Jmikecpa

That is Royal New Kent in Providence Forge, VA. I was a member there for the last three years when I worked in VA. The 15th hole ran down the backside of the casino where my office was. Great golf course and an even better staff. Most of my weekends were spent pretty much there from sun up until they closed. Best $250 a month I have ever spent on golf.

Ah but I can. I have a full build shop in my basement and have been building and fitting my own clubs for a lot of years. Heck, I built up a new five wood yesterday in about half an hour and it was ready to hit this morning. Toying around with building a three wood up this afternoon just for fun. I did not go for a fitting for the Qi10 but keep in mind I did not choose my specs randomly either. I also appreciate the compliments, my swing is mine and mine only. Fortunately it works for me.

He is a really good boy and has adjusted well the last year to having three teenage kids running around the house all the time. When are Great Dane passed in July of 2022 we all said we were not getting another dog and well we now have Sebastian. The night my buddy passed away I had the choice of taking him in or he went to a shelter. The choice was obvious and at 1AM I had to call my wife and tell her we just adopted a dog. The saint that my wife is had all that we needed for him a few days later when I got back from VA. Now that I am home full time working he spends most of the day snoring in my office. Pretty useless as my admin but he does make the work day better.

One last workday until I head to Disney with my wife and girls for a week. A few park days planned for the week and of course a round or two of golf while I am in warmer weather. Looking forward to a week of relaxation or as relaxed as I can be on a trip to Disney.

Adams MB2 with KBS Tour 130 black shafts. I used to be good enough to play them and this is the last set I still have.

If you think it will work then go for it. The only con I can see would be the weight of the head as I am not sure the actual weight for the Link. I know the Jailbird that is built at 38" is somewhere near 400g for Rickie and Wyndham. The retail offering from Odyssey was 380g at 38".

Let me know when you get here and I will recommend a support group.....and not this site they are too encouraging

You can absolutely have it bent and my guess would be safely 2* either way just based on the metal. I have one as well and agree with @cnosil that the neck is for offset not shaft lean. The one I have sets up just fine at address.

My intro post is up!

Having contacts at golf stores can be a good thing. Went to Golf Galaxy and my daughter’s golf coach was working. Told him what I was searching for and what I wanted to pay and was able to cobble together a 5 wood for my Florida trip next week. Was able to get a mint TM Sim Ti five wood with a HZRDUS red shaft. The head was put in storage under the counter and the shaft was out on the fitting cart. Came home and pulled the adapter and tipped the shaft an inch and a half so all should be good to go. First TM club in my bag in ages well at least until the Qi10 arrives.

Just dropped off my 17 year old son for his 10 day school trip to Costa Rica. My wife is an absolute mess and my only thought is I need a beer, been a long day. Guess that’s the difference between Mom and Dad when the oldest is spreading his wings.

So when you order a new 5 wood ensuring it is the correct dexterity is apparently important. Fortunately Callaway was just able to cancel it for me with no issue. I swear I wasn’t even drinking when I ordered it. Now the search begins tomorrow for any 5 wood that may work that I can build at home. Makes it easier when I am just looking for the head and shaft does not matter.

First meaningful snowfall in close to three years and he is reminding us this is his weather.

After the failed attempt at the 7 wood I am going back to a 5 wood that I can weaken a bit. Picked up a Paradym with a Graphite Design AD TP 8x in it. Hoping that this can give me the little bit I liked from the 7 wood and all that I like about my Apex UW.

First off thanks to MGS for this opportunity and looking forward to my first test and review in a few years. To answer @revkev I have not had a TM driver in my bag since a short stint with the R1 and before that it was the R7 and R510TP. I do still have my driver from my Freshman year of college golf which was a TM Burner with the old gold shaft that I think was made by Aldila. Would be willing to do numbers on each of them if it interests anyone.

It is not in issue of not being able to hit it but more I have a few specific shots that I like to hit from that distance. For me a 7 wood is a one trick pony that is just not for me. Going back to my Apex UW since it does what I want from that distance. Agree in the 58* wedge and I have never played a 60* for that specific reason. Grew up learning to play golf pre lob wedge so never really had a need for a 60*.

Intro and About Me First off thanks to MGS for this great opportunity to test one of the hottest product launches of 2024. I have been a member of the site for a lot of years and have done several tests for products over the years and it is nice to be back after being quiet on the site for a few years. So a little about me… I am 47 and for the first time in close to 10 years I actually live at home with my wife of 23 years and my three children. My wife and I met at 19 and well she somehow hung onto me for going on close to 28 years….yes she is a saint and supports my golf addiction. I have a soon to be 18 year old son that is a senior in high school and will be heading to Johnson and Wales in the fall. A 15 year old daughter that is a freshman in high school and just taking the game of golf back up so she can play in high school. Last but not least 12 year old daughter that turns 13 next week and is the reason I have a gray beard and drink. We also have a five year old St. Bernard named Sebastian that came to live with us after my best friend passed away. Career wise I am a finance guy by trade and am a CPA and have my MBA. From 2010 until late last year I was in the casino business and as mentioned above I either lived away from home or travelled so much that I was never home very much. I spent close to a decade with the Genting Group so if you have ever been to a Resorts World property in the US I was part of the design team as well as the opening team for just about every property. Now that I have decided to grow up and stop playing casino I work from home four days a week and am the CFO for a software company that develops slot machine content as well as iGaming infrastructure. It is a good gig and I am starting to get adjusted to being home all the time and working a more traditional job. Overall it was a positive move and allows me to have a little more free time on my hands My Golf Story My golf career started when I was two years old and my grandparents starting taking me to the course. I had a cut down left handed 7 iron that I would wack away at on the course and somehow was pretty natural at it. I started taking some very basic lessons when I was about 5 and then was essentially self taught from that point forward. The four lessons at the end of Golf Magazine from Jack Nicklaus was my guide for close to a decade. I spent many years on the course with my Grandfather and by the time I was about 8 or 9 I was beating him and his group fairly regularly. Around the age of 10 I stopped playing left handed and started playing on the correct side of the ball and was a scratch handicap by the age of 14. I have pretty much stayed scratch or better most of my adult life with my lowest index being about a +5.6. I unfortunately grew up in the pre-Tiger era where golf was not cool so I played baseball, football and wrestled in high school. I was on my high school golf team but considering that the season was the same as football I played matches very infrequently. When I went to college I was supposed to play baseball and thanks to a nasty shoulder injury my freshman year I got an opportunity to walk onto the golf team and the rest was history. Golf became my number one sport and baseball became a hobby that I played until my late 30’s. My game these days can be summed up as I can make a 7 from places I should make 4 and 4 from places I should make a 7. I have always had distance on my side and can still move it pretty well for someone my age. Iron play has always been good and really good from 100 yards and in. Putting was my nemesis for a lot of years, but I have finally tamed the beast to get to where I am average at worst and have days that I can make everything I look at. Bit of an older video of my swing but not much has changed in 5 years. Testing Plan So the last question is what do I want to get out of this test? Well, quite simply I am chasing distance for the first time in my life. Chasing may not be the right term but more appropriately preserving distance. I am playing CB irons for the first time since college because well I am just not long enough with blades anymore. I have also moved full time to graphite in my irons as being a pitcher for over 30 years is starting to catch up with me physically. In full disclosure the last TM driver that was in my bag was the R1 and that was just a short stint. I would have to go way back to the R7 to say that I had a TM driver in my bag for and extended period of time. The M series and I just never got along for various reasons and it just became a brand that I was not interested in. Will the Qi10 change all that???? Stick around and we can find out together. I plan to test this driver primarily on the range to start since well I live in NY and we are in later winter. I will try and provide as many numbers as I can from launch monitor data or as much as I am comfortable with. I tend to not try and get caught up in the numbers but prefer to go by the eye test. As for competition I have two drivers for comparison; my gamer which is TSR 3 with a HZRDUS RDX Smoke Blue 60 TX and a Rogue ST Max LS with an AD DI 7x turned down two degrees. Looking forward to the process and maybe I will discover a driver I would have normally overlooked in the new releases. ...and man I gonna miss playing this place every week. First Impressions (19 out of 20) My driver arrived safe and sound in the typical box and packaging that most of the OEMs use these days so no major surprises there. In the box there was the driver that was packed well enough, a spec sheet and the head cover. I know it has been mentioned but the lack of a weight tool is a real detractor. Like many I have dozens of them so it is not an issue for me, but if you are upgrading to this driver as your first major purchase not having the tool could be another $10 to $15 on top of a close to $700 driver. To contrast when I got my TSR3 through it came not only with the head cover and the wrench but also a nice little pouch that held the wrench…..sometimes small touches are really nice. First thing that I did once I had some time to get into the workshop was get the specs and measure them to the stated specs. As shown below they were spot on according to my tools and the loft I am deeming close enough since I don’t have a loft/lie machine that plays well with Twist Face. The only detraction that I can really say was I ordered mine with a slightly heavier weight in the back and it was shipped with the standard 2g weight. Not a huge issue but again for a $700 driver the specs should be spot on as ordered. Also a bit of a pro tip…the back weight is held in with blue locktite so a little bit of heat is needed before you try and remove the weight. OEM Spec Actual Spec Swing Weight D4 D3.7 Length 45 3/4" 45 3/4" Loft 9* 9* as best I could measure Headweight was spot on.... Now onto the looks category. In a word this driver is just stunning! I like that they have moved away from the red and black and into the black and blue color way; it is really a nice look. The head cover is done really well and one little touch that was nice is the TM logo that is on the bottom of the head cover is a soft plastic that actually flexes a little bit. Nice touch that shows someone spent some time designing the head cover. One immediate reaction I had to this driver is that it looks like it has no loft on it. Not sure if this is the Twist Face effect or not, but it has a very tall flat appearing face. I do really like that new Infinity Carbon Crown that they are using for this driver. One of my put offs with TM in the past was the two tone top that I just could never get used to looking at. The line that contrasts the face to the crown was also a really nice addition, helps a lot with the alignment of the club head which is a nice subtle touch. L to R: 2016 M2, Qi10 LS, TSR3 My Specs: Qi10 LS 9* with a HZRDUS Blue 60g 6.5 Gamer Specs: TSR3 10* (set at 9.25*) with a HSRZDU Blue PVD 60 TX Due to the weather in NY since this driver has arrived I have only been able to get in one range session with the driver and my initial thoughts really boil down to two main points aside from how good it looks behind the ball. First is that this driver really does kill spin and at some point I see myself possibly having to put some loft into the head. Jury is still out on this since I am not yet to cruising speed and I was hitting garbage range balls. I generally play a spinner ball so this just maybe the day and the balls I was hitting but out of the 35 or so balls I hit with it there were some dippers that fell out of the sky which is not what I ever want to see. Secondly this driver is really flat….like really really flat. Set at the standard setting the driver has a lie angle of 54* which is 4* flatter than the similar offering from Callaway and 4.5* flatter than the TSR4. My current gamer is a TSR3 that I have set 1* upright so it is at 59.5* or 5.5* more upright than the Qi10 LS. Not sure if this will make a difference but thanks to the loft sleeve there is a setting that only adjusts the lie which takes it up 4*. For now I am not changing this setting based on the limited balls I have hit that were in a nice grouping on the face just slightly toe side of center which is my normal strike pattern. Lot's of options for adjustment Overall I am really looking forward to diving into the real testing and put this driver through its paces. Early results are very promising and with some time and possibly some tweaks this could be a winner for me. As a side note I have jumped all in on the TaylorMade brand mostly because of this test. As I stated in my intro I have not had a TM club in my bag in ages and now the entire top end of my bag is TM. I had a failed experiment with a 7 wood and was scrambling to find something that I could build before heading to FL for a week. Had a choice of a TSi2 five wood or a Sim. Three weeks ago I would not even have considered the Sim and after two rounds I absolutely love it….does exactly what I need it to do. Combine that with a good friend of mine the “loaned” me an M5 three wood and a Sim2 Rescue to try along with the driver and I am almost a TM fanboy. TaylorMade Qi10 LS Final Review by Jmikecpa Well, I can’t believe the official review period has come to a close but I guess it is time for my final thoughts. I would again really like to thank MyGolfSpy and TaylorMade for this fantastic opportunity as it has been a blast. Now onto the final verdict and if the Qi10 LS will have a spot in my bag. Asthetics (10 out of 10) As I said in my initial impressions this club is just a beautiful looking driver and has a classic shape. In the past I was not a fan of the color scheme as well as how the carbon crown was blended into the face. In the Qi10 they just got it right. From a shelf appeal standpoint I would grab this and give it a swing just on looks alone. The feel and the sound match the looks and it all is just spot on. The feel to me is powerful with a nice crisp crack at impact. Also a huge fan of the blue face over the red that was in the Stealth and an A+ to TaylorMade as after close to 1,000 balls hit the face looks like new with little to no signs of wear. The Numbers (7 out of 10) This aspect has been a mixed bag for me and the static numbers in a word were poor. If I had not been able to hit this driver outdoors it would not have made it past swing number five on Trackman. It seemed about every fourth or fifth ball would result in a low spin dipper that went nowhere but down and hard left. I should note that I have not hit one ball outdoors that I was able to replicate this shot and saw good results on balls not hit into a net or a screen. I am rating this lower mainly due to the fact that if I had an indoor fitting with this driver I would have just said not for me and moved on. I know that everyone wants data and numbers but it just was not working for me during this test and after two indoor sessions on Trackman I just decided to see what I could get on the course as that is where it really matters. From a ball flight standpoint this driver launches low for me at around 10.2* on average and spins just over 2,000 RPMs on quality strikes. Due to my issues with getting dipping flights indoors it lead to a lot of heel strikes just to avoid the shot I never wanted to see. Again I just needed to get out of playing data scientist and just get out and play and use the eye test and Arccos to gather the numbers that were meaningful to me. On the Course (18 out of 20) I have been able to play a handful or rounds with the Qi10LS due to weather as Long Island this time of the year is hit and miss. It should also be mentioned that my rounds were played in less than optimum conditions that were mostly cold (two rounds with temps in the 30’s) and a lot of wind…..I mean a lot of wind. I have had a lot of time on the range thanks to my daughter playing high school golf and can honestly say I have practiced more in the last two months than I have in the last three years combined. The initial on course experience for me was at best up and down to put it in the best light. The good was really, really good and the mediocre was worse than what I would expect. I did give a mystery shaft a try for part of the test and it has some promise but may be too radical of a change for me right now. I was able to do a mini fitting with this club and the fitter put me in a UST Quantum Purple which is a very light shaft for me but the idea was to give a little more launch and keep the stability that I like. Results were mixed so I stayed with the HZRDUS Smoke RDX Blue for the majority of the test. In a nutshell the driver became a numbers hero and with some work I could learn to trust it on the course. I played a round yesterday morning in mid 40’s temperatures and sustained 30 mph winds with gusts near 50 mph. I had thought about bailing on my tee time due to weather but gave it a go for the sake of one more data point for this test…..and I am glad that I did. My sentiment going into the round was that I had one more round and then I could go back to my gamer and stop struggling along with the Qi10 LS. That sentiment changed yesterday and I began to realize that what I am looking for in a driver has