RX Phoenix

We've already seen Wei do this over and over, it's no longer a novelty. I won't be watching because she doesn't have the game. I'm not going to try and understand what in the world she is thinking. She should be concentrating on getting her LPGA card, but at this point who really cares?

He needs to start writing some letters to get into more events, beg a little, or a lot, the Open showing should open some doors for him, for 3 of the 4 rounds he had the 4th best showing of any player in the field playing one of the toughtest events ever for a major. That should prove he still has it in him, now it's only opportunity that he needs.

Great choices, very smart, you're set . . . and I was right about the swing speed! I like the reasoning concerning the putter.

Oops . . . maybe I should have added one other option . . . "What in the world is Michelle Wie doing playing in a PGA event again?" That's bound to generate a great deal of comment, most of it negative. That was supposed to be over with and more important issues like signing a scorecard take precidence.

Don't be in a hurry to buy a Cameron, there are a lot of new putters that perform extremely well and perhaps better, my Cameron is sitting in the garage. The 905R is also in the garage, this is a great club if you have the swing speed to really hit it hard, and at 22 you probably do. The sound and feel is fantastic, but it is unforgiving compared to other drivers. Get up north a bit and play La Purisima, one of the toughest and best courses in CA.

They've got it covered now from top to bottom. There is no area that could be called weak. Even their apparel is tops. Drivers: Strong, FT-I, FT-5, Hyper X, Big Bertha 460 Fairway W: Strong, Squareway, FT, X, Big Bertha Hybrids: Very Strong, FT, X, Heavenwood Irons: Strong, FT-i brids, FT, X-forged, X-20, Big Bertha Wedges: Strong, X-forged, X-tour Putters: Very Strong, Odyssey! Balls: Strong, Tour 1, Tour 1x, Hx Hot, Hx Hotbite, Warbird, Hx Pearl, Big Bertha

FRUMPIER = better play for Duval. If you saw him 'back in the day' that is how he looked when he was playing his best. It's when he freaked out about trying to beat down Tiger and started pumping iron and wearing tight shirts like a body builder that his game went to he**. We were all set for some huge intense rivalry between Duval and Tiger and it never happened, Tiger has dominated ever since. The fact is Duval can't stand being anything less than #1, he only plays for greatness, and with Tiger occupying that spot, he can't get motivated. I don't think it's coincidence now that Tigers out that Duval suddenly shows up at the Open looking like a serious contender once again. Tigers knee is Duvals best medicine.

the most important aspect is CONFIDENCE. How you find that is key. If driving well gives you that great, if chipping/short game gives you that great. I find it in making the short putts because that takes all the pressure off of the hole at the start, even if you're putting for bogey, if you knock in that 5' you keep your confidence. As you stand on the tee you know you can finish the hole well. But, hit a great drive, good approach shot, try to make birdie and slide it by 5' then miss coming back . . . their goes your confidence to be replaced with concern on the next tee box.

In some cases blades will help a player goove their swing and improve, and in other cases their will be frustration over the lack of forgiveness, it all depends on the player and their upside. If you feel you have the capacity to play the game very well then go for it, but if you don't get out very often get a more forgiving iron. If you play a lot of different courses with different conditions, go for the more forgiving iron, but if you have a home course you play all the time, then blades could be a good choice. Workability? . . . the best way to work the ball is to get consistent yardage, blades if mishit a bit will give you a problem with that.

Without Tiger, how are you going to stay interested in the Tour for the rest of the year?

Good thing you didn't yield to temptation and pull the thread! LOL I'm the first to eat crow here, I'm shocked, I thought he was finished, but there's a lot of others dining with me. LOL! Let's just say he's 3/4 of the way back. But rounds of 73, 69, 71 under those conditions is impossible to ignore. He outplayed most of the field in the Open. So at this point I'd have to say that he is going to make it back which is an incredible story and well worth having a thread about.

My 52 only goes 95 no matter what I do. So I just purchased a 50. PW/46*: 115 50: 100 52: 95 54: 90 56: 85 58: 80 60: 75 62: 70 If the course is familiar then I'll choose the wedges based on the yardages I expect to encounter. One set up: PW/46 50 54 58 Or: PW/46 52 58 Or: PW/46 50 56 Or: PW/46 52 56 62

If you give every player a mulligan throw out round and only count their 3 best rounds you come up with: Harrington -1 Poulter +2 Norman +2 Els +2 Furyck +3 Stenson +3 Duval +3 So Duval put 3 rounds together that places him in elite company tired for 3rd. That's huge progress, it's going to be very interesting the rest of the year to see what he can do. He has to stay away from disaster holes and that one terrible round . . . if he can he'll start making some $$.

73, 69, 71 . . . this may be the most surprising development of the Open. The 83 was the fly in the ointment, he lost his focus, but found it again and a 71 on the final day, that's some kind of playing.

Wonder what it is costing these days to fuel that little beauty up . . . maybe that's Gregs inspiration, he needs to keep moving that tub around. No wonder Chris is smiling, quite a lifestyle.

That was my experience as well so I gave it up. Maybe if you keep at it you will prosper with it, who knows? It certainly has potential but it might be too fine of an edge for most people.

HYBRIDS . . . taking the place of the long irons, much easier to hit with higher trajectory High MOI (moment of inertia) Drivers and Putters . . . keeps the club from twisting and allows better results Larger sweet spots More forgiving fairway woods Higher quality balls with many different characteristics Vast array of shafts Launch moniter fitting LCG (low center of gravity) design for higher trajectory on drivers GPS like Skycaddie or Rangefinders which enable exact distances both to flag, hazards, front and back of green Longer golf courses with tricked up greens Mostly there is a greater range of options with so many bells and whistles that it may be bewildering. If you take advantage of the technology you will play better, but it still takes course management.

You can get used ProV1's at Golfsmith and other places for about $20/per doz. They perform real well.

I don't know why $103 million would be dismissed as chump change . . . that's a ton of money in anyones bank account. Got to be one of the more expensive divorces in history. Gives a new twist to 'man bites dog', this time the ex took a big bite out of the Shark and it had to hurt. But yes, he'll be alright, but keep in mind you can lose your shirt in business as Arnold Palmer did a few times as did Jack.

In defense of the US Open, the rough is much more penal because you cannot run the ball onto the green. At the Open it seems far easier to gouge the ball out and get it somewhere for a chip. At the US Open its lay up time due to the ultra slick greens. Approach shots seem much easier at the Open, mis-hits will still bounce and roll, chips, pitches, sand shots, all of them allow for a way to at least get it close. At the US Open you have to hit precisely the right shot to have any chance. Power and precision vs imagination, different tests. I'd feel a lot more comfortable playing the Open, the greens are far more receptive to all kinds of shots, if something isn't working, plan B might. But at the US Open if you don't have your A game you will be destroyed. Of course the weather alters the equation, but that's a variable that's not always there.

Not so fast! I've been a ProV1 player for quite some time, but recently went to a distance ball which enables me to use 1 to 2 irons less on approach shots. Why, . . . my swing speed has dropped so that I'm not compressing the ProV1 enough to get the distance consistently. I'd rather hit a 9 iron than a 7 iron on any hole. As for the advantage of spin, this comes into play on some types of greens, but less on others, the higher trajectory of a short iron will stop the ball just as well. No doubt it's a great ball if you have the swing speed 105+, but if it's at 95ish then a good distance ball will probably out perform it and lower your handicap. If your course is one with small greens where you have to do a lot of chipping then I might go with the ProV1. Distance balls are getting much better, not like the rocks of old.

Get a matched set, makes life a lot easier.

I'll go with the US Open. If Norman was on Oakmont this week he'd not make the cut.

I'm in the same 250 boat as are a lot of people. It is possible to get more power if you really relax your grip and wrists and then whip the clubhead through keeping it all loose almost like the club is going to slip out of your hands. The problem with this is that it opens you up for the dreaded snap hook, and after a few of those you will start tightening up your grip once again. LOL Or you can tee it up high and forward and really load up on your right side and power through the ball, but this opens up the huge banana slice. What I have done is go to a distance ball (the Freak), an 8.5 driver with a reg shaft, and when I hit it with the right trajectory it has a decent carry with a maximum roll out and I can get 275 and more on a firm or sloped fairway. With a lush fairway I'm out of luck.

People are asking where that 'extra bounce' in his step has come from . . . Well, people usually have that bounce when they feel lighter . . . And Greg is now $103 MILLION dollars lighter in the pocket after his divorce came through, that's some kind of lighter! It would be interesting to be in his shoes for the past month. Loses $103 million in his divorce Rents an entire island for a $2 million dollar wedding bash Marries the sporting icon Chris Evert Decides to tack a round of golf onto the end of the honeymoon And wakes up Sunday morning leading the Open by 2 LOL, and that's probably only the half of it!