jaskanski

I'd keep the LZ 6.0 - the spin numbers are much better. Sure, it looks on paper that the lower spinning 6.5 gives greater distance, but in the real world hitting a 7-iron into a green with not enough spin will cost you control - out of rough even worse still with knuckle balls that will drop even further and run right through. Notice how the closure rate turns over the ball in opposite direction for the 6.5 which probably accounts for a little more yardage for the draw spin. If you work on you swing path consistency with the 6.0 - you've nailed it.

Saddened to hear of the passing of Peter Alliss today- a true gentleman and legendary voice of the game. Will be much missed both here and worldwide. RIP Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Latest news suggests a more collaborative approach to the future Tour schedule: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/55098732 It is - after all, a global game - and hence it needs a global effort to support it. Maybe Greg Norman may see his dream after all? Thoughts??

It's pretty easy to experiment on a few beat up wedges yourself. But then again, there are so many options out there off the shelf these days, it's not really that hard to pick an option to suit your needs either. The only obstacle seems to be blindly following brand loyalty.

Latest news suggests a more collaborative approach to the future Tour schedule: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/55098732 It is - after all, a global game - and hence it needs a global effort to support it. Maybe Greg Norman may see his dream after all? Thoughts?? *now moved to Tour Talk*

A little birthday treat today - Partagas Serie D No.4. To be enjoyed with a Four Roses small batch later...

Sounds like a bad fitting to me. The Hzardus Smoke is a stiffer overall shaft anyway, but if the swing weight isn't restored to the head in cutting down an inch, the cpm goes up and makes it even stiffer - no wonder you're losing distance. It's important to evaluate the whole club build as a whole in fitting and even though the shaft length is very important, the flex at a given swing weight and combined shaft profile is critical in getting the correct launch parameters with the available loft. The Hzardus is generally a low spin and launch shaft, so even at the same length as the Fujikura it would probably cost you yards if it isn't a decent match to your swing. The next time anyone tries to sell you a concept - tell them to prove it! Only when you can see the performance gain is it time to part with your money.

None if you trim them right. The FST Pro 125 and 115 are parallel tip .370 as I recall, so provided you trim them accordingly you can tweak the flex a little to give a bit more trajectory. If you keep to the standard tip trim for either shaft the same, the trajectory is near identical, as the tip section is identical. Only the difference in weight (10g obviously) has a slight effect if it gives you a faster swing speed. For added trajectory, I would suggest adding 1/4" to the recommended tip trim (so trim them 1/4" less at the tip) to give a higher trajectory. http://www.fstshafts.com/trimming.php

Joya de Nicargua Silver. Not bad...

I would pop them in the humidor for at least a couple of weeks before smoking them. It helps to stabilise the relative humidity of the cigars - it sounds like erratic burning and going out is a classic case of too much moisture in them. If you use Boveda bags in your humidor, they will help in getting them in the correct range they should be - around 69-71% RH.

My Father Le Bijou 1922.

Another day, another Bolivar Royal Corona. This time casually testing Mizunos (yes Mizuno) after the son did his normal trick of borrowing my Titleists for a golf break with his buddies. Nice all round - including the Mizzies - small Sea Dog rum to finish the session with a great smoke. Happy days...

It's worth remembering that if you intended to use a 3-iron shaft to form a hard-stepped 2-iron - you can still keep the playing length you want - it only becomes 1/2" shorter when you butt trim the raw untrimmed length is at least 41". So don't trim the butt so much...no need to adjust lie so much. PXG will adjust lie if required anyway - but so can any reputable fitter or proshop...

Pins? Not all woods are the same. Some have the shaft pinned near the heel (Macgregors for example) so these have to be located and either drilled out or punched through if they can't be unscrewed. They're usually concealed with wood filler so if you don't know where to look you could be in for a long search. If you have epoxy remove the whipping if fitted and heat the steel of the shaft until enough heat transfer can break the bond - never heat the head! Older woods probably won't have epoxy anyway, so once the whipping and pins/screws are removed the head should be able to be twisted off to remove it with the shaft clamped in a vice. If all else fails then you can either cut the shaft flush with the hosel and drill it out or if you have a bore through it could be drilled both directions right out from the sole and hosel. Sometimes, some components need to be sacrificed in favour of others - with woods, the shafts loses every time.

Por Larranaga Picadores with coffee in the sun. Perfect Sunday chill out.

Vegueros Centrafino. Worth a look if you like robustos.

Not really. The longer original length gives a greater club head speed for a given swing speed. The shorter the fulcrum length (ie the shaft length) for the same swing speed, the club head speed reduces accordingly. With a reduction of 1.5" you would probably lose around 3-4mph in club head speed. Doesn't sound much, but when you translate that to distance from resultant club head speed - it accounts for your loss of distance. If you can live with the increased accuracy it's not worth worrying too much about. But if you can't live with the loss in distance you have two options - restore the length or increase your swing speed by swinging faster - which would probably lead to issues with dispersion. So when trimming shafts, it's always best to weigh up the pros and cons before making any adjustments. An half inch initially may have been the smarter option..

Diplomaticos No.2 is a rare treat today. I think a pairing with a dark rum would be nice....

My torch lighter has a punch built in which comes in handy from time to time if caught out without a cutter.

I pretty sure this is not the case with Eye2 irons - the Ping ball bearing is for older Anser putters where is much less hosel depth the hold a shaft securely with epoxy alone, hence their use. Ball bearings in Eye2's? I've never come across them.

You should have 6 inches of parallel tip section to play with. Depending on what iron number you start with and how true you want it to play to flex will determine your trimming - which will be 5" max amount trimmed on your wedge. Work back in 0.5" increments from that and your 4-iron will be 2" tip trim. Butt trim to your desired playing length from there once you have your set progression. To play slightly firmer to flex, do both Wedge and 9-iron at 5" giving your 4-iron at 2.5" trim. For slightly softer to flex, trim the Wedge at 4.5". You get the the picture.

Both the Eye2's and 845s will have .355" tip size hosel bore. The biggest issue for both is that you have no ferrule (some models of the 845s did) so shaft prep for each has to be accurate to prevent any showing above the top of the hosel. Dry fit the shaft and mark the amount of prep required for each shaft before prepping the tip area to avoid over-abrading the shaft past the top of the hosel. Make sure hosel tops are nicely chamfered to avoid shaft stress. Ping Eye2s of various models have a notoriously sloppy fit in the hosel - shafting beads or making a temporary paper shim to centre the shaft in the hosel is the usual trick - the epoxy can be wiped clean around the hosel before drying if using shafting beads or if using the paper shim trick, trim the paper flush with the hosel top with a sharp knife once the epoxy has cured. Some back fill to tidy up the joint may be required. Swingweights on Eye2s can be on the low side too if using some shaft models - be prepared to use lots of tip weighting if you want them in the D0 or above range. Regrooving is a bit of a specialist job if you want accuracy - otherwise a simple regroove tool is best, but use before shafting and before shot blasting or tumbling the club heads to give a nice finish.

Cohiba Siglo IV. Very nice indeed.

As others have mentioned, fitting is a numbers game - not about the LM data (which does form a part of it) but purely about percentages. A fittied club will have a greater percentage of a better result - regardless of your swing. In fact, it's because of your swing that the fitted club makes perfect sense. It simply reduces the chances (or percentages) of a poor result than a club that is statistically less likely to provide a positive result, because it has not been matched to your physical or dynamic needs. It's that simple. Once you get your head around that simple premise, your playing ability will improve as a result, because you will have the confidence to believe your clubs are not the root cause of your own ability.

Not many shafts are balanced towards the tip due to physics - they're thick at the butt and thin at the tip using a uniform material. If you're intent on finding some sort of feel based weighting, then you're probably better off looking at swing weighting options which are a lot easier to engineer into club building - good old-fashioned lead tape being the easiest option to experiment with.