srooch2

My round is tomorrow morning! Barbie's Birdie Bandits are here to win!
 

My round will be next Thursday!

Have a couple rounds booked because weather looks iffy at best. First one I get in will be my MatchPlay round!

Team Muscle Backs getting ready for the MGS Forum Member Virtual Championship Tour Match Play - Round 1 against Team L.A.B.

Whether is obviously a factor, if you can’t play you can’t play. Everyone will do what they do at the end of the day. I know I am going to set aside a specific round for this just to add some pressure to myself. I approach golf that way in general, anytime I can add pressure to it I want to. I think it makes you better in the long run. I will definitely have some bad rounds but good learning experiences! 

That’s got me wondering and maybe it’s been stated but, should a player “declare” a round designated to this event prior to playing? It seems that playing multiple rounds and then choosing the best might not put the pressure on the round I would imagine this event would. I play several rounds a week and declare (albeit to myself) that it’s either a scoring round or a practice round, that way I don’t try and change if I’m playing poorly. I would think if before the round a player declared a specific round dedicated to this event would make things more interesting and fair. This would obviously be on the honor system but so is golf in general. Just my 2 cents ✌️ 

Introduction:
Hello everyone, first of all I would like to thank MyGolfSpy and specifically @GolfSpy BOS for setting this test up! A little background on me, my name is Spencer, my family and I live in the Sacramento region of California and I picked up golf during COVID and haven't looked back. I grew up playing baseball and was fortunate enough to play in college so when I switched to golf I brought with me plenty of swing speed and absolutely zero face control. I've also always been rather particular about my grips whether that be on baseball bats or now on golf clubs.
  Expectations:
What I look forward to about these grips is the material being soft whilst not being too squishy as well as some tack to really lock in that grip. Currently the best part of my game surprisingly is my short game of which I hit almost all of my shots without a glove. With that said, I will be taking particular interest in how these grips perform and feel in full swings with a glove as well as in more delicate shots around the green bare handed. If weather permits I would also love to test how these grips perform in wetter conditions as well as during high temps when my hands begin to get sweaty. The main comparison I have in my head for this product is the Golf Pride CPX grips. For these grips to earn a spot in my bag the tack feel needs to persist over the course of multiple rounds and throughout the duration of a single round even in sweaty or damp conditions.  If you are interested in purchasing these grips and had a particular question or element of the grips you'd like my opinion on please feel free to reach out and ask me!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
First Impressions  (9 out of 10):
 Lamkin has really hit the mark with these; if the out of the box feel lasts through the testing period I would be quite impressed with the product they have created.
 
 
 

 
Here are some photos of the grips and how they arrived. 
Nothing overly fancy but not much risk of damage.👍
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
They did have a bit of dust in the grooves that needed to be cleaned out but that was easily done with some compressed air, I'd imagine wiping them off with a wet paper towel would have worked as well. After seeing some dust getting stuck in the grooves I was concerned about the overall effectiveness of the tack on the grips but that has not been an issues at all thus far. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After getting the grips installed and playing around with them in multiple scenarios from full swings to short game shots including from the bunker I am thoroughly impressed. As my partner in crime (pictured below) describes it they are "squishy" but only on the outer surface level. Once you squeeze the grip there is the a sense of firmness which is great for feel and feedback in my opinion. The tackiness of the grip is perfect, not too sticky where it feels like I have dried syrup on my hands and just enough to where my fingers are really locked onto the club handle. It's still early in testing so I will be very curious to see how it holds up but so far Lamkin has 100% nailed the friction/traction element of this grip. The fingerprint technology for the lower hand is especially impressive on finesse shots. It feels as if my hands are glued to the club and allows for very precise control of my hands/wrists with no wasted movements from slipping on the club handle. After the improved driver face control feel I've picked up from these grips Blaster (pictured left) has become very protective over them. The only caveats I have so far in testing is the lack of taper these grips offer so they feel slightly thicker than standard and I'd personally prefer the grips with blue accents but with all things considered these have impressed me quite a bit.  Stay tuned for more and feel free to share any questions or ideas you'd like me to look into!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FINAL REVIEW
 
Aesthetics (9 out of 10) 

 
 
The grips have a simplistic clean look with a small accent piece in the middle. The grips feature a “less taper” design, so they have a consistent look down the shaft which I appreciate. I find them to be a modern take on a classic look, nothing flashy but not without some flare. The different patterns on the grip are not just functional but also add a nice wrinkle to the design as well. The grip material has a slight shine to it that adds a bit of a premium appearance to them. All things considered I think they are pristine looking grips and would receive all 10 points for the category if they had a few pops of color.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Fit and Feel (19 out of 20)
 
The focus for my game during this test has been approach play . As you can see from the Arccos screenshot I did see an improvement in my approach play since installing the grips. I will attribute the majority of this to spending more of my typical practice time on this area, but I have no issues claiming these grips played a part in my improvements. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous to claim a grip could make a noticeable difference but allow me to explain my reasoning. The combination of tack, traction and gradual grip resistance of these clubs allowed me to have the confidence to abandon my death grip on clubs and not worry about the club twisting or slipping in my hands. It allowed me to hold the club much more in the fingers especially on my trail hand (right hand for RH golfer). The grip feels ever so slightly thicker than a normal standard grip which is fine for me as a guy with small to average size hands and obviously it feels thicker at the bottom with a taper less design style. I find the taper less design shines the most with specialty high speed swings such as punch outs, forced shot shaping and extreme uneven lies. The tack and traction on these things is no joke. @GolfSpy BOShas a great ASMR video linked on this thread regarding the tack these things have, and it has lasted throughout my testing without having to clean them once. These grips are comfortable, but I did develop a new callus on my trail hand that was sore at first, but I will happily go through that discomfort as I mentioned earlier the ability to feel the club face so acutely in my fingers is a godsend. I expect my finger to adjust to this new wear spot and callus up just fine. I did have one grip that felt a bit thicker on the “spine” of the grip that isn’t uncomfortable just a bit different on this one club. I would attribute this to manufacturing consistency and it’s not anything I would worry about just different so I thought I would mention it. The last thing I wanted to bring up is the fingerprint technology that Lamkin is known for. These grips deliver in that regard as I found the lower end of the club especially “grippy” for lack of a better term on delicate short game shots where I really want to use my hands. I’ve rated the grips 19 out of 20 deducting points for the unusual spine on the one grip.
 
 
 
 
 
        
 
On The Course (17.5 out of 20)
On the course these things aren’t going to turn heads, but no one will clown on you for having them either. *Insert LAB Putter Mega Mind Joke here* The grips feel great throughout the round, even when playing in the heat and getting some mild sweat on my hands. I also have not seen any signs of wear or needed to clean them in 5+ rounds. I expect these grips to hold up well over the duration of the season. The one caveat I have to add is these grips do lose traction when they get very wet so if you play in the early morning maybe take a second to watch you don’t place them in dewy grass as this may start to affect their performance come the end of the round. I tested this out on the range spraying the grips with a water bottle and then taking full swings and the loss in traction is quite noticeable. So long as you aren't playing in a downpour and can keep the grips relatively dry you will be good to go! 
 

 
The Good, the bad, the In-between (18 out of 20)
I mentioned gradual grip resistance earlier and this might be my favorite thing about them. The best way I can describe it is something akin to a hard plastic encased in a semi-soft rubber. The harder you squeeze the grip the firmer it feels but the outermost layer still feels soft to the touch especially around the green on half-shots. I find this extremely pleasant as I like a softer grip, but I don’t like it when a grip is so soft my hands squish into it and I lose any sense or feel for the club. Fortunately, I did not have the experience of playing with these grips in a downpour, however in the interest of science I ran my own little experiment on wetting the grips with a few douses from a spray bottle and having a go. I am sad to report that there was a noticeable loss in traction which is to be expected. With that said I don’t play golf in the rain so this is a non-issue for me personally but if you are one of those sickos that plays in the rain frequently then you will want to keep these puppies dry!

