dkolo

Oh good, I was just about to duct tape a soda can to my driver to get the weights right. That was close!

He doesn't need the money, but if he was going to wind up playing Taylormade woods anyway, why do something for free when you can get paid to do it? I think it was Warrn Buffet who said that. Or The Joker. I can't remember

Yeah, do what you want, dude, no one's going to stop you. I'd argue that putting this thread in the Rules of Golf sub-forum might be giving people an incorrect impression about what you're actually proposing, but yeah, go for it, play from wherever you want, I think it's great. But do try to quote posts or use @ replies to direct your posts at specific users because it makes it a bit hard to follow who you're talking at or responding to at times. https://thesandtrap.com/how-to/quote-posts/ https://thesandtrap.com/how-to/mention-members/

Gosh that's pretty. I think this kid has a future.

Of course not, just as there are grass ranges that are kept in terrible shape

Mats are fine, I don't know where you get the belief from that a grass range would be better. I've practiced with my clubs almost exclusively on mats for 4 years, and they have a nice matte (hah!) finish on the sole, with an occasional streak parallel to the direction of my swing path, which is really probably just from different stuff I encounter on the course. Grass driving ranges get sanded heavily to even them out and sand is really abrasive to a club's finish. Combine that with either having to wash your club between shots to get dirt off the face or risk face abrasion on the next shot, and I would argue grass is a more destructive material to hit off of than a mat. If you come across a cheap mat and get some of that green residue, I guess that can be annoying, but it's something 15 seconds in hot water once you get home will fix. I don't come across those mats anymore except at the cheapest of cheap driving ranges, though. Good mats are fine for practicing, especially when you're working on something different. I won't argue a grass range will probably allow you to recreate course conditions better, but I don't get why you'd have strong feelings against mats.

The Taylormade M family of woods just got Woods-ier.

I'd guess they get rid of club length benefits on free relief and leave it for relief when you're taking a penalty to get relief (hazards, unplayables, etc.)

That's part of it. Another aspect of GI irons is also for swing speed and achieving correct launch conditions. GIs and SGIs will help get the ball in the air because of how the CG is distributed. More playery irons tend to keep trajectories lower because the players hit the ball plenty high already. Get new irons once you feel these hold you back. Irons will be the last thing I upgrade in my set unless I find the offset is what's holding me back from not overdrawing the ball (spoiler: it's not). If you find you want to get tighter dispersion patterns (ie, not have shots that feel similar but go dramatically different distances), and want a somewhat lower trajectory, or just love the hell out of a more bladed iron, go for it. Otherwise, leave well enough alone.

I actually bought the Glide 1.0 in 47° because I hated the chunky PW that came in my set. I had borrowed a Nike VRS Combo PW for most of 2016 from a set that was being kept in my house and I began using it for chipping and (imagine!) for pitching, neither of which I felt comfortable doing with my PW matched to my iron set. I wanted a more bladey PW, but with a little bit of cavity and help from tech since I would still hit it full a lot (and my iron play isn't bladed club good). I'm a huge fan of the club because I can do everything I want to do with the club now. I also think it looks awesome. I did change the paint-fill to make it more interesting to me, though. I think I'll get a couple years out of this club, but the 2.0s are, I'm sure, a great club for anyone who is looking for a more delicate, versatile wedge that still offers a fair of help. I know I probably wouldn't have gotten it without the rave reviews from @Golfingdad and the imprimatur of TST

I as being complimentary: I think you've given a lot of great insight into the product

I'm re-reading the book after a year with it, and I'm happy to report that one of the feels described in chapter 5 really helped me find my stroke today. It's the best I've ever swung the club in the offseason. Who knows if it sticks, but the point is that the book is littered with little nuggets here and there that can really help if you come across them at the right time, and greatly boost the long term value of the book upon repeat readings. I've definitely benefitted from some of the high-level principles in the book over the past year, but because I had a very tumultuous year, I didn't have the time to really put into effect a lot of the great ideas the book presents. I'm hoping to be more meticulous and thoughtful about that this coming year. Thanks again for the great opus!

I'm with you about being budget conscious! In the future, keep an eye on Callaway's Preowned site. I've raved about it before, but they sell used, as well as brand new clubs for way cheap. I've bought every club in my bag save for a PING PW and a Cleveland GW from them. Brand new current model MD3 wedges were $70 and change. They have sales all the time. Like I said, something to keep in mind for the future!

I've only seen one, and that was on my birthday no less, by a guy who'd been playing for 50+ years and it was his first one. I guess I may have to wait another 46 years before my number comes up!

Thank you for posting this; it's fascinating, and makes me want to get a fitting of my own one of these days! I think a new driver is the last thing I can reasonably talk myself into after upgrading everything else in my bag. It seems like the Sub Zero has been universally lauded as the club to beat this season for players with even just above average swing speeds

Re-reading this thread was a fun trip down memory lane. Boy, did I have a lot more fire in my belly back then. It feels like a different person. I still stand by what I said, though; 18 mph of swing speed from a grip? Wouldn't that be something?

See, now I feel silly -- you've managed to do a more thorough review of this product than all of the official reviewers did put together. Way to throw down the gauntlet for the future!

While the Kirkland ball is now RIP, Costco does sell their Callaway Hex Soft balls in stores for about a $1 per ball. They're quite lovely. Soft, but spinny and responsive.

The Humana / Career Builder is always intended to be a birdie-fest. It's set up super easy to encourage players to enter the tournament after being off all winter. I'm completely not surprised to see someone go super low at this tournament.

Hit your tee shots farther and putt better. If anyone has a better formula, I'm all ears!

Welcome to the site @Dozer! Just a quick heads up, it's preferable if you use the @ feature when speaking to other users or use the quote / multiquote features when referencing other posts. The former helps people know you're talking to them (they get a notification) and the latter helps give clarity about exactly what you're talking about (it can get confusing in long threads!). Here are some links about how to do all that. These are all found in the How To... menu at the top of the site https://thesandtrap.com/how-to/mention-members/ https://thesandtrap.com/how-to/quote-posts/ You should also add your 18.2 handicap to your profile so that everyone can know for the future when you ask questions or make comments. Helps give people context. All that is just a friendly heads-up! Welcome again to the site, you seem like a wonderful addition to the community! Those are all solid clubs in a bubble, but it's so user specific that it's hard to say. If you're happy with them, that's the most important thing. One thought: do you find the 4 iron easy to hit? Especially as someone who has went with the V-series, which was designed for slower swing speeds, I'm curious whether a 4 iron is the best choice for the high end of your irons. As a fellow high handicapper, I know I struggle with irons that long. I don't bag a 4 iron. Sometimes, frankly, I consider losing my 5 iron in favor of a hybrid. That'd be my only real point I'd be wary of in terms of bag composition. But play with it for a while and, honestly, you'll know yourself soon enough. If you have the option of making a change still, that'd be the thing I look at. Also, I personally hate the wedges that come with game improvement sets; I find them hard to manipulate for non-full shots. I've bought bladed wedges to supplement my irons. But that's totally personal preference! Your handicap is kind of on the bubble of where you might have strong enough preferences for wedges and what you like to see, so it's something to consider if you haven't tried those wedges yet. Or again, you might like them and not care. I'm just throwing out thoughts.

That's funny, that's exactly what I do, right down to the mindset of attacking par 3s. I feel like I've begun to score better and enjoy the game more since reframing the game this way in my mind. And, really, that's all the original poster needs to do: change your perspective. You don't need an official decree or a rule change to do that. Your score still will be whatever it will be.

I'm actually with you on this. Not so much that this looks cheap (it's whatever; I subconsciously think that a club that plasters TOUR too prominently is trying too hard, but, again, whatever). But they're in the same boat as Srixon and, to a lesser extent, Wilson in my mind: I'm sure their stuff is fine, but their brands have no appeal and built-up goodwill in clubs with me, so if they don't make their clubs cool and enticing, why on earth would I bag them over a Callaway, Taylormade, PING, or Titleist, especially when we all know the first two will be going on firesale within months, eliminating any price advantages of a Bridgestone or Srixon? Mizuno has taken this tack in recent years: they're super well-respected for their irons, but not really a name in woods or wedges. But they went out of the box and made really gorgeous-looking clubs in blue that draw my attention. Nike kept trying the same approach, with varying success. Wilson is at least trying to get attention with their Driver vs. Driver gambit. But when you're a challenger brand, you can't just come out with boring clubs.

Sounds like a plan!

I think they should be allowed on tours, but I don't generally have an issue with it one way or another... except when I do have an issue, I REALLY have an issue with it. Namely, when a player sends his caddy to walk off some unholy distance to get an exact measurement to the hole. It's usually at a crucial point of the tournament and it grinds the whole thing to a halt. That drives me absolutely batty and it's eliminating those situations that makes legalizing rangefinders in general to be a measure I'd welcome.