dbuck

To see what condition my condition was in. Many of you may not be old enough to remember that old Mickey Newbury tune; I am a geezer and barely old enough. I have been absent for a minute. True confession; my network at work blocks sport sites to my desktop. I can access on my phone, but just don’t enjoy posting as much with the phone. I have been doing some home upgrades, and that and other parts of life have interfered with golf, but I still play every chance I get. My last listed handicap is 13; not sure I am playing to that, but did manage an 84 last time out. I have switched to the PING 410 Plus driver, and just started using the new ProV1. I played the AVX from the time it became available in my area, and it improved my distance by at least a half club with my irons. The local Dicks was out, and I decided to try the new ProV1, and am getting the same distance with it from my irons, and the combination of driver and ball are a little longer. I wish everyone the best this season, and hope to visit a little more often.

Have you tried the Titleist AVX? To me it has a great feel off the club. While I am a 13, I know a few single digits who like it.

What Patch said.

I have one set that I play with. I have a set of '79 Wilson Staff Tour Blades that my late dad bought for me in college, a set of Hogan blades that I bought at Goodwill to mess around with, and a motley set I put together as an experiment. I have a bunch of putters I don't use, and about 26 pieces of Persimmon. One of the putters was given to me 39 years ago by an old friend that recently passed. Several of the putters are examples of classic putters, and a couple I just keep because they are unique. I also have a few other random clubs.

The 845s was the hot club in its day. I went to the store to buy a set and they were out. I actually waited for the UPS truck to show up and when it did with no 845's on board, I bought Titleist DCI's.

Lamkin Crosslines have always been my go to, but I may see if my dealer can get original grips for my current set-I like the factory setup on all my current bag.

Looks like they better organized the nomenclature: T100 = AP2 = forged player's iron T200 = AP3 = cast player style iron with hotter lofts T300 = AP1= game improvement iron with hottest lofts

I have done it before. I took it a step further and used a bunch of mismatched clubs that I threw together. It was fun, but I am over it, LOL.

Titleist. I have one Callaway in the bag that I really like, but I could replace it with a Titleist if need be.

Way, Way cool!!

I shot an 86 on Sunday. I had several pars and a birdie, but 5 doubles for a 43-43. I hate doubles, but I haven't played as much as usual this year. Overall, I hit the ball pretty well for me and not too disappointed other than the doubles.

I don't know if the OP has made a decision yet. I would start with a fairway between 15-18 degrees, with a 16-17 being a good candidate. Because you seem to like your 22* hybrid, I think I would keep it, and add another hybrid or utility iron between it and your 5 iron. For this slot especially, try to hit some shots using your own golf balls-find a place that has demos you can rent or whatever. Don't worry about the stated loft on this one; just find a club that fills that gap.

Titleist AVX. I tried them when they became available, and liked the feel. I am at least a half club longer, maybe a little more with my irons, and it made my gaps work nicely. I love the feel off the putter as well.

What condition my condition was in. I got a "where have you been we miss you" sort of email from The Sand Trap the other day. I know it's auto-generated, but still a nice touch. I am on several other forums and don't remember getting such from them. I am fine and a good time was had by all, LOL. I have been a little busy with life this season, doing some home repairs, taking care of some family members, and have also been spending a bit of time on a couple of other long time hobbies. I have not played quite as much golf as I like, but I hope to catch up some in the fall. I hope everyone is having a good year. I am gonna poke around and see what's up on The Sand Trap.

Yep, and don't mess with my stinkin' crutch! :)

One, a 21*. My fairway wood is 15* and my 5 iron is 24*.

I think you are the prime candidate for a driver fitting. Take your old stick as a reference point, but I think you have opportunities.

I would expect the 5 iron to be around 30-32 degrees, which would put the 2 iron around 20 and the PW around 50-52.

Hey, doesn't hurt to dream. Titleist, FootJoy, Rolex (or Tag Heuer), Cadillac, NetJet (sp), Jos A. Banks, AT&T

I played "real golf" yesterday for the first time this year. I did not score great, but had a generally good day. Overall, I hit the ball decently, but did have a few swings that the casual observer might deduce that it was my first time to play! I did not have time to hit any range balls before the round; I literally got out of my truck and went to the first tee. My green reading was off, but my putts were burning the edge at a generally appropriate pace. I was "hitting my lines" on my putts as Tiger says, but I wasn't picking the right line.

I will join the choir and say keep using the PINGs for now. If your driver is 6 or more years old, you could probably benefit from a newer one, but I would still start with the old one. I don't know about your age or game level, but hybrids and fairways have also had some improvements in the last 5-6 years. If yours are less than 10 years old, though, I would still start with them and get some good instruction to start off on the right foot.

I used the same putter with only occasional breaks for over 30 years, and would still use it were it not illegal. I could change the grip, but it is the original leather grip, and I will just leave it as is. Over the last couple years I have tried several, and was seriously considering getting fitted for an Edel this year, but toward the end of last season ran across the Scotty I am currently using. So far, we are getting along well, so if the relationship continues to be amicable, I won't change for a while.

Last Friday, I ventured out for the first time, albeit in a shamble. A buddy/neighbor called and invited me to a benefit scramble. I hadn't hit a real golf shot since November, so I went to the range early, hit a bucket, and putted for about 30 minutes. I left the course, had lunch, went home and changed clothes, and returned in time to hit the range again for a warm up. I was pleasantly surprised, especially with my iron play. I can tell I've had another birthday, as I was a bit stiff after the round. I need to drop my winter fat, and that will help a bit, hopefully. How are the rest of you coming out of hibernation?

Glad you are getting new grips. As much as you play, you should probably change every two years at the least. I am 61, and bought steel shafts last year. I like my Titleist 818AP1's. The lofts are hot, but they fly high and stop ok. A friend has the Mizuno JPX 900's and he likes them. The JPX's got an upgrade for this year, and they the line included a cast and two forged offerings.

My guess on those is forged, but I honestly do not know for sure. The fact that they are stainless sort of makes me think cast. A quality laminate is more durable that persimmon, but a lot of laminates back in the day were not quality, and even quality ones were not taken care of as well as persimmon. I have some PING Eye2 laminates that while I shunned them when they were new, I find them great now. Probably the easiest wooden clubs to hit I've ever used. Don't pay more than a few bucks for either, unless they have some provenance to a famous player, person, or event. There are basically 2 generations of persimmon; those from the 50's and 60's, and those from the late 70's early 80's. The 70's and 80's saw a resurgence of persimmon as manufacturers began basically making repros of the 20 year old clubs that professionals were still using, and Japanese investors were paying $500 for.(We think prices are high now) A very few of the first generation have some collector value, those of the second have none without provenance. A true new in the box item will bring a premium, but its not truly collectible at this point. Some websites will charge a lot more than they are worth; spend time haunting Goodwill and the like and you will find nice specimens for $5-10 per club. Check out Dave Wood's website; he does some detailed restorations.