Going all out with "forgiveness" in your clubs

[nobmontana]

So 1st day at the Bozeman City Championship... Bridger Creek / par 71 . Scored a 76!! which is my all time best at this course.

Front 9 : 2 Birdies / 4 Bogies nothing too terrible. Back 9: 2 Birdies / 1 Double / 1 Triple ... Double and Triple both came from par 3

Both results from a toe shot with my irons. ( 9 and PW !!! Gawd!! ) Also missed four 4 footers. Need to work on putting..

Mikey, I had snacks in my mouth pretty much the whole time. I think it really helped!! Had two water bottles and constantly drinking between shots.

In addition, I did have a G30 Driver and 3 Wood which helped me a lot. I did not have any real mis-hits with the driver today.

The thing is soooo automatic and straight it is unbelievable. I am going to see if the PRGR Egg woods can match the challenge!

In any case, If I can keep up this score into tomorrow, I might have a chance to win my flight and possiblly fund my next set of GI irons. :)

Need to go get some more trail mix for tomorrow!

[Eca]

Hello Nob,

My take on this is that with the clubs, I think the initial change will give you immediate positive results. Much like the switch from real woods to bigger metal heads. The robot hit it same, the human machine hit the metal further & more accurate.

However in the long run, you need a players or blades for your practice as there is no better teacher re where your swing is at.

I have mentioned before here what transformed my late game. Increased physical & mental fitness from endurance type cross training. 16-18 use to be my worse.

Chiro is on to another key. Normally its too late by the time you feel really thirsty. dehydration's effect on both mental & physical is huge.

Enjoy. They say change is as good as a holiday (vacation)

Edited August 2, 2014 by Eca

[Craig]

Well done, great score

Fingers crossed you can repeat it

[nobmontana]

Hello Nob,

My take on this is that with the clubs, I think the initial change will give you immediate positive results. Much like the switch from real woods to bigger metal heads. The robot hit it same, the human machine hit the metal further & more accurate.

However in the long run, you need a players or blades for your practice as there is no better teacher re where your swing is at.

I have mentioned before here what transformed my late game. Increased physical & mental fitness from endurance type cross training. 16-18 use to be my worse.

Chiro is on to another key. Normally its too late by the time you feel really thirsty. dehydration's effect on both mental & physical is huge.

Enjoy. They say change is as good as a holiday (vacation)

Thanks!

Yup... have switched clubs often in the past so I definitely know the honeymoon effect! :)

Noted on the cross training. I should get back riding my road bike. Have a Titanium frame road bike sitting in the garage for a good 3 years now.

[nobmontana]

Well done, great score

Fingers crossed you can repeat it

Thanks Craig! I am really hoping I can!

Such a small town here they put top three finishers of each flight in the local newspaper! :)

[chiromikey]

Congrats nob and looking forward to some good news today!

[nobmontana]

Congrats nob and looking forward to some good news today!

Well it was not my best round. Missed so many short putts..( 3 and 4 footers!! ) it was really rediculous. Still managed to shoot 80 at a course I was not familiar with; so I guess I shouldn't be too disappointed.

Shots and drives were not bad at all thanks to your tip and G30 driver. Looking to focus in practicing short putts for my next tournament. I feel I wasted 6 to 8 shots per round this weekend due to sloppy putting. Placed fourth in my flight which got me back my entry fee. :)

[Bill3508]

I played worse with GI irons. More forgiving woods are a different story. About as big as I can go are the Yamaha tour cbs or the jpx 825 pros. Any larger and especially more offset just don't work for me. Best of luck. The ping woods are very forgiving.

[Craig]

Thats still a great effort Nobmontana

You should be proud.

[chiromikey]

Well it was not my best round. Missed so many short putts..( 3 and 4 footers!! ) it was really rediculous. Still managed to shoot 80 at a course I was not familiar with; so I guess I shouldn't be too disappointed.

Shots and drives were not bad at all thanks to your tip and G30 driver. Looking to focus in practicing short putts for my next tournament. I feel I wasted 6 to 8 shots per round this weekend due to sloppy putting. Placed fourth in my flight which got me back my entry fee. :)

It still sounds like there were some positives to take from the round. Nice work ;)

[supo]

i hate to mention this but it keeps coming back to me very time i play a differnt kinda grass on differnt courses

if i play on soft then i need a thicker sole

if i play on hard then i need a thinner sole blade

i dont dig as much on hard , and i really dig a lot but dont get stuck on soft.

that to me eqautes to forgivness.

weird way to look at it but over time thast what i do

i dont know why that works , but every thime i change courses i change form blades to the prgrs depending on grass.

anyone else go down that road ?

[nobmontana]

i hate to mention this but it keeps coming back to me very time i play a differnt kinda grass on differnt courses

if i play on soft then i need a thicker sole

if i play on hard then i need a thinner sole blade

i dont dig as much on hard , and i really dig a lot but dont get stuck on soft.

that to me eqautes to forgivness.

weird way to look at it but over time thast what i do

i dont know why that works , but every thime i change courses i change form blades to the prgrs depending on grass.

anyone else go down that road ?

Very interesting! I play mostly hard turf since it is so dry out here in Montana.

Maybe a GI with thicker sole may not work so well? Hmmm...

[K2_2]

Very interesting! I play mostly hard turf since it is so dry out here in Montana.

Maybe a GI with thicker sole may not work so well? Hmmm...

Congrats on a solid set of rounds!

In broad strokes - I think there is some benefit to trying the most forgiving club that your eye is comfortable with. Many moons ago I did an experiment with a set of oversized game improvement irons, a players cavity, and a Hogan Anniversary Edition (early 1990's). The oversized iron gave me fits, the players cavity helped me craft some nice shots, mostly due to the grind, but that set of Hogans... they were brilliant off the turf, out of the rough... everywhere. I was striking the ball reasonably well but I wasn't anywhere near scratch.

So, on to grinds and sole widths. I used to be a big fan of finding the right grind for your swing and playing conditions. Width is certainly a factor, but I think the leading edge and relief around the heel and toe are also important to look at as well. While a more narrow sole is a good start for more dry conditions I would still try a few different leading edge, trailing edge, and heal to toe relief combinations to see what works well.

Good luck and keep throwing down those low scores!

[nobmontana]

Congrats on a solid set of rounds!

In broad strokes - I think there is some benefit to trying the most forgiving club that your eye is comfortable with. Many moons ago I did an experiment with a set of oversized game improvement irons, a players cavity, and a Hogan Anniversary Edition (early 1990's). The oversized iron gave me fits, the players cavity helped me craft some nice shots, mostly due to the grind, but that set of Hogans... they were brilliant off the turf, out of the rough... everywhere. I was striking the ball reasonably well but I wasn't anywhere near scratch.

So, on to grinds and sole widths. I used to be a big fan of finding the right grind for your swing and playing conditions. Width is certainly a factor, but I think the leading edge and relief around the heel and toe are also important to look at as well. While a more narrow sole is a good start for more dry conditions I would still try a few different leading edge, trailing edge, and heal to toe relief combinations to see what works well.

Good luck and keep throwing down those low scores!

Thanks! Yes, I will try and make best of what I have access to and figure out if GI clubs can benefit from a scoring perspective.

[chiromikey]

I also recently watched a very long advertisement on how to score better by feeding your brain with nutrition!

It was pretty convincing. I will have to try this method. I have a local tournament this weekend so I am packing up with some trail mix or something to munch on during the rounds. Thanks for the tip!

So I took my own advice on snacking yesterday and I reminded myself how significant a role eating properly really is. I had been stagnant for most of the summer, not getting into any good rounds. I kept blaming it on not getting as much practice as I needed until I realized that all of my rounds lately were purely recreational and I was always eating lunch at the turn. So this time I decided to skip the big meal and continue snacking on my cashews and craisins and sipping water/Gatoraid. I pulled in at the turn at 1 under playing steady. Nothing spectacular but in my typical range. As I had hoped, I didn't hit that wall around 12/13 like I had been where my physical and mental game had been falling off lately. I was able to maintain my concentration and come in posting 3 under on the back 9!

I just wanted to share how amazing the difference is that this method makes for me (and maybe a little passive bragging since it's been so long since I've gone low). I'd like to hear if others besides nob and myself can see any difference in there game by managing food/drink better during their rounds.

[shoutout33]

I agree with chriomikey on this, but if push really did come to shove, you could stick with the Mizuno family and get some MP-64's or MP-59's. Seeing as you are playing with straight blades, either of these should be more than enough forgiveness!

[nobmontana]

I play fine with my MP−4s and I had MP-64s last season and honestly I do not see significant difference in forgiveness between the two.

I did just get a half set of G30 irons to see if a GI set truly could help my scoring. and as a secondary set for walking days. :)

Needless to say, they are very easy to hit. Feel off the face not bad at all. on the other hand, not a lot of feedback.

all shots feel like I hit it well. I now see what they mean by GI irons can actually work against improving your swing due to lack of feedback.

[nobmontana]

So I took my own advice on snacking yesterday and I reminded myself how significant a role eating properly really is. I had been stagnant for most of the summer, not getting into any good rounds. I kept blaming it on not getting as much practice as I needed until I realized that all of my rounds lately were purely recreational and I was always eating lunch at the turn. So this time I decided to skip the big meal and continue snacking on my cashews and craisins and sipping water/Gatoraid. I pulled in at the turn at 1 under playing steady. Nothing spectacular but in my typical range. As I had hoped, I didn't hit that wall around 12/13 like I had been where my physical and mental game had been falling off lately. I was able to maintain my concentration and come in posting 3 under on the back 9!

I just wanted to share how amazing the difference is that this method makes for me (and maybe a little passive bragging since it's been so long since I've gone low). I'd like to hear if others besides nob and myself can see any difference in there game by managing food/drink better during their rounds.

Wow! Congrats on a great low score! One of these days I want to get to under par too!