Boccieri Heavy Fairway Wood Testers Thread

[10YardDraw]

Great update Spiff, I would agree with this club being forgiving. I planned on playing today after work but I have to go to the dentist and depending what happens not sure if i can play or not, in some serious pain today, I hope its a easy fix and nothing needs pulled or a root canal, yuck

 

[tdinbr]

Forgot to mention in my update from yesterday's round 2 that I had 3 specific shots with the Heavy 3 wood where I needed a certain shot shape to get out of trouble.

One was up under trees on the left side of the fairway. Overhanging branches forced me to have to hit a good draw to avoid the branches and still get some distance. Focused on "swing out to first base" and hit a sweet draw that left me right in front of the green.

Second was a fade required off the tee to avoid a tree that sticks out on the right side of the fairway. Had the thought of "cut across the ball" to get the fade and it worked out just fine.

Third was a punch shot. Sounds weird I know, but one of my favorite shots with my old 3w is a punch shot to get out of trouble underneath low overhangs. I put the ball back in my stance, take a short backswing to a low finish that is abbreviated to keep the ball low with a ton of roll out. Tried the same shot with the Heavy 3w and the ball jumped up off the clubface and went through the overhang I was trying to keep it under. Got lucky that I only hit leaves and not a branch. Will need to practice this shot with the Heavy 3w to see if it can be as successful as I used to be with the Cleveland Launcher.

 

[War Eagle]

Great updates D and Spiff! The more I hit the Boccieri, the more It grows on me.

Not being a big fairway wood player in the past, the more I have hit the heavy wood, the more comfortable I have gotten with it.

I will be going to the range again tonight, want to spend some more time hitting the Heavy Wood. Even though I like the club, I still have my issues with fairway woods, and my lack of confidence in them. I really want to work on my swing with the 3W, as I think that is a lot of the problem I am having. I have always treated a 3W swing like my driver swing, but so far with the Heavy Wood I have been working to swing more similar to how I hit my hybrids. It's a mental thing with me, dont know why.

If I could get the same confidence in this club, as I do with my hybrid, there is no doubt I think it would change my game. Yesterday, playing a blind dogleg right Par 5, having the ability to hit the ball well with a 3W off the tee was great. Usually on this hole I go back and forth between wanting to hit driver or hybrid. Driver is too long, and I hit it through the fairway OB. My hybrid just isnt long enough, distance wise, to get me to where I can have a good second shot. So, I have had a huge gap in my bag off the tee, and usually have to play the risk, and usually have to scramble to get a Par, not even thinking about birdie. Still amazed that I went 3W, 5i, on in 2 and made the Eagle putt. Lesson learned, longer isnt always better.

Hitting this off the tee yesterday gave me the exact distance I have been for a lot of the holes in this course (lots of dogleg lefts/rights, where driver is too much). To have the option for a 3W off the tee, with good distance and accuracy would be huge for my game. A lot of the courses around here arent as long, but requrie you have good course management, and usually that means leaving the driver in the bag on a few holes. Not having faith in my 3W, usually has me hitting driver anyway, and ending up with a terrible 2nd shot.

 

[tdinbr]

.....Lesson learned, longer isnt always better.....

I learned this as well yesterday. Playing from the fairway and not in the trees made a huge difference in my game.

I wish I had kept score. I think I only had 1 double bogey all day and I know I had par or better on all of the par 5's. I was being outdriven on every par 4 and 5 by both of those guys but was always on the green in the same number of strokes. I would have 7 iron or 8 iron in while they were hitting wedges but my irons were being kind to me and sticking on the greens. And when they didn't I was chipping them close enough for gimme's a few times. Also had a pretty good day putting as well.

 

[mikedean441]

I learned this as well yesterday. Playing from the fairway and not in the trees made a huge difference in my game.

I wish I had kept score. I think I only had 1 double bogey all day and I know I had par or better on all of the par 5's. I was being outdriven on every par 4 and 5 by both of those guys but was always on the green in the same number of strokes. I would have 7 iron or 8 iron in while they were hitting wedges but my irons were being kind to me and sticking on the greens. Also had a pretty good day putting as well.

I agree, ever since I have put my driver into the penalty box, ive shot 84 twice, which were my 2 best scores of the year.

The difference to me has been instead of hitting 8-9 irons alot, its more 6 and 7's, which im striking more solid than ever before

 

[d_in_la]

If I could get the same confidence in this club, as I do with my hybrid, there is no doubt I think it would change my game

The more I hit the Boccieri, the more It grows on me.

I couldn't agree more, guys! There is something about this BGHW club that begins to inspire confidence. I ,for one, never had confidence with my fw, but I'm starting to find it. I also think that it is also positively improving my tempo with my other clubs as well.

 

[10YardDraw]

Well im hoping to be able to get out this week but it all depends on my tooth, I have a severly infected tooth that needs pulled friday morning and its killing me, if these antibiotics help and the pain meds actually start helping after the infection gets better i will get out, if not it will be either sunday or monday. This sucks lol

 

[JB]

Guys I know many are first time testers here, so I want to offer some suggestions.

Focus less on your round and your scores and more about the club being testing
More pictures, videos and thoughts on what is being tested and less on your personal game.

More Updates, More Updates, More Updates
There are lots of things to discuss with this technology and club, and tons of questions to be answered in regards to what people are wondering about the equipment.

Making posts like "I played today and only hit it once" or "I hope to get out next week" should be changed to thoughts on the club in your experience.
Please remember that forum testing is about testing the equipment. Make time to go to the range. Make time to use it if you are playing.
Forum testing is not write a post a week for a month or so and enjoy free equipment.

Thanks for understanding and this is not directed at any person. Some of you are doing an incredible job and others might just need a little bit of a nudge in the right direction.

 

[War Eagle]

Got to thinking about the backweighting on the grip end of the Heavy Wood, and started wondering where the Center of Balance was for the club. I have said in previous posts, and in my initial review that this club just had that sturdy feel to it when holding it. That feel translates nicely to the swinging of the club, and has a very balanced feel to it. So, did a home made experiement, as I wanted to see for myself the difference in the center of balance of the Heavy Wood vs my TaylorMade Superfast 3W. Obviously, I know the heavy wood had a different feel to it, but didnt realize how much of an effect the backweighting had on the club... So, made a video to show what I saw, and thought it was pretty cool how well balanced this club is, actually, I was amazed at it.

So here's the video, rough around the edges, but I captured what I wanted to show. It's shot with my iPhone so it's not the best, but will have a flip tomorrow for better video footage.



And, here is a picture, obviously the Heavy Wood is closest to the Camera.

 

[10YardDraw]

haha dude i did that exact same thing the first day it came in lol, its pretty cool to see how different the balance is

 

[War Eagle]

haha dude i did that exact same thing the first day it came in lol, its pretty cool to see how different the balance is

It was pretty cool to see it, and obviously I knew there was significant backweighting, but was impressed at the balance point.


...just tap it in...

 

[JB]

That seems kind of funny, but at the same time shows exactly how different the balance points are.

 

[10YardDraw]

That seems kind of funny, but at the same time shows exactly how different the balance points are.

Agreed, these clubs are sleepers, I am very impressed with what I have seen so far

 

[War Eagle]

That seems kind of funny, but at the same time shows exactly how different the balance points are.

May not be the most legit test ever to be had, but was sitting here thinking about it, and the closest thing to offer balance support was a chair.

Regardless, I've said many times it has a nice balance to it in hand, wanted to see it balanced on something and compare it directly with another wood.


...just tap it in...

 

[d_in_la]

Fantastic test war.eagle, I'm going to try that with my Callaway and post the pic.

 

[War Eagle]

Fantastic test war.eagle, I'm going to try that with my Callaway and post the pic.

Interested to see that. Also curious to how the Heavy 5 Wood is as well.


...just tap it in...

 

[mikedean441]

wanted to get this typed up earlier, but had a darn fantasy football draft. Went to a range near my place this evening and hit a medium bucket of balls.

My focus on this trip was to practice off of the deck for most of the time, then hit a few balls off of the tee again and compare to last week's trip. Sorry I dont have any video, cant trust my kids to hold my phone steady while I hit, might work on picking something up that is stationary so I can post it here.

I managed to chunk my first few balls, I tweaked my ball position back further and that got things back on track.

After that, I hit probably 40+ balls with this club from the deck and was pleasantly surprised how welll it performed. My initial concern was that the open face + my power fade issues that I had when hitting this off of the tee would carry over to hitting from the deck, but that wasnt the case at all.

The club offered a very penetrating ball flight on a regular basis, which was was great to see, as with the roll I was getting, most of the balls were going 220-230+. My current 3W is just as long, but id say 25% of the time when hitting from the deck, I manage to baloon balls a bit, which obviously causes lost of distance. This wasnt the case at all with this club, as it was more like 1 out of every 10 that I hit tonight, which I can definitely live with at this point in my golfing career lol

The club had a great "feel" to it this evening. Not sure how to explain it, but on contact it was very solid and really let you know you hit it well. Another thing that I tried to focus on was just keeping a nice steady tempo when hitting it. You dont have to overswing which anyone that has seen me play knows I have a tendancy to do, just nice and smooth and the club truely does take care of the rest.

Spent the last 15 balls or so going back to hitting from the tees. Still struggling with my misses going off to the right, while its not to the magnitude that my current driver has given me, the slice has become annoying nonetheless. I didnt have my other 3W to hit right after this to see if my results would be different, but that will certainly be the next test. Im hoping that im making the same swing with each club, but no way for me to know until I can get some video footage, hopefully in the near future.

Thoughts:

As I continue to hit the club more and more, im starting to really become more and more impressed with it. Its offer a great penetrating ball flight from the tight lies, and as soon as I can get things more consistent off of the tee, which is where I use the club the most, then I will fully be able to appreciate it even more.

 

[Griff]

Question for you guys.

What are your results with a typical miss? No club is perfect and I would like to know how good your misses are if that makes any sense. Wondering if there is a consensus even with everyone's varied swings. Just trying to sort through the thread and I can't seem to get a firm handle on the forgiveness of the club.

Don't get me wrong, I love hearing about the bombs and darts as well.

 

[BamBooBender]

Question for you guys.

What are your results with a typical miss? No club is perfect and I would like to know how good your misses are if that makes any sense. Wondering if there is a consensus even with everyone's varied swings. Just trying to sort through the thread and I can't seem to get a firm handle on the forgiveness of the club.

Don't get me wrong, I love hearing about the bombs and darts as well.

My typical miss is a block, but with the heavy 3w it's a slice to a push slice. I have what you would call passive, or quiet hands in my swing, I don't deliberately try to do anything with my hands. I wonder if the weight in the grip slows down my release, leaving the face open. it's hard to tell, but it usually takes me a few swings to adjust to the club at the range and on the course.

 

[BamBooBender]

It was pretty cool to see it, and obviously I knew there was significant backweighting, but was impressed at the balance point.


...just tap it in...

Good comparison to show the balance point war. No wonder my "ultralight" club feels more head heavy.

 

[War Eagle]

Question for you guys.

What are your results with a typical miss? No club is perfect and I would like to know how good your misses are if that makes any sense. Wondering if there is a consensus even with everyone's varied swings. Just trying to sort through the thread and I can't seem to get a firm handle on the forgiveness of the club.

Don't get me wrong, I love hearing about the bombs and darts as well.

My miss hits with the heavy wood is a push right. I have had a few slices with it, but more typical on a mis-hit is a push.

With my Superfast 3W my mishit is consistently a vicious slice.



...just tap it in...

 

[tdinbr]

My miss hits with the heavy wood is a push right. I have had a few slices with it, but more typical on a mis-hit is a push.

With my Superfast 3W my mishit is consistently a vicious slice.

Exactly the same for me as well.

 

[Griff]

Awesome, thanks guys. Testing and reviewing is hard work and you're all doing well.

One more question. Given how this club is balanced how does it do when you have to choke down? Sometimes I will try stupid side hill shots because I am stupid. Sorry if this has been answered, I may have missed it.

 

[BamBooBender]

Awesome, thanks guys. Testing and reviewing is hard work and you're all doing well.

One more question. Given how this club is balanced how does it do when you have to choke down? Sometimes I will try stupid side hill shots because I am stupid. Sorry if this has been answered, I may have missed it.

That's a good question. I haven't tried that yet.

 

[d_in_la]

Question for you guys.

What are your results with a typical miss? No club is perfect and I would like to know how good your misses are if that makes any sense. Wondering if there is a consensus even with everyone's varied swings. Just trying to sort through the thread and I can't seem to get a firm handle on the forgiveness of the club.

Don't get me wrong, I love hearing about the bombs and darts as well.

No worries, good question, griff. My misses are little right side push-fades, nothing severe like a big slice. When I make a good swing but don't hit it in the center of the club face, the BGHW shows well - a loss of distance, but still fairly straight. And finally, when I swing like a mad man, a bad result is a pull left. If there was a consensus miss, I'd expect it to be a push to the right as the weighting helps get your swing in the correct plane and helps close your hands at address, but not slamming your hands shut. This is a forgiving club, but as far as I can tell, the BGHW isn't biased towards fixing one swing/contact fault over another.

Now mind you, this is an incomplete data set since I'm still learning the BGHW and how to swing it. For example, my warm up swings are all hooks, but after 5 swings, I connect to the feedback I get from the head and the weighting and I start to settle into the groove.

My next range session will be spent hitting out of the rough and seeing if I can do any elementary shaping of the ball. Again, I have never, EVER, had enough confidence in my swing or a club to consider shaping the ball.

As for choking down on the club. I did hit a few and didn't notice any difference. Of course, with my big paws, there isn't a whole lot of grip left.