dinomack99

Many of these companies are talking about AI design faces. How many faces have you guys actually inspected front and back? I know Callaway sends out a version of its face in its press materials but how do you know what the back of a TaylorMade looks like or a pxg or a Tour Edge??

I had tried for many years too ditch my fairway woods. I typically defaulted to a 2 hybrid to replace my three wood with mixed results. It was very difficult to hit and always came up about 10 to 15 yards shorter than the 3-wood. This didn't put it much further than my 18° 3-hybrid. After getting the mega hot Stealth 3 hybrid, I splurged on the 3-wood shortly after and have no regrets whatsoever. I just need to swing within myself and the results are typically about 230 to 240 yards.

My extended family (or even my wife) like to buy me golf-related gifts for Christmas, as they know I'm basically infatuated with the sport. Each year, however, it's usually a Dick's gift card or golf balls. What is a must-have item (could be accessories, clothing, tech) that I should be eyeing this Christmas? Let's set a budget of $30, $75 and $100. If I had to start with some ideas, I'd go balls at $30 (easy). $75 could be a nice long-sleeve polo from Travis Matthew (might be a little more expensive). $100 could be a training aid like maybe the Straight Stick (to keep my swing on track). Any other thoughts?

I'm probably playing from the Sand tees. A nice 6,000 yard experience. Given my drives are typically in the 250 range, I have to pull out the big stick to get home in 2. I think I've got a nice landing spot beyond the first bunker at 220, though I may be flirting with that middle pot bunker if I hit it well. Tight, challenging hole. Aim to the right side and draw it left into the fairway.

Whether it is the brash personality of Bob Parsons or clever market research, PXG found an open space in the industry and has fully embraced it. They are perhaps too loud for a lot of your Titleist and Ping customers, but they make fantastic equipment and I think they've got a really loyal following.

I have changed my technique lately to simplify my chipping. I simply move my feet up to the ball just like a putt, my nose is basically right over the ball and with a wedge I simply use a putting stroke. I have about 60% of my weight on my left foot to ensure that I make a downward blow on the ball. It pops up really nicely and will roll out. You would need to experiment with the distance you get between your sand wedhe, gap wedge and pitching wedge. The fact that the toe is down and the heel is up off of the ground because you are standing so close to the ball, is key.

I would love to see more active Rangers on the course suggesting that slower players consider a best ball format to catch up to the group in front of them. I have been pleasantly surprised by the quick pace of play here in the Raleigh area this summer. Even packed courses are still getting me out in under 5 hours. And the weaker players I sometimes get paired up with are more than happy to pick their ball up after 8 or so strokes on a given hole.

I just received an email from Bridgestone promoting this ball and the three new colors they've introduced - orange, yellow and pink. The Orange looks horrific, it's more like brown, but I wouldn't buy this color anyway. Has anyone tried these at $29.99/dozen? I was hoping for a 3-piece ball at this price, but it's just a 2-piece. Does the ball fly straighter? Is it soft for low spin off driver?

This is a fun topic. I will admit that PXG has won me over the past year or so. I imagine there's a lot of us out there. I see the comments on the Average Golfer's (Andy) YouTube channel and there's a cult following since unlike some of the other reviewers, he makes a point of trying out their stuff and more times than not, the PXG club stays in the bag. I got fit for the Gen 5 driver as a Christmas present this year. I was fitted in January and it was a bit of a disaster. It was cold and wet and my normal driver swing had evaporated, so I was fit into an anti-slice 7.5-degree extra stiff driver that I didn't get along with. Luckily, they allow a tech check within the first 30 days to see if the setting are still working, so I did that on a warmer day and was fit into a completely different club for free. The fitter couldn't have been nicer. It was a 9-degree, neutral-weighted, stiff shaft. I loved it until just about 2 weeks ago when I got my hands on the Gen 6. Wow! Up to that point, I had hit the Gen 5 against the Rogue Paradym, ST Max, Aerojet, 430 Max, original Stealth and the Gen 5 was the best of the bunch, but Gen 6 smoked it. I've hit the longest drive of my life on my simulator within one week of having it. And the spin rates are now comfortably in the 2,200 range. I also have PXG 0211 irons and they are not going anywhere soon. That said, I think TaylorMade makes the hottest hybrids and woods, and so I have those in Stealth. I also have been a fan of Tour Edge over the years. So those are my three go-to brands. Never owned a Ping nor a Titleist. Maybe just too snobby for me? Too expensive?

