Equipment that pleasantly surprised you

[rick3003]

Cleve TL310 driver. Will take one hell of a driver to knock this out of the bag....

[LeftyHoges]

A good shaft. The Diamana Whiteboard / Ahina / D+, whichever name it wants to go by.

Have had many a mediocre club improved dramatically by this shaft alone.

[Ferrins]

Golf ball warmer works a treat to keep my balls and tees warm.

[Baudwalker]

Tees in with your balls!

Dangerous if the sharp ends point the wrong way

[Hatchman]

Taylormade Penta 5 Golf Balls.
Perform as good as Pro V's only cheaper and more durable.

The very first Smoothy Buggy made. On a trip away a mate that had the heaviest golf bag to push (swear he had bags of cement in it) on a good Pilgrim buggy bought one and we could believe how easy it was to push/pull. We all went home with new Smoothy's and cleaned the Pro Shop out of stock.

A for clubs. I still rate the fist Big Bertha Driver made as the best club I've ever owned and used.

[chappy1970]

Taylormade Penta 5 Golf Balls.
Perform as good as Pro V's only cheaper and more durable.

A for clubs. I still rate the fist Big Bertha Driver made as the best club I've ever owned and used.

+1 on the Pentas, really like them

I much preferred the original Big Bertha, the fist Big Bertha was uncomfortable to use IMO

[Jarro]

Taylormade Penta 5 Golf Balls.
Perform as good as Pro V's only cheaper and more durable.

+1 on the Pentas

Make that 3 votes for the Pentas

P.S. Happy Birthday Chappy

[razaar]

You might need this bold and in size 16 font LOL

Had high expectations but my T.P.Mills Fleetwood exceeded them handily, so i guess it fits. Best putter i've ever hit by a long way.

If you like the Fleetwood, you will also like the Ping B60. I have a BeCu that has never been used in play. It still has the ping sticker on the grip. Faldo won at least one of his majors with a BeCu B60.

[TheNuclearOne]

If you like the Fleetwood, you will also like the Ping B60. I have a BeCu that has never been used in play. It still has the ping sticker on the grip. Faldo won at least one of his majors with a BeCu B60.

TBH i don't like the curved shape at the back. The Fleetwood is very square and i find that a great help in alignment. No doubt the B60 would perform like a champ tho, Ping make great putters. Piretti make (basically) a good Fleetwood copy. Bettinardi did a ripper too, but too dear unfortunately.

[Oldplayer]

Ping i5 irons. Often touted by ping fans to be "one of the best" but I doubted that. 5 models old, offset gi type head. How good could they be? Curiosity got the better so I got hold of a set. What a sweet set of irons. Awesome feel, (graphite shaft) easy to hit , workable and generally dead solid. A pleasant surprise for sure.
BTW Chappy I would not be surprised at how good the Sonartec fairway woods are. I have a ss 3.5 and nothing can kick it out of the bag despite years of challenges.

[chappy1970]

Agreed OP on the Sonartec.

This thread has pleased me some what, I love to hear people's experiences with equipment that they had preconceived ideas on.

[Pirelli]

I recently got a Rangemaster Tour X7 rangefinder from the BST here and it has been great so far. Gives me the same numbers as my friend's bushnell and is very fast. I was expecting having to compromise a bit to save that much cash but it has really performed flawlessly.

Time will tell whether it holds up over the long haul and what it's like in bad weather as the weather sealing doesn't look great.

[pt73]

I was looking for a 16.5* 4 wood and saw a TEE XG4 with stock stiff shaft on ebay for $85 shipped so I thought why not. I had read all the hype and have a mate who has a 3 wood & hybrid. From my experience the hype is all true it's a rocket off the tee and easy to hit off the deck, not leaving my bag any time soon.

[pt73]

I was looking for a 16.5* 4 wood and saw a TEE XCG4 with stock stiff shaft on ebay for $85 shipped so I thought why not. I had read all the hype and have a mate who has a 3 wood & hybrid. From my experience the hype is all true it's a rocket off the tee and easy to hit off the deck, not leaving my bag any time soon.

