CPT

Hands down --- it's going to be Mizuno for me. I would love to be able to try on all those beautiful line-ups of iron sets they have. Throughout the bag? Titleist.

Smaller companies can be seen investing $10M+ for their marketing campaigns, let alone Fed Ex. They are doing this bonus payout for several years now., so the benefit must be there, otherwise they would have backed out already.

I guess she never could make it to any shops since they usually close down before she leave the range. Surely she is more concern about some putts missed during the round than what's new in the spring collection....

I am also playing most of my rounds with my father, though we sometimes play in a different group, but we always come and go together. Similar to your story, but on the contrary --- I have aced the shot twice since I've been playing and one of those aces was made when I played with my dad. I was quite young then, but now as I am 28 years old, I am always wishing that my dad would made an ace when we step on the par-3s. He came to many close calls, but hasn't quite did it yet. I only wish to see him ace the shot one day. Because of our culture, my father and I have never played competitively against each other. Instead, we always help each other during some struggling rounds, since we knew each others' games so well over the years. Some rounds are fun and memorable, but I wouldn't trade any rounds with my father for any of them.

Yani Tseng is definitely a born-and-bred champion. She was surrounded by coaches at a very young ages, and have dominated the field since she was an amateur, long before turning professional. She even beat Michelle Wie during her amateur days before all the hypes started. Her game play is unique and more attractive than other players because she has been taught to swing the club aggressively since her childhood. Her strength is a big advantage on LPGA Tour, but don't forget that she is also an extremely (if not the most) accurate player on tour. Judging by all the trophies she snatched this year alone; you can't deny that Yani is practically owning the LPGA Tour. While many ladies put a lot of effort on their long games and trying to perfect the art of using hybrids ---- Yani is hitting wedge into most par 4's and hit long irons into many par 5's. With these convincing wins, she is still being seen on the range until dark, surrounding by coaches and fine-tuning her game. This is why I honestly can't think of any particular player on LPGA tour that can take her on right now. She is on one of those streaks Tiger have had during his haydays in 2000, and will be in serious contention in every tournament she attends. Already named as the youngest player to win 5 majors in professional golf career; I'm sure she will be up for more checks, more trophies, and more success; at least for a year or two from now., assuming that she stays injury-free and keep away from any possible sex scandals. Say what you want, but I am now rooting for her to surpass Jack's majors record.

"Missed 4 birdies, all inside 10-feet" ----- there's your winning trophy right there. I would have melted down worse than you if so many good approaches gained me nothing. Nonetheless, I bet you've learned a lot.

Sorry about the old set being stolen. I think you made a good choice going for TaylorMade, as they seem to be doing good business for the R-11 series, judging from white drivers and fairway woods that kept popping up at my home course in the last few weeks. Haven't had a chance to hit one, though, I wouldn't go with the R-11 because of its color. Hope you have fun with the new set and good luck.

Frustration will always be a big part of the game, and experienced even by top-class touring pros. Mainly, all of us spend a great deal of time frustrating at our failures to repeat what we did last week, or better yet, just yesterday. No matter how good you are, you will never be able to repeat what you did twice, let alone do it week-in and out. I always take "signing" as an example ----- no human being can repeat his/her own signature exactly the same way that was done before --- even though it requires only the smallest of movement. You can only imagine the time you need to build consistency in the golf swing, which asks for a lot of movements and good tempo/timing. However, with lot of repetitions ----- they can be a positive improvement. All top players may have different swings and techniques to strike the ball, but one thing that they do the same ---- they practice a lot, in order to memorize those movements and be able to do them under tournament pressures. Regardless of talents, I am certain that all great players achieved consistencies through practice sessions with strict routines --- until the swing become their second natures. I agreed that you need to change your perspective and start developing routines for practice sessions. With lots of experience over the years, you frustration should not be too difficult to get rid of.

Agreed on stats tracking. To shave these 5 strokes off your handicap, it should be something very delicate and extremely difficult to fine-tune. I regularly play with a few buddies in this handicap range (0-7) and I think the biggest different from the 5-handicapper and a scratch golfer is the ability to save strokes on and around the greens, especially putting. This is the area that should be focused, rather than spending time on the long game. A 5-handicapper can strike the ball fairly-well and can definitely hit a few good approaches in a round. On a good putting day, breaking par is very much a possibility.

Some people do feel the difference when they cut down the shaft. Some don't. Shorter shaft will definitely help with your control, providing that you have somewhat of a consistent swing.

My most lofted club in the bag is my SW, which is 56 degrees. I had the 60 degrees in the bag for years but I took it out a few months back and haven't missed it since. My "go-to" chipping club would be my GW, which is 48 degrees. Stay clear from very lofted club unless you practice with it a lot.

Not true at all. No matter how good, anyone's game will certainly go through ups and downs over period of time. It's the amount of practices you put in the game that determines your confidence and your overall performances during a certain period. The more you put into it, the more you will likely get out of it. There is no time frame to conclude that your best years have passed. If you stopped playing after 3 full years and came back practicing harder than ever, you will be better.

For me, "Good Ball Striking" always represents consistency. It's not just hitting a bucket of balls solidly but it means consistency in all things involved when you hit a shot---- the intended ball flights, distances, spin, and so on.... As for Ben Hogan being the best ball-strikers, that's merely an opinion. Others might as well said Sam Snead or Tiger Woods is better than Ben Hogan. Not to mention the lack of advancement in equipments used in his days. Most pros today are decent ball-strikers themselves. As for Sergio's swing, despite his size, he hits the ball as far (if not farther) with many long-hitters out there on tour. His swing is special because of the tremendous amount of lag he creates during the downswing. Not to mention that he is one of the straightest drivers on tour.

