OUTDOORS IN THE SUMMER-INSIDE IN THE WINTER-Mistwood Golf all year round. But for now at least 90 days of outside play left at Mistwood. Once your done go inside to the Performance Bar or McWethy’s Tavern. Mistwoodgc.com or call (815)-254-3333.
THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation for Golfers on Golf. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy or connect on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Mistwood Golf Club fitter Matt Carter works with Rory Spears of Golfers on Golf, during club testing in the Mistwood Performance Center. Photo’s by Eric Anderson.
IT WAS TIME to check out the remaining clubs in my bag.
Because earlier this year in the Mistwood Golf Dome, I found out the new Callaway Rogue clubs, were better than the Callaway Clubs I had in my bag.
The surprise was that those Callaway Clubs weren’t that old. But my Max Speed Callaway driver, that I got last September, was already losing ground to the new Callaway Rogue Drivers that just hit the market In January.
Rory hits a fairway wood in the Mistwood Performance Center.
So I made the switch based on the recommendations of the Callaway fitting team.
But one part of my bag I wasn’t ready to give up on, was my old reliable Callaway Steelhead fairway woods.
The Steelheads that I got 5 years ago, were still solid. They tested better for me, that any of the other recent new additions to the Callaway line of fairway woods.
Matt Carter breaks down the Trackman data.
Because sometimes the old stuff was made pretty darn good. I don’t remember the hype for Steelheads back in the day. So I’ll call them one of the more under rated Callaway clubs of their time.
Five years later my 3 and 5 wood Steelheads still have some pop in them. But was it time to find out if they could still out play and out hit the latest product Callaway had to offer.
So if your not sure if your ready for new clubs, get your current bag tested. You don’t need to go for a fitting if the current stuff in your bag-stacks up with the new stuff on the market.
So that’s what I did. I went to one of the Top 100 fitting locations in America. The Mistwood Golf Club on Renwick Road in Romeoville. With fitter Eric Russell off property for the day, Matt Carter stepped in and put me through my paces.
AND THE WINNER IS !!!
Steelheads 2017 vs Rogue 2022’s. I actually entered the hitting bay thinking the old reliable Steelheads could win again. But time and or technology finally caught up with the old standard. The Rogue’s beat my Steelheads. Especially the 5-wood. The 3-wood fight was closer, but Rogue won again.
I have no complaints about the Steelheads, they were outstanding for my fairway woods game. Solid heads attached to the Fujikura Shafts make a darn good golf club. But they could not beat the current Callaway Rogue model.
CLICK HERE to hear the full interview with Mistwood Golf Club fitter Matt Carter on the current state of club fitting, and why anytime is a good time for testing and club fitting.
But the testing wasn’t over. While my new Callaway Rogue ST Max-D Driver has proven to be straighter and it delivers better ball flight. I did have concerns about total distance, and run-out when I hit the fairway. But I did question the loft, now sitting at 10.5, higher than I had ever used before. So Carter lowered the loft to 9.5 and bingo, I started to see the results I was looking for.
Even though it’s August, with the new equipment releases coming out year round. it’s never to early to look into new equipment, or get your old equipment tested to see what it has left in the head-the hosel and the shaft. When it comes to club fitting, don’t be afraid to get shafted, re-shafted that is. There are several good shaft companies on the market.
So if it’s time for new clubs, or test what’s in your bag. Go find fitters like Matt Carter and Eric Russell at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville. Because you will be glad you did.
Mistwoodgc.com or call (815)-254-3333. Tell them Rory sent you. RS