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VtheGNMan

 
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Posts posted by VtheGNMan

    MGS Beef with Rick Shiels? He addresses on his new podcast

    in General Equipment Talk

    Posted

    1 hour ago, cnosil said:

    Have a time reference?  Dont want to listen to the entire podcast 

    update:  the referenced discussion starts at about the 42:00 mark.

     I get Rick’s point and it does seem valid, but I personally wouldn’t say it is specifically a beef between MGS and Rick.  IMO, it is more of a beef between MGS and people that compare subjective reviews to the MGS reviews.  Rick happened to be included because of a response on a blog post that referenced his name.   

    I agree.  I think there is a mutual respect between Shiels and MGS.  I think the comments tied them together.   Or at least Shiels has openly commented about the respect he has for MGS and especially their thorough testing.  

    Should Fittings be Free?

    in General Equipment Talk

    Posted

     Isn't there always a big difference between what is good for the consumer and what is good for the seller?

    If all things were equal, a consumer would always choose free as his 1st choice.    Conversely, the seller always wants to sell the product and service for the most possible. 

    Oh if only time were unlimited and the actual person (Joe Fitter) could just fill his day with more sessions than he might earn what he is worth.   Want to make more?  Do more fittings.  Is that what we are trying to tell them?  No wonder they are hard to come by.   That's like telling a car salesman on a low commission structure: "oh if you want to make more, all you do is have to sell more". 

    The business model of TXG is different than the business model of Joe Fitter trying to make a living and feed his family.  For TXG to make more money they need to do more fittings per day/hour/week/month whether they charge upfront for their fittings or not.   But how does Joe Fitter make more? How do free fittings benefit him?  How does not paying Joe Fitter what he is worth benefit the golf industry in the long run?  All the great Joe Fitters go and find better paying jobs and golf becomes a hobby, now there are no great fitters around.  

    My parents taught me to value others time and don't expect anything for free.  

    Length of Stroke :backstroke vs forward stroke

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    I have a relatively short back stroke and accelerate thru impact according to how long the putt is.  Recently I was fitted by Edel and with counterweight it in the grip the fitter made the head feel light.  He mentioned that a heavy head would be terrible for my style.  Loving the Edel and it’s almost instinctual now as how hard to hit it, it’s almost and extension of my hands.  Very eye opening fitting session.  

    Best Bags for Pushcarts

    in Golf Bags & Carts

    Posted

    I have had a few different bags now and can chime in with some input.  My 1st 3 wheel cart was a ClicGear and recently I got a MotoCaddy trolley.   I've had a standard cart staff bag at first and then found one of the rare and discontinued ClicGear bags.  Just recently I changed to one of the MotoCaddy bags.

    Standard Cart bag:  Very difficult to use, hard to get clubs in and out of the bag.  These bags were designed to ride upright in a riding cart.  No surprise here. 

    The ClicGear bag was a huge improvement and made club selection and removal much much easier.   They really did design it for use and ease of use on a 3 wheel cart.   The club dividers are laid out in such a way that the heads are not laying on top of each other. The one thing I disliked about the ClicGear bag was that it wasn't very stiff, if that makes sense.  The bag itself would twist and lean when it was strapped into the cart for support.   Pockets were well thought out and the cooler was a nice size. 

    MotoCaddy PRO bag.   I decided to get one of these and see if it would replace the ClicGear bag.  If I didn't like it better I would simply return it.  The PRO bag is really good for the Trolley.  It has a clip in feature that fits into slots on the trolley making it so you don't have to even have a strap on the bottom of the bag.  If you don't have a MotoCaddy cart, don't worry this feature does not have to be used and it will secure just fine.  This bag is equally as well thought out with the angle it sits in a 3 wheel cart.  Club dividers are staggered and laid out perfectly.  Pockets and accessibility are spot on too for the angles.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this bag to anyone with a 3 wheel cart.   One slight miss I will mention on this bag is the cooler pocket.  While still large enough for 3 12 oz water bottles they missed a great opportunity for a larger cooler.  As you look at pictures of this bag the middle pocket is the cooler.  They should have made the bottom pocket the cooler which would have been much larger and made more sense.  I think they wanted to boast about storage room over a how big of cooler it could have had.  It does have an isolated outside accessible beverage pocket that is really handy and convenient.   There are very few pictures of this bag online other than the stock picture of the overall bag.  So if anyone wants additional pictures I'd be glad to take some and upload them. 

