ADB
Journeyman Pro
I was lucky to get selected for the Benross experience yesterday courtesy of GM and thought a separate thread was needed (rightly or wrongly) to summarise a top day which exceeded all expectations. Having never been custom fitted for any clubs and acquiring my set mainly through trial, error and Ebay purchases I was keen to understand what model of club would suit me and get a measure on some newer technology.
The weather was extremely kind to us and as I pulled into Worthing GC about half nine there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Having done a circuit of the clubhouse looking for anyone to do with Benross or GM, I made my way to the covered driving range where I met Ben (Oxfordcomma), Duncan the photographer and Scott from Benross. We unloaded our stuff, changed our shoes in the car park
and started loosening up on the range. By that time Paul and Jake joined us from GM and explained the process – individual club fitting sessions in the enclosed teaching bay followed by photos and interviews.
Ben was first up and I managed to get warmed up by hitting some balls while he was doing his thing. From looking at his shots, the introduction of graphite shafts in his irons and higher lofted hybrid really made a massive difference to height and distance of his shots, he seemed pretty happy!
I was up next as Nick (therod) was held up in traffic so he arrived as Ben was just finishing. I was asked to hit a few hybrids first which led to some nice snappers from being a bit nervous and probably trying to lash it. Scott gave me a RIP Speed 20 deg to try and immediately it straightened out the hook and flew about 190ish – easy decision.
Next up was the 3 wood – this interested me as I hit my Burner really well and from the flightscope reading I was told I had a carry of 200 with 20 yd roll out, Again I was handed the RIP Speed 3 wood 14degree and this was a total weapon! It added over 20 yards carry with similar roll but the trajectory was really excellent – not too high, perfect for the course I play – another easy decision.
The driver was next and hitting my Burner (well) Scott let me know that the spin was killing the distance – over 3k RPM. It meant the new RIP 3 wood was outstripping my current driver. Again I tried the RIP Speed 10ged driver stiff shaft and the difference to my current driver was night and day! From memory the RPM was closer to 2k, a launch angle of 13.5 degree and apparently I was knocking it out to 270/80 yds. Again the flight was amazing, not to high and penetrating.
Lastly, and to my surprise, i tried some irons and this is where the decision was closer. Scott reckoned the Max Speed irons with regular graphite shafts would be perfect, as the additional help they gave on slight mis-hits would be a benefit. I thought they just looked too clunky having been used to my Mizuno MX23’s for the last few years. I tried the RIP irons which have a compact, brushed metal head (and steel shafts) and instantly preferred the look. I hit 5 shots with each of the Max Speed and RIP and the numbers were pretty similar – enough to make me decide on the RIP for purely cosmetic reasons!
So, my final set up was:
RIP Speed 2 - 10 deg 3 wood, Aldila ATX Tour blue in stiff
RIP Speed 2 - 14 deg 3 wood, Aldila ATX Tour blue in stiff
RIP Speed 2 - 20 deg hybrid Aldila ATX Tour blue in stiff
RIP Speed 2 Irons – True Temper Dynamic Gold in Regular
Oh, and on the way out a bag is being thrown in as well – so properly Benross-ed up!
I appreciate that some would have delved into the numbers in greater detail, but I was quite happy with a limited choice – and Scott seemed very perceptive to what would suit your swing. Really happy with the choice, the only downside is now having to wait at least 3 weeks for the clubs to be ordered and delivered. Scott confirmed that Benross uses the same Asian manufacturer for the head components as other major names. It certainly seemed to me that the component parts were good quality – such as the very stable Aldila shafts and multi-compound grips.
Finally, we enjoyed watching Nick pat some senior flex graphite shafted irons up the range before we called it a day
Nick, Ben and I were then offered the chance to have a knock round the Upper Course at Worthing as the Lower was closed for maintenance. Although this is the ‘short course’ at Par 66, it was testing enough and I think we all agreed it suited us after a full morning of testing. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of Nick and Ben and it was great to meet some other forumers.:thup:
I couldn’t have been more impressed with the Benross clubs and cant wait to get out on the course with them. Scott was very knowledgeable and stressed how the company was developing in a positive way to attract the club golfer. I would urge you to have a crack with them if you get the chance, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Finally, thanks to GM for this opportunity. All the guys were great and added to the experience – even if the Q&A to camera was a bit nerve racking! The photographer went through about 20 memory cards so unfortunately our mugs will be gracing the magazine at some point.
Get into the #boomross!
The weather was extremely kind to us and as I pulled into Worthing GC about half nine there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Having done a circuit of the clubhouse looking for anyone to do with Benross or GM, I made my way to the covered driving range where I met Ben (Oxfordcomma), Duncan the photographer and Scott from Benross. We unloaded our stuff, changed our shoes in the car park
and started loosening up on the range. By that time Paul and Jake joined us from GM and explained the process – individual club fitting sessions in the enclosed teaching bay followed by photos and interviews.Ben was first up and I managed to get warmed up by hitting some balls while he was doing his thing. From looking at his shots, the introduction of graphite shafts in his irons and higher lofted hybrid really made a massive difference to height and distance of his shots, he seemed pretty happy!
I was up next as Nick (therod) was held up in traffic so he arrived as Ben was just finishing. I was asked to hit a few hybrids first which led to some nice snappers from being a bit nervous and probably trying to lash it. Scott gave me a RIP Speed 20 deg to try and immediately it straightened out the hook and flew about 190ish – easy decision.
Next up was the 3 wood – this interested me as I hit my Burner really well and from the flightscope reading I was told I had a carry of 200 with 20 yd roll out, Again I was handed the RIP Speed 3 wood 14degree and this was a total weapon! It added over 20 yards carry with similar roll but the trajectory was really excellent – not too high, perfect for the course I play – another easy decision.
The driver was next and hitting my Burner (well) Scott let me know that the spin was killing the distance – over 3k RPM. It meant the new RIP 3 wood was outstripping my current driver. Again I tried the RIP Speed 10ged driver stiff shaft and the difference to my current driver was night and day! From memory the RPM was closer to 2k, a launch angle of 13.5 degree and apparently I was knocking it out to 270/80 yds. Again the flight was amazing, not to high and penetrating.
Lastly, and to my surprise, i tried some irons and this is where the decision was closer. Scott reckoned the Max Speed irons with regular graphite shafts would be perfect, as the additional help they gave on slight mis-hits would be a benefit. I thought they just looked too clunky having been used to my Mizuno MX23’s for the last few years. I tried the RIP irons which have a compact, brushed metal head (and steel shafts) and instantly preferred the look. I hit 5 shots with each of the Max Speed and RIP and the numbers were pretty similar – enough to make me decide on the RIP for purely cosmetic reasons!
So, my final set up was:
RIP Speed 2 - 10 deg 3 wood, Aldila ATX Tour blue in stiff
RIP Speed 2 - 14 deg 3 wood, Aldila ATX Tour blue in stiff
RIP Speed 2 - 20 deg hybrid Aldila ATX Tour blue in stiff
RIP Speed 2 Irons – True Temper Dynamic Gold in Regular
Oh, and on the way out a bag is being thrown in as well – so properly Benross-ed up!
I appreciate that some would have delved into the numbers in greater detail, but I was quite happy with a limited choice – and Scott seemed very perceptive to what would suit your swing. Really happy with the choice, the only downside is now having to wait at least 3 weeks for the clubs to be ordered and delivered. Scott confirmed that Benross uses the same Asian manufacturer for the head components as other major names. It certainly seemed to me that the component parts were good quality – such as the very stable Aldila shafts and multi-compound grips.
Finally, we enjoyed watching Nick pat some senior flex graphite shafted irons up the range before we called it a day
Nick, Ben and I were then offered the chance to have a knock round the Upper Course at Worthing as the Lower was closed for maintenance. Although this is the ‘short course’ at Par 66, it was testing enough and I think we all agreed it suited us after a full morning of testing. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of Nick and Ben and it was great to meet some other forumers.:thup:
I couldn’t have been more impressed with the Benross clubs and cant wait to get out on the course with them. Scott was very knowledgeable and stressed how the company was developing in a positive way to attract the club golfer. I would urge you to have a crack with them if you get the chance, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Finally, thanks to GM for this opportunity. All the guys were great and added to the experience – even if the Q&A to camera was a bit nerve racking! The photographer went through about 20 memory cards so unfortunately our mugs will be gracing the magazine at some point.
Get into the #boomross!
