GolfBear

Dude looks like he was hit with a tranquilizer dart! Who sits that way? Oh, Jason Dufner does! :)

My local range sells balls in increments of 35. For me, 35 is too few and 70 is way too many for me. It seems that by the time I get to the 70th ball I'm just whooped. It's probably worth noting, that my typical range session goes something like this: 5 really soft slow sand wedges to loosen up 10 pitching wedges 10 7 irons 15 5 irons 5 4 irons 5 hybrids 5 3 wds 10 drivers 5 pitching wedges

Didn't Nicklaus also start his swing with a slight forward press? If I recall correctly, he didn't he do that with his irons?

Rubch, I tested drivers extensively on the range and only bought the Nike after I confirmed the numbers on the launch monitor. The shots on the range had the right trajectory and distance but I wanted to check the spin numbers. When I bought my new i20 irons I did the entire fitting based on the statics and trusted that if the numbers were right, the irons will be fine.

I was lucky, I was fitted on Wednesday and my clubs arrived on the following Thursday. You would think that something as simple as being an inch shorter wouldn't be much different than choking down on the grip for better control. Heck, I do it all the time when I'm in between clubs. Strangely, when the full set is an inch shorter it changes everything.

I got my i20's last Thursday. To be candid, I've really struggled making consistent contact with them. I seem to be hitting everything on the toe. I was comparing them to my old clubs and realized that they were a full inch shorter than my old clubs. My initial thought was that we either screwed up the fitting or someone messed up when they made them. I took them down to my local Golf Galaxy so I could compare the lengths to the standard black dots on the wall. Much to my astonishment, they were the exact same length. So now I'm thinking, WTF??? I happened to still have my old 5i & 7i's banging around my trunk so I ran out to get them for comparison. Turns out my old set was apparently +1" across the entire set. Moral of the story, I've been playing irons that are one inch longer than they should be for almost 15 years. After two more buckets of balls and a round of golf I'm hitting the ball much better. I had to move what seemed uncomfortably close at first but now I'm getting used to feeling like I'm standing on top of the ball! I played my first full round last night and hit the ball MUCH better. The forgiveness of these irons is just stupid good. Shots hit square on the toe lose about 1/2 to 1 club length but stay relatively online. The CFS shafts are a fantastic improvement for me and any kind of a good swing is rewarded with a high but not ballooning ball flight. Of note, they also feel very soft. I've played essentially a forged blade for the last 15 years and I'm not disappointed with the PING feel. They also feel great and perform great around the green. I'd recommend these clubs for anyone at any handicap level. I think these clubs are just all around solid. I'd HIGHLY recommend these clubs to anyone.

A few weeks ago I was reading something about foot position with the driver and someone posted this picture. From what I understand this is from Hogan's book and it clearly shows him advocated for a more closed stance with the longer clubs and woods. I've been doing this for about a month and I think I've hit one hook in the last 10 rounds. I've never driven the ball better. I'm a believer!!!

Sai-Jin, It's always ok to use score as a motivator. After all, that's the ultimate object of the game, to shoot a lower score. Just don't let the score become so important that it ruins your enjoyment of the game. I keep thinking of additional questions to ask you. Do you plot your misses? For example, this isn't my card but it's how my scorecard (before I started using Golflogix) used to look: I also mark what side I miss the fairways or the greens on. This way I know that if I miss on the left I'm far more likely to card a bogey or higher. If I miss on the right I've still got a shot at making par or at worst, a bogey. Basically then I know that no matter what I do, I can't miss left. I think there are even software packages that will help you with the %'s. It'll help you key in on where your misses tend to be! :)

It really looks like a lot more "checks" than it really is. Then again, I've been doing it for 34 years. I find that when I play my worst I'm playing what I refer to is "brainless" golf. I just walk up to the ball, pick a distance/club and swing. When I play my best I'm actually working to minimize my mistakes. One thing I did leave off though is to make sure you're accurate and honest with your distances. I'm not doubting your distances but it won't help your score if you say you hit your 7i 185 yards when in fact you average 175. We all have those shots that we pure that fly forever but what you've got to find is your average. If you're unsure, borrow a rangefinder and go to the range. Don't trust their yardages, measure your own. Hit 6-10 shots with each club and make sure you're positive about your distances. That alone will be GREAT for your confidence. Try Annika's "Thinking Box" approach! :)

I hit at least a small bucket with almost every 2012 driver. The least impressive to me was the RBZ. I wound up going with the Nike VRS because it had the best combination of feel, sound, distance, & dispersion.

I'm going to approach this from a bit of a different angle. There are a lot of things that need to happen prior to the swing before you can start hitting more greens in regulation. Here's just a smattering of some of the stuff I consider before I even choose my club. All this happens when I stand behind the ball. Once I make my club selection and step up to the ball it's all about making the swing. No more thoughts 1. What's my lie? Fairway, light rough, heavy rough, in a divot etc. Light rough = potential flyer; heavy rough = just get it back on play. Is the ball above or below my feet? Is it an uphill or downhill lie? 2. What's the distance to the center of the green? 3. Distance to the actual flag? 4. Where is the flag on the green? 5. What hazards are protecting the green? Where are the bunkers? Is there water? 6. Where's the wind and what's it doing. Will it help or will it knock the shot down? 7. Where is the least penalizing place to miss? If the flag is tucked left and there's water left I should never ever miss left of the flag. If I do it's because I aimed right and pulled the ball. 8. Finally, once I make the decision on the iron, commit fully to the shot. NO DOUBTS. Doubts in your brain make your body do exactly what you don't want to do! There's a couple of books I read several years ago; Golf and the Art of War and Combat Golf. They talk about the fact that if you look at a golf hole from the green back to the tee you can see how the architect set up the defenses for each particular hole. When you stop charging into the teeth of the defense you'll be amazed at what it does for your score!

I can't speak to the prices but I can tell you this, after about 15 minutes of speaking with a "clubfitter" at my local GG I'd NEVER trust them to do a fitting for me. Your mileage my vary........

They look great but the question will be how they feel. The 1st generation of forged Ansers was a miserable flop due largely to the fact that they felt terrible as compared to other premium irons.