[Follow Forum Thread: Titleist Blind Ball Test]

Very excited to be a tester for this... I've run the gamut on balls the past few years, and like to try different things. 

Recently, I've gone through:

Snell MTB Black and X (prefer the X)

Bridgestone B X

Titleist AVX

Kirkland Signature

TM TP5x

My "go to" gamer is the B X, but I'll often play cheaper balls, because they are cheaper.

I'm a 7 handicap and working hard to drop that. I injured my back last season and was away from golf from early August to March of this year. I am now fully recovered and swinging away... My club head speed gets up to 115mph, and I've been trying to work on it (without hurting my back again). I'm also a big fan of the DECADE system, so my priority for a golf ball is basically distance, as long as it doesn't kill me elsewhere. My preference for feel is a harder golf ball, but I don't mind the feel of any of the balls listed above... I actually bought the AVX on a whim, as I thought they might go farther without costing me around the greens. My first round with them was good, but I can't draw any real conclusions... 

I'm working on a swing change (not overhaul, just a more outside takeaway to get me more inside on delivery) and finally feeling comfortable with it... I've hit some bombs with the new swing, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it performs. 

I have high club head speed and a tendency to be outside to in, thus I generate a ton of spin. I'm ALWAYS looking to kill spin. The Kirklands spin too much, but they are too cheap for me to complain... as I've cleaned up my path, the spin has become more manageable, but my preference is ALWAYS for less spin. We will see if that changes as my swing changes get more ingrained.... I've never hit something and thought it was too low spin...

Around the greens, I don't rely on spin to stop the ball a ton... My course has very thick rough around the greens, so most recovery shots aren't going to spin regardless of what I do... I'm a Sieckmann disciple (he'd probably excommunicate me, so don't tell him) and have a decent short game. I can hit a number of different shots around the green and into the green... I'm actively working on the low, spinning 50 yard wedge swing... it's a process right now... Need to grind some more time on it, but maybe the new ball will help me?

Short of a rock, I'm willing to putt with anything. I've been grinding my putting, but haven't noticed a significant difference with different balls... 

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have! I'm excited to try the ball, and looking forward to smashing some down the fairway... 

[EDEL EAS Putter]

On 6/17/2021 at 10:58 AM, GolfSpy MPR said:

I've already got a script in my head of what I intend to tell him

I'm going to start with what I think I know, with the clear commitment to being willing to learn that I'm wrong.

• I'm a decent putter, and it's a strength of my game, relative to handicap. I've got years of on-course stats to back this up, including Arccos the past two years. Over my past 15 rounds, Arccos has my putting SG equal to a 7-handicap. I average just over 30 putts per round.
• There's a consistent pattern in that data, though: I'm a better putter (by SG) from 10–25' than I am from 0–10'. This is true in the data for virtually every round I play. I miss short putts far too often. Going into this test, this is my highest priority.
• As for my actual setup and stroke: I've posted about this before, that I don't see the correct line correctly. I can set a 4' ruler on the correct line for a straight 8' putt, aligned with a laser. If I turn off the laser and address a ball at the end of the ruler, the ruler will look to me as though it is pointing almost outside the cup on the left. I have tried moving my head and body around to all sorts of angles without success. If I address a putt from the left side, the line looks correct.
• Using a home putting analyzer (SwingByte), I therefore tend to aim about 2° right of the cup.
• My stroke is quirky. Early on, I read Dave Pelz and decided to work on a SBST stroke. Like many who attempt that, I actually ended up with a stroke that tends to move outside the line on my backstroke. Coming into impact, I close the face relative to address, which starts the ball on the correct line, though a line to the left of where I was aimed.
• On a normal straight putt, my predominant miss is a pull.

I'm intrigued, obviously, to see if any of the myriad alignment options on the Edel change my perception of the line. I'm also probably more interested to see if their torque-balanced putter, combined with custom weighting and their grip options, can mitigate some of my tendency to come outside the line on my backstroke.

Of the four headshapes, the rounded back mallet appeals to me subjectively the least: it's just not a shape I've ever really loved. My baseline expectation is that I'd end up with the fanged mallet: I am currently playing with the Toe Up version of the Odyssey Seven. But if I end up with either of the blades, that is no problem either.

