Thomasredstone

The necessity of distance estimation (once a critical component in ones skill bag) is all but gone....when I picked the game back up a few years ago I recall looking for the 150's and being somewhat miffed when on newer courses not finding any. 😕 They seem to have vanished with the 2-wedge golf bag!

Thanks gents for the input....greatly appreciated.

I have been swinging hogan #4 and powerbilt dynasty C flex (both heavy) for 30yrs or so...been looking into new clubs and trying to find any wood with a heavy steel shaft off-the-shelf has been difficult. However, I didnt know until just recently (since I made the initial post) that graphite shafts can come in a somewhat heavy shaft (125g is what I saw) so that is an option. thanks

So my question to the group is.......I'm looking for a replacement for my PowerBilt persimmon 4 wood (vintage early 90's) but I cannot find a new offering with a relatively heavy steel shaft (TT DG S300 like). Anyone know of any or have suggestions? Thanks Tom

Great topic and comments. I have maybe an unusual issue that I hope someone whose been down the road before can shed some light on.... So I play irons I bought new in 88', hogan apex redlines (7i @ 37), always kept head covers on them, as they are my jewelry. A number of the clubs have faces that have long since been overly worn (pw, 7i, 5i) and I have replaced the pw with a newer hogan blade pw (wow...what great grooves!) I have been looking for new clubs to last another 20 yrs (or as long as I can swing) but been having issues when trying them out. At every indoor store net/range and at vendors tents on outdoor ranges, every time my swing goes absolutely to pot...zero rhythm and tempo...like its all gone. I went into a shop earlier this afternoon with $$$ in my wallet ready to buy new Mizuno's only to find I couldn't hit the target in the net even if I threw the club overhand at it! Really, really frustrating. So I came home with my wallet still full. In trying to figure this out a couple things come to mind...1) maybe I get overly nervous with others watching but I'm in my 60's (dont care so much what others think) and play fine in 4-somes without issue....or....2) all the newer clubs I tried are so much lighter than my hogan set that my timing is way off and the full-swing yips seem to be more prevalent. So I'm thinking I have swung my hogans with #4 (stiff) shafts in em for 34 years and have an in-grained tempo/timing set that would take a long time and thousands of practice balls to re-calibrate. So maybe I need to be looking at not-so-new clubs that are heavier than new ones that are as close to "like new" condition....or have the hogan heads refurbished. Anyone else experience this? Thanks in advance for comments.

Thank you for the insightful explanation...very helpful. I tend to be a tinker-er and, for good and bad, golf offers a fun platform for that...I have played around with lead tape on my drivers (added so much to one it slowed my club head speed down 😕) and I added an inch to my irons a while back (cant remember if my swing weight measurements were done before or after) thinking "thats the ticket" but I'm now choking down and inch...thinking of going to 1/2" over now. Kinda like swing thoughts in a way...I decided to write down swing thoughts I've used recently...must have been at least 20+...sadly! When I finally do hit the course I wonder what swing will it be today. Thanks again

Ok...have another semi-related question for the group...I got fitted for some mizuno's a month or so back but what I noticed then and with the hogans I rented was that the newer irons were noticeably lighter than my clubs...I think they were around D1-2. When I checked my clubs they ranged from D4-8...as I mentioned in an earlier entry I have only used them for the past 34 years. When trying out the new clubs I noticed I had serious timing issues...the head seemed to come through much quicker/sooner than what I'm used to. So my question is should I attempt to pick a shaft for the new clubs that might replicate the 88' Apex 4 shafts I've been using...in hopes of getting my timing back in line? Or will it be the case that I remember back in the day where we would buy irons that we were not necessarily fit for and spend the next 3-4 months or so adjusting one's swing to fit the clubs?

Ok...quick question re new hogans I've just tried...I received a 7 iron Icon and a 7 PTX Pro...finding the icon is much like my 88' apex blades (not surprising as the icon's are more traditional blade in nature) but the PTX-P has some forgiveness...when I hit the PTX's well they seem to go to the moon...very high trajectory...MUCH higher than my 88's. My question is...is this normal for a forgiveness laden blade or is it unusual? Guess the best way to find out is hit like clubs from other vendors...may give that a go sometime this week.

Thanks for your comment...very helpful...as are the other earlier model suggestions.

good point on the used set...finding it difficult to find em without being dinged up, as a lot (majority) haven't seen a head cover since new...I have seen my 88' redlines as my jewelry...always had head covers on when in the bag...tough to find

