Been waiting for this to get bumped. It's soul searching time.

Almost 30, been playing for over 20 years, married, kids, 4 rounds in a summer is a lot of golf for me anymore. However, even though I rarely play, I can still go out and shoot mid 90s like it's my job. Not like that's an accomplishment, but let me break it down.

12 or 13 bogeys
1 or 2 doubles
3 or 4 pars/birdies
2 or 3 abominations (8+)

That's been my average round for the past 7 or so years, I'm going tomorrow morning for the first time this year, and I will bet money that's what it will look like. So I get it, I'm not real good, but I don't embarrass myself either, mostly because I don't take it seriously, and I play with guys like me.

That said, I'd love to break 90 once, and then do it consistently.

How?

I'm playing with 11 year old knock off Callaways, and an 11 year old Taylor Made driver. I am tempted to get some new clubs, because I need them, my 6 iron has about a dime sized divot on the bottom, they're just old. But I'm also not foolish enough to think that new clubs are going to shave 6 or 7 strokes off my game.

If I can just turn my abomination holes into doubles that's 6 or 7 strokes right there. But how?

New clubs?
More consistency with my approach to each swing?
More concentration (i.e. take it a little more seriously)?
Buck up and find the time to play 3 or 4 rounds a month for the next few months and see how it goes?
New shoes?
Take a lesson?

Have you been here before and improved? Or should I accept my lot in life and be happy with the fact that I can go out and not completely embarrass myself?

I'm playing a Cleveland Classic Driver with the C. Kua 59x shaft and a set of MP-14 Irons with true temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts, with fairly new grips. T-Zoid fairway woods with the same shafts as the irons. They're the same year as the MP-14s. Old. I hit a 5 wood off the ground and there's a 3 wood I use as a driving club. It has minimal loft for a 3 wood but I can't tell you the degree. 13 degrees? And a Rosa Putter or an old Ping Zing 2.

I badly need to find some new fairway clubs I like.

Phil,

Try the Exotics line from Tour Edge. They are insanely long. The XCG model is more forgiving. The head is a little large, but you can still elevate the ball from a tight lie with them. The CB models are far more workable, with smaller heads, but tougher to hit.

They all have Ti faces, so they're super hot and they come with really nice stock shafts.

You should be able to find good deals for the XCG-5s now that they've been discontinued.

Ping's I series of fairway woods are really easy to get off the deck. The i15 was almost too shallow though, and as a result, wasn't a very good driving club. The i20, G20, and G15 were all solid, all-purpose fairways.

The Adams XTD line are preposterously long, but expensive, and they've had some quality control issues with a weight flying out of the sole.

A hidden gem: Mizuno's MP Titanium or MP 650. The MP 650 actually sits a little open, has a compact, all-Ti head, and is a workable rocket launcher.

The bottom line, is you have to play more to get the feel especially for chipping/putting. If you can consistently play in the mid 90's for someone who plays 4-5 times per year, I consider that pretty good.

I have been there and pretty much still am at mid 40's. I play with younger guys who are less consistent and it's basically because they havent played much.

I have had many sub 90 rounds, low to mid 80's and I consider that to be the best I can play given the number of times I play per year.

New clubs help but I have found it's more mental than anything else. The *one* thing I found to really help was to chip around in my back yard and just get used to the short shots 5-10 or so yards and get a good feel for your short iron be it sand wedge or pitching wedge and get confident. If you can chip close to the pin, it saves you several strokes putting less.

I look at it this way...on a par 72 course, if you shoot bogey golf, that's 90...or shoot a 5 on each hole, that's 90. Bogey golf for a 'duffer' or someone who plays as infrequently as you or I do, is pretty good.

If you want to shoot bogey golf the best thing you can do is work on your short game. In the winter months or on rainy days try the following:

Find the shortest, smoothest carpet in your house and place a dime on the floor. Practice rolling putts over the dime. If it doesn't hit the dime, it's a miss. Practice straight putts inside of five feet and when you hit them have another club parallel to the line formed by your feet.

If you groove a consistent set-up where you are square to the target and become nearly automatic inside of five feet you'll shave more strokes off your score than with any swing tip.

Awesome, two solid advice posts in a row, both highlighting short game. I know that's where you save strokes, and I do probably 3 putt more than I 2 putt, so it could use some work.

I never take the time to work on it at home, either inside or out in the back yard. I'll try to do that and maybe try to play a little more this year and see what happens.

I've been checking out those Tour Edge XCG 5 drivers, they're going for $160 on Amazon right now. Do you like those as well as the fairway woods?

Masters coming up soon.... who ya got?

I have to go with Tiger. He's been on fire so far this season.

I hope so, I've always been a "Tiger" guy, since he came on the scene. I hope he can get back to winning majors and really challenge Jack's record. It does suck that he can win 3 or 4 lesser tournaments per year and no one really cares anymore. If he doesn't get that major monkey off his back soon, I fear he won't really challenge for the record.

I guess I should surf that stuff up. The Pings are the White ones? LOL

the short game is where you really save stokes...If you think a driver will help your approach or putting it in the fairway, it cannot hurt. Get a driver that you feel confident in and grip and rip. If your in the fairway and have a good approach, you are ahead of the game. If you miss the green consistently, work on a mid iron at the range to get consistent.

Short of that, work the short game...remember... if you can do no more than 5 strokes per hole, you're shooting 90.

Bottom line, though, have fun...nothing better than golf and friends on a good day on the course regardless of score.

The TEE drivers never receive quite as much love as the fairways. I've never hit one, so I can't give a first-hand account, but the consensus is that they are a solid club.

I can't say enough good things about my G20; it's long and forgiving, and you should be able to find new ones on eBay for $150 by now. You'd pay $199 in shop due to Ping's pricing requirements w/ retailers.

---------------------

If you ever have time to work on your putting at the course, try the following drill:

Find a cup on a flat spot. Take six balls and space them around the cup evenly at three feet. Since your putter is almost always 34-36", you've got a measuring stick. Practice going around the clock, sinking every ball. If you miss one, pull all the balls out and start again.

As you get better you can add additional layers of difficulty to the drill. Make yourself complete it twice, three times, and so on.

Once you become really good at it, add a second circle of balls at 5-6 feet.

Another thing; All golfers should have a club they feel confident in from the fairway. Whether it's a five wood or hybrid, find something that you can use as a security blanket, develop an intimate relationship with it, and lean on it whenever you're in trouble.

Drivers: TM R11s with RIP Alpha 60 shaft. Nike VR-s driver with Diamana 'Ahina 70. Course testing these both for the next month or so.

3W: Rocketballz 14.5 with RIP Beta.

3H/4H: TM Rescue 11 - 18* and 21* both with RIP Alpha hybrid shafts.

5-PW: Mizuno JPX 800 Pro with Dynamic Gold X100's soft stepped once.

Wedges: Vokey spin milled in 50-55-60.

Putter: 2012 Scotty Cameron California Monterrey.

Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV.

Driver: Titleist 983 E
Driver2: Titleist 983 K
3wood: Titleist 980f
5wood: Titleist 980f
Irons: Hogan Apex Edge 2-P
Wedge: Titleist vokey 56 degree
Putter: Odessy white hot Rossie
Putter2: ping model 1 A
Gap wedge is Cleveland but gets no play because I can't hit that thing for shit

My gear is waaay outdated lol

I had thought they were banning anchoring of putters but apparently not yet.

My current bag:

Rapture 9.5* - Aldila VS 65-S
Taylor Made R-7 15* - Mitsubish Blue Board stiff
Adams Pro Gold 20* hybrid with Matrix Ozik stiff
Callaway X-22 Tour 4-PW - Project-X 5.5
Cleveland 588 RTG 52*
Titleist Vokey 56*
Titleist Vokey 60*
Scotty Cameron Red X putter

I haven't changed anything in the past two seasons but looking at getting a new driver at some point. I really like the new Titleist 913D3 with Aldila RIP alpha 60 but not really loving the idea paying the price for the latest model. Also considering the 910D3 with the same shaft mostly because its about $200 less.

Budget Golf occasionally runs bizarre sales that you can apply to Titleist gear (even though it's against policy). A number of guys got 20% off of the 913 shortly after it came out. That would be a savings of 80 bucks.

Other Questions:

1. What bounce do you have on your wedges? The soil in Mid-Missouri is notoriously hard (all clay, hence the former brick production here), so my sand and lob wedges have 4* of bounce

2. What ball do you play?

I prefer the B330 (10+ yards longer than a Pro V1 for me), but Srixon makes a damned good ball as well.

