DonW

Congrats!!! What course? What's your favorite in the Quad Cities? Reason I ask is I just moved to Rock Island and would like to have some tips on where to play. I've played Palmer Hills and Highland hills need to check out some others.

I have and we had a good time overall. But use caution choosing which brand of nightglow ball you use as one has a reputation for caving in faces on hybrids and woods, Google the topic and I am sure the thread will pop up regarding this issue (I think it is a Golfwrx forum topic) We experienced the chemical stick coming partially out of the ball which resulted in being sprayed with chemicals when striking the ball after this happened, it is hard to see this has happened unless you pick the ball up to inspect before striking it, you will feel safer as you and your club will glow for the remainder of the round along with any who may have been standing nearby. Besides coming up short distance wise due to the nature of the ball the other short coming was the difficulty of playing to the flagstick as we played on a moonless night and several greens were near impossible to see. We would bring a flashlight to hang off the flagstick if we were to do it again. The other issue we had was both the highway patrol and the local police came to the course to check out who was on the course in the middle of the night, they both wished us a good game after talking to us but you could see they thought we were a little nuts.

Wilson also makes one, pretty sure I saw it on their website.

I would suggest a 5 wood (or 4 wood) for your first fairway wood it will be easier to hit off turf and I love mine out of the rough when I need the distance and you won't give up a lot of distance compared to a 3 wood. I had a 2 hybrid for my first hybrid and found it hard to hit (couldn't get much idistance out of it as I hit it so low), found a Wilson 3 hybrid that fit my needs better as to distance gaps and I love it, Wilson just came out with new hybrids so you can the 09 models really cheap. I originally went looking for an Adams hybrid as they seem to be highly favored by many but found they were pricy, would have but one anyway if I hadn't come across the Wilson so cheap.

I went from DI7s to PI7s, lost a little distance initially but quickly gained it back and now have maybe 5 more yards out of most irons. The distance was a nonissue for me as I was looking for accuracy and I believe I got it has I am hitting a lot more greens now. I suspect the uniflex shafts were the issue for me, the DI7s seemed to be the wildest irons I have ever played, I think the ball flight was just too high and the wind had its way with my ball flight more than the lower flight of the DG shafts I now play. Maybe all mental but whatever I am much happier with the PI7s and I think it is the shafts. I thought about reshafting the DIs but got the new set cheaper than I could have reshafted for.

I bought mine this winter at half price from TGW, last years model, used it once Minnesota to Pheonix and back. Worked great, well made, plenty of room for extras, wheels easily protected my clubs just fine with addition of a PVC pipe (and bubble wrap around clubheads) to protect driver shaft. My clubs, Ogio carry bag, pair of shoes, dozen balls, and towels put the total near the airline weight limit so you can't use all the available space anyway. When shopping I found nothing comparable but I paid half price and my local stores had very poor selection of travel bags.

I have Puma Swing GTXs with quills (the quills are all permanent), they have held up well and I like them, I find for me they work as well as standard spikes for swinging. I do not wear them if I walk as they are narrow and don't fit my feet as well as my PUMA GTX GTs or Puma Saddles which are the most comfortable golf shoes I have ever owned. Keep in mind I have only worn them when riding in a cart (I walk more than I ride), but they appear to be holding up well and when they are worn out I will feel I have gotten my moneys worth. If they fit my feet better I would buy them again as they are well built shoes.

25 putts, probably shot in the low nineties (threw all my cards out from last year as I am in the middle of moving). If I could get the ball off the tee I could play a decent round, putting is definitely my strong point, if I have more than 30 putts it has been a bad day of golf more than likely.

Returned clubs, towels, cell phone and head covers. Don't hold your breath waiting for your ball to be returned cause I'm playing it if its good or in my practice bucket if something I don't like (this only applies to balls found when no else is on the course). Never lost a club on the course, would truly suck if someone is so low they would take it for them selves.

I started both my sons around 5 to 7 years old on a par 3, my oldest started beating me on shorter holes at the age of nine. I never told them how to do anything unless they asked, the exception to this rule was proper course etiquette. We quit as soon as it was no longer fun, often this was only 5 to 7 holes. By there teen years they could both beat me soundly, I did sign them up for group lessons with other kids for a couple years but always verified with the pro that the priority was fun and nothing more. My oldest still plays every chance he gets, my youngest is so busy other sports have taken precedence with his spare time now but I bet he will take it up again in a few years.

I am definitely biased, it all started in 1968 when I would dream of buying a full set of Wilson Staff Dynapower irons, (when I was a kid Wilson clubs were the ultimate but I never had the money) took me over 30 years but I have a set to hang on my wall now. When I go looking for clubs I start with Wilsons but will and have played other brands, they are dissapearing from the market around here so I may need to switch brands in future club purchases. I do play Titeilist driver and woods currently and don't foresee making any changes with my bag in the near future. I have stocked up on 8802 putters as I have never found another putter brand or style that I like better. There are so many great clubmakers now we don't know how good we have it, I am sure I could find a model from nearly any brand that I would enjoy playing with.

Wilson still makes the Augusta, go to wilson.com and look under recreational golf. There should be some on e-bay, I bought a Sam Snead Pay Off putter for a buck at a garage sale, search around there has to be a lot of these style putters laying around in peoples garages.

Last winter I replaced my entire bag, driver and fairways were 30 years old, irons 15 years old. Bought some "Game Improvement" irons, played the most golf in a season I ever have yet struggled to break 100, I couldn't hit greens to save my life with the new irons. Accuracy was horrible (I suspect the uniflex shafts are to blame for this) also very frustrated trying to use these oversized (klunky) irons for chips and short pitches. Breaking point came when my cousins whipped my butt severely, we're usually very evenly matched. Went looking for Wilson Ci7s found Pi7s at a huge discount, have only played 5 rounds all in the low 90s all at new to me courses in windy cold fall conditions. Today I pulled out my old Wilson forged irons and compared them to the Pi7s and they are nearly identical in size and shape. Now if I could just have my old fairways back, gave them to my sons buddy who is just starting to play and I don't have the heart to ask for them back as he is loving them. The only thiing I don't miss is my old driver. When the snow melts I am looking forward to once again shooting an ocasional round in the 80s and I am going to play my old clubs to see if I actually gained anything in buying the Pi7s, I suspect I should have just gone back to my old forged Wilsons.

I voted Rory only because he has already experienced a lot of the does and don'ts of scheduling a season of professional tournaments. I fully expect both of them to win this coming year and look forward to rooting for both.

I got to know the head pro well enough he allowed me to tee off before the course was officially open, in the heat of summer this meant around 5:30 and generally before 6:00. Besides having the course entirely to myself and generally putting my clubs away as everyone else was unloading theirs I got to know the mowing crew well enough they would generally stop to chat with me and as often as not give me a few of their found balls to try out.

I really like the zipperless ball pocket, after a year of use golfing 2 to 3 time a week it still works fine as does the whole bag. For loading or unloading into vehicles there is a grip near the top like most bags and also under the ball pocket is a reinforced slot to grab the bottom end of the bag, not really necessary but I have tended to use it more and more as time goes by. I should clarify when I talk cart use I am referring to my using a driving cart, not a push/pull cart. Not sure how well Ogio bags such as the edge style will work on a push cart, may soon find out as I will buy one this spring, don't mind carrying but the constant on off is actually wearing the sling out. If your really committed to a push cart I would go with a bag specific to that use as I have my doubts how well the edge will work on one (does work great on the back of a power cart in the upright position).

I use an Ogio Edge (carry bag) with Woode top laid out as you describe (there are four seperat pockets for woods/hybrids on mine) and it works well for both cart use and carrying. The only complaint I have is the shafts of the woods can slide over into the irons (some pockets don't run all the way to the bottom) which then can be tough to pull clubs as the grips are tangled around one another. Tends to work better with more care in placing them back into the bag, can't say I notice this in cart use but mostly carry. The Ogio is the best bag I have owned and would be nearly perfect if they had made all the pockets full length.

1) blade putter (lost)/2,5,+9 blades of various makers/Wright Ditson 3 wood. set I used in my youth 2) Wilson 8802 putter/WilsonStaff Dyna-Power irons/MacGregor Persimmon woods. 1960s set I dreamed of as a kid and finally bought 40 years later 3) Pinseeker irons/Steel driver & woods 1980s?, SIL gave me these when her husband died. Pinseeker intorduced steel drivers to the world of golf. 4) Palmer original putter/WilsonStaff forged RMs/Titleist 975 driver 1990s, played this set until 2009. 5) WilsonStaff 8813 putter/WilsonStaff PI7s/Titleist 905R, 904 driver & woods, current set I play and plan to stay with for the next ten years. 6) WilsonStaff DI7s played these most of 09 but never really liked how they played on anything but full shots from the fairway, am much more accurate with PI7s, suspect the uni-flex shafts vs DG300 shafts have a lot to do with this.

I play occasionally with Puma quills, can't remember exact model right now, they lock your feet to the ground just as well or better than spikes. I am assuming the doc wants your feet to not be so locked into position as you swing, I would look at some of the shoes that Puma offers that are spikeless. I have seen other brands that are spikeless but can't reccomend a specific shoe from memory, I love my Pumas so much I have quit shopping other brands. Maybe search e-bay for some ideas of what's available.

I started out cheering for Gipper to win it all, now I'm not so sure he's going to step up and show what he is capable of. I couldn't stand Andrew after a couple shows, he comes across like the kid who starts the trouble then steps back and plays the little angel when the teacher steps in to break up the fight. Now I'm not so sure, I still suspect he is egging Blake on but Blake and Mike are such tools they deserve it. I think I am going to cheer for Kevin Erdman, everyone is so negative about his abilities I feel I have to cheer for the underdog. He is definitley the only guy left on the show that gets my full respect for displaying great sportsmanship when dealing with fellow competitors.

I wear Puma PG GTXs when walking, these are the only shoes that are still comfortable to me at the end of walking 18 holes. They are hard to find and I believe these are no longer current, it looks like the PG Symetry has replaced them, but if they fit you feet they are awesome. I have some Puma Concordes also, they are fine if I ride but after nine holes of walking my feet are sore and I'm switching shoes.

Isn't that quote from someone who makes their living selling clubs all cut to the same exact length throughout the set, no offense but I'm going to take his "scientific data" with a grain of salt.

I bought Wilson DI7s (SGI clubs) at the start of the season and I have struggled with my iron play all season, hit it nice and high and distance is very consistent but couldn't hit the green to save my life (my GIR absolutely suck this season and it has been very depressing trying to improve it). The short irons just don't seem as versatile, my old set I would use my pitching wedge for a whole variety of distances and the DI7 wedge just wasn't working for me. Long story short I stumbled across a new set of PI7s (according to Wilson a players iron) at the local Play it Again priced way below retail, thought what do I have to lose, only one round but my GIR stat more than doubled and I'm hitting my distances just as well. I'm hoping this isn't just a short honeymoon but I'm very happy, haven't played this good since my thirties. It may be all mental, these PIs look just like the blades I grew up playing as a kid at address, but I don't care what it is so far it's working.

I always try to hit my ball off the first tee before 7.

I voted wedges because my results rarely match my expectations. Right now my woods are very frustrating as the shafts don't fit my swing, used to be my favorites to hit but updated and gave my old Wilsons to my sons buddy. Wish I had my old ones back but can't bring myself to ask for them back as he is hitting them well and really likes them. Kicking myself for not making sure I was going to like my new ones before giving away the old ones.