mackdaddy

My worst purchase mistake was getting a full bag fitting in one session. The driver that was first in the fitting and the irons were both good buys. The hybrids, fairway woods, wedges and putter were disastrous! I was tired and my swing speed was way off. The fitter just reshafted my wedges. The putter had to much toe hang. The fitting was early in the pandemic and the clubs took 3 months to come in and when they came instead of being 2 degrees upright they were two degrees flat. I spent over $4000 and the only thing that spent over a year in my bag were the driver and irons. The lesson was don't schedule more than one or two elements of the bag in a fitting. That said I am 100% pro fitting.

Working at a golf course has taught me a few things about pace of play. 1. Rounds before 9 am are the fastest. The earlier the tee time the faster the round. Why you ask, because the early golfers are there to play golf not just socialize and drink beer. 2. After 9 am the pace slows to that of the pocky pace setters. Who you might ask, the tee box story tellers, the ball safary masters, the beer blind back niers and the mulligan magicians. What can we do to fix these issues? The marshalls have to have the balls to find the pace setter/blockers and ride them like a jockey. I played two rounds with some friends this week at the same course. our first round was at 7:36 and we finished at 11:10. Our round the very next day started at 9:12 and we didn't get done until 2:35. Our scores were in the same ballpark and yet it took us nearly 2 hours longer. We had fun both days but had to wait on every single tee box and deal with the groups behind us hitting into us twice and and yelling at us like we were the devil holding them up. We had a good laugh because they never hit a fairway and screamed like teenage girls.

One of the best benefits of working at or being a member of a course/club is being able to play any number of holes that time or weather allows without concern for costs.

Balls at our course are $8 for 35 $14 for 55 and $17 for 85 balls

I am 68 now and have played lots of golf with lots of players. I play between 5800-6200. I have advised many people I have played with over the years to play from the tees you can break 80 from. Start at the front tees and play them until you can regularly break 80 then move back to the next tee and do it like that until you find the tees you need to be on. I have played to as low as a plus 2.8 for a season on the back men's tee, 7022 yards, and when I switched to the tips 7428 yards from our course I struggled. There were a few par 4's I needed to hit fairway woods to reach the greens and I could not hold them so after a few months I moved back to my tees. I advocate for this because playing forward builds skill with wedges and irons. It builds confidence in your game and gives great growth options. It helps you to hit the clubs in balance not trying to overhit. Give yourself a chance to enjoy the game. I was a decent player shooting in the 80's when I was in my early 40's and I played the back men's tees. I went on a trip and got paired with a father and his two sons and they were going to play the front tees. (@ the time I always played the tee with a the group) I played the front tees and broke 80 with ease. It felt great. I played all that week from the front tees with the family and always broke 80 even shooting par the last round. When I went home I moved up to the front men's tees and played there until I regularly broke 80. Confidence is a powerful tool in golf. I kept improving. I moved back to the back tees where I shot in the 80's, by the end of the season and continued to improve and break 80.

One of the ladies at our club has a golf scooter. It is like a big skate board with a handle and motor. Her bag attaches to it and she looks like she has an utter blast. It folds up and goes in the car with ease. I noticed that many of the were on Ebay so I made an offer and got one for half the normal price. I did as much research as I could on like. I would love to have a way to drive to my ball even on 100% cart path days. I don't know if I made a wasteful impulsive purchase.

I play the set pitching wedge at 46* and then play a Cleveland cavity back 50* my skill wedges are Taylormade MG4 54* and 58*. I swear by the 4* loft gap from the top to the bottom of my bag. I rarely ever hit my 58* over fifty yards from the green, maybe 5 times a year, it is also my bunker club.

I play a Positive Putter P2 which is heel shafted and has a shaft bend that is bent to give no toe hang like the center shafted putters. Because I love the way this putter works and equally wanted the tech from the head of the Evnroll putters, so I bought a used ER2 and sent it to the Positive putter guys and they reshafted it to have that toe up balance. I get it back today and can't wait to put it in play!

I play a 5 hybrid with a stiffer shaft than my irons. The extra stiff shaft keeps it on target for me. That lets me hit it harder and higher.

I carry 4-6. I used to carry a dozen or more for years until I started to fly with my clubs on trips and had to reduce weight for travel. I realized I rarely used more than two balls in a round. It is a rare day that I lose a ball and losing more than one is a super rare event. I take more balls out of play for wedge scuffs than I lose.

Maybe. I tend to play wedges very well and hit that shot like a put. I think it is how my eyes perceive the angle of the face. I know it works well for many people it just hasn't been consistent for me. I am hoping that having the club more upright when soled will help. Thanks

I have played toe down shots like that. I found that I often lost the angle of the face to the left doing that.

I am thinking about bending my lob wedge 2 extra degrees upright. I tried using a chipper when I had an extra club to burn. I liked it for shots just off the green. When I put a 5 fairway in my bag I took it out. I rarely use a lob wedge beyond 50 yards. I really liked the upright nature of the chipper around the green 10 yards and in it helps the use of a putting stroke. What I want to know is has anyone tried this? What are peoples thoughts about issues I may not be anticipating. I will do it with a High toe wedge.

I also picked up 4-7 yards per club with the Chrome Tour over last years Pro V1x I played.

I tested balls all of my rounds in March. I used the Pro v1 & X & Left Dash, TP 5 & X, Z Star, Tour Response, Chrome Soft, Chrome Tour & +. About Me as a golfer. I am 68 I hit the ball straight but can fade and draw the ball. I can spin back L wedge to 9 iron back and prefer a hop and stop shot. I play a new lob wedge each year and sand wedge every other year. My irons are refinished KZG forged III with traditional lofts. My lofts are 4 degrees between each club. I drive it about 240 and can hit an intentional pull about 260. My drives are straight, my miss is off the toe. Wedges and Iron play are the strength of my game. I played all of these balls at least 3 rounds. What I was looking for was feel and spin from 90 yards to the green. I only wanted a ball that I could predict what it would do after the bounce, did it stop or release or spin back. Chrome tour X and Pro v1 x spun back more than I like to see. Z Star released more than I liked and so did the Left dash and Tour Response. Tp 5 x and Left dash felt to firm on the green side shots for me. Irons and full swing wedges: I liked the Tour Response and the Chrome Tour and the Pro v1x best. They consistently responded as I like stopping on the green very quickly. Long clubs and driver: Chrome Tour and Tour Response were the straightest off the tee and with hybrids and fairways. My dispersion with the Pro V1x was just bigger with the long clubs. I played the Chrome Tour for 5 more rounds to be sure. I tracked every shot and figured out all my yardages with each club. I bought two four dozen boxes for the price of 3 dozen at Dick's sporting goods. I am playing the Chrome Tour with triple track and I love them.