Matumbo

Awesome! 1. What will the Cut Number Will Be +2 2. What will the scoring average be for the entire field on the Final Round Sunday? 73

Wow, these look awesome! This could be a great add-on option STIX should offer.

Lofts of the STIX Play Series are 1-2 degrees stronger than my current gamers. I use Titleist t300. I haven’t seen any additional digging and the leading edge doesn’t seem any more sharp than other similar irons.

Happy Saturday! I've got a bit of data to share. I recently purchased a launch monitor and took it to the range yesterday to get some comparisons between current clubs and STIX clubs. Still learning how to use it so wasn't able to test everything I wanted, but here are some screenshots comparing my current driver (TM Stealth 2+ with stiff Vents Blue TR Velocore shaft). I've still got quite a bit of work to do with driving the ball, but I think this can give some insight in to the differences and similarities I was finding between these two clubs. 45 total shots counted, 1 outlier removed for each. Turquoise "D" is the STIX driver and purple "D" is my current driver. Based on this, you can see some of what I'm seeing between these clubs. The STIX driver had the shorter average, but I also hit my longest drive with it. It also had the shortest shot overall. Smash factor and ball speed were faster with my gamer though my swing speed was slightly lower. I would guess this is likely due to the softer shaft whipping through a but more. My club speed isn't very high, but it definitely whips the STIX shaft. My dispersion of my gamer seems a but tighter, but not by much. I had more left misses with the STIX driver and more "straight" drives with my gamer. You'll also see some difference in launch angle. My current driver is a bit lower lofted than the STIX, so this could be a contributing factor. I plan to get some more info comparing the irons, woods, and wedges as well. Of course, if anyone has any specific questions, thoughts, etc., please let me know. Happy Father's Day tomorrow for all of the fathers out there!

Cut line: +3 Tiger’s score: +11 missed cut

Great questions! Thanks! Distances seem pretty similar overall. Planning to put them side-by-side today with my gamers. The STIX set is mostly 1 degree stronger loft than what I have in the bag (2020 Titleist T300 - I think these would be considered super game improvement type clubs for anyone unfamiliar). I’m definitely seeing some higher flights with the STIX clubs. Nothing too crazy, but definitely noticeable. As far as keep or ditch, on my short list of possibly keeping in my bag/replacing something in my bag, I am considering the 3 wood, 4 hybrid, and putter. I’ve felt super comfortable hitting all of the clubs. I rarely pull out my current wood and hybrid, but could see myself pulling these out on the course given my increasing confidence in hitting them and control. As for the putter, I love the feel and weight of it. The sound of the face hitting the ball is really satisfying as well. I’ve never played a milled faced putter. I’ve been used to playing white hot putters, but the sound of this putter is really nice. I’ve felt that I could start it on line and have good pace control, which are things I struggle with my current putter.

Hello again everyone! Small range session today with the STIX Play Club Set. Unfortunately it was mats only, but was still able to get some more swings in with the set. Some good news for those who have been following along: I was able to find the cover for the hybrid. It was turned in at the pro shop. Small recap that the hybrid headcover (all of the headcovers for matter) don’t fit snugly and while walking the course with my clubs, the cover fell off a few times and at one point I didn’t notice and lost it. My big takeaway from this though is that so far, this has been my biggest gripe with the set, as trivial as that may be. I really can’t find much bad to say about the set. There may be some personal preferences that I would like on the bag, etc., but the set overall (the important parts) really perform well. I plan to put another 9 in with these this week, weather and time permitting. I’m getting more and more used to how these clubs perform and what to expect from them each time I hit them. I’ve been really impressed with the driver, 3 wood, and 4 hybrid and each time I hit them, I’m surprised at how easily I can. I tried hitting my gamer 3 wood the other day in a tournament (first time in a while as it’s been in timeout) and it did not turn out well. I will say I get a similar ball flight and distance with this driver compared to my current gamer (Stealth 2+). Given the lighter flex, I need to think about my swing a bit more and change it slightly, but it honestly almost hits itself lol. I tried hitting some draws and fades with all of the clubs and it was surprisingly easy. This is still a relatively new thing I’ve been trying. I haven’t had a lot of success in my short golfing career of being able to draw the ball generally, let alone plan ahead for a draw or a fade, but I think this will be an on-course test soon. I was able to draw and fade each ball this range session on command and I switched every other shot several times from a draw to a fade. Next range session should be on grass and I’ll be able to get a better idea of everything, but this range session was really promising to me overall. I’m not a huge data guy and honestly don’t know of any great sim places to go around me. While data may be helpful for some people, these specific clubs are geared to new golfers and I don’t know how much data a new golfer would be interested in. If anyone has any specific questions, thoughts on testing, things they would like to know/see, let me know as I’m open to suggestions. Thanks for reading!

Looking good! I like the look of that head cover, too - definitely looks premium and a step above the "standard" offering. Looking forward to hearing more.

Hey fellow Spies! Small update. TL/DR: Getting accustomed to the set. Really like the putter and trying to use wood/hybrid as I usually don’t use these regularly. Head covers come loose easily and I lost the hybrid cover on course. Ok, so I was finally able to get out there and get another round in with the STIX set. Keeping tally, that’s two Range Sessions and two rounds. I was able to get through 14 holes. It did not start off well. This was one of my worst rounds of late. Now, I do not blame these clubs for that, I just think it’s the learning curve of using new clubs generally. I was slicing the driver pretty consistently. That’s my usual miss, but although it was worse than it’ been lately, it wasn’t as bad as it’s been in the past. Then, about the 10th hole in, I figured it out! I know, I know - those words have probably been spoken by all of us golfers at one point or another, to only have the harsh reality of golf kick you down a peg or two. For the time being and the next few holes though, I did hit a couple of nice straight drives. These clubs really do perform. I am usually not a fairway wood or hybrid person. However, I have been taking these out for the sake testing them out when the time calls for it. I do feel that these are easy to hit and perform well. I still have trouble with them at times, but the misses seem to be a lot better. After figuring it out, the driver did perform, too. I hit some longer than I normally do. The sound is a bit different but not bad. It’s titanium so that’s to be expected. I had a couple of mishits with the wedge. I’ve really been working on my wedge game and it’s gotten a lot better. I haven’t had these kinds of misses with my current wedges. Still need to hit these some more. I’m a huge fan of the putter. The feel of it, the sound of it, the weight of it. I’m not completely sold on the look of it yet, but I’d take performance over looks any day. I feel very confident with the STIX putter. I hit some really good putts with it. I will note that the head covers are not the best. They are not secure on the woods and I actually ended up losing the hybrid cover. All of my current head covers either have some elastic to better secure them, or just generally fit tighter to prevent this. Hopefully someone will find it and turn it in to the pro shop. The hybrid cover specifically fell off a few times during this round. I caught it the first few times, but noticed it missing at some point later and didn’t see it close by. Despite my poor performance on the course today, I call it a success. I was able to get better accustomed to these clubs. I am confident in a couple of more rounds I’ll be able to perform better. Will keep you posted!

I'll definitely write up more about that and all the other clubs when I get some more opportunities with them! I was planning to get out today after work but of course all day long it's nice out, but downpours an hour before I plan to get out.

Yes, my current clubs are all stiff flex (have one extra stiff). With this specific set (Play club set), there are no customization options and they only come in regular flex. The other set they offer does offer some customization and different flex options.

I was finally able to take out the STIX clubs for 9 today. We’ve had some rain recently so not much golf going on. For the first time using these clubs on course (only one range session in) I was not hitting the ball with them well at all. My ball striking has been improving so this was not what I wanted to see. I could not get control of the driver at all. Errant balls, slices, hitting the ground well before ball, you name it. I think a lot of this did have to do with the regular flex of the shaft. I’ve been putting in a lot of effort with my driver as well and have been seeing my slice less and less, but not today. It may just be a learning curve to different clubs so I’m not drawing any conclusions yet - I’ll be giving these a good go at the range and on course. A couple of notes I did have though: 1. The bag is too small for my push cart. As you can see, the ties are too large to accommodate this bag and it is not secure. I did end up tying them in a way that held it. Not a huge deal and not a deal breaker, but an annoyance for me with my cart. 2. There is no Velcro strip for your glove. I have had this on my last two bags and have liked it and grown accustom to it. Again, I small inconvenience which may not bother everyone. 3. The dividers are not full length between the pockets. I recently upgraded to a cart bag that has full length dividers for each club. My last “cheap” bag had dividers between the side-by-side pockets, but this bag doesn’t seem to have that (I have three irons in the pockets that are side-by-side and they kept getting tangled and hard to pull out). I had this happen with my old bag but only clubs that were in the same divider. 4. My big take away from the round was that so far I really like the putter. It sounded awesome, felt awesome, and I felt like I could control speed and start it on the right line. I had some really great putts and putting has been one of my weakest parts of my game. This putter could honestly make its way into my bag. I’ll have to hit the practice putting green and put my current putter against this one. I’ll take a look at and take some pictures of the “damage” to the clubs after the first round. There wasn’t much there from my first range session, but given some of the pictures others have posted here on this subject, I’m interested to see how they held up. I played one of my worst rounds so far. Again, I’m withholding judgement until I get several more rounds in. I know I had to play several times when I switched to my current gamers, so know there can be a learning curve. Hopefully I will be able to get out there again tomorrow and get another round under my belt. This weekend, I’ll definitely get some practice at the range as well.

