Boyder

I bought myself a new TM Raylor just before Christmas, but Santa left a hard-cover copy of Harvey Penick's Little Red Book and Tom Watson's new DVD set "Lessons of a Lifetime" in my stocking! My kids also got me a Yoda headcover for my 3-wood ... so "The Force will be with me" ...

I'm basically split between TM Driver, wood, Raylor & wedges with Cobra irons and an Odyssey putter. That said, I try to choose clubs that match me and my game, but I do like TM clubs and I love my Cobra irons.

Some insightful Golf Thoughts (Humorisms): 1. Don't buy a putter until you've had a chance to throw it. 2. When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit one more club or two more balls. 3. If you're afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: you can immediately shank a lay-up or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there. 4. Everyone replaces his or her divot after a perfect approach shot. 5. A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponents' luck. 6. It is surprisingly easy to hole a fifty foot putt ... for a 10. 7. Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of his own haircut.

That is a cool find. I am a big supporter of Goodwill in particular, but thrift shops in general are fun places to shop from time to time. If it were me, I might be tempted to keep it and maybe use it to store an old set or spare clubs instead of just having them lay around in a corner or closet.

Interesting view of the hybrid "invention" ... perhaps this shows a good example of the industry creating demand ... build a new ball that needs clubs with different characteristics in order for the average player to get the best performance from them .... so I'd say it's more like Capitalism at work rather than revisionist ... Sort of like breeding a generation of bigger mice so you can sell bigger/better mousetraps .. It's a school of marketing where the goal is to create a demand in a line where the demand has hit a virtual "dead-end" ... Too much thinking for a Saturday morning - now I have a headache ...

I'm learning to really like the new format. Once I figured out to shorten my old signature and replace most the info with using the "lists" I REALLY liked the ability to actually add more info regarding "What's in my bag" ... Still checking out all the new features, but really like what I see so far ... As a Moderator/Manager of another Forum (in the fishing industry), I realize what an undertaking this has been for you guys ... my hat is off to you!

Picked up a nice Slazenger shirt for my son-in-law for Christmas, and a Ping short sleeved windshirt for myself ... had some pretty sweet deals at the Golf Galaxy Advantage Club Night.

My set's PW is also 45*, so I added a 50* along with the 56* and 60*. I find I am much better inside 120 yds having all these options.

To remind me of one of my better shots this past season ...

Picked up a new TM Raylor 19* - of course I'll have to wait until the snow melts in 3-4 months to try it out. Heading to Golf Galaxy Thursday night for their Advantage Club event ... planning on picking up my son-in-law a few last minute gifts ...

Been using the 3-wood, 3, 4 & 5 Hybrid setup for a season now. Just replaced my 3 hybrid with a "less draw biased" TM Raylor Hybrid. To me this makes the 5-wood unnecessary and leaves me room at the other end to carry the wedges I like to play.

My irons, hybrids, wedges and putter - all purchased on eBay ... as stated, do your research, check the feedback of the seller. I've been very happy with my purchases.

Yep ... If I get thru a round with the same ball I'm a happy golfer ...

I'm still teetering between the Raylor and the Cobra Baffler .... been watching 'em on ebay. I may be heading to BB&B; this week ...Thanks guys.

Thinking of asking Santa for one of those golf gear organizer racks ... anyone here have one - and are there any that stand out or any that one would want to stay away from?

I would believe the idea that it's the denser air that cuts down on ball flight ... I already play a 'soft' ball (Noodle Easy Distance), so going to a woman's ball I don't think would make much difference in my game.

Erbert & Gerbert's is my fav sandwich shop ... not a big fan of fast food other than that ...

2011 Goals Family 1) Show my wife, 3 kids and future son-in-law, how much I love them and how important they are in my life. 2) Play more golf with friends and family 3) clean the basement of all that junk that's been boxed up down there since we moved into this house 10+ yrs ago. 4) Give my oldest the best wedding she could ever hope for! Golf related 1) Buy a new driver: thinking of trying a 12 degree to try and get a better trajectory. 2) build a quality indoor putting green for practice purposes 3) work hard on my putting 4) break 90 more consistently Fitness 1) walk 5-6 times a week for 45-60 minutes at a time. 2) work golf-fitness exercise routine Health 1) lose 10-15 more pounds (lost 35 in 2010) 2) continue to watch what I eat Work 1) increase advertising/promotion for photo studio 2) increase photo studio sales by 25% 3) write 4 new full feature articles for outside publications Financial 1) increased savings by 20% Society 1) increase my hands-on involvement in Special Olympics

If you're counting eBay as a "golf store", I picked up 3 new wedges this week ... like I REALLY need 3 new wedges ... but like I told the Misses ... "It was a Great Deal!!"

This site looks like they have lots to choose from or you can custom design your own .... http://www.fantasticknits.com/

Packers are 2-0 .... that's the only picking I ever do ....

Best of Luck! Thank You for your service!!

That's basically the point of the article ... If you are playing a 450 yd par 4 then consider playing it like a par 5 - Driver = 230, then a couple short irons/wedges in ... if you 1 putt then great - otherwise take the 2-putt bogey and be happy and move on. Many of us higher-handicappers play this way. It beats trying to over swing the driver, or a long iron/hybrid/fairway wood and putting ourselves in so much trouble that we'd be lucky to get out with anything better than a 7.

Good advice so far ... I know you have invested in the lessons, and so far it seems to be "taking" ... for now that's about all you need to do. Let him learn on his own right now ... when he wants your help you will know ... you'll hear stuff like , "good shot dad ... how'd you do that?", or "I wish I know what to do to putt better ..." .... Beyond that, let him have fun with it. If it's not fun for him now - it never will be. And to a kid, fun at this stage may have more to do with rifling out a bucket of balls or buzzing around the course in a cart once in a while. My daughter loves playing with me, and I get the biggest kick out of playing with her - even tho she has physical and cognitive disabilities that make it virtually impossible for her to really play the game with any skill level. She's 20, but it's like playing with a giggly 7 year old every time ... and I'm OK with that ... because she has so much fun with it.

Good read. The thought process of playing for 17 over is one I have embraced quite a bit this season. There are several par 4's I tend to play as par 5's and a couple par 5's I always play as par 6's, because if I don't I end up in trouble and staring a snowman in the eye (or worse). I like most everything covered in this article ... very good info for most any golfer, but especially those that shoot in the 90's and above.