ZackS

300 wing wangs!
 

Bought a new Ping Tyne 4 (2023) putter last week. Did some research on my putter stroke arc with my local fitter and looks like I needed a putter with more toe hang because of the “strong arc” I have - who knew?  
Results are in. Either my course made the holes bigger or it was a significant improvement for my game…… NINE birdies in 27 holes! 

you can try www.lastminutegolfer.com
 

My Garmin Fenix 8 just arrived 

A PGA SuperStore opened recently by me so I went to check it out. Didn’t intend on buying a new putter today, but here we are. Tried a bunch of putters, but kept coming back to this guy just really like how it lines up. 

Been a busy couple of weeks buying golf stuff. Bought several PGATSS gloves to replace my sweat soaked ones (I generally go through 5 gloves on a hot humid Florida day), but I'm not going to wear them until the temps drop into the mid 80's otherwise they look just like my old ones after a couple of rounds. A couple of brand new hybrid covers for my 410's (great price on ebay). And a replacement for my Radspeed 3 Wood. I've been pining for a couple of new woods - a 3 and a 7, to match the Qi10 - 5 wood my wife bought me for Father's day. The new 3 wood is in the bag, the 7 is yet to come. 

Then there was this! We've been very envious of our fellow golfers very comfortable golf cart seats and have been looking at upgrading the ones on our 2017 EZGO TXT. I started looking at the $$$ for new seats and thought do I really want to put that kind of money into a cart that's only worth about $3,500. We bit the bullet and bought a new to us EZGO RXV. A more substantial cart with VERY comfy seats, bigger tires (means faster) and Lithium batteries. So far, a great ride and don't have to fuss with wet cell batteries. AND the charge time - wow its generally 90 minutes versus 6 hours for the wet cell. 
 

Nice! I went as Carl my senior year of college. The gopher would've been a nice touch, but I threw the costume together at the last minute. 

Ordered the PuttOut Air Break as part of their preorder -- showed up in July, but between trips and a big conference at work, haven't had much time to set it up (I'm sure it will get a ton of use this winter - maybe this is the year Happy learns how to putt?). Well, here it is: 

 
Really cool concept. It's a hard foam base, a green top, has a separate stance stand (not supposed to step on it directly), and both the left and right side have four airbags underneath that you use to build yourself a 6 footer -- can make it up or downhill, multiple break points, etc. And it returns the ball to you (you know, if you make it). This one is 15-20 pumps each on 3 of the 4 bags on the right (hit one practice putt that I missed miserably, but this was the first take on video):

PXL_20240831_034609645~2.mp4 (Unrelated, anyone have putting tips? 😂 Averaging like 35 putts/round this year...looks like a choppy stroke to me, but no idea how to stop that)

Birthday present from my wife, a custom MG4 wedge arrived today. Has my wife's and kids' initials and Florida Gator colors (and a dinosaur because why not??). Also picked up some new ball markers. 

picked up this beauty the other day...
couldn't get the Ai Smoke to work at all... different shafts, different settings, different etc...
so we are going with the Titleist GT3 with a Mistubishi Tensi 1K Black 65 X-Stiff set in D2 with the weight in H2 and 45" a try... been crushing it and able to control flight and trajectory...

Bought this used through eBay auctions for $60 after tax. Can't wait to take it out and smack some balls around with it!

Went from once or twice per year golfer to catching the bug about 2 years ago. Have gradually redone basically my entire bag in the past 6 months. I think I'm finally finished...for now.
All my prior clubs were inexpensive/off the shelf stuff from finding sales - I knew nothing about equipment except the name of the big brands. I dove headfirst into learning about equipment and now I'm hooked. I also realized all my stuff was a terrible fit for my swing/body - way too soft and light. I'm 6'2" and swing driver about 115 mph. Middle of last year I was probably at 15-20 hcp. After a lot more playing and practicing (and the changes below), I've gotten to a 9.
First, I got fit at Sub 70 for new irons. If you can get to Sycamore, IL to check them out and get fit...DO IT. After my 1/2 fitting, 1/2 unexpected lesson from Kevin, I had a much better idea of what I needed to do with my bag. So here is my 6 month journey to get my bag all set:
Driver (reshaft): Tour Edge E722 - HZRDUS Black 70g, 6.5 Flex - accuracy has greatly improved with heavier, stiffer shaft Fairway (reshaft): Callaway Paradym 3W - Tensei AV White 75g, X Flex - again heavier/stiffer Hybrid (new): Sub 70 949 Pro 19* - HZRDUS Black 90g, 6.5 Flex - probably my favorite club Utility (reshaft): Srixon ZX 23* - DG X100 - bent 2* up - switched to match new irons and am loving the steel vs. previous graphite Irons (new): Sub 70 659 CB (5-PW) - DG X100 - 1/2" long and bent 2* weak and 2* up, which has been a game changer for my flight, consistency, and gapping 52* (reshaft): Mizuno T22 - DG X100 - 1/2" long and bent 2* up 56*/60* (new): Sub 70 286/Sub 70 JB - DG X100 Really enjoying the new set-up. Would love to get to a 5 hcp in the next few years.

Spies!! We did it!! The bag build has begun!!
Just ordered irons and wedges!
Srixon ZX5 5-PW, Cleveland CBX 4 Zipcore 50* (AW), and Cleveland RTX 6 Zipcore 54*, 58*
All sporting KBS Tour Lite Shafts and Golf Pride MCC Plus 4 Midsize in Blue
  

Ordered a couple SM10 wedges on Monday after my Titleist GT and wedge fitting. Ended up going 52.12F and 56.12D. 
I have been looking at moving to the P790 irons as well and if/when I do, I will most likely add a 48* vokey at that time to bridge the gap from the 45* P790 PW and the 52 Vokey. 

I play as a single the majority of the time and the courses also won’t let me book a time. I usually just look online and find where there are a good amount open and just show up around that time and usually get out not problem. Granted I play in the heat of the day in Texas a good amount to do this. As someone who get a good amount of my golf in as twilight rounds after work in the summer and leagues are making that harder. 

Love it!! I just got this one…
 

Introduction:
Let me start by saying how much I appreciate this opportunity and big thanks to MSG and TPT. Also to John Sinclair for his time in for the fitting. My name is Zack, I was born and raised the Dallas TX area and lived here most my life other then a few years in California for college. I worked in the golf industry throughout most of my 20’s primarily in a teaching role where I was a lead instructor for a city course teaching both adults and kids then an indoor facility with Edwin Watts. I have moved into IT engineering for my career and I am a single dad. My son is starting to have some interest in the game so I get to do some practice with him but the majority of my golf is sneaking out after work when my son is at his mom’s.

 
My Game:
A little on the history on my game. I started playing 24 years ago in high school. I picked up the game pretty quickly and was constantly shooting in the 80s by end on freshman year. My last few years of high school was was consistently in the high 70s. My game was at its best in college where I got down to scratch. Throughout my time in the industry I didn’t keep a handicap but my average score was mid to low 70s with a bad day being high 70s. After years of averaging about 1 round per year I played a handful of time last year and have got the bug again. I still don’t keep a handicap but currently averaging about 8 over par when I play. For a few reasons, I still don’t get play as much as I would like so I practice more than I play currently but with my analytical, perfectionist mindset, I enjoy practicing.
 
Manufacturer claims and My Thoughts:
TPT has a proprietary manufacturing process that allows for ……..You know what they explain it better then me. So give it a watch, I’ll wait 😆
This has me very excited as if this it true I should see a noticeable difference in dispersion and hopefully from this distance due to the added confidence and ability to play a softer/ligher shaft.
 
How I plan to test:
Going to start by comparing the shafts in the SIM bay against my current for launch, spin, ball speed, distance and dispersion.
Current shafts:
Titleist TSR3 Driver - Graphite Design AD DI 6X and Accra TZ6 55 M5
Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond 5 Wood - Graphite Design AD TP 7S
PXG 0317 Gen2 22 degree Hybrid - Aldila NV Blue 90S
And obviously I will have to put them to the test on the course and what performance benefits it can provide. For these to stay in my bag the primary thing would be dispersion as that has always been the weakest part of my game. But of course some added distance along with that will be welcome.
 
