ChipNRun

I put some lead tape below the grips... My prior set of irons were Tour Edge Exotics CB Pro Tungstens, an early TE hollow-body. The longer irons were great, but I had an odd fall-off in distance 8i and above. Rough yardstick: 6i = 155 7i = 145 8i = 132 9i = 120 PW = 105 A clubfitter said I was not staying down fully on the shorter irons. He suggested I put lead tape about 4" below the end of the grip: 1" on 8i, 1.5" on 9i, 2" on PW. This helped restore much of the lost yardage, as I got a better hand drop on downswing. Another possible contributing factor, suggested in articles on wedge design. For golfers with decent clubhead speed, the launch help of hollow bodies and polymer injections may do more harm than good on short irons and wedges. The loft is sufficient to get the ball up and away, and the help can destabilize the ball - too much of a good thing.

I played the Callaway X20 Tours from roughly 2011 through 2018. Had them reshafted from PX 5.0 Rifle Flighted (~115 grams) to NS Pro 8950GH R-flex (about 100 grams). But, I ended up with a tendency toward toe hits - turned out the fitter didn't give me + 1/4" extra length on new shafts. The solution: I started lining up my shots on the second quadrant of the clubface, rather than dead center. This turned into more center strikes.In you case, check out shaft length as one factor in your ball flight. Also, a lower VCOG would improve the lift you get from the clubface. A CB type head might be what you need, as others have suggested. Overall, the MPF is a good starting point when evaluating new clubs, or considering new ones. There can be exceptions, however. Circa 2015, Ben Hogan golf clubs came back into production, with much commotion over the idea that they would make irons in one-degree loft increments from 22* to 46* - you could select the loft mix you wanted. Fitters told me that the PTx irons - a more forgiving offering than the Ft. Worth 15 blades - were the irons I needed. But, I didn't get very good launch despite trying a couple of different shafts. Two years later on a cold January day I came across some used PTx sets in a local golf shop. One stiff, the other regular flex. I tried both, and had the same problems from my original encounter. Fast forward to 2018, when I got some quality time with grumpy's Ping brand at an outdoor demo day. The liked the looks of the new i210 model. Hot List rated it as Player's iron with a helpful cavity back, and Maltby gave is rather stern MPF = 338, in the Classic category (hard to hit) due to higher VCOG. Clearly too much club for my game at the time. BUT, I located i210 demos with the AWT 2.0 R-flex (about 97 grams), and somehow started hitting really decent shots. The shocker: I hit several 4i shots off the deck 😁 that had pretty good trajectory and distance. But, I decided instead to get TE Exotics CB Pro Tungstens which were going out of production and had been cut to half price at a local shop. (Note: the Tungstens had shafts about 1/4" longer than my X20 Tours that needed the "2nd quadrant lineup" to get center strikes.) So, the MPF system gets generally good marks for helping one sort through potential irons to try out. But, until you actually hit the new model, you can't tell for show how the ball will fly.

I'm helping a friend get back into golf, but is keeping a tight budget. He scored some Tommy Armour 845s Titanium irons (circa 1998). The grooves are still in excellent shape. He let me hit some shots with them, and irons felt quite solid and were easy to control. Problem is, the grips are standard and he needs jumbo. I've found some boutique grips that come in 9- and 13 packs, and with tape, tool and solvent cost out to about $4 each. The targeted models have a good reputation, but most come in standard and midsize, but no jumbo. If I got them in midsize (30 mm. butt diameter)... how many total wraps of tape would it take to build up to jumbo? will applying an extra 3-4 layers of tape cause the grips to weaken from over-stretching? Note: golfer probably will be playing about 20 rounds a year with a couple of range sessions a month.

A couple of things to consider: Try a 4W... about 16.5*, and has a shorter shaft than a 3W for better control. Since 2012, I've been playing some combination of 4W and 7W (this year is exception as I recover from hip injury, going with solo 5W) You might get a lesson just on FWs to see what the problem is. At a 4 HDCP, you could probably sort things out with just one lesson. There's probably something you don't do quite right. Also, move up a set of tees and play a couple of rounds in which you use 4W or 5W off the tee. If you go out and hit the FW 20 times a round, you'll get the hang of it. The second time, play ball down on tee shots to really get the feel of the FW. ---------------- (Although I'm 12 years into 4+7, I normally play a spring round each year using just the 4W off the tee - it helps me get my timing down for the club)

Most of the internal OBs I have seen were on public courses with compact acreage. The internal OBs were primarily to protect golfers in adjacent fairways from someone cutting the corner and hitting unsuspecting others. No. 6 is a short par 4, and without the internal OB big hitters would try to cut the corner for a 270 yd. route to the green, and endanger players on No. 7 tee. Internal OB is making the best of a bad situation when you're trying to squeeze 18 holes into, say, 120 acres. If, as the OP said, a course has a dozen such holes, the architect was very unimaginative and gets a failing grade on the project.

About once a year I end up playing with someone who can't stay off the phone. Big problem: this golfer always contributes to slow play. One way to stop them - start giving them advice related to their on-phone business conversations. This also works in restaurants when someone at the next booth is a loudmouth that drowns out your own conversation.

I'm a retired business prof. I have taught golfers at Div. I, II and III level schools. One thing to remember is the student should match the school with his or her long-term goals. Does golfer want to play pro tour, or work in golf industry course operations? I got to talk to the one-time director of the PGA Management program at Coastal Carolina U. He said that each year only a couple of the PGAM students play on the golf team. Most were focused on making industry connections and preparing for the Playing Ability Test. And, the student should also focus on academics, getting a degree to activate if PGA tour or golf industry doesn't pan out. Especially for golfers, time management is critical in college sports. I had an odd mix of sports back in junior college (pre-1980). I wrestled and was backup on the golf team. For wrestling practice, I walked two blocks from the library to the gym, and had about two hours of practice and the day was done. For golf, it was 20 minutes to the course, three to four hours of practice, and then return to campus. Golfers often face a long weekend tournament, or, in post-season, a week away from campus. Golfers need to coordinate with profs to get assignments done on time and get the material missed while on the road. Many Div. III and NAIA programs have a Div. I refugee who crashed and burned academically in the big time.

I've been watching the action at The Renaissance Club, and have noticed some darker green rings and ovals scattered across the lime green putting surfaces. Any turf gurus know the cause of these? (Golfer below is Harry Hall)