LaPuzza

A good golf course should have demo clubs you can take to the range, if you want to do that. Alternatively, take your current driver into the sim. If you know you hit your driver 240 now, and the machine says you're hitting it 300, that will give you a baseline.

I had a professional football player once complement me for an entire round at a par 3 on how smooth and athletic my swing was. Granted, it was at a nice local par 3 course, so he didn't see my "smooth" swing produce a 220 yard drive :)

Clearly, every golfer in the world needs $1000 of lessons more than $1000 of clubs. God knows I do :) However, playing with clubs you hate means that you enjoy golf less. I went back and forth on getting new clubs when I was playing with Wilson musclebacks from the early 80s. The instant improvment in my game from the clubs inspired me to play and practice more. I think his rush to buy clubs is that he doesn't save money well, and if he waits to buy he'll end up spending the money on 700 beers instead. Re: Ebay, he's a hands-on guy, and he pays cash for everything, meaning the he'll be the last man on earth to use ebay. Old economy guys keep the golf shops in business for people like me to browse before I buy online :)

One of the mags did a test on this, and there was a return rate in the 90%+ range for return of clubs left in conspicious places (near the green in plain sight). The chance of theft may be less than the chance that it was not found, or that it was destructively discovered by a cat wheel or lawn mower, at which point no one is going to turn in a busted club.

Ping Rapture V2s seem to be findable, and very well respected, but are not made anymore and still expensive as hell ($1000-$1200 at local shops according to the web sites). I always tend to assume that max GI clubs improve from year to year, but are these "old" clubs really that amazing as to warrant the price?

Too many options and not enough time - he's working double shifts right now, so shopping takes up valuable sleeping time. He's looking to narrow those options. Thanks for the hint on the K15 driver, I was looking at the irons as options for him, too. Any other ideas?

I have a friend that has finally decided that he is going to spend some savings, $1400, and buy some new golf clubs. His current set is about 20 years old, and he is a foot taller and 200 pounds heavier than he was when he purchased them as a young teenager. He is convinced that he needs longer clubs, which he might, so he understands that he needs a fitting. I’m trying to talk him into lessons, but he wants the new sticks first. What he has asked me to do is scout some options for clubs. About his game: 1)Slice off the tee. Not always, but often and severe. 2)Generally in the 220-240 range for drives. 3)He hits at least a few awful iron shots a round (20 yard burners, etc). On good contact with short irons he is consistent in range but not on target, usually pin high but off the green (I assume this is setup and aim, not club, but full disclosure) 4)Although he shoots in the 100-110 range, much of that is due to lazy putting. 5)He chips well, so he is planning on keeping his wedges for the time being. I know no one can just tell him what to buy, but I’m trying to give him options to consider. Thinking Nike Machspeed, TM Burner, Ping (?)15s, but I don’t know much about Adams and Calloway options. If this guy was your friend, what are 2 or 3 options, in irons and woods, that you would suggest hitting? Thanks for any suggestions.

It makes me feel better to see so many low handicap players admitting to this. I'm often amazed when I play with a good player and he hits a genuinely bad shot, but apparently it is pretty common. I can honestly say that if I shoot my handicap, I have an average of 10 shots that are just worthless - a chip that goes 12 inches, a 30 yard drive, making shooting par in a sand trap, etc.

Carry or ride, i have the woods at the stand end and the wedges at the "front" with the pockets. It would be really weird to me to do it the other way. This bag may be my favorite piece of golf equipment, but I have considered a different bag for days that I ride. The feet keep it from sitting squarely in the back of a cart, meaning that its never really secure. Also, without a good opening on the rain hood, I just got a tower/cover from the pro shop and called it a day.

Let me just start out by saying that I'm not looking to enforce the rules on someone else in a friendly round or complaining about losing a round. With that out of the way, I was playing with a friend of mine yesterday and picked up his wedge greenside while he was putting out. Grabbing the face, the thing literally felt like sandpaper. I asked him if he knew if that was a legal club, because I'd never seen anything like it. He didn't know, but admitted that it was an odd little club. The brand/name was "Zircon" or something like it - there was even a little diamond-shaped plastic gem on the back of the clubhead. 1) Anyone know off the top of their head if this is legal or not? 2) Anyone know a list of legal, or a list of outlawed, clubs that I could search to figure this out? Again, I'm just really wondering about this, because if it is legal I can't imagine why I've never seen one like it.

Wow, interesting to look back. Handicap Dropped: nope, that went up because a few of by best scores were run off the board. Break 95: Shot a 92 this weekend! It was on a par 70, but from the blues. I'm counting that Practice: I'm actually practicing a lot by my definition, because I count playing a par 3 as practice, as I'll hit multiple balls and try new things. I'd say I've hit this goal. Less money: done. I'm having less fun because of some really bad rounds, but that's not a budget issue Flop Shot: nope. But I'm playing my distances better and not putting myself in a position to NEED a flop shot, which is much better. New SW: I found a way to use my old one and my lob wedge, so no need there. Hard-Swinging: I forgot this was a goal, but boy was I awful at the begining of the year. I've slowed down my swing a ton and gotten much better ball control. So all in: I'm 2/3 on my specific goals. On my general goals, I've nullified some and met others. Overall, I suddenly feel better abotu my year!

I was going to make this exact post.

I have that, and I think it's the best thing ever. Easily my favorite piece of equipment. It has saved me its sticker price in walking in the first year alone. The only drawback is that it is a below-avearge cart bag, because of the legs. It doesn't sit straight when belted into a cart. If you're carrying, or don't mind having to shift the bag around on the cart, this is a fantastic bag.

The point is that net score makes golf the only sport where two people with wildly different skill levels can enjoy friendly competition. I couldn't play basketball, baseball, football, soccer, tennis, or really any other sport with a professional athelete and have it be fun for either of us. I could have a pro tennis player spot me a set and it still wouldn't be fun. I could play golf with a player much worse or much better than I am, and aside from some frustration here and there, have a good competitive outing. Also, with a handicap calculation, I could potentially take a couple of bucks off of, or lose a couple of bucks to, anyone in a skins game. That's one of the things I love most about golf.

Nike has a thing on their site, or used to, regarding a hole in one story and certificate. . . Well, not there any more. Looks like Tiger took it with him.