A note of warning to the n00bish golfers on here: Do not ever buy refurbished balls. Recycled balls that have been lost are fine, but refurbs are almost always repainted mush melons.

Thanks for the tip.

Meant to ask you this morning - are you happy with your 8620's? My Vokey's only have a season left on them, and I'm thinking of replacing them with the 8620's or the 1018 forged.

http://www.mygolfspy.com/touredge-xcg5-driver-review/

Found this good and thorough review last night. The guy writing it up liked the XCG - 5 driver, more than the other guys that helped test it. In the end he thought it was a more accurate, than long driver. That would be good for me, but I'd like to hit one first, and can't seem to locate one anywhere.

The 8620 is the most ridiculously ****ing long wedge I have ever hit in my life.

I can step on the 60* and get it out to 90 yards. Stock 56 goes about 105. I hit my Vokey 60.04 about 70 yards.

The heads are very small, and will take some getting used to, but the feel is fine.

One thing I will say. It's almost hard for me to hit knockdowns because they are so long and crisp off the face. I was hitting 3/4 56s 95 yards yesterday when I was trying to hit it at the 70 yard target.

Some of that is rust, but still...uber long.

1) I prefer a lot of bounce on wedges. 14* on my 56 and 12 on my 60*. I tend to have a dig swing with wedges so I prefer the bounce on tight lies.

2) I tend to play what I find unless I'm striking the ball well. Then any tour spin ball will do. I do like the Bridgstone tour ball as well but see no major differences in most of the tour balls.

I don't buy new balls either. Haven't paid for a sleeve of balls since 2005.

The Titlest Vokeys with the spin milled faces are easily the best wedges I have played. Very well balanced.

Probably been since the late 90's that I have bought balls that were not a gift for someone else. Some Titest Professionals and loved them back in the day.

I would have expected that from the 1018's, being forged and all. Hit a forged club on the button, and you see some insane distance.

Wouldn't have expected that from the 8620's, since they are cast.

I've head they have a similar shape to the Vokeys, so the smaller head may not be much of an issue for me. Problem is, no one carries them, so I'm going to have to take a chance on them.

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My favorite weekend in golf by far. Really looking forward to seeing the tourney this year. If somehow, someway, Freddy Couples can win this thing, I will cry like a little girl.

Mine is the Ryder Cup (though that may not count since it doesn't happen every year) but I do enjoy watching The Masters.

I pretty much watch every shot of every major, but I am completely uninterested in the Ryder Cup.

So how far do you hit your PW on a regular basis?

Driver: Callaway FT-i9
Fairway 3: Callaway FT-iz
Hybrids: Bobby Jones 21, 25, 30
Irons: Ping G5 5-9,P, S or Gigagolf Verve 5-9
Secondary Wedges: Gigagolf SGS 52/56/60
Putter: Odyssey Teron
Ball: Srixon Soft-Feel

My first good set after a 15 year layoff was the Ping G5's. A buddy of mine told me about Gigagolf, and I figured I'd give them a try. I didn't know if I wanted to drop a lot of cash on a set of G15's or G20's, so I spec'd out a set of their Verves with graphite shafts and Lamkin mid-size grips. I'm a high-handicap (16) player, so I'm better off spending my money on lessons that equipment. One thing I do like about the Gigagolf sets is their price, and they customize for height, so it makes for a nice option for my kids. I fixed all of my kids up, and my son is only 11, so he'll probably need another set in another year.

I did swap out my putter grip this last week. A buddy of mine has gone to a jumbo grip, and I thought it felt pretty good, so I'm trying a Fatso on one of my Odyssey Terons.

120-5

Although the best score of the day was a 66, the true lead is about -4.

Tiger finishes a ho hum round of 70, the cup spitter is at -5 through 10, McIlroy is -2 through 8, and Mickelson is at +2 but just hit a 60 yard slice with a mid iron from the pine straw to an elevated green with a false front (9).

Freddy!

And Phil drops his fourth birdie in five holes to move into the discussion.

Aside from the trash at -6, it's a great leaderboard.

The trash at -6 won't be there by Sat afternoon. As usual, they'll fade.


I hope Sergio stays up there tho.

137-139 aggregate will be a good place to be after two rounds.

Yeah, although todays scoring conditions were pretty perfect.

I haven't looked at tomorrows forecast, but IIRC they are supposed to/getting rain tonight so it will probably play soft tomorrow. Thats a really long course that could get a whole lot longer if it plays that wet.

But, they have the "machine" greens, which is the coolest shit ever, so they will be ok.

I think you are about right in your score though. 7 or 8 under would be ideal, but I think the leaders after tomrrow will be 6.

Guys with early tee times tomorrow will likely get the best of it. Yeah, it will play long, but it will also take the severity out of the slopes of the greens, which is still the golf course's greatest defense.

As long as they don't get a deluge the SubAir system should handle it pretty well. There might be winds picking up later in the day, which adds the obvious wind component and drier greens as well.

I'd bet on -8 leading after tomorrow.

Yep.

I don't know if you've ever been there, but one can't comprehend by the TV how diabolical the greens are and how hilly that golf course is. It's pretty crazy.

They've added so much length to it, it's getting kinda crazy. Those greens aren't built to be approached with long irons and hybrids. There are shelves that you can barely get lofted clubs on much less a 5 iron from 225.

Although they have remodeled some of the greens to better accept those, it's still crazy. The moisture will help that alot though, so I could see the scoring be a bit better, but I don't know that it will get to -8.

Not sure players respond well to slower greens at Augusta. Seem to give them too much respect

The PGA wants them to play really quick, but the moisture is gonna inhibit that a bit, but they'll suck the water off pretty quick.

Sneaky feeling that Kuchar is going to make some noise this week. Course sets up perfect for his flat draw.

Never been lucky enough to go there. Still, as hilly as the course is and undulating as the greens are, the players hit the ball so damned far now that even a 7500 yard Augusta plays like a 6800 yard Augusta from 16 years ago.

They do hit it, but it's still a monster. It just doesn't have the teeth when the greens aren't slick.


The thing you really can't see on tv, is that they hardly ever have an even lie. It's always some undulation somewhere, sidehill downhill etc.

It you've never been, I would highly recommend it. They have the drawing every year, which is worth it.

I've been 3 times. It's remarkable. And really cheap once you get inside the gates.

:spock:

That's the worst shot you can hit at Augusta. A high cut is always the preferred shot because it clears the slopes and lands on the greens much softer.

That draw will give him length on 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 15, but it won't help him on any approach shot.

Thirteen is the only tee shot on the course that demands a right-to-left ball flight. The greens on 1, 2, 3 (lesser extent due to its length), 7, 8, 9, 12, 15, 17, and 18 don't hold a draw very well.

Would love to see Mickelson blow another. His meltdowns have been classics

A high fade is a soft shot, but the preferred shot at Augusta is a high draw of the tee.

You can't draw it off 11 anymore, they added more trees down the left to keep from cutting the corner, you have to fade it off that tee, draw it to the green.

Alot of the par 4's you don't really have to work it, with the hills you get length either way and their somewhat straight away.

But the greens there are so receptive, because they are infact perfect, that you can hold them working it either way. It's pretty nuts actually, we watched some guys fade it to a left pin because of the slope, which is bassakwards, but there are so many side boards and slopes that it's mostly coarse knowledge.

Augusta is a second shot golf course. It always has been, because you can spray it anywhere off the tee and usually be in play.

As good as those guys are, most cannot hit high draws all day with their driver and change to a cut swing for their irons and have it be repeatable.

It's not a coincidence that the guys with the most sustained success at Augusta have hit a high cut.

Look at the guys who challenge there year after year now:

Tiger: High cut
Phil: High cut
Freddy: High cut

That's not to mention the most successful of all, Jack Nicklaus.

Eh, you can't attack pins from anywhere. In play? Sure. Attack? No, not there.

Most of the guys now, with new style technology, don't work the ball. At all. Mostly because you can't curve newer golf balls like you used to be able too. They mostly have a preferred shape and stay the course with it.

But they can work it. The guys with sustained success at Augusta are great players. They'd contend anywhere. Save Freddy who actually draws the ball more often.

Phil's high cut fits the coarse pretty perfectly, but he's to sloppy on the greens. He should have more success there, but he's a headcase.

Augusta has always been and will always be about the putter.

You're overlooking a few crucial pieces of evidence: Putts/GIR and Total Putts are also a function of ball striking, especially at a course like Augusta. If you're above the hole on 9 or 4, good luck. Same thing if you hit it in the wrong swale on 14 or 16. You may have a putt at it, but it's not going anywhere close. Do that enough and it will look like your putting is shit even though it's your ball striking that is ****ing you over.

