justinp

Some thoughts from a die-hard Pens fan after last night's game... I've said it before, but man Detroit is good. It just looks like they have 6 or 7 guys on the ice all the time. Malkin needs to WAKE UP! I really hope he's nursing some injury that they won't talk about because if his only excuse is that he's tired I'll lose a lot of respect for him...and I don't want to do that. He needs to look no further than Malone and Gonchar when the team gets together today. The season has been reduced to no more than 2 games. It's time to suck it up no matter how tired you are. I mean Gonchar could barely get himself over the boards and onto the ice for that final power play after slamming into the end boards in the 2nd period, but he did it and he played an important role when they needed him the most. Then you have Malone who, with his already busted nose, takes a laser to the face but comes back at the start of the 3rd (cleaning blood out of his nose between every shift), plays hard and continues to create traffic in front of the net for 3.5 more periods of hockey! It's the Stanley Cup Finals and the end of the season is in sight win or lose. Time to stop whining about being tired and play like you want to win this thing!!! If we didn't know it already, Fluery is coming out! He has looked incredible throughout the playoffs and if it wasn't for him, this series would already be over. This could be one of the best playoff performances by a goalie we've seen in quite some time. In order to win this thing (Pens)... #1. Fleury will have to keep standing on his head #2. We need to focus on getting the puck deep and playing scrappy. Detroit's defense is too good to spend the game trying to dance around guys or make cross rink passes looking for the pretty goals. #3. Certain players (Geno) need to find a way to dig deep and put aside the pain and fatigue to play inspired hockey for two more games!

Ah, the perils of trying to continuously improve. It's why I love golf. I am in a bit of the same type of slump (hopefully seeing the light at the end of the tunnel). I made some swing changes early this season to try to become more consistent with my ball striking. I worked at the range a few times and the first weekend out with the changes I shot 81 on Saturday and broke 80 for the first time on Sunday with a 78. I was flying high. I spent the next 6 or so rounds struggling just to break 90...frustrated to hell as to why it wasn't working all of a sudden. I was forcing it, and it wasn't happening anymore. I went to the range several times, I played a couple of 9-hole practice rounds, all in an attempt to try to get back what I had for that one weekend, but it wasn't working. Through no special process, and sticking with my swing changes, I went out this past Monday by myself in the middle of the afternoon (after going 90, 87 over the weekend) . I teed off at 2 pm as a single and, surprisingly, it felt like I had the course to myself. There was a twosome in front of me, but I never waited for them until late in the round. It was a beautiful day and I just relaxed and took my time. There were no distractions. While I still struggled at times with my approach shots, I hit the ball very well again and my chipping and putting was spot on. I ended up shooting an 81 and I hit 10 out of 14 fairways with my driver (a club that had haunted me since shooting the 78). I really only hit one bad drive all day long. It was strange. Nothing changed except I was out there all by myself enjoying the day and not over thinking everything I was doing.

Just out of curiosity, what was the score of the match at the time? If it was close, it's quite possible he was just trying to rattle your cage. Whether you were or weren't teeing up too far forward, he obviously got you thinking about it toward the end of a match. On the next tee box you start thinking about where you are teeing up and it's there in your head. Your thoughts go from, "Crap, am I really doing something wrong?", to being annoyed at your competitor, etc, etc. Basically it gets you thinking about stuff other than what you are normally thinking about when you are playing in a competition. You lose some focus.

So I'm looking at a used Callaway Heavenwood 4H with the uniflex steel shaft at a local golf shop. The thing looks like it's barely even been hit. They are asking $65 which seems decent to me (it's about half of the cost of a new one). Anyway, I was on PGA.com looking at club resale values and it shows a high end re-sale of $46 for this club. Yet, on Callawaygolfpreowned.com they have one of these in "Average" condition for $65. The one I'm looking at is in way better than average condition. Is PGA.com's $46 re-sale value a little on the low side? Thoughts?

It says they hit their 5-iron from 200 yards. It doesn't say they actually get there I see lots of guys who always hit the club they THINK they can get there with but they really can't. If you ask them today they will still tell you that's the club, but 9 out of 10 times they are short with it. They think because they bust 1 out of 10 that it's the right club. Either that, or they have a couple of 200 yd par-3s on their home course that they can reach with a 5-iron so they assume they hit their 5-iron 200 yards. What they fail to say is those par-3s play 30+ yards downhill. For those of you who truly do hit your 5i 200 yards (and I'm sure some of you do) please don't take offense to this, but you know what I'm talking about. The vast majority of golfers overestimate how far they really hit their clubs. Anyway, for me it's either a 3 or 4 iron hybrid.

WOW!! That's harsh. Is this the local media's way of trying to fire up the team with "bulletin board material"? I'm a diehard Pens fan and I'd love to see them win the cup this season but you have to admit it's been a pretty good ride even if they don't win another game. For the Post to rip in to them like this is a little over the line I think. This isn't Philly or Ottawa we are playing. Detroit didn't win the President's Trophy for no reason at all. They are the best team in the NHL and, unfortunately for us Pens fans, they have started this series on fire.

First of all, I'm a big Pens fan so I'm a little disappointed at how this series has started. I have to give Detroit credit though. Man they look good. I've seen very few, if any, teams give Pittsburgh this much trouble all season. Detroit is just everywhere. I agree with the poster that said it looks like they have 10 guys on the ice. I think the Pens can still win this series by taking care of business at home at getting back into it. That said, they need to figure out a way to create space. Right now they just look rattled. Their passes have been anything but crisp and they can't seem to get through the neutral zone cleanly. Again, give Detroit some credit here, but I see Pittsburgh doing some things like mishandling pucks and poor passes that are slowing them down in transition.

Part of the problem is that the European players (for whatever reason) are better at match play than the top American players. You don't need to go any further than the top dog to see that. Tiger is great. He seems cool to be around. He's a good guy. He seems like the kind of guy you would want anchoring this type of team. The problem is he's mediocre (if you can use that word when referring to him) at match play (and he's not the only one). Don't get me wrong, he's the best golfer in the world, but he has shown that in match play he's just another good golfer. Now, put him up against anybody in a 4 day stroke play event and I'll put my money on Tiger ever time.

All kinds of advice Without seeing your swing it really is hard to tell what is causing it. A straight up push is the result of approaching the ball from the inside (which you are supposed to do) but not squaring the club face at impact. There can be multiple reasons for that. Personally, I find that when I develop a push it is because my timing is off (typically from swinging too damn hard). My lower body outraces my upper body and the arms and club get stuck behind. Once you are stuck, it's extremely difficult to get the face back square at impact and the resulting shot is a push.

The Zero Friction ones are ok, but I didn't really see any performance gain (in terms of golf shots) over a standard wood tee. They obviously don't break as easily as wood tees, but they do break eventually (especially if you play on a course where the ground gets hard in the summer). Also, when the ground gets hard I think they can sometimes be more difficult to put into the turf than a standard wood tee. Personally I just elect to spend the money on big bags of wood tees. Oh, and on a side note, I can't stand the brush tee. It looks like your golfball is sitting on Bart Simpson's hair!

I walk exclusively (except when I'm on vacation and playing at a course that won't allow it). The addition of some FootJoy e-Comforts and a Sun Mountain Superlight 3.5 stand bag have made it much more enjoyable. I also find that I play worse when I ride. I think it's for a number of reasons. I think I take my time and focus more when I'm walking than riding. I also think it's easier to shake off a bad shot because you typically have more time in between shots to compose yourself and think about the next one as opposed to riding up quick and whacking it again.

Yeah, but you can tell they are trying to sell their product. Watch the video demo at this link... Greenfix demo When he demonstrates the traditional tool he purposely uses the WRONG technique with it to make it look bad. This is what we like to call a marketing ploy

Just got back from the pro shop at lunch after reading this thread. The guy working there told me the TP Black is TM's answer to the Pro V1 and the TP Red is the answer to the Pro V1x. It's all very confusing even if you read the info. I ended up buying a box of last season's TB Black because they were on sale for $30. Last year's version has info on the back of the box whereas this year's just has tour player pics and quotes. Here is what I read... Both Black and Red claim "Accelerated ball speed off every club for added distance." TP Black: "High launch angle off every club for increased carry." "High launch angle and low spin off the driver for extended yardage." "Higher spin off the irons for shot-stopping control." "Phenomenal feel." TP Red "Tour-caliber launch angle and spin off the driver for increased carry." "Tour-caliber launch angle off the irons for precise control." "Outstanding greenside spin." "Phenomenally soft feel." Now, on this year's box the TP Black just says "For lower spin players", while the TP Red says "For higher spin players." Interestingly enough, in the section with tour player quotes, Goosen says he uses the TP Black when he needs more spin on harder greens and he uses the TP Red when the greens are softer. My head hurts.

Thanks for posting this. It is very informative. While I didn't pry up quite like the video shows as being the wrong way, I didn't always do it 100% correctly either. I will from now on though. Thanks! I think most golfers (myself included) kind of take it for granted that they know the correct way to do this but in reality they either don't, or they don't do it consistently.

Scott's swing is "the same" as Tiger's, but they go about it differently if that makes any sense. Just look at SwingVision slow-mos of their driver swing. Tiger's swing is WAY harder whereas Adam's swing is more smooth. Yes, it's the same swing in design, but IMO Tiger generates far more lag on the way down and it takes a lot of arm strength and rotation to pull it off.

Busch Pounders... Just kidding! My God Anyway, I can't pick one favorite 'cause it depends on what type of beer I'm in the mood for. So here are a couple of the favorites... Guiness Black Mo Stout (Otto's Brewery, State College, PA) Spring Creek Lager (Otto's Brewery, State College, PA) Steelworker Stout (Johnstown Brewing Company, Johnstown, PA) Stone Bridge Brown Ale (Johnstown Brewing Company, Johnstown, PA) Railbender Ale (Erie Brewing Company)

Go Pens!!

