[2021 MGS Fantasy Football]

12 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

10 Days till trade deadline!

If anyone needs a QB, I am willing to trade either Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen and will include Brandon Aiyuk or Tyler Boyd.

I am looking for a top running back and a WR.

[Best Golf Grips and why....go!]

The first set of clubs I got, I had regrouped with Golf Pride MCC+4 grips after taking the quiz on their website. 

• Pros: I really like the hybrid texture and feel of the thicker top hand because it feels most similar to a baseball bat (I played through college). I felt I had control of the clubs with enough texture that my grip wouldn’t slip, but not too much that I would destroy my hands.
• Cons: The only downsides are they are expensive and the extra buildup of rubber to simulate extra tape wraps changes the swingweight by a couple of points compared to just using extra tape. 

Since, I’ve tried Winn Dri-Tac, Tour Velvet, CP2 Wrap, the regular MCC, Tour Velvet Align, Tour Velvet 360, Larkin UTX cord, and Z-Cord.

Of all of these, my favorite is the Tour Velvet 360 and the one I have on my irons in midsize with 3 extra wraps of tape on the bottom hand. 

• Pros: Soft and tacky, with good feedback on the hands. The texture is a little rougher than the regular tour velvet, but the rubber is softer so it doesn’t cut into my hands like other grips. 
• Cons: small particles can get stuck in the texture

Thoughts on the other grips:

Winn Dri-Tac

 

• Pros: soft and tacky, really nice to hold, especially on a grip sample rack that golf shops have
• Cons: too soft and squishy and no texture, making it hard to swing. Maybe a good grip for irons, or wedges, but I had it on a driver and felt like I was going to slip every time. Not my favorite for swinging. 

Tour Velvet

• Pros: super affordable, a little texture, right amount of feedback 
• Cons: I might have gotten bad batches of these, but I’ve had 3 different Tour Velvets on different clubs and have not liked any of them. I’m not sure what it is, but they always feel like there is a film of dust on them. I’ve cleaned them and wetted them before a round but they always feel like they are dirty. Also, the last time I played in some light rain the one club that has the tour velvet was the only club that slipped out of my hand in about 75 swings.

Tour Velvet Align

• Pros: The ridge is moderately helpful. This version seemed to be a different kind of rubber that was more like the rubber on a basketball shoe and harder than the regular. That made it a bit more tacky when wet than the regular tour velvet, but it also seemed to attract dirt easily. 
• Cons: the ridge didn’t seem helpful enough for me to justify spending a little extra it

Z-Cord

• Pros: great texture and feedback. That light rain round I mentioned, this grip was fantastic. Highly recommend for those in humid areas or that play in wet conditions often. This grip stays in your hand. 
• Cons: I t’s a really firm grip with a lot of texture. I agree with OP that it can do a number on your hand. Good thing is I have it on my SW (stock Mizuno T20) so I maybe take a full swing with it once a month. 

CP2 Wrap

• Pros: tacky and soft but with a little texture that puts it above the Dri-Tac, slightly built up lower hand to reduce taper
• Cons: tackiness goes away quickly and there is not enough texture, plus it attracts dust and dirt easily since it is fairly tacky

MCC

• Pros: same as the plus 4
• Cons: this may be particular to me, but I found this one wore down easily, especially after cleaning. The rubber gets really hard and the texture goes always. Plus, I prefer the plus 4 version more. 

UTX Cord

• Pros: really good texture on the hands without being too rough and good feedback from shots
• Cons: not a very tacky grip, and the cord really holds onto oil from hands. The places where I usually grip would be sort of slick even with cleaning after a round

[Miura CB-301 vs 2019 Titleist T200]

On 9/13/2021 at 8:30 AM, Kansas King said:

I'm assuming you used the same shafts?

One question? Why not blend your T200s with T100s? 

Regarding blending with the T100 or T100S, I hit both and did not get the same joy in seeing the ball take off that I saw in the T200 during my fittings. I hit them well, but I had really wanted to get Miura irons.

A big point I realize I left out of my initial post is that the shafts are different between the two sets. I admit that I really wanted Miuras and bought them without doing a fitting. While I know that seems counter to my message emphasizing proper fitting, I would like to explain myself because I did not just blindly pick the Miura I liked best and buy them "off the rack" from Miura's website with aspirations of eventually playing blades with X-stiff shafts. I knew I wanted Miura irons, but I wanted to stay within my skill level and found the CB301 was the perfect blend of game improvement/players' distance looks and performance for my skills. I also called the only two fitting locations that say they carry Miura within a reasonable distance from me and asked if they had the CB301s and neither did.

I went for two fittings within the last year. One in October 2020 for the full bag, and again in March 2021 after new products came out where I got the T200s. I hit irons during both fittings but did the second one in March to do a more iron specific fitting as I felt rushed during the first to be able to do the whole bag. Over the course of both fittings, I hit the Srixon Z585, ZX5, JPX 921 Forged, and Ping i500 all with the Nippon 105S shaft and hit all the clubs well. After my first fitting, I actually ended being "fit" for the i500 with the Modus 105S. During my second fit, I had hit the T200 with the AMT Black (the stock shaft) and obviously also hit that really well as I ended up getting them.

When I was looking into Miura's online store, I saw the AMT Black S300 is not one of the shafts they carry, but they did offer the Modus 105 that I have hit well. I did substantial research to compare the Modus 105S and the AMT Black. I also researched the other iron heads I hit with the Modus shaft and compared them to the Miura 301 head. As I understand it, the only difference between the two shafts is the weight as the Nippon is not progressively weighted like the AMT. But the shafts do have virtually identical tip and butt frequencies and torque measurements. 

