RI_Redneck

Go with The Grip Master Perf Wraps for that classic look! You won't be disappointed with how they feel and perform. BT

I have been installing mine using blue painters tape, light soap solution and air. If I decide to change shafts/clubs, I just blow them off and reinstall on the new ones. BT

Like RickyBobby said above. They already hit small headed 3ws 300+, so reducing the driver head will only change things marginally. I still think conditions should become course specific instead of Tour specific. I remember reading an article a while back where a pro was commenting that his sand play ability was much lower, now, than what it was in College because the traps are conditioned the same on most of the courses they compete upon. In college, they were almost all different and he had to know how to play each type of sand. Imagine if they didn't have ball spotters and a gallery to tromp the rough down. Fairways that were inconsistent and greens that varied from course to course. In other words, play the same conditions we play. BT

Even though they're 17-4 stainless, I'm seriously considering that. I don't want to change them if I don't have to though. I can probably get by with enough practice with them. I'm a range rat, so enough practice won't be a problem. Just picked up a set of Program F15 120 S to go in them and I have some grips at home. Should be interesting. BT

I've been playing blades and players CBs for years and haven't found any difference in them. However, to actually SEE what a high MOI clubhead will do for me, I am contemplating doing a test. I checked the MOI on all of the irons I have at home and they are all in the 2000 - 2200 g/cm2 range. The JPX EZ head is measured at nearly 3500. I think I am going to get a used set of these, set them up with my preferred shafts and grips balanced to my taste and play the rest of this year with them. Work hard just like I do with my current sets. The biggest hurdle will be getting over the amount of offset they have. The lofts are a little stronger in the long irons, but not enough to cause a problem. Really curious to see what happens. BT

Leather is the tackiest there is. Water and sweat don't affect them. Don't worry about the cost because they'll outlast 4 sets of any other grip. Best Grips and The Grip Master (now carried by Golfworks). BT

Having used adjustable drivers since they came out and participated in countless discussions with others, with greater knowledge than mine of this topic, I have come to understand how these adjustments affect golfers. With movable weights, it has been published that the amount of weight must be in excess of 20g to move the actual CoG of the cluhead a significant amount. That means 20g TAKEN from one extreme location and moved to the opposite extreme location, not just simply adding 20g somewhere. Tests have shown that heel-toe movement, which should affect the closure rate of the face, makes less difference than face back movement, which can influence backspin and launch angle. We have seen this proven in several reviews of clubs over the last few years. Hosel adjustments, depending on the specific adapter, CAN affect Loft, Lie and Face Angle. The adapters change the angular relationship between the shaft and the clubhead, exactly like bending the hosel does. Early on, there were many discussions on whether these adjustments actually caused changes in loft OR Face angle, and it depended on the method used to measure the club. Some loft measuring practices suggest that wood heads be allowed to sole naturally, which will indicate a Face Angle change and NO measured Loft change. Others suggest the face be squared, which will indicate a Loft change. The Lie will change the same amount as the Loft with the U or D markings indicating a more upright lie and the F markings indicating a flatter lie. Actual Lie angle is typically indicated in the club specs on the manufacturer's website. With that being said, HOW these adjustments affect a golfer is dependent on the golfer themselves! With the Loft/Face Angle argument, it depends on whether the golfer delivers the face at the adjusted Face Angle OR physically squares it (as mentioned a few posts back). If the golfer allows the Face Angle change to stay in place when they swing the club, then left/right curvature will usually be changed. These golfers have been taught (or taught themselves) to allow the club to "sole out" or come to rest in a natural resting position when they place it on the ground to take their grip. These are the folks who are affected in some way when the club sits Open or Closed and may have issues controlling ball flight because of it. If the golfer squares the face, physically overriding the FA change, then the loft change will come into play. These golfers (which include myself) physically aim the clubface when taking their grip, much like most golfers do with their irons. Any measured Face Angle change is overridden by us holding the club in the position we choose. Personally, I don't take notice of how a Driver sits when deciding if I want to try it or not. BT

