shakey's WITB...2019 update

[cota0429]

I'm with ya. I don't like the look at all of the Vapor Hybrids. I ordered an XPro and 913h both with Tour AD i.

[cota0429]

I'm with ya. I don't like the look at all of the Vapor Hybrids. I ordered an XPro and 913h both with Tour AD i.

[shakey]

[quote name='MNNikeGuy' timestamp='1429413171' post='11389873']Tryout the 913 or 915H. My 913H is money![/quote]
MN-almost-Nikeguy?

J/K. It's working good so far?

[shakey]

[quote name='MNNikeGuy' timestamp='1429413171' post='11389873']Tryout the 913 or 915H. My 913H is money![/quote]
MN-almost-Nikeguy?

J/K. It's working good so far?

[GC70]

[quote name='shakey' timestamp='1429462977' post='11392091']
[quote name='MNNikeGuy' timestamp='1429413171' post='11389873']Tryout the 913 or 915H. My 913H is money![/quote]
MN-almost-Nikeguy?

J/K. It's working good so far?
[/quote]
Could be a honey moon period, but so far so good!

[GC70]

[quote name='shakey' timestamp='1429462977' post='11392091']
[quote name='MNNikeGuy' timestamp='1429413171' post='11389873']Tryout the 913 or 915H. My 913H is money![/quote]
MN-almost-Nikeguy?

J/K. It's working good so far?
[/quote]
Could be a honey moon period, but so far so good!

[shakey]

I was lucky today in that I got to participate in a Nike Tour Performance Fitting Experience at a local private club. I say I'm lucky because the timing worked out in my favor. One week earlier...pouring rain. One week later..son having surgery. It also worked out that I could make it by before going in to work. My rep made me aware of the event, and I'm good friends with the head and assistant pros at the course. The event was described as a full bag fitting tee to green. I mainly headed to the event looking to hit the new Engage wedges, but it ended up being a little more involved for me. My fitting time was scheduled for 9 am, but the action started a little earlier. As soon as I got there I spoke to my rep for a minute and he took me over to the trailor to meet the guys. Walt (one of the fitters I knew from an earlier event and is somewhat active on WRX...awesome dude) grabbed some Engage wedges and was ready to get going. My rep had to slow him down some so I could meet the other guys from the truck. Faz (I hope I got his name right) and JD were super nice guys and jumped right into basic conversation like we had known each other forever.

Here are some pics from the setup today.

[attachment=2726825:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1429923049.187308.jpg]
[attachment=2726827:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1429923061.626536.jpg]
[attachment=2726829:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1429923087.773510.jpg]

[b]Equipment reviews:[/b]

[color=#0000ff][b]Engage Wedges[/b][/color]
I already have my Engage wedges on order, but I didn't want to pass up the change to hit some and hopefully make up my mind on the setup since I have been having some doubts as of late. My current order consists of a 50 Square, 54 Toe Sweep, and a 58 Dual Sole. I was hoping to hit a variety of the lofts and grinds to confirm my order, but they only had a 58 Square and a 58 DS to hit. At first I was a little disappointed, but what the heck...at least I got to him them outside for the first time. The range has two greens that ended up working perfectly for the wedge test...1 about 70 yds out and 1 close to 100.

I started out hitting the 58 Sq. I love hitting wedges at Coosa CC's range..it is tightly mowed and you can really nip the wedges. The 58 Sq was really solid feeling. I didn't hit the wedges side by side, but it might feel better than my Oven VR Raw wedge (that might be jumping the gun a little, but first impressions). The turf interaction was incredible. I was hitting little punch shots to the first green and then some full shots to the second green. Kind of alternating between the two. The 58 Sq was really easy to flight the ball. I grabbed the 58 DS and began to rotate between the shots like I did with the Sq. I almost couldn't tell the difference between the two grinds at first. Just like the Sq, the 58 DS has great turf interaction and ball flight control. The only noticeable difference between the two is when you try to really open them up. The DS continues to hug the ground whereas the leading edge of the Sq sits up off the ground some.

After hitting the wedges for awhile, I stopped to really talk to Faz and Walt about the set makeup questions I have. As I have mentioned, I have carried PW, 52, 58 for years. Faz (who is a fitter mainly at the Oregon facility if I remember correctly..and again I'm hoping I am getting his name right) seemed to emphasize carrying four wedges total instead of crowding the top of the bag with woods and hybrids. We feel like I'm on the right track with going Driver, 3 wood, 3 hybrid and then doing PW, 50, 54, 58.

After the talk, Walt and I looked at the ball flight and contact of the wedges for a few more mintues before putting them down and moving on to something else.

[color=#0000ff][b]Driver Time[/b][/color]
The Flex driver is a beast that I've wanted to battle since I first heard about it. I will admit, even though I wanted to try it, in the back of my mind I didn't really think it had a chance due to my already low ball flight. My Vapor Pro is set to 11.5 Right and I tend to miss it on the low side. I have admitted that the higher launching Speed head would probably be the best fit for me, but the Pro just looks too good. Well...the Flex looks even better. I took the Attas MK 6 Stiff out of my Pro head so that I could easily compare the Flex to my driver. At first we had the Flex set to 11.5 Right Low. The first tow swings were pretty horrible on my part and the results were a couple of low pulls (one almost clipped the guy mowing the range..why mow when a fitting day is starting is beyond me). The third swing was much better and produced a fairly decent ball...straight but still lower than ideal. JD happened to walk over about this time and we began talking about my normal ball flight and what some of the more ideal launch and spin numbers were. He suggested moving the Flex to 12.5 Right Mid. I hate to say it...but...Boom. The ball flight was very high and very straight. I hit three in a row that were almost identical. JD had to move on to begin another guy's fitting, but Walt hung with me.

He suggested hitting my driver in the 12.5 Right setting to see what it was like. I had actually mentioned to JD and Walt during the driver conversation that I had tried to hit my driver at 12.5 Neutral in the past to some pretty horrible results. I could not hit the club face that day. I will admit that it might have been completely mental, but it was bad no matter what was wrong. Today, it was completely different. The 12.5 Right setting was producing virtually the same ball flight at the Flex at 12.5 Right Mid. It's going to remain there for a few rounds to see how it goes.

[color=#0000ff][b]Tinkering Around[/b][/color]
Lately hybrids have been giving me fits. I had the Flex hybrid in the bag for awhile, but something about it was off. The ball flight was okay for the most part, but the more I hit it, the more inconsistent it seemed. I also mentioned in another post that it was kind of funny looking. I think the overall size was throwing me off. Needless to say...it's gone. I have been carrying an old Adams Idea Pro 3 hybrid for the past two weeks (probably the fourth time I've had this particular hybrid in the bag). It's similar to my VR LTD 3 wood in that I always find a way to put it back in the bag. At a gigantic cost of $12, I didn't think I could go wrong.

Yesterday provided the chance to try something that's been in my mind. Although they didn't have a Speed 3 iron, we pieced together a Speed 4 iron head with a UST Recoil 110 Stiff. It took a few swings to get used to the extremely lite feel, but it was nice when you connected with it. It may be a complete dud, but I ordered the 3 iron head from my rep and will be ordering the shaft from a supplier in the next few days. The tip sizes do not match up (Speed .370 and Recoil .355), so I couldn't just order it from Nike, but I do my own club repair, so and shim and some glue is all I need. The overall hope is that this club is a great tee club for select shots and can replace the hybrid off the ground.

[b][color=#0000ff]Final Thoughts[/color][/b]
If work didn't get in my way, I could have stayed out there all day just working my way through the fitting carts. Part (a very small part) of the reason I wanted to go out there was to listen to the fitters do their job. I do a ton of clubfittings at my shop and I'm always striving to become better at it. Learn more product knowledge. Learn more fitting techniques. I would have been cool just to pull up a chair and listen to the guys do the fittings all day. Not even hit balls, just sit there and watch them do their thing. They had Trackman set up and it would have been nice to hit my Pro vs the Flex on the monitor, but I would have felt guilty about it in a way. Since I wasn't buying anything from the course, I didn't want to take them from the course members who were starting to come in.

In the end, it was a fun experience. I settled my mind on a few things and have some things to try. It's not an Oven fitting by any means, but if you can get to one of these as they travel around, do it.
.....

[GC70]

So your going to stay with the wedge set up? Did you try any other shafts in the Flex? Did you have any numbers comparing the two drivers? If the pro doesn't workout in the new setting will you get the Flex?

Nice review!

[sneaky]

Thanks for the great fitting info. I also have a low ball flight but with high spin. In my testing so far the Flex gives me the best numbers. Hoping to do some on course testing very soon. Still below freezing here at night. Did the wedges have a straight leading edge?

[shakey]

[quote name='sneaky' timestamp='1429940071' post='11437949']
Thanks for the great fitting info. I also have a low ball flight but with high spin. In my testing so far the Flex gives me the best numbers. Hoping to do some on course testing very soon. Still below freezing here at night. Did the wedges have a straight leading edge?
[/quote]

I wish I could have taken some pics of the wedges, but we got to hitting them so fast, I kind of forgot to do it. They did have a little bit of roundness to the leading edge, but not much that I could tell. Not like the old Cleveland CG10s that looked like they sit up off the ground no matter the lie. The driving range was pretty tight, and the wedges sit nicely.

[Beastmode Broker]

thx for the write up Shakey, sounds like a fun morning
the flex intrigues me, but Im loving my Pro set up right now
I have it set at a boring 9.5 Neutral and works as is!! LOL!

can't wait to see the Engage wedges in person

[shakey]

[quote name='MNNikeGuy' timestamp='1429935835' post='11437739']
So your going to stay with the wedge set up? Did you try any other shafts in the Flex? Did you have any numbers comparing the two drivers? If the pro doesn't workout in the new setting will you get the Flex?

Nice review!
[/quote]
As of now..I'm staying with what I have ordered. 50 Sq...54 TS...58 DS.

I did not hit anything else in the Flex. It was kind of quick decision to hit it anyways. They had trackman, but I didn't waste their time hitting on it knowing I'm not planning on buying the Flex at this point.

The Flex looks and sounds awesome, but right now I'm committed to the Pro head. Give me a few months and that might change.

[shakey]

[quote name='enis750' timestamp='1429969283' post='11438963']
thx for the write up Shakey, sounds like a fun morning
the flex intrigues me, but Im loving my Pro set up right now
I have it set at a boring 9.5 Neutral and works as is!! LOL!

can't wait to see the Engage wedges in person
[/quote]
I feel the same way. The Flex was like an itch that had to be scratched. I've been wanting to hit it for awhile, we just never ordered it due to retail $$ and didn't get a demo since we didn't stock it. I love my Pro...just thinking about a different shaft. Might have to find another UST Chrome.

The Engage wedges looked great. Feel was great. I can't wait for them to come in.

[FullOfBrushMan]

[quote name='shakey' timestamp='1429969338' post='11438977']
As of now..I'm staying with what I have ordered. 50 Sq...54 TS...58 DS.
[/quote]
Read your review.

Pretty much the same conclusions that I have come to except I am going 51 SQ, 55 TS, 59 DS for distance gaping.

Just curious as to why the 54 is your TS ... bunker play? I would love to hear your thoughts on the grind setups as I think it mimics mine.

I recently took a Nike Demo day fitting as well and had been crushing the Pro and Combos just as well. Love the shapes of both. Any reason as to why you went Combos over Pros? Was it just looks and numbers? Forgiveness? I was fitted into DG300s/Project X 6.0s as well both great shafts.

I have a real fitting at the end of May and am getting as many respected opinions around here on the clubs I have enjoyed hitting to narrow my choices down.

Thanks.

[shakey]

[quote name='FullOfBrushMan' timestamp='1430240798' post='11459031']
[quote name='shakey' timestamp='1429969338' post='11438977']
As of now..I'm staying with what I have ordered. 50 Sq...54 TS...58 DS.
[/quote]
Read your review.

Pretty much the same conclusions that I have come to except I am going 51 SQ, 55 TS, 59 DS for distance gaping.

Just curious as to why the 54 is your TS ... bunker play? I would love to hear your thoughts on the grind setups as I think it mimics mine.

I recently took a Nike Demo day fitting as well and had been crushing the Pro and Combos just as well. Love the shapes of both. Any reason as to why you went Combos over Pros? Was it just looks and numbers? Forgiveness? I was fitted into DG300s/Project X 6.0s as well both great shafts.

I have a real fitting at the end of May and am getting as many respected opinions around here on the clubs I have enjoyed hitting to narrow my choices down.

Thanks.
[/quote]
Yes to the 54 TS question. I am not the best bunker player, so I thought the TS might be the most help. I had a 58 TS in the bag last year and it was awesome out of bunkers and the rough. But I didn't like to chip with it that much and 58 is my go to club for most shots around the greens.

I feel like I need the extra forgiveness of the PCs. The long irons in the Pro set scare me. Lol. I can hit the PC 5 iron pretty well. I actually kept my VRS Forged 4 iron in the bag since it's so easy to hit. I had the stock DG Pro shafts, but swapped to the S300s. They are much more stable for me.

[prhiam]

Great writeup. I like the things you were working with, getting the launch up on either driver you go with is the key though. I am currently working on being more consistent with my launch. I found that at 10.5* it is still inconsistent (me) getting it to the about 12* launch angle I'm looking for. Sometimes I will hit it as low as 10 if not in to the high 9s and other times I'm launching it around 13. Trust me, after hitting some at around 12-13 you will like the results MUCH better. The carry is huge and I still had an incredible descent angle and amount of roll. It is producing better drives. So I will be working on setup and technique to launch higher and then finding the right loft from there. Good thing my coach has a launch monitor, I'm going to wear it out.

[shakey]

[quote name='prhiam' timestamp='1430248138' post='11459999']
Great writeup. I like the things you were working with, getting the launch up on either driver you go with is the key though. I am currently working on being more consistent with my launch. I found that at 10.5* it is still inconsistent (me) getting it to the about 12* launch angle I'm looking for. Sometimes I will hit it as low as 10 if not in to the high 9s and other times I'm launching it around 13. Trust me, after hitting some at around 12-13 you will like the results MUCH better. The carry is huge and I still had an incredible descent angle and amount of roll. It is producing better drives. So I will be working on setup and technique to launch higher and then finding the right loft from there. Good thing my coach has a launch monitor, I'm going to wear it out.
[/quote]
I'm trying to get time to get in my simulator at work and spend some time with the 12.5 setting vs the 11.5 setting (just been to busy to do it). Launch and spin numbers are something I've really tried to optimize over the past two years since the first Oven trip. Last year we had a Bridgestone ball fitting in my shop. My numbers (hitting the CT 2.0 w/Chrome 6F5T and RZN Plat) were 10.1 launch/1550 spin according to the machine. That's not a good combo at my SS of 105. When I hit the B330S, my spin got up to 11/2100 and I picked up 8 yds of carry.

Sometimes I wish I was one of the guys who can tee it high and catch driver on the upswing to really hit the high balls with tons of carry. I've just never been able to hit that shot.

[shakey]

In surgery right now.
Vapor Speed 3 iron
Recoil 110 F4
[attachment=2746659:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1431018213.047447.jpg]

[GC70]

^ interesting!

[shakey]

[quote name='MNNikeGuy' timestamp='1431020054' post='11517435']
^ interesting!
[/quote]
Feels good so far. Hit it some in the simulator.

[StarFleetGolfer]

[quote name='shakey' timestamp='1431018216' post='11517269']
In surgery right now.
Vapor Speed 3 iron
Recoil 110 F4
[attachment=2746659:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1431018213.047447.jpg]
[/quote]


Cool combo

[shakey]

[quote name='Golfjunki71' timestamp='1431047278' post='11520019'][quote name='shakey' timestamp='1431018216' post='11517269']
In surgery right now.
Vapor Speed 3 iron
Recoil 110 F4
[attachment=2746659:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1431018213.047447.jpg]
[/quote]


Cool combo[/quote]

Thank you. I went to the range after work tonight. When I made a halfway decent swing at it, the results were pretty good.

[Beastmode Broker]

[quote name='Golfjunki71' timestamp='1431047278' post='11520019']

Cool combo
[/quote]

big fan of where ur bag is heading Junk

[shakey]

I've spent some time in the simulator and on the range with the new 3 iron. On a good swing, it's carrying between 210 and 217 (short tee) in the simulator and running out from there. Most well struck shots are ending up around 230 after all the roll. Now the test is to get it on the course and see how it goes from the fairway/rough.

[shakey]

I got to play Wednesday. It was a good test for the driver at the new loft/bias setting and the new Speed 3 iron.

[color=#0000ff][b]DRIVER[/b][/color]
It's more than likely been mostly a pathetic driver swing, but I've been having problems hitting the driver lower than normal lately. At the recent Nike fitting experience, it was suggested that I try the 12.5 Right setting (as posted earlier in the fitting review). Wednesday was the first real chance to test that setting on the course. I had to bypass range balls due to time restriction (playing in between dropping my son off at school at 9 and then picking him up at 1), so the a few of the first tee shots were a little rough. Toe hook on 1..really high draw bomb on 2...lowish pull on 4. Then it really started to come together. The 12.5 loft setting really helped to get the high ball flight that I want to see. Even on the Right setting, I can still draw the ball which is nice. The fairways were a little thin and dry, so even at the high launch I was still getting good roll out. I never seem to leave a round saying that "I hit the ball too high today," so I may be able to keep this setting.

[color=#0000ff][b]SPEED 3 IRON[/b][/color]
My early thoughts on the 3 iron is that it could be a really good club for certain courses that I play. I got to hit it three or four times on the course. Off the fairway, it didn't get up in the air quite like I hoped it would. On the range, I have been able to hit it back-to-back-to-back..etc and really get in a groove with it. I can hit it high at that point. On the course with the thin fairways, it was a little more difficult to hit. But it runs out like crazy. That's why I'm thinking on certain courses it would be nice. I play a few places where a low bullet that runs forever is perfect. I didn't get to hit it any off the tee, but my home course has a couple of holes where I think this club will be great to use instead of driver or three wood (depending on the course set up that day). Maybe I can get out this weekend and give it a go at my course.

If the Speed 3 doesn't work out for most courses, I have pulled out my old VR LTD 5 wood. I found a Diamana Black 82 Stiff (I think from a Titleist 913 fwy) that is waiting to be installed. I may try and reshaft it tomorrow and have it ready for action on Sunday (assuming I get to play).

[shakey]

[sharedmedia=core:attachments:2764444]
Arrived today. Testing tomorrow.

[StarFleetGolfer]

[quote name='shakey' timestamp='1432071544' post='11588808']

Arrived today. Testing tomorrow.
[/quote]


You better start taking the wax off now if you want to play tomorrow. Nice combo

[GC70]

[quote name='shakey' timestamp='1432071544' post='11588808']

Arrived today. Testing tomorrow.
[/quote]
Looking good

[shakey]

[quote name='Golfjunki71' timestamp='1432089763' post='11590876'][quote name='shakey' timestamp='1432071544' post='11588808']

Arrived today. Testing tomorrow.
[/quote]


You better start taking the wax off now if you want to play tomorrow. Nice combo[/quote]
Funny you say that. It took awhile. I gave up on cleaning off the ferrules.

[GC70]

[quote name='shakey' timestamp='1432092150' post='11591120']
[quote name='Golfjunki71' timestamp='1432089763' post='11590876'][quote name='shakey' timestamp='1432071544' post='11588808']

Arrived today. Testing tomorrow.
[/quote]


You better start taking the wax off now if you want to play tomorrow. Nice combo[/quote]
Funny you say that. It took awhile. I gave up on cleaning off the ferrules.
[/quote]
It really takes that long?