Tsecor

Stage Two - The Review - 8/27/19 Official MGS Forum Review Tommy Armour Atomic Irons by Tim Secor As stated in Stage 1, the adjustment from a 712 CB to this iron was initially a struggle. I fail to see the game improvement aspect when it comes to score and that is the main issue with over the top marketing and the golf industry as a whole. Sure, these clubs will help you get the ball in the air, but who is your target audience? With the low price point on these irons, maybe the marketing should be geared towards getting NEW golfers into the sport. One of the issues with this great sport is the price. To play and get started with new, or I should say, nice equipment, it can be well over $1000. Nobody wants to be on the course with an unmatched set of clubs from the 70’s. Maybe the industry should look for that type of demographic and change marketing forever. This Iron could lead the way. A good looking, high quality, low cost iron for the beginner to the 15 hdcp. Sounds like we may be on to something. Nobody really markets irons for a new golfer with too much success. Dicks has that far reaching ability to do so. Looks (7.5 out of 10 points) : ● General Shape – The shape of these clubs are mixture of modern and classic to me. The long irons at address are very modern looking but as you gravitate towards the shorter irons, they become more classic with a nice rounded shape. Very smooth which for me is great. I do not like irons that “bother” my eye. I like smooth rounded lines over sharper corners. When something does not flow, it effects my concentration. These irons do nothing but please at address. The long irons may not be my cup of tea with the thick back, but to the average player who is not so hyper critical of aesthetics, they are fine. ● Graphics – The graphics on the back are classy and simple. Black, gray and slight touch of red. Nice. The “Atomic” graphic with the Tommy Armour signature just below looks good. Not so sure about the broken “O” in Atomic, but that’s just being picky. The rest of the back cavity is fine. Given the new gimmicky looks of the Titleist T200/T300 series and some of the other new releases, these look a lot better and I am a Titleist fanboy, so that says a lot. The graphics on the toe are fine as well. I am not sure every brand out there has to highlight the word “tungsten” so much, but that’s the way companies do it. If it works on a Titleist or Mizuno, why not? I do like the bigger numbers on the toe. They fill up the toe and for some reason, I really like it. Great font choice. The TI cup face graphics are unassuming. Looks good when you focus on it, but no real opinion on this ether way. I do like the satin look of the face. The sun does not reflect off the face in any way. However, I did notice a little glare in the area where the shaft meets the club face. It’s not a real issue, but with the toe area being satin, I am not sure why Tommy Armour didn’t complete the full satin look of the entire face. There is a slight “shiny ring” around the toe and I’m not sure that is needed. If I were the designer, I would make the face look a little more consistent but overall its ok. During play, nobody thinks about this level of detail, but during a review of the clubs looks, we have to go there. ● How does the overall look come together? I think the overall look comes together nicely. I am a simple guy when it comes to club looks, and I think this fits the category of simple but classy. There is a tiny bit of flair with the red stripe and the large font numbers. For any golfer who puts these in the bag, they can be very proud they have a nice looking expensive set of clubs, even though the actual price is far from premium. ● How does the appearance compare to other irons in the same category? With all the new releases and other clubs in this category, I think Dick’s / Tommy Armour can be proud of the package they put together. As I stated earlier, I am a “Titleist guy” and love a lot of what they have done over the years in terms of looks. The new line of T200/300 are not for me and I think the look of the Atomics is much better. I have a black and silver bag so they fit perfectly. If you look at the Callaway Rogue’s or the Ping G410’s, the Atomic irons look better to me. If you look at the entire category of GI or SGI, not many beat the looks of the Atomics. But as we know, looks are very subjective. Some people like blondes and some like brunettes but regardless of what irons you play, I think everyone likes to see a hot looking set of irons in their bag. Guys who really love golf treat their clubs like their cars. They clean them, polish them and will look back at their bag when we walk away to the clubhouse. Call it shallow or whatever you want, but golfers like a good looking set of irons. Sound & Feel (8 out of 10 points) ● This is the category that was very tough to judge and review. The clubs make much different sounds at different club head speeds. What is different is the sound of slow swing chips. Very “clicky” even with a soft urethane ball. I am not in love with the sound around the greens. Some say, and I agree, sound and feel are one in the same. The sound/feel is not optimal for me at slow swing speeds. it’s not annoying or anything, but it’s too clicky and loud which translates to somewhat of a harsh feeling. At higher swing speeds, that noise disappears for me. It’s a very nice sounding club which screams performance. See the videos I’ve posted to listen to the sound at different speeds. Overall a mixed bag for me, but I don’t hate it at slow swing speeds, just dislike it a little bit. I chalk this up to being more of a solid forged CB player. Maybe I’m just not used to it. In this review, I can be hyper critical. On the course it may not matter so much. We’ll see. So I rate this category a eight because at higher swing speeds, the sound / feel is really really good. It made up for the “clickiness” of the greenside chipping. When I first hit the range, performance was spotty for me. Hitting off the mats was fine, dispersion seemed to be wider than normal but to be honest, my ball striking was very poor. I was thinning a lot of shots, then I hit a few good ones but I did struggle…..initially. On the thin shots off the mat, I noticed the feeling of the club was very dull and mute. The really bad shots, I was punished with distance and direction but not with any harsh feedback into my hands. I took notice of the solid “thud” on thinned shots. Amazingly the ball still got up in the air pretty good, so that can be looked at as a positive. Getting used to the thick soles took a few range sessions, but I eventually got dialed in. I moved to the grass area of the range and my ball striking was much better. My shots were becoming consistent and the ball started to fly a little better. I then began my typical range routine which consists of the following hits 1- 10 wedges 2- 10 8 irons 3- 10 5 irons 4- 5 hybrids 5- 5 drivers 6- Miscellaneous clubs to finish off the buckets I noticed the launch angles of the clubs are higher than what I’m used to. With the light 85g shafts, I am sure my club head speed has increased but I do not have access to a launch monitor to truly confirm this data. I would love to get on a Trackman and present that data set, but I am sure one of the other reviewers will handle that. My review is based mainly on course play which is what truly counts in my opinion. Important Note: I did notice the distances of these irons are generally 2 clubs longer than my CB’s. That’s definitely due to the loft difference. My current 712 CB 7 iron loft is 35 degrees while the Atomic 7 Iron is 27 degrees. That’s two full clubs in my bag. My current 5 iron is 27 degrees, so the # on the club is truly irrelevant. BUT, I will say there is a mental advantage to hitting a “7” iron at 27 degrees over a true 5 iron at the same loft. During target practice, the irons acted as every other does. This was a drill I did with the wedges. Aim and shoot. No draw or fade bias. Just go for pure accuracy. Both wedges that came with the set flew high and straight. Nothing too unique except for the fact the faces are hotter than what I’m used to. With a more bladed iron, the output is equal to the input. With these clubs, the ball comes off “hotter” and you get out more than what you put in. You can actually feel the technology working and even at very slow swing speeds, you can feel the ball jump off the face. I was able to hit these very straight and was on target with my 50 - 100 yard pitches. These are shots I would be happy with on the course heading into the green. The one aspect of these clubs that jumps out is the ease in which the ball gets up in the air. I can see how these can inspire confidence in any golfers swing. The less you have to think about during your swing, the better off you are and I had no worries about launching these high and straight. It allowed me to dial in the distances a little better. I have never really played SGI irons before and I am an old school type player where I will play a bump and run as opposed to a flop shot of any kind. I am not even sure I have the flop shot in my game any longer. My point is, even when I tested these around the green, the ball came off the face hot. Initially it was difficult to control bump and run distances but like everything else, the more you practice something the easier it becomes. On-Course Performance (27 out of 30 points) This is the meat and potatoes of the review and this is what REALLY counts. PERFORMANCE is truly the ONLY thing that matters when you purchase a new set of clubs. All the data in the world means nothing unless that translates directly to the course. While I am a very analytical guy, I have been one to question the GI aspect or SGI aspect of any club that claims to “improve your game”. What does that mean? Ball striking? scoring? All of the above? I took a few marketing classes in college so I am very skeptical when I see any manufacturer make claims of “improvement”. It’s always very generic and has no connection to anything. It’s typically just words. Then I hit the course and I now have a slightly different take on GI/SGI clubs. My first round with the Atomics started off better than expected. As I get older I notice its easier for me to criticize things in my life and that includes golf clubs and marketing. The first hole was a short par four, dog leg left. My hybrid off the tee made it to the turn and I had ~ 135 yards to the center of the green, 110 yards to the front. The pin was tucked in the back right corner. I pulled the P iron and flushed it. The ball landed six feet from the pin, but ended up 10 feet away on the edge of the fringe and next level rough. I was happy with the shot and to my surprise, it felt great off the club face. Better than the range sessions I had prior The high trajectory helped keep the ball near the landing spot. It rolled off, approx. 4 feet away from where it struck the green. This shot was directly into the sun, but you can hear the sweet sound when you give it a nice solid swing. My 3rd shot was a bump and run with my eight iron. This was not a good shot. The ball jumped off the club face and rolled 6 feet past the cup. This is a big negative for me. Around the green, I am a pure “feel” player and I want to be able to control the speed of my chips and bumps. This club made it difficult to chip for feel. It’s hot. Taking speed off your chips from the rough can easily lead to hitting your ball 2 feet. In this area, you want to be able to hit a firm, crisp bump and roll without it coming off hot. I made bogey after missing the putt. To me, that’s a lost stroke due to the club. To be fair, this was my first on-course bump and run with the hot club face. As I progressed through the round, I left my driver in the bag and wanted to test the long irons off the tee. This is where the clubs shined the most. The long irons have a very stable feel and you can actually feel the spring like bounce off the club face. The “hotness” of the face is apparent all through the set. I was able to hit high draws or straight shots. I am not a fade player at all, so I cannot attest to how workable these are outside of the draws I hit. I will tell you, hitting a high draw can be a great weapon to have and these clubs responded better than I thought they would. At this point, I was thinking “these are ripe for a blended set”. If the Atomics had the current set up in the long irons through the 7 iron and then had solid forged irons in the 8-w, you could have a great set that reached even MORE of an audience. If Dick’s can figure out a way to keep the cost down and offer this as a blended set, they could change the market as we know it. As I played a few more rounds, I adjusted to the wide sole and hotness of the face. I was able to dial in distances better and the consistent take away is these clubs are two clubs longer than anything I’ve played before. The high trajectory of these irons benefitted me greatly while playing on a course that was built in an apple orchard. One example of this was, I found myself in trouble off the tee and ended up behind a row of apple trees. I had 110 yards to the green and had to get the ball in the air quickly. I was able to get the ball up quickly while carrying the distance to the green. I was 20 feet away from the pin but I’ll be honest, the more I hit these, the more I liked ‘em. I was able to pull off a few shots I may not have been able to do with the 712 CB’s. To me, that is the essence of “game improvement”. In this one example, I may have saved 2 strokes on this one hole. One of the best shots I hit with the Atomics came on a dog leg left, 511-yard par 5. I decided to hit a long iron off the tee and try to get par. I chose the Atomic 5 Iron which flew ~195-200 yards. It put me in perfect position for my second shot. Once again the Atomic long iron felt great and responded perfectly. By this time, I am very comfortable hitting these irons and feeling confident doing so. I pulled a hybrid for my 2nd shot. (did not record it) I am now 160- 165 yards out. The pin is tucked in the left center of the green along a tree line. Almost under the trees. Perfect time for the high draw shot we spoke of earlier. I pull the Atomic 7-iron. Here is a view of shot #3. You can clearly see the 150 marker and the angle into the green. I would have liked to go after it from the right side of the fairway, but the 2nd shot with the hybrid was slightly above my feet and I pulled the shot just slightly. I struck the shot perfectly and sent the ball high up into the air. It wasn't the most fluid swing I've ever had but It had a very small draw and was heading towards a branch that was overhanging the front of the green. I saw the ball come down and thought it was a good shot. You can hear the solid contact and it sounds really sweet. Felt even better. Have a look. So, the Atomic 7 iron responded in amazing