DrMJG

Gloves are use no more than 1/2 year, changed sooner is need be.

I was given the opportunity of testing the TA Impact II, the slightly larger blade putter. I may be less inclined to make a big deal of appearance. After all, most of my current clubs were used. I tend to consider condition and suitability for my game more than original look. Still, this club looked good. Blade and shaft were black, as well as the grip. Alignments were clearly marked. In short, I give this this weapon a full 10 points in looks and style. As with any new club in my bag, it was going to take a while to get used to the feel of this putter. My gamer has a sound I am very used to, after 5 years of use. The TA sound was, to my ear, a tad softer. More like tapping on a full pot of water as opposed to any empty one. This implies as well that I spend a lot of time listening to my putter. I really do not, though I have many do. Not listening for sound may sound a bit off to many who are aware I was a conductor of orchestras and choirs as well as a classical singer. I respond more to the tactile when golfing. The TA did not produce any real distraction for me through sound no matter where on the face I struck the ball. In terms of the basic feel of the club, I spent a lot of time hitting and mis-hitting the blade in first day I tested it out. The feel of the Impact II was disorienting at the start. The basic sense was that it was heavier than my gamer and oddly balanced. This took a full three weeks of use to get to a sense of “I know this club and what I want to do”. I even spent an hour with a golf pro to see if I may need to radically change any of my putting the stroke. We ended up focusing more with stance and body straightening than anything else. Soon the TA felt better in terms of balance and I was not having the same impression of clunky, heavy and awkward. So, for these considerations I’ll assign a solid 8 points. As I spent time on the course and putting mat, I became quite a bit more accurate in all the fundamental aspect of using this putter, except repeatable accuracy of distance greater than 20’ mainly to operator error. I was able to readily aim the ball using within the markings on the club. The nice aspect of the club is it sent the ball in the direction I hit it, good or bad. All was solid with my stroke after I adapted to the club. I did have to change the stance to allow to keep more of the blade on the ground, lest I hit on the heel. I am far from 100% comfortable with the TA II. If this had been my choice for a putter when I rebuilt my set in 2014 I could see it as a gamer. I will continue to mix it in from time to time when the heat of Phoenix allows me to play again. Usability I would give 16 points. While it fits my game, still not a perfect natural one. Total Points 34 out of 40. One last comment: the price point makes this at great choice for many of us.

Got out early today so heat not a major factor during the round. 87 total with 24 putts. My chipping was solid so only a handful of first putts over 20'. While I am getting used to the soft face, today was a mix of long and short. Never frustrated by the TA2 itself, More a sense of my overthinking of putting in general.

Only 9 today, the heat here in PHX nears unbearable. 81º at first tee, 97º when I teed off on the last hole. Despite this famously dry heat, glad only played 9. I was very happy with the 43. It was also the first time felt the TA played as well, if not slightly better than my usual gamer. As a result of what others have said, I focused on keeping the blade flatter. Almost no hits going left. Not sure if this adjustment was related to the fact that I overshot the hole by >6' once. (Started with 50+ yards). I am developing a real touch. Only 15 putts for this go around.

Finished my 2nd full 18 using the TA 2. The results were well within my 38-40 average putts. I am really getting not only getting used to this putter, but, now am pleased with the results.. I have noticed when properly owned up, I get the line I was trying to obtain. No problems with the < 6', I have the ability to sink most. >6', still have the propensity to hit too long

Played a 9 hole round to see how I might approach more situational putting then simply mat or practice green. I shot alone to spectacular 45 with 24 putts. The three putts were often the aftermath from very poor chips leaving me with 30+ feet to make. Two of the first taps were left well short of the hole. When I attempted to compensate on one, I passed the hole by about 7'. after rimming it out. Hitting on line was less of a problem. I am getting much better with the over all feel of this club. Poor taps were often simple operator error. Still have not fallen in love with the Impact II. I wold call it a very good choice.

I picked the Impact 2 because it seemed like the between mallet and blade. So far, it feels that way. As mine is different, the TA grip may take a tad more adjusting to. I have club shafts in many colors, I will admit the black fits ok. Spent a few hours at a practice green, and, I am still adjusting to the feel to the club in terms of distance. Have left some short but more long. They seem true in terms of aim; just have not adjusted to the speed feel. Markings at top of club are good. Of the just under 70 taken, I marked 30 as good for a short tap in and 8 as sunk. The remaining saw more 3+ feet long than 2+ feet short.

