TXjammer

My humble opinion is that it would be nearly impossible to intensify the competition in the most mentally stressful game on earth (comparitively), no matter what size the window of opportunity. I would find it hard to believe that any of these guys are out there playing "half-hazardly" when they make a living by winning, as opposed to athletes with contracts that get paid regardless of their performance. In addition, the possible negative effect could be "making the swimming pool too shallow". If a player (maybe a favorite underdog) takes a dive in performance, but has multiple opportunities to rebound, you may see him maintain exempt status for the following year. However, if deprived of those opportunities, may "hit the bottom of the pool" before being able to return to the top. And maybe, that was your point all along?

It had been the worst front 9 I could remember in the last 2 yrs. Dad stops me on the 12th tee and says "Son, you know how when you are looking for a job you can't find one...until you finally get one and they then seem to be everywhere? Or when you're looking for a girlfriend and there's nada to be found until you have one...and they come crawling out of the wood-work?....and on and on and on?" I said "yeah, what's you're point?" He said "It's the same way with pars and birdies. The harder you push yourself and criticize yourself and beat yourself up over bad holes, the further you are from playing good. Try to just remember how much fun you have playing the game and watching the ball fly, and watch what happens." I thought about it for a minute, realized he had a VERY good point and that I wasn't having much fun at the moment....laughed at myself for a second at how retarded I was being....stepped up to the tee, and played the last holes like this: 12 - +1 13 - +1 14 - par 15 - par 16 - par 17 - +1 18 - par - 543 yd par 5 I love my dad. Comment as you wish...bet you guys have some stories like this.

This is an update to the thread http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...stom-fit-clubs ... I finally visited a club-fit specialist Sat. My new Callaway X22s are nowhere near what I need, it turns out. The shaft was too strong, the lies are a degree off for me, I hit several other head types much higher and straighter...and that's pretty much the whole club except the grip! I will be returning the clubs to the rightful owner, and I will be picking up a new set of ________ today for a test run. I will fill in the blank tomorrow when I know what they are! The fitting WAS worth doing, if for no other reason....I learned a LOT about my swing I didn't know before. However, I'm glad I waited til now to be fitted, because my swing has evolved a lot this year, and any sooner on the fitting would (IMHO) have been too early. I, again, appreciate all the advice about club fitting and custom clubs...I had a lot of your comments in my head during the fitting which allowed me to speak to the pro with a lot more knowledge. You might say I kind of ..."borrowed" the forum's wisdom!!! LOL

I really appreciate you taking the time to share, hoser* ....and I have to admit, there are a few terms in your post that I have no idea what they mean!?!? Like "smash factor"...is that golf ball compression? None the less, it sounds to me like the guy who built your clubs covered absolutely EVERY base. The static fitting that I had done when I bought the clubs suggested that I am a standard lie fit. But I will be getting fitted much more like what you did soon, just saving some money first.

Just thought I would post that I found the clubs that seem to be what I've been needing (as my signature now reflects)... Callaway X22 Tour irons with Xproject 6.0 shafts. One things is for sure....these clubs reward you like a king when your swing is sweet....when your off though....they will definitely let you know! I have a whole new set of increased yardages now, and that provides some added confidence. Thanks for all the good advice and pointers! Hope to be posting some scores in the 70s soon!

AWESOME! Nothing like setting a goal and reaching it, huh?! So, speaking of which...what is your next goal?

I'm thinking you might have two things crossed up. "Standard lie" is a certain angle of the club head in relation to the shaft. Greater angle = flat lie, and less angle (than standard) = upright lie. What you seem to be asking is "Is the lie of this club right for me?"...and it appears that it is. Helpful? or just shut up?

I am very very sorry if I offended anyone with my comment about lavender...I won't at this point tell you why lavender bothers me so much, and maybe some of you can really pull it off on the course, guess I should just shut up. But in my defense, I DID say I like the rest of the retro look! : ) My apologies.

