MNUte

I play Kirklands. The price helps me be less conscious of losing balls, which in turn helps me play a bit more confident and consistent. I also don't mind the spin and can still get more than enough distance off the tee when I'm hitting well.

Yep. And the issue is entirely unique to you. I struggled off the tee all year until the past round where I hurt my knee right before the round. Made sure to overemphasize keeping my knees a bit more stable and voila, driver's fixed. OP, this might be one of the times where a quick one or two-time lesson/checkup with a pro would help. $50 to $100 might be worth fixing your yips off the tee and being a little bit happier with the results in your round.

48, 52 and 58. I'm comfortable with partial wedge shots (yay clock system!) so I try to keep myself from over thinking by having fewer clubs.

You're not good enough to worry about that. The friend who told me this then sat me down and showed me PGA averages. He also reminded me that I don't play for a living. Now, I'm far better about taking the positives from each hole and round. And funny enough, the moment I stopped being so serious, I started playing more consistently.

This I'd the right answer. If you know your yardage, break down the holes in advance. Heck, write thr game plan down on an index card and bring it with. Then based on that, figure out the clubs that let you hit the most shots possible, or are close enough that you can make it work with bump and rubs, partial shots, etc. For me on my home course, that would probably be 3 hybrid or 5 iron, 8 iron, 48 degree. Mainly cause I've done no putter rounds before and there's a lot of high rough. For others I've seen 6, 9 and putter because they hit longer and are playing the course in controlled chunks.

I mean, it looks like you're relatively lucky in that, while some of the numbers have changed, there are at least a number of similar lofts. 21 degrees: Ping 3 vs. Cal 5 24: Ping 4 vs. Cal 6 27: Ping 5 vs. Cal 7 Ping 6 (30) vs. Cal 8 (31.5) Ping 7 alone Ping 8 (37) vs. Cal 9 (36) 41: Ping 9 vs. Cal. PW 46: Ping PW vs. Cal AW Based on lies alone, let alone all the other factors going into the clubs (lie, length, etc.), it makes sense there's a large gap between your 9s when the Callaway is lofted stronger than your old 8. As for the time to wrap your head around it, that comes down to how comfortable you are separating from your old clubs, going and getting a distance session (or a few) in, and just trusting your new distances. For me, I have to have a note card that I write the general idea of how far I'm hitting that day before a round. For others, one range session and you're good.

Its a trap! OP is obviously trying to get people eliminated from the Stitch bag testing selection pool. Joking aside, it comes down to the course. In Utah, there are a lot of mountain style courses. Walking them is just not a pleasant experience and leaves you aching and dying. If I'm playing a flatter course in Salt Lake, I tend to walk and just enjoy the little bit more thinking time between shots.

Honestly, it's a combo of actively putting ego aside, talking through the issues out loud, and then saying the positives out loud as well in greater volume. E.g, yesterday I played a new course for the first time that was very difficult. Because of work stress and baby stress, I didn't get to practice or get enough sleep all week. And thanks to a last minute work call and lots of fires, I didn't get to warm up and was on my phone between shots for the first few holes. Needless to say, I did poorly. Even worse, I was getting embarrased in front of my friends, which was tanking my play even more. So....I started talking to myself. I told myself I was setting my expectations too high for a brand new tough course playing long with no practice when I'm already a bogey golfer that struggles off the tee. I then thanked my friends for taking the time to enjoy a gorgeous day at a beautiful course with me, shifted the conversation to sports and my friend's new baby, and made sure I was praising them for playing great golf. For the back 9, I grabbed a beer and moved up to the shorter tees so I was only hitting my hybrid that I was far more comfortable with. Proceeded to shoot much better, score a few birdies, and enjoy myself far more.

Lessons. Get the good habits started early so you're not having to undo them down the road.

My thoughts exactly. OP, if your practice wedge is different than your gamer, you're creating different muscle memory and mental expectations than what is likely to happen. For example, the wear that Ricky mentioned. More worn-down grooves on your practice wedge could cause it to roll out more or produce less spin than your gamer. So for the same shot during your round, you're now expecting it to roll out the same. But the fresher grooves on your gamer actually make it check up, leaving you with a longer putt or in a harder spot than you would like. Suddenly, the shot you just spent hours practicing and locking into memory is stabbing you in the back.

Honestly, this is one of the tests I'm most excited about seeing the results on. The EV2B in particular is intriguing as a mid-blade to me where you get just that little bit of extra comfort and weight without looking down at a monster of a head.

Especially a mid to high handicapper where you're likely going to be losing at least a ball a round and where the spin characteristics probably aren't as big of an area of focus as they are for mid to low handicappers. I've also said it before that, as a higher handicapper myself, the Kirklands are always confidence inducing when I'm standing over them versus a more expensive ball. Since I'm not worrying about beating a $4 ball into crap or losing it, that's one less thought in my head. So I honestly tend to play Kirklands better than I do ProV1s (though that's also probably affected by familiarity in addition to comfort).

I also enjoy changing which tees I'm playing to highlight which areas of my game I'm working on. For several of my last few rounds, I've been working on my long iron, hybrid and wood game. In which case, I play the blues and am perfectly fine if I score higher than I would playing the forward tees. When I've been working on short irons and wedges, I've played all the way up at the front tees.

So let me get this straight: They were obscenely cheap. They got a little less cheap. But still really cheap. And in store still super cheap. ... I like it!

