- Joined
- Jul 3, 2006
- Messages
- 13,542
- Reaction score
- 92
- Points
- 298
Okay, so today I'm playing with my toes on the toilet, and decide to see if my new FT-3 Tour is in the mail. Sure enough.
So I think, what the heck, nice day, if a little cold, and I'm feeling good.
So I go and decide to just start off with a bucket of balls. Irons are good, pulled a little to begin with but made my arms calm down and problemo fixed.
Then I get to my woods, all goods.
So I hit my r7. A little left like the irons, but nothing terrible. I'm happy. Then...then...
The FT-3. Wow. First shot. Wow. Dead where I was aimed, and long. I hit more, again, and again, and again.
So, why does it feel this way? Well, first off, I'm quite impressed with the VS Proto. The 70-Gram Stiff feels strong, but not like you can't get it to keep up. The beautiful thing is I can really force the shaft, without it becoming whippy and sporadic. The color is aesthetically pleasing as well.
The clubhead is great. I had heard bad things about the sound, but I'm rather fond of it. It's not a sound like you've just crushed it, but, like the rest of the club, it sounds solid. Nothing fancy, but nice. I like the look of the crown and the face. From the top the crown has that nice line, but it isn't distracing at all. The face itself lets you know where you've hit the ball, and the size isn't comparable to a Cobra, but it's plenty big. On that note, for some reason beyond myself, the V on the club-face kept getting marked up with balls. Perhaps there was some correlation between that and the beautiful drives.
How was the performance, after all? Great. At the range I was putting them about five yards further than my r7, and in a tighter grouping. Trajectory looks near perfect, if not spot on. What, above and beyond all else, has seemed to tickle my fancy, was the roll. I generally don't accumulate much roll with my drives. Maybe 5-10 yards, but rarely more. To my utter jubilation, I found myself getting 10-20 yards, ever drive. With preferable circumstances, more! Now, I know why this is. The angle of descent on my ball is much better than the r7. I never gave it much notice because the carry was longer than any other driver I've found, but not this time.
So, I took her out on the course. Obviously not an official round given my 15 clubs, but that makes no difference. I only played nine anyway. The first hole is a dog-leg left, 380 par 4. Since I was by my wee self, I played both drivers. My r7 ended up about 85 out, on the right side of the fairway. Deciding to push the envelope, I made a more aggresive play with the FT-3. I was pleased. The result was 70 out (right by the marker) dead center. Hole #2 is another dogleg left Par 4, that measures about 360. To play aggresive, you must play over water. The FT-3 ended up (with the same target) about 4 yards further than my r7, and more near the center.
Now for the bad boy. A Par 5, by no means long measuring about 510, but it's a dog leg left guarded by two sandtraps, and trees. Dare I? I dare. The r7 pleased me with a nice shot that left me about 220 out, but the FT-3. Oh the sweet FT-3. With the help of some concrete on the third bounce, I was 200 Out.
#4 is a par 3. #5 is probably the most testing driving hole on the 9. It has a steep incline of about 40 feet. The hole only measures about 320, but given the incline and the fact that you have about a 15 foot wide landing area, it's terribly difficult if you want to play aggresive without the accuracy. Now, if you can land atop the hill with some gusto, there is a slight down-slope that will give you some roll, feeding into the green. This is where the roll paid off. Both drivers landed about the same area, but given the roll, I ended up with about a 30 yard chip, opposed to a 50 yard shot.
#6 is a par 3. #7 is not drive-able given the conditions. I could normally carry the arroyo, but with about a 10 MPH headwind, and a brand new Nike One Black, I wasn't so inclined.
#8 was what made me smile, possible most of all. If you're a long hitter, you have to be careful on this hole. To the left are trees, but since it's a dog-leg right, you are predisposed to hit into those. To compensate, one might aim more right. Sadly, no can do. There is the arroyo. That's no man lands. You will find your ball, but unless you are savvy hitting out of two foot deep sand, the possibility of ruining your club, and the possibility that your ball will be in a depression, it's not pretty. Normally I take a 3 iron. Today, I felt gutsy. And I was pleased. I ended up in the left rough with the FT-3, but I was more than happy to be there.
Finally, #9. Another par 5. Want to reach in two? It measures only about 530, and is reachable, but you better have brought your big boy briches. The driving area is guarded by two bunkers in the fairway. Not for the faint of heart. Well, I decided to get a little courage from my friend Jose Cuervo. I called him up, and he told me, "JEFF! GO FOR IT! OLE!" So I did. And I ended up about 5 yards past the sand, with a shot into an elevated green, at 220 out.
Dare I say, the r7 has met it's match? I dare. If it wasn't so terribly splendid today, I might not be so inclined to oust my favorite driver. But, the results showed me the light.
Updates will be short to come, I assure you. But from the beginning, this thing has been like a good woman. Pretty, and does her job. :laugh:
So I think, what the heck, nice day, if a little cold, and I'm feeling good.
So I go and decide to just start off with a bucket of balls. Irons are good, pulled a little to begin with but made my arms calm down and problemo fixed.
Then I get to my woods, all goods.
So I hit my r7. A little left like the irons, but nothing terrible. I'm happy. Then...then...
The FT-3. Wow. First shot. Wow. Dead where I was aimed, and long. I hit more, again, and again, and again.
So, why does it feel this way? Well, first off, I'm quite impressed with the VS Proto. The 70-Gram Stiff feels strong, but not like you can't get it to keep up. The beautiful thing is I can really force the shaft, without it becoming whippy and sporadic. The color is aesthetically pleasing as well.
The clubhead is great. I had heard bad things about the sound, but I'm rather fond of it. It's not a sound like you've just crushed it, but, like the rest of the club, it sounds solid. Nothing fancy, but nice. I like the look of the crown and the face. From the top the crown has that nice line, but it isn't distracing at all. The face itself lets you know where you've hit the ball, and the size isn't comparable to a Cobra, but it's plenty big. On that note, for some reason beyond myself, the V on the club-face kept getting marked up with balls. Perhaps there was some correlation between that and the beautiful drives.
How was the performance, after all? Great. At the range I was putting them about five yards further than my r7, and in a tighter grouping. Trajectory looks near perfect, if not spot on. What, above and beyond all else, has seemed to tickle my fancy, was the roll. I generally don't accumulate much roll with my drives. Maybe 5-10 yards, but rarely more. To my utter jubilation, I found myself getting 10-20 yards, ever drive. With preferable circumstances, more! Now, I know why this is. The angle of descent on my ball is much better than the r7. I never gave it much notice because the carry was longer than any other driver I've found, but not this time.
So, I took her out on the course. Obviously not an official round given my 15 clubs, but that makes no difference. I only played nine anyway. The first hole is a dog-leg left, 380 par 4. Since I was by my wee self, I played both drivers. My r7 ended up about 85 out, on the right side of the fairway. Deciding to push the envelope, I made a more aggresive play with the FT-3. I was pleased. The result was 70 out (right by the marker) dead center. Hole #2 is another dogleg left Par 4, that measures about 360. To play aggresive, you must play over water. The FT-3 ended up (with the same target) about 4 yards further than my r7, and more near the center.
Now for the bad boy. A Par 5, by no means long measuring about 510, but it's a dog leg left guarded by two sandtraps, and trees. Dare I? I dare. The r7 pleased me with a nice shot that left me about 220 out, but the FT-3. Oh the sweet FT-3. With the help of some concrete on the third bounce, I was 200 Out.
#4 is a par 3. #5 is probably the most testing driving hole on the 9. It has a steep incline of about 40 feet. The hole only measures about 320, but given the incline and the fact that you have about a 15 foot wide landing area, it's terribly difficult if you want to play aggresive without the accuracy. Now, if you can land atop the hill with some gusto, there is a slight down-slope that will give you some roll, feeding into the green. This is where the roll paid off. Both drivers landed about the same area, but given the roll, I ended up with about a 30 yard chip, opposed to a 50 yard shot.
#6 is a par 3. #7 is not drive-able given the conditions. I could normally carry the arroyo, but with about a 10 MPH headwind, and a brand new Nike One Black, I wasn't so inclined.
#8 was what made me smile, possible most of all. If you're a long hitter, you have to be careful on this hole. To the left are trees, but since it's a dog-leg right, you are predisposed to hit into those. To compensate, one might aim more right. Sadly, no can do. There is the arroyo. That's no man lands. You will find your ball, but unless you are savvy hitting out of two foot deep sand, the possibility of ruining your club, and the possibility that your ball will be in a depression, it's not pretty. Normally I take a 3 iron. Today, I felt gutsy. And I was pleased. I ended up in the left rough with the FT-3, but I was more than happy to be there.
Finally, #9. Another par 5. Want to reach in two? It measures only about 530, and is reachable, but you better have brought your big boy briches. The driving area is guarded by two bunkers in the fairway. Not for the faint of heart. Well, I decided to get a little courage from my friend Jose Cuervo. I called him up, and he told me, "JEFF! GO FOR IT! OLE!" So I did. And I ended up about 5 yards past the sand, with a shot into an elevated green, at 220 out.
Dare I say, the r7 has met it's match? I dare. If it wasn't so terribly splendid today, I might not be so inclined to oust my favorite driver. But, the results showed me the light.
Updates will be short to come, I assure you. But from the beginning, this thing has been like a good woman. Pretty, and does her job. :laugh:
