ORazor

An even 100 at the Gold Course at Goodrn Horseshoe. I actually played very well, but I lost 8-9 strokes to struggling in the sand. Very impressed with the architecture!

Scored a 93 at the Army Navy Country Club. Had two blowup holes. If I can just eliminate those, I'll comfortably break 90 for the first time!

Initially, I was over the moon with the RBZ 3 Wood. However, I am having serious issues playing it from the fairway (and I've also heard this from others). At this point, I don't even touch it, except off the tee. It IS long though. Seriously, unbelievable long, if you can hit it.

Yeah - no one was expecting any substantive snow! I compulsively checked all the weather sites in the days leading up to it! Just 5mioes north, no snow stuck on the ground!

Pinehurst #4, 5th Hole. The unpleasant conclusion of an 8 hour trip down.

After becoming addicted to the game this summer, and suffering through winter golf here in DC, my friend proposed heading down to Pinehurst this weekend to get the last weekend of the winter rates. Full of piss an' vinegar, we left the DC area at 1AM Saturday morning for an 8:10 tee time on #4. Upon arriving, the historic juices really started flowing, and despite it being 35 degrees, I was really, really excited. The starter told us to stay warm, and to expect a winter mix during our afternoon round. No big deal - we were dressed for the weather. By the time we had hit our approach shots on the first hole, it had started snowing, and quickly melting. No biggie - just paralyzingly cold. Time to open up the flasks to keep warm. By the time we had hit the third hole, it was really coming down, and starting to stick. The greens got very, very slow :) On the fourth hole, we began losing balls in the fairway. By the fifth hole, it was all over, but we had drank two flasks of whiskey and were still feeling pretty good. So, we missed out on tee times for #4 and #5 (Saturday) and #2 and #1 (Sunday). Not to let it ruin our weekend, we made up elaborate rules for an indoor putting tournament, using the decorative rug markings as hazards. There was much bickering over the actual scoring, but we agreed in the end that we tied. We drove back north on Sunday, with the intent to play Kingsmill River Course instead, but they were also snowed out. It wasn't till we got to Richmond when we realized there was no more snow on the ground, and there had to be golf courses nearby. We ended up going to Ft. Lee and playing the Cardinal Course, where the back nine (blue) was actually pretty good. With the exception of the 19 degrees with windchill temperatures, we had a pretty good time. All in all, it was a pretty fun weekend. The biggest takeaway was with a good attitude, and enough hard liquor, you can turn a pretty crappy situation into a pretty good one instantly. Of course, I never got to play #2, and the rates will be at least double what we were going to pay starting next weekend, so I might just have to wait again until next winter. But it was a great weekend away with an old friend, and it's one I'll never forget.

Where is this covered range near DC? I'd love to go...

Wow. That is super impressive. Grip it and rip it!

This was the first Big Break that I've ever watched (and I started watching the episode Chan was eliminated). I think it was superbly done. Even my wife, who loathes golf, seemed to be decently interested once the finale came around. Frankly, it was just refreshing to see a reality show where it seemed like the final four were just genuinely good dudes, and were all pulling for each other. I'm glad that the producers didn't try to add conflict.

Consistently shoot in the 80's. That is all.

How does one go about figuring out exactly which shaft to get? For example, I know my swing speed (105). I play a stiff shaft. How would I know which one to get?

Yeah - I'm definitely on the 3-4 year plan. Ha - I'll do my best! I am very much a slave to the marketing campaigns though. I love the shiny!

Hi All, I've been playing all summer (and now into the winter!) with a real hodgepodge of clubs - Walmart Putter TaylorMade Burner Plus Irons RBZ 3-Wood (stiff) A Knockoff of the Calloway Driver from... about 1995 (Regular) Lately, I've been using the RBZ off the tee because I can hit it 245+ and straight, and frankly, I was very close to out-driving my driver! So today I went to the local golf shop and got on the launch monitor to find me a driver! Here's what I tried: RBZ Driver R11 Driver Calloway RazrFit Driver Ping G20 Ping G15 Despite my best efforts to buy a state-of-the-art brand new club, I ended up with the G15! I simply had the most confidence in it. I was getting nearly identical numbers to the other drivers, and it felt the best. Result: I went to the range at my club - it took me about 10 swings to get dialed in. I consistently put the range ball over the far end of the range. With my old driver, I could only roll it up to the fence. I ended up stopping because I figured it was poor form to lose all the range balls. According to Google, it's 250yds to carry the fence at the range - considering that the range balls are extremely dead, I'm thinking I may very well be looking at a seriously upgraded drive off the tee. While it's not the newest and the most expensive, I couldn't be happier. Does anyone else still game the prehistoric G15?

Yay! Another lefty! I don't have much to add - I admire your balance and tempo.

I was at the range this morning. It was a little discouraging. I was wildly inconsistent - hooks and slices on back to back shots! I ended up taking a break and coming back. I was finding that I really needed to focus on driving the clubhead through the ball in the direction I'm aiming - I think I was coming across it too much or too little. It's hard to work on your swing when some days you can barely seem to hit it! I have a lesson tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to clear some of this stuff up.

Break 80. Learn how to chip and put. I strongly suspect that the two goals will be strongly correlated.

That's a great observation. I never knew that was supposed to happen! I guess that's why I'm posting on this forum! I'll let you know how that turns out for me after a couple range sessions this week! Thanks!

Thanks Beachcomber! That's some excellent advice! I had never noticed that! I'll start doing those drills!

I've decided to give some more substantive answers: My current handicap index or average score is: I shoot high 90s - but I consistently 3 putt (and sometimes 4 putt). My GIR is pretty good. My typical ball flight is: For the longest time, I couldn't hit a shot without a slice to save my life. I recently began lessons, and that problem was largely cured by lining up my shoulders on the same plane as my feet. Since then I tend to hit it straight, or even a slight draw. However, I tend not to have the height that I think that I should, both with my irons, woods, and driver. The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Push + slice = lost ball. As I've intoned above, this problem has largely been cured. Now, I find myself topping the ball more than I should off the tee with my driver/3wood. I can't seem to get through a round without topping one to the right. I'd be very pleased to reduce that shot.

I've been Playing Golf for: Played every day 12 years ago for 1 summer (when I was 16), but didn't play after. Just started playing again in July 2012. My current handicap index or average score is: I shoot high 90s My typical ball flight is: Inconsistent. The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Push + slice = lost ball. Videos:

Conversely, I tend to hit the RBZ 3W very well off the deck. I think it's mostly because I know I don't need to overswing to get it to the green.

Welcome to the cool kid club!

As a casual player, I think that their statement was great. I tend to buy products from companies that I like. The fact that they were open and transparent really upped their stock in my eyes. It makes me feel like they are much less likely to mislead me in others things, such as product descriptions, etc. Maybe those who need to be on the cutting edge see it different, but I thought it was great.

I've previously remarked that this is almost exactly what I hit. I just bought a RBZ 3 wood - now I hit exactly the above, except I hit my 3 wood consistently 220+ (GPS calculated). Never been a believer in hype... but there is it.