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Equipment advice

• JohanTV 213 Posts

  Sun, May 28 2017 12:00 AM

  Thanks Phred,

  After my Spider L19 I rented the spider L66 for a day but found the 15 scaling strange (you probably get used to it playing along, but it's not natural for me).

  Despite the lach of reviews for the Red spider L77 I'm thinking of buying it with my last credits because of the specs and scale 10, 20, 50, 100, 150 and 300 (or perhaps wait) Lol.

  Thanks everybody for your input

• SeveFrost 1,613 Posts

  Sun, May 28 2017 12:15 PM

  the Red Spider (L77) putter is very good, especially on long putts

• kavvz 2,195 Posts

  Sun, May 28 2017 4:29 PM

  JohanTV:

  Today I went to Level 85 and could try the L85 Callaway Fusion driver.

  The meterspeed as expected is ok. Forgiveness is ok. Distances with tailwind is also pretty good. Only with headwind it seems to be driving not as far as expected.

  I played against a friend (also master) who has the Taylormade R1 L48 driver. We tested the distances on some holes. With tailwind the Callaway L85 won every time as it should (282 vs 275). With headwind the Taylormade L48 won most of the times. So I'm a little in doubt if I should buy the L85 Callaway or the SLDR L79. As mentioned earlier there seems no reviews of the Fusion L85 so this one seems tricky. Anyway, I had hoped to buy a driver today, but have to give it some extra thoughts.

  That was likely due to the trajectory of each club.  The Callaway hits higher than the TM, and so would get stuck in the wind a bit more.

  It's a moot point now, but the TM Lvl 48 was waaaay more than adequate as a Master or Tour Master.  I used it until Legend where you do need more distance off the tee.

  However, glad you found one that works for ya.  

  Good luck!

   

• JohanTV 213 Posts

  Mon, May 29 2017 9:19 AM

  Thanks Kavvz,

  I didn't have the L48. I still used a basic WGT driver till now, so the SLDR is a major improvement.

  You are probably right in retrospective concerning trajectory, but there were simply no reviews for the Callaway L85 except for your messages.

  This basically applies to all the 'new' stuff here. It's hard to buy equipment if you dont know if it's any good.

  So I just went for the 'safe' choice.

  Again, Thanks for the time to respond.

• OklaSunRise 80 Posts

  Tue, May 30 2017 10:45 AM

  Here is a spread sheet I found in the forems lomg ago, that list all the equiptment on one page to compare every thing in the pro shop. It is a great to see all comparisons of each item, and cost.  Try that.

  Pro Shop Tables.xlsx - Microsoft Excel Online

  https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=B2A3FAA936899928!3403&ithint=file%2cxlsx&app=Excel&authkey=!AGG5PHvOPNQFRx4

• JohanTV 213 Posts

  Tue, Jun 27 2017 3:14 AM

  I am one round away from L89 and thinking of replacing my L30 R11 3 Wood.

  It seems the L86 Fusion and L89 Big Bertha are the way to go at this level.

  The BB is said to have great precision but very unforgiving. I am using regular balls and my current irons (L75 speedblades) also has forgiveness 2.5 but with meter 3.0. Is the BB as unforgiving as the speedblades? On the fusion not much reviews are found.

  Has anybody compared the two?

   

• phred952 2,714 Posts

  Tue, Jun 27 2017 4:17 PM

  Sorry I never used both.  I tried using the L89 BB while I was playing with L90 TM RSi2 irons.  I eventually gave up because when I could ding it it was fantastic, but if I was just a bit off it was another trip to the wood shed.  I seemed to be off way too often.

  phred952

• whooshdangit 1,246 Posts

  Wed, Jun 28 2017 5:27 AM

  Hi Johan, Jeff

  I've had the same combination for a while now now Jeff. The L89 BB takes some getting used to, I agree. I  really don't want to think about how many balls I've washed or lost in that learning process. If you want a 3wd that can stop a ball dead (volviks in my case) on the green though, there is no other. A missed ding, I normally let a swing through first then hit it on the second, a meter jump or finger flatulence and the 2.5 forgiveness is wether  your ball stays in play or not. Since I left a cooler and a couple of cases there, trips to the woodshed have become less of an ordeal though.

  My latest effort with the Big Lady, the 13th at Chambers Bay yesterday, into the wind. 

  That hole is now at least a foot deep I think. If you want a club that only knows attack and can learn the meter then it's out there on it's own.
  I did rent the Fusion for a couple of days, but after the 89BB the adrenaline rush wasn't there. It was like I'd left Bertha's head cover on and hit it. The meter is slower, great. What makes Bertha better though is the precision and spin and both were missing. Nevertheless a good club, just not Bertha.

  Big Bertha, a gentler side. Both ends of the scale.

  well, it was a very quiet night and no att shot game, or indeed super, in sight.

  With any other irons I can't help Johan, but rent the Big Lady for at least a weekend. Buy a new sleeve or two of balls as well.

  Happy hitting!

  Rich

• phred952 2,714 Posts

  Wed, Jun 28 2017 1:25 PM

  Hi Rich,

  I agree with you, but my problem was that I was lucky to hit 1 good shot in 4 or 5.  I had tried you system also, but it just didn't work for me.  It will stop a good ball, like a Volvik, on a dime and give nickel change.   But I felt the penalty trying to recover from bad shots was just too much, as it was really effecting my scoring.

  I have both of the top level NIke 3W's and the L94 (was L99) plays very similar to the BB but a bit more forgiving.  I wonder if the top level Fusion plays like that.

  Johan, I agree that it's worth trying for 24 hours, at a time you can play quite a few rounds.  I would play practice rounds on the Best of Par 5.  When I wanted to compare 3W's I would play that way with both in my bag and no Driver.  I would use mulligans and track carry and roll out for both clubs.  Track both fairway and T shots.  You can play multiple rounds from different tees to change your approach shot lengths.

  Good Luck,

  Jeff 

• JohanTV 213 Posts

  Wed, Jun 28 2017 3:01 PM

  Thanks Jef and Rich,

  I rented both drivers today and tried them during the day (the renting period just ended).

  I indeed tested them mainly on the best of par 5 with no driver in the bag. The mulligan is something I dont know how to do, so that I didn't use.

  After a day trying them I'm still not sure what to do.

  The L89 BB is as unforgiving as they say, but also the L86 Fusion is pretty unforgiving if not dinging  (I wouldn't rate it forgiveness 4).

  What I don't like with the both of them is the shrinking meter area which is pretty small and probably takes some time to get used to.

  The meterspeed of the Fusion is slower than the BB but as all my clubs have meterspeeds of 3/3.5 I misding/ding the slower Fusion as often as the BB.

  Finally the BB seems more precise than the Fusion and has a little more distance.

  So I have to give it some thoughts as my current L30 is very forgiving and does the job, just 15+ yrds less far. Do I really need that extra yards since the wood is not used that often with my I3 going 220. Should I spend the money on some other equipment which will benefit me better at this stage. Anyway, lots to think about.

  Thanks again guys for your feedback.

  @Rich, crazy shot. That flagstick must be broken!