hartrick11

Haven't played Cross Creek yet, but 100% agree re: Pechanga if it's in the budget

Hmm if true that would certainly be enough to not venture out to Barona...within 30 mins of Poway, Rancho Bernardo Inn is a decent track and close by. Not as much elevation change as Woodson but in my experience has been in better shape (I play both of those pretty sparingly however). Temecula Creek is another solid track a bit further north. Another option, since you are playing a desert track in Rams Hill and Maderas (not really desert but hilly, boulders, etc.) already, you could switch it up and go to Crossings or Encinitas Ranch for some coastal golf; both have ocean views and are a step below La Costa price-wise (think like $100-120), but more like 40 mins from Poway.

I haven't played Barona since Feb so can't speak to current conditions, but it would have to be really really bad for me to consider Mt. Woodson over it.

For San Deigo, more affordable options in the city would be Balboa or Coronado; older school tracks with views/character. RB Inn and Encinitas Ranch are solid tracks outside the city proper in the $100 range, and Encinitas has ocean views if that is of interest. Further south maybe Singing Hills or Steele Canyon would fit a similar bill as RB Inn golf-wise, but I haven't played there in quite a while. Nice tracks under $200 (at least I think they are under $200 still but haven't looked up the latest rates) - not sure how much driving you are looking to do as the distance from downtown on this list varies quite a bit, but IMO the list would be Torrey North, La Costa, Maderas, Barona Creek, Rams Hill Over $200 public access tracks: Torrey South & Aviara If I was budgeting for <$150/round & willing to drive I would put together a 4 day trip like this: 1. Coronado - course is nice if not spectacular but the views are 10/10, super easy to get to if you are staying in/around downtown 2. Torrey North - should be A+ condition in Feb; course layout isn't as interesting or nostalgic as South but for >$100 less you get the same views and a still awesome course that pros play on yearly (for one round lol) 3. Barona (play after 11am for big discount) - most underrated course in San Diego IMO. I would play this over the better known Maderas every day, but some disagree. Most would agree that if you aren't afraid of a 90 min drive, Rams Hill would be better than both and would give you a Palm Springs feel w/ mountains/valley in the background 4. La Costa Legends - Tour stop from the 90s, cool layout, should be really good condition and a great resort. If planning on a 36 hole day you could do 18 on Legends and 18 on Champions for less than trying to play Torrey North and South back to back (though budget-permitting I would argue that playing Torrey South over La Costa Champions would be better value even at $150 more)

Give me the Mona Lisa over a collection of replicas, no matter how amazing they are.

Right/Right...give me the flow necks with less than a full shaft of offset please...

Finally got to hit a 7i with the stock LS 6.0 at the range this weekend. The grass was closed so didn't get a great feel for turf interaction, but I really liked everything about it otherwise. Nice high flight, really good forgiveness low on the face which is my typical miss. Feel was really good considering the beat up range balls; not ZX7 soft but still very solid, similar to but better than my brief test with the T100, though I had a PX 6.5 in the T100 which is a bit harsher for me than the LS, so not necessarily a fair comparison. Not sure if I can stomach the pricing when there are so many strong offerings at lower price points, but man are they good looking!

I hit these again at my local golf mart the other day along with the ZX7 and they were neck and neck (I went in to try out the i59 but they didn't even have a fitting head in yet ); I actually thought both felt equally great in their own way on well-struck shots which is saying something compared to an Endo forging in the ZX7; though the Srixons felt better outside of the sweet spot. The only thing I noticed performance-wise was that the MIMs were launching about a degree higher and spinning 300-400 higher than the ZX7 with the same $ Taper 120g shaft (they were both spinning higher than I would look for but this was with pinnacle practice balls so I wasn't reading too much into the numbers other than the differences between the two). I have also seen on other forums that the ZX7 may spin a bit less than competitor irons, so that could be saying something about the Srixons more than the MIM. In any case it held its own with the more-heralded ZX7 and continues to be an under-appreciated offering in my view. I had to push off an intended iron set purchase, but still hoping to buy a set in the next few months and these remain in the running.

After the T-100s didn't knock me out (don't get me wrong they are still at the top of my list just not quite an "autobuy") and Ping came in too pricey with the i59s (and no i525 combo option yet), I am going to wait to check out these 223s and 225s before buying my next set. They look awesome and I like the fact that they seem to blend better than T100/T200.

Great looking bag. Love the way the wedges came out! Also I don't usually use OEM headcovers but those would make me think twice - very clean and, dare I say, un-Cobra-like?

Sweet setup @txgolfjunkie! Do you get irked at all by having three different finishes? I added an i500 3 iron utility setup to my bag of black irons & wedges earlier this year and it's been bugging me big time, but wondering if I am alone in my ocd-ness. Wonder if they are going to take that finish through to the utility/wedges...would be pretty cool to be able to rock a full set of copper beauties.

I got to hit the T200 and T100 at my local range today. The grass was closed and wind was around 15 mph hurting & right to left, so not ideal from a testing standpoint but it was nice to try out both clubs. I had a 7 iron head of each and was switching the same PX 6.5 shaft into each head. Hit 30 shots with each, and compared with 15 shots with my gamer, the 2018 Cobra King Forged CB, 34* loft (same as T100), $ Taper 130 shaft which, while not exactly apples-to-apples with the PX 6.5, not too far off in profile. Looks wise, the T100 was a few mm longer blade length than my CBs, which combined with a bunch of tungsten should hopefully provide the additional forgiveness that I am seeking with my next set. The soles were actually a bit thinner on the T100 though - not a ton, but I found that interesting at least. T200 looks great at address; slightly thicker than T100 but in line with the older AP2 sets, so still very "players" look, and with minimal offset. Feel-wise, the T100 felt great. Very solid, almost heavy when making contact if that makes sense. Definitely firmer to my ear than say ZX7, MMC/JPX Tour or X Forged/TCB, but that is in line with Titleist historically IMO. Plenty of feedback to know where I made contact. What surprised me was how close in feel the T200 was to the 100. That's not to say it was just as good, but it was a lot closer than I expected. I initially thought I would look for a 4-5 in the T200 to combo with the 100 because I assumed the 200 would be too similar to the feel of the Apex Pro, but after today I would not have any issues gaming the 7 iron. Performance-wise, I will need to wait until a proper fitting to make any decision. The combination of the wind/range balls likely impacted things quite a bit but I was hitting both clubs very high despite using a low/low shaft; I didn't have a launch monitor but the T100 & 200 seemed to provide very similar ball flights despite the 2* loft difference. My gamer was also going higher than normal, but was definitely flying a couple of degrees lower than the Titleists, which I assume is at least partially influenced by the large amount of tungsten relative to the 12g of tungsten in the Cobras. All in all, I was impressed with both, with the T100 meeting my high expectations and the T200 exceeding my slightly lower expectations. With the right setup either could provide me with a more forgiving set than my current gamers while still looking and feeling the part of a players iron.

100% agreed re: the communication aspect - the spur of the moment golf is officially dead for me, but if I am planning well I can usually make it work; it just usually means I am playing solo or with 1-2 other friends rather than accommodating three other guys' schedules to get a foursome together.

I am definitely lucky, I know that - It has been terrible in a hundred other ways, but the pandemic actually helped my golf frequency in that there has been minimal social obligations or travel since my son was born, so most weekends are free.

My son (first child) was born last year, so I have had a recent adjustment. Golf is the one thing that really allows me to reset as I get time with friends, time outdoors with no computer/phone, and time to compete (with myself and with friends/playing partners). For that reason, as much as possible, I have sacrificed any other social life that existed pre-kids rather than sacrificing golf since it can check a lot of boxes for me. My wife has also been very supportive as she knows that the "reset" really helps me be the best dad/husband/corporate stooge the rest of the week. I try to make it up to her by making sure she has solo time in the evenings. Even with that, I went from playing 45-55 times per year plus at least one range session each week (I live in San Diego so was playing almost every weekend throughout the year), to 20 rounds, with probably 15 range sessions, in his first 12 months. Handicap has gone from a 5.0 up to almost 9 before dipping back just below 8 recently. On one hand, it is very frustrating to watch yourself get worse at golf, but on the other hand I am really stressing a lot less about my scores and focusing on enjoying the time I do get, which has been refreshing. Logistically I did two things: First, I joined a club back in January that was offering a good Jr. Executive deal. I am definitely not "breaking even" financially, but the course is 10 mins from my house so I am able to get a full 18 holes in and be back at the house within about 4:30-4:45 after leaving, compared to really a minimum of 6 hours out of the house for the public tracks I was playing at (between longer commutes and slow weekend play on completely stacked courses). The other thing I did was put a putting green over a small dirt patch in my side yard. I am having fun playing around with my son, who loves holding his little plastic club and swatting at the ball, and also enjoy a good 15 mins most evenings after he has been put to bed just grooving my stroke while turning my brain off. I would imagine the second kid whenever that does happen will be another even bigger reduction in the amount of golf I will play (and will get rid of the club membership), but I will cross that bridge when I get there!

I have a black MIM 52* that has a bit of rust on the leading edge after a few months. It doesn't even get a lot of play as I usually play a four wedge setup with my set 50* and a Vokey 54*, so I am guessing with regular play you will see some rust, but this is just based on a sample size of 1 so YMMV.

They sure have. It's also worth noting, given the struggles of some other OEMs over the past year (see this year's CCC thread for example), just how good Titleist was to us with respect to our test. Despite supply chain challenges, our custom setups shipped out extremely fast. In my case Titleist provided a free TPI fitting and had the driver in my hands before you could even get one off the rack in stores! Ridiculously good service on their part. I know 2021 has brought different challenges to the OEMs than 2020 so the comparison may not be totally fair and I don't mean to throw stones, but my experience certainly renewed my appreciation for Titleist after not playing or even really considering any of their non-Scotty/Vokey offerings for >10 years. Hopefully they can get through what is sure to be a wildly popular iron series release without too much of a supply issue.

Can't wait to hear more on this one. I am particularly interested to see if the T100S is more forgiving than the T100 as a result of the "muscle channel" in the cavity that apparently helps with ball speed. My initial thinking (will get a fitting first!) was a T200 4-5 (the 5 being 1* weak at 26*) and then T100 6-W so I could keep similar lofts to my current set while adding forgiveness compared to my current CBs, but if the T100S are actually more forgiving and don't sacrifice much in the feel department it would open up more options to over analyze think about.

Back down in the 70s for the first time in a little bit with a 78 (4.9 Diff). 2 birdies, 9 pars, 4 bogies, 2 doubles. 9/18 greens, 7/14 fairways, 31 putts; about 2 better than my averages across the board over the last few months. Been working on a "dead" feeling with my arms in the transition/downswing and it is really helping to reduce my left miss. Hoping I can keep the momentum going into August.

My TSi3 is still safely in the bag as well. I had really been fighting my swing earlier this year (a lot of swings that no driver could help), but it is starting to come around the last month or so and I am a lot more comfortable pulling driver on holes that I wasn't back in the spring. Obviously just as the driver has come back to life my irons have left me but my plan to buy myself a more forgiving set of irons for Christmas (or potentially Halloween haha) should solve that...

This is probably not the best take for a golf forum, but mine was actually my habit of messing around with different wedges and putters just because new cool stuff=fun. Full swings and short putts weren't really a problem, but anything touch-related was incredibly inconsistent as a result; lag puts and any half swings/pitches turned decent holes into disasters. I have stuck with my same putter for 4 years now, and do almost all of my chips & pitches with the same SM7 58* for the last 2+ years, and the short game has really been cleaned up as a result. I even bought a backup SM7 58* that I will unwrap next year to ensure the exact same wedge feel for another few years before I have to even think about changing anything. Now, my problem is inconsistency off the tee and the answer is an upgrade from Monte's online videos to real, regular lessons with a coach, and if I had the extra scratch lying around, probably a sports psychologist too since my problem seems to be like 75% mental . More to come on that front...

Torrey Pines for me.

A low spin ball and a higher tee height might help knock the spin down a tick.

Great write-up. Having tried out a friend's 7 iron my thoughts were similar; well-made, good feel, great value. I am in the same boat wishing there was an iron in between this and the 699 pro (or even just the same CB but with tungsten added to the low/toe area), but admittedly that is probably asking for too much given they are still an upstart and already have a ton of SKUs as it is.

It's actually comical how bad I have been at these but here goes nothing...not picking against Rahmbo at this point.