SharkyM

Taylormade SIM2 driver and TP5x balls Srixon 3W and 4-5I zu85's Callaway 5w and Apex MB 21's 6-pw Titlest / Vokey / Cameron 50F-56M-60T and Flowback 5.5 I've left my fanboy days behind, learned that it's not the brand but whatever stick works the best, I was rocking Honmas before my MB's and OG Adams MB2's before that

I would second the Pro V1x Left Dash, it's not that much different in feel to the X and for me being a lower ball flight player, the Pro V1 was just too low flyin'....Left Dash even though it spun about 200-400 less off driver still flies plenty high and stops on a dime with irons and wedges. Doesn't suck back crazy-like but just one hop and stop which I love. I also love the TaylorMade TP5X, the 2019 was so money, switched to it from like 5 generations of Prov1x's to the TP5x until I tried the -Left Dash. Wondering when Titleist will come out with a new version of the left dash, it's based on the 2019 Pro V1 x cover and dimple pattern. Great ball!

Congrats on breaking 100 BTW and I'm sure we'll be hearing about 90 being shattered soon! IMO, one very important stat that I don't see talked about too often, is to not give up strokes on par 3's like doubles or triples, fight like hell to get out with bogey at worse. Hyper focus!! Another one, cliché as it might be, tighten up the short game, particularly from just off the green/fringe, Texas wedges, bump and runs, whatever it takes, you gotta get up and down. Turn triples into doubles and doubles into bogeys. For me, one of the most glaring stats of what went right when I play a good round is the score on par 3's for the day. Par or better for the par 3's collectively and it's generally a good day...

How about a playing lesson? Sometimes the tendencies that show up on the course aren't the same as when you're hammering 100 balls on the range, maybe you're aiming a certain direction on the course that you don't do on the range. Get your fundamentals dialed in, grip, aim, ball position, etc.... without that, you'll play in plateaus of very small incremental progress...

I'd recommend the 2019 TP5X if you haven't tried it. I'm stocking up on this ball, for me it does everything I need, high bombs off the driver, boring flight into wind and doesn't' spin like crazy on softer/wet greens. I tried the Srixon ZX found it way too clicky. The < -prov1x > is a close second but for me the '19 tp5x is longer. The 2021 TP5X feels like a prov1 to me, kinda like the Penta back in the day...too soft and spinny...

Bags have become, unwittingly, a guilty pleasure of late...I think I have like 10 bags, damn, that's ridiculous... Ho! Out of the new crop of lighter stand bags, I really like the 2020/21 Hoofer lite and the Titleist players 4 Plus, light weight plenty of space. Having the large pouch on the clicgear has freed up the need for space on the bag and makes the cart a lot lighter to push. The passthru strap setup is really nice on the hoofer lite, for push or riding cart. I will typically find a bag that is a good mix of space and light weight, used to walk and carry but now I use it on a push cart. I had some Titleist Stadry bags for a while but wore them out kinda quick. Long time Ping Hoofer and J Bag user, still have some of the J bags, I have a set of Pebble, Olympic and Cypress J bags, might sell them at some point...The J Bag I thought was the best combo...If you find them one in decent shape they'll last a long time.

Cameron's have varied in feel thru the years, materials, etc. They lost me for about 15 yrs for this reason. I putted with the original Tyrellium Santa Fe from 1996 for about 6 yrs, then switched to an OG Studio 1.5. Those older putters felt so much better and different than the putters from ~2005-2016 or so, the GSS models. The GSS material was tinny, too metallic/clicky in feel for me, maybe the balls of that era had something to do with it... I went to Odyssey during these years, using the first #7 then the white hot #7 until the insert wore out and started peeling and was unplayable. Went to have a fitting thinking Mizuno M-Craft V or IV or ER2, on a whim I tried the 2019/2020 Studio Select Flowback 5.5, felt like my old Studio 1.5 but stable like the #7. The numbers were great, dropped -1* loft and -1.5* lie and it was money. It's been my gamer for almost 2 yrs. No more messing with inserts... If you're going to plunk down $300-$600 or more for a putter, and like most of us here, occasionally indulge in more putters, best to get a fitting. This will help you weed out what putter type works or won't work for your stroke or tendencies. Even if you think, oh I only putt with mallets or I only putt with Newport style blades, a fitting would go a long way to both improving your putting and giving you a data-driven blueprint on what type of putters you should be ho'ing if you're so inclined, LOL!!! Once you know your numbers, loft/lie/hosel type/swingweight/grip type, ho'ing for something that checks all the boxes will be more efficient and you'll come to your gamer sooner, regardless of brand.

