Dave's Bag Lotto and Club Reviews

[Daves]

I posted the post quoted below in my WITB thread, but thought I might start a separate thread, as I intend to complete some club reviews and updates at opportunity.

Today's bag sees my 710 AP2s (105Ts) back in my bag after months of absence whilst I tried a number of new new acquisitions, plus a number of rebirthed and lengthened sets. These are one of my favorite long term iron sets, so will be interesting to see if they still have it!

Driver for today will be an Epon AF101 with Bassara 73 in Reg. I haven't hit this club very much for some reason, never in comp, but remember it as being very straight, if not particularly long.

Hybrid set up for today will be a set of Adams a12 Pros in 16, 18 & 20*.

Last night I built the set of irons that I will likely play on Friday. TM TP CBs (2011) with R300s. I have had these heads for a while, but only just got around to building the set. Looking forward to trying them.


I have started a system of bag make up I am calling Bag Lotto. The main rules are I have to use a different driver, and a different set of irons each comp round. My Hybrid set up is also now getting mixed up. Only the core Wedges (Yururi 53* and 61*) and the Putter stay the same. This includes adding Drivers and irons cold, never before hit. I have started to also include practice rounds in the mix, just so I don't get attached to any single Driver or Iron set.

Makes for an interesting first couple of holes!, but it is actually working quite well, and giving me a better chance to assess and appreciate the various clubs in my collection. It has also (coincidentally?) coincided with me playing some of my most consistent golf in quite a while. Eventually I will complete a ranking/preference list of the Drivers, Hybrids and Irons, and then see if I can come up with the best combination as a target bag.

Today I played an X2 Hot 10.5*, and my just acquired set of MP53/59s. The X2 Hot (Aldila Blue) wasn't overly long, but fairly easy to hit and forgiving, pretty easy to hit fairways. I wasn't getting the greatest feel/feedback from the Mizzys, but I couldn't argue with the results. Good flight, very straight and consistent distances. At this stage I am putting the (lack of) feel down to the shafts (XP S300s).

[Daves]

Well test bag #1 went pretty well. 40 points in yesterdays comp, including a couple of Birdies and a NTP.

The AP2s are old faithfuls, so no great surprise there. And the Adams Hybrids have been working very well for me in recent weeks. I ended putting the wrong Epon in the bag somehow?? Ended up playing the AF101 with Prolaunch Red in stiff. It was its usual accurate self, and got some good distance out of it as well. Though I only used it on 7 holes, as the 16* Adams Hybrid is quite long off the tee for me, and usually very accurate.

I won't post up my reviews just yet, I will wait till I have a few more bag rotations. I have drawn up a 10 factor, 100 point scoring scale that should keep the reviews short, but hopefully useful.

Tomorrow's irons are going to be the yet to be hit TM TP CBs with newly installed R300s. I haven't chosen Driver or Hybrid combo as yet, something for later today.

[jimandr]

The Lotto part implies gambling on the eventual result and a prize.

I predict the winner will be the cheapest and least liked combo, and the NAGA will be your sentimental favourites, the ones you want to be really good.

Have you got a putter collection as well? I haven't, but I know a number of Ozgolfers could play a different putter every day of the week. I challenge them to do so and post the results.

[PeteyD]

Not sure if Genius or Insanity. However, like a car crash, I must watch it.

[Dotty]

This will be like Mark Crossfield reviews.

But in the real world.

[wizard_of_oz]

Not sure if Genius or Insanity. However, like a car crash, I must watch it.Hah! Articulated my sentiments.

[IanO]

I wish I had the available cash to be able to do the same (also wish I had not moved on some of the sets of irons I have had).

I shall live vicariously through this thread! :mrgreen:

[3oneday]

You've playing well for a while now?

As a regular topflite tour user, players with any semblance of ability can use anything that is suitable.

[Daves]

Ghouls!;)

No point in having a club collection if you don't use them, is my theory. Plus it can be used as an excuse for buying more toys!

Actually I have been doing the bag lotto thing with my Irons and Drivers now for a couple of months, I just haven't been recording it (other than in Game Golf) and completing reviews before.

Yesterday's Driver ended up being a Cleveland Classic 290 10.5* with Miyazaki C Kua 43 R shaft. The soft shaft enables me to work this driver both ways aggressively. Though hookability tends to stop me going too hard at it, so those sneaky longer drives don't tend to happen too often with it. A pretty easy club to find the middle with, and it is quite consistent distance wise. I only missed a couple of fairways with it yesterday.

The TM TP CBs barely got a run. I didn't pull an iron till the 4th hole and that was PW, and it was the 8th hole before another iron was used, and that was a bump and run shot. I only played 6 fullish iron shots all day, and half those were PW. So will need more rounds to reviews these.

Today's bag rotations in will be;

Driver: Titleist 913 D3 8.5* with Rombax 6X07

Hybrids: Cobra Pro #2 and #3

Irons: Titleist 714 CB with SF i95s

[markTHEblake]

Two Epon drivers? That's like having 10 Taylor mades

[Daves]

Two Epon drivers? That's like having 10 Taylor mades

Closer to 20 I think. Yet to find a TM Driver that I like.

Today's changes in;

Driver: Cleveland Classic Tour 10.5* Kusala Black.
Hybrids: Adams a12 Pros #1, #2, #3.
Irons: Cabra S3 Pro Combo

[3Puttpete]

Dave, can you add tees to the lotto? So many to choose from

[Daves]

Dave, can you add tees to the lotto? So many to choose from

You have been moved to the 55th spot on my list of those that could inherit my golf tee collection. Any more lip and you will go to the back up list! Lost one into the water on the 18th tee. The memorial will be next week.

PS - average score today, but love those Cobra Pros!

[3Puttpete]

You have been moved to the 55th spot on my list of those that could inherit my golf tee collection. Any more lip and you will go to the back up list! Lost one into the water on the 18th tee. The memorial will be next week.

PS - average score today, but love those Cobra Pros!

So harsh. You're the one that started this bag lotto and now you're going to half-arse it. Disappoint.

What about ball markers?

[PeteyD]

He was trying to steal the poker chip off BITS today, might have to watch him if you use $2 coins ;)

[backintheswing]

Quite a large bag of tees was seen today.

[Daves]

You're all so mean!

Tomorrow's kit;

Driver: Titleist 910 D3 9.5* with ADDI 7x
Hybrids: #1 Nickent 3DX 14*, #2 Jetspeed 19*, #3 Cobra Baffler Pro 20*.
Irons: Mizuno MP 53/59 combos with S300s

[Daves]

I had my first equipment dud today. The Nickent 14* Hybrid just doesn't feel right. It has been problematic since it arrived from Dallas Golf. It came set up very short, 39" from memory, I have lengthened it to 42 3/4", which is probably a tad long. But it is the same length as an Adams Super Hybrid 15* I have, and it works OK. SW on the Nickent is only D3 even at the extra long set up, and that is with 3 strips of lead tape. On top of that the Reg shaft in it seems to be very soft. Whatever, I struggle to hit it even remotely consistently. I have a stiff shafted version coming. will see how it looks. The club itself looks good at set up, it just doesn't follow through to contact for me. The Adams a12 Pro 16* (42" and SW D6) is an absolute weapon in comparison, and easily substitutes for Driver on tighter/shorter holes, and 3 wood off the deck.

Driver was a mixed bag today, it seems to be a very low spin combo and I found it was running out and in to trouble a fair bit.

The Mizzy Irons were generally good, actually hit a few shots too long.

[Daves]

Latest rotations saw the Cleveland 588 Custom/Kusala Black into the bag for a trip to Bribie. I struggled with it all day, and ended up deferring to the #1 Hybrid off the tee for most of the day. It was a bit puzzling as the same driver had worked quite well for me previously with a Prolaunch Red. A check on the SW scales when I got home threw up a possible reason. The Kusala combo struggled to make it to D1, whereas the PL Red combo was D3.5. Somewhat strange as the 2 shafts are very similar weights etc, and are set up at the same playing length?.

I threw the 588 back in the bag today with the PL Red in it and it was working much better. So next step is to probably length the Kusala to get the heft up a bit.

[3Puttpete]

Bribie island GC? I'm quietly in love with that joint at the moment

[Daves]

Bribie island GC? I'm quietly in love with that joint at the moment

Pac Harbour am, Bribie pm.

[3Puttpete]

Pac Harbour am, Bribie pm.

[emoji106]

[Daves]

Today's bag was;

Driver: Cleveland Classic 290 with C Kua 43 Reg.

Hybrids: Adams A12 Pros #1, #2 & #3.

Irons: TM TP CBS, R300s

2nd round with the Cleveland 290 now, one at Nudgee, and today at Reddie Bay. I have missed 2 Fairways total so far, and neither were by very much!!! In fact I think I made par from both misses at Nudgee!

2nd round with the TMs, I hardly used them first time out (interestingly was the same round that I used the Cleveland 290 for the 1st time as well). Today they were very solid, I actually hit most shots at least pin high or longer.

Adams Hybrids were as solid as ever. The #1 was responsible for 6 of the 14 FIR today as well.

[Ferrins]

What about rotating your putter collection.

[perci]

I'M Bagging the TM TP CBs at the moment to Dave and am reasonably impressed, Solid Feel and nice Turf interaction!

[Chapzzzz]

How can you have so many clubs yet only use 1 putter?

[Daves]

What about rotating your putter collection.

Maybe at a later date. My current program is based on static Wedges and Putter line up, the short game should be able hand the variations in the rest of the bag.


I'M Bagging the TM TP CBs at the moment to Dave and am reasonably impressed, Solid Feel and nice Turf interaction!

They are chubbier than I expected, but not in a bad way. Turf interaction is very good, and very solid strikes so far. About the only thing I have had to adjust for is the slight extra offset they have.


How can you have so many clubs yet only use 1 putter? Actually I have 2 of the same putter and they do get occasionally rotated, but otherwise see above. As one of my regular playing partners said today, "you don't miss many inside 10 feet"

[perci]

They are chubbier than I expected, but not in a bad way. Turf interaction is very good, and very solid strikes so far. About the only thing I have had to adjust for is the slight extra offset they have.

Will be interesting to compare, mine don't seem to chubby but have T serial numbers so may be a tad different!

[Ferrins]

Actually I have 2 of the same putter and they do get occasionally rotated, but otherwise see above. As one of my regular playing partners said today, "you don't miss many inside 10 feet"[/QUOTE]

You do when birdie money is up for grabs.

[Daves]

Will be interesting to compare, mine don't seem to chubby but have T serial numbers so may be a tad different!

Mine are the 2011 model, I assume you have the latest versions?

[Daves]

Today's bag was;

Driver: Cleveland Classic 290 with C Kua 43 Reg.

Hybrids: Adams A12 Pros #1, #2 & #3.

Irons: TM TP CBS, R300s

2nd round with the Cleveland 290 now, one at Nudgee, and today at Reddie Bay. I have missed 2 Fairways total so far, and neither were by very much!!! In fact I think I made par from both misses at Nudgee!

2nd round with the TMs, I hardly used them first time out (interestingly was the same round that I used the Cleveland 290 for the 1st time as well). Today they were very solid, I actually hit most shots at least pin high or longer.

Adams Hybrids were as solid as ever. The #1 was responsible for 6 of the 14 FIR today as well.

After such a solid round, it was tempting to keep the same bag, but them's not the rules, so into the bag today;

Driver: Cleveland Classic Tour 10.5 Kusala Black 61S
Irons: Titleist 710 AP2 with Nippon 105Ts

[Daves]

Today's rotation;

Driver: Epon AF 101with Bassara 73 x5t Reg
Irons: Adams MB2 with DGS300 SLs
Adams: Adams Black Super Hybrid 15* in for Adams A12 Pro 16*

[Daves]

Today's rotation;

Driver: Epon AF 101with Bassara 73 x5t Reg
Irons: Adams MB2 with DGS300 SLs
Adams: Adams Black Super Hybrid 15* in for Adams A12 Pro 16*

One of the poorer rotations so far. The Epon just didn't feel right. SW is only D0 and I struggled to find the middle. and even when I did, it felt very dead. My other Epon (PL Red) is quite the opposite. So some surgery/experimenting might be due with this one. The (genuine) Bassara also disappointed.

I struggled a bit with the MB2s today also . When I swung well the flight was good, but seemed to be relatively low spinning, and I didn't get my usual drop and stop. Hit a few long as a consequence, and struggled to adjust in the shorter irons on chips shots, especially as the Yururi wedges spin like crazy. The shafts aren't ideal for me, an R300 transplant might be in the wind if I struggle with them again next time out.

The Black Super Hybrid was OK, just not as confidence building as the A12 Pro. On a day where I was struggling with the Driver, the A12 Pro #1 was missed a bit.

[Daves]

Today's rotation;

Driver: Titleist 913 D2 9.5* with AD DJ 6S
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1 back in the bag.
Irons: Titleist 710 CBs with 105Ts
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi

The Driver combo was interesting. It was hard to hit badly, most came out of the middle, but few felt very good and it was a push to get one out there. My last drive was probably my best. It will be interesting to see how it feels next time around.

The Adams Hybrid was very mixed, hit a few on the head today.

The Titty CBs are very sweet and one of my favorite sets in the rotation.

I added Putter to the rotation today for something different. I had forgotten how hot they come off the face of the milled Kombi, compared to the insert faced TM Spider. Once I had adjusted for the pace, it felt pretty good, and I thought I struck it quite well most of the day.

[backintheswing]

You were putting a great roll on most of your putts. Is the yellow ball a z star or q star?

[Daves]

You were putting a great roll on most of your putts. Is the yellow ball a z star or q star?

Z Star.

[Ferrins]

“Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly.” – Francis Bacon

[PeteyD]

mmm Bacon.

What are you going to do in Tas/Vic? Play the same set for a week?

[oldracer]

mmm Bacon.

What are you going to do in Tas/Vic? Play the same set for a week?be like a rockstar, large equipement truck with a caddy to arrange the daily bats

[Steve57]

be like a rockstar, large equipement truck with a caddy to arrange the daily bats

It would need to be a B Double!!

[Daves]

mmm Bacon.

What are you going to do in Tas/Vic? Play the same set for a week?

I am thinking a blended set!

