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I think I learned the most from Bobby Knight's Golf Your Way (Not Safe For Work)

An interesting tip for keeping the jaw relaxed during the swing: Put the tip of your tongue on the back of your top/front teeth, where the teeth meet the gums. Just keeping your tongue there will help keep your jaw relaxed throughout the swing. This technique is used in meditation to keep the jaw relaxed and helps you breathe through your nose. It also helps keep your mouth from producing saliva which is beneficial in long meditation but probably of no value in the golf swing

Duo is a great ball for the money. They opened a PGA Superstore near me and were selling 24 ball packs of Wilson Zips(Duo replaces the Zip) for $15. Bought 6 dozen and when I got to the counter they gave me six 2-packs of Duos to try out. Very long off the tee yet soft. Decent spin, not pro-v spin but checks up and runs out a few feet. Wilson Staff makes some great balls that nobody seems to know about.

When are you guys coming to Chicago???

Sure. Checkout the Marketplace http://thesandtrap.com/f/3116/marketplace

I doubt he is 15. When I offered to reshaft his broken driver and asked for a copy of his driver's license he says he is only 15 and doesn't have a license. When I asked for a copy of his High School ID it turns out that he lost it. Awfully interesting that each time I asked for proof of who he is there is an excuse as to why he can't provide it.

Do you get worse before you get better when you take lessons? I think it depends There are some lessons, like putting or shortgame, where you get better immediately. Fix a fundamental flaw in someone's putting technique and they will start shaving strokes immediately. Now for full swing I think you almost always get worse (score wise) before you get better. And it's not the instructor or student's fault. Say you have a nasty slice. You take some lessons, get your weight forward, and start drawing the ball. Maybe on the range, hitting 7 iron after 7 iron, you can draw the ball 9 out of 10 times. But 1 out of 10 times you revert to your old swing out of habit and hit your slice. You go out to play and now the challenge is to commit to your new swing/move and not fall back into old habits. Easy to say, hard to do. You're switching clubs each shot instead of mindlessly grooving your new swing on the range. Even if you do manage to commit to your changes during the round at some point your old habits are going to crop up and instead of hitting that draw down the right side with the water hazard your slice shows up and you plunk one in the water. If you hadn't taken lessons you probably wouldn't be in the water because you would have played to the left to allow for your slice. So even if you're striking the ball better, you might not score better until the new swing becomes habit.

Both the Acer XB and Acer XC wedges are very nice. http://www.hirekogolf.com/hireko/orderportal/catalog_presentation/by_catalog/Club+Components%3A+Golf+Wedges/0/1/16/1/0/0 Also check out the Karma grips.Very good (but not great) quality grips at a super low price. The black velvet grips are a lot like golf prides but only a buck a grip.

I'm gaming Maltby M-05's at the moment. I've been lusting after some Wishon 560MC or maybe the 870Ti but will probably have to wait until next year to make the switch. The 752TC looks sweet. Good luck with them. If they don't work out for some reason, send me a PM

I also have an account . If you are a club builder with some experience and equipment they will setup an account for you. They want to make sure you know what you're doing and have the tools and expertise to do it right. They do not want cut 'n glue guys slapping clubs together because they make high quality stuff and don't want crappy builds to reflect poorly on them. The OP just built his first club, a putter, and now wants to build a wedge. Wishon is not going to setup an account for them until they gain some more expertise.

Wishon stuff is awesome. Currently gaming MC949 4wood and two 785HF hybrids. Unfortunately they only sell to select club builders and not the general public.

Didn't realize you were 15 - Freshman in High School?. How about a photocopy of your high school ID?

According to this http://www.scribd.com/doc/48443909/TaylorMade-shaft-specs the standard Firesole irons (graphite bubble shafts)took a .395 tip size. The firesole Tour (steel shafts) are .355. Your best bet is to find bubble shafts on ebay OR you could try to use .370 parallel tip shaft and use a brass shim to make a tight fit.

+1 I probably hit my driver less than half the time on par 5's. I was listening to Annika Sorenstam once and she said "on a par 5, if you can't get there in two shots, why would you hit driver?". Makes complete sense. On my home course we have a hole called "The Gauntlet". Seems like everyone has to hit driver on this hole and "go for it" with the majority of balls going into one lake or the other. Played with some low handicaps one day and not one of them hit driver on this hole. Everyone hit 3wood/hybrid/iron off the tee and played safe. Learned a lot about course management that day.

I've dealt with these guys a few times. Good equipment and top notch workmanship.

I'd sell the Nike's since you don't hit them well. With luck you might get most of your money back. You hit the Air Bears well so why not just regrip and play them for the rest of the year? Let your game and swing settle in for a bit before you run out and get new equipment. There is a ton of variability in shafts so hitting one set of clubs with one type of graphite shafts tells you nothing about a different set of clubs with a different brand of shafts. The lesson here should be to ALWAYS hit clubs before you buy. Reading reviews is great but everyone is different so you have to hit them to find out if they'll work for you. Next time you look at irons bring your 6 iron with you so you can compare, preferably on a launch monitor.

Just scrub it with a wire brush and you'll be fne

We want to believe you but under the circumstances it's pretty difficult. BUT, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Tell you what, send me the NVG driver head and I will reshaft it for you for free. I have a couple of R flex shafts laying around, a professional hydraulic shaft puller, etc. and have been building clubs for 10 years. You pay shipping both ways. Throw a photocopy of your driver's license in the box as well - I'd like to believe your avatar is you and you're really an 18 year old kid but a little proof goes a long way.

I like the Snake Eyes forged offerings but I really can't stand dealing with Golfsmith anymore. Every internet order is an adventure in delays and ineptitude. Golfworks makes some great stuff and I've never had an issue with an online order with them. The Maltby M Series Pro Milled forged wedges are nice heads with a lot of heel relief so they can be opened up to play different shots. You might also want to look at Hireko golf as they have a lot of wedge offerings

me too - I've got a couple of drivers laying around and was actually thinking of donating one.

It really varies. Some are "tall" and some are "short". My 4 wood is "short" but I have no trouble hitting it from the tee - the key is to tee it very low like you would for an iron.

I like to listen to a lot of blues. The absolute best internet radio station for blues is in Poland believe it or not. 99% english tunes with an occasional home grown one thrown in. If you like blues check this out http://www.polskastacja.pl/webplayer/index.php?channel=36

The absolute best, without a doubt, training aide for a new golfer is... lessons Do yourself a huge favor and take a few lessons from a pro. I wish I had done this when I first started. Instead I spent years struggling with my homemade swing. Even taking some group lessons at a park district will make a big difference. Just getting the basics like grip and posture will go a long way to making you successful.

How about a range finder or GPS unit?