buj77

Just got fit for a driver today....first time I ever went into the shop to get fit and was pretty surprised. I've always thought I hit it a long way but never really knew what that meant (and as usual I'm just as guilty as most ametures of inflating my distance numbers based on sight and feel). Ok, so here's what I found testing the TM R11S, with the Aldila Phenom Shaft (R, S), 10.5 degree loft When I started testing, the face/loft etc were all set to standard except I started off with a S flex shaft. Swing Speed average : 110 Average carry: 255 Average total distance: 275 Avergae back spin: 4100 rpm Average side spin (right): 900 rpm Launch Angle: 11.5 So...to cut. Very long hour of my life short, and after many shaft, loft and face angle adjustments...here's what I ended up with: TM R11S, Aldila Phenom R, loft adjusted aby 1.5 degrees to 12 degrees and a tip from the fitter...he asked me to grip ha half inch lower on the grip than I was doing (he said he could cut the shaft down but he felt my hands were a bit too high anyway so unless I felt uncomfortable, gripping it half an inch lower wouldn't hurt/cost me anything more)...the result was: Swing Speed:110 Carry: 255 Total distance:275 Average back spin: 3700 Average side spin (still going right), 230 rpm (resulting in the most accurate I've ever been with a driver) Launch Angle: 14 What surprised me was that the slightly higher lost and slight change in length (choking down half and inch) had no discernible effect on distance. What was even more interesting was the advice to stick to an R flex given my swing speed...I was told that the additional flex would help me turn the club over better and the tight dispersion I got would seem to bear that out...of course, I could have just been having a great day with a new piece of equipment that was giving me confidence. Does any of this make sense to you? Thanks in advance for those of you who respond.

I agree...more hours practcing or at golf lessons are a much better investment than a whole bunch of new clubs...assuming your game has a certain level of consistancy then things like feel etc...count a lot more... [quote name="I-league" url="/t/56561/is-shaping-the-ball-overrated/126#post_698591"] Sure feel is important. But I think "feel" is mostly a function if the quality of the contact you make with the ball and the ground. Ping and Taylor Made offer 9-PW-SW sets but yeah some manufacturers force you to buy separate SW. [/quote]

I agree to some extent....the whole reason for a lot of these specialist wedges being out there is because of messed up distance gapping between the short irons. Back in the day everyone carried 2 wedges that came with their sets..PW and SW. The PW was basically a 10 iron (4 or 6 degree gap to your 9 iron) and the SW was exactly what its name suggested....only meant to be played out of the sand with a much higher loft (usually 54-56 degrees with the PW being at 48-51 degrees). The stronger iron lofts these days has meant that manufacturers have basically taken the 10 iron out of the bag....which has meant that you either need to specially ask the manufacturer for it or go buy a 10 iron (i.e the traditional PW club)...a lot of the manufacturers seeing this, have also stopped offering sets with SW's (or charge extra for it), so now you need to buy that as well (either as an extension of your current set or you can go buy one from another manufacturer). As for the other wedges seen these days...GW...LW...etc...I think its up to each person to find what they think works for them. I do however, disagree with you on feel...I think its very important in respect of all clubs...but more so with shorter clubs...you want to feel good when you hit the ball whether its a drive,an iron shot a chip or even a put (at least it makes a difference to me and is a big part of why I play golf...i.e. the feeling you get in your hands when you hit a good shot). As regards the short game, there is an added focus on what your hands are doing (and indeed in respect of your whole swing) because the point of shorter clubs is accuracy (more than distance). Granted, many of us may not be able to tell the difference between cast or forged or between carbon and stainless steel...but what feels good to each individual is in my view a critical consideration in respect of what equipment you chose to play with. Of course you may totally disagree and I respect that...just putting my views out there.

Hi I currently carry a 5 wood (R flex) and a fairway driver (13 degree loft)…bought a new set of irons (4-PW) which have pretty strong lofts (I don’t carry a 3 wood because I get plenty of distance on all my clubs and hit the 5 wood very consistently to about 260 yards and the fairway driver gets me about 280-290 (but I am not as straight as I am with the 5 wood)). The 4 iron has a 23 degree loft and the 5 wood has an 18 degree loft. Unfortunately, its very hard to find an individual 3 iron that matches the set I have. This has left me with 13 clubs in the bag (I don’t carry a LW and really feel no need to carry one) and have been fiddling with the idea of buying a 7 wood. My questions to any of you are: Do any of you carry a 7 wood? Is a 7 wood a suitable replacement for 3 iron distance? What 7 wood would you recommend? Finally…I plan to get fitted for a new driver (with a more standard loft hopefully) that I can hit consistently, around the end of this year. Should I just not bother with buying a 7 wood and hang on till the year end to add another driver to the bag (and in the meanwhile continue with the 13 clubs in the bag)? I know that’s a lot of questions, so thank to anyone who responds. Cheers

Really not sure how this tread went from shot shaping to a discussion about wedges...I think how many wedges a player carries is a very personal thing...as is the case with all the scoring clubs...wedge play is mostly about feel...so having the right clubs in your bag (I.e...what feels right to you)..is extremely important...if having a LW in the bag makes you feel better about your short game and gives you confidence...keep it in your bag...otherwise...there's no point carrying one (the same can be said about the driver (so many people keep one in the bag without hardly ever hitting it in a round because of lack of confidence in the club)..or fairway woods/long irons (you can trade up for hybrids if you're not comfortable). As for why ametures struggle with wedges...I really don't think loft is as much of an issue as bounce (it's the leading edge that an ameture sees at address that either has him feeling he's going to hit it thin or fat...not the actual loft of the club)...normally manufacturers will offer lower bounce clubs (as standard) upto 56 degrees because the SW is considered to be a specialized club (generally 56-58 degrees) and to get the ball out of the sand you generally need more bounce (of course it depends on course condition and how you strike your bunker shots as well but I am generalizing here)...past 56 degrees and usually the manufacturers lower the bounce on clubs again (so usually a LW will have a lot less bounce than a SW)...the reason for this is that manufacturers presume that these clubs are more for playing off turf than sand (where the extra bounce isn't required because the lie is tighter)...so a LW should actually be a lot easier to hit off the fairway/from the rough than the SW because of the lower bounce... The other thing I would say about buying/using wedges is that more often than not when I have seen people buying wedges, they will usually pick the brands they think are cool and then take them out to the range to try them (or in some cases they won't even try before buying)...most ametures never look at the sole of the club when buying a wedge (which is the most important thing when buying a wedge)...the specs are important yes...but having a sole that allows you to do different things with the wedge is probably just as important as the right loft/bounce for your game/conditions. Play what works for you/feels right when it comes to scoring clubs...they are the most important clubs in the bag! Personally I play a 48 (6 degree bounce), 52 (7 degree bounce) and 56 (13 degree bounce)...I carry the 48 because my irons have very strong lofts (the PW is 44! And I basically treat it like a 9 iron)...anything within 100 yards and I use the 48 or 52 (I am pretty comfortable opening/closing the face and playing different types of shots)...and I almost exclusively use the 56 from the sand. It works for me...havent ever used a 60 degree wedge and really see no reason to carry one personally...if my wedge play sucked...I might consider trying one...but fortunately I don't have to.

Played the Gary Player Course in Sun City, South Africa once and I felt like I was putting on glass there (the greens were all very true but I couldn't believe the pace)...think I'd average 3 puts a hole at Agusta...at least 2 balls lost on 12 (one over and the other into the water) and I'd probably miss every green with the Sunday Pin positions (have to go for the pin, playing to the middle means I'd average a 4 put per hole!)...think 120-130 is a distinct possiblity...but it would be a dream to play there and I don't think I'd stop smiling for a very, very long time after!

Usually....just rubbing the ball with my hands will be enough to get any gunk off...if the stuff on the ball is a little heavier, I use the flag sometimes to rub the dirt off...and if the ball has been hit out out of a plugged lie or some heavy rough and there's a huge amount of muck on it, I'll use the towel that I use for my clubs (that hangs on my bag). Hate using a new/different ball to putt with (I know a lot of poeple who do this in friendly games...its obviously a penalty in competitive golf)...find that a new/unhit ball has a lot more spring in it and I find it difficult to control pace.

