David Leighton Reid

Good quote APH, about remembering "range balls are just that, Range Balls"
I love the range time and use the range to maintain a feel and work on my swing - alignment (including spine angle), ball position, tempo & any swing modifications.  My preference is video taping swing, it provides really good feedback. 
Weird club selection habit at range: start with 9i, then 7i, 5i, Hybrid, Driver, 3w, 5w, 6i, 8i PW, Gap, SW finish with LW.  Hit a minimum of 3 balls with each club. with the 3w & 5w, I'll hit 3 balls off a tee - prefer grass tee btw - checking contact and ball flight, I will hit 3 balls off the deck with 3w & 5w. 3w off the deck is the weakest part of my game & working on improving.  While I do prefer grass tees, while making swing change these past few months, I preferred using mats at the beginning & using alignment sticks being in the same place for each iron shot. One stick for direction & the other for takeaway path.
I prefer the old school open air ranges. as GS APH points out, you're hitting range balls. Distance a range ball travels is certainly much less, especially if you're hitting balls at aquarange.  However, you do feel a solid contact strike and can see where the ball is making contact with iron or wood. 
Absolutely will hit for targets, using the tree lines in the distance, then focusing on a tree branch or chute at the top of the tree line for a target. It's the same method I would use while playing.  Pick out a real small target in the distance and aligning to it and try to hit that spot. Golf 54, Annika's instructors, did state it right, Practice with a purpose, which is also what GS_APH stated in his post. 
Range is fun whether it's spending a couple of hours just hitting balls or before a round! 

OK, it's time to rerun this for the new members...
 

It is in my mind!!!

Is that a net 0* situation?

Good Thursday morning!

Good Thursday morning!

Unusual February for us here in SW Missouri, with temps above average for the month.  Forecast for the next 10 days has 9 days predicted above average temperature.  I love it when we cheat Old Man Winter out of several days.  

Unusual February for us here in SW Missouri, with temps above average for the month.  Forecast for the next 10 days has 9 days predicted above average temperature.  I love it when we cheat Old Man Winter out of several days.  

Good Thursday morning!

Good morning!

For many years, I only played Mizuno irons and loved them.  I mainly played the game improvement irons.  A couple of years ago, I was looking for a new set of irons and found the PXG 0211's were less expensive than a set of Mizuno's.  Then last summer I purchased a used set of PXG Gen 0311XF (because of a good price) and have been very impressed.  I do not care for the over-the-top, boom-baby commercials, but the clubs are great.  
For my woods, I have played a Ping for the past several years.  First was the Ping G LST and now I have the G425 Max.  Plus I have the G410 in 3 wood.
I have tried several hybrids but the one that has stayed in my bag is the Callaway Rogue.  
I had been a devoted Scotty Cameron fan for years, until I tried a TaylorMade X Spyder putter.  I love the way the putter sits behind the ball and basically it just looks right to my eye.  

Good morning!

Here's your morning dose of Larson.

7:45 Tee Time today on a foggy morning, surprised let us out.  Main goal this morning taking PXG 0311 driver out. Missed only 1 of the 7 fareways it was used, with decent distance.  Had a tendency early on to hit it right side but driver was at its best with a slight draw and smooth tempo.  
missed 2 birdies with lip hangers but still   finished +3, 39.  
Driver staying in bag and at $300 seems to be a bargain.

I would possibly consider the latest generation PXG 0211 irons as a replacement for my current Tour Edge Exotics C721 irons with KBS Tour Graphite 80-S shafts because I am finally transitioning from stiff to regular or S/R (stiff regular) flex shafts in all of my clubs. However, I was just able to get a virtually unused set of 2022 Cobra Forged Tec X irons with KBS TGI 75-R shafts for an unbelievable price of $499 for 6-iron through AW. My only concerns about these Cobra irons is that the Forged Tec X model is a bit closer to the Exotics E721 and E722 than the C versions, and the lofts on the Cobras are super-strong (even stronger than Tour Edge E-Series irons).

... I am not sure what to make of PXG these days. With quality products and priced well below the average from other OEM's they went from a "wouldn't even demo" to a "must demo". So were the original insanely high prices a way to make a splash (albeit a negative splash for most) and then drop prices making them seem like a bargain the original game plan? Or did they wring out rich folks market and sales stalled so they went to Plan B of dropping the price to bring in a different segment of buyers? 

... The bottom line is they make an outstanding iron for every level of golfer with high index XP series to a more average player P series to the low index T series. And if you are OK with last years model they can be had for much less than other OEMs. I have never been very interested in PXG but as they started to loose screws and the price is $695 for the 0311T series 5- 9 iron with MMT graphite shafts they are now certainly on my demo list. 

My equipment bias, I love my new Cobra LTD X driver and T Rail hybrids. I have regained the 10 (or so) yards I’ve lost with age. Cobra was my first complete set of clubs I played and will continue to be loyal. My first set was mix of whatever I could find cheap, I wasn’t very good. When I started losing distance a bought a set of Adams on close out at Golf Galaxy. They worked great until I continued to lose distance and direction. I also like the fact that Cobra is not one of those overhyped brands. I like not being in the mainstream. I do like Callaway and have a preference for the Chrome Soft Truvis but have noticed additional distance with the Bridgestone BXS balls. I am a big fan of Jon Rahm and have noticed a lot of European players are with Callaway. I bought the hype and purchased a Tour Edge driver and was disappointed with the club and eventually sold it. I am wary of overhyped products. That’s why I will stay away from PXG. I do play the Pro V 1 and x and do notice a difference in performance. I have used an Odyssey Versa putter forever and really would like to find a good center shafted putter as I have this theory that it will help me putt straighter.
I am 68 years old with a 6 handicap. I play twice a week and willing to try new equipment .

Okay, 
I used to have a bias toward Cobra. I still have a Cobra F7 hybrid in the bag. (I'll argue the best hybrid ever made.) 
Having said that. I've had great experiences lately with PXG. Great fitting sessions. One of the few fitting sessions I've ever had that explored not only the gaps at the bottom of my bag but the gaps at the top. They also fit each club individually. Not just find a 7-iron you like and build a set around that. Interestingly enough the high end of my bag got tweaked upright. The low end got tweaked flat. The middle wasn't tweaked. The low end got tweaked weaker in order to make the gapping work out. The high end of my bag has higher swing weight than the low end of my bag. Everything was done to hit the numbers I wanted to/needed to hit with each club. Easily the best, most thorough fitting I've ever had. Plus they sent them to me with the grips shipped loose so that I could blow on my own Pure Grips Midsize DTX's. Best part, I got fit on a Sunday, I played my custom built clubs that Friday. 
I was so happy with those that I ended up getting a 3 wood and a 5 wood from them. 
So, I'd say I'm a bit of a PXG fan now. 
.... Having said that, I didn't really like the feel of any of their putters. ... They look great, but just didn't quite work/feel the way I wanted them to. 

But otherwise, I have nothing bad to say about PXG. 

I believe Mizuno makes the best irons period.  The look and feel is unmatched anywhere. Most golfers differ to the big OEM’s and never give Mizuno a look.  Those that do play it begin to feel cult like with this club.

This is a fun and interesting topic because some of this has to do with experience and some of it with brand marketing.
I have been and will be forever be a Ping fan.  I love how they started and what I know about Karsten Solheim, I love how they operate and I love the clubs they produce. 
The other brand that I absolutely love is Mizuno, I love their dedication to the product and the lack of marketing they do. I wanted the new JPX923's really bad, but I just couldn't afford them.
I gave Sub70 a try and I am now a big fan of theirs, I love how they treat their customers and love what they are doing. I love Ping and Mizuno, but I am on a budget so I needed something a little less expensive so I went with Sub70 and am very happy.  If I could afford extra sets, I would probably have a set of Sub70's, Ping's and Mizuno's and rotate or build each one for different conditions, if money weren't the problem I would have a very difficult time deciding.
I think Callaway is more marketing and hype than product. I haven't hit one of their clubs that I have felt good with and I haven't loved the balls either.
I have thought of TaylorMade as the driver leader and everything else is ok though the leader in drivers has begun slipping away. I do also like the TP5 balls, the little I have used them, they perform pretty well for me.
Titleist makes really good products all around but I just don't know that I get the Pro V1 thing.  I just don't play them as well as other balls and I don't understand how they are so dominant.  There are other really good balls out there and some of the DTC brands I have tried really surprised me. I like Snell and Vice. 
The other brand that I really want to do well and am rooting for is Wilson. I considered them when looking at new clubs but even Wilson's were a little more than I wanted to pay. I like having something in my bag that is different than everyone else and I wouldn't have a problem standing up for Wilson and helping people realize they make good products. That is one of my favorite things about playing Sub70's is that no one has heard of them.
The last one is PXG, when I purchased my driver I was very skeptical but the price was so good I couldn't resist at least trying it out. It is a little loud and has a strange sound but I love that, it doesn't sound like every other club. It may not be a coincidence, but it sounds like the Ping's.  If I were buying now I almost certainly wouldn't go with PXG, I am tired of hearing from them and how loud Bob Parson's is, I don't use the PXG headcover because I don't really want anyone to know I use a PXG.  I probably would be hitting a Sub70 driver instead. Figure out who you are and what you are trying to do and then we can talk. 
I don't know what this means but it was fun to get it out.
 

... I do think one of the interesting aspects of a bias is missing out on game changing technology when sticking with one brand or boycotting another. Taylor Mades slot in the sole technology with the RBZ fairway woods was a game changer, so was the hollow headed P790 players irons. Jailbreak in the BB was also a game changer and the only Callaway driver I have played even though I have a bias against them. Cobra's Fly Z managed to get the weight low and far back in the head without excessive launch and spin and imo a Hall Of Fame driver and now most every OEM offers a driver with weight rear and low in the head. The original AP2's elevated multi material irons into the hands of Tour players but were forgiving enough for low index players. The original Tour Edge Lift Off Ironwood hybrid changed that category forever. 



 

Played 9 holes this evening. Started out a little rough, but brought it back around... can you tell which holes were into the wind and which were downwind??  Haha

Played my first round yesterday with the new LA Putter. Used the new PXG ball. Wind was 19 to 23 mph, but it was a sunny 76 degrees. Shot 1 under and putted very well. Finished birdie-birdie making a 12 footer and a 25 footer to record 71. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the putter and ball. 

I took my car in for a service this morning, and my wife went to the golf course.  I joined her when she made the turn.  It was awful!!  Overnight we had wind 30-40mph with gusts to 50mph.  It was a little better when I got to the course, but not by much.  50º and a little sun; the wind 18-25mph with gusts to 30mph.
I'm amazed that my wife hits her tee shots into the wind about the same distance as when there is no wind... maybe a little further; I'm 10-20 yards shorter.  I managed to keep the ball in the fairway and shot a +3 38; not sure how, seems like I was hitting only punch shots.
We lost another tree on the course overnight.  We have a large bunker on the par 5 #18 that runs along the right side of the fairway from 170y out to and around the green.  Most of the sand is now gone, down to rocks.  A lot of it is up on the fairway and the front part of the green.  Except for some spots it's not playable, at least I won't play out of it.  It's going to take many truckloads of sand to replace it.

I also find that in heavy winds that punch or low knock down shots are the way to go. Funny it also seems when I hit these shots I tend to hit it flush more often.