paperclip

Happy Birthday @PJVicary, @paperclip, and @Dopds!!  Best wishes for a great day!

Happy Birthday @PJVicary, @paperclip, and @Dopds
Hope your day is the best it can be.
 

Cast thermoset urethane: chemical components are added to the mold separately where a chemical reaction crosslinks at a molecular level. Once cast the material cannot be recycled (as a result there tends to be more scrap which adds to the cost). The casting process takes longer to deliver a completed cover also adding cost, but the result tends to be a more durable, softer, thinner cover. Only 5 facilities on the planet that support this production process in a meaningful capacity (two owned by Acushnet, two owned by Taylormade, and Foremost who is independent though Taylormade also has a stake in that factory). As of today brands are pretty much limited to Titleist, Taylormade, Vice, Maxfli, and Wilson. 
Injection molded thermoplastic urethane (TPU): chemical components premixed and injection molded similar to other thermoplastics (ionomer/surlyn balls are produced the same way). Process is faster, cheaper, and material can be melted back down and reused once formed. Finished covers tend to be harder, thicker, and less durable than thermoset urethane, but still thinner and softer than ionomers. Big brands that use this production method are Bridgestone, Callaway, Srixon and then pretty much every other white label factory other than Foremost that produce balls for the majority of the smaller DTC brands (Acushnet also uses this method for the Titleist Tour Speed). 
 
TLDR: All other variables equal, thermoset urethane covers should be softer/thinner (tends to produce more spin) and tend to be more durable. With that said, other variables can be adjusted to account for the cover difference, granted it is difficult to make up for feel for those that a sensitive to cover hardness.

I currently play those shafts, the lighter weight in the 4 and 5 iron is nice, heavier shafts in the shorter irons doesn't bother me. There doesn't seem to be any loss of accuracy or distance vs my previous set with DGHL's. Ball flight is lower though.

I don't think you are too far off in your ideas. Now it remains to be seen on whether LIV bought into the PGA Tour or if they essentially "bought" the PGA Tour. Either way, I think Monahan is toast.

I have been on the fence but decided to share my thoughts... To be clear, I am no expert and have no more knowledge outside of what has been publicly posted, but in my work in Private Equity and before my current role I have worked with and seen a lot of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) so I'll share my thoughts on the business of the deal accordingly.
 
To me, this is a sinking ship merger, similar to how Google and Apple buy small spinouts all day everyday. You have a young startup that has a solid product (LIV having more value in Assests - being the players) but is hemorrhaging cash at an unsustainable rate. Their leader is a political icon, which means his stature and reputation is too important to let the league fail, which it inevitably would. He (most likely) goes to the PGA and offers to sell LIV to them, to which they decline. He comes back with an offer to pay them the  equivalent of 2-4 years worth of losses for LIV (hundreds of M$) plus all business assets (players and LIV Tour) for a small portion of the whole pie and a seat on the boar (possibly non-voting, but we will never know). This protects the leaders image, giving him the opportunity to spin it as a huge win against the Americans to those abroad/in Saudi.
 
The PGA does the deal because they know that LIV will fail at some point and they will have to mop up then anyway and accept players back, so why not take cash now. Plus, cash on hand gives them the ability to reach agreement with DP World Tour and essentially solidify that they (via the newly named organization) will be in control of golf across the globe for the foreseeable future.
 
I could be way off... just my purely business analysis of the situation. I can't wait to see how this unfolds and what that PGA decides to do with the LIV tour players.

Have used Castle Bay covers on all my iron sets since my first set of forged clubs purchased around 1990. As others have stated they keep irons from getting trashed and have better resale. When I switched from forged blades to Taylormade cavity backs I still used Castle Bay OS covers. I sold them for what I paid for them 7 years later. Granted I got them at a great price as older season new stock. But the point is the covers help. Last year bought Hogan  forged Edge cavity backs and got a new set of OS Castle Bays. Easy on and off and their molded shape stays on. Time taken is minimal as I stuff the cover in my right pocket as I go to my ball from the cart-then back on the club after toweling the club clean. Literally a few seconds time. As one other said, I uncover my driver during the round as nothing hits it. And my most used wedge is never covered as all it can hit is other covers! 
Sorry for the long winded post but so glad I’m not the only one using iron covers!

I have used iron covers for years. For one, they do keep the irons in much better shape. And two: keep my bag much quieter.  Especially when I used to walk. When time to sell my clubs for something newer, almost like I am selling a new set of irons. Up until recently, I never used a head cover on my driver, which in turn would end up getting beat up.  But recently I purchased a TM SIM 2 driver and it is such a great looking club that I now find myself replacing the head cover after each use.  
I do recommend the use of iron covers. And also, there is only one style iron cover I strongly recommend, as they are easy to use, and I have never had a single one lost per fall off an iron. "Iron Gloves"!   https://www.irongloves.com/iron-covers_8_48167.html

I use them, they don't slow me down one bit, and I don't care what anyone else thinks 😆

I use them, they don't slow me down one bit, and I don't care what anyone else thinks 😆

I use them, they don't slow me down one bit, and I don't care what anyone else thinks 😆

I use them, they don't slow me down one bit, and I don't care what anyone else thinks 😆

I use them, they don't slow me down one bit, and I don't care what anyone else thinks 😆

I use them, they don't slow me down one bit, and I don't care what anyone else thinks 😆

Happy Birthday @paperclipand @bwclark174
Make your day the best it can be.
 

6'3" - 37" putter

I will agree with you on the fact of why is the arm lock NOT anchoring? I can remember when they were first talking about the anchoring ban it was a Hornets nest down here. At the time there were a lot of retirees anchoring or using the long putters for various reasons. A lot of those guys said if the anchoring ban went into effect they would quit the game. Here the courses acted fast because retiree league play is the steady backbone of the golf industry here. You know like 30 or 40 guys playing 3 times a week or more it adds up. The courses here and the league associations QUICKLY decided to disregard the anchoring ban. Another move by the USGA not taking in consideration issues involving the rank and file players and bottom line operations of courses in general. Now days with all the hoopla that was raised at the time I see very few broomsticks. I guess a lot of those guys either died out or got to old to play. 
I have said this before 99% of all golfers out here in the real world play how ever they want to. They could give 2 rips less what the USGA R&A or the PGA say and do. I guess now since I retired from big money matches and Mini Tours I fall into that category. I play my old Mac irons and old rusty Cleveland wedges. I do not keep a stipulated handicap either do not see a need to and do not care. I do not play leagues either. Most of the time I play the Saturday Shootout and knock it around during the week. No one I play with gives two hoots what someone else plays. That is my fun now and I do different stuff. I may play the signature set and then again play my even older blades with persimmon or even my short game set of 7 clubs. Just depends on the mood I am in that day. Right now at this stage of life I am having more fun than ever playing golf and doing what I darn well please.
And really I have no problem with those that keep a LEGIMATE handicap and play stipulated events using "tested and approved" equipment. Hey it is whatever ones goals and expectations are

In my experience, I found that while most of the GPS apps worked very well, the ones that used hole photos taken from Google Earth were the hardest to see on the phone in daylight. The ones that give graphics of the holes instead of photos work better for me. In that case, If that is your preference, I would try Tag Heuer, Golf GPS from Birdie Apps or iGolf Mobile (my favorite as it shows the 100 150 200 arcs etc. and notwithstanding the name, is available for Android).
If I wanted to use a photo based app, I tended to like 18 Birdies. But I will give Swing U a try.
 

Now for the probably over-hyped bonus.
 