     

    “Heads Up” Putting?

    in Lessons, Drills, Mental Game, and Fitness Tips

    Posted

    2 hours ago, CarlH said:

    Putts per round doesn't always tell the story properly.  For instance (extreme example)....suppose you chipped it close enough on every hole to save bogey with a 1-putt.  You would have had 18 putts, but you still shot 90.  What if you hit every green in regulation and 2 putted every hole...you shot even par but had 36 putts.

     

    You are absolutely correct, it doesn’t tell the whole story.  So many stats can be taken out of context as it were.  What I do know from this round is with the way I was striking the ball (not real great), I was not giving myself quality looks.  But I 1 putted 5 holes which I’ve never done (with zero 3 putts), even when I was on and hit great shots.  I totally understand what you’re saying though.  Very next time out I very well might have 36+ putts and feel great about it.  Wind, pin position and the mood of “he who cuts the cup” all come into play.  

    “Heads Up” Putting?

    in Lessons, Drills, Mental Game, and Fitness Tips

    Posted

    3 hours ago, VtheGNMan said:

    I had heard of this years ago and didn't think too much of it.  I watched Crossfield's video as linked above and was intrigued.  So I rolled out my 12' practice green and started rolling some putts.   I couldn't believe how it feels.  I practiced quite a bit at home over 3 days and went to play a round of golf last night.   I gave a couple rolls on the practice greens and thought what do I have to lose?  Here are my observations from my round and the practice green rolls. 

    Overall I putted great during that round of golf.   It did get dark and I misread the greens on a few breaks.   When I would miss a putt (of any length) , I'd pull the ball back and putt traditional.  Still missed them.  It was a misread on my part, every time.  I never missed with a Heads Up putt on one that was in the range of "should" make.   The ones in the range I should have made, were a misread on my part and I missed them both Head up and Eyes Down.  Darkness had a big factor in the misreads on the last 3 holes.  

    I did notice that you really have to commit in your mind to pull the trigger and let your instinct about how hard to hit the putt come in.   When I failed to commit I would tentatively hit the ball and it would come up short.   When committed though, if I missed the putt it was right by the hole or slightly passed.  I am "die at the hole" type putter and have a tendency to leave them short  so actually rolling them past the hole 4"-12" (on long lags) was somewhat refreshing.  

    I also noticed the need (practice matt putting, practice green putting and during the round) that I need to focus very specific to the hitting spot I am looking at.  We're talking blade of grass (perhaps on the back side of the cup on short putts), a ball divot mark on bending putts and not a vague area, even like an old hole 4" location circle. 

    I will continue to putt this way at least for a while.   If I feel like it starts to fail me or just feel more comfortable on putting eyes down a particular putt, I will do it. 

    Already it feels almost odd keeping my head down on putts. 

    On the ground scuffing worry, here is what has worked for me.  And I have never scuffed the ground after starting this.   Rest putter behind ball online.  Look at putt and pick a specific spot.  Align putter accordingly.  Look at ball, raise and hover the putter.  Look back and find specific spot again and then stroke the putt.   Works for me so far. 

    I'll add to this that I went back and looked at my stats for the round of golf I played last night.   I knew I wasn't striking the ball the best but my overall score stayed the same.  Now I see how.  Last night I had 31 putts for 18 holes.   For the season, every round averaged out to a predictable 36 putts per round, until this round.  Even when I played the low round of the year for me, I averaged....you guessed it, 36 putts.    

