theropod

82 at the Batesville, AR muni. Finally figured out a little something with my grip and my drives have straightened out a bunch! I hit a couple really nice shots with my 3 wood that gave me a bird on a long par 5. I missed so many par putts I nearly let it get to me, but the second putt was always just long of a tap in or was one. I didn't 3 putt all day. At 59 (60 in Nov) I don't feel too bad about the state of my game. I just wish I were more flexible so I could get more than 200-230 out of my drives. I just can't seem to store enough spring in the old body as I once could. I'm hitting my irons fair to good, but that 40 yard and under shot is the part of the game I really love, and it shows. A little more practice reading putts, and placing those close iron shots within reason, and I might get back to the mid 70's (like I could in the early 1980's), but I'm happy with the direction of my game. R

1. Driver 2. 3W 3. 7W 4. 2I 5. 4I 6. 5I 7. 6I 8.7I 9. 8I 10. 9I 11. PW 12. GW 13. SW 14. Pt By god I've learned to count! :-P I've looked at my bag for nearly a month now thinking about this and have never just laid them all out like above. Man how silly I feel! In my part of the world instruction is a gamble, at best. I really don't want 3 different coaches/instructors, and I don't need the beginner routine. (I need a math teacher) Anyway, like Rosanna Rosanna Danna said, "Never mind." Roger

Distance is factored over ranges to account for weather conditions and shot demands. A draw will not travel as far as a straight shot, but can provide better lie, for example. I also do not swing at full power with every swing and every club, so landing angle and spin are not factored. The highest number reflect the maximum distance but ignores accuracy, while lower numbers represent a distance that I can consistently (yeah right) place a shot with said club. Note that I have a pretty good overlap in my clubs and I spent the time at the range on on the course to know these distances, drop angles and required swing power although these distances reflect a good whack with each. Now, if I could just roll 35 years off the clock, become well off enough to play all I could stand and the weather would hold, I didn't have to work as much, and, and, and, ... Driver (Adams Speedline 10.5°): 200-260 3 Wood (Adams Speedline 15°) : 180-220 7 wood (Upswing 27°): 120-185 4 iron: 155-170 5 iron: 140-160 6 iron 120-145 7 iron 115-125 8 iron 90-120 9 iron 70-95 PW 60-75 GW 40-65 (all irons above Adams RPM3 with senior flex shafts) 56°/10° Mizuno -60 Odessey White Steel putter 90+ (Used it once when feeling silly on short P3 like a mini 2 iron {it went off into the deep grass left}.) Still thinking on my 14th club....I think I have it covered, 'cept for maybe a even shorter wedge, like a 60° for soft sand and weeds inside 40. Roger

All, I recently bought a new Sun Mountain bag, Adams Speedline 3 wood, the Adams RPM3 irons (4-9 Pitch and Gap wedges) and a Mizuno 56°/10° sand wedge. I already had the Adams Speedline driver and an old Upswing® 5 wood (27°) that I hit really really well, and a old Ram 2 iron for WHEN i drop it in the woods. My putter is an old Odessey white steel I like and gets the job done. That makes 13 clubs, and I do pretty well with them (shot a 90 on a very soggy course with no rollout just today). I'm 59 years old, 5'9" 160 lbs and in pretty good shape for my age, been away from the game for 27 years until my buds took me out 3 years ago, and now I'm hooked, again. I like the limber shafts in these Adams clubs, and can occasional get 260 with a drive, but my 3 wood shots sometimes carry farther off the deck than my tee shot. (?) My short game is my strong point, and I'm wondering if a 60° wedge might be a good idea, or maybe I should look for a 5 wood? The new clubs, after I got used to how much more spin, control and distance they offered, have helped me take at least 10 stokes off a round. I think that with a little more play that number might increase a little more. I'm also thinking of real lessons instead of my buds telling me to "keep my head down". I know that! Tell me how to execute, not my faults! My question is what do y'all think should be that 14th club in my new bag? Should I even fret about that 14th club? I've already made the wife wonder about the bank balance this spring/summer, so I'm not looking to put a lot more cash into any one club at this point. I paid $140 for the Mizuno wedge and could swing that again, but not a lot more. thx, Roger EDIT typos

610, I "found" something in my swing the last time I played (Wednesday). On my drives I need to "feel" my hands "push" through the strike point and beyond. When I do this my ball flight is sweet, and i finish real tall. That "feel" is the key. Grooving all the aspects of a swing so that this "feel" is there from address to finish is the holy grail we all seek. Congrats on you timing "feel" coming around for you.

I actually like to play when the course is frozen hard and it's about 15°F. It suits my low shot shape and I get tremendous roll-outs, often increasing my distance by 30-40% more than on a soft fairway. Now, I don't care for a wind in association with this cold, as the air density can kill any shots you let get up into it. If it's still one can use the dense air to parachute balls onto the green. This makes putting an adventure, but it makes things nice and fast! I wear several thin layers and a coat when I'm not swinging, and carry a thermos of something hot. Usually the course will be all yours. I honestly like it cold. It's a lot more fun than the 110° days we endure through our Arkansas summers. Funny, but I play both. R

All, Yesterday I drove down to Conway. Arkansas, about 90 miles from home, for a visit to the Conway Golf Center. What a place! My main intent was to check out the club fitting they offer. I ended up going for it, with the intent to just see what I needed. I was stunned by the technology they employ. We started with a measuring of my body to see what I really needed in club length. To my surprise I needed a +1/4 shaft, and I'd been choking down on clubs in opposition to what I should do. They tested every aspect of my swing, and I release far too much and far too early. Everything else seemed to be pretty much good to go, except for a tendency to hit a little off the toe. One thing I suspected that did turn out to be true was that I need a flexible shaft, and my Titlest driver has a very stiff one. We tried several different drivers and shafts with the computer analyzing my drives. It came down to the adjustable Callaway and an Adams Speedline Fast 12. At that point we went out to the range and hit a bucket of balls switching back and forth between the two. I haven't hit balls that far in nearly 30 years, and both clubs returned good straight drives with little effort. I settled on the Adams driver. I picked it because it just "felt" better. It fell into the "groove" on my downswing and I hit more of the balls straighter. I experimented with draw and fade with each club and the Adams seemed to be more predictable than the Callaway. One of the drives with the Adams sailed almost 280 in the air, but I really cranked it up on that one. I'm going back down there in a month or so and do some more work with my irons. It seems the carbon fiber shafted irons from a couple makers might fit me best, but we're gonna work on that selection then. The fitting can be redone and refined for a year for the $50 fee. I call that a bargain! I'm also going to set up a lesson plan, and my fitter/instructor Kyle said I only need to work on a couple of mechanical aspects, and with the right clubs he thinks I can get back to very close to where I was almost 30 years ago. He says I'm a little tall on my backswing and that toe heavy contact can be fixed. Mostly he threw me a freebie and told me that holding my release longer will get me a lot more power and control, and that simply keeping my arms straighter through impact will be a start. I can't wait to get on a course with my buds and show off my cool new driver. I suspect I won't get as much practice getting out from behind the trees as I have been. I may take me a year, but I plan on having a complete new set of clubs and some pro help to get me back to a half way respectable game. I have a great deal of respect for the CGC and the fact that they care more about improving my game than pushing me towards expensive gear. The Callaway was almost $150 more than the Adams, which was $199. Roger

3 or 4 weeks ago my buddy and I were playing at the muni and I hit my drive fairly straight and low to about 240 on a 320 par 4. He teed up drove a high fade that bounced a couple times and hit my ball! Both went opposite directions about 10 feet. Never seen it before, but I'm sure it's happened. I bet I never see it again. Roger

