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While on vacation in Punta Cana a few weeks ago I played with rental clubs, Mizuno Pro 245's with KBS Tour Lite steel shafts. Surprisingly, I was blown away, not only by the distance, trajectory and dispersion I was getting but also about how soft and buttery they felt. It got me thinking.... IT'S TIME FOR NEW IRONS! Just yesterday, at my local Golf Galaxy, I tested them again side by side with the JPX Forged (recommended by the Mizuno rep who happened to be there) which also felt pretty good. Not as buttery soft as the 245's but they did produce slightly better numbers on off-center hits. Also, I haven't played with forged clubs with steel shafts in 10 years thinking I was getting too old and that I needed the lighter weight but these clubs with that shaft felt really, really good. So that's my long and drawn-out intro to my question: Does anyone here at TST play with either of these clubs and if so, what's your opinion?

$50??? You're not serious, I'm sure. The only thing a $50 driver will be good for is to whip your horse as you're rounding the far turn heading into the home stretch. Seriously, go to a big box store. They all have used clubs up the wazoo and you should be able to find clubs at a reasonable price. Also, talk to the guys there. You'll be able to tell just by conversing with them which ones are interested in helping you and will provide good advise. Those companies are usually pretty good about weeding out the bad apples who are only interested in making a quick sale. The commission the big box stores pay is so miniscucle anyway that sales guys are usually brand agnostic.

Strata are decent clubs for newbies, usually furnished in a complete boxed set, with putter and bag. They're an excellent way to get going in the game and to see if you want to stick with it. If you don't, you're not out too much money but if you want to progress, you should get fit and buy better clubs with newer technology that will help you out. Most places I know of (ie: Golf Galaxy / PGA Store) charge you for the fitting which is then credited back to you when you buy the clubs, so it's essentially free. (I know GG does that...not sure about PGA.) Once you have clubs that fit you rather than you having to maybe contort yourself to fit the clubs (depending on your height/arm length/swing characteristics) you can progress and get better. Ultimately though, as the saying goes, "It's not the arrow, it's the Indian."

There is no dispersion data presented but based on your average smash factor, I would guess that you're hitting the ball pretty much in the middle of the face, or pretty darn close to it. If that's the case I might suggest the Titleist GT3. It's not quite as forgiving as the TSR2 but if you hit the ball in the center of the face, as you seem to be doing, you'll feel the ball absolutely explode off the tee. (That's what I feel anyway with my TSR3.) I also think you might be launching the ball too high. There's an optimal launch/spin chart on the Titleist website that you should look at. You might want to dial down your hosel setting on your driver from A1 to D1 for example.

I don’t know what the record is for the longest duration thread on TST but I figured, I started this thing, so I may as well add to it, almost 4 years later. So, where was I? At the start of the golf season two years ago, I switched from the cheap Adidas Tech Response 2.0 spiked shoe to the spike-less Adidas 2SG SI. It had the three main features I wanted; comfort, waterproof and under $100. They have proven to be and still are, extremely comfortable when walking and the one-year waterproof guarantee has proven to be more or less accurate. In wet conditions, the fabric upper does develop a dark stain, but the dampness hasn’t penetrated to my foot, at least not yet anyway. It basically does what a golf shoe is supposed to do, provide stability when swinging the club, good traction and to top it all off, the tread, after two years and probably a hundred rounds, is still there…it hasn’t worn down hardly at all. So, what’s my problem? Well, it’s kind of embarrassing, but in my advancing age, I’m developing a bunion on my right foot. It’s not one of those ugly bulbous things, and it doesn’t hurt, but it’s there. I think I need a little more room in the toe box so I’m considering going back to True. But…which one? I’m looking at the “Original 1.2” but I haven’t seen many reviews of them. My main criticism of the Original Trues I had many years ago was the nubs on the bottom wore down pretty quickly and I could feel every rock and pebble I walked over. Are they still like that? Other than the fact that my price limit is now around $130, my main prerequisites remain the same; comfort, waterproof and durable. So, let’s keep this thread going. What’s the latest opinion on shoes?

Maybe. 50 guys in the league, 10 seniors (75+), but less than half of them actually play from the senior tees. Perhaps that could solve the problem; a smaller prize for the contest with less people competing. Anyway, the managers took a poll of all the members and the results were pretty much 50/50 for and against so we'll just do what one responder suggested...table the whole question until next season.

I'm probably an outlier, but I have so many brand new balls in boxes from a variety of companies, there's no way I could be devoted to one brand. Presents, free sleeve samples handed out at big box stores, boxes of balls won at various company golf outings, etc. Plus, I'm not adverse to reusing found balls as long as they're in decent condition. Also, when my swing goes haywire, as it has recently, I hate staring down at a brand now Pro V1. All I see at that moment is a five-dollar bill with the real potential to go sailing off into the woods so that's usually when the found balls get put on the tee.

I'm in a golf league whose member's age range from the mid-30's to the mid-80's. Currently, those classified as "Seniors" (75 and up) can play their rounds from senior tees and their handicaps are adjusted per USGA guidelines. No issues at all with that. However, a furious debate has erupted over the weekly Closest to the Pin contest. Currently, seniors are required to play the designated par-3 from the same tee as everyone else, the men's or white tees, however some seniors are complaining, saying they should be allowed to play that hole from the senior tee. Others say that wouldn't be fair to everyone else reasoning that regardless of age, it's easier to hit a ball closer to the pin the closer you are to the green. I'm just curious what other leagues do.

Yeah, I just saw the news item on him an hour ago. He had Parkinson's. A funny, funny guy. His stand-up act was unique. He always held a sheaf of disorganized papers in his hand as if he had made notes that he was referring to. I'm pretty sure there wasn't anything on them. עליו השלום

I recently started working out every day on a rowing machine. I read somewhere that rowing works more muscle groups in the body than any other form of exercise. I bought a Concept 2 machine and I've been diligently following their "Workout of the Day" which is sent to my phone every morning. The phone connects wirelessly to the machine's monitor and it, in turn, steps you through the workout that lasts anywhere between 25-45 minutes. Results? Abdominal muscles that have been MIA for a decade are reappearing, definition in my shoulders and biceps has returned, my thighs are now as hard as rocks and best of all, if the Trackman numbers at my local Golf Galaxy are any indication, my swing speed has returned to what it was five years ago. I don't know if this will help my golf scores or not but regardless, I just feel better.

This week's episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 12, Episode 3) is a hoot. Larry is sitting on a bench watching a pro give a lesson and starts paying special attention to the tip being provided, "Vertical Drop, Horizontal Tug." The pro gets pissed off and tells him to book a lesson, which he refuses to do. On the course he's blasting his drives (he hits a guy in the fairway he thought he couldn't reach) and shoots his best round of the season although he does get called on the carpet by the president of the club. (He has a rather unusual solution to that as well.) I tried it...it works. Vertical drop...horizontal tug, the secret to golf!

Two guys run our league at a Resort/Public course. The pro shop used to do it but the handicap method they used was bazaar to say the least and also, it often took them weeks to publish the scores. As a result, we took it over and have been running it ourselves for the past 5 years or so. Results and recalculated handicaps using the WHS formulae are published the next day. The only thing the course does is reserve our tee times and collect our green fees.

I've heard many people in the golf industry (instructors, equipment sales people) admit, "it's not the arrow, it's the indian." But, at the same time, that doesn't mean a fitting won't benefit a high handicapper. A new golfer would do better by first getting some lessons and learn the basics; grip, stance, backswing, downswing, follow-through. Then, get a fiting. It will help. It really will, even if you have to pay for it. Why contort yourself to fit the clubs? Get the clubs that fit you.

I too have been considering a new bag. My current Datrek bag is about 7 years-old and a hole has appeared on the side of the bag near the top, just below the collar. Datrek is, I believe made by Bag Boy and has been almost perfect for my needs except for the fact it doesn't have legs. There's a cooler pouch that's pretty effective, all the pockets are conveniently located and other than the hole I just discovered, it's been pretty sturdy. My walk/ride ratio is about 50/50 and so I have been considering the same bag Iacas has recommended, the Titleist Hybrid 14. However, bags have increased in price dramatically (along with everything else) so I've also looked at a Maxfli Honors+14. The Titleist is $265. The Maxfli, which looks almost identical, is $65 less. On the one hand, I don't like being a walking billboard, although I do play Titleist clubs. On the other, I can't tell from looking at both bags side by side in the store if one is made better than the other. While not identical, they have the same features I want (legs, cooler & full-length dividers) and I have a sneaking suspicion they're both made in the same factory in China. I haven't seen any other bags from the other "neutral" companies, Ogio and Sundowner, that I like. Decisions, decisions.

I guess I'm just curious how the math works when combining scores from two disparate courses like a Par-3 with a normal course. So the differentials at each 9-holr course are calculated separately and then added together?