At $3,500, this unit I think is the best deal in golf, especially if you consider the fact that a) It's accuracy has been shown to be just as good as GC3/Bushnell Launch Pro, b) It includes a video recording of the actual strike and c) it is fully integrated with GS Pro and it's own subscription pricing is very reasonable ($199) vs. others like BLP (who knows how much they'll gouge their customers when new pricing gets released). Good inside and on the range. Still no face data, however, unlike Skytrak +. Who's buying one? I'd be interested in learning from current owners how often they use the impact video, and what it helps them with. I know when I hit it off the toe, I don't need a video of that.

I would say as a reader, opinion pieces are great. Put them as little sidebar commentaries like they do in GOLF magazine. But to have an Editor's Choice basically conveys that you have a winner. It wins across most every category. A show-stopper. And that's hardly the case here. I do disagree entirely with the notion that the Paradym was chosen to drive sales. I hold MGS in higher regard than to think that. I don't think there's anything malicious going on here. Just a communication problem.

@All_in_4Golf You are absolutely correct to call out MSG on this. I don't accept the answer, "Editor's Choice was named before any testing." Who does this? I am a consultant, and if the title of my report doesn't match the detailed findings, it's misleading/irresponsible.

I went through a phase where I eradicated my woods from the bag. I was using the Callaway Super Hybrid #2 at 15-degrees and it was maybe 5 yards shorter than a 3-wood. I really like the concept of a 2H, but I never really liked the feel of the titanium Super Hybrid. I don't know why, but the face felt dead. I then had the PXG 0211 3-wood (2022 model) and liked it, low spin and consistent. THEN I went to Dick's and started hitting last year's Stealth woods and was blown away. They had a couple of demo clubs available so I replaced both my 3H and 3W and couldn't be happier. Those Stealth woods are bombers! I know Cleveland has some super-sized hybrids as well that could replace a 3W or 5W.

I think I just built a freight train of a driver. While distance is nice, if I can hit consistent 250-260 yard drives, I will be in very good shape. I've been tinkering around with my PXG Gen 5 driver and slapped a 17.5 gm weight in the back port, and two 5 gm weights in the heel and toe. It felt sooo stable through impact with a spin around 2,500 or so (which isn't too bad). It felt heavy, but I was still swinging it 98-101 mph. Why don't more manufacturers do this? Is the Ping G430 so forgiving just because they have the most weight at the back? Radius?

Gorgeous mallet putter. I would definitely give it a fair shake, look at all that MOI compared to the blade putter. I made the switch about 3 years ago to a mallet style putter and have been very happy. It is a Wilson Buckingham, and a steal for $110. That said, I would love to go for a putter fitting. I've been saying this for months now, everyone is getting custom fit for drivers and irons but hardly anyone is getting custom fit for a putter. 10 putts on a lousy practice hole at Dick's is not going to typically get you what you need.

Yeah, I think I'll have to get a two-glove rotation going.

I've always been able to go to the stores here in Raleigh, NC to get a replacement glove once mine had a hole in it. I was told yesterday that whenever Dick's did that, they were basically eating the cost of the new glove. So I just got off the phone with Asurion, and now you have to package the glove and send it back, only to have another 7-10 day delay getting you an electronic Dick's gift card. Ugggh. Really takes the shine of this little hack of a new golf glove every couple of months for $4.

Since custom fitting is hot, I'd like to understand what % of drivers are custom fit vs. irons. vs. wedges vs. putters. I've never been custom fit for wedges or putter, but I'm thinking about the putter and if a proper fitting could shave a few strokes off. Also, can a fitter take your existing putter, and bend loft, etc. to make it a better fit, or would you need a whole new putter?

Tour Edge Exotics has all of last year's equipment on sale 50% off. Their drivers are always one of the fastest on the market, and their fairway woods and hybrids are outstanding. There are plenty of deals out there to be had without dropping $600 on a driver.

I typically draw my drives, but occasionally we'll have a big banana ball that I've been fighting for the past 30 years. I would rather lose five yards and go with the Ping Max and be in the Fairway then off in the bushes. Just my two cents. Plus, the adjustability will help with your shot shaping.

Which club manufacturers are currently used in AI to design their faces, and which ones aren't? I guess it's a basic question of which has ripples on the backside of their faces and which ones are completely smooth.

My gap wedge is 48, so I have a 54 wedge strengthened to 53 and then a 58. This gives me more options at the top of my bag. I don't think I would be good enough to notice the difference between a 52 and a 54.

I do have to mention Andy, the average golfer and Gabe on Let's Play Thru. He is a mere mortal, unlike Matty Boy on TXG. I've been watching a little more Peter Finch lately as well.

My go-to guy on a daily basis is James Robinson. I used to watch Mark Crossfield many years ago and then switched to Rick Shiels. Rick isn't putting out that many videos right now, though he has said he is going to ramp it up this year. We will see. James is Chippy and a fun watch. I can't believe he does basically two videos a day.