Agreed. I do like the red color that appears here and there, bur nothing really jumps out. I must say though that personally, they look better in person than the pictures of them on the STIX website.

Funny, I had this same thought when I first hit the 4 hybrid. Never have hit them well, but this one for some reason seemed so easy.

Intro - May 7, 2024 STIX Golf Play Full Set Series – Official MGS Forum Review by Matumbo First of all, I want to thank MGS and the Forum Mods for this awesome and unique testing opportunity. Also thank you to STIX for making this possible. This will be my first test/review and I am planning to give it my all. Hopefully you find this review helpful and thanks for taking the time to read. About Me I’m Matt, I’m 34 years old and live in Rochester, NY. I am married and have two daughters and love spending time with them. We go fishing, camping, bike rides, and they will occasionally accompany me golfing. Besides one or two times playing golf when I was 16, I only started golfing since around August 2022. I ended up joining a local club and have been golfing quite a lot since. I’ve taken a few lessons recently and have just started feeling comfortable with my swing. I’m gaining distance and accuracy and really excited for this season. I joined MGS in July of 2023 after doing some research into golf equipment and kept seeing the forum appear in my search results. I felt that MGS gave honest reviews based on actual data and that the reviews, etc. are unbiased. My Game I haven’t been playing golf too long, but have fallen in love with the game. I walk 95% of the time and love being out in the fresh air and will often play 9 holes after work during the week and play most weekends when time/commitments allow. I am still a high handicap (~32) and have yet to break 100. My closest 18 so far has been a 101 (50 front, 51 back). I am confident my handicap will come down and I will have great improvement this season. While my handicap is still high, my swing speed has increased dramatically and I need at least stiff flex in my clubs. I’ve had and used regular flex and they are typically too whippy for me. Since there’s only the one flex option, I’m interested to see how the flex of these clubs works with my swing and how accurate the claim is that these clubs are “Built for 99% of golfers”. I may not fit in with the 99% as I am 6’ 4” tall. I did the wrist to floor measurement and based on that, I should have about a 1/2” extra in my clubs, though my current set is all standard. I have switched recently to jumbo grips in my clubs and have loved them the past few weeks since I’ve had them. Testing I’m very interested in testing these out and putting them through the paces. I’ve seen many ads for these and never really gave them much thought. I have done some cursory research on them in the past and more recently once I got this news and thought that what they say they offer sounds great. My first set of clubs was a Top Flite set from Dick’s. I guess for what they are (sub-$300 starter clubs) they got the job done, but given the amount I played my first year and the improvements in my game since then, I don’t think these clubs were a good buy personally (I felt I grew out of them too quickly). My hope with STIX, especially given the higher price point, is that they will perform better and would be able to stay with me longer as I improve. I don’t have a full plan for testing yet, but that will come. I do plan to test alongside my current clubs at my range and on-course. I will try to get to a simulator and get some time and data of my current clubs vs. STIX. ************************************************************************************ Unboxing and Initial Thoughts - May 12, 2024 Happy Sunday everyone and Mother's Day to all of the Mothers out there. I received my STIX Thursday evening and very badly wanted to open the box right away and check through everything, but knew I wanted to do a full video of the opening, unboxing, and first thoughts so had to wait until I had the time to do that. The box arrived by UPS while I was out (one guess as to do what I was doing - **hint** rearrange the letters: LGFONGI). If you guessed GOLFING, you were correct. The box arrived in decent shape except the top of the box was open (tape was undone). I am very excited to get these out on the range and the course to see how they perform. My initial impression of them so far is high. The quality looks to be there and I didn't notice any QC issues, scratches, etc. which I have seen mentioned in other reviews. The stand bag seems like good quality and some nice pockets. It is on the small size which could be a pro or con depending on what you're looking for exactly. Full unboxing and initial thoughts video below. More pictures and videos to come! First small range session with the STIX clubs. I wasn't able to spend too much time today golfing or at the range, but I was able to get a few hits in with each club (except the putter). Starting the with wedge (56 degree) they all felt pretty good to hit. I moved my way to the pitching wedge and then the 6 iron. I handled it like a warm-up session. I didn't notice too much of a difference with the regular flex vs. stiff flex in the irons. The ball seemed to go much higher in the air than my current gamers. I use a 60 degree wedge, but it seemed like the STIX 56 degree and the pitching wedge went miles high compared to it. Further testing needed for this. I then went to the woods. The set comes with a 4 hybrid, 