Tat14

"I'm not a smart man... but I know what love is." - F. Gump Late Edit: Although I thought I ordered the PKR grind, gap wedge grinds only come in Pincher, Trapper, and Driver. I must have glossed over the hosel stamp upon receipt - mesmerized as I was by personalization and custom paint fill... So this new, magic 50.12 fits in nice next to a 54.08 and 60.04 pair of Vokeys. And based on these first rounds (to include two pitch-in birdies) I may actually have a foot placed in the more bounce camp.

I find value in the minimalist approach for the recreational player. Less equipment decision allows for more focus on shot-making decision. I might try this again but to the extreme - 3W 8I SW and putter. All in a Jones bag. I'll let my beard grow out and wear golf sandals. A minimum of three animals will escort me each round...

Glad to see it all worked out in a sense. I'm sure he had at least one great shot that will make him come back for more.

My experience with hybrids - Wilson Fat Shaft 3H & 4H, steel shaft Ping G10 15* and 21*, graphite S with low torque Ping Rapture 18* and 21*, graphite S with low torque Nickent 3DX 20*, steel shaft Adams Pro Mini 20*, Aldila Tour Green 85 S All standard length and weight. Found the steel shafts easier to hit. Although that 15* Ping was the only long hybrid that required more of a wood swing, always hinged back and forth about the type of swing (wood or iron) applied. Gave it all up for the wonderful TM R11 7W, cut down to 41" - a fine weapon. Still have the Nickent and Adams though because I'll change my mind again in the future. That's my point - have a few options on hand.

They list a Chris in Reno that fits wedges, so yes. I traded an hour of drive time for Internet risk because I am insane I felt pretty confident about the picker grind because I play low bounce in my other wedges to include other 50's - previous trial and error, local desert course, etc. Very satisfied after first go with it yesterday. Having said all this, I would not argue against dynamic fitting. I also recognize the high-bounce camp, just not living in it.

Static fitting on the Edel site. I'm a picker and I own it. The site is easy to use and there are also a wide variety of shaft options. However, it appears that one cannot shop irons there. Also, don't make a rookie mistake like I did and pay for expedited shipping - you're gonna wait awhile anyway for a custom build, silly me.

This seemed like a good thread for "baby" pictures so here is my new addition. Danger could be defined as idle time + Internet + Paypal account... 50* Picker - what a beautiful club.

1) Format sounds fun and includes handicapping. Seems that the alternate shot format will be the toughest considering your index and his/hers. Assuming you can always take the tee shot, perhaps your OP was aimed at finding something for your partner to do on shot two? 2) I think the semi- repeatable part is the challenge for a 30+ index. I suppose one could poke a baby short iron 100yds over and over, but now they reach a green hitting five or six. If your partner is getting some strokes per hole and matched up against a similar index - cool. If you simply want him to advance the ball decently during alt shot with you, I suppose a little punch and run mid-iron could be discussed and worked on. Based on my experience, you'll need patience and a little Jameson.

Minimalist! I'd wager that you'd get around a course just fine with the "commando" bag. Rarely carry 14.

I wonder what format you're playing. Alternate shot? When I started out and found myself in scrambles, alt shot, etc... My partner(s) and I were well aware of what our strengths and weaknesses were. I wasn't going to hit a GIR, but I could pull a few great putts from the aft cavity. Our goal was to have fun, and I get the impression that this pairing for you is more about that than winning the event. IMHO, if there was a stock shot that rookies could use to play well... I imagine we'd all be doing that from jump

Re: Observation 2 Forgive me if I fail to paint this picture well, but I think there are two differences (for me) between 150yds out and the tee box of a ~150yd par three. 150yds out, odds are that I'm on the right side fairway or light rough. This gives me plenty of comfortable room to hit a natural little draw. My home par three tees are set up awkwardly for this same shot. I feel that a push to the right, or perhaps an offset stance is required. Call it OCD or feng shui, but I get weird if I start aiming too much on the tee. This is why I am striving to learn how to start the ball right from a square stance. I also want to rip it from the tee sometimes, or take too little club - this leads to hooks.

Faster and harder are not the same thing. At least that's what she said years ago on Prom Night.

As mentioned before, golf isn't football or hockey. Perhaps more like NASCAR, which offers multiple individual views at a time. I wouldn't watch my golf in a 8x view, but the technical precedent is there. I think Bucci's point was the overall lack of Masters on TV, period. I agree with this because I cannot get enough Major or Ryder Cup action on those weekends. Four hours per day over the weekend is lame.

Something that helped me awhile ago with driving - float the club head before starting your backswing. In other words, don't ground it like you would an iron. This, combined with a tee height that puts the ball's equator at or above the crown of the driver, gave me a feeling that I was hitting something without the ground being a factor. It helped with contact, which led to distance, etc. Myriad tips mixed in with the pro advice on this site. Give it a try next time you hit the range. Good luck!

Turn your hat around backwards. Put all of your change in your right pocket. Stick a tee behind your left ear. Now hit the ball down the fairway. (Note: passing out on tequila later in the evening is completely optional, and not necessarily condoned by others)

Only the 21st; perhaps a dark horse pick for Thread of the Month?? (crickets) (crickets)

A bowling alley? Just kidding... You might actually be in a great place to (re)start with a wedge and the 5S' concept of practice. Almost like a clean slate - go hit little wedges until some semblance of tempo returns.

The golf equipment business is just one big (pause) business, period. If you bought a driver last year, you likely won't be looking this year. The portion of the market who bought new years before, however, might be looking. Someone new to the game might be finally ready to invest in a set. Companies market because a need or desire exists as observed by demand. There are some folks such as myself who enjoy buying equipment and keeping both primary and secondary markets alive. eBay is a curse worse than Facebook... As far as advance in technology goes, I find this harder to debate than I once used too. On one hand, modern drivers have been so much more fun for me. My swing is better, and my shaft selection is educated today compared to way back; so this is qualitative at best. Still, I don't fathom hitting an old persimmon as well or as easy as my R11S. On the other hand, my current iron sets are in stark contrast - TM Speedblades from 2014 and PING Eye 2s from 1987. Speed pocket, weighting, CG, yada yada... the only marked difference is that the PINGS are one club shorter. For example, from the 150yd marker at my course (3950' elevation) I'll hit a TM 9 iron. High draw, finds a near GIR. Same scenario with the older PING 8 iron, same result.

A few thoughts: I remember watching Watson on the practice range at Cog Hill in 1996 (Motorola Western Open). He was definitely not a picker, unless he took a different approach with wedges for some reason. Picker here, small divot in front of the where the ball just took off from. Works for me but I feel picking exacerbates hook issues. It may also cause some flipping of the wedges. I find it important to avoid getting too quick in the downswing.

Of course. I thought more about this and realized Sail Ho was wrong, and those other two actually had 18 holes. Balboa, both tracks were always nice.

Curious; which course is this? I lived 19 years in SD and I think I know where you're talking about. Guess #1 - Mission Bay Guess #2 - Steel Canyon Guess #3 - Sail Ho (Pt. Loma) - if they adjusted the layout since 2009.

I saw this in the Digest the other day. http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/04/how-he-hit-that-jordan-spieths-3.html Long story short, Spieth uses an overlapping grip, but lays his left index finger over his right pinky - the opposite of a typical RH grip. I have been tinkering with grip strength and right hand position lately. The reason is that I still fight a long, tall hook with mid-irons and am curious if I can solve this hands-only. Do any of the instructors have an opinion on this technique? Does anyone else happen to have experience trying this? Thanks in advance!

This is a good point. If I'm going to miss a few pitches, it'll happen in the first few holes. Unless I'm playing a few times a week, I probably ought to hit a few short game shots pre-round.

When I first made a post on TST I said I would play more often this season, and try to think about keys four and five. That has added a tiny bit more time on the practice tee. I still subscribe to the Bruce Lietzke school of practice - minimal. I'll warm up if it's been many a moon since playing or if something bad creeped into my ball flight last time out. 90% of the time I'll do a quick full body stretch, and then get into my pre-shot routine for the first tee. This works for the older, more casual me - compared to when I was younger and would hit a dozen drivers before play, and then hit the first tee a little nervous or skeptical. Like Mason said in The Rock - "Plans? ...it was all in my head!"

Are we sure this is a golf question??