IndyBonzo

Good morning Spies! It’s an exciting day for us. Some work in the am, followed by eclipse totality this afternoon and then Purdue in the NCAA championship. My eldest daughter attends Purdue now (graduating in a few weeks), and FABWIFE and my mom and uncle/godfather are all PU grads, so we are pulling hard for the Boilers. I wish you all wonderful days!

Those are some big differences in the higher irons, and the lengths are unusual. I would think a change from D6.9 to D3.3 would be noticeable. Did you intend to have your 6, 7, and 8 irons all the same length? If not, that may explain the swing weight differences.

So sorry you had to wait Ben! I suspect you will like it!

Just arrived: A new (to me) Accra FX 3.0 140 M2 (senior) shaft with TM tip to try as part of the Qi10 review. I have had great success with the M0 with my Paradym, and hope that will replicate with the M2. The Accra iSeries M2 has also worked really well in the Qi10, but not as well as the FX shaft has with the Paradym. I think the key difference may be the low spinning head as compared to the "standard" Qi10, and not the different shafts, but this should confirm whether that is true or not. I do recommend the Accra iSeries M2 as an Otto-Phlex shaft. It has been the best performer for me in the Qi10. If the FX 3.0 M2 does not work out with the Qi10, I figure I can trim it and use it in my 3W for a similar feeling Otto-Phlex there when paired with the Paradym. I am pumped to try this out on the course tomorrow.

I'm tempted to mimic @cksurfdude and say, "Of course I have issues hitting the ball short and all over the place. Dude, we G-O-L-F!" LOL. I do think maybe I am getting too little spin and perhaps not enough loft on some Paradym shots. The super low spin ones in my dataset were not the shortest or the most inaccurate, however. I think more testing with different loft settings is in order. But at 9* loft and my current shaft, a seemingly low 1800 spin may be optimal. I am going to wear myself out hitting driver all the time. My approach game and putting need the attention!

TaylorMade Stealth 2 versus TaylorMade Qi10 (Standard) I am excited to share the results of the TaylorMade driver comparison test. Both heads are 9*. The loft sleeve was set at the lowest loft/lowest spin setting, which reduces loft to 7* and opens the face 4*. The test was conducted on a Foresight GC2 launch monitor with GS Pro driving range software using Bridgestone Tour B RX balls. I hit about 10 shots with each, and picked the best 5. The shaft was an Otto-Phlex model, i.e., ACCRA iSeries M2. I think the distances are a bit inflated by the monitor, tbh, but if so they are consistently so. Here are the results: Results were very similar in most respects. As expected, the Qi10 was more accurate, and yielded about 200 rpm more spin. The Qi10 also launched the ball higher. The Stealth provided about 2 yards more distance and 2 mph ball speed, which are minimal differences. In other words, comparing the standard models year over year, TaylorMade managed to make the club more accurate and forgiving without sacrificing distance. That is an impressive achievement IMO. The Qi10 is an excellent driver, without question. Personally, I struggle with keeping spin down. My current gamer is the low spin Paradym TD, which helps me in that regard. I also hit the Paradym in this test, with the same conditions, but at 9* loft and with an Accra FX 3.0 M0 (Otto-Phlex) shaft. While both Accra shafts I used are excellent, high quality shafts, the shaft in the Paradym is more "premium" than that used in the Qi10 and Stealth 2. Here are the Paradym results: As expected, spin was lower, launch was lower (due to the shaft?), and speed and distance were greater as a result. Tentative plans are in the works to allow me to try the Qi10 LS head after reviews are posted. I am excited to see if it can match the Paradym's distance performance and forgiveness. I plan to game the Qi10 standard again Saturday and will report back with more results!

I tend to be a high spin player, and to control the spin on the standard Qi10 I play it at the lowest loft setting. At that setting it is not too spinny on good strikes and stays in the desired 2100-2500 range. On mishits it spins more (of course), and I find fades spin more than draws so the fade at the low loft (open face) setting loses distance. It's a hammer if you can faithfully hit straight or draw shots despite the open face at the low loft setting.

I hit the Qi10 in my lesson last night, which focused on additional swing simplification and solidifying my lower body to keep everything in sync. The Qi10 hit some straight and baby draw bombs. It is making a late review surge, to be sure. I have it set at its lowest loft setting in order to keep spin down, which also opens the face by 4 degrees (and exacerbates my typical miss right). If I can continue to keep ball path under control with the open face, the Qi10 is a contender for the bag. More testing is planned. I really want to do the Stealth 2 vs. Qi10 comparison outdoors, but the weather has disappointed thus far. I will get it done one way or another!

Some more input from my last Qi10 round: As I have said before, the Qi10 is a very accurate driver. Those two shots on back to back holes went precisely where I wanted them to. I aimed for the rough on #6 because it better facilitates the second shot. On hole 7, I just needed an accurate fairway finder off the tee. So I choked up and teed it low, swung easily, and it worked perfectly. Some spin crept in on holes 13 and 17. Admittedly 17 was not the greatest swing, but both had spin that cost distance. That was the bad, but here’s the good: both benefitted from the forgiveness of the Qi10, and yielded very playable second shots. And yes, dear reader, you are correct to point out my approach game will require some focus after my driver review is completed! More to come!

In my round Friday, I played the Qi10 standard driver on “counting” shots exclusively. I played the Otto-Phlex shaft on the front 9, and the stiff shaft on the back nine. All Drives were straight, forgiving, and inbounds. Missed fairways were not missed by much. The OP shaft gave me more distance. That said, distance was not what I would expect. Good swings were at least 10 yards short of what I would customarily see. Less good swings were even shorter. In terms of feel, I do not feel the ball compress like I do with the 2023 Paradym TD. I am used to a low spin driver, and I and my (better golfer) buddy were disappointed with the apparent spin which was causing my drives to drop short of expectations even at lower loft/spin settings on the sleeve. I did not hit the Paradym on the course bc I wanted to give the Qi10 all the opportunities. On two holes late in the day, after hitting the Qi10, I hit my buddy’s 2023 G430. Both shots were similar swings with the same direction, and both were 15 yards longer than the Qi10 but in the same landing area. The G430 Shots did not drop out of the air like the Qi10 shots did. Distance on all clubs was back to where I expected it to be, given reversion to my “old” swing (thank goodness), except for some spinny driver shots. I have more testing to do, but my sense is that the spin of the standard Qi10 is too high for me. That does not make it a bad driver. In fact, I am already convinced it is a good driver. But it may not be best for my swing. Stay tuned. I am totally open to having my opinion changed.

I want to add more fire to this approval.

@MattWillGolf I am very sorry for this, and hope for a speedy recovery for your wife and you. We had a rescue attack our daughter in the face a few years ago due to food aggression, several months after joining our family and showing no aggressive tendencies. She turned out ok thanks to some skilled surgeons. It is immensely scary and upsetting. Take good care of your wife.

Good morning, Spies! At the office before 6 am to emulate @sirchunksalot today. Or, to knock stuff out before golfing this afternoon. It's supposed to push 70* today. What a Good Friday! I had three different, diverse people engage me in overtly friendly conversation at the gas station this morning. At 5:00 a.m. no less. After something of a rough week, that was unexpected and welcome. It struck me how something so simple can positively impact someone's day. It did mine. I was grateful for it, and hope to pay that forward. My homestead is rooting hard for Purdue this weekend. My mom, FABWIFE, and eldest daughter are all PU folks. Boiler Up! Good luck @Shankster with your move! I wish you all the very best days and weekends. Happy Easter if you observe. Fairways and greens!

I tried the XL Ultralite on the Qi10 and it was too much for me, but I figured try the largest one first, right? I caved in and used the website sizing protocol, and now have a medium on order and will try that once it gets here. I like the tackiness and feedback the grip provides quite a lot. The quality of the ball strike (compressed/thin/heel/etc.) could be felt clearly, but the feel was still soft. Excited to try the medium and see if that works better.

Way to go @Michael.Sandoval33! Nice shots there. We focused on driver quite a bit at my lesson this week, and I hit the Qi10 pretty well and found the distance I had been missing, with good accuracy too. Accuracy and forgiveness are special with this club. I look forward to taking the Qi10 and this simplified swing to the course tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, and I will report in with results.

Good morning, Spies! Sending prayers your daughter's way @Girldad18. May she get a good report. No golf for me today, but I have a bit of afterglow after a breakthrough/reset lesson yesterday. I had my swing all screwed up trying to fix my over the top motion I have been struggling with (and slowly fixing). We went back to some basics from last year, and the result is a much more comfortable swing for me that I know works, because it worked well for me last summer. Why did I not just do that? This silly game. This is why coaches are so invaluable if, like me, one does not have the experience to analyze the swing completely. Now to keep working on it so it becomes second nature. Again. I hope you all have wonderful days with golf involved.

There is also an iPhone app for swingweight calculation by Barford Golf that seems accurate.

Sending you good thoughts @sirchunksalot!

I had a stiff shaft with me on Saturday when we played, not the OP shaft. I hit the OP yesterday in the sim briefly. Most of the issue is with my swing. Both are good shafts. I believe you can hit the OP shaft. Your swing is smooth enough. One attempt is not enough! We can try again.

I hit the ACCRA iSeries M2 again yesterday, and I have to say that thing may be a big winner. So smooth, stable, and long. I had to cut it short but intend to try again in the next couple days. If it continues to perform that well - look out.

I have tinkered with loft and lie quite a bit. I find that the loft changes are very accurate, and they impact spin and launch angle exactly as described. As a result, I have been playing the Qi10 at the lowest loft/lowest spin setting, but it has not helped my misses right at all, so I think I need to consider trying to play the face more closed like @GolfSpy_BEN suggested and see if I can still manage the spin that way. In playing on Saturday I hit a few nice drives with the Qi10, but again struggled to find distance. I hit my Paradym on one hole, and @CudaKota66's Paradym on another, and both went longer than the Qi10, in one case 15 yards longer. That said, I started finding some good distance during a quick sim session yesterday afternoon, so I am not making a verdict on Qi10 distance yet. In just a few hits, I also found the 2023 Stealth 2 to be longer than the standard Qi10. Unfortunately I had to cut the session short, but I intend to do a repeat this week and provide some data here.

Good morning Spies! Happy birthday @Josh Parker! Congratulations to @Javs, @CFreddie, @EMacK1961, and @daviddvm on making it to the VCT 2-man finals! I had been grumpy about having to play golf in the Indiana cold as compared to Florida, but then I did not anticipate travelling to Denver (as I did yesterday). We are snowbound here. Back to Indy tonight, and away from this white stuff again! I am thankful for @CudaKota66 hosting me at Twin Bridges golf club in Danville, IN on Saturday. It was 34 deg when we teed off, and windy, but we persevered and had a great time. Don't ask about the scores; they were as good as the weather. Great fun regardless! I hope you all stay warm, and have super days!

Date 03/20/2024 Course Name Sahm Golf Course Gross Score 83 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 13 Net Score to Par 4 Net Score 74 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive SIM Round My game came crashing down to earth in the cold and wind this week. Maybe the 4 net birdies will still help, even if the overall score is not so greet. I am fortunate to have such a good golfer as a partner in @Randall Robbins!

Absolutely Oz! Let’s make it happen!

I love Gabe’s reviews. He gives me hope that somebody like me - maybe even me - can play and score that well and consistently without super-human distance. And his persona is such that he seems like a genuinely nice guy. I can tell he really tries to provide good information on the products he reviews. His work on launch monitors and his decision tree for those are particularly stellar. Good work @azstu324 in facilitating these reviews. I read some of the criticism thrown your way from other quarters, and it was totally unjustified BS. Maltby makes great (maybe better) products at lower cost than the other OEMs. Of course that gospel should be spread! You and others did it for me here or I would not have Maltbys in my bag. Thank you.