Kanoito

Doesn't sound bad to me. I'm on a similar membership, since I don't have that much time anymore... My membership is about 500/year including 10 x 18 hole greenfees and HCP management, no tee time restrictions and can participate in any tournament with the vouchers. No min consumption for food.

@GolfSpy_APH not just railways. Even airlines, subway, bus... it's like they take turns striking to see how they can screw you up! I'm just gonna pile on your great article and point out a few slight differences to golfing in Germany: Cost: it's getting cheaper for sure. You can join a 9 hole club for less than USD 1000/year. For a 18 hole, they can go between USD 1200-3000/year, no initiation fees and it's unlimited golf all year long. Then you still have a few traditional elite clubs that do ask for initiation of USD 15.000 or a donation of USD 50.000 to their junior program. So when people ask how cost-prohibitive golf is, I just tell them I pay less than their gym membership. But regular green fees are definitely lower than Switzerland (heavy discounts start around USD 45 up to USD 120 for the finest courses) HCP: handicaps are managed by the German Golf Association (think USGA) and all golf clubs are linked to their system. So whenever you play a competitive round or handicap-relevant round, it will be automatically uploaded. Like good old Germans, they need a license for everything, even for golfing. While it looks good on paper (introductory course, theory test and minimum handicap to play) in the past years, a lot of clubs look the other way. Why? Because they are in need of new members/green fee players. Sure, trainers still provide a 1 month practice and some rules seminar, but if you don't pass it, they'll still give you your certificate of completion. And if you are a green fee player and don't have your HCP ID, most of the time they'll still let you on the course. Only the elite clubs can afford to turn away paying customers, so they have rules like weekends only as a guest of a member with a highest HCP of 20 for example. Winter Golf: some courses use the same greens for summer and winter. Other courses let the summer greens rest and create a winter green for you to hit your approach shot. Those aren't kept as short, so it's a putting odyssey.

And here I am still waiting for Jamie to visit! Belek, Turkey is the perfect winter getaway for golfing... recommend!

+1 for Vice, should be able to get them easily in Europe

Seems the thread is dead, but still wanted to provide some feedback: We went to fitting day and tested the US Kids UL, TS and Prodi G set against each other. Performancewise, the Prodi G was slightly better than the TS and heaps better than the UL. Makes sense, the UL is aimed at beginner golfers, just something easy to launch. TS and Prodi G are heavier, stiffer and about 0.5" longer, so a little getting used to it is required. But once she got it dialed in, she was 1 club longer in the irons and about 30m longer with the driver (vs the UL). Just make sure the added weight and length isn't causing any swing flaws. As for pricing, the TS series cost about twice as much as the UL and about the same as the Prodi G. The great thing about the PING clubs is, you can send them in for a free reshaft/regrip once... so it's 2 sets for the price of 1! So if your kid is getting serious about competing, let them have a go at the more expensive stuff... might make a big difference.

Reviving this topic... My 9 y/o daughter will start competing this year in the U12 division. She's currently playing US Kids UL54" and about to outgrow it, so looking at 57" sets. Now, considering she'll play about 3-4 tournaments per month and practicing 3 times per week, I thought about getting her something "better". Trainer suggested US Kids Tour Series (little heavier than the UL) or if you want to spend more, PING Prodi G with their free upgrade once program. I saw a junior driver test video, where they compared the UL, TS and Prodi G and you could see there was a huge distance gain with the PING. So any experienced parent out there who did the jump from UL to TS/Prodi G and doesn't regret it? Appreciate any feedback.

They are legit.

I used to play a lot years ago... but then they admitted to sometimes pitching players vs old replays. I remember a particular case where I played the same opponent 3 times and he made the same HIO in all 3 games... But that was years ago, maybe can give it another go...

Ah sorry, those were before my time

I believe Mizuno was a pioneer when it comes to combo sets... that was so long ago. Just think Titleist, Srixon and Mizzy do it in such a seamless way...

Perhaps a little OT, but how do you find the S23 wedges? Probably more similar to the T100 instead of Vokeys, but how about opening the club face and tight conditions? I always had the feeling that cavity wedges are not that versatile?

I've said it many times... I just can't get along with PING products... but after 3 out of 4 golf buddies insisted I go PING if I'm struggling with the driver, I gave it a swing for 18 holes and it definitely changed my perception towards the brand. Winter is coming, so I'll wait for the nice weather in April to get a fitting and see if the results are still there...

I kinda felt bad for Scheffler... he seems like such a nice guy unlike others, wanted him to get a few points at least...

Big carry by Homa... ballsy to take that unplayable, but it paid off!

Homa in the drink... And JT still doing the hat motion to stay relevant...

What an enjoyment to watch Hovland play, so effortless and he looks so happy playing...

Are they celebrating while the their opponent still has to putt?

Funny how JT and Co decide to not wear a hat to make a point under that sun lol

1st fitting was at a Mizuno rep, used their swing analyzer to choose the shaft, tried it on 3-4 different heads and done. Did use launch monitor and numbers were definitely better than the OTR set I had. 5 years later I wanted to upgrade my set and went to an expensive fitter (he also does fitting for PGA pros) he did some measurements, gave me 3-4 manufacturers, different shafts, etc... the guy was very knowledgeable, but I had the feeling I wasn't the right type of customer. Hard to explain, it felt like my game wasn't good enough for his fitting skills, even though 1 hour cost around EUR 150. But I ended up with my Apex CF16 and it served me very well. The most recent fitting was the pro shop at my (ex) home course, they got all OEMs, LM, outside fitting, you can see ball flight, etc... he gave me swing tips, was very thorough, used impact tape, we went back and forth between the last 2 options to find the better fit. Here I felt he tried really hard to squeeze the last inch of performance out of the clubs. I think that's how it should be.

Wear them til they no longer waterproof. Usually 2-3 years, but they are still in good condition to use when it's not wet, so I keep them lol

Hey @Ignacio Appreciate the input, hope it materializes in the end and we can go shoot a few rounds! Thanks!

Welcome to the dark side! Just found a comparison I did 2 years ago on another Vice thread: On the European Snell website, the biggest savings you can get is buying 12 dozen, which translates to EUR 3,16/ball. As a DTC brand, not many savings there compared to the big buys: TP5x EUR 3,2/ball ProV1 EUR 3,33/ball Chrome Soft EUR 3,4/ball Z-Star EUR 3,3/ball Last time I bought Vice, was able to score each ball for EUR 2. (retail for EUR 2,69/ball @ 5 dozen) So for about 60% extra cost, I sure as hell ain't seeing 60% gain in performance/length

+1 to Vice... price/performance is unbeatable...

https://golf.com/news/sergio-garcia-pitch-ryder-cup-report-money-events/ Glad he's missing out!

Negative bias towards PING equipments (or bad experience), but a buddy of mine is willing to sell his soul to get me to try a PING driver to fix my long game off the tee... lol