TR1PTIK

Just saw this thread so sorry if I'm a bit late to respond. I used the enhanced GPS for most of last year and really enjoyed it. I would use it to track my drives and get a good look at my approach (the only time I would use the putting heat maps so I could see where to try and land the ball). Worked great until a buggy update caused the entire app to crash while using GPS. Would happen multiple times during a round which was a PITA. I just downloaded the latest app update yesterday so I'll see if they've gotten that fixed when I play Saturday. If they have I may re-up on the enhanced GPS, but I'm not paying for it currently and wouldn't recommend unless the bugs are gone.

I hope they fixed the bugs so I can start using the GPS again. Really started to like that and then the app started crashing all the time mid-round...

I've been curious about the 2nd Swing fittings as well since I'm in DFW, but the truth is we have so many options in the area and the one that piqued my interest the most is an independent shop called Stripe Show Golf. Main reason I like them is they use Quintic for putters which seems to be the current forerunner for putter fittings. I'd read somewhere that 2nd Swing uses Quintic as well but I couldn't find anything on their site so until I make a trip North, I'm not certain on that. We also of course have Club Champion and True Spec - located in Mike Bury's place, Eight Under, which opened just last year. If you're thinking about simply making some tweaks or trying to save some money with used clubs, you can't go wrong with 2nd Swing. Their site shows something like 13000+ clubs in inventory at the DFW location. Otherwise, I think it's ultimately a matter of price, fitting methodology, and technology. I'll add that 2nd Swing was the most expensive of the options I looked at (Tour Van Fitting), but it is "free" if you make a purchase of a certain amount relative to the type of fitting: driver, irons, full bag, putter, etc.

Watched it this morning. Was well produced and features the one and only Tony Covey a few times throughout. Makes me far more interested in Titleist drivers than I already was.

I've used both and like others have stated there are advantages and disadvantages associated with each technology. I currently only use GPS and find it works plenty well, but there are times when I wish I had a rangefinder - especially during practice. If I want to work on a specific shot/yardage, it's awfully difficult to do without knowing how far my target is. Some will point to the fact that range balls are nothing like real golf balls but unless we're talking limited flight they are often close enough to develop a feel for distances. I also would be curious to use the slope feature of a rangefinder as a learning tool because that is something I severely lack when determining what club to hit.

Just bought 4 dozen of the 2023 Tour ball. Still have a few '21 balls left to work through but this should get me through the year (maybe more if I stay away from the hosel lol). I recently bit the bullet on Ballnamic to see what the fuss was about and get a good data-driven look at what ball(s) are a good fit for me. The '21 Maxfli Tour was a 93% match at worst (played around with some numbers and reran the results a few times - think I have one last go with it). The balls that "outperformed" Maxfli were all heavily skewed towards wind performance or flier prevention and ranked pretty evenly everywhere else that I cared about. Honestly not too concerned about wind or fliers because I don't play the same shot for those scenarios. I would have liked to see the '23 ball in there but Ballnamic won't have that for another 6 months or so according to what the site says regarding new models. I figured I might as well get the new model because they probably haven't changed much. The '21 model did very well and the introduction of the Tour S allows them to play around without reworking the formula on two already popular and highly rewarded golf balls. Toss in the fact that DSG relies on Foremost (if I remember correctly) and there probably wouldn't be much difference anyway.

