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Posted (edited)

New irons just arrived. Blended srixon zxi5 (4,5i), zxi7 (6-8i) and blades (9i-gw).  The pw and gw are the same head so we specced different lengths and had one bent 2 strong and the other 2 weak. Then I did the red paint fill on the gw to tell them apart 

 

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Edited by brown water
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Posted
On 9/6/2025 at 9:39 AM, brown water said:

New irons just arrived. Blended srixon zxi5 (4,5i), zxi7 (6-8i) and blades (9i-gw).  The pw and gw are the same head so we specced different lengths and had one bent 2 strong and the other 2 weak. Then I did the red paint fill on the gw to tell them apart 

 

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LOVE Srixons. I have 3 sets of Srixon irons, Z745, Z565, and ZX5. The Z565 feel better and have a lower launch angle than the ZX5. Other than that, they play basically the same. The 7 series is not as forgiving. You definitely lose more distance on off center hits.

I hesitate on bending my clubs that much. You are increasing and decreasing bounce. With the ZX series, I'd be more worried about increasing bounce because they already have a shitton of bounce with the V shaped sole.

Posted

Agree on all points and particularly the wedges. Did the same with my last set of blades that also didn’t have a gw head. Their soles were more traditional so less of a concern. Couple rounds in and it hasn’t been an issue with the Srixons but was a bit worried when ordering. Fortunately it was through a friend that has a few pro shops in his portfolio in resort management. I got his pricing and the irons plus a 3w were ~$1k so it wasn’t too much to risk on the wedge experiment 2.0.  

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Posted

Anyone out there a league manager or responsible for setting up a weekly (daily, monthly, whatever) game? I have a side project that I could use some feedback on that should help you create teams in a balanced manner. Or if you use a tool for this already, what tool do you use (Excel counts)? 

Posted

I run a game every weekend. 20 players last Sunday. However, we use GHIN handicaps so any team combo is balanced by strokes given to each player.

Posted

The Team Edge walking bags are absolute trash. Are you guys seeing any other Longhorns walking bags locally? Online it’s pretty much only this TE garbage and jacked up Nike bags on eBay.

Posted
19 hours ago, Lurch said:

The Team Edge walking bags are absolute trash. Are you guys seeing any other Longhorns walking bags locally? Online it’s pretty much only this TE garbage and jacked up Nike bags on eBay.

Get a walking bag you like with a removeable cover for the ball pocket and get the ball pocket embroidered. That's what I did with my Vessel bag - way cheaper than having Vessel do the embroidery and I could do whatever I wanted. I went with a longhorn outline plus my kids' initials, all in faded burnt orange stitch.  

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Posted
On 9/11/2025 at 8:26 PM, Lurch said:

Good call. I’m going to give a closer look to the Costco bag tomorrow

I bought the Sunday stand bag from Costco and I like it. I already had their Lobo for Par 3 and driving range use. 

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Posted (edited)


I was making stready progress for 6 straight weeks and then took a lesson from a guy who really didn't like my downswing and spent an hour trying to change it. In doing so, it completely broke my swing. I'm fine with that since I'm new to the game and understand that sometimes we have to move back a little to move forward. 

However - while this was happening I told him he was asking me to do something that didn't feel natural and hurt but we kept after it. By that night, I had developed so much pain in the area below my trail arm shoulder blade that it felt like a cracked rib - in other words it hurts to roll over in bed, breath, laugh, or cough, and when I sneeze it's almost like a railroad spike in the back. And it's been that way ever since with no improvement - 7 full days. 

Two questions - 

First - I have coached wrestling, boxing, and taught people how to lift weights properly. There are times when things feel awkward, but as a coach whenever someone told me something felt unnatural or hurt, I always wanted to take a step back and reassess, because mechanics are highly individual. I'm not blaming the instructor because I'm old enough to know better but shouldn't a golf swing feel fluid and somewhat easy? Should it ever hurt?

