasantly surprised to feel just how strong the magnet is though. The only time the H4 feels loose in the belt clip when it isn't seated correctly in the belt holder.

For anyone who's had their H4 be jostled free, is it possible the device wasn't fully seated in the clip?

[Shot Scope ProLX +]

Well, thanks to the early feedback in this thread and the MGS50 deal, I jumped on the orange LX+. I thought I'd be an Arccos man but the benefits shown here without the subscription model make Shot Scope the more promising option for me.

Thanks testers for making the purchase an easier choice!

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

A quick update while we're getting final reviews together - this past Friday I played at the municipal 9-hole that doesn't have a range for warming up. I was able to warm up at home instead and ended up having my best round yet. It's also the first time I didn't top the ball for the entirety of the first two holes, both I believe are directly attributable to warming up with the net before the round.

Anyone who plays at locations with limited/no practice areas should seriously consider an at-home net if they don't already have one!

[Shot Scope ProLX +]

Congrats, and what a beautiful bunch of testers! If you figure out a way to take images of the range finder view, I’ll be deeply impressed!

Do any of you have existing equipment you’ll be able to compare against? Looking forward to the results in any case!

[Edel SMS Wedges]

On 6/20/2022 at 1:26 PM, scooterhd2 said:

Edel SMS Wedges – Official MGS Forum Review by scooterhd2

Unboxing - June 19th of 2022

Order confirmation on May 31, received June 18th. Not bad considering the custom order. As mentioned, this is one of the better golf boxes I've seen. Very sturdy, nice handle. Would be suitable for a full set of clubs, let alone 3 wedges. So first impressions are great with no visible outside damages.

Man, forget the wedges, I'm stealing that ping pong table! If you're in Phoenix, then the only thing that could make it better is if it had the old American West livery color scheme. If that's not at a corporate office, you're going to have to share where someone could acquire such a table!

Great photos and I appreciate the comparisons to the other wedges!

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

Today was not a great day for the net.

I had originally planned to do an update after I hit "500" on the ball counter. I'm just shy at 453 currently, but today's performance requires at least a brief check in. I purchased a Rapsodo MLM during their father's day sale this weekend and tested it briefly yesterday with a 9-iron. Today, I ran through my entire bag, minus my 3 iron, 4 iron, and sand wedge to finally establish some kind of baseline of my existing clubs. I purchased a new set of clubs (D, 3W, 5i-PW, 56, 60) in Late May through Fairway Jockey that I'm hopeful will be shipped out sometime in July. I plan to write some unofficial reviews for the Rapsodo MLM, Fairway Jockey, and the clubs (Cobra LTDx's and Milled Grind 3 wedges) using the new beta member review format in the coming weeks.

I've previously mentioned that I've been tracking how many of my hits have bounced out from the net and sent me chasing them down in the garage. That number continues to hover around 5-6% of all balls hit. Unfortunately, I am now tracking two other numbers: balls which are caught by the net but still hit the wall behind it, and balls which miss the net completely.

I had one ball each with my 6i and 3W that missed the target sheet, hit the mesh netting, but still had enough force to make contact with the wall behind it. I'm not breaking any swing speed records on my best day, but I've been dialing back my swing indoors intentionally until I get more confidence that I wont be making contact with anything hanging from the ceiling. There is at least a foot of clearance between the net and the wall, and at these speeds I'm surprised it wasn't enough. While the wall was not damaged, there are a small indentations and a marks on the drywall.

 

I had another ball with my 6i miss the net completely and bounce off the car sitting in the garage behind me. It was so bad that it didn't register as a shot by Rapsodo. It was easily my worst shank of the year, and bad enough that it calls into confidence whether I would use this net outside near windows or with neighbors down range. I'm not throwing in the towel on the product, but I did explicitly call out during my introduction that I expected the SPG8 to be perfect to warrant the $230 premium over the SPG7.

I'm starting to get the sense that those of a higher skill level than I would be have their needs met by the SPG7 (or even SPG5), and the true shankopotomuses like me would need a full enclosure to be completely confident in avoiding huge miss hits. In any event, more testing to come! Once Chicago has these heat advisories behind us, I'll be migrating the net outdoors more for some testing with the chipping net and see if its worth the hassle to use over something like this Maxfli chipping net which has been hanging out in my basement since this test began.

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

An update from this weekend - I’ve been keeping track of how many balls I’ve hit on one of those clicker counters:

The good: every ball I’ve hit has hit some part of the net, and not damage to walls, ceiling, or garage objects has been seen (yet).

The bad-ish: ~6% of my hits have bounced out from the net and sent me chasing them down in the garage. I suspect this is due in no small part to the concrete floor and won’t be an issue when I migrate the net to the lawn outside. However, the product claims of “Automatic Ball Return to your feet for constant practice” and “Ball rolls gently down not touching the floor” have not been true in all cases for me this far.

The ugly: I spent a session outside at my usual range to see how things were progressing. Unfortunately, I realized that I’ve fallen into a few bad swing habits using the net resulting in a slice in my more trustworthy clubs that I didn’t have before. This was noticeable and corrected for at the range, but I haven’t had the “instant feedback on your shots” claimed by the product.

Overall, I’m still happy with the net but it’s going to require significantly more mindful use than I’ve been exercising thus far.

Lastly, I clunked a club against the garage door tracks last week. Not wanting to do that again, I picked up a foam HVAC insulation tube for $3 at Home Depot and cut to fit. So far, problem solved!

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

I may have let my engineering mind run wild a bit. Inspired by the simulators-in-a-box and motivated by distaste for repetitive tasks, I wanted to see if there was a way to more quickly set up and take down the net in the garage.

Ive got the net secured using the same pulley system you use for hoisting bicycles to the garage ceiling. This also alleviates the need to rethread the roof pole. It doesn’t work as smooth as I’d like yet (more engineering required) but at the moment I can go from stored to swinging in 1:42. Not bad!

As for your comment @WaffleHouseTour, I don’t see the same issue on the net currently but will keep an eye out!

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

14 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

You did an excellent job starting your review and thank you for all the information you put into it. All I could think in that photo of you carrying the net was "does this net make me look small?". That bad boy is huge compared to the SPG7! 

I truly believe you'll enjoy it, and I think it'll be able to stop anything you throw its way. Just make sure to watch out for horribly thinned shots and those like you had off the support poles, you can get some that come back at you. I mostly had those with foam balls, so that's a positive. They can also get stopped behind the target like you saw and you can just walk around and give them a bump with your club to get them to roll back down. 

I'm looking forward to you getting your mat and really putting it to the test. 

Oh, almost forgot, you'll eventually be able to break it back down in a snap once you get used to how it folds up. I was fortunate that I used to have a hunting blind that was similar. 

Hey thanks, that means a lot coming from you! To be honest, my goal is to meet the same level of engagement and feedback that you had for the SPG-7 test. I've admittedly not read through as many test reviews on the forum as others. Of what I have gone through completely, that thread was far and away my favorite.

You're right in that breaking it down has already gotten easier. I took it out to my front yard yesterday evening for a toddler test and had the neighborhood kids romp around in the ball return net and throw their various basketballs, volleyballs, etc.. around. It had no issues, and it went away much easier the second time around. I also think being outdoors instead of the garage made it feel less imposing to get together, so I'll be mindful of that going forward.

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

Who has two thumbs and was eagerly waiting by the home office window for Fedex to arrive? This guy.

First Impressions

This thing is big. There's a pretty good chance that it's too big, but we'll see about that as the test progresses. The shipping weight is listed at 30lbs and while I don't have a scale readily available, I don't doubt its heft. For reference, below is the package up against my sedan and all 5'10" of my wiry self with the unboxed net in it's carrying bag. Compare the photo of me with what @sirchunksalot posted in his 2020 review, and its clear this is significantly larger.

Keeping up with the theme of following up on findings of previous reviews, my first point of inspection was the quality of stitching on the bag based on the issues reviewed by   @TR1PTIK. I did not see anything to the same degree that he did, but unfortunately I did spot some areas with less-than-stellar stitching and several spots with loose or frayed threads:

My second point of interest was in the quality of the roof pole channel mentioned by.. well... everyone. It felt like the thinnest material on the product by far. It felt even thinner than the material for the bag which surprised me. I broke out the calipers and measured a fold of both materials (to ensure I wasn't including the thickness of any stitching). The bag material measured out at 0.26 mm (meaning a true 0.13mm thickness) while the roof tube channel measured out at 0.18 (i.e. 0.09mm) - nearly 30% thinner:

This seems like an odd design decision to me given the seemingly readily available thicker bag material, but maybe the 0.09 thick channel material is in fact thicker than the SPG-7. If that's the case then I understand how it was a major problem in the past. I'll keep using it during this testing to see if durability has improved.

As for the claim that the poles have been upgraded, that appears to be true. Credit again to @sirchunksalot for graciously measuring the SPG-7 poles for us at 56 7/16" long and ~11.1125mm thick. The SPG-8 poles measure in at 64 3/4" long (+~13% length) and 13.63mm thick (+~19% thickness). For completeness, the roof poles measured in at 124 15/16"long  and 6.04mm thick.

One other note on material thickness - the folded target sheet itself measured in at whopping 1.18mm (i.e. .59mm). That might not sound like much, but the difference between the thickness of the bag and the target material feels similar to the difference between the material used for camping tents and a nice soft jersey t-shirt. Out of the gate, I have no concerns about the longevity of the target material.

Initial Setup

Taped to the outside of the box in a "packing slip" container was not a packing slip but instead a supplemental instruction and warning that "the spring steel opens forcefully" and that set up should occur "far away from people vehicles, and structures." Typos galore aside, this warning should be heeded. I had to jump out of the way when the net opened up. I will seriously have to be mindful to keep my daughter and dog away while this is being opened outdoors.

I had issues following the instructions in that I couldn't get the support poles into the correct eyelets. For one, the product shipped with ropes tied into the eyelets that the support poles were supposed to be inserted into. These ropes had to be moved for the support poled to fit. For another, I could only manage to get the pole into both eyelets by starting with the top eyelet, lifting the net forcefully, and sliding the pole into the ground eyelet while also stepping on the lower portion of the net. Maybe I'm a weakling, but this required more strength than I anticipated.

The roof channel, potentially as expected, was the most challenging part of the set up. The collapsible rod does not like to play nicely and requires a lot of finesse to fully thread through the channel. Once through though, it inserted into its eyelets with ease. With everything set up, it became clear that the "XL" is no misnomer. It really is difficult to adequately describe how imposing this thing is. I will measure assembled dimensions on my next use.

First Use

I am waiting on delivery of my 3 X 5 Country Club Elite Golf Mat from Costco but I wanted to at least take a few swings at the net. I opened a new box of MaxFli Tour, Matte White balls to commemorate the occasion. I took my first swing and shanked it right into the back left support pole leaving a nice mark on the ball. Sadly, the ball bounced out of the net and back at me.

Not a good start for me, or the net.

For my second shot, I hit it low and the ball came to rest just outside the net. Not sure if that's considered a catch or not, but let's call it a tie.

For my third shot, I set up my camera and tried to duplicate the same low burner. This time, the ball ended up stuck behind the target net. Not a good look for the ball return feature.

 

After hitting another ball, this one ended up rolling back down with the other so it doesn't seem like this is a real issue. Interesting ball behavior to me though!

