Old1964

Sure wish Golf could rise above the current drama-based approach to human events. Now, many are treating Rory like he is a lying politician or a spoiled trust fund baby. I think that they should give him the benefit of the doubt - isn't golf about honor and integrity? Doesn't he have an established reputation as a credible, disciplined, and trustworthy guy? Thought I saw him making some faces which would support his comments about pain from the wisdom tooth. That he was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on 18 doesn't conflict with his post. That he didn't say anything specific about it to his playing partners is unfortunate. But, I would think that he was suffering physically and stressed out about how bad it had affected his game and the fallout of leaving before the round was finished. At any rate, hope the announcers get off this and focus on the accomplishments on the course, especially for the leader.

Need distance...while doing all the above...why not just take one more club?

There are many, many good irons that will do the job. mp 69's by Mizzuno ap2's by Titlest Both give you some forgiveness and feel really good. Of course, my friend loves his Pings - i20's. He played the s56 irons for a season - looked at the Ping Anser irons before getting the i20's. He is considerably shorter than I am and plays with a 2 degree down swing plane - where I am plus 1 inch and 2 degrees upright - so I hit his 6 irons some - they are a nice club. For me the shaft is what made a huge difference. I got to hit several different clubs with different shafts after having gone through the fitting process with a shaft analyzer. I was amazed how the shaft seemed to make a huge difference whereas the brand of iron not so much. Enjoy shopping for new clubs. For me, it is a rare thing. I expect to play my 59's for a long time, probably until I need to do something different due to old age and failing health.

Phelps is finishing up filming of the Golf Channel reality series "The Haney Project." Phelps and golf coach Hank Haney have spent the last few months trying to tune up the 27-year-old's game. http://summergames.ap.org/reporternews/article/michael-phelps-has-his-eye-golf-not-gold Hope it is entertaining Monday night. It's really cold up here in Michigan and could use a good laugh!

Having watched a few episodes of the Haney Project with Charles Barkley and Ray Romano, it was obvious that Haney had some special challenges. Barkely was out of shape and battled his notorious glitch. Romano was preoccupied with work, not practicing and was providing the "entertainment value" that the producer's surely had in mind. However, with Phelps as his student, he has a young, fit, (and sometimes very mellow) coordinated ultra athlete. Haney shortened his back swing and then revealed the key making quick improvements - stand there and give him 100 good swings after batting balls for a couple of hours. Interestingly, he never says what makes those 100 swings "good". I am convinced that he would be better served by iacas and mvmac and 5 Simple Keys. What kind of results do you think Phelps is going to experience? How much of an improvement do you think we will see over the course of the show?

Having taken many younger ones to the golf range, I can tell you what I have come to understand. The younger ones are predominantly drawn to that which provides more immediate pleasure. Video games require a few hours to learn and provide dozens of hours of enjoyment each week. Most haven't hit a golf ball in their life, and those that do feel like losers. They can play video games on the internet and talk to people around the globe - team up with people and play competitively without leaving their dorm room, shared apartment, or parent's house. If they start a game and have a bad start, they just hit restart. They don't walk for hours and suffer through a frustrating round. When they start to hit some balls on the range, they are shocked to drop $6 on a bucket and not feel good about their performance. They grew up getting ribbons and trophies for showing up for soccer games and the like. In golf they are fully exposed and psychologically unprepared for the rush of feelings when they hit a couple of balls okay and then shank five in a row. My four children participated in the junior golf program and enjoyed it. But with the economics of the situation, they are/have poured all their finances into college expenses.

Anyone try hitting one square from a greenside bunker? By that, I mean, not opening up one's stance or laying the blade wide open?

For distance control...what do you think about increasing or decreasing your backswing...kind of like the dial on a clock...8 o'clock is 15 yards, 9 is 20 etc...

Tot Hill Farm http://affordablegolfdesign.blogspot.com/2012/11/tot-hill-farm-golf-golf-club-asheville.htm http://www.tothillfarm.com 6541 yards 72.1/144 Lot of surprises, especially when you are stopping by and playing without an experienced playing partner. Special Bonus: A super crusty course marshall (think Jack Palance from City Slickers).

