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.

Sorry, this was a while back, but i've been on a golf vacation. The Edels are amazing. The fitting process is intensive, and they get amazing spin. Probably the best club purchases I have ever made. It's between that and my new SC Squareback Studio Select (A couple of years old, but I got it new for 200$ CDN at a closing sale at a local shop) for best clubs i've ever owned.

Physics isn't just demonstrated on paper. It also isn't "hit he ball with a fast and straight club face in the sweet spot." The body and it's movements follow the laws of physics as well. The clubface, impact, follow through, you can test all of it and create a very repeating swing. There's obviously geometry in there as well, but if you are in good physical shape, you should have no trouble creating a repeating swing through muscle memory (and video), as long as you understand each component of it. I'm no pro, I would never try to give lessons, but that doesn't change the fact that the swing is simple, and if you understand it, you could most certainly teach yourself.

I've notiuced, as someone with a strong background in physics, that poor instructors just don't understand the physics of the game (and yes, there is a lot involved, weather they see it or not). Hell, the first instructor I tried when I started to take the game seriously didn't even understand Gear Effect. It didn't take me long to move on. A good coach is going to alter your swing so you are hitting the center of the clubface, while keeping the face perpendicular to your line. A bad instructor is going to to try to teach you what he thinks is the perfect swing, with no actual education behind it. I've done a lot of my own physics experiments with my swing (and am lucky enough to be able to afford top tier equipment, like my own GC2+HMT & Trackman), and one thing i've learned is that the ball only does what you make it do. The bad shots are because you don't have the physics of the game down. There is no perfect swing (except maybe Iron Byron). The best pga players often have strange, unorthadox swings.

It's not so much a lead when you are tied with two others. I do want Kuchar to pull the win out out of the three on top though,.

It's just understood that our annual September golf trip is the guys only. The wives are welcome to go where they please, as long as it's not near us. One year, one of the guys new GF tried to worm her way in (he was too whipped to say no). We just made it clear to him that her wasn't any more welcome than our own wives are, and that by pushing her way in, she was just going to make it so he couldn't go either. She was mad, but he had to deal with her, not us. In the end, he came, and she stayed home, making dozens of calls to more than one of our cel's, which we conveniently forgot in our rooms. Apparently she also tortured one of our groups wives, who apparently told her, in no uncertain terms, that she was acting like a child.

I believe you shot 6 over through two holes, if you were playing loose with the rules.

I could sleep with my three Edels, but my wife likes to be the only one of my ladies in our bed. (Yes, I give my clubs names, my 3w is Kirsty (named after a fiance who passed away), my 56* is Ezri, my putter is Jadzia, and my driver is Janice, my driving iron is Deanna, and so on.

Yep, but they go together extremely well. I would never bring upa bet with a stranger, but it certainly makes the game a little more competitive. I like competition. Which is why we have a 4 man stroke play match every friday. Lowest score wins, the other three pay 5$ per stroke they are behind. We do give strokes for handicap, to make things even, but right now only one of usgets a stroke per side. But, i'd never try to press anyone in to betting.

St> Annes old course, Turnberry, Links at Crowbush Cove. My favorite courses are all Links courses, it's what I grew up on, and my home course is one of the nicest Links courses in North America. PEI, Canada is golf heaven. I only wish I had taken golf as seriously as I took hockey as a child. I was scratch before I was 18, and I only played summers. Then came university hockey, women, partying, and golf took a backseat for a few years, until I met the first of the two loves of my life (she passed away from cancer), who was a university golfer. I started playing pretty much daily with her. Now I golf with my wife a few times a week (we met on the golf course), and we both golf seperately with our own friends a couple of times a week. I'm quite lucky that EVERY vacation is a golf vacation, and we both have lists of courses we want to play. We generally vacation twice a winter, for two weeks each time. Next choice of location is hers, so I'm guessing we'll be playing golf in Hawaii or some other godawful hot locale. But in march, I fully intend at playing 12-18 rounds at pebble beach and surrounding clubs. A bit of a ramble and off topic, but it's wonderful having a young wife (26, but she'd kill me if I alluded to her as anything but young, and I turned 36 last weekend, sooo...) who loves travel and golf. Bethpage Black is on the list for both of us as well.

I always know where I am in relation to par, but it's not something I fret about. Hell, after 3 years away due to injury (though I saw a swing coach and practiced indoor on a gc2+hmt all winter at home), my goal for this year was to break 85 this season. I did that within a month of being back on the course, so I have nothing to stress about. Now, when I was young, and actually playing in amateur tournaments, I was obsessive about my score. Nowadays, with my new Game Golf, I don't even try to keep track of each hole. Just keep hitting the little white ball towards the hole. I know if i'm up or down, but i just look at my game golf stats afterwards to see which holes I bogeyed or birdied.