PhilM75072

I am of the opinion that if one commits to the Mindset philosophy and if it helps one develop a consistent pre-shot routine resulting in better overall performance, that should be reflected in the stats. Depending on what ball one plays now, it may or may not compare favorably in regard to distance, but it should show up in more fairways hit, more successful approaches and maybe better putting.

Nothing received by me, either. Maybe Bridgestone changed their minds about wanting Shot Scope data?

I don't, but an 80-year-old who plays with us twice per week plays right-handed and putts lefty. He uses an old Bullseye putter and putts pretty darn well!

I carry three that I alternate during the round, and another nine in the ball pocket. I really don't need to carry that many, as I rarely lose a ball or have one damaged enough to take it out of play by hitting a cart path or tree. However, since I always ride, that extra weight is only felt while carrying my bag from the car to the cart!

I was hoping to be picked to receive and review the new Sqairz shoes for MGS, but not being chosen, I got a pair anyway and thought I would review them, too. I just received my pair of Sqairz Speed2 shoes, black with gray. They really look great! The fit and comfort is the same as all previous versions of their shoes, and the quality is outstanding, with not a loose thread or missed stitch anywhere. I don't know what material the upper was in previous versions, but they say they went to a microfiber upper in all three of their new styles. This microfiber upper gives the look and feel of suede to this black pair. One of the features Sqairz claims this new upper material provides is lighter weight. They are definitely a little lighter than the previous versions (I weighed them), but if you are expecting them to be "feather-light" you would be disappointed. I don't know how the other two, new styles compare, weight-wise, the Velo and ProS2, whether they weigh the same as the Speed2 or maybe lighter? I do anticipate buying a pair of the ProS2 as I like their look, too! They are also supposed to be "breathable" while maintaining their outstanding waterproofing. Those things are yet to be confirmed as the temperature hasn't been warm enough, and course conditions have been too muddy for me to subject a new pair of shoes to them. Some have always disliked the square toe. That is a personal thing. I like it as it helps me line up square when putting, and reminds me to flare my feet for full shots. I also think that square toe, wider toe box, adds to the comfort as well as supposedly providing some performance benefits. Many also take issue with the distance claims. All I heard during the Golf Channel Masters broadcast was about balance and use of the ground in the swing, which the Sqairz shoes are supposed to help with given their construction. Not everyone uses the ground and their feet the same way (look at Scheffler!), and being amateurs with inconsistent swings, our experiences will vary. I'm not sure that my best shots are that much longer, but with better balance and stability, the gap between my best and worst shots has definitely narrowed. Just out of curiosity, I looked up Sepp Straka's stats as I know he wore Sqairz last year and I noticed he was wearing Adidas shoes this year. His average driving distance has dropped by 11 yards! He is still all Srixon, and from what I can tell, the shoes are the only thing that has changed. There may be other factors involved, but it will be interesting to see if this continues. I must admit to being a big fan of Sqairz, now owning 6 pairs that I have accumulated starting over 4 years ago. One of the biggest reasons for me is the traction they provide. Twice I had slipped on the golf course on slopes wearing soft spikes in one case, and spikeless shoes another time, and suffered broken bones each time. I have yet to have my feet slip in any turf condition, even going up or down some significant slopes while wearing Sqairz! What can I say? I really like my Sqairz and won't wear any other brand, I think they are that good!

Out of curiosity, what type of shots were missed?

Personally, I have seen no difference in performance between the older set of tags and the new, "version 2" tags. I keep a set of each on different sets of irons that I'll occasionally swap in and out of my bag. For chip shots and others where you choke down, you can grip the club at the end first, or you can look at the watch to see if the tag has been sensed. Once it has, it doesn't matter how you grip the club, just take a couple of practice swings.

AVG includes all shots, good and bad, that are farther from the hole than 50 yards. The P-AVG ignores outliers at both ends, the good and the bad. Also, you don't mark chips and pitches as "positional" unless you are hitting those shots to get a ball back in play, say from behind a tree. Around the green, chips and pitches are not included in your club distance averages. In fact, any shot 50 yards or fewer from the hole is included only in your short game stats. Finally, I don't believe you can mark any tee shot as positional.

