596

I just purchased a Guerin Rife and here's the reason over my other putter: 1. The Guerin Rife is a center shafted model. My old putter was a heel shafted putter. The center shaft is easier for me to align and strike with consistency. 2. The Guerin Rife has a number of alignment aids. There is a horizonal white line on the top of the heel section running back from the head to the heel, there is also a vertical white slot on the back of the head. You align the vertical slot with the horizonal line and you are good to go. Its a beautiful thing!! 3. The Guerin Rife does not have an insert in the face. It makes a beautiful feel and sound when you strike it well. 4. The Guerin Rife has adjustable weights in the rear of the head. 2 weights of 3 different sizes. I love the heaviest weights, which seem to reduce the amount of force needed for distance. 5. The Guerin Rife has a lie adjustable shaft. Comes with a simple device that allows you to change the lie to fit YOU!! I've adjusted the lie a few times to fit my setup. It works wonders when the head of the putter is flat on the ground every single time and the alignment line and slot are easy to align. 6. The Guerin Rife appears to have more loft then my old putter. Makes a nice swing arc that puts topspin on the ball and seems to roll the ball more consistantly.

65 degrees and mostly sunny. Shot a 75, 4 over. Birdies on 5 and 6. 15 ft putt on 5 and a 20 yard pitch in on 6. Missed at least 4 putts of less then 5 ft, as I've changed my putting stroke and putter. As i work on the putting my scores should drop a bit. I'm playing currently to an 8 hdcp, so the 4 over is good at this point. I hit the ball very well, chipped very well and putting saw signs of change. I'm working on lagging as I've been hitting the ball really high, but short. Seemed to work well today, lower and longer ball flight, but I did pull a few approaches to the left.

I think we have the same problem. I can hit a straight ball or a fade all day with the driver. When I try and hit a slight draw.....its a no go. I can't do it. I have 3 drivers, 9.5*, 10* and a 12*. All are the same result, no draw. When I try to draw the ball I get a low pull, duck hook, straight ball, etc, etc. So resently I started to setup with a slightly open club face in an attempt to come inside/out trying to hit a push/draw. The straight draw don't work for me : ) The open face push/draw seems to be working but I still have lots of practice to make it consistant.

30's, 20's, sleet....what are you people......nuts? I love golf as much as anyone but that is just crazy to me. You guys need to move south!! I NEVER play or go to the range when temps are less then 55. Never in the rain either. I'll wait til tomorrow and have gorgeous weather to play. btw - yes....you see a drop in distance when weather is cold, clubs are cold or ball is cold. Even at 55 degrees I see a lose in distance from when I play in 90 degrees. I also see a big distance loss when I play at lower altitudes. 1 extra club can be the norm when I play at lower elevations, then again if I go up to Flagstaff, only in the summer, I can use 1 less club since the air is really thin up there.

I voted "other" on how I clean my club. I use a position on the range as near to the supplied water bucket and brush that I can. Take a few divots and then walk over and use the bucket. I have a towel on my bag and dry the club as I return to the range position. This also allows me time to think and slow down on the range. I see lots of people just firing ball after ball and really not thinking about what they are doing. This allows me the chance to think about it!!

I'm stabbing at that your friend was indeed correct. You do get relief as your stance was on a cart path. However, your relief is on the same side of the cart path as the ball lies, so you could have 1 club length from the point of the edge of the cart path not closer to the hole. The 1 club length might have you hitting from the other side of the tree,depends on the size of the tree. In this case your stance is no longer on the cart path, but the tree might be in your follow thru. Your choice : 1- stand on cart path or 2- take free drop but tree maybe in the follow through. I;m guessing that IF you are still standing on the cart path after you drop, you can get further relief. So maybe....the tree becomes a non-factor? dropped ball o iiiiiiiiiii tree iiiiiiiiiii original lie o cart path -----------------------------

The basic answer is no. I play my irons +1" and 4 1/2* upright. The woods +1" and driver 47.25" are all regular lie. Most of these clubs, woods and drivers, cannot be lie adjusted. I'd look into adjusting your wedges. I have 4.5* upright on all my irons including 4-pw,uw,sw,lw. I discussed this alot with a club maker before I had him custom make a 3,5 and 7 wood. The only thing we ended up doing was adding an inch to the length of them, but this was not neccessarily for the lie angle, I'm tall.

I envy you guys who always hit balls before you tee it up. My wife knows it'll be 6 hours after I leave the house before I'll get back home. I get to the course an hour before my tee time. The courses are about 20 minutes from our house. She has zero problems with this. She always tells me to have fun as I'm walking out the door. Even on days I don't play golf I'm cycling/running for up to 2-3 hours. We have lots of time. As for the $$, when you pay $40-$60 per round, 6 bucks more is nothing to be able to practice and play well : )

If I'm not playing: 5-10 half wedges. A different wedge each day. Just to loosen up. 5-10 easy full wedges with same wedge 5-10 mid irons. A different mid iron each day. 10-15 or so fairway woods. Either a 3,5,or 7 wood 10-15 drivers. I then hit ALOT of balls with 1 club that I am working on that day. I hit cuts, draws, high, low etc Then I head back down with a mid iron, then a few more wedges, a few drivers, then back to the club I'm working on for the last 10 shots. This takes about an hour about 150 balls. I then chip and putt for 30 minutes or so. If I'm playing: I hit about 60-80 balls using the same as above but less balls with each set. My last 5 balls are hit with whatever I'm going to use on the first tee.

I play with guys that don't necessarily play real well and added pressure of bets and competition doesn't make it any more fun for them. So we play side bets only on par3's with carryovers. We play totally for fun. We knock each others balls off the tees, run them over with a cart, plug them when ever we get a chance.....its 4 hours of laughing and enjoying each others company and pranks. We also give each other a rash of sh*t all the time. I play 1-2 times each week, besides the day above, when I'm playing either alone or with one other guy and thats when I play for a score.

55 years old and started playing at age 52.

Kinda starnge ha? The term "hitting down on the ball", I believe, is all relative. You really can't tell someone to hit down more to get the ball to go higher unless you see their swing and setup and know that they aren't hitting down already and there is something else wrong. Just telling someone to hit down more to get the ball to go up is misleading. For example: If you move the ball back off your right toe, with an 8 iron, you are forced to hit down on the ball and trust me....it ain't going up, its coming out low and long, just like I planned it. So if someone tells me from this position to get the ball to go higher I have to hit more down.....ouch....this is gonna be bad and ugly. For some people, with their swing and the club they are using, say a 5 iron, they can take the advice of hitting down more and the ball can go up. Most people that can't hit a 5 iron because they aren't "pinching" the ball and taking a divot with the 5 and they are trying to actually hit up on it, which we all know does not work. So in this case, the advice of hitting down may be appropriate. If you, like me, hit hands in front with a W the ball stays normal launch. If I sweep that ball, its gonna spin, go high, and short. but this also depends on my body position at impact, thus making the ball go longer then normal : ( So.....what I'm getting at is what I said earlier.....its all relative and it all depends!!

I have to agree with loft being #1. The specific brand head doesn't really matter that much, its the loft that counts. Then the shaft type, not brand, but atttributes. Also.....when you get a fitting, the fit clubs should not really be based on one days swinging. Your swing changes from day to day, I know mine does!! Using one days statistics is not a good idea. When I was recently fitted with a driver I asked a forum member a few questions about what a particular head, loft, shaft attributes, shaft length, shot pattern, swing type, body build would do to my launch angle and distance. Well with the specific info I gave him, his recommendation spot on. The new driver does exactly what he said it would do. I spent 2 weeks going back and forth with a fitter in CA for a new 3 wood via emails and telephone calls. You have to be VERY honest about your regular shot pattern, distance, swing type, club build, body measurements, etc.....even if it hurts to say it!! Well, after all this.....he makes some recommendations....builds the club and holy cow Batman....this thing is awesome!! You can't base a fitting on one day in a hitting machine and the stats it spits out.

OK, OK................ Its been stated on tests with a machine, that unless you have a swing speed of near 120 or so the COR of a driver does not increase your distance. The average player does not swing fast enough with a driver with a cor of 90 to compress the face enough to get any added distance. Yes, I will occassionally play a non-conforming driver when I'm out for fun. All my playing buddies love it as they out drive me! Actually I have 2 of them. One has a cor of 86 and the other is a cor of 90-92. NO - I did not gain any distance at all. Though the Integra 175 only weighs in at 240 grams. And no - I gain no more distance over my Callaway Edge. Its just a fun club to swing! The Integra 175 is made as a 90-92 cor with a special heat treated titanium face and will not dent. It is NOT a shaved driver. The shaved drivers can dent if you have a swing speed of greater then 100 and have a driver shaved to 90 cor. So, get over it.....I'll never play with you guys anyway : ) I'm out there for pure fun, I don't care what the USGA says about cor, any more then what I care about the UCI says about seat setback on a TT bike. When I played in 1 tournament, the only one I ever entered, I used a Callaway Edge : )

The OP queston is sort of a loaded question. Which is easier to hit depends on 2 things, #1 - You #2 - Is the club "right" for You. If club and shaft matches you and your swing, they will both be "easier" to hit. If club and shaft is wrong....they are harder to hit. Give me a club that is not fitted to me and my handicap could jump 10 strokes without a doubt, since the "clubs" are not easy to hit. I'm a firm believer that clubs/shafts must be fitted thus making all your clubs "easy" to hit.

Nope : ) I don't follow all this S&T; stuff, hips turns, rotate here and there, hands there and here, but not high and use this swing plane not this one, only one plane, no 2, loop here and this way....spine tilt at this angle, one shoulder higher then the other, but not there!! OH, and don't forget the weight shift at this precise moment, but which way? Wow....way too much sh*t to think about and analyze. I swing simple and be done with it AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THAT IS IF YOU ASK : ) I've never used much advice as far as how to swing other then a very general, this is the basics, done. I've only ever read one article, post, on the S&T; and got a tad confused, tried it for about one week.....and went back to "my" swing. So, no....I didn't get it : )

I'm not saying you are right or wrong and that not using ST didn't have the reported impact on his ranking. But the guy is a pro.....sees the same statistics in ref. to ranking that we see as well as a drop in $$ earnings and can't seem to bring himself to see his drop and when it all went bad? I'm betting he knows something we don't about his slide down the chart. If the slide was that easy to identify, not using those S&T; instructors, then I'm betting he'd be back with it right away. Something else is going on and we'll never know. These guys are not as dumb as it appears on paper : )

I can appreciate all the comments above about ball position, swing technique, divots, etc, but I had the same problem, I couldn't get a 3 wood in the air consistantly. I consider myself a decent golfer, but I hated this club. I'd hit maybe 20% the way I wanted to. So, I practiced and practiced and hit 100's and 100's of balls at the range......I still hated that d*mn club. So I called a professional club fitter. After a week or 2 of going back and forth, by email and telephone calls I had him make a 3 wood for me. After about 10 minutes on the range I was laughing at the distance and how easy this thing was to hit. I can hit it high, low, left, right, wow.....its totally funny as h*ll. I've gotten to the point that I can hit the 3 wood 260 yards off the turf. My regular distance when I started with this club was about 230-235. I've never owned a club this easy to hit. Its such a great club that I'm expecting my 5 wood and 7 wood from him today!! He made this club, as well as my 5 and 7 woods, +1", Grafalloy ProLite Fairway stiff shaft (low kick), over size grip. All my irons are +1" but are regular flex. My drivers and woods are all +1" stiff flex. Try a different shaft, not neccessarily a new head ( though I did change club heads too), but the shaft may be all wrong for your swing.....mine was...but it ain't no more....I love it!

I will either ride, walk carrying or walk with a pull cart when I play. I do one of the three on any given day depending on time and playing partners. I use walking a round of golf as my rest day from working out, I'm a triahtlete and this allows me to stay active on the rest day without beating myself up again : ) I find the pullcart is worst then carrying, it hurts my back. I'd much rather walk carrying then ride. I play much better as I concentrate and think about the shot as I walk to the ball. I nearly always take ibuprophine before I play, even when I ride. I have bad hips and it helps me get through 18 holes without locking up at about hole 15. I'd suggest, since you have not walked in awhile, taking Aleve, or ibuprophine before you go, it'll help in the later parts of the round and you won't even notice it.

I orderd mine on January 25th. Immediately got an email saying my card was charged and listing the order information. I've not heard a word since, nor have I received my order. I figure my few bucks are history : (

Tomorrow........... Clear, gorgeous weather and mid 70's!! Headed to the course at 9am to play.......well maybe 36?

I'm on the range at least 3 times each week. Now I have to count the times I'm on the range before I play 18 holes. Its not just warm up, its learning and practice. If I'm going to play a round of golf, I've been on the range at least an hour before hand and hit about 100 balls and practiced putting and chipping. If I'm not playing a round, I'm on the range and practice green for about 2 hours and have hit nearly 200 balls and I may or may not putt or chip, depending on time. I run my own business so I may need to get back home. The range is where you learn how it hit a ball. The course is where you "play" and also learn course management.

Just be sure the club shaft fits your swing, that is the most important. A low kick point will allow you to get the ball in the air easier. The shafts I have on my custom woods are actually made for fairway woods hitting off the ground. It makes a difference. You are much taller then me and I use a +1" and 4.5* upright lie. Though of course my woods and driver are standard lies. The thing s that helped me the most were, custom shafts and as a result of that, making the shaft do the work. No thought into the swing other then swinging easy and normal, doing nothing extra to get the ball in the air or distance. The thing I can't stress enough is actually seeing a spot on the ball ALL the way through contact. I need to maintain eye contact on the choosen spot the entire time.....works really well as it prevents me from over swinging which would cause me to loose eye contact.

Here's the flight setup: Championship 0-3.9 Palmer 4.0-7.9 Hogan 8.0-11.9 Sarazen 12.0-15.9 Jones 16.0-19.9 Snead 20.0 - (+) Tourney's are either 18 or 36 holes.