metroplex

It looks like Maltby's formula for loft and length impact on distance isn't as accurate for the average golfer. I recall him mentioning that (loft/4)*5 = yards difference and (length/0.5)*5 = yards. Based on the conversation above, that equation changes to (loft/2)*5 = yards and length*5 = yards; where length = difference in length and loft is difference in loft in degrees. This seems to make more sense given what I have seen with just 5 degrees loft difference with wedges and the same shaft length.

I went back on the launch monitor to try a few things, as well as a 9.5* Jetspeed in Stiff flex. My swing speeds were about 88 mph up to 89 mph. The stiff flex felt a lot better when contacting the ball. The monitor said I was hitting the ball farther with the Stiff flex 9.5* versus the 10.5* Reg and 9.5* Reg. I have to agree that it is my technique, because this time I really engaged my leg and core muscles, and let my arms extend versus trying to muscle it using my arms.

For what it is worth, I went to a Cobra Biocell demo fitting in January, and my numbers were something like 75 mph swing speed and total distance of around 170-180 yards. I'll keep working at it.

[URL=http://s325.photobucket.com/user/fusionvic/media/golfsmith_launch_zpscb88a494.jpg.html][IMG]http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k395/fusionvic/golfsmith_launch_zpscb88a494.jpg[/IMG][/URL] I just got back from Golfsmith and tried out a few drivers as well as my R11S. I believe the Jetspeed has higher club speed because it is about 0.5" longer. I understand their Foresight GC2 might not have accurate distance data, but I was looking more at launch angle, club speed, and spin numbers.

The ball doesn't balloon up, but it has a high launch. Once it reaches the peak of travel, it drops like a duck that was shot. If the ground is hard, I can both see and hear the comet/ball crashing down and making a huge bounce. The carry, if any, is almost non-existent. I see the same type of flight path as my RBZ S2 wood and hybrids off the deck, as well as the Rocketbladez irons. They all have a fairly high flight path with minimal carry. The best shot I had with my Rocketbladez 6 iron (the 5 iron) was 160 yards, and that was about 150-155 yd carry and the rest was roll on a range green. I am using the Green "4 yards more" tee, which tees the ball slightly higher than normal and I can confirm that I am hitting up on the ball. With the shorter ProLaunch Blue SC shaft, I am hitting the ball far more consistently on the club face, but on another forum they commented I was more than 1 inch off on the face of the R11S - but I can confirm with a laser rangefinder that my distances were consistently around 180-200 yards even the ones that hit dead center on the clubface. My swing is far from ideal, but my goal is to get a quasi-straight flight that is consistent so I can actually play off the fairway and not dig through the rough or an adjacent fairway - as well as reducing lost yardage. I have seen some of my drives go to a max of 210-220 yards, but those are like less than 10% of the time. The range balls are the Pinnacle brand (yellow) with the Pro shop's logo screen printed on all of them. I plan to go to a launch monitor and look at my current setup. What are the chances I actually need a new driver and/or a different shaft? Should I just keep working with what I have?

I have one, but I found it hilarious that it was advertised on the Apple commercial as if it is exclusive to the iPhone. I use it with my Samsung Galaxy S3 (Android). I found the club speeds were way optimistic. The swing path data is interesting and helpful, as it shows when you are clearly over the top. Other than that, I don't find it very useful. You have to input club data manually if it isn't found in their database, and even then club speeds were optimistic compared to a Doppler radar.

I understand that it can be difficult to diagnose swing/technique over the internet, and that I need to go to a launch monitor - but I wanted to hear some thoughts on this. I have a R11S 12 degree head, and I've been playing around with different shaft lengths, moving the weights around, etc... and I think I have found a fairly consistent setup with a 44 inch Grafalloy Prolaunch Blue SC (regular flex). My swing radar shows I am averaging 90-92 mph. At the range though, I see an average drive of about 180-200 yards. The black clubface shows very consistent impact. If I hit 10-20 balls, I will see several ball marks that are almost superimposed over one another. It is hit just above the center line of the head, towards the center of the face. The ball flight is straight and high, but once it reaches the peak it just sort of dies and flops down with minimal roll. If the ground is hard, the ball will bounce hard and then stop. My problem is I *think* there might be too much spin, maybe there's too much loft, and my swing speed isn't that hot. But if I swing out of control, I will see a max of about 100 mph. 85-90 mph is more manageable. Right now, it is fairly consistent if my swing is ok - I could live with this, but my golfing buddies are driving 230-260 yards consistently and I'm just losing out on yardage. Any thoughts? If you recommend I get fit, where's the best place to do this at a reasonable cost? My goal is to drive it at the "proper" distance for my swing speed. If it helps, I use TMAG RocketBladez irons (regular flex, steel) and the 6 iron (which is really a 5 iron) yields 145 yards on average, but if I swing properly (and compress the ball with a divot ahead of the ball), I can see 150-160 yards. The 7 iron is more around 140-150 yards.

I finally got my free 6 iron SpeedBlade, and measured the loft to be around 26* (advertised 26.5*) and the length to be 38.50" (advertised to be 37.625" standard). I pulled out my current generic 4 iron and its loft is about 25* and the length is 38.50". I looked at Ping's G25 iron specs and my Pinemeadow (as well as many other conventional irons) have similar specs, so the SpeedBlade 6 iron is very much like my 4 iron. A few people on another forum said their SpeedBlade is the same length as their Rocketballz irons, which makes me wonder if anyone has taken similar measurements of their Speedblade and compared it with the competition?

I used a shallow faced 3 wood and hit the ball farther when using a tee that has the ball about half way above the crown of the head. The ball hit the 200 yard marker fence and bounced over it. Off the deck, the carry distance is substantially shorter. The blue "4 yards more" tee is about the right height for this particular 3 wood.

One of the problems I've had and cannot resolve is consistently hitting off the fairway, driving range mat, and the rough using a hybrid (traditional wood-like hybrid). I thought it might be shaft flex, shaft length, loft, etc... but it doesn't seem to be it. For whatever reason I either top the ball or take a huge divot (or smack the head into the driving range mat). I address the ball and swing the hybrid the same way I do with a long iron. If I use the hybrid 10 times in 18 holes, I maybe get 2 or 3 good hits. The rest of the time I top the ball or take a huge divot. I can take my 11 degree 2 iron (which depending on what set of clubs you have, is either the length of a "0" iron or a 1 iron) and smack the ball out no problems either on the mat, fairway, or rough but it just won't go as far as a long hybrid - I'll usually take a shallow to medium divot with the iron. Any ideas with the hybrids?

I started golf with lessons from a PGA instructor, and that was before I even touched or owned a club. When the instructor was next to me, I was hitting everything perfectly. When I was on my own, it went down hill.

I've started up golf again this year, but I'm still a beginner. However, I am now more consistent with the driver and have started using my TMAG R11S driver (12* loft). I just got back from 18 holes with a co-worker who is a local league champion (handicap 16) and noticed that if I drive properly, I can match his drive distance (he's also using a TMAG R11S but 10.5* loft). However, my weakest links are using longer irons, fairway woods, and hybrids. I tried my 2, 3, 4, and 5 irons and can use the 5 with decent results but not as consistently as the 6 iron. With the 2, 3, and 4, I am mainly topping the ball, worming it, or hitting the ball with the toe. I tried a 2 hybrid (16*) and 4 hybrid (23*) but the same things happen: topping, worming, or toeing the ball. If I try the 3W or 5W on the fairway, the same thing happens. For today, I basically just used my 6 iron throughout the course and even then I am only about 75% consistent with my shots. I basically need 2-3 strokes versus 1 stroke from my co-worker who was just blasting it using a wood, hybrid, or iron. Does anyone have any advice? Do I keep practicing/using the 6 iron until I get more consistent, and start to step up to the 5, 4, etc...? What about the hybrids and woods? Aren't they supposed to be more forgiving on the fairway and at least usable in the rough?

I went to the driving range to try out my new Pinemeadow ZR-1 16* hybrid and compare it with the long irons and my driver/woods. I found that the 16* hybrid offered VERY good consistency (easy to aim) with 150-200 yd distances. As a sub-beginner, I could easily maintain 150 yd but I occasionally got the 200+ yd drive using the hybrid. With the 3W, 5W, and driver, I wasn't getting such consistency and I wasn't able to get the same distances even using the driver. My guess is the driving range's rubber tee (attached to a dispensing machine) wasn't raising the ball enough for the driver. Am I doing anything wrong? It seems like the hybrid is just so much easier to use that I could leave the driver and woods at home. I'd rather have consistency than an extra 30 yd of distance, but I'm still below the skill level of a beginner. Any recommendations?

For my 4-PW irons, they start from 38" and drop by 0.5" until the PW (35"). I picked up a few wedges made by different manufacturers, and the standard shaft lengths are all different: Gap W: 36 Sand W: 35.5 Lob W: 36 On the range, I could hit the ball just as far using the P, G/U, or S wedges but the lob wedge had a shorter range (80-100 yd as far as I can tell).