Dave

81. My best round ever. 11 pars, 2 doubles, 5 bogeys.

I surely need a consistent pre-shot routine. I appreciate the replies and I'll take a look at "Zen Golf".

Basically, I have a couple of groups I play with where my game just falls apart. I play 75% of the time as a single and even though I'll get paired with strangers a good bit of the time, I'm able to focus on my game and play fairly well. When I play with the relatives or with the work buddies, it turns into a 'smoke and joke' fest and my 82 can turn in to 102. It drives me nuts but I can't seem to shake it. It's not pressure to do well or getting nervous. It's just my brain's not in golf mode and before I know it, the round is over and I've posted a big score. Just curious if there are any good books or other resources out there that deal with this mental side of the game?

Like many, I fought a big slice for years. One day I just decided to learn how to hook the ball. Once I could feel how to make the ball move I could straighten out my flight and picked-up yardage. My advice is to take a few lessons. You can struggle with your swing for years (I know I did) waiting for a eureka moment, or try to learn good fundamentals early and make the game much more enjoyable.

I've tried watching this Open for the last couple of days, but it's a snooze fest. The leaders don't have any personality to speak of, and after watching the beat down at Merion, the course they're playing looks like it's set up about as hard as a local muni. The greens are slow, the fairways are huge. It will be interesting to watch the women play Pinehurst #2 next year right after the men's Open. They'll obviously be moved up quite a bit, but hopefully the USGA won't change the rough or the greens in the few days leading to the women's Open. Back to watching the Colonial.

I have the 910f with the ahina and it's a great combo. Nice flight for me and a stable shaft with a bit of weight. Of course, with surefit you can dial the loft up or down a bit to suit you. I did not like the feel of the 910 fd at all. It's what ever floats your particular boat.

I used to like the D2 Feel and the Gamer V2, but haven't purchased any since Dicks bought the brand. Do the balls feel / preform the same?

Got it. Thanks again.

Appreciate the reply, but even the Titleist website shows the bottom picture as their example of the 710. http://www.titleist.com/golf-clubs/irons/AP1-710.aspx I haven't been able to find anything via web search on 2 versions of this iron.

I'm looking at pictures of the 710 AP1's and there seem to be two versions. Were these irons revised mid life cycle? Is one better than the other? Thanks for the help.

It's a great driver. You don't say what shaft you have in it, what your swing speed is, or what your miss is. The shaft may be too much or too little for you, but it's a great head. You say you haven't adjusted it yet ... Get that wrench out and start playing with different settings to find one that likes your swing. Those settings make a difference. Assuming your miss is a fade/slice, try some of the high draw settings.

I had a set of these once upon a time and played my best golf with them . Gave them to my nephew years ago when he started golfing. I can't think of anything similar off the top of my head in today's irons. They had a mid / large size head, a fairly narrow rounded sole and a topline that was narrower than a something like a Ci11 but not at thin as a blade. The cavity was also pretty shallow. Any ideas?

Really haven't seen too much information on the Wilson Ci11 irons. I have a set of Ci7's that are just as good as they ever were, but am curious if anyone has played / owned both and could give their opinion as to how the sets differ (if at all). Thx.

Seriously. It might sound silly, but why don't pro's play SGI irons? They can repeatedly strike their irons in a spot about the size of a nickel ... so consistency shouldn't be a problem. They can have the lofts bent any way they want so 'juiced-up' irons isn't a problem (they could also have the offset pressed-out). It was often said that one of Jack's (and Tiger's) big advantages was the ability to hit it high; so high (within reason) seems to be good. And for the rare instance when they make a bad swing, an SGI iron would minimize the penalty. So with millions on the line, why don't pro's use SGI irons?

It's the Vegas bookmakers that send the 'yellers' to annoy the players and try to swing the game.

Too bad there's a jerk screaming and making comments on the shots. Someone should smack him in the mouth.

Ping, Ping, Ping and Titleist. If only Jimenez had beaten Rory ...

Appreciate the feedback guys.

Here's a pic of the strike marks on my 6 and 9 irons from my 'lie board'. The marks are just a bit toward the heel of the clubs and I wonder if it's enough to worry about or not? If the marks were more towards the heel or toe I'd worry, but for you experts out there ... is this acceptable or not? Oddly, the Ping static chart puts me at 2 degrees up; these are standard, and as I read the marks, the clubs actually need to be a touch flatter. Thx for the help. BTW - The center of the club face seems to be over the 'N' in Ping, while my marks are more over the 'G'.

Okay, I admit it. I like yellow balls. I can follow them in the air easier, I see them land easier and can find them in the rough easier. I also have a minor stroke when my Pro V1 or Z Star waves goodbye to me as it either sinks to a watery grave or decides to go live a life of seclusion in the woods. So I picked-up a box of Pinnacle Precision's in optic yellow. I played them yesterday and here's my verdict. About 10 yards shorter for me than a Pro V1 or a Z Star X off the driver and felt similar to a Z Star X (off the driver). Similar distance off my irons but a bit harder feeling than any of the premium ball mentioned above. Checked-up fine on the greens for me (full shots and chips). Felt good off the putter (Odyssey white hot tour 2). All in all a good little ball. If your looking for a solid inexpensive ball (and it comes in yellow), give 'em a try.

Wilson Staff and 'ProStaff' are different animals. I'd stay away from the ProStaff stuff. You can find the Di9's and Ci7's pretty cheap on ebay. If you stay 2 or 3 years behind the latest and greatest, you can pick-up clubs inexpensively.

I bought a set of the 09 Burners, played them once and sold them. They were nice enough, but not any better than the Wilson Staff CI7's I was playing at the time (and am still playing). If I were you, I'd look at the iron tests, hot list etc... from 2/3 years ago and see if any of those irons catch your eye. You'll be able to find them on close-out sites, ebay etc... for a lot less money. Your height won't necessarily affect the length of irons you play.

As a 15 handicap, I'm not hitting my irons like a pro, but I catch them fairly solidly. The SS numbers are from the monitors at the local Golfsmith. My tee shots are definately not a problem, but like many, I 'dial-down' the iron swing for better contact/control. Be that as it may, some balls just seem to fly on a flatter trajectory. That's not a liability with the tee shots, but that lower trajectory doesn't always match-up well with approach shots (for me anyway).

First some data ... driver SS ~105mph, 6iron SS ~85mph. I've never been too concerned with the ball I play, TF Gamers, D2 Feels, a box of Z-Star X's (not sure why I bought them). Anyhow, I've been playing courses lately with forced carries in to the greens, false fronts etc... and I keep coming-up short (I know, take an extra club). My current irons (Wilson CI7) are a bit of a mid launch iron and those Z Star X's (which I've been playing recently) aren't high fliers either. The combo is great off the driver, but elevated greens, false fronts etc... are stuffing my mid irons into the greens. I see a lot of info on wedge spin rates, driver distance etc. on balls, but not sure how I translate that in to what might carry best off a 6/7 iron. Is it just a case of high spin balls should stay in the air longer? Any insight is appreciated.

If you're going to aim for something, might as well aim high. If you don't make it to scratch in a year, so what. You'll still be much better than you are now. Focus on course management and the short game. Keep yourself out of trouble off the tee. And as Ray Floyd says, 'never follow a bad shot with a stupid shot'. Keeping your focus while playing is a big part of it also. Get a shot you can repeat and play with it. Good luck.