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Something old, something new...


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After I said, “I do,” I then had to say that thing... you know, the “something old, something new; something borrowed, something blue.”  
Well, what my wife didn’t know is the “something old” was another gal I brought into our marriage. And she was old. She was very old indeed.
She was a beauty too. One I promised I’d never set aside as long as she stayed true. Her name? Bertha. And she is a beaut. 

I have had this 3W Big Bertha since the mid 90s and she’s still wonderful. Now, she doesn’t crush it down the fairway - maybe 220 on a good shot. But man does she fly straight. I would like to add another 3W eventually, but just to fill the gap and get closer to that 240 I’m missing. 
Now, the “something new” became a set of Cobra irons for my wedding gift. I loved them. (They’ve since been passed to my oldest and he’s going to do well with them). However, they were replaced (gasp), with a beautiful thing to behold: Titleist AP1 718s! Used, of course, because some folks like to pay $1,000 for a set of clubs to just turn around 6 months later to sell to me for half that! 
I have dropped a few strokes from every round. Maybe it’s because I switched from irons from 2004; maybe it’s because these AP1s are perfect for a mid to high handicapper like me (15). Whatever the case, I love them. 
Mixed in is a similar old and new wedge and sand wedge as well as a 15 year old TaylorMade R7 driver and brand new Ping Anzer putter. 
No idea why I do this old/new combo. 
I wonder, does anyone else fill their bag with something old, something new? 
 

A32F32D3-D5EF-4BF3-82B1-BF2F4F31608D.jpeg

Irons: Titleist AP1 718s, 4-PW + AW; Cleveland RTX-3 (58*); old Tommy Armor sand wedge (52*)

Woods: Driver = TaylorMade R7 (10.5); 3W = 1990s Big Bertha (I'll never part with her) 

Putter = Ping Anzer

Right handed, 15 Handicap (dropping slightly), in Tega Cay, South Carolina

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I "liberated" my dad's GBB S2H2 3 wood from his bag ages ago, and I played it until last year when I did the Cobra Connect Challenge.  It's a wonderful club, but it couldn't keep up with the F8 3 wood.  And that took me from a very mixed bag to one that's all Cobra and all a year old, except for my old Ping Craz-e G2i putter that I can't bear to part with.  Not as old as that 3 wood, but it's 15 years old.  And it still has the original grip, covered with tennis tape like I used to do back in high school (we all thought Scott Verplank was so cool).

What's in the bag:
Driver - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Wood (13.5*) - :titleist-small: 980F 
4 Wood (18*) - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Hybrid (19*) - :taylormade-small: RBZ
4i - PW - :wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged - Recoil 760 ( S )
52* - :cleveland-small: CBX
58* - :cleveland-small: CBX Full Face 2
Putter - :ping-small: Craz-e
Bag - :1590477705_SunMountain: 2.5 (Blue)
Ball -  :titleist-small: AVX
Instagram - @hardcorelooper
Twitter - @meovino
Facebook - mike.eovino

 

 

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Tennis tape and Scott Verplank? That’s great!

Irons: Titleist AP1 718s, 4-PW + AW; Cleveland RTX-3 (58*); old Tommy Armor sand wedge (52*)

Woods: Driver = TaylorMade R7 (10.5); 3W = 1990s Big Bertha (I'll never part with her) 

Putter = Ping Anzer

Right handed, 15 Handicap (dropping slightly), in Tega Cay, South Carolina

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  • 5 weeks later...

Yep look at my signature to see some stuff old--- But that is my front line stuff---- I did play the old Steel Head Plus 3 wood for 13 years straight. That old UST Gold shaft got a bit for me to swing. I guess that little Adams 4 wood has been in the bag for 4 years now. Those old Mac VIPs have been in the bag for 3 years now. That is my second set I wore my first set out after 20 years on and off. I do stray from time to time but always come back to some form of Macgregor blades. Now we will not even get into the vintage stuff at this time. I guess my newest thing may be the Mizuno T-10 wedge. I have always been a 588 man but found this Mizuno wedge pristine and un hit in one of the bins at work so I grabbed it and loved it. Found one identical to it a couple of weeks later in the same place and snagged it too for a back up. The Ping Zing LW never was a Ping club fan but found it in the same place and liked the way it sat and the sole grind. Took it on the course and loved it more then. You probably do not know but I work for a metal recycling company and find lots of clubs especially classic ones. I actually have full sets of clubs I have less than $5 in the whole shebang

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

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Who's old enough to remember when people played with "sets" of woods, usually either three or four? 

My last bag had a "set" of woods from just  after the set era.  They were the old Titleist PT in 13, 17, 20, and 23º.

If I were able to still play, there would be no reason to drop the latter three of those.  Maybe the "13" would give way to the TaylorMade Original One 13.5º mini driver or something like that--I don't know.    The PT clubhead is awfully small for a driving club.

And as I think of it, maybe the "17" is a little strong for an aged boomer to hit off the deck.

I have nothing against the new technology in modern fairway woods. It seems legit.  What I don't understand is the fit. I don't understand why the modern fairway woods are so long, so upright, so strong lofted, and so closed-faced.  Especially the upright part.

I've not noticed that humans are now born with shorter arms relative to their legs and torsos.  What I've noticed is that they address the ball with the toe of their woods pointing up to the sky.  The OEMs attribute this to graphite shaft droop in the swing.  I attribute it to crystal meth in the engineering facilities.

As for the 460cc, driver I can understand people liking that. 

If they don't mind playing the ball so far forward in their stances,

and don't mind teeing the ball so high that it's like playing an uphill lie with your front foot in a hole,

and don't mind hitting the ball on the upswing

and so late in the swing that speed is probably dissipating,

the 460cc driver sure gives them plenty of surface to smash the ball.

I personally don't like it, but I can understand others liking it.  The upright fairways, though, baffle me.  There was no reason to make them more upright or more closed faced than old time wooden woods. Silly movable parts on the hosel don't really fix the problem. The PT metals have wood-like specs and play great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Naah you can still hit a 17* off the deck because I still swing a 16*--- Now I will admit those PT woods were not the easiest thing to hit either----- And crystal meth in the engineering labs I darn near busted a gut laughing at that. Yep sometimes I do not know what the modern golf folks are thinking if at all. One of the reasons I will stick to what I know which is older stuff

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

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On 10/30/2019 at 11:17 PM, HardcoreLooper said:

I "liberated" my dad's GBB S2H2 3 wood from his bag ages ago, and I played it until last year when I did the Cobra Connect Challenge.  It's a wonderful club, but it couldn't keep up with the F8 3 wood.  And that took me from a very mixed bag to one that's all Cobra and all a year old, except for my old Ping Craz-e G2i putter that I can't bear to part with.  Not as old as that 3 wood, but it's 15 years old.  And it still has the original grip, covered with tennis tape like I used to do back in high school (we all thought Scott Verplank was so cool).

LOL I still do the tennis tape wrap on some occasions. I bought a bunch of it for 0.50 a roll at Walgreens on a close out senior day deal. Most of the clubs I find on the junk pile the grips are rotted. Even though I air install my grips and switch them from set to set I get lazy. That is where the tennis tape comes in. I will wrap them to try them. In fact it does so well on my 57 Diamondbacks I have not changed them in 2 years

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

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5 hours ago, NiftyNiblick said:

Who's old enough to remember when people played with "sets" of woods, usually either three or four? 

 I don't understand why the modern fairway woods are so long, so upright, so strong lofted, and so closed-faced.  Especially the upright part.

As for the 460cc, driver I can understand people liking that. 

and don't mind hitting the ball on the upswing

I personally don't like it, but I can understand others liking it.  The upright fairways, though, baffle me. 

Here's my theory/opinion on these:

Yes,  I remember sets of woods using the 1, 3, and 5 wood.   People bought the set of woods, sets of irons, and a putter.   There really wasn't a specialty wedge.  

Driver:  Yes,  the advice is to hit up on the ball with the driver.   Not saying any of us are pros or should play that way,  but many have a downward angle of attack with the driver.  

