Old1964

Sure. I just think that the game of golf has that unique ability to cause you to "doubt" --

I remember when I first found this forum and posted my very first post about two different swings...one for driving the ball off the tee and iron shots on my very first post. about tracman data reporting a slight upward swing in some golf magazine was my source. I think I was ridiculed for "believing everything I read" in golf magazines. Now, a little more than a year later, here we are.

Having a bunch of low back problems...I'm thinking of giving this a try. The Stallings-Bubba Twist!

I wonder if Phelps has a sense that he has already peaked in his life. I don't know if that's true or not, but I wonder. If so, he would be the guy with all the medals, trying to pursue happiness, but often finding it elusive. Someone said that happiness is a byproduct of living a life that one believes is full of meaning and significant. Seems true to me. Wouldn't it be amazing if he just poured himself into the game and became a pro?! He is so flexible...could be one of the best golf stories of all time.

I'm pretty sure I can find any colored ball easily in the fairway!

No problem - I missed your thread when I made my first comment - someone wisely moved my post over here for me. At any rate, I'm glad Streelman pulled it out for the win. I am often intrigued by how a win seems to help the players play with more confidence in the next few tournaments. As for the religion thing...I find it humorous that if a person celebrates their own "awesomeness" and how "amazing" they are because they are the "boss", that is culturally acceptable in many countries. In other countries, that kind of egocentric celebration would be considered crass, classless, and utterly selfish. Indeed, objectively, it is selfish, self-indulgent, and self-centered. If, on the other hand, a person demonstrates some humility (for real or imagined reasons) and believes that they owe their success in some sense to whoever or whatever makes their heart beat, nervous system work, or their thinking clear and calm, they get accused of being selfish. Though I've never heard any religious person (Hindu, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist) claim that they succeeded and others lost because they were favored, that is the narrative that is told about them. Whatever. To each their own. On a funny note, I have played in a couple tournaments where I was convinced that the golf gods were working against me...so, not sure what to make of that!

Thanks Martin for all the great photos and videos! If Streelman did win this, can you imagine how annoying the new commercials would be for the Wilson Irons. You do realize that they have won more golf titles than any other iron, right ? Here's a video of bloopers from some of their commercials - good for a chuckle - seems that Padraig Harrington isn't known by the actor...

Good for you. It is ironic that it is getting too hot for golf for you and it is too cold for us now. Of course, some of us can fly 700 miles to Florida and get the warm weather golf...not a possibility for me this year. The general reality is that $200 of lessons and a $200 set of irons will get you into the low 90's or upper 80's if the clubs fit your height and swing. Take care achadha 7

Here's the link... http://thesandtrap.com/t/44307/hitting-up-or-down-with-the-driver-in-an-inline-pattern/0_50

Get a set of used x-22 Callaways or any other game improvement club - wider sole - more back, toe, and heel weighting (perimeter weighting). Don't do graphite unless you are physically unable to handle a good steel shaft that is suited to your swing speed. While graphite clubs may appear to be desirable, they are not popular in irons as their "kick" is not suited to an athletic swing with much speed. What is your average score on 18....for real? That would help narrow your search.

no, 100+, no, no, no, no, no, I have percocet

If you are swaying back or hitting with more than 50% of your weight on your back foor (right foot for a right-handed golfer), yes, that can easily translate into some hooks and some really ugly hooks. Also, if you have the pain and you are basically not rotating your belt buckle toward the target...you will end up flipping the club shut and that would hook the ball. I admire your focus - the notion that you know you have to think more carefully about how you are going to play your shots with the pain. Hope you get some relief. Golf is hard enough without having to to deal with sharp physical pain. The upside is that the physical pain can distract you from the emotional pain of the game.

Sounds like you have felt the distance between the two clubs and rightly noticed a couple of differences. The sgi clubs will typically differ in distance, especially if you have a little less weight on the bottom of the player's cavity backs and catch them a little thin. They will go a mile further! Also, when you hit your new clubs toward the heel or the toe of the club face you should lose a lot more distance than you did on your off center hits on the sgi clubs. On a different note altogether...sounds like you should really drop the 25 bucks and at least get fit for the irons you are going to play with. The length of the club and the lie of the irons should be adjusted for your current posture and play. I don't know anyone who would hope to improve and enjoy the process with clubs that are not at least the right length! It doesn't cost much and the sweet shots would be much more common! Most big box golf stores (Golf Galaxy to name one) will take about 30 minutes and measure your swing and make some recommendations. If you are really a 10 handicap, you are ready to get clubs that fit you. What new clubs did you get?

Saw someone suggesting that it was worth about $75 on "another" golf blog.

I don't know how any doctor could rule out rotator cuff damage or a torn labrum with an xray as it is impossible to diagnose that soft tissue damage without an M.R.I. When you talk about clicks and pops, that causes me to think that your doctor should refer you to a specialist who could diagnose you in a jiffy. I just went through that - hurt in September - had MRI - had to wait until December for surgery to repair torn labrum, fortunately the rotator cuff (3 tendons that come together to form that amazing bit of physiology) was not damaged. If it is just inflammation of your tendons, I can't see how that would produce the clicks unless it is pretty bad. Lifting, I would think would just make matters worse. Lots of people are drinking Mangosteen juice for inflammation - some claim that there have been good studies that bear out its effectiveness. Mayo Clinic doesn't believe that enough testing has been done to back up the claims, but they don't discount it either. My retired plumber friend swears by it. Unless you have liver problems or the like, ibuprophen could help in a big way for $12. But, if you hope is to treat physical problems with alternative medicine (and I know quite a few people who are big into this), be prepared to fork out hundreds of dollars on various suggested supplements, oils, and the like. Shoot, you might want to drop a few hundred into "special" magnets...point is, most of this is just the placebo effect combined with amazing testimonials. To any homoepathic or naturopathic practitioners that I may have offended with the above paragraph, my apologies. I would add that if you see them, you may improve, but it will be thousands of dollars!

Purchase what feels and plays best for you and don't worry about what others think. Of course, if you care to read about others who have thought through this crucial distinction on the sandrap...well, here's a link for you... http://thesandtrap.com/t/45096/liked-ap1-better-than-ap2/0_50 Hope it helps.

I'm no expert on clubs and equipment, but Iacas posted an interesting thread on the angle of attack when hitting the driver. If I were good for anything, I would find the link to the thread and post it here, but alas, I'm tired and lazy tonight. My thought was just that it might be a good read especially since you are inclined to hit a power fade and Iacas was talking about hitting up with the driver. If a slight swing adjustment (very slight) would give you a consistent fade with more carry, you would be golden! Of course, if any of this or all of this is wrong, I'd just chalk it up to the muscle relaxer and the pain killer that is coursing through my bloodstream after a difficult rehab session on my shoulder.

Matt Kuchar and Brian Gay are the two highest ranked player in this year's Fedex points who will be playing this weekend in Tampa Bay. If Kuchar won this weekend, it would put him in first place. Many of the crowd's favorites aren't slated to play. Other notables on the Fedex List: Michael Thompson, Josh Teater, and Jimmy Walker. Stuart Cink just changed clubs...it would be nice to see him show up with his best game! Who looks good to you for this weekend?

Two Thoughts: Tiger is going to start blowing people's minds again...his short iron play was amazing! Johnny Miller may need a pacemaker before this golf season is over.

Stricker = awesome individual. Thinking Woods might want to cut him a check for the successful putting pointers. Anyone know what specific advice Stricker gave him? Missed all the discussion about that as I had to work.

I got laid up in September with a shoulder injury - surgery in December - and spring golf looks sketchy at this point. It sucks and am doing rehab seeing progress. At the same time I hope you proceed better than they think you will. Truth is, if you could never golf again, I'm glad to think that you will be there for those three little ones in your avatar...and, in due time, have the joy of getting around the course with them (driving you nuts, if they are like my two). There's a lot to look forward to in this. Them getting lucky on a par 3 and knocking in the birdie while you are trying to get up and down from a bunker for par. Dealing with the learning curve of talking during your backswing, standing on your putting line when they mark their ball, and wanting to explain how it could have gone in if only they had done "x" instead of "y". And, depending on the course, there's nothing like watching your kids disappear into the woods convinced that there has to be some free, great, lost balls just beyond their sight when you really need to get moving. And, then, if you are truly blessed, you'll have the opportunity to stand there and admire the drive they just bombed and realizing that you are enjoying a game with your kids. And, playing better than the was never the point. Good luck with all of this.

Just wondering...would you find it interesting to watch the pros play a tournament in which each pro had to play the same equipment set up to their specs (length, loft and lie)? Of course, I suppose that they are contractually forbidden from this. But, I would imagine that for some kind of "benefit golf outing" it might be allowed. I'm guessing they would still be able to post some great scores and it would make for some interesting moments. Picture it...they all show up and have a couple hours on the range with some ultra-game improvement irons and an old Persimmon Wilson driver. I may be twisted, but I would watch. Thinking it would support the notion that it is the "indian" not the "arrow".

Got some yellow z-stars from Amazon.com...and think that the best part of using them is to bother my golfing partners on Monday. I love just messing with them from time to time. On the down side, if you enjoy the drama of walking around the dogleg and there's only one ball in the fairway - and you are walking up on it with your foursome to see if it is yours, well, the highly visible yellow will give them more time to dog you along the walk of shame.

Just pulled my Gold Flex out of the box today. Though I had shoulder surgery December 26th (torn labrum), I was able to slowly work into a decent swing path and tempo with it. My hope was confirmed that it is an easy way to increase my flexibility while doing physical rehab. and find my swing again. Haven't been able to hit since September.

So, he is either a gutless liar, a weak-willed sissy, or a guy who is getting condemned because he didn't say the right thing at the right time to reporters in the parking lot. I'm going with option 3. When he said that he wasn't in a good state of mind (or something to that effect), he didn't say why that was the case . Everyone assumes that it was because of his score. However, if he had followed his initial statement up with a description of his pain level and how it was interfering with his play, that would have been great. But, isn't the whole notion of acute pain and not being in a good state of mind explain why he didn't express himself fully and clearly in that brief moment in the parking lot? Of course, he did express himself clearly and fully (in a manner consistent with his reputation and character) but, that's not good enough - because it was from a hotel room instead of the parking lot. I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt.