HSGolfer0105

Yeah, but with 8.5 degrees of loft. My SS is only 102-105mph, so I don't think I could generate an ideal launch angle with that loft and a stiff shaft with a high kick point.

I just ordered a Callaway FT-3 Fusion Tour Nuetral, 9.5 degrees with a stiff Aldila NVS-65 to try out from them. I've tried the 10 degree normal Ft-3 with the Callaway/Aldila NVS-55 in a stiff and didn't like it, and I hit a 10.5 degree Tour with the NVS-65 on a launch monitor and was hitting the ball way too high, so hopefully this setup will work out nicely. I think its worth 25 bucks to try out a club on the course and range, and I might as well do it now so if I like it I can buy one before the free fairway wood deal expires. I'll report back on how the site works after I've played the club and returned it.

Heh, I got 2 tickets to tomorrow's round for free. It helps to have a friend that works at the USGA.

I'm gonna go +3 for the winning score. Any ideas as to what the cut will be at?

I think Phil will take it, but I'm hoping Goosen will, I love watching that guy play golf. When he's on, he is the best in the world(i.e. when he won at Shinnecock).

My iron set is in the shop getting regripped, so I decided I would do a little comparing and contrasting. For the last 3 years, I've played the first generation Taylor Made RAC OS Irons, 3-PW, with steel shafts, and I love them. But, I've always had a very high ball flight, which is a good thing most of the time, but occasionally makes me feel like I lose distance because of it(my 3 iron launches on a slightly higher trajectory than my dads 6 iron, and he has what I'd call a mid trajectory). So, rooting around in the garage last night, I found his irons from when he played high school golf, a set of Wilson Dyna-Powered Staff Model blades, 3-8, we seem to have lost the 9 iron and pitching wedge somewhere along the line. So after a little cleaning up, I decided I'd take them out today and play 9 holes with them to see if I have what it takes to hit a blade style iron, and what effect they have on my trajectory. Obviously they will be way more unforgiving, because of the small head size and the rock hard, formerly rubber grips. However, I'm looking forward to seeing how I shoot and what I can do with more traditional irons. I might even bust out an old persimmon wood or 2. Full report on how they compare and how I handled the more traditional clubs to come later today.

I need some new grips for my irons, and my normal golf shop can't seem to get their act together and order enough stock of them, so I'm looking for another reputable golf shop that carries Golf Pride grips in Warren, Sussex or Morris Counties. If anyone knows of any, it would be hugely appreciated. Thanks. -Ben

Probably an aftermarket finish on that putter. The Scotty Cameron's with the crown logo on the face all came from the studio with an oil can finish on them. So unless the oil can finish wore off and then the putter was extremely well maintained, its been altered. I doubt that was the case though, because the finish is way too even. It doesn't really look like Pro Platinum either, so my guess is that it was refinished by a company other than Scotty Cameron. Post up pics and ask about it at www.cameroncollector.com , they should be able to give you a definite answer.

I color each of the 6 deeper dimples on the Callaway HX Tour golfballs in with a black Sharpie. Definitely makes it easy to indentify my ball in a group.

I like Phil way more than Tiger, and think that certain aspects of his game are better, but certain aspects of Tiger's game are way better than those of Phil's. Tiger comes off as way to much of an automaton to really be fun to watch unless he is absolutely owning a tournament, whereas Phil looks like he's having some fun out there. For now, I give the edge to Lefty, simply because of his recent dominance on tour, but I think recent wins at majors play a huge rule in determing who is better month to month and year to year.

Tour version isn't totally ruled out, but I feel like the shape of the normal one would be more forgiving on off center hits. I have no trouble getting a driver into the air, but i need a club that is more designed for forgiveness on toe and heel mishits than workability, at least at this point in my game. When I get to a shop with a launch monitor, I'll hit pretty much everything they have, I don't care about brand name, as long as the club works for me.

Can't wait to see the full review of this club, even though its the Tour model and not the normal one. I've pretty much narrowed my new driver choices down to the FT-3/FT-3 Tour, the SQ, the MacTech/Tour and the HiBore. Gonna have to schedule a date with a launch monitor soon.

6 over par 42 for nine holes with a both a triple and double bogey at Riverview Golf Club outside Easton, PA. On the plus side, I tried out of the new FT-3 drivers and liked it a lot, but really wanna try out the Tour version with a heavier shaft, a super light head attached to a 55 gram shaft just feels weird to me.

8 over par 80 with a three putt bogey on the 18th hole(from less than 20 feet). It isn't that great a round, but considering the fact that I only broke 90 2 or 3 times the previous year, I'm pretty happy with it. Goal for the summer, break 80 consistently.

Yesterday it looked like they were raked parallel to the line of play to me, and one of the ESPN announcers made a comment alluding to a last minute change from perpendicular to parallel, but I wasn't paying super close attention. With the sand being wet and heavy with today's rain, the furrows should be especially challenging if someone was to draw a settled lie in them. Thats how it should be. Or, better yet, they should play them like one of the golf teams we play, where the bunkers go completely unraked, and you draw the lie that you draw, whether its a footprint, divot or anything else.

Does "thehillgolfer" name have anything to do with the Hill School in Pennsylvania?

Well, spending the summer at Stanford means that I'll get to play the same course where Tiger cut his teeth for only $20 a round. That one seems a bit tougher than my current home course: Cardinal Tees - Rating 73.0, Slope 140 Black Tees - Rating 70.5, Slope 133

Hey everyone, my name's Ben. I'm a rising high school senior and member of my schools golf team. I know there are some members kicking around in Northern NJ, so they know that the golf courses around here run the full gamut from amazing to well, not so amazing. However, it's all fun in my book. I've been playing golf since I was 5 or 6 years old, and it seemed like this year was more or less my breakthrough season, at least so far. Compared to a year ago, my handicap has dropped somewhere between 13 and 14 strokes and all is going well. I'm still searching for the elusive sub-80 round, which I've yet to pull off despite shooting 80 about 6 times already this year. That includes the most recent where all I had to do was 2 putt from about 18 feet for a 79, and I proceeded to 3 jack it. Anyway, hope everyone has a great golf year, and hopefully we can meet up sometime and chase the ball around.

www.cameroncollector.com Wealth of info regarding Scotty Cameron putters. Although most of it is dedicated to collecting rare putters, there is plenty of valuable info regarding the feel and feedback of various materials (carbon steel, GSS, TeI3, SSS, etc.). I have a Studio Stainless Newport Beach, the ones that preceded the Studio Style. I love the feel and feedback, but since I normally play a softer ball in matches, I like a putter without any kind of elastomer to soften impact.

If I'm playing a practice or recreational round with my dad or some friends, I'll play by the rules about 99.9% of the time. If it isn't a match and I hit a bad shot, I'll hit another ball just to convince myself that I can in fact hit the shot I wanted to(as long as it isn't an approach into a soft green or isn't holding up play); however, I only count my score on the first ball and rarely play out the second one.

#2 at SkyView an birdie hole? Maybe with a stiff tailwind and a hot day. I've only played the front nine there, and it definitely runs the full gamut from super easy holes to some wicked ones. Playing it when it was in the low 50's and foggy/drizzly didn't help, but it was still fun. My home course is a 68/123. But that doesn't factor in that our fairways are trimmed like the rough at most courses, our greens don't hold even the spinniest approach shots and that there are no lateral hazards so a slightly errant shot means 3 off the tee.