Thanks again to all for the good comments...here are some thoughts... Re: "You can forge a club or cast it, and if it's identical… it's going to feel identical. "Grain flow forging" (etc.) is marketing." Unless steel forging is inherently different from aluminum forging I beg to differ. My dad was in the aluminum forging biz for 40+ yrs and I can remember asking what's the difference between a casting and a forging and his reply was in the forging process (traditional - high temps-block of metal 0-extreme pressure pounding) grain is imparted into the item, thereby, making it much greater in strength. His shop forged landing gear for aircraft and big-rig wheels; both light but very strong. So, I would agree "if it's identical… it's going to feel identical" but the rub is it inherently will not be identical, that is if steel forging is not different from aluminum forging. About 6 months back my brother gave me a set of Staff irons that had "Forged" stated on the back of each iron but when I tried them they had no where near the feel of my 1030 forged carbon steel hogan redlines. In looking into why it seems that model used 8620 carbon steel which starts off higher in strength but used a stamping process in the making and though, technically, it can be considered "forged" its a very different process. It was noticeably firmer in feel. My brother said they did seem firm and I needed to experiment with softer balls. Re: "why the blades dedication?" this has been a difficult thing to come to terms with, as it hits at the heart of why I like golf...what do I enjoy about the game. You are right in that much of it is aesthetic...the traditional wrapper does have importance...when I look down at the club behind the ball a somewhat chunky top line is not appealing, which is why most of the player improvement type heads I'm not a fan of. Earlier in the thread a comment about no longer "can buy US made blades". I was sure the new hogans I'm looking at were US made so I checked it out...the heads are not...was I deflated! I did find a small US maker that do make forged blades but it seems they are somewhat particular about who they make them for, which translated to me means big $$$. As recommended earlier I may start looking at the Mizuno and Miura blades but I fear the cost there as well will be tough to handle...maybe I have been out of the market too long to accept how pricing has gone up. I hit a bucket at the range this afternoon, mainly 7 and 5 iron shots...most went quite well, and asked myself why do I want new sticks? I may end up sticking with my 34 yr old mb blades after all. Sorry this is waaaaay too long.

Hello to all....I used to frequent the site a number of years back but my email has changed (prolly multiple times) so thought I'd start over. After rather spotty interest through the past decade or so I'm getting plugged back in and finding the swing I had in my 20s-40s isnt gonna work...now in early 60's. Always used irons I bought new in 88'...Hogan Apex redline blades...1-pw. Since I'm approaching retirement I thought it might be time to treat myself to new irons. Been working on my swing rather arduously in the past couple months but finding my biggest issue is hitting fat...not just a little but sometimes a good 4" fat. Have taken lots of videos on the range and in my garage (into a net) and find my swing on any day depends on what swing thoughts I picked up on a video the eve before...dreadful. Finding the yips have found me, sadly. Putting was the first experience...easy 20' all of a sudden goes 50'...what happened??? Now its my full swing...my strong right side just fires when not asked too. Frustrating. So thats what I working with now. Thanks for the chance to post to the forum. Looking forward to great conversations and helpful hints. Thanks Tom

So in my late 20's I bought new 1988 hogan redline forged blades and have used them exclusively since (when 7 irons had a loft of 37)...with head covers always on em...still look pretty. Now that I'm looking to retire in a handful of years I'm thinking it may be time to "treat" myself to new clubs. Been looking at the latest offerings from Hogan, icon and ptx pro, and am wondering what I aught to expect...will the latest blades essentially be the same as my 88's or will improved tech over the years make em better (easier on the mis-hits). I have ordered up a couple loaners to give a go so will see. Wondering if anyone else has done kinda the same? Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks

Thought I would chime in on this one...when chipping my goal has been to get the ball rolling on the green ASAP so as to minimize lateral deflection but I make sure to always land it on the green, as the aprons are rarely carpet smooth where I play. Will use 6 to pw for all chips depending on how close I am to the green and how close the pin is. When pitching I normally land it (try) before the pin and run it up. There are, for me, rare times when it just has gotta stop fast so I'll launch it up. So in most cases a non urathane ball, less expesive, would be fine....In spite of what might be on the tee at the moment ☺️

Late to the party I know...how bout a metal yard stick...quite a challenge!

Grizvok, I think I misunderstood your point about "loose the range ball"...I think you meant to willingly use ones gaming balls, albeit prolly scuffed ones, for longer pitch shots at the range and consider them a donation to the range. I do have a handful I hit in the garage that could be used but it would be hard to walk away from em...cost of improvement I guess.

You certainly are right...I would like to work on spin wedge shots that bounce once then stop...difficult on the range...maybe stick with my bump n runs...

Pitching practice is not available in my area...lots of chipping, putting, range use but nowhere to hit 10-30yd shots...

So I'm blocking the driver badly and found a drill that's supposed to help...hitting the driver while on your knees...so today I went to the range and hit maybe 20 on my knees...looked great...straight with a little draw out 200yds or so...got up..swung...block city...did the same thing with the same result... Has anyone had luck with this drill? Thanks Tom

Greetings to the group again....another question or two if yall dont mind... About a month back, after looking more closely at why I was hitting fat or thin about 90% of the time I noticed that my posture was too upright, causing my upper torso to bob up, 3-4" estimate, on the backswing then down on the downswing and through. So I needed more spine angle to create more of an upper body twist/turn. After a few minor adjustments was striking the ball very nicely with my hands driving down through the ball.To encourage more of an inside-out downswing I would intentionally start back outside and try to stay over the ball through impact. Then.... :( my lower back started to complain big time....went back to more upright and the divots started flyin again...before the ball...now muscles in my lower right rib cage are taking no prisoners...really hurts to swing...I think caused by the strenuous backswing loop (outside back to inside through) with being too close to the ball at address. In searching on the site for like experiences I found the following thread seeming to speak to the rib muscle issue...specificly entry #31....the chap stated upon taking a break and getting back on the range: "Today I went back to the driving range realizing I could not repeat what I was doing before. I really concentrated this time on proper shoulder turn keeping my left arm close in to my rib area, and using a good hip turn to lead my shoulders through the swing with my arms following along instead of doing the leading. All the posts on this web site and videos were a great help in getting me to realize what I was doing wrong. But it took this injury to make me attempt to really put it in practice. I simply did't have a choice anymore. I had to change the way I used my arms. " His comment "using a good hip turn to lead my shoulders through the swing with my arms following along instead of doing the leading"....arms following along? I gotta tell ya that is such a foreign concept...I have never swung a club in that fashion...its always been a relatively short backswing then pow with the arms/wrists/hands into the back of the ball and through (hands well in front of the ball at impact...have always played a low ball). Could someone point me to where I can find more details of this "arms following" technique, as I really want to keep playing but may not if the swing doesnt change.... As always thanks for reading my blather....all comments/recommendations/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the helpful guidance...greatly appreciated....In working with slow swings (maybe 10-30%) a couple things have come to mind... 1) I find its difficult to have properly sync'd weight transfer...which feeds the next thing... 2) also find tempo to be a challenge.... both seem to come back around once 50% is hit...Another question...when we are encourage to swing at, say, 50%...does that mean a half length swing at full speed, a full length swing at half speed, or something in between? One final question...when one is working up the %'s (30%-40%-50%-75%-ect) when is it "ok" to go back to playing on the course? I'm afraid that if I wait until I hit 100% it could be a year, or at lease many months before I see a tee box again. Thanks again

Ok...well I have been working on the swing quite arduously since the posted videos. I remember back at that time I would make a nice practice swing then step up to the ball and the swing would drastically change...jerking...topping...thinning...fatting...almost everything the practice swing wasnt. About 3 weeks back I found a helpful lesson from Golf Digest by Hank Haney who said to take 100 practice swings every day, as many of his students said they have never shot better.....Well....so I started doing 100 in the morning before work and another 100 at night...I mean if 100 is good then 200 must be fantastic....after a week I started to integrate some ball striking into the practice (in the garage)...still had difficulty in making the ball swing the same as the practice swing. While explaining to my son how beside myself I was he suggested swinging at the ball with my eyes closed...you have to be kidding...but being at witts end I gave it a try and could not believe how well I struck the ball...incredible...blew me away...he then said "see Dad...its all mental". Didnt think much of it after that. The last 2 Saturdays my rounds have never been worse in my life...ok...maybe when I was 10 I shot worse. And to top it off I went to the range earlier today and the wedges and 7 irons were nice...good tempo...smooth. Then came the 5i, 3i, 4 wd, 4i and back to the 6i and everything I touched went to pot...topping, thinning, fatting, jerking, no tempo, no releasing...even my practice swings were mostly just skimming the top of the grass. So with 3 balls left I remembered what my son recommended and tried the 1st one with eyes closed...wonderful...straight and about 170 yd with 30 yr old 6i blade with 33.5 loft...then the last 2 were slightly heavy but an order of magnitude better than anything earlier. I am flummoxed. Does anyone have any helpful suggestions other than to find another hobby...or play blindfolded? Thanks Tom

Thanks gents for your comments greatly appreciate...as I remember I was working hard to keep in my back posture (not pulling up and head not bobbing up/down/up)...

Sorry for the long intro/explanations... I've been Playing Golf for: 40+ yrs…not continuously unfortunately…had a cut-off 9 iron put in my hand at 6...played junior golf then on the high school team…picked it up again mid 80’s to mid 90’s (best index was about 4.5) then sporadically up to about 5 yrs back…just picked it back up seriously a few months back and have played maybe 8 times but doing lots-o-practicing…put a practice net in the garage (didn’t know balls go through wall board so easily) and taking lots of video to see what is, or isn't, happening My current handicap index or average score is: my best calculated index so far is 9.9 My typical ball flight is: always been a low ball hitter…if my drives are high its because they went off the top ;) Driver, if hit well, usually 270-ish, 4 wood 240-ish The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: hitting thin (unless its miles fat)…coming up and/or not staying down-through the shot…more often now, as I’m not quite as flexible as I once was and being 6‘3“ does not help…though I don’t and never had a full “parallel at the top” back swing, even playing hardball through college coaches asked why my swing didn’t start back like everyone else, though they never complained about the outcomes. (those low inside pitches were heaven) I sometimes line up open which seems to restrict the backswing and results in thinning and/or blocking out...when I close it up seems to get better...or so I think. Been finding that if I stand too upright my upper body raises up on the backswing top then comes down at impact, often resulting in hitting fat…concerted focusing on the ball usually keeps the head movement to a minimum and really helps. Never had an official lesson…primarily dad’s mentoring. Going through lots of swing thoughts, prolly the usual stuff...most help most of the time... Here are two videos of hitting my 4 wood well...sorry if they aren't the best but plan to post better next time I’m out at the range. Thanks for all comments... Tom Videos: