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Berg Ryman Discusses the 2020 Turning Stone Golf Show


Berg Ryman

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Thanks for the write up!

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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Really good stuff RB...is it worth the trip next season? Would be fun to catch up and bounce around the show.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

  • Titleist TSi3 Fujikura Speeder NX Blue 60X
  • TaylorMade SIM2 3 wood Fujilkura Ventus Blue 7-X
  • Titleist U505 2 Tensei 1K Black 85 X
  • Titleist T100 4-P Nippon Modus 3 120X
  • PING S159 50-S 55-H 59-T DG X100
  • Vokey SM8 50, SM9 54 & 60  Nippon Modus 3 120s
  • L.A.B. MEZZ Max Broom Accra 47" 79.5*
  • Srixon Z-Star XV 

Currently testing the 2024 PING S159 wedges…

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/63483-testers-announced-ping-s159-wedges/

Was testing, still loving the 2023 Titleist T100 Irons 4-P

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/60456-titleist-t-series-irons-2023-forum-review/

 

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2 hours ago, bens197 said:

Really good stuff RB...is it worth the trip next season? Would be fun to catch up and bounce around the show.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I say it is. 10 bucks and I got 4 Pro V1x balls, a couple of free rounds at a local 9 hole, and demos of the new stuff. 

In a :ping-small: Hoofer Lite bag

 :titleist-small: TSR2, 10 degrees, A1 setting, Fujikara Speeder NX Blue 50-S

:taylormade-small: Stealth, 15 degrees, VA Composites Nemesys 70-S 

:755178188_TourEdge: E722, 19 degrees, Oban Devotion 80-S

:mizuno-small: JPX 921 Hot Metal Pro 4-P, Nippon 950GH Stiff Flex

 :cleveland-small: CBX Zipcore 50* (bent to *49) and RTX Zipcore Tour Rack 54* (bent to *55), DG 115 Spinner, Tour Issue

:wilson-small: Staff Model TG 60*, Dynamic Gold 120 S300

 SIK Golf Flo-C

:bridgestone-small: Tour B-XS (2022 Model)

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Yeah, I’d say that’s a deal.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

  • Titleist TSi3 Fujikura Speeder NX Blue 60X
  • TaylorMade SIM2 3 wood Fujilkura Ventus Blue 7-X
  • Titleist U505 2 Tensei 1K Black 85 X
  • Titleist T100 4-P Nippon Modus 3 120X
  • PING S159 50-S 55-H 59-T DG X100
  • Vokey SM8 50, SM9 54 & 60  Nippon Modus 3 120s
  • L.A.B. MEZZ Max Broom Accra 47" 79.5*
  • Srixon Z-Star XV 

Currently testing the 2024 PING S159 wedges…

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/63483-testers-announced-ping-s159-wedges/

Was testing, still loving the 2023 Titleist T100 Irons 4-P

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/60456-titleist-t-series-irons-2023-forum-review/

 

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On 2/20/2020 at 12:08 PM, Berg Ryman said:

Hello everyone,

So, last weekend was the 2020 Turning Stone Golf Show at Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. This was part demo day, part trade show on a super small and mostly Central and Western NY scale. I attended along with my girlfriend and below I've added just some grouping of thoughts on each brand and company I talked to that day. Just so everyone is aware, I did hit the majority of demo tents on site in the Golf Dome, but I was primarily looking for Fairway Woods, Irons, and Wedges as Driver and Putter are safe in my bag for at least a couple more seasons.

TITLEIST

So, let's start with the first company on the range and the first group I talked to. Titleist always has a golf ball guy here and this year was no exception. I talked to him about the MGS Test, said he wasn't surprised when he saw the results and was confident in the Pro v1 and X against the new 2020 stuff from Bridgestone and Callaway. I asked how adding yellow had helped sales and he said it makes up a decent amount and has allowed players who like that color to come 'home' to Titleist top end balls. He then hooked me up with 2 trial sleeves of Prov1X and we moved on.

