Mizuno Long Game - 2023 Forum Review

[ejgaudette]

8 hours ago, russtopherb said:

These new ST-G are the ultra low spin line right? I’d be hitting 200 yard knuckleballs with those

But think of all the roll out right, oh wait sorry watching the Open with balls bounding even as its green

[Beakbryce]

Just walked in from golf with the message that a parcel from Mizuno arriving today. Looks like it's on!

[Beakbryce]

Arrived! Nice box. Watching the Open so... all I can do to contain myself until later.

[russtopherb]

16 minutes ago, Beakbryce said:

Arrived! Nice box. Watching the Open so... all I can do to contain myself until later.

I have one waiting for me when I get home late Saturday!

[vandyland]

 I don't have any shipping notifications yet 

I have tee times on Saturday and Sunday and then leave for vacation on Tuesday so would be EXCELLENT if I could get these in very soon. 

[Swood1994]

Looks like @Beakbryce is the lucky one of the group! I’m with the rest of the testers in that I am still awaiting an email for the arrival of a bright blue box on my front porch. it’s this week as I too have some big golf weekends coming up where it would be nice to employ the Mizunos!

[vandyland]

I am off on vacation tomorrow until next Monday so I am fully expecting to get the shipping notification the SECOND I get on the plane. Luckily my mom lives nearby and can pick it up so it is not sitting on my porch saying "steal me."

Currently, I am really intrigued by the Fli-Hi. The course that I play week in and week out has at least 4 tee shots that require a long iron tee shot (at least for me) because they fit the criteria:
- Relatively short (370 yds or less)
- Have a narrow landing zone (35 yds or less) 
- Have a massive penalty for missing the fairway (either deep trees or actual OB)

My current driving iron has been quite decent the last few weeks BUT I have legitimately never tried to hit it off the fairway in a real round of golf. I have used it with some success on the range but, for whatever reason, I don't feel a ton of confidence with it in an actual round of golf. Just a mental thing I guess. 

I re-watched the R&D overview of the Mizuno Fli-Hi today and was seduced by these few items:
- The gap between the fairway woods (or in my case my low lofted hybrid) and the longest iron is getting wider as technology advances
- Chris Voshall is seeing more "better players" looking for long iron alternatives that don't have the drawbacks of the hybrids and fairway woods....basically more control
- For a while this was a long iron from the game improvement world that brought the height they were looking for but had maybe too much offset and didn't quite have the Mizuno look to them
- Tungsten is low and back for launch, the sole is bigger (significantly) and that is why it is black is to "slim it down", visually, for the better player
- Loft for loft, compared to the 225, the Fli-Hi should launch higher and have faster ball speeds due to the construction and location of CG.... {me} I have no real way to test that but it is compelling
- Fli Hi is truly a driving iron because of the distance advantage so it is less about hitting an exact number and more about giving you a hotter option that should still have (I assume) some good dispersion control and be more predictable, flightwise, than a hybrid. 

So all that said, I am excited about that. I have become a driving iron guy and that is borne out in the last few rounds. I hit hybrid, on average, about 3 times a round and I hit driving iron 4 times a round (always off a tee peg so far). So it will be interesting to see if the Mizuno Hybrid and Fli Hi change that allocation at all (and if they beat my current stuff). 
 

[russtopherb]

Safe travels @vandyland and I hope the shipping notices come in for all of us ASAP   Now that I'm back from vacation, I want to get this testing kicked off!

For me, I think I'm most looking forward to the woods and what they can hopefully do for me. As I mentioned in my intro post, getting off the tee with driver tends to run hot/cold for me. Thankfully it's been trending more hot lately, and based on what I saw from the ST-X 230 during fitting, I think it'll put me in better position on a lot of holes I normally need a little help with. If I can be hitting 8i instead of 6i into some greens, or hitting from the fairway/light rough instead of punching out from the trees, I'll be thrilled.

Putting a 3w back into the bag is going to be a fun experiment as well. Based on my fitting, it'll be lofted up to 4w territory and having that to tee off with on some tighter holes will be a benefit. It will replace my HyWood during testing, so I'll see if that'll be an option for me off the turf, or if the inbound 4h will be the better club choice when hitting a second shot from the fairway.