Final Review 5/4/2024
 
Initial Impressions: (10 out of 10)
Since Jon our fitter had the shafts sent to him so he could build them I was able to just pick them up so there was no unboxing. But Jon also let me know how much head weight needed to be added or subtracted from each club while there. Since I knew the weights I had in the driver and 5 wood I knew I had what I needed already at home and Jon gave me what I needed for my driver. I will need to find some wights for my PXG Gen2 hybrid but for now I have just removed a few of them to get the correct weight. Overall my initial impressions are very high. I love the looks, I am sucker for good matte finish which these have just a few layers of clear coat so you can see the graphite which has a unique look I am assuming it due to their patented manufacturing process. Add to that the matte yellow that really pops and makes them standout.

The feel and performance during the fitting and the first range session are great and confidence inspiring. Here are quick highlights from the range.
Lastly even though getting fit from Jon Sinclair is not something everyone looking at these shaft will get to do but I was lucky enough too and it was a great experience. You can see more detail on that here
Aesthetics: 19 out of 20
With shaping and other things like that not really being a thing with shafts there is not a lot to discuss on aesthetics. That said I love the looks, I am sucker for good matte finish which these have just a few layers of a matte clear coat so you can see the graphite. The graphite has a unique look I am assuming it due to their patented manufacturing process where they sand the graphite down to create the flex profile.

Also the matte yellow that really pops and makes them standout. The only thing I would change is make it orange instead of yellow because I like orange.

I am sure some won’t like the look but I though the QR code they have on the shaft that take you to a page to be able to register your shafts and a few other things including this document which give some more info on shaft profile. https://linktr.ee/tptgolf_QRCode
 
The Numbers: (17 out of 20)
I will start by saying that I am grading on a scale where a full 20 out of 20 would be that it was better is every single way. That said my current shafts where pretty good for me already and in terms of sheer numbers (launch, spin, ball speed, distance, etc) thing were similar as you will see from examples below. I did a multiple sessions to make sure it was not just a good day with one shaft or another for some reason. Also this allowed me to get a decent sample size and not having to make a bunch of swings all at one were I would inevitably end up being tired and a shaft would get the short end of the stick in the comparison.
Driver: 
One note from the first session is I hit double the amount with the TPT shaft, half being me trying to swing faster and the dispersion is still better.


5 wood:
You will notice in the 2nd session I was all over with my swing with this club so number are down and dispersion is wider but the TPT was still more consistent


Hybrid: 


Where the TPT shafts did standout was dispersion. In every session weather swinging good or bad dispersion was better with the TPT shafts. Also the consistency numbers especially in spin where better in almost all cases.
 
On Course: (16 out of 20)
I will again preface this score by saying that on my scale a 20 out of 20 would be the shafts were completely game changing. Since we already established that base numbers are very similar so so can’t classify it as game changing on that front. While I would say I am seeing the same improved dispersion on course that I have seen in the SIM comparisons. I can’t say the shafts completely eliminate big misses or have gotten rid of my left miss with my 5 wood “my issue not the shafts” and unfortunately shafts can’t fix my brain, haha. Though I will say my confidence is growing with that have the shafts especially the driver. One example of this is in one of my rounds on a whole that is a hard dog leg left around the river and the tees. Where up a box from normal and I decided to. Be aggressive and took a driver over the river and trees and put it 40 yards short of the green.

Which if that trend continues could be become game changing as they has always been a weak point of my game. And while I didn’t get to play as much as planned due to weather and schedule not matching up well in some cases. But it can’t be ignored that over the 46 holes I was able to play doing the testing period I was a total of 4 over par. This did have a good amount to do with good putting and short game but what good rounds don’t. But since I started getting back into golf over the last about 2 years I have mainly been in the 6 to 12 over par per round range. This has been my best stretch of golf in a long time. The rounds during the testing include a even par 72, a 9 hole 4 over 40, a 9 hole even par 36 from the very back tees to test my tee game and a 10 hole even par day. If you would like to see some details on these see the links below.
 
 
The Good, the Bad and in-between: (8 out of 10)
Overall my experience with the TPT shafts has been all good. I love the looks and the feel on of the shafts. On the feel side I don’t notice a difference whether I try and smooth one or really go after it which is confidence inspiring. They just load and unload very nice and consistent. The in-between for me is base numbers (launch, spin, distance) are very similar to my current shafts. The only thing I would classify as bad is they are pricy and not a widely available as some other shafts. The availability is not really their fault and I do understand with the propriety process, super tight tolerances and high end material is not cheap still at the end of the day $400 for the Power range and $650 for the Nitro is not something everyone can afford and you don’t get the benefit of it being offered as a up charge option from a manufacture where it can be a little less expensive.
 
Play it or Trade it? (20 out of 20)
This one is pretty easy for me as despite not seeing a big jump in distance I have seen a difference in consistency and dispersion which is the main thing I needed. So from what I saw during this testing there is absolutely no reason I see to take these shafts out of the bag and as mentioned in other sections my confidence is growing especially with the driver so I am thinking they could get even better for me.
 
Conclusion:
TPT claims that through their proprietary manufacturing process that is completely automated that creates a shaft with no spine and zero off-axing when bent. What is allows for is greater consistency in strike and dispersion allowing you to play a softer shaft and gain distance. During my testing I have found the claims of consistency to be true. As far as distance goes my numbers for launch, spin, ball speed and distance as very similar across. On that front when it comes to hybrid and 5 wood I don’t need more distance I need them to go a certain distance for gaping. On the driver I think this could be that I really didn’t go softer in flex. We did try one softer I didn’t get a little faster ball speed but had a little worse dispersion as well. Though I still think I could see improved distance as my confidence to swing harder with the TPT shaft in the driver is growing. The other claim from TPT is 3 shafts one feel with the Power Range of driver, fairway and hybrid shafts. I ended up with the Nitro shaft in the driver but still found this claim to be true with the like profile but I could feel a slight difference in between the Hi and Lo shafts. But to be honest I don’t think I would without hitting them back to back. Bottom line is these are very good shaft that I feel for the most part live up to the claims. There is the consideration of price as all this technology comes a price that while not out of the realm of other premium shafts are right there with most premium shaft in the Power Range and on the higher end of the spectrum in the Nitro Range. That is a decision that each person has to make and with my normal budget I can’t guarantee you I would purchase these on my own. That said if you are in the market for premium shaft and doing a fitting you should certainly have the TPT shafts on your list and I would argue it should be at the very top of that list.   
 
Final Score: (90 out of 100)

... I applaud any company offering 4 different premium balls. White, yellow, pix and striped. I find bright yellow unpleasant so not for me but two of my pards absolutely love them. But I really dislike any alignment lines on my golf ball. I turn my ball on the tee and on the green so all I see is pure white. Pix are OK for me because there is no pattern but having a striped ball lined up a little left or right of my target on a chip, pitch or full shot is very distracting. We can't adjust the ball in the rough or on the fairway and I don't need something confusing my subconscious with "I want you to use my line on the tee and the green but ignore me in the fairway and rough". How do you ignore a very prominent line pointing 7* away from your target? 

... I imagine I am in the minority but stripes just aren't for me so I am glad the TP5x and Maxfli Tour x offer both. 

Got out for the first time in a month with a quick 9 after work. 4/7 fairways, 8/9 greens, 16 putts for a 1 under 35. Wish I could have made a few more birdie putts but was struggling with the speed of the greens. I did make a 7 footer for par after running the first putt by so that makes up for at least one the birdie putts. But definitely not going to complain with the score, super happy with that but part of the fun is there is always something to get better at next time. 

Nice, I have 2 Optivibe weights, 50g at the bottom of the grip and 30g at the top. Still might not do it since putting has not been an issue so hard to justify the cost other than curiosity. Though that is a pretty strong reason for me, haha. But good to know it should work if I decide to pull the trigger at some point. 

Some new additions to the collection have arrived !😃
firstly, the past Friday saw the ups driver deliver my GT4 driver / GT3 - 3w combo platter that I was fitted for at the Team Titleist GT launch event in Fox Harb'r back in July 😍
 
And yesterday saw the arrival of the Titleist Legends of the Links golf bag, for winning the team event at said TT event!
Yes, its perhaps a bit sacrilegious mixing and matching brands, but I'm loving the display the TT bag helps pull together with some of my 
limited edition clubs / shafts etc 😊

This is now the 5th putter I’ve had with a BGT Stability Tour shaft.  All have been counterbalanced.  
Mostly with a SuperStroke grip and 75g CounterCore weight.  The first four I installed.
This one has the Optivibe 80g counterweight installed.

