Golfers of RedsZone (aka War Stories from the Rough)

[Redlegs23]

And to join in the club discussion, I have a couple of questions. Before I ask my questions I will just say that I recently bought a 19 degree hybrid and absolutely love it. I've always struggled with my 3 and 4 irons but the hybrid is so dang easy to it.

OK, two questions, first my driver. I bought a used Taylor Made 320 Ti 9.5 degree back when I was in high school, over 10 years ago. Obviously technology has changed a lot, but I am still using this driver. I really don't know where to start when it comes to looking for new ones. I think I probably should have a stiff shaft, but not positive. I also read that a 10 or 10.5 degree would be more appropriate for my skill set. Any advice on what to look for? Any specific drivers you recommend?

Second, my irons are almost as old, I'm using Calloway X-16's that I bought 9 or 10 years ago. I've always liked them fine, but the other day at Golfsmith I picked up a Nike blade and hit a few balls, and wow, I have never hit a ball in my life that felt as good as it did coming off that club. I probably am not ready for blades because I still mis-hit my fair share of balls, but are there irons in between game improvement irons like the X-16's and blade irons? Would they really be something that could help my game and be worth the investment. Any advice at all? Thanks guys!

[Homer Bailey]

Not to break up the club conversation, but I need to pat myself on the back for a minute. I'm a decent golfer, not great, but not terrible. I typically shoot in the mid to upper 80's. Two years ago I was pretty bad, and I still am bad at times. But two years ago for the first time I started studying the golf swing and teaching myself on the range. Anyways, last week in my 9 hole league at my local course I played better than I ever have and shot even par 36. This is after I started with a double bogey. My best 9 hole round prior to that was a 40, so this was a big deal for me. I birdied 2 of my last 3 holes, including the last one. Had about a 4 footer to get to even and it looked like a 15 footer knowing it would get me to par. I really didn't putt that great either, missed about 3 putts from roughly 7 feet. Irons were just deadly.

Ok, I'm done reliving my experience and bragging, you can now return to your previous club discussion.

Congrats Redlegs, keep it up.

[bucksfan2]

And to join in the club discussion, I have a couple of questions. Before I ask my questions I will just say that I recently bought a 19 degree hybrid and absolutely love it. I've always struggled with my 3 and 4 irons but the hybrid is so dang easy to it.

OK, two questions, first my driver. I bought a used Taylor Made 320 Ti 9.5 degree back when I was in high school, over 10 years ago. Obviously technology has changed a lot, but I am still using this driver. I really don't know where to start when it comes to looking for new ones. I think I probably should have a stiff shaft, but not positive. I also read that a 10 or 10.5 degree would be more appropriate for my skill set. Any advice on what to look for? Any specific drivers you recommend?

Second, my irons are almost as old, I'm using Calloway X-16's that I bought 9 or 10 years ago. I've always liked them fine, but the other day at Golfsmith I picked up a Nike blade and hit a few balls, and wow, I have never hit a ball in my life that felt as good as it did coming off that club. I probably am not ready for blades because I still mis-hit my fair share of balls, but are there irons in between game improvement irons like the X-16's and blade irons? Would they really be something that could help my game and be worth the investment. Any advice at all? Thanks guys!

Go somewhere and hit some drivers. The new drivers are amazing how much distance you can gain. Each "new" driver I pick up I feel like I get 5-10 yards more distance on them. What I do is I hit a friends driver or even a demo to see if I like the look and feel of the club. If I like it I head over to ebay to look for a used model that is about a year old. As you can tell by my earlier posts I am not really a club afficionado so I really can't tell you what kind of shaft you need. I go with stiff because I generate a lot of club head speed and tend to look for an 8-9 at max degree driver because my ball flight is really high.

[MWM]

And to join in the club discussion, I have a couple of questions. Before I ask my questions I will just say that I recently bought a 19 degree hybrid and absolutely love it. I've always struggled with my 3 and 4 irons but the hybrid is so dang easy to it.

OK, two questions, first my driver. I bought a used Taylor Made 320 Ti 9.5 degree back when I was in high school, over 10 years ago. Obviously technology has changed a lot, but I am still using this driver. I really don't know where to start when it comes to looking for new ones. I think I probably should have a stiff shaft, but not positive. I also read that a 10 or 10.5 degree would be more appropriate for my skill set. Any advice on what to look for? Any specific drivers you recommend?

Second, my irons are almost as old, I'm using Calloway X-16's that I bought 9 or 10 years ago. I've always liked them fine, but the other day at Golfsmith I picked up a Nike blade and hit a few balls, and wow, I have never hit a ball in my life that felt as good as it did coming off that club. I probably am not ready for blades because I still mis-hit my fair share of balls, but are there irons in between game improvement irons like the X-16's and blade irons? Would they really be something that could help my game and be worth the investment. Any advice at all? Thanks guys!

A new driver will definitely help you. Driver technology has grown leaps and bounds since then, although that particular driver was the cream of the crop at the time.

One thing to keep in mind is that the driver head you're playing now is a 320cc head, while most new drivers these days are 460cc. The head will be much larger and it will likely take you a little time to adjust to that. Some players are fine right from the beginning but most need a few range sessions or rounds to adjust. If you're going to go demo the new drivers, just remember that if you have a hard time hitting them at first. Don't give up and say you'll stick with your current one.

The shaft is going to be more important than the driver head, so I'd focus mostly on that. And R-flex versus S-flex most likely won't make all that much difference, but the launch and spin profile will. Shaft technology has advanced much more than head technology and there are shaft options to fit just about anyone. Chances are, unless you're a really good golfer or a really big hitter, you should not be playing less than a 10.5* driver. You may even benefit from going to a 12* driver like I have, but some guys are too macho do consider that. When I first started playing with mine, I got a little ribbing from my buddies asking me if I just retired or if I started getting social security. But then they played a few rounds with me and saw how much longer I was and how much more control I had and I didn't hear another word.

Also, and this is probably the most important thing, your current driver is probably no more than 45" while most new ones are 45.5" to even 46". These are way too long for almost all golfers. If you get a new one, you should probably have it cut down to at least 45", and 44.5" would probably be even better....that is unless you're like 6'3" or taller.

What kind of ball flight do you have now? What shaft are you playing now? How far does your average drive fly, and how much is carry vs roll? Do you draw, fade, slice, hook, etc...?These questions should give you a pretty good idea what will most likely work best for you. There's no substitute for getting fitted or at least hitting several combinations, but if you can't do that or if you want to at least have a good starting point, answer these questions.

Height can be driven by either loft of the face, the shaft, or the swing. Most of the time, it has more to do with shaft than face. But to go along with height there's also spin. A high ball that spins too much is not combination. Every swing speed has an optimal launch angle and spin rate to get you the most distance. Knowing what your ball does now with your current setup can give you a good indication of what you may need.

[Redlegs23]

What kind of ball flight do you have now? What shaft are you playing now? How far does your average drive fly, and how much is carry vs roll? Do you draw, fade, slice, hook, etc...?These questions should give you a pretty good idea what will most likely work best for you. There's no substitute for getting fitted or at least hitting several combinations, but if you can't do that or if you want to at least have a good starting point, answer these questions.

I would say typical ball flight for my driver is average height with a draw and even a hook tendency. Early in the year I was slicing it occasionally but I think that had more to do with my swing being a little too over the top. I have tinkered with my swing since the beginning of the year and my irons have been great since, but I have a tendency to bust out a snap hook off the tee. I hate the snapper.

I have a regular flex shaft currently, and to be honest it feels like a little too much flex. Pretty sure I'm going to try a stiff shaft.

My average drive assuming I actually hit it well is about 240-250. Hard to tell how much of that is roll, maybe 20-25 yards? That's pretty much a guess though. Since I've changed my swing and started drawing the ball I'm definitely getting more roll.

On the topic of irons, I see that they make combo irons, which are neither blades nor cavity irons. I'm guessing that's what I should be looking at?

[BearcatShane]

I have a Tee Time at Indian Ridge in Oxford for Thursday. Has anyone ever played there? Nice course?

[SunDeck]

I have a Tee Time at Indian Ridge in Oxford for Thursday. Has anyone ever played there? Nice course?

Make sure to find out whether the place is all burnt up. My brother made a tee time for us there a few years ago during the last drought- we are all out of town- and when we got there the place was brown, the ponds were dry and the only live grass was on the greens. It was in terrible shape...but I shot an 82, which may have been because I used a three iron all day and rolled line drives for something like 270 yards right down the rock hard fairways.

[dabvu2498]

Make sure to find out whether the place is all burnt up. My brother made a tee time for us there a few years ago during the last drought- we are all out of town- and when we got there the place was brown, the ponds were dry and the only live grass was on the greens. It was in terrible shape...but I shot an 82, which may have been because I used a three iron all day and rolled line drives for something like 270 yards right down the rock hard fairways.

I'd almost guarantee it's burnt. Thay've had issues with that every July and Auust since they opened.

[Homer Bailey]

I have a Tee Time at Indian Ridge in Oxford for Thursday. Has anyone ever played there? Nice course?

Played it in college. Always rock hard and burnt out there. Not a bad track though. Pretty simple.

It was so hard out there, that once in my sophomore year, I hit a drive on a 490 yard par 4 that rolled, and rolled, and rolled..... and I had 60 yards into the green. 430 yard drive, with 3 eye witnesses.

[MWM]

Indian Ridge had such promise when it opened but was poorly managed and ran into serious financial difficulties. Like others have said, last time I played it was rock hard which let me hit 3 woods 270 yards, which was cool.

[guttle11]

I played Indian Ridge last summer and thought it was in good shape, as long as you kept the ball in the same zip code as the fairway. Of course, that was after an insanely wet spring. Imagine it's pretty rough this year.

I agree with MWM. It's a fun layout. I just think they went cheap with irrigation and are paying for it.

[NJReds]

Visiting Cincinnati this weekend. Looking for a recommendation for a round on Saturday. Both of us only play occasionally. I used to play a lot, but that was a long time ago. So we're not looking for a PGA challenge. Just a decent course that doesn't get too overcrowded (if that's possible on a Saturday).

I searched on Google, and there are a lot of courses in the area. I figured I'd ask the experts.

Thanks for the tips.

[MWM]

What part of town will you be in?

[NJReds]

What part of town will you be in?

Staying downtown w/in walking distance of GABP, but I'm driving in, so I can venture outside the city to play. The Reds are playing a night game on Saturday, so time isn't a huge issue. I can drive 30-40 minutes outside the city, if necessary.

[dabvu2498]

Staying downtown w/in walking distance of GABP, but I'm driving in, so I can venture outside the city to play. The Reds are playing a night game on Saturday, so time isn't a huge issue. I can drive 30-40 minutes outside the city, if necessary.

Shaker Run

http://www.shakerrungolfclub.com