Gerardv

Here is the best I can do. The quality is pretty bad. I got a nicer camera recently and will have better vids if the weather in Ohio ever gets better!

I will look through my videos and try to find one.

Added video of my swing so people can see what we have to work with.

Thank you! That is a huge help.

So, I am pretty much a gimp due to a spinal cord surgery and two serious car accidents. In all three cases, my neck took the brunt of the abuse and my pain management doc tells me I have the neck of a 90 year old. I want to get away from my lift and flip golf swing, which I can repeat, but limits distance. I also have at least 8 brain tumors, two remaining spinal cord tumors and countless more throughout my body. My gimp-ness makes it very hard for me to extend my arms and turn in the back swing, which is the one of the reasons for the flip. Without a good turn back, I don't make a good turn going forward. In the last few months, I took lessons from three different Pros. The first one is out because instead of working around my physical limitations, he berated me for not being able to fully extend my left arm while getting to the top - he was a jerk, to say the least. As a tactical handgun instructor in my non-golf life, I could never, ever imagine treating a student how he treated me. OK, so that leaves me with two. The next stuck with my natural movement, didn't mind that my left arm never really gets straight and simply worked on getting me to turn my body as much as possible. He moved the ball forward temporarily in an effort to end my casting of the club, and gave me drills based around the Ledbetter Swing Setter. All with the goal of helping me stop releasing my lag so early. He also had a physical limitation which eliminated any insensitivity to my issues. More background info – naturally, I have a very upright set-up and swing. Instructor number two admitted his first reaction to build lag is to get me to get me to extend first, and then work the other issues from there. Basically, that option is off the table, so he suggested I transition to a Matt Kucharish one-plane swing. A very foreign way to swing based on my current move. He also has medical problems, so he understand my issues. Yes, I picked these two because I knew ahead of time that they have physical issues. The third guy, the jerk, had great reviews on several golf forums, but clearly if you are physically limited, you need not bother to see him. At this point, I am 13-15 handicap, but want to improve drastically this year. After years of surgeries and other medical limitations, I am hoping this is finally the year I can play, a lot. So, I am more than open to putting in the work. The one-plane swing concept is foreign to me so I am looking for advice and will do the research myself. So, any thoughts on the one plane swing, or experiences with it are appreciated.

This was Turnberry in Pickerington and is part of the Columbus local muni system. The reason I hesitated in naming the course is other than the one marshal who saw the guy hit into me, the rest handled the situation pretty well. I will play there again. As someone mentioned, usually the people in Central Ohio are very nice and I see this as unusual behavior. My wife graduates nursing school in 10 months and when she does we are going to join a local "golf club." Until she graduates, money is tight so the local muni courses is where I need to play. Thanks everyone for the comments and thoughts. It took every inch of my will power not to hit the ball back at this guy, and if he wanted to play through, I would have let him. That wasn't what he wanted - he wanted me off the course. Because he was pushing me, and I was trying to outrun him, I caught the group in front of me anyway. Plus,he didn't realize there was a girls golf league two holes ahead of us. So, even though he created a scene about getting his round in, he was going to hit a road block. I didn't tell him. I figured he was mad enough anyway.

Thanks - I did complain about it in the clubhouse. They did give me a rain check, but how do I know that loony tunes guy won't be out there again? Probably just give it to my neighbor's kids since he plays out there all the time.

And you will be waiting until the third Sunday after St. Smithen's Day. I played with a guy in a charity best ball outing that hit three drives over 300 yards - confirmed with a GPS. He had a HORRIBLE swing, but was big and when he made contact the ball went forever. It helped that it was dry and hard, but he simply hammered the ball. The rest of his drives were dribblers, tops and huge slices. Never, ever had I played with a guy that could, every so often, just powder the ball. Myself, I am about a 13-15 handicap and hit it 220-230 on average. Until I got the GPS, I thought my average was about 10-15 yards farther. Sometimes the truth hurts!

Today I didn't have to work and my wife took the kids to my sister-in-law's pool. So I took advantage of the after 5pm deal at the local muni. As I am playing, a pretty big guy is behind me - which wasn't really an issue. He was walking, I was in a cart (my gimpness means I can't walk). I am a full hole ahead, on the fourth tