Discussion
For a bit of light relief . . . .
G Mc’s first PGA hole in one & a great reaction from Wallace!
https://youtu.be/0wWWxszhJmE
G Mc’s first PGA hole in one & a great reaction from Wallace!
https://youtu.be/0wWWxszhJmE
18 holes yesterday in the afternoon/evening sunshine. Glorious out there and course was deserted (BBQ weather accounted for a few I suspect 
)
Shot an 81 gross (par 69) with an annoying triple in there (shank on a par 3 straight right - lost ball
)
Did manage a new personal best of 6 consecutive pars from 6th to 11th (never done more than 4 consecutively before) and missed putts on the next three in a row that could have made pars if they'd dropped.
The triple cost me the target I set out with of breaking 80 but overall much better. Only one crap Driver today (goes without saying it was on the second longest par 4 too!)
Roll on next weekend - and hopefully the predicted rain during the week down this way with really help the course as it was already getting quite brown and dusty in places.
Greens have improved dramatically since the initial re-opening though
)Shot an 81 gross (par 69) with an annoying triple in there (shank on a par 3 straight right - lost ball
)Did manage a new personal best of 6 consecutive pars from 6th to 11th (never done more than 4 consecutively before) and missed putts on the next three in a row that could have made pars if they'd dropped.
The triple cost me the target I set out with of breaking 80 but overall much better. Only one crap Driver today (goes without saying it was on the second longest par 4 too!)
Roll on next weekend - and hopefully the predicted rain during the week down this way with really help the course as it was already getting quite brown and dusty in places.
Greens have improved dramatically since the initial re-opening though
Came 3rd in the club stableford on Saturday (in my div). Very happy with the start to the season! 37 off 12. Really want to get into single figures this season.
I know that Wilson have been second fiddle to the likes of Callaway/TM etc. for years, but I've been really impressed with their output the last 2-3yrs. Have been using the D7 forged irons for the last 18mths and have really enjoyed them - far better than the Callaway's they replaced.
Have ordered a Wilson Staff Utility 2-Iron (18 deg). Going to ditch the 4 iron for the new 2-iron, which will be for tighter par4/5's. Will keep the 5 wood in the bag as it's been good for me and I think I prefer it to my hybrid - I'm definitely more confident with it. Had a hit with a few utility irons recently, but the Wilson is by far the best looking - looks similar to their blades. Looking forward to putting it into service this weekend.
The G425 driver I bought the other week has been an absolute revelation. I have a 14-deg M6 3-wood which I was turning to more and more, as I had lost confidence with my Epic driver, but this new driver has provided confidence in spades. I've no idea how Ping manage to make drivers that produce so much consistent accuracy, but I'm loving it.
Played in the 2 day medal this weekend.
Course was playing tough, hard fairways, strong wind and greens were fast. Day 1 was fine, the 3 doubles ruined the card but the scrambling/putting was strong, day 2 was a different picture - lost 2 balls left, giving me 2 quads, coupled with another 3 doubles (inc. a 4-putt to add to the 5 3-putts) left me shooting a 90 - only the 3 birdies saved me somewhat!
New clubs arrive in a week (hopefully) so lets see what happens!
Course was playing tough, hard fairways, strong wind and greens were fast. Day 1 was fine, the 3 doubles ruined the card but the scrambling/putting was strong, day 2 was a different picture - lost 2 balls left, giving me 2 quads, coupled with another 3 doubles (inc. a 4-putt to add to the 5 3-putts) left me shooting a 90 - only the 3 birdies saved me somewhat!
New clubs arrive in a week (hopefully) so lets see what happens!
A question for the more experienced players.
Are specialist wedges worth getting over the ones that come with a set of irons, say 5i-SW? My TM Speedblades include PW, AW and SW but none of these have any kind of milling you see on dedicated wedges. I seem to get little or no check or spin with these (it's probably me).
If so where's the happy crossover, especially around the PW loft? Iron set or wedge?
Are specialist wedges worth getting over the ones that come with a set of irons, say 5i-SW? My TM Speedblades include PW, AW and SW but none of these have any kind of milling you see on dedicated wedges. I seem to get little or no check or spin with these (it's probably me).
If so where's the happy crossover, especially around the PW loft? Iron set or wedge?
Took the boy out for his first proper 9 holes at the weekend and he did very well, but more importantly had a lot of fun. Mostly at my expense I might add.
