BrandonM

Well, my opinion of that store is now totally blown. It had to be that I was lucky enough to get a good associate the first time. I took my wife there the other day to get a full set. We were there to spend money. After 45 minutes, the only person I had spoken to was the dude stringing a tennis racquet. And that was just to ask him where the restroom was. I counted over a dozen employees who just walked by and said nothing. One looked right at me and gave me a stupid little grin and just kept going. Sure, I could have walked around to find someone to help us. But, I'm not in the searching for salesmen business. They, however, ARE in the selling business. But it sure didn't seem like it that day. I will NEVER go back to that store. There are plenty of GS and EW stores in the world. I get service when I to these places. I was so pissed off. I didn't even get a word from the four employees, who were standing by the front door, as we walked out. I guess their conversation about Obamacare was too important to sacrifice a few seconds of time to ensure that a departing customer was well taken care of. Never again. Good job, PGASS. Not that losing my business will put them under or anything. But if more and more customers continue to have those kind of experiences, they'll put themselves out. Ridiculous.

It might help that I was there about 10 minuted after they opened. Wasn't a whole lot going on when I walked in. I did notice that it got way busier in the short time I was there. So, maybe the trick is to just show up at 9am.

Go to your local home improvement store and get one of those bright orange driveway marker stakes. They cost like 2 bucks. They're about 1/4" in diameter and will fit nicely inside the shaft of your club. Jam it down into the hole in the grip, leaving a couple feet out. If you are extending early, that stake will hit you on your left side before you get to the contact zone. I wouldn't recommend taking full swings with that in there. It hurts. Ask me how I know. You can take little half swings to get the feel. It's basically doing the same thing as the "woosh" drill, but with some real, tangible feedback. It's helping me. Of course, you're a much more advanced player than me. So, my tip may be useless.

I was just wondering if every one of their stores operates on the same kind of customer service based sales model that the one in Duluth, GA does. Or maybe it was just the guy who was helping me out... I went in this morning to try out the 913D2. After about 15 seconds, he approached me and asked what he could help me find. I told him and before grabbing a club for me to hit, he asked me several questions about my ball flight, my misses, high launch, low launch... Then, after getting all the info he needed, he proceeded to grab a few clubs of varying loft with different shafts. Which is what I would expect. Gave me about five minutes to get loose and then came back. Also expected. What I didn't expect was what basically turned into a driver lesson. After a few swings, he asked if he could give me a tip or two. Of course I welcomed his advice. he gets out alignment rods, starts positioning the ball differently in my stance and adjusting my feet. All this knowing that I wasn't there for a lesson, just to try out a few clubs. After about 10 minutes of instruction and guidance, I started hitting a more consistent ball. Then we started changing up the variables of the club. He probably spent 30 minutes with me in total, ensuring that I had the optimal club for my swing. I was seriously impressed with this guy. Needless to say, I bought the club. I wasn't even sure I was going to purchase anything at all. Just wanted to give them a look. We all know how much fun it is to spend money on new clubs. And, when we were done, I was so excited about the playing my new driver tomorrow. But also, I was excited about putting the things he showed me into practice as well. I feel like I got more than I payed for with that visit to PGA Super Store and I will DEFINITELY be going back when it's time to put something else in the bag. Is this kind of experience the norm, or do I need to ensure I find the same guy every time I go there?

Sharp dog leg left par 4. Hit 3W knowing that it was too much club. But, I've been able to work it a bit lately so I set up for a draw and eased off just a bit. Well, I did take some off and I was able to cut the corner nicely. Unfortunately, I didn't get any left to right on it. So I went through the fairway and up into the rough. Burried in the thickness, the ball was about a foot above my feet. 210 to the front and a high probability of me yanking it out of the rough and dead left. Not to mention it was in some very thick Bermuda. So, I took a 4i, aimed it out maybe 10 yards right of the pin and let it fly. Ball came out nicely and started right on my line and started to turn over. Landed maybe a foot or two from the front edge and ended up 6' from the cup. Aaaannnnd.... 3 putted for bogey. :/

A lesson I learned today. I'll be sure to avoid any "what's your longest drive?" threads. :)

Guys, I wasn't saying I'm a super stud who can knock a 3I 250 down the pipe every time I hit it. But it's a lot more consistent than my driver and I'm very capable of hitting it that far. To be honest, I didn't think 250 with a 3I was that impressive. Granted, it's usually going to go about 210 and dead right. But when I strike it clean, it's a 240-250 yard club off the tee. Someone mentioned a 17 handicap. Yeah, I suck. But I'm also still recovering from a shoulder surgery. Well, I should say my game is still recovering. My shoulder is fine. But my swing went to hell after 6 months of no golf at all. I was better before. High 70s... Still not a fantastic golfer. But better than the average weekender. Now, I'm lucky to break 85. Only thing I didn't lose was distance. Unfortunately, distance doesn't mean a thing if it just means you're trudging farther into the woods than anyone else.

Driver off the tee. Can't hit it. I often play full rounds without pulling a wood from the bag and just hit 3I off the tee. I can typically get it out to 250 off the tee. So I just use that the big clubs aren't working that particular day.

Very short par 4... 275 yards. Slightly up hill (maybe 15' above the tee box). I normally hit driver on this hole and have to thread it between two really tall trees to get on in one. With the trees a little fuller than the last time I played the course, I opted for a 3 wood. Struck it perfectly (total surprise. the fairway goes way out to the right of the green so if I slice, I've got just and easy 60* into it, which is usually the case.) Anyway, couldn't see the balls final resting spot until we got up by the green. Ball was sitting pin high, about 12' right of the cup. Rimmed out the putt and tapped in for birdie. Doubled the next two holes....