Toad

Well its not the shanks...but... Yesterday...standing on 18...I am 4 over for the round...pretty damn good for me. 18 is a slight dog left 380yds with a creek along the left side. I hit my 4w off the tee...manage to pull it a wee bit and it rolls into the creek. Re-tee...hitting 3 snap hook into the creek. Re-tee hitting 5...a bigger hook over the creek OB. I want my mommy....

He is +17 - 87 today. I dont know what to say about that.

Interesting discussion thus far. I would like to add something...specificly about 'feel'. I currently play a set of Mizuno MP-60's. With these irons back to my first set of blades (MP-14's back when I could play)...I can honestly say the reason I gave up cast clubs is the feel at impact. Now I will readily admit...the last set of cast clubs I played were a set of copper Zing's...which I thought were the cats meow at the time. I understand alot probably has changed in cast vs. forged since those days. I also admit I dont have any experience with modern cast clubs. I am a Mizuno man and see no need to change at this point. Still though...with a forged iron...I can hit a shot and instantly KNOW what its going to do based on that feeling at impact. I honestly can tell you if I pulled off the fade or if I fanned it or hit it high or low etc JUST by the feel at impact and not looking at the shot at all. I believe this feedback has been VERY beneficial to my development as a player. I know very well where I am hitting the ball on the club face. I can feel without question when I am swinging well. The latest example of this was just the other day. I snuck out before work for a quick nine. I hit a few balls on the range at the club before getting out. A few wedges, a few 8 irons, a few 5 irons then I hit 3 3irons (number 1 is a 3 iron tee for me). That morning I hit everything pretty good. My wedges were good...the 8 and 5 were solid but a wee bit thin and low...the 3 irons...each one of them were absolutely nutted. All three were that gushy soft mushy explode off the face, cant even hear the ball impact sweetness that only seems to occur on forged clubs. I knew right there on the first 3 iron we were in the zone...the 2nd and third were just cause it felt good. My iron play all round was astoundingly good...and fortunately for me I made some putts. I shot a 32 that front nine. For a 7/8 handicap thats pretty damn good. Reading this you may think I am making a case for forged over cast. That is not my intention. I think GoFlyers nailed it when he said "I also KNOW that what is going on between a person ears is a thousand times more important then what is at the end of his shaft." Those 3 iron shots on the range set the tone for that round. I have spent ALOT of time blowing the rust off my game from a 4 year layoff. I spent quite a bit of money and time to get what is in my mind the ultimate set of irons for me (still working on the woods =)). It all came together...I felt that 'click' and in my mind I was unstoppable. In summation...play what you like. Play what gives you confidence. Play what gives you the results you are after. Golf IS a mental game...of course their are physical aspects to it...but the heart of this game is between your ears. The question I ALWAYS ask myself, in regards to equipment or most anything else is "How does it feel?". If it feels right...it gives me confidence. When I have confidence I feel that click...when I feel that click I am going to play VERY well.

I am currently re-assembling a set of clubs after just over 4 years of not playing. I started playing at 12 (36 now) and from19-21 I was a +1.3HCP...when I quit playing I was a 4...coming back I am still establishing my index...but it will prolley be around 6 or 7 from the looks of the scores I have been posting. Needless to say...club technology is light years from where it was. I have been fitted with a set of Mizuno MP-60's...(They are 2* flat, +3/4 Inch and oversized -1 wrap - grips - Project X Flighted 6.0). I am carrying 3-PW and yes I hit the 3 iron just fine. =) I was playing a couple Pelz wedges but after messing around I have a Titleist Vokey 56* and 60* Spin Milled Oil Can being fitted with spinner shafts on the way this week. This leaves woods. Now before I get too far off...I DO have a fitting scheduled for this Friday. I want to end up with a driver and likely a 3 and 5 wood. I am open to the possibility of hybrids...I have a couple CLK HiFli that I hit OK...but having trouble working the ball with them...see below. I am currently borrowing a Taylor Made 460 R7...and I hit it decent. I have a natural tendency to hit the ball right to left. If I set the R7 up neutral I am hitting draws to huge hooks. If I set it up to have a fade bias I hit the ball dead straight but cant seem to work the ball to the left to right unless I hit the fattest slice known to man. I thought for a long time that I was doing something gimpy with my swing and broke out several older clubs including an old Peerless Persimmon wood. These older clubs I could work either direction on command...its just the R7 thats givin me fits (thankfully I dont own it =)). Also...with my irons...I can make shots bend either way at will. Looking at it more closely...I realized the R7 is setup with a closed face...not having measured it I would guess its 4 to 5 degrees closed...no wonder! I have looked around in various places and seems that MOST of the drivers/woods/hybrids (I am seeing the same shot patterns issues with the CLK's as well) have a few degrees of closed face built into them. I know that the average golfer tends to hit slices and that must be WHY these clubs are setup this way...but for a guy who hits a natural draw and likes to work the ball...this closed face is not going to fly. I DO have a fitting on Friday...and my fitter is very good. He has a simulator and launch monitor and I have known him since I was 19 so I can bring stuff back to him if it doesnt work out. I am sure he can get me into something I like and that fits. Still though thought I would ask around and see if anyone can recommend any drivers/woods that have a neutral face setup? Also...with a 105mph avg club head speed (up to 115 if I am trying to mash one) - with a natural high ball trajectory - what shafts are you guys liking?

The answer for me is a very strong...I dont give a flip who plays what anymore. =) I chose my set based on what I like...whoever played my sticks on tour...at the club...etc had no bearing in my mind at all. Thats very interesting to me. When I was playing my best and most golf...in the mid to late 80's...Ping was the stuff man. I distinctly remember a buddy of mine getting a set of Eye2's and instantly thinking "damn! now hes going to be even tuffer to beat". I had always thought of Callaway as 'old men clubs'. In that same frame of time to me...the only folks I saw with Callaway were older folks...if memory serves the older Callaway clubs were some of the first widely available with graphite shafts which was real popular in my area with the older players. My days of Ping envy are long long gone as has my view of Callaway clubs changed drasticly...but its interesting to me how I percieved them and how that perception is so different to others I have spoken with. =)

Well I am generally a fan of Pelz. I generally agree with MOST of his thoughts and teachings. Just speaking in loose terms...my intrepretations and as such subject to me not fully understanding what I read...Pelz is a Square to Square guy. In just a few brief words...according to him...Sq. to Sq. leaves less room for error. If the putter face is square all the way...you cant hit a put offline. Pelz is a scientific minded person. His thoughts I think are sound, in that if you were to talk about the 'geometry of putting' sq. to sq. makes a hell of alot of sense. I personally see what he is saying...and if I were to build a machine to putt...it would maintain a square angle throughout the stroke. Thing is though...I am not a machine. Sq. to Sq. feels unnatural to me...and in that statement..."Feel" is the key. Putting is all about 'feel'. I have seen a few Sq. to Sq. guys...and hey...if you can putt like that...and it 'feels' right...then I am all for it. Its arguably a more sound scientific approach than I use in my arc.

I have played Cleveland and Vokey's for years. I recently got my hands on a Pelz sandwedge and just fell in love with it. Sadly, I had to give it back to the friend that owned it. I was so impressed with it I dropped $550 on Pelz's set of 4 that he sells on his website. They were a lil too upright for me...the years and extra pounds have me in 1.5degree flat irons...but that adjustment was easy and quick at the local club fitter. Having played these wedges for several months now...I dont have any interest in looking at other makes. Though I have kept my MP-60 PW in the bag over the Pelz PW. If you can get your hands on a Pelz wedge to try...certainly give it a whirl.

I am an arc guy...thats how I learned. Having read all the benefits of square through...it just feels wonkily (yes...that IS a scientific term) to me. =)

Man I have had alot of really cool moments in golf. In no particular order...and by no means all inclusive. =) 1) Playing St. Andrews in 92'. I carded an 81 in one of the better rounds of golf I have ever played considering the conditons etc. It was 25+mph wind all round with a light spitting rain and about 55degrees ambient...it felt like 20. And I never had more fun in such absolutely misaberable conditions. 2) Making a Double Eagle on the Par 5 5th at Southern Hills. I was playing with a member friend of my fathers and had been told at length that even though I was a long hitter...no one gets home on the 5th in two. 3) First time I broke 70 on my 17th birthday...I had skipped school to go play, (my dad let me out of school for the day cause it was my birthday). I still have that card...framed. 4) Just a month or so ago playing my first round with my 9yr old son. We have been taking him to lessons and playing the course as a par 3 alot (dropping 75-100 yards out in the fairway and playing in)...but this was his first 'round' where he played from the red tees. The lil guy shot 112 and I was ELATED. I wish I could putt like him...FEARLESS! =)

Performance. However, certain brands, I have found, tend to match what I have come to want/expect in golf equipment. I love Mizuno irons. Scotty tends to make putters that suit my eye and feel. Up until recently Taylor Made drivers/woods looked great at set up...etc. I guess I tend to stick within certain brands cause I am used to them and over the years they have proven consistantly good and suited to my application.

Thats a good clip...I had not seen it. I tend to agree with his analysis...especially his talking about Tiger over swinging or taking too aggressive a swipe at the ball. Like Gary said...swing within yourself...loose ten yards...and stay on the fairway. Scary thing is...Tiger starts doing that, staying in the fairway...his wins will increase. Isnt he already winning 1 of 3 he enters or something insane like that?

I played with Hogan Apex PC for years. Literally wore the grooves on the 7, 8, 9 and PW to the point where something had to be done. I moved over to Mizuno and havent really looked back since. I played a set of 14's for several years after the PCs. After coming back a few months ago from a 4 year layoff...the 14's were just a bit too much for an ungrooved swing. I think I hit everything there is looking for a replacement set...man alive alot has changed in a few years. Whats this Hybrid thing everyone is talking about? I ended up with a set of MP-60's 3-pw (yes...I can still hit a 3 iron! =)). Classic lines and look at address with a cut cavity that gives me a blade feel but doesnt make my teeth fall out when I hit one a lil thin. =) I have alot of respect for other equipment, makers etc. Callaway, Ping, Nike etc etc...there is such a plethora of good gear out there its just astounding. All the top makers are putting out some really exceptional quality gear. Still though...there is just something to me that is just special about the Mizuno irons...there were no irons that I could find that compared to the feel of a forged Mizuno iron being hit flush. It gives me the warm tinglies just thinking about it.