I would like to think I did full due diligence on my purchase and used what I learned from my actual fittings to properly fit myself for the Miuras. I realized the pictures did not upload properly on my initial post, but I would say I did a decent job as the numbers from TopTracer show I was able to maintain ball speed, distance, and forgiveness. I have also seen an increase in dispersions because I feel the T200 would occasionally give me one shot that would go 5-10 yards longer than normal, but the Miura more consistently goes the same distance on well-struck shots.

[Miura CB-301 vs 2019 Titleist T200]

I did a fitting in March 2021 and got fit into Titleist T200 irons. I had previously been playing Titleist DCI 762 irons, so these were a massive upgrade. I received the irons in April and have played about 20 rounds since with them. The T200s are fantastic and work so well for me. My only complaint was that the 8-PW are different from the rest of the set. Starting at the 7 iron and into the long irons, the T200 has the Max Impact technology. The 8-PW have no Max Impact and I believe are simply hollow-bodied irons comparable to a Ping i500--please someone correct me if I am wrong. The feeling from the short irons is very dull, and every shot felt the same whether struck thin, solid, off the toe, or on the heel. After many rounds and range sessions, I was seeking an improved feel in these short irons.

I did a lot of research about the best feeling clubs. Miura irons are known as the best in class for feel. So, long story short, I pulled the trigger on the Miura CB-301 in 7-PW. I ordered the Miuras strong to match lofts with the T200 and ensure my gapping remained the same. I just received the Miuras and played 2 rounds with them, so I felt I had compiled enough data for a comparison of the two.

In terms of looks and size, the two are very similar in sole width and blade length from heel to toe. The main differences are the T200 is slightly shorter from heel to toe, is maybe a bit smaller with a shorter face, and the T200 are significantly lighter than the Miura. The Miura has a pre-worn leading edge and other grinding on the sole, but otherwise is just a forged cavity back with fairly strong lofts and no discernable technology.

 

After all the comparisons in looks and weight, I finally decided it was time to give the fine pieces of metal a swing. The "hype" around Miura and their "legendary" feel is certainly warranted. These have that exact "soft" and "buttery" feeling you expect when you are getting a forged iron. Even the 2-piece range balls felt great. As a former baseball player, the best I can describe the feeling of hitting the Miura is like a hitting a high quality wood bad. You definitely get the feedback of mishits, but good shots feel like you are swinging the club and not even realizing you hit the ball aside from a gentle "thud" sound and little smooth vibration through the club as the ball melts into the sweetspot then rockets off at your target. 

I get it is not entirely apples-to-apples to compare a fully forged Miura to a technology-packed players' distance iron like the T200, so I also hit the Miura PW against my Mizuno T20 wedges. As Mizuno's saying goes "nothing feels like a Mizuno," so I also put that to the test. The T20 are fantastic feeling wedges and were the best feeling wedges I had tested during my fitting for the variety of wedge shots. However, compared to the Miura, the T20 felt a bit firmer. Where the ball felt like it melted into the Miura, the ball felt like it did not quite get into the face as much. I would put the feelings on a spectrum. The T200 are softer than the DCI 762, the T20 wedges are softer than the T200 irons, and the Miura are softer than the T20 wedges. 

Aside from being in love with the feeling, I also wanted to really see the performance differences between the Miuras and the T200s. My range recently installed TopTracer which measures distance, land angle, curve, ball speed, height, launch angle, and hang time. I am not sure how accurate it is compared to a launch monitor, but I am sure it provided a fair enough representation of the differences in the clubs.

Side by side comparisons

 

 

My observations of the data are that the Miura is equally as long or longer than the T200 in the 8-PW, but the Miura also went higher with a steeper landing angle. In terms of the 7 irons where the technology ramps up in the T200, the Miura was not significantly shorter in distance. In fact, I seem to think consistently hitting the Miuras around a comparable number is better than occasionally hitting a T200 over 165, but then also having the potential of only hitting it 150. I don't have a launch monitor to truly verify my findings, but despite a lack of technology within, I found the Miura to be comparable in distance and ball speed while feeling significantly better.

 

Overall, I do think it comes down to preferences while also maximizing performance, which shows the benefits of fitting. I prefer a softer and more responsive feel in my short irons, and I found the best feeling clubs that also maintained the distances I got from my T200s. I am a very happy customer, and I will be hard pressed to find clubs that feel as good as my Miuras.

[Your Golf Equipment Brand History?]

On 7/31/2021 at 8:08 AM, Middler said:

Prompted by the MacGregor history thread, I thought this could be fun - though it may be a nightmare for club ho's with a LONG history. I've been playing for 57 years (15+ year hiatus from early 00's to 2017), my history has been:

• Drivers & FWs: MacGregor DX > TM Burner Bubble > TM RBZ Black > Callaway Rogue
• Irons: MacGregor DX > Wilson Staff RM Midsize > Mizuno JPX900 Forged
• Hybrid (3h only beginning 2018): Callaway XR > Mizuno CLK
• Putters: Acushnet Bullseye > Odyssey (model? - blade w black insert) > Evnroll ER2 > Ping Tyne4 (very brief) > Evnroll ER5B
• Balls: Titleist (for 40+ years, all urethane tour balls) > Snell MTB > MaxFli Tour (maybe)

Clearly I stick with my choices for a LONG time...

This sounds fun. So, before April 2020, I had not had my own clubs since about 2010. I was in high school and super focused on baseball, plus I hit a growth spurt, so I had a long hiatus where I didn’t touch a golf club. 
 

