Apoc81

Man, he’ll only be 4. I’m not taking a chance at him getting a ball in the head

Man, that was exciting. I haven’t been around the forum much in a few years, since my little one was born. Still golfing a lot though. Next year, he’ll be old enough to take to a couple of the family courses near here. I’ll make him wear a helmet, but he’s three and he already raves to me about golf and hockey (mostly gibberish), and watching him get excited about Tiger winning (him being excited was a combo of my excitement coupled with his fascination with Tigers bright red shirt) was one of the best moments of fatherhood there is. I know I went a bit off topic, but it’s been a good day.

It doesn't really work like that. You are spending the cash, why not get fitted for what you really need?

And be a better golfer for it. I played hockey all my life, so I have a lot of tall friends (and im 6'4"), and so many of them play off the rack clubs (especially irons), it puzzles me. I can't imagine being forced to play standard length, especially when most companies will fit you free when you buy (provided you know a good clubfitter)

I thought we were talking serious misses, not slightly heel or toe.

Missing to the toe causes Gear Effect, which causes horrible mishits (though so does Heel misses). I'd prefer center high, or center low.

Yeah, no. My masters in engineering would say otherwise.

My SLDR 3 wood is gold. That club does no wrong. It's the one club besides my Edels that I can't imagine replacing (but will, because i'm like that).

Man, my favorite thing about the pings I've owned in the past is their grips (which I don't think they make anymore).

Whichever one you get fitted for. And I believe Ping (and most other companies) will fit for free if you are buying from them.

I ditched my 3i for a 5w. I hit it better, straighter, and within five yards of my 3i. I stay away from Hybrids because I seem to hit them all way too high, with too much spin, and my distances with long irons are far more consistent.

I'll be gaming a custom fit set of those blades next year. Those are the sexiest clubs I have ever seen. I love my Vapor Fly Pro's (Nike finally made EXCELLENT irons, then shut down), and I had a great season with them, but i'm ready to go back to blades, and those things are like sex.

I'm going on the assumption that if you are interested enough in teaching yourself, you have most certainly took the time to learn the physics and basics of the swing. Again, i'm talking fit, athletically inclined people who are willing to hit hundreds of balls a day and film and critique what they see have a pretty damn good chance of playing golf. If we're talking your average obese american who hits a bucket of balls twice a week, then no, they won't ever play good golf. I'm working under the assumption that the person doing this is reasonably fit and ambitious enough to practice daily, on all parts of the game, and getting in the course time to practice scrambling and course management as well. While I have a coach, I think that the fact that im willing to put in the time and effort to become better has had just as much impact. I mean, I come from a golfing family, and I played pretty good golf before I ever got a coach (which was when I made my high school golf team). I was scratch by 18-19, and better than scratch when I got burnt a few years back and had to take almost 3 years off. Im now a 5, after playing about 100 rounds this year, but I don't know i'll ever get back to where I was. And I admit, coaching got me to scratch, and it made me more competitive, and kept my golf consistent throughout my adulthood, but I was still a 6-7 by the time I was 14 and joined our high school team (ages 14-17 here). I had never had a single lesson to that point.

It's simple physics, and someone with the equipment and time could easily look at their own swing, work on what's wrong, and tinker until it's right. The body does what we make it do, and many people learn without coaching. (As much as I can't stand him, bubba is a self taught 2x major winner). Sure there's athletic ability and coordination involved, but I think anyone who puts in enough practice can learn to play decent golf.