Popeye64

I guess I'm in the minority here is saying they are very useful. Being able to see improvements or drop offset instantly to me is very beneficial. I'm testing on almost a daily basis so my need for data is different than most. But the ability to know set distances of every iron to me helps scoring. Being able to drop a ball pin high will drip scores quickly. Also knowing distances on 1/4 and 1/2 swing chips has really helped my up and down game. There are certainly more frugal ways to spend your money to improve. But if used on a regular basis I don't know of a better tool.

There are all Matte Black 105 shafts available now. The ones with the new graphics won't be available till July

When it comes to bending wedges or irons for that matter, I am in the leave them alone camp. I'm all for keeping your irons dialed in for lie angle an slightly tweaking a loft to get it in line with the head above and below it if the distance gaps are not quite right. But bending wedges to achieve more bounce or to gain some distance to me is way over thinking things. The design of the Max Milled has a constant curve in the rocker sole. It simply glides through the turf. I can't imagine anyone needing more bounce with these. A 60° wedge for me is only going about 65yards on a stout 3/4 swing. If I strengthen the loft it might go 67 or 68... to what end. Weakening the club is the same effect. Hardly any change in performance. Then changing the loft to effect bounce and you've altered the design goal of the head. The very long and smooth rocker soles offer a large amount of effective bounce. The TSW sole has a defined V sole that if you don't bury the leading edge in the turf can give you a wedge that's hard to play. If you shallow out a bit it can give you a wedge that get through the grass quite well when that v sole throws the club up and out of the turf. Though a lot of good players feel the TSw can dig into the turf a bit much. They never quite get to the benefit of the V. I have my wedges 52, 56, 60. I order the sole width as to how much help I need with each loft. I can get away with the .90 sole for the 52, 56. The 60 needs to be the 1.05. The Max Milled offers a lot of help to a digger like me. Don't dig as much.... TSW. Clip it clean.. MG Tour. I just let the design do its job without obsessing over where the bounce is or tweaking the loft. The bounce reading on the Max Milled wedge on the 60 only being 6° isn't telling the whole story of the wedge. The elongated sole provides an effective bounce far greater the 6°. So to me bending to get more bounce is really unnecessary. I'm the last one to tell anyone not to experiment as I build out of the box setups.. but this is something I allow the design engineers to figure out.

I see the biggest issue with a 60° wedge from players who are struggling.. is that they try to use it on every shot. Instead of applying a pitch and run when needed or a skipped spinner they will try to fly it exactly to the hole. They wind up blading it or leaving it way too short. If you can learn what lies or shots that can apply to a 60° it can make playing that club relatively easy. My $.02

There is such a demand for the Matte Black that I'm going to put in as big of an order as I can. I have the Matte Black 105g shafts in some Hogan ICON heads. It's such a slick looking build. I'm not sure if I like hitting them or looking at them more. Probably the best feeling club I've ever hit. That true, feels like you've hit nothing contact. Sound is just as addictive. Distance belies the fact the Hogans are traditional lofts. I'm getting the distance of a 2° stronger PW. 9 iron has the same pop to it as well. The more I play the 105 version the more I'm obsessed with it. If anyone else wants some matte black versions give me a shout.

I've played Pro V1s for a long time, as they just work for me in every way possible. But it always hurt paying the premium price tag. Because of the Ball Test I realized how well the Maxfli Tour would fit me. So I bought a dozen. Now, not in a million years would I have ventured to a Maxfli on my own. I've been playing this ball in the Simulator all week and I am just blown away. Feel. Distance. Spin. Control. All at a great discount. Plus I'm smitten with the feel off of the putter face. Thank you for your work on the Ball Test. It opened my eyes to possibilities.

So my initial testing of the 105g shafts is over. The 105 shaft paired with the TS-1 heads is a sublime setup. The control and feel with the Pw and Gw were outstanding. Distance control was instinctive. Dial up a number and let it go. I've tested so many setups over the years but this wedge pairing is unreal for me. I've never hit anything better for short game control. 85 yards and in is almost automatic. The extra weight of the shafts make for an iron that you can just let fall to start the swing. The stability of the club is so confidence inspiring. Distance is gained with such ease. But with that extra weight I wouldn't want to play these in anything past a 6 iron. Even with that said I'll probably stop at the 7. You would have to be a really strong player to benefit having the 105g shafts in the entire set. I have the 4-6 TS-2 with the 95g Rapid Tapers and its a perfect for me pairing. I'm also tinkering with some new looks on the Rapid Tapers. Work in progress 20211212_152125.mp4

Late last month I had received some 105g prototype Rapid Tapers. There has been a lot of people asking for a heavier version. Usually scratch golfers or someone with a monster swing speed. Plus if these are ever going to make a tour a heavy weight version is a must. The 105g shaft was fairly easy to have made as the length of the taper was simply stretched the same distance gap that the 75, 85 and 95 already have. Each being progressively longer. Wound to the same frequency readings as well. Setup time at the factory was shockingly quick. My initial thoughts were one of even more stability without losing that smooth feel. Also the load and release sensation was still there. After a quick range trip and data session, they showed nearly identical Launch and spin characteristics vs the lighter shafts. Such so that I couldn't differentiate which was which. But some thoughts on how they felt compared to identically prepared 85g and 95g clubs. Swinging the three back to back over a good 50 swings I felt like the 105s could wear me out. I felt like I was laboring a bit with the 105s yet swing speed and ball speed numbers were identical. When tired you can really feel the extra weight even though its ony a 10 g jump.... Onto the course. I had these shafts into Maltby TS-1 heads. 6 iron 7 iron and GW. The rest of the set was 95g shafts. During the course of the round I tried to seamlessly play my clubs without favoring a gamer vs the prototype. Every time I hit the heavier shaft the playing partners gave an audible oohh and aaahhh. The shafts were just launching a piercing, straight on target dart. Great feel through the wet turf and solid feedback on where the club head was. I even hit a few that I didn't think were that great yet they were dead online. Not swinging club after club as in a range session the extra weight was of no concern. But as a side note, I don't think I want the 105g shaft in anything longer than say the 6 and even maybe stopping at the 7. My initial thoughts were so positive that another 25 prototypes almost ready to ship for testing across the country. This weight option will be a perfect blend for a stronger player mixing weights or just a full set. December should be fun as more testing continues. If you haven't hit these yet, you don't know the unique feel and performance you are missing. They are not a miracle shaft but they do open a lot of eyes.

Rapid Tapers are on sale until Tuesday. $15 off each shaft. One time coupon. BLACKFRIDAY15 all one word.

It's a shame they are moving away from the finish because it makes the head unbendable. Though the DRM finish shows a lot of promise. And remains bendable. Plus that iron design has truly proven to be timeless.

I find the finish on the DRM to be holding up as delivered. No signs of oxidation. Some signs of slight discoloration but it sort of adds character. I put them away wet and dirty too. Not treating them well shows no adverse effects. Feel wise I really can't tell the difference between the two finishes.

It was a scary time in the Xcaliber shipping room!!

Xcaliber will be haunting all shipping. Loss of key personnel has forced a changed of locations. I don't expect this to last longer than two weeks.

My three wedges are 50 or 52 (depending on what set I bring out for a 4° gap) 56 and then all the way to 62. My 50 or 52 is my bread and butter club. I hit low piches that check up fairly quickly. It's a crisp blow that generates some nice spin. Two hops and a little roll out. I can really control this shot. The 56 is strictly from the sand. On the rare occasions I use it from the fairway it has to be an 80 yard shot. Other than that I seem to freak out and hit a terrible shot. The 62 is my go straight up.. have to carry over boiling lava shot. It's at the most a once a round shot but can really save some strokes when it's used. It is an Ultra Game Improvement design so it's kind of idiot proof. It has a big Ole sole on it. It's actually very easy to hit. I can 3/4 swing it for a 45 yard shot but again it's not happening very often. It lands like a dead fish with zero roll out.

Well he isn't answering DMs or IG messages either. I've asked for him to send them back. I know some of you guys know him. Just ask him to send them back.