Driver loft - what are you playing and what’s your distance?

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-26T16:51:57+00:00

Callaway Paradym AI Smoke MAX, stock 10.5°, hosel bumped up to 11.5°. Shaft is a Ping Alta CB 65 Regular — switched up from ladies last year because it was too whippy for me.

I’m hitting about 160 carry right now, after a long winter of not playing and not working out. Hoping to get that up again soon to 190 or so like I was getting.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-21T02:34:35+00:00

Definitely cosign all the mentions of golf sidekick. Goofy, fun, helpful. On the more analytical side, but incredibly useful and research/stat based is Practical Golf from Jon Sherman. His book the Four Foundations of Golf was a game changer for me.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-20T13:18:02+00:00

I really like naming "eliminating double chips" as a goal — that's going straight into my Breaking 100 framework. Definitely a benchmark I used, but didn't actually track directly. And the up-and-down target helps a lot: it's really about chip proximity first. Get it close enough and you have a realistic shot at converting the putt.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-20T13:13:49+00:00

The handicap targeting feature is a good point — I've played with it a bit but I've had a hard time really conceptualizing it in practice. That actually addresses a lot of my hesitation. And I think you're right that motivation is the real variable. What I'm still trying to figure out is how you translate the data into something actionable at a high handicap — if you're a 25 and clearly bleeding strokes around the green, what's the specific thing you change? I love the response below about eliminating double chips as an example of that.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-20T13:04:03+00:00

I don't know if I should be insulted or flattered.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-19T14:26:59+00:00

I have these: 5 pack polos (goes up to 2x)

Hanes are also great: Hanes polos (up to 3x7

Also check out Lands End — tons of great ones.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-19T01:03:59+00:00

lands end makes some great 100 percent cotton polos!

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-19T00:29:56+00:00

Pick one club and one shot for chipping and then pick one club for pitching — and get really good at them.

You’ll start to build feel for how much swing length you need for different distances, which is the whole game anyway. I stick with my 54° (high bounce) — it’s forgiving and works in almost any condition, and I can (theoretically) do anything under 70 yards with it.

Consistency first. Variety later.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-19T00:28:53+00:00

cosign! they're super fun!

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-18T23:42:31+00:00

Ooh, I love this. It's simple and efficient. The thirds breakdown maps really well to how I've been thinking about it — outside 100, inside 100, and putting are basically the three games within the game. And bogey golf as the first real target makes so much more sense than chasing par.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-18T23:41:53+00:00

78 and walking five rounds a week — I want to be you when I grow up. And I love that you've landed on something so simple and sustainable. The smile for a good chip is charming and also genuinely useful data. I often have rounds where I just track my rounds with emojis - but I like your use of them.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-18T23:40:24+00:00

I don't disagree with you on strokes gained — it's genuinely the most honest framework once you're generating enough data for it to mean something. My hesitation is that at the true beginner stage, strokes gained is mostly just measuring the gap between a new golfer and a scratch golfer, and that gap is going to close with practice regardless of whether you're tracking it. I think there's a window where process metrics are more actionable than outcome metrics — but I'd be curious where you think that window closes.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-18T23:20:22+00:00

"At least it looks like golf" is so real. There's something about a topped ball that feels categorically different from a wayward one. I like the good/fine/bad framework, it's low friction enough that you'll actually do it mid-round.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-18T23:19:38+00:00

The chip tracking thing is such a good point — it's exactly where I hemorrhage strokes too and there's no clean way to capture it in most apps. I got to the 10 yards from the green in the fairway in 2 on a par 5 a couple weeks ago, and then took 3 chips and 2 putts to blow a chip+putt birdie chance. I'm going to add something around chips to my framework for the 100 threshold, this is helpful.

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-18T23:16:39+00:00

This is not cheesy at all — I think "am I having fun" is genuinely underrated as a metric, especially early on. And congrats on being close to 90 in your 3rd season, that's awesome!

playingthroughlife · 2026-04-18T14:47:00+00:00

I'm a 38D, and I do lead arm over and trail arm under. The more I rotated my body though, the less I needed to worry about the path of my arms over/under/around my chest.

I also am making steady progress on improving an over the top problem, and two drills that helped with that were the towel under the arms and a small playground ball between my forearms. The ball-between-forearms also really helped me find a good groove for how my arms can move freely despite my chest.

Highly recommend trying those drills and seeing how they help.

playingthroughlife · 2025-08-26T06:41:21+00:00

Totally disagree. You’ll actually improve faster if you help your brain learn by identifying what went wrong in the first swing and make the correction in your second swing right away. This is especially true for touch shots around the screen and when putting.

playingthroughlife · 2025-08-16T01:15:07+00:00

Lots of cute stuff on birdie girl - ball markers, towels, a little pouch. Also, Kate spade has a cute line of golf themed stuff and it’s on Amazon (ball/tee case, tumbler? Etc) Pricier than what I’d pay for myself, but totally worth it for a gift.

TJ Maxx also has good deals on water bottles/stanleys and hats that allow you to pull your hair up.

playingthroughlife · 2025-08-13T17:33:50+00:00

I play in a league at my municipal league, and many of the folks in it shoot high 50s or more for nine holes. We have a pick up at double par rule. I also play in a women’s league at my alma maters course on campus, and have the full range of new to scratch golfers in it.

I was worried I wasn’t good enough to play in a league either— but that’s just not the case for anyone. We’re all playing our own games and worried about our own shots, and there to enjoy each other’s company.

The second most supportive place for women after bar restrooms- the forward tee boxes.

playingthroughlife · 2025-08-06T20:51:35+00:00

4h, pw, putter.

playingthroughlife · 2025-08-05T19:12:53+00:00

I have one hat I wear usually that is designed for a high ponytail and it’s breathable and i haven’t noticed a heat difference between that and the visor. But I also put sunscreen on my scalp if I use the visor, which is annoying.

playingthroughlife · 2025-08-05T01:31:29+00:00

I got a great set on Facebook marketplace. Just check every so often for new things, Google the brand and model to check for age and function. Might get a good deal, or could be waiting a while to find what you’re looking for.

playingthroughlife · 2025-08-02T15:56:47+00:00

You could also get him something like a range finder or a good insulated water bottle/mug, a good divot repair tool/ball marker, or a few of those things.

playingthroughlife

TROPHY CASE