What Equipment Have You Tested?

[Gargolf8]

3 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

I resemble that remark!   

 

Welcome aboard @Gargolf8 !!!

Happy for the help

[cksurfdude]

On 2/29/2024 at 10:44 AM, Thoughland2444 said:

Would love to be able to try them again with different shaft options and a better ball to see the numbers because that is one nice iron I could easily play.

Check for outdoor demo days near you .. the brand reps typically have a decent assortment of shafts for testing.

Edited March 2 by cksurfdude

[cksurfdude]

14 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

For a new travel bag I am going to try and test out. The old bag boy has been great but is really old and was due for an update.

Check out the Club Glider. Soooo very easy to roll alongside you!

Only minor drawback is the roller arm mechanism does take up some weight out of your 50 lbs (whatever # of kilos).

[Donn lost in San Diego]

On 2/20/2024 at 10:06 AM, Erin B said:

In January I purchased a set of New Level 902 PDs. I have played them in both the sim and on the course. I also played my PXG 0311s. Both sets are Xstiff, the 902s have the Project X IO shafts, the PXGs have the KBS Tour Lite shafts. The 902 PDs are a more compact head than the 902 OS clubs which is why I wanted them. The New Level 623 MBs were on my radar, but with the 902 PDs being discontinued and at a lower price, I just couldn't pass them up. Plus, talking with the New Level team, we came to the conclusion that the 902s would be a better fit for me. The New Level 902 OSs would be about the same size as my PXG 0311s; I just didn't want that. Anyway, let's get down to the real nitty gritty. I hit my PXGs well, but I hit the New Levels even better, and longer. I am glad I bought them! My buddy has the same PXGs in the same shafts I do and he hit the New Levels and loved them too. Both of us hit the New Levels about 10-15 yards further than the PXGs on the sim. On the course I noticed I would hit a 9 iron as far as my PXG 8 iron. I hit a 163 yard par 3 pin high with my 9 iron. That's usually an 8 iron shot for me. Out of the rough on a par 4 I hit the 9 iron and was on the back of the green. I measured the pin at 155. This shot was over trees which is why I chose the 9 over the 8. I was surprised at the distance. Be advised this was winter golf but the temp was 55 degrees so I have to take that into consideration. I did see a little more roll out than what I am used to, but I am thinking that's due to the winter greens. I am still impressed. If you are looking for a DTC golf company or are looking for a new set of irons at a good price point, give New Level a shot. They have a 7 iron demo program that I did not use, but is available. I didn't use it because I did a lot of research and knew already that I wanted either the 623s or the 902 PDs. I knew my numbers and fit, plus I collaborated with the New Level team and we both got a good feel of what I should play well based off of what clubs I have tried and played before. They do know what they are talking about, but I did override them on shaft stiffness. I just know what shafts I wanted and where I fit in that world. It took them about 8 days to get the clubs to me which is as fast as PXG. I am looking to get a travel set of clubs and need to have another conversation with New Level, but I am leaning on getting the 623 MBs. I have been on ebay looking at clubs because I don't want to spend a fortune for travel clubs, but the 623 MBs are only $99 a club and I want a set of muscle backs anyway. I hope this helps with anyone looking for an option for new irons. As always Happy Birdie Hunting!!!

Did the 8 and 9 have same loft? Or ???

[Erin B]

1 hour ago, Donn lost in San Diego said:

Did the 8 and 9 have same loft? Or ???

no, I believe my 9 is 38 and my 8 is 34. I could be wrong, I would have to look at my spec sheet unless the spousal unit threw it away by accident. They are set up with a lower loft.

[ParGuy]

LA few weeks ago I had a driver fitting at Omni Tucson National. All outdoors with a pro. Curious to test some new driver. My current driver is a Taylormade Stealth, I tested the new Taylormade, Calloway and 2 Ping drivers. I hit the Ping G430 Max the best and most consistent. I really did not care for any of the 10K drivers for some reason . I never thought I would even consider the Ping. The pro did say that if I kept my current driver I should switch to a regular shaft . I checked this out and some shafts are more than a new driver

[cnosil]

10 minutes ago, ParGuy said:

LA few weeks ago I had a driver fitting at Omni Tucson National. All outdoors with a pro. 
 

The pro did say that if I kept my current driver I should switch to a regular shaft . I checked this out and some shafts are more than a new driver

Was it a fitting or a demo?    If it was a fitting did he identify some shafts that you should try in your old driver?   Yes, shafts rename from about $50 to about $800. But that doesn’t mean an $800 shaft is better or will work for you than the $50 one. 

[ParGuy]

It was a fitting .No the pro did not recommend a shaft . He really gets paid to sell drivers and was pushing the Ping driver . Now I am looking for a place to test shafts with my current driver. I am waiting to continue to work on my swing

[sm1tty300]

I am planning on going tonight to look at wedges as well as a driver.  I have the Jaws5 and the Epic Flash.  The last couple years I have not seen any distance or forgiveness with the new products.  I do hope the new Smoke or Q10 might change that. 

I hit 6 different brands of wedges.  I ended up with the Cleveland 54 and 58 degree wedges.  Played a couple rounds and the full face performance is good.. I am not a huge miss on the face but coming out of the rough still had some control.  

 

Edited March 18 by sm1tty300
Purchased Clubs

[Fred Mitchell]

On 2/25/2024 at 2:40 PM, BigLebowski said:

Have been testing 4 hybrid vs. 4 iron lately and go back and forth quite a bit. As one might expect, the 4 hybrid does a much better job at getting up in the air and coming in steep on the greens. Have hit some truly impressive (for me) approaches into longer par 4s and long par 3s with it. The distance consistency also seems better on mishits. However, the right-left dispersion seems a little wider than the 4 iron.

 

Of course the 4 iron comes out lower and looks to peak lower. On mishits I lose a lot more yardage, coming up short. But also, it seems the left-right dispersion is a little tighter. Also much easier to control in the wind. But, I don't hit the ball particularly high so 4 iron into longer par 4s or par 3s often doesn't stop. Anyway, I think for now I will stay with the 4H setup and maybe if it's super windy take the 4 iron. 

A higher lofted utility iron, I use a TaylorMade DHY 5 which seems less driving iron / more utility iron seems to be a nice middle of both to me.

[Fred Mitchell]

On 3/12/2024 at 10:44 AM, cnosil said:

 But that doesn’t mean an $800 shaft is better or will work for you than the $50 one. 

SHHHHHHH , dont let my wife hear that

[Fred Mitchell]

Won a Ping 430 10K  driver in a raffle, already had the original 430 Max driver in my bag. At my slower swing speed the loss of spin with the 10K hurt my distance but man it was straight . Sold the 10K and sticking with ol faithful.

[Nemac]

I recently tried the PXG Black Ops driver as part of the PXG Driver Challenge at the PXG South London store. This is where they challenge to beat your gamer or pay $100. Firstly what a great set-up and overall experience at the store. I would highly recommend it to anyone as it is free to do and you could win $100. The Black Ops is a great feeling club as well.

It is definitely worth going to check your gamer and get free advice on your current set-up and what could be improved. In the end they beat my gamer by 8 yards carry but only 4 yards on total as spin was a little higher. This was not enough for me to part with my money but I did identify a new shaft that worked really well for me in the Black Ops and I just now need to try it in my Paradym to see if it works as well/better. 

[BreakfastBall15]

Local Golf Galaxy was doing a Mizuno demo event today so I went and hit some irons. Started off my warming up while the guy got the shaft optimizer ready. After doing my swings in that we started testing the top 3 shafts: DG X100, Project X LS 6.5, and KBS C Taper 130X. Liked the DG, did not get along with the KBS at all but holy smokes did I like that Project X. Paired with the Pro 245 head… I might be selling a lot of stuff soon to cover the cost

[Preeway]

I have the Project X in my JPX 921 Tours. Great combo 

[Scott R.]

Recently, Callaway has introduced the 2024 Chrome Soft, Chrome Soft Tour, and the Chrome Soft Tour X golf balls.  Personelly, I have played Titleist ProV1 for many years.  I was given a sleeve of the Chrome Soft Tour, which is supposed to be the ProV1 equivalent, and can say that after several rounds with this ball it has many of the characteristics of the ProV1.  The trajectory off both iron shots and my driver was a little lower and more penetrating than the ProV1 ball.  On average, I only lost about 5 yards of distance on my driver.  I did not lose distance with full iron shots; however, it did not check up as well on the greens.

For me, this ball performed it's best the closer I got to the green.  Wedge, chip shots, and putting all performed fantastic! I was able to produce the needed spin for various shots around the green the ball felt great off my putter. In the end, I was good with losing a little distance for the control I was able to get around the green.  

 

 

[SteveGH7]

On 3/26/2024 at 4:01 AM, Scott R. said:

Personelly, I have played Titleist ProV1 for many years.  I was given a sleeve of the Chrome Soft Tour, which is supposed to be the ProV1 equivalent, and can say that after several rounds with this ball it has many of the characteristics of the ProV1. 

I played with this ball yesterday and enjoyed it.  While the feel and sound felt different (maybe louder?) than the ProV1, the performance was strong.

[CMRich1998]

I’m not the one who tested this, but I’ll still share this because I thought it was interesting. 
My friend has recently gotten into flipping golf clubs. We live close to The Villages, so it’s very easy to find GREAT deals on golf clubs by using Facebook marketplace. He recently found an almost brand new L.A.B Putter for cheap. The reason the person was selling it was because they wanted a different model (I’m not sure which model he bought).

My friend was quite intrigued and considered simply keeping it, his wife won’t let him though. He still took the putter out and putted on a practice green for around an hour. He really liked it. Said the ball rolled well. Felt like it was very forgiving. And most importantly, he felt like it was easier to put a good stroke on the ball. 

Here’s the interesting part. A couple days later he went out to play a round and decided to use his own putter. He said it was the worst day of putting he’s ever had. His distance control was horrible. He kept coming up well short on longer range putts and he was racing past the hole on anything short or medium distance.
My friend is a very talented putter and has always had a great feel for distance control. Competing against him is the most frustrating thing ever. You can out drive him by a full club or two. Hit the green in regulation with ease while he is struggling to be chipping in the same number of shots. No matter how good or bad the chip is, he’s probably going to make the putt and tie the hole. 
To hear him say he couldn’t get his distances figured out was very out of the ordinary. 

I don’t have much to say about the LAB experience. My friend spoke very highly of it. But I found it fascinating that his regular putting was so easily influenced after a single session with a LAB putter. I wonder why that is. 

[chris_]

Which LAB? I’ve had exactly the opposite experience. 

[chris_]

Which LAB? I’ve had exactly the opposite experience. 

[stevelandrum]

My Taylormade BRNR mini is awesome.  I use it as a fairway finder on tight holes or short holes.  I like hitting it more than my driver.  So easy to control.  That being said I did crack the face a week or so ago and Taylormade is replacing it with the new BRNR 2.0 version

 

Hopefully its as good as the OG

 

I let you guys know!

[stevelandrum]

Anyone else playing a heavy graphite in their irons?

 

I switched from DG X100 to Mitsubishi MMT 125 TX graphite shafts in my irons and wedges and absolutely love them.

 

Didnt lose any distance or control and actually hit them straighter.  Plus the feel is alot softer and helps dampen the vibration which is great for my bad back and shoulder.

 

Any one else make a similar switch?

[stevelandrum]

I tried the LAB putter and didnt have a good experience.

The science and theory seemed to make sense.

But I think you definitely need to get fit for one.

 

I struggled with speed a lot and i didnt want to or couldnt modify it to what i think i need.

 

Maybe i will get fit and try again.  But since every LAB is basically a 1 of 1 its hard to say its worth it if you do not get fit.

 

Basically playing the lottery with your putter

[TJ Hall]

1 hour ago, stevelandrum said:

My Taylormade BRNR mini is awesome.  I use it as a fairway finder on tight holes or short holes.  I like hitting it more than my driver.  So easy to control.  That being said I did crack the face a week or so ago and Taylormade is replacing it with the new BRNR 2.0 version

 

Hopefully its as good as the OG

 

I let you guys know!

Sorry to hear about the cracked face, but good on TM to take care of it for you!

[chris_]

57 minutes ago, stevelandrum said:

Anyone else playing a heavy graphite in their irons?

Any one else make a similar switch?

I switch from Project X 6.5 to MMT 105x in September. The 105s are actually 115. I switched from P790s to P770s at the same time and I’m still not sold on the graphite. I like the feel, I also hit off mats every day so I know that it’s easier on my body. I actually kept the same distance, maybe even gained a little. I made a swing change at the same time so that’s probably been part of it. But I wouldn’t go back to steel 

[chris_]

1 hour ago, stevelandrum said:

I tried the LAB putter and didnt have a good experience.

The science and theory seemed to make sense.

But I think you definitely need to get fit for one.

 

I struggled with speed a lot and i didnt want to or couldnt modify it to what i think i need.

 

Maybe i will get fit and try again.  But since every LAB is basically a 1 of 1 its hard to say its worth it if you do not get fit.

 

Basically playing the lottery with your putter

I felt I putted well enough with an off the shelf one, but not really any better than my regular Scotty. 

Edited April 7 by chris_

[JSki_Golf]

Hey there! Yesterday, I went to Scheels after visiting my friend who regripped my wedges. While at Scheels, I tried out the Ai-ONE Jailbird Cruiser putter, and it was absolutely amazing! I've been playing golf for years and used the Oydssey White Hot #1 putter all through high school - I just loved that putter. Now, I have two other putters - the Handmade Stix LB 1 putter created by the legendary Larry Bobka and the LAB DF3 putter that I recently got. But, let me tell you, the Jailbird putter felt entirely different and made me sink a lot of putts. Even the misses were very close to the hole! Maybe it's because of the White Hot insert, or maybe it s the counterblance but it would be great to test the Jailbird, DF3, and my blade putter to see which one is the best.

[UNCRoss]

32 minutes ago, JSki_Golf said:

Hey there! Yesterday, I went to Scheels after visiting my friend who regripped my wedges. While at Scheels, I tried out the Ai-ONE Jailbird Cruiser putter, and it was absolutely amazing! I've been playing golf for years and used the Oydssey White Hot #1 putter all through high school - I just loved that putter. Now, I have two other putters - the Handmade Stix LB 1 putter created by the legendary Larry Bobka and the LAB DF3 putter that I recently got. But, let me tell you, the Jailbird putter felt entirely different and made me sink a lot of putts. Even the misses were very close to the hole! Maybe it's because of the White Hot insert, or maybe it s the counterblance but it would be great to test the Jailbird, DF3, and my blade putter to see which one is the best.

I just read the mygolfspy article on this putter from an email I received this morning. I had never really heard about counter balanced puttters, but had me intrigued!  My putting is so bad, I’m looking for any help I can get!

[JSki_Golf]

1 minute ago, unccross said:

I just read the mygolfspy article on this putter from an email I received this morning. I had never really heard about counter balanced puttters, but had me intrigued!  My putting is so bad, I’m looking for any help I can get!

You should give it a try! I was shocked at how many putts I was making last night. 

[TJ Hall]

7 hours ago, JSki_Golf said:

Hey there! Yesterday, I went to Scheels after visiting my friend who regripped my wedges. While at Scheels, I tried out the Ai-ONE Jailbird Cruiser putter, and it was absolutely amazing! I've been playing golf for years and used the Oydssey White Hot #1 putter all through high school - I just loved that putter. Now, I have two other putters - the Handmade Stix LB 1 putter created by the legendary Larry Bobka and the LAB DF3 putter that I recently got. But, let me tell you, the Jailbird putter felt entirely different and made me sink a lot of putts. Even the misses were very close to the hole! Maybe it's because of the White Hot insert, or maybe it s the counterblance but it would be great to test the Jailbird, DF3, and my blade putter to see which one is the best.

While not the Cruiser version, was part of the test for the Ai-ONE and was super impressed with the consistency of the putter.  It has helped my putting tremendously and this thing is not leaving my bag any time soon!

Here is the thread on the test: