Leek

Demo everything you can. If you want some player's cavities, I'd try the new Titleists AP models, the Srixon i-701, and Mizuno MP 57.

At your clubhead speed and carry distance, I would strongly consider Nippon 850 or 950 shafts. They are lighter, feel great, and will increase both your clubhead speed and probably your trajectory if properly fit.

I wanted to get my clubhead speed up, so I also researched this. I found some posts on another site where people were claiming some pretty incredible clubhead speed increases with some heavy devices. One guy claimed he gained something like 30 mph (which I honestly doubt). I found a guy who is a long drive competitior who was working on a number of swing fixes and speed increases. He actually did increase from about 125 mph to I think the 140 mph range. I could actually see proof in his results. I asked him a number of questions, and he recommended a program using a device called Swingspeed. I asked him and the manufacturer a lot of questions over a couple of months then in January I bought their LD model. It's a sort of a shortish club like device with removable weights that allow you to put anywhere from 2 to 6 lbs on it. Anyway, it came with a DVD that had a number of drills on it to increase flexibility, strength and fast twitch muscles. When I first got it, I noticed a couple things: 1. The left arm only swings are better ingraining the feel of the left arm pinned to the chest until release. This is a major power accumulator. 2. My hips twist (always have pretty much), not slide. What I first was just a sort of explosion. It sequences like this, slightly before reaching the top, weight shifts left, axis tilt increases, wrist angles (and lag increases), then the hips fire- must faster (it feels like explode) left. I also practice several sets with a gripped 57 gram shaft only, then several sets with a real driver. The woosh sound is much later and much much louder. Then I bought a Swing Speed Radar + Tempo Timer on the advice of a reknowned clubfitter named Frank Viola to measure my progress. Frank told me the SSR is very accurate. What's the point of all the effort if I couldn't monitor any progress? After 3 weeks of doing the drills on the DVD that came with the SwingSpeed, I went to the range to monitor my results. I knew something was up when I was seeing mid-90s with my 6 iron during warmup. I don't what my 6 iron speed was before, but my driver was mid-90s (sometimes low 90s) three weeks earlier. Then the driver- first swing- good contact 104! I then made a few swings that were NOT pretty- 98 and 100. Now, I'm pretty enthused- what happens if I swing OUT OF MY SHOES??? Take a couple big cuts- 104-107, but bad contact. Excitement is over, just normal swings. They stay from 101-105. Average was about 103 over 25-30 swings. That was about 8-9 mph in 3 weeks. Two more weeks later, I went to the range with my Swing Speed Radar + Tempo Timer. First driver swing, pretty smooth 106! I hit about 10 balls trying to take it pretty easy, all were between 104-107! I tried some harder swings, then full out. I could get to 112 for a few swings, but had no control over the ball. Hit the rest at a comfortable 80%ish power level, very straight and consistently 105-107 swing after swing. Interestingly, I also checked tempo, and my typical tempo before starting this regimen was 1.01 seconds from takeaway to impact. Today it was .87-.92. I did not feel quick, in fact rather lazy. This tempo does seem too fast though, based on what I've read. I was really jazzed about this. Increasing from low to mid 90s, to a comfortable 106-107 is about a 20-30 yard increase! I've continued to work with this device and added some additional things for speed work, something called an overspeed device- essentially a graphite drive shaft with surgical tubing on the end. I haven't continued to increase my speed as quickly, I'm now averaging 107-109 on comfortable (about 80-85%) swings and can reach over 115-118 if I swing all out. The best thing about this is Mike, the LDA competitor got me a big discount on the device (the manufacturer is a buddy of his I think) and told me if I know anyone who wants one, he thinks he can get them the same deal. Then on the Swing Speed Radar + Tempo Timer, Frank directed me to a guy who got me a good deal on that too! These boards can be a great place to get really good deals, and trade information with people Mike. Frank is a guy who can get clubs that are hard to get, but pretty expensive :(. If you want information on the drills I'm doing, my workouts or anything like that, just ask. I'll be happy to share. My handicap index ranged from 4-6 last year with my lowish driver club head speed. If I can keep my short fame up, and maybe chop off about 1 putt per round, I'm thinking I can get to scratch or better. I'm really excited!

Try a Geek Dot com this! or a TourSwing Renegade. Both are very long and can be purchased with a great shaft for around $200.00

My guess would be re-gripping as well. Do you have a slicing fear? FWIW- My misses tend to be hooks, but they are what I'd call "leakage" hooks. I leakage hook is when I left the left wrist collapse a little. When I first started playing, I was a slicer. I still have that fear of slicing, yet it hasn't been my miss for many years.

Couple questions: Do you know if your left wrist (if you are a rightie) is staying flat through impact? Which way do your divots point?

Eric, I had always believed the ProV1 spun more too. I believe they used to spin more. Same with balls like the Srixon Z-URC as well. Apparently, in the last year or two, the manufacturers have done something that makes the core of this type of ball harder, but the cover softer. With this combination, when compressed they actually spin more. Like you, I didn't believe it at first! I've read this a number of times in the past year, and found that in fact they do seem to spin more, at least on full shots. It has changed my ball selection. When greens are hard and fast, I now play that type of ball. When they are pretty receptive, I find on full shots with my wedges, there is so much spin I can't control them. On the other hand, I also find with partial shots they seem to spin less, perhaps because the harder core makes them compress a little less. I'd be happy to find additional ball spin tests and posts links if you like.

Nope the ProV1x spins more than the ProV1. Tests have shown this over and over. http://www.golf.com/golf/equipment/a...5821-2,00.html

Do you really believe that? First of all, no Nicklaus, Palmer and Player didn't have launch monitors, they just went to the factory and tried hundreds of clubs until they found the exact ones they wanted. They didn't need launch monitors because they had an unlimited supply of test clubs at no cost to them, and enough help from experts and the experience to select the best fit for them. Recently they tested Bobby Jones hickory shafted irons and found all of them except his 8 iron were perfectly frequency matched. Jones also had that unlimited supply from manufacturers, even in the 20s. But today Tiger gets hand made irons built by Mr. Miura himself. We can all get them for $25,000 a set. Every tour pro gets not just launch monitor fittings but an unlimited supply of heads/shafts etc to dial in their exact specs. Will perfect fitting make your short game better? Maybe the right wedge grind for you will help, maybe not. Yet the guys who play for a living get this done. Heck my instructor goes to Carlsbad and has his clubs perfectly fit too. Perhaps they just don't know what they're doing.

Come on. These big box stores are a total sham all around. They have guys with no training doing "clubfitting". They push you at whatever clubs they are getting spiffed on, or whatever the chain wants to push. I saw a guy getting "fit" into a TM driver with an X TP Rombax shaft who couldn't carry a driver 200 yards. You need about 110 mph (or a 265 yard carry) to handle that shaft The whole deal is a giant con. Of course they scam you with their simulators. They try to make you believe there's magic in whatever new club you're trying. About the only thing I would buy at Golfsmith or Golf Galaxy is golf gloves or grips. I don't even do that anymore since I found out I can buy the same gloves for less at smaller shops. Grips I now order from a great small clubmaker supplier called myostrichgolf. They even give extra discounts to forum members.

Great high end clubs, bad management. Se la vie'

At one time I would have answered Ping, then Taylor Made, later I would have said Cleveland, somewhere in there I would have answered Titleist. Today I would answer Srixon. Tomorrow, who knows?

Do you have someplace you can go to demo drivers? The answer is it all depends on how your swing works. Certainly the Burner and the Cobra are pretty forgiving, but may or may not be the right club for you. Try whatever you can afford. Also, if there is a clubfitter nearby who sells quality component clubs like Wishon, KZG, Geek etc. they might help you find the perfect driver for you, often at a lower cost than the big OEM drivers.

Here's a quote from my instructor: "Do you slice? Most golfers do. Even some people who hit the ball right-to-left are just slicers with enough compensation to turn the ball the other way. Believe it or not, fixing a slice is usually pretty easy. Often, one can make a permanent improvement in the first lesson. It’s easy, because there is only one thing that must be done correctly to correct the problem. Most golfers have no idea what it is or how to do it. Why do you think you slice, because you come ‘over-the-top’? Reverse Pivot? Cut across the ball? ‘Hang back’ on your back foot, etc.? Nope. You may do one or all of the above, but these ‘flaws’ don’t cause the slice, you do them because you slice. You slice, because the clubface is too open. Period. Fix the clubface, and the slice goes bye-bye forever. The compensations will often also go away quickly when they are no longer needed. " If you want to know what to do about it, let me know and I'll email you a complete paper with drills, instruction etc. I would post it here, but the site doesn't allow very large attachments.

Nope. Just like the Prov1x spins more than the Prov1, the Z-URC spins more than the Z-URS. The problem for me with the Z-URC and the Prov1x is if the greens are receptive at all, I can spin them back off the green. When the greens are rock hard and you can't stop the ball, I use those.

I'm not sure you want your clubhead square the whole time, if you mean square to the target line. This may be just semantics. It must open on the backswing and close on the downswing. If you mean square to your swing plane, the easiest way is to do nothing with your hands except use them as clamps to hold the club. No twisting them on the backswing, no guiding, no turning or anything like that. Just let them go for the ride.

You need proper fitting. You didn't mention your launch angle or the loft of the drivers you demoed. There is a proper launch angle range and spin rate range for each player, depending on ball speed. Those are important things for proper fitting. One thing you can be certain of, higher loft = higher spin and higher launch angle. Most players with 85-90 mph swings would probably benefit from a driver with 12 or even 14 degrees of loft.

I'm shocked. Golf stores with simulators that exaggerate distances? What has the world come to?

What I tip depends on the caddy rate and the job they do. We have some great adult professional caddies and I tip them $50-60. We also have some high school freshmen and sophomores that are apprentice caddies and I usually give them a $20-30 tip.

I play Srixon Z-URS most of the time. In the dead of summer, when the greens get a little harder and faster, I play Z-URCs for the extra spin. I think both are 39.99/dozen.

Interestingly enough, Ben Hogan once said Mickey Wright had the best swing in all of golf, men or women.

I play better when I'm with a competitive group. Having something on the line helps me focus. When I'm alone, my focus wanders. I've started when I'm alone, I just practice, often I'll hit two shots, pick the worst, then play two from there. If the worst insn't bad enough, I'll move a ball into a worse spot. This really helps me know what to do when I'm in a competitive round. I've seen all of the terrible spots and learned what the best shots are from those spots.

I definitely don't consider Annika the best ever. She might be 3rd maybe 4th behind Kathy Whitworth (88 wins, 6 majors), Mickey Wright (82 wins, 12 majors retired at 34!), and Patty Berg (15 majors).

I'd go with Hogan, he faced tougher competition than Annika has faced. Annika is terrific. I think Hogan's accomplishment are just a little bit more impressive.

Tough one. I like Goosen, Tiger, Elkington and Toms. If I thought a little bit, I'd probably add a lot more.