They are, more or less----happy, if you saw them playing during weekends.

I have a good idea of what I'm doing wrong during the round, but I can rarely fix it. Number 2.

You mean the guy who hit a right-hand club 300+ yards at Ping facility? You do realize that no driver in the market can guarantee you straight drives all day long, let alone the swing speed of Bubba Watson. It's my bad, though. I should have noted that it was my opinion.

The website is still up and running, but I wouldn't be surprise if it went out, though. It's sad, but after years of trying equipments (including putters), I couldn't find myself to convince to what they were offering. While there are many putter makers out there offering something that looked better with more value. I can imagine a lot more golfers feel the same way as I did. The overall concept of the C-Groove technology is weak, in my opinion. Other than that, they didn't seem to put anything new on the table. Not to mention tons of counterfeits putters that are being made daily. With the combination of those things, I have to say that I admire Yes! for staying as long as it did.

Hitting S-Series with Project X 6.5. I take my hat off. I'm not a Ping fan, but I always like listening about equipments and I always find a chance to try them when I can., from some buddies, from demo carts, you name it..... S56 is somewhat similar to S57. The biggest different is of course, the change in color pattern at the back of the blades. S56 hide the color tab (tungsten weights) so the clubs look a little bit better. Overall, S56 still looks unique with its own "robot-like" features in the S-Series. S56 irons also have higher hosels than ones from S57. This brings the CG higher for lower ball flight by design. Black ferrules in S56 are a little bit shorter than the former set, to manipulate the look of higher hosels. I'm guessing that Ping didn't want to overhaul the look of the S57 because most good players don't like to change appearances too often. Other than the change in stock shafts (KBS), another big improvement in S56 is the change in grooves. The whole set is now "V-Groove" to comply with recent USGA Rules. As for different in backspin, I do not know since I hit them on the range only. I'm guessing naturally, you will be losing some spins switching to this set. Now, I'm not hitting this kind of clubs on a regular basis, but some of my buddies do. They said that the S56 was more forgiving than S57 and they felt like they could get the ball in the air easier. This must have something to do with changes in tungsten weighting. They also mentioned that they gained a few yards compared to S57. Shots shaping should be easier than ever, judging by the looks of the whole set.

I usually run into older guys in the golf courses, too. It's common because most young guys will show up with their buddies. From years of playing, I met with all kinds of guys (and ladies). Some were super-cool and made me feel so comfortable with during those rounds. Some said hello and barely said another word until the rounds were finished. You'll learn how to deal with them eventually, by their friendliness, manners, and so on.. Meeting strangers and playing with them can be nice and give you a chance to learn something new, but playing with your own group(s) is the way to go.

Tried to bend over the putt in a "Spiderman" style, just like Camillo Villegas, then split my pants on the way down. Been hating him since.

I did try it on the range with a few buddies. After a few shots, I knew it wasn't for me. Forget about all other ugly Pings., S-56 is just straight up bad-ass. It's the 4th generation of the S-Series (from S-59 downwards...). While many golfers might be laughing at the "blade" style of Ping irons----- hitting them is no joke. I was explained that the S-56 was a big improvement from the S-57 in term of everything; the design down to overall performances. While the set is not "forged", Ping has some special process in casting the S-56, making it very unique. S-56 looks very intimidating. The set certainly screams "for a highly-skilled or pros". Each iron has a (very) thin top-line and sole with very minimal offset visible at address (almost none in shorter irons). Addressing a shot with a 4-iron and you're about to lose some confidence. The set I tried was equipped with KBS stock shafts, which supposed to be lighter and more forgiving. I couldn't say that I was forgiven, though... Performance-wise, the club offered a very low ball flight. I thought it was because of the shafts, but it wasn't. S-56 was designed with higher center of gravity---making the balls go lower than former sets in the family. There wasn't much "off-center" for me to miss since the whole clubface was the "center". They are very small, if not a little bit bigger than the golf ball itself. Despite all my complaints, Ping claimed that S-56 provides more forgiveness than the older S-57. The improvement in performance was something my buddies and I agreed. S-56 looks mean but provided a very soft feel with flush shots. The feeling wasn't as great as many forged clubs out there, but it was definitely better than any cast clubs I've hit in a while. There wasn't much of a "compact" feeling when I hit good shots, unlike other blades I've tried. Overall, I like S-56 because of its unique characteristics. It's a cast-bladed irons unlike any others. As always, this is a Ping clubs, so they are very, very tough. They will hold up in most conditions and will easily sustains hard impact after impact. This set looked to me like it will survive even in the end of days.

the G15 goes straight all day long. It's a great thing for most of us, but if you're into shaping shots or regularly work the ball on the golf course, you're not going to like it. The design and the weighting just makes it very difficult to hit draws and cuts. Overall, G15 is a great driver. I'm looking forward to try the K15, though.

Most manufacturers don't care about existing standards. There is a good chance they might not survive if they did, with all the technologies and the competition out there. Nowadays, it is normal for Club Manufacturers to produce irons with less lofts (ie; A 9 iron has the loft as strong as an 8 or even a 7 iron in ordinary set). It's kinda funny, though. They are bragging about their latest innovations/technologies-----but they just design ugly iron sets with strengthen lofts, just to make customers feel that they can hit it. All I'm saying is, everything that is labeled on golf clubs can not be hold as a standard. This includes shaft flexes, weight, length, and lofts.

You're Kidding, Right?

Callus happens when you hit lots of balls. However, mine aren't caused by the butt-end of the clubs.