srooch2

Here is Sharky Mac’n Swans order. Following @GolfSpy_APH lead and going with team captain starting off. 

1. @GolfSpy_BNG
2. @fredsharky
3. @LinksgolfFever
4. @swansosa
 
As we prepare to sink the duckboats I’d like to let @GolfSpy BOS and @GolfSpy TCB know that yes our team abbreviation is SMS just like the Edel irons cuz they are that damn good!!!
 

I went out yesterday with a different mindset and found some success. As I was reading my putts I would glance at the cup and pick a spot either on the back or bottom of the cup and visualize that as I was putting. Basically was only thinking about that one spot in the cup and then a spot on the ball and that stopped me from trying to guide the ball to the hole. It helped a lot, I sunk a couple of 10-15 footers and made all but one of my putts inside 5 feet (no three putts on the day, either). Ended up with four birdies during the round en route to a +2 74, 11 strokes better than what I posted on Tuesday above.

Did you count his clubs too?  Prob had 18 in the bag. 

Completely 100% apologize to my teammates.  Hasn't been a good month, bowing, bocce, even darts are looking more appealing right now. 

Really glad to hear! I did worry this test wouldn't resonate or reach anyone. Even influencing one person makes it worth it. 

I found the fairway wood easy to hit off the tee and off the deck. Depending on what you are looking for in a fairway wood (distance, accuracy,  workability, etc). I did not find the mizuno 3-wood to be very long in general. It was closer to my Callaway 3HL (16.5°) in distance. But for me it was more accurate and if needed the adjustability can help bring it closer to a standard 3wood distance. I also found the club very easy to work both ways which helps for those tight pins.

For me off the tee the fairway is excellent. Off the turf can be a crapshoot however I probably don’t have the swing speed to be hitting off the deck with any regularity. When I catch it clean it’s great. 

FYI, I don't think anyone tested a 5 wood. I found the 3 wood easy to hit off the tee and the deck. Beautiful flight path. Just didn't go anywhere. Other testers got some real yardage so results vary. If you are going to get fit I would include it because it is very straight. Hope this helps.

Love it, I didn't think about the range balls at the course but you are right, they suck. I now get to hit premium golf balls anytime I want. One thing that has surprised me out there is how many people steal range balls and play rounds with them. I have found a lot out there. I gotta return them to our course soon, just keep forgetting to grab them. My long term plan is to build a more proper green, I'm not quite ready for the commitment but one day I'm going all in. I have dirt, sand and location ready to go. Now just need the time. Lol

I heard a recent short video of someone saying you will never see a sub 5 handicap searching for balls on a course. I think what this person really meant was a person in a certain tax bracket. It is always the case that when I lose a golf ball on my course, some sort of child-like behavior begins to rise from the ashes in me. I almost get mad at my course and feel compelled to get back what I lost or get what is rightfully mine. It’s nothing out of the ordinary to see me army crawl out of the deep brush, pockets stuffed with whatever balls I can find. My practice rounds on my course can easily turn into a geocaching hunt. Don’t get confused, when I have my “scoring” rounds I’m all business and can’t be bothered to think about anything but what’s in front of me. Over the past few months I have amassed a huge collection of golf balls, easily 200 or so now. I have so many that I get choosy out there and only take premium or soft golf balls that I like to hit, discarding the ever so clicky top flites I loath. I am blessed to live out in a very secluded rural area, I am the last house on a dead end road and live on 60 acres and I’m surrounded by 400 more than belongs to extended family. In other words, I live in paradise. I have a lot of extra clay and dirt just sitting around after excavating the ground where my house sits. It is good to keep it around where I’m at because as people say in the country, “Ya never know when you’ll need it.” This is a way of justifying our hoarding. As it sat there I decided to just to make a big flat pile in the field and put a flag in it, allowing me to hit golf balls anytime I feel like it. This may surprise you but turns out I “feel like it” quite often. What I have discovered in being able to hit balls any time and in complete solitude has been remarkable. How often are you on a driving range and find yourself thinking about everyone else around you? Do you really practice or are you trying not to hit bad shots and embarrass yourself? In every other sport, practice means just that, practice. You are not out there to impress the ones around you, you are there to improve and learn new skills. When I play basketball I find myself doing things I would never do in a game time situation. Dribbling, moving, and shooting in ways that would warrant a seat at the end of the bench if performed during a game. Yet these things build the necessary skills that improve your body and mind relationship and develop your game. They make the normal things you do in a game feel effortless. If you’ve seen a good basketball player play by themselves or in a street ball game you will notice how much different they play, depending on the stakes of what they’re playing for of course. But once the buzzer sounds they become disciplined and under complete control. We have either lost that in the game of golf or never really had it come to think of it. Since day one of my golfing life I have always felt the need to impress those around me. I never just truly practiced full swings. I have done this plenty with my short game, I can spend hours by myself on a secluded practice green and hit ridiculous shots that I would never attempt in a round. But of course once someone joins me, I feel the sudden need to hit every pitch as close to the hole as possible. My short game has always been my strength and it took a long time to figure out why. Pressure is a good thing and required to become good at golf, but so is the freedom to make mistakes and learn to “play” golf. My game has been on a rapid acceleration in terms of handicap this year. Before my triumphant return, I was your typical golfer who picked the game up late in life. I struggled to shoot in the 80’s, never broke 80, and if being honest was usually a 90 plus shooter. Maturity played a part as well but nothing has freed me up quite like hitting balls on my own driving range has. I hit ridiculous shots from fades, draws, high, low, punches, stingers, and wedges off super high tees. I hit A LOT of bad shots, and guess what? It doesn’t matter! Hitting those bad shots have developed my game and hand-eye coordination more than anything else has. I can now shoot par and play from the back tees on my course which is something I never thought I would achieve. The back tees isn’t a flex, just a result of me learning to play golf rather than play golf swing. It’s a byproduct of the work I do at home. I have only gone to the driving range twice this year, both experiences left me feeling tense and unfulfilled. I didn’t feel like I accomplished anything and yearned to get back home to hit the bad taste out my mouth with my yard balls. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have the space to have your own driving range but I would encourage you to find a safe space for you to let it rip. Maybe you know someone with a field or there is a secluded park in your area to go whack away. I think if you can make this a priority to do regularly you will be pleased with the results, not only in your physical game but also in your mental game. You should see a shift in your outlook on golf and approach the game in an athlete’s mindset. ✌️
 

Love it, I didn't think about the range balls at the course but you are right, they suck. I now get to hit premium golf balls anytime I want. One thing that has surprised me out there is how many people steal range balls and play rounds with them. I have found a lot out there. I gotta return them to our course soon, just keep forgetting to grab them. My long term plan is to build a more proper green, I'm not quite ready for the commitment but one day I'm going all in. I have dirt, sand and location ready to go. Now just need the time. Lol

For 16 of the past 17 years I had a 100 yard hole on my property. Tee box, sand trap and synthetic green that was 30 feet wide by 48 feet deep. My short game was at its best just because practice was 50 yards from the house.
This past year with the move to NC I had to change the way I practice. I no longer have acreage and although my course is not far away and it does have a range, the range balls SUCK. 
I walk the course when I play and my son is on the course maintenance crew. So while playing I walk the edges of the fairways and pick up lost balls to add to a collection. As he is mowing or weed eating ditches he puts some found balls aside for us. Others he puts aside for a guy who lives on the course. He washes and sells the balls in his yard. Half the money he donates to the course.  When our bucket gets full the balls are washed and put into bags of 25 to 30. The high end good condition balls are put aside for non scoring rounds or practice. 
The rest of the balls are now used as our range balls. Given to us by the course and given back to the course by way of the range. I don’t have to hit the range balls this way. 
I don’t spend time scouring the woods, bushes, and tall grass. It’s just if I see something while walking. But they  add up quickly. 

Really glad to hear! I did worry this test wouldn't resonate or reach anyone. Even influencing one person makes it worth it. 

Just wanted to say THANK YOU to @srooch2, @TheProfessor02, @FightingScot82, and especially @GolfSpy BOS for the great information shared during these reviews.
I did test one grip myself on one club, and will say that I ordered a full set of replacement grips in this model and hope to get them, and install them before next weekend, so I can get my final fall rounds of the season with them.
ALL of the testers mentioned had valuable information, as well as my playing with one which led to my final decision.

Lie/Loft Test complete (FYI I have soooo much data here that I will get into later but here are the brightline numbers):

 

My main goal here was to see if I was giving anything up playing in the standard setting. For the "upright" setting, I can say definitively....no. I lost several of them WAY left and, surprisingly, two way right. But lofted down is another story. That wasn't as clear cut. I saw a few shots I REALLY liked on the lower loft setting. Surprisingly spin was basically flat across the two but launch came down (not sure that is a good thing) as did height (ditto). Ball speed was up but it didn't really result in anything. Truth be told, I hit significantly more shots with the lower loft (see dispersion chart above). The standard was so accurate you can barely even see it on the dispersion chart but check out how small that grouping circle is. I think I will stick with the standard setting but this was a fun exercise. 
It was interesting that they all curve about the same amount but the standard setting just STARTS in the right place for my draw. Maybe it is because I am used to it? I don't know. But I am loving this lie angle and I never even knew I needed it!
Full data if anyone cares, I got an initial "set" of 5 where I threw out really bad strikes (maybe 2 or 3 total) and then went to "no throwaways" for the last 7/8 shots where I had to just take whatever I got. 

I heard a recent short video of someone saying you will never see a sub 5 handicap searching for balls on a course. I think what this person really meant was a person in a certain tax bracket. It is always the case that when I lose a golf ball on my course, some sort of child-like behavior begins to rise from the ashes in me. I almost get mad at my course and feel compelled to get back what I lost or get what is rightfully mine. It’s nothing out of the ordinary to see me army crawl out of the deep brush, pockets stuffed with whatever balls I can find. My practice rounds on my course can easily turn into a geocaching hunt. Don’t get confused, when I have my “scoring” rounds I’m all business and can’t be bothered to think about anything but what’s in front of me. Over the past few months I have amassed a huge collection of golf balls, easily 200 or so now. I have so many that I get choosy out there and only take premium or soft golf balls that I like to hit, discarding the ever so clicky top flites I loath. I am blessed to live out in a very secluded rural area, I am the last house on a dead end road and live on 60 acres and I’m surrounded by 400 more than belongs to extended family. In other words, I live in paradise. I have a lot of extra clay and dirt just sitting around after excavating the ground where my house sits. It is good to keep it around where I’m at because as people say in the country, “Ya never know when you’ll need it.” This is a way of justifying our hoarding. As it sat there I decided to just to make a big flat pile in the field and put a flag in it, allowing me to hit golf balls anytime I feel like it. This may surprise you but turns out I “feel like it” quite often. What I have discovered in being able to hit balls any time and in complete solitude has been remarkable. How often are you on a driving range and find yourself thinking about everyone else around you? Do you really practice or are you trying not to hit bad shots and embarrass yourself? In every other sport, practice means just that, practice. You are not out there to impress the ones around you, you are there to improve and learn new skills. When I play basketball I find myself doing things I would never do in a game time situation. Dribbling, moving, and shooting in ways that would warrant a seat at the end of the bench if performed during a game. Yet these things build the necessary skills that improve your body and mind relationship and develop your game. They make the normal things you do in a game feel effortless. If you’ve seen a good basketball player play by themselves or in a street ball game you will notice how much different they play, depending on the stakes of what they’re playing for of course. But once the buzzer sounds they become disciplined and under complete control. We have either lost that in the game of golf or never really had it come to think of it. Since day one of my golfing life I have always felt the need to impress those around me. I never just truly practiced full swings. I have done this plenty with my short game, I can spend hours by myself on a secluded practice green and hit ridiculous shots that I would never attempt in a round. But of course once someone joins me, I feel the sudden need to hit every pitch as close to the hole as possible. My short game has always been my strength and it took a long time to figure out why. Pressure is a good thing and required to become good at golf, but so is the freedom to make mistakes and learn to “play” golf. My game has been on a rapid acceleration in terms of handicap this year. Before my triumphant return, I was your typical golfer who picked the game up late in life. I struggled to shoot in the 80’s, never broke 80, and if being honest was usually a 90 plus shooter. Maturity played a part as well but nothing has freed me up quite like hitting balls on my own driving range has. I hit ridiculous shots from fades, draws, high, low, punches, stingers, and wedges off super high tees. I hit A LOT of bad shots, and guess what? It doesn’t matter! Hitting those bad shots have developed my game and hand-eye coordination more than anything else has. I can now shoot par and play from the back tees on my course which is something I never thought I would achieve. The back tees isn’t a flex, just a result of me learning to play golf rather than play golf swing. It’s a byproduct of the work I do at home. I have only gone to the driving range twice this year, both experiences left me feeling tense and unfulfilled. I didn’t feel like I accomplished anything and yearned to get back home to hit the bad taste out my mouth with my yard balls. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have the space to have your own driving range but I would encourage you to find a safe space for you to let it rip. Maybe you know someone with a field or there is a secluded park in your area to go whack away. I think if you can make this a priority to do regularly you will be pleased with the results, not only in your physical game but also in your mental game. You should see a shift in your outlook on golf and approach the game in an athlete’s mindset. ✌️
 

That would be great, hit me up next time you’re around. I can take you to some local tracks I like. Or we can just hit big cedar and play the crème de la crème. ✌️ 

Next trip I make to this area might be an opportunity to see if we could maybe get some Spies out for a get together round or two. 
This is my 3rd time to this area in the past 4 years. Meet friends from other states, we all drive in and hang out for a week or so.

You’re in my neck of the woods. Great courses down that way

Date 09/20/2023 Course Name Branson Hills Golf Club Gross Score 80 Course Handicap 7 Gross Strokes over/under par 8 Net Score to Par 1 Net Score 73 Net Birdies or better 4 Longest Drive 250 VCT Match Play Played Branson Hills Golf Club in Missouri. Rained 2 inches last night, so cart path only and not much roll on any balls. Did hit 10 of 14 fairways, other misses were in play just off edges. Course is more target golf, to score well, and putting on some greens was similar to miniature golf due to sever sloping, undulation and pin positions.
Bogies were results of both some missed greens, and 2 or 3 putts.
Overall happy to score this well not knowing all the ins and outs of the course, and could score even better next time I played it.
Scenic pictures below for those interested in seeing them.
 

Date 09/20/2023 Course Name Sulphur Springs Country Club Gross Score 81 Course Handicap 6 Gross Strokes over/under par 9 Net Score to Par 3 Net Score 75 Net Birdies or better 5 Longest Drive 235 VCT Match Play Today was the first round with my new irons. It didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I can’t blame the irons. First I didn’t have my best swing, I had high hopes for a new transition move that didn’t pan out, I was questioning the distances the new irons traveled, the wind was 20-25mph, and there was a 45 minute lightning delay between holes 2&3. We basically played the first 6 holes in the rain. Of course, the bottom line is I didn’t make great contact with the ball and once again relied on my short game to get me out of trouble. 
 
There is always Friday and the weekend. Although I will not likely play the shorter tees then. I did today because that’s where the others in my foursome played. Of course I give up 3 strokes to play from there. 
 
My course handicap was an 11 Friday and a 9 today but a 6 from these tees. It didn’t help. 

Im pretty good I guess 🤷‍♂️ 

I think you might want to revisit your posting. I would say minus 67 is just impossible.

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. 

Date 09/19/2023 Course Name Whispering Oaks Gross Score 72 Course Handicap 3 Gross Strokes over/under par 2 Net Score to Par -1 Net Score 69 Net Birdies or better 1 Longest Drive 0 VCT Match Play Designate as Week 3 Match Score Again, don’t know how to figure up net birdies and just put actual ones. It won’t let us put decimals either on course handicap. ✌️