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Post by Richie3Jack on Feb 14, 2014 10:12:14 GMT -5
I’m very happy with my current bag. In fact, you can see my current WITB here: www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/966901-hunts-witb-way-too-many-pics/The only things that need to be changed around is that I need to take the Modus 130 shaft out of my 6-iron and install the Wishon Stepless Steel I have in there instead. I also need to put on a new grip for the LW. I put it on in a hurry and then installed the Tour Lock counterweight. The issue is that you cannot blow off the grips once the counterweight is installed. So once you use the counterweight, the grip cannot be removed and used again. That grip is on cockeyed, so I want to get a new grip and change it around. I also have my Tour Links putting green. For this year, here are some things I am contemplating: PUTTER – I’m fairly happy with the putter I currently have. However, I still like my old Edel putter. The problem for me is that the head and the shaft are too light for my tastes. The length of the shaft is also too short. It’s also pretty well nicked up. I’m thinking of taking this back to Edel and see if they can add weight ports to the head (I believe they can). I’d like to get the head weight closer to 365-370 grams. Then, take it to the Putter Lounge where they can buff out all of the nicks. I will probably go with a Black Oxide finish. It would look something like this: I would also like a new shaft and I would like to try the PURE Grips putter grip (I tried them on the Kenny Giannini putters and liked how they felt). Overall, the cost would be about $150. DRIVERTough to complain about the driver. My only question is if I can hit the 919THI further if I had a different loft and/or shaft. Problem is finding a fitter that carries and fits Wishon drivers. The other issue is that I doubt many of them fit for 44.5” driver shafts. If I find one I’m assuming that the cost will be about $100-$150 for the fitting. Then I would have to assemble a new head and shaft for myself. GONZO WOODI think I could use a 13* Gonzo Wood head for a little extra distance. Tough to really complain about it either way. I don’t see me changing anything here. IRONSThe more and more I think about it, the more and more I have become interested in Edel’s irons. I would just like to get some sort of recording of what my forward shaft lean is at impact with each of my irons and see how it matches up with the bounce angles in the irons. And…I’m always interested in shafts. I still dig the Modus 130, but I’m having a difficult time pulling the trigger on them. Also, I cannot use the Modus in my 3-5 irons. And I would like to find a similar shaft, but lighter in weight for those irons so I can balance them. I also still have a leftover Nippon WV 125 shaft. I may put that in my Pitching Wedge since I may be the worst PW player of all time. I may end up finding that my shaft lean at impact is more forward and may attempt to look at new irons and *gasp*, OEM irons, if their bounce angle fit my swing better. Of course, I would give them a test try, first. WEDGESDon’t see any changes being made here. I really hit the 52* well from 120 yards to around the green. And I’m still in love with the 60* Edel. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Mar 3, 2014 9:46:06 GMT -5
Purchased a 5-wood and a 7-wood. The Wishon 929HS. I've been talking to a few more Tour players and it seems they are starting to get away from the hybrids and going with 5-woods and 7-woods. I have a spare shaft I can use sitting around so I figured I would try it on the 5-wood. The shaft doesn't not have different tip trimming specs for a 3-wood vs. 5-wood vs. 7-wood, so I can use it. I've tried the 929HS and when I hit it well, it's a rocket launcher. But, it has a fairly small sized head. Thus, I think it may be better as a hybrid replacement. I'm considering the 7-wood to see if it can out-perform my 3-iron. I will also be shipping my old Edel putter head today off to Edel to get the weight ports in. What's interesting is that I took the grip off of it and putted some strokes with it on my putting green, and I really like the feel of the head. So I've been looking at lighter weight putter grips. I like the idea behind the cork Salty grips But, I hate that they are only mid-size and jumbo size (I like a smaller grip). I've been putting with the PURE putter grip in my latest modified Edel. I think it works much better than the round Edel putter grip for me. I'm just looking for something lighter. I will post pics of all of this stuff when it comes in. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Mar 20, 2014 16:06:19 GMT -5
Got my 5-wood and 7-wood shafted. I put Aldila NV85 x-stiff shafts in there.
I followed PING's length for 5-wood and 7-woods and made the 5-wood 42.5" long and the 7-wood 42" long.
What I have found doing MOI matching is that the Hybrids usually need to be 50 points higher than the irons. The 3-wood has to be about 75 points higher than the irons. And the driver about 100 points higher than the irons.
However, I haven't done MOI matching with a 5-wood and 7-wood. My gut tells me that they will be about where the 3-wood was at (2,800). But I will try them both out tonight and see what they are like.
I have skepticism towards the 5-wood. When I made the Gonzo Wood 42.75 inches long, the shaft weighed 79 grams after trimming. The 7-wood, at 42" long came to 78 grams. But, the 5-wood at 42.5 inches came to 74.3 grams. I think I got a bum shaft on the 5-wood.
Right now the 7-wood comes to 2,735 on the MOI machine and the 5-wood to 2,675. That presents a problem for the 5-wood if I have to get it up to 2,800. A lot of lead tape on a small head.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Mar 21, 2014 8:02:33 GMT -5
Hit the 5-wood and 7-wood last night as I MOI fitted them. I found that they do need to match the 3-wood MOI (2,800).
I started hitting the 3-wood well, but was hitting it pretty high. I'm hoping that Counterweight will help bring down the trajectory a little.
The 5-wood would replace the hybrid. I started to hit this very well, too. But, I had to figure out the weight correctly because I was having too much weight in the hosel and it was helping the ball hook. I hit it out the rough and was impressed with it. I believe it goes a lot further than my hybrid. But, we'll have to see when I get it on the course.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 2, 2014 8:04:51 GMT -5
I generally like the 7-wood, but the shaft needs to be replaced. I'm not digging the 5-wood. I think I'm better off with my hybrid. I may need to go to a lower hybrid loft so I can gap it properly from the 7-wood. What I like about the 7-wood is I can hit it very high. It's just that with the Aldila NV85 shaft I hit it too high. I bought an Aerotech Steelfiber wood shaft at 85 grams off eBay and I'm going to try that in the 7-wood. I found that the 'balance point' of the Aldila NV85 according to Wishon's software is around 21. Anything lower than 50 means it is 'butt heavy.' So that would explain when I trim the shaft why it drops so much in weight....there is so much weight in the butt end of the shaft. The Aerotech Steelfiber wood shaft is at exactly 50, so that should help bring down the flight a little.
I am also going to put my spare Nippon WV 125 wedge shaft in my Pitching Wedge. I'm also considering getting a PW made my a wedge company, like Vokey.
3JACK
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Post by jnaturally on Apr 8, 2014 3:31:30 GMT -5
I think you mentioned that you weren't interested in carbon fiber shafts because they are too light. Have you tried the Aerotech 125i's? Other than being 5 grams lighter, how would they compare to X100s?
From your club fitting experience, what are your thoughts on Tour Issue X100s vs regular X100s?
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 8, 2014 7:53:14 GMT -5
I haven't tried the Aerotech 125's. I don't know much about the DG vs. the Tour Issue DG. I have hit the Tour issue and didn't notice much of a difference. My feeling is that the bend profile and weight is probably designed a bit differently to keep the ball flight down.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 15, 2014 8:36:01 GMT -5
There was a delay on shipping my Aerotech shaft for my 7-wood. That shaft and my Edel putter refinished should be delivered to my place by Thursday. I've been swinging quite well lately and I feel like I've made some major progress with my golf swing. One of the biggest faults I had I know how to fix and eliminate from my rounds of golf. On a side note, I'm pretty much set on trying some new irons this year. While I like the Wishon 575MMC's, I have become more interested in higher bounce angles in the irons. A friend of mine owns a set of Edel irons and tested them out on FlightScope against his old Taylor Made irons and the smash factor and spin rates were much better with the Edel irons. Plus, my experience playing in Florida tells me that low bounce angles are a bad idea. The ground is soft more often than not and you have the thick Bermuda grass not helping matters. Problem is that the Edel irons are a bit out of my price range, particularly after getting hammered with federal taxes. So I have been searching around for quality irons that have high bounce. And the ones I'm interested in are: And the other irons I'm interested in are a bit of a surprise.... Here's a look at the difference in bounce angles: I started to really notice this the last couple of times I played. I had an 8-iron into the 11th hole at LPGA International and I made a good swing and good contact, but the club just got stuck into the turf. My vertical swing plane has flattened out dramatically and my attack angle is much better, so I don't see it as a swing issue. I was told by PING Engineer Marty Jertson that the S55 head in a standard setup weighs in at 261 grams. That's only 1 gram heavier than the Wishon head. And I usually play a few grams heavier than specifications. I probably will not do anything until November-ish. There is a Cool Clubs down here and I want to try them since I will need to figure out what kind of taper tip shafts are best for me. On a side note, I think the Wishon 919THI driver is the best in the market. I had some different drivers sent to me playing at 44.5" long from a reader of mine. I tested them out and the Wishon 919THI generally went about 5-10 yards further. But the big bonus is the following: 1. Mis-Hits are much better with the 919THI. If I missed off the toe or the heel, I would only lose about 5-10 yards. Even if it was badly hit off the toe or heel. 2. With GRT the 919THI is the only driver I can hit off the deck, repeatedly, with ease. 3. With GRT, I seemed to hit the ball much more accurately if I missed below the CoG of the face. Anyway, that's it for now. I'll get pictures of the Edel putter. When I find the shaft I'm looking for in the Wishon 7-wood, I'll take pictures of that. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 18, 2014 8:34:10 GMT -5
I received both my Edel putter refinished and my Aerotech SteelFiber wood shaft last night. The Edel looks almost brand new. I had weight ports installed to make the head a little heavier. It's a very simple weight port system. They give you a 3-pronged wrench and 1 small turn and that loosens the weights and they can fall into your hands.
I installed a Heavy Grip on this putter. I saw one of the Heavy Grips on a Nickent putter at Golf Galaxy and really loved the feel. The feel with this on the Edel is okay. I will see how it goes and if I don't like it I will switch to a PURE Grip.
I got the SteelFiber shaft. One thing I found interesting was the Aldila NV85 prescribes to trimming off 1 inch from the tip for a 7-wood. The Aerotech prescribes 2 inches off the tip.
The club came out a smidge heavy in MOI, but I will have to play with it to see how it goes. And if worse comes to worse, I'll just trim another 1/4" from the butt end.
I will get pics tonight of the Edel putter.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 29, 2014 9:07:49 GMT -5
Here's the re-done Edel. I had them add weight ports and refinish it. I also had them install a 35 inch putter shaft. I like to use Geoff Mangum's advice of hanging the arms straight down and having a putter length about 2-inches above the wrist line. The weight ports were needed for the ever changing stimps in Florida. As I've mentioned before, you can play 3 top quality courses in Central Florida and go from a 7 stimp to a 9 stimp to a 13 stimp. The weight ports I have in it are 13 grams a piece. This brings the head weight to 352 grams. I added 13 grams of lead tape to get it to 365 grams. I also added a 60-gram counterweight. The general rule of thumb is that on slower greens you want a lighter head weight and on faster greens you want a heavier head weight. So now I can better adjust for super-slow greens (sometimes these greens roll as slow as a 5 on the stimp) and more slick greens (the only time I played Southern Dunes the stimp was at 13, played Grand Cypress at a 12 once). I also wanted a 35 inch shaft because with the very offset plumber's neck, the 34" shaft would not fit out of the bag properly and the headcover would fall off. The new Edel putter headcovers are so much better now as well. Between their putters and their wedges, Edel is head and shoulders above the competition. And it will be exciting to see how their irons turn out and if they ever start looking into the driver. The other is my 7-wood. Wishon 929HS 41-3/4" long Aerotech SteelFiber ss 85 shaft (x-stiff) 2,805 MOI 59% shaft+grip : head weight The big thing I like about the 7-wood is that it flies very high. I can hit it about 220-225 yards and hit it really high. The deviation in distance is tighter as well. With a 3-iron, I can hit it about 220-225 yards, but on a mis-hit it may only go 190 yards. I hit my 3-iron longer into the wind. That's probably the only issue I have with the 7-wood, it can only go about 205 yards into the wind. But, it is much better from the rough than a 3-iron. I've found that I have to align the clubhead a slight bit more towards to the towards the toe at address. What looks to me like I'm aligning the head on the sweetspot to the ball is actually slightly towards the heel. Ball position is key as well. There's a tendency for me to play the ball a little too far forward which can throw things off. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on May 29, 2014 10:54:09 GMT -5
A few updates. 1. Set up an appointment for June 15th to get fitted for Ping irons. Either the i25 or the S55. I will most likely get fitted and then order a basic set of Ping irons (4-iron thru PW) and then order the shafts myself. The main reason being is that I use 3/8" increments instead of 1/2" shaft increments. I will also be installing custom ferrules and have PURE Grip P2 Wraps. I tend to think I'm better off with the S55's since I hit it fairly high to begin with. I'm guessing I will be fitted for KBS Tour X-Stiff shafts. 2. I've been using my Mizuno Fli-Hi CLK hybrid (20* loft) in place of my 3-iron. I have 2 of these clubs. The first came with a steel shaft. True Temper made a special stepless hybrid shaft just for this club. I like it, but I think I could hit something a touch higher and less 'hooky.' The issue is that the steel shafted version of this club comes with a .350 hosel. Almost all hybrid shafts are .370 hosel. So, a few years ago I purchased the graphite shafted version of this club as it comes in a .370 hosel. I recently removed that shaft and just installed a KBS Hybrid shaft and I will try it out today. I went with a Stiff flex, but I think I may need a X-Stiff. Not a big deal, the shaft only costs $25 anyway. 3. My Wishon 919THI driver head cracked from so much use. So I purchased another head. This is the newer updated version which is practically the same design. The only difference is the hosel is much longer to allow for bending. This created a 'bore to ground' that was a 1/2" longer which makes the club 1/2" longer. So, I had to trim the shaft 1/2" from the butt end. I actually like the feel and sound. I'm very wishy-washy on driver feel and sound. The old head was more compact and sounded like a cracked whip. This one is more tingy in feel and sound. So I go back and forth between which feel and sound I like better. It doesn't matter, the Wishon 919THI is the best head on the market. 4. I really like my refinished Edel. Monte Doherty claimed that using MOI Balance Index worked well with putters. I wasn't sure what to believe, but I decided to Balance match my Edel putter using my formula of (Shaft wt + grip weight) / Head weight = Balance My preferred balance is at 60%. So I added a 60-gram counterweight to achieve that and it has really worked well. It's been a long time since I have consistently put a good stroke on the ball . I'm not sure if the balance is really the key or not, but I think it warrants mentioning the improvement in putting I'm having. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on May 30, 2014 9:10:07 GMT -5
I hit the Mizuno Fli-Hi CLK 20* hybrid with the KBS Hybrid Shaft (stiff flex).
WOW!
I will admit I was swinging it pretty well last night. But, the performance of this was entirely better. Perfect trajectory and felt great.
I bought a 17* off of eBay and I'm going to put another KBS Hybrid shaft in that one as well.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Jun 15, 2014 19:23:47 GMT -5
I was fitted today at Celebration Golf Club. We did irons first and then tried some drivers.
My 7-iron club head speed was 87 mph. The attack angle ranged from -2.8 to -5.1. I would say that it was typically around -3.8. the fitter there said he had the S55's himself, but it was difficult for him to pick between what he wanted in his own irons...the S55's or the i25's.
With my Wishon's, we found that I was launching them way too high (19 degrees with a 7-iron). The spin was fairly high as well 6,800 (Tour Average is 7,000, but they also generate more club head speed and hit down a little more than I do).
We tried the CFS Shafts. We went with X-Stiff and that didn't perform any better and I was actually hitting them higher. I actually started hitting the CFS Stiff shaft with a lower launch angle and more spin that the X-Stiff (higher launch, lower spin).
We then switched to the KBS X-Stiff shaft and I hit the ball much better. I really liked the feel of it with the i25's. I then hit the S55 which I didn't think I hit as well, but the numbers showed a much different story. Although I think the KBS X-Stiff with S55 shafts may have had a little too low of a spin rate.
The only issue is that we didn't try the S55's with the CFS Stiff shafts which may provide the best combination of launch and spin. If not, I can just order some KBS shafts and install them myself. 2 My driver club head speed was 106 mph on average. Spin rate with my Wishon 919THI was 2,880 with a launch of 11.6 degrees and an attack angle of +1.6 degrees. The problem with Ping's fitting is that they don't have a 44-1/2" driver. So they put 45-1/4" drivers. I hit them a little further, but they carried less and they just spun less and I could generate 1-2 mph more club head speed. In the end, I'm satisfied with the Wishon 919THI driver, but could always seek a slightly stiffer shaft to reduce that spin rate by 300 rpms.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Jun 27, 2014 9:47:54 GMT -5
I like to try different golf balls out all of the time. I saw some positive comments about the Nike RZN Black: I've been playing Titleist Pro V1x for quite a while. In my junior golf days I liked to switch around golf balls quite a bit. In fact, I was a big fan of the old Bridgestone Rextar Pro Model I also used to like playing the Titleist Pro Trajectory 100 model I thought Maxfli made a decent balata ball. Many people think of Maxfli as some cheap Sporting Goods store company. But, back in the 80's they were the only real competitor to Titleist, made a good golf ball and some excellent irons. And most people don't realize that Titleist was practically extinct when it came to clubs. Crazy how times have changed. Anyway, when I got back into the game in 2009 there were a lot more companies making golf balls. I think there have been some good ones as well like some of the old Bridgestone B-330 models, I liked the Callaway Tour ix and the Srixon Z-Star. The problem is that too many of these companies keep making drastic changes to the design of their ball while Titleist, for the most part, keeps producing the same golf ball with very minor tweaks to it. I can't remember the model that followed Callaway's Tour ix, but it was practically unrecognizable to the Tour ix. The same with a lot of the Taylor Made golf ball's. Bridgestone is even worse. Used to have a high flying, long distance ball. Now it is a low trajectory, shorter distance ball. The Srixon Z-Star, I like a lot. It's probably the closest I've seen to the Pro V1x in terms of performance. It's noticeably harder than the Pro V1x, but nothing ridiculous. And it is more durable. The only issue I have with the Srixon Z-Star is that it flies a little too high. With that said, I really, really like the Nike RZN Black. I bought a sleeve last Sunday because I had heard good things about it. Then when I finished my round I bought another sleeve. I want to test it against the Titleist balls, but the big thing is the RZN Black felt like it was very long off the tee. I tend to look for something other than Titleist golf balls because: 1. I like something a little different. 2. Everybody plays Titleist which is annoying. Especially when you play golf with old farts that mistakenly hit your ball. 3. Always on the lookout for a more durable cover than the Pro V1x. The only thing was that the RZN black didn't seen anymore durable than the Pro V1x. So, I want to try out another sleeve and test it versus the Pro V1x for distance and then play some rounds with them and see how long they last. But, it has passed the first test so far. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Jul 7, 2014 17:57:40 GMT -5
Purchased a TaylorMade Mini-Driver at 14* loft. I used it today and shot 68 at the Disney Palm course. I used it 3 times on the turf and twice off the deck.
I thought it was very easy to get up in the air and has a good feel to it. The thing I am a bit nervous about is the stock shaft, a Fujikura Speeder shaft that comes in at 57 grams. That appears to be the weight after trimming (I measured the shaft with the grip on it). The head weight is at 217 grams.
When I measured the MOI, it came out to 2770. I usually play around 2,805-2,810 ish. The problem I had with the stock shaft is that it launches the ball too high. Well, it's a very light shaft so the balance only comes out to about 50%. I prefer a 60% balance
Balance = (shaft weight + grip weight)/head weight
So the balance would even be more skewed if I add a few more grams to make the MOI at 2,810-ish and the ball would launch and spin higher.
But, I still liked the club's performance a lot. The main issue with the 'Gonzo Wood' is that the head is so big that you end up having to hit it below the CoG of the club, even if you tee it up because you have to tee it low to keep the ball flight down. So you end up hitting below the CoG and the vertical gear effect kicks in. Plus, I can hit the mini-driver off the ground well. In fact, I hit one to 10-feet for eagle on the par-5 14th hole.
I ordered a UST Mamiya VTS Silver 8x shaft (they now make the wood shafts in 85 grams). I tried a spare 7x shaft I had, but I had cut it too short already and I essentially need a heavier shaft. I figure that at 43" long with the Silver 8x ought to be really close to what I need for the MOI and the Balance.
I never received my Nippon Super Peening Blue shafts. It appears it was a scam on eBay as the member is no longer a registered user. Thankfuly eBay insurance came with them. I ordered a new set of shafts from a more reputable dealer and probably get them installed next week.
3JACK
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