Marinemike

Well, I did it. I'm buying a used set of MP 32s. They look pretty nice, and if I suck with them, then I can simply ebay them for at least what I bought them for. We'll see how thing go at the range this week.

Thanks for all the posts guys. I have mixed opinions about the whole cavity vs blade argument, but I feel like if I had the musclebacks, then I would make the most of it. It's still a toss up for me right now. Maybe I'll get them just to intimidate everybody at the bag drop!

Is this advisable? Would they grow on the player or just frustrate? I ask because I can get a sweet deal on MP-32s right now. FYI, my ball striking has come a long way and my bad shots are almost exclusively fat or thin vice toed or healed. I can't even remember the last time a toed a full shot.

Don't forget that they go out and gun down every yardage possible earlier in the week. I can't imagine what their yardage books look like.

Stay inside? Seriously though: shade, lots of water, ice cold towel on the neck, and synthetic fabrics.

I'm gonna blow some minds! 9I 120 8I 125-135 7I 135-140 6I 140-155 5I 150-170 4I 165-175 3H 185-190 5W 200 D 240-270 I think I have the shortest distances here, but guess what, they're my distances and they're solid. I almost don't want to start hitting irons further because then I would have to ass around with what to hit when. I can get to the hole just as easy or easier than a lot of others with huge numbers. I've been doing this seriously for really only about 6 months now (broke 100 in April), and I have some dumpy irons. I have a feeling my handicap will be much lower by the end of calendar '09, but my iron distances won't be much different at all despite their apparent puniness.

FL panhadle is absolutely oppressive. Went in to the proshop and told them I was gonna walk. "I have to get acclimatized eventually, right?" The reply was "acclimatized? More like hospitalized!" I think the starter thought I was psycho so he paired me up with a guy with a cart and told me to ride. Seriously though, it's 91 at 6AM, and was getting to about 103 (heat index of 113) in the afternoon until Thursday when it only got to 96, but it's starting to come back up. Stay hydrated my friends . Do that, and you can do anything out there no matter the temp.

I'm with you. I'm much better at judging both speed and break on faster greens. I think the big reason is that the ball rolls so much more purely instead of bouncing and jiving the whole way. An advantage to hitting on slow greens is that if you get it on speed there isn't much break to it. You can pretty much go right at the hole unless you're on a pretty big slope.

I keep mine on my own Excel spreadsheet. I like knowing how the numbers work and why, and I have no real need to have a USGA ordained number since I don't plan on being in any tournaments (even net score tournaments) until I can get into a higher flight. I would much rather spend my money competing against the guys with the vanity caps that you're talking about than have to compete against the sandbaggers.

I throw clubs once or twice a round. Not in a dangerous manner, but man the distance it goes makes up for the distance my ball didn't get.

Hitting from the reds feels like stealing! What course were you on? The red at Kinderlou still play pretty long.

Being in the business of physical conditioning I've seen a ton of people with a ton of leg problems in the last few years including myself. Shint splint healing takes good old fashioned time. If you must use your legs make sure you stetch. So you'll probably be the only golfer sprawled out on the ground getting a good stretch, but it is absolutely necessary. Also a must, and probably my main suggestion, if you must is a good REAL set of orthotics. None of the "gellin'" BS which I think gets its main benefit from marketing and the placebo effect. I suggest the Super Feet brand or the Biosoles brand. You can get them online, at Dick's, or at a running shop. You're going to get them and they won't be sexy or soft or anything like that, but they dang sure WORK. I believe every golfer would benefit from them, especially those who have leg problems or who get fatigued.

I just today really "get" what this thread is about. I cussed my way around the course, had temper tantrums, double crossed some drives, and couldn't hold greens because they were ROCK hard (I really hate this course). In fact I had 1 GIR. 1! Well I add it all up and stick it in the spreadsheet & what do you know, I played directly to my handicap. I wasn't expecting it to be under a hundred much less up to my handicap. I think the big saving grace (other than a birdie out of the sand) was that I only had 1 triple bogey and 3 three-putts. So I guess that's a big victory, and I'm expecting too much from myself.

