[The Future of Country Clubs]

On 5/8/2023 at 11:08 PM, Kenny B said:

One person left the club after talking with the pro; he wanted an annual senior membership rate.  The pro said:  “Look at the parking lot.  I don’t have to give discounts.”  

Literally had the same discussion with the owner of my course yesterday. Someone Sunday complained about the weekend 18 riding rate increasing to $48 from $42 last season and basically told the person in the club house that they would be hurting because of the cost. Owner said they turned away 60-70 phone calls on Sunday for tee times during the afternoon (it was beautiful outside) and had a line waiting to use the driving range. No shortage of people willing to pay the price.

As far as this topic goes, we have three "uber-elite" country clubs near us that I believe are doing OK financially, but I don't know that there is a wait to join. I believe the initiation fees are in excess of $10,000 each, so they are kind of self-limiting.

Their is another group of courses that are more affordable, with membership being something like $5,000-$6,000/yearly. They are always looking for members but I don't believe there are money problems either. Nice courses, nothing special.

It's getting harder to find "affordable" golf in general, but it is unfortunate there is such a spread between a public course membership, the mid-tier club and the high-end country clubs. I paid $1,200 this year for unlimited walking and unlimited range balls (not at the same place due to logistics of where I work vs. where I play). I can't see paying three or four times that for the mid-tiers as, like you, I don't find much value in restaurants, pools or poorly-equipped workout facilities.

[2023 MGS Forum: Cobra 50th Anniversary Special!]

Love that stuff is starting to come in. Still rock my Cobra x Vessel bag from #CC4 out to the range.

Can't wait for this to officially kick off!

[Edel SMS and SMS Pro Irons - 2023 Forum Review]

On 5/4/2023 at 10:15 AM, GolfSpy BOS said:

Tri-step milled sole.  Supposed to give you the benefits of a narrow sole while playing like a forgiving cavity back irons.

Gorgeous. Similar to the Srixon or Hogan sole, I assume. I probably would get along well with these. 

Love the milling. Still my favorite part of the SMS wedges.

[How'd you play?]

Disappointing weekend after a couple of good range days this week. My tee game is comical at the moment. Over 27 holes of golf I hit only 2 of 23 fairways.

I recovered well, but it's hard to score when you're blocked out by trees for your second shot. Still incredibly wet. Playing lift, clean and place heading into the second week of May is no fun.

Of course, I parred my last two holes this morning with some pretty good golf. Hopefully I can carry that over into my round Tuesday.

[The Stack System Review and Progress Thread]

44 minutes ago, Hoyoymac said:

Sixth session of the Foundation workout program completed.  A few personal bests in my workout today, but my Stack speed seems to be going backwards after good early progress.

 

 

From my experience, this is totally normal. My speeds were very dependent on that day's activities prior to Stacking, the temperate and nutrition as well.

[The Stack System Review and Progress Thread]

1 minute ago, Jlocke22 said:

Hey Guys - just joined from another site to follow some other Stackers. Had some great progress on first program (Full Speed Spectrum). Neural Drive is up next as a recommendation. Been a fun ride this winter in Michigan to mix this up with some more golf specific golf training. Interesting results so far and working on smoothing some mechanics out to start the year. 

Welcome from another Michigander, and great results! What radar system are you using?

[Does anyone walk anymore?]

This is cruel and unusual punishment @GolfSpy_APH ... just saying!

[How'd you play?]

37 (+1) on nine yesterday, 84/83 adjusted this morning on 18. 

Was beautiful yesterday morning. I putted and chipped really well, and my full swing was pretty good, too. One birdie and two bogies.

We got rain overnight and the temperature plummeted. My car showed 40 this morning on the way to the course, and I would guess with the wind it felt near freezing. I dressed well but my full swing was very touch and go today, and my short game and putting were not crisp. I'm sure my hands being pretty cold did not help.

Unfortunately had a couple of blow up holes with two doubles and and triple. Clean those up and it would still have been a pretty good day!

[2023 MGS Forum: Cobra 50th Anniversary Special!]

