Puppetmaster WITB & Course Pictures

[Puppetmaster]

Vapor Speed TW left, 9015D right.

 

 

I'll have to get better pictures of everything another time, but this is a good looking driver.

 

[eagle1997]

TW going straight in the bag? Actually, WITB en toto for tomorrow's RRC? Greg specifically requested to see your TR Anser 2 up close n personal.

 

I'm second in that line. :)

 

 

[misplacedtexan83]

Vapor Speed TW left, 9015D right.

 

 

I'll have to get better pictures of everything another time, but this is a good looking driver.

 

 

Do you want me to bring an XR 16 pro for you tomorrow? You know to add to the mix ;)

[Puppetmaster]

Geez, I do have some pride, since we actually are playing for something today. Nothing has changed and I'm only bringing the Nike because I want to try it on the range before the round (if I even have time). Unless I find something exceptional in the TW, I'm not going to switch today. The Anser 2 will be there because the Zing 2 is in the sin bin currently.

[Puppetmaster]

Those Aussie blades look incredible! One of the better looking blades I've seen in my opinion. Let us know how they play...

 

Thanks. I'll at minimum use the 7-PW as a combo set with my Revolutions at some point. Looking down at the top line of the 3-iron makes my hands hurt.

[Puppetmaster]

From Blue Mash GC last week. View of the par 3 11th green from the 12th tee.

 

[Puppetmaster]

 

Finally hit a bucket of balls with the Vapor Speed TW driver and it's good. Not a game changer by any means, but a nice, solid driver. It is supposedly 10.5* but flight with range balls is on the low side, comparable or sometimes lower than my 9.5* 9015D. The feel of the TW is interesting for sure, as it reminds me of a Callaway FT type driver, very soft, muted feel with the slightest metallic click to it. Beautiful club at address, very compact look, very clean, but it doesn't sit square - it rolls both open and shut because of the curvature of the sole and cavity. Doesn't matter to me as I hover the head off the ground slightly. I hit it decently well, although being shallower than the 9015D, I hit some balls precariously close to the top line, so that took a little adjustment. Not quite sure I'll put it in play yet, as I have a 36-hole day next week and don't want to get stuck with a driver that may or may not work on the course.

 

And yes, I'm still using all those other old clubs in the signature. Hitting some good drives with both 9015D and Fly Z, and I'm just so comfortable with the Revolutions, especially the short irons. I'm feeling good about the Anser 2 right now as well, especially inside 6 feet.

[Beastmode Broker]

god that looks EXACTLY like the VR Pro Ltd at address, which was a GREAT GREAT driver, this one day, for me :)

[Puppetmaster]

god that looks EXACTLY like the VR Pro Ltd at address, which was a GREAT GREAT driver, this one day, for me :)

 

I saw similar comments in the TW driver thread. I like smaller looking drivers, not because I am good, but because to this day, the larger footprint look still psyches me out. I either don't fee like I can release it through the ball, or I go the other way and try to crush it to get over that mental hurdle. This driver is the smallest looking head I've played in a long time, but I hit it closer to the middle of the face than anything else. The 9015D is a good fit for me in that its 460cc but looks smaller, same reason why I liked the 440cc BC Pro and Razr Hawk Tour so much.

[Puppetmaster]

I had the opportunity to play 36 holes at Tobacco Road this week and loved everything about the course. It is as unique as they say, very unconventional, but still a great golf experience. Conditions were fantastic but it was blazing hot this week.

 

1st tee and fairway:

Play is to drive over the left hump, leaving yourself inside 250, and to carry another waste area about 100 yards out from the green.

 

 

5th tee:

Lay up to the right fairway, or go straight over the junk to the green. I hit it short and left the first time, but drove the green the second time. Lasered 279 to the flag, hit a high cut with a sight tail wind that carried on and held.

 

 

6th hole:

Short par 3, skinny green. I hit the green both times but 3-putted it once for no good reason.

 

 

Infamous 9th green:

 

 

Play is drive right center in fairway, leaving yourself inside 150 yards in to the extremely elevated and skinny green. Doubled it the first time, hit driver-PW the second but still 3-putted.

 

Par 5 11th

Wide open fairway with waste area on the right. I went too far left the first time and made a mess of the hole, drove into the waste area the second time, and found the green with a 7-iron from 160, two putt birdie. The second shot has to carry the "wall" or you're dead.

 

 

Par 5 13th

Short par 5 but you either layup off the tee, or take it blind over the trees right to a huge fairway. From there, you're inside 200 yards, but this is another distinctive TR hole with a shallow green guarded by native grasses and the mounds/bunkers on either side. A prime example of having to hit a high, quick stopping iron shot the right distance. Played this bogey, par, the second time overclubbing into the junk, but gouging it out and 2-putting for par. Second pic shows front (left side of pic) to back length of the green.

 

 

18th tee, another frequently photographed spot. The wall is only 180ish to carry, but again, it's more of a mind trick than anything. Left center makes the hole 20 yards shorter, but right center gives a better line into the green. I hit it right both times, and both times found the green, the second a perfect choked down 6-iron to 8 feet, but couldn't make the birdie.

 

[Splyt]

Nice pictures! Intimidating looking course.

[masamitsu]

Beautiful looking course.

[eagle1997]

Love the idea of playing it back to back, especially with such a unique track. Great pics, thanks for sharing.

[Puppetmaster]

Can't say it enough, Tobacco Road was an awesome experience for me. Enjoyed every visual and shot, all 36 holes.

[beluga99]

Awesome pics as always PM - the course and weather look absolutely mint!

[Conrad283]

Awesome looking course!

[Puppetmaster]

Awesome pics as always PM - the course and weather look absolutely mint!

 

Thanks. Those were from the morning round mostly, but then my phone ran out of battery in the afternoon, so I didn't get many shots.

 

Here are a couple of the same holes in the afternoon, much more light and clouds. Wish I could have taken more pictures in the afternoon.

 

 

Yes, I'm reminiscing of those amazing rounds on a Tuesday morning in the office.

[Puppetmaster]

Here's another one. 215 yard second shot on a par 5, 195 to carry all the sand, but wide open fairway right. But you gotta fire at the green right? Hit the UDI 4-iron and made the left edge for a 2-putt birdie. Although, if I had driven left of the center, closer to the waste area, I'd have had a 160 yard approach.

 

 

One of the great things about the course is how the greens are sloped relative to the shot options. For example, in the picture above, the green slopes from back to front, so longer approaches from that angle have a chance of holding. If you lay up or miss right and come in from that angle, the green slopes severely right to left, and slight away from you, and there is a big pine short and right of the green that can interfere with your shot, even though it'll be a short chip or pitch onto the green. Many of the shots/angles at Tobacco Road were like this.

[kyle75]

Great pics! What a shame that we lost Mike Strantz at such a young age, can only imagine the courses he would've built.

[Puppetmaster]

Great pics! What a shame that we lost Mike Strantz at such a young age, can only imagine the courses he would've built.

 

Absolutely a shame. There's another Stranz design outside of Richmond, Royal New Kent, that is similar but not as spectacular, but I hear upkeep isn't as good. I will have to do my best to get down there regardless, just to see for myself.

[Puppetmaster]

Some cool cloud formations yesterday at Westfields GC on the par 3 7th hole:

 

 

View from left side of 8th fairway hole:

 

 

View of the 16th green from the 15th fairway:

 

[Puppetmaster]

Whiskey Creek in Ijamsville, MD. Excellent Ernie Els design, but tough layout. Conditions were solid. My game, not so much.

 

 

Yes, those are legit ruins in the middle of the 18th fairway. A 19th century stone house. Pretty cool when you get up close.

 

[scratchswinger]

Wow beautiful tracks! Thank you for sharing.

[Puppetmaster]

Wow beautiful tracks! Thank you for sharing.

 

Thanks! Good to see you around. :D

[kyle75]

Great pics! What a shame that we lost Mike Strantz at such a young age, can only imagine the courses he would've built.

 

Absolutely a shame. There's another Stranz design outside of Richmond, Royal New Kent, that is similar but not as spectacular, but I hear upkeep isn't as good. I will have to do my best to get down there regardless, just to see for myself.

That was a problem on some of his designs, they were very expensive to maintain. I think Royal New Kent was the prime example of that and they softened it quite a bit to help with that and still struggle with it.

[beluga99]

You should do a coffee table book. High quality stuff.

[Puppetmaster]

Great pics! What a shame that we lost Mike Strantz at such a young age, can only imagine the courses he would've built.

 

Absolutely a shame. There's another Stranz design outside of Richmond, Royal New Kent, that is similar but not as spectacular, but I hear upkeep isn't as good. I will have to do my best to get down there regardless, just to see for myself.

That was a problem on some of his designs, they were very expensive to maintain. I think Royal New Kent was the prime example of that and they softened it quite a bit to help with that and still struggle with it.

 

Interesting. I thought the natural look was cheaper, but then I guess you still need to control the manicured areas. At least they don't have to buy rakes (at Tobacco Road)!!

[Puppetmaster]

You should do a coffee table book. High quality stuff.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I don't think I'm at that level, using my old cell camera and all. Doing this has made me appreciate the rounds more, playing my game and looking for a nice shot, even on a familiar course. At Whiskey Creek, I was having a bad golf day, so the least I could do was take pictures, which helped ease the pain a little.

[Puppetmaster]

And since this is a WITB thread after all, I picked up a Cobra Baffler and like it. The Aeroburner TP with Rombax P95 turned out to be a 2 round wonder, and I can't trust it for now. The Baffler has worked straight out of the box with a Tour Blue 85. The Fly Z with Speeder TS 6.2 is back in and I've been driving the ball well with it, nothing else seems to be a reliable, nor am I motivated to try anything new from the past year. I've yet to take the TW Vapor Speed on the course but I don't see it any better than the Fly Z, unless it is somehow longer and more consistent. Been using the 1966 TR Anser 2 and putting well (by my standards). The rest of the bag is all my old stuff - Adams A12, TM UDI, Maxfli Revolutions, and X-Forged.

[drbonesvt]

Rbz s2 still around some where?

P95 going into anything ? Feedback on the UTX wrap, look good on your clubs

 

Loved the ABTP 3w but couldn't get used to the look , that head sure does put a hurting on the ball