TaylorMade Kingdom Experience Diary

Course looks amazing, can't wait to hear all of the details boys. Safe travels.
 
This may be a dumb question - if you sign up for the full Kingdom experience, will you be treated this well, or is it b/c you guys won this amazing contest? How much is included in the full, top of the line package if you actually have to pay for it?

And thanks guys for sharing. Amazing stuff. It looks so SO cool.

So the answer this question is basically no. At lest here in Carlsbad. They said that the one in Georgia is more accessible to the public, but basically the one in Carlsbad is only open to tour players and some others by invitation only. As far as what actually comes with it if you were able to get in, that I do not know.
 
Awesome updates everyone! Looks like a remarkable time and that golf course is AMAZING!


Tap before talk.
 
Wow Drumdog great stuff man. I have no doubt that picture of you and Jim Flick will be hanging in your house very shortly. You have me waiting in a state of anxious anticipation for whats to come. I hope all three of you had an amazing time.
 
I wanted to take a moment and update you guys on the highlights of the day, which were numerous. First off I was first to get fit for my driver and so they told me to start warming up. While I am hitting my warm up shots, Jim Flick walks over and starts breaking down my swing. He complemented me on my wedge and iron striking, but when I got my old driver in my hands he said "why are you throwing your hips out there like you were a stripper?" I swear to you those were his exact words :D it was awesome! Then he took about 20-30 minutes with me personally helping me fix my swing. It was out of this world amazing! Just in case any of you aren't aware of who Jim Flick is, he is the man who coached Jack Nicklaus. After we got some good progress with my driver the pro who was working with me, affectionately referred to by everyone as Stoney, started changing shafts and tweaking settings. This was absolutely amazing to behold as I watched the ball flight on my ball morph right in front of my eyes. They say the numbers they are looking for are 12 & 22. 12 degrees launch angle and 2200 mph rpm. Once they had me dialed in my numbers were 11.5 and 2280. Pretty awesome. So the driver they chose for me was the 9* set at 8*. The 10 g weight in the toe and 1gram in the heel. The AST was set to open. Finally the shaft they selected for me was the Diamana 'ahina 60 gram X flex shaft. I have to say that I was hitting bombs with this thing.

After the driver fitting we were able to hit there entire line up of woods, hybrids, irons, wedges and putters. So staring off I went and hit the new Tour Preferred irons. I have had my eye on the MCs, but have also been very interested in the CBs. The irons I am playing right now are an old set of Titleist DCIs that I got used a long time ago. These have the S300 shaft in them and are standard length and lie. They fit me as 2* upright, standard length and X100 shaft. This combination was lights out for me. I am giving these details to show that I have been playing clubs that were just wrong for me. It was an eye opening experience to see what an incredible difference having clubs that are fit for you can make. We decided that for me I would be best served with a blended set MCs PW-6 and CBs 5-3. I really liked this combo because I hit a pretty high ball so the MCs gave me lower ball flight, while still being very forgiving. CBs were great in the long irons because they helped get the ball in the air a bit more and had an added level of forgiveness.

My next stop was the hybrid and woods station. Let me just first say that I have always been a FW hater. I have never been able to hit one well of the ground. Now with that ground work laid, I absolutely love the R11 FW. It was automatic off the ground for me. I hit the 14* with the Diamana Kai'li S shaft. Next I hit the 3 hybrid 18* (I think) with the Aldila RIP shaft 85g S. I cannot say enough good things about this club as well. It even has me thinking about replacing the Mashie I just got with it. The FW and hybrids were the one division that I was most skeptical about before I came and I have to say that I came away totally sold! These are just flat out great woods and hybrids.

Next I spent some time at the putting green with the new Ghost Tour putters. WOW! I think my Scotty should be very scared! I am partial to the face balanced mid mallets and they have one the 770 or Fontana that just looks, feels and performs great. I hit all of the different models and they are all fantastic putters. They changed the clod of the insert to all black and it was totally the right move. That insert has a fantastic feel to it. It provides a bunch of feedback, but feels so smooth. It also puts a perfect roll to the ball. I was given the opportunity to play the round with the 770 so I can speak more on that one. This will be my new putter! Like I said this putter just feel and rolls so pure (which coincidentally is the name of the new insert, Pure Roll). Within 10 feet this putter is where this putter really stands out. It is just so dang easy to aim.

