RoyJeeBiv

Not giving myself a 2nd shot worth a damn...!! Driver and woods off the tee seemingly always find OB or end up under/behind a tree. It's killing my scores. Gonna try going back to 16* hybrid and/or 4i off the tee. Every other part of my game is clicking, so I don't mind slightly reduced distance to be in the FW.

How important is spin to you?? Granted I'm a bogey golfer, but I like the Wilson Duo. Usually a hop and stop on approaches for me, one of the better 2-piece balls I've tried (and for $20/dozen, very affordable). If your game requires spin, maybe the Duo Spin and/or Duo U would be up your alley. (I've been tempted to go back to the Gamer, too... but I'm not sure how the new generation of balls compares to previous ones, so I can't personally recommend it.) Or just hoard balls you find on the course, pick a slow day/time when no one will be pushing you, and go hit 3 or 4 different balls per hole and see which one works best. Only way to know is to put each ball into real action.

Give the Wilson Duo a try. I've been breaking 90 on a regular basis and still play the Duo.

1) re-learn driver (first time bagging one in about 5yrs) 2) stop tinkering w/ equipment (no more club hoing, stick with my Wilson Duo, etc) 3) enjoy!!

Thanks for the reply, dkolo. The 54/6 would be for chipping -- I have a 56/14 to use from heavy rough and deep sand, but I simply can't use so much bounce anywhere else. And yes, that was my apprehension, dropping $$ on clubs I haven't hit, even with the rave reviews. I like the Covert Forged because of the low bounce throughout the set. I haven't been able to find many irons with that set up... probably why it's worthwhile just to stick with my Clevelands. So I just went a much more economic route with a Maltby Tricept Red wedge (also 54/6), and sticking with the TA5s. I think this will work just as well until I start consistently shooting in the low to mid 80s. Thanks again.

hello all -- seeing a lot of great deals on the Nike Covert Forged irons, wondering if it's worth the upgrade from my Cleveland TA5 Gunmetal irons. never got a chance to hit the Nike's, but everything i'm reading sounds great. i'm a picker, so i love the low bounce all the way to the SW. however, i have no reason to part from the TA5s... i've become a subscriber of, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". i'm hitting the TA5s great, very consistent all the way to the 3 iron and i'm working on the 2 iron off the tee (home course gets windy, so this would be a big advantage for me!!). for each of my rounds this year, i would have broke 90 if not for my short game... a few bad chips and 3 putts (even a 4 putt) ruined my rounds. i'm just reluctant to drop the $$ if it's a lateral move. i know newer will be better, but for anyone who has hit (or has knowledge of) both, do you think it's worth the upgrade?? or would i be better served picking up a low-bounce wedge (looking at the RTX 2.0 54/6) to make my short game more comfortable?? any insight is welcome -- thanks in advance. rjb

i always use my 7 iron from the fringe. b/c, lucky number...

strange it took 16 posts for someone to point this out... i would have put up a pretty good stand to get the $25 back in my pocket where it belonged. if nobody wins, then by default, everyone gets their $$ back... if the bet carried over to another hole, you should have been in on it... did you simply play through at that point, or...??

out of curiosity, for those of you who are using it -- does the shortened backswing promote a brief pause at the top?? i haven't ever really taken a 'huge' backswing (so i'm wondering if i've always had a shorter backswing, TBH), but i have had great success concentrating on the slightest of pauses at the top of my swing. i've recently been able to increase my tempo from what i would consider 'comfortably deliberate' to 'naturally smooth', and the last two rounds i have been killing my 3w off the tee (and oddly with a draw, which was never in my repertoire). i'm also striking the ball very consistently with my irons, it just feels very comfortable. turned in my best round ever at league last night. just wondering if there is a correlation between the two, or if anyone is consciously pausing while using a shorter backswing. perhaps it just allows us to focus more on the swing as a whole, which contributes to better distance.

juvenile behavior...?? no. weird...?? abso-friggin-lutely.

nothing like finding a ProV1 tagged w/ " Uncle Randy's Breezy Balls ".

agreed. everyone likes to point to the stats, but it doesn't take each of our typical experiences into account. if you play open courses, then longer into rough probably isn't too bad. on tight or woodsy courses, i'm not so sure.

my opinion is probably skewed b/c my home course is very tight, with OB surrounding half of the holes. driver into rough 20 yds further?? sure, i'd take that. but for me on my course, if you don't hit fairway, you're lucky if you aren't screwed.

i'm with the OP on this one. accuracy over distance leads to better scores for many players more often than not. i played irons only for a while and just got back to my 3w off the tee (ditched the driver a looong time ago). the flip-side of the argument is course management on any given course... do you smash it as far as you can and take a half wedge in, or take an iron off the tee for a full-swing second shot?? horses for courses. i only recently discovered i prefer low bounce wedges for pitches (actually just bought a 56.08 today, can't wait for it to get here), so i've been in the same boat as the OP and somewhat uncomfortable with those touch approach shots. then again, i prefer to chip with my 7i, which is probably uncommon. to each his own. if ditching the driver works again, stick with it and enjoy lower scores.

somewhat conflicting, but to each his own. at least for me, a miss with an iron is generally still straight . it doesn't go the distance i wanted, but i at least have a make-up shot from the fairway. a miss with a wood is generally OB or on an adjacent hole, which can actually add more distance for my second shot than if i had simply played an iron off the tee. again, to each his own. what works for one person won't work for another. my point was just not to get caught up in distance, and play a round or two w/o driver and woods. usually anyone who gives that an honest try surprises themselves.

both of these = great advice. i'll also go one further and recommend playing a couple rounds with irons only. i started doing this last season and it helped tremendously (i'm actually continuing to do it this season, as i enjoy hitting my long irons with greater consistency). it makes you focus on the basics, and your misses won't be as bad. there's so much emphasis on distance, when accuracy is far more important at this stage of your game.

last season, i did away with the driver... did me a lot of good getting back to the basics. this season, i'm taking it a bit further with some other fun experiments that (so far) have gone well: - only using steel shafts -- i've come to the realization i simply don't like graphite shafts... i love my TEE XCG-V 3w, but i only find the fairway 50% of the time... - stick with my 7+ wood off the tees -- thankfully my local (and league) course is short, so it doesn't hurt me much... and when i can almost always count on ~200yds and straight off the tee, i see no reason why i should be disappointed with that. - playing some musclebacks that are as old as i am -- my dad handed down his old Mizuno MS-3s to me last season. i took them out for fun a couple times last week, and i was surprised how things went. sure, there were some mis-hits, but nearly everything was straight (and i really striped a few shots). i'm not sure if i simply got lucky with the length/lie (compared to my Cleveland TA5s), or the slimmer look of the head is making me focus more, or the 0* of bounce that these bad boys have is better for my swing, or all of the above... but i'm going to give them an honest shot. only bagging 5i-PW, though... took that 2i for a swing at the range and probably hit one decent shot out of ten... damn fun though!! also just bought a used Cleveland 691 lob wedge off the bay, 58/0, just to see if the low (nonexistent) bounce is something i can get down with. my other wedges i've been fairly inconsistent with for some time, with anything from 6*-14* of bounce. so i'm curious, is anyone else doing any experimenting this season, and with what??

the two biggest problems i've noticed that cause traffic jams on courses: 1) slow players who are oblivious to faster players behind them; and, 2) players who think they are long hitters, but aren't (or, aren't consistent enough to warrant waiting on others). maybe we need to post signs on the course as a friendly reminder... like on the interstate, you see: ...it seems laughable to post signs encouraging slower players to allow faster groups to play through, but sadly it (somehow) isn't obvious to many casual players who hit the course. and nothing irritates me more than Joe Schmoe who thinks he can drive it 300+, so he frequently waits on each tee until the group in front of him is onto the next hole, only to duff it just past the women's tee. one group like this can create a pile-up very quickly. (they need to come up with a more PC way of saying, "your d*ck isn't as big as you think it is"... i think they'd get somewhere with that marketing package. /pun) EDIT: posted before i meant to... i suppose the best way around this is to stress pace of play for the course , not the individual . do what's best for everyone on the course... let a group play through, tee off with a FW or hybrid or 5i instead of your driver, et al. proper etiquette and course management, but don't be snobbish or hoity-toity about it.

...where's my popcorOHDERRITIS.

it seems most iron sets have 4* gaps between clubs -- though in my recent experience, i played the best round of my life with a short set, with anywhere between 6*-8* between my irons/wedges. this got me thinking that each player must have a 'breaking point' where the gaps become too large for comfort. so, if you were building/buying a personalized set of irons, think about how much of a gap you could safely leave between the majority of your clubs (i.e. mid and short irons, possibly even wedges) and still score consistently. can you not live without 4* gaps?? could you still rock a bag with 10* gaps between clubs?? somewhere in-between??

i did it earlier this season, started playing much better. using 3w or 3i off the tee, finding more fairways, having more fun. give it a shot, only way you'll know is by trying!!

absolutely agree. and (someone will surely disagree with me, here) there's a big difference between a higher percentage shot like that ^^ and almost every amateur who waits on a 300+ yd shot. i get the whole "i'd rather play it safe" bit, but c'mon... i have to wonder if players are contributing to the pace of play problem without even realizing it. "i dunno, guys... we got a tailwind on a hot day, the fairways are like concrete, high tide and a full moon tonight, i think i read the planets are aligned... i better wait to hit." fascinating.

that's the funny thing with these types of players, though -- if they only hit it that far 1 in 20 times, it isn't their ' best ' shot. the question becomes, will they figure that out on their own, or do they need someone to point it out to them??

yes, i'm aware of the Phrankenwood -- i was basing what i wrote off what i heard during the Open Championship. the commentators noted Phil was using a 12* strong 3wood that was more like a 2wood. turns out it was actually 13*.