powermatt99

I'm not sure. I was at 110+ early last season with a ill-fit driver. I don't know how much my swing has sped up, if at all. Better balance and control has led to a more penetrating ball flight and more roll.

Weights are good but don't necessarily translate into long drives. Its also likely that at 17, you don't have fully developed muscle yet. Core strength exercises really helped me improve my power game. It has also helped me with balance which has translated into straighter drives, more consistent iron shots, and more stamina. I'm not ripped, chiseled, or even remotely "fit" but I'm up to 310 on average with my driver.

Lost 3 in a scramble. All being too ambitious once we already had playable shots.

This injury (intercostal) seems like the injury du jure of the last few years. I had no idea what it was until a handful of MLB players (including 3 from my Brewers) went down with these injuries in spring training. About 6 weeks ago it happened to me playing softball. I hit a home run but could barely walk around the bases. I kept trying to play golf and softball and the injury eventually ran from my side into my abdomen. It took a business trip (without golf clubs) to Palo Alto and a week of seminars to finally start the healing. I still have some pain but it is mostly isolated to spending time on the toilet (no joke). As I have gotten back out to the course, I've noticed my swing plane and hip slide are noticeably different. I either dead push the ball or overcompensate and dead pull the ball. It's one heck of an injury.

It possible that the shafts are to blame but much more likely that your mechanics get off when you add more power. Without knowing your swing speed, it is hard to say for sure.

I felt like I was getting the club head all the way closed. I certainly didn't push any balls right. A few shots in, I took a little bit weaker grip as it felt like I was beginning to get the club faced too closed. After that, most of the balls bounced straight back past my feet off the mat. I've considered getting my FT-i reshafted but I don't really like the draw bias or the 11° loft. The FT-i draw bias doesn't seem as straight forward as my Diablo 3W which gives me just a touch of right to left.

My driver (probably the driver shaft) is difficult to control. It exaggerates every manipulation, twists uncontrollably, and seems unpredictable. When I get a hold of the ball, I can hit it 335+. But the slight fade I play naturally has becoming more of a push fade with this club. It is clearly designed for someone with a much slower swing speed. Working the ball at all is impossible. So I went to GG to demo some drivers. I grabbed a pre-played Cobra S9-1 Pro D 9° with a Matrix Ozik XCON 6 Stiff shaft. It took a few swings to get used to the very different shaft. After that, I fell in love with the feel of this driver. The launch angle was medium low which is perfect for me. My best ball speed (according to GG) was 180. So, what are your thoughts on this club. What is comparable from other brands that I should play. Honestly, I can't possible demo every driver so your advice is very helpful.

4i or 5i depending on the lie. In your case I would recommend a rescue or hybrid of some sort.

I carry a 4H and a 4i. I hit the 4H about 230 and my 4i about 215.

At the beginning of the summer I went to Dicks for a new stand bag. I found every bag that looked good and lined them up. I checked out the pockets, zippers, dividers, stand legs, and anything else I could find and slowly removed bags that didn't do what I wanted them to do. I finally settled on 4 different bags. So i grabbed a set of irons off the wall and a few woods, a dozen balls and a bunch of accessories and loaded the bags up. In the end the most comfortable was the Ogio Grom with the Nike Sasquatch a very close second.

$75-$90 isn't too bad. I'll never get to play any other Dye-designed course for that rate. My wife thinks her grandparents may get some perks beings residents of the PGA village. At under $100, this is a much better place to be than Milwaukee in December.

This is so the truth. My driver had been so bad I became really comfortable playing from the rough. As my driver has improved I have had to completely relearn to hit my irons. As a result though, my 8-iron distance has gone from 140 to 155 because I was getting so much under the ball out of the rough (which I always played from).

I would do a little pitch and roll with my 52° or 58° depending on the lie and terrain. To me, the beauty of backspin, is being able to control the roll. I know everyone wants to spin it back like Phil but I don't know if I'd ever know when to hit that shot. Anyway, my iron set is so geared toward game improvement that the huge sole and enormous head don't help me get through rough too easily so I'm almost forced to hit my wedges out of greenside rough.

What are the rates like in December?

FWIW, I was hooking my hybrid at first because I was trying to swing it like a fairway wood. The hybrid head played tricks on my mind. Swinging it like an iron helped straighten me out.