If the above answers haven't made it clear, I'd say it makes sense for some high handicappers, but not necessarily for the majority. My wedges are my 48*, 52* and 58*. But that's because my short game (wedges and putter) is the better part of my game and the area I put the most practice into. For a long time, I just used a 48* and 54* and played around with those to figure out how best to play a shot. That's helped a lot now with my ability to use a 58* when I need to. If you do choose to use a lob wedge as a high handicapper, I'd give a few pieces of advice. Be comfortable with the knowledge that you're going to mess up some shots...and sometimes, pretty badly. That's totally fine, just recognize it and shake off those shots when they do happen. . . and make sure to apologize to the goose that you skull your 58* into. Get your putting to a point where you're relatively comfortable from within 15-20 feet (not saying make everything or even a lot from there, but be able to confidently two-putt). This helps your game in general, but especially with a lob wedge since it helps you be confident that no matter how the shot goes, you'll be able to do a relatively good job recovering. Be confident in your shot, or be comfortable using a different club for shots your not confident in. Using a lob wedge requires not just technical skill, but a metric crap-ton of confidence. If you're standing over the ball or planning your shot and you're not 100% confident, that's okay. Just be able to recognize that and, for that shot, just use a 54/52/50/48/PW/9I/etc. Then reassess the next time you have the lob wedge out, and the next time, etc.

As my wife keeps reminding me, I'm not allowed to be single, even as a solo-player Joking aside, I have no issues with singles or playing as a single. If I get stuck behind a group, that's a great excuse for me to play a second ball and try some stuff out (e.g., playing more aggressively than I tend to). So to me, that's a massive win. It also comes down to time of day. If I'm there during peak hours, the chances of any singles playing is very unlikely and most of the courses in Salt Lake will combine groups to ensure that there are at least 3 playing together. But during off-peak hours they tend to be more relaxed about it.

Agreed. Once you're out of the beginner stage and no longer need the 90/100 vids, watching the compare videos are amazing. When he's helping B-dog correct allignment or make a better club choice, vs. when he's playin with some of the pros, etc. You also have to love the Chong vids and how they help people understand just how quickly the right targeted corrections in your game can take effect.

I think we'll be waiting a while. $17.50 per dozen instead of $12.50 is still a great value, especially if they've fixed the biggest spin and cover issues AND you can get them in yellow or white. Well worth the extra $.45 per ball in my mind.

Hopefully you've found your cure by now, but in case you haven't I figured I'd add something to the pot. For putting, have you tried the yardstick drill before? Having a flat metal yardstick and having to put from one end of it to the other without it falling off to either side. If you don't want to spend the dollar on the yardstick, you can also just put a piece of blue/black tape on the ground for your distance (this is also more preferable later on when you're working on longer distance putts). This drill helps you truly lock down your ability to hit a straight put. But it also helps you mentally gain confidence in your putting knowing that you're now just focusing on distance and break.

I would definitely recommend Golf Sidekick for the mindset and strategy alone. It helps when you understand that you don't need to be perfect or even all that good to break 100 and 90. His videos also help drive home the need for even a somewhat decent short game so that you feel okay when you fat an iron shot or top a driver.

It just comes down to how much time and stress you're willing to put into trying out the various tips. There are great instructors out there making YouTube videos, but they're giving shotgun advice to the masses, not particular advice to you. So some of it may work, and it may be fun trying out various ideas. But at the same time, a few sessions of targeted work with a pro will more than likely do a far better job of getting faster results because it's cutting through the ocean of information to give you what they believe is needed to address your specific issues.

Rick Shiels was actually talking about this yesterday as well where he even has 3 boxes. The think box is all the way back for club selection, shot shape, and other decisions. Then the feel box where you're taking a few practice swings or thinking about how you want the shot to feel. And finally the play box, where you're just executing. I'm a swing-thought person, so my own goal is to minimize the thoughts into a select few non-technical ideas. So rather than thinking "this angle," "sweepy", etc., I plan my shot in the think box, but when I get to the play box, I just repeat "Grip. Cowboy. Tempo." Grip to make sure I'm not death-gripping it. Cowboy more for stance because my playing partners in the past teased me for having a horseback-riding esque stance for my most successful/balanced shots, and tempo to remind myself not to try killing it and to just hit smooth.

Came here to say just this. I'm not the best at generating spin, so I tend to think about how much room I have for roll out. Also, if I've played a course before, I tend to think about what gives me the better (more uphill, less side-slopey) putt. To be a smart-***, I'm also going to say if it's an entirely flat green, I'll take the 9i because it leaves me with only 4 yards instead of my 8i with 6 yards and 2 free yards is 2 free yards

To add onto this, the course you play is another factor that could affect the number of putts. Course design: Are you playing a course that forces you to play a bit more conservative? If so, you might be deliberately landing your ball right off the green or just on but away from the high-risk, high-reward pin placement. Are you playing a course that has more challenging tee shots and fairways but greens that you can be far more aggressive with? If so, you might be landing the ball closer to the pin. Green speed: Are you playing a course with green speeds that are similar to what you normally play? If yes, you might get into your comfort zone sooner than a course where you're not fully used to or comfortable with the pace of your putts. It could also really affect how well you lag putt. Green contours: There are some nasty courses out there that are designed to hurt those that can't read slopes. If you have a course with several heavy-sloping greens or a multi-tier greens, that could affect your putting numbers. This could really affect the number of putts depending on how accurate you are with your irons and wedges (aka, how consistently you can get on the right tier/approach point and avoid the nastier aspects of the putt). As cnosil said, there's just a lot of different factors that affect putting, which makes it hard to just say XX putts per round is great and XX putts per round is crap.

Agreed. Some of the best golfers I know do mixed martial arts or boxing as their primary form of excercise. Lots of lower body power and fast twitch muscle training. And as they've mentioned to me, they know how to sync their motions from their hands to their feet so it's a lot easier for them to just flow with their swing.