Mizzy57

For me, at the range this is incredibly important. Get all your swing thoughts out of your head during the preshot routine, so when you're addressing the ball, you don't have 4-5 things running around the mellon. If you can get to the point where you are doing the same thing on most of your swings, regardless of where the ball goes, then you can start tweaking your swing. Right now, if you are making adjustments after every swing, there's no consistancy and hard to isolate flaws. Try this, hit 10 balls using the same swing, no changes in grip, stance, etc. Do not tweak anything, find out what the ball is doing and make a single simple adjustment. Hit 10 more balls and see the result. Not only will this help swing flaws, it also lets you learn how simple adjustments affect ball flight. Anyone can tell you how to draw the ball, but until you realize and feel the mechanics of how your swing affects the ball to impart that left to right spin, you'll never really grasp it. Once done, you'll realize the reason you're slicing is because the clubface is open at impact due to: late hands, weak grip, outside-in swing and/or a combination. Very few pick up a club and hit the ball flush and consistantly early on. Most of us were where you are and had to grind to get "our" swing and no 2 swings are exactly alike. Find "your" swing that works for you and from there you can tweak. Once you do find that swing, it's very important to just keep doing that swing and get good results. Not only does the range help you tweak, it allows you to build muscle memory so later that wierd feeling swing that produces beautiful shots starts to feel natural. On that same token, hitting 1000 balls at the range with a bad swing will only ingrain you with bad habits and take you 3000 balls later to unlearn. Personally, if you aren't going to get a lesson for the basics- grip, posture, stance, and ball position, find someone at the range who's hitting the ball nicely and strike up a conversation. Let them know you're starting out and i'm sure they will help you on the basics. Ideally, you should have all these down without thought before you start tweaking.

IMHO, go with Timtheputterman. 44458/99.6 feedback. He has tons and tons of gear. If he says it's been hit 1x, it's been hit 1x. I bought my set of MP-57's from him a couple years ago and it was listed as hit once. When I got them, 4-6 irons still had plastic on grips and face, 7 had been hit, 8-pw still wrapped in plastic. Just a sample. http://cgi.ebay.com/MIZUNO-MP-57-MP-...d=p3286.c0.m14 $399/15 sh is a good price from a trustworthy source. Also, he carries everything from Drivers to wedges of every brand and combo. Good luck, and whichever you choose or however you get them, you'll love the Mizzy's.

Square drivers typically have more forgiveness and huge MOI. I can't answer your question as to whether a square driver will help with your slice, but it wouldn't hurt. Point being, as a beginner, using a low lofted (9.5*) tour model (open clubface) is really working against you. The lower the loft, the less backspin and more side spin you're getting. In laymens terms, it's accentuating your slice. You want to go with a higher lofted driver and at least neutral face, or even draw until you get your swing grooved. I would even think about 12-13* drivers at your stage, the more backspin, the less sidespin.

Callaway uPro's for $299 now with the $100 rebate. I have a neo currently, but taking a serious look at the uPro.

I chose square/square, but I mostly play closed/closed as my normal shot is a draw.

Do the Pro's who use the R9 just have the head? I mean they get custom fitted for thier driver's and there's really no need for the adjustablity. I'm thinking they just use the head and custom non adjustable shaft.

Do you know your distances cold? Even at a high hdcp, I would find a GPS useful. Almost every gps has a shot mark function. Just because you hit (or miss) the yardage flag at the range, they are very inconsistant. Pure a shot, mark it. Do that enough times with your irons, you'll get a great reference on exactly how far you hit those irons. Also, as a higher hdcp, your judge of distances will probably be way off. There's times where my gps will give me a yardage and I'm like there's no way that can be right. I'll trust the technology more times than not from experience. Can you tell the distance between 195 and 225 yds? That's a 2-3 club differential. How about 115 and 125? That's the difference between missing short or long and sticking the green with the easiest clubs. Why make golf harder for yourself without even taking a swing? I believe it will help your overall game. Not your swing mechanics, putting, judging a line, whether to pitch or chip, etc; but if you know the distance, you're more apt to dial in your control. If you keep thinking your hitting to 170yds and consistatly missing long or short with the same iron on solid hits, you could actually be misjudging the distance by 20-30yds. The distance from the front to back of a green is usually a 2 club difference, sometimes 3! A gps will tell you that. As far as people thinking it's cheating, the Pro's have been using detailed yardage books (down to the foot on greens) and human GPS's and that are even more accurate than gps's for decades. Now the rest of us can have the same tools without hiring a caddy. Golfing more fun by judging distances? I believe golf is more fun when I know the distance is 150 and I use my 150 club. The rest is up to me.

I picked NIKE. Just imagine the annual parties and events!!!!! Woods, Wie, AK, Cink, Petterson, Jordan, LT, Jeter, Davenport, Sharapova etc etc etc. It would be a sports networking of who's who in ALL sports. Although I don't care for thier equipment, all the perks make up for that. Free Nike gear,clothing for life, event tickets, etc. I don't think any other sponsor could offer as much as Nike.

On this note, what really is the law? I live in California and have heard it both ways. My Dad hooked one into someone's backyard last year. We heard it hit, sounded like a door or the patio, and when we got there the old man said we busted his window. Dad had the man send estimates and paid for it. I told him I'd research who's liable but he said didn't matter, he hit into the man's house (i don't think he broke the big ass window looking into the course, but w/e). Found this and alot of others on the WEB (so it must be true, it's on teh internets) Author Bio: George K. DeHaven is a partner in the Uniondale, Long Island law office of Rivkin Radler LLP. He litigates a variety of commercial cases, including construction site accidents, products liability, and personal injury defense. He can be reached at: (516) 357-3415, or at george.dehaven@rivkin.com .] You are out early, the sun is shining, and you have warmed up on the range and practice green. Out comes the Big Bertha and you confidently step up to your teed ball . . . swing . . . and you see your ball launched skyward, only to slice into a stand of trees separating your fairway from another. You hurry out to find your ball, cursing your poor luck, and come upon it in the next fairway lying next to the prone and unconscious body of another golfer. What happens if he decides to sue you for his injuries. Generally, a golfer preparing to drive a ball has no duty to warn persons who are not in the intended line of flight on another tee or fairway. The essence of liability for the injuries inflicted on another is the failure to take reasonable steps, where possible, to minimize the chance of harm. Thus, to establish responsibility to pay damages for the injuries sustained, there must be a recognizable risk and some basis for concluding that the harm flowing from it was reasonably preventable. The Courts recognize that even the best pro golfers cannot avoid the occasional "hook" or "slice," and the risk of a miss-hit golf shot is not a fully preventable occurrence. Even with the utmost concentration and the tedious preparation that often accompanies a golfer's shot, there is no guarantee that the ball will be hit onto the correct path. For that reason, the mere fact that a golf ball did not travel in the intended direction does not establish a viable negligence claim. A person injured by a miss-hit golf ball must establish that the golfer failed to exercise due care by proving, for example, that the golfer aimed so inaccurately as to unreasonably increase the risk of harm to others. Clearly, though the object of the game is to drive the ball as cleanly and directly as possible to the intended goal (the hole), the possibility that the ball will fly off in another direction is a risk inherent in the game. The onus on the golfer, therefore, is limited to taking reasonable precaution to protect those in the intended flight of the ball. The law, therefore, requires that if you observe another golfer, maintenance worker, or other person within the fairway and within the range of your shot, you had better make sure that they know you are hitting, or wait until they are out of range. If the ball fails to go where you want it to (and who among us mere mortals has not hit such a shot) golf etiquette may dictate that a warning be shouted, but the law does not. A poor shot, standing alone, is not sufficient to impose liability for the injuries sustained by the unfortunate recipient of the errant ball. Cases have also been brought by occupants of houses adjoining the course and motorists driving on roadways adjacent to them. Whatever the extent of the duty owed by a golfer to others in his immediate vicinity, that golfer ordinarily may not be held liable to individuals located entirely outside the boundaries of the golf course who happen to be hit by a stray, miss-hit ball. It has been suggested that one who deliberately decides to reside in the suburbs on very desirable lots adjoining golf clubs and thus receive the social benefit and other not inconsiderable advantages of country club surroundings must be assumed to have accepted the risks and annoyances that go along with it. With respect to motorists, it appears accepted by the Court that any warning the golfer could give would be ineffective to someone in a car, who likely could not hear nor timely react even if they had. So while your errant shot may cost you the match, it will not cost you the shirt off your back if it accidentally injures someone not in the line of fire. So what's your opinion?

Where did you guys get your information? PGA.com says: The average number of yards per measured drive . These drives are measured on two holes per round. Care is taken to select two holes which face in opposite directions to counteract the effect of wind. Drives are measured to the point at which they come to rest regardless of whether they are in the fairway or not. (101) Im pretty sure they don't use Par 3's and drivable par 4's. They specifically say drives , not tee shots. They want to get a realistic average of drives, and tossing in a Par 3 blows that idea right out of the water.

Anyone hear Miller say "That was skanky" when Creamer pulled a shot to the left of the green today? I almost pee'd my pant's during the eerie 3-4 sec (seemed like 10) silience after he said that. I can just imagine Dottie's facial expression as she heard that. Also on Creamer, when she hit another short of the green "That belt buckle must be weighing her down" lol.

So I traded in my XLS 10.5* Draw last week and got fitted for a Ping G10 9* and have hit it decently (usually only on the par 5's, 3W is my go to stick). I went to the range today to get more familiar with it, due to the diff in shape, weight, shaft, grip, etc so when I do break it out i'm not self conscious and have 30 swing thoughts racing. after a few good draws, I started skying the ball, not swinging up at the ball, it was just hitting the crown. The old tee I was using was a 2 3/4" and the ball sat a lil higher than I liked. So I thought, hit it like its a tee'd up baseball. Now, I don't know if anyone uses this as thier regular swing, but my god when it's struck well, it flies! My question is, do people use this swing? I mean it felt natural and powerful. Maybe I've been swinging my driver wrong all this time and finally had a revelation or is this bad juju and I should totally forget it happened? I've read and heard people/teachers say swing it like a baseball bat and sweep the ball off the tee, just wanted to know if this is what they meant. I mean, I like my normal driver swing, when it's on.

WOW, I don't carry the 4i lol, don't even know why I put that in there. Good catch.

You actually want to sharply strike down on the ball to generate spin. Think of chopping at a ping pong ball on the table. People call this pinching the ball (between the turf and the club). This pinching works on a solid surface, such as the fairway. Less or no spin out of the rough because 1. the ball usually isn't on solid ground and there's space below the ball, no pinching effect, 2. grass gets between the ball and grooves, filling them and not allowing them to bite the cover. Of course you need 2 other things besides the proper pinching swing- soft high spin ball, and receptive greens. Not sure how you got a low trajectory ball from your description (open clubface, open stance, sliding under the ball). Sounds like a flop shot which actually is the opposite, a very high, short soft landing shot.

Honestly, if I had a stance where the ball was THAT HIGH at waist level, I'd poke it into play. Only place I could imagine the ball that high would be near a bunker...get it into play. If the slope was steep to where it was knee level, I'd choke well the hell down. ball in middle, and use a chop stroke. More manageable slopes, below knee, choke down appropriately and no more than a 3/4 swing. Any harder and you're likely to miss the ball badly on the face, hit it fat, etc.

Driver: 270 draws, 250 high fades 3W: 240 (fairway) -260 (tee) 3H: 215-230 4H :200-215 4I: (only use for low running punches) 5I: 200- (normally used on long Par3's 180-210 otherwise i use 4H) 6I: 180- 7i: 170- 8i: 150- 9: 140- PW: 130- GW: 100-125 SW: 70-100 LW: 5-75

My opinion: Change the strong 3W, buy a reg 15* 3W (why do you want a 2* diff between your driver and 3W??) Drop the 4i, you said you can't hit long irons anyways. Drop the 60*, unless you're very familiar with a 60*, otherwise you'll skull it 50yds and cost yourself 2 strokes. SW will work better. And as Opie said, I'd personally drop the driver and use the 3W. You said you hit your driver good, I'll bet once you get used the 3W, you'll hit it better, more consistant, and give up minimal yardage. I'd buy the driver, but you'll drop strokes buy using the 3W.

I went thru the same thing you are. I had a Cleveland XLS 10.5 draw stiff that when hit normally would produce a beautiful long draw. But with current swing tweaks, my coach said the Draw needed to go as my misses were becoming 30-50yd hooks, tho distance was still tremendous. I read on the XLS review that others have had the same problems with the Draw model. Went to go get fitted and had $500 bucks to burn. After it was all said and done, best fit for me wasn't a new $500 driver after all. Good folks that did the fitting (105, 3200, 14*) set me up with a Ping G10 9* with the stock Proforce V2 HL stiff. Although I'm still getting used to the G10, my misses now only happen when I'm either handsy or late. Good drives are piercing and it's alot easier to play a fade when needed. I also got the G10 fairway but i'm missing right with that, just a timing issue. Point being, get fitted. And the best driver for you isn't necessarily the best (most expensive) driver. Miss the XLS sound tho =( Good luck. P.s. For those that have had driver changes after using one for a few years, how long/bad was your adaptation? I've only played a 2 rounds so far this week with the G10 and even tho my good hits are great and my misses minamal, I still have that wary feeling when I tee up. Different driver, shaft, grip, weight, feel, etc.

IMHO, spend the money and buy a quality wedge that you won't need to replace when you start upgrading your bag. As a mid/high hdc'r you will have more up and down opportunities then a low hdc. Just facts of life. You'll be chipping and pitching alot around the greens and next to your putter, will probably be your most used club. Now i'm not saying buying a SM Vokey, CG, or any of the Name Brands will make you a short game master, but it will most defineatly show you when you're correctly clipping the ball by rewarding you with some ball action. maybe a little at first but you get the idea. Balls pitched with a cheap wedge that roll by the hole will check up. Spend the extra money now, learn to use it, and you won't have to dish it out later when you get better. Brand new SM vokey's are $109. Cheaper on Ebay. Or at least get a used one to get the feel for it. Just my 2 cents.

I have a Mizuno sunday bag, it's the same size as the Callaway and Nike ones. They def will not hold 14 clubs and be easy to walk with. I use mine for Par 3 9 holers and when I go out to work on specific irons at the range or when I do my short game workouts. I mean, you CAN fit 14 clubs in there, but carrying it will be ungainly.

Haha, talk about priceless

I hate that. When I'm playing good, I don't wanna know what I'm shooting, esp if it's close to my low. The 2-3 times I came close to 80 I was in the zone and was only metally keeping score of birdies and bogeys. It screws me up if one of my buddies starts adding and calling out scores because I too will start to tense up and "work" at making perfect shots which of course are anything but.

I think it was Jack that said when asked about his club address it's slightly open, because it squares up just at impact...or maybe it was Hogan???

Dunno if Callaway makes them small enough for a 3yo, but thier kids sets have the Trade in Trade up so when they get taller/older you can trade thier clubs in for the next level and just pay the difference. Probably sure some other major brands do the same but Callaway's CS is tops.

Hehe, they say the hardest 6 inches in golf is between the ears and the longest walk is from the range to the tee. When at the range, you need to hit balls with a purpose. Each shot I go thru an abbreviated pre-shot routine, aim, and shoot at a target. I don't mean I'm gonna aim for the third post at the back of the range net, I mean if I'm hitting my driver I pick out a target at 250-260, maybe a bush or the edge of the last target green and say I want my shot to be there. If I hit a draw, I do my alignment for it etc etc. Wedges do the same, Don't just aim for the 100 yd flag. Aim 5 yd's left, right, behind etc. Be specific. This will hopefully help you when you get on the course, same tempo and routine. You're a 13 HCP so you should already have the fundamentals and what yardages you hit. I've read somewhere that the Pro's focus on clumps of dirt or spots/discolorations on the closer target greens when they practice. If you've ever been to a tourney and watched the Pro's at the range you know what I'm talking about. They are slow, relaxed, but methodical. I've never seen one hit more than 10-15 balls with the same club at one time.