Will_Mac

I sure remember the feeling when I was relatively new to the game. And then recently, when I struggled for an extended period of time. Although I don't let myself get caught up in the insecurities anymore, I understand how people might. When I've had apparently new to the game or less skilled players say similar to me, "I'm really struggling today," or the like. I'll maybe say something like, "I was once very self-conscious around others when struggling. If you're anything like that with others, please don't be with me. I understand, I get it, and I judge no one. I like to meet people, not their golf games."

For clubheads, I just keep the grooves clean and wipe the heads with a damp cloth when there's visible debris. But for grips? This thing has been absolutely awesome. I've probably had it for 20 years. Their solution has long since run dry. But all I need to do is wet the grip, add a little dish soap to the cylinder, and scrub for only seconds. The rinsing off of the grip afterward is the longest step. I can clean all of my clubs' grips in minutes. Minimal effort, maximum result. After all of these years, the bristles are still very firm and entirely effective.

TXG Danny Maude Mark Crossfield Saguto Golf The Average Golfer The Art of Simple Golf Alex Elliot Mr. Shortgame I use them mostly for entertainment or reviews rather than tips. But each have provided me with valuable nuggets here and there.

I bought a batch of 10 Hirzl Trust Control 2.0 gloves on ebay on 8/9/21 (for $199). I'm on the 8th glove now, through 164 rounds over this time. I'd say that they've been a good value.

I've been playing the 923 Hot Metal Pro irons since mid-February. What drew me toward the 923's in general were the reviews I'd watched where people commented about the incredible forgiveness all-around, but particularly off the toe (my standard miss). I clued in mostly to the standard HM and the Pro. Both were lauded for their toe contact forgiveness. But the video below is what gave me the deciding nudge to purchase. An off-center miss by nearly an inch (!) saw a minimal loss of yards. Long video, he's quite detailed (appreciated, personally), he talks about that particular miss and others at about the 17:05 mark. In play, I've found his and others' findings to be 100% accurate. I've shown buddies where evidence of contact was on an iron's face, but relative to my result, they can hardly believe it. Forgiveness off toe strikes has been incredible, and while exactly the help I was hoping for, my surprise by the results may never cease. Thin shots, too, are very forgiving. I won't hit irons off heel as I might at times with driver, so no personal opinion there. Because I was on the fence between the standard HM and the Pros, once I decided to add 5-iron to my 6-GW set, I opted to order the standard 5-iron with same shaft, of course. Curiosity and I figured that the potential for even more forgiveness in the longer irons certainly couldn't hurt. While I won't go so far as to say that the standard 5-iron is more forgiving than the Pro 6-iron, I will say that they appear to be equally forgiving to me. Considering the lower loft of 5-iron though, I'd have to say that it confirms, at least to me, that the standard HM is, in fact, more forgiving than the Pros. Not much of a surprise to most, I'm sure, but it mildly was to me because the Pros are darned forgiving. As to length, yeah, the 923 Hot Metals are longer than what I've been playing. I wasn't at all looking for that, I still swing plenty fast. For example, with my previous recent sets (Apex CF-16, i500), 9-iron was my 150 club. With the HMP's, though, it's PW (42.5°!) from that distance in neutral conditions. Shafts are DG 105 stiff flex and I'd classify the launch as high. Definitely higher than my previous sets across the board. Even if I compare the longer hitting and much stronger lofted 9-iron of the HMP to the 9-irons of the previous sets played, the Pros less lofted 9-iron actually flies higher. It probably flies similarly to those sets PW, and we're talking a big difference in loft there. Yet although high, it's a strong flight throughout the set. We've had an extended streak of windy weather here stretching from late winter into spring. Never did I once have a ball that I deemed to be affected by the wind any more than I'd have anticipated. Pre-purchase, I was modestly concerned about stopping power into greens with mid irons. I assumed that maybe the stronger lofts might further reduce spin (player distance irons mostly seem to do this but I guess that I'd classify the Pro as GI irons) and maybe affect my ability to hold greens. But that concern was quickly dispelled. They stop just fine, probably even better than previous sets due to descent angle. Fwiw, the only three balls I've played with this set are the Snell MTB-X, MTB, and the new version Mizuno RB Tour. The 923 Hot Metals, in any iteration, imho, are fantastic golf clubs, and I'm extremely happy to have them.

Yeah, sweaty paws issue here too. I don't really like having to use multiple gloves during a round and it's been years since I'd adopted the glove off after shots, since I had to. I also use some version of hand antiperspirant also (I have 3 different ones), so that helps. I always ride and what I typically do is start putting the glove back on as I roll up to my ball. So I'm usually getting my number with it on already. If I'm last to go though, I'll delay putting the glove on until necessary.

Off after most shots, off when putting.

I counted 32 sets since 1991. Some were incredibly short-lived, some longer. Please don't make me type them all out. [emoji6]

Yeah, many of those are inert and commonly used as a positive. But my group is fond of "nice drive, though" after screwing up an approach after a particularly good drive. Gotta admit, that one sparks an extra tinge of pissed off (at myself) within me. [emoji1787]

For the past few months, I've been doing it like this.

It was a "gettin' in yer own way" kind of day. 37/40/77 with 3 doubles on the back 9. 2 of them were due to boneheaded decisions where I should've just taken my medicine and moved on. But hey, I wanted to, you know... try. [emoji12] 10 fairways, 11 greens, 32 putts, 4 birds, 3 doubles, one 3-putt (for bogey [emoji53]).

Man, that's weird. Everything stocked on the shelves should be for sale.

I agree with others in recommending going down in size with Eccos. I'm anywhere from 9.5 to 10.5 in other brands. Up to an 11 in Adidas Climacool golf shoes (?!). Yet with Ecco, 42 fits me best. Crazy. [emoji2369]

I'd be interested to learn whether he still is or not. What I do know is that I still have 3 pairs of Eccos that I probably bought near the beginning of his sponsorship. Still in great condition, they've been remarkably durable.

I've played a decent amount since I last posted on 2/7. Since, I've gone in order: 79 78 77 80 79 79 78 92 84 76. You might notice that one high round of 92 followed by the 84? I'm self-applying an asterisks for those two rounds. [emoji6] Two days prior, I had a colonoscopy that triggered my stomach to spasm (not my abs, my actual stomach). I first had this issue as a side-effect to the Covid shots I took in 2021. Wasn't having it and the doc prescribed muscle relaxers. So during those two rounds I was loopy while without a looper. [emoji6] That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. But seriously, the elevated scores concerned me, so I ditched the meds before my last round and shot a very controlled 76. Whew... balance in the world restored. [emoji12]