rustyredcab

You mean you want more distance? I switched from PX 5.0 to AeroTech i95 (discussed in several other threads here). These are the composite shafts Kuchar plays that you mention above. Feel better. Less stress on my elbows. NOT LONGER (at least not much if any). I was not looking for longer. The flight a bit higher. I really like them.

Orlando can be great. Many houses for rent that can save money on food and lodging. OCN is great. Weather can be almost anything. Some of the best ever was on a trip in late February. Also, the coldest we ever played (not dressed for it) was at OCN on the same trip.

I hate this. Happens all the time. Someone sees it one way and another sees it differently. In a "friendly" game, in my experience, the one with more conviction convinces the other. I'm always unclear when my version works to my advantage since I may be unintentionally seeing it more optimistically than reality. I do not know if it is correct, but I've thought the fellow competitors' opinion is the final one if they are sticking to it. Rules guru help please. Is the "correct" answer the same for any rules dispute?

We all mark our balls. But, putting a unique "provisional" mark seems more complicated than simply changing the ball number (also distinctively marked for each player). I always pocket a ball of a different number than the one I'm playing.

Our group is in the habit of saying something like, "This is my provisional -- a Z-Star 4. The first one was a 2." That way, everyone knows you declared a provisional and which ball is the first and which is the second once you find them both. In our group, we became more worried about one guy who hit the same ball as a provisional as his first and then all hell would break loose when the balls were near each other than we were about declaring a provisional. "Darn it Jim. They are both Pro V 3's." I know the rules would say that if he can't identify… but our current practice avoids the entire ugly scene.

My swing is not consistent enough to tell you it straightens my ball flight. The E6 is very long for me off the tee. And it holds line pretty well in wind. Fits my driver swing very well (103MPH). On full irons and wedges it releases a bit more than RX300 and other balls in that class like the Chrome and Z-Star. Runs more than I like around the green which always surprises me since it feels soft on those partial shots. Putts great for me. I don't have the hard feeling on the putter that others have said they feel. It feels soft for me. They are a bit lower compression which I feel when it gets cold. These are my one of my Spring and Fall ball options. I really like the price point when they are found at a bargain of near $25. The only reason I don't play these all the time is that it runs a bit much near the green and sometimes I find Q-Stars (I think they are in same class) for a better price. BTW, I only play yellow balls so these are a frequent option.

Hit lots of houses but never broke a window. A few stories from the Blue Course at U of I years ago: 1. Ninth hole. Short par five dogleg around a row of town homes. Hit a bad drive -- miles from green. Slice a high three wood for second shot that is certainly going to hit the houses. Can't find ball. Might have cleared the homes and landed on other side. Get to the green and there is my ball. Must have bounced off the roofs and carried forever. Missed the putt. 2. Same hole. Buddy slices drive and it is going toward the houses. We wait to hear it hit and see a woman walking out of her sliding door as his ball bounces into her house. She was a good sport and saw the humor in literally hitting into a house. She even received his ball for him. He did not play it were it lay. 3. My old home course, short first hole with water right and houses left. Playing alone late in the day. Hit my drive down the middle about 200 yards on the very narrow hole (good for me). Hit my second shot on the green (even better). Feeling pretty good about myself as I'm walking toward the green. Suddenly a lady runs out her home with a ball in her hand and she is very angry. "Hey. Wait." she yells and then she says I hit her home and broke a window. I explain that my ball is on the green. She wants to know who else could have hit her house. Her house is not really in play even as there are many on that course that are in play. And, the broken window sort of looks at the first green instead of the first tee. I explain that I'd need to hit a drive that carried over 300 yards to hit that second story window and even then it would need to curve almost dead left at the end to hit the broken window. And then we see a group on 18 tee, miles from her house, and a guy coming over to claim responsibility. He must have banged a drive 300 yards total and about 175 from the center of his fairway. Worst shot I've ever seen on the tee. You could hit 100 balls from that tee and never reach her yard, much less the second story window. A lake divides the fairways so even reaching the fairway of #1 is a horrid shot.

But which "aspects of (sic) the game" are we to keep and which are we to improve? I see from your signature that you play a "Dirver: Mizuno JPX 825 9,5 Fujikura Orochi Red Eye Stiff 65 g" Was a hickory shaft not an option? I love playing a yellow ball. Easier to see in flight on most days and easier to identify in the fairway on all days. "I guess I'm the yellow one way down there."

" the Callaways far out performed them all" If they really did out perform them all, then get them. If your distances are consistent with the X Hots, then play them. Not sure what you want explained. If it is why we want "better" clubs, than I would hazard a guess that we have been taught, conditioned, and sold the concept they less forgiving and "better" clubs will make us more like better players. I would not put a lot of stock in that. All high-end brand names clubs are manufactured to pretty high standards -- compared to many years ago. I'd say "better" should be replaced with "different." All that said, I play MP-53's which are less forgiving than my JPX 800 Pro's because I think I can control the distance better with the 53's. So, with regards to distance control, I'd say they out perform the others.

Does it matter that his actions were intended to improve his own line and it seems coincidental that the other line was also fixed? It is not as if he was trying to improve your line, he was improving his. If the guy had said something like, "I'm going to fix these #*$% spike marks." and you said nothing, then you gave approval by doing nothing. Or, if he fixed the first and you didn't say anything as he moved to fix the second, you could be considered to have gives "tacit" approval. But if your wondering if you are tacitly approving as he looked at the marks, I would side with not expecting you to have physic powers to know what he was going to do.

Any update?

Sweet spot, long, good loft, straight … Play that swing. Play it as long as you are able.

Our personal local rule states that if the ball is found in the hazard, you must play the provisional -- no option even if it is playable in the hazard. If you think it might be in the hazard and you might want to play it, then no provisional can be hit. But, the places this personal local rule comes in play are places where the ball is either going to be lost in the hazard or found in the fairway. Trouble is you can't tell which it is from the tee and, in one case, the walk/drive to get to the other side is very long. In a tournament, no such local rule applies. So, if you wish to re-tee rather than your other drop options, you gotta go see if you cleared the hazard.

Don't wish to highjack thread. Group plays "hit two choose one" and a few years ago it cost us a player who could not abide. So, yes. I play by the rules I wish. For example, I will not go through a multi-drop procedure when I know the first drop will not matter (e.g. end up on a cart path). But as the 54 year old youngest player in our 20+ year old group, I play by that group's rule on the first tee. And I have lost the hole many times to a guy who has used his second shot, and the stroke I'm giving him, to win the hole. Back to OP, I agree that the second one is better theory is over represented. I seen lots of bad provisionals. When playing match play, I seen many-a surrender while standing on the tee.

GPS is built into carts. Buddy has watch for those cart-path-only and walking days. I used to use Sky Caddie until they deleted all my courses and required an annual fee to use the product. Not just update it, but use it at all. I, along with many others, felt this was a real bait and switch or at least a unilateral change in our agreement. I will never buy from them again. " I use a Skycaddie SG5, I swear by mine." I swear about mine.

One can hit many bad shots in a row. I once hit seven OB before finding the fairway. I think it was Dr Bob Rotella's "Putting Out Of You Mind" that suggests hitting shorter putts as if they have been conceded. I do not recall if he suggested a mind trick to help you hit them as if they are good, but I do try to remind myself that if "this put" had been conceded, I'd put a good, free, stroke on the ball. Same on the tee. We play "hit two choose one" on the first tee (disagree with that in another thread if you wish). I find I almost never hit a second ball and think much of that is knowing it is there if I want it. Move to the second tee (much more forgiving tee shot) and I tense up and often pull my drive left. It is defiantly a "mindset" thing.

Mark balls (lots of markings) and put without sleeves in bag.

I thought this was one safe place where the only things people posted about, of which they were ignorant or mistaken, was about things like the ability to feel the difference between a forged and a cast 5-iron. Let's not ruin a good thing with talk of politics.

back to the OP's question about why people don't all play SGI clubs: I don't know the physics or design concept behind my old Fusions, but they felt "hot" when hit well. The ball seemed to jump. I was hitting a smooth wedge 135. Sometimes it would go 150 with, what felt like, the same swing. I am not a big hitter. Perhaps my average swing was missing the sweet spot and I just never felt it. To me, it felt like there were sweet spots and hot spots on those clubs. Those GI or SGI clubs served me well for many years. But, I wanted fewer hot spot shots and was willing to give up distance to get it. Today, I hit a PW when I have 110-120 and that is fine with me -- thank you very much. Preferred shot shape with irons: laser straight. I sometime have a bit of a draw and I can not hit a fade on demand to save my life.

I switched from Callaway Fusions when I could not control distance. It seemed that sometimes a "good swing" would spring off the face and launch well longer than planned. They were more "forgiving" than my current clubs but distance was always a guess. I gave up average distance for consistent distance. So, I opted for less distance. The other difference I've noticed is that my current clubs are not designed to launch as high as theFusions but, the sole/turf interaction is better for me -- particularly out of the rough.

To the OP: what do want from your new irons that you are not getting now? (other than good looks) I am a Mizuno fan. Have been since I first hit JPX 800 pro's at Golfsmith a few years ago. Fell in love. I was looking for more consistent distance and short irons I could chip and control that distance too. I found that in the 800 Pro's and then got even more of it from my current MP-53's. I was a closer to a 13 than a 20, but I'm not sure how much the number matters compared to your "ball striking." My advise is to find clubs you love to look at and that make you want to practice and hit them well.

AeroTech i95cw. Changed shafts in MP 53's from PX 5.0 because of tennis elbow. Really like the lighter weight. Composite is softer on joints and allows for more practice.

Got tennis elbow this summer from hitting too many balls on a hard range (and getting old). Changed from steel to AeroTech steel fiber -- graphite with a thing steel wrap. Less vibration and great shafts. AeroTech shafts are one of many very good options http://www.aerotechgolfshafts.com

Bummer. If we play enough golf, we will all do it at least once. Another reason I'm so glad I love yellow balls. Still mark them but yellow is rare enough where I play that it eliminates most cases of mistaken identity. Your sad tale is also the reason I have modified my policy of picking up found balls. I used to leave them all even when there was no way someone still playing was going to come looking for it. Since I play courses that sometimes have scramble format outings, a lot of people abandon their balls. If there is no way the ball is in play for someone (no hole coming the other way or no players on other holes), I pick it up. I think it speeds up play (people think it is their ball and stop looking, then discover it is not and start searching again) and avoids the problem you had.

Yes. They are not very expensive and can be a good aid. An impact bag is a good way to learn the correct feel of proper impact position. When I use it correctly, I push on the bag feeling my hip, leg, knee, shoulder, head... positions as well as the feeling of leading with my hands. I only use it for slow swings and for training positions. I never bang on it.