gompers

IMO, I don't think the driver is really necessary for a lot of golfers, especially on Par 4s. The average recreational golfer hits it something like 220 yards. If you can get it out there 200+ with a hybrid, 3 iron or higher lofted wood, you're really only giving up 15 or 20 yards. So you can be hitting your second shot from 220 in the fairway, or 200 in the rough. Where it becomes difficult is when you're a lot longer with your driver than your next club. When you KNOW you can hit it 300 with the driver, it's hard to give up 40 or 60 yards hitting a 3 wood, even if it means being in the fairway vs. not. I think the biggest thing is actually knowing how far you actually hit your clubs. Being brutally honest with yourself will help you a lot. It's a lot easier to put the driver in the bag when you realize you don't hit it as far as you wanted to think you did

Some of that yardage might be due to the fact that the TMs have a little bit less loft than your LPs in anything more than an 8 iron...

I don't know how kosher it is to post links to other golf forums here, but there are a couple out there with extensive "whats in the bag" sections with lots and lots of pictures.

Here's what about 5 seconds in the pencil sharpener will do to a 2 3/4" tee, just FYI:

I know this isn't exactly what you're looking for, but couldn't you just put some regular tees in a pencil sharpener and acheive the same effect?

Ping will bend the whole set and "recolor" them for 18 bucks plus return shipping (14 bucks - so 32 total plus what it takes to get them to ping). From what I understand, turn around time is usually less than a week. I'm not sure what the fitting process is, but I think when they have a demo day, they will fit you for free, even with the old clubs. As far as the others go, I don't know for sure if the factory will bend them, but any reputable club repair shop should be able to bend them +/- a few degrees. I think the place I go charges like 3 or 4 bucks a club to do it.

Driver - 250-270ish. I went at it with a Top Rock the other day, trying to cut a dogleg, and carried a water hazard 270. Ended up a little over 300. 4w - 235 3i - 225 5i - 190 9i - 145 a lot of it depends on conditions. It's been dry here lately and when I'm not going at a green, there's been a lot of roll (and bounce).

I played with a guy a couple weeks ago who shot like 70 on 9 holes, but he could hit the ball like 320. He even had a birdie somehow because he managed to hit a good iron shot out of the blue. And got on a 520 yard par 5 in two (his second shot was a 7 iron from about 190). Great drive, fat iron shot, skulled iron shot over the green, pitching wedge skulled over the green the other way, bad chip shot and a 3 or 4 putt on every hole will keep you up in the 30s really easy. The easier drivers get to hit, the more you're going to run into people who, for whatever reason, can hit the ball a mile with the driver, but are really bad at golf in general. This whole elitist "you have a high cap so you obviously can't drive the ball a long way" stuff is just BS. I was popping it out there 275-290 when I started the year off (when it went straight), and I was a 37 or 38 cap. This isn't to say that the OP is really putting it out there that far, just saying that it's certainly possible he can.

I don't think you can pin it all on the media. Sure they are partially to blame for overemphasizing things, but there are legitimate concerns about the integrity of the sport. Golf is different than those sports, but it's still an athletic competition. Strength certainly CAN help on the tour. Getting clubs through thick rough after you've driven it 300+ into the stuff in the first place requires some amount of strength. The difference between golf and other sports is that you need to have far more control of that strength. Advil is a pain releiver. It just masks the pain. It doesn't help your body heal. HGH does help your body heal. Your body hurts for a reason. It's because something isn't right, and it needs to recover. It might not be a dramatic difference between a pain-free body due to advil and a pain-free body due to HGH, but when every thousandth of an inch in clubs and one stroke can mean victory or defeat, it MIGHT make a difference. I don't see what it hurts to test for performance enhancing drugs on the tour.

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2915988 It's inevitable that the PGA will start testing for drugs. Remember steroids aren't just for growing big muscles, but also for enhancing endurance (think cycling), or for helping to speed recovery (ever get sore after playing 36 holes?). If brute strength means zero in golf, why are so many golfers working out and getting in shape? I'm not saying any drug will make you a better golfer by itself, but I'd rather the PGA address it now before we end up with a baseball-esque situation.

Golf is, and always has been mainly a game of skill, but it's increasingly a game of strength and endurance as well. I'm not really defending Gary Player's comments, just saying that at the level that these guys play, anything that gives them a competitive advantage is something that needs to be looked into. If it wasn't the case, why would the PGA start testing next year?

You'll just have to keep your eye on E-bay. I'm not sure why they are hard to find, but they seem to be going for 30-50 bucks. The one I think you're looking for is a Ping WRX cover. There is at least one on there at the moment.

I could knock it 300 yards on occassion with the handicap I started the year off at (around a 36). Believe me, you can be really bad and hit the ball a long way. Drives are only maybe 13 strokes a round. Whether the hole ends badly after that is irrelevant. As far as the OP goes, I think you're far better off fixing your swing. 400 bucks is a lot of lessons, and if you're really looking to get better, you're going to be FAR better off with a few lessons. A driver will fix drives - sometimes. Lessons will fix every club in your bag. I've knocked 10 strokes off my handicap this year thanks in part to a lesson or two.

Generally speaking, graphite shafts flex more than steel shafts. They tend to give you more distance at the cost of control. They tend to go on clubs for people who don't have the strength to swing a steel shaft, or the ability to absorb strong feedback on mishits since they generally transmit less "feel" back to the body. That is, at least, the conventional wisdom. It's just a matter of preference, really, though. Whatever you can hit the best and you feel comfortable and confident with is probably what's best for you. I'm 29 and swing stiff steel shafts on my irons and stiff graphite on my woods.

Ping I3 O-size 2-LW (though I usually only play the 3-PW). Love them to death. Some people don't like the size of the head, but it doesn't bother me, and at this point I can certainly use the forgiveness. I've only been playing a year, and I picked them up used on e-bay.