Confessions 12 --- Exploding Heads

[DeNinny]

...

As for the EZ Forged, I don't know whether it's the XP 105 S300 shaft, hitting off mats or the bigger head, but I can't really feel the club and impact as well (no need to go over the design aspects again, DeNinny) . Of course I knew if I thinned one or caught one pure but it's just not the same as with the blades. You see a nice ball flight but you don't feel it as much.

...

 

LOL in summary yes for sure it is mostly the difference in head shape, size, and materials of construction.

[Halebopp]

I need to confess I might've found something better than my 650 woods. I have a gut feeling it's the shaft though, I tried my friend's Titleist 917 D2 5 wood with a Fujikura Speeder Pro Tour Spec 84, stiff shaft. We were hitting off mats but I didn't hit a single bad shot with it whereas the 650 needed warming up.

 

I've tested a fair share of fairway woods over the years but nothing has really seemed better than the 650s but this one seemed like one of those legendary "point and shoot" clubs. For once I began to wonder whether it could actually be the arrow, not the indian this time around.

 

The Fujikura shafts in my 650 fairways are 75 grams and the shaft in Titleist 89 grams. Maybe those 14 grams make all the difference as it is almost 20% heavier.

 

Edit, the shaft felt slightly "counter balanced" when I first got a hold of the club and now I read on the Titleist page that the shaft does have a high balance point. The next step became rather obvious considering what I did with my putter over the winter. Insert a nut or two and half an inch of threaded rod to the butt of the shaft to add about 12 grams of weight and see what happens. I was going to change the grips anyway. :)

 

Edit 2: That didn't take long. A nut stuck at the end of the grip and a bit of rod to be screwed inside the shaft.

 

[DeNinny]

Halebopp, what are the flex and swing weight differences in those two clubs? It's possible that you are overpowering the lighter shaft.

[Halebopp]

Halebopp, what are the flex and swing weight differences in those two clubs? It's possible that you are overpowering the lighter shaft.

 

That's something I've been been thinking about myself but having tested several fairway woods, I seemed to be getting similar results with them all and thus I've settled into thinking it's just my inconsistent swing.

 

Of course chances are all those clubs I've tested had similar or even weaker than the ones on my Mizunos. The swingweight on the 650s is around D1-3 according to what I found online and the 917s come in D3 as stock (my friend wouldn't have had it set to anything else when he ordered his). Hopefully I'll get to go to the range tomorrow to test my counter-balanced version to see whether the added weight makes a difference or if it's truly the shaft.

 

I'm clueless about graphite shafts but Mizuno compares the shaft to Motore F3 and Diamana Blueboard in the marketing video below. I've had a Ping i20 driver with an Aldila Rip'd NV 65 x-stiff and last year I tried a Bio Cell driver with Matrix Ozik Red Tie 6Q3 x-stiff but both of them were a bit too much for me on bad days. The Bio Cell was longer when I did hit it well though.

 

 

[media=]

[/media]

[DeNinny]

Halebopp don't put too much stock in how flex compares across manufacturers and even across models by the same manufacturer. There is no numerical standard for flex, so it is just a relative variable based on only that shaft model.

 

I understand what you are doing with the screw counterweight, but there is another way to see how the two shafts differ in flex. If you can carefully fix both of them in a horizontal position and support them as such at the grip end, you can hang a standard weight, say 5 or 10 lbs, on the head end of each and measure how far down the weight drops the head below the horizontal line. The weaker flex shaft will always drop the head lower under a given load. And if you find this is the case with your two clubs, where one bends more under the same weight load, then this *might* be the only reason you hit one worse than the other.

[Halebopp]

I do think the shaft in the Titleist is a stiffer one, this is just a no-cost experiment if it could be the additional weight and counter-balance feel that could be affecting my swing. I'm also looking at the shafts on eBay but I'm not sure if changing shafts to the 650s would be the best way forward. If the counter weight doesn't help, we have a big demo day coming up with all the manufacturers within a month, so I'll get to try all the options.

 

In other news, my home club opens on Friday and we have a round booked for Saturday, the golf season is less than 75 hours away!

[DeNinny]

Halebopp I appreciate your willingness to directly tinker to troubleshoot an equipment issue.

 

And that's good news you are going to play soon! It's always great to just get out that first round. Start with a clean slate.

 

I (confess I) am fully into the season for over a month and I'm already in a slump. Pretty much every facet of my game is inconsistent. I hit a great shot followed by a bad shot. Or a string of either. I am struggling with balance issues in my swing and mental freeze ups in my short game. But the one bright spot is that when I do hit the ball well it is really good. I am hitting my 6i over 150 yds and my 2i, aka Katana, over 190 yds which is good and not something that I fully trust and have adjusted to yet. And I'm longer this year than last year with this set by 5 yards which tells me that I am improving my swing. My footwork has been the biggest change and so hopefully I can learn to control it and thus my balance better.

[Halebopp]

I tried to go to bed really early but that didn't really work out as the sun is still up at 9 pm. Amongst other things, I started to feel giddy about the season, thinking about which bag to take, the need to mark balls for the round etc. :)

 

We definitely get to start with a clean slate after the winter as you can (and oftentimes need to) rebuild your swing on the range each spring. You can work on your swing indoors but you'll see the truth about the ball flight once you get outside and that's when the tinkering starts. I'm happy with where the swing is at the moment even though my tendency to hook might be a bit of an issue on the course but at least it's looking like a one-way miss at the moment. My current swing thoughts have also carried over to wedge shots which are better now than they've ever been before the season start.

 

About one month in is when me and my friends also start to slump. We improve up to late May but once June rolls around we lose it. Whatever the best score of the season is in late May, it usually stands until July.

[dan360]

I did my first WRX WITB just now. Go mock me.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1630226-dan360s-poser-bag-26apr2018-mizzy-heavy-jim-wells-ping/

[Halebopp]

I did my first WRX WITB just now. Go mock me.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...jim-wells-ping/

 

It looks mostly great, you should just change your woods to something not made by the Evil Empire. :D

[DeNinny]

I did my first WRX WITB just now. Go mock me.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1630226-dan360s-poser-bag-26apr2018-mizzy-heavy-jim-wells-ping/

 

LOL I will "mock" you face to face. Love those mp-33s, but something tells me they are going to get replaced by something even better...

[DeNinny]

I did my first WRX WITB just now. Go mock me.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...jim-wells-ping/

 

It looks mostly great, you should just change your woods to something not made by the Evil Empire. :D

 

I confess that you said what I was going to tell him face to face.

[dan360]

I've had TaylorMade equipment since before they were the so-called Evil Empire. The real Evil Empire is Callaway. Get it right. :swoon: :superman:

[DeNinny]

I've had TaylorMade equipment since before they were the so-called Evil Empire. The real Evil Empire is Callaway. Get it right. :swoon: :superman:

 

PING is the original Evil Empire. TaylorMade and Callaway are the second comings of one. TaylorMade wasn't evil until they went to their "unmetal" carbon fiber crap. From the V Steels to Burners they were putting out decent stuff, but later they went into "cheap mode" and started significantly reducing the amount of titanium in the head.

[Halebopp]

The real Evil Empire is Callaway. Get it right. :swoon: :superman:

 

The good ol' Grampa's Shovels Corporation?

 

I have to confess I had forgotten how difficult this game is. First round of the season on Saturday and today was the second. The first round was bad but that's kind of expected, what was unexpected was that today was even worse. :D

 

During the first round, the biggest problem was controlling the low point of the swing on a very soft course. I hit the driver very well but would hit approach shots and wedges fat. Today I struggled with the driver and even the irons gave me trouble with "club draws" (hooks).

 

Having played a round with the self-made counter-balanced putter and a normal putter, I'm inclined to say the CB is better. I had very similar struggles with distance control on both rounds as all the greens are of different speeds at the moment but the steadiness and directional control is much better with the CB. At least I have that going for me!

 

I also have a gut feeling I'll be investing in a new fairway wood. Maybe it would be a good time to move to a single 4 wood.

[PapaJohick]

so I had my first real good round going of the year.... (i bet if i look back my first one last year was about this time haha). started not striking the ball well, but was hitting fairways and getting it around the green (first hole par 5 hit a clanker of a tee shot that ended up only 200 yards away. hit green with 50 feet for eagle... three putt par haha). made it through 14 at +6 on a par 70 track so sub 80 is in sight!.

 

15 is a short ish par 4. drive is a toey low hook that ends up about 5 feet or so off the fairway. have 115 to a back pin. I had been doing great flighting and controlling distance with clubs so I would have typically gone with a PW flighted down about 3/4 swing... then i remembered, the green has a big spine in the middle and severely slopes away from the fairway. Only way to get it to stop is go up high. I choose my 52. Shot felt good, looked like it hit middle of the green and should have trickled really close..... when I get up to the green (there is a slight berm/hill in front so I couldn't see from the shot), I see that I just got on the front edge so 52 with a almost full swing only got me around 90 or so yards ughhh. thats a huge disappointment. End up being afraid of the down slope and leave the 60 foot birdie putt woefully short leaving about 15 feet for par. great speed, but missed the read and have a tap in bogey. no biggie.

 

16 is a par 3 that distance is usually benign on the score card (about 145 or so), but it goes into the ocean and there's always a head wind. I have hit a 4 iron there perfectly and come up 30 yards short haha. This day though, wind isn't terrible. only about a club or so if I keep it low. Hit a choked down smooth 7, but its off the a little toe and ends up at the pin, but 10 yards short of the green/15 yards short of the pin. No biggie, straight forward. Chipping has been great all day (holed out for birdie on another par 3 and had several tap in pars) . of course i get a little quick and semi blade the shot... have 25 feet for par should have probably putt from off the green but I hate doing that on this course. Another 3 jack due to being nervous of the down hiller and i ruin my sub 80 round with a double (5).

 

17. plays along the ocean. got super quick and yanked it hard left onto the beach (i think i almost hit a beach goer :facepalm:). red stakes so I drop up there, hit a decent shot to the front of the green and two putt for bogey.

 

18 used to be the best par 5 in all of southcarolina (arguably true haha), but due to erosion it is not a pretty crappy par 3 with a huge green that has a lot of contour. Hit a decent shot, but not fantastic and ended up on the front part well below the hole and about 30 feet. Of course going on the trend I 3 putt for a bogey.

 

most disappointing 81 ive ever shot (ive probably said this before as well haha). Putting just left me down the stretch ( i was trying instead of feeling it) and one or two bad tee shots just didn't help...... oh well next game.

[dan360]

I've had TaylorMade equipment since before they were the so-called Evil Empire. The real Evil Empire is Callaway. Get it right. :swoon: :superman:

 

PING is the original Evil Empire. TaylorMade and Callaway are the second comings of one. TaylorMade wasn't evil until they went to their "unmetal" carbon fiber crap. From the V Steels to Burners they were putting out decent stuff, but later they went into "cheap mode" and started significantly reducing the amount of titanium in the head.

 

No

 

[scomac2002]

I did my first WRX WITB just now. Go mock me.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...jim-wells-ping/

 

It looks mostly great, you should just change your woods to something not made by the Evil Empire. :D

 

I confess that you said what I was going to tell him face to face.

 

Are you deliberately trying to p*ss everyone off?

[dan360]

I did my first WRX WITB just now. Go mock me.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...jim-wells-ping/

 

It looks mostly great, you should just change your woods to something not made by the Evil Empire. :D

 

I confess that you said what I was going to tell him face to face.

 

Are you deliberately trying to p*ss everyone off?

 

It's way better than being pissed on that much is for certain.

[DeNinny]

I did my first WRX WITB just now. Go mock me.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...jim-wells-ping/

 

It looks mostly great, you should just change your woods to something not made by the Evil Empire. :D

 

I confess that you said what I was going to tell him face to face.

 

Are you deliberately trying to p*ss everyone off?

 

I'm indulging his (Dan's) request as a friend. And being sarcastic. And confessing as per the topic of this thread.

 

Are you being serious with this question?

[DeNinny]

I've had TaylorMade equipment since before they were the so-called Evil Empire. The real Evil Empire is Callaway. Get it right. :swoon: :superman:

 

PING is the original Evil Empire. TaylorMade and Callaway are the second comings of one. TaylorMade wasn't evil until they went to their "unmetal" carbon fiber crap. From the V Steels to Burners they were putting out decent stuff, but later they went into "cheap mode" and started significantly reducing the amount of titanium in the head.

 

No

 

Yup

[DeNinny]

I did my first WRX WITB just now. Go mock me.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...jim-wells-ping/

 

It looks mostly great, you should just change your woods to something not made by the Evil Empire. :D

 

I confess that you said what I was going to tell him face to face.

 

Are you deliberately trying to p*ss everyone off?

 

It's way better than being pissed on that much is for certain.

 

LOL not saying that I'm that way but I heard on the internet that some folks like being p*ssed on. Just saying...

[dan360]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

 

 

[DeNinny]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

LMAO.

 

And FYI I apologize profusely if you've been p*ssed at me for suggesting that I'm going to "mock" you face to face because you play those Evil Empire V2.0 woods. (I keed, bro. I keed...)

[dan360]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

LMAO.

 

And FYI I apologize profusely if you've been p*ssed at me for suggesting that I'm going to "mock" you face to face because you play those Evil Empire V2.0 woods. (I keed, bro. I keed...)

 

Not sure I'll ever be the same, a-gain.

 

 

[BIG STU]

Halebopp don't put too much stock in how flex compares across manufacturers and even across models by the same manufacturer. There is no numerical standard for flex, so it is just a relative variable based on only that shaft model.

 

I understand what you are doing with the screw counterweight, but there is another way to see how the two shafts differ in flex. If you can carefully fix both of them in a horizontal position and support them as such at the grip end, you can hang a standard weight, say 5 or 10 lbs, on the head end of each and measure how far down the weight drops the head below the horizontal line. The weaker flex shaft will always drop the head lower under a given load. And if you find this is the case with your two clubs, where one bends more under the same weight load, then this *might* be the only reason you hit one worse than the other.

That last part you are talking about is a old school deflection board which I still use. In fact I made mine. I have done enough clubs over the years with it and have compared them on a frequency counter I have it dialed in. Also when using the deflection board note where the shaft flexes that will give you an idea of the kick point. I have some older iron heads weighted up differently and it gives me an idea of the weight in relation to shaft flex. On the other weight point I also use triangle fishing weights too. Old School Redneck engineering at it's finest.

[BIG STU]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

LMAO.

 

And FYI I apologize profusely if you've been p*ssed at me for suggesting that I'm going to "mock" you face to face because you play those Evil Empire V2.0 woods. (I keed, bro. I keed...)

I may add with what I call "Twisted Sister" technology. We are all old enough on here to know what I am talking about. First time I saw one of those twisted face exaggerated displays on the counter I thought WTF?. Then I examined the club itself and used a scorecard as a straight edge. OH hell I thought another fancy Marketing 101 name for bulge and roll. Bear has one. We had the face thing going the other day. He bought his son the newest Ping driver with some kind of fancy face for his birthday. His brother Checkers hits one of Bear's old Cally "Jail Bird" faced drivers. Me I had to add my .02 worth-- I am hitting a Homna G1-X (which Bear gave me) and I tell them I have my genuine Samurai sword forged face. In fact Bear gave me the Mizuno 68s I am playing he bought them in a pawn shop for $35--- His son we call Balls was giving me hell too the other week humming the 80s song "Going Japanese" I growled at him well there is still a Macgregor putter and Vokey wedge in the bag. Come to think of it there is a Adams Super S 3 wood and a "evil empire" before it was the "evil empire" Old rescue hybrid. And yes the real 1990 Hogan sand wedge too oops the Hogan wedge was Miura forged forgot. Oh well.

[BIG STU]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

The problem is at my age--- Back in the day I could hit that 8 iron over those trees and on the green. Now it is aw shucks I MIGHT get the PW over those trees and get another wedge on it and maybe one putt--- Aw heck I will attempt to run the 5 iron under and hope to hop it on the green--- Actually did that last week hit a low running cut around some trees to 8 feet and made the birdie putt. Bear said "nice shot' (he hates the cut) I told him I could hit that shot in my sleep I had plenty of practice over the years. Actually hit a 1957 Macgregor Diamond Back PT-2. Played that set last week shot +2 from the senior tees. But today in a company related scramble I am gaming the Zunos. They have a little more firepower and I will need it today. That course is long and I will have to play from the mid tees because I am not 65 yet. But I putt those greens like a banshee. Shot 80 on that course about a month ago from the mid tees with the 1954 Hogan blades and an untried R-11 driver with too stiff of a shaft for me. In fact that day I ended up hitting the 2 iron or the old V-steel 5 wood off the tee after hitting one in a hazard and one OB with that damn thing. At that point I would have possibly given my right nut to have the Homna or my 915 in the bag. I pulled it off due to my putting could have easily been a 85 or worse. But we will not win today because that event is notability a cheatfest. The only reason I am playing in it is sorta tradition and loyalty. I played in it before I was ever a employee of the company in fact I was a customer. The owner of my company helps sponsor the event and it does not cost anything. Bear is also on our team because the other driver who was supposed to play has a prior engagement. Bear and I discussed it last night it is going to mostly be he and I. But heck it will be fun.

[DeNinny]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

LMAO.

 

And FYI I apologize profusely if you've been p*ssed at me for suggesting that I'm going to "mock" you face to face because you play those Evil Empire V2.0 woods. (I keed, bro. I keed...)

 

Not sure I'll ever be the same, a-gain.

 

Next time we play I'm gonna p*ss in your water bottle.

[BIG STU]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

LMAO.

 

And FYI I apologize profusely if you've been p*ssed at me for suggesting that I'm going to "mock" you face to face because you play those Evil Empire V2.0 woods. (I keed, bro. I keed...)

 

Not sure I'll ever be the same, a-gain.

 

Next time we play I'm gonna p*ss in your water bottle.

LOL sounds like a p***ing contest to me------- Boys behave :swoon: :taunt: