Casey

I have never seen so much Titleist in one place!

I have not played very many courses, but Superior National in Lutsen, MN was the hardest I have played. Not too long, but very hilly, trees lining every fairway, deep rough, fastest greens I've ever seen. Beautiful though.

Who's to say golf is all about your score? If you are a high handicap, you probably shouldn't really care all too much about your score. I mean, really, if you score in the 100's it shouldn't really matter if you score 105 or 110! Either way you're still more than 30 strokes above par! What a golfer of this skill level cares about is improving their skill level. To do that, you play realistic shots that are challenging for you, if you *****-foot around the whole course never taking any risks you won't ever get better. That's not to say that course management isn't important, especially once you get better, but for a high handicapper whats most important is improvement and shaving strokes that way, not taking 5 shots off of your 110 without actually getting better.

I would just have to go through and price it out. How many rounds do you plan to golf over the period of said membership? Before investing a decent amount of money in a membership you have to realistically evaluate how often you can golf to make sure a membership would be worth it. What is the cost per round? Take the membership cost, divide by cost per round=number of rounds you would have to golf to get your money's worth versus just paying per round, this is your break even point (for example if a membership costs $1500 and 18 holes costs $50, 1500/50=30 so you would have to golf 30 rounds over the year to break even). If you don't think you will be able to meet this break even point, you'll probably find more value in purchasing a range pass and paying per round.

Probably not. If you were just starting out as a golfer you would expect to improve a lot going that often your first few years, but if you've been golfing for 20 years its unlikely that you'll see much improvement without significantly increasing the amount of time you play/practice. It also depends on how else you try to improve, whether by lessons, posting your swing and getting tips on this forum, or by some other method, if you are doing those things quite a bit in conjunction with your normal amount of play you should see some improvement. On needing 3 GIR to break 90, that's something I disagree with. I definitely think the number is higher, depending on how difficult the course. I've had rounds in the mid 90's with 4-5 GIR, but obviously everyone is different.

Yes. Take a club and stand in front of the mirror. Get to the top of your backswing and hold it there. In slow motion, exaggerate the feeling of getting your lower body/hips moving towards the target, the start of a good swing. You will see that this movement causes rotation to start in your upper body, your hands will begin to move down without you feeling like you moved them at all. Your lower body should start the swing in this manner, not the arms.

To the OP: I really admire your courage in having such big aspirations in golf. It's truly inspirational to see someone who has set the bar so high and is willing to work so hard to achieve his goals. Not many people are willing to even think about putting that much effort into something. If doing this is what will make you the happiest, I would say that you should attack it with your best effort. Some advice though: Life as a professional golfer is tough. You have to be realistic in your hopes, it is unlikely that you, me, or even anyone on this forum has the ability, even if working as hard as you, to become a moneymaker on the biggest stage of golf. As a result of this, its probably best for anyone with aspirations of professional golf to set the bar at the lower level tours (which, mind you, are still incomprehensibly difficult to make). Even golfers who do well playing in these tournaments struggle to make ends meet. It is expensive, hard, and unfulfilling, unless you believe your sole purpose in life is to play golf. Think about this: how would you ever have a family living like that? What happens if you run out of money on the road? Worst of all, what happens if you don't quite reach your goals of playing golf professionally? Because of the inherent risk implied by these questions, it would be wise to have a backup plan. The people here attacking you because you don't have a backup plan, while aggressive and vicious, are probably right. By saying you should have a backup plan, they do not mean that you have no hope of ever achieving your dreams. They're trying to give you helpful advice, looking out for your well being! There are many reasonable plans in life that involve both golf and maintaining a reasonable and stable lifestyle. It would be wise to not only work on your golf game, but also have some other form of income as well. Have you thought of attending college? It is a worthwhile investment that is a great help in securing your future. Life takes a long time, you're young and you have all the time in the world to play golf. Attending college is a great way to secure a stable lifestyle that will allow you to go after your dreams of professional golf, but first you will have to wait a little bit so that you have a solid job from which to support yourself first. I know that not everyone has the means to attend college, but it becomes easier every year, and there are many options for people from all different backgrounds. Just something to think about. I know that this post probably looks long and boring and you probably won't take the time to read it, but I think there is some helpful advice in it that could help you on your path. Good luck to you sir. Edit: here is a thread discussing the ins and outs of golfing professionally, and the reality of it: http://thesandtrap.com/t/63941/seriously-could-you-have-made-it-to-the-tour

I would say to upgrade the clubs you use the most. For most beginning golfers/higher handicappers, the clubs we use most often are the putter and the wedges (because of low GIR rate), and improving wedge play is one of the easiest ways to improve scoring. I was in the same situation as you and I found that when I got a new sand wedge that I had confidence in to hit a variety of different shots from tough lies, I really improved my scores. I know you might think this club is pretty ugly, and anyone who is seen on the course with it is bound to receive some heckling, but the Cleveland Niblick wedge is a very reliable, versatile club that you can use for a variety of shot types. Even though its ugly, people who use it rave about it because it will save you when you screw up, and it can be had for REALLY cheap. Maybe it is something you could look into for replacing one of your wedges. I know that it is on my list of clubs to acquire, even though I'll be made fun of for a while. I would guess that you probably don't use your hybrid too often, maybe for 2nd shots on long par 4's or on par 5's, which probably occur between 4-6 times per round. Your driver you probably use 10-14 times per round. Your wedges? As indicated by your index, probably between 10-12 shots per round. So I would recommend the driver and wedge to be the first clubs you upgrade. There is pretty good review for the Niblick on the Hackers Paradise, I tried posting the link but it wouldn't work for some reason. Google it if you're interested.

For sure its a hard habbit to kick... I think about golf equipment all day long haha, definitely an addiction.

I would definitely rather be playing. I feel like I get more out of actually playing than practicing, as weird as it sounds. When I'm actually on the course, I'm much more relaxed with regards to my swing because I don't have too many thoughts running through my head. When I'm on the range, I'm worrying too much about working on one particular thing and I end up pressing and becoming frustrated. When I'm on the course, I have a clear head and just focus on the natural flow and tempo of my swing take over and I hit much better than I do on the range. I still practice and try to improve certain things on the practice facility, and then bring those aspects to the course which I enjoy much more. I think the difference for me is that on the course I'm more concerned with my alignment and my plan for where I want to place the ball, and this takes away the mental road block, keeps me from thinking too much about my swing. When I'm on the range, I just think so much about what I'm trying to execute in my swing that I struggle. This is a common theme for me; in basically all sports and other aspects of life, I perform A LOT better when I have a clear head and literally DONT THINK at all. It just removes all inhibitions.

I have the cleveland mashie 3h. I don't put it in the bag too often because I prefer my 3i, but if you are swinging poorly it can be a godsend. It makes a really unique "tink" sound at impact that I haven't heard from any other club. And it's definitely good looking enough, not many people could say its ugly. Since they're pretty cheap, you mind as well get one to try it out and see if you like it. If you don't, not the end of the world.

If you think your play will benefit from spending a decent amount on a new set of irons, and its what you really want, then go for it. If they are a little less forgiving its not the end of the world, it will just force you to improve. If you can't justify spending money just because you are tired of playing with your current clubs, then stick with what you have. Either way, don't sell your current set before you buy the new set in case you get out on the course and absolutely hate them.

I preordered it, I figured it was time because I'm still playing '10! But what is the difference between the collectors edition (69.99) and the normal edition (59.99) besides price? And I heard this year does not have Rory, very disappointing...

Well obviously TM's method of rolling out a new line of "revolutionary" new technology every year is quite gimmicky and I'm not denying that. But i mean, a CB driver? Thats way more out there than adding weighting ports and face angle options and springy faces.

So today Nike released the concept of its new line for 2013, the Vr Covert line. You have probably seen the advertisements around TST and elsewhere. Obviously the the most interesting thing about this line is the "Cavity back" driver. What do you think of this design? Supposedly the purpose is to redistribute weight away from the center of the face towards the sides to make it more forgiving. However in my opinion the added material in the club head due to the cavity back means that the COG will be higher and further back, making it harder to get the ball airborne unless you use a higher loft. In that case, you lose distance because of the higher trajectory and added spin. What am I missing here? Of course I am not an expert and don't know much about clubhead design, but this just seems way too novel and takes the term "gimmick" to a whole new level. What do y'all think?

8 iron. For some reason it just feels the best and I always have confidence from 140 out. Just awesome ballflight with a nice soft landing right where i want, every time. Can't say as much for most other clubs though!

- RBZ 10.5 stiff Driver - A total of 100 balls, some nike, some srixon, some slazenger - Odyssey white ice #1 34'' - Cleveland 588 52* 2 dot - A couple polos - 13 rounds to the local executive course - A trip to Ft. Myers Florida to play a few rounds at the Renaissance course, my favorite course I have played at (though I have not played very many places) Oh and also, a preorder of the Tiger Woods/PGA Tour '14 Collectors Edition game for Xbox 360