jeffy

I'm looking for a new Royal Collection BBD CV Super SS 22* (7+W) or 21* (5W) fairway; prefer head only. Please PM if you have one available! Thanks, Jeff

Believe it or not, I've never played DG's in a set of irons, only hit demo's, so I'm not the best to answer that question. What I can tell you is that the PX feel is different; I liked it, Ari ultimately didn't. My view is that you need a crisp release to get the most out of the PX; a blocker won't like them, IMO. Also, the PX is sort of a "full-swing" shaft, if that makes any sense: i.e., if you like to hit a lot of part shots, the PX may feel a little unresponsive. All three are good shafts and great golf is played with each of them; however, the NS Pro is probably the friendliest. Jeff

This year I have played with the Project X 5.0 and the NS Pro 1050 S. I like them both. The flexes are comparable to a Flighted Rifle 5.5, IMO. The PX has a different feel that you need to experience to appreciate and I think is straighter than the Flighted Rifle and NS Pro because it is tip stiff. The NS Pro feels more responsive than the Flighted Rifle (I think the Flighted Rifles feel a little dead) or PX and has sort of a nice tingle at impact. FWIW, Ari at Scratch (FairwayFred) this year has played the PX, then switched back to the DG, and, last I heard, was playing the NS Pro 1050. He gets the NS Pros through Chris (TourSpecGolfer). Jeff

The last set of irons that looked this good I bought...these are very, very sweet! Congratulations! Jeff

It can't hurt to talk to Ari at Scratch (www.sgolfclubs.com). I understand that his forgings come from the Moz foundry and his Tour Blades are virtually identical to the Moz blades. I purchased the unstamped set pictured on the site (http://www.sgolfclubs.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=77&category=9) and love them. Price, custom options and delivery time (for a custom set) are probably all a lot better with Scratch. Jeff

Gotta use that right side! The key is to extend the right arm without coming over the top. A good exercise/mental image is to throw a ball at the ground on a line that points 45* to the right of your target. Good luck! Jeff

If you want custom, then the only truly custom option I know of is Scratch: total flexibility over head and toe shape, sole grind and finish as well as length, loft, lie and swingweight (hand ground with a gripped shaft inserted), shafts and grips. Custom OEM options seem to be a standard head with some flexibility on finish (satin or chrome), shafts, grips and stampings as well as length, loft, lie and swingweight. I've heard Miura N.A. may offer custom grinds, but I never followed up with them on that. Happy hunting! Jeff

Great pictures! Club is on plane, tremendous wristcock, braced left side, strong release, steady head. Your footwork reminds me of Tiger's when he first came out on tour: up on the right toe a little too soon, hips a little too open, arms and club lagging (getting stuck?) on the downswing. Go to the Golf Digest site and look at the swings of the aggressive swingers (Phil, Charles Howell, Sergio). Their right heels stay down longer, and their belt buckles face the ball longer, than yours do. Even Hank Kuehne appears to stay down longer than you do (and we know how wild he is!). What is the shot pattern of your misses? Pushes and hooks? Take my comments with a ton of salt because, compared to you, I'm a total hack, but that is what I see. Jeff

Check this post by Ari from a few weeks ago. The unstamped Tour Blades pictured are now in my bag. http://www.tourspecgolf.com/magazine/modul...iewtopic&t=7471 Jeff

I watched some of Jim McLean's Sam Snead tape last night and Sam said that the grip was the most essential thing to get right ("it's the whole thing!"). One thing I hadn't remembered is that he puts both the right and left forefingers in a trigger position (extended slightly down the shaft from the middle finger) to give his hands a little more support. He also streesed light grip pressure and constant grip pressure throughout the swing. I'm going to work on all that until I get it right. After watching Sam swing on the video (which has many swings from different angles), I wonder why I ever tried to swing any differently. To hell with Hogan! Jeff

KascoPro wrote: OK here is a good one to increase your swing speed. Use a swing fan 50 swings a day. Sounds like a good idea. I've added some swing speed and distance this season by doing crunches (2 or 3 sets of 100), pull-ups (two sets of five), push-ups (3 sets of 25) and tricep dips (3 sets of 30) every other day or so. I live in the city in an apartment and when I've used the swing fan indoors it blows everything around; maybe I should make more of an effort to get outside with it. Jeff[/b]

I tried the Right Angle, and it was great when I was wearing it, but it didn't really teach me how to support the club with the right arm (it's seemed like more of a crutch than a training device, IMO). It did, however, dramatically demonstrate the benefits of maintaining your width with the right arm. A goofy training aid I worked with over the weekend was Butch Harmon's the Right Grip. They were giving them away as part of a promotion at Chelsea Piers and I won a pair. The soft rods that run across the palm really do force the club into the fingers, which isn't a bad thing at all. The technique to arrive at the right grip pressure (squeeze just enough so the soft rods begin to compress) also was effective. Finally, transfering the feel without them was not too hard: get it in the fingers and squeeze enough so the heel pad of your left hand and the pad under your right knuckle just start to compress. I think I'll stick with them for a while. Jeff

I had a 10.5* 395cc; hit too many hooks, ordered a "square" 10.5* 355cc, it really wasn't. Bought a Nakashima NP-1 10* 420cc, handpicked square, tried it out for a round and never looked back. Superior in several ways: feel, sound, distance, easily just as forgiving, straighter because not hooked. If you're interested, my 355cc has a Fuji 569 R flex; pm me. Jeff

I've had my Scratch proto CBs (Project X shafts) and wedges since March and have been very happy with them. They replaced a set of Titleist 962s with Flighted Rifle shafts. I have the brushed nickel finish which looks very elegant and I get quite a few "what are those good looking clubs?"-type of comments. The toe shape (Z101) and sole grind (962) are just what I want and the only possible competition are a set of Scratch proto tour blades I have coming with NS Pro 1050s. Other than these blades, I've haven't for a second thought about switching to anything else. The Gauge Design CBs look very sweet, but, for me, the strong lofts and lack of custom options disqualify them from consideration. To get the 5* loft and 0.625" length progression I play with, the GDs would have to be reshafted and bent all over the place to fit me, and would wind up costing a lot more than the Scratch. I tend to agree with Primo: if you know as much about clubs as most TSG members do, and playing well is your primary objective, I'm surprised more haven't opted for a set of custom Scratch as opposed to a high-end, off-the-rack club. From my own experience, I suspect that at least some are intimidated with concerns such as: "how do I know what to get", "what if I make a mistake and don't like them" as well as feeling more comfortable with an accepted brand name. Those issues didn't stop me and I'm glad for it. The wedges are great as well; I've got a T&C grind coming to replace my M-grind 60*, but I love the 55* and 64* without reservation. The only thing I would consider doing to them is refinishing them in antique with white paintfill, which looks awesome in person. In the mentime, I switched drivers from a Gemini (which I wanted to be square, but I could only get closed) to a Nakashima NP-1, handpicked square, which seems to me to be a lot more solid (in sound and feel), just as forgiving and long (particularly with the HX Tour). I have no plans to change my putter or fairways, as they continue to work just fine. Jeff

Another set of pretty irons and wedes from Japan - where will it all end?!!? Jeff

godfather1 wrote: My problem is that my pro shops dont have any to demo. Jeffy do you know of any shops I can go to in to demo in the New York area. I've had work done by Custom Golf of Connecticut in Stamford and Greenwich Golf Fitting Studio in Greenwich. They both have launch monitors and are well informed. CCG has all the name brands, Greenwich mostly has components in stock. Since Ari is building the clubs, you'll have to pay them for the session (probably ~$100), but while you're at it, you can get fitted for a driver and shaft at the same time. Call ahead of time, tell them what you want to demo, and, if they have it, make an appointment. Good luck! Jeff

I play PX 5.0 and like them a lot, but am having Ari put NS Pro 1050 S flex in the set of proto Scratch tour blades I have coming, just to try something different. I have played the Flighted Rifle 6.0 and 5.0 and probably would not go back; they feel a little sluggish to me and send the ball higher than I like. In the right flex, I think any of these shafts are easy enough to hit, the choice comes down more to shaft weight and ball flight. I'm afraid you will probably need to demo them if you want to make sure you've got the perfect fit for you. I like NY strip medium; you may prefer filet mignon medium rare, but I have no way of knowing that, and, in reality, my preference is irrelevant. Jeff

Two training aids have helped my putting a lot. One is a ball with a stripe running around the equator. The drill is to place the ball so that the stripe lies along the target line and is at a right angle to the putter face. The trick then is to stoke the putt so that the stripe doesn't wobble as the ball rolls towards the target; not so easy! Pelz sells balls with four stripes painted on them which are kind of expensive and not that much better than the homemade version. Also, a striped range ball works. The other putting aid is the BirdieMaster. It is a shallow plastic putting cup, the size of a golf hole, that sits about a half inch above the ground with sloped edges so the ball can roll up into it. The trick here is that it comes with three plastic rings that sit inside the hole, reducing the size of the hole to greater degrees. Only a perfectly struck putt will hit and stay in the smallest ring. Both of these are sort of trial-and-error devices that force you to keep adjusting until you can perform the task. My short putting always improves after I work with these two aids. Jeff

rob445545 wrote: Dave Pelz sells the PELZmeter .... I dont know if its what your looking for, its kind of expensive. http://www.pelzgolf.com/ProShop/Equipment/.../PELZmeter.aspx I'll say it's kind of expensive: it's $650! I thought the Stimpmeter from Rittenhouse at $57 was a little steep! I knew Pelz had egregious mark-ups, but this is too much... Jeff

Thanks shoe!

Anyone using the Breakmaster by Exelys? It is a small electronic device that gives fall line direction and slope when placed on the putting surface. Can only use it in practice or before your round, however. I've ordered one and will post a review in due course. Also, where can I buy a Stimpmeter? I found a UK-based site for the "authentic" Stimpmeter, but that seems like a long way to go to buy one... Thanks! Jeff

Gorgeous clubs, the best looking I've seen. In my view, they put all others, including the Tourstage and Miura's, to shame. Another thread listed the lofts, which are very strong (46* PW, 41* 9-iron...20* 3-iron) and might account for at least part of your distance gain. Has the 10-degree gap (2-and-a-half clubs) between your PW and your 56* been an issue? Jeff

I recently reread "Understanding the Golf Swing" by Manuel de la Torre. de la Torre is a disciple of Ernest Jones, author of the renowned "Swing the Clubhead". What I like about de la Torre's approach is the simplicity and balance. Simple, because he talks very little about specific positions, and balance, because the left and right side have equally important roles, neither dominates. I think it would be very helpful for someone who has mostly good fundamentals but has been unable to "tie it all together"; or for someone who has OD'd on "position" (e.g. Leadbetter) instruction. Jeff

My guess is that, at impact, too much weight is on your back foot, your body has not rotated enough toward the target and your right arm is insufficiently extended, common enough faults. I do them all the time. You also could be guilty of too much tension in the arms and/or a left arm dominated backswing. The way I try to correct these faults is as follows: At address, evenly distribute your weight and maintain this distribution through impact, and let the momentum of your arms and club pull you onto the front foot; finish with the back foot on the toe, vertical to the ground. Be very target oriented as you swing. This should keep your weight more centered and less likely to sway back and stay on the right side. Grip the club with equal pressure in each hand (and each finger, from the left pinky to the right forefinger) and each arm. Maintain this constant grip pressure throughout the swing. Grip firmly enough that the hands control the club (too loose and the arms takeover) and DO NOT tighten any part of the grip during the swing. On the downswing, use your right arm consciously, specifically the upper right arm: the forearm and elbow need to stay relaxed and responsive. Different feels work for me: my favorites are: 1) to feel the right arm extending behind me on the downswing, and 2) from the top, use the upper right arm to swing the club toward the target. Practice swing and hit practice shots using your right arm only; you can't use the right side too much. You'll need to rotate the body counter clockwise through the downswing; I find that happens more or less automatically if I swing my right arm correctly and focus on the target. Other helpful thoughts are to focus on finishing with the left hip over the left heel and the right shoulder over the left toe. I've assumed that your posture is good and that you maintain it throughout the swing. Have someone watch you or swing in front of a mirror to make sure your body is not raising up on the backswing. Good luck! Jeff

Ahhh... I see. By bending or reboring the hosel in this way, the grip end of the club is in effect moved away from the club face. When the player addresses the ball with his hands in their normal position, the club is effectively delofted but still square. Brilliant! Thank you AVG_JOSEPH for the explanation! This explanation raises another question, however. The article quotes Vijay as saying: "my driver has a 5-degree open face". What do you think he really means: that his driver was "bent" open 5-degees, decreasing the effective loft, or that it was built with a face angle that sits 5-degees open when the club is set properly at address? Jeff