J.P.

I'm a P-Mick fan and I say Tiger wins number 7. First of all, they say Mick has lost 25 pounds and has added weight training to his regimen. I concur with Arnold Palmer who said on the GC telecast at the Bob Hope, "I don't see that it's missing". Vijay did win already this year, and will likely contend, but I say not quite enough. Tiger comes out of his layoffs ready to WIN. I do believe he has won four times in his first starts of the year. He is also quite familiar with Southern California golf. I will be there on the weekend to see!!!

Hit the Rapture at Demo Day. Rep said G5 is regular launch & spin and that rapture's saved weight from composite crown is placed low & deep to make it more of a higher launch-lower spin driver compared with G5. So, depending on your launch dynamics, Ping has a driver for you. Slower speed swings will benefit from G5's additional spin to keep the ball in the air. Higher speed swings may benefit from Raptures resistance to ballooning etc . etc . . .

I have two thoughts on this. 1. FEEDBACK. One reason to choose forged. So that you can learn through trial and error, where center face contact is and how to get there often. 2. Forged clubs FEEL better because they are softer metal. I would assert that the ball stays on the face an instant longer - kind of like tennis - this DOES rob some ball speed - but most forged players are willing to trade this speed for the FEEL. Love my 30's & perhaps will get to the 67's when I get to 5. Just something to shoot for & reward for me.

Great Info Gas Can! I am kind of a handy guy - but I've never done my own grips before. What do you suppose the worst problem could be if I try this out myself?? (besides not taking the second side of double stick tape off). I do take a standard size grip, so I guess build up is not necessary. Also, there is no spray on/ liquid adhesive holding the grips on? Just the double sided grip tape? Thanks!

drizz, GasCan is right on. My pinseeker is instant yardage TO THE FLAG! I can also use it to see how far it is to clear that bunker in front. I suppose if you drive it very bad, you may not have a sight line to the flag, but I'm around 11/12 and have not encounterd such a problem on approach shots yet. One thing that most people also forget about laser is that they magnify. The Pinseeker is a 7X magnify. This means you can actually have a much closer look at the green, its slope, contours, trouble etc. . . before the shot. Try one! You won't let it go!

RX! That is a great point! I use a Bushnell Pin Seeker though, but whatever one uses to find accurate distances, the instant benefit is BEING PIN HIGH OFTEN!!! I may not be able to hit it straight all the time, but now, with the "gospel truth" in distance to the pin, it is rather amazing how often I am now pin high, be it left or right. It is a bit sad to think about the years I've played without a distance measuring device - never really had a chance to score. Glad you enjoy your GPS!!! I think my laser is in the process of taking 3 to 5 shots off my scores - I think your Skycaddie will do the same for you! have fun!

Another tid bit here is that so much of the new tech is focused on forgiveness - making the clubs easier to hit for the masses. Most of the tour pros ARE NOT using most of this new forgiving technology. Ok, maybe they all are using the new drivers with MOI & size improvments, but how many of them are playing oversized, cavity back irons for forgiveness??

Aquacooled is right - take a 3/4 swing to the course. Tell yourself you will only take a 3/4 back swing on every shot. See what happens - stay disciplined. I bet the result will be more consistent shots for sure. Also, look in a mirror at home - when your shoulders stop their turn, THATS IT - everything stops - NO additional lifting of the arms or wrist looseness at the top. Hang in there! 6 isn't so bad!

Hey rahbc, I will give this a go for you. It is a problem that i too have to fight. I have reviewed Videos 1 & 2 and that is all one needs to see. Overall, It is a pretty nice swing - nice set up, nice coil - In fact, it is hard to believe you are a 36. Look better - until impact. Bottom line. Look at video 1 - move the video to a point where in the downswing, the club is about a foot or two from impact, about parallel with your right leg (left side in video). Notice that you have released the club already. This is evident by seeing the club shaft line up with your left arm - BUT POINTING STILL AT YOUR RIGHT FOOT! That means in the remaining distance to the ball, the clubheads momentum will pull it past your arms/hands just after impact. This is seen by forwarding the video a bit to just past impact - a foot or two. Notice here that your left arm is pointing down to your left foot, with wrist broken inward - but the club head is pointing well past this 1 to 2 feet - IT HAS RACED BY YOUR BODY. You have released early & will strike the ball almost on an upswing type contact from that - scooping. If you look at video of very good players, the left arm and shaft line up at IMPACT, perhaps even just after, and actually stay in a line for a good bit after impact. Notice in video 2 that just after impact, your left arm is lined up with the club much better - well after impact (2 feet or so after). THIS IS A MATTER OF KEEPING ARM SWING IN SYNC WITH BODY TURN! The way to learn this sync is with SMALL SWING DRILLS. take a back swing to 9 oclock - with some wrist hinge - lead with lower body and swing thru - CUT OFF THE SWING AT 3 oclock (arms) If you swing body and arms in sync, you will be able to stop the club easily and have it extended straight out with your arms at 3 or even 4 oclock. If your upper body "HIT AT" the ball - the club will go flying by your hands when you try to cut it off at 3 or 4 oclock. Boy, that is a lot to say. I'm tired now! YOU HAVE THE RIGHT IDEA IN YOUR DRILL VIDEO - IT IS JUST TOO LONG A SWING FOR A DRILL. DO 9-3'S & 9-4'S FOR A WHILE AND WATCH YOUR IMPACT & POST IMPACT POSITIONS IMPROVE ON VIDEO. Good Luck!

Wow! Those all sound like stroke losing nightmares. How about this. Long Par 3 over water - hit it long into a sand trap behind the green. Step in there and seems to be no sand - mostly hard pan. Set up to it then pulled the trigger - bounced the club off the hard pan into the ball - sent it shooting like a bullet five feet off the ground. Little did i know my playing partners had worked their way around to the front of the green to look for balls in the lake. So, I am watching the ball, racing away head high, heading straight for the three of them. I yell out "four"! - watch out! etc. . . only time enough for one of them to look up and take it square in the shoulder. Unbelievable. I think we all know how close the shoulder is to the head. I am still rather irritated whenever I find poorly maintained bunkers with no sand in 'em. Sorry again if you are out there buddy.

Those irons above are great choices - esp since you can get used sets at callawaypreowned.com. E-bay is a great place to get some used sets pretty good price if cost is an issue. If it is not, don't be afraid to try out Mizuno's game improvment line. MX900 awesome ball speed - maybe a bit big for some. MX19 very very nice and the MX25 - maybe a bit hard to hit for now, but still the entire MX line is targeted at players that are new to the game! Take a look at their web site!!! I have been playing for 7 years and I began with Callaway X-14's. Then bought Callaway X-16 pro series, and next moved into my present Mizuno MP30's & just love the feel & feed back of them (MP line is harder to hit than the MX line) Whatever you choose, you will likely be astounded at how well the new technology will help you!!! Have fun!!!

BOY JATT! That is a whole bunch to remember & clutter up the mind with!!! If I asked you to tell me how you use your fork to pick up and eat a piece of steak, would you break it down like this? Probably not! Still, some technical precision is necessary. Couple things I will suggest. 1. Is this set up any different than when you are teeing up the ball and if so, why? IMHO should be no different. 2. Flaring out the right foot this additional amount for "more turn" does achieve this end, BUT it actually will INHIBIT the right knee/hip from coming through on the downswing - the lower body leading & shifting weight from right to left (for righties) is very important with regard to the "bottom" of the swing. If you are "stuck" back on that right leg cause you made it more difficult to transfer weight off of, you will hit behind the ball. Just some thoughts to consider! Good Luck!!!

That above is great advice. One additional note though. There is a point on a hole where you may consider picking up your ball and "sitting" the hole out. Nothing more irritating than some scenes I've watched at ProAM tournys. In particular, one amature is calling for a rules official cause after he sliced his drive, tried to pitch out - but into a bush - hacked at that, now wants to know if there is enough casual water where his ball lies in four, that he can get relief, all the while holding up the Pro in the group from putting for bird. So, if you are heading for a rather large score on a hole, you may consider picking up if you are getting a vibe from the other players. Some players are very understanding of the beginner and will patiently wait for you to complete that 6 hour round of golf. They probably won't ask you back though! Good luck, have fun, and DON'T LOSE YOUR TEMPER! AT OUR LEVEL, WE REALLY ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE MAD AT POOR SHOTS!!! and they may have you out there as a character exam - not a skills test . . .

I agree with the above. It seems to me regarding the Game improvement irons, (most irons actually) that your result with them is determined by your precision, your ability to strike the center of the clubface. You have an amount of precision that makes the Nike & MX17 perform very well RIGHT NOW! But, over time, they may train you to be less and less precise. That is what he was suggesting above about the MX23's & 25's taking you further over time. These will probably be a tad more difficult to hit now, but they will train you to be MORE precise rather than let you get away with poor shots. HOWEVER! Some people just don't have time or energy to plan on improving, and just want to hit pretty good shots the couple times a month they get out. Game improvement clubs really help to this end. Right or wrong, I prefer an iron that pushes / challenges me to improve my ball striking - so I can get more & more precise. By the way, you just cannot go wrong with Mizuno. IMHO

Right you are! He did say this in his book and he used to do it. I think he believes that this was the move that may have lead to his knee trouble and eventual surgery a couple of years back. If you asked him today about swinging like this, he may have a different answer. Not sure how we could find out for sure.

Yeah, he is right. I use the HX Tour from Callaway because I feel I can compress it better than I do the Titleists. At 112, your guy can compress Titleists. The HX Tour has nice, predictable, consistant spin on the greens, yet still minimizes side spin off the longer clubs. Something I find more important than distance - but it is still long. Eric reviewed the TaylorMade Red & Black & I am due to try the Long Black next. I have a pro at the local golf shop that says most of these balls are too hard to compress during the cold winter temps we get here in Vegas & he switches to Maxfli Noodles when the Temp is below 50. Go figure.

Playing lessons is very good, but I think I like the new show "Personal Lessons from the Pros" even better. On playing lessons, sometimes I can't relate to the pro on the tee of a 227 yard par 3 trying to decide if he wants to hit the 4 hard or feather the 3. Personal lessons really is good cause we can see how the Pro thinks from situations WE get into! Rocco & Faxon were very good. Not so impressed with Floyd & the experienced female they had on.

This is a rather interesting point. I used a couple of the large headed, game improvement, "go ahead and hit it off center" putters for a while. Missed too many short putts. Good long range distance control though. I too pony'd up the cash for a Cameron. Newport Beach blade specifically. I was really astounded by the results. My confidence from 6 ft in is now VERY HIGH with this Cameron. My long putt conversion hasn't really changed, but this putter has such great feel that I make many more putts than I should from 10 feet in. A very noticable difference for the better than my older mallet stroke improvers. Maybe the other putters trained me, I don't know, but I am happier with my putting now.

This is a problem that is rather unique to golf. It could be that tennis has this to deal with too, but is seems to have a much larger impact on the quality of golf tournaments and ratings for that matter. I could never imagine any of the team sports (football, baseball, basketball etc) missing important "games" for any reason. NASCAR drivers either. Players, teams, drivers, etc are always ready for the next game/race/whatever - because it MEANS something! - (late season, clinched teams, NFL games aside) The present structure of the PGA is such that there is little incentive for TOP players to play. They don't need the money. They already have the "glory", They don't need to fight for their card. There is no negative consequence for skipping events. I suppose I can see their side a bit though. Their's is a season that begins in January and continues until November. No other sport goes this long. The one thing the multi-millionaire top players don't have is FREE TIME. Boy, I really value my free time and am not happy when an agenda is set for it. I suppose TIGER & PHIL are somewhat busier than me, so this could be magnified for them. They are both wrong not to support the hand that feeds, but perhaps the PGA Tour has realized that they have been asking too much for too long and so have restructured the Tour for 2007. Next year, they will have more incentive to play - but still no real need to.

Hey! That's not that bad a price! $575 per person times four is the $2300 you said it costs. To play Oakmont! Plus the food & prizes! I guess its just one round of golf but hey, Pebble is $450 now & they don't have the Bud girls and aren't giving you anything for that matter!

I do play the Proforce V2 in the 7070 version. Torque is 2.2. This weighs 76 grams and is a medium trajectory. IT IS NOT WHIPPY. This stiffer tip really seems to be ready to hit the ball when you are. The lighter 6060 model weighs in at 66gm and a higher 2.9 trq but still designed for a medium trajectory. I do like my V2 7070 very much. Here in Vegas it is dry, hard, and fast but rather windy a lot of the time. While most suggest launching high no matter windy or calm, I would rather play it more accurate, and a little lower in the wind and get my distance back on the hard fairway rolling. See this at www.ustgolfshaft.com The Grafalloy Prolaunch Blue is designed for high launch. This may be more of what YOU want. The Prolaunch 75 weighs 76grams with 2.9 trq. The 65 weighs 64 gms and has 2.8 trq. see this at www.grafalloy.com I suggest you go hit different shafts on a monitor - any head will do, I think Callaway fitters have an easy head change process right now. But just see how the torque & weight differences affect your ball flight. Probably need X flex for any of these products. Good Luck!

I heard this somewhere reputable that made some sense to me. 1. Your long game - driver, woods, irons determine your maximum score & so I extend this to an upper limit of handicap. 2. Your short game - chipping, pitching, putting, sand play determine your minimum score - or how low you can ultimatley go - so I'll extend this to the lower limit of your handicap. If you have hit a plateau - I know it is boring to say - improving your short game will take you through it. For me, this is what I am really focusing on right now. No longer am I settling for a "good" short game - it has to be excellent. My goal right now, with everything off the green, is to try to get it to three feet. Statistics show a very high conversion rate for 3 foot putts even for chumps like me. They also show around a 50% conversion rate for 6 footers. That's a shot lost every 2 holes that you miss a green. At this handicap level you speak of, it is not yet necessary to make a bunch of birdies - although they are nice. We just must eliminate blow up holes and wasted strokes by not getting up and down. Boy, my fingers are starting to hurt! I better go . . . .

Jack probably was hit by a clump of flying debris. This official knew Jack, and knew Jack would want to score this properly. There is no doubt in my mind that the official would have told him it was the ball that hit him, not debris if that was the case. Jack has an no scoring irregularities in his career - something he should be very proud of.

It was an elevated tee - driver in hand - large lake on the left - and just near it, a big group of these black mud hen things - short, fat, & no tails, about 10 inches high. I am an animal lover! So there is no way I want to get near them on the left side where the lake is, but they are all I can think about! I aim further right - then snap hook it right into them on a frozen rope. Man, you could hear the thwaaap! They all kind of separated and one was out cold. By the time my group tee'd off and we made our way down there, this mud hen sort of got up, shook himself and proceeded to catch up with the rest of the mud hens wandering down the fairway. Thank gosh I use low compression balls!

Well Colin . . . I subscribe to the theory that "game improvement" equipment can improve your RESULTS for the SHORT TERM - but erode your precision over the long term. Imagine if you practice every day with a hard to hit - small sweet spot iron with no perimeter weighting. If you were patient enough & with help from an instructor, you would - by the long process of trial & error - begin to learn to find & strike the small sweet spot more regularly. Your brain gets instant feed back and there are large, visible penalties for missing it. (ie hooks, slices, no distance etc. . ) You are essentially training yourself to be more prescise. Imagine then if you have a fine game improvement iron that you practice with. Say your swing is flawed and you continually hit the ball on the toe of the club. You will simply see straight shots with a mysterious distance leak. There can be much less "feedback" with GI clubs than a players club which lets you know right away that you missed the clubface center. I think if you want to improve your handicap, "game improvement" can only take you so far. If you don't have time, energy, money, insert your reason here _________ to go out and practice to improve your swing, "game improvement" equipment is essential! Just my humble opinon . . .