Why are fairway woods so long?   Just the industry trend.  Drivers and irons are longer so the fairway woods are longer.  You can always cut every club down,  there aren't any hardfast rules.   I don't think they are any more strong lofted that the old woods.   As for the upright closed faced part,  it is to help fight the slice that so many golfers have.   Raise the toe and close the face,  the ball in theory will start more left and not slice as much.  

 

 

Driver:  :ping-small: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven
Fairway: :titelist-small: TS3 15*  w/Project X Hzardous Smoke
Hybrids:  :titelist-small: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype
                :titelist-small: 915H  24*  w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype        
Irons:      :honma:TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite
Wedge:  :titleist-small: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite
Putter:   :taylormade-small:TM-180

Testing:   SPGC_logo.jpg

Backups:  :odyssey-small: Milled Collection RSX 2, :seemore-small: mFGP2, :cameron-small: Futura 5W

Member:  MGS Hitsquad since 2017697979773_DSCN2368(Custom).JPG.a1a25f5e430d9eebae93c5d652cbd4b9.JPG

 

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On 11/29/2019 at 7:28 AM, BIG STU said:

You probably do not know but I work for a metal recycling company and find lots of clubs especially classic ones. I actually have full sets of clubs I have less than $5 in the whole shebang

Stu - If you find any old Hogans that need a good home, please let me know.

What's in the bag:
Driver - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Wood (13.5*) - :titleist-small: 980F 
4 Wood (18*) - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Hybrid (19*) - :taylormade-small: RBZ
4i - PW - :wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged - Recoil 760 ( S )
52* - :cleveland-small: CBX
58* - :cleveland-small: CBX Full Face 2
Putter - :ping-small: Craz-e
Bag - :1590477705_SunMountain: 2.5 (Blue)
Ball -  :titleist-small: AVX
Instagram - @hardcorelooper
Twitter - @meovino
Facebook - mike.eovino

 

 

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8 hours ago, HardcoreLooper said:

Stu - If you find any old Hogans that need a good home, please let me know.

What kind do you want?

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

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17 hours ago, BIG STU said:

What kind do you want?

Wow.  I should just post the Jeff Stites Hogan poster 🤣

I'd love a set of what I played in high school, the '88 red lines with the Apex 4 shaft.  But I'd look really hard at just about any Apex, +1 or IPTs.

Oh, I'm also on the look out for a Mac Muirfield PW to fill out the set on these babies I found at Goodwill today.

IMG_20191201_185618180.jpg

IMG_20191201_185658303.jpg

Maybe these will turn me into a Mac man.

 

What's in the bag:
Driver - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Wood (13.5*) - :titleist-small: 980F 
4 Wood (18*) - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Hybrid (19*) - :taylormade-small: RBZ
4i - PW - :wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged - Recoil 760 ( S )
52* - :cleveland-small: CBX
58* - :cleveland-small: CBX Full Face 2
Putter - :ping-small: Craz-e
Bag - :1590477705_SunMountain: 2.5 (Blue)
Ball -  :titleist-small: AVX
Instagram - @hardcorelooper
Twitter - @meovino
Facebook - mike.eovino

 

 

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On 12/1/2019 at 9:51 PM, HardcoreLooper said:

Wow.  I should just post the Jeff Stites Hogan poster 🤣

I'd love a set of what I played in high school, the '88 red lines with the Apex 4 shaft.  But I'd look really hard at just about any Apex, +1 or IPTs.

Oh, I'm also on the look out for a Mac Muirfield PW to fill out the set on these babies I found at Goodwill today.

IMG_20191201_185618180.jpg

IMG_20191201_185658303.jpg

Maybe these will turn me into a Mac man.

