# Time To Be Old



## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

All you over 50's out there, forgive me, but I'm about to turn 58 in a few weeks and I'm going to admit my age. I am testing a set of clubs with regular shafts. My woods are still stiff because of the extra shaft length, but I'm going to try regular shafted irons in hopes of keeping my distance with less effort.

You see, ibuprofen is the 15th club in my bag. I take a lot of it before I play so my back doesn't bother me, but when I get home and it wears off, I'm in pain. Put simply, I'm not in good physical condition and I'm doing something about too, so I'm not giving up my fairly new Callaway X18 irons. They are still one of the best clubs I've ever had. They will quietly sit in the closet for a few months while I lose some weight, try to swing easier and maintain my new swing compliments of the recent lessons.

I got myself a set of Cleveland CG2 irons. They arrive tomorrow. Friday afternoon, if I've gotten rid of enough of this cold, I'll take them to the range for the first time. Scott, (the pro), will be with me to help me set my tempo, so we'll see how this works out.

Anyone else gone through this?


----------



## Fourputt (Nov 18, 2006)

DennisM said:


> All you over 50's out there, forgive me, but I'm about to turn 58 in a few weeks and I'm going to admit my age. I am testing a set of clubs with regular shafts. My woods are still stiff because of the extra shaft length, but I'm going to try regular shafted irons in hopes of keeping my distance with less effort.
> 
> You see, ibuprofen is the 15th club in my bag. I take a lot of it before I play so my back doesn't bother me, but when I get home and it wears off, I'm in pain. Put simply, I'm not in good physical condition and I'm doing something about too, so I'm not giving up my fairly new Callaway X18 irons. They are still one of the best clubs I've ever had. They will quietly sit in the closet for a few months while I lose some weight, try to swing easier and maintain my new swing compliments of the recent lessons.
> 
> ...


Believe it or not, I went the other way. Last August, just 5 months before my 60th birthday, I bought a new set of King Cobras, and for the first time in my life, the right shaft was the stock graphite stiff. I don't know how these ones compare to other stiff shafts, but they are the right one's for me with these irons. Then, when I bought the Callaway driver, the stiff shaft was the only one that felt right there too. And on course it is proving to be the correct choice. I never even considered playing a stiff shaft back in my younger days... both because the feel was like swinging a broomstick, and because my natural left to right fade bacame a wicked slice with any driver I tried. Now, with the modern graphite shafts, the feel is right and so is the ball trajectory. :thumbsup:


----------



## BrianMcG (Apr 7, 2007)

Funny story I heard once from a club rep on the Champions tour (then Senior Tour).
He had this one player hitting different drivers and the guy could never find a shaft he liked. Finally the club rep got a shaft for him that he knew he would hit well. 

The player hit it and hit it better than any driver he ever had he asked "Wow, what kind of shaft is this?" The club rep sheepishly told him "Its the new SENIOR flex we put in our stock sets" The player looking angry then told the club rep "You can put it in my driver.." now pointing his finger at him, "but if it doesn't have a sticker on it that says STIFF, I will shove it up your ass."

Anyway, I have had a lot of experience getting players to try more flexible shafts and higher lofted drivers. They always love the clubs until I tell them what they are hitting. 

A lot of times I have put tape on the bottom so they can't see the loft. They come in from playing and say, "Wow, I got home in two on number x and hit the longest drive of my life on number x." Then when I say, "Good, that's the 11.5 driver with a regular shaft, do you want me to order you one." The look they give me is priceless.


----------



## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

Well, I think we should agree that trajectory is from a combination of shaft and head design, including loft, but also affected by the individual swing. 

My Bertha driver is 9.5 degrees and my Launcher driver is 10.5 degrees. At face value, I hit them on the same flight trajectory. In my garage, I still have an old Taylor Tour Burner that I thought was so cool at the time... 7 degrees. I look at that thing now and wonder what kind of fool I must have been to think I could have hit that.


----------



## 65nlovenit (Dec 8, 2006)

I'm 67, club head speed of 92 mph, had a Tour Edge Bazooka 10.5* with a regular shaft. Results were reasonable, though I did have to work through a slice problem, then had it cut down to 43 1/2 inches and the slice problem went away. Early July got the buy of my life time, Big Bertha 454 for $180.00, so I grabbed it. It came with 13* of loft and a Fujikura Senior flex shaft, but I figured I could always pull the shaft in favor of a Regular Flex. Tried it out at the range and found out I was getting better yardage with the Senior Flex, so I kept it. Started teeing up a lot higher (half the ball above the head) and moving the ball further forward in my stance (right off the left toe). I've also taken to swinging up on the ball, LOTS of loft and reasonable carry (235) which is great for me. Would love to get more yardage, but not at the price of missing the fairways. Got to get my walking shoes out, this snow can't last forever can it?

Del


----------



## 373 (Jun 9, 2006)

65nlovenit said:


> Would love to get more yardage, but not at the price of missing the fairways.


My feelings exactly. Hitting it 240 to 250 off the tee is still, at my age, a sufficient distance to enjoyably play the courses I frequent. If I went to the Blue Monster and tried to play it from the tips, obviously I would have a hard time, but as I've gotten older, the white tees have become my standard and I no longer have a problem with that.




> Got to get my walking shoes out, this snow can't last forever can it?


I hope not. I hate to visit my friends in the insane asylums.


----------



## Fourputt (Nov 18, 2006)

65nlovenit said:


> Got to get my walking shoes out, this snow can't last forever can it?
> 
> Del


It doesn't last forever here.... just keeps coming back... talk about deja vu. We could have 6 inches again by tomorrow evening. :dunno: The good news is that this time of year, it will be gone in 24 hours.


----------

