Curls
Journeyman Pro
Plenty of conflicting opinions on AG on here and I think from what I've read the take home is "not all AG's are the same, some are pants, some are very good". I'd like to nominate the Moor Lane Lincoln AG store (as opposed to the Valentine centre one, of which I have no experience) for the very good category.
Firstly I think the set up and product range are both pretty good. A well-flood-lit driving range, decent srixon balls and a Flightscope launch monitor that okay, may not be as accurate as what the Tour guys use but it's certainly accurate enough for my standard. About that, the whole night I didn't really miss the middle of the club by much. I was told I have a very consistent repeatable swing, which is what you need to get the most out of the fitting. I wouldn't say I'm the fastest swinger in town (matron) but contact is usually good, I'm probably at the limit of what I can achieve for my body size (5 foot 8 and less than 10 stone at a guess).
The fitting itself was great, I had plenty of time to warm up and when we got started we were well over an hour for the half hour free slot they advertise. Fitting was done by Chris, who as far as I could tell knew his stuff and also helped me out by identifying something I was doing poorly (which I knew was a flaw but didn't realise had crept back in - the value of having someone watch your swing!). Can't say enough about the guy, really good bloke and I'd happily go back to him if I had the cash monies for irons!
In the end I said goodbye to my forum-bought Titleist 915. When I got it 2 years ago it was a revelation, I gained real distance over my Ping G15 (the only other driver I've owned). I put that down to the Reg shaft in the Ping not being as stable/stiff (or maybe just suitable) as the Reg Diamana shaft in my 915. The numbers for that were
Carry average (5 drives):207, rolling out to 215. My best was 215-230 and I went after that one (as much as I can) and nailed it, don't think there's a longer swing in that club. Swing speed 95mph, ball speed 135mph. Smash factor 1.41. Spin was around 3600rpm.
That's pretty much spot on with what I'd look at carrying on a course, any hazard at 210 carry and I'll lay up unless there's a fair wind. My bad shot is a high, right weak one that comes from getting into to too much, I feel like I lose the clubhead and even if the strike is good it's off to the right hand side of the course (not like a slice, more of a push with a helping fade at the end to really ruin your day). Now you could say a more controlled swing is good, but its a tough tempo to repeat, especially on the course, with a wind, and a carry, and someone watching, and what's that noise SMASH IT.
During the fitting I never knew what driver I was hitting, Chris was handing them to me and changing the shaft in another and handing that to me. I hit at least 5 with each and then 10 with the one we thought was working best. Titleist TS3 with a stiff, light Tensei. The ball had a visibly more penetrating flight in comparison to my usual flight. Okay, so these numbers are as much down to switching from a regular shaft to a stiff one, but keep in mind I tried about a half dozen stiff shafts that were either too heavy ,too boardy, didn't kick right, pulled everything left, etc etc. I could have bought 10 stiff shaft drivers off ebay and not got on with any of them.
Carry average (for 10 drives): 225. Total 240. Ball speed 145mph. Smash factor 1.45. Spin 2600. Best 257.
Made up is not the term. And yeah, it's a crazy amount of money, in fact I'd say it's almost more than I've paid for the rest of my bag combined being a confirmed eBay/bargain-holic. But the lads chipped in for my 40th this summer and got me a £400 voucher, and while I could have spent it on lots of little things I thought it'd be nice to tell them I'd just got that 1 special thing. Which it is. And I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL IT GETS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So tip of the cap to Chris and the AG set up. There was absolutely no pressure whatsoever to buy, in fact I had a quick go off some irons at the end (which he Scoped) and my dispersion narrowed to nothing by switching to stiff shafts there too. I never even considered the new Mizuno Tour (I'd tried the Forged and didn't like them) but these were weapons. Fair play to him though, he said if I put those shafts in my Mizzys I'd get a very good result for a lot less money.
Get's my vote. Just wish I'd done it earlier in the season!
Firstly I think the set up and product range are both pretty good. A well-flood-lit driving range, decent srixon balls and a Flightscope launch monitor that okay, may not be as accurate as what the Tour guys use but it's certainly accurate enough for my standard. About that, the whole night I didn't really miss the middle of the club by much. I was told I have a very consistent repeatable swing, which is what you need to get the most out of the fitting. I wouldn't say I'm the fastest swinger in town (matron) but contact is usually good, I'm probably at the limit of what I can achieve for my body size (5 foot 8 and less than 10 stone at a guess).
The fitting itself was great, I had plenty of time to warm up and when we got started we were well over an hour for the half hour free slot they advertise. Fitting was done by Chris, who as far as I could tell knew his stuff and also helped me out by identifying something I was doing poorly (which I knew was a flaw but didn't realise had crept back in - the value of having someone watch your swing!). Can't say enough about the guy, really good bloke and I'd happily go back to him if I had the cash monies for irons!
In the end I said goodbye to my forum-bought Titleist 915. When I got it 2 years ago it was a revelation, I gained real distance over my Ping G15 (the only other driver I've owned). I put that down to the Reg shaft in the Ping not being as stable/stiff (or maybe just suitable) as the Reg Diamana shaft in my 915. The numbers for that were
Carry average (5 drives):207, rolling out to 215. My best was 215-230 and I went after that one (as much as I can) and nailed it, don't think there's a longer swing in that club. Swing speed 95mph, ball speed 135mph. Smash factor 1.41. Spin was around 3600rpm.
That's pretty much spot on with what I'd look at carrying on a course, any hazard at 210 carry and I'll lay up unless there's a fair wind. My bad shot is a high, right weak one that comes from getting into to too much, I feel like I lose the clubhead and even if the strike is good it's off to the right hand side of the course (not like a slice, more of a push with a helping fade at the end to really ruin your day). Now you could say a more controlled swing is good, but its a tough tempo to repeat, especially on the course, with a wind, and a carry, and someone watching, and what's that noise SMASH IT.
During the fitting I never knew what driver I was hitting, Chris was handing them to me and changing the shaft in another and handing that to me. I hit at least 5 with each and then 10 with the one we thought was working best. Titleist TS3 with a stiff, light Tensei. The ball had a visibly more penetrating flight in comparison to my usual flight. Okay, so these numbers are as much down to switching from a regular shaft to a stiff one, but keep in mind I tried about a half dozen stiff shafts that were either too heavy ,too boardy, didn't kick right, pulled everything left, etc etc. I could have bought 10 stiff shaft drivers off ebay and not got on with any of them.
Carry average (for 10 drives): 225. Total 240. Ball speed 145mph. Smash factor 1.45. Spin 2600. Best 257.
Made up is not the term. And yeah, it's a crazy amount of money, in fact I'd say it's almost more than I've paid for the rest of my bag combined being a confirmed eBay/bargain-holic. But the lads chipped in for my 40th this summer and got me a £400 voucher, and while I could have spent it on lots of little things I thought it'd be nice to tell them I'd just got that 1 special thing. Which it is. And I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL IT GETS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So tip of the cap to Chris and the AG set up. There was absolutely no pressure whatsoever to buy, in fact I had a quick go off some irons at the end (which he Scoped) and my dispersion narrowed to nothing by switching to stiff shafts there too. I never even considered the new Mizuno Tour (I'd tried the Forged and didn't like them) but these were weapons. Fair play to him though, he said if I put those shafts in my Mizzys I'd get a very good result for a lot less money.
Get's my vote. Just wish I'd done it earlier in the season!