IndyBonzo

Good morning Spies! Getting motivated for exercise and the workday. Coffee stat! Hope you all have fabulous days!

With the earlier sunsets post-DST, I went to PGATSS and hit for an hour in the Sim. I tested driver shafts, and confirmed I am in the correct one. Then I hit some 7 irons for distance and accuracy. I am much more consistent hitting off grass but it was still good work and I am grateful it is available nearby. One 160 yard 7 iron shot stood out. This was close!

Good morning, Spies! Recovering from a very fun weekend here. Lots of time with friends, and spent a super day yesterday with FABWIFE for our anniversary. Part of the day involved cleaning out the garage, or starting to, which made her happy and is also one step closer to getting a sim in there sometime soon. More purging will need to be done first. There is no golf in my immediate future. That needs to be fixed! I wish you all super days.

I went to the PGATSS and spent about 20 mins putting with 3-4 of the new AI putters. I wanted to be impressed, but sadly was not. They are gorgeous. But I felt no difference in my putting as compared to my usual wand; if anything, my accuracy was poorer, as was distance control. I did find the White Hot insert more forgiving and more consistent than the milled face, which I found interesting since my gamer putter has a milled face and it is more consistent for me than either of the AI putters. The putters are objectively excellent; I putted well with them. Just not better than my current gamer. Not to pile on, but for comparison purposes I also tried the LAB Link 1 and the LAB DF, both of which were more accurate and more consistent than the AI putters. All that said, picking the right putter is a very individualized endeavor. My experience will no doubt be the opposite of others'. Support your local golf store and go try them out!

I missed the morning, but wanted to stop by, catch up, and wish everyone a great Veterans' Day in the US. Thank you to all veterans here for your service!

Good morning Spies! Thanks for the pics @CFreddie! Looks like a great time. Heading to Illinois today for my eldest daughter’s horse show with her college equestrian team. This is a new thing for her as a senior, and she is loving it. FABWIFE did the horse thing for years too, so she is over the moon. I am the dutiful father and husband today. lol. Look for me in the car working after my daughter’s (brief) exposition. Fall golf was beautiful but challenging yesterday. Much soreness today after getting out of the “swing” for a few weeks. That likely has more to do with all the great bourbon found in Maine when we were there last week. For those who love it like I do, check out this list! Best list at a bar I have seen in 20 years, and they had it all! Rock Hill Farms is my all time fave bourbon. Just perfect. The Weller CYPB was likewise amazing. I will trade some inflammation for some time with those unicorns. Anyway, please pardon my digression. I wish you all excellent Sundays!

Just a super thread. Thank you for this @Jnoble89! My 2023 goals were: 1. Break 80 -- Nope. I have shot 80s and 81s, but my only sub-80 rounds have been combined 9 hole scores, and I am choosing not to count those. 2. Single Digit Handicap -- Yes. I am down to a 9.3 presently. To be able to have this handicap, but not break 80, strikes me as incredibly odd. But I will keep fighting. 3. Play lots more golf -- YES!. No question on this one. This was a great golfing year, and I learned so very much, primarily thanks to MGS and this forum. Thank you to all of you here for that. 2024 goals: 1. Fairways hit 50% or better. 2. GIR 50% or better. 3. Break 75. 4. Handicap at 5 or better. 5. Stop tinkering with club choices. Pick my clubs and learn to play them as best I can. 5. Play at least as much golf as 2023! I had the early winter blues already this morning, but with these goals set now, I am starting to already look forward to 2024!

I predict you will love it, @Jnoble89. It really is quite forgiving, even (especially) on toe hits that will draw (!) into the fairway despite the poor strike. Good luck to you!!

Good morning, Spies! It was a cold one this morning, but great weather this weekend, including for tomorrow afternoon's round with my buddy, his son, and my daughter. It's been too long, and I am really looking forward to playing with the "kids" (daughter is 17 - not so much a kid anymore). I wish you all fantastic Fridays, and I look forward to hearing about your rounds this weekend!

Good Thursday morning, Spies! It's good to be back. I missed you, friends! Last week I was working all-nighters (after all-day); it was intense. Then this weekend we went to Massachusetts for a costume wedding, then on the Kennebunkport, ME for a brief anniversary celebration. We had a wonderful time! It's good to be home, too, with something resembling a normal schedule in effect. I am very much looking forward to at least one golf game this weekend. I wish you all wonderful days!

I concur with @Popeye64. The TS4 wants to be used in a purposeful way, and also has a second gear if you want to get after it.

We would be remiss without mentioning Maltby (from Golfworks.com) as a viable option. They make truly excellent clubs as well, and there is a thread devoted to them here on MGS Forums: Hogan, MacGregor, Ram, etc. There are lots of very good DTC options. It seems like an excellent time to be a DTC golf club consumer.

Hey Spies! I miss golf. Life and especially work are conspiring to make it a distant memory at the moment. Thanks for this space where I can at least dream. Soon, one hopes! I wish you all super days!

Good morning, Spies! It's definitely Q4, and as we head into the holidays, it is already The Most Wonderful Time of the Year for folks like me working in the transactions space. Work is super busy, which is a good thing overall, but I will admit it's stressful. It will stay this way through mid-December at least. Does anyone else have the "Sports and Fitness" pop-up ad here on the forums? I let that one keep playing. It may convince me to take up ballet. The flexibility would be good for my golf game, right? I hope you all have super days and weeks.

@GolfSpy SAM I often game a combo set of TS3 (5-8)/TS4 (9,PW)/TS1 (GW). My handicap is about the same as yours. While I cannot tell you with any precision what 100 MPF points really mean, I can tell you, anecdotally, that I do not find the TS4 any more difficult to hit than the TS3. In fact, I absolutely love the TS4, find it easy to hit, and incredibly accurate. My iron striking has really improved this summer, but I surprised myself last weekend hitting 5/5 greens on the carry with the 9 or PW in hand from 125-145 yards. (That had not been my typical experience before the TS4s went into the bag - not at that percentage of success.) I fawned over the 145 yard 9-iron carry shot; the TS4 has that extra gear when you are between clubs (which I was) and need to go after it with the higher lofted club to nail a tight green. Even when I game my Miura CB-57s, I kick out the 9 & PW to game the TS4 blades. Thinking a TS4 8-iron is also in my future. TLDR: I don't think you will miss the 100 MPF points and recommend the TS4.

Just FYI the TE+ V4 in silver and black are now up on the golfworks site. https://www.golfworks.com/clubs/heads/te-v4-forged/ Those look pretty sexy!

This is a really nice article on the homepage about the return of Ben Hogan Golf by John Barba. https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/ben-hogan-golf-is-back-again/ I, for one, am enthused about this news. As some of you know, I recently bought a vintage set of Hogan blades and have had a blast trying them out. They are remarkably easy to hit for blades, and they really do feel super smooth. Both the vintage and more modern Hogan blades are some of the most beautiful clubs ever made, IMO. I don't need any more iron sets (he shouted at the sky, knowing it was in vain), but have to seriously consider getting a modern set of Hogan blades sometime to try. There is so much history, and the clubs are such good quality, I really hope the "new" Hogan golf can succeed.

Just bought 4 more dozen of the Tour X yellow with the MGS discount, after buying 4 dozen a couple weeks ago at the usual volume discount. The MGS discount is truly an excellent deal. These should get me very far into next season. Much appreciation to MGS @Tony Covey MGS and Maxfli for this!

Good morning Spies! Coffee is consumed and I’m back in the gym after a too long layoff due to mysterious, undiagnosed issues which nonetheless seem to have resolved. Whatever - as long as it’s gone! Now let’s get after it! I hope you all have super days!

@azstu324 I definitely had this problem. I lost 60+ lbs, and it absolutely impacted my swing, and I had to work to get it back (which I did). Now, I have had some injuries and have been out of the gym for about two months, so while not putting on weight my core and upper body is weaker and maybe more limber in the arms. The result? I hit driver just as far, but am spraying it both left and right (and nearly never straight). So yeah, it absolutely has an impact, and I have to commit to working on it to get it back. Like you, it was stellar in the spring/early summer, and now I cannot control it enough to have confidence in it. On the OP note, I did hit a drive that amazed my friends this weekend. First time golfing with a couple of my new buddies, and hit a driver longer than I expected to, through the right side of rough, skirting the adjoining fairway, and into the ditch 330 yards away. Had it been straight the outcome would have been the same. I really need to dial that in before some semi-competitive golf planned for early December. Off to the sims I go! But I love that distance. Good luck with your experiment @jdparker! Please let us know how it goes!

Good morning, Spies! Two coffee cups in after a busy weekend. Did get out and shot a +3 39 on a tight course Saturday afternoon. Eventually I will string two of those together to break 80. The hunt continues. No golf in store this week, unless I can convince my daughter to join me in hitting balls at PGATSS before dinner. I need some driver practice! I hope you all have great weeks and great days!

It's a beautiful day in Indy today, Spies, so I think I will spend it inside the office tower pushing paper. I got to start my day cleaning carpets thanks to the aftereffects of the puppy's steak thefts (two NY strips Gone in 60 Seconds), then dropped the car off for repairs. It was not the most pleasant of mornings. Welcome to the party @3PuttParT! LOL. Sorry to kill the vibe; I promise I am usually much more chipper. The day will get better. I hope all of your days started and stay excellent.

Good morning everyone! I have been out of town and away from the forum. I missed a lot! Back now for the foreseeable future. My BIL and I played spontaneous, club rental golf yesterday for his first 9 holes ever. He had always wanted to try it. He has the fever for certain now, after a gorgeous 120-yard 9 iron shot to within 18 inches on his third hole (ever), which was better than any shot I hit all day. What a great time. Perhaps a future spy! Man I missed my own clubs. Played with very old, poorly gripped, knockoff Ping ISI irons with unusual graphite shafts and no name woods. Yikes. I know it should not make that much of a difference, but wow. I hope you all have super days!

Good morning, Spies! I have been away from the forum too much for my liking, but all due to busy work and busy fun last weekend. Good reasons! Another busy work day today. Golf is planned for tomorrow. Getting 18 in before the weather is predicted to start to turn colder. The goal is to *finally* break 80. Scores have been improving steadily, with several 9-hole scores in the 30's, just unfortunately paired with 43's or 44's to leave me at 80 or 81. Fingers crossed. Wishing you all super days today, and for the rest of the week.

A very brief update on the Maltby M890 LL shaft in this experiment: I only hit it a few times on the course and have not had the chance to take it to the range yet. I have not been practicing driver like I was early in the summer because I have been hitting a driving iron a lot just to dial it in, so these preliminary results are definitely just that - preliminary. But I can say (a) it is not as whippy as I expected; (b) it is slightly more flexible than the MP5, but not a lot more; and (c) I had roughly the same distance as the MP5; (d) dispersion was bad (which I likely would have been the same with the MP5 given my lack of practice). I think if I really slow it down like we are supposed to, it will work. Will keep trying, actually practice, and report back.