rebby

I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews here. I am going through a "ball test" this year to replace the Penta that I have been playing since 2010 (and am finally starting to run out of). I was going to skip the Chrome Soft due to how unimpressed I have been with Callaway balls over the years. The comments here have changed my mind on that however and, unexpectedly, I will be including the Chrome Soft in my test this year. Thanks everybody!

I'm on the opposite side of the coin as most. I prefer a smaller club head myself. I'm swinging a Yonex Ezone Type 380 at the moment which, as far as I know, is one of the smallest (if not the smallest) drivers in production at the moment.

Probably not, at least not unless you know the exact head weight of the wedge. Even if you pull the grip, it might not be stamped in the manner expected anyway.

Agree, 100%. As if my sig didn't imply that... ;-)

FWIW, the TT "wedge" flex shaft is simply an S200/S300/S400 (depending on the weight that the wedge OEM was aiming for). Personally, I like my wedges to share the same shaft as my irons. Mainly for consistency. If I were to use a different shaft in my wedges than in my irons, I'd go stiffer/heavier in my wedges and short irons for more control and lower trajectory (ie: the same school of thought as a "flighted" set of shafts, more or less).

[b]Scotty Cameron Newport Button Back[/b] - 34" - 100% factory - stitchback grip - stock shaft label - original leather headcover - original 15g weights This putter is in great shape with only minor nicks here and there. I've done my best to let the pictures show the actual condition. Please view the full size images. There is a minor nick in the topline (as pictured). In the correct light, this is barely recognizable from address, you really have to be looking for it. Serial number on shaft is intact and easily readable. Note; 2 of the grip photos have an incorrect white balance that threw off the color of the grip (my bad). Actual grip color is correctly represented in the last grip picture. Asking $675 shipped (I highly suggest adding insurance as well). [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb1.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb2.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb3.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb4.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb5.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb6.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb7.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb8.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb9.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb10.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb11.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb12.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb13.jpg[/img] [img]https://rebby.com/tmp/golf/ButtonBack/bb14.jpg[/img]

I've played Scratch wedges. Still have mine. I'd play them more but I made the change to CC grooves this year and my Scratch wedges are not conforming. Scratch wedges are some of the best made. I rank them right up there with my Miura wedges for sure.

Same here. That's a big reason I tend to avoid various Facebook promotions and the like. It's disappointing that so many marketing departments are taking such a deep dive into Facebook but... it's (apparently) what the masses want.

Ad is closed hence the Tournament Blades are sold. I ended up replacing them with a second set of 1957 Baby Blades in the end. Well worth the transition. I love my Baby Blades. IM me if you are interested in contact info for my Miura dealer. Top notch guy and better prices on Miura than I've ever seen elsewhere.

That's what I was thinking. I had one of those days today as well. Not a big deal in the big picture of things. I'll give it another go next time and hope that it goes better.

I hear the exact same comments about my entire bag from time to time, save the Titleist fairway wood and Scotty putter that is. Yonex? Miura? Scratch? Where did you get that stuff, K-Mart? LOL :-P

I just might have a Yonex stick in my bag... They're great clubs. They're new Ezone musclebacks look fantastic! This Ezone Type 380 that I have is an awesome driver. I've only got a few swings on it so far though so the jury is still out.

30 minutes a day to lowering your handicap. My 7 day plan. [list] [*][b]Day 1, Short Putting[/b] - Everything inside of 5 feet - I start by finding a nice straight and, preferably, level 4 to 5 foot putt. I'll stick a tee in the ground at my chosen point and grab 3 balls and proceed to stroke putt after putt. I LISTEN for the ball to fall in the hole, especially to start with. I want my head to be still and my stroke to be fluid and free of any compensations (no manipulations of the hands and/or wrists). My goal is to make at least 25 in a row and no fewer than 58 out of 60. After a while you'll find that sinking 60 in a row isn't that difficult as long as you don't lose your concentration (another great side affect of this drill). After 60 putts I move on to my next drill. As you improve, bump this number up a bit, try 90 in a row, then 120. I think that my personal best is right around 250 in a row and I didn't miss, I ran out of sunlight. - For my next drill I grab another 4 or 5 balls and circle the hole with them. I'll try to find a hole on a slope with some nice movement all around. I'll start at about 2 feet and move from ball to ball (pulling balls out every 3-4 putts) until all putts are holed. If I miss any of the putts, I put the balls back in their original spot and try again. If I make all putts, I'll do the same drill over with a slightly bigger circle. Rinse and repeat 3 or 4 times with the final circle at about 5 feet. The goal here is to hole every putt on each revolution. - For the last drill of the day, find a 4 footer with a lot of break and grab 3 balls. For the first putt, try to get the ball to just barely drop into the top edge of the cup before stopping. Hit the second putt to fall into the heart of the hole with (what you determine) is the ideal speed. Hit the last ball even harder, have it hit the back of the cup with authority. Repeat 2 or 3 times on various putts (uphill, downhill, left and right breakers). [*][b]Day 2, Short Chips[/b] - Between 7 and 15 yards from various lies - Take 3 balls at a time and a drop them in a 5' circle, drop them and play them as they lie, don't bump them or place them, drop them. Grab the club that you'd be most likely to use from this location on the course and chip all 3 balls. Rinse and repeat twice more (9 total chips) from 2 other locations in the 7 to 15 yard range. If at least 7 of the 9 are not within 3 feet and/or 1 lies outside of 6 feet, do the whole thing over. - Do the same drill but this time vary your club selection. If you think the best club from a given location is a sand wedge, try a pitching wedge instead. By varying your club selection you'll improve your feel and you'll become more creative in your shot making. - Alternate between fairway and rough lies. - Vary the hole locations from shot to shot if you can. [*][b]Day 3, Short Pitches[/b] - Between 10 and 25 yards - Like the above drill, you want to start with 3 balls in a small circle. Again, drop them and play them as they lie. Rinse and repeat twice more (9 total pitches) from 2 other locations within the 10-25 yard range. Your goal here is to get 8 of 9 within 5 feet and all 9 within 8 feet. If you don't make your goal, do it again. - Like with the chipping drill, change up your clubs a bit and do it all again. - Alternate between fairway and rough lies. - Again, vary the hole locations from shot to shot if you can. [*][b]Day 4, Lag putting[/b] - 25+ footers - I start by putting to the fringe from various locations on the green. I like to do this drill with a single golf ball and zig zag my way across the practice green, back and forth. I'll pick a spot to putt to, a dead clump of grass, a leaf or something of the like on or near the collar and stroke putts to it. My goal is to have the ball gently come to rest against the collar of the green. I'm working on my speed here, not so much my direction. - After 10 minutes or so I'll start putting to specific targets. I like to use those flagsticks that they put on the