SwinginCaveman

Alright just a little update. I got the clubs today and when I opened them up I was shocked at how nice they looked. The finish was beautiful and they were absolutely gorgeous. I actually hit the first half of a bucket off a tee because I didn't want to dirty them up lol. So I went through a couple buckets and I am pretty impressed. First shot hit low and off the toe but still stayed on a pretty straight line. Shots off the heel are a different story, though. When you hit the sweet spot it feels like butter; effortless. When you miss, they will definitely let you know. I look at this is a good thing, though, because I know when I made a poor swing. Feedback is always a good thing. The ball flight is considerably higher than my CCi's, but has also gained me distance. My 6 iron with the Nike's is good for 160. I would put the TA 6 iron at ~175. It's a large gap, but the Nike's are known for having weaker lofts than competing brands. Despite being a blade, they were extremely easy to hit. I shortened up my backswing a little to help with consistency and accuracy and it's definitely there. At address, the club is very appealing. It does not intimidate and gave me a lot of confidence standing above the ball, which is very important. Overall, I am very pleased with the clubs and am even contemplating picking up a matching 2nd set so I can keep one clean and use the other for practice. For $140 you simply cannot beat the price.

Yeah I saw that. Just Golf Channel's way of swinging from Tiger's and Nike's nads. It brought viewers, it talked about how great the products are, talked about how well Nike works with their tour staff, how hard they work on R&D;, blah blah blah...

For anyone interested, there's a set of authentic Tiger Woods blades on ebayright now. Righty, though. Bidding's at $415, couple days left. Straight out of some guys collection

I know Cink and Trevor Immelman both use the forged CCi's, Choi uses the Sumo line, though I'm not sure about the rest of the Nike staff.

I'm not necessarily knocking Nike for how they go about business with him, I'm just surprised that they aren't cashing in on something like a set of blades with the advertising "The same blade used by the world's #1." I figured in this day and age, 4 or 5 years is enough to make most anything obsolete. It seems like companies constantly come out with new technology, most of which might be propoganda to sell product, but it's technology nonetheless. I'm sure Nike takes care of Tiger, It just strikes me as strange that they aren't releasing every club they can with Tiger's name on it. People eat up his apparel line and you can't get a Tiger Woods polo or mock for less than $80. I know it doesn't cost nearly that much to make, but they know people will buy them so why not inflate a bit? Also, I agree that he's extremely picky and stubborn when it comes to changing clubs, but I'm sure there are a lot of tweaks that go into those clubs. He changed swing coaches last year which could have easily translated into many different approaches to his swing, thus necessitating a change in his clubs. I just have a feeling if Nike used Tiger's name to market irons, even if they're not Tiger spec (like the One Platinum) people are going to buy them and the more products that sell with Tiger's name on them, the more money for both parties.

With a driver I'll use a 3 1/4", but with a 3 wood or on par 3's ill use something shorter.

I haven't seen Nike release a set of blades in a long time, or anything that Tiger would use for that matter. He also uses a ping putter, so that leaves the driver, woods and wedges with a Nike logo. Most tour staff members hit EVERYTHING from that company. Is Tiger above all of that or can Nike just not make a blade that's up to his standards?

I had a terrible issue with pushes and i found out that two problems were causing it. The first was that I was standing way too close to the ball and because of that it caused me to have a very vertical swing plane. Vertical swing planes usually warrant an inside-out swing plane which will give you a mean push. Try moving away from the ball and bending a little more at the hips.

Alright, I couldn't help myself. I ordered a set. 3-PW, Rifle 5.0 regular flex shaft. $149 after tax, shipping was free. I couldn't turn away from a solid set of brand new MB blades for less than $150. Even if I don't like them, it's ok because I used part of my stimulus check on them which I inteded to spend anyways. Wish me luck, I'll let you guys know how they play!