[Daves]

mmm Bacon.

What are you going to do in Tas/Vic? Play the same set for a week?


I am thinking a blended set!

Thinking about this a bit more, I can do Driver via a few shafts, and an extra Head, one of each brand of Hybrid, and and 1 iron each from each set. Throw in a 3wood and an extra shaft and it would be easy as!

[Daves]

Tomorrow's rotation;

Driver: Cleveland Classic XL 10.5* with Miyazaki JDL 6R
Hybrids: Adams #1 with Reg shaft in for Stiff shaft version, Adams A12 Pro #4 added.
Irons: Adams Idea Tech V4 Forged 5 - PW

[coalesce]

I can't wait to see how much further you hit that driver than I do :)

[Daves]

I can't wait to see how much further you hit that driver than I do :)

You will have to wait to find out. Pulled the pin on golf today, it had been drizzling all morning and I am soft.

[jimandr]

Thinking about this a bit more, I can do Driver via a few shafts, and an extra Head, one of each brand of Hybrid, and and 1 iron each from each set. Throw in a 3wood and an extra shaft and it would be easy as!

Ah yes, but which iron from which set? Under match conditions, how many six irons would you have to hit with each set to determine which six iron was best?

You are probably better off doing a genuine lotto and drawing numbers from a barrel.

What I want to know is that if you kept it secret from your playing partners, how long would it take for them to notice all the different clubs?

I love this thread. It is great fun.

[Daves]

Tomorrow's rotation;

Driver: Cleveland Classic XL 10.5* with Miyazaki JDL 6R
Hybrids: Adams #1 with Reg shaft in for Stiff shaft version, Adams A12 Pro #4 added.
Irons: Adams Idea Tech V4 Forged 5 - PW

Some interesting results. I played the Friday arvo 9 hole chook run and shot 1 over. Only false shot was a pushed Driver into the piss on the 9th. Almost made the par anyway. The Driver was good otherwise, the #1 Hybrid laser like, barely hit the irons. So I kept the bag for Saturday.

Saturday I struggled a bit with the Driver and Hybrid. I was pushing the Driver and duck hooking the Hybrid. The V4 Forged went OK. Interesting GI irons these. I had heard little about them before I bought this set. They seem to be a very similar to the CB3s. Plenty of sole without being a shovel, thickish top line, and plenty of cavity and offset. You only notice the cavity at address on the 5i. These are quite strong lofts, so 5-PW is pretty much 4-9i in most sets. Being forged, they feel (sound) pretty good off the face. Very forgiving as well, you lose hardly anything off a toe hit. You almost have to look at the impact point to even know you missed the centre. I seemed to pull these right a little bit? Could be the lie angle, but I suspect it is just the extra offset and not being used to it. Time will tell.

Next rotation as follows;

Driver: going retro; 909 D2 10.5* with PL Red
Hybrids: Trying another slight variation of the Adams A12 #1
Irons: Original AP2 with NS970s in Reg.

I struggled with the Putter (Kombi) on Saturday, after having been dropping them consistently before that. It had me frustrated as I didn't seem to be stroking the ball properly and I couldn't work out why. That was until I 3 putted badly the last, and was waiting for my partners to putt out. I happened to look down at the putter and noticed the grip wasn't straight?? not evenly remotely straight, it was out by a good 15/20*!!?? WTF? So I checked it out yesterday and found the problem. The Grip is a Superstroke 1.0, which has a fairly generous bore. So when I fitted it I used Fabric tape underneath to give a good build up. Seems the tape glue has "let go" in the heat and basically melted and the tape has gone with it. So after a lot of clean up to get the melted glue off, I have used a few layers of masking tape this time. Hopefully, problem solvered!

[PeteyD]

Nice one with the putter!

[Hatchman]

Sorry, I can't stop laughing about the putter grip issue.
I can picture it getting further out with each putt.

[Wardy101]

Sorry, I can't stop laughing about the putter grip issue.
I can picture it getting further out with each putt.

and poor Daves getting angrier and angrier with each missed putt.

[PeteyD]

He does get quite angry at times.

[Daves]

Ghouls, the lotta you!

[Daves]

Next rotation as follows;

Driver: going retro; 909 D2 10.5* with PL Red
Hybrids: Trying another slight variation of the Adams A12 #1
Irons: Original AP2 with NS970s in Reg.



909 Driver performed well, though it initially felt very boardy. I found the spine and adjusted the shaft a quarter turn, and that fixed the problem. I was hitting it very straight most of the time and getting good distance. I might have to drop one of my 905Rs into the bag soon.

The AP2s were my gamers for a long time, so very familiar feel and mostly good results. Longer and heavier has improved their feel and my contact as well I reckon.

Putter grip fix worked, though I didn't make any long putts, didn't miss anything inside 6 feet.

Next Rotation;

Driver: Titleist 915 D3 10.5* with Diamana White 70s. Will be trying various shaft combos in future rotations.
Hybrid: Heavy (D8 ) #1 back in the bag
Irons: Ping i5s

[Daves]

Driver: Titleist 915 D3 10.5* with Diamana White 70s. Will be trying various shaft combos in future rotations.
Hybrid: Heavy (D8 ) #1 back in the bag
Irons: Ping i5s

Interesting rotation. First hit of the 915 D3. I played 11 practice holes on Friday with the Whiteboard in. It was launching quite low, so I swapped over to a Rogue Silver 110 60s for Saturday's round. Still launched pretty low, but was very straight and accurate (except for 2 pull hooks early on). I was able to hit it pretty much where I aimed it. Not particularly long, but I did manage to sneak a bit more distance towards the end of the round, as I got used to the combo. The 915 looks great at address, typical Titleist classical look that I like so much. The feel off the face was a bit different to what I am used to, a harder, harsher feel. I am not sure if was the shafts, or the new face/slot technology. Time will tell with further shaft rotations to try.

The i5s are oh so easy to hit, it is almost like cheating! About the only misses all day were right of target, as I think I struggled a little to adjust to the extra offset. It could be lie angle, but I had a similar experience with the Adams V4s, so I am thinking it is the offset. I was also hitting them quite long, about half a club at least, and they aren't strong lofts. I have used the i5s before, but not lengthened hefty and heavy mode. I think the extra length and heft has made them even better for me.

I am hitting the Adams Hybrids pretty well, too well on a few shots! that I put over the back of a couple of greens.

Next rotation;

Driver: I am going to give the 915 a break before trying another shaft in it. Into the bag is a driver I have not used for yonks. Razr Xtreme 9.5* with Trinity 65S.
Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid #1 into the bag for the fav A12 Pro.
Irons: Adams A12 Pro Forged 4-9, plus Cleveland 46/8 Wedge.

[Daves]

Next rotation;

Driver: I am going to give the 915 a break before trying another shaft in it. Into the bag is a driver I have not used for yonks. Razr Xtreme 9.5* with Trinity 65S.
Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid #1 into the bag for the fav A12 Pro.
Irons: Adams A12 Pro Forged 4-9, plus Cleveland 46/8 Wedge.

Now I remember why I haven't been using the Xtreme! Feels f'n horrid! off the face, like a lump of wood! I hit some OK drives, but I had to work bloody hard to get them out there. Bugger all forgiveness for me. I will give it one more try with another shaft, another time, but will flick it if it doesn't improve in the feel department.

I was hooking the Super Hybrid most of the day, ended up reverting to the #2 Hybrid in the end.

A12s were great, I was hitting them long and straight, and quite accurately. They set up nice and are really nice clubs to use. KBS tour stiffs would probably normally be a tad stiff for me, but playing them 1 & 1/2"over has softened them nicely.

Wednesday's rotation to be;

Driver: 915 D3 back with another shaft combo, this time the Rip Phenom 60S, which worked quite well in the 913 D3 for me.

Hybrid: A12 # 1 back in.

Irons: Tourstage 701 X Blades.

[Hatchman]

Another heft is good story above.

[Daves]

Wednesday's rotation to be;

Driver: 915 D3 back with another shaft combo, this time the Rip Phenom 60S, which worked quite well in the 913 D3 for me.

Hybrid: A12 # 1 back in.

Irons: Tourstage 701 X Blades.

This turned out to be one of my worse ball striking rounds in quite a while. The Driver swing was very average, and I didn't hit a reasonable iron shot all day (1 GIR). I will put it down to a crappy Tradesman, rather than the tools.

I haven't played for a week, so looking forward to a hit tomorrow (as I hear rain starting on the roof!).

Tomorrow's rotation to be;

Driver: 915 D3 with PL Red. This is a shaft I know well and it seems to work for me in various heads. It is going to become my shaft standard for comparison purposes. I will shortly have it in most tips to suit the adjustable Driver heads I have ( plus the ones I have incoming!).

Hybrids: The usual Adams A12 Pro trio. Some new Hybrids are on the way and will get trialled in coming weeks.

Irons: Some new additions to the collection: Adams XTD Forged with KBS Tour 90s, looking forward to their first run.

[Daves]

Tomorrow's rotation to be;

Driver: 915 D3 with PL Red. This is a shaft I know well and it seems to work for me in various heads. It is going to become my shaft standard for comparison purposes. I will shortly have it in most tips to suit the adjustable Driver heads I have ( plus the ones I have incoming!).

Hybrids: The usual Adams A12 Pro trio. Some new Hybrids are on the way and will get trialled in coming weeks.

Irons: Some new additions to the collection: Adams XTD Forged with KBS Tour 90s, looking forward to their first run.

Marginally better ball striking with these, but the swing is still off, so didn't learn a lot. I was hitting a lot of toe shots with the XTDs, so was hard to get a feel for them. I am pointing the blame at my swing, this is typical contact for me if I revert to my old swing faults. Need to work on impact to follow through.

The 915 was also marginally better for me with the PL Red, but again I was swinging relatively poorly and pull hooking (same, same #1 Hybrid).

Today's rotation;

I am still undecided on my bag for the Barnbougle/Vic Champs trip so some last minute trialing;

Driver: Back to the 915 D3 and Silver Rogue. The Driver I take on the trip with me will be a Titty head and a couple of shafts. Today will hopefully help decide whether it will be a 913 or a 915 head.
Hybrids: All Adams
Irons: TM TP CBs. I am thinking of packing more forgiving irons for the trip that I can swing easy. Short list; AP2, i5s, TM TP CBS, Adams V4s, Adams A12s or 710 CBs.

[Ned]

Which ones to use........


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[PeteyD]

Bit messy. Was in much better nick last time I saw it.

[Daves]

It's not really a DaveS effort, but not bad.

It is my stuff, but he did miss a fair bit.

[PeteyD]

It is my stuff, but he did miss a fair bit.

Yes I realised and editted ;)

[hacker]

Which ones to use........


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Encouraging more pics of other's collections as after seeing the above my missus thinks I have slightly less of a problem. :D

[Deester]

I need to show the misses those pics hahaha.

Great thread and great read !

[benno_r]

That garage is one of golfs great wonders - first time I went there I just about shot a bolt.

Until I relised they were all backwards.

[timah!]

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when trying to describe that for insurance purposes!

[Daves]

Today's rotation;

I am still undecided on my bag for the Barnbougle/Vic Champs trip so some last minute trialing;

Driver: Back to the 915 D3 and Silver Rogue. The Driver I take on the trip with me will be a Titty head and a couple of shafts. Today will hopefully help decide whether it will be a 913 or a 915 head.
Hybrids: All Adams
Irons: TM TP CBs. I am thinking of packing more forgiving irons for the trip that I can swing easy. Short list; AP2, i5s, TM TP CBS, Adams V4s, Adams A12s or 710 CBs.

Better ball striking today in the Texas Scramble. The TM TP CBs proved their worth and have been packed for the Champs trip.

The Barnbougle/Vic Champs bag will be;

Driver: 913 D3 9.5* with a variety of shaft combos, a Rombax, PL Red, Silver Rogue & TP6HD. Plus an Oban Gold to collect off Ray.
Hybrids: The All Adams trio stay on
Irons: TM TP CBs

[Daves]

Update report mid trip. The TM TP Co have been a winning choice so far. The larger soles were just the thing for the tightish lies at Barnbougle.

But I have had a few issues with the Titleist shafts. The Shotmaker came loose in the Rombax on day 1, & the Pl Red adaptor won't tighten correctly. The TP6HD was OK until I started to tire. The Silver Rogue will be it, until I collect the Oban Gold off Ray on Satur day,

[Ferrins]

Got over this yet?

[Daves]

Got over this yet?

I haven't swung a club in 3 weeks, so no updates. Hopefully will get a round in on the weekend. I haven't decided what the bag will be as yet ,but I have enough new clubs to keeping me going for a few months yet.

[Ferrins]

Love your resolve.

[Daves]

Some quick updates, as I have finally managed to get back on the course.

I played the Saturday comp, but I proved to be quite rusty. Not my swing so much, I was striking reasonably, more my course management wasn't quite on.

Bag for the day was;

Driver: Titleist 913 D3 with Rombax 6x07
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pros #1 to #3
Irons: TM TP CBs 4-PW
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi

My Driver swing was only average, I tended to be hitting low pullish draws. Amazing how much swing speed you can lose after a few weeks off. I was feeling the gluts etc by the time I finished.

Hit the irons reasonably well, just didn't make the up and downs too often.

I had a practice hit yesterday, which was a chance to try a few of the new clubs that have arrived in the last month.

Driver: Nike Pro Limited Edition 10.5* with Blueboard s83 g4"t in Reg
3 Wood: Adams Insight XTD Pro 14.5*
Hybrids: Usual Adams A12 Pros
Irons: Ping Eye 2s, 3-PW
Wedges: Yururis
Putter: Kombi.

The Nike Driver went quite well. I found it reasonably easy to hit, and it seemed to be reasonably long.

I hit a few very good shots early with the XTD Pro 3 wood, but then started hitting pushes left. More the swing, than the club though. Liking the flight out of this one. Time will tell whether a 3 wood can push its ways back into the bag, over the myriad Hybrid options that have been working so well for me.

I haven't tried Ping Eyes before, but they proved to be as easy to hit as they look. I struggled a little to adjust my club selections to the weaker lofts. And the huge offsets were a touch off putting, I found I was either pulling shots a bit right, or over allowing and pushing left. Something to get used to.

