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Everything posted by Donald MacKenzie
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Congrats on your trade/purchase. Tour Edge stuff is good quality that gets overlooked because it's at a lower price point than the big boys. I have a Tour Edge Exotics driver that has one Florida round under its belt, and waiting for the snow to clear here so I can put some more miles on it. Let us know how the JMAX works when you get a chance to give it a better workout. Nothing like a new driver to break up the winter blahs.
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Callaway Irons - What do you recommend
Donald MacKenzie replied to stanbro's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
I don't think you can go wrong with the Big Bertha irons if you're a 17. They are super-easy to hit and very forgiving. They have very wide soles, which helps get the ball up in the air and also helps improve your results when you hit behind the ball a bit. Simply put, the Big Berthas are point-and-shoot irons; you have to work pretty hard to hit bad shots with them. The X-18s are very good, too. But the Big Berthas are built with a 17-handicapper in mind. And the 2004 Big Berthas on now on clearance. The new 2006 version isn't much different, so you could get a good deal on the older version and not miss out on performance. Agree with the above post about custom fitting. Getting the right lie angle and shaft can make a huge difference for any skill level. Hope this helps. Let us know what you decide. -
Tifosi vs PeakVision sunglasses
Donald MacKenzie replied to iowa_hacker's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
I haven't tried the Tifosi shades yet, but I have a pair on the way. I'll let you know what I think (hopefully my results will be better than Erik's!). I liked the PeakVisions on the course, but they are annoying to wear off the course. You might also consider SunBuster as a good golf-specific sunglasses brand. And the new Callaway-branded sunglasses (made by a new sunglasses company through a licensing deal) have excellent lenses for golf and general use, and some good styles (and some that are hideous). Not sure when they're hitting the street, probably in the next month or so. -
Dave: Are you testing the standard or TP version of the driver? With your swing, I'm sure you'd benefit from the stronger shaft and larger set of weight options that the TP has. Just a thought. I've heard that one of the advantages of the R7 425 over the original R7 is actually higher ball flight in general. Actual mileage may vary, eh?
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What will you buy this year?
Donald MacKenzie replied to Donald MacKenzie's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
I played a few holes with a new F/Speed Cobra driver in Orlando. Sets up very closed. But that's clearly an intended part of the design, as I didn't hit any hooks with it. Very loud and straight. Erik: I think you need to remove the (for now) designation from the 735.CM irons listing in your signature... -
What will you buy this year?
Donald MacKenzie replied to Donald MacKenzie's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
I saw the new Bettinardi/Mizuno putters at the Show. If you're a fan of Bettinardi's past work, you'll like these. Same honeycomb-milled faces, plenty of great blade styles and a few mallets. Nothing too different from his past designs. I'm interested to see how successsful the Bettinardi/Mizuno pairing is. Mizuno just had T.P. Mills as their putter guy (and wasn't Scotty with them back in the 1990s?). I'm just not sure the Mizuno name helps sell many putters. Bettinardi was probably a bad fit with Hogan once Callaway bought the brand, but I can't see him selling more putters with the Mizuno name than the Hogan name. My 2 cents. -
I was talking to the owner of a successful golf shop the other day. He mentioned that 2005 was a really good year for iron sales. Statistics show that avid golfers buy a new driver or putter every year or so, but will buy a new set of irons every 3-4 years. 2005 was a year with a lot of people at that magic mark for buying new irons, it seems. Pent-up demand = good sales. Anybody out there looking at irons this year? Personally, I see plenty of drivers and putters I'd like to try (Exotics, X460, R7 425, Odyssey Tri-Ball, Fat Lady Swings), but there isn't much in the way of irons that excites me. What do you think?
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If you change your mind and go back to looking at the Cleveland 460 drivers, grab last year's model. They brought out a new version this year that is a fairly incremental improvement over last year's model, and the older one is discounted now. FYI. Good luck with whatever you buy!
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Callaway STS stand bag
Donald MacKenzie replied to Maverick's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
Some of Callaway's bags are made by Ogio, but the STS bags are made by a small company in Carlsbad just for Callaway. They're actually pretty nice, and cheaper than Ogio (with a bit less flair). I'd go for the mini. The "name on the bag vs. what's in it" debate is a good one. I have friends with bags that sport a manufacturer name, but they don't play any of that company's clubs. I think to most people, a bag is a bag. I'm more of the opinion that the bag is a billboard, and I'd feel weird carrying a TaylorMade bag with no TM clubs inside. -
The Rifles will play about 0.5 stiffer in a Callaway shaft. I play 6.0 in other irons, but a 5.5 in my Fusion irons, and my old X-12s. I also used to have a set of X-14s that I used for 2-3 years. Loved 'em. I think the X-12 is the most forgiving iron in the whole X series, but the X-14 was the best mix of forgiveness, playability and looks. The Pro Series also have the cool "polished smoke" finish. All told, the X-14s (regular and pro) are the best-selling irons in the history of the game (ahead of the Ping Eye2s and X-12s). Keep us posted on how they work for you.
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Cavity backed vs. 'standard' wedges
Donald MacKenzie replied to cmarkmyers's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
If you're a 36 handicapper, stick with the wedges that come with your set. Cavity backs are much more forgiving on full shots and even on chips around the green. The standalone blade wedges look cool, but won't help you much on forgiveness (except maybe the CG11 from Cleveland). As far as "quality," the wedges that match your set will be the same quality as the irons they go with. It's not as if they're made at a separate factory. I say go with the cavity backs and take advantage of the extra forgiveness. Hope this helps. -
I just picked up a Club Glove Burst Proof bag (with wheels) to replace my old (6 years) Ogio travel bag that finally died of a broken zipper. It did a great job protecting my clubs on my trip to Orlando and back. My only complaint is that it is a pretty snug fit, even for a smallish stand bag. I can't imagine a driver longer than 46" would fit into this bag. Also, there's room for a couple pairs of shoes, but not much else. With my old, bigger Ogio bag I could jam all my dirty laundry in at the end of the trip (extra padding for clubs, lighter suitcase to lug). The Burst Proof doesn't have much room for laundry. I wish I'd followed Jeff's lead and gotten the Straight Jacket. It's the size I wanted. But the Burst Proof will do a good job protecting my clubs, and that's what it's meant to do. The Burst Proof with wheels goes for about $150, though it's only $80-ish if you go for the wheel-free model.
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I got a dozen free at a media outing. They were Top-Flites, period. As Golf Digest famously wrote when the Magna came out, "If you want to reduce hooks and slices, practice a little more." Man, was TF peeved...
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Ditto what Erik wrote. Titleist will weigh the head to make sure the right weight plug is installed, to keep your swingweight the same. You need to stop hitting that poor driver so hard...
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FYI for any Callaway driver fans: I had a chance to play 9 in Orlando with the Fusion FT-3 (which is my regular driver) and the new X460 driver both in the bag. I thought the FT-3 would be more forgiving, and the X460 would be longer. I was half-right. The FT-3 is a bit more forgiving, though the X460 hung with it. But on my best swings with both, the FT-3 was noticeably longer. On holes where I hit two drives, the FT-3 was longer every time. On the last hole, I made two very good driver swings trying to hit a draw on a dogleg left par-4. The X460 turned over exactly like I wanted it to and rolled out to 285 yards, middle of the fairway. I re-teed with the FT-3, tried to make the same swing ... and hit a tight draw that almost carried past where my first drive landed, rolling out to 315 yards. [Epilogue: I hit a 56-degree X-Tour wedge to 8 feet, then missed the birdie putt with the new Tri-Ball SRT putter. Grr. ] I was pretty surprised by the distance difference. The X460 sure isn't short, but the FT-3 is even longer than I thought (for my swing). The specs: FT-3 9-degree neutral with Aldila NVS 55-S, X460 9-degree with Fujikura stiff shaft. One other impression: The face area on the X460 is considerable bigger than the FT-3. The FT-3 has a deep face that is not very wide, and there's a lot of volume used to make room for the internal weights. The X460 has a deep face that is much wider, and the club in general looks bigger at address than the FT-3.
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Jeff: Welcome aboard! I grew up not too far from you in the Metro area. I now live in Farmington Hills, and I get to play Oakland Hills every once in a while. You're lucky to live so close and be a member! And as a Spartan alum, good luck making the team. They've done a great job upgrading the courses and practice facilities since I was there. Keep us posted!
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Agree with what Erik said. Get the lightest you can control. If you're a "hitter" that goes at the ball pretty hard, a heavier shaft is generally better. 75-85 grams is about the top end of the best shafts these days. I think Tiger's playing an 83 gram Diamana shaft in his driver. If you're a "swinger" that has a smoother tempo, you can generally go with even lighter shafts. I have a pretty even tempo and am grooving on the 55-gram Aldila NVS in my Fusion FT-3. But if you have someone that's willing to install a few different shafts for you, take advantage. Shafts are the hardest thing to fit because there are so many variables. If you can try multiple options, then you're way ahead of most people!
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Tom Slighter's a great guy. Watch for an upcoming Bag Drop feature on him and his putter business. Very interesting story.
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I've used the original Pipe putter (the full mallet) on the course, and I have the two newest blade models for review. I've only putted with them on carpet, so don't take this as a full-scale review. I was actually surprised at how nice the new Pipe blades set up. The pipe-like protrusion makes the putter very T-like. The long part of the T makes the sole much longer than a typical blade-type putter, which helps the putter set up very square. The blade Pipes feel very solid on putts that are struck near the center of the face. If you hit one way out on the toe or heel, it doesn't feel good, since there's no mass out there at all. But, then again, if you hit your putts way out on the heel or toe you probably aren't good enough to care. I'll hopefully be able to get out on the course a few times in the next couple weeks to get a full review up on the site. Check back around Super Bowl time!
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Club Collecting Illness
Donald MacKenzie replied to Everardo's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
At one point in time during the mid-90s I had 7 sets of irons, two bags full of woods/drivers and another bag full of putters/wedges, not to mention several dozen balls. Sure, I was the equipment editor for a golf magazine and hadn't paid for any of it, but it was still something of a sickness. The best was the day we got a new water heater. The plumber came over to install the new heater and had to walk past my golf storage area to get there. He stopped and said, "Dude, either you're a pro golfer, or you've got a real expensive problem." He ended up waiving his labor fee for a couple dozen Maxfli Revolutions (back when they were a hot ball to play). Most of it is gone now, and my friends and relatives have been the beneficiaries. But I still have all the putters, on the theory that every putter is just waiting for another chance to come off the bench and be a hero. Despite all the putters I have, I still find myself lingering at the putter coral at used club shops and thinking, "Hmm, I would really like to have a 34" BeCu Anser 2..." -
Callaway Golf X460 Driver & XFariway Woods
Donald MacKenzie replied to Everardo's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
Looks like Callaway will also have a "new" version of the Big Bertha irons shipping soon. Mostly a cosmetic change, but the medallion in the back of the new version (Big Bertha 2006) is a cool red/black combo. I think the new X460 driver will do well if Callaway can avoid the backorder problems that the Big Bertha 454 had last year. The Callaway name still brings in big sales at the $299 price range. I think the fairway woods look very nice. Daddy wants a new Strong 4-wood for Christmas... -
Those ginormous putters look sooo bad ... until you start using them to knock in the 5-footers that used to give you trouble. Then, they look sooo good. I would never use a truly odd-looking driver (Power Pod?) or irons (Cleveland VAS). But with putters, I figure anything that works is OK with me. BTW, the new putter from Odyssey is called the Tri-Ball SRT. Dave Pelz still owns the name "Three-Ball."
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Per my signature, I use the Sonartec Md 21°, which replaced a 7-wood in my bag. More accurate, more versatile and a stronger ball flight than either the Big Bertha (20°) or 904F (22°) 7-woods I was using previously. And very useful from the aforementioned "junky" lies and for creative recovery shots. I am looking forward to trying out the new Nickent 3DX DC 20° in the spring, and I think the new Ping hybrid looks pretty cool, too.
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Nike MaxSight Contact Lenses
Donald MacKenzie replied to iacas's topic in Clubs, Grips, Shafts, Fitting
I'd be interested in checking these out. I have an appointment for my yearly eye exam in January, and I'll ask my optometrist about the MaxSights. My only concern is how they would perform in changing light conditions. If you're wearing sunglasses and it gets cloudy or dark, you can take your shades off. I don't want to be futzing around with changing my contacts during a round. -
There was a limited run of 500 sets sold by Titleist (as you can see from one of the shots, where a club is stamped 127/500). They were mostly snapped up by key accounts and went for an astronomical price. I doubt many people put them in play. They may even have come with a display rack. They were also unique because at the time Titleist didn't sell any forged irons. Even their blades were cast. A really unique display would be a set of those Titleist Tiger irons alongside the Mizuno irons they were based on.