justinp

Haven't found a Callaway driver I've liked yet...just my personal opinion. I've tried several and I've tried really hard to like them, but in the end I just don't hit them as well as I hit others. Recently got rid of my FT-5 iMix and got a TaylorMade Burner SuperFast and I LOVE it!!

Probably because a typical block is a square hit...just not square to your target line. You make solid contact on the face with an in-to-out swing path. The usual cause is that you get the club "stuck" behind and you never have a chance to get it square to the target line so the ball flies dead straight with typical driver distance (just well right of your intended target line). The compensation is a pull hook. When you try to compensate for getting stuck by really rolling or flipping the hands hard at the bottom in an attempt to keep the ball from going right.

Driver (FT-5 i-Mix) - Picked it up for a good price on CallawayPreOwned. Got the i-Mix version because I figured I could swap either the shaft or the head if I didn't like it. Fairway Woods (Steelhead III) - Got them based on name and price at the time. I was still a high handicapper at the time. Don't really care for the Uniflex shafts. This will be the next area for upgrade in my bag. Hybrid (Heavenwood 4H) - Don't carry a 3I and wasn't a fan of my 4I at the time either. Picked up the 4H used at a local golf shop for a good price. Hit it longer than my 4I and higher. Works well for long par 3's at my home course. Irons (Nike VR Full Cavity, 5-AW) - Just picked these up. Did it the right way (short of attending a Nike Fitting Day). Hit demos on a simulator from pretty much every manufacturer. I was very interested in the X-24s going in, but after hitting several clubs I really disliked the way it felt. Glad I didn't just go in and buy without trying. The Nike VR Full Cav is the one I kept coming back to every time. I loved the feel of the VR Forged Blades, but the forgiveness of the Full Cavity will be welcomed on those days where I don't have my 'A' game swing. Plus, I wasn't really in the market for a $900 set of irons. Wedges (Walter Hagen Forged 52*, 56*, 60*) - Picked these up at Dick's based on price back when I started to become a better golfer and realized the need to be carrying more wedges. I guess they are really made my Nicklaus Golf I don't know. They are actually pretty decent wedges. Putter (Odyssey White Hot XG #1) - I go through putters about as often as I go through drivers (which is to say quite frequently). I think I finally found one I like though.

I just went through the demo process with irons. I hit the following demos on a simulator: Titleist AP1, TM Burner, TM R9, Callaway X-24, Ping G15, Ping G10, Ping I15, Nike VR Full Cav, Nike VR Split Cav, Nike VR Forged Blade. I think I could play with any of these, but to say there is no difference would be silly. One of the biggest thing I noticed was the difference in clubhead speed I was generating. There was a 5-6 mph spread between the highest and lowest, which made a decent difference in the carry distance. Feel is also a big thing. Some just felt better than others. Honestly, the X-24 and Burner irons felt clunky and heavy. These were at the top of my list going in, and I'm glad I tried before I bought. The Nike VR irons were the ones I kept coming back to followed closely by the Ping irons. I ended up getting the VR Full Cavity for the added forgiveness (and they are far less expensive than their forged siblings). I didn't like the feel of the VR Split Cavity for some reason. The VR Blades felt sweet but as you would expect from a blade, unforgiving when you make a less than perfect swing. It was funny because the first swing I made with the blade (6-iron) I hit it dead straight with more carry distance than any other demo I hit on the simulator. But after a few more swings I realized that I'm not good enough to play those consistently week in and week out. The forgiveness of the Full Cavity is nice to have when your swing just isn't quit on it.

UPDATE: Well, I bought the Callaway FT-5 i-Mix (9*) with Aldila NV 75 Stiff shaft. I got out yesterday and played a round with it. So far so good. I hit one of my best drives in a long time with it. On the 610 yd par-5 4th hole I hit one with the trajectory I was looking for that measured out (using SkyCaddie) at 280 yds. and was in the middle of the fairway. That's great distance for me on a slightly uphill tee shot in November in central PA. You gotta figure it's good for another 10-15 yards at least in the middle of the summer. Anyway, I loved this head/shaft combo for my swing. More impressive than the good drives I hit were the misses. Every time I made a bad swing with it, my misses went to the same exact place. High fade in the 240 yd range, several of which stayed on the fairway or just missed. There's a lot to be said for knowing where your misses are going to go.

One site I found, if it's correct, shows the stock "Nike Sasquatch Diamana Graphite" shaft in stiff flex is 63g with a torque of 4.4 (which is pretty high for me). The NV 65 S that was on my Cobra was 68g with a 3.5 torque. Obviously the NV 75 S weighs more and has even less torque than the NV 65. I guess the nice thing is this is the Callway i-Mix series so if I don't like the shaft I'll just keep getting other ones to try and it's just a turn of the wrench.

I pulled the trigger on this club and I'm looking forward to hitting it (even though golf season here is winding down). I think my swing lends itself to doing better with a "boardy" shaft. Of the last 3 drivers I've owned, the Cobra with the NV (I believe 65) shaft provided me with the best ball flight. The driver I had before that is the one that really set me on this quest and got me learning more about loft/shaft, etc, etc. I had an Adams Redline with the regular flex stock shaft. At the time I bought it I knew nothing about how shafts effected things and I assumed the stiffer shafts were for better players which I really wasn't at the time. I could hit that club on the screws and it would fly high and land like a wedge in the fairway (or wherever it landed). On top of that, I was only hitting it about 220. I was hitting my 3-wood just as far as my driver and it flew about half the height of my driver. I then bough the Cobra after hitting it on a LM and having the guy tell me it was in the window for optimal launch/spin. I really liked it, but for some reason I felt the need to try the "new thing". So I traded it on a Nike Sasquatch Sumo with the stock stiff shaft. I'm not back to the balloon ball of the old Adams, but I don't think my ball flight and results are as good as they were with the Cobra. I have a pretty aggressive swing with my driver and despite being labeled as a stiff shaft, the stock stiff in the Nike Sasq Sumo seems a little on the whippy side to be considered "stiff" IMO. All I know is it's a Mitsubishi Diamana (supposedly) but the specs aren't on the shaft. I've also had a hard time trying to find the weight/torque specs for the stock shaft online.

Ok, first let it be known I change drivers like underwear A few season ago I was using a Cobra F-Speed 9.5 with the Aldila NV-F (stiff) shaft. I believe this was basically a NV 65 S shaft (green) made for the Cobra line. Anyway, I loved the club. I bought it based on launch/spin results on a LM at a local Dick's. For some reason (I'm a gear w-h-o-r-e) I traded in the Cobra on a Nike Sasquatch Sumo 9.5 with the stock stiff shaft. I hit the Sumo pretty well but I wish it would fly a little lower. My swing speed is in the low 100s and I would consider myself a hitter not a swinger. I also have a Callaway Steelhead III 3-wood and 5-wood that I love and have been using for quite some time. Everyone always notices how my driver flies higher than my 5-wood and 3-wood. The fairway woods have the uniflex steel shafts (105g I think). Anyway, I'm thinking maybe I need to switch to a heavier shaft in my driver, and maybe one that's a little more tip-stiff. I'm eyeballing an i-Mix FT-5 head with Aldila NV 75 S shaft. Any thoughts?

Right place at the right time I guess. I had never seen the i-Mix stuff in Dick's. Granted, they were already together and did not come with the wrench, but the components were brand new. They had 4 or 5 of them, but only one was the Tour LCG model. I saw them Monday at lunch, went back to the office and researched them. Once I saw what they were selling for other places and then realized my worst case if I hated the club, the trade-in value of that combo at callawaypreowned.com is $100 I figured it was a no brainer. Buy it, play it, if I don't like it I'm going to get a minimum of 70% of the purchase price in trade for it. Crazy.

Don't knock Dick's. You can find some really good deals there if you are patient. Yesterday I just bought a Callaway FT-i Tour LCG 9.5* i-Mix with Aldila DVS 60-S shaft for $150!!! This site you are talking about has the same club (non i-Mix version with the stock Ozik shaft) for $399.

It's in my trunk I'm going to take it out at lunch today and play 9 with it. I've been thinking about trying one for a while, but the investment part of it pushed me over the edge. Heck, if I don't like the FT-i head I could trade it in and put that $55 toward the purchase of a "like new" FT-5 i-Mix head from callaway preowned. They are going for $90-100 so I could pick one up for $35-45 after trade-in. I just couldn't pass it up

Wow, some further research makes this a no-brainer. That club better be there when I get to Dick's in the morning... Checking CallawayGolfPreowned.com the trade-in value for the FT-i Tour LCG i-Mix head is $55 and the i-Mix Aldila DVS 60-S is $45. So, I can buy it brand new at Dick's for $150 and if for some reason I hate it, I could trade it in and I'm only out $50 for my troubles.

Thanks for the input. For $150 I think I'm just going to pick one up and play with it. I'm not trading in my Sumo so I'll have that to fall back on if for some reason I don't like the FT-i Tour LCG. The "Tour" is marked on the heel next to the bias marking. You can see it in this picture left of the bias. There is a little logo and it says "Tour Low CG" under it. The Tour models also have the Chevron logo on the club's face.

I'm thinking about picking up a 9.5* FT-i Tour LCG driver and I'm researching two options. The local Dick's has the i-Mix version w/ Aldila DVS 60-S shaft for $150. There is also a "like new" non i-Mix version on Callway Pre-owned with the Matrix Ozik Xcon-6 for $167. I've read good things about both shafts and was wondering if anyone had any helpful info for me. I currently am using a Nike Sasquatch Sumo 460 with the stock Diamana stiff shaft. I get good distance out of it, but lack a bit of control. I'm looking to find more fairways without sacrificing distance.

In a way I feel bad for Wie. Even though she brings some of this stuff on herself, she has been mis-managed by everyone that comes in contact with her. Maybe as she gets older now she'll realize that and cut ties where they should be cut (ie quit letting her parents dictate what she does and she she does it). Anyway, I don't know why people get all fired up about her playing in a PGA Tour event. Who cares. If she keeps getting offers to play in them why not take them. Until she's a full time member of the LPGA and is missing those events to play on the PGA Tour who cares? Why can't she play where she wants if the opportunity is there? Are you telling me that if you were offered a job in your field that you didn't think you were qualified for but the offer was there and you would make twice as much as your current salary...you wouldn't take it? You'd say, "Nah, I'll pass. I don't think I'm good enough to work with the people at that level so I'm going to pass." And for the poster that wondered how the LPGA felt about it...the hell with them! If I was Wie I'd play a PGA Tour even just to stick it to them after what they did to her this past weekend. I know she broke the rule (as stupid as it may be) and she deserved to be DQ'd as a result. However, waiting until after her round the following day to DQ her? That's Bush League!! They say they wanted to get her side of the story?? Does it matter what her side of the story was? If she didn't sign it she didn't sign it, it doesn't matter why right? The LPGA really dropped the ball on that one big time.

At some point yes. I need to get all of the required videos. I believe it's Driver and 6-iron both DTL and Face On correct?

I'd say it's semi close to Sergio (I believe that's him there in the first pic). In answer to your question, yes. I do believe it looks a little jammed up at impact. I think this is partly because I drop my head and shoulders a fair bit from where they are at address. Apparently the flat swing is also contributing. I'm excited about the potential once un-jammed though. My biggest challenge with my current driver swing is accuracy. I don't slice or hook much. If it's not straight it's usually a push or pull. I average about 250 with the driver and I'm told the jamming can cause a loss of power. This is why I love golf. I've gone from an 18 index in the summer of '06 to a 13 index last summer and now I'm sitting at 9.2. I'm always looking to get better.

Ok, so now that I have a new digital camera that takes solid video clips, I'm getting to see what my swing looks like (for better or worse). I've been putting swings up on SwingAcademy.com so I could analyze them. I always knew my swing was flat. I started doing this years ago in an attempt to ensure an inside to out path. I big should turn and late wrist cock result in the club going way beyond parallel at the top (or so that's my story anyway). I do a decent job of routing the club back into a decent position on the downswing Despite all of my tweaks, the flat laid off swing has remained. Any thoughts? Driver DL http://www.swingacademy.com/swingana...l.aspx?id=1299 7-iron DL http://www.swingacademy.com/swingana...l.aspx?id=1301

Tiger's the best by far, but he never really carried the US in the Ryder Cup anyway. I don't think you can say it's look bleak for us just because of his absence. What we really need in the Ryder Cup are guys that are going to have a good time with it. I think in the past our players have taken it too seriously. Let's get guys like Boo Weekley in there. He's a solid golfer and you know he'll have fun with it.

Interesting article with some quotes from Goosen suggesting Tiger was faking it... Article I don't buy the comments from Retief that Tiger only winced and grimmaced on bad shots and seemed fine on good shots. I recall seeing Tiger wince in pain on at least a few tee shots that found the middle of the fairway.

I'm not sure about "settling down". I don't know exactly what is meant by that. You certainly don't want to hover over the ball forever once you get set. The longer you hang over the ball the more time you spend thinking about things you shouldn't be thinking about anymore. The most important thing is to develop a comfortable pre-shot routine that you follow every time and Rocco certainly does that (as do pretty much all tour players).

I don't think this is a conspiracy. I think Tiger had the surgery they say he had. Maybe they didn't get it all who knows. To me it just looks like a case of coming back too soon and putting too much stress on it. Practicing is one thing, coming out and playing 5 grueling rounds in 5 days is all together different. My guess is that he'll skip the Buick later this month for sure. There is also a pretty good chance he'll skip his tourney (AT&T; National) in two weeks unless he makes a complete turnaround and the knee is feeling back to 100%. I think, as most have said, the more realistic return date is at the British Open. As for what he tells us, I think that's completely up to him. I don't feel he owes the fans or anyone else an explanation of his physical ailments. Until the PGA Tour starts requiring the individual players to release weekly injury reports he doesn't have to tell anyone anything. Pro golf is different from every other sport. You get to pick and choose when you play and you don't need an excuse not to play a tournament. I know the fans would love to know what is wrong with his knee, but they shouldn't feel as if they are entitled to this information. That's just ridiculous. As a side note, I think one poster's comments regarding recovery time from arthroscopic knee surgery is bogus. I'm not sure you see too many NFL players back on the field for game action within 1-2 weeks of having this type of knee surgery. I'd like some specific examples to prove me wrong.

Blue Ridge Trail (Mountaintop, PA) fall '07

Yeah, just check around. I know some of the "bigger chain" stores have last year's TPs at a lower price too. Dick's and Golf Galaxy, for instance, have them priced at $30.

I may try the Burner TPs before the end of the season, but for now I've been stocking up on last season's TP Black. Because TM changed the balls, you can get pretty good deals on last year's TP. One local golf shop here is selling last year's TP Blacks as buy-one-get-one. So you get two dozen for $40. You can't beat $20 a dozen on tour level balls!