1. Grip Master - The Roo 2. Grip Master - Classic Perf Wrap 3. Grip Master Master Perf Stitchback BT

Didn't watch all of them, so I missed that comment. I went back and watched this comparison with the sound turned up high (made the wife complain, LOL) and it SEEMS like the Mavrik doesn't have as much "whoosh" as the Cobra in the pre-impact swing. That would lead me to think the aerodynamics of the head were better. Sound is turbulence and turbulence is drag. The quieter a club is when swung, the less drag it has. I realized this when I was comparing modern drivers to my old persimmon drivers. I can actually get higher CHS with the old drivers than I can with the modern ones. Ball doesn't go as far though. I also noticed, right before Matt started hitting, that they put up a message saying that the clubs felt significantly different when swung. I found that odd because I have always found that my drivers feel very similar when I have them setup correctly. I'm curious HOW they felt different? BT

I'm not sure it is just the head's launching capability because they didn't show CHS. If he is able to swing the Mavrik faster than the Cobra, that accounts for the higher BS. Could be the head's aerodynamic properties or could be the balance of the club suits his tempo better. Can't tell for sure without all the data. BT

Yeah, I have a bad habit of thinking everyone else is as into this game as I am. Like when I found what worked best for me, I wanted to know why it did. What parts of the combination were key. Sure as heck saves a ton of time when testing things! BT

I will defer. Yes, if you are all around the clubface, current drivers DO offer a bit more MOI benefit that some older drivers. I guess I also tend to think posters here have, at least SOME idea of what their ideal specs are. Swing weight, total weight shaft profile, etc. Perhaps not, but comparing clubheads using different specs is not really comparing clubheads. It's comparing clubs which may or may not be right for you. BT

I used to have a REALLY loose grip at address. But found something later in life that caused me to re-think it. It also has something to do with the fingers / palm argument. Before I start, I agree whole 100% that the grip is a very personal thing and everyone has to fined their own. That being said, here is my experience. I began playing at 10yrs and was taught the standard interlocking grip with Vs pointing at my right shoulder (righty). I was quite athletic and played baseball a lot. Needless to say I struggled with a slice for years. At 23 (1985), I got my first set of custom fitted irons (if you want to call them that) I got a grip lesson during and the fitter recommended I rotate my right hand more weak and focused on rolling my hands through impact. The guy was well recommended, so I took his advice. Now, this felt completely different to the swinging motion I used for years in baseball. However, I stuck with it. My consistent slice be an erratic anything from slice to hook since I had difficulty timing the rolling of my hands. Over time I got fairly good control and could keep the ball in play most of the time. Keep in mind I had a CHS in the mid 120's and hit the ball a pretty good distance. So OB was a common thing I had to deal with unless the course was wide open. I played with this setup until I got to the age of appox 38. At that point I had been watching PGA players for a long time and noticed that most had a stronger left hand than I did. I decided to change my grip. Being a father of 4 and not having a lot of spare cash, I obviously didn't take lessons. I spend a great deal of time at my cousins driving range working my grip stronger. Everything was way left because I was still rolling those hands through impact. I eventually realized that I needed to stop rolling my hands. After a couple of years re-training myself, I got it in pretty good control. But it seemed every time I wanted to really crank one, I would hook it off the planet. As is taught now, I would always take a really relaxed grip when going for extra distance. At that time, I gripped the club mostly in my fingers and after some research, figured out that if I squared the clubface at address with my grip loose, it would close several degrees when my grip tightened during the swing. I did some more research on grips and figured out I was too much in the fingers. My fingers were usually perpendicular to the shaft if I looked at them from below. I changed my grip to where they were more at a 45* angle and the hooking issue was greatly lessened. Adjusting the face alignment to be square when my grip tightened gave me perfect control. I also found during experimentation that it was possible to have my grip TOO LOOSE. I like to push the club back with my left hand to start the backswing and found I didn't have good control if my grip was too loose. I found I hit the ball best when I have relaxed arms and slight tension in the last 3 fingers of my left hand. I am playing the best golf of my life now and really wish I had known what to look for initially. It would have saved me a lot of frustration. BT BTW, when looking through some of the links above, I stumbled upon this - http://kelvinmiyahiragolf-articles.com/index.php/articles/articles-2/2015-articles/144-2015-instinct-golf This is literally exactly what I discovered over the years and how I found my grip.

