Fatshot

I do go to YouTube for golf info, but not too regularly. I don't usually bother with club reviews, but I do look at ClubMAKING info from a couple of different sources. I also watch and rewatch Jim Venetos' videos, as I use his swing. In the winter, when I'm really "starved" for golf, I'll watch highlights from famous tournaments, players, etc.

I'm a retired high school teacher and golf coach, but I worked summers at 3 different golf courses for 26 years. I started out in my 20's working on the greens crew at a little country golf course (which I still play regularly, BTW). The hours weren't great (6:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.), but after work we could play free golf, so that was fun. After a few years of that, I was asked to move into the pro shop and work for the pro. He was a great guy, but not so much fun to work for. My job was to run the shop while he was out playing (often!), sell equipment (this was back in the day when pro shops actually sold equipment....I loved that part of the job!), handle the inevitable complaints/problems, (since the pro tried to avoid any controversies!), and work long hours and weekends. During this time I became the golf coach at the school where I taught, so I juggled those duties as well. I remember the relief when the golf season ended, b/c then I could have some time to spend with my wife and family!! After several years at that course, I moved to a very nice brand new facility and worked for a very good PGA pro. I worked there for six years until I was nearly ready to retire from teaching. Then I got the opportunity to manage a course on my own.....another brand new local golf course with four owners. I thought it would be my dream job, but it turned out to be the longest year of my life! Four owners, each with his own idea of how the place should be run and always making "suggestions" and looking over my shoulder! I think I played 2 or 3 rounds of golf all season...!! At the end of that year, my wife sat me down and said, "You're killing yourself.....this CAN'T be any fun for you....why don't you just teach a couple more years, without extra jobs, play all the golf you want and ENJOY yourself.....?!" It proved to be great advice!! I'm now fully retired, I play and practice 2-3 times a week, and love every minute of it. Golf is fun again.....!! PS....I can relate to the comments of other previous posters who have expressed the opinion that WORKING in golf is not the same thing as playing golf.....it's a JOB, like anything else.

The most I have ever spent on a putter was $250 about 6-7 years ago (and I don't even use that putter anymore, LOL!). Most of my putters I have bought used from Ebay. My current gamer is a Maltby PTM-5 mallet that I bought for $100 (one of their value paks which I bought and had them assemble for me since it has the double bend shaft). I was in the PGA Super Store down in Orlando this winter, picked up a putter I liked (i'm partial to mallets), and proceeded to make EVERY putt from various distances! Then I looked at the price tag.....it was a Bettenardi for $459!!!! Gulp....I couldn't put it back on the rack fast enough! The only putter I "lust after" right now is one of the new Zebra (mallet), which somebody came out with just to "tempt" me, LOL......they're $250, I think.....

I actually LIKE to practice (hey, it's golf after all!), so I make sure I get to the range once a week. It helps that I'm retired, so I have all week to play my rounds (twice a week), get the yard work done and any "honeydo" projects my wife has for me. So, I usually practice one of the weekend days, while the working guys are out there playing. I'm lucky in that the course where I practice is close to home, and has an excellent facility: chipping green, putting green, and full range. So, I can work on all aspects of the game every time I practice.....esp. the short game!!!

I have always liked Maltby and have used their products successfully for years. Their latest designs....esp. irons....combine good looks with excellent playability due to the Maltby Playability Factor. They are also reasonably priced. I'll be a Maltby customer for as long as I play the game!

The best seat for Saturday or Sunday is in front of your big screen TV.......I'd rather PLAY!!!

Senior golfer here as well. I use 75 gram graphite in all of my irons, but I want my sand and lob wedges to feel heavier than the rest. My 54* and 58* are Maltby components shafted with two Ping TFC100 regular flex shafts, and for some reason they DO feel heavier, even though they're 75 gr. as well. When it's time to change out the heads, I plan to keep those Ping shafts and install them in the new ones....probably Maltby again!

I use a Garmin GPS on the course.....I like the fact that I can see a map of the entire hole, know at a glance how far it is to every trap or water hazard, see and record my distances for each club, etc. Most of my friends use range finders, but I find a GPS much more useful for my purposes.

I just bought a mint Cobra LTDx Max 10.5 degree driver head and paired it up with a UST Mamiya Helium shaft (senior flex). I spined and floed the shaft before attaching it to the head, and played 18 holes with it yesterday. My first couple of drives were pull hooks (my usual miss), but then I started aiming a little right and tried harder to "wait on the club head" before hitting through the ball. This straightened the drives out a lot, but still was hitting it more left than straight. I would say that overall I hit it LOW and slightly LEFT compared to my gamer. When I got home yesterday I got out the torque wrench and changed from the "Standard loft / draw" setting to "+1.5 degree/ straight." We'll see how that goes next time out..... If that doesn't prove to be better than my old Ping G, I'll fit it with an R shaft and give it to my 50 year old son....

Great article, and I agree that stretching is important. As I age (I'm 78), I realize just HOW vital it is to maintaining even just normal functions. I have an Orange Whip, and have used it fairly regularly for 3 years, but I suspect that it has caused me problems with my left shoulder (I'm right handed). Last season I began noticing daily soreness with that shoulder. It did not keep me from playing....in fact the soreness would go away while playing or hitting balls.... but the rest of the time I felt the soreness. I began wondering if the super flexibility of the shaft of the Orange Whip was multiplying the weight at the end and putting an excessive amount of torque which strained the shoulder..... MAYBE I was swinging it too hard (I was swinging it at my normal tempo and speed), but I have noticed that over the winter, since I'm not playing or swinging the OW, that my shoulder soreness has gradually declined. I still feel it, but not nearly as much as it was while using the OW. So, even though I think it's a GREAT practice device for tempo, feeling the clubhead lag, etc. I think I'm going to stop using it and just swing a weighted club.....or maybe even nothing at all except for stretching. Of course, maybe it's just an age thing too....I know I'm getting up there and with age comes "aches and pains." Just my .02 cents worth.....

I'm a senior, so I don't have to play on weekends, and we usually tee off at 8:00-ish, so even if there's a group or two ahead of us, they're probably quick players who don't waste time, just like us. So, pace of play is rarely a problem! I'm from NW Ohio, which is flat as a pancake, so hilly terrain like some of these pics show would be a real luxury for me! Beyond that though, I like a course that has a variety of holes.....some doglegs EACH way....par 3's of different lengths.....some thought given to where the senior tees are placed (I don't want to play 380 yard par 4s anymore, but I don't want 280 yard ones either!)...good turf in the fairways and on the greens.....I'm a walker, so I'd rather play a course where I don't have to walk 200-300 yards from the green to the next tee......and most of all, I want to use EVERY club in my bag, and have to play a variety of shots from around the greens. Factor all those things together, and that would be my idea of a really good golf course!!!

Like my profile says, I have an Indi 49* Super Gap wedge (Recoil shaft), and two Maltby M Series....a 54 and a 58, both on Ping TFC 100 shafts. The Maltbys could probably use replacing.....looking kind of beat up, but I have the replacement heads.....just a question of when I want to make the change. I finally "learned" how to use them last summer, so I guess I'll stick with them to start the season!

Like several have mentioned before, I'm retired, so don't have to play on weekends......I don't want to clog things up for the working guys! We play Tuesdays and Thursdays around 8:00, walking. The Tuesday group is a travel group (about an hour away is our longest trip). Thursdays are at the "home course" only about 15 minutes from home. Start by 8....finish by noon....we beat the crowds and beat the heat, and I still have the afternoon to accomplish any chores my wife may have dreamed up for me to do.....!!!

OOooops!!! Thanks for the heads up.....I didn't know that. So we'll see how it looks by the end of the 2024 season!

Wow.....VERY cool !! I think at one time, Bert Dargie was considered in the same category as Kenneth Smith when it came to custom made golf clubs. Hope you keep us informed with your progress and post pictures!