Congratulations RoverRick

[Tony Covey MGS]

Congratulations!

MyGolfSpy would like to congratulate February 2012′s “MyGolfSpy Forum Member of the Month”, RoverRick.

 

As has been the case for the last couple of months, choosing a winner for February was especially difficult, but when the votes were cast, RoverRick was at or near the top of every list.

 

Though he has only been a forum member for a relatively short time (2.5 months), Rick has become an almost everyday participant in our forum conversations. Looking back over the last month, it's difficult to find a single thread where RoverRick didn't provide a contribution.

 

From the entire staff at MyGolfSpy, Thank You, RoverRick, for helping us grow our community.

 

See RoverRick's Awesome Prize Package

[JBones]

Congrats, Rick.

[RoverRick]

Thanks

 

This is so cool.

[Moecat]

Wow ... a Callaway RAZR FIT! Hope it works out for you ... will be cool to get your feedback on it. Congrats!

[Tyk]

Congrats Rick!

[Kanoito]

Holy mother of drivers Batman!

 

Congratz man... well deserved!

[Will Par]

Congrats! Nice prizes too. Well-deserved.

[Jgolf]

I'd also like to add my congratulations. Over the last couple months you have been a great contributer to almost every thread. I always appreciate your insight, and hope that you will wield this awesome driver with equal enthusiasm!

[Stuart81]

Looking forward to hearing your feedback on the Driver - Congrats

[RoverRick]

Wow, I have been hoping that some day I would be selected for this, but to be honest, I did not realize how honored I would feel, especially when I read your comments. I love talking about golf and will not hesitate to give my opinion on any subject but religion and politics. Not that I do not have opinions on those, but half my golfing group is catholic the other half methodist, and half are democrats and half are republican, so those are subjects I avoid.

 

These are really great prizes. I learned today that I get to pick any configuration from the Callaway Custom Website, and am studying that. I need a shaft that has very low spin, and am thinking about the Motore F1 65. I had one in my FT 9 but broke it and have the 55 gram in the 909D3 but it spins too much. Any thoughts you have along these lines are welcome. But only for tonight. I want to make the decission and get this coming, because I can not wait for it to get here.

 

 

Thanks again to those who selected me.

 

And thank you to all those who have left such nice comments.

[GolfSpy WD]

I love talking about golf and will not hesitate to give my opinion on any subject but religion and politics.

 

Smart man!

 

These are really great prizes. I learned today that I get to pick any configuration from the Callaway Custom Website, and am studying that. I need a shaft that has very low spin, and am thinking about the Motore F1 65. I had one in my FT 9 but broke it and have the 55 gram in the 909D3 but it spins too much. Any thoughts you have along these lines are welcome. But only for tonight. I want to make the decission and get this coming, because I can not wait for it to get here.

 

They give a lot of options, be patient and get it right! If you have them or can get them, post your swing speed, launch angle, and typical spin numbers. I'd find it fun to give my opinion. I bet a lot of other MGSers would be happy to add their thoughts too.

 

(or, better yet, find a local fitter and explain your "dilemma")

[RoverRick]

Smart man!

 

 

 

They give a lot of options, be patient and get it right! If you have them or can get them, post your swing speed, launch angle, and typical spin numbers. I'd find it fun to give my opinion. I bet a lot of other MGSers would be happy to add their thoughts too.

 

(or, better yet, find a local fitter and explain your "dilemma")

 

 

Brilliant Idea. Just talked the wife into making a trip to Dallas tomorrow and getting on the launch monitor at Golfsmiths. It was not hard, I said, want to go to Dallas for lunch and she said, yes. So that is the plan. This is an opportunity that does not come along often so we are on the way.

The Callaway driver, does not come often. Dallas for lunch is usually once or twice a month.

[GolfSpy Tim]

Congrats!! Glad to see how much you've been sharing and getting conversations going

[RookieBlue7]

Wow, I have been hoping that some day I would be selected for this, but to be honest, I did not realize how honored I would feel, especially when I read your comments. I love talking about golf and will not hesitate to give my opinion on any subject but religion and politics. Not that I do not have opinions on those, but half my golfing group is catholic the other half methodist, and half are democrats and half are republican, so those are subjects I avoid.

 

These are really great prizes. I learned today that I get to pick any configuration from the Callaway Custom Website, and am studying that. I need a shaft that has very low spin, and am thinking about the Motore F1 65. I had one in my FT 9 but broke it and have the 55 gram in the 909D3 but it spins too much. Any thoughts you have along these lines are welcome. But only for tonight. I want to make the decission and get this coming, because I can not wait for it to get here.

 

 

Thanks again to those who selected me.

 

And thank you to all those who have left such nice comments.

 

 

Seems we've had some nice discussions and some heated. Kind of like a religion or politics discussion, lol. Congrats.

 

As for low spin shafts that are available, my top three on their list are the Diamana Whiteboard, Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki Tour and the Graphite Designs Tour AD DI6. I'd go with either the DI6 or the Whiteboard, personally, cause those are two of my favorite shafts out to kill spin.

 

I will tell you that it's very likely that Golfsmith will not have many of the options available. I'm betting there are no Matrix shafts, maybe a standard Fubuki, Project X, and a Diamana Ahina. Their fitting carts are rarely ever decked out at big box stores. If you can find a Demo day or a Callaway fitting center in your area, I'd go there, as they tend to have a LOT more options to test out.

[RoverRick]

Seems we've had some nice discussions and some heated. Kind of like a religion or politics discussion, lol. Congrats.

 

As for low spin shafts that are available, my top three on their list are the Diamana Whiteboard, Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki Tour and the Graphite Designs Tour AD DI6. I'd go with either the DI6 or the Whiteboard, personally, cause those are two of my favorite shafts out to kill spin.

 

I will tell you that it's very likely that Golfsmith will not have many of the options available. I'm betting there are no Matrix shafts, maybe a standard Fubuki, Project X, and a Diamana Ahina. Their fitting carts are rarely ever decked out at big box stores. If you can find a Demo day or a Callaway fitting center in your area, I'd go there, as they tend to have a LOT more options to test out.

 

thanks, according to the Callaway website, they suggest an Edwin Watts or Golf Galaxy rather than a Golfsmiths. To be honest I have been a bit underwhelmed with Golfsmiths but they are where I always go. Tomorrow I will go to Edwin Watts.

[RoverRick]

Seems we've had some nice discussions and some heated. Kind of like a religion or politics discussion, lol. Congrats.

 

 

I believe the heated discussion you reference was the long putter, One of the things I am getting tomorrow is a new putter shaft. and grip, I am getting a shaft bent and going to make my Scotty Cameron a regular length putter. i will probably add an extension to it so I can stand straighter but still have a traditional putter. That will make it a very heavy head but I like that. I putted for years with a mid length Odyssey cut down to 33 inches. I went back to the short putter as my back would let me. I still have a belly putter that cut down and then made longer again. The shaft on the Scotty needs to be replaced anyway. I fixed it but it came loose again. So I decided to have another shaft bent and try that. While I still think that anyone who wants can use a long putter, I am not going to. I putt great with it but find that under pressure i putt better with the short putter. Yeah, that runs opposite of all of the arguements.

[GolfSpy WD]

Long putters should totally be legal, there's no benefit at all to using them

[RoverRick]

Off to Edwin Watts golf shop for a club fitting.

[RoverRick]

Ok, I took my wife to Dallas, had lunch, left her at the mall and went to Edwin Watts. Unfortunately, Edwin Watts is now a discount furniture store and had the option of spending 25 minutes driving to a Golf Galaxy or going to the Golfsmiths next to the mall where my wife was, so I went to Golfsmiths.

 

They had a, yes A, Razr Fit Driver with a Rip's NV shaft. As I stated I do not do well on launch monitors inside a building. No matter how I try I can not stop worrying about hitting the ceiling or the wall. I have done both in the living room and my wife is not fond of it, I can assure you. Plus I try to get the numbers up and swing harder which brings the numbers down. Yesterday, I attached my Medicus Swing Speed Monitor to my driver when I got on the course and checked out every time when actually playing golf. I was 98 to 103 mph every time. Average speed was 101.2 mph. Average for 10 times I used the driver was 266.4 yards according to gps. That is total distance, do not know the carry and roll numbers. Hard to tell from the tee box.

 

 

Today on their launch monitor Here are the numbers These are the averages.

The first thing I noticed was that I did not finish my swings, near as high as on the course so I know the launch numbers are lower than normal, I guess because of the ceiling. I generally can hit the ball high or low, but never really hit it too high.

 

94 mph 139 Ball speed 11.3 Launch 3905 Back spin 4000 total spin 40* decent 210 carry 234 total and 29.5 Apex

 

I know just enough about this to be a menace to the golfing society but I think that my launch is low and spin too high.

I have a pretty smooth transition. usually coming to a stop before starting down. except for when I start the swing halfway through the backswing and jump in the air trying to kill the ball, but it does not matter about that because i may not even hit the ball,

 

I took these drivers with me.

I a 909D3 9.5* Motore F1 55 S with a bout 14 deg launch but 4500 rpms today.

I have a FT9 which is the one I used yesterday, with a UST Proforce V2 Stiff 67 grams that was giving me 3200 rpms on the launch monitor today

 

 

I did find a Nike VRs 9.5 and a Fubuki k series 70 and was getting spin rates around 2500 to 2600. and about 13 degrees launch. of course this is the futherest I hit the ball and had a little better club head speed.

 

 

All advise and opinions are now solicited. But I reserve the right to choose the one I want.

[Matt Saternus]

Rick,

 

Were you hitting a 9.5 or 10.5? Standard setting, open, closed? Regular or stiff flex?

 

It looks like the Graphite Designs AD-DI 6 is an option, so that might be my recommendation. I reviewed the AD-DI 7 and found it to be fairly high launching with very low spin, which would solve both of your problems. It is pretty stout, so you might want to see if you can get a regular flex tipped to play in between a regular and stiff so that it feels a bit smoother.

[RoverRick]

Rick,

 

Were you hitting a 9.5 or 10.5? Standard setting, open, closed? Regular or stiff flex?

 

It looks like the Graphite Designs AD-DI 6 is an option, so that might be my recommendation. I reviewed the AD-DI 7 and found it to be fairly high launching with very low spin, which would solve both of your problems. It is pretty stout, so you might want to see if you can get a regular flex tipped to play in between a regular and stiff so that it feels a bit smoother.

 

 

It was a 9.5 and that is really all I know. I was fearful that someone would recommend this shaft. I am not sure I can do this shaft. It requires soul searching. You see, three of my regular group are Uof Texas Lawyers, colors are Orange and White, I am a Texas A&M Engineer the arch rivals. I am not sure it would be worth it to me to pull it out of the bag with them.

[GolfSpy WD]

Quick question while I look things up, do you consider yourself having a fast, medium, or slow tempo?

[RoverRick]

Quick question while I look things up, do you consider yourself having a fast, medium, or slow tempo?

 

 

slow to medium.

[GolfSpy WD]

First, here's a chart for suggested numbers:

 

Ball Speed 	Launch Angle 	Back Spin (rpm's)	Carry Distance
170 mph 	11.5-15.5+* 	2000-2400 		289 yards
160 mph 	12-16+* 	2200-2650 		271 yards
150 mph 	13-16.5+* 	2300-2800 		252 yards
140 mph 	14-17+* 	2350-2950 		233 yards
130 mph 	14.5-17* 	2400-3100 		215 yards
120 mph 	15-17* 		2500-3300	 	196 yards

 

The Fubuki k series 70 is a low spin, high launch shaft, so Matt's suggestion sounds good.

 

My [amateur] thoughts:

 

If you liked the Fubuki, you could go with a 10.5* driver and the Fubuki Alpha series. Those are mid launch, so the 10.5* should give good LA. I'm not sure what that'll do to spin though. Or, if you like really lightweight shaft, the Bassara F series stiff is also mid launch.

 

Or if you want to stay with the 9.5*, look at the Mitsubishi Ahina series. I love the 3.1 torque on this shaft.

 

I also checked the DSFI chart, which suggests the following high launch shafts, but it doesn't have the Mitsubishi or GD shafts:

Grafalloy Prolaunch Blue w/ Axis Tech stiff

Aldilla NVS 65 stiff

[RoverRick]

I think my first choice is the Fubuki K Series however Callaway does not offer that one on their Custom Options chart.

 

I do not think I normally have a LA problem. I noticed that my swing plane was much flatter than normal along with being much slower there in the little room. Golf is not meant to be played in a 12x20 room.

 

 

I looked hard at the Fubuki Apha and Tours but am concerned about the spin. I have a Fubuki Tour 63 regular flex but it is marginal on spin. So I am concerned that the stiff flex would be the same. i had the original Fubuki also and it was awefullly spinny. SO maybe I should look else where,

 

The Ahina looks very good and that may be the best option

 

I am just looking into the Bassara but I need a stiff and the G series is the only one that Callaway offers. Is this spinny?

[GolfSpy WD]

According to http://clubmaker-online.com/mitsubishi.chart.html, the Bassara G series is mid launch, mid spin.

[RoverRick]

Looking it over I can get the Ahina in a 62 grams, only 6 more grams than the Bassara and not have the spin issues. Ball flight as I said is taken care of. I like Matts suggestion of the GD AD DI but like I said, the color is a killer for me.

 

Most of the other options I found and I liked Callaway did not offer so there you have it.

[GolfSpy WD]

The Ahina looks as good as they come for a high launch shaft, at least on paper

[RoverRick]

I hit one in a Nike today and it was much better than most of the others.

[RookieBlue7]

I believe the heated discussion you reference was the long putter, One of the things I am getting tomorrow is a new putter shaft. and grip, I am getting a shaft bent and going to make my Scotty Cameron a regular length putter. i will probably add an extension to it so I can stand straighter but still have a traditional putter. That will make it a very heavy head but I like that. I putted for years with a mid length Odyssey cut down to 33 inches. I went back to the short putter as my back would let me. I still have a belly putter that cut down and then made longer again. The shaft on the Scotty needs to be replaced anyway. I fixed it but it came loose again. So I decided to have another shaft bent and try that. While I still think that anyone who wants can use a long putter, I am not going to. I putt great with it but find that under pressure i putt better with the short putter. Yeah, that runs opposite of all of the arguements.

 

If it makes you feel any better, some of my best putting has been with a 405 gram (reweighted by me) SeeMore FGP at 34.25 inches. Maybe you should give the almost belly a shot? It's at 38 inches and you don't touch your belly, but it allows you to stand more erect. (Unless you're John Daly like in statue, and in that case, a 38" putter is too long to be a belly putter).