StarMonkey

Thanks for the advice - I'm just starting but have had some lessons so I know all the technical aspects, just need to get consistent at everything! In fact the pro was explaining about bounce earlier today when we were practicing getting out of a 6 foot high bunker wall! At the moment I've got a pretty shallow swing with a high angle so I barely take a divot at all (if any). I'm fairly confident with my chipping and very short game (around 60 yards out) so I just want to make sure that I've got the clubs for every eventuality. I bought a cheap (£8) 64' lob wedge which I was taking normal swings with and getting about 80 yards of height and about 8 distance, but now I've been shown how to chip properly - leaning into it and digging down, I'm much happier with it. As my SW is 54, I think a 60 would be a better option. Thanks for the help, I just can't walk past a golf shop without at least looking at stuff :D

I gave it a go and phoned Wilson - a few hours later the guy phoned back with the full specs: Driver: 10.5 3W: 16 3H: 17 4H: 21 5: 27 6: 30 7: 34 8: 38 9: 42 PW: 46 SW: 54 That's more like it! I didn't expect the 3H to be only 17 though, other than that, they are the angles I was kinda expecting before I started. It looks like I was a few degrees out on them all except the SW, which is odd as that's the only one I tried again later on Anyway, thanks for everyone's input - I think I should look for a 56/58 and 60 wedge :D

I'm using one of these: Basically I hold the flat edge on the face of the club and line up the ruler part by eye, then read the measurement. There's a small gap in the photo between the clubface and the flat edge, but it was hard to hold it with one hand and take a photo :) In that photo it's the sand wedge showing an angle of about 46-47 degrees (as long as the ruler is perfectly parallel to the shaft).

Yeah, I thought my measurements were out a bit, but when I used the same technique on my 64' lob wedge and another 21' hybrid I've got (both of which have the loft written on them), they came out perfect! The gaps do seem about right but are probably 3-4 degrees off what I was expecting, plus I was expecting a bigger gap between PW and SW. I also thought the hybrids were 21 and 24 (as to my eye the 3H looks very similar in length and loft to my old dunlop 21') Thanks for the standard lofts though, I might have another go at measuring them and see what I come up with.

I'm about to look for a couple of wedges, and thought it would be good to know the lofts of my set so I know what angle wedges I should be looking for. I couldn't find anything online so decided to do it manually. These might not be 100% right (as the tool I used meant I had to get it right 'by eye'). My set is the wilson x-31 2009 (about £250 / $420ish) and I've worked out the angles at: 3 hybrid: 19 4 hybrid: 21 5: 24 6: 27 7: 31 8: 34 9: 38 PW: 42 SW: 47 I was expecting the PW to be around 47 and the SW to be closer to 55. Is this normal or have I just measured them wrong? As I said, I had to get the measurement by eye so I don't know 100% that it's right. I was thinking of getting 56 and 60 wedges, but if my SW is 47 then I should probably go for 52 and 56.

The pro I'm having lessons with told me something which is exactly what you're seeing! He said that while my swing is developing and I'm not hitting 100% cleanly, I'll probably notice a 10 yard gap on shorter irons, but probably wouldn't see a lot of distance from around 5-8 until I'm hitting them properly. It makes sense really because you need to make a better contact with a 5 iron than a 9 iron as there's a lot less height so if you don't hit it cleanly then it's likely to hit the floor sooner and come to a stop!

I'd agree with that. If I was holding a faster group up, I'd usually just let them through (unless I was being held up as well), but if I didn't realise that I was slowing them down and they politely either asked or told me they were playing through I'd have no problem waiting a couple of minutes for them. It's much better to ask than stew on it and wait 10 minutes at each tee getting more annoyed each time - most of the time they probably arent being arrogant about it, they just genuinely aren't aware. I wouldn't hit at them though :) I've had people hit their drives as I'm about to take my second shot (mostly on fairways where you can't really see the second shot position and there's a bell) - sometimes I'm tempted to nab their ball or foot wedge it into a ditch! If it happens I still ring the bell in the hope they realise that we were still there when they teed off.

Because of family and work commitments I can only make it about once a fortnight. I usually try to get to the range on the weeks I'm not playing and at the moment I've got lessons on a Monday evening. The weather here in the UK does get pretty cold/wet from now but last year I played on the coldest day of the year in the snow (the lakes were frozen enough for there to be balls resting on the ice) so the only thing that will stop me is it getting dark early.

Caddyshack Happy Gilmore Tin Cup I can't think of any more :(

I've got a 64' but personally wouldn't recommend it. I know I'm not great with most of my clubs but with my 64 I either get under the ball just right and it goes about 60 feet high and a distance of about 4 feet, or I thin it and it goes about 200 yards straight along the green! I'm struggling to see a point to it and I'm considering ditching it for a 58 or 60.

Irons - I can afford a new driver/putter if I need one but not a full set of decent irons :D

Yeah, I've found quite a lot of them where it appears I'm more willing to crawl under a bush or jump into a ditch to get my ball than the previous owner of the V1 :) I've hit them a few times but I realise that at my handicap I'm not going to tell the difference. Although I got within a few inches of my first ever birdie on a par 4 using one! I've read a lot about balls, and as I'm really just starting I don't want to pay a lot for mine. I got 15 wilson ultras with my clubs which I haven't opened yet! I know these have been around forever, but are they any good? I quite like the cheap balls I'm using at the moment. I got a box of 24 Dunlop Quadra Links for £8.99 and in my very limited experience I can't fault them. I played with a Srixon soft feel for about half a round though and that did feel nice.

Nice score for your first round, I think mine was about 120 first time. I only played my second round last weekend (8 months after my first!) and thought I played terribly but ended up with 29 stableford points or a total of 105. I played terrible on the first 6 holes - even got a 10 on one and visited the water on another. After that, I managed a few pars, and missed a 6 foot putt for a birdie on a par 4. My initial hopes were to break 100 this year, but as I'm hoping to get at least another 10 rounds in plus I'm getting a few lessons from Monday, I think maybe 95 is a more realistic goal. Still, I love playing and know I can improve. I know I can hit well at times so I need to work on my consistency.

My old cheap sports direct set had a 3 and 4 iron which I really liked. My new Wilson X-31's start at a 5 iron and have a 3 and 4 hybrid. At the moment I'm struggling to get to grips with the hybrids. I don't want to go back to my old 3 and 4 iron as my new set are much much better. I think my problem is in my head, and I'm having trouble treating the hybrids as irons. I know people say they're supposed to be much easier to hit, but not for me! Any tips would be appreciated :D

I played a foursome round back in december (there was snow on the course and the lakes were frozen with at least 2 inches of ice) which lasted between 6 and 7 hours. We weren't playing slowly, I think everyone was a bit frozen up that day as there was a fairly long queue at the tee's and there was always a group in front and a group behind. I played yesterday, and 3 of us walked 18 holes in just over 4 hours. We let a group and a single in carts through as we were playing twilight time. It would've been quicker but the walks between some holes were ridiculous. The first 3 and a half holes took an hour! Still, I'd like to play the course again but definitely in a cart this time!