aguybadatgolf

Admittedly I learned the basics by watching YouTube. I started in 2021 and managed to get down to a 16 handicap by the end of last year. If you’re playing for fun and just want to not be terrible it’s a decent route. I finally reached the point where I wasn’t getting better and would love to join a league or some tournaments and be competitive. Taking lessons now and it’s helping a ton. Was told the basis of my swing was actually decent just working on more technical aspects of the swing, controlling spin, and finding the middle of the club every time (shout out to my fellow toe bangers). Long story short, it helps to a point but if you want to be a single digit handicap get some lessons. I still enjoy YouTube for gear reviews and entertainment just not swing advice.

For a gamer: LAB Mezz Max Broomstick. Blue head, white accura shaft. For collecting: Custom Bettinardi Minovi DASS with a Wizard throwing bomb icons on the sole.

That’s a good question. I would say not hugely different from my MD5 Jaws. For me forgiveness on wedges has more to do with the bounce and grind than performance on heel and toe strikes. Especially when I’m on the course as it can be hard to judge due to other variables. I will say on my indoor testing so far the S159 doesn’t loose as much spin on toe and heel strikes as my other wedges (50,54 MD5 Jaws and 58 Vokey SM5). Still working on testing that and getting some good data.

The Scottie Shuffle might be unorthodox but if I had his results I’d do it without a second thought. It’s going to go down as a legendary swing.

I was able to play a round over the weekend. All my buddies were commenting on how much check and spin I was getting with my chip shots. I’m finding it much easier to control spin and the spin I get is very consistent compared to my other wedges. Still working on adjusting for less roll out but I’m excited by what I’m seeing out of these wedges.

The black looks really good. I wish they could bend them up to 3 degrees upright. Making me jealous

I’ve honestly always been a fan of Bryson. Was bummed to see him go to LIV. He’s just fun to watch and I think the way he approaches the game is really interesting. I’m pulling for him and Homa this week. Both are looking really sharp.

I also opted not to. I already have a ShotScope and data from previous rounds with my other wedges so I’ll be using that info.

Oh yea, Colorado National. It’s long and has a decent amount of forced carries. Hole 14 is a 233 yard par 3 into a very elevated green that slopes of very steeply into a creek or brush. I think I’ve played the course 4-5 times now and have only stayed on the green once. The rest have taken a ball, never to be seen again.

Life’s been a little crazy lately. Denver had some hurricane force winds over the weekend and we lost power for 54 hours. I’ve played a couple rounds now the S159s. Sadly my second round was on Sunday while we were still getting 25 mph winds with 40 mph gusts so it’s tough to say much about club performance in those conditions. I’m in love with the T grind on my 58 and how easy it is to play different shot types. On my 9 last Thursday I missed the green short from 70 yards with my 58 and even on the fairway it spun back a foot or so. The grooves and face on these or no joke. I’m playing 18 again Saturday and hope to be able to share some more reliable strokes gained info as there isn’t much to be gained from my round the other day.

I was in the market for a new shaft. Ended up getting fitted a 2 shops and both said the head I have is no good for me. Got fitted into a Callaway Ai smoke. Sounds amazing and I’m hitting it better than I’ve hit a driver before.

Fitter was great and knew his stuff. He steered me into a AI Smoke Max in 9.5 degrees. Project X Denali 6.0 70 gram shaft. Said I can get the head or shaft switched free of charge for 30 days if it’s not working out.

Enjoy! I played 9 after work on Thursday and had a great time with the S159 wedges. Have 18 booked for tomorrow morning. Wanted to get a few rounds in before I comment on the on course experience. So far I’ll just say that I observationally get a lot more consistent spin from different lies.

Thank you for the suggestions. I have a fitting today as well with a shop that is brand agnostic. I’ll make sure to ask about those. I was averaging about 5 up. You pointed out that this is a swing issue and my coach has noted it at smothering to work on. Spin was averaging around 2500, apex was about 38 yards. The rest I’m not sure about. I do have a pretty nice match up with my swing path and face angle which the fitter said was helping negate the amount I hit up as I play a draw so I got a lot of roll out.

Thanks for the advice! My FIL is a veteran so my wife is able to use the PXG discount for military and family. She was getting fit for some irons tonight and they let me mess around with their black ops challenge. It was eye opening. I was fit into a 8 degree head and after messing with shafts was fit into the graphite design tour ad xc-6 in an X flex. With my current game I was either hitting straight blocks to the right or turning it over and hooking it. With the fitted driver I was able to try to turn it over as much as I wanted and as long as I didn’t get to extreme was hitting 300+ yard draws in the middle of the fairway. I’m just hoping I can find a shaft with similar performance that isn’t so expensive lol.

Good to know! I am going in tomorrow to a local shop very excited to see the result.

I have a new one. People who just jump around hole to hole. Playing last night we had a 2 some in front of us. They disappeared on hole 4. We saw them again behind us on hole 6 somehow and then they asked to play through on hole 8. We played the round in 2 hours and were right behind the group in front. We then saw them loop back to hole 3 rather than playing 9. Really annoying and messing with pace of play.

It’s somewhat the course conditions and somewhat the experience that it provides. There some very well kept courses in my area that are just kind of boring in how they play. No unique features, minimal hazards, etc. I want to be challenged about where to play my shot and really think about the entire hole so I’m set up for my approach. Because of this my favorite course to play regularly is Murphy Creek, in Denver area. Lots of bunkers, fun layout, good conditions, not terribly expensive, some forced carries over water, it’s got it all for a public course. Favorite course I’ve ever played is Arrowhead here in Colorado. Wayyyy too expensive to play more than once a year ($220+) but an amazing lay out, views unlike any I’ve seen on a golf course, challenging from tee, and immaculate conditions.

I’m not quite a single digit handicap yet but it’s dropping fast. I play a lot of older city courses where the fairways are all right next to each other so the occasional hook doesn’t hurt me too much. I play the Vice Pro Plus which for me tends to be a low spinning ball. But as you noted the urethane cover gets chewed up fast after a few full swings with a wedge. Played 9 last night and tested out the chewed up balls next to a fresh one. I was 3 for 3 fairways with a fresh one. Then tried a chewed up one and hit a massive fade verging on a slice. Immediately retired all of the chewed up balls when I got home lol. I saw the MGS article on lost distance but didn’t realize how much it could effect spin as well.

@RickyBobby_PRGood to know I didn’t realize 6 up was that extreme. I’ve got a free fitting booked this weekend so we shall see haha

I’ve been getting lessons and my instructor is encouraging me to go get fit. I’m swinging it pretty well but still have a miss right. Looking at the videos the shaft is pretty flexed at impact leaving the face open even when my hands are in the right position to close it. I also hit the ball pretty high. That’s a known thing I struggled with before lessons and my swing isn’t dramatically up only 6 degrees or so. We use a trackman to practice with. I play with a 10.5 lofted low spin Cobra head that I self fitted. The LS part is on the right track but it sounds like I need a different shaft and lower lofted head. I’m not sure if I’ll suddenly hit more fairways and it was the wrong set up the whole time or if this is a swing issue my instructor is hoping a fitting will compensate for.

Thanks for the feedback. That was my thought as well. If I can see the groove marks it’s probably going to spin differently. Looks like it’s time for retirement.

Historically I loose balls before they need to be retired. I’m finally getting lessons and think I’ve amassed enough playing time that I can go a round or 2 without loosing a ball. I noticed they are getting pretty chewed up from wedges and are missing some paint. At what point do you no longer game it? I have about 6 balls in that category at this point.

Always frustrating when it works out that way. You’ll have to share your thoughts with us! So far I only have good things to say about performance and looks.

I had been using 18 birdies for the last 1-1.5 years. It was pretty basic and mostly just tracked fairways hit, GIR, putts per hole, and score. I'm now investing a lot more time into improving my game and got a ShotScope V3. So far I really like it and it has been eye opening. My approach game is way worse than I realized and my driving is better than I thought based on strokes gained. Only real negative is that you do need to take 15-30 minutes after a round to make sure it tracked all of your shots and got the correct pin location. I’ve only had it not register putts and that’s likely due to the armlock grip moving the tag too far from the watch for it to register.