Drewtaylor21's Golf Journey (Swing Changes, WITB, Results)

[pinhigh27]

Mad props Drew. MGS plugging the test

 

https://www.instagra...8cKBA4Py/?hl=en

 

Jury still out on the DF vs the TMag?

 

Thanks! Lol, they're obviously big fans of the KSig

 

I'm taking both the KSig and the DF to the course Sunday, first time on-course for both, we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you guys posted....

 

Been rolling the DF nicely indoors, but that doesn't mean much to me. Seems like my dispersion is tighter, so we'll see if that is true "live" as well.

 

ksig + DF = wormhole

[Hstead]

I played in some big time wind today and Ksig did fine for me. The DF, not so much. I could not hit my arse with both hands today with the DF. The greens weren't rolling well, but my reads were so bad it didn't matter how they were rolling.

[drewtaylor21]

Mad props Drew. MGS plugging the test

 

https://www.instagra...8cKBA4Py/?hl=en

 

Jury still out on the DF vs the TMag?

 

Thanks! Lol, they're obviously big fans of the KSig

 

I'm taking both the KSig and the DF to the course Sunday, first time on-course for both, we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you guys posted....

 

Been rolling the DF nicely indoors, but that doesn't mean much to me. Seems like my dispersion is tighter, so we'll see if that is true "live" as well.

 

ksig + DF = wormhole

 

I've gone full WRX. Never go full WRX....

[robrey85]

Where ya playing at? I come in next week would like to get out with you and robrey. Holler.

 

Sounds like a plan. I have a lesson with Jeff Gallagher next week so if we play it'll have to be on a Sunday.

[CSagan]

Where ya playing at? I come in next week would like to get out with you and robrey. Holler.

 

Sounds like a plan. I have a lesson with Jeff Gallagher next week so if we play it'll have to be on a Sunday.

 

Sounds good. I bet Jeff knows a little bit about golf haha.

[Kuuuch]

Drew, when I see guys on DD's instagram doing freezers their follow through looks cut off where they only reach about 3 o clock. Is this done purposely to encourage an extended follow through?

[drewtaylor21]

Drew, when I see guys on DD's instagram doing freezers their follow through looks cut off where they only reach about 3 o clock. Is this done purposely to encourage an extended follow through?

 

I know the move you're talking about, but he never had me do that, so I'm not entirely sure what it's for. I believe it's just to emphasize the pivot and perhaps minimize the forearms rolling over to square the face, as they all look like they're almost holding the face off all the way to p9. That's my guess anyway. He told me he liked what I was doing with my pivot, so maybe that's why he never asked me to work on that one.

[kyle75]

A few weeks ago, Dana had a post on Instagram that he was going to launch an online academy soon, so maybe he will explain that drill on there. Drew, you did a great job with the ball test, really good stuff.

[drewtaylor21]

On the fence about posting this, but figured I might as well, since I've updated you guys on everything else. Open to all your thoughts at the end!

 

Did a driver fitting at Cool Clubs in Irvine, CA yesterday. Going in I mainly wanted to try the Cobra King LTD, M1, and Epic. They didn't have the Cobra, and only had last year's M1 (I was hoping to compare both old and new), but they did have the Epic.

 

Originally I was scheduled for Thursday at 11am, but due to rain, they moved me to Friday at 11, which was fine. Then on Wednesday the forecast looked like Friday was going to get rain at 11-12am, so they moved me to 8am Friday, which I wasn't thrilled about. It was definitely on the cooler side, but not too bad. The main issue that arose was that the range looks directly into the rising sun, and there was a marine layer that hadn't quite burned off, which made the glare pretty intense. This was the biggest issue for me, as I literally couldn't see a single tee shot for about a half hour. They picked up everything on Trackman of course, but I was hitting blind and it really threw me off. Felt like I was hitting it decently in my warm up (I could see shots here) and at the beginning of the session, but after about 5-10 balls, I was lost. Without that visual feedback, I started losing everything right apparently, and didn't know what or how much I needed to do to bring it back. In hindsight, I should have asked to re-schedule, but it's a bit of a hassle getting down there and I had already been re-scheduled twice, so I just went with it (regretting that now).

