newballcoach

I think this is an awesome idea and has generated some good discussion. Especially about a potential official MGS weekend get-together, which would be legendary. I love what Har is trying to do, great way for spies to get together. I need to prove to CG2 I'm not normally as bad as I was last time Rick Shiels is trying to put together on his youtube channel a golf day, where all of his followers play golf on the same day and send in picture/video clips. Something like this is definitely doable, especially doing some live streaming, etc. We could even do a leaderboard made up of everyone's net scores. It's not the same as being in the same place, but at the very least it would let me cheat without any of you watching!

No, not at all. Been playing the same irons for the last year and a half. I've always thought they were heavier but I seem to be getting a different feel now. Maybe it's from taking a few months off since playing? I appreciate the notes guys thanks. Just wondering if anybody had any thoughts. I am probably swinging them differently but I just can't feel how. I have heard that heavier shafts are easier to "drop into the slot" and good for slicers, however I am the opposite. Maybe a lighter shaft would help?

Hi Guys, Because it's snowing and stupid up here, I've been playing golf indoors in a simulator league. Not super serious but gets me out hitting golf balls to try and forget that it's winter. I have been hitting my driver fairly well (ACCRA FX250 270 M5 flex) and my wedges have also been good (standard DG wedge shafts). I have had no problems with fairway woods or hybrids. My major issue has been my irons. I am hitting awful, massive hooks with my irons. Now, hooks have been my problem in the past, but the machine is registering me swinging anywhere from 20-30 degrees from the inside most of the time. I am swinging stiff XP105's in my steelheads and am just having a heck of a time trying to sort this out. I will try and put a swing video up this week. Anybody had any problems like this before? My irons are supposed to be D2 swingweight, but they feel so heavy when I swing them. Am I just using the wrong combo for my current swing?

I find it interesting for a few reasons. Titleist has had years where they would not participate (I think they are over the K-Sig ball test by now). I'm betting they are hoping their new drivers will perform well as part of their motivation for participating. Scotty's don't often score well so it makes sense they would bow out. Callaway and TM are ridiculous to me, because they send tester clubs out to anyone with a plus but draw a line in the sand at MGS. TM had the #1 driver in 2016 and #3/4 in 2017, Callaway was #2. They are just mad they can't control the narrative. Ben Hogan makes zero sense to me unless they are in really bad financial shape. They did forum tests in 2018 with wedges and irons, but aren't doing most wanted? Very weird indeed.

That's what I said on twitter. At the very least, if you supply the product, you have control over what you're sending, which shafts etc. Callaway has to know they will just buy the clubs anyway, that's what happened last year and every other year a major OEM has declined to participate. Seems silly to me, but golf OEM's consistently want to control the message reviewers send out, and MGS doesn't let you do that. Plus, they send clubs to guys like Rick Shiels and Mark Crossfield without them being custom fit, how is this different? You would never see Ford not allow Car and Driver Magazine to test their cars unless they could guarantee good reviews and multiple gold medals for every model. The fact that golf is different is ridiculous to me.

This is a fun thread to read. Making clubs/changing grips/shafts etc. is something I definitely want to get into. Will have to pick up some grips, maybe a vice and a few other tools. Thanks for the motivation boys!

As one of the reviewers who didn't get on as well, I did say that if the driver had some adjust-ability to dial in the ball flight, it might have done better for me. Seeing this in the ST-190 made me smile. This driver has some real potential and should be on the test list ofr all. If they have increased the forgiveness and MOI it could fit into a lot of golf bags this year in a crowded 2019 driver market.

I think a deadline is intentionally not posted (just as they kind of throw this at us as a nice surprise). It's not meant as a way to shill for extra donations, just something nice MGS does to give back to its members. I am sure if you contact Golf Spy X he will help make sure your donation is counted towards next years raffle. Welcome to the spy shack brother!

Very similar look to the X-forged in my opinion. Better looking? Not quite sure. After owning a couple of sets of irons that are not traditional looking, I think that might be more what I lean to next time. Classic looks are classic for a reason.

Tony is the best. The things he knows about the golf club industry are unbelievable, and it's amazing that he is so honest and open all the time. Gives all of us spies a greater insight into what's going on. In short, he's smart, he's a bit fiery, and I'm glad he's ours. Of course, sometimes I picture him like this...

I agree. To win at retail this driver has to outperform other drivers, because at the price point people will go with more trusted brands. This year is shaping up to the Year of the Driver, so Wilson will have it's work cut out for it. A high-spin driver is not what the majority of the golfing public wants either, so it will be hard to win on the launch monitor if that's the reality. If I can spin an M1 above 4000 with the weights forward, I wonder what score I can get on this one!!!

It's a great set of clubs. We reviewed them summer 2017 on the forum if you want to look back through the threads. I was a big fan of them then and I am still gaming them now. The 3iron in particular was a game changer for me, glad you are enjoying it as well!

Sorry to hear that. The strike is affecting everybody.

It was the stock shaft in the Mizuno ST-180 I tested last year. Solid shaft for a stock offering. If you're not going to get fit, it will probably work well. However, please go get fit. It's too easy not to and shaft options are so good.

The thing that the tech does is allows ball flight etc. to be honed in to help your miss at impact. It gives fitters more options. To think of it from the OEM's perspective, last year I tested the Mizuno ST-180. I found it to be very draw-biased. Because there was no adjustability, I likely would not have purchased that club, as it created too many misses for me. If they had moveable weights or technology to help me out (like my M1 does in fade setting) a fitter could have potentially fixed that miss and dialed in that driver to a level where it might have been my best performer. A lack of tech doesn't allow a fitter to do that. And if the customer can see it and understand it, even better. There's also really no way to add invisible tech to a golf driver, because the space and weight savings on the inside are just too valuable to give up (that was also seen on Driver vs Driver).