Zivl3

I never start a round with a new ball. If I do, I will lose it on the first tee shot. This is especially true if it's an expensive ball and my preferred ball is pricey. Off the first tee, I need a ball that has experience finding the fairway. I'll put a new ball into play after the 2nd or 3rd hole, when my driver has calmed down and can help a new ball stay in play. That being said, I will play a ball until it is scuffed or dead. So as long as I don't pull a new ball on the first tee, a ball will last for 4 to 6 rounds before I pass it on to my kids. They are 10 and 11 years old and are experts at releasing balls into the wild (thank God for Kirkland balls...).

I have a Shelta hat. They are made with wind in mind. They come in a number of brim sizes so you can get as much or as little coverage as you want. They have a stiff insert at the front of the brim so it doesn't flap around in the wind. The strap has a clip and there is a loop at the back of the hat so you can clip it out of the way when you don't need it. Or, the strap is also removable so you can take it off completely and reattach it when you need it. It also has a draw-string adjustment, so you can make it fit perfectly.

Watching my kids (11 and 8 years old) I noticed that they were swinging "at" the ball. Now, as I help them set up to the ball, the last thing I say to them is "don't swing at the ball, swing through the ball". That thought really smooths their swing and gets them thinking about sending it toward their target.

I bought a Sync earlier this year because I'm playing with my kids (9 and 11 years old) a lot and wanted extra storage to haul extra stuff for them too. It's big, but not tour bag big. We go through a lot of balls now (thank God for Kirkland balls), but still that ball pocket is excessively huge. It would be nice to trade off some of that space for more cooler pocket size. It's hard to get 3 drink bottles in there. I agree with the comment about the sharp bottom edge of the putter pocket. The bottom of my putter grip is also sharp edge and, even if I'm careful, it always catches on the frame when I pull out my putter. I use Golf Pride CPX mid-size grips and they still fit into the small-ish corner club pockets. I use the velour lined valuables pocket for my phone. It's perfect for that. I wish there was a handle at the bottom of the front of the bag. It would help with loading it onto my cart or into the trunk of my car. Also, as others have mentioned, the strap slots do not line up with the straps on the back of a golf cart. They are perfect for my push cart, which I use 95% of the time anyway. Overall, I'm happy with the bag and have no regrets buying it. I wish I could say the same about the Ping Hoofer I bought recently.

I never gave top line appearance much thought until I demo'd a Hogan PTx PRO. Everytime I looked down at the club at address the top of the club looked really chunky and industrial. That was not what I was expecting at all. I ended up not really getting along with the club and sent it back. I'm not saying the top line influenced my opinion of the performance of the club, but that heavy-looking top line is all that I remember about it. Similarly, I'm not a fan of how SGI clubs look at address either. They look like hockey sticks and they have a big top line. A friend plays Miura baby blades. Those are intimidating but that's due to the toe-heel length.

Putting mats are good for working on your stroke. Put a line on your ball and try to hit it straight. They don't help you with speed or the ability to read a green. I have yet to find a putting mat that plays at the same speed as a real green. I have a birdie ball put up mat and that is better at simulating a real green because it has that wedge that slows the putt. Plus, how often do you get a flat putt? I have 3 launch monitors: a PRGR, a SC200 and a Skytrak. The Skytrak was heinously expensive, relatively speaking, but it's awesome. The other two are ok, especially if you are hitting on a range. But if you are hitting into a net, you won't get feedback on how far offline you are hitting. I have a net and mat set up in my garage. With the Skytrak, I can pop out to the garage for an hour and work on my swing. It would take me that long just to drive back and forth to the nearest driving range. Lessons are great, but a couple hundred dollars isn't going to get a lot of instruction. For the cost of the Skytrak, you could get some meaningful instruction but you still need to put in the time outside the lesson to make anything learned stick. Spending the money on more golf would be fun and would make a great birthday present, especially if you play at a bucket-list course. My 60th b-day is in a couple of weeks and that's what I'm going to do. Anyway, my vote went to the launch monitor.

David / Los Altos, CA iPhone 10R Outdoors Both net (at home) and no net (at range).