ChiefMikeOfficer

I'm a bit of a sucker for smaller and up-and-coming brands, and was intrigued by the add-ons for this (although I just knocked SP4 on another chain for similar "can't select my own stuff" reasons...I still wanted to give these guys a shot): Joined the North Coast Golf Co Coast Club, Pines level. Tried their gloves last year, and they're great. Club comes with 6 gloves, a welcome pack, a "pre-released R&D item" later in the summer, and 20% off+free shipping all year. Then quickly had some buyer's remorse, because immediately purchased their Bogey Jones Cooler/Range bag before confirming the 20% off info (which didn't show up until this morning)...but, it looked sweet, so wanted to grab it before it sold out (they got me with the "only 6 left" banner -- stock image because it's not here yet, but down to only 4 in stock):

Oh, and how could I forget this in my "worst" list?? Short Par 4 subscription ($100+ value for $45!) - should have known to cancel after shipment #1, because that was a disappointing shipment, but then they gave me a free box and I kept it for more than 6 months. I've kept exactly 2 items from those boxes -- one Devereux polo that is a blend of golf and casual, but I never really wear it (to their credit, this made my look closer at Devereux and have bought stuff directly), and an Under Armour fleece QZ that is comfortable but looked like a promo overstock (only found that model at places like graphics/print shops, not an actual retailer). The glove was good enough, but just used it as a range glove; the Callaway shoes felt cheap and went straight to Goodwill, along with many of the other clothing items. After a few consecutive disappointing months, I came to realize I didn't like the "surprise" / lack of control - I'd prefer to pay a bit more and choose exactly what I want.

Man, I keep reading through these and finding things that probably should be on my list too... those red Origin of Golf are almost impossible to follow off the clubface.

Feetures are phenomenal -- I got my first pair as some kind of trial, and almost immediately bought more. For Vice...my guess it was the Tour or the Drive. Their urethane models perform well (I've used both Pro and Pro Plus; have heard good things about Pro Soft). I think I read that at least one of the two Surlyn models are produced by a completely different factory from their other models (can't find the article now though...), which can contribute to quality/performance being worse than the others (but also, Surlyn vs. Urethane is a big difference too).

Love that this thread is getting new action and was highlighted in the forum email - definitely a topic I'd overanalyze, so instead of five, here's a few of each off the top of my head: Best: Bushnell Hybrid Rangefinder - the first iteration wasn't great because of a single, shared, rechargeable battery, so once dead, the laser doesn't work. The newer version has the more classic, replaceable battery for the laser, and rechargeable for the GPS, so if the GPS dies, the laser still runs. It was a game changer at the time. Garmin Marq Golfer - It has a ton of embedded golf features, but in a versatile, full-featured, everyday smart watch (including things like activity tracking and other sports features). It's a splurge, but not as bad as it seems if the alternative is smart watch + golf watch. This let me retire the Bushnell in favor of a new toy. LAB Mezz XL - bought for a reasonable price off of LAB Outlet with "good enough" specs. Opened my eyes to how good this brand is. Still plan to get a real LAB fitting one of these days .. Worst: Game Golf Pro - hands down the worst golf product I've ever used. Puma Solelace shoes - still memorable 5 years later. An eyelet broke when tightening for my second round, making them useless (Puma replaced them for me and let me pick a different model). Honorable mention: This contraption. Not a purchase by me, but a joke gift from my dad. But, it's on the market, and should be considered one of the worst golf products made (no offense if you have one for real )

Have to ask, since you have direct exposure (but may not have this info anyway) -- did True Sports bring any changes to quality, source materials, production or anything like that? I know I had a Driver and 3W shaft from fittings before the True Sports affiliation, and I picked up a USA-themed Driver shaft post-affiliation, but I'm not good enough or savvy enough to tell the difference. I've since been fit into different brands, but loved the Accra shafts while I used them, and still swap them in from time to time (plus, compared to some of the bigger names, they didn't break the bank -- my Accra Driver shaft was just over half the price of my buddy's Fujikura that he bought on the same day).

Almost mentioned Vice in the ball category -- in 2016, definitely underrated; today, probably still are, but they've at least gotten some recognition over the years (Hot List Silver and Gold, some MGS reports, etc.), and a lot of people are playing them. Underrated or not, they definitely outperform their price.

Great topic. I used to get frustrated with things like the Golf Digest Hot List, because part of their rating included "Demand" -- it was only 5%, but it seemed to give the bigger brands a bump and made it harder for newer brands to hit Gold (of course demand for an unknown brand is low...). They cut that metric last year, which I think is great. I have to echo the Tour Edge comments, especially for FW -- or at least they were underrated a handful of years ago. I haven't tried their newer models, but some of the old Exotics Beta 3Ws were some of the best I've ever hit. They've made strides in some markets, but I still have this lingering thought from High School (20+ years ago now ) of seeing Tour Edge irons in someone's bag and thinking they were inferior clubs (chances are they weren't, but the brand name just seemed to carry that perception, likely because it sounds generic). Other notables: Mizuno non-irons, especially woods and putters - rarely see someone with them, but they are great products. Evnroll (or really any Guerin Rife putter brand) -- they're better known these days too and have landed on top lists (like GD Hot List), but I think too many people gravitate toward brands like Scotty and Odyssey and don't even consider Evnroll.