Play it or Trade it? (19.5 out of 20)
For me personally, I absolutely love these grips and would recommend them as something to try out for anyone of any skill level on the market for new grips. I think the price is more than fair and I have been especially pleased with them since they’ve gone in the bag. My only gripe is I wish I had the blue colorway option but that’s small potatoes all things considered! I believe that these grips have made me a better player even if it may be hard to quantify. The bottom line is I like these grips and I enjoy playing golf with them!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Conclusion
Hey would you look at that a 92 out of 100 that’s an A! I would like to give a big shoutout to Lamkin, MyGolfSpy and @GolfSpy BOS for having me for this review and all the help and guidance they've provided. These grips are great if you don’t play in super wet conditions or have to worry about excess moisture on your grips which I fortunately do not, sorry @srooch2. The grips are soft but not too squishy to the point where you lose feel of the club. The traction and tack of these is great from full swings to partial shots, feeling like they’re practically sewn on to your hands. Lamkin hit the nail on the head with these in my opinion by offering a grip that feels soft and nice in your hands without losing out on the performance of the traction at all costs corded style grips. 

 
Final Score (92 out of 100)
 
                    

Thinking I may have to put these in play. I loved them on my hogans and still love the tech as a wrap on my current setup. 
 
Ming they look good. 

My final review is up and I'd like to just say how much I enjoyed the testing process and look forward to participating in more in the future. Thanks to the MGS team and to Lamkin for this. Hopefully I've given some insight that helps others in their future consideration for these. 

Whether is obviously a factor, if you can’t play you can’t play. Everyone will do what they do at the end of the day. I know I am going to set aside a specific round for this just to add some pressure to myself. I approach golf that way in general, anytime I can add pressure to it I want to. I think it makes you better in the long run. I will definitely have some bad rounds but good learning experiences! 

That’s got me wondering and maybe it’s been stated but, should a player “declare” a round designated to this event prior to playing? It seems that playing multiple rounds and then choosing the best might not put the pressure on the round I would imagine this event would. I play several rounds a week and declare (albeit to myself) that it’s either a scoring round or a practice round, that way I don’t try and change if I’m playing poorly. I would think if before the round a player declared a specific round dedicated to this event would make things more interesting and fair. This would obviously be on the honor system but so is golf in general. Just my 2 cents ✌️ 

My final review is up and I'd like to just say how much I enjoyed the testing process and look forward to participating in more in the future. Thanks to the MGS team and to Lamkin for this. Hopefully I've given some insight that helps others in their future consideration for these. 

That’s got me wondering and maybe it’s been stated but, should a player “declare” a round designated to this event prior to playing? It seems that playing multiple rounds and then choosing the best might not put the pressure on the round I would imagine this event would. I play several rounds a week and declare (albeit to myself) that it’s either a scoring round or a practice round, that way I don’t try and change if I’m playing poorly. I would think if before the round a player declared a specific round dedicated to this event would make things more interesting and fair. This would obviously be on the honor system but so is golf in general. Just my 2 cents ✌️ 

That’s got me wondering and maybe it’s been stated but, should a player “declare” a round designated to this event prior to playing? It seems that playing multiple rounds and then choosing the best might not put the pressure on the round I would imagine this event would. I play several rounds a week and declare (albeit to myself) that it’s either a scoring round or a practice round, that way I don’t try and change if I’m playing poorly. I would think if before the round a player declared a specific round dedicated to this event would make things more interesting and fair. This would obviously be on the honor system but so is golf in general. Just my 2 cents ✌️ 

So our schedule is
9/1-9/10
9/11-9/17
9/18-9/24
9/25-10/1
Does that look right?

The first week, We'll start on September 1st and let it run through Sunday the following week.  That gives everyone a few extra days (and another weekend) to get the rounds in.  Try to post your score by the Monday following the weekend at the latest.  Then after that... we will be on a Monday - Sunday schedule through the end. 

