ajahn

oh and I dont' exactly take my own advice, I wish I had more time in the week to do so but between a full time job and full time masters work its just not there. Maybe in a few years =)

If you want to hit it long and in control you need to spend time at the gym, although someone who is 140lbs can hit 280 (and I'd bet that is NOT his avg drive, have someone with a rangefinder mark his distance for a round and I'd wonder what that would compute too) if he wants to go farther he needs to build more muscle mass. Tiger probably spends time every day in the gym or on conditioning outside of swinging a golf club. He can drive well over 300 because of his physical conditioning not just swing mechanics. Bottom line if you want to hit farther you need to condition yourself. For a routine I'd say most people would benefit the most from a rigid core exercise from basic situps to planks and resistance training around your mid section. I like the advice of seeing a personal trainer locally, a good one will find and help address most of your issues a lot faster then you would be able to alone.

I agree getting fitted before your handicap is even measurable is probably not needed. I would suggest getting 3 wedges maybe a 52, 56, and a 60. Your score will drop like a rock if you can learn to hit it close within 100 yds. I have been practicing my short game a lot lately and my score was around 100 avg per game and now a good round puts me in the mid to low 80's. I got the 08 big bertha irons 5 weeks ago and find them very forgiving, I played a round a week ago keeping track of contact points and even on toe hits and thin hits my shots were very playable. That was my biggest problem and with extra forgiveness vs. my old blades I am seeing improvements in my game. I picked up 6-P + there 50deg. A-wedge.

I agree the initial bite you get on a vokey is too much but after a month or so it starts to react more consistently. I suppose you could get a new one and depending on the course and condition you could put the new or the broken in one (I bet the pro's do this).

Goals I met this past year playing golf: -Shoot an 80 or better -Get a modern set of clubs for my bag (the set I started the season with was avg 15 years old per club) -Play golf at least 1 time each week, I made excuses every year prior to this one about why I didn't have time. Now I'm definitely addicted again.

Hit an 8 Iron 145 on a par 3, about 15 yrds elevation change with a 10mph right to left wind. I think I hit my first draw (on purpose) with an iron. I stuck it about 10 feet from the pin and made the put for birdy. This was on the 5th hole and was a turning point in the round. Shot 38 for a +2 on the front nine. Was the best hole and round of golf to date. My handicap is around a 20 but in the last 2 weeks I've been shooting in the 70's not sure whats going on but I LIKE IT!

I play with a ping pal 4 which is probably 20 years old by now. I think I should get a new putter since I started playing a lot more this last year. I tried out the Odyssey with inserts and it just felt too? soft, I'd go with the ping Piper.

I changed my swing mechanics a little in the last few days I used to put my 8-PW shots way back in my stance, usually at or sometimes behind my back foot. I now am trying to move it inside my back foot or even further. I seem to be taking a lot smaller divots. I think my divots were about what you mention above before and now are about half the size. So far its helping me get more spin and a huge jump in accuracy, especially with longer shots. Chopped about 10 strokes from my game with this and a few other changes including gear.

I just picked up the Tour Burner 10.5 with regular flex shaft. My previous best round of golf was an 86 back in highschool I kinda stopped playing golf for a few years. Now I picked it back up and have almost a whole new bag of clubs including the TB. Played 18 yesterday hitting 9/13 fairways avg 240-250 off the tee only loosing 1 too the woods shooting an 80. I do have new irons but this was my 2nd round with this club and had only hit about 25 balls with it before the round. Shots were very forgiving but probably not as long as some of the other drivers out there. I felt like I could work the ball which is something I never thought I could off the tee with an avg round sitting in the mid to high 90's. I hit the 09 and felt it was a step backwords and thats why I purchased the TB instead.

Software designer c++ for GD-AIS "rocket scientist" lol

Home course: http://schenectadygolf.com/ Probably an easier course then most but it is nice as a walker since their is not too much elevation changes and the course is very well kept for such a cheap price. 26$ 18 holes greens fees