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Ok, played a round today. Absolutely on fire... I would honestly say that 50% of my full swing shots today were pure. I also continued my streak of making putts. I ended with 7 birdies, 1 eagle and 1 bogey to tie my all time low round of 64. Although this one really felt like my best round ever. My bogey was from a slip, got careless for a minute and lost a ball into a penalty area. Approach shots were definitely the highlight, leaving shorter putts for birdies. Such a fun day. I need to do this in a tournament round though, to really make it mean something more.

Had a nice time today golfing with my Granddaughter. We played 9 holes on "her home course" . She was a bit down in the dumps because she didn't qualify for Monday's varsity tournament. We talked about her best golf days were still a head of her. Freshman envy I guess. On the first tee she asked "so what are we playing for?" I told her a pitcher of beer, figuring I would destroy her mental prowess right off the bat. "You're on" was her reply. Now my mental game was taking a double take. I've been out of highschool for quite a while, but I'm pretty sure 13 year old, highschool fresh are not into beer yet. She told me she needed a stroke a hole, and that she would be playing from the women's tee, and that I would be playing from the tips. Now I am really thinking. This time last month this young lady didn't know very much about golf. Yeah, a few long swing lessons with the course pro, and some short game stuff from me, some months ago. Trying to keep my competitive face on, I was. Oh yeah, that she would be driving the cart......huh? Long story short she netted a 44, while grossing a 53. I think I was conned out of my own hdcp, but still won with a 41. I was pleasently surprised at her game. I don't what youngsters her age shoot for good scores. I thought something in the 60s would have been decent. I asked her how she missed qualifying for Monday's tournament? She said she scored 51, and needed a 48. As we were heading off the course, she told me I was going to have to wait on that pitcher of beer. For about 7.5 years. A little personal relief on my part. However, she was up for an ice cream, and soda. My treat. What can I say. She now owns me.

I shot an 89 the other day and feel like it was 7-9. I'm feeling optimistic. 😉

There's a ton of good advice on this site. Iacas is a top 100 US teaching pro and his book, LSW has great advice. And many of the folks here are + HCP players. I've taken heed and moved from a 24 to a 19 this year. Things I've learned: -Full swing distance is very important. It's more difficult for me to increase distance than improve my short game so I spend more time on full swing. -Due to age I have to stay flexible and maintain core strength so exercise every day I do not golf. -Flag hunting kills me. I aim for the largest part of the green I can see. I can two putt 9 out of 10 times. I can successfully flag hunt 1 of 10 -I have finally learned to not follow a bad shot with a stupid shot.

Swing hard in case you hit the ball, right?

This is a pretty common thing, our definitions of "pure" are different, largely dependent on our level of play. I'm likely to be very happy with a quality of contact that would leave a better player like @phillyk or @iacas just a little disappointed.

Doesn't sound like it. Best, -Marv

I have the Callaway Diablo in the 3H-4H-5H. I bought them new at Dick’s about 10 years ago. They have the A flex shaft that I had shortened by 1”. I will keep them until they are totally destroyed. They have helped my game more than any club in the bag. I actually think I could play a complete round with these three clubs and a putter.

Getting the best sand wedge for you involves more than just hunting for some all-occasions Magic Club. To be a decent bunker player, you need a SW with a head and grind which matches your normal turf conditions, and proper technique. Traditional wisdom (above) says that if you play out of very firm sand, you want a SW with lower bounce. This means the clubhead will cut through the sand and not get hung up in it. If you play in fluffy or powdery sand, you want a high bounce wedge that will glide through the powder without digging in too much. @iacas explains additional aspects of bounce in his forum Edel Wedges (or "Super Bounce") Then there is technique. For starters, access @mvmac's forum on How to Hit Sand/Bunker Shots. An excellent video begins the thread. If you have a history of bad experiences in the sand, you take a bunker lesson. A good instructor could help you incorporate the basics into your swing.

This is not about my golf game, but something I saw that added a new prospective to the game of golf itself for me personally.. I was on a practice (chipping) green with another guy I was going to golf with. Also, on the green was a youngster, maybe 8-9 years old. Sitting off to the side was a lady in a chair, reading a book. We assumed she was the youngster's mother. As we were chipping, we noticed the youngster having a great fun time chipping balls to a towel on the ground. We also noticed he was using a club that had seen it's best days back in the 1960s. The rest of his bag showed the same age clubs as well.. The guy I was going to golf with, struck up a conversation with the boy's mother. She told him the clubs came from a thrift store, that she purchased at her son's insistence. That if he stuck with the game, she would see about getting him an updated set. I talked with the youngster about his chipping, which was pretty decent. His goal was to stop the ball on the towel. I asked him where he learned to chip, and "You Tube" was his answer. I told him to keep up the good work. Longer story short, the guy I was going to share a cart with asked the youngster if he would agree to swap his irons for his Cobra single length irons? That he preferred the older clubs. Man, that kid's eyes lit up, and smile as big as possible showed up on the youngster. However, before he could agree to the swap, he had to ask his mom. Of course she said yes, since she already knew about the swap. As it turned out, except for their putters, and some other personal items, they swapped their entire bags. This, I thought was one of those times when golf really is the best game in the world. Atleast in the amature ranks. I asked my golf partner what his plans were for his new bag of old clubs? He told me the first chance he got, they were going to be replaced with another new set Cobras. I also asked him why he chose to use single length irons? He told me that he found out Bobby Jones won his grand slam using single length irons. He figured the concept was a visble one, so he tried them out, and liked them. As our round progressed, the old clubs took their toll on his game. Of course it didn't matter. He had done a good thing. That, and I was proud to share a round of golf with such a fine individual.