LocoPatrick

For me, if I cock my wrists early, I take the club too far to the inside, and the result is always a push, push/fade, or push/slice.

I don't mind one, maybe two tiered greens on a course. Any more than that is annoying. Nothing wrong with a little challenge, but reading greens is hard enough. Give us lousy novices a small chance for a par a couple of times on a course.

Improve my long game. It is the weakest part of my game. I have to stop hitting push/push-fades/push-slices consistently. Showing some improvement.

I've been fighting the same issue this year. What I have found is that I have to make a conscious effort to keep my left arm straight. If I don't, I either hit thin shots, or if I pure the shot, everything is a push-fade/slice. When I focus on keeping my left arm straight throughout the backswing and during the downswing, I have seen immediate results in distance and aim. I don't make it stiff, but I do have a to keep a conscious "left arm straight!" in my head. It forced me to learn to make a proper shoulder turn. I was doing it all wrong and bending my left arm to compensate. I found this website to be very helpful as to how to make a proper shoulder turn: http://www.golfloopy.com/drill-backswing-making-full-shoulder-turn/. I didn't thin I was flexible enough, but I really surprised myself after trying some of these exercises. I don't know if this will help you, but it has been working for me. I don't have it down pat yet, but it is helping. Good luck!

More of a layout/rules than shotmaking complaint. I don't like tees so far from the hole that the course uses that as an excuse to make you ride instead of walk.

I don't focus on my left wrist, though I do focus on my right wrist, which I try to get into a "waiter tray" position--like I'm a waiter holding a tray--this makes my left wrist flat. This helps me guarantee during the downswing that my right palm is facing down when the club gets parallel. Otherwise, I'm holding the face wide open at impact and end up with a push fade/slice. This is the biggest issue with my swing right now.

On a hole like that, I might just as well tee off with my putter.

Morton actually includes that in the price--length, lie color code, grip color code. I'm thinking that since I would like to get the 4-iron, go ahead and get both from Morton and save on shipping. I'm basically looking for a sanity check to see if there is anything I have not considered.

The shaft on my Ping G15 6-iron broke. It's the standard AWT shaft, regular flex. It was a mishap, and not a club defect that led to the breakage. I can get a replacement at Morton Golf Sales for $50.00 plus shipping. I've been looking at Morton, and considering adding a 4-iron to my setup since I have been hitting the 5-iron so well. Or I could send the pieces to PING to repair the club. Replace or repair? Any recommendations? Thanks!

Done.

Let me qualify this post with the following: 1. If I had a handicap, I would be a high-handicap golfer 2. I have not yet had a full practice session with this club yet, only a comparison/tryout session 3. What works for me may not work for you That having been said, after trying different putters, yesterday I settled on the Odyssey Tank Cruiser #7. I was given some cash at Christmas to go buy a new putter, and now that the weather is nice was finally able to get and try some. I have tried different putters before on the indoor mats at different stores, but was holding off until I could spend some time at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins. They let you take the putters out to their large and nice practice green and try them out for real. I was able to rule some out at the stores like a couple of Taylor Mades that didn't feel right for me, so I at least had them narrowed down some. The main competition was a PING Scottsdale Greyhawk adjustable length putter.This is one that I had liked the feel of at Dick's, and went in expecting it to be my favorite. When I got to Collindale, it felt OK. My lagging was OK with it, but nothing special. I brought six of my golf balls with me, was getting about half of them in from six feet. Nothing to brag about. They let me use the tool to adjust the length, and that helped a lot. I have an upright putting stance, so I like a longer club. But I wasn't convinced. Collindale had two counter-balanced type clubs--the Odyssey ($219.99) and a couple of Scotty Camerons ($349.99). I decided to try the Odyssey. I had no idea these Tank Cruisers have only been out for a few days, and seem to be a pretty hot item. I just saw it there, so I decided to give it a try. First impression: From the feel of the very first putt, I knew I was not going to get the PING. The feel off the clubface was soft. It was great. By comparison, the PING felt harsh. I then proceeded to put 11 six foot putts in the hole in a row. I have never done that before in any practice session. Never. The only reason I missed 12 is because I got sloppy with my technique and hit the ground first. I then tried some lag putts, about 30-35 feet. My first try with six balls had four of them coming within three feet of each other, with two coming up short because I got sloppy and hit the ground. For the next round of lagging, I concentrated a bit more and had three balls out of six come within three inches of each other. The other three were within two and a half feet of each other. As a result, I am now the owner of an Odyssey Tank Cruiser #7 Putter.

When I hit the ball well, I don't take large divots, but I do scuff the grass in front of the ball. In my very limited experience, I have found that cutting into the grass and making "pro-type" divots that send grass flying thirty feet in front of me is highly dependent on the style of club I am using. My irons are Ping G15s with a very wide sole. These tend to slide over the grass rather than cut into the grass. However, my sand wedge is a Cleveland Trusty Rusty, which has a sharp blade type leading edge, and it cuts into the grass quite easily and I get larger divots with it.

Whenever I pop one up from the tee, I usually say something to the effect of "Beautiful 9 iron shot."

If you are shooting for even bogey going into the last hole, the last hole will explode (Happened to me yesterday).

I'll agree that if the course is busy, a single playing through another group isn't going to get you anywhere except right behind the next group in front of you. However, the rules of golf are pretty clear: A single has standing to play through. This is from the etiquette section: Priority on the Course Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, priority on the course is determined by a group’s pace of pla y. Any group playing a whole round is entitled to pass a group playing a shorter round. The term “group” includes a single player. Also see this: http://golf.about.com/od/golfetiquette/f/singlespriority.htm

Shot a 47 yesterday over nine holes. I was even bogey for the first eight holes, then I fell apart and tripled on nine. 1 par, 6 bogeys, 1 double, 1 triple. It's still the best score I've shot over nine holes.

I love playing alone, especially early in the morning. If you like doing other things by yourself, definitely try a golf round by yourself.

Ping G15 U Wedge (50 degree), matches my irons. I have been pleased with it.

I've been kicking around what kind of sand wedge I want to get--Vokey, 588, Mizuno. Came across this deal, and it made my decision for me. Can't wait it try it out.

Local golf store going out of business tomorrow. I picked up a Cobra Trusty Rusty rust-finished 55 degree wedge for $25.00. Can't wait to try it out.

Has anyone dealt with Morton Golf Sales? Are they reputable?

So, anyone else ever play irons only?

My point was not to suggest avoiding woods, rather it was intended to suggest a way to keep playing and lessen the frustration by still being able to get out and have a fun round without having to stress about hitting your woods, while you work on improving your woods during your off time.

Nah, Trevino also said that a 1 iron would be safe in a lightning storm because even God himself couldn't hit a 1 iron. :)

Part of my motivation for playing an "irons only" round was sheer enjoyment. I've been in a slump with my driver (My driver is actually a three wood). I always push it or slice it severely on the first hole, and that causes aggravation to set in early on in the round. By just playing my irons, I can relax and enjoy nine holes a lot more while during my practice time I can work on straightening out my three wood. Another motivation is "practicing the course" as opposed to "playing the course." Not every round that I play is for score--in fact, lately none of them have been. My rounds have been more focused on trying different clubs for different shots and understanding what the ball I am using will do under different circumstances around the course. I can ask questions like "Is a par 3 150 yard shot a 6 iron or 7 iron shot for me to hit the green?", drop two balls, and try both shots. "Will an 8-iron chip go too far for this lie, or would a 9-iron chip be better" and try both shots. Because I played my irons for all the tee shots, I know that I can hit my 5-iron 160 yards from the tee with confidence. I am contemplating even playing a "GIR round only", where I walk past the tee box on all the holes until I'm within approach range, and hit three or four balls to practice trying to hit the green in one approach shot. Has anyone ever done this? Hopefully, by being able to practice the course, my scores will drop when I actually play the course.