Phabs WITB - Heavy on the Artisan

[MattM97]

1 minute ago, Phabs said:

Got my series a shaft last night so im

headed to the range tonight.   Yeah I won’t need a driver for a long time 

 

I'm hoping for the same thing, only way I get a different one is if I cave the face. 

[Phabs]

10 hours ago, MattM97 said:

 

I'm hoping for the same thing, only way I get a different one is if I cave the face. 

Right same thought process here.  Took the LS out tonight with the A series shaft and was super pleased.  I ordered the shaft uncut and missed my measurement by about a 1/4 so I’ll have to pull the grip and trim again but no big deal. Taylormade tips and the cobra tips are quite a bit different in length, pretty sure that’s what my amateur measuring skills didn’t account for. I always try and err on the side of too long haha 

[Phabs]

11 hours ago, MattM97 said:

 

Now you have your driver for the next 4 to 5 generations of drivers.

 

But yeah these Cobra drivers are converting a lot of people over to Cobra, I'm actually super curious about their woods and hybrid but don't want to spend the money. 

I’m weirdly materialistic there too.  I always like my driver and 4 wood to match for some reason.  So I’m sure I’ll snag a 16.5* ltdx head at some point and try it.  My M3 four wood has been a solid crutch for a long time on tight par 4’s with trouble.  Going to be as tough if not tougher to kick it out of the bag.  Hell I still have a Callaway steelhead 4w from college with the grooves worn smooth because I told myself I’ll never sell it. 

Edited August 5, 2022 by Phabs

[Phabs]

Round two with the Cobra.   Drove the ball really well, irons were on fire and didn’t make a single putt all day.  Two putted damn near every green and left 3 eagle ops short.  If I convert one or two of those eagle putts that one would of been super low.  My bogeys were missed putts inside 6 feet for par which I won’t sweat. 

[Phabs]

Well I’m in a groove which is really nice to feel again.  Driver was rock solid with the exception of one swing, didn’t miss an iron all day and had 3 one putts.  Have to remember these streaks when the game is kicking my teeth in next time. 

[juddrussell]

On 7/23/2022 at 12:37 PM, Phabs said:

Well I acquired a free driver fitting over at club champion and went this morning to see some of the new heads/shaft options.  I figured it’s a free experiment so why not.  
 

Started out with about 10 swings with my 9* M3 with the X flex KBS TD.  Clubhead speed sat at 117-119 with ball speeds in the low-mid 170’s.  Carry with my driver was 295-310 and spin was a touch high in the low to mid 3000’s average. Think my best ball was 335 total with about a 5 yard draw that was hit right on the screws. 
 

Told the fitter who I’ve worked with prior that I didn’t have a head preference nor a shaft preference to just feed me everything. 
 

Started out hitting a stealth plus to figure out shafts.  Wasn’t too impressed with the feel nor the sound of the head but I didn’t care cause we were just stuffing shafts in it.   Did hit the standard stealth had but it spun way too much, worse than my M3.  Hit Accra’s, multiple LA shafts, 1k Tensei, Ventus TR, and the KBS TX flex.  The DJ LA shaft was boardy, Accra felt ok, Tensei was solid, Ventus TR was ok, KBS was second best of the bunch.   Surprisingly the A series LA golf mid launch in x flex was a clear winner.  I was 60 swings in when we stuck that shaft in and my ball speeds and peak height/spin characteristics immediately improved.   It’s fitting that I can’t stand Bryson but the companies products fit my swing apparently.   
 

Once we found the shaft that agreed with me we started plugging heads.  Started out with the Mizuno which felt like a sledgehammer due to not being able to pull the 20g rear weight with their massive shaft adapter.  Made it 3 swings and it was benched.   
 

Swung the Callaway triple diamond LS next which felt great, just didn’t like how the head set up once we got the launch into the right window.  Really liked the sound and the feel of the face and wasn’t too fade biased. 

 

Next I hit the Cobra LTDX which looked awesome at address and sounded solid.  Spin was higher than we wanted so we messed with the loft and didn’t like the looks at address once we got the spin down. 
 

Swung the LTDX LS next and immediately was in love.  Lofted the 9* head up to 10*, sat perfectly square at address and was a rocket ship.  Average carry jumped up to 315 and total average distance jumped to 343… even with my gassed out swing speed dropping to 114-115.   Worked the ball both ways with ease, soft high cut and draw weren’t a problem at all.   Had two that were over 320 carry and finished over 355 total with this set up.   

Needless to say the search is on for a head only and I ordered the shaft direct from LA. Took 6 years to dethrone the M3 and I’ll never sell it. 

 

these numbers are wild and super cool you played your m3 for 6 years!  Where did your spin #s end up with the new setup?

[Phabs]

On 8/8/2022 at 4:40 PM, juddrussell said:

these numbers are wild and super cool you played your m3 for 6 years!  Where did your spin #s end up with the new setup?

Thanks!  Yeah the M3 has a home forever.  The Cobra ended up with an average spin of just below 2800 over ten swings.  About 600 lower than the M3.  

Edited August 14, 2022 by Phabs

[Phabs]

Well I pulled the trigger on a Cobra 3W this morning from the BST.   Going to stick my KBS 70g X in it and see how it feels, I’ve been eyeing a LAGP AXS Red on eBay as a test for it but can’t find any info on them so I’ll hold off.  
 

Went to the range today and through about half the bucket packed up and left, things were only going to get worse if I kept swinging.  Didn’t miss a single ball going through my normal warm up routine. This is the best my ball striking has been since college and for absolutely no reason.  No lessons, not doing anything different.  Golfs a weird game where sometimes things just click and you get into a groove and sometimes it feels like you’ve never swung a club before in your life. 
 

I did re-shaft my 58* full face this week with a 7.0 rifle 8 iron shaft to match my 54 and 50 T22’s. If what my eye was picking up with the range rocks today, tomorrow should be interesting.  I was getting range balls to damn near one hop and stop on tempo’d 30 yard 50/50 swings which wasn’t a common occurrence prior with the standard shaft offering in the full face. Had a small break tough with one of my chipping tendencies as well. Figured out one of my contact issues was I wasn’t maintaining length in my chipping and was allowing my right elbow to get stuffed inside which led to junk contact and inconsistencies.  I started making sure I maintained clubhead distance from my body and making sure I rotated through the shots which made a night and day difference.  Hopefully the 58* head stays attached to the shaft tomorrow, I’ll consider that as a win🤣 

 

Expecting good news from Texas this week.   Can’t wait to get the putter in my hands, stick the LAGP shaft in it and take it to the putting green. 

Edited August 14, 2022 by Phabs

[Phabs]

Blew the dust off this old thing and took it out tonight.  It’s been refinished 3 times in the 20 years I’ve owned it.  Still feels amazing and I roll it well… thousands of hours spent on putting greens with this guy.  

[Phabs]

Artisan shows up today.  Everything I asked for and soles absolutely perfectly.   Did the titanium neck with the rust finish on a carbon head.   I’ll be on the putting green tonight after I glue up my LAGP shaft 

Edited August 25, 2022 by Phabs

[Phabs]

Shafting this up now… 
 

No surprises here.

 

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Phabs

[Phabs]

This and 3-5-7’s are my go to drill when my putting goes to crap.  Stroke felt like zalatores on 18 to win the masters in the beginning 🤣. Made 60 straight, decided that was a win and went home.  Touch a tee on the stroke - putt doesn’t count, ball hits a gate tee - putt doesn’t count.  Pick a make number to get to and start over if I miss.  Frustrating as hell at times but it makes you focus and puts pressure on the stroke.  

Edited September 2, 2022 by Phabs

[MGN01]

Lovely set and the Nike irons look amazing.

How do you like the M3 440 driver head.  I have the 460cc version of the M3 and am not comfortable with the head size.  Was told to try the 440 version but also warned that the spin is much lower.  Being that I average around 230-245 yds off the tee, I thought a low spin driver (if that is in fact the case with the 440cc) may make the ball fall out of the sky faster.  Thoughts?

Thanks.

[Phabs]

13 hours ago, MGN01 said:

Lovely set and the Nike irons look amazing.

How do you like the M3 440 driver head.  I have the 460cc version of the M3 and am not comfortable with the head size.  Was told to try the 440 version but also warned that the spin is much lower.  Being that I average around 230-245 yds off the tee, I thought a low spin driver (if that is in fact the case with the 440cc) may make the ball fall out of the sky faster.  Thoughts?

Thanks.

Thanks!  
 

Really depends what your current spin rate is with the 460 head.   I swing at around 117-118 and spun the 440 around 3200 which was too much.  440 also will not be as forgiving obviously.   I played the 440 for 6 years and I’ll never sell it.  Played some of my best golf with it but my new LTDX LS head is too long and forgiving. 

[BIG STU]

On 8/25/2022 at 10:43 PM, Phabs said:

Shafting this up now… just out of curiosity I wanted to check head weight.  Requested 350g’s with adjustable weights. 
 

No surprises here.

 

I sorta like the looks of that putter---- Don't know how well I could putt with it but I like the look for sure

[Phabs]

3 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

I sorta like the looks of that putter---- Don't know how well I could putt with it but I like the look for sure

I don’t know if I can putt with it either at this point 🤣

[Phabs]

Well I ended tucking my tail between my legs and rebuying a M3 3HL head since I stupidly sold mine thinking the new Cobra would be better.   Cobra 14.5 LTDX LS wasn't for me, couldn’t get any sort of consistency out of it, headweight felt horrible.  Went back to old faithful and didn’t miss a fairway…can’t get all the M3’s out of my life one had to stay.  
 

I did pick up a LAGP AXS Red fairway shaft that I stuck into the M3 and it was really good.  Launches way higher than my KBS TD I had in it.   LAGP doesn’t go quite as far but it seemed more controllable

Edited September 5, 2022 by Phabs

[Phabs]

Updated the wedges last night with blackout shafts and BB&F ferrules to match the irons.  Really like how the copper looks against the ferrule and the black shaft … finally getting relatively decent at doing all my own club work.  

Edited September 10, 2022 by Phabs

[03trdblack]

On 8/25/2022 at 10:43 PM, Phabs said:

Shafting this up now… just out of curiosity I wanted to check head weight.  Requested 350g’s with adjustable weights. 
 

No surprises here.

 

 

Could you not order the putter with the LAGP shaft? Seems strange that you have to reshaft it when you just got it. 

[Phabs]

2 minutes ago, 03trdblack said:

 

Could you not order the putter with the LAGP shaft? Seems strange that you have to reshaft it when you just got it. 

I’m sure I could have but I had a shaft ready to install and am plenty comfortable doing it.  Artisan offered to install it for me but i told them it wasn’t worth the shipping and that I’d take care of it myself. 

[MattM97]

So how's the Artisan treating you? 

[Phabs]

32 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

So how's the Artisan treating you? 

Only played two rounds with it.  My legacy putter is stupid good right now so it’s pretty firmly in my bag.  Love the alignment on the artisan and the head shape just seem to have a left miss with it that I may need to address with them this winter.  We’ll see I love the face and the feel 

Edited September 10, 2022 by Phabs

[MattM97]

2 hours ago, Phabs said:

Only played two rounds with it.  My legacy putter is stupid good right now so it’s pretty firmly in my bag.  Love the alignment on the artisan and the head shape just seem to have a left miss with it that I may need to address with them this winter.  We’ll see I love the face and the feel 

 

Definitely cannot bench a hot putter but that's good you're liking the Aritsan so far hopefully that miss is something minor.

[Phabs]

52 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

Definitely cannot bench a hot putter but that's good you're liking the Aritsan so far hopefully that miss is something minor.

Yeah well see I may have them switch it to a different neck if I can’t figure it out.   Going to hammer some practice work with it and see if I can’t figure it out 

[Obsessed]

On 9/10/2022 at 10:48 AM, Phabs said:

Updated the wedges last night with blackout shafts and BB&F ferrules to match the irons.  Really like how the copper looks against the ferrule and the black shaft … finally getting relatively decent at doing all my own club work.  

 

Beautiful..

 

What heads are those?

 

 

 

 

[Wham49]

On 11/28/2021 at 5:24 PM, Phabs said:

Driver : Cobra LTDX LS - LAGP A Series Mid X

 

4 wood: Taylormade M3HL 17* - LAGP AXS Red 69g X - Played @ 16*

 

Driving iron: New Level NLU01 18* - KBS 105X 

 

Irons: Black Nitrided Nike VR Pro Combo’s 4-PW

• Project X 6.5 Blackouts MOI matched set 
• Length is a 1/4 short of the new standard and 1* flat
• Lofts are standard 4* separation from 6-PW, 3* between 4 & 5 (24* 4 Iron, 27* 5 Iron)

MP20-MMC’s 4-PW

• 1* flat and same lofts as the Nikes
• Project X 6.5 Blackouts
• MOI matched 

 

Wedges: 

50/7 Mizuno T22 Denim Copper w/ Project x Blackouts

54/8 Mizuno T22 Denim Copper w/ Project X Blackouts

58/9 Cleveland Full Face Tour Raw - Project X 7.0  8 iron shaft 

 

Putter Rotation: 

Compass Atwood Tiger treatment

• 1* loft, 74* lie, LAGP 135 shaft @ 34” , 350g’s
• Sight dot alignment 

 

Byron DH89 SS 

• 1* loft, 74* lie, LAGP 135 shaft @ 34”, 350g’s
• Refinished by Criterion Customs in Ghosted steel
• Sight dot alignment 

 

Legacy Goods Screw neck wide-body 

• 1* loft, 74* lie, KBS One Step @ 34”, 350g’s
• Oil can finish with custom engravings
• Carbon head with stainless screw neck 
• “X” sight alignment aid

 

Artisan 0521 Wide Body

• 1* loft, 74* lie, LAGP 135 shaft @ 34”, 350g
• Oxidado finish on carbon steel
• Mid mill depth on face 

 

 

 

My revolving door of putter dont all have LA shafts on them though. LOL

 

do you feel a differance in the way the putter swings with those? I don't see what could be helpful, with the greens I play on I'm only moving the club 6-8 inches at the most, I dont feel any movement in the shaft

[Phabs]

2 hours ago, Obsessed said:

 

Beautiful..

 

What heads are those?

 

 

 

 

Those are mizuno T22 coppers. 

[Phabs]

1 hour ago, Wham49 said:

My revolving door of putter dont all have LA shafts on them though. LOL

 

do you feel a differance in the way the putter swings with those? I don't see what could be helpful, with the greens I play on I'm only moving the club 6-8 inches at the most, I dont feel any movement in the shaft

Purpose of the lagp’s isn’t really for flex in the shaft, it’s more for reducing face deflection on off center strikes which it absolutely does.  

[Wham49]

41 minutes ago, Phabs said:

Purpose of the lagp’s isn’t really for flex in the shaft, it’s more for reducing face deflection on off center strikes which it absolutely does.  

interesting, so it is more a torque thing

[Phabs]

On 9/15/2022 at 10:19 AM, Wham49 said:

interesting, so it is more a torque thing

Correct, just keeps putts on line better and longer.  Plus I prefer the feel now versus