I only hit a few more balls before trying to put the net back into it's storage bag. I expect that I will get better at the process over time, but it was a real wrestling match the first time out. I followed the printed instructions as best as I could but will likely need to go back and watch Sporina's videos before attempting again. Again, maybe I'm just a weakling but merely folding the net up was a workout:

That's all for today! I'm excited to test with the CCE mat once it arrives, and attempt to use the net outdoors with some of my friends and neighbors as well. I'm also looking forward to seeing if the other testers experience the same challenges I had.

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

Sporina SPG-8 XL Net – Official MGS Forum Review by mynerds

Introduction - May 31, 2022

Hello! My name is Mark, I am a high-handicap player near Chicago and have played golf mostly in social contexts like Top Golf and par 3 courses for a few decades. I am a natural righty, but golf lefty – exactly opposite previous Sporina reviewer @RichL85. By day, I work as a cybersecurity consultant. By night, I am husband, dad, and fur-dad to these three:

I’ve documented my progress this year as I attempt to go from Novice to Not So Bad. My biggest weakness right now is my iron striking. I love practice and love spending time at the range. My daily schedule is chaotic with both my wife and I juggling full-time jobs and chasing around our sassy toddler, so I am not always in control of when I get to practice. We’re both fortunate to work from home, but that also brings its own challenges in making sure we’re also not living at our jobs.

When I can find time to get to the range, I find myself trying to “get my money’s worth” and hit as many balls as possible even when slower, shorter, deliberate practice would be more beneficial. I practice putting or chipping regularly which has greatly helped my short game and confidence. I’ve also been making room in the garage for full iron and driver swings during inclement weather and our 5-month long winter.

I’m extremely excited to test the Sporina SPG-8 XL Net and have high expectations given the SPG-7’s status as MGS’ Best Golf Hitting Net 2021. Here’s what I’ll be focused on during product testing:

Direct Performance

First and foremost, the net needs to catch golf balls. It should catch them if they’re low, it should catch them if they’re slow. It should catch balls that are drawn, it should catch them in the lawn. It should catch them in the air, it should catch them everywhere!

Suess-isms aside, with the size of the SPG-8 and the reputation of the SPG-7, I’m expecting the SPG-8 to be perfect in catching every. single. ball. This is an extra-large product and smaller, less expensive options (including the SPG-7) may provide better value if the SPG-8 is merely “OK” at catching balls.

Additionally, Sporina claims features of an automatic ball return that doesn’t touch the floor, instant set up and take down, and instant feedback on shots. I’ll be testing each of these claims both indoors and out:

Indirect Performance

It would be great if regular practice improved my game, but it’s no fault of the net if I’m destined to play poorly. Nevertheless, I will track the amount of time I spend using the product and correlate it with any improvements in my play and confidence. I have reasonably accurate pre-test Trackman data from a club fitting just prior to the test and I’ll plan to spend time with a Trackman near the conclusion of the test to capture high fidelity club data.

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

As we await arrival of the SPG-8 this week, I have a favor to ask anyone with the SPG-7 / previous testers (@sirchunksalot @Rtracymog @Micah T @revkev @RichL85 @Ben_Howell34 @TR1PTIK)
 

1. The product page for the SPG-8 reads "SPG-8 XL Edition features a new, larger upgraded design specially built to withstand years of practice. By paying extra-close attention to detail, we’ve created a practice net that will help you realize the full potential of your new set up!" I've read the previous reviews and noted a few common areas of concern for the SPG-7. More than a few folks mentioned the sleeve for the roof pole being a potential weak point, and there were a few other comments related to quality of stitching and long term durability of other areas of the product. If you've held on to the product since your test, is there anything specifically about the SPG-8 you'd hope Sporina addressed?
    
2. I'm curious if there is a change in product materials or if any "upgrades" are strictly design related. If anyone has a set of calipers, I'd love to get outer diameter measurements of both the SPG-7's support poles and netting material itself. Alternatively, if you could take a photo of the support poles and netting against a measuring stick/tape measure/ruler, that would be greatly appreciated!

Next round is on me for anyone who responds and finds themself in the Chicago burbs!

