jimnm

If you end up getting the JPX900's and order from the Mizuno website, use code "stay5". It'll save an additional $50. I was going buy some Mizuno's a couple of weeks ago but I ended up getting PXG's instead.

I think it matters. Say I have an approach shot that is 120yds to the pin with a pin placement at the front/center of a large green that is 25 yards deep or so with a sand bunker near the front of the green. Let's say my PW distance if I strike it perfectly is 120yds, but I have a tendency to chunk my irons and end up short. In this case, I would pull my 9 iron. Knowing if I come up short I still may avoid trouble. If I strike my 9i pure, I may be long but probably still on the green. I guess when I say game management, for me its not about planning the entire hole when I'm on the tee box, it's more of how I plan my shot and manage my miss. Knowing my tendencies, which side of the fairway should I favor? Which side of the green should I favor given the situation. Keeping these things in mind has helped me lower my scores even though my ball striking isn't the greatest. Maybe it's common sense, but in the past, I would go often go pin hunting and it would often times lead to more strokes. This is something that I've worked on with my coach independent of working with my coach on swing mechanics. And it has helped save strokes.

Game management is a good thing to put on the list and can save strokes. This can be worked on in parallel with swing mechanics.

PXG Gen 1's are currently on sale. And they have a blade like look. They are worth a consideration.

I used to slice too. Then I was taught the noodle drill that cured my slice in about 15 minutes. Basically, go to the $0.99 store, get yourself a foam pool noodle and cut it down and curve it. Then place the noodle (in blue) down near the golf ball such that it will force you to make an in to out swing. This will help with the club head path. You will also want to have the club face be closed with respect to the club head path, but open to the target. This will create a nice push draw where the ball starts right then curves back to the target. Of course you can use anything you want instead of a pool noodle. You can even use your driver head cover. I would recommend practicing with a short iron eventually working your way up to a driver. Also might be a good idea to start off with half swings and slower swings to get use to the change (the ball will still curve). I would also recommend to look up ball flight laws here on TST to get an understanding of how club path and club face affect the ball flight.

I will be streaming Tiger on my lunch break. Hope he keeps it up!

I just watched the 1st episode of The Purge series that aired last night on USA. And so far so good. It's a 10 part series. I really liked the first 2 Purge movies. The 3rd movie was not that great. I have yet to see the 4th (prequel).

You can always have your existing 60 strengthened. Unless you planned to add a 58 and still keep the 60. Strengthening will result in less bounce so keep that in mind. But this may be okay with the firm conditions here in San Diego. ADS in San Marcos are in the process of building my clubs. They have a good reputation if you need your 60 tweaked. My current setup is a 50/56/60 off a 45 PW. And I have a slightly larger than desired gap between my 50 and 56. However, I don't use my 60 for full swings. My new setup will be 46 PW (PXG Gen 1). So I ended up going 52/56/60 wedges (PXG 311). These wedges will be bent 1 degree strong. So I will be at 46/51/55/59. And a little less bounce on all my wedges will be desired for me.

So I've recently been searching for some new irons. The Mizuno JPX 900 Forged being the front runner in terms of performance and forgiveness. The look and feel were good, but I wasn't in love with them. The MP-18's were tempting me on looks and feel even though they are probably too unforgiving for me right now... So over the past couple of weeks, I have procrastinated on making a decision. Which turned out to be a good thing. As I got word that the PXG Gen 1 irons were on sale. I always loved the look of the PXG's since they came out. But the MSRP ruled it out as an option. Now that they were possibly in my (stretched) budget, I booked a fitting over at ADS Golf in San Diego (San Marcos) and WOW! I fell in love with the Tour model. They were forgiving and had the look and feel I was after. Needless to say, I placed an order! My fitter should get the clubs built up in about a week or so. I cannot wait to get my hands them!

Thank you for sharing.

This is a good suggestion. Once you develop a pre-shot routine, practice it during your range session. Eventually it will become natural during your rounds of play and can be used as sort of a "reset button" for each shot. I started taking lessons 6 months ago and asked this question too. Yes, focus on one change at a time. Yes, this could possibly (probably) result in a worse ball flight. But it's temporary. How do you know when it's time to work on something new? For the time being, I work on one change for about 2-4 weeks or so. Practicing about an hour, 3-4 times per week. The way I gauge whether or not I'm ready for a new change is by looking at video of my swing, looking at ball flight, and with guidance from my golf coach. I can also tell when the change I'm making starts to feel more natural and automatic. I imagine as I improve, the changes that I make will become more subtle and demand more precision therefore taking longer to engrain.

I was fitted for irons for the first time last week. It turns out that my off the rack irons with standard length/lie and a stiff shaft were already a good fit for me. The only recommendation was a slight change in lie. Initially my fitter said I needed about 0.5 to 1.0 degree upright using a lie board. However I was not convinced that was accurate. So I requested to check my lie using a sharpie (read about that trick in a different thread here on TST) and the lie showed it was good. I plan to get fitted for a driver and putter over at ADS here in San Diego. From what I read, they are pretty reputable.

Are there yardage markers at the top level? If so you can ask an employee if the distances include slope. If it were me, I would get the yardage for targets from my range finder which has a mode to take slope into account. But if I have the choice, I would opt for the ground level. Just my preference.

I add the 10s first as well. It's fast. I will tend to do math this way at work too. I was never taught to do so. Being an engineer and working with numbers it just made it easier for me to use, in my mind, "shortcuts" like this. It's also less prone to errors for me. Along the way I've found a lot of engineers who use non traditional methods of math. I also keep track of other notes. Number of putts. For fairway's hit and GIR I'll mark with a check mark or 'X'. Make a note for ob or hazard. I now have game golf but still write my score this way on a score card. Actually since game golf my scorecard has become more cluttered with notes. Since my tagging skills are not super reliable yet. If I miss a tag or tag if I have walked 30 yards then remembered to tag, I'll write a note so I can accurately update game golf.

It's all good. Yeah, the numbers are tighter with the 900's. Thanks for the input!

I broke 90! Shot my best 88 at Torrey Pines North last week! Uploaded it in game golf..

Thank you for the feedback. I used the same shaft in the MP-18 that was fitted for me on the JPX900 Forged. Would you recommend I get fitted for a different shaft on the MP-18 to bring down the spin and launch? I was assuming that using the same shaft would be a good fit from club head to club head. But perhaps this is not the case?

So I was fitted for irons a couple of days ago. I tried the Taylor Made P790, Ping i500 and the Mizuno JPX-900 Forged. Between the 3, I selected the JPX 900 Forged as it gave me the best numbers after being fitted for the correct shaft despite both the P790 and i500 feeling better to me. The JPX-900 Forged felt good, but didn't have that buttery feel that I was after which was a little unexpected. After sleeping on it, the next day I went back to my coach/fitter and asked, just for kicks, to try the MP-18 blade with the same shaft against the JPX-900 Forged. I first warmed up, then I took several (25+) swings with each 6 iron. The JPX-900 Forged performed pretty much just as it had the previous day. It felt good, but again didn't have that buttery feel with a couple of swings being the exception. Then I hit the MP-18 and I just about fell in love with it. Every good strike had that buttery feel. It seemed to me that I had the same ratio of good to bad strikes with each club. With that said... I'd like to get input from others on if there is any significant difference in the data that I'm missing. And an opinion (poll) on which set of irons I should get. Is there any good reason to not get the MP-18 (other than price)? I know the MP-18 was shorter but is there anything else I'm missing?

Lucky indeed! Thanks, and glad to be here. Cheers!

During my very first golf lesson, my instructor had me flare out my feet. The point of doing so was to help me on my turn which it absolutely did. But as the OP stated it has other benefits as well. This is definitely a good tip and has certainly helped my swing. A lot of the tips (possibly all of the tips) I have received in golf lessons are consistent with what @mvmacand @iacas post. I'm glad I found this site. It's an excellent resource.

Yes, I would gladly play at one of his courses if it fell in my price range.

I was once paired up with a couple of senior golfers and they advised that one should play the tees that will put the fairway bunkers in play with a typical drive. This made a lot of sense to me... Since I usually play as a single, I'll play from either Green (6350) or Black (6780) depending on the majority of the group I'm paired with. But I prefer Green. The other two options at my home course are Gold (5850) and Silver (5190). I would not play either Gold or Silver, even if the majority of my group chose to do so. It would be too short for me.

I bought my first set of irons in 1995 sophomore year in high school. A full set of Dunlop's (Driver to putter) from K-Mart that my brother now plays. In 2011, I bought new irons which I really like. Nike VR Pro Cavity. I'm getting fitted for the first time tomorrow to get my specs. If my fit is completely off or I see significant gains in technology, then I will consider buying a new set.

Welcome to the TST. I agree with joining your HS team as being a good start. If that goes well and you are able to play at the college level you are on a good path. I imagine in the next 3 to 5 years you will start to know where you stand with your dream of becoming a tour pro. Good luck and keep us posted!

He will win at the Farmers! And I will be there to witness it! 😀