Tommy

You may be standing a little too upright. Trying bending your knees a little more and maintaining your spine angle through the entire swing.

I'm just returning to golf after four months away and would appreciate any exercises/drills that would help get me back in reasonable form. When I went to the driving range earlier this week, the biggest problems I experienced were stiffness or lack of flexibility and secondly, poor tempo. I suspect the lack of swing speed and poor ball striking could be attributed to the above. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated. Thanks and all the best for the new year.

Rife Two Bar Mallett...if you can get past the infomercials. It's amazing how many pros are using it on the Champion's Tour.

BNguyen, thank you very much for taking the time to provide the links, they are very helpful. After reading through the material and much 'reflection' I've decided to try oil can refinishing - noting the precautionary measures discussed in the links you sent. I will post the before/after pics when complete. Thanks again BNguyen. ps: I posted the same question on GolfWRX and didn't get a single response, hmmmm.

Thanks everyone for your comments. As the clubs are well used and the dings and scratches aren't mine - I have no sentimental attachment to them and therefore, thought I would remove the oilcan finish by 'coking' and then try 'bluing' them. Is there any reason why 'bluing' would work that anyone knows of? Thanks again for your comments, always appreciated.

Coincidently, I just bought a 22 deg. 904F 7 wood on eBay this weekend. I have never enjoyed playing hybrids i.e. except from out of the rough and even then, its been primarily to 'punch' out. As others have said, it really comes down to preference. I for one, prefer woods over hybrids.

Yesterday, I picked up a couple of used Vokey Oilcan wedges (52/8 and 56/14 deg.). They have a few dings and are showing a bit of rust. The oilcan finish is quite uneven. I understand many oilcan users just let them rust, however, I would like to refinish/clean them up. Questions: Can I remove the old oilcan finish by soaking them in coke? How can I re-oilcan them i.e. to give them a more even finish? As an alternative, can I 'blue' them? What other options do I have? Thanks very much for any help.

No, it shouldn't cost you any more i.e. based on a retail to retail comparison and if I'm not mistaken, Titleist, Callaway and the other 'big' names also offer the ability to mix. Other may be able to confirm.

You can order a custom 'mixed' set from Mizuno comprised of any combination of models from MX and/or MP series.

Thanks for the constructive feedback allin, I cerainly won't let the lack of feedback influence my decision.

Anyone? Are they that unpopular?

I recently tried a NVG2 Fairway Wood (#3) and was very impressed. It suited my eye, and was very easy to make solid and consistent contact. Does anyone have any thoughts about them? Also, would anyone know what the difference is between the NVG and NVG2? Thanks, Tommy

The European Club, Ireland. Classic links. Absolutely spectacular

You're kidding, right?

kfloyd, I posed a related question to a very knowledgable and highly respected contributor to this forum: Gas_Can. He indicated "In the case of the 735's, the sweet spot of the club moves fairly considerably from the heel biased pitching wedge to the almost toe biased three iron. The bounce numbers are different, with a high bounce three iron, and a low bounce short irons. So if you are a sweeper or a digger, at one end of the specturm you may encounter problems in soft or hard conditions". Gas_Can's assessment of the 755s was very favourable. He pointed out that "...they have a thin topline, minimal offset, and a mid sized sole, but also a full cavity for forgiveness and a high ball flight which is especially great in the long irons. Also, since they are stainless steel, they will last considerably longer than the carbon steel forgings..." I hope he doesn't mind me passing this information along and I would highly recommend that you drop him a note if you need more information. Good luck, Tommy

Thank you both, very much. Sounds like Edwin Watts is the place to go. Regards, Tommy

I'm not sure this is the right forum, but... I will be visiting Orlando, for the first time, in a couple of weeks and wondered if anyone could recommend any particular golf stores for both new and used equipment. Thanks.

After considerable success with a new HiBore driver, I'm now looking at the fairway woods. Has anyone had any experience with them and what can I expect i.e. comparing them with The 904F? Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Based on your comments (and an assuring message from Gas_Can), I removed the plastic from the driver and headed to the range several days ago. Its an amazing driver with, I feel, the right shaft. My experience with the HiBore proved the advertising from Cleveland correct. It flies consistently higher, further and straighter than my 905T...I'm not sure that I'll ever go back . Thanks again, Tommy

Thanks Mike. Please forgive the naive questions; the theory surrounding shafts is still a little foggy. Notwithstanding where the kickpoint is situated, I had always thought that flex did influence trajectory. Therefore, based on the design of the HiBore - I wondered whether a stiff shaft was worth considering. Again, getting the ball up has never been an issue for me. I could be totally off the mark here...

Thank you both. The NVS is only available in Canada at an additional cost. Normally, I would not consider a stiff shaft because I quite simply don't have the swing speed. As I don't have any difficulty getting the ball up and given the design of the club, should I consider a stiff shaft? I really appreciate the feedback. Unfortunately, I don't have access to any facilities where I can demo the various combinations at a driving range and therefore, am trying to narrow my choices - based on theory... Thanks again.

Hi, I just bought a Cleveland HiBore Driver with the stock Fujikura shaft (regular flex) and wondered what others thought of the quality and performance characteristics of the shaft? The driver is also available with the Aldila NV and ProLauch Blue. How does the Fujikura compare to these two shafts? Thanks, Tommy

ClubSwinger, I have bought from other Canadians - in the local area, off eBay. By doing a search and limiting it to within 50 km of my postal code, I am able to find other people nearby. This way, you can arrange local pickup (most of the time), be assured you're getting legitimate products and save on shipping. You might also want to try Riverside Golf where they tend to be at least 10% less expensive than Golf Town. Takes a little longer to find what you want, but worth the wait.

Building on the comments offered by others, since taking up golf again after a significant period, I have paid full retail for name brand clubs, including Callaway (X14), Ping (I5) and Titleist (804.OS). As my game has improved, I was interested in trying 'blade' like irons and recently, priced components from Golfsmith to assemble myself. A full set, including head, shaft and grip, came to approximately $300 US. For the same price, I bought a used set of Mizuno MP30s. Although I re-gripped them and had the lie angle adjusted for a very small price, I ended up with a set that would have retailed new for approx. $1,000 - for the same price as the Golfsmith project. My point being that you can buy a lightly used set of name brand irons for approximately the same price as 'copies' or component clubs. The name brand clubs would be, perhaps, 1-2 generations old but still of higher quality and better resale value than a no-name brand.

Have to agree with Xt1nct...his swing and ball striking are within reach and "not a freak of nature." He also possesses the demeanour fitting of a world class golfer.