GernGolfs

I have the exact problem you describe. I play with strangers and shoot in the 70's. I tell my "regular" golf partner and naturally he doesn't believe me. We set a date to play. And I pull an 87 out. The saddest thing was the fact that the 87 wasn't one bad shot after another. It actually included 2 birds. Nope, this horrible round was as a result of a snowman on a par 4, a triple, and two doubles. (these holes alone account for 11 over par) I haven't figured out how to get past the challenge of playing with my buddy up to my level. I have been practicing and have definitely improved. And funny thing is that even with the 87 I still took him - he shot an 89. Gotta be something psychological. If anyone figures this out feel free to share it!

For the money I buy Callaway HX Hot Plus balls in Mint condition from a seller on eBay. This was after testing several balls including the new Pro V-1's. (When I am playing in a tourney I will pull out the more expensive balls but otherwise the Cally's, at $16 per dozen including shipping are just fine - and the seller I buy from really means Mint) Why the Callaway's? When I select a ball I am looking for: Feel - does it feel like I am hitting a stone or something softer? The Callaway's are not too hard at all. Distance - having a nice soft golf ball but losing 10% distance just won't do. I drive the ball about 240 yards on average and the softer balata balls lose a solid 20 to 30. This might not sound like a lot but figuring 10 yards difference per iron and now you have the difference between a nice 8 iron into the green versus a 5. Cost - $1.00 golf balls sink at the same rate in the water as a $4.00 ball. I like finding bargains that offer everything above and more. Durability - hitting a ball out of the sand there is nothing worse than seeing a scuff mark on the ball from the contact with the iron as it scraped the ball in connection with the sand beneath. Some balls hold up to this test better than others. (Pro V's are terrible for this by the way and my irons are the new grooves by the way) I like playing a ball for an entire round if possible and the Callaway's will last. True roll - Some balls go out of round as they are hit. The more they are hit the more they get out of round and thus, on the putting surface, they are anything but accurate. I have a gauge that I can test the roundness and you would be amazed how the Noodles didn't hold up. Availability - It does no good for you to find THE perfect ball only to look for the bargain prices and not be able to find any. This is where the Callaways really separate themselves. They are available online and off very readily, the price only varies about $5.00 per dozen at most, and they are consistent, durable, long, and have nice feel. In short sum, try them. I love them personally and cannot imagine changing balls anytime soon.

For the money here's some solid advice: Save a little more money and get a name brand used set. It won't cost that much more and then they are quality, adjustable, and will last long enough for you to improve your game. Be sure that they are Game Improvement Irons. Once you have your irons, get lessons. This will help you to improve and with improvement comes more enjoyment of the game. Finally, when you have gotten your game up to a decent level in a couple of years and you are ready, you save up and get fitted for a new set as a sort of a reward for your hard work. I have never heard of the set you mentioned. Sounds like perhaps they are knockoffs, not sure. But I would stick with TaylorMade, Callaway, Cobra, Titleist, or Cleveland. There are lots of bargains online and off on used sets and I think you would be much happier with the quality and results. Enjoy!

Wow Rebby, what a beautiful collection. And to think that some people believe golf clubs aren't a possible investment. But now the loaded question for you... Which one if your favorite? The "go to" putter that is in the bag when you are playing against a course or another player who you really want to beat. I mean, with that many incredible putters to choose from, it has got to be hard choosing the fav.

At one time I had three putters; a Scotty Newport 2, an old Ping, and a Voodoo by Never Compromise. When one "misbehaved" I would put it in time out and bring out another. And then it happened. I found an Odyssey Mini-Marxman. Since buying it 5 months ago it has never once let me down. In order to make the most of things I went ahead and traded the Scotty in on a new Callaway Driver. (Got $175 in trade for it - really happy considering I owned it for 5 years and only paid $225 for it - it was in really good condition but with the sale price on the driver I could not pass it up) I sold the Ping to a friend for $30. And the Voodoo is still sitting in my spare club closet - it was an anniversary gift from my wife and will not ever be sold, traded, or otherwise. Will I ever buy another putter? Without a doubt. I have tested out the long putters, the backstrykes, and and even the new Scotty's. But for now I have what I want to be playing and I won't be buying anything new anytime soon.

Sincere thanks to all for the info. I have added a bungie cord to my bag. Never in a million would I have seen this one coming and believe me I will never trust another cart strap. For the record the course is actually a pretty nice one with fairly new carts and the straps didn't seem worn. At this point I am planning on just dealing with it, playing a few rounds to make sure that there wasn't any effect I cannot see. I just cannot believe the irony of it. I wait 8 years to pull the trigger and buy a new set and within a couple of months they are already more marked up than my old irons were when I sold them. But as the saying goes "it is what it is" and the damage is done. This is now marked down as a live and learn sort of a situation. As many years as I have played I never had this sort of thing happen. (have had club head come off of driver, putter break beneath grip because of rust, and all sorts of bag chatter) And one thing is certain; the next time I pull the trigger on some new sticks they will have those covers that the purist don't like. No, my irons aren't an investment in the realm of financing. But golf is my hobby and I know they are worth more at trade-in time if they are maintained. Add this to the fact that I often gamble with the people I play with, and it sure helps to have sticks you feel comfortable and confident in. In my measure they are worth protecting and that is what my original post was all about. Most of the replies here were really, REALLY helpful. Take care all and keep them in the short grass... Jim W.

I baby my clubs. I see them as an investment and as such I try to take really good care of them. After every round or practice session I clean them up thoroughly and basically try to make sure that they "hold their value". But this past Sunday the unspeakable happened. The cart strap failed and my bag fell off of the back of the cart as I accelerated towards the next hole. My entire set fell hard onto the concrete cart path and many of my irons ended up getting damaged. The purpose of this post is to (hopefully) get some solid advice regarding how I might go about getting rid of the obvious damage. The damage is only to some of the irons. On the tip of the sole, the point that would be exposed as they were falling onto the concrete, they apparently slid a bit and there are scratches (some sort of deep) at the point of contact. The 5 iron, 4 iron, and 9 iron got it the worst. The other irons that have been damaged (barely noticeable) probably aren't worth worrying about. I already read some other forums about how you can use car polish, sandpaper, an emory board, and a number of other ideas/options but not one of the post really addressed the main question. So long as the shafts are not bent and the damage is only on the tip of the sole (the so-called toe of the club) which should not effect play, is it going to help maintain their value any more if I did attempt to repair them or had them professionally restored? I don't want to seem anal about this whole thing but as I said they are an investment for me. I purchased these irons in March and thus they are still essentially new and now they are banged up. I know that Callaway offers the "trade-in - trade-up" deal and I could not help but wonder just how bad of a financial hit I will end up taking when I finally do trade them in with this kind of damage. It is really funny how things work sometimes. I purchased my previous set of Cobra irons way back in 2003 brand new and they never fell even once. The only damage they had when I sold them was routine damage from bag chatter and play. I finally pull the trigger and buy new sticks and within a few months gravity and a failing cart strap take their toll. (no, I did not tell the course - in the first place it was probably my fault because I had just readjusted them on the cart one hole back before it happened and in the second place the pro shop was closed by the time I finished my late afternoon round) Any and all suggestions will be appreciated. These irons were actually a birthday present from my wife by the way for my 50th which makes them even more special. I know that everyone reading this can appreciate the fact that it isn't every day that you buy a new set of irons. I just want to make the right decision while the damage is still fresh and if I have to pay a little in order to get them back into (almost) original shape, I am willing to do so. I also cannot help but wonder if anyone uses some back-up plan for the cart strap to prevent this sort of thing from ever happening. I never saw it coming but as they say there is a first time for everything. I would like to make sure that this is the "one and only". Thanks in advance, Jim W.

I have had my X-24's for about 2 months now and they really look well worn. Predictably on the soles and face. The good news is that it in no way affects play and my wear marks on the face indicate some pretty consistent "sweet spot" hits. But the bad news is that this cannot possibly be good for the value. Callaway, IMHO, could definitely have done a better job with this finish. Those irons looked SO beautiful out of the box but it sure didn't take long for them to look worn.

Lamkin has some new grips available and are giving samples away. I currently use Winn grips but am always open to trying new things and, because you literally get to choose the size and model, it is a pretty nice way to get them a "test drive", pun intended of course. You can go to http://www.freegrips.com/gw to sign up. Within 5 minutes of signing up I received an email telling me that my new grip will arrive in 6 weeks. I have always either used Golf Pride or Winn and I am honestly looking forward to seeing how this grip feels. (Planning on putting it onto the driver to really give it a good test) You have got to love free golf goodies! Jim Wilson PS Someone asks me where the "Gern" came from. It was my nickname at the Fire Department. Came from an old Steve Martin skit from the 70's where someone in the audience ask what his real name was and he replied "Gern Blandston".

Thanks everyone for the replies. As one poster said, that's golf. (could not put it better myself) The irony is that we had a little disagreement about another shot on another hole. From about 100 yards out one player hit another player's ball. The ball that was on the green wasn't any more and the second ball stayed. We looked it up and replaced the first ball as close as we could get it but therein lay the disagreement. None of us was certain where to place it. We had only a vague idea and a difference of only a couple of feet on this particular hole was going to mean the difference between a straight uphill putt versus one that was going to break hard from left to right. I am afraid that placing the ball back in its original position was the center of the problem. One golfer insisted that it "must have been where the second ball now was". Myself and the other golfer both thought that it was about 5 feet from this position and in a position where the putt was actually easier. Does anyone have any suggestions on how best to settle such a disagreement? In the end we just used our best guess, placed ball one into a sort of neutral position, and everyone was happy when in the end both players made par. Thanks again!

