Burg

I've become a better player this year by finally learning to consistently work the ball and shape my shots. I've never had a consistent shot shape (fade or draw) and I still don't. Accordingly, I find that I'm much more accurate when I try to hit a fade or draw as opposed to my old "try to hit it straight" approach. Couple of questions for the crowd. 1. Do you shape your shots consistently? 2. If you do work the ball, at what club do you start? For example, I take dead aim with a nine iron on down but try to work the ball with an eight iron on up. Just curious.

Get fitted. The "stiffness" varies from shaft brand to shaft brand. There are other variables as well (kickpoint, tip stiffness, torque). It will be worth your while to get fitted. Also, if you are hitting a 5 iron 200 yards then maybe you should focus on the ol' short game for awhile. You shouldn't have a 20 handicap with that distance.

As with anything in golf, it depends. If you use your 60 degree as your sand wedge then I would suggest a bounce of around 8 degrees. If, like me, you use it for flop shots around the green then lower bounce will help because it will make it easier to open the club and have the leading edge flat. For this I'd recommend around 4 degrees. Also, what kind of sand/turf do you play on? The firmer the ground/sand, the lower the bounce that you want. Finally, it also depends on your swing type. If you're like me and don't have a steep swing (don't take a big divot) then lower bounce will work better. Highter bounce might be better with a steep swing. Sorry to give a complex answer but there are a lot of variables to consider.

I finally bit the bullet and got fit for my irons. I have a set of CG4 Tours that I knew had the wrong shafts for my swing but didn't have the funds to make the change until now. To make a long story short, I have a swing speed in the mid-80s with a six iron and the shafts on my CG4 Tours was an ActionLite Regular Flex. I was told by the club-fitter that these weren't stiff enough and that Rifle 6.0 was the way to go so I pulled the trigger. I've never played Rifle shafts before so I have no idea if I'm going to be happy. Anybody out there have an opinion on Rifles?

Shaky finish by Phil to lose in a playoff. Probably not the mental image he wanted to take into the British Open.

I work very hard on not thinking about anything. I focus on the target, clear my mind, and let the swing happen. I would suggest that you don't have any swing thoughts other than non-mechanical ones. I sometimes remind myself to maintain rhythm but that's all. Read "Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect" by Bob Rotella if you want to improve your mental game.

I replaced my 3 and 4 irons with hybrids. I've found the forgiveness to be worth it. IMO, there's no reason not to take advantage of the technology if it works for you.

I would have to go with my Driver. I hit it well about 80% of the time, but there are usually one or two swings a round that get me in trouble. The problem I have is that I hit it a long way and when I'm off, I'm really losing strokes. In an effort to combat this, I've taken to hitting my 3-wood the majority of the time. In fact, the last two rounds I've played (on a 6,900 yard course), I've hit my driver 3 times a round and broke 80 both times. I should learn from that but its an ego thing.

My advice is to play the ball slightly back in your stance (center or a touch further back) and try to sweep the ball instead of hitting down. I would also recommend taking an extra club or two and swinging more with the arms as opposed to the full body because the harder you hit down on a ball, the higher it will usually go in the air. You could also try to keep your hands in front of the ball for longer after contact and work on a short follow-through. This would lead to more of a punch-like swing which should keep the ball flight down.

I've been battling an over-the-top pull that comes from my arms being too active in my swing. I think that I've finally found something that works. I'm "hovering" the club for all tee shots. By hovering I mean never soling the club before starting my swing. I think this is what Nicklaus and Norman did but I don't think many other golfers do. For me, it has made it easier to have a one-piece takeway with my shoulders doing the work. I've even started using it with irons and it appears to work there as well. Does anyone else do this? If so, does it work for you as well?

You shot a 79 with a 36 Handicap? Wow. Nice round.

I would suggest that you match a ball to your short game and work backwards. I have a much better "feel" with the V1 than with the V1x so that's what I play. It's a personal thing with me, as I'm sure it is with everyone else. I'd pick the ball that gives you the best feel around the greens and off the putter.

Sherri Daly counterstrikes with the accusation that JD scratched himself after he assaulted her in an attempt to frame her. She then makes demands for exclusive use of their Southwind home and a continuing allowance of 15K to 30K a month. Where does he find these women? JD needs to stop marrying loons. http://cbs.sportsline.com/golf/story/10222393

I just switched to a 20 degree Adams Idea A2 with an Aldila NV stiff shaft in it and I love it. Found it on the used rack for $50 and I hit it better than any hybrid I've ever owned.

I've had the CG4 Tours for awhile and I love them. They aren't the longest irons I've ever hit but they have a great soft feel and produce a high soft shot. I'm happy with them.

I currently have the 904F with a DG S3000 shaft and I love it. I'm wondering, however, if there would be any benefit to getting the 906F to replace it. Has anyone made this switch, and if so, was it worth it? Also, does the 906F marry well with a ProForce shaft? I have steel on the 904 but wouldn't mind using the ProForce shaft if I could benefit from it.

Ball flight is keyed very closely to the type of shaft you are using. For example, I swing a 905R and when I had my shaft fitted, the Aldila shaft gave me a much higher (too high) ball flight than the Proforce V2. I would suggest that you get fitted for the correct shaft. I can say that the Proforce has a lower kickpoint (I think this is the term) than the Aldila and that means a lower launch angle. My advice, get fitted with a launch monitor.

My distances are roughly as follows: PW - 130-135 52 - 115-120 56 - 100-105 60 - 80-85 I play anything less than 80 yards (except greenside shots) with my 60 degree wedge because I have the best "feel" with that club. As for my other wedges, I'm fairly consistent with all of them. I spend the majority of my practice time on irons, specifically 7-LW. I've found that these are the majority of the shots that I play in a round so I should spend more time practicing them. I've always been solid off the tee so I have learned to avoid spending too much time ripping drives.

This is a good point but I would offer one other thing to consider. In my case, I carry four wedges (PW, 52, 56, 60) simply because in a normal round of golf I face very few (if any) shots that I have to hit between 210 and 240. This enabled me to give up the five wood in favor of another wedge. I face a ton of shots from 125 in and four wedges allow me take a full swing more often than not, which benefits my game. I guess the question to ask is, how often do you need a five wood? Also, are you comfortable taking something off a wedge? For me, I would rather just take full swings. I think the pros are much better at "feel" shots than a normal amateur and the extra wedge means more full swings.

It sounds to me as if you are hitting the ball with an "outside to inside" swing. This is most likely being caused by coming over the top on the downswing. I have the same problem and here is what I check to make sure that I'm doing: 1. Check grip pressure. If I'm gripping the club too tightly then I'll come over the top. 2. Check alignment. I have a tendency to have my feet and shoulders on different lines. For example, I tend to set up with my shoulders open and my feet square or vice versa. 3. Check ball position. If the ball is too far forward in your stance, your shoulders will be open. 4. Make sure you rotate on the backswing with the arms. If the arms don't stick with the chest then they''ll go more straight back and you'll come over the top. Hope these help.

A strong grip promotes a right to left ball flight. I have a neutral grip because a strong grip leads to pulls and hooks for me. I would try a neutral grip and see what happens. It may be a quick fix.

Congrats! The only thing better than a textbook birdie is a textbook birdie in front of a gallery. I hope you avoided the infamous "post-birdie" syndrome that seems to jump up and get me all the time.

I don't have one home course but I have a set rotation of five courses that I play frequently. Here's my "official" home course, Newport News Golf Club. It has two eighteen hole courses, the Championship Course being the toughest. http://www.nngolfclub.com/

Dave had a horrific week outside of his short game. As weird as it looks, he has an incredibly effective putting stroke. I was amazed that he took Tommy to an extra hole hitting the ball off the tee the way he was. As for Mike, I hope he has some type of a metabolism issue to explain his "figure". Otherwise, lay off the cheesepuffs. Should be an exciting finish.

I'm a law student at the moment. I'll be starting my third and final year this upcoming August. I hope to get a ton of golf in while I'm still a student. Nothing like a full work schedule to ruin your game!