bogeyradloff

I completely agree with going the used route, and it's not that i'm swimming in cash and want to drop money on a new driver for the hell of it I just feel like there's no way it can make my driver game any worse then it already is. Coincidentally enough I did some research online and worked on some more fundamentals of my swing relative to stance, club grip, back swing and fore swing, and was hitting the ball much more consistently at the range today (200-225 pretty darn straight 20-30 times out of 100 balls - I also practiced my hybrids and irons some too). I haven't gotten much feedback on my forum post here looking for a reputable instructor in the Upstate New York area so my next question would be - what type of accolades or certification should I be looking for? What is considered a reasonable hour rate that most instructors charge in your guys experiences? Thanks again for all your help guys it's much appreciated.

I appreciate the response and am more then aware that I need to look into getting some instruction from a competent individual. I actually just created a post looking for some referrals for good instructors in the Upstate New York area. I've had close friends of mine who are light years ahead of me in the golf game and they've all stated that my grip and swing are in pretty decent shape who's just picking up golf again for the first time in five years. My very limited understanding is your typical driver should be fitted to each individual to fit their swing speed, loft, etc. I guess what I'm trying to ask is there a driver that I could use a stop gap that would be more forgiving as a beginner then the current Tommy Armour I have in my bag? I just have a hard time going to the range and hitting the ball further and more consistent with my 3i and 4i rather then my driver.

I'm looking into purchasing some lessons to fine tune my game this season. The only issue I'm having is I'm not sure who to go to. I was curious if anyone on the forum from the Upstate New York area could refer me to someone located in or around the capital region. I'm from the Saratoga area but would be willing to travel if necessary. Unfortunately I've asked around and most of my friends picked up golf when they were much younger and never really received any lessons. Thanks in advance.

2005 Infiniti G35x Purchased it as a graduation gift when I graduated college back in 2007. Had 20k miles when I bought it and the odometer currently sits at 125k. Has been an absolute dream of a car to own, absolutely zero issues other then just your regular routine maintenance. Car is an absolute beast is the crappy upstate NY winters. Due to the rigors of my job (being involved in more construction sites as an engineer) my next purchase is going to probably be a truck. I sat in the brand new re-designed Chevy Silverado at an auto show recently and I was in love. I would probably lean towards purchasing its counterpart the GMC Sierra though. I'll try to upload pics of my Infiniti this afternoon.

This is no joke, ever since I was playing baseball in little league I've been that guy who has never been able to fit into the typical "one size fits all hats" that everyone advertises. I have what I like to call a "tall & deep head" and have a tough time buying any golf hats that truly fit my head. I've always been a fan of the new era fitted hats that baseball, football and basketball teams make simply because they're tall and they also offer a range of sizes (to put things into perspective, I wear a new era fitted 7 3/4 to 8 depending on the hat size). I was in Dicks Sporting Goods and out of all the tour hats they offered the only one that came close to fitting was the Callaway X hot Hex Black Tour Hat (which I bought). My problem is I'd like to add a bunch of other hats to my golf outfits and am discouraged it's going to be a difficult time finding one. I'm not a fan of visors so they are out of the picture. Anyone else have this issue? Any advice as to what hats I should look into purchasing?

To give you a guys a little background, about 5 years ago I started playing golf pretty regularly and took a hiatus due to carpel tunnel surgery I had on my left wrist. I'm 28 years old, right handed, 6'1 and around 250 lbs. The past month or so I had a good friend of mine convince me to pick up my clubs again and start back at it. Played my first round of 18 last week and shot a 115. I've been going to the driving range 3-4 times a week for the past month or so trying to get back into the swing of things. When I started back up my bag consisted of the following (all used equipment ): Tommy Armour 845s 440c 10 degree Driver Full Callaway Steelhead pro series x14 irons (3-p/s wedge) w/ stiff shafts I found that at the driving range that I was having an absolutely awful time hitting my 3, 4 and 5 irons. 6-p wedge were pretty decent. My buddy suggested I try one of his 3-i hybrids and it seemed night and day over my callaway 3 iron. I went ahead and purchased a HT Max 3-Iron Hybrid with graphite regular flex shaft as well as a Callaway Diablo 4i Edge Hybrid with regular flex shaft. Over the course of the week I've gone out three times to try out both new Hybrids and I was hitting the ball significantly longer and straighter then I typically do with my driver. I'd say on average I was hitting between 150-175 approximately (with roll). My problem with my driver is that I have a difficult time getting the ball up in the air and having a consistent trajectory when I tee off. Sometimes I get it up in the air enough and it will sail beyond 200 yards but it's not consistent enough for my liking. My questions is - is the driver I'm using not as forgiving as both the hybrids, is my loft not as high as it should be considering I have an issue getting the ball up in the air enough? I also have those random shanks where the ball will dribble about 50-75 right off the tee (this also could be a combination of just poor swing mechanics/consistency). I was looking into purchasing a Ping G20/G25, Cleveland Classic, etc. I'm also questioning whether I should look into having the remainder of my irons re-shafted so they are more of a regular flex shaft rather then a stiff flex? I was going to look into having my swing analyzed at Golf Galaxy in the near future, but I'm looking for a temporary fix for my poor driving/iron skills. Any/all help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hey all, just thought I'd start an introduction thread as I have been frequenting the site lately trying to get as many tips and tools I can to help fine tune my game. I'm a 28 year old from Upstate New York. Civil Engineering graduate who was really into golf 4-5 years ago but had intensive nerve surgery done about five years ago and just starting to get back into the game. A close friend of mine and I just hit the links last weekend for the first time in a long time and boy was it extremely enjoyable (probably had something to do with the beer we drank on the back 9 ) I look forward to sharing my trials and tribulations as I try to work on my game over the course of this year. Cheers!