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GolfSpy Barbajo

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Posts posted by GolfSpy Barbajo

    Announcing 2023 My Golf Spy Outing-Pinehurst Area

    in Golf Courses & Travel

    Posted

    23 hours ago, hckymeyer said:

    I've played with @GolfSpy Barbajo a few different times with some of the older members in MN.  @SPY ZINGER Hosted the first meetup I played in at Stoneridge GC in MN.  I've also been lucky enough to meet and play with members at The Kingdom and at Cleveland/Srixon out in Cali.  I wasn't in Ohio or MI ever though.  

    Don't miss much about Minnesota, but the golf was always exceptional...as was your tricked out custom blue golf cart!  My son is still there, so maybe we can get out and play...he may be planning a major life event soon, depending on how this weekend works out 😉

     

    Gratuitous Photo Thread: Wilson D9 Forged

    in Breaking News and Debate

    Posted

    These have been my gamers since August. Was fit for PXG 0211s last December and vowed this would be the year I committed to - and played - one set of irons for an entire season. Then the D9 Forged showed up with KBS C-Taper Lite shafts and, well, you can guess the rest. 

    These are special sticks, especially with the KBS shafts. While not nearly as long as the PXGs, dispersion tightened way up - especially with the short irons. And the feel is like getting a foot massage from a mid-1980s Kathleen Turner. 

    Cleveland Launches HB Soft Milled Putter Line

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    Been using the 10.5S with the ALL-IN shaft on the practice green - the shaft thing is real. It definitely feels more stable compared to a standard steel shaft.  I just had it shortened to 33 inches (35 is too damn long for me) and will see how it stacks up this week. Cleveland has consistently offered a lot of putter tech for a really decent price, but the question remains how seriously do golfers take Cleveland as a putter company? I think it would be a mistake to discount it just because their putters aren't $400 and up. 

    As the song says,-  stop, hey, what's that sound? - everybody look what's doing down. 

    Callaway Apex 2023

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    On 11/1/2022 at 11:48 PM, Tommyfortuna said:

     


    I believe Callaway will be releasing new apex irons this year as they have released them every two years since the 2019 apex. The irons are named with the last two digits of the release year hence the most recent apex irons titled apex 21 for year 2021, my apex irons have the 19 inscribed on them for the year 2019.  2023 would fall under this same logic🤞 

    Yep - you are correct. Went back and checked and the last Apex update was January of 2021 -- so it would make sense that an update would come this January. 

    For giggles and grins, here's the launch story from the most recent update...

    2021 Callaway Apex Irons & Hybrids | MyGolfSpy

    Callaway Apex 2023

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    On 9/22/2022 at 2:39 PM, Tom54 said:

    Does anyone know if Callaway will be putting out a 2023 line for the Apex irons? I’ve been searching online and can’t find any hints. 

    Callaway is generally on two-year product cycles on its irons. Apex was updated for 2022, so I don't think they'll bring out a new model until 2024. They will have something new in the iron category this year, but it will probably be the Epic line or a new version of that concept. 

    At LIV - Boston

    in Tour Talk

    Posted

    Sitting in the media center at the LIV Tour stop in Bolton, MA - about 45 minutes outside of Boston right now. Today is Pro-Am day, and there are no fans in attendance (by design). It's been an interesting afternoon, so if you'll indulge me, I'd like to share some thoughts...

    1. You can't to a leak without seeing LIVGolf signage. It's literally everywhere.

    2. For better for worse, LIV is all in on the team thing. Team names are on banners all over the course. 

    3. Plenty of music on the range - looks like it will be a party atmosphere.

    4. There's an expansive "Fan Village," with a long putt contest, chipping contest, concert stage, a playground, food trucks and other things to keep you occupied if you get bored with golf. 

    5. The grandstands and hospitality stands are all first class - very nice with air-conditioned enclosures along with patios to watch the action. 

    6. Player access is pretty informal - you could talk with players as they left the 18th after their rounds (the pro-am is not shotgun). 

    7. Spoke with a guy who was Sergio's pro-am partner. Said he got a call about a week ago from a friend involved with LIV who said they had an opening if he was interested. He plopped down $10K for the opportunity - said he had a blast. 

