GaryF

I just received my new Callaway Solana V2 spikeless golf shoes. I ordered a week ago, finally, after a lot of indecision. My previous were Sketchers spikeless, which I liked and found very comfortable. Just wanted to try something different and a pair that is waterproof. I was drawn to the Callaway because of their looks and styling (black/red). Was also considering New Balance. I have worn NB tennis shoes for years because of comfort and fit. I don’t live near any golf stores so couldn’t try on the Callaways. My indecision also stemmed from - what does Callaway know about making shoes? And will they fit? Turns out they are very comfortable out of the box and look as good or better than on the website. Playing 9 late today with CPO. https://www.callawaygolf.com/callaway-golf-shoes/spr5632868.html

We have one that is similar that my wife and I use when it’s CPO. After teeing off, if one is on the far side away from the cart I or she will use the Sunday bag for the second shot all the way to the green. I’ve actually gotten 7-8 clubs in one. As for 14 slot stand bags with a harness, Ping, TM, Callaway and Titliest all have them, but they don’t look all that amenable for arranging short clubs on the ball pocket side, which makes using on a ride cart awkward. That’s my #1 objection. Last week my wife and I played and it was CPO. We reserved RoboCarts but when we got to the course, one was malfunctioning so I said I’d carry. I had 13 clubs in my TM 7 slot with harness but carrying from green to next tee was exhausting even though I’ve been working a lot on conditioning the last few months (I’m not over weight). When I see others carry, they often get a lift from hole to hole when playing with someone with a cart. The harness is just nice for to/from range sessions and when I occasionally remove from the ride cart for shorter carries (I have a lower back condition). Maybe I’ll start looking at some smaller cart bags and forget the harness. Unfortunately when cpo, we both can’t use Sunday bags as one needs to attend to the cart. Maybe I’ll design a remotely piloted cart. All our cart paths are concrete so just need to stripe with a material that can be sensed/tracked and hand held remote controls.

I currently have a Taylormade 7 divider stand bag which I like but wife says I need a new bag. I promised my son in law my current bag when I get a new one, so that locks in that a new bag is in my future. I’m really torn on what my wants and needs are. First, I ride a cart almost all of the time. I like stand bags because I practice slot and….just like them. 14 dividers seem the way to go. 5 dividers seem ‘off’ and the 7 I have now is pretty good. When we have cpo, I often will carry my bag from mid fairway to the green. Shoulder straps (plural) are a necessity. Fir a stand bag to be useful in a cart, I Need to organize the putter and short clubs on the ball pocket side and driver/woods on the stand side. It needs to have shoulder straps (sun c-130 doesn’t). Still think Callaway fairway 14 and Hoofer 14 might work, or they might not. Can’t figure it out.

I have a small Sunday bag for (club champion?) some days when it’s cpo that the handle fits in my bags club slot. Can actually get 6-7 clubs in it. Depends on who I’m playing with and the circumstances but very useful.

How ironic! I got almost all new clubs last summer and have Callaway, Ping, Mizuno and Cleveland clubs. I hit Srixon balls. My wife gave me the go ahead last year to get a new bag. My current bag is a TM stand bag (ihave no TM products). It’s a nice bag and has 7 slots which has worked well for my 14 clubs. Most bags now are 4, 5 or 14 slots. I want a hybrid stand bag but I’ll ride the cart almost all the time. The stand comes in handy when I go to the range (often) or when we are CPO I can carry for part of a hole when I don’t know what club I’ll be using. Most stand bags have the putter slot on the stand side but for the cart, the putter and shorter clubs need to be on the ball pocket side facing away from the cart. I’ve looked mostly at Callaway Fairway 14 or Fairway+ and also Ping Hoofer or Hoofer 14. Guess I should look at the Titliest.

I got fitted for all new clubs last year except for my driver which I love. It’s a Callaway Fusion that I think came out around 2016, but I bought new around 2019 with a stock UST Recoil 460 shaft at a pgatss.. Going into the fitting I had no intention of getting a new driver and my fitter agreed after seeing me hit it. We did do a comparison with the Ping G430 Max driver and I literally got identical carry, launch, spin and ball speed numbers. If I were to look at a driver a few years old, I’d look at the Callaway STMax and Earlier than G430Ping. probably a couple other brands. Part of the criteria would be the shaft that it comes with and how well it fits my profile.

Have been thinking about new shoes for awhile because my current sketchers spikeless are worn out. I’ve liked them a lot but was thinking something waterproof. Decided to try something different and like the looks of the Callaway solana v2 spikeless. Have been wanting to try them on somewhere to see how they fit and comfortable (not close to any stores). Anyways, have procrastinated way too long so decided with money back guarantee it’s worth a try, so ordered yesterday. My second choice was New Balance as I’ve worn their sho s for years. Pumas looked interesting too.

I’ve been dealing with a left SI joint issue in addition to my l4/l5 spondylolithesis and stenosis. Have been keeping the later in check for the most part through exercise, stretching and some yoga moves. The SI started creeping in last summer with minor discomfort while playing. Gradually got worse. I started winter workouts before Christmas and it really flared up. Then I sched a visit to my ortho for this month that had to be delayed until end of March. Took 3 weeks off from any exercise to see if rest would improve it and visited the Chiro a few times. Started working out again and immediately flared up. So I decided to just restart the workouts and deal with it. Much of my workout focuses on core so hoped strengthening would help. I probably did 5-6 range sessions in January and a few more the first week of Feb. While some discomfort, most is afterwards and doesn't impair the swing, until the last few days. Sat did a routine range session and was doing fine (physically) with irons and woods with about 80 shots. Took out driver, which I tend to not transition as good as I should - second or third shot, very sharp flair in the SI and could barely stand. Got composed, tried 2 more with similar pain. Then hit about 20 normal drives with no disruption of swing. Went to range yesterday - irons and woods normal. Took out driver and again sharp pain in left SI and fell down on my right knee. Did a couple more and couldn’t fully complete the swing. Started to subside and hit a few more, each one better, but not good and finally quit. Ughhhhh.

I agree with that. Too many quick magic cures online but I’m sure they get a lot of views. They probably fall to the same category of “follow these 3 simple steps to achieve a lifetime of financial success.” My biggest fix was taking lessons from The Kingdom here. Good video evidence plus some numbers, then commitment to put in lots and lots of practice and a heavy dose of patience.

No. But if I’m struggling with something I’ll sometimes look at YT for some thoughts or ideas and I’ve looked at a few that some have posted on the forums here, but nothing routine. @RickyBobby_PRhas posted some really good videos on the forum and where it makes sense I’ve checked aspects of my swing against some of those videos. During Covid I finished our bonus room and bathroom above our garage and the best YT video I’ve ever seen was how to make a staircase. Several years later there has yet to be a single squeak.

I have lower back issues (spondylolithesis at l4/l5, stenosis, and other bulging discs) and several years ago took a series of classes called yoga for golfers. I also do workouts to strengthen the core and hamstrings among other things and maintain flexibility. I do 15-20 minutes of yoga before going to range or play a round. They are easy and effective. I often spread the yoga exercises over the course of 30-40 minutes while doing other things to get ready. It absolutely helps. By the time I get to the range, I have full flexibility, so I can focus on each warmup shot. Most of my friends do zero exercise before getting to the range. I don’t say anything, but sometimes it’s laughable. There are many forms of exercise and stretching, but yoga works for me.

WAs wondering if knowing the driver loft and launch angle and some reference where it’s hit in the vertical plane of the face imply AoA. Feels like something might be missing though.

Good questions. I very possibly do hit a littlE high on the face but I don’t know my current AoA but perhaps seems a bit low with 12.1 launch and 75’ height. I suspect I’m around neutral. I do have a tendency for consistent tee shots with my “good” swing that varies from slight draw to slight fade. I fight the OTT but with 82-85% FIRs the last 2 years I keep it in pretty good check and happy with my drives, but I’d like more carry if possible. In my first post in this thread I thought I was at the max for my SS. I haven’t played in 2 months and on the range have been working mostly with irons to gain better accuracy and have made some changes that should help me improve but I feel I’ve got a swing path issue, based on ball flight, and trying to work that out. I’m playing 2x next week which will give me a better indication. Might get a tripod and record some videos.

My numbers were off, shorter by about 10 yards for carry as well. I linked to actual weather and turned off the wind. Still worth playing around with as it allows some cause/effect relationships which give nice insight.

That’s interesting. Definitely need more ball speed which will generate height. I will correct myself about my statement regarding “chasing”. I do enjoy the chase of improving and the value of routing range sessions. I enjoy playing as much as anyone but I have friends who only want to play and they could be so much better, and less frustrated (and sometimes less angry) on the course if they just worked on some basics. Five or so years ago I was an unofficial mid 20 hdcp and now at 70 have the lowest hdcp of my life. I worked in an organization that prided itself in lifetime learning so it’s one of the few good habits I might still have.

Yes, just a followup from earlier discussion with @chisag, @funkyjudge, and @cnosil using my driver data with 95 SS, 134 mph ball speed, 12.1 launch, 2253 spin, 75’ peak height and 218ish carry, and if that can be approved upon to around 230ish yards as others have thought possible. I certainly have swing flaws that I’m aware of and always working on. I don’t intend to let myself to get into a chase mode but greater awareness of my characteristics and things that can be improved upon are a good thing to me. And I haven’t forgotten about the diy driver tips, but am out of town w/o golf clubs, doing grandpa things.

Last night was talking general golf topics with a friend and he mentioned increasing his driver carry with a few degree positive AoA. He mentioned a quick method of checking whether one has a positive or negative AoA is to take a golf towel, roll it up and place about one grip length in front of the ball. With positive AoA, one would miss the towel. Flat or negative the club head will hit the towel. Seems simple and will try this weekend.

2016 Callaway Fusion that I bought off the shelf in late 2018 (IIRC). Last spring I did a side-by-side comparison with the Ping G430 Max and got identical numbers for carry, launch, spin. A couple months later I broke the UST Recoil 460 F3 shaft at the adapter which was repairable. Lost about 1 1/4” at the tip and an extension was inserted at the butt. Might play a bit stiffer but I haven’t noticed any difference. I’m going to start investigating new drivers and likely replace in about 2 years unless it breaks again. All new clubs look amazing but I like to put my money where it will do the most good.

I’ve always thought that would be one tournament I’d like to travel to, but after everything I’ve heard and read, no thank you. Don’t see it as a negative reflection regarding AZ - im sure a good number are from there, but probably a lot travel there as well. It is a reflection of those that can’t control themselves and behave and I think that is happening across the country. It’s sad. And just as I wrote this there’s a streaker at the SB. That’s so 70’s lol.

I will do that, thanks!

Well, the 1/4” was a “general” answer. The data I listed was my last drive of that sequence and I remember telling the fitter that was as good as I get with a nice slight draw, so it was probably a center hit. But when I was typing the data in the message, ball speed appeared to be an issue and AoA likely needs improving. Among other things lol.

Thank you @chisag, @funkyjudge, and @cnosil. All good things to consider. I don’t have a LM (maybe should be on my bday list) but I strongly suspect my AoA on my good drives is close to +0. I haven’t played since early Dec as I park the clubs in exchange for working on conditioning. I did that last year but once I started playing I mostly stopped the workouts. By mid summer I was feeling out of condition. I’ve had a few range sessions recently and have a lot to work on just to get the right sequence feel.

Good question. Generally in the center give or take 1/4” or so and I know every 1/8 inch makes a measurable difference. The drive stats I cited was what I felt was as good as I can do. I’m pretty consistent as my firs range from 82-85% and my misses are almost always playable. If I have a very short drive that hits the fairway, I count it as a short miss. Every once in awhile I’ll hit low on the face or the toe and get immediate feedback. The low hits usually give me ok distance but the toe hits seeme to catty pretty well with a draw and maybe longer than normal rollout. A lot if things here to consider now.

Thanks, that’s good to know and I’ll save this chart. I must be around the 95/0 line (but with lower spin) in the chart and see if I can get a higher launch. I was just kind of assuming I’m maxed out. And maybe with a newer driver with proper shaft I can increase ball speed.

Interesting comments you had fir BB - I’ll have to experiment some. When I tested my driver with foresight last spring, I was measured at 95.2 SS, 134 ball speed, 13.1* launch. 2253 backspin, Peak height 75’ with a carry of 218 and 244 total. I think I was a offline to the left tho but not sure that was all due to sidespin or my aim point was left too. My driver is 9* and set at +1. So maybe I should try another +1 loft? Getting 230 carry would be amazing but just doesn’t seem possible.