etlreams

I would suggest going with your inclination to get a hybrid or 5 wood. Which one is up to you. That topic has been debated many times. Might want to search for it. There will be a few threads to brows through opinions. Seems like most people prefer the hybrid over the 5 wood. Hybrids seem to be a little more versitile (mostly better at hitting out of the rough). But....it's all up to you. I carry a 5 wood and a 4 hybrid.

Scotty Cameron Newport 2.7. Been playing with it since last summer. I love it! Love the weighting, feel, and look of it. I switched from an insert based Odyssey White Hot HG putter. I prefer the solid, milled face of the Scotty better. Plus, this winter I sent it in and had my initialls stamped on it, they adjusted the lie angle and added some weight. Does it make me a better putter? It probably doesnt make my mechanics any better...but I feel confident because it is MY putter.

Congrats! The first one is always memorable.

Indeed. When my swing gets "off" - I usually start pulling it. I will experiment with my hand position at address

Thanks for your input, uttexas. Appreciate your noticing I get handsy. That is something i will work on.

no other feedback for me??? Just thought I'd bump the thread up and give it one more try.

i always use an 8 iron for the bump and run chip shots. if i need just a little bit of trajectory on it, i just use my wrists a little more to sweep under and pop it up. I just use an exagerated putting stroke.

Thanks for that tip, Eric! In actually seeing my own swing (this is the first time I've seen a video of my swing in a long time) the first thing I noticed was that my legs have quite the swaying motion. I try the right knee tip and see if it stablizes my lower body a little more. Thanks again!

Be kind, now. I know it's not a pretty swing. But any tips, recommendations, analysis, etc. is appreciated! 7 iron - side view 7 iron - back view Driver - side view Driver - back view

20 is probably a stretch.... But I would say I forsure found the ProV to be 10 yards longer then the Nike One Tour, off the driver, anyways. I tried to play the Nike One Tour for a couple of months. I loved the feel of the ball and control of the ball - but I always struggled with how short it seemed off the tee. So...just to compare an equivalent type ball, I tried the ProV1 and was surprised to find them longer. That's just my experience anyways.

I've experimented a little bit with the Nike One Tour vs ProV1 (neither are my ball of choice, so take it for what it is and it was only a couple of rounds of trying the two balls) - but I found the ProV1 was 10-20 yards longer than the Nike Tour. There was definately a difference in feel off wedges and especially off the putter between the two. Best way to describe, I guess, is that the ProV felt like a sponge and the Nike felt a little more firm. I didn't notice much difference in spin rates. Then again I don't spin it back very often. But they both checked up equally as well in chips and one hop and stop on flop shots.

Save the club space. Just choke down on an 8 or 9 iron and make an exagerated putting stroke.

I've played all three balls mentioned this summer (trying to find "My new ball") and I have settled on the Nike Vapor. I have a somewhat slow swing speed, so I was looking for distance and to help straighten out my long game. Here's is my impression of the three balls mentioned: 1. Vapor - Love it. It is my new ball. It is long, straight and I love the feel of it off the putter. It has a somewhat soft feel to it. The only negative is the lack of spin around the greens. On low pitch shots, chip shots, punch shots it will run on you. Does not check up well at all. On higher trajectory shots like flops and short iron/wedge approach shots it lands soft without much roll. But it does not check for running shots. 2. E5 - as others have said, it is a good combination of distance and short game control. It's a 2 piece ball with a urethene cover. Which is pretty unique. It is long off the tee and it does have very good (not great, but very good) green side spin. The only reason I didn't like it was because I hated the feel of them off the putter. 3. Titleist NXT Tour. Didn't really like them. I found that the distance was average, side spin in the long game seemed high, greenside spin for short game was average, and I hated the feel of them off the putter. That's my experience with these three balls, anyways.

I've been playing the Nike One Vapor (not the newer Vapor Speed, but I think the Vapor Speed just replaced the Vapor with minimal changes) for a couple of months now. I love the ball! It is my new ball. I like it because it is long (i have a pretty slow swing speed so I need the distance), straight (fight a slice off the tee from time to time) and I love the feel of it off the putter. It is somewhat soft. Not as soft as a 4 piece ball or a urethene cover ball. But it is a 3 piece ball and feels good off the short irons. The only negative is the lack of greenside spin. It does not check up very well at all. It will run on you and I have run off the green many times with it. For flop shots or short iron approach shots it lands pretty soft and doesnt roll much. But on low punch, bump-n-runs, chips, low pitch shots, etc there's not much check to it. They are worth a try if you need some distance and want less side spin to help straighten out the long game. I would compare them to the Bridgestone E6 and the Titleist NXT

I'm with you there. Worst part of my game is the sand (which is odd since I love the short flop shots around the green). Playing in the sand will definately add shots to my score. I don't seem to duff or chunk the ball very much. Maybe once or twice in the thick rough. Long pitch/bump-n-run/long chips are a weakness of mine. I'll oftens time hit it too hard and have to chip back on or ensure a two or three putt. If I were to ball park an average number of wasted shots (bad sand shots, bad chips/pitch shots, etc) maybe 3-5 a round.

