#TaylorMadeTuesday at The Kingdom, Feb 26-28, 2017 (pics added pg1,16,19 & 20)

[drewtaylor21]

Brian and Andrew--- were you guys surprised that they fit you into such high loft on your drivers?

 

Mine is a 9.5 turned down 1 notch, not really high loft IMO. I posted a pic earlier in the thread of one of the other guy's tour issue heads that had the stamped loft on it and it was up in the 11's (might have been Brian's!), so my apologies if I threw you off. My driver didn't have the tour issued measurements on it, I just wanted to post a TI pic lol.

[TinkerGolfMan]

So jealous of the winners!

[Wall-E]

BCULAW TRIP REPORT - TAYLORMADE TUESDAY (FEBRUARY 14, 26-28, 2017)

 

FEBRUARY 14, 2017: SO . . . WANT TO GO TO THE KINGDOM?

 

February 14 started out like any other day. I woke up early, help my wife get our girls ready for school, and settled in for a cup of coffee before getting ready to go to the gym. Scrolling through emails . . . hmmm . . . PM from a GolfWRX member. I'm not selling anything in the classifieds. What's up?

 

"So . . . do you want to go to the Kingdom?"

 

And just like that, the day went from something very ordinary to something very different.

 

Heart beat increases.

 

Adrenaline rush.

 

Huge smile streaks across my face.

 

Skepticism sets in.

 

Me: "Are you kidding me?"

 

George (aka "HipCheck"): "100% legit"

 

At this point, I am absolutely on cloud nine. Can't sit down. Pacing the house with nervous energy. I might have thrown in a Tiger-esque fist pump or two. Then, reality check.

 

You see, my wife's birthday is February 26 - the day the trip is scheduled to begin. For the first time in our "married and parents" life, we arranged an overnight babysitter for our 2 girls so we could take a quick "staycation" to celebrate. Hotel is booked. Dinner reservations made. Now, I am faced with breaking plans for my wife's birthday or missing out on a golf trip of a lifetime. Long story short, she couldn't be happier for me. I have literally been telling anyone who would listen for years that I wanted to go to the Kingdom, and she knew what I big deal this was for me. I will owe her big for a long time! This was truly going to be the golf trip of a lifetime for an equipment geek like me.

 

WHO IS THIS BCULAW GUY, ANYWAY?

 

So, before getting into the trip, I thought a little introduction might be in order. My name is Brian Christopher Ussery ("BCU") + I am a lawyer ("LAW") = "BCULAW"

 

I'm a 43 year old, father of two. I practice law in Richmond, VA. I've been married nearly 17 years to my best friend. I am a former minor league baseball player that actually spent a brief stint 20 years ago playing in Lake Elsinore, CA - about an hour from the Kingdom. I was pumped to go back to SoCal. I had a series of heart attacks a few years back at the ripe old age of 37 that changed my life and my perspective for the better. Golf is my therapy and my chance to find peace, quiet, time away, and fun.

 

I love golf, and absolutely love golf equipment, but I am a "guy that golfs" and not a "golfer." The difference being that I'm a decent stick, but I am not a "player" when it is all said and done. I've been on the GolfWRX Board since 2005 (member #2307) and I can say with near certainty that I have visited the site nearly every day since that time. I love blades and wedges, I suck at putting (more on that later), and the Kingdom has been very, very high on my bucket list for years.

 

That's me on the right with the gray top.

 

 

 

 

FEB. 26, 2017: CHRISTMAS DAY IN FEBRUARY!!!

 

I can sum up my excitement for this trip very briefly: My wife and I went out to celebrate our birthday (mine was 2/25, hers 2/26) and I had a couple of bottles of wine (check the picture above, I am built like Shrek) and at least one cocktail. My flight was scheduled to depart at 5:15 AM. I had a 3:30 wake up call. I didn't need it. AT ALL.

 

I got into San Diego at approximately 10:30 AM local time and quickly found an Uber to the resort. TaylorMade put us up at the Park Hyatt Aviara. I purposely didn't research the resort or the golf course before the trip. I wanted to be surprised, and the place didn't disappoint.

