skyryder

I am using Callaway MD5 Jaws 50,52,56,60 with KBS 80 gram shafts and a bit of lead tape where needed. Sometimes I’ll give the 50 a day off and use an A wedge Callaway Rogue X

I did a full bag fitting about a year ago and was advised to ditch the 3 wood in favor of a 3 hybrid and I am glad I did. It turned out that I got better overall results from a 21 and 24 degree hybrid instead of using a 5 and 7 wood. The hybrids for me are much more versatile for my game than the fairway woods.

I would choose the hybrid I can consistently hit the best, the 7 and wedge sound solid to me. The 3 wood is limited in its versatility

I was in Myrtle Beach for a month in Feb/Mar. Played 15 rounds in 27 days. At first it was mental grind after the first two. The last 5 were a blast. Played 3 as a solo and got out in front of everyone. Went around the Dye course at Barefoot Landing in 2:45 and it did not feel rushed at all. Also helped that I shot my second best score of the 15 rounds and finished with the same ball I started with. That was something that I cannot recall when if ever I had done. Heading to Thailand next week for a few days and have 3 rounds scheduled in Hua HIn. Sometimes living in Hong Kong is great, but golf in HK outside of indoor style is a challenge for those who play as a single. Sorry to hijack the thread

Curious what are the feelings about buying “used” golf balls from someplace like Used Golf Balls website. My understanding is these are NOT refurbished balls ( a NO-NO) but I am thinking that maybe they are balls used on the range at professional or higher end amateur events or something similar. Any input is appreciated.

I am looking forward to getting to use them on "real grass" as well. The season here is year round. The weather is not the issue, but playing in the summer with 32-35 deg C temps is brutal with the humidity. The real issue is access, especially for a single golfer. It is required to have a valid USGA/R&A handicap to access the booking system for the public courses and there are not many of them around. The private courses (at least some) do allow guests, but it will hit the wallet hard. With the border to China closed, my access to the courses I used to ride a train an hour to play ceased in 2020. I prefer to go to Thailand a few times a year for 3-4 day golf holidays, but plan to try Vietnam and Malaysia soon as well. I do get to play in a weekly indoor league, and it is a lot of fun, but limits the experience obviously.

I was not satisfied with what I was doing with my clubs. My bag looked like a rummage sale and nothing seemed to work. I wasn't really unhappy with any particular item but some worked, some didn't and I didn't know where to start. I decided to not spend $400 on a club I didn't know would do any good and instead got a whole bag fitting at Club Champion. A couple of weeks before the fitting I sent a few Trackman reports the the person that was scheduled to do my fitting. As it turns out that was a really good thing to do. It kept things focused and was a good base level knowledge to begin from. A note, I asked him not to tell what shaft I was hitting or club model. I don't care what/who makes it, just want the best performance for my swing. To begin I hit a few 6 irons with my current club or one as close as possible (all iron fittings are done off the 6 iron until get to wedges). Then he started with changing shafts and hitting about 5-6 each and keeping the best three. After taking a few minutes to analyze the shaft performance (using Trackman) data we started with clubs on the shaft that performed best. All the shafts were graphite, again not at my request. I must have hit 6 different club types. I know one was the P790's. I know one was Ping, one Muria, one Murano, a Titleist and Callaway Apex 21. I am currently hitting the Rogue X that is about 4 years old. I didn't know which clubs were which until after I hit them. It turns out the Apex 21 were the best of the bunch, the shaft is a KBS TGI 80 shaft. The distance with the Apex was within a couple of yards of the Rogue, but the dispersion was much tighter with the KBS shaft and it wasn't close. I settled on a 6-A wedge. Then tried some wedges and found I like to the Callaway Jaws that I have the best. Changed which ones I will carry to 52, 56, 60 deg all with the KBS shaft and some lead tape to get the swing weights a little higher. Then moved to driver, same idea, shaft first, and decided on a new shaft called Brava. I will admit it came out of nowhere, I guess it is a recent addition to the market. It is amazing and felt good. I was using the Sub Zero Callaway 10.5 set to 11.5 and draw bias. Then hit about 6 different drivers. The new Titleist, TaylorMade, Callaway, Cobra (at my request) and the Ping 425 LST. The only one that made a real difference was the PIng and it again is dramatic. I picked up 4-5 mph clubhead speed, smash factor is constantly 1.45-1.49, the real change in numbers is the spin rate. It went from 3100's to 2000-2100 range. Carry yardage gained about 12-14 yards, and best of all I could find all but one shot I hit with the PIng, I really was amazed. It feels like hitting butter, smooth and sweet. We hit my 3 wood and decided to take it out of the bag. After a conversation about how I play and what my strategy is on the course decided to go with three hybrids. the Titleist TRi2 18, 21, 24 lofts and Fujikura Motore X hybrid shaft which covers me from about 190-225ish. If its' over 225, I will most likely lay up and hit a comfortable wedge to the green. By the time for the putter fitting I was just about spent, which really a good time to fit a putter, because if I could make anything then, when I am concentrating it should be really good. Rolled 5 or 6 putters and the EvenRoll 10 Outback Mallet worked the best, but the Odyssey 2-ball Tour Lined 11 was very close. It was a long day to be sure. I went to the shop in Charlottesville, VA and Aaron Tew was my fitter. I could not have asked for a better experience to be honest. He was knowledgable, professional and truly seemed invested in my fitting. How long it took didn't enter into the session. Never once pushed a brand or discussed buying clubs until we finished. Now when I got the build sheet and the price sheet, it was impressive. I would need to but the stock clubs and then the shafts, plus the build charge on all except the wedges which I already own. I asked about options and he was upfront with expectations. One good thing is if they build your clubs and the performance on the course doesn't match the hitting bay, they will work with you at no additional charge to make it right. Although I am sure you would pay for a new shaft. So I went back to Hong Kong to my club builder, he sourced all the shafts. The KBS were back ordered for a couple of weeks. I found a new Ping 425 HeadLST head on EBay (in Japan), and one of the guys who just buys new clubs had the TSi2 hybrids for sale at half retail. I bought two of them at the correct loft, and one that I adjusted one degree down to get to the loft I wanted. I have only hit the set twice at this writing. The driver makes me smile with every swing and the irons are performing like I hoped. I haven't bought the putter, but may request it as a Christmas gift. The hybrids are sweet and I have a lot of confidence or as much as you can have with a few swings. I will use some of the money I didn't spend on the real issue.....the person gripping the club and see if I can improve that part of the equation, which is usually the biggest issue. All in all it was the best money I have ever spent of golf equipment. I know $400 is not cheap, but now I know what should work best and wont be buying single clubs in hope of improving one area. If I find a set of used Apex irons, I would consider getting them and putting the KBS shafts in them. I did like the feel and look of the thinner top line.

HAC, I'd probably give up my putter before I'd give up my Callaway "Heaven Wood". I am sure that my confidence in the club means a lot, but it is easy to hit and even if I miss it a little I can still find it. I've never used another brand, so can't really compare, but mine with an Adila shaft does the trick on a pretty consistent basis.

Thank you sir

I realize that this effort is full of potential issues, but here goes. I live in Hong Kong full time, which in the "before time" was actually not so bad from a golf perspective. I had easy access to some nice courses just across the border and a 3 day trip to Thailand, or Vietnam was not an issue at all. Last spring I bought a new set of Sub70 699 irons with steel shafts and I also have hit the TM P770/ 799 series. I love the look of all three, but I just can't seem to get the performance (at least distance) I get from my graphite shafts in the Rogue X irons I have been hitting the last 3 years or so. I have access to a very good club builder here in HK but he doesn't have a testing/fitting facility. I also have easy access to Foresight/ Trackman and a few other types of hitting bays to gather data. The only brick and mortar fitting operations I have found here have limited capability to test different shafts, especially for irons. My builder recommended finding a shaft I like or want to try and let him put it into a 7 or 8 iron and just hit it a while and see if it works. That sounds like a good plan, especially since actually being able to get on grass for the time being is out of reach. I have access to a lot of swing data and it seems pretty consistent across the different platforms, but am curious is anyone could suggest a website that may have a way to plug in some of the numbers and spit out a couple of shaft recommendations to take a look to try out. Thanks in advance for the feedback

I played that course in a Kansas/Colorado USGA event and I'd agree 100%. If you aren't in the short grass you are in jail! Honestly, even after missing the putts I never saw how the ball broke that direction on some of the holes.

This is probably the easiest golf question for me. It was Bethpage Black. I was playing with a very good friend that was a former professional. He played it from the back after showing his +2 handicap card to the starter, needless to say I moved up a couple of tee boxes. I felt like it was an 18 hole dogfight, but managed to shoot 95 with an 18 handicap. I am sure had I not been with my friend, I would have never been allowed on the course. Fun day, he shot 78 which included a couple of 30 foot bombs and a chip in. Every time I see the pros play that course it gives me an appreciation for just how well they can play the game.

So, it has been a long time dream for me and my best friend to make a tour of the RTJ trail, but the old excuse "we will do it next year" kept creeping into the plan. This past winter he developed liver cancer and it looks like the best outcome for him is not going to include golf for a very long time if ever. We've had a number of long discussions about all the fun we have had including 22 consecutive member/guests with one runner up finish and other fun times on the course. He said to me that he would really like for me to go play a few of the RTJ courses and let him know how it goes and hopefully we will make it there "some day" So my question is directed at those who have played the courses and which ones they liked and why. Did you stay at the resort hotels when you could or somewhere else, and are there any you wished you had not played. I will be driving, as it is only about 6 hours from home. Planning to play 5 days, probably consecutive days, but a 3/1 off/2 days is an option as well. I will try to stay away from weekends and play Mon-Friday or afternoon on a Sunday to Friday with a break in the middle. Thanks in advance for all the input and if this is the incorrect forum, let me know and I will delete it or repost somewhere else. Happy Holidays and stay safe! Sky

Greetings! Been doing the physical distancing thing from Northeast Florida, and until last week was able to play golf locally. The course manager told me they closed because the golfers wouldn't didn't respect the rules they established to protect the employees. Oh well, will search the local area and see if I can find an open course. Been playing the better part of 50 years, sometimes a lot, sometimes almost never, depended on work, etc. Share time between Hong Kong and Florida. Lived in China for about 8 years, it was a life changing (for the better) experience. I fly airplanes for a living, and got my handle that way. I've been lucky to do what a 4 year old boy dreamed about, and made it career. Something about being out on a course either alone or with a group that is magic. I can relish the good times, and only blame myself for the bad. Never had a feeling like a well struck shot, or sinking a "snake" of a putt. My handicap has been anywhere from 24.5 to 11.2 depending on time and effort, and about a year ago, decided to see how low I can get it again. Some great instructors alone the way and when you see the results of practice, it is wonderful. Played some great courses all over the world, my favorite is still St. Andrews, that story just keeps getting better...LOL . Australia, NZ, China, HK, Thailand, Vietnam, Germany, Scotland, England, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Jamaica, Bermuda, D.R., Canada, and probably a couple more. Those are some great memories on golf courses and meeting and playing with some wonderful people (and a couple of A-holes), that make it worth the walk. Looking forward to interacting and learning from all of you, I'm really just a sponge trying to soak up a little knowledge and stay out of the way.