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Grit Golf

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Everything posted by Grit Golf

  1. Is the Taylormade Tour Response a poor man’s Left Dot?
  2. They don’t look offensive at all for a club w max game improvement potential. I think this club will do well. Im curious what pricing will be with like with like Tour AMT White or KBS $ Taper, etc. If they have a decent stable of no cost upgrade shafts I can see Cleveland making some ground with this release.
  3. Here's the data I found: It's like 3% max more stiff than a REGULAR flex XP115 wedge shaft (21,500 vs 22,500). The tip section is slightly stiffer in the XP115 REGULAR flex, but overall they should launch about the same based on the EI progression. I was curious about weight, so i cut the grip off one I had laying around. CUT - It weighed in at 113g with the ferrule cap on. For reference, a KBS tour regular (110) PW shaft weighs in at 105g cut w a ferrule cap on. I don't think this shaft is very different from the "mass market" shafts you mention (DG 115, KBS 115, etc). Which is what I'm trying to say. Original EI image here, had to screen grab, scale, and map curves on a common axis to produce what you see above. If it works for you - fantastic, it's not a bad shaft. This is just data, no judgments attached.
  4. Wedge set-up seems to be a pretty personal thing, with tons of options (grips, shafts, heads, grinds, lofts, bounce, finish, you name it). I wrote down some different setups, which might be more like “ideologies” than “setups” from some of my regular playing partners who are all single digit hcp’s: One Wedge to Rule Them All. A few guys who are closer to scratch (and my teacher who is plus) use one high loft versatile grind wedge (56-60) for everything around the green. Pros of this method are insane familiarity with that one scoring club. Cons are you need to have “the hands” as my teacher would say to manufacture shots. I tried this with a 60 first, and then a 56, I don’t have the game for this. A Team of Specialists. A few guys in my group subscribe to the idea that you need one high bounce wedge (usually 54/56) for sand and soft conditions, one low bounce (58/60) for tight lies and elevating the ball, and a mid bounce gap wedge setup for simple mechanics (pitch shots and bump and runs). The pro of this setup is you always have a club suited to whatever situation you find yourself in. Cons (for me), hitting a “stock” shot with any of these wedges requires different setup and mechanics. It’s hard for me to stay razor sharp with each club when all of my wedges setup and behave differently. I tried this, and moved on. Once again, I don’t have the game for it. Keep it Simple Stupid. It’s mostly the older guys I play with who game 3 of the same (or similar) grinds, and use simple mechanics but change clubs to get a different result. One guy has all Cleveland “mid” grind (52/56/60). The other is Vokey F and S grinds (50/54/58), there is also a guy using the Costco Kirkland wedge set to great effect. This is the direction I have recently gone in (with Sub70 wedges). I now pace off total distance to pin and required carry, and pick the wedge and swing length that best fits (with a simple pendulum square face shot). It has simplified things and removed some of the bigger short game mistakes. I am pretty good at getting out of sand, and like that I know have multiple “sand clubs”, a stock sand shot does different things with the 54 than the 58, and they are both easy for me to hit. For my own personal setup, the last thing I’m playing with now is putting my iron shaft straight in to the wedges instead of a specialty wedge shaft. I still need to test it, but in the vein of simplifying things, I think going this route could make my punch and partial shots with irons feel more familiar (like the wedges) and vice versa; I sometimes struggle with fuller shots with the wedges, if those felt more like my irons I think it could save me a stroke or so on any given round. What works for you guys? What do you want to try? Has anyone else tried a variety of different wedge philosophies before landing on something you like?
  5. If it works for you, it works for you. It is a softer overall shaft than the stock shaft in a Vokey or a Callaway - that's all I'm saying.