For the crazy good, I'll simply refer to an old post from the SoTD thread. I certainly have others but this was probably the best and even led to a par save. Posted January 20, 2020 Didn't play even close to my normal standards today, but somewhere around the 12th or 13th hole I finally "found it". Anyway, after tugging my tee shot left on 15 I decided to play the hero shot (not like my day was going to get much worse). So, standing 200 yards away under a tree left of the cart path and needing to punch something super low underneath a low branch roughly 20 yards in front of me, I opted for a stinger 3-wood. I wanted the ball to start low and rise because not far beyond the branch I needed to go under, there was a mound I needed to go over. Instinctively, I gripped down, placed the ball in toward the back of my stance and hit down. THWACK! The ball took off like a rocket exactly as hoped and peeled right avoiding the left bunker and finishing just a couple paces off the front of the green. I used the putter from there to get within 2' and finished for par. Had to do an edit to update with a picture of the actual spot this was played from after teeing it up on this course again today. Hope I never return to this spot because it’s guaranteed I can’t do it again. On the bad side of things, I don't know that I've had anything remarkable happen like what the OP shared. Just a bunch of shanks, and thins, and fats, that didn't really go anywhere or do much of anything. However, there is a guy I play golf with sometimes who is now referred to as Almost Killed James so....

I agree with the hands-off aspect, but think this could be interesting for some of the differences in how you can collect and filter data. I went ahead and downloaded the app to have a look (they offer a free trial for both versions). Pretty interesting to see how much data can be gathered and filtered through. It’s not as polished as I would like but I’ve seen worse and looks like they are working on adding features - a couple tabs just link to a page that says “coming soon”. Think I’ll give it at least a month to see what I can gather from it. The dispersion data is the most interesting to me because basing it on a target gives me a better idea of what my true dispersion is which is huge for course strategy.

I just learned about Upgame - https://www.upgame.app/ - after watching James Wiltshire's latest YT video and I'm seriously intrigued. It's kind of like Decade but (as best I can tell) without the coaching aspect - no web seminars, weekly/monthly videos, etc. What makes me so interested is the ability to select targets and get driving dispersion based on those specific targets rather than being based on where the center of the fairway (Pro version). I also like that the lower tier product (Upgame Basic) includes the app which is something you can only get through Decade with Decade ELITE. Pricing is comparable between both but Upgame definitely has a better entry point by allowing monthly subscriptions rather than bi-annual or yearly subscriptions. Decade does have Upgame beat on long-term pricing for the ELITE/Pro versions. While the first year is more expensive, the monthly billing for months 13+ are $5-$10 cheaper than Upgame depending on how you do it. I've been in the market for a new GPS app as GHIN constantly crashes and I haven't found anything else I like quite as much. I do have my Shot Scope H4 but I like to have a visual representation of the green to help me select targets. Likewise, I can get pretty good data from SS but I'm curious to see what Upgame has to offer. For $30 a month to access Pro it seems worth trying and if I really like it I can keep the subscription going or go annually to save a little money. What do you guys think? Anyone heard of Upgame before or given it a try?

*fingers crossed* This is finally the year I get to re-do the whole bag with some brand new equipment. Mizuno driver and fairways, Cobra irons, Vokey wedges, maybe just stick with my Cleveland putter but also curious to see what a fitter would direct me towards... That's just if I'm picking off looks and personal preferences though. In a fitting, I want to test pretty much everything lol!

Why would it need to perform better at the same price instead of performing the same for the same? Seems like it would just be a matter of looks from there, no?

Assuming I make it through a round without losing a ball (it happens but not all the time), it's probably toast after 18. A tree here, cart path or rocks there, and maybe a bunker shot or two later...

Much better second round of 2023. Went 41/43 for an 84 with 32 putts (only 13 on the first nine!). Played Southern Oaks and started on #10. All was going well and I was humming along until #2 (11th hole of the day). I used a GolfNow hot deal for my tee time and was paired with three other guys; we caught up to another foursome who were painfully slow and had to wait on every hole from then on. There was no one holding them up so it was kind of a bummer but I thought I was pretty positive and upbeat as far as my attitude goes. I wasn't letting it get to me and just kinda joked around with the guys I was playing with but clearly, I need to work on how to maintain my game when things slow down. Perhaps my next range session will include a 5-minute sit down in between shots. IDK, gotta figure out something... Highlights of the round: 5 drives over 300 yards with my longest at 320. 1 birdie on the day (had a 2-footer for a 2nd one and shoved it right ). 2 very good bunker shots. The first came on a Par 3 and was a pretty standard bunker shot from the flat; I carried most of the way to the hole with spin and stopped it within 2ft. The 2nd came on the Par 4 18th and I played a chunk-&-run that settled about 3ft left of the hole. Made the putt to save par! Strokes Gained for the round (compared to a 5hcp) - +2.58 Off the Tee, -4.50 Approach, -0.82 Short Game, -0.32 Putting. 30-ft double bogey save on #17 after my first tee shot went OB and I chunked my 2nd tee shot woefully short of the green.