My next comp round is tomorrow, the bag to be chosen later when I wander out to the Golf Cave in my garage. Lots of new clubs to try, but I need to glue up a few of them, regrip etc when I get the urge.

[Daves]

Today's bag selection is as follows;

Driver: Callaway Big Bertha 10.5* with the Prolaunch Red I glued up yesterday
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1 16*, Adams Idea Pro Gold Tour Proto 18*, Adams Idea Pro Gold Tour Proto 20*
Irons: Titleist 710 CBs with R300s
Wedges: Yururi 53* and 61*
Putter: Kombi

[IanO]

Daves, I am interested in your comment on using a hybrid instead of the 3 wood. I have been using a 4 wood instead of 3 wood for about a year and am about to upgrade to the 915 driver, wood and hybrid, but have been thinking that driver hybrid, hybrid might be the go. What do you think, and which Hybrids?

[Daves]

Hi Iano,

I find that I hit more consistent shots with a Hybrid, and I use them more often in a round. When I did carry a 3 wood, I might use it every other round. I don't hit my drives far enough to be in range on our par 5s very often. And even if I was, I can hit my 16* Hybrid pretty much as far, with the added bonus of being able to work the shot more consistently, and being able to handle less than perfect lies as well.

I prefer Cobra and Adams Hybrids myself, but there are plenty of choices now days in the 15/16* Hybrid. The Ping and Callaway Hybrids also look the goods, and I have had success in the past with a 17* Titleist, turned down to 16.25*. I also like the TM Jetspeed Hybrids a lot, but they only make 19* an 22* in Leftie models.

[Trento]

Dave, what was your take on the 910 driver with the Kai'li shaft.
When I hit it ok it gets out there ok, distance wise
Thing is I can hit it both left and right.
In your opinion did you find it on the soft side.
I think I need something stiffer, that doesn't feel too heavy and boardy.
I do have a fubuki alpha in stiff that feels like a pole to me

[Hatchman]

Dave, what was your take on the 910 driver with the Kai'li shaft.
When I hit it ok it gets out there ok, distance wise
Thing is I can hit it both left and right.
In your opinion did you find it on the soft side.
I think I need something stiffer, that doesn't feel too heavy and boardy.
I do have a fubuki alpha in stiff that feels like a pole to me

Have you tried an Aldila RIP Red Eyes Alpha?

[Trento]

No mate, good?

[Daves]

Dave, what was your take on the 910 driver with the Kai'li shaft.
When I hit it ok it gets out there ok, distance wise
Thing is I can hit it both left and right.
In your opinion did you find it on the soft side.
I think I need something stiffer, that doesn't feel too heavy and boardy.
I do have a fubuki alpha in stiff that feels like a pole to me

Hi Trent,

I have not hit it for quite a while, but 910 with Kai'li was fairly accurate for me, without being particularly long. It is a comparably softer shaft than some, probably better suited to slower swing speeds I would have thought. RIP Red Eye is a bit stiffer tipped but somewhat similar profile. The Ahina/Whiteboard is a stiffer tipped and lower launching alternative. If you like the Kai'li type softness, an ADDI would be another to try, albeit more exy.

[Trento]

I tried a Aldilla RIP Red eye 60 S yesterday, huge improvement ,very stable, great shaft.
Good recommendation Dave,
Thanks

[Hatchman]

Aldila Red Eyes is an under rated shaft.

[Trento]

Sorry, thanks to Hatchman for the suggestion on the red eyes shaft,
A really good result for me

[Daves]

It has been a while since I have played, I have been traveling again.

Today's bag;

Driver: Callaway X2 Hot Driver 10.5* with Aldila Tour Blue
Hybrids: Adams Pro Gold Tour Protos #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Cobra S3 Pros
Wedges: Yururi 53*, 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi

[Ferrins]

Solid irons to use after a break!

[Daves]

Solid irons to use after a break!

They aren't greatly forgiving, but are more forgiving than you would think. These are one of my all time favorites, and I always seems to play well with them.

34 points today without a lot of luck.

The X2 Hot is silly easy to hit, and is quite long when I put a good swing on it.

The Adams Pro Golds ditto, easy as to hit.

I hit a couple out of the toe with the Cobras and got the resultant 20% distance shortfall, but in reverse, anything out of the middle just goes hard, straight and long. These feel beautiful, and the sound of a pure hit is just glorious. As I said, would be in my top 2 or 3 sets, easily.

[kiwitown]

Fave how are the yururi wedges they seem reasonable priced on tsg?

[D22marshall]

Get on yururi wedges they are gold

[Daves]

Fave how are the yururi wedges they seem reasonable priced on tsg?

I love them Kiwi, incredible feel and control. I think the Shimada shafts are pretty special as well. The club faces are actually quite large and forgiving, very easy to hit. I have a bag full of alternative wedges, including a set of Muiras, but haven't touch one since I bought the Yururis. I bought mine as heads only and built them to my specs.

[kiwitown]

I've been thinking of getting the Yururi 2014 raw gekku heads but I'm not sure if the are confirming heads or not?

[Daves]

I've been thinking of getting the Yururi 2014 raw gekku heads but I'm not sure if the are confirming heads or not?

http://www.tourspecgolf.com/blog/yururi-tsg-exclusive-wedges/

[kiwitown]

Thanks for that Dave, always the way I want 50,54,58 as my mp64s PW IS 46 degrees. Did you bend yours in any way or are they standard loft and lie?

[Daves]

I haven't needed to bend my wedges at all, but they would bend pretty easily I would think.

[Ferrins]

They aren't greatly forgiving, but are more forgiving than you would think. These are one of my all time favorites, and I always seems to play well with them.

34 points today without a lot of luck.

The X2 Hot is silly easy to hit, and is quite long when I put a good swing on it.

The Adams Pro Golds ditto, easy as to hit.

I hit a couple out of the toe with the Cobras and got the resultant 20% distance shortfall, but in reverse, anything out of the middle just goes hard, straight and long. These feel beautiful, and the sound of a pure hit is just glorious. As I said, would be in my top 2 or 3 sets, easily.

Bidding on a set atm

[Daves]

Bidding on a set atm

Did you buy them?

Tomorrow's bag has been chosen;

Driver: Callaway Alpha with Aldila Tour Blue
Hybrids: Adams Pro Black 9031 @#1, #2 & #3
Irons: Adams A12 Pro Forged
Wedges: Yururi 53 & 61
Putter: Scotty Kombi

[Ferrins]

Yes I bought them on the weight of your praise, if they are no good I will kick you in the shins.:)

[jimandr]

Daves only endorses the leftie version.

[Daves]

Did you buy them?

Tomorrow's bag has been chosen;

Driver: Callaway Alpha with Aldila Tour Blue
Hybrids: Adams Pro Black 9031 @#1, #2 & #3
Irons: Adams A12 Pro Forged
Wedges: Yururi 53 & 61
Putter: Scotty Kombi


Yes I bought them on the weight of your praise, if they are no good I will kick you in the shins.:)

It won't be the clubs' fault if they don't work for you!

I played in the slop on Sunday. I struggled a little with a block left with the driver, a bit of anti-hook open face manipulation creeping in. The Alpha went OK when I hit it straight, the slop (and moisture heavy air) prevented any meaningful distance assessment. I expect it to be reasonably long.

The A12s are very easy to hit, they just didn't get enough chances to show their stuff in this round, because I was in the trees more often than not. I hit a few beauties though when I managed to find the fairway. The KBS Tours work very nicely with these, and the added 1 & 1/2" softens them enough that the stiffs feel more like regs. Nice feel off the forged faces as well, pretty of forgiveness without comprising workability.

My first run with the Adams Black Hybrids; I like them a lot and they look pretty smick as well. Nice lower flight, but still seem to get out there and quite workable as well.

Bag selection for tomorrow;

Driver: Cleveland Classic Tour 310 9.5* with Miyazaki Kusula Black
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Mizuno MP53/59 combos 4-9i
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX Satin 46/8, Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi

[3Puttpete]

As long as you figure it out by next friday

[Ferrins]

Cobra's turned up today and they are sweet!

[Daves]

Cobra's turned up today and they are sweet!

So we will see them tomorrow then?




Bag selection for tomorrow;

Driver: Cleveland Classic Tour 310 9.5* with Miyazaki Kusula Black
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Mizuno MP53/59 combos 4-9i
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX Satin 46/8, Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi

Wednesday was another average swing round. I managed to hit a few more fairways, but the going was slow and it was hard to maintain
any rythym. The Mizunos are interesting, I do need to spend some more time with them. I haven't loved Mizzys in the past, but these are pretty good. I also seem to be hitting them pretty long, an extra 5 to 10 quite often.

Bag selection for tomorrow;

Driver: Nike Covert VR-S Tour with PL Red. Glued it up this arvo, so first run for this club.
Hybrid: Adams 9031 Black #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Titleist AP2s
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi.

[Ferrins]

Put them straight into play today and the first six shots wete horrible but then I started to flush a few.

[Daves]

Put them straight into play today and the first six shots wete horrible but then I started to flush a few.

They sounded great today. You just need to learn to trust them and hit the shot.



Bag selection for tomorrow;

Driver: Nike Covert VR-S Tour with PL Red. Glued it up this arvo, so first run for this club.
Hybrid: Adams 9031 Black #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Titleist AP2s
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi.

The Covert was interesting. Probably one of the straightest drivers I have hit. It didn't seem to match with the PL Red all that well. Seems to me it needs a more active and higher launching shaft with my 95mph ish swing. I will have to check out the larder.

The AP2s were very reliable for most of the day. They really are a forgiving club, without the thick topline to put you off.

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Callaway BB Alpha 815 with Speeder shaft (arrived today, thanks Stealth2)
Hybrids: Adams Pro Gold Protos #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Titleist 714 CBs with i95s
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Undecided, might give the Kombi a rest tomorrow?

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Callaway BB Alpha 815 with Speeder shaft (arrived today, thanks Stealth2)
Hybrids: Adams Pro Gold Protos #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Titleist 714 CBs with i95s
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Undecided, might give the Kombi a rest tomorrow?

The 815 is a keeper, liked it a lot.

The CBs with Steelfibers are really growing on me. I found the feel a bit different at first, but can't argue with the results, and these are very accurate to use. I find the Titty CBs (all models) fairly forgiving as well. Gave the TM Spider S a run, with similar results to the Kombi. I probably have a slight preference for the non insert milled face of the Scotty.

Today's bag as follows;

Driver: Cobra Bio Cell + with PL Red
Fairway: Adams Insight XTD Pro 14.5*
Hybrids: Adams Pro Gold #2 & #3
Irons: Nike VR Pro Combo
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Squareback

[Daves]

Today's bag as follows;

Driver: Cobra Bio Cell + with PL Red
Fairway: Adams Insight XTD Pro 14.5*
Hybrids: Adams Pro Gold #2 & #3
Irons: Nike VR Pro Combo
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Squareback

The Bio Cell + went very well. Next step will be to try some diiferent shafts in it. I love the VR Pro Combos, they are up there with the Cobra Pros as one of my most favored sets. The Squareback felt pretty good, perhaps a little light in the head, but that may be bias from using larger mallets for a while.

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Ping i25 with PL Red. First Ping Driver for me.
Hybrid: Hybrid #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Adams V4 forged
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Ping i25 with PL Red. First Ping Driver for me.
Hybrid: Hybrid #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Adams V4 forged
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi

The i25 was a mixed bag. It started out fairly ordinary after an OK drive down the first, I started hitting them out of the toe. Half way round I twigged that the shaft might be a bit long, gripped down and started finding the middle. Very solid once that was solved and quite a straight driver. Next time round will be with another shorter shaft.

The Adams V4s are an interest set, forged with Adams black finish, but with lots of offset and cavity. The top line is quite thin, so it isn't so noticeable till the 6i and 5i, when you can see the big bum from above. They have potential, but so far I can't quite get the feel of them. I suspect it is the lightweight shafts that I am struggling with. When I catch one they really fly, and the strong lofts appeal to me a little as something different for the mix of irons I play, that make me think my club selection more carefully, and add some variety.

Love the Cleveland RTX PW (46), this is a real scoring club for me, and as good as the best PW feels in my sets. A great inclusion for sets that I only have down to 9i, or the PW isn't my favorite club.

Today's bag

Driver: TM SLDR 10.5* with Miyazaki Kusula Black. I am not a TM Driver fan I have to say, will be interesting how I go with this, given its rep.
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Titleist 710 AP2
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi

[Daves]

Today's bag

Driver: TM SLDR 10.5* with Miyazaki Kusula Black. I am not a TM Driver fan I have to say, will be interesting how I go with this, given its rep.
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Titleist 710 AP2
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Kombi

It took a little while to get the hang of the SLDR, hits felt like the head was a hard block of wood. It launches really, really low. The Miyazaki Black probably didn't help the launch either. There was a time when a club like this would go hard left for me, ditto most TMs Drivers I have found. But a swing rejig last year doesn't see me lose too many that way anymore. These were mostly straight with the odd baby draw, I would still really struggle to get this to go hard right though. Once I worked out how to aim it, it was quite effective and reasonable long (lots of run out). I really need to get the launch up though, even with the adapter set at +1.5* it was really low.

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Titleist 910 D3 with PL Blue S
Hybrid: Titliest 910H #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Ping i5s
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Titleist 910 D3 with PL Blue S
Hybrid: Titliest 910H #1, #2 & #3
Irons: Ping i5s
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi

I guess my score is the best way to review this latest rotation. My best round for a while, though my consistency, and my ball striking have been building towards it for a little while now. I managed to accumulate 43 points in yesterday's comp to take out A Grade. The front nine was an even par 24 points, the back a more measly 19 points, after a little wobble after the turn. I came home in -1 for the last four holes to finish it off.

The D3 with PL Blue was a dart. Not super long, but consistently long and straight. I only missed 2 fairways (the wobble) all day with it.

The Titleist Hybrids were a bit a revelation, after a fair period of Adams only in the bag. I actually hit a couple of shots way long and through the greens when I flushed them.

The i5s are the classical GI clubs, with a little bit of workability when you need it. 50% GIR is a pretty good for me, but in reality there were another 3 or 4 approaches that were only missed by a metre or 2 (mostly long). A great 9i to a few feet for bird on the last left me feeling pretty good about the i5s, and also the i15 heads sitting on my workbench waiting to be shafted up. I will probably get a chance to do those shafts tomorrow, because it doesn't look like there is a hope in hell of me playing tomorrow!

[RobNewy]

Out of curiosity Daves.

Do you ever have trouble adjusting to new clubs every round?
I wonder if this experiment would be better with a few rounds if each set?

Then again i saw some photos of your shed. No wonder you change every round!!

You dont have a 4 hybrid you want to part with do you?

[aussieashley]

What are the clubs you rate the highest Daves?
What clubs would be in your "All Star" bag?

[Daves]

Out of curiosity Daves.

Do you ever have trouble adjusting to new clubs every round?
I wonder if this experiment would be better with a few rounds if each set?

Then again i saw some photos of your shed. No wonder you change every round!!

You dont have a 4 hybrid you want to part with do you?

Adjusting is part of the fun, I find. It becomes pretty easy after a while, and there is some element of improved awareness I think, as you adjust for distance/lofts/forgiveness variances. I do play practice rounds, and there are occasions that some clubs will get 2 outings in a row (or more) e.g. weekends away. As you say, it would take forever to get through them all if I didn't change them constantly.

I have a few #4s, and another one (a Wilson DXI) on the way. I think there are a few #5s in the collection as well. They might get a run with a cut down set of blades at some stage. I will see if I have anything spare. What are you after, anything in particular?

[RobNewy]

Cheers for the reply.

Im after a Nickent 5DX 20* with an Aldila NV85.

My McGregor broke a little bit on the weekend, and i have a 17* 5DX that i love so after something similar

[Daves]

What are the clubs you rate the highest Daves?
What clubs would be in your "All Star" bag?

Hi Ash,

Still working on the ratings, but in reality I can play pretty well with most of them I have found.

I love the Cobra S3s Pro Combos, they feel absolutely fabulous to use, ditto the Nike VR Pro Combos. And the Mizzys 53/59s are pretty nice to use as well. The AP2, i5s and A12s are easy as to hit and still feel nice. Add to that list the TM TP CBs and the Titty CBs.

A good set of Hybrids can cover a whole heap of situations and weakness with other clubs. I quite like Fairways, but struggle to justify them when I can hit Hybrids just as far.

There is a barely a Driver in the collection I can't use effectively, and with a mirade a shaft options I can keep the rotations going forever! There is probably only 10m difference in average distance between them, a few can get out there a bit further when needed, but I can work around each ones strengths and weaknesses.

In reality I tend to stick to same important clubs most rounds, the wedges and the putter. They are the scoring clubs for me and can cover a mirade of sins with the others.

[Daves]

Cheers for the reply.

Im after a Nickent 5DX 20* with an Aldila NV85.

My McGregor broke a little bit on the weekend, and i have a 17* 5DX that i love so after something similar

Nothing in Nickent with that much loft, only 14* and 17* at present. You aren't a lefty though are you?

[RobNewy]

Nothing in Nickent with that much loft, only 14* and 17* at present. You aren't a lefty though are you? I didn't realise you were a lefty either!Kindly disregard

[oldracer]

Nothing in Nickent with that much loft, only 14* and 17* at present. You aren't a lefty though are you?haha I was nearly going to chime in!!! Nice round Dave, got it going on

[PeteyD]

Time to get some JDM irons Dave ;)

[Daves]

Time to get some JDM irons Dave ;)

Tourstage X Blade 701s already in the collection, but wouldn't mind some Miuras, Epons or similar, even Srixons!

[Daves]

Today's bag;

Some more clubs arrived last week, so some newies to try.

Driver: Nike Covert 2.0 tour with Kuro Kage Silver
Fairway: Wilson Staff Fybrid #3 15*
Hybrids: 910H #2, Wilson Staff DXI #4
Irons: Ping i15 with R400s
Wedges : Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi

[backintheswing]

Wow a fairway in the bag and no Adams hybrids!! This could be interesting.

[Daves]

Today's bag;

Some more clubs arrived last week, so some newies to try.

Driver: Nike Covert 2.0 tour with Kuro Kage Silver
Fairway: Wilson Staff Fybrid #3 15*
Hybrids: 910H #2, Wilson Staff DXI #4
Irons: Ping i15 with R400s
Wedges : Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi


Wow a fairway in the bag and no Adams hybrids!! This could be interesting.

The Fybrid went OK, I could see the crossbreed advantages. I might give my FW fav, the Cobra tonk machine a run in the next bag.

The Covert 2.0 was a real struggle though. It only wanted to go left, and I just couldn't seem to catch it right. I managed a couple of straight ones late, but they barely got off the ground. And it felt horrible, even when I found the middle of the face. A check today threw up a few things;

1) I had the loft settings wrong. I didn't twig that the adapters are only RH orientated, so what I thought was 12.0*, was actually 8* (and the face would have been 3+* open).
2. It SWs at D6 from the factory, too heavy for Driver for me.
3. The KK shaft is extra big in the butt and the grip has a substantially larger diameter as a result. It also seems to be pretty soft, more A than R I reckon.

So I will give it another run at later date, with a few mods and see if it improves the feel and results.

I built the i15s on Tuesday, to the same length as my i5s, but with heavier R400s. I didn't pay much attention to their SWs, as I am used to and like playing heavy irons. However these ended up much heftier than I expected, D9 to E3. They went OK, but just didn't feel as good as the i5s and were a little more inconsistent. I hit some good shots with them, but they just didn't feel quite right. So I did a refit counter weighting job on them today to match the SWs of the i5s.

I still managed to scramble 35 points, mainly due to my GW, and PW putting quite a few recovery approaches inside 2m to scramble par.

[goonie]

I found it hard to do anything but fade/slice the Covert 1.0 that I had. Didn't matter what loft or face angle I had it set on.

[JADO75]

2.0 tour driver was more fade biased than anything I've ever hit too. Even when you set the face angle to "left" which actually brings it back to near square, it's still a right machine.

[Daves]

I found it hard to do anything but fade/slice the Covert 1.0 that I had. Didn't matter what loft or face angle I had it set on.


2.0 tour driver was more fade biased than anything I've ever hit too. Even when you set the face angle to "right" which actually brings it back to near square, it's still a left machine.

I had read it was fade biased, but didn't realise it was that much inclined. I will be interested to see if I can tame it? I have a Covert 1.0 Tour and it has been nothing like the 2.0 for me so far. I have a PL Red I have used in it, might have to try it in the 2.0. Ditto I might try the KK Silver in the 1.0 and see how it goes.

[damoocow]

Time to rotate the wedges and putter, or is this a fake lotto?????

[jimandr]

Time to rotate the wedges and putter, or is this a fake lotto?????

The actual lotto part hasn't started yet. We haven't quite reached the required 80 combinations.

A serious question for you, Daves. Having looked out my window today and seen a fairly strong breeze blowing, do you take weather conditions into account when making your assessments. Have you got to the point where you can pick combos for windy conditions, calm conditions, firm conditions v soft conditions?

[Daves]

Time to rotate the wedges and putter, or is this a fake lotto?????

The Putter does get rotated occasionally, the Wedge less so. I need to get some more JDM Wedges! My core theory is the short game will cover most shortcomings elsewhere in the bag, and take away some of the anguish. Though I think if I was willing to spend a bit of time practicing with other wedges and putters it/they would become less of a crutch.


The actual lotto part hasn't started yet. We haven't quite reached the required 80 combinations.

A serious question for you, Daves. Having looked out my window today and seen a fairly strong breeze blowing, do you take weather conditions into account when making your assessments. Have you got to the point where you can pick combos for windy conditions, calm conditions, firm conditions v soft conditions?

I try not to Jim, I find I can flight most clubs to suit the conditions. But if the conditions are bad enough, I might take a little bit of extra comfort by ensuring my go to clubs are in the bag to cover up "problems" elsewhere in the bag. e.g. If the Driver hasn't been hit before, I like to have a fav #1 Hybrid in bag as back up in case.

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Titleist 913 D3 9.5 with AD DI 7x
Hybrids: Titleist 910H #1 & #2, Wilson Staff #4
Irons: Ping i15
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi.

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Titleist 913 D3 9.5 with AD DI 7x
Hybrids: Titleist 910H #1 & #2, Wilson Staff #4
Irons: Ping i15
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi.

Mixed bag with the Driver, hit some great drives and a few pushes. I blame the swing, not the club though. I was somewhat patchy through the bag. This combo is one of my longer Drivers, just seems to get out there nearer my max more often than not.

The i15s, now back/counter balanced felt better. These things as just so forgiving, it is hard to hit a really bad shot with them.

Today's bag;

Driver: TM AeroBurner 10.5* with PL Red S. Head arrived Wed, glued up Thursday.
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1, TM AeroBurner #3, Wilson Staff #4
Irons: Titleist 710 CBs with 105Ts
Wedges: Yururi 53* and 61*
Putter: TM Spider S

[Hatchman]

Can't remember if you've had a Jetspeed in the rotation or not and too many posts to read them all.
Interested how the AeroBurner compares against it?

[Daves]

Can't remember if you've had a Jetspeed in the rotation or not and too many posts to read them all.
Interested how the AeroBurner compares against it?

Hi Hatchy,

yes, I have a Jetty in the collection. I haven't swung it in yonks, and it hasn't made it into a rotation as yet. I will promote it just for you.

The Aero is very forgiving I found, and quite anti hook i.e. fade biased. Seems fairly consistently long as well. Higher launch, but still relatively low spin. I like the look of it, reminds me of the Superfast at address.

[Daves]

Today's bag;

Driver: TM AeroBurner 10.5* with PL Red S. Head arrived Wed, glued up Thursday.
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1, TM AeroBurner #3, Wilson Staff #4
Irons: Titleist 710 CBs with 105Ts
Wedges: Yururi 53* and 61*
Putter: TM Spider S

The AeroBurner went OK, not great, but not bad. As mentioned, it is fade biased and pretty forgiving. I hit a couple of really good drives with it, a few so so, and one bad one, last of the day (cost me a triple for a net 73). I didn't find it greatly workable (the trade off of forgiveness) but you could bunt it around with low cuts quite easily I reckon. I managed a couple of baby draws, but it was tough to get it moving that way.

The 710 CBs (with NS 105Ts) were great. I have not used this set for a while, it won't be that long between rotations next time! They felt pure, and I was able to work shots easily. And hardly missed the middle all day. The only "fault" I could raise was I hit a couple of flushed shots long.

A switch of putters worked a treat, and I canned a lot of putts in this round for a 26 putt round.

Tomorrow's round bag;

Driver: Wishon 915CFE
Hybrids: Adams a12 Pros #1,#2 & #3
Irons: Ping i20s. Heads arrived yesterday, glued in shafts, and backed weighted them this afternoon!
Wedges: Yururi 53* & 61*
Putter: TM Spider S

[Jazz18]

This is a cool thread but looks like it's on a break. Anymore additions to this Daves? Are the photos on here really of your collection? Is it really not all of it?

[Daves]

This is a cool thread but looks like it's on a break. Anymore additions to this Daves? Are the photos on here really of your collection? Is it really not all of it?

I am having a small posting break due to injury. I have developed some neck and shoulder problems from degeneration and arthritis, and this has also caused some referred Tendonitis pain, all of which meant my swing went to poo. I am still rotating clubs through the bag when I play, but I am struggling to break 90 at present, and it has little to do with the clubs. I am gradually getting better with regular Physio sessions, and will hopefully start to play some decent golf soon, when I will post again.

I have a real back log of clubs yet to be tested, with more incoming! The photos reflect a small part of the collection. I was in GCO the other day and I reckon I had them covered several times over on Lefty stock! There are also several cupboards and drawers full of ancilliary gear and components, plus a 6 metre work bench.

[Jazz18]

I am having a small posting break due to injury. I have developed some neck and shoulder problems from degeneration and arthritis, and this has also caused some referred Tendonitis pain, all of which meant my swing went to poo. I am still rotating clubs through the bag when I play, but I am struggling to break 90 at present, and it has little to do with the clubs. I am gradually getting better with regular Physio sessions, and will hopefully start to play some decent golf soon, when I will post again.

I have a real back log of clubs yet to be tested, with more incoming! The photos reflect a small part of the collection. I was in GCO the other day and I reckon I had them covered several times over on Lefty stock! There are also several cupboards and drawers full of ancilliary gear and components, plus a 6 metre work bench.

Wow, that's an amazing amount of gear.

I've been plagued myself with back and neck injuries over the last 6 months give or take, so I know how you feel. Good luck getting through them and back to hitting them well. Look forward to hearing more about the bag lotto when you're all good again.

[Shane788]

Pictures Dave!

[Daves]

I am back! Well at least I can swing a club again with some freedom of moment.

I have been continuing the rotations, but haven't been playing much golf worthy of mention.

Today's bag;

Driver: TM AeroBurner 10.5* with PL Red
Fairway: Cleveland Launcher 3 wood with Fit on Gold
Hybrids: Cobra Baffler Pro #2, #3 & #4
Irons: Cobra Bio Cell + 5-9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 PW, Yururi Genki 53* & 61*
Putter: SC Kombi

The Radar is looking a bit ominous though.

[Lagerlover]

What brand snorkel?

[Daves]

I am back! Well at least I can swing a club again with some freedom of moment.

I have been continuing the rotations, but haven't been playing much golf worthy of mention.

Today's bag;

Driver: TM AeroBurner 10.5* with PL Red
Fairway: Cleveland Launcher 3 wood with Fit on Gold
Hybrids: Cobra Baffler Pro #2, #3 & #4
Irons: Cobra Bio Cell + 5-9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 PW, Yururi Genki 53* & 61*
Putter: SC Kombi

The Radar is looking a bit ominous though.

Today ended up being Saturday, the Wednesday round was a washout.

The AeroBurner was average, I struggled to get clean contact for some reason, not nearly as good as my first up round with it.

The Cleveland 3W was pretty good, and should get some more bag time soon.

The Bio Cell + irons were OK, I hit some good shots with them, but I struggled a little with the feel. At this stage I am putting that down to the S300 shafts which are probably a touch firm for me. But I tend to be able to adjust to the firmness with a little bag time.

