Jake H

You hit the nail on the head. When I use an interlock grip I always feel like I am closing the clubface too much. Jake

Flopdarock and Range King, If your right pinkie gets sore while using the overlap grip you are probably gripping the club the wrong way. The right pinkie should be applying very little to no pressure during the swing. The pressure points in a correct grip for a right hander should be: Left Hand: pinkie, ring, and middle fingers Right Hand: ring and middle fingers The rest of the fingers should be applying very little pressure except maybe the right index finger (near impact). If you've been gripping the club with all 10 fingers then these pressure points will feel pretty uncomfortable for awhile. But once you get away from gripping the club with all 10 fingers your wrists will feel more relaxed and you will probably swing better. Having said that I think each golfer should use what works for them. I've pretty much decided on the overlap grip, but sometimes find myself switching back and forth. Jake

-3 degrees here with about 6" of new snow and it's still coming down. It's supposed to be -6 degrees tomorrow so no golf for awhile.

Ah I see. Since the tree branches are pretty high off the ground maybe you could squeeze a punch 4-iron under there, but that requires great touch just to get it on the green. I still vote for hitting a wedge over the tree and playing for bogie, and maybe making par. In the future, if you absolutely can't hit a fade, then I would focus on hitting my second shot to the far left side of the fairway. That should leave you room to hit a draw into the pin, and would help keep that bunker out of play.

Next time you play the hole try hitting your second shot to the right edge of the fairway, or even in the right rough is probably ok. This will set you up for a natural draw around the tree or even a direct shot to the green on your 3rd shot. I make this suggestion with the assumption that the large tree you speak of is roughly in the middle of the fairway, and that there isn't too much trouble on the right side of the fairway. Or learn to hit a fade and/or a high ball. Or hit a sand wedge or pitching wedge over the tree and plan for bogey at worst or par at best. I would tend to stay away from a punch shot under the tree since it's pretty hard to keep a golf ball less than 5 feet off the ground 75 yards downrange with any club (except maybe a putter).

I think there's a common misconception about the durability of forged vs. cast irons. The manufacturing technique used to make a set of irons (forged vs. cast) shouldn't have much of an impact on durability. The hardness of the steel is what determines how durable a set of irons is. The hardness of the steel is determined by the amount of heating and quenching, not by how it was manufactured (forged or cast). With that said, I think that the manufacturers of forged irons (mizuno, callaway etc...) generally tend to leave the steel softer than a lot of cast iron companies. This is probably because a soft iron feels so good on well struck shots. Titleist may be an exception to this rule though because their forged irons seem to be pretty hard. I personally play Mizuno MP-60's and they seem to be pretty soft, but they still look fine after a lot of use. As long as you keep your irons away from sand and rocks they will last a long time. Jake

Two days ago I was playing a round with about five of my friends, one of which will be playing division one college golf this next year. I don't know his handicap but I would imagine he is a scratch golfer or maybe better. On the 6th hole which is a 260 yard severely uphill par four he set his ball on the turf and hit his driver. He hit a nice little fade that landed on the center of the green about 20 feet from the hole. Best shot and most talented golfer I've seen in awhile. We were all in awe but he shook it off like he does it all the time.

A few hours ago me and a couple guys were finishing up the last few holes before it got too dark. Hole #16 is a short par five of 488 yards which doglegs right. I hit my drive a little under 300 yards and into the trees on the right. To get over the trees blocking the green I was forced to hit a 7 iron, and the ball landed in the front-right sand bunker about 10-15 yards from the pin. I hit a perfect shot out of the bunker which broke from right-to-left on the sloped green, and the ball caught the lip of the cup and fell in for eagle. The foursome in front of us were watching since they had stopped and waited for us to play through, so I had an audience. And the best part is they gave me a cold Miller Lite.

I went and demoed an x-forged 6 iron today at Cottonwood Hills. I absolutely loved it, as well as the 6.0 Rifle Precision Project X Flighted shaft. The club pro was there and he had a range-finder. It turns out I am hitting the ball a lot farther than I was last year. They had a practice green covered with a blue tarp, and the club pro ranged the front edge at a little under 180 yards. I was carrying the ball almost right to the center of the green. Those new x-forged irons felt great, and I liked the look at address a lot more than the older x-forged irons. To top it off, they have a Callaway iron fitting rack, so I'll be able to find the best shafts etc...

About 5 years ago I was riding motocross at a track and came off of a double wrong. The back end kicked up and started drifting to the left. All of my weight, plus a lot of the motorcycle's weight, came down on my left foot (right on the back side of the landing). It hyper-extended, and I immediately knew it was broken. After sitting for a few hours in the ER my ankle was swollen to the size of a baseball. The break was not that serious, but I tore some ligaments pretty badly. It took about 2 months after the cast came off to get to 85%, and about a year after the break to be 98%. Today it has just a little bit less range of motion than my right. You'll probably heal up alright.

Yeah I just saw the Hogan blades on Callaway's website. I'm going to hold off on the X-Forged irons and wait to try them all out (and get fitted).

Thanks for the replies. Cizzle, My distances can be a little screwy. I specifically remember one time at the range last season when I was hitting my PW. They were landing a few yards short of the 150 yard sign. Granted, this was in Bozeman which is at about 4800 ft. elevation, so I was getting a lot more carry than normal. Having said that, I'm usually between an 8 or a 7 iron at 150 at the courses in my hometown (at about 3300 ft). However, when using the online fitting websites, I always put down my 7 iron as my 150 club to be conservative, and they still say to use a stiff shaft. I honestly don't know the exact distances I hit my clubs, and I generally just go by instinct out on the course. I should look into it more. Fletch, Thanks for the info. Jake

Hello, I'm in the market for a new set of irons this season. The only irons I have demoed so far are the Mizuno MP-60's, MP-67's, and some Taylormades (not sure which model). The day I demoed them I was hitting terribly, so they didn't get a fair trial. Having said that, I didn't like the Mizunos as much as I thought I would, and I did not like the Taylormades at all. First a little background...I have not been custom fitted for irons, but if I buy new irons this year I will. I honestly have the ball striking ability of about a 2 handicap with my irons, so I think I can handle most any iron. I've been using blades for a few years now. Being that I've never been on a launch monitor I do not know my swing speed. However, by using my distances I'm pretty sure it's around 100 mph, maybe more. I hit my 7 iron a little over 150 under normal conditions, and my drives carry an honest 250 on average. Using this information, I'm pretty sure I need a stiff shaft (?). I've used the on-line club fitting programs and they always say to get a stiff shaft as well (but I understand that these are only estimations). Also, I'm about 5'-11" so I fall right in the middle of the standard length shaft. I've also taken my wrist to floor measurements, and they fell right in the middle as well. I found an almost brand new set of the 2006 version Callaway X-Tour irons (3-PW) at a local sporting goods store. I say "almost brand new" because they have a few nicks and such from handling. They have the True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts. These are the forged cavity-backs that I believe Phil Mickelson played in 2006. They have a black, red, and white Callaway emblem on the inside of the cavity. They had them on sale last fall for around $450 I believe. They don't have a price on them right now, so I could probably haggle. I've read the reviews on-line and most all people seem to love them. They look and feel good to me, although I haven't been able to hit them. So a few questions: 1) Would these clubs be worth buying for around $500 (or less)? 2) For those of you that have used both these older and the current versions of the X-Tours, which do you like better? 3) I'm assuming I could go to a club fitter and have these bent for the correct lie angle? I know that a thorough fitting would be ideal, but I honestly think the lie angle is all I might need adjusted. Any other comments are appreciated! Thanks, Jake

immts, Yeah you're definitely right about that. The cost of living is probably much lower in Montana than most places. That and our golf season is fairly short, spanning from about April to October (depending on the weather). I really like our two courses though. They are well managed and fairly well maintained. One is about 1.5 miles from my house and is roughly 6600 yards from the tips. The other is about 3.5 miles from my house and is only 5700 yards from the tips. The shorter course is harder than it looks though. Lots of interesting holes and lots of ways to get into trouble. The longer course is a bit harder and has some par 5's approaching 580 yards. I think its rating is around 70.

Wow, I feel spoiled now. A weekday membership to BOTH of the city courses in my hometown is $450. And they are both pretty decent 18 hole courses. I got my membership this year for $400 for being a new member.

Glad it helped!

My misses tend to be shanks as well. I had a bad case of the shanks about 2 weeks ago. By swinging in front of a mirror, I found that I was squatting in my downswing (much like Tiger does), forcing my hands farther away from my body and resulting in a shank. I concentrated on staying tall, and actually feeling like I lift my head on the last half of my downswing. This cured it, and I started hitting the ball the best I ever have. Now when I swing in a mirror, my head stays very still in the vertical direction, and stays there through impact (even though it almost feels like I am lifting my head before impact). Your results may vary though because I play a natural fade and my swing is more outside-in. EDIT: I should have read all the posts before replying. Avid Golfer already covered it.

Anaconda Hills: Great Falls, MT 40 degrees-First round of the year 5th hole, par 4, 280 yards, slopes uphill and then suddenly drops down about 30 feet, dogleg right, completely blind green: Aimed straight down the first part of the fairway and hit the new driver. It began fading right toward where the pin would be. I crested the hill and found the ball about 10-15 feet short of the pin (on the green). I missed the eagle putt, but sunk the birdie putt. 6th hole, par 4, 270 yards, slight dogleg right and quite a ways uphill: The four kids in front of me told me to play through, so I was quite nervous as they watched my tee shot. I aimed left about 15 yards and hit another great drive that faded right towards the pin. I found the ball on the very front edge of the green, right in front of the fringe. Once again I missed the eagle putt, but sunk the birdie putt. I drove the green on two par 4's in a row! 17th hole, Par 5, 497 yards, dogleg left, the last part of the fairway slopes downhill quite a bit: I was warmed up and swinging better than I ever have. I aimed left of the fairway and let er' rip. It felt and sounded very good off the clubface, and I saw the ball flying away high and fast. It started off farther right than I would have liked, and I soon lost track of it in the air. I REALLY like the trajectory that my new Cleveland Hibore XL delivers. It seems to carry forever. The ball must have drawn back towards the fairway because I found the ball about 130 yards away from the GREEN, on the right side of the fairway. I must have gotten a lot of help from the downhill fairway, but if you do the math it comes out to about a 365 yard drive! I hit a relaxed PW to the downhill green and stuck the ball 15 feet right of the hole, pin-high. I once again missed the eagle putt, but sunk the birdie putt. What an exciting round! I have never had so many potential eagles. I had a couple more birdies besides the ones above, a good many pars, a few bogeys, and maybe one double bogey. I hit my driver and my irons wonderfully, but my short game was lacking as always.