georgep

I'd definitely say "as close as possible" as a general rule. However, there are some situations where I would personally be more comfortable with a longer shot. If the green is fronted by water, really gnarly rough, or some other extremely penal feature, I would rather have a full swing with a SW, GW, or PW than to try to finesse something. This would reduce the likelihood of birdie, naturally, but it involves a lot less nerve, at least for me. Then again, if I need a birdie to win or stay in a match, I'll take as close as possible regardless of what's between me and the flag.

Welcome, Tallywhacker. You'll find a lot of assistance here that will help you improve. Hope you enjoy it!

That's awesome! Well done @iacas and all. It's been fun watching the forum and site evolve.

Show off! Nice round, but I bet you didn't play half your shots off the hosel.

I had a great time. It was really nice to meet folks and renew old acquaintances. Wish I could have actually put the club face on the ball a little more instead of using the hosel, but hey they sort of went toward the hole, just not on the straightest line. BTW--Went to the range last night and what do you know... ball goes straight(er) again. Must have been the influence of the lake or something. I'd like to thank my teammates over the weekend for enduring my play, and especially thank @iacas , @mvmac and @david_wedzik for organizing.

@Rob Thompson takes more than a little off a 6-iron here.

#1 beckons.

@ @macdaddy18 hits 6-iron off the tee during the one club scramble.

Some tremendous 5 and 6 iron shots out there tonight. In fact every shot was a 5 or 6 iron.

That would be awesome! After all, if you are going to get your butt kicked by a golf course, it should be a good one.

Don't feel bad @CarlSpackler I live within two miles of Muirfield Village (as the crow flies) and I'm still waiting on my tee time, too. Medallion is private, btw.

Here are a few options: If you don't mind driving a little, try Bent Tree near the I-71 and 36 interchange. It has quite a bit of water on it, but it's a fun layout. If you are looking to finish with the same ball you started with, try Raymond Memorial. It's a (somewhat beat up) Robert Trent Jones layout that is now a muni. You can still see the design concepts at work, but most of the course is wide, wide open. If you don't mind spending a little more try Golf Club of Dublin or Riviera (also in Dublin). GCD has a lot of water, but it also has big fairways and huge greens so you shouldn't be washing that many balls.

That drive on 18 was monstrous, and the perfect flight. Though the driver bit you a few times today, you had a great one to end on. At least you didn't use six total strokes to get on the putting surface from inside 60 yards on back-to-back holes! I wonder who would do such a thing? .

My club had a long drive contest with marshmallows once. I'm pretty sure those marshmallows ended up compressed and deformed. I actually tried to pre-compress my marshmallow (figuring I could impart more energy to a more solid target and that a smaller marshmallow would be more aerodynamic). Alas, it did not have the desired effect. In the end, a guy using driver won, but just narrowly over a guy who used an 8-iron. Turns out, the contest was dictated almost as much by wind as anything else, but I'm off-topic.

That is an opportunity for inconsistency. Just today I caught myself bending my arm too much. You just have to make sure you're doing it the same way each time. I suspect after awhile it will be second nature.

I've only had one outing thus far using AimPoint Express. I think the reads were pretty much on, but my speed was terrible. Neither method works well when you leave everything short. The curse of playing a course early in the year when you still have the echo of faster conditions in your head from last summer. I believe that Express is going to be very handy for me on longer putts, while Midpoint will be the go-to for the 10-foot, must-makes for par.

I agree that it will change the swing weight, however, cutting down a putter makes the head feel lighter, not heavier. Camerons typically have a 340g head weight at 35" and a 360g at 33." You can easily adjust the head weight with lead tape (though it's not always pretty). I used to put it on the bottom of the putter head so I didn't have to see it at address. That should lower the center of gravity but even with 20g on there I didn't notice it changing playing characteristics. I've also seen it on the back of a blade putter or even on the top of some mallets. There are other ways to add weight but few as cheap, easy and removable as lead tape. If you're cutting two inches off, you'll probably need to add another 15-20g to keep it feeling the same. Good luck! George

OH, AL, CO, IL, MO, TX, FL, NC, SC, WV, WI

It's a little bit surprising that there's no online coverage. On the course there are video displays everywhere so you can follow what's happening on other holes. Still, I didn't see Sammy the Squirrel until I got home.

I'll be there most of the week. Looking forward to it. I think the U.S. should win handily, but the Internationals always seem to play better than they look on paper. I hope they move the tee up on #14. Some of the guys can drive that green anyway, but with the tee up most of field will be able to. With the water short and right and the rough and slope to the left, it's an awesome short par 4. Talk about your risk/reward holes.

The weight of the putter should not cause you to consistently hit putts short. You should still be able to adjust the distance of your putts over the course of a round. I would practice distances as the previous poster suggested. Another thing to try is putting to a spot 18-24 inches past the hole. Obviously, be sure to locate your target spot taking the break of the green into account. You want the hole to get in the way as the ball rolls to your target. Make that spot the last thing you look at before putting or even try looking at it while you putt.

I'm not crazy about box sets for the reason the OP cited. They are cheap for a reason, and are often designed to look the part with little attention to the playability features that the brand puts into the regular sets. A decent used set might not look as shiny to start with, but it will probably yield more enjoyable shots and may stay in the bag longer.

I would give the MP-63s the edge in feel and playability, and the AP2s the nod in forgiveness (solely for the long irons). In appearance, it's no match. The classic look of the Mizunos make them a big winner in my book. I'd try them both out and see what works best for you. I will have a full review of the 63s out on TST very soon.

I hit the MP63 and AP2 7-irons side by side yesterday. MP63 with TT DSG S was a few yards longer than AP2 with PX S, which you'd expect from the one-degree stronger loft.

I've actually had the opposite experience with the MP63s. I find them equal to or a little longer, which I mostly attribute to the DSG shaft, when compared to my AP2s with PX. I've also been very pleasantly surprised by how forgiving they are for a player's cavity. I wonder if the distance loss the OP reported is due to the PX shaft not fitting his swing and ballooning the ball. 5-7 yards is lot between clubs of the same basic type. For me, these have been great playing irons... Mizuno feel with a lot of forgiveness.