The Yururi Genki wedges are great, except they tend to rip the ball cover apart pretty quickly.

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Cobra Bio Cell +
Hybrids: Cobra Baffler Pro #1, #2, #3 & #4
Irons: Ping i20s
Wedges: Cleveland 588 PW (46*), Yururi Genki 53* & 61*
Putter: TM Spider S

[goonie]

I'm trying to get my i20 together for this weekend :-)

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Cobra Bio Cell +
Hybrids: Cobra Baffler Pro #1, #2, #3 & #4
Irons: Ping i20s
Wedges: Cleveland 588 PW (46*), Yururi Genki 53* & 61*
Putter: TM Spider S

The course proved to be pretty wet, and the greens were slow and bumpy, we all struggled in the conditions. It is hard to rate the clubs used in these conditions. The only real learning was the TM putter with insert just doesn't work as well on slow, bump greens. I am not sure if it is the insert, or the loft?? (will check loft when I get a chance). Distance control wasn't there. We all struggled to get the ball to the hole in the conditions.

Bag for Friday's round was as follows;

Driver: Ping i25 with PL Red
Hybrids: Cobra Baffler Pro #1, #2, #3 & #4
Irons: Ping Eye 2s 5 -9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 PW (46*), Yururi Genki 53* & 61*
Putter: SC Kombi

We encountered much drier conditions for the Black Marker on Friday. I started very slowly, and used more than half of my handicap through the first 4 holes. Then I started playing golf, 1 under through to the turn, and solid on the back nine for a Net 72.

The i25 is super forgiving, though I seemed to find the middle on most drives, so it is super easy to swing as well. Distance was average, but consistency meant the average drive was solid.

The Eye 2s are seriously easy to hit. I was sort of allowing for their weaker lofts in my club selection, but they didn't end up being any shorter than most of my other sets. I will need to check whether they have been strengthened, as they were quite long considering their weak standard lofts.

The Kombi was a much better tool on the slow greens. I don't know if it the loft?, Milled face?, or some other factor (weight?), but distance control was pretty good, and I nailed a few really good putts.

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag selection;

Driver: 915 D3 with AD DI 7x
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1, Cobra Baffler Pro #2, #3 & #4
Irons: Cleveland 588 TT 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 PW (46*), Yururi Genki 53* & 61*
Putter: SC Kombi 35"

[3Puttpete]

SA champs winning irons

[Lagerlover]

Serious question..

What loft do you have you putter set to Daves?

[Daves]

Serious question..

What loft do you have you putter set to Daves?

Just standard, not altered. According to the specs the Kombi has 4* of loft, and the TM Spider S is 2.5*.

[Daves]

SA champs winning irons

I hope I am worthy!

[3Puttpete]

I doubt it but have a crack anyway [emoji2]

[Jazz18]

Nice to see you're back doing your bag lotto Daves. I enjoy reading your updates.

[Daves]

Nice to see you're back doing your bag lotto Daves. I enjoy reading your updates.

Thanks Jazz, it is good to be back and able to swing the clubs somewhat normally again.


Tomorrow's bag selection;

Driver: 915 D3 with AD DI 7x
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro #1, Cobra Baffler Pro #2, #3 & #4
Irons: Cleveland 588 TT 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 PW (46*), Yururi Genki 53* & 61*
Putter: SC Kombi 35"

I played a pretty consistent round yesterday for 34 points (37 points won A grade), only a single double bogey late in the round, as the group in front slowed to a crawl and the tee waits lengthened. I didn't hit many greens in Reg, but never got greatly out of position, and made plenty of good up and downs.

Driver: The 7x is one of my favorite shafts in the Tittys. It seems to work better in the 910, but it was solid in the 915 and they mostly came out of the middle. I pulled a few, which is my typical bad swing, but for the most part they were in play.

Irons: It was my first comp round with the 588s. I did play a practice round earlier with them, and tinkered afterwards with the length. The 588s come standard over length and with varying progressions through the lofts. I wasn't sure what length I should alter them to initially, so started with + 1 & 1/2". The shafts are Cleveland's standard counterweighted 85s, so SW doesn't vary greatly with added length, but feel definitely seems to. I ended up trimming the 7 to 4 back by 3/8"or so, and it did seem to make a difference. The middle of face seemed much easier to find. I found I hit them quite long. This would be partly due to the relatively strong lofts, but I also feel there is a bit of "hot face" involved as well. I still haven't quite got the directional aspect right with them, but they are at least generally predicable in their flight. A loft and lie check is in order I think.

Putter: The Kombi is definitely the better putter for me on our greens at the moment. They are bumpy and slowish and the extra loft and non muted face seems to get the ball rolling much better, and length control is much easier. It was noticeable in recent rounds that others are struggling with the pace and surfaces and not getting the ball to the hole. Weed (blue?) couch has now significantly invaded a number of greens and they are really starting to look and roll very ordinary.

[dazza99]

Putter: The Kombi is definitely the better putter for me on our greens at the moment. They are bumpy and slowish

Is that Redland Bay you play at Dave?

[Daves]

Is that Redland Bay you play at Dave?

Yep.

[aussieashley]

Does the shaft flex have much affect on how you swing or your ball flight Dave (in the driver)? I've noticed you using mostly stiff shafts, but every now and again an X or a Reg. Do you go after it more with an X flex shaft?

[Daves]

Does the shaft flex have much affect on how you swing or your ball flight Dave (in the driver)? I've noticed you using mostly stiff shafts, but every now and again an X or a Reg. Do you go after it more with an X flex shaft?

Hi Ash,

actually the other way around. I find some softer X flex shafts give me extra stability and hits come out of the middle more often. They also tend to have less dispersion i.e. are more accurate. Distance is sometimes sacrificed for accuracy, but the AD DI 7x in some heads is actually one of my longest according to Game Golf. The stability and low launch/low spin also seems to work for me into strong wind.

The Reg shafts allow me to swing a bit harder, and hit hard running hook/draws when there is a bit of run in the course.

[Ferrins]

When can we have a readers pick?

[Daves]

When can we have a readers pick?

This isn't the Sunday Mirror!

[Daves]

A full bag rotation this week, every club changed;

Driver: SLDR 460 14* with PL Blue
Hybrids: #1 Adams A12 Pro 16*, #2 Adams XTD Ti 18*, #3 Adams XTD Ti 20*, #4 Adams A12 Pro 23*
Irons: Adams MB2 5-9 Dynalite SLs
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX CB 46*, Yururi Tataki 50.5*, Yururi Genki 57*
Putter: Carbite ZG Mallet

[Daves]

A full bag rotation this week, every club changed;

Driver: SLDR 460 14* with PL Blue
Hybrids: #1 Adams A12 Pro 16*, #2 Adams XTD Ti 18*, #3 Adams XTD Ti 20*, #4 Adams A12 Pro 23*
Irons: Adams MB2 5-9 Dynalite SLs
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX CB 46*, Yururi Tataki 50.5*, Yururi Genki 57*
Putter: Carbite ZG Mallet

A very mixed round yesterday. I started atrociously; DB, P, DB, DB, TB to be 9 over through 5 and a whole 5 points! I managed to then turn it around for 2 over and 25 points of the next 10 holes, before fading with only 4 points over the last 3. Not an ideal club test round! Nevertheless, it was worthwhile once I started striking the ball OK.

I have posted in the SLDR thread about the 460 14*. It worked pretty well. It probably needs to be shortened a tad, but otherwise was very easy to keep in play, and quite long when needed. The higher ball flight was also something my driving has been missing for a while.

The Adams XTDs went very well, typical Adams solid I found. The best thing about these, is they have the same adapter as the TMs, so I can swap heads and shafts.

I didn't get to hit a lot of full shots with the MB2s, so really not a great test of them.

The wedges went OK, I hit a few good ones, but just as many scungy ones I am afraid.

The Carbite was pretty good, the hard Carbite insert seems to be effective in getting the ball rolling well. I don't now the loft spec, but assume it is 4* as it worked well on our slowish greens. Though they are a bit quicker than they have been, the wind has dried them out a tad.

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag selection;

Driver 1: Callaway BB Alpha 815 10.5* with Speeder 565 Stiff. Just bought this shaft off Jado and am keen to give it a run. I already have a reg version that works well with the 815.

Driver 2: TM SLDR S 14* Mini Driver.

Hybrids: TM SLDR #3 set to 17.5*, Adams XTD ti #3 20*, Adams A12 Pro #4 23*
Irons: Adams V4 Forged 5-9i
Wedges: Cleveland RTX CB 46*, Yururi Tour 53*, Yururi Tour 57*
Putter: Tommy Armour Torch 38"

[D22marshall]

Can I get your job

[Steve57]

Can I get your job
Retirement!

[D22marshall]

Where do I sign up

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag selection;

Driver 1: Callaway BB Alpha 815 10.5* with Speeder 565 Stiff. Just bought this shaft off Jado and am keen to give it a run. I already have a reg version that works well with the 815.

Driver 2: TM SLDR S 14* Mini Driver.

Hybrids: TM SLDR #3 set to 17.5*, Adams XTD ti #3 20*, Adams A12 Pro #4 23*
Irons: Adams V4 Forged 5-9i
Wedges: Cleveland RTX CB 46*, Yururi Tour 53*, Yururi Tour 57*
Putter: Tommy Armour Torch 38"

I had a very steady round on Wednesday after a disappointing first hole that involved a 3 putt with the new putter. It was a one off though and whilst I didn't make anything of length, I was very steady on the greens, and most of my 2nd putts were tap ins.

The Callaway/Speeder 565 went (mostly) very well. A couple of poor swings, but most of the drives went exactly where I aimed them. I don't think I am as long with the stiff vs the Reg, but dispersion is very tight. I felt I regripped a couple of times on the backswing, so will swap the std Decade it came with for a midsize before the next time in the bag.

The TM Mini Driver is a beauty! I love it and could really get attached! Time will tell if I am still in the honeymoon period with it, but so far it is very easy to use off the tee.

The SLDR Hybrid is also working very well, ditto the other Hybrids in this rotation.

The Adams V4s are very easy to use. They are pretty chunky, but forged and feel quite good off the face.

My wedge game continues to be a bit mixed, some great shots mixed with a few ordinaries.

The TA Torch was interesting. Tommy Armour isn't a brand I normally buy, but I liked the look of this one and it was counter balanced which I wanted to try, and well priced. The face is metal, though I wouldn't call it milled. It is a hexagonal pattern that seems to give it a bit of a hot face. There is quite a tink sound on impact.

Our greens have been quite bumpy and slow recently, and I have found milled faces and plenty of loft is required to get the ball rolling well. As it turned out the strong westerlies this week had dried the greens out and they were actually quite fast and bumpy, not a great mix! In hindsight I would have been better off with a face insert putter like the TM Spider, but the TA was quite manageable and I like the 38" length and counterbalanced grip set up.

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Titleist 913 D3 9.5* with PL Blue Reg
Driver 2: TM SLDR S Mini 14*
Hybrids: TM SLDR set to 17.5*, TM AeroBurner 19*, TM Jetspeed 22*
Irons: Cobra Bio + 5 - 9i
Wedges: Cleveland 588 CB 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: TM Spider S

[Ferrins]

perci does the same thing as you except they only get the one rotation.😀

[perci]

perci does the same thing as you except they only get the one rotation.��

Your point being?

[Ferrins]

Your point being?

You got me there, can't think of one.

[Daves]

perci does the same thing as you except they only get the one rotation.

Perci starts a for sale thread, I add to my Lotto thread same, same.

I am just glad that perci ain't left handed, or I would be in trouble!

[billp]

Any chance you could pull a tip of for me? Just bought a ad di that has a titty tip you can have for your troubles. I can drop of if you're free. Going to glue a srixon tip on for a 545 driver I swapped for the xr. Would need that tip pulled to come to think of it sorry.

[JADO75]

Daves, I'm with you on the mini sldr. I'm using the 12*, primarily off the deck but also from the tee & it's been nothing but awesome. It's in my top two of things I've ever purchased golf wise.

[Daves]

Any chance you could pull a tip of for me? Just bought a ad di that has a titty tip you can have for your troubles. I can drop of if you're free. Going to glue a srixon tip on for a 545 driver I swapped for the xr. Would need that tip pulled to come to think of it sorry.

No worries, gives us a yell when you are ready. Srixon tips are the same as the Cleveland ones I think!?

[Ferrins]

Dave I glued up my ferruless irons and was wondering if a ferrule can be sliced and then glued on.

[Daves]

Daves, I'm with you on the mini sldr. I'm using the 12*, primarily off the deck but also from the tee & it's been nothing but awesome. It's in my top two of things I've ever purchased golf wise.
It was pretty good again today in the wind. The obvious loft at address just seems to give you confidence in it. But I find I can hit it highish or low as I please. Low spin so it runs hard and is long.

For those looking at getting one, GCO have them for $149 at the moment, a bargain if ever there was one.

[Daves]

Dave I glued up my ferruless irons and was wondering if a ferrule can be sliced and then glued on.

You can buy ferrules that are split, just for this purpose;

http://www.golfworks.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_LE9004

[Ferrins]

That's like buying a cake that been cut in half. I was thinking about tying a rubberband in a knot as a vibration dampener.

[Daves]

Today's bag selection;

Driver: Titleist 913 D2 9.5* with PL Red Reg
Driver 2: TM SLDR S Mini 14*
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, TM AeroBurner 19*, Cobra Baffler Pro 23*
Irons: Nike VR Pro Combo 5 - 9i
Wedges: Cleveland 588 CB 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: TM Spider S

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag;

Driver: Titleist 913 D3 9.5* with PL Blue Reg
Driver 2: TM SLDR S Mini 14*
Hybrids: TM SLDR set to 17.5*, TM AeroBurner 19*, TM Jetspeed 22*
Irons: Cobra Bio + 5 - 9i
Wedges: Cleveland 588 CB 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: TM Spider S


It was pretty good again today in the wind. The obvious loft at address just seems to give you confidence in it. But I find I can hit it highish or low as I please. Low spin so it runs hard and is long.

For those looking at getting one, GCO have them for $149 at the moment, a bargain if ever there was one.

Just adding a short review of this bag. Played it in the gusty Westerly on Friday around Wynnum. It is hard to really rate them properly, as the conditions were pretty horrendous with the wind blowing its arse off, and gusting up 70kmh. The greens were very slick and the wind effected most putts and shots one way or another, sometimes gusting and blowing them off line, others times dropping out as you hit the ball and negating the allowance you had made for it!

My comments on the SLDR S mini are above. The 913 with PL Blue was pretty easy to hit, though I tended to drag a few right and/or over draw the shot. I hit a couple of nice drives to finish, which is always satisfying. The Bio + are solid without totally impressing me so far. It might be the S300 shafts that are dulling the feel, I am not sure?

The Hybrids went well, the SLDR is pushing its way into my favorites list, and is very versatile. Ditto the AeroBurner, though it is fixed shaft so not quite so versatile, but very easy to hit. The Jetty didn't really get used much in this round.

The TM Spider proved to be the right choice in the wind, but the greens were very tough, with debris all over them. Any made putts were as much luck as good putting.

[Daves]

Today's bag selection;

Driver: Titleist 913 D2 9.5* with PL Red Reg
Driver 2: TM SLDR S Mini 14*
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, TM AeroBurner 19*, Cobra Baffler Pro 23*
Irons: Nike VR Pro Combo 5 - 9i
Wedges: Cleveland 588 CB 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: TM Spider S

The Westerly winds had dropped out by the time we teed off on Saturday.

The 913 D2 is very easy to hit, and quite forgiving. The Reg PL Red shaft lets me sneak a few more metres when the space is there to open the shoulders, whilst being an easy hit it up the middle club, if you are trying to just keep them in play. I can over power it at times though, so have to be careful to not hook it into trouble.

The SLDR Mini continues to impress and is an easy option off the tee on shorter holes. Ditto it would be a great back up when the main Driver isn't behaving. I have yet to really try it off the deck, something for a future round.

The VR Pro Combo are one of my favorite sets in the collection. I just love the feeling off the face with these, and I find 7 - PW pretty accurate, almost surgical to use. I hit an 8i into 17 to a couple of feet, that was pretty much as good as I can hit them.

The Hybrids all worked pretty well, the A12 16* is a good alternative to something like the SLDR mini, and gives me versatility in bag make up.

THE TM Spider again proved itself on faster greens, though ours had been lightly scarified and sanded the day before, so were a bit fickle at times. I didn't make a lot of long putts, but a bit of technique tweaking plus confidence in the putter meant I missed very little inside 8 to 10 feet and keep total putts to 28 for the round.

[3Puttpete]

There's a bit of reg flex creeping its way into the bags of late

[Daves]

There's a bit of reg flex creeping its way into the bags of late

Yep, I bought a heap of PL Reg shafts to compare to the Stiff versions I already own. I am heading towards having a PL Red, and a PL Blue in S and in R for every adjustable driver I have i.e. Titleist, TM, Adams, Callaway, Cleveland, Nike, Ping, Cobra and Tour Stage. A mass long term experiment in kick point and flex variables/differences in distance and dispersion.

[3Puttpete]

We're the same!

27 holes in with the PL blue and I'm happy so far.

[Lagerlover]

You really are a glass half full guy aren't you 3pp.

[3Puttpete]

You really are a glass half full guy aren't you 3pp.

Nope.

[Daves]

Didn't get play comp last week, Wed was rained out, and we had a family get together on the weekend.

Today's bag;

Driver: SLDR 430 12* with a PL Red Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher with Fit on gold Reg
Hybrids: Titleist 910 16.25*, Adams XTD Ti 20*, Wilson DXI 22*
Irons: 4 & 5 Cobra S3, 7 - 9 Cobra S3 Pro MBs
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Never Compromise Sub 30 Type 50

[Daves]

I will do the write up for Wednesday's round when I get a chance. It wasn't one of my more preferred memories, though there were some highlights! Playing with Club F'wit No. 2 and having 4 stone motherless unplayables were some of the lowlights!

Today's bag is full of new arrivals (yesterday!);

Driver: Adams XTD 12* with PL Blue Reg
Fairway: Cleveland Launcher 3 wood with Fit on Gold
Hybrids: Titleist 910 16.25*, Adams A4 19*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Adams Idea Tech A4 Forged with DGSL300S
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Yes C Groove Sandy 12 Mid 38"

[Gw 86]

Be good to hear what you think of the xtd vs sldr

[JADO75]

Two different animals. For starters the XTD likes to go right & the sldr likes to go left. No denying the XTD is a beast & comes with a great stock shaft in the 6Q3 but I think most struggle to get the best out them due to them playing stiffer or harder to load than stated flex. Either go down a flex or find a shaft you like & they're pretty darn long & still quite forgiving.
You either like the Sldr or not, I find there's no middle ground with them. If you take the time to work out what shaft weight, length & loft you need they are the longest driver on the planet although if you hit them on the heel & toe you'll certainly see the often shitty results.

[Daves]

Be good to hear what you think of the xtd vs sldr


Two different animals. For starters the XTD likes to go right & the sldr likes to go left. No denying the XTD is a beast & comes with a great stock shaft in the 6Q3 but I think most struggle to get the best out them due to them playing stiffer or harder to load than stated flex. Either go down a flex or find a shaft you like & they're pretty darn long & still quite forgiving.
You either like the Sldr or not, I find there's no middle ground with them. If you take the time to work out what shaft weight, length & loft you need they are the longest driver on the planet although if you hit them on the heel & toe you'll certainly see the often shitty results.

The XTD I played today is a 12* version, with one of my own shafts preferences fitted, a Prolaunch Blue. I didn't find it wanted to go left (your right), it was very straight for me actually. I could hit baby draws fairly easily, but it mostly went dead straight. I have a 10.5* version which will get a run shortly with the same shaft for comparison.

I agree broadly re the SLDRs, I haven't struck a Driver head before that is so variable/tuneable depending on what shaft you put in them. I can usually make most shafts work in most drivers, but the SLDRs are the exemption.

[Daves]

Today's bag;

Driver: SLDR 430 12* with a PL Red Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher with Fit on gold Reg
Hybrids: Titleist 910 16.25*, Adams XTD Ti 20*, Wilson DXI 22*
Irons: 4 & 5 Cobra S3, 7 - 9 Cobra S3 Pro MBs
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Never Compromise Sub 30 Type 50

Wednesday's round wasn't one of my best, but it was more the player, than the clubs' fault.

I struggled with the SLDR 430 a bit, I pulled a lot of shots hard right during the round (straight pulls, no hooks). When I did hit it, it went OK, reasonably workable, but not nearly as friendly or forgiving as the 460 14*, or the Mini.

I hit the Launcher pretty well, nice flighted draws are pretty easy, but just as workable the other way when needed.

I love the Cobra S3 pros, probably my favorite iron set of them all. The short irons can be almost surgically accurate when I am swinging them well. The S3 longer irons complimented them well and made a pretty good blended set. Despite my overall relatively poor round, I actually hit more Greens than Fairways in reg. A few more blended sets will get a run in future rounds.

The NC Sub 30 didn't live up to its name, but I did like it and found I putted reasonably well with it. More to do with our crappy greens at the moment.

[Daves]

Today's bag is full of new arrivals (yesterday!);

Driver: Adams XTD 12* with PL Blue Reg
Fairway: Cleveland Launcher 3 wood with Fit on Gold
Hybrids: Titleist 910 16.25*, Adams A4 19*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Adams Idea Tech A4 Forged with DGSL300s
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Yes C Groove Sandy 12 Mid 38"

As mentioned earlier, the XTD 12* was very straight, except when I tried to do too much with it and pushed it left. Mildly workable, but more at home just hitting it down the line. Flight was relatively high for me, but it didn't balloon.

I struggled to hit the A4 hybrids cleanly all day. I haven't done anything with them spec/fit wise, just shoved them in the bag as they arrived. New grips and possibly a bit of extra length might be needed?

The A4s went OK. I am not a big fan of the DG SLs I have to say, they seemed a bit too tip stiff for my liking. Having said that, I hit them mostly OK, so they might grow on me?

The C Groove is counter balanced with a Super Stroke shaft. I gather the Mid was the belly Putter version?, it plays very heavy, right off the scale on my SW scales. I found it reasonable to putt with, reasonably good distance control and quite natural to swing. Hard to rate it on a our greens at the moment, which were almost furry be the end of the day, and quite a few are full of weed couch, or are almost bare earth.

[Daves]

Tomorrow's Bag has been selected, more new arrivals to try out;

Driver: Titleist 913 D3 with Kuro Kage Black
Driver 2: TM SLDR S Mini 14*
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Callaway 815 20*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Callaway Apex 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: SC Kombi

[Daves]

Tomorrow's Bag has been selected, more new arrivals to try out;

Driver: Titleist 913 D3 with Kuro Kage Black
Driver 2: TM SLDR S Mini 14*
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Callaway 815 20*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Callaway Apex 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: SC Kombi

Played OK today for 34 points. I hit a few pulls, but contact was generally pretty good. The KK went alright in the D3. It is a touch softer than my usual stiff flex shaft, which probably suited me. I had the D3 dialled up to 11* as well and that seemed to work OK. My flight is fairly low these days, so lofting up seems to give me a bit more face to work with. I found it pretty easy to aim and hit straight down the middle, or shape it a little as required. My few bad shots were pulls where I over worked the shot.

The 815 20* Hybrid is sweet as! I had it dialled down to 19* I thought, but seems it might have actually been 21* instead when I checked it back home (I presumed it was a LH Adapter, perhaps not?). This would explain the highish flight I was getting, but I can't complain about how they were coming out.

The Cally Apexs went very well. Most shots seemed to come out of somewhere near the middle, and those that didn't (toe hits) went pretty well anyway, so forgiveness seems to be generous. I hit a good number of greens in reg, so they did their job well.

Next round is the Black Marker on Friday.

[Daves]

Bag selection for tomorrow's Black Marker;

Driver: Callaway BB Alpha 9* with PL Blue Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Callaway 815 20*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Ping i15s
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: SC Kombi

[Daves]

Bag selection for tomorrow's Black Marker;

Driver: Callaway BB Alpha 9* with PL Blue Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Callaway 815 20*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Ping i15s
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: SC Kombi

I had a good round today, though all the good golf was on the back nine.

The Alpha/PL Blue combo went OK. Not super long, but I found plenty of fairways with it.

How easy are the i series Ping irons to hit! I really enjoy playing them, simply for their consistency and easy of use. They won't replace my favorite forged sets, but they are a great club for most skill levels.

The Cally 815 Hybrid continues to impress. I might have to find a mate for it in a complimentary loft!

The Wedges went well as usual. And the Kombi is always good to use on our slowish, bumpy greens.

Another comp day tomorrow (someone has to do it! ;)), and my Bag Selection is as follows;

Driver: Cleveland Classic with PL Blue Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Callaway 815 20*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Callaway Apex
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: SC Kombi

[Daves]

Another comp day tomorrow (someone has to do it! ;)), and my Bag Selection is as follows;

Driver: Cleveland Classic with PL Blue Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Callaway 815 20*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Callaway Apex
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: SC Kombi

Played OK today, managed to scramble 35 points, just wasn't as sharp as yesterday's back nine.

The Cleveland/ PL Blue combo felt OK, but I struggled to hit it consistently. I hit some really good drives, and some ordinary ones that left me with a not a lot of options. 57% FIR vs 39% GIR sort of tells the story, my iron play was very good, but I left myself scrambling and relying on my 3rd shot too often. Will have to give a check on the SW scale etc and see if is a balance thing, or was just me?

The Apexs went well again for. I am really liking these irons, very straight, reasonably long, forgiving and easy to hit. Can't remember a mishit in 2 round so far, the occasional straight pull is about the extent of it. They are giving the Pings are run for their money.

Next comp round should be Wednesday. Some incoming may make it in time to make that bag.

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag selection;

Driver: Epon AF101 with PL Red
3 Wood: Cobra LD F Speed 15.5*
Hybrids: Adams Super 15*, Cobra AMP 19*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Adams A4 Forged 5-9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: NC Sub 30 Type 50

[Daves]

Tomorrow's bag selection;

Driver: Epon AF101 with PL Red
3 Wood: Cobra LD F Speed 15.5*
Hybrids: Adams Super 15*, Cobra AMP 19*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Adams A4 Forged 5-9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: NC Sub 30 Type 50

We didn't managed to complete 18 holes today. A line of storms came through at the half way mark and the siren was blown to stop play. They didn't get started again for more than 45 minutes, so we didn't both going back out for the back nine. We would have been finishing in the dark, plus there were more storms on the way.

However, I played pretty solidly for (most of) the nine and there a few things that were standing out;

The Epon AF101 is without doubt the straightest and one of the easiest to hit Drivers I own. Love it! I must reshaft my 2nd one and see if I can get it performing as well! It is close, but the shaft (a genuine Bassara) is perhaps a tad light for me.

The Cobra LD F is an old favorite and lived up to its familarity.

The Adams Super Hybrid looks great, but seems to be a bit of a hook machine for me. Time will tell.

The Cobra AMP is an easy as Hybrid to hit, and I found very accurate and easy to shape.

The Adams A4 22* has been in the last few bags, but hasn't seen the light of day till now. I had lengthened and re-gripped it since its first outing, and it felt much better.

The Adams A4s are very nice, and feel as good as they look. I was initially hesitant about the DG SL300s, they seemed a touch too tip stiff for me. But I am now finding that I am liking them a lot. They are also the shafts in the Callaway Apexs I played last comp round, and I seem to be hitting darts with them at the moment. My last couple of rounds have been some of my highest GIR rounds for quite a while.

The Wedges combo is hard to fault, as long as I am swing the clubs OK, they seem to be getting me up and down more often than not.

The NC Sub30 Type 50 is also working pretty well for me and I am growing to like the feel of it quite a bit.

I shot 4 over the front, and that included a double after a hooked tee shot on the 5th, so I my game is in reasonable shape at the moment.

[Daves]

Friday's are usually just a practice/social round for me, but today we played the 9 hole chook run, and played the back nine as well. My Bag included some new arrivals and was as follows;

Driver: TM R15 with PL Red Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Classic XL
Hybrids: Adams Black Super Hybrid 15*, Callaway 815 20*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Nike VR Red Split Cavity Forged 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter:Tommy Armour Torch 38"

The R15 was coming out of the middle most of the day, but it took me a long time to work out how to aim it. It was coming good toward the end, and was longish, but needs another round to assess it a bit better.

The Cleveland Classic XL looks great at address, I hit some really good shots with it , and a couple of pull hooks, so the jury is out so far.

Ditto the Adams Black Super, greats shots and hooks. I am thinking it was more me than the clubs.

The Nike VR Splits felt great, hit some really solid irons with them when I got to use them.

Wedges were their usual reliable selves, and saved a few pars as usual.

The TA Torch CB is a strange feeling putter to use. The balls off the face with almost a ping and you feel a bit wary using it. But I can't argue with the results, and sunk pretty much everything I expected to with it.

No golf tomorrow, looking at properties with the chilblains!:roll:

[Daves]

The Epon AF101 is without doubt the straightest and one of the easiest to hit Drivers I own. Love it! I must reshaft my 2nd one and see if I can get it performing as well! It is close, but the shaft (a genuine Bassara) is perhaps a tad light for me.


I grabbed the 2nd AF101 out and found the shaft was actually a 73g version, rather than a light weight 50 grammer I thought it was. It was a bit over length at 46"+, I suspect to get the SW up. I trimmed it back closer to 45" and added some lead tape. A preview run on Monday suggested it was better, so it gets a run in tomorrow's bag.

Tomorrow's Bag:

Driver: Epon AF101 with Bassara 73 x5ct Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Classic XL 15*
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Callaway 815 20*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Titleist AP2s (Originals)
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Odyssey Versa #7

[kiwitown]

Look forward to the review on the AF 101..

[Daves]

I grabbed the 2nd AF101 out and found the shaft was actually a 73g version, rather than a light weight 50 grammer I thought it was. It was a bit over length at 46"+, I suspect to get the SW up. I trimmed it back closer to 45" and added some lead tape. A preview run on Monday suggested it was better, so it gets a run in tomorrow's bag.

Tomorrow's Bag:

Driver: Epon AF101 with Bassara 73 x5ct Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Classic XL 15*
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Callaway 815 20*, Adams A4 22*
Irons: Titleist AP2s (Originals)
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Odyssey Versa #7

I played pretty well on Wednesday, though I leaked a few over the last few holes as the round time dragged a bit. I shot a net 71 in the monthly mug, so happy with that.

The altered Epon Driver went pretty well, but still needs some fine tuning I think. I blocked a few left, which suggests to me that the shaft might be a tad heavy for me, or the SW is a tad hefty (I think it is now D5). Some further tinkering will hopefully improve the results even further. I did hit a few pearlers with it, baby draws that were longer than my average.

The Cleveland 3 wood looks a touch closed at address, though it is apparently actually square. Together with the Reg shaft, it makes it an easy draw/hook monster if you aren't careful. Having said that, it also makes it easy to hit those power draws that run and run. I am finding that feature handy on a few of our left right holes. I even hit it off the tee on a longer par 4 and it went pretty much driver length.

The original AP2s were in my bag for a long time, so I am pretty comfortable with them. They might not look quite as modern and sexy as the more recent models, but I think they are just as good in terms of performance.

The Versa #7 was pretty special first up. I canned a lot of longer putts, and distance control with it was spot on. I have a Tank #7 on the way, so looking forward to its arrival and doing some comparisons and fiddling with set up.

I normally play Saturdays, but have again been recruited to do some house hunting, so next comp round won't probably be till next Wednesday.

[kiwitown]

Keen to see how the Epon goes with a lighter shaft.

A, will it give you more length.
B, will it give you better consistency.

[Daves]

Keen to see how the Epon goes with a lighter shaft.

A, will it give you more length.
B, will it give you better consistency.

Epon AF No 1 has a PL Red in stiff (64 grams) in it. It is the straightest driver I have used, not the longest, but sneaky long.The No. 2 Epon with the heavier Bassara is probably fractionally longer, but not quite as straight for me, not yet anyway.

Personally, I wouldn't want to go any lighter, but I prefer slightly heavier clubs. I find it helps me get the club in the slot more reliably, with my quick, relatively aggressive transition. If you have a slow, smooth transition you should be able to go lighter.

[Daves]

I played the 9 hole scramble this afternoon. I managed to put together 19 points with a wipe. I removed a few grams of lead tape (3 grams on my scales) off the Epon, which brought it back to D2. The tape I left on it should have given it a slight draw bias, which it did. Still a bit of tinkering to do, but it is getting pretty accurate and longish now. I will have to do a side by side with the PL Red version. Love the way these Epons are so tune-able!

The Versa #7 continues to impress!

[Daves]

I am playing Nudgee in the morning with Perci and Co. Bag selection as follows;

Driver: Epon AF101 with PL Red Stiff
3 Wood: TM SLDR Mini 14*
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Titleist 910 19*, Titleist 910 21*
Irons: Titleist AP2s 710 5 & 6, CB 710s 7-9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Odyssey Versa #7

[Daves]

I am playing Nudgee in the morning with Perci and Co. Bag selection as follows;

Driver: Epon AF101 with PL Red Stiff
3 Wood: TM SLDR Mini 14*
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Titleist 910 19*, Titleist 910 21*
Irons: Titleist AP2s 710 5 & 6, CB 710s 7-9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Odyssey Versa #7

I played very average golf in this round (31 points). The Epon was its usual accurate self (71% FIR), not long but pretty straight. The ones that weren't (up the middle) were straight pulls right, my default bad shot. I used the SLDR Mini off the deck for the first time and it went OK when there wasn't an Operator error!

I wasn't hitting my irons that well, again Operator error! If I wasn't pulling them right, I was over compensating in the set up and hit straight pushes!

The Versa continues to impress, particularly with distance control. But none of us could buy a putt on the day, so I will put it down to the dampness and the somewhat fluffy greens.

Tomorrow's Bag;

Driver: TM SLDR 460 14* with Motore Speeder Tour Spec VC 7.3
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Maxfli Ezi Driver 16*, Titleist 910 19* & 21*
Irons: Callaway Apex 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: OdysseyTank #7

[benno_r]

Love that bag Dave. 3 longest clubs are 14*, 15* and 16*.

Gapping schmapping!

[Daves]

Love that bag Dave. 3 longest clubs are 14*, 15* and 16*.

Gapping schmapping!

It is all about options Benno!

Actually the SLDR 14* is quite long, just more forgiving than its lower lofted brothers. With the Speeder I am expecting it will be very straight. My 200 to 220 club. The 3 wood, 185 to 200, depending on situation, and the #1 Hybrid is my 175 to 190 club, so the gaping is quite all encompassing. I have actually found I can get to the 5th hole, sometimes the 6th at Reddie, without ever pulling an iron, at least not for a full shot anyway.

[Daves]

Tomorrow's Bag;

Driver: TM SLDR 460 14* with Motore Speeder Tour Spec VC 7.3
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Maxfli Ezi Driver 16*, Titleist 910 19* & 21*
Irons: Callaway Apex 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: OdysseyTank #7

Another ordinary round yesterday, though it was all the operator!

The SLDR 14* with Motore Speeder 7.3 performed exactly as expected, straight and longish. That is, when I wasn't pulling the ears off ! The Motore is quite stout and tip stiff, you really notice the extra weight.

The Cleveland Launcher is a great little draw machine, perfect for those shorter par 4 tee shots where position is important.

The Maxfli 16* was the surprise of the round. This was a cheap club ($19 still in the plastic) and it looks cheap, but it performed remarkably well. It comes out quite low, more like a driving iron than a Hybrid. Great to hit stingers with, but it was also easy to shape a shot when needed, and it also proved to be quite long when needed.

I struggled with the irons, my fault. I was pulling lots of shots and then over allowing when I tried to correct. Much the same as my Sunday round. I need to work on the swing a bit!

Without starting another JDM love-in, I have got to say that the more I play the Yururis the more I love them. I hit some seriously good wedge shots yesterday, to a foot a couple of times. And the spin these things generate is just awesome, if not a little bit too much at times! There is nothing like hitting a shot pin high, but to the side, and seeing the ball sizzle and spin back and sideways towards the hole! It the ones that spin back off the green I need to work on a bit!

The Tank went well, but doesn't feel quite right. It is a touch shorter than I would prefer (34" vs 35"), and the thick grip is not something I usually use.It didn't feel as natural as say the Versa #7. A bit of tinkering might be in order.

Next round may be Saturday, if I am not dragged off house hunting for the Kids, and/or it doesn't rain.

[Daves]

Didn't get a game on Saturday so tomorrow is now it;

Driver: TM R15 460 12* with PL Red Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: SLDR 3/17.5*, Titty 910 19 & 21*
Irons: Adams A4 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Odyssey Versa #7

[sheezymaneezy]

Do you find it difficult continuously playing with different clubs?

[Daves]

Do you find it difficult continuously playing with different clubs?

Not at all, I really enjoy the variety and challenge. And I self fit to my specs, so the clubs aren't too foreign or varied to use in reality.

My handicap has probably been its most consistent in my playing history since I started my Bag Lotto. It probably also makes me a bit more aware of managing my way around the round as well. I find I can sometimes start a bit roughly, and then right the ship and put together very consistent par runs that bring me right back into it.

I do plan at some stage to pick a favorite set combo, and perhaps play it for a month or more and see if I can play better? That would be interesting.

[D22marshall]

What is your handicap dave? Do you play the one track every time that must help if you do.

[Daves]

What is your handicap dave? Do you play the one track every time that must help if you do.

It is around 10/11 most of the time Dean. A high of 11.7 and low of 9.4 for my GA over the last 12 months. I have probably played 80% of my golf on my home track in that time. I do try to play other courses as often as I can, but there have been noticeably less OzGolf games organised this year, compared to previous years. I generally find my game travels reasonably well, though I have hammered it with lots of Back Marker events in the past, and it can get a little wobbly on tougher set ups at times.

[D22marshall]

Yeah have noticed the yururis have been the staple in the bag always nice to go to a wedge that you trust when out of position.
Will be interested to see what bag set up you settle on and see if it produces results.
I change my gear a lot always looking for something to tinker with and find it costing me shots but I love equipment so it's hard to settle down.

[Daves]

Yeah have noticed the yururis have been the staple in the bag always nice to go to a wedge that you trust when out of position.
Will be interested to see what bag set up you settle on and see if it produces results.
I change my gear a lot always looking for something to tinker with and find it costing me shots but I love equipment so it's hard to settle down.

I used to stick to the one putter as well, on the basis it is all about the short game, which it is. But I have found I can now rotate the putter and maintain reasonable consistency. I can probably do that with wedges as well, and will start to at some stage, but cautiously so!. I think I understand my swing and game much better now from the experience of playing a different bag each time, not necessarily controlling it better! but the understanding of strength and weaknesses is better.

It may just be the way I play the game, but I find my irons aren't as crucial to my scoring as you might imagine. Partly because I am not a long hitter, and rely somewhat on my Hybrids more for example, and partly because I am reasonably confident with my short game and make a reasonable amount of saves in a round. I mentioned it elsewhere I think, that I have played rounds were I haven't pulled an iron till the 6th hole (a shorter par 3 on my home course).

[Daves]

Didn't get a game on Saturday so tomorrow is now it;

Driver: TM R15 460 12* with PL Red Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: SLDR 3/17.5*, Titty 910 19 & 21*
Irons: Adams A4 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: Odyssey Versa #7

Average results today, though I thought I hit the ball very well. Just didn't get the rewards.

I am really liking the R15. It isn't super workable, pretty straight really, but that means it isn't prone to hook either! And it is pretty long, consistently for me.

The Launcher is close to the perfect 3 wood for me. A great alternative off the tee, and just as easy to use off the deck. The Custom XL is close to this, but the closed face at address is a bit off putting.

A bit mixed with the Hybrids today, I either hammered them, and almost duffed them! The longish rough ( Club Champs due shortly) contributed at times, but a lack of consistent tempo and routine also contributed! I have never played comp before with someone who just stops to listen to a horse race! I am a keen punter, but FFS!

I really like the A4s, and hit them well. Too well at times! I was long, rather than short most of the day with them.

The Wedge set up just keep working for me. I hit some great approach and recovery shots, I just didn't convert enough with the putter!

I really like the Versa, but just wasn't able to get them into the hole with it today. Everyone in our group struggled with the greens, today including the club pro. I think I finished with 4 x 3 putts!

A quick turnaround with a Pro Am on tomorrow morning. The chosen bag is;

Driver: TM R15 with PL blue Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Titty 910 19* & 21*
Irons: Titleist 710 AP2s 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: TM Spider S

[aussieashley]

Do you hit many, or any, full shots with the Yururi's?

I think you've said before how much they spin. Are they almost too spinny on full shots, to the point where you lose distance?

[Daves]

Do you hit many, or any, full shots with the Yururi's?

I think you've said before how much they spin. Are they almost too spinny on full shots, to the point where you lose distance?

Hi Ash, I don't hit any full wedges shot with any Wedges (Yururis or others), other than PW. 75% is about my max, anything longer than that I flight a PW. My theory is once you get much past 45* loft, you are hitting up more than forward ,and it is too hard to 1) control the spin and 2) the distance.

[Daves]

A quick turnaround with a Pro Am on tomorrow morning. The chosen bag is;

Driver: TM R15 with PL blue Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, Titty 910 19* & 21*
Irons: Titleist 710 AP2s 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland 588 46*, Yururi 53 & 57*
Putter: TM Spider S

I was swinging like a rusty gate for most of the first nine today. It took a while, but I eventually worked out what I was doing wrong, and starting hitting the ball with some sort of consistency. Strong winds and rain storms threatening didn't help in getting settled.

The R15 was going left early, but once I worked out my issues, it started to be much straighter. I think I can sneak a bit more distance with the PL Blue, but with the PL Red the R15 is definitely straighter, and more accurate.

The AP2s unfortunately got used too many times to just hit back out of the trees, or from up against a tree! But I did hit a couple of memorable 9i shots in close.

I threw the Spider into today as I was expecting the greens to be a little slicker for the Pro Am, but that didn't happen, presumably because of the rain. In hindsight I would have preferred the extra loft of the SC Kombi, but the Spider was still solid.