Finally I spent some time with the wedges and again was a big fan! These wedges are really great wedges, which I was totally not expecting. I don't know why I had low expectations on the wedges, but I am a fan.

Other equipment from the day, the Penta TP ball and the Adidas Adipure shoes. First the Penta TP ball. I am sold! There is absolutely nothing I can criticize about this ball. It is long, straight and soft. It spins like a champ on the greens, yet it held up to the most biting wedge shots I put on it. I am a huge fan! Next the Adidas Adipure golf shoe. This is easily the most comfortable golf shoe I have ever worn. I spent the entire day in this shoe and my feet never got sore! And this is straight out of the box! These shoe also just look sexy too! I love the diagonal stitching across the top of the shoe. It really gives these shoes a classic yet modern look to them. Like I said the best golf shoe I have every worn.

So often times the question comes up which golf company is the "best". I have to tell you having had the opportunity to try out items from every single aspect of the Taylormade/Adidas/Ashworth lineup. From top to bottom there is no question in my mind that this year, the best golf company in the world is Taylormade. And I have to say that the people who work for Taylormade are just amazing as well. They have definitely developed a culture of excellence there, but yet they are such genuinely wonderful people and there is not one ounce of pretentiousness about them.

I will get into other details of the day tomorrow (it is midnight right now and I need to get some sleep). But I must tell Taylormade thank you from the bottom of my heart. This was a weekend that I will remember for the rest of my life and the knowledge of my own game that the pros gave me today will change my game forever.
 
great update Dr. Teeth! I really like how you went in and talked about how and what they fitted your for. I think you may be right on the irons. Blending the CBs and MCs seems like it would be a great option. I can't wait to see more pictures and videos from this experience.
 
Glad to hear you all are having a great time out there. It sounds like an amazing experience.
 
What an amazing thread. I can see why TM picked you guys. You all did a fantastic job and thanks for sharing your experience.
 
Wow! Doc, that was a great post. Very detailed and I could just feel the excitement in it. I'm glad that you found your ideal specs as well. That makes a massive difference.

Looking forward to more coverage from you guys.

tapatalk: even available for lefties!
 
great post guys!
 
I'm really enjoying following your journey. GREAT stuff guys!
 
Awesme post Doc!!! Glad to hear you all had such fun and got so much out of this weekend. THanks for the info on 12 and 22, it will be what I am looking for what I hit clubs in the future.
 
Wow, that was a fantastic write-up! You really made me feel like I was there. I felt like I was the one getting the fitting. I can't wait to see more pictures and read more feedback from everyone. You all are doing a great job with keeping us in the loop and it makes me so happy to know you have enjoyed your time at the Kingdom! :smile:
 
I tried my best to get up the power to post this last night but I was absolutely exhausted when I got back to my room. So here are all the pics and a couple of videos I got from my camera, as I said earlier the FLIP has a ton of footage from the Kingdom and once I can track down some batteries I'll get them and get those up as well. The thing that stood out to me most about the day was the staff at TaylorMade, every one of them loved to be there and even though they're putting in a full day on a Saturday they loved it about as much as us. Everywhere you turned there was someone from TM just waiting to lend a hand or just sit back and watch you hit. They weren't pushy or wouldn't even come up and offer help or their thoughts without you first showing that you wanted the advice. What I mean is that they were there for you, but if you just wanted to bang some balls without anyone around they were more than willing to give you the space you needed. This didn't happen for most of us very often because we each were eager to listen to what they all had to say. The driver fitting was amazing and Perry (my fitter) had me adding distance and accuracy within the first few swings with an R11, but the fitting didn't end there. That gave us time to let him show me the differences and even better thoroughly explain the differences I'll see with the various settings the R11 has to offer. In the end I was fit for a 9* R11 head set down to the lower setting (which ended up being 8* head) with added heel weight and a closed ASP. This had my power push/banana ball flying very nicely, almost dare I say, straight? The shaft I ended up with is the Fujikura Blur TP (stiff) that made everything come together perfectly.

