Club Ho'ing

I made my once a week trek to Golf Mart and tried out a few sticks. Following the advice of HB, I tried out a Titleist 913 D2 9.5 with Diamana dark blue shaft. The whole shaft is blue. Damn, I was smokin' this thing. It was landing at 250 and rolling out another 20 or 25 yards.

Next I tried the following 7 irons:

Wilson Pi5 w/ DGS300: Very short, low trajectory. Felt good.

Cleveland CG7 Black Pearl w/ Regular flight action steel: Felt awesome. 10 yards longer than Pi5 easily.

Nike CB Victory Red irons, DGS300: Also pretty short and harsh feeling.

After that I went through the Wendy's drive-thru and had a Spicey Chicken sandy with a mini frosty. Yum bro'.

FamousDavis wrote:

After that I went through the Wendy's drive-thru and had a Spicey Chicken sandy with a mini frosty. Yum bro'.

I hate you.

I love Wendys, and it's at least a 3 day drive to the nearest one where I live.

When I fly to my parents, it's always the first stop on the way home.

Golfaholic wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

After that I went through the Wendy's drive-thru and had a Spicey Chicken sandy with a mini frosty. Yum bro'.

I hate you.

I love Wendys, and it's at least a 3 day drive to the nearest one where I live.

When I fly to my parents, it's always the first stop on the way home.

That's pretty fucking sad Joel. I have to admit that Wendy's is the best fast food, last resort burger joint but it's a long way from being good. That said, I do like the fact that I can get a baked potato instead of fried potatoes. I rarely eat anything fried anymore. When I get near a fast food joint I can smell the stench of canola deep fat fryer. That smell just turns my stomach.

Poe4soul wrote:

Golfaholic wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

After that I went through the Wendy's drive-thru and had a Spicey Chicken sandy with a mini frosty. Yum bro'.

I hate you.

I love Wendys, and it's at least a 3 day drive to the nearest one where I live.

When I fly to my parents, it's always the first stop on the way home.

That's pretty fucking sad Joel. I have to admit that Wendy's is the best fast food, last resort burger joint but it's a long way from being good. That said, I do like the fact that I can get a baked potato instead of fried potatoes. I rarely eat anything fried anymore. When I get near a fast food joint I can smell the stench of canola deep fat fryer. That smell just turns my stomach.

Yes, we know how repulsed you Oregonians are to anything that doesn't have Granola on the menu.

FamousDavis wrote:After that I went through the Wendy's drive-thru and had a Spicey Chicken sandy with a mini frosty. Yum bro'.

On this island, that's a #7

FamousDavis wrote:I made my once a week trek to Golf Mart and tried out a few sticks. Following the advice of HB, I tried out a Titleist 913 D2 9.5 with Diamana dark blue shaft. The whole shaft is blue. Damn, I was smokin' this thing. It was landing at 250 and rolling out another 20 or 25 yards.

Next I tried the following 7 irons:

Wilson Pi5 w/ DGS300: Very short, low trajectory. Felt good.

Cleveland CG7 Black Pearl w/ Regular flight action steel: Felt awesome. 10 yards longer than Pi5 easily.

Nike CB Victory Red irons, DGS300: Also pretty short and harsh feeling.

After that I went through the Wendy's drive-thru and had a Spicey Chicken sandy with a mini frosty. Yum bro'.

Extrapolating the bottom line from your descriptions of hitting these three 7 irons, I would say that the Cleveland felt best and performed best for you because of its shaft, alone. The made-for Cleveland True Temper iron shafts are just a bit softer than the OEM models and that "Flight Action" shaft was a regular flex. Almost a senior flex in the hierarchy of True Temper flexes.

FamousDavis wrote:

Poe4soul wrote:

Golfaholic wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

After that I went through the Wendy's drive-thru and had a Spicey Chicken sandy with a mini frosty. Yum bro'.

I hate you.

I love Wendys, and it's at least a 3 day drive to the nearest one where I live.

When I fly to my parents, it's always the first stop on the way home.

That's pretty fucking sad Joel. I have to admit that Wendy's is the best fast food, last resort burger joint but it's a long way from being good. That said, I do like the fact that I can get a baked potato instead of fried potatoes. I rarely eat anything fried anymore. When I get near a fast food joint I can smell the stench of canola deep fat fryer. That smell just turns my stomach.

Yes, we know how repulsed you Oregonians are to anything that doesn't have Granola on the menu.

Actually don't care for the stuff.

Best burgers here in pdx are had at killer burger, foster burger, dick's kitchen, etc. Even the sushi place near my office does a great Kobe beef burger. Wendy's meh.

Poe4soul wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

Poe4soul wrote:

Golfaholic wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

After that I went through the Wendy's drive-thru and had a Spicey Chicken sandy with a mini frosty. Yum bro'.

I hate you.

I love Wendys, and it's at least a 3 day drive to the nearest one where I live.

When I fly to my parents, it's always the first stop on the way home.

That's pretty fucking sad Joel. I have to admit that Wendy's is the best fast food, last resort burger joint but it's a long way from being good. That said, I do like the fact that I can get a baked potato instead of fried potatoes. I rarely eat anything fried anymore. When I get near a fast food joint I can smell the stench of canola deep fat fryer. That smell just turns my stomach.

Yes, we know how repulsed you Oregonians are to anything that doesn't have Granola on the menu.

Actually don't care for the stuff.

Best burgers here in pdx are had at killer burger, foster burger, dick's kitchen, etc. Even the sushi place near my office does a great Kobe beef burger. Wendy's meh.

Is dick's kitchen the same as just regular old dick's in Seattle. That place is great. I remember the first time I went there I tried to order a burger and asked them to hold the pickle and some other stuff and the register guy just looked at me and said "we only make them one way here". It's actually a good thing they do it that way because they're able to keep the prices low and get people through the line quickly. I love that place.

FamousDavis wrote:

Poe4soul wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

Poe4soul wrote:

Golfaholic wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

After that I went through the Wendy's drive-thru and had a Spicey Chicken sandy with a mini frosty. Yum bro'.

I hate you.

I love Wendys, and it's at least a 3 day drive to the nearest one where I live.

When I fly to my parents, it's always the first stop on the way home.

That's pretty fucking sad Joel. I have to admit that Wendy's is the best fast food, last resort burger joint but it's a long way from being good. That said, I do like the fact that I can get a baked potato instead of fried potatoes. I rarely eat anything fried anymore. When I get near a fast food joint I can smell the stench of canola deep fat fryer. That smell just turns my stomach.

Yes, we know how repulsed you Oregonians are to anything that doesn't have Granola on the menu.

Actually don't care for the stuff.

Best burgers here in pdx are had at killer burger, foster burger, dick's kitchen, etc. Even the sushi place near my office does a great Kobe beef burger. Wendy's meh.

Is dick's kitchen the same as just regular old dick's in Seattle. That place is great. I remember the first time I went there I tried to order a burger and asked them to hold the pickle and some other stuff and the register guy just looked at me and said "we only make them one way here". It's actually a good thing they do it that way because they're able to keep the prices low and get people through the line quickly. I love that place.

I doubt it. Here's the link. http://www.dkportland.com/the-holy-grail-of-burgers/ DK's is a paleo type place. Gluten free, grain feed, no fryer. The potatoes are cooked in a convection oven and are crispy and delicious. Plus they serve beer.

I just demoed the Ping Anser driver at a outdoor range ( a sunny 22 degrees F., with a 10 mph breeze directly into the flight path). This one had a Aldila RIP Phenom 50 in regular flex; the head in this one (8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 12.0 available), which is slightly adjustable for loft, was set at the standard 10.5 degrees loft. Previous to this I owned the G20 briefly (9.5, stock 169D); for me, it was straight, but with a lot of spin, and shorter distance (carry and roll) than my other drivers; plus I hated the sound, and feel. The first few swings with it produced pretty good drives, about the same as my normal drives; I didn't feel like I was making the best contact so I choked up about a half inch; jesus jenny!!!, I was making center contact and the ball just kept climbing and going until it got so small I was having a hard time following it. The head on this, I have read, is lower spin than a G20, but slightly higher than the i20; did not balloon, just cut through the air like no breeze at all. The shaft (lightweight) seemed to work well with 203 gram (heavier) head; good feel.

Whatever. A new ho' object identified.

JonT wrote:I just demoed the Ping Anser driver at a outdoor range ( a sunny 22 degrees F., with a 10 mph breeze directly into the flight path). This one had a Aldila RIP Phenom 50 in regular flex; the head in this one (8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 12.0 available), which is slightly adjustable for loft, was set at the standard 10.5 degrees loft. Previous to this I owned the G20 briefly (9.5, stock 169D); for me, it was straight, but with a lot of spin, and shorter distance (carry and roll) than my other drivers; plus I hated the sound, and feel. The first few swings with it produced pretty good drives, about the same as my normal drives; I didn't feel like I was making the best contact so I choked up about a half inch; jesus jenny!!!, I was making center contact and the ball just kept climbing and going until it got so small I was having a hard time following it. The head on this, I have read, is lower spin than a G20, but slightly higher than the i20; did not balloon, just cut through the air like no breeze at all. The shaft (lightweight) seemed to work well with 203 gram (heavier) head; good feel.

Whatever. A new ho' object identified.

I've turned into a real big fan of ultra light driver shafts and have liked the feel of the few RIP shafted drivers I've hit indoors at the stores. Problem for me is that they have all been stiff flex shafts. I would imagine that guys probably traded them in because the shafts were too stiff for them. I would love to hit a Phenom regular flex.

Mostly German wrote:

JonT wrote:I just demoed the Ping Anser driver at a outdoor range ( a sunny 22 degrees F., with a 10 mph breeze directly into the flight path). This one had a Aldila RIP Phenom 50 in regular flex; the head in this one (8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 12.0 available), which is slightly adjustable for loft, was set at the standard 10.5 degrees loft. Previous to this I owned the G20 briefly (9.5, stock 169D); for me, it was straight, but with a lot of spin, and shorter distance (carry and roll) than my other drivers; plus I hated the sound, and feel. The first few swings with it produced pretty good drives, about the same as my normal drives; I didn't feel like I was making the best contact so I choked up about a half inch; jesus jenny!!!, I was making center contact and the ball just kept climbing and going until it got so small I was having a hard time following it. The head on this, I have read, is lower spin than a G20, but slightly higher than the i20; did not balloon, just cut through the air like no breeze at all. The shaft (lightweight) seemed to work well with 203 gram (heavier) head; good feel.

Whatever. A new ho' object identified.

I've turned into a real big fan of ultra light driver shafts and have liked the feel of the few RIP shafted drivers I've hit indoors at the stores. Problem for me is that they have all been stiff flex shafts. I would imagine that guys probably traded them in because the shafts were too stiff for them. I would love to hit a Phenom regular flex.

I don't like ultralight shafts as I don't feel any control with them.

Range Report:

Went to a true green grass range and hit 3 clubs:

Mizuno MP-32 w/ S300 shafts, Cleveland TA5 Gunmetal with Sensicore Stiff and Wilson PI-7 with S300

Wilson PI-7: Nice feel, a little short on distance but heavy feeling. Looks are just OK.

Cleveland TA5: Too light. Some shots sprayed off high to the right. Good distance. Feel is muted and clicky.

Mizuno MP-32: Most consistent and distance is no less than the other two. Trajectory is better. Feel is superb and better than any club other than the Wilson FG-17 irons.

I'm going to keep bagging the MP-32. What I'd really like to do is find a close to new set of the Mizuno MP-32 irons and have them reshafted with Dynamic Gold R400 shafts. It's the perfect shaft for me.

Also, take a look at this video. He makes a good case for why it's silly to buy the latest equipment:

FamousDavis wrote:

Mostly German wrote:

JonT wrote:I just demoed the Ping Anser driver at a outdoor range ( a sunny 22 degrees F., with a 10 mph breeze directly into the flight path). This one had a Aldila RIP Phenom 50 in regular flex; the head in this one (8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 12.0 available), which is slightly adjustable for loft, was set at the standard 10.5 degrees loft. Previous to this I owned the G20 briefly (9.5, stock 169D); for me, it was straight, but with a lot of spin, and shorter distance (carry and roll) than my other drivers; plus I hated the sound, and feel. The first few swings with it produced pretty good drives, about the same as my normal drives; I didn't feel like I was making the best contact so I choked up about a half inch; jesus jenny!!!, I was making center contact and the ball just kept climbing and going until it got so small I was having a hard time following it. The head on this, I have read, is lower spin than a G20, but slightly higher than the i20; did not balloon, just cut through the air like no breeze at all. The shaft (lightweight) seemed to work well with 203 gram (heavier) head; good feel.

Whatever. A new ho' object identified.

I've turned into a real big fan of ultra light driver shafts and have liked the feel of the few RIP shafted drivers I've hit indoors at the stores. Problem for me is that they have all been stiff flex shafts. I would imagine that guys probably traded them in because the shafts were too stiff for them. I would love to hit a Phenom regular flex.

I don't like ultralight shafts as I don't feel any control with them.

Range Report:

Went to a true green grass range and hit 3 clubs:

Mizuno MP-32 w/ S300 shafts, Cleveland TA5 Gunmetal with Sensicore Stiff and Wilson PI-7 with S300

Wilson PI-7: Nice feel, a little short on distance but heavy feeling. Looks are just OK.

Cleveland TA5: Too light. Some shots sprayed off high to the right. Good distance. Feel is muted and clicky.

Mizuno MP-32: Most consistent and distance is no less than the other two. Trajectory is better. Feel is superb and better than any club other than the Wilson FG-17 irons.

I'm going to keep bagging the MP-32. What I'd really like to do is find a close to new set of the Mizuno MP-32 irons and have them reshafted with Dynamic Gold R400 shafts. It's the perfect shaft for me.

Also, take a look at this video. He makes a good case for why it's silly to buy the latest equipment:

He make a case for the " average golfer" buying new clubs to fix their swings; not for golf ho's with above average skills buying used discarded premium golf equipment. When the new G25's drivers come out in Feb. they will have the same low spin but a more forgiving head; guess where all those Ansers will be found at a fraction of the cost. As Thomas was saying, manufacturers are just "tweaking" to sell equipment; but if bought low those tweaks can be satisfying; if not, then move on.

On the ultralight shafts, I agree; except this one was attached to a heavier head. Most of the ones I have tried were attached to lightweight heads of 195 grams or less with 46 inch or longer shafts to get the swing weight up; yeah those are hard to control.

JonT wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

Mostly German wrote:

JonT wrote:I just demoed the Ping Anser driver at a outdoor range ( a sunny 22 degrees F., with a 10 mph breeze directly into the flight path). This one had a Aldila RIP Phenom 50 in regular flex; the head in this one (8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 12.0 available), which is slightly adjustable for loft, was set at the standard 10.5 degrees loft. Previous to this I owned the G20 briefly (9.5, stock 169D); for me, it was straight, but with a lot of spin, and shorter distance (carry and roll) than my other drivers; plus I hated the sound, and feel. The first few swings with it produced pretty good drives, about the same as my normal drives; I didn't feel like I was making the best contact so I choked up about a half inch; jesus jenny!!!, I was making center contact and the ball just kept climbing and going until it got so small I was having a hard time following it. The head on this, I have read, is lower spin than a G20, but slightly higher than the i20; did not balloon, just cut through the air like no breeze at all. The shaft (lightweight) seemed to work well with 203 gram (heavier) head; good feel.

Whatever. A new ho' object identified.

I've turned into a real big fan of ultra light driver shafts and have liked the feel of the few RIP shafted drivers I've hit indoors at the stores. Problem for me is that they have all been stiff flex shafts. I would imagine that guys probably traded them in because the shafts were too stiff for them. I would love to hit a Phenom regular flex.

I don't like ultralight shafts as I don't feel any control with them.

Range Report:

Went to a true green grass range and hit 3 clubs:

Mizuno MP-32 w/ S300 shafts, Cleveland TA5 Gunmetal with Sensicore Stiff and Wilson PI-7 with S300

Wilson PI-7: Nice feel, a little short on distance but heavy feeling. Looks are just OK.

Cleveland TA5: Too light. Some shots sprayed off high to the right. Good distance. Feel is muted and clicky.

Mizuno MP-32: Most consistent and distance is no less than the other two. Trajectory is better. Feel is superb and better than any club other than the Wilson FG-17 irons.

I'm going to keep bagging the MP-32. What I'd really like to do is find a close to new set of the Mizuno MP-32 irons and have them reshafted with Dynamic Gold R400 shafts. It's the perfect shaft for me.

Also, take a look at this video. He makes a good case for why it's silly to buy the latest equipment:

He make a case for the " average golfer" buying new clubs to fix their swings; not for golf ho's with above average skills buying used discarded premium golf equipment. When the new G25's drivers come out in Feb. they will have the same low spin but a more forgiving head; guess where all those Ansers will be found at a fraction of the cost. As Thomas was saying, manufacturers are just "tweaking" to sell equipment; but if bought low those tweaks can be satisfying; if not, then move on.

On the ultralight shafts, I agree; except this one was attached to a heavier head. Most of the ones I have tried were attached to lightweight heads of 195 grams or less with 46 inch or longer shafts to get the swing weight up; yeah those are hard to control.

I don't worry much about driver head weights. My current bagger 909 DComp came from the factory with a senior flex Bassara that weighed 43 grams when I pulled it and took the grip off. The head was about 199 grams. I ended up affixing about 6 grams of lead tape to the head over top of the weight screw just above the sole at the rear of the club. Of course Titleist designed it so that if you want to change weight screws, you have to send it back to Titleist and pay them. I'll stick with my lead tape and Titleist can cram all their extra 909 head weight screws us their collective asses. I'm a believer in having a good amount of mass in the head behind the ball and a really light shaft so that I can swing it fast. I cut this driver to play 44.25" when I put the VooDoo regular flex into it and put a Winn DriTac Wrap medium grip in it that goes around 35 or so grams. The club weighs 292 grams and swings around D2.5. I can control this length driver pretty well and I changed my swing a bit so I can come through faster. I've about given up on bagging anything approaching 45" let alone 46 or more.

Mostly German wrote:I've turned into a real big fan of ultra light driver shafts and have liked the feel of the few RIP shafted drivers I've hit indoors at the stores. Problem for me is that they have all been stiff flex shafts. I would imagine that guys probably traded them in because the shafts were too stiff for them. I would love to hit a Phenom regular flex.

Please explain. I went to a stiffer shaft because I have more control of my drives. I hit a much higher percentage of fairways. When I had the R flex shaft (stock Ping) I was spraying all over. The stiff Serrano 65 shaft helped alot. My SS is around 90mph - on a warm summer day .

jmtbkr wrote:

Mostly German wrote:I've turned into a real big fan of ultra light driver shafts and have liked the feel of the few RIP shafted drivers I've hit indoors at the stores. Problem for me is that they have all been stiff flex shafts. I would imagine that guys probably traded them in because the shafts were too stiff for them. I would love to hit a Phenom regular flex.

Please explain. I went to a stiffer shaft because I have more control of my drives. I hit a much higher percentage of fairways. When I had the R flex shaft (stock Ping) I was spraying all over. The stiff Serrano 65 shaft helped alot. My SS is around 90mph - on a warm summer day .

We all swing differently. Swing speed is the common determinant of proper shaft flex used by teachers and equipment makers. However, every shaft flexes a bit differntly than every other. So a stiff Serrano at the length you play it fits you better than the stock regular flex Ping shaft. Did you try a regular flex Serrano? I'm just going by empirical evidence about the prevalence of stiff flex shafts in the used bins at all the stores I frequent. In drivers and fairway woods, I'd say its 90/10 stiff to regular. Take certain popular shafts like the Titleist Speeder and VooDoo. I have never seen a regular flex Speeder in a used driver or fairway wood. If I found one, I would buy it unless it was grossly overpriced. Same with VooDoo's. The only reason I now have a regular flex VooDoo in my driver is that I found one in a local golf components store that had been pulled and got it for $15. It is a winner for me. I can't hit a stiff VooDoo to save my life.

I would imagine this scene playing out everyday in golf stores around the globe. Guy goes in to buy a new driver and gets "fit" by store person who has the customer hit some demo clubs in the simulator. Guy's swinging the new XYZ Adjustable Super Turbo Exterminator with 46.25" stiff shaft at 94 mph. The store person tells the customer that for that shaft, he needs the stiff flex. Customer then hits one with a regular flex shaft and with the 46+" lenght, it feels real whippy and the monitor numbers are not as good as the stiff flex. So customer lets clerk swipe card for several hundred bucks and walks out with his new stiff driver. Tees it up a couple of times and hits it all over the place and one in ten drives are smoked 30 yards past where he hit his old driver. So customer eventually figures out that the new driver ain't working and goes and trades it in some weeks or months later for a fraction of what he paid and gets the new best thing and repeats the cycle. So some jerkoff like me comes into the shop and sees his trade in driver, hits it, figures out that the shaft is at least two inches too long and too stiff and buys it if the price is real right. Takes it home and puts the correct shaft in and it turns into a righteous gamer. Even if I hit the mega millions lottery, I would NEVER buy a new driver. Irons are a different story.

Mostly German wrote:

JonT wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

Mostly German wrote:

JonT wrote:I just demoed the Ping Anser driver at a outdoor range ( a sunny 22 degrees F., with a 10 mph breeze directly into the flight path). This one had a Aldila RIP Phenom 50 in regular flex; the head in this one (8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 12.0 available), which is slightly adjustable for loft, was set at the standard 10.5 degrees loft. Previous to this I owned the G20 briefly (9.5, stock 169D); for me, it was straight, but with a lot of spin, and shorter distance (carry and roll) than my other drivers; plus I hated the sound, and feel. The first few swings with it produced pretty good drives, about the same as my normal drives; I didn't feel like I was making the best contact so I choked up about a half inch; jesus jenny!!!, I was making center contact and the ball just kept climbing and going until it got so small I was having a hard time following it. The head on this, I have read, is lower spin than a G20, but slightly higher than the i20; did not balloon, just cut through the air like no breeze at all. The shaft (lightweight) seemed to work well with 203 gram (heavier) head; good feel.

Whatever. A new ho' object identified.

I've turned into a real big fan of ultra light driver shafts and have liked the feel of the few RIP shafted drivers I've hit indoors at the stores. Problem for me is that they have all been stiff flex shafts. I would imagine that guys probably traded them in because the shafts were too stiff for them. I would love to hit a Phenom regular flex.

I don't like ultralight shafts as I don't feel any control with them.

Range Report:

Went to a true green grass range and hit 3 clubs:

Mizuno MP-32 w/ S300 shafts, Cleveland TA5 Gunmetal with Sensicore Stiff and Wilson PI-7 with S300

Wilson PI-7: Nice feel, a little short on distance but heavy feeling. Looks are just OK.

Cleveland TA5: Too light. Some shots sprayed off high to the right. Good distance. Feel is muted and clicky.

Mizuno MP-32: Most consistent and distance is no less than the other two. Trajectory is better. Feel is superb and better than any club other than the Wilson FG-17 irons.

I'm going to keep bagging the MP-32. What I'd really like to do is find a close to new set of the Mizuno MP-32 irons and have them reshafted with Dynamic Gold R400 shafts. It's the perfect shaft for me.

Also, take a look at this video. He makes a good case for why it's silly to buy the latest equipment:

He make a case for the " average golfer" buying new clubs to fix their swings; not for golf ho's with above average skills buying used discarded premium golf equipment. When the new G25's drivers come out in Feb. they will have the same low spin but a more forgiving head; guess where all those Ansers will be found at a fraction of the cost. As Thomas was saying, manufacturers are just "tweaking" to sell equipment; but if bought low those tweaks can be satisfying; if not, then move on.

On the ultralight shafts, I agree; except this one was attached to a heavier head. Most of the ones I have tried were attached to lightweight heads of 195 grams or less with 46 inch or longer shafts to get the swing weight up; yeah those are hard to control.

I don't worry much about driver head weights. My current bagger 909 DComp came from the factory with a senior flex Bassara that weighed 43 grams when I pulled it and took the grip off. The head was about 199 grams. I ended up affixing about 6 grams of lead tape to the head over top of the weight screw just above the sole at the rear of the club. Of course Titleist designed it so that if you want to change weight screws, you have to send it back to Titleist and pay them. I'll stick with my lead tape and Titleist can cram all their extra 909 head weight screws us their collective asses. I'm a believer in having a good amount of mass in the head behind the ball and a really light shaft so that I can swing it fast. I cut this driver to play 44.25" when I put the VooDoo regular flex into it and put a Winn DriTac Wrap medium grip in it that goes around 35 or so grams. The club weighs 292 grams and swings around D2.5. I can control this length driver pretty well and I changed my swing a bit so I can come through faster. I've about given up on bagging anything approaching 45" let alone 46 or more.

I use lead tape as well, and believe your right about more mass behind the ball. I do think that a club head engineered with more mass in the right configuration makes more of a difference. When I was into hot rodding cars, my father was alway saying that if I modified my engine in one area that I would need to modify it somewhere else as it was engineered to perform to a specific objective; changing one area may have some limited effect but also some negative as it wasn't designed for that mod. I modded anyway. When a club engineer designs a heavier head with the weight in the right places, it can make all the difference, imo. When I add weight with my lead tape it may have more mass, and will have an effect, however placement will not be optimum; there will be some negative effects.

So you do like the VooDoo shaft? I have that in my 909d2 and really like it as well; it is a stiff which is not optimum for my swing speed, but it seems to work despite that; feels very smooth and easy to load for a stiff.

BTW, my 909's have 45 inch shafts, and the Anser has a 45.25. I grip up about a half inch so effectively they play 44.5 /44.75.

JonT wrote:BTW, my 909's have 45 inch shafts, and the Anser has a 45.25. I grip up about a half inch so effectively they play 44.5 /44.75.

I am a stupid engineer/scientist , so I like to compare apples-to-apples. When you talk about golf length, what protocol do you use? thanks

Playing length of a club is typically measured from where the shaft would meet the bottom of the sole if it extended all the way through as in a Titleist wood through-bore or Callaway iron through bore to the top of grip cap.

JonT wrote:

Mostly German wrote:

JonT wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:

Mostly German wrote:

JonT wrote:I just demoed the Ping Anser driver at a outdoor range ( a sunny 22 degrees F., with a 10 mph breeze directly into the flight path). This one had a Aldila RIP Phenom 50 in regular flex; the head in this one (8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 12.0 available), which is slightly adjustable for loft, was set at the standard 10.5 degrees loft. Previous to this I owned the G20 briefly (9.5, stock 169D); for me, it was straight, but with a lot of spin, and shorter distance (carry and roll) than my other drivers; plus I hated the sound, and feel. The first few swings with it produced pretty good drives, about the same as my normal drives; I didn't feel like I was making the best contact so I choked up about a half inch; jesus jenny!!!, I was making center contact and the ball just kept climbing and going until it got so small I was having a hard time following it. The head on this, I have read, is lower spin than a G20, but slightly higher than the i20; did not balloon, just cut through the air like no breeze at all. The shaft (lightweight) seemed to work well with 203 gram (heavier) head; good feel.

Whatever. A new ho' object identified.

I've turned into a real big fan of ultra light driver shafts and have liked the feel of the few RIP shafted drivers I've hit indoors at the stores. Problem for me is that they have all been stiff flex shafts. I would imagine that guys probably traded them in because the shafts were too stiff for them. I would love to hit a Phenom regular flex.

I don't like ultralight shafts as I don't feel any control with them.

Range Report:

Went to a true green grass range and hit 3 clubs:

Mizuno MP-32 w/ S300 shafts, Cleveland TA5 Gunmetal with Sensicore Stiff and Wilson PI-7 with S300

Wilson PI-7: Nice feel, a little short on distance but heavy feeling. Looks are just OK.

Cleveland TA5: Too light. Some shots sprayed off high to the right. Good distance. Feel is muted and clicky.

Mizuno MP-32: Most consistent and distance is no less than the other two. Trajectory is better. Feel is superb and better than any club other than the Wilson FG-17 irons.

I'm going to keep bagging the MP-32. What I'd really like to do is find a close to new set of the Mizuno MP-32 irons and have them reshafted with Dynamic Gold R400 shafts. It's the perfect shaft for me.

Also, take a look at this video. He makes a good case for why it's silly to buy the latest equipment:

He make a case for the " average golfer" buying new clubs to fix their swings; not for golf ho's with above average skills buying used discarded premium golf equipment. When the new G25's drivers come out in Feb. they will have the same low spin but a more forgiving head; guess where all those Ansers will be found at a fraction of the cost. As Thomas was saying, manufacturers are just "tweaking" to sell equipment; but if bought low those tweaks can be satisfying; if not, then move on.

On the ultralight shafts, I agree; except this one was attached to a heavier head. Most of the ones I have tried were attached to lightweight heads of 195 grams or less with 46 inch or longer shafts to get the swing weight up; yeah those are hard to control.

I don't worry much about driver head weights. My current bagger 909 DComp came from the factory with a senior flex Bassara that weighed 43 grams when I pulled it and took the grip off. The head was about 199 grams. I ended up affixing about 6 grams of lead tape to the head over top of the weight screw just above the sole at the rear of the club. Of course Titleist designed it so that if you want to change weight screws, you have to send it back to Titleist and pay them. I'll stick with my lead tape and Titleist can cram all their extra 909 head weight screws us their collective asses. I'm a believer in having a good amount of mass in the head behind the ball and a really light shaft so that I can swing it fast. I cut this driver to play 44.25" when I put the VooDoo regular flex into it and put a Winn DriTac Wrap medium grip in it that goes around 35 or so grams. The club weighs 292 grams and swings around D2.5. I can control this length driver pretty well and I changed my swing a bit so I can come through faster. I've about given up on bagging anything approaching 45" let alone 46 or more.

I use lead tape as well, and believe your right about more mass behind the ball. I do think that a club head engineered with more mass in the right configuration makes more of a difference. When I was into hot rodding cars, my father was alway saying that if I modified my engine in one area that I would need to modify it somewhere else as it was engineered to perform to a specific objective; changing one area may have some limited effect but also some negative as it wasn't designed for that mod. I modded anyway. When a club engineer designs a heavier head with the weight in the right places, it can make all the difference, imo. When I add weight with my lead tape it may have more mass, and will have an effect, however placement will not be optimum; there will be some negative effects.

So you do like the VooDoo shaft? I have that in my 909d2 and really like it as well; it is a stiff which is not optimum for my swing speed, but it seems to work despite that; feels very smooth and easy to load for a stiff.

BTW, my 909's have 45 inch shafts, and the Anser has a 45.25. I grip up about a half inch so effectively they play 44.5 /44.75.

I purposely put the lead tape directly over the weight screw in the 909 head so as not to affect its playing characteristics. But the DComp head is so forgiving I doubt it would matter. I like the VooDoo regular flex shaft a lot. It is a good bit tighter than any of the other shafts I had in the head including an Axiv Blue and an NVS, both regular flexes. If and when I find something really light and with torque in the four degree or higher range, I would try a stiffer flex.

Pky6471 wrote:

JonT wrote:BTW, my 909's have 45 inch shafts, and the Anser has a 45.25. I grip up about a half inch so effectively they play 44.5 /44.75.

I am a stupid engineer/scientist , so I like to compare apples-to-apples. When you talk about golf length, what protocol do you use? thanks

Mostly German
on Thu Jan 17, 2013 8:28 am
Playing length of a club is typically measured from where the shaft would meet the bottom of the sole if it extended all the way through as in a Titleist wood through-bore or Callaway iron through bore to the top of grip cap.

^This.^

I also demoed the new JPX 825 (cast) while at the range with the Dynalite XP shafts; even cast they have the Mizuno feel; Dynalite XP shafts are what I should be looking for in shafts; heads are easy to hit without looking like shovels, and paired with these shafts went high and about a 1/2 club longer (strong lofts?).

Hit the Maltby MCC forged clubs with DGSL R300 shafts for the first time; these are excellent heads and even make the notoriously harsh DGSL shafts feel good; this year I am really going to try to stick with regular shafts and this set will probably be the gamers. They were $75, like new with spines shafts,and in my specs (2 degrees flat); they are as good as anything I have hit and look good as a bonus.

I hit some used Mizunos with those Dynalite XP shafts and they felt real nice. I loved the DGSL R300 when I hit it in some demo Mizuno and Titleist iron heads. So much that I bought a couple of new ones and put them into Mizuno MX 23 4-7 iron heads and couldn't hit them worth a sh*t. In fact, I hit the heavy DG X100's better. I think the demo clubs had the quick-change hosels and maybe were a bit more tip-flexible. I've been getting the Golfworks catalogs for a couple of years and like the looks of some of the Maltby iron heads but never saw any live. I assume that was $75 per club.

Mostly German wrote:I hit some used Mizunos with those Dynalite XP shafts and they felt real nice. I loved the DGSL R300 when I hit it in some demo Mizuno and Titleist iron heads. So much that I bought a couple of new ones and put them into Mizuno MX 23 4-7 iron heads and couldn't hit them worth a sh*t. In fact, I hit the heavy DG X100's better. I think the demo clubs had the quick-change hosels and maybe were a bit more tip-flexible. I've been getting the Golfworks catalogs for a couple of years and like the looks of some of the Maltby iron heads but never saw any live. I assume that was $75 per club.

The Mizuno JPX 825 irons have the Dyanalite Gold XP Shafts and are one of the best looking GI irons I've seen. They feel wonderful. Another set I've tried that has great feel and distance is the Nike VR Pro Cavity irons, also equipped with Dynalite 105.

I think it's all in the Dynalite shaft. Back in 1995, back when you had to advertise in the newspaper, I was selling some MP-14s with Dynamic Gold S300 shafts. I felt they were too heavy and a little stiff. Anyway, this guy answered the ad stating that he had a like new set of MP-14s with Dynalite Gold S300 shafts. We did an even swap and I must say I felt that I got the better of the deal. I took them to the range and it felt like a completely different club. Effortless to hit and it seemed like I pured every shot.

The kid who did the swap called me later in the week asking if we could trade back. He felt I got a better deal than him. I tried to remain polite and told him that there was a better chance of Clinton being re-elected than us trading clubs again. I was right about the Mizuno's but wrong about the election.

Adios.

My MP 14's currently have Dynalite Gold SL S300's in them that I had originally put in my MX 20's. The SL's are at least 10 grams lighter than the Dynalite Golds and about 30 grams lighter than the Dynamic Golds and I got a good bit higher head speed with these light shafts. I'm tempted to try graphite in those 14's.

It's rare that I spend over $200 on any set of irons but the new Ping G25 may be what breaks the camel's back. It's about time. Ping has finally realized that the G15 and G20 irons were too extreme in the areas of sole width and offset.

The anser (get it, anser?) is the Ping G25 irons. This is as close to the Ping Eye 2 as I've seen. Nice finish, nice sole width and manageable offset.

Here's a video from a guy who is testing the irons. Sounds a bit like Edgey: