Brookesy
Head Pro
Not quite Lloyd they sold everything except balls lol
Titleist Ball-Fitting Comp from April Mag
- Thread starter Crow
- Start date
Not quite Lloyd they sold everything except balls lol
HotDogAssassin
Tour Rookie
So they didn't ask you on which side you dress then? Ooh! Suit you Sir! (A bit before your time)
SimonC
Head Pro
Had a great day today, thanks to all those who were involved.
I wasn't expecting anything out of the day apart from the experience but we all came away with 6 dozen ball of our choice plus the 8 we were given to use on the Brabazon. We also got a hat, a towel & a few other bits and pieces.
Really enjoyed the golf although it took me a while to find my swing. I hit driver 9 iron to 18 off the whites, shame it took so many holes to actually get it going.
I'll post a more in depth review of the day tomorrow.
I wasn't expecting anything out of the day apart from the experience but we all came away with 6 dozen ball of our choice plus the 8 we were given to use on the Brabazon. We also got a hat, a towel & a few other bits and pieces.
Really enjoyed the golf although it took me a while to find my swing. I hit driver 9 iron to 18 off the whites, shame it took so many holes to actually get it going.
I'll post a more in depth review of the day tomorrow.
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pbrown7582
Money List Winner
great way to finish! Look forward to full report tomorrow.
Crow
Crow Person
What a fantastic day! I now realise why everyone who has been on a Golf Monthly fitting raves so much about them. They even laid on the best day’s weather of the year so far!
After an overnight stay and hearty breakfast at The Belfry Hotel we met on the freshly rolled practice putting green (which was fast!) before going into the Titleist Tour lorry where we were introduced to the team who would be looking after us for the day, and as an indication of how well these things are organised and how well we were looked after, there were 9 or 10 people in the team to the 6 of us. We were also given a goodie bag with cap, a huge Titleist towel, some sharpies, a mug and bits.
We then had a brief history of how Titleist originated and went on to become the world leader it is today, followed by a quick chat with the ball fitters to come up with a first suggestion to match our current balls.
We then spent some time chipping around the practice green to see how the different balls reacted. The main philosophy of the Titleist ball fitting is to choose your ball based on your short game preferences as this is where spin and stopping power will really pay dividends. Across the Titleist ball range, from the Velocity to the Pro V1X, there’s only about 5 or 6 yards difference in distance with the driver but the reaction on the greens was like night and day, even to a hacker like me. (As you can probably tell, I’m sold on the philosophy) I was expecting to prefer one of the less spinning balls as I like my chips to run out but having the opportunity to try all the different balls out together the Pro Vs inspired much more confidence.
After a coffee break on the Tour Lorry there was a group session with Jonathan Yarwood, who you’ve no doubt seen in Golf Monthly, and then a short 1 to 1 session with him offering us individual tips on our short games plus a video of the lesson to be sent to us as a reminder. During this time we could also try out a host of Vokey wedges, Scotty Cameron putters and even the 913 drivers and fairways on the range. My head was spinning by this point.
Lunch in Sam’s Bar was immediately followed by a round on The Brabazon where we were given four of one type of ball and four of another and asked to try them out over 18 holes and then let Titleist know which one we liked the best and we’d get a year’s supply (6 dozen) sent to us! We didn’t have to do this straight after the round but can play a couple of rounds on our home courses first to make sure we’ve made the right call.
I was playing with David (one of the team but he had to leave us after 5 holes as he had a football match to play some distance away), Sue and Ian, neither of whom are on the forum but were good company. The greens were 11.5 on the Stimp Meter and I’m blaming my five 3-putts on this.
Two highlights from my round; Second hole I hit 3 wood sand iron to 3 feet for birdie, 6th hole I hit 3 wood then hybrid over the lake to 10 feet but the birdie putt wriggled by. (And unlike Simon I finished with a 7)
All in all an amazing day and I was still buzzing on the way home so I nipped into my home course for a quick 9 holes to see how the balls behaved on our greens, I’m going to play a couple of full rounds to be sure but I’m pretty much sold on the Pro V1! :thup:
To finish I’d like to say a huge thanks to Paul, Neil, Kevin and all at Golf Monthly for making it possible, to Jonathan of Titleist for setting it all up, to Jonathan Yarwood for his coaching and to everybody else involved for making it one of my most memorable golfing days ever.
After an overnight stay and hearty breakfast at The Belfry Hotel we met on the freshly rolled practice putting green (which was fast!) before going into the Titleist Tour lorry where we were introduced to the team who would be looking after us for the day, and as an indication of how well these things are organised and how well we were looked after, there were 9 or 10 people in the team to the 6 of us. We were also given a goodie bag with cap, a huge Titleist towel, some sharpies, a mug and bits.
We then had a brief history of how Titleist originated and went on to become the world leader it is today, followed by a quick chat with the ball fitters to come up with a first suggestion to match our current balls.