At one of my local courses two holes run side-by-side - one going north and then the next one coming right back south. They are, to say the least, a little bit tight. The rough between the two holes is actually shared by both. So, here is the situation and my question: I was on the 4th hole and pushed it a little into the shared rough on the right. I saw the area where my ball went but could not see the ball. There are absolutely no hazards or anything else that could cause a lost ball. At the same time my ball was in the center area, another group came up the 5th and, while I saw them searching in the general area of where my ball went, I did not see any one of them either hit or pick up my ball. For the record my balls are always marked with what I call the "bowling ball fingers look"; three black dots that look like bowling ball finger holes that surround the logo. I almost always play Callaway balls by the way. So, anyway (and you can probably see where this is going) after the last person in my group tees off we head out only to find just three of our four balls. Mine was MIA and nowhere to be found. As I said there are no trees, bushes, any water, or anything else that could possibly cause a lost ball. This hole is known for sharing that center area and most golfers know better than to just pick up balls in the area. Is this a penalty for me? I took the penalty, against my will by the way, and dropped another ball in the general area where we knew my ball had ended up. Because there was skins on the line, since noone was sure of the ruling I took the hit so to speak. The irony is, because everyone "always" knows better than to pick up balls in this area, I did not whistle when I saw the other group in the area. I just naturally figured that they too had hit one into the shared zone. It was only when I got down there that I learned, the hard way, that my ball had probably been picked up. (Had they played mine I should have found one of theirs which never happened) What's the ruling on this one? In my humble, this is yet another rules difference between we common golfers and those who make a living at it. They have dozens of spotters, hundreds of fans, and television cameras to assure that nothing like this ever happens to them. But we, on the other hand, are left to fin for ourselves, count on the honesty of the others sharing the course with us, and hope for the best. I just cannot imagine that I was actually supposed to take a penalty when there was NO chance that the ball was anywhere other than in its new owner's pocket. Thanks in advance!

Got refitted again and pulled the trigger on some Callaway X-24 Hot Irons. I cannot believe the difference! The only negative is the poor quality of the black finish; after just a few hits it had worn completely off on both the soles and faces. This does not affect the playability whatsoever. I ended up with some odd results but noone could possibly argue with the measurements when they see the scores I am shooting now. I have had them for one month now and have shot the three lowest rounds of my life with them! (78, 76, and 74 - with my first 9 under par!) If only more golfers realized just how much getting fitted could positively affect their game. And let's face it; if you are playing better you enjoy it more. By the way, for those who were wondering "Why the X-24 set?" Simple... I looked at the Ping irons and simply did not like how they looked at setup. Way too different than what I was used to. My game wasn't really ready to completely and totally get away from Game Improvement irons and the prices on a new set of the 24's made them an unbeatable bargain. What has surprised me the most is the distance. 8 to 12 yards further consistently and they still come in high and soft so holding the greens isn't hard.

For those who might not have heard, Taylor Made is having another great giveaway. You can go to http://www.taylormadegolf.com/testpenta/ in order to enter to win 6 of their new Penta balls. Definitely worth entering. (I won one of their Burner 2.0 6 irons so I know from first hand experience that they actually do give the items away as promised) Good luck!

Buying golf clubs is something I would compare to buying a car; you are making a purchase that is a long-term investment in most cases and so you had better make sure it is the right purchase for your needs. Having said that I have been fitted before and am about to get it done again. Since my last fitting I have definitely changed (aged) and my swing has got to be slower. Because I am about to turn 50 and my wife wants to buy me new irons for the big five-o, I am going to get fitted again. I already have a really good idea of what my needs are but sort of want professional verification. In your case if there are ANY doubts, get a second opinion. Or better yet ask of you can take the potential club to the range. In my case the shop took my CC info and let me walk out with a demo 6 iron. Off I went to my range where I could really get a feel for how it hit and I was able to compare the proposed new 6 to my old one. This was some 10 years ago when I got fitted last time around but I already asked the shop doing this fitting and am already satisfied that they will once again allow me to really take it for a test drive, pun intended. I bought some face tape so that I could really see where I was making contact, warmed up, and went about hitting the new 6. After two large buckets of balls I was "sold"; I had added about 5 to 10 yards from my old 6 iron and the power draw was dead on. I pulled the trigger and ordered that original set that very day. I have often told my fellow golfing friends that getting fitted is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. For the better part of two hours you have the undivided attention of a golf pro whose sole purpose for that moment is to help improve your game by putting new technology to work for you. Between the photos, and contact tape, and the other factors measured it was an incredible experience. Some 5 rounds after the purchase I had dropped my cap into the single digits and never looked back. And that, afterall, is THE main reason that we amateurs get fitted; to play the game we love better. Hope this helps!