Missed Mahan and Poulter playing. Here's a link that describes the hole-by-hole spanking that Mahan gave him. mini-rant: And to think, this, after the glorious build up of Poulter yesterday that made him sound like an undefeated gladiator! One announcer said, well, "If he's so good, why hasn't he got more than 2 wins on the PGA?" The other said that he didn't think Poulter could stay focused long enough for a four-day match. Sigh. http://golfweek.com/news/2013/feb/24/how-it-happened-mahan-beats-poulter-match-play/

I'm sorry. I was distracted by all the CAPS! What was your point? You loved your i10's and you play i20's and you can't understand why anyone would want to play them when there are better clubs on the market. Okay. You are not alone in that opinion. Knob = Noob? Newbie? Someone new to the game?

Good one. I'll bet you even Shane Lowry is surprised by how it is going thus far.

Well, the good news is that you are hitting towards the heel not the toe. Lots of golfers seem to struggle with shots off the toe. Possibilities... 1. Weight is shifting to your toes when you are swinging. 2. You are swinging too far to the outside when you are coming into the ball. 3. Your arms are swinging around your body (like a baseball swing) too much. 4. Your posture is collapsing in your downswing. Of course, I have no idea. If you could post a video - even with a smart phone - there are lots of great teachers who could help you.

Me too! Never had a problem with them. $25 a glove...

With my back problems, I am prone to start taking it back too far to the inside. That's all it takes for me to develop a cute hook

Some amazing golf today...some not so amazing. Does anyone know where the actual scores were posted from today's match play? On a side note -- Stricker turns 46 tomorrow and all the talk about how old he is makes me laugh. On a really side note -- Bubba and Furyk playing mediocre golf for 22 holes...well, it was agonizing. Someone posted about Bubba's need to get some help putting - today reflected the truth of that statement. Missed four short putts? O my.

Toss the putter. Putt with your 4 iron. Or... Toss your 4 iron. Seriously...you should be able to choke down on the 3 hybrid ... or hood your putter if you need some extra distance.

I witnessed two ... on the same hole ... (137 over water) about a year apart by two of my Monday morning foursome. One regularly shoots about 88-90. Retired business administrator. The other shoots in the 100's. Retired John Deere store manager. Of course the other member of our foursome got his in Hilton Head. Retired plumber. *********************I think the key is that they are all " Retired " As for Golf Not Being Fair. I agree. Of course, I give strokes to my friends like Obama gives grants to green energy startups. They tell me that I will get my ace when my game improves. Possibly.

Agreed. Wonder if mvmac thinks that he has the 5 simple keys down?

The indoor version of knitting needles and string?

Congrats on the new irons. You can check out this link in our forums - it will give you some more to consider. http://thesandtrap.com/t/55905/shafts-and-swing-speed/0_50 From what you said about your swing speed, the regular shafts should be the best match. I suspect that is why the Ping irons played better for you. The other thing to keep in mind is that when we try to get fit for clubs, you don't want to see how fast you can swing as that is not the way anyone plays. Most people have a sense of how fast they could swing, but in order to have more consistency they only swing about 80% of that. It is more repeatable, less likely to cause injury, and more easy to control. You can't go wrong with well fit Ping irons. Their fitting system is one of the best and their irons, while not shiny and covered with rubber logos or speed slots, are brilliantly designed. *Though I don't know anything about graphite shafts on irons - as I haven't come to that point in my life, it dawns on me that your swing speed and budget might allow you the opportunity for a set of graphite shafts. They lighten the overall club weight, but usually give a person a truer feel for where the club head is at during the swing. You might really these. My golf partner has G20 irons with graphite shafts - hits his 7 iron about 145 and loves them. They took about 4 strokes off of his average score!

Have you had your swing checked with a shaft analyzer? Something that is used by the computer to measure your speed, transition, and recommend a kick point? I congratulate you for sounding very thoughtful in your thinking. Lots of people just want a new, expensive, shiny driver thinking that will fix things. Of course, the angle of attack is key. And, like most golfers you are going to struggle to be consistent with the longest club in the bag. So, I would do the shaft analyzer to make sure you are using a shaft that fits your swing. And, second, get some help with developing a swing path that isn't too steep. That my 2 cents worth. Let us know how it turns out for you.

Well good luck to you with these clubs. I played a round with a set of Cleveland Launcher hybrid sets. It was almost impossible to not have good ball contact and good ball flight with them though I was at a loss to control the distance. Who knows? Maybe the distance control would have come with some practice. For me it was a curiosity. Enjoy the new sticks. Cause, some day you will be wanting to replace them.

I am not aware of any way to clean off the "pop-up" marks. The paint is scuffed. At this point, people have talked about using some polishing compound to minimize the scuff. Others go so far as to have it painted. On the other end of the spectrum, you can just get a few stickers and no one will know.