GTV8

There may be a few white clubs on tour soon. Here is a pic of Poulter's new white ZL driver that he posted on twitter. http://twitpic.com/34yxxt

Watching the tournament last night on the Golf Channel they showed an Asian player using a yellow ball. I thought it was Shigeki Maruyama, but I think he is sponsored with Bridgestone??? They did not state the brand of ball.

A Srixon insider on another forum implied that the yellow Z-star might see some play at this weekend Northern Trust tournament. It would be interesting if it does...

I think it is quite common for the ball companies to make customized or prototype balls for certain pro's. I have read that some of the Nike pro's use a One Tour D ball but with a softer cover than the "retail" version. I don't really see what the big deal is.

Are you sure? My understanding is that the Rapture, i15 and S series irons are manufactured in China. Basically anything with Tungsten or Titanium in them is made in China.

Yes, most of them have a distance calculator feature often called a "Mark" function. You press a button which starts the function and then you just walk to any point and it will tell you the distance from the original mark. Example, you can start the "Mark" from your tee spot and then walk to each of your balls and see how far they are from the tee spot.

I am not familiar with the I-506 but do have the I-701's...While the performance is excellent, I have to say I find the feedback quite harsh with them, much more than I had expected based on reviews I read. I previously had some MP-52's, which I stupidly sold, and the MP's were much better feeling even on mishits. I would describe the I-701's as having a large sweetspot for mishits, but a very small sweetspot regarding feel. Just my opinion...

There is more that goes into trajectory than just the type of shaft. The clubhead design and individual swing characteristics also affect the ball flight. Like many people say, you have to hit them and see which performs best for you. I am a high ball hitter (not ballooning) and I get about the same height from DG's, PX's and SGI shafts I have hit.

Edwin Watts should have them for $350 (4-PW) and there are some on eBay for $300 from reputable sellers.

You may want to check out the Srixon i701 forged irons. They are blowing them out now and can be found for as little as $300 with Dynamic Gold shafts. They seem very comparable to the MX-200 regarding size and sole, etc.

45 seconds is ridiculously long to take a shot...Lately I have been playing allot of par3\executive courses while my wife is learning the game and several times we have been paired up with teenage kids. While they have all been very, very nice kids, they are obviously watching way too much PGA golf. The setup routines and multiple practice swings they take before every single shot were driving me crazy. The future is not looking good for those who want a faster pace of play.

Uninformed post...A couple seconds of research would inform you that Ping established a whole seperate company called Ping Golf Japan KK so they can design\assemble\distribute a full range of products just for the Japanese market. Also, most of Pings clubs are now manufactured in China and then assembled in the US. The Rapture irons, Tour wedges, Redwood putters and I believe all driver, fairway and hybrid heads are poured in China. This information is easily available with a bit of research.

My wife is like "why is he always screaming"? But, I find the show entertaining and occassionally pick up some good tips.

Right from Ping's website: Sounds like the new G15\i15's are compliant but previous models are not. "However, on August 5, 2008 the USGA and the R&A; announced a new rule regarding the allowable dimensions of grooves on these clubs. Since these specifications did not exist when our iron and wedge models were designed, most (including our current G5, G10, i10, S57, Rhapsody, Rapture and Rapture V2 iron models; and our current Tour-W wedges) do not meet the specifications of this new rule."

I don't see how a clean range ball can cause any damage to a club. But, if the balls are dirty with sand or dirt than I can see how that could scratch the club face more than normal. Same thing can happen hitting a dirty premium ball off the fairway.

What is funny is that I bet a good number of golfers could shave 5 strokes off their round if they did play something like the Big Berthas...I am sure there are many golfers needlessly suffering because they purchased their irons based more on looks than function. I know I have done that before.

Good point!! I have a wedge with Zip Grooves and after every full shot I have to scrape out pieces of the ball from the grooves.

In the new issue of Golf Digest (w\ Arnie on the cover) there was a half page post briefly describing and showing some new irons being released. One of the irons mentioned was the "Cleveland CG7 BP" with milled face and Zip grooves. It showed a 5 iron with the Black Pearl finish. Anyone have any additional info on these? A Google search turned up nothing but a small post on another forum asking the same question. ps..any benefit or detriment to having the Zip Grooves on a full iron set?

I am still a beginner and have a Cleveland Niblick which I find to be quite versatile and definitely not a “one purpose” club. I find it great for a variety of pitches and chips as well as full and half shots out to around 100 yards. I do realize that I can make these same shots with other clubs in my bag but I am more consistent and make better shots with the Niblick so that is why I play it. Eventually I may remove it, but for now I enjoy hitting it so much I don’t get that upset when I miss the green because I get to use the club.

The Top-Flite D2 Feel would be comparable to the Nike Powersofts and I think they are around $15 for a pack of 15.

Last weekend I played with both the Nike Vapor (my regular ball) and the Burner TP LDP, hitting both side by side on a few holes. The Burner TP LDP is a 3 piece ball and more comparable to the Vapor as the Burner LDP is a 2 piece ball. I am far from being an expert but my general observations are below: Vapor = higher trajectory and a couple more yards carry distance, but sometimes has a tendency to drift a bit off line on longer shots. Burner TP LDP = medium-high trajectory, a little less carry but very straight. My straightest shots always seemed to be with the Burner. Otherwise both felt similar and I plan to continue experimenting with both.

In my opinion you obviously need to be a very good golfer to consider going Pro, but more importantly you need to be a GREAT tournament golfer!! After all, Pro’s play tournaments and you need to play well in them to be successful. To me, the best indicator of some ones “potential” is how well they play in major "amateur" tournaments against all the other very good golfers out there. Who cares how low your handicap is or how often you shoot under par, if your not winning or placing well in these tournaments you will not be a successful Pro…