dave s

The reason we don't get closer to pin with the high-lofted wedges is because it's difficult to convince yourself to swing the club enough to get the ball all the way to the hole. I know this and still leave them short! For example, my 58* wedge and usual ball results in high, soft shots that roll out 3 feet or less sometimes. This means I need to fly the ball nearly ALL the way to the hole on a 30-40' chip shot. Mentally, this is hard to do. Another choice is a lesser lofted wedge, (I usually choose PW) choke down and use more of a putting stoke. Clip it clean and you'll get good roll out. I used to use everything from LW down to 8-iron around the greens. Now it's just my 58* for clearing hazards/bad stuff or the PW for pitches with rollout. Simplify.

Hit it a mile KYLE:

Pics from FL: Shane, our host. Good call on the course! It was a great track.

The rule in golf that makes the LEAST sense to me is this: You slice a ball off the tee and it finds the middle of a lake. You are allowed by rule to drop where the ball crossed the hazard and play from there. 1 penalty stroke. With the exact same slice there happens to be a fence (and OB) between you and where the ball land, it's back to the tee box hitting 3. Stroke and distance PLUS delay of game. It's just not a practical rule for non-tour play. My other beef with the overall rules of golf is that I BELIEVE the rules were written and apply to golf being played in pristine conditions and by tour-level players. I realize golf rules have been around a long time, but I still believe they were written for tour-level players on the best course conditions in mind. dave

Opposite the original poster, I play all over the place and welcome the oppty to play new courses. Map out my round? Yep. I do this mostly by looking at the score card. I know my game's strengths and weaknesses. Looking at the card, I know where the pars will likely come from and where accepting bogey is certainly ok. Where I hit and miss: Par 3 holes that are 160 and shorter usually nets par for me. Shorter par 5s are usually par and possible birdie holes. I expect to keep 6 of the par 3 and 5 holes at level par or maybe better if a putt or two goes in. Next, I look at all the par 4s. I'll have a good chance at making par on the holes that are in the 300-350 range. The longer par 4s, bogey is most certainly acceptable. What USUALLY happens: I'll have a complete meltdown on two holes due to an unfortunate swing that finds trouble. Double or a triple bound to happen on each nine. I'll usually 'make good' on the preliminary assessment and make pars on 75% of the holes I counted on making par. At the end of the round, if I hit the ball well and made a few puts I'll be either side of 85. If I don't hit the ball well, 75% of my par opportunities turn into bogies and overall score is low-90s. Before stepping on the first tee, I think it's MORE important to have a plan rather than a finishing SCORE in mind. If I execute the plan, a favorable finishing score will follow. dave

I can attest that the Ping G-Series irons launch high and for the most part, go straight. They launch higher than the TM Rocketbladez irons they replaced. That said, I'm typically lower trajectory with irons. A couple of playing partners hit my irons and they launched very high and came down soft. They liked them as well. Can't comment on the others, but pretty happy with the Ping G-Series iron purchase. I play 6-iron through U-wedge in the ping iron set. dave

Wonderful! Hope they send out a search party after us if we don't show up for an hour or two after the REAL golfers finish! Looking forward to meeting everyone. dave

I plan on tagging along with you, G-Haz. Saw the scorecard and 72-something yards is too far for my range-finder. Happy to play the 'wimpy man' tees with you! And like someone said, 'the par-3s are reachable ... with a DRIVER!!!' dave

I'm a pretty short hitter and have the exact same wedge complement as you. PW - 45* and goes 110 when flushed GW - 50* and maybe 100 on a good strike 54* good for 90 yards 58* will go 80 yards Those numbers are based on me hitting the wedges at around 75-80% in terms of a less-than-perfect strike each time. When I really get down and through them with a good ball-first strike, they'll go farther than claimed yardages ... and sometimes do! What I TRY to do is use the same swing with all 4 wedges and rely on the increased loft to lessen distance.

Thanks a bunch for setting us up a tee-time, Carl. I'll definitely be in Kissimmee on the 28th and can certainly make 9am tee time. dave

My biggest is simple: "Any round over 3 hours is SLOW golf." My take: You're outside, the weather is (usually) great, golf courses are beautiful ... ENJOY YOUR ROUND and stop worrying about not being able to play SPEED GOLF on a Saturday or Sunday morning. dave

I can make that time. Will be in Kissimmee 12/26 - 29. Can we check into golfnow.com for a cheap tee time? I'm from Ohio and everyone knows we're a bunch of cheap mother-you-know-whats! dave

@carlspackler and @jsgolfer: I'll be in Orlando same time later this month. Will be staying in Kissimmee 26-29 of december. Definitely would like to hook up for a round or two during that time. Carl Spackler has my cell number and I his. I'll reach out when I get to Orlando. dave

One and only one: More solid ball-striking from the fairway. This will take care of so many other aspects of my game and possibly have me playing the best golf of my life and lowest scores. dave

My 2016 goal from 2016 thread: Woodshedding fairway woods and longer clubs. Although not long, I'm contentedly consistent from tee to fairway. Best part of game is 150 and in. Good around and on greens rarely giving away shots there. It's the par 5s and long par 4s where covering 150+ yards is the pathetic part of my game. Will practice those 200 to 150 shots a BUNCH this season. Results: I added Ping G30 5- and 7-woods and ditched the #3- and 4 hybrids. The new Ping G-30 fairway woods have produced much more consistent results in terms of ball flight and advancing the ball at predictable yardage numbers. The overall result has been lowered average scoring on par 5 holes, but no significant improvement on the par 4s that are 360 and longer. Added bonus: Since I hit the 5-wood much more consistently than my former 3-wood (ditched that as well) it has become a 'go-to' club on par 3 holes 180-200 yards and on any shorter, tight dogleg holes. Very accurate with this club. Still use the 7-wood as my 2nd shot club on most par-5s provided it'll leave me 110 or closer to the green. Only on a really long 3-shot par 5 will I consider the 5-wood as a second shot club. It seems to like sitting on a short tee for 'best results.' dave

Another #1 hdcp hole on a front nine shot. The hole is shaped like boomerang, huge R to L hole. Fairway has a 30 degree tilt left and toward water. You can easily drive through the fairway and into a tree line if you keep it right ... which I did. The punch out shot from the trees is dangerous due to the fairway tilt down and left toward the water. Get too far left and a stand of pines guards access to the green from the left and down below. My punch out completely missed my line and went right of the mark by plenty. It was a perfect-contact 6-iron with a first bounce on the cartpath 20 yards right of the green. Ball continues on its pace taking the fairway contour left and heading for the middle of the green. The pin was back left and the natural contour fed the ball directly to the hole leaving me 5 footer for birdie. Y'all know what happened next. Could have been a lot worse than par, I guess. dave

Saw that on golfdigest.com. Great story and good for her. There's a happy, new golfer for LIFE! Hole in one for me? Not yet. A couple of years ago, I witnessed THREE holes in one in a few weeks' time. They were so close to me I thought, 'mine is coming next.' No such luck ... yet! Maybe next season. dave

Personally, I'd like to hang out with the guy, talk music and guitars, have a beer or two and puff down a few smokes with him. Most folks who reference John Daly, think he's a pretty cool and interesting person. The negativity surrounding John Daly is more about people who feel the man didn't meet THEIR expectations. Everyone has a personal regret, and I'm sure John does as well. He could have played better, been more committed to his craft. Somehow, I think he's ok with his current lot in life. dave

Agree. The 7w is about as 'automatic' as a club can be. Flies high with just a touch of left-turn that helps it roll out. Sadly, 225 isn't the case with my 7-wood! More like 175-180.

No conventional swing due to tree in pic; hit it left-handed with the club face turned down. dave

Yep, I always pick up the stray left-behind club. And yes, someone usually back tracks asks and gets the club back. Here's one you DON'T want to do. I left my Bushnell Range Finder on a tee box at one of the RTJ courses in Mobile. Teed off next hole and reached for it from the fairway. Uh-oh. Gone! Two seconds later I realized I'd left it on the par 3 tee box. Get in cart, drive half mile back and see a band of 4 college-age guys with three more girls tagging along in carts. They're all on the way to the par 3 green. Without saying a word, one of the girls holds up the range finder and says 'I think this is yours?' Nice kids. Really appreciated getting that valuable tool back in such a kind way. That could have just as easily not been returned. Thanks to some honest young adults, I got it back. dave

My 5-hybrid to a Ping G-Series 6-iron has the correct yardage 'gap' for me. The 6-iron goes 150-155 and the 5-brid about 160-165. Off a tee on par 3s, I can squeeze perhaps a bit more from either club. Only difference is that the 5-hybrid delivers a more repeatable result than the Ping 6i. No idea why I can flush the 7-iron 7 of 10 swings, but the 6-iron off the fairway isn't as reliable. The 5-hybrid is 'money' from that 160-170 yard range. dave

For me, the longer hybrids (3 and 4) were more difficult to hit than either a 5 or 7 wood. Much better results with the Ping G-30 5 and 7 wood than any hybrids tested during my club fitting session. One of the better players in my regular golf group has driver, 4- and 7-woods in his bag. Let me tell you, he's deadly with the fairway woods on par-5 holes. He also carries a 3-hybrid which he uses exclusively on 180-ish yard par 3 holes. As always, your mileage may vary. dave

For me, it was more about the GRIND of the wedge sole, and less about the bounce number. Read and learn about wedges, grinds and how those combinations relate to course conditions at Titlest's Vokey website. Really interesting information there. Conditions up north, (Ohio) means bent grass greens and fairways with soft, tight approach areas. When I called Vokey, (after making a couple of BAD wedge bounce/grind choices) I mentioned Firestone CC and the guy steered me to bounce/grind wedges that made sense for conditions I play on regularly. Excellent advice. Bought my 54 and 58* wedges locally at a Golfsmith and couldn't be happier. Both Vokey wedges are "M" grind with 8* bounce. They seem to be perfect for softer conditions playing on bent grass and longer roughs that tend to lay down. dave

Duh ... PRETENDING. I'm such a moron sometimes!