So I've been in the market for a set of blades as feedback and feel are a very important part of my game. The downside is a set of Mizuno or Titleist blades is going to command a premium from the wallet. While browsing through ebay, I stumbled upon a set of Tommy Armour Silverscot forged MBs for $140. Right off the bat that sounds strange to me, but TA doesn't really have the reputation that a Mizuno or Titleist does so it might make sense. Does anyone have any experience with these? Are they worth buying? The set that I am looking at is perfect: 3-PW, regular flex, brand new, and they ship from about 2 hours from here so it will take no time to get here. Also, the entire set has Rifle shafts, with High Launch Rifles for long irons, Mid Launch Rifles for mid irons, and Tour Launch Rifles for short irons. I believe I've read a little bit about Rifles and people seem to like them. I would LOVE to pick these up but want to make sure it's a good deal before I do.

One thing that most people don't bother with is the grain of the green. It can impact the roll of the ball a lot more than people think. If the grain of the green is going from right to left, for example, the ball is going to want to roll slightly to the left. Likewise, if the grain is coming at your face, the putt is going to be a bit slower and vice versa. How do you tell the grain of the green? It's terribly simple. The grain of the green runs OPPOSITE your shadow. That's it. It's helped me lag a lot more putts closer to the hole and put a couple more per round in the cup.

Bending your front knee creates a shift in momentum. It helps you move your weight from your back leg to your front leg and that's what creates the distance. As far as lifting your front foot, think about baseball. Those guys lift their front foot to generate torque and shift their weight towards the ball. Golf is a little different, however. Unless you have it down to a science, it's extremely difficult to replicate the exact same move on every swing, so keeping it planted is much better for consistency and accuracy.

I hit a Burner a little while back and wasn't a big fan of it; granted I only got to hit it in the simulator and my swing had a few flaws that needed fixing. You say you get good right to left distance with the Burner. Does the fact that we're opposite dexterities have anything to do with this? I mean it's the same ball flight and it's making contact the same way, but I'm not sure if it yields the same results. If it's a good club for working that way, though, I will definitely give it another look.

Yeah he just uses it to blow 3 shot leads with 6 holes to play then plunks it in the water on the first playoff hole... I keed I keed. He does have a good swing, though. EDIT: Now that I watch his swing I'm surprised by how short his swing arc is and how still his body is at impact. Not much of an explosion through the ball like you see from the longer hitters. It's almost as if some of the weight is kept on his back foot. Doesn't seem like he gets his whole lower body through the ball.

I went to the local Golf Galaxy and demo'ed a couple on my list. I tried the Callaway Hyper X 10.5* reg shaft and a Ping G10 9* reg shaft and I can definitely say that any 9* driver is off the list. I have a low ball flight as-is and the results were drastically different. In the simulator I averaged 267 yards with the Callaway and a measly 181 with the G10. Everything off the G10 was a low line drive and did not suit me well. I would have bought the Callaway right then and there but a couple things prevented me from doing so. 1. The simulator showed me a left to right ball flight. I've never hit a draw in my life yet 80% of my swings were doing that. Not sure if it was the simulator or the club or me. 2. I didn't really care much for the feel of the Callaway. It didn't very good feedback and didn't really feel powerful at impact. I'm not unhappy with my Taylor Made by any means. My R7 has actually treated me extremely well. The problem is I bought it used at the beginning of last season for $119 (when they were still selling for $300) which tells you a lot about the condition it was in. It lasted me through a season but it's definitely seen better days. There's chips all over the crown, the sole is dented and the face has deep scratches in it. I'm going to go back and try out a couple more when I have time.

It's going to feel awkward for a little while. Any time you continuously make body movements that you're not used to it's going to be strange. I always had a vertical swing and when I started to swing around my body more it felt very awkward but it's an easy adjustment. My best advice is not to overdo it. Only do what your body will allow. Everyone's first thought is to make a big long backswing, but not everyone has the physical ability to do so. It generates more power, but if you can't do it properly you will severely cripple your accuracy and consistency. Flexibility in your shoulders is very important. Also, 70% of amateurs take TOO LONG of a backswing in hopes of hitting the ball longer. That is why they are often inconsistent. They rely on their body too much to do all of the work. That's the club's job. Shorten up your backswing and gradually elongate it as you gain flexibility. I have 2 things that you should try to remember in your backswing: 1. Keep your chin up. A lot of people can't make a good shoulder turn because their chin is in their chest. You're not going to turn your shoulders through your chin, so lift it up a bit to allow that movement. 2. When your wrists hinge, use your left hand and almost feel as if you're pushing the grip away from your body. The right hand is basically just hanging on for the ride at this point. This will encourage your arm to stay straight and will also help you keep your hands away from your body and avoid swinging from the inside and pushing the ball left. This will feel very unorthodox at first, but believe me, you will get used to it and you will be much better off. Your handicap is listed at 36+ so you must be fairly new to the game. A VERY important part of being good at golf is not developing bad habits. If you learn the right way from the get-go you will be much better off in the long run, so be sure that you practice everything the right way and don't try to bite off more than you can chew. Start small and work your way up.

They advertise both, I'm not sure what the real world results are though.

I had a problem with topping irons as well. I found a very simple solution that has improved my iron play 1000%. When you start the club back, your first move should be to point your left shoulder toward the ground. Many people have a tendency to just rotate it which encourages your body to come up. It's very simple to practice the motion and it will force you to stay down through impact and will find that you will take a perfect divot.

http://www.tgw.com/customer/category...EGORY_ID=11090

Saw an ad for this in a golf magazine a little while ago. Seems like a really solid concept, it's just a matter of how well they pull it off. Have any of the insiders had a chance to try one of these out? Seems like a great little device.

Tax rebate checks are coming and I have decided that instead of throwing it into the bank I'm going to use it like it was intended and spend it. Looking into a new driver as my R7 has definitely seen better days. I'm looking at the $300 line of drivers. A few of them have caught my eye. I'm a lefty with a pretty quick swing and I ALWAYS play a power fade (only because my natural swing allows me to do so), and would like a fair amount of forgiveness. Some different models I have been looking at: Ping G10 Cobra Speed Taylow Made SuperQuad Cleveland HiBore XLS Nike Sumo 5000 Callaway Hyper X Any other suggestions would be appreciated. I haven't bought a driver in a long time so I have no idea who has what technology.

So I entered that "Dozen-a-day Giveaway" promotion that Callaway and golfballs.com has been running and won a box of Tour ix's. After taking them out of the box they had a very different feel to them. Much different than any other golf ball. The cover seemed like it was made from a strange material I have never felt on a golf ball before and the dimples were much more shallow than anything else I've seen. What are these made out of and how does it help the ball perform?

I already said those things in my OP so that didn't help much. I'll phrase it like this: What ball flight is a "draw" club going to give a left-handed player?

So on clubs that have a draw bias, weight is moved to the heel of the club to induce a draw for players who have trouble doing so with regular clubs. Here's where I get confused: Weight at the heel of the club for a right handed golfer will produce a left to right ball flight, or a draw. Weight at the heel of the club for a left handed golfer will produce the same ball flight but it's a fade. Can someone clarify how a "draw" model works for left handed golfers?

I guess no one saw the 20 minute interview Tiger did on ESPN with Scott Van Pelt. Scott asked him: "You've made millions, you've accomplished so much, what keeps you going? Why don't you hit the snooze button and take your foot off the accelerator?" His response: "Why would you? I see everyday as a chance to better myself, why would I waste that opportunity?" Tiger has a work ethic unlike just about anyone on this earth. He said when Sam wakes up in the middle of the night, he'll take her out of her crib, go into the gym, and 600 leg presses later she's fast asleep and he puts her back to bed. He is not going to stop before he breaks every record. He's not going to stop after he breaks every record. He will stop when he has made every record so untouchable that they will never be toppled. He will stop when he's conquered the game. Period. And I have no doubts about him doing it, either.