Paiste

Listen guys, I don't want to come across as an a**hole because I'm actually pretty laid back. It's just that I'm stubborn. I love the game and I'm improving quite well at the moment. I guess I'm just not wrapping my head around certain posts. Anyway, iacas, what do you mean when you say No. 20 and +3 when referring to ball striking?

Ok. I though that's what I was trying to say. Decent ball striking is relative to your level of play.

Good point. Maybe he's being modest so to keep his ego in check, which is very smart. Personally though, I highly doubt that he doesn't have very good ball striking abilities to be a 5.4 hcp. That's a good player right there. It just makes sense. I've been getting told in this thread that good ball striking and single to low single hcp go hand in hand. Well, wouldn't you have to have decent enough ball striking to be a 5.4?

Wait a minute, you're saying that to be a good ball striker you have to be a single digit or even low single digit. You're a 5.4 hcp and you're not a good ball striker by any means. How did you get to that handicap if you're not a good ball striker? That doesn't make sense to me. You're contradicting yourself. You have a low handicap so you have to be a decent enough ball striker to get to that point. Like you guys said, you can't get to that level of play on short game alone. I know you said low single digit but you're not that far off that at a 5.4 hcp that your ball striking is poor.

Ok, I see what your saying. Not hitting your target or knowing your distance control does not make you a good ball striker just because you make solid contact. But, for someone who has a 18 plus hcp, he would be a decent ball striker for his level of play, wouldn't he? All in all, the term "Good ball striker" refers to someone who can control the golf ball like you said in almost any situation making them a low single digit or professional. Maybe I was being a little bit too literal. Cheers.

Anyway, back to the real topic of discussion. This was my fourth day in a row at the range working hard on tension and temp my ball striking is steadily improving. I see a good difference in consistency for sure. This isn't a quick swing fix or a momentary lapse of luck. This is due to hard work and actually performing drills and a sound practice regimen at the range, not just beating balls for 3 hours. Say what you will, I've worked extremely hard and it's paying off. I'm not getting ahead of myself because I know that there still is a LONG road ahead with a steep learning curve.

This is getting ridiculous. Now this is turning into a completely different topic altogether because I made a comment that wasn't literal. So what you guys are saying is that to be a good ball striker you pretty much have to be a pro or low single digit. Bullshit. I've read a lot of posts in these forums which pertain to people being good ball strikers but having the other aspects of their game falling short; the reason why their hcp is slightly on the higher side. I was making an exaggeration earlier to get my point across. I was not being literal.

I guess it can go either way. You hear some guys say, "He put a good swing on it" or "He struck that well". I guess I'm just leaning towards the swing and not the hit. Maybe there is no difference to a lot of people but to me there is. I feel that when I hit the ball that the ball is my target and it feels like I'm getting stuck at impact because once I hit the ball the objective is completed. When I'm swing the club I feel like I'm swinging to the target, the ball is in the path of the swing and I release the club to the target not the ball. Does that make any sense?

I actually play golf with a friend of mine fairly regularly and he is a good ball striker. His accuracy isn't the best but he makes good contact; solid and crisp. He's not tuned into his distance control yet so he's always leaving himself tough chips and pitches or long putts. His short game is well below his ball striking as is his putting so he loses a lot strokes due to that. All he practices are full irons shots and driver. Never pulls out his wedges and putter at the range and practices shots from around the green or 50 yards out. He hits the ball beautifully when he's in full swing but that's it. I don't know if it's his ego but he's always pulling out his pitching wedge from 160 and ending up 20 yards short. His excuse is "I usually hit my PW 160 no problem" but I've never seen it. In that case, he's a good ball striker but he has no short game or putting, plus he chooses the wrong clubs all of the time. I think that would qualify.

It wasn't literal. Holy shit you guys need to chill out. I was saying that you can be a good ball striker but that doesn't mean you have a complete game. You guys love opportunities to jump on people. RELAX.

Wow, I must of been doped up or sleeping when I wrote that post. "Swinging the clubbing in much different" and "the difference know". That's brutal and I'm an engineer for Christ's sake!!! Yes, it's a great feeling. You spend a lot of time and hard work developing fundamentals all the while, still trying to kill the ball. When the term "Swing" dawns on you, practice has a whole new meaning. It's given me tempo and rhythm which was sporadic for me before. I used to have a really slow backswing and then BAM, right into my downswing. Now it's much more fluid. After a few more range sessions I'll post my swing and you'll see a big difference, I hope!!

Oh, I don't think for one bit that I've found the solution to golf. I finally realized that swinging the clubbing in much different than muscling the club and trying to hit the ball. The difference between tense muscles and relaxed muscles is unbelievable. Try throwing a baseball with a tense arm; you'll have no power, accuracy or distance. When you are relaxed, you can throw the ball however you please (to a degree). Golf is similar in that manner. What I have found is that by swinging the golf club, I have become more consistent and confident but golf is a never ending learning curve and I know that. There will be good rounds, bad rounds and even some great rounds but the difference know is that most of my shots will be solid, not always on target but solid. It's much easier to make that contact with a relaxed swing, eliminating tension. I was at the range today and when I was relaxed with no tension, I hit the ball crisp and sweet. As soon as I tried to kill it or I became tense in trying to muscle it, I topped it. That's how I know what "Swing" means. Now applying the term "Swing" to my golf swing is going to take a lot of repetitions and practice but I'm on my way to becoming a better player. Golf is very hard and by know means am I that arrogant that I think that I've figured it out.

I shouldn't have said "Fire to the ball". What I meant was "Fire to the target."

This is my approach and I don't give 2 f**ks what the other guys think. I've noticed on this board that when you improve your game other players are either envious that you've improved or they think that you are full of shit. So, I'll do my best and I apologize in advance if you already know or have tried this and it didn't work for you. This is also based on having some good fundamentals as well. I am not a pro or an instructor so this is based off of on-line instruction and personal experience. I'll try to put it into words for you: Before, I had way too much tension in my left arm and wrists, even though my grip was tension free. When I started my take away, the tension in my arms, shoulders and wrists would leak into my grip causing inconsistencies and forcing the club therefore not swinging to the target; getting stuck at impact. What I figured out is to completely let all out of the tension in your upper body, from the shoulders to the arms to the wrists to you grip. Start your take away then let your shoulders take the club back all the while staying as relaxed and tension free as possible. When you feel the tightness from coiling in your backswing then initiate the downswing with your hips, staying tension free all the way to your finish. For tempo, I make sure that my mouth is slightly open and that I'm exhaling throughout the swing (helps with tension). I also count in my head. In the backswing I count 1....2... then at the top of my backswing I feel like there is a slight pause (even though there isn't, just helps to finish the backswing and not rush the downswing) then I count to 3 to initiate the down swing. So, it's 1......2.....(top of back swing) then 3 to fire to the ball. Letting your shoulders turn to take the club back instead of your arms is huge. I had a problem with letting my arms somewhat, not fully, take the club back, almost picking it up and that restricted my shoulder turn, robbing me of some power and consistency (even though I could still hit some good solid shots) The biggest difference I find is confidence that I have over the ball, and I'm definitely more consistent. I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.