vernon

Best of luck in that endeavor! You've got a 28 year head start on me and I'm hoping like crazy to catch up someday! However, I'd rather not settle for just another 28 so keep on raising the bar!

2.5 choices!

So long as it's still "operational" I say don't sweat the inches!

THAT is beyond timely! (and pretty danged clever for that part of the country)

That's scary. I, too, have always really like the Fluroclear and the Yo-zuri hybrid. Might have to reconsider now though!

Remember awhile back when I said that I enjoyed lighting bonfires across the way and then sitting back and watching the ensuing carnage? Hee hee. No, I'm not bored. Not even a little bit.

So long as you saved the sixer!

#1 - White or white and chartreuse 3/8 oz. Tandem willow spinnerbait #2 -Black and blue 3/8 oz. jig WITH a 6" curly tail plastic worm trailer. Swims as good as it bottom bounces/drags. And I have no idea why I wouldn't put the Ned at the top of the list other than I guess I haven't been using it long enough - pretty much was new to me in the spring of 2015 but I've sure throwed the heck out of it since.

I promise I'm not trying to rekindle a doused blaze here but I just received this this morning so thought I'd add it to the previous and discredited golf ball discussion! Thought it might help to answer a couple of Champ's questions? http://www.mygolfspy.com/kirkland-vs-titleist-pro-v1/ …

SEE! SEE! You're doing it again!! This thread is about LAKE LEVELS! (and a little bit about personal best bass and arrowheads and power generation and whatever) But definitely NOT what you're ranting about! Don't make me write another 12 page, totally irrelevant explanation about what's REALLY important here! Trouble maker.

I shall assume responsibility for driving this thread off of the tracks but ONLY if Champ, Snagged and Abkeenan will fess up regarding their role! I realize that I consistently struggle with the realization that folks really don't care one way or another what I think or have to say but I tend to just put it all out there anyway. HOWEVER, I likely would not have felt compelled to compose a 400 page congressional report on the history of the modern golf ball HAD I NOT BEEN PROVOKED! I, too, was enjoying and innocently attempting to contribute to the spinning reel discussion until Champ had to bring up his spending habits relative to golf balls and then Snagged had to go and post a link to a golf ball article ONLY to be further compounded by Abkeenan sticking his nose in the middle of the whole mess further igniting my already short fuse and, well, I just snapped. So there. I'm sorry. Is it spring yet?

Wow. The rubber bands inside of them babies gotta be feelin' a little fatigued by now! For a real treat, if you still have any old persimmon woods laying around, tee one of those suckers up and take a whack. It feels about like hitting a hedge ball with a wet towel! I've still got a bunch in an old shag bag downstairs and every once in a while I'll take a handful up to the driving range along with an old Arnold Palmer Peerless driver. I like to get the young hotazz high school and juco players to hit a couple with that combination - the looks on their faces is priceless! My lab absolutely loves em'. She chews them until the cover starts coming off and then the rubber bands explode all over the place. It's like a big spring coming undone - once she catches up to it and bites down, the rubber bands pop loose again which freaks her out so she drops it and then it skitters all over the place while she tries to catch it again. Cheap entertainment! I've also got an old Palmer "The Standard" 1 iron that looks like half a butter knife on a ski pole. I have no idea how we used to hit those things!

Here's what I know about golf balls. The Kirkland's are not designed specifically for higher swing speeds but certainly will work for stronger players. Similar to the Pro V and most of the other multi layer, urethane covered balls introduced in the last few years, they are all relatively low compression and good for players of most all abilities. Not like the old days when Titleist "tour" level balls were designated 90 or 100 compression. In fact, there ain't no industry standard when measuring compression anyway - every company does it their own way so one guys 80 might be softer than another ones 60. I honestly believe that you can separate balls into about three categories regardless of brand and the price and performance for each will be pretty close - except for the Pro V which is just flat overpriced because they can in my opinion. Like most everything else, there just ain't that many golf ball factories. Callaway's are made in the old Spalding plant for instance. Wonder why Tiger just signed to play the Bridgestone ball? Cause Bridgestone has made Nike's golf balls since the beginning. The $20 and less crowd are typically one piece with a surlyn cover. They are usually great for distance but feel hard and won't spin around the greens much at all. For players that don't know HOW to make the ball spin around the greens it's pretty much a moot point anyway. A bladed wedge don't much care what kind of ball you hit! The $20 - $30 group usually consists of multi-layer construction and a way better feeling and spinning urethane cover. The multiple layers enable these balls to perform great off the driver at a wide variety of swing speeds while the urethane cover gives them a softer feel and allows them to spin more around the greens. The over $30 crowd is usually even more layers of construction (usually four or five although Maxfli makes a six layer ball - the U6) plus the urethane cover. Believe it or not, most testing has proven that "feel" is actually much more closely related to SOUND. The vast majority of tour players can't tell the difference between a Pinnacle and a Pro V if they can't hear it at impact. And, if you think about it, it makes sense. A hard surlyn or plastic cover will sound "clicky" or hard whereas the soft urethane of a Pro V or similar quality ball is much more muted. Kinda like the old balatas that everybody always thought felt so soft - it was actually more sound than feel. If a guy chooses a golf ball that they like best from 100 yds. and in there's virtually zero chance that they'll risk losing a single yard off of the driver as a result. These days these things are just that good. Conversely, you COULD find a ball that's longest off the tee but worthless around the green. Titleist has long marketed their Pro V to be a ball for all levels and, like the Kirkland, it really is. It's pretty low compression but relies on multi layer construction and a soft urethane cover for its versatility. Pretty much every company has a ball in the same category nowadays but they just cost a little more than the next level down. My personal favorite is the Bridgestone B330RX - good distance, nice feel and will spin nicely around the green. And, they're made in the USA. However, for casual or practice rounds a lot of times I play the Wilson Duo (compression 29!) To me, they feel fine around the greens and pretty normal off the driver. What's the attraction? You can get em' for $12.99 a dozen on Amazon! I don't feel bad losing one or two during a round at that price. The Wilson 50 Elite is a very similar ball that's about the same price. If you read the article about the Kirkland you already know that it's the equal of not only the Pro V, but the Bridgestone 330, the Callaway Chrome and all the other premium balls. The only difference is the price. Like the old Lady Precept now the problem is finding the dang things!

OMG, you sound like Wrench! You SHOOT in the 60's not HIT. SHOOT! You elite southerner's just kill me!

Once you get there keep goin'!

Wrench, you obviously are still young enough to possess metabolism! Once a guy reaches 60 you become akin to an inanimate object - you no longer generate much less maintain body heat!

For many, many years, yes, it was totally exclusive to us! However, for the foreseeable future, an exemption has been enacted and you can use anything you feel necessary. What you guys are going through right now I wouldn't wish on even an MU fan. Eastern Illinois for crying out loud? At HOME? Heck, a kid that grew up a couple of blocks away from where we live had 8 points and 6 rebounds in that game and I never even thought he was a particularly good high school player! When white kids from Basehor friggin' Kansas can do that, time's is hard indeed.

One other deal that works pretty good for me that my daddy taught me a couple of hundred years ago is to put a hand warmer in each of your pants pockets right next to the femoral artery. That will warm the blood as it circulates throughout the body! Probably total crap but who knows - I still do it when it's particularly cold out and it sure doesn't hurt. Back then, we used those crazy Zippo style warmers that would burn completely through a guys leg if he wasn't careful. Nowadays I prefer the large size Hot Hands although it seems to me that they need to be opened and hour or two before heading out to gain the full benefit. OK, that's it. My contributions to a freezing society are now fulfilled!

Oh crap! My bad. That entire post was intended to be a private message exclusive to MU fans! Figured I'd make totally inaccurate information sound really believable (you guys would never know the difference) and, consequently, freeze all y'all to death and put you out of your misery!

This is gonna be WAY controversial but here goes: I used to play golf with a guy that worked way high up in the textile industry testing materials and fabrics for literally every manufacturer in the world. He claims that cotton is the worst for any application - hot, cold it doesn't matter. Polyester is the way to go although, according to him, the blend is extremely important and that spandex and elastane are the CRUCIAL elements. They are what determine stretch, breathability, comfort and moisture wicking. The more of each, the better. Now this part is sure to attract plenty of disagreement but again, this guy makes big bucks testing this stuff and providing recommendations throughout the industry AND to the military so I got to believe he knows what he's talking about. He said that LAYERING is an absolute waste of time and is one of the least effective methods of all to keep warm! He pointed out that the military figured this out a long time ago and hasn't trained troops to layer in cold weather in forever. They say it will cause you to sweat and that it's impossible to vent enough of the body's water vapor and that you will become chilled and likely stay that way eventually leading to hypothermia. The Ski Patrol and other elements that spend lots of time in the cold apparently agree. It seems that what they found out was that the age old belief of layering flat doesn't work because the trapped air itself isn't warm and will typically retain moisture. He said the key is COMPRESSION fit. Through testing it was determined that compression fit literally traps body heat and prevents it from escaping while the polyester, spandex, elastane blend serves to wick away moisture. You then add a single "Windstopper" type lined outer garment. Pretty simple and makes sense I guess - trap body heat and block wind. Whoolah, warmth. Now, I retired from the Army Corps of Engineers but I had ZERO experience or time spent in the field. That being said, I did ask a bunch of my trained killer friends and they all concurred - NEVER layer and NEVER wear cotton. Fit for compression and block the wind. Period. And vent to prevent overheating during times of exertion. Personally, I HATE compression wear. It makes me feel even fatter than I already am for one thing! However, I gotta say, whenever I've followed his advice I've stayed warm without overheating and don't fell like the Michelin Man with twenty layers of stuff weighing me down and bulking me out. On his recommendation, I purchased a couple of compression tops and a couple of pullovers that are lined with either Gore Windstopper or the industry equivalent. There's a million different versions out there and as best I can tell they're all pretty much the same thing. Cabela's and Bass Pro each have their own house versions that work great. Bottom line is this method works GREAT. For bottoms I don't always wear compression but do ALWAYS make sure that I'm wearing pants made of polyester blended with elastane and spandex. Add my windproof rain pants and life is good! Having a quarter zip top is really important for the pullover. It can be zipped up similar to a turtleneck to retain heat and block additional wind or partially unzipped to allow the venting of excess heat during times of exertion or whenever necessary. Amazingly, on some pretty danged cold days, I can pull the neck of the compression shirt away from my body and literally feel the heat escaping from inside the shirt. Oh yeah, as for the moisture wicking part he said to NEVER, EVER, NEVER use dryer sheets! According to him, dryer sheets coat the fabric in silicone rendering it's ability to breath or wick moisture absolutely worthless! Once dryer sheets are used he said it takes a minimum of five washer and dryer cycles to remove the residue from not only the fabric but the dryer tub! And that's all I have to say about that.

Or ISIS affiliated? You could clear a mall with that thing!

And you can't even see your breath!

I've played that ball and, in my opinion, it's the best ball ever made - bar none (well, the aforementioned Condor might be an exception!). It's dang near a replica of the Pro V1 only for me it's actually a little longer and spins better around the greens. Unbelievable feel off of woods and irons alike. Problem is, most of the rest of the world has caught on and they're extremely hard to find right now. They've been on backorder thru Costco for months and last I heard are still a couple of months out. There's supposed to be a few stores in the warmer weather states that get a pallet or two in every now and then but they say they're selling them out in a matter or hours. Guys that can get ahold of them are making a killing off em' on eBay.

Ahhh, the Bear forged tours - a classic if there ever was one. However, I did prefer to have the bounce on the long irons reduced by 00.37 degrees - seemed to bring the ball flight down about a yard to a yard and a third. Made all the difference in the world when playing in the wind. I too, tried a set of Ping's once but found the game was suddenly so unchallenging that I started playing left handed. When that wasn't enough I eliminated the backswing all together. Choosing instead to simply flip the ball toward the target with my hands and wrists. Still ridiculously easy so I went back to the butter knife irons rather than just giving up the game altogether. A guy has to have something else to do rather than fishing and tending to ones harem after all. Nice catch on the Ray Floyd Scotty - the certificate obviously clinches the whole deal as a steal regardless of price! Potentially more rare than the elusive original Bobby Jones' Calamity Jane! Man, are you ever right about winter!

My dream spot as well. We could split the cost and get a duplex! Except I've got a terrible cat allergy!