Thread: golf

so i have some golf equipment questions...

what do you use for a putter? i notice tom has an odessey mallet style putter from his pics and i have a similar kind of shaped putter, but when i shop around the internet i always find myself looking at those blade style putters with the offset geometric piece connecting the head to the shaft. like a nike method matter b2-01 or else an odessey white hot 2.0. but then i have this fascination with everything made by callaway. so what do you folks use and why? is there an advantage in the mallet vs. blade type heads?

also while i am on the topic, do you mix clubs in your bag? do you have a different brand driver than your fairway woods or irons? do you have a different brand putter than the rest of the clubs in your bag? do you carry a special wedge that doesn't match? what do you do about the different grips that come with them, get them all re-gripped to be consistent?

i know it will be a couple years before i can outshoot my current clubs unless i break them, but i am already looking at what i would like if money or skill was no object. i think i would tend to want a matched set of same style and model clubs from the same manufacturer. but i haven't played enough to figure out some of the things other (good?) golfers do.

I've gone through all the stages you talk about. There was a time when a set of clubs lasted me 10-15 years. They worked and I didn't have a budget to allow me to be too picky. Then, I went through a phase where I went through 3 sets in three years. The more serious I got about playing, the more I felt I needed a better club. But in reality it is whatever feels right. If it takes an expensive club to raise confidence, then that works. If it's an old fairway wood that just always felt right - stick with it. Putters are a big one and I never found one that made me put better, but they "feel" better.

I discovered an unorthodox putting stance recently (more open) and use a claw grip for short putts, but kept leaving them short so stuck with a traditional grip for anything outside 10 feet. That's what's working now - but for how long?

Basically, the more you play, the better you get and the more you will know what you need. I find that the more time I spend practicing chipping and putting, the better my scores are.

Hi Burro. I went through about 5 putters before I found one that works well. It is a Taylormade. I bought it used and it is about 6 years old. It has the right weight and balance for me though and it has improved my putting a lot. I mix clubs. I wnt ou before I knew what I was doing and bought Nike Covert driver, 3 wood, and 4 and 5 hybrids. They are all adjustable. Big deal. The driver works petty well but the 3 wood not so much. The 4 and 5 hybrids are a wash. I currently use Callaways and Clevelands for most of my clubs. I like the weight and loft of the Clevelands for the short game and the forgiveness of the Callaways for the fairway. I'm still in search of though (you're always looking for something that improves the game a bit)....

FS

Originally Posted by tsptalk

Did somebody mention TSP Talk golf balls? Great idea. I just ordered 50 sleeves of 3. Topflite.

I'm not much of a golfer (yet) but if and when I do...I'll likely be snagging a few packs of those bad boys....they look nice.

David Feherty says Tiger Woods is

When the world last saw Woods, courtesy of Golf Channel’s live coverage of the Quicken Loans National media day, he rinsed three consecutive balls using a wedge from the 100-yard 10th tee at Congressional Country Club.
During the exhibition, Tiger swung like a rusty gate, grumbled about being stiff, issued one "Holy cow" and a couple of discernible "Ughs."
Could that sad display actually be the last time we see Tiger swing a club?

well, i am thinking this can only be great news for golf consumers. now don't get me wrong, i like tiger woods as much as the next guy but probably less than erin nordegren, and i can only imagine that this will put that set of nike vapor fly pro irons i've had my eye on at a fire sale discount, like at least 25% off and nike never runs sales. so this is a good thing, no?

Played golf today at a new course. Lots of water and sand. My golf balls decided they liked to swim...poor suckers all drowned. The sand traps reminded me of the planet Dune.... hot, dusty, no water, and full of giant worms...I decided to stay out of there and just take the penalty.. The toughest part was the wind...25-35 mph gusts in my face for 3/4 of the course. I tried to hit em low with a 5, 6, or 7 but the wind made me unstable...ok...I've always been unstable...never mind about my personal stuff.. Terrible score 106. But all the guys I play with all shot at least 100 and 2 of them are low 80's golfers. Because I had the highest score, they had to buy my beer at the 19th hole. Made the whole crazy episode worth it...thus ends my journaling for the day

FS

ok, i rarely go ocd and all minute detail planner/tinker and stuff, but this golf club thing is a problem my brain won't quit trying to solve, so i have been thinking a lot about it, even in my dreams.

by the official rules, you are allowed to carry 14 clubs in your bag. so what 14 clubs should that be? there are some obvious choices and a few 'shoulder' clubs to fill in the gaps. this i what i have come up with, what i would do if money was not an object.

but i also have to ask myself... this golf game is a blast and i am in it cheap and there is no way any set of clubs at this level is going to improve my game by a factor of 8 so why pay 8 times more for a fancy set of tools? at this point, what difference does it make?

we have a range session today and tomorrow a tee time. maybe on monday while everybody is at the lake we might go on a short road trip and visit another semi-local course for an extra round.

i am going to think out loud about club selection and why. any input is welcome.

necessary clubs:

1#, driver. yes, even though i can't control it yet and hardly use it, you need a good driver. i prefer to use the 3w instead even on the long holes because a medium shot that hits the fairway or close is way better than a monster drive that rockets over the railroad tracks. this is the most expensive club in the bag, and it better be a good one.

2#, 3 wood. probably the most used club in the bag, i use it almost every tee except for the short par 3 iron holes. you better be good with this club, both off the tee and on long smooth fairway second shots. the 3 wood is your money maker, it's the one what keeps you in play.

3#, putter. yep, better have a good putter that whispers to you through the ether, one that bends reality and space and time, and can even trick momentum and gravity, like a light saber only better, whooompf whooompf young jedi.

so that is 3 clubs, 11 left to go.

That's a tough one Burro. Very personal. It's all about YOU and only you can figure out the best mix. I change my clubs sometimes depending on the course. What clubs do you hit the best/worst? Are the fairways wide and forgiving or not? Is there a lot of water and sand? Is it hilly or flat terrain? Are there a lot of trees or other natural obstructions, etc. Takes time to get to a place where you feel comfortable. Enjoy the journey. And watch out for those dreams..

FS

more necessary clubs, but the number of them is undefined:

irons. you have to have irons. my current set is second run cavity-back callaways. they go 6-7-8-9-pw-sw (p = pitching wedge, s = sand wedge). so that is six more clubs, but they leave me feeling lacking. the 6i is a short club, you cannot pound it for low straight distance. my favorite club as a youth in my previous golf life was the 5 iron, i could hit it like throwing darts, adjust my body and technique not the club, and i don't have one now. i have already regretted it.

this brings up another problem, the second shot medium game from the fairway or rough. the 4- and 5-hybrids don't really do it for me, i can't feel them. so you need longer irons in this situation, i would rather hit a 5 iron than a 5 hybrid, and there are rarely spots where you get a perfect fairway lie and want a 5 wood. and none of those can match the long straight potential of a 4 iron with consistent technique from any lie, unless there are trees in your way which happens sometimes, but i can always see a path through the trees although mostly it just gets caught up in the branches and drops down in a hole by the trunk.

#8, irons. 4-5-6-7-8-9-pw-sw, that is eight more clubs added to the three previous for sure necessaries. i want these all the same brand, nothing special, just predictable, and same brand matching the woods.

the 4i or 5i can sub for the gap in between 3w and 6i from any lie that i have the most trouble with now.

so i am at #11 clubs.

i have used up 11 of my 14 choices now in my fantasy golf world: d, 3w, 4-sw, & p. that only leaves me three clubs to fine tune. this is not so bad, this process of elimination. all of the clubs in that above group would be the same manufacturer and model, with the exception of the putter.

what fits between a 3w and a 4- or 5-iron? a 5 wood or 5 hybrid? what fits between a pw or sw and the putter? an aw (approach wedge)?

if the default is a 5i, then i think a 5w on a smooth fairway lie would beat it. and a 5h would also beat it from a less than perfect fairway lie. but 5i is always the first choice from the rough.

i have a philosophical problem with the hybrid clubs, make up your damn mind, what are you? but my kid can kill the 5h so i see the beauty in that, but i just can't hit it yet.

i think you need both a 5 wood for those perfect short fairway shots, and a 5 hybrid for those imperfect fairway shots. save the 5 iron for the rough or when you gonna frikkin nail it. you can put shape on a 5i, i have done it before.

#2, add the 5w and 5h and that puts me at 13 clubs.