Hi, I am Fraser Malcolm, welcome to my channel, I am the Head Professional at North Berwick’s East Links (Glen Golf Club) in East Lothian, Scotland. I have been a Professional golfer for over twenty-five years and have a wealth of experience teaching a wide range of players, from three-year-old beginners to elite county players. I have a strong background in junior golf coaching creating an all year round junior programme called Beginnagolf. I also have a successful club-fitting side to my business and am very interested in equipment technology with a wealth of experience to draw on when reviewing and assessing new products. I pride myself on my honesty and always offer an impartial view on any products I review. Aside from the coaching and product reviews I will be uploading a wide variety of content with everything from golf course ratings to fun golf challenges included. If you like the channel so far make sure to subscribe and click the bell button so you receive notifications.
The C4 from inside the shoe where your foot rests to the area directly below the ankle is 67mm. On the LT1 from the same area is 63mm. From a flat surface to the area directly below where your ankle would be on the C4 is 92mm, and on the LT1 is 86mm.
@golffm6924 so the c4 is quite a bit taller. I have worn the s3 and the lower biom shoes in the past. I was a bit concerned about adding height to the shoes, even though the c4 looks and feels great
Nice review. I have hit all of them except the Ping. I had a TM and Callaway fitting and hit a buddies Titleist T200 yesterday. I did not like the top line of the P790 and the Titleist seems a little thick on the sole to me, but I could not do a side by side comparison. I really liked the Ai200 and in Taylormade I liked the P7CB and the P770 with the P7CB having the best topline. I am going to do one more fitting so I can get a side by side comparison and hit the T150 as well. I sort of see a combo set in my bag of Titleist T200 or TM P770 long irons and T150 or TM P7CB shorter irons, but time will tell. I am going to demo the AI200 for 2 weeks soon and play at least 3-4 rounds with them so get a true sense of how they play.
Is that two thousand Canadian dollars? Not sure if that’s more than it is in the UK. They are expensive, whether they’re actually worth it is a good question.
Does the 400£ difference really makes the Qi (especially in the long irons) better? I went to a fitting facility today and got fitted for them, but questioning whether buying them or not (same shaft as you)
I’ve been told that going down the hl version would benefit me as it would keep the ball in the air longer so carry further. Your testing doesn’t imply that🤷🏼
Personally a little bit bored by the looks of the i230 and also not a forged face even though they do actually feel fairly soft. If you like the looks then yes they're a credible option, although I would need to strengthen the lofts on them aswell.
Given you tested all three of the AI Smoke, AI200, and AI300, can you comment on the comparison between the 300 and Smoke? I appreciate the test and opinions!
@@golffm6924 thanks! Would appreciate it! I was under the impression that the AI Smoke and the QI were both similar game improvement category options, but then the AI200/300 dropped. I would have thought a comparison of the AI Smoke to the AI 300 would have made sense since you also compared the AI 300 to the QI. I was surprised to see this Smoke to 200 video pop up when I figured the comparison would be smoke to 300. Definitely interested in your thoughts there. I lost my clubs in a house fire in April and am looking to buy a new set. I was considering AI Smoke, QI, and AI 300 given I'm a high handicap. I hit all 3 and liked the AI 300 and QI better than the smokes. Curious on your take. My feeling was the AI 300 looked better as you shared, felt nice, and we're forgiving and straight. I liked the QI next best, maybe because of looks - pretty close to the ai300. I ended up not hitting the smokes well at all, they had a totally different feel than the other two and I didn't hit them as well. Maybe I was tired hacking away in the sim. Thank you!
Thanks Fraser -- really interesting review. I'm surprised the Ai Smoke launched higher and had similar spin as the Apex Ai200. I prefer the appearance of the Ai200 -- just not sure it's worth an extra 200 BPS. You mentioned the Ai Smoke had a slightly longer shaft -- are they the same shaft? If the shafts are different maybe that had something to do with the launch/spin characteristics.
I truly liked these but not sure if my fitter pushed the srixon zx4s but ultimately went with the zx4s I really loved the srixon and just awesome. The cobras are awesome as well
I can't stand when they make the name of the bag prominent on the outside or add their slogan like "play your best". I think that's why the pioneer bags aren't selling. I steer clear of anything like that.
I love my i530. I almost bought the t200s but I was a few hairs more consistent with the i530. I launch them pretty high with a good descent angle. I have zero issues dropping and stopping on the green
Wouldn't be surprised if I change back to i530, Blueprint S is feeling slightly too unforgiving at times for me, especially considering the amount of golf I'm actually able to play. More consistency and more distance is starting to look more important than a thinner top line and smaller head right now. Not given up yet but....