It's not that I have a difficult time reading greens, but I couldn't tell you what a 2% slope looks like or even what it means outside of what was said in the video. I am very much a "feel" player and instinctively adjust to slope. If I were playing competitively at a high level then perhaps I would consider learning some sort of system to help me with green reading, but I don't think the investment would gain me much as a recreational player - certainly not at my current handicap.

That was probably the biggest eye-opener for me but at the same time is kind of meaningless because I don't think I'll ever be able to tell with my eyeballs how much slope I'm looking at lol.

Definitely on the list of clubs to try (and hopefully buy) in 2023 as well as 2024 since they're going to a 2-year release cycle.

Foresight has quite a bit of information available on their website. You can also take a look at TrackMan as they have some good resources plus TrackMan University - they do label certain metrics differently from Foresight, but the bulk of it is the same. As for optimization, I would think Foresight has something baked into the software. https://www.foresightsports.com/what-we-measure https://www.foresightsports.com/support https://www.foresightsports.com/blog https://trackmanuniversity.com/LoginAndSignUp?ReturnUrl=%2F

Gotta say I'm intrigued by the new Wilson lineup and will definitely give it a try if I see it in stores. After spending some time on launch monitors the last few months and having briefly tried a few drivers at PGATSS not too long ago, I think I'd be able to tell pretty quickly whether or not it would be gameable.

Walked 6 holes at the Tierra Verde Mastery Course with a friend yesterday. Didn't really "work" on anything, just trying to hit some different shots in an environment much more akin to an actual round of golf. Hit some good shots, putted really well - been working a lot on distance control of late and it showed. Took 3-iron and hybrid off one tee to make sure I have some comfort level with them before playing Texas Star on Friday - I'll be using both off the tee a fair bit. I also hit a couple of short-sided bunker shots to test my confidence around the green as that's something I've struggled with for several years. Not only did I hit my two balls out without issue, but I kept them short of the hole and both were almost identical for distance and line. Overall, I'd call it a success. Lots of promise from what I was seeing and I was able to give my friend a few pointers as well. He has a lot of natural ability but lacks any sort of golf IQ so I helped him with setup on a couple shots and let him rip. Hoping I can get out with him a bit more and really help him improve.

Buddy of mine had the Amp Cell Pro irons at one point and let me try them out. I had already caught on to the idea Cobra made some good irons but that 100% solidified it.

And the TXG review: Something of a general note with this video. Matt starts off seemingly strong with the King Tour but absolutely flushes the CB and produces better numbers with it. The comment about offset is exactly how I feel and why I lean towards players irons. Just something that caught my attention because when I try to explain to people why I play forged cavity backs or blades, I often get funny looks lol.

From the Cobra website: How clean is that combo set? I would maybe consider going CB in the 7 and throw a King Tour in for the 4 - SOLD!

Can't wait to get more on the technical details from you and the guys on the main site. What I love about these is that they seem to blend very well aesthetically which is something I think other lineups are missing. They might have two irons that blend okay, but not all three except for Srixon.

I'm sure Tony or John will be dropping something on the blog and @GolfSpy_APH will have another post in here somewhere but saw this review from True Spec and couldn't wait to share. I'm already in love with these irons!!!

Bummer that didn't work. It's interesting that I can't seem to recreate your issue and you can't replicate mine.