The demo tent was our next stop with Titleist and I was concerned about hitting two things. T300 and SM8. Let's start with SM8. If you've hit a Vokey, you know what it feels like and SM8 hits and ticks all those boxes. I didn't get to hit SM7 because I wasn't looking for wedges last year, but that D grind in 58 could end up in the bag easy. T300 was a solid iron, what you'd expect from Titleist. I personally don't think it may end up as one of my final attempts at a fitting option, but you could do worse.

ODYSSEY

So, I know I wasn't going to talk about putters, but Odyssey was broken away from Callaway at this event and since I reviewed last year's Stroke Lab putters for the forum I figured I'd roll the new ones. First things first, I asked the Rep if the face was firmer on the 2020 Stroke Lab and he said yes and admittedly it was. If you read our review thread we all liked the idea of the shaft, but the insert was just too soft for most of us, so that's not a problem this year. What did surprise me is that when I asked about Triple Track he told me early sales he was seeing showed it might not be the gangbusters idea people are making it out to be. The rep conceded that it's an acquired taste and it's really for people who like that long extended sight line or use a line on the ball for aiming. Comparing that to the cool all black 2020 Stroke Lab makes it an interesting sell to a buyer. I guess this is an interesting thing to keep an eye out for.

CLEVELAND/SRIXON

Launcher, Launcher, Launcher. There was no club I was more excited to hit this weekend than the Launcher HB Turbo Iron, and I can tell you it lived up to my expectations. It does exactly what you expect it to, gets that ball up there and it's easy to hit. Will definitely be in consideration for iron set status, perhaps as a combo with the UHX irons which I enjoyed as well. I also hit the RTX4 and CBX2 and I have to say, right now CBX 2 is the frontrunner for my Gap wedge this year and maybe also my 54 if I carry 4 wedges (PW, 50, 54, 58). It's just so easy to hit and won't punish you on not great strikes. It just makes sense as a solid blending club in my opinion to the bladed specialty wedge.

COBRA

I love Cobra, I love their commitment to One Length, but since I think I'm going away from One Length into back to traditional length although maybe in super game or game improvement heads, I focused here on the SZ fairway woods. They are rocket powered and those rails do help inspire confidence even if they don't have perfect functionality on course. I feel like I can give it my absolute all and not be concerned. If you're the type who doesn't carry a driver or is looking for a bomber off the tee, the Big Tour is one you have to try. The regular SZ and the Tour are both great and I could easily see myself bagging the standard as a 3 wood and the tour version as a 5. It's Cobra, you're know they're going to perform and the SZ line is no different, highly recommended.

TAYLORMADE

Interesting tactic here by TM, since they knew people were wanting to test the new SIM line, they had like a butcher system where you took a number and waited for your number so you could try. It gave you chance to test other things while you waited was I found to be greatly appreciated. Again here, I was looking at FW's and Wedges. Let's start with MG2 wedges. They're... ok. Admittedly I wasn't blown away by them in any aspect but they're good and fine. Solid if unspectacular. Then it was time to SIM fairway wood with V-Steel. You put V-Steel on a fairway on you're bringing back a lot of memories and good feelings for alot of golfers, myself included. Is it a worthy successor? Yes, it is. It's a slightly less muted version of some of the other sole interaction tech, but it does inspire confidence. The Titanium faced version is crazy long, but crazy expensive and for me that may take it out of consideration, but regular old SIM is a monster as well. Worth the test for sure.

PING

Quick stop with Ping. Hit the G710 and it's a Ping Game Improvement Iron. Easy to hit, easy to flight when necessary and a cool look with that black finish. May take the testing set when I go for a fitting, but may need further opportunities to hit it in stores and what not. The other thing I was interested in was Glide 3.0. After the wedge test and thinking about how I play in early morning with dew and sometimes less ideal weather in the northeast, that Hydropearl finish was something I wanted to maybe invest in. I tried the 58* in both a regular and Eye 2 style and I'm not sure which I liked more. Admittedly, High Toe wedges haven't really been my thing, but the Eye 2 was easy to hit those little half shots. The question is, in all honesty, will I have the time for the necessary practice to optimize the Eye 2 over the standard wedge and that's a tough question for me to answer right now.

