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What type of feedback do you look for from your clubs?

SuperStroke
Jman

Jman

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Albatross 2024 Club
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Simple discussion that the 850F review has me thinking about, what type of feedback do you look for in your clubs?

Driver?
Fairways?
Hybrids?
Irons?
Wedges?
Putter?
 
I so don't care.

I like it to sound good to my ears when I hit the ball well and not hurt my fingers when I hit it poorly.
 
I like to know where I'm missing across the face and I've yet to hit any club (blades to SGI) where I did not know when I missed badly out on toe, etc.
 
I'm at the point where feedback isn't really what I am looking for. I'm just looking for results. Give me something that sounds really good when I hit it, and if it sounds bad I'll know I hit it poorly. I'm not looking for anything that is going to send that stinging through my body when I miss horribly.
 
I like to have a sense of where I've hit the ball on the face of my irons and driver. However my feelings on this are evolving - I don't care as much as I used to. If the ball goes straight I'm happy.

One area where I am potentially interested in more feedback might be the putter. I'm not always sure where on the face I struck the ball. That could be helpful.
 
ddec said:
I'm at the point where feedback isn't really what I am looking for. I'm just looking for results. Give me something that sounds really good when I hit it, and if it sounds bad I'll know I hit it poorly. I'm not looking for anything that is going to send that stinging through my body when I miss horribly.
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I'm starting to have similar thoughts - as long as I can tell where I hit on the face, I'm fine - and I've been able to do that with every club I've owned, even the most SGI irons I've played. A good example for you, Dean, might be that shot you hit with the RSi on the 17th on Sunday - nowhere near the face, but it was pretty close to pin high on the green. That sounded absolutely awful coming off the club, but the results were good.

I've actually been discussing this w/ Alex at SeeMore when talking about putter models. One thing that I haven't loved about the FGP mallet is that misses right off the sweet spot feel more harsh than some other putters I've had. However, the ball tends to go where I'm aiming still. It's taken me a while to get used to, but if performance isn't effected, I don't mind the harsher feedback.
 
Beat me to the punch. I was going to start this thread when I got in to the office.

I like my feedback to the same for all of my clubs. A little "how do you do" when I mishit the ball is all I'm really looking for. I don't need blistering pain to shoot up my arms. It can be a difference in the sound of impact or a difference in the feel of impact and I'm fine. What I liked about my Bio Cell + driver is that I get both audio and physical input from impact. Shots that hit where they're supposed to feel like the ball getting in the way of the club. Shots that are not centered have a distinct feel and sound, but don't make you want to drop the club and run away.

With my irons I used to be of the mindset of, "I want to feel everything". Since the Morgan Cup and after hitting every iron that came out last year I've changed my tune. I do want a little bit of feedback, but mostly I want performance. When I hit a shot I just want to know that it's going to go as far as it needs too. The same with Wedges and Putters.

The 850 Forged are interesting because there's not a great deal of feedback when you hit the ball. That doesn't mean if you toe one or shank it you don't feel it. But shots that are slightly off center feel very similar to shots that are pure. To an extent, I get the same thing with the MP15s. While misses feel a bit more pronounced it's not to the point where you feel like you've hit a 1975 Golden Bear 2i blade anywhere but center. I can feel that I missed it on the toe or heel side but it's not a harsh feel.

I guess to answer the question, the feedback I want from my clubs is, "You hit the ball <insert location on clubface> and it's going 'that' way".
 
I just want to know where on the clubface I hit the ball and I can usually tell that from almost any club I hit.
I guess that's the only "feedback" I look for.
 
The problem with feedback is knowing what to do with it once you receive it.
 
mpeterson said:
I'm starting to have similar thoughts - as long as I can tell where I hit on the face, I'm fine - and I've been able to do that with every club I've owned, even the most SGI irons I've played. A good example for you, Dean, might be that shot you hit with the RSi on the 17th on Sunday - nowhere near the face, but it was pretty close to pin high on the green. That sounded absolutely awful coming off the club, but the results were good.

I've actually been discussing this w/ Alex at SeeMore when talking about putter models. One thing that I haven't loved about the FGP mallet is that misses right off the sweet spot feel more harsh than some other putters I've had. However, the ball tends to go where I'm aiming still. It's taken me a while to get used to, but if performance isn't effected, I don't mind the harsher feedback.
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perfect example. As soon as I hit it I said, that was a miss. You could tell just from the sound. Look at the face and I could see the mark low and inside. The shot was good though. That's enough for me, I don't need to feel that miss.
 
I want to be able to feel where I miss it more than anything and it's more with irons and wedges than anything. With the woods, the sweet spots are so large now that I rarely ever feel the miss but I see it in the way the ball travels and hear it more so than the irons. The most important feedback I want is consistency in distance in each club, that's the end all be all for me.
 
For me it's the feel of the golf ball on the face of the club. I like to know where I made content. This goes for every club in the bag. If I have that,which 98% of the clubs provide, I am all set!
 
I don't think I actively look for feedback in a club when I'm deciding whether to purchase or not, but I suppose I'd prefer if I at least knew whether I made good contact or not, while still seeing the ball stay on line as much as possible. But if I had to choose a club that gave me great results even on mist hits without getting that kind of feedback, I would be fine with that sacrifice.
 
I want to be able to tell/feel when I made good contact or bad. Mostly I look for results from a club. Its nice to see, feel, hear when you make a good shot, but being able to do that and see what the results are on a bad shot is just as important to me.
 
#Cookie said:
I like to know where I'm missing across the face and I've yet to hit any club (blades to SGI) where I did not know when I missed badly out on toe, etc.
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I agree with this. Physics provides all the feedback I need, from sound to feel to ballflight.
 
For feedback on my clubs, I like to feel of where I made contact. I honestly don't go by sound at all and really just work strictly off feel. Gives me a good idea of where my misses are and if I need to make adjustments/practice.
 
For me personally, feedback on hits/mishits is not important to me, what is important to me is:

1. Height (always looking for high launching clubs)
2. Forgiveness (always looking for clubs that just want to hit the ball straight)

To be honest, I've improved my ball striking dramatically not based on feedback, but based on ball flight. For me, ball flight tells me everything. Feedback is way overrated as far as I'm concerned, and frankly, I believe there is enough feedback on GI and SGI clubs with regards to off center hits.

Now if we're just talking feel/sound, I prefer muted and soft :)
 
Looking for the feel then the sound of the contact, or should i say the lack there of. I know if I feel nothing contact was good, but if i feel something I know that it was fat/thin and so on.
 
The only thing I look (feel) for is whether or not I hit the ball solidly. If I was short or long, left or right, was it because I didn't swing it right or were other factors involved (wind, elevation, wrong distance, etc.) that I didn't account for, that I need to? If I swung poorly, I'll just try and do better on the next one.
 
ddec said:
I'm at the point where feedback isn't really what I am looking for. I'm just looking for results. Give me something that sounds really good when I hit it, and if it sounds bad I'll know I hit it poorly. I'm not looking for anything that is going to send that stinging through my body when I miss horribly.
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Absolutely agree!!
 
I like to have some feel of the ball exploding off the club head and solid contact, I don't really look for certain sounds just the feeling of good contact.
 
It has to be one of two, if not both. I need tactile feedback or audible feedback. If there isn't much tactile, I better be able to tell by the sound, specifically with woods, whether or not I made contact in a good place.
 
Trout Bum said:
I want to be able to feel where I miss it more than anything and it's more with irons and wedges than anything.
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Yes, I want to feel where the ball is on the clubface (center, high, low, heel-side, toe-side, etc.) and I want it in detail. I'm a dinosaur here as I'd rather feel the miss and face the consequences than not be able to feel it and still get a good result from a bad swing or off center contact. But I've always played with the attitude that I'd rather make a good swing than have a "good miss" that ends up closer to the hole. I know ... :rolleyes:
 
Ole Gray said:
The problem with feedback is knowing what to do with it once you receive it.
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Well....if you don't like the feedback you buy new clubs. Right? :alien:

I was thinking exactly what you posted when I was typing my response. I think the majority of golfers out there are concerned with performance and less about the "where" and "why". I play with a couple of friends who could care less about the impact and feel, they just want to know where the ball is going.

Part of me wants to say that a better player will want more feedback so they can make that adjustment to center more of their strikes. On the other hand, just because you're a better player doesn't mean you care at all about feedback. The same for higher handicap players.
 
My feedback is if the ball goes the distance and direction I intended. If not then something was wrong with my swing. I'm done thinking that equipment has anything but the smallest impact on results.
 
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