Putting is one of my better golfing skills and despite winning our golf club’s Match Play Putting Championship this year I’ve been wondering whether I could improve and if my current putter was holding me back.
Going through the Edel putter fitting process has been on my wishlist for a few years now.

So, a few weeks ago I was in Denver, CO and made it a point to stop by the Edel headquarters.  
I brought my current putter with me as a baseline and was intent on being as open minded as possible regarding what model of putter, alignment aid, specs, etc. that would deliver the best results.
Was guided through the putter fitting by Nico Edel and was fit into the Array F2 putter.

Not too surprising I guess since I’ve been playing some variation of a fang style putter for the past 8 years with generally good results.

Part of my interest in going through the putter fitting was to see how close I came to fitting myself correctly with my currently set up Odyssey O-Works Black #7.
Ended up with very similar specs except for the slant hosel in the Edel vs the double bend in the Odyssey.

Also the toe and heel weights are not the same in the Edel to promote a little more flow.

Same length, shaft and grip.  Similar amount of counter balance weight. But flatter lie angle in the Edel Array putter.


Fast forward to now and I’ve had the Edel putter in play for about half a dozen rounds and it seems as if I am already aiming the putter and starting the ball on my intended line better than before.
Just finished a three day tournament and despite difficult and wet conditions I managed to perform well enough to pay for my entry fees and offset a good chunk of the cost of the putter.
The Edel Array putter was instrumental in making a bunch of birdie putts.
Definitely a different feel and sound off the face vs. the softer insert that I’ve been playing.  

As I gain familiarity with the new putter my distance control is rapidly improving.
Overall, I’m encouraged by my early results.

Hell yeah. We shot 3 under on that back side and I don't want to say it was mostly me... But it kinda was mostly me

It's back in the bag and back better than before.  As expected it was me all along and not the club.
9 days ago got a spot on my driver by PGA Teaching Pro and Glen Oak GC owner Tim Fries who got me swinging the baseball bat swing, slowly transferred to an angle off horizontal plane, adjusted my set-up and put the ball on a higher tee than I think I ever used (felt like T-ball but nothing of that height lol) and voila, a long drive on the last hole of the tournament we were playing together in our foursome.  
All the others in the foursome were PGA Pros and one was last year's WNY PGA Professional Champion of the Year (and #2 this year) and it took them 17 holes to ask me why I was not using my driver... hahaha the respect going both ways in the Section for Veterans and Pros is really awesome and they had not wanted to ask until that point.   I told them it was in time-out, or maybe it was me in time-out as the draw bias of the club face wasn't stopping my slight to strong fade.
Today's practice round was just put the ball on the tall tee, relax and swing.  3 drives today captured with SwingU app club tracking were better than anything during testing:
1st tee - 158 yards = wide right and no surprise pretty much why it's/I'm in driver time-out.
2nd tee - 169 yards = fairway and hello.
3rd tee - 154 yards = got underneath it and not too far right.
5th tee - 116 yards = into the wind and provisional with first lost off tree into the lake.
6th tee - 227 yards = newest longest shot (tracked average of 150 yards).
8th tee - 193 yards = slightly left but straight.
9th tee - 177 yards = longest hit on the 9th hole ever.
The last 3 tracked shots were the longest since the beginning of testing earlier in 2024.  Which leads me to believe that "intention" and "result" are linked with this and every club.  This was part of an actual conversation I had with Ryan when we shared a cart on The River Course on Saturday at Kingsmill almost 89 days ago today.  My recognition of this is at this point there is no "testing" going on so I am perceiving no pressure to perform and just swinging to make contact.  The correct term for the play today is, wow does it make contact.
I've recognized my driver is a good performer and it's back to having its place in my golf bag.  @TylorJudd hope you have found the same thing now the pressure is off from what you had said before top of this page!