[Forum Community Calls]

Great focus piece for playing on course listening to the details about wedges and the design and finish on them.  Great questions and again hearing from a subject matter expert who has forgotten more about his craft than most of us will ever know.  

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from frosty (it's 25F here) clear and bright WNY on this Community Call Thursday warming up after having to start MyGolfSpouse's vehicle (I am the remote starter) to clear windows of frost more inside than out with the heat though outside was scraping growing frost crystals  coffee magic warming me up under my electric lap blanket in the basement workplace for this zero commute workday  great to see the new testers wanted notice up, so much going on and glad to have got out in yesterday's rain for another 9 holes with Justin @just52887 at an 80 minute round pace under umbrellas (can you believe we only saw 2 others on the course? private golf course experience indeed!), we will likely be connecting into the call again today from the second 2/3rds of the golf course so those who cannot get out today yourself can do so vicariously  hope golf is a part of your day 

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[Testers Announced! Callaway Ai-Smoke Drivers]

1 hour ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

I can tell you from my personal experience with both the AiSmoke Max D and the Ai Smoke TD, the forgiveness across the face is real.  My miss tends to be higher toe, and the amount I lose on it with either of these drivers is very minimal.

11 minutes ago, TJ Hall said:

Good to hear it performs as advertised…hopefully the testers will see the same results!

What I will say is the fitting I had was my first ever touching the Ai Smoke Max D - first used my own driver to warm up for some "before" numbers and then the first set of hits with the Smoke and being an 

5 hours ago, JAYER38 said:

... average high handicap golfer I (too)  live high heel to center face

ball striking as shown by the pressure tape on the face of the driver and even making my own slight adjustment on address seemed to find that part of the club face even when setting up a half inch to inch in the direction that should have then been a center of face contact.  Mental thing I am sure but I am aware of it now so...

[MGS Forum Focus Group: What would YOU like to see change?]

We do a lot of sharing in The Good Morning Thread and similar threads like the Good Evening Thread started by ErinB with many times heartfelt things said and limited responses of :

so when someone posts about a health whatever and intentions of support is the obvious response, the available selection is missing.

What I suggest the making the Dove icon available as it expresses hope, kindness, and any number of similar attributes.  It is literally all I respond to on social media when someone announces the passing of a loved one.  It is all that seems to capture the thoughts that words are inadequate for.

Just saying, would be good to not LIke someone's upcoming procedure or apply any of the other currently available icons .

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from wet cool WNY on this community call eve Wednesday with coffee ready to go and work computer up on the network already on this zero commute workday  had a good day in the office yesterday buzzing on the announcement for testing the Callaway Smoke Driver and finally able to tell people   After work, a few dangerous-crazy drivers on the commute to the golf course had me take an alternate route and arrived safely with them forgotten before I parked the vehicle. 

Once season pass was in hand, headed out after a 5-some (they happen at Caz when there's few others playing) that were at least a full hole ahead of me when Justin @just52887 caught up to me after his workday and we only waited for the 5-some on the 3rd green to clear, and clear they did leaving the course under threat of rain.  We got in the full 9 with rain only beginning to arrive finishing up 8 for another round in the sub-80 minute pace - today might make 3 in a row! 

Hope golf is a part of your day 

35 

[2024 My Golf Spy Annual Forum Outing-Kingsmill Resort]

Discussion in other threads have pointed out that there are a number of testers attending the 2024 MyGolfSpy Forum Meetup at Kingsmill Resort and I think it would be something to add to whatever matrix is being wrangled to keep track of all the characters members who will be attending - adding a column for what product is currently being tested or has already been tested in 2024.  It would probably be overload to include all the products that each overachiever member attending has tested since joining the forum, but if the array of new equipment for this year was to just happen to appear and be showcased at one of the inevitable whole group gatherings, that would be a testament to the service and dedication put forth by the lucky fortunate members present at the meetup.

Put Ryan @Berg Ryman and me down for the Callaway Smoke Driver just announced today! 

[Testers Announced! Callaway Ai-Smoke Drivers]

As informed forum followers know , tester announcements are now done after the testing pool is committed to the test and requirements are met to start moving forward to having the product ordered.  This test required a driver fitting as part of the agreement each tester accepted, as is fitting for something of this level.  (see what I did there?)

Details will assuredly be forthcoming but what happened at my driver fitting was  ...

...  just know that I cannot wait for "the unboxing," for "the initial impressions" and for "the real testing" to begin!!!!!!!!!!

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from a dark downtown parking spot by the office building for the next opportunity to be all I can be, at least that's what I did for 30 years, and will Télépopmisik's Breathe on Pandora and coffee hot in the mug just getting my mind around the announcement of the Callaway Smoke Driver testers and getting to test the Max D model ‍ Played 9 holes yesterday on the now open for the season Cazenovia GC in South Buffalo with regular Justin @just52887 in beautiful cool sunshine needing only 80 minutes to finish. Hope golf is a part of your day  

36

[Testers Announced! Callaway Ai-Smoke Drivers]

Dreams do come true and thankful for the opportunity ‍

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from almost frosty but not! WNY on this middle Monday of April and with the outdoors sorted for springtime it looks like a good day for 9 holes after the workday ends  work computer going online for the zero commute workday and the basement command post feels warmer today so that to me is proof of Spring has finally arrived in these here parts  coffee soon to make its debut and then off to the salt mines, hope golf is a part of your day! 

37 

[Testers Announced! Callaway Ai-Smoke Drivers]

Placeholder

[Tester]

2 hours ago, JCole said:

Question do you think when you enter the chance to be a tester you have a chance at actually being picked? I will say I don’t believe I will ever be picked, I enter just for the **** of it. But never expect to be picked. What are your thoughts.

What I know as fact: if you read and understand what is written in this thread:

I have no doubt that you will be chosen as a tester with all the testing that is going on this year.  Just get yourself in a position to be one of the preferred forum members to be chosen.

Testing is not just getting free equipment because you can get it.  We do have people with low post counts who get chosen for testing and on occasion someone will receive the whateveritis and we never hear from them again.  That behavior hurts the community and shows that disreputable "anonymous" people will volunteer to be a tester who then renege on their responsibility and violate the trust placed on them taking what was given, making their action theft of the product.

I have been chosen for 5 tests, completed all requirements that were expected of being a tester for all 5 products, and with the need for testers this year can expect to be chosen again.  I have a photo on my profile, I post regularly and respond to others that proves involvement in the forum community, and by writing as much as I do, it is well understood what kind of test review will be provided when the testing of the product is complete.  

So quick comparison:  how does your presence in the forum compare to mine?  Or to others who have been chosen to test more than once?  

Try this: Follow the guidelines and see what happens, I'm looking forward to seeing the posts you make and recommend looking at The Good Morning Thread which is perhaps the most popular thread now on the Forum. Here's a link to the just posted latest message there:

 Great question and thanks for the opportunity to respond.  We are as diverse a community as any but you will find the forum participants are the kind of people you would want to associate with because we keep it real without getting rude or obnoxious.

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from a still chilly but the sun is threatening to break through WNY where this was what was outside just 3 years ago.

Today is getting the winter critter fencing in the yard stowed for the summer and getting the first cut of the lawn as yesterday ended up not just showery but some of that white stuff was in the air too, thank goodness the surfaces were too warm for it to stick.  All the concern of cold and white stuff is suddenly tempered by @Rob Person's comment about blood sucking vermin that I share the aversion of @Dead Solid Bogey and @sirchunksalot and you know what?  I'm good with putting on hat, gloves and heavy jacket to do the yardwork today   

Hope golf is a part of your day  and it's now only

38 

[The Good Morning Thread]

5 hours ago, funkyjudge said:

My wife has NEVER driven a vehicle with an automatic transmission in the nearly 44 years that I have known her (including 42 years of marriage as of this coming September). I drive both manual and automatic, and we have both owned and ridden motorcycles at various times throughout our marriage (I actually started riding motorcycles in my early teens). My son, who turned 54 in March, owns several manual transmission vehicles and my grandson (age 28) also drives a manual.

My wife gets very distressed every time an automobile manufacturer announces the passing of another model with a manual transmission. Her current car is a 2018 VW Golf Alltrack wagon with a 6-speed manual, and she has owned several Subarus and VW Rabbit/Golf GTI models throughout the course of our marriage. It has gotten to the point where her options are extremely limited when shopping for a new vehicle, and she fears that there will be no reasonably-priced cars with manual transmissions when she wants or needs her next vehicle.

MyGolfSpouse learned to drive stick when she fell in love with a 1982 silver and black Dodge Charger 2.2 and it only took her a few minutes to discover the joy of manual transmission.  That vehicle was driven into the ground and literally died arriving at a dealership to take possession of a1995 green 4-door Suzuki Sidekick stick with 4WD manual locking front hubs.  That vehicle lasted just over a year and was t-boned in a hazardous intersection but it saved my wife who was carrying our daughter born 6 months later, the Suzuki replaced by a 1997 white 2-door Ford Explorer V6 with overdrive stick and selectable low range with auto locking hubs. 

  

The Ford suffered rustbelt rot over the 10 years we had it replaced by a Ford Fusion she tolerated because it did not have a stick and neither did the leased Chevy's, Equinox and Trax that replaced it when the Fusion became my son's car.  When son was looking to buy his own Ford Bronco Sport, and his sister was already liking the Chevy Trax, he easily swayed his mom to look at the Subaru Crosstrek available in a manual transmission and full time 4WD as all Subarus are. 

That is her current vehicle that took very little time for her to get used to the clutch pedal again.  And she only forgot once to shift into gear after turning off the motor and found it in the street minutes later - claims she just doesn't have the arm strength to put the hand brake on hard enough to stop it rolling but truth is if she does pull it on that hard,  she can't release it again.

My bane to driving stick:  I learned to drive standard transmission as it was called then, in Driver's Ed in a brand new 1978 Dodge Aspen 2-door, owned a '85 Plymouth Volare station wagon with 318 V8 with 4spd OD stick, for years drove all manner of US Army vehicles, and then there was the '97 Explorer.  I had driven the Volare towing my Catalina 22 sailboat on it's trailer to Mt Desert Island, ME (before I ever met my wife) for vacation - launched and sailed out of Southwest Harbor - and on the way home got into stop and go traffic on I-95 heading towards NH clutching in and out of 1st gear.  My knee was on fire with the effort and I had to get off the interstate and used the Mohawk Trail to keep from blowing my knee out.  The clutch pedal range on the Explorer was so similar to the Volare's that I could only clutch about 20 times before I could no longer push the clutch to shift.  It became the vehicle I could not drive for most of the years we owned it.  The Crosstrek thankfully gives me no such discomfort.

I have always loved the direct control of power to the drive wheels with a stick and I know it is not supposed to be done but knocking it out of gear on a downhill is an amazing way to get great gas mileage though a policeman friend of mine once observed me doing it and I got a lecture for the next many miles lol

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from the suburbs of Rochester enjoying a brunch with my son doing a drop off and pickup for things needed at his RIT apartment and our house. Had a great fitting yesterday and learned facts about my swing and ball striking that was pleasantly surprising and the only thing that would have been better was a tee at the in between "gap" height apparently that I use. Should be getting outside when I get home to start taming the grass back into the appearance of a lawn, and hope golf is a part of your day  

39

[The Good Morning Thread]

10 hours ago, ILMgolfnut said:

My issue is that the overhead garage door opener unit is hanging right in the middle, dangerously close to my swing path. If I'd put the net on the other side of the garage, it wouldn't be an issue, but at this point rearranging the setup is not an option. I've clipped the opener a couple of times on my follow through; no real damage (yet). I did kind of angle the net a little bit to get out of the danger zone. Hope that solves the problem. Because I don't own the Casa, I didn't want to hang a projector from the ceiling, so went with Chromecast from my phone to a 43" TV instead.

I think this is an option to moving your garage door opener unit.

 

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from the calm before the rains start again early on this Friday in WNY where the coffee is almost ready and work computer is going onto the network from the zero commute to underground central  where I'm having the same kind of start Jason @sirchunksalot had and I don't know why the delay in getting started either, but community call was awesome yesterday with holes 3 through 9 shared from my phone camera (just not so good on keeping up with all of the discussion but I manage) and today I'm going to have a new experience getting a club fitting, heard lots about them but my first so  hold me down!!  Hope golf is a part of your day too! 

40 

[Forum Community Calls]

Oh what a feeling to be on the Community Call again from a golf course!   seems like forever since I last joined a call from last year's regular course Elma Meadows GC along Buffalo Creek.  Today was from my old regular course Cazenovia GC along Cazenovia Creek in South Buffalo bordering my town of West Seneca.

2 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I see @EasyPutter was getting primed for Kingsmill. Under a tree, by the stream and what have you.  

That "stream" in the UK would be called a "river" and that ball under the tree was 2 feet from escaping like @Yellow Ball off for a swim down a 20 foot high and steep embankment.  And you got it right I am trying to get back to my 20 handicap before Kingsmill AND trying to train the clubs and balls to miss the unplayable parts of the course!

2 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

It was another great call today and I had a lot of fun getting to talk to y'all.  

Derek, it was good to see you out on the course today.

Thanks Jason!  I'm always thinking of you when I connect in from a golf course to give you at least one vicarious round a week to be out there with me    and 40 days tomorrow until we get to do it for real at Kingsmill 

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies on Community Call Thursday from the wet springtime April showers of WNY eagerly awaiting the announcement of whateveritis  Jamie @GolfSpy_APH has whetted the appetite for, as if Matt's @GolfSpy SAM birthday  isn't reason enough to be thrilled, wait that is a trifecta  Looking forward to seeing many of you friends on the call later on and possibly from the "fairways" as it is still a transformation process from park to golf course where I usually play, hope golf is a part of your day! 

