Thoughts on Titliest AP1 712 bats?

[mailman]

So at the moment I'm going to a few fitting sessions in an effort to find a replacement for the beginner Wilson set my wife bought me for my birthday last year as I feel it's time to get serious about my game. I've been fitted for Nike VRS Covert 2.0 irons and absolutely loved the feel and distance I was getting. Am off to a cobra fitting tonight at my club and would like to get out to the Ping centre in Gainsborough as I'm partial to a set of G25's. But the AP1 712's have caught my eye after seeing some advice on here about getting previous "generation" bats and making a bit of a saving! So the question is are these ok for a high handicapper who wants to improve his game? Are these a good set of clubs to grow ones game in to? Being honest, after splashing down nearly £900 for this years subs if I can save a hundred quid on previous generation clubs and not lose anything tech wise then that has great appeal to me :) Regards Mailman

[boogielicious]

So at the moment I'm going to a few fitting sessions in an effort to find a replacement for the beginner Wilson set my wife bought me for my birthday last year as I feel it's time to get serious about my game.

I've been fitted for Nike VRS Covert 2.0 irons and absolutely loved the feel and distance I was getting. Am off to a cobra fitting tonight at my club and would like to get out to the Ping centre in Gainsborough as I'm partial to a set of G25's.

But the AP1 712's have caught my eye after seeing some advice on here about getting previous "generation" bats and making a bit of a saving!

So the question is are these ok for a high handicapper who wants to improve his game? Are these a good set of clubs to grow ones game in to?

Being honest, after splashing down nearly £900 for this years subs if I can save a hundred quid on previous generation clubs and not lose anything tech wise then that has great appeal to me :)

Regards

Mailman

I think that is a great way to save money.  The technology difference from one generation to the next is only in small increments.  I would look at the AP1 as well.  It is more forgiving than the AP2.

[PirateJim]

I'm playing the 714 AP1s and love them a lot.  I've not heard anything bad about the 712 version though and it was Titleist's best selling club until they made the switch to the 714 model.  That, however, is the rub.  While you may find new 712 models still for sale, what you see will be what you get and there won't be any options for being fitted for any shaft other than what the dealer happens to have installed on the clubs in stock.  I presume they could still adjust lie angle to fit you.   IF you hit the stock shafts well you may save some money, but you won't know how much better it might have been with different shafts...  So, with that thought in mind, why not try out the 712s you find for sale and see if you like them, determine what flex you want in a shaft, then scout around for a used set and save even more.

[mailman]

Boogie, Yep, the AP1's have really captured my attention. I'll pop down to American Golf during the week and see if I can have a bit of a hit with them on their local range. PirateJim, I've got a Cobra fitting tonight so it will be interesting to see if the recommend the stock shaft or not. When I did the Nike fitting they recommended the stock shaft for their irons too. I also saw a set of AP1's on eBay but had Project X 5.0 shafts. I was tempted to buy that but held off because I didn't know what impact the shaft change would have had?? Regards Mailman

[mailman]

I had my Cobra fitting last night and it was interesting. Got fitted with a standard shaft but with some work on my technique could potentially benefit from going to a stiffer shaft in the future as my swing was borderline as it currently is. I did try a stiff shaft but had to work harder to get the ball in the air and it really only worked for me with the shots the were struck purely. Anything slightly miss hit was markedly worse than a miss hit with a standard shaft. So in back to the drawing board and will look to get out to Gainsborough for a Ping fitting before the end of the month if possible. Anyway, I wasn't really taken by the Bio Cell clubs and at the moment the Nike covert 2.0 clubs are still out in front for me. Regards Mailman

[boogielicious]

Take your time @mailman .  You don't want to have buyers regret.

[mailman]

Update - since the Cobra fitting I've also been fitted for Ping G25, JPX EX and 825 and the AP1 712 with both regular and stiff shafts and finally pulled the pin on the AP1 with regular shaft and 1 degree upright adjustment. Should have the bats for Friday so I'll play a few holes to give them a bit of a test drive :) In the end I got them from my club pro just for piece if mind and, to be honest, he pretty much matched pricing from the intraweb (I don't mind paying a little more just to support my golf club but just so long as it's just a little more mind!). The other thing is the club pro has told me that when they come in that he will get me to hit each club with that tape stuff on it to check the lie for each club is correct for my swing, just to make sure the clubs are set up best for me (seeing as I'll be playing with these clubs for the rest of my life :) So once this is done I'll then get on to sorting my wedges out! Regards Mailman

[boogielicious]

Update - since the Cobra fitting I've also been fitted for Ping G25, JPX EX and 825 and the AP1 712 with both regular and stiff shafts and finally pulled the pin on the AP1 with regular shaft and 1 degree upright adjustment.

Should have the bats for Friday so I'll play a few holes to give them a bit of a test drive :)

In the end I got them from my club pro just for piece if mind and, to be honest, he pretty much matched pricing from the intraweb (I don't mind paying a little more just to support my golf club but just so long as it's just a little more mind!).

The other thing is the club pro has told me that when they come in that he will get me to hit each club with that tape stuff on it to check the lie for each club is correct for my swing, just to make sure the clubs are set up best for me (seeing as I'll be playing with these clubs for the rest of my life :)

So once this is done I'll then get on to sorting my wedges out!

Regards

Mailman

Great.  Keep us posted.

[David in FL]

Update - since the Cobra fitting I've also been fitted for Ping G25, JPX EX and 825 and the AP1 712 with both regular and stiff shafts and finally pulled the pin on the AP1 with regular shaft and 1 degree upright adjustment. Should have the bats for Friday so I'll play a few holes to give them a bit of a test drive :) In the end I got them from my club pro just for piece if mind and, to be honest, he pretty much matched pricing from the intraweb (I don't mind paying a little more just to support my golf club but just so long as it's just a little more mind!). The other thing is the club pro has told me that when they come in that he will get me to hit each club with that tape stuff on it to check the lie for each club is correct for my swing, just to make sure the clubs are set up best for me (seeing as I'll be playing with these clubs for the rest of my life :) So once this is done I'll then get on to sorting my wedges out! Regards Mailman

Great set of clubs! :beer:

[Racerx63]

I agree the AP1 712's are a great set. Just bought a used set for my son. Very forgiving club. I play ping i20's but could very easily switch over to the AP1's after trying his.

[Spyder]

I love my AP1s and wouldn't trade them for anything. Not much else to say I guess. I was not necessarily fit for them, but after finding a deal I couldn't pass up on I went through a comparison fitting on Trackman and found that the AP1s were in the top 3 sets that I tried for my game. Kind of lucked out as well since I'm able to use std loft/lie.

[golfbarefoot]

I hit a friends Titleist 714 AP1's during a Myrtle Beach Golf Trip recently. I was stunned how well they performed and felt. I may have to finally break down and put my forged blades away and get me a set of the Titleist 714 Ap2/Ap1 combo sets! Very impressed

[mailman]

Well I played my first round with the AP1's on Wednesday during one of our mid week medal competitions and these clubs absolutely hummed through the first 12 holes! :) On the front nine I was 8 over gross with three pars, four bogeys and two double bogeys (equalling my lowest 9 hole total so far). Then on the back nine I was 1 over gross after two holes and thought I was on to beat my lowest official round of 92! Sadly Real Life (tm) caught up with me and instead of looking to break 90 I was instead fighting to salvage my round and keep it under 100!!! However for 12 holes I could barely do anything wrong with these clubs! I was getting the sweetest of sweet strikes off the centre of the clubs AND on several holes I was actually able to shape shots in to greens to save myself a couple shots! Then things fell apart but that was more about where my game is at the moment because my game would have fallen apart regardless of what was in my bag! Also I don't know what it is but I actually find the 4 iron to be one of my easiest clubs to hit?? So much so I'm thinking now of dropping the hybrid so I can carry the 4i instead? Anyways, another medal round on Subday and will look to improve on my scratchy as hell 98!!! Regards Mailman