FenderStrat62

I really could use a new driver.

Favorite beer? Man. That's a tough one. My favorite TYPE of beer is an IPA. A very strong, bitter, hoppy IPA. For the winter months, though, I like to turn to Porters and Stouts, and generally heavy beers. My favorite brewery for a very long time was Dogfish Head. I absolutely love their beer, and have never had one I didn't like, but they stopped shipping to Tennessee. The Dogfish 60 minute IPA was my standby, and the 90 minute IPA is still one of the best beers I've ever had. My new favorite brewery is Stone Brewing. Their Stone IPA is one of the better typical strength IPAs. Their Ruination IPA is a great stronger IPA, akin to the 90 minute IPA. The Sublimely Self Righteous Ale is another great one from them.

I'll wear whatever, really, but one of my favorite shirts is a Cutter and Buck I got on sale for next to nothing. I'm too cheap to buy Under Armour, though I love everything else they make. The cheapo Wal Mart brand shirts (George?) are surprisingly good, too. They are thin and light. They are my go-to for the really hot days.

If Golf Pride is on your radar, they have a grip fitting thing on their site. It will direct you to your best grip from their line. You might be able to then find comparable grips from other manufacturers.

Welcome! West Tennessee, here. Soon to be Knoxville, though.

I played Thursday and had a 50 for 9 holes. This is the first time I played out of the 40s in a while. I had been at the driving range earlier in the week and a pretty bad high slice had found it's way back into my swing. I guess I convinced myself to get rid of it, because for the first time in my life, I was hooking the ball on nearly every shot. I went from a high slice, to a low penetrating hook. Especially with my driver. I'm usually pretty inconsistent with my longer clubs, but I bail myself out with my wedges/low irons. Not Thursday. For the first 6 holes, I was playing the worst round of golf I had played in a long time. My score would have been much worse, but I saved it a bit by finally finding a groove over 7, 8, and 9, when I played those three holes at +1.

I played thursday, and didn't have a great day, overall, but I did hit one great shot. My playing partner and I were on the 8th hole, a short par 4. We both hit good drives, I was maybe a foot behind him and a foot into right rough. I was left with somewhere between a PW and a SW to the green with a front pin location. There was a really strong wind from left to right. I aimed left of the green, and took about a 3/4 strength swing with my PW. I hit it nice and high and the wind carried it back right. It hit the front edge of the green, rolled up and stopped about 2 feet left of the cup. I tapped in for my only birdie of the day.

I'd really love to see him do it. He's one of my favorite golfers. I think he definitely has the game, he just has to put it all together for 4 rounds.

I'd rather my playing partner chew gum than smoke a cheap cigar or something. Not to say I don't like cigars....

I played a couple weeks back. I had a good round. I made good contact and didn't fight with my old nemesis the slice all day. My short game was a bit off, and my putting was absolutely atrocious, though. Too bad it's been too wet to play here since then. I'm hoping to get out this thursday.

If you've literally JUST began, it probably doesn't matter a lot. I used to buy bags of the used balls and just hit whatever. Once you start to realize what you need to correct in your game, you can buy balls to suit your game. I'm an inexperienced high handicapper (though not as high as my profile says, probably, haha), and my big problems were slicing off the tee and wanting a bit more distance. So, I started buying "straight" balls. I like Top-Flite XL7000 Super Straights, Top-Flite D2 Straight balls, and right now, I play Nike Crush balls.

Thanks, guys.

Thanks for the info. Go Vols!

I've used the D2 Straight and the XL7000 Straight balls. I liked the D2s, but I couldn't tell enough of a difference between them to keep spending the extra few bucks. You may be able to tell the difference, and for the minimal price difference, it is worth trying out. Now I just buy Nike Crush from lostgolfballs.com.

1. Break 40 on my local 9 hole course. 2. Play around 45 more consistently. 3. Increase my overall distance.

My best shot today was an uphill lie approach shot with a PW on an elevated green Par 4 that you can't really see. I stuck the 2nd shot within 4 or 5 feet. Then missed the putt....

I went out for the first round of the year, today. I played 9 holes, par 36, and had a 13 over 49. About average for me, last summer. I actually hit the ball really, really well all day, I just couldn't get away from the 3 putts. Once I get comfortable on the green again, I expect my scores to start dropping.

I personally prefer the Top Flite XL7000 to Nitros for not a lot more money.

I'm enjoying the show! Of course, I enjoyed the other two seasons, too, and my political leanings didn't make me hate the show before it premiered...

For the first day this year in West TN, the weather is fit for golf. That reminds me that I'm probably moving to East TN at the end of the summer for the sake of graduate studies. That said, what are the preferred courses in and around Knoxville, TN? If I could find a cheap public course to frequent, that would be preferred.

I guess I inferred it from the fact that you were bragging on the Nike's feel and compared it to an insert. I like my Nike putter, and I play it because I got it for next to nothing, but I'd really like an Odyssey White Ice #1, based on trying them at Dick's the other day.

I shot an 8 over 44 on 9 holes today. Not great by most standards, but it was my best round ever. The highlights of the round were my two birdies. One came on an uphill par 4 with a ditch running across the fairway. A good drive just carries the ditch for me, but tee shot kicked into the ditch and gave me a weird lie for the second shot. I hit a PW 6 or 8 feet past the cup and dropped the birdie putt. My second birdie came after a 5w shot on a long par 3 left me with a tap in. Other than that, I only had 1 par, and the rest were bogeys or double bogeys, but for the first time in a long time, I played an entire 9 holes with no triples. Great day for my standards.

Just sort of a random question... If you like the feel of an insert putter, like you said, why are you not looking at putters with inserts? Is there a downside to them?

My best shot of the week came today on a long par 3. So long that I usually hit a nice, easy 5 wood rather than a long iron. I hit a beautiful shot with my 5 wood, landed it in front of the green, and rolled it to within a foot of the cup. Left myself an easy kick in for my second birdie of the 9 hole round.