Best Shot of the Year!

Dick, Thanks for keeping the blog informed. We are all hoping they can be recovered and re-posted with their respective dates and blogs. Please keep us informed on any progress. Thanks for your assistance, it is well appreciated.

As for a round in Columbus with you and Roger,  it sounds interesting if times and dates permit. I live in the Canton area which is about 2hrs north of Columbus. My SSGS Fitter 
http://deadsolidperfectgolfclu...
is in the Columbus area and would perhaps be interested as well. Tina, whom I recently met in Mansfield with my fitter is about an hour north of me in the Cleveland area. I seem to recall one other in the Ohio area, but the name is slipping away. 

If you are going to be in the Cincinnati area there is an SSGS certified fitter there as well.
Just in case you're in the market for one.
 http://www.conquestcustomgolf....

What you said is true but as a measurement only one is measured from wrist to floor and the converted to actual club length for each club.

Dan:  Good info and I really appreciate it.  Sounds like it really depends on the particular course we are playing determines what wedges we use.  Thanks much, R2

Doc:  Thank you for explaining this to me in your e-mail the other day.  You've talked about it before but it just didn't sink into the old memory bank. lol.

 One question, a little off topic.  I am wondering if there is a "standard" bounce for sand wedges.  I have one that is 10*, and one that is 14*, and a 1-Iron SW that claims to be 6*.  I believe that most people use a 10* bounce, but was wondering if you could shed a little light on it for us.  Thanks much, R2

Hey Bob, just noticed your post. How you doing pal? Did you start golf school yet? I want to hear all about it. Let us know.

Robert, I play in a mixed church league on Monday evenings. The old saying, enough to make a preacher cuss is so true. I have heard words come out of the mouths of people that would never be heard in any other situation. Just like me, they are always embarrassed and sorry after it slips past the lips. The more heart you put into it, the more aggravating it can be. PMG

That's not sand, it's hard pan, and needs to be played the same as any other hard pan lie you might encounter anywhere else on the course. Good clean ball contact first. In a bunker, you need a club with a sufficient loft to carry any high lips as primary and distance as secondary, since the distance won't matter, if you can't clear the lip. At least that's how I play hard pan in a bunker.

I was not at all scared off by the tirade. You should see me when I really get frustrated. :) I have done my best to learn curse words in as many languages as possible.

One aside thought about what I was working on during our round that came clearer in my brain since. Particularly with the driver, I was focusing on starting the turn with the shoulders while I focused the arms only on lifting and keeping the palms perpendicular. I should have focused on that with the irons, as well, as maybe I'd have thinned fewer. I found that it let me keep my arms clear of my chest better, without the tendency to want to push them out.

Steve:  Thanks for the reference to Doc's video.  It really helps to see what the "norm" is, and I realize now it just depends on playing conditions.  Sounds like you have a tough course there at Lil Mole.   Our courses here in Northern Utah have a wide variety of playing surfaces and conditions, and sometimes it is hard to decide what club to use.  By the way, thanks for posting your swing videos - they are interesting and it is fun to see how your swing improves as you work on getting all the little "details" worked out.  Keep hitting 'em straight!  R2  

Thanks Roy.    You are absolutly right and have swarn an oath to never buy another club over the internet unless its through a fitter. Hopefully Doc.      Cheers Russty

What I like the most is the shot has less spin than one with a lot of arm rotation. Out here in the desert the greens tend to firm up so a spinner is of much less use. Also slightly opening or closing the club face can influence the ball on slopes similar to how a cue ball's spin can move it where you want on the table.

Yesterday I played 9 to test out a different driver and had 10 putts for a 2 under 34. Up and down 5/5 with one chip in, 3/3 sandies. The 2 holes not one putted where long putts for a birdie and an eagle on the par fives.

The driver tested will go back to its resting place. Great launch angle, too little spin and the shaft a bit too soft.

Mike, congrats on gathering it all together after the slow start. I feel for you and not having a place to warm up before your round.Cumberland Lake does but it's hitting floaters into the lake and I just don't see how that can help to much.When I have time and isn't so blasted hot I slip up to Limestone Springs and warm up then come back down to CL to play my round.Continued success, my friend and will continue to look forward to your updates.

Steve Smith:

   YES -- that is the best solution == "stay out of those bunkers"
    Unfortunately, we have smallish greens and on average 3 bunkers per green.
    Why is it so difficult to hit a green and so easy to hit the bunkers beside it?   LOL

    Amos

Let me try this.  If I ask you to get in the ready position, what position are you getting in?  Are you in the driver stance position or the PW position?

Now, that's a bit of misleading question as in the proper address position your hands are basically in the same position as the lie angle gets more upright as the club gets shorter which keeps the hands centrally  located. 

The accepted measuring position is at attention with shoulder and head up and hands down by the side.  This gives the fitter a starting point with which to work in regards to length.  It's a guide not a given. 

I see your position as an assumption that the player knows what the proper address position is and I see it as the player gets in the position based on habit and what he's accustomed too.  In other words, a player that has clubs to long would by nature have an improper ready position as would a player with clubs too short.  The WTF chart is based off of years of experience and again is a guide to the starting point for a players proper length.

Hey Terry and Steve, Ya I do get a little intense. Robert is very polite and a calm soul. I just hope I didn't scare him off with my little tiraid (sp?). Over all I am pleased with my progress. That 7 on the last hole included my only 3 putt of the morning. That was a flash of my old self, by the green in two on a par 5 then... ugh!!!! Otherwise my new putter and method is yielding much better putting. I did have one "no putt" on #4 from the fringe sank a 14 footer for a par save. Otherwise had a one putt and 6 more two putts. I will continue working on my short game.

Russty:  Don't feel too bad:  I, too, did the same thing many times.  You can't believe the LARGE number of name-brand clubs I have bought, tried, sold,  traded and gave away., It took me a while to realize there had to be a better way to find a club that actually worked well for me, and that way is to have it built for you by someone that really knows what they are doing. It wasn't until I started participating in this blog that I really learned about proper fittings, etc.  I realize now it is the only way to go if you really want to play better, more consistent golf.  Take care and have a great day.  R2

DOC:

   well said!
   Now what do you recommend (beyond prayer) for sand that is "hard and packed like concrete"  but also has a high lip on the bunker? Putting is NOT an option - and frequently neither is chipping.

   Keep hittng them STRAIGHT and LONG

   Amos

Rhig1, Please respond to the call. I have information that Tom Jans, director of marketing for The Surge, is now interested in the old lost 2010 videos , which you said you have saved. I passed your username on through email, so someone may be trying to contact you again in regards to the videos. I am not sure who you were in contact with before by email, but perhaps it would be a good idea for you to contact them again about this endeavor, or contact Tom Jans directly.

Let me be the first to say that I hope this can be worked out some way, and thank you so very much for your willingness to assist in the process.

Terry - Tom Jans just sent me an email on Sat. I told him my problem ,that there were too many blogs to copy very easily. He said he could come down here to Savannah, Ga. and have a devise to copy them more eficiently. He will be calling here tomorrow to discuss this with my wife because I am not a computer expert and she is. Will keep you posted. By the way we have family in Cincinnati and get up there periodically. Maybe we can meet somewhere around Columbus and get a round in. I would like to do the same with Roger as he is just across the river.

Dick H

Height is not a consideration in proper club length.  How far your hands are off the ground is the measurement that is important.  I would guess though that at your height,  your WTF would be in the 30 to 32 inch range and a standard ladies driver at 44" is too long.  Consider, the average driver length for tour players is 44" to 44.5", I think the standard ladies driver is too long for the average lady.

Your shaft could be cut and I'm sure that there are people there that could do it properly.  The thing to do is to go to the range.  Hit balls with duct tape on the face and keep choking down until you are hitting the majority ( 7 or 8 shots out of 10 ) in the middle of the face.  Mark this spot and have it cut there.  Ask the people that you are considering doing the work if they put weight back in the head when they cut.  If the answer is no, keep looking.  Or.... you could email me and I can tell you how much weight to put back based on how much needs to be cut then you can tell the club maker how much weight to add and look like a pro.