I'm up to T57! But gonna have two MCs, so probably not going to be climbing much higher...

This made me think of another Par 3 Pet Peeve, which happens surprisingly often: packed course, waiting for the green to clear, next tee not visible. It finally clears with perfect timing -- our first guy steps up to his shot, and the group behind rolls up to see us standing on the tee with an open hole. They then make a comment about our pace of play. Things like "come on guys", "do you mind if we play through?", or "is there anyone in front of you guys?" -- no buddy, there's nobody in front of us, we figured we'd just wait on the tee for 5 minutes so you can watch us hit.

Oh no... long way to go, but took a couple risks again, and it currently puts me at T66 out of 68 (and 68th is a technicality, because they are absorbing a WD). At this point, I might just be playing each week so I don't get kicked out of the league / banned from future competition

The Golfer's Journal recently published a good article related to the Swedish style too -- it's not the main focus, but a cool side plot of the story: https://www.golfersjournal.com/editorial/married-to-the-game/ (might need to be a member to read it -- I read it first in the print version).

If you're into colored balls, the Pro seems to have some of the best options (and the most limited edition colors, when those are released) -- I typically go Pro Plus when buying Vice, but have bought a bunch of Pro because of the specific colors.

Update on my bag...my dad decided he's 100% push cart now, so it's back in my hands. It's now my wife's bag, and working very well for her so far -- has a WAY better look than her last bag, combination of comfort and weight fits her well, etc. She doesn't play nearly as much or in the same ways as I do, so she doesn't lug around as much stuff, which makes this is a great upgrade for her (basically minimizes the things that didn't work for me with the bag).

My mistake - somehow missed that. For some reason I had in my head that it was more gray.

No E8??? While looking back on those to respond in this thread, I found one for $95, Ex condition, in the same specs as my old one -- aaand it's on the way to me now

I had a 13 degree V Steel back in the day - absolutely loved it, still regret donating it... Bought the SIM later because it advertised "V Steel", but hated that thing. I've found fairways to be a complete wildcard, and I've churned through quite a few to find a good fit. The one I liked just as much as V Steel was the Exotics E8 Beta. I'm now on the Stealth 2, which is also great. In between those I had both the M1 17 (good) and SIM (hated), and before the Beta I used an awesome-looking but not so awesome-performing Cobra.

Uh oh... toward the bottom of the leaderboard again, fueled by Tommy's 10:

Always a glass (or three?) of red during the state of the union

Sorry if this has been asked before... But where'd you get the glass??

Well, contacted Tour Edge over the weekend, and they fixed it immediately - the replacement club arrived on Tuesday.

Club hoes better be protecting those clubs! It was a hot market for a few years. Seems like it fizzled out a bit in the last year or two - still some action on certain designs / rare covers, but Swag (probably the most popular / highest value) bought another cover company and started "over-producing and diluting the market" (controversial among collectors and people trying to turn a profit, yet hilarious to watch from the sidelines). To be fair, I do have a lot of covers from a lot of companies including Swag, but for just about every one that I bought, I had some intention of using myself because I liked the design.

Yea, on the "usually play better" commentary, it's front of mind because of an experience a couple years ago, which is still in my buddy's head to this day (I remember it well, but he still lets it bother him any time we play that course and can't stop talking about it -- which is a related, but different pet peeve ). Two of us joined up with two singles that day, and one of the singles, en route to a 110+ round, would not stop talking about the his shock about his poor play (ball striking and scoring), going out of his way on each hole to remind us of things like "I usually shoot 75" (bro, I'm a 2 and I don't "usually" shoot 75, not even close - I had more 18-hole rounds in 2023 at 80+ than I did at 75 or better). We actively, but politely, tried to shut down the conversation after the first few holes, but it wouldn't stop. The real point is... had he commented once about having an off day and just played his game and talked about other things, nobody would have cared how he was playing. My logic for which tees I play -- assuming a "bigger" / 7000+ yard course that has 5+ sets of tees, if the group wants to play either of the back 2 sets, that's where I play; if they want to play set 3, it depends on the course. Sometimes I'll do it, but only after factoring in how the yardage difference changes the course, and which course we're actually playing (on a once in a lifetime course, I'm staying back); if choosing not to play set 3, I'm most likely going back to the tips, because choosing set 2 instead of the tips could influence them to move back a set (a round at Sand Valley stands out in this way, where the guys we played with tried to keep up on set 2, and they had a miserable time for the first few holes - once our caddies convinced them to move up, they had a much better day; had we just chosen the tips instead of 1-up, they would've started on set 3).

You could check the tags too - I think that's also a flaw on the fakes. Also, check their archive - there are only 24 of that cover made (which is where that market value comes from), and the material looks glittery: https://swag.golf/products/rwb-melting-skull-pop-driver-special?_pos=2&_psq=Melting+skull+pop&_ss=e&_v=1.0