MaxEntropy

Since I had a minute, I went through Arccos from last two years. Scoring average in 2021 was 5.1, 2022 was 5.2. I played that hole a total of 29 times with "only" 3 triples. I need to get my head out of my a$$ on that hole and soon. It's my kryptonite and has derailed too many decent rounds.

Without the benefit of any firm sim numbers just yet, I think they will end up in the upper middle class. Definitely some quality wedges that perform quite well. I feel like they might be a bit more penal on off-center shots than my Cleveland's, but that is just conjecture at this point.

I came crashing back to earth last night in league, at exactly the wrong time since my league handicap dropped to a 5 last week. I started decent - bogey, par, double, par, par, then the wheels fell off - triple, double, double. I think the decisions I made were pretty sound, just some very poor execution at critical times combined with some bad luck. It is now confirmed that the 15th hole has taken up residence in my head. It's a fairly hard hole, but not that freaking hard. I sure do make a mess of it, though. My scoring average on that hole this season is 6.4(!!!!) with 4 triples. 3 of the 4 triples have been drives pulled into the woods, resulting in a penalty. Based on where I have to drop, I never have a shot at the green, so a punch is necessary to get back into play, so it is really like a 2 stroke penalty. Last night I flared into some trees on the right, so had to punch, then terrible execution with wedges.... The only redeeming thing was a birdie on the last hole. I ended up with a +9, 45.

Hopefully there is a good story behind it?

I can't tell you the last time I changed spikes. It seems to me that the durability of them has gotten pretty good. By the time I would need to change spike, I'm usually about due for new shoes so don't bother. My last 5-6 pairs have been either Puma or Adidas and they seem to design them with enough additional texture/features on the soles that I don't feel like I'm losing grip as the spikes wear.

I had SS V2 when it was new, then later that year won a set of tags for Arccos as part of the Cobra Connect Challenge (2nd, I believe?). Used Arccos for a while then decided to stick with it since the dashboard was quite a bit better than SS at the time. I am grand-fathered so don't have the yearly fee and I have had mostly great luck with Arccos. It has logged nearly 10,000 shots for me and I can probably count the number of missed shots on one hand. The only real issue I had was with the putter sensor. I suspect Arccos doesn't like soft-faced putters. They sent me a new sensor for free, but it only lasted a few months. I gave up and just log putts manually - I don't find it that big of a deal, especially once they added the feature that shows where you walked around the green - it makes ID'ing the pin and putt locations easier.. My biggest complaints about SS have been resolved (huge watch, terrible battery life, and dashboard needing improvement). Once my sensors die (and the ones @tony@CIC gave me when he gave up on Arccos), I will stop using Arccos - I hate subscription models. If I decide I still want shot tracking, I will definitely go back to SS.

Sweet! I guess I know where I can spend my winters....

You do? When did that happen? I may have to take you up on that. They do capture spin rates, correct?

I've been planning to rent a bay at our local Golf Galaxy, but wouldn't you know it, the one near me is temporarily closed? The store they were in is small and in an awkward location from a traffic flow perspective. They are moving about 5 blocks into the building that used to be an Office Max or Office Depot. Grand (re)opening is this weekend, so hopefully there will be some bays available next week.

I had another good round in league last night. Driver continues to be somewhat iffy, but didn't get me into too much trouble. I scrambled like a mad man to end up with 6 pars and 3 bogies. The best hole for me was actually an bogey - it could have been a disaster. I toe-hooked my drive through some trees, but mostly had a shot to get near the green. I could not go at the green due to more trees, but intended to lay up just short as there is bunker on the right side of the green that had to be my target. I topped my 4H , leaving me about 100 to the middle of the green. I then pushed my gap wedge a bit and got a terrible kick off the right side of the green. A decent chip left me about a 6 footer for bogey, which I made. It's not often you talk about a great bogey save, but this was one, in my mind. After that hole was 5 straight pars. It was a really fun and competitive round. I work with my opponent and like playing against him. I was giving him 1 stroke (which was wasted since he beat me without the stroke on the hardest hole). We had a few occasions where he would hit a great approach and I would one-up him by dropping one inside him, then he would do it to me. It was fun to watch and be a part of. Ultimately we tied on strokes and I beat him 5-4 on holes. I ended up with low gross for the night and tied with my opponent for low net of 32. The bad news with all this is my league handicap dropped to a 5 after last night. Obviously the numbers don't lie, but I don't feel like that is accurate. Either that or I don't want it to be accurate. GIVE ME MORE STROKES, MAN!

Losing picks are in! Do we need a tiebreaker for last place? Cut: +2 Highest Score: +12 (83)

The crazy thing was just last Tuesday in league the putter felt completely foreign in my hands. I was clueless. Went straight to the practice green after the round grasping for anything. Golf, man.

OK, maybe soon I'll stop talking about the round yesterday.... I just noticed this morning the personal bests listed in Arccos

I forgot I birdied 10 too - three birdies is a record for me.

Got out with @DiscipleofPenick for an early round today at a new (to me) course. Used to be private, but now public. After a few years of being in disrepair, it is getting better. I really like the layout - tons of variety (wide open, narrow, target holes, etc.). Of course it doesn't hurt that I broke 80 for the second time ever (39/40 for a 79). Driver wasn't great, although it didn't get me into too much trouble, approach about normal but I felt like it was better than Arccos gives me credit for. Short game and putting were insane - 23 putts total with 13 1-putts, but chipping did the heavy lifting to get me in a position to make those putts. I chalk it up to the amount of practice I've been doing for the Sub70 wedge test. It also helps that I had back-to-back birdies on 2 and 3 (a par 5 and a par 3). Only one double thanks yanking a hybrid into the woods on a par 3. Tale of the tape:

Finished up my intended testing at the practice green today and put all the data together. One thing I noticed is I am much more consistent from the rough than the fairway, regardless of who made the wedge. I assume it's because I don't always make perfect contact so spin from tight lie is less consistent. In the rough, the grass behind the ball reduces spin on all shots, whether I make perfect contact or not. Keep in mind, the rough around here isn't terribly penal. Only occasionally will you end up with a thick, juicy lie that you don't know what's going to happen. One more thing I want to do and it's time to write this up....

There is a guy in our league that plays there fairly often. I've never been there because I have heard that they over-pack the course on weekends. I don't need 5-6 hour rounds in my life. Good to know the course was good though - sounds like a good place to go on a weekday.

So I've read most of the tester's comments so far and I'm curious what you guys think. I have a BigMax iQ+. Spec weight is 14.9 lbs. The Clicgear 4 is listed at 21 lbs. I noticed the difference immediately when I rented one. Has anybody else noticed the weight or do you even care?

Oh yeah, one observation so far.... The face of the Cleveland's seemed hotter/springier when hit dead center. I don't know if that is necessarily a good thing since I don't always hit the center, just an observation.

Got a fair amount of testing done today. The ground was damp after a line of rain rolled through. I dried the clubs after every shot, but left the balls damp. Just with the 54's I did a dozen shots each to a 10 yard chip from fairway, 20 yard chip from fairway, and 10 yard chip from the rough. I measured (with my feet) the distance of each shot from the hole to get an average. You'll have to read the final review to see the results. All balls in my shag bag were urethane, including ProV1's, ProV1x's, K-sigs, Chromesoft X LS's, etc. All kinds of different hardness, but at least all urethane. Planning on getting back soon for 20 yards in the rough with the 54's and all four distance/lies combos with the 58's.

The whole reason I ordered the 54 in low bounce was for tight and firm lies. Like you, I am letting the lie at least partially dictate club choice and I feel like it is working out very well. According to Arccos, my strokes gained stat has decreased a bit, but I was on such a short game hot streak leading up to the testing, it is still an overall improvement over my historical game.

I feel like the wet performance a bit better than the Cleveland's? Really hard to say since the 6 rounds I've played since we got them have been at 5 different courses (with varying greens) and all but two have been damp/wet. I plan to rent a bay at Golf Galaxy at some point to get some spin numbers - I also plan to take a squirt bottle to moisten the face of the club and see how it differs.

The weather this week has not cooperated with testing! I got my league round in Tuesday, but that was with some rain. These wedges seem to slotting in very nicely with my game - performing very close to my Cleveland's. Hope the weather will cooperate more this week.

Last night was in league was pretty good. I started bogey (3-putt), bogey (scrambling after dunking approach in pond), par, par, par. 6 and 7 are both reachable par 5's. Good drive on 6, just into the right rough. My second was a little thin and lower than normal and hit a branch in a tree that is almost never a concern for me. That shot ended up about 100 yards out in the fairway, so no harm, no foul. Hit my 3rd fat, 4th was a pitch that rolled through the green. Chip and 2 putts for double. Great drive on 7. 2nd shot ended up in a bunker that is front/right of green. Got out in one shot, but didn't reach the green. Tried to get too cute with the chip and left it short in the rough. Chip and 2 putts for another double. I can't tell you the last time I doubled these two holes, especially given the good drives, but that's golf, I suppose. Finished par, bogey for a +7 42. I try not to get caught up in the "what could have been," but it's hard not to - even if I just bogey those holes, it's a 40 and they are normally pretty easy pars for me - could have been a 38. Putting was somewhat dreadful - I left myself a lot of 5-6 footers and only made one of them.

Congrats all!