First Eagle must've been around 1990- dogleg right, par 5 (around 550 YDS), 5 wood off th tee (hit a hook and cut the dog leg), 2nd shot 4 iron to within 5 feet...made the put..was one of the happiest days of my life (game fell apart after that!). Best Eagle...Par 4- 400 yards...water on the left starting at 300-bunker on the right at 250 followed by trees on the right...hole pretty much long and straight...5 wood off the tee staright into the bunker...150 to go...from the bunker...choked down on a 6 iron and caught the ball perfectly, two bounces and straight into the hole!!!!!...game fell apart after that one as well. Best round ever...shot 2 over, 18....started the round by driving (this time with the diver) the first hole (330 YDS- 315 to the front of the green)...had about a 40 foot put for the second and drained it..game fell apart a bit...but then recovered to shoot my lowest score ever. Moral of the story...expect my game to fall apart every time I get an Eagle:)

Not including wrapping two of my clubs around a tree (mistakenly of course): 1. Hit a a colonlel from the airmy once who was in the 4 ball ahead of me....got it really flush with a fairway wood and it went a lot further than I anticipated. The course was owned by the army, so when he went down, I was surrounded by Army guys (fortunately, he was ok and didn't want his colleagues to beat the crap out of me); 2. Hit an antilope once...playing at Victoria Falls (Afirca)...local course rules...two stroke penalty for hitting any wildlife!

I'm quite curious about the results so far (not a big sample admitedly)...Jack was/is the most dominant golfer of all time...much the same (but more dominant) as Tiger is in this era...they both could/did hit the ball a long way compared to thier contemporaries...they both had/have nerves of steel...and they both intimidated whomever they played against (though I believe that Jack had far tougher opposition to contend with...first, Snead and Arnie, then Watson/Miller/Travino, followed by young Seve/young Norman/young Faldo). Wonder why Jack hasn't got any votes at all, while Tiger is running away with it.

Well...my old coach told me a wonderful story about Seve. Can't remember which golf course/tournament it was but Seve, Jack and Watson were playing a practice round and had a bit of a wager going (my old coach was in the crowd following it). Thye were on a par 3 (an island hole/surrounded by water)...Tom and Jack play 5-6 irons to within 10 feet...Seve pulls out his 3 iron, tops the ball and it skips off the water and onto the green, inside of Jacks and Tom's ball...Jack bets him double that he can't do that again...and Seve does the same thing...only this time its even closer to the hole!

Two boxes of Wilson Staff FG Tour balls (my regular ball for the past few months)...super soft/great feel/durable and not too expensive.

Well I started the thread and my vote actually went to Seve. The idea of the list, was to put down the names of golfers who you'd follow whether they were in contention or not, just because they could hit one shot in a round that defied all logic (to us normal golfers anyway) . To my mind Seve did this more aften than the others. In his prime, he could and did play every possible shot and then some (all the stories about hitting bunker shots with a 3 iron with spin are all true...as is the story Jack tells about the best shot he's ever seen in golf-250 plus yards out of a fairway bunker, over a six foot lip, with a 3 wood to within 10 feet!). But even when Seve wasn't at his best (which was for a long time post 1991), you would watch him just for that one piece of magic, because quite frankly no one could do it the way he did. Thinking about him always makes me emotional- the reason I started to watch and play golf!

I think I tend to agree in lare part that shot shaping, from an amature's point of view, is given way too much importance...hitting the ball consistently well and the same way should surely be the aim (if not pro)...I think a lot also depends on how you're swing feels and how you're hitting it on a partcialr day. I know pro's who wont try to hit different types of shots if their swings don't feel great...they try to keep it simple so that they can score reasonably well on a day when everything isn't working how it should. I think the same approach in general should be adopted by ametures...don't try hitting different types of shots unless you feel you're nailing everything perfectly with your stock shot...maybe at the end of the day, you could try bending one the opposite direction (to your stock shot)..but as I said, its only if you feel you are getting everything almost perfectly (which from an amatures point of view, raraely happens anyway). p.s...I am an amature and wouldn't think about shot shaping normally...there was one day I remember though at the range with my old coach...it was almost 20 years ago...and I remember it like yesterday. I was playing some of my best golf at the time and I can remember the coach saying...you're swingging really well and hitting that high draw perfectly...let's see if you can hit a cut now (moved the left foot back slightly) and it came off perfectly...we then tried hitting it low etc...etc...and I was almost always on target...the reason I remember that day so well is because in all my time playing golf (from 8-35 years of age), I've only ever been able to hit exactly the kind of shot I had in my mind for a 2 hour practice session with my coach (on that day)...the rest of the time/years...I'm just trying to keep the ball in play and keep the scoring respectable. Don't bother with shot shaping till you can hit your stock shot perfectly.