 

Yep and those are the good Tour Forged ones too> I have a set of Hogan Grinds that have a Legend 3 or 4 shaft that need a good home> I can not hit them anymore because they are too stiff for my back. I will dig them out after Christmas and will also look and see if I have a spare Muirfield PW---- And the price on the Grinds will be right as in Free. I would rather see them played and enjoyed instead of gathering rust and dust in the recesses of my shop. But we will get together after Christmas because I have 3 programs to run on the sound board at church plus a wedding to do this Saturday

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

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On ‎12‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 10:37 AM, BIG STU said:

I will dig them out after Christmas and will also look and see if I have a spare Muirfield PW---- And the price on the Grinds will be right as in Free. I would rather see them played and enjoyed instead of gathering rust and dust in the recesses of my shop. 

This is what I love about this site, or at least one of the things. @BIG STU you truly are a gentleman and a scholar.. As life goes this reaffirms my faith in humanity.. You just made me smile.. Thank you..

Dave-

Follow me on twitter @GolfCrazyWA and on Instagram @GolfcrazyWA

 

 WITB:

Cobra Ultralite Cart Bag 

Titleist TSR3 Hzrdus Black 65g shaft

Cobra F8+ 3wd Hzrdus Red 65g shaft

Cobra 3 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft

Cobra 4 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft

Cobra F8 irons 5-GW KBS tour 90 stiff shafts

Cobra King Black Wedge 54* 

Cleveland RTX Zipcore Wedge 58*

Snake Eyes Viper Putter.

Ball: Taylormade TP-5X

 

 

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21 hours ago, Reesedw said:

This is what I love about this site, or at least one of the things. @BIG STU you truly are a gentleman and a scholar.. As life goes this reaffirms my faith in humanity.. You just made me smile.. Thank you..

Well I believe in play it forward--- I have had plenty of friends send me stuff especially Macgregor. My VIPs in my signature 3 of my buds on WRX conspired to send them to me the Hogan Apex shafts are my doing. In fact the set of Grinds I found in the bins at work and was missing the 8 iron. One of my buds in Florida sent me a matching 8 iron free of charge. Enough guys on WRX in the Classics section have my address and sometimes stuff shows up unannounced. Of course I do the same thing too. 

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

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On 12/4/2019 at 1:37 PM, BIG STU said:

Yep and those are the good Tour Forged ones too> I have a set of Hogan Grinds that have a Legend 3 or 4 shaft that need a good home> I can not hit them anymore because they are too stiff for my back. I will dig them out after Christmas and will also look and see if I have a spare Muirfield PW---- And the price on the Grinds will be right as in Free. I would rather see them played and enjoyed instead of gathering rust and dust in the recesses of my shop. But we will get together after Christmas because I have 3 programs to run on the sound board at church plus a wedding to do this Saturday

Stu - Thank you so much. Let me pay shipping at least. I'll PM you. 

What's in the bag:
Driver - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Wood (13.5*) - :titleist-small: 980F 
4 Wood (18*) - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Hybrid (19*) - :taylormade-small: RBZ
4i - PW - :wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged - Recoil 760 ( S )
52* - :cleveland-small: CBX
58* - :cleveland-small: CBX Full Face 2
Putter - :ping-small: Craz-e
Bag - :1590477705_SunMountain: 2.5 (Blue)
Ball -  :titleist-small: AVX
Instagram - @hardcorelooper
Twitter - @meovino
Facebook - mike.eovino

 

 

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3 hours ago, HardcoreLooper said:

Stu - Thank you so much. Let me pay shipping at least. I'll PM you. 

Ok but wait until after Christmas and I will also try to find the Muirfield PW too---- I know it is an odd one I picked up somewhere and it is a non forged 20th edition---- Yep a lot of folks do not know about Muirfields some are forged and some are cast. The ones you have are the Tour Forged ones which I have 2 sets of and I have another set of the non forged ones. There is also a noticeable difference between some 20ths and regular Muirfields. Most regular Muirfields have a more rounded toe. The one set of Muirfields I have if some collector gets a hold of them after I pass their mind will be blown. And I did this for a reason that was to mess with someone. They have Hogan serial numbers!!!! When I pulled the donor set of shafts from the funky Directors I kept the ferrules intact. So yes I have a set of Muirfields with Hogan Apex shafts and Hogan Serial numbers. 

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

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I had heard that there were some runs of cast Muirfields.  It'll be interesting to see if I can tell the difference.

I've also heard about your Muirfields with Apex shafts.  That's a true meeting of the minds.

What's in the bag:
Driver - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Wood (13.5*) - :titleist-small: 980F 
4 Wood (18*) - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Hybrid (19*) - :taylormade-small: RBZ
4i - PW - :wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged - Recoil 760 ( S )
52* - :cleveland-small: CBX
58* - :cleveland-small: CBX Full Face 2
Putter - :ping-small: Craz-e
Bag - :1590477705_SunMountain: 2.5 (Blue)
Ball -  :titleist-small: AVX
Instagram - @hardcorelooper
Twitter - @meovino
Facebook - mike.eovino

 

 

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2 hours ago, HardcoreLooper said:

I had heard that there were some runs of cast Muirfields.  It'll be interesting to see if I can tell the difference.

I've also heard about your Muirfields with Apex shafts.  That's a true meeting of the minds.

I did not invent the "bastardization" That was a Carolina's thing back in the 70s and 80s. I thought it was a thing in the Piedmont area of NC but found out differently about 5 years or so ago that it was also popular in the Triad region of NC too. It had to be popular in a lot more areas too because it prompted a letter from Mr Hogan himself to Hogan dealers condemning the practice of installing Apex shafts in non Hogan clubs. He threatened to pull the franchise of any dealer caught doing so. My old man was not a Hogan dealer for some reason he despised Mr Hogan but would never say why which was his way. His bud in Eastern NC was a Hogan dealer and he got his shafts there. When his bud got the letter he copied it and sent one to my old man who got a kick out of that. It did not stop the hustlers who just bought whole sets and had shafts pulled. I have wondered lately how many sets of never hit heads from that era were in Harold Dale's shop in Charlotte when he closed up shop in around 90 or so. My old man never liked the conversion on Macgregor clubs and often said " he did not know why in the hell someone would put an inferior ( Apex) shaft in a Macgregor club? He was a Pro Pel man period. Someone who knew my old man said one night they bet he rolled in his grave 2 times when I built those 2 sets. I told them yeah maybe but he rolled back over when he saw how good I hit them. I had thought of doing the conversion on the one set of FCs that were his that he got new in 62 but was scared that may be the final straw and he would come back and haunt me for the rest of my days. I know he got most of the pull out shafts from Harold's shop for free and when Macgregor started using Brunswick shafts in the 80s he called someone at the Mac factory in GA and got like 2 barrel fulls of new Pro Pel shafts. I do not know what happened to all those shafts when he retired

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

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Here's something old AND new, in a manner of speaking.

Straight back and through putting strokes are not in vogue today, but some still do exist.  What barely exist at all in today's marketplace are faced balance putters to accommodate those strokes.

An old favorite was the Ram Zebra mallet.  Original Zebras--the good ones--are now literally older than presidential candidate Mayor Pete. Good luck trying to find a Zebra putter with a face that isn't worn or, more likely, dinged.

A friend of mine found a suitable alternate face-balanced mallet, however--the Louisville Golf "Willie Dunn" putter.  Reproductions of an early 20th century model, these brand new putters have persimmon mallet heads, brass face plates, and hickory shafts.  And, allegedly, despite a more centered shaft, they putt very similarly to the Ram Zebra.  I, of course, cannot confirm this with personal experience. Were I still playing, however, I'd certainly try one.

Edited by NiftyNiblick

 

 

 

 

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10 minutes ago, NiftyNiblick said:

Here's something old AND new, in a manner of speaking.

Straight back and through putting strokes are not in vogue today, but some still do exist.  What barely exist at all in today's marketplace are faced balance putters to accommodate those strokes.

An old favorite was the Ram Zebra mallet.  Original Zebras--the good ones--are now literally older than presidential candidate Mayor Pete. Good luck trying to find a Zebra putter with a face that isn't worn or, more likely, dinged.

