Golf clubs

[shrader]

It's really a personal thing.  I'd suggest going to a Edwin Watts-type place and hitting some irons.  Try Cavity-back and blades.  Also, try some oversized grips and see how they feel.  Don't forget to ensure the shaft stiffness (cue Beavis laugh) suits your swing.

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STAY AWAY FROM BLADES!

 

With the scoring range he mentioned, blades would probably be a terrible option. The only people who should be using blades are pros, and a lot of them won't go near them. They're very effective clubs IF you have the great swing to go along with them.

 

 

If you're really serious, the best option would be to try out a lot of clubs as others have suggested. When you make up your mind, get them fitted. A lot of places will do this for free if you're buying the clubs from them.

[Ramius]

Also, my short game improved by leaps and bounds when I expanded my set to include a 56 and 60 degree wedge.

 

In short -- find some irons that feel good to you (I play with Callaways), but look into some utility woods to replace the long irons and an expanded repertoire of wedges.  And then get some lessons and practice. 

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Moreso than any other club in my bag, the 60 degree wedge for me is either feast or famine. When it works, which isn't that often, it's a thing of beauty and I'm dropping balls next to the cup all day. When it doesn't work, which is more often than not, I come up short by 10 feet or somehow manage to get 80 yards out of the thing from 45 yards out.

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Aint that the truth. No matter what irons you have, the simplest way to take a few shots off your game is to get some decent wedges and learn how to hit them. I got myself a 60 degre lob wedge and i love it. As LA said, when its on, i can drop the ball on the cup and 1-putt all day. The trick is to practice practice and practice some more with it. Only way to learn to hit a wedge like that is repetition. You wont be bale to hit it at first, but you'll get better. If you dont use it enough, all of your shots will be straight up in the air, or skulled along the ground 50 yds past the green.

[smokinandjokin]

When it doesn't work, which is more often than not, I come up short by 10 feet or somehow manage to get 80 yards out of the thing from 45 yards out.

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I'm with you LA. The most glaring flaw in my game is the 20-60 yard approach shot. My touch is pathetic. I would say that my lack of confidence in this shot makes me too tentative, because 75% of the time I end up very short. Probably 15% of the time I get too aggressive with it and bomb it long. But there's that sweet 10% of the time when you do exactly what you wanted and drop it in tight.

 

On some of the shorter chips, 30 yards and less, I have been using my 7-iron as opposed to a wedge. I got sick and tired of leaving everything short, and with lack of practice, my touch around the greens was poor. I started pulling the 7 and giving a good run at the pin and at least the chance to get close. Flopping it up with a wedge was leaving too many long putts. That touch would come with enough practice, but like I said, I was never that committed.

 

The good thing about practicing with wedges is that you don't even need a course. Just go out in the backyard with a bunch of balls, set a bucket 20 yards a way, and try to chip 'em in, over and over.

[linksfiend]

STAY AWAY FROM BLADES!

 

With the scoring range he mentioned, blades would probably be a terrible option.  The only people who should be using blades are pros, and a lot of them won't go near them.  They're very effective clubs IF you have the great swing to go along with them. 

If you're really serious, the best option would be to try out a lot of clubs as others have suggested.  When you make up your mind, get them fitted.  A lot of places will do this for free if you're buying the clubs from them.

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I couldn't agree more - blades are for single digit handicappers who have the ability to shape their shots, i.e. play a draw or fade when they desire.

 

The rest of us should be using cavity backs - probably oversize.

 

Also I would recommend graphite shafts. They twist less (stiffer torsion) than steel shafts thus produce straighter shots for off center hits. So again, steel shafts are only for people who want to shape their shots.

[plenzmd1]

I'm with you LA.  The most glaring flaw in my game is the 20-60 yard approach shot.  My touch is pathetic.  I would say that my lack of confidence in this shot makes me too tentative, because 75% of the time I end up very short.  Probably 15% of the time I get too aggressive with it and bomb it long.  But there's that sweet 10% of the time when you do exactly what you wanted and drop it in tight.

 

On some of the shorter chips, 30 yards and less, I have been using my 7-iron as opposed to a wedge.  I got sick and tired of leaving everything short, and with lack of practice, my touch around the greens was poor.  I started pulling the 7 and giving a good run at the pin and at least the chance to get close.  Flopping it up with a wedge was leaving too many long putts.  That touch would come with enough practice, but like I said, I was never that committed.

 

The good thing about practicing with wedges is that you don't even need a course.  Just go out in the backyard with a bunch of balls, set a bucket 20 yards a way, and try to chip 'em in, over and over.

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Smokin,

 

A ggod portion of my lessons weres spent on the short game. And, I as well tend to hit more shotslike you describe, using mid irons a lot from 60 yrds in, unless bunker or hazard between me and the pin, then its close eyes and pray time lol.

 

BTW, a book I read that helped me a lot was Harvey Pinnicks "little red Book". Lots of common sence in how to approach the game. He says in there if you wre 10 yds and in from the green and wewre asked to throw the ball close to the pin, how would you get there. Must likely you would roll the ball, more than throwing in the air and hoping it stops. Made sence to me.

 

Also, what has helped tremendously in putting is that realizing"never up, never in" is garbage. Watch guys you play with, and outside of a putt left 10 feet short, almost 80% of all three putss are caused by going past the hole.

 

Last thing he really talks about is the mental approach. No matter what happens now, I always look at how it could have been a worse shot, and how I am going to the make next shot, instead of killing myself for the dolt swing i just took.

 

 

BTW, as I mentioned earlier, I have no idea on clubs. I have owned two sets in the last twenty years, and they seem to work for me. In terms of the wedges, I use just a standard PW and SW. I really do not have the time to practice much anymore, and those clubs take mucho practice to have any confidence in them. I love when my boys , who play like me, maybe 10 times a year, take a lob out of their bag, cause i think they got about 10% chance of pureing that thing, and about 90% chance of adding an additional stroke to their card instaed of just hittin a PW where they have confidence.

 

 

BTW, someone mentioned utility woods. My favorite club is my 7 wood. Knock that thing pretty good anywhere from 185 to 210, just by adjusting my grip. Love that friggen club, and the guy I took lessons from is the guy who made me start hitting it. Fellas give me some poop about it being a ladies club, but when they buying after the round, they get to call a lady while buying me drinks!!!!!!

[smokinandjokin]

BTW, someone mentioned utility woods. My favorite club is my 7 wood. Knock that thing pretty good anywhere from 185 to 210, just by adjusting my grip. Love that friggen club, and the guy I took lessons from is the guy who made me start hitting it. Fellas give me some poop about it being a ladies club, but when they buying after the round, they get to call a lady while buying me drinks!!!!!!

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My old man carries a 7-wood, and I always gave him some stick about it. But I have to say, I can absolutely cream that club, and 3/4 of the time it is dead straight. He also bought the new 3-wood and 5-wood hybrids. I have played those as well and can put a pretty sweet swing on them. However, I am also able to hit the 3 and 4-irons pretty well, so I'm not sure I myself would carry a 7-wood or the hybrids.

 

Thanks for the info in your post plenz. I'll check out that book, too. I'm excited to play more than just my standard +/- 10 times this year. I am a pretty good athlete, and I've always had a "knack" for golf, but I've never focused or practiced or cared enough to score well. I hope this summer I will have some time to really work at it and improve.

[IDBillzFan]

On some of the shorter chips, 30 yards and less, I have been using my 7-iron as opposed to a wedge.

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I tend to use clubs in an unconventional manner. My friends give me crap, but I'm sorry. If I know I won't putt well from just off the green, I'll use a three iron and top it.

 

My game is based on the Suck Management System. Try to manage not to suck too much.

[shrader]

Also I would recommend graphite shafts.  They twist less (stiffer torsion) than steel shafts thus produce straighter shots for off center hits.  So again, steel shafts are only for people who want to shape their shots.

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I've never actually paid too much attention to that, but I would've thought it was the other way around. Graphite has more flex (so if you have a fast swing speed, that's not so good for irons), so I would've assumed that the torsion would be the same.

[plenzmd1]

I've never actually paid too much attention to that, but I would've thought it was the other way around.  Graphite has more flex (so if you have a fast swing speed, that's not so good for irons), so I would've assumed that the torsion would be the same.

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You can get graphite with differant tensile strength. As mentioned, going to get fitted, your swing spped will be measured, and the right staff suggested. Talk to most pros, and they will tell you most guys ego get in the way and they always want "stiff", thinking their swing speed is great, and often buy the wrong clubs to assuage their ego

 

And yes, graphite has more flex, so for average golfers with slower swing speeds, is the way to go.

[eball]

Moreso than any other club in my bag, the 60 degree wedge for me is either feast or famine. When it works, which isn't that often, it's a thing of beauty and I'm dropping balls next to the cup all day. When it doesn't work, which is more often than not, I come up short by 10 feet or somehow manage to get 80 yards out of the thing from 45 yards out.

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I don't use the 60 degree from the fairway -- recipe for disaster, at least for me. I use it out of the traps and when I'm in thick stuff around the greens. There's no stranger sensation than taking a full swing and watching the ball just "pop" out of the fluffy stuff and land softly on the green.

 

The 56 degree wedge, though, is the best club in my bag right now. If I'm 75 yards out, it's money, and until now I've never said that about ANY club.