ndirishgolf

Good call on the "summer" thing. Though the winter was rather mild this year. I was able to get out about 5 times in December and 7 times in January at home in northern SD. They weren't exactly ideal conditions (generally mid-40s, though we hit 63 one day in January) but at that time of year, we take what we can get. I'll see if I can find more pictures for you.

The signature 7th at Hawktree Golf Course in Bismarck, ND. It really is "prairie golf" at its finest. A double dogleg with a blind down hill tee shot. It is without a doubt one of my favorite holes I have ever played. Notice the black bunker surrounding the water hazard on the left side of the image. It is black coal slag, a product of the coal production in North Dakota. The par-3 3rd hole at Hawktree. This view is from one of the forward sets of tees, which gives you an actual view of the hole. The back tees are behind the crest of the hill, making this a blind tee shot. This added to the elevation change and the narrow landing area with a front pin placement make this an extremely difficult short par-3. The par-3 3rd at Tomahawk Lake Country Club in Deadwood, SD. Definitely not the most difficult course or the best conditioned I have ever played, but probably one of the more intriguing layouts. It cuts through the Black Hills near Deadwood. When we played this, we had let a group play through. Everything was so still that when the group cleared the green, they waved and said "thanks" and it sounded like they were standing right next to us. Playing this course at dusk gave it an even more unique, almost surreal, feel. This is a picture of the 6th hole at my home course in South Dakota. This was taken back when I was on the grounds crew and I was mowing greens at about 5:45am on a Saturday morning. I always love the feeling of being the only person on the course: either the first one on the course, watching the Sun come up, or... the last one on the course, watching the Sun go down, as was the case here on the 11th hole. You can see here how hard the weather was on the fairways. We had a lot of problems with Poa growing in early in the summer thanks to cool, wet weather and then was scorched when the hot, dry weather showed up. Even though it isn't the nicest course in the world and wasn't in the best shape, it is always going to be "home" to me and I think this picture gives a bit of an idea of why I love it so much.

Does anybody happen to know of any golf courses in northern Indiana that are open right now? I am stuck here in South Bend for the first few days of my spring break, and I really want to golf. I figure this is a long shot, but it's supposed to be nice over the next several days and I have nothing else to do.

I played a course this summer that I lasered at 242 with hazard up to the front of the green. I pretty much just accepted that I would be taking a drop from the hazard. I pured a 4 wood, landed on the front edge of the green, and ended up pin high. Definitely my most satisfying par on a par 3 ever.

Having gone to the Wednesday and Thursday rounds, I can say that I think the buses are definitely the way to go, although I don't know if that will be the case on Sunday. You probably won't have to wait to get on buses to the course, especially if you go early, but you may be waiting awhile to leave. We waited for a bus for about 15 minutes leaving the course on Thursday, and that was before play was over. With everybody leaving at the same time Sunday, it could be a pretty long wait. Still, I would take the bus, but that's because I'm cheap .

Actually, the Yankees lead the league in average attendance, merchandise sales, and was voted as the most popular team in a Harris poll. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...9/ai_n19345563 http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/110933 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/t...attendance.htm What do you have to show that any team other than the Yankees are America's favorite team? I must say, though, that I hate John Smoltz the least of all Red Sox players. That's because I don't think of him as a Red Sox, I still think of him as a Brave.

My most clutch play was in a match in high school where my high school was playing the other high school in my town in a Ryder Cup-style format. I was down 3 with 3 to play. I ended up getting up and down for par to keep it dormie, and made a clutch putt on the next to stay alive. On the last hole, I reached the green in 2 on a par 5 and ended up making birdie to win the hole and halve my match. We ended up winning by 1 point. My best shot overall was last year on a short (480-490 yds) par 5. My drive ended up just in the right rough. About 215 out, I hit a little cut with my 5 wood that bounded up and stopped less than a foot right of the hole. Tap in eagle. Probably the closest I will ever come to a double eagle. I think this shot was even better than my hole-in-one.

Last year, I went out Feb. 29 when there was still snow on the ground, found an open patch of grass, threw some balls down, and hit into the middle of nowhere. The first time I went out and played was probably the second week in March. I usually go out the first time it is over about 40* and there isn't a lot of snow on the ground. It is supposed to be near 50* tomorrow and near 50* again Tuesday so I may be able to get out sometime in the next week and at least hit some balls.

I would agree that it is my swing except I am not hooking any of my other clubs. I have a 3 wood that is not a 906 and I do not hook that. I have had other people hit this club and good players hook it and slicers hit it straight.

So you think it is the head then? I thought the whole point of the 906 was that there is no draw bias. I can't continue using this club the way it currently plays so if it is the head and not the shaft, I will have to be looking for a new 5 wood.

I bought a Titleist 906F2 18* with an Aldila NV Fairway 75-s shaft. At first, I absolutely loved this club. As time went on, however, I started really hooking this club. I don't think it is the club head so I would have to assume that the reason is the shaft. I usually play a draw but I have not been hooking my other clubs like I have the 906. My swing speed is only about 100 so I assumed a stiff shaft would allow me to hit a relatively straight ball or, at the most, my normal slight draw. What I am asking is if anybody thinks my problem is the shaft. If you do think that the reason for the hook is the shaft, is there a shaft I can get that would get rid of this hook. I would really hate to get rid of this club altogether because I think that, with the right shaft, I would love this club again. Thanks for any help.

I just got out of my slump. I had played really well for a couple weeks. Then all of a sudden, I started hitting fades with a swing that was used to hitting draws. I spent about a week trying everything to fix it. This only made it worse. Finally, I decided to take two days off (which is a lot for me. I play almost every day). This fixed everything. I went to the practice green to work on some chipping and putting just to get some touch back. I went out and didn't think about swing thoughts or anything. I am +3 over my last 27. Which is good considering the club championship is Sunday. You are doing the right thing taking a few days off. You will most likely get rid of your minor faults and your swing will go back to normal and, most importantly, will feel comfortable over the ball again. Good luck with everything. Hopefully you will keep improving and we will see you on the tour in a few years.

Same here. I have been very interested in the golf swing since I started golfing. I have taught myself a lot from trial and error. A lot of what I learned, however, could have been taught by a pro about 10x faster. While I enjoy the challenge of improving myself, If you are looking to really improve, I would take lessons fairly regularly. That's not to say that you shouldn't try to teach yourself. That can be a very rewarding part of the game. I know I have a lot of fun thinking about the golf swing and seeing if things work on the range the way I think they do.

I got the GP Decade Multicompounds in green/black. I like them way more than the stock grips. They give personality to your clubs too (as if that really matters). It could be a confidence thing I guess.

I am between a 6 and a 7. I know what works for me and can identify (usually without video) what I am doing wrong and can usually fix it without anyone's help. Because I have a self-taught swing, what works for me may not necessarily work for everyone but I have a lot of different "tricks" for each ailment I can experience. If I am trying to help someone, I will suggest some of these. I think my knowledge of the swing has evolved since I started playing. Lately, when working on my swing, I have been trying to stay away from focusing on the feel of the fix because, once it becomes part of muscle memory, I have to exaggerate the motion to get the same feeling. I am now focusing on a specific position and visual cue. This has helped immensely for not only my fixes but when I help others as well.