3 wood, and, of course, the driver. I started with the 4 hybrid. I could definitely feel the difference in flex here. My first hit of the 4 hybrid was awesome! I could really hit this thing - better than my current 4 hybrid. I hit a few and noticed it seemed easier to hit than my current club. I've never been able to hit woods all that great, but this was probably one of the easiest hybrids I've ever tried. I pulled out my current hybrid to compare and couldn't hit it well. To be fair, I don't practice with my woods that much since I've always had problems with them. I then pulled out the STIX 3 wood and had a pretty easy time hitting this as well. I tested against my current 3 wood and has similar results as with the 4 hybrid. I did notice that these two clubs again seemed to go much higher in the air than what I'm used to. I'm wondering if this is by design or if I'm just "imagining" it for some reason (though I don't think so). These will definitely need further testing. If nothing else, STIX seems to have found something with these clubs. Too early to tell for sure, but with just a few hits I felt very confident. The driver was a bit different. I did get some good hits with it, but I don't think it held up against my current driver. I definitely felt the lighter flex here and that wasn't great. I like the look of the driver and think I could get the hang of it after using it more. I wish there was some adjustability to it, but I think that goes with the "beginner" set. Stay tuned as there's lots more to come. I am planning to take them out tomorrow for a 9-hole testing. I think this will be a good starting point on testing the real-world performance. Intro - May 7, 2024 STIX Golf Play Full Set Series – Official MGS Forum Review by Matumbo First of all, I want to thank MGS and the Forum Mods for this awesome and unique testing opportunity. Also thank you to STIX for making this possible. This will be my first test/review and I am planning to give it my all. Hopefully you find this review helpful and thanks for taking the time to read. About Me I’m Matt, I’m 34 years old and live in Rochester, NY. I am married and have two daughters and love spending time with them. We go fishing, camping, bike rides, and they will occasionally accompany me golfing. Besides one or two times playing golf when I was 16, I only started golfing since around August 2022. I ended up joining a local club and have been golfing quite a lot since. I’ve taken a few lessons recently and have just started feeling comfortable with my swing. I’m gaining distance and accuracy and really excited for this season. I joined MGS in July of 2023 after doing some research into golf equipment and kept seeing the forum appear in my search results. I felt that MGS gave honest reviews based on actual data and that the reviews, etc. are unbiased. My Game I haven’t been playing golf too long, but have fallen in love with the game. I walk 95% of the time and love being out in the fresh air and will often play 9 holes after work during the week and play most weekends when time/commitments allow. I am still a high handicap (~32) and have yet to break 100. My closest 18 so far has been a 101 (50 front, 51 back). I am confident my handicap will come down and I will have great improvement this season. While my handicap is still high, my swing speed has increased dramatically and I need at least stiff flex in my clubs. I’ve had and used regular flex and they are typically too whippy for me. Since there’s only the one flex option, I’m interested to see how the flex of these clubs works with my swing and how accurate the claim is that these clubs are “Built for 99% of golfers”. I may not fit in with the 99% as I am 6’ 4” tall. I did the wrist to floor measurement and based on that, I should have about a 1/2” extra in my clubs, though my current set is all standard. I have switched recently to jumbo grips in my clubs and have loved them the past few weeks since I’ve had them. Testing I’m very interested in testing these out and putting them through the paces. I’ve seen many ads for these and never really gave them much thought. I have done some cursory research on them in the past and more recently once I got this news and thought that what they say they offer sounds great. My first set of clubs was a Top Flite set from Dick’s. I guess for what they are (sub-$300 starter clubs) they got the job done, but given the amount I played my first year and the improvements in my game since then, I don’t think these clubs were a good buy personally (I felt I grew out of them too quickly). My hope with STIX, especially given the higher price point, is that they will perform better and would be able to stay with me longer as I improve. I don’t have a full plan for testing yet, but that will come. I do plan to test alongside my current clubs at my range and on-course. I will try to get to a simulator and get some time and data of my current clubs vs. STIX. ************************************************************************************ Unboxing and Initial Thoughts - May 12, 2024 Happy Sunday everyone and Mother's Day to all of the Mothers out there. I received my STIX Thursday evening and very badly wanted to open the box right away and check through everything, but knew I wanted to do a full video of the opening, unboxing, and first thoughts so had to wait until I had the time to do that. The box arrived by UPS while I was out (one guess as to do what I was doing - **hint** rearrange the letters: LGFONGI). If