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MGS Forum Now and Moving Forward


GolfSpy_APH

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People want to be entertained, educated or find a connection. These 3 things are what make most social media pages or personalities popular.

People also love free stuff. If you don’t think so look at people you know on the golf forums and look at their Twitter feed. You will find many that have little to no posts of their own and everything will be reposting or replying to giveaways for anything and everything golf related even if they will never use it, they just want to win and get free stuff then show off what they won. This is why the growth occurs around testing opportunities.

The connection part is why many join forums. You can see that in the posts in this thread about liking the people here stay. They want to have someplace to hang out with others that have the same interests. But you have to have something that keeps them there.

This is where the education and entertainment come in. If you can’t do either membership won’t grow.

WRX offers both the best imo. The wealth of knowledge amongst a core membership there offer a tremendous value to the forum. From highly qualified fitters, teachers and others who have been doing club building or learning of the swing that offer their knowledge. This is lacking to an extent on mgs. There are some fitters and teachers on here who if they would start threads or be more involved in questions it might go along way. 
 

The entrainment has to come from the threads themselves. This is from the exchange of conversations within and outside of threads like what did you buy, what equipment are you thinking of, tour events and the fantasy leagues most threads lack ongoing on conversation.

 

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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The paintball forum I mentioned before is also attached to a blog they do hand and hand. It has some things we have but it also has more and a ton of simpler things. The equipment they have actual manufacture sections to go discuss things about each brand and then they have sections about each type of equipment so you can have as broad or as narrow areas as you like. I am attaching pictures so you can see how it’s laid out for an idea of a non-golf forum layout. I joined that in high school and it has changed slightly but not much because it works. I stopped going there for 10 years went back and found what I wanted in seconds because it’s easy to navigate!

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5 hours ago, mynerds said:

Lots of really good points in this thread that I will try not to repeat. Here are some of my thoughts as a relative new-comer to the forum:

The "Most Wanted" series is what introduced me to MGS (having realized that other publications were rating new equipment based on aesthetics and demand which seems asinine to me), and from there I found the forum. I was enticed by the testing opportunities but I mostly was looking for a community where I could write and converse with others who share my interests.

One positive thing about the relationship between the main site and the forum is that it served as a trickle of water for me before trying to drink from the firehouse of knowledge that is the forum's expertise. A personal example: at the beginning of the year, I wanted to buy a new set of clubs. The main site introduced concepts like game improvement vs plays irons, forgiveness vs distance, and the like. If I were to have just based my purchasing decisions based on the main site and the most wanted posts, I would have blindly purchased a PING G425 MAX driver and Mizuno JPX 921 Hot Metal irons. However, because of the forum I decided to do a fitting before making a purchase. I tried to be as educated as possible even as a high handicapper because of the forum. I ended up trying both the Ping G425 MAX driver and Mizuno JPX 921 Hot Metal irons during the fitting and they were awful for me. If it wasn't for the forum, I might have bought a driver and iron set that was a bad fit for me and blamed the MGS Most Wanted series for the poor fit.

As an extension of that, one potential minority opinion of mine is that the testing opportunities I'm most interested in aren't of the big OEMs but of the smaller gizmos and gadgets. I'm not as engaged with things like club reviews because they really seem so user specific that even controlling for club speed and handicap seems dubious. The official and unofficial reviews that have helped me make purchasing decisions have been for things like launch monitors, speed training, hitting nets, hitting mats, etc... While individual differences in hitting speed and handicap may yield different benefits, there isn't' a barrier to entry in those products like there are with clubs.

Lastly, the biggest thing I think that the forum could improve upon is usability.

Oh Mylanta, I would deeply love for this to come to fruition. It is so hard to find reviews even when you know what you're looking for, official or otherwise. More broadly, I think the forum would benefit from a reorganization much like @jlukes mentioned. While that may not be the topical structure I would recommend, I think this is a classic example of why User Experience designers are in such high demand right now. A more intuitive structure to find or browse information may not drive initial engagement, but it certainly would help maintain engagement (much in the same way social media breeds addictive ongoing use, for better or for worse).

For driving initial engagement, SEO needs to be a priority if things like the current tests aren't showing up in search results. That's the proverbial "leaving money on the table" if you've got existing manufacturers sponsoring content and even people who are actively looking for that content can't find it.

 

 

This post in particular and many of the others before and after it make very great and valid points.