Just out of curiosity, what have you hard about the Top-Flite Gamer? I saw it received a gold medal on GD's hotlist. I like to play the balls like the Pro V and B330, but I can't afford to spend $45 a dozen all season long. I usually get a couple boxes of those and when they are gone or scuffed too bad to use I end up switching to something a little less expensive (usually something like the NXT Tour or the Bridgestone e6+). I know this is a bit off the topic of the thread...

I've only played the B330-S and the Pro V1 in terms of this discussion. I actually thought I hit the B330-S longer than I did the Pro V. I'm not a high spin player (ie. you won't see me throw one 5 or 6 feet past the stick and suck it back) so I can't really speak to that. I can get both balls to stick pretty well, but I don't spin the cover off of any ball. I thought they both felt great off the putter. Nice and soft. My only issue with the B330-S over the Pro V was durability. The cover of the B330-S seemed to cut far easier than the Pro V.

I used to play an Adams Redline 460 and all I could ever do was hit it high and land it soft. I'd get no roll out of it. It was like landing a wedge. I figured I needed less loft (it was a 10.5). I went to a store and hit some clubs on a launch monitor and the guy said that loft wasn't the issue. He said the shaft had too much flex for my swing speed and that with a siffer shaft the ball wouldn't fly so high (and he showed me on the monitor). I walked out with a 10.5 degree Cobra F Speed with the stiff shaft and I absolutely love it.

I played the B330-S last season and I really liked it but it had one downside compared to the Pro V...durability. You can knock a Pro V off the cart path or a tree limb and it keeps on ticking. One shot off the path with the B330-S and I usually retired it. Heck, there were even a couple of times I hit a wedge where I really pinched the ball and I ended up getting a tiny cut or two in the cover. That's why I like the Titleist balls. They are durable without sacrificing the soft feel. I had similar durability issues with some of the high end Callaway balls. I'm seriously thinking about picking up a sleeve of Top-Flite Gamers just to see how they are. I usually play a Pro V or the NXT Tour so playing a Top-Flite almost seems tabu now, but I've heard good things and they did make Golf Digest's Hot List as a gold medal. I love the Pro V but I hate the price tag.

I haven't read the entire thread, but here is my take. Unless you are at some upscale private club where you are trying to impress your guests or clients, who cares? If you don't like jeans on the course, then don't wear them, but it says a lot about individuals who have to concern themselves so much with what other people are wearing. Personally I find it annoying to do anything even remotely athletic in jeans. I just think other types of pants are more comfortable. Oh, and I haven't owned jean shorts since the early 90s. While it may be somewhat unrelated to golf, I think some people look just as good in jeans as others do in slacks. I wear jeans to work everyday with either sweaters, polos or dress shirts. I see guys all the time (both on the course and at work) who think they are dressed up more because they are wearing slacks. Except, the slacks are too big and their shirts are too big and the whole package just looks sloppy.

Wow, can't believe I'm even posting in this touchy thread. I'm white and I am NOT racist by any means. That said, I think this is more of an economic thing than anything else. Hopefully programs like The First Tee will help the future of the game in this sense. I see golf like hockey and even tennis as was mentioned earlier. To become a professional golfer you need decent instruction. I know, there are some exceptions to that rule on tour today, but for the most part these guys have had some form of high level instruction at some point along the way. That isn't cheap. Heck, half-hour lessons at the local public course aren't cheap these days. Which brings the next part of the economic issue. Golf requires equipment which is not cheap (nor cheap to rent if you are going to do it frequently). Also, unlike basketball, football, baseball, etc, you can't just go out to the park and play it for free with your buddies so the exposure at a young age isn't there as much. You have to pay greens fees every time you play or join somewhere. It's not cheap. If you want to practice (unless you have a big open area and a supply of practice balls) you have to go to range and spend more money. So, I really think this is more of an economic issue than a race issue. And NO, I'm not saying all black people are poor because that's not true. What I am saying is, black or white, if you grow up in a family that doesn't have economic security and has limited exposure to the game of golf then it is likely you won't be in to golf early enough in life to have a shot at becoming a professional golfer. This is why some of these programs exist today. To try to get more exposure to the game for young kids who may not have normally had a chance to be involved with it.

I think the quick answer is Tiger, but the problem with his swing is that, without his build you probably couldn't pull it off. It takes an incredible amount of flexibility and forearm strength to swing the club like he does. That said, I'd have to say Adam Scott or Sergio. I really love watching Scott swing the club. Sergio is arguably the best ball striker on tour. If only he could putt he'd be contending every week.

I agree that, over time, the lucky breaks cancel out the unlucky ones. I just had to comment on Shindig's story. I'm really not trying to be a jerk I just got a chuckle out of it and had to give you some ribbing as I would any friend that would have told that story. So...your ball would have rolled another 30 yards (a good 30) had it not come to rest in this fairway divot?? That must have been some divot. More like a creator. Or, was it filled with water Sorry. All in good fun. I've just never seen a fairway divot stop a ball moving hard enough to have rolled another 30+ yards