MY TOYS! As I wrote earlier, since 1974, I have used only 3 putters. Each took some time to adjust to the size, weight and touch. I was able to get comfortable and learned to exploit them in my game. The old friend, my Canadian Club 1974-1985 I did not play golf at all from 1984 - 2015 My current gamer 2015 - present And now, the Tommy Armour, I am testing

Hello, Mark here. This is my first review not dealing with golf balls. I have not really focused on putters for some time. Putting, in my game, has been a the most positive part of my game since I started playing when LBJ was President. I very rarely go beyond 34 putts per round. For a good many years, I played with a rather generic bullseye style weapon. I was primarily focused on reading greens. I did move away from the bullseye when I was gifted a putter, it was made by or copied from the Acushnet style of 1975. In truth, is was part of a display at my father-in-law’s liquor store because he had a large display of Canadian Club Whiskey. I used that one for decades. As it was lighter than my first putter, touch and speed added to my putting skills. Finally, when I returned to the game after not playing for 20+ years, as I was rebuilding my clubs, I actually went in for a putter fitting. I settled on a Ping mallet. I do like the results, but have begun to wonder about playing a blade again. As a retired individual, Price is a strong consideration, so most Scotty C. putters are not on the list. In regards to this testing, I practiced on my testing sights to see what is both possible and predictable with the two putters I still have available. The TA putter will be referenced to my established ones. I will use the ball I always use, Bridgestone e12. First full round scheduled for this week.

I was given the opportunity of testing the TA Impact II, the slightly larger blade putter. I may be less inclined to make a big deal of appearance. After all, most of my current clubs were used. I tend to consider condition and suitability for my game more than original look. Still, this club looked good. Blade and shaft were black, as well as the grip. Alignments were clearly marked. In short, I give this this weapon a full 10 points in looks and style. As with any new club in my bag, it was going to take a while to get used to the feel of this putter. My gamer has a sound I am very used to, after 5 years of use. The TA sound was, to my ear, a tad softer. More like tapping on a full pot of water as opposed to any empty one. This implies as well that I spend a lot of time listening to my putter. I really do not, though I have many do. Not listening for sound may sound a bit off to many who are aware I was a conductor of orchestras and choirs as well as a classical singer. I respond more to the tactile when golfing. The TA did not produce any real distraction for me through sound no matter where on the face I struck the ball. In terms of the basic feel of the club, I spent a lot of time hitting and mis-hitting the blade in first day I tested it out. The feel of the Impact II was disorienting at the start. The basic sense was that it was heavier than my gamer and oddly balanced. This took a full three weeks of use to get to a sense of “I know this club and what I want to do”. I even spent an hour with a golf pro to see if I needed to radically change any of my putting stroke. We ended up focusing more with stance and body straightening than anything else. Soon the TA felt better in terms of balance and I was quickly not having the same impression of clunky, heavy and awkward. So, for these considerations I’ll assign a solid 8 points. After I'd spent a good amount of time on the course and putting mat, I became quite a bit more accurate in all the fundamental aspect of using this putter, though repeatable accuracy of distance greater than 20’ remains mainly to operator error. I was able to readily aim the ball using the markings on the club. The nice aspect of the club is it sent the ball in the direction I hit it, good or bad. All was solid with my stroke after I adapted to the club. I did have to change the stance to allow to keep more of the blade on the ground, lest I hit on the heel. I am far from 100% comfortable with the TA II. If this had been my choice for a putter when I rebuilt my set in 2014 I could see it as a gamer. I will continue to mix it in from time to time when the heat of Phoenix allows me to play again. Usability I would give 17 points. While it fits my game, still not a perfect natural one. Total Points 35 out of 40. One last comment: the price point makes this at great choice for many of us. This ends my review!

Finally back doing the golf thing. Without going into a lot of detail, I lost strength in the legs for almost any activity, including standing and balance. After impressive work done by my primary care physician. cardiologist, and great physical therapists, all is in order for doing "golf activities". First re-pairs were adding a stent to a locked artery and doing a LOT of physical therapy. THEN it was decided to put a Watchman in me and all has been cleared in terms of activity. So far I can chip and putt and lightly swing my Orange Whip®. So I did a little of each. Results were "OK" for now. All showed severe rust; but, I expected that. Great to be back!

Finally back doing the golf thing. Without going into a lot of detail, I lost strength in the legs for almost any activity, including standing and balance. After impressive work done by my primary care physician. cardiologist, and great physical therapists, all is in order for doing "golf activities". So far I can chip and putT and lightly swing my Orange Whip®. So I did a little of each. Results were "OK" for now. All showed severe rust; but, I expected that. Great to be back!

No, did not stop my interest in Golf or this forum. Rather my body decided not to want to play I was forced to stop golf 8 hours after my last 18. For reasons still neither fully explained or understood, my body decided to go from a slightly higher blood pressure to a very low one. Not related in any way to Covid16. As a result, balance was not possible and for over a 4 week period I cold not stand without getting very dizzy, even moving my lower body was quite the challenge. A combination of re-doing my medications from before to now have me well on the way. Therapy 3x a week, combibnations with new drugs and my own stubbornness have me standing, no dizziness, ability to work on some mild golf related exercises. As compared to a week earlier, I am a new person. All medical indications, including my cardiologist, are pointing to a more than possible return to golfing by Labor Day. No promises just doable. I won't give weekly updates, but, thanks for understanding!

It has been quit the while since my last post. There reason I did not post had nothing to do with this review, ball, forum, or anything such as that this product. Regarding this product, it exceeded both the promo stuff from Bridgestone, their evaluation of my swing, and my expectations The switch to Tour B from the e12 I was using is a good one. Drives: average 10 yards Irons 6-9 yards from 6 and 7 Hybrids aout 10 ALL showed improvement in accuracy, loft and result such as wedges. This will be the choice in my golf future! As to me: I was forced to stop golf 8 hours after my last 18. For reasons still neither fully explained or understood, my body decided to go from a slightly higher blood pressure to a very low one. As a result, balance was not possible and for over a 4 week period I cold not stand without getting very dizzy, even moving my lower body was quite the challenge. Not related in any way to Covid16. A combination of re-doing my medications from before to now have me well on the way. Therapy 3x a week, combibnations with new drugs and my own stubbornness have me standing, no dizziness, ability to work on some mild golf related exercises. As compared to a week earlier, I am a new person. All medical indications, including my cardiologist, are pointing to a more than possible return to golfing by Labor Day. No promises just doable. I won't give weekly updates, but, thanks for understanding!

Prior to getting VERY solid with the hybrids, I used the 6i a lot. Used it a quite often last round due to Ionger first rough on a moist course. So it drew my mind in practice. My hybrids are solid so is my 7i and wedges. We always seem to second guess our play at my level.

Today I focused on my 6, 7 and 8 irons. These, along with my hybrids, are the clubs I use most in my rounds. I know, that is a major revelation. Lately, my inconsistent club is the 6. I get good loft, ball speed and distance is not bad; but divergence from the target has widened in both directions. Today I even had a few topped shots. So, tomorrow through Sunday I will be figuring out were I am off in my routine. I do have a routine that has been very predictable and productive. Not sure why only the 6i is not doing well. Maybe, I need to not use it for a few days before a re-examination. O well, the course I am playing on Friday is playable without touching the 6.

Final report is on the way. Here is a short summation. I am an older player with a slower swing and ball speed; so when we did our video, Bridgestone recommended I play their e12. I already play that as my gamer. So the best option for me to test was the RX. I cannot really express my surprise and even shock at how much this particular ball has helped my game: cleaner straighter drives, more consistency with my group of irons and my hybrids, and, finally, the spin needed on chips and pitches. No, all my mediocre skills were not miraculously improved. I may change to this ball. I have loved Bridgestone spheres since I returned to golf after a 2 decade period. The confidence I have come to expect with their balls was re-confirmed. Heck, I even tried to mash one ball using non-golf methods with no luck. One ball I played for over 34 holes (would have finished the round with it until I sent it swimming). Considering I have 2 boxes of e12 and a few sleeves of e6 in the trunk of the car, it will be a few months before this retired person needs to resupply. When that time comes, I will be sure to get some RX. They will not make me senior tour ready, but this month, I have found good results and good fun in the Tour RX.

On my return to golf, I had to almost most start over in terms of grip. It seems I started a it too weak, so my coach ad me go to a some hard grip and THEN move to a somewhat more neutral grip. It as worked fine these past three years. Too hard of a grip also tires my hands quite a lot as I have major arthritis in my right hand.

I try to do the same thing: lower hands and lower start to backswing. Voice it in my head for every shot! One of these days it may turn into automatic. muscle memory!

Question for us all: How well the ball you were sent to try out match you and/or your game, regardless of what you usually play or in comparison to other spheres? Did the Bridgestone ball fit for this evaluation do well by you? Mine, the RX not only was a good fit, I was very pleasantly surprised.

Report post New round today was nowhere as good a the other day, and, given my usual problems with this course, it was still somewhat better than usual. Course 73.2/128 Score 92, 39 putts (left way too many way too long when I hit the green). Only 17 GIR, Not as many FIR as well. Two balls sent swimming and one shot into the trees past a green. So penalties plus the most lost balls for the year. In reality, most shots that were "off" were just enough off to make playing the round seem greatly unplanned. 7i usually short, and 6i usually a bit long. All the penalties would not have existed with no more than 5-8 yards less oomph. Mostly operator error, who may have tried too hard in terms of trying for yards. Still, perhaps the best round at this course for me and we did not play forward tees this time. Perhaps I am complaining too much as I came in second in my foursomes. Hard to accept a very mediocre round after a great one! More next week!

New round today was nowhere as good a the other day, and, given my usual problems with this course, it was still somewhat better than usual. Course 73.2/128 Score 92, 39 putts (left way too many way too long when I hit the green). Only 17 GIR, Not as many FIR as well. Two balls sent swimming and one shot into the trees past a green. So penalties plus the most lost balls for the year. In reality, most shots that were "off" were just enough off to make playing the round seem greatly unplanned. 7i usually short, and 6i usually a bit long. All the penalties would not have existed with no more than 5-8 yards less oomph. Mostly operator error, who may have tried too hard in terms of trying for yards. Still, perhaps the best round at this course for me and we did not play forward tees this time. Perhaps I am complaining too much as I came in second in my foursomes. Hard to accept a very mediocre round after a great one! More next week!

As with many here on the Bridgestone White Box Review, the sound is different from what I have played and it has taken a bit of time to adjust. I do like it, especially while putting; sounds solid and sure. In my pitch and chip practice this week, I have fallen in love with my new found ability to hold the greens. Sorry my beloved Bridgestone e12, you now may be replaced! I have even had a ball or two spin nicely back. This has never been a strong skill of mine. I was never able to create enough spin to do that well. The bite has even forced me to keep my ball mark repair tool at the ready. I new demand for my game! I will be playing a familiar course tomorrow with many challenges for my skills: longer yardage, narrower fairways, lots of sand, water, and greens with quite a bit of roll. Last time I played this course, I felt happy to just hit under triple digits. I do not expect to do as well as I did earlier this week, but will again allow me to see how this ball will help an old geezer such as me.

Played 18 with only my white ball stash. Played whole round with same ball. Simply put: the best round I have played in close to 3 decades! Played men's forward tees 5310 yards. TOTAL SCORE: 78!! NO penalties, NO 6's, 11 pars, 2 fairway sand traps that did not affect scores at all 30 putts, 85% fairways off the tee. HOLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN TOT Handicap: 16.6 RED65.10/105 305 425 310 135 320 315 330 85 445 2670 360 370 140 450 360 105 150 265 440 2640 5310 Course Hdcp: 10 PAR 4 5 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 36 4 4 3 5 4 3 3 4 5 35 71 INDEX 13 11 3 15 9 7 5 17 1 6 2 14 12 10 18 8 16 4 HCP NET My Score 4 5 4 3 5 5 4 4 4 39 4 5 3 5 5 4 3 5 5 39 78 10. 68 I am NOT crazy enough to claim the ball was the cause to my best score since the late 1980s. however... Drives were longer than ever: 210-235 on all driver uses, and well centered in terms of line. Some of that must be the result of comfort with my PING G410+ driver. I have only had it for just over 2 months. Still every time better results. Perhaps a solid combination of both additions. The greatest improvement was in the way the ball bit on wedges and chips. I think I had saved 4-6 strokes on that alone. Add a few lucky breaks, good putting and no penalties, I am ecstatic. It is fair to add that as this was the first time playing the RX on course; it had to have a solid contribution .

I am reporting here some white box RX results. ball Speed 130 launch angle 21º Average distance 210 deviation 6 yards