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

2 minutes ago, MDGolfHacker said:

I'd like the testers to shank a few shots, sky a few shots, throw a few worm burners in to see how well the Spornia reigns those types of shots in, you know for scientific purposes....not that I hit those types of shots often

 

MDGolfHacker

This uh... this will definitely be a part of the review, intentional or otherwise .

Additionally, I'm the type of person who reads the instruction manual of every purchase (much to my wife's frustration). Professionally, I deal with identifying and assessing product use and misuse cases (albeit in an entirely different industry). I have a few scenarios in my mind that I want to test assuming that they're not already explicitly advised against by the product itself. As a benign example, I have indoor and outdoor space available to test the net in. Is it permissible to leave the net up outside for prolonged periods of time? If so, how is it going to hold up against the notoriously volatile Chicago weather? We had days last year with rain, sleet, hail, and sun in the same afternoon. If the product is delicate in it's exposure requirements then the ability to set up and take down quickly and easily will be a make-or-break for outdoor use.

To be clear, I'm not talking about intentional product abuse. I don't think anyone benefits from evaluating this thing in artificially ideal conditions though. Can I wash the target sheet with a garden hose if/when I hit a fat shot out of my grass? Can I be confident setting this thing up in the 3rd car garage bay without fear that a shank will hit an adjacent vehicle in the garage? If skying shots with my sand wedge to test the roof net risks putting holes in my garage ceiling, so be it! I'm plenty comfortable with patching and drywall compound

I have high expectations for the SPG-8 based on the previous, glowing reviews. It's tempting to think it's a forgone conclusion that this will live up to the performance of the SPG-7. I assure ya'll it's going to be put through its paces, and I'm not resting on our laurels!

[Spornia SPG8 XL Net]

2 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

Congrats testers! We’re all expecting big things from you!

see what I did there? XL net… big things… 

ok, I’ll go crawl back under my desk again. 

I’m here for the XL responsibilities and the XL puns. Incredibly grateful and excited to put this product to the test! Thanks MGS!

[Edel SMS Wedges]

Good looking group of testers right there! Congrats to you all, show those wedges no mercy!

[L.A.B Putters]

2 hours ago, EasyPutter said:

What a weekend!  Only just saw this and I am floored, and honored and now the responsibility is again mine to give fellow MGSpies the test and review worth reading 

Won't use this as opportunity to promote my golf club (worlds greatest (one) without the course in my signature) but it was our first meeting of members at French Lick Resort in Indiana and I was on Friday playing the 9-hole Valley Links Course (hence not seeing the notice), on Saturday playing the Donald Ross Course with club dinner afterward, and on Sunday playing the Pete Dye Course before starting the drive home to Western NY.  Having just arrived home this morning from the drive complete with total lunar eclipse, thunderstorms, and construction season in full bloom I only just had opportunity to login to catch up on the forums.  So here it is, Monday facing the most exciting testing I have been chosen to participate in, and if you are going to be at the Queenstown Harbor GC on Saturday August 6 you will get a chance to see the test in progress!

Thanks again to MGS and the sponsor L.A.B. Golf for this opportunity, time to get to work to feel worthy 

I had to double check your profile to see where you were from. Chicago District Golf Association sent out an email about a member meetup at French Lick recently - looks like the resort is trying to draw people in from all over! Always fun to be in the land of Larry Bird.

If you ever make your way back there, take the scenic drive and exit 65 towards Bloomington through the state forests and then south to French Lick. You won't find a nicer drive, especially in the fall.

[L.A.B Putters]

Congrats @Samsonite! Given the psychosis that hit the signup thread with 90s movie quotes last night, I feel it's only appropriate to paraphrase Dumb and Dumber here.

What's the new tester's name? I'll look it up.
Starts with an S! Let's see. Swim? Swammi? Slippy? Slappy? Swenson? Swanson?
Maybe it's on the post. Oh, yeah! It's right here. Samsonite! I was way off! I knew it started with an S, though.