Cavalier

Topping the ball: One of the sources of "topping" the ball comes from inconsistent body height. That is, your ball to shoulder height changes throughout your swing. Commonly, you here instructors say "keep your head down." The idea behind that advice is to keep your body height level. Often times, players adjust their body height--i.e. look up to early--in order to help the ball up. We see this with high-handicap players on fairways because players try to ensure that they hit the ball and send it flying. However, we don't want to hit at the ball, rather we want to swing through the ball. One way to stop topping the ball: A drill which might help to fix the tendency to lift the ball, or to adjust body height, is to hold your club across your shoulders with your arms crossed. Then, while practicing your body rotation, think about maintaining a level body height. It helps to have someone watching you as you do this. Have that person tell you when your body height changes significantly. Hitting fat: When players hit fat, the tendency is to take a divot behind the ball and to lift the ball into the air. Again, this happens because players are trying to help the ball up rather than swinging through the ball. One way to stop hitting fat: If you're practicing on a grass range (this is the best place to practice this drill because it is difficult to know and therefore to cure fat shots on range mats), then use aerosol chalk to spray a line extending through the middle of your stance at address. Your clubhead should rest along this line. Then, use your pitching wedge and try making some punch shots. You want to make a divot in front of that line. The goal is to keep that line intact. You don't want to get rid of it or hit behind it. In order to promote making a divot in front of that line, you want to think about proper weight transfer, i.e. shifting your weight from right to left as your make your through the downswing. I hope this helps. Tell me if they work for you. These are just two tips I think are helpful in curing those problems. They certainly aren't the only ones.

I would get a 52 and 58 degree wedge. I think that this setup offers you the most versatility. Having wedges with even separation between loft angles is important since it reduces need for alterations to your full shot.

Everyone has hit on the main points regarding these two balls but I think it's helpful to mention that if you have an approximate swing speed hovering below 100mph, then you're going to see a greater difference in these two balls--at least for your long game. A golfer, for example, with a swing speed of 80mph who uses a Pro V1 will see something around a 10 yd gain if he switches to the Pro V1x. On a somewhat related note, that is why ball fitting is very important for serious golfers. This is why Bridgestone's ball fitting trailer has been so immensely popular (at least in my experience in golf retail). (I would try out the Bridgestone ball fitting. It's pretty cool!)

You probably already know this, but the choice of putter should always come down to feel. Anyway, I think it's helpful to know some of the design features of the Sabertooth. It's an offset putter and Odyssey distributed a lot of the weight to the toe so that you'll make straighter putts. The Sabertooth also has a nice design feature which helps with alignment issues, i.e. the two protruding bars behind the sweet spot. I like this feature both on this putter and others like it since it allows you to visualize to "train tracks" to the target. As for the Scotty Cameron, there really isn't that much that I have to say about it.

It looks like you already have a 54 degree wedge. Generally, you should try and keep enough separation between the lofts of your clubs. I think it's best if you get a 58 degree wedge. Also, if you do get your wedge on eBay, make sure that you know about its condition. The grooves must be in good condition if the wedge is to be really beneficial for you. I will say though, as a general rule of thumb, that when I buy wedges I never get used ones since they are one of the most personal and important clubs. If they have been used, then they become less effective tools (i.e. they can't impart enough backspin--without this, you lose a bit of drop-and-stop control on the green). But this, of course, depends on the condition of the club.

There are a few prerequisites for backspin: 1. Clean grooves 2. A soft ball (It has to be new or at least pretty new, i.e. Pro V1) 3. Sufficient loft When you have those three things you just need to make sure you commit to your shot when you begin your downswing. A lot of amateurs make the mistake of slowing down on the downswing for fear of mishitting the ball. If this deceleration occurs, then there isn't sufficient speed to generate backspin. Also, when you use a wedge like the Titleist spin-milled Vokey, it is pretty easy to achieve backspin. This is because the groove design allows greater ball contact and thus more spin. I'm not saying that you're going to see the ball rolling backwards on every shot. Here it's good to mention that getting the kind of backspin you see on TV is not going to happen that often. The pros play on finely manicured greens which are slick as glass--this helps immensely in taking advantage of backspin. Another thing to keep in mind in order to impart enough backspin is making sure the target area is sloping down in your direction or at least level. Obviously, if the slope is uphill, achieving the kind of backspin you want is not going to happen.

I think it depends on the type of amateur player. Imagine a weekend golfer who might only hit 200 yard drives or a duffer who can't even hit a driver. In this case, the long is more important than the short game--or so it appears. But, their short game could also be equally terrible.

One of the best collegiate courses: http://www.boarsheadinn.com/activities/birdwood/

Someone has probably already said this but Jack and Tiger's reputations need to be evaluated in the context of their prime years. It would obviously be much easier to settle the question of who's greater if they both competed against the same pool of golfers.

I'm a full-time student, professional tutor, amateur golfer, and golf researcher. I'm working right now to publish some golf studies in psychology journals.