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John S

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About John S

  • Birthday 06/05/1956

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Colonie NY
  • Interests
    Golf, flying, fishing
  • Referred By:
    Web

Player Profile

  • Handicap
    4
  • Frequency of Play/Practice
    Multiple times per week
  • Biggest Strength
    Short Game

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John S's Achievements

  1. I have purchased driving irons twice in the past 5 years. They have not worked out for me as I am now a senior and these clubs require high club head speed to be effective. They launch low so with swing speeds in the mid ranges they may not be optimal. Every time I get "optimistic" I put one in the bag just to switch back to a hybrid within days. I always think they will be good for tee shots on short tight par fours but the drop off in distance compared to a 5-wood or even a hybrid negates any accuracy advantage. The same holds for long par threes. If I can get 220 or 230 out of these clubs they may provide an advantage but at 180-200 they serve little purpose and they are not advantageous off the turf. If you have the speed more power to you however for the mid-range speed or senior players be ready to trade or sell at a loss.
  2. I love the game and enjoy watching the best in the world play at a level that is beyond the grasp of even the best elite amateur players. This being said it is getting difficult to watch in this environment of constant conflict. I blame "Commissioner" Monahan for totally mishandling the early and ongoing critical issue between the PGA and LIV. First, he takes the "my way or the highway stance" and then vilifies players like Phil stoking division and setting up opposing "camps". He uses a "dirty money" argument while he accepts all the funds possible from China. In my opinion, Monahan could not have possibly handled this situation worse. He elevated conflict in an environment where the PGA held most all the "cards" This should have been a negotiation, not a WAR between players, fans, and ideologies. The fans lost. The product is now diluted probably permanently. Remember DJ? Is he still playing?? Watching the PGA is no longer an escape from day-to-day stresses, it is like watching politics on Fox vs MSNBC. Brandel (one win) Chamblee did all he could to talk only about the LIV conflict and this has further downgraded the product the PGA offers viewers. I am hanging on by a thread, only due to my love of the game, however, I now watch routinely with the sound OFF.
  3. I am responding as I never get tired of reflecting on these courses and the life long memories they have provided Pine Valley National Golf Links of America Bethpage Black Oak Hill Eastward Ho Kittansett Old Course St Andrews Kingsbarns Pinehurst 2 Wannamoisett
  4. The putter- stroke- stance- face/shaft angle- is one of the most "individual and subjective areas in golf. "different strokes for different folks"/ If asked if a shaft in a putter would make any difference 10 years ago I would have laughed the question off as foolish. However, with the data now available from trackman technology the fact that the smash factor from a putter is typically higher than the smash factor of a driver, as high as 1.9 it follows that there may be advantages from a shaft matched to a desired smash factor. A player that routinely putts on fast greens may look for a shaft that reduces his smash factor for example. I am still not sold on this "benefit" but I can see where the numbers indicate that there may be something to this. Putting still remains a very individual pursuit with subjective measures such as "feel" playing a big role in success. I believe that anything that raises confidence benefits the player. If a shaft accomplishes this by all means give it a shot. I would think that if you hit a variety of putters on a trackman and determined the smash factor that "felt" best you could match up shafts /head combinations that delivered the targeted results.
  5. You are correct on the unique weights/lofts specs for one length heads. I was attempting to get an idea of the potential benefits. I set the weights at d2 just to get some idea- It just was not something I wanted to pursue. The biggest issue I had was with the short irons. Additional length changes so many things - Set up changes if you want to maintain angle of attack ( as compared to conventional irons) I just did not see the benefits. Of course I have been playing for over 50 years so maybe it is just a case of trying to teach an old dog a new trick- I am finding great success with adapting to lighter graphite shafts in conventional irons- That is the direction I have headed in as opposed to the wholesale change to one length. Even if they work I probably do not have enough time left to learn how to master them.
  6. You are correct, I did assume Bryson signed on with Taylormade. I could be wrong. I am using the logic for the PGA tour where virtually every prominent player that swings a club has an endorsement deal to do so.
  7. I am using the Golf Datatech stats that show the entire one-length club market represents a 2 percent market share. 2% is not insignificant however it seems low to support the production, tooling, and unique marketing required to support this unique product line. This seemed like a somewhat hot topic when Bryson was on a bit of a "tear", winning the Open etc, however, in my opinion. the topic has seemed to have cooled off. THat is just an opinion however I would suggest that other manufacturers ( aside from Cobra) would have jumped in by now with a line of one-lenght clubs if their research indicated upside potential I actually installed a set of one-length shafts in some older iron heads to see if this would work for me. I found the distance gaps between irons to be very different from conventional irons and I could not make sense club to club- THat was just my experience but I ended up pulling the shafts in a week's time.
  8. Cobra made a pretty big bet on one-length clubs based on Dechambeau's "theories". Dechambeau, in my opinion, has made a living off the bomb and dig approach. His one-length club "theory" has not resulted in wide appeal so Cobra has not benefited from broad market acceptance. I would assume that rolling out the one-length line has resulted in a financial loss for Cobra and they will probably drop this program at some point in the near future. This is just an assumption however I have not seen any indications that players are moving in this direction. The one-length clubs seem to have limited appeal and have failed to achieve any degree of wide-scale acceptance DeChambeau's exceptional length may be a plus in marketing drivers and that may be the reason Taylormade is interested in his endorsement.-- His length may have had an impact on the wider acceptance of Cobra drivers so that may be the rationale for Taylormade signing him. When you- combine the narrow acceptance of the "one length club" theory and the fact he is no longer a high-visibility player due to his move to LIV it is hard to understand the appeal DeChambeau has to the Taylormade brand. I actually had to look up LIV stats just to get an idea of what his recent form looks like. He dropped off the radar for me.
  9. Revamp in the works. One bad golf trip so it must be the clubs. Adding Mizuno 225's to replace standard hot metals. New Evenroll blade ER1 New shafts for the wedges - KBS Hi Rev Driver stays- simply due to the fact I am now broke!!! I am sure the bad trip was based on the clubs presently in the bag, not the fact I have not hit a ball since Novermber and every course we played had a 130 plus slope. I know the issue I just can not resolve the mental challenges. Costly
  10. I believe getting a qualified fitting every decade or so is probably worth the money. Basically, you are looking for "Your" numbers including swing speed, launch angle, spin rates, etc. Assuming your handicap remains relatively constant and is mid to low number, chances are your personal stats will remain constant and change more or less with your age and flexibility. In my experience, the numbers for me seemed constant in my 30s and tailed off a bit in the 40s 50s. The major changes involved swing speeds which in turn impact launch angles, spin rates, etc. The older you get the more the speed becomes a challenge. Knowing the true numbers, percentage change, etc can help in making decisions to change shaft flex, shaft weights, club designs, etc. In general, using technology to minimize the impacts of age is a good strategy. Weaker shafts at a certain point can increase swing speeds preserving some distance. There is no fighting the aging process but you may be able to delay the major impact by keeping an open mind and knowing your numbers and how they relate to club/shaft selections. Lastly, the numbers are what you want, not necessarily the $3000 custom set they will try to sell you. To some that may be worth it but for me I want to know what I should be looking for wherever I decide to buy clubs, including the used markets.
  11. I agree with the correction that removing the weight will move the CG forward- I agree with the correction to my earlier comment. The weight is designed to serve 2 purposes- 1. by sliding the weight towards or away from the shaft you influence a draw or a cut bias. If the weight is removed it will change this adjustment unless you are presently playing the club with the weight centered 2 The weight moves mass back in the the head. Typically this will add spin - Weight forward towards the face will reduce spin. By removing the weight you may find the spin increases and the ball flight changes ( typically higher launch). Depending on club head speed this could have a positive or negative impact on the overall distance. The conventional wisdom today favors lower spin off the driver to increase distance and this holds strongly true for higher swing speeds. Not so much the case at lower speeds, the increased launch "MAY" lead to greater carry and therefor distance. Best idea may be to go to a fitter or a range with a good launch monitor, check you spin and distance numbers with and without the weight in. Lastly a fitter may recommend you leave the head design alone and reduce the weight with a lighter shaft or possibly a simple counterbalance in the grip end of the club.
  12. The weight is designed to serve 2 purposes- 1. by sliding the weight towards or away from the shaft you influence a draw or a cut bias. If the weight is removed it will change this adjustment unless you are presently playing the club with the weight centered 2 The weight moves mass back in the head. Typically this will add spin - Weight forward toward the face will reduce spin. By removing the weight you may find the spin increases and the ball flight changes ( typically higher launch). Depending on the club head speed this could have a positive or negative impact on the overall distance. The conventional wisdom today favors lower spin off the driver to increase distance and this holds strongly true for higher swing speeds. Not so much the case at lower speeds, the increased launch "MAY" lead to greater carry and therefore distance. The best idea may be to go to a fitter or a range with a good launch monitor and check your spin and distance numbers with and without the weight in. Lastly, a fitter may recommend you leave the head design alone and reduce the weight with a lighter shaft or possibly a simple counterbalance in the grip end of the club. This is a simple way to add weight in the butt end and reduce the swing weight in the head- https://www.tourlockgolf.com/counterweight-installation/fitting-and-tips Again, the only way to tell if you are gaining any benefit is to check the numbers/results
  13. I typically look at the condition of the ball after any given round and either return it to the bag or put it in the shagbag should there be any scuffs, marks, etc. Very unscientific and probably not best practice
  14. 5 and 7 woods are regaining popularity. Worth a test to see if this may be a fit for you Easy to hit, Solid distance, Great decent angle.
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