Fisherdude

Couldn't have said it better.

OK, back to Tiger. Directly connecting Tiger to your comments about Phil, i.e. that a player can't "lose" a tournament early in the tournament by dropping strokes, that Phil lost the tournament on 18 because that's when he had the lead, then you must understand Tiger's play at the Masters better than Tiger does, because he said he lost the tournament on Thursday and Friday, when he lost four strokes on 17 and 18 while he did NOT have the lead. If a player goes quad-quad in the first two holes of a 72 hole tournament, ends up tied for the lead on the 72nd tee, makes a tap in par, and his opponent makes a birdie, do you honestly think the player will feel like he "lost" the tournament on the 72nd hole??? If you ask the player: "When do you feel like you lost the tournament?", what do you think he would say? Come on! Tiger had a few too many bad holes, primarily early in the tournament, and that's when he says he lost it. I'm going out on a limb here, and I'm going to agree with Tiger. He didn't choke, he just didn't play his best, and someone else did play their best.

I'm continually amazed that nobody in the world ever talks about where Phil really lost the Open. And, no, it wasn't on the 18th when he sliced his drive onto the hospitality tent. And it wasn't the next shot where he tried to get around the tree. It was a hole or two prior (I can't remember which one) where he tried to hit fairway wood out of 8" US Open rough, and advanced it precisely one yard. And then, in a coma, asks Bones: "What's the yardage?". Well, it's one yard less than it was 10 seconds ago, you idiot. If he doesn't try fairway wood out of 8" rough, which is a completely brain-dead attempt that even Tiger wouldn't try, then he's got another shot cushion on 18, and even if he had sliced his tee shot onto the tent, he wouldn't have felt the pressure to try to go for the green on his approach. The fairway wood was stupid, and then he choked. Tiger didn't choke on Sunday, he simply didn't play as well as he's capable of playing, which happens to everybody. Some of us, more frequently than others! He was right about losing the tournament on Thursday and Friday with two bogey-bogey finishes. Four shots is a big nut in a major. And, he's still only human. I'm totally impressed with how Zach played. He was rock solid. And, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say I don't think he's a one shot wonder. I think he'll be around for a while. He's a stick.

While I've always liked Scott Verplank, at 43 and after 21 years as a pro, I don't think we'll be seeing anything new from him. In ten years he will have been on the Champions Tour for 3 years.

I agree that he really deserved it. From what I know of his background, he will really appreciate it as well. And, he simply played the best over the last four days. Congrats, Zach!

Everybody develops at their own pace. Oh, wait. Sorry! Here's the hard part...I play with a guy who's played his entire adult life, he's now in his late 40's, and he's a 19. He's always going to be a 19, and it's never going to change. I've also played with players who went from beginners to 5's in just a few years. Or, even worse, like chingali going to scratch in four years! It depends on your native ability as an athlete. Even if my dad had given me a club at age 3, I'm never going to be a Tiger. I just ain't got it, never had it, never will, and as Clint Eastwood said: "A man's gotta know his limitations.". It depends on the skill level of your qualified PGA Professional. Believe me, I consider myself sort of a "professional student", and I've taken lessons from scratch players who didn't have a clue what they were doing with a student on the practice tee. A qualified teacher will work with you to determine what kind of a "learner" you are...do you want him to explain how it works, or do you want him to show/demonstrate how it works, or do you want him to move your body into the correct position so you can feel how it works, or some combination of all of the above. Everybody is "right brain" or "left brain" to some degree, and it affects how you process things while you learn. You and your teacher need to talk about your goals, and about what you want to do with each lesson. I depends on the quality of your practice. I'm sure you're heard the phrase "beating balls" on the range. Mindlessly scraping one more out of the pile and making exactly the same swing you made on the previous 49 swings will accomplish nothing. You've got to think about what you're there to practice today, think about the last swing, think about the next swing, and make the next swing with that in mind. It depends on how often you practice, and on how often you play. Playing once each weekend with your buds and practicing once during the week will certainly help you progress, but not as steadily as if you played once more during the week, even just 9 after work one evening, and practiced more than once. It depends on whether or not you understand the incredible importance of the short game, and the critical need to practice the short game. Believe it and you'll be a single digit. Don't believe it and you'll be pissed off after every round. "Nuff said. Finally, it depends on what's in your head as you begin each swing. The "game" of golf really only lasts a few minutes. It starts when you put the club back in the bag after the shot you just made, it continues while thoughts go through your head while you go to your ball, and it ends when you start your next takeaway. If you control your thoughts, you'll play very well. If you hit a 6-iron 175, and you were shooting occasional upper '80's in your second year, with an 85 in there, dude, you've got potential. Seriously. There's tons of the Bob Rotella "Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect" type of books out there, but one that I just read is really, really different, and I highly recommend it: "Every Shot Must Have A Purpose", by Pia Nillson and Lynn Marriott. Pia is Annika's former coach. The book isn't just about the mental side, it gets into how to practice as well. It's a great read, and I thought it has much more practical application then most other "head" books I've read. Remember, it's all about the journey! Clay