you guessed GOLFING, you were correct. The box arrived in decent shape except the top of the box was open (tape was undone). I am very excited to get these out on the range and the course to see how they perform. My initial impression of them so far is high. The quality looks to be there and I didn't notice any QC issues, scratches, etc. which I have seen mentioned in other reviews. The stand bag seems like good quality and some nice pockets. It is on the small size which could be a pro or con depending on what you're looking for exactly. Full unboxing and initial thoughts video below. More pictures and videos to come! First small range session with the STIX clubs. I wasn't able to spend too much time today golfing or at the range, but I was able to get a few hits in with each club (except the putter). Starting the with wedge (56 degree) they all felt pretty good to hit. I moved my way to the pitching wedge and then the 6 iron. I handled it like a warm-up session. I didn't notice too much of a difference with the regular flex vs. stiff flex in the irons. The ball seemed to go much higher in the air than my current gamers. I use a 60 degree wedge, but it seemed like the STIX 56 degree and the pitching wedge went miles high compared to it. Further testing needed for this. I then went to the woods. The set comes with a 4 hybrid, 3 wood, and, of course, the driver. I started with the 4 hybrid. I could definitely feel the difference in flex here. My first hit of the 4 hybrid was awesome! I could really hit this thing - better than my current 4 hybrid. I hit a few and noticed it seemed easier to hit than my current club. I've never been able to hit woods all that great, but this was probably one of the easiest hybrids I've ever tried. I pulled out my current hybrid to compare and couldn't hit it well. To be fair, I don't practice with my woods that much since I've always had problems with them. I then pulled out the STIX 3 wood and had a pretty easy time hitting this as well. I tested against my current 3 wood and has similar results as with the 4 hybrid. I did notice that these two clubs again seemed to go much higher in the air than what I'm used to. I'm wondering if this is by design or if I'm just "imagining" it for some reason (though I don't think so). These will definitely need further testing. If nothing else, STIX seems to have found something with these clubs. Too early to tell for sure, but with just a few hits I felt very confident. The driver was a bit different. I did get some good hits with it, but I don't think it held up against my current driver. I definitely felt the lighter flex here and that wasn't great. I like the look of the driver and think I could get the hang of it after using it more. I wish there was some adjustability to it, but I think that goes with the "beginner" set. Stay tuned as there's lots more to come. I am planning to take them out tomorrow for a 9-hole testing. I think this will be a good starting point on testing the real-world performance. The Review (June 25, 2024): STIX Play Series Set Hello fellow Spies, Thanks for following along this review journey. I hope you have so far found it helpful and informative. Happy to answer any specific questions you may have or try to test something a specific way you may find helpful, so please reach out and let me know. For my testing, I had a few questions in mind for this specific test. 1. Are these worth the money? Some other full beginner sets cost less, while other cost more. 2. How do these DTC clubs compare to the “big brands” in terms of value, cost, quality, etc. 3. Specific comparisons to my first set of clubs: Top Elite XL full set from Dick’s. Cost vs. quality comparison. 4. Do these work for me. As previously mentioned, I am 6’4” tall and have been playing for just about two years now. 5. Would I spend my money on these? Would I buy these over other options? Some claims made by STIX about these clubs. 1. Great for beginners 2. Premium materials from top to bottom 3. Designed for forgiveness & confidence 4. Built for 99% of golfers 5. All the performance for a fraction of the cost Unboxing/First Impressions (**17/20 points**): The box arrived safe and sound (mostly). The box was open at the top, but not sure if this was a packing error/problem with STIX or the delivery company. Everything in the box was fine and the whole set (bag and clubs) were wrapped and sealed in a plastic bag. This made me feel confident that nothing fell out or was lost with the top of the box having been opened. Each club was individually wrapped in plastic wrap around the shafts and bubble wrap around the heads. This seems like decent protection of the clubs during shipment and I see no problems with the clubs. A bit of a hassle to get off, but not a huge deal at all. Pulling the clubs out I found them to be high quality. I have looked into STIX clubs before as I’ve seen ads about them. I was not a huge fan of what I saw in the pictures online. I thought they looked a bit cheap and just overall not aesthetically pleasing to me. The pictures online do not do them justice and they look much better in person. The irons had some nice weight to them. The grips on these feel really nice as well. I think they would be similar to Golf Pride velvet grips. They feel nice in my hand and offer a good amount of control/non-slip. I really like the look and feel of the 56 degree wedge. I felt very comfortable with it. Stix set compared to current gamers: The woods all felt very nice as well and had the same grips. They come in a black color which I have my doubts about the longevity about this color. I’ve seen other manufacturers with similar color and it seems to rub off after a few hits. I currently have TM M4 woods that are a similar color and the face has a silver color now. No big deal as this doesn’t impact the performance and I expect the clubs to get some wear on them after some hits. The woods all have a red dot as alignment on top of the club which I think looks great. At first look, the head covers seem adequate. They are not anything amazing and don’t have much padding, but seem like they will do a decent job of protecting the heads as intended. They don’t have any sort of closure on the woods covers and seem to slip on and off easily (maybe a little too easily as I did have the hybrid cover fall off during a round and couldn’t find it). Maybe some elastic or something like some other head covers I have would help alleviate this issue. -2 points for the above head covers. As this is a first impression, I I was not very pleased with these at first glance. The putter has a nice shine to it on the bottom. I think this finish may make blemishes more apparent especially as this part may touch the ground as you’re putting. The grip is a smaller grip with a flat front. Same feel/material as the other clubs. The head cover for the putter is a bit different. It has a velcro closure and even less padding than the others. It should protect it from minor bumps and bruises, but may not help much with hard hits or drops. I liked the weight of the putter and the design of it. -1 point for the putter head cover as well. The stand bag seems of good quality. No issues with the legs coming out and holding itself up. It has four dividers. Top is divided in four and there are two dividers for the top and bottom to keep those clubs separate. The side-by-side divider doesn’t have a full length divider so clubs can get tangled that way. The zippers all work well and I don’t see issues with those. It’s a smaller bag, but it still offers plenty of storage. I don’t usually carry my bag but this was cute comfortable when I tested it out on my back. There is no glove holder as comes standard on many bags. Aesthetics (**9/10 points**) The clubs look really good. As stated above, I initially didn’t like the looks based off of the pictures on the STIX website. I felt they looked a bit cheesy/low quality. Once I got these in hand and saw them in person, that view completely changed. These really do look great! The overall look of the set looks great in the bag. I really like the white lettering on the black bag with the red accents of the zipper pulls. The bag looks sleek and everything really comes together nicely as a full set. There’s nothing really flashy about the set as a whole. Simple black numbers label the irons. The black is easy enough to read against the silver of the irons when trying to pull out a club, but I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to attract much attention. I like the addition of the red at the bottom of the irons. I don’t think it serves a purpose, but it’s a nice touch that looks good and adds a little something extra. Generally, I like the shape/appearance of the clubs. My one problem would probably be the driver head. It’s a very large design, something that isn’t exactly my preference. This is a very personal preference and I recall that my first full set (Top Flite) had a similar head design. As I’ve gotten more confident with driver, I’ve preferred a bit of a sleeker head shape which this is not. -1 point for the driver. I like the look of the putter. It’s got a matte finish on the top and a shiny finish on the bottom. The red alignment aid nearest to the front of the putter is really helpful. This is my preferred type of alignment for a putter, so this works great for me. The milled face looks and feels great and the weight of it is awesome. I like a bit of a heavier putter and I definitely think this is on the heavier side at 430g according to the STIX website (heavier than all my current putters). This is probably the “flashiest” of all of the clubs given the shiny bottom and general looks of it. The sound of the putter is much different than my Curren “insert” putters. I’ve never used a milled faced putter before and the sound of this was great and really enjoyable. It’s more of a “tick” sound than the tap sound I get from my insert. The driver is titanium and because of that, has a louder sound than what I am typically used to. It’s not overly loud, but definitely noticeable. It’s got a noticeable “Thwack” sound. Not sure what best to compare it to, but I think it’s common enough that most people can hear this type of driver hit in their head. Not a bad thing, just different than some other clubs out there. The shape of the hybrid and the wood are really great. I felt confident with the hybrid in my hand, which is different than how I typically feel as I am not a great hybrid or wood hitter. I was able to hit the hybrid and the 3 wood really well, especially compared to others that I’ve tried and even what is currently in my bag. I have been getting better with them, but after using the STIX hybrid and wood, I’ve gained more confidence with these and pull them out more on the course than I normally would have. The irons and wedge all sound great. I get a nice sound and feel from a crisply hit shot. The wedge and irons have a nice weight to them. I like to feel a bit more weight near the head and these have that. The