ipdude

Here's what I have purchased and reviewed over the past four months. My handicap has dropped from a 12 to an 8. I have blogged all my experiences at my website. You have to send me a private email message to receive a link to my site. Date Title Author Type May 1Wired to WinDavid BreslowBook May 24Golf for EnlightenmentDeepak ChopraBook May 26Think Like TigerJohn AndrisaniBook May 27Mental KeysMichael AnthonyBook/CD May 27Beat the Bogey ManTravis FoxCD May 28Magnetic PuttingHarlan KilsteinBook Jnue 1Extraordinary Putting Fred ShoemakerBook June 3Mental Rules for Golf Harlan KilsteinCD June 4PowerMindPeter SiegelCD June 10Find the ZoneRon MannCD July 4Golf in the ZoneLarry MillerBook July 9Mental Rules for Golf Gregg SteinbergBook July 14PowerMindPeter SiegelBook July 17Fearless GolfGio ValianteBook July 19Magical GolfRoseanna CorbridgeCD July 24Mental Management for Great Golf Bea ShepardBook July29Ten Commandments of MindPower GolfRobert WintersBook August 5 Sports PsychologyJay GranatCD August 8 Putting GeniusRobert WintersCD Auguts 11Mind Training for Golf Craig Townsend CD August 19Zen GolfJoseph ParentCD August 30 Golf in the ZoneJim Fannin CD

When you go shopping for clubs. Pick up the club, close your eyes and really feel the grip. If it sends waves of confidence through your body, that is going to mean more than whatever is attached to the end of it.

My set of Calloway Big Bertha irons is about 15 years old. More important to me than the head of the iron, is the grip. I use Lambkin grips and have them replaced about once every 6 months. I have used rental clubs all over the world and if the grip feels right, I can hit just about any club within about 10 yards of what I hit the irons I own.

I never tried an R7 driver. It takes me a long time to adjust to new drivers and I absolutely can't swing graphite shafts. I am using a Nike Ignite driver right now and it behaves most of the time but is real sensitive to how I start my downswing. If I start with my hands instead of my shoulder, I get a nasty snap hook.

83 today in 20 mph gusting winds on a par 72, 71.1/124 rated course that I have played once a week for the past year and more than 200 times in the last 25 years. Goal today was to keep the driver in play. Lots of OB on this course and I met my goal. 18th is a par 5 with a water hazard that goes all the way around the front of the green. It was playing downwind and I got there with driver, 4-iron. The eagle putt stopped less than a centimeter from the front lip. Nice birdie to finish. 9 pars. Triple and two doubles were the blemish on an otherwise solid round.

There really is no substitute for good stats from a long series of rounds at least twice a week. It's hard to be brutally honest with oneself. Right now I am about to put my Ping 7 wood into the deep recesses of my garage closet if it doesn't start behaving. I keep detailed stats on each round and zero in on the pieces that are costing me strokes. So the Ping 7 wood is going to get one last two hour session on the range. I will examine my pre-shot setup for each hit, keeping track of balance, posture, and alignment. When I can find something that will consistently allow me to be within 25 yds. right or left of a tafget 200 yds away, I will be happy and bring it back to the course on the next round. If it still misbehaves, it will be time to invest in a new hybrid.

I've also tried rakes, hoes, and hedge trimmers. Carry them in my bag to reduce the number of drops for unplayable lies. Breaking the rules but the course looks better after I'm done.

Hey Rembrandt: I hope my brain surgeon doesn't take 50 years to figure out his skill! And, how is a ladder with no rungs being held together? Are you into Zen or something? Did you know there is such a thing as Zen Golf.? What is the sound of one hand clapping? Or how about, somewhere, someplace on Earth, there is always a golf ball suspended in the air every second of every day. Deep, real deep.

Hey CD Driver: Don't be too hard on yourself. Take some time to smell the roses out there. Patience will eventually win out. Great score!!

You got to admit, this is the slickest golf forum online. This guy has taken great pains to add all sorts of bells and whistles to this site. He deserves those free clubs for all the time he has invested into making this a great place to share ideas. Erik, you are awesome!!!

I love new putters! What is it about them that does wonders for your putting for at least 9 holes or until you push your first 3 footer? My latest purchase is one of those new fangled space age beasts that Michelle Wie is using. Why I would buy one of those is beyond me. A definite moment of weakness. Got it for $40 from MaxiGrip for being a member of the PGA Partners Club. I'll tell you how it works after it arrives. PS. You got that close to Jessica Alba? Next time you see her, tell her I will treat to a free round of golf in Hawaii.

The longer I play this game, the more I am inclined to agree with you.

My 'equipment obsession' is becoming more of an obsession with the mental game tools. I like the tricks for emptying your head to enable one to enter the zone. Most golfers who are into new clubs, etc., think this is the easy part. I got a real noisy brain. New equipment is have less and less influence on my ability to improve but a new way to get mentally ready for a shot is starting to do wonders for my game.

My Favorite Equipment Junkie story: For three summers, I was in charge of the Nike Junior Golf Camp on the Big Island of Hawaii. We would take the campers down to the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel Golf Course to get lessons from Ron Castillo the head pro at the time. One day, a 16 yr. old camper was watching Ron hit his Ping driver over the 275 sign at the end of the driving range. The kid told Ron that the reason Ron could hit it so far was because he was using the Ping driver. The kid dared Ron to hit the ball as far with the kid's 5 yr. old Taylor Made. Ron took the kid's driver, teed up a ball, got down on his knees, and hit the ball over the 275 yd sign. He handed the club back to the kid and said, "It's not the driver, it's the person that is swinging it." Or as the motto goes, "It's not the meat, it's the motion."

I learned my lesson. Now I am considering becoming one of them. A lot cheaper than investing in every new club that hits the market.