Dave40

Orange Volvik Vista iV

Must be a pretty accurate set of irons since all parts landed in the fairway.

Also depends on the shaft length. I would think that a 46 inch driver would perform better with a full 460 cc head. For me, a smaller head works just fine on a 45 inch shaft. I use a 460 cc driver but honestly I really don't see much improvement over my old Titleist 983k which is about 365 cc.

I hit the 3 iron a little further than the 7 wood. I carry a different mix of long irons and fairway woods depending on course conditions and wind conditions. 5 and 7 wood fly too high in windy weather. Same with wedges...I leave the lob wedge out if the fairways are dry and hard which is not uncommon in the summer here.

If you are hitting the R5 straight then there isn't much you will improve with a newer driver. The newer 460 cc drivers with a higher MOI can reduce slices and hooks. The R5 is a fine driver. No need to change just for the sake of change.

The old standard was that the PW is 50 deg and the SW is 56 or 55. I think you can do without a wedge with more than 56 deg loft. Open the blade of a SW and you can make any shot that you can with a lob wedge.

I would give a vote to Callaway Fusion irons. Incredibly forgiving without a wide sole or being as big as a shovel.

Depends on the course and weather. If it is windy I will use my 3 iron in place of the 5 wood.

Are the current shafts you are using too heavy? If so, have you considered graphite shafts?

Since you are still relatively new to golf, take the driver out of the bag on the course, but keep practicing with it on the range. Don't get frustrated though...the driver is usually the most difficult club to hit and will take some time to get used to. Didn't Jack Nicklaus say that any time a golfer hit the fairway with their driver it was 90% luck? or something to that effect...

I decided that it was time to make the switch to graphite shafted irons. Went to Golfsmith and hit the Callaway XHot, TM Rocketbladez, Mizuno 825, and MacGregor M85i irons. I was not surprised that the Mizunos had the best feel. What I didn't expect was that the MacGregors felt better than the Callaways and TMs. Since the Mizunos were a little outside of my price range, I got the MacGregors. After a couple of practice rounds, the M85i set felt even better than before. I am even striping the 3 iron. Gotta give kudos to Golfsmith for keeping the MacGregor brand from deteriorating into just another cheapo store brand. I understand that Jeff Sheets is designing the MacGregor clubs for Golfsmith. A web search revealed that Jeff is an excellent designer and over the years has designed many clubs that you have probably either used or heard good things about. Just wanted to share the experience....

A nice push cart really makes walking a pleasure.

The e6 and SoLo are both good. The e6 seems a bit pricey though. I've found that the Wilson Staff Fifty is pretty close to the e6 and SoLo but is only a buck per ball.

The cut might have been from a sharp rock or something. Many of the old roads around here had oyster shells in the road material. Some of the soil fill material on older golf courses still can have some shells in it. They can be pretty sharp.

Used golf balls are usually fine. Just stay away from the ones that say "refurbished". These look better because they are repainted. I don't trust a golf ball that has been modified. On another note, I have found that Titleist PV1s seem to be the most susceptible to water damage. Many times I can see the paint bubbling within the dimples. I haven't seen this with other brands, so it must be the paint or cover formulation that Titleist uses. Luckily, most PV1s in that condition do not make it into boxes of recycled balls. The recycled PV1s seem to work just fine, but it does make me wonder about their water resistant qualities.

I always like trying a new ball when I get the chance. It's part of the fun of golf to try different equipment. I prefer orange golf balls, so that limits my choices. The two I use the most are the Wilson Staff Fifty in orange as my inexpensive ball and the orange Volvik Vista iV as my premium ball.

If I carry, I make do with about 9 clubs. Doesn't seem to affect my score overall. But I prefer to use a push cart and take all 14 clubs.

Can't go wrong with a Ping driver. If you want to save a few bucks, look for a secondhand G10.

The NSPro 950 should have a higher ball flight than the DG300. There is also a big weight difference. The DG300s are about 130g vs. the NSPro at 95g. I think Callaway uses the NSPro as their standard steel shaft.

The forged clubs you are looking at will have a smaller head size than your Wilson ProStaffs. The Wilson Ci series will be similar in head size. The Ci series also has lots of feedback so you would be able to tell if you hit it off center. At least that is my experience with Ci6 and Ci7 irons. I'm not sure if different irons will help you break 80 or not. If you like the offset the newer forged clubs have little or no offset and might turn your fade into a full slice. That being said, if you are hitting the ProStaffs well, then stick with them. Just keep fresh grips on them. Drivers are the clubs where most of the technology advances have been made.

I know what you mean about the sturdy feel of old golf bags compared to the ones today. The only brand that I think is consistently sturdy is Bag Boy. The quality of other brands seem to vary from year to year. If you really want a sturdy feeling bag, you might want to check out the full size tour model staff bags from different companies. Probably going to be a 10 lb. bag though.

I just switched to graphite shafts in my irons a month ago. I'm in my mid 40s and have a driver swing speed of 90. The regular flex graphite shafts are working very well for me. I am getting better distance than i did with my regular flex steel irons. I think that is because graphite shafted irons have a longer club length than the steel shafts I was using. But in general I do think you can benefit from graphite shafts especially if you think a lighter weight club would fit your swing style.

I would get the matching Ci11 gap and sand wedge.

On full swings the D2 flies high enough to stick to a green. It's the close pitch shots where I notice the benefit of the golf balls with urethane covers like the Zstar.

Currently own: Wilson Staff Di9 Wilson Staff FG 51 Callaway Fusion Wilson Staff FG 17 Hogan Director Wilson Staff Fluid Feel 1985 Wilson Staff Dynapower 1961 Previously owned: Lynx Predator 1979 Wilson Staff Ci6 Wilson Staff Ci7 Wilson Staff Pi7 Wilson Fat Shaft II Spalding Executive EZX Wilson FCB Wilson Aggressor Royal irons - not sure what model Wilson Blue Ridge Northwestern starter set