rustyredcab

link not working for me... Which grinds keep the lead edge low when you open the face?

The club would rather have full groups for financial reasons. A round is only as fast as the slowest group. So, four players, each paying green fees, take up the same space as a single if the course is full. Kind of like a car-lift that doesn't like single riders if there is a line. In the same manner, the starter at the golf course will look to pair you up with a group if the course is full but be fine with you "riding alone" if there is no one else around. But, when a course has gaps, a single does not cost the course any opportunity revenue and, it can be argued, is incremental revenue. And, if you are new to the game, playing alone can speed your play so that you easily keep up with the 4-somes ahead of you.

+1 You are over thinking this.

LongEST? I don't know. Long? My Iomic Sticky 2.3's are 2.5 seasons old and look and feel new. Over 100 rounds and many many sessions on the range. I don't wear a glove and would notice any changes in feel. So far, none. If you buy Iomic Sticky 2.3's, pick your color carefully because you'll have them for a long time. :)

If you can swing it, get a lesson focused on chipping and wedges. You are likely doing something wrong that could be fixed with a short lesson from a pro. If you can not get a lesson, take video. Maybe you'll see something. For me, I hit chuck chips when I fail to keep my lead arm straight and/or don't use my shoulders in the swing. Under pressure I tend to pick the club up and swing with arms only. Your issue may be something totally different but just as easily fixed once you get help identifying the issue(s). Good luck

Pick a ball based on the one you like best putting. Go to a big box store and try a few different kinds of balls with your putter -- long putts and short ones. Choose the one you think feels best (it will also sound the best to you). Practice with that ball before your rounds. Play that ball. My contention is that you can't help be have better distance control on and even near the greens. Turn three 3-putts into 2-putts and you've dropped your handicap by 3-4 strokes depending on the rating and slope of the course.

In Chicago, a nice private club is head and shoulders nicer than the best public courses. Long before I was a competent golfer, I made it my business to be an outstanding guest at other's clubs. I was young and knew that I wanted to be a pleasure to have as a 4th at your club. Serves me well today too. Be gracious, follow club rules even if you find them silly, and make your host glad that he invited you. Does not matter if it turns out to be the nicest course you've ever seen or an awful course. I never join my host in bashing the club (on the rare occasion that a host complains about something -- "Not a very nice range since the lengthened number 10."). I'm sensitive to my host's lead when it comes to tipping caddies etc. Some people welcome the gesture and others feel like it would be the same as tipping the maid at their home. Since I do not belong to a club, I can not reciprocate with a round at my club. But, I can be an appreciative and enjoyable guest. Have fun.

I used to curse loudly and toss clubs. I was 14. I recognized that I was an a** on the golf course and could not handle my temper. Swearing on the tennis court is bad enough. There is no place for bad behavior on the golf course. and certainly no place for abusing and throwing clubs. Yet, I could not stop myself. So, I did the honorable thing and gave up the game. I did not play at all during high school and most of college. Picked the game up again my junior year of college with some buddies. We were awful golfers. It was fun and we had fun every time out. Never tossed a club again. If you can not get the temper under control, quit the game. Find another hobby. Golf is not for you if you can't enjoy it enough to get beyond the extreme of breaking clubs in anger. Lately, I've noticed that I'm not always happy on the course. I get pissed off when I play badly. Never toss a club angry and never even curse out loud angry. I just get mad inside. I heard that Nancy Lopez had a motto -- play happy. So, I'm trying that. As of this week, I mark my balls (play mostly yellow balls) with a smily face. Very corny but it is my reminder that this is a game, one I play for fun, and that I wish to play happy regardless of well I play that day. After 18 holes, it works for me.

I don't wish to start a spitting match with you about if your handicap will drop. If you don't think you'll chip and putt to more consistent distances by using the same ball all the time, then you certainly are right. And if I gave the impression that your Top Flights were going to form a tight circle of excellent results during your practice session, I did not mean to. No ball is going to fix someone's chipping and pitching problems. I still argue that if you are switching from Top Flight rocks to Soft Feel rollers, to ProV1 on each hole during a round, you are unlikely to get a feel for distance control. Maybe some high handicappers don't ever hit shots well enough for that to matter. The two guys I play with every Saturday who have handicaps over 25 certainly do hit some nice shots. One guy is a ball **** and can go through periods where his "touch" is awful. The other guy has an awful swing but can be excellent around the greens and judges distance control better than I do some mornings and I give him 17 strokes. He loves his Q-Stars. When you stand over a 40 foot putt and you are trying to judge the speed, if you think you ball doesn't matter the it doesn't. The three putt could have been caused by a bad stroke, a miss-read or any number of things. Many high handicappers might even change their putter for one with more consistent feel off the insert. Never mind that there is just as much difference in feel between a Hot Ice and a Hot insert as there is between your Top Flight and a Z-Star.

Soft Feel is my cold weather ball. They feel "normal" when the temps are in the 40's. Hard to tell, but I think they launch a bit higher that my normal balls. Not designed for my 103MPH SS when it is warm, but I love teeing off on a brisk morning and not having a harsh feel at contact. You know, that feeling of hitting range balls when it is 42*. That said, they roll on the greens. Always roll for me. They feel soft at contact (as soft as any premium ball) but they just won't stop rolling. They putt well and feel good off the putter -- very much like a premium ball. But I found chipping and pitching very different and if the play did not allow for rollout, I was out of luck. So, as the temps rise to the high-50's, the Soft Feel balls go in the bag.

I wish two things for you: 1. Try what feels like 1/2 or 3/4 backswings. The paradox is that you very likely will hit the ball farther with what feels like a half swing. 2. Slow down. Control your backswing and feel like you are getting yourself in the right positions. Try slow motion as practice. And then try really slow (feels slower than it will be) backswings with a feeling of a pause at the top. If nothing else, a shorter and slower swing will let you and your instructor see what happening easier.

It's not about "going far" for a high handicap. Although a ball that matches your swing speed can optimize distance and ball flight WHEN HIT WELL. But, I would argue that a ball designed for a high swing speed does not get a chance to perform at a low swing speed. What I don't understand is how people can spend time worrying about which driver to buy and if one set of irons offers the right amount of forgiveness, and then not care if they are hitting a ball designed (at great R&D; expense) for a player with a 115MPH swing. You may be able to hit Tiger's ball better than you can play his irons, but neither was designed with you in mind. If you play bogey golf with any old random ball each hole, you are costing yourselves strokes. Maybe not off the driver, or even 8-iron (if your swing is inconsistent enough that distance control is a swing issue and not a ball issue), but on and around the green. How many? 3-4 would be a very safe bet. Might be 2 and could be 6. What if you only 3 putt once a round because your distance control is better on long putts? How about getting up and down twice more than you do now? And what about narrowing your circle from 100 yards to 20 feet instead of 30?

There are advantages to playing alone. For one, I find the company to be more of a sure thing than getting random pairings -- which can be anything from awesome to awful. At least when I'm alone I know the a#*hole I'm playing with. I'm always willing to be paired up with a group when I arrive to play alone. But, if I'm sent out alone, I'm more than happy with too. I understand the OP's reluctance but urge trying it. Many of us have something that we'd rather not do alone. Someone mentioned a long lunch. I've only been to one movie alone and it felt very odd to me. I don't know why. Something about going to a movie theater alone seems like wrong for me. Yet, playing golf alone seems natural.

post the video

What do you mean by "assign your handicap?" Do you mean calculate an index? Convert index to playing handicap? Or use handicaps when playing a game?

I do not think it is BS. I think it matters. Lower compression flies better for those with slower swing speeds. One of my regular partners is 75 and has a slower swing speed (maybe 85-90 MPH). He picked up both distance and desired flight when he dropped to a lower compression ball -- E6 and Q-star. I find low compression balls feel better and fly longer and higher in cold weather for my 103 MPH SS. And low compression, low spin balls really do go longer in all weather for me.

22 AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI

Play my best shot not the best shot for someone who may have all the shots. My desired shot shape is straight or a slight draw.

Seriously? Do any of you play a course that has been aerated with plugs and holes still out there, and the course does not then have a local rule for lift clean and place?

Nice matters to me. But flowers do not always equal nice. Clean, well groomed and friendly allow for entertaining better than a course with zero attention to anything but the course. First impressions matter. Staff often can be first impression. But, like it or not, the parking lot is often a first impression too. That all said, two of my favorite courses to play on my own or with hard core golfers, have parking and range areas that make you think the course will not be good. One is no-frills but new with a gravel lot full of pickups with gun racks. The other is old and has rusty old club holders on the range and a very dated clubhouse. And then you get out on the course and they both are awesome and very well maintained.

That's good advise.

I'm with RayG. Aim for your idea finishing position and try and hit it straight. A fade and your still in play. If OB is in play on that line because of possible hook, you've got to club down. Must avoid OB and the big number that comes from hitting three from the tee.

OK, so if a rules official was watching and also thought the ball oscillated, no penalty. But if the official did not see one way or the other, or if Tiger called the official over after the fact and Tiger said he thought it oscillated, then the same two strokes from video? Or does the official saying, "If you say it oscillated, then carry on my son." also fall under rule 34-2/2 above?

Never seen or heard of anyone getting tossed in golf. See and hear about it in other sports -- even as the new TV policy is to try not showing the people so they do not get the attention they seek.

So, if Tiger had called a rules official over and then moved the twig, and they both thought it oscillated, but then video showed they were both wrong, it still would be a two stroke penalty according those who think video proof should be used after the fact. Am I missing their logic? Calling an official over does not change anything if video, presented after the fact, is allowed. And this is not the same as instant reply in most sports. Instant replay can only reverse certain calls. So, if checking to see if there was a catch, and the video shows obvious holding, the holding can not be called. What is being suggested here is that every infraction can be called after the round if seen on video.