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Micah T

 
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Everything posted by Micah T

  1. Brands I’m all in on: Titleist - quality, innovation, performance. Not to mention instant bag credibility. Current clubs I’m gaming: (4) U505 2iron, 3 vokey wedges. Ping - quality, innovation, performance, integrity. No bullsh*t, their clubs work and they don’t do hype. Current clubs I’m gaming: (8) g410 LST 3 wood, i210 4iron, i59 5-PW. Mizuno - quality, performance, aesthetics. Another instant cred club you can game. Mizuno irons scream “player”. Currently clubs I’m gaming (1) M-craft IV putter. Cobra - innovation, performance, underdog. Those in the “know” know cobra clubs are legit. Never seen anyone gaming cobra clubs that didn’t know how to use them. Current clubs I’m gaming: (1) LTDx LS driver. Brands I’m on the fence about: Srixon - top tier balls and legit irons, not so sure about the woods. Cleveland - never gotten along with their wedges. PXG - make good drivers, don’t really care for Bob. Too much hype for the product. Brands I’m unfairly biased against: Taylormade - they make product as good as anyone else’s: but I can’t stand all they hype and marketing. All I could do was roll my eyes when stealth came out. I hit all their products well, but game anything from them? Nope. Callaway - Another company that makes my eyes roll: from the ball debacle a few years back to all the marketing hype. No thanks. Never hit their clubs well, except for last year’s Max LS, and was so glad when the cobra proved to be better, so I didn’t have to confront my bias.
  2. I didn’t post the video of me sinking 2 footers with a regular ball to make me feel better
  3. I’m using the hardest side from 5 feet and closer: from 6-10 feet I’m using the intermediate, and from longer the easy side.
  4. Real grass! Just as difficult… It was hard to find a straight putt on the practice green. Really felt like my start line during the round was improved…
  5. Put me down for Ping as far as visuals go: it’s the most unobtrusive. Not having to realign the grip on a Callaway sounds amazing, I haven’t gamed a club of theirs’ in quite some time…
  6. 1)Break 70- shot 70 a few times this year and had a few more under par rounds, now I need to improve my putting/approach play to break into the 60’s 2) get down to a scratch handicap: finished ‘22 as a .6 - If I improve my putting and approach I should get there. 3)Continue thinking about course management and not thinking about my actual swing on the course. 4) Not worry about my score when I play with my wife: just enjoy the fact I found a gal who likes me enough to go golfing with me.
  7. What I get excited about is the markdowns on previous models: being able to find “cheap” heads to tinker with and optimize my numbers as my swing evolves.
  8. My thoughts exactly: makes me wonder about CB/MB combo set. Straight
  9. Me too: what a decision to stop the milled infinity face. It was a point of differentiation and a quality control. Now they look like a discount M5. Cobra has always been an underdog innovator in my book, this doesn’t look like it belongs in the cobra family of drivers from the last 4-5 iterations. Full disclosure: I love my blue LTDx LS: paired with my blue Hzrdus Smoke RDX. It’s the ultimate low spin combo for an aggressive-transition swinger like myself.
  10. @Jim Shaw Lessons, practice and playing are how I’ve improved. I play at least twice a week and practice at least 6 hours a week. 1st lessons I had were from PGATSS: he attempted to help me stop over swinging, fix my grip, and aim. That took me from a 16 to a 9 handicap, and I broke 80 for the 1st time. I also asked that instructor if the clubs I wanted to buy were ok for someone of my ability(Titleist AP3) and was fit for them there. After about a year with those clubs, I was probably around a 7 handicap, had hit a plateau with scoring, and stumbled on to this site. This forum is where I became interested in custom fitting: 1st I had a putter fitting, then driver and then 3 wood. I was the driver @GolfSpy_APH mentioned in his post above: high SS/high spin, but an AoA of -3 and was subsequently fitted into a ping G410 LST 9 degrees with TX Tensei shaft. After being fit for that driver I found my current instructor and began taking lessons. Did the driver I was fit for work for me long? No, since my swing was improving due to lessons a driver fit for my negative AoA became ill-fitted once that moved to a neutral - positive delivery. The fitter simply applied the data he was given. I’d still call that a good fit. This past season I was fit for another driver, and now that I swing my driver with a positive AoA, was fit into a different set up. Still a low spinning model, but much more loft since my drives were launching much too low with my former driver. I’d say the new driver lowered my cap by 1, since I’m much more accurate and still fairly long. TL:DR I attribute going from a 16 cap to a 4 to lessons/instruction/practice. And from a 4 to a 2 handicap to custom fitting.
  11. The idea of a fitter giving me swing advice or suggesting swing changes scares me. I’ve worked with my coach for over 2 years; and everything we worked on in the 1st year was set up and grip related. He stopped doing fittings as Covid reduced the inventory he had access to. I recommend to all my friends to get lessons over fittings. I’ve had 15+ lessons over the last 4 years: went from a 16 handicap to a 2 handicap. I’ve never met anyone whose handicap has dropped significantly due to a custom fitting alone. I’m a believer in custom fittings(I use club champion) but I wouldn’t attribute any of my improvements to fitting until this past year.
  12. Performance is the biggest issue: has your swing changed? Have you lost a significant amount of speed? Are you seeing odd spin numbers or peak heights/descent angles? If the answers to these questions is yes; you should at least look at your numbers with some new clubs. Wedges? I replace my 60 degree every 75-100 rounds, as soon as a full swing shot produces less than 9000 rpm’s of spin. My 50 and 54? Closer to 150-200 rounds. I spend a lot of time at the range over in the short game area, and that sandy soil does a number on your club faces.
  13. What’s good spy fam?! My name is Micah and I’m a golf ho. Shoes, clubs, shafts, balls, shirts, and hats: I’ve got way too much of it. Lucky for me, my wife is a golfer as well and understands my addiction. We live in Salt Lake City, Utah, and besides golf here in the valley, we play a lot in St. George, Utah and Las Vegas. I also love to cook and snowboard, and in years past, if the snow is good(like it is this year) the clubs go away for the winter. That was the old me: but now at the ripe old age of 41, I’m far too obsessed with my golf game to leave it alone for the winter. I’ve been golfing since 2016, and arccos says I’m a .6 handicap. I feel more like an 2. And although I did break thru this season with half a dozen under par rounds, I’m still chasing that broke 70 badge. The first club I was professionally fit for was a putter, and since that day, I’ve been chasing gains in that part of my game. I feel like I’m not a good putter for my handicap, and Arccos agrees. I miss far too many short putts. Over the years I’ve tinkered quite extensively with my putting stroke. Moving the ball forward in my stance, standing more bent-over so my eyes are over the ball, etc. Putting training aides? I’ve got a few. Those that are still in use include: 12 x 4 birdie ball mat a 4 ft metal ruler PuttOUT mirror & gate combo I had a small meltdown with my putting confidence mid season this year, you can read that thread here. While my putting did improve for the last part of the season, I know that in order to shoot in the 60’s, I must become a better putter. And along comes the PuttOUT Devil Ball: Improve your start line and make more putts? Yes please! In my testing I’ll be looking for improved start line/more makes from my worst distances, mainly 6-9 ft. Although most of my testing will take place in my den on my birdie ball mat, you’ll also see some vids from the indoor studio @Street11 runs. And it just so happens I’m headed to Vegas in a week, so fingers crossed it’s warm enough to roll some outdoor putts there! First Impressions: Box is nice, handy little pouch to keep these bad boys in, makes it easier to throw in the golf bag and take to the course. The balls themselves seem well-made, and to date I haven't noticed any cracks or peeling paint or fading markings. I really like the QR codes they put everywhere, including on the pouch! You can literally pull up a drill on your phone no matter where you are. And try the drills I did! Depending on what part of your technique is deficient, there's a drill you can use on their Youtube page. My biggest issue with putting is starting my putts on my intended line: weirdly enough this usually affects putts that are pretty straight. My main practice tools I've used in the past are a 48 inch metal ruler that I try to roll the ball on the entirety of, and the PuttOUT gate which I primarily use as a warm-up before rounds. My practice with the Devil Ball consists of 30 putts: (make %) 10 4 ft putts on the hardest setting (90%) 10 6 ft putts on the hardest setting (40%) 10 9 ft putts on the hardest setting (20%) If I'm doing this pre-round, I transition to a traditional ball and start lagging putts. At home in the lab(on my birdie ball mat) I tested my make percentage before and after practicing with the Devil Ball from the following lengths: 4ft 6ft 8ft 12ft 4ft: 9/10 before 10/10 after 6ft: 6/10 before 7/10 after 8ft: 7/10 before 7/10 after 12ft: 5/10 before 6/10 after Very interested to see my make/miss percentage after 3 months of practicing 3 days a week. I played 4 times last week in Vegas, and didn't see a difference in my putting stats whatsoever. It'll be a few more months before I can test this at a course I'm familiar with and with green speeds I'm used to. Final Review Looks/aesthetics 20/20 Putt out makes solid training aids: this one is no different. Product is well made and should last quite some time. Normal wear and tear aside, this is a one-time purchase. Practice/performance 18/20 This product does what it says it does: it gives instant feedback on your face alignment at impact. As far as achieving this goal, I’d say the product has achieved perfection. Does getting this feedback improve your putting stroke? Results may vary, but my make percentage did improve notably. A noticeable positive side effect of the Devil ball is a better setup: with a flat side on the ball it is a lot easier to see that you’re misaligned. A noticeable negative side effect is hitting putts too hard: In an effort to get the devil ball rolling I’m noticing I’m hitting putts considerably firmer. Like a lot of other training aids, you get what you put into it. Is it frustrating? Incredibly. Ultimately, I think this training aid will improve your putting start line, which will help you make more putts. The details 18/20 I wish I could’ve done more outdoor testing, but most of the mountain west got a lot of snow this winter. As of now, the devil ball will not replace my PuttOut gate as my pre-round warm-up: this device is too predicated on a completely flat putt. I posted some videos of this from my Vegas trip. Indoors, where you can control the variables is where the devil ball shines. If you struggle with putts inside of 8 feet, I can virtually assure you this will help you improve. And if you live somewhere where you can’t play year round, this device is great to practice with all winter long. The Numbers 20/20 4ft 6ft 8ft 12ft (675 attempts per length) 4ft: 90% before 98.4% after 6ft: 60% before 79.6% after 8ft: 70% before 74.3% after 12ft: 50% before 61.8% afterwards By any measure, my improvement was considerable. Will it translate to the golf course? Can’t wait to find out! Play it or trade it 10/20 I feel like I’m this device’s target audience: someone who struggles inside 8 ft. My main goal for ‘23 is to improve my make % from 6-9 ft. There’s no doubt the devil ball will help me here. If you’re putting woes lie elsewhere this may not be the tool for you; it can’t help you with speed or your green reading. For me it’s a must-keep, but for you? Conclusion Devil ball is a lot of fun: I love a new training tool tell help me in my obsessive pursuit of a scratch handicap. But if you have another PuttOut training aid, I’m not sure you need to rush out and pick this one up. I don’t think this is a tool to help you warm up pre-round either: it’s more of a one trick pony. But it preforms its one trick exceedingly well. Final Score 86/100
  14. The maxfli tour x will be my ball until the price equals the prov1x. Although the Prov1x is 3-5 yards longer off the driver, and spins 200 rpm more on partial wedge shots, that doesn’t justify paying twice the cost. Ball flies and spins identically off the irons for me. Can’t tell the difference off the putter either. I literally tell everyone I play with about maxfli’s: my playing pards are sick of it!
  15. I tried a 6, 10, and 16 gram weight instead of the stock weight in my old g410 LST(23 gram I think) I found the lower weight I installed, the less ball speed I produced.
  16. If I’m by myself, I’ll play the back tees: I used to always play back there( driver carry 290) but then the rando’s I get paired with decide to play back there too. My wife just laughs, the male ego is a fragile thing indeed. Nowadays I’ll move up a box just for pace of play. I also appreciate courses that suggest tee boxes based on handicaps or carry distance. Sane golfers will move up when told the carry distance to the fairway will be 240 or more… On a different note, I think most golf courses should add an even more forward tee. I often notice my wife (driver carry 195) has to hit 3 and 5 woods into most par 4’s - not fun. So now I take a look at the scorecard and suggest making her own tee box on about 1/2 of the par 4’s. So she gets to hit some short irons into greens on occasion.
  17. I’ll use the same ball until it’s too scuffed to use: I think the longest streak this year with one ball was 60 holes. Most balls eventually get hit to Narnia and never get “retired” to the shag bag.
  18. @kylebennett006What lofts are your 4 iron and 5 wood? Are these numbers total distance or carry? That’s quite the gap between the two clubs whose lofts typically overlap: I’d be curious about your launch conditions.
  19. I went from Titleist AP3’s(cast 17-4 stainless steel) to Ping i59’s(“forged” 1025 but with a 17-4 cast face) are the i59’s softer? Absolutely. They already look older after a year than the AP3’s did after 2. Do the i59’s feel better? Definitely. On flushed shots, on well struck shots, shanks, and thins; all superior feeling with the i59. What I find the most interesting is I could never tell where on the face I made contact with the AP3’s. That, and absolutely flushed strikes flew a club longer. Flush one out of a flier lie? 2 clubs longer. I don’t know if the i59 are superior because they’re “forged” but I do know they are superior for my game because they spin so consistently. Consistent spin = consistent distance: and flushed shots just melt off the face.
  20. The Tsi3 is just so clean: looks, sound, feel are all top notch. It didn’t win my driver derby, but it’s always a contender in any contest…
  21. Always love to hear a fitting story with a happy ending! The TSR line is getting lots of love from all over: interested to see how everyone else’s releases match up….
  22. Golf specific off-season work 120 yards and in: this year I tried to add 3/4 & 1/2 shots to my wedge game: with varying results. So I’ll be working more on hitting various yardages with all 4 wedges(pW, 50, 54 & 60) Putting: I’d like to increase my make % from 3-9 feet from 50% up to 65%. The 12 ft birdie ball matt usually gets rolled out for the winter around Halloween. My workouts go back to more weight lifting and less HIIT this time of year. So I’ll look to add strength without bulking.
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