Rochester

I have a Ping G15 9-degree driver that is 45.75 inches with a Prolaunch Red Regular shaft. I've been very pleased with it, but all of a sudden, late last summer I was slicing it like crazy. I've read that shorter drivers with higher loft give more control, and are less likely to slice/hook. I was afraid to shorten the shaft because of concerns about swing weight. (A friend of mine shortened his G25 driver and I hated it.) I was in Golfsmith (before they closed), and saw a used 12-degree Bertha Mini driver. Figuring that because it had more loft and would be a shorter club, maybe I would get rid of the slice with it. It was 44-inches with a Mitsubishi Bassara E55 stiff shaft. I also have a G15 4-wood that I wasn't slicing, so I thought maybe this was the ticket. It didn't make much difference. Luckily, I figured out why I was slicing with my driver, and was going to sell the Mini driver on E-bay, but I had another Prolaunch Red shaft sitting around and thought I'd give it a whirl in the Mini Driver before selling it. Interestingly enough, I hit the mini driver, set at 12 degrees, at 1.75 inches shorter than the G15, about the same distance as my driver (approx. 240-250 yds) but with a little draw. It's more consistent, and it fits in my trunk better! So... the driver is sitting in the garage. I think that when I replace the driver, I am definitely going to get fit this time, and seriously consider a shorter driver with more loft.

I have stiff G15 irons that I hit plenty high. I am not compressing the ball. I was told I'm hitting the ball on the upswing. However, I play once or twice a week and I am hitting the balI where I want it to go, so I am probably not going to mess around with my swing. I hit my 7 iron about 145, my 8 about 135, my 9 about 125 and my PW about 110-115. I only hit my UW about 85, my SW 65 and my LW 45. My shots are sky-high with these three clubs. I am thinking about decreasing the lofts of 4 clubs. PW from 45 to 44, UW from 50 to 48, SW from 54 to 52, and LW from 58 to 56. Ping charges $5 per club to do this. This will reduce the bounce of these clubs, but the PW and UW will still have 9 degrees and the SW and LW will still have 10 degrees. In addition, the courses I play usually have packed sand and tight lies so I think I will be fine with less bounce. My question: Will I get any appreciable difference in length with these clubs by doing this, or would it be a waste of money?

I have a MacGregor Mactec NVG2 driver with a stiff shaft, 10.5° loft. It has a Fujikura shaft that looks like the Speeder, but was made for MacGregor. It is the only stiff shaft in my bag. I average about 240 yds with it. I usually hit a slight draw or straight with it. I rarely hit it to the right. I don't have a long back swing, but I really snap my wrists with it. When I hit the 4 wood well, I hit it straight, but I tend to top it. With the hybrids, I put the ball in the middle of my stance, and swing them like my irons. I've had my best luck with irons modeling my swing after Stricker's. Most of my shots are straight, especially with the 23° and 27° clubs. I have a slight draw with the 20° occasionally, 1-2 shots out of 10.

My driver is one of the best clubs in my bag, but I struggled with fairway woods (3wd, 5wd, and 7wd). I'd tried several hybrids (mostly those that look like small fairway woods) and struggled just as badly with them as the fairway woods. I hit the long irons consistently straight, but didn't have the distance I was looking for. Several weeks ago, I tried a G15 20° because there was a used one that looked like new in the rack at my favorite local golf store. It is ugly, but boy, could I hit it. I thought ,what the heck... it's worth a try, and bought it. Man do I love that club. My average shot with it is about 200 yds. So... I bought a 23° G15. Hit it about 185-190 yds. Bought a 27° G15. Hit it about 170-175 yds. These clubs have made an incredible difference in my game, probably about 8-10 strokes. This is primarily because I can swing the hybrids the same way as my irons. Constantly trying to "fix" my swing with the fairway woods, and the other hybrids I'd been trying, was wreaking havoc on my swing with my irons. Now... I use the same swing with everything except my driver and putter, and at least recently, have been shooting in the low 80s rather than the low 90s. After getting the G15 hybrids, I bought a G15 4 wood as my only fairway wood, thinking that I had to have at least one fairway wood in the bag. Well... while I hit it better than the other fairway woods I've had, but I have been inconsistent with it as well. So... I just got a G15 17° today, and bumped the 4 wood out of the bag. My guess is that I won't be carrying anything but G15 hybrids between the driver and the 6 iron.

I've had great difficulty hitting my fairway woods... to the point where I considered not carrying any. I had an 18° Ping G10 hybrid that I was hitting almost as far as my 3-wood, and as far or farther than my 5 wood. I also hit it much more consistently. So... I started really seriously looking for a used G10 15° hybrid. Then... just for yucks (because they are so ugly)... I tried a G15 20° hybrid. WOW! I hit it 10-15 yards further than the G10 18° hybrid (about 210-215 yards). So I tried out the G15 17° hybrid... but I didn't hit it much further. A sales person (teaching pro) told me I should try a 4-wood to replace both my 3 and 5 woods, and then go right to the 20° G15 hybrid. I told him I couldn't hit a fairway wood. He brought over a G15 4-wood and told me to try it. He also got me set up better than I had been. (I'd been moving the ball back and forth in my stance, in an effort to hit the ball, and it was too far back.) I was just crushing the ball (at least for me) off the mat... 230-240 yards (this is driver yardage for me!). I've had similar results on the course. Birdied the first par 5 I played with it! So now I'm bagging the G15 4 wood, and G15 20° and 23° hybrids, and I'm pretty happy with that aspect of my game.

Got rid of my 3 wood, which I hit about 220 yards off the deck (when I was lucky), and replaced it with a Ping G15 4-wood, which I hit about 230-240 off the deck (and much more consistently). Replaced my 5-wood with a Ping G15 20° Hybrid which I hit about 210-215. Like it so well, I got a 23° hybrid to go along with it! Didn't hit the Ping G-15 17° much further than the 20°.

I was there when Tiger took his second shot. I had to move to create a lane for him to shoot. I moved well back of the first line of people, because I too thought that if he muffed the shot at all, someone would die. The ball sounded like an F16 coming out of there, and he put it on the green. Unbelievable. Whistling Straits is a great place for a tournament, unless you want every tournament to be in a cloned golf course that is just like every other golf course. 18 was just jam-packed when Tiger went through, so you can imagine what it was like when DJ came down the fairway. Being there gives you a lot of perspective, vs. seeing it on TV. Traps are everywhere, but you know they are traps. The tees, fairways and greens are like green velvet, but the rest of the course looks like a B17 just went through on a bombing run. It's a VERY interesting course, and all of the players play under the same conditions. DJ blew it. There wouldn't be a 1.3 million winners check if all of the fans weren't there, so you live with the conditions. I haven't heard one player complain about this. My perception was that they liked the course. Weekend after weekend they play courses that fundamentally look and play alike. Whistling Straits is a different, and interesting challenge.

LOL... Yes, I played on my high school golf team. JV for 3 years and made varsity my senior year... 1972! I regularly shot in the low 40s, 40-42, on nine. Top four scores on our team counted... mine never counted once during my senior year. The top two golfers were scratch and the next two were 37-39. I was on the first team in 13 years that did not win our conference tournament and did not go to the state golf tournament. Quite a legacy, huh? I quit playing golf about 25 years ago, and started playing again last summer. I've been shooting in the 45-50 range lately... so I'm sure I wouldn't make the HS team today. I've always been about having fun on the golf course. I was heavily involved in football and wrestling, and more serious about them. I probably only made the HS varsity golf team because two better players got caught drinking during their basketball season. In those days, at least at our school, you got kicked off the team for a violation of team rules, and couldn't play a sport in the next season, either. Pretty harsh, huh?

My intuition tells me that if you play better when walking, whether or not you carry, push, or have a caddy, it's because you are more loose than you would be if riding, particularly when it's colder. The movement of walking keeps your body warmed up and perhaps stretched out, so you have a better, smoother swing. This is pure speculation on my part. I don't have any scientific data to back it up. But it seems logical. After walking a round, I generally have a beer or two with my buddies, and I notice how quickly my muscles stiffen up after the game. I'm 56. I don't ride very often, and when I have, I haven't noticed getting stiff between shots, so it would almost have to be something that is imperceptible. I do play better when I walk though, so I think it is feasible, at least in my case.

I don't blame you! I don't think Woldokoff ever said that. I don't think I ever said that. In fact, I said, " As for scores... if a larger sample were used, I would be surprised if those carrying their bags actually scored that much higher. However, the claims in this thread contradicting the results of his study are just anecdotal, or speculative. I'm not a statistician. I don't know if eight subjects is a large enough sample. So without some scientific data to the contrary, I'm not going to refute his claims. " The main reason I posted originally was because there were several comments expressing an opinion that carrying the bag was, somehow, better exercise than pushing a cart. I think the study shows that it is not, which was somewhat counter-intuitive for me. The OP mentioned the score thing, and somebody asked for a reference, so I provided it.

In a lot of research, you are testing for the null hypothesis, which, in this case, would be that the method of conveying your clubs makes no difference in your score. He presents the facts as he found them, and then simply stated that "... a carry bag is not necessarily better." In my first post, I said "Your mileage may vary," meaning, of course, that your experiences may differ from those of his subjects. The bottom line... there really is no rationalization for carrying your clubs, pushing your clubs, pulling your clubs, or riding in a cart, other than your own desire. The only conclusion I drew from the study is that carrying your clubs isn't going to be better exercise than pushing them.

What conclusions do you not agree with? He says, "But this study says, 'No. A carry bag is not necessarily better.' It's not an intuitive thought for people." You don't agree with that? If you don't doubt the veracity of his study, then one could only conclude that his statement is accurate. BTW... he has a book on the subject: Physical Golf

You guys blow me away! Wolkodoff, a PhD, puts his reputation on the line, making claims about a study that has 8 participants. But the study is flawed because you guys don't think there is enough data. What are your credentials? How about you send him an e-mail and tell him that his study doesn't hold water because he doesn't have enough data, and see if he responds. LOL... BTW... it was four rounds of 9 holes, each.

I would agree. However, I think his primary purpose was to determine how many calories they were burning, not the affects on their score. And if, on the average, the eight people were burning about the same number of calories pushing vs. carrying, I find that fairly convincing. Intuitively, I would have thought that carrying would have burned more calories, but evidently it doesn't. As for scores... if a larger sample were used, I would be surprised if those carrying their bags actually scored that much higher. However, the claims in this thread contradicting the results of his study are just anecdotal, or speculative. I'm not a statistician. I don't know if eight subjects is a large enough sample. So without some scientific data to the contrary, I'm not going to refute his claims. I walk primarily because walking is exercise, and playing golf and walking is better exercise than just walking. (Notice that even when his subjects rode in a cart they burned over 400 calories.) I will concede that there are better, more effective forms of exercise, but golf is fairly low impact, and in addition, I enjoy being outdoors and the camaraderie of playing with friends.

I am saying nothing... except that I use a pushcart, actually, on the advice of my physical therapist (who is also a golfer). Reducing your score through the use of a pushcart would be the contention of Neil Wolkodoff, director of the Rose Center for Health and Sports Sciences in Denver. It was his study... not mine. Read the link. If I wanted to carry my clubs, I wouldn't care what effect it had on my score. However, this study supports the idea that carrying clubs is not better exercise, nor a reason for lower scores. Your mileage may vary