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hongman

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About hongman

  • Birthday 11/30/1956

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  1. I'll chime in with shout out to Srixon and Wilson. I've got some TM r7 tp's.... they are OK and relatively forgiving versus a pure blade, but my Srixon i506's are much better IMHO. I haven't had a chance to try out the new Z TX's, but they look sweet to my eye!
  2. I must admit that I have missed all of the Big Break Seasons, save the inagaural, until flicking it on this past week, when Mallory won like her 3rd elimination challenge. Whoooeee... not only is Mallory ummm... "talented"... but she's tough as nails to boot!! Can't wait until next week's episode, and I guess I'll have to catch up on this season on-line.
  3. This year's excessively rainy weather during spring and late summer/early fall, combined with continuing economic woes, has really hurt our local NE Ohio courses. A number of country clubs have reduced or eliminated initiation fee's and some have opened up limited tee times and/or restaurants to the public. Many public courses have reduced their rates to the bone as well. The mid level public course I play at is still in fairly good condition, but is in the process of letting some sand traps transition to either mud flats or grass bunkers. Rainy weather was blamed for reduced play at my home course, and by July, the restaurant/bar business alone, was down some $200K compared to last year according to the bar manager. Our local driving ranges aren't doing much better either.
  4. I must say that excessive reading of a putt's line from all possible angles gets my goat, especially when it's quite obvious there's no more than say 1" to 2" of break, and it's uphill to boot..!! I occassionally played with a buddy who brought along his friend to play, and this friend would get low enough so his chin was hovering about an inch above the green (push up style, not like what's his name on tour), and he would do this from both behind the ball and the hole, as well as occassionally perpendicular to the putt's line to see the slope. Then more often than not, he'd push or pull the putt and miss it... Arrrrrrgh..!!! After he had the audacity to proclaim he must have mis-read a missed putt, I jokingly suggested he try out scoping out a few more angles before putting!! My buddy just shook his head and whispered privately "Don't encourage him, as we're playing slow enough as it is!" Oh,,, and taking more than say 1 or 2 practice swings before hitting the ball... like you've got half a chance to groove a swing with 5-7 practice swings. Sigh... thanks for providing a thread to rant!!
  5. I too have lucked into some really great deals on both new and slightly used clubs for cheap $$ in just the past 2 years, and here are just some of them. Taylormade r7 TP's 5-pw w/Nippon Shafts > a special order set played by original owner 5x before he put up on Craigslist (5 iron was still in plastic) > $250 New Hippo 7 wood w/graphite stiff shaft & headcover for $15 at TJ Maxx (happened to spy it while shopping for clothes).... this is my go to trouble extraction club from 155 to 175 yards out! Cleveland CG 10 wedge set 54 56 & 58 for $70 on Craigslist (rate 8.5 very good)... these have been so effective together, that the Vokey below hasn't made it into my bag yet! Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 55 wedge in GG Used Club bin condition 9.0 for $40. And just today, I picked up a very mint set of Srixon i-506 forged player cavity back irons 3-pw plus the matchng w-506 10.5 Driver for $150 for both, from another local Craigslister whose wife demanded he cull his stash of clubs. He had only hit 2-3 of the clubs at the range, and the remainder are unhit. I am hoping to give these clubs a try tomorrow at the range. But the best deal I have had recently is inheriting a Dunlop Putter from my uncle this past month, who is retiring from golf due to his declining health. This thing looks like an amped up Odyssey Rossi, but makes putts for me like there's no tomorrow!! I'm sure my uncle didn't pay more than like $15 for this thing at K-Mart, but geez, the ball comes off the face rolling perfectly more often than not!. So yeah, I like a good deal, and I am learning that expensive is not necessarily better for me performance wise, 'cause I haven't swung a single new putter at GG that comes close to my newly inherited Dunlop. I don't feel my time spent monitoring Craigslist, or lookin' on the bay for golf gear is wasted, as this is something I do evenings while watching TV (or the Golf Channel), and has allowed me to better afford both great gear and more golf. Besides, the hunt is half the fun!
  6. Hey ronbo, Congrats to both you and your son!! Sounds like you both had a memorable day together, and here's a toast to many more! BTW... good to hear you have had good results with Golftec, as I recently completed the free 30 minute swing evaluation, and am considering purchasing additional services from our location in North Olmsted. When you get a chance, could you share what types of improvements Golftec was able to help you with?
  7. I dunno, as I am sitting squarely somewhere on the fence regarding this issue for now. As a conventional putter who is presently using a left hand low setup, but can putt effectively with a conventional grip as well, I have tried both long and belly putters in the shops, and for the life of me, cannot see how one can effectively use these long putters. So I don't really see where any advantage is provided, just a different method of putting that can work more effectively for some, but certainly not all people, including me. So from that standpoint, I see little if any difference with conventional length putters. I think long/belly putters miss just as many, if not more, putts over the long haul as players using conventional putters, and if Adam Scott is just barely in the Top 10 of putting stats during what for him is a "Hot" putting year, then then jury is definitely still out on these monstrosities in my book. Adam had a great week at Firestone, and only a so-so putting experience at the PGA the following week. As to the issue of "that's not how the game is played"... what about the side saddle putting style Sam Snead was eventually forced to adopt after his croquet style was outlawed, albeit with good success, to address his case of the dreaded "Yips"? I think Slammin' Sammy shot a round in the 60's when he was in his sixties during a major championship while goin' Side Saddle! As far as I know, Side Saddle putting is still considered legal, but virtually no one uses it that I have seen. I'll bet using say a belly putter side saddle style, might be work for someone looking for a more effective stroke, and allows one to use both eyes to see the putting line dead on, instead of from the side. Hmmmm... might have to investigate this further at Golf Galaxy! Also, I recall Bernhard Langer used a putting style for a while whereby he anchored the putter's upper grip end to his left forearm using his right hand, while gripping the putter grip low with his left hand. Is this method still legal as well? Putting is the only stroke in golf whereby one is asked to consistently "roll the rock" along the green's contours, and this requires a putter head motion, and a distinct lack of body motion, that is seemingly at odds with every other club, or shot, in your bag. And yet, the best putters are those with an almost magical rythmn, touch, steely nerves and imagination for discerning the correct line, and the ability to execute their stroke under pressure. Can someone eventually become a truly great putter using one of these new long putters? Maybe? I'd love to see it happen, as have duel down the stretch between the best long and short putters. I read somewhere that the infamous Schenectady Putter was outlawed by the R&A; after an American Amateur named Walter Travis smoked his opponents on the greens in the early 1900's, and it looked like a pretty conventional putter by modern standards to me. So a part of me is reluctant to outlaw the arrow, when the Indian who shot it is the more important part of the whole equation. Is allowing the putter end to be anchored to your body ruining the game? Not at all in my eyes, as a convention putter is "anchored" in your hands as well. Are the long putters allowing those with putting stroke problems be more effective at "rolling the rock" than they otherwise would be with a short putter.... Sure, but my hybrid allows me to be more effective than hitting my long irons.... so what's truly the difference? I will admit that having an anchor point does make it slightly easier to achieve a consistent putter pendulum arc in the vertical plane, but directional control and tempo are more difficult for me to acheive consistently, so it's a wash for me. However, this entire controversy will really explode if Tiger comes back and wins say 6 majors using a long putter!!
  8. Geez, I must be going to the wrong range, as I haven't ever seen a top grade pro ball in my bucket!! Where the heck are these ranges located/ That being said, I just inherited a large number of golf balls from a retired uncle who used to "ball hawk" whenever he walked by a hazard, or an area known to collect errant shots. These are run of the mill Top Flites, Nikes, Maxfli's, etc. with the occassional Titleist or Callaway, but all in very good playable condition. I am making regular donations of 10-20 of these balls with my usual medium bucket, but would never pull out a brand new sleeve to hit at the range.
  9. I voted "Cost too much" and "Don't have enough time" (to practice and ingrain the new swing changes) as my reasons for having not taken lessons recently. However, I have twice taken a series of 3 lessons w/video swing analysis by a local pro Vince Mastro, who is a very good instructor for me. I took these lessons about 10 and 5 years ago, and yes, both times Vince helped me re-build my swing, which saved my back and improved my ball striking as well. I went from a self taught controlled fade/straight ball, to a much better controlled draw or straight ball flight. Alas my hcp stayed about the same, but my overall enjoyment went up immeasureably as I finally experienced what compressing/trapping the ball felt like to hit a sweet draw. I also learned how to hit knockdowns and running chip shots, which expanded my repertoire, if not my overall consistency. The process of learning some new swing motion sequences was a real PIA, as I was hitting maybe 3-4 good shots out of an entire medium bucket of balls at the range before starting to see improvement after weekly range practice for 1-2 months (I must be a real slow learner!) Update to present > I have been working on trying to take better divots in front of the ball with my irons, with some limited success so far this year. I have been only able to play 3 full 18 hole rounds and 1 nine hole round this year, but have gotten to the range perhaps 5x. After taking the free 20 minute swing evaluation at Golf Tec, I was able to use some of their drills to shoot a 4 over 39 with my golf league buddies, and just this past Sunday, hit some really solid full approach shots and partial 30-60 yard wedges, that delighted my partner and deflated our opponents in a 2 man Scramble match. My next lessons will be on getting my driver and longer iron shots either beyond the ladies tee's, or outtah the woods! My overall experience with lessons, especially the video analysis, was positive, as I got to see the difference between what I "felt" was good swing mechanics, versus what I was actually doing during the swing. This helped my mind wrap around embracing some new swing feelings that have helped me hit better shots. Since my prior swing thoughts were a mess, I don't think I could have found a way out without the lessons.
  10. I too am in the camp that consider clubs as an expense versus a traditional "investment", although I can certainly see how emotionally vested or attached I may become to a particular club, i.e. a beayoutiful new driver!! I will tend to let anyone I play with try out my irons, be it friend or stranger, as I highly doubt they could inflict any particular damage to an iron with 1 or 2 swings that I won't be inflicting to the very same club myself anyway. However, I will restrict demo'ing of my shiny new driver to just my friends or regular playing partners who I know well personally, even if they are high handicappers with errant swings. I figure if a friend accidentally puts an idiot mark on my shiny new club, it's not as bad as if done be a stranger who I will never see again, cuz a buddy can be razzed about it every time the headcover comes off..!! Jeez, where did this humongous dent come from?? Also, I just tell my subconcious that any errant skymarks or dings just creates a slight aerodynamic drag that actually stablizes the clubhead for a more solid impact, improved directional control.... and hence... more distance!! Try it out for yourself... it works.... promise..!! Maybe I have just been lucky, as no one has ever damaged any of my clubs when just trying them out. Of course lately, I don't have any requests to try out 3 year old Taylormade r7 TP's, or 20+ year old Wilson Staff Goosenecks or Haig Ultra blades when I play 'em. Any idiot marks.... are... my own... sigh. My favorite club, and therefore most valuable, is a 40+ year old Spalding pitching wedge I've had since age 14. It has a penchant for rusting where the chrome has worn, the grooves look sort of deformed, and the leading edge has gotten sharper from wear over the years, but it still can produce some wonderful shots when needed. If only my shiny new Vokey's and Cleveland's can become so trusted. No one's ever asked to try out my fav wedge, and no one except my best buddies will ever get the chance!! We refer to this dinged and scarred beauty by its proper name forged in many a greenside battles... as... "The Magic Wedge"..!! Besides, magic wedge aside, I figure letting someone else try out my clubs might help them find a better solution that works for them, and that's part of sharing this great game of golf for me. Balancing the risk of an idiot mark versus the prospect of seeing the joy from someone hitting a great soaring shot with my borrowed club.... no contest... risk the idiot! That's just me, as I never ask to try out someone else's new clubs ... but I might drop an ever so subtle hint or 2! But If they don't offer, I don't ask.
  11. Hey Sand Trappers.... yes... I took advantage of the Free 30 minute Swing Evaluation at my local Golf Tec last Friday, in North Olmsted OH. I found it very interesting and informative, but haven't had time yet to try out drills to truly evaluate their effectiveness. Once you have setup a date & time, and confirmed via phone, they will tell you to bring a 6 iron (or any club you want to work on), and your desired golf glove and shoes! My swing evaluator, Carl, started out by askng me a little about my golfing background, i.e. average score/hcp, typical "good" shot shape & trajectory, typical "missed shot" (for me it's a push to right or snap hook left, as well as less than ideal ball contact, i.e. fat or thin), typical 6 iron & Driver distance, etc., as well as what areas of improvement you are interested in. For reference, I am trying to improve my iron play ball contact by acheiving a better release point that encourages some forward shaft lean to compress the ball, and hopefully some better, less arm jarring, divots. I typically hit my 6 iron in the 160ish range, and I usually shoot in the low to mid 40's for 9 holes at our local public course, Springvale in North Olmsted OH, although I lucked into a 39 last Monday due to a surprisingly good day with my wedges and putter! I suggest you have in mind some simple objectives for this initial 30 minute evaluation, as 1 lesson probably won't have you hitting 300 yard drives, but your mileage may vary. You will then be fitted with a set of sensors located between you shoulder blades, and another set of sensors in a belt placed in the small of your back, just below beltline. These sensors will then be aligned as reference points by the computer system, which is also synchronized with 2 cameras (1 located directly opposite where you face the ball, and 1 directly behind your target line). The sensors will record the degree of rotation of your shoulders and hips independently, and probably relative position and speed of uncoiling, etc. After some warm-up swings, you will then make a number swings hitting a golf ball into a net, off of a mat equipped with sensors as well. You and the instructor can then review each of your swing(s) recorded simultaneously by the both the camera's and the sensors. My instructor also pulled up a video of a Tour Pro's Swing for comparing the differences in body position, swing plane, impact position, etc with your own swing. In my case, Stuart Appleby's swing sequence was selected as our body proportions and swinging styles are similar. Any other comparison of my swing to a tour pro is amusingly depressing at best. BTW, I don't think GT is using comparison to tour pro swings as trying to mold your swing into an exact replica, but merely as a guide to show what areas of the swing the pro's are more effective versus you own swing, and thus guide you to swing drills/changes to improve in those areas. The video/sensor analysis can also show you a number of things that happen during your swing that can directly affect how well you hit the ball, versus how a pro does it. In my case, the sensors and video were able to clearly show that the rotation of both hips and shoulders at impact were much less than ideal (i.e. versus tour pro or good amateur), and that my swing that day exhibited traits of a "tweener", meaning I was using elements of 2 different swing styles together.... basically, I was stopping/slowing the rotation of hips and shoulders on the downswing, and trying to control the clubhead release by throwing my arms at the ball and uncocking my wrists. Yuck! My instructor then had me do 3 different corrective drills to address my deficiencies, and any drills are posted for you under your own ID & Password on the Golf Tec Website for your future reference. After doing these 3 drills, I was asked to hit a few more balls into the net, and we viewed those swings as well. My last swing's impact position showed an immediate improvement of degree of rotation into a relative number range of mid 30's, versus my initial readings in the high teens to low 20's. Perhaps more importantly, the video showed my iron's swingpath would have started to create a divot about 1" after the ball's static position! If this ever happens on a real live golf course, I think I will pass out. Will this swing evaluation and drills result in better golf for me? Way too early to tell, but if I experience 1 or 2 more good shots per round, I will be estatic. The real value for me is that I now have a clearer vision of how to improve, if just a little, one aspect of the game that has so far eluded me. If I start to see some real improvements resulting from these drills, I will go back, especially during our Cleveland Wintertime. My take on Golf Tec's objective with these Free Evaluations is obvious, as they want to showcase what their system can do, and sign you up for a package of lessons/evaluations. However, following this freebie evaluation, there was NO attempt to soft or hard sell me anything. Carl just gave me a business card with an ID & Password to access my drills, and wished me good luck. I really enjoyed this short session and Thanked him as well. I hope this helps, and have Fun..!!
  12. I am working on balance, rythmn, alignment/setup, and my takeaway to the top position, all with the aim to improve my ball striking so that my iron swing produces a divot that starts on the target side of the ball. (Whew, quite a mouthful of swing improvements, eh!) On the downswing, I am focusing on maintaining a smooth tempo, keep my hips and shoulders turning thru the impact zone and keeping my hands ahead of the clubhead, as my bad swing tendency is to stop body rotation and "throw/release" my arms at the ball, which results in really bad fat or thin shots. I am trying to use the "right pocket pointing at the ball" image as a guide for how far my hips should have turned at impact position, and I am trying to delay my wrist release point until the end of the grip is pulled almost even with the ball (based on a Johnny Miller Golf Channel tip!) to encourage some forward shaft lean at impact. My driving range drill is to start off with lining up 4 balls on tee's, so the line of balls are perpendicular to my general target/stance line. The tee's are set very low, so I have what would be a perfect lie, versus the crappy lies offered by my local range's grass. I use another tee to show where the "target side' edge of balls are, so I have a reference point for where my divots should start. I generally start off with 1/2 or 3/4 shots using a wedge or 8 iron, and move up from there, depending on well this drill is or isn't working that day So... how is this working so far you ask...?? Let's just say this is a work in progress, but I am hopefully optimistic based on an improved divot pattern at the range, and I've managed to pull off a really good full swing (for me) for at least 2-3 shots on the course this season, when the ball contact felt more "pure" and solid that I have ever felt before, and the divot actually started after the ball's position!! Yippie..!! Of course, I can still hit some gopher hole sized pelts, but hopefully I can improve steadily and save our local greenskeepers some $$ on future course maintenance. An unexpected side benefit to this drill has been much better ball contact and control over my wedges! This has been a