Aim490

All of my rounds these days are casual. But pretty-much everyone I play with wants to make their own par or birdie putt - just for the satisfaction. Bogey putts are given within 1-2 ft and doubles+ are usually given about 3 ft or so - nobody ever actually measures. My playing partners and I WANT to sink the par or birdie putt even if it’s from 2 inches. It’s a great feeling. There’s never $$ on the line. Also, after 3 putts, picking up is offered and encouraged, but not required. I used to play with a bunch of guys (12-16) on an annual fun trip who’d put $10 each round into a pot to pay out for giant skins. Nobody ever won a hole with a bogey, so bogeys+ were a gimme option. Handicaps weren’t considered. Nobody in the group was especially good, so it all worked out.

I love to watch the pros play those beautiful courses. Sometimes I just marvel at the consistency and ease they seem to swing with (Morikawa, JT, Scheffler, etc). Their short games and sand play absolutely amaze me. Their putting, even on a bad day, is great to watch. Those are the things I, as an old hacker, can actually see myself learning to do better than I am doing. The poise and mental toughness the pros show under huge pressure knocks me out. I’ll leave the monstrous drives to those who can do it. Very impressive to see. Even if they’re approaching with 9i or wedge, vs my hybrid or 7i (for my 3rd or 4th shot ). The Tour Pros are a different breed than me, but I can watch them on TV for hours when I have the time. The TV announcers say dumb stuff, overstate the obvious (however they’re miles ahead of football’s idiotic talking heads), and the directors & producers don’t show much coverage of those not in the top 10 on the board, but that’s where watching Thurs or Fri will show a lot of different pros battle their way to the weekend and it’s fun to see. I might watch an hour or 2 at a time, or even total for the week, and I’m rarely bored (but my wife sure can be). The Sunday finishes can be fabulous to watch and even my non-golfing wife will watch along with me.

All this K-Sig irons discussion as it pertains to actual performance is a bit ridiculous, considering almost everyone here is looking at these as a $499 novelty. No fitting options, no shaft choices other than R or S, length, lie, grip, etc. So really $499 buys a set of decent heads and everything else is hit-or-miss. In my case, mostly miss. I don’t have a spare 500 bucks to spend on golf novelties. I don’t think that many of us do. There’s about a 99% chance I wouldn’t game them as-is. So what’s the point? They’re pretty cheap, decent looking and generally playable. That’s a pretty low bar that I’m willing to bet several other off-the-shelf sets can equal.

I play what are generally designated as “mens” tees, usually about 5-10yd back from “seniors”. I never play from farther. My par 68 home course is short ~5300yd from the mens tees I use, but has LOTS of sand traps, trees just off the fairways, and some water and marsh hazards. Accuracy, sand skills and putting are the most important things there. Other longer courses I will still play the same “mens” tees, though, as do all of my playing partners.

Moderator: Please delete this post - I goofed and this wasn’t mean to be posted..My reply is actually below this. I almost always play the “men’ss tees”, meaning about 5 yd back from the “senior” tees. I never ever play longer.

WOW! I had no idea this discussion went all the way back to ‘21… I’m 68 years old, have a 95mph or so driver speed and I’m proud as hell when I “bomb” a drive 240yd in the fairway. Don’t eff with the ball rules that will affect the average Joe golfer’s distance - even by 5yd. I can’t stand to lose even 5yd. IMHO, I don’t compare myself to pros or even good young amateurs who can blast a drive 350+ yds. It’s incredibly fun to watch them bomb the ball off the tee. If it’s all about clubhead speed, I salute anyone who can train themselves to swing a driver @ 125mph or higher and feel confident about the result. If a pro can get over 130mph clubhead speed, they deserve a 350+ yd drive. That’s what a pro trains endlessly for. Anyone who can generate that kind of speed deserves whatever distance that results in that awesome bomb under current rules. I like to see it. Repeat: I LIKE TO SEE IT! Sorry to shout, but I DON’T WANT ANY ROLLBACK. THE CURRENT STANDARD IS FINE FOR 99+% OF ALL GOLFERS.

I'm 67, retired and in pretty good shape. I use a pushcart whenever I can. My home course is relatively flat and easy to walk. Last year I tried carrying my clubs and found that I can either carry or play, but not both. I was totally wiped out midway through the back 9. I'll ride if the weather looks like it'll be drizzling or spotty rain. Some courses I play are simply too hilly to push or walk comfortably, so I ride. If it's too hot and humid, I ride. I'm not going to prove my "toughness" by walking - I want to have a fun round and not feel like I've just hiked over the continental divide or through the jungles of Borneo. Also, when my playing partner needs to ride, I will usually ride too.