    8. All in all a very relaxed vibe on pro-am day. They look prepared to make it a party atmosphere over the weekend. 

    9. There's a merch tent - they're still setting it up but it will all be LIV-branded stuff, as you'd expect. 

    10. The course itself is not set up for a big tournament - it wasn't built to handle it. LIV has said they're limiting tickets to about 6,500 - or it could be that they couldn't sell any more than that. Hard to tell and no one here to ask. 

    Also had an interesting chat with Anriban Lahiri after he finished his round. He gave me some honest answers - how you feel about it all is kind of up to you...

     

    Liv Golf Central Thread: Events and News

    in Tour Talk

    Posted

    Just got press credentials for the LIV stop outside of Boston next week. Just need to see for myself what it's all about. My guess is the fan experience is going to be very good, and I'm expecting all the logistics to be fine. It'll be interesting to see how the town of Bolton and the course itself handle crowds, but from what I've read about other venues, it all seems like it's been very well done. 

    They do have some interesting Media Guidelines...

     

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    Strong Lofted Irons

    in General Q&A

    Posted

    On 7/9/2022 at 11:43 AM, cnosil said:

    Define "season" and who did you promise?  Isn't the potential of better more enjoyable golf a reason to give them a go?

     

     

    On 7/9/2022 at 12:26 PM, GolfSpy_BOS said:

    John, promises like that are destined to be broken. 🤣

    I was a fan of the C-Taper Lite in my AP2s. Always felt stable without being too heavy or hard to load.

     

    On 7/9/2022 at 12:35 PM, Golfspy_CG2 said:

    Having played both those sets this year—among a few others 😬—I know you realize you can’t go wrong either way.   The feel of the D9F and the way tbey bekd greens was intoxicating when I hit them pure.  
     

    The distance and also feel I got from the 0211 was hard to pass up.   But alas I did, and may appear to have found my nirvana in the Gen5 XP.  

    We all know when we say we’re committed to an iron that has the same meaning when an NFL owner says of his 2-8 coach—we’re committed to (insert name) for the foreseeable future 😂

     

    A shrink would define you all as "enablers." And I am easily enabled...

    Strong Lofted Irons

    in General Q&A

    Posted

    Learned something interesting yesterday while visiting Wilson Staff's Innovation Center in Chicago...

    I'm gaming the PXG 0211s right now - and have committed to them for the season. I like many things about them, but particularly the distance I can get out of them. Any easy to hit 7 iron from 170 out is nice, and it makes me feel 24 again. 

    I tried the D9 Forged, with a 30.5 degree seven iron and found it to be, on my best strikes, maybe 10 years shorter. What I did like, however, was a higher peak height and a descent angle of 45.5 degrees. Also tried the KBS C-Taper Lite for the very first time - the PXGs have the Elevate 95 in them - and with the KBS I put 10 straight shots on the virtual green, without a single overcooked left hook that I've been fighting all year. Not sure if it was the head/shaft combo or me doing that, but the shaft did feel a hell of a lot more stable. I used to play a  C-Taper and it was like swinging a piece of rebar, but I played some of my best golf with them. 

    Maybe I should.....ahhh, I promised. 

    Strong Lofted Irons

    in General Q&A

    Posted

    21 hours ago, chisag said:

     

    ... I am sure you remember when shafts had a specific frequency to establish flex. Kick points, balance points and torque were irrelevant to frequency. I am guessing that would have changed as shafts began to have radically different designs but I think Ely Callaway hastened the demise of any "standard" designations. He understood male golfers ego's prevented them from playing the clubs that matched their ability. Shafts that were too stiff and lofts that were too low so he did something quite brilliant that changed equipment going forward. He took a standard regular flex stock shaft and labelled it stiff and he took a standard 9* driver head and gave it 12* of loft. All of a sudden the average male golfer was hitting his Big Bertha higher and farther, what a surprise!!! The Big Bertha was so popular there was an up to 6 month wait to get one. This was the first (although in reverse) what difference does the number on the club or designation of a shaft make if it achieves the goal of giving you the longest and most accurate golf shots? 

    ... Fast forward to today and while it can be a little bit of a PIA to figure out exactly how far a new set of irons travel compared to what you are replacing "do you want to make an old man happy" means getting fit and finding what works best for your swing. Then adjust to the distances. Those of us that are older and maybe lost some club head speed just have to ask: If a Players Distance iron with the exact same loft as my older set launches a little higher and travels a little farther with an AOD that holds greens do I care what number is on the sole? And if that club is a stronger loft but hits it higher and longer than our old set should we really care what number on the sole produces better golf shots? Unless you have a Get Off My Lawn sign in your yard I have to think most won't care a month or so after playing their new set. 

    Great point about Callaway @chisag. You can even take it a step further and go back to Karsten when he started milling cavities into some forged iron heads and created the Ballnamic 69s. He figured out perimeter weighting and low CG would launch the ball higher, and that strengthening the lofts would keep the flight where you want it and make the ball go farther. 

    Heck, you can even go back to Toney Penna and the original 1949 MacGregor MT irons. Those were the first true low CG irons, with a shallow face and relatively thick topline. They flew so high that he was able to strengthen the loft 1 degree, get the proper flight and still make the ball go like hell. 

    Did you listen to Chris Voshall from Mizuno on No Putts Given a couple weeks back? He put it very plainly - in any set you're looking for 13 distance points from driver to your highest lofted wedge. That's the math we need to be concerned with - the numbers on the club don't - pardon the pun - factor into it. 

    47 minutes ago, revkev said:

    @Barbajo, the 5 iron was 28.5 degrees.  So next time we play and you pull 7 from 160 I will say, great 5 iron!

     

    I can't wait @revkev - it's been wayyyy too long!

    Strong Lofted Irons

    in General Q&A

    Posted

    Very interesting discussion, and pertinent since I started playing the PXG 0211, which features a 28-degree 7-iron. Having previously played a 2002 MacCregor V-Foil 1025 CB/MB set with a 35-degree seven iron, I find the 0211 launches like the MacGregor, has the same peak height as the MacGregor, a bit less spin than the MacGregor (even with 20-year old grooves), but goes a good 30 yards longer. Like the old song says, "do you want to make an old man happy?"

    Also dusted off this piece from a past blog post on the Srixon ZX4 irons. Srixon R&D director Dustin Brekke tackles the issue head-on and, to me anyway, makes a ton of sense...

     

    So, yeah, the Srixon ZX4 irons have strong lofts. Not crazy strong, mind you, but they are what they are.

    “It’s tricky,” says Brekke. “We’re trying to design sweet spot and CG location and overall performance to optimize distance and carry at every loft. But there’s this unfortunate reality of the need to perform well and win in fitting environments.”

    OEMs know they don’t want to be the short knocker in the fitting bay. That’s why the ZX4’s 28.5-degree club is a 7-iron and not a 6-iron. The standard ZX4 set is 4-iron (21 degrees) through gap wedge (49-degrees). If Srixon labeled the set 3-iron through pitching wedge instead of 4-iron through gap wedge, would Torch and Pitchfork Nation be as cranky?

    “It’s semantics and, in many ways, it’s a silly game,” says Brekke. “But on the performance side, if we did mark the 33-degree 8-iron a 7-iron and somebody compared it to their own 33-degree 7-iron, they will hit this one higher and it will get off the ground easier. But put the same swing on both irons and compare your best shots and you’ll see very similar spin, control and distance.”

    Translation: If you need to hit a 150-yard shot and you know which club goes that distance, what the hell difference does it make what number is on the bottom?

    “The driver is the only club in the bag you’re trying to hit as far as you can,” adds Brekke. “So the conversation really becomes, ‘What iron do you need to go a certain distance? What’s going to give you the most consistency and control?’ That’s going to show itself in spin, launch and turf interaction. The number on the iron doesn’t matter. It’s just a number.”

    Irons That Won the Open Championship

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    Yep - it was PGF for Kel Nagle. Stands for Precision Golf Forging - it's an Australian band that's still in existence, but in name only. Looks like it offers boxed sets and GI gear - most likely open models. Company probably went bust and someone bought the brand name. 

    PGF

    PGF stands for Precision Golf Forging and has been around for 85 years! Founded in Sydney in 1932, PGF has deep roots in the Australian golf industry with associations to PGA legends such as Greg Norman, Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Ian Baker-Finch and Wayne Grady.

    PGF are coined with creating the first parallel tip golf shaft in the 1960’s, which is still used in golf clubs today. They also designed a club called the “Little Slammer” which has been noted as a hybrid before hybrids existed.

     

    Irons That Won the Open Championship

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

    After looking at these I couldn't help but think of the Chinese birth years and what animal you are or horoscope readings. I'm an 88 baby so... 
    Screenshot 2022-07-02 15.17.50.png
    Now I'm tempted to try and find a set.

    Thanks for sharing! Some amazing clubs there and some amazing tournaments throughout all those years. Arguably the best couple weeks in golfing coming up for some golf fans. 

    1988 - year of the Dragon and the year of the Slazenger Blade.  I'm 1960, so that's year of the Rat (go ahead, I expect it). Kel Nagle won the open in 1960. I think he played PGF irons - hunting for info about them, but I did stumble across this gem...
     

     

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    Irons That Won the Open Championship

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    Don't know about you all, but the next two weeks have me very excited - the Scottish Open at Renaissance and the Open Championship at The Old Course. What, short of Margot Robbie lifting the restraining order and agreeing to that magical weekend away, could be better?

    Found this on Twitter this morning - some great old names and some quirky irons used by Open winners.  Thoughts? 

     

    EKJGAOPXkAALPaN.jpg

    Have you played a round with a Caddie? If so, did you enjoy it?

    in Golf Bags & Carts

    Posted

    21 hours ago, MGoBlue100 said:

    First time ever in May on my Scotland trip with @GolfSpy Barbajo and a cast of thousands (okay six others...) mostly from this forum.  (Don't know all the usernames, my bad.)  The first day we didn't have caddies, but the second day was North Berwick, and of course we did.  My guy was just "eh", not terrible, but not exactly Jim Mackay either, and when we were done and I'd paid him 100 pounds I though "That's it?".  A little underwhelmed.  The next day we played Dunbar, and I was paired with this beauty.  He was wearing bib #6 (my fav number) and when I asked him his name he replied "Alan".  That's also my name.  Love at first sight, and we had a great day.  All of our caddies after that were wonderful, including Stevie who forecaddied for us at the Castle course in St Andrews and caddies in the Summer at Oakland Hills.  "It's a caddies' life for me!!"  I also was apprehensive about having a caddie along, judging my swing, etc. but as has been said, they've seen better and worse, and their object is to make you play as well as possible and have a great day.  Can't wait to do it again.  John:  When are we going back??

    Dunbar_Alan.jpg

     

    @MGoBlue100- I'm ready already. That's the thing about Scotland - as soon as you leave you can't wait to get back. I'd go back to the Ducks in a heartbeat and hit Dunbar, North Berwick and the Renaissance again in a heartbeat. 

    I was happy with my caddies at each stop. Mike at North Berwick was a great guy and kept admiring my Pebble Beach putter head cover and told me he played it on his honeymoon many years ago. So in addition to his tip I wound up giving him the head cover (it gave me a reason to buy a new one from North Berwick). He sent me a nice email afterwards - so I hope we can hook up again when we go back. Mike C from our group was lucky enough to run into Steve as he was getting ready to tee off at the Old Course Friday and arranged to team up with him for the round, which worked out great. And spending two days with the incomparable Laurence Gray (one round with Mike, one round with me) and listening to his stories was one of the highlights of the trip. He had many NSFW stories about Greg Norman!!

    I'd say the caddies we had a Streamsong were so-so, and one guy was very much upfront about what he expected for a tip. We had excellent caddies at Sand Valley and the caddie I had at Pebble could read greens like no one I've ever seen. Will be visiting Whistling Straits in July, so we'll see how they stack up. 


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