naws-golfer

4 HDCP here, id say 3 of every 4 round are in the 77-80 range with the occasional 75/76 and 81. my strengths in order are: putting/ scrambling/ driving/ wedges/ irons 1) Ive been playing all my life, my dad has been a scratch golfer for 40 years. 2) I grew up on a hilly mountain course, learned all kinds of lies, how to get the golf ball around the course, never learned on the range 3) I was an erratic driver until 2 years ago. You'll never break 80 consistently making short game mistakes. up and downs should be expected. 4) 3 putts are not an option. I might have 1x 3 putt per round. they are like soda's, empty shot that you don't see but count just as much 5) I take roughly 3-4 lessons a year. only way I've broken through plateaus are to fix, practice, and repeat. 6) I practice 2 times per week, play at least once. anytime I get to play 9 I will. My practice area has prov1's so I know my distances pretty well 7) you've got to make birdies. if you are trying to shoot in the 70 on average you should be making 2 birdies minimum per round. too hard to try and keep your score low with pars. I like odd numbers so I'll stop there.

The rub comes when courses can do more, but don't do more. I find it hard to blame course when they try and squeeze extra groups on the course. its pure $$$. IF you are going to do that, then your marshalling needs to be on par with that as well. Of course no courses actually do this. there's no incentive unless people complain, or report back to the clubhouse. just my experience...

Look up the World Woods facility north of tampa in brooksville, ive heard you can get some solid deals there as well.

Great course, very wet when we played it, but it was really fun otherwise. I'd recommend anyone checking it out!

I am a baseball grip convert as well. Here are my observations and experiences. 1) the 10 finger(baseball grip) is fine if your timing is on that day, if not, watch out. Its tough to be consistent with it. It also allows more wrist action, turning the club over, back to the timing thing. One of the reasons i switched was to improve consistency 2) I switched to an interlocking grip, felt more secure. There can be more hand contact on the club with interlocking as opposed to the overlap, so an interlocking might fell more natural at first. with the ten-finger the hands can move separately, the other grips allow them to work as one, singular connection. 3) The baseball grip promotes more "small muscle" movement in your arms, hands and wrists, as opposed to the other two mentioned. The interlocking and overlapping are more "big muscle" type movements and in the end will produce simpler, more powerful swings. think steve stricker 4) my index dropped and consistency went up since i switched. I changed my grip, took a lesson soon after, hit a ton of balls and never looked back 5) it took about 4 months, i also changed my putter grip, but that's unrelated. hope some of that helps

If youre looking for cheap muni's, check out 1) the wee course- great par 3 course right outside of town 2) knoxville municipal course-the site of my only hole in one 3) three ridges- outside of downtown off 640, relatively inexpensive. Thats all i can remember as i was there while at utk, so my memory is slightly fuzzy to begin with. Go Vols!!!

Check out world woods, north of tampa in Brooksville, you should be able to get your fill there! worth the drive too!

I love mine, had it for a month or two, got it for $50 on the bay. I dont regret trying it out without buying it. i have the matrix shaft as well, no complaints.

i dont have one, but my brother uses one and loves it, its got a unique feel, which i like, and have considered using one for a while. i'm sure you could pick one up one ebay pretty cheap and give it a go.

You should look at the Bear Trace, Harrison bay. As a local, its tough for me to get on the Honors, good luck to you great course. Closest to you would be Branierd Golf course ( muni, but still fun, old donald ross design) , Eagle Bluff , ValleyBrook, and Creeks Bend, and if you know someone, Chattanooga Golf and Country Club is another private course thats a lot of fun, its the course i grew up playing. tough but fun. Hope this helps!

Each aftermarket shaft has different characteristics. Depending on how hard you swing, tempo, and other factors of your swing, one shaft may be able to maximze distance and acheive a desired ball flight. While one shaft may help keep the ball low for more roll, another maybe be used to produce a higher ball flight for more carry. The shafts mentioned are the model names from some of the bigger shaft companies. specifically, all the shafts mentioned are low-launch shaft with the exception of the tfc which is a ping branded shaft, and i'm not too familiar with that one. hope that helps-AB

I use sunscreen, ive already got some in the bag. wipes off fine, nothing in it to scratch the face

Ive had a putting lesson, he helped me see things like, breaking my lefy wrist, and if my eyes were over the ball, i didn't take one until my putting went south.-Alan

Check out scratch wedges, if you can wait one month, they have cast wedges coming out in may for $100, and new 1018 forged wedges for $150, they will custom fit you and are great to deal with.-AB scratchgolf .com

I need to change grips, please add pro's and con's for either or both. Thanks!

I haven't done the challenge, but i switched to the b-330s ball, after being a devoted Titleist ball player for the past few years. I played the pro-v1, and gained a few yards off the driver and irons. The spin around the greens was about the same, maybe a bit less. it lasted probably about 4 more holes before i wanted to replace it. i just got a box of the new pro-v1, so well see how those do, before i buy some more bridgestones. good luck, try'em out though, i switched.

FYI= the mx200 are forged heads, i have the mx-25 and they feeel sweet.

i love my rifle flighted shafts, not the project x, just rifle flighted.-AB

i play the mx-25's, love em, dropped hc from 13-9, enough feedback, easy to work, but they want to go straight. i have the rifle 5.5 flighted and they are perfect.-Ab

THe only thing i can equate to this argument is 25 hdcp's using scotty cameron putters, sure they would be just as well off using a less expensive putter with some forgiveness, however they like the feel/prestige/status or they actually think its a more effective tool, which for 99% of golfers will result in a more enjoyable golfing experience, better stuff= more confidence= more fun. i would hate to think that people are having fun while playing golf. i play prov1's until i find something i like as much, and ive tried them all

i have the d2 with the voodoo shaft, for me its the best shaft i've used, i didnt like the diamana at all, felt dead. that being said im a lowball hitter, so the voodoo is just right, looking in to it in my fwy wood.

id look at the nxt tour for a bit more distance, i play it in the winter to compensate for my pro v's not flying as far.

The purpose of a softer ball, for the most part is to generate spin, this can be good around the greens but off the driver, it can be a killer. Harder balls will spin less, usually go a bit further, be more durable(last longer), and are not as expensive. I love the NXT Tour and the NXT Extreme for their price. I'd try as many as i could before making a decision. i do recommend sticking with one ball for predictability and feel. happy whacking!

If your do some research, Titleist ProV1's have about seven different dimple sizes. They do so much testing and R&D;, i'm sure they have a good reason for it.