I wanted to leave, go home, watch Tiger, go to the range anything but stay on the course. I was stuck because money was on the line. . My golfing buddies were no help. They simply laughed at first and by the end of the tournament were silent. After beverages at the 19th, they offically kicked me off the team for next year. I can honestly tell you I was relieved and did not care. The one saving grace was my putting, which came around and helped us somewhat. We ended up 7 under and the good news is we did not come in last...In our flight

Over the years since, I learned that Don (above) is absolutely correct in his assessment- If you've ever
experienced my pain, and the occasional bloodletting, you definitely need to go get at least a couple of lessons, and then go to the range at least once for every time you plan to play in a given week. Practice (on the range!) is the only way to cure what ails ya, and I promise it will work for you! However, as Don states, you have to forget your old swing- You never had one! Listen to what your pro tells you, work on that, and only that. If you really have to take it out on the course, get a Sunday tee after 4:30 PM, or maybe you can take a morning off during the week at a local pasture?

The simple (?) tips that my pro gave to me? Tempo and balance. Simple right? Try putting a golf ball under the toe of each shoe, and really concentrate on just making a smooth swing, no matter where the ball goes. When I first started, we had to make sure no one was to the right of me on the range, including the ball-cart guy! I did get better though, and now only hit the very rare 'snap fade'. And when I do, I can usually fix it within one swing. My swing key is to have my weight back on my heels, and not come up in my shoes, as those of you who suffer this disease can surely relate. Usually it is my buddies now who will randomly summon the S-demon, and somehow blame it on me. But that is another story...

Love the site, reviews, articles, and comments! Enjoy the game everybody, and please fix some ball marks!

In short, the letup in the weather this week allowed me to go back to the range in full force. Oh my. I've never hit the ball off of the back end of the hosel before but I sure know how that feels now. Same with the extreme toe hits that seem to make the golf ball try to come back and hit me!

I went back today and tried ever so hard to discover the root of the s**** shot. I realized that my true swing was still there. All I had to do was slow down my backswing and stay focused as I swung through the ball. Not to say that I exorcised the shank demon that's crept up recently, but I'm sure slowing down my swing and relaxing will help tremendously in getting my confidence back. It sure makes you wonder if you want to keep playing.

I think the lip outs come from side spin on the ball. Practicing getting the ball to roll vertically from a solid stroke will allow it more often to drop in the cup if at least half of it rolls over the hole. A glancing blow or decelerating action impact side spin on the ball giving it the lateral energy to snake around the lip of the hole....more often. Put a circular line on your ball and just stroke it so the ball rolls perfectly vertically. If I focus on the impact to roll the ball up and down rather than on the hole, I tend to lip out less often. As the break of the green can impart side spin, lip outs are not completely avoidable in any case.

It's most likely a scratch on the ball, a scuff mark, a piece of dirt, or just an unbalanced ball to begin with. I lip out a lot as soon as I notice a couple of scuff marks on the ball from biting onto it with them jagged wedge grooves. But a scratch will definitely do it, and so will dirt. Make sure you always clean your ball properly once you get to the green - it is that vital these days, especially with the MOI from the putter heads to give it the proper roll onto these soft-cover balls. Dirt will make it tilt-spin to that side and make you go off line immediately, so make sure you clean your ball. If it's a really bad scuff, well, unless the ball is totally unplayable you can't change it, so bad luck.

George, you are right on. The s****s will leave me nearly in tears when they show up. The most common for me is with my sand wedge when all I'm trying to do is hit a 50 yard shot to the green and all of a sudden, off it goes, dead right. It makes me want to toss my clubs in the pond and walk off the course. It's difficult to feel good about your game at that point, suck it up and hit it again.

Amen, amen, amen.

Hard to believe, but I've been floating around a 5 handicap for the last 9 months, and in that time I have battled EVERY SINGLE ONE of these "shots" (i.e. swing flaws). Yes, even the shanks. Almost broke down in tears one day at the range after shanking about 30 5-irons in a row. Gets old quick.

But I've slowly been curing myself. Wanna know how? Its not a magic club or magic swing tip. If you don't shoot in the 70s (and you really WANT to), do the following:
1. Stretch. Yep. Remember, that thing they used to make you do in high-school gym class? You probably haven't done much of it since. Start with a few light stretches a day. Don't overdo it and hurt yourself. It took 30 years for your muscles to tighten, they won't come back in a day.
2. Find a pro who does video lessons. Take a lesson. Take a long, hard look at your swing. Try not to vomit. Give yourself a moment to reflect on the last $400 driver you bought, with that $500 custom shaft. Given the twisted mess of a swing you probably see on video, what are the odds that driver made any difference? Agree with the pro as he/she points out Major Flaws #1 and #2 (or in my case #3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc..). They're right. You are wrong. The pro should give you DRILLS to work on. Remember them.
3. This is the most important step: FORGET ABOUT TRYING TO HIT THE BALL LIKE YOU USED TO. Accept that the DRILLS are what is important, in the short term. Drill without a ball, drill with a ball, whatever. It is incredibly easy to make swing changes if you commit to it, but otherwise it is useless. No offense, but most golfers simply can't commit to making a change. Hence most golfers can't break 90.

I practice 3-4 times a week. Might sound like a lot, but I want to get better. Do you? Are you willing to hit a wedge for an hour, doing only a drill that your pro has suggested? What if some husky gentleman beside you at the driving range decides to wail away on his expensive new driver for an hour? Will you be tempted to stop doing your drill, pull out your driver, and herniate a disk trying to prove your manhood to this stranger? Or will you accept that doing the drill will help you improve more than a few wild driver swings will?

In my opinion. the frustrating shots mentioned in this article aren't really "shots" at all. They are simply the results of various flawed motions with the golf club. Every single one of them can be eliminated with the proper diagnosis (from the pro) and treatment (drills), and prevention (stretching).

And BTW, I am NOT a teaching pro trying to pad my bank account. I do take lessons from an excellent one, though. Video makes all the difference.