The Dynapower Forged are pretty much as soft as these, are possibly more forgiving and go about the same distance, certainly not any shorter. The only downside is they do look a bit bulkier than the Callaways, not by much but a little bit. Miles cheaper though. The Dynapowers are brilliant irons.
The only thing about that is T200 wasn't the first of it's kind. In the modern era of player's distance irons with an internal cavity, I think the P790 was the trailblazer.
I don't think you're going to get any major brands with a history of clubmaking and a bit of pedigree much under that anymore. The only way you'll get something cheaper is if it's an old model that's being discontinued and even then, if it's a major brand I doubt it will go much under $500. Maybe in the U.S but certainly not in the UK.
Hi, I'm concerned about the water storage. I live in a desert in California. Cold I'm not worried about, or rain. The clubhouse does not allow those puppies or any bags inside. Can this serve as my sole bag, if I'm a beginner? I rarely ride the golf carts. TY.
If you don't need any extra clothing, then , yes I think you could use this as your only bag. But if you ever go somewhere on holiday golfing where you do need extra clothing then ,no.
@@golffm6924 I drink about 3-4 pint bottles of water during 1.25 hours of tennis; but there is more running. I could always refill. 100 F. in summer. 🏜️ I have ice chest in car.
Got this bag off the back of your reviews and absolutely love it. Looking at regripping my clubs soon, you don't by chance know if or could test if the jumbomax grips fit ? Being considerably thicker I wonder if they'll cause issues with fitting in the slots
@@golffm6924 thought I'd pop an update here incase anyone else wondered. I fitted my clubs with some jumbomax XL tour str8 tech grips. And they fit in the silencer bag. Does squash the end of the grip a little. Unsure if the normal tapered grips will work
That's interesting, that's a decent idea, because other than the rain proofing it is a really good design. It never ceases to amaze me the world of bags.
The P770 is 33 degrees in the 7 iron as standard, so it wouldn't go as far unless you tweaked the loft. Other than that I would agree it's closer in size to the Ai200.
Great work, appreciate all the hard work that goes into a review like this.....tried the P790's but they felt horrible, just ordered the I530's as spin rates etc. were unreal for me. Thanks again all the way from Canada!
Would love to see your dispersion mapping on the two irons. That to me is key in the forgiveness and success of the club when taken out to the course. I have hit both the Qi and Ai300 in fittings, hit the Qi a little further, but the accuracy was better with the Ai300, so I purchased Calloway. And the cost was not that much different when thinking about the amount of golf happiness you are investing in. A few won golf bets and others will be buying them also. Appreciate the video content.
I just can't help feeling the dispersion figures are too affected by how I swing the club, and so if I push 3 or 4 shots but don't do that on another club, then one club is going to look better than another, when in reality it was purely my fault. Great clubs though and thanks for watching. Cheers.
Great review. I am currently playing the AI200's. They are a fantastic iron. Great look, feel and surprisingly forgiving. I really enjoy your reviews. You speak in layman's terms and speak to what we mere mortal golfers are looking for when review golf clubs. I look forward to your future reviews. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Fraser...I'm going to give the Callaway APEX Ai200 a try. Also want to hit the Titleist T200s. I'm not a big fan of offset (my miss is generally left) -- so I need to look down at them and make sure they're not making me think the balls going way left 🥺. Love your sense of humor!
Thanks for watching Brian, the Ai200s might be too offset, but if you can get a look at the whole set the 8,9, Wedge might be fine and it's only mild in the 7 iron, it's just whether the longer irons look too offset for you. Glad you get the humour, not everyone does!
Going to grab an OGIO bag this week. Can’t wait to do a chicken test. Planning on trying an undernourished battery hen from Woolworths, then a 3kg free range stonker from local butcher. I’ll publish results in due course.
Hahaha, brilliant. Yes let me know how it goes, just don't get chicken juice in the bag and then end up with salmonella poisoning, I don't want to be liable for that.
The D9 just feels so much better. I think the p790 and the hollow headed clubs just feels clicky to me. I do love the way they look though, just not enough to change from my D9.
I’ve got one of these. So far it’s been fine. Only complaints are the middle of the three ball reloading thing is very difficult to get a ball into or out of, maybe it’s just mine, but it tests your patience if you’ve just hit your first reload into a pond. Secondly I used the slots on the side for my woods which seems to unbalance the bag when on a trolley. My solution has been to put something heavy in the opposite side pocket which seems to work. Otherwise I’m pretty pleased with it 👍🏻
Good to hear these type of reports of the bag actually in daily use. Bit of a shame you have to balance the bag with regard to the woods, but sounds like it's pretty good otherwise.
This was a great video and comparison! I laughed as you complained about sky track the same way my buddy and I complain about top tracer at our local range when it decides to skip some of our swing! Great job!