Yeah you have to execute putts and you don't get a lot of kick-ins, but the targets for the greens are incredibly small.

As far as Phil is concerned, he's won three of his four majors there, and finished in the top 10 14/18 times since '95, including ten top 3s. Only two golfers have ever had more sustained success at Augusta: Tiger and Jack (Palmer won one more, but he didn't put up T3s almost every other year).

Yeah, you have to get it there to make putts. But at that level, in a major, ball striking wise there isn't a whole lot of difference at the top of the leader board. You dont get there hitting it like an ass.

There just aren't straight putts at Augusta, anywhere. No 3 footers, nothing. Even if you hit the landing areas that are about the size of a Queen bed or smaller (hole 4 with a front pin, or 16's middle right) and are within 15 feet you, it's still an extremely hard put.

The hardest green there, IMO, is 14 or 17. There video game looking.

I was talking more of Phils inability to close the deal there. He always contends, it's a given.

It's all a chicken and egg story, in regards to GIR, putts, fairways. Better position off the tee, easier shot to green, easier shot to green easier chacne to have easier putt. Easier putt, less putts.

It's really hard to say a guy is putting bad without looking at the whole picture.

I also think the length there has increased the need to hit fairways. Like you said, you can't really come out of the longer fairway, (there is no rough at Augusta, it's perfect) and control your ball on those greens.

And Hamas, if you ever get a chance to go, drive down. Play the Robert Trent Jones trail on your way down and back.

It's awesoem.

I hope Tiger loses. Sick of CBS pimping him in every commercial.

Gary Player's record at Augusta isn't too shabby.

This. Today will be different I think, but who knows how it will work for them.

Dustin Johnson is my pick. Pulling for Sergio.

My son has taken up golf competitively so I built this in our back yard. It all comes down to chipping and putting for the scores. Makes me sick how hard he can swing. Averages 260 on his drives with some 300 yard wind-assisted ones.

But the scoring is around the greens where 70% of the shots are hit.

Just going on record, F Sergio & F Phil...

Now thats out of the way, looked up Tom Watson on the Masters website yesterday. His longest drive was 286 & the fields was 354. Wow!

Looks like it's playing difficult this morning. Still early though.

What did you use to construct the green if you don't mind sharing. I would love to make a putting green like that some day

1. DJ can't control his distances well enough within 150 yards and his short game is too spotty to score consistently on this course.

2. What kind of ****ing scumbag would root for Sergio Garcia in anything other than a dead pool?

Neither is Nick Faldo's, but 10 top 3s> six.

:clap:

& I'll :clap: the :clap:

Ha ha - ol man boobs is imploding!

As expected, DJ and Garcia completely disintegrated. Mickelson also shot himself out of the tournament with an absolutely atrocious seven hole stretch.

I shudder to think of a Masters weekend following around a golfer with a game as banal as Jim Furyk.

:clap:

The green itself is a nylon turf. Read about it here: www.artificialturfsupply.com

The underlayment is where the work is. There's 8 tons of rock under that thing. Seemed excessive but we've already had some torrential downpours here in FL and it drained off like a champ. We love it. I plan on holding a draft party while we putt around the green.

Guan gets first slow-play penalty in a major since 2004.

John Paramour is probably old enough to remember yelling at 14-year-old Chinese boys to hurry up laying down that railroad track. Instinct just kicked in.

Yeah the kid DOES play really slow but damn, he's just a kid. Hope he makes the cut.

Sergio Garcia

Uh oh, here comes tiger!

Furyk with a shank from 75 yards out. Ouch.

Shit , I do that all the time & don't even get paid for it!

Part of you feels bad because he's a kid, but slow play is an epidemic and it's one of the things that causes declining participation in golf; furthermore, it's absolutely pathetic in junior golf. Far too many hackers labor over each shot as though it's the 72nd hole of the US Open, and it's largely due to glacial one who sucks the peniss like Jim Furyk, who's never seen a 14 inch putt he wouldn't back off of.

Threesomes should not take six hours to play a round of golf...ever.

Throw a clump of grass up in the air, look at the trees, pick a club and pull the ****ing trigger. It's called Ready Golf.

They could have called that penalty so many times on so many guys over the years (and didn't) that it's hard to get it now. If Guan misses the cut over that (and it looks like he very well could depending on how Tiger finishes), it will kind of suck.

Damn. So unlucky for Tiger