GolfSpy_BOS

There should be 1 of 2 things.
1. A free small bucket of balls (20 or so) included for the range with every tee-time
2. A short 90ish yard warm-up hole that you can hit an approach, a pitch (half-way) to the green, and a few chips on to ahead of your round.
2b. Putting should not be needed here, because by default they should have a putting green for you to warm up on ahead of time.
In an ideal world that is what I would want anyway.

Looks like shoes and apparel type items:  https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/s/dicks-warehouse-sale
 

Not sure if any of you have a Dick's Sporting Goods Warehouse near you but we have one in Macon, Ga and they have a lot of great deals on golf clothes. The cashier said if it doesnt sale at the main Dick's locations then they send them to these warehouses and significantly discount them. 
My haul today was:
2 pair walter hagen shorts
2 walter hagen polos
3 walter hagen pullovers (1 warm weather, 2 cold weather)
Slippers for the wife
All that was $100.90
They have a lot of other brands as well, like Under armor, puma, nike, and callaway. They have men/women/youth and shoes as well. This week anything with a "5" on it is an extra 30% off the lowest ticketed price. Just thought I would pass the deal along. 
 
 

Opus Platinum - First Round Impressions
TL;DR: First round with these beasts was completed last weekend, and I am definitely impressed with their performance. Moving from my conventional self-built 52/56/60 combo to these higher-level offerings absolutely needed that adjustment period before things got actually easier with the Opus Platinum wedge. My main struggle came from the promised and delivered "easy spin" these clubs provide. Through the first 9, I struggled with the ball stopping within a yard of the landing zone with pitches and not getting the insane roll I normally did with my current gamers. Once I realized I needed to attack the pin, I found myself with virtual gimmies on 3 straight holes that demanded a solid wedge approach. The eye test did note a lower flight and solid stopping power through every shot utilized with the Opus Platinum wedge, along with a smooth, forgiving, and very stable feel. These clubs are legit.

I took the shiny new toys with me to Mt. Graham GC in sunny but windy Safford, Arizona. The range was not open this morning, so I did not get a great chance to gauge my game for the day. Thankfully, the approach green was wide open and safe from my uncertainty with how the wedges will swing on the turf. Confidence was quickly built as I started a few practice swings and gauged how the wedges felt off the ground. These clubs just feel so solid and easy to swing through the turf and found myself picking the ball clean ALMOST every time. There were times I would catch the ball too heavy or thin, but that was more a me problem. After a half hour on the chipping green, it was time to take my bag to the course.
Hole 2 - 35 yards short and right of the green
I found an opportunity on the Par 5 2nd hole to utilize the Opus Platinum 53º (OP53) to attack the green and get the first GIR of the day. I practiced a few from this distance earlier, so I had some idea what to do here. I was able to pick the ball clean, but the ball did go a bit high as I hit the ball high on the face. Forgiveness here, thanks to the higher COG from the tungsten weighting, was paramount since I would normally end up much shorter with my current gamers. The OP53 did its job and saved my GIR regardless of the high contact only just a few yards left of my intended target line. Ball stopped right away and left me with a decent shot at birdie. Par!
Hole 4 - 25 yards short of green
After an errant tee shot, I had to just punch back out to the fairway and scramble for par. Enter the 58º Opus Platinum (OP58) wedge. Again, I felt confident in a low pitch to the green but felt I had to allow for some roll as these greens were not super-fast but firm. I felt like I struck the ball very well here and did in fact keep the flight lower than usual. Only problem was, I did not get that roll I was used to. Dang thing hit the green and did not roll out at all! Bogey. Note, I had the phone supported by the cart seat, so you can hear the old school hip hop my buddy Joel and I had going through the round 🤣
Hole 6 - 15 yards to cup back side of green
Long of the green, sloping away, slightly elevated. These shots have been a nuisance for me as I do struggle with control and usually blow past the hole 7 feet past the cup at best. I never had faith in either my 56 or 60 degree current gamers but did feel good about giving the OP58 a chance. Call it nerves or past trauma, but I ended up holding back on my swing. Even with the weak swing I was impressed to see the ball not release anywhere as much as I am use to and still not pop up as I would normally do with my 60. I honestly had a hunch at this point that I would be better attacking the pin and not rely on the roll I produce with the current gamers. Things got a whole lot more fun from this hole forward.....
Hole 8 and Beyond - Let's Freaking GOOO!
Another errant approach along with a strong crosswind left me with a shot I absolutely HATE on this course. I was around 30 yards left of the green just passed the cart path and on a hard, bare lie of desert. It is not the bare lie I fear but being on the side of a very narrow green. I really struggle getting the ball to stay on the green and usually find myself either short or on the opposite side of the green after the ball rolls off. OP53 was in hand for this one. I picked the ball so dang clean off that lie and just watched in awe as the ball flew about 20 feet in the air, hit a few yards into the green, checked up, rolled with the slope above the cup, and nearly holed the dang thing out. Easy par! I could not believe I not only got a clean shot and flight with the lie I had but was able to keep the ball on the green. Smile inducing stuff there. I was alone with my buddy chasing his ball down, so I got pictures of where it started and how it ended.