I remember having and using a Check-Go around 15-20 yrs ago. I stopped using it after a year or 2. It sat in a box of misc. golf stuff and finally got tossed when we moved to a new house. #1 - It’s nice to have a stripe on the ball to use for alignment, but almost all balls (at least the ones I play) come with decent alignment marks now, so I don’t need to add that. #2 - I didn’t feel like it added anything to my game, but it DID give me a chance to spend almost an hour spinning and marking per dozen balls - time that would have been much better spent practicing my swing. #3 - My fade/slice tendencies (with a few other oddities thrown in for good measure) remained and Check-Go did not make any noticeable difference in my game. A fat or thinned shot or hitting with an open club face or misreading green break (which is the combo platter of ills where most of my extra strokes come from) has nothing to do with ball balance. I stopped using it when the specially-fit marking pen went dry. Overall, after giving it a good long chance to prove its worth, I felt it was waste of time, money, and false expectations that it could improve my game. It may have some value for those golfers with near-perfect swings, but the average golfer is unlikely to benefit in any way, IMHO.

Your Milwaukee reference just made a flood of golf memories appear in my mind. I also grew up in a suburb there, probably a few years before you, though. Caddied one summer at North Shore CC and in the GMO when it was held there. ChiChi Rodriguez was doing trick shots at the range and I was feeling so good about caddying the GMO - caddied for a nobody, but as a 15 y.o. kid, hauling a bag in a real PGA event was a thrill.

Been playing over 50 yrs and this is the closest sniff I've had at an ace. Last Sept. at Dwan (Bloomington, MN) #11. High PW shot landed 4" past the hole and backed up across the edge of the hole. It was a very satisfying mark to repair .

Retired. 67+ year golfer still trying to consistently shoot under 100. Still trying to train my brain to not try to demolish the ball on each swing. My goal is to improve from terrible to mediocre. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? I've played since I was about 10. Dad used to take me to a little par 3 near home (I don't think any hole was over 90yd) and I'd whack away with an 8 iron and putter. Off and on golfer since then, but have played more and more over the last 15-20 yrs. Still trying to shoot under 100 regularly at most courses I visit, but will regularly shoot in the 85 to 95 range on my local muni Par 68 (~5200yd). I've never had a handicap but would guess I fall in the 20 range. What do you love about golf? I love the game! I just like to get outside and challenge myself to do well on each hole. And I can see/feel improvement over the last couple years after a few lessons. The courses are almost all great, some hate me, but I love the challenges. Love to play with both strangers and friends who may range between 7 and 30 HC. Doesn't matter. We all encourage each other and have fun. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? The reviews are really interesting to read! I was searching for the differences between different golf balls, new clubs, etc. and found MGS. Where are you from? What is your home course? Bloomington, MN -- Dwan Golf Course What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? Best - Many, many courses in the area. Getting out in late March or early April for the first round is a fantastic feeling. I can play all summer avoiding the worst of heat and humidity if I can get an early start. Love early morning starts. Dewy grass and the rising sun on a clear day takes my breath away. Fall golf can be hit or miss for weather. Falling leaves are worse than falling temps, but the courses do a pretty good job of cleaning up leaves. Getting to play on a sunny 70 degree day in early November is magical. Worst - Morning frost delays in early spring and late fall. Winters give me time to recover, practice indoors, and lots of time to spend in my woodshop. What do you do for a living? Retired from 40yrs of computer programming and IT network/system engineering How’d you pick your user name? Aim490 - Want to consistently shoot under 90. Bogey golf isn't TOO much to ask for.

I’m a high handicapper trying to improve for the last couple of years. My swing speed is “mid”. I’m retired now and play 2-3 times per week. I had been playing the Kirkland balls for a couple years and not really caring if I lost a few each round. I also played a lot of “found” balls and have some opinions. The Kirklands were fine, but felt hard and were hard to control off the tee. Last fall I tried the yellow Maxfli Tour. Not very happy. They scuffed terribly and didn’t feel any softer or more controllable off the tee than Kirklands. I had a couple dozen orange two-piece StraightFli balls in bright orange that I pulled out for fall after the yellow Tours and they were OK for cheap balls, but the covers felt really hard and just plain didn’t impress me. This year I’ve been playing the 3-piece ionomer cover TriFli balls almost exclusively. The lower 45 compression is great. They feel great off my driver and I AM hitting a little longer and definitely straighter. They’ve been predictable length off my irons (though not frequently enough in the right direction - as is my problem with any ball). Full swings with wedges and short irons near the green don’t roll-out on the green too much. They feel good putting. I usually lose a couple balls each round (MAJOR success, regardless of score, when I finish with the same ball I started with). But at $40/2 doz. At GG or Dick’s, I don’t feel like I’m wasting a lot of money on balls and I’m happy enough with TriFlis to not put any other found balls in play.

Well, the Trifli has emerged for 2023 with a new "Fairway Finder" dimple pattern. The 2022 Trifli has an icosehedron (regular) pattern with fairly uniform sized dimples (unknown #). The 2023 Trifli now has the same dimple pattern used by last year's StraightFli (and possibly 2023's, too) odd-ish dimple pattern with larger dimples configured into triangular groups around the ball and smaller dimples between them. Maxfli says it helps the ball flight bend less. I can't reasonably expect THAT much help from a "legal" golf ball. I'm still a firm believer that hitting the ball properly will make it go straight, but, like my "Game Improvement" club models, I'll take all the help I can get. In the 2 pics I attached here the 2023 Trifis are on the left. The 2nd pic, if you zoom, shows the different dimple patterns (2023 on the left). The new alignment lines are orange vs. black. They both work. Funny story - a guy I was playing with a week or two ago asked if I was playing a range ball. The black alignment stripes on the Trifli had confused him. I said "No" a bit indignantly then then yanked my tee shot into a field out of bounds...sigh. Anyway, I now have 5 rounds in on my home course using only Trifli balls and have nothing but praise. I've had some very good front 9's but got more erratic on the back. Three times I finished with the same ball I started with (yet lost a bunch on a couple "stinky" rounds) Still, I think the ball felt and performed well. The covers have held up well even after some pretty rugged tree strikes. The Trifli balls have performed really well off the tee, and today's round (the first with the new model ball), I sliced/faded less, I hit more fairways, had longer drives and had my best round ever there. Irons and hybrids (when not duffed in one way or another) were very predictable in length and whatever greenside control I showed (whatever that is ) was just fine. My putting, regardless of ball, still varies from good to bad each round.

So, I forgot to ask - when will MGS get around to testing this ball? At $40 for 2 doz. they are a very good deal. Will there be a review of non-urethane-cover balls for the 80-90 percent of us who are simply happy just to hit a green in regulation and greenside spin has minimal impact on our game?

I’m a frequent hacker - not particularly good, but play 2-3 times weekly spring-fall in MN. On my muni home course, mid-80s to mid-90s is my norm on that lovely 5200yd par 68. After 3 so-so rounds I was feeling pretty down about my game. My fourth round of the year was with the Trifli. It was easily my best round of the year and one of my best ever there. I have been playing mostly Kirkland balls for the past few years because I’m cheap and Kirklands were supposed to be a great “cheap” ball. I’ll occasionally play a found ball, but have given-up that bad practice. Last year I went through a dozen Maxfli Tour yellow balls. They were OK, but not the best performers for me - similar feel and results as the Kirklands. I had 2 more boxes of yellows that I returned, mostly because the yellow scuffed so badly from iron shots, they were practically unplayable after 2-3 holes each (assuming I didn’t lose one). With my refund, I bought a couple boxes of Triflis near the end of last season and finally started hitting them yesterday. I’m in the 85-95 mph driver swing speed - not really sure - 220-230 yd is a good drive for me. Sometimes 250. The Trifli, I know, is a lower compression and is an ionomer cover, but seems to be a well-made 3-piece ball. Yesterday the Trifli yielded 3 or 4 of my best drives ever (subjectively) and felt noticeably soft off the tee but not at all “squishy”. And the ball really flew on a piercing trajectory. Nice. Iron shots were finally flying as far as I expected (unlike the Kirklands which were predictably unpredictable), had a nice trajectory, stopped nicely on the green (which I was hitting more frequently). Well-struck irons had a nice crisp feel and didn’t scuff much. They felt good putting and I like the alignment stripes (but one player asked if I was playing a range ball because of the stripes). My next couple rounds will be with the Trifli, for sure, and I’ll be able to be a bit more objective, but I’m really impressed after one round.