jtgavigan

I have thought about this before and I agree with @cnosil, no one manufacturer is best. I could argue Taylormade, PING, Callaway, Titleist easily. Mizuno and Srixon deserve some consideration too. Given that, I have a Taylormade driver, PING 3 wood, Snake Eyes and Maltby hybrids, Maltby irons and wedges, and a PING putter. I could easily game another brand in any category.

Thanks! Not old man golf yet. That is why I try to stay in shape.

People have shaken their head at me for years. I am not big and my swing is fairly smooth. One guy keeps telling me I am the longest short guy he has ever seen and keeps telling me he just doesnt see where I generate that power from. Good mechanics, I am quick, and I hit it solid a lot. There is a young guy I play with who has dabbled on mini tours who knocks it 30 yards past me regularly. He is my size or slightly shorter. It is ridiculous.

Here is my driver swing from a few months back. I was hitting a 44.5" driver and swinging it 107-109.

No worries at all on the back 9. I have had several range sessions in the 1 1/2 to 2 hour range. (2 to 2 1/2 ish large buckets) No issues. I have played 27 this year a few times and only the heat and humidity kill me. I could easily hit a large bucket and then play 18. I am definitely not a digger, much more of a sweeper. I will say I built a 4 iron with a straight in X100 taper tip this week. It is stiffer and more harsh than my Sensicore x100 shafts. I need to soft step an X100 once or twice to get the feel I want. It performed fine, just felt bad. I am 5'8" and 165-170lbs, and I work out several days a week (weights and body weight stuff plus 2 pilates classes). I have always been strong and had good fast twitch muscles.

Exactly 50 here. X flex pretty much everywhere. Numbers from my driver and a PING 3 wood with various X flex shafts last week.

Wrong file uploaded. See below.

KJ Choi is now last (206th) at 268 yards. https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.101.html

Even when I was missing off the heel, I was still carrying the ball 255 on my very worst hits and that was on a shorter driver and swinging 108 on average. I would doubt that there is a guy who has fully exempt status on the PGA tour still carrying it 230 (no more Corey Pavin or Fred Funk). Probably low end swing speed might be 105mph and carrying it 255 ro 260. Tour guys rarely miss the sweet spot.

Love this...

This chart is terrible. Low end tour pro swings at ~110mph, yet only carries it 230? Yikes. I am 50 and just put the numbers up below this week. I play with some younger plus cap/ex mini tour guys who hit it 30 to 50 yards past me. Hard to compete with them, so yes, distance that is playable matters a lot. Make sure your technique is sound (get lessons if needed), lift weights, and speed train. Likely much more in the tank for you.

I too have never had one. Started the game when I was 11, now 50. Have had several 1 to 2 year breaks in there, but played as a sub 5 handicap (assuming that based on my current actual HC) since HS. Several hole outs for eagle and several close calls, but no aces. Has been a while since I hit one stupid close too.

I have been playing TS-1 irons almost a year. Best irons I have played. No gapping issues. I bent mine to have a 4° progression from 6i to pw. I play the TSW wedges in 50, 54, and 58. I hit the 9i about 150 yards, pw about 135, 50 deg 120, 54 about 110, and the 58 95 to 100 yards. I am playing dynamic gold X100 sensicore, but I am 50 and still swinging it 110ish with the driver.

I have played as a single many times over the years. I have been below a 5 handicap for all of them. I have played with all kinds and really only remember a few truly bad experiences. The ONE that comes to mind was back in Memphis. I heard I was joining another single and we would go out as a twosome. Looking up and down the range, I was trying to figure out who. I see this one guy with his feet almost twice shoulder width apart, short backswing, Gary Player follow through (spins on front foot, back foot finishes ahead of front food with a little twirl). Hitting every shot 30 to 50 feet. I am thinking "just not HIM." Yup, him. 1st hole, 420 yards from the back tees. He tries to come back there. I strongly encourage him to play the whites. He does. Takes him THIRTEEN shots to get to the green from about 350 yards. Never got better. He fortunately quit after 9. Only guy I have ever told them I didn't enjoy playing with them and told him to get some lessons and spend some time on the range to get competent before playing again. It would be better for him and everyone else. He was really THAT bad. I have been playing for 39 years and have played with all kinds. Never one like that. I bet he shot over 80 for 9. 99.9% of my rounds as a single have been great. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories.

I often will go to the edge of the green and putt to a tee while using my mirror or the gate drill. That way, I am not hogging a hole. The extra benefit is that putting to that small of a target makes the hole seem big when I go back to putting at a hole.

I had a pinched nerve from a herniated disc back in November. Was so bad I couldn't lay down to sleep. In talking with my orthopedic doctor and the PT there, we were pretty sure it was golf related, and likely from some shoulder weaknesses (partial tear in the left one). Since I came back to golf in February, I have been doing a lot if the PT exercises (external rotation with band, straight arm push downs, etc), along with regular weight lifting. I have been focusing on lots of shoulder and back exercises. I have also been doing pilates 2 times a week, and doing ab routines 2 to 3 times a week as well. Constantly working on mobility in my neck, shoulders, back, and hips. Has done wonders and no issues yet. I think not sitting at a desk all day and getting up and moving is key.

Most pros are using drivers at least 45" these days. It used to be that shorter lengths were the rage. But now, with distance at such a premium, that trend no longer applies. Just go look at the WITB section of this site. The pros have figured out how to tweak the equipment to keep dispersion reasonable to gain any extra distance. For me, I play a 44.5" driver and have never gamed 45" or longer for any significant time. It works for me, as I hit the center of the club more often and don't lose that much distance (still swinging at 110mph or do at 50). I am also 5'8" and grew up playing a 43" driver and used to have a much more upright swing, which made longer shafts almost impossible to play. So, it is just what 8s comfortable for me. I was playing a 2017 M2 and had to use a much heavier back weight to get a reasonable swing weight for feel. I am now playing a SIM and still experimenting with weighting. I changed out the 11.5g backweight for a 17g. Then I changed the slider out from 10g to 14g. I found that the extra weight up front just takes too much spin off. So, I swapped the weight back out and added 4g of lead tape on the inertia generator to get the swing weight I wanted. Before I bought the weights, I had added lead tape along the IG to get the swing weight and feel I wanted. Most OEMs have lightened the head weights to get the longer length drivers into a reasonable seingweight range. If you want to go shorter and maintain any kind of feel, you have to add weight to the head, so buy lead tape and experiment. I do keep a 45" shaft around as a spare, but I don't really notice a difference in distance or even dispersion if I am swinging half way decent. I have thought of buying one more shaft and having an over length (45.5" or longer) to experiment with for longer courses. So, the after market weights and lead tape come in handy. Lesson in all this: there is no one size fits all and experiment to see what works for you.

Thanks.

Just out of curiosity, what types of exercises did she prescribe to you?

I have played extra stiff shafts for years and often ones that feel "boardy" to others. These (T6 and Avalon 6) are plenty stiff and I never felt that I was going to lose control with a stiff flex with either. Neither one feels boardy either. Robin nailed it with these.

Just the picture.

Just the picture..

I LOVE the TS1's. Only club I have ever hit and the first contact (5 iron and not loose) made me say "wow, I need these!" I am building some for a friend who hit mine and loved them. To get the same feel as my sensicore shafts, we are doing x100 soft stepped one club and putting in the vibration dampening foam inserts you can buy at Golfworks. Not sure i could tell the difference between them. I would build one with a soft stepped x100 and give it a go. Stiffer, but playable.

Here is my bag: Driver - Maltby STW 10.5 (hand picked at 10°), Xcaliber Avalon 6S, 45", D0 3 Wood - Maltby KE4 14 (hand picked at 13.5°), Xcaliber T6* S flex, tipped 1/4" more than standard. D2 19° Hybrid - Snake Eyes Quick Strike II, Xcaliber T6+ (older model), TS untipped to play softer (had this as my driver shaft before, it is a LOT of shaft). D3 22° Hybrid - Maltby KE4 Tour, Kuro Kage Black X hybrid shaft, standard trim. D3 Irons - Maltby TS1 5-pw, DG Sensicore X100, 2° flat, D2, 4 degree gapping from 6 through pw (pw at 44°) Wedges - Maltby TSW 50, 54, 58. 2° flat. D4 on 50 and 54, D2 on 58. 35.5" on 50, 35.25" on 54, 35" on 58. DG X100, soft stepped one club. Putter - Ping TP 5 Anser 33", standard loft and lie. Ball - Bridgestone Tour B X Grips - Golf Pride Z grip cord, standard size.