I understand many relate sound with feel, but I've always considered "feel" as information I get through my hands and "sound" as information I get through my ears. They're different. That being said, A solid center shot on any club typically gives me nearly nothing through my hands. The ball just goes. Off-center shots, OTOH, give considerable feedback in the form of vibration. As for sound, the softer the club the quieter the sound at impact. Played some AP1s a couple of years ago and they sounded somewhat clicky, much like the MP25s I have. My MP4s, MP5s, MP69s and Cobra ACPs are much quieter on center impacts. BT

IF you want more ball speed, don't look at drivers. They're maxed out. Work on more swing speed! BT

I was taught long ago how to use FWs. A FW should give you the distance you need and be designed so that you can use it for any shot you need from that distance. That being said, I have always sought out FWs with a slightly open FA and the loft I need to get the distance & trajectory I want. I've played a ton of FWs in the last 40+ yrs and the one thing I can attest to with all of them is that you have to have the right combination of loft, FA, weight and shaft flex to get the results I'm looking for. Being in my late 50's with a driver SS around 108, I prefer all my clubs in the D5-D6 range and I typically like an 80-90 gm mid-launch shaft for my FWs. I also prefer adjustable FWs now because I can set them to have the loft and FA combination that works best for me. I find an open FA makes if far easier to work the ball both ways because the sole doesn't work against opening the face to fade the ball. I currently play my 3ws at 13* TO 14.5* depending on whether the head is med or low spin. I get great results with my current gamer King LTD set at 14.5* but have to go down to 13* with my older, higher spinning heads like the Amp Cell or Bio Cell. I believe if players would focus more on the proper combination of specs than BS marketing, they would find their FWs far easier to use successfully. BT

I'm an ex clubmaker with the kids grown and gone and too much time on my hands. On top of that, I have a Mizuno blade fetish. Needless to say, I have several sets that are all identically matched and I tend to pull whichever set I feel like playing on any given day. Sounds weird I know, but I've been that way for several years. Current favorite is the MP5/RIP Tour 115 R set. Others are: MP4/Matrix Prog 130 S MP15/RIP Tour 115 R MP25/Recoil Proto 125 F4 MP69/RIP Tour 115 S (DSS) MP14 (black chrome)/Fuji Pro 115 S (not shafted yet) Cobra Amp Cell Pro/RIP Tour 115 R (oldest playing set) BT

Holy Crap! RIP Tour 115 R is my shaft of choice and they're a rare as hens teeth. I bought the last three 4i-W sets I found a few years ago and can't find any more to save my life. If yours are new and you decide to let them go, please contact me. BT

Hotmelt is great when it's needed. Especially for quieting really loud drivers. However, I prefer to use tip weights or heavier clubhead weights if at all possible when trying to get to a proper feel because it is so difficult to get the glue out if you overdo it. One always has to be careful, but hotmelt definitely has it's place in club fitting. BT Sent from my XT1585 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Yeah, splintering has to be due to improperly coned hosel. I like to cone well and install collared ferrule. BT

If anyone is interested in using leather grips, I have been installing both Master Grip and Best Grip leather grips for years using blue painters tape and air. You just have to be aware of shaft butt diameter and how much tape you want to use. Keep the pressure below 80 lbs and use short bursts through a pointed tip (1/8" hole max) to keep from popping them. If they seem tight when you start, stop immediately, remove the grip and measure the shaft butt. The underlisting is thinner than a normal grip and if you go at it too hard, you will ruin an expensive grip! BT

Considering half of the game is played with the putter for most of us, it only makes sense that it should be one of the FIRST clubs you get fitted for! Odd how so many seem to forget about it. BT

Shaft epoxy is what is typically used. I haven't used powder and cork in 30 yrs. I just install a finely weighed tip weight. BT

I'm with McGolf. Things look fine with the numbers provided. Speeds and distances are consistent, which is a huge plus! If your dispersion is good, I see no need to look any further. UNLESS.... you think they need to FEEL different (and I urge you to be VERY careful with this). FEEL is a very personal thing and it can cause issues weeks or months into the future. With that, seeing a fitter would be a benefit as long as you use your current clubs as a solid baseline. Also, be very careful what you listen to. I fitted a fellow back in the 90's with a set that he played very successfully. Shafts were DG R300 which gave him the ideal flight and carry for his swing. All was good UNTIL, some random guy he was playing with one day, looked at his clubs and told him, he had no business playing R shafts. Those few words got in his head and he lost total confidence in the clubs in a matter of weeks. I tried for weeks to remind him how well he played with them up until that moment, but he couldn't recover. I eventually had to reshaft his clubs with S flex of the same shaft and he was okay (I really thought about just changing the shaft bands, but he was a good friend of mind and if he found out, he would never forgive me). Just a few yards shorter through the set due to a slightly lower ball flight. BT