A friend of mine found a suitable alternate face-balanced mallet, however--the Louisville Golf "Willie Dunn" putter.  Reproductions of an early 20th century model, these brand new putters have persimmon mallet heads, brass face plates, and hickory shafts.  And, allegedly, despite a more centered shaft, they putt very similarly to the Ram Zebra.  I, of course, cannot confirm this with personal experience. Were I still playing, however, I'd certainly try one.

Huh? Scotty Cameron's entire Phantom line has both face balanced and toe hang putters for just about every model in the lineup.

The Taylormade Spider comes in both face balanced and toe hang options.

Odyssey makes aboth face balanced and toe hang putters.

There are plenty of options for all types of strokes out there.

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52 minutes ago, jlukes said:

Huh? Scotty Cameron's entire Phantom line has both face balanced and toe hang putters for just about every model in the lineup.

The Taylormade Spider comes in both face balanced and toe hang options.

Odyssey makes both face balanced and toe hang putters.

There are plenty of options for all types of strokes out there.

 

Thanks for the correction, jlukes.  As an active player,  I'm sure that your awareness of these things is more acute than mine. My more casual observations didn't reveal many face balanced putters.

 

 

 

 

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57 minutes ago, jlukes said:

Huh? Scotty Cameron's entire Phantom line has both face balanced and toe hang putters for just about every model in the lineup.

The Taylormade Spider comes in both face balanced and toe hang options.

Odyssey makes aboth face balanced and toe hang putters.

There are plenty of options for all types of strokes out there.

The select line has several that have toe hang and face balanced as well

Driver: PXG 0811 X+ Proto w/UST Helium 5F4

Wood: TaylorMade M5 5W w/Accra TZ5 +1/2”, TaylorMade Sim 3W w/Aldila rogue white

Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid

Irons: PXG Gen3 0311T w/Nippon modus 120

Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 50*, Tiger grind 56/60

Putter: Scotty Caemeron Super Rat1

Ball: Titleist Prov1

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14 minutes ago, NiftyNiblick said:

 

Thanks for the correction, jlukes.  As an active player,  I'm sure that your awareness of these things is more acute than mine. My more casual observations didn't reveal many face balanced putters.

Nah, I get it. Why look into something further when you can just make false statements and then claim ignorance? 

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On 12/8/2019 at 12:48 AM, HardcoreLooper said:

I had heard that there were some runs of cast Muirfields.  It'll be interesting to see if I can tell the difference.

I've also heard about your Muirfields with Apex shafts.  That's a true meeting of the minds.

On face value it is easy to tell--- The forged ones like yours have "Tour Forged" stamped in the hosel the cast ones do not. As far as feel some can tell and some can not. Me I was blessed with an uncanny sense of feel and I can tell. The Muirfields were built as a back up set to my VIPs which are in my signature. Like I said that is not my invention that wa a Carolinas thing back in the day

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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On 12/9/2019 at 10:57 AM, NiftyNiblick said:

Here's something old AND new, in a manner of speaking.

Straight back and through putting strokes are not in vogue today, but some still do exist.  What barely exist at all in today's marketplace are faced balance putters to accommodate those strokes.

An old favorite was the Ram Zebra mallet.  Original Zebras--the good ones--are now literally older than presidential candidate Mayor Pete. Good luck trying to find a Zebra putter with a face that isn't worn or, more likely, dinged.

A friend of mine found a suitable alternate face-balanced mallet, however--the Louisville Golf "Willie Dunn" putter.  Reproductions of an early 20th century model, these brand new putters have persimmon mallet heads, brass face plates, and hickory shafts.  And, allegedly, despite a more centered shaft, they putt very similarly to the Ram Zebra.  I, of course, cannot confirm this with personal experience. Were I still playing, however, I'd certainly try one.

Well you do know the Tommy Armour company somewhere the late 90s did a reproduction of the old Zebra putter and called it the Teardrop. But stock it was heavier than the old Zebra but the sole plate did not come off. The old Ram Zebras the sole plate came off and had washers mounted on a stud that you could take some off or put some on depending on what you wanted

Now I heard this from non other than Tad Moore himself ( yep that one) that back in the day on tour he used to modify Zebra putters by pulling the sole plate off and filling the hollow cavity with epoxy and lead powder mix. It adds weight and makes them hit more solid. The stock ones with the weights always felt tinny or hollow (which they were) to me. I have also heard the rumor back in my Mini Tour days in Florida that a many Zebra putter was filled with an illegal white substance and sent to the Carolinas and beyond. I never saw or participated in that endeavor but have heard the "urban legends". 

As far as putting stroke back in the day I was an arc putter did it for years. Was told by quite a few of those supposedly in the know that I had a "flaw" in my stroke. In the last few years my hand eye coordination is not what it used to be and I had a tendency to fan or keep the face open or steroid jerk it and shut it down. I have went to a left hand low stroke which is SBST and helps me quite a bit. One of my buds on WRX is from across the big pond and he calls it "Cack handed" which is what the old timers called cross handed. I learned the cross hand stroke messing with my old Bulls Eye putters and it works excellent with the Scotty Santa Fe for me

Edited by BIG STU

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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On 12/8/2019 at 3:48 AM, BIG STU said:

I did not invent the "bastardization" That was a Carolina's thing back in the 70s and 80s. I thought it was a thing in the Piedmont area of NC but found out differently about 5 years or so ago that it was also popular in the Triad region of NC too. It had to be popular in a lot more areas too because it prompted a letter from Mr Hogan himself to Hogan dealers condemning the practice of installing Apex shafts in non Hogan clubs. He threatened to pull the franchise of any dealer caught doing so. My old man was not a Hogan dealer for some reason he despised Mr Hogan but would never say why which was his way. His bud in Eastern NC was a Hogan dealer and he got his shafts there. When his bud got the letter he copied it and sent one to my old man who got a kick out of that. It did not stop the hustlers who just bought whole sets and had shafts pulled. I have wondered lately how many sets of never hit heads from that era were in Harold Dale's shop in Charlotte when he closed up shop in around 90 or so. My old man never liked the conversion on Macgregor clubs and often said " he did not know why in the hell someone would put an inferior ( Apex) shaft in a Macgregor club? He was a Pro Pel man period. Someone who knew my old man said one night they bet he rolled in his grave 2 times when I built those 2 sets. I told them yeah maybe but he rolled back over when he saw how good I hit them. I had thought of doing the conversion on the one set of FCs that were his that he got new in 62 but was scared that may be the final straw and he would come back and haunt me for the rest of my days. I know he got most of the pull out shafts from Harold's shop for free and when Macgregor started using Brunswick shafts in the 80s he called someone at the Mac factory in GA and got like 2 barrel fulls of new Pro Pel shafts. I do not know what happened to all those shafts when he retired

Wound up doing a similar thing with my MacGregors, @BIG STU - pulled the Project X 5.0's from the VIP 1025 CB/MB set (I'm guessing circa 2000, 2001?) and put in a set of Apex #4 shafts a couple of years ago. A fitter/builder I know in Minnesota bought a ton of Apex shafts as Callaway was mothballing Hogan back in the day - he absolutely LOVES those shafts as do I. 

And the MacGregors are out of mothballs - played them for the last part of the season up here in New England, and they made the traveling team to Streamsong. Damn those are some sweet feeling sticks, and remarkably easy to hit. Am heading to  Palm Springs this weekend, fully expect them to be on the plane with me once again....either them or the '93 Hogan Edge GCD's....

 

What's in the bag:
 
Driver:  :titelist-small:TSR3; :wilson_staff_small: DynaPWR Carbon
FW Wood: :wilson_staff_small: DynaPWR 3-wood; :titleist-small: TSR 2+
Hybrids:  PXG Gen4 18-degree
Utility Irons: :srixon-small: ZX MkII 20* 
Irons:;  :Sub70:699/699 Pro V2 Combo; :wilson_staff_small: D9 Forged;  :macgregor-small:MT86 (coming soon!); :macgregor-small: VIP 1025 V-Foil MB/CB; 

Wedges:  :cleveland-small: RTX6 Zipcore
Putter: :cleveland-small: HB Soft Milled 10.5;  :scotty-small: Newport Special Select;  :edel-golf-1:  Willamette,  :bettinardi-small: BB8; :wilson-small: 8802; MATI Monto

Ball: :bridgestone-small: Tour B RXS; :srixon-small: Z-STAR Diamond; :wilson_staff_small: Triad

Stat Tracker/GPS Watch: :ShotScope:


 
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8 hours ago, BIG STU said:

have also heard the rumor back in my Mini Tour days in Florida that a many Zebra putter was filled with an illegal white substance and sent to the Carolinas and beyond. I never saw or participated in that endeavor but have heard the "urban legends". 

@BIG STU - You need to write a book.  We need these stories to live on. 

What's in the bag:
Driver - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Wood (13.5*) - :titleist-small: 980F 
4 Wood (18*) - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Hybrid (19*) - :taylormade-small: RBZ
4i - PW - :wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged - Recoil 760 ( S )
52* - :cleveland-small: CBX
58* - :cleveland-small: CBX Full Face 2
Putter - :ping-small: Craz-e
Bag - :1590477705_SunMountain: 2.5 (Blue)
Ball -  :titleist-small: AVX
Instagram - @hardcorelooper
Twitter - @meovino
Facebook - mike.eovino

 

 

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23 hours ago, GolfSpy Barbajo said:

Wound up doing a similar thing with my MacGregors, @BIG STU - pulled the Project X 5.0's from the VIP 1025 CB/MB set (I'm guessing circa 2000, 2001?) and put in a set of Apex #4 shafts a couple of years ago. A fitter/builder I know in Minnesota bought a ton of Apex shafts as Callaway was mothballing Hogan back in the day - he absolutely LOVES those shafts as do I. 

And the MacGregors are out of mothballs - played them for the last part of the season up here in New England, and they made the traveling team to Streamsong. Damn those are some sweet feeling sticks, and remarkably easy to hit. Am heading to  Palm Springs this weekend, fully expect them to be on the plane with me once again....either them or the '93 Hogan Edge GCD's....

You do know also the 1025s are rumored to be Miura forged too like the Pro 82s. Imho any Mac blade feels good and the Apex shafts enhance them------ So the guys in the Land of 10,000 Lakes know about MacHogans too!!!!  Yep so you have a set of "Bastardized Macs" or Machogans too!!!!

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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6 hours ago, BIG STU said:

You do know also the 1025s are rumored to be Miura forged too like the Pro 82s. Imho any Mac blade feels good and the Apex shafts enhance them------ So the guys in the Land of 10,000 Lakes know about MacHogans too!!!!  Yep so you have a set of "Bastardized Macs" or Machogans too!!!!

I did not know that, but it wouldn't be a surprise. When I took them out of mothballs just for fun, I just couldn't stop hitting them. From there it was easy to put them back in the bag. Next step is to get them refinished...

 

What's in the bag:
 
Driver:  :titelist-small:TSR3; :wilson_staff_small: DynaPWR Carbon
FW Wood: :wilson_staff_small: DynaPWR 3-wood; :titleist-small: TSR 2+
Hybrids:  PXG Gen4 18-degree
Utility Irons: :srixon-small: ZX MkII 20* 
Irons:;  :Sub70:699/699 Pro V2 Combo; :wilson_staff_small: D9 Forged;  :macgregor-small:MT86 (coming soon!); :macgregor-small: VIP 1025 V-Foil MB/CB; 

Wedges:  :cleveland-small: RTX6 Zipcore
Putter: :cleveland-small: HB Soft Milled 10.5;  :scotty-small: Newport Special Select;  :edel-golf-1:  Willamette,  :bettinardi-small: BB8; :wilson-small: 8802; MATI Monto

Ball: :bridgestone-small: Tour B RXS; :srixon-small: Z-STAR Diamond; :wilson_staff_small: Triad

Stat Tracker/GPS Watch: :ShotScope:


 
Follow @golfspybarbajo

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