fashion and it even held the green better than expected. I was 8-10 feet away for a birdie opportunity and of course I missed the putt. I get my par and I move on, but I walked away from that green feeling good with what I had accomplished. I parred the next three holes of this round and walked out of there with a 39. +3 for the round. If I could have putted better, I would have scored much much better. This was the best of the 5 rounds I've played with the Atomics. To wrap up this section, I will tell you I am pleased with the long game performance and even most wedge shots. For me, the clubs performed great on full swings, half swings but lacked for me right around the green to 50 yards out. These were not a great fit for me in just that one aspect of playing. They are too hot for me in the short game. I am not sure if the clubs improved my overall scoring but they did allow me to attempt shots that I would not have with my 712 CB’s. The hotness of the face provides a level of confidence in my long game that may be starting to fade for me. That’s a big positive. I was a Tommy Armour fan back in the day and it’s sad they have gone away, but these clubs are a great first step in bringing back the name to the masses. I think Dick’s Sporting Goods can capture a piece of the market nobody really has before. $399 for a set of hot, well performing irons is unheard of in today’s market and I think Dick’s can really change the market if they can blend this set with some solid forged clubs in the high irons (8-W). I think the high irons are just a bit too hot for the feel players. If you are a true beginner and “grow up” using these clubs, it may not matter but I think a nice blended set would work well with a wider range of players. Overall, these performed well and I was pleasantly surprised how explosive they were for me. Miscellaneous (10 out of 10 points) When it comes to this category, everything aligns. Dicks has always had great customer service and they may have hit a home run with these if they can market them correctly. A lot of my friends like the way these look and a few of them hit them and all had positive responses. The one question I heard over and over is “These are only $399?” Obviously the value is there and shocking to everyone who hits these irons. I had someone ask me about a new set of irons for their son, who has taken up golf this year and wants to purchase a set for their Christmas gift. Guess where I directed them? Yup, I said “for the money, you may not find a better set.” So, I know one person who will be making a purchase off this review and recommendation. Play it or Trade it? (17 out of 20 points) Play it or trade it? For me I am on the fence of fully committing to changing from my current set make up. I say that because I do know the long irons would completely benefit me. The short irons from 50 yards and in as well as the irons right around the green were a struggle for me. I would make a blended set in V2 of this model. That being said, the price is right, the irons preform great and they can fit beginners all the way down to a 10hdcp. Anyone getting into the sport would benefit greatly from this model. Conclusion In conclusion, I would say Dick’s Sporting Goods and Tommy Armour have a potential big time winner on their hands. These irons do have the ability to reach a wide range of golfers and once V2 (if they choose to blend) of these come out, Dick’s could potentially change the market. The club face is hot, the ball flies high and far and they are a good looking iron. For the price of $399, there may not be anything better on the market. A TM driver cost nearly $600 and you hit club only a few times a round. A set of hot irons for almost half that price?? Whaaat???? It’s a no brainer. I am not saying these are the greatest irons to ever be released and I am not saying these are for everyone, but I am saying these are a great set for anyone looking to get into the game. They are also perfect for anyone not willing to spend $1200+ on a set of irons. Let me be clear, THESE IRONS ARE A PLEASURE TO HIT. They are very forgiving on mishits and feel perfect when you hit it right. Even on this shots, it’s not a horrible feel like a blade. If you are a 10HDCP or higher, these are for you. These should be a major player in the GI/SGI category, especially at the great price point. The value is unmatched. The holiday season is rapidly approaching and these would be a nice gift for the golfer in your family. Thank you to Dick’s Sporting Goods / Tommy Armour for allowing me to review these irons. It was an absolute pleasure and an honor to be part of this project. Good luck down the road. You have a potential blockbuster on your hands!! Final Score: (Add up all categories and present a total score out of 100) My final score is an 86.5. I see room for improvement but these have changed my mind about the GI / SGI category. Great job by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Tommy Armour!!

Stage One – Tester Introduction Hey everyone, this is my first opportunity to be a tester for ANYONE in the golf industry. I’ve applied many times and finally broke through. Let me give you a little background about myself and my game. I may not write like the average tester because I’m new to this and I want to try and keep your attention. I get very bored of the “typical” equipment reviews I watch, so I’ll try my best to keep it entertaining and it will definitely be a real honest review. The Personal Questions My name is Tim Secor from Wallkill NY. I am 25 minutes from West Point, approx. 1.5 hours north of NYC. I am 51 years old but still think I’m 19 for some reason. I play mainly in my immediate area at Mansion Ridge (Jack Nicklaus course) and Apple Greens in New Paltz NY. I have been golfing since 12 years old and my late father taught me the game and I have loved it ever since. Played in high school and went to the state championship my senior year. Had an opportunity to play D3 golf but passed on that opportunity because I was young, stupid and had no idea what I was doing as a 17 year old college student. I am an ok player, not great. I love this game for too many reasons to list here but mainly because it’s the toughest sport I've ever played and that includes football. Its so rewarding and you can play it until you can’t walk. I love the “gentlemen’s nature of the game. There is simply no other sport like it and the fact my dad taught me the game, well that makes it special. The Golf Questions I usually play to a 10 HDCP when I play a lot, but more realistically I hover around 13-15.My swing tempo is medium with slight aggressiveness (if that makes sense). I try to keep the tempo as smooth as I can or I start spraying it all over the course. I usually pull a 7-iron for my 150 club but I am noticing that distance is getting tough for me. For the first time in my life, I feel I am starting to lose a little distance. That bugs me. My typical ball flight is high. I like to hit high shots that land softly with not a lot of backspin. I am a straight player and do not hit fades. I’ll draw it a little when I can but usually I'm a straight shot guy. My misses are pulls normally and my strengths are scrambling around the green. I‘ll miss 50% of my greens during any given round but I can get up and down quite frequently when I need to. I think that’s my biggest area of confidence. Weaknesses? There are plenty. I drive the ball pretty good, hit the hybrid pretty good, but my long irons are in need of serious work. I hate pulling those clubs and will resort to a hybrid whenever I can. I don’t even carry a 3I any longer. I currently game the Titleist 712 CB’s which have been awesome but I am starting to miss more often nowadays. Maybe it’s time for a change. I was fit by a Titleist specialist and was fit into AP1’s or Ap2’s. He said I could play both but suggested AP1’s. I hated the way the Ap1’s looked and LOVED the CB’s. He did not recommend it, but I went with it anyway. That’s how I am. A pro makes a suggestions and I'm like “nah, I can play the CB”. That’s my mentality when it comes to someone telling me I can’t do something. It’s not that I thought I knew better, I took it as a challenge for some reason. I do not regret it at all as I have shot some of my best scores of my life with the CB’s. First Impressions My first impression of the set was a mixed bag. When I first saw the cavity back I thought the color scheme was nice (black and silver with a touch of red) and the black and red lamkin grips went well with the True Temper XP 85 shafts. The next thought when I looked at them from the address position was “OMG”! You can tell right away these lofts are jacked up and the number on the club means absolutely nothing. I am used to playing traditional lofts and these sticks are no doubt a completely different ball game. I am admittedly a traditionalist but am starting to embrace the modern club and game. Right after that, I thought “I am going to hit my 7 iron 190 now” and my friends I play with are going to be shocked. Given the fact I am concerned about losing distance, this could be a game changer……on the surface anyway. I understand the lofts are two clubs longer at a minimum. Dicks Sporting Goods describes the Atomic Irons as such “Distance, forgiveness and feel converge to form Tommy Armour ATOMIC Irons. Featuring a traditional cavity back design, ATOMIC Irons combine a DAT-55 Titanium Cup Face and steel body through a patented brazing process to produce explosive distance. A 60g Tungsten weight designed into the sole moves the Center of Gravity low and toward the toe to elevate forgiveness and MOI. The multi-material construction unlocks optimal response and sound at impact.” This is where my brain starts going “blah blah blah”. We have heard this type of marketing for years and years, so while I read it, I basically ignored it. I looked for some key words but I’m more interested in straight performance, feel/sound and results. I hear guys talk like this on the course and I just chuckle internally because im a skeptic when it comes to putting “technology’ in pieces of steel. Dick’s also says “Traditional cavity back club head features a low Center of Gravity placement and a more classic aesthetic at address” – I disagree with this and maybe it’s an age thing, but my version of classic aesthetics are “blade-ish” . I don’t think these look bad or anything, but this marketing does not fit my definition. The 4I at address looks like a driving iron with the back cavity protruding past the top line (see below). That’s a more modern look to me. The Titanium cup face and hollow steel body is interesting to me because im interested in ball speeds and distance. Is this marketing or will you get real life on course results? It’s interesting because they lighten the construction, then drop Tungsten into the mix. I am very interested to see how the weight distribution plays into my game. Will technology change me as a player and change my archaic mindset I seem to have? “Back in the day”, the Tommy Armour 845 was a “sleeper” club in my opinion. Along with Ping, I think they used advanced groove technology to help with backspin on approach shots. A few of my friends used them and still game them today, so they have reached legendary status in some people opinions. As other companies took over the market, this brand disappeared. Once again, all marketing and nothing to do with the quality of the club. Now they seem to be making a comeback, similar to the Hogan brand. Teaser As I get these out onto the course, I’ll be looking mainly at performance. Who cares about how the club is built or how the cup face works. When you are on the course, you want your club to help you SCORE and attack pins. Once the marketing bug wears off, it’s all about how you flush it and how many birds or pars you can make. Even though im huge into how a club looks at address, I am trying to train my brain to ignore that stuff. These clubs claim to be longer and more explosive (than what club?, yea that’s marketing for you) and Dicks has used every marketing term to promote these clubs as a “forgiving performance” club, so I’m very interested to see how they feel on the range and on the course. I’m looking for a new modern gamer to replace my Titleist 712 CB’s, so I’m excited to find out if this is the club for me. If I start “hitting bombs” like Phil Michelson says, I’ll game these moving forward. The next two weeks will be critical as my testing will be hyper critical. I’ll be on the range, on the practice greens and then on the course. Stay tuned!! So, feel free to HMU and ask me anything you wish. If you want to see certain tests, let me know. This is about US as consumers, not just me. Let’s take this journey together. Ciao for now.

The only confusing thing about the CB is the move to make it more like the MB to "give the T100 some distance"...yet they added "forgiveness" in the heel. I currently play the 712 CB and i love them, so I am afraid for my wallet to see the 620 series in person.

Now that i have seen both releases, i am not sure which one i like better. The Mizzy irons are 2 degrees stronger across the board but both look amazing.....which one would you game and why?

Played TP5 and Callway chromesoft.....now play BXS and Prov1...

hasn't the testing revealed swing speed is the last thing to worry about when buying balls? you can compress most balls just fine with most swing speeds above 80

wow. that is amazing. I never tried the srixon ball....maybe i should start!!

Once again, these guys hit the jackpot with this episode. Keep the ball rolling. As you guys get bigger and bigger, I hope to see you guys tone it down with some of the bad language. I just think it takes a little bit away from your professionalism and with the unbelievable work you guys are doing, i'd hate to see that overshadow anything. Just one persons opinion. Other than that, the Callaway news was amazing. The equipment reveals and analysis seems to be spot on and once again, i watched the entire episode and it felt like it was 2 minutes long. Not boring at all for a long episode. great work

yea. Yours are all new i assume?

I played 3 different insert putters and none roll like my Wilson 8802. This putter has to be one of the most under rated milled offerings out there. Not pillow soft or too clicky….right in the middle which gives perfect feedback. ill never roll an insert putter again. I owned pings and camerons and milled is where its at

Its not that deep walter. Was just curious. Thought it would be cool to see and everyone could learn from it.

can you post pics so we can see the testing?

yup. cant let unfriendly people and people who just look for arguments on message boards to dictate anything. But when you talk about someone's mom, you are well outside the walls of opinionated debates about golf. so, I love golf and golf discussions, so ill do what I can to remain active with the right groups. That's why MSG is so nice.

totally agree people are 10000000000% more friendly here. at that other site, people look for reasons to start arguments and then the second you defend yourself, you get banned. 2 years ago someone said something about my mother and I responded and got banned. lol.....I am somewhat of a newbie here but I love MSG

HAs anyone at MGS ever tested the official ball of the long drive competition? Wonder how it stacks up against the rest of the field

i am eagerly awaiting the "big company" that is exposed on some level. As much as i like the looks of the TP5, something always seemed off with these balls to me. They just seem to hook a whole lot more on mishits.....please be the ball, please be the ball.....lol....it would be an industry rocker if one of the big companies is found to be selling a crap core or something

dude Don't go too cheap with the DTC balls unless its SNELL.....otherwise, stick to the balls that have been proven legit and perform. Prov1 /x, Srixion and Bridgestone BX/BXS.

that looks pretty good

PGA superstore sells 3 ball packs

agreed....but if you listen to their video, they are saying the issue may be more widespread than anyone realizes....off center cores WILL cause you to hit it off target. We'll have to wait and see what comes out of this test. It COULD be a HUGE industry shaking test for all manufacturers outside of Bridgestone, Srixon and Titleist.....we'll have to wait and see

i think MGS is actually proving this is be very inaccurate. That's the whole point of the ball testing they are doing. That mindset may turn out to be old school thinking.

well, obviously you hit the ball very well, but you are not a robot :) some of the data is off significantly when it comes to "golf data sets" but in real world scenarios on the course, it means almost nothing. Possibly 1 club difference, but more like a 1/2 club

what is your swing speed? The testing all plays out, the slower the swing, the closer the balls are in performance...including the soft slow balls....

TM built a nice plant so I'm shocked they do not own more of the process...or want to. Importing 2/3rds of the parts without oversight is not a great practice.

I did see this post from TM from a year ago.... Re: TP5x ball retail vs tour ‎05-21-2018 10:12 AM "All of our TP5/TP5x golf balls come out of our ball plant in South Carolina which is where our consumer TP5/TP5x golf balls come from as well. The Tour balls come from the same line that produces the consumer balls, they just go through more rigorous testing to ensure they are 100% compliant with Tour equipment standards (99.9% of them are). From there we place the athlete's preference of number and alignment aid. Pulling tour balls from production is actually more of a rarity in the industry and some competitors have a specific production line for their tour product." Content/Social Media Manager at TaylorMade Golf