Scott_K

I pick out a grain of sand that I can see and lock in on it.

Did someone step on a duck on while Gmac was on the 12th tee ? Anyone have that DVR'd ?

Ummm. It's been too cold to consider going to a range in NY. Although I'm dying to hit a ball. Probably won't until March. I'd keep the '09 in the wrapper if you plan to switch drivers and see if the shop would do an exchange.

I started out swinging the club and as I got older turned into a hitter. I don't feel like I'm pulling with my left arm when I swing. I kind of do both swings depending on the club. Longer clubs I tend to swing, mid and shorter clubs I tend to hit and attack more. I tend to hit with the driver. Sometimes good, sometimes ugly. Curious if there's a Part II to this thread .....

I bought a used Nickent to try the shaft. Makes a nice loud sound when I hit it right. Ended up getting similar shaft for my driver.

Not a fan of the blues, but darker looks better. I prefer black. What paint did you use ? My 3i needs paint. I have the original grips on mine as well. : P

42" is a bit extreme. The lowest I think I'd try is 44. I've tried 45s, but with different weighed shafts, so it's hard for me to tell. My stock was 46.25 and I only went to 46 with the new one. I didn't do anything to adjust the swing weight. Initially the club itself was noticably heavier (49g to 77g), but after a few rounds out it felt fine. I changed shafts mainly to cut down dispersion and trajectory. My shaft selection was an educated guess and the most "fitted" I've ever been for a club. The 3" choke would feel funny to me too. I hold every club to the end. I tried choking up on my stock shaft, but it always felt weird to have that nub sticking out. If you can feel the swingweight difference (while choking 3") and don't like it, I'd talk to a club maker. Having confidence in your gear is important.

I've found it depends when you go to golfsmith and what they're using. The one by me uses a vectorx or something like that. It sells for roughly $3K. I've tried it when it was freshly "calibrated" and other times when it's been way off the mark. Some of the numbers like the ball speed, launch angle, clubhead speed, etc. I was told that the yardarges can be off by 20-30 yards and I believe that with what I see on the course. As mentioned above, the flightscope and trackman are known to be a lot more accurate. You get what you pay for. I'd love to get time on a trackman just to see my numbers.

Intersting... If I'm understanding this correctly, the shaft is kind of horizontal to the shoulders in the finish position vs. it being more verticle. Not exactly, but the positions are very different for me. The one that hits me in the back with a little recoil usually results in my good drives (little 5 to 10 yard fade). The one where the shaft wraps around my neck/upper back can be good (doesn't feel like it) or can call for a provisional. Very general snippet, but I found it interesting. I was playing around with this during the summer and this article helped me understand it a little bit after the fact. http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instr...tter-draw-fade I notice that when my plane is a little too flat, the weak straight fades and push fades end up showing up. What I figured out last time out was that my posture at address played an important roll. Sometimes a little too upright, sometimes not enough.

I haven't played any of the NYC munis in ages. Last time I played douglaston, you needed a hammer to put a tee in the ground. Anyone play Clearview or Kissena ? Are they kept ok these days ? Dog tracks ? If I play bethpage or IKE, it's usually a 5 or 5 1/2 hours as well. If you get out early on a weekend at bethpage, chances are you'll move a little quicker. Played black the other day and luckily the group in front consisted of 3 bombers and 1 graduate of the charles barkley golf swing academy (but he moved). The group behind us was ok. We only waited for a couple of minutes at the par 3s. Finished in a little over 5 hours. That's fine with me. When I play the slower rounds, I agree, it's tough to get a rhythm to your round. I've waited on 18 tee boxes numerous times this season. I played a number of courses out east on the island where I was able to finish rounds in a little over 4 hours. It's a hike for me (Nassau), so it would kill you guys living in NYC.

http://www.hamletwillowcreek.com/ We had a group here earlier this year. Kind of have to watch the deals, but we paid $49 w/cart and had like a 8am time. Looks like the $49 range is only around 2ish now.

The stock '09 stiff was very tough to control. It was a noodle. I also had problems dropping in the slot. At the top it feels like nothing is there. Adapting to my new one. Much better control. Distance isn't there yet.

I saw tiger hit a 5wood (I think) out of the right rough on #4 at bethpage black last year in person. I played black a couple of weeks ago. I hit one of my best drives this year and was able to carry the first tier bunkers on the left (never did that before). A friend of mine who's like a 7 or 8 made me wait to go for it in 2 as I was about 220 out. As we we're waiting I made note of how far I was and where Tiger's ball was last year (approximatey). His was obviously further and the tips are probably like 50-70 yards deeper. Guessing he hit 3w off the tee and I remember it was raining that day. Needless to say, it was the only par I had that day.