  6. Driver: Titleist TSi3 - Fujikura Ventus Blue 5S. In the bag because it sets up a bit open and works nicely with my draw. Out of the middle this driver hits BOMBS. Fairway: Cobra LTD 3w - Graphite Design YS Six Nano Reloaded Stiff. Off the deck this club can sniff my driver, it’s a beast! Utility: Sub70 699 Pro U 3i - KBS $ Taper Lite Stiff. Feels very similar to my irons, but the $ taper works better for me than my iron shaft in this application. I can hit this club the same way I hit my irons. Out of the rough, as a safety club off the tee, or for a punch shot this thing rocks. Irons (5-GW): Sub70 699 Pro - KBS Tour Regular. KBS Tour R+ was good enough for Furyk when he shot a 58, so KBS R is more than enough for me. The shaft works for me, and helps me keep a smoother tempo. These heads are low offset which I need, long, and forgiving with just enough feedback to make me better. Wedges (54/58): Sub70 286 Raw - KBS Tour Stiff, Soft Stepped. I did the “8i spinner trick”, it feels similar to my iron shafts, but a little spinnier, firmer, and more direct than just putting KBS Tour R straight in. The Raw Sub70 heads let me grind the bounce how I want and they are priced right. Putter: Ping Oslo Vault - Breakthrough Golf Tech Graphite Shaft. This is the ultimate “straight back straight through” setup. I was fit for this (and the driver) and love it.
  7. I guess what I’m saying is this shaft from True Temper isn’t the “8i spinner trick” and it’s not “Tiger stepping” (which are different things from what I understand). All it is, is a slightly lighter, slightly softer (relative to Vokey and Callaway stock shafts) mass market wedge shaft meant to fit average swing speed golfers. The tour issue verbiage is marketing, this product is aimed at the middle of the bell curve, club golfers with a 95mph driver speed.
  8. I’m referencing the “8i spinner” or “Rifle Precision Spinner” trick: “Many years ago I learned in Royal Precision Rifle Shaft Certification class how to create the Rifle Spinner Wedge Shaft. The formula was simple, go up a flex and use the 8 iron.” https://www.golfshaftreviews.info/kbs-wedge-golf-shafts/ I guess this gives a very similar overall CPM but a more active tip section (without feeling completely alien to the iron shafts of one lesser flex). There’s lots of people saying to put an X100 8i into the wedges if you play S300, etc. This is what I was taught. However, a ton of pros plays X100 in the irons, and many of them gravitate to S400 (supposedly tip trimmed 3/8”) in the wedges. This gets called “Tiger Stepping” or “Vokey stepping” (depending on the post). I’m guessing this also CPMs a little softer overall without an over soft tip section? Finally, we now have the “Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Spinner”, which is an S300 8i. It is neither the “8i spinner” trick (unless you play R300), nor is it “Tiger Stepping” for the X100 player (because it is 1.75 steps softer than a 3/8” tip trimmed S300 PW/9i shaft). True Temper and Cleveland Golf generally know what they are doing, but in this case it seems like the “Dynamic Gold Tour issue spinner” is a mass market shaft meant for the R300 (average swing speed player)?
  9. So, the “spinner” trick is to put an X100 8i into the wedges for an S300 iron shaft player. That is, you go up in flex once then soft step. I play KBS Tour regular (110) in irons, and 8i KBS Tour stiff (120) shafts in wedges. That’s what I was told to do. The “Tour issue spinner” is an S300 8i, meaning, shouldn’t it be basically suited for a “full weight” dynamic gold r300 player? Why do so many your pros go the other way? X100 in irons down to s400 in wedges? Why don’t we see X7 8i shafts in their wedges?
  10. Lots of Taylormade, yes, but the Taylormades in question are all descendants from Adams - they benefitted from ripping off Adam’s “Velocity Slot”. There’s a lot of good clubs in the mix here, Adam’s, Exotics, Cobras, Taylormades, Callaways, you just gotta find the one that clicks. I think one of the things people don’t think about with woods enough is lie angle and length. I have a tendency to “sole out” the club at address. If my hands are too high or too low, it can create a chain of events in my takeaway and then downswing that leads to inconsistent contact. I can hit a newer Ping wood (generally low lie angle) well, but only if I pick the heel up a tiny bit and get my hands a bit higher. Different manufacturers have different “standards” for length and lie and I think that explains a decent amount of why some people rave about a specific brand of fairway?
  11. My unicorn is a Cobra LTD 3 wood. That head has worked for me with more active tip section shafts (Aldila DVS, RIP Beta Gamma, GD YS Nano Reloaded) in the 70g range. It’s a BANGER. My only issue with it is my best shots off the deck or off the tee are right on the heels of driver. Solved that problem by adding the LTD 5 wood at 19*, only to find that it also goes too far… so now I’m auditioning a Cleveland Halo 19* hybrid to slot between the 3w and my 22 4 hybrid!
  12. Everyone has their own sense of value I suppose, I’m just comparing $139 for the launcher halo now to what I saw at my pro shop ($279) 6 months ago. Half off seems like a good deal, even if the original price has creeped from years past. The sub 70 hybrid is $129, a new Ping G410 (last years mode) is $219, used 2018 Callaway Rogue’s cost $110 on eBay. The used price on the halo launcher on eBay is $110 + shipping from the big boys (pro clubs, 2nd swing). They aren’t giving them away, but in my mind this thing is both a great value (right now) and a great club. I really like it and just ordered the 3h. Your mileage may vary!
  13. I'm going on record saying this is the absolute best hybrid I have ever hit. I have the 4 hybrid with the stock Miyazaki C Kua 60 S. My previous hybrid was the Ping G410 with a KBS TGI 95g shaft. On specs alone, I never would have thought this thing would work, but it is by far the easiest hybrid I have ever hit. I am throwing the ball straight down my target line every time with a 7yd front to back carry dispersion. I can't hit this thing bad, I really just can't. From the stock grip to the stock shaft, to the impact, it is smooooooth. I have a 97mph swing speed with driver, 85mph with 6i. I fight a hook with driver and woods, baby draw my irons, but was fading my Ping G410 hybrid. This is to say, its a bit more draw biased for me than the ping w a heavy shaft, but it fits my natural shot shape, and it draws less than my 5 iron. It's in no way a draw/hook machine (for me). If you want to take a shot in the dark on a hybrid, the price is insane on these right now. I just replaced my Ping 3 hybrid with a 5 wood, I'm about to order the Halo in 3 hybrid to replace the new-to-me 5 wood.
  14. Just the concepts have been a game changer so far, I’m excited!
  15. I float between an 8 and a 12 handicap, I heard really good things about Decade, so I thought I would give the “Decade Foundations” app a shot. I’ve been using the app for 2 months and haven’t seen my handicap plummet yet on course (I play once a week), but my last few rounds have also been with rented clubs or on new courses, or casual/beer rounds (with no game planning), etc. Where I have recently noticed a difference is in virtual golf. I am lucky enough to have a skytrak and TGC2019. My average scores w 8ft gimmes turned on pre-decade we’re 6-10 over. This past 2 weeks I haven’t hit worse than 4 over (5 rounds on 5 different courses). My swing and physical ability hasn’t changed at all, but my thought process is completely different and with the benefit of the overhead and flyover views on TGC, I’ve been able to apply the Decade concepts really rapidly and my virtual scores reflect it. In the first 2 months of Decade, the content really hammers home the importance of controlling putting speed, and target selection. I’ve put work in on the putting speed drills the app recommends which has sharpened up my ability to get into the “gimme” zone on TGC. Decade shows you the dispersion patterns of pros, and has made me realize my physical ability to hit the golf ball to a target isn’t terrible, but my golf iq for how to get around a golf course absolutely was up to this point. In the past I was trying to solve what I thought was “accuracy” problems by forever working on my swing or trying new equipment. What I realize now is you can never be accurate enough if you are picking stupid targets, which I was, even Tiger wasn't accurate enough to be able to “force shots” and aim at every pin. I’m really curious to see what happens to the handicap once I get back to more familiar courses that I’ve game planned for. So far, I would absolutely recommend Decade Foundations, it’s changed my mindset and made golf less stressful and frustrating. I’ll post an update here as I progress w the app!
  16. Here is my case: I'm 34, 6ft, 210lbs, pretty strong and I play regular shafts in my irons (KBS Tour 110), also with player's distance heads (I needed less offset and more height/stopping power). I'm a 9 handicap with 85mph 7i swing speed. Regular flex in the irons has been a game changer for me, higher launch, more spin, and most importantly, they slow me down, I don't feel like I have to oversewing on my takeaway, and something about them just smooths my tempo out. I was playing Modus 130 X flex before in a game improvement head. I was fit into both combos. With the regular flex KBS 110s, there is something about the way I react to them that works. I can keep my grip pressure light, my backswing short, and start the downswing really really smooth without a lot of effort and the result is a fast swing that doesn't give up any distance at all. My swing feels effortless and my ball striking is the best its ever been. The fitter targeted lighter shafts to reduce how much I was taking the clubs away on the inside, and we went lighter in flex after trying KBS 120 because the 120 felt like I was still working hard to get the shaft going instead of just swinging fast. I'm more on plane now and I have much better ball first contact. I have a guy in my weekly group who uses a 45g senior flex shaft in his driver, he carries the ball 260-280. He cannot hit my driver with a Ventus Blue 5-S to save his life (which is the "swing speed appropriate" flex and "handicap appropriate" head design for him). Lexi Thompson plays Project X 5.0 (soft-regular) shafts in her irons, she also plays a Ventus Blue 6-X driver shaft (106mph driver speed). Also, there are a pretty good amount of guys on tour playing stiff flex shafts who hit their PW further than a lot of club golfers hit their 7i. Odds are most of those club golfers use stiff flex iron shafts too. Some of the longest hitters in the game play TT DG X100's (which are pretty soft by x flex standards). It's chaos! My 2 cents is, there is no "handicap appropriate" flex, nor is there a "handicap appropriate" category of clubs. There are definitely people who could play better if they were using equipment better suited to them, and for the most part, you're right, that means swallowing their ego and trying stuff or getting fit. A lot of people posting above hit the nail on the head when they say that posting the lowest score possible is not the #1 priority for a lot of golfers. Some guys would trade a few strokes each round to avoid a nickname like "Gramps" on the course. Some guys like blades and persimmon woods. Some guys would play bright pink ladies clubs if it would shave 1/2 a stroke each round. Whatever floats your boat.
  17. A really fun way to "prove the point" that someone needs to go lighter weight or lighter flex is to rent clubs on a vacation with whoever you are trying to convince. MOST often those clubs will be regular flex, MOST often they will have a 50g driver, a 60g fairway, a 70g hybrid and an light iron shaft. After 2-3 holes it should be pretty clear if the lightweight, lighter flex stuff works! Plus, at 62, who wants to drag a golf bag through the airport?
  18. I just put a 5 wood back in the bag (in place of a 3 hybrid) to solve a gapping issue, and realized pretty quick on the course that the incoming 5 wood isn't a big fan of deep rough compared to the hybrid it replaced. I started looking specifically for a 4 hybrid to gap between my 24* 5 iron and the 19* 5 wood, with a high priority on using it from the rough and I stumbled across the Halo Launcher from a few years ago, I was going to grab one on eBay to mess around with and then noticed that they are still for sale NEW for $150 w tax and shipping. It might be the easiest hybrid I have ever hit, and I'm seeing incredible carry consistency. At $150 all-in, it's a crazy bargain: I need to spend more time with it on the course, but I noticed there isn't a ton of love for this club except for some youtubers in the UK. There aren't a lot of reviews or published tests either, which is a bit unusual for something this modern from one of the bigger names. Anyone else try this thing out? I think it has a possibility of being a real secret weapon for me in my weekly group.
  19. If you are looking at the Cleveland RTX Zipcore, or the brand new Cleveland RTX Full Face, you may be curious about the stock shaft, dubbed the "Dynamic Gold Spinner Tour Issue". From what I can tell, it is the exact same shaft as the "Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue" that Cleveland put in the RTX4 wedges, except soft stepped once. Photo below comparing the two, all the steps align exactly, the tip is 1/2 longer on the "spinner". I guess "Spinner" sounds better than "Tour Issue 8 Iron" . Not trying to bag on Cleveland with this post, I actually have a KBS 120 8 iron shaft in my RTX4, just wanted to toss this out there in case anyone wanted to know what was in the mystery meat.
  20. I was fit into Cobra Speedzones with Modus 130 x by a top 100 fitter in my area in November of 2020. I was pummeling those clubs, but if I would pull one, it would be a really low spinning, running hook that would go 20 yards longer in the long irons than my target number. That miss was happening too often. I went back for an equipment evaluation and bent the speedzones flat to try to get rid of the big left miss, that helped, but only to a degree. I then started trying other equipment and found that tip stiff and butt soft shafts with less offset heads were helping me avoid the big hook. I was agreeing with KBS tour 105 (stiff) and went to eBay to see if I could retrofit my cobras when, quite fortuitously, I came across a set of Wilson’s on fleabay with the KBS 105S. I bought Wilson C300 Forged in gunmetal for a song, and was planning on pulling the KBS 105S, and putting TT DG S300 into them to flip them for what I got them for, but then they came... and I tried them on Skytrak... and they were magical... MAGICAL! The Wilson’s are 5.5 degrees of loft weaker in the 7i, or a club and a half. I carried the Wilson’s to the same number. I carried them with more spin, more ball speed, less right to left, and with more stopping power into a green. I don’t know if it’s because I’m hitting less of a “glancing blow”, or the more energetic shaft, or if I am getting the benefit of more spin or what, but they are straighter, longer, and stoppier than the mega game improvement irons I was playing. I guess that’s game improved! Turns out the cobras with Modus 130x are going on eBay, if you’re a big time ripper, but your miss is left to right, those Cobras may be just what you need. If on the other hand you are a bit flat, bit in to out, have a bit of a middling swing speed, and you fight the lefts, Wilson Staff is making some phenomenal stuff right now! im starting my campaign now to test the Wilson CBs that just dropped on the Wilson site!
  21. I've had it a few months now, I love it. If I ever wear out the flight deck at $65/shipped its a really cheap "insert" to replace! My biggest complaint w CCE is it made me more of a sweeper because it will sting you if you hit down too excessively (at least for me)!
  22. The bottom is still the same plastic base as it had originally, i just cut off the outer plastic rim. It sits very flat and is held snug by the CCE.
  23. I got my 3 wood! It took 11 weeks from when the order was placed. My fitter said the delays were not due to component availability alone, it was that plus a huge COVID shutdown in Arizona (where the ping factory is). Apparently their factory was closed for 6.5 weeks, and they came back to an 8,000+ order backlog. Apparently Ping is still not caught up, and they are still not at 100% staffing due to the virus. My fitter said they didn’t get any heads up from Ping, and had to figure it out once customers orders were in the week 5-6 range. As a result they stopped fitting people into Ping until January, because they are worried someone will end up waiting to get a G410 weeks after G425 is already released, and the customer will be mad at them as a result. It’s hard to fault Ping entirely for what is an “act of God” type situation, but the fitter said bluntly that Ping put them in a bad spot with the way things went down. I’m just glad to have my club and a few decent days left in the season here!
  24. TXG did a video where they fit a club pro for the G400 Max driver. Ian, the main TXG guy commented, “better players with good sequencing will usually have 20mph difference between driver and 6i club head speed”. The pro in the video had an 89mph 6i and a 109mph driver. My 6i clubhead speed is 84mph (trackman). My driver clubhead speed is 90mph (trackman). I’m very accurate with driver but no matter now much I try to step on it I can’t get my ball speed past the low 130s with my or any of my buddy’s clubs. Yet, I can get 120-125mph ball speed out of my 21• 5i pretty easily (Cobra Speedzone w Modus 130X). Are there any drills out there that help with sequencing?
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