Pinger

I agree, but this year I picked up a Titleist TS2 driver and played once and was impressed. Distance is good, but not better and consistency is very good. Hitting more fairways makes a difference. Otherwise, nothing new is going to be better than what I have. Last year, I pulled out my old Ping ISI woods and a Ping Eye 2 driver and was very surprised. They used to be long and very solid and forgiving, but now, 30 years or more later, they were not very forgiving and felt very harsh and distance was not great. Maybe it wasn’t the clubs that were so good back then. I would love to take my present clubs back in time to me 30-35 years ago. For sure, I would have laughed at the size of new drivers. It would be interesting seeing my young self hit these new clubs, especially the driver.

Sounds good. I hope we get to play before summer. Everything is closed until May 5 and probably longer if numbers keep going up.

I guess things changed over time. Originally, the x was supposed to feel harder, launch higher and spin less and it was suggested it was for swings in excess of 110 mph. I remember announcers talked about it with Greg Norman, who switched because he was backing up the Pro V’s off of greens they were spinning so much, while the x came in high and stopped.

My swing speed has been dropping for the past few years. I swing hard and make good contact, but the power isn’t there. I saw myself on video and was surprised how much my swing has slowed down. Bad knees and wonky shoulders have not helped, but playing is still fun and a great thing to do with friends. All of my clubs are at least 3 years old, the most recent being the Ping g400 driver, three wood and hybrid. The driver and three wood are at the bottom of my depth chart for clubs, so I posed the question. Some older clubs are better for me than the newest ones. As your father did, I looked into different shafts and changed several of my woods’ shafts over the winter. All of my clubs have been fitted for many years. Can I get back 20 mph of swing speed? Probably not, but maybe some with technology and more with stretching and weight training.

In Canada, we were told to stay inside and most have done that. Companies and schools are closed as are restaurants and any non-essential businesses. The virus is still spreading, but slowly. I look at the numbers twice daily and am shocked how fast this is spreading around the world, but, especially in the States. Pat first, I was going to continue going out, possible get the virus and get it over with. Flu symptoms for a week, with headache and fever? Once you get over it, nothing to worry about. Over time, it’s obvious you don’t want to get this. We were told in the beginning that older people were at risk, but many, many people younger are having difficulty with this virus. The way it attacks the lungs is something we haven’t experienced and the speed of transmission is unprecedented. All we can do is try to avoid it and be good neighbours and hopefully, we come out of this stronger and better prepared for the next challenge. The mortality rate here is still low, but almost 40% require hospital care for pneumonia and breathing problems. He thought about his wife and young kids and prayed for a miracle. His church prayed for him as well. The next morning, he was taken off the ventilator and later, was back home and is now recovered. Doctors called it a miracle. I think so too.

I haven’t tried it but like the chrome soft with the bright markings. I assume you have strong swing speed to use the x?

Thanks. Any talk,about golf is fun, especially now while I am stuck inside.

Thanks. I’m new to this, so I appreciate the tip.

I’m curious what balls are most popular out there? We all like ProV’s of course, but is the cost a factor? For me it is and so I tend to play whatever is on sale and of the highest quality. If this is your preference, which other balls work best for you? Last year I played Vice Pro, Srixon and Taylor Made (a) and still am using my old Pentas until they are gone.

Agreed. I changed shafts over the winter to the Fuji Pro tour spec which has added 3 mph indoors and hopefully more out on the course while improving consistency and am trying to work on my flexibility and speed to get back some of the distance lost, but Father Time is a tough opponent.

Old clubs will certainly save you a lot of money, but there is excitement trying something different or newer. If you like the look of your clubs, that is a big indicator how well you will hit it if it is a quality product. At one point, the club didn’t matter as much, but it is crucial for me these days. We didn’t do much fitting 30-40 years ago, but we adjusted to the clubs. Now, it is the complete opposite. I dream what it would be like to take a driver back in time and give it to my younger self(say 25 yrs. old) when I was using Woods with steel shafts and tiny heads, but could swing as hard as I wanted. Now that the technology is great and heads are large and forgiving, my swing speed won’t let me take advantage of the extra forgiveness. Oh well, it is still a blast to play and score well,although in a completely different way.

I know Mizuno makes good equipment, but I am happy with my present drivers. I am not interested in the G410 as I already have the G and G400. Funny, the G is the best for me at this point. The G400 3 wood is the worst of all my fairway woods. I am trying a new shaft this year before trading it away. No need for money to burn if you can wait to buy. All true. My reality is that at 65, my body won't let me swing as fast as I could in years past. Ultralight shafts would help, but throw off my feel and timing as I have always preferred heavier shafts. Luckily for all of us, technology marches on making equipment better in most ways. If you hit an old persimmon driver on the sweet spot, it is still terrific, but the reality is as you age, you don’t hit that sweet spot as often which is why technology is a good thing.

I agree. COR has been constant for many years now. My longest driver was the Ping G15 and the only reason I still am no longer using it is the lack of adjustability to prevent frequent hooks. Being able to open the club face has transformed my game. I also like the freedom of using adapters and the ease of changing shafts once adapters are installed.

Hi, good suggestion. I have them in mind, but demo’ing them is difficult. In head to head comparisonsmwith my Ansers, which are custom-fitted, it is hard to compare apples to apples. They make great clubs and don’t change every year, but you don't see many in play generally. I might have a look around and see what I can do with 585’s or a blended set. Agreed. I was talking mostly about year to year or recent model changes and the past few decades have seen drastic changes in technology and function.

I have been playing for about 55 years and equipment has changed a great deal during that time. I am a single handicapper and always hit player’s clubs rather than forgiving clubs. in the last few years, my swing speed is declining, but I can still hit solid shots and score okay althiough I no longer have the urge to play from the tips or to use clubs with tiny sweet spots. My old favourite irons were Mizuno Grads and I still have them but have moved on to Ping Anser irons for their forgiveness, feel and playability and have used them for a few years now. I don’t hit that sweet spot as often or as easily as I used to so tried a friend’s TM Rbz irons they were easy to hit, long and consistent, but don’t have the feel of the Pings. As soon as I start swinging better, I go back to the Ansers. My old favourite Woods were the Ping Eye 2 and later, the ISI’s and back then, they were long, solid, straight and consistent. Technology marched on and over the years, I went from Mizuno to Yonex to TM, then to Callaway and finally to three drivers now which I alternate. The Callaway Epic is solid, straight and feels great. The TM M1 is the same but feels a little different while the Ping G is similar, yet feels different as well. I always try the newest clubs, but have found there is no value for most of the new clubs anymore. I did not like the new Matrek Woods or the TM Sim and no new irons appeal either. At the end of last year, I tried a friend’s Ping G driver with the Fuji Pro Tour Spec shaft and was amazed how nice it felt and how well it performed. I went online and purchased several Fuji shafts and re-shafted my three drivers. On a monitor at Golf Town, these shaft/head combos gave me an additional 3 mph ball speed and less dispersion which is great. I haven’t found a single new club that even approaches the performance of my older clubs with new shafts or my small soled irons. Anyone else find that new technology doesn’t mean better for your game while taking a big chunk out of your wallet? Is it my age or do you younger guys agree that new isn’t always better?

A small correction. Retief plays the R9 TP "B" irons which are smaller and thinner than the R9 TP irons. I tried them in our local store and liked the look of them but not the performance. They played like blades and where years ago, I could hit blades easily, now I need a little help and the Pings are better for me. I'm sure pros are asked to play certain clubs to boost sales and as long as the clubs are not a liability, being paid to play a club is always a bonus. I was at a PGA event where one of the pros lost his clubs on the flight and had to play his amateur partner's clubs in the pro-am. After hitting a drive straight up in the air, I asked him how close that driver was to his own driver and he laughed and said "not close at all" so we know their clubs are manufactured differently with different centres of gravity and weighting.