This just isn't realistic bc I don't have the time to commit to lessons consistently enough to benefit from them. I also have 0 driving ranges within 40 min of work so it's impossible to practice on weekdays except in the middle of summer and even then It means sitting in traffic hell. I'm comfortable being a ~10 hdcp and don't expect to ever get to scratch. I'm simply trying to figure out which clubs can shave a few strokes off of where I'm at.

You could probably significantly alter the AoA with tee height and a couple of setup adjustments like ball position and hip tilt as mentioned earlier.

As a 10 hcp i dont think you can shave a "few" strokes off of your game with equipment. You might be able to do that with course management/strategy but I suspect your scoring expectations will remain similar with just an equipment change.

warning: golf newb. Not a total newbie as I've had some good rounds in the 80's on relatively tough courses. But as of recently, after many years off, I aspire for bogey golf, but know I am capable of playing at a much higher level if I can find the time to play more. however, I also will be very busy with career transition so its not my main priority but I hope to play at least a few times a week, by actually playing + range.

The course I am living close to has real tight fairways, lots of bunkers and isn't really beginner friendly at all. However, I think its perfect place to practice for my short game, which is really struggling from 100 yards in. I believe if I play here enough (course is cheap), that I can really elevate my game and cause me to really dial in more and feel more comfortable with my irons. Here are my current clubs and general estimated distances---


54 degree -- 95-110 yards, usually 105 fullswing (good contact) (cleveland)
58 degree -- 105-115 yards, usually 115 fullswing (good contact) (callaway)
PW120-130, usually 125-130 yards (good contact)
9 iron 135-140
8 iron 145-155
etc etc etc

Given this course set up, I basically find myself playing within 80-110 yard shots constantly, and if my PW is going 125yds+ that means I only have 2 clubs, so I almost feel like I need one more wedge, but I am not sure and maybe need to keep recording my exact distances with my wedges to find that missing distance but I definitely already feel like I either need a 52 or 60 degree. Also my 54 degree is a cleveland, and my 58 degree is a callaway. I do not have a sandwedge, so I've been using my 54 in the sand, I was told think that by using my 54 in the sand it can do long term damage to the grooves. I'd love to pick up a ping eye 2 SW, with the illegal grooves , but I think those are hard to come by, without buying a whole set. Remember owning one in the past and it was good for 90 yards (good contact) which is a distance I could use, and I could use it out of the sand.

Also is there any advice for taking halfswings or quarter swings or any other general advice for say about 70-30 yards in? Cool youtube videos, etc? Feel free to post anything you find interesting or think is helpful, appreciate it gentleman.

The ball was teed up slightly lower than I would normally when getting fit. I will try putting the ball more forward and getting that hip tilt.

Also based on how well you hit the driver now there are very few courses out there where an extra 10-20 will make any significant difference. Unless your game falls apart in the 3I to 6I range I saw go with what you like. No need for lessons unless you are seriously trying to drop significant strokes. You said it yourself that you can't practice so why drop the money learning something you can't practice.

Find a 50* wedge to add to your bag for sure. Yes, using a club out of the sand will wear down grooves but don't sweat it. You should be replacing wedges every so often anyways.

guessing you have your 54* and 58* numbers backward?
i've ditched a longer club and carry a 58* (85-95 yds), 54* (95-105 yds), and 50* (105-115) Titlest Vokey wedges at a full swing. my PW is a different manuf. and goes ~125-135. i have no clue what it means to have wedges from different manufacturers, but i can see how it might be challenging to fill all the yardage gaps unless you really know the distance of each.

look up any David Pelz video on wedge play and you're likely to learn something, especially the clock system.

edit:

Does 0.1* 0>1 on a launch monitor basically mean slightly outside to in or slightly inside to out

Positive number means inside to out and negative number is out to in when referring to swing direction.

Demo day at the local driving range. I went looking for a 3-wood and dried a bunch of clubs.

Callaway GBB
Callaway XR
Ping G
some older Cobra high launch (was horrible)
TaylorMade M1

I also tried the new Cobra driver and was not a big fan of it.

The M1 is the winner with the G coming in a close second. They had my exact shaft for the 3 wood so that was a plus. After I tried it out I was talking to the rep and he pulls out a Graphite Design Tour AD DI7 in an x flex. Best shaft I have ever tried. Too bad it's a $200 upcharge shaft and I will not spend $500 on a 3 wood.

Has anyone tried the Black Tie shaft?

I had a few swings with one on a friends driver. Seemed good maybe a little more accurate but hard to say on like 5 swings.

I've had the Black Tie in both a SLDR and R15, two thumbs up

Thanks for the feedback. Looking at the profile of that shaft it would seem perfect for me.

Feels good when you finish a round that you think you gave away 4 or 5 strokes and you look at the card and see you still shot 82.

anyone have/tried a Cure putter?

I have played with people who use them. They sound funky but are quite good as a broom to clean snow off the green in the winter.

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/700420233731899392

Leaving this here for Bo just in case he missed it: http://www.cobragolf.com/pumagolf/ig...-se-golf-shoe#

I bought a compressor a couple of weeks ago because I wanted a nail gun and the option for spray painting and so on. I had heard about this method a while back from a guy at our club, and after a quick youtube session, tried putting on a grip this way today - I'll never be doing it any other way now.

Playing in a charity scramble today. Should be interesting to see what we shoot. The caps in my group are 8, 10 (me), 12 and 18. If they play the white tees today which are 5900 yards we should have half wedges into every green.

59

not sure if scramble or shamble, but 59 might not get you top 3.

Zero chance 59 gets top 3 between the chance there are teams all single digits and teams that are quite liberal with the scoring standards and the pencil eraser.

If you are having half wedges into greens, there'll be a few teams that are driving them.

Also it's important to know if there are stupid things like gimme rope, mulligans, etc.

Never the less, rule 1 of playing a scramble is to expect to be cheated and expect to not win.

Didn't expect to win that's for sure. Apparently everyone on my team decided to leave the irons in the car because we couldn't hit it near the pin for ****. We shot -2 on the front 9, 8 pars and one eagle. The lone eagle was all my shots. 465y par 5 (yep, used the white tees), had 143y to the green. Hit it to 10 feet and dropped the putt. We played a little better and shot and shot -5 for a -7 total.

Damn tournament didn't have any longest drive competitions, it was closest to the center of the fairway.

Was for charity and all and my company paid for it, so all good.

I heard someone was -18, pretty tough in the wind conditions we had and the greens were lightning fast.