[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

20 hours ago, RoyN said:

So I work in the industry and every Halloween I dress up as Carl Spackler and walk around with a Gopher head cover having WAY too much fun at work.

 

Nice! I went as Carl my senior year of college. The gopher would've been a nice touch, but I threw the costume together at the last minute. 

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

17 minutes ago, racingdaly said:

Birthday present from my wife, a custom MG4 wedge arrived today. Has my wife's and kids' initials and Florida Gator colors (and a dinosaur because why not??). 

 

Love everything about that... Except the colors

 

On that note, also recently picked up Rhoback's new Fear the Spear polo (please no GT comments. Too soon): 

 

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

Ordered the PuttOut Air Break as part of their preorder -- showed up in July, but between trips and a big conference at work, haven't had much time to set it up (I'm sure it will get a ton of use this winter - maybe this is the year Happy learns how to putt?). Well, here it is: 

 

Really cool concept. It's a hard foam base, a green top, has a separate stance stand (not supposed to step on it directly), and both the left and right side have four airbags underneath that you use to build yourself a 6 footer -- can make it up or downhill, multiple break points, etc. And it returns the ball to you (you know, if you make it). This one is 15-20 pumps each on 3 of the 4 bags on the right (hit one practice putt that I missed miserably, but this was the first take on video):

(Unrelated, anyone have putting tips? Averaging like 35 putts/round this year...looks like a choppy stroke to me, but no idea how to stop that)

[Terra Forza Golf Shafts - 2024 Forum Review]

On 7/24/2024 at 8:15 AM, ChiefMikeOfficer said:

Uh oh... my Terra Forza experience might be coming to a tragic end (or at least a pause). It needs to go into the shop to repair or replace the TaylorMade adapter, but I'm concerned the actual shaft is cracked 

Gonna try to sneak out of work early today to bring it into the shop, will probably get the verdict tomorrow or Friday. Hoping I just don't know what I'm talking about and it's cosmetic, but it feels different from just a little paint rub. 

 

Well, the shaft was confirmed cracked. Swapped it out for a Graphite Design AD-DI 6X, which was a struggle (this was my experimental shaft that I now regret getting - have heavier AD-IZ shafts in fairways and long irons that work great, but tweaked the build on this one a bit, and wasted my money); then tagged on my old Accra with the custom American Flag paint job - results were better here, maybe even comparable to the TF. 

But, I'm all in on the TF right now considering the recent performance, so wanted to find a way to go back. Considering I thought it could've been damaged while traveling, I kicked off a side chat to confirm the specs so I could order a replacement. But, BNG reached out, and the fine folks at Terra Forza sent me a replacement fo free!  (Arrived yesterday).

Hoping to make it to at least a range session this weekend, but it will definitely go back in play on Tuesday. Looking forward to collecting some more stats and reconfirming this is the right play for me. And considering the service here, I'm closer to pulling the trigger on a TF shaft for the Mini

 

 

[Do you tip?]

This thread came up on my Google search when debating with a friend on how much to tip the bev cart   So, here's my tipping input:

Depends on the course and my style of play that day, but generally I lean toward over-tipping -- it's something I reflect back on from my time working at a small-time private course, and I know all the staff (including me) appreciated the tips back then (I could even still name a few members that went out of their way to make sure the staff got tipped). 

If I'm going to a private, higher-end public/semi-private, or a resort (probably once/month for us, maybe even less frequent) I stock up on $5 bills and basically reenact the Dumb & Dumber scene (luckily our ATM at my office spits out $5s, so it's super easy for me):

 

Different places where I tip / my typical guidelines: 

• Bag Drop and/or loading the cart: I am that guy that skips the bag drop and carries in when I plan to walk, but if riding, $5 or $10 depending on the place (like at our annual Father/Son tournament, normally $10, but that's technically $5/bag; our local semi-private I give $5). If I forget my small cash, I skip the drop altogether. If they come out to the car to get the clubs, definitely find a way to tip (if I was trying to avoid it, then I'd go in to get cash or change and come back for the tip). 
• *Bar/Snack stand: standard tip as if it's a restaurant.
• *Bev Cart: typically go a bit higher (I think the unwritten minimum is $1/drink, but that was also the baseline at our shady college bars in the early 00s, so I bump up a bit). When using cash, $1.50-$2 per can/bottle, but round up and/or make it even when relevant, and lean more toward $2+/drink for mixed drinks. When using a card, I either pick the highest percentage presented or play "roulette" with the gratuity wheel -- just spin the wheel a bit higher and stop it at random (within reason). 
• Cart Return: 
  • If they clean your clubs and/or take your bag for you, $5/bag
  • *(The one I often forget, because you don't always see them) For the team that cleans the carts, it's nice to leave a couple bucks, up to $5. At an event, especially shotguns where everyone returns at once, I will go out of my way to find this crew and give at least one of them $5 (they typically pool them, but I also observe very few tips to this team at our events). 
• Shuttle Driver (resorts): At least $5 for a round trip, but with places running many shuttles, typically just put down a $5 each way (often a different driver). 
• Caddies: unless they were terrible or insulted someone in our group (something that did happen once), 30% or more over the recommended amount -- I think those amounts are only set to make sure they don't get stiffed, so I almost always go a bit higher to show appreciation. 
• Starter? I typically don't. I've heard both "always tip the starter" and "no need to tip the starter" -- I did it a few times, and it only seemed expected/appreciated in two cases (he found a way to get us on for an unplanned round), the others seemed unexpected, and one even declined it. Most courses we play don't have starters that expect tips (might be different at higher-end courses or something). 

The three * also apply at our "standard" local publics and munis -- the rest aren't really a thing at those courses, at least around us. 

[What ya drinking tonight?]

Currently on the home stretch of our family trip to Portugal, definitely didn't keep track of each night, but saw some action on this page, so figured I'd post tonight's selection: 

If you're into wine and looking for a vacation spot, definitely recommend Portugal - it's surprisingly inexpensive (aside from the flights). We didn't even hit wine country, but even the grocery/wine shop options had impressive selections for a great value - probably the best price vs. quality I've seen anywhere (these two combined were probably €20-25, tons of options under €10 and even under €5, restaurants had quite a few good bottles in the €20-30 range, which currently converts to $22-33). 

Also a shout-out for the Capirao cocktail, which was new to me but became my go-to cocktail order over here (sorry, no pic) - basically a Capirinha, but made with Portugal's Beirao liqeur instead of Cachaca. 

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

25 minutes ago, racingdaly said:

I was interpreting it exactly the same way, that I could shoot form the tee and have it "follow" on the watch. 

Just making sure it's 100% clear -- that's just what I observed with the Garmin Golf app, but didn't make it to the watch. I have no idea how the watch will handle it, but if the watch handles it the same way as the app, it seems like a more in-the-moment reading, not something that will be retained/tracked as you move through the hole. 

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

1 hour ago, racingdaly said:

Be very interested to hear how you like it with more use.  I've got a stack of gift cards and plan to put them towards the Z30. I've got an approach S62 so I'm pretty confident that the watch compatibility won't be an issue. I'm particularly interested because the alternative I was considering is the Cube.  One of the courses I play is always CPO, and we get so much rain that regardless of where I'm playing I get stuck with CPO from time to time, so having something where I can shoot either once (Z30) or from the cart path(Cube), and then leave the range finder in the cart is appealing.  Thanks for this write-up!

The caddy feature on the CUBE is awesome - it comes in clutch even when not CPO (like if your cartner is on the opposite side of the hole or something). I really have no reason to move away from it, but always like trying different tech, so went for it with the Z30. I might actually carry both so I can have both features. 

I think I also misread the Range Relay feature initially (considering I misread watch compatibility, are we surprised by this?). I thought it was saying that you can shoot the flag once and then your watch will track where the flag is from then on (e.g. on a 375 par 4, shoot the flag from the tee and then your watch takes it from there), but really all it says is that it shows hole location on the green on your watch. Still a cool feature, I just overhyped it in my mind. 

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

Won a gift card to Golf Galaxy, don't really need anything from there, but... was really intrigued by the Garmin Approach Z30 Rangefinder's Range Relay feature (see MGS write-up here: https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/first-look/garmin-z30-rangefinder/), so I combined that gift card with my other Dick's rewards to get it pretty cheap. 

Might do a more thorough review/comparison later, but brought it onto the course alongside my CaddyTalk CUBE, and have some initial impressions: 

Compared to the CUBE: Garmin has far fewer settings/features, but that could be a good thing. It's really just a basic tournament mode feature to turn off slope, but also has Bluetooth connectivity to the phone (which is how Range Relay works). When shooting a distance, the Garmin is way easier to lock onto the target, and also gives (IMO) better visuals to show slope. Then there's accuracy...I think I need to go clean the lenses on the CUBE and retry, but the CUBE seemed to be the outlier (including Z30 plus two unnamed rangefinders from others in our group). Garmin and the others were consistently within a yard or two of each other; CUBE was often 3-5yds off, mostly short, including slope/plays-like (in one case, we kept getting 149-playing-155 on the other devices, and CUBE got 148-playing-149 -- I even changed to the other slope setting on CUBE, and it was still in the same ballpark). The CUBE still has the Caddy Mode feature, which is great, but if I start trusting accuracy... (I'm gonna try cleaning it, and if it's still off relative to others, maybe contact CaddyTalk to see if I got a lemon). 

The main downside? Well, this is on me -- I swear that my watch was in the compatible products list when I checked a few weeks back, but apparently didn't read closely enough. Only the Gen2 version of my watch supports Range Relay, while I have Gen1 (I guess that "cheap" price is going way up this Christmas!). I did get the Range Relay to push into my phone's Garmin Golf App, but I don't really use that app on the course, and it disappeared after a few seconds each time (I thought it was a "shoot flag once, have it stick in phone/watch" situation - hopefully if I do end up with a compatible watch, it will stick with the watch for the entire hole, not just for a few seconds). 

[What Golf Ball Are You Playing In 2024?]

16 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... It pretty much doesn't matter what test or review you read/watch, the ProV1's usually comes out in the top spot. The question then becomes how much do you play and how much are you willing to pay for golf balls? Many current balls are just sooooo close in performance and sell for as little as 1/2 the price or less. If I can buy 4 dozen Maxfli Tours for $108 while 2 dozen ProV1X cost $110 and since I play a lot, I am gonna play the Maxfli Tour X. $4.59 compared to $2.25 if I don't clear the lake is just much more palatable. But I don't think anyone could argue with ProV1's being the preferred ball for any player that chooses them. 

... I played a practice round on an empty course with ProV1x, Maxfli Tour X, TP5x, Chrome Tour and the Kirkland Signature 3. I couldn't tell much difference between any of them other than the Kirkland that was consistently a bit shorter and spun more than the others. 




 

Totally agree -- I have my go-to tournament ball and swear it performs better (the Left Dash), but I'm 100% willing to admit that it's likely all in my head. For everyday rounds, I bounce between TP5/TP5x, Chrome Tour, Vice Pro Plus (sometimes the Pro, because some of the colors/designs are cooler), OnCore Vero X1/X2 (specifically the Josh Allen logo balls), etc. -- they all perform sufficiently well for me on any given day, and I could not tell you which of those balls actually performs best on the course. 

[TaylorMade Shaft Length vs. Playing Length]

I'm sure this is a repeat topic in some way, but didn't find it in initial searches, can't find this published anywhere, and I don't have the measuring equipment to check for myself (I do grips, but not shafts/other things - maybe someday). Does anyone know if there are standard measurements for shaft length vs. playing length for TaylorMade's current lineup of wood heads? Or, alternatively, how their measurements differ from the USGA's (it's a disclaimer on their driver page only, specifically calling out custom shafts at 45.75") and whether a 0.25" difference from USGA makes sense? Most interested in the BRNR Mini, but also interested in the other woods. 

Context: TM advertises the Mini as playing length 43.75", and the stock shaft w/adapter is a shade under 42.75" butt-to-tip (so by their measurement, seems to be shaft length +1"). I ordered an after-market shaft, specifying build as the Mini at 43.75" playing length, and they built the shaft at 42.5" (so their measurement was shaft +1.25"). Started to give them hell for it, but now with that driver disclaimer, I'm starting to think it's a TM oddity that I should've anticipated and now need to apologize/deal with my mistake I'm basically down to: the 0.25" difference could make sense based on how TM measures, or maybe they measured with a deeper driver head than the Mini - hoping someone has the info to help me confirm before I do anything else. 

[Polarizing Products In Golf]

1 hour ago, Chux13 said:

I'm that 1%, but only because I know it irks that other 99%. Having that mental edge over the opponent works quite well. Even more when I decide pair with my dark orange, sun faded Jamba Juice visor I got years back. 

Can we get a pic of the visor???

[Polarizing Products In Golf]

Building off a different topic from the last few days... shaft PUREing 

And fittings at Club Champion -- always fun to watch those threads

[Terra Forza Golf Shafts - 2024 Forum Review]

Uh oh... my Terra Forza experience might be coming to a tragic end (or at least a pause). It needs to go into the shop to repair or replace the TaylorMade adapter, but I'm concerned the actual shaft is cracked 

The shaft still works great, and it was going to have a permanent home in my bag. I brought it to Myrtle Beach for the annual Father/Son tournament with my dad, and my swing was 50-50, but when it was on, the TF put it out there a long way (don't have stats to back it up, but felt like I was getting more airtime than typical at sea level). 

Last night, had league again, and was striping it on the range. First tee - bomb, 301 in the air (a little downhill, but still...we've had a few inches of rain over the last few days, including a downpour yesterday morning, so we were getting no roll at all): 

Right after the tee shot, noticed the end of the adapter was starting to separate. Only took one more nervous swing with it (solid, but flared to the right a bit), then looked closer, and decided to put it away for the rest of the round (looked closer inside the adapter, and it looks like there might be a small crack). Then after the round, inspected further -- I think these are cracks in the shaft/adapter : 

How? Must be the powerful swing... (sarcasm, to be clear). Or more likely, some combination of the heat in Myrtle (didn't intentionally leave it in the car, but we had busy days, so it did get a good amount of trunk time) and potential damage from travel (did my best to protect the clubs, even used some wine shipper inserts to reinforce it, but could have still gotten whacked). 

Gonna try to sneak out of work early today to bring it into the shop, will probably get the verdict tomorrow or Friday. Hoping I just don't know what I'm talking about and it's cosmetic, but it feels different from just a little paint rub. 

[Shot Scope vs Arccos]

On 6/9/2023 at 9:33 AM, ChiefMikeOfficer said:

I switched to Garmin's sensors last year, but did try quite a few systems before that. I have more detailed posts elsewhere on the forum, but my quick summary: 

Arccos: best stats of the bunch, but didn't like the tracking mechanisms -- phone in pocket felt terrible to me (especially as my phones kept getting bigger), and Link seemed less reliable (and easier to lose), but Link was better for tracking proximity to the hole and putts. Tags felt big/weighty. Neither of the two tracking systems would get me through 36 unless I charged between rounds -- phone tracking drained the battery very quickly, and when I tried, I think Link died around hole 30. Once tracked, though, the system was great. 

Shot Scope: Like the system better overall, but hated the watch. I only tried the older bulky watch, and by the time the smaller, better-looking ones came out, I had moved on to a Garmin watch (and didn't want to swap watches for the round -- my Garmin doubles as golf and full, everyday Smart Watch). Tags were the lightest of any of the options, and shot tracking was reliable as well, both of which moved it toward the the top of my list. With my version, I think I had to download courses onto the watch, which made round setup more difficult than others. The stats were somewhat comparable, but lagged Arccos a bit. Similar to Arccos, I could not get 36 out of the watch. 

Garmin (not on your list, but my current system): it's OK. I like it because it's reliable shot tracking and syncs with my everyday watch, and it's the only system that I could use for a full 36 holes in one day (because it's fully dependent on watch battery, and my watch will last). Stats are just OK, but the UI is nice when looking back through rounds and seeing individual shots. Putt tracking is weak on this, though -- actual putt tracking is not great on any of them, but on this one, there is no way to modify number of putts on a hole once you finish the round (I think others you can say "no, this was actually a 2-putt", but Garmin requires that you get it right before submitting). Sensors are about the size of Arccos, but battery in the sensors seem to drain quickly (maybe that's because I don't store my clubs upright? Sensors might be overly active because I store them on their side) -- but, one bonus is that the batteries in the Garmin sensors are easily replaceable, and the batteries are cheap and easy to find (I tried to look up replacing Arccos batteries, and it seems possible, but fairly difficult). 

 

12 hours ago, csedun said:

Does anyone know the # of data points that each of Garmin, ShotScope and Arccos all track? Based on my rabbit hole digging of research on this topic, Arccos seems to be the clear winner (with a price tag of course). But for a frame of reference, curious if the # of tracking points is miles different? in other words, Arccos tracks 100 data points vs. Garmin 20 (i.e. 5x more data) or is it like 1.5-2x? Anybody know? been searching like crazy for the answer!

Tagging in my post from last year -- it doesn't answer the "how many stats", but from my experience, Arccos is better than Shot Scope with stats, Shot Scope better than Garmin. Shot Scope experience is outdated now, though - it's possible they've improved. 

Garmin gives you club-by-club distance, and gives you categories that show both distance and proximity  for tee shots, approaches, chipping, and putting (with the sensors, you can go through these categories club-by-club). It does keep every round too, which lets you view some stats and shots. But, the actual performance stats leave something to be desired -- there's some interesting images involved, but I'd call it more of a "summarized shot tracking system" rather than "stat tracking"; something like Arccos does way better with stats. Some sample screens (note that I took the sensors out starting mid last year, so I can only show overall screens / can't drill down): 

Full bag: 

Tee shots - note there's an "All Clubs" filter on the right, which you can narrow to a single club, but you can't really click into these at all: 

Approach: 

And the main performance page: 

 

 

Now...for Arccos (stats outdated - haven't used in a few years), the stats are way better. Like this for club-by-club (which you might be able to piece together with Garmin, but Arccos has it in one spot):

 

And general performance: 

This was the first time I opened Arccos in a bit, and the newer dashboard focuses a lot on Strokes Gained vs. a specific handicap level (you can select your target handicap). The old one gave you a "handicap" for each part of your game, and is still accessible - for example, this: 

 

My version of Shot Scope is somewhere in between the two (but again, these stats might be dated -- I was on v2, they're now up to v5, don't know if better stats come with that or if it's just the watch features that change): 

[Forum Pick'em 2024 With Lamkin Grips!]

Definitely not the right tournament to have a WD... Last place once again!

[2024 Open Championship Pool Sponsored by Titleist]

Cut: +2

Final Round: 71.3

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

Matching father/son polos from Rhoback - "Great Bambino" / Sandlot themed - love their designs, 100% have too many... But I guess that's why I'm on this page

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

Grabbed a few more things from what's probably my current favorite small-time golf brand: Live Forever Golf. The hoodies: amazing - lightweight, soft, and comfortable (for mid-summer on-course, I'd still go Rhoback Blitz Tech over this, but for my office, this is the one). The acronym: hilarious. The logo: incredible (can anyone name that former PGA Tour player?). It's my first polo from them - feels nice, but we'll see how it compares. 

Also picked up some fresh RWB gear - a couple Branded Bills WI hats, and the Swag Apollo Creed cover (haven't been a big fan of them lately, but this one was hard to pass up).

 

 

 

[Forum Pick'em 2024 With Lamkin Grips!]

Another wild week... currently sitting in 15th because I have three guys in the top 5 (including Clanton - Go Noles!). But of course, my other two need to go low this afternoon to make the cut, so I might tumble all the way toward the middle/bottom again. 

Also, really wanted to pick Clanton in my One&Done pool, but couldn't -- that league goes by money/winnings, and he's solidified at $0, so it would've been a waste. So I picked Shipley instead -- we'll see if he can pull off a good round today. 

[Terra Forza Golf Shafts - 2024 Forum Review]

Well...considering how things have been going with the Terra Forza, I'm totally conflicted - I recently bought a BRNR Mini Driver (see CHA post!), but did not customize it because it would have added 6 weeks to the estimated delivery, and I wanted it NOW!!! The typical shaft is 43.75" for the Mini, and even though I haven't tried it, the specs on the stock shaft make me think it's not even worth a shot; right now, I have the 43.25" Tour AD-IZ in the BRNR, which is actually from my 3W, and has been working pretty well in the first couple rounds (not amazing, but solid). 

Soooo.... for the BRNR Mini, my debate is, do I:

• Get a Terra Forza Yellow+ at 43.75" or 44", because it's been going very well with the main driver (at 45.5")? I've caved on this before -- after the T100S test, I spent a decent amount of money with Titleist to enhance the set. This is super tempting...but it's something like $450, which is tough to justify for the amount of use the club gets. 
• Cut one of my previously-fitted shafts for the Mini? I kinda like to keep these full length in case I want a change at some point...
• Buy something different, like one of the newer Accra TZSix FW shafts (been fitted into something very close in the past, and they're not crazy expensive). The Accra is $250, which is easier to justify, but still not sure if it's the best play...

 

[Terra Forza Golf Shafts - 2024 Forum Review]

Even though final reviews are done, figured I'd keep this train rolling! I'll be honest, I was a bit conflicted when writing my final review -- the overall test went great, but I was only a few days removed from my worst outing with the TF. At the Barstool Classic at Lac La Belle (think I said this before, but if you're ever in the area, play it -- well worth the $150 greens fee), it was ugly, only going 1/5. And that's not just 1/5 fairways, 1/5 in play -- one snaphook in the "fescue" (in quotes because I know the golf purists will explain how it's not really "fescue"), one snaphook in the penalty area, one horrendous block that was never found (on the hole with walkup music too...). Then, one only slightly off target to the right, just on the wrong hole (narrow landing zone for driver, ended up in the fescue), and one striped down the middle. I was tempted to put the Graphite Design or Accra back into the club for the next round, just to get a different feel and see if it changed my confidence...but I'm glad I didn't. 

Took it back out on the course yesterday, and turns out, that poor performance was because I just forgot how to swing a driver (again... I guess that's what happens when you have two kids and don't get that much practice in). But yesterday, made some swing adjustments on the range (basic things...), and we're back! We played University Ridge (again, think I said this before, but if you're ever in the Madison area, it's a must play) at about 6700 yds, which is the longest they had set up that day (they often don't set up the tips). At that distance, it's only 7 drivers for me -- the three par 5s on the front, the two par 5s on the back, plus 10 and 18 (I know I was hitting more drivers during the test, but went back to "normal" now that the test is technically over). Officially I was only 3/7, but only 2 were "misses" -- on 6, it was flared a bit to the right and into the wind, but still solid position despite it not being great contact; 18 was my worst, leaving me with 2-3 clubs longer than typical on a hole that turns hard left (missed well right of target, but it was still well in play - 5yds shorter and it would've been in the fairway right at the corner). The other two missed fairways were in great position, just slightly off the fairway. 

Disclaimers for the Garmin screenshots: (1) we've had a ton of rain lately, including 1 inch of rain the day before this round, so there's almost no roll on these distances (exception is #2, which was surprisingly not soaked despite the rain and actually rolled out a bit); (2) don't pay attention to the scores, only pay attention to the driver distances -- I took the sensors out of my clubs last year, so now it really only catches full swings, misses nearly all pitches and chips (e.g. I didn't eagle 16 -- I chipped on from behind the green and made birdie, but it didn't pick up the chip). Overall, it performed very well, and considering the trajectory/spin characteristics I've seen throughout the test, a normal/drier day would've led to some very deep tee shots: 

 

 

[Terra Forza Golf Shafts - 2024 Forum Review]

On 7/2/2024 at 4:36 PM, GolfSpy BOS said:

 

So, why is this post shorter than I anticipated?  Well, shortly after the Kingsmill outing I got a package from @GolfSpy_BEN with a Qi10 9* head in it.