This may not be exactly the answer you're looking for... An acquaintance of mine, who along with you and I owns cars in this price range, said: "I'll never buy another brand new car.". I agree. Buying a 1-3 year old car gives you the best of both worlds, it's barely broken in, since it's a nice car it's probably been well taken care of, and the previous owner took that horrible first two year depreciation in the shorts, not you. I agreed. When I get the itch for something new, I'm going to be looking at cars from 1-3 years old. As far as your original question, while you do get (usually) a better deal when the new models come out because they want to move last year's inventory, there's a hidden cost. The instant after you sign the purchase contract, you now own a one year old used car, and the value of your car just dropped $8 grand before you drove it off the lot. Might as well get the 2008. It'll still be used after you start the engine, but at least it's this year's model. Best time of the month is last few days because the sales reps will be trying to make their quota for the month, and if they're behind, they might be a little more aggressive in pricing. Best advice, really, is to buy the car you (or your wife) likes the best, make the best deal you can, and don't let second-guessing or other symptoms of buyer's remorse take any fun out of it. New cars are always a blast! Edit: Just as a thought, the last car I bought was at my local CarMax, and it changed my view of used car buying forever. The whole process was smooth, easy, zero pressure, and the only way I'll ever buy again. I don't know where you live in Florida, but here's an example: http://carmax.com/dyn/factsheet/fact...spx?id=4056482

It's not a simple answer, so using the tee where you enjoy yourself the most is probably as good as any. Choosing the one where you're close to your handicap isn't the best answer, since, statistically, everyone only shoots their handicap approximately 30% of the time. Besides, your handicap is established based on the tees you used when you shot each posted score. Probably the best answer, although it's based mostly on your skill with the driver as much as anything else, is to take a look at what you're using for second shots on par fours as Flap mentioned. If you can't hit any of the shorter par 4's using an iron, you're probably making things more difficult on yourself than you need to. For example, on a 375 yard hole, if you normally hit driver 200-210, which is common for most average players, then you might hit 4 or 5 iron in. If you usually have to hit a fairway wood or hybrid from 175, you'd probably have more fun moving up one tee.

I think it's a terrific idea, although I think 4 1/2 hour rounds are less of a problem than the 5 1/2 hour rounds. My local course shoots for 2:09 at the turn, and they usually beat it, even on weekend mornings. Of course, as the head pro told me: "If you want to play early on weekends, be under 2:00 or we'll shoot you."

Thanks for the input! While I haven't heard it explained that way before, it definitely makes perfect sense. I have often demonstrated the issue by having a player sole an iron on a hard floor, and then make certain that the center of the sole is in contact with the floor. Improper lie angles become instantly apparent, as you've pointed out, because it's necessary to either open or close the face in order to get the center of the sole to touch the floor. I've just always said: "See, that's what happens at impact!". While that demonstration can be an eye-opener, you're also dead right about only using a lie board to finally determine if a lie angle is actually correct for that player. Static positions are very misleading.

We used to use a phrase at work when we were sharing collective experience and opinions that describes this pretty well: We're "violently agreeing"! Although I try not to do it, it's very easy for me to come across as a bit more aggressive than I intended when writing an email or online post for others to read. I appreciate your reply. I'm fairly certain that all three of us agree on the best possible solution to this issue...use the proper shaft. It will solve all the problems! Clay

That's incredible! Customer service is not dead!

I do re-read my posts before hitting "submit", both for content, spelling and grammatical errors, and to make sure that I haven't inadvertently come across with the wrong tone. These are matters of opinion. I've been building clubs for 25 years. I'm very well aware of shaft manufacturers' recommendations for prepping tips for insertion into clubheads. I'm also very well aware of guidelines for drilling out hosels. Three comments: 1. We essentially agree on not sanding down shaft tips. I simply said not to do it. You said you don't recommend it. 2. We do not agree on drilling out hosels. Let me ask you a question: How many times have you seen shafts snap off at the top of the hosel? How many times have you seen a hosel fail or fracture in any way? My answers would be: Many times, and zero. 3. I intended my post to be helpful. I think it was helpful. I stand by my comments and suggestions. I'm sorry I haven't been a member as long as you have. I don't think it's relevant.

I continue to be surprised how the networks can pretend to be surprised when they stick a long-range microphone in a player's face after a shot goes bad. What to they expect to hear, exactly? Golly gee whiz?

How does it work? I know what the concept is, I just don't see how this tool works.