Yes by all means....

[fred3]

ignore the person behind the curtain. He's grumpy and tired of folks here trying to sell you something you can't buy. If you don't want honesty then by all means listen to those who you've never met, never seen you swing a club tell you how to spend your money. By all means ignore the sarcasm of hard learned advice aimed at those who wouldn't know a good swing if the late great Sam Snead hit a large bucket of balls right next to them on the range.

There are certain truths in golf and one is it don't come easy. You've got a couple of grand to spend by all means change your clubs, balls, shoes and tees as often as you change your shorts. It's your money and time.

[Benguk]

wat are you talkin about?

[dorkman53]

Fred is the resident grump on Golf Review. He has good advice the vast majority of the time. He repeatedly advises people to take lessons and work on their swing, and not look to quick fixes by switching equipment needlessly. He gets an A for honesty and knowledgeable advice, but a D- for tact.

[buddha33]

Fred is the resident grump on Golf Review. He has good advice the vast majority of the time. He repeatedly advises people to take lessons and work on their swing, and not look to quick fixes by switching equipment needlessly. He gets an A for honesty and knowledgeable advice, but a D- for tact.

And an A+ for being cool.

[jordoo]

Isn't this sight for getting diff opinions why can't fred voice his opinion. Being rude isn't really called 4 here but since I have no personal experiance with fred being rude I guess I can't fault him for any thing. And it does seem to me that it does take work to get good at golf and lesons r important especially 4 us who have job's and can't spend all week tinkering. I agrea in princible with this, and just look at it as another opinion to sift through like all the others here. At least fred is not yet on my list of members who's comments I have learned to ignore.

[maxflimatt]

It takes many different people to make up the world, and all of us have our place, our views, and beliefs. Thats what makes things so interesting.

[dorkman53]

It takes many different people to make up the world, and all of us have our place, our views, and beliefs. Thats what makes things so interesting.

Bingo.
I have no gripe with Fred3, except that people who aren't familiar with his style are sometimes offended by his blunt statements. I welcome his input on the board.

[Benguk]

YEA, BUT wat was he saying? I dont get it.

[dorkman53]

YEA, BUT wat was he saying? I dont get it.

He's reacting to another thread where someone commented on his abrasive style of writing.

[BogeyGolf]

You would rarely get an unbiased opinion of equipment reviews on this site. Just think about it. Who does all the postings of reviews? Some guy that just spent his hard earned $300-$500 on the latest and greatest driver. He pretty much has to give it a raving review to justify his decision on the purchase. Someone who dislikes or finds a club ho-hum after testing it would more likely not post a review about it because it just isn't worth his effort. So take these reviews for what they are, advertisements of the most popular clubs, balls, etc... I still find the information on this site better than not having any information at all, but it just has to be taken with a grain of salt like everything else.

Don't get me started on lessons. Lessons are definitely worthwhile if you choose the right instructor, but--and that's a big BUT--remember teaching is afterall a BUSINESS. I was told long ago by a retired instructor that, "If you tell them how to fix everything in one lesson, they will not come back." That was not a direct quote but it was something to that effect. You must know something about the swing, be it from books, TV, magazines or whatever. Be prepared to ask the instructor about a specific problem that you are having and why you think you are having this problem, that way he will be much more prepared to help you. After the lesson, go out and practice, practice, and yes you guessed it, more practice. I am speaking from experience. I have taken 6 lesson sessions from 3 different instructors over the years and some instructors more helpful than others. None of them offered an explanation of what caused the swing fault but they all offered different things for me to try to fix my problem. None of which helped until I knew enough about the swing to prescribe my own cure. Mind you, I have not a great golfer. I would not even consider myself an average golfer. I shoot in the mid 90's only because I don't have the time to take my own advice on practice. I have not hit a golf ball in the last 4 weeks.

[dorkman53]

Don't get me started on lessons. Lessons are definitely worthwhile if you choose the right instructor, but--and that's a big BUT--remember teaching is afterall a BUSINESS.

Obviously, getting a good instructor is crucial, but probably even a mediocre instructor is far better for the average golfer than trying to "learn it on their own", which will usually lead to a whole host of problems that will have to be unlearned later. I'm living proof of this. My parents actually offered me lessons when I was an adolescent, but I didn't think it was necessary. Only as an adult did I finally realize that my self taught ways weren't working to my satisfaction, and I've taken sets of lessons from 3 different pros over the last few years. The first one wasn't very satisfactory, but I learned some valuable information. The second one was better, and I learned further. The most recent one has helped me more than any of the others, but he is building on the base that the other two started. Unless a pro is really poor, I think there is far more benefit to lessons than trying to self teach, for the vast majority of people.
Of course golf lessons are a business........what isn't?