Interesting on your stats and issues… have you tried the same putting line test from farther away? I’m just curious if you are better at lining up from farther away or if 2 degrees just makes less of a difference at 10+ feet.

the edel fitting process will definitely be an interesting test of this stuff, my aim was horrible with my old putter… I didn’t get an Edel, but I’d be curious to see how my center shafted seemore did on alignment.

Thinking through what I’ve been Working on and struggling with, I’m wondering if my alignment on shorter putts just needs Work… my speed has been great, but my putting hasn’t progressed how I want it to.

[Final Reviews: SUB70 949x PRO Hybrid]

Pictures from my phone.

[Final Reviews: SUB70 949x PRO Hybrid]

Stumbled upon this, and figured I'd toss my review into the space... I've had my eye on this hybrid since it was announced... Jay reached out the day it was available (shout out to Jay, we won't talk about the fact that it had been in my bag for a few days when Jason told me it was available, he's a busy man!)

I like my hybrids to be fixed hosel... I'm a little goofy that way, but in my mind, any weight wasted on an adjustable hosel is wasted... I don't adjust my clubs, I don't really experiment with hybrid shafts, and I'm not going to mess with settings enough to justify any lowered performance for a feature I'm not going to use. I've been gaming an Adams 18 degree hybird that allegedly once belonged to Cameron Tringale. This is not a claim worth researching, I pass it one because it explains why the shaft in it is a Tour X 100g... It was a great hybrid, but the shaft was a little much and coming off a back injury, I figured it was time to get into something I had a chance of loading. 

I'm honestly not looking for a lot out of a hybrid... I need to like the way it looks and feels, it needs to fly about 225 with decently high launch and enough spin that it won't run out more than 10 feet or so. I don't have the lefts with hybrids, but this is built against it... I ordered it because it's well priced, I love Sub70 and they usually throw in a free hat (or visor, if you harass Jason enough).

Ironically, I paid for the hat... I requested a very specific visor, and was happy to shell out $30 for it... Great hat! It's my favorite, and it's my current avatar. I also paid for the hybrid. $170 out the door... I got a different shaft and a midsized grip... Less than a week from ordering, the club showed up on my door step... I'll also mention that the customer service was excellent as always... there was a small hiccup in the shaft color, but instead of just shipping me the yellow one (As the black was out of stock) they actually called to inform me and make sure that was OK... One of those small touches that shows they are trying to work with customers to deliver a great experience... Jason had walked me through shaft options a few weeks before... he's super helpful and great to talk golf with... though I think he's been crazy busy!

THE BOX THE BOX, WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

Sub70 loves to send some swag with their clubs, and this was no exception... I had requested a Sub70 sticker without a drink on it, which was included... The hybrid itself... it and the accessories are SHARP. A well made accessory bag with multiple weights and a torque wrench... Everything looks good, even the weights. The club itself is sharp. People have commented on the toe looking sharp, but it never really stuck out to me... I think it looks great at address and sets up well behind the ball. It's on the smaller side of a hybrid (about the size of my Adams) which is perfect for me. 

I've had it in bag and on the course for multiple weeks, and it's not going anywhere... I'd have to pull the weights to remember the setup, but I think I have the heaviest in the center and a medium weight in the toe... As I said, I don't struggle with a hook with hybrids, so I didn't really mess with the setup... I like the weight of the head, and my launch parameters hit my needs. 

The club looks goods, sounds good, and feels good.. I've been exceptionally happy with how it performs on the course. I've hit it from a variety of lies and a number of situations... I have 0 complaints on it. 

The people who won one can take the time to generate comparison numbers... for me, it was $170 to upgrade a club, and I'm very happy with my purchase... A comparable club from an OEM would be at least $60 more... I'm happy with all my Sub70 club, especially when considering the price and customer service level.

[Full Bag Reviews: Cobra Connect 5]

Apparently my account here was created in 2014, and I posted a couple of times and left... 2014 was also the year my second daughter was born and I walked off the golf course on 13 to go home and help my wife with our children... took a hiatus from golf, and came back with a passion... Enough about the past, let's talk about the future. 

The totally unasked for application to join the ranks of Cobra Connect 5:

Who am I? I'm Will! I've played golf my whole life and love to chat... my parents used to sit me by myself on airplanes so I'd annoy strangers instead of them... I now have a daughter that won't stop talking... I'm also currently trying to figure out how to introduce myself to a guy at the club I confused for someone else and just started chatting with... I'm sorry Wes. I thought you were Tim. Wes is far nicer than Tim, btw... I'm currently a 6 handicap coming off a hiatus due to a back injury... If you are looking for a single digit handicap likely to drop some strokes in some sort of competition, I might be a good fit! My game is back on track and I'm looking forward to shooting some low rounds.

My golf game: I'm decently long (270 carry on a good drive) with a decent iron game... my putting was holding me back last season, but I've invested the time in my putting and hope it will improve this season... Mostly focused on tempo... Very happy with my SeeMore and glad this is only a 13 club challenge. The SeeMore putter is going to be in my bag for awhile. I tore cartilage in my back last season (chasing gains, I think) but I'm back to fully healthy. No lingering issues that would require me being put out to pasture... I spent the past weekend throwing a giddy toddler into the air with no back pain, and if that isn't an all clear sign, I don't know what is. Seriously, I don't know. I'm not a doctor... but my back doesn't hurt and I've successfully played 5 rounds already this month... despite snow on the ground at points.

My Qualifications: I'm willing to make my own memes... I'm a fan of the Chasing Scratch Podcast and created multiple GIFs celebrating the phrase KUDOS... I also suggested to Cobra that they remake the RAD movie trailer with Bryson and Rickie... Did they? Of course not, it was a terrible idea. But, with every 10 bad ideas I have, a good one can slip in... I'm also willing to throw out casual references to shows that amused me... You want an OC reference? I've seen Rooney live. You want to talk MTV's The Challenge? I've watched more of it than I'm willing to admit... (not really, I've watched most of it... then I had kids and the stark reality that these guys were buffoons pretending to be bigger buffoons took the shine off laughing at a man who called himself Johnny Bananas). I also really like to make comments in parentheses (I don't know why, but it's a weird habit I've developed [oh well])... I currently have the time to improve my game, the desire to improve my game and would love the opportunity to make strangers read about me improving my game. I have access to a GC Hawk, a range and a golf course... 

 

What's in the bag: I should probably update my signature, and will do so later... but let's take a dive into it! 

Driver: Callaway Mavrik with Ventus Black 7X...  I won this driver elsewhere, and my assistant pro traded me his Ventus... This is the nicest free club I've ever had... It replaced my Cobra LTD Pro, which was my favorite driver I've had... Sadly, I scratched the crown of the LTD so it's living out retirement in a place of honor in my basement. The Cobra had a 110 Aldila Silver 70X in it that I loved... the ventus is a monster

3 wood: this is currently a gaping hole where dreams go to die... I had an Adams 13 degree speedline with an X100 in it for awhile, and it didn't do what I wanted... Shockingly, building a modern driver with a steel shaft on a whim on my own was a bad idea... I tried a brief experiment with a 12 degree Adams driver and a 43 inch shaft... I just want something that carries 250-260 and stops... my bag currently has a borrowed 13 degree MAVRIK in it, but I basically try not to hit it... Have I eyed the Big Tour 3 for this slot? Yes, yes I have. 

Hybrid: Sub70 hybrid. I got the new one. I like it. It replaced a 18 degree Adams hybrid with a TourX shaft in it... allegedly said club once belonged to Cameron Tringale. I've kept that hybrid in case Cameron ever needs it again. I love the look of the new Cobra hybrids, and would be excited to try one.

4 iron: Sub70 4 utility... I like this club, but could easily replace it. Call me.

5 iron Sub70 5 iron... Long story, but I played without a 5 iron for 3 months until I found a spot I needed a 5 iron on and bought this... it introduced me to Sub70 clubs, and they are usually my go to for replacement clubs.

6-GW: Adams CMB - My first post on MGS was about how I'd happily play the "old" adams CMBs... that post was 7 years ago... I bought CMB heads last year and got them shafted on the cheap... It's my second set of irons ever... with the TM Burner Oversize being set #1. The only reason I'm entering this contest is I like the Cobra irons enough to kick the Adams out of the bag. They are great looking clubs, but I didn't win my master's pool, so I don't have them in my budget this year.

Wedges: 54 high bounce Sub70, 58 low bounce Sub70. New this year and built to my specs. I like them! I also really like the look of the new Cobra wedges and think the MIM technology is cool. 

Bag: I'm still carrying my high school bag... it's a Ping Hoofer 2 from 1999. I'd upgrade it, but I need something high enough quality to justify moving away from a bag that is legally able to drink but still looks great!

In conclusion, if you read all this nonsense: