GolfSpy_BEN

To my knowledge the Quad Tour was offered to us in a tapered and non-tapered version, but not a pistol style. I went tapered. If you do put the Quad on a mallet, be sure to let us know how you liked it.

Nice write-up. I’m currently testing the MAX. Garsen was nice enough to send us the MAX, Ultimate, and Quad Tour, so I opted to put the Quad Tour on my Scotty Cameron blade. I wear an XL glove and I have to say I love this grip on that putter. The shape of the grip feels like it allows me to keep the face square through impact. This was an issue with the super stroke that I had on it previously and contributed to me moving to a mallet style putter last season. The quad tour has me reconsidering the Scotty as my gamer and I love that.

At the moment the following are safe: Driver - Rogue ST TD LS 7w - Rogue ST Max 54,58 wedges - Taylor Made mG3 The following are in flux with already possessed alternatives: Irons - currently deliberating between ZX7, Apex MB, and JPX 923 HM pro Putter - By virtue of testing 3 separate Garsen putter grips on 3 separate putters, there is a de facto competition as to which of the 3 will stay in the bag at the conclusion of testing. The following are most likely gone once a suitable replacement can be found/sourced: 50 degree wedge - Jaws MD5 3/4w - Cobra Amp Cell 3h - PXG 0211

Verdict: Not an over-reaction. At a minimum, he should have brought up the similarity in conversation and asked permission to examine it further. Granted, it does not seem there was any Ill intent on his part, but the consequences of his actions were obviously felt by someone other than himself. I would say your anger is/was justified.

My apologies in advance for the longish post, but sometimes I gotta get something out of my head or it may burst. The beauty of the game of golf lies in the little things. For every major triumph we celebrate in our journey through this game, there are (hopefully) smaller, more mundane milestones that are vital to achieving the triumph. For example, an average golfer scores their first par, whether this happens their first round out or their hundredth, it is magical. Finishing a hole in the proscribed number of strokes validates every shot that was played to achieve that end. From tee to green, a considerable amount of small, insignificant things had to go right. The tee shot found the fairway, despite a persistent desire to veer suddenly to the right. An approach shot landed approximately where it was aimed, leaving an air of nervous excitement surrounding the ball as it lies twenty-five feet from its temporary home. The slightly elevated heart rate of an anxious player as they survey the terrain between their ball and the cup. The initial belief that this putt is going to break to the left eighteen inches, only to be supplanted by watching the ball that was chipped from just off the green behind where the ball marker currently resides, not break at all and glide past the hole by fifteen feet. The frantic negotiation that occurs between the eyes and the gut in the quiet moments prior to the stroke, as the ball replaces marker, and the practice strokes are dispensed with. Now there is nothing left to consider, only a compromise of an aim point nine inches to the left of the hole and a solemn vow not to leave a birdie putt short is left to act upon. With that, the club is shakily drawn back and swept toward in a subtle arc. The ball lurches forward and rolls end over end toward destiny. In the seconds that the ball travels from a to b, a lifetime of dreams, wonder, and possibility are birthed, breathe, and perish. The ball moves tantalizingly toward the hole, and for a brief, glorious moment all is right in the world. What is so hard about this game? Nothing! The ball starts to break toward the hole and continues to do so, right past its intended target. Why didn’t I listen to my gut, there was clearly more than 9 inches of break in that putt. The ball runs out of energy as it passes below the hole and blessedly decides to rest eighteen inches from its destination. “That’s for par! I gotta see it!” chirps your now ex-best golfing buddy with a knowing smile. In the short walk to where the ball waits, the tension and inner turmoil begin to build and intrude upon what was, moments before, a nice place to live. With the storm clouds gathering rapidly, the ball impatiently waits to be sent on its way. At this point, a merciful God intercedes, and that eighteen-inch putt is stroked in with all of the confidence of a veteran tour pro. The look of mild shock and disbelief belies the “Good Par!” this putt elicits from your now best golfing buddy. As the ball is retrieved from it’s shallow resting place, a wave of relief is overpowered by a deep, primal thought of “THAT WAS AWESOME! I MUST DO THAT AGAIN!” This Forum is made up of golfers of all shapes, sizes, and skill levels. For every member celebrating a sub seventy round there is another that is discouraged and heartbroken with another 101, no longer convinced that this will be the season that they break 100. This is my gentle reminder to you all, and maybe more importantly, myself to savor the little victories and incremental improvements. Look for the ingredients of future success in the ashes of current failures. And above all else, enjoy the journey. TL;DR: Have a great holiday weekend!

Continuing the work re: reducing my spin with the driver. Another micro range session for lunch today. Focusing on staying back, swinging in to out and making contact on the way up rather than the way down. It’s a work in progress, but starting to see results.

It’s a rather punitive system of punishments for mishit putts… If that were true, I might be in better shape by now. The workout space in our basement is adjacent to the area I have set up shop for my indoor practice area, so I burrowed some space on the whiteboard my wife uses to map out her workouts.

With Taylor Made currently offering 150% trade value, I am contemplating trading in a set of irons I don't have any use for on a Stealth 2 3w and 3h. Are there any strong opinions either way on their fariway woods and hybrids? I have played Taylor Made's Drivers, Irons, Wedges, and Putters in the past, but the only thing of theirs that is currently in my bag are the MG3 wedges, which i am quite fond of.

Quick update: With the completion of tonight’s round of the Basement Putting Mat Shootout we have reached the midpoint in the competition. The participants have rounded into form, as evidenced by tonight’s tally. With 14 nights down and 14 to go, the leaderboard looks as follows: Ultimate Rossie - 230 points Quad Tour Scotty - 230 points Max Evnroll - 225 points This shootout has been neck and neck with none of the competitors able to pull away from the pack. Be sure to tune into the final review, you won’t want to miss the finish on this barn burner!

Great question! Most likely a pitch with a 58° wedge, that I would try to land a yard or so onto the green and let it release toward the hole. Though the answer lies in how those shots are going for me during that round, i could also see chipping it with a PW or even putting it, if the path to the hole is free of obstacles that might inadvertently redirect it.

Congrats to a good group of testers! I’m particularly keen on @azstu324’s insights and observations, as the Rogue ST TD LS is my current gamer and I can’t wait to see how the Paradym TD performs for him!

Circa 2014, I had a full bag of Titleist. It hadn’t happened before or since, but I had one season in the sun with those clubs before the band broke up and I drifted back to playing a variety. No reason really, for or against, just the way it goes

Well done, testers. Each one of these reviews was thorough, well-written, and offered unique insights into why these irons did or didn’t work for your games. That’s why these testing opportunities are so special, they offer us a chance to go down the rabbit hole, see what we find, and report back to the membership. I enjoyed reading these and can appreciate the effort that went into them. Well done indeed.

Quick Update: With the Garsen testing and other obligations, I haven’t had the chance to dive as deep into this pool as I might like, but I did get a chance to do a little comparative testing between the JPX 923 HMP, ZX7, and the Apex MB. The results: The control in this test was having 3 clubs of similar lofts. To achieve this end, each group had a different configuration. Upon initial review, it would appear the best option would be a combination of the ZX7 PW & 7i, with the Callaway 7W. Although the gap between the ZX7 and the Apex MB isnt prohibitive, it does appear that I get better results out of the player’s iron than the game improvement set. So, yay for me. Later this summer I look forward to digging into which set is best for my game.

This forum is a unique collection of like-minded yet wonderfully different folks. Unlike the rest of the internet, and the world at times, this space is free of the cynicism and vitriol that seems to be eroding civilization around us. That is in large part to the bedrock of this community, the forum staff. The work you all do is vital to our community and we, as willing participants, are profoundly grateful for that and for you. Thank you Forum staff.

I think your approach is solid and should make for compelling content in the review. It came with the OEM gravity grip, but I never took to it and replaced it with a super stroke flatso 2.0 about a month after I bought it. I’ve been using some variation on super stroke on my putters since 2010 or so

Admittedly, in my enthusiasm to get the Max installed, i didn't think to get baseline numbers from the super stroke/ER7v using the same parameters. I will use the putt numbers from the rounds I have played with that setup thus far this season for a comparison to the Max in the rounds I can get in prior to the review being due.

Max testing at the range, part deux. I took my caddie with me to the range this evening. Shown here helping me measure out the tees for another round of 5’, 10’, 20’. She also assisted with the following: IMG_0624.mov Tonight, the putts from 5’ were pouring in and I finished 7/10 with 3 tap-ins remaining. IMG_0627.mov IMG_0628.mov From 10’, I managed to hole 2 of the 10, with the rest nestling fairly close to the hole. IMG_0631.mov IMG_0632.mov My intention with these 20’ putts (frankly, any 20’ putt) was to lag close and if any fall, that’s a bonus. This go round, 1 fell and the rest were close enough to feel pretty good about completing the 2 putt. I hope to get out this weekend for some on course testing of the Max, but the more I use it, the more comfortable I find the position it has my hands in. The other 2 grips have their work cut out to win this competition.

Full service gas stations left southwestern Ohio 30 or more years ago, so I remember them but I have always pumped my own. That being said, I can’t say I’ve ever seen the glove dispenser til now.

I got a chance to do a little testing of the Max at the practice green at driving range, I spend entirely too much time at, this afternoon. I measured distances of 5’, 10, & 20’, then marked those spots with tees. I chose an area of the green that allowed for straight putts. I took six putts from each distance with the following results: From 5’ I made 2 and left the other four within tap-in range. From 10’ Again, I made 2 and left the other 4 within tap-in range. From 20’ I made 1, left 3 within tap-in range, and 2 were within 3’. Granted those 3 footers can be knee-knockers at times, but overall I’m okay with the results from 20’. Early in my “getting to know you” period with the Max I was struggling a bit. A closer look determined that my grip wasn’t right. I was holding it as such: I wasn’t comfortable or confident with this grip, and it showed as my putts were either pushed or pulled, too short or too long. I messed around a bit with a claw, but that, for me, has never felt natural. I tried lowering my trail hand down the grip a bit, so it looks like this: Funny a little change of hand position has made a significant difference. As evidenced, above in the 5’ & 10’, my misses were line related rather than speed, there were no egregious pushes or pulls either. I plan to play a round with the Max this weekend, so I’ll have some more data to add to what I collected on the Ultimate Rossie from last weekend. Also, there is one point separating the top two competitors in the Basement Putting Mat Shooutout.

Stopped in to hit a bucket today. Started with the 50 degree hitting to a pin 110yds out, landed 5 of 6 shots within 20 feet. Next was 8i and 5i to loosen up, then on to the reason I stopped in. The remainder of the bucket (approx. 40 balls) was used to work out an issue I’ve been having with the driver. Focused on 3 things: staying behind the ball through impact, club path in to out, and proper release. Overall, progress was made. The best drives I hit of the lot weren’t the furthest but rather the ones that created these results: This one had a baby draw on it. Decent shape. Good result My battle with the driver has been an excessive amount of spin that is sapping my distance. Because these things tend to be cyclical and the good lord rarely gives with both hands, my ball striking with my irons has been above average. About the time I get this driver figured out, the irons will go to seed again. If I didn’t love this game so much…

A 50 degreee wedge. Haven’t zeroed in on which one just yet. I’ve played Vokey, MG3, and Callaway MD5 recently and had some success with Cleveland in the past. This time around I’m going to check out the DTC stuff, with enough due diligence on the front end perhaps I won’t have to revisit this subject on the back end…

Over the years, I’ve met some interesting people, playing as a single. Some good, some not so good. That goes for their personalities as much as their golf games. I’ve also grown into wanting to play with golfers that are better than me. It took me a little while to figure out, but a round played with a better golfer is an opportunity to observe how they approach the game and make mental notes about aspects of their games that I may want to adapt into my own. Plus, my competitive nature drives me to play a little better. I’ll focus on the little things better than when I’m out for a round with my usual buddies. As to playing with other spies, I joined the forum a bit too late to make this years outing, but I hope to attend in 2024!

Congrats testers!

1. I think it varies and depends on the how busy the course is. From personal experience, any time I book anything less than a foursome I expect to be paired up with another twosome, single, etc. 2. I approach this on a case by case. If the pace of play is moving along, I play as a single until an offer is made. If it is slow and there is waiting, I will ask if they mind me joining, to help pass the downtime.