etlreams

I should also add..... I DID NOT regrip my woods and wedges, and I don't seem to be pulling those. It is just my 5-PW that I regripped and those are the clubs/shots I seem to be pulling.

Not sure if this should be here, or in "Playing Tips & Instruction" (feel free to move if necessary) About a month ago I switch to the Golf Pride New Decade grips. Love the feel and look of them. Great grip! But ever since switching, I have been pulling the hell out of the ball. It seems that my hand size puts me kind of between the standard size and mid size. They suggested I just go with the standard size. I don't believe I have made any major changes to my swing. Nothing feels or looks different, anyways.... So...is it possible that these grips may be too small for my hands and causing me to start pulling the ball? I'm really stumped where this pull came from and the timing with switching to different grips makes me wonder....

I did the Bridgestone fitting a month or so ago and they fit me with the E5 ball. I told them spin/greenside control was most important for me. After hitting my driver a number of times, they said the E5 would give me better distance, spin rate off the driver, etc.... I did find it to be a long ball (it is a 2-piece ball), it did have pretty good spin and greenside control (urethane cover) ---- but I hated the feel of it and the roll and feel off the putter. Felt very hard. Off the putter, it just didnt seem to have any feel to it. Of course....feel is all subjective... It's a good balance between distance ball vs control ball.

75% of the rounds I play are at a little executive 9 hole course I love. I shoot par there because I am completely comfortbale and at ease there, know every inch of the course and, for other reason I don't really know why, just flat out play better there than anywhere else. Put me on any other par 29 course and I'll shoot mid-high 30s. On an 18-hole course, I'm mid-high 80s, low 90s

I play par 3 and executive 9 courses all the time. One particular course I usually shoot par. I often miss the green and it's my flop shots and chip shots that give me short one putt opportunities to make my pars - so I don't understand your question.

You know...I've actually gone in a 180 degree different direction lately on this issue. I used to play different balls trying to find one that I could control best from 120 and in.... But, for the past two months, I've really been focusing on my driver and my putter. Now my interests in trying different balls is minimal sidespin & distance, and most importantly, what feels best off the putter. Perhaps it's because I've been focusing so much on putting lately, but I can feel a tremendous difference in balls off the putter face. It's quite amazing. Anyways....I've been trying three piece balls and I've found a few I like that are long, fly straight and what I'm looking for in feel off the putter. Now, I'll admit, they don't spin as much for the 120 and in areas, but, I was never really backing them up 15 ft anyways. So right now I'm in the "I'll take accuracy, distance and putter feel vs overrated backspin any day" category

Most forgiving fairway wood I've owned is my current 2007 Big Bertha 3 wood. Fantastic off the tee. Great off the fairway. Not so great out of the rough, then again, what fairway is. It is very straight and forgiving.

I sware - it seems like someone posts a question about groove sharpeners every month and we have this same debate over and over.

has anyone played the Nike Vapor ball? If so, thoughts? I played the Nike Tour for a few weeks. I liked the feel of it. Felt great off the putter. Greenside playability was fantastic.... But the high spin rate made it hard for me to control off the tee. It was the shortest ball I've ever played. This is probably due to the fact I have fairly slow swing speed and can't compress it adequately. So...thinking about trying the Vapor to get more distance and less side spin. Thoughts?

I play the Callaway X (08) 5 wood and love it! The sole design makes it a great club out of the light rough and good off the fairway. I played the Callaway X460 (08) driver for a year and half and it was pretty good. Loved the traditional shape at address, very nice looking club, feel and sound were great. To be honest, I didn't find the driver to be all that much longer or more forgiving than most out there...but it was about average in those regards.

JC Pennys and (i think) Kohls has the PGA brand of golf polos. I find them to be a good deal, when they are on sale. And they seem to be onsale quite a bit. They have some nice color selections and are made of the dry/mositure wicking material.

Most birdies I've ever had in one round was 3 on an executive 9 hole course (par 29). It was my best round ever. Shot 2 under par for the day! (one darn bogey due to sandtrap)

If I had to pick one, I'd putt. I can swing the club as much as I want to get warmed up. I'd rather get a feel for what the greens are doing so I'm prepared to putt. Many of the courses I frequent, actually, have no driving range. So I'm used to not hitting a bucket before I play. On those occasions when i can and do hit a bucket, I'm not so sure I play a better round than when I don't hit warm up balls.

