WillieT

Interesting turns to this conversation. I've read and reread the OP's post and it seems that he is asking a couple of things, for example in the original question, i.e. does shortening a 5i to 7i length have major changes on the club such as lie angle, swing weight, etc. It begs to ask, do the manufacturers "build" clubs to have the same swing "feel", so that your swing feels the same whether its a 5i - 7i - 4h - PW, where the only real adjustment is knowing that the swing plane shifts slightly based on the varying club lengths which is what the latter part of the OP's post seemed to ask. For me, I know that I am, based on the static fitment charts such as Ping's, that I need clubs that are 1/2" shorter w/standard lie. In the same respect if I do take and put tape 1" down on the hand from the butt end and use that as my gauge for gripping the club, I swing straighter with more carry. The clubs make better contact all around. One thing I have wondered - does taking a 7i that is 36* loft and shortening the shaft by 1" which would make it in effect a 36* deg loft 9i? (referencing Tommy Armour 845s Silver Scots here) I know its still technically a 7i w/a shorter shaft. To be honest I work off the loft of the irons (which is why I love the TA 845s as the lofts are stamped in the club face) rather than the number stamped in the bottom. FYI - I have already been using drivers that have shafts shortened from 45.5 to 44.5 and can tell you I have a better sense of feel and control. wt

Guess I will put them up on a shelf to look at or maybe add them to the bucket of old wound balls that a friend gave me. They were his father-in-law's and when they sold the house, he gifted them to me. Of course I could just make "lady bugs" of them and place in the garden for the grands to find... .

Found a sleeve of these today at a local consignment shop. What’s the scoop? It seems they were a love/hate ball from what I’ve read up on them. The sleeve info says it’s a solid center wound multilayered ball with a urethane cover. These were a promo sleeve handed out by EQUITABLE insurance. t

Great topic as I am a high-handicapper. Like Rip62 said "Once I realized that all I had to do was hit it a little fat and don’t decelerate I started getting out of bunkers no problem.", that is how I approach bunker shots. I am a proponent of playing it where it lies, unless it is absolutely unplayable - then I take the necessary drop. I see that as how you learn - got yourself painted in a corner, now its time to try to figure how to get yourself out. For example a couple of months back I hit one into a greenside bunker into the greenside wall almost burying the ball. I knew I could pull the ball from the buried lie and take a drop. Instead l chose to see if I could play it as the sand was reasonably soft. Getting my stance right I made a full on swing just behind the ball to try to get it up and over. The ball plopped up and then down into the bottom of the bunker - however it was no longer in a buried lie and totally playable. I then took a normal sand wedge swing and placed it up on the green about 15 feet from the hole. Taking the harder path was good as it increased my confidence on getting the ball out of the bunker. I have come to not fear them but rather its just part of the game. By the way I did it with a Tommy Armour 845s Silver Scot 56deg Sand wedge. I also from time to time sub in the Ping Eye2's as they are some sweet swinging wedges as well. To "help" my sand game, I have a small 4' dia area in the back yard that is about 4" deep with sand. Makes the perfect area to hit practice shots from sand and the grandson loves it!

As a guy who's finally getting into golf at age 60, I find hybrids good for the long irons. I have used TourEdge GeoMax Bazooka 3 & 4 Hybrids (19 & 22 deg), love them as they are predictable on distance and shot shaping. Likewise I have used a Nike CPR 5h (26deg) - sweet hitting club as well. Currently the bag carries a TaylorMade SLDR S 4h (22deg). The TourEdge clubs are now in a secondary bag with the TM and Nike in the primary. I am finding that I can predictably go with the hybrids anyway from sand to fairways to the cabbage patch roughs. Just love how they launch the ball when struck well.

I had chimed in earlier on what balls I prefer to play and am still there. Funny thing is the other week, I was part of our church men's group monthly best ball 9-hole round and was riding with a former course pro. I asked him which ball he preferred and he laughingly said, "I've hit them all and cannot see a real difference in any. In fact I have not bought a ball in 12 years, playing exclusively OP balls I find all over the courses I play." I thought is was interesting to hear that as I had a conversation earlier in the year with a gentleman who said his game had progressed to the point only a certain ball would work for his game. I guess golf balls are like deer rifles, rods-n-reels, special fishing lures, golf clubs, tennis rackets, baseball bats & gloves....it's really all about what gives you confidence to play better, hunt better, fish better. May we all continue to enjoy the game, banter about clubs, balls and course conditions as to why we did well, not so well or just out and out had a club tossing game (saw that one from a far the other day - nothing catches the eye like the glint of a chrome golf shaft flying through the air....)

@mvmac - Great read and excellent info all the way. Can see why my hand alignment has been all over the place. Not focusing on the grip first One thing I really like is the "green dot" illustration for properly aligning the right hand. I had read on another site about doing similarly using medical tape and a Shapie to mark an "X" on the tape. The premise is the same - getting the index/trigger finger 1st pad on the side of the grip. These two threads have definitely turned the "grip light bulb" on for me. I took this to my back yard practice area w/foam practice balls. Initial strikes were straight and farther carrying. Of course foam balls are not real ones, so it remains to be seen what will happen then. However both threads have provided excellent primer info to better grip technique at address.

@iacas You're right - its about having a "firm" grip that makes the hammer seem "effortless" because of strong fingers/hands. The parallel here is amazing (to me anyway) - as the club is basically another type of hammer driving a "nail", i.e. the golf ball into a theoretical "board", i.e. fairway/green and ultimately the cup. Therefore it makes sense about unequal grip pressure causing the soreness in the hands/wrists, as I experienced the same things when I was first learning to drive nails back in the day. At the recommendation of others, I picked up Hogan's book and have read/re-read the section on proper grip. I also try to spend about 30 mins at least every other day in the back yard hitting practice balls (when I cannot make it to a course to play or driving range) - always rotating between the woods - irons - driver - wedges - hybrids. Just as I learned how to hit a hammer or hit a drum / cymbal by developing proper muscle memory, the same goes with grip pressure, etc. I also play bass in our church band, there are times I can close my eyes and "just feel" where I am on the neck note wise without looking. My 3-yr old grandson can swing the club and consistently hit the ball while looking away - why? muscle memory. Therefore it stands to reason that proper muscle memory is what we want to learn ...whether its the swing or the grip or the ball position at address.

Was wondering about said "grip pressure" and how my own journey has been happening. Early on in thread I saw where MiniBlueDragon wrote " - The motion of hammering a nail. You grip the hammer enough that it doesn't slip out of your hand but don't grip it like you're killing it. You use your arm to begin the hammering motion but then let your wrist be loose enough that the hammer itself releases into the nail. - The motion of drumming. You grip the drum sticks enough that they don't slip out of your hands but not too hard. Your arms begin the drumming motion but your wrists remain loose enough that they can be 'flicked' to send the drum stick into the drum." Being someone who drove nails for a living back in the 80's before the advent of using air nailers, now impact drivers for everything and a life long drummer, I thought about how my hands grip and wrists work in relation to my club grip. Earlier this year, I was finding that at the end of a round or the end of range ball session my fingers were stiff like I had been gripping too hard. Of late I have become more relaxed in the grip area and have found my hands not suffering at the end of playing a round. If you grip a hammer with the right finger pressure and wrist action the hammer lands with full impact on the nail. Likewise a good drummer with great finger pressure can manipulate the sticks to go where they want with proper pressure to the head - smooth and glassy like jazz or rough and ready like thrash metal. All that to say, I believe I was holding on too tightly in the beginning and was feeling the ache in my fingers and wrists. Now I don't experience that pain but rather I am starting to understand what the club is telling me - the funky vibrations I feel when a shot is errant all the way to the sense of fluidity when all goes well.

I've tried taking the advice of many and tried to stick to just one ball type as that is when you will better know what the ball will do in a given shot. Being a newbie who was losing an average of half a dozen balls or more per round, higher end balls were not on the scope. Yes in the course of searching for badly hit balls, I found plenty of OP balls (ProV1's, ProV's, Chrome Softs, E6's, also less premium balls - Maxfli's, Noodles, lower end Titleist models, etc) that went in the bag only to be lost the same day or another day on another course. I've kinda settled on the Titleist DT TruSofts as I started on the DT SoLo's. (Hard to argue with a free two dozen that were a Christmas gift - when I wasn't playing golf). In the end, I have no real thoughts on what is a "best" ball for my game. I even tried Warrior's get two dozen free balls. Actually I am working through them at the moment and they do okay - decent distance and hold the greens okay. I wouldn't write home about them but for my game they work. Once I am through them and the current TItleist inventory, I will get more serious about what ball to play. Till then, I'll be one who plays whatever ball I pull from the bag that day......

To add to my story - about a month back, I was at the range when the local high school team arrived. Talk about wanting to feel intimidated, as I personally know a couple of the kids - who are very good in their own right. I kept swinging, taking a moment or two to watch youth in action. Toward the end I managed a few good drives to which they complimented me with "nice drive". It was a boost to my ego for sure, to which i promptly followed up that with a marvelous slice into the sideline trees.....which we all laughed about.

I find my range time not at all intimidating. My son typically goes with me and can easily drive the ball a good 30 yards farther. Does not pain me, but rather we talk about life, how a particular shot went, where to maybe make a slight change. I have gone by myself and spoken with other local golfers who are doing as i, just working on a part of their swing. Often they will shank one and make a comment along the lines of how they screwed that one up and then just swing again. The other day I was at the end of my bucket of balls when a guy walks up to take a few swings. He had bought a large bucket and politely offered me half the bucket as he said he would not need them. I accepted the "free" balls and we struck up a polite conversation about our games, where we live and our lives in general. He was about 15 years my junior and could smoke the ball. I would pause to watch his swing, admiring the rhythm of his drives and realized that he was just like me...an average Joe hitting a few balls. In the end I made a friend, had some good conversation about golf and got to hit about 30 extra balls! Oh and I love where I hit because it is real turf where you have to sand in the divots....

This thread interests me as I spend a fair amount of time making practice shots in the back yard. I can easily go 30 - 40 yards and if I include my neighbors hard (which has a large oak at the 60 yard mark) I can get some decent swings in. Of course I have several styles of practice balls to choose from - the foam dimpled balls that will carry roughly 60 yards with tail wind and driver. I also use wiffle balls the standard white ones along with some black/yellow ones that really show the spin. The latter are super soft and are great for tee shots against the barn with the driver. For all other practice, I have the real ones I can chip/pitch with in a controlled manner. Also the grandson (who is three) loves it when we can hit with hard golf balls in the back yard. Soon, though, he will be able to carry well enough that the only time hard golf balls will be used will be a the course/range. All that to say, the foam/wiffle balls are great for working out technique in limited space.

First bag has 5 dividers (now stores some older non-used clubs), second one has 14 (also holding not in use clubs) and current one is a Callaway and has 7. In all honesty, don't think it really changed my game. I have the current one set up - driver and putter each have their own, 3w & 5w share a cubby, 4h on its own, 6i & 7i share, 8i & 9i share with the PW, GW and SW all sharing. It makes it quick and easy to get to the club of choice and the weight is not bad. However, I am a heathen cart-rider - mostly due to the fact my left foot is missing everything from the toes forward due to a motorcycle accident in '16 and it does not like walking long distances any more.