Question:
Conclusion: I’d still like to hit Firesoles and TM woods; probably won’t give LCGs another try.
I just tried the Firesole irons on the range a couple of weeks ago and they felt GREAT. Solid and forgiving. I lost no distance on any club, and the flight was incredible. I also tried the Calloway steelhead driver while in San Diego a couple months back. My friend and I played Torrey Pines, and he rented clubs. Their rentals were Calloways or Taylor Mades. He went with the Calloways. I could not hit this driver. It was driving me crazy. Every shot was a downward hook that would go barely 100 yards. It was embarrassing. I went back to my driver after 5 or so shots. I had a similar experience when I tried one of the original Big Berthas. Strange. I’m sure it’s my swing, but I don’t have this problem with my Taylor Made Burner Bubble… — Mike Murray ICQ# 12092418 http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/5501/ Home of the International Fantasy Football League
Response:
Warning: If you get them and your wife tries them. Be forewarned, she will want her own set of Berthas.
Funny you should say that. I recently got a great big bertha driver and fairway woods. My wife tried them, and insisted I get her a GBB fairway wood.
Response:
Conclusion: I’d still like to hit Firesoles and TM woods; probably won’t give LCGs another try. [snip] There were no negatives to the experience of hitting the X-12s, and a lot of positives, most important being that they (and the Steelhead) gave a lot of feedback. Paul T. Wilson
I had a similar experience with these. I have a TM Oversize iron set and the matching woods (original bubble shaft, R-80, except the driver, which is a S-90 BBB) and I am very happy with my set. When I tried the X-12s last year, they had a very similar feeling to my clubs, needless to say, I loved them. I personally woudn’t touch the LCGs (they feel somehow wierd, off-balanced) and although the new Firesol irons are much better than the LCGs, I wouldn’t trade my Oversize irons for them. Thomas Nagy Check out my cats! (http://members.home.net/2832779232/index.htm) Free Office Suite: http://www.stardivision.com/so40/index.html
Response:
Paul, I had a very similar experience a few years back. I bought the Callaway S2H2 and the Bertha War Bird woods. My scores have steadily been going down. I used to shoot in the high 40’s low 50’s. Two weeks ago I shot a 40 with 2 OB’s (OK I got greedy and went for the corner and missed). Anyway I have been really happy with these. Warning: If you get them and your wife tries them. Be forewarned, she will want her own set of Berthas. Good luck, Bob Are you a golfer? Are you tired of retail prices? Would you like the opportunity to make golfing a tax deductible expense? http://www.linksworldwide.com/bobchesley – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Demo night yesterday for Callaway and Taylor Made at Golf Services, a fine local range. The gentlemen running the tents seemed comfortable with each other. My reg. clubs: Powerbilt Citation irons, stiff steel shaft (almost very stiff); no name metal woods, 10.5 driver, reg. flex graphite. I brought my 5 iron and driver for comparison; I tend to push shots to the right, but pretty straight. Due to carpal tunnel & rotator cuff, I haven’t hit in 3 months and have to go to graphite, and prob. to reg. flex to reduce shock. I hit about 30 balls each with Callaway X-12 (regular, offset model) and Taylor Made Burner LCG 5 irons, and 20 with a Callaway 9 degree Steelhead (ran out of time and couldn’t hit a TM driver); all graphite shafts, regular flex. Callaway 5: Hit this one first. Felt lighter than mine, and well balanced. Easy to swing. Naturally seemed to invite a set up a bit farther from the ball (ca. 1") than usual. An assortment of shots: A few pulled left, some pushed right, only one slice, and that was the only one that was really off line. The different directions were somewhat by design; the feel of the club seemed to me to invite corrections, i.e., if I pulled a shot somewhat left, I had a feel for what to do next to get it straighter. Pretty easy to hit on the sweet spot; I felt satisfied with most shots. Distance was what suprised me. My own typical distance for a 5 iron is 150-160; don’t know if I’ve ever hit it over 165. On most shots with the X-12, I was in the 140-160 range. On what I’d decided was the last ball for the 5 iron, I just thought about hitting it smoothly. Probably the best 5 iron I’ve ever hit: Rose smoothly, and kept going up and out, high enough and far enough that I almost lost it, landed just a few feet past the 190 yd. marker and rolled a bit. I was stunned. On to the Steelhead: Again, light and well balanced. Natural feel and easy to swing. Continuied with the slightly more distant set up. First shot a flub: A diving hookish sort of thing that just got to the target green at 115 — probably a good sign, I thought, since I’m more likely to slice my driver than any other club. Wound up with no slices with this one. Similar left and right dispersal of shots. A little bit less "feel" re. making corrections — but the noise from different places on the club face was quite revealing; after 4-5 balls, I stopped for a bit and bounced a ball off the club face about 10 times so that I could tell better what the noises meant (I do this with my own clubs at least a few times each season): obvious differences between center and off center, and between toe and heel; if the name Ping weren’t already taken, it would really fit how this club sounds when you hit the sweet spot. Best distance with my own driver is typically 220-225; getting out there pretty regularly with the Steelhead. Best shot with it was a slight draw (couldn’t hit one if I tried) sailing directly over the 240 marker that blocked my view of what happened to the roll. The last shot was a nice easy straight 225 carry, and I thought, "Damn, why can’t I hit this like that 5 iron!" :-) On to the TM 5: Tried a senior flex on 2 balls and went to reg. flex right away. It felt head heavy compared to the Callaway. (I did waggle my own clubs around and hit a few to have a stable comparison.) Did not swing as comfortably as Callaway. More poor shots; a couple of slices, more pushing. Often, it felt and sounded like I was