Shot a 37 (+1) last night and a 75 (+3) the day before that. My putting and short game is out of this world, if I could get my approach game in order I think I could be going low low low! I had my first 3 putt after going quite a while without one during the 75 round. I usually don't play my back nine and I ran into a couple greens I wasn't very familiar with speed wise. (Also, looking at it just now, I added up putts wrong, I think it is 28)

I want to explain more on the driver setting. It’s generic knowledge that upright makes the ball go left and flat makes the ball go right. This doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone. If you hit your 3 wood good then a flat setting “might” be a good option. Todays drivers are quite a bit upright in comparison to the rest of your set. For me, I could never see the club path correctly, it just looked off. If you flatten it, then it becomes more of a progression from your 3 wood rather than a drastic change upright. Remember also, it is tough to assess online and these are things that worked for me. But for many years I didn’t even have a driver in the bag, it was just extra weight and space I didn’t need, it is now one of my favorite clubs to hit. I’m still not the best off the tee but I am miles ahead of where I was. 

This was my life for quite sometime. Have you tried setting the driver in the flattest setting? That’s why I got a ping driver. It helped a lot. Make sure you “keep your head down” I worked on lowering my head on the backswing and then hold that until your finish. A lot of golfers struggle with standing up, at first it will feel like you’re gonna hit the ground and you will hit bad shots but stick with it. People bash this advice nowadays but I think this is a big reason a lot of golfers struggle off the tee. Once you start to stand up your body starts doing some weird stuff, hold that position all the way through. You won’t think it’s possible to generate any power but then boom, it goes further than it did. This will work, I promise. Watch a video on Jason Dufner’s swing or highlights and watch how he finishes his swing. Envision that while swinging. Just his finish. ✌️ 

I just left my job, a good job, due to anxiety. Just know you are not going through these things alone, many people deal with this. I’m the opposite and the golf course erases it. I would get to accounts for my job, get ready to go in and not be able to physically move. Anxiety is very hard and I’ve never dealt with it before so it’s a whole new experience for me. I do emdr therapy, I just started so I can’t say it will work or not but I’m excited for it. Best of luck, if you never need anyone to chat with just message me.✌️ 

I’ll be honest, I don’t understand this perspective, but I am not you.   You are playing amateur events that have no real bearing on you, your family, or your friends.  If you were not going to work and playing golf instead which resulted in your family not being able to eat or have a home then you let people down.   I hope you get yourself to a good place and can appreciate that even a club championship is more about the enjoyment of playing a game than trying to meet someone’s expectations 

My personal opinion.   Clubs aren’t going to make you better; and the clubs you had previously don’t reach a plateau and prevent you from getting better.   Sounds like you need to figure out the metal/emotional side if the game.  No reason to be ashamed of you anxiety, it is what it is but that is what the primary issue seems to be.   Sounds like you are putting too much pressure on yourself because of your fathers successes.   Have you tried a system; like DECADE, for course management to remove the emotional side of the game?  I would also say that if you personally don’t want to play in the club championship then don’t,  winning or losing that event does not define you as a person. 

I’m 70 now.  My circle of good players is shrinking.  Injuries have forced retirements and some have moved up to the last tee box..the pine box.  I’m in great shape and work in the gym to stay that way.   Running out of friends that can “play” and competitive events tricks balls.  I thought maybe another type of golf outlet.  Anyone?    My first slap in the face old experience…..when guys that I thought looked older than me, open the door for me walking into Quick Trip.  Here ya go sir!😇.         Blow me!🤬

Shot a 37 (+1) last night and a 75 (+3) the day before that. My putting and short game is out of this world, if I could get my approach game in order I think I could be going low low low! I had my first 3 putt after going quite a while without one during the 75 round. I usually don't play my back nine and I ran into a couple greens I wasn't very familiar with speed wise. (Also, looking at it just now, I added up putts wrong, I think it is 28)

Shot a 37 (+1) last night and a 75 (+3) the day before that. My putting and short game is out of this world, if I could get my approach game in order I think I could be going low low low! I had my first 3 putt after going quite a while without one during the 75 round. I usually don't play my back nine and I ran into a couple greens I wasn't very familiar with speed wise. (Also, looking at it just now, I added up putts wrong, I think it is 28)