The Wedges liked the softer greens, and I was able to at least get in close often when I was scrambling for par or bogey.

Saturday is the 1st round of our Club Champs. I have a few newbies to try out, but I am not sure if they will make Saturday's bag as yet.

[Daves]

Today is the first round of our club champs. I am going for a full bag rotation, every club changed;

Today's Bag;

Driver: Mizuno JPX 850 with Speeder TS 6.3
3 Wood: Cobra LD F Speed
Hybrids: SLDR 17.5*, SLDR TP 19* & 21*
Irons: Nike VR Red Split Cavity 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland RTX CB 46*, Miura 52* & 56*
Putter: Yes Stacey - 12 CS

[Daves]

Today is the first round of our club champs. I am going for a full bag rotation, every club changed;

Today's Bag;

Driver: Mizuno JPX 850 with Speeder TS 6.3
3 Wood: Cobra LD F Speed
Hybrids: SLDR 17.5*, SLDR TP 19* & 21*
Irons: Nike VR Red Split Cavity 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland RTX CB 46*, Miura 52* & 56*
Putter: Yes Stacey - 12 CS

The Mizzy JPX went very well. The Speeder is probably a tad boardy for me, but the Driver was so straight, and the run out was awesome! Getting the Adapter setting right did add a touch more launch angle, but it does still come out quite low, and very low spin.

First time out with the full SLDR set and I was quite impressed. The TP shafts are a touch heavier (93g vs 82g) and proved their worth.

I continue to really like the VRs, very solid and easy to hit.

The wedges also went very well. The Miura are old favs, I just haven't hit them for a while. The only downsides were the too well hit PW into the last that carried the green and went OOB off a bad bounce! And the too well hit GW on the 17th that hit the flag and somehow ended in the bunker, 10m to the right!.

The Yes Stacey 12 was the star of the round, hits some great putts with it. And love the look of the CS at address!

[Daves]

Another day, another rotation! Today's selection;

Driver: Adams Speedline Fast 12 LS 10.5* with Aldila NVS Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Custom XL
Hybrids: SLDR 17.5*, TP 19 * & 21*
Irons: Tourstage X Blade 701s 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland RTX CB 46*, Miura 52 & 56*
Putter: TM Versa #7

[Daves]

Another day, another rotation! Today's selection;

Driver: Adams Speedline Fast 12 LS 10.5* with Aldila NVS Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Custom XL
Hybrids: SLDR 17.5*, TP 19 * & 21*
Irons: Tourstage X Blade 701s 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland RTX CB 46*, Miura 52 & 56*
Putter: TM Versa #7

This ended up being a pretty ordinary round of golf!. I hit the ball OK, I just didn't get the results.

The Fast 12 LS actually impressed greatly. It is long and very forgiving. I hit lots of fairways.

I haven't really clicked with the Tourstages so far. This round was closer, but my distance control was seemingly out, and I flew a few targets by a wide margin! The shafts are Nippon 1030s, which should go OK for me. I checked a few irons on the SW scale. and they are relatively light compared to my more recent builds. So I am wondering if I need to make them heavier?! A change to R300s perhaps? Something to ponder.

Black Marker tomorrow. Bag selection as follows;

Driver: Adams Fast 12 LS, too good to not give it another round.
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, SLDR TP 19 & 21*
Irons: Adams A12 Pros 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 50.5* & 57*
Putter: Kombi

[Daves]

Black Marker tomorrow. Bag selection as follows;

Driver: Adams Fast 12 LS, too good to not give it another round.
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, SLDR TP 19 & 21*
Irons: Adams A12 Pros 5 - 9
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 50.5* & 57*
Putter: Kombi

Much better golf today, managed a net 69 in the Black Marker.

The Fast 12LS continues to impress. It didn't do too much wrong today, and continues to be an easy club to hit.

Hit a couple of really nice shots with the Launcher. Another easy to hit club.

Hybrids performed well also. The SLDR TPs are becoming a favorite combo.

It has been a while since I last bagged the A12s. I am really comfortable with this irons, and they look quite smick with the Black Chrome KBS shafts. I have a 2nd set of these, still in the plastic. I must get around to reshafting them with an alternative shaft.

The Wedges were their usual reliable selves. Ditto the Kombi, which works well on our still slowish greens.

Tomorrow is the 2nd round of the Club Champs. Bag selection as follows;

Driver: TM R15 with PL Red Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, SLDR TP 19 & 21*
Irons: Ping i5s
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 50.5* & 57*
Putter: Kombi

[Daves]

Tomorrow is the 2nd round of the Club Champs. Bag selection as follows;

Driver: TM R15 with PL Red Reg
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, SLDR TP 19 & 21*
Irons: Ping i5s
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 50.5* & 57*
Putter: Kombi

I started today's round like I left off yesterday. 38 on the front (with a double on 8 ), to match yesterday's back nine. But I slowly leaked oil with inopportune doubles on the back to turn in a net 72. Good golf, but could have been so much better. At least half a dozen putts finished all but over hanging the hole. Another week of old holes (the same ones we played yesterday for the Black Marker) for the Club Champs! just love those Doughnuts!:roll:

The R15 went very well, I hit plenty of fairways and it mostly it behaved. A few pully Hooks were the only negatives. It was notable though, that as good as the R15 is, the drives were finishing 20+ metres behind where I was hitting them yesterday with the Fast 12 LS!

The Launcher is ultra reliable, and again I hit some sweet tee shots with it , as well as off the deck.

The i5s are so easy to use. GIR of 50%, compared to FIR of 57% probably says it all.

The Kombi really does suit my game, and our greens. I hit some great putts today and only luck stopped me scorching the greens, so many tap ins, many inside an inch or 2. 34 putts (no 3ps) just doesn't tell the story.

[Daves]

Monthly medal today, off the blacks so the Fast 12 is back in the bag, set on +1* loft (yes, it is a LH Adapter!). Not much time to change too much else. I still have a box full of Hybrids I am yet to take the plastic off!

Driver: Adams Fast 12 LS
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, SLDR TP 19 & 21*
Irons: Ping Eye 2+ 5-9
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 50.5* & 57*
Putter: Kombi

[dazza99]

Monthly medal today, off the blacks so the Fast 12 is back in the bag, set on +1* loft (yes, it is a LH Adapter!). Not much time to change too much else. I still have a box full of Hybrids I am yet to take the plastic off!

Driver: Adams Fast 12 LS
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, SLDR TP 19 & 21*
Irons: Ping Eye 2+ 5-9
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 50.5* & 57*
Putter: Kombi

You playing the Ping Eye 2+ irons today Dave?

Have a set myself as a retro/back up set. Nice to hear you still play them, and off the blacks as well!!
Interested to hear your report.

Also interested in why the Adams Fast 12 LS works so well for you.
Is it that much better than other Adams drivers? (fast 10, speedline super s etc).
Picking one up myself and hoping it goes as well for me as it does for you :)

[Daves]

You playing the Ping Eye 2+ irons today Dave?

Have a set myself as a retro/back up set. Nice to hear you still play them, and off the blacks as well!!
Interested to hear your report.

Also interested in why the Adams Fast 12 LS works so well for you.
Is it that much better than other Adams drivers? (fast 10, speedline super s etc).
Picking one up myself and hoping it goes as well for me as it does for you :)

Hi Daz,

Yep Ping Eye 2+ in the bag today.

You can read a bit about the Fast 12 LS in this thread;

http://www.ozgolf.net/showthread.php/30064-Adams-Fast-12-LS?highlight=adams+fast+12

I have only tried the XTD so far for Adams Drivers. I have just ordered a Speedline Super S to try, and I am trying to track down a 9064 LS. I believe there is also a LS version of the Super, but haven't seen one yet?

To me it is long, because it is 1) Low Spin, 2) a deep face, 3) light weight) and 4) very forgiving right across the face, so it is consistently long. I suspect it more suits slower swingers like us. I have some additional shafts on the way to try with it at opportunity.

[Daves]

Monthly medal today, off the blacks so the Fast 12 is back in the bag, set on +1* loft (yes, it is a LH Adapter!). Not much time to change too much else. I still have a box full of Hybrids I am yet to take the plastic off!

Driver: Adams Fast 12 LS
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, SLDR TP 19 & 21*
Irons: Ping Eye 2+ 5-9
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 50.5* & 57*
Putter: Kombi

I played my best round for some time today, and managed to win the A Grade Medal with a 76/66, which included a double on the last!

The Fast 12 LS just seems to get better! I love this Driver, and hit some rippers with it today! FIR 79% tells the story, with my best being a measured 264m!

With most of the fairways hit, it was over to the Ping Eye 2s to get me home! And they didn't let me down with GIR of 56%, and the misses were oh so close!

The card finished with 3 birds, 9 pars, 5 bogies, and 1 double, 29 putts, no 3putts.

[D22marshall]

Well played dave!!!
Getting any closer to a settle bag?

[Daves]

Well played dave!!!
Getting any closer to a settle bag?

Never! A few favorites starting to fight their way to the top though!

[Hatchman]

Good round Dave, well done.

[damoocow]

Dave - what shafts do you have in the pings? [Oh and congrats!]

[Daves]

Thanks guys.


Dave - what shafts do you have in the pings? [Oh and congrats!]

Ping KTs Damo.

[3Puttpete]

I played my best round for some time today, and managed to win the A Grade Medal with a 76/66, which included a double on the last!

The Fast 12 LS just seems to get better! I love this Driver, and hit some rippers with it today! FIR 79% tells the story, with my best being a measured 264m!

With most of the fairways hit, it was over to the Ping Eye 2s to get me home! And they didn't let me down with GIR of 56%, and the misses were oh so close!

The card finished with 3 birds, 9 pars, 5 bogies, and 1 double, 29 putts, no 3putts.

No 3 putts

That's disappointing. Keep trying

[Ferrins]

Can you please include what ball your using.

[Daves]

Can you please include what ball your using.

I can, just for you petal. Yesterday was a TM TP.

[Ferrins]

Cheers big ears.

[dazza99]

I played my best round for some time today, and managed to win the A Grade Medal with a 76/66, which included a double on the last!

The Fast 12 LS just seems to get better! I love this Driver, and hit some rippers with it today! FIR 79% tells the story, with my best being a measured 264m!

With most of the fairways hit, it was over to the Ping Eye 2s to get me home! And they didn't let me down with GIR of 56%, and the misses were oh so close!

The card finished with 3 birds, 9 pars, 5 bogies, and 1 double, 29 putts, no 3putts.

Excellent stuff Dave :)

I've got me a Fast 12 LS. Maybe if I get my Ping Eye 2+ irons out I can go round in 76 as well ??

Maybe not....... :(

Probably need your swing, and to stand the wrong side of the ball eh? ;)

[Daves]

Excellent stuff Dave :)

I've got me a Fast 12 LS. Maybe if I get my Ping Eye 2+ irons out I can go round in 76 as well ??

Maybe not....... :(

Probably need your swing, and to stand the wrong side of the ball eh? ;)

The Fast 12 will help, ditto the Pings Eyes. My swing is shite, but I do have a short game, and can plot my way around a course reasonably well. So there is hope for everyone really!

[3Puttpete]

And Depends. It's one less thing to worry about

[Ferrins]

Nice round btw

[Daves]

And Depends. It's one less thing to worry about

Why bring Lager into this? It is all about bottoms with you guys, isn't it!:razz:

[Dcanto]

Well done Daves.

[oldracer]

I played my best round for some time today, and managed to win the A Grade Medal with a 76/66, which included a double on the last!

The Fast 12 LS just seems to get better! I love this Driver, and hit some rippers with it today! FIR 79% tells the story, with my best being a measured 264m!

With most of the fairways hit, it was over to the Ping Eye 2s to get me home! And they didn't let me down with GIR of 56%, and the misses were oh so close!

The card finished with 3 birds, 9 pars, 5 bogies, and 1 double, 29 putts, no 3putts.nice hittin' Dave

[mrbluu]

Well done Dave!!!

[Lagerlover]

Same pins as last week??

[Daves]

Same pins as last week??

What have my ankles got to do with it?

[Daves]

It is 3rd round of the club champs today, and I am trying to back up my Wednesday round, so hopefully I won't crash and burn! Today's bag selection;

Driver: Adams Fast 12 LS with Aldila NVS K
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, SLDR TP 19 & 21*
Irons: Ping i20s
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 53* & 57*
Putter: Kombi

[Lucasto23]

Keep going you good thing and well played Daves

[Daves]

It is 3rd round of the club champs today, and I am trying to back up my Wednesday round, so hopefully I won't crash and burn! Today's bag selection;

Driver: Adams Fast 12 LS with Aldila NVS K
3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher
Hybrids: Adams A12 Pro 16*, SLDR TP 19 & 21*
Irons: Ping i20s
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 46*, Yururi 53* & 57*
Putter: Kombi

Well it wasn't crash and burn, but it definitely was a struggle, and I finished 10 shots worse than Wednesday for a net 76. I had the pulls for a while with the driver, and then over corrected a few. The back nine was better. I didn't make my 1st par till the 9th, though I did birdie the 7th from 4 feet to also take the Pro Pin. Lady Karma was taking her revenge, lots of bad lies in divots, dead behind trees etc.

When I hit the Fast 12 well, it was loong, even into a pretty stiff breeze. But keeping it on the fairway was a bit of a challenge, the strong wind was turning my draws into hooks. And the Pings didn't get a lot of chances to perform, as they had to play too many recovery shots! Shot of the day though was my approach to our Index 1 par 5 14th. Lady Karma had left my 2nds shot to the corner, too close to the pot bunker on the left, to take a proper stance. So with one foot in the bunker and the other above the ball, I punched a 6 iron 125m or so to 6 feet and a 2nd birdie.

We again had old holes for the 3rd round and the volcanos were very evident! Some clown in the group in front had jammed the flag stick into the cup on the 15th. By the time the flag stick was extracted, we had another volcano of Vesuvius proportions! 2 x 3 putts spoilt an otherwise good putting performance.

[stopper]

Hi Daves, I just read this thread in it's entirety (slow day today). Good stuff.

Good stuff.

Is that a pic of your collection in your avatar?