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Bulldog

 
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  1. I took the Arias Chipper out to the practice green this afternoon. Here are a couple of samples (I used the iPhone Measurement app to get the distances. Very cool app): From 6 feet off the green, at the back of the fringe, with a total of 26 feet to the cup (looking in the direction of the roll). From 13 feet off the green, in the green side rough, with 64 feet to the cup (looking in the direction of the roll). Yes, that's one in the cup from 64 feet. I had similar results from 47 feet out of the rough. I did no comparison to chipping with other clubs. It's early in the testing, with a tiny sample size, so no conclusions yet, but these surprised me. More to come...
  2. The Arias Chipper showed up yesterday afternoon. It has a few surprises. Check out my first impressions here.
  3. I think DHL was optimistic in their ETA. I just got a message that the shipment in in Ontario, Canada.
  4. A multimillionaire is riding in the back of his limo when he sees a man on his hands and knees beside the road. He orders the driver to stop and he gets out. He asks, “Did you lose something?” The man replies, “No, I’m poor and hungry. I’m eating grass.” The multimillionaire is shocked and says, “Come with me to my house and I’ll feed you.” They get in the limo. The poor man has tears in his eyes and says, “I really didn’t believe someone like you would do something like this for a poor person.” The multimillionaire says, “It’s nothing really. You’re gonna love my house. The grass is nearly a foot tall.”
  5. The Arias Chipper is on the way! Got a DHL tracking numberer with estimated delivery next for next Wednesday . Maps app say it will travel 3,551 miles to get here . In other news, an atmospheric river is due to hit here next Wednesday with rain for days after... This is too many emojis
  6. Played yesterday with the three most dreaded words in golf, "Cart Path Only!"
  7. Just realized that I'll need to pull one club out of the bag to make room for the chipper. Maybe the 5 hybrid... Can you have too many short game clubs?
  8. Just got the email from Rapsodo announcing another firmware update with a new feature - R-Speed, swing speed training. Now it will measure swing speed without hitting a ball. It shows it will work with the Stack, Rypstick, Superspeed, or other speed training devices. Rapsodo rocks!
  9. Arias TB-30 Chipper Test - Bulldog Bulldog - Wait. You want me to test a golf chipper? MGS - Yes. Bulldog - Where’s it from? MGS - Canada. Bulldog - So Quebec or Montreal? MGS - No, from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Bulldog - Seriously? What’s next, golf clubs from Finland? OK, that conversation didn’t really happen (except in my head), but I AM really excited to be one of the testers of the Arias Chipper. My name is Jim. I live in Lodi, California which is about 90 minutes east of San Francisco. If you’re old enough to remember the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, “Lodi”, raise your hand. If you want to visualize the Lodi, think Nebraska… with grapes. I’m married, and both my wife and I are retired. She taught kindergarten, and I was a database engineer. I retired from the local school district where I managed the data for the Office of Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. Best job ever! Somewhere along the way, I managed to get an M.B.A. We have two adult daughters. One lives nearby with her civil engineer, and occasional golfer, husband, along with all four of our grandkids - 16, 13, 11, and 6. The other daughter lives in Las Vegas. She is a newlywed (last October). Her husband is in the Air Force stationed at Nellis. He is serious golfer who outdrives me by 80+ yards. I’m the coordinator of a fellowship golf group from our church. We have 18 guys in the group. Some of them play weekly, others play yearly. We play on Tuesdays for three weeks in a row at our local course, then play an “away game” somewhere else. Handicaps run from 7 to 35 (that’s not a typo). I started playing golf just after we were married, borrowing, and occasionally breaking, my father-in-law’s clubs. My wife surprised me with a set of McGregor Golden Bear clubs. Now those are found in antique shops. Between family and work, I played off and on. I finally took lessons and saw my scores drop, and got hooked. Sometime in there, I started building golf clubs. I’ve built several hundred clubs for friends and family over the years. Of the 14 clubs in my bag, only three are store bought. I’m currently a 12 handicap searching for that elusive way to get to single digits. Actually, it’s not elusive. My instructor once told me, “If you want to lower your handicap, work on your short game.” which leads me to…the Chipper. You see, I chip a lot. No, I mean it - A LOT. My chipping is just OK. Not bad, not great. So, now I’ve revealed my motivation to be a tester. I’ve never used a chipper, but I want to see if this chipper will change my game. I plan on using it like crazy at practice and during regular play. The loft on the Arias chipper is one degree different than my pitching wedge. That’s my comparison target. It will be a battle of titans, "Chipper vs Pitching Wedge!", “Senior Golfer Joins the Tour! Wins the Masters!” Ok, that’s too much hyperbole, but I plan to test them head to head, and find out if the Arias can make a difference. Stay tuned. First Impressions - 9 out of 10 Unboxing and First Impressions Takeaways - Quality finish Low profile head Putter like feel Doesn't look like a chipper Zero offset is not distracting The Arias chipper arrived yesterday afternoon. After a journey of more than 3,500 miles, it was secure and intact. It was carefully packaged, and included a spec sheet for the club, a page with information on lie angle fitting, and two shaft labels. Upon handling the club, there were a few surprises: It has a low profile head. It’s definitely a smaller looking head than any club I’ve used, but the shape is pleasing to my eye. The second surprise is the weight. With a head weight of 324 grams, this chipper comes in close to putter weight territory. The third surprise is the lie angle which is at 70°. My current putter is 69°. There's definitely have a putter setup feeling over the ball. The club is 34.5” long. That also comes close to my putter at 34”. After looking it over, It’s clearly a quality club. You can compare this to any premium club out there, including Japanese models, and it will match them for it fit and finish. No weird medallions or stickers,, just a logo on the back of the club, “TB-30” in small letters below the logo, and “True Zero Offset” etched on the sole without paint. The shaft is a True Temper Multistep Lite Steel 120g in R flex. This will be a new shaft for me to try. The zero offset doesn't jump out at you. I grabbed a couple of wedges and irons to compare. The difference is small on my clubs. I'm curious to see how it affects contact with the ball. Arias calls the scalloped back edge, "back channels" to aid in gliding the head through the grass. Thankfully, the word “Chipper” is nowhere to be seen. At a glance, it looks like any iron, which is just what I want. I can’t bring myself to use one of those goofy looking Frankenstein chippers. I’ll save the feel for later but, spoiler alert, after chipping a few shots on my lawn, I really, really want to get to the course and try this out. I've decided to pull my 5 hybrid out to make room for the Chipper. I normally carry a 4, 5, and 6 hybrid. The 4 and 6 will have to cover for the 5. Update - I used the TB-30 Chipper at Pebble Beach this week. Ok, it was at a local golf simulator studio. I've hit in simulators for fittings, but this was the first time I've played a simulated round of golf. Unfortunately, I didn't have many shots where the chipper came into play. The club was fine with its solid feel. The issue for me, and my golf buddy, was that chipping, and putting, in a sim is just weird. Taking a full swing on number 7 and getting a (simulated) gimme birdie was fun. But, even with graphic assistance for the slope of the greens, I could not figure out distance on short shots at all. Chipping a 3D ball into a 2D image doesn’t visually connect with distance in my brain. I think I was chipping to the screen. I have a net in my backyard and it’s the same issue there. The owner of the sim studio is a MGS reader and follows testing. He tried the Arias Chipper. His reaction seemed to be a mix of interest, befuddlement, and doubt. He loved the look of the TB-30. My buddy, Jack putting for birdie on number 7 at Pebble Beach. The weather forecast looks much better for this coming week, followed by a week of rain. I’ll be playing Tuesday on one of my favorite courses in the area with short, chippable rough around the greens. I plan on testing the Arias chipper there every chance I get. Update - 2/14/24 Yesterday, I used the Arias chipper on course for the first time. Unfortunately, the course was a mess. It was cart path only. One of my playing partners use the word, “quagmire” multiple times. We’ve been hit by multiple storms here (in California) in the past two weeks with a lot more coming soon. The courses are so wet they don’t mow the rough because the mowers with sink into the ground. U.S. Open anyone? I lost three balls in the rough... found four. I was only able to try the chipper four times, including once from deep rough (my score was toast by then, so why not). Lesson one - the chipper and deep rough don’t mix. So three shots is not much data. Overall, my impression so far is that it might be wise to think of the chipper as “Putter B”. This is not the best scenario for chipping. I ended up about 7 feet from the pin. Like putting, I believe distance control is king in chipping, and that takes some practice. I have never liked practicing the short game. I know - that’s where you can improve the quickest, but hitting full swing shots is just more fun. However, that’s changed recently. Now I go straight to the practice green and chip and putt. That motivation to practice short game might be the biggest surprise yet for getting a chipper. Note - I’m practicing with both the Arias and my regular clubs to get a fair comparison. Final Review Aesthetics: 20 out of 20 It didn’t take long for me to appreciate the looks, sound, and feel of the Arias TB-30 Chipper. It has the look of a miniature wedge, if there is such a thing. The zero offset seems to make alignment easier. The sound is a satisfying “click”. But the best thing is the feel. It’s solid and satisfying. The scalloped back edge, along with the high swing weight, gives the vibe of a medieval Scottish weapon. The scalloped edge also makes it easy to spot the club hidden among the others in my bag. The Numbers: 15 out of 20 I’ve been able to use it during six rounds, plus plenty of sessions at the practice greens on three nearby courses. It has a pretty specific range for it’s use. For me, it's shots between 15 to 40 yards. Short green side chips, and chips from the rough didn't work out for me. It's a niche club that can work well when you have some room to for the ball to roll out on the green. Stopping power on the green is not it's strong point. On the Course: 15 out of 20 Over the course of a round, there might be two to four times where using the chipper would fit the situation. It took some time and practice to figure out when to use it and when to leave it in the bag. When the situation is right for the flight and roll that the chipper produces, it can work well. I found accuracy was good, but getting distance control down takes practice. Using it has the feel of putting, more than swinging a club. Developing a consistent stroke technique is a must. The Good, the Bad, the In-between: 8 out of 10 What I like about the Arias chipper: It feels, looks, and sounds great. It doesn’t look like a typical goofy chipper that draws snarky remarks. It’s easy to aim at the target. It can produce really satisfying results under the right circumstances. What I don’t like about he Arias chipper: It requires specific sets of conditions in order to have a good probability of success. It adds a decision in your play - whether to use it or another club. It takes a slot in the bag. You have to decide what club to leave at home. It just didn’t work from the rough for me. Stays in the bag? 15 out of 20 Surprising myself, I plan on leaving it in the bag, at least for a while. I want to see if my skills with it can improve so that it will be more useful in a variety of situations. I really want to improve distance control. I also want to try unique shots like fussy bump and run shots from under a tree to the fairway, short approach shots to the green, and using it on the on the green for those impossibly long shots. Conclusion For those who are already confident in chipping, or who are working to improve their chipping, the Arias is probably not for them. So, would I recommend the Arias chipper to others? The answer is a conditional “Yes.” If chipping is your nemesis - Yes. If you have the "chipping yips". - Yes. If you don’t want your golf buddies to know that you are using a chipper - Yes. If you want just one club to chip with - Yes. Final Review Score: 82 out of 100
  10. Forget to mention - I used it off the tee on a par 5, then again on the second shot from the fairway. My third shot, with a nine iron, cleared the front bunker and rolled up the green toward the flag. It dropped in the hole for an eagle! HyWay gets a double assist….
  11. Here’s my recently built Maltby KE4 HyWay 21° utility. The shaft is the Mitsubishi Kuro Kage in R flex. It’s 42” long with a D2 swing weight. I’ll cut to the chase, I’m using this thing way more often than I expected. I struggle with fairway woods. I’ve played six rounds with it and have hit it off the fairway, from the rough, and off a tee. Distance is very good, and consistent. For me, it is one of those confidence inspiring clubs. I typically hit a draw, but this club seems to prefer hitting the ball straight. My only negative is that the sound is tinny. I stuffed yarn in the head which helps a little. I’m a hobby club builder and have built a couple of hundred clubs, for myself and others, over the years. The HyWay is in my top 5. Definitely a keeper.
  12. Nope, nope, nope... Once upon a time I worked for Farmer's.
  13. Looks real to me. I've seen Srixon clubs at Costco online in the past. Question for anyone else out there - Have you seen other brands of golf clubs in your local Costco (excluding the Kirkland putter and wedges)? If so, what clubs and where?
  14. I don’t see any Srixon’s on the Costco website. It could be a regional item available in certain places.
  15. The Costco Kirkland driver is back in stock on the Costco website.
  16. I’m a big believer in shorter lengths for drivers. I’m convinced that the trade off between the small extra speed gain of a longer driver versus increasing the probability of find the center of the club face is worth it for most players. With that said, your club speed puts you in a unique and limited group. The fact that the 3 wood works so well indicates that it’s the right setup for your swing, and there’s a driver setup out there waiting for you. I’d suggest you find a really good club fitter who can get you into a driver configuration that is optimized for your swing. If you don’t already have a good fitter, do some research, ask around, etc. to get some names. Don’t hesitate to try more than one fitter if needed even if it might cost you a few extra bucks. Keep us updated.
  17. Looks like the Driver has been pulled from the Costco website. That was quick
  18. Kirkland Signature Adjustable Driver On the Costco website - $199.99 Features: Right Handed True Temper EvenFlow Riptide Graphite Shaft Lamkin Crossline 360 Grip 10.5 Degree Loft with 4 Adjustable Hosel (Loft Settings: 9.5, 10.5, 10.5 Draw, 11.5) Kirkland Signature Headcover and Wrench included
  19. Seeing the Kirkland Irons on eBay. Some people are asking $1099 for the set. For that money, you can get a nice used set of Titleist, Mizuno, or other premium irons.
  20. The Kirkland Driver is now back on the USGA List of Conforming Driver Heads (search product name for "Kirkland").
  21. So, what's your guess as to when the Kirkland Driver will be available (and how fast will it sell out)?
  22. You are now obligated to provide us with a review.
  23. Sold Out! Costco Kirland Signature Irons now available on the Costco website. Kirkland Signature 7-piece Players Iron Set, Right Handed $499.99, including shipping. "Multi-Material Construction The Kirkland Signature Players Distance Irons are built for distance and forgiveness with a stainless steel body, injected urethane insert, and an internal tungsten weight for optimal launch, forgiveness, and playability. True Temper Elevate MPH 115 Shaft (available in regular or stiff). True Temper, The #1 Shaft in Golf (TM), is designed to combat the low spin industry trend, Elevate MPH (Maximum Peak Height) are built for maximum speed and carry distance. Lamkin Crossline 360 Grip" The set includes 4 iron through pitching wedge. Lofts look pretty conventional.
  24. The Kirkland Signature KS1 Putter is back, available on the Costco website in both right and left handed for $149.99.
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