[russtopherb]

Are any of my other fellow testers constantly refreshing the UPS tracking page to see if anything's been posted as arriving at their home soon? I had to have my browser save my password, I've been entering it so much!!

[Swood1994]

8 hours ago, russtopherb said:

Are any of my other fellow testers constantly refreshing the UPS tracking page to see if anything's been posted as arriving at their home soon? I had to have my browser save my password, I've been entering it so much!!

First off I didn’t even know that is an option… so thanks for making my work day a lot less busy tomorrow. Secondly, based off my traditional method of tracking.. still no shipping email in my inbox . Hoping it’s soon though because the more my woods get used the harder it will be for the Mizuno’s to beat them!

[Beakbryce]

INITIAL THOUGHTS

Box as you can see was the usual sturdy club shipping box with Mizuno logos. Cool.

I am used to opening the long side of the box as I mostly receive Callaway boxes. Unable to do this with the Mizuno box because of an absurd glue job so the clubs were unceremoniously slid out one end. No problems. No glorious picture though.

There was a piece of cardboard that kept the clubs separated which was kind of cool.

Clubs sheathed in plastic, easily removed. So far so good.

Inspecting the clubs, the driver grip was in plastic and both clubheads as well. Found the serial numbers and registered the clubs with Mizuno. Disturbing that you can’t register a club without providing a birthday. Anybody else born on the Marine Corps birthday? Me either, but easy to remember. Deducted a point for the registration process because of this requirement.

The driver is bigger looking than I am used to. Didn’t notice it during the fitting, but side by side with my Callaway it looks bigger. The shape I believe would please most everyone. I started with wood woods so I prefer the perfect “D” shape and the Mizuno is a little elongated, more like a closed, sideways “U”. The graphics on the bottom are colorful enough and not distracting.

 

The 3 woods look virtually the same. I’m super impressed with the look.

 

Aiming cues. I know preferences for an aiming cue are all over the map. I like the bold arrow on the Callaway. The Mizuno has its logo on the top of the club but it is severely muted. It’s as if they wanted to please everyone. Look, if you want an aiming aid there it is, but if you don’t want one, it’s so light you won’t even notice. I’m deducting a point because I feel this is worthy of change. Mizuno is trying to break into the wood category so put it out there! Color, snazzy graphics!

Shafts are both Mitsubishi Kai’li and are very colorful. I liked the blue and white coloring.

Both clubs came with a Lamkin Universal 2021 grip. I couldn’t find it on their website but visually it looks like the ST+2 hybrid 360. Time will tell how it holds up in 100 degree + heat.

I give the clubs 8 out of 10 because of the registration problem, the logo is dull, and there is nothing to distinguish their look from other drivers and 3 woods.

[Beakbryce]

Prior to range testing I wanted to play with the adjustability. One added point for adjustability. Adjusting wrench provided. Options appear to be a 2 degree plus or minus from base setting. I am deducting two points for their adjustable setup for the simple reason that the shaft and therefore the grip is rotated when the loft is changed. Why is this important? If you have a “reminder” grip with a rib down the back, rotating the shaft and grip means the reminder is anywhere but where it should be. This may require grip replacement for any setting other than standard. The Callaway implementation does not require shaft rotation. For testing I am leaving at 9.5 loft but may play with it after a couple of weeks.

Range Information

I went to Valley Golf Center in Avondale. This is a golf shop and driving range. Valley golf is about 50 years old. I used to come up here when I was stationed in Yuma in the mid 80's as it is a really cool store. If you live in the Phoenix area, you should definitely check this place out. The driving range has Trackman info at every station. https://valleygolfcenteraz.com/

Paul Smith, a PGA Professional, showed me how to set up the trackman data center, which was really nice. He also checked on me once in a while to make sure the testing was going as planned. Everyone I have ever worked with at this store has been most pleasant and informative.

Testing conditions were 100 degrees with wind basically into at 5-10 MPH. Pretty ideal. Well, except that that’s too hot to be beating balls. Play in yes, beat balls no.

Callaway 3 Wood

I only hit 3 balls because this corresponds to real world numbers I have been recording over the past few weeks.

Mizuno 3 Wood

I hit 5 balls but the first 2 were wonky while I was trying to figure out the best ball placement. These numbers practically the same as my 3 wood. They were better than the fitting session where the highest ball speed with the 3 wood was 117.

Callaway Driver

I had never put my driver on a trackman so these numbers are interesting. I have been charting my drives on 2 different courses using Titleist AVX and Pro V1X and my average drives were 222. Part of the discrepancy in total yards is probably the wet fairways I play early in the morning when the course is soaked.

Mizuno Driver

Chucked 5 drives while I worked with tee height and getting the feel of the club. I wish the trackman reported spin. The launch angle in the bay at PGA Superstore during fitting was right at 14.5 with 2400 RPM spin. Probably tee height and range ball difference.

For testing purposes tried a couple at 7.5 degrees and a couple at 11.5 degrees, the extreme range of adjustment.

As expected, the 7.5 setting resulted in a slice and the 11.5 in a nice draw.

That’s the numbers. I question the launch angles as they aren't close to the results at PGA Superstore. Maybe I’m just consistent, but the numbers aren’t remarkably different for either the Callaway VS Mizuno drivers or 3 woods. The Mizuno clubs both went pretty straight with maybe a 5 yard fade on a couple of hits. Deducted a point because they just aren’t workable at this point. Most might say dead straight isn’t really a deterrent though.

Based on these tests, I set the 3 wood up at + 1 or 16 degrees and left the driver at the stock 9.5 degrees.

I gave the clubs on initial testing also 8 out of 10 points because they were easy to hit dead straight but not workable and the adjustability results in the shaft grip combo not conducive to reminder grips.

Edited July 31, 2023 by Beakbryce

[Beakbryce]

Play 07/25/23

Nice and hot for playing conditions. We have a heat wave going in the Phoenix area and the course was soaked. This affected the distances a little bit. There also wasn’t a lot of wind. I played from the tees measuring 6035. The other set of tees we play is 5605. Because of the elevation changes, the courses play longer than the stated yardage. The other info about playing here is we are about 960 ft msl.

I have kept some stats over the last couple of weeks. Playing Falcon Dunes, driving distance over 6 rounds with my Callaway Epic was 224 with a long drive of 265, downhill, with a good amount of wind, and a short drive of 196 in to a soaked fairway, uphill, lots of wind into. Average distance on the East course (6147 yards) at Pebble Creek was 220. This course is level and the extremes for drives not as much. Long drive of 235 and short of 207 mostly affected by 10-15 mph winds in the afternoon. I bet everyone reading this can’t wait to get to 70 years old and smash drives! Not.

Average drive distance for the Mizuno today was 219.7, effectively also 220! Consistency at its best. Long drive of 237 and short of 190. Drives were straight. My shots included slight pulls, dead straight, slight pushes, all depending on ball position but straight as an arrow. Missed one fairway, remembering again our fairways are generous This was the 190 yard drive that went in to a tree. Overall flight was low. Teed the ball higher but flight stayed lowish.

Average 3 wood with my Epic was 210. It’s like a skittish colt though in that is very much an area weapon. I would much rather hit my 5 wood if I am aiming at a target. This 3 wood shines off the tee though and is straight when hit off a tee so it stays in the bag.

The Mizuno 3 wood didn’t perform well. Even though I set it at 16 degrees, it isn’t easy to get the club in the air. Still needs a bit of hit in so won’t say much else at this point. Average, based on 4 hits was 190. Ball flight was unerringly straight. I expect more out of this club.

Edited July 30, 2023 by Beakbryce

[Beakbryce]

Play 07/27/23

If anything, the course had even more water than I have seen in 20+ years. Heat wave is playing crazy with golf courses in the area. Drive distance average for the Mizuno driver was 217. Long drive 230 and short 191. Ball flight again straight.

Have made some initial impressions for this club. It’s not hard to hit. Ball goes straight. I did find out a couple of things. I checked the clubhead mid round and was hitting ¼ inch on the toe side. Kind of disconcerting as I hit mostly in the middle of my clubs. Started addressing the ball on the toe side of center and had center hits after that. A review of the yardages didn’t really show a distance advantage for hits right in the center and slightly off center. Kudus to Mizuno, the Cortech Chamber leads to a very large sweet spot and shots still go straight with the off center hits. I’m not sure why lining up center didn’t result in a center hit. Guess it could be a difference how the shaft unloads on the downswing or maybe an optical illusion when lining up. When I got home I decided to measure the club faces. Measuring across the hitting area toe to heel resulted in 4 inches for the Callaway and 4 3/8 inches for the Mizuno. Huh. I went to my putting green and stood behind the clubhead and ball and lined up the Mizuno logo directly behind the center of the ball and then slid around to the address position. Uereka, the ball FOR ME looked to be on the heel side. So somewhat of an optical illusion. Mystery solved.

This brings up feel and sound. I didn’t feel the toe hits and I feel everything with my Callaway driver. I know this can be a function of clubhead and shaft or both. I just question why you would build a club shaft combo that has zero feedback. The hit itself is just dull. I can't feel the shaft either. I hope the other testers have a different experience. As for sound, even after the fitting, range work, and the first time playing, I couldn’t remember the sound. Decided that would be a focus for today. Well, the sound is even more muted than the logo. It’s there, just not memorable. Not really a plus or minus for me but I know some people want the feel and sound to reflect their effort.

Mizuno irons known for sound and feel so clearly the woods are a work in progress.

Still hitting in the 3 wood. One bright spot was a tee shot with the 3 wood that went 215 downhill and dead straight. I absolutely felt like I killed it on a second shot on a par 5 uphill only to measure it at 176. Landing area was doubling as a swimming pool so there was that. I half expected there to be ducks and maybe a turtle in there! I have taken to swinging this daily on my patio hitting mat in an attempt to get the shaft hit in. Later.

[Beakbryce]

073023

Ok, so this was odd. Thunderstorms last night. Additionally, it’s Sunday so not much maintenance crew and someone must have left the sprinklers off. First and third hole were DRY. Gloryoski. One down wind and the other up wind. Drives were 244 and 264. Ya, it’s fun to play in AZ when it’s dry and hot. FYI, the second hole is a par 3. Unfortunately, the rest of the course was watered so everything was wet again, and the average suffered. It also seemed for a while we were chasing a wind into us on every hole. Two drives on holes into the wind and very wet fairways went less than 200. C’mon man!

Driver was again straight and low. Overall average was again 220 yards. Kind of sure what this club was doing at this point. Decided I was not waiting to play with the adjustability feature. On 18, I added a degree of loft from stock 9.5 to 10.5 degrees to fix the low flight. I wanted to do this here so I wouldn’t be hitting it cold on the first tee next time out. Much better window for one shot. Height was about where my Callaway hits. A solid 230 yards, uphill and still dead straight. Expecting some better things going forward.

3 wood average was 194 which is getting better. This included an exquisite cut 3 wood around a tree downhill that went 210. That was fun. Good to see that although the club is very straight, one can still hit a cut. I am going to go back to the stock 15 degrees as it is starting to get hit in and getting higher. We will see what flies better. Sadly, I need to gain 16 yards to feel it’s as good as my current Epic 3 wood. 

Bonus, our group played in 3 hours. Ok, that’s not unusual. Bigger bonus, found new looking True Soft, Tru Feel, and a speckled Vice Pro that the wife wants to try plus a Srixon for a buddy in the group. I watched the MGS video on how the ball test for 2023 was conducted and in the lightening round the boys universally seemed to be against found balls. Set 6 other balls loose with our catch and release program. BTW, what happens to all the test balls? The Beak Memorial golfing society would accept all nearly new Pro V1 (x) and Vice Pro + balls available. Just saying.

Lacking a bonus. Greens were really slow and I missed 7 birdie putts within 10 feet. Short. Dead in the hole. My other buddy in the group made 3 birdies. Yaa. Good on you mate. 

Edited July 31, 2023 by Beakbryce

[Swood1994]

4 hours ago, Beakbryce said:

On 18, I added a degree of loft from stock 9.5 to 10.5 degrees to fix the low flight. I wanted to do this here so I wouldn’t be hitting it cold on the first tee next time out. Much better window for one shot.

I was waiting for this based off the last two rounds with the consistent low flight. Looking forward to seeing how it performs for a full round after the adjustment.

On a side note I’m very jealous of all the time you’ve been able to get in with the Mizunos.  Sadly, I’m still waiting on that shipping email. 

[Beakbryce]

11 hours ago, Swood1994 said:

On a side note I’m very jealous of all the time you’ve been able to get in with the Mizunos.  Sadly, I’m still waiting on that shipping email. 

I too am looking forward to everyone else receiving their clubs to see if what I am seeing is odd or everyone gets the same results. I am really curious if higher swing speeds brings out more of the clubs potential. The stock shafts seemed kind of limiting so it will be good to see if other shafts change the characteristics of the club.

I am still waiting on the 4 hybrid for which I have high hopes.

Also, once we are all testing, perhaps the MGS daily email concerning forum topics will include the test so we have more readers with questions. 

I will be testing the loft change tomorrow. 0600 tee time. Can't wait.

Edited July 31, 2023 by Beakbryce

[Swood1994]

7 hours ago, Beakbryce said:

I too am looking forward to everyone else receiving their clubs to see if what I am seeing is odd or everyone gets the same results. I am really curious if higher swing speeds brings out more of the clubs potential. The stock shafts seemed kind of limiting so it will be good to see if other shafts change the characteristics of the club.

I am still waiting on the 4 hybrid for which I have high hopes.

Also, once we are all testing, perhaps the MGS daily email concerning forum topics will include the test so we have more readers with questions. 

I will be testing the loft change tomorrow. 0600 tee time. Can't wait.

Also something I’m looking forward too! I’ll be curious how the low spin shaft I was fitted for works with the higher spinning head of the ST-X on the course. 

I’m very interested in the hybrid as well because it will be a smaller more classic shape than my current Rogue st max 4 hybrid. 

Looking forward to your round with the loft change, hopefully it gives you better results and make the battle between it and your gamer a little tougher

[vandyland]

I don't swing "fast" per se but I generally cruise at 104-107 mph with a driver so I can show the performance in that SS range. I am still very curious about the Fli-Hi as well as I am getting more and more comfortable with hitting utility/driving iron off the tee and it is currently (in the summer heat) rolling out to about 240 yds generally. 

[Beakbryce]

08/01/23

Wow, not hitting 110 degrees outside today. Didn’t stop maintenance from watering. There were literally tons of casual water in the usual places, right in the middle of the fairway. Didn’t matter to much as I found out this club isn’t dead straight. To review, I set the driver +1 to 10.5. Overall, I had a better looking flight path as far as height. First three drives were slight push fades. Which was good because left was dead. However, the next driving hole hates push fades of any kind. Barranca city. So moved it up a bit in my stance, rolled the hands a little, and pull hooked it in the next fairway over, about 70 yards left of where I was aiming. Okay then. My perception of the clubhead for open or closed at address was difficult. That’s why I like the logo on the grip to be upright as my final check. However, grip rotated when I changed the loft. I was trying to hit one straight so I would have a guide. Next shot was a baby draw. Decided at that point, it was easier to see a slightly open face and played a 5-10 yard fade until 18. Problem with that was I hit every wet area in the middle of the fairway. On 18, it looked really wet up the right so decided I would try for that baby draw again. Another 60 yard left shot. Way to easy to hook this club at this setting. Additionally, average for all drives was 214 affected by the wet conditions. At this point, if it’s wet I would rather the low ball flight that skids through the water. Still, this is a test, so going to leave it for a few rounds and see if I can work with this loft setting. Baby fade is playable, would be cool to develop a baby draw. Even better to have some dry conditions so the yardage matches the hit.

The 3 wood at 15 degrees had basically the same average as at 16 degrees, 193 yards. Little lower flight but better skip. Ball flight was straight. 

[Swood1994]

15 hours ago, Beakbryce said:

Still, this is a test, so going to leave it for a few rounds and see if I can work with this loft setting. Baby fade is playable, would be cool to develop a baby draw. Even better to have some dry conditions so the yardage matches the hit.

I recall the adjustment sleeve to have a +1 upright setting. This may help with the baby draw vs fade so long as the set up stays similar to that of the normal shot.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Swood1994

[Beakbryce]

13 hours ago, Swood1994 said:

I recall the adjustment sleeve to have a +1 upright setting. This may help with the baby draw vs fade so long as the set up stays similar to that of the normal shot.

I agree. There are lots of settings to test. Time and play dates to go. This will go better when all of us are testing the various settings.

[vandyland]

@Beakbryce Are you finding your misses are different with the Mizuno driver or more frequent? It seems it is difficult to get used to the alignment of the face versus your old driver.

I will be curious how it plays differently than my Cobra (which is mostly backweighted). Since the mizuno has that TPU chamber towards the front I could see it being a little better in the spin department but *maybe* a little less stable? I guess that is the whole point of test. Currently my *miss* is a spinny cut that is a result of getting my hips too far out in front (which has nothing to do with the club) that could possibly be helped by a little spin reduction. We shall see. Still no shipping updates for me. This would have been the PERFECT week to have them. Wife and kids are out of town for the next 4 days and I am playing everyday this week after work + hitting balls on the range. 

[Beakbryce]

6 hours ago, vandyland said:

Are you finding your misses are different with the Mizuno driver or more frequent? It seems it is difficult to get used to the alignment of the face versus your old driver.

At the stock setting the driver, for me, just wanted to go straight. Hard to miss. The change from my Epic, I tend to work it more in either direction, sometimes with unintentional results. Hard to mess up straight. Point and shoot. It set naturally and I had no problem with lining it up. Didn't really miss a lot unless I played it to far forward which caused to a big pull. The only problem was the low ball flight so I changed the loft. The problem was when I changed the loft. Visually, the club wasn't setting up for me. Tomorrow, the next time I play, I am going to grip with the club head in the air so I can see the leading edge. Should lead to a consistent alignment from which I can than work the club. This is the fun part of the test, experimenting with the options and making things work. 

BTW, this is the kind of stuff that a fitting doesn't always get to because a fitter will set one up by the numbers which can be perfect on that day but may not be the full value of the club every day.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Beakbryce

[russtopherb]

@Beakbryce how are you finding the face of the driver when it comes to off-center hits? You mentioned earlier that the sweet spot seemed to be pretty big and you had noticed some hits closer to toe side. Any issues with forgiveness when you're off center? Sound differences? Noticeable distance loss?

[Beakbryce]

2 hours ago, russtopherb said:

how are you finding the face of the driver when it comes to off-center hits? You mentioned earlier that the sweet spot seemed to be pretty big and you had noticed some hits closer to toe side. Any issues with forgiveness when you're off center? Sound differences? Noticeable distance loss?

I haven't deliberately whacked a ball wide on the toe or heel side as yet. I am trying to find the optimum ball flight before I go to extremes. The unintentional hits to the toe side didn't lose distance or direction. Once I find an optimum shot, I will hit 2 off the tee with one hit way out of center to see what direction and distance loss, if any, is reportable. The club seems to have a physically wide hitting area on the face so my guess is if you are at the extreme end of the face, the shot may be a big miss as well. I don't know how any amount of technology could make a sweet spot as big as this clubface. Might be a chicken or egg thing but if one were to miss this club that far out on the face, my suggestion would be lessons before a new club. I mean, it is that big.

I think you may find it is less spinny. That's why the flight is so straight. Well, at least at the stock setting. Not sure why changing the loft made the club a side spin magnet. I hope that was just that one day. 

The other thing, once I feel I have the best setting for the face, I am going to report after every other play date as I will alternate the Mizunos and the Callaways. I feel my swing is actually improved after working with new clubs which might benefit the Callaways.

There is no off season here, I play a lot, and I am not a range rat, so although this may sound odd, one can become satisfied and lazy with the game and forget things like swing hard, try new shots, WORK at the game. 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Beakbryce

[Beakbryce]

080323

I am hoping when I post this that the testers have good news on receiving their clubs. I received notification from UPS that the 4 hybrid is coming tomorrow.

I don’t know what to say about these clubs.

Driver: examined the face after every shot with the driver today. Dead center hits or just to the toe side. Two drives center hit went 235 and 236. One slight toe side went 233. However, average for all drives was 214, the same as Tuesday. Every shot felt as solid as you can feel with this club but 3 drives went 197, 197, 199.  2 drives actually came back a yard after hitting the ground, so some of the loss of yardage was water in the fairway but some of it was… I don’t know. I only missed one fairway so I cured the problems with having a consistent look when I set up to the ball. Drives had a nice window as far as height.

3 wood: On a whim, set the 3 wood to 17 degrees to see how the ball would flight. Nice window as far as trajectory and one unintended draw with the others very straight. Really felt I was hitting it well. However, again the average was 193 which is less than my Epic 5 wood. Basically, the same average for settings at 15, 16, 17 degrees loft. 17 degrees was the most comfortable feeling setting so far. Club looked good behind the ball. The unintended draw was the 6th time I hit the 3 wood today and I looked up and thought, “where is that going, the others were so straight”?

I hit my Epic 4 hybrid twice today, once choked up to hit it 170 which worked and the next hole, 180 yard par 3, landed it on a sprinkler head at 175 yards and it went 190. This is my normal with this club. Well, maybe not hitting the sprinkler head.

My next time to play will be Sunday. I am just going to take the Mizuno 4 hybrid out and play it. I might put the driver on upright +1 just to see where the ball goes. I may switch to plus 2 degrees, effectively 11.5, for the back nine. Right now, if I had to play this club in competition I would set it at the stock 9.5 setting, accept the lower ball flight, and hit it straight. It’s the only setting I have absolute confidence in. Going to leave the 3 wood as is.

Tuesday I am going to take the Epics out. They have been complaining about the down time and how it was fun to laze around for a couple of weeks but they are bored. Terribly bored. I miss them. Which might be as definitive as I am going to get right now until I make the final summary. I mean, we have a month to six weeks for further testing and regular reporting. Hitting them over that time period may improve the whole picture.

I’m hoping the other testers give me some feedback when they receive their clubs for something to try to further wring these clubs out.

Next feedback will be Tuesday. Until then, hit them straight and long, lacking that, remember your price per hit improves the more you swing!

Edited August 4, 2023 by Beakbryce

[Swood1994]

10 hours ago, Beakbryce said:

I am hoping when I post this that the testers have good news on receiving their clubs. I received notification from UPS that the 4 hybrid is coming tomorrow.

Unfortunately still no shipping email for me... 

10 hours ago, Beakbryce said:

I am just going to take the Mizuno 4 hybrid out and play it. I might put the driver on upright +1 just to see where the ball goes. I may switch to plus 2 degrees, effectively 11.5, for the back nine. Right now, if I had to play this club in competition I would set it at the stock 9.5 setting, accept the lower ball flight, and hit it straight. It’s the only setting I have absolute confidence in. Going to leave the 3 wood as is.

I have to say I'm surprised by the 3-wood not having much difference in distance with the loft adjustment. I'll be curious if it's the same for me. I currently play a 16.5 Rogue St so my plan was to try and match but if I hit it the same distance as the 15° then I might bump the hybrid up and add my 2-iron in as a full time spot and drop a wedge (course dependent obviously). I'm very curious to see if you can get a little more distance out of the driver at 11.5. maybe a trip back to the track man to get averages on all of the settings may help get a better idea of what the ball will do when course conditions are "normal" and not so wet.

I'm glad someone has something to keep this thread updated, looking forward to more updates on your test. At this point, I have fingers and toes crossed for a shipping email in the next week 

[russtopherb]

56 minutes ago, Swood1994 said:

Unfortunately still no shipping email for me... 

I have to say I'm surprised by the 3-wood not having much difference in distance with the loft adjustment. I'll be curious if it's the same for me. I currently play a 16.5 Rogue St so my plan was to try and match but if I hit it the same distance as the 15° then I might bump the hybrid up and add my 2-iron in as a full time spot and drop a wedge (course dependent obviously). I'm very curious to see if you can get a little more distance out of the driver at 11.5. maybe a trip back to the track man to get averages on all of the settings may help get a better idea of what the ball will do when course conditions are "normal" and not so wet.

I'm glad someone has something to keep this thread updated, looking forward to more updates on your test. At this point, I have fingers and toes crossed for a shipping email in the next week 

No shipping notice here either. I haven't heard a thing at all, and I think my work is going to block the UPS site on our firewall based on how much I'm checking it 

I'll add my surprise about the 3w loft change as well. When we went from the stated loft up to 17* there was a noticeable difference. I could see it on the screen and my fitter immediately went "yep, that's the one" after 2 shots. I'm curious to see what my real world performance looks like once the clubs finally arrive.

[vandyland]

Also no shipping notice for me either. I have a two day tournament this weekend so probably better that I don't get it now. I have to say *quietly* I have been hitting my Driver really well lately but there is always the desire for more. My low lofted hybrid (which is essentially my 5W since I don't play a 3W) and Utility iron could benefit from some competition though. Especially the hybrid.