Fake Carl Spackler

Been around for a while but not as active on the forums as maybe I should be, anyway here's my current setup. Will likely get a wedge fitting once Spring is properly in and there is grass on the ground so that part of the bag is likely to change in the next couple of months. I need to work on the gapping there so hope that will help. The MP-20HMBs are the newest addition, these things slap. I went from an old set of AP2s I got off a used rack and got fitted finally. My club had a Mizuno fitting day, so I hit a few balls with my old 7 iron to get a baseline, the fitter watched a few mediocre at best shots that half heartedly attempted to reach their target, the fitter obviously knew his stuff because he immediately assembled a MP-20HMB with KBS $ Taper 120s and had me hit it. First shot, immediate "holy crap" moment. High but still penetrating ball flight, gentle draw that fell right over the target and gained me at least a full club in carry distance. I'm not the longest hitter so that was actually a useful thing for me. A few more shots with that club and some tinkering with other heads and shafts to make sure, but we kept coming back to the first setup and I've been very happy with them. TSi2 was an early birthday gift after a family member who works at a golf store got a stupid discount on it, like if you don't buy it you're stupid, so I got fitted for that too. A bit of distance gained upgrading from a 915D2, nothing crazy, but the dispersion improvement was incredible. I'd tried various shafts in an attempt to find something that would allow me to swing freely, I guess I finally found it and just happened to pair it with a new clubhead at the same time. The winner was the Tensei AV Raw White 75, a surprise to me since it's marketed for low launch and spin, but that paired with a 10deg head got me perfect launch numbers. 3 wood and hybrid are nothing special just off the used rack, I should do a 3 wood fitting eventually but just didn't have time when dialing in the driver. I hit them fine for now and am confident in them anyway. The wedges are Vokey SM6s and a SM7 with stamping by me for a bit of fun, I guess I'll have to think of something clever to put on new ones when I get around to that. Putter is thanks to the MGS recommendation of Evnroll. I had done a Scotty fitting a while ago and was ok with that one, but was curious to try Evnroll and see what Mr. Rife had up his sleeve. I ordered the same specs as my Scotty with an ER2 head and it's been in the bag for about a year now. I especially like the 2 small sight dots on the top of the club, they really work well for me with the sight line. I want to send it off to get a custom finish put on, but I may have to wait until next winter since I don't want to be without it through this golf season. I have some just for fun irons that are going to be built soon so I'll have to come back and post those when they're done.

I was already thinking about upgrading to the new HOVR Drives from the last gen model, now I'm pretty much sold on them. They have been awesome for me so I expect more of the same, very comfy walking shoe and lots of traction but mine are nearing end of life. I'm also curious to see when/if they come out with the next gen Spieth shoe, he seems to be wearing something I've not seen in their catalog. I also have and like the Spieth 4 so I'd expect the next in line to be just as good. Seems like in years past they launched around PGA show time, but I'm guessing the pandemic and logistics/manufacturing difficulties pushed things back.

I had to try a few times to get the latest firmware to update, not sure what the issue was, but it finally worked after 4-5 tries (turn off the band and force close the app between tries). Their support team is normally very responsive, seems like others are seeing delayed responses too so there must be something going on, but I have to assume it's temporary. I urge you to give it another shot before refunding, hopefully you can get it sorted.

Not sure if anyone had answered you directly yet, but anyway...I have not had this issue, I assume ending/restarting got things working for you again? Definitely report it to their support team, I'm sure they would want to know. I did have one instance of the GPS dropping after the 1st hole so it didn't log shots, but somehow it did continue to give me yardages and allow me to use pinselect. I only found out after I tried to sync the round and it wasn't there, Shotscope support noted the issue and I think did implement some sort of fix in the latest firmware.

Finally got the firmware update to work, it kept freezing at 99%. You guys bring up good points with the value of having the band on the wrist to track all shots, it's doable on the cart, but it would involve a lot of editing after the round.

I will have to test it out during my next round, it would be cool to have the Shotscope on my pushcart and be able to wear my fitbit instead. I was just basing my thought off of the instructions they have on how to use the tags. Right now I'm still struggling to update the firmware, so we'll see if I can at least get that done today.

I'm not sure tapping the tag with the band would work effectively, as far as I know the prolonged close proximity you get from holding/swinging the club is what triggers a shot read. Might be a good question to pose to ShotScope directly. In other news, there is a firmware update out today, I seem to be getting stuck at 99% sync to update it though, anyone else having issues? I've tried closing/re-opening the app, might try turning the band off/on as well and try again.

I'm showing $180/$160 launch price offers here

@fixyurdivot over the weekend I drained the battery to 12% after 2 full rounds that took roughly 4 hours each. Fully charged from there in about 1.4 - 1.5 hours, so that's about on par with what others have reported. I also had a lengthy period where I just left the band on to use as a watch to try to drain the battery more, after a 3.5 hour 18 hole round today I was sitting at 68% charge from starting full.

I haven't timed it out and haven't had my V3 battery drop below 50% yet, but from about half charge it got to full fairly quickly, certainly seemed to be much less than 2.5 hours. I don't know about the claim of 50% more battery life, my V2 would be at about 40% after a 4 hour round using tracking and GPS, V3 is 50-60%. First time out with it I played 18 in 3 hours with GPS and tracking, left the band on overnight by accident, and had 67% when I plugged it in the next day. I'm playing a couple rounds over the next few days so I will try to remember to time the battery charging. If I still have at least 55% battery after one round I'll play the second on the same charge to drain the battery and try to time a full charge.

Update on my lost round, unfortunately it looks like the GPS dropped after the 1st hole, so nothing ended up being recorded. I guess when they initially said my round was there they could see I hit play, but didn't see it was dropped. They did ask me if I could still get yardages and hit pincollect throughout the round, which I could, so there was no indication the GPS dropped. I'll see if they say anything else, but at the very least I hope this alerted them of a possible issue that can hopefully be addressed. From what I have seen their team is on top of things, so I don't expect ongoing issues. This is the first time a GPS drop has ever caused a round to be lost since I've been using the V2 and now V3. Edit: literally just got an email back, they are looking into the firmware to ensure a GPS drop does not occur. They also said this is highly unusual behavior from the band, which my own experience reflects. So hopefully it won't happen to anyone else.

Agreed. This first week with the V3 is the first time I've experienced any sort of issues, a few months ago with the V2 there was a course that had changed names so I sent it to them, within 12 hours they had it all changed in the database. I'm confident we'll figure out what went wonky with my lost round, it's on my account somewhere, I just can't see it.

Hmm, interesting. In my app 2020 is the only year I can select and the only year I have stats/rounds for, so maybe something similar happened. Thanks for the insight, if they email me back without a solution I will mention that.

I had a weird issue happen to me the other day where I played a full round, hit end round on the 18th green, then a few hours later went to sync to mobile and edit/finalize the round. Somehow it just wasn't there, no history in the band, and the app will not pick up the new round. I have a support conversation open with ShotScope so I will update here if there is a resolution, but I was curious if anyone else had that happen to them, and if so did you solve it. They did tell me they can see the round played on my account, I guess it's just in purgatory or something. So far I've tried logging out/back in to the app and deleting and reinstalling the app to no avail. Left it connected to the band via Bluetooth for about 10 mins, refreshing periodically, but it didn't pick it up.

I've used the V3 for 2 rounds now, upgrading from a V2. I am personally a fan of the smaller size, it's like wearing a fitbit. A few notes, most of which will echo what has already been said: - Battery life definitely improved. I played 18 in 3 hours using tracking and GPS, ended the round on the watch but left it on so I could see the time. Synced up the round later that evening and forgot to shut the watch off so it stayed on overnight and all next day, when I put it on the charger it still had 67% battery. With V2 I could play 18 with tracking and GPS and be at 40% after 1 round, even when it was brand new. - Screen/display quality improved. Much easier to see in bright sunlight - GPS is just as accurate as V2, seems within a yard or two when compared to my Bushnell laser and pin sheet. - Buttons are a bit large compared to the rest of the unit now, maybe could have been smaller/sleeker but I'm not an engineer, no idea if that is necessary due to the internal design. - GPS does take a few minutes to find you when you hit play, noticeably longer than V2. Not sure if playing the same course frequently will help speed it up, but so far played twice in two days and took a long time on both occasions. I'll keep an eye on this as I get more rounds in. - I did have some issues setting the V3 up/getting the firmware update. I accidentally backed out of the app on the phone before it started syncing, and it froze. Force closed the app and restarted the watch, then it worked. - I wish there was a way to "pause" your round, last time out there was a group in front and no one behind, so we did some putting and chipping around a couple greens to wait, and it messed with the shot tracking. Nothing I couldn't fix after the round. - I did have one instance where a driver registered as a PW, no clue how that happened, never had it happen before on the V2. - Also had two instances of practice swings registering as shots, basically just showed double shots on the app afterwards so I had to delete the extras. Could have also been down to waiting for a partner to hit and gripped the club so the tag registered, so I will have to be mindful of that. Overall I'm happy with V3, and from what I can see the ShotScope team is always working on improvements, main thing is I'm hoping the time to pick up on GPS can be cut down. It's fine if I think to hit play when I'm leaving the practice green or walking to the tee, but it takes long enough that if you hit play on the first tee, even after 3 other people hit it might not be ready yet.

Reporting back after almost a year of use. They held up really well, wear seemed to be actually less than the regular Tour Wrap 2G. Since I had them on the full set for almost a year and now that summer temps and humidity are in full swing here in NC, I regripped with micro suede again; they are still grippy even with sweaty hands/glove. The new ones were slightly more grippy than the old worn out ones, but honestly you could clean moderately worn out ones with soap and water and a light scrub to get rid of the dust/dirt embedded in the grip, and once they dry they're close to new. This is my new grip for the foreseeable future. Cc @B.Boston @JohnSmalls

I just bought a dozen B XS to test, my usual ball is the Pro V1x. So far I've only had time to play nine and spend some time at a short game practice area, but initial impressions, at least for me specifically, is it is quite similar to what I already use. B XS is noticeably softer feeling and sounding, especially off the putter. Pro V1x may have just a touch more bite from 30-40 yards, but I may have to revisit this when the greens aren't dormant. Full shots appear to be quite similar in terms of ball flight, really hard to tell if any distance was gained though. Will stay tuned to the thread and the MGS testing, and continue to test on my own.

This topic kind of went away after The Open, but I just saw an article from Reuters stating that there were multiple drivers that failed testing at the Safeway Open now that the Tour is testing 30 randomly selected drivers at tournaments. Supposedly the drivers were sent back to the manufacturers for testing, but I doubt any more info will be made public. I know the guys discussed this on No Putts Given a while ago after the R&A testing publicity, but in light of this news I'm curious to hear thoughts about what the Tour is doing now. Should the Tour continue to keep testing/results quiet, or should it be a more transparent process? If at least 5 drivers were found to be non-conforming out of just the 30 tested, should the whole field be tested, or is that just too logistically challenging? I do think player names should be kept confidential, their reputations shouldn't suffer because they were handed a club they would have no way of knowing was illegal. The manufacturers need to be held accountable, and perhaps publicity on failed clubs could help that. Reuters seems to be the only one to have this info, nothing I can find from the PGA Tour or USGA and all other news outlets link back to Reuters as a source. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-golf-drivers/multiple-players-drivers-deemed-non-conforming-on-pga-tour-idUSKBN1WE0T1

Not a contest or coupon, but figured this is pertinent given Cross just won best rain jacket yet again for 2019, currently available for $160, down from $319 on the Cross website. I picked one up a few days ago at the same price based on the 2018 rain gear test. I haven't been in the rain yet but it fits wonderfully, the slimmer European cut works well for me. Just check the 2019 rain gear results and hit the Check Price button, it links to the Stonewash Black color for me, but if you go to the main Jackets and Outerwear page on the website there is all black and stonewash variants also on sale.

Just from the testing I've done with my driver, it definitely manages moisture much better than the 2G or the other wrap styles I've tried. Rest of my grips are on order and should be here over the weekend, hoping to get them put on in time for my round on Sunday.

I was lucky enough to be a pre-release tester for Golf Pride with the new MicroSuede grip, been using it for the past couple weeks on my driver. Right now I use the Tour Wrap 2G, which I like for the tackiness. The MicroSuede is just as grippy, but not in a sticky/tacky grip way, the new material just provides a lot of traction, as well as a nice soft feel. The main draw for me in this grip is the moisture management. Even in the height of a NC summer day with 90% humidity, no amount of sweat seemed to matter. I did also spray the grip with water to simulate rain, and it still maintains the same level of traction. The Tour Wrap 2G on the other hand does tend to get a bit slippery with enough moisture, and in my experience the Tour Velvet variations do as well. As far as durability goes, kind of too soon to tell, but I re-grip every year and if it's keeping with the trend with Golf Pride grips, they should be just fine. If it does suddenly drop off a cliff and fall apart I will certainly update. I plan on putting this grip on through the entire bag now that they are in stores, I definitely recommend at least checking it out if your local store has one on display.

I prefer to hit, but it's not a complete necessity. At the very least I will stretch out. A testament to not needing range time before a round: this past weekend I played in a club championship, woke up late on Sunday and only had time to stretch. Poked the first tee ball down the middle and shot a pretty steady 75, which for me as a 5.5 handicap is a decent round. I think you have to lose the mentality that a good range warm up is necessary to play well, if range time gets cut short or there is no range, that will mess with your head and it's almost guaranteed you won't play well. When I do hit the range to warm up, usually it's no more than 20-30 shots, just enough to feel my swing tempo and get loose. Like some have mentioned, I do "play" the first hole on the range to finish my session, tee ball then approach, then it's off to putt and chip for about 15 minutes.

I agree, I was pleasantly surprised. FJ have long been the most consistently well fitted gloves for me, so I'm going to stick with them for the foreseeable future. Soon after my first round with the FLX I ordered a 6 pack of them, which made the cost per glove very competitive, about $13.

Was a good tournament to watch, and for sure congrats and well played to JT, going bogey free for the week is no small task. Glad to see the Tour players speak highly of Sedgefield as well, I hope the Tour continues to come back for a long time since I live in Gboro. I hope they can continue to grow the tournament and attract some bigger names to play, although next year will likely suffer due to the Olympics the week before.

I just switched from the FJ WeatherSof to the Contour FLX. I love the soft feel of the StaSof, but they never seem to hold up for me especially in high humidity, the WeatherSof was cheap and durable. So far after a couple summer months, FLX has held up well, fits me perfectly, and is pretty close to the feel of the StaSof, at least to me.