Just starting to do some research to figure out what new club or clubs I am going to add to the bag and what I may take out.
Before I get there though I was curious if anyone had any luck using an App to track your golf stats. A guy at work here used
urCaddy last year and had pretty decent luck with it ( it was free ). He got the Game Golf system for Xmas so he won't be using
that App any longer. There are a bunch of them out there so just curious what others were using and why they went with that
one. I don't mind keeping track on a spreadsheet like I have been for the past few years but I think this other method just might
be cleaner to use and have some advantages I hadn't thought about. Going to check out the Northern Illinois Golf Expo on Friday
afternoon. it is at the Lake County Fairgrounds and this is the first year they are doing it. Not sure what to expect, they don't have
a list of vendors who are going to be there. With any luck, should be golfing in about 10 weeks in SE Wisconsin so it's right around
the corner.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Looking to upgrade to the new Mizuno JPX Forged irons. They retail for over $1100 so I'm gonna ask my buddy who's a pro if he can get me a deal directly from the rep. A couple years ago he got me my current Miznuno set for $500 off the back of the truck.

Gonna start hitting the dome mid February.

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Will be testing the Callaway Epic driver soon on the blog. Have added the Miura MB 001 blades to the bag after being fitted at Club Champion in Woodridge. Still rocking the Cobra King LTD driver and 3-wood (for now).

Not to pimp out my site too much, but you guys can check out [url]GolfUnfiltered.com[/url] for all my equipment reviews.

I listened to one of the podcasts the other day. I'll head back over there for more now that I'm starting to think golf again.

I can't quite figure out how to fill out my bag around the Mizuno MP-25s I got last year. I only bought 5-PW which covers 27 degrees
through 46 degrees. I have been carrying a 52, 56 and 60 wedge. I am convinced the gap between 46 and 52 is too much so I am
considering getting rid of the 60 degree and buying a Vokey SM6 50 degree. On the top end of the bag I have a mishmash of stuff
and I am always tinkering with it. I currently carry a 13 degree Callaway XHot 3W, 16 degree Ping Zing 2 one iron and a 21 degree
Ping Crossover #4. I am actually thinking I could use a strong 17 or 18 degree hybrid but not sure where to start looking.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

What are you going to do with your current set?

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in April. GLORIOUS.

https://www.rtjgolf.com

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

trade em in I suppose?

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Nice!

Been eyeing the Trail for a few years now, supposed to be a great trip and great value for the quality of courses.

Would be great to head down there with a group, rent a van and just drive from stop to stop.

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Yeah that gap is a little wide. I tend to stick to no more than 4-degrees between clubs.

This will be a trip w/ two of my college buddies. Driving down w/ my guy in sales, so car/gas/lodging is covered and my other guy is driving from Atlanta. Going to do The Shoals and Hampton Cove near Huntsville. Each location has two 18 hole courses. Unlimited rates are super affordable.

The Fighting Joe plays over 8000 yards from the tips and has 12 tee boxes.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Have a blast Furious. Weather should be nice that time of year. That is on my radar screen to maybe do with my dad. I think the
next couple of golf trips might include the new Sand Valley in central WI and Pinehurst when he moves to Charlotte, but have heard
great things about the RTJ Trail.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

As far as gear goes, I will be sticking with my current setup until I start to suck and begin looking into buying a better game. The Callaway XR OS combo set is a really good fit for me. 4/5 hybrids and 6-GW in the irons. The hybrids are absolute cannons and the Fubuki shaft works for me. Can be had for $500 in basically new condition through Callaway Pre-owned since the Steelheads are out.



Re: wedge gaps - I actually prefer 5-6* between wedges. I played a 46/52/58 setup last year for a bit and it was great. I prefer to have less wedges, but I also need to fill more gaps at the other end of the bag.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Totally unscientific method, but I ran a poll for my readers asking them what quality they look for most when purchasing a new driver. The majority said improved accuracy over distance gains.

How about you guys? Does distance trump everything else when purchasing a driver, or something else?

I am in the market for a new driver since the one I have in the bag is from 2009 but it is really low on the priority list and
I will probably buy a used one from 2-3 years ago if I find one I like. When I was younger it was all about how far I could
hit it but the last few years I am much more interested in keeping it near the fairway. I hit a lot more 3 woods and 1 irons
off the tee and probably only hit driver 6-8 times a round. I can't justify $4-500 for one of the new ones.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Smart move. No need to purchase anything after 2014, honestly. Tech has improved so slightly since then that you won't tell a significant difference.

It also may just be me but I really don't like all these moveable weight on the drivers. Seems like a big sales ploy. I have the SLDR
at home and I can move the weights around on it all over the place and I hit it like crap in every configuration. Last time I buy a club
without hitting it first and probably last one for a long time with moveable weights. I am more a proponent of fixing my swing rather
than trying to let the club try to fix any shortcomings. Maybe I am looking at it the wrong way but that is how I currently feel.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

As someone who battles an awful slice with the driver, I only care about accuracy and forgiveness.

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I agree.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Agree as well.

My problem with the driver is I can't stop coming over the top and getting side spin. Last year I started focusing on 3 things....turning my left shoulder in towards the right at set up, trying to hit the ball on the bottom left rear of the ball, and staying back on my right foot through the swing as much as possible. IF I get all those things right I can hit the ball straight and even occasionally see some draw.

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https://www.boxgroove.com/

You guys heard of this site? Looks really cool. Its like golfnow, but you get to play at private clubs. Looks like the way its set up you can get a tee time at any club with an orange thumbtack. As for the clubs with the blue thumbtack, not sure how that works, but it sounds like you have to get a member of boxgroove who is also a member of that club to vouch for you or something like that.

But, even if you can't get on any of the blue courses, you can still play the orange ones. Orange courses in the area include Kemper Lakes, The Merrit Club, McHenry CC, Bull Valley, Crystal Lake CC, Lake Barrington, The Grove CC, ElginCC, Royal Hawk, and a few more down south. Kenosha CC and Beloit CC across the border for Tbone and Hawg.

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The lessons I took this past summer from an awesome pro have proven to me everything wrong (slice in my case) was swing and swing alone.

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Elections have consequences.

My slice is usually the result of swinging too fast, and my hands get through before my body does.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

I had no idea how messed up I was. I was too hard and too fast as well with zero follow through. I had to really work on overcoming some subconscious restraint I put on myself from back surgery many years ago.

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Elections have consequences.

Not following through was/is a problem of mine.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Will see if all carries over to this year but now I have good problems. Like sailing my irons straight over the green. For so long I would iron up and now that I hit better I have no idea how far some go.

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Elections have consequences.

I have the same issues. Taking the club back too fast and/or not following thru throws my timing all out of whack. Towards the end of last season, I started concentrating on taking my club back very slow, almost too slow, but it seemed to work as long as I followed thru. I tell myself to "finish" before each swing, and point my belt buckle to the target. When I do all that, the ball goes fairly straight and goes a long way.

I took a few lessons a couple seasons ago, but the guy started telling me so much that it hurt way more than it helped. I was like "I have enough $ for 3 lessons, can't you just give me 2 or 3 pointers to help?" He wanted to break my entire swing down and start from scratch. I get that doing so would be the best way to improve my swing, but very few of us have the time or money to devote to such a process.

Mike, you will get your distances dialed in soon. Just keep working at it once the weather improves.

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Never heard of this Shakes. It is a very interesting concept. The price isn't outrageous or anything. Seems like you'd have to have quite a bit
of flexibility to try to get onto some of the places. $20 to hold your tee time and then I am sure greens fees vary quite a bit. I think it would be
great for someone like yourself that isn't necessarily a member at any current place and like to try new places. I am honestly shocked that The
Merit Club is on this list. When I caddied there, they marketed themselves as an ultra exclusive place but maybe they just don't have the membership
they once did. At this point in my life I am more about quantity of rounds I can get in and so my local membership makes sense but if I had a little
bit of extra money laying around this would be fun to try out a private club every couple of weeks or once a month.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I suppose it is possible some of the exclusive clubs have their exclusive membership but not as many golf anymore. There for status over golf so they fill the holes so to speak.

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Elections have consequences.

It's a little surprising that some of these places are willing to let "regular" people on their property but maybe things are changing as a lot
of these places are scrambling for memberships and business.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Oh I am sure if they are going to let dopes like us on there are strict dress, play and behavior guidelines. I am even more sure there is a quick hook.

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Elections have consequences.