Complete noob alert! I'm an old man, gonna be 59 in a couple months (odometer rolled back). I've picked up the game again after a nearly 30 year layoff. I cannot believe the changes in so many aspects of golfing, nor have I readily accepted the drastic changes in my body since I played regularly. One of these changes in the game is the lack of concern for the course displayed by so many. I take it as a great honor to hit a shot well enough to leave a pitch mark that requires my attention. I find it disturbing to hit an approach shot well, and watch the ball roll toward the pin, only to have it deflected by dropping off in an unrepaired crater. I've seen this happen twice this summer. Talk about inspire some green repair, and bitching! While Arkansas has a few very nice courses I can't afford to play them very often so I'm forced to play muni's and courses near me. Of these one courses one stands apart, to me, as clean from tee to pins on all 18. Mountain Ranch, a part of the Natural State Golf Trail I think. Those greens were like a pool table, and very receptive to repair. (The fairways were tilted and bent, but as smooth as any I've ever seen). One could spot a repaired mark here and there, but one had to look for them, and I saw no fresh ones aside from those my partners and I created. No, I don't work there or profit if y'all go play there. Gimmie a heads up and I'll "play" with you though, as I love the place. I think others see untended pitch marks, and it pisses them off, they just foot wedge over a bit and putt, walk off the green and take the "Bad Tiger®" attitude around the course. Having been raised on a farm my mannerisms have been conditioned to fix things, so I do. I fix any pitch marks I find, unless the green is just crap, and I fix the ones I can. It's no big deal, because I'm not out to play the game of my life on that particular day. I'm there to have fun and test my worn old body, and youthful spirit. I can still pull off some chips that make me pump the old fist, and those shots feel awesome! Playing in a DU benefit tournament recently I won 3 holes for our team by dropping the pill within 2 feet on chips (all with my SW). Yes, I left prideful craters, and I fixed them while the other team 3 putted one of those holes, ha. The idea of my play effecting someone behind me disturbs me, and to my detriment. I don't like leaving divots on the fairway, and I tend to brush my irons too flat across the ground, and lose power. Pulling a 10" strip of turf out with a sand wedge to get that loft and backspin might get me to that high pin, but god what a scar! I wouldn't want my second shot on a par 5 dropping into one of those! I'll take a stroke now and then to keep from blowing up the joint. Take care all, great forum! (sorry to be so long winded). Roger

Hey, I lived in the Eugene area for almost 20 years. Loved everything except the drab endless winters. RS

Hi Everyone, I am a 58 year old man from north central Arkansas. Back in the early 80's I gave up golf mainly because I knew I was never going to be a pro and my testosterone and ego couldn't deal with that. I was too cheap to seek professional instruction and too stubborn. Back then I played with wooden woods and wound rubber balls. The thing is I often played at or under par and could place my shots pretty much where I wanted them. My putting was superb and often made 20+ footers on sharply breaking greens. 2 years ago some friends at work talked me into getting back into the game, and I'm glad they did. The trouble is everything about my old body and the equipment has changed. 5 years ago I crushed my left wrist in a fall. When I say I crushed it I mean I turned it into mush. That arm is .75" shorter than it was and the flexibility is really messed up. I have had cataract surgery on both eyes. A short time after I quit, back in the 80's, I had a car wreck that left me with a messed up neck (disc damage). My clubs are a mix of hand-me-downs and none of them are designed for a senior. My driver is a Titlest pro titanium 7.5° 975J with a very stiff 43" shaft (measured from top of hossel). Once in a blue moon I can get a straight drive, but most of the time I slice it off into the hinterlands. When I do get off a good shot I can only manage a 180-200 yard shot. I have a cheap 7 wood that I can hit more consistently and farther, but with too much loft and no roll out. I'm still fairly good with my irons but more often than not my drives force me to make impossible recovery shots, and cost me stokes. My putting is still fair, but I do have trouble reading greens like I once did. I'm going to the "Conway Golf Center" weekend after next for a fitting session and to begin some pro instruction. I may be a fossil, but I refuse to accept that I can't play at a par level from the white tees. Hope to partake of all the good folks knowledge present here and share the enjoyment of a game with so much to offer. Thanks for having me. Roger Stephenson