[razaar]

TM's Lethalis now my favourite golf ball.

[TheTrueReview]

TM's Lethalis now my favourite golf ball.

What do you like about them Razaar? Is your comment a direct comparison to the predecessor Penta or to the other premium balls?

[Bushka]

Nickent 4DX with a V2 in it in stiff 76 grm.

I've had a 910D2 with BiMatrix, 913D2 with a Black Tie 7M3, Razer Fit with Whiteboard in it and a tried out a heap of other odds and sodds and if i'm honest none of them has been any better than the much older cheaper and invariably uglier 4DX.

Not sure if its the V2 shaft or the head but it just goes and goes.

[TheNuclearOne]

A couple to add

Taylormade R1 driver - Haven't been overly impressed with TM drivers since near 2009. Most are a teeny bit spinny for my tastes. Best recently for me was the R11 DOT, but it couldn't find a spot in the bag. The R1 has been a great surprise, very very low spin and an absolute howitzer. Decent forgiveness too. The Stage 2 Tour driver is also a step up from recent models IMO.

Callway 3Deep 13* - I expected a lot from this club and the "pleasant surprise" is that it lives up to the hype. An awesome second driving option shafted with a Whiteboard 73s at 43.25" and D5. Lives up to it's reputation as a mini driver.

Taylormade Tour Issue RBZ Tour 17.5* 4 wood - High expectations again but it's delivered absolutely everything i hoped it might, a rarity. Goes as long as a 3 wood even built at a genuine 4 wood length (still low spin, hot and penetrating, too low in 14.5" for many) and great turf interraction. Can be hit off tighter lies far more easily than your average 3 wood. Certainly long enough to hit off the tee when needed too.

Why on earth TM didn't release this 4 wood to the public i will never know, they normally release them. It would have sold oodles.

Callaway Hex Chrome - These caught my eye last week. Would you believe a mate found a mint one on the weekend and flung it my way. Finished that round with it and a full one Sunday. I'd put it somewhere in the catgory of Pro V1x and Srixon XV. I think it's more aimed at your average 90-100 ss, the Chrome+ and Black higher. Where it excelled for me was spin on short pitches and chips, more than i expected for a ball going quite long off the driver and irons. It's also not clicky off the putter like so many Cally balls. Have quite a few coming and must try out the + model soon.

[razaar]

What do you like about them Razaar? Is your comment a direct comparison to the predecessor Penta or to the other premium balls?

Haven't used a Penta yet, so my comparison is with What is in the market. I find them more suited to my game than anything else I have used in the past. They are a joy on and around the green, feel great off the clubface and are longer with the driver. Their only negative is a soft cover that doesn't like trees or sharp grooves (?). I never expected to say anything good about TM.

[mrbluu]

Haven't used a Penta yet, so my comparison is with What is in the market. I find them more suited to my game than anything else I have used in the past. They are a joy on and around the green, feel great off the clubface and are longer with the driver. Their only negative is a soft cover that doesn't like trees or sharp grooves (?). I never expected to say anything good about TM.

I'm surprise there are durability issues with the cover of the lethal since this is one area tp5's excelled.

[razaar]

I'm surprise there are durability issues with the cover of the lethal since this is one area tp5's excelled.

A tree bit mine and left a bite mark.

[3oneday]

Cleve TL310 driver. Will take one hell of a driver to knock this out of the bag....

G25?

[Captain Nemo]

G25?

Isnt he selling the Clevo?

[mrbluu]

Nickent 4DX with a V2 in it in stiff 76 grm.

I've had a 910D2 with BiMatrix, 913D2 with a Black Tie 7M3, Razer Fit with Whiteboard in it and a tried out a heap of other odds and sodds and if i'm honest none of them has been any better than the much older cheaper and invariably uglier 4DX.

Not sure if its the V2 shaft or the head but it just goes and goes.

What about the bit you are built like a giant???

[rick3003]

G25?

Yep the G25 has knocked out the Cleve after 18 or so months. Stock stiffy playing at 10 deg. Nice open face and very long and forgiving...

Tried the G20, i20 and Anser last year but all failed....