I was considering this place for a little while since they have a trackman, you're not hitting into a net and based on the reviews here in the past. A little out of the way, but reviews here were solid. www.sterlingfarmsgolfshop.com I ended up just doing my own research and paid $60 for my shaft. I figured, worst case I'd burn $60. So far it's working out pretty well.

I think it feels good because you're really "getting" into the ball. You're unleashing hell and it takes off fast. I have this when my hands are tight to the body, but my shoulders are just a little too open at impact. Once in a while, if it's saved with the hands, it ends up as bomb straight, but those are far to few. I think this is why a lot of people throw it over the top as well. You feel like you're crushing it, and you might be, but the results are obviously poor. It also feels good when I swing on it properly at 80% with something still in the tank and I see the ball out in front as my head naturally comes up. Those end up better :)

Another vote for Stan Utley's Art of the shortgame. I've used my sw for all pitch and chip shots for the longest time. I'm now using my gw and firing at the pin more aggressively.

My iron game, coupled with my tempo is the strongest part of my game and usually the most reliable. When I start catching irons heavy, it's usually my distance to the ball at address. It can be the distance from my hands to my body and/or how my posture and weight is setup. I can be standing just a fraction closer than I normally do and I'll catch it heavy. These are usually momements when I find myself saying "I should step away from this one", but I don't, put a poor swing on the ball and end up 10-20 yards short. Maybe something else to take a look at.

I've been resistent to the hybrid idea for a while. Everytime I picked one up in a store, it felt weird and I didn't like the way it looked at address. I found mine in a used rack for $38 and wanted to try the shaft more than the hybrid itself (ended up getting a similar shaft for my driver). I hit my long irons pretty well and I'm still in the market for a 2i for a lower trajectory shot off the tee. I saw your mizuno thread and I'm thinking of bending an old 3i blade and putting a high kick shaft in for the sake of science. I know what you mean about 1 and 2 irons. I find with my hybrid, the trajectory is really high. I have a 15.5 and hit it higher than my 3i which is 20* (I believe). Off the tee, I am 20-30 yards longer which is great when there's barely a breeze, but I've also hit walls of wind only to see shots die and come down as if they were wedge shots. If you still have some of your older hybrids, I'd give them a chance. I find the angle I come into the ball is amplified in the trajectory relative to irons. I'm still trying to figure out what I can and can't do with the club, since it's only been in the bag a few weeks. Sometimes I can hit it like a bullet, but I think I'm catchihg it a little thin. The low trajectory shots are primarily off the deck. I accidently hit a nice high draw with it during a round the other day, so it's something I want to figure out how I did it. Oh, so this is a vote for a Nickent

FenderStrat62, I know what you mean by the backswing feeling "too wide". When this happens to me, I notice my weight gets over the outter edge of my right foot by the time I reach the top. This leads to a sway and poor weight transfer JML22 is referring to. A couple of drills that work for me sometimes: Try putting a headcover under your right armpit. This helps keep the right arm tucked in closer to your body and helps eliminate the "too wide" feeling on the backswing. It promotes more of a turning action into the backswing and puts you in a position at the top to put an in to out downswing motion like in Zeph's pic. Also try putting a headcover under the outter right edge of you right foot. This helps keep your weight on the inner portion of your right foot during the backswing. I do one or the other once in a while. I can't do both at the same time, I feel too locked in.

Ok guys. Thanks for the feedback. My father's going to reshaft my driver and regrip my hybrid either late tonight or early tomorrow. I'm goin to play black Sunday afternoon, so I'm goin' go out there blind and see what happens. I was just thinking 24 hours to be safe.

How long does it take for epoxy and a grip take to fully cure before you can use the club ? 24 hours ?

Friend of mine has a sonocaddie v300. I think he paid around $300 for it. This thing rolls around in the cart a lot and has taken a beating.

I'd get a SW because of the bounce as WUTiger mentioned. Get a used one to start with.

I played my first few years with a 2 wood. I grew up in the school of make contact and hit it straight. Power comes second. The newer school of thought seems to be bomb it first and rope it in later. I'd go with the 3wood to start since it has a smaller sweet spot. Work on the swing with the instructor and get a reasonable shot together off the tee, then move that swing over to a driver.

The thing about targeting an 80% swing is that it will give you a better shot at striking the ball cleaner and closer to the sweet spot. At 80%, your trying to use your power more efficiently and you may be able to hit it the same distance (possibly further) as you would with a 100% swing. At 100%, chances are you're wasting a lot of power and not hitting it as solid as possible.