Wishful thinking? Maybe a down-payment? Oh, just leave me alone. LOL

Stop! Before I spit coffee on my keyboard!!! LOL

$4/club. Wow. Something tells me the treasures have already been plucked out of there. Besides, for 160k, I could buy a golf COURSE!!!....and the truck it would take to haul all those!!!!!!! OK...I'm done! Sorry.

Hang with me here....I've been playing guitar since I was 6 yrs old...professionally since I was 13. One thing I've learned for a fact over the years is that you can learn SOMETHING from everyone, even if they are only half as good as you. Sometimes it's what NOT to do, but nevertheless, everything you take in and process forms you and how you perform. I think JD could pass on something useful to TW without doubt.

OH BOY. Lavender????????? I can deal with the rest.

Thanks for everyone's replies! Here's what I have gathered so far: 1) I think it's conclusive that a fitting where a pro is watching you hit and checking ball flight and building/changing clubs accordingly, is going to be most effective. 2) Sounds like the majority vote is that money is not the issue if comparitively you will get out of the set what you were after for an amount of time that suits you and your budget. 3) If you read back through this thread, it is conclusive that every club in the bag can be a totally different animal from the next to suit how a person plays. Therefor a standard set of clubs is pretty much out of the question at this point no matter how I would order them. I'm too serious about golf at this point to try to "move up" to not have a more tactical approach. (I think) LOL 4) The most influencial statements in this thread are the ones that say "I would never go back..." That says alot to me. 5) While talking to a friend who is an assistant pro yesterday, we discussed a place that will let me "test drive" different brands of clubs to find the best suitor for how I play. So next step for me will be taking some "test drives" and see what puts my old clubs to shame and go from there.

All good advice, I'm just soaking it up and thinking. The good thing is I have no competitive events very soon and have some time to take to make sure I do this right. Thanks to everyone for the input so far.

That's what a friend of mine and I were just now talking about billysandy. He seems to think I should search for a bargain on a set, then take them to a place here that can do the bending and what-not. The only thing that doesn't help me with is, I have NO idea what kind of heads would be best for me....so maybe that's where I should start?

Makes perfect sense, rebby...that's the kind of answer I was looking for. Thanks much!

LOL!!!!!!! I didn't mean it like that! That was funny, though.

So...looking at your handicap...I have to assume that was the point where you really start shaving strokes off your game?

OH DEFINITELY!!! OK....here's what they do....they first take you out to the range and watch you hit your own clubs. They look for things like gaps in yardages b/w clubs, inconsistent problems through the set, for example if you hit your 4, 5, and 8 irons really great but was hooking all the others or something to that effect. Second they have a shop in the back with every club head, shaft, and grip imaginable. They build you a club that is what they think you are needing...then it's back outside to see how you hit it. Adjustments are made with interchangable parts until you find the magic. Then each sequential club is done the same way. When done, each club in your brand new set was built just for you.

Can't bro. My hossels are not bendable.

Seems there are several repliers here that have been fitted for shafts or for lie...but I guess no one has ever done the fitting specifically for a brand new set and had the whole new set built to your measurements? Perhaps outside of the tour players, I will be somewhat of a "pioneer". But please keep the comments coming...I'm learning things here.

That's what I was hoping when I first starting asking pros questions (that I could "fix" my set)...but everyone of them got the same exact look on their face when I said I was playing TaylorMade T200s...they then followed with something like "yeah....those are not too bad, but......" So I'm thinking they should know what they are talking about. After all, they get paid for the fitting, but don't make any money off the sale of the clubs, so hopefully sales isn't a reason for them telling me to upgrade.

We have a great place in Fort Worth called "Leonards Golf Links" which is staffed with pros that do personal, custom fittings. They charge $55 for a fitting, but waive that fee if you're buying a new set from them. This is what I'm looking at doing. However, before spending that kind of money, being that the really good irons start at about $400 and go up to $900, I'd just like to hear from someone who has taken this step and tell me how it turned out for them....kind of seeking encouragement so-to-speak. :)

If you are one of those who took that $500-$900 step, I want to know how "worth it" it turned out to be. How much did your consistency improve? Do wish you would have done anything different looking back?