WILSON STAFF

For Wilson Staff it was all about Launch Pad and D7 Forged. I wanna start with D7 Forged, which is a solid looking and performing club. It sits in that GI/PD type space and feels really nice, especially on well struck shots. Again, it likely won't make my final testing pool because I'm looking for max forgiveness, but if you're looking at a solid GI iron that will feel better than just about any other, you can't go wrong here. Now Launch Pad. I really wanted to like the FyBrid club because I remember the original version that found its way into Padraig Harrington's bag. The offset though just turns it into a hook machine for me and that really bummed me out because I could see it blending perfectly with my current 4 wood going from 16.5 to 19.5 then into 4 iron. The irons are... how to put this delicately, an acquired visual taste? Reminder this is coming from someone who is looking to get a set like Launcher HB Turbo or Launch Pad, but the visual is a tough one to get over. Easy to hit though.

MIZUNO

Had to hit the new irons and the old irons after they tested so well in the MGS testing last year. I focused on the HMB's and the 919 Hot Metals. Both really solid performers, the 919 Hot Metals will probably make the final round of testing for my fitting as the 'normal' looking irons but I could get better performance out of the HMB's, if I have the time and ability to practice as much as I used to. Sadly that's a reality in deciding what is going to go in my bag and if I can't commit to working through and working harder to get similar performance, I'm taking the easier to hit iron. 

CALLAWAY

So, Mavrik. It's Orange on bottom and designed with AI. As a Fairway wood, the Mavrik falt out performs. It will make the testing pool for me when I go do a fitting. I've always liked Callaway Fairway Woods and still kick myself over trading in my old X2Hot 13.5 three wood as that thing was a weapon from everywhere. The newer Mavrik has solid feel, great flight, and a solid look. Much Like I mentioned about with the Cobra FW's, I could see myself in a regular Mavrik 3 wood and a sub zero 5 wood. I also got to hit the new Jaws wedges. Much like the TaylorMade MG2 they were fine. It's hard hitting off mats in a dome to get real ideas but they were good without an obvious flaw.

TOUR EDGE

I'm closing with Tour Edge because they were the company I walked away from demo day most impressed with. First, let's talk about HL4. Folks, those Ironwoods are the real deal. They are the absolute front-runners to be the new irons in my bag and I'll tell you why. They performed equal to Launcher and Launch Pad, with a weaker loft, 7 iron lofts at Launcher HB and Launch Pad were 30, Ironwood was 32. Two, the ability to blend when with the HL4 hybrid or cavity back brings interesting set makeup into play. Lastly, price. It's a factor! And if I can get similar performance out of a club at $529 for a set of 7 instead of $699 or $799, that's a huge consideration.

Also, I wanna quick talk about the Exotics 220 line with the Diamond Face thing. The rep gave me a 3 wood after I told him I played the CB4 Tour. I had one shot and I turned and looked at my girlfriend with a huge smile on my face and openly laughing. It's that good guys, it's stupid easy to hit and goes like a rocket. It will be in testing for the FW's in the bag. I have nothing but great things to say about it.

IN CLOSING

So that's my experience with the Turning Stone Golf Show. Always fun to hit up demo day and maybe next year I'll remember to tell my girlfriend to bring the camera to get you some pictures. I'm open to any questions and discussion about anything I may have missed or any further questions you may have abut my opinions. 

Thanks for the write up, nice job.

Totally agree with TE, I bought EXi with Recoil shafts xx years ago due to price point to performance. Still have them and, bag the 3 iron now and than.

Also, thanks for letting us readers know about Turning Stone resort hosting this event. I frequent that area and, didn't know about this event, will be there next time, once again thanks

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