    “Heads Up” Putting?

    in Lessons, Drills, Mental Game, and Fitness Tips

    Posted

    I had heard of this years ago and didn't think too much of it.  I watched Crossfield's video as linked above and was intrigued.  So I rolled out my 12' practice green and started rolling some putts.   I couldn't believe how it feels.  I practiced quite a bit at home over 3 days and went to play a round of golf last night.   I gave a couple rolls on the practice greens and thought what do I have to lose?  Here are my observations from my round and the practice green rolls. 

    Overall I putted great during that round of golf.   It did get dark and I misread the greens on a few breaks.   When I would miss a putt (of any length) , I'd pull the ball back and putt traditional.  Still missed them.  It was a misread on my part, every time.  I never missed with a Heads Up putt on one that was in the range of "should" make.   The ones in the range I should have made, were a misread on my part and I missed them both Head up and Eyes Down.  Darkness had a big factor in the misreads on the last 3 holes.  

    I did notice that you really have to commit in your mind to pull the trigger and let your instinct about how hard to hit the putt come in.   When I failed to commit I would tentatively hit the ball and it would come up short.   When committed though, if I missed the putt it was right by the hole or slightly passed.  I am "die at the hole" type putter and have a tendency to leave them short  so actually rolling them past the hole 4"-12" (on long lags) was somewhat refreshing.  

    I also noticed the need (practice matt putting, practice green putting and during the round) that I need to focus very specific to the hitting spot I am looking at.  We're talking blade of grass (perhaps on the back side of the cup on short putts), a ball divot mark on bending putts and not a vague area, even like an old hole 4" location circle. 

    I will continue to putt this way at least for a while.   If I feel like it starts to fail me or just feel more comfortable on putting eyes down a particular putt, I will do it. 

    Already it feels almost odd keeping my head down on putts. 

    On the ground scuffing worry, here is what has worked for me.  And I have never scuffed the ground after starting this.   Rest putter behind ball online.  Look at putt and pick a specific spot.  Align putter accordingly.  Look at ball, raise and hover the putter.  Look back and find specific spot again and then stroke the putt.   Works for me so far. 

    Preferred Alignment Visual on your Putter

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, cnosil said:

    Interesting experiment and similar to Edel except you didn’t describe fitting for aim.   you looked at where the ball went so you are looking at face angle at impact and path influences.   Aim at setup does not always matchup with impact.   What that means is that your best results may come from a setup that aimed right or left of the hole and the path and rotation of the putter returned it to a better impact position.  
     

    Very true and valid point.  I couldn't find a way to copy the alignment part of the fit.  Even bought a couple dollar laser pointer and had some reflective tape and tried.  LOL.

    It was a very primitive test for sure.   Lots of ways to find the fairway so to speak.   It was impressive enough to me to see the need to go get fit for a putter.  And now I won't do one in which fitting for sight lines isn't part of the fit.    In rural Iowa though, easier said than done.   : ( 

    Preferred Alignment Visual on your Putter

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    After reading of how Edel does their putting fittings and of the individuality on sight lines and how individuals perceive them as open/square/shut, I did some experimenting with my putter.  I taped over the sight line and tried different configurations of marks with a sharpie.  Primitive I know.  But you know what? Some putts I consistently hit to the right of the cup, others to the left and some right into the hole.   When you are on a practice mat on concrete in your house and there are basically no ground inconsistencies like grass bumps or breaks etc, you hit exactly where you are aimed.   Or will over the course of a bunch of putts.   I narrowed down a lot of options to just a few and worked them forward and backward and came to the conclusion which one was best for me on my current putter.   Been putting with so much more confidence ever since.   And holing a bunch of putts! 

    I'd still like to do a proper putter fitting but based on what my conclusions are on sight lines but I am not convinced anything sort of a fitting that addresses the individuality of site lines is adequate. 

    Try the test our and see for yourself.   Unless you are gaming a triple track or something with a ton of sight lines it is really easy to do and costs you nothing. 

