Arbee456

Pro V1x In my late 60's, 85 mph driver, 16 HCI. There seems to be a bit of paradox in the science of golf equipment. After thoroughly studying the MGS 2023 ball test scatter chart, I chose and have been happily gaming the Vice Pro for nearly a year. They've been great - on the soft, slow greens at the muni I was playing. I recently joined a club where the greens are on the opposite end of the scale: super hard and fast. So, in need of a spinnier ball, against professional advice and conventional wisdom, I tried the V1x for a couple rounds. Uh, WOW!! I'm getting more height and 10 to 15 more yards off the driver. Hitting one less club into the greens. Who woulda thunk it?! Longer shots. Higher, drop and stop approach shots. I'm in! Just ordered a few dozen Pro V1x's. As for price and value (my two cents), unless you lose a handful of balls per round, golf balls are the least expensive part of your game. And, given the fact that balls are the one and only piece of equipment you play on every stroke, and if consistency matters to you, best to find a ball that works for you and go with it.

Maltby TS-3 Forged Irons. I was fitted to T350's and have been gaming and enjoying them 3 days a week for nearly a year. They're forgiving as a priest and my good shots feel like butter. But I never wholly feel my shots very well. Never know exactly what happened on my mis-hits. The T350's are great clubs and I rely on them for scoring my best. But you are looking for solid feeling irons. Knowing that one piece forged heads offer good feel and seeing the built in forgiveness in the cavity back design of the TS-3's, I ordered the 4 iron to try, and to replace my 4H. After playing the 4i along with my T350's for a few rounds, I ordered the rest of the TS-3 set. I went with regular flex AMT Black shafts. Now, after playing several rounds with them, I'm addicted. The Maltby T3's are as forgiving as my T350's, but they offer enough feel and feedback that I know exactly what I do wrong when I don't flush it. That keeps me focused, makes me dial in a bit better. And then there's that beautiful feeling when I hit it dead-on. You know, when it feels like you just hit a ball of peanut butter, wanna tell your buddies to give you a moment while you just stand there and grin. I bought the PW and GW, but have put my Vokey's back in the bag. The Vokey's work better for me around the greens, interact with the turf better.

5 Wood With my hybrid, little draw adds 10 yards; a little fade drops 10 yards short. Then there's the wind; it has too much affect on the high flying balls that stay in the air as long as my hybrid shots do. My hybrid's in my work shop, my 5W is in my bag.

I prefer the more penetrating flight of my 5W, as opposed to the higher flight of my 3H, which tends to sail in the wind.

I've often contemplated the best description of that heavenly feeling we get when we absolutely flush a forged blade. I think "orgasmic" is a bit of an exaggeration... but close. I'll never forget that moment I hit a friends muscle back blade 5i, probably 20 years ago. Dead center, dead straight, first swing. I needed a moment to just let that feeling course through my body and then come back to earth and remember where I was. But then there's that shock that travels up our arms and into the top of our heads when we mis-hit blades (especially on a cold day). To me, the two extremes, the risk/reward factor, make blades the perfect training clubs. I have a set of Titleist 690 CB's and a set of 690 MB's. I've mix-matched them, using the CB 3 through 7 and the MB 8, 9 and P as my practice set when I play casually, walking 9 holes with a buddy or by myself. That gives me the pleasure of hitting a few flush blades and keeps my swing tight. Then, as I play in a couple different senior competitive rounds per week, I play my Titleist T 350's as my gamers. Works for me!