hitting rocks. I did hit several straight out to ca. 155 but was somewhat disappointed. I will say, though, that when looking at LCGs in the shops, I’ve had no inclination to get them; I did want to hit the Firesoles, but they were all being used. Switched to a 7 iron for a few shots and that felt better than the 5; direction pretty consistent and, aiming at the 115 yd. green, I was putting them about 15 yds. past, about typical for my own 7 — but no hint that I might like the LCGs better. They started packing up so I had to quit for the night. Conclusion: I’d still like to hit Firesoles and TM woods; probably won’t give LCGs another try. Though I hadn’t been seriously considering Callaway before, I will have to think about them now (RandB, when you’re ready to sell one of your old sets, let me know!) There were no negatives to the experience of hitting the X-12s, and a lot of positives, most important being that they (and the Steelhead) gave a lot of feedback. This surprised me quite a bit since the discussion about cavity backs vs. blades (my own clubs are essentially a blade design with a very slight cavity) has focussed on blades giving more feedback. I felt enthused about golf while hitting the Callaways. I felt like I had lots of work to do while hitting the TMs. Of course, YMMV, so I’d like to hear from others who have been able to make comparisons of clubs too. — Paul T. Wilson Prof of Reading
Response:
Demo night yesterday for Callaway and Taylor Made at Golf Services, a fine local range. The gentlemen running the tents seemed comfortable with each other. My reg. clubs: Powerbilt Citation irons, stiff steel shaft (almost very stiff); no name metal woods, 10.5 driver, reg. flex graphite. I brought my 5 iron and driver for comparison; I tend to push shots to the right, but pretty straight. Due to carpal tunnel & rotator cuff, I haven’t hit in 3 months and have to go to graphite, and prob. to reg. flex to reduce shock. I hit about 30 balls each with Callaway X-12 (regular, offset model) and Taylor Made Burner LCG 5 irons, and 20 with a Callaway 9 degree Steelhead (ran out of time and couldn’t hit a TM driver); all graphite shafts, regular flex. Callaway 5: Hit this one first. Felt lighter than mine, and well balanced. Easy to swing. Naturally seemed to invite a set up a bit farther from the ball (ca. 1") than usual. An assortment of shots: A few pulled left, some pushed right, only one slice, and that was the only one that was really off line. The different directions were somewhat by design; the feel of the club seemed to me to invite corrections, i.e., if I pulled a shot somewhat left, I had a feel for what to do next to get it straighter. Pretty easy to hit on the sweet spot; I felt satisfied with most shots. Distance was what suprised me. My own typical distance for a 5 iron is 150-160; don’t know if I’ve ever hit it over 165. On most shots with the X-12, I was in the 140-160 range. On what I’d decided was the last ball for the 5 iron, I just thought about hitting it smoothly. Probably the best 5 iron I’ve ever hit: Rose smoothly, and kept going up and out, high enough and far enough that I almost lost it, landed just a few feet past the 190 yd. marker and rolled a bit. I was stunned. On to the Steelhead: Again, light and well balanced. Natural feel and easy to swing. Continuied with the slightly more distant set up. First shot a flub: A diving hookish sort of thing that just got to the target green at 115 — probably a good sign, I thought, since I’m more likely to slice my driver than any other club. Wound up with no slices with this one. Similar left and right dispersal of shots. A little bit less "feel" re. making corrections — but the noise from different places on the club face was quite revealing; after 4-5 balls, I stopped for a bit and bounced a ball off the club face about 10 times so that I could tell better what the noises meant (I do this with my own clubs at least a few times each season): obvious differences between center and off center, and between toe and heel; if the name Ping weren’t already taken, it would really fit how this club sounds when you hit the sweet spot. Best distance with my own driver is typically 220-225; getting out there pretty regularly with the Steelhead. Best shot with it was a slight draw (couldn’t hit one if I tried) sailing directly over the 240 marker that blocked my view of what happened to the roll. The last shot was a nice easy straight 225 carry, and I thought, "Damn, why can’t I hit this like that 5 iron!" :-) On to the TM 5: Tried a senior flex on 2 balls and went to reg. flex right away. It felt head heavy compared to the Callaway. (I did waggle my own clubs around and hit a few to have a stable comparison.) Did not swing as comfortably as Callaway. More poor shots; a couple of slices, more pushing. Often, it felt and sounded like I was hitting rocks. I did hit several straight out to ca. 155 but was somewhat disappointed. I will say, though, that when looking at LCGs in the shops, I’ve had no inclination to get them; I did want to hit the Firesoles, but they were all being used. Switched to a 7 iron for a few shots and that felt better than the 5; direction pretty consistent and, aiming at the 115 yd. green, I was putting them about 15 yds. past, about typical for my own 7 — but no hint that I might like the LCGs better. They started packing up so I had to quit for the night. Conclusion: I’d still like to hit Firesoles and TM woods; probably won’t give LCGs another try. Though I hadn’t been seriously considering Callaway before, I will have to think about them now (RandB, when you’re ready to sell one of your old sets, let me know!) There were no negatives to the experience of hitting the X-12s, and a lot of positives, most important being that they (and the Steelhead) gave a lot of feedback. This surprised me quite a bit since the discussion about cavity backs vs. blades (my own clubs are essentially a blade design with a very slight cavity) has focussed on blades giving more feedback. I felt enthused about golf while hitting the Callaways. I felt like I had lots of work to do while hitting the TMs. Of course, YMMV, so I’d like to hear from others who have been able to make comparisons of clubs too. — Paul T. Wilson Prof of Reading