Kleydejong's WITB Shenanigans

[Moby]

Sweet bag

[kleydejong]

Big changes coming this Spring.  My course is set to open on Monday, and I am stoked.

 

 

Two Drivers

 

First, I am going to test two drivers.  First is a Cobra Speedback set to 7.5*, both weight screws removed, Grafalloy Prolaunch Supercharged Red 60g Stiff Flex shaft uncut playing at 48" currently.  I got the headweight down to 184g which puts the swingweight at aboud D7 on my scale.  The second is a TaylorMade Sim Max set to 10.5*, headweight brought up to 216g with copious amounts of lead tape.  I'm using an old 70g UST Proforce V2 that I was using in a 5 wood for a while.  It plays at 42" total length.  C8 swingweight. 

 

This is a little troll, but I think it has merit.  I noticed last year I was primarily hitting my 3 wood as a tee club on par 4's where accuracy was paramount.  The Sim at 42" is very accurate.  Ballflight is fairly low.  I'm definitely not generating a ton of clubhead speed.  But it definitely keeps the ball in play well.  I think the bigger head will offer more forgiveness than a 3 wood.  I also like the lower ballflight quite a lot for playing my fairly windy course conditions. 

 

The long driver is really interesting.  It has definitely taken time to acclimate to such a long shaft.  It is just a very different experience.  I think it has promise though. 

 

I will likely continue to experiment with both drivers for a bit.  The long driver will likely test a 60g Aldila NV X flex shaft I just picked up for cheap.  I may tip trim it slightly and play it at 47" total length.  With the Grafalloy, it feels fairly whippy and I have noticed some tendency to launch it really high and spinny.  Some of it may be delivery.  But a stiffer and slightly more reasonably lengthed shaft would be helpful.

 

Top End

 

From there I go into a Cobra F8+ set to 17*.  Then my slew of hybrids.  Callaway Epic Flash at 21* and 24*.  Then a Taylormade Sim at 28*.  It is my secret weapon and I adore it.

 

Irons

 

I got some PXG 0311p irons and am really enjoying them.  They're 7-PW.  X flex TT Elevate Tour shafts.  I love their look with the beveled top line making it look thinner than it really is.  Plenty of ball speed and forgiveness.

 

I still have the Cobra OL F7's.  I may try them again.  I just don't know if playing single length from 7-PW makes sense for me to provide much benefit. 

 

Wedges

Still rocking the Maltby TSW 50* and 55*.  Love them.  I may order new heads to keep the grooves fresh. 

 

I'm testing a new LW.  This is an old Vokey 60*04 that I put in a vice and hammered to about 62*06 and 2* flat.  I'm also contemplating trying a full on 64* in this spot as well.  I only use the LW for emergency shots around the green, so why not fully embrace it. 

 

Putter

 

I'm committed to armlock.  This is a Cleveland model 1 belly putter head converted with a long shaft, Jumbomax grip like Bryson.  The head is bent to about 7* loft.  I really like it. 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by kleydejong

[BIG STU]

13 hours ago, kleydejong said:

Big changes coming this Spring.  My course is set to open on Monday, and I am stoked.

 

 

Two Drivers

 

First, I am going to test two drivers.  First is a Cobra Speedback set to 7.5*, both weight screws removed, Grafalloy Prolaunch Supercharged Red 60g Stiff Flex shaft uncut playing at 48" currently.  I got the headweight down to 184g which puts the swingweight at aboud D7 on my scale.  The second is a TaylorMade Sim Max set to 10.5*, headweight brought up to 216g with copious amounts of lead tape.  I'm using an old 70g UST Proforce V2 that I was using in a 5 wood for a while.  It plays at 42" total length.  C8 swingweight. 

 

This is a little troll, but I think it has merit.  I noticed last year I was primarily hitting my 3 wood as a tee club on par 4's where accuracy was paramount.  The Sim at 42" is very accurate.  Ballflight is fairly low.  I'm definitely not generating a ton of clubhead speed.  But it definitely keeps the ball in play well.  I think the bigger head will offer more forgiveness than a 3 wood.  I also like the lower ballflight quite a lot for playing my fairly windy course conditions. 

 

The long driver is really interesting.  It has definitely taken time to acclimate to such a long shaft.  It is just a very different experience.  I think it has promise though. 

 

I will likely continue to experiment with both drivers for a bit.  The long driver will likely test a 60g Aldila NV X flex shaft I just picked up for cheap.  I may tip trim it slightly and play it at 47" total length.  With the Grafalloy, it feels fairly whippy and I have noticed some tendency to launch it really high and spinny.  Some of it may be delivery.  But a stiffer and slightly more reasonably lengthed shaft would be helpful.

 

Top End

 

From there I go into a Cobra F8+ set to 17*.  Then my slew of hybrids.  Callaway Epic Flash at 21* and 24*.  Then a Taylormade Sim at 28*.  It is my secret weapon and I adore it.

 

Irons

 

I got some PXG 0311p irons and am really enjoying them.  They're 7-PW.  X flex TT Elevate Tour shafts.  I love their look with the beveled top line making it look thinner than it really is.  Plenty of ball speed and forgiveness.

 

I still have the Cobra OL F7's.  I may try them again.  I just don't know if playing single length from 7-PW makes sense for me to provide much benefit. 

 

Wedges

Still rocking the Maltby TSW 50* and 55*.  Love them.  I may order new heads to keep the grooves fresh. 

 

I'm testing a new LW.  This is an old Vokey 60*04 that I put in a vice and hammered to about 62*06 and 2* flat.  I'm also contemplating trying a full on 64* in this spot as well.  I only use the LW for emergency shots around the green, so why not fully embrace it. 

 

Putter

 

I'm committed to armlock.  This is a Cleveland model 1 belly putter head converted with a long shaft, Jumbomax grip like Bryson.  The head is bent to about 7* loft.  I really like it. 

 

 

I see you are not scared of a little lead tape either

[kleydejong]

1 hour ago, BIG STU said:

I see you are not scared of a little lead tape either

Lol very true! 

[BIG STU]

1 minute ago, kleydejong said:

Lol very true! 

Hey man fix em where you can hit em I always say

[kleydejong]

The shenanigans continue.  Now I have 5 hybrids in the bag...

 

The honest truth is that I hit them very well.  Better than irons.  As expected they launch high and fly straight with lower spin.  I have fewer shots where I miss hit and it comes up short.  My curvature has gone down.  The 7h and 6h are point and click. 

 

I have had a few shots (like maybe once or twice) where I was hitting the 6h off the tee or in some light rough with the ball sitting up, and I caught the strike high on the head.  The flyer nuke is real.  My 6h is about a 175 carry and I've is jump to 185.  That's kind of a problem when you really want consistent carry, but overall I am still evaluating if the other benefits outweigh. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BIG STU]

IMHO nothing at all wrong with that---- We had an older gentleman at my former course that had like 5 or 6 hybrids in his bag. Had some kind of Cobra driver no FWs a Trusty Rusty 56 and a putter. He was in his mid 70s at the time and usually shot around his age most of the time from the Gold Senior tees. And he had so much versitiity with those hybrids. Have not seen him since that course closed at the end of 19. But get it done however you can get it done

[kleydejong]

 

Top of the bag has remained pretty stagnant.  Driver shaft is different.  I am trying an old Aldila NV 65g X flex with a 25g counterweight glued into the grip.  

 

I swapped hybrids to Ping.  I found that they're very stable.  Great forgiveness.  I also like the 4* loft gaps.  They go 19* - 22* - 26* - 30*.  They gap a little better like this.  

 

For irons I've been trying the KE4 Max from Maltby.  The 7 iron and 6 hybrid are both 30*.  I'll probably only keep one and add another wedge.  They're very forgiving.  A little on the chunky side, but I hit them pretty straight so they're sticking around for now.  I have done a gapping session this week and noticed some weird gaps.  

 

The GW is 48*.  I'll probably add a 52* then go 56* and 60*.  

 

Putter is a Scotty Cameron Futura X Dual converted to an armlock.  It is about 41* length and head weight is about 410g.  Loft is about 7*.  

 

 

[Fwiedwice]

I am also playing Ping G425 Hybrid 3 - 7 with Alta CB 65 Stiff Shaft for all my clubs. What is the current shaft you're using in your Ping hybrids? Did you end up adjusting the swing weight of the head to get better feel? Any tips you can give me with tinkering the clubs to fit my feel?

 

Also, do you tend to play the same ball placement for all your clubs?

Edited December 1, 2023 by Fwiedwice

[kleydejong]

On 12/1/2023 at 12:44 PM, Fwiedwice said:

I am also playing Ping G425 Hybrid 3 - 7 with Alta CB 65 Stiff Shaft for all my clubs. What is the current shaft you're using in your Ping hybrids? Did you end up adjusting the swing weight of the head to get better feel? Any tips you can give me with tinkering the clubs to fit my feel?

 

Also, do you tend to play the same ball placement for all your clubs?

 

The 3, 4, and 5 hybrids have x stiff 80g tensei blue shafts. The 6 hybrid has a DG S300 steel iron shaft at 38". I find hybrids play better for me a little shorter and heavier. A 6 hybrid with a 65g shaft playing at like 38 3/4" (stock specs) wouldn't work for me. I did add a little head weight to get swingweight up.

 

I find ball placement with hybrids is just a little bit ahead of where I'd play the same number iron.

[Fwiedwice]

22 hours ago, kleydejong said:

 

The 3, 4, and 5 hybrids have x stiff 80g tensei blue shafts. The 6 hybrid has a DG S300 steel iron shaft at 38". I find hybrids play better for me a little shorter and heavier. A 6 hybrid with a 65g shaft playing at like 38 3/4" (stock specs) wouldn't work for me. I did add a little head weight to get swingweight up.

 

I find ball placement with hybrids is just a little bit ahead of where I'd play the same number iron.

Is all your hybrids cut 3/4 shorter than the stock spec? Did you end up losing some distance?

 

Did the 7 hybrid ended up not working for you? I am currently experiencing with too much spin with my 7 ping g425 34* hybrid. Any tip with reducing the spin? A heavier shaft?

[kleydejong]

On 12/3/2023 at 10:38 PM, Fwiedwice said:

Is all your hybrids cut 3/4 shorter than the stock spec? Did you end up losing some distance?

 

Did the 7 hybrid ended up not working for you? I am currently experiencing with too much spin with my 7 ping g425 34* hybrid. Any tip with reducing the spin? A heavier shaft?

The 3, 4, and 5 are a half inch shorter than stock. I found my strike pattern tightened up a bit. I've been more concerned with getting stable back spin and landing angles.

 

My 6 hyb spins a pretty heavy amount. Launches higher, spins more, and I curve it less left to right.

 

My old cobra 31* 7 hyb could nuke off the planet. I'd hit one 170 and the the next 200 with like 3k spin.  I do like a heavier stiffer shaft.

[RSLP]

@kleydejong excellent golf equipment saga!