Any Golfers on NT?

[eaalto]

Damn man...I went to two different Walmarts last night and all they had were the HX Hots red tagged for $18 a box, and Wilson Maximums for $3 a box.  I'll just have to keep checking back periodically.  I'll scope out a different Walmart on the way to work and see what's up.  Thanks for the info.
I really need this to happen soon because I'm running out of balls like crazy.  Joined my course and am now playing anywhere between 2x - 6x a week, and I keep losing balls.  I made it 13 holes without losing a ball yesterday though.

 

[eaalto]

Do you play with your shirt tucked in or untucked?

It's weird, but I feel like I play better with my shirt tucked in vs. untucked.

It could just be that the more I play the better I get, but I swear whenever I wear this particular polo shirt (kind of long), I always tuck it in, and I play really well when I wear it.

Shot a 90 today (really good for me) from the blue tees, and an 89 the last time I wore it from the white tees.  Shirt untucked has had recent scores of 111,105,99,92.

I only started keeping honest score recently.

 

[tee eye ehm]

This not being able to pitch and chip thing is frustrating the hell out of me! I'm hitting line drives instead of getting the ball into the air and having it land smoothly and softly!

 

[eaalto]

Originally Posted by tee eye ehm

This not being able to pitch and chip thing is frustrating the hell out of me! I'm hitting line drives instead of getting the ball into the air and having it land smoothly and softly!

http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction/article/0,28136,1565246,00.html

Address the ball with your feet together, ball in the immediate center of your stance.  Take equidistant steps out with both feet, ball still in the center of your stance.  Take the shaft parallel to the ground, and just let the clubhead fall in a smooth easy motion, with a nice easy follow through.  I use this with different lofted clubs to get consistent distances around the green.

The only other thing that might be influencing your ability to get the ball up is the bounce angle of the wedge you're using.  If you're trying to hit off of a tight fringe/fairway with a high bounce club, the leading edge might be making contact instead of the face....in that case, you can deloft the club a little bit and hit down it, should pop the ball up and give it a lot of backspin.  

 

[juicy j 32]

Hit the Ping G15 today and damn that club is solid. I'm thinking about trading in some of my old drivers, I've got a couple R7s and a Sasquatch, to see if I can drop it down from the $250 price. I might pull the trigger if I can get it for less than $125 before my trip.

How do you guys go about getting your drivers fitted for the right shaft? There are so many damn variables and I know I'm probably not maximizing my potential for the right set up. My swing speed with a driver is 94-96, my ball speed is consistently around 136-137. I'm only 5' 7" and my typical ball flight and trajectory are not high, but not low and depending on my swing either a slight draw or a push slice if I get too quick with it. Do we have any club fitting experts on here than can give me some advice?

 

[eaalto]

Originally Posted by Juicy J 32

Hit the Ping G15 today and damn that club is solid. I'm thinking about trading in some of my old drivers, I've got a couple R7s and a Sasquatch, to see if I can drop it down from the $250 price. I might pull the trigger if I can get it for less than $125 before my trip.

How do you guys go about getting your drivers fitted for the right shaft? There are so many damn variables and I know I'm probably not maximizing my potential for the right set up. My swing speed with a driver is 94-96, my ball speed is consistently around 136-137. I'm only 5' 7" and my typical ball flight and trajectory are not high, but not low and depending on my swing either a slight draw or a push slice if I get too quick with it. Do we have any club fitting experts on here than can give me some advice?

How far do you usually carry the ball?  kobe is probably the best person to talk to about shafts...
My old driver has an Aldila NV 65-S...probably better than most stock shafts, lowish torque (3.5), and a low-mid launch.  Not too light at 67 g (I can't stand lightweight shafts).  Only reason why I hated my Burner was because of how light it felt with the stock 50g shaft.

My current driver has a Diamana Whiteboard 73-x...lower torque (2.8 degrees) and a little heavier at 73 grams.  I put a really easy swing on it with my drives, not going ape after it, and 75% of the time it plays a pretty fade (260 yards).  20% of the time it just bombs in a straight line (290 yards), and then occasionally I pull it left...sometimes happens only once a round, sometimes never.  Happened on consecutive tee shots today unfortunately, and then I had 3 straight bombs on 15, 16, and 17 (bogey, par, bogey).  

What I have read is that some of the higher quality shafts will have much tighter shot dispersion...I've lined up the same shot twice and put my drives within a few feet of each other messing around, which I can definitely say didn't happen too often with the Aldila shafted driver.  

