NuclearMike

Really? You think that you'll make no more driving mistakes as long as you keep improving? Sure, you'll have fewer OB drives but no one is immune from that kind of occasional problem. Just like when I quit smoking, and when I quit drinking- just quit cheating NOW. Why is two weeks from now better than today?

Great, Mike. I look forward to getting them, since almost every package that comes to the house is addressed to my wife, the queen of online purchases. And since I used her PayPal account to make the purchase I've been ragged on about when the hats were coming since I placed the order. I've also learned a lesson and gotten my own PayPal account.

Unfortunately nearly 95% practice. I go to the range a couple of times a week and hit 100-200 balls (where I have a key to the ball bin and can start early before the owners even get there), see my instructor every six weeks or so during one of the range sessions, but don't usually have the time available to play 18. During my off time I can usually be found spending time with my wife, who has a terminal illness. My work schedule leaves me little time for anything else. I was going to early play yesterday, actually got to the course, paid for the round, hit some range balls, and found that it was cart paths only. I have psoriatic arthritis pretty bad in my feet, hips and ankles and just can't handle 18 with that much walking, so I went to the other range where I normally hit and had another good day of practice with a purpose. One of these days I'll get back out.

My hybrids match each other and my irons in grip and shaft but aren't from the same manufacturer.

Although I've lived in Texas for 34 years I grew up in Joliet IL and I'm still a Hawks fan. Go Chicago!

Although I had done it twice before the "breaking 80" round that meant the most to me was shooting a 78 at PGA West's Palmer Private course. Par 72, slope 146, course rating 74.3. Other than five three putts it was the best round that I had ever played.

I always wear a hat. I don't have "locks", although I did back in my college days when I went four years without a haircut. As a matter of fact, thanks for the reminder. I'm still waiting for my two Imperial Headwear TST hats.

But didn't change "loose" to "lose".

My irons have the sweet spot towards the toe rather than the heel. Maybe it's because they're SGI, but it's best for me since my misses are usually toward the toe when I have an outside-in swing. That happens when I'm tired or have lost focus, so fixing it is what I'm working on now.

Finally, some wisdom from someone with just one post!

I've hit about 300 balls with the ten finger grip since my last post. With the overlap there was additional stress on the two middle fingers on my right hand that gave me pain when I took a little too much of a divot. With the baseball grip that hasn't happened and I'm hitting my irons better than I have since I started the overlap. Suffice it to say, I'm back to the grip that I used from ages 8 to 55. I was told that trying something more conventional would improve my game. It didn't. What I took from the experiment is that playing with the grip that works well for me for a long time is going to continue to do so. I won't be seeing the instructor again who told me that I'd never get better using the baseball grip. Well, I did get better with the overlap, but that was likely because I had been out of golf for years when I changed. I'm going to be happier and have more fun if I don't have to worry about my grip so much. That was just one more thing that got into my head, and my grip change is one less swing thought to worry about.

And regularly punters TRY to hit the punt OB because of the rule that allows for that. That's a football rule that's just not applicable to golf. A punt going OB at the one should be treated as a great punt and is because of the rule that allows for a punter to make the effort to do that. A driver going OB 250 yards from the tee should be thought of in a different way than a shot into a water hazard because the hazard is in the field of play.

I clean them well after each round but keep a towel and brush with me so that I can clean them as needed while playing. At the range I go to I have less grass than on the courses I play and so keep the water bucket and brush in sight so I can clean as the situation dictates while I'm practicing. I try not to hit many shots with dirt or mud in the grooves.

It should definitely be more penal to hit a ball OB than to hit it in a hazard or unplayable lie. when a course has boundaries and you go outside of them you haven't yet made any forward progress with that shot. Sure, it would be easier if you had stroke but not distance penalties for OB but that gives you credit for yardage that wasn't actually gained.

Seems to be a common theme here. I also play the ProForce V2. Best shaft for the price (for me, anyway) in my opinion.

Better than his chances of winning this week. Seriously, he still has to be considered the favorite at Merion because of his overall game. I think that his play at The Memorial is just aberration.

Shorty, I always enjoyed your acerbic wit and comments. I don't recall any of those comments directed at me, but if they were I probably got pissed off and then realized that I was talking to a master of the form and let it go. I wish you the best in your recovery and hope that you feel well enough to return to regular posting soon. Best wishes from Texas. Get well soon.

As a relatively short hitter, maybe an honest 230-240 at my best with roll, I'd hate to have my best drives go less than 200 yards. On 400 yards + par 4s I'd have to play them as par 5s and hope to one putt. My 3 wood will have to become a close friend from 160 out. Golf is hard enough as it is. Nope, I can't go along with Jack on this one.

I don't know enough to assess your swing and try to find a fault, but congratulations on losing the weight. That's great!

I couldn't consider it as a personal best with 17 holes completed and one hole "estimated". My personal best is a 78 with a triple bogey on a par 4 on the back at the PGA West Palmer Course. I'd like a do over on that hole, and a re-putt on some of my five three putts, but that's golf. Almost every round I pay has one or two or ten or eighteen holes that I'd like back, but I have to play and count them all for a final score.

Welcome from Sugar Land TX. Enjoy the forum.

Agreed. My 5 iron has one degree stronger loft than my 5 hybrid but I carry the hybrid farther and with a higher launch so it stops quicker. I remember playing with a 2 iron in the '70s and '80's. I don't miss the 2 iron it at all, but how I hit it was a true reflection of my golf prowess or lack thereof at the time when it was in my bag.

The lofts on my irons are so skewed from where they were on my previous sets that I don't even think of them by numbers anymore. My PW is 42.5 degrees! That makes it sit right between my old 8 and 9 iron lofts. The lowest numbered iron in my set is the 25 degree 5 iron. I'm a hybrid fan, though. I hit my 26 degree 5 hybrid higher and with more carry than my 5 iron so the 5 iron sometimes comes out for an additional wedge.

Leave it to TMAG to think of doing stuff like this. If there was ever a CEO of a company that made me NOT want to buy their products it's Mark King.

Fuzzy Zoeller once suggested that the pros have a tournament where fans can talk, yell in the player's backswing, take pictures, heckle, etc. That would be a hell of a spectacle. We'd really find out who had the rabbit ears then.