bjwestner

Has anyone read Bill Simmons' book of basketball where he basically ranks the greatest players of all time by pyramid level? Great book. It would be cool if there was a golf book like that.... Starting at the very top, the highest level would be those that are clear icons and shaped the game, changed the game, and that were at the top of the game worldwide for an extended period of time. Bobby Jones Ben Hogan Jack Nicklaus Arnold Palmer Tiger Woods Greg Norman In the second group, I'd put those that maybe got to #1 at some point in their careers and are clear cut hall of famers with multiple majors, etc. Gary Player Ernie Els Phil Mickelson Vijay Singh Lee Trevino Tom Watson Seve Ballesteros Nick Faldo Bobby Locke Peter Thomson Byron Nelson Sam Snead Gene Sarazen Walter Hagen Harry Vardon In the next group, it would be the level just under those named above, such as: Nick Price Billy Casper Bernard Langer Payne Stewart Jose Maria Olazabal Colin Montgomerie Ian Woosnam Larry Nelson Johnny Miller Hale Irwin Ray Floyd I'm sure I'm leaving lots of people out but this is just what came to me off the top of my head....

I was talking to a friend the other day about golfers that are in or not in the hall of fame. This started me thinking on who should be in that's not and maybe who got in that might not get in today based on the newer criteria from the hall of fame. I'm not a big fan of the new criteria as players can not meet the criteria but clearly be hall of famers and yet there are some that meet the criteria (John Daly for example), yet have no chance of getting in the hall of fame The following may be considered “questionable”, but are in the hall of fame: Fred Couples, 15 wins, 1 major, 2 players wins, #1 golfer in OWGR Mark O’Meara, 16 wins, 2 majors (this is a no brainer and I don’t see how anyone can argue O’Meara getting into the HOF) Ken Venturi, 14 wins, 1 major David Graham, 8 wins, 2 majors (20 worldwide wins) Curtis Strange, 17 wins, 2 majors (back to back US Open wins) Tom Kite, 19 wins, 1 major Tony Jacklin, 4 PGA wins, 8 Euro PGA wins, 2 majors Ben Crenshaw, 19 wins, 2 majors Lanny Wadkins, 19 wins, 1 major Based on who’s already in, then why not? Corey Pavin, 15 wins, 1 major Davis Love III, 20 wins, 1 major, 2 players (this is a no brainer and surely has to be just a matter of time?) Paul Azinger, 12 wins, 1 major, also last captian to win a ryder cup for USA Hal Sutton, 14 wins, 1 major, 2 players championships Lee Janzen, 8 wins, 2 majors, 1 players championship Fuzzy Zoeller, 10 wins, 2 majors Mark Calcavecchia, 13 wins, 1 major Padraig Harrington, 6 pga wins, 14 euro pga wins, 3 majors (this has to be another no-brainer, right?) Retief Goosen, 7 pga wins, 14 euro pga wins, 2 majors, 43 world-wide wins, euro tour order of merit winner x 2 (01,02) Lee Westwood, 2 pga wins, 23 euro pga wins, #1 in OWGR (despite no major I don’t see how he does not get in considering Colin Montgomerie did get in) Miguel Angel Jimenez, 21 euro pga wins (again, he’s gotta get in as he’s over the magical 20 win mark) David Duval, 13 pga wins, 1 major, 1 players, #1 in OWGR during Tiger’s time on tour (to me this is a no-brainer, he was dominant and was a clear word #1 and should get in) Jim Furyk, 17 pga wins, 1 major (another no-brainer and just a matter of time I’d say?) David Toms, 13 pga wins, 1 major Mike Weir, 8 pga wins, 1 major John Daly, 5 pga wins, 2 majors Tom Lehman, 5 pga wins, 1 major, #1 in OWGR for 1 week in 1997 Now, the hall of fame’s new criteria is: The minimum qualifications for male and female competitors are: minimum of 40 years old, or five years removed from "active competition" and 15 or more wins on "approved tours" or two "major wins" This is interesting to me because I don’t think that we are going to see many players ever getting to 15 wins anymore. The life of a professional tour golfer is shrinking in my opinion as more and more players become millionaires. Based on the new criteria, several players that I really strongly believe should be in the hall of fame will not meet the minimum criteria. In my opinion, David Duval is at least as good as Fred Couples and has almost the same numbers despite not even close to the longevity (this shows how good double D was at his peak years). Hal Sutton would not meet the criteria but is another that I believe should be in the hall of fame easily. I’m also a believer in that if you reach #1 in the owgr, that is a very big accomplishment in my opinion and warrants getting into the hall of fame. Tom Lehman has the lowest career stats of all of the golfers that have been ranked #1. Luke Donald has 5 pga wins, 7 euro wins, and was year end #1 and was #1 multiple times. Westwood has more than 20 euro wins. Ian Woosnam is not in the hall of fame, I’m not sure how that’s possible considering he has 29 euro wins and a major, however, my point is that every other #1 golfer is or was a clear lock for the hall of fame with the exception of Lehman and maybe Donald (Adam Scott has 11 pga wins already, 1 major, 1 players, and 27 worldwide wins and he’s still has 5+ more years to reach 40). Lehman presents an interesting issue though, because while I place a great value in reaching number one, he has just 5 pga wins. Shoot, you could potentially make an argument that John Daly’s numbers are as good or better as he has one more major than Lehman does. Let me make it clear that I am in no way saying that Daly should be in the hall of fame. He should not and is not even close in my opinion. Out of all the golfers that have been #1 in the world (16 of them), just 2 of them do not have majors (Donald and Westwood).

Since Memorial Day Weekend has just come and gone, I guess we are now unofficially in "summer". This is very good from a weather standpoint and I probably played the best 3 day weekend of golf I ever have up to this point. It's hard to believe that on June 2, 2015, that will mark 3 years since I first started playing golf. The time has flown by and while it seems like just yesterday, it also seems like it has been an eternity because I have put in so much work and played so much golf. I ended up shooting 78, 75, and 77 this weekend, all at my club (par 72). I set a new personal best by hitting 13 GIR yesterday while hitting 12 the day before. So ball striking is continuing to improve and is a strong point of my game. I've been working hard during the week to improve my play around the greens to improve my scrambling percentage and play 100 yards and in. I am definitely seeing improvement in my scrambling abilities. Statistically I have not been putting well lately and I had a whopping 35 yesterday but that was a result of hitting so many greens in regulation and I had a lot of two putts. I've found that the more GIR I have, then usually the more putts I have whereas the more scrambling I'm doing and the less GIR usually equals less putts because I get the ball closer to the hole and thus have more one putts when I'm scrambling versus having a GIR and then two putting. I'd love to have the best of both worlds and get the GIR and have a one putt but my game is a work in progress and frequently when I have a lot of GIR I have some good birdie opportunities but there is also a lot of times where I'm 25 to 30 feet if not more, away from the hole and a two putt is pretty good. I know that this is the reason and it's not that I'm putting poorly (although I can definitely improve my putting). I am averaging under one three putt per round of golf and year to year my average putts per round is decreasing. Also, I continue to count putts as any stroke I use with my putter which inflates my average putts per round probably by 2 to 4 strokes per round (this is an estimation). So in 27 rounds I've played in 2015, I'm averaging 32.7 putts per round which is really probably right around 30 if I counted putts the way they are counted on the PGA tour. Considering that the greens at my club are very difficult and my handicap is trending to 5.2L currently, I don't think that averaging 30-31 putts puts me outside the general average for someone with my skill level. Those reading this, I'd love your input as always so please tell me if you think otherwise - I wrong a lot and not afraid to admit it! One of my golfing buddies that I normally play with at my club has moved away to Florida which stinks because he was a pretty good player, about a 10 handicap or so and I enjoyed playing with him not just because he's a great guy but also because he is closer to my skill level than anyone else I frequently play with and I think that's good for my game. I enjoy playing with my regular group but they are all at least high teens handicaps if not higher and I find that when I play with better players that I play better and can learn a lot myself. It's hard though to find new people to play with since most everyone has a group established already. That's what I'm working on though trying to find some new players. I may even consider moving to a different country club or golf club. I like my club but most of the people are there to play golf and have fun, which is understandable. I'd like to find some more competitive people though along with a staff and facility that is more willing to help performance instead of a staff willing to get you another six pack and ice for the back nine. There has been some minor changes to equipment in my bag. Everyone that knows me knows that I am an equipment wh**e, but I have been proud to say that I've had the same driver in my bag for just over 2 years now, a Titleist 910. I was able to obtain a brand new Titleist 913 for only $200, so I got it. I liked the 910 shaft so much that I just swapped that out and put the new head on. I do notice a distance increase of almost 10 yards or so probably due to better technology and new club. I have the trusty 910 still as a backup in case anything happens. I have also been looking for a 3 wood that I really like, one that I can hit off the tee as well as off the deck consistently (the Titleist 913f 5 wood I have in my bag is great and I hit that off the deck and sometimes off the tee, very consistently). So I went to Golf Galaxy and tried out several different 3 woods. I fully expected to most likely be leaving with the Titleist 915 3 wood but I did not. I liked the Taylormade R15 3 wood better. It went 15 to 20 yards further according to the launch monitor and also much straighter. I put the new 3 wood in play yesterday and used it for several shots and was very pleased as I hit 11 FIR (every 3 wood off the tee was a FIR) and 13 GIR for the day. A week from this Thursday I'm looking forward to playing in a scramble for work that I play in every year at Bulle Rock, which is a Pete Dye design and used to be (I'm not sure if it still is) a top 100 course in the US. It's a great course and I always have fun playing in that. Thanks for reading. Hope we all hit it straight and long!

forgot to mention....my bag for 2015 has been made up of the following so far: driver: Titleist 910 D2, 9.5 degree, regular flex shaft 3W: TM Rocketballz Tour Preferred 14.5 degree, regular flex 5W: Titleist 913f, 19 degree, regular flex 3 iron: TM RSI 1, graphite shaft, regular flex 4-9i: TM SLDR, regular flex steel shafts PW: Cleveland 588 RTX CB 46 degree GW: Cleveland 588 RTX CB 52 degree LW: Cleveland 588 RTX CB 58 degree Putter: Odyssey Milled Collection #2 or Scotty Cameron Tour Only Newport Squareback Select Prototype

The start of the handicap season (3/15) was definitely frustrating as the weather was cold for a bit and my short game was horrible. The weather has improved though and the last few weeks I have worked really hard during the week working on pitches and chips around the green. I'm seeing that the hard work is paying off as I am getting up and down with much more consistency. My official handicap went up a bit and at one point it was trending to 6.0L, however, after the last two weekends it is now trending to 5.4L and is at 5.7 officially. The last two weekends saw me post scores of 78, 76, 76, and 76. Yesterday I even stepped up to the "blended" tees which are a shade under 6500 yards, up from the usual 6250 tees I usually play. I think I'm going to continue to play the blended since I was comfortable with the distance. I could tell a difference on few holes but it was nothing major. I was also a bit frustrated at the start of the season because it seemed like I could not make a birdie to save my life. This was similar to last year around the same time but as the conditions got better, they are now dropping in. I'm averaging over 1 birdie per round. Other than that I'm still working on my swing and going to hit balls a few times a week at the range. I have a much better understanding of the golf swing now (although it seems like I say that every year). My swing is one done with "quiet hands" in that I do not really hinge my wrists a lot and while I've gotten better at the butt end of the club pointing outside of the target line so that I am not too steep, I still do not open enough on the backswing, then close on the downswing. I think it's a coordination thing but I am getting better at it slowly but surely. I think I got to this point because early on in my golfing career a cupped left wrist with my swing plane was not good for solid ball striking so by keeping my hands "quiet", it leads to a slighlty curved left wrist instead of being cupped. Furthermore it was one less thing I had to get right before striking the ball whereas hinging the wrists would add one more thing and I also found that it sped up my swing when I was trying to slow things down. So long story short, that is what I'm working on now. I decided not to go all the way at once. Rome was not built in a day and neither are most swing changes. Because I now understand this and can see this in my head, it's much better and easier for me to implement than before I was ready for it. As I continue to tweak this more and more it will also allow me to go from having a completely shut club face to one that is open and pointed left of the target line which is what I ideally want.

can we get an update?

Probably because he's referring to situations where you can't use that kind of club. I have this situation often where I have to hit a 40 or 50 yard pitch shot that usually requires me using my lob wedge because you have to carry something (i.e. bunker) but get the ball to stop quick enough on the green. Even using a gap wedge or pitching wedge is hard to impossible because the amount of run would be too much. So you are left with a shot where if you hit it fat at all, you are coming up short basically. Usually it's from a tight lie in the fairway too but because the ground is so wet it makes it a very tough shot. I do not like this shot at all and have it often and when the ground is super wet it makes it a very tough shot. I've gotten better at it but am far from perfect. I just focus on picking the ball clean with my lob wedge - there's really no room for error because if you are fat at all then the ball is going to be short.....

Sorry I have not posted in many weeks. Honestly there has not been much to discuss. The weather this winter has been terrible and I went 4 weeks in between rounds, which was the longest I went without playing a round of golf since I started golfing on 6/2/12. I played on 2/8/15 and then did not play again until 3/8/15. At least I have been able to play once the last two weekends as I played 3/8 and 3/15. March 15 was opening day although it was the first day that my country club was open in more than a month. The weather was so bitterly cold that there were times when I could only hit balls once during the week and even then I was the only one out there at the whole range! I remember this happening a few times and I'm not really sure it helped at all as it was like 20 degrees with the wind blowing hard. If anything it was good for me mentally I guess. My handicap is currently at 5.5 after the most recent revision and we are now IN SEASON. It's supposed to get colder the next few days but as long as the temperature is above 40, I'll take it. It has been so cold that 50 degrees feels really warm! I did end up getting a new set of irons and have had them for more than a month now and have played with them a handful of times. With the turf conditions so terrible and frozen the Bridgestone J40 irons I have were just too difficult for me to hit in those conditions so I picked up a set of SLDR irons which have slightly weaker lofts and less offset than the Speedblades. I traded those in. So far the SLDR's are good. I really like the KBS shafts in them and while I've had some issues when it's windy becuase I am a high ball hitter and the shafts in the SLDR irons launch the ball pretty high. If it's normal and just a slight breeze though there are no issues. I'm glad I went with the SLDR's as they seem to be what I was looking for, something in between the Speedblades and the J40's. I'm really excited for this season. I was thinking about how I was playing this winter when I played and I realized that I played pretty good considering the cold, the wind, the lack of being able to play regularly, and most important, the terrible turf conditions. I was thinking how I probably do not remember this as much as I should, nor give it as much importance. It's very hard to play when the ground is either frozen or soupy as hell and it makes a huge difference obviously. I was struggling for a while with my driving which has usually been one of the most consistent parts of my game. I think the issue was that I was not playing consistently and even though I went to the range, hitting off those rubber tees is not the same at all. I was able to fix the driving issues that I was having by making a stance adjustment and the last two rounds I hit 12 and 10 FIR. I don't know how I got messed up but for a while I was slicing the ball and even ended up reverse pivoting. I have also narrowed my stance and set up more closed now and make sure I am making a full shoulder turn now whereas before I was slapping at the ball and all messed up. I'm finding it hard to set an objective goal for the year which is frustrating because I have been able to do this in the past seasons but I'm at the point now where improvement is harder and harder and there is "less fat" to chop off, so-to-speak. I guess I'd like to get to 4.0 or lower for my handicap this year but I'm not sure if that is too aggressive or maybe even not aggressive enough?

FYI, I have this issue too, especially if I am on the range and hitting driver after driver too fast. I stick my butt out too much and have an "s" in my spine instead of it being flat. This is due to many factors including poor conditioning and my continuing to improve my set up. Read the thread that was provided earlier. It's a great read.

Thank you all. I think you are right in that I am putting too much thought in this and should stick with the J40's. I went to the range last night and had them in my bag and I remember thinking I'm hitting these fine and that I'm not supposed to hit them as far as other irons and the whole point is that they should be more consistent and more workable.

Hello and thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate it. I've had a blast since I started playing golf and it's been fun to also continue to update this thread and look back over time to see where I was at and how far I've come. I agree with you 100%, true muscle back irons are not seen that much anymore. The Bridgestone J40 irons that I have, are considered a players iron. There are actually two versions of the J40 irons, one is a cavity back style and the other is a dual pocket cavity back design. They are beautiful clubs and while they do have a cavity back, are considered players clubs, at least in my opinion but I'm pretty sure that they are looked upon that way. So just because an iron has a cavity back design does not mean that it's automatically a game improvement iron. Apparently that used to be the case not too long ago but even the newer Titleist 714 AP2 irons have a cb design but they are clearly more of a players club. I can play the Bridgestone's and get by with them, but I'd like to have a little more forgiveness in them. Part of the issue is probably that it's winter and I'm judging myself too hardly as once spring and summer come it will not be as hard to hit the ball on normal ground. Generally speaking, I think it's safe to say that the more years a golfer has under his/her belt, usually the better they are to a point. So most golfers that are at a similar level of golfing skill as myself have been playing for much longer. This is why I think there seems to me to be not that much of a selection of irons that are between the Bridgestone J40's (which are cavity backs, but a players iron, I think Brandt Snedeker used to use the same ones) and the TM Speedblades which while fantastic irons are a game improvement iron. My theory on this is most people are not in a position like I'm in because they have the experience of years of playing golf, much more than me so they transition more gradually to higher end irons, whereas I'm right on the edge and have only a bit more than 2.5 years of golf under my belt. I would not consider getting a traditional muscle back because I am not totally comfy with the J40's. With that being said, the J40 cavity backs were used on tour so they are basically the same iron that I have now only with different shafts I'm sure. I purchase just about all my golf equipment on Ebay. It's gotten to a point where it does not make sense to do it any other way. Once I know what I want, then I order it from Ebay. For example, the TM SLDR irons brand new on Ebay are around $450 shipped, you'd be hard pressed to walk out of any golf retailer with those same clubs for under $750. I have always liked Taylormade irons. My first set was the TM Burner Plus model from 2008 that I got new in 2012. I then went to TM R11 irons, then a first set of Bridgestone J40's that I sold, then TM Rocketbladez, then TM Speedblades, and the Bridgestone J40's. I still have the speedblades and J40's. As you can see I've had several taylormade sets and have always liked them. Since the technology has really exploded in the last couple of years with the slot that TM irons have in the 3 iron through 7 iron, I'd suggest at least the Rocketbladez model or newer. I've seen Rocketbladez irons going for under $400 at places like Golfsmith and Golf Galaxy. That's a good deal in my opinion. When trying out new clubs, irons specifically I look at all the specs now to compare to what I am currently hitting. As you know, not all 7 irons are even and so I tend to focus on the lofts of the clubs to make comparison so I am comparing apples to apples. I hit my J40 7 iron, which has 35 degree loft the same distance that I hit the speedblades 8 iron which has 34.5 degrees of loft. I am without a doubt a victim of the manufacturers coming out with new stuff all the time. I chose to be a victim though. I know people that I met when I first started golfing that have the same clubs then as they do now. On the flip side I am constantly buying and trying new things and yes it's expensive but it's fun for me and part of the experience. Finally I'll strongly suggest you check out Ebay. There are tons of used irons sets that are in great shape for a good price. I've bought hundreds of items off Ebay and never had an issue with anything being fake or anything like that. I check to make sure the seller has a great reputation and I live by the concept that if something is too good to be true then it probably is. Thus you are not going to get a Cameron putter for $20 brand new, but you can find good deals on lots of quality items that are used but still in great shape. Best of luck!