41

[The Good Morning Thread]

1 hour ago, RomanG said:

@EasyPutter I’m going through it now. I was just curious how it works outside of my state (SC) and if there’s some must play courses around the east coast I’ve never heard of. It’s a great program down here. 

Each of the 17 sections has a slightly different focus and mine is the Western NY PGA Section covering an area that stretches from Erie PA to Rochester NY and from northern PA to Lake Ontario, a rather large piece of NY State on the western end and northwestern PA.

Pay attention to the threads and use the search function, there are places in the forum that do look at courses wherever MGS Forum posters live, which really is worldwide.  

If your Section offers something called Down Range Days, it is a follow on program to HOPE for HOPE graduates and it needs to be well used by graduates or it could be pulled back by National for lack of perceived need as it was piloted here and we could not get more than a 50% response to fill available "free golf" tees, believe it or not.  Hope your area does better with retaining graduates for additional free golf experiences.

[The Good Morning Thread]

4 hours ago, RomanG said:

Hey there everyone! Any one take part in PGA Hope? More so, anyone near the Charleston, SC or Ponte Vedra Beach, FL?

Hello @RomanG welcome into the forum and The Good Morning Thread -

I have the PGA HOPE logo in my signature as I graduated the program in 2018 and keep volunteering.   Are you looking to participate in the program or have you already participated?

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from 'it's already getting light out and definitely springtime' in WNY on this day before the Community Call, work computer going online and starting the workday from the zero commute to the basement command center.  Got in 9 holes yesterday in sunshine, still Caz park with nice greens as the fairways are far from ready but did run into longtime friend and played 5 holes together before he had to leave.  Rain in the forecast due to arrive soon today and again on Friday so might be taking everyone for a vicarious view on the call tomorrow for the first time this year.  Hope golf is a part of your day 

42 

4 minutes ago, Jessica Adams said:

Good Morning Guys

And welcome! Jessica @Jessica Adams to the forum and a great place to start on the Good Morning Thread too!  Hope to see your good morning's more often as well as posts around the forum where I am sure you are going to find this a family kind of friendly the way we all enjoy it being as it has always been. 

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from the downtown parking spot by the office building with Rameses B's Footprints (one of the best 2:43 songs IMHO) on Pandora and coffee in the mug enjoying the first light of day, thinking about Jason's @sirchunksalot low pressure and lower stress to remain calm with his day.  Played Caz park again yesterday and this time they had been working at changing the parkland back to golf course cutting fairways on the far side of the creek but still just a good short rough length, good exercise with golf and a starting point for 2024 and getting ready for Kingsmill. 

Hope to do it again today.  Hope golf is a part of your day too 

44

 

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from 'it's finally springtime in WNY to stay' on this third Monday of April (hope the US spies have their taxes done!) and the day my municipal course is supposed to open but from all accounts they will be busy with the mowers turning parkland grass into fairways, manicuring the first and second cuts around greens, putting in tee box fixtures etc.  Tee time temps this afternoon if they happen will be mid 50s and tomorrow low 60s before wet weather settles in for the rest of the week.

Work computer just going onto the online network, coffee should be ready upstairs on this zero commute workday, and the dehumidifier is running constantly for white noise that's singing a duet with the sound always ringing in my head - should be an awesome day   Hope your favorites did well in the Masters, my pool pics did not but I did my usual random pick so... the weekend was still awesome with last Veteran curling day for this season and curled some awesome stones to move my team from tied bottom of C Flight to winning B Flight , and inlaws treated us to dinner for wife's b-day later this week - and got my son's first USAJobs application submitted - all in one day!

Hope golf is a part of your day 

44 

[The Good Morning Thread]

Good morning MGSpies from 'the rains have moved past with thunder an hour ago' WNY with sunshine (hello sun!) filling in now the front has passed on this Masters final day Sunday 

The Resurgence/OnCore kickoff yesterday was amazing as always 

 

Today's Veteran event is the last of the season for the Veteran Rockers at Buffalo Curling Club  to finish day 2 of 2 for the tournament that should see my team dead last (just like my MGS Masters Pools - yes both of them lol) but like with golf it doesn't matter at all because it is the doing and being included that means more than anything else.

Hope golf is part of your day 

45 

3 hours ago, JusTzin said:

Good morning!  

And I noticed a new forum member also in the Buffalo area, welcome in and maybe I will see you at Caz/South Park/Delaware or any number of other courses around the area! (those three as I will have the Olmstead Conservatory Parks season pass again this year)  Derek