volvofan
Member
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2022
- Messages
- 51
- Reaction score
- 60
Hello, all. I'm on a zillion car enthusiast forums but this is the first time I've joined up a golf forum. Brief intro: 45 y/o average height/build male, slightly better than average fitness level, been hacking for ~18 yrs or so (started when I realized that sometimes the Army let you play golf tournaments instead of come to work) and now I wish I'd started sooner. I play in a league at work (9 holes every week or two) and don't suck but am hardly what you’d call “good.” I have great shots not-infrequently, everywhere from the tee to the green, but consistency is my enemy. I’m probably best between 110 and 30 yards… pretty darn good with a wedge. Nearly every other club is a crap shoot. I have not had many lessons and am thinking I'm due... I like golf for a lot of the same reasons I like skiing. You can take a lesson every once in a great while and the instructor will tell you "okay, go work on these three things, then come back and see me in five years or so."
I am not trying to fix a bad swing with better equipment, but considering my current bag is nearly old enough to get its learner’s permit, I thought it wouldn't hurt to freshen up the set, in conjunction with a couple lessons, especially now that I know a lot more about the game itself, my weaknesses & strengths, the relationship between certain swing paths and club angles vs. the outcome, etc. Thought about trying single length irons but ended up going a different route for the bottom half of the bag (check out q.golf) and am looking primarily for a new driver, two woods, and two hybrids to get some nice consistent club yardage gaps and similar swing "feel". Those five, plus putter, plus using 8 of the 11 settings on the Q and I’m at 14 clubs. I’m sure the tour would disagree, but I won’t be darkening their door anytime soon, so no matter
. No idea how any of this mad experiment is going to work out but I'm taking it one club at a time and am looking forward to building up a lightweight "half bag" set for this coming season. Today was my chance to test club number one (the driver) in the simulator... and the results did not disappoint. I was so pleased with the outcome that I felt compelled to join a forum just so I'd have somewhere to post and share my experience, in case other hackers were seeking data on a relatively hard to come by club & shaft combination.
Previous driver: Nike SQ Dymo2, 11.5 deg, stiff shaft, 46”.
Simulator averages: 252 yds total distance, 227 carry, 10.6 launch angle, 98 mph head speed (I was really going after it, usually ~93), 23 yds off center
Absolute max: 278 yds (251 carry) and 100 mph head speed, 24 yds off center. Nearly came out of my shoes for it.
Best combo: Callaway Great Big Bertha 2023, 10.5 deg, +2 loft, draw, autoflex SF405, 45”.
Simulator averages: 263.5 yds total distance, 238 carry, 9.1 launch angle, 99 mph head speed (NOT swinging out of my shoes), 18 yds off center.
Absolute max: 323 yds (295 carry) and 108 mph head speed, 8 yds off center. Did not even feel out of control.
Other combos tried:
GBB 2023 at standard loft, autoflex shaft (avg distance went up to 274 w/ average club head speed of 103 but I was spraying right… 38 yds off center average). This was also my first time swinging this combo so it could’ve just been that I was settling in and getting used to how light it was.
Rogue ST Max 9.0 degree +2 loft, autoflex shaft (255 yds avg, head speed 99, 39 yds off center). Was maxxing out the flex of the autoflex at those speeds w/ that head weight, which is hardly what I would consider “heavy” at 192.8 grams.
Rogue ST Max 9.0 degree +1 loft, Mitsubishi tensei 55g stiff shaft (250 yds avg, head speed 93, 25 yds off center). Not a bad club. If it weren’t for the GBB and autoflex, I’d probably swap this guy out for the 10.5, loft the piss out of it, and see considerable improvement over the Dymo2. LOVE the look, love the sound.
Rogue ST Max 9.0 degree +2 loft, autoflex shaft, rear weight removed but left the screws at 1.25 g each (drops 8.5 grams… 4 for the tungsten and 4.5 for the cover). Disastrous. I won’t even post the numbers but the Dymo was better by far. I was hoping that the big difference between the GBB and the Rogue ST Max was the weight… but this dropped the Rogue’s weight down to almost exactly what the GBB’s was (which is 186.1 grams, for those interested) and it was all over the map and short. I wanted it to work… I REALLY did. Buying a set of Rogue STs would have been much cheaper than the GBBs at this point! Plus, I am a shameless carbon fiber hoe and I think the crown of the Rogue ST is absolutely gorgeous.
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Thoughts on this part of the “grand experiment”: I figured I’d pick up a few mph of club head speed from the lighter club head of the GBB (one of the absolute lightest on the market RN) as well as from the Autoflex. Even if it eked over 100mph (the max amount recommended for the SF405), I figured I’d still be safe because I surmised that mph upper recommended limit was based on a 200-205 gram driver head, not a 186 gram one. This seemed to pan out in the simulator bay. It’s not really about club head speed, it’s about both club head speed AND mass. For me, the combo was absolutely magic. The more confident I got with letting the head “whip” at the bottom of the swing right before contact, the more I was rewarded with long, straight shots. It was nearly impossible to hit a terrible ball. Gigantic, forgiving sweet spot, and even “bad” drives were going 250 yards within what would have been the fairway. I bought the GBB without a shaft so I can’t say precisely how it would have performed with the Helium shaft it’s offered with… but I can say that the difference between the Rogue ST with stock shaft vs. Rogue ST with Autoflex was notable.
From what I’ve read, the Autoflex can take some getting used to, and those who are “okay” with it out of the box are absolutely torching it after a month or two. If besting my previous “awesome” drives by 45 yards is just “okay” on day one, I can’t wait to see what this thing is capable of once I gain some confidence.
Now to get the 3 and 7 wood, and the 3 & 5 hybrid, to get me to within 160 yards or so, then it’s up to the Q and my Pinemeadow M-5 Xeon putter to close the distance to the cup!
Have a great Thanksgiving weekend, all, nice to e-meet you.
-Jon
I am not trying to fix a bad swing with better equipment, but considering my current bag is nearly old enough to get its learner’s permit, I thought it wouldn't hurt to freshen up the set, in conjunction with a couple lessons, especially now that I know a lot more about the game itself, my weaknesses & strengths, the relationship between certain swing paths and club angles vs. the outcome, etc. Thought about trying single length irons but ended up going a different route for the bottom half of the bag (check out q.golf) and am looking primarily for a new driver, two woods, and two hybrids to get some nice consistent club yardage gaps and similar swing "feel". Those five, plus putter, plus using 8 of the 11 settings on the Q and I’m at 14 clubs. I’m sure the tour would disagree, but I won’t be darkening their door anytime soon, so no matter
. No idea how any of this mad experiment is going to work out but I'm taking it one club at a time and am looking forward to building up a lightweight "half bag" set for this coming season. Today was my chance to test club number one (the driver) in the simulator... and the results did not disappoint. I was so pleased with the outcome that I felt compelled to join a forum just so I'd have somewhere to post and share my experience, in case other hackers were seeking data on a relatively hard to come by club & shaft combination.Previous driver: Nike SQ Dymo2, 11.5 deg, stiff shaft, 46”.
Simulator averages: 252 yds total distance, 227 carry, 10.6 launch angle, 98 mph head speed (I was really going after it, usually ~93), 23 yds off center
Absolute max: 278 yds (251 carry) and 100 mph head speed, 24 yds off center. Nearly came out of my shoes for it.
Best combo: Callaway Great Big Bertha 2023, 10.5 deg, +2 loft, draw, autoflex SF405, 45”.
Simulator averages: 263.5 yds total distance, 238 carry, 9.1 launch angle, 99 mph head speed (NOT swinging out of my shoes), 18 yds off center.
Absolute max: 323 yds (295 carry) and 108 mph head speed, 8 yds off center. Did not even feel out of control.
Other combos tried:
GBB 2023 at standard loft, autoflex shaft (avg distance went up to 274 w/ average club head speed of 103 but I was spraying right… 38 yds off center average). This was also my first time swinging this combo so it could’ve just been that I was settling in and getting used to how light it was.
Rogue ST Max 9.0 degree +2 loft, autoflex shaft (255 yds avg, head speed 99, 39 yds off center). Was maxxing out the flex of the autoflex at those speeds w/ that head weight, which is hardly what I would consider “heavy” at 192.8 grams.
Rogue ST Max 9.0 degree +1 loft, Mitsubishi tensei 55g stiff shaft (250 yds avg, head speed 93, 25 yds off center). Not a bad club. If it weren’t for the GBB and autoflex, I’d probably swap this guy out for the 10.5, loft the piss out of it, and see considerable improvement over the Dymo2. LOVE the look, love the sound.
Rogue ST Max 9.0 degree +2 loft, autoflex shaft, rear weight removed but left the screws at 1.25 g each (drops 8.5 grams… 4 for the tungsten and 4.5 for the cover). Disastrous. I won’t even post the numbers but the Dymo was better by far. I was hoping that the big difference between the GBB and the Rogue ST Max was the weight… but this dropped the Rogue’s weight down to almost exactly what the GBB’s was (which is 186.1 grams, for those interested) and it was all over the map and short. I wanted it to work… I REALLY did. Buying a set of Rogue STs would have been much cheaper than the GBBs at this point! Plus, I am a shameless carbon fiber hoe and I think the crown of the Rogue ST is absolutely gorgeous.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thoughts on this part of the “grand experiment”: I figured I’d pick up a few mph of club head speed from the lighter club head of the GBB (one of the absolute lightest on the market RN) as well as from the Autoflex. Even if it eked over 100mph (the max amount recommended for the SF405), I figured I’d still be safe because I surmised that mph upper recommended limit was based on a 200-205 gram driver head, not a 186 gram one. This seemed to pan out in the simulator bay. It’s not really about club head speed, it’s about both club head speed AND mass. For me, the combo was absolutely magic. The more confident I got with letting the head “whip” at the bottom of the swing right before contact, the more I was rewarded with long, straight shots. It was nearly impossible to hit a terrible ball. Gigantic, forgiving sweet spot, and even “bad” drives were going 250 yards within what would have been the fairway. I bought the GBB without a shaft so I can’t say precisely how it would have performed with the Helium shaft it’s offered with… but I can say that the difference between the Rogue ST with stock shaft vs. Rogue ST with Autoflex was notable.
From what I’ve read, the Autoflex can take some getting used to, and those who are “okay” with it out of the box are absolutely torching it after a month or two. If besting my previous “awesome” drives by 45 yards is just “okay” on day one, I can’t wait to see what this thing is capable of once I gain some confidence.
Now to get the 3 and 7 wood, and the 3 & 5 hybrid, to get me to within 160 yards or so, then it’s up to the Q and my Pinemeadow M-5 Xeon putter to close the distance to the cup!
Have a great Thanksgiving weekend, all, nice to e-meet you.
-Jon
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