 

Started out with my current driver and was hitting it a little thin/heely (1.47-1.48 smash, ~9* launch, 3000 spin). I saw the first few, then from the last 2 shots with my driver until the end of the session I didn't see any shot results "live." Went to M1 (2016 model) and was getting similar numbers, albeit higher launch (~12*). Tried the speeder evolution in 7x and 6x, AD-MT 6x, a Cool Clubs made-for mitsubishi shaft (60x) that I actually really liked and got good numbers with, but was hitting it even further right so the fitter didn't like it. I then tried a couple balls with the Titleist 917 D2. Nothing to report there. Then switched to the Epic. Hit an Accra z65x and Accra FX-260 and the FX-260 was all of a sudden doing really well. 12* launch and 2500 spin with a 2* to 1* face to path draw (I play a fade). At this point, the sun was just high enough that I was starting to see the ball again (probably 8:45am). I hit 2 more with this combo (Epic GBB, 10.5* with Accra FX-260, weight all the way in the draw setting) and the fitter was loving it. From my perspective, it did feel solid, and I was able to square it up nicely. Ball flight looked great, numbers great, all that. FWIW, ball speed went up 1 whole mph with the Epic :)

 

That was the only club that stuck out as a winner in the bunch that I hit, so I asked him if I could compare it head to head with my current gamer. Got up and hit the SLDR and it went VERY high and 2 miles right. I saw it and said "WHOA" it was such a shock. Hit another and same result. I couldn't help but think "this is the swing I've been putting on these shots for the last 30 minutes?!" Switched to the Epic, dead straight. Now, normally this would be great, but I am very accurate with my driver, so I knew that all the blind swings had really thrown me off and I wasn't putting my normal swing on anything. We were at the end of our session though, so he took me inside and talked options.

 

Now, full disclosure, I thought the fitter did a very nice job with what I was giving him. However, I don't feel like I gave him anything close to normal, and the ball flight that I finally saw at the end confirmed this. He did a nice job trying to provide options, and tried to provide options that were cheaper, not just the most exotic things available, so in no way am I faulting him or Cool Clubs. However, it feels like a waste of a fitting session from my perspective, as I don't trust that I'd be swinging the same way under normal conditions.

 

So, now I'm not sure what I want to do. I may do another fitting at the Taylor Made experience here in town, which is where I did my 3w fitting and enjoyed that process. I know most people love hitting outdoors, but after yesterday, I'm realizing I'm partial to fitting in a controlled environment. The nice thing with TM is they fit you indoors, but then you can take it outdoors at the end to see ballflight. I'm also thinking about just trying to test shafts in my SLDR to see if I can find one that lowers spin and ups launch a little bit. Finally, part of me just wants to work on hitting the ball just a bit higher on the face and sticking with my current setup, as that would accomplish the same thing! lol (this last option is what I'm leaning towards the most)

 

All in all, I'm annoyed with how things went down, but I know I'm still playing very good golf with what I've got, so I'm trying to be positive. I'm also not $800 poorer, so....win? :dntknw:

 

What do you all think?

[CSagan]

Sounds like you wasted some time haha. Won't be the last time I'm sure. I'm going to do a fitting eventually before spring for some Taylormade action.

[MK7Golf21]

Sounds like you should call them and explain the situation about another fitting at a time when you can see the ball. They will probably do it for free

[PepsiDuck]

Drew, when I see guys on DD's instagram doing freezers their follow through looks cut off where they only reach about 3 o clock. Is this done purposely to encourage an extended follow through?

 

I know the move you're talking about, but he never had me do that, so I'm not entirely sure what it's for. I believe it's just to emphasize the pivot and perhaps minimize the forearms rolling over to square the face, as they all look like they're almost holding the face off all the way to p9. That's my guess anyway. He told me he liked what I was doing with my pivot, so maybe that's why he never asked me to work on that one.

 

It's similar to GG's no throw right arm. My guess is that it's to ensure the chest opens to the target through impact, rather than a upper body stall with arm whack.

[PepsiDuck]

What do you all think?

 

I still have faith in your drivering.

[Hstead]

I wouldn't buy anything if I felt like I wasn't swinging normal and couldn't see the flight. Is there a reason the M2 isn't an option? I tested the 2016 M1 and M2 for about the last 8 weeks on the course only, no LM numbers, different shafts and 9.5 and 10.5 heads. I finally decided the M2 10.5 is the route I am going, ordered it yesterday.

 

I was going to hold off and get a fitting, trying both 16 and 17 Ms plus the Epics but I decided if the club is working on the course, playing for money, then that is the one I am going to trust vs indoor fitting. I have never owned a 10.5. The M2 10.5 would have been the last driver I thought I would have ordered.

[pinhigh27]

those places seem so expensive anyway. pay full price for driver, pay full price for shaft, pull full price for install and grip. you can spend 700- 1000 on a driver alone

 

I agree I wouldn't care about results of fitting if I couldn't see flight

[drewtaylor21]

I still have faith in your drivering.

 

Haha thanks Kelvin. That's the thing, I'm certainly happy with my driving overall, but I know I'm leaving 8-10 yards on the table, which obviously just sits in the back of my mind....

 

Trying to find that balance between getting some of that distance back and maintaining accuracy.

 

CSagan, Pin, Heath, and Redjeep, it sounds like you guys don't think I'd be crazy to contact Cool Clubs and see if they would offer any kind of deal on a re-fit? I don't like to complain to a company about something that wasn't really their fault, but I wasn't happy about the experience either.

 

Heath, I'm not sure why M2 wasn't an option, but I'd guess because I tend to spin the ball more off driver as it is. He left M2, PING, PXG and Xr16 in the trailer, probably all for that same reason.

[kyle75]

That's one thing that gets me when you do driver or wood fittings at places like Cool Clubs. Most of us are going to get a custom shaft when we do a fitting like that, so why can't they start with just a price for the head. Instead of starting at $499, why not have a head only price of $299 plus the custom shaft price. There was a thread last year, the OP went to Cool Clubs in Irvine, and by the time he was done spent almost $1200 for his driver. I think you should as Cool Clubs for a redo on your fitting, sounds like the conditions really interfered with your fitting.

[Hstead]

 

Haha thanks Kelvin. That's the thing, I'm certainly happy with my driving overall, but I know I'm leaving 8-10 yards on the table, which obviously just sits in the back of my mind....

 

Trying to find that balance between getting some of that distance back and maintaining accuracy.

 

CSagan, Pin, Heath, and Redjeep, it sounds like you guys don't think I'd be crazy to contact Cool Clubs and see if they would offer any kind of deal on a re-fit? I don't like to complain to a company about something that wasn't really their fault, but I wasn't happy about the experience either.

 

Heath, I'm not sure why M2 wasn't an option, but I'd guess because I tend to spin the ball more off driver as it is. He left M2, PING, PXG and Xr16 in the trailer, probably all for that same reason.

 

I spin it quite a bit. I used to always have to play 7.5 drivers back in the day, hence why I've never owned anything above 9.5. I think the M2 is low spin but more forgiving than the M1. I would throw it in the mix, you will be surprised. DJ switched from M1 to M2 and Rory and Tiger obviously were M2 guys.

[drewtaylor21]

That's one thing that gets me when you do driver or wood fittings at places like Cool Clubs. Most of us are going to get a custom shaft when we do a fitting like that, so why can't they start with just a price for the head. Instead of starting at $499, why not have a head only price of $299 plus the custom shaft price. There was a thread last year, the OP went to Cool Clubs in Irvine, and by the time he was done spent almost $1200 for his driver. I think you should as Cool Clubs for a redo on your fitting, sounds like the conditions really interfered with your fitting.

 

Yeah going into it I didn't really think I would buy directly from them, as their prices are as high as you can get. I did want to have at least two options with specs that I could source myself though, and I ended up with no options that I could trust. After the feedback here, I plan to reach out to them and see what my options are for a re-fit.

[CSagan]

My coach recommended m2 as well for me. It's what all the cool guys are doing.

[Jacob Mac]

I would ask for another fitting. And lesson learned, if something feels off just call it on the spot. Once it was in your head, you probably weren't going to have confidence in the fitting.

[drewtaylor21]

Played the KSig today on-course for the first time. Honestly it performed great from tee to green. Long off the tee, irons and full wedges all had appropriate spin. I will say spin was a touch low on half-wedges for me though. Had a couple 50 and 60 yard wedge shots that hopped and released a few feet when normally they would hop and check. Nothing problematic, but might be an issue to some.

 

We didn't have more than about 5mph wind the whole day, so I'm still curious to see how it holds up on a windy day, but I don't foresee it being an issue.

 

Durability was the only thing I wasn't necessarily impressed with, but it was still on par with any other urethane ball. Played one ball the whole day, and it just had a few scuff marks from a foray into the desert.

 

I will say that my drawn line on the ball faded off the cover much more with this ball than other premium level balls. Minor inconvenience. All in all, I could definitely play this ball and not feel like I was giving anything up compared to the other options we tested.

 

 

Also had the Directed Force in the bag for the first time today and although I had a very mediocre putting day, that was only on account of me not practicing putting in the last few months. Speed and reads were a tad off all day, but start line control and dispersion both felt very solid. It's not a night and day difference from my DLL, but it IS better and makes putting easier for me. I think with more practice on real greens I could see myself building some serious confidence with it.

 

Also, big picture: playing golf in 55* in January doesn't suck :)

[isaacbm]

Ugh. Sounds like you pretty much learned exactly nothing from your fitting.

 

I find for very good players, it's often hard to get an exact fit. And not really necessary either. You have to work within "areas."

 

If you're working on your

swing, a slight change can "unfit" what ever you're fit into. Nothing will ever be perfect because you'll never repeat the exact same swing from week to week.

 

So what I'd recommend is finding a shaft that you generally like the feel. Finding a head that you generally like the look/sound/setup. And find a length/weight that seems to fit your tempo.

 

There are likely 20 shafts that will perform almost identically for you so just find one that generally works and wing it.

 

The most important stat is always dispersion. For a guy swinging 120 ish (if I remember correctly??) gaining or losing a few yards is pretty much irrelevant. Shaft weight is often the fitting area that is most susceptible to slight changes in the way a player feels from day to day.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't get too worked up about any of it. If your swing is solid and in balance, you can pretty much hit anything considering the level you're at currently.

 

I'd spend the 800 on diapers and a necklace for the MRS!

[drewtaylor21]

There are likely 20 shafts that will perform almost identically for you so just find one that generally works and wing it.

 

I'd spend the 800 on diapers and a necklace for the MRS!

 

Haha both of these bits of advice are gold! Thanks Isaac :)

 

The new driver was supposed to be my Christmas present from the wife, so it'd be major brownie points to turn it around and buy her something....best idea I've heard all week man!

 

Funny, the fitter did say that a potentially decent option would be to just take the shaft I'm currently playing and put it in a new head (Epic). Pretty much exactly what you're saying. At the end of the day, I really don't NEED a new driver, it just feels like "about that time" as it's 3 or 4 years old now. Still performs though!

 

Also.... +4.5?!? I knew you had been burning it up on the course, but wow. Nicely done!

 

Thanks again for the input, it's appreciated!

[isaacbm]

There are likely 20 shafts that will perform almost identically for you so just find one that generally works and wing it.

 

I'd spend the 800 on diapers and a necklace for the MRS!

 

Haha both of these bits of advice are gold! Thanks Isaac :)

 

The new driver was supposed to be my Christmas present from the wife, so it'd be major brownie points to turn it around and buy her something....best idea I've heard all week man!

 

Funny, the fitter did say that a potentially decent option would be to just take the shaft I'm currently playing and put it in a new head (Epic). Pretty much exactly what you're saying. At the end of the day, I really don't NEED a new driver, it just feels like "about that time" as it's 3 or 4 years old now. Still performs though!

 

Also.... +4.5?!? I knew you had been burning it up on the course, but wow. Nicely done!

 

Thanks again for the input, it's appreciated!

 

I had a couple of 63's at the end of the season so that pads it a bit. Still averaging 73 in tournaments so that tells you my mental state!! Lol!

 

I remember the old story about Byron Nelson telling his wife he "needed "this new driver. She said to him "you have four drivers in the trunk of your car and I haven't had a new dress in nine months. ".

 

So they went dress shopping!!

He re-whipped the twine at the end of one of his drivers and went on to win 18 times that season !

 

I'm just saying, you can buy a pretty awesome driver shaft combination for 300 bucks. Diapers for six months, and still have enough money left over for diamond earrings !

[zenman4711]

On the fence about posting this, but figured I might as well, since I've updated you guys on everything else. Open to all your thoughts at the end!

 

Did a driver fitting at Cool Clubs in Irvine, CA yesterday. Going in I mainly wanted to try the Cobra King LTD, M1, and Epic. They didn't have the Cobra, and only had last year's M1 (I was hoping to compare both old and new), but they did have the Epic.

 

Originally I was scheduled for Thursday at 11am, but due to rain, they moved me to Friday at 11, which was fine. Then on Wednesday the forecast looked like Friday was going to get rain at 11-12am, so they moved me to 8am Friday, which I wasn't thrilled about. It was definitely on the cooler side, but not too bad. The main issue that arose was that the range looks directly into the rising sun, and there was a marine layer that hadn't quite burned off, which made the glare pretty intense. This was the biggest issue for me, as I literally couldn't see a single tee shot for about a half hour. They picked up everything on Trackman of course, but I was hitting blind and it really threw me off. Felt like I was hitting it decently in my warm up (I could see shots here) and at the beginning of the session, but after about 5-10 balls, I was lost. Without that visual feedback, I started losing everything right apparently, and didn't know what or how much I needed to do to bring it back. In hindsight, I should have asked to re-schedule, but it's a bit of a hassle getting down there and I had already been re-scheduled twice, so I just went with it (regretting that now).

 

Started out with my current driver and was hitting it a little thin/heely (1.47-1.48 smash, ~9* launch, 3000 spin). I saw the first few, then from the last 2 shots with my driver until the end of the session I didn't see any shot results "live." Went to M1 (2016 model) and was getting similar numbers, albeit higher launch (~12*). Tried the speeder evolution in 7x and 6x, AD-MT 6x, a Cool Clubs made-for mitsubishi shaft (60x) that I actually really liked and got good numbers with, but was hitting it even further right so the fitter didn't like it. I then tried a couple balls with the Titleist 917 D2. Nothing to report there. Then switched to the Epic. Hit an Accra z65x and Accra FX-260 and the FX-260 was all of a sudden doing really well. 12* launch and 2500 spin with a 2* to 1* face to path draw (I play a fade). At this point, the sun was just high enough that I was starting to see the ball again (probably 8:45am). I hit 2 more with this combo (Epic GBB, 10.5* with Accra FX-260, weight all the way in the draw setting) and the fitter was loving it. From my perspective, it did feel solid, and I was able to square it up nicely. Ball flight looked great, numbers great, all that. FWIW, ball speed went up 1 whole mph with the Epic :)

 

That was the only club that stuck out as a winner in the bunch that I hit, so I asked him if I could compare it head to head with my current gamer. Got up and hit the SLDR and it went VERY high and 2 miles right. I saw it and said "WHOA" it was such a shock. Hit another and same result. I couldn't help but think "this is the swing I've been putting on these shots for the last 30 minutes?!" Switched to the Epic, dead straight. Now, normally this would be great, but I am very accurate with my driver, so I knew that all the blind swings had really thrown me off and I wasn't putting my normal swing on anything. We were at the end of our session though, so he took me inside and talked options.

 

Now, full disclosure, I thought the fitter did a very nice job with what I was giving him. However, I don't feel like I gave him anything close to normal, and the ball flight that I finally saw at the end confirmed this. He did a nice job trying to provide options, and tried to provide options that were cheaper, not just the most exotic things available, so in no way am I faulting him or Cool Clubs. However, it feels like a waste of a fitting session from my perspective, as I don't trust that I'd be swinging the same way under normal conditions.

 

So, now I'm not sure what I want to do. I may do another fitting at the Taylor Made experience here in town, which is where I did my 3w fitting and enjoyed that process. I know most people love hitting outdoors, but after yesterday, I'm realizing I'm partial to fitting in a controlled environment. The nice thing with TM is they fit you indoors, but then you can take it outdoors at the end to see ballflight. I'm also thinking about just trying to test shafts in my SLDR to see if I can find one that lowers spin and ups launch a little bit. Finally, part of me just wants to work on hitting the ball just a bit higher on the face and sticking with my current setup, as that would accomplish the same thing! lol (this last option is what I'm leaning towards the most)

 

All in all, I'm annoyed with how things went down, but I know I'm still playing very good golf with what I've got, so I'm trying to be positive. I'm also not $800 poorer, so....win? :dntknw:

 

What do you all think?

 

I'd call and ask for a comp refitting. They know the range conditions there in the morning and shouldn't bother fitting before 10:00 in the winter hours. That's the range I go to twice a week and I never go there before 10:00 right now. Good luck with it.

[pinhigh27]

There are likely 20 shafts that will perform almost identically for you so just find one that generally works and wing it.

 

I'd spend the 800 on diapers and a necklace for the MRS!

 

Haha both of these bits of advice are gold! Thanks Isaac :)

 

The new driver was supposed to be my Christmas present from the wife, so it'd be major brownie points to turn it around and buy her something....best idea I've heard all week man!

 

Funny, the fitter did say that a potentially decent option would be to just take the shaft I'm currently playing and put it in a new head (Epic). Pretty much exactly what you're saying. At the end of the day, I really don't NEED a new driver, it just feels like "about that time" as it's 3 or 4 years old now. Still performs though!

 

Also.... +4.5?!? I knew you had been burning it up on the course, but wow. Nicely done!

 

Thanks again for the input, it's appreciated!

 

I had a couple of 63's at the end of the season so that pads it a bit. Still averaging 73 in tournaments so that tells you my mental state!! Lol!

 

I remember the old story about Byron Nelson telling his wife he "needed "this new driver. She said to him "you have four drivers in the trunk of your car and I haven't had a new dress in nine months. ".

 

So they went dress shopping!!

He re-whipped the twine at the end of one of his drivers and went on to win 18 times that season !

 

I'm just saying, you can buy a pretty awesome driver shaft combination for 300 bucks. Diapers for six months, and still have enough money left over for diamond earrings !

 

I agree. 300 buys you most modern drivers with a hot shaft in pretty good shape. Usually every year I buy the last years cobra head ( so for example this year I bought a fly-z+ head at start of year) for like 70-80 bucks in great shape. Can get a pretty good shaft with the tip on for 100-150. Once you find your shaft it's 70-80 bucks for a basically new driver every year. Love it.

 

Totally agree about the shafts. Give me something low launch low spin and it performs very similar for me. I went from prolaunch blue 75X tipped an inch, to rogue 110 70X, to Hzrdus black 75 6.5 and performed very similarly. I know people say prolaunch blue is harsh and rogue is supposed to be opposite but I really didn't notice much difference. I think it's a lot of people justifying thier purchases.

[pinhigh27]

Not much different than cars though I guess. Can spend like 60k on a tahoe or get one a year old for half price, guess just depends on how much dough you've got

[Hstead]

I am getting a brand new 2016 M2 with a White Tie shaft, custom ordered for $250.

[Schnee]

I am getting a brand new 2016 M2 with a White Tie shaft, custom ordered for $250.

 

Killer price.