grips are nice and offer a good deal of control and comfort. I’ve gotten used to jumbo grips and these seem maybe even a bit smaller than some of the standard grip sizes that have come stock on my other clubs. May be since I’ve been using the jumbos for a while now, but I don’t think so. The Numbers (**10/10 points**): When playing these clubs on the course, I could use the same club as with my normal set. These are a degree or two stronger lofted than my gamers, but I didn’t notice much difference in carry. My dispersion seemed very similar with these clubs overall. I didn’t notice anything stand out as far as missing targets, coming up short/long, or bad mishits. The clubs are generally very forgiving and I could hit my targets just as well as my gamers. Current Driver Dispersion: STIX Driver Dispersion: Overall, the STIX set flew higher than my current set. I noticed this especially with the 3 wood and the hybrid. Nothing too crazy, but definitely noticeable. Could also be due to the difference in shaft flex attributing at least in part to this higher flight. Since these are targeted at new golfers, I think they lean a bit more towards being forgiving. I was able to shape shots with them which is something relatively new to me. I was on the range and would hit a draw, then a fade, then switch back to a draw with ease. While I don’t think this is something a brand new golfer will be doing, it’s good to know that as a beginner golfer progresses, this shot shaping is possible. As for the putter, I think this is one of the biggest highlights of the whole set. I found it incredibly satisfying both sound and feel wise to hit putts on the green. Using a tee gate, I was able to hit through it and at my target with ease. As stated before, I really liked the head weight. It took some practice to get some distance control, but once I got used to it, it worked great. I felt a lot more confidence with this putter than my current gamer. The shaft is able to provide stability for my stroke. On-Course (**17/20 points**): Using these on-course, I didn’t notice any real adjustment period. I could go out to the course and use these just like my normal set. I shot very similar scores my first time out with the STIX set. I haven’t seen a marked improvement in my scores/game, but that’s probably user error more than anything My one real problem was with the driver. Again, I didn’t have much confidence with it standing over a ball. I felt the driver shaft to be a bit too whippy for me. I’m still relatively new to golf, but my swing speed warrants at least a stiff shaft. I noticed myself trying to compensate a bit by slowing down and this doesn’t always work out well. -2 points for the driver Driving isn’t always a problem for me, but I can be inconsistent, so I want a driver that I feel very comfortable with. My miss tends to be right (slice) and I can slice this driver like any other. There are several areas on my course that are OB to the right. Knowing that and not having the confidence with this driver makes me a bit tense. I also typically use a 60 degree wedge from the sand. Since this set comes with a pitching wedge and a 56 degree wedge, the latter was my new sand wedge (I typically carry a 54 degree and 60 degree, the latter for sand and the former for basically everything else). I could get this out of the sand, but it did take some getting used to. I did run into a couple of issues using this set on-course. First, the bag did not fit onto my push cart properly. My cart has top and bottom stretch cables that wrap around the bag and connect to each other. With the STIX bag, the cables were too large to fit around and the bag was not secure. May be just my specific cart, but I would think this is pretty standard size and may be a problem for others. I’m not taking any points away for this since I’m sure there are push carts that this bag would fit just fine. Second, the hybrid head cover fell off several times as I was walking around. I didn’t touch it at all, but just from the movement of the cart and walking around the course, it fell off 3-4 times. I was able to notice it and put it back on each time until at one point I noticed it was missing and didn’t see it anywhere. I retraced my steps a bit and couldn’t; find it. A few days later, someone did end up finding it and turned it in to the pro shop and I got it back. -1 point for the head cover I don’t think either of these problems are deal-breakers, but small annoyances. I think the head cover part would be an easy fix by STIX and should be addressed by them. Overall, performance on the course was great. Although, I didn’t have great experiences with the driver, it was serviceable and mostly my fault/user error. I find myself pulling out the 3 wood and hybrid more with this set than with my gamer set. I find them to be very forgiving and I can actually hit them fairly well and keep them in play. I didn’t have much experience with STIX before receiving this set. I looked at the website a few times before this test came about, but I wasn’t a fan of the looks and kind of wrote them off. I was at one point thinking about possibly trying out a wedge or the putter at some point in the future as they looked promising. After receiving this set and using it for the past while, I can say for sure that these are high quality and can perform just like any other well-known company. If I could change anything, I would love to see some custom options to this set. I get the reasoning that this is a very beginner focused set and the thought is limit this set to what it is to make the selection easy. Giving options for adding additional clubs to the set or changing certain options may be a good feature to add. Not making these offerings really seems inline with most beginner sets though. I would also love to see some adjustability with the driver. Again, geared for beginners so may not be typical, but would be nice to see. The Good, the bad, the inbetween (**20/20 Points**): After testing these clubs out for quite some time now, I am really impressed by the quality. This was a major concern I had with STIX as a whole. DTC clubs and generally, have come a long way and shouldn’t be overlooked. I’ve had apprehension about going with a DTC manufacturer, but having done this test, I am more open to it as a whole now. Let’s go back to some of my initial questions/testing thoughts that I had at the beginning. 1. Are these worth the money ($699)? Some other full beginner sets cost less, while others cost more. - Yes. There are sets that cost less and “big brand” sets that cost more. These are a good value in the middle range. The quality and performance of these is much better than what I’ve seen out of other beginner sets. The only other one I’ve used has been the Top Flite XL form Dick’s and these blow them away. Although I never gamed them, I’ve seen some of the higher cost beginner sets in person and these are of very similar quality. 2. How do these DTC clubs compare to the “big brands” in terms of value, cost, quality, etc. - I think the value is definitely here given the cost and quality of these. Compared to “big brand” clubs that I own and have owned, these are right on par with them at a lower cost. 3. Specific comparisons to my first set of clubs: Top Flite XL full set from Dick’s. Cost vs. quality comparison. - Quick comparison to my first beginner set. The cost of the Top Flite set (regular price is $399.99, but are usually on sale for under $300) vs. cost of my STIX set ($699). I basically stopped using my Top Flite set within a couple of months of playing. I could see myself still gaming my STIX set after a couple of years. The initial cost is obviously quite a bit more, but if I started with the STIX set, I don’t think I would have felt the need to upgrade as quickly. Even if I need to supplement the STIX set after a while with a few clubs (a wedge or two and a long iron or something), I could still be gaming the STIX set, but don’t feel like I could still be using the Top Flite set. 4. Do these work for me. As previously mentioned, I am 6’4” tall and have been playing for just about two years now. - Yes! These work fine with my height and experience. I’ve been toying with the idea of trying to add some length to my clubs, but don’t think it’s completely necessary. These work just fine as-is with my height. 5. Would I spend my money on these? Would I buy these over other options? - Some claims made by STIX about these clubs. 1. Great for beginners 2. Premium materials from top to bottom 3. Designed for forgiveness & confidence 4. Built for 99% of golfers 5. All the performance for a fraction of the cost I think STIX backs up these claims. This is a great beginner set. The materials are great and I’ve seen great performance from them. Some other beginner sets I’ve seen can cost double what STIX costs. I don’t think there is any real difference between these sets that would justify this cost difference. These are really high quality clubs, made with premium materials. Play it or Trade it? (20/20 Points): For this section, consider that all things are equal and you’re choosing whether or not you would put these clubs in play for a big tournament or money game. Do they help you play your best? Or are they just nice to have? Do you think the asking price is fair for the product? Finally, what type of golfer do you think this product would fit the best? If it’s not you, explain why and try to identify the type of golfer that can benefit the most from it. I would play some of these clubs and trade some of these clubs. The putter could definitely find a place in my bag. I love the weight, the feel, and the sound of it. I also get great performance out of it and have been searching for a putter that gives me more confidence. The hybrid and 3 wood are also a great addition to my bag. I've had a hard time finding woods that work well for me, but these clubs perform really well. I am able to hit them well and have confidence standing over my shot. The wedge is another club from this set that I could place in my bag. I have a fair amount of confidence with the included 56 degree wedge. I typically use a 54 degree wedge, so would have to make some changes with my other clubs. In Conclusion: These clubs are high quality and perform very well. This is a great beginner set and should last a new golfer quite some time before they feel the need to upgrade. I really enjoyed using the 3 wood, the 4 hybrid, and the putter. While I had some problems with the head covers and bag, I don't think this is enough to detract from what this set, and STIX as a whole, offer. I would definitely consider ordering some other clubs down the road. After testing out this set and seeing what STIX has to offer as far as quality and performance, they would be a great choice to try some other clubs out as mine age (specifically thinking about other wedges). I'll post updates as I get out on the course more with these. Please let me know of any questions. I hope this helps out if STIX are on your radar!