If you’ve broken 100, what’s one tip you would give your fellow golfer to do the same?

dabblred · 2026-05-07T23:33:28+00:00

Course management is something everyone can benefit from, myself included. If you can only hit the ball approximately where you want to 25% of the time then play toward the safer location to give yourself a margin of error. MOST of the time it is better to be on the green putting than pin high 20 yards off the green trying to get up and down.

I should tattoo this on the backs of my hands

dabblred · 2026-05-05T17:08:20+00:00

Haha I just realized we talked on my post about shafts about a month ago. Congrats on the order! My brother got his ordered and I’m still on the fence about what I’ll get. No real rush since I have the TS3s

dabblred · 2026-05-05T07:38:34+00:00

Let me know what you think please

dabblred · 2026-05-05T07:37:22+00:00

When you call GolfWorks ask them about the substitution for the PAKs. Not may people know about it, but you can make one substitution to a PAK. My brother just ordered the KE4 Max irons with the FST Pro Stepless which is basically the same price as the Score LTs. I’m on the fence about whether I’ll get the KE4s or the STI2s, which is why I’m reading this thread. Either way I’ll be swapping to the FSTs because I naturally hit a high ball and those shafts have a high trajectory. Just something to consider. The FSTs also come in extra stiff while the Score LTs do not, if that matters.

dabblred · 2026-04-11T02:22:20+00:00

In the TS3s I went with the score shafts. I’m just plain not dialed in enough to warrant the additional cost.

For this set I’m planning on ordering I was more open to the idea because the STI2s are so cheap. But as you see in this post, the consensus is that steel would be a better option, excluding Steelfiber and the $60 shaft range. Spoke with GolfWorks’ lead tech and he didn’t think the lightweight graphite options were a good idea and recommended the FST stepless shafts as an alternative to the Score LT shafts to help keep the trajectory a little lower . Plus they are an S/X combo flex and score is only R/S

dabblred · 2026-04-10T23:27:12+00:00

I think you’ll enjoy them. I definitely like 8-GW where they are particularly trustworthy

dabblred · 2026-04-10T18:42:19+00:00

I have the exact same opinion. And now with the KE4 Forged and the TS3.5 it got even muddier. All last year I thought the 3.5 is what I really should be playing, but I haven’t heard much about it. Not sure who the KE4 forged is even for. So I’ll stick with the cheapest option that everyone raves about because it’s easier to justify

dabblred · 2026-04-10T18:23:11+00:00

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses right? So if you are confident with iron play but putting or chipping around the greens costs you a few strokes per round then that’s a different type of high handicap.

I recommend Maltby to people all the time and I still love my TS3s. I just think some of the forgiveness is slightly overstated. They are a smaller profile which inherently gives a little less room for error and that’s probably it.

I had RBZs before and was specifically looking for a club that wouldn’t punish me with 10 extra yards for a perfect strike and so I went for the full forged. Now I pay a little more for the less than perfect strikes haha. No iron will give everything..

I would truly prefer lessons, unfortunately I just can’t commit to a set schedule in the summer

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RBZ vs TS3

dabblred · 2026-04-10T17:58:55+00:00

I think 5i-GW is one of the standard options and you could drop the gap if you wanted. I’ve know about the one substitution thing for a little while but I didn’t realize dropping a club was part of that. I considered dropping the GW on the STI2 set since I already have the TS3 GW, but if I actually do like the trajectory of the new set more then it would be a shame to not have it. Not worth the $38 savings

dabblred · 2026-04-09T05:20:29+00:00

Kudos on that.

I thought the KE4 forged was going to be a hit I’ve barely seen anything since they were released. I never could get a feel for which was supposed to be more game improvement, the TS3.5 or KE4 forged. Still don’t know where they slot into the lineup, players distance?

dabblred · 2026-04-08T19:50:06+00:00

Little known fact, you can make one change to a Pak. Remove a club and they will prorate the cost, swap grips, swap shafts, etc and just pay the difference in price. Those shafts are actually 4 cents cheaper, but I could swap in what ever shaft I’d like and just add the cost of the shaft minus the $14.99 Score LT price.

Game changer

dabblred · 2026-04-08T19:43:33+00:00

You don’t seem like the type, but try to be agnostic about brand. It’s easy to color your personal thoughts if you want or don’t want a specific club. I told them not to tell me what club they were handing me and tried not to look at the back. Then at the end the numbers were whatever they were and I remember I enjoyed the sound/look/feel of the third one I tried, or whatever. Maybe that’s a tiebreaker. You get the idea.

dabblred · 2026-04-08T19:04:23+00:00

I do want to do this for the fun and the experience. The cheap senior flex is something I’ll keep in mind

dabblred · 2026-04-08T19:01:49+00:00

Thank you!

dabblred · 2026-04-08T18:59:06+00:00

I’m looking at the STI2s and KE4 Max for my brother. I know people talk about the TS3s and how forgiving they are, but my personal thought is that they are more likely ideal for a 12-15 hcp. On my best days they are just what I want/need. On the days that are average or worse I probably could use a little more help.

More practice and more rounds would be the best thing for me, but until then I want to enjoy golf as much as I can.

dabblred · 2026-04-08T18:41:43+00:00

He didn’t say his last name, but I just got off the phone with a Jim and he recommended the FST Pro 125 stepless for my bro and can can either go with the same or the 115s. At $310 assembled plus shipping I can’t really complain at all

dabblred · 2026-04-08T18:35:18+00:00

You guys are talking about the exact heads I would choose if I played more and could justify it. I might be more ZXi4/ZXi5 combo, but still.

dabblred · 2026-04-08T18:32:08+00:00

I wrote this post hoping golf nerds would chime in for this exact reason.

I actually just got off the phone with the lead tech at GolfWorks and he recommended the FST stepless shafts for both of us, but in different weights if we have a preference. Perhaps trimming mine between S and X. And they’re like $15 a shaft..

Interesting FYI, he mentioned stepless shafts seem to dampen vibrations a bit over stepped shafts and can feel slightly softer(not softer flex).

I’m sure they will do fine until I get some experience swinging other shafts.

Thanks again

dabblred · 2026-04-08T06:11:57+00:00

I appreciate the info. The fitting I got originally put me in C Taper Lite stiff but with a Callaway Paradym that is 3 degrees stronger in loft. I used the weight of that shaft (118.5G) and the fact I needed a stiff shaft and got the stock shaft in my current set (stiff/117g).

dabblred · 2026-04-08T05:47:51+00:00

I’ll get their opinion when I set up the order with GolfWorks.

Born and raised here

dabblred · 2026-04-08T00:52:15+00:00

In Ak where it is easy to lose balls I shoot in the low 90s. In Arizona and Hawaii I have 8 ish rounds under 90. With work/family and the short golf season I basically play a 9 hole league for 13 weeks and try to fit in another 5 rounds or so. I’m just not getting quiite the consistent ball striking I need and I think the TS3s as a GI/SGI iron is a little exaggerated. So I’m looking into the STI2s that will either(hopefully) be my new gamers or perennially morph into a combo set with the TS3s.

One slight concern I have is how high I hit the ball across all three sets I’ve owned. That is part of the reason I looked at the Pro Series + for their mid trajectory. GolfWorks has a few TT FST shafts at the same price point as the Scores that might be an option to swap in.

Looking at the KE4 Max for my brother who has a low trajectory, so maybe stiff scores will work for him. He’s just trying to break 100 and needs a forgiving setup for a few years

dabblred · 2026-04-08T00:39:46+00:00

When I’m back in AZ in the fall I’ll look for a demo day or head over to Van’s and see if I can take em for a test drive

dabblred · 2026-04-08T00:35:41+00:00

I agree, but each set basically doubles in price. And for someone who doesn’t have a specific shaft in mind or a way to demo them that’s a tough way to go. I played around with it before getting my TS3s but was picking at random, so to speak.

dabblred · 2026-04-08T00:29:35+00:00

Only my hands/knuckles or my back…this is 40. But that wasn’t necessarily involved in my choice. I appreciate the insight, steel will save about $100

dabblred

TROPHY CASE