tigerwoo

Hello, I've been having a few 'franks' every other round as well lately and the most frustrating thing is it is the difference between a round in the 70's or 80's for me being a 7 handicap now. Even more frustrating and painful at time is if I drop a brand new ProV1 and the only hit it gets is a 'frank' into the woods. I'll likely see it displayed in an egg carton sometime later this summer by the golf course ball vendor on the 14th hole. Anyways, there was an article by Butch Harmon in last months Golf Digest suggesting his theory on the 'franks'. Sorry I just can't utter the word... spooky! Butch suggested that it was mainly two things... an out to in downswing with the closing of the clubface which makes perfect sense to me since I only seem to frank it within PW or pitching distances where I put the ball back in my stance and make 3/4 swings at most. I have recently implemented turning my wrists more which causes the over closer of the clubface. My not so perfect swings then would be an out to in and wham... there is frank again! Butch suggests placing a headcover directly on the other side of the ball furthest away from you and swinging. If you are out to in you'll hit the head cover... in to out you won't. Apparently as simple as that... ugh...

That's because he's usually always inside the distance a driver off the deck will get him. He's long... and REALLY good, remember?

I had a thought (though perhaps someone else has already made mention to it earlier in this thread) of buying a HT (high trajectory) lofted driver to use as my '3 wood' replacement. I've hit a few 3 woods recently that really hasn't rewarded me much and thinking how much more forgiving the driver is nowadays especially off the tee I was thinking of adding a higher lofted driver in my bag and replacing the 3 wood. I would figure hitting off the deck to be a little more difficult than a 3 wood since it has a longer shaft, but perhaps the big headed driver with the added loft, increased MOI and perhaps CG pushed further back of the head will allow the ball to be hit with some merit of accuracy? Anyone else think of this scenario? Is it just too odd?

Yesterday: 5 iron from a fairway bunker that was 179 yards to the center of the green into the wind and pin tucked back left of the green. Water on the left. Opened the clubface up a degree to make sure I didn’t draw the ball too much and also to add loft to get over the lip of the bunker. Slightly forward in my stance to try and catch it on the upswing too… all planned in my mind as what I wanted to do and never in my wildest dreams did I think I could execute all stages of the plan… but I did and hit it right at the pin and it landed and rolled to within 2 feet for a birdie putt. It was likely my all-time 5 iron… maybe and all time iron in general!

30.6 putts/round so far this year.

Some of the 'Big Headed' drivers (460cc) are better suited now to hit off the deck as some of the designs (most notably the Cleveland HiBore drivers and even the graphite crowns of some including the one I use (Mizuno MX-500) lower the center of gravity by pushing the crown down and extending the back or using a lighter weighted material on top to distribute more weight at the bottom. All this helps get the ball in the air. Since reading this thread I tried it at my range and I can honestly say I hit the ball fairly cleanly 7 out of 10 times. I'm still adjusting the stance as to where I put the ball at address (usually inline with my leading foot) as well as how much the clubface is open at address to add that additional loft. Depending on the swing you can hit a nice low fade or slice. I was definitely shocked at the results and will likely consider it after a few more practice shots at the range and when it comes time to hit a big second shot to get me in scoring range.

I've been a traditionalist with putters (blade) my entire life and I just gave up my Mizuno TP Mills grain flow forged blade for a Ping i-Series Craz-E putter. I love the weight of it and although the thing looks much like the space craft you describe with your TM Monza the increased MOI as a result of the shape is definitely a stroke saver. You can hit the putt on the toe or heal and it will go towards your intended target line without loss of speed. There is so much momentum built up behind the heavy head it really does feel like it's doing all the work. All you're doing is lining it up. I had a few short lag putts that didn't reach the hole as a result of not knowing how to gage the momentum. But I think I have a handle now and I'm hoping it will help me sink a few more putts for me per round.

I just got one (Craz-E) over this past weekend and was only able to 'test' it on two courses. I faired much better playing with it on the second course as I got use to the feel of the head and weight of the putter which is something completely different than my outgoing Mizuno TP-Mills blade which I liked very much. I didn't need to get a new putter as my stats indicate that I'm putting 1.70 putts per hole which is not too bad. But I was in a store this weekend to look at the Ping Karsten Series putters that achieved the Gold rating by Golf Digest. At $100 it was something I was definitely interested in looking at. But after stroking a few putts with the Karsten it was simply no different in feel and look as my Mizuno that I had so I thought it would be a waste of the $100. I then saw the i-Series Craz-E and normally I'm not a fan of the mallet alignment putters but I tried a few strokes with it and was instantly impressed by the weight and feel of it. The putts I made were also alot straighter and on the line of my intended target everytime versus the others. The price of it too was irresistible at $139. So I picked it up. Again, I'm mostly impressed with the way the ball goes along the intended target line and the feel of the heavy head.

Driver: Mizuno MX-500 - $200 3 Wood: Cleveland Launcher - $150 Hybrid 3: Titleist 585 19* - $125 Hybrid 4: Taylormade Rescue Mid 22* - $125 Irons: Cleveland CG4 - $400 GW: Cleveland 588 50* - $80 SW: Mizuno MP-T Series 56* - $50 LW: Mizuno MP-T Series 60* - $50 Putter: Ping i-Series Craze - $140 Bag: $50 Cart: Sunmountain Speed Cart - $225 Total: ~ $1595 plus taxes All equipment bought were either new but at least last year's models or slightly demo'd meaning I would inspect them first and make sure they 'looked' new. Thus the lower than advertised prices from their original MSRP. The best deals were likely the Mizuno wedges I picked up for $50 each as they retail for $150 each normally. They happened to be in the demo rack but looked as if they were just put there after one person hit them in the indoor range!? A steal... Mind you, I've spent much more than this as this is not my 'first' set of clubs! Only my current ones.

I wear them now more than ever since both my parents and parents of friends have had cataract surgery recently. Wearing protective sunglasses apparently helps prevent cataracts from developing.

A typical lie in the rough as experienced by yours truly last week at Torrey Pines. This was the result of my 2nd shot from the fairway that I badly missed on the Par 5, 6th hole. It was 40 yards short of the green and way wide... I hacked this baby out using a 60 degree lob wedge with an almost vertical swing. I was 5 yards short of the green but managed to get up and down for a par.

I had a chance to play Torrey Pines twice about a week and a half ago (while on holidays) in near US Open setup. Rough was unbelievable (you have to see it to believe it) and the greens were running around 11 on the stimp meter. Scored 95 on the first day with 3 triples and a few doubles as a result of poor driving and trying to advance the ball too far down the fairway when I should have hacked out sideways. Scored 86 the second day with 14 bogeys and 4 pars. Much more disciplined play (hacked out 45 degrees from rough to fairway everytime) but the driver was still killing me as I hit 2 only fairways. Putting was my strength the second day. On this second day of lower scoring we were notified by the cart girl that Mr. Phil Mickelson was on the course playing a round with his buddies! Carrying his own bag! We saw him as we were on the 17th green playing the 10th hole. He was wearing a bright orange shirt and light colored shorts. We saw him trying to use a hybrid/fairway wood to cut across his ball while in the rough only to have it go a measly 20 yards into the fairway bunker where he managed to hit the green on his third. I'm sure he placed his ball in the rough or at least tried to land it in the rough off the tee to get an idea on how he could play out of it for the Open!?

Just played from the white tees last week (6700 yards, 74.3, 136) and shot an 86 and I thought I did quite well though I only hit 2 fairways. If my driver is behaving somewhat, I think it is doable as long as you take your medicine (when you don't hit the fairway off the tee) and chip it out of the rough at 45 degrees with a wedge in hand regardless of how far you are from the hole. The try to go for bogey or perhaps on occasion an up and down. Adding another 900 yards (50 yards per hole) would likely make it much more difficult but I think subtract the cameras and fans and hoopla of a US Open event and it is possible but it would take great discipline and patience.

I managed to play Torrey South twice last week extending a Disneyland trip south to San Diego/La Jolla. My friend lives in Del Mar and was able to 'lend' me his friend's resident card and I was able to get on for a mere $42 on Thursday morning and $49 on Friday. However, both mornings were very early standby outings where I arrived at 4:30am each morning only to be bested by 10 others on each day. I thought I was the crazy golfer! Anyways, we tee'd off around 6am on both days and I had a fabulous time. However this time the golf course was a different beast as I've played the south in the past a few times. The greens were very true and running around 10 to 11 on the stimp. Now the rough... I've never seen or played in such dense, thick, course grass before! It was unbelievable and very humbling how it could win so many battles with steel. Thursday's round was more of a 'get to know' my limits day as I battled the rough on most occasions (only hit 2 fairways) by trying to use a longer club to push it down further along the hole. This is not recommended! On most occasions the club in my hand would twist shut and I would advance the ball 30 to 50 yards maximum and into the same or deeper rough. I shot a 95 as a result that day and my handicap of 5 point whatever was put to shame. I analyzed my game over and over on Thursday night and I went back to work on the South early (4:30am again) Friday morning. This time teeing off as the 4th group by about 6:20am. Again my driver failed me on this day but as opposed to trying to advance it out further down fairway with a long club I used my pitching and/or sand wedges to advance it 45 degrees into the fairway and about 20 to 30 yards down. This left me with a mid to long iron 3rd shot on most par 4's and on occasion I would get up and down. Shot a respectable 86 on Friday as a result of this strategy. 14 bogeys and 4 pars. No doubles or triples. Had a fabulous time! The weather was perfect and the scenery spectacular. I'd go back even if I had to pay the full $180 non-resident rate. It was truly an experience of a lifetime. I too tee'd it off from the whites which are rated at 74.3 and 136 or something like that and playing close to 6700 yards. With the offshore breeze/wind and moist conditions this course is a beast. But manageable if you play 'smart'.

Well, in our neck of the woods, housing prices have gone up 100% in 5 years. Unfortunately my salary has only gone up 20% in that same timeframe.