dbuck

Callaway Rogue. Backup is my old Titleist 915.

I agree with this. I am 60 and still use steel in my irons. There are other reasons to use graphite that have more bearing than age alone. If you have arthritis, or steel causes pain, graphite can be easier on the joints. More important, though, is to find a flex profile that fits your swing, after you take a couple lessons and it is more developed. This may or may not be a graphite shaft.

All he said, especially the part about you swinging out of your shoes to keep up with your friend. This likely caused a lunge and head bob which produced the tops. It happens to all of us. 1. Get a lesson Yeah, Bubba says he is self taught, but you aren't Bubba. What you think you are doing is not what you are doing. The ball flight always tells the truth. 2. Small successes. 3. Patience, perseverance, and reasonable expectations. We all have bad days. I have been playing almost 50 years and I have days where the club just feels weird in my hands. 4. Buy "Lowest Score Wins" 5. Make sure you have fresh grips on your clubs.

I love my AP1's. They will look al little clunky to you compared to your DCI's. Once you get used to them though, the DCIs won't come back out of the closet. The AP2 and AP3s are less clunky and still more forgiving than the DCIs. As others have mentioned, the Mizuno JPX 900 and 919 lines are also very good.

I use a 21* hybrid with a slightly larger head.

Yep.

I liked Patch's post. I will add that you make friends in golf the same way you make friends anywhere else. Don't overthink it. While I do enjoy playing with friends, I enjoy golf just as much playing alone.

The face is open to the target, but square to the swing path. If it weren't, your shots would curve, not fly straight. So you are swinging in to out with an open face,(open to the target, square to the swing path) or you are simply lined up to the right, assuming you are right handed.

Welcome to the forum. Your number one choice was more or less the correct answer, and really the only one that matters. If your shots are all going right, you should fix that first. No club will fix that. I would suggest a lesson from a qualified instructor. If your shots are truly flying straight but offline, it could be as simple as alignment or grip. Getting fit is not necessarily expensive, as long as you don't select an exotic shaft or spec. Many qualified fitting centers will comp the fitting process if you purchase from them. Getting the proper length and lie from the manufacturer is often no charge or minimal. The things that really generate upcharges are shafts and grips. Game improvement or more forgiving player style irons are easier to hit more consistently, though you still need to make a good pass to have a good shot. What they do through technology is to make it easier to get the ball in the air, and you lose less distance with a less than perfect strike.

I have a similar handicap, and I love my Titleist AP1s. They are bigger, but you don't notice it as much unless you have them right next to the AP3 or AP2. I will elaborate on the Titleist line a bit, as I am more familiar with them, but all of the major brands have similar ranges. Titleist has 6 lines, T-MB, MB, CB, AP2, AP3, and AP1. You can see their website for a detailed description. I think the ones that would interest you most are the AP lines. The MB and CB are really for better players, and the T-MB more of a specialty club. They are blade style, but hollow body. A lot of professionals use the longest irons as driving irons, but they do in fact make a complete set. The AP1 is the most forgiving, and is in the game improvement category. The AP3 sits between the AP1 and AP2, and has a good deal of forgiveness, but looks a little more player iron visually from the top. The AP2 is a forged players iron used by many tour players, but still has some of the technology of the AP1 and AP3. Loft wise of the 3 AP's, the AP1 is strongest, the AP2 the weakest, and the AP3 is in the middle. The AP1 is approximately a full club stronger than the AP2 through the set, and the AP3 roughly splits the difference. Just based on your handicap and the fact that you are younger and stronger than me, I could see you gravitating toward the AP3. They are a couple hundred higher for the set than the AP1s. Current street price is around $999 for AP1 4-GW; $1,199 for the AP3. The new Mizuno JPX 919 series has a similar relationship: 3 sets that are GI, forgiving player style, and better player style. While I do love my AP1s, I am not necessarily hawking Titleist; all of the major brands have similar ranges.

I couldn't find it on the internet either. It is a laminated maple club. The following is pure guess, but should be close. Estimated date late 1960s-early 1970s It looks like department store/sporting goods line as opposed to a pro shop line-Wilson made both Although you may see some on ebay or elsewhere priced higher, it is worth around $3-6.

If you are a rank beginner, using the second hand balls (not lake balls) works fine as you might discover which one you like. As your swing becomes more consistent, you will want to start using the same ball all the time so that you have consistent feel and distance from shot to shot.

For persimmon woods, I have found that modern Titleist DT Truesofts, as well as ProV1s work just fine, as do Wilson Duos.

Wilson Duo. Not super cheap but you can probably find for 15-20/ dozen. Very soft. I bought some last year models at Dicks around December 17 for $7/dozen.

One difference is that the 818 head has the adjustable weight. I have not hit the 816, but I have the 818H1 in 21* with the Project X Even Flow Blue in 6.0, and I love it. I get distance similar to what you said, about 185-190 max carry and 200ish total, but I can choke down and hit it 175. If the adjustable weight is not important, the 816 can still be found new in the pipeline for a hundred bucks or so less than the 818. I bought the 818 mainly because I wanted a new club and the Even Flow shaft. I haven't changed the weight or neck settings.