Fittings at places like Club Champion and TXG are luxury items or should be seen as such. Just like a fine tailor or a luxury car and its service requirements/mechanics(insert your German car here). If you can afford it and want to pay these experts for their equipment, time, expertise then you're welcome to do so. You as golfer would seek out these places because of what their expertise is providing above other retailers. The model of waiving a fitting fee with purchase seems the most viable, for both consumer and retailer. If the consumer buys from the retailer/fitter, then great. If the consumer goes somewhere else then they should be reimbursed for their time. I think fittings are the least of the issues...How did we go from irons costing $499-699 in 2010-2015 to now $1499 basically for similar tech(+ - a chunk on tungsten), maybe the fitting cost is imbedded into this price...But I digress....

If you're going from older woods, 2015-2013 or before, I'd try a newer head of more loft for sure. I've seen posts in various boards stating that 'things haven't changed much for fairway woods' but I'd disagree. My opinion and experience with this, be honest with yourself about your swing tendencies and seek some fitting help for the right head and shaft combo, you could find that due to launch conditions, a 16.5 or 17 head is flying longer/higher/smash'd better than a 15 or 13.5. It's a unicorn hunt / dark art to find a 3w that one really owns. It will transform your game as you'll be attacking rather than guarding when that club is in your hands. I went thru something similar and ditched a club that was sporadic good for me. LOL got on in two at 18 at Pebble with it once with it, but I felt I should be hitting something more consistently. I found the latest Srixon ZX 15 3W with a black Smoke handcrafted was the ticket, off the deck and off the tee, this is a monster... I went 15* 3w 18* 5w, the 5w is one of my favorite clubs in the bag for its versatility and amount of trust I have in it. Try as many head/shaft combinations as you can and don't lock yourself to one manufacturer...I'm glad that on a whim I tried that Srixon at a local demo day, for me, it was night and day difference to others I had tried, 3 shots and I knew this was it...

Ginty FTW!!!

I'm going with a *20/*21 7W!!!! Went back to an 18* 5W after playing 18* hybrid for many years and kicking myself for not having done it sooner. The 5w is a beast, hzrdus t1000 shaft I can play any shot that I want, high low fade draw...Looking to cover the gap between my 18 5W (230) and 23* 4i(205). 21* 7w with a stout shaft !!!

My father-in-law and I also played this course in Houston, http://www.guswortham.org/ Gus Wortham, just after they completed a renovation. It was a lot of fun too

I've been playing some golf in Houston area for a few years, visiting over memorial day: Golf Club of Houston, Tournament course, reminds me a bit of the inland Spyglass holes, always in great condition Meadowbrook farms in Katy, decent Greg Norman track Cypress Lakes, played it a few times, fun course very good conditions as well Memorial Park, have not played it after the renovation but the old layout was ok The TPC course at the Woodlands, it was OK, decent track, enjoyed I've just played two courses in Dallas over July 4th, hope to maybe play a few more: TPC at Las Colinas Cottonwood Private course Both were in excellent condition and a decent, fun challenge, I enjoyed the practice facility at the TPC

I tried to use a two line stencil that I could put over the arrow on the ball, it confused me more and made feel like I "had to" line up the ball so perfectly to make my line. too much stress focused on the lines rather than the putt itself. I was averaging 32-33 putts this way...I've always putted with the the logo pointing to the line and when I went back to that, it freed me up in the 10-15' range, I felt I relied more on my read and my feel to square the blade and make a stroke to the line I was seeing/feeling. I'm averaging 28-31 this way. Perhaps some dedicated practice on this method with the lines might eliminate the anxiety of being lined up 'correctly' or a different type of line pattern might help, but I also noticed that I was slow AF on the greens lining it up. I hate to play tournaments with guys that change their ball like 20 different times on a 5' putt because their lines aren't right...40 second clock ticking...

Driver: Taylormade SIM2 10.5 Motore F3 70x with TP 1.5* tip - 1 notch to lower. 3W: Callaway Rogue Sub Zero 15*, LAGP OZIK White Tie S 60g 5W: Callaway Rogue Sub Zero 18* TC serial, HZRDUS T800 S 70g 4i: Srixon ZU85 23*, Recoil F4 95S, 2* flat 5-10i: Honma 737v, Steelfiber i95 S, 2* flat +.5" Wedges: Vokey SM8 Blk 50-08F, Blk 54-10S (55*),2* flat, Vokey WedgeWorks 60 T (62*, 61* lie) Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Flowback 5.5, IOMIC Pistol grip Ball: Oh boy, no man's land with 2019 TP5x, ProV1x-left dash and now Srixon Z-Star(buttery AF) Bag: 2020 - Ping Hoofer Lite (Cal Colors! Go Bears)