That only built more confidence not only in the clubs, but in my approach to the shots. At hole 10, I smashed a drive with the wind and ended up short and right of the green. My buddy thought he was recording but ended up taking a photo of where I lie, and again, the eerily similar result with the OP53 from another shot and narrow green I struggle with...

My hunch was right about attacking the pin. The spin provided by these clubs are as advertised this go round with a lower flight and easy spin, spin I have not had in the past with similar shots. I had another opportunity at hole 12 to scramble and save par and this time my buddy was able to capture the confident shot and just how quickly the ball stops with the OP53.
That was fun!!!
I went from finding my groove and a 43(+7) on the front to a confident, firing on all cylinders 39(+3), to close out with an 82(+10). Color me impressed already after only going one round with the Callaway Opus Platinum offerings. My buddy Joel was floored with how quickly the ball was stopping on approach and just how easy I allegedly made some of those shots look. To go from my current gamers to the OP's is a huge leap in playability and control already. Even more pleased was I in seeing just how well the finish held up considering some of the lies I had to hit out of. My current gamers lost most of the black and produced the standard steel color just after hitting on the range!!! You can tell some of the blue coating has disappeared and now find a dark metal finish underneath which blends in perfectly well, keeping the overall aesthetic still pleasing to the eye.

I would be further interested to see what kind of results I may get with another wedge of the OP's level and what that may look like with launch and spin data. The future looks bright for these wedges in finding a permanent spot within my bag, but this was only round one. Many more tests to come and many more opportunities to put these beautiful beasts to the test. Can't wait!!!

Quick update: still gaming the Array B-1. Stats since 7/1 have been decent:


SG are compared to a 10. 
Today, I gained over 1.5 strokes putting (round not included in the above stats), and that was with two crappy three-putts. Made two clutch putts between 12 and 15 feet (birdie and save par). 
So grateful to MGS and Edel for this opportunity and for giving me what is slowly becoming a weapon in my bag.

I was going to say we have a whole bunch of us who will be going with you in spirit after our fun playing Royal New Kent on arrival day at Kingsmill meetup
@Jwc5149 @cksurfdude @GolfSpy_APH @GolfSpy SAM @GolfSpy AFG @GolfSpy_BEN @Golfspy_CG2 @GolfSpy_BOS @rkj427 @StrokerAce @JohnSmalls @Tom the Golf Nut @Shrek74 @Kenny B @cnosil and anyone my notes and brain are missing.

Played 9 today with my 15 y/o and 3pm rounds on browns Sunday are GREAT! There was a 4some ahead of us that we caught on hole 5 but the group behind us was easy 3 hole back so instead of keeping right on the group in front we played a couple extra shot a hole, you know for testing of the 30@‘s lol. When I’m not looking up to find the ball they do their job well great ball flight, landing angles and spin! Here’s a PW from 132 wind knocked it down a bit and pushed it right but I’m okay with GIR on a par 3 that is my nemesis!
 



Man do these clubs feel like weapons in my bag. My son was hesitant to try them because they’re new and he didn’t want to damage them. I handed him the 9 from the layup position. On the 2nd par 5 and he pitched up on and 30 feet from the hole going over 30 yards of water to boot! He said it felt so good hitting that one! 

@GolfSpy_BOS a voice you requested, and a voice you have received. 

Unboxing and First Impressions are here at last!
I tried something new by making a video and I cannot for the life of me figure out why the video is oriented the direction it has.  I'll add a write up to go along with the video in the next day or so.  Let me know what questions you have!
 
 

Those are nice 🙂 

@GolfSpy_KFT as promised.
 

This year has been incredible for testing, but some are almost too hard to follow (ie, multiple tests going on at the same time).
I appreciate everything that goes on behind the scenes to make these tests (and the forum as a whole) operate.
@GolfSpy_APH and all of the other mods have done great things with MGS.  Testing is just a small piece of the forum, the people here are the key!

I appreciate all the hard work you and the others members of the forum staff have put in this year by bringing in an insane number of member tests. I can only imagine how much work y'all have put in both in getting these opportunities and guiding us through them. 
I'm appreciative of the transparency and honesty both in this post and the community call about where both the forum and testing are going next year. I have a feeling no other forum has the transparency we do and that is something I love about our community. 

Hello all, 
2024 season is wrapping up and going to finish off strong with plenty of fun and exciting opportunities. Which leads us to what some may find a harder conversation, which is 2025. 
The truth is this season we pushed the limits of what this community was capable of. We pushed the limits of what the staff were capable of as well. We have had a record year with member testing which has been fun, but as with all things they must adapt and change for the better. 
For 2025 we will only be hosting 30 member tests. There are a few more things we are contemplating, such as even releasing the schedule when we have it built. 
So why the big change? A few things, one is HQ and what they want to see. With so much focus on member testing it was important that our forum not just been seen as that and that we have an identity outside of member testing. The other is we have seen a drop off in the quality of some of the reviews. If I break down the grades we had too many reviews that received lower grades and participation. We want these to be truly special and if it means lower the number to make them more earned then so be it. 
We will have had 350 plus members take part this season which is great, next year that number will be in the 160 range. 
I am sure there will be more questions and as I have always been I will be open and honest with the community about the approach and what we can expect to see. After all it is us as a community that will make this forum thrive. 
The last week or so the staff have been hard at work thinking of new ways to bring content and excitement to the community and to hopefully keep up the pace with the participation we had this year. 
You can look to see more of your content on our social platforms and more basic forum inspired content. 
We will have more Live Q&A and more of our fun and engaging community calls. 
We are hard at work for a new community map with course reviews integrated. 
I already know plenty of the reaction will be why and not a full understanding, many of you have been here long enough to know that we have in a sense been down this road before. For many of those who are newer, between 2017-2021 the norm for our community was about 28, 2022 we only had 12 and 2023 we boosted that number to 44. This year once again we pushed that limit. 
There are a lot of great new members who we will look to get involved, but with limited numbers we will have even higher expectations. 
While this change could mean some slowing of the growth we have seen it will also show the community who is here for what we offer as a community vs those who just want to sign up for free stuff. 
As Forum staff we look forward to this new challenge that is being presented to us and look forward to making the most out of each and every opportunity that is brought to the Forum!

Glad to hear it!  Just in time for the weekend! 

I ended up light with the PXGs.  So far I have liked them. 

Order this morning and already got a shipping notification! 

Order this morning and already got a shipping notification! 

Order this morning and already got a shipping notification! 

To me, the forum is a community of people who are passionate about the game of golf. What makes it a place I'm excited to visit every day is the sense of community it provides. I know the main focus is golf but I'm thankful for the relationships and friendships I've built over the last 6+ years. 
I was fortunate to be able to go on the outing this year and meet several members and let me tell you, the members here are as wonderful in person as they are on the forum. I was nervous going on the outing since I'm a bit socially awkward, but from the moment @Tom the Golf Nutand I arrived at RNK and I got out of the car and met @GolfSpy_BOS I felt at ease. 
Getting to spend time in person with the likes of @Kenny B, @cnosil, @EasyPutter, @rkj427, @Berg Ryman, the forum staff, @TJ Hall, and everyone else was a highlight of my year. 
I believe the member reviews here are second to none, I know there's professional reviews out there but there's something more relatable to reading them from golfers on here. 
 
 

Order this morning and already got a shipping notification! 

Order this morning and already got a shipping notification! 

Order this morning and already got a shipping notification! 

Sorry higher lofted* going from 52* to a 54*
 
hit a par 3 course today which was all 60-100 yard shots so all I used was these two wedges today. Planning to put the video together here shortly to post but this is Definitly longer. I didn’t have the best swings throughout but some good ones 10-15 yards longer easily 

First official full round tomorrow for the TiFusions and I can’t wait. Snuck out to the course quick this afternoon and hit some balls. Not a ton of shots as I completely removed the very bad swings but loving the gapping I seen.