Doc:  Thanks for the clarification.  After looking at your video that Steve referenced, I realize it is best to pay attention to course conditions, and use the club that will work best for you in those conditions.  Have a great day!  R2 

Hi Roy,

I have three wedges in my set.  A 52* with 8* of bounce, a 56* with 8* of bounce and a 60* with 14* of bounce.  The 52* wedge is mainly for playing off of the fairway and out of the rough, and having the 56* and 60* wedges with different bounces, allows me to play them from differing sand conditions while still being able to use them from outside of the bunkers as well.  In softer sand conditions, I like the 60*/14*, while I use the 56*/8* in harder sand conditions such as after a rain storm.

Hit'em Long and Straight,
Bob

Mike

Sounds like pretty good shootin to me.  I agree about the heat for sure.  Did not go out all week, temps all over 105 and topped out at 111 combined with high humidity.  I walk and don't mind working up a sweat, but there is a point when you have to use a bit of common sense.

We all do the shoulda, coulda, woulda thing.  Sounds like you are on track to break 80.  Hang in there.

Lynn42

Doc, mine cuts through the dusty dirt Cumberland Lake calls sand very nicely, thank you much!

Hi Robert,
Not yet, I leave for school on 22 August. I'm starting to get a bit antsy to get started. There's tons of stuff to do around the house, I have lots of customers with last minute projects, and tons of golf to play. :0)

Once I know my schedule in September, I'll try to get to Vegas and hook up with You and Robert F.

Hit'em Long and Straight,
Bob

Tom
I am not having the volume issues. I can hear the Surge's Youtube just fine on a low volume setting. You might check for another problem or setting.

Regards  Jim

It was great fun, even if I couldn't hit an iron to save my life half the time. Oh, well. Surge says 'thin to win,' right? At least it worked really well a few times. If only my putting weren't so lousy right now. Also have to go back and recheck my alignment with the driver, because I hit them well, but pushed most of them.

I also look forward to our next chance to get nine in. I think we'll both be in a little better form.

Terry,
Glad to hear a sincere effort is being made to recover the 2010 video blogs. There value is beyond words, as are really every daily going back to early 2009.

Depending on length of shot you could use anything from a pitching wedge to a low bounce sand wedge laid open.  The angle of attack has to be rather steep as well.

Steve, you sound alot like my brother Craig. He's never had a lesson and bombs everything. He never knows what club to use because odds are it's going long. He hits a 9 iron 180 when he's got 150. We are similar build and strength it just is. Heck, any more I am happy to hit a 4 iron or hybrid 180. Craig also never hits any kind of wood even going for the green on a par 5. Driver,iron.
Of course I am both jealous and pproud of him at the ame time. A year a go hit hit a drive 345 and it rolled about 10 yards short of the group on the green. He waved and opologized but you know it was bragging rights. BTW he's 57 years old.

I have a suggestion to try to overcome the Lil Mole bermuda. I use a stiff wrist brush stroke for all chips and pitches up to 50 yards or so. The only exception are sand shots and flops. The technique is to have the shaft perpendicular instead of hands forward. By doing this the bottom of the arc is at the ball. Hope this might work for you.

Doc, It seems to me that a "standard" rotational swing is assumed in the design of golf clubs and dictates the lie angle. Does a vertical, surge swing result in the lie angles being a little too flat, and then causing the player to be a little too far from the ball? 

The Alien Wedge I mentioned earlier today, along with the Great Escape Wedge, will cut right through the concrete. Just enter an inch or so behind the ball and follow through.

Steve, were you using SGW's stiff wrist idea?
Anyway good playing. I knew you wouldn't resist going to Lil Mole.

I play at so many different courses, with so many different types of maintained and non-maintained green side bunkers that I have only found one club that works for all. It is the one club from my older sets that I continue to keep in play. The Alien Wedge.  For anyone having trouble with green side bunkers, you should give one a try. A very similar copy available through Master Grip is the Great Escape Wedge, well worth the small price of $30.00

http://www.mggolf.com/irons.as...

Nope. Contrary to what you have been told and taught, lie angle is not dictated by swing plane rather the force and release of a weight (club head) on the end of a stick (shaft) which produces toe down or droop.  The amount of force, weight, and relative firmness or softness of the shaft tip is what determines lie angle.

Actually, the modern golf club is designed with a more upright lie angle than years ago.  Reason being that the more upright the club the easier it is to hit left and reduce slicing.