GolfSpy SAM

Posted February 13 · February 13

Yeah baby! So excited to see how this thing pans out - truly one of the first TM heads I've been interested in/excited about in years!

cksurfdude · February 12

1 hour ago, JCgolfer said:

We got out to play this Saturday, after booking a foursome little by little the golf bros dropped out. So I ended getting my actual brothers to fill in haha. Lets just say the course was very soggy after all this rain we have had in SoCal. The course was cart path only, sand traps were cement and you can tell due to the soggy turf no mowing took place. I feel courses should disclose this type of stuff when they finally opened it back up after the rain and lower the price to play these type of conditions. We only got to the 14th due to pace of play was also slow, tee time was at 1:16PM and we abandoned the course at 5:35 PM as it was way to dark by then. All in all it was still fun getting the practice in and still improving, I didn't slice a drive all day so I am happy for that. We did get in some good views of the snow capped mountains and the city lights.

Awesome! Where'd you play? I'm out in Santa Clarita and play most Fridays, if you're ever around this area (or the Valley or Palmdale - I get around ;), let's try and play a round together!

Posted February 11 · February 11

Date	02/09/2024
Course Name	Rancho Vista Golf Club
Gross Score	91
Course Handicap	7
Gross Strokes over/under par	19
Net Score to Par	12
Net Score	84
Net Birdies or better	1
Longest Drive	265
SIM Round?

Hey, look! Another nightmare

At least I putted better (32 total, including 3 I lipped hard out), and my short game was pretty great - nearly holed out of two bunkers and one 30-yard chip.

Other than that, it was a slog fest. Just...every single hole had at least one bad shot. Felt like I had no consistency with my irons, which has definitely not been the case over the last 5 months or so - they've been the thing that's saved many a round.

Anyway, happy to have that round out of the way. Also, I had a random playing partner ask me how tired I get when walking - it was because he said he's thinking about walking more, but he also mentioned that he noticed my swing was NOTICEABLY worse, lol.

I find that after about hole 14, when walking, I REALLY start to flag in the energy department. May need to start really fueling the rounds with a good breakfast and then a snack/lunch halfway through. I typically don't eat breakfast or lunch on Fridays, and depend on a really good dinner to make up for the not-eating. But it makes sense that I should be eating (at least minimally a breakfast and lunch) while walking, as I really do feel it.

Anyway, enough about that round. Won't be playing next week, as I'm taking the kids to the Genesis to get to see Tiger in real life, which is a first for me (and for them), so pretty cool stuff.

Hopefully a week off will do the mind/body some good

Golf2Much · February 11

I'm in! Hopefully my 90+ rounds are out of the way, lol....what a nightmare

chisag · February 11

9 hours ago, berkeleybob said:

UPDATE: A Fitting Adventure for Free

Heyo!

Thanks all for your suggestions, opinions, recommendations. I thought I’d give an update on the topic. Perhaps this might be helpful to folks at my stage, and perhaps this is familiar path you taken before me.

TLDR: I had a fun journey, and I bought a new driver.

I truly, TRULY hope people take the time to read this review - it's brilliantly done and makes the process of shopping for a driver (without paying for an in-depth fitting) easier to understand.

9 hours ago, berkeleybob said:

<Your wife is tolerating this endeavor. For now.>

You’re freaking me out.

This is such a clever usage - seriously funny stuff. Great work!

azstu324 · February 9

4 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

Sorry man but you coming here is like an alcoholic going to a bar.. you're not going to find much support

Billy The Kid Rogers · February 9

38 minutes ago, Billy The Kid Rogers said:

8 hours ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

Just bought a ticket to the Genesis for next Friday - going to see if the kids want to come along (kids get in free with an adult's purchased ticket), and if not, I'll happily walk the grounds and finally get to say I saw Tiger play up close and personal

Thrilled is putting it mildly.

Anyone in the LA area wanna come along? @Syks7? @Billy The Kid Rogers?

@GolfSpy SAM I am very upset that I have to work that Friday:( I would have enjoyed being apart of your first Tiger experience!

You're dead to me.

cksurfdude · February 8

Just bought a ticket to the Genesis for next Friday - going to see if the kids want to come along (kids get in free with an adult's purchased ticket), and if not, I'll happily walk the grounds and finally get to say I saw Tiger play up close and personal

Thrilled is putting it mildly.

Anyone in the LA area wanna come along? @Syks7? @Billy The Kid Rogers?

rkj427 · February 8

Make sure you have one of your best friends there for the fitting so he can take video and make fun of you and help you answer questions you might not think of.

Yes, I'm inviting myself along. Get over it

I've gotta say TrueSpec is incredible - let's get you fit for irons and then we can make some decisions on where to go from there!

Woohoo!

Wheelieb · February 8

16 minutes ago, Wheelieb said:

I am not fully sure who I picked. I just chose. then realized I chose some guys I already chose and said I can't do that and re-chose. Haven't checked, yet today. Hoping i did ok with my selections.

You're currently tied for 5th, which is pretty great considering you only have Lowry and Harmon going. Lowry is playing such great golf right now, it's awesome to see.

cnosil · February 7

Morning spies!

Fun thing to wake up to today - an article I wrote for the main site was published (secretly without my knowledge) on Monday, so I'm a day or two late in sharing, but give it a read when you get a chance, and comment away if you think you know someone with a sweeter swing (slice-inducing or not, @cnosil )

Have a great Wednesday, all! Especially you, @GolfSpy_BEN.

https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/ben-hogans-swing/

vandyland · February 7

14 minutes ago, vandyland said:

The FST 125 shafts are currently $11.95 and the Score LT shafts $9.99. So just a $2 difference. I am sure the Scores are good too I just like the FST in that it has similar profile to the KBS Tour and is slightly heavier than the Score LTs.

I have never had a set built where the total shaft weight gradually declines (all the FST 125 shafts are cut from a 43" shaft to their correct size) but I can talk myself into that could work out well for me. The heads get slightly heavier through the set as the shafts get slightly lighter so your total weight doesn't change much but the relative weight of the head to the weight of the shaft will change more. A fun experiment and I may not even notice the difference (I am not overly sensitive to iron shafts I have found).

On the numbers above there are two numbers from the TS1-IM that stand out. One is the short, left shot on the dispersion chart that I wrote "terrible" next to on the excel summary. I hit that WAAAY out on the toe and it still went fairly straight and only lost about 6 yds of total carry vs a good strike. The other is maybe a slight indication of a possible "jumpy" ball (the longest one) was the last one where I caught one dead center and it went about 6 yds farther. You'll notice how tightly bunched the carry distances are with the Hogans, that is their strength. The TS1-IMs strength, to me, is forgiveness while still providing some feel/feedback. As of right now, I am comfortable with the slight chance of a jumper if it gives me some relief on off-center shots. Quite often, that is the tradeoff.

100% - it's one of the things I loved about hitting the ST/CB at the PXG fitting, was watching (kind of regardless of where on the face I hit them) the ball fly on the same line and land in relatively the same place every time - bad hits were penalized by slightly less carry, but held their line. I'm VERY interested in this as opposed to "I need to crush my 7 iron 180 yards to feel like it's working", which is where I was a few years ago. From a "jumper" perspective - 6 yards is pretty manageable. You MAY end up back of green or just over every once in a while, but...I'd for sure take that vs. a 15-yard "jumper." 18-feet for birdie sounds okay to me

Shrek74 · February 7

18 hours ago, vandyland said:

Got on Trackman today and saw enough out of the TS1-IM to where I bought a full set, 5-GW. Would highly recommend emailing them for a quote for anything that is off menu. I thought I was going to have to go the custom route to get FST 125 shafts and when I called they told me that. Then I just emailed for a quote and got the standard pak price for just $2 extra per shaft which saved me like $100. Also, here are the trackman numbers I got between my gamer and the TS1-IM (there is a 1.5* loft difference between them):

The TS1-IMs spin a little less, bias a little more right (less offset) but carry farther (spin and carry down to loft differences I presume). But overall they feel great and perform very well.

Those ....four(?) shots that landed on top of each other is pretty amazing, lol.

And REALLY great news about the "email for a quote" thing. I would be hard-pressed to not have them just go ahead and build me a set, even though putting them (the TS3 demo's) together was pretty fun. I don't mind paying a bit extra to get the set-up I'm looking for - what was the actual price difference in the stock shaft (is it the Score?) and the one you ended up going with, if bought separately?

Michael.Sandoval33 · February 6

1 hour ago, StrokerAce said:

anyone have one of these polos? I'm tempted at 14.95...

https://www.threesixty6.com/pages/extreme-deals-2-6-24

I don't have any of their polos, but I do have a heathered q-zip (which I LOVE - super lightweight, crazy comfortable and a really good-looking piece (https://www.threesixty6.com/collections/mens-sweaters/products/heathered-quarter-zip-pullover-sweater)), as well as a hooded q-zip from them, which I love less (https://www.threesixty6.com/collections/mens-sweaters/products/mens-therma-quarter-zip-hoodie-pullover?variant=47034657964323). The material is ... the tactile feel of it is not my favorite, but it's CRAZY warm and I love the look of it. I'm not sure (at all) if the polos use the same material, but I would doubt it - I'm guessing the polo is more in line with the heathered material than the synthetic that the hoodie's made from.

The hoodie's specifically designed to be worn on cool/cold days, and I will say that it GENUINELY works - I often have to take it off after a few holes as I get too warm (I'm also in SoCal, so as soon as the sun comes out, things warm up fast).

Hope that helps!

Cfhandyman · February 6

21 minutes ago, Luisddavila said:

Cheers friends!! Do not start drinking the hate-o-rade now

No hate, just jealousy Where you at? That looks awesome. My wife and I vacationed last year in Ixtapa exactly this time of year, and it was incredddddddible (all I'm going to say is: kids-camp for the win)

Cfhandyman · February 6

Happy Tuesday - happy to say we made it through the torrential downpours SoCal had just fine, and (though it's still raining) feeling pretty good this morning. Work's slammed, so I'll keep this short, just wanted to poke in and say the forum is going to be pumping now that the '24 testing season is officially upon us. Tune in each and every Thursday

Enjoy your days, stay dry/cool/warm/pick-your-own-adventure and see you soon.

Rob Person · February 5

5 hours ago, David Staller said:

October 2019 I am playing an afternoon round with my friend Steve at Rancho Vista in Palmdale, CA. I had just birdied the par 5 3rd after stuffing a wedge to 2 feet to tie the hole. The 4th is a par 3 of 165 yards playing into a slight breeze with the pin in the right center of the green at the base of a large slope. Being that Steve had the honors from the 2nd hole, he hit a great shot to about 5 feet. Feeling a little cocky after the wedge I hit to the previous hole, I told him, "Nice shot, but I'll get it inside that." I didn't waste any time choosing a club and going through my routine. I hit a beautiful cut 6 iron that started out left of the hole and appeared to be fading right online. I knew it would be close but couldn't see where the ball finished because the pin was in the shadows. What a surprise when we got to the green and discover my ball in the hole. I love it when my game backs up my mouth. That was the second hole in one I had made with Steve in 2 months.

Love it! Big fan of Rancho Vista and Antelope Valley CC - I'm not too far from either (I'm in Santa Clarita), so if you're ever out in the area again, let me know!

1 hour ago, EMacK1961 said:

Golf just isn’t about chasing that little white ball around. Sometimes there are little distractions along the way.

Beautiful! But...you lost your ball in there, didn't you?

Posted February 3 · February 3

Date	02/02/2024
Course Name	Hansen Dam
Gross Score	90
Course Handicap	7
Gross Strokes over/under par	18
Net Score to Par	11
Net Score	83
Net Birdies or better	1
Longest Drive	245
SIM Round?

I hated today's round. Lol - beautiful day, awesome to be out celebrating my buddy's @Billy The Kid Rogers birthday round... But there wasn't one thing that I did well today. 39 putts, two (MAYBE 3?) good drives, constantly trying to scramble for par and sometimes bogey.

Just... One of those days. Good news: in getting very good at hitting low (using 3-driving iron) recovery shots that run for days.

Pictures will follow in an edit.

I can't wait to get back out there and rinse this round out of my mouth

Obligatory shot of the Dam - clouds provided some nice pop)

(If you zoom a bit, you can see the people walking on the ledge - that's the Dam the course is named after)

EasyPutter · February 3

7 hours ago, Getoffmylawn said:

This hurts my feelings. People don’t look forward to playing with me like that! Then again, @GolfSpy SAMis a good dude and a nice guy. I am not.

This is literally the nicest thing you've ever said to/about me, and I'm very unsure what to do with it.

sirchunksalot · February 2

28 minutes ago, Berg Ryman said:

Ok, so just so I'm clear as I'm trying to lock down some form of a plan for transportation before prices start to creep, the Vinterra round is scheduled for early arrivals on Thursday in place of RNK, right, or is Vinterra potential for Wednesday, arrivals with RNK being Thursday? I just wanna know so that way I can plan arrivals and whatnot.

90% sure RNK is Thursday's plan, with Wed being Vinterra.

IndyBonzo · February 1

3 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

@vandyland, you may know this but if you decide to order a pak, GW will deduct the cost of the 7i and build the set sans 7. Unless you plan to build the set with a different shaft or length specs.

I was going to say the same thing - but I would love to hit it if you do go a different route, @vandyland.

Bad Hobbit · February 1

1 minute ago, Bad Hobbit said:

Well... I spent a few bucks on some stuff and my kiddo got ahold of my phone and used up all the goofballs and spent all the gems, so I'm out, hahahaa. Hope y'all have a great league though!

HAH! My 3-year old LOVES to "play" with me - I let him (and his older sister) "play" the opponent's turn. Every once in a while I forget to take the phone back and I'm like, "how did you miss a tap in???????" and then I realize he's three

No worries - come back any time - always welcome.

IndyBonzo · February 1

5 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

I have to admit now that I see these in your pictures and compared to other irons, that sole width concerns me a bit. As a higher handicap who's working on their swing, I'm not sure I like something that narrow. I had a set of New Level 902OS that had narrow soles and I didn't really get along with them. I don't want to go all the way to some huge sole like most GI irons have, but a really narrow sole scares me a bit. Strangely, a narrower top like and more compact heel to toe don't scare me as much as a narrow sole does. I'm somewhat shallow on my AoA (about 0* to -2*) and would think a narrow sole would be better. *shrug*

I may have to rethink.

This is fascinating to me (as are most things that are subjective, like feel and looks) - I'm the exact opposite, much to my surprise. I had the TaylorMade Sim Max (1st version) irons in the bag for 3 years, and (along with lessons) was seeing actual improvement. When I got the Caleys last year (01T model, so very similar in size to the P790/770 (I think they kind of split the difference), I was stunned by how MUCH narrower the soles were, especially in the longer irons (5, 6, 7). But what was even more surprising, is how much better that narrow sole performed for me - I have a much more steep attack angle (-4 on a good one, -7 on a bad one), and I've found that the narrower sole (again, for me) gets in and out a lot easier than the wider sole of my previous gamers did. And it wasn't even close. In turn, I found a lot better contact on my BAD swings, and the same/better contact on my good swings.

So looking at the those TS1-iM's is drool-inducing, lol.

@vandyland - I really appreciate the feedback on the TS3. I demo'd a 6 and 9-iron, and while I could not fault the clubs in ANY way, the topline was thicker than I was expecting (very similar, in fact, to my TM's). I was thinking about the TE/TS4, but man those iM's look incredible. I actually think this pic (below) is the best pic I've seen of them - they're just SO clean (and yes, miles better-looking than the 3's). I'm so torn between these and the TS4's (obviously very similar design language). I don't REALLY wanna demo both, lol.

13 hours ago, vandyland said:

TS1-IM arrived and it looks very good. Maybe even mildly intimidating but in a good way. Here are the pictures with my Ben Hogan, the TS1-IM in the middle and the TS3 on the other side. The blade length is shorter on the hogan but the sole is narrower on the TS1-IM. Also, the hosels on both maltby are considerably shorter in an effort to centralize the CG.

CFreddie · February 1

Guys: I thought I'd sneak on here before @GolfSpy_APH wakes up and give you a little early-access tease...

It's A Dam Driver.

You're welcome

Josh Parker · February 1

Man - that photographs really well

I would absolutely go that direction if/when my grip finally goes. I've gotten so used to it, but I LOVED the textured grip when I felt it. Both my grip and putter cover have seen better days - might be time to rejuvenate everything and make it feel like a brand new putter (instead of buying a brand new putter).

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Posts posted by GolfSpy SAM