golf

[burrocrat]

Well, I ordered TopFlite but got Wilson for some reason. Not a big deal but I'm a little disappointed.

same company, same balls. i am shooting pinnacle golds at a buck apiece right now. gonna shoot some free topflites next round. and i have some callaway warbirds at about $1.35 per ball. none of them are going to change my game. i like these balls because they have 'tsptalk' on them. priceless.

 

[tsptalk]

We may have to do a Mug Shot version with the golf balls from courses around the country.

 

[k0nkuzh0n]

Gonna need a GoPro, or some type of waterproof camera :laugh:

We may have to do a Mug Shot version with the golf balls from courses around the country.

 

[tsptalk]

Re: Burrocrat Hall of Fame Inductee

Hole #18 at Schneiter's Riverside course in Riverdale Utah. Last hole finally remembered to snap a shot.

I didn't use them but I gave a sleeve to a friend of mine. He hit one into the water and I almost fell in retrieving it, but here it is alive and well.

 

[burrocrat]

oh man, we don't have greens out here in nodak like that.

plus the wind is blowing and everything is dried out. we don't really have water hazards out here either, just spots where the cattails grow and some drainage once in a while. most of the water goes to growing food for the rest of the states where they have lots of water for golf courses but no food.

anyways, they rope off the 'water' hazards so it is easier to imagine a lake there. glad you didn't fall in.

 

[burrocrat]

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.

 

[tsptalk]

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.

 

[FogSailing]

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

 

[FireWeatherMet]

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.

 

[burrocrat]

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?

 

[FogSailing]

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

 

[burrocrat]

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.

 

[burrocrat]

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.

 

[FogSailing]

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

 

[burrocrat]

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.

 

[burrocrat]

Re: Burrocrat Hall of Fame Inductee

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.

 

[burrocrat]

last club then for my dream golf gear. it has to be a specialty wedge to fill the gap between pw, sw, and putter. keeping with the same brand theory as all the other clubs that would be an aw (approach wedge). this is basically a putter you can hit from the fringe or short rough within 20 yards from the hole as i understand it. it would be really critical to be able to control these types of shots.

the aw is different from the sw when you just need to blast it out, and also different from the pw when you need 50 yards. of course my natural tendency would be to keep it in the same club family, but if you watch the banner ads on tsptalk they now advertise a miracle wedge for $99 that will shave a stroke off of every hole. now who doesn't like strokes and shaving and holes? tough sell there, give that advertising genius a raise, almost tricked me into clicking the buy button.

#1, approach wedge. that puts me at 14 clubs. that is the limit. for my peace of mind i would prefer all of the clubs to be the same brand and model but i could compromise on the putter and specialty wedge, and i would pay to get them all gripped the same, eventually.

so where does that leave me? d, 3w, 5w, 5h, 4-sw, aw, putter. that is my 14 clubs if i was on a spending spree, but i'm not, yet. because that brings up a whole nother set of problems.

 

[burrocrat]

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

i shoot the irons best. out here almost everything is long and flat with no water. and i've tried but i can't watch out for those dreams, they seem to hit me hardest when my guard is down.

 

[burrocrat]

i want callaways, the type i am looking at are callaway xr's. this is apparently an old last couple years model because they have newer xr-16's now, amazon warns me about these things. but i could get all 14 clubs mentioned same brand and grips, plus a new bag and some extra gloves and fancy balls for $2,000. but i can only get in them standard lengths, not measured and fit because they are out of production? if i want to go whole hog then it takes $3,000 for the set. would this help me? i doubt it.

in for a penny, in for a pound. there is no reason to spend $2k for xr's or even $3k at this point, but a custom $3k set of xr-16's would definitely be a better value than $2k standard. this is a difficult question.

on the other hand... i could waste at least $3k in one sitting on things of far less value. hell, you could enjoy a night in vegas full of coke and hookers for $3k and not even get to take the bag home and keep it in the garage. it's all relative i suppose.

 

[burrocrat]

so this is my compromise...

i am not buying a new set of clubs because i will save that for later when i need a little extra oooompf after i get better but not yet great. in the meantime i will just practice with what i got. then i will show them.

but i probably am going to order a single club callaway xr 5 iron to add another trick to my budget bag. after i develop some midrange accuracy then i might look at putters or specialty wedges.

also, i am now ready to begin wagering on my golf game. if any of you ever find yourself in north dakota with a few hours to spare i will find you, and bet you a beer, let me know.