Rtracymog

WEEK 3 FINAL LEADERBOARD
MYGOLFSPY FORUM MEMBER CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR
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We had a GREAT turnout this week with 31 separate scores posted!  AWESOME to see all the golf being played around the world. 
 
This week's Winners:
Low Net Score:

@MattF posted a Net 61(-9) at Windmill Lakes CG early in the week to hold off a great round posted by @daviddvm and his -8 net 64 at Moody Gardens GC.  
 
CONGRATULATIONS @MattF 
our Week 3 Champion and this week's owner of the MyGolfSpy Black Jacket!

 
MOST NET BIRDIES OR BETTER

We had a two way tie with 10 net birdies or better posted by @MattF and @badgergolf.  With MattF taking the Black Jacket for low net score - @badgergolf is this week's winner of the Low Net Birdies or Better Badge!

 
LONGEST DRIVE

What a week for driving distance!!
We had 10 drives over 290 yards and 6 of those recorded over 300 yards!
Standing alone WAY down the fairway is @Philip_Rwith a TOWERING drive of 333 yards - edging @ncwozby two yards and the Claiming the Long Drive Badge for Week 3.

 
Thanks again to everyone posting scores, and sharing your rounds in this thread.  I know the golf season is winding down in the cooler parts of the world - but we will keep this thread alive through the winter for all those able to play.  Keep tuned to the forum for a SIM version of a weekly competition - should be a lot of fun as well!!

You read it correctly.. "Otto Phlex". I'm sure there's not a person on MGS or in the golf world who hasn't heard of (or seen) the Auto Flex shaft. For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past couple of years, Auto Flex is a South Korean company that has basically branded their flagship shaft as a very flexible, but high performing, high tech, and somewhat "magic" shaft made with "Secret Hidden Korean Technology". The concept lends itself to the idea that a specific flexy profile can help increase clubhead and ball speed, while increasing launch and keeping spin relatively low, and improving disbursement and forgiveness, therefore yielding results of long, straight, towering bombs.. I mean, who doesn't what that right? Another claim is that while keeping the profile relatively soft, tempo improves, and the overall risk for injury can be reduced. 
Well I'll be one of the first to admit it. I was NEVER enamored by the claims and especially the price of the AutoFlex. Oh, and let's not forget about the color scheme.. Ultra Hot Pink? not my jam Sam. As a sole provider trying my best to balance a decent golf game on a budget with my family life, spending $800+ on a hot pink golf shaft just isn't something that interests me.. regardless of the claims. 
Well over the past year or so, there have been a few Youtube channels that have showcased the AutoFlex Hack.. or as I like to call it, the "Otto Phlex". It has been somewhat theorized that the secret sauce to the AutoFlex is based on the following basic profile characteristics: 2-3 flexes lighter than your preferred flex or frequency, at least 1 or even 2 weight classes lower than your preferred weight, a swingweight between D0 and D2 depending on the flex, and a mid/high launch profile. It has also been debated that the Autoflex works best when it's at least 46" or longer. I tried starting at 46.5" and just didn't like the length. I then tried shorter .5" increments and I ended up at 45" and I'll explain how I got there in a bit. 
OK before anybody sounds the alarm, I realize that all of these characteristics are subject to each shaft company's interpretation and that there is no such thing as a standardized R, S, X, etc, flex shaft. All of these characteristics are based on broad generalities and this experiment has quite a bit of wiggle room so don't get your plaid golf knickers in a twist. (there, got that out of the way)
I've been playing the MotoreX F1 6X for the past 2 years. It's an XS shaft according to Fujikura, it weighs in at about 68g uncut. I've played it at about D5 SW but the shaft can take the extra head weight with no issues. Up until very recently, this was supposed to be my "Forever" shaft. It just works and up to this point I just couldn't find anything better. This is however going by conventional wisdom standards that with 110+ mph swing speed, I need to play either a hefty stiff or XS profile shaft and my preferred weight has always been sub 70g in driver. 


 
My Otto Phlex profile should look something like this: A flex, 45 - 55g, High Launch with low loft setting or mid launch with standard loft setting. Torque is another factor that can be thrown into the debate ring as having any value. The AutoFlex from what I've read is around a 4.0 torque rating. I believe torque can be important with this experiment because we're really treading on the edge of making sure the shaft bends but doesn't twist. Too high of torque rating and you may be pushing things a little too far. 
 
DISCLAIMER 1: I realize that this is a subject that might rub some folks the wrong way.. namely those who've spent the $ and are completely bought into the Autoflex concept.. or those who've done the research, had a fitting, and are about to pull the trigger on one. I think that this topic fully encompasses the MGS spirit of debunking a pretty hyped up marketing claim and/or discussing alternatives that take all of the marketing hype out of the equation and stick to the hard facts. Does the concept actually work? Can I make an Otto Phlex shaft that performs similarly or better than the real thing while nixing the insane price tag by following the guidelines listed above? 
DISCLAIMER 2: just because I'm finding success with this at the moment, it doesn't mean that it's for everybody. This is definitely a concept that even I'm still working to wrap my head around after playing for 30 years. It definitely has a lot of allure and appeal so the best we can do is try it out, give it some time and formulate final conclusions when the data is adequate. 
Below are a few of the videos that influenced my journey (and a few others like @Samsonite, @blackngold_blood, @cnosil, @cksurfdude, @tommc23, (forgive me if I missed anyone else) down this Otto Phlex rabbit hole. We all started up in the thread discussing the new PXG 0311 Gen5 Driver and ended up directing most of our discussion towards this AutoFlex Hack project because it just worked in such harmonized synchrony with the Gen5 head. Below is the PXG Gen5 thread if you'd like to catch up on what lead to this topic. The top of about page 3 is where the discussion starts to go sideways and turn into AutoFlex hack project 😜
 
Here is the original review by MrShortgame of the Autoflex. Very supportive of the Autoflex performance benefits
 
Here are the colab videos by MrShortgage and MobileClubmaker. Both guys make great and very informative videos and they both know their stuff. 
 
 
 
Simon from SAS did something similar a while back.. He kind of rolls like me. He's all about getting the most out of a budget and still getting some really killer gear. 
 
Freddie Meikle Golf. I found this one as I was looking up more reviews for the PXG Gen 5 and it happened to be that he also stumbled upon the Otto Phlex 
 
After watching these videos about 10x each and saying "hey I can actually do that!", I tracked down a Project X Evenflow Riptide CB. In fact, it's the exact same spec of the shaft in the MrShortgame video. 40g 5.0 A flex. I sourced the shaft from a local OfferUp listing for a PXG Gen4 driver for sale. I reached out and offered the guy a straight trade for the Diamana S series that initially came with my Gen5 driver. Being that he was trying to sell his driver and I was able to gently convince him that an S flex might appeal to a broader audience, he was open for the trade. My fallback plan if all else fails is to plug in my trusty MotoreX and resell the experimental shafts and get on with my life. The only concern that I had was that the Evenflow played at 45" and I was convinced that it needed to be at least 46" for max results so I was already sourcing my shaft extension piece to have ready. Well eventually I discovered that 45" was absolutely perfect and that no extension was needed. I took the shaft back to the workshop, put it in the Gen5 and got the SW calculated to D0. Because of the higher balance point, I needed to add just a little more weight to the head. Luckily I was able to find a 10g PXG weight to replace one of the 7.5g weights and there we go.. I'm sitting right at D1.5.

