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Locharion

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About Locharion

  • Birthday August 15

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    St. Louis, MO
  • Interests
    Football (coaching and watching), bbq, golf, and traveling to places with warm water and beaches.
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  • Handicap
    15

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  1. Just for clarity, my iron set is not 15 years old; it is only the hybrids. The notes about the irons not feeling right were about the universals, I think, of when to start looking. My first decent set were the original Callaway Big Berthas. I knew they weren't the flashiest or newest, but they served me well for about six years until hitting them off mats felt terrible. I am happy with my iron set (Callaway Diablos), my three year Srixon old driver, one year old putter, and I have two brand new Cleveland CBX wedges in addition to the three year old One Out Sand Wedge. I just have not found a new hybrid that I hit that I could consistently hit cleanly.
  2. Unfortunately, since so many websites and bloggers rely on ads and click baits to get traffic, many places will say you HAVE to upgrade every three to five years. Most of us, unless I am in the wrong place, do not have the budget to do that. That being said, I think there are some general universals we can agree on as a sign to replace certain clubs: 1. We see the spin rates drop because of worn grooves on wedges or the face shows a LOT of wear. 2. Our shafts don't appear to be in alignment (mostly from range mat impacts) 3. Severe dings from a possible variety of reasons. 4. Over time, that clean feeling of hitting a ball starts to feel like a dull thud, and hitting newer balls doesn't change anything. 5. For whatever reason, we start seeing a decline in distance and accuracy consistently over many rounds with certain clubs but not others so you know it is not a hand grip, swing, golf grip wear, or ball issue. I know there are some who want to upgrade because of aesthetic reasons or when there appears to be a such a jump in technology that it just makes sense to do so. In general, I test some clubs on demo days now and then just to compare the feel and performance to what I already have in the bag. As long as I don't feel there is a tremendous difference, I don't care if my clubs are older than five years old as long as reasons 1-5 are not in play. THAT BEING SAID... I have two hybrids in my bag (Srixon ADs) that came out in 2005. I have tried other models, but whether through swing technique, the mat I hit them from, feel, or performance itself, I have not hit any in the last five years that I feel could adequately replace my 18 and 24 degree clubs when I first started to think about replacing them. I don't know what it is about them, but I just hit better shots with those than any TaylorMade, Mizuno, Cobra, TourEdge, Nike, Callaway, Adams, or Titleist that I have tried in the last five years. I even tried the newer Srixons/Clevelands, but I couldn't see much of a difference. The most recent clubs I tried were the Titleist H and Callaway Rogue, and they just didn't feel right. However, after playing a LOT of simulator golf and going to the range the last three months, I am starting to see wear on the face of these clubs, and the distances are starting to drop. They are 15 years old, but up until recently, playing about 6-10 rounds a year, I never noticed a change. Is it time to let it go? I still have a consistent swing speed of 82-87 mph with these clubs, and I still have consistent impact as far as how open or closed my club is. I don't know whether it the size of the heads, shape of the face, material that somehow just works for me. I know I can hit my 18 degree consistently between 190 to 210 yards fairly straight depending on the lie, so that makes me hesitant. If you are a Srixon fan or had similar experiences with a club like it, when you do upgrade your hybrid? How can you tell if your hybrid may be worn? Are there models that are similar you would recommend?
  3. I bought a gently used one about three months ago, and I am VERY thankful I did since the current state of things allows me lost of opportunity to use it. Some of this you will find in other places, but here is my general observations about it. FIRST-you have to have a computer (if you are using the simulation software and not just the launch monitor) that is capable of processing DirectX 12.0 video or better. Because it was time to upgrade anyway, I did buy a Dell G3 laptop that has a dedicated graphic card with built in memory. If you have a hitting screen and you want to use a projector, you can't skimp on this. I am just using a hitting net and looking at my results on my laptop at medium rendering, but it is powerful enough that when I upgrade, it will give a realistic view. My computer has an Nvidia 1650gtx processor. Second-if you are using this indoors, make sure you have the right ceiling hight and area (as you would for any simulator). You can TRICK the system if you can't swing a driver inside by playing with the loft and lengths in the chart where you enter the data for your clubs. The actual software itself is included is the Total Golf Club software that allows you play 15 courses of various lengths and difficulties, and it is pretty nice compared to PhiGolf or OptiShot. While the distances and club data may not be as accurate as a Foresight or SkyTrack, it is 1/10th the cost. The software will give you smash factor, swing path degree readings (inside/out), how open or closed your club is at impact, swing speed, ball speed, spin speed, distance, and even allow you to play with using your higher loft clubs to pitch, punch, chip, or perform flop shots. There are some things you will learn as you play with it to troubleshoot and improve your game, but that will take time. As with most simulators, putting is a challenge. The greens with the software are VERY fast, so you will have to adjust. Also, check to make sure, if you buy it, that your set comes with the new clips instead of the old ones. The older ones (looks like they had a long silver tightening screw) break very easily. You also want to make sure your sensor is properly inserted into the clip, or it will go flying. You will know if it is in right because you will feel some (not a lot) of resistance as you slide it in. If you don't feel much resistance, it is not in right and it will go flying. A final feature of the software, which I love, is that if you hit a bad shot, you have a chance to REWIND the shot and hit it again. Nothing like a built-mulligan when you have a bad swing. If there is one downside of the product, besides the clips and putting, it is the Rapsodo has totally gone all in on their development with their launch monitor. They have not provided an update to the software and firmware in over a year. I spoke to a product rep at the golf show in St. Louis, where Rapsodo is based, and he swore that there would be a 2020 update. So far, no luck. Avoid OptiShot. An honest manager at a GolfGalaxy store told me they have a lot of returns and one or two bad hits will shatter it. Good luck.
  4. Thank you for your input on what should be expected vs. what shouldn't. A couple of posters did somewhat address my original question while others did not. I get that some of you are holding the position that even with a 45 foot space between where the ball stops and another group is, you consider that hitting into someone. I can respect that. Please respond to the original question of what is the halo you go by then. If it is a short par 4, do you wait until that group is near the green (50 yards in) before you hit your shot then? (over 300 yards past the tees in this case) I am not asking to be snarky, but to see what standard you believe is appropriate.
  5. Thank you for following up with me so quickly. No worries.
  6. On average, I can get my wife to play 2 rounds a year with me if I am lucky. Unfortunately, this incident happened near the end of summer, and it really left a sour taste in her mouth. Be honest, was I in the wrong, were the other golfers in the wrong, or was a lack of a marshall doing their job the problem? We were playing as a pair on a fairly popular municipal 9 hole course for people with mid to high handicaps. Because the course is fairly priced, you get a wide variety of players and abilities. However, based on past experiences, I rarely have seen a staff member consistently out acting as a marshall. At about the 7th hole, my wife and I caught up with an older couple who were playing. The man seemed decent, but his wife was atrocious; by atrocious, I mean it seemed like she was playing polo. If I am playing 18, I would wait for them to finish a shot, hop in a cart, and just drive around them to the next tee to get ahead of them if we were not waved on. But when you are just playing 9...... Anyway, my wife and I were playing best ball since she has some struggles. Our pace was fairly quick, and we didn't have anyone behind us. I am standing at the tee, and I am watching the two of them take their sweet time. I wave my hand and yell, "Can we play through?" No response. On a decent day, my drive is about 220-240, so I know roughly when I can drive and not hit into a group in front of me. I think this lady takes three shots to even get it 150 yards in front of the lady's tee (70ish yards ahead of the whites). Her husband is up on the green waiting for her to putt, and he is not hurrying her. I look to see if they had a group in front of them that was slow, but I don't see anyone on the tee at 7. She finally hits a shot that puts her 60-70 yards from the pin, so that leaves me about 260ish from where they are. I have to hit first since my wife is playing from the reds, and I hit it solid. The ball lands and stops rolling about 15ish yards behind them. I then watch my wife hit, and she gets a decent shot off. When we get to my ball, they are still on the green not having putted out. The man says, "Don't you think you are cutting it close?" I said, "On my best day, I could not hit it to you. Please finish your hole so we can play our next shot." The woman, who now starts telling me I need to learn golf etiquette. I turn around, and I see a threesome standing on the tee box waiting for us. I point back to them and say, "Please keep pace of play or wave us through. We are starting to get backed up." We stand for about another five minutes until they both hole out. My wife plays where my ball is, and by the time we get set to putt, the group that is behind is has hit their drives, and another group is coming to the tee. On 8, there appears to be about a 180-190 downhill straight run before a big dogleg left uphill. The husband has cleared the dog leg in two shots, but his wife is hacking away. After her fourth shot, and she has not cleared the dog leg, the woman waves for me. I wave back saying, "Thank you." and I wait for her to move to cover when I hit my shot. However, the older woman does not hit her ball while my wife is driving, and she waits for me as I come down the hill to my ball. "You hit into me!" she says. I said, "You just waved me on to hit." She keeps going on about how rude we are. I ask her to finish the hole. Now, my wife is miserable, and we have two groups standing on the tee box. The tee box for 9 is right next to the green for 8, and when we finish, the older couple, who has no one in front of them, have not teed off yet. The older man tells me that I hit into them back at 7, and I shouldn't have done that. I point to the line that is now stacked behind us, and tell him to pick up the pace. He said, "We had to wait on others, so you can wait on us." I tell them to keep pace of play, and just walk past them. When I don't respond to the further ramblings of the older woman, she walks about to my wife and says, "Your husband really needs to learn golf etiquette." My wife joins me in the cart. When we finish the 9th hole, NOW the pro-shop attendant drives out and asks if there is a problem. I figured the older couple pitched a fi when they left, and now I have to deal with it. I calmly tell the pro-shop person what happened and how a backup was happening because these two would not wave us through and then slowed down pace more to argue with us including accosting my wife. He didn't apologize for the experience or offer anything up to makeup for the experience when I politely stated to him that if a marshall had been on the course, this could have been avoided. My wife told me that may be the last time she plays with me. I told her, "It will be the last time we play that course." So, what in your minds, what is the halo rule that you follow for hitting a ball when there is a group in front of you? If you are playing just 9 holes, do you just drive past the slower group that won't wave you on? Do you call the pro-shop and ask them to handle it?
  7. Hello forum! My name is Paul. How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? I started hacking away when I was in my early teens (driving range and par 3s) but I didn't start playing with any regularity until I was in my late 20s. According to an app, my handicap is 15. Depending on the layout and distance of a course, I shoot in the upper 80s on a good day but other days it is in the low 90s. What do you love about golf? My dad, who is 78, is my golf buddy. It gives us time to talk without distractions and disruptions. When I am playing just by myself, I love the solitude. The phone is off, the cigar is lit, and I can just be present without demands or a to-do list. Finally, no matter how bad the round, when you hit a shot well, and you see the results, that feeling is addictive. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? I do not know any other spies, but I appreciate that the reviews on the site provide another source of information that I can trust is not influenced by advertisers. Also, I appreciate the testing methodology that is stated so I know what aligns best with my game. Where are you from? What is your home course? I am born and bred in St Louis. I don't have one specific home course, but the one that I play the most is Old Columbia Golf Club which is just across the river in Illinois. It is an open and forgiving course. Generally, the players who play there are always courteous and the pace of play is consistent. Rarely has the course been in bad shape, and in warmer winters, you can play into December. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? The best thing about golf is my region is that there are options throughout the metro area to play. Rarely do you have to drive more than 10 miles to have an option to play 18 holes. The worst thing about golf in the region is that most courses with character, uniqueness, or wonderfully scenery is either private or priced out of the average golfer's budget. Those courses that are in between the general 18 hole layout or the upper echelon require some driving to get to it, and the golfers that play those courses typically are not hospitable nor seem to care about pace of play. What do you do for a living? I am a proud to say I am a teacher. I also coach high school football. How’d you pick your user name? Back in my college days, I was part of an RPG (that's role playing game) group, and Locharion was a memorable character in one of our storylines who just happened to be a dragon. I liked the name, and I decided to keep it.
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