ohiolefty

A related question....how do you KEEP these kinds of putters from deteriorating?!? Just WD-40 or an oil rag??!?!?

I've ditched inserts after a few years of farting around...went back to a milled, Anser-style putter. If it was good enough for ages 5-28, it should be good enough for me at age 30. My putting stats are way up, which is making up for the fact that I've hit it terribly this year. :-)

The only thing I can say is that as the shaft gets shorter, for many people, it's a little easier to manipulate ball flight and distance. That's one of the reasons why many folks can finesse a 9 iron more than they can a 5. I'm playing with a six yard gap in my wedges last year, carrying one less wedge than I did last year. I like it better. For me, a six yard gap and 3 wedges simplifies the thought process. The only time this might get difficult is on a firm course where a flighted PW or SW might not be optimal...but since I'm not playing in a U.S. Open this lifetime - it shouldn't be a big deal. I don't have the swing speed for anything more than a 60 to be optimal....and 99% of this site isn't, either. I like six degree gaps because it's a 'normal' gap for a scoring club and a half, which makes sense to my brain and how I dial yardages and 'see' shots.

I just think of hitting the inside of the ball. Whatever you do that gets you to the top should create most of the downswing.

Fish stories. ... A draw and a fade, hit with the same sidespin, contact, trajectory etc. hit onto the same surface relative to the ballspin and flight, settle down the same.

Seems to be a very 'timey' swing. 'Timey' isn't always timely.

Will the next trend be AJ's Truth?

Try a pair on. See how awesome they are to play in (nice break in your pants, they look really good if you have decent golf shoes on, etc.). Stop worrying about being effeminate; it's very effeminate.

I end up with a better score when the putter's hot... But I feel better when I walk off the course after hittting it on the screws all day. Score-wise, they shake out similarly for me. I've never hit the ball my best and putted it my best on the same day...but my low round of all time is a 69, and I feel like I could beat that if I had both going at once.

I won't add a theory... I will, however, tell you that Harvey Penick had pretty sage advice on the subject. It's this.Get a chipping club, a putter, and one golf ball and practice getting up and down. Practice from different lies. Develop feel. Develop confidence. Learn the different way the ball comes out from different lies and different kinds of contact. And - learn how to bail yourself out with the putter and make the putts you should make, or need to make, to get up and down. You can take a hundred lessons and learn dozens of different methods, but it's really all about feel, confidence, and (I would argue, most importantly) repetition. You've got to develop a memory bank of shots and situations - positive and negative, so that you can make the shots and choices you need to make. One ball. Two clubs. Time. Time. Time. Reps, baby. Reps.

I've always wondered why I cannot get unicorns to stop bothering me when I jog in the morning

I'd say 8... 1. Putter 2. Driver 3. 3W 4. Hybrid 5. LW 6. PW 7. 8 iron 8. 6 iron if the course was stupid long...I'd have to add a 4 iron...but who knows, really

Some guys, like me, like to match Driver to fairway woods because of similar feelings in the shaft. I don't get really fancy about non-stock shafts...about the only thing I customize on a club is the grip. My irons and wedges match, for now, because I got a break on the Cally wedges price-wise. I play what works. My only 'brand loyalty' is to Nike apparel and shoes. The irony is that I haven't liked any Nike equipment I've tried, and have none of it in the back despite the Nike logo ON the bag, the Nikes on my feet and, very frequently, the swoosh on my shirt.

I went with #3...but I felt uneasy about it. It depends. Under good conditions where I don't 'need' to hole it, I'm going to hit a chip and run and let the ball chase up to the hole. It's more consistent, and your bad shots aren't going to be as bad. But, under bad conditions, or when I really need to hole it, I'm taking my 60 degree wedge. Why? I can hit it a little more aggressively and I don't have to rely on the green, breaks etc. as much. Please note: I'm a recent convert as of this Spring to the method of using different wedges for different shots. Before, I always hit everything close with my LW and was done with it - done it this way since I got an LW at 14 years old. This year, I've added running chips with my 8 iron and PW to the LW arsenal. It's good at times, but since it's new...I don't trust it under pressure when I need a shot to win a hole or if it's on the 18th green (or 9th) to make a certain number. Plus, I flub chips occasionally with the 8 iron and PW (probably because using these clubs is so new for me) which I never do with my LW.

I'll start by telling you what NOT to do...don't get an LW yet. If you're only hitting your 3W 200 yards, and you don't hit driver, a hybrid might be your best bet. Most shots hit with a GW can be hit with your PW. But, if you're not hitting drivers and struggling for distance, you're going to get more mileage and save more strokes immediately by putting the hybrid in your bag. With your game in the state it is, you're best to develop short game feel before adding a bunch of club options - the hybrid should offer an immediate benefit to you.

I played it for a while while I was getting my game tuned back up... It's a long ball but offers nothing in the way of short game performance. Awful wedge spin (check Golf Digest's 2010 ball test...you don't have to take my word for it) and poor durability. There are better, mid-priced, 3 piece options.

I'm in Cleveland... Here's the good news...in late July, when things in Ohio tend to get brown and burned out...this year, it shouldn't be as bad. Softer courses in the summer equal lower scores. Plus, lately, if you can brave the rain and wet, most courses are playing pretty easy because greens are soft and fairways/rough don't roll - you can fire at pins, and wayward tee shots get lassoed.

This sounds like a shaft issue to me. With your SS and driver carry, you should probably be playing a stiff shaft. Too much flex in the shaft will throw the ball in the air. Do you also pull a lot of misses as well. Could also be a technique issue, but I'd get with a pro or a clubfitter and double-check your specs.

I'm in Cleveland. Used to live in Dayton, and when I did, I wasn't playing golf.

Hit the ball first. Hit the ball first. Hit the ball first. Being in Florida, if you're hitting the ball first and firmly, and using decent equipment (which you are), the issue should be CONTROLLING spin, not getting it.

Seeing some of the descriptions of how the ball should be contacted on a chip or pitch made me cringe as badly as seeing someone pitch or chip off a green...lol Anyway...This happens all the time at my home course. It's old (designed in the 1920's) and the way it sets up, for lefties hitting a draw or righties hitting a cut, the 17th green is definitely within the realm of possibility when you hit your tee shot at 11. 80 years ago, when most golfers didn't hit the ball very far, it probably wasn't an issue. Today, it defiinitely is. I've hit at LEAST a half dozen tee shots from 11 that either landed on the 17th green or came to rest on it. It freaks me out when I'm putting on 17 too; this is not an easy green, either. When I hit balls on that green, I take relief per the rules...I usually end up in a fairway lie in a chipping area near the 17th....but then I have tree trouble and have to hit some tremendous hero cut to put it on the 11th green or I have to take a SW and put in in the middle of the 11th fairway and then try to hit a pitch and get up and down.

I chewed seeds.....when I was playing baseball. But, if folks want to chew seeds...whatever. Spit them in a cup, or else don't spit them on the green or fairway. Nobody wants to fiddle with the seeds from your unclean mouth.

I live in Ohio. It's been a wet Spring, so I feel your pain. I play these a little steeper and a little more open than usual sand shots. It's almost like a more conventional flop shot principle, except you're still going to get a ton of spin with the sand...even if it's wet. And you have to commit to swinging hard. Probably wouldn't kill you to get an old wedge (don't fry your 'good' wedge grooves) and go to a fairly empty course and practice these a little to build confidence. If you don't commit to a sand shot and decel...whether you're hitting a 'wet dishrag' or a shot tha'ts going to run out...nothing good happens when you decel a wedge. Nothing. Except skulled shots, fat shots, shots that are off line, shots that are off on distance. Bad things.

I think a lot of folks on this site may. But anyhow... ... I put a peg under it every time. If it's good enough for Nicklaus and Palmer, 'tis good enough for me. Even with a tee, you should be taking your standard divot, though. The tee is about giving yourself a perfect lie. The only club I really elevate with the tee is the driver, which I tee high about 90% of the time. I only tee a 3W slightly higher than I'd tee an iron; I'd say I tee it only fractionally higher so as to make it more likely to hit the sweet spot. Everything else, I tee it so that the lie is flawless. I still take a divot. Normal iron swing. If I tee it too high, I hit it high on the face and that's no good.

I think you've answered your own question. Still, if you feel like it makes you better and then you play better, then it makes you better, even if it's not physically making you better. Ponder that, Grasshopper.