Like @cnosil said, it is probably the watch band. You might try tightening the screws that hold the watch band on, especially the one connected at the top of the watch, as there is an electrical connection between it and the antenna inside it and the watch itself. If that doesn't do it, the watch band is bad.

I definitely appreciate the opportunity, and I'm really looking forward to testing these balls to see if they can address two of my weaknesses. I've generally used alignment aids on the tee (par 3s, 4s and 5s), and on the greens. However, I am poor at even thinking of visualizing my shots, and I tend to focus on the general area of the ball instead of a specific spot on it. It will be interesting to see how this "reminder" graphic changes my pre-shot routine and approach to the game, and if I can carry it over to when I can't take the ball in hand and the graphic isn't showing or isn't properly lined up. In the way of introduction, I am in my mid 70s, and I have been playing golf since before I reached my teenage years. I have carried a single-digit handicap for many years. I finally made a concession to my age and declining length with all my clubs by moving up to the senior tees in January 2022 at the age of 74. A big reason for my handicap being as low as it has been, has typically been my ability to make birdies, something that has become more difficult, as you will see in the next paragraph. Historically, my strength has been my iron game, but you would never know it based on recent performance, but I feel there is a reason. I joined a different course last year, and before they replaced all 18 greens, they were very small, much smaller than I have ever been used to, and, thus, difficult to hit. As part of the renovation process, they enlarged most of the greens, some by as much as 30%, but, being new, they are exceptionally firm. Hit anywhere but on the very front of the green and you will go long. They are also being watered heavily in the mornings when I play and they all slope from back to front, so that takes away the idea of landing short and having the ball bounce up onto the green. If you can't hit many greens in regulation, you aren't going to make a lot of birdies! I have been a Shot Scope user since the V3 was introduced in July 2020, upgrading to the X5 when it came out. Being retired, I play golf every weekday, weather permitting, year 'round. Living in North Texas, you can't play every day, or even necessarily every week in the winter, but certainly one can get out several times per month even during the worst of winters. As a result, I have a lot of data accumulated that I will be able to compare with the results of my Bridgestone Tour B RX testing. Finally, in the way of pre-testing additional information, I have been primarily playing the Vice Pro and Pro Plus, with the Plus surprisingly performing well for my game despite my slow swing speed. That is actually confirmed by MGS' 2023 ball test! Again, it will be interesting to see how this Bridgestone ball compares in both feel and performance.

Pretty much what @MIgregb said. The tag needs to be within about 10cm of the watch band to be recognized. I only take one practice swing as I am addressing the ball. There is an algorithm used that says the ball must travel at least 5 yards between shots to be recognized. This is to prevent practice swings from being counted as a stroke. For the same reason, two shots with the same club within 45 seconds will result in only one of them counted. Choking down too far before the tag is recognized is one reason for a shot to be missed. Not counting every time the putter was used (to include from off the green) when recording putts causes strokes to be missed. The system know which are truly "putts" taken from on the green, and "putts" from off the green are considered chip shots and are recorded in your short game stats. I do recommend carrying your clubs close to the club head to avoid having strokes added. Adding or deleting strokes is not uncommon, but, in my case at least, it is limited to a couple of strokes per round, if that. Most of my editing is done moving the location of shots that are along a terrain transition, or moving the hole location, both normally due to the inaccuracy of GPS technology. I also recommend putting either self-stick felt furniture pads or glass table-top bumpers on the tags to prevent them from wearing by rubbing on the bottom of the bag.

@tony@CIC On the Approach page, Approach Success and Green Success are both shown. Since any shot more than 50 yards, excluding tee shots on par 4s and 5s, is considered an "approach" shot (unless marked provisional), those two stats can be different. "Green Success" relates to GIR.

Congrats, testers! I am interested to see if they really are lighter but still provide the stability of previous models.

I got prompted to update the firmware after uploading my first round of the week on Thursday. I did not receive an email, and I have seen nothing that says what the update adds or fixes. I did play with it unlocked yesterday, Friday, with no issues (I find it much easier to use unlocked).

I was going to say the same thing!