I was on the first driver fitting shift so after that hour or so went by I opted to go spend some time rolling the new putter offerings and if anyone is looking for a b-day gift idea there is a Ghost putter hot and heavy on the top of my pondering list now! Rolling putts with Dave and Mike from TaylorMade was really fun because we were just a couple guys out there loving the putters and having fun trying various different putts on that green. After a while on the green I thought the time was right to go hit some of the other new Tour Preferred Forged irons, before I hit them I shot a great video of Gary from TM explaining the forging process, that video will go up soon. While checking out the irons I also had a great opportunity to have Gary fit me for my lie angle which is very important if you've been paying attention to the Tour Preferred MB testing thread at all. Right off the bat it appeared that I was going to need my irons upright, first we grabbed a test club set to 2* and we noticed the ball flight coming back to what I liked better, but then Gary who also happens to be a PGA professional who has played a ton and taught the game gave me a couple of swing tips to get me to turn over my hands better at impact and basically worked my baby fade into a dead straight shot. He then runs back to the cart, comes back with a club to hit on the impact board again and he says, "yep, I knew it, standard buddy". So my initial fitting of standard/standard loft and lie still seems to hold true now that I've got an amazing tip on getting those hands to turn over better. Gary had me even aiming and swinging toward a line quite right of my actual target and I watched in amazement as the ball had a nice high draw on it before landing right on the target I was playing to.

I spent some time hitting all the new forged irons and one thing is for sure, those are some outstanding irons. Each set is unique yet still feels just as great as the one before it, we've waited a while for the forged offerings from TaylorMade, but without a doubt they got it right in a big way. As I was wrapping up the iron station Jaimie from TaylorMade comes out of the building with a brand new R11 with a tag on it with my name on it. Talk about a great feeling! I immediately tore off the head cover and went right into getting in some swings with my new driver. Everything was exactly what Perry and I had just decided on and I could not have been happier. As I was hitting a couple Gary was wrapping up his day and stopped over and watched a couple of my driver shots and just basically reiterated what he had previously told me about irons to get my hands to turn over a little better to get my ball flight straightened out even more. By the time that little interaction with Gary was said and done we had spend probably 1.5 hours discussing and trying different shots and clubs, a lesson and fitting that would have been a couple hundred bucks anywhere I would go back home. Besides having to pay for it I wouldn't have the trust and complete faith in the results as I do with what I experienced at the Kingdom.

So at this time everyone else had received their drivers and we're all called over to have a seat as my favorite part of the day was about to start. Jim Flick proceeded to talk to us all and basically give us some swing tips and a lesson. He spoke to us all for 30 to 45 minutes and everyone there was just on the edge of their seat the entire time, even the staff. He has such a great understanding for the swing and what can help make the swing work better for each of us. We all met him when we first walked in and here were are 3 hours later and he still remembers everyone's name and could look you in the eye and talk to you about what he observed today, often times with great detail about the various swings he saw. Then he did a really cool demonstration where he sat on a little folding chair and using a driver he hit a ball 100 yards, then 125, then 150, and finally 175. Every shot was right on target and distance while sitting in a chair! This is an 82 year old man hitting dead straight shots 175 yards while sitting down. Amazing!

I'm going to talk about the round of golf and the night's dinner and hanging out with the guys in a different post, this was just my Kingdom thoughts. This day will be something that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life, this is one of my absolute highlights of my life and I am truly grateful to TaylorMade and THP! I'll put all my pictures and a small number of videos I shot from my camera in a separate post and probably tomorrow morning I'll get up the Kingdom videos when I can get back home and get batteries.
 
Pictures from Saturday

First up, the THP boys in their new Ashworth sweaters getting ready to head over to the Kingdom. The hats are also new.
DSC05563.jpg


Here we are just getting introduced to the staff that would be there to help us throughout the day.
DSC05567.jpg


DSC05568.jpg


Me and a legend, this picture is definitely getting framed. WOW!
DSC05569.jpg


Talk about TOUR pro treatment, this is my driver fitting station on the range at the Kingdom.
DSC05564.jpg


Here they are, just ready for all of us to begin.
DSC05565.jpg


DSC05566.jpg


I love this picture for some reason!
DSC05570.jpg


And here is my new R11.
IMG_20110312_102408.jpg


Here's Dr. Teeth after getting his driver handed to him....hey is that a popped collar?
DSC05572.jpg


DSC05575.jpg


Drumdog watching Dr. Teeth's driving exhibition.
DSC05574.jpg


Here is a shot of all the winners with Jim Flick, notice he came and stood next the person there that clearly needed his healing touch the most!
DSC05577.jpg


All the winners and their new drivers.
DSC05580.jpg


Right after this pic was taken we headed to Aviara for 18 holes. I'll get those pics and a couple of videos up in a new post.
 
Good stuff Jake. I have to be honest, I'm extremely jealous of all of you guys. What an incredible opportunity. I bet the guys heading out this weekend are freaking out!

The coverage has been outstanding so far. Just, WOW!

tapatalk: even available for lefties!
 
WOW guys I just got finished reading your updates from last night and this morning and to be honest, this guy is jealous! Dr. Teeth great right up man, and its amazing to me that your fitting stats were so different from what you were playing. X-stiff shafts? You're a beast big fella and to get an R11 dialed in like that is just fantastic. P4B, that was a superb write up, I felt like I was there. Not only did you guys get fit, but tips and lessons from the best in the business is just a dream come true. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for what I'm sure are amazing video's.
 
Aviara golf course is a Arnold Palmer design that has some amazing views and tons of undulation and elevation changes. This course is amazing and we showed up armed with new drivers ready to take on the challenge!

A view from the practice green, it was right here that we also had dinner waiting for us after we finished our round.
DSC05583.jpg


Our group (left to right) Drumdog, Dave from TaylorMade, Puttin4Bird, Dr. Teeth
DSC05584.jpg


Another shot with the first hole in the background. We all 4 stepped up and grooved drives right down the pipe, pars around on 1.
DSC05585.jpg


First par 3 of the day, Dave showed us how it's done by making a birdie here.
DSC05587.jpg


Green on the par 5 8th hole, amazing view!
DSC05590.jpg


Dave showing his wedge action on that 8th hole, setting up a par.
DSC05591.jpg


The THP crew on the 10th tee, that is our hotel way up on that hill behind us.
DSC05593.jpg


I don't remember what hole this was for sure but Drumdog birdied it with a great driver, 52* wedge to 2 feet.
DSC05594.jpg


Another pic, can't remember for sure which hole, somewhere along the back 9. I really liked the waterfall.
DSC05596.jpg


Another amazing view of this course.
IMG_20110312_145843.jpg


Drumdog from a rather interesting lie in a bunker on the par 4 18th hole.
DSC05598.jpg


Here's a pic of that putter that I have fallen in love with. Remember folks, my b-day is coming up if you're looking for ideas! :wink:
DSC05599.jpg


Here are a couple of videos from the round as well.

Drumdog going for the par 5 5th hole in 2.


Same hole, just a stunning scene.


Obviously I was riding with Drumdog...it's not that I just like him more than the others, but here's Drumdog showing his wedge play.


Here we are at the end of the day back at the hotel. I ran out of memory on my camera right toward the end so I missed a great big thank you from Dr. Teeth, Drumdog and myself.
 
Great write up guys! I only have four words: Now THAT's a fitting!
 
I am loving reading this write-ups. It is making me so jealous! That course is beautiful!
 
Simply Amazing thats all I can say. Great job with all the updates, pics and videos guys, I almost felt like I was there.
 
WOW guys this thread has been amazing! Great Job and the TM-880 Putter should be here wed for me :)
 
Awesome job guys...Loved the pics, vids and logs.....
Taylormade and THP....raising the bar....again....
 
Back
Top