edingc
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Posts posted by edingc
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On 1/3/2020 at 5:51 PM, edingc said:
This forum enables me, I swear.
First, a pair of 14 gram weights for my Spider Tour to replace the stock two gram weights. I rolled a new Stroke Lab 10 this past weekend and couldn't get over how much heavier the head felt, and how much better my distance control was with it. So much so that I considered buying it for my birthday present. I'm usually pretty good with reading lines and starting the ball on that line, but my distance control has always been abysmal.
I've never done a lot of research into putters before, but I found that my Spider Tour was very light swing weight wise, so the head feel was much different. It measured out to be something like C6. I experimented with taping pennies on until I found a weight I liked. The additional 24 grams of weight will bring the putter head weight to about 380 grams, total weight to 570 grams total and swing weight to around D4. I play the putter at 33" so that explains why it was so light to begin with.
I can't get much worse with the putter, so we'll see where this gets me come spring. And for $18, weights are a lot cheaper option than buying a new Stroke Lab.
Second, Tensei CK Orange driver shaft (the non-pro version available with TaylorMade drivers) and an adapter for my Epic Flash. I plan to pull the stock TaylorMade adapter and install the Callaway Adapter. Couple reasons for this purchase:
1) After swinging the Tensei White and then my HZRDUS Yellow, I realized how awful the Yellow actually feels. The Orange has a similar profile to the White but maintains the counterbalance found in the Yellow.
2) I want to experiment with potentially shortening my driver shaft to 45" or 44.5". Based on my swings outdoors with a shorter driver, I seem to have a bit better balance through my swing with a shorter shaft. Again, something that will be tested this spring. I will leave the HZRDUS Yellow alone because despite how boardy feeling it is, I produce good numbers with it as is.
The Tensei+Adapter came out to be like $62, so there's not a lot invested in my tinkering.
I was able to swing the driver with the new shaft today, so I can provide some status updates.
Doesn't look like the Tensei Orange is going to be for me, but I'm going to keep around for a better evaluation once I can get outside in the spring. I left it at stock TaylorMade length for my initial testing, which means I actually ended up longer at 45.75". At that length it ended up at D5 swing weight. The estimation at three swingweight points per half inch removed would mean at 44.75" I would be somewhere around C9. I think the number for me is actually going to be 44.5" and D2 swingweight, which would put me at needing to add about six to eight grams of headweight back if I cut.
More concerning is that the feel was so so, not so sure I like the looser feeling under the hands on a driver. Performance wise it seemed to spin a bit more (I was on a Flightscope), but it was tough to tell considering I was hitting basically frozen and worn range balls.
As for the putter weights, what an awesome change! Distance control and head feel is so much better with the additional weighting. I specifically practiced lag putting today from 25-30 feet and was performing excellently.
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12 minutes ago, Tsecor said:
Are we seriously approaching the $600 range for a driver? you can get a whole set of Srixon Z785 irons for almost the same price. I could see if this driver truly gave us 25 extra yards, but its mainly aesthetics and once again...marketing....
As MGS acknowledges, truly breakthrough changes in driver technology only happen every 3-5 years. With exception, year-to-year changes are generally going to be minimal, but for certain players they may gladly spend the money for the small improvements.
If you watch the TXG videos with the SIM, Matt gets some pretty considerable improvements out of the SIM vs last year's models.
I've stated this before to friends offline and not on this forum, but if the price tag of a driver is too much for you, go get fit for the model you want and wait. Scour eBay or used club sites. You can find Cobra F8s brand new for $150 now without much effort. (I understand the delayed gratification is a problem...)
I look at it this way - car manufacturers release a new model year every year. Is a 2020 model year significantly better than a 2019 or even a 2018 model year? With few exceptions, no. But I can guarantee you there are people who pay to upgrade every year or every two years. It is what it is.
- Golfspy_CG2, TR1PTIK, cnosil and 1 other
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33 minutes ago, bens197 said:
I like that position at the top a lot more than the prior swing. You’re clearly putting in work. Good luck this season
Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy1 hour ago, B.Boston said:
Swings looking nice a neutral there. Smooth and balanced too!
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkThanks, guys. I'm really happy with my decision to take a few lessons. I was on the right track but having someone else take a look has helped a lot.
Still a ways to go, but I'll keep grinding.
- GolfSpy_BOS, M. Parsons, JAGolfore and 2 others
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I have another lesson scheduled for this week. I'm excited to get back in the hitting bay and hopefully on Trackman to see any progress I've made. I've been to the range four times since my last lesson and the top of my backswing is looking a lot better than where I started the offseason in November. I'm still struggling a bit with an open face, I'm hoping my coach can get that straightened out. When I briefly had everything working for one session in late December I was very happy with my distance and ball flight, just need that consistency now.
On a different note, I posted over here that I picked up some weights for my Spider Tour:
The weights came in Friday. First of all, I wish TaylorMade sold official 14 gram weights. The threads on these aftermarket weights are a little long, so the weights wouldn't tighten down full inside of the head. I had to wrap a thin strip of painter's tape around the base of the weight to get them to seat tightly and not rattle. But they still stick out a little - I'm just imagining they are little rocket boosters or something of the sort...
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The extra weight is awesome. I got a chance to hit a bunch of putts on the indoor practice green at the golf shop today and am floored at how much better my distance control and tempo is with the heavier head. Additionally, I set up a bunch of 6-9 footers and sank a ton. I know there will be some adjustment in the spring as most of the courses here have very slow greens compared to my BirdieBall and the golf shop, but I really believe I will be a much better putter this upcoming year.
- M. Parsons and JAGolfore
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14 hours ago, chisag said:
... Thanks, I already have Recoil 95's and 110's in s-flex as well as Recoil Prototype 95's in r-flex so I bought some Steelfiber i95's in r-flex per the recommendation from Aerotech. I tried a set of i95's in s-flex when they first came out and found them too stout for my swing and went to Recoils and never looked back. Thought I would give Steelfiber i95's another chance in r-flex since they are so wildly popular on the Champions and LPGA Tour, obviously m much closer to my game than the PGA guys. I hope to get out to Phoenix by the beginning of February so I will certainly post my thoughts after a few weeks of playing. Hopefully I have the Cobra Xtreme driver and 5 wood by then too.
I put a stiff SteelFiber i95 shaft in my Cobra F8 hybrid and really like it. Going to be a great looking set when it's all done!
15 hours ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:My first purchase of 2020. And m ok st will be shocked it's not clubs. But part of my commitment to practice with a purpose. Not just hitting balls.
I've had my eye on this for a long, long time. You'll have to do a mini review for us.
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8 minutes ago, jlukes said:
Is it? I hear that all the time, but it's simply not the case.
Getting lessons is one thing. Putting the time in to practice, make the swing changes and really commit to implement what you are learning in the lessons is a whole other ballgame.
I would guess at least half of the people that get lessons don't fully commit to the swing changes and never improve. So that is $500 down the drain.
You are correct. Practice and committing to change was an unstated assumption.
If that's the case, by all means get the driver.
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18 minutes ago, JonMUSC08 said:
The guy in the TXG video has a 117mph swing speed!!!! He's faster than most tour pro's! Essentially hes in the top 0.05% of golfers haha. (my guess on %)
Doing a QUICK Google search:
The average male amateur's swing speed is 93.4 miles per hour, according to research by TrackMan, for an average distance of 214 yards. Using TrackMan's "optimal" distance, the average golfer's potential is 255 yards at that same swing speed
I wanna see the average 90-95mph swing player with like a 10 hdcp (bad eough that there are mishits, good enough that they have the ability to make good contact).
Not to be a downer on technology, but $500 on lessons is going to benefit that type of golfer a whole lot more than $500 on new driver, unless they are playing something that is more than 10 years old.
Matt is a high swing speed player, but most importantly he's relatively repeatable which is great for their head-to-head testing.
To be honest, I like the look of these drivers and hope to have a shot to hit them this season.
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4 hours ago, Rickp said:
The one thing I miss moving from CT to FL was my access to a full Tool Room and Machine Shop. I sure miss the tinkering and making/modifying clubs & especially putters.
Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpyYes, I've definitely amassed a bunch of club making equipment this past six months.
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1 hour ago, THEZIPR23 said:
Tinker away my friend. It is always fun. I took the HZRDUS out of my flash too, didn't realize how bad it actually felt because the results were there. Also when I replaced it I went 45" and haven't lost a thing.
I glossed over the Ventus in your signature until you just mentioned it. I know a lot of people love that shaft.
59 minutes ago, yungkory said:What's your driver swingweight with the yellow? HZRDUS shafts all feel like poop to me, but I always attributed it to #noodlearms
I can't imagine playing Flash with it feeling any lighter in the head -- unless you bought heavier weights for it, too? I'll be interested to hear how you get along with it! I took the TZ6 out and put the Tensei blue back in. I was hitting a lot more fairways with a shorter shaft, but the TZ6 coughed up a lot of carry distance.
With the Yellow it sits around D3. I'll have to see how aggressive the counterweighting is on the Tensei Orange. I don't think I'd go any shorter than 45", but I'll definitely need to add more weight to the head.
The reason I got fit into the Smoke and then the Yellow had a lot to do with my awful swing, which is changing rapidly with my lessons. Really searching for something softer in the handle since I have a smooth transition, and hoping the Orange is it. Since my coach has Trackman, I should be able to compare the two shafts outside this summer.
47 minutes ago, Jmikecpa said:47 minutes ago, Jmikecpa said:It is not enabling until you get to this level.
And that doesn’t include the 8 or so putter I have at my place upstate nor the two I bought this week.
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkThat's an outstanding collection. I just rolled the Spider Tour with the additional weight taped to it and immediately hit several perfect six footers on my Putt-Out trainer. Excited for the weights to arrive.
I hope your son enjoys the GG Live. The hardware is actually pretty nice and tagging gets to be a great part of the pre-shot routine.
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This forum enables me, I swear.
First, a pair of 14 gram weights for my Spider Tour to replace the stock two gram weights. I rolled a new Stroke Lab 10 this past weekend and couldn't get over how much heavier the head felt, and how much better my distance control was with it. So much so that I considered buying it for my birthday present. I'm usually pretty good with reading lines and starting the ball on that line, but my distance control has always been abysmal.
I've never done a lot of research into putters before, but I found that my Spider Tour was very light swing weight wise, so the head feel was much different. It measured out to be something like C6. I experimented with taping pennies on until I found a weight I liked. The additional 24 grams of weight will bring the putter head weight to about 380 grams, total weight to 570 grams total and swing weight to around D4. I play the putter at 33" so that explains why it was so light to begin with.
I can't get much worse with the putter, so we'll see where this gets me come spring. And for $18, weights are a lot cheaper option than buying a new Stroke Lab.
Second, Tensei CK Orange driver shaft (the non-pro version available with TaylorMade drivers) and an adapter for my Epic Flash. I plan to pull the stock TaylorMade adapter and install the Callaway Adapter. Couple reasons for this purchase:
1) After swinging the Tensei White and then my HZRDUS Yellow, I realized how awful the Yellow actually feels. The Orange has a similar profile to the White but maintains the counterbalance found in the Yellow.
2) I want to experiment with potentially shortening my driver shaft to 45" or 44.5". Based on my swings outdoors with a shorter driver, I seem to have a bit better balance through my swing with a shorter shaft. Again, something that will be tested this spring. I will leave the HZRDUS Yellow alone because despite how boardy feeling it is, I produce good numbers with it as is.
The Tensei+Adapter came out to be like $62, so there's not a lot invested in my tinkering.
- MattF, fozcycle, sirchunksalot and 5 others
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May I ask your process for hand turning? I have yet to do all of the ferrules on my new set, but from testing so far I've come up with the following process:
1) Tape off above and below ferrule with thick painter's tape, mount in vice.
2) Use long strips of 600 grit sandpaper to remove the excess until flush with hosel, working in a circular motion so the ferrule maintains its shape.
3) Finish with strips of 1500 grit sandpaper in the same motion.
4) Wipe with WD40 for a nice matte shine. Testing with acetone made them too shiny, in my opinion, and I couldn't for the life of me make it look right. WD40 after a fine sand seems to be much better. -
I constantly need to remind myself to stay mentally focused. I have a goal (and not just for golf) for 2020, stolen from a word my instructor uses a lot.
Kaizen. A Japanese concept of improvement or continuous improvement. It's something I'd like to focus on moving forward.
I hit a couple more buckets of balls at the range today, for a total of six buckets since my last lesson. Additionally, I was able to play nine holes last week when Michigan had its warm spell. The changes to my takeaway are getting more ingrained, the last two range sessions have been really good for that, and I shot a 41 during my round, which is one of the best nine hole rounds I posted all season. I am hitting the center of the face far more often because I'm no longer swaying off the ball in my backswing.
However, today I really struggled with hitting a high ball, pulls, etc. despite hitting the center of the club face. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I watched video from after the session that I realized my club face is starting to work really open on the backswing now. In my quest to get more up with my right arm, my right hand grip weakened and I had to manipulate the hands a ton on the way down.
My point in discussing all of this is that I had a frustrating session today. However, I'm still making progress and need to be thankful for that. I'm much happier with where my hands are at the top of the backswing, and I'm sure I'll get the grip sorted out next time I'm at the range again.
My hope is to take at least one lesson in January. I have also restarted SuperSpeed training, where I'm seeing speeds at or above where I stopped in the summer. I have two more weeks of Fit For Golf's offseason program, and then will be starting a heavier lifting routine combined with stretching from the FFG routine.
It's shaping up to be a productive offseason, and I hope to be playing my best golf ever right out of the gate this upcoming spring.
- mpatrickriley, bens197, cnosil and 5 others
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- 41 (+5)
- 4/7 FIR
- 4/9 GIR (1 birdie)
- 16 Putts (2 3-putts, 3 2-putts, 4 1-putts)
Not often can you be happy with shooting more than the temperature, but when Michigan gives you golfing weather in December, you'll take anything you can get.
I played a quick nine holes with my brother-in-law this morning at one of our local Links-style courses, and had a lot of fun despite the temperature. We teed off a little before 10:30 a.m. with the temperature only at 37 degrees and it never got warmer. Unfortunately, the sky was completely overcast and there was a 15 mph sustained wind, which meant I lost feeling in my hands somewhere around the third tee box.
I'm very happy with the way I played. Relatively clean card with nothing worse than bogey. The course was wet, greens were punched, bumpy, long and slow. But by the third hole I figured out just to club up twice due to the temps and layers, and hit the ball harder when putting, and things went pretty smoothly after that.
No tee markers were out, so we played what we think was a mixture of blue and white tees. I didn't hit either par 3, had two really awful drives, but had three very nice ones I'm happy with. I hit both par 5s (though they were short, only around 500 yards), landing a beautiful 52 degree wedge about three feet past the hole on the second that spun back to 9 feet below the hole. I sank the birdie putt.
My new Cobra hybrid was money and got a lot of use from fairway, rough and tee. The baffler rails are awesome.
Of the five greens I missed none were in any sort of trouble, with a few that were on the collar or just short of the green. Hitting more greens is going to be critical to improving my scores so I'm keeping close watch on that heading into next season.
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Changes from my lesson started to click a bit better at the range yesterday. Still had the heat on, but I broke a sweat by the time I got through my buckets.
Trying to feel more up and less around in the backswing. I was mostly successful and really liked the positions I got in. I sent this particular shot to my coach - I'm a little across the line at the top and still a touch deep with the hands, but the results have been a lot better.
- cksurfdude, Rickp, sirchunksalot and 1 other
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Gapping session a few weeks ago showed I struggle to get the needed launch on the Maltby PTM 4 iron. Fitter recommended trying a hybrid at the same loft (22 degrees), which should give me more launch and distance and improve the gapping between 3 wood and 5 iron.
Found the F8 head new in plastic from ProClubs on eBay for $50, and I knew I liked the SteelFiber profile from my iron fitting, so I went with a 95 gram iron shaft. At 39.5", it will work out to play at D2. Also, Star Sidewinders are amazing.