My first set of junior clubs was an all blue Wilson box set. After that I got a hand me down set from a cousin/uncle that was Ping Zing irons 3-SW, Cobra Baffler Hybrid, a Titleist 980F 3 wood and some sort of Mizuno blade putter (Anser shape). The set didn’t have a driver, and I was too tall for the junior driver, so I exclusively hit 3 wood off the tee. 
 

I used that mix match set until about 2010 once baseball took over. Once my baseball career was done and COVID hit, golf courses were the only thing that was open. I searched all over the web for a full set of clubs under $250 and finally settled on clubs from Callaway Pre-Owned:

Driver: Titleist 983K

3 Wood: Titleist 909F3

Irons: Titleist DCI 762

Wedges: Vokey 200 Series, Vokey SM5 Lob Wedge

Putter: Odyssey White Hot #1

I was not working at the time and was finishing up graduate school. I told myself I would save up and buy new clubs once I got better and had taken a few lessons.

After going to the range a lot, taking lessons, and playing weekly, I saved up to do a fitting and buy my own clubs. I ended up being fit for and got these clubs (I didn’t buy them all at the same time):

Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero

3 Wood: Callaway Mavrik

3 Hybrid: Callaway Mavrik Pro

Irons: 4-PW Titleist T200

Wedges: Mizuno T20

I kept my putter until my wife bought me one for my birthday: Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas H7 neck. 

I also decided to get a new lob wedge and went for the Ping Glide after playing an early morning round in the fall and not being able to keep the ball from releasing on the green. 

Finally, I just made an iron change and purchased Miura CB-301 in 7-PW. I wanted more control and feel in my short irons, but wanted a club with a similar shape and loft to my current set to not mess up my gapping. Now I’m just waiting for the Moira’s to be built and arrive. 

[My Golf Spy Ball Lab Report-Top Flite Gamer]

On 4/30/2021 at 6:17 AM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

Having tested this ball I found the ball to perform very well. Maybe I was lucky with my box of balls or maybe the concentricity issues are not significant enough to reveal itself during play.

 So there are a few questions that really never are addressed during a ball review. If the ball is deemed to be 100% round and 100% within weight limits but found to have concentricity issues what does that really do to the ball flight. How bad is bad, how much off does it have to be to be one yard off line or off an inch on a putt?  If it's just a concentricity issue and assuming the material density and weight is the same between layers, does it really make that much of a difference? The center of gravity would be the same in this case. Obviously there are density changes in the material layers but just how much makes the ball perform poorly where you would say to toss it out. Doing a salt water test you can find the light side of the ball. How fast that same spot comes to the top should tell you if the ball is bad or not, but how fast is just a judgment call. Obviously you want a different spot to come to the top, then you know the balls center of gravity is perfect. In reality how many of us put their golf balls through a salt water test? Probably way less than 1%.  So how much off really makes a ball unplayable for the average golfer to notice the abnormality during play? 

I support everything my fellow tester of the Gamer balls for MyGolf Spy has to say. Check out our reviews here (https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/42412-2020-official-member-review-top-flite-gamer-golf-balls/#comments) 

Seeing these Ball Lab results is not a massive shocker given the price of the ball and brand perception of Top Flite. That being said, I agree with @Tom the Golf Nut that where the cut offs are for a "bad ball" and "average" is very vague. Having played the Gamers extensively, I definitely lost my fair share, but I attributed those to poor swings. I can't recall a ball I struck well and thought "that traveled poorly because of something with the ball." 

As a fairly average to slightly above average golfer, I can say that I did not notice a difference in flights on balls I hit with the Gamer compared to others I played at the time (Snell MTB-X, Callaway ChromeSoft/X, TP5X, ProV1/x, Srixon Z-Star). The balls I hit well all went straight and about the same distance with all clubs with minor deviations attributed to weather. The balls I hit poorly were all equally off target. As someone like myself that's only played just over 50 rounds since starting golfing regularly last April, I am just now discerning differences in golf balls, like how the ProV1X's higher launch and spin causes me to hit high spinners that greatly reduce my distance in the wind.

I'd be interested in buying another sleeve of Gamers and testing them again to see flight differences between ones in the same sleeve and a sleeve of other balls to try and quantify any inconsistencies, but I am not necessarily consistent enough with my swing to repeat the same shot more than once.

 

[Is it time to upgrade...again?]

3 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Interesting you say the old driver really worked for you. When I look at your numbers comparing the two the consistency numbers on most categories improved with the mavrik. Comparing the different categories your strike consistency is better. You have a lower launch and better spin.  You have more distance in carry and total yards. 
 

Thanks! I guess when I say it "worked," I am saying it was more "predictable." With the sliding weights and all the tinkering I could do with it, I was able to get a fairly consistent draw out of it that would go about 250 total. I totally agree that the Mavrik is a significant upgrade over the old R15. The only difference with my Mavrik and why I made this post is that the Mavrik SZ is not a very forgiving club, so where a mishit with my old driver would put me short and a bit off line, the Mavrik has me shorter and farther off line.

I think it is decided to get a lesson and keep practicing to dial in my swing, and if I'm still having issues, then it will be upgrade time.

[Is it time to upgrade...again?]

28 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Now we are getting into course management.   There is a thread on here about DECADE which talks about driver strategy.  You can find some good videos on Scott Fawcetts YouTube channel.  Short summary unless you have swing problems always hit driver if there is 65 yards between penalty areas at you driver distance. Play one shape with your driver. Don’t back down clubs to hit the fairway; people don’t hit more fairways. If there is less than 65 yards then you can consider backing off a club.  If you search Scott’s Twitter feed there is a decision chart for tee shots club selection.  DECADE is becoming discussed more and is the strategy that many professionals use to navigate the course. A couple  of the bigger names using the system would be Bryson, Morikawa, Zalatoris, and recently Stewart Cink 
 

this is also the strategy that my golf coach has communicated tow me and how he tells his D1 Women’s golf team to play.   

I tend to fall into this line of thinking: whatever club I am picking, I am trying to hit it as far as I can. I have tried at the range or in lessons to back off my woods and end up causing more problems with my swing and get more erratic by not trying to swing hard because I am altering my timing. I have tried to manage the course better throughout a round, and getting more consistent with my driver off the tee would be a great place to start. I'm going to book a lesson tonight so I can feel more confident and consistent with my driver

[Is it time to upgrade...again?]

5 hours ago, PMookie said:

When you said you bought the Sub Zero, and had inconsistencies off the tee, I thought the spin may be too low coming off that head. Turns out it isn’t. So, that leaves me with this: I’m like you... When I get it in my head that a change is needed, I go change the club. In your case, I would DEFINITELY change the driver....... BUT, after another lesson. If you hadn’t been through a fitting I’d have recommended that, but you have. I think a new driver could wait until seeing if the swing issue is really the culprit, and be a reward for fixing said issue if so.

Anyway, since I’ve been you, and I know you’re looking for that post that says, “Yes! Buy a new driver! NOW,” I want to say sorry that I couldn’t be the one that said that....

Thanks! That is my thinking, and I actually wanted someone to say this "go get a lesson then do another fitting then maybe get a new driver." I was thinking of just buying a new one but needed some discussion to talk me off the ledge and go get a lesson LOL. 

[Is it time to upgrade...again?]

5 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

If you add loft it will shut the face and vice versa for taking loft away.
 

The draw setting is going to shut the face more and the n will keep It wherever it’s set based on the loft choice.

While tinkering can be fun it can lead down a rabbit hole. You were fit to a certain setting based on your swing, deviations in performance from a fitting are typically because of the user not the club. Fixing the swing is going to yield better results in the long run.

If you want to see the affects of the changes on the cog. Go to the driving range and get a bucket. Take 5 swings with your current setting and note the flight and results. Then try different settings and compare it to your baseline 5 swings and note the differences

Thanks for the info. I know tinkering can lead to a rabbit hole, but I was just curious since the way I had tuned my old driver seemed to really work for me. I will experiment the next time I go to the range. I'm sure my swing does have some things that need to be fixed, but I did feel very consistent with my old one in with particular settings and think maybe slight tweaks to make the new one like that would help get the consistency back.

[Is it time to upgrade...again?]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

I don’t think there is a perfect way.  For example during most wanted testing we hit 3-5 shots before switching clubs and go through the clubs roughly 4 times.  It is hard hitting in a simulator and seeing your trace line on the screen.   I seem to do better when that disappears and I have to rely on memory of previous shots to try and not adapt my swing as much.  

I could have noted in my last post, the two swing charts I posted were from different sessions. The R15 was from my October fitting, and the Mavrik results were from my iron fitting where I was just playing around on Trackman after we finished the irons. In theory, aside from weather differences, I was the same amount of "warmed up" by the time I got to the driver each day.

[Is it time to upgrade...again?]

Thanks for the help everyone! I love hearing from my fellow Golf Spies as always. 

Since I moved out of the R15, I have been curious about how the loft sleeve works on the Callaway. I know on the TaylorMade that the adjustments would alter lie angle, face angle, loft and spin--per the below picture.

I have not messed with the Callaway one since I was fit into the Mavrik SZ at standard specs. When I had the R15, I had the loft down 1.5 degrees making my 9.5 driver an 8 degree and played a fairly consistent draw with that driver. Does anyone know how the loft sleeve on the Callaway affects things such as face angle, if at all? I see it says you can turn it up or down a couple of degrees and set the second cog to draw or neutral, but does anyone know how that affects things in the same way the TaylorMade says its sleeve does?

[Is it time to upgrade...again?]

5 hours ago, myherobobhope said:

If I'm reading the numbers right, (positive path, and positive club face), he's coming in in to out with an open club face... That's going to generate a push fade (starts right, keeps going right).  It might be as simple as setting the face to closed to promote a draw. Otherwise, you probably want to work on hitting a draw and making sure the club face is closed at impact... you will hit more snap hooks, but should lose less far right... just need to find the balance!

For me, a lot of confidence on the tee box comes from having hit enough good drives off the tee box... it's a dumb paradox, but at a certain point you just have to swing away with driver with a decent swing... I've played too much "golf swing" in my life... 

It's not the driver, though I will say changing shafts can always be a fun way to tinker... I've found heavier, non counterbalanced shafts let me feel the head a little better. (or at least convince me I'm feeling the head better), so everything I hit has a 70 gram shaft in it. 

Just figure out WHY the ball is flying a way you don't like and then figure out what is actionable in your swing or setup to change that... can be anything from a grip change to a setting change on the driver... or just consciously turning your wrists over... You can also learn to hit the power fade! Get your club path more negative and leave your hands alone and just play a fade.

You are correct, I do come very in to out. I'm a former college baseball player, so I have worked hard in the last year to try and eliminate the nasty banana slice that goes farther right than forward. The drives I hit well end up having a beautiful draw to them. Since eliminating the banana slice, I play for a draw, and it usually works. The problem is that sometimes I get a little too draw biased and get a high toe strike that doesn't go very far and goes very far left. Then, I try to tone down the draw and hit a strong power fade--usually when I don't need/want to. 

I definitely am going to take your advice though and just give it a swing. I feel like I've tinkered so much with my driver stance, set up, and everything else before even swinging that all the little tinkering has gotten me to the point that I feel like if my feet or shoulders are not at the perfect spot that I am instantly doomed for a mishit. I'll take a lesson and keep practicing and hopefully not keep wasting so many shots out of the tee box. I'm not a great golfer by any measure, but I at least know that if I get to within 170 yards that I usually only need 3 more shots to finish the hole (approach and 2-putt or approach, chip, and putt). While I would like to get that down, I am more concerned with getting more consistent with the big stick to avoid wasting shots on penalties or escaping from the woods.

[Is it time to upgrade...again?]

We all know that one person--or we are that person--that when they have a bad day on the course, they go to the pro shop/store and buy new equipment. My friends think that is me, but to be fair I just started golfing consistently after I bought a used set of Titleist clubs (driver to putter) for under $300 last year. Since then, I've taken lessons, played a round at least once a week, did two fittings, and saved up to upgrade my bag. I started with a Titleist 983K driver that I got for $20 from Callaway Pre-Owned. I cracked the face after a month and instead of just issuing a refund, I said I was thinking of just buying the 909D3 driver they were selling for $45 and was able to exchange the cracked driver for a "newer" model without any hassle--fantastic customer service. I enjoyed the 909D3 for 3 months until my uncle upgraded from his TaylorMade R15 and passed it on to me. I had been gaming the R15 until December when I upgraded to the Mavrik SZ after a club fitting.

I know that is a lot of changing drivers in a short period of time, and I just got fit, so why could I possibly want to upgrade again? Well, in all honesty, I have grown frustrated with my inconsistencies off the tee, and I am not sure if the driver is really helping me. For reference, here are my Trackman numbers with the R15 and my Mavrik SZ.

 

The numbers seem to clearly favor the Mavrik SZ as I am hitting the ball farther, faster, and with tighter consistency metrics, but consistency in my fittings and on the course are very different. It's easy to get into a groove on Trackman or the range. But it is much different to just step up to the tee, hit one drive, and play your next shot. In my last few rounds I have noticed a two-way miss with my driver where I either hit a strong fade or a snap hook. Both of which only go a total distance of about 250 yards and are nowhere close to the middle of the fairway. Like most clubs, once that thought of getting rid of it creeps into your mind, you absolutely stripe one and think you can do that all the time and the cycle of mishits starts again.

Trust me, I love the feeling of sending a solid shot off my Mavrik miles past my playing partners' best drives. But I also loathe mishitting one into the trees and losing strokes because I am short and in the woods and farther away with a more difficult shot to try and make GIR. In evaluating my strike, I tend to hit the middle of the face fairly often, but can feel that at times my club face is closed or open, which causes a bit of a draw or fade. When I really mishit my driver, I miss high and off the toe and end of feeling the club gear back and end up with a bad snap hook. 

I obviously want to improve all of my game but am okay where the rest of my game is for now. The inconsistency off the tee box is really the most frustrating part of my game. I am planning to get a lesson soon and fix/diagnose my swing problems and tinker with adjustments to the sleeve of my driver. However, I have read reviews and understand that the Mavrik SZ is not a "forgiving" driver and is aimed more toward the lower handicapper/consistent ball striker, and, honestly, that isn't me. How much of the inconsistency is just from being new and still learning versus being harmed by playing a driver that requires a higher level of consistency? What would I be giving up in terms of distance on good and how much mishit protection for less than good shots could I expect to see differ in a "more forgiving" driver?

Any help is appreciated 

[Anyone ever compare new drivers to older ones on a launch monitor]

On 4/15/2021 at 12:34 PM, Another Steve said:

I'm wanting to maybe upgrade from my old TM 580XD to something 2017 or newer, but don't have too much of an option to compare side by side at the moment. My gut tells me that I "might" see some distance just because of reduced spin and mis-hit forgiveness. I'm particularly interested in spin numbers and launch angle as I vaguely remember hitting the R580XD on a monitor over a decade ago and and what sticks in my mind are 18+* launch and 3500+spin. I did hit a Ping G425 and a Callaway Epic Speed on a monitor a couple weeks ago at a GolfGalaxy, was not a full fitting, just a test drive. Ping never felt right but they got the Callaway as close to feeling good as they could as they "said" that they had no X-Flex shafts and nothing with mid-size grips. I didn't have full confidence in the feel and didn't have a fully controlled a full swing. The end result was center hits with swing path varried 1.5* either side of straight in but optimal launch numbers. Trackman carry was a little better than real world lasered results from a round played a few days earlier.

 

Anywho.... have any of you got any numbers from side x side monitor sessions of TM R5xx series vs TM M series, Sim, Callaway Epic, Mavrik, Maybe Cobra? 

I recently upgraded out of an old TaylorMade R15 I had been using to the Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero. When I did my fitting in October, I probably hit my R15 as best as I ever had. I had tuned in the R15 to the proper loft (8*), lie angle, and had the weight track in the best place for my swing at the time. Most of the strikes were around the middle of the face and it was as consistent as I have ever been with a driver. I didn't think I could get much better until I started hitting other clubs and saw a huge spike in distance. Some of the drivers I only took a few swings with because I didn't like the feel/look.

Unfortunately, the data didn't fully upload from my first fitting, but luckily when I went back to do another iron fitting and hit some drivers, the Mavrik SZ that I was fit into the first time had very similar numbers from my first in October.

Here is my baseline with the R15

As you can see, fairly respectable and consistent, which I can say is a very rare feat for me with my driver. 

Below are the numbers for the TaylorMade SIM, Ping G410, SIM MAX, and Callaway Mavrik (just the regular, not SZ).

I think the biggest takeaway from those was that I was swinging the club slower and getting better ball speed/smash factor with higher launch, more spin, and yet more distance than the R15.

My miss with a driver is a hook, and with a draw-favoring swing and most drivers being draw-biased, my fitter/teaching pro was working on finding the best club/shaft combination that would reduce that miss. We decided I would be better with a little fade/cut occasionally if it meant reducing the hook. I immediately hit slight draws with the Mavrik SZ and went forward with that as my fit. While I am about a 12 handicap and the SZ is marketed towards the lower range, I like it because it reduces my overdrawing the ball. However, I am a 12 because I am inconsistent, so days when my driver isn't working are long days.

Here are my most recent numbers for my Mavrik SZ

 

It was a little cooler in the morning, and I will say I was still shedding off some winter weight during this February fitting, which I attribute to the lower clubhead speed. But overall, compared to my old R15, my new Mavrik is SZ is 17 yards longer in carry distance. I've only had the Mavrik for 4 months compared to about a year I had been tweaking and hitting the R15 after getting it used.

Hope this helps!

[Is too much launch and spin in a ball a bad thing?]

55 minutes ago, jlukes said:

Yes. I’m a high ball hitter so I play the standard pro v1 because the ProV1x launches and spins too much for me

Ball fitting is just as important as club fitting 

Thanks! I decided to play the ProV1x based on its firmer feel, higher spin, and higher launch when I first started golfing last year. I thought more spin and more height would help my game, and I kept playing the ProV1x or similar balls until about 2 months ago. I did a club fitting, and my teaching pro recommended the ProV1. I did a virtual fitting with the guys at TXG, and they also recommended the ProV1 or Srixon Z-Star based on my launch monitor numbers. I had been playing the Z-Star until I did the online consult with Titleist about which ball to play. Without discussing any data, the team member said ProV1 was the better choice of the tour offerings, so I have been using them ever since he sent me the sample boxes. I just forgot to take the old ProV1x's out of my bag. Lesson learned. 

[Is too much launch and spin in a ball a bad thing?]

I promise I am not only on MGS for golf balls (Check out my review of the Top Flite Gamer golf ball). But, I did notice something while playing this weekend that I had not noticed before. Basically, can having a ball spin too much or launch too high be a problem? I know the general answer is yes, too much of a good thing can be bad. But I would like to know why I experienced what I did with a "higher spinning" ball during my last round.

I have played the 2021 ProV1 exclusively for my last 5 rounds and have had no problems with the ball. It is a well-rounded ball as everyone has come to expect with the ProV1. Over the weekend, I went and played, but realized once I was loading up my cart that only 2 balls in my bag were ProV1s and the rest were from a box of 2021 ProV1x I had been using before settling on the ProV1 for feel preference. I played the ProV1s most of the day except for the last 4 holes after hitting the ProV1s OB. I found the V1x and ProV1 have very comparable performance off the tee and only a slightly different feel off the putter.

I noticed a huge difference in the balls with my irons this weekend that I had not noticed before while playing either one, and that is in wind play. The wind was constantly swirling all day as the course was out in more of a rural area with very few trees on the course or surrounding, but I never really had any major problems besides just accounting for the wind direction like I normally do for each shot. This strategy was fine until I played the ProV1x the last few holes because I could not get it through the wind at all. The ball seemed to just launch super high, hit a wall of wind, and be at least a whole club short along with getting blown left or right depending on which way the wind was blowing.

Now, I'm about a 12 handicap that is not always consistent on strike, but there was one hole in particular that I had 140 to the pin, 120 to carry a creek, and into about a 10 mph wind. I normally hit a 8 iron 145, but with the wind I played a 7 knowing that a flush 7 even with a gust should put me on the green. I hit a fairly solid shot that wasn't heavy or thin, but a little on the heel, and it ended up in the creek. I put another ball down as a drop and hit one square that barely got over the creek, but wound up rolling down the hill. I didn't go quite full Tin Cup, but I took out on more ball, grabbed my 5 iron, and took a full swing that I hit a thin that wound up on the near side of the green for a 25 foot putt. 

I ended up playing a club longer the rest of the round to avoid a similar issue, but no matter what, it seemed the ProV1x kept getting caught up in the wind and not going where I thought it would. Does this sound like a normal performance from a ProV1x or another comparable "higher spinning/higher launching ball" in the wind?

 

[Buyers Guide - Spiked Golf Shoes 2021]

I just got on the Hyperflex train! They are awesome. As others have said, they do run quite big. I wear an 11.5 in my Nike Air Max 1G and all other off-course/running shoes, but FJs just run way large on me. I have a pair of prior generation ProSL shoes that are an 11 that I have an extra insole in, and they still fit big on me. I bought a 10 in the Hyperflex with the BOA lacing, and they are a perfect fit!

I was looking into spiked shoes after this article came out because I love the comfort of my Nikes and ProSL. But after playing enough, the traction has worn out, and I began slipping. Especially on hilly lies or morning rounds, I feel my feet slip and wanted new shoes to get that traction back. I wanted to go spiked to be able to just put a new set of spikes in instead of buying new spikeless shoes once the traction wears down.

I bought a pair of Tour X liked how grounded I felt compared to the spikeless shoes I had been wearing. I played a handful rounds in them and walked one round and a 9-hole round in them and they are worth the money. My main complaint is the sole plate is really rigid. The Tour X feels like I am stuck in the ground, which is great, but I needed a more mobile feel. Plus, I wanted something lighter weight and more breathable that I could wear in warmer weather instead of full leather. 

I got my clubs re-gripped at the course by my office out of sheer convenience and was taking a look around the shop as I waited and saw they had a bunch of new gear. I tried on my normal size (11.5) in the Hyperflex and found they also ran large on me like other FJ shoes. I immediately went down to a 10 and found the right fit. I really liked how light and springy the Hyperflex felt and the mobility of my foot with the knit with the grounded feel from the spiked bottom. I had seen online they were priced around $150 for the laced and $180 for the BOA, so I figured I could just keep them in mind the next time I needed golf shoes since I liked the Tour X and bought them fairly recently. As I was putting them back on the shelf, I saw the price tag said they were $130, which I thought was a mistake. I also saw the BOA edition was also $130 and figured I might as well see what the hype with the BOA is since they are $50 off what they are selling for online. I tried them on, "laced" them up, and found my new favorite shoe!

I've never had BOA shoes before, but I am an instant convert. Putting them on is a breeze and so is unlacing and taking them off. I never have to worry about my shoe laces coming undone, and if my foot feels loose once the shoe starts stretching out, I just give a quick twist and it is back to locked in. I am not old by any standard (26) and—knock on wood—have no low back ailments or leg problems, but the BOA is awesome because I can slip my foot in the shoe and then just lift the back my foot up to my hamstring and give them a twist without having to bend over to tie my shoes.

I really like the Ortholite insole that comes in the Tour X. I noticed the Hyperflex insole is just a standard foam insole like in any other kind of running shoe, which is lightweight, but I know it will not retain its comfort like the Ortholite. I decided to take the Ortholite out of the Tour X and put it in the Hyperflex, which surprisingly fit perfectly, and I think I may have created the most comfortable golf shoe ever made! 

[2020 Official Member Review: Top Flite Gamer Golf Balls]

Hi again everyone,

It seems like the MyGolfSpy deal for the Gamers was a decent hit! I was at my local Golf Galaxy and saw they were on sale again for 2 for $35, which is still a pretty good deal for what the ball offers. 

I am following up on my initial review by giving my friend's thoughts on the Gamers. He just started golfing at the end of the year in 2020 and only had a few balls when we last played together that he had found in the trees or balls from the range bucket that were not range balls. I believe he had a sleeve of either Wilson Ultras or TaylorMade Distance balls, the last time we played, but I gave him the last 5 Gamers I had to try out and see what he thought.

His first drive got away from him a little, but he said he had never hit a ball that far before. In terms of feel, he said it was the best feeling ball he had used yet. I asked if he felt it was "hard," as that is how my fellow testers described the Gamer, and he said it felt way softer than the balls he usually plays. Even after a mishit or less than ideal contact, he said it still felt soft relative to other balls. He was not thrown off by the dimple design, and he felt more confident in his game by playing a ball that was intended to be more of a discount ball with better performance instead of just being the cheapest ball. Overall, he was satisfied with the Gamers, and I think a perfect representation of who the Gamer fits: someone not worried about their score, but still wants a good ball that will not break the bank when they need a box of balls for a weekend golf outing.

As for me, I have fallen into the lull of playing the Titleist ProV1. had been playing the Z-Star at the recommendation of my golf pro, and really liked everything about it. The only thing I did not like was it felt a little too soft at times, and I felt I was overcompressing the ball on some shots. I did the virtual Titleist golf ball fitting, which I highly recommend. Not the simple selection tool on their site, but the scheduled Zoom call with someone from Titleist to talk about what you look for in a golf ball. After speaking with my representative, we settled on the ProV1, and they mailed me 4 sample balls for free.

After making the switch to ProV1, I have played much more consistently. I believe most of that is more consistent practice and getting a better feel of course management and my game, but I do think a little has been attributed to the ball because it is more predictable in its behavior around the course. While trying to find a ball that would spin more around the green, I wound up playing balls that would launch too high or spin too much and drop my distance. Or, by playing firmer/lower spinning balls to maximize distance, I would hit balls that would not hold the green. The ProV1 may not be the best at any one thing, but it does enough good all around that I am not making a big trade off in any part of my game.

The Gamer is not a ProV1, but it is a ProV1 for those that are new to the game. By that, I mean the Gamer is a good all-around ball. Someone getting into golf and seeing the ProV1 marketed as "The #1 ball in golf" may think that is what they need to not have an awful day on the course. However, they would be better suited playing a Gamer, which is better than the cheap distance balls, and it will be a good all-around ball that won't break their budget and turn them off from golf if they spend $50+ dollars on a dozen ProV1s every week. After playing the Gamer for a while and figuring out their game, then they can move into other balls and find a ball tailored to their game.

Overall, if you are new to the game, the Gamer is my recommendation for the ball to play. If you are looking for a ball to use, give the Gamer a shot because you can see what your game needs to help you play your best.

[2020 Official Member Review: Top Flite Gamer Golf Balls]

5 hours ago, Jackal said:

This afternoon, I played quick nine.

58°-63° .

Playing the Gamer on the last few holes, still couldn't get it to work with my driver, but the long irons came alive.

There is a par 3 over a ravine that is always a problem to hit.

My 5 iron went straight ( still couldn't get a high trajectory), and landed with one heck of a ball mark on the green.

It really jumped off the wedges from 40-70 yards.

It didn't feel as 'clicky' today except with driver and putter.

I'm sure this is a great warm weather ball for me.

My opinion on the performance is:

In the price range :

1st) Cally Supersoft

2) Titleist Superfeel

3) Gamer

 

The gamer seems like a higher grade\ better Noodle ball.

I've also struggled hitting the Gamer well off the tee. I think I might be getting in my head that I'm trying to test distance, and then hit it with not much distance. But the few that I have struck well, I don't notice it being any longer than others in my bag (Callaway Chrome Soft, Chrome Soft X, TP5x, Snell MTB-X), but it also hasn't been way shorter than any of the others

In terms of performance compared to others in the lower price range, I find it performs similar to a Vice Tour and Drive, but it is significantly more durable and much easier to purchase from Dick's/Golf Galaxy instead of online. I've been very satisfied with the Gamer.

Good work, and I look forward to reading your final review in a couple of weeks!

[2020 Official Member Review: Top Flite Gamer Golf Balls]

9 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

Good review Tom! I'm just noticing these have the dimple in the dimple pattern much like the B RX.  Apparently this is not a patented design?  This is from the Bridgestone website.  This is fodder for the Computational Fluid Dynamists amongst us .

I noticed the dual dimples as well. My usual ball is the Tour B X, so I don't mind the double dimples on the Gamer. I have noticed reviews on the Gamer around the web saying the dimples are weird or distracting, but they do not bother me.

Based on my research, it appears that Callaway has a patent to the double dimple design. https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?docid=07250012&PageNum=1&&IDKey=2B661A64BB7F&HomeUrl=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2%26Sect2=HITOFF%26p=1%26u=%252Fnetahtml%252FPTO%252Fsearch-bool.html%26r=2%26f=G%26l=50%26co1=AND%26d=PTXT%26s1=11%252F554,184%26OS=11/554,184%26RS=11/554,184

[2020 Official Member Review: Top Flite Gamer Golf Balls]

7 hours ago, Wedgie said:

I have witnessed what seems like the ball straightens out in flight.  Mostly see this in wind. Have you or any of the others seen this?

Interesting. I played in the rain and wind and didn't notice this at all. I was very satisfied with the Gamer. My mishits were still really bad hooks and slices, but the ball still faded and drew when I wanted it to, and I was able to let the wind take it left or right.

[2020 Official Member Review: Top Flite Gamer Golf Balls]

8 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

Great work so far fellas.  I may have missed this, how is the Gamer performing on knock down shots and half wedges?  What about chipping around the green?  Are you seeing any difference in spin in partial shots compared to a urethane ball?

For me, the Gamer is performing similar to the other balls in the bag in all those respects. I feel like the Gamer spins less and doesn't grab onto the club like my urethane balls, but it doesn't perform any different in terms of how much it releases or holds on the green for me. If I expect the ball to run, it runs. If I played for the ball to stop, it did. Unfortunately, I don't own a launch monitor to do any statistical comparisons.

The feel of the ball while chipping is a bit different than any other ball in my bag. While balls like the ProV1x, Tour BX, TP5x, Chrome Soft X, etc. feel firm, they usually feel soft on the cover, but then you get a firm feeling from the core. With the Gamer the cover feels firm at first, but then the core has a softer feel.

[2020 Official Member Review: Top Flite Gamer Golf Balls]

I finally got to put my Gamers into action Sunday afternoon aside from chipping and putting. It was a soggy, windy, and cold day in Napa County at Chardonnay Golf Club. Luckily, I planned ahead and brought a spare change of clothes. I will save the complete the details of how the Gamers performed for my final review, but the short of it was that unlike my driver and the weather, the Gamers didn't let me down. Me and the buddies booked the tee time 3 weeks ago and were already committed to playing, so these puddles were not stopping us. 

With the soggy conditions, I had a real tough time swinging my driver, so I will be doing more playing and testing to get thorough testing notes on the driver, but a big note is the Gamers did a great job in the wet and muddy conditions. Before hooking a Gamer deep into the vineyard, I managed to get 6 holes out of the same ball. Initial thoughts are the cover held up great with no scuffs or cuts—even after finding some sand and mud. My shots still went the same distance in the cold and damp conditions that my shots normally go in warmer and dry conditions, and the ball seemed to hold the greens just fine.

Here it is sitting in the fairway on 4.

More testing awaits with the top of the bag, wedges, durability, and dry weather.

[2020 Official Member Review: Top Flite Gamer Golf Balls]

Hi fellow Spies!

I am excited to be a tester for the Top Flite Gamer. My Gamers were on my doorstep the other night, and I wanted to share some of my first impressions. 

As @Bohnson mentioned above, the packaging is a little gimmicky and silly. The ball on the other hand is clean and straightforward. I think the green number is a nice touch. I do note the ball has a real glossy shine to it that isn't so bright that it looks cheap, but just has enough shine that you know it's not a urethane cover. I have no problems with the double dimple pattern like I've seen other people around the web say. I often play the Bridgestone Tour BX that has some similar dimples.

 

Just from putting the ball around on my carpet, I do notice the ball has a slightly firmer feel and more of a pronounced "click" off the face compared to the Callaway Chrome Softs I have been playing. I have a couple TP5Xs and ProV1Xs in my bag as well, and the Gamer has a similar sound. 

I will be posting more thoughts this weekend after I play a round with my buddies. The forecast unfortunately is calling for some rain, but I think it will be good to see how the Gamer holds up in the elements and with water and mud. The balls are marked and lined for the weekend! I look forward to keeping everyone updated on my first MGS testing.