MGB

A pull is caused when you come over the top and hit it square. The outside in swing path will make the ball start left and if you released the club properly, will continue to go left. The fix is to make sure you start up on the correct plane. If your take-away starts to the inside, you cant possibly drop the club in the "slot" since you're already inside of it, so you come over the top to compensate. If your take-away is correct, if you stop your backswing with the clubhead at 9 o'clock, the club should be pointing straight back on a line parallel to the target line. Too far inside and you risk a pull. From there, the wrists cock and your torso rotates to the top. At the top of your swing both your hands should be visible by your right ear (for righthanders). To start the downswing, merely drop your hands about 8-12 inches downward. Your club's now in the slot and your right elbow should be just ahead of your right hip. Accelerate throught the hitting area while maintaining your spine angle and allow the club to pull you around to your follow through. Hope that helps.

If it's got the same expanded inverted cone face on it, it should be pretty good anyway.

Just as a footnote to this thread, I took my 52 out of the bag a few months ago. I just wasn't using it except for 3/4 shots 100-110 out. Now, I knock down my 47* Mizuno pw that distance. Inside that the sand wedge and lob wedge are more than enough options for me. I did have the 56* sand wedge bent to 54* to close the gap.

Didier, He also had me tighten up my backswing a bit. At the top, if viewed face on, you should be able to see both of your hands on the right side of your head (for right handers). He said if you want to hit it hard, accelerate the club through the impact zone after the right elbow connects with the right hip. Ten minutes a day is plenty. I do 5 in the morning when I get up and another 5 or so in the evening when I wind down. Two reps of the drill then a full swing and repeat. Hope it works as well for you as it is for me. Mike

Correct. He gave me a variation on the drill, too. I make a full backswing, then without moving anything at all, bring my arms down to almost full impact position behind the ball twice, then swing. This really helped me focus on minimizing my hyperactive leg movement.

I agree with Juan. Also, be aware of your swing plane, that and alignment have the most effect on acuracy. Take enough club and swing within yourself.

Since the initial lesson, I've been doing the drill twice a day for a few minutes. I didn't play for a week just to let my muscles acclimate to the new swing. I now have four games with this new swing and although I'm still thinking about it, I must say the results are impressive. I'm much more accurate than before. My greens in regulation are up (although I can't furnish you with statistics). I seem to have many more birdie putts every round. My problem area is the driver, but if I wasn't so intent on killing it, my accuracy probably would be better. But this will change. Everytime I play, I seem to concern myself less with the swing and more with the target. I think that in another week or so, this swing should feel like my own. Then watch out guys!! :-)

Does SYB make it in other lofts besides 10.5?

The R7 and the Cleveland NC-X 460 are accurate and IMO the most forgiving.

I played the R7 retail for a couple of months and found it to be very forgiving and long. Not super long, but long enough. What I dd notice was that every hit, not just the good ones, was long. This has a lot to do with how forgiving this thing is to hit. The ball flight adjustment does work, to a degree. If you don't have a consistent swing, you can't move enough weight around the club head to really make a difference. If you want to fine-tune your flight characteristics, this thing is incredible. How many of your friends use lead tape on their clubs? Perhaps you do, too? I think the pros will ultimately play with what helps their game, just like you or me. Contracts with sponsors can be adjusted to suit the player's needs. After all, if he stops winning or plays worse after the equipment change, it doesn't say much for the equipment, does it? Vijay plays Cleveland irons and wedges but a TM driver and Bobby Grace putter, Tiger still plays with a Scotty Cameron putter.

TP has square face setting vs slightly closed for the retail version. Also the TP comes with slightly more weight in the screws, hopefully to make a bigger difference on ball flight and trajectory. Having played the retail extensively, I agree with Chris. It's very forgiving and easy to hit. If you don't like the shaft, stick in something that works for you and knock em dead.

You're both right. Remember, he gave me this drill to correct my swaying and to re-train my muscles in this area. The drop of the hands helps me feel my hands droppng into the slot, keeping my legs quiet prevents me from swaying to my left side. Once my right elbow connects with my right hip, the movement of the lower body can't hurt the swing and helps square the clubface. So, in answer to your question, the right elbow is just ahead of the right hip before the lower body clears to let the arms through. Kicking the left knee in gives me a feel of 'footwork' in the swing (very appropriate as an ex-tennis player) and starts the sequence correctly.

I usually stretch quite a bit before a round. Exceptions are when we're late for a weekend tee time. But these should be treated as special exceptions. If you want to stay injury free, warm up your body. If you want to shoot a good score, a little short game work before the round works wonders. Fred Funk showed us some stretches he does in a previous golf digest magazine. I tried them and they work just fine.

I agree that the core muscles are among the most important in golf and many other sports. But care must be taken to create a balanced fitness program that doesn't neglect or overdevelop certain muscle groups. Best way to stay injury free.

Beautiful irons, Didier! Looking forward to the review. :cool:

I had what I consider to be my first real golf lesson in the ten years I've played this game. My handicap is 8.6 but I struggle with inconsistency. I was looking to minimize or eliminate my bad ball striking days. I expected to learn a little bit more about my swing and have the ultimate goal of getting my index down to a 5 so I can participate in the national amateur. I was stunned by how much I took away. The pro, a good buddy of mine, saw my tendency to sway during the downswing and pointed it out to me on his laptop. He made some refinements to my position at the top and my left knee (he got me to kick it in at the top). He then gave me a drill to help me re-educate my muscles. He had me go to the top of my backswing, then bring my hands down to about my hips, without moving anything else, twice before finally hitting the ball. He said I should do the drill at home to help speed muscle memory along. Two repetitions of the drill followed by a normal swing. I played yesterday for the first time in a week and a half. The ball striking was just amazing, so consistent and accurate. Distance is equal or better with seemingly less effort. The swing still feels wierd, but was very consistent and the dispersal area of my approach shots to the green is much tighter. Plus, I can now move the ball from right to left, on demand, which make for some very interesting possibilities. Funny how we spend so much on equipment and so little learning how to use it properly. I'm stoked! And what he's charging me should be easy to get back from my flight mates this weekend. :cool:

Fantastic pics Chris! Thanks! Now to figure out how to pay for a set of those. :money:

Not in the immediate future. There's not much more to do but improve quality of manufacture or to go to a full custom program for the blades. The immediate areo of growth is with forged cavity models. They incorporate forgiveness with feel (or should) giving us the best of both worlds. If I wanted a new set of blades, they'd be Mizuno custom M-stamps. I still have to figure out how to pay for them, though... :mad:

XR-03 was positioned differently than the 05. the 03 came with a variety of lofts and shaft choices (Tour, plus, lite) making it suitable for alomost any player profile. The 05 was intended for the executive golfing market, and this meant lighter, softer shafts putting the 05 in the same category as Honma and S-Yard and less a player's club. My friends with the 03 are very loyal to it and are loathe to swap it for TM's newer drivers.

You can expect the new forgings from TM to show up late third or early fourth quarter of this year. Probably in Asia first as they did with the R7. Hornyjuan's right, the cavity'll look like Tourstage's. Justin Rose has been playing the proto since the beginning of the season.

Didn't Wilson make a similar set of what they called 'channel-back' irons back in the 70's? I suppose the channel acts like a cavity back of sorts making the club a bit more forgiving. Wonder what it looks like at address.

Just to take another perspective, there wouldn't be a market for the so-called proto or tour clubs if there weren't so many people out there anxious to get their hands on these things. It's a rare golfer that actually benefits from equipment of this sort (assuming it's the real thing) anyway. The manufacturers and many disreputable people are trying to cash in on these fools.

That's a real treat! Thanks, Chris!

I couldn't agree more on the importance of all the keys listed above. Swing plane, set-up, tempo, spine angle and good contact are all things I key on. But not when I'm hitting the ball. I'm playing my most consistent golf, ever, and the only thing I want to think about now when I swing is the target. If I key on the target, the ball usually makes it's way there. If I miss, it won't be by much. Just my two cents.

Agreed! The Rifle was simply too stiff for my swing, so I replaced it with a DG S300 before the weekend, and absolutely KILLED it off the deck! Played the Links @ Hiawatha where they'll play the Monday qualifier for the B.C. Open in July, and not only smoked it straight and long off the fw, but drove it great off the tee all day long. Only pulled the driver out of the bag for the par 5s! Oh, and the best news was I finally trounced my sister's boyfriend for the first time in a long time...haha! Thanks Breal! And btw, Maru thinks the V-Steel is the best 3 wood for a USGA set-up, since that was in his bag @ Shinnecock Hills - not a TS!!! I'll add my vote for the V-Steel. Had trouble hitting the Callaways, they all want to turn left! I hit a greeer from 231 out, into the wind on one of the toughest holes on the hardest course I play yesterday. What more can I say? :love: ___________________________________________ Titleist 983K 8.5* w/ DG X-100 @ 43.5" TM V-Steel TS 13* w/ DG S-300 @ 43" TS MR-23 U.S. Spec CB 3-PW w/ DG X-200 Titleist Vokey LW 60* w/ Special Grind (Japanese Forged) TM Tour Performance SW 56* TM RAC Black GW 52* TM Rossa TP Modena 4-02 34" Titleist Pro V-1X