Between the head, matching headcover (eBay), shaft, grip (already had) and collared ferrules (eBay), I think I have about $110 invested. Not too awful considering the shaft is not something I would have found in a hybrid otherwise. I had looked at Titleist 818s and they still run about that much used, and building something from Golfworks wouldn't have been a ton cheaper either.
The 4 iron would almost have never been used at my home course anyway (once?), the hybrid is much more versatile and could potentially be used for five shots a round.
It's all epoxied now and will be heading to the range Saturday morning for its maiden voyage.
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10 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:
That is awesome! Have fun with it and can't wait to hear what you think of it.
Sent from my SM-N975U using MyGolfSpy mobile app
I'm very curious to hear your review, especially since a lot of the comments I've seen is that it's inaccurate with higher swing speed players. Of course, that's assuming you have a big enough room to swing driver in...
I keep hoping there will be some new release at the PGA show that will either drive the Skytrak down in price a bit or offer a $1k alternative with the same features.
- fozcycle and cksurfdude
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13 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said:
Got Kirke's clubs built up for the coming season.
He'll still be using his US Kids driver this upcoming season. The clubs I built from Diamond Tour fill out his set with a FW, hybrid, 6, 8, PW, and SW. Then he'll use the putter from his junior Cobra set from last year (though I'm in the process of making a Stroke Lab shaft for that now).
For perspective, his Cobra hybrid was 331g. The one I just built is 276g, and it's 1.5" longer. The Cobra SW is 377g; his new one (an inch longer) is 291g.
We'll get some SkyTrak numbers as soon as we can.
I'll be curious to hear what you/he think about these after the season. I have a niece on the way that will be exposed to golf from an early age, and it's good to know what's out there for kids beyond the expensive box sets.
- JohnSmalls, mpatrickriley, Rickp and 1 other
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I had my second lesson on Friday. I'm really enjoying working with my coach, it's been a lot of fun talking about different golf swings while also working to improve mine.
I'm now working on getting the backswing more vertical, with my left shoulder working more under my chin. The goal is to end up with higher hands that aren't quite as horizontally deep. As my coach pointed out, I tend to be "deep" from the ball in the 3D sense because my hands end up very far behind me. But from that position, I can't do much other than throw my right shoulder out and get steep into the ball.
He wants me to get more deep in the 2D sense, with the height of my hands increasing the distance the club head is from the ball. From this more vertical position I can better rotate my right shoulder around my spine in the downswing and attack the ball on a shallower plane. I'm getting this height by setting my hands much earlier and then rotating to the top. My swing feels very similar to the Faldo drill at the moment.
The change was pretty noticeable on the range today. The butt of the club at the top of my swing is more over my trail foot/heel than before the takeaway change. Additionally, I picked up about a half club to club of distance by coming in slightly shallower. I still have a long ways to go and I made some ugly swings today, but I'm making positive progress.
- M. Parsons, toehold57, ncwoz and 3 others
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I'm really glad people still are finding this useful.
The set of Maltby PTMs and my wedges in my signature were all built using the setup in my original post. I never bothered to buy anything else.
Additional benefit is that the yard stick works perfectly for putting drills as well.
- tony@CIC, seancgmartin and cksurfdude
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21 hours ago, Dokes said:
I am looking to reshaft my T300s (4-gap) with Steelfiber 90FC . The raw shafts come sized 1" longer that the specs on the T300s - ie 7 iron titleist club spec @ 37" and the 7i Aerotech shaft spec @ 38." My current set was not trimmed and true to the Titleist"(37" - 7i)spec. I play most of my clubs as "standard" length.
Will butt trimming 1" on each iron effect the swing weight? or the 90CF intended shaftness/performance?
Am I better off trimming or using Aerotech shafts untouched?
Couple of things to consider here:
1) I have not owned Titleist clubs, but quick Googling says that they use .355 taper tips for all of their hosel designs. The SteelFiber fc90s look like they are parallel tip shafts, which won't work in taper tip hosels. Unless you're referring to the fc90cw constant weight taper tips.
2) The 37 inch length of the Titleist 7-iron is the finished playing length. Due to the bottom bore to ground measurement in the iron design (BBGM), the actual length of the shaft will be less than 37 inches. The shafts would have been trimmed to 37 inch final playing length.
It would be assumed that you would trim the finished shafts to the desired playing length regardless of "raw" length. For parallel shafts, the tips are trimmed to match the iron in which the shaft will play, and then butt-trimmed to length. For taper tip shafts, the tips do not require trimming and the shafts are instead only butt-trimmed to length.
I would recommend getting hooked up with a qualified local club fitter who would be able to help you through this process.
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Grip continues to feel more natural. Hit quite a few balls again today and feel like I'm making more and more progress each time out.
The downside of the new grip is that I've yet to develop calluses in the right spots. I have quite the raw, bloody spot on my right ring finger as a result.
Today, I focused on getting some more hip hinge at address. I noticed after my gapping session last weekend that I tend to be very upright at address, especially with longer clubs. Adding a bit of hip hinge seems to help me rotate a bit better and stay shallower on the downswing.
Couple other things that I need to work on - making a full turn and not rushing the downswing and good hand path on the backswing. As the clubs get longer I have a tendency to abbreviate my backswing. And I still fight coming too far inside on the backswing. Both flaws seem to end with an over-the-top move combo'ed with a fat strike.
Really loving the swing I put on the gap wedge in the below video. Close observers will also notice some new Puma Ignite spikes with the DISC laceless system. Awesome, awesome, awesome feeling shoes. The laceless system is so comfortable, even right out of the box.
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1 hour ago, alfriday101 said:
It's December in Iowa. I played 18 last Wednesday and 18 on Thursday. Stayed inside on Friday because of the weather. Went deer hunting on Saturday, hit some balls on Sunday, and shoveled snow today. Done for the year?
Crazy, right? Two Sundays ago, I shoveled 6+ inches of heavy, wet snow. Yesterday there were several courses by me that were open. Rain today, and even the piles of snow where I shoveled are gone already!
- alfriday101 and MattF
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Some fun statistics from a Trackman gapping session yesterday. Sometimes, I get frustrated with what seems like a lack of progress in my game. Having some statistics to reference really does help emphasize improvements I've made over the past six months.
(Yes, my club path is way left. Same Trackman setup, same room, etc. I go left. There is a wall directly next to me when swinging and it weirds me out, and messes with my aim.)
First, some stats with the driver. The first Trackman numbers are from my second fitting during MGS testing in late May. These numbers were with the same Epic Flash head as I have now, but with the stock MRC Tensei Blue shaft.
What's really exciting for me to see in comparison is that while club speed hasn't changed much, my ball speed has. Tells me I'm finding the face more. I'm also ecstatic to see my attack angle flatten, and to see both launch angle and spin go way down. All that helps translate into the extra 30 yards of carry.
Comparing 7-irons is even more fun, especially since the new numbers (bottom) are with a shorter and weaker lofted (by 1 degree) club.
My instructor will be happy to see the face to path numbers when we meet next.
Just have to keep grinding for a few more months until the weather improves.
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What/How Did You Practice Today?
in The Daily
Posted
Hit the range for my birthday (as if I needed an excuse...) in preparation for my lesson tomorrow. Worked on takeaway changes from my last lesson and also on making sure my grip doesn't weaken. The last two trips to the range before have been awful, I realized today that my grip still was too weak and I was doing some funky things with my right hand, too. Once I fixed those issues, my distance came back.
I'm very glad I decided to spend money on lessons as I've made more progress in limited practice since November than I did all year. Right now I'm feeling like I'm one small change away from playing some very good golf by next spring. I snapped a shot at the top of my driver swing today versus the top my driver swing during the MGS Epic Flash testing last spring. I can't believe the difference:
Now, there are still plenty of things that are not ideal about the new swing, but I spent all year trying to get my hands more up and less around and in one month I've had a lot of success doing so. This allows me to lengthen my swing quite a bit, and I'm getting a lot more speed as a result.