PhilsRHman

Figured that I'm really not looking for a lot of distance out of this club, I just want something less than driver, and like a 2 iron. There honestly aren't a lot of holes that straddle the line between driver/3W, so if I'm trying to play safe off a tee on either a dogleg or mid-300 yard par 4, or even unreachable par 5, a 5W I can hit 240-255ish would be more versatile than a 3W in the 270ish range. Same goes for hitting into greens, it seems I've got 240 into a green far more often than I've got 275. Add in the fact that I can take a fair amount off my driver by hitting a cut rather than a draw, and I figured the gap that needed filling was closer to 2-3 iron, rather than up near driver, and 5W seems like it would serve that purpose and hopefully be easier to hit and control.

Well, maybe today is my lucky day. I just won an ebay auction for a Titleist 906F2 18 degree 5 wood Fairway Wood. The shaft is the ALDILA NV 75-s Stiff Flex. The seller says it's a 9 out of 10 condition and the pictures seem to back that up. Got it for $49, plus $15 shipping. I think that's a real steal since most of these have finished at 100 or more, before shipping. I'm playing Friday, and hope to have it in time for that round. If not, I'll get to the range over the weekend and report back. I figure worst case, I can resell it on ebay and get most of my money back and try something else. I don't know much about the shaft, but what I found online ranged from wildly overrated to a great shaft that's heavier than you'd normally find, but I figure that should help cut down on those nasty snap hooks I'm prone to.

I agree with some of the other posts here, that so many Wilson Ultra and other bargain basement clubs got onto the market that Wilson Staff lost any brand identity. The Fat Shaft experiment of 10-15 years ago also did them no favors as it actually became tough to find even their high-end clubs without those Fat Shafts, which looked and felt like a gimmick (exactly what high end players don't want). I've had the same RM Midsize Forged irons for 12 years now (amazing it's been that long) and anytime I look at a new set I realize how gorgeous mine are. Really thin top line, faces that just look like they want to hit a nice shot. Now that I'm not playing as well as I used to, I'm sure I'd benefit from going back to a cavity back, but I know that playing with these will force me to get better. In the marketing game, Wilson Staff definitely lost out to those with huge budgets and those focusing on game improvement irons. And the fact Wilson never really bothered with a premium driver, it didn't get to piggyback its iron repuation on its driver (cough, Callaway, cough). But as I've learned in my years with this sport, the vast vast majority of marketing is aimed at the 25 handicapper with money to spend, not the 19-year-old 7 handicapper trying to become a 2.

OK, so the quick background. Couple years ago (ok, 8-10 years ago) I was down to a 6 handicap and playing even better than that, but got away from the game for several years. I can still put together a round in the low 80s, but I'm super inconsistant and will go 85-102-86-96 on a given stretch. I'm playing a lot again, and I'm hitting my driver so much longer and more consistently than I ever did a decade ago, which reminds me that I used to rely on a 2-iron that I could practically walk out to where I wanted it, 250 yards, straight, draw, cut, whatever. I'm not playing to the point I can hit that 2-iron anymore, and I've tried a 2 hybrid TM Rescue, but it sucks and I've officially taken out of my bag since having a "safe" club to hit of the tee is pointless if I don't know if I'll hook it 60 yards left, or overcompensate and cut it 30 yards right. I have a feeling it's got a closed face and too weak a shaft (whatever the stock steel TM stiff shaft is) and with my tendency to draw/hook, it just exaggerates it. Plus, I've never gotten used to the hybrid face, so after two seasons fighting it, it's banished. OK, so that leads me to my actual question. I want to supplement my driver with a 3 or 5 wood. Distance isn't much of an issue for me at this point, as I can pound this TM 320 out there 290-310, sometimes longer when I'm playing the draw and not playing in the soggy NJ fairways (I can only imagine if I updated and at some point if I start playing better and have the money will look to pair up something more modern to my swing speed). I went to Dick's a couple weeks ago, and the 3 woods they have all seem to fall under the "game improvement" category, which includes weak shafts and draw biases. They measured my 3W swing speed at 105, and while I don't really trust their simulator (skeptic in me says they lower teh spin variables to increase distance and straighten your shots so you buy their clubs) it had be banging their 3Ws 280-290 yards. Figuring it was probably closer to 265-270, and trimming off a bit more distance when I go from their stiff shafts to something like an Aldila NV-75S, I'll lose a bit more distance, I'm not sure if I should be looking for a 3W or 5W. I really want something I can hit 240-250, work it when I need to, and be able to hit it off the fairway on long par 5s since I really can't hit my driver at all off the deck. The absolute most important thing is I want a club I can hit consistently. I've read a lot of great things about the Titleist 906f2 and 906f4, and there have been a lot lately on eBay, and since I'm trying to add this club for $100 or less, I obviously can't jump at something newer. I was looking at the f4 in a 3W since the reviews say it's more forgiving, but then was thinking if I drop to a 5W, then the f4 might be too shallow for me to hit off the tee, and that I might be able to go to the f2 and trade some distance for some workability. The biggest problem is I can't find either of these clubs anywhere to hit, which is driving me nuts. Even when I was playing well, I wasn never a real equipment buff, especially shafts. If anyone can point me in the right direction here, in terms of different fairway woods, thoughts on the 906f series, and especially thoughts on shafts, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks a ton in advance.

I got these grips 18 months ago, and even though they felt like the were holding up, I decided to bring them in last month for a regrip since they probably had about 40-50 rounds on them. Found the guy at Dicks to be far more knowledgable than I ever expect from a box store like that, so I was comfortable with him doing them. Much to my surprise, he told me to save my money,that the grips were still in very good shape, and just give them a good scrub. We decided the driver was the only one that really needed it. In hindsight I'm going to bring my SW back since I grip that one low and it's lost some tack down on the non-cord part. All-in-all, I really like these grips. I couldn't find the half cords that I used to use, and these fill in nicely. Playing in NJ humidity, I sweat like crazy, and even these start to get slippery on really bad days. Anyone with suggestions of an even better/tackier grip? I thought the Winn grips might be good, but I've heard terrible reviews of their durability and that they feel great in the store but that wears off quickly. Thoughts?

I'll be down there in two weeks. Here's the current lineup, which we can change if anyone's got suggestions (staying at Orange Lake, which explains so much golf there): Sunday: Orange Lake Legends Monday: 36 at Orange Co. National Tuesday: twilight round at Magnolia Disney Wednesday: ??, probably Orange Lake (but most courses seem especially crowded this day) Thursday: Nicklaus New Course at Grand Cypress (it's my birthday, so hoping it lives up to the incredible reviews) Friday: Orange Lake Legends Saturday: ?? playing by ear and open to suggestions

Sounds like the OG is a bit off his rocker (not like my newbie butt should be talking), but it's an interesting question, regardless of who brought it up. Everyone's met that person with a swing so natural and pure, it looks like they were born with a club in their hands. Touch around the greens like you've never seen. Those are two special things that you have, whether playing a month, or a decade. But there's so much more to becoming a scratch golfer than just hitting "a lot of good shots." As someup said earlier, the difference between 5 and scratch is far greater than 36 and 5. I might not agree to that degree, but maybe between 36 and 10. I think once you're under 10, you've taken on a new game and play in a different realm than those above it. But that jump to scratch (I guess by definition, you have to AVERAGE par, which means several rounds below par, right?) is still light years. My guess is that 90 percent of club pros aren't even scratch golfers in the true sense. They can't keep a handicap, but if they could, even very good club pros would be in the 2-5 range.

The Rick Reilly books set at "Ponky" ("Missing Links" and "Shanks For Nothing") are hysterical. Not only is he a great writer, but he really captures the kind of humor only someone who spends years of their life at a golf course can appreciate. Not just funny, we're talking put the book down because you're laughing so hard you can't keep reading without wiping your tears away funny. Also, while not fiction, Reilly's "Who's your Caddy" was fantastic. Anyone who can read that and still look at "Long" John Daly that same way is a stronger man than me. I've read the Little Red Book about 10 times, now I use it more as a reference than anything else. When giving friends tips I catch myself quoting it directly. The rest of the "Little" books are great for anecdotes and getting in the golf mood. Hell, I even read the one for seniors and ladies. A few years after teaching myself the game by reading the Little Red Book, I fell in love again with Bob Rotella's books and his "keep it simple" mentality. Guess that explains why I'm so turned off by some of the technical mumbo jumbo on Golf Channel. Have found Feinstein's books incredibly hard to get through, despite having very high expectations. Especially The Majors (pretty sure that was the name of it), it just read like a very very very very long game story you'd read in the next day's paper. At least it was for as deep as I could read into it. Looking forward to the book about dropping everything and trying for Q School. Had never heard of it until tonight, and sounds like the perfect reading to get me juiced for my Sept. golf trip! Any other new stuff out there? I'm a huge fan of golf fiction. There are some classics I've never gotten around to (never read Jenkins, and Golf in the Kingdom lost me by page 20, although I was 15 or so when I tried reading it, so maybe it's time for another stab at it). Anything I NEED to get my hands on? I'm all ears.

I spent 8 years - high school, college and even once I was out working full time - working summers at a golf course, and it taught me how important generosity is. For what it was, my job was amazing, made $6-7/hour, plus somewhere around $100-250 a day doing everything from loading bags onto carts, cleaning clubs, doing favors (once went to the supermarket for steaks when the grill was closed and a member convinced the bartender to fire it back up on the DL). I like to think that my service was a major part of making their experience enjoyable, whether consciously or subconsciously. And in return, I made more money as a teen and early 20-something than any of my friends. The funny thing is, the buck from one of the seniors who played 5 days a week, or the $5 from the stock broker who played once a day, I treated them all the same. Of course the guy who'd bring 3 or 4 foursomes down, hand me $50 to clean all their clubs after golf, and then wouldn't let me refuse as they each handed me a couple bucks on top of that, is balanced out by the group of 36 seniors who will give you and average of 50 cents. You figure it balances out. But today, I always try to return the favor, as it were. I'm certain that the difference between the average tip and a very nice tip (what, 2-3 bucks extra) will mean FAR more to the person than it will to me. With that said, I forgot my cash when going to a very upscale semiprivate course last weekend, and I was incredibly mortified, especially when the guy I joined up with on the tee wanted to tip the guys $5 for me and $5 for him, but they had no change so he gave them all $20. So embarrassing.