jeffrey r

Just strip the honey dip finish with naval jelly, and you'll have a beautiful stainless steel Scotty Cameron putter. Costs a couple of bucks, and takes 10 minutes. Just my .02 cents.

Lots of stuff written about Rife putters around the web, but they are very highly regarded putters. I recently picked up a used Barbados heel shafted putter, and really love it. I have some other nice putters, but the Barbados just feels "right" to me. I recently came across a used 2 bar hybrid mallet, and a used original 2 bar straight shafted mallet, for great prices, and picked those up as well. There are not that many Rifes out there for lefties, so I figured I should snap up what I can when I get the chance. Love Rife putters.

Paddy, I was really taking sales, not performance, but I am speculating as to any of those. I can only say this. From being on this and other golf sites, I can unscientifically draw several conclusions based on trends. Like, the G15 irons and the G15 driver are some of the most raved about irons and drivers, respectively, that I can recall reading about. That the G15 and K15 woods are very popular. Frequent and almost universal praise for all of those. And conversely, that the G15 and K15 hybrids get mentioned far less often than their predecessors, the Rapture/Rapture V2 and G10 (and even the G5), and that the look of the G15/K15 is generally viewed as unappealing. People are constantly "asking" Ping to return to a more traditional hybrid, like the G10. I stand by what I am saying as far as trends I have picked up. But if you are ok with the appearance of the G15/K15 hybrids, then I am sure you'd be happy with them.

I suspect that the G15 and K15 hybrids have been rare disappointments for Ping. Their irons, drivers and fairway woods have been awesome lately. I love the K15 driver, and K15 3 wood and G15 4 wood. But I just do not like the G15/K15 hybrids. I went with the original Rapture hybrids, and they are outstanding. If not the Raptures, I would have gone with the G10's. Those two models are classic looking, forgiving and hot hybrids.

First of all, that looks like a Rapture V2 (not an original Rapture) that Louie is using. Second of all, having owned G10 and G15 drivers, and currently owning and playing an original Rapture and K15 drivers, they are all oustanding in their own right, such that I can't see playing one over the other being a "condemnation" of any of them. And the Rapture V2, the only one I haven't owned, gets raves as well. They're all outstanding, but the pros can get attached to certain equipment just like the rest of us, and not want to move onto the latest and greatest (much to the OEM's chagrin I suppose). That said, I find your post a bit funny, as I was perusing Ping's facebook page earlier today, and almost all of their pictures from practice rounds at the Open prominently featured G20 headcovers in the pros bags, intimating that many of them were playing the new G20 woods. Now, that may be true for some of them, but apparently not for all.

Yep, G15 4 wood is amazing. If I can't hit a fairway wood off the deck, which was the case for me all the time with fairway woods prior to the G15, it's useless to me. Only cause I can't leave well enough alone, I've been trying out a K15 3 wood as an alternative to the G15 4 wood, but I can't decide which one I like better. K15 is longer off the tee, but I don't seem to hit it as consistently as the G15 4 wood. Both are outstanding clubs though, and I really don't need to try out other fairway woods for a good long while.

5 for me. Odyssey Backstryke Marxman currently first string. Then a White Ice Sabretooth 2, Cleveland Classic Platinum #4, Cameron Studio Select Newport 2, and a 2010 TM Kia Ma Daytona on the way cheap from globalgolf.

Good luck--hope it works out for you. The FT-IQ is a nice driver.

Quote: See here (Nike SQII 13*, classic club, $50, brand new--I would need a reshaft though due to the X flex shaft): http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Nike-SasQuatch-2-3-Wood-LH-ProPlatinum-X-Flex-/380346020691?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash;=item588e63b353

It's a big, chunky forgiving wedge, kind of like going with a SW and LW from a GI/SGI iron set (Ping G series for example). You'll gain forgiviness, and lose finesse as compared to a more traditional wedge like a Cleveland CG or Titleist Vokey. Different strokes for different folks. I've gotten rid of my Sure Out and other SGI wedges in favor of more traditional wedges, but that's my personal taste. And I do keep a full set of Ping iWedges around, which are sort of in between a traditional blade-type wedge and a GI/SGI wedge. I see Sure Outs available used all the time. Not sure what you mean by their grooves being "beyond their use", but they are obviously non-conforming due to their age, but if the grooves are in good shape, then nothing wrong with using them today as long as you don't do competitions and such that require conforming grooves.

As far as stock options, I've only swung the FT-IQ with the Rayon Fubuki 60 shaft in an R flex, and it was the flexiest, weakest shaft I've ever hit. That R flex could certainly work as a senior flex on its own. I ended up doing the I-Mix FT-IQ, going with the Fubuki Tour 63 shafts in R and S flex. Now those are really good shafts. The Zcom and Voodoo are likely stouter than the stock Fubuki, but I can't give any specific advice as I haven't hit those shafts.

Ping K15 3 wood is labeled as forgiving. I have a Ping G15 4 wood, and a K15 3 wood. The G15 4 wood is very highly regarded, but more often than not, I had read people preferring the K15 3 wood to the G15 4 wood. I'll be honest though, that in limited rounds, I seem to hit the G15 4 wood better than the K15. I've never hit a fairway wood as well as I hit the G15. It is really kind of point and shoot, which I never thought I'd say about a fairway wood. Could just need more time with the K15 though.

First of all, I love that Phil Mickelson short game DVD. Made a big difference for me. As to wedges, generally speaking, Cleveland is a great place to start. Going back to their 588 wedges, and through their current offerings, I've hardly read a bad thing about their wedges, CG10, CG11, etc. Some are bit more forgiving than others, some have a different look, but they are generally all good. Of course, Titleist Vokey wedges are very popular as well, and Nike, Mizuno, etc. all make good wedges. That said, I would suggest you pick up some new or used Cleveland CG14 wedges. I haven't played a ton of wedges, and I am by no means an expert at the short game, but I find the CG14's (I have the Black Pearl versions) to be forgiving (as far as wedges go), and very comfortable to use. I have 52, 54, 56, 58 and 60* in the CG14's, though I generally play the 54* and 58*. These should run you about $40 and up in nice used condition. I've acquired all of mine within the past month or two from the used websites. I also have a full set of Ping iWedges, and those are very forgiving as far as wedges go. The iWedges are totally out of production though, so you'd have to do some work building a collection of those.

I posted earlier in the thread about trying a 12* K15 with the TFC R flex shaft, and it was a nice straight driver, but too high and too short. So I swapped in a prolaunch red R flex shaft, and proceeded to slice the heck out of the K15 in my one round with that combo. So I am done with this experiment, and this high of a loft is simply not for me. So for now, back to my 10.5* G15, and I'll be swapping out the 12* K15 for a 9.5* or 10.5*.

OP, from what I've seen, most GI and SGI sets these days have a 44* or 45* PW, so I think you're in the ballpark with the S3's. My Diablo Edge irons similarly have a 44* PW. From there, I go with a gap wedge, either a Diablo Edge (49*) or Ping iWedge (50*), then 54* and 58* wedges (Ping iWedge or CG14 BP). Works fine for me. Where I did struggle quite a bit was with my set of Di9 irons that have the real funky lofts Vinny29 describes.

Don't forget that there are Dynamic Gold S300 and R300 in the 130g range, and Dynamic Gold SL S300 and R300 in the 110g range. Same trajectory and type of shaft, just the DG SL is a much lighter shaft, which would be preferable for a lot of people. The Dynamic Golds are really designed to hit a lower ball, so if that is what you are looking for (and should be using), they would be a good fit. So that set I see on callaway preowned with DG SL R300 shafts would be pretty appealing. The Rifle 6.0 is apparently a very very stiff shaft that would likely not be a good fit for you. And by the way, I have a set of the Diablo Edge irons as well, and they're very nice irons. I can't tell you not to be bothered by the thicker SGI-type look of them, but I personally never quite understand why people get so hung up on thicker irons. Some PGA pros are able to play the Ping G15 irons and it's ok with them. But anyway, you should be just fine with the X20's. They should be slightly less forgiving than the Diablo Edge irons, but probably nothing hugely noticeable.

I have a similar scenario as the OP. I generally go with the M/L, as there is very little extra length in the fingers so it does not affect me at all, and I figure that my hands will tend to get hot and swell during a round, so I'd rather have a bit of room to expand into. I don't like feeling too constrained in a smaller glove.

Haven't hit the Launcher, but the G15 4 wood is awesome. First fairway wood in a while that I feel very comfortable and confident with, especially off of the deck. I am going to be trying out a K15 3 wood (16*) that I found used, and many people seem to prefer the K15 over the G15 4 wood. Either way, the G15 4 wood is a very nice club.

I have the same 17* Nickent 3dx RC 2 hybrid that uttexas uses, and I also have an 18* Ping Rapture 2 hybrid, but I played my 17* Ping G15 4 Wood in my last (and only) round this season, and got on very well with the G15 4 wood. Good distance, good trajectory, good forgiveness particularly off the deck. The fairway wood/long hybrid decision is totally subjective, and you simply have to try out different options, ideally out on the course. You need to consider your ability to hit a fairway wood vs hybrid, distance you need and want (and can get) from one over the other, etc. Since I dropped my 3 wood, assuming my 4 wood hits farther than a comparable hybrid, if I can keep the 4 wood on or close to the fairway (which I seem to be able to do with the G15), that's going to get the nod for me. As to the original question, I can vouch for how good the G15 4 wood is, and I've read recently that the K15 3 wood is even easier to hit than the G15 4 wood. So that might be worth a look.

Quote: I hear ya 2left, but the distance loss was a little too much with that combo, the 12* K15 together with the R flex TFC. I am confident I can achieve more "best driving rounds" with the K15, but either with a lower launching/spinning shaft in the 12*, or by going to a 10.5*. I tinker quite a bit, sometimes to my detriment, but this is one case where I don't think there is any question that the 12* head with a high-torque high spin shaft like the TFC R flex was working against me, despite the benefits of hitting it straighter. The K15 in the proper setup is capable of hitting it straight, but still long.

It's hard to say without actually trying a 12* head, ideally with different shaft combinations. I can tell you that without getting properly fitted, I stumbled upon a lightly used 12* Ping K15 driver (with stock TFC R flex shaft) that I bought. I figured what the heck--if anything can keep it straight on the fairway, this thing should be able to. I took that K15 combo out for its one and only round last week, and it was an interesting mix of contrasts. On the one hand, I never had a better driving round, keeping the ball in the fairway or right off the fairway, and this was a big help to my round and to my confidence. On the other hand, I am convinced I lost distance from my usual distance from 10.5* drivers. I was using a GPS this past round, but I never had one for previous rounds. But I was generally driving shorter than my FIL, which is not usually the case. Bottom line, I felt very comfortable with the 12* loft, but this combo with the TFC R flex shaft was probably producing too high of a launch and too much backspin. So I just reshafted with a Prolaunch Red that I had around, and this should bring the launch and spin down, generate more roll, etc. I suspect that this type of shaft would be the only way I could play a 12* loft driver, but if this combo with the PL Red still produces too much distance loss, I will inevitably give my 10.5* G15 Draw another shot, or likely try the K15 in a lower loft, as I love what the K15 does in producing straighter drives. So unless you get fitted OP, trial and error is your only option. Maybe try to pick up something like a 12* G10 (which should be pretty cheap) to experiment with what the extra loft might to for you.

^^^ I think he was talking to me... I generally play the 4 hybrid in lieu of the 4 iron, but I do have the 4 iron as well, hence why I mention it.

Well, since you have one club too many in your bag, I'd drop the 3 wood. Many people these days are going with a 16-17* 4 wood as the next club after their driver, so it seems you'd be covered by your 17* 5 wood. I doubt you hit your 15* 3 wood any farther or better than your 17* 5 wood. Other than that, the only club that seems a bit out of place is the Nike SQ hybrid, which I personally don't think is all that good of a hybrid. I think there are better clubs out there for that slot, but that's just me.

Yes, grip size is very important. If you are using too large of a grip, it can lead to the wobbling and slicing you describe. See the following basic info to give you a guide of what you should be looking for. http://www.golfpride.com/FAQs.aspx#proper_size I don't have large hands (I use a Med/Large glove), and use standard size grips with one wrap. I can't stand midsize/oversize grips in anything other than my putter, where I am fine with something like the Winn AVS midsize pistol. What type of grips are you currently using?

No surprise--just like the K15 driver, the K15 3 wood is getting incredible reviews. After realizing that I simply hit Ping woods better than anything else, I recently sold or traded many of my other fairway woods and hybrids, keeping primarily my Pings. I still have some Nike SQ II and Sumo Sq woods, but they are in a backup role. I use a G15 4 wood, but I am sure it is only a matter of time before I pick up a K15 3 wood. From most things I've read, people seem to prefer the K15 3 wood to the G15 4 wood, which is crazy considering how good the G15 4 wood is. Enjoy the new club.