Does anybody still hit Ping i2s? I have a chance to get a set cheap, and am wondering if they are too outdated.

Sure Phil's game today was a rollercoaster, but don't forget what he put up on the front 9 at Augusta. Barnes lost it today. You could see it happen when he put his tee shot in the sand, had confusion with his provisional, and then put #2 in the weeds. Still haven't got Glover figured out. We didn't hear much about him between Tiger, Phil, and Barnes's hat. I think it's between those 3 though, right now. -7.

So David Pelz's short game bible has become a standard, but so many people think that Phil Mickelson is a short game wizard. I need to start getting up and down along with knocking down a 15 footer here and there. Who's product should I espouse, Pelz's book or Lefty's DVDs? These seem like the big 2, but I'm open to other suggestions. I want something that has fundamental knowledge; something that's timeless and will still make sense in 40 years. Thanks.

Don't lose faith. It's all about confidence, and yours is in the tank right now. Read 2 books. I know you've seen them talked about on here (I don't shut up about them): Ben Hogan's 5 Lessons; The Fundamentals of Golf, and Bob Rotella's Golf is Not a Game of Perfect. They are both right up your alley. BTW, I busted my 6 iron off just above the hosel when I started from hitting so fat. I got stress fractures in my rear hand thumb because of a mix of improper grip and hitting it fat. You got nothin' on me when it comes to hitting fat. So open a beer, sprawl out on the couch with good golf books, and remember that somebody out there has it much worse than you!

THIS!! It happened to me yesterday. Down here in the panhandle it's in the upper 90s and you can drink the air. It is oppressive. I had a 44 on the front and a 55 on the back yesterday. That's a good front and a bad back for me. I didn't stay hydrated, and that's what happened. Last spring and summer, I umpired high school baseball in Atlanta. That is another undertaking which requires immense concentration, and immense confidence just like golf. I found out that NOTHING will sap concentration and confidence like heat a poor hydration...Believe It.

So where are all of the naysayers to decry this study? All everybody talks about when practice regimes come up is short game and how dang important it is. Yes, it's bad to 3 putt, so you don't want to not practice putting, after that, in my world at least, it's distance and accuracy with 5-8 iron, then distance and accuracy with "Mr Taylormade." I tried to make myself spend more time chipping, and I have gotten better at it, but my major stats of about 1.7 GIR and 36 putts needs to get better. Although getting up and down is an amazing skill to have, being able to put it within 20 feet of the pin, and then being deadly with the flat stick is going to yield a much lower average score than a good pitch and chip game. Can anybody convince me otherwise, especially after the extensive research presented?

Only because he so freaking far ahead! 10 strokes anybody? Let's wait until he gets into a mexican standoff on the back 9 on Sunday and see what he does before we all say he's soooo boring.

You sooort of have to understand where Adel is and what kind of place it is. It's very rural, Bible belt-ish, and while this guy isn't the average, he's certainly not alone. There are a few guys from Valdosta (just south of Adel) who know what I'm talking about. Incidentally, what was the guy's justification for the $3000 Buy it now price?

OK. I'm gonna try to trust you on this this afternoon. I stopped using the line because of what everyone else is saying. I guess it can't hurt to try with my avg 36 putts per round.

Care to link some? I haven't caught on to too much arrogance. I more usually see the low handicappers slapping each other around. However, I haven't been here for very long.

I'm gonna go against the tide here...I think he's my new favorite golfer. He makes golf look so effortless. Not charismatic-whatever, He's in his happy place. I think Phil is a social rock on the course and everybody likes him. Gay's also not the guy who has to be a ninja to put in a good round. That's what I'm gonna be like when I win PGA Tour tournaments.

Spend 12 bucks on Ben Hogan's 5 Lessons: Fundamentals of Golf. Yes it was written a long time ago, but it is timeless because it's the ground floor fundamentals. It's only like 90 pages so it won't overload you. Then go to the range AND course to practice what it says. Once you have the things in that book in your head, THEN go get some instruction. Your instruction time will be so much more enriching if you show up even having just grip and stance down. That way he can work on the nuances and habits that hold you back rather than building you up from zero.