The chart posted by dennyjones works pretty close for me. I carry my driver about 225 or maybe just a little more.

Some of the 8802's with the original grip are non-conforming because of the grip. I guess it is more accurate to say the grips are non-conforming. This was in about 1988, I believe, and had to do with the combination of round and flat sections on the front of the grip, if I understand. If there is a flat section, it has to be flat all the way or to within 1" of the top of the grip, and cannot be concave. I have a Wilson repro of the Geo Low Wizard from 1980 that has its original non-conforming grip. It is round at the top for a couple of inches then flattens out. Also if you look from the side, it is slightly concave at the start of the flat part. I think there was another type of grip commonly used on these putters that was the real target of this rule, but the wording of the rule made the leather ones I have described non-conforming. Obviously, they can be made conforming by changing the grip, but some folks don't want to do this for aesthetic or historical reasons. I am not sure about the R90, but I think Laura Davies had a similar wedge that was ruled non-conforming at the 2018 Womens' British Open, I think.

I believe that both the 915 and 917 D3's were 440cc, where both the D2's were 460cc.

Well, I understand the enjoyment of playing with an old kit. I have a set of Wilson Staffs from 1979, and a set of Hogan PC's from around 1988. I have collected around 20-25 pieces of persimmon of various ages over the last few years. The Staffs cost $260 new for 2-PW in 1979. I paid about $30 a couple years ago for the Hogans, and around $6 per club for the persimmons. Although I haven't had any of them out for a spin lately, I played with them a good bit up until last year. You can still buy very similar equipment new, and it cost about the same as any other new equipment. A new persimmon driver or fairway from Louisville Golf will cost around $250 and up. Several manufacturers make irons very similar to my old Staffs, and they are around $1,000 per set, the same as any other modern iron. You can see my signature, and I have been playing modern stuff almost exclusively for the past couple of seasons. All this stuff is easier to use, though admittedly there is nothing like the sound and feel of a well struck persimmon. I have found a Scotty that gives me most of the intuitive feel of my old Wilson putter. Your 8802 and R90 if they are original are likely non-conforming, as was my treasured Wilson. As to the cost, golf is actually less inflated than some other things. In the 70's, I bought several new persimmons at discounted retail of around $125 or so. A modern price point on a driver is around $500, so an inflation of about 4 times. In 1976, I got a new Chevy as a graduation present from my parents. It was a fairly nicely equipped Monte Carlo and was $5,800 out the door. A similar car now would be over $30K, so at least an inflation factor of 5 times. If I recall, it cost around $15-20 for 18 with a cart at my college course, and I can play the same much improved course now for around $50, so only 2-3 times inflation. Premium balls are the same; about $1.25 in the 70's and about $4 now, but you can still buy the equivalent of the old Acushnet Club Special for around $1.50 or so. And while new equipment is expensive, used equipment a couple of revisions old and in great shape is probably 25-30% of the cost of new. Certainly the world is not as safe as it once was, but there are still places where at least older kids would be fine dropped off at the course. I hope you do recover well enough to be able to play again. If you do, give some of the newer stuff a try, you might find you like it. Or make some mods to your old stuff ( which works just fine with the softer of the modern balls). Either way, golf is in pretty good shape, actually.

A few years ago, I put together an experimental bag of just a few clubs for walking. On my usual course, there was one hole that was too long for my 5 iron and too short for the 16* Taylor Raylor. My club repair guy was selling his personal hybrids, and I bought them, a 20* and a 23*. It was an instant success, and I have always had a hybrid in the bag since. Currently, I am using a Titleist 818H1 in 21*. I can choke down and hit it 175 and a full nuke is about 200 total. If I had to carry 200 over water, I probably wouldn't try it, but 185 to maybe 190 is a go.

Saturday 8/25 I shot 85 over about 6400 yards; 70.4/123. I had 7 GIR, and 4 near GIR. 50% on the 4 near GIR, both of which were sand saves. 37 putts which sounds worse than it was. Bead and speed were great; read was the problem. I had a lot of close misses, but the ball went where I was looking. I was just looking at the wrong place. A couple of lags I left too short, but again it was read- I thought it was faster than it was. I had one triple bogey, but no doubles.

I like Lamkin Crosslines , Golf Pride Tour Velvet, and Golf Pride Multi-compound.

I have done this on occasion. A few years ago, I made up a junkyard bag and walked almost exclusively. It is a fun way to play. These days though I go the full bag route. If I walked, I would use fewer clubs.

My handicap would go up 2-3 points. Playing 3-4 times a month with a small bucket before is about all I do, except for a good deal of putting and some short game work. I do spend a good bit of time daily on putting though.

I live in the deep south also, and the air can feel like a wet wall. As many have said, hydration is the key to survival. I also play early mornings when possible. Temperatures have actually been slightly lower than normal here this year, but the humidity has been normal which is to say high. I guess I am just used to playing in a state of sweat. I ride almost exclusively, which means I never walk.