We then spent some time chipping around the practice green to see how the different balls reacted. The main philosophy of the Titleist ball fitting is to choose your ball based on your short game preferences as this is where spin and stopping power will really pay dividends. Across the Titleist ball range, from the Velocity to the Pro V1X, there’s only about 5 or 6 yards difference in distance with the driver but the reaction on the greens was like night and day, even to a hacker like me. (As you can probably tell, I’m sold on the philosophy) I was expecting to prefer one of the less spinning balls as I like my chips to run out but having the opportunity to try all the different balls out together the Pro Vs inspired much more confidence.
After a coffee break on the Tour Lorry there was a group session with Jonathan Yarwood, who you’ve no doubt seen in Golf Monthly, and then a short 1 to 1 session with him offering us individual tips on our short games plus a video of the lesson to be sent to us as a reminder. During this time we could also try out a host of Vokey wedges, Scotty Cameron putters and even the 913 drivers and fairways on the range. My head was spinning by this point.
Lunch in Sam’s Bar was immediately followed by a round on The Brabazon where we were given four of one type of ball and four of another and asked to try them out over 18 holes and then let Titleist know which one we liked the best and we’d get a year’s supply (6 dozen) sent to us! We didn’t have to do this straight after the round but can play a couple of rounds on our home courses first to make sure we’ve made the right call.
I was playing with David (one of the team but he had to leave us after 5 holes as he had a football match to play some distance away), Sue and Ian, neither of whom are on the forum but were good company. The greens were 11.5 on the Stimp Meter and I’m blaming my five 3-putts on this.
Two highlights from my round; Second hole I hit 3 wood sand iron to 3 feet for birdie, 6th hole I hit 3 wood then hybrid over the lake to 10 feet but the birdie putt wriggled by. (And unlike Simon I finished with a 7
)All in all an amazing day and I was still buzzing on the way home so I nipped into my home course for a quick 9 holes to see how the balls behaved on our greens, I’m going to play a couple of full rounds to be sure but I’m pretty much sold on the Pro V1! :thup:
To finish I’d like to say a huge thanks to Paul, Neil, Kevin and all at Golf Monthly for making it possible, to Jonathan of Titleist for setting it all up, to Jonathan Yarwood for his coaching and to everybody else involved for making it one of my most memorable golfing days ever.
pbrown7582
Money List Winner
Sounds awesome glad you all had a great day. Thanks for the write up,
SimonC
Head Pro
Good write up Crow, you beat me to it. Oh well it will save my fingers from typing it all out again :thup:
On a side note I should have accepted the sun block that was being offered around. I've got a terrible golfers tan/sun burn on my arms so I look a little daft.
I've still not decided if I'm going for the Pro V1 or the Pro V1x, I'll see how they perform around my home course and make a decision after that.
They had a competition going at the 10th hole for a hole in 1 it was £10,000 and for anyone who knocked it on the green you got a free round at the PGA National Course & 3 half price green fees too. Myself & Adam who was from De Vere & plays off 1 both managed to knock it on the green with our 3 woods, well mine was a couple of inches through the back but they gave me the prize anyway
Thanks again to everyone at Golf Monthly & Titleist for a great day.
On a side note I should have accepted the sun block that was being offered around. I've got a terrible golfers tan/sun burn on my arms so I look a little daft.
I've still not decided if I'm going for the Pro V1 or the Pro V1x, I'll see how they perform around my home course and make a decision after that.
They had a competition going at the 10th hole for a hole in 1 it was £10,000 and for anyone who knocked it on the green you got a free round at the PGA National Course & 3 half price green fees too. Myself & Adam who was from De Vere & plays off 1 both managed to knock it on the green with our 3 woods, well mine was a couple of inches through the back but they gave me the prize anyway
Thanks again to everyone at Golf Monthly & Titleist for a great day.
pbrown7582
Money List Winner
Good write up Crow, you beat me to it. Oh well it will save my fingers from typing it all out again :thup:
On a side note I should have accepted the sun block that was being offered around. I've got a terrible golfers tan/sun burn on my arms so I look a little daft.
I've still not decided if I'm going for the Pro V1 or the Pro V1x, I'll see how they perform around my home course and make a decision after that.
They had a competition going at the 10th hole for a hole in 1 it was £10,000 and for anyone who knocked it on the green you got a free round at the PGA National Course & 3 half price green fees too. Myself & Adam who was from De Vere & plays off 1 both managed to knock it on the green with our 3 woods, well mine was a couple of inches through the back but they gave me the prize anyway
Thanks again to everyone at Golf Monthly & Titleist for a great day.
you didnt blade your SW in for 2 on 10 like kev the photographer did on weds evening? :lol:
just gets better you now have to go back FOC and take some mates with you.
SimonC
Head Pro
No I 3 stabbed lol, my first putt ran about 12 feet past the hole. Adam nearly holed his eagle putt, it ended up behind the hole.
