hrspear

Need, ok, I don't need, I want a couple of Vokey wedges and either a laser range finder or gps (haven't decided yet). Do these things ever go on sale? I have a coupon, but since I live in MA and ski all winter I don't really need to get them right now. Are these items that regularly go on sale, or do the rarely/never go on sale.

Cool, sounds straightforward, should be fun...of course since golf isn't my job that's really the whole point.

Skiing is my first love. For me, the first flakes on the course just mean I'll be skiing soon. I'll play into November and start skiing about the same time I stop playing.

I tried searching but with no luck. In a couple of weeks I'll be playing in a member-guest tournament with my father-in-law at his country club. I've been playing for two seasons now and have tried to learn and play by the rules. Is there anything different about playing in a tournament?

Ah ok, makes sense now. When I started playing last year I played with my father-in-law who follows the rules pretty closely (as far as I can tell since I don't own a rule book). So I have always taken my penalty strokes and played the ball where it lay (except on the cart path or simmilar situations). Didn't realize that it was accepted to play any other way.

Sorry for what is probably a silly question, but what is "playing the ball down?"

I have first hand experience here, so I'll toss a few cents in too. I took up golf last year, had some free clubs that I had been given by various people to get me started, mixed bag, but they were free. Took 12 1 hour private lessons over the course of the season, intermixed with time at the range and on the course. I got fitted this spring for a propper set of irons (had an incomplete set and many of the clubs were 20-30 years old). I have continued to take lessons, about 8 or 9 so far this season. This summer it became clear that my driver was a problem, it was offset with a light flex shaft (again it had been free), I'm 37 and in pretty good shape and my swing speed is climbing as I improve my mechanics. Got fitted and got a new driver. My teaching pro suggested a stiff flex shaft. So that's what I bought. I was not able to get it to work consistently for my game...at the range when I have time to hit a few balls and adjust my swing I was able to bomb it. But out on the course I did not have the confidence to swing full power with it and was not able to get it around quickly enough to close the face. I bought the same driver with regular flex shaft and love it. I only have 9 holes on it, but 5 of 7 drives were long and in the middle of the fairway, the other 2 were my first 2 drives ever with the club, they were power fades that I was able to play. In contrast the previous day with the stiff flex I may have had 2 holes in 14 drives where the ball was in the middle of the fairway. I will continue to take lessons, I have no doubt that as I continue to develop my swing will change. It won't surprise me if next year I do need to go to a driver with a stiff shaft, but for now, the regular flex makes the game a lot more fun for me. I agree that lessons and practice are the best way to improve your game. But, while you shouldn't expect that new set of SGI irons to take 10 strokes off your score, the right gear for your current game can make it a lot more fun.

About a month ago I bought a new driver. Really my first driver. Got fitted by the pro who I have been taking lessons with. At his suggestion, I only hit drivers with stiff flex shafts. I wound up buying a 907 D1 (GD YS6+ stiff). I have not been able to get consistent with this club. So I went back and hit the D1 and several other clubs with regular shafts yesterday, and concluded that while I may have to switch back to a stiff shaft in a year or two, right now the regular flex is a better fit for me. It looks like reshafting is not an option...will cost almost as much as just buying a new club due to the design of the 907. They would need to order the 907 for me. With the 909 coming out soon, I am wondering if I should hold off...would be really annoying for the 909's to become available a week or two after I got the new 907, only to find out I like them even better. But if they're not really going to be available til next year I don't want to wait that long. Well, no making a long story short here, but the point is...any word on when the 909's are coming out? He said October, the Titleist site says early November.

My wife and I are going to Florida October for a wedding. We decided to stay after and turn the trip into a golf vacation. We had been planning on staying and playing at the Bay Point Marriott in Panama City, but they are booked up with a conference. Any suggestions of other good resorts in/around Panama City to go stay and play at? We will probably only play 3 out of 4 days, so a package is not critical. Just a nice resort with good amenities so we don't have to be running around. But also not too expensive...we can't afford Ritz or Four Seasons rates.

Had something simmilar happen twice Monday, but the second time I found the ball... Was playing 9 after work, teeing off on the par 3 10th (playing the back 9 obviously). I caught my 7i thin and saw the ball hit the back of the green at the fringe and roll off. No problem, I'll chip on. I get to the green and no ball there were mud puddles and I searched around a but but with no luck. Took a drop (the next group was waiting at the tee for us to clear) and a penalty and played on. Then on the par 5 18th, a dog leg right, I hit a fade off the tee. Watched it bend around the trees and was feeling pretty good. Note, the fade was not intentional, but it looked like a nice long (for me) shot that would work out really well. I could not find the ball, and it was starting to get dark. So I took a drop around where I figured the ball would have gone to and had a nice second shot. As I was walking to my next shot I found my first ball sitting atop a fairway bunker (not in the bunker, but just over). I happily played it outfor a nice finish and picked up my other ball. The ball had gone further than I thought...I'm still getting used to my new driver, and the distance is very inconsistent (drove the fringe of a 290 yd par 3 on one hole, then on others was only going 220-240).

Good point on the notes, I always make a point to come away from the lesson with 1-2 things to focus on, and then I do that at the range and on the course. I'll suggest that. As for playing after the lesson, we did that a couple of times last year and it seemed to work well, have to try to plan that for the next lesson or two.

