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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 3, 2015 9:22:38 GMT -5
I got the BombTech Grenade in the mail yesterday. It's a good looking and good feeling driver. I ordered it hand picked to 9.5 degrees and I have my doubts if that is what it is because it looks more like 10.5 degrees to my eye.
It's a very good feeling club though but I was hitting it too high and it was pretty spinny. I think that is a little due to the loft, but probably more to the Matrix shaft which doesn't feel very tip stiff.
I'm going to try out the Grenade this weekend and see how it compares to the current Wishon 919THI 9-degree with the Aldila RIP Beta 60x shaft which I'm hitting incredibly well. If the distance is there with the Grenade, then I think maybe a chance in loft and shaft may be in order. But if it's not, I think it's better to stick with the Wishon.
I am supposed to get the Nicklaus black golf balls today and my Mizuno TN-87's should be in the mail next week.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 6, 2015 9:05:23 GMT -5
This past weekend I played around with the BombTech driver and compared it to my Wishon 919THI. The BombTech has a 45.5" shaft compared to the Wishon at 44.5". I also compared the Nicklaus Black golf balls to Titleist Pro V1x BOMBTECH VS. WISHON 919THIFirst, the BombTech is a nice looking club as far as titanium drivers go. It's matte black and the edges are a bit sharper. The feel is good. It actually feels a bit more like the old Cleveland XLS driver model which I liked the feel to. Whereas the Wishon 919THI feels more compact the BombTech feels more 'airy'. I like both the compact and the 'airy' feels as long as the club feels lively when struck. I just don't care for that more dead feel that I get from the new Cleveland Classic drivers and some of the Nikes and Callaway models. One thing I really like about the BombTech is that is it super forgiving. Mis hit one by a wide margin and it still takes off fairly straight and flies fairly straight. The Wishon 919THI generates impressive smash factors on well off center hits, but it is going to hook or cut substantially like almost every other driver. The BombTech head is far different and it's really quite impressive how well the ball responds to off-center hits. However, when I hit the BombTech vs. the Wishon I was about 8-15 yards shorter with the BombTech. And I hit some shots where I didn't take good swings with the Wishon while hitting the BombTech as well as I could and was still shorter. And remember the Wishon is 1" shorter in shaft length. In the end, I think BombTech is onto something with the head. I don't think it produces faster speeds like they claim, but the off-center hits as far as accuracy goes are the most impressive I've seen out of a driver. And part of the issue is that it is matched against the Wishon 919THI which I think is the best driver head on the market and it continued to prove it. I think the BombTech people need to tweak the head design a little and figure out a way to custom fit these drivers better. I've heard more rave reviews about BombTech's 3-wood and I wouldn't be surprised if the 3-wood was legit. But for now I'm sticking with the Wishon 919THI. I will probably take a trip down to Cool Clubs and see if they can possibly find a shaft that is more ideal. Although I'm really hitting the Aldila RIP Beta 60x quite well. NICKLAUS BLACK VS. TITLEIST PRO V1xA couple of weeks ago, friends of the blog MyGolfSpy, did a test on direct-to-the-consumer golf balls and compared it to the ProV1x www.mygolfspy.com/direct-to-consumer-golf-ball-buyers-guide/The golf balls that stand out are the new Snell ball which was designed by the same person that designed the Pro v1, the old Professional and TaylorMade TP ball. As you can see, the Snell is quite comparable to the ProV1. The other is the Nicklaus Black ball. It's is a low spin ball with the driver but a high spin with the wedge. These golf balls were tested at 96 mph with the driver which is far lower than what I generate for club speed, but probably better than the average for amateurs. So to me, the Nicklaus Black ball based on these results could provide the best of both worlds...low spin with the driver, high spin with the wedge. The cost for the Nicklaus Black was something like $31. That includes tax and shipping (which is free). The main idea for me was to see if the Nicklaus Black could perform roughly as well as the Pro V1x . If it could then paying 40% less for a box of Nicklaus golf balls makes it worth it. I compared the 2 golf balls to other golf balls like the Nike RZN Black and the Callaway S3. I was quite surprised how far the Pro V1x traveled. Granted, the RZN Black I was using was a little beat up. Feel wise, I think the Pro V1x is a tad softer. But it's pretty neck-and-neck. Distance wise I found the distance to be about exactly the same. The only difference, and I'm likely speaking too soon on this, is that it appears the Pro V1x goes further on mis-hits off the driver. I think if that is true, it may have to do with the spin rate. Mis-hits with a low spin rate could present a problem with distance because the ball is not lifting into the air as much. With the irons and around the green they performed roughly the same although I think the Titleist on full iron shots spins more and it actually spins too much for my tastes. Around the green I couldn't notice a difference Fortunately, I ordered the dozen of the Nicklaus Blacks, so I will get to try these out down the road. Another issue for me is the durability as I don't think the Pro V1x is very durable. Especially compared to the Callaway S3 and the Nike RZN Black. I will say that my initial impressions are that if you're loyal to the Titleist brand and have any fear of a drop-off in quality switching to another ball and can live with paying the price...there's no reason for you to change. But if you're looking to save money (think about it, I can get 60 Nicklaus Blacks for the same price as 36 Pro V1x) and are not overly picky, I would take a look at the Nicklaus Black and the Snell golf balls. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 7, 2015 12:56:00 GMT -5
I got the Mizuno TN-87's today in the mail.
The Iron Factory does an incredible job as they look brand new. The paintfills were done wonderfully as well.
I checked the head weights and out of the 7 irons, each of them lost head weight. 4 of them lost about 1-2 grams. 1 club lost 3 grams, another 4 grams and the highest was 5 grams. Fortunately, the head weights for the TN-87's are pretty heavy to begin with and I have tip weights to use.
So, I'll install a couple of shafts tonight...probably the 4-iron and 7-iron...and see how they perform and feel like tomorrow.
3JACK
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Post by ericpaul2 on Apr 7, 2015 16:00:35 GMT -5
I recently bought some of the Snell balls based on the same article. I normally use ProV1x (though often purchased used from Dr. Mulligans to save money). Based on two rounds, my thoughts are:
1. Distance off the driver is very comparable...potentially even a little longer, though I still consider the sample size a little too low to know for sure. They did seem to spin a little less off the driver as well, based on a lower trajectory than i get with the ProV1x (less rise after initial flight), but again sample size was not huge so that may have just been my swing on those days. 2. Spin on iron shots and full wedge shots seemed less than the ProV1x. I often back up about 50% of my shots from 7iron, increasing to pitching wedge and I didn't back up any. On the other hand, they did just drop and stop...almost no rollout from 7 iron to 9 iron, which I actually like better. 3. Spin with partial wedges and short shots around the green seemed slightly less than the ProV1x. 4. Comparable feel off the putter. I'll make no statement on whether I putted better or worse...spring golf in Chicago is not representative. 5. Durability was good..very comparable to the ProV1x. As you note, I don't think the ProV1x has top notch durability (compared to the ProV1 for example), but it was definitely similar. I chew up the lower priced balls after just a few shots, but I didn't have that trouble. 6. Added bonus...I didn't have to mark my ball, no one else on the course was using a Snell.
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 8, 2015 8:46:47 GMT -5
Thanks Eric. #6 is an added bonus. Although if you play with old farts like I do in Florida, you have to play with a different color ball or otherwise they'll just still hit whatever they see. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 8, 2015 22:00:31 GMT -5
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 12, 2015 18:12:42 GMT -5
Snell is having a GolfWRX testing and I am getting to participate in it. Hopefully they included the My Tour Ball model.
I am supposed to get the balls in the mail on Wednesday.
I played more with the Nicklaus ball and to me the only difference I can see is that the Titleist Pro V1x goes a little further on mis-hits off the tee. But, that is a very slight difference and otherwise I can't tell a difference. The Nicklaus ball is more durable. After using it for a full round the ball still looks much more new than the Pro V1x after a full round.
Again, if you are a loyalist to the Pro V1x and don't mind paying the extra $$$ for the it, then I don't see any reason to switch. But if you're looking for a very similar ball for 1/3rd less, I'd take a gander at the Nicklaus Black.
3JACK
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Post by ericpaul2 on Apr 12, 2015 19:36:59 GMT -5
I see in the My Golf Spy article that the Snell are considerably softer than some of the others. I didn't really notice that, at least as compared to the Wilson Duo, which I did try once and it felt like I was hitting a bean bag. I sure others would probably notice more than I did.
It will be interesting to see how the Acushnet lawsuit works out. I note that neither the Snell balls or the Nicklaus balls are included. I'm sure the Snell designer knew very well what he needed to avoid based on his past work experience.
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Post by Richie3Jack on Apr 13, 2015 7:49:02 GMT -5
The issue I see for Titleist is that many of the companies they sued are located in foreign land. To my knowledge, trying to sue for patent infringement to a company not based in the US is whole different animal. And because they are a direct mail company, there's likely no stopping them from delivering their product.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on May 4, 2015 8:47:47 GMT -5
I tried the Snell ball. To me, it reminds me more of the TaylorMade Tour Preferred. Same type of feel, launch and spin. Spins too much and launches too high for me. I like the Nicklaus Black better. Although the ProV1x goes further on mishits, the Nicklaus Black is much better into the wind. All else they are fairly equal.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on May 29, 2015 10:51:58 GMT -5
Here’s my current WITB:
Driver: Wishon 919THI, 9* loft, 44.5” Aldila RIP Beta 60x shaft
3-wood: Wishon 919F/D, 13* loft, 43” UST Mamiya ProForce VTS Silver 8x shaft
2-Hybrid: Mizuno Fli-Hi CLK, 17* loft, 41” KBS Tour Hybrid shaft (x-stiff)
3-Hybrid: Mizuno Fli-Hi CLK, 20* loft, 40-3/4” KBS Tour Hybrid shaft (x-stiff)
4-iron thru P-Wedge: Yonex EZone MB, Nippon Modus 130 shafts (x-stiff)
S-Wedge: Vokey F-Grind, 52* loft, 12* bounce, Nippon Modus 125 Wedge Shaft
L-Wedge: Edel Digger Grind, 60* loft, 27* bounce, Nippon Modus 125 Wedge Shaft
Putter: Bettinardi Kuchar Model 2 Armlock, 42” long
On Monday I got to play with 3 guys that were playing the FSGA Amateur Qualifier at the course we were playing….Grand Cypress. I had just signed up to play Grand Cypress as I had never played the North, South or East courses. I didn’t even know the qualifier was there.
Anyway, I shot 78 with a 42 on the back nine. It was getting hot out and my stamina isn’t worth a shit. But, I also had swing issues that were creeping in. I had been implementing new pieces in my swing for about a week and on Saturday I hit the ball brilliantly (and long). Started to see it wear off on Sunday and then Monday it just got worse as I got on the back 9.
One of the guys shot 71 and the other 2 probably didn’t 85. The guy that shot 71 is only 25 years old and works as a caddie in the Tampa area. Surprisingly he missed the cut at the qualifier because a friend of mine actually made the cut and I think this guy was far better than my friend.
The big thing I noticed is that I do have to change up the Driver specs and the 3-wood specs. The Driver flies too low and the 3-wood flies too high. I’m guessing I’ll need to change to more of a 9.5 degree loft with a new shaft. I also think I’ll need to add some length to the shaft so the driver is not so head heavy.
The guy that shot 71, when we both hit our drivers well was about 20 yards by me. But, when I hit one well and he hit one decent, I could occasionally outdrive him. The bigger issue to me was when I made a mediocre pass at the ball, that’s when I would see a severe drop-off in distance. Again, part of it was the work I’ve done on my swing was wearing off and my stamina sucks, but I could definitely see the driver launch conditions were not optimized.
With the 3-wood, I think with the improved swing mechanics and more club speed, the UST VTS shafts don’t fit me anymore. Too soft on the tip section.
SAND WEDGE
I switched from an Edel 52 to a Vokey 52. I think I hit the Edel better when I had the Nippon WV 125 shaft, but I like the feel of the new Nippon Modus 125 wedge shaft. And with the Vokey it’s a better fit. By the way, the Vokey 52 degree head weighs in at 293 grams.
I think with the 52, I just don’t hit the more clunkier heads that well. I have a Fourteen Golf 52 head and hit that far worse.
I don’t use the 52 much around the green and I don’t think I would use a 56 much around the green. Most of the pitch shots or bunker shots can be hit with my 60* Edel. I will buy another 60* Edel soon as mine is getting quite worn since I’ve had it for three years.
TAKEAWAYS
As Dr. Bhrett McCabe says, after each round you should come away with 3 things you did well, 3 things you did poorly and 3 things you will do to improve.
The good were: 1) Drove the ball effectively overall 2) Putting was quite good, stroke was excellent 3) Short game play was good
The bad was: 1) Iron play was horrendous as my swing with the irons fell apart 2) Stamina was poor, got tired on the back nine 3) Driver trajectory and 3-wood trajectory was an issue
Work on: 1) Still working on my swing with deliberate practice 2) Need to get in better condition (it’s been hard being so busy with work) 3) Need to get fitted for a better driver and 3-wood
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Jun 12, 2015 9:47:14 GMT -5
Planning on going to Club Champion Golf to get fitted for a driver shaft. I was going to do the 'long game' fitting which consists of the driver, fairway wood and hybrids, but in reality I only need to be fitted for a driver and 3-wood. And in reality, I just need to be fitted for the shafts since I will be using a Wishon driver. I figured that if I get fitted for the driver shaft, I can pretty much deduct what 3-wood shaft will work for me. I'm a bit excited to get fitted because with the Movement Pattern Development practice I've finally started to get the hang of pulling the left heel off the ground on the backswing. I find that this makes it easier to get more pelvic rotation on the downswing because when you plant the left heel in the downswing, your left foot can turn and rotate helping aid in pelvic rotation. Kelvin did a great article on Sadlowski's footwork to better explain it: www.aroundhawaii.com/fitness/sadlowski-footwork-for-longer-drives/I think Homer Kelley had it right, if you want the lead heel to come up off the ground in the backswing, you need for it to 'pull' off the ground instead of 'lifting' it. Pulling it off the ground is a reaction, lifting it off the ground is a conscious action. What I've found is that the way to pull that heel off the ground is to get enough dual IR of the hips going back and 'staying tall.' You really have to do both in order to properly get that heel off the ground. And if you feel like you are forcing the heel off the ground you either are lowering your upper body and/or you are not getting enough dual IR. So far this week I've only had limited time doing it and I've had to work out some of the kinks. But when I get it done correctly, it produces more pop. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Jun 15, 2015 17:07:21 GMT -5
I went to Club Champion to get fitted for a driver. Club Champion has been around for 15 years, but has expanded. It's pretty similar to Cool Clubs, Hot Stix and FuZion Golf (no longer in business). It's a very clean and comfortable atmosphere. What I like about Club Champion is that they have a greater stock of shafts than what I've seen. It's all attachable heads and shafts. They have a Trackman, SAM Puttlab, etc. I just went for a driver fitting. I had no intention of purchasing a driver because they charge you retail pricing on the head (as a part of the entire club) and the aftermarket shaft. Put it this way, that comes out to $700. One thing they could do to soften the blow is that they had on the quote $13 for a PURE Grips P2 Wrap grip which go for about $6.50 retail. Since you're charging quite a bit to begin with, charging extra for a grip comes off as petty. Anyway, here were my Trackman averages: 111.1 mph club speed 164.3 ball speed +1.8* attack angle -0.9* face angle -2.9* path 97.4 feet Max Height 10.53* launch angle 3,266 rpm spin rate I'm a bit skeptical of the spin rate numbers. We were using Pro V1x, but we are also hitting into the net. Using the 'straight, clean CoP' trace and 'pushing off the ball of the left foot' created 104-105 mph club speed last Summer. I've been working with Kelvin Miyahira for 9 months and that has now increased to 111 mph. A couple of weeks ago I was at 112.1 on average with a max of 114 mph, but I added some new pieces to my swing and I could feel my right pelvic tilt kicking in. Plus, I was stiff from playing golf on the weekend and having to go to work in the morning and drive 1 hour to get there. I tried out a bunch of heads. Callaways TaylorMade R15 Nike Vapor Titleist Ping I found that as far as the numbers go, I hit the Nike Vapor the best. But, I had a hard time getting used to the head and couldn't hit it very accurately. From there, it was the PING G30 LS Tec and the Callaway XR. As far as shafts go, I tried a bunch from the Fujikura Motore Speeder 661 (2014 model), some Aldila shafts, the Oban Devotion, Accra and Diamana W Series. The best were the Fujikura and the Diamana. It wasn't even close. The others spun like a top for me. After switching around and trying some different combinations, we found that the Ping G30 LS Tec with the Fujikura Motore Speeder 661 shaft (x-stiff) at 45.5" and 8.5* loft worked best. Of course, I'm going to stick with the Wishon head. I swapped my cracked head (not crackhead ) in and will be getting a 9.5 Wishon head as the PING heads tend to play a little high on the loft and will be getting the Fujikura shaft. I'll try it out at 45.5" and see how it works from there. Otherwise, a really good day to take off. 3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Jun 22, 2015 7:59:12 GMT -5
I finally received my Wishon 919THI driver head and my Fujikura Motore Speeder 661 shaft. Before that, I decided to go to the PGA Tour Superstore and see if I could find a cheap driver to use in the meantime. I figured I could always use a backup anyway. And I found one, a TaylorMade R11 with an Aldila NV65 shaft (stiff flex) for only $60. It doesn’t have the wrench tool and was set to 9 degrees loft and a closed face. IIRC, the R11 was one of the drivers that Tom Wishon said actually changed the face angle with the adapter because the adapter screw plate (as shown by the blue arrow) changes how the club will ‘naturally’ lay down on the ground.
Anyway, I knew from Wishon’s shaft bend profile software that the Aldila shafts, particularly the NV series tend to be stiffer that most other OEM’s ‘stiff’ shafts. Particularly in the tip section. And I went to use it out at Harmony Golf Preserve and hit the TaylorMade R11 very well. Then hit it at Eagle Creek and hit it well there, too. There were some times where you could see some distance lost due to the shaft being a little too tip soft for me and the ball getting too much spin. But, I did hit a legitimate 325 yard drive on #10 at Eagle Creek with no wind. It went so far that I had never been that close to the hole and couldn’t see it when I started to drive out to it. Not bad for being only 30-feet above sea level.
Getting to the Wishon 919THI. I made it to 45.5” long. With Kelvin’s swing coaching, I think I can handle 45.5” better and if not, I can always cut it down. The TaylorMade R11 is at 45.5”, but was reading at 2,845 MOI points (I usually play at 2,825). I think with Kel’s teaching, my fitted MOI may be going up (would make sense, more aggressive transition, later release point and being able to release that lag better would increase the fitted MOI)
The Wishon driver at 45.5” only came to about 2,800 MOI points. I don’t know what the TaylorMade R11’s head weight is, but I doubt it’s heavier than the Wishon head. Most adaptable drivers come in lighter these days. So, my guess is that the Fujikura Speeder driver is likely more butt-heavy than the Aldila NV65.
The other thing I noticed is that the R11 head and the 919THI head are almost designed the same exact way. The thing that stands out about the 919THI head is that the back of the head usually extends out further back than OEM drivers. But in a comparison side-by-side, the R11 was identical (no wonder why I hit it well).
I’ll get to try out the 919THI tonight and will report back to what I think.
3JACK
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Post by Richie3Jack on Jun 23, 2015 8:52:28 GMT -5
I hit the 919THI last night on the range.
What I find is that the 919THI usually takes some getting used to. Where the R11 is different in head design is that the R11 has more of a radius sole instead of the flat sole you see on the 919THI. And I wasn't quite catching the 919THI right and the sound was very muted.
I've found that to be the case any time I've tried a new 919THI head.
At this moment, I think I could probably be better off with a 10* head instead of the 9.5 degree head.
I think most golfers would be surprised how many Tour players actually use 10.5 degree heads out there. In fact, there are a few 12 degree heads out there (Sabbatini, Cink and Toms). The Tour is generally lofting up more.
Anyway, by the end of the session I started hitting some great drives and getting strikes closer to the CoG. And I was getting the trajectory I wanted.
This could be a deadly club for me as that spin rate is certainly less with it and should allow me to hit drivers into the wind with greater control and distance.
3JACK
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