 

Aviara Entrance

 

 

Park Hyatt Aviara Entrance

 

 

 

Room

 

 

View from Balcony

 

 

The first order of business was In-N-Out Burger. I hooked up with George ("GC70") and we set out to find transportation. One of the resort employees overheard that we were going to grab food and immediately said that either he or his buddy would be happy to take care of us since it was a short distance away. I didn't know how to take his comment - was he going to call a shuttle, was he going to roll up in his personal vehicle? As it turned out, his buddy pulled up in a brand new, black BMW 7 series (still with dealer tags) to chauffeur me and George through the In-N-Out drive thru. Our driver turned out to be a former minor league ball player, and we hit it off right away. The burger run ended up being somewhat of a preview of the hospitality we received at the resort and throughout the entire trip - from my Uber drivers, to the resort employees, to all the guys at TM HQ and the Kingdom - everyone just seemed happy and you left your interactions with them feeling happy to have met them.

 

We met the entire crew in the resort lobby for introductions at 4:00. GolfWRX was represented by Zak Kozochowski and Brian Knudsen. Zak played college golf at University of Richmond (where I now live). He's a helluva stick and an even better guy. Brian held court with stories about past trips and workplace interactions among the WRX team that had us all in stitches within minutes of arrival. You can tell WRX is an awesome place to work and the guys truly enjoy one another's company - though it seems the needle is always on standby ready to poke. When they hit you, they hit as hard as Morgan Hoffman hits his 3 wood (inside joke).

 

From Left to Right: George Cellette (GC70), Darrin Sloan (DNice26), Zak Kozuchowski, Chris Schneeweiss (Schnee), Brian Knudson

 

 

We headed over for drinks and dinner at Chandler's around 5:30. Craft beers, great appetizers - best calamari I've ever had - and great entrees.

 

We got to meet our hosts for the weekend - Jory Mendes, TaylorMade's Global Communications Manager, and Ryan Lauder, TaylorMade's Director of Consumer Engagement. Jory has a wealth of knowledge of all things TaylorMade - he answered every question thrown his way and made clear from start to finish that he wanted us to ask away. His goal for the trip was to make us feel like part of the team for the duration of the trip. Ryan moved to California from the U.K. a few years ago, and held court throughout dinner with stories about the Euro Tour players and the inner workings of the company.

 

What struck me during our first dinner together is that both of these guys are truly proud of the team, the staff players, and the Company. TaylorMade is on a great run right now with DJ and JDay currently at #1 and #2 in the OWGR, and with recent wins from Sergio, Jon Rahm, and DJ. There is excitement to see what Tiger brings to the table, and the guys at TM believe that Rahm has potential to be their next great player.

 

An interesting tidbit about Rahm: I've always assumed that player sponsorship decisions - which players a company chooses to pursue - were fairly straightforward. You follow a player and try to project success based on prior accomplishments and potential for future success. It is apparently far more analytical, though, and relies heavily on metrics and statistical data. Far more scientific than I expected. It appears, based on our conversations with the TaylorMade guys, that they are really excited about Rahm and Beau Hossler, but Rahm, in particular, projects off the charts according to their metrics.

 

Throughout dinner, we listened to stories about the team and the tour - which players are heavily involved in the equipment process and which ones stay out of it. What products we may or may not see in the future.

It was a fantastic ice breaker, and a great appetizer for what was coming.

 

Jory Mendes

 

 

Brian Knudson

 

 

Darrin (DNice26) and Ryan Lauder

 

 

Andrew (DrewTaylor21) and Chris Schneeweiss (Schnee)

 

 

It's almost game time!

 

 

FEBRUARY 27, 2017: WE ARE FAMILY

 

PART 1 - A VISIT TO TAYLORMADE HEADQUARTERS - CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA

 

You can imagine our excitement when we woke up Monday morning. Unfortunately, we woke up to very wet surroundings. It had rained all night and was raining through the morning as we prepared to leave the resort to go to tailor-made headquarters. The rain continued throughout the day without any let up - absolute deluge. The cashier at the resort gift shop told me she received 4" of rain at her house. It was wet!

 

Don't think for one second that anyone was any less excited about what we were about to do.

 

I'm going to wet the pictures do the talking for a lot of this portion of the post, but let me say that the TaylorMade entrance and lobby is what you would expect of a global golf brand. You could spend an entire morning just checking out the lobby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The TMAG Boys can PLAY!

