shooter

Sounds about right, driver is a challenging club to hit and im sure your not the only one that can hit their 3 wood just as far if no further then there driver. I see it all the time. I was in the same boat for a while, what i came to realize was that i was holding back and making a 3/4 arm swing before w the big dog because i was worried about spraying the ball, but after i got fitted for a shaft that required me to go after it, the distance come and my swing has started to solidify. I still spray it, but its 25 yards further still then the 3 wood. A 3 wood is easier to hit with a poor swing because your hitting down on the ball with wood's, and its hard to hit down on a ball that is tee'd up 3 inches, like the driver. Most people compensate, use their arms to control the club face, and swing over the top with the driver and only deliver a glancing blow, thus in the proccess, loosing distance due to poor smash factor. Your driver isnt a dud, and your situation isn't hopeless. Maybe you can start by teeing the ball lower to see if that allows you to feel the clubs at the bottom of the swing arc. Just look at Bubba he tees the ball like a mile high and swings up on it, where as Sergio tees the ball just barely and makes a decending blow on the ball. Good luck!

This is true, i like rules too :)....I'm one to call others on infractions when they mean something (even a beer)...people must hate me at my course but they sure line to play with me..

The OP has a driver SS of 100..really? so why cant he swing a stiff iron? makes no sense, i can hit a right handed PW more than 100 yards, and i cant hit a right handed driver period. A driver is the hardest club to hit for the majority ,but the OP doesnt, so If a short iron is suppose to be easier to hit. Then why is the OP struggling..??? Oh right, its the cold! Good luck!

LOL i guess you collect a pay cheque after your rounds because i've never been called out on such a loose rule. I see what you mean tho, but i live in the mountains, some of the courses around here have so much elevation change that i cant use my laser to actually determine my club selection. Since I'm a friendly guy, and tend to chat with anyone. I dont see what the problem is. So if a fellow player is hitting a PW from 180 yards, i really would like to know that because if i didn't i would probably use too much club, so knowing I'm not going to loose my ball because i used too much club actually un-clutters my mind and allows for a good swing. Also, i've been around enough to know what good, clean contact sounds like, and in case i didn't hear it, i can tell by the ball flight. That takes me to a actual pet peeve that i find the funniest...its when people call others out on " rule violations" when its a Friday afternoon round, and not a club championship, lame!

I've never heard of balancing your ball, ok, i did, but when i did see that commercial i couldnt stop laughing. if that actually helped, wouldn't every pro be doing it. wouldn't Taylor Made be making some sort of a device that makes it fast and easy, don't you think titleist would be offering "balanced" pro v1s. Come on fellas, give your head a shake!

Swing harder, it'll solve the problem. If you cant hit the ball with a faster swing, get new lighter shafts because 100yard 9i is less than my wife hits her 9i, she has ladies flex graphite shafts..... you might need something along those lines... The OP still didn't answer the question of what club he hit's 150 yards, and why he went with stiff flex, besides that he wanted to hit the ball further, and read on TST that people that want to hit the ball further get stiffer shafts, but that is just adding to the OP's issues. I hit my 8i 160, i hit my wife's 8i 150, and i hit my buddies x100's 155. The only difference is the trajectory, and nowhere do i ever get 20-40 yards difference in my distance in my iron, even in the winter, unless i hit 2-3 clubs less. I would quit buying gear and figure out your power leak, that's where the problem is (obviously) you will enjoy the game so much more.

I hear ya. I'm known to ask others what club they hit if I'm playing at a new course, and what drives me nuts is when the person answers my questions with on of his own, " how far do you hit your iron's?... i hit mine long and i hit 6 iron, you should take on more" and i say "ok, thx. i'll hit 7iron". That usually send a friendly game into a heated round were this guy thinks he'll collect a cheque at the end of the round if he beats me!?!?! I used to have distance envy when i started golfing, but that kind of cleared it self up after these "bombers" would hit a drive 80 yards from the green on a par 4, then follow that beauty drive with 4 more strokes to get it into the hole.

Mine is less of a pet peeve, more of a funny story about a person and thier driving distance. I tee off as a single many times, many times i've caught up to groups that would ask me to play along if i'd liked. (some not) I would grab my 3 wood, get on the tee box. Someone in the group would mention that they might drive it thru the fairway if they "pure" there driver, but altimetly they reconsider and hit there driver. After the drive buddy would mention " damn, you hit that, like, 250", totally " i pured it" he replies. 250 yard drive is a 3 wood for, knowing the hole was less than 400 yards, i choose to use less than driver. I stripe my 3 wood, as we collectively walk to our balls sitting in the fairway. Before i say anything, buddy looks at me and says " holy, you're 25 yrds ahead of me w your 3 wood, you crushed that thing almost 280!!" I say... "no man, i hit my drive 250. You hit your 230"...he stops, then starts laughing at the top of his lungs. " ya right man, your funny, i hit my driver 250 all day...I nod and smile, then promptly change the subjuct just moments before he come up short from 150yrds using a 7 irons.. Thats it. This does sort of bug me, espeacilly after they cant hit it 250 and spend the rest of the day trying to prove it to themselfs that i'm wrong, and slow down my round while they hit multiple balls of the tee, or spend 5 min a hole looking for their lost balls...and of course, they use pro v1's and they wont stop searching unti they have found it...Grrr

Played on Saturday in 25* temps. My first time teeing it up this year and my last round was almost 3 months ago. Its a short Par 70 track, i went 38-40, for a 78 w 3 birds.

I played this weekend in 25 deg temps, and this was my first round of golf in 2 and half months. You figure, do the conditions, that my distance would be off, but my iron distances didn't change due to the cold (9i 145yds, 60* 95yds). I also have a laser finder to take the guess work out of distance estimates. I've done lots of testing on how cold weather effect's distances because i play lots in the winter and I've always wondered the same thing as the OP, but i have found that cold temps only effect distances by a max factor of 10% (15 yards less for a 150 yards club) the numbers are higher if the ball is a inflatable type (soccer,football, etc), with golf balls being solid they are less susceptible to the cold. Sports Science did a episode on this exact topic, you tube it, the golf balls they used for the cold test were put in a freezer for like 12 hours, and only lost 10%. LOL i keep my balls in my pocket so they rarely get cold. that's probably explains why i don't see any loss from cold weather, and any loss in distance is determined by any head wind. One issue i might see, is with the shaft the OP is playing, a stiff flex iron should be for players that can generate enough club head speed to carry a 8i 150'ish. With a stiffer shaft you can potentially loose out on the some distance, and that can coause ou to swing harder, compromising control, and how close to the cup you can hit the ball. With a iron you want a smooth swing that controls distance, not so much adding distance. My driver swing is around 100-102 mph and can squeze my 9i 150 yards and i use stiff flex thru the bag. With a smooth swing what is your 150 yrd club with the old set, that are shafted with the R flex, during the season? If it's less than a 7i, i would recommend R flex unless your athletic or have a HIGH ball fligth. That's my .02

LOL....Golf is harder! Im sure you've seen the 5 year old's at the hill already just flying! I'm been snowboarding my whole life. There isnt much to do in the winter time in canada, BC has the best ski conditions in the world! How can i not take advantage of it!?! Back to topic....you'll be a great skier...Only if you like to scare yourself ( itll be often until you learn the basics) at least once in a while. One more thing, the consequence of a bad swing equals to a bogey, a bad turn or miss turn around a tree (or person) could have larger consequences! That is all., Cheers!

That's is correct. However, I take very healthy divots with my short irons-wedges too, not so much with longer irons-woods, and I'm never affected with wrist pain/tennis elbow and mats have helped me flatten out my swing because my swing was sooo steep from really working on a hands ahead of ball for solid contact that I would tend to over do it on grass. Mats have thought me that I can shollow out my swing plane, but still have my hands ahead of the ball during impact without any negative side effects. On the course I always hit it flush from most fairway lies like hitting of mat, but only when I get my proper down swing sequencing. I lost my train of thought, I guess I like hitting off mats now (I can't believe I said that) and even tho you can't take a divot on mats, my swing doesn't change from one to another, also my divots are good when I play, even if it's after a range session from mats. Plus, I'm not driving 30 min to hit of grass. When there there's a range 2 min from my condo! Cheers!

I used to be less sensitive on mats, like i couldn't really tell how good the contact was, but these days i can tell if i miss it even by the slightest little bit, clean contact is not a real issue for me. However; mats have been throwing off my timing lately because mats are firmer than most grassy surfaces we golf our ball from, it makes it easier for me to feel the weigh shift to my back foot and forward into my down swing. At times on the course (after warming up on mats) i loose that obvious feel and i hit the ball all over the the place for a few full swings, until i can find my tempo again, so what i was trying to say is: Pay close attention to your "feel" then practicing, and not just contact when your hitting off of mats. Cheers, Hit them Long and STRAIGHT!

I picked up the Nike Method Core putter when it came out ( Its the one w the insert not the one Tiger uses). For me, It was love at first stroke, i really like the way it feels, but what struck me the most is how the ball stays glued to the green on the way to dropping in the hole, almost like its magnetized. I cant see myself ever changing putters again. As soon as those putters hit the clearance rack ill by a second one for back up (so they can bury me with it) LOL.

Im loving those Cobra blades. Cant wait until i can hit them and compare the with my old Pi 7's! Might see those irons in my bag....hopefully.

I doesn't matter what his credentials are, if you understand the your swing enough you will be able to dismiss the teachings of who you take lessons from. According to your 13 handicap you should "own" your swing one way or another. So, if a instructor is telling you things that are countering your swing you can let him know. If he insists on working on his theories, i would get another opinion. I myself had 4 instructors in total, and i come to the conclusion that they didn't do sh*t for my swing (I'm lefty), and because i really go past parallel, not like Daly or Watson, so whenever a instructor saw that they always insisted i stop doing that. I now have a golf coach, he plays rounds with me and helps me score, and position myself on the fairways. He never brings up my swing, or stance, unless its noticeably different than normal. Its what my game needs. I'm a feel player, swing thoughts inhibit my ability to put the ball in the hole... Got any friends that are good golfers? if so, ask them some of the same things you would ask a teacher, and see if they can help! Good luck!