As a general rule of thumb...I figure the lower the torque the better, as it makes it easier to have a square clubface at contact, and the heavier the weight (to a limit) the better, as it makes it easier to control (for me, at least).

 

[juicy j 32]

I've got a Superfast Burner, which is I think last years model. When I hit it well I hit it straight to a slight draw that goes about 275. I might have 4 or 5 of those tee shots in a round. Other times I'll either pull it and still have it got 250+ or get quick with my swing and quit on the follow through resulting in a high nasty fade/slice.

I see what you are saying about torque and that definitely makes sense. I'm not sure where I want/should have my kick point to be. If I get the G15 I'll probably get it in 10.5*, so it would make sense to have a lower kick point for a more penetrating ball flight? My ball flight now isn't too high and it's not low either. I noticed when I hit the G15 today my ball flight was higher than my 9.5* Burner, but that's to be expected.

 

[airblaster503]

Originally Posted by Juicy J 32

I've got a Superfast Burner, which is I think last years model. When I hit it well I hit it straight to a slight draw that goes about 275. I might have 4 or 5 of those tee shots in a round. Other times I'll either pull it and still have it got 250+ or get quick with my swing and quit on the follow through resulting in a high nasty fade/slice.

I see what you are saying about torque and that definitely makes sense. I'm not sure where I want/should have my kick point to be. If I get the G15 I'll probably get it in 10.5*, so it would make sense to have a lower kick point for a more penetrating ball flight? My ball flight now isn't too high and it's not low either. I noticed when I hit the G15 today my ball flight was higher than my 9.5* Burner, but that's to be expected.

Go to a Ping fitter in your area.  After hitting the G15 last week I am strongly considering it and a fitter here has the G15 set up where I can test a few after market shafts in the head to see which seems to work best.  I really don't need a new driver since I am hitting the 983k out there about 260 carry(fairways still wet here, not sure how much roll I will get in the summer) but the G15 felt awesome.  I am pretty sure I will get a G15 3 wood for sure but have been considering the driver as well.

 

[eaalto]

It's something I've kind of been wondering about...how much better can drivers really get?  The only thing I could imagine is working towards a larger sweet spot and a higher moment of inertia so that it's more forgiving, but in terms of how far a club can hit a ball - aren't all drivers limited to a COR of .830?
The club face can only transfer so much power to the ball, so they work on ways to achieve faster swing speeds...lighter materials, more aerodynamic heads, shifted center of gravity, but at the end of the day, does it make that big of a difference?

If you hit a 983k 260 yards, I don't really see how a new driver is going to make a gigantic difference.  If you take 20 shots hit in the dead center of the sweet spot of the 983k, and 20 shots hit in the dead center of the G15, shouldn't they go the same distance with the exact same swing characteristics?  This is only with the thinking that all club faces are restricted to a COR of .830.

I can understand lighter, advanced material heads with larger sweet spots enabling golfers to swing harder and faster, but I've always thought that the equipment was on a level playing field in terms of how much energy it could impart to the ball.

Just like softball - I have an illegal softball bat because it is "too hot."  It exceeds the COR legally allowed by the ASA, it transfers too much energy to the ball.

 

[juicy j 32]

Interesting read:

[size=+2]Want Longer Drives? Become a “Launch Angle Lab Rat[/size]

 

[eaalto]

That's a good read.

I'd be curious to see what a 10.5 degree head would do to my drives...I have a low launch shaft (Whiteboard), and it gets up there plenty as it is with 9.5 degrees.  Not affected by wind at all.

 

[trueblue magic]

Any lengthy videos that focus on basics for beginners? I've been browsing through the golfchannel.com videos, but I don't like clicking through the 1-2 minute vids

 

[juicy j 32]

Magic- I'm not sure of any videos for beginners, but youtube might have something. When I first started playing golf I got like 6 lessons from this guy at a golf shop and I didn't even swing a club until the last lesson. I hated it, but looking back it was definitely the way to go. Getting your fundamentals down is crucial to building a good golf swing. The things you should focus on are the basics: grip, stance, alignment, posture, etc.

Eealto- go to like a golfsmith or another place that has launch monitors and see what the loft difference does to your carry distance and your total distance. Maybe even demo your drive in whatever higher loft options they have available and take it to a range to see for yourself. I think the thread I posted has a couple guys talking about how high professional golfers hit it and how amateurs think they hit it high, but really don't in comparison.

 

[tee eye ehm]

Originally Posted by eaalto

Originally Posted by tee eye ehm

This not being able to pitch and chip thing is frustrating the hell out of me! I'm hitting line drives instead of getting the ball into the air and having it land smoothly and softly!

http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction/article/0,28136,1565246,00.html

Address the ball with your feet together, ball in the immediate center of your stance.  Take equidistant steps out with both feet, ball still in the center of your stance.  Take the shaft parallel to the ground, and just let the clubhead fall in a smooth easy motion, with a nice easy follow through.  I use this with different lofted clubs to get consistent distances around the green.

The only other thing that might be influencing your ability to get the ball up is the bounce angle of the wedge you're using.  If you're trying to hit off of a tight fringe/fairway with a high bounce club, the leading edge might be making contact instead of the face....in that case, you can deloft the club a little bit and hit down it, should pop the ball up and give it a lot of backspin.  

Thanks man! This advice along with relaxing and smoothing out my swing exponentially helped! The practice I had today had me feeling

Any beginners check out http://www.playgolfamerica.com/ggr/ ?  Five 45min lessons for $99

PLUS, the month of May is "Free Golf Lesson" month!

 

[juicy j 32]

5 lessons for $99 is a damn steal. Highly recommended for a beginner trying to get cereal.

 

[fraij da 5 11]

Wow! My local course is on the list for the 5 lesson deal.

Edit: Looks like its for uber beginners... Ill suggest this to some friends though..

 

[solesavage]

Originally Posted by tee eye ehm

This not being able to pitch and chip thing is frustrating the hell out of me! I'm hitting line drives instead of getting the ball into the air and having it land smoothly and softly!

lol When I first started I was the complete opposite. My short game was money. I had so many pitches that went in.....I struggled with my long game, it was frustrating. I'm getting a little better now, but still my weakness.

 

[airblaster503]

Originally Posted by solesavage

Originally Posted by tee eye ehm

This not being able to pitch and chip thing is frustrating the hell out of me! I'm hitting line drives instead of getting the ball into the air and having it land smoothly and softly!

lol When I first started I was the complete opposite. My short game was money. I had so many pitches that went in.....I struggled with my long game, it was frustrating. I'm getting a little better now, but still my weakness.

Same with me, my short game used to be money when I first started, mainly because I could go out into my yard or to a school and mess around so that is what got the most practice.  Now, not so much.  I need new wedges though, left my sand wedge up against a tree at a course last week and nobody ever turned it in

and my gap is worn out.  Thinking about trying the Scratch wedges since they get alot of love over on golfwrx, plus there is a scratch golf located up here in Oregon so I can get fitted for the proper grind.  Trying to decide what lofts to get though, I have been using a 52* and a 56* but I am thinking of going to a 54* and 58*, and possibly a 50*.  Going out to play 9 today, might turn into 18 depending on how I play.  My back is @+*#++ up though from straining it in the gym 2 days ago so I might pull a Tiger and stop at the turn

.

 

[eaalto]

Originally Posted by airblaster503

Originally Posted by solesavage

Originally Posted by tee eye ehm

This not being able to pitch and chip thing is frustrating the hell out of me! I'm hitting line drives instead of getting the ball into the air and having it land smoothly and softly!

lol When I first started I was the complete opposite. My short game was money. I had so many pitches that went in.....I struggled with my long game, it was frustrating. I'm getting a little better now, but still my weakness.

Same with me, my short game used to be money when I first started, mainly because I could go out into my yard or to a school and mess around so that is what got the most practice.  Now, not so much.  I need new wedges though, left my sand wedge up against a tree at a course last week and nobody ever turned it in

and my gap is worn out.  Thinking about trying the Scratch wedges since they get alot of love over on golfwrx, plus there is a scratch golf located up here in Oregon so I can get fitted for the proper grind.  Trying to decide what lofts to get though, I have been using a 52* and a 56* but I am thinking of going to a 54* and 58*, and possibly a 50*.  Going out to play 9 today, might turn into 18 depending on how I play.  My back is @+*#++ up though from straining it in the gym 2 days ago so I might pull a Tiger and stop at the turn

.

Golfsmith was having a pretty big clearance on CG14 wedges...1 for 89.99, 2 for 159.99, 3 for 219.99?
 
Also....why not carry a 52, 56, and a 60?   3 wedges would probably do more for your game.  What does your bag look like?

I personally took my 6 iron out so I can play another wedge, because I figure I'm going to create more scoring opportunities with an extra wedge than I would with a 6 iron.   

 

[airblaster503]

Originally Posted by eaalto

Originally Posted by airblaster503

Originally Posted by solesavage


lol When I first started I was the complete opposite. My short game was money. I had so many pitches that went in.....I struggled with my long game, it was frustrating. I'm getting a little better now, but still my weakness.

Same with me, my short game used to be money when I first started, mainly because I could go out into my yard or to a school and mess around so that is what got the most practice.  Now, not so much.  I need new wedges though, left my sand wedge up against a tree at a course last week and nobody ever turned it in

and my gap is worn out.  Thinking about trying the Scratch wedges since they get alot of love over on golfwrx, plus there is a scratch golf located up here in Oregon so I can get fitted for the proper grind.  Trying to decide what lofts to get though, I have been using a 52* and a 56* but I am thinking of going to a 54* and 58*, and possibly a 50*.  Going out to play 9 today, might turn into 18 depending on how I play.  My back is @+*#++ up though from straining it in the gym 2 days ago so I might pull a Tiger and stop at the turn

.

Golfsmith was having a pretty big clearance on CG14 wedges...1 for 89.99, 2 for 159.99, 3 for 219.99?
 
Also....why not carry a 52, 56, and a 60?   3 wedges would probably do more for your game.  What does your bag look like?

I personally took my 6 iron out so I can play another wedge, because I figure I'm going to create more scoring opportunities with an extra wedge than I would with a 6 iron.   

Right now I am playing a Driver, 3 wood, and 3-PW and Gap wedge, and putter.  So I have room for 2 more wedges so I will probably get a 56 and 60.  Have been thinking about getting a hybrid but I like my 3 iron and have considered getting a 4 wood instead of a 3 wood, which would eliminate that need so I would have room for the 60.

Just played 9, had 2 triples and a double through the first 3

.  Closed out the rest with 3 bogeys, and went par, birdie, par.  The birdie I sliced the hell out of a drive and ended up about 170 yards from the middle of the green in a adjacent fairway, pulled out my 6 iron and hit it to about 5 feet

Best shot in a while definitely.  What is your bag looking like? It seems weird to me that someone would pull their 6 out of their bag instead of a longer iron.

 

[fraij da 5 11]

I play:

Driver
3&5 wood
3 hybrid
5-pw
52* and 60* wedges
Putter


Waiting on a deal on a 56* wedge... Rock bottom has some call away wedges for 59 right now... Not shire how those clubs measure up though

 

[eaalto]

Well for a while I was playing 17-18 clubs, but I'm trying to play by the rules, so I cut that.
My bag used to be: Driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, hybrid, 4 - 9, 48, 52, 53, 56, 56, 60.

One 56 is high bounce (I use in the sand and deep rough), and one is low bounce, which I use off the fairway and fringe.

To meet the 14 club limit, I dropped the 5 wood and hybrid, and pulled the 53 degree wedge.

I have been reading this book by Dave Pelz, and I actually got the suggestion from there.  Most sets of clubs provide roughly 12 clubs for distances between 300 and 100 yards - driver, 3 wood, 3 - PW.  So you have 12 clubs for a range of 200 yards.  From 100 yards to about 15 yards, most sets provide you with one club, usually a sand wedge.  For the last 15 or so yards, when you're on the green - where nearly half the game is played, you get one club, the putter.  Put another way - 12 clubs for the power game, one club for the short game, and one club for the putting game.

Then he goes over the frequency of shots hit by club per round:

The wood clubs hit 20-25% of the shots, 9 or 10 power swing irons hit 15-20% of the shots, one wedge hits about 15% of the shots, and one club, the putter, hits 43% of the shoes.  So we have 2 clubs to handle 55-65% of all our shots in a round, and when concerned with scoring, it's even more serious because these two clubs account for almost 80% of all shots lost to par.

The idea behind deleting a power iron is that it will have no impact on your ability to score.  According to his statistics, players seldom hit their long irons straight enough to make their next putts, and that no matter how many long irons are in the bag, no golfer averages getting up and down from outside 100 yards more than 10% of the time.  

I know that I hit my 5 iron around 190 yards.  I hit my 6 iron around 170-180, and my 7 iron 160-170.  If I need to hit a yardage gap in between, I either choke up on the 5 iron and finesse it, or really hammer a 7 iron.   Scores likely won't change because you wouldn't have hit the perfect 6 iron sufficiently closer than the soft 5 or strong 7 to make the next putt - which is what scoring is all about - getting the ball in the range close enough to the hole where you make the most putts.  2 - 8 foot putts get made 50% of the time, beyond 8 feet is drastically less.  

He presents a challenge - to remove every other iron from your bag - and only play with 10 clubs.  Remove 2 4 6 8, play with 3 5 7 9 for all your power swings.  If you have to hit the distance you usually hit the 6, lay off the 5 or lean on the 7.  Keep track of your next 10 scores, and he bets that you won't see a noticeable difference if you change nothing else about your game.

I think it makes perfect sense, because I rarely play my irons so perfectly that I hit every green in regulation.  My wedges are far easier to control than my irons, and I would rather have more weapons to attack the pin than fewer.

I am planning to track my club usage the next couple rounds, to see how frequently I use certain clubs in my bag.

At minimum I always track my # of putts - the last 2 rounds I have taken 32 putts, and scored 92/90 respectively.

As for yardages...

Driver: 250-290 yards

3 Wood: 230-270 yards

4 Iron: 200 - 225 yards

5 Iron: 180-200 yards

6 iron: 170-180

7 iron: 160-170

8 iron: 150-160

9 iron: 135-140

48W: 115

52W: 100

53W: 95-100

56W low bounce:80-90 full swing, 60 3/4 swing, and 30 yard finesse shots

56W high bounce: same distances, just out of sand and rough...this club has been money for me

60W: I use this for finesse shots around the green only.

Putter: whatever I need to hit.

I'm not too worried about having some inconsistent yardage in the 170-180 yard range because the % of the time that I get up and down from that distance is less than 5%.  

I really like using the 52/53 for bump and run chip shots around the green.  I choke up on the club and angle it so that the toe is making contact, and then make a putting stroke with it.  It gets the ball up nicely with spin, checks, and rolls out.  Really good for playing tricky breaks off the fringe.

Anyway - short game is where you win the game, not off the tee.  I played with a guy, and consistently out drove him by 20-30 yards on every hole.  He hit the pin at least 4 times from within 50 yards, and every single sand trap he played around the green, he got up and down, without question.  He beat me by 25 strokes.  He didn't beat me by 25 strokes off the tee, he beat me by 25 strokes within 100 yards of the green.

 

[eaalto]

I hate NT.. I typed out a damn essay, and it didn't post because I refreshed too fast.  So lame.
I spent 20 minutes writing it.

Long story short, I'm not worried about a 20 yard gap between 180-160 yards.  No one consistently gets up and down from more than 100 yards away from the green.  It just doesn't happen.  The majority of shots lost to par happen within 100 yards.  Having more wedges helps improve your chances of hitting shots that help you make your next putt, which is how you score.  You hit your putter and and wedges almost 50% of the time, so why not have more clubs to utilize for the shots you hit the most?

I have 9 clubs to manage distances between 300 and 100 yards, and 5 clubs to manage distances from 100 yards and in.  By removing my 6 iron and adding another wedge, I now have 8 and 6.  

I very rarely find myself in a position where I'm hitting more than 200 yards for my second shot.  If it's on a par 5, I would rather make an accurate lay up with an 8 iron than go for the green with a 5 iron.  I leave myself with a 50+ foot putt if I HAPPEN to hit the green, or I have a chance to get within 10 feet from 50 yards out.  I am much more likely to put myself in a scoring position with a wedge from 50 yards than a 5 iron from 200.  Play to your percentages.

 

[fraij da 5 11]

Going to get fitted for a new driver or at least to get my S9-1 reshafted...

Gonna see if maybe my problem with the driver is that the shaft is too long or maybe I should be hitting a R flex instead of a Stiff.

I was hitting my 3 wood 230ish the other day at the course... Almost reached a shorter par 5 in 2... Ended up with a downhill 40 footer for birdie. Only my 2nd time playing this year.. The first course I played at had

greens the grass was long and terribly uneven. I guess thats what you get for 18 with a cart for $25.... Anyways It was great putting on some real greens... Made some quality putts.

 

[juicy j 32]

Was +3 through on 15 holes yesterday. One bogey, one double, and 13 pars. Best I've scored in a loooong time. First time I played all week too, I've just been going to the range and working on my swing this week.