Now why is the SW so important with this build? Well this shaft isn't made for swing speeds over 100 MPH.. let alone the 110 - 115 that I'll be imparting on it. From my obsessive gathering of info, if you're able to keep the head weight to a minimum, and keep the swing weight optimal based on the desired shaft frequency (D1 lighter to D2 heavier), you should still be able to apply a max swing without any unwanted torsional head twisting. This is where the head can twist open or shut in addition to the shaft flexing the face up or down and then even more damaging is finding some odd variation in between where the face is flexed open or shut to some degree and then the face lofted or delofted to another degree and then who knows which direction the ball goes? Ultimately, the idea is to be able to put a hefty swing on the club and the ONLY reactional bending is the face increasing in loft, therefore assisting with an easier launch. Other variations are the actual club head itself. Every driver head is engineered for something specific. Luckily in my case, the PXG Gen5 seems to be a perfect mate for this experiment. It's naturally a lower spinning head and has a load of variable weight configurations. I have the 9* head option. 
Here are some standardized #'s from what I've seen with the MotoreX. I no longer have my membership with PGATSS (due to their recent 50% cost spike) so I'm just basing this off of memory from my last few sessions. (not 100%). As you can see though, the MotoreX works well for me. It's not an overly stiff profile. I'd say that it falls right where I need it to be between S+ and XS if I could give it my own classification. It's in the 65g weight class but actually closer to 70g than 65g. 
Launch - 10-12*
Ball Speed - 157 MPH (probably not accurate)
Swing Speed - 111
Carry 270
Spin 1900
Moment of Truth
I took the Project X Evenflow Riptide along with the MotoreX to the Foresight Monitors at an outdoor range. This way I can see true flight and get some basic #'s to help quantify what I'm seeing with my eyes. The only downside is that the balls they use are limited flight which supposedly cut the flight down by 20% and the monitors weren't showing club or ball speed and weren't showing Spin so I was kind of disappointed. The limited results that I did see however blew my socks off. I started off the session with about 20 hits from the MotoreX and saw a nice low-ish draw. The carry was about 250 with rollout to about 270+. Not bad considering the balls were limited flight. I did see my miss come into play a few times which is a hard pull hook. This happens when I'm not fully sync'd and I'm swinging with my arms, chasing the ball, and just flipping the face closed. My shot can quickly go from fairway to neighborhood finder on the wrong layout. 
As soon as I plugged in the "OttoPhlex1" (I'll get to that "1") I could immediately feel the difference but that's to be expected.. the difference however isn't what I was expecting at all. The club actually doesn't feel lighter by weight or Swing Weight. I think there's some kind of trickery about the D1 SW and overall lighter club. The club doesn't feel too light at all. In fact if feels perfect! The SW also doesn't feel like D1 but closer to my preferred D4-5. I'm sure it's more to do with physics than witchcraft but to a lay fool like me.. it's the devil at work! 🤣 JK. when I tee'd up my first ball, it was a high fowl ball to right field.. probably into the parking lot. weird.. OK this is a new sensation to me. At first impression I'm thinking, man this thing's too whippy and twisty. Well I buried that though and hit a few more. The more I hit, the more in sync I was getting and then the easier it became to just hit high towering baby draws. I'll say that the overall height at 9* was probably more than I wanted to see so I ended up cranking the loft down to 7.5 and just like old Bob Parsons himself would put it "KABOOM BABY".. ok I actually really hate PXG marketing but I guess it can have a time and place. You can read more about my thoughts on the Gen5 in the thread above.. but the overall feeling of it paired with the OttoPhlex1 is something else. The launch is effortless and even though I couldn't see the spin or ball speed #'s, I was getting about 15 yds more carry and rollout to about 290 - 300 yds. I went back and plugged the MotoreX in, bumped it back to 9° and then found myself struggling to get the ball in the air. A shaft that I've been familiar with for 2 years all of a sudden became a stranger to me. I had been so completely overtaken by the feeling, flight, and performance of the OttoPhlex1 that I'd completely forgot everything I knew about the MotoreX.. and that was just in 1 hitting session. 
So of course I go home all giddy happy but my silly brain just couldn't rest on 1 thing.. Just like the video with MrShortgame, the PX Evenflow Riptide didn't really feel how the Autoflex looks from videos. Those guys got some real 1/1 comparison and I don't know if I'll ever have that luxury. The shaft just felt like a really smooth, stable "Me" flex. Take the stigma of "# Flex" out of the equation. It isn't really whippy or overly explosive feeling but it just feels like a really nice, stable shaft to play that gave some great results and something that I could definitely game. So that night I went back to looking around for possibly another option that might land me a little closer to the Motore F3 like they used in the video. Looking at all of the comments, it's literally impossible to find that exact shaft anywhere and people were frustrated. Even the current MotoreX F3 is a tad pricy for an experiment. Off the top of my head I knew of a few light weight, low cost options that I could look into. I looked at the UST ProForce V2 in both the HL and standard version, the Aldila NXT GEN NVS Orange, and the classic Garafalloy Pro Launch Blue. All in A flex and ranging between 45 and 55g. Well I settled for the Garafalloy PL based on a very technical analysis of.. Aesthetics 😝. Now we have OttoPhlex2 in the mix. This and all of these are shafts that you can pick up at Golf Galaxy, PGATSS, or Golfworks for around $60, which is about the same price that AJ (Mobileclubmaker) paid for the OG Motore F3 and all seem to fit that general profile. I will add that I started out the GPLB at 46.5". The SW was just too much and I wasn't loving the length. So this is where I shortened it in .5" increments until I just found my glass slipper at 45". 


I took this out to play a round on Saturday 9/24 and I tell you what.. Just like I was blown away by the improved results with the Evenflow Riptide, I was even more so impressed with the Garafalloy PLB. The round I played was on a tight community Exec course with very narrow fairways. I played the front 9 with the OttoPhlex1 and hit everything! then I played the back with OttoPhlex2 and not only did I hit everything but it was a noticeably longer and higher flight. Not feeling content with the limited amount of playing time during the round, I immediately took to the course driving range afterward to compare both shafts in a long drive battle. Same situation as the other range, they have limited flight balls. It's in a retirement community so the back wall of the range stops at about 290 from the matts and on the other side behind the back wall is a gigantic aluminum storage facility. When it's matts only, I haven't ever hit over the fence. When they push it to grass, and depending how far forward, and when you smash a good drive, you're rewarded with a loud PING when the ball hits the storage facility over the fence.. too many good drives, and the storage facility calls the golf course and you are kindly asked to put your driver away 😬. like I said, from the matts, that's that furthest point from the end of the range and I've never hit one over the fence. So I started the contest with the OttoPhlex1 (Riptide). I hit a lot of nice straight bombs that bounced to the wall but not over. When I put the OttoPhlex2 (GPLB) in, I was clearing the fence almost every 2 or 3 balls. Not only was I clearing the fence but I kept a directional point of a large tree at the back end of the range and everything was at or just outside of the tree. Luckily I finished the bucket and wasn't asked to leave 😛 Well for the finale, I took a used ball from my bag that I planned to retire to my backyard for chipping practice and tee'd it up. I didn't hit the side of the storage facility.. I landed it on the roof which had to be about 30' high and I wasn't rewarded with 1 PING.. but a series of pings as the ball bounced all the way across the rooftop🤯.
I've already made a short story very long but I had a chance to take both shafts to PGATSS to get some better #'s with the Garafalloy PLB. What I found just added to some of the crazy things that I've already seen with this club. Launch from a 7.5* head with little to no effort is right at about 14*. Club head speed 112+ without breaking a sweat. Spin.. 2000 - 2200 RPM. Carry distance an avg of 285 - 290 rolling out to around 315. Shots that I felt like I hit off the planet were just right or left of the green. I will add that I was using my game ball Maxfli Tour CG. 
I've got 1 more potential candidate that I would like to add to the mix and that's the UST ProForce V2 HL or regular V2. TBC
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It's getting late. This is phase 1. I'll add some pics and continue more tomorrow. 
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PLEASE feel free to start commenting or sharing any similar stories. I think this could be a really good topic for MGS to cover on their GolfScience channel. 
 
Cheers!
 
 
 

Guys , thanks for the input. This is a 42 min video to talk about 3 mistakes, there is a bunch of other info if you watch / listen
Again thanks and there is enough information to do a a second one of these concerning tools, work flow etc.

Biggest mistakes:
1. Not doing the ferrule correctly where it became scuffed and ugly. I needed to leave well enough along and I didn't.
2. Relying on all websites to have accurate shaft info. Needed a .355 shaft for a wedge and bought a TT GS (which I found out was only made in .370), but the website (Hireko) was wrong.
3. Aligning shaft graphics is tough. I thought I was on it, but it must have shifted while curing.
4. Trying to take a tip off of a driver shaft without a shaft puller. Twisted it too much and ended with a very stable, but very short and light shaft.

My vote is for the SIK face. In years past, I used a soft face Odyssey 7.  It was ok, but I never had what i'd call confidence with the putter. I knew I liked the soft face rather than the hard face putters, but I'm not sure it really showed up in performance numbers. Last year I decided to try an arm lock, and I bought the Odyssey Big 7 stroke lab. That had a soft face with the micro hinges, but I still had problems on any long putts. I think the arm lock style is deadly from short range but on anything long that putter would Pop the ball up in the air, which messed with my distance control.  Because I couldn't handle long putts with it I gave it up and tried an 35" Evnroll putter.  While I rather liked the gravity grip, I wasn't in love with the putter itself. Then Cobra came out with their arm lock sik face 3D printed putters. I had to try it. I love the thing. I'm as good short range as I was with the big seven but I don't have any of the same problems popping up long distance putts as I did with that big 7 putter. I credit that to the sik face. No matter how I approach it even at length the roll is very pure. This is the first time in a long time where within a couple of months I wasn't itching to get another putter. I can see keeping this for a long time. 
That's my two cents, take it or leave it. 

As I understand it, the "Sik" face is to make sure the ball comes off the face at the same loft no matter what angle you make contact.   Where the SOFT face on Cleveland putters (and similar to others) has a face that helps with off-center hits, making them roll out further than traditional faces.   Which of these would you think to be more useful or more important?  Is hedging angle of attack or off-center forgiveness better?

typically there is a silver (aluminum) or white plug in the bottom. it may appear to be sold with the hosel.

1) For a wood the insertion depth is generally 1.25 " before you bottom and risk pushing the hosel lug into the head. Easiest way to ensure depthis measure the drill and wrap a piece of masking tape at the proper depth.
2) yes it is must. However it does have to be the same length of ferrule, that part is cosmetic. 
Last question: if it is an abrasive wheel just make sure the cutting side is on the right side length. 3/32 is pretty good.

Couple of questions:
The Machspeed I'm seeing did not have a bore through hosel. Are you saying that you did not remove the shaft totally and there is still some shaft in the hosel?
I feel like 5/8" is not enough depth, I would expect to see about an inch at minimum, but I've not done any work on non-adjustable fairway hosels. 
Can you take a picture of what you're calling the hosel cap? I'm not sure what you are referring to? Is it the old ferrule?
I just bought whatever was in stock at Home Depot for my abrasive blade. You just have to be sure to account for the thickness of the blade when making the cut. I'd also be sure to wrap some masking or painter's tape around the shaft where the blade will be making the cut.

Hi Spies! I found a broken Machspeed 3 wood that had been sitting out in the sun for a bit a couple of weeks ago. It was broken about 7 inches from the hosel. I don't have a shaft pulled but I watched an @McGolfvideo and I drilled out the old shaft (I think I have it all) taking care not to hit the stopping pin (I forgot what Mr. McGolf called it). So I now have about 5/8" depth in the hosel.
1st question is: Is 5/8" the correct hosel depth? I don't want to knock the hosel cap into the head obviously, but I, of course, need to get the shaft far enough into the head. 
2nd question: I noticed the Machspeed has a collar in it. Is a collared ferrule a must? The shaft fits very tightly in the hosel currently.
Last question: I just bought an abrasive saw blade for my 10" chop saw with a 3/32" thickness. How thick should the blade be? We used one at work all the time, but I'm not sure the blade thickness.
Thanks spies!

I want to see the talk of bringing the app back. When it was on my phone, I felt like I checked it daily. Now, with everything else going on, I feel like I spend less time on MGS. It's not a knock on the site itself, but I just feel like if it's not right there, more stuff grabs my attention/time.

I want to see the talk of bringing the app back. When it was on my phone, I felt like I checked it daily. Now, with everything else going on, I feel like I spend less time on MGS. It's not a knock on the site itself, but I just feel like if it's not right there, more stuff grabs my attention/time.

at just over 12 grams you should see a change of about 3 sw pt. That is a the point when most avid golfers may feel a noticeable difference in the "feel" of the clubs. The other part of the equation is the accros grip is also a bit longer to accept the disk. if you are using the club to the end of the grip it may also through of the "feel" of the club and affect it by maybe a swing point,,,, maybe.
If you want to make the club feel lighter you can do a few things:
1) take the grips off and put a strip of lead tape under the fingers equal to the 10 grams. The Swing weight will not come back as measured but the feel of the weight in the grip will.
2) golf works used to sell tour lock weights. and easy way to place weight in the butt of the club. Balance certified is my choice but a bit more $$$$.
Id take the clubs out a few more times to see if you can get used to it. If not try back weighting.
If you are a smoother less aggressive swing the added feel of the weight can throw you off. If you are average or more aggressive in this area it may be better and take a few more swings to get used too.

Sometimes the rearward hit starts with a set up the adds loft to the club.  I.e. the shaft goes straight through the head behind the ball. Most golf club except maybe 2 irons, have some level of forward shaft lean when the playing position.  Think of it much like using the loft and lie machine (mitchell) where the loft is found the shaft is leaning towards you. That imo is the lean you would see at address. 
a far as the mat goes. I place mine on top the mat. The 1/8 plastic does throw off the reading much, keep in mind the  flight is first the reading is second. if you are getting the desired flight and distance. Why change.

Wedge shafts can make a difference.
Like most shaft manufacturers, KBS makes a variety of wedge shafts in different weights, stiffness and bend profiles to accommodate a broad spectrum of golfers.  
Just like in any other type of golf club what your swing characteristics and playing preferences are will determine what type of wedge shaft is the best fit.
Some players need help to launch the ball in the air or to get additional spin.  Some players are trying to flight the ball lower or reduce spin. Some need a little help in increasing distance.
KBS has designed their different shafts to help achieve the ideal launch and spin characteristics based on your needs.
For example, the KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 shaft is a wedge shaft designed to assist the player in getting the ball up in the air and increasing spin.  If you want your wedge shots to fly a little higher or spin a little more than this is a good option.  Maybe you play on a course with very firm and elevated greens that require a high shot with lots of spin to hold the greens.  This shaft could help.
On the other end of the spectrum if you are trying to hit a lower trajectory wedge shot or you create too much spin then something like the KBS 610 wedge shaft would be the one for you.  Maybe you play a course that is very open with lots of wind and you need to hit a low trajectory shot that will be less affected by the wind but still give you one hop and stop performance.  Or perhaps you generate so much height and spin that you are ripping the balls back off the green and you want to tame the spin.  This shaft could help.
Some golfers like a slightly lighter and less stiff shaft for their wedges that they mainly use around the green.  Some prefer a heavier and stiffer shaft. Some prefer the exact same shaft as in their irons.
All of these are really just fitting variables or preference options to meet the needs of the full spectrum of golfers.
I play the KBS $-Taper 120 Stiff shafts in my irons but prefer the slightly heavier, stiffer and lower launching KBS Tour V Wedge 125g Stiff shaft in my wedges.  This combination gives me the best combination of feel and performance for my game.
Hopefully you will find your best fit too.
 
 
 
 
 

I was just looking for the app because I kept coming across posts that had the "Posted from App on my (insert phone type here)".  Would love to see an app and would be willing to test it in my free time if needed. I test software for a living so really would be in my wheel house on this.

I want to see the talk of bringing the app back. When it was on my phone, I felt like I checked it daily. Now, with everything else going on, I feel like I spend less time on MGS. It's not a knock on the site itself, but I just feel like if it's not right there, more stuff grabs my attention/time.

Unless I'm hitting a tee shot that I want to roll or a punch out, I don't like to see my irons really roll out at all. I want to hit those things a specific distance and have them stay there. Most people expect their longer irons to run out a bit, but from 7 or 8 on down, you shouldn't want any roll on your normal shot. If you're seeing run on the short irons, it's time to look into a new golf ball or weakening your lofts.

Yeah I don't play tournament golf so I carry a PW, 50, 52, 56, 60. I can get buy with less, but if I've got them, why not use them?

I want to be able to pass the knowledge on to the kids I coach. I feel that if I'm not a good player or can't physically show them what certain things look like, I'm not an effective coach.
Also, I want to win my family's golf tournament. I'm already the low handicap guy and I need to shoot 2 rounds at just about even to win (FYI I've never shot a shore of even for 18 holes). So yeah, I need to be good at golf lol

Here is a small test that will provide you with some insight

There is a certain amount of nostalgia I have for the sound of steel spikes walking across the parking lot or cart path (probably from my days playing baseball with steel cleats and the reminders I have as scars on my lower legs and ankles) - but I don't really miss them on the course.  But then, I don't generate enough speed in my swing these days to fall off my spikeless shoes 😆.  I agree with G2M above... the switch seems to have been driven by damage to infrastructure of the club, more than the spike marks on the greens.  

What are your launch, spin, apex/peak height, descent/lang angle?
These are what’s needed to tell what’s happening with your shots
I hit a higher ball and with my numbers I don’t get much roll out unless playing on hard greens.
Each person will be different based on their launch characteristics. I don’t want a lot of rollout with irons, they are for distance control not distance 

Brand agnostic is a great approach.  
I loved watching players during a fitting and their reaction when a club they never expected / heard of would end up being top dog.  It happened...a LOT.

All of them are good. It depends on what you like and what you hit the best. I know that's a pretty generic answer, but it's the truth.