TimS65

Thanks all. Days like that definitely bring back my love for golf. It had been a struggle this year, my scores weren't reflecting the definite improvements in swing. Especially irons and short game. But losing balls , mainly with driver, was killing my scores - too many trebles and worse! But the past 3 weeks my drives have been back to where they should be and thus my scores are coming down. From above 50 average for those 9 holes to around 47, yesterday's 44 being the best (3 pars, 4 bogeys and 2 doubles). Just have to maintain the consistency to hit that 90 mark for 18...

Something I never thought I'd see! Earlier this year I'd been REALLY struggling with my driver: short, snap hooks, wild slices, poor distance. Last year I'd been hitting it well - averaging around 240/250 yards when playing solidly. This year I've been disappointed; probably averaging around 220 until the past fortnight when it's started to come right again. I think my swing had been too flat and i'm now concentrating on a more upright plane on the takeaway. Seems to have worked. My longest 2 drives ever before today were 297 yards (centre of par 4 green) 2 years ago and 288 downhill back wind this year. Today was my best ever 9 holes! Course is Par 36 for the 9, around 3250 distance and I was 44. Very happy with 8 over. Not only that, but I used my driver on 4 holes - all back wind (To negate the effect of the wind on any side spin) - with the following results: 6th hole - 278 yards 7th hole - 285 9th hole - 270 And... 4th hole - 320 yards!!!! ????? Really chuffed!!! I still know my average is circa 250, but it's great to know that once in my life I made 300, even if it was back wind!!! I'd guess the wind was worth around a club and a half in strength. Now I just need to maintain the consistency of strike - all 4 drives went where I aimed which is VERY unusual! Happy days...

Garmin S20 is good. Been using one for about 3 months. Autoshot function is handy to track your stats. I use mine to enter all my scores. online software app isn't so good - not as detailed as Game Golf etc and cannot make corrections if a score was entered wrong. Get the odd shot that says it was 27000 yards!!!!

Callaway MD3 do lofts in the range you prefer. I have 48/54/60 as my set PW is 44°. They also offer different bounce in each loft. Give them a try!

I bought 20 each lakeballs of ProV1, Chrome Soft and TM Tour Preferred to compare. I feel little difference between Cally and TM balls, but don't like the feel of the ProV: too hard off the driver face for my liking. Driver carry circa 220. Like them all for the short game. Will probably stick to Chrome Soft as best value.

Here. True! Grrrr auto spell checker - that was meant to be "hehe" not here!!!

But that IS the problem for a straight hitter! He does have double the dispersion. I've been there - and I'm trying to correct it. I'm now tending to drive the ball with a draw and make it less likely to hit massive slices. Whereas previously it was slices and hooks it is usually only hooks now. It really does make course planning much easier being reasonably confident which direction my errors will fly!

Here's a hypothetical example that may help understand the issues with a straight shot. Imagine a golfer with a natural straight shot whose bad shot is 30 yards but can be either left OR right (like me!). Aiming down the centre of a 30 yard wide fairway he could end up off the fairway by 15 yards on either side. Now imagine that golfer is a natural fader of the ball whose bad shot is either a 30 yard fade or no fade at all. If he aims down the left of the fairway his bad shots will tend to either be left of the fairway (no fade) or right of the fairway (too much fade), so he can therefore plan his strategy based on that knowledge. He'll probably hit a few draws, but very few. Whereas the straight hitter never knows which way his bad shot will go...

@natureboy I think you misunderstood the Jack Nicholas comment. That is exactly what he was saying. If you aim dead straight down the centre but ACCIDENTALLY over draw or fade the shot, you only have half the fairway each side to find. Whereas if you aim down one side of the fairway with either a fade or draw you have the whole width of the fairway to aim at.

I've had the problem of a naturally straight shot. The problem is that the bad shots can be left OR right, which makes course management difficult when trying to avoid trouble. At least if I had a consistent left or right error, I'd know where to aim to avoid water hazrards etc.

I tried to find more distance at the top end of my bag but without success. So I go from 3 wood (mainly off the tee for 200 - 210 yards) down to a 4 hybrid which gives 180 - 190 yards total distance. This means I only have 13 clubs currently, so I may go back to a chipper. I'm fine from 30 - 80 yard pitches, it's the shorter chips I struggle judging. Especially from light rough near the green. At my local range it's difficult to practise this type of shot as they don't have a short game practise area, and the range is off mats. So I'm not confident chipping with say a 7 iron - particularly with distance control. A chipper with its putter like stance makes it easier to judge

The ad333 isn't - it's a standard 2 piece, but generally gets good reviews. The tour version is a 3 piece with urethane cover but at a mid-price. I'll probably have to wait a while to notice much difference as the ground is still soft, so spin doesn't really come into affect yet. However maybe the feel will be different between them

I've just received a selection of premium lake balls to try: 20 each of Callaway Chrome Soft, Taylormade Tour Preferred and Titleist ProV1. Looking forward to giving them a try and seeing if I notice any difference to my normal Srixon AD333 and AD333 Tour.

My carry is right in that area, so for me it would depend on the weather, and whether I was feeling confident with my swing that day. So for me it would be an interesting hole!