Nyper

For anyone who has been properly fitted - do you play the same flex in your 3 wood shaft that you play in the driver? I was fitted for a driver last weekend, and they recommended an X Flex shaft. Playing X Flex really never crossed my mind, but I'm going to give it a try. Asking about fitting for a 3 wood never crossed my mind, and I don't really want to go pay another $30 for that. So... if I benefit from an X Flex in a driver, does it stand to reason I would benefit from it in a 3 wood also? While I generally hit my 3 wood straight, it has a slight tendency to spray.. sometimes a slight draw, sometimes a slight fade. No major hooks/slices.

I agree. That's why we're seeing more work put in to adjustable drivers.

I play quite a bit.. and I've only seen a driver damaged from a normal shot ONCE in about 15 years. The crown cracked. The guy's driver was ~4 years old... and it was the first round he played after he got back from a trip. It could have been damaged in baggage handling at the airport. I've never heard of a dent in the clubhead from normal use... at least not from any reputable manufacturer.

Anyone have any tips for an affordable mat for the garage? I can rig up a net/back stop pretty easily on the cheap side.. but I'm having no luck finding an affordable mat here locally. Anyone have any thoughts on this one? http://www.golfsmith.com/products/293574/Hank_Haney/4'_X_4'_Hitting_Mat I thought about getting a 4x4 piece of carpet padding to put underneath it if it's too thin. I will only be hitting irons in the garage.. I don't quite have enough room to swing a driver.

I'm selling a Titleist 909 D2. It's 9.5* with an Aldila NV-65 Stiff shaft. It's right-handed. I had the shaft put in the club a few months ago. The club is in great shape - no major dings/scratches/etc. I do not have the head cover. Asking $100 shipped or $90 face-to-face if you're in the Raleigh, NC area.

I'm selling a Scotty Cameron Studio Select Squareback 2. It's 34" - standard lie and loft. It's right-handed. It has a white Iomic grip. The person who owned it before me had the paint fill changed to orange. It still has a slight reddish hint. Comes with head cover. The club is in great condition, no dings/scratches. You may want to change the grip soon. Asking $160 with shipping. $150 face-to-face if you're in the Raleigh, NC area.

I fail to see the big deal. I chew tobacco while I play. I don't spit in a cup, I don't spit on the tee box, I don't spit on the green, and I don't spit on the cart path or near water coolers, etc. Other than that, I spit wherever. If I'm playing with someone who might not like it, I just spit when I'm not near them. I don't expect anyone to WANT to see me spit.

This weekend I decided to try and get fit for a new driver - if I could find anything that would outperform my current driver. I went to Golfsmith and took my old driver with me. I hit it on the launch monitor in the fitting bay. It said my average clubhead speed was 127 and my average carry distance was 310. I know my REAL clubhead speed is somewhere around 110 with a driver, and my carry distance is ~260. I then proceeded to hit 5 different drivers and the guy makes a recommendation of a certain driver with a certain loft and an X flex shaft. I told him those stats look pretty inflated and asked if he was suggesting the shaft based solely on the swing speed, or also the way I load the shaft. He said only swing speed. I asked if we could try a different launch monitor. He said "well, that one over there will tell you it's slower". I said "which one is accurate?" He says "well, to tell you the truth, we've been trying to get someone in here to properly calibrate these things for a while. They arent very accurate." I said "so do you think your recommendations are right?" He said "according to this monitor, yes" I said "but you just said this monitor wasnt accurate". He said "yeah, it's aggravating for us too" What the heck? You just wasted 30 minutes of my time and were willing to sell me a driver you have no idea if I really need? The guy hardly made a single comment about my launch angle, spin rate, etc... --------- Long story short, I went to a different place with a different type of monitor (one that monitors club and ball instead of just the ball). He properly compared my current driver to 6 different new ones in various lofts/flexes based on all stats and the way I load the shaft. He told me I wasn't hitting any of them significantly better than my current driver and he would't recommend that I spend money on anything new unless I just really wanted to. In fact, the one I hit the worst on his monitor is the one Golfsmith was trying to sell me.

Knowing what Par is simply makes it easier to keep score. It's much easier for me to remember than im "3 over" after 14 holes than it is for me to remember I've hit it "56 times".

I meant CB1 in teh subject.. not CB2. Can't seem to edit the subject... Anyone tried the Adams CB1? I was looking at them tonight at GolfSmith.. I like the way they look at address. Side note - tried to search the forum for "CB1", but 3 characters is too short...

Any iron EVER made by Ping or Callaway. (I'm not trying to bash them - I like the way several Ping models feel.. but I think they all look like crap).

Just thought I'd tell this quick story... We had a Monday Nationwide Qualifier at our course this year. The winner shot -10. The worst score to qualify was -5. Scratch doesn't have a chance...

Maybe not for "new" stuff that is still in supply, but the value of used clubs still drops sharply. I picked up a like-new 909 D2 this week for $85.

Now I remember why I quit reading this forum. Moron.

I honestly couldn't tell you the launch angle or spin rate. My swing speed may be slightly faster with this club for all I know. The 106 I was quoting was just an average of several other drivers on a launch monitor a few days ago. I haven't hit my current driver on a monitor in a long time.

Agreed! My wife never says anything to me about how much I spend on golf, thankfully. :) My bag | Price I paid | Retail Price Driver - Titleist 909D2 | $80 | $300 3 Wood - Titleist 909F2 | $115 | $200 Hybrid - Adams A7 | $70 | $150 Irons - Mizuno MP52 | $400 | $900 (I got mine brand new.. a complete STEAL!) Wedge - Vokey 52 | $120 | $120 Wedge - Vokey 56 | $120 | $120 Wedge - Vokey 60 | $120 | $120 Putter - Odyssey White Hot XG #1 | $70 | $120 I figure I paid about $1100 over the last couple years, and the retail price is roughly $2180 with tax. If I HAD to pay retail, I definitely wouldn't be playing most of the stuff in my bag. My regular playing partners poke fun at me for going through putters and drivers so quickly.. but I always break even when I sell something and get something different. One of my regular playing partners purchased a set of Burner 2.0 last week and paid retail. Along with a Taylormade bag and an R9 driver. Nothing wrong with it if you've got the money to burn...

And I still haven't found one that I feel "fits" me. So far this year I've used: Scotty Studio Select Newport 2.5 (liked it, but someone offered me a good price for it, so I sold it) Scotty Studio Select Fastback 1.5 (ok, but wasn't crazy about it) Scotty California Del Mar (had 20g weights, couldn't control distance well on our greens) Cleveland Classic CC1 (didn't have much feel to me) Yes! Callie Forged (not bad, but still lacked feel to me) Yes! Caroline belly putter (belly putters aren't for me. no distance control) Ping Redwood Piper S (feels good. kept it, but don't use it much.) Odyssey White Hot XG #9 (made putts like crazy the first 3 rounds with it. Can't make anything now. Doesn't fit my stroke well.) Odyssey White Hot XG #1 (my main putter at the moment) Scotty Studio Select Squareback #2 - picking it up today I actually bought all of these at a very good price. The ones I didn't keep I sold for a small profit.

Ditto. The one I had wouldn't stay on the bag. If you tried to take the putter out with one hand, the club slid off the bag every single time. I had to put one hand on the clip to hold it in place, and another on the putter. It was completely worthless to me.

Agreed.. unfortunately the fitters around here are half worthless. They only want to fit you for new clubs, with the available stock shafts. I walk in with a 7 or 8 year old driver and they immediately try to sell me on something new. My main driver is a Cleveland Launcher 400 I bought around 2003.. it sat in my closet for the past few years. I pulled it out this summer, changed shafts, and was amazed at how well I was hitting it. I've hit new Taylormades, Callaways, etc and can't hit anything else as well. I just bought a Titleist 909D2 for a very low price. It has a stock regular flex shaft in it, and I'm going to replace it with a NV65... just haven't decided on the flex. I'll probably go with the S and see what happens. I didn't really need the 909.. but for the price, couldn't pass it up! (I got it for $80, in great condition!) I played a 909 D2 with a stock Voodoo shaft for about a month this year. Loved the way the club set up, but the shaft felt dead to me.

I know I know... get fitted. I've been fitted a couple different times recently, but never really made a purchase. My clubhead speed with a driver is 106, and I've always been recommended to go with "stiff" in whatever shaft I'm looking at. My current shaft is a NV 65 Stiff. I'm considering going to an X Stiff in an attempt to hit the ball straighter more consistently. I know it all depends on how you load the shaft, etc... but just in general.. someone with a 105mph clubhead speed... how much distance could I potentially lose by going to a stiffer shaft? I'm currently hitting the ball anywhere from 275-300, depending on whether I hit it straight or turn over a slight draw. My carry is 265 on a straight shot.

I would agree.. but not just tournament rounds. In a 4 hour casual round, most of the time is spent waiting on other players, etc. However, I guess this also depends on your definition of "expert". Do you mean an "expert" at playing golf, or just an "expert" of the game in general (play, rules, etiquette, etc).

I buy lots of used clubs, especially putters. Like you - I'm picky about their condition. So far this year, I've bought two fairway woods, two hybrids, ~4 drivers, and ~8+ putters... all used. I bought my irons last year from a guy who won them in a tournament. They weren't used (still had plastic on them), but I certainly didn't pay retail price. The only clubs in my bag I paid retail for are my 3 Vokeys. My problem is that I'm too lazy to put the clubs I don't use on Ebay and get some money for them. I have some nice clubs just sitting in the closet that I'll probably never use.

I have a friend who started playing a couple of years ago. He doesn't play a whole heck of a lot, and never practices. Yet, he gets frustrated easily and becomes really slow and dragging every time we play. I simply stopped calling him and asking if he wanted to play. I started making my tee times with other guys earlier than normal, so if he ever asks me I can usually say "well, so-and-so needed a 4th so I'm playing with them". I still play 1 or 2 rounds with him each year, but that's about it. Golf isn't cheap, and there's no sense in spending money to play it with people if you don't enjoy their company.

I can't think of a single thing in my bag that I just couldn't live without. My range finder is my favorite.. but I could go back to stepping off the distance if I had to. Besides that, I don't guess I have any other gadgets. The only divot tools I have are ones that were free...

I either wear a pair of khakis or my wind/rain pants.... with compression/thermal pants underneath if its cold enough. Up top I have a few assorted wind/rain jackets that I almost always wear. Some with removable sleeves. Sometimes a compression/thermal shirt underneath is all I need. I can't stand to feel constricted. I also have a headband sort of thing that I wear over my had to cover my ears if its really cold.