RussianCarl

Seriously? Have you played Table Tennis? It is very hard to play even mildly competitively. You should see the reaction time, the dexterity, the speed, and the strength it requires to hit a tiny ball traveling 50-60mph on such a tiny table. Maybe you should watch a clip on YouTube of the professionals. It really isn't that easy and I would say it is at least as hard as golf. All the comments on this thread say they don't take into account the finesse and techniques required of the sport, but don't you realize that it takes just as much for Table Tennis? Don't bash what you don't know.

I vastly prefer walking over riding. I am a beginner myself and half the fun for me is being outdoors on a beautiful day in a beautiful park just enjoying the scenery. At the courses I play, the carts cost just as much as the round of golf does! I find this to be outrageous. Walking is great, I just hate it when people with carts ride your tail even though you are keeping a good pace. I never understood why people wanted to get a round done with as soon as possible... I feel it is an experience to savor and as long as I'm finished with 9 holes in under 2 hours I think I am doing well.

I am 23, 6'1", 138 lbs and this is my first year golfing. I drive the ball about 200 yards... the trees always seem to get in my way. On the odd ocassion when the ball doesn't hit any obstacles, I've been known to get between 230 - 260, with 280 being my highest.

I wanted to see Cirbie win... I always enjoy the underdog challengers. Especially since half of those girls are elitist you-know-whats. I really wanted to like Christina and Lori, but my god they are taking things to the extreme. Be competitive but don't be so rude and obnoxious. They have to see that they themselves suck - otherwise they'd be on the LPGA already!!! My favorites this season so far is Sam because of her accent, Susan the new pro, and Kim because I think she has the best game. I severely dislike Adrienne because of her attitude and overall butch appearance. Dana is somewhere in the middle for me - she looks like she has had some cosmetic surgery but she is shown to have a very nice personality. And - does anyone else think that Tina resembles that dead blonde chick from Lost?

My marriage. And along with that my house, my car, $2400 a month in "maintenance", and one of the two dogs we had. Golf is better than all of those things anyway.

Why would you want to be on the golf channel? You'd make more money hustling. Plus, you don't even need to be a great golfer to be a great golf gambler. Dewey Tomko is my hero.

I was in the same boat as you a while ago when I first started and I eventually ended up with the Integra Quadratic 10.5*. I find that this loft is more than enough to launch it high. It ended up costing me $110 shipped. You may want to look at some of the used goods such as the marketplace here, or at the other well known sites such as GolfWRX or Free Golf Info. They have great deals on used equipment and I find it easier than eBay. Component heads are of superb quality, and you shouldn't dismiss them just because they don't market that much. Take a look around for something from Tom Wishon, Geek, Bang, SMT, and Alpha - they all produce great equipment for 1/3 - 1/2 the price of the ones you see in store display. If you want something name brand, perhaps check out Rock Bottom Golf. They regularly have 10-12% sales, and offer older brand name drivers in the $100 range. I've had my eye on the original Cleveland HiBore there for a while.

Good question... Driver: $110 3 Wood: $35 Hybrid: $30 Irons: $70 Lob Wedge: $12 Putter 1: $40 Putter 2: $82 Bag: $50 looks like $429 plus around $35 in shipping and handling, not to mention the headcovers, gloves, and balls. yikes.

I am in the hunt for a new putter and I can't seem to decide which I like more. Right now my eye is set on the Cleveland VP line mainly due to the awesome alignment aid. I tried it out in the store and I found that I liked the look of the black model with insert, however I preferred the feel of the milled version. So, which one of these factors is more important? Also, are milled putters really that much more accurate? Do they last longer? I guess I am looking for some pros and cons either way to help me make this decision. Or, conversely, some other putter suggestions. And finally - do these alignment aids really work? It felt unnatural in the store to hold the putter in such a fashion, but it sank a few putts. Thoughts? Thanks

I usually play the local muni course which is about $9/9 holes... not a bad deal. Other than that, in Kenosha we have a couple great public courses in the area. $22/18 for weekday 18 at a really nice course. Personally, I play a lot more when I have coupons and always go twilight rates. I also love fall rates and usually wait until the end of the year to get in all my golf. So, I guess I've never paid more than $20 for a round of golf. I walk all the time by the way.

If you want to build muscle for the sake of having muscle then do more weights at lower repetition. However, to tone muscle you want to do lower weights and more repetition. I'm not really sure which is better for golf. Some people say that a saw-tooth pattern of workouts is a good idea. That is to say, a few weeks of trying to gain muscle and then a few weeks of toning. I haven't tried it personally but have had heard of good results. The real problem is that you can't gain muscle and lose weight at the same time through exercising so perhaps this might be the closest thing to a solution for your situation.

Well he did say 3 years is what he is shooting for. I think its possible... he has shown flashes of brilliance. His drives are monstrous and I think he just needs to work on his short chipping game. The putting looks average but I don't see it as a large obstacle. Plus, if he can make pars from the top of hills and on rocks then learning the easy shots should be no problem... right? I'd rather see him on tour over Brian any day. I can't believe he has so little class to berate another person's game on national TV. Not just once, but over and over again... that guy is just one cocky and overweight jerk. Hiroshi is a class act... and I think it is hilarious how Josh keeps saying "gosh" and "dangit". He comes off as a nice person and I like him a lot more on the show now that he isn't wearing those dumb hats during the interviews.

Well, tonights Big Break was okay... not very exciting. I'm very disappointed to see Brian still in it... the guy is just a major league a-hole. At least Gerry is genuine. I'm rooting for a Josh v. Hiroshi heads up match.

Wow I wish I lived near you. You should have bought extras for people on this forum or eBay. I know I would have bought a new HiBore XL for $100, and the Cobra Baffler if it was just as cheap. Thats just insane... I'm so jealous!

I've been meaning to pick up some colored balls lately since now that its late in the year and I golf alone I have trouble picking up the ball when it comes off the club face... especially when it is bright out or I mishit. There is a pretty popular new item that is talked about over on the FGI forums that I plan on ordering and trying out soon. The price is a bit high, but it looks like a great product. I'm not trying to schlep it as I'm just an average consumer... but I think that it just looks so bright that I'll never lose a ball again. Vision Golf Ball UV Yellow http://visiongolfball.com/index.php?...d=11&Itemid;=15

Is hitting off of a mat damaging to your golf clubs? I read on a retail golf store's website that they recommend not hitting graphite shafted drivers off of mats because it can damage them. This is the only time I've read of this and I'm curious if anyone has a definitive answer. With winter approaching I'm going to have to use a mat but I won't if it causes damage to my nice new golf clubs.

Yes. Firefly was one awesome series... I still can't believe it was canceled.

What is the proper way to maintain your golf clubs? I want to make sure my set lasts a good amount of time so I've been washing my irons with a toothbrush and warm water after each use. Is this necessary? Also, do all irons scratch really easily? I bought a cheap set of clones for $60ish that have a mirror finish and are supposed to be made of 431 stainless steel. I've noticed that the bottoms of all of them have become scratched just from normal use - not like I am hitting rocks or anything just the dirt. I was under the impression that 431 was a pretty hard metal so I am curious how I can stop my clubs from scratching so much or if it is just a function of the mirror finish. The clone clubs have performed well for me so far... they were pretty inexpensive so I thought I would give them a try. I am using the cheaper commercial grade True Temper shafts with Golf Pride grips so I think they are good for a beginner. Just now, however, I notice that there is a chip on the bottom toe of the 3 iron already perhaps from a mishit. How can it chip so easily after only one use? Is this the norm with irons or just mine?

I'm looking at getting a new square driver but I'm not sure what loft I need. Most sites tell me 10.5* but that just seems a bit high for an oversized head. I sky the ball a lot more than I pound it into the ground but my experiences are limited to rental clubs and who knows the loft of some of those things... My drives (carry) average around 190-230 with the rare 250-260 yard drive. I know I should get myself fitted but I don't have the money to purchase a real nice club yet so I think I am better off going with just the standard advice until I upgrade to expensive clubs down the road. So given the lack of some of the crucial variables such as swing speed what would your recommendation be - should I go 9.5* or 10.5*? Thanks.

Well I went out to the local muni for the first time solo today. It really sucked. I started off okay but got really frustrated when I couldn't hit my nice loft shots with the SW from behind the bunkers. I think it would have been more fun solo if I had my iPod with me or if I could see anything. It was very bright out so any mishits I had I couldn't find. I ended up losing 10 balls on a 9 hole course and easily 1/2 of those were on the fairway under some leaves. When you play badly with a friend at least you can laugh it off but being solo just made me play worse. Couple that with the fact that my drivers and woods were in the shop made it very difficult. The club let me use a driver but it was a super tiny old persimmon one which I'm not very accurate with being a beginner and such. So in order to stop losing balls I kept pulling up and hitting accurate shots and driving it only 150 off the tee just to be sure I was in the middle of fairway. This seemed to have a large impact on my game. On the plus side I only had two 3-putts. Oh well... first time out with the new irons I just ordered. I'm still getting a feel for them but really my swing was just out of whack today and I just couldn't fix it because of how frustrated I became over losing that many balls.

World Serieses are overrated anyway.

I have never been to Cuba but I have tried bifocals. Personally, I can't stand them. If your eyesight problems are really bothering you that much I'd suggest getting Lasic eye surgery. It is fantastic.

I dislike when there are huge hills in the back of a green that is only maybe 10 yards to the pin. It makes it difficult to hit a shot that is strong enough to get up the hill but light enough not to roll all the way off. Other than that... long irons.

Hello, I am a beginner golfer and I am trying my best to work on my putting. I searched the forums already and found a few interesting threads but nothing that covers this query. Anyway, I seem to be having trouble with my putting stroke. When I first started I had a very large arc which I was told was bad and caused me to push the ball. To correct it I tried to line up and do the whole straight line only putt but that doesn't feel right. My question is how do you decide which stroke to use and which is better? I know I can become accustomed to either since I am still a beginner but I'm not sure at this point which one suits my game better. It seems the arc is harder to control but offers a lot more finesse and speed/distance control. It is definitely easier to mishit this stroke which leads me to believe I should change it. I've searched quite a bit on the internet for information on putting strokes but nobody can really sum up the pros or con of either style. For instance, I just saw two videos on golftips where one of the pros said that every good putter has the club go slighting inside on the backstroke (which is what I try to do), whereas the second fellow said the key is keeping the clubhead straight through entire stroke. Which one of these is correct? And lastly, if I do use a inside-square-inside arc what type of putter should I use? A blade with a cavity perhaps? Right now I am using a Tour Edge Backdraft mallet with face weighting that I just purchased and the weight is throwing me off. I believe it is supposed to stop me from twisting the club at impact... but isn't that part of the inside square inside arc? I hope someone can tell me what I am doing wrong since trying to do both at the same time sure isn't working for me.

I love to go out and get something delicious to eat. A sandwich, burger, steak... whatever strikes you. I usually golf in the mornings on an empty stomach so by the time I am finished walking 9 - 18 holes I am ready for a nice hardy meal.