greens to simulate a hole instead of an actual hole (I never like to practice putting where I'm not holing the vast majority of my putts, by not putting to a hole, I can't hole any of them and, thus, no mental "damage" is created via practicing). If I can't find something like that, I'll putt to a few balls that I'll scatter across the green to use as targets. - For my final 10 minutes I'll do a "ladder drill." I'll start by picking a target about 30 feet away on the collar of the green and I'll putt to it. Like the first drill, I want my ball to gently come to rest against the collar. For my next putt, I want it to stop roughly 2 feet shorter than the first. The next putt, 2 feet shorter than the last and so on and so forth. I'll usually do this drill with 4 or 5 balls. [*][b]Day 5, Bunker shots[/b] - Bunker shots between 5 and 20 yards - Hit bunker shots to various locations, from various lies. Hit 3 balls at a time and keep things interesting. Short side yourself, hit from plugged lies, hit shots that need to stop quick, others that need to roll out, hit them from the far side of the bunker from a downhill lie to a short sided pin, etc, etc. Really vary things up. Hit groups of 9 balls, 3 at a time. You're goal should be to have 6 of the 9 inside of 6 feet with all 9 inside of 10 feet, regardless of the location, regardless of the lie. Rinse (this time literally) and repeat... [*][b]Day 6, Short Approaches[/b] - Short wedge shots from 80 to 100 yards - Basically a repeat of day 3, only this time from a bit further out. This time you want 8 of the 9 within 10 feet and all 9 within 15 feet. - Vary your clubs, your trajectory, your spin into the green, and the hole location (if you can). - Alternate between fairway and rough lies. [*][b]Day 7, Skill Review[/b] - Repeat where you need the most work. - Repeat whichever drill gave you the biggest headache over the week. It makes much more sense to practice what you're not good at than to practice what you're already good at. Optionally, take the day off. [/list] Regardless of your success with a given drill, spend at least 30 minutes on all of them. If you finish one, start over until the 30 minutes is up. If you can't finish a drill within the 30 minutes, no big deal. Don't rush it, rushed practice is worse than no practice. If it takes longer than 30 minutes that's fine, spend 45 minutes, an hour, or however long it takes (without jeopardizing your job and/or marital status that is). Given goals are simply a suggestion, alter these to fit your game but, keep them challenging. The harder the goal, the more it forces you to focus on EVERY shot, sound familiar? Also, if you're not doing it already, start keeping your stats. You'll quickly identify the parts of your game that need work. Focus on the "low hanging fruit" and go from there. In addition to the 30 minutes a day that I suggested above, be sure to spend some time on the range working on your ball striking and shot shaping. Vary your trajectory, your spin, the shot shape, etc. Hit every ball with a purpose and a specific target in mind. Every time you are on the range, use alignment sticks. There is no excuse for having an incorrect setup or alignment. In addition to the above drills, I like to carpet putt, a LOT. I'll usually concentrate on 6 to 8 foots to a small target (usually another ball or the leg of a chair). I'll hit 2-3 balls at a time and really focus on making a smooth stroke. I try to do this a few times every day for at least a couple of minutes at a time. I'll do this during commercials while I'm watching TV or while I'm waiting for my popcorn to start popping or whenever else I might have a few minutes to spare... You get the idea. Again, make sure that you're not rushing things. One smooth stroke is better than 3 rushed ones. I keep a few putters in strategic locations throughout my house to help facilitate my carpet putting obsession. Give these drills a few weeks of dedication and I guarantee that you're handicap will drop.

With my S400's, my ideal distance with my 5-iron is 192-194 yards. I've been hitting it about 198-200 yards with the C-Taper. A nice little bump in distance that's taking a little bit of time to get my head around. I wish that I could help you on how the C-Taper compares to the Tours. Unfortunately, I haven't spent adequate time with the Tours to offer any insight. I've hit them a few times here and there but not the extent that I would be able to offer any type of accurate comparison.

First I'll provide a little bit about my personal background, game and equipment. Then I'll get into my thoughts about the C-Taper shafts. If all you really care about is my thoughts on these shafts, skip a head a bit... Anyway, my golf game has been pretty limited this year for a number of family health issues. This review is not the place to get into the details but, in summary, my 1 year-old has some severe heart problems that will require ongoing surgeries and invasive procedures for the rest of his life (including 2 open heart surgeries this year). Somehow I've still managed to play and practice throughout it all. My handicap has held solid all summer (just a touch under 1) and, once again, my iron game has been a big part of this. Speaking of my iron game, I made the switch to a forged blade some time ago and have never looked back. My iron of choice is the Miura 1957 "baby blade" and I have 2 sets of these irons. One set of irons is shafted with hard stepped Dynamic Gold S400's with SensiCore and the other contains S+ KBS C-Taper's installed straight in . Both sets swingweight out to D4 and all shafts were spine aligned. The S400's did this naturally, the C-Taper's required 4g tip weights. The static weight of the S400 irons is higher. I haven't weighed them but based solely on specs they should be at least 10-15g heavier. Suffice to say, it's enough of a difference that the feel is obvious. Alright, so enough about myself and my irons. Let's talk about the shafts... [b]Testing Process[/b] I've been working with the C-Tapers for about 6 weeks now. As I mentioned above, I have 2 sets of (basically) identical irons with the exception of the shafts. I've hit these side by side on the range and on the course. I've carried a mixed bag of irons as well as swapped back and forth between sets. This is as apples to apples as I could make it. Although a blind test would be ideal, that's not really a possibility considering how different in appearance these two shafts are. [b]Look[/b] I've played DG long enough that they have a look that I've really grown accustomed to. The steps look right to me, the labels, everything. Although I usually keep shaft labels intact, I have been known to play "satinized" DG shafts to cut down on a bit of the glare. The C-Taper's have a very nice satin finish to them. It's very matte and looks almost aluminum in nature. As the name indicates, these are a constant taper shaft. The look is very slick and the satin finish goes a long way in cutting down glare. FWIW, I installed mine with the labels down. [b]Feel[/b] I'm somewhat of a feel Nazi. If the feel isn't right, I have a hard time getting past that and looking solely at the results. I prefer a softer feeling iron and played the Dynamic Gold shaft long enough that it's a feel that become very accustomed to. I usually play the softest shaft that I can control, based mainly on feel. I also like the way a heavier iron feels in my hands and that's one of the reasons that I tend to install SensiCore inserts (~4g of additional static weight w/the inserts). I also have a strong preference for a soft golf ball and am currently playing a TaylorMade Penta. Based on my experience with Project X, I was somewhat concerned about how the C-Taper would feel. The original, satin, PX shafts was also a shaft designed by Kim Braly and, despite quality performance numbers w/PX, I HATE them. They feel terrible, harsh, stiff, etc, etc. That said, the C-Taper is like the anti-PX. It feels so much like my Dynamic Gold's that I caught myself looking at the shaft between shots to determine what shaft I was swinging on a given swing. The feel of the C-Taper is great. I've been very happy with them in this regard and don't yearn for the feel of the S400's when I'm swinging the C-Taper's. The static weight of the C-Taper is lower than that of the S400's and this took some time to get used to. Enough so, that I've been considering adding some SensiCore inserts to my C-Tapers just to bump of the weight a little bit. The more that I hit the C-Taper's however, the more that I get used to the weight. Don't get me wrong, the C-Taper's aren't exactly light weight at 125g, I'm just used to (and prefer) a heavy iron shaft. [b]Performance[/b] One of the claims to fame of the C-Taper is the 5/5/5 Performance Report, 5% less spin, 5% lower trajectory, 5% more distance. They don't spell out who the "competition" is but it's pretty obvious that they are referring to Project X. KBS hasn't confirmed this, but they haven't denied either. So what do the numbers look like next to my S400's? More like 5/-2/4, 5% less spin, 2% higher trajectory, 4% more distance. I'll discuss each of these attributes in more detail below. [b]Spin[/b] The spin is not super low in comparison to the S400. Shots that would suck back w/the S400 are now staying put, not sucking back but not rolling out either. This is a nice advantage for me. I prefer a ball to land, hop and stop. I have a much easier time hitting that shot w/the C-Taper than I did with the S400. Shot shaping is still easily doable with the C-Taper but, as I mentioned briefly above, the ball doesn't drift quite as far as before. The more that I play w/the C-Taper's though, the more that I learn how they react as far as shot shaping goes. The difference in workability isn't huge, my 5 yard draw is now more like 3, the same can be said with my fade. As you'd expect, overall dispersion is slightly tighter with the C-Taper's. I've really grown to enjoy the "hop and stop" performance that I'm seeing into the greens with the C-Taper's. This has been pretty consistent throughout my bag too. For example, here is the result of a 5-iron shot that I hit from 198 yards earlier tonight; [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/171180/width/640/height/700][IMG]http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/171180/width/640/height/700[/IMG][/URL] If you look close, you can easily see the ball mark. This is the exact "hop and stop" performance that I relish and strive for with every iron shot. As a frame of reference, that shot left me with about a 7 footer for birdie. I saw similar performance from various other irons in my bag as well. With my S400's, I'll usually get something similar with my long irons but as my irons get shorter, the ball has a tendency to suck back (as much as 20+ ft on soft/fast greens). [b]Trajectory[/b] For the most part, I'd say that trajectory is mostly unchanged. Long irons appear to be going ever so slightly higher w/the C-Taper using a stock swing. Mid and short irons are virtually unchanged, perhaps a touch higher. The difference is very minimal at best. Trajectory does appear to "flatten" a bit though and the ball is a lot more stable in the wind. The extra stability in the wind is a huge benefit for me. I've been known to hit as much as 2, sometimes even 3, extra clubs into a hard wind. High winds have always wreaked havoc on my golf ball. With the C-Taper however, this is no longer the case. This is easily the biggest benefit that I'm seeing with the C-Taper. Shots into the wind that require 2 extra clubs with my S400's now only require 1 and, much to my surprise, I've even airmailed a few of these shots (as a result, I've been taking an extra club and chocking up on it a bit instead, this has worked out very well). The additional stability in the wind is taking a bit of time/practice to get used to. So far though, it's worth it. I now welcome the wind more so than ever. I've actually come to believe that heavy wind is an advantage for me over my competitors. Talk about making a 180. Controlling trajectory isn't difficult either. I generally won't try to hit a ball higher than normal but getting the ball down can be a challenge with many shafts. This is where the hardstepped S400 really did the trick for me but, in high winds especially, it would still spin to much. The C-Taper takes care of that issue for me. When I try to get the ball down, ball flight will drop along w/the spin. The ball doesn't fly quite as low as w/the S400 but the spin is lower and the ball flight is more stable and more penetrating (as I've mentioned above, shots into the wind are retaining more distance than they did w/the S400). [b]Distance[/b] I am seeing an increase in distance with the C-Taper's, about 1/2 club top to bottom. I'm attributing the extra distance to the lower static weight (and, as a result, a slightly higher swingspeed) and decreased spin. This is somewhat unfortunate though. Unlike an "average" golfer, I'm not looking for more distance out of my irons. Heck, my irons even have (somewhat) traditional lofts, especially when compared to the latest releases. I want more control. If it's controllable distance however, I'll take it. I'll learn my new yardages, fit them into my game and enjoy the fact that it might take me a few more years to get to the point where I WANT more distance with my irons. [b]In Conclusion[/b] I'm making the change to the C-Taper. I like how much more stable the C-Taper is in the wind. I also like the slightly lower spin that I'm getting with the shaft. The added distance is a nice perk and I am getting used to it. In summary, I think that KBS really hit a home run w/these shafts. The more time that I spend with them, the more that I like them. [b]Next steps?[/b] I have 2 other sets of S+ C-Tapers. One of these sets is going to make it's way into my other set of 1957's. In fact, I'm strongly considering fitting them with some SensiCore inserts as well (to bring up the static weight). I won't do this until sometime over the winter though. Perhaps my additional time with the C-Taper's this fall will lead me to decide against the inserts. Only time will tell at this point. That said, I'm keeping my S400 pulls. The first set of pulls already made it into my black chrome Titleist 680's, the second will likely spend some time in storage, you know, just in case. [b]Disclaimer[/b] I feel inclined to note that I did win a set of C-Taper shafts in one of the giveaways that KBS did a while back. Ironically, I had already purchased 2 sets prior to being selected by KBS (the epoxy was drying in one set when I was notified). However, I still feel that I should disclose that I did receive one of my three sets free of cost. Free shafts or not, the truth lies in the performance and I would have had no problem selling the freebies rather than playing a shaft that would be detrimental to my game. I've tried to be as verbose as possible but please let me know if you have any questions. Obviously I can't tell you how these shafts will work for you but, hopefully, this will help you decide if they're worth a try... Play well.