[Slippin' Grips]

4 minutes ago, downlowkey said:

You’re the one that originally turned me on to Star a few years back, when you sold me a half dozen spare red Sidewinders for a song. I’m actually still playing those on my wedges and very impressed with them as a company.

Do you feel like building up the undersized grips to standard has helped them play a little firmer?

Right! I almost forgot about those.

They may be a touch more firm like this? I went undersized to work better with the larger butt size of the graphite shafts in my irons (although I do have small hands). They are definitely still very tacky after 200 rounds plus practice, but they are starting to wear a bit in spots. I liked that Star's undersized grips weren't super light, so it was a huge difference on the swingweight scale.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

Long story short, I ended up doing a Skillest lesson with Dan Carraher. I have had a pretty frustrating season, and just as I was ready to book a lesson with my coach of the last four years, he unfortunately took a job across the country.

Dan immediately identified major issues with my balance throughout the swing. I've been working on cleaning them up over the past few weeks to some improvement, but I had a few things really click for me this week in regards to feeling my tailbone moving better in the backswing and also my posture at setup. 

Shot a 39 this morning with some really shaky putting (two 3-putt bogies), but at lunch I grabbed a large bucket and really had one of the best sessions I've had in a long time. My balance was so, so much better. Really hoping to keep that feeling as the season winds down.

[Slippin' Grips]

2 hours ago, downlowkey said:

I’ve been dealing with a hinky wrist for about a year that has cost me some grip strength in my lead hand and switched to the midsize Star Sidewinder 360 as an experiment. It’s a little softer than I’d ideally prefer but they’re super tacky, designed for air installation, made in the USA, very reasonably priced (especially when they have holiday promotions) and come with a 3-year warranty. They also offer a bunch of different colors, all listed by gram weight for us club building sickos. Very happy I made the switch.

Undersized Sidewinder 360 here, built up with some blue tape (1 wrap + plus 1 wrap under bottom hand) to get them to what was traditionally a "standard" grip size.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

I've really come to appreciate the Nitron system. I'll be honest, before testing this cart I always wondered, "What's so hard about opening a cart?" It is so simple to open/close this thing, I love it.

My season is winding down but so far I've gotten about 25 18s and 50+ nines on it and it has held up remarkably well.

[The Stack System Review and Progress Thread]

I started Foundations back up again yesterday after baselining on Monday. My grand plans of doing Cruiser all summer didn't pan out so I'm back to square one.

I was happy to see my speeds haven't fallen much if at all. But I had forgotten the aches and pains of speed training. I'm feeling it today. The heavy weights tend to really cause joint pain for me in my elbows, wrists and shoulders.

I've had an awfully bad driver swing for most of the summer after having a fantastic stretch in May where I was crushing the ball. I haven't brought my Mevo+ out to the range in a long while, though I should to see where I'm at.

[How'd you play?]

Feeling like I'm getting back on track and playing more up to where I was hoping to be this season. Driver continues to be the weak spot of my game and I need to work on that as it costs me a couple of strokes each round it seems.

But today was a good day, carding a +1 73 after coming to 16 one-under. Three-putted a tough, tough pin placement on 16 for bogey after burning the edge and watching the ball roll out way too much. Followed by a missed five footer par save on 17, and on 18 I smother hooked a drive leaving me 190+ into the green. Nice 6 iron to 30 feet, my birdie putt for even par 72 hit the lip and rimmed out... oh well!

Ten of my last 15 rounds have been 79 or better so that's a positive streak to have going for me right now.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

Fantastic range session today, following a great one last Wednesday and two pretty solid rounds on Thursday and Sunday. Went from hitting the ball the worst in a while to some of the best just like that.

Two minor changes, none related to the actual mechanics of the swing. One, make sure the club is properly aligned at setup (was setting up with the clubface too open to my path/target). Two, focusing on a tiny spot on the ball instead of just generally looking at the ball. Seems to have really helped me stay in balance and rotate without sway.

Driver is still shaky as I tend to fold the left arm across my chest instead of turning. That's definitely still a work in progress.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

Had another opportunity to use the umbrella holder this morning. Steady drizzle to start the round and it became intermittent as the round continued.

This is the configuration I settled on, with the holder facing forward. This way I can still walk behind the cart with the umbrella strapped in to the holder without needing to duck, and the umbrella covers the top of my clubs. Unfortunately, this way does result in water shedding off the umbrella and on to the bottom of my bag. 

I also like this orientation as I can park the cart in the direction from which the wind is blowing and there's no worry that the umbrella will get blown away.

A bit fiddly to use the umbrella but certainly better than walking in the rain without any protection.

[edingc's Work In Progress]

3 hours ago, srooch2 said:

Im sure your not looking for tips but here I go I’m a +10 hcp putter and I got there by changing the way I putt completely. I actually hit every putt like it is a tap in, I put one foot back. I line up like normal by picking a spot in front of the ball, but once I lineup it’s with the one foot back like a 10” tap in putt. I even added a waggle like my regular golf swing. This has freed me up on putting so much. I putted like this in a tournament too so it’s not a practice thing for me. It makes the putt more athletic and instinctual. It can be a temporary process though for someone just to feel looser when they putt. I’m also not sure but I may putt looking at the hole or at least part of stroke I do. I can’t remember the last 3 putt I had and in my tournament I would guess (I don’t track stats during) that this saved me 10 strokes. I was making a lot of putts from that 6-12’ range that I would never expect to make in the past. Anyways, I’d recommend trying this even for a temporary shock to your putting system.  

I went out yesterday with a different mindset and found some success. As I was reading my putts I would glance at the cup and pick a spot either on the back or bottom of the cup and visualize that as I was putting. Basically was only thinking about that one spot in the cup and then a spot on the ball and that stopped me from trying to guide the ball to the hole. It helped a lot, I sunk a couple of 10-15 footers and made all but one of my putts inside 5 feet (no three putts on the day, either). Ended up with four birdies during the round en route to a +2 74, 11 strokes better than what I posted on Tuesday above.

[edingc's Work In Progress]

The "meat" of my season is over and we're on to the last 6-8 weeks or so of good golf weather. Time for another update.

Today's scorecard has been all too common this season:

This has been an extremely frustrating year. It's the first time since I joined the forums (and played/practiced more frequently) that I have not seen an improvement in my scores from the season before. My handicap has actually gone up 1.5 strokes or so. I don't know that it will come back down. This has not been helped by a golf swing that has completely left me multiple times since my last post, only to return in a worse state than before it went...

Today is a great example. I actually hit the ball pretty well today, but I have been unable to avoid the big numbers for an entire round for the most part. Just too many mistakes all over the place to score well.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

12 hours ago, Hobert said:

Staying about the same for me. Not too noticeable and does not detract from my continued enjoyment of the cart!

No additional wear. I figure at the end of the season I'll clean the cart up really well and throw some car wax on those parts specifically. Can't hurt.

2 minutes ago, Preeway said:

Is anyone seeing the bungee straps show any signs of wearing out or stretching and not returning to shape? Curious what the lifespan on these are. 

I was thinking about that the other day. I don't think my straps have stretched too much (if at all), but I have noticed the plastic pieces have moved a little bit. 

My bigger concern is the strap that holds the phone in, as that one can't be easily tightened.

[Forum Testing Review Recaps!]

This is wonderful. It's good to see the work done by all of our testers being featured on the main site. Feel like it is a win-win for everyone. The main site gets more views, the forum gets publicity and the manufacturers get more exposure as well.

Looking forward to reading them all!

[How'd you play?]

Spent most of last week on vacation so actually haven't played a ton recently. I did manage to get out on the way up north and tried out Eldorado (named after the Cadillac) in Cadillac, MI. Right off the freeway so it was an easy stop. Fairly forgiving course but the greens gave me fits. 42 putts worth as I could not read them or judge speed on them at all. Beautiful and otherwise fair/forgiving course though. I unfortunately hit two low-left screamers into hazards and flailed a six iron into another off the tee. Combined with the abhorrent putting that led to a 92, by far my worst score of the year.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

I spent some time Tuesday morning videoing a few holes from the back of the Nitron. I really like the design of the cell phone holder. It seems to be very secure and it also doubles nicely holding the camera. I just wheeled the cart into place and took all of the below footage, which is the first course vlog from me in like two years...

 

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

1 minute ago, Hobert said:

Every so often I forget and have an embarrassing moment when the balls cause the compartment to open during folding and dumping my contents onto the ground. 

Welcome to the club!

[Not Chasing Scratch...Just Chasing a Semi Decent Reliable Game...How Do I Get There]

15 minutes ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

So take this thread for what it is, I'm open to any thoughts, suggestions criticisms  and especially anyone that is going through the same thing.   

I'm posting this with the understanding that everyone's goals are a sliding scale, but I feel you on everything.

This year has been a grind after it started with so much promise. I hit the ball the best I've ever hit it from late April to Memorial Day, and then... it just left me. I use the Grint to track my scores and it has a "Mishit" button for tee shots - one round in early June I marked mishit on 15/18 holes, meaning I shanked or worm-hooked almost every tee shot that day.

I got sick in early June, which turned into what I think was a sinus infection, and against my better judgement tried to do too much with golf, work and things around the house. Still paying for that as I'm a club shorter than I was in May.

I guess the most frustrating thing is that everything just seems to come and go as it pleases. My handicap hasn't tracked too far upwards just yet because I can piece together nines and even the occasional 18, but more than one time this year I've literally felt like I couldn't possibly swing the club.

I suppose golf is an addiction then as I've kept playing and kept grinding on the range... lol.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

2 hours ago, Hobert said:

Ran out and tried it with a free work golf umbrella. Seems pretty secure when I use the elastic strap. I just grabbed a tee time to play 9 this afternoon. I will try out the umbrella for shade and report back on security.

I was trying to figure out how that cord worked. Once again, showing me the way. Your umbrella looks like it has a slightly slimmer handle than mine, I can bet that it is probably pretty secure even without the strap based on the friction fit at the bottom of the holder.

