ragontona

Man, I don't like that guy. But that was a heckuva putt. Funny with Faldo commentating too. I'm sure he remembers Rory's wife and her t-shirt:

Callaway Steelhead III 3-wood, Callaway Steelhead 5-wood. Both with good ol' Memphis 10 steel shafts. I'm loyal to fairway woods, almost to a fault. If I find something I like and I'm comfortable with, it stays in the bag -- even if I know there might even be better options for me, technologically. PS - I show no such loyalty to drivers.

It'll involve the couch, beer, pizza, and frequent bathroom breaks... thank the technology gods for the "pause" button on my dvr

Well, my annual tradition of playing a round on the Saturday morning of the Masters has gone out the window.

I hacked up the course last weekend to the tune of roughly 120 strokes. But I made it a point to never hold my partners up. It's just common courtesy to your partners and the groups behind you.

To work my way back physically into playing shape. To maybe suck it up and realize that I might need some super game improvement irons since I'm unable to get the ball up anymore. To stop looking at new putters when the one I have is just fine.

After an extended absence due to work and a long and painful back injury rehabilitation, I'm officially back in the swing of things and hope to contribute to TST as best I can. For those that remember me, it's good to be back. For those I don't know yet, I hope this is the beginning of a long and potentially aggravating relationship. So, how's it going? PS - I played my first round after a six month injury-induced layoff last week. Shot a 68 on the front nine, and stopped keeping score on the back. I did manage to birdie a short par 4 though. I guestimate I ended up shoot about a 120. Pretty far from the 80's I was shooting before the injury. Gotta love golf.

Count me in on Bri. I'm not really watching this season, but I was flipping around and caught a glimpse. Goodness, she's purdy.

Not all of Lanny's criticisms bothered me, and regarding his credentials, I think he's no less qualified to criticize than anyone else in the announcing booth. He did, after all, have 21 tour wins. However, when Lanny's off on something... he's WAY off. For instance, at The Masters a couple years back, Lanny observed DiMarco laying up on a par 5 (15, I think) and criticized him for "playing for second place." I don't think DiMarco even knows what that means. Plus, Lanny just irritates me. He never shuts up. He loves the sound of his own voice. He offers no real insight. He states the painfully obvious, like, "He's going to have to get this up and down to save par." He refers to things he likes as "solid" at least nine hundred times per telecast. In short, he just wasn't very pleasant to listen to. Faldo will be a very welcome change.

Outstanding! That's fantastic news. Golf on CBS has just become imminently more watchable.

It looks like the European Tour events don't count towards any PGA Tour records, so his streak's still alive at six wins. I'm not sure if I want to call this a streak anymore though. He teed it up at a tournament and lost in the first round. If this extends out to Nelson's record, will this deserve an asterisk?

Let me know how you like it... I've turned into my own little barista, I've got so much coffee paraphernalia in my kitchen. Syrups, powders, grinders, steamers... it's ridiculous.

Gotcha. I'm cool with my non-TP model...

What's the main difference between the TP and the non-TP? The obvious answers are a couple more weight cartridges and a better shaft... but is there anything else more substantial?

Though I'm primarily a heel-shafted kinda guy, I do have one center-shafted model that I sometimes break out if I'm having a little trouble with alignment. For some reason, occasionally I'll get into an "every putt misses left" rut, and I use a Ping G5i mini-c to get myself out of it. It's really easy to line up, it has a nice balance to it, and the blue insert feels pretty sweet... For me, sometimes you need to shake things up every once in a while when it comes to putters. For others, I know they like to see the same putter down there for years. Whatever works.

I can make hot chocolate with my Braun Tassimo, but I don't think the Senseo has that capability. They're constantly adding to the Senseo pods line though, so it may be possible in the future... I do sometimes whip myself up an easy Mocha Java with the Senseo. Two dark roast coffee pods, a splash of half & half, and a teaspoon of instant hot chocolate powder... it's good stuff.

Just a heads up -- nearly ANY pods work with this. (The only ones that don't are the Home Cafe special cappuccino pods. They don't fit.) Also, my wife just got a bulk shipment of Senseo pods from Amazon... I believe it was about $16 for four 18-packs of dark roast. Free 2-day shipping thanks to Amazon Prime...

"Well, I guess that was better than having it run down my leg yet again at the Ryder Cup."

Yep, the cameraderie on the European team was cool to watch. I was actually jealous. I got the distinct sense that these guys actually enjoyed each others' company. We used to have that going for us, back in the Azinger/Jacobson/Pavin/etc. era. And even though the caliber of player we have today may be better, they're not exactly "backyard-barbecue-at-my-place" kinda guys. After Clarke finished up, I was watching him hugging his teammates, and it was a very emotional experience for all of them. My wife looked over at me and asked, "Can you imagine Phil and Tiger hugging after a round?" She had a point...

I honestly don't think I'll be watching this season. The Donald does not good television make for me.

I've had my 704 irons in the bag for a full season now, and I'm now more confident with these irons that I've ever been with anything else. To me, they're the perfect "compromise" iron...

I don't know if you have one nearby, but a place like 2nd Swing Golf or Play It Again Sports could be great resources for getting a nice set of used clubs. You could probably pick up a solid set for around $200-$300, and they'll last you several years. I'd suggest going that route over the starter set from Dick's. PS You can also look into component clubmakers, like www.pinemeadowgolf.com . I've heard their equipment is pretty solid, and very reasonable.

My bad. Misunderstood the original poster's intent.

My natural shot shape is a high fade, but there are times out there when I have to draw the ball to fit the hole. I know there are different ways players go about shaping their shots, so I was just curious what your basic swing thoughts are when it comes to the fade/draw? Do you change your alignment? Do you manipulate the clubface at impact using your wrists and/or forearms? Personally, I like to keep it simple. For a fade, I line my feet and clubface up towards the target, but my shoulders are aimed a bit left. For a draw, same principle, different shoulder alignment -- I line my feet and clubface up towards the target, but aim my shoulders a bit right. Both instances, I swing as I normally would, but the slight change in shoulder alignment alters the swingpath enough through impact to shape the shot. So... how do you like to shape it?

Take out the "IH," and I'm all over it. Yes, I'm aware that I'm going to hell.