Second - has anybody had an injury like this and if so, what was it and how long did it take to heal? 

I can't execute anything more than half a backswing, but I can pitch, chip and putt so I'll be working on my short game until this gets better. 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
Posted
34 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Yep

weird 

grip 

stance

set up / hand position 

shoulder turn 

take away

hand position 

first move down 

i like that order, unless your first move down is just absolutely horrible 😂😂😂😂

Posted
1 minute ago, tx 3 putt said:

weird 

grip 

stance

set up / hand position 

shoulder turn 

take away

hand position 

first move down 

i like that order, unless your first move down is just absolutely horrible 😂😂😂😂

Maybe it was but my trackman numbers were all OK going into the session- ie attack angle, smash factor, distance etc. I just wasn’t consistent yet. 

Posted
1 minute ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Maybe it was but my trackman numbers were all OK going into the session- ie attack angle, smash factor, distance etc. I just wasn’t consistent yet. 

 

keep practicing 

Posted (edited)
19 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:


I was making stready progress for 6 straight weeks and then took a lesson from a guy who really didn't like my downswing and spent an hour trying to change it. In doing so, it completely broke my swing. I'm fine with that since I'm new to the game and understand that sometimes we have to move back a little to move forward. 

However - while this was happening I told him he was asking me to do something that didn't feel natural and hurt but we kept after it. By that night, I had developed so much pain in the area below my trail arm shoulder blade that it felt like a cracked rib - in other words it hurts to roll over in bed, breath, laugh, or cough, and when I sneeze it's almost like a railroad spike in the back. And it's been that way ever since with no improvement - 7 full days. 

Two questions - 

First - I have coached wrestling, boxing, and taught people how to lift weights properly. There are times when things feel awkward, but as a coach whenever someone told me something felt unnatural or hurt, I always wanted to take a step back and reassess, because mechanics are highly individual. I'm not blaming the instructor because I'm old enough to know better but shouldn't a golf swing feel fluid and somewhat easy? Should it ever hurt?

Second - has anybody had an injury like this and if so, what was it and how long did it take to heal? 

I can't execute anything more than half a backswing, but I can pitch, chip and putt so I'll be working on my short game until this gets better. 

I'd blame the instructor - he sounds awful. The best instructors work with what you have and make small adjustments towards some end goal. They don't start the next small adjustment until you've grooved the first one. Anything that's wholesale enough to inflict that much pain, that's bad coaching. 

Bad instructors have an ideal swing they try to fit everyone into. Good instructors try to fit you into YOUR ideal swing. 

Heal up, golf injuries turn chronic real fast if you're not careful. 

Edited by dieucla98
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Posted

To boost the probability that Project 89 would become a success for me, decided to make a launch monitor in my garage.  Uneekor Eye Mini Lite with all the fixins (screen, HD projector, gaming computer built by some dorks at Microcenter, etc).  
 

So far I love it.  Don’t have enough space to hit a driver but can hit every other club and I love the data and not having to drive anywhere to hit 75 balls.  Look forward to fall when garage isn’t baking.

ps I still suck but am slowly improving

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Posted
41 minutes ago, Hornbeliever said:

To boost the probability that Project 89 would become a success for me, decided to make a launch monitor in my garage.  Uneekor Eye Mini Lite with all the fixins (screen, HD projector, gaming computer built by some dorks at Microcenter, etc).  
 

So far I love it.  Don’t have enough space to hit a driver but can hit every other club and I love the data and not having to drive anywhere to hit 75 balls.  Look forward to fall when garage isn’t baking.

ps I still suck but am slowly improving

Nice! Post pictures!

Don't skimp on the hitting mat - that'll save you an elbow surgery down the line.

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Posted
23 minutes ago, dieucla98 said:

Nice! Post pictures!

Don't skimp on the hitting mat - that'll save you an elbow surgery down the line.

With or without the (wide) dispersion of all my shots in the background?  And yep, bought a nice mat so that helps a bunch.

Posted
On 9/13/2025 at 7:17 PM, Bozo_Casanova said:


I was making stready progress for 6 straight weeks and then took a lesson from a guy who really didn't like my downswing and spent an hour trying to change it. In doing so, it completely broke my swing. I'm fine with that since I'm new to the game and understand that sometimes we have to move back a little to move forward. 

However - while this was happening I told him he was asking me to do something that didn't feel natural and hurt but we kept after it. By that night, I had developed so much pain in the area below my trail arm shoulder blade that it felt like a cracked rib - in other words it hurts to roll over in bed, breath, laugh, or cough, and when I sneeze it's almost like a railroad spike in the back. And it's been that way ever since with no improvement - 7 full days. 

Two questions - 

First - I have coached wrestling, boxing, and taught people how to lift weights properly. There are times when things feel awkward, but as a coach whenever someone told me something felt unnatural or hurt, I always wanted to take a step back and reassess, because mechanics are highly individual. I'm not blaming the instructor because I'm old enough to know better but shouldn't a golf swing feel fluid and somewhat easy? Should it ever hurt?

Second - has anybody had an injury like this and if so, what was it and how long did it take to heal? 

I can't execute anything more than half a backswing, but I can pitch, chip and putt so I'll be working on my short game until this gets better. 

That sounds like a bulging disc.  I'd get to a chiropractor.  One that isn't focused on tinctures and tonics.

 

I'd stay far away from a swing coach who pushed a swing change that led to pain.  Specifically if you were expressing your physical discomfort.  What was the change?

Posted (edited)
43 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

That sounds like a bulging disc. 

I’m going to get an MRI later this week to be sure, but based on wishing super hard not to have a spinal injury and the similarity to a bruised rib I think it’s a strained or torn intercostal muscle. 
 

 

43 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

I'd stay far away from a swing coach who pushed a swing change that led to pain.  Specifically if you were expressing your physical discomfort.  What was the change?

Leaning that direction. The specific change is hard to explain without more of a vocabulary, but it was multiple things at the same time. It involved lag, relaxing my wrists, taking a divot, and shallowing. The last one seemed odd since the video analysis indicates that I don’t have a problem coming over the top. Anyway it more than I could be intentional about, and my tempo and sequence got all fucked up. 


Where I wound up was turning my hips with trail forearm perpendicular to my hipbone  and my torso bent over to the side at impact with the ground which felt very out of sync and uncomfortable. 
The results were pretty terrible and he kept saying things like “better” and “almost” and that’s when I asked him about it not feeling natural. 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
Posted
9 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

I’m going to get an MRI later this week to be sure, but based on wishing super hard not to have a spinal injury and the similarity to a bruised rib I think it’s a strained or torn intercostal muscle. 
 

 

Leaning that direction. The specific change is hard to explain without more of a vocabulary, but it was multiple things at the same time. It involved lag, relaxing my wrists, taking a divot, and shallowing. The last one seemed odd since the video analysis indicates that I don’t have a problem coming over the top. Anyway it more than I could be intentional about, and my tempo and sequence got all fucked up. 


Where I wound up was turning my hips with trail forearm perpendicular to my hipbone  and my torso bent over to the side at impact with the ground which felt very out of sync and uncomfortable. 
The results were pretty terrible and he kept saying things like “better” and “almost” and that’s when I asked him about it not feeling natural. 

Kind of hard to both take a divot and shallow the club at the same time. Generally, one is the fix for the other - too shallow and you work on getting more into the ground, too much of a divot and you're too steep and you work on shallowing out the swing plane. Again, this guy sounds like hot garbage. 

Posted
28 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

I’m going to get an MRI later this week to be sure, but based on wishing super hard not to have a spinal injury and the similarity to a bruised rib I think it’s a strained or torn intercostal muscle. 
 

 

Leaning that direction. The specific change is hard to explain without more of a vocabulary, but it was multiple things at the same time. It involved lag, relaxing my wrists, taking a divot, and shallowing. The last one seemed odd since the video analysis indicates that I don’t have a problem coming over the top. Anyway it more than I could be intentional about, and my tempo and sequence got all fucked up. 


Where I wound up was turning my hips with trail forearm perpendicular to my hipbone  and my torso bent over to the side at impact with the ground which felt very out of sync and uncomfortable. 
The results were pretty terrible and he kept saying things like “better” and “almost” and that’s when I asked him about it not feeling natural. 

That change sounds extremely technical for a beginner.  

Getting that deep into any swing is a great way to drive yourself completely bonkers, at any level of experience.

I'd strongly encourage finding a coach who builds you a  basic foundational set of swing fundamentals and spend a year or two at least working on those.    Finding something new to work on every couple of months is the road to insanity in this game.

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Posted (edited)

The taking a divot thing was driving me crazy. He said I was “picking” but I’m not sure what the problem with that was other than a lack of consistency. If the point is to swing through the ball and make contact on the downswing, I can do that, and if I take a divot that’s fine. By the numbers that’s what I was doing, according to the trackman and was getting 120-135 out of my 9. 
But I don’t see the point of intentionally driving the goddamn club into the ground, and either way I can’t think about that at the same time I’m trying to swing through. 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
Posted
3 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

The taking a divot thing was driving me crazy. He said I was “picking” but I’m not sure what the problem with that was other than a lack of consistency. If the point is to swing through the ball and make contact on the downswing, I can do that, and if I take a divot that’s fine. By the numbers that’s what I was doing, according to the trackman and was getting 120-135 out of my 9. 
But I don’t see the point of intentionally driving the goddamn club into the ground, and either way I can’t think about that at the same time I’m trying to swing through. 

I'm a serial picker, never take divots except for the odd ball shot here or there, to the point I have nicknames to the effect. I'm a groundskeepers best friend. 

The point of driving the club into the ground is to increase compression, which increases launch velocity and spin rate - more distance, softer landing... If you can control it. I still get plenty of distance and good enough spin to land 7i's softly by picking it - ~6k spin, 160 carry. My 9i goes ~140 so 120-135 out of your 9 is plenty fine, you don't need the distance really. How is your stopping distance with a 7?

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Posted (edited)
25 minutes ago, dieucla98 said:

How is your stopping distance with a 7?

Highly inconsistent, but last time out I was like 150 carry, 160 total. Is that what you’re asking? 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
Posted
3 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Highly inconsistent, but last time out I was like 150 carry, 160 total. Is that what you’re asking? 

Yup, that's good enough for a 7. Either you launch it high enough or spin it high enough to kill a shot in under 10 yards with a 7 on a sim - that's pretty much me too. I think in reality (just gut feel), we fly it further and stop it quicker but net result is the same.  Doesn't sound like you need a ton more compression, certainly not as a dude just picking up the game. 

Golf is a process. Every single shot. Every single chip. Every single putt. And usually different processes for each. People who love golf love the process, IMO. No one is good at golf overnight but if you enjoy the process, you'll enjoy this game. 

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Posted
On 9/15/2025 at 1:59 PM, Bozo_Casanova said:

He said I was “picking” but I’m not sure what the problem with that was other than a lack of consistency. 

I hope you make a quick and speedy recovery. While I am not trying to defend this pro, isn’t improving consistency the entire point? 

Posted (edited)
On 9/15/2025 at 1:59 PM, Bozo_Casanova said:

The taking a divot thing was driving me crazy. He said I was “picking” but I’m not sure what the problem with that was other than a lack of consistency. If the point is to swing through the ball and make contact on the downswing, I can do that, and if I take a divot that’s fine. By the numbers that’s what I was doing, according to the trackman and was getting 120-135 out of my 9. 
But I don’t see the point of intentionally driving the goddamn club into the ground, and either way I can’t think about that at the same time I’m trying to swing through. 

It's about compressing the ball. Picking means you are probably flipping with your hands, which if your timing is off can lead to being very inconsistent. Pickers usually do not compress the ball. You cannot compress the ball if you don't take a divot.

Changing a picker to compressing the ball involves more body rotation especially at the hips and less arms & hands. Most likely your body is not used to that rotation, especially your lower back. You are exercising core muscles you haven't activated in decades.

The question is, are you at a point in your life and game where you want to drastically change how you hit that little white ball? As you experienced, the swing change involves changing how your whole body "swings" the club. That's going to take some time to develop the flexibility and muscles.

But...if you make the change, you will be more consistent and be much longer through every club.

Edited by crash_davis
Posted (edited)

I have seen some really ugly swings, especially from older guys, who regularly score in the 70s, off the red and white tees. They aren't long, but they are in the middle of the fairway and know how to hit mid irons and long hybrids/woods into greens. Most importantly, they have impeccable short games and putting. If you immediately want to score better, be better at putting. Then get better at chipping/pitching inside 50. Those two things do not involve the pain of changing your swing.

Edited by crash_davis
Posted
9 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

He was talking about his irons and divots. 

And you can compress irons w/o taking a divot as well. I do it all the time. No issues holding greens, 10k+ spin with full wedges, etc etc... 

The concern is not about taking a divot or not. The concern is about the trajectory of the club at impact. Irons need to be on a downward trajectory, driver upward. That's what is important, not the divot or lack there of. 

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

It's about compressing the ball. Picking means you are probably flipping with your hands, which if your timing is off can lead to being very inconsistent. Pickers usually do not compress the ball. You cannot compress the ball if you don't take a divot.

That’s the crazy thing. When he said I was picking, I was sweeping the ground, not the top of the grass, but he wanted me to get more turf, and also change the sequence of my swing.

But when I was in the controlled environment of the trackman bay, and merely sweeping the turf in front of the ball with my natural swing,  my smash factor per the trackman with my 9i was hovering around 1.25-3+, which is supposedly good for short irons, and I was getting around 135-140 yards of carry.
 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
Posted (edited)
20 minutes ago, dieucla98 said:

And you can compress irons w/o taking a divot as well. I do it all the time. No issues holding greens, 10k+ spin with full wedges, etc etc... 

The concern is not about taking a divot or not. The concern is about the trajectory of the club at impact. Irons need to be on a downward trajectory, driver upward. That's what is important, not the divot or lack there of. 

Actually you are right. But you are in a small minority as you have to be very good with your low point and be able to rotate through, clear your left hip to shallow out your swing while keeping your shaft lean and downward AoA . When Tiger told Scottie that he doesn't take a divot when he's puring the ball, Scottie gave him a WFT took. It can be done, it takes years of practice to do it and bit of natural ability. 

Edited by crash_davis
Posted
1 minute ago, crash_davis said:

But you are in a small minority as you have to be very good with your low point and be able to rotate through, clear your left hip while keeping your shaft lean to shallow out your swing.

Well, and it’s not good- meaning I was really inconsistent and I get it. But I’m still not sure what problem the guy was trying to solve

Posted

I get away with no divot b/c I have a naturally (for lack of better word) shallow swing plane. If your swing plane is more steep and you're not taking a divot, that would be tough to be consistent. 

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Posted
8 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Well, and it’s not good- meaning I was really inconsistent and I get it. But I’m still not sure what problem the guy was trying to solve

Again, when you are using more arms and hands, it adds complexity to the swing in that you have to have your body, arms, and hands all in sequence to consistently hit that low point just in front of the ball. The key is consistently. That's a lot of variables. 

He's probably changing your swing to be less armsy and handsy. Strong grip, drop hands, weight forward, turn through the ball by firing your left hip up and back. There are fewer variables in that golf swing for controlling low point.

But without seeing your golf swing and what he's teaching, who knows?

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