rdoty

Thanks for the comments guys. In fact, changing shafts is exactly what I did on my current driver and 3 wood with positive effect. I'll see what's avail via a fitting and if not satisfied I'll just follow Plan B. Thanks again

I'm about to replace my old irons and am focused on either the Callaway Mavrik Max or Taylormade Sim2 Max. The problem boils down to a couple of questions regarding shafts. First of all I'm a senior lefty with swing speed in the 85-95 range. In the past I've built three sets of clubs for myself so I'm a little familiar with shaft characteristics but since I'm looking at buying ready-made clubs I'm faced with a dilemma. Since I'm only buying irons I have a choice between steel or graphite shafts. If I order steel shafts, considering the shorter shaft length compared to a driver, would I really see a difference in flex between senior and regular? Conversely, if I go to graphite, which is torsionally softer how much am I going to lose in accuracy or distance? I think I prefer a steel shaft but they want to push graphite in these models and steel is only available in regular flex.

k-troop, I'm still laughing. Not sure I'm up to adopting a son at my age but it's an interesting idea! Maybe depends on how much you bring to the table! :) Guess I can give a little background. My "daughter" is actually my granddaughter. I ended up raising her from birth , finally adopted her when she was seven, guided her through high school and last fall she enrolled at the University of Nebraska with a major in vocal performance (she wants to pursue a career in opera). She's a very good golfer (low 80's, 240 yd driver - and I make her play from the whites) but her profs absolutely discourage golf because of the allergy risk. That notwithstanding, whenever we get a chance we enjoy a day on the links. She's such a good kid and we're the best of friends and I want to do something special for her and I know she'd really enjoy this. Besides, I might not be able to afford this if I decide to adopt you!

And I just discovered that there's direct flights to Kona airport from Phoenix. How great is that!?

I figure if I tell her Arizona - she's never been there - I can talk her into shorts, golf shirts and her bikini. And if she travels light (good luck with that!) I can treat her to a couple of new outfits. I'm even thinking we could fly the first leg to Phoenix and change there to a flight to LAX. Haven't worked all the details but I really want this to be a very special surprise for a very special young lady.

Okay guys, you've pretty much convinced me. Unless I can come up with a compelling reason to change my mind it looks like I'll focus on Hawaii. Since this is our first trip there it'll probably be the Big Island with a side trip to Maui (or vice versa. I've got a few months before I need to make the reservations but what I'm planning on doing is keeping my daughter in the dark until we get on the plane. Maybe make her think we're going to Texas or Arizona. Can't wait. Thanks again for all the info.

Thanks for the info trickyputt. I'm slowly putting together a spreadsheet on potential destinations and Costa Rica is still on my list.

Wow K-troop. Thanks for all the info. BTW you hit the nail on the head re the daughter sleeping in til 10:00. She grumbles a little when I set an early tee time until we're on the first tee...then it's game on!. (The time zone difference may help in that respect) As far as hanging with dad that's never been an issue (I raised her from birth - she's actually my granddaughter whom I adopted at seven) although I do give her much more space now that she's out of the nest. If you want the honest truth I'm rolling out of the sack a little later these days too ;) I had sort of written Cabo off the list because of all the touristy element but I'll give that another look. I'm still leaning toward the Big Island, maybe breaking the trip up into two destinations, Hawaii and Maui. Looking at the calendar I'm guessing that her break will go until the 17th so maybe it'll all be off peak. BTW, the last three weeks in the Denver area have been absolutely fantastic. Played in January and played 18 today. The early start is doing great things for my game - hoping to get the hcp down in the low 20's this year. (Only been playing for four years after a thirty year hiatus!)

Thanks for the replies. Because I've never planned a trip of this magnitude before - and during the peak season - I'm trying to get answers from one of the travel groups concerning lead times, accommodations, courses, etc. One big question for k-troop and dave - did you guys make your arrangements through a travel group or on your own? I've never worked through one of those groups before and I wonder if they pass on the discounts that the resorts advertise. As far as Spain, that sounds great but I'll probably wait - there's a good chance my daughter might get to study abroad there in two years in which case she'll see a lot of me ;)

Thanks Lefty (I'm also a "lefty" although I've switched to "righty" twice - just can't make up my mind!). I'm collecting as much info as I can - probably won't make a choice for a couple more months. I need to find out what the actual dates are for my daughters winter break. I may be leaning a little to Hawaii (Big Island) but Dominican, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica all sound interesting as well. With about twelve days "in country" it may boil down to extracurricular activities.

I promised my daughter that next year for winter break we'd go someplace warm for golf. She's currently attending the University of Nebraska and she's such a good girl that she deserves something really special. We're best friends and she's my favorite golf partner...even though she can beat the pants off me. I'd like to arrange a 14-16 day vacation beginning about Dec 28 - Mid Jan. I'm hoping that some of the members on this forum might provide some good insight based on experience. I'm completely open to destinations...the only requisites being that I'd like to play a minimum of three good courses multiple times,and the accommodations are upper class. I've put an arbitrary cost limit of no more than $15000 including air fare. I've considered places like Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Hawaii. I even looked at New Zealand but was shocked at the prices so I think that's out. Hawaii is appealing because of all the other activities available but I fear that during that time of year the courses are crowded. Costa Rica has the other issue...seems there is nothing else to do except play golf and bird watching. I checked into Brazil but not a lot of good courses...and most are 9-hole and 6-hole (hmmmm, this green looks familiar). I haven't been to any of these destinations so I don't have anything to go on except what I find on the internet and the rating system is more confusing than helpful - typical for a given course goes from "Great, best ever" to "This place sucks, I'll never come back". Sooooo guys, help me out. I want to come back with a smile on my daughters face!