dubbelbogey

Re: copper underlayment... Using copper as an intermediate layer is super common in many chrome plating operations. It's done to improve finish and bonding. Car guys often refer to copper-nickel-chrome plating as "show chrome". Allows for smoother, and ultimately, maximally reflective, finishes for those car parts that are meant to be on display. Certainly not done to improve the feel or any other such nonsense. Did you guys feel how buttery smooth the bumper was on that Duesenberg? It's like feeling nothing at all! Copper is magic! My take is that Mizuno engineering and manufacturing decided on using copper for improved chrome plating reasons, then the marketing guys got a hold of this and spun it like they always do. No surprise this was also during the era when various bronze alloys and other copper colored clubs were somewhat popular.

I set them aside for hitting with driver at the end of my range session. Typical range balls usually fly like crap (even the ones that are not "reduced distance" balls) and hitting a real ball is more satisfying and gives a truer indication of expected flight and distance. Sometimes the difference is not subtle at all. I actually save my own worn out scuff balls for the same purpose. I admit to having taken one or two antique-ish looking balls (e.g. something from 70s era or earlier) from time to time or maybe the odd one that had a particularly funny custom stamping. But this is only at a range where I know the range guy and know for sure he filters out non-range balls himself and gives those away. At those ranges where mixed regular balls are the norm? No way. That's part of their livelihood.

Here's the trick I used back in the days when I played lots of soccer and tennis: wear a super thin sock under your normal socks. This makes the "slip surface" be between those two socks instead of your sock and skin. This always worked much better than tape which, as you said, tends to roll and bunch up. You can find these by looking for "sock liners", though back in the day, I just used the thin cycling socks I had a ton of anyway.

It'd be interesting to know if there what correlation there is between golfers who've had lessons vs those who haven't. Of course, the tricky part is controlling for variables like how long they've played, how much they practice, etc... which would make such a study pretty challenging to pull off fairly. I do have some experience coaching/teaching in a different sport - skiing. I've observed in my skiing travels that the "base level" skiers in Japan, were notably more skilled than the base level skier here in the US. I attribute this to a stronger cultural tendency to seek out professional instruction. On many of the mountains there, I observed noticeably more adult ski lessons than I have ever seen anywhere in the US. Now, the best skiers from the US and Europe are generally more accomplished than those from Asia (again, a cultural difference), but the average Joe/Jane skiers in Japan were notably proficient. Dunno if this trend applies to golf or not, but it is a factor to consider.

I'd partially agree. I'd counter there are also even more golfers out there who have even more done damage to their scoring ability through poor self-diagnosis, YouTube videos and (in past years) bad magazine articles. For the rank beginners out there, I think most instructors out there would provide them with a decent basis to learn, certainly providing a better foundation than doing it solo with no guidance. But, for the more experienced golfer (like most here), finding a good instructor to get real improvement is a challenge. Definitely some good ones out there, but they're not easy to find as each of us have unique needs and ways that we best learn. An instructor that is good for me might not be good for you.

I'm also in the camp of using an abrasive cutoff wheel on an angle grinder. I've always got one ready to go as it performs a lot of other, non-golf tasks around the garage. That said, if you want to keep using the carbide abrasive rod on the hacksaw, that's perfectly fine, except I'd suggest first scoring the outer layers of fibers around the full circumference with the corner of a sharp metal file. This will limit the chances of tearing out a layer of fiber while sawing.

Survey completed

There is getting fit and there is getting fit. The whole industry has created a monster and its customers have been sold a rotten bill of goods on what it means to "get fit". A basic fitting is to get length, lie, flex, and maybe grip size adjusted to the basic parameters of your body measurements. Not much different than getting a pair of pants hemmed to the correct length. Many places will do this for free when you buy a basic set of clubs, or do the adjustments of length and lie for a nominal fee if you already own clubs (in that case, not much you can do about flex without replacing shafts, but for a beginner, regular shafts will be most common anyway.) I say everyone who's half into the game should get this done as the cost is minimal. Bang for buck is pretty good in this scenario. However, "getting fit" has somehow become synonymous with buying a whole new set of clubs, chosen from the shiny magical rack of heads, upgraded shafts, fanciful putters and various other OEM offerings. In reality, it's primarily a sales tool and sales transaction to maximize profit. Sure, this is closer to getting a tailored suit rather than getting the pants hemmed, but it's highly doubtful you need a custom suit at this point in your golf journey. This has its place but I'd argue a new golfer isn't the proper audience.

I, too, had LASIK done 25 years ago. My vision during that time has fallen off a bit - I'm now in my late 50s and my vision typically tests out in the 20/25 range. 95% of the time, I don't wear or need correction. However, because golf requires looking at a very tiny object at far distances, I do now wear corrective glasses (usually sunglasses) on course. The prescription is about as mild as it gets, but helps me pick out the ball downrange. Though I could play without the glasses, I'd hate to have to do without. Particularly helpful in cloudy or low-light conditions.