    Other Golf podcasts or vlogs besides NPG?

    in General Q&A

    Posted

    Besides the No Putts Given podcast, are their any others you guys are enjoying?    NPG is great and I listen to them as soon as they come out but in under an hour they are sadly over till next week.  

    I've also been enjoying Golf Sub Par.   Colt and the Sleaze are hilarious and they've had some great stories and guests.   I am around my computer most the day and enjoy listening to something while I work. 

    Thought I'd ask if there are any others you guys have been listening to/watching?  

    Obviously No Putts Given is our favorite and that comes 1st on all our playlists so no slight to the board meant in asking about others. 

    PXG is courting me...you?

    in Golf Clubs

    Posted

    PXG definitely has courted me this late summer and fall.  I've chronicled my True Golf Fit experience (on the boards here) and backed that up virtual fitting with an online PXG fitting.  I was enticed into buying a PXG 0811x based on both of those fitting deeming this to be the right driver and shaft combo.  Took me a little while to get used to it and I am hitting best drives I've ever hit.  But every once and a while I would hit one low on the face (like right off the bottom edge) and it would go straight but not come off very hot.  Learned to tee the ball up a little higher than I used to and just crushing drives now.  I replaced a 10+ year old Cleveland Launcher and a Cleveland 588 custom I would swap in from time to time.  

    That driver/PXG experience has now parlayed into a full blown bag swap out with new Gen 2 PXG irons and a Gen 2 3 wood.  Every time they significantly outperformed what was in my bag.   Loving me some PXG!  Should be set for a while on golf equipment for a while now!  Save the budget up for another 10 years. 

    My Golf Spy Ball Lab Report-QStar Tour

    in Golf Balls/Shafts/Grips

    Posted

    10 hours ago, Tsmithjr9 said:

    After the MGS report, a dozen MTB-X is the first thing I'm buying when Ohio thaws in the spring. I need to try that ball. I think the Z-Stars are great, so that's my Pro V1 alternative right now. Hard to pass up when 2 dozen Z-stars are cheaper than 1 dozen Pro V1.

    Take Dead Aim
     

    You won’t regret it.  Great balls!  Tried them this year myself after reading such good reviews on the last round of tests and am hooked.  

    "Strokes Gained" stats

    in Golf Rules Discussion

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, cnosil said:

    Most wanted results use strokes gained to compare club to club with all testers instead of person to person. This is how they determine the best performing club: They find the club that falls in the middle; basically no strokes gained. Clubs that perform better gain strokes clubs that perform worse lose strokes.

     

    The basics are: In the putter test 20 testers hit putts with every putter at distances of 5, wood, and 20 feet. They chart the makes and misses to find the middle number of makes. Anything that has more makes gains strokes and worse loses strokes.

     

    Full swing clubs are slightly different since they take more variables into account like distance and dispersion. But it is still applied the same.

     

    The only thing you have wrong is the + and -. Plus is gaining strokes on the field and - is losing strokes. You want to gain strokes.

    Okay, thanks for the clarification.  Hopefully I'm not the only one wondering on this one. 

    "Strokes Gained" stats

    in Golf Rules Discussion

    Posted

    I understand the Strokes gained stat, makes sense.  Especially the way you guys helped explain it.   My confusion comes in when it comes to club testing and the charts used here on MGS and if I'm understanding them correctly.   Take Best Blade putters for example.  The 0 line on the bar graph chart would be no improvement over average.   On one side you have -  and the other +.   So if the make percentage of a length of a certain putt was bad, it would be on the - side, meaning this club from that length is costing you strokes on the course.   And if the putter performed great at that length putt, it would be on the + side, meaning it performed better and is saving you strokes on the course.  Am I understanding that correctly? 

     

    And in a category of most wanted where you just have a stat, like with most wanted drivers.  If that stat says -.018 you are saving strokes and if it was +.018 it is costing you strokes.  Correct? 

    I think I am understanding it when I type it out but this seemed the perfect location on this thread to ask it. 


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