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Posts posted by GolfSpy MPR
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Reviving this thread, because I think the MidLock might be my putter for the rest of the season. Switched to it a few rounds ago, because I was still missing a ton of putts inside 5'. Since switching back to the MidLock, I've seen really solid success in that range; typically on Arccos, I'm solidly in strokes lost territory from 0–10', and that seems to be improving:
Would love to see more mid-range putts drop, but my pace control (which is sometimes a problem with armlock putters) has been very solid; I've had a lot of tap-in 2-putts, which are always welcome from outside 10'.
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15 hours ago, wjsryan said:
I’m probably going to be doing mornings. I wake up early naturally and it just works. I’ll also probably do the “no running on golf days” thing too. It just makes the most sense.
I’m really looking into ordering a kidcaddie too.
I'm a morning runner myself.
But the best way to handle balancing family time and golf is to get your kids interested in golf . In all seriousness, it can't be forced. But if it happens, it's awesome.
- BKervin and Placasse61
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Two quick updates:
For the first time, I experimented today with putting my most-used coffee travel mug (Michigan State Police Chaplains!) in the stock cupholder.
This was just in my driveway, but my initial impressions are positive. The cup is quite large, and even when I filled it full of water, it was stable, not tipping over in the cupholder. I still may seek to open this up just a little bit with heat, but not much. I also might take a dremel tool or some fine grit sandpaper to the edges of it; there are some sharp ridges.
My second contribution today has to do with cart alignment. As I've mentioned in a couple of posts, my cart has a consistent tendency to pull slightly to the right; the "downhill release" video demonstrated that to an extreme.
For those who don't know: the front wheel on the Clicgear 4.0 is fixed. There are three-wheel carts in which the front wheel pivots freely; this is not one of them. For that reason, then, aligning the front wheel is important if you don't want to be constantly fighting your cart on the course.
My review here is mixed. I was able to get the cart aligned, and I trust the alignment mechanism, because it seems well-engineered to be stable once set. But take a look at this picture:
In order to adjust the alignment, you need a flat screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, and a 3/4" wrench or socket. I'm not an engineer, but I don't get why, even granting that a four-bolt system is ideal, that they need to be three different kinds of bolts.
For my part, after checking the online instructions for alignment, I had to go a bit beyond them. If I turned the flat bolt all the way to the "left" side, the cart retained its slight right pull. I ended up fully removing the nut (which allows the entire wheel to come off) and both Phillips bolts, and then centered the adjustment (flat) bolt. I then re-set the wheel attachment, put back in the two Phillips bolts and then the wheel.
At that point, she rolled straight and true, and now I should have room on either side of the adjustment bolt to tidy up the alignment in the future.
So I'd give the cupholder (for now) an A- or so, and the alignment system a B+.
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2 hours ago, russtopherb said:
So I had a few mins to kill while waiting for my coffee to brew so I did some quick math - it actually has a 3.1 rating. Looks like they very generously rounded up...
This is a pure MyGolfSpy post. I approve this kind of data wonky nerdiness.
- russtopherb and BKervin
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Looks like it's the point in the review process in which we talk cupholders. As I mentioned above, I ordered one, and I just realized this morning that the one I ordered already comes with the cart. When I pulled everything out of the bag, I laid aside what I thought was just the umbrella holder (I've never used those on any cart); I didn't realize that the umbrella holder was nested inside the cup holder.
So now I'll have two of the "ordinary" size cup holders. Hmm.
If you check the reviews on Clicgear's website for the "Plus" (which is actually the normal size), you'll find that they're (ahem) less than congratulatory. (I'm not quite sure how, as I scroll through the reviews, they average out to the 4-star rating at the top of the page.)
The critique, as mentioned from the guys above, is that the standard cup holder is really tight. For me, I'd be using it almost exclusively with (fairly large) coffee travel cups, so I think I'll want something bigger.
Thus, an experiment: one reviewer on Clicgear's site mentioned modifying his, using hot water to mold it around a bigger cup. I think I might try this as well, either with hot water or (possibly) gently with a heat gun. So having two might not hurt me: one will be for the experiment.
- GolfSpy BOS, russtopherb and Bucky CC
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14 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:30 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:
Is there anything specific that forum members want to see us test out on the Clicgear 4.0? So far I have plans to discuss and compare with my Caddytek:
- On course functionality/issues (ongoing)
- Beverage holder (already written, will probably post tomorrow)
- Brake system/design
- Umbrella holder
- Cart Storage
- Strap system
- Folding/unfolding/overall size
Also, can we get these No Laying Up shirts for everyone in the test?
I have a 4.0 and even the big beverage holder is #notsogood - the way they designed it is poor, IMHO. It 'swings' back and forth since it attaches on a round holder. My top heavy ice filled 32 oz cup was splashing water everywhere and swinging around like crazy.
Interesting. I got the ordinary size version. Typically, I'd be using it for coffee in the mornings, often with a sealed lid. I'll definitely report on my success (or lack thereof) with it.
- J7Hawkins and StrokerAce
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Placed an order this morning:
I ordered more than I wanted, but I needed to get up to $49 to get free shipping. I only really wanted the cup holder and a single shoe brush, but I figured ordering a couple of replacement parts (especially the aforementioned [possible issue] brake cable) might make sense, especially if I can get the free shipping.
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5 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:
How far away is that water? When it first came into view around the 18 second mark and the cart started moving towards it the video became a little more nerve-racking!
Edit: read the comments on Twitter and see that it wasn't really that close. Still a good tease!
Yep. For those not following on Twitter: objects in distant video are farther away than they appear
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First trip to the course today!
Before loading up, I took a couple of pictures to compare the sizes of the ClicGear 4.0 to the Sun Mountain Reflex cart that it is replacing. As you can see from the pictures, they fold to comparable lengths, but the ClicGear's (very!) large wheels mean that it stands taller than the Reflex:
That said, I've found a way to get both carts and mine and Kirke's bags into the trunk of my Dart. Kirke enjoyed getting a cart upgrade to the Reflex; with a little convincing, we managed to make it work with his US Kids junior bag.
[In a future post, I'm going to gather up all the various-sized junior bags we have in our house (and there's a bunch of them) and see how many of them I can get to work on the ClicGear.]
A couple of a takeaways from the first round:
- This is a professional piece of equipment. Nothing rattles, shakes, squeaks.
- It's a pleasure to push. The best gear of this sort shows its quality by disappearing. It's like a good referee or umpire: if he's doing his job well, you don't even notice him. If you're thinking about your push cart during a round, you're probably not in the mindspace to play your best golf.
- I'm not a big storage bin guy; I tend to just keep everything in my bag. But the bins weren't in the way, either.
- I noticed the brake cord just like @Bucky CC; so far, unlike him, it hasn't caused any issues.
- Mine had a slight pull to the right; looks like I'll get to work with (and review) the front wheel adjustment process!
I did get the chance to do one important test today:
- J7Hawkins, GolfSpy_APH, StrokerAce and 6 others
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FedEx made my day!
Here's the unboxing:
And the first picture with everything in place:
I will say, @Bucky CC, I skipped the instructions. Maybe I should have given them a quick scan, because (in hindsight), they're absolutely not kidding about this:
I found this out the hard way.
- dback, sirchunksalot, jbern and 2 others
- 5
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Wanted to duck in here with a moderator evaluation of the Red Rooster gloves. RR was extraordinarily kind to let us mods get in on this test as well, and they went far above and beyond when I suggested allowing Kirke to test their junior glove (my thought was that he would do this test instead of me, but they included both of us). I thought I'd bring Kirke on to the test because one of the key brand IDs for Red Rooster is their program of donating junior gloves.
I'll write up my thoughts on the Red Rooster Range Rooster, Sussex, Glove Box, and towel that I've been using. But here is Kirke's first MyGolfSpy Forum Member review!
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On 6/6/2023 at 6:59 PM, Dweed said:
MGS MPR, how does it track in the snow please.
I would like to think that I'll have time to finish the review before the snow falls again, but I might have to revisit this thread late in the year to supply this info.
- Dweed, jbern and sirchunksalot
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Here's a little thread bump because I posted my introduction:
- Bucky CC and sirchunksalot
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Excited to get in on this one! I've had a Sun Mountain Reflex cart for the past two or three years. It's served me well, and it looks like it will now become Kirke's cart. I've got a few tests in mind for the ClicGear, and some important boxes I'd like to see it check as an upgrade over my current model.
- Bucky CC and sirchunksalot
- 2
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I'm going to need about two weeks to figure out what my take is on this.
- sirchunksalot, Woody83, MaxEntropy and 11 others
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My name is Michael; I’ve been here a while now.
I’ll try to keep this relatively brief, as I’ve done a few of these introductions before, both in reviews and in other threads (like my first real post on the forum, and the beginning of my extraordinarily long thread about trying to get better, or the first review I did five(!) years ago now).
When it comes to matters of golf, this is a picture of me:
I’m a mid-ish handicap (currently, around 11–12), trying—for years—to get down to a reliable single-figure number. I’m mid-ish age; 43 now. I hit my clubs pretty ordinary distances.
For the purposes of this review, what matters most is that I strongly prefer to walk when I play golf, not least because I don’t like paying extra for things. I also am grateful for the exercise; as I’ve often told people, sermon preparation doesn’t burn many calories. Most weeks, my son (and sometimes both sons) will start the day on the course, walking a brisk nine (generally, about an hour and a half).
I’ve been using a pushcart for several years now. In December of 2018, I purchased the one I’ve been using ever since: a Sun Mountain Reflex, bought from Budget Golf on eBay for $73 brand new (told you I’m cheap).
Here are a couple of (iffy) pictures of my current setup.
[Try to ignore the delightful impact position in the foreground and just focus on the cart in the background.]
What am I looking for in this review?
- Ease of use: how quick is the setup and folding of the ClicGear? With things like bags and carts, how the “little things” are arranged often makes or breaks the experience. Do the storage sections make sense? Does the bag stay in place properly? How much grass do the wheels pick up when I'm dewsweeping?
- Function: here’s the big one for me, especially with (as I think I understand, a fixed front wheel): how is the alignment? Does the front wheel stay aligned? On my current Sun Mountain, the front two wheels are also fixed, and they get out of alignment a couple of times a year. This then demands a lot more work from me; one-handed use of the cart while, say, drinking coffee or putting accurate putting stats into Arccos between holes because impossible if the cart is pulling hard one direction.
- Size: I drive a relatively small car (a Dodge Dart). When I go to the course with both of my sons, we have three golf bags and three push carts. Space is at a premium.
Let’s start the actual review with the bottom line: this is an absolutely top-notch pushcart, a delight to use, and I expect to be grateful to use it for years to come.
Looks
The Clicgear 4.0 is a sharp bit of kit. I’m glad to have chosen the red version. For sure, the black or silver models are less flashy and will match more setups. But I’ve largely settled in to a black/gray/white/red motify for my golf gear, and the red cart absolutely pops with this color scheme.
So far, I’ve experienced no unusual amounts of wear; the cosmetic aspect of the cart is holding up well.
Ease of Use
I’ve been using this cart for a month or so now, and I still have to think about the setup and folding process. It’s certainly not awful, not by a mile. But I often start to fold the cart down and then forget that I need to start by turning the front wheel sideways. I’ve sometimes found that, when unfolding, the tension is pretty significant; I have to double-check that I’ve released all the handles, etc.
But none of this is a big deal.
Once the cart is set up, the usage is a breeze. I have a fairly large cart bag (PING Pioneer), and the straps are just adequate to get around it. As others have mentioned, the straps are unlike any I’ve used on any previous cart I’ve owned. They are very thick silicone/plastic/rubber. For my part, I’m impressed. On my previous cart, the bag would turn and twist throughout the round so that I would need to re-center it a few times. This simply does not happen for me with the Clicgear 4.0. Once my bag is in place, it’s there.
Unlike some of these other guys, I really don’t use the storage on my cart much; I tend to keep everything in my bag. But when I’ve used it (to throw in a couple pink balls I found at the course to bring home for my girls, or to use the scorecard holder), it performed without a hassle. That might seem like faint praise, but it isn’t: with a cart like this, the best of them disappear in the same way a good sports official does. If you notice the cart, something is probably wrong.
Function
As I noted in one post, I did have to re-align the front wheel after my first round or two demonstrated a non-trivial right pull. The process, I contend, seems needlessly complicated, particularly the need for multiple kinds of tools to adjust the various bolts. But to its credit, the cart’s alignment features are fine enough to get the alignment exactly right, which I am grateful for. In addition, since setting it, I’ve not seen any need to adjust it further, which is a good sign.
One feature that I found particularly impressive: the top bag holder system can be adjusted up and down. This allowed us to use the cart for one round with my son’s junior bag. He had a tournament round in the rain, so we loaded up the Clicgear with his bag so that he could use the umbrella. I was impressed how easily it adapted to the junior bag.
[It’s worth noting here: I think I’d say that the Clicgear’s top-notch stability works slightly against its utility as a junior cart. Kirke isn’t a big guy, and steering the Clicgear was a touch of a struggle. Nothing he couldn’t do, but the thing that makes it awesome works a bit against it with a smaller golfer.]
As for the accessories: I think we’ve said a good amount about the cup holder. It’s OK. I was impressed that it was large enough to accommodate some larger coffee travel mugs. I still intend to use a very fine grit sandpaper to take some of the rougher ridges off the plastic.
The shoe brush, like the cup holder, is just OK. My biggest complaint is that you cannot leave the brush on the cart and fold the cart down. The leg crushes the brush. That baffled me, to be honest; I didn’t even imagine, when I bought it, needing to remove the brush after every single round. During the round, it works adequately.
Size
This is a big cart. In comparison to my previous cart, it is more a matter of trade-offs than of one being obviously larger than the other. I will say that, given the size, quality, and stability of the unfolded cart, it absolutely is impressive how compact it gets when folded.
Summary
This isn’t a cheap cart, but if you’re a dedicated walker, I don’t think you could regret buying it. For sure, you can find cheaper carts, but if you can save your golf allowance for a little longer, you’ll get a cart that makes walking better. It’s a cart that doesn’t cut corners; when you load up your bag, you’re ready to play golf without having to fight with your cart—or even to think about it again during the round. It looks amazing, and is phenomenally well-built. My first impression, which has been confirmed in the following rounds, is that this is a professional cart.
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Adding to my arsenal...
So for the past couple of years, I've been getting more direct guidance at golf through online instruction. Chiefly, I've worked with Jayson Nickol on my swing and have taken a lesson on putting from Chase Davis, both through Skillest.
Through Twitter, I've also developed some pretty good (albeit mostly virtual) relationships with other instructors that I hold in high regard. One of those is Adam Young, probably best known for his book The Practice Manual. Although we've still not met in person, Adam and I have had a number of interesting conversations (about golf, philosophy, theology, etc); he's also been really helpful keeping an eye on Kirke's swing over the years, since we don't have local coaching.
I've recently decided to dive in and register for Adam's 8-week online program. The first session was yesterday, as Adam introduces a lot of his golf philosophy and what we'll be doing over the next 8 weeks. If you've followed his work at all, you know that Adam focuses mostly on impact and strike, rather than swing aesthetics. And he puts a great deal of emphasis on data: knowing exactly what you're doing (both on the range and on the course), so that you really know what you have to work on to get better.
So I watched the first session yesterday, and went out this morning to play a quick nine with Kirke. Shot my best 9-hole score in a long time (and I think my best ever on our front nine, which is much trickier [at least for me] than the back).
Obviously, this means that this program is the turning point in my golf life
In all seriousness: I think the big parts of my swing movement are, more or less, sound. My short game and putting are not perfect, but they're good enough to reach my golf goal of reaching a stable single-figure handicap. I do believe that concentrated work on strike, with structure and intent, will help me get the rest of the way to my goal.
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After this morning's round, figured this thread needed a bump. Our course is heavily wooded, and Kirke and I ejected after six holes because the mosquitoes were so bad. I might have malaria. Worse, I three-putted the second hole after hitting the GIR because I rushed the first putt while being sucked dry of all my vital fluids.
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Building a SkyTrak+ Studio garage setup
in Golf Technology
Posted
In past years, I started threads about getting my SkyTrak and then about getting my Mevo+. Now I'm making it a trilogy of threads: Kirke and I are embarked on a serious upgrade of our practice space, courtesy of Chris Koske and the fine folks at SkyTrak.
Earlier this year, Chris reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in upgrading our garage setup. A bit of backstory: Chris used to work for Edel, and he was my main contact when I did my MGS Forum review of the Edel EAS 4.0 putter, which is still my main putter. He's since moved on to a position at SkyTrak. Turns out, SkyTrak purchased a company that sells home sim packages, and Chris offered to send us a setup for testing and review.
The shipment (five packages!) arrived last week. Just for reference, here's the page for SkyTrak's Studio options: https://shop.skytrakgolf.com/simulator-studios.html. (Important full disclosure: while I received our setup for review, I am not a SkyTrak affiliate and receive nothing for anyone's purchases.) We received the SkyTrak+ Studio 12'.
For those keeping score at home, that package not only includes the cage, screen, mat, and ball tray (which is initially what I thought Chris was offering), but also the very recently-released SkyTrak+ and the Optoma GT1080 HDR projector and mount. I still find myself with the need to periodically scrape my jaw off the floor.
What that means, first, is that we're in the process of a garage conversion.
Here's what we've been working with:
We're hitting into a Rukket net, which has been reinforced a few times with more netting after we'd worn holes in the original. Behind the net, there's an old mattress (just in case), over which we've draped a piece of target vinyl from an even older net. Overhead, we have draped some heavy curtains to catch high wedges. We have been hitting off the FiberBuilt Flight Deck (that oval hitting surface), with a piece of stance turf glued to a board so that we're level with the Flight Deck. The boards running back from the Flight Deck (toward the camera) help give a level surface back to the Mevo+.
It's janky, but it works. We hit along the back of our garage, width-wise. Google Maps suggests our garage is about 25' wide; that easily allows us to have the recommended 8' between the Mevo+ and the hitting area, with 12+' of ball flight. There's a shelf on the back of the garage (the right side of the above video): there, we have an old TV and another monitor. Typically, we've been using an old iPad to run either the FlightScope software (including the Skills app) and also Awesome Golf, which is a great (and relatively) inexpensive sim software which is perfect if you're playing with kids.
As I say, it works. It's a very functional setup, and it's been great for getting practice. My enthusiasm for the Mevo+ is undiminished: I'm actually astonished that, with the upgrade packages, they took an already very competent LM and added a ton of useful data. Getting the lighting correct for using the Face Impact can be finicky, for sure, but if you can nail the setup, the Mevo+ is an incredible bang for the buck in the home LM space. Kirke and I plan to continue to use the Mevo+ alongside the SkyTrak+, trying to leverage the strengths of both (and likely writing a full comparison review at some point).
Given the sketchy setup we had, I really didn't want to just unbox the Studio and slap it into place. My goal is to do this right, and build a really nice place for Kirke and I (and others in our family, if they wish) to practice and play. So right now, I'm filming the process in segments, documenting the transformation of our garage into a Simulator Studio. This is a channel I've started to post videos with Kirke and me, hopefully documenting up to the point in which he beats me from the full-length tees at our course for the first time. I've designated the channel on YouTube as "for kids": such channels can't be monetized, which is the point—I don't want to make money off videos of Kirke. It's just something for us to have fun with.
That said, here are the first two videos, taking you on a tour of our garage before we start the teardown (with cameos from my youngest daughter), and then after a couple hours of cleanup:
I'll keep posting these, and also posting here with text-based descriptions of our process. We need to get this up and running before the snow starts falling here, which is always sooner than you might expect.