I had 2 eagles last season, i was about 10.5-11 cap at the time. The first one was at a 557 yrd par 5, i hit 8 iron from 155 on my third shot and the ball landed on the green, and disappeared into the cup. The second was on a 370 yrd par 4, killed my drive and only had a pitch shot left (75 yards) controlled my trajectory, the ball landed about 5 paces short of the flag, one hoped, kissed the pin and disappeared...both were fun. But the year before i didn't get any eagles.

Rory spent all of the off season jet setting with his tennis girl, and i doubt he swung the Nike clubs aside from the commercial he and Tiger shot. There will not be any lasting impact to his game from the equipment change. If, and i mean if, there is any reason why he wont play as good as he/we know he can play, it's because when he was a titleist guy there wasn't that pressure to win all the time. Now that he signed this huge deal, had a massive unveiling by Nike. There is sooo much more pressure for him to win now than ever before. We can now see how easy Tiger made wining look when he showed up at events, commentators said he should win, and he did. He was almost robotic in his prime. Only time will tell if Rory will have the same success with the world expecting great things! Good luck little man!

Yup, happened to me a few months back. Decided to use 3 wood instead of driver on the tee, took a normal swing and to my disbelieve the ball went all of 40 yards and the club head flew behind me a few feet, almost killing the rest of my group...Yea it could happen..I heard from others that 3 woods are prone to that because of the ground contact, and especially if you practise alot of mats and are know to hit fat shots (like i used to) that'll stress the kick point on the shaft.

LOL You might need a scientist to figure that out. I'm also 5'7 and I'm using the Burner 2.0 w stock Stiff shaft (46.5") without any problems. I too at times hit high of the toe but that's mostly from casting the club. I once cut my 10.5* R9 to 43.5" it didn't help any sort of miss that occurs during a round, but i sure as heck gave up around 25 yards in total distance once you factor in the roll-out. Considering that at my home course there are four 440 yard par 4's that can ruin the best of days, i can not afford to give up any distance, let alone 25 yards. I'm not implying you will lose that much distance, but some loss of SS will occur if you start cutting it down, if you can find the center of the face with the shorter shaft you might only see a marginal loss in distance...That's my 2 cents

I feel the same way. When i make a good swing, a good impact position is the by product. I used to struggle with my swing a while back. I was wrapped up with simulating my impact position then hitting a ball hoping to replicate that position. It worked to some extent, i hit it OK with short irons, but it got worse with each longer club. Last year i started to really focus on passive hands, and a buttery takeaway. That let the club set, and release without actual input from the hands (unless working the ball) with great results. I'm sure i still use my hands, but on a scale of one to ten my old grip pressure was something like 7/10, my new grip feels like 2/10 in comparison. To each their own, so I'm not implying this can work for everyone, but it was my final key to respectable distance and accuracy.

No, get regular flex shafts. If your younger and fit i would even recommend s flex (possibly) It sounds like you haven't been playing for many years, as you sort out your swing, you will increase distance exponentially. If you have a urge to spend some $$$ try to find a instructor that you get along with and take a few lessons... I've hit my wife's clubs, and i didn't really notice that much less length than my S flex clubs, but i did lose accuracy because the ball flew to the moon and came down like a leaf without any direction.....so, chances are you wont really pickup any distance and ladies flex could actually turn that fade into a slice. Good luck

Notice how the TM website says the RBZ 2.0 woods are 10 yards longer than the original RBZ 3 wood? I couldn't believe it, so i did some digging and found that TM tested the new RBZ 2.0 at 150MPH ball speed with the 3 wood. Most people cant even generate that kind of ball speed with a pured drive! Therefor, only players with tour caliber swing speed will see a increase of distance with the 3 wood. That also explains why the majority of people dint see the 15+ yards increase of distance over their current 3 wood. That kind of disappointed me, i really thought that since the RBZ line is for us mortals that play the game, that they would of used swing speeds that mid caps can generate, not Dustin Johnsons swing speed... Also, I picked up distance with last years RBZ 3 wood (old 3 wood 226 carry vs rbz 238 carry off the deck). My old club was a 08 burner 3 wood. I going to head right to the golf shop when the new line of RBZ 2.0 hit the shelf's to compare the RBZ vs RBZ 2.0. I have a sinking suspicion that i wont pick up any distance. Lame Pardon my vent...

I need to think smooth, sweeping motion with the club in the takeaway, especially with long irons to driver, if i don't, i have a tendency to smother hook my shots. My "feel" move on the downswing (to keep from casting) is to drop my arms behind me.

They remind me of Nike Shox mixed with soccer spikes. I liked the Tour 360 shoe from adidas, but I'm not digging this re-stying. On the brith side, I'll be able to afford last years model once they hit the clearance rack, score!