It's been an amazing experience I feel very fortunate to have been picked, although it was at someone else's expense due to their injury.
bladeplayer
Money List Winner
Good write up crow good to hear ye had a good day ,
When you were on the chipping green was there someone with you watching or advising or were ya left to your own devices ..
What tips did you pick up from Jonathan Yarwood ?
Thanks ..
When you were on the chipping green was there someone with you watching or advising or were ya left to your own devices ..
What tips did you pick up from Jonathan Yarwood ?
Thanks ..
SimonC
Head Pro
Jonathan was wandering around giving tips to people, well he gave me some tips before our 1 on 1 lesson we each had. There were some other guys from Titleist there who came and talked about the balls more than anything, I'm not sure if they gave any of the other winners any advice but I didn't get any, although I'm sure they would have given some advice if I had asked for some.
Jonathan's lesson was a real eye opener for all of us, he basically said everything we have all been told prior to yesterday is wrong ie weight on your left leg, hands pushed forwards, ball back in the stance and keep the hands ahead of the club head. He said to stand a lot closer to the & raise your hands so the shaft is more vertical than we had previously had it (also gripping down a little more for me). Then it was a case of keeping the shaft in line with your right arm (no to little wrist cock at all) on the back swing and on the follow through almost feel like your flipping the clubhead (he said this wont actually happen it's just a feeling) whilst keeping the grip moving slowly hence the flipping part of what he told us. He also said to use your lower body (hips & knees) as you move through the ball. It's hard to put it all into a paragraph without actually showing you but I hope I've done been acurate enough, I'm sure Crow can help in this area as he was there too.
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bladeplayer
Money List Winner
Did you try it & how did it feel or how did it work ?
SimonC
Head Pro
Yes I did, it felt quite strange at first but the more I used his method the better I got at it & the more comfortable I was with it. During my 1 on 1 with him he gave me 10 out of 10 on setup etc as I had been working on what he told me at the start of the day. So he got me to try some different shots, a lob shot which was almost the same as the standard chip but have the ball a little forward of where you normally have it & keep the hands back so they don't get ahead of the clubhead with a very slightly open club face still not cocking the wrists much on the back swing. The swing was a lot shorter than how I used to play this shot, previously I would have opened the clubface up massively and taken a full swing at it.
Then he got me to play what he called a burner where the ball was slightly further back in the stance, hands a fraction forward & then got me to cut accross the ball with a lot of speed so the head exited left (almost feeling as though your spiining out of it) which came out lower & put a ton of spin on the ball.
I suppose the feel was to make the clubhead feel like it's travelling quickly in relation to the handle (grip), where as previously the hand & head were moving at a similar pace. I hope that makes sense???
I wish I had a video of what he taught me/us as I'm sure Jonathan explanation would be much better than mine.
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Region3
Ryder Cup Winner
What sort of shot/distance is that for?
SimonC
Head Pro
I would say up to 20 yards or so from the green, so a standard chip from a few yards up to a short pitch shot. Although I'm sure he said it would be the same for a pitch from say 40 yards but you would just stand a little further away from the ball (no much though) have a little more wrist set & grip slightly further up the grip. He was trying to move us away from what he called the old method of hands & weight forward with quite a lot of wrist set. Instaed of leaning into the left side to get the weight forward he told us to open our shoulders more as this would bring the low point of the swing forward and stop us from catching it heavy.
I'll try to find some videos this weekend which show what he was teaching us, I'm sure he must have posted something somewhere on the internet showing his methods. It will probably be a lot clearer coming from the horses mouth.
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Great write up, thanks.
Loving the sound of the pitching/chipping lesson, sounds similar to Furyks proven method, love to know more if you get any links.
kev_off_the_tee
Journeyman Pro
did you guys get the balls on the day?
it has been a fantastic few days. I got to try all of the toys as well as the ball fitting, an managed to keep the card in my wallet.
We had the fitting on Thursday and after we finished we got 10 holes on the PGA National before a bite to eat and a few beers. I was up early for breakfast then got myself ready for the Brabazon
An awesome opportunity which I won't get to repeat so a huge thanks to golf monthly, Titleist and Jonathan Yarwood
bladeplayer
Money List Winner
Thanks Simon much appreciated .. sorry for all the questions
SimonC
Head Pro
No I think Golf Monthly/Titleist will be in contact with us with regards to what ball we have chosen then they will send them to us. I assume you didn't get them either?
How was the PGA? I've won a free round on it as I hit the 10th with my tee shot.
I'm after some new Vokey wedges as Jonathan said the loft & bounce options I currently have are hindering my game. I wouldn;t mind a 913 3 wood too but I'll have to win a few competitions at my home club before I can afford either.
SimonC
Head Pro
No problem, I would be asking the same things if I saw someone had posted a similar explantion to mine & I hadn't had the lesson. It'squite a change from the old way I was taught.
