penguin

You have a skewed perspective. You are trying to connate a random person's uncontrolable action with the ability to control a scenario. I've been in bad places with bad men. Those actions by those bad men were uncontrolable. My actions brought arms to bare and controled the situation. Use the word control all you want, as it's not a bad term. When you drive, you can't control the asshat next to you. But if he swerves into your lane, you can control your car and get out of his way. You now took control of that situation. You didn't take control of the other party's car, though. No one is saying you can control that random party's actions - but that has no bearing on whether or not you can control the situation. Insofar as your citation is concerned - the odds of being killed by a firearm may be lower than a motor vehicle accident. But no one cares about odds when a loved one is killed. Come to New Orleans where violence (from the non-law abiding sector) is rampant. You can't control the man trying to cut you with a knife while you're out shopping on Magazine Street, but you can damn sure control that situation by employing your sidearm.

And this vauge cite is from where...

I'm a fairly new golfer and own a set of Callaway BB Fusions. I like the large sole and how forgiving they are to a novice golfer like me. Maybe when I perfect my swing I will move to some Mizuno blades. You can also get BB's for a steal on ebay.

I understand where you are coming from. I can see both sides of the coin. I'm pretty liberal but I believe in gun rights. I also run a large gun board ( www.bayoushooter.com ), am a prior Range Saftey Officer and small arms instructor (too bad that doesn't translate to good golf...lol). I see rabid people on both ends of the spectrum. I personally can't stand the people that say that guns shouldn't be regulated and you should have what you want. I believe that the vast majority of people are responsible gun owners. You should get to the range and send at least 500 rounds down range a week. You should make weapon employment second nature. However, you should temper that employment with knowing that you should only use it as last resort. Guns aren't toys.

It's not anxiety, it's being realistic. If I have a 1 in 1000 chance of my wife or daughter being violently assaulted and did nothing to bring that ratio down, I would be devestated if it did happen and it could have been prevented. Yes, because in the 10 or so minutes that it takes for the police to arrive the adverse party will be more than happy to wait around. I happen to have an alarm, but it only takes 2 second to get through a window and another 10 second to get upstairs. I'm not paranoid about being robbed and it isn't in the front of my mind while I'm watching Lost at 7pm. But you can bet your bottom dollar that if someone attempts to violently interrupt me while I'm trying to figure out why Walt isn't on the ship, too - well, then I can tell you they won't have a pleasant night. Because everyone with a dog gets up at 2am to check out what the dog is barking at. Or, do they really just yell at the dog to be quiet because I have a tee time at 6 am... And if dogs scared thieves off then we wouldn't have criminals. Wait. Dogs outnumber humans in the US almost 4 to 1. Hmm... What about the people in apartments? Or the ones allergic to dogs? Guess they have to rely on the alarm. And we all know criminals run at the site of an alarm!

No they aren't. Guns can be used for sport (hunting and target) and for self defense. That's like saying cars are just for destroying the environment... Yes, golf was so much better when you had slaves working the greens and running your bag... That makes no sense. You're right. You have no crime. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/h...re/6230550.stm

It's not a common occurance, but if it happens to you it then becomes common enough. And it's not like crime is rampant just over here. My wife was in Leeds for a few months and a man ran over another man, pulled out a jug of petrol and then proceeded to convince him that he would be better off as a candle. Crime happens everywhere and the best thing to do is to learn how to defend yourself. I can tell you this much, a golf club won't stop me if I want to take something from you. I spent 5 years in the Corps and have been hit with a lot of things worse than a club. Plus, using a club now puts them too close into your safety zone. You'll get 1 swing before an assailant is upon you. Once that happens, you best have some grappling skills because that is where it is going.

http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm...urce=edhat.com http://www.theroyalgazette.com/sifto...d7b4ab30030011 I can find hundreds of others as well. It's not 'craziness'. It's called self-defense. No one is talking about pulling out a gun due to a flop shot. But I guarantee you are the type of person that would be yelling about there not being enough security on the golf course if it were to happen. Heck, no one thinks that you are going to get shot in the back of the head at a McDonalds, but it happens. Or while in class, but it happens. Or in a court house, but it happens. Or in Church, but it happens. Welcome to 2008. Where preparation doesn't mean craziness.

I carry concealed where my CHL will permit (see sig). I don't open carry at the course, but I have a sub-compact .40 that's with me.

I was in Townsville in 97. Went diving off of Magnetic Island. Great place!

Bingo. I've bought a few hundred things off of ebay (just got my LW from there today...don't tell the wife). Check feedback, comparison shop on the retailers website and then look at the price. Hmmm... a new R7 driver for $150? That seems a bit odd.. If they are selling a ton of merchandise at prices that seem way too good to be true (and I'm not talking a 10% discount off of the MSRP, I'm talking 50%) then they are fakes. There are a few sellers on ebay like that. I won't post them because I have no proof. But if you're telling me you can sell me a whole set of the new Big Berthas for $250 (3-PW) - and not only can you sell me the one set, but you have 10 more just like it... then those are fake. I was nervous when I first jumped on ebay back in 97 (or 98...it was a long time ago), but now that's where I go to first.

Crafty, did you not like your yes! grip? I was looking at a Yes! and I love their grips (actually better than my baby t). As for pistol grips, I love them. I feel more in control and have a better grip.

I'm a big (260 lbs) heavily tattood veteran Marine. I don't fit in on the golf course. However, no one has ever given me grief and I play with some nice guys. I hate to say it, but like your mother said - if they treat you like that then they aren't your friends. The same applies now. During the day I'm in a shirt and tie (well, ties only when I'm in court) and it's surprising to people when I show up in short sleeves. As long as you're having fun, screw them... Of note, most people don't come and complain to a big tattood guy...lol

I should be getting my Nickent 2i and 4i in next week. I'm not sure how the Callaway plays, but I used a friends Nickent 2 and loved it.

See sig. Callaway and Titleist.

Nickent 3DX Genex 2i and 4i hybrids.

I've got a 50" plasma in the living room, 37" LCD in my bedroom and a 60" HDCRT in the pool room. I can't live without having HD during NFL season. Geaux Saints! I had Charter cable with the HD DVR package, but they took our Moxi DVRs away and gave us crappy motorola boxes. After that, I switched to directTv and have the new HD DVRs. Here is my living room TV. I just had the built in made. I need to fill the nail holes and paint it now.

I generally use a Callaway tech series glove. I have an FJ as my spare.

I'm only as good as my golf balls will let me be. With that said, my golf balls are a*&holes; sometimes...lol I am still working on connecting well with the ball - but it's still a blast. I would say I'm a 30s handicapper easy, but I haven't tried to play a handicap game yet.

I think this is a very subjective topic. It's like who makes the best quality car. You might argue BMW, but then Lexus has had less quality problems. Then the BMW owner would argue that Lexus (with the exception of the new LS430h) is not on par with the branding of BMW. Then I would argue that anything is better than Jaguar, and that's why I traded that damn Ford in...

I've bought both gently used equipment and new gear and have been very happy (and saved a ton): Callaway Big Bertha bag = 60 Callaway Big Bertha fusion irons = 300 Ping G2i 3w = 90 Vokey 56* SW = 55 Nickent 3DX hybrid (2i) = 38 Nickent 3DX hybrid (4i) = 38 Cameron Detour = 120 Puma shoes = 35 Callaway glove = 10 Total above is 746. This month...lol I think I'm done buying clubs. I mean, I still need a 5w and new driver, but I have to work an angle with my wife about buying a boat in May, so I'm choosing my battles right now...aahah

Personally, they are not my thing. I agree that you can find great name brand clubs at a steal on ebay (I did); but to vilify a person for using them is a bit...oh...25mg short of what one would call 'sane'. If you use a set of clubs made from straw, rocks and twine and are able to hit that dimpled ball 200+ yards, then I'm not going to knock it.

I'm a high handicapper. But even saying that would be stretching my ability...lol As a beginner, blades are horrid to hit, wind is my enemy and for some reason the earth seems to rise just milliseconds prior to my club-face striking the ball - causing a small crater. Nonetheless, my current strategy is learning to strike the ball well versus shaping the actual path. In doing so, hybrids really help out. The large face, heftier weight and longer shaft give that extra degree of forgiveness. Don't get me wrong, though - I believe that players that can use a 2-4 iron and shape their shots will be much better than someone who has only played on hybrids in that range. That is if the iron players would dedicate as much practice as they did in their lower irons into the hybrids. As for others like me, right now it just helps me keep up with the rest of the group on Sunday mornings (that is until I can strike better!) BTW, I have a Nickent 17* and 23* 3DX hybrid (2 and 4) in my bag.

This is exactly right. Now, I make a decent salary, but my wife makes a great one; especially for her age. She is 33 years old and was a physics major at UH. Somehow she ended up in the ground floor of doing computer stuff (please don't make me explain...lol) and now she works from home and is a global director for a major software company. Makes almost 200k with bonus' and we live no different than alot of middle class families. 1) We live outside of New Orleans and the cost of living is still fairly reasonable compared to other major markets. 2) We do live comfortable and don't hurt for much now, but you increase your bills when you increase your salary. Every thing has gone up in cost now. Heck, we even pay close to $30k in taxes each year! Bonuses get taxed almost 50%. I don't know what it was like living on 100K 20 years ago, but personally; right now I feel I'm doing well but don't expect me to still not try to be thrifty! I would hazard a guess that 150-200 is the new 100k. However, I would preface that with 100k is nice - but 500k would be oh so much better..lol Until the tax man get's ya...

I have a bag and I'm trying to estimate the year. The bag, with all the appropriate Callaway tagging, has this on it: What year might this be from; or, have you seen a similar Callaway product with this on it? Thanks in advance.