JeffG

Yeah I've been glued to the forecast for as long as they've been out. I think we'll be okay. Rain on Thursday is supposed to end in the morning and then we're fine after that. We don't tee off Southern Dunes until 1. Looking forward to it!

Interesting timing for this as I'm heading there Thursday for a mini-golf trip with a buddy. We're playing: Southern Dunes (about 45 min S of Orlando airport) OCN Panther Lake and Crooked Cat Then Saturday we're driving over to World Woods to play Pine Barrens Does time ever go by ANY slower than the 48 hrs before a golf trip?

We played the Capitol Hill and Grand National RTJ sites last October. If I were going back to Prattville and were only playing two courses, I would play The Judge and The Legislator. Here are my reasons: The Senator: Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. Impeccable shape, interesting holes, etc. However, I am generally not as big of a fan of links style courses, and this one was tough. If you hit it into "the junk", you might as well go ahead and take a one shot penalty. It might as well have been water hazards. The good news is, you usually found 2 balls to replace the one you lost! The Legislator: Just a fun course. Very beautiful with some memorable holes. About a 3-4 hole stretch on the back nine you are playing right up the side of a bluff. You can look up and see one fairway right above you, and then another fairway back and above that one. Very cool. The Judge: Well its probably one of the more famous courses on the entire trail. The first hole is obviously the most famous (hit an iron and just get it in the fairway!). Its incredibly difficult, but still fun. Hope that helps! By the way, we stayed in the Country Inn and Suites right at the main highway intersection. Cheap, clean, and breakfast included. Probably 4-5 minutes from the bag drop off area. You won't regret it, an absolute blast.

You already covered the stiff arm. I have a club glove bag, but I went the cheaper route and just put a broomstick with a tennis ball on the end in there. It will accomplish the same. But if you do have a soft case bag, the stick and/or stiff arm is a MUST. The very first time I flew, the broomstick (which was aluminum) had a kink in it. So that would've been my brand new 910 shaft had I not put in the broomstick. Besides putting your name and phone number on the bag somewhere, I think you've got it covered. I usually take some extra towels and wrap them around the clubs to keep the irons from banging on each other. Also, I wouldn't put a lock on the case. My case has only flown with me 4 times but its been checked by TSA twice. If there is a lock on there they will break it and not pay you for it. I just packed my clubs up last night to get ready for my Georgia golf and Masters trip!

I'm about a quarter of the way through a major swing overhaul, so I've practiced more in the last 4 months than probably the previous 4 years combined. I never was much of a practice-guy. I always thought, "Why go hit balls endlessly at a flag when I can go and actually play?". That was because when I did go to the range, I didn't have a plan or really much of anything to work on. I might want to straighten out my driver, but I would just hit balls endlessly. And I didn't enjoy it, at all, much less hitting into a net. I would've much rather mowed the lawn vs hitting balls off of a mat into a net. Now, I can't wait to put my daughter down to sleep so I can run into the garage and work on my swing. I am working on several different things, so in order to get that great feeling I have to look at my swing (via V1 app on cell phone) to see my progress. I still have bad sessions (last night..), but overall I am very surprised at myself for actually practicing. Anyway, to the point of the thread, since I am doing a major swing overhaul I must practice every rep with complete focus. Since I'm adding/changing things in my swing that are so foreign, if I don't focus completely, it is a wasted rep. I'm in the stage of trying to ingrain new swing patterns and "reprogram" my brain. The only time I'll hit balls in a somewhat uptempo succession, is when I have a "a ha! That was IT!" moment. I'll try to repeat that same swing in quick succession to help me ingrain that feeling. Otherwise, my reps are slower and I might take a slow practice swing to hit certain positions that I want to feel. Man this game is hard...

We did our first RTJ trail trip last October. I did the planning and here was our schedule: We played the Capitol Hill and Grand National Courses and made Capitol Hill our "headquarters". All got there on the first day late morning and played the Senator at 2PM. We stayed in a hotel just one mile away (Country Inn and Suites, HIGHLY recommended). The hotel came with a hot breakfast and it was $63 per night per room, so it worked out to just $35 per night per guy with breakfast. Nice clean and relatively new hotel. The next day we drove over to Grand National and played those two courses. The last day we played the remaining two courses at Capitol Hill (The Judge and then The Legislator). We really enjoyed the trip and the golf was incredible. We bought the 3-day unlimited package and it worked out to $233 per golfer (4 of us) for all green fees, cart fees, etc for 90 holes of golf. The weather in October was perfect . Got a little cold on the trip to Grand National in the mornings, but most of our trip was weather in the 60's and 70's. If I could change anything, I would try to tee off a little earlier as we were quite rushed the first day trying to finish our round before dark. This year we'll probably go ahead but might go to Birmingham and do the Oxmoor Valley and Ross Bridge sites, not sure yet. I highly recommend the RTJ!

Played all three courses at Prattville. I really enjoyed all three. In order I enjoyed the Judge, Legislator, and Senator. The Senator was fun, but not when you hit it off of the fairway. That high grass might as well have been water. We also drove over and played both courses at Grand National, Links and Lakes. Both were phenomenal. All in all it was a great trip. We are probably heading back again this year but might try a different site.

I just picked up a brand new Bushnell Medalist w/ pinseeker off Ebay for $200. Works like a charm.

Go check out www.woot.com Great website, and todays item is a new Taylormade Tourina stand bag for $59.99 plus $5 shipping. Colors are blue, red, and black. I don't do much walking so I don't need this bag, otherwise i'd get it. Just thought i'd give yall a heads up.

One stretch I learned at the Harvey Penick Academy was swinging the driver side to side like a baseball bat slowly and gradually taking it lower and lower to eventually a normal golf swing.

I looked through and haven't seen a thread on it for this season so far, if so..sorry. Anyway, when is your club championship? How'd you do last year, goals for this year? Mine is this weekend, and its been raining the past several days and I haven't been able to practice. Just a few more days, soaking and scrubbing the clubs the night before...you all know the drill. When: This weekend, Saturday and Sunday...16h & 17th Last year: Obviously, our club is very small..but I was proud of myself. I won the first flight, mainly because all the good golfers that shot bad enough to qualify for the first flight declared for the championship flight because of pride and that left me with not much competition. Shot 80, 78 = 158 This year: I hope to improve by about 4 strokes for a 154.

Another vote for the MP-57s. Great irons, excellent feel, and I was surprised at the forgiveness too.

17k-18k per year?? .........whoa....thats more than probably 20% of the people in my town make a year! $95 per month membership About $500 this year on equipment (new irons included) Probably about $20 or less on the course...mainly bring my own gatorade, don't eat on the course Probably $200-$400 per year on misc. (balls, gloves, tees, shoes, shirts, etc)

Here's my current setup: TM R7 460 9.5* TM R7 3 wood 15* TM Burner 3h 19* MP-57 4i 5i 6i 7i 8i 9i PW 47* Scratch TNC 53* Scratch TNC 58* Odyssey Black #2 I thought about adding a 2 hybrid, rescue dual..but thats 16* and only 1 degree dif from my 3 wood. I really like my 3 wedge setup, don't want another wedge (like a 60 or something)..so, I guess I should stick with what works? I guess I feel like i'm wasting something if I don't have a full 14 set. What do you think? Thanks!

Do yourself a favor and check out www.scratchgolf.com . I played the 58* TNC grind, they have a bunch of different grinds depending on what type of player, so its not just a bounce. You can get a wedge that fits you, whether you like to only play full shots, or if you like to get tricky and lay it open for a flop or full shots. They are pricey, but believe me...i'm never playing another wedge again (and no i'm not a paid advertiser...wish I was). If you want to spend BIG bucks, you can fully customize your wedge (logo color, placement, initials, color fill, ferrule color, degree placement, of course bounce, lie, shaft, grip, etc etc etc.) but you'll pay a good penny for that. Or you can just get the "standard" wedge in whatever specific grind your game needs. I know sandtrap had a review on them not long ago. Softest forging, feels like butter on full shots and amazing spin around the green. I never thought I had the right technique to hit those low bounce once and check shots, but now I can do it no problem. (by the way, if you want to have fun here is the custom studio link http://www.scratchgolf.com/studio.php )

By the way, I have two of these wedges and i'm totally in love with them. You can't go wrong w/ scratch.

Just got my MP-57's yesterday, and wow....definitely should give these a look. I played w/ the Cobra FP's, just too bulky and forgiving...the mp-57's are a perfect blend.

Yep, i'm an ebay victim. Bought 3 Titleist Vokey Wedges last year, didn't even know they were fake til I tried to sell them a month ago (always thought I just sucked with them...). I considered myself very ebay savvy, and still got scammed. Bought from a guy who was from and shipped from Texas, had 950 feedback with 99.7% positive, many other ebayers who bought the same wedges as I left positive feedback. I was very lucky, ran across a newspaper article that talked about my seller and another were busted for counterfeit clubs, and it was headed up by Acushnet (parent company of Titleist for those who don't know). They contacted the TX Rangers and Frisco police and busted these guys. Got in contact w/ the Acushnet lady who deals with this stuff and she recommended I contact the seller directly. Emailed the guy, told him he better give me my money back or i'm contacting the detective working the case to add my name to the list...just thought i'd try it. Crazy enough, got an email back and said ship the clubs to this address and i'll give you a full refund. Shipped the clubs back, couple days later got a money order in the mail for the full price including shipping. Be very careful out there, I was very very lucky.

I'm still all giddy about my Mizuno MP-57s (BTW, were SUPPOSED to be delivered today only to find out when checking UPS tracking every 10 minutes, "ADVERSE WEATHER DELAY"...WHAT?). I used the live.com 15% off (its still going by the way, 20% now off anything you buy on ebay with paypal if you use buy it now...), plus a $200 courtesy coupon I got from Ebay for a dispute that was closed a while back. So, I scored a 4-PW Mizuno MP-57 with only the 6-iron hit indoors with ghost tape, from an authorized Mizuno dealer, for a grand total of $295. Now I think thats a good deal!

+3 73 last year on a nearby course and a +3 75 a week or so ago on my home course. That was a very weird round, I hit 2/18 greens...yeah. But I got up and down 13 times, 1-putted 13 times! So I had 23 putts. Couldn't hit a green to save my life but my 58* Scratch was on FIRE.

I'm usually happy to repair a ballmark, that means I hit the green!

One of the weirdest rounds..that also ties my lowest round. 39-36 = 75 Check out these stats....think my 58* was working for me? FIR = 11/14 79% GIR = 2/18 11% Putts = 23 Yeah....couldn't hit a green to save my life. But got up and down on 13 holes. Ha...

Scratch wedges...scratchgolf.com Absolute butter wedges, forged from the softest steel on the market. Crazy spin, and a multitude of grinds to choose from that suit your game (if you hit down on the ball, if you sweep it...if you like to lay the face open and flop shots, etc). If you want to spend extra $$, they'll custom make one for you and you can use their customizer on their website. You can custom everything from the length, lie, bounce, camber, grip, shaft, ferrule color, stampings on the back, put your initials, etc. Anyway, i'll never play another wedge...

Currently have 52, 56, 60 Vokey Oil Can's...replacing both with Scratch JLM-TNC 52 and 58*. Less options is better for me, as I don't run into situations to use my 60* that much..so when there IS a situation to use it, I haven't practiced with it in a while and its kind of a hit or miss. I'd rather take my 58* and learn to hit all different kinds of shots. Full shots from 75 yards, to open the face for a flop shot behind the green. I think I do better with one club that I can hit several shots with, and it be my "go to" club...than having 3 wedges that I hit not as often. And i'm never playing with another wedge that isn't Scratch by the way...wow, these things are the smoothest wedges and just as much spin as spin milled.

Heres a list of what i've bought off of ebay... Both TM R7 drivers, TM 3 wood, TM 3hybrid, Cobra FP 4-PW, Titleist Vokey Wedge set, and Odyssey Black Series putter and my GolfGuru GPS. Oh yeah, my Ogio bag. Everything in my bag (including my bag) is from Ebay. All of it is 100% legit (if something isn't, it plays just like a legit..ha!). You just have to know what to look for. Anything shipping from Hong Kong, I immediately close it out. Anything that has a ridiculous price for buy it now, especially on a 1-3 day auction...immediately close it out. I only buy from respectible sellers with high feedback ratings. The only problem i've had on Ebay is with a garmin gps but i've already got that resolved with no problem. (Wait, I did get ripped off one time...bought a bluetooth headset but never came. Disputed with paypal and got my money back). Only things I buy from golf stores are like impulse buys (golf hats, shirts, club cleaner, etc).