[Mizuno Long Game - 2023 Forum Review]

On 6/27/2023 at 2:38 AM, russtopherb said:

At that point I have to admit that I was more than tired, I was gassed after 90+ shots in just under an hour, and starting to get a bit frustrated as well - I toed a fairway shot that ricocheted out of the hitting bay and into the store. Ben laughed it off and let me know I wasn’t even close to the “distance out of the bay” record held at the store and we decided to call it a day. I didn’t get to hit the hybrid unfortunately, however he let me know based on everything else he had seen that the stock LIN-Q Blue shaft would almost undoubtedly be fine. 

Been there, done that. Fittings can be so tough, mentally and physically. 

Can't wait for you all to receive your clubs!

[Unofficial Review: Dumina AutoFlex SF505X Driver Shaft]

17 hours ago, vamosjackets said:

Would love to get an update on your experience with the Autoflex and/or changing from the Autoflex.  It appears from your signature and from the linked "fitting post" that you've changed from Autoflex to Motore.  That was surprising to me from just reading through this thread.  Can you share that process (the reason for the change)?  If you already have elsewhere, feel free to point me to it.  Thanks.

Couple of things that I can say here:

• When I was on with the AutoFlex, it was amazing. And I do think it was longer than my Motore X speed-for-speed. But when I was off, it was terrible.
• My swing speed increased a bit from the time I bought the AutoFlex to the time I was fit for the Motore X. I should have gotten the 505XX and not the 505X, but at the time I was right on the fence between the two. As a result, I started spinning the ball too much on mishits.
• I don't generally hang onto things very long, though I have tempered my club ho'ing somewhat. I sold the AutoFlex for a small loss and used that to put toward my new irons and the driver shaft I was fit for in that post.

I'm going to tag @revkev here because I believe he had a very similar experience, when the AF was good, it was very good, but when it was not, it was really bad.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

9 hours ago, JM6321 said:

Hello all!  Just found this forum and wow!  You all are amazing with the user reviews.  I am getting back into playing after a long hiatus and looking for a push cart.  Living in NYC the space issues are big.  (Either in my trunk or in the apartment)  I have narrowed things down to the Nitron and the Clicgear 4.  I think the Clicgear is a little smaller folded up and wondering if anyone has real-world experience comparing the two when they are folded?  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

No experience with the Clicgear, but I can say the Nitron is slightly smaller when folded than my CaddyTek EZ V8:

 

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

My final review has been posted. Thanks to @Bag Boy and the forums for the wonderful opportunity. I really enjoyed this test.

[How'd you play?]

40/36 for a +4 76 this morning, beating pretty solid and lengthy rain showers by only minutes.

Swing continues to feel better. A couple small things today and I think I could have challenged par as I had four birdies.

Made a huge mental mistake trying to muscle up a wedge that was instead bladed 30 yards behind the green and that led to a three-putt double bogey from 115 out in the middle of the fairway. Should have just grabbed more club and swung easy...

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

11 hours ago, PorkedPiggy said:

That's a little disappointing to hear as I was looking at the same umbrella from Amazon in a 68". Leaves me wondering if the Bag Boy umbrella fits just snug enough or if it's just going to be an issue for any umbrella to deal with.

That particular umbrella handle fits fit in the cart attachment, but as I mentioned, it's a friction/force fit. Before receiving the cart I had a clamp or something similar in my mind as the way the umbrella attached to the cart.

11 hours ago, PorkedPiggy said:

For the height issue with the umbrella, are you a fairly tall person?

I'm just shy of six feet tall. I could walk underneath if I was hunched over, but honestly it's just easier to hold the umbrella in one hand while pushing the cart in the other.

I ended up getting caught in another rain shower right near the end of my round this morning. It was very easy to quickly mount the umbrella holder (I keep it in the storage pouch under the handle when not in use), and I had my umbrella up and ready within about 30 seconds.

 

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

17 hours ago, PorkedPiggy said:

I just picked up the Bag Boy Nitron in the black camo color. Are any of you using an umbrella with your push carts for really hot days? Looking to see if anybody has suggestions for an umbrella that’ll fit the stock umbrella holder properly without me having to go through trial and error.

I actually bought this one since the Bag Boy-branded one was out of stock.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07Q8FKMS6

It fits OK. I didn't realize the umbrella holder doesn't really secure the umbrella in at all and just sort of holds the handle. Last week I played in a windy drizzle and was left chasing my umbrella on one hole. 

I've used the umbrella mount 3-4 times now and enjoy the option. For me I have to hold the umbrella in my hand as I walk because it is too short to comfortable stand under.

It does an adequate job keeping my clubs dry and covers most of the top of my bag with only my putter getting slightly wet.

 

[How'd you play?]

Getting back into a nice little groove, just need to eliminate the couple of mistakes I make per round that keep me from getting near par. Played three nines over the last three days - 39 on Saturday with a couple of missed putts, 40 Sunday with two double bogies and and 37 this morning because I couldn't keep my tee shots near the fairway coming down the stretch.

Game has basically boiled down to whether I can have an unencumbered second shot. Can't score well when you're trying to hit the green from behind or underneath trees...