Salty Dog

Is it true that baseball grip will help to promote draw due to increase in the right hand power to turn the club face over? In that case, it's it a perfect grip for left-hander who play right-hand golf since his right hand is weaker than left hand?

I tried to position the ball about 1/2 inch outside the toe my driver and it seem to work. The way I hit it is like a baseball player striking the ball with the arms fully extended and the shaft and my arm forming a straight line. Is there any problem hitting ball like this? I was told by a pro that you lose power since the wrist is in a fully uncock position upon impact with the ball.

When I have the ball going too high, it loses distance and that's what I don't like. Not sure if you guys face the same issue.

My f-speed seems to have a high ball flight and drop off the sky when it runs out of steam. I usually gets it to around 220-230 yards. Is it my swing or the club?

I'm using a Cobra F-speed and agree that it has an awful sound. If you are not used to the club, it give you the feeling that you have just mis-hit the shot. Lately, my stock shaft seem to give a very high ball fight. Is this the case for all of you out there?

You are spot on. I guess I was mimicking Moe Norman without even knowing such swing existed. I thought I was the only one on this planet who has this weird swing. It actually feels quite comfortable and give me amazing striking accuracy. With a one plane swing, I never have to worry about the angle between arms and shaft, that is usually mind-boggling for me especially when I need to have clear head for the downswing. Just that I feel this swing is unorthodox and subconscious about it. Looks like I should keep the swing after all. Any comment?

I noticed all golf professional hang their hands down freely during setup and hence there is an angle between their arms and the shaft. During the downswing, I also notice that the angle is maintained, and they are able to hit it on the sweet spot of the club face everytime. My preference is to extend my arm out so that it is almost inline with the shaft, and during downswing, my arm and shaft form a straight line without much of an angle. To me, this is the best way to avoid hitting fat or top shot as I have already stretched myself so the impact can be more precise as long as my body remain stable. More over, I feel that by having the arm and the shaft form a straight line, I'm maximizing the radius of the swing and hence should hit the ball further. Is this totally crap? Does anyone have the same swing pattern like mine? Do I lose distance or power doing this? I don't seem to drive my ball very far.

That might be true. But being closer to the pin, their chance of writing a 4 is on the scorecard is higher than me. Don't you think?

You can say you don't care about distance. But when you play with 3 of your regular buddies who can always outdrive you, and the distance between your ball and the longest drive is 40-50 yards, you will start to have second thoughts.

rckwd, I agree with you. Somehow the burner just give me that confide that my cobra driver doesn't. Once i fix my slice problem, I may want to try out titleist 909. I just love the sounding of it. :)

rckwd, I realized that you are using TM Burner as well. How far do you hit with it? Have you tried other driver? With the Burner, does it promote a higher ball flight which could rob you distance?

The different that I have tested was around 20-30 yards, which is quite substantial. I believe may not be due to the draw biase, but more because of the launch angle and the roll. Seems like the cobra promotes a lower flight and create more roll. May be i just need more practise and gain more confident with the cobra club.

The cobra no doubt gives me better distance, but comparing sound and feel, the TM is still better. Both of them have the same loft. When I was using the TM, I was so confident and never had any slice. After switching to Cobra, I started to develop some bad slice (2 or 3 in 10) eventhough I get greater distance. I think main contributor could be due to my confidence level with the driver. Should I just go with what gets me to the fairway most and forget about that extra distance?

Thanks. What you said makes perfect sense. May be the cobra is a little lower launch and cause the ball to roll further.

Interesting is that when I use the draw driver, the ball flight is still straight, not draw. :) Does that explain why the distance is shorter? My pro used my driver before, and it clearly shows a nice draw.

I have a 2007 TM Burner Draw and a Cobra 2008 Speed LD F driver. On the course, I seem to feel that the Burner Draw with the stock shaft is giving me higher launch, but shorter distance. The Cobra with the stock shaft seem to be getting extra 20-30 yards longer. Is it true that Draw driver has shorter distance drive compare to a normal neutral driver? The reason I ask is eventhough Cobra gives me better distance, I still like the feel and sound of Burner. I seem to have problem deciding on my clubs.

Will put a towel 6 inches behind the ball help? If you hit it fat, you will hit the towel first. Anyone tried this duirng their pratise and can feedback?

I agree with Ks8829 that a long iron helps you to focus more. Have you tried hitting a lot of shots with 3 irons and then switch to say a 7-iron? You will be surprise how well you hit the 7-iron after that.

I know a lot of people are ditching 3 irons for hybrids and even some of the pro do that. However, lately I have been trying to train myself to use my 3 iron in the range and it is not the most easy thing to hit i can tell you that. However, after hitting 20-30 balls with 3 irons, when I switch to a 3 hybrid or even a 5 wood, it is such a ease and every hit seem to be solid hit. I came to the conclusion that eventhough 3 irons are not easy to hit, they are really good training aid to train you to develop good swing. I have decided that every round of range will include my 3 irons for training. Anyone else tried this and can share your view?

This is interesting. The transition-s comes with 3-9,pw. Seem like the guy who sold you the used set only sold you half set (6-9,pw) and kept the 3 hybrid irons (3-5i). I believe the bafflers are actually better hybrids than the ones that come with the transition-s, so you are not losing much. The problem I find is that the hybrids look slightly draw during address. So I'm not sure should I position it such a way that the club face is square, and with the shaft pointing left, or should I address with the shaft straight and the club face pointing to the left.

bump, bump

Anyone? Please help.

I have a set of Cobra Transition-S. I love the clubs and able to hit P-6 irons fairly straight. My problem is the hybrid irons 3,4 and 5. I do not seem to be able to control the direction with any accuracy. The swing angle vary from + to - 10 degrees. This could be detrimental for a long par 3 where I end up missing the green. When i put the hybrid irons during address, I realize that the club face is draw. Could this be the reason for the inaccuracy? What is the proper setup with this transition hybrid? Should I have the shaft pointing straight to my belt buckle (90 degrees to my stance) and have the club face in the close position and swing normally, or should I have the shaft pointing to the left of my belt buckle (and the club face will be neutral in this position) and then swinig normally? Anyone could help to shed some light? Many thanks.

Bought the cobra transition-S. I never knew there could be so much improvement in my swing compare to my old callaway x-14. I have a lot more confident now and able swing straight 9/10 times. I have been resisting the change and the x-14 was the reason I gave up golf 8 years ago. Now come to think of it, I should have changed it 8 years ago. The transition-S is a great club to have for high handicapper/quitter like myself. Anyone else have comments or experience about it?

That is exactly my question. If both set are about the same quality and spec, with all things being equal, and it only boils down to look and personal preference, then with the price gap of almost double, I will seriously consider the cleveland.