Cesar

Agreed. Getting fitted for irons is quick, easy, and well worth it. Don't guess. Do it right.

If you're going to go the blade route, I'd suggest considering getting a used set off of somewhere like ebay. You can get some great deals on very good irons and you don't need to worry about having them be perfect fits since you can get them bent to your specs at almost any local golf shop. Then if you really like them, pony up some bigger bucks on a brand new set.

My only ace came when I was 15 years old. It was during California State Am qualifying at a country club that's clubhouse was closed on a Monday. My dad was caddying for me so it ended up costing me about a buck at the nearest coke machine. If it were to happen now, I'd definitely by a round for my group and check out how many folks were in the clubhouse before I bought anybody anything in there. If it were packed, I'd have to pass. I got 2 year old twins at home and a golf addiction to feed. If you can't afford it, you can't afford it.

Wow, never seen a 6* before. I've used as low as 7.5 but those days are long gone. When I went in to get fitted, I was using a Callaway hyper x tour 8.5. Tried a few out on the launch monitor and I was getting 5.5 degree launch with less than 2000 rpms of backspin. I was basically teeing off with a putter.

I hear ya, I've been down that road before in terms of trying to get fitted with extremely limited options. Your launch is on the high end of optimal, but that spin needs to come way down. What kind of swing speed are you putting out? I had the same problem as you until I discovered Nakashima. A few guys at my home course were using them and I tried them out. Easily the best performing driver I've ever hit so I decided to look into them. Turns out their headquarters were in Stockton, CA...about 40 minutes from my house. I went in and got fitted in their studio with some super high-end launch monitor and every shaft known to man. Ended up with a driver that I hit 20+ yards farther and straighter than I've ever had. It wasn't cheap, but well worth it IMO to not have to swap a driver out every year. I finally feel I have a driver I can use for a long time. Obviously, with you being in Texas, you're not going to come out to CA to get fitted (unless you're really desperate). They do have a few authorized dealers in Texas though and the ones they usually use are places that have a ton of different shafts to try. There's a good chance these places may have a different brand that you can try if Naka isn't something you'd be interested in. Not sure how close these places are to you, but here they are: A Performance Golf Academy 1117 Clear Lake City Blvd Houston, TX 77062 Ph: 281-480-4653 Email: sales@performancegolfacademy.com Sellinger's Power Golf 600 Henrietta Creek Drive Suite #200 Roanoke, TX 76262 682-549-2102 Email: sellinger@longdrivers.com Tour Performance Golf LLC 1015 S Main Street Duncanville, Texas 75137 Ph: 972-978-1224 Email:shane@tpgolf.biz I recommend giving them a call and seeing what they can do for you.

With the development of low spin drivers, loft on drivers aren't seen the way they used to be. I grew up using 8.5* drivers for the longest because with the backspin they used to create I'd get pretty close to optimal ball flight. With technology nowadays, that would be akin to me teeing off with a putter. I went to a 10.5 and at times still hit the ball lower than I did with my 8.5. In regards to Tiger, he used to hit his drives with a steeper attack angle, thus creating more backspin. With his recent swing changes, he's coming in more level, thus allowing him to go to a higher loft without balooning it. Your best bet is to go get fitted and see your stats on a launch monitor. High launch/low spin is what you want and there are countless head/shaft combos available to help you achieve that optimal launch.

Wow...what a field! Nice to see a couple of guys I know make it (Matt Bettencourt & Ricky Barnes) Ricky has been struggling a bit this year, nice to see him make the cut at the Nelson and now qualify for Bethpage. Matt follows up a top 5 at the Memorial, under the grind of playing in the final group on Sunday, to shoot a 64 on the 2nd round of the day the following day. Very impressive!

I can understand not being a huge fan of his, but are there really people out there that actually "hate" him? Seems like a pretty nice guy to me, can't see any reason to take it to that level.

The Memorial is easily one of the top tourneys of the year...it's Jack's event played on one the greatest courses in America. To say it isn't really just proves you don't know much about the tour. As for Tiger, a virtuoso performance today. Hit every fairway, drained a long birdie on 2, the chip in on 11, then the surgeon-like birdie, birdie finish to shoot 65 to win by one. Doesn't get much better than that. He's starting to get his timing down and is making the putts he is supposed to make. He seemed to be much smoother in his tempo with the driver this week. He really did a great job at avoided lashing at it. Combined with the extra loft on the driver and he was nearly perfect. If he keeps that up, he's going to be really tough to beat in NY. I just can't see anybody else being able to hang with him if his approaches are from the fairway every hole.

Here's the article I was referencing: http://www.mensfitness.com/exclusives/185 Specifically, this section:

OK...my $0.02. First, Tiger has definitely bulked up and it's really no surprise since he has had a desire to do so. How much is anybody's guess, but my money is on 5-10 lbs. He's made it no secret that he believes in adding lean mass helps his game and the only reason he hadn't done it earlier was that he didn't have the time to do it with the grind of a season to train around. I'm trying to remember where I saw an article about him speaking about fitness, but he compared golfers to other sports' athletes and how it was more difficult to add mass as a golfer because there really wasn't an offseason like other sports. He called his weight training "maintanence" to keep his strength throughout the season while wishing he could have the time to seriously add strength like other sports athletes got to do. Well, that's one thing his layoff allowed him the opportunity to do. That being said, to say this added mass has hurt his game a MAJOR league reach. First, Tiger's fitness program consists of 50% weights/cardio and 50% stretching. He is an extremely intelligent individual surrounded by the very best in sports fitness and nutrition. He knows very well how important flexibility is and will never do anything to jeopardize that. Any talk of roids/hgh is so asinine it's not worthy of any discussion. Tiger is simply knocking some rust out while at the same time tinkering with a newish swing and driver. He's also not making putts like he is more than capable of. By his standards, he's playing like crap, yet there he is with a win under his belt this year and top 10 every week, if not a top 5. His timing is going to come together, he's going to start to make putts, and is going to dominate again. He's going to do it with this extra mass and when he does, we can bump this thread back up to the top and get a good laugh at just how ridiculous this talk really is. Tiger has some stuff he's fighting through right now, but his added mass is deinfitely not one of them

Sorry, I'm not from the LA area, so I wouldn't be a great resource. I've played some golf down in San Diego which can be 2-3 hrs away depending where you're coming from and what day/time you leave. If you're willing to go that far, I'd recommend Torrey Pines to you. The only course in the LA area that I know of, that people I trust can vouch for, is Trump National in Palos Verdes. I heard that course is top notch. http://www.trumpnationallosangeles.com/html/home.asp A little more than $200 if you're willing to play midday on Monday-Thursday (assuming you're bringing your own sticks, and not renting). Here's their rates: http://www.trumpnationallosangeles.c.../golfrates.asp I'm sure there are others with better local knowledge than me though that can vouch for something. If you're hell bent on playing a desert course, Palm Springs is about 2 hrs away from LA and there are a ton of good courses down there. In August you'll get some great rates and you get the courses pretty much to yourself and a few other suicidal maniacs. Just be prepared for the 110+ degree heat.

Toughest course I ever played was Spyglass Hill for the NCGA Am. The sick demented SOB for a super had the greens running around 12's and they let the rough grow to around 4+ inches. Played from the tips and wind was blowing 20MPH+. BRUTAL day. Just brutal.

My top 10: Pebble Beach Spyglass Hill Olympic Club (Lake) Pasatiempo Torrey Pines (South) Lake Merced CC Edgewood (Tahoe) Princeville Spanish Bay Poipu Bay Honorable mention: Aviara Stevinson Ranch Poppy Hills Green Hills CC Coyote Moon

Pro V1x. The best in the biz IMO.

I've played with some of those guys and have yet to find one that is anywhere near a 20 handicap. They may not be knocking on the PGA Tour's door, but they're stil lhovering around a 10 at worst. To hit a drive 300 + yards isn't that hard these days with the equipment being used. To AVERAGE 300 yards is a whole different ball game. You need to hit the ball consistently well to do that and a 20 handicapper just isn't going to do that.

Some good tips on this thread that I'm going to piggy back on. First, pros control distance with spin and trajectory. In order to do that, you need to make consistent contact with the ball. In order to do that, you need to swing at a managable speed. I cannot stress enough how important this is. I have a buddy of mine that was like you, a friggin gorilla that could hit a 9 iron 180+ yards. He'd even brag about it, even though he couldn't control it worth a lick. I told him to start swinging 80% to stop giving a damn how far he could his irons. Nobody cares. There's no shame in hitting a soft 6 iron from 160 yards if that is what the shot calls for. I'll even challenge him on the course now to hit more club and swing smoother and you won't believe what kind of difference it's made in his game. You'll find if you start swinging barely harder than a practice swing, you're head will stay more still, you'll stay more on balance, and you'll make a lot more consistent contact with the ball. You'll also hit the ball much farther than you think. Once you have that mastered, THEN you can start messing around with shortened backswings/follow throughs, choking down on the grip, etc and see real results. The next few times you go out, try hitting 6 iron on that same par 3 and force yourself to hit easy enough to be the right distance. Start messing around by hiting more than enough club and controlling your swing speed. It may take a while to get used to it, but once you do, the game will never be the same to you. I've gotten to the point now where I can hit a 6 iron anywhere from 150-215 depending on the situation. I'll only really go for that monster 6 iron shot if I need to hit it real high with a lot of spin (i.e, carry a tree, attack a front pin location late in the round in a "must birdie" situation.). I try not to though, since it's much harder to control. My average smooth 6 iron goes about 190. While I used to be proud of how long I could hit my irons, I take much more pride now in hitting a 150 yard 6 iron when the the situation calls for it (windy days, back hole locations) and executing it.

You ever been on a launch monitor? Reason I ask is that you should be hitting the ball much farther than that with 116-120 MPH. Something isn't adding up. You're either missing the sweet spot, spinning it too much, or not launching it at the optimal angle.

Great find...thanks for posting that!!! I had the pleasure meeting Charlie along with Roberto DeVincenzo when I was around 12 years old. My dad took to me to watch them at the old Senior Gold Rush in Rancho Murietta, CA. Roberto and he were battling it out for the Super Senior division, which Roberto ultimately ended up winning. After the round, Roberto took me on the green of the 18th for the trophy presentation and had me hold the trophy while they gave him one of those huge checks. I got to speak to them both and get their autographs. Charlie was truly a class act and I'll always remember him and that cigar. It's great to see him getting recognized for the trailblazer he was.

Stats can be misleading. How many times have you seen Tiger hit a poor drive into the boonies when the tourney was on the line and he needed to hit a big drive in the fairway? Maybe to reach a long par 5 in two? Bottom line is that the guy hits the shot he needs to hit when he needs to.

A relaxed grip definitely helps. Squeezing the club too hard removes the elasticity in your forearms and will definitely knock some MPH off of your club head speed.

I don't believe it's a conspiracy, I just don't trust that every single launch monitor in existence is accurate. I've hit on some at golf shops that the numbers being produced just didn't seem right to me. If I can't see the ball flight and be able to validate it, I just don't have the peace of mind that I made the right decision until I go out on the course. I dunno, maybe I'm just old school, but if I'm making a decision to drop a few hundred $$$ on a club, I want to make sure I have all the information available to me before I do it and I think seeing the ball flight is important information.

Unless I can see the ball fly, I have a hard time believing a launch monitor. I just can't see how anyone can really make a determination by hitting it into a net 10 feet in front of them. When I got fitted for my driver, I went to a local pro/clubfitter that has a setup on the driving range. I could compare what I was seeing/feeling every shot to what the launch monitor said. The guy also knew his stuff. If you're lucky enough to have anyone around that can do that for you, it would definitely be worthwhile.

I've never hit anybody. I've been hit before and had some serious close calls. I think the scariest story I have is back when I was around 12 years old (20 years ago ) the local high school had a match and some girl that played on the team wandered onto the 1st tee and got she got decked in the head by a scratch golfer's driver no more than 10 yards away. She collapsed instantly and was unconscious. I thought she was dead. Ambulence came and got her and took her to the emergency room. She turned out to be OK, but it was the scariest thing I had seen in my life up to that point. All I can say is she had better be thankful that we were playing persimmon woods back then. If that had happened with today's equipment, I can't imagine she'd be nearly as lucky.

Yeah, muscles definitely play a huge part in it. It's impossible to argue that. I'm defintely much bigger and stronger than I was when I was a teenager, when I was no doubt much more flexible, and I hit the ball a ton farther now than I ever did back then. If you weight train properly, focus on strengthening your core, and stretch a lot, you will definitely reap major benefits. It's also beneficial if you've started young and your muscles are conditioned to be flexible in the right places, developed that "quick twitch" in the right places, etc. But all of that doesn't really mean much if you don't have proper balance, swing fundamentals, and most importantly of all...TIMING. Hitting the ball squarely on the clubface every time will help you more than anything else IMO. You could really argue that everything we've been saying is important and the more of those things you can master, the longer and more consistent you'l hit the ball. Nobody is really wrong here.