Trip to Golfsmith

Bored in the winter, why not hit some new clubs on the simulator

So on Sunday morning, before getting ready for the SuperBowl, I got some new tires for my car. Yeah, what does this have to do with golf or Golfsmith? Well, I'm getting there, hold your horses. So, two hours to put on new tires at Costco. So what to do...

Conveniently enough, there is a Golfsmith right next to CostCo. How could you possibly kill two hours at Golfsmith? Easily, hit balls on the simulator!

So, I did. I hit a few clubs:

• Callaway X-20

• Callaway X Tour

• TaylorMade r7 TP

• Ping i5

• Mizuno MP-67

I had really wanted to hit these X-20 Pro's with the Project-X, but alas, they didn't have a demo model. So, what did I learn? My 6 iron swing speed averaged around 88 mph, which resulted in an average distance, across all the clubs of about 186 yards. Sounds about right. Sounds like I probably should change my 5.0 rifle shafts as well. 88 mph puts me in the 6.0-6.5 range.

Callaway X-20

These are very nice looking clubs from behind. I did not care for the weight or topline of the club. And the feel, just wasn't there for me. But, I hit the ball pretty high, and my average distance. I was leaving a lot of them just right of center, but that is probably just the lie angle.

Callaway X Tour

Oddly enough, I hit these even higher than the X-20s. I would say maybe it's the shafts? But they were fitted with DG-S300s, which I thought were supposed to be lower launch. I managed to hit a few balls in the 190 range, even with the added height. And misses were not too awful. I did like the feel of the X-Tour better than that of the X-20, and the topline was much thinner. But, I don't know, it may seem strange to say, but I can't say I ever really felt comfortable with clubs. Result wise, they were pretty good for me.

TaylorMade r7 TP

The guy at Golfsmith handed me an r7 tp, and said to give that a shot. So, first hit, I nailed a nice rising slight draw 205 yards. I usually hit a 5 iron that distance. So I just figured, oh, they must just be bent strong. But according to the TaylorMade website, the lofts on the r7 TPs are no different than my MP33s. Interesting. Again though, compared to the Mizunos, the feel just isn't there. A caught a couple a little thin, which, I'm sure my Mizunos would have had my hands yelping at me...but these, barely felt anything.

Very nice looking clubs though. Topline was decent. Weight seemed to be a little on the heavy side. But I loved the look of the club. They were, in the end, a little too inconsistent in my hands.

Ping i5

Ick...put these back. Sure, it shouldn't matter, but man these are ugly. I hit a few with them, results were ok, but the feel just isn't there. I actually felt more with the x-20s.

MP-67

Ahh, I picked these up and they felt quite familiar. Nice and well balanced, thin topline. You feel like you're holding an instrument with surgical precision. I hit a couple nice little draws with this. Hit a few awful shots. It felt nice, little lower ball flight than my MP-33s I believe. I wouldn't bother buying them though, I'll just stick with the MP-33s.

Conclusion

All in all it was a fun and informative time. I confirmed my believe that in general, my misses are a pull. That I should have my lie angles checked. And when I swing nice and smooth, with good tempo, my swing speed is at its best, go figure.

Next time I'll have to hit some drivers!

Editors Note (1/3/2024): That Golfsmith is now a Trader Joe’s!