BMart519

One week on the Exputt leads to a 31 putt round with 10 GIR gaining over 1 stroke versus scratch. Also had a birdie lip out and left another 2” short. Can’t say enough about this system and making practicing engaging.

When did this happen? There are no shortage of online club reviews... This is a huge part of what TXG does.

Interesting session last night. Decided to significantly change my intention to: make a slow, wide backswing with the left arm pushing the club back as far as possible. Then almost pause at the top and plant the left heel to initiate the downswing. This is a feel that is really close to my gamer swing and was leading to good contact in my warmup. the result: set personal bests at all weights for both single swings and averages. Weather was nearly 20 degrees colder than seasonal, so that would have been working against me compared to previous fast days. Resumption of weight training on the FFG 101 program is definitely helping move past this plateau and eliminate muscle pain with 2 of my past 3 sessions being at or above previous all time bests.

It was the MTB Black... This was the chart I was thinking of but forgot both Snell balls were tested, thanks for posting. My opinion is the shot area is either a function of spin/aerodynamic consistency or ball quality/consistency, at least relative to the test pool - with smaller being better.

Great analysis and since you took the time and have the interest, I figure you would be the best person to pose the question to: If there was no commentary in the 2021 ball test about outliers that went significantly offline, high/low, etc., do you feel the quality data from the individual ball labs influence ball performance during flight? If memory serves, the MTB-X was one of the most offline with driver in the 2019 test, which I find more concerning than a measured difference of 3 compression points between the pole and seam and some of the other criteria used to identify a ball as bad.

Carry is within 1-3 yards and should be the priority vs total. It had the least rollout, which should be viewed as a positive IMO for better control on approaches. You can’t compare total distance for irons and wedges as the shots weren’t hit into a green or there wouldn’t be 16 yards of rollout on an 8 iron.

Expanded the game above to 40 and 50 footers after getting down to 16 putts when working up to 30'. Took 66 putts on the first attempt up to 50'. Then added a Play 9 session where I have to shoot par or better to work on random distances and estimating effect from upslope and downslope... Must have took an hour (on Summer) and was quite frustrated by the end. But I clearly need to sharpen up my distance control as confirmed by 4x 3 putts on Friday, so the frustration was well deserved. This was my routine to start the season when I was down around 32-33 putts per round which has crept up to 36 range recently. Going to get back at it a few times a week and see if that get my putting closer to a 5 HCP than a 15...

Funny that the Bridgestone B XS is lower launch and spin than the BX, similarly with the regular Z Star vs Z Star XV. At mid speed anyway... Seems like some marketing material needs to be updated. As Tony mentions in the article, there really is minimal differentiation between balls other than the top or bottom 5 for each test. I was surprised to see such little difference in roll out on the 55 yard shots between high spinning balls and the lower compression/low spin balls like the Tour Speed and RX/RXS. Based on this information, I don't see anything conclusive pointing me toward using Titleist balls given the mark up. My confirmation bias was satisfied that the Tour BXS works best for me or close to it based on how I score on the course. The only thing I plan on comparing is if the 2 Z Star balls are actually shorter off the tee as shown in the data. With Srixon regularly going on sale for 33-50% off in Canada (and making it cheaper than Snell or Vice with shipping and exchange rate), hard to argue against that ball unless information from the MGS Ball Lab can quantify performance impacts from the perceived quality issues with the balls. They are also in a price tier below Bridgestone for used balls and another tier below Titleist.

You guys are all making me feel a lot better about my choice to pay up from the Bushnell Pro XE at this point...

I agree with the shorter rough concept. A recent Fore the People podcast just discussed this course. Sounds like pace of play is 5-6 hours because there is a bar and smokehouse on the Par 3 12th hole where most groups spend 30-40 minutes eating, drinking, and heckling other groups as they tee off.

Do it next year and start it 2 or 3 months before your season starts. More of the tracking and gameplay comes out in the last 3 months.

1) Search for "TPI assessment" and perform the tests to see if you have limitations in t-spine rotation or external shoulder rotation 2) Google "improving external shoulder rotation", find exercises, do them... OR 3) See a physio to cover steps 1 and 2 above if your google machine isn't working. OR 4) Get the "Fit for Golf" app/subscription or follow him on Twitter and you will see multiple exercises and assessments over time.

I own a copy of LSW and have a 6 month Decade membership. The dispersion circle concept is the same in Decade, except it is shown at the end of the cone for tee shots. The major difference is LSW doesn't talk about specific widths of your dispersion circle. The most specific numbers are the penalty buffers which are either 5/10 or 10/20 yard offsets from later hazards/OB. If you are not going to put the effort in to spend hours on a launch monitor with all or half the clubs in your bag to calculate your dispersion circles with each club, there will be less value in the specific approach strategy to Decade and the LSW approach will get you 80-90% of the way there in terms of strategy. A big aspect is learning where the center of your dispersion circle is relative to your aim: if your shots finish on average 10 yards right with long irons and 20 yards right with driver, do you know that number and are you taking it into account with your aim on each shot. If you slice driver 30 yards, you might need to aim at the edge of water on the left or within the "penalty buffer" from LSW. That said, there is tons of valuable info, videos, and tools in the Decade app and subscription from putting and range drills to mental game scorecards, etc. I would say the 6 month membership (which often gets discounted) provided more value at 3-5x costs of the LSW book. Even seeing the practice stations that Scott uses to maintain his skill level as a +5 handicap is helpful to improving your game. I've read multiple books Scott has suggested as well as subscribed to the Waking Up meditation app on his recommendation.

