dkinser86

You don't think you are being the least bit bias do you? I really believe the main reason that Nike sells so well is that the company is able to throw money at people. They sell to the high-handicap public. You can see when Tiger first went to Nike, his clubs look almost exactly like the Titleist's he just switched from. I will say that they are catching up. But, as far as clubmaking I don't think they will find there way out of their niche of making clubs for the high-handicapper, which is great. This is exactly what Nike has done for Golf. I will say that Nike (with the help of a certain player) made golf popular. Nike has pushed the limits as far as apparel for golf. New materials for shirts and hats, no company can keep up. Also, as far as thinking outside the box, Nike as a couple of things they others didn't think of. I remember they were the first company to popularize a combo set. And they were the first company to popularize square-headed drivers. The ideas are there, but the clubmaking is not.

I live in the area. Just up I64 a bit. Anyways, Old Capitol is my favorite course. I play there a lot (it was my golf team's) home course for a couple years). Couple of other courses to try, if you are willing to drive a bit are Sultan's Run in Jasper. Old English Golf Course is a nice course, young so not in the best of shape, but its really coming around. Then of course, you have Covered Bridge, Champion's Pointe, and Chariot Run, around the area. I have not played neither of Fuzzy's Courses, but I've heard a lot of good things about them. Also, if you are looking for a playing partner, let me know. I will be around the area for the next month, then back to school.

I think I would use a 5 iron, 50* wedge and putter. I with only three clubs, I feel I am going to have a lot of 120 yard shots and miss a few greens. I would like to do this sometime. Sounds like fun.

I was looking at the type of shaft in my irons. They are the Rifle Flighted 5.5 shafts. I was looking on the Mizuno website to find their intended ball flight and it said that the ball flight is variable. How can it be variable. Obviously it would have different ball flight with different swing speeds, but that would be with any shaft. I don't understand. Can someone enlighten me? Thanks!

Amen on that. I play the Donald Ross designed French Lick Hill Course. Its a tough course, but it seems to fit my eye. In matches, I have medaled twice with scores in the low 70s. I have shot 70, and probably average around 75 or so. I say the course was home to local qualifiers for the US Open. Of course, I don't have a 1.4 handicap, but 72 got into sectional qualifying. With a little work, I truly believe I can shot that right now, as an 8 handicap. So, could I qualify for the US Open? Probably not. Will I try? You better believe it!!! Also, as far as going through Q-School and qualifying for the Nationwide Tour would be big. But nowhere does it say that you have to accept the spot on the Nationwide Tour, does it?

You can fill the gap any way that you want. Depending on how far you hit your 4-iron, you may need to fill the gap with something that you hit 180 or so. Its a matter of personal preference really. For me, I would like to have a safety net to speak to hit tee shots with on tight holes. Which is the sole reason I carry a 5wood. Find something that you are comfortable with to put in the slot.

Where would you go to get a shaft fitting like that? I've been looking, just to see what the process is like, and maybe quote some prices. I live in Southern Indiana, if that helps any. Thanks!

What if i'm trying to figure out what type of balls that I like to play? Golf is an expensive sport. I am a college student that has racked up quite a debt. If me playing golf rides on me playing with some top-flite that I just found on the previous hole, you better believe I'm going to play with it. When it comes down to tournaments that enact that rule, and I have played in those, then so be it. I'll follow the rules. But if i'm playing a casual round, and hit my drive OB, and I don't have the particular brand in my bag, i'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'm just going to tee up another ball and play on.

How does the weight in the shaft play a part in launch angle? I thought the torque, kick point and flex would play that part? Or does the weight allow the shaft to have these properties? I'm very intrigued by all of this!

Right now, I have two drivers: Titleist 905T 9.5 * and Callaway BB460 10*. I hit the BB460 way too high, but I am more consistent with it. It has the stock Aldila NVS 55 shaft while the Titleist has the Grafalloy Blue shaft. I am wanting to put a new shaft in the BB460. I was wondering how much of a difference a shaft can make on spin and launch angle. I have a swing speed of about 105 mph. Also, what shafts should I consider. And while I'm at it, what difference do different shaft options (torgue and stiffness, etc.) have with irons and wedges. Is there a way to increase spin on irons with different shafts? Thanks for the wisdom guys.

I believe proper attire is a part of golf. I will not play golf in anything but nice shorts or slacks, and a collared shirt. Heck I feel bad if I go to the local driving range in blue jeans. I just graduated from high school, where I played on the golf team. I came back and was just appalled at what the kids were wearing. The #2 came to practice wearing athletic shorts and a tee shirt with the sleeves cutoff. I talked to the coach and gave them a lecture about respecting the game that they play. I checked back a couple weeks later and was pleased to see that everyone had collared shirts. Also, I've been introducing the game to some of my friends. I feel bad, but I do let them wear denim to some of the more lax courses we play (we are all 20 years old and in college, so they don't have the money to buy nice shorts for golf). I do require them to wear a collared shirt though and will not budge. And, where we go to school at, there are a couple of real nice courses that they are asking to play. I told them that if we go, they must wear nice shorts, a collared shirt, and some sort of golf appropriate footwear. I am a guy of tradition, which is something that really draws me to the game. Also, you don't want to anger the golf gods. They might do some bad things to you!

The amount of bounce clubs have should depend on a couple of things: Your swing, and the condition of the course you play. If you have a steeper swing a tend to take large divots, you should probably go with higher bounce. If you have a shallower swing and take thin divots, the higher bounce will bounce off the ground more causing skulls and topping; therefore, you should go with the lower bounce. As for course conditions, higher bounce for softer conditions and lower bounce for harder conditions. In deciding a combination of wedges, I would like the 54* with higher bounce (8-12) and the 60* with lower bounce (4-6). This will give you options to hit a variety of shots in many different types of conditions, especially if you play in all sorts of conditions.

I love carrying 4 wedges. I carry a 46, 50, 54, and a 58. I'm also looking into possibly getting a low bounce 60*. I would take the Phil Mickelson approach. Take a look at the course you are playing. For me, I tend to draw my woods and fade my irons. So, obviously I would carry a 5w if I will need to hit draws and would carry a 3I if i need to hit fades. Then, at times, I will start hitting either the 5w or 3I badly and will use the other. Its all a matter of preference. You have to ask yourself, from a given yardage, am I more comfortable hitting a long iron or fairway metal. Then go from there.

Everyone talks about how much Tiger is covered. He's everywhere. But when you have done what he has done for how long he has done it, he deserves it. He is so good. Every talks about how Phil prepares for Majors, charting the greens, going out with all of his gurus on the course, cross-reference pin locations and his charts but he still can't do what Tiger does. Tiger's grit, determination and desire to not only win, but to destroy the competition makes him that much better. Know one in history has had the precise shotmaking under pressure that Tiger has. It's his precision and strive to be perfect that sets him apart. The precision is what allows him to hit the shot 190+ yards from the deep rough. Tiger is the best player to ever pick up a golf club. With all this being said, I would love to see someone step up and challenge Tiger. I was not alive during Watson's and Nicklaus's duel in the sun. Probably the most exciting golf I've ever watched was the 2000 PGA Championships with Tiger vs. Bob May and the 1999 PGA Championship, Tiger vs Sergio.

The key to putting is finding a consistent putting stroke. Once you get a consistent stroke, you need to find a putter that is fitted to your stroke. You also need to realize that your stroke changes. In a Golf Digest article by Phil Mickelson, he talked about this, which is why (at the time) he used a blade heel shafted Cameron, and a center shafted Futura. With this, for a high handicapper, I believe a mallet would be best. Generally a high handicapper has trouble missing the sweetspot. The sweetspot on a mallet is larger than on a blade, thus making it easier to find the sweetspot. In another Golf Digest article, Ping DOC putter was voted best putter. The Red X was voted highly also. The Two-Ball is one the best selling putters in history. There are reason for all of this. Mallets are simply easier to hit.

I know this exact story. In high school, I also used my 54* wedge, and just tried to land it half to three-quarters the way to the hole and let it run. Now, I just try to land a couple paces on the green, and let it release to the hole. I'll use anything from an 7I to a 58* wedge.

I'm a quick player. I play at a fast pace. I've been known to play 36 holes in 4 hours. Of course, this is by myself on an empty course.

My breakthrough came during the spring break of my 8th grade year. I had been playing golf for about a year, and was on the golf team, b/c my best friends had talked me into it. Anyways, I had never broke 50 for nine holes, and most of the time I was in the 60s. I worked hard during the summer between my 7th and 8th grade years, and got to the point where I could reasonably tell you where my ball was going. But as my 8th grade golf season started, I was still shooting the same scores, mainly due to poor putting. It came to blows when in a 9 hole round, I didn't miss a fairway, and only missed two greens, but had 28 putts. (I five putted on a par 3 from 6 feet for a 6) My friend spent the weekend with me and taught me to putt left hand low. It didn't feel comfortable at first, but I trusted him. Anyways, 2 days later we played 18 holes on a course that I had never played before, and shot 49-43=92. The next day we played another 18 on a different course and i shot 44-41=85. The next week, I medaled in an important match from the 6th spot with a 37. After that, I think I might owe my friend something...

I rated myself a 3 on understanding the golf swing. I am rather young (21) and haven't played golf for very long (6 years) I have about an 8 HC. I have been considering going to a pro to take lessons, but haven't yet b/c of money issues. Also I am going to college and have to deal with all that. I've tried experimenting a bit here and there to see what works. I know how to do things, I just can't seem to physically do them.

I play with the MP30's. They are great clubs. I love them. I found them to be fairly forgiving, though not as much as I had first thought. They have great feel and give me the ability to work the ball, when I'm playing well. I love chipping with the clubs too, they are so soft. I do find that I hit the clubs different distances, losing a bit more than a full club, which I don't really understand. It seems like you got a really good deal.

I am actually having the same problem with my new set of MP 30's. I had Callaway X12's, and could hit my 9I about 155 consistently. Now, I hit it only about 140-145. I am not for sure if it is my swing or the club. I will definitely check the lofts though.

I voted Driving. Until lately, I have been extremely consistent with my Driver. I used to average about 280 off the tee, but took a bit of a break from the game for school reasons, now I average about 260, but I still believe I can be as accurate with my driver as anyone's three wood.

Shot 82 from the blues at Old Capital Golf Club. Kind of a windy day. One of those rounds where I look at the scorecard and ask how the heck did I shot that score. only hit 6 fairways, and 4 greens; but, I only had 27 putts, and felt like I could have made more! I can't wait to go back!

I'm happy when the ball goes in the general direction that I intended for it to go. Nothing is more frustrating than watching the ball go somewhere that you didn't want it to go. But I also know that golf is ultimately about the final score. I'm happy as long as I am around my average, which is low 80s. Good question by the way!

Same here. I want to play more golf, and at the same time with my girlfriend. So I invested in my game by buying her a set of pink and purple Wilson Hope golf clubs, pink balls, pink tees, pink hat. If it had to do with golf, it was pink. She was absolutely ecstatic and couldn't wait to go play a round with me. Took her out, and she wasn't actually half bad. Especially after I got her to think of the concept of hitting down on the ball, and hit the ball and the ground at the same time. It also helps me to see her in that tight pink shirt and those lilttle shortie shorts