What resources do you use to try to improve your game?

I have taken a combination of lessons and self teaching through reading, watching videos and trying drills. I typically read books and the descriptions regarding the proper form. I also do swings in front of the mirror from the front and side shots (similar to video).

I pre-paid for 3 lessons but I have only used one this past summer.

What resources do you use to improve?

After reading many 'magazine' tips, I have found that they actually hurt me more than help.

i voted other... never read those tips in the mags or on tv..... no lessons ever yet.... get out there and play

I've never had a Pro lesson and have primarily relied on books over the years.

My favorites are:

Jack Nicklaus "Golf My Way"
Gary Wiren "The PGA Manual of Golf"
Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book"
Stan Utley "Art of the Short Game"


When my son started playing I signed him up for lessons and he's been going to the same pro for the past 6 years. The thing about taking lessons is it's a commitment by both teacher and student. You have to find a instructor you like and trust and stick with it.

Other

Par 3's, for approach and short game

Range for full iron swings

Regular course to see results

swing tip videos are good to watch, but without executing tips (swing the clubs) you wont see any improvement.

My brother-in-law "taught" me how to play golf about 2-1/2 years ago, and ever since then I've been trying to undo all the harm he caused (just kidding, bro). Most of my learning thereafter came about from just hitting balls on the range, trying to copy the swings of the guys who hit it well. After that, along with trying to dial in a swing by myself at the range, I commenced my book-learning phase, and read Hogan's 5 Lessons, followed immediately by (no kidding) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Golf; How to Break 100 in 90 Days; How to Break 90 in 90 Days; Leadbetter's 100% Golf and Faults and Fixes; Pelz's Short Game Bible and Putting Bible.

I won't mention the many Zen books about golf that I went through in addition to the above, but there were quite a few (think Golf in the Kingdom, etc.). About a year ago I started getting better all of a sudden and began obsessively reading everything I could, from Golf Digest to video swing tips on the web. I read up on club fitting and lies and lofts, forged vs. cavity back, the history of the golf club and golf, and basically drove my wife crazy. I bought gap wedges and recovery clubs and many putters. During this period I also watched a lot of golf -- I think the only channel I watched last year was the Golf Channel. This spring, I borrowed the one-plane/two-plane swing book from my chiropractor, experimented with stack and tilt, started playing 2-3 times a week, and read Tom Watson's Getting Up and Down.

Out of all the above, what improved my game the most was simply playing, and trying to apply on the course little snippets of what I had read. I just finished Stan Utley's utterly fantastic book The Art of the Short Game -- which emphasizes feel rather than mechanically recording and memorizing different shot lengths for different swings with different clubs (i.e., the Pelz method), and that seems to work better for me, since I'm more of an intuitive golfer around the greens. I've been getting out an average of 3-4 times per week this summer, and started tracking my stats with Scorecard, so I can look at the data and figure out exactly where my game is weak, and that has also helped tremendously. Short example: I noticed I had one sand save in twenty attempts, and that every hole that involved a greenside bunker ended up with a snowman for me. So today I took a sand lesson from a pro, hit about 200 balls from the sand, and can now pronounce (at least momentarily) that getting out of the sand is no problem. Current thinking is that the obsessive-compulsive blanket approach I've employed works pretty well for guys learning golf in their 40s.

Many books, videos, and articles for many years.

Then I read "The Golf Swing and It's Master Key Explained" by Noel Thomas. Now, all I need to do is practice my short game.

I have read a few books / atricles about the golf swing and think I have a good understanding of what I need to work on. I couple this with watching video of my swing and working things out myself.

I'm done with the so called "fixes" in golf magazines, they do nothing except mess up my swing it seems like. They are way too abbreviated/don't go into enough detail.

Watching my swing in a mirror, recording and later watching my swing, and watching certain video lessons on youtube and such is all I do. Only from certain people though and none of those "Fix your slice in 30 seconds" videos.

98% of those "quick fixes" will help you hit about 2 shots out of 50 better IMO. I'm in it for the long haul, I'd rather dedicate the time to build a fundamentally solid swing than an ugly swing that works sometimes with the quick fixes.

A smattering of all of it.


The magazines are not my favorite....you'll see contridicting methods from month to month....like they simply recycle the stuff.


Best read I've had was the Utley books. Just getting into the short game book now.

In the past 2 months, I stopped looking at the magazines (after about a year), since I noticed the same trend.

Regarding equipment, I would see a review of a hybrid going 220 yards, yet another month the testers can barely hit a 3 wood 200 yards. It is quite odd but the magazines are getting boring. I do like looking at the pictures of different courses to play and reading stories of some of the golfers from Hogan's era and earlier. I have obsessed with trying to have a textbook swing and frequently practice in front of my sliding glass door (seeing the reflection, like a mirror).

As a first season golfer and from an engineer's perspective:

For me I like to have as much information as possible. So I read everything, magazines, books, forums and take it all with a grain of salt and file it away in the brain under useless golf info so it does not get in the way.

Then I go out and play. If something is not working at all I pull something out of the useless golf info and see if it works. If it does incorporate it, if not try something else.

Video has also been a huge help for me, especially if you compare your positions to a pros positions. It has been amazing to see how out of position I have been when I thought I was looking close to the pros.

Finally, now that I am finding some consistancy and getting things fixed I have planned to take a series of lessons over next season. I expect it will cost a bit of money but as long as there is a good relationship with the pro and I commit to practice and playing still I expect the handicap to keep coming down.

I also find that I need to have more positive thoughts about my game as a beginner. I thought I was a terrible putter. Then I read a psych book "The mental art of putting" and went out the next week and shaved 10 putts off my round. Was at a high of 55 putts in a round then down to 34 in the last round 3 weeks later. I suspect there is some negative thoughts going on for me in my iron game at the moment that needs fixing too.

Finally, I think learing history and ettiqute of the game has helped me improve as a golfer also. It creates more of the right mindset when you go out there. Many of the guys from work just go out to go out, no practice, they don't help maintain the course, don't care for the rules much they just go whack balls and that is all golf is to them. I think with some appreciation of the sport as a whole and its history puts you in the right midset to improve.

My wife and I got instruction this year (since it is her first year golfing) - - -6, one-hour semi-private lessons.

However, the best tip was a video on alignment on the golf channel (Dean Reinmuth was the instructor if anyone wants to watch it). I was aiming left and slicing. Now I am aiming more parallel to my target and hitting straighter than I ever have before.

My dad is a former club prpfessional, so I am lucky enough to have him help me with my swing. However, I try to keep it simple. I tried working with other professionals, but the two that I worked with seem to go straight to swing changes. My dad on the other hand can almost always fix something through finding a flaw in set-up, alignment, etc.

I tend not to listen to magazines and the majority of golfing shows because of the contradicting methods and things of that nature.

One other resource I use is the titleist performance institute. It has a great database of things that will help your physical and mental game.

I voted for other since while I do read bits of information here and there, and watch some videos (and obviously the pros playing), I am mostly self-taught. I go out there, swing, and if things are off I try to determine why and make a slight change. Might not have been the most efficient way of getting better, but I guess I like doing things myself.