PMookie pulls the trigger on a DRIVER!

[PMookie]

I went to the yearly demo day today in Shreveport, LA, that Edwin Watts puts-on every year. They always have a good turnout by the reps, and there isn’t a ton of traffic. The best part is it’s outside on a range so you can see the shots live and not on a screen!

It was great weather, 52*, sunny, with a slight breeze behind us, helping.

 

My whole purpose for going was to have my driver, and 3w, go head-to-head against all of the other manufacturers there and get numbers from the launch monitors that the reps bring. My numbers with my current G400 Max are pretty good, but I do launch it a little bit high, with a tad bit too much spin. I wanted to find something that kept me in the fairway, but would optimize my numbers a little bit better. With all of the reps, I told them the same thing, I wanted to improve my numbers, keep the left side of course out of play, and find more ballspeed and consistency if possible. I mainly did not want to lose the accuracy that I have with my current driver. With the 3W, I was looking for something better out of the fairway off the deck, not so much off the tee.

 

Wilson, Ping, Mizuno, TaylorMade, Callaway, and Titleist were all there. Cobra and Srixon’s reps didn’t make it. I started with PING.

 

I hit my driver a few times, then the rep gave me the new 410 with the Tour 75X to start, and then the Even Flow Black 75 X. He started with the rear weight in the toe, and then after three straight cuts, he moved the weight to the center position which worked better. Ball flight and consistency were better with the EF, but, my pet-peeve, he didn’t bring his monitor so I had NO hard numbers!!! I don’t think I hit the 410 any farther than my driver, and I certainly did not hit it any straighter! I had too many misses with it. I moved to the fairway wood. He handed me the 5W to try with the Even Flow black shaft in 85 X. He set it in the flat position, and I really hit it well! Nice and straight, over and over again, but, with no hard numbers, it’s hard to keep it in consideration.

 

Next was Mizuno. I started with the ST 190 with a Kuro Kage Silver TiNi 60X shaft, and the rep set-up his Foresight for me (yay). Numbers were OK with it, but not better than my Ping. Ball speed hit 165 on the high end, spin right around 2000, but I still saw some left misses with it. It looked amazing, and it felt incredible! He switched me to the ST190G with an Atmos Black 6S (no X), and the ball flight, consistency, and numbers were better. Ball speed still stayed in the range of 165, so still 2 mph less than my Ping. The ST190 3W was really good! Numbers for ball-speed got into the mid 150s, and a spin was around 3500, just like I wanted. Distance was right in the gap I was looking for, 265 total. We moved to the Kuro Kage Silver TiNi 80X and it was perfect! Ponder mode!!!

 

I then went to Callaway..... To start off, the rep acted like I was bothering him, and then he didn’t bring a launch monitor either. I went ahead and built an Epic Flash SZ with the Tour AD-IZ 6X shaft in it. I took six swings with it. The first two shots went left and fell out of the sky, so I gave it four more tries. The shaft was 10g lighter than one I was fitted to, so it wasn’t exactly the same as what I tried Michigan. I didn’t like flight of the next four balls, so I put the driver back and moved over to TaylorMade.

No LM, no buy!

 

The TaylorMade rep was cocky right off the bat because he hadn’t “heard of a Veylix shaft before,” saying it in a demeaning tone. He lost me right away. I gave him a chance to redeem himself. He had me take three swings with my Ping, and he tried not to let me see my numbers. I saw the ball speed: 167, swing speed:114. Shady little punk! I didn’t say a word because I wanted to see what lies he’d tell me. He handed me an M5 with the Tour AD-DI in STIFF! 114 swing speed and he hands me stiff! I took four swings, and the balls went in four different directions. He asks, “How did that feel?” I said, “Loose, and the balls were all over the place. Why did you hand me a stiff shaft and not X?”

“Well, I didn’t think you needed X.” I said, “114 mph swing speed doesn’t need an X?!” His mouth dropped, knowing he was caught. He tried to tell me that the 166 ball speed was a 3 mph gain against my driver... I let him know that, “No, my ball speed with my driver was 167.” His face turned red. I let him change the shaft one more time to the Tensei White CK 60 TX. I hit it ok, but sprayed it still. I was done there. What a PO-! I’ve always felt that TaylorMade reps give a bad name to their company, or make their reputation even worse. I didn’t care for the M5 anyway, it looks extremely cheap to me!

 

I ended the day with Titlelist. I have worked with this rep before, and he does an excellent job. I took two swings with my driver to start, and he handed me the TS3 with an Aldila Rogue silver 6X shaft in it. I told him about the TS3 finishing second in Michigan because of dispersion, and he said this shaft was just a starting point. I took two swings, and then we moved on. He then gave me Tensei White 70X, and it was ok, but a tad bit too stiff. He made some adjustments to the hosel, and then I noticed him switching the weight, as well as going with a Fujikura Evolution 757 Tour Spec X shaft. The first three swings sent the ball dead straight, and on a nice, low-spin trajectory. I then missed two to the right, and he made another couple adjustments. One of the adjustments was going to the heavier weight, the blue 4g one... The next four went 286, 293, 296, 294 carry! 166-168 ball speed, 1.49-1.51 smash. BOOM. I hit a few more and carry went down to right around 290 carry; I was tired! But, that driver was IT. Dispersion was great, feel/sound was great, distance, spin, NO LEFTS, and it beat my driver on carry and was as straight! Ball speeds weren’t a ton higher, but the mix of everything gave me numbers I wasn’t getting with mine. I did hit some 3W and had better numbers than in Michigan with the Diamana D+ 80X shaft in the head. So, fairway-wise, I’m down to my two Tour Edge Exotics 13.5 and 17, both of which I can adjust, and the Mizuno ST190, or TS3 with Diamana D+ 80X.

 

So, kids, in the end, PMookie found his driver, and he ordered it from Discount Dan’s already!

 

(I’m selling my G400 Max head and shaft separately.... Look for them soon!!!)

 

 I will say price did have something to do with the purchase. The TS3 has no upcharge, so it was $449, total. The Callaway was going to be around $575, and the PXG Gen 2 had an upgraded shaft and it would’ve been $825! Money did help make the decision....

 

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[perseveringgolfer]

Fantastic write up- thanks for sharing. TS is still top of my 'wants' list.

[JudgeSmails]

great write up, thanks for sharing this

[cnosil]

Glad you found the perfect driver.  

[00sportsman]

Excellent.  Glad you wrote it up, and I'm glad you found what you were looking for.

[bens197]

Good on you for calling him out. I had the same experience a few cycles ago and instead of letting him make it right I said nah, that 913D3 looks pretty good. Have a nice day. I will say that Every. Single. Titleist. Rep I have dealt with has been the consummate professional.

Speaking of reps, please let me share this story from 2004. I still tell it because it makes me laugh.

An old PITA member who was needy as all heck would bother us every day following a demo day where the MAC golf Rep sold him one of those hole in the sole drivers. He said he wasn’t getting any gains on his driver.

The rep returned one month later and they met on the range. This guy was a miserable old man and laid into the rep.

The rep said hit some balls and show me.

Five balls later the rep looks at this old guy and says sir, you have two zippers on your knees, you can’t stand straight for more than five minutes without needing a break and you’re all arms. You’re old and your body just doesn’t work like you think. What do you want me to tell you?

The old guy laughed out loud and shook his hand. You’re honest, I can do business with someone like you.

Problem was solved.

Congrats on the new driver


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[russtopherb]

Great write up, and good on you for bringing your current gamers and demanding to see the true data. Too many people run to a demo day, hit something they think is awesome, and then realize it's no better (or even worse) than their gamer.

[juspoole]

Great to hear about your somewhat positive experiences at most of the reps (well about half). I too fell in love with the TS3 but I had my fitting before the rest of the equipment came out. I hit the g410 today as well as the mizuno and the g410 could be a contender but I will definitely give the TS3 a lot of play before I made a switch. Hoping I can get lucky enough to be selected for the testing this year but it’s such a long shot.
Good luck with your 290 carries this year straight down the fairway. Going to make it a lot more fun and lower rounds it sounds like!


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[PMookie]

Great to hear about your somewhat positive experiences at most of the reps (well about half). I too fell in love with the TS3 but I had my fitting before the rest of the equipment came out. I hit the g410 today as well as the mizuno and the g410 could be a contender but I will definitely give the TS3 a lot of play before I made a switch. Hoping I can get lucky enough to be selected for the testing this year but it’s such a long shot.
Good luck with your 290 carries this year straight down the fairway. Going to make it a lot more fun and lower rounds it sounds like!


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The Ping rep has been around for 15 years, and is a really good guy, he just doesn’t bring his monitor and I think it hurts him sales-wise. I was really wanting numbers from the 410! By-the-way, he said Ping announced the 410 LST will be available in June. He said it’s showing to have 300-400 less spin than the 410 Plus.


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[PING Apologist #9]

Great write-up PM! Very well done and extremely informative. Awesome work calling out that DB Taylormade rep. Good on you!

[M. Parsons]

@PMookie Please let me know how much you want for the G400 Max head, I might be interested.  Thank you.

[PMookie]

[mention=2567]PMookie[/mention] Please let me know how much you want for the G400 Max head, I might be interested.  Thank you.

Sent you a PM.


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[M. Parsons]

4 minutes ago, PMookie said:

Sent you a PM.


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Got it, thanks.  Great write-up by the way, really good info to go off of.

[StrokerAce]

Good stuff mook!  Glad you found your boom stick.  That's pretty darn good - 290 carry and straight!

In this day and age I cannot understand for the life of me why reps don't bring some sort of launch monitor to a demo day...doesn't need to be a 50k machine, but something to give an idea on what the data says.  Golf has become so data driven that it's not enough to just say whether or not it felt good and went straight.

[PING Apologist #9]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

In this day and age I cannot understand for the life of me why reps don't bring some sort of launch monitor to a demo day...doesn't need to be a 50k machine, but something to give an idea on what the data says.  Golf has become so data driven that it's not enough to just say whether or not it felt good and went straight.

Seems weird to me too. They put themselves at a major disadvantage and PM made them pay for it. Shame, shame, shame...

[edingc]

Thanks for the great write-up and congrats on the new toy!

[JohnSmalls]

Thanks for the write up @PMookie.  Great hearing tales from the field at one of these events.  Glad you found a winner.   Any reason you didn't make it down to the Wilson rep?

[PMookie]

Thanks for the write up [mention=2567]PMookie[/mention].  Great hearing tales from the field at one of these events.  Glad you found a winner.   Any reason you didn't make it down to the Wilson rep?

I had already hit their red driver months ago, and wasn’t interested in the D7 based on how it’s built. I don’t want anything that will go left, at all, so being able to adjust the driver, along with weighting is a must.


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[yungkory]

Yeaaaaaa mooks! T S S Q U A D

[PMookie]

Yeaaaaaa mooks! T S S Q U A D

Yep! Didn’t think it was gonna happen! Crazy!


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[Gyro25]

I wish shops/ranges by me had demo days like this :( I'll keep an eye on for your max if/when I can secure funds (stupid house buying), was fit into the max with xstiff kk shaft. Enjoy your new driver!

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[mdumble21]

My driver is something that I want to either change or get it properly fitted sometime in the next 12 months. My usual problem with it is the shaft doesn't quite give me optimal spin numbers unless I'm swinging as hard as I can - which isn't very often. I found that an X-Stiff shaft does tend to give me better numbers as a result, along with a more forgiving head. 

It was a bit sad to see that one of the reps acted that way by hiding your numbers - good thing you called him on it. Whilst I've never had that issue before, some of the reps at the golf stores I go to for club testing do give me the impression that I'm wasting their time. I can understand why when the store's busy, but not when there's only 2-3 people in the place! 

[Sluggo42]

Wow, new hmPro’s, and now a new TS3. Sounds like you wasted a lot of money on new irons tho. Seems with that driver all you need is a 60° sub70 wedge in black, and you’re good to go...

[ole gray]

Great write up Mook and congrats on the new stick!


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[fixyurdivot]

Nice write up.  Glad you found a match. Those are some impressive numbers! 

Your experience with the TM Rep is a bit concerning and should remind everyone that toting around a "club fitter" moniker may not always mean a whole lot. Actually, this is something that concerns me a bit as I am in the market for new irons and fairway woods.  The fitter I used in Bozeman is listed as a PGA Professional Fitter.  He seemed quite knowledgeable, used state of art LM equipment, and I have no reason not to think his recommendations are anything but sound... or are they?

What do we know about this golf fitter designation? Are the folks at Dick Sporting Goods, Puetz Golf, Golf Discount, or any number of other golf stores/shops all using an industry standard in the fitting process?  Is there a smaller list of upper echelon club fitters that one should be seeking if they are serious about getting the optimum results?  If so, who?

This decision on clubs, for me, is important.  It's very likely they will be the clubs I play with for the balance of my life (it's painfully obvious I'm not an equipment hound ). I'm looking for some eye popping improvement in numbers to make the switch.  Thus far, I've only tested Ping G400's, G410's, I200's, Mizuno JPX900, and TM M3's.

Still in the research mode - I want to do this right and get it right .  

[jayjay0808]

Great write up. And I am sorry you had a bad experience with Taylormade. I can say up in my neck of the woods the reps have always been top drawer!