Dave

This might be a dumb question but ... I recently signed-up for a few lessons. Like many here I've acquired several sets over the years: Hogan Apex Blades Hogan Apex Edge's Cleveland CG2's Cobra 3100's Nickent 3DX Hybrid's Nickent 3DX Pro's Wilson Ci7's Should I take player's irons or hacker's helpers? My thought being that some of those irons try to mask swing flaws, while others expose them ...

Why don't we ever see a woman in the US Open? As far as I'm aware, men and women can try to qualify. There where 14 amateurs in this year's Open. I find it hard to believe that any of those amateurs are better than the top women players. Do the gals just not even try to qualify? Same question for the British Open. I'm pretty sure they removed the "male" requirement this year. It would be interesting to see a woman qualify and see how she played.

Yep. I've been playing crappy all year. Finally decided I can't fix it myself and signed-up for lessons. I think Harvey Penick said something to the effect of ... if you play a bad round, shake it off. If you play 2 or 3 bad rounds, go see a pro.

These ...

I played a practice round yesterday and played a Srixon Z Star and a Top Flite D2 Feel. I'd hit a shot, drop the other ball and hit the shot again. On most shots the balls ended within a yard or two of each other (woods and irons). My SS with driver is usually btwn 100-105. Those "premium" balls pay for a lot of "premium" marketing.

Top Flite D2 Feel ...

Tom's one of my golfing heros. I watched all the TV coverage each day and thought I'd have a stroke watching all the ups and downs. It's not surprising Tom didn't do well in the play-off after missing that putt; having the wind sucked out of your sails. Too bad for Cink in a way. I'd guess most won't remember Stewart winning the Open, they'll remember Tom losing it.

I'm looking for a new 3 wood and am thinking of the Wilson Staff FyBrid 3 wood (or maybe their Spine 3 wood). Any feedback from those who have them (or have hit them) would be appreciated. Thx.

They're just not that into you. Don't sweat it and find someone else to play with.

A super smooth 99. 4 pars, 6 bogeys, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 1 quad. Par 71.4, Slope 134 Pass the aspirin and the scotch ...

I didn't start playing until my early 20's. The internet didn't exist (at least for the public), no one I knew played golf and cell phones were the size of a shoe box (and you only saw them on Miami Vice). Today, with information at your fingertips it's much easier to get started on the right track. I don't think you need lessons (especially if you have natural talent), but a few lessons to get solid fundamentals can save you a lot of time.

Tot Hill Farm and Tobacco Road. If you can't place your shots, you're in for a long day. http://www.tothillfarm.com/ http://www.tobaccoroadgolf.com/

My experience has been that the Cobra drivers hit a high ball. I have a LD F Speed that I re-shafted to try and bring it down a bit. Not much luck. The Cleveland XL Hibore gave me a flatter trajectory. On the other hand, many folks think they hit their driver too high when they actually need that height to get the best distance.

Good shoes are usually "expensive", especially men's shoes. I picked-up a pair of Ecco golf shoes in Vegas and they've been great. Very comfortable. The trick is to make sure the more expensive shoe is actually a better shoe and doesn't just have an extra "swoosh" on it.

I'd move around if I were you. I went to the 99 US Open ... followed Tom Watson for a while, saw Tiger, Vijay, had Payne Stewart hit out of a fairway bunker a couple of feet from me. Sitting at a green, watching balls come-in and watching guys putt doesn't sound like fun to me. Odds are you'll be on the wrong hole or looking the other way when the miracle shot is made so don't worry about that part. Just see as much as you can and have fun.

Ernie, Freddie, Vijay, Colin ...

Thx for the clarification.

Appreciate the reply, but I'm confused. Do you mean that a PGA Pro/Class A Pro have already gone through the Instructor/Apprentice phase? If so, I wonder why I'm not finding these local "PGA Pro's" on the PGA website ...

I've seen a guy hit himself in the ankle with his own iron (don't ask me how). I've seen guys stop "short" with the cart and his partner's head rebound off the windshield followed by wearing his coffee. I had a guy drape a damp red towel around his neck while playing on a hot day only to turn his white shirt pink. I saw a guy shank an iron shot into his partner's cart (while he was sitting in it), it was like human pinball. Lots more, but those are off the top of my head.

I'm looking at finding a teacher in my area and have a question. Several instructors have "PGA Professional" or "PGA Instructor" or "Class A PGA Professional" on their shingle. However, when I go to the PGA website and use their "Find and Instructor" program ... most of these guys don't come-up. Is there a difference between a PGA Pro and an Instructor? Thx.

Appreciate the comments folks. It's only too bad they don't have the "Made in the USA" band that my other set of Hogans have. I'll get 'em out to the range in a day or so and then I'll be able to report better on the shafts (they feel lighter than DG's, and a bit more "lively"). A last pic ... [IMG] [/IMG]

Found on close-out. They're indescribably beautiful. They remind me of the 4th of July. [IMG] [/IMG]

That's a real shame. Hogan made some great looking and great playing clubs.

If you go to the Ben Hogan website and click on "products", it just takes you to the Callaway pre-owned clubs site. Are "Ben Hogan" clubs still being made?

Just picked-up a new set of sticks and while I'm hitting them pretty well, the ball marks are towards the heel of the club (a little to close to the hosel for comfort). In fact, every once and while the hosel rocket appears to dash my illusion of actually having a game. The clubs are off-the-rack Cleveland CG2's (if it matters). What are the common faults that cause hitting the ball in the heel of the club, and anyone have a good drill to help cure the "heel hits". Thx.