 

 

 

PART 2 - The TaylorMade Tour Department

 

Our next stop during the visit was a trip inside the TaylorMade tour department. To set the stage, once you leave the lobby, you walk into a HUGE warehouse space divided into various segments. The largest is devoted to retail operations, where the Company's retail goods are stored, sometimes assembled, packaged, etc. Thousands of boxes of all things golf on massive shelves everywhere. To the right, however, is a much smaller segment of the facility where the tour department techs build clubs for the staff players. If you think nit would be cool to see this workshop, you would be correct. Components everywhere - heads, shafts, grips - some identical to retail, some very different - all ready to be assembled and put in play by the world's best players. The workshop is set up for efficiency and precision, with the utmost detail to quality. As we were told, no one at that company wants to tune in to watch DJ hammer a drive only to see his driver head rolling down the fairway due to poor build quality or poor components. The guys working on these clubs are some of the best in the business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jory Mendes

 

 

Chandler Carr

 

 

Part 3 - Next Stop - the Kingdom!

 

Let me start by saying that I have wanted to go to the Kingdom forever. It is at or near the top of my dream golf trip. Short of playing Augusta or St. Andrews, there is not much else I would rather do in the game of golf. Having a fitting from the tour fitters and having access for clubs that you know were built to your exacting specifications is an equipment junky's dream come true. I don't ever dream of being a tour pro because . . . well . . . I'm not awesome at golf. But, I do dream of being treated like one, and that is what the Kingdom is all about.

 

First off, the facility is gorgeous - exudes high end class and elegance and the practice facilities are the nicest I have seen.

 

 

 

 

When we arrived in the facility, we were ushered into ahigh-end clubhouse-style locker area, where each us of received a designated locker complete with our own name tag. The entire facility was covered in memorabilia - limited edition staff bags, an original TaylorMade driver, a memorial to Jim Flick, and numerous photos and other reminders from recent staff pro victories. We received a welcome and brief tour from Tom Kroll, TaylorMade's Director Experiential and Training, who also introduced us to TaylorMade's team of fitters as we prepared for the business at hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 4 - TP5 and TP5X - THE MOST COMPLETE TOUR BALL

 

After getting settled in, Michael Fox, TaylorMade's Category Director - Golf Balls and Accessories, and Eric Loper, TaylorMade's Director of Product Development - R&D Golf Ball, provided us with a presentation on TaylorMade's new line of tour level golfballs; the TP5 and TP5X. We've been discussing these balls throughout the thread. Long story short, they are impressive. Here's the presentation (at least the portions I can share with you!! Only three days in and already receiving benefits from the faMily!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all spend time hitting the TP model golf balls against our current gamers including the Pro V1 and Pro V1x, and the B330 and B330s. TaylorMade set up a camera crew to capture footage of the test and the results. There is a possibility that they might use the footage in future marketing campaigns or commercials. I feel quite certain that I won't be on TV or in any of their ads, though. As I mentioned in another post in this thread, I absolutely froze up in front of the camera. I was like a deer in the headlights. I was like Ricky Bobby in Talledega Nights - I didn't know what to do with my hands! It was a nightmare!

 

As a result, I probably showed the least gains of any of the members that participated in the test. But, I did show increased performance with the TP5 over the Pro V1 I usually play. I had better ball speed and distance with the TM Ball. We all received a dozen of each ball to bring home to test. I'm anxious to get them out on my home course to see how they compare. I will say that I drove the ball as well yesterday as I have in quite some time, and my launch angle seem to be really good, which is a rarity for me as a low launch/high spin driver of a golf ball. Better yet, I could play the ball without any sacrifice in the feel. It feels great. That's a big one for me.

 

 

Here's a great video of Jon Rahm's initial testing with the ball. It is not a stretch to say all of our guys had similar results.

 

 

Part 5 - Putter Fitting

 

I think the highlight of the day for me was the putter fitting with Duane Anderson in TaylorMade's new MAT-t Putter lab. I am a TERRIBLE putter, and I always have been. I played for a month with no putter in the bag, preferring to use the belly of my 60* wedge. I'm fairly certain I didn't suffer any decline in performance, and that should tell you all you need to know.

 

The MAT-t system uses multiple cameras over a roughly 25 foot indoor putting green to create a 3d image and video of your stroke in order to determine whether inconsistencies in aim, stroke, fit, etc., are causing you to miss putts. In my case, it was all of the above. Duane was a saint - a patient teacher who spent plenty of time figuring out both the cause of my miss and its cure. I have two significant issues with my stroke: First, I set up with the toe high, regardless of the putter's specs. Second, I add significant loft at impact. Ad the loft from my stroke to the loft of most putters, and I am essentially "laying up" on every green (more accurately, I am chipping with my putter). In addition, I tended to aim 2 balls left of center on nearly every putt, and pulled most putts another 2 balls left. Essentially, I had to hit a bad putt in order to make anything.