Not much has/is happening in 2015. The weather is terrible. I've played 3 rounds total in 2015 so far I believe and all have been in the state of VA because my club has been closed with snow covering the course. I'm continuing to hit balls about 3 times per week. It's not fun and is starting to get depressing. I have missed a few weekends totally but have been able to make sure that I don't go 2 weekends in a row without playing. I'm hopeful to play this weekend because I did not last weekend and am itching to play. It seems like even when I am able to play the greens are frozen which is no fun. Two weeks ago this coming Sunday I was able to play a nice round in VA where temps were around 50 degrees and the greens were not frozen! It was great and although we played from tees that were only just a shade over 6k because I was playing with a friend and he cannot play longer, I still enjoyed myself and shot a 77 which I was happy with. It started out poorly on the front nine probably because of rust. While hitting balls at the range is helpful, it's much different than playing, especially when it's wet and muddy on the course. On the back 9 I felt back to normal and found myself playing very well. I'm going to the gym and working on core/abdominal exercises and cardio. It's been only a little over a month but I can already tell the difference. I feel better and think that I have gained some distance which makes sense because I feel more flexible. I'm a bit frustrated though because I'm looking for a new set of irons. I need something in between a players club and game improvement and there is not all that much out there as the market is not as big as it is for either extreme. As I mentioned before, I was playing the Wilson Staff Duo in the winter due to the low compression. This was fine when the greens were frozen as it did not matter anyway. Anyways, so I went back to the Bridgestone B330 RXS just for that round two Sundays ago because it was so warm and the greens were not frozen. What a difference! I felt like Seve, I swear. My putting was so much better and my short game was too probably because of how much more control you get with a better ball versus the Duo. It was nice. If it's still cold and I get to play I'm not complaining and I'll stick with the Duo unless conditions arise that are conducive to scoring in which case I'd rather play something I can control.

Hello All - I'm in a unique spot as both sets of irons that I currently have do not really fit my game currently. I've been playing for what will be 3 years come this June. My current hc is officially at 5.4 and I hit balls a few times a week at the range and play when I can and when the weather permits. I have a set of TM Speedblades and Bridgestone J40 combo (3-6 dpc, 7-pw cb). I feel like I’m in a bit of a tough spot. I love the looks and feel of the Bridgestone J40 irons that I have, however the issue is that while I’m fine to play them in the summer usually, it’s hard to play them in the winter. They are much smaller and have much less room for forgiveness. The lofts are also very weak as well and trying to hit a players iron off frozen ground in the winter is basically impossible for me at this time. In summer time and warm conditions I am able to play them but it’s still probably a bit of a stretch for me to play them and shoot my best. I can get by with them, but where I’m at in my golf game is probably something with a bit more forgiveness. I am a huge fan of the Project X 5.0 flighted shafts. My favorite shafts for sure, but they are also tapered. I bought J40 irons in 2013 but they had the Nippon NS Pro 1050 shafts and I did not like them at all. I also was not good enough to play those irons then either. I would recommend Taylormade Speedblade irons to anyone that is a 10-12 handicap or higher. I hit the snot out of those things. How do I know I hit the snot out of them? A friend’s joke that he always says to me mocks what I find myself frequently saying on the course….”I can’t believe that went long of the green”. Fact is that I’m still gaining distance as my ball striking and strength improves which is good but like many things in life, it can be too much of a good thing. Last night I was at the range and it was below 32 degrees out. I was hitting the 6 iron into a very slight breeze 175+ yards. Granted this was from a mat, it was still with Pinnacle range balls, yes Pinnacle range balls. The speedblades are great irons and I enjoyed them a lot in 2014. After all it was with those irons that I had what I consider a successful year in going from 8 and change to 5 and change for my handicap. They are cast clubs though. While I don’t want to sound like a snob or someone that is not humble, I can really tell the difference even hitting range balls. The distances while tremendous with the speedblades, are not always consistent enough and the ball flies too high and balloons sometimes. Other times I hit a boring high gentle drawing bullet that goes many yards past the green. They are game improvement irons and they do what they say they will do. I’ve come to the realization that I’m in a unique spot. My own opinion is that I am probably not quite as good as my handicap suggests, all things being equal. It’s close but I’d say I’m mid to high 6’s instead of low to mid 5’s. I benefit because I play MCC a lot and know it so well and my short game has improved so much that it gives me an extra benefit. While my ballstriking has improved and continues to, I’m at a point in my golf game where I’m not quite enough of a “big boy” to play the Bridgestone J40 irons and I’ve outgrown the Speedblades and don’t need more distance from irons, I need more consistency and ability to shape the ball differently. You know what sucks about this? There is almost nothing out there for someone in my skill/experience range. Most people with similar handicaps have been playing for so much longer that they are comfortable using a forged players iron. By this summer I will be okay I think, but I still think I could benefit from something in between. Unfortunately there is almost nothing in between. The speedblades while great clubs and irons that I would be happy to use in weather like we’ve had lately because the conditions are so bad they don’t hurt me, are just not good enough if I want to improve further. I can’t be hitting back to back shots where one goes one distance and the next one flies several yards further from the same lie. And this is the case with the speedblades. Furthermore even the speedblades have too much offset for my liking now. I need a mid-trajectory flight instead of the skyscraping heights I hit with the speedblades, which by the way is not a good thing in windy winter conditions. I don’t HAVE TO have forged clubs. I just need clubs that are more consistent, are smaller, have less offset, yet still provide a level of forgiveness. I looked at Titleist irons and the 712 and 714 AP1 irons are cast and are very good irons but they are too much like the speedblades in how much offset. The AP2 irons from Titleist are similar to the J40’s, and it’s too much of a jump for me. Same thing with Ping. I can’t believe that there is not something out there that is more of an in between between the game improvement and players irons that the manufacturers offer. For what it’s worth, the J40’s that I have are cavity back and dual pocket cavity’s. It’s not like they are actual muscle back irons. It’s just that they are probably a bit too small and don’t have quite enough forgiveness for me right now and also the lofts are very very weak. The 7 iron in the J40’s is the same loft as the 8 iron in the speedblades. Loft for loft I hit the J40’s almost if not just as far as the speedblades. For example, the speedblade 8 iron (34.5 loft) carries 145+ while the J40 7 iron (35.0 loft) carries roughly the same distance. Ideally I’d like to find something in between that I’m comfortable with but there does not seem to be that much out there. Any suggestions? So far I’ve found the following that may be candidates: The Mizuno MP-54 irons seem like a candidate. So do the TM SLDR irons. Mizuno JPX EZ Forged Irons? Mizuno JPX 850? TM RSI2 irons? FYI, I will probably trade in/sell the speedblades once/if I find something in between. I plan to keep the J40 combo set because I would only get under a $100 for trading them in and they are in great shape and are something that I can grow into in the future as I continue to improve.

haven't posted in a while...not much happening, still playing as much as mother nature will allow on the weekends. Last weekend was great and the weather was fantastic on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. I played yesterday on new years day but the greens were frozen which made scoring impossible. I ended the season with my handicap at 5.5 and it is the same. I continue to go to the range at least twice during the week. I can't say that I am working on anything specifically at this point in time as the weather is just so up and down and prevents me from doing much else than going to the range during the week and playing on the weekends if I'm lucky. So far we have not really had any snow which is a good thing but I doubt that this will be the same for the whole winter. There's only about 10 weeks or so until the season starts on March 15. If I can just maintain where I ended the season or better then I'll be happy. I continue to get better and more consistent with my ball striking and my short game also continues to improve as well. I am getting more consistent with shots that I cannot really practice (i.e. uphill lies and uneven lies). I know this because I have very similar shots sometimes at my country club and I can tell that I am getting more consistent. On a good weather day now it really comes down to how well I putt and how many times I can get up and down to save par. I'm still improving but not close to the pace that I was in the past two years because there is less "fat" to chop off. I'm also still gaining distance, again not at the same pace but it's still increasing. As such this has made things difficult sometimes from 100 yards and in. Add in the fact that I am improving and getting more consistent from non-flat lies and I've found myself going over the green in several occasions because I was coming up short before (because I was not as consistent with contact on these non-flat lies). I'm still not sure what to do/if anything with my wedges. I currently have and have had for some time a 46 degree PW, 50 degree gap wedge, and 58 degree sw/lw. The fourth "wedge" is a Cleveland Niblick 42 degree chipper type club. I never use it to chip but I find I end up using about once a round or so more or less as a utility club if for example I have to punch out under a tree or want to play a long bump and run type shot. Initially I was concerned at the gap between the 50 degree and 58 degree wedges. I tried putting a 52 in there instead but did not like it as I prefer the 50 because it allows me to carry 100+ and I seem to do better with the 50 versus the 52 as the 52 is just a bit short. I tried putting a 54 in the bag but again, it did not work as I could carry my 58 degree longer now than I used to and can get it to 85 yards or more. The 50 degree can go 100+ and I can dial it back a bit when I need to which left me not using the 52, 54, or 56 that I have tried putting in the bag. I ended up taking out the 42 degree chipper and found myself needing it when it was not in the bag. Thus I guess I am going to keep things as is. I never used to be able to hit the 58 more than 60 yards but that has changed in the last year or so as my ball striking has gotten better. It sounds like a big gap between the 50 and 58 and I guess it is, but the reality of it is that distance wise there is only about 15 yards of difference that I can make disappear by taking something off the 50 degree. Hope everyone has a safe and fun new year with many rounds of golf!

I have a quick swing that I am working on slowing down and my new irons are swing weight D1 versus my old irons that were D2.5. I can tell a difference in that the new irons are lighter. I'd like to make them a bit heavier. I've read online and cannot seem to get a consensus answer on adding lead tape to irons.....What about getting those Boccieri grips installed? I'd like the feel to be a bit heavier as I believe it will help me slow down my tempo/swing a bit more with the extra weight (for example going to D2 maybe?). Assuming that my swing speed does not change, then wouldn't the extra weight cause a distance increase as well. FWIW, I have a lot of room to grow into my swing as I've only been playing golf for 2 plus years but my backswing is nowhere near parallel. I continue to work on my flexibility and balance. Two years ago I was "falling out of" shots and did not have much of a backswing where as now it's a bit more than halfway from parrallel I'd estimate. Thanks for the help.

Fantastic post. Thank you so much. I learned quite a bit and it now makes sense why the lower compression ball bounces more and is so hot off the putter face. I am noticing some ballooning with the driver but mainly more side-spin with the Duo versus the B330RXS.

I know this is an older thread but I found this and was going to start a thread about this golf ball anyway and instead of that I'll just post here......I live in Maryland and it has gotten really cold lately, winter is here for sure. Winter golf kind of sucks, but it beats not playing at all. This is my third winter of golf and as I have improved each year, I'm no longer able to play just any ball. I can tell the difference now with my clubs and especially my putter. I use Bridgestone B330RXS exclusively during the spring/summer and I love that ball. I'm learning more and more about the game and have been reading as much as I can about cold weather golf, distance loss, and how golf ball compression can affect ones game. I decided to try the Wilson Staff Duo because it has a ridiculously low compression of just 40 which is about half of other balls including the one I play. Supposedly this was going to make playing in the cold better as distance loss would not be as extreme. Also, with such a low compression, it should make the ball landing on a frozen green bounce less due to the lower compression (in theory). I've now gotten in several rounds with this ball and I can say for certain that it makes a huge difference. It's hard to quantify distance loss because of wind/temperature/lie. Also, "distance loss" really should be "carry loss" because ultimately the ball is just not carrying as far but can still go the same distance if not further because of the hard ground. Thus it's really how far the ball is carrying that matters. I wish I could specific exact numbers but to do that would be just guessing and I do not want to throw out numbers that I cannot verify. What I can say is that based on the "eye test" the Duo and it's low compression definitely carry longer than the B330RXS which has a much higher compression. With that being said, it has taken some getting used to with my putter. While the Duo is very soft, it seems to come off the putter face much hotter (which is kind of odd, i was expecting the opposite actually). The ball flight characteristics as far as side-spin is also different and I'm still getting used to that as well. All in all considering that the ball definitely carries further in the cold weather versus the B330RXS and the price is half that of the B330RXS, I plan to keep playing this ball for the winter. Balls get destroyed much more in my opinion in winter and it's nice to pay less than $20 for a ball that reduces the distance loss and lands a bit softer because of it's ridiculously low compression. I could not see myself playing this ball in the spring/summer but as a winter ball it works fine for me and I am a 5.5 handicap. I'm not sure what my swing speed is but it's right around 100 or so with my driver. My avg drives in the spring/summer go 250-260. I noticed the above comment mentioned about problems with this ball if your swing speed is too high. I'm not sure at what speed that starts but for me I believe it's okay. The thing I like the least about this ball is the ball flight with my driver but I have gotten used to that and have compensated now that I know the ball a little better. It also takes a while to get used/compensate while putting. Hope this helps for those looking for a winter ball.

