bgary34

Very good points guiseppe, and pretty much the conclusion I came to last night while I was thinking about my range session. Keeping my head still is something that is very doable with some practice and I can see how it could benefit me in the long run, but otherwise I am just going to swing however feels comfortable to me. I'll never be on the PGA tour, I just want to go out a couple times a week and feel like I can break 80 if I have a really good day. With some more repetition and a calmer head I think my swing is good enough to accomplish that goal. I asked for advice on my swing tho, and you guys were fantastic about giving me thoughtful advice, and I am very appreciative. Its a pretty cool community here at TST, I'm glad to be part of it.

Worst range session ever! I think I am doing considerably better with keeping my head still, but the "C" posture is just something I simply cannot seem to do. I went from having a slight fade (averaging about 10 yards, very playable) to anywhere between a 15 and 75 yard slice! I don't think slice is even the right word, it isn't severe enough to describe what I was doing. I hit a couple drives that went farther left-to-right than they did forward. I hit 3 buckets trying to get a feel for this new stance, and- dejected and defeated- said screw it and hit one last bucket where I went back to my old "S" posture but still tried to keep my head calm and weight forward. While I wasn't hitting the ball quite as far as I am accustomed to this way, I was hitting it dead straight or with a slight draw. Unfortunately I didn't have anyone with me so I could take a video, but hopefully in the near future I can get someone to video me again so I can see what exactly I'm doing differently. And hopefully as I get more comfortably with this swing I can be a little more aggressive and get the lost distance back. In the long run a draw bias should increase my distance, so here's to hoping.

Thanks mdl. When I hit the range tomorrow I plan on focusing on two things, because any more and I think it will be overload, and also because I think these two things will solve the other problems. The first is being a little more hunched over and relaxed at address (more of the "C" posture as opposed to the "S") so that my head is more centered over the ball, and second keeping my head very still throughout the swing. I think the change in posture should alleviate my flat shoulder rotation, and keeping my head very still will keep the hips from swaying out along the target line, keep me from standing up, and make my shoulder turn a little less flat. I think these two changes will also get me a little more forward at impact, because after watching these videos several times I see that after swaying back in the takeaway I am not getting enough of my weight back forward at impact. Thanks again for the help guys (and/or gals)! Really excited to try this out tomorrow!

Ahhh I get it! The video cleared it up perfectly, thanks for the help!

Thank you, that is not something I would have thought of. Like many people (I'm guessing) I assumed I was using the correct posture with the "S" shape. I'll try this out tomorrow on the range. Good call, that is waaay too much head movement. Could you elaborate any on the flat shoulder turn? I've done some quick searches but I'm not really finding anything that makes sense to me. I'm pretty knew here and still trying to read articles and build up my technical terminology so I can make sense of some of the discussions on this site.

I borrowed a friend's 2-way divider bag for a round, and for the life of me I could not find a configuration for my clubs that I liked. I know searching for the right club isn't really that big of a deal, and if I found a good deal on the bag I would buy it and get over my weirdness, but I found a good deal on a bag with 7 dividers and jumped on it. To me, the more dividers the better, but if you aren't as neurotic as I am then you may not be bothered as much.

This is by far the most accurate thing I have ever read on the internet. I laughed out loud (slightly hysterically) several times, and now my girlfriend thinks I am insane. Can't wait for part 2!

Hello and welcome! Hope you are prepared to lose all your spare time and money, because this sport will do it to you. Golf can be cruel, take it too seriously and your putter will end up in the lake!

I've been Playing Golf for: 12 years occasionally, 3 months with regularity My current handicap index or average score is: 12.1 My typical ball flight is: slight fade The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: slice I started playing as a little kid, basically stopped for 5 or 6 years, and have just caught the golf bug again in the last few months. Any advice is appreciated!

I do this all the time. I am a pretty fast player, and I just moved to a new city a few months ago, so I play a lot of solo rounds. Frequently I come up behind a group and they let me pass.... and that is always my worst hole of the day. I get rushed, I get nervous and start thinking that if I am passing these guys I need to make it look like I am playing fast because I am playing well, and it always ends in disaster. Then I get frustrated and it carries over for a couple holes before I can re-focus. I have recently started seeking out situations where I am playing with (or at least under view of) people I do not know, and trying to get used to that nervous feeling and trying to not rush, relax, and just play my game. I won't lie and say it always works, but I am seeing myself slowly improve under those situations. Hopefully I can keep improving, and good luck to you on your hunt for 79! I'm sure you'll get there in time, I've only done it twice an it is the best feeling in the world!

Had a weird day today. Shot an 80, which should have a made me very happy (and for the most part it did) but my putter kept me from posting the best round of my life. I have spent the last couple weeks working on my mid to long irons, and it has really paid off. I was making exceptional contact with my 3, 4, and 5 irons (I play from the back tees even though I probably shouldn't, so I hit these clubs a lot), and made far and away my best fairway bunker shot ever- a 185 yard 4 iron to about 12 feet from the pin. But I couldn't hit a putt outside 7 feet if my life depended on it. And my driver was a little meh. So my day was, for the most part- OK drive, fantastic iron, terrible putt... or 3 :( . I am optimistic thought, because if I can hold on to this iron play (which used to be my greatest weakness) and find my short game again (not that it was great, but it was at least OK), I can see a lower handicap on the horizon! But golf is a fickle mistress, so I am very cautiously optimistic about my next round.

A little over a week ago neither had I, and it is hard to find any info about them online. I was hoping someone on here had discovered them as well. Not looking that way at the moment...

Right now I am working on long to mid irons (specifically the 3, 4, and 5), and putts outside 10 feet. For some reason I have a strong fade with my longer irons, even though I hit most other clubs straight or even with a slight draw. For the life of me I cannot figure out why. As my game has been improving I have been hitting more greens than I used to, although I am not really sticking it to the pin so I end up with lots of long putts. Before I would typically hit it just off the green, pitch it close, and have a short putt. To improve my score I gotta get those long putts dialed in!

Driver: 285 15* Hybrid: 235 3I: 210 4I: 195 5I: 180 6I: 170 7I: 160 8I: 150 9I: 135 PW: 120 SW: 105 60*: 90 64*: Not sure, only for firm greenside bunkers. Its kind of a weird club, but its money. I can get more distance with my Callaway Steelhead X-16s, but I just can bring myself to take my Ping Eye 2s out of the bag!