 

 

Welcome to the Terra Forza+Qi10 club! The Qi10 is a monster. The Terra Forza added at least 5 yds for me with that head. The combination is awesome - hope it continues to work well for you. 

[Terra Forza Golf Shafts - 2024 Forum Review]

On 4/9/2024 at 2:02 AM, ChiefMikeOfficer said:

Final Review

Lost the template and can’t access the Google Doc that has the details, so shamelessly stealing from Mr. Bandit (pun!). 10 points were missing, so I’ll call it 9/10 First Impression to account for that.

 

Looks (8 out of 10 points):

It’s a good looking shaft – the carbon fiber + yellow color scheme is sharp, but not overly flashy.

Feel (9 out of 10 points):

Initial impression was that it felt light – I don’t think that was necessarily the case, but it was the feel that I had with it. Over time, it felt very sturdy, like it could stand up to any hack at the ball. On course it felt very stable, and when my swing was on, it felt amazing (when my swing was off, it seemed to expose the flaws). I’m as confident with this as I have been with any of my past fitted shafts (or even more so).

 Basic Characteristics (18 out of 20 points):

 I’m a bit conflicted on this – to start, it definitely beat out my past fittings, but it’s possible the Qi10 head is a factor there too (but my prior fitted shafts in the Qi10 didn’t perform as well as the Terra Forza…except that one Accra session, which was a bit of a toss-up). At the same time, in some sessions, it cranked the spin down way too much – that didn’t seem to last, and on-course performance was very good compared to those lower-spin range sessions, but it’s still notable.

Trajectory was a bit lower – I did toggle between a couple loft settings, but ended up shifting back to the lower one, which gave better yardage. Compared to my other shafts (both fitted and kinda-fitted-but-chosen), Terra Forza gave me 8-12 yards total distance (carry was slightly down, but rolled out more). Accuracy was consistent – it felt like I had better accuracy with this, but stats-wise, it’s comparable. Spin seemed to bounce between ideal and way too low, but I think that’s also swing-related (I’m just inconsistent right now).

On-Course / LM Performance (29 out of 30 points)

I’m a bit conflicted on this, but I think my swing has been poor this year compared to the last couple (just not practicing as much), so it’s tough to say. I hit some incredible tee shots with this shaft, in some cases ending up in places I’ve never been (or rarely been). In terms of consistency/accuracy, it was on par with my past shafts/fittings – maybe even better (some of the missed fairways were slight misses or not misses at all, just not taking the right line). Confidence on the tee was high – the shaft felt like it could stand up to whatever I gave it, and it paid off in many cases. I definitely had off rounds with it, but again, that’s more swing-related and I don’t think it’s specific to the shaft.

Play it or Trade it? (19 out of 20 points)

95% sure that I’m going to keep the Terra Forza in the bag, at least for now. I always like to tinker, so I will try a couple rounds with some of the old shafts too re-verify the decision, and I’m sure will try some new ones, but this is my new baseline for driver performance. Honestly though, I’m a bit shocked that this ended up the way it did – I was skeptical on the fitting process, especially considering it was locked into a limited number of shafts, but it came out with something very good for my game.

Final Performance Comments:

Overall, how did it perform? Better than expected. Better than past fittings (including Club Champion, GolfTec, and Gears).  

How, if at all, did this product change your overall impression of Terra Forza? Well, I had no impression because I’d never heard of them. Initially it sounded gimmicky – no way that 5 swings on foot pads can optimize a shaft. But…something worked. I’m not 100% sold on it, but there’s something there that’s a big positive in the fitting market.

What feature would you change or eliminate from the next generation of this model? Extend the shaft offerings – when I did some quick research on the website, I pretty much guessed where I would land, and that’s exactly where I was fitted (“looks like either Red or Yellow” à fitted into Yellow+, which is between the two). The fitting process is most intriguing to me – if you can extend it beyond the limited TF shaft offerings and use the algorithm to pick between 50-100 options, I think that would be super interesting (not sure how realistic that is, but it would be interesting if it’s possible – still skeptical that all golfers will fit into one of the TF shaft options).

What feature do you really like, and would most like to see continued or evolved in future models? Spin – didn’t lose much carry, but gained a lot of roll.

Did it help improve your scores? By how much? Trick question Based on my handicap card, I have 0 scores in 2024 counting toward my handicap (played well for a couple months last year, and currently have 8 consecutive scores last year counting, everything this year getting thrown out). But, this shaft is definitely not the reason that I’m not score well – it’s put me into very good position, I’m just not getting the ball in the hole.

Conclusion

The fitting process seems like a high point – again, I was skeptical, but they kinda made me a believer. I’ve been fitted by 4-5 places in the past, and none have come close to the performance of this one, which was just 5-10 swings measuring foot pressure + other things. I said it in a past post, but the fact that they used some kind of data outside of the typical swing speed / ball speed / etc. gives me some confidence in the process. The shaft itself – overall I think it’s a good fit, and I’m going to continue using it for now, swapping others in/out just to confirm. I really do think it would be cool to extend their fitting process to include other brands’ shafts, but even without that, if you can foot the bill, I’d recommend giving this brand a shot.

Final Score: (92 out of 100 points)

The fitting was great. The shaft seems solid, better than my prior gamers. There were high and low points, but overall I'm feeling very good about where we landed with this. I expected it to come in higher than 92, but I scanned back through, and I think everything’s accurate -  no specific step or category seemed perfect, but at the same time, it delivered. Definitely recommend giving this brand a shot.

Final Review posted! Overall it was a great experience. The Terra Forza is staying in the bag, and I'll continue tweaking to make sure that's the right play (the launch monitors say yes; on course is a toss-up, but leaning TF -- going to try a couple others on course just for kicks, but good chance I land back with TF). 

Thanks again to both MGS and Terra Forza for the opportunity! The fitting experience was super cool, and the shaft performed well. Hopefully you all found the information in this test useful!

[Terra Forza Golf Shafts - 2024 Forum Review]

Got back out to the course, and readjusted the driver back to 8°. Gonna sound like my dad here, but...I read a recent article featuring Bryson explaining how he rips draws, so I tried something and it worked!

For real though, it was actually during this test that I started taking videos of my swing, noticed my hips looked significantly closed, so I intentionally tried to make them more neutral. It worked well for 1-2 rounds, but, in classic CMO form, likely over-corrected. After reading the article, kinda split the difference -- set up in neutral, then kicked the hips/shoulders slightly closed. Boom. 

We were on the short/target 9 for league, which usually only gets 2 drivers, but decided to hit 4 because of the ongoing test. The stats are a total lie - hit the ball great but scored terribly; no fairways with the driver, but only 1/4 was off target, and they were all pounded with great ball flight (that 1 was slightly low, but not bad). I took my Garmin sensors out, but my watch still records some swings and got some good data (it doesn't catch putts without the sensor, but does get full shots, just can't determine which club was swung). 

My first one was hole 2, where I just tugged it about 15yd left of target and into the bunkers - notable that this was all carry and straight into a ~30mph wind:

(Made triple after my 3rd hit the new green but hopped OB). Then, hole 3, 355yds in the opposite direction (downhill/downwind), rifled one down the middle, the guys in front immediately looked back, and it ended up 15ft behind the hole (2 putt birdie) - screenshot says 349, but it was actually 360 (again, it doesn't read putts without the sensors). But... Not a fairway. 

Next was hole 6, even more gettable -- and turns out Garmin didn't adjust for actual distance from the tee like I expected (definitely should have been a 3w or even a 2i). End result was over the green in the tall stuff (but almost perfectly on line) - again, no fairway.

 

Last up is hole 9 (preview: another missed fairway. But why this time??). Hammered right up the middle, perfect draw. If it was 10yd further left, probably would've rolled onto the green (at like 360 uphill, that's pretty good, even with the wind helping that much); instead it rolled through into the rough, ending up right on top of the hill (with the look of the hole, hard to go further left.... But also have never been up this far). 

Naturally I flubbed the second shot and made Bogey...

 

Final reviews are coming in the next couple weeks. Have one more planned round (Barstool Classic) and will do my best to get another sim session in before it's over. My quick preview: gonna be hard to say something negative about TF.