strange year for me, as I have been unemployed, so I have only 4 range sessions, 2-18 hole rounds and 1-9 hole round under my belt to conserve $$. My lone 9 hole round was with my golf league buddies last Monday, and I shot a 39, which is fantastic for me. Alas, it wasn't a result of good ball striking with my irons (all were slight pushes to the right), but effective wedge play and a hot hot hot $3 putter recently bequeathed to me by an uncle! The 1 vicious snap hook drive to the left was still playable, but resulted in an ugly double bogey after I dumped my 7 wood fantasy hero approach shot into the swamp, er pond, fronting the green. Arrrrgh!! Redemption came on the last green, when my latest putter acquisition helped sink an 18 foot uphiller for Birdie! As an interesting aside, last Friday I took advantage of a FREE initial swing evaluation and lesson at Golf Tec offered thru the Johnny Walker Website > http://www.johnniewalker.com/en-us/golf/ > a very interesting and valuable experience IMHO. Once I acheive full employment status again, I think I will start off with a lesson package to see how well it works over time. The initial swing evaluation gave me some good feedback, and some additional drills to work on to help my swing, and I'll post an update in another week or so on the drills' effectiveness. Sadly, the swing video only confirmed my deepest suspicions.... my swing in no way resembles that of a touring pro..!! But hey, by the end of the lesson, my hip and shoulder rotation thru the impact zone had already improved (at least on the swing evaluator), so we'll see if I can use these drills to improve my ball striking in general on the course. Hope springs eternal, so Good Luck to everyone in improving this year!
  13. Ahhhh... so many cool choices.... I like the dog dotz, but my cats would get jealous, but if I use the cat dotz, the dog would sulk as practice putts go rolling by on the living room carpet whilst watching the Golf Channel on TV. So my choice is... the Yin and Yang fits my golf mentality to a tee..!!
  14. I dunno... I was somewhat taken aback by Brandel Chamblee's rantings both yesterday and today on the Golf Channel Post Round wrapup show. Like many TW Bashers on the golf blogosphere, Brandel ranted about how Sean Foley is leading Tiger down the wrong swingpath (sic). and implied Tiger's human flaws will somehow never allow him to measure up to Jack even if Tiger equals or surpasses 19 majors. Jack Nicklaus was one of my 1st childhood sports hero's, and he will always hold a special place in my memories and golfing life. That being said, I would be thrilled to see Tiger regain his magical ability to hit amazing golf shots in the heat of major competition, and break Jack's record. Tiger showed brief glimmers that the timing and magic are returning, but unfortunately, interspersed with stretches of some truly bad shots that show he's human after all. Tiger said in his post round press conference that he believes Sean and he are on the right path, as he's seeing increased ball velocity and distance on his shots, but less sidespin and lateral movement on his shaped shots, and these 2 factors are contributing to the less than stellar results we've seen so far. But hey, he's been off for 3 months, after briefly leading the Masters in the final round before his putter went cold, and his leg/knee got injured. I totally agree with you.... we and the Media should cut Tiger some slack, and let's see how he does in the Australian Open and President's Cup, or perhaps more realistically, next April at the Masters before Tiger's game is declared DOA. Tiger's only 35 years old, and if he can maintain his health and regain even 90% of his former abilities, lookout recordbooks!! Jack didn't win his 15th major until the age of 38, so Tiger's aurguably still got time to realistically chase the all time record. Here's what I think of Brandel's contention that Tiger's wrong to believe that a swing change is a "process" and that results on the range can be deceiving.... Tiger = 2 major swing changes (3rd in process) = 14 majors and 79 tour wins. Brandel Chamblee = 1 PGA Tour win + 1 Nationwide Tour Win + best T18 at 1999 Masters = Golf Channel Ranting Broadcaster
  15. Hi, I would love to try out one of your gloves, especially as I am trying to improve upon my 12 hcp via more driving range and on-course practice rounds. I am experiencing some soreness in my left forearm, which I think is due in large part to my grip pressure, which seems to increase the longer I practice or play, and I would like to see if your glove could help me develop a lighter grip and less tension in my forearms. I also play in a league with a regular partner who also complains of forearm soreness, hey we're both in our 50's, who would benefit from trying out my test glove. If I am chosen as a tester, You can send a Left hand Medium Large Glove to: Steve Hong 1254 Gladys Avenue Lakewood, OH 44107 Thanks, Steve
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