I did the Bridgestone fitting as well. I agree.....if anything...it's worth it just to get your numbers (swing speed, RPM, launch angle, etc.) What I didn't care for is that it was all about distance and driver. I told them my two goals were short game feel and control and straight on the long game. They fitted me the the E5. Said it has a soft feel (it doesn't) and good spin due to urethen cover (it does) - but the primary reason he fit it was because it gave me the longest distance and best ball spin rate. I guess that's great. But it was the most erratic in terms of accuracy and felt horrible because it felt like hitting a rock. I just wish they would fit the ball to what you say you are looking for, rather than what gives you the most distance. Also, I don't see how you can appropriately fit me for a ball using only my driver.

That's great! Something I'm working on this year is letting go a little bit and enjoying the golfing experience more. I often times take myself and the game too seriously and forget to just swing the club and enjoy the experience of a beautiful course, great company, etc. of golf. Bravo you were able to do that! It's a good reminder for all of us that putting up a good score should not be the priority every time we go out.

I don't quit when I'm playing bad. Sometimes I'm tempted to. But I try to play through it and hope it gets better. If I'm really playing poorly, usually it doesnt. Something I'm working really hard on is forgetting that last bad shot or hole and "starting fresh" with the next.

Wow. It's surprising when you add 'em up! I've play 17 rounds so far this year. 3/4 of those rounds are just 9 holes, though. Thank god my wife doesnt balance the check book - then she'd know how many rounds I've played!

Alot of great advice so far. The only other thing I would add is routine, routine, routine! Having a pre-shot routine is always recommended in golf. Personally, I don't have one that is always exactly the same. But I do for putting. I have a very strict routine that I follow for putting. Then again....I'm not the greatest putter, so my advice should be taken with a grain of salt.

I would agree with this 100% Get the combo set. I wish I would have. I got my AP1s last July and I love mine. They are long (they have a pretty strong loft) and pretty forgiving. My only compaint would be that they scratch really easily. My clubs aren't even a full year old and it looks like they are 10 years old. I know I'm not alone in this. Others with AP1s have said the same. I don't know if they've changed the material at all with the 710 series. Even so, they are great clubs! You'll be happy.

I should say..... the other thing to do is visit golf stores. It's funny. You can tell those who are serious about golf. We just kind of aimlessly wonder golf stores, dreaming of the days of green grass. It's also an excuse to swing the club and hit balls. Script usually goes like this: Desperate Golfer: "Hey, I'm interested in buying new irons, can I hit these?" Annoyed Clerk: "Haven't you been interested like once a week for the past two months?" Desperate Golfer: "Yeah...I'm just indecisive."

Here in Minnesota, fall usually shuts the courses down in October and sometimes (like last year) as late as November. I usually take Nov (if courses are closed), Dec and Jan off. I might putt or chip around the house, but the clubs are retired. Come Feb and March I start hitting a local indoor driving range. Perhaps as often as once a week, but on average about every week and half or so. It's just a big bubble about 75-100 yards long. Can't see your whole shot, but there's enough room to see if it's straight or trailing off to the left or right. It is expensive. During the week 8-5 it is about $10 a bucket, during 5 p.m. - close and weekends they charge $10 by the half hour There is also a heated bay driving range where you hit outside. Tried it once last year but didn't like it. Too cold to enjoy and too bright to see your ball. Ranges and sometimes courses start opening up in March, usually.

same. I never take any clubs out. All 14 stay in all the time. If playing a par 3, of course I don't use some of them (driver, 3 wood, 5 wood and sometime hybrid), but I don't take them out. I would just feel weird without all my clubs with me. I would love to only take a few high lofted clubs and my putter, but I'm not good at strengthening and weaking the loft, so even when playing par 3s, I end up using most of my irons.

the C-C grooves are designed to produce a "higher trajectory with medium spin." How the grooves affect ball flight I do not know. But Titleist claims the C-C grooves provide a higher trajectory that the non C-C grooves. http://www.titleist.com/images/produ...rooveGuide.pdf

We've all been there! And we all will be again from time to time. There's been some good advice. Hit the range and work out the kinks. Look closely at where you are adding strokes and work on that area of the game. Another thing I like to do when in a slump is go out to my favorite easy course all by myself, when it isn't busy, and work it all out. It's a good way for you to focus on all elements of the game. If it's an easy course, it's also a great way to get some confidence back. Helps reinforce the "oh yeah....i really do know how to play pretty good golf!" Good luck! You'll get it back again.

I tend to "bump and run" chip with my 8 iron and short, off the fringe chipping with my PW.