changed since moving back to NY. Yesterday’s round was at a club that is local to me that I have not played in about 8 or so years that consists of three nine hole layouts. One of the layouts is a parkland style course while the other two nines are out along the water. I was fortunate to have my opening nine on the parkland course and only was subjected to nine holes of absolutely crazy wind. Round started on a hole that I would normally hit a 5 wood or hybrid and thanks to the 25 mph left to right wind blowing seven of the eight tee balls OB I was a bit jittery on the tee. Aimed up the left side and the wind never moved it from the start line. Knocked 30 yards off of it but it was safe and playable…no issues. This flipped a switch in my head that I had known but not exploited at all on the course. This driver is just flat out stable in the wind and with a decent pass it stays on the line that is intended. I saw that in range sessions but just could not trust that on the golf course so I started doing just that and had some great results. That little bit of trust went a long way. On #6 I finally unlocked the code and ripped a 341 yard bomb center cut leaving just over 40 yards into the green. #10 was another bomb that unfortunately ended up in a divot that I couldn’t take advantage of, but got the results. #13 was a hard left to right wind with OB left and right….drive stayed dead solid straight and found its way to the left center of the fairway. #14 was straight into a 40 mph wind and will just illustrate how hard the day was. I had to wait for the gusts to die down on the green since I was physically incapable of taking the putter back into the wind. At the end of the day I had zero balls OB or in any trouble and was just able to keep it in play. I ended up with a 75 on the day and had the low gross round of the day by 8 shots when I left after lunch to head home. This round got me thinking about something that I always had top of mind when I was playing a lot on Long Island and that was how does my equipment handle the wind. I started this test saying I want to preserve distance as I am getting older but now realize that playability is more important. In the six rounds that I have played with the Qi10 LS in the bag I have not had one penalty stroke off the tee which may be a record for me. I really needed the last round of this test to reset my expectations. The Qi10 LS is just as long as anything I have hit the last several years but the stability in flight is not something that I was used to. My early testing would bare this out as I had many times that I played to avoid the big miss and erred on being safe. Had I just trusted it a bit more then this would have been a much more positive review period. That being said the outlook is positive and I am no longer counting down the days until the review period was ending. Early season stats after 5 rounds with the Qi10 LS.....I will take these stats. The Good, the Bad and the In Between (18 out of 20) The good is the flight and how stable the ball is in the wind. I saw this on the range and just struggled with trusting it on the course. The club responds very well to what you put into it and it is really just point and shoot. This is what most would term as the “player’s” model but I think that any decent ball striker that is in need of spin reduction could play this model as it is surprisingly forgiving for the design. Again as stated above this driver is just flat out stunning to look at behind the ball and I think that TaylorMade nailed it with the blue and silver color way. The only real knock that I have right now on the Qi10 LS it is a bit hard to turnover with the flat stock setting and just the design as a whole. I did move the sliding weight all the way to the heel and that was some help but this is a driver that is meant to be straight to a fade for most. I am toying with pulling the adapter and keeping to standard loft and put it in the upright setting, but that is for a later time. The in between is something that may seem minor but is a bit of an issue for me and that is the TaylorMade loft sleeve. I just seems like a not great design and it was a pain in the back side getting the head back on the shaft when I had it off the several times that I needed to pull the head. Could be that I am just used to Callaway or Titleist which to me are the best adapters out of all the major OEMs. Play it or Trade it (19 out of 20) Before yesterday I was going to punt on this section and say it needs further testing as I was just not there and I did not think that the golf I had played were a fair test of the club. After the performance yesterday the driver is firmly in the bag and I don’t see that changing. I may make some tweaks as conditions require but for the most part the settings and shaft will not be changing. The only change that I am making is taking the 4g of lead tape off the weight port and actually getting a proper weight for the club. Looking back at the testing period my highest score was 75 and that was in conditions that most would not even try and play in. I needed to adjust my expectations and when I looked back at the positive it far outweighed the negative once I looked at it objectively. I am not sure if I was expecting to be blown away and find my Excalibur and when that did not happen I started to sour a bit….maybe. From a numbers perspective it really is no better than my TSR3 but I can say that I would not have been able to keep the TSR3 on the planet yesterday. Unfortunately living on Long Island high wind and golf is a reality that I forgot about after three years in VA. Thanks to this test I now have a top end of the bag that is built for Long Island. Overall Score (91 out of 100) Conclusion Thanks again to TaylorMade and MyGolfSpy for allowing me to participate in this test and give my thoughts on one of the hottest drivers of 2024. My testing was a bit mixed but in the end there was a lot more good than bad and I found a driver that could be a staple in the bag for a few seasons (I am reformed and not buying every new club on the market). The mixed was more of trying to stick to initial goals of the test and not considering if this was the best for where my game is right now. The other positive that came from this testing period was my eyes were opened to a brand that for the most part I had written off for the last decade or so. The entire top end of my bag right now is TaylorMade with only the Sim2 hybrid not making the cut. When I sat down after my round yesterday and thought honestly about how the Qi10 LS performed I could not think that anything else would be better for me right now. If this driver performed the way it has in real rough weather I am looking forward to see how it performs under normal conditions. I will be popping back into the thread to give and update and a mid year review once we get to a more forgiving time of the year. As a bonus, this shot yesterday was hit with a 4 hybrid and landed in the hole……..but did not stay. Cut hybrid into a hook wind that never left the flag and to make matters worse I lipped out the putt for bird.

Range session number two today with my 15 year old daughter. She hit 175 balls and feels fine….i hit 50 and need a Percocet for dinner. She hit it really well for just getting back into the game and has a good base to start with. I spent time hitting some wedges and a few drivers. I am playing in FL next week and decided to give up on the 7 wood for now. Going back to the UW and putting my Apex Pro hybrid back in the bag. The Titleist hybrid may be a good one but need some more time with it. On a good note absolutely bombing the TSR3 with the new shaft in it. Stock flight is a high draw and I can hit a flat turnover bullet if I need to. Going to be a hard driver to beat this year.

This is my gamer for two years plus (a record for me). It is a Toulon Madison with a BGT Fire shaft that was built by my buddy that unfortunately passed away. We were having some evening beers and decided that I putted better with a blade than a mallet and the idea of this putter was born. I had the head kicking around in my condo and he had the BGT out in the shop so we got to building. Ended up being a little over an inch longer than the spec and a bit heavier so we had to counterbalance it a bit. First round in the bag I shot 66 and it has stayed there ever since. also for those scoring at home the grip is on backwards on purpose. That was not the beers talking when we installed it.

Switched to the Jaws Raw last year. Have the raw in the 50* and the Raw Full Toe in the 54* and 58* all with OG Spinner shafts. All are 3* flat and some of the best wedges I have played. My only fear is coming back north from VA that I may need more bounce in the 58*.

I know it is evening for me but the morning was hectic. Got up to make my morning coffee and saw the news about Toby Keith. Being in the casino business he and I crossed paths a few times and was just a nice down to earth dude. Glad I was able to catch several of his shows over the years. My hour at the gym today was his music on shuffle.

Outside with a warm fire having a Miller Lite with my son. Today was his last high school wrestling match and we are reminiscing and celebrating his journey as a high school athlete. Hardest thing to do is walk away from sports you can’t play as an adult. My Dad and I did the same the day I was no longer able to play football and seems fitting to have the same with my son although I was a bit older when it was my time.

Was up early this morning and saw my son off for his wrestling tournament. Had a coffee and hung out with the dog until it was time to leave for the tournament. Watched my son battle for two matches and ultimately watched him lose his final high school wrestling match 2-1. Nothing prepares you in life to watch lasts for your kids. Neither my son nor I are emotional but this is the second time in 6 months that we shared tears. Last football game he asked if I would just come sit with him on the bench after his game and just be there. Today he just wanted a hug and someone to be there while he let his emotions out. Hard to play sports for your entire life and hit the end. I did it later than him with football but understand the feelings. Also hard as a parent to go through lasts. I was his coach for all the firsts and fortunate to be just a parent for the lasts but damn it is hard. Today was a roller coaster of emotion for me and my wife as well.

Up early today to hit the gym. Now time to run all over town to get financial information for the 9 pending gaming license applications I have had to file in the last month. Was looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow until I remembered my son has the county wrestling tournament so I will again be up at the crack of dawn. Could possibly be he last high school match so not complaining just grumbling.

I am in and the company is top tier which is all that matters.