My Clubs

[PxExG]

Well I am giving you all the low down on my clubs. Specs are as follows:

Driver - Tourstage MARU-Spec 8.5* with square face and actual loft of 8.75* handpicked from Tour Van.... with Fujikura Speeder 652 Black, Stiff at 44" D4 and Golf Pride Players Softie Cord Round +1/32"

This club lives up to its reputation. It is the best looking and feeling club I have ever hit. It sets up perfect and everything about it screams quality. I will not go into superlatives too much here. I just want to write a note on performance:

I can honestly say I could play this club for the rest of my life. Its that damn good & rewarding. It is the first driver I have every hit which allows me to really go after the ball without any fear of the ball hooking on me. I believe that is due to the weight bias (or lack thereof)

I got to play Quinta de Lago over the Easter week - I played it from the Championship tees 4 out of the 5 times & its a Tour course (Portugese Open is played there) Its a true shot makers course with countless dog-legs. I loved it! For once I could fade the ball without trying to slice it... does that make sense? I did not have to alter my swing/setup unduly to get a 5 yard fade whereas with say a GBII I would really have to try and slice the ball to get the same shot (ie not as consistent)

The trajectory of this driver is great too. It does not reach as high an apex as my old 983E (9.5*) but it is still very playable at 8.5*. I think I was very lucky to get this driver - a 3* open MARU would be unplayable for me. The wind does VERY little to any driver with this driver... this is a great thing for me. Crosswinds do not really hurt and into the wind the ball still went out there at easy 95% of what I can hit. Conversely downwind the ball did not go much further... but I can live with that.

Forgiveness - this club is not Launcher 460 but it is definitely playable. I have always been a very good driver of the ball, chipping and driving are by far the strongest parts of my game. If you put an idiot swing on this club you will get punished - no question. However my misses are high on the toe and these were "punished" and did not look good, however they were still in play.

Example - I hit the ball 265 slight draw on a normal day. I miss on the toe with this... the feel is awful, I know I have missed... the ballflight is not pretty - sort of dips... sets off down the right rough and maybe draws back to the light stuff.... ends up 250 in the light rough. still very playable!

Distance - all drivers hit the ball close enough to the same distance provided you are fitted for them. The MARU got me 5 yards over my E on really pure hits. No huge difference though - a low spin deep faced driver suits me and that is what I got!

Overall - this club is a bit special. I think the combination of a heavy head, light shaft and shorter length really suit me. I can feel in control of the club/head throughout my swing without sacrificing any distance. One provisio I would add is that you have to be a "golfer" to play this driver. No 12 handicap with delusions of gradeur will find this to be his miracle club.

[PxExG]

here goes the next lot:

3 wood - Sonartec SS-03 14* square face angle with Fujikura Speeder 869 Stiff at 42.625" D2.5 Lamkin Crossline Sof-Cord Round logo down +1/32"

This club scares me. I have had 3 FW woods that have lasted a reasonably long time in the bag. Steelhead original, PT 15* and a V-Steel. I liked them all, but they had their faults. This club is not perfect for everyone, but it is for me. At address the deep face, lack of alignment aid, jet black finish, full score lines, size of head, shape all scream perfection to me. It is exactly what I looking for in a 3 wood.

Feel - this club is up there with the PT in term of solidness. I think it feels realy solid, but a different kind of solid to a PT. It is more explosive which I would attribute in part to the shaft. It has a more "modern" feel to it, without sacrificing any feel IMHO - the ball seems to really scream off the club face.

Distance - this club deserves to be deemed God like in this respect. I can honestly say it is the longest 3 wood I have ever hit, including any 13* (even the ERC!) The flight on the SS-03 is just unreal - the ball gets up reasonably fast but the flattens off and just stays up there. The trajectory on the SS-03 really out performs any I have played. Its easier to "get up" than the PT but with all the benefits of a flat trajectory. On a related topic, I can shape this 3 wood better than any including the PT. My favorite shot is a high draw, but all the shapes are available to me. The wind does not seem to effect this club unduly. Into the wind it just bores through it and cross winds dont knock any shot offline really. Downwind is where I am scared to use this club. Why do I have a driver? this club actually is like 5 - 10 yards shorter than my MARU downwind!

Forgiveness-I would put this leaps and bounds ahead of the PT and on a par with the Steelhead. The V-Steel would be marginally better if you take it slightly heavy (I found) but thats it. Not a horror club by any stretch of the imagination.

Last note - great club. All that I look for in a 3 wood and more.

[PxExG]

Irons:

Tourstage MR-23 US-Spec CB 2

Titleist 670MB Satins 3 - Pw

Blueprinted with Project X 6.5s soft stepped once, specs based on 38.25" 5 iron. 2 iron has S-200, all with Lamkin Crossline Sof-Cord Round logo down +1/32"

The clubwork was all done by Tourspec Refinishing and is top notch. The satin finish looks great and every iron is dead on spec.

I got the 670s second hand initially and had them custom ground for me. grind on my 670s is flatter than the normal 670 grind with less camber and alot less bounce. The normal 670 grind has alot of bounce and alot of camber to suit a steep digger type swing. I have a flatter more sweeping picker type swing with my irons and need a sole grind that is flatter with less camber and low bounce. The flatter sole allows me to pick the ball off the ground.

At address they set up great and are very understated. The trajectory from these irons really suit me. It is a lot flatter than my MP-33s without any hint of a flair. I probably have gained 1/2 a club which I am happy with (not the longest player in the world - need all the help I can get)

The feel of these irons are really nice too, more solid feeling than my Scratch wedges but very nice nevertheless. They have the copper/nickel underlay which makes them feel noticeably better than the ordinarly Titleist forgings IMHO.

As blades go they are prenty forgiving but certainly do idiot sticks. I would really recommend getting your irons refinished by TSG - I have a totally unique set now, they suit me more than any other iron could.

3 thumbs up!

On a side note - the long irons are the best shaped in golf (along with the MR-23 CBs) but the Pw is fugly.

[PxExG]

does anyone have any interest? or am i talking to myself?? :-(

[FairwayFred]

does anyone have any interest? or am i talking to myself?? :-(

Great Reviews Patrick. :)

Give people a day or so, sunday is a slow day on the net.

[VokeyMan]

Do you have any pix?

Nice reviews.

[jboy]

if you take the camber off the soles of the 670's aren't you now just playing a set of 690 MB's ?

[PxExG]

not by a long shot - the 670 topline is different, as is the toe shape. and the 690 long irons have a ton of offset. muscleback is lower on the 690s too so trajectory is a lot higher with 690s as opposed to 670. but other than that - exact same! lol

pics are in another thread - not the best ones ever. I might be able to snap better ones this weekend.

[PxExG]

[PxExG]

From top to bottom (descriptions)

Just my entire set (still do not have my putter so I put a Anser in for the sake of completion)

MARU at address.

MR-23 2 iron and 670 3 iron at address (670 on right - topline is not that thick really)

670 on its own (3 iron)

My set then from different angles. the Satin finish on the 670s is really nice, like the other pics of my wedges actually.

[Minimal302]

Great looking set! Great reviews also.

[FAQ]

Patrick: Great bag. Thanks for showing us. I know how difficult it must have been to acquire these clubs. Very nice!

Jim

[jboy]

From the pictures I'd say you're hooding the clubhead at address...... are you slicing the ball PxExG ??

:lol:

[corky3]

I just got back from my annual pilgramige to the Algarve........ played 5 rounds round San Larenzo, 1 at Pennina and 1 at Quinta del rea.

All really good (don't really like Pennina but played well so I hereby retract my accusation of it being a 'Goat-Track')

[Mike]

I just got back from my annual pilgramige to the Algarve........ played 5 rounds round San Larenzo, 1 at Pennina and 1 at Quinta del rea.

All really good (don't really like Pennina but played well so I hereby retract my accusation of it being a 'Goat-Track')

You lucky so and so . I hope you got a real bad sunburn :lol: :lol:

Glad you had a great time . Been a real long time since I was there and would love to go back , but for some reason I can't see it happening .

Not while I'm living on the West Coast at least. :(

[corky3]

Yes I did get a little sunburned.... temp was in the low 70's, perfect for golf. San Lorenzo beared it's teeth with really stong winds on a couple of days (bye bye balls!) but it was really in great condition.

Drank too much beer, but came second(out of 12) for the second year running!

Ah well back on the Hamster wheel!

[Mike]

Yes I did get a little sunburned.... temp was in the low 70's, perfect for golf. San Lorenzo beared it's teeth with really stong winds on a couple of days (bye bye balls!) but it was really in great condition.

Drank too much beer, but came second(out of 12) for the second year running!

Ah well back on the Hamster wheel!

Good for you . :D

Hamster wheel :lol: :lol: :lol:

[jboy]

PxExG,

did you get your 670s from your Titleist reps allocation or did you get them from the states/ebay?? Seeing as your are in Ireland it would have been easier to get a set of 680's. Up until recently the 680s were the LTD edition set listed on the titleist.co.uk website, they've now ducked out and the 670's are on the website.

I've checked the pics out and I can't see the difference in the muscle on the 670/690's.... the 680's it's very noticable. The length of the blade and compactness of the head maybe, probelm is I haven't seen the 690/670 side by side in any pro shop. From memory I have no recollection on the top line.

I'm all bug eyed here trying to compare the two pics from the web site and have a sore head now. :cry:

[MGB]

Great review, Patrick. Thanks for the pics too. I like the look of the 670's they look like irons I could easily pick up and play.

Can't tell you how envious I am of the courses you play.

[hanf512]

great review patrick. i was wondering if you could give me some of the characteristics on your swing (SS, tempo, tendencies on bad swings, etc) and how you came to decide on the Fuji's as your shafts of choice in your driver and 3 wood. did any other shafts compete with the fuji's? thanks

[PxExG]

SS is about 105 ish I guess. I am a swinger not a hitter, with a smooth tempo. Actually was "fitted" for X-100s and X-Flex Grafalloy Blue coz I am "strong" through the ball. But "S" suit me find.

869 Speeder - I love the heavy weight and kick through impact. Would really recommend this to anyone looking for a FW wood shaft and it prob suits just about everyone.

652 and 661 - nice shafts. I wanted something in the 65g range that would feel "smooth" and these do. But I would not be too enamored by them TBH.

[PxExG]

Just an update (if anyone cares)

The SS-03, MR-23 and 670s are firmly in the bag. My putter should be here next weekend (hopefully) and I am sending my wedges back to Ari. The ported wedges looked go great I am going to get it done to my 54* and have the 58* bent to 59* as well, for better yardage gaps.

The driver is going to the States too. Shame on me for not wanting to hit a fade, but I think I am going back to my trust 983E.

[shoe295]

No shame in not wanting to hit a fade...personally I am indifferent as to how it gets to the fairway as long as it is IN the fairway..of course if I hit a fade it is usually a mistake..but I feel no shame.

thanks for the update..I am very interesting in how your wedges play when you get them back.