StreakyPete

I played at Prestwick St Nicholas a couple of weeks ago in a senior's competition. I didn't score particularly well (even tho' I was striking reasonably well), however, my 72 year old playing partner, and eventual winner beat his age by 6 strokes! He wasn't doing anything fancy, just batted it down the middle very consistently, knocked em up on the green and didn't waste any shots with his putts. He came back in 32 shots on a pretty tough, windy links course! He claimed he owed it all to getting a Leadbetter 'Swingsetter' over the winter. Naturally, I went straight out and bought one!!!

Getting back to the 'Swingsetter', I got one for my birthday a couple of weeks ago (BTW, It was nice to get a Birthday greeting from this forum). Since working with it, my swing has really got a lot better. The main improvement is in my timing (which is the real claim to fame from the Swingsetter') I feel much more confident that I'm swinging on the right track and that my release is timed much better. Additional improvements come from my grip and posture. Putting it all together has consistently resulted in a much better shape of shot, with an accompanying increase in distance. So far, I've only played in one competition with my 'New' swing, where although I was striking it really well, I couldn't buy a putt to save my life, so the nett score was much the same as before. However, I've got a game on tomorrow, and I'm feeling really confident! Should I make an acknowledgement in my winners speech? (ho-hum....)

I grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland. We lived about 3 miles away from the 'Braid Hills' golf courses. I discovered this heaven on earth when I was about six when I had gone out riding on my bike. I fell in love with the place immediately - the smells; the views (you could see all over the City of Edinburgh and far beyond), but most of all the sound of a well struck wood sending the ball whistling through the air. I spent most of my summers there until we moved away when I was 13 (age, not handicap) Then I discovered sex. 20 years after that I took up golf again, although found it difficult to spend much time on the course due to work and family commitments. Now, I've got loads of time, and I'm loving it. I'm semi-retired and play about 25 'Seniors Open Competitions' a year, in addition to as many club games as I can fit in. Regrets? well yeah, I let life get in the way of golf for a while, but I'm getting over it now ;)

Today was the first day we've been allowed to play from the fairways. Not much growth, well, none actually, to give a decent lie but it was fun not to be bothered with lifting and dropping in the semi at last. I've been working on my short game thru the winter (developing a very reliable 'left hand below right' technique to overcome my yipps on short chips) I didn't feel I was striking the ball all that well, but avoided any real danger. My partner and I took the cash, and a countback revealed I had played to seven over, which is 6 under my handicap :) Can't wait for the 1st medal of the year which is a week on Saturday.

I think we can all learn from obviously better golfers merely by observing them. If a player actively seeks advice, then that's fair play. However, offering unsolicited advice is, at best, a breach of etiquette, and at worst a not too subtle form of gamesmanship. Given that we're all out on the course to enjoy ourselves - I know, I know.., it doesn't always seem that way - it can be difficult to get a self-elected 'Guru' to button it without causing bad feeling. Often the 'glassy' stare accompanied with the minimum of comments works best.

Me neither... unless I lose concentration when going for a 'Big' one and fail to get the weight onto the inside of my back foot. Thankfully this doesn't happen often, but when it does it's usually time to wave 'bye-bye' to the ball

Since it's a well known fact that I NEVER make a mistake, these expressions cover the four scenarios mentioned; 1. Looks like the wind's got it 2. Looks like the wind's got it 3. Looks like the wind's got it 4. Looks like the wind's got it That 'bout covers it

Here in Central Scotland, we're quite lucky in that we can play practically all year round. Sometimes we get shifted to Winter Greens and Temporary tees (which makes it a drive and a flick on most holes), but at least it keeps the swing in shape. This week is exceptionally cold with with -4 cen being the lowest. Still, we managed to get a couple of rounds in. One advantage is that it only takes just over 2 hours to get the 18 holes in. Occasionally, we'll take a trip to the coast (less than 50 miles either East or West). Conditions are usually a little better there thanks to the Gulf Stream warming the coastline up a bit. Come to think of it... I may just head off to Troon tomorrow :0)

At last! My new Pi5's arrived, as promised last week. Unfortunately, the weather here has been absolutely foul - (high winds and heavy rain) so I haven't had a proper chance to evaluate them. So far, I've only had two quick sessions at our practice area (which is huge.) First impressions? Yahoo!, I've made the right choice! I'm getting a great feel from the clubs, and the ball flight is exactly what I hoped it would be. Wilson Staff make a big claim that the Pi5's are ideal for those who want to shape a shot. Well I can testify that that claim is 'spot-on'. The forecast for tomorrow is good, so I'll see if they do as well on the course as the have done on the practice area.

Manufacturers stickers I usually leave on. Everything else goes.

After five weeks fruitlessly waiting for the Nike's to arrive, I finally cancelled the order last week. Turns out that Nike weren't releasing the clubs to my Pro, as they reckoned he was selling them to me too cheaply! Anyway, I decided to spend a bit more and get the clubs that I really wanted in the first place - Wilson Staff Pi5s. I was at the factory last week getting measured up for them. It was a lot of fun doing that, although a bit intimidating being under such close scrutiny. I should get the new clubs at the end of this week - just in time to get a chance to play them in before the last medal of the season.

Still no sign of my clubs yet (sigh...) However, I was talking to one of the members who had bought a set of Nike irons (not the Pro combos, but the 'Slingbacks'. He said it took him months to get the hang of them (!) I wouldn't say he was a great player, but he was good enough to beat me in the club championship qualifiers. (pre Nike) I hope I don't take that long to play my new clubs in.