Played the #4 ball last night and hit side by side with the 3 on a few occasions. 3 seemed slightly softer, I use my hollow body G700 4 iron off the tee as it is loud especially on mis-hits. Minimal performance difference on full iron swings. These are 2 tee shots that ran out to 225 with the 4 iron. Couldn’t do that again if I tried. Full swing performance into greens is mostly of the one hop and stop variety. Full 8 iro : Full 9 iron which backed up off an up slope: 2x 70 yard shots with lob wedge off downhill lie. Landing spots were different slopes so unable to judge run out. Was only able to hit driver twice. Had 1 wipey heel slice with each ball. I would say the #3 ball curved a bit less. Ball flight seemed higher with the #4 but would need more data with consistent strikes. Nothing from this test would discourage me from playing the #4. Next time will play the #3 with a few side by side shots with the 4 sprinkled in.

Random coins from foreign travel: Mexico, Slovakia, Poland, etc. Or coins from Canada and the US with special edition images on them.

Tricky bit about these numbers is the first 4 sessions of each program are at "gamer" swing. Afterwards you are instructed to swing at a maximum, which is probably around 5 mph faster than you would use on a course other than the long drive hole for your scramble. What is your average drive on course? I would be interested to see how these numbers "stack" up against real word performance for yourself as well as @mr.hicksta and @dlow206 I average 250 on all drives according to Shot Scope and my Performance Average on good shots is around 270. My gamer swing speed is around 100 mph versus 110 on the Stack with peaks of 115.

My SG: Putting numbers on Shot Scope show that I am losing strokes everywhere from 0-30ft after not spending much time practicing which culminated in a nausea-inducing 40 putts with 0x 1 putts last time out. My short game also needs work, but that is a story for a different thread. Made up a game on the Exputt in practice using 5-30 footers. First, I have to make 3/4 from 5, 10, 20 and 30 feet during 1 cycle through the distances. Next, I have to leave all 4 putts within 10% of starting distance (makes count). First night it took me 56 putts, second night 20 putts after tidying up my grip... Great bit of kit.

Not on a LAB, but in general I have found if I try to align the putter face perpendicular to the target that my aim bias is to the left. If I setup the alignment lines on the putter parallel to the target line that I am better and have less left misses.

My physio recommended a minimum of 1-2 weight training sessions per week to keep my body in good enough shape to withstand the loads from speed training after I went in to have some persistent hip tightness looked at. I've also been having persistent tightness in my back and neck as well over the past few weeks even with dropping the Stack to 1-2x per week. Judging by my speeds in the Neural Drive program, it also looks like I am at a plateau along with the fact my driving distance numbers have decreased 3-5 yards since the start of the season. (Some of this could be course conditions). A shift in focus back toward strength training is needed to boost force output and keep increasing output.

I just reread the finesse wedge section again this past weekend after 4x two chips in a prior round. Had a short sided 15’ pitch to a downslope on a par 3. Executed it perfectly with the ball landing on a mound off the green. Still rolled about 6-8’ past the hole. But it was a scramble and we got the up and down. I’ve come back to this book at least 3-4 times. The sand technique is also excellent.

I hit the Alta CB in a 425 LST (and Tour 65) during a fitting yesterday which performed as good or better than any other stock head and shaft combos for me. I think it is an underrated shaft that holds up well at a variety of swing speeds. I swing around 100 MPH and regularly play with a guy using a G410 LST with that version of the Alta CB 55 stiff whose handicap has been between 5-7 this year. His swing speed is comfortably in the 110-120 range because he routinely hits the ball 300 yards and can push it up to 310-320 on par 5's. Plays a fade and his big miss is a slice. I was surprised to see his driver setup the first time I played with him. Definitely will be asking him to try his driver a few times the next time we play in a scramble.

Did a driver fitting yesterday... Gamer swing is steady around 100 MPH which is disappointing on 1 hand compared to my numbers during swing training which are regularly around 107+ (and 115 without a ball). But also 5 MPH faster than during a demo day in May. On the positive side, no new drivers beat out my gamer F9 and my launch and spin were in the ideal range on Trackman and in the ping fitting charts for my delivery. The G425 LST came close with the stock Alta CB shaft. I asked the fitter if any of the current upcharge shafts would offer any benefit and the response was NO... I guess I need to pickup yards the old fashioned way with some lessons and get back on Fit for Golf in addition to Stack. Then figure out ways to add speed on the course while maintaining control and strike location.

Outdoor putting: 3 is confirmed softer than 4... Both are notably softer than a Pro V1X. The differences between the test balls and a Pro V1 or Tour Speed are much harder to notice on the putting green with an EVNROLL.

Initial thoughts: #3 has bigger and therefore less dimples than #4 They feel very similar off the putter indoors on Exputt, will need to try and hit some long putts outdoors to confirm but it feels like #3 might be softer. But I was back and forth on feel over the course of my first session.

What length driver do you play and which launch monitor are you using to get speed?