 

The MAT-t system was an instant cure. Duane handed me multiple putters in various styles and lengths, and all provided nearly identical numbers. Left, left, left, left, left. Then, lightning struck. With the 5th putter Duane handed me - a 35" TaylorMade TP Collection Berwick - my aim suddenly centered and so did my stroke. I went from pulling everything to suddenly hitting nearly every putt exactly where I was looking, which was center of the hole. Take off 2* of loft and I plan on making a bunch with this one!

 

My man, Duane!!

 

 

 

 

 

Part 6 - Driver Fitting

 

The next major hole in my game is off the tee. As I mentioned above, I am a high spin/low launch player off the tee. The result is short carry due to lack of launch/height and little roll due to spin. I hit my driver MUCH shorter than I should at my swing speed. My recent attempts to combat these issues was to find a driver I could launch and carry, regardless of spin. That driver was a Titleist 915D2 with Aldila Rogue Black 95 70 stiff. My strategy: bunt it around the course. For reference, during the ball test, I was swinging 94-96 with a 6 iron, but only 102-103 with the driver in an attempt to control what was obviously a too whippy/too spinny club.

 

We started out with the M1 D type with a Fuji Tour Spec of some sort in extra stiff at -1". I did not ask many questions about the shaft, as I was trying not to let emotion influence the fitting process. My guess is that my swing characteristics are so similar to Andrew's (drewtaylor21) that putting me in the same head was a "no brainer." I kid. I kid. Andrew is a good 40-50 yards longer than me off the tee, and makes me feel like I should take up knitting or enroll in spelling contests when I hit balls next to him. The results with this combo were a lot of low pulls. I simply could not elevate it enough to make it playable. Jason went next door and found a new combo - 10.5* M1 460 with Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 6x, again at -1" (44.75"). The improvement was almost immediate. I found a groove for a bit and started getting some much better results. We tinkered with the length a bit - going back to standard and then even shorter at 44" - and even tinkered with the weight and flex, but Jason was quickly convinced that the AD-DI was the right fit. Basedd on my on-course play yesterday, it would seem he is pretty spot on. After a couple of holes to adjust and tinker with the settings, I settled into a very solid driving round until my back tightened up on 16. I turned 43 on Saturday, and felt every bit of 75 by the end of yesterday's round, but the driver performed really well. I can't wait to get it on the home course to see if I can find some new areas of the fairway.

 

After the testing, Chandler took us across the street back to build our clubs - COR tested, hand picked heads from the Tour Department. The guys over there are outrageous in their efficiency and attention to detail. Start to finish. the driver was built in roughly 15-20 minutes. A couple of photos of the process:

 

 

 

 

 

Part 7 - Ball Manufacturing Facility and Double Top Secret Room of Wonderful Inventions:

 

Not to be vague here, but the afternoon was spent getting access to some of TaylorMade's most proprietary R&D facilities, and we simply are not at liberty to share much. I will say that TaylorMade HQ houses a small batch ball manufacturing facility where the Golf Ball R&D team can manufacture their own golf balls for tinkering and testing - everything from (I presume) tinkering with the recipes to shooting balls out of a cannon at a block of concrete to test durability. The place houses a bunch of mad scientists who were kind enough to share insight into their daily tasks and give us a sense of the passion and energy they bring to creating golf balls from idea to reality.

 

As for the Double Top Secret Room of Wonderful Inventions, let me just say that it was both mind blowing and life changing, and if you are ever as fortunate as I am (and as good looking, charming, funny, charismatic, macho, athletic, etc.) to be provided access, then count yourself lucky. Until you are, however, I am not at liberty to discuss it with you.

 

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha !!!!!!

 

Part 8 - Chilling with the Fellas

 

After the tour, the hour was getting late and energy levels were running low, so we went back over to the Kingdom for a little R&R with a Trackman and a room full of demo clubs. It was just golfers being golfers, and it was a blast. Perry Dickey was kind enough to humor our games and side bets as we all tried to max out our ball speed with a 3 iron, tried to hit various fades/punches, draws, etc., and generally resorted to trash talking and other various forms of ball busting at the end of a long and awesome day.

 

I failed to bring advil, so beers - many beers - were in order. On to Dinner!

 

 

Part 9: Drinks at Barrel Republic and Dinner at Campfire

 

After a quick stop back at the hotel to clean up, we all met at Barrel Republic for drinks before dinner. For anyone not familiar with the concept, the place has dozens of craft beer selections set out in "self-serve" style. You waive a wristband in front of a motion sensor and pour. Drink. Repeat. I didn't get brave enough to try the old "suicide" with multiple beers poured into a single glass - remember the old slushie suicides we used to get as kids! I did try an awesome stout called Old Chubb that was 8% ABV. My back felt better almost immediately, so a couple of more were definitely in order.

 

After a couple of rounds, we walked a couple of blocks over to Campfire for heavy appetizers (including duck liver pate - not my favorite) and an phenomenal meat pie that I would not hesitate to order again. We traded golf stories, but mostly spent time digesting the day's events and getting to know our hosts and new friends better. I got to chat at length with Brian and Zak prior to dinner. I sat next to Mike Fox for dinner and had a great conversation with him. After dinner, a couple of more beers at Barrel Republic and an Uber back to the hotel wrapped up a fantastic day!

 

 

 

 

 

Part 10: The Day's Haul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEBRUARY 28, 2017: AVIARA (AKA: GOLF PARADISE)

 

To wind up the trip, we were all treated to a round of golf at Aviara Golf Club. As I mentioned earlier, I intentionally did not research the course, as I wanted to be surprised at every step on the way. I assumed the course would be great. I was not expecting what I saw when we got there. The course was beautifully landscaped with flowers, tropical foliage, and waterfalls everywhere. It was challenging, with elevation changes, difficult green complexes, and demanding dog legs. It was in fantastic shape - especially given how much rain we got the day before.

 

I was paired with Andrew - again, I assume the powers that be thought I would be an equivalent golfing talent with similar distance off the tee. If that is the case, they were dead wrong. For those that have never seen Andrew play, all I can say is "WOW!" He kills the ball off the tee, and has a fantastic swing - we are talking legitimate tour caliber ball and swing speeds, with a shot trajectory unlike anything I've ever seen. His driver are basically mortar shots that routinely carry over 300 yards. Better yet, he's a gentleman and a great guy to hang out with. We had a blast!

 

We got paired up with Tom Kroll and Ryan Lauder from Taylormade. I mentioned both of them earlier, but would just reiterate that they are both great players and even better hosts. Tom is a former touring professional with (I think I heard) a couple of decades of experience at TaylorMade - Tom, I apologize if I am aging you or over stating that number. He's a stick and a character that knows everyone in Carlsbad, it would seem. Ryan is the kind of golfer that sneaks up on you, which is to say that you get into shooting the breeze with him, having some laughs, talking some trash, and tend to overlook the fact that he is waxing you by multiple strokes. If I recall correctly, he was +3 through 15 yesterday and did it without breaking a sweat. He's also a California transplant from the UK that had to suffer through 70* and sunny yesterday while his family across the pond played in the snow. I got the sense he was pleased with his move.

 

Bottom line is that we had a PHENOMENAL time on the course. The pictures tell the story!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARCH 1, 2013 - THANK YOU TO ALL

 

I want to first thank our hosts at TaylorMade for the golf trip of a lifetime. Ryan and Jory went above and beyond to show us a great time and to give us a peak into the TaylorMade culture and brand. I have to believe that their job was made EXTREMELY difficult by the weather, and I would like to just say that their efforts did not go unnoticed. Learning about, and testing the new products was awesome. The driver and putter fitting was really cool. The facility tour - especially the Tour Department and Ball Manufacturing facility - was a highlight for me. More than anything, though, it was just fun getting to know these guys and seeing them in their element. I am sure all of them face challenges at work, but they all sure seemed to enjoy what they do. I've been smiling ear to ear since February 14 when I learned I had been selected, and I don't see the smile going away any time soon.

 

Word is that all the attendees will be taken care of with some additional "care package" items in the very near future, including a full 14 club set. I can't wait, and am excited to bring more thorough reviews of all of these products in the coming weeks. Needless to say, TaylorMade's generosity in essentially outfitting us like a staff member is above and beyond.

 

A special thanks to Jory Mendes, Ryan Lauder, Tom Kroll, Mike Fox, Duane Anderson, Eric Loper, Chandler Carr, Kurt Donahoo, TJ Balhoun, Josh Hurst, Kim Johnson, and all the others who played a hand in planning and executing this special event. It really was a special trip and I can't thank you all enough for your work and generosity.

 

 

Next, I want to thank our hosts from WRX - Zak and Brian. As hard as it is for us to believe, this is work for these guys. It takes them away from family, and keeps them busy for weeks in advance preparing to ensure that we receive the VIP treatment. Thank you both for your hard work and for being such generous hosts this week. I'll display my new WRX stickers proudly on my car, and look forward to interacting with both of you in the future. Look me up next time you are over this way!

 

Finally, a big shout out to the #TaylorMadeTuesday gang (AKA the Fantastic 5, AKA the bringers of rain). It is amazing that you can build such good friendships over such a short amount of time. A big shout out to George, who is as geeked about equipment as anyone I have ever met. I hope we get to enjoy a burger and a round of golf again someday. To my man, Darrin, who swings like Jimmie Walker (check out the finish in the Aviara pictures above) and my boy Schnee, who let me borrow his room yesterday while I waited to leave for my red eye flight last night - I had a great time meeting you both. We live close enough that a future golf event needs to be in the works! And to Andrew, an all-around great guy and fantastic golfer who I fully expect to see in a future TM commercial, I had an awesome time playing with you yesterday, and I'll pay you the $10 I owe you at some point. Really. I promise. Ha Ha!

 

The #TaylorMadeTuesday Crew!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Great Photos! Thanks for sharing.

[Ed Settle]

BCULAW! Wow man, what a freakin' fantastic write up! Between yours and Andrew's I was just envisioning being a part of that group enjoying myself just as much as you guys did. My only gripe...

 

You can imagine our excitement when we woke up Monday morning. Unfortunately, we woke up to very wet surroundings. It had rained all night and was raining through the morning as we prepared to leave the resort to go to tailor-made headquarters. The rain continued throughout the day without any let up - absolute deluge. The cashier at the resort gift shop told me she received 4" of rain at her house. It was wet!

 

What in 8.6lb Baby Jesus's name is this blasphemy?!?! :fie: :cheesy:

 

Excited to hear what's in store with the departing goodie bags! Oh man, how much I wish I could enjoy the self-serve style of craft beers, ESPECIALLY in San Diego, one of the Mecca's! Next to Portland and Denver, hah!

 

Yeah. That was embarrassing. That's what i get for trying to use the dictation feature on my phone with spell check to do my report. I fixed it and all is right with the world again.

 

And you'd think as often as I have said Taylor made to my diction function it would know that that's how I wanted to spell it. But I've had to do that for years! Now I just say TM instead!

 

Great write up! Sounds like you guys had a blast no matter what mother nature had for you. And it is all about the contacts that you make on the trip, with fellow WRXers and OEMs. Great stuff!

[BCULAW]

Just went through this whole thread. A lot of good info in here but bummed about the weather for you guys. Still an unreal experience! Nice job on the reviews as well! Looking forward to seeing if I get fit into an m1/2 later this month

 

Looking at the numbers from the tp5/5x tests, it looks like the added distance is from better launch conditions, not from added ball speed. Is that right? I only ask because some were claiming pretty big ball speed increases

 

Better launch conditions was absolutely the case for me. To be fair, I didn't give them much to work with. My first swings in 2 weeks were with a camera in my face after spending 10 hours on planes the day before. I gave them a VERY small sample size of good swings to work with. But, I showed a slightly lower ball speed but an increase in distance of almost 3 yards with a six iron.

 

They gave us a really great explanation of how it was important for them to keep the ball fast, while preserving things like feel, sound, launch and spin. The core of the TP5 is extremely soft - like 16 compression if I recall correctly. It would be like hitting a marshmallow with an iron. So they use the other layers, which have increasing resiliency, to retain speed, while the core and the cover contribute to the great feel and sound. The TP5x has a firmer core - I want to say in the high 20s or low 30s - but it is still low compared to the competition.

[BCULAW]

Brian and Andrew--- were you guys surprised that they fit you into such high loft on your drivers?

 

I wasn't. I launch the ball very low with the driver, but I have a lot of spin. I have always played a lower loft to fight spin, but they were able to get my spin down with a combination of the shaft and forward weighting. The last few swings, I was launching in the 10* range and spin around 2100 IIRC - this was with a 10.5* driver - and those are about the best numbers I have seen.

 

That said, I did not his the driver consistently during the fitting. My plan was to play after I got in on Sunday before the fitting on Monday, and I really should have done that just to break up the tightness from the trip. I did not really start making good swings until late in the day on Monday, so I was concerned about how true the fitting was. On the course, though, I hit the driver great. I didn't miss the middle of the face for the majority of the round, which was a nice feeling. The driver felt and sounded fantastic and went right where I was looking for the most part.

[BCULAW]

Brian and Andrew--- were you guys surprised that they fit you into such high loft on your drivers?

 

Mine is a 9.5 turned down 1 notch, not really high loft IMO. I posted a pic earlier in the thread of one of the other guy's tour issue heads that had the stamped loft on it and it was up in the 11's (might have been Brian's!), so my apologies if I threw you off. My driver didn't have the tour issued measurements on it, I just wanted to post a TI pic lol.

 

It was mine. IIrC, the actual loft was like 11.5 or 11.7.

[robrey85]

Finally got home! In one piece and with my golf bag! Let me tell you how my trip home went down. Flight from San Diego to Denver went well, no issues..out on time, in on time. Denver to NY however turned into another nightmare of sorts. Delayed 1.5 hrs due to weather in the east. No worries, is what it is. Finally get out and half way into the trip, Captain comes on and says the front landing gear was questionable and made odd sounds during take off. So as a precaution they decided to re-route our landing from la guardia to Newark. Newark has a longer landing strip in case something happens on landing. Oh, and there will be fire trucks ready in case there is a fire! WTF...fire! Wheels turning (in my head), especially given my flight into San Diego. Anyway, we land in one piece thankfully, with an army of fire trucks flanking the runway as we come down. Good times. Now we head to the gate, only to find out they booked a new flight to La Guardia from Newark. #*%+ if I'm getting back on a plane, especially after re-routing my wife (with 2 yr old) coming to pick me up. Find out my bags are going to La Guardia...choice to make now....put in a request for bags to ship to my house tomorrow or drive to La Guardia to get my bags. I put in the request and started off for home. Stopped for dinner with wife and child in Fort Lee. After dinner, figured I couldn't leave my beloved sticks alone in La Guardia! Lol...traffic looked better, so we went for it. Get to the airport and i see a woman on my flight walking out...knew i was in the right place. Run full speed into the baggage claim area and see my bags sitting on the turn style. Run outside to catch my wife being ushered away by those damn arrival lane security guards. She starts driving by not seeing me (i didnt have my phone). I start screaming her name and running as fast as i can to catch up to her, with golf bag in tow and my other bag in hand. Finally she hit a red light after about 40 yards...got her. Jump in the car and off we went....

Got the above email on the drive home and I figure it is for free under wear dry cleaning.

 

What.....a......day.

 

PS: i'm absolutely buried at work because of this excursion, so I'll do my best to get my review up by this weekend. Sorry guys.

 

Holy hell! Remind me never to fly with you, lol. I'd be like ...

[Dave D]

looks like such an amazing trip and super jealous of you all!

 

great write ups from everyone, top work keeping us posted

 

I'm not a big TM fan but damn that ball has be questioning the dark side

[cbrwn425]

Looks liked a great trip. Like everyone else I was constantly checking this thread throughout the day. After what everyone said I'm really excited to try the new tp5/x out

[zakkozuchowski]

Guys,

 

Here are some of the photos I took on the trip for all to enjoy.

 

[swizbeatz]

Brian and Andrew--- were you guys surprised that they fit you into such high loft on your drivers?

 

Mine is a 9.5 turned down 1 notch, not really high loft IMO. I posted a pic earlier in the thread of one of the other guy's tour issue heads that had the stamped loft on it and it was up in the 11's (might have been Brian's!), so my apologies if I threw you off. My driver didn't have the tour issued measurements on it, I just wanted to post a TI pic lol.

 

It was mine. IIrC, the actual loft was like 11.5 or 11.7.

 

 

I'm actually surprised I don't see more people playing higher loft drivers. If you find a low spin head I think many people could benefit from more loft, I've been playing 12.5* for a few years.

[joekelli]

I can't believe it has been 6 years since I got to go on this same trip!!!!

 

All the pics bring back so many memories!

[Puppetmaster]

Love the pictures, Zak, thanks for posting. Very nice touch by TM with those lockers.

 

With that Tiger Woods bag, hope it doesn't church the rumor mill saying he's moving to M2 irons now... :)

 

Now we just have to wait for someone to quote the entire post with "Cool pics!" at the bottom.

[HipCheck]

I can't believe it has been 6 years since I got to go on this same trip!!!!

 

All the pics bring back so many memories!

 

OMG is it really? I'm getting (am) old!

[Schnee]

Love the pictures, Zak, thanks for posting. Very nice touch by TM with those lockers.

 

With that Tiger Woods bag, hope it doesn't church the rumor mill saying he's moving to M2 irons now... :)

 

Now we just have to wait for someone to quote the entire post with "Cool pics!" at the bottom.

 

I was so tempted to do it as a joke. But I hate when people do that!

[joekelli]

I can't believe it has been 6 years since I got to go on this same trip!!!!

 

All the pics bring back so many memories!

 

OMG is it really? I'm getting (am) old!

 

It was March of 2011 when we went on the Kingdom trip. We all got R11's plus other swag. Now it seems on every trip the guys get full bags, crazy how things have changed! But the cool thing was that we got a lesson from Jim Flick... R.I.P.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/455532-golf-wrx-taylormade-adidas-golf-kingdom-visit/page__hl__%20joekelli%20%20kingdom

[QuickFeet]

Love the pictures, Zak, thanks for posting. Very nice touch by TM with those lockers.

 

With that Tiger Woods bag, hope it doesn't church the rumor mill saying he's moving to M2 irons now... :)

 

Now we just have to wait for someone to quote the entire post with "Cool pics!" at the bottom.

 

LOL.......that is the TaylorMade suggested setup for Tiger when he is Senior Tour eligible..........if he is even playing golf at that point.

[BluehoseGolf]

Love the pictures, Zak, thanks for posting. Very nice touch by TM with those lockers.

 

With that Tiger Woods bag, hope it doesn't church the rumor mill saying he's moving to M2 irons now... :)

 

Now we just have to wait for someone to quote the entire post with "Cool pics!" at the bottom.

 

I was so tempted to do it as a joke. But I hate when people do that!

 

Schnee, have you written a review or have I just missed it?

[Schnee]

Love the pictures, Zak, thanks for posting. Very nice touch by TM with those lockers.

 

With that Tiger Woods bag, hope it doesn't church the rumor mill saying he's moving to M2 irons now... :)

 

Now we just have to wait for someone to quote the entire post with "Cool pics!" at the bottom.

 

I was so tempted to do it as a joke. But I hate when people do that!

 

Schnee, have you written a review or have I just missed it?

 

I'll be posting my review most likely tonight. Issues with the wifi on the plane.

[Xander_Reigns]

Great pics guys! Must have been a great experience!

[tbowles411]

These trips are so fun. Love them!

[Buckets87]

Thanks for the great write ups and behind the scenes pics! The Kingdom looks amazing. Looking forward to hearing more reviews of the sticks once you guys get some more playing time with them.

[bd59]

Looks like everyone had a blast. Interested in what you guys thought about the P770/750s?

[BCULAW]

Looks like everyone had a blast. Interested in what you guys thought about the P770/750s?

 

Stay tuned. I think we will have more information in the coming weeks. Due to the weather, we didn't get to spend as much time with them as TM had planned for us. I hit the 750s and am very interested in them. I wrote some initial thoughts on them a few pages back. Most of the other guys hit the 770s. I heard really positive comments on the feel from pretty much everyone. Like I said, keep popping in on this post. I think we will have a lot more info to share on the irons in the coming weeks.

[drewtaylor21]

Guys,

 

Here are some of the photos I took on the trip for all to enjoy.

 

Thanks Zak, these are great!

 

Signed,

 

155

[knudson81]

Guys,

 

Here are some of the photos I took on the trip for all to enjoy.

 

Thanks Zak, these are great!

 

Signed,

 

155

 

Wow! Burn!

[BCULAW]

Guys,

 

Here are some of the photos I took on the trip for all to enjoy.

 

Thanks Zak, these are great!

 

Signed,

 

155

 

Ha Ha Ha!!!!

 

(For those out of the loop, Andrew managed 155mph ball speed with a 3 iron on track man. Zach could only "manage" to get up to 152. For reference, I'm like 147 with a driver.).

 

 

[CheckJV]

Guys,

 

Here are some of the photos I took on the trip for all to enjoy.

 

Thanks Zak, these are great!

 

Signed,

 

155

 

Wow! Burn!

 

I achieved 160 with an iron once but it was an overhand throw.

[robrey85]

Guys,

 

Here are some of the photos I took on the trip for all to enjoy.

 

Thanks Zak, these are great!

 

Signed,

 

155

 

Ha Ha Ha!!!!

 

(For those out of the loop, Andrew managed 155mph ball speed with a 3 iron on track man. Zach could only "manage" to get up to 152. For reference, I'm like 147 with a driver.).

 

Hahah, ouch! Sounds like we need to schedule a WRX event in the near future so Zak can get some revenge!