Thwack!?

[Blackjack Don]

Whenever I have hit a Pro V1, it feels like I'm hitting a rock. As a kid, I used to hit rocks with a baseball bat, so I know the sound a rock makes. Last week, I went to Golf Galaxy and hit every 7i I could get my hands on. Ping G30s were great. I could not find a Mizuno that didn't feel like I was hitting rocks. Same balls, Maxfli, very different sounds with some clubs, even Pings. One of the TaylorMades was almost as good as the G30. Then I hit the GMax with graphite shafts. For me, it blasted out there. 165 carry and 18 degree launch. But what stood out even more was the sound and the feeling. Like a rifle shot, without a kick. I hit it and the ball was just gone. Have you ever had this experience? Effortless. Sometimes it feels like hitting a rock. Different balls. Now different clubs. Different cause?

I have no theory of what causes this. A big difference. Explanations are needed. I did a Google search, but couldn't find it under Thwack! Siri doesn't go by sounds, I guess. Didn't bother asking Cortana. Just curious.

[Piz]

Try "Fundamental frequency and harmonics."  

[Hatchman]

Awe, no better sound than hitting the sweet spot.  At carrying the 7i you never hit before 165 you had to be grooving it pretty good.  A+ job.  Cracking the ol nut, a good sound indeed.

[Blackjack Don]

"Cracking the nut." Good description. Sounds like that. Like a rifle shot. Crack. It's the thwack that I'm talking about. Like hitting a baseball off-center on a cold day. Not quite a handful of bees, but you know the feeling if you've experienced it. Is it compression? Yeah, it's the sweet spot--can't feel it or hear the crack if it doesn't hit the sweet spot--but almost like a thin hit, but pretty much true. Just the sweet spot?

[iacas]

Has little to do with the ball you're hitting.

[Ernest Jones]

1 hour ago, Blackjack Don said:

"Cracking the nut." Good description. Sounds like that. Like a rifle shot. Crack. It's the thwack that I'm talking about. Like hitting a baseball off-center on a cold day. Not quite a handful of bees, but you know the feeling if you've experienced it. Is it compression? Yeah, it's the sweet spot--can't feel it or hear the crack if it doesn't hit the sweet spot--but almost like a thin hit, but pretty much true. Just the sweet spot?

That sounds like the exact opposite of hitting the sweet spot. 

[billchao]

You're not hitting the sweetspot which is why the extra vibration in your hands. It comes from less efficient transfer of energy from the club to the ball.

The GMax heads are designed to minimize the effect of off-center hits and graphite shafts dampen the vibration more than steel shafts so it's no surprise to me that combination feels different.

The design of the club effectively expands the area on the face that can be considered the sweetspot. I had a set of G30s that felt pure even if I missed it 1/4" towards the toe. 

[RandallT]

14 hours ago, Blackjack Don said:

did a Google search, but couldn't find it under Thwack!

I thought that after a few days that google might index this page and you could find your own post as a top hit. That happens sometimes.

Sadly you are still beaten out by an IPA brewer in Wisconsin, and we will not mention a page on a literotica site ?

[Zeph]

You're not hitting the sweetspot, which is normal for a 20+ handicapper.

The Mizunos likely had smaller sweetspots, which is why they felt worse to you.

[Blackjack Don]

2 hours ago, billchao said:

You're not hitting the sweetspot which is why the extra vibration in your hands. It comes from less efficient transfer of energy from the club to the ball.

The GMax heads are designed to minimize the effect of off-center hits and graphite shafts dampen the vibration more than steel shafts so it's no surprise to me that combination feels different.

The design of the club effectively expands the area on the face that can be considered the sweetspot. I had a set of G30s that felt pure even if I missed it 1/4" towards the toe. 

That makes sense. I knew there had to be an explanation. Sorry it had to be this simple, but sure, okay. I'll buy it. Curious, what are you hitting now? (Still have your old G30s?) What made you switch?

1 hour ago, RandallT said:

Sadly you are still beaten out by an IPA brewer in Wisconsin, and we will not mention a page on a literotica site ?

I'm sure they both had better uses. I don't want to know how the second used it.

3 minutes ago, Zeph said:

You're not hitting the sweetspot, which is normal for a 20+ handicapper.

The Mizunos likely had smaller sweetspots, which is why they felt worse to you.

Yes, hitting a good shot is abnormal for me. 

Thanks for all the replies. "There's no stupid question, only stupid people asking them."

[billchao]

16 minutes ago, Blackjack Don said:

Curious, what are you hitting now? (Still have your old G30s?) What made you switch?

Callaway Apex CF16s. As I improved my swing I found I needed something more workable; the G30s were impossible to launch low. Plus, every once in a while, I would hit a hot spot on the face or something and carry the ball longer than intended. 

[Blackjack Don]

Over the weekend, my uncle, retired now but once a scratch golfer, said he stopped using graphite shafts because of this inconsistency. He said he couldn't always control the distance with graphite. I noticed this, too. I still prefer graphite because I seem to experience less vibration, which has caused me some elbow problems. Did you trade in the G30s?

[Hategolf]

@Blackjack Don  Well, let me tell you what I learned recently that is relevant to what you experienced. 

A few months ago, I bought a set of Srixon Z565 forged irons. They felt funny and sounded pretty loud when I miss hit them. I did not want to exchange them right away (3 months satisfaction guaranteed) because they were longer and forgiving,  so I played and practiced with them as much as I could. The better I swung, the better they felt and the more mute they sounded, the sounded was different with a flatter, upright swing, when trapping the ball well vs not. Even in mats vs grass, dry vs wet conditions and cold vs warm weather, meaning 56 degrees vs 70 degrees temp.  I know sounds like too much but that is what I noticed. Not to mentioned I also believe, shafts can contribute to feel and sound. 

I tried different balls and softer balls helped, but were not the solution. 

Mizunos forged mx23 were the first legit forged set of clubs I owned so I went for the JPX 900 forged.  A sound and feel that I'm familiar with since these replace the MX23....Mizuno said.

But YES the tittles pro v1 have always feel a little more firm but not distracting to me. I would play them, but at my level I don't think they are worth the money. 

Bottom line, a good solid swing makes a lot of difference on how the ball feels at impact and even the sound. Compress the ball and hit them center and you will be surprised. The question is, what set of clubs allows you to miss hit and still give you a pleasant experience. 

Edited January 23, 2017 by Hategolf

[Hatchman]

Don, Not sure what your feeling or hearing but attached is a clip of a pretty good ball striker making a loud contact sound.  Thwack is searchable and sound has been used by Miller during telecasts to describe good hits.  Club material composition adds to the discussion that builders design to, to try and add or eliminate.  This has been discussed on TST previously.

 

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, Hategolf said:

But YES the tittles pro v1 have always feel a little more firm but not distracting to me. I would play them, but at my level I don't think they are worth the money. 

I noticed that you and @Blackjack Don both mentioned that the ProV1 are more firm? I feel like they are much more "buttery" as are my Mizuno MP52.

This is the first time that I've read or heard that both the ProV1 and the Mizuno are "firm" or "hard"?

The sound of my better shots don't even sound anything like a gunshot***, more of a muffled "Thwap" or "Thpoof"? But, in other threads, my descriptions of good shots were described by other posters as total crap anyway.

 

***Unless, you mean from a suppressed half charge .45 or a subsonic suppressed Blackout?

[Hategolf]

2 hours ago, Lihu said:

I noticed that you and @Blackjack Don both mentioned that the ProV1 are more firm? I feel like they are much more "buttery" as are my Mizuno MP52.

This is the first time that I've read or heard that both the ProV1 and the Mizuno are "firm" or "hard"?

The sound of my better shots don't even sound anything like a gunshot***, more of a muffled "Thwap" or "Thpoof"?

 

To address the Pro V1 statement; Grab a wedge, and a soft core inexpensive ball like the Wilson Staff Duo (as an example). Bounce it off the wedge's face a few times , then switch to the Pro V1, go back and forth. I wouldn't say the Pro V 1 feels hard, but it feels more firm than the labeled "soft" balls. 

I did not mean to say that the Mizuno Irons I have,  feel hard at all. I agree with you 100%, flush shots feel great with most, if not all balls, but they do feel more firm to me with Pro V1s. Not a loud sound at all either.

I noticed that difference a few years ago.

[Lihu]

7 minutes ago, Hategolf said:

To address the Pro V1 statement; Grab a wedge, and a soft core inexpensive ball like the Wilson Staff Duo (as an example). Bounce it off the wedge's face a few times , then switch to the Pro V1, go back and forth. I wouldn't say the Pro V 1 feels hard, but it feels more firm than the labeled "soft" balls. 

I did not mean to say that the Mizuno Irons I have,  feel hard at all. I agree with you 100%, flush shots feel great with most, if not all balls, but they do feel more firm to me with Pro V1s. Not a loud sound at all either.

I noticed that difference a few years ago.

Okay, the Wilson Duo are really soft. . .

Yeah, the Mizuno are really nice. . .the Mizuno comment was more directed towards @Blackjack Don who said that everything but the G30 felt harsh.
 

[Blackjack Don]

22 minutes ago, Lihu said:

@Blackjack Don who said that everything but the G30 felt harsh.

If I said that I didn't mean it the way it sounded. The G30s and the GMax felt like hitting a cloud. Hardly any feeling at all when the club made contact. Nice click sound. Not at all like hitting rocks, which some of the others felt like. I mentioned Mizuno because I never found a seven iron that gave me the same feeling of the GMax, esp. It's odd. I hit the GMax and over and over it felt silky smooth. The G30 7i wasn't always, and nothing else could I hit the same at all. Even some of the Ping clubs I hit.

Good stuff.