Cool, I was hitting about 250-270 with the Proto shaft, so hopefully once I get comfortable with the GD the distance will come. Overall, I was happy with the ball flight, straight, good mid-trajectory, and consistent...just not going as far as I would have liked. Of course having hit over 300 drives the previous day testing drivers may have had my muscles a little tired.

When her swing goes bad, she's grounding the club badly or topping the ball. On the mats she will get bad wrist pain from slamming the club into the ground, on the course the swing is like a V coming almost straight down into the ground. Or other times she tops it. When she is hitting well, she drives about 200 yds consistently, ocassionally a little longer. She hits her 9 iron about 100 yards. Ball flight is nice and high, but not too high, straight down the middle. She's very competitive so that may play into it. She had been shooting in the mid 50's for 9 holes before this started.

Thanks, checked out my driver swing speed last night...low 90's. I hit about 10 balls, first swing was 70-something, then a couple in the mid-high 80's. The res were low to mid 90's, with one at 101. Rain has been rough this week, hope I'll be able to get out and swing some more soon.

My wife and I have been learning to play the last two years. We took 12 private lessons last season and will do the same this season, we're about 6-7 lessons in. Typically, we have a lesson every 2-3 weeks, as our schedules allow, go to the range 1-2 times during the week and once on the weekend and play 9 holes about every other week, sometimes more. She has been struggling with her full swing, our pro this season seems to be a good fit for both of us based on where our games are and where we're trying to get to. But while he'll get her hitting great within a few minutes in a lesson she has not been able to carry that forward to the range and the course. She's considering doing group lessons so she can do a bunch together back-to-back, or maybe a golf school...two intense days to try to burn in what she's learning. Any ideas or suggestions? She had been really excited and now is beginning to dread golf. And, of course aside from the desire to see my wife succeed and enjoy herself, I also have the selfish motive that here not liking golf means less playing time for me .

I'm still fairly new to the game, but have always played strictly to the rules, at least as far as I know them (haven't read a rule book, but have asked a lot of questions of experienced players and done some reading). I rarely move the ball to improve my lie, unless my round is going to total cr@p, in which case I stop keeping score and just try to practice some fundamentals. If I do move my ball I take a penalty stroke for it (unless it's moving it from a cart path or something like that where it is allowed). I am definitely in the camp of cheating is only cheating myself. Of course I rarely play for anything more than loser buys lunch or loser buys a round for the foursome. So, perhaps I would think otherwise if I were betting $100/hole, but then that would my own fault for agreeing to the bet...of course with my handicap I'd probably stand a decent chance if we were playing net.

I'll look into getting swing speed measured. Part of it is we were looking for I driver that will work for me for a while as I progress. Just started playing last year, and am working on learning the game (lots of lessons, range time, and playing). Staying away from the super game improvement stuff.

Played 9 with it yesterday. Still getting used to it, but finished with a great drive on the 9th hole. Had one other good drive and the rest seemed on the short side distance-wise.

That may actually work out well for me. I was hitting the regular flex shafts longer and getting them up better than the stiff. My instructor/fitter was insistent that I could hit the stiff now and would be unhappy with the regular flex in the next few months to a year.

Just bought a new driver, 907 D1. Was hitting it with the Proto 65 (stiff) but they didn't have that one for sale so I bought it with the YS-6+ (stiff). My pro, who I take private lessons with, said that for me the two shafts would be pretty much the same...any differences I can expect comparred to what I was seeing when I was hitting the Aldila?

KW2, Great to hear. One word of caution from another newbie. Sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward, so don't be surprised if later this season or next your pro introduces something new that you struggle a little with at first. I'm running into this right now for the second or third time since taking up golf. Each time it's taken me a week or two, but once I got it I got it. Sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward to the next level.

Unless you're really advanced, and maybe even then, I think it's tough to guage if you're being taught the "right" things. I figure that if they're PGA certified to teach then they should be teaching the "right" things. I go by how the teaching style works for me...does they way he/she explains and demonstrates things make sense to me? Is the instructor responsive, working with you on the things that you want to work on? Are you seeing improvement? If the answer to these is yes, then I would say it's a good fit. I would also say that an instructor who is good for you at one level may not be good at another. My instructor last year was perfect for me as a new player, kept everything simple and based on feel. This year I felt ready for someone with a more technically descriptive style...I wanted to have some of the why stuff explained.

Makes sense, greatly appreciate the input. I'm definitely a gear head. But in both of the sports that I'm decent to very good at, biking and skiing, lessons and practice have a far greater impact on how well a person does at them than gear. Doesn't stop me from spending money on gear...what fun would that be. But I have no illusions that the latest skis won't make me ski like Herman Maier, the lightest bike won't have me keeping pace with Lance Armstrong, and the best clubs won't have my swinging like Tiger...even with the bum knee. Thanks again, I've learned a lot from some of the posts in this thread.

I'll ask my instructor about reshafting, he was concerned with the offset as well, but I'll ask. He'll probably be the one fitting me for the new driver anyway, so I'll see what he thinks.

Thanks fusioncal. I got new irons this spring. I also have a good putter that I am happy with. Definitely spending time concentrating on irons and short game.