MD/DC/VA Golfers - Twelve Monkeys Mental Divergence

[TheCityGame]

It's not like it's the Shop of Great Deals or anything. Like you said. . .it's really well laid out, they have a TON of stuff. Staff is good. I have a problem with the launch monitors there.

The prices (buy or sell) are all in that zone, "I could do better if I wanted to put in some work, but I also don't feel like I'm getting ripped off, so, ok."

[TheCityGame]

This is the early leader for "PGA Instagram of the Year". It gets a little funnier every time. I keep waiting for the kid in the background to react, and he stands there like he's seen it 10 times already.

[FAbb]

You think the Trackman is inflating numbers, or the the other way around?

 

The times I've been in there, things seem in line with what I see on the course.

[TheCityGame]

I don't think they have the direction calibrated correctly.

This is -- at least by my current methods -- impossible to prove. You know I hit trillions of balls; you know I have pretty good feel and sense of ball flight laws. When I got in the trackman I was hitting balls that I knew were good and these guys were like, "path 12 degrees to the left, face closed to path."

I ended up getting good trackman numbers there with a shot that I KNEW was a push-slice. I hit a ton of balls at 2nd Swing, drove immediately to the range at Timbers, and started hitting huge push slices. That was the Titleist(?) with the 9º loft and x-stiff shaft.

I went back and traded for the G400 max. Hit balls on trackman that showing up as low pull hooks that I KNEW were good shots, took the club to the range and was jacking high long balls straight down the gut. This inaccuracy is sort of indicated by their "AIM HERE" tags on the screens.

You can believe that in both cases I didn't really understand what my swing was doing there, but I would have laid down $500 right there if you had an expert come in and set up a trackman properly that it would have said it read push-slices as straight and straight balls as hooks.

That was over the course of a week or so and over multiple bays (I moved around because it was so clearly wrong). You could go in tomorrow, and it could be correct, could be the same, or could be opposite, but it was so far off there that I know I can't trust it.

Whether that inaccuracy extends to speed and spin numbers, I do not know.

[baddomes]

Whats TheCityGame's problem with 2nd Swings launch monitors?

[baddomes]

When I was there, they had tape on the ground at the screens that said "aim here". It's at the right side of the screen. You can't aim at the middle of the screen or you'll get the pull hook reading. I don't know why it's set up that way, but once you get used to it, it's fine.

[FAbb]

I find hitting balls in simulators odd, in general. The visual of a picture on a screen 15ft away is nothing like the visual of hitting to a distant target in real life. I pretty much have to ignore looking at the screen at all. I just line up using an intermediate target on the ground, and go. No "target looks" at all. When I do that, things come out pretty ok.

I wonder if maybe your alignment gets out of whack in there, compared to how you might align to hit a target in real life. I know you're not big on perfect alignment, but if the path numbers started THAT FAR off, did you try just aiming more right before you started trying to hit push slices?

[2moreTerpz]

when the 2nd swing monitors said i was 11 degrees to the left i concluded they were accurate. SELFBURN

 

i had the same observation at 2nd swing and in my garage city. I struggled at 2nd swing. People who hit balls in my garage back in the day used to struggle to with the same type of thing. For me alignment was easy and worked once I got used to it in my garage.

 

again if anyone wants all my launch monitor stuff please let me know. i'd love for it to find a new home.

[TheCityGame]

Yes. I was basically standing at like a 30º angle on the mat. To hit a shot at the "aim here", I was turned so far right that my left heel was near the front edge of the mat.

And, if aiming down the middle of the fairway is wrong, then move your monitor. The "aim here" is the edge of the fairway like 10 yards off the tee. If you follow that line from the tee through the "aim here" to 250 yards, you're off the edge of the screen.

But, I can ignore all the visuals, and even the orientation of the mats. If the machine says I'm close to ZERO ZERO and I take that swing outdoors, that's an open-open swing.

[dcmidnight]

 

Yeah I guess I had no issues with it, maybe it was just the bay I was in though bc I certainly wasnt at a 30* angle or anything weird like that. The tee side of the mat was almost lined up with the "aim here" tape on the right and the TM was almost directly behind the tee area. Aiming from the tee itself to the middle of the screen probably would have been way more awkward - at least when hitting woods.

Its also the reason I bring in my current club to hit against whatever club I'm trying to buy. If I know my current 3W hits low traj draws and the simulator shows that on good swings I'm hiting high wipey fades, I know something is wrong.

No work today, off to find some real golf.

[gregh729]

Going to be warm, but soggy today! Perfect Fort Belvoir day. You won't be able to tell how bad of a dogtrack it is in these conditions.

[2moreTerpz]

i planned my entire schedule and got up early today to enable myself to hit balls for like 25 minutes. i've been really good about NOT playing when it's not playable out. I have taken advantage of the good weather. so far so good for winter golf.

[TheCityGame]

Warm and soggy today.

Greg's getting the hot tub!!!!

[baddomes]

Yeah the mat I had was aligned with the Aim Here sign. It was definitely still the right side of the screen, but my miss lately has been a pull hook, and the pull hooks I hit might have been exaggerated, but I thought they were justified.

 

The pull hooks were deserved.

[misplacedtexan83]

There is a full on guide how to set up the TrackMan from distance from the player/distance from the net

Specific Lighting- Metallic dots, etc

Trackman indoors are marginal at best. Foresight is is better for indoors.

club speed, ball speed, carry, spin are the meat and potatoes of information you should look at.

They are fun to tinker with but I never rely on the Swing numbers to “practice”. You are trying to make your swing match what a TrackMan says.

They are meant to be outdoors to read the ball from start to finish.

hooks- less spin longer and fades tend to be higher and more spin

Always bring your clubs and compare— only way to know if they are better - same variables on both.

unless you ask — you won’t know the elevation that it’s set, ball (5 settings) and more.

[TheCityGame]

Yeah, actually now that I think about it. . .I brought my driver and that made me suspicious. Fact of the matter is, I can tell you with a pretty good certainty what my ball did without looking at it. And, I was hitting giant pull hooks with my driver on what I knew were good swings.

I tried to just go off that baseline, but after a while -- like you said -- I started swing to match trackman and it wasn't a good thing.

2nd swing lets you bring stuff back for full credit, too. That's a biggie. I wouldn't have walked out with the x-stiff 9º if that wasn't the case.

[gregh729]

[SullGolf]

The store credit at 2nd swing is the best part of the store IMO. It takes me 5 or 10 rounds to know if I like something, and I play infrequently enough for that to take months. Early last year I bought some irons and returned them right before the deadline. Replaced them with the set I then played all year and have no plans to change.

I know a couple guys here are good about buying and selling on BST such that you get back close to full price on what you bought. But that’s not me. Having a place do that for me is a boon. Makes it much easier for me to buy from them.

[XHoop24]

I was talking to Domes about this, but I don't know how an old fashion store like Golfdom or Golf Galaxy can compete with 2nd Swing. I think its either do the full club fitting at a place like Club Champ/GCC or 2nd swing. There is such an advantage to having the used equipment alongside the new and the amazing return/exchange policy....I can't imagine going to Golfdom to buy something at this point.

[misplacedtexan83]

Yeah Ahoop..

2nd swing will impact golf courses too.. going to be hard for some to buy 10% off when you can get it at 2nd swing for similar or less/money back guarantee.

[TheCityGame]

Pro shops might as well sell buggy whips at this point.

The only time I spend money in a pro shop is when I have credit.

[misplacedtexan83]

Courses rely on their memberships to be willing to buy there — you know for the good of the club.

Price point is inline with retail and usually lower. Pro shops will just have to be smarter on what they bring in.

If they rake trade ins— Callaway always does the 50 percent bump- helps offset the price but not all courses do that or will

 

[justhawkin]

Anyone have recommendations for club repair in DC (or Metro accessible)? Looking to get my irons reshafted.

[XHoop24]

Downtown DC - the Golf Doctor. On the red line just acorss the MD border is Golf Care Center. Both accessible via metro.

[SullGolf]

My limited understanding of most club pro shops are the responsibility of the club pro, and the revenue/profit contributes to the pro's paycheck. I'm not sure how that affects the model for what's in stock at any particular club. I imagine it's one of the main reasons they still have the things at all.

However, not everyone is as sensitive to price. I think plenty of people will appreciate the end to end service at the club. They see the pro, get fit, but their clubs, and they are put in their locker. All taken care of for you. I know plenty of people that buy clubs that way. I'm not sure how much of that market really gets taken away by a place like 2nd Swing or Golf Galaxy.

justhawkin, Golf Care Center in Bethesda is relatively metro accessible. About a 10-15 minute walk from the station, and I can definitely recommend them for club work. Club Champion in Rockville is pretty close to the Twinbrook metro stop. Not sure if there is anything closer in DC proper or on the Arlington or PG sides of the city.

 

[justhawkin]

Thanks! Think I'll check out the Golf Doctor. Would be inclined to do it myself, but with apartment living I could see that turning out to be a disaster.

[baddomes]

If you're taking the metro to Maryland, go to Golf Care Center and not Club Champion. GCC had to fix an build issue that Club Champion created for me.

 

 

 

[TheCityGame]

There's this house in the middle of Columbia where I just leave my clubs on the front porch, then a couple days later I get a text that says they're ready, and I go by and the clubs are sitting on the front porch. Sometimes I leave a beer on the front porch with the clubs.

[SullGolf]

What's the address and when are your clubs going in for their next repair?

[baddomes]

@2moreTerpz did your daughter ever start playing the guitar?

My wife is enjoying it. She's focusing on Everybody Wants To Rule The World by T4F and Midnight Rider on rocksmith.

There's a Multiplayer mode where someone can play rhythm (or emulated bass) and someone can play lead at their own difficulty settings, and we're going to get a new guitar this weekend. It's the new couples activity. Perfect for the cold weather.