Who really gives a crap about 300 yard drives.? Well...obviously....too many people do. I'll stick by my statement of not witnessing any playing partners hitting the ball 300. But here's an interesting fact I do know for sure, IN MY EXPERIENCE, anyways. Every time I've played with a "long hitter" (for argument sake let's say that's 270+ yards) either: a) they are the most erratic with hooking, slicing, etc off the tee box I've seen. Most of those long bombs they hit they have to go hunting for them in the woods b) their mid iron game is ugly, or their short game is painful to watch, or they 3-putt every hole. Sometimes all three apply. On a Par 5.....I'll take my 235 yard fairway drive, being safely on in three for a short birdie putt, ---- than watching my friends have to punch out their 270 yard drive from the trees, then leaving their approach shot short and then having to 2-putt out for bogey any day.

I guess I honestly don't know. I would like to think hitting warm up balls would help me find my swing groove. And I would like to think that putting on the practice green would help me get a feel for the greens... But I honestly don't know if, statistically, it has actually helped or not. Guess I haven't done an analysis. I always like to try and get there early to putt so I can get a feel for the greens. But, come to think of it, I'm not sure I putt any better if I do. It's still the worst part of my game!

I average 230 or so. My longests is about 275, and that was because I had a hard, down hill fairway that gave me a good 30+ yards of role. I've golfed with a lot of different people, and (aside from attending a few PGA events) I don't think I've ever witnessed a 300 yard drive.

I'm no swing expert, so take it for what it is..... Last summer i developed a slice for the first time in my golf life and it had to do with my swing path. Took one lesson and I learned the fix. Very simple for me.... flatten out my swing plane. Also, drop my right shoulder so I am sweeping up to the ball. As I watch my friends slice, they all suffer from the same swing flaw I did. Flatten it out. Imagine the path like a hula hoop. Smooth, slow and flat.

shot an 83 at my "home course" - Braemar in Edina, MN. 44/39. Could have broke the elusive 80 if I didn't hit it in the water on the last hole for double bogey and didn't three putt two holes on the front nine. Oh well. maybe next time, right.

never had a long hole out before. Had a couple of 20 yards or so flop shots drop. And I've had a number of long chip ins. But never holed out from more 20-30 yards away.

Personally, I don't think they are worth it. I have the "Golf GPS" by Swing by Swing on my Blackberry. It's a free app. It just gives you satellite view and yardage distance. I find it to be pretty darn accurate. And I don't find it to eat the battery life too bad. I use it about 50% of the time. The only time I find that it is helpful is if I'm playing a course I am not familiar with and, most importantly, if the course is not marked very well (no sprinkler head markings, stakes, etc.) If a course is marked (even if it just has 100, 150, 200 yard stakes), I seem to be pretty good at ballparking the difference between the closest yardage stake. I'm not a good enough ball striker to realize the advantages of dialing in every club to the EXACT yardage.

I agree. Both are excellent wedges and both will perform for you. I like the Vokey wedges because I like the weight/balance and the shape better than the Clevelands. But that's just personal preference. Just got find one that feels and looks good to you. I think performance will be about the same between the two.

I enjoyed my Nickent 3DX "ironwood" very much. I liked the sleek look of the club head shape and the color. I have noticed that there are a few different shaft variations on them, though. So be sure you get what you want. I played a 3hy 3DX and it had a "uniflex" steel shaft. I also picked up a 4hy 3DX (and never played it) that had a ProForce graphite shaft. So be sure you are getting one with the shaft that you want.

I've got three. I drove the green in two on a short Par 5 (i love hitting my 3 wood of the fairway!) and drained a 15 ft putt. I chipped in on a very short Par 4 (250 yards long, chipped in from about 5 yards off the green). And I drove the green on another short Par 4 and one putter (hole was about 230 yards long and I sunk a 20 ft putt). I always play from the white tees, so that has helped to give me a few eagle opportunities.