November 15 is the last day of handicap posting in Maryland until March 15 of 2015. While I'm sure I'll play a few rounds in Virginia this winter where I'll have to post my scores, for all intensive purposes the season has come to a close for me as I do not believe that I will be able to play anymore rounds between now and 11/15. The last few weeks have been very frustrating because the weather got very cold very quick and had an impact on scoring for certain. I was hoping that I could drop a few more low scores and finish out the year on a high note but that really did not happen although my last round the other day when the weather was somewhat nicer, was a 76 which tied my second best round ever. My handicap had gotten down to 5.4 at one point but is now trending at 5.5L which is where it appears it will end for now. I started the season in the low 8's and I knew coming into this year that there was no way that I was going to chop 7 more strokes off my handicap like I did in 2013. There simply was not enough fat to slice off of my game like there was last year. While I know that my game is in much better shape than it was this time last year, I cannot help but feel a bit disappointed. I'm not totally sure why but I think that last year I saw my scores drop dramatically and this year while I improved a lot, and the scores dropped somewhat, there was many times when I played better than I scored and my game is getting to a point where there is less correlation between how good one's game is and the score. What I mean is like what happened to me the other day, I shot 76 and hit 14 GIR, but three putted 4 times! I just had a bad day of putting and had I had just an average day, I probably would have set a new personal best. So what I mean is that I don't feel the same satisfaction that I did last year when I could just automatically look at the numbers and see the improvements. In 2013 I had concrete goals - i.e. getting to single digits. I did not have such clear goals in 2014 and maybe that was part of the problem. I knew I wanted to work on my short game and improve that in 2014 and I did work hard at that. What shocked me the most was how poor my scrambling numbers still are despite putting considerable effort into that part of my game. Coming into 2014 I was somewhere between 10 and 15% scrambling. After working hard all year long I am now still under 33% scrambling (just above 30% actually). I'm not sure what I had in mind but I thought that I could get it higher than where it currently is. I know that I am significantly better if you watched me last year compared to this year which is maybe a sign that I sucked a lot more than I thought coming into this year! It has definitely given me much more appreciation for how good those PGA tour guys are with their short game. I will still keep track of stats in the winter even though handicap posting is moot.....so while 2014 will still have more stats to it, here is a comparison of stats from 2013 versus 2014 year to date. While my handicap only dropped 3, my 2014 consistency was much greater than the corresponding drop in handicap as you will see below: 2013 - averaged par or better 35.8% of the time - 35.4% gir - 44.4% fir - 34.7 putts per round - 10.2% scrambling keep in mind that 2013 stats include the start of 2013 when I was not as good and had a hc as high as 15.5 to start the season 2014 - averaged par or better 53.6% of the time - 47.7% gir - 60.6% fir - 33.1 putts per round - 24.7% scrambling What I've noticed is that as I continue to get better and better, the more important putting becomes. Don't get me wrong, putting is important at all levels of golf, however, as my handicap goes down, the importance of making putts is correlated higher to my score. My GIR is fairly constant along with FIR although I'm continue to improve. So it really comes down to if I make the putts that I should make and converting on a higher percentage of birdie putts. I don't have data for this but will start tracking in 2015 most likely because it's becoming more and more important. I will continue to work on ball striking and my short game and will hopefully continue to improve in all areas of my game - however, it's clear that the biggest area of opportunity for me to make a greater improvement is to make a higher percentage of birdie putts which I believe is an area of opportunity for me. Data that I do have is that I've played 87 rounds so far in 2014 and have made a total of 57 birdies/eagles which means that I am averaging .655 birdies per round in 2014. In reality I'm better than that as I'm averaging about 1 or a little more per round. Over the last 20 rounds I have 22 birdies which is 1.1 per round. It's an improvement but I know there is a lot more that I can convert which is why I will work on that.

Thank you for the insight. I guess my point was that while I was initially disappointed that I was not hitting the 7 iron as far as the last 7 iron, that all irons are not created equal, but there is still the psycological impact of knowing that your x iron is not going as far as the x iron in the previous set. Once I compared loft versus loft I realized that the number on the bottom is not as important. As you pointed out CG has a huge impact among other things - for me the lack of offset and better shaft also help. I know a lot of people only compare what iron and the distance, I was that way and many of my playing partners are when it's not an even comparison. As a new player I can remember looking online and seeing that hitting a 7 iron 150 yards was considered decent and so I strove to achieve that, little did I know how much difference there could be between lofts and other factors between clubs....

I know there is already a thread of how far you hit your irons, but the problem is that each iron is not the same loft and in some cases there can be more than a one club difference depending on what irons you a using. Distance sells and each year the manufacturers come out with new lines bragging how they are x yards longer, yet the "loft creep" seems to be continuously decreasing. I just made the switch from TM Speedblades, which were very good irons to more of a players irons, Bridgestone J40 Combo's (3-6 are dual pocket and 7-PW are cavity backs). Interestingly what I've found is that when comparing the irons loft for loft, the Bridgestone's go at least as far as the Speedblades, even though there is at least a one club difference between the sets. At first it was discouraging because I felt as though I had lost distance, but the reality is that the distance was never lost at all. Because of the weaker lofts on the Bridgestones, I wanted to see how they compared loft versus distance, ignoring the number on the bottom of the club which was making me think I lost distance when in reality, it was meaningless. The Speedblades were also longer, although not by much. Thus the distance gains came from simply stronger lofts and a bit longer club, not necessarily the speed pocket, which my Bridgestones do not have. I am not not saying that the Speedblades are no good or that the speedpocket is completely bogus, all I'm saying is that when comparing iron sets, make sure that you are making an apples versus apples comparison instead of one based solely on the number of the bottom of the club. Here are the stats for each set and my distances: TM Speedblades 4 iron 20 degrees loft 38.875" 185+ yards 5 iron 23 degrees loft 38.25" 175+ yards 6 iron 26.5 37.625" 165+ 7 iron 30.5 37.0 155-160+ 8 iron 34.5 36.5 145+ 9 iron 39.5 36.0 135+ PW 45 35.5 120+ Bridgestone J40 Combo 3 iron 20.0 38.75 185+ 4 iron 23.0 38.25 175+ 5 iron 26.0 37.75 165+ 6 iron 30.0 37.25 high 150's to 160 or more 7 iron 35.0 36.75 145+ 8 iron 39.0 36.25 135+ 9 iron 43.0 35.75 125+ PW 47.0 35.5 115+

Made a change in my bag almost two weeks ago and it has been paying dividends immediately....I got rid of the 3h and ordered a used (practically brand new though) Titleist 913F 5 wood off Ebay. Because I no longer have a 3 wood that I hit off the deck (I have the mini driver that I do not hit off the deck), the 3h was as far as I could hit a shot not on a tee. I was getting pretty good distance but needed/wanted a bit more and also wanted more club. I love this 5 wood and have been hitting it great, especially from the deck but also in some cases from the tee on short par 4's where even my mini driver is too much. Case and point: played a course in southern VA on Sunday and on a par 5 on the back, I hit mini driver and then 5 wood and got on the green in two! We were playing with heavy winds and from tees that were 6600 yards. This par 5 was not that long and it was a heavy dogleg left too but I had some help from the wind on my tee shot and was able to get on in two, something that does not happen often and something that I do not even try that often. On the same day, a different par 5, I just missed getting on in two after hitting driver and 5 wood. I know I've been hitting a lot of balls because my hands hurt. My left hand in particular was all red as I hit somewhere around 800 balls last week total and then played the weekend. Thus I took yesterday off and may not hit balls tonight either. It's interesting though that last night as I did not hit balls I really wanted to though. I've built up a nice routine and found myself missing going to the range and hitting balls last night. After this weekends rounds of 78 and 77, my hc is trending to 5.4L and is officially at 5.7. Just got done reading, well listening actually, to a good book called The Pro by Butch Harmon. I liked it, wish there was some more technical insights in it but overall worth the purchase and some of his stories about his early days with Tiger are hilarious, especially when Tiger did not know he had to activate a credit card. On Saturday I played at my club and for the first time, I was 14 of 14 FIR. My driver and mini driver have been doing great lately but that was still the first time I managed to do that. More confirmation that the time and practice is paying off!

It's been a while since I posted. Glad people are enjoying. I got a great question about something I posted in 2013 regarding extension of my arms with my driver and so I copied/pasted my answer along with what I've been working on lately with my irons below. I've ramped up my practice and am going to the range at least 3 times per week now and I can really tell the difference versus going once per week. Unfortunately it's been cold/rainy here lately so my scores have not been that great lately although I did shoot a 76 yesterday, my second best score ever and my handicap is officially at 5.8 and now trending to 5.7L. Just over a month left in the Maryland golf season. Hopefully the weather stays nice for a while as I think I have some low scores in me that I'd like to get out before November 15. Yesterday was the first time that I have shot even par or better for 9 holes (shot even par on the back 9). Here is my response and what I've been working on lately: Regarding my driver set up. It is much different now and only somewhat recently did I learn why I thought I was on the right path by extending my arms as much as I could almost. Let me preface what I'm about to say with the fact that this is just about driver set up, not irons. The reason that I was having success with "super extension" of my arms with my driver was because my miss was when I got too quick and came over the top leading to a slice. Extension of the arms slowed down the swing which made the swing flatter and allowed me to come from the inside on the downswing which led to a straighter ball flight. Does that make sense? My balance has improved so much and so has my understanding of my own swing. It's amazing that even last year I thought I was on the right track only to know that a year or more later that I was not. Because I have only been golfing for a short time it took a long time for me to be able to consistently and properly shift my weight and not reverse pivot. One part that is still true from the post is that I do focus on keeping my left arm (I'm a righty) straight and turn my shoulders with the left arm straight FIRST instead of just moving the arms back. I had a habit of just racing my arms back without a proper shoulder turn which is obviously not good. The "icing on the cake" that I discovered a few months ago and am still working on with driver and irons is working on keeping my angle of attack shallower. Arm extension is a good band-aid if your miss is a slice but it resulted in me starting the downswing with the butt of the club INSIDE the ball, between my feet and the ball. This is DISASTEROUS with your irons and one of the reasons you hear people say that they "came up" in their swing. They did "come up" but it was because there was not enough room because the angle of attack was too steep. By turning my wrists to my right after my swing has initiated (not too quick after the swing starts) this allows me downswing with the butt of the club OUTSIDE the ball. At first I was topping some shots but after I got used to it I do not "pop up" in my swing anymore because there is enough room in your downswing and I do not hit it fat anymore. This has increased my distance quite a bit with my driver and my irons. Cupped wrists = fat shots. Arching left wrist at top of swing = butt of club outside of golf ball = no fat shots. The last part of the driver quote that you asked about you already have right which I did not when I posted that. As counter-intuitive as it may seem (for me it was odd because my miss was a slice so why would I want to aim more right? i.e. closed stance?) if you want to hit a draw with your driver then your stance should be closed with your right leg not level with your left. I'm thick-headed at times and it took a while for this to set in but you seem to get this already. Tilting the spine away from the target was something that I implemented earlier this year and have had success with it. The reason it worked for me with my irons was because my angle of attack was too steep and by tilting my spine away from the target at set up this was giving me more room with my too steep angle of attack. It did not always work but it worked a lot better than not doing it. For the last few months I've been working on shallowing out the angle of attack which is the real issue and it's a work in progress but it's getting there. Also by shallowing the angle my spine does not have to be so exagerratingly (probably not a word I know, but it sounded good) tilted away. My right elbow is now not "chicken-winging" either which all in all is producing a straighter ball flight and more distance and more consistency. Hope this makes sense and helps. I am a full believer that virtually anyone is capable of great golf...it's in the dirt available for anyone to dig out with learning and practice!

Update: have still been hitting balls at least twice per week and playing at least two rounds on the weekends for the past few weeks. I continue to improve, although it's not as obvious as it was before and sometimes I don't necessarily notice it until a friend or playing partner points something out to me. My handicap is officially at 6.0 and after this past weekends rounds I finally have it trending to less than 6 as it's at 5.9L! I have kinda of gone through this whole golf season without really having a definitive plan. I think that part of the reason was that I did not know what to expect after I went from 15.5 to the low 8's last year, I knew that I would not make that much of improvement and so I did not want to set myself up for failure either. I know that it's impossible for me to continue to improve with what I am doing/playing forever and there is going to come some point where I not only need a coach but it would also probably be a better use of practice time as well. At the same time I know that I still have room to improve for the forseeable future. I know this because while I've made lots of improvements with consistency, there is still room to be much more consistent. I'm still gaining distance and still improving my ball striking and other parts of my game. I have absolutely no idea how good I can be or how good I want to be. At first I just wanted to be in the single digits and while I'm pleased, I'm not close to being satisfied with that. I just know that I want to improve as much as I can, like a machine-head building a hot-rod in a garage, I want my game to be as good as it can be, not just for "bragging rights" but more so because I'm addicted and practicing and playing golf to get better is just what I do outside of working and watching my NY Giants lose football games..... I've known for a while that I have a distant relative (not exactly sure how we are related) that won twice on the European PGA Tour and now apparently he runs a golf academy in South Africa. I think that I'd like to push really hard for the next year or so, really amp up practice to three or four times a week and then maybe this time next year make a trip to his golf academy for some proper instruction/coaching/advice. The one area of my game that I find the most frustrating is working on uneven/difficult lies. I can go to the range all I want but it's hard to practice those kinds of shots and I know that I have a lot of room to improve. I've gotta find some way to practice those kinds of shots regularly because I know that if I can that it will improve a lot.

Thanks for the kind words Will....good luck with your game! Golf is unlike many sports in that almost everyone can hit a shot that a pro would hit and does so from time to time. The difference is that the pro's hit those shots consistently while amateurs hit those shots with less consistency. It's not like basketball where everyone dunks at some point and the consistency of dunking improves in the pro's. Even golfers that are 20+ handicaps hit holes in one every once in a while. When I first started golfing I realized that the most important thing was to be able to have the hand/eye coordination to be able to put the sweet spot of the club on the back of the ball every time. Many people told me to get lessons when I first started and some even "warned me" that I would get bad habits and not improve if I did not get lessons. It seemed to me that the only way I was going to get the consistency to hit the ball first was via lots of practice and reading/learning as much as I could. I could not understand how someone else could give me that coordination without me practicing and doing it myself.....an instructor cannot hit the ball for you, so my reasoning was if that is the case then I need to get that down first. I have not received any lessons as of now. I did read a lot of books and watched a lot of videos about ball flight dynamics along with hitting lots and lots of balls. I would stress to anyone that you do not hit that many balls in any once session and to slow down your sessions at teh range as this will likely be counter-productive. Consistently go to the range with a plan for a few times a week for a year or something like that but do not think you will help yourself by hitting balls quickly one right after another. It's tempting to do but it does not work, I learned this the hard way. What happens overtime is that by implementing various things here and there from reading books, watching videos, and seeing how subtle changes affect what your ball does, you can develop your own swing and after a while you understand your swing in a way that is impossible to describe or understand when you are a beginner. Your muscle memory is built up to a point where you can repeat your swing over and over again. I am still making changes here and there and have accepted that this will never end. Even the pros are always making subtle changes here and there whether it be with their swing or their set up or their equipment. I remember in the first year or so, maybe even more of golfing that I would be at the range and have an "epiphany" of sorts where I thought I found THE thing in my swing. I'd be so excited because I discovered something in my swing that made me hit the ball exactly the way I was looking for. You will probably have a lot of these if you consistently practice like I did. They don't usually last that long as by the next range session or two you are tinkering again. I think that over time though as you figure these things out, they come together kind of like a puzzle. I started this thread and kept updating it because I remember when I first started how hungry I was to figure it out. I was probably over-eager and annoying because I thought that someone out there on this message board could give me the answer. Somewhere in the sea of comments/topics I'd find what I needed so that I could make that jump to a single digit handicap or something much sooner. I also longed for approval. This is obvious to me know when I go back sometimes and read some of my posts from the last 2 plus years. Clearly it was me seeking approval or confidence. Unfortunately I was looking for something that only I could give myself. There is no secret piece of equipment or hidden teacher that can speed up the process. No matter if you get lessons or not, there is no substitute for practice and playing golf. The older that you start playing golf, the harder it is in my opinion to improve. This is probably because as we age we lose that altheticism and flexibility that we had when we were teens or young 20 somethings. For many people the biggest hurdle or challenge is being able to practice or play. Most people have families and there is no way that they would be able to play as many rounds as me or practice as much either. It's been 27 months and 6 days since I first hit a golf ball. I figure that I have probably logged somewhere around between 3,000 and 3,250 hours in that time of practicing or playing golf. Apparently I have at least some level of "talent" or so I'm told. Despite all those factors and with all that practice/play, my handicap is trending at 6.0L. While many people would say that's awesome, my point is to show just how great the pros are on tv. I mention this because you said in your post that I'll be at par soon. I could probably already be at par if I played the right course. That's another thing that will change as you practice/play....par is such an arbitrary number. People can shoot par or even under and yet because they play on a short/easy course, couldn't beat a 10 handicap player that plays at a difficult course, week in and week out. Par is only relevant really as a measure of skill when you compare it to the course rating and slope. It's great to say you shot under par, but if you did it on a municipal course that plays under 6k yards and has a slope of 115 then that person is nowhere near being a scratch golfer most likely. Good luck with your progress. One more thing I'll say because I noticed you mentioned that you will spend your winter "honing you swing". I tried to do this but found it to be not as much help as you would think. The reason? Because as someone that was new to the game it was all about contact along with the swing. Making swings and hitting nothing did nothing for me. Hit balls or a smash bag over just making practice swings into air. Your swing could be identical to a pga players but unless you can consistently hit the ball first it will not mean anything for you out on the course.

Update: I've been continuing to hit balls twice during the week and then spending about two hours or so on Friday nights working on short game. I was able to play quite a bit of golf in the last week as I played last Wednesday morning before work, and then played a round on Saturday, Sunday, and yesterday the holiday. The greens at my country club were aerated about three weeks ago but they have been healing very quick which has been good. They are not quite back to where they were but are getting better and better each day. After the most recent hc revision, my hc is officially at 6.3. After 4 rounds in 6 days, my hc is trending at 6.1L. I've felt for a while that I've had a "breakout" round somewhere in me that was about to come out and it may have been yesterday. Previous to yesterday, my best score ever was 77 which I have shot a few times at my club (5 over). Yesterday I shot a 3 over par 75. I'm not being modest either when I say that nothing really spectacular happened. I had only one birdie. If anything I was a bit unlucky as there were several birdie putts that hit the lip of the cup and did not go in. I started yesterday with 9 straight pars for a 36 on the front nine, then I went bogey, bogey, bogey before I played the final 6 holes in even par for a back nine of 39. I had 9 FIR, 13 GIR, and 34 putts. Of my four bogeys there was just one of them where my par putt did not at least hit the lip of the hole. IT was definitely the best day of ball striking I can remember and my putting was pretty solid too. Although I had so many putts that lipped out I thought my putting was very good as I was consistent throughout the day executed well with my putter. I was only 1 out of 5 scrambling, but I played better than that number as I hit the hole so many times and could have easily been 4 out of 5. So the short game work that I continue to work in seems to be improving still. I've finally settled on wedges and spaced them out accordingly.....I got ride of the smart sole Cleveland Chipper as I was not using it that much at all. I now have the 46 degree Cleveland 588 RTX CB PW, the same wedge in a 50 degree gap wedge, a 56 degree SW, and a 58 degree Cleveland Smart Sole "sand" wedge that I use as a lob wedge. The 56 and 58 are close but not close in distance as I never hit the 58 degree more than 50 yards or so. Obviously I'm pleased that I set a new personal best by two strokes but at the same time I'm hungry because I know that yesterday could have been much better if a few putts had dropped. I was hitting the hole all day long and it was just a matter of some luck here or there by saving a few more pars or getting a few more birdie putts to drop. I don't measure exact proximity to the hole but I felt that I left myself many good options for birdie putts to go and only one of them fell so I know that on a different day I could easily drop a few more. We are basically in peak golf season now....less than 2 and a half months until the handicap season ends in Maryland. The greens at my club should be back to 100% by next weekend. I figure that there is probably about 20 rounds or so left in the handicap season for me. I'm playing as good as I have ever and hopefully will get better still. I'd like to set a goal of some sort to reach between now and November 15 but that's difficult because I'm getting to the point where a round like yesterday I can only play so good and the rest is just a matter of if putts drop or not. I still work on my putting a few hours each week at home using the puttist and will continue, but there is less and less "fat" that can be chopped off my game so it's hard to know what is an appropriate goal. Over the last 20 rounds, I've been 65.4% FIR, 52.2% GIR, 32.9 putts per round, 29.8% scrambling, and par or better 58.6% of the holes.