[L.A.B Golf Putters]

10 hours ago, dlow206 said:

Something planned 

I forget, did you sell the DF 2.1 you were experimenting with last winter?

For the record in this thread (though it's been communicated well in my unofficial review thread), the L.A.B. is amazing. 

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

18 hours ago, dlow206 said:

What's the headweight with the 2 gram vs. the current setup?

Stock weight headweight is 192. With the two gram weight it drops to 189. Could get to 187 by removing the weight.

I'm not done experimenting just yet, but am going to give the Rogue White a few rounds. I have a pretty good baseline of what the AutoFlex is giving me right now - about 250-260 on OK strikes but a little bit of an uncontrolled fade.

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

Just now, dlow206 said:

Did you try lowering the headweight? The Callaway adapter is heavy. 

I could put the lighter 2 gram weight back in the head. Earlier this spring that was less effective than the stock 5 gram weight. Probably would be worth a shot.

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

Full disclosure, the Aldila Rogue White 130 MSI is back on the Mavrik for now. 

Since my last lesson I've been very hit or miss with the AutoFlex. I've realized the AutoFlex produces a fade with my natural swing. When I'm swinging well, it's a nice cut/power fade. But if I'm off just a little bit, it turns into a high, weak shot, or worse, a slice off the planet. I really struggled over my last couple of rounds with those shots and felt like I was losing a lot of potential distance as my spin numbers ticked up. And, whenever I'd "go after one," I'd hit a duck hook.

I popped the Rogue White back in for a range session this evening and had a much better experience. Without trying, I started to hit nice straight shots and small draws. Most importantly, when I "went after it," I didn't hit the ball hard left. 

I did lose two to the right a bit, but everything is within 50 yards. 

My scores tend to be bad when I get in trouble off the tee. At this point, I feel like the Rogue is worth trying out.

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

On 6/11/2021 at 12:08 PM, Nolan220 said:

this is great .. they also do iron shafts any consideration to try them .. I know they are costly but you think have autoflex iron shafts would also be an upgrade ? 

That would be quite the costly reshaft! I haven't seen anyone with the iron shafts. I wonder if they'd feel like a Lag Shot-type training aid?

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

14 hours ago, Chip Strokes said:

we finished up with some chips and pitches, as 40-80 yards is the absolute worst part  my game and it’s a shot i’m left with a lot.  

Get this man a **checks math** 72 degree wedge!

[Dude, I'm getting a Mevo+!]

@GolfSpy MPR was gracious enough to let me join in on this thread, so I'll chime in with some initial thoughts as I received my Mevo+ yesterday afternoon as well.

After getting everything opened and setup on my phone, I took the Mevo+ out to the backyard and hit about 35 chips/pitches on "indoor" mode since the ball flight window was so short. I was hitting at a driveway marker I had set at 20 yards. Every single shot Mevo+ recorded must have been within inches of accuracy. And the flight measurement was spot on based on the different types of trajectory I was trying. Very impressed.

This morning, I brought the Mevo+ along with me to the course to use on the range before the round. I go out on the range before rounds and pick 20 or so balls to warm up with. I hit my 54 wedge, 7 iron, 4 hybrid and driver this morning and recorded the shots with the Mevo+.

I think the accuracy of the Mevo+ is much improved over the regular Mevo, especially with the 54 wedge. It was chilly this morning (high 40s/low 50s) and the range balls had sat out all night. As I worked up to longer clubs I think my carry distances and ball speeds were a little off due to the cold range balls, but overall the shot shapes were spot on. 

There's a ton of data to go through and I'm only scratching the surface with my initial thoughts/use. But I'm very excited and definitely had a positive first impression. I think this thing could take my game to the next level if I can work it mindfully into my practice routine. Screenshot of the FS Golf app below.

[How'd you play?]

3 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

Knew I should have fielded bets! Sometimes luck overtakes skill still a good round, solid GIR!

I had forgotten you specifically called out a sub-80 round. Glad I could make that happen! 

[How'd you play?]

- 41/38 = 79 (+7)
- 7/15 FIR
- 10/18 GIR (2 birdies)
- 33 Putts (2 3-putts, 11 2-putts, 5 1-putts)

One of the ugliest feeling 79s I'll ever shoot as I didn't hit the ball particularly well and got a few favorable bounces off trees lining the fairway. But I hit a few good short game shots when it mattered and sank a few big putts. I also strung together two solid birdies on No. 2 and No. 16, which are usually bogey holes for me. After opening the back with bogey on No. 10 and double on No. 11, I cruised with six pars and a birdie on holes 12-18.

One of the side effects of the last lesson I had is that I seem to be hitting the ball too high with the driver now. It's definitely more accurate, but I'm getting too much spin and my distances have gone down quite a bit (at least 20-30 yards on good strikes). I'm going to have to get that straightened out.

[Rypstick Speed Training]

4 hours ago, TGrimmius said:

Also, has anyone else had the butt-end of the grip slide? I have about 2 inches of loose grip at the end after using through Level 2.

Yes, my experience has been that the butt end of the grip stretches a bit. I just tap it on the ground to reseat it after a few swings.

I assume it has to do with the counterweight and not being able to have tape all the way to the end of the grip.

[A thread about Kirke]

Awesome, Kirke! 

Nice couple of days there.

[Injury Thread]

Already at the point in the season with a few nagging injuries: my left trap muscle has been all sort of sore and tight since early March (was working on overhead press and tweaked it), and recently my left hamstring and calf muscle seem to have suffered a minor pull doing some deadlifting. Nothing too serious with either injury.

The more annoying and painful one at the moment is what I assume is a strained tendon in my right pointer finger. I hurt it a few weeks ago at the range and I've had some days where just gripping a club was very painful. Again, it's more a nagging injury than serious.

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

Picked up a copy of Ray Floyd's The Elements of Scoring for next to nothing on eBay and am looking forward to reading it. I had been searching for some new night time reading material, anyway!

And, a sort of mistake purchase - a 5H, 6-GW set of Cobra F8 One Lengths with regular graphite shafts. 

The wife has been playing a few holes with me and had expressed some interest in trying one lengths a while back. I had two tabs on eBay open Saturday and thought I was placing a bid on a set of F9 OLs (which I would have lost at my bid amount), but was in the wrong tab and didn't double-check. Not a huge deal, but I wouldn't have been so upset had I been outbid... I wasn't that upset to ask the seller to cancel the bid, either.

Oh well! Looking forward to seeing how she likes them. Of course, I haven't broken the news to her yet, she probably won't be a huge fan of my $450 "oops." 

[How'd you play?]

1 hour ago, cksurfdude said:

All in one day??!!!??

Wow, and I'm sure I'm speaking for a few of the other ummm "seasoned" golfers on here, but.. that much swinging would probably have me laid up for a week .. or two! .. afterwards!!! (..yes I'm jealous)

Nice to hear you had fun!

Thankfully, only the first nine (at my home course) were walking. Falls at Barber Creek (the 18) is cart only, and we lucked out with no one in front of us and zipped around in 3:40 as a foursome. 

I don't get cheated on my vacation time .

1 hour ago, Lacassem said:

The way your rounds have been going I got $100 bucks on sub 80

I'm very hit or miss! Usually as my tee game goes, my scores go, and then today my 50-100 yard short game just didn't help me out much at all. I'm starting to hit a ton of better shots these last few rounds, though, so another low round has to be around the corner!

[How'd you play?]

Had the day off and was able to get 36 holes in over three different courses, playing nine and 18 in the morning and then another nine after lunch.

Lost a ton of strokes off the tee today (12 total) and was miserable inside of 100 yards. Hit the ball pretty well and had some great drives mixed in there, but losing 12 strokes due to penalties is just killer!

Was a beautiful, beautiful day for golf and got to spend most of the holes with my brother-in-law and in-laws.

Morning 9

- 42 / 40 ESC (+6)
- 3/8 FIR
- 5/9 GIR (1 birdie)
- 16 Putts (7 2-putts, 2 1-putts)

Had a nice birdie on No. 13, but snap hooked my drive out of bounds on No. 16 leading to a quadruple bogey.

Morning 18

- 46 / 46 = 92 / 91 ESC (+20)
- 10/16 FIR
- 6/18 GIR
- 30 Putts (1 3-putt, 11 2-putts, 5 1-putts, 1 par chip-in save)

I lost four balls off the tee, two snap hooks lost in the trees and tall grass and two balls to the water. 