Well, I've had a decent test of the Pro Combo's and.... I love 'em! I was lucky enough to find a Nike 'Demo Day' nearby, so I spent more than an hour trying them out. They are a significant improvement over my old set of 'John Letters T2s' (mind you, what isn't?). I've ordered a set from our club Pro (3 to PW + 56deg gap wedge), he price-matched the best price I could find on the web, so I ended up with a pretty decent deal. I can't wait to get my hands on them, but I have to wait a week for delivery. Bizarrely, they are stored in Holland. Luckily (?) I have a gap in my golfing calendar coming up, so I'll have a good chance to play them in.

All of the above, and... 1:Intravenous Guinness; 2:Bay Watch Babes giving coaching; 3:Home made Irish Soda Bread spread with lashings of butter in the restaurant; 4:Padraig Harrington to sort out my short game; 5:Re-runs of 'Father Ted' on the overhead monitors; 6:Decent heaters in the bays in the winter; 7:Decent A/C in the bays in the summer; 8:Ardal O'Hanlon as the clubmaster; 9:Quality balls in the bays which properly reflect the standard expected today; 10: A quality putting green which accurately simulates various types of grass and slopes. Well, you did ask...

Wow! I'll have some of what he was havin' ! Maybe the secret is that you were too scared to move your head...

I'm using a locally produced club from 'Kane Golf' - The 'Terminator'. Sounds tacky, I know, but with the Harrison Striper stiff flex shaft fitted, it's a pretty useful tool to have in the bag. Once I've purchased my new irons, I'll be looking to add an 8.5deg Wilson Staff Dd5 to my armoury. I love the lower ball trajectory it gives - which is often required in the often windy local conditions.

I played a traditional Scottish links course at the week-end. 'Traditional ' means NO yardage markers of any description, NO trees or objects large enough to give some 3D definition, and NO chance of stopping a ball on the green with Rock Hard conditions! And the funny thing is... I thoroughly enjoyed it! However, now don't tell them I said this, but if I had a Range Finder with me... ...I'd have enjoyed it even more!!

Hi Eric, Don't worry - I wouldn't dream of buying a new set of irons that I hadn't thoroughly tested. The Nike's are but one set that I'm hoping to 'test Drive' very soon. The others in the list include: Mizuno MX23; Wilson Staff Pi5; Taylor Made RAC LT 2; and not forgetting the much talked about 735's. My present irons are a locally produced set of 'John Letters T2's' They aren't bad, but are more suited to higher handicappers. I've had them for nearly 5 years now, and my game has moved on somewhat in the last two years, coming down from 20 to the current 13. I strike the ball pretty well - distance is not a problem, particularly with the mid to shorter irons where I could do with accuracy rather than raw distance. As ever, cost is a factor (we've recently moved to a larger house), which is why I thought I might give the Nike's a trial. I've read a number of reviews, most of which are very favourable. Hope to get along to the well stocked 'World of Golf' range on Tuesday to do some A/B testing

As I'm in the market to replace my ageing irons, it's been suggested to me that I try the Nike Pro combo's. I've never so much as held one in my hand - although I did think that they looked pretty impressive on the Nike stand at this years Open. Has anyone on the Forum tried/purchased these clubs? It would be useful to have other peoples comments on them before I dive straight in. I have won a couple of Senior's events recently, which gives me just enough vouchers to get my hands on a set of Pro Combos. (This would mightily impress Wifey who was making noises about replacing the Dining Set (whatever that is )

Well, I'm in favour of them. Sort of. I used to think that checking the yardages on sprinkler heads was strictly for Woosies - what was wrong with just LOOKING at the flag in the distance and guessing (AKA getting a feel for) the distance/club thing? However, I eventually got to learn the benefit of swinging smoothly, confident I had the right club in my hands. I've never used a range finder, but I imagine that they will be a bit more accurate than some of the distance markers on many courses - I'm sure on some course they either guess the distance, or the piece of string they use has either stretched or shrunk! My only reservation is that they don't get too advanced and techie orientated. I can just imagine a bunch of old codgers out there fiddling with their 'Fully Loaded Top-of-the-range' models before slinging them into the deep rough in exasperation. (Don't include ME in that group tho' - I CAN operate the timing device on my VCR...)

I regularly use my 'Kasco' 44 & 55 rescue woods (19 & 22 degrees) They are so versatile - I no longer carry my 3 or 4 iron, and I rarely have the need to use my Callaway 3-wood off the deck. I would say that they were the main reason I've lopped three strokes off my handicap in the last year, although, like Donald, I sometimes feel that they're so easy to use, it's almost like cheating!

Our club Pro charges £16 ($30) per half hour, which is pretty typical. He's a good teacher and has the ability to get his message across. At the local range, the teaching pro's there charge up to £75 ($135) per half hour I'm lucky in as much as my daughter, who played for the Scottish Team a while back, can pass on to me all the top coaching tips she used to get as part of the team. (so those lessons are FREE!! - which is a GOOD THING!)

What's under my kilt is a secret between me and...... ...anyone who cares to look.

I'd be delighted! it may not be this year, sadly. Out of the list you mentioned, I've only played Pawleys, so I've got a lot to look forward to

I had an absolute stinker of a day today. It all went wrong when my 2nd shot to the long 2nd misssed the green to the right and landed in the 1st cut of shortish rough. Long story short: couldn't find the pesky thing - had to do the long walk back...! Caught a deep bunker with my next and ended up with a seven - Ugh! Bitter irony department - I walked over my original ball on the way to the 3rd tee. Troubles weren't over tho' as twice I took four from greenside positions, and once (Oh! the shame...!) I actually took five shots to get down from 25yds with a decent lie. Why do these things always happen on a medal day?