14 hours ago, JerryB said:

Intro post is up, and here's a word block about my fitting.

As soon as I got the details of my selection, I set out to get a fitting scheduled as soon as possible.  This was a brand-new world to me; I’d gone to a demo day last year for a quick fitting session into my current driver but otherwise I’d just accumulated stuff.  I settled on Golf Galaxy back in the suburbs for a few reasons: it was in my hometown so I could also stop and visit my parents, it was an affordable option, and I still had a gift card from there that my parents had given me for Christmas, ha!  Full bag fitting; two hours.

I went in a few minutes early and met with Jeremy, who immediately set me up in a bay to get warmed up.  He’s probably fifteen years younger than me and a career baseball player who switched to golf during the pandemic.  I found that interesting; he’s been golfing about as long as I have, how much can he help?  For starters, he’s way better than I am, and he’s been doing fittings for some time now.

My iron game has been a hot mess this year.  My swing, already not pretty, is badly out of sequence and the club face is severely closed at impact, among other horrors.  Hook City, baby!  Jeremy offered a few pointers and occasionally I would flush one, but the iron part of the fitting was not good.  I tried cracking a few jokes to lighten the mood, but my normal deadpan humor was not connecting today. 

One neat thing I got to use was the Mizuno shaft optimizer.  A few swings with that and it spits out a few good shaft options, narrowing things down a ton.  I tend to get a little chunky with my swing, especially early in the season, and my wrists were paying for it.  I mentioned I was thinking about going graphite for my shafts after having always played steel, and a graphite option was actually the top selection on the optimizer.  Tried a few different options and while nothing looked good (oof, you should have seen me!) the top graphite option felt the best.

After a bit we switched to a 5-hybrid head, using the same shaft option.  First swing and I piped it dead straight and about three yards to the right.  My swing and tempo fell into place; I heard an audible gasp from him on the first swing.  See?  I CAN do it!!  Alright…5 hybrid, mark that down.  Took about a half dozen cuts and they were all about the same save for one mishit. 

Next was the 4 hybrid and that’s where things started getting weird.  I was still hitting it well, but the results were about ten to fifteen yards shorter than the 5.  Was it fatigue?  I took a quick breather, and he pulled out a 3 wood.  I hit it solid, and it went further than the 5 hybrid, but not further enough.  He was a little perplexed.

Moving on to driver.  This is where things felt better.  Knowing that I was fit into the draw-biased Callaway Rouge ST Max driver just last year, we started with the similarly draw-biased Aerojet Max.  I was hitting it well, but the ball was ballooning on me.  We tinkered with a couple different shafts and even dropped to the 9° head.  He suggested I try teeing it lower.  We finally found a shaft/head combo that worked well.

They don’t carry Snakebite wedges, so he had me swing a couple of Vokey wedges and did some quick research on the Snakebite options.  Based on what I do with my wedges (I don’t take much of a divot and don’t really work them too much) we came up with a couple options to fit the gapping at that end of the bag.

We went over to check out the Cobra putters.  He’s big on feel so it was mostly on me to roll some putts and see what felt good, along with some feedback on his end.  I was quickly able to narrow it down to two, a blade and a mallet.  Both felt really good and, in the end, I went mallet since I’d never gamed one before and this seemed like a great opportunity to try something different.

And just like that the two hours were up.  While I never felt rushed, in the end it really felt like it was not enough time.  In the moment I walked away feeling pretty good, but after the fact there’s a few things that started to eat at me. 

First, I came in very unprepared.  I should have done a little more research ahead of the fitting.  When I do something for the first time, I like having my hand held, so to speak.  I want the expert to guide me.  I’m not very attuned to what my body is doing and how things feel.  I feel like Jeremy wanted more feedback from me and I just couldn't give it to him. 

Secondly, Cobra doesn’t have nearly as big of a footprint as a Titleist or TaylorMade.  While those companies had a large selection of demo equipment to choose from, Cobra had maybe a quarter of that.  There were some options that weren’t available.  One of the shafts we were going to try had a missing adaptor.  No wedges at all.

I was really overwhelmed.  I wish I had brought someone else along to pay attention to the details.  The fitter was writing things down for me, but when I came home and started to fill in the spec sheet, I realized that several details were missing.  What kind of shaft did I use for that 3 wood?  What about the wedge shafts?  When I hit the 3 wood, was it the regular, max, or LS head?  These are things that I may or may not have checked at the time but fell through the cracks.

Having gone through the process once, I now have a better idea of what to do next time.  I needed more time and I needed to ask more questions.  I should have taken the time to write more things down.  It was a learning experience, and it definitely wasn’t all that bad.  But I couldn’t imagine how it would have gone if I hadn’t already been narrowed down to a certain line of clubs.

Agree with @Josh Ross. Thanks for detailing your fitting. A full bag fitting is a huge undertaking, especially in two hours.

I remember when I did my Cobra Connect fitting for the forum in 2020, I was a wreck with the driver. I felt so bad for the fitter because I couldn't get anything off the ground no matter what he tried.

Can't wait for you to get your clubs! Cobra's hybrids are really underrated (well, almost all their equipment is).

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

On 4/20/2023 at 1:19 PM, Josh Ross said:

I'd be very interested in hearing what you think about these.

  

What size are you? I wear a 13 or 14 in extra wide and amazingly the FJ D.N.A. Boa from 2016 fit like a charm in 12 Extra Wide. I have bought and returned various different shoes over the years because none touched those in comfort or fit. Somehow I've worn them for seven years and they've got maybe one season left in them before I'm gonna have to find a replacement. None of the new FJ's in 12 Extra Wide fit the same and anything past 12 is only available in Wide which is too narrow.

One week on them and they are great. Caused some soreness at first, they are firm compared to the stock insoles, but my feet adjusted quickly. 

I have not walked 18 in them yet,  but I don't see any issues in doing so. I'm enjoying the extra support,  and it makes me wonder if my other shoes would benefit from a pair. 

[The Stack System Review and Progress Thread]

I finished up my Neural Drive program this past weekend and did my progress check tonight.

Overall, I'm not surprised to see my numbers not be tremendously different in the progress check. I'm happy to see gains in some areas. I had a lot of ebbs and flows during the Neural Drive program, with a few really high speed sessions and a few that were less than spectacular. As we're hitting spring in Michigan I've been busier than normal, my grit score has fallen quite a bit and generally I'm doing more manual labor around the house, yard and garden so all of these things contribute to losing a little of my Stack speed.

That being said, during the MGS Offseason Speed Challenge, my final check-in with driver was around 117 MPH, a gain of 3 MPH since October. Nothing to sneeze at!

I have not yet played a lot of golf this season (27 holes so far), but last night I filled in for a league with my brother-in-law on a course I had never played before. The scorecard listed the course at around 3,300-3,400 yards from the tees we played, with a couple of 420-yard par 4s, longer par 3s and some short par 5s. I made pars on two of the longer par 4s hitting hybrid from the tee, something I would have not have been able to do in the past. Both hybrids were perfectly placed in the fairway and about 240 yards each.

I hit four drivers last night: 

• 250 yards (first tee jitters, a little too much cut, hit a tree and dropped straight down)
• 277 yards (sweeping draw that had some run on it)
• 295 yards (mashed, dead straight, ball ran out up a hill and through fairway)
• 284 yards (pushed right and clipped a few trees)

When I started speed training back in 2018, my brother-in-law and I were pretty even in total distance throughout the bag. I think I'm about two clubs longer than him now. Some of that is technique and practice, of course, but even from last season I can tell I've gained some speed on him.

The Stack gets a huge thumbs up from me. 

[How'd you play?]

7 minutes ago, ncwoz said:

Love that course, one of my buddy's dad has been a league member there forever! Which 9 did you play?

White. First time out on that nine, had only previously played Red or Gold. 

The par 5s were favorable, but I hit my mid irons well. Couple 6 and 7 irons into greens. Overall a nice mix of shots and a very fair layout. Wish it was closer to me because the range and practice area is top notch, and course is quality, too!

[How'd you play?]

Filled in on my brother-in-law's work league tonight. Woke up to 30s and snow storm, hard to believe it looked like this at 4 PM.

Played some of the best golf I've ever played. Solid all around, couple shaky tee shots but scrambled well. In all honesty, the league played gimmes and our partners were a little generous in tapping the ball back to me on a few knee knockers.

• 36 (-1)
• 4/7 FIR
• 5/9 GIR
• 14 putts (5 2 putts, 4 1 putts)

Can't wait for the weather to warm up and cooperate. Mid to upper 40s is not the ideal ball flight weather!

[2023 MGS Forum: Cobra 50th Anniversary Special!]

Awesome group! Congrats, everyone. Enjoy the ride!!!

[New SkyTrack coming]

Lots of competition in this space now. Wonder if they can add some of the features from the middle-tier monitors (GC3/Bushnell, the upcoming Uneekor portable one) and keep the existing price point?

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

8 hours ago, cnosil said:

Anyone that has read any of my how do you play or my journey thread knows that I have been struggling with putting lately.   I hadn't used my exPutt for a while so I broke it out to see what was going on.  Both face and distance were horrible which is what I experience on course.  Went through all my various putters and was able to get some to improve distance and some to improve face control.  Adjusted grip pressure and got a little better.  Focused on a spot on that mat and got a little better.    Still a ways to go;  definitely need more practice.   

Such a useful gadget. Fiddling on the ExPutt is why I'm now more bent over in my putter stance. Bending over more was the only way my path would neutralize, else I swung the putter way too in-to-out to be consistent. I would have never been able to diagnose that without the ExPutt.

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

About 15 range buckets into my season and making some good progress, building off of my winter work indoors. It's been incredibly windy the last few times out, so I just usually try to hit straight into or with the wind so that I can get a feel for shot shape (or, in my case, hoping to see less shape). Distance is comical because our range balls just spin so much they balloon and go no where. 

I've really been focusing on setup. Feeling more hinge in my hips at setup has really helped me make a better turn with less sway. I also liked this feel and it's helped my pivot tremendously https://golf.com/instruction/improve-backswing-golf-sean-hogan/. 

So far a bunch of really good range sessions. Can't wait for the actual good weather to get here and the season to start.

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

Not specifically golf-related, but I was in need of new insoles for my golf shoes. My New Balance Striker v2s (both pairs) stretched out a bit and my toes starting overhanging the stock insoles. That led to blisters, and made them basically unwearable for most of last season.

After reading some reviews, I settled on PowerStep Pinnacles. It was between those and the Game Day insoles. Both are marketed as athletic insoles, but not as fancy or expensive as the VKTRY ones that Paddy Harrington endorses.

Nice spring to them. Don't think that they will add 10 yards to my drives, but if they keep me less fatigued and blister free after 18 holes, I'll be happy!

["The Rankening" Vice ball mix refurbished]

15 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

I found the flight and spin characteristics of the Pro Plus similar to Pro v1X  and Pro to Pro V1. 

That's what the internal numbers published by Vice and the MGS ball test led me to believe. 

Debating about picking up a dozen to give them a go.

[The Stack System Review and Progress Thread]

19 minutes ago, MrKSTOKES said:

I’m kinda in the same boat, thinking about e-mailing Sasho regarding in season work as from next week I’ll finally be getting out on the course and then it’s 5 months of solid golf, I can’t see how I’d be able to squeeze in any programs apart from the speed primer and have concerns about how fast the gains will drop off, will report back on what get’s recommended 

I'll be curious what he says. From late May to early July I try to play five or six days a week and am curious if the speed priming is supposed to be used daily. I like taking the swings as it really helps to loosen me up.

[The Stack System Review and Progress Thread]

20 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

Great progress Cody.  I'm kind of surprised to read this though...why go into maintenance?  Do you think it will hurt your game to continue on with another training program?

Time commitment, mostly. One of my goals for this summer is to continue to be active in the weight room. The last two years I've completely stopped working out until the offseason, and while I've made some gains overall, I end up spending two months building back up to where I left off in the spring.

Combined with chores around the house taking up my summer evenings, I'd have to give up range time to fit three workouts in each week and still lift. And I'd rather have the range time at this point.

I do plan on doing the speed priming sessions a few times a week as well before my 18 hole rounds.

We'll see how all this goes. Perhaps I will be really motivated and will jump into another program, but that will be a tough balancing act with everything that goes on in the summer.

[Edel SMS and SMS Pro Irons - 2023 Forum Review]

45 minutes ago, ejgaudette said:

Though I think @ChitownM2 brings up a great point that the weights are great but do dramatically increase the options at a fitting so it would be very interesting to see how that club plays out in a true fitting experience without turning it into at 4 hour marathon.

I'm reading all of your fitting experiences in earnest as I think the Edel fitting matrix is a unique challenge for fitters to work with. As I recall from our SMS wedge fittings last season, we all had very different experiences. Mine at Club Champion was probably the least Edel-like - it was just a basic fitting for the most part.

That being said, I was able to tell within a few swings that the weight in toe was best for me. I believe there's something out there from Chris Koske of Edel saying basically the same - it only takes a few swings to see what is best for a particular player.

["The Rankening" Vice ball mix refurbished]

On 4/8/2023 at 11:26 PM, richk9holes said:

I struck the ball well, noticed the flight on Vice Pro Plus still bugs me. Distance is better with Vice Tour and Vice Pro.

"noticed the flight on Vice Pro Plus still bugs me"

What kind of flight are you seeing? The Pro Plus intrigues me as someone who typically needs the extra height and spin it promises. 

[The Stack System Review and Progress Thread]

Well, I've gotten out for two back nines this weekend as my first real-world test of my offseason work.

Conservatively, I believe I'm about 1/2 club longer or even a bit more with my irons. The only par 3 on the back nine was playing about 146 to the stick both yesterday and today, so I opted for a full but not nuked Hogan PTx Pro pitching wedge (46 degrees). Yesterday I flushed it and flew the stick and went off the back of the green. Today I mis hit the ball quite a bit and still ended up pin high after a short hop.

Better indication is that I had 126 yards to the flag on two separate occasions today, and opted for a full bore 54 degree wedge (I love full wedges - it was wet and I need the height to stop it). Both times I flew the flag by five yards. 

Driver is still a work in progress, but on No. 17 I hit one middle toe that ended up 285 yards in the middle of the fairway. Last year that would have been in my top 5 drives on the hole.

One session left in my Neural Drive program and then onto maintenance for the year. Today I set a new personal best at several weights, including the 195 gram weight. I'm now up to a driver eSpeed of 119.

[How'd you play?]

21 hours ago, edingc said:

First nine of the year this morning. Didn't have super high expectations, but I did have a great range session yesterday so thought I might start the year strong.

Really solid par to start the round, going hybrid, 58 wedge to 12 feet for an easy two putt. Tee shots after that were an adventure, lots of low draws/hooks that got me in trouble on 11, 12, 13 and 18. Even threw in two stone cold tops trying to recover. Got caught between a couple of swing thoughts and just couldn't get it going.

All that being said, I hit my irons extremely well, my short game was fantastic and my putting was pretty good until it wasn't on 18. Despite walking a lot this offseason, I really was feeling it by 17, and I finished with a double and triple as I ran out of gas.

44/43 adjusted.

My "peak" season starts in about two weeks, feeling good about my irons and short game. Confident I'll get the long game figured out.

Unanticipated second nine this morning as the rain in the forecast mostly missed us. Second go around the back nine ended with a 42, and I cost myself two strokes on the last two holes with misjudged wedges from the fairway. Seems I've gained 1/2 club or so in my irons and need to account for that.

Irons were amazing again, great around and on the green as well. Wedge approaches hurt me a little and my tee game still hurt me.

I did finally connect with one on No. 17 and plunked it 285 yards out in the middle of the fairway. Can't wait to see more of that.