The review format change in my opinion, like many others was a change for the worse. Hard to find them to track them to read, ask questions, etc. I liked the old format better, it was so much easier to navigate.

Now as far as what differentiates MGS from the "other" golf forums is the people or participants.

They ALL seem more than willing to provide input or answers to questions, not any that I have encountered or interacted with have had "I am better than you" mindset or mentality, as the participants here seem to realize that we all come from various walks of life, at different stages of both age and ability, and yet ALL seem to be more than willing to provide GOOD, relatable input to those asking the questions.

To me personally, this golf forum site is the most relevant for those of us who DON"T play the game for a living.

Testing opportunities would be of an interest, only if I was looking for a change at the time the test may have been announced. As mentioned, some of the other smaller items should not be overlooked, as many of them could help those of us in cold weather climates keep some resemblance of a good swing through the colder months. 

Driver & Fairway: :titleist-small: Titleist TSR3 10 degree - :Fuji: Ventus TR Blue & :titleist-small: TSR3 15 - :projectx: Project X Hzrdus Smoke Black 

Hybrid: :callaway-small: Callaway Apex UW 19 - :projectx: Hzrdus Smoke Black

Irons: :titleist-small: Titleist T200 3G (4) & T150 - (5-G) - :projectx: Project X LZ 

Wedges: :vokey-small: Vokey SM8 54, and 58

Putter: :cameron-small: Cameron Phantom X 7

Ball: :titleist-small: Pro V1 & :maxfli: Maxfli Tour

 

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What brought you to the forum? 

Honest reviews of equipment. I read reviews for a year or two before I joined the forum.


What made you stay?

Found some great people to talk about golf with. Still enjoy the equipment reviews (MGS, official testers and unofficial)

If testing is more limited in the future (again hopefully not, but if) how would you suggest we grow the forum?

The current testing opportunities draw to many (I want a freebie) people. This should be about golf, golfers, and their thoughts and opinions on different subjects. You should publish a standard that is more specific. You must be an active member ( define active ) and be involved for X amount of time ( define X ). After X you qualify to apply to test  the smaller items ( balls, putt outs, and similar values ) Upon writing and submitting good reviews and another 6 months you qualify to apply for bigger items to test. I'm all for growing the forum but it needs to be with quality not quantity. 

Would growth on Social Media help? If yes, what accounts should we look at for the Forum?

I'm not a social media fan. 

What do other forums have which we can use or bring over the MGS Forum which will help grow a productive membership? This could be features, contests, activities or anything. 

I have not been on others except to check it out and know that I belong here.

What is the core identity of MGS Forum in your opinion.

For golfers by golfers. Honest reviews and opinions. Golfers that truly care about one another.

:titleist-small: Driver, TSi 1 S Flex

:cobra-small: 3 wood, Aerojet Max UST Helium Nanocore R Flex

:cobra-small: 5 wood, Aerojet Max UST Helium Nanocore R Flex 

:cobra-small: 7 Wood, Aerojet Max UST Helium Nanocore R Flex 

:cobra-small: 5 Hybrid King Tec MMT R Flex

:cobra-small: Irons, Tour UST Recoil 95 R Flex (6 - Gap)

:cobra-small: Wedges, Snakebite KBS Hi- Rev2.0 54* & 60*

:cobra-small: Agera 35"

image.png Ultralight 14-way Cart Bag

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Just now, Shankster said:

Love it. 

You missed I like it and I want some more of it

Check out my reviews:

:ping-small:  G710 Irons Official Review I :Fuji: MC Shaft & :EVNROLL: V Series Putter Official Review

:cobra-small: 2022 Forged Tec's Official Review I Logo.png.7f297574516267afc6959b36be364cf9.pngNitron Push Cart Official Review

WITB:

Weapons of grass destruction (link to WITB)

:ping-small: Traverse is filled with all this shiny metal and tracked by :Arccos:

:cobra-small: RadSpeed 8* - MotoreX F1 6X :taylormade-small: SIM 3W - Project X HZRDUS Green

:titleist-small: U505 Driving Iron 17* - Project X HZRDUS Black :cobra-small: SpeedZone 4H - Project X HZRDUS Black

:cobra-small: 2022 King Forged Tec's 4-PW - KBS $ Tape 130 :titelist-small: 48 (SM8), 52 & 60 (SM7) - Nippon Modus 125 S 

:EVNROLL: ER2VI :titelist-small: PROV1X #19 

Are you a veteran? Check out the Veterans Golf Association (VGA) Thread!

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8 hours ago, Shankster said:

I tried so hard…

... and got so far, but in the end it didn't even matter ...

⛳🛄 as of Nov 6, 2023 (Past WITB
Driver:  :callaway-small: Paradym TD w/ GD ADDI 6X Driver Shootout! 

Wood:    :cobra-small: F7 3 wood 14.5* w/ Motore F1 Shaft

Irons:   :titleist-small: T Series - T200 5 Iron
                                          T150 6-9 Iron
                                          T100 PW/GW

Wedge:  Toura Golf - A Spec 53,37,61 degree 

Putter:  Screenshot 2023-06-02 13.10.30.png Mezz Max!

Balls:     Vice Pro Plus Drip (Blue/Orange)

 

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One thing to note here is that “change” can be for the worse, and companies need to know when to reverse course. Maybe the changes with the forum reviews has turned-out to be one that needs to be reversed. If folks can’t find them, they’re not present where we can just click on them and see where they are like they used to be, and almost everyone is saying they don’t bother looking for them, then maybe a reversal is needed. 
Lots of time and effort went into the change, so I can understand the frustration of going back, but thank goodness Coca Cola reversed course, eh?!

 

Driver: Ping G430 Max 9*, Ping Tour 70X

Fairway: Ping G425 15*, Ping Tour 70X

Hybrid: Ping G425 22*, Ping Tour 80X

Irons:  Ping i230 4-GW, TT DG X100

Wedges: :edel-golf-1: SMS 50D/54V/58D:Nippon:Modus 130 stiff, +1”

Putter:  :edel-golf-1: EAS 1.0

Ball: Titleist 2023 AVX

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Just read this whole thread, and like many I found the forums through testing, then stayed as I realized what the community was like and how fun it was to interact and getting lucky enough to join a few for a round last year. I would stay without testing now that I am more into the community.

One thing I am thinking of with the testing threads and the hope to get the traffic back up on those. I know the tests are tagged with all sorts of information, likely to organize the database that was mentioned. Can regular threads be tagged as well which moves to a system when searching them is easier using the tags, and then a reviews section with subsections for each product we have a test with all review threads, both official an unofficial under them for review. This would keep the layer to 2 deep, only having to click on Tests, then the product, to get to all the test for those products. This might work for new users that don't use recent content.

Probably getting a bit too technical, but I think that might accomplish the organizational goal of the Mods with the navigational concerns brought up here.

:callaway-small: Epic Max LS 9° :Fuji: Ventus Blue 6X  (2021 Official Review) | :callaway-small:Epic Speed 18° Evenflow Riptide 70g 6.0
:titelist-small: 816 H1 21° Mitsubishi Motors Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Chemical industry Mitsubishi  Rayon Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, mitsubishi, blue, company png |  PNGEgg Diamana S+ Blue 70 S | 
image.png.08bbf5bb553da418019f0db13c6f4f9a.png SMS 4-5/SMS Pro 6-PW  image.png.267751aa721ee9cf3944fa2ff070b98c.png  Steelfiber i95 S (2023 Official Review)
:ping-small: Glide 4.0 50°.12°S/54°.14°W/58°.6°T PING Z-Z115 Wedge Flex | :cleveland-small:  SOFT 11S Super Stroke Mid-Slim 2.0
:ping-small: Hoofer Bag | :titelist-small: Pro V1 | Right Handed | Tracked by :ShotScope: V3

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The problem is a lot of the design choices for the forum over the past few years have been tailored to the current members with seemingly no thought about how it impacts prospective members or just browsers of the forum ( cough hall of fame sub forum cough)

Snd I have no idea who the testing section changes benefited because now it’s a pain for old, new and prospective members 

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On 6/20/2022 at 10:50 AM, jlukes said:

Fantastic post, but this part caught my eye and I needed to point something out.

On every other golf blog with a forum, when there is a blog post, it almost always ends with a link to a respective forum thread about the club being discussed and it encourages readers to click to continue the discussion in the forum.

This almost never happens on MGS HQ.  It is like HQ acts as if the forum doesn't even exist.

Well you and I can agree on that.  We've talked about it before, seems like HQ has no interest in that, which sucks and blows.

:callaway-small: Epic Max LS 10.5 - Motore X F3 6X | :cobra-small: Speedzone 5-wood - Ventus Blue 8S | :titelist-small: TSi3 20* Hybrid - KBS Proto 85S

:edel-golf-1: SMS Pro 4-PW - Steelfiber i110S | :taylormade-small: MG3 Raw Black 50.09, 54.11, 58.11 - DG TI S200

:EVNROLL: ER2B | :titelist-small: Pro V1x | :918457628_PrecisionPro: NX9 Slope | Jones Trouper R | :CaddyTek: CaddyLite EZ v8

 

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Not ready for full release... but sneak peak for those who check in on this thread https://forum.mygolfspy.com/staff/

⛳🛄 as of Nov 6, 2023 (Past WITB
Driver:  :callaway-small: Paradym TD w/ GD ADDI 6X Driver Shootout! 

Wood:    :cobra-small: F7 3 wood 14.5* w/ Motore F1 Shaft

Irons:   :titleist-small: T Series - T200 5 Iron
                                          T150 6-9 Iron
                                          T100 PW/GW

Wedge:  Toura Golf - A Spec 53,37,61 degree 

Putter:  Screenshot 2023-06-02 13.10.30.png Mezz Max!

Balls:     Vice Pro Plus Drip (Blue/Orange)

 

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I agree with the major thrust of the comments made on this thread.

I remain concerned that HQ needs take more of an interest in what the grass roots MGS members want.  I really hope official testing goes back to where it was.  Not sure a hitting robot even comes to replacing actual member reviews!

I came for the reviews.  Tried the Srixon because MGS liked the Z Star.  It was a great ball and I knew no one up here that used one.  Then I stayed for the testing reviews which were detailed but also fun to read.

Would love to see the NPG be revamped and made more interesting again.  It’s current format is very uninspired!  Bring Miranda back!

 

:titelist-small:  TSR 3   9.0  GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff

:titelist-small:  TSi 3  15.0 GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff

:titelist-small: TS3  21 Hybrid Tensei AV Blue 65 HY Stiff

:titelist-small: U-510 19 Utility Iron HZDUS Smoke Black 6.0 Stiff

:Takomo:  5-PW 101T Irons - KBS Tour Lite Stiff - Official Tester 2023

:vokey-small: Vokey SM9 52 F - 12 Nippon NS Pro 950 Stiff

:vokey-small: Vokey Forged 56 M - 10  DG S200

:taylormade-small: MG3 60 - 12 NS Modus3 Tour 105 Stiff

image.gif.2bc8a27613a423a3721fd3b955802132.gif  Scotty Special Select - Squareback 2 - 35”  / Super Stroke Slim 3.0

 :srixon-small: Z-Star Diamond

 :titelist-small: Players 4 bag  image.png.939559f85230fe16347ecf2765438915.png    :redrooster:

 :Arccos: Official Tester - 2021 & Loyal MCC Plus 4 Sensor User

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3 minutes ago, KC Golf said:

 

I remain concerned that HQ needs take more of an interest in what the grass roots MGS members want.  I really hope official testing goes back to where it was.  Not sure a hitting robot even comes to replacing actual member reviews!

 

 

This 110%, definitely feel like there is no finger on the pulse right now.

Check out my reviews:

:ping-small:  G710 Irons Official Review I :Fuji: MC Shaft & :EVNROLL: V Series Putter Official Review

:cobra-small: 2022 Forged Tec's Official Review I Logo.png.7f297574516267afc6959b36be364cf9.pngNitron Push Cart Official Review

WITB:

Weapons of grass destruction (link to WITB)

:ping-small: Traverse is filled with all this shiny metal and tracked by :Arccos:

:cobra-small: RadSpeed 8* - MotoreX F1 6X :taylormade-small: SIM 3W - Project X HZRDUS Green

:titleist-small: U505 Driving Iron 17* - Project X HZRDUS Black :cobra-small: SpeedZone 4H - Project X HZRDUS Black

:cobra-small: 2022 King Forged Tec's 4-PW - KBS $ Tape 130 :titelist-small: 48 (SM8), 52 & 60 (SM7) - Nippon Modus 125 S 

:EVNROLL: ER2VI :titelist-small: PROV1X #19 

Are you a veteran? Check out the Veterans Golf Association (VGA) Thread!

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Just read through this whole thread and I share the sentiments and frustrations of most everyone here, with 99% of my ire directed at HQ not the forum. As for forum-specific feedback I think I am probably the 10th person to "second" @jlukes organizational suggestions, so that seems like a natural focus area to the extent feasible for the mods.

The only thing I would add is on testing threads specifically, it would be nice to be able to filter for a certain tester's posts - both their review stages and their ongoing thread posts with new updates and responses to questions which in my experience are just as informative as the review itself. I have always found that there are 1-2 testers that I gravitate to throughout a review period, either because they are similar to my game or I recognize and trust their thoughtful posts/feedback. I know I can "follow" certain users but in my experience that doesn't allow me to focus my reading on the one area I am looking for information on, and for new members looking to learn about a new product that is being tested it could help them arrive at their desired content much more quickly and make them more likely to keep coming back.

For example, I was lucky enough to be a tester for the TSi driver a couple of years ago and we had 40-something pages on that thread. Other threads over the years instantly come to mind like the i210/i500 review, the t100 review, and the various CCC threads. If the intro to the topic had a simple table with high level information on each tester (Handicap & Driver SS) and then a link to filter for just each tester's posts in the thread you could save readers a TON of time in finding the information they might be looking for.

Driver:  :titelist-small: TSi 3 10* w/ Graphite Design AD IZ 7X 

Fairway/Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSi 2 15* & 18* w/ Graphite Design AD IZ 7X, AD IZ 95X

Irons: :taylormade-small: P790 4i, P770 5-7i, P7MC 8-P, $ Taper 120

Wedges:  :vokey-small: SM7 52F/54 S, 58 M w/ Modus 125

Putter:  :cameron-small:  California Hollywood 34" Circle H

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The question to ask is what value is provided to whatever is added to or changed on the forum side.

Example: when the decision was made to change how review threads were going to be done. What was the driving factor for the change? What was the value added to the current and future forum members by doing it that way.

Now that the reviews are a topic of discussion in this thread we can see there was no value added as less current members are reading them and interacting and that more than likely new members don’t know they exist or when they look for something online there’s nothing in search engines that send them to MGS. The value of the reviews from MGS perspective is supposed to be unbiased everyday golfer reviews. But if nobody is reading them there is no value in them to either the general golfing audience or the manufacturer who is providing the equipment.

So for the growth of the forum those in charge need to find a way to increase the value of the forum to attract more members. Determining what golfers want is going to be key and then finding people who can help provide that information and have it out there to attract new members and get them to stay.

Another example that I think has fallen flat since the inception is the role of content creator. The initial mod provided nothing in this role and no offense to the current mod but I don’t see where there is anything if value added now either. There were a couple threads early on like the weekly happening in golf or whatever it was but that died quickly, there may have been one other thread which also had a short life span. Since I don’t recall anything new being posted or anything that the rest of the forum isn’t already aware of because of 24 hour news cycles and social media.

 

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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On 6/21/2022 at 11:06 AM, GolfSpy_BOS said:

Well you and I can agree on that.  We've talked about it before, seems like HQ has no interest in that, which sucks and blows.

Not trying to stir the pot. I enjoy MGS content and MGS Forum a lot - but if this is the case, why can't we do our own forum?  Especially if they use the forum #s as a way to market their reach. Seems pretty 1 sided IMO.

 :taylormade-small: M6 12* Oban Kiyoshi Purple 65g stiff

:titelist-small: TS2 16.5* HL Oban Kiyoshi Purple 75g stiff

:ping-small:  G410 Hybrid 19* Tour stiff 

:ping-small: i210 KBS tour stiff 4-GW

:cleveland-small: 54* RTX Zipcore

:ping-small: 58* glide 3.0

:taylormade-small:  TP Black Copper Juno 34in

Oncore elixr or Snell MTBx

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14 minutes ago, TBS said:

Not trying to stir the pot. I enjoy MGS content and MGS Forum a lot - but if this is the case, why can't we do our own forum?  Especially if they use the forum #s as a way to market their reach. Seems pretty 1 sided IMO.

Good luck with that. Guys a few years back left another forum and tried to start their own. That site didn’t last long. 

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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3 minutes ago, jlukes said:

See this happen so often in corporate america.  Somebody new comes in and they want to change things to put their mark on things.  

No voice of customer was done.  No surveys done prior to the changes to see what people actually wanted.  It was a selfish "look at me" change that nobody wanted or asked for

Yep, seen it several times in different types of corporations. 

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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