We played The Falls at Barber Creek in Kent City, Michigan. Quite a trek for us, but the course is great. Greens were lightning fast. Proud of my putting as a result.

Afternoon 9

- 46 / 44 ESC (+10)
- 2/7 FIR
- 3/9 GIR (1 birdie)
- 19 Putts (2 3-putts, 6 2-putts, 1 1-putt)

Won't lie - was starting to get pretty tired after lunch. Two doubles and a quad hurt. Otherwise played five pretty good holes for par.

Not my best day playing golf by any stretch, but it was a lot of fun and very enjoyable.

[Dude, I'm getting a Mevo+!]

1 hour ago, Tiftaaft said:

Hey Edingc, I noticed you listed your Mevo on B/S/T... I am considering the Mevo (maybe yours) what was your decision to move to the Mevo+.  What do you feel you are gaining for the additional ~$1200 in cost?  Thanks, Tim.

The short answer is spin axis/direction. It makes it possible for me to hit balls indoors during the winter and know roughly where they ended up, both in distance and direction.

The regular Mevo is great for measuring swing speeds, ball speeds and distance. But it doesn't show anything in terms of horizontal movement. So I could pound balls for hours hitting cuts or draws and never really know.

In the past I drove an hour round trip once a week to use a heated range where I could see flight. But I'm not going to do that this upcoming winter.

[Dude, I'm getting a Mevo+!]

Dude, me too! 

You're B/S/T inspired me to look at their sale, so thank you for that! I have enough space to make it work in the garage with close to 13' of flight. The only knock I could find was that it sometimes struggles on short indoor mode indoors with driver just because the flight window is short. But everything else has me super excited. 

[How'd you play?]

- 39 (+3)
- 5/8 FIR
- 5/9 GIR
- 17 Putts (8 2-putts, 1 1-putt)

I could only play nine this morning because of an outing. I've been a little light on sleep the last few nights so I was exhausted. Hit the ball reasonably straight but not terribly long. Still, I just missed two five footers for par on both No. 16 and No. 17 or else this would have been a one-over 37.

[FlightScope Mevo]

I ended up ordering a Mevo+ with the Father's Day sale, so I'll have some newer thoughts coming later next week. I bought it mostly for indoor work during the winter, but I like the idea of gamifying my range sessions a little bit more with the Skills challenge.

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

8 hours ago, rbsiedsc said:

Are you saying your regular mevo is for sale?

 

6 hours ago, ejgaudette said:

Great minds think alike

It is/will be!

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

2 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

Sweet! Are there different packages to choose from software wise or is it all included? There’s courses to play with this one right?

Included it comes with E6 Connect and six courses for iPhone/iPad. I currently do not have an iOS device but will probably purchase a cheap iPad later this year. The big perks for this vs. Skytrak for me were:

• Can be used outside.
• Works with Android.
• No subscription cost for the basic apps/six courses.
• Newer than Skytrak and obviously a well-respected company. I've enjoyed my regular Mevo.

Going to need a 10x10x10 cage now, however, as this requires a bit more ball flight than Skytrak. I'm thinking I'm going to order one from Parbuster and then build either an EMT or PVC frame on the ceiling that I can bungee cord the cage to, and then use some sandbags to hold down the bottoms. That way I can just remove the sand bags and then put the netting up out of the way when not in use.

[What Have You Bought Lately? (CHA - Club Ho's Anonymous)]

Father's Day sale ($200 off) was too good to pass up:

Still have some work to do before I can use the garage, but looks like no more need to go to the heated range in the winter anymore... will save me 3+ hours each weekend and lots of gas/wear and tear!

[edingc's Work In Progress]

12 minutes ago, M. Parsons said:

Hey Cody, I'm assuming the right side pictures are the new, or "after" pictures?  

When I was on the range yesterday, I'm not sure why I thought about doing this, but I started feeling like I was standing up a little higher at address, kind of how it looks like you are in your address picture to the right.  I seemed to make some pretty solid contact when doing that, so maybe there's something there.

Correct, the right side is the "after."

I have a tendency to crowd the ball. I definitely hit the ball better when I'm setup like on the right!

[edingc's Work In Progress]

14 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

One thing I always forget to factor in when laying up is the fact that an iron does not react the same way landing on the green as it does landing in the fairway. I try to add 10 yards but way too many times does it still go to far. Not because it flew too far but because it flew the distance that I was looking but then it bounced and rolled. 

You know, that's something I've never really considered before! Definitely something I'll add to my knowledge base. Makes total sense.

[edingc's Work In Progress]

13 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

Great progress and no wonder you're shooting so well this Spring!  I have a habit of not turning as much once I'm on the course.  I blame it on being right eye dominant and golfing righty, but its more likely that I feel the need to dial it back.

You're making me think taking a lesson or two would be worthwhile! haha

I understand the "dialing it back" feeling. I notice it a lot on par fives when I'm laying up. I always make sure to club down a bit because when I take the "you can't hit trouble with this club" swing (i.e. nice, long and relaxed), I always hit it way further than I think I can. I had one today on No. 9 where I thought a 9 iron couldn't possibly reach trouble and ended up with a 170+ shot leaving me nothing but a flop shot over a tree and bunker to the green. (In fairness, I was in the rough and might have caught a flier).

If you can find the right instructor for you, I think it can be worth it. I'm lucky to have found one that I get along with well, is located at my practice facility and doesn't charge too much. That being said, I'm not paying his listed rate. I also get to practice a lot due to my work circumstances.

I joked with him yesterday that I should just pay him a retainer because I spent weeks trying to fix my backswing turn/hips/takeaway and after about 15 minutes with him I was hitting the ball so much better.

8 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

Man you are really making progress.

Would you say your improvement is the result of slow and steady gains, or can you trace things back to a particular breakthrough or "a ha" moment that opened the gates for you?

Either way, keep at it!

There have been several incremental "a ha" moments since I started playing golf somewhat seriously in 2019:

• Getting into a set of more modern clubs that were better fit for me was huge. I had a set of Nike CCIs from like 2003 and an Adams SpeedLine Super LS driver before I joined MGS in 2018. Neither were fit for me, and I realize now that they were not very forgiving for my handicap/skill level at the time. (At that point I was somewhere around 25-30 I think - I'd shoot 100+ on a standard course like where I play now). This last change to the MMTs and Sub70s has been wonderful as well. The heads suit my eye really well and dispersion with the MMTs is noticeably better than my C-Taper Lites.
• Playing more golf and practicing more often certainly has helped - kind of an incremental "a ha" just because you realize why pros play practice rounds/hit so many range balls and you can leverage your way around a golf course just with experience even if you don't hit very good shots. That's how I got to shooting a 79 in 2019 before I ever took lessons with a short, choppy, over-the-top swing.
• Lessons have led to a few incremental moments: 1) Changing my grip to neutral/slightly strong in my first lesson immediately got me hitting draws. 2) Fixing my takeaway from being too inside got me hitting my longer clubs better and added more distance. 3) This last hip thing sure feels like it's going to be huge. All in all, I'm more consistent because of lessons and can trust a shot pattern for the most part (driver and Super Hybrid are excluded here at the moment, unfortunately).
• I got started on DECADE-ish strategy with a free webinar at the beginning of last summer put on by @edteergolf. The webinar introduced me to the idea of shot cones/shotgun patterns, reasonable expectations and the concept of using Google Earth Pro to lay out courses. In the beginning I got too conservative, but now I'm learning how to better attack courses just from the satellite maps.
• This year my short game and putting have been much better. Although we haven't really worked on anything but full swing in lessons, some of the changes I've made in my full swing have carried over nicely. Also, I purchased Gareth Raflewski's videos and they helped a lot as well. I've been better on the greens for two reasons: 1) The EXPUTT 2) The L.A.B. Both have helped my speed control tremendously. I've always been adept at reading greens, but speed was my enemy. That is no longer the case.

It is crazy to think I've gone from somewhere around that 25-30 handicap mark down to where I am since spring 2019. Honestly, it's so hard to change old technique/habits that I probably would have been better off not having any idea of how to swing a club to start!

Thanks, as always, for the positive comments.