The highlights being as he tapped in from 6" for a gross par on a 150yd par 3, turning to me, who still had 6 ft left after being in a bunker. And saying, "that's for half then"!
He then got a gross 6 on the following hole. Which is a 439 yard par 5 from the reds. Again matching my score from the same tee.
He's now desperate to get himself a proper handicap and see how much he can improve.
The highlights being as he tapped in from 6" for a gross par on a 150yd par 3, turning to me, who still had 6 ft left after being in a bunker. And saying, "that's for half then"!
He then got a gross 6 on the following hole. Which is a 439 yard par 5 from the reds. Again matching my score from the same tee.
He's now desperate to get himself a proper handicap and see how much he can improve.
theguvernor15 said:
Isn't the TS4 the hardest one to hit, but, gives the greatest distance?
I'm basing my knowledge solely on my Youtube forays!
It is according to the Titleist marketing, but mainly because it's the smaller headed model - it is 430cc, whereas TS1,2 and 3 are all 460cc. 460 seems to work better for the bulk of players out there - they reckoned the TS4 would fit less than 10% of players - in fact I was having issues trying it as nowhere kept it in stock for that reason. It mostly for high sped players wanting to keep spin down, but it also works for people like me who learnt to play golf in the 80's with a Persimmon 3 wood and find all these 460cc Drivers a bit silly I'm basing my knowledge solely on my Youtube forays!
No idea why, I just find smaller heads easier to keep straight on the way through. I did of course curse it with all the nice things I said on Friday, as I played a medal yesterday and it wasn't quite as accurate, however even my trusty 3 wood was a bit all over the show so the problem was definitely with the soft bit on the end of the club. Sad thing is I wasn't hitting it that badly, I just kept going slightly offline into the tree line and blocking myself out for the next shot, which I managed on just about every hole. Muddled round for a gross 88, if the club scratch player hadn't shot 82 and the young hotshot off 3 hadn't had a 96, I would have been far more unhappy....
Course was tough though with how hard the greens were. You'd fly the ball all the way to the green and it would bounce through, but land it before the green and it would check up and you'd still have to chip on. Still great to be out there though, just need to get back into the swing again.
toasty said:
A question for the more experienced players.
Are specialist wedges worth getting over the ones that come with a set of irons, say 5i-SW? My TM Speedblades include PW, AW and SW but none of these have any kind of milling you see on dedicated wedges. I seem to get little or no check or spin with these (it's probably me).
If so where's the happy crossover, especially around the PW loft? Iron set or wedge?
I personally think Wedges are more important for most players than their Driver, and that's the club most of us splurge the most money on. Are specialist wedges worth getting over the ones that come with a set of irons, say 5i-SW? My TM Speedblades include PW, AW and SW but none of these have any kind of milling you see on dedicated wedges. I seem to get little or no check or spin with these (it's probably me).
If so where's the happy crossover, especially around the PW loft? Iron set or wedge?
I would definitely recommend a proper wedge fitting at your nearest available location as Wedges have unique shafts and the variations of Bounce etc are mind boggling! They will be able to advise you on which Bounce and Lofts suit you, even taking into consideration the type of turf at your home course!
Can't say there's any rules about crossovers but I have always kept the PW from what set I was playing (assuming it was about 48 degrees) and added a separate 52 GW and 56 SW for a 4 degree stagger. I don't play a 60 but many do and swear by them. My playing partner even has a 64 that looks like a shovel for sand shots!
Another common step is 48 PW, 54 GW and 60 SW so a six degree stagger not 4 degree.
Also it goes without saying that spin rates are super dependent on the speed and quality of the strike - and clean grooves without enough dirt in to grow spuds!! When I started out I was always too tentative with pitching and consequently never put enough speed into the shot to get the spin rate up.
Forcing yourself to attack it more even on shortish pitches is a bit scary - especially once you've knifed a couple about 150 yards
- but once you can do it you get higher flight and more zip / stop in my experience. Of course in super windy locations this might not be the ideal approach but you get the point!Just my 2p of course
lastexile69 said:
I personally think Wedges are more important for most players than their Driver, and that's the club most of us splurge the most money on.
I would definitely recommend a proper wedge fitting at your nearest available location as Wedges have unique shafts and the variations of Bounce etc are mind boggling! They will be able to advise you on which Bounce and Lofts suit you, even taking into consideration the type of turf at your home course!
Can't say there's any rules about crossovers but I have always kept the PW from what set I was playing (assuming it was about 48 degrees) and added a separate 52 GW and 56 SW for a 4 degree stagger. I don't play a 60 but many do and swear by them. My playing partner even has a 64 that looks like a shovel for sand shots!
Another common step is 48 PW, 54 GW and 60 SW so a six degree stagger not 4 degree.
Also it goes without saying that spin rates are super dependent on the speed and quality of the strike - and clean grooves without enough dirt in to grow spuds!! When I started out I was always too tentative with pitching and consequently never put enough speed into the shot to get the spin rate up.
Forcing yourself to attack it more even on shortish pitches is a bit scary - especially once you've knifed a couple about 150 yards - but once you can do it you get higher flight and more zip / stop in my experience. Of course in super windy locations this might not be the ideal approach but you get the point!
Just my 2p of course
Thanks, I've got an iron fitting booked up so will probably get 5i-PW and look at doing a wedge fitting later.I would definitely recommend a proper wedge fitting at your nearest available location as Wedges have unique shafts and the variations of Bounce etc are mind boggling! They will be able to advise you on which Bounce and Lofts suit you, even taking into consideration the type of turf at your home course!
Can't say there's any rules about crossovers but I have always kept the PW from what set I was playing (assuming it was about 48 degrees) and added a separate 52 GW and 56 SW for a 4 degree stagger. I don't play a 60 but many do and swear by them. My playing partner even has a 64 that looks like a shovel for sand shots!
Another common step is 48 PW, 54 GW and 60 SW so a six degree stagger not 4 degree.
Also it goes without saying that spin rates are super dependent on the speed and quality of the strike - and clean grooves without enough dirt in to grow spuds!! When I started out I was always too tentative with pitching and consequently never put enough speed into the shot to get the spin rate up.
Forcing yourself to attack it more even on shortish pitches is a bit scary - especially once you've knifed a couple about 150 yards
- but once you can do it you get higher flight and more zip / stop in my experience. Of course in super windy locations this might not be the ideal approach but you get the point!Just my 2p of course
toasty said:
A question for the more experienced players.
Are specialist wedges worth getting over the ones that come with a set of irons, say 5i-SW? My TM Speedblades include PW, AW and SW but none of these have any kind of milling you see on dedicated wedges. I seem to get little or no check or spin with these (it's probably me).
If so where's the happy crossover, especially around the PW loft? Iron set or wedge?
I would say it depends on what you tend to use the wedge for, as the specialist wedges are great round the greens, but can be a little more challenging to hit on full shots than something like a SpeedBlade - they are effectively blades, so can be a little more punishing if you get things a bit wrong. So if you tend to use your PW and AW for mostly full shots, but just use the SW round the green, then maybe look to replace that as a start and see how you get on. Are specialist wedges worth getting over the ones that come with a set of irons, say 5i-SW? My TM Speedblades include PW, AW and SW but none of these have any kind of milling you see on dedicated wedges. I seem to get little or no check or spin with these (it's probably me).
If so where's the happy crossover, especially around the PW loft? Iron set or wedge?
The Speedblade SW looks to be 55 degrees from a quick Google, so you can either look at a 56 degree SW replacement, or if you want more options maybe look at adding a 54 and 58 degree wedge. I go PW (47 degree), then 50/54/58 and it gives a good range of options round the green.
I've just got a pair of Ping Glide 3 to replace may Cleveland wedges. In 54* and 58*.
The Pings have a small cavity which is a bit more forgiving for me. They also have a touch more bounce and standard grind. Again making them a bit easier to live with.
They follow 4* on from my U wedge and have the same shafts so the gapping is spot on when needed for full shots.
They are providing very good at a variety of shots around the green and spin like crazy when needed.
The Pings have a small cavity which is a bit more forgiving for me. They also have a touch more bounce and standard grind. Again making them a bit easier to live with.
They follow 4* on from my U wedge and have the same shafts so the gapping is spot on when needed for full shots.
They are providing very good at a variety of shots around the green and spin like crazy when needed.
bodhi said:
It is according to the Titleist marketing, but mainly because it's the smaller headed model - it is 430cc, whereas TS1,2 and 3 are all 460cc. 460 seems to work better for the bulk of players out there - they reckoned the TS4 would fit less than 10% of players - in fact I was having issues trying it as nowhere kept it in stock for that reason. It mostly for high sped players wanting to keep spin down, but it also works for people like me who learnt to play golf in the 80's with a Persimmon 3 wood and find all these 460cc Drivers a bit silly No idea why, I just find smaller heads easier to keep straight on the way through.
I did of course curse it with all the nice things I said on Friday, as I played a medal yesterday and it wasn't quite as accurate, however even my trusty 3 wood was a bit all over the show so the problem was definitely with the soft bit on the end of the club. Sad thing is I wasn't hitting it that badly, I just kept going slightly offline into the tree line and blocking myself out for the next shot, which I managed on just about every hole. Muddled round for a gross 88, if the club scratch player hadn't shot 82 and the young hotshot off 3 hadn't had a 96, I would have been far more unhappy....
Course was tough though with how hard the greens were. You'd fly the ball all the way to the green and it would bounce through, but land it before the green and it would check up and you'd still have to chip on. Still great to be out there though, just need to get back into the swing again.
I was interested in the mechanics of each of the new Tit drivers, TXG do a review of 4 against 3 and the CG is in the front of the 4 so reduces spin and dynamic loft managing spin loft for better flights (apparently). No idea why, I just find smaller heads easier to keep straight on the way through. I did of course curse it with all the nice things I said on Friday, as I played a medal yesterday and it wasn't quite as accurate, however even my trusty 3 wood was a bit all over the show so the problem was definitely with the soft bit on the end of the club. Sad thing is I wasn't hitting it that badly, I just kept going slightly offline into the tree line and blocking myself out for the next shot, which I managed on just about every hole. Muddled round for a gross 88, if the club scratch player hadn't shot 82 and the young hotshot off 3 hadn't had a 96, I would have been far more unhappy....
Course was tough though with how hard the greens were. You'd fly the ball all the way to the green and it would bounce through, but land it before the green and it would check up and you'd still have to chip on. Still great to be out there though, just need to get back into the swing again.
As with anything I prefer working on the technique over paying 400 pounds for a driver to me...however I am going to try a load of lead tape on my M2 to see if it helps me as I am a bit of a balloner with high spin rates.
fourstardan said:
bodhi said:
It is according to the Titleist marketing, but mainly because it's the smaller headed model - it is 430cc, whereas TS1,2 and 3 are all 460cc. 460 seems to work better for the bulk of players out there - they reckoned the TS4 would fit less than 10% of players - in fact I was having issues trying it as nowhere kept it in stock for that reason. It mostly for high sped players wanting to keep spin down, but it also works for people like me who learnt to play golf in the 80's with a Persimmon 3 wood and find all these 460cc Drivers a bit silly No idea why, I just find smaller heads easier to keep straight on the way through.
I did of course curse it with all the nice things I said on Friday, as I played a medal yesterday and it wasn't quite as accurate, however even my trusty 3 wood was a bit all over the show so the problem was definitely with the soft bit on the end of the club. Sad thing is I wasn't hitting it that badly, I just kept going slightly offline into the tree line and blocking myself out for the next shot, which I managed on just about every hole. Muddled round for a gross 88, if the club scratch player hadn't shot 82 and the young hotshot off 3 hadn't had a 96, I would have been far more unhappy....
Course was tough though with how hard the greens were. You'd fly the ball all the way to the green and it would bounce through, but land it before the green and it would check up and you'd still have to chip on. Still great to be out there though, just need to get back into the swing again.
I was interested in the mechanics of each of the new Tit drivers, TXG do a review of 4 against 3 and the CG is in the front of the 4 so reduces spin and dynamic loft managing spin loft for better flights (apparently). No idea why, I just find smaller heads easier to keep straight on the way through. I did of course curse it with all the nice things I said on Friday, as I played a medal yesterday and it wasn't quite as accurate, however even my trusty 3 wood was a bit all over the show so the problem was definitely with the soft bit on the end of the club. Sad thing is I wasn't hitting it that badly, I just kept going slightly offline into the tree line and blocking myself out for the next shot, which I managed on just about every hole. Muddled round for a gross 88, if the club scratch player hadn't shot 82 and the young hotshot off 3 hadn't had a 96, I would have been far more unhappy....
Course was tough though with how hard the greens were. You'd fly the ball all the way to the green and it would bounce through, but land it before the green and it would check up and you'd still have to chip on. Still great to be out there though, just need to get back into the swing again.
As with anything I prefer working on the technique over paying 400 pounds for a driver to me...however I am going to try a load of lead tape on my M2 to see if it helps me as I am a bit of a balloner with high spin rates.
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