aerospace_ray

I just wanted to update everyone as well. I received an email that my LH demos have shipped and will be here Tuesday. I never emailed or called so it wasn’t anything I did.It’s been a week since I placed the order, but it needed up being sooner than I anticipated after reading the comment here.


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Well this is not good. Today I felt disconnected and could not find my swing. Almost like watching a beginner at the driving range . I was topping the ball and could not get dialed in. Now I am stressing. Everything for last few months was in order, weekly routine, drills, range time, quality ball striking and today, freaking today I look and feel like I have never played................. Got to get this fixed by weekend.  Apologies for rant. 

Thanks for clarification. Yes they are very nice and obviously have loyal customer base. They produce clubs that look good and according to reviews have nice quality.
My limited experience with DTC demo program was about a year or so ago. I got two Ben Hogan clubs with UST shafts. I had choice between KBS, TT and UST. Maybe I was lucky but I told them what I was interested in and got the club head/shaft combo most close to my fitting requirements. And I purchased because of that. I can not imagine had I got a club with a shaft that I could not fit/play into. IMO that is not the correct way to demonstrate that a company's club can meet a golfers needs. 

Thanks for clarification. Yes they are very nice and obviously have loyal customer base. They produce clubs that look good and according to reviews have nice quality.
My limited experience with DTC demo program was about a year or so ago. I got two Ben Hogan clubs with UST shafts. I had choice between KBS, TT and UST. Maybe I was lucky but I told them what I was interested in and got the club head/shaft combo most close to my fitting requirements. And I purchased because of that. I can not imagine had I got a club with a shaft that I could not fit/play into. IMO that is not the correct way to demonstrate that a company's club can meet a golfers needs. 

They had the shafts. He offered to build me two if I was willing to buy them I believe. I didn't quite understand what he meant by that, so maybe I have that part wrong. That's why I didn't mention that in my prior post.
Don't get me wrong, they were very nice to talk to, and canceled my order quickly. I just can't understand what sense it makes to have a lefty demo program but not have any demo clubs available.

So I've had a set of Edison wedges for about three weeks now, and have been alternating between using those and the new Cleveland ZipCore wedges. Have a few impressions to share on the Edison's - and the ZipCores, for that matter. 
First the Edison wedges:
My set makeup is 49-53-57, as determined by Edison's WedgeFit section on their website. Had mine built 1.5 degrees flat with midsize grips and KBS Tour 105 shafts in stiff. I've probably played 4 rounds with them - enough to reach a few conclusions:
1. Feel is exceptional - I know it's not an indicator of performance, but you know it when you hit is perfectly and you know it when you don't. They do provide the feedback you need. 
2. When you don't hit it perfect, you aren't overly punished. That's the real story with Edison - they're pretty forgiving. There's plenty of weight high on the face (my "miss"), and with other wedges there's a noticeable loss of both distance and spin. You'll still lose some distancer and spin with Edison, but not nearly as much. It's basically the difference between the front of the green and the front bunker. 

3. These do create spin. Hit a low spinner Sunday from about 40 yards that actually felt a bit thin, but it hopped twice and then stopped dead, about 12 feet from the pin. Of course, I missed the putt.  Damn wedge!
4. When it comes to full shots, I prefer these over the Cleveland's - very consistent and solid. Partial shots around the green the Edison V-sole takes some getting used to. There's no real "bounce" on them, so you do have to learn how to manipulate the club for each shot you're trying to hit. Cleveland also has a V-sole, but it's not as pronounced as Edison, making the wedge more conventional. If that's what you're used to, it may take you a while to get used to the Edison. I know a  lot of Score and original Hogan TK-15 wedge users have reported similar experiences. 

5. Not sure what to make of Edison's new Money-Back guaranty policy. They'll custom-build you a set of wedges, and you can play them for as long as you need to - Terry Koehler says 4 to 6 rounds should be enough - and if you see an improvement, keep them.  If you don't like them, send them back and he'll refund your money.
The website says the limit is 45 days, but Terry says 4 to 6 rounds, however long that takes. I'm sure there will be a little give and take, but if you're intrigued by the wedges, it's not a bad proposition at all - if you're willing to take that leap of faith.  The good news is Koehler isn't some newbie to the industry - he's been around a while and does have a bit of street cred in certain circles. He has a lot of friends in the business, as well as some enemies, and he's pretty outspoken and irreverent, which can rub people the wrong way. 
But he does make a pretty good wedge. 

6. My plan to keep them in the bag and relearn how to use the V-sole. My best short game came while playing the Hogan TK-15's, but as I recall it did take a while to get the hang of that sole around the green. It'll give me something to do for the rest of the summer. 😉

Cleveland ZipCore Impressions:
1. Feel, performance are noticeably different from the RTX-4, at least for me. RTX-4 is a really good wedge, but the feel was always a bit harsh for me. Whatever it is about ZipCore, Cleveland improved the feel considerably.
2. Full shots - acceptable, but not as acceptable as the Edison's. That could be a combination of things - maybe the shaft, maybe the CG - but the Edison's performed better on full shots. Again, I did like the ZipCore's much more than RTX-4 on full shots. 

3. Around the green - ZipCore really shines. Plenty of spin, easy to manipulate the face, can hit 'em high, low, with spin or with run fairly easily. 
4. It might just be the finish, but the face on the ZipCore just looks larger than the RTX face. I'm sure it's an illusion, but it was pretty startling the first time I tried them. 

5. Satin finish is nice, but I'm really looking forward to the black finish they're planning for later this year. 
6. Cleveland's thing is groove technology. They do Rotex milling, they have microgrooves, and they push the boundaries when it comes to depth, spacing and sharpness. There's definitely more groove tech here than with the Edison wedges, and it's noticeable on partial shots, chips and pitches. 

Any questions on the Edisons or the Clevelands, fire away...

I called Sub 70 on Monday to ask about the demo program. I told him I wanted to buy a set of the 699 irons, and after talking to the CS rep, we decided that a set of 5-AW with Recoil 760 would be best for me. All good so far...
He then checks to see what they had in left hand demos. Apparently nothing. He offered to build me a 6 and 9 iron with the stock KBS steel shaft. He said that worked best because they would then have stock shaft lefty demos to send out again to other customers when I returned them.
I agreed to that, because I really wanted to buy a set. I paid for the demos,  hung up thought about what I had just done, and said... WTF was I thinking?
I'm trying to buy a set of clubs from you, willing to pay almost $200 in shaft and grip upgrades, and you're building and sending me two demo clubs with steel shafts that are 40 grams heavier than the graphite ones I was just fit into because that works best for YOU? I called back and cancelled my order.
I get the whole small company, limited lefty stock thing, but why offer a demo program if you're not going to let the customer demo a shaft in the same ballpark as the one he was fit into? I've read a lot about the Sub 70 CS here, and I'll assume they'll be more accommodating to a righty, but why bother offering a demo program for lefties if you aren't willing to stock at least two or three shaft profiles?
So much for my Direct To Consumer experience. Color me not impressed.

If you're on Twitter, look out for Jasons, the owner, posts or get a hold of him there. He does post his cell number and I'm sure will take care of both of you.

Well this is not good. Today I felt disconnected and could not find my swing. Almost like watching a beginner at the driving range . I was topping the ball and could not get dialed in. Now I am stressing. Everything for last few months was in order, weekly routine, drills, range time, quality ball striking and today, freaking today I look and feel like I have never played................. Got to get this fixed by weekend.  Apologies for rant. 

Well this is not good. Today I felt disconnected and could not find my swing. Almost like watching a beginner at the driving range . I was topping the ball and could not get dialed in. Now I am stressing. Everything for last few months was in order, weekly routine, drills, range time, quality ball striking and today, freaking today I look and feel like I have never played................. Got to get this fixed by weekend.  Apologies for rant. 

Until MGS started educating us about what golfers perceived they performed well with  vs what they actually had more success with, I would say it absolutely has to look good and feel right. BUT......I started paying attention to the putters with unique geometries, the putters that had sight lines or dots, anything regarding alignment and I chose several putters that actually reduced/improved my putts from all distances and hate to admit, they are not eye candy nor very good looking. However, they look better more and more as my HDCP goes down. Yes I am older and my vision is not as good. So I got glasses and learned how to better read greens (I like aim point ) . But my current putters work better than what played with for so many years  So I guess I should have up front just said NO a putter does not have to look good for me anymore. 😀

I’m seriously thinking about doing some walking instead of always riding in a cart this year. What is an easy to push cart that won’t break the budget? You young whipper snappers please feel free to chime in.
 
 
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Got my 639-CB irons and the forged black wedge yesterday. Beautiful clubs with a nice solid feel. Got a quick take session, then some gap testing done out on the course, and they are exactly what I was looking for. 
I'll do an "unofficial" review with more pictures, but here are a couple quick hits. 
Tested the new Wedge at 135y, all shots came out pin high:

I'm very looking forward to this relationship. 

Well this is not good. Today I felt disconnected and could not find my swing. Almost like watching a beginner at the driving range . I was topping the ball and could not get dialed in. Now I am stressing. Everything for last few months was in order, weekly routine, drills, range time, quality ball striking and today, freaking today I look and feel like I have never played................. Got to get this fixed by weekend.  Apologies for rant. 

Well this is not good. Today I felt disconnected and could not find my swing. Almost like watching a beginner at the driving range . I was topping the ball and could not get dialed in. Now I am stressing. Everything for last few months was in order, weekly routine, drills, range time, quality ball striking and today, freaking today I look and feel like I have never played................. Got to get this fixed by weekend.  Apologies for rant. 

For me it was a Ping Eye 2 coppers for the irons. Wilson Staff blades (late 70's) were close second. Regarding woods, Persimmon Wilson Staff's or  Hogans both 70's models followed by original 90's model Callaway Big Bertha War Bird steels. Wedges would be Wilson Staff Jerry Pates and/or my current Wishon PCF's. All time putters I guess would be 8802 Wilson Staff and Ping B60 or B61 coppers.  
 

37/41 after finally finding some semblance of a swing and good rhythm. Could have been lower if not for a couple bad breaks early on the back 9 and a few birdie putts throughout the round that took a peek at hole as the rolled a foot or so by it.

39/44: 83    5 FW, 10 GIR, 33 putts.  a few things attributed to this score;  100* temps (ran out of gas on the back), double on the front, and a quad on the back due to some really bad pitch shots.    
Tee shots were a struggle today;  hit a lot of shots right and the double came on a topped tee shot (lost ball).   I also had 4 3 putts (30', 45', 27', and 35').  
 

After a self imposed C19 week of no play I’m looking forward to Tuesday.


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This is my 1953 MacGregor Tommy Armour 945W set (1-4) that I just purchased earlier this year.  These were restored last by the late Barry Willett but they will be restored by Dave Wood next year.  I owned a set of these back in the late 90s but traded them away for a first generation Scotty Cameron TeI3 Santa Fe.  Would have been a good trade had I never used it and still owned it.  That putter left me back in the 90s. 

This is my 1954 MacGregor Toney Penna TP Special driver John Hayes restored several years ago.  I have the full set (1-4) and the fairway woods are as stunning as the driver.

This is my 1952/1953 MacGregor M09 LFF.  Definitely a rare driver as not many made.  This is a deep face, just over 1 7/8" deep.  Dave also restored this from a previous hatchet job.  It is now very, very solid.
 

This is my MacGregor Tommy Armour 693 driver.  It is a solid block, meaning no lead to weight the driver.  A solid block is a rare piece, according to Dave.  I have the full set (1-4) all restored by Dave Wood.

Here are a few of my persimmon woods in the following posts. 
 
This one is my MacGregor M85W I just got earlier this year and had Dave Wood restore.  Dave is responsible for the old company Wood Brothers and for the restoration of many famous persimmon woods.  Namely Ben Crenshaw's M85W and Greg Norman's M43T gamed in the 80s.  Both of these classic MacGregors went on to win major championships.  Dave told me Crenshaw's M85W is an excellent driver.  He said mine is reminiscent of Crenshaw's but on a different plateau than Ben's.  He said in 50 years of restoring MacGregors this was probably the best M85W he's ever seen.  Gotta love that level of praise.

I would love to this Pyramid putter, a Bobby Grace (HSM insert), Enroll putter and Ping grooved putter get tested by a robot first (say 5, 10 and 20 foot putts). The robot hits heel/center/toe. Record the results. Which one is best? 
Then have the human test part and compare results regarding accuracy. I won't pretend to know how to properly apply the human data results to the robot data but I am sure smart people can. I mean if the technology is proven by the robot I guess theoretically the human can benefit? What would the data suggest?
Probably other grooved/insert brands that should be included but the ones I listed immediately come to mind for me. I just want to see which one is the most accurate from both the robot and humans. Call it a "insert-groove" truth putt test 😀