For a bit of fun I decided to throw some balls onto the CT Scanner. I was hoping that the CT would be able to demonstrate the cover and mantle layers.
I didn't scan all 4 boxes as I thought that would be going a bit overboard. I only uploaded a few images, as they were representative. The scanner I used is capable of 0.3mm slices, and reconstructions in any plane but I thought it best to just provide a brief overview.
The images are of Box 3



The large imperfection in ball 10 is even more clearly shown. As a technical note, the black round the bright dot is most probably artefact from the high density, and not a "hole" in the outer core. I measured the density of the imperfection, and it is almost certain to be metallic.
 
No balls were harmed during this procedure, and the likelihood of the balls glowing in the dark (despite Marvel comics and @PMookie's beliefs) is negligible
 
 

In my experience, I found that while most of the GPS apps worked very well, the ones that used hole photos taken from Google Earth were the hardest to see on the phone in daylight. The ones that give graphics of the holes instead of photos work better for me. In that case, If that is your preference, I would try Tag Heuer, Golf GPS from Birdie Apps or iGolf Mobile (my favorite as it shows the 100 150 200 arcs etc. and notwithstanding the name, is available for Android).
If I wanted to use a photo based app, I tended to like 18 Birdies. But I will give Swing U a try.
 

On any public or semi-private (especially on weekends), I expect 4.5+ hours. Doesn't bother me, I use it to relax and enjoy the day and thank the good Lord that I am able to play golf that day 🙂 It's nice not to be rushed sometimes.

On any public or semi-private (especially on weekends), I expect 4.5+ hours. Doesn't bother me, I use it to relax and enjoy the day and thank the good Lord that I am able to play golf that day 🙂 It's nice not to be rushed sometimes.

On any public or semi-private (especially on weekends), I expect 4.5+ hours. Doesn't bother me, I use it to relax and enjoy the day and thank the good Lord that I am able to play golf that day 🙂 It's nice not to be rushed sometimes.

I don't often, but have either played as a single or in a twosome with others.
Basically, be respectful and don't push your way onto others.  If they are serious and want to manage all rules of who's away first, putting order, etc.  Then you should too.  If they are relaxed and want to have fun, then you should enjoy it too and don't be a stickler for the rules.  Unfortunately, you are always going to find some idiot like you described, there is no way around that. 
You will just have to learn to get through the round and avoid him like the plague.

Follow up to the Sim Driver situation
I took the driver into the LGS that I had my reservations about and they had one of their guys hit it in the demo bay.  He was at 105 mph which is a wee bit faster than me at 103 and he took 6-7 swings with it and pronounced it solid and good to go.  I did break up their party time to have them look at it and feel bad about that.  Their service level and courtesy was at the level that I expected.
I wasn't satisfied with that answer and procedure so I drove to another town and went into the LGS there.  The manager wasn't in but the assistant manager was the guy that waited on me.  He was very pleasant and courteous all the time.  I asked him if he could look at this head and/or test it and see if there was something amiss or a crack.  He took the club and looked at it for about 15 seconds and said "There is a crack in the crown here".    He said that if I could wait for about 10 minutes he would call Taylormade and see what could be done.  I was surprised and said that I would wait whatever time it took.  After about 5 minutes he returned and asked me my name and said that Taylormade had approved it for a replacement with a Sim2 from the store's inventory and upon receipt of the Sim driver Taylormade would replace the store's inventory with whatever Sim2 driver I choose.  
It was surprising and a pleasant task then ahead of me to choose a replacement from their ample inventory.  I choose a Sim2 10.5 head on a Hzrdus RDX Smoke Hexcell 60g in a 6.0 as they did not have any Ventus shafts available.  The Asst. Manager then offered to remove the grip from my Sim shaft if I wanted to keep it and if I wanted to try another shaft in the Sim2 to return and they would accommodate me from their inventory.  He also said if I wanted to change out the shaft in the Sim driver that they were sending in, "just bring it in within the next 5 days with any shaft that fits and we'll change it out for you".  After that apparently they send off a batch of warranty clubs to TM.
I have bought a few minor items from this store but that is going to change going forward.   Good job Taylormade.