teamgs

If I assume correctly that the OP's desire for a lower ball flight is due to perceived loss of distance with the current driver's trajectory, there can be many ways to achieve this end. Driver loft, spin rate, shaft design, and clubhead speed all contribute to ball trajectory. I say that you need to go to a reputable club fitter with launch and spin monitoring machines, and try as many combinations as you can. For example, you may find that you don't need a lower loft, but simply lower spin. The only way you will know is by testing out combo's and seeing the spin, angle, dispersion, and of course the estimated distance results. I got tested two years ago, and ended up with a driver I would have never considered, and that was on average about 17 yards longer than my old driver. I have changed my swing fairly significantly since then, picking up MPH as well, and will probably get fitted again, just to be sure. Your mileage may vary... Gary

I don't recall ever receiving compliments on my swing until one day at the range. I was hitting it surprizingly well for me, with my shots consistently flying in a perfect trajectory and landing on the artificial greens near the pins. A lady was sitting behind the tees, with a beautiful black lab curled up at her feet, while her husband was hitting. After a particularly nice shot, I heard her say to him while motioning in my direction that "he must be a very good golfer". I looked over and graciously thanked her for the compliment, adding that her dog was beautiful, and one of the most well behaved dogs I had ever seen. I then asked if it was hard to keep a lab from wanting to run out and fetch the hundreds of balls that were flying about. "Not at all", she said. "As my guide dog, he is trained to stick right by my side, no matter what!" Turns out that I have one of the nicest swings she had ever "heard"! Gary

I also liked the V2. I found it to hit and stop within a foot or so on short to mid-long irons. I have started playing premiums, and have seen significantly more backspin (ball backing up 5-15 ft) with the same short irons. I also have noticed that if I catch my short pitches/chips clean, the premium balls seem to take a couple of hops and stop, where the V2 rolls out more. Granted I have been tinkering with my swing, trying to stay down on the ball longer, and this has, I think, created more spin by itself, so I need to hit a couple of shots with different balls into the same green to test the V2 again. It is still a great ball at a great price. Gary

If you have all the gear you need right now, then +1 on the golf trip. Gary

I would wholeheartedly say DO NOT spend tons of money on your first set of clubs. If you progress rapidly (Especially if you take lessons) your swing is very likely to change significantly. Since I recommend getting fitted for clubs, or at least hitting a ton of them before shelling out lots of $$, what "fits" you now, will, most likely, not fit you after a short period of time. Spend the $$ you saved on clubs by taking lessons. Learning it right the first time will save you time and headaches in the long run, by not having to unlearn bad habits. Good Luck, and have fun! Gary

Have you checked out this site?: http://www.ironfinder.com/Individual...made/r7-06.htm What about ebay? Good Luck! Gary

Good point Erik. I guess it is up to the user to find a swing detail/price point ratio that is comfortable to them. My calculations seem to show that for a 105 mph swing speed, there is 2.5 ft of linear clubhead movement per 1/60 of a second, when the swing is at its fastest. This only occurs for a relatively short portion of the swing. I have been able to learn tons of valuable info about my swing at 60 fps. The only points where I feel I lose detail might be the last foot or so of the downswing. The backswing, transition, swing plane, leg movements, head position and movement, etc. are very easy to see and track at 60 fps. Of course this is only my opinion, and YMMV. Gary

Though I think that is a correct statement (I haven't found proof either way), I would say that both shutter speed AND FPS are important. From a practical standpoint, having a 1/10000 sec. shutter speed would really capture the swing without any motion at all, but if the camera only had 2 FPS, you would only get around 3 frames per swing! I seem to have read that 60 fps is generally accepted as the minimum standard for decent recording of a golf swing. Gary BTW, another aspect to take into account that I learned today the hard way, is that you might want to ensure that your camera can act as a webcam. I have V1 Home Premium (GREAT golf swing analysis software), and decided today to use my PC and the software to set up a mini-swing analysis station, so that I could get some real time feedback as I tested my swing into my net. I learned that my Aiptek camera cannot be used in webcam mode. I was stuck either using my webcam that had 30fps HD, or my other webcam that had 60 fps, but only 340x260 resolution. It is just so much nicer to capture the video right into the software, add some lines and other guides, then split the screen and capture another video to see if the changes made had any effect. Having to download the video first, then open up the software, just takes more time than I would like. My 2 cents Gary Gary

I found an AIPTEK A-HD-DV that does 720p HD at 60 FPS., and 1080p at 30 fps. I got it on EBay for $75. Works great. Good to have a tripod, as it doesn't have anti-shake technology. Gary

I have the IGolf (now Bushnell) Neo, and it is very small but with lots of good info, and tons of courses. For $30 per year, you get 100 course downloads per year, yours to keep if you cancel. Sooo..if 100 courses covers your golf area, you can be all set for $30. Gary

I like my 60 for short chips/pitches that don't have room for roll. Can't seem to consistantly hit a full shot with it though. As for sand, one good use for a 60/lob wedge is in firm/wet/thin sand. I personally feel as if my sand wedge, with it's extra bounce, has a much greater tendency to skip off the firm sand, and blade the ball. I will use my 60 lob, because the reduced bounce seems to allow me to dig in with more consistency. For nice fluffy sand, I will use my sand wedge, as it seems to offer me a little more protection against digging too deeply. I don't know if I would ever use a 64 lob for anything, but that's just me. :D Gary

I tried many irons before selecting, and the Tour Burners were my favorite, until trying the R7's. I felt that I actually hit the longer irons better with the R7's. The price difference didn't hurt either! :D Gary

As I understand it, you are correct. BTW, the neo is more than accurate enough for me. Gary

Good thoughts...I have a terribly inconsistent pre-shot routine, and have been working on it. It definitely went away as the back nine started falling apart. Stretching is also a great idea. I stretch religiously before the round, hit balls on the range, then play, but I don't stretch mid-round. I will give that a shot. Gary

I generally bring a power bar or the like to eat at the turn, and did so yesterday. However, whatever I am doing is definitely not working, so next time I will bring a few more calories and liquid, and snack throughout the round... Gary

My father in law said that it looked like my hips weren't movingthrough on the back nine, and that it seemed as if I was arm swinging more. Could be a result of tempo changes and starting to swing harder, but only with the arms... I told him that I would bring a video camera next time, and have him take some short vids on each nine. Golf... I love it and hate it at the same time... Gary

Greetings, Just got back from another frustrating round. I have been working on my swing a lot, and am striking the ball very much better now. I have also been spending much more time on chipping and putting; probably 70% of my practice time now. My frustration stems from my inability to keep a good (or even mediocre) round going though the full round. Today I start out with a birdie on the first par 4, sinking a 35 foot putt. Continue with good ball striking the entire front nine, nothing more than a bogie, and finish with a 39. Eliminating the two 3 putts would have really helped. (First time at this course, and the greens were very fast) We didn't stop at the turn, and I procede to fall apart on the back nine. Two trips, and two doubles, and lots of sprayed shots later, I end up with a 49 on the back! Some of the errors were mental, muffed chips in the rough, and going for tough pin placements, but most of the errors were due to suddenly inconsistent ball striking. My straight shots on the front turned into pull hooks or slices, with only one GIR on the back. While I had a few good holes and shots, the complete inconsistency has really got me stumped. While not always a 10 stroke swing, the theme is generally the same: I hit much more consistantly on the front nine. I am not sure, but it feels like possibly as I loosen up, I may be swinging harder and getting quicker at the top...I am in good shape, so I am fairly certain that I am not getting tired on the back nine, but I guess it is possible. Maybe it is just totally mental... I know that this is a very general question, so I was just wondering if others have had similar issues, and what their remedies were. Regards, Gary

I love mine. They are quite a few years old, but haven't had much wear until last year, when I got back into golf seriously again. The rubber nubbed sole overlay started to delam in spots, but a couple of shots of shoe goo, and they were good as new again! I am sure there are shoes that give a little more ultimate grip, but I doubt if many are more comfortable. Good price too! Gary

This is an interesting thread. I have had two initial goals since getting back into golf last year: (1) start breaking 80 again, and (2) get to a single digit handicap. I started tracking my stats as a way to look for areas of improvement. My handicap is right around 11.5, even though I have been making big changes in my swing plane. (Too flat to more upright) In my last ten rounds, I am only hitting around 45% of fairways. (Including drives using irons or FW), and my GIR is a measly 28%. I hit around 33 putts per round, and average less than 1 three putt per round, but rarely make putts over 8 ft. (Though my new putter looks like it will really help with the mid range putts) The worst, however, is that my scrambling percentage is only 18%. Toss out a round with a 70% (Not surprizingly, my best recent scoring round) and the percentage drops to only 13% I had 4 of my last 10 rounds with 0% scrambling! Sooo.....a low GIR% plus a pathetic scrambling% is a recipe for disaster. What the stats have taught me is that I need to rethink my practice sessions. Instead of 75% of the time hitting driver through mid iron shots, and 25% hitting short irons, pitching, chipping, and putting, I need to reverse that. I need to work on chipping/pitching the ball much better when I miss the green, being much more accurate with my approach shots, and making a few more mid-long putts per round. For me, stats have been a very valuable tool for learning where I need to improve. Gary

I agree about the price, I got my premies from lostgolfball.com. I also tend to agree with your spin analysis, as the premies generally separate themselves from the mid range balls on partial shots. As I was testing the V1X's, among others, I think that the difference was a little less than if I would have been comparing the V1's. Good analysis. Gary

I love them, and they seem just as long, though I haven't sensed them being really significantly longer than others. I also have been trying all the low spin premiums, V1X, B330, One Black, Tour Ix, etc., and , for my game, I haven't found the premies to be worth the price over the Burner TP's. There is more spin from the premies around the green, but not enough for me to switch from the drastically lower proced Burner TP. Approach shots seem to be similar, with a check and stop within a foot or two, with some backup occasionally. Drives seem to be a little straighter with the TP. YMMV. Gary

Another vote for the Adams Speedline Hybrid Fairway wood. It seems to go as long as regular three woods, and yet is pretty darn easy to hit off the deck, and out of rough. I also use it quite often for a low punch, when an errant tee shot leaves me under a tree. Gary

+1 for the TM Burner LDP. I have tried it against all the premiums, and, for my game right now, I don't see any reason to spend more. I generally hit the irons long but high. For most normal greens, even my 4 iron stops within a few feet. The lower irons stop within a a foot or so, or sometimes backup a foot. It also seems to be a little more forgiving to the occasional extra sidespin I may impart on a drive! :D The misses off the fairway seem to me to be a little less severe. They are also durable, at least for me. Gary

LOL...sucks to get old!... Kinda like trying to explain how rockin' an Atari 2600 was to the X-Box generation! FYI, I really liked the sound of my Speedline, but I think that I might like my HTEC 460 even more. Definitely not a cheesy aluminum sound for sure. Gary

+1 for the FJ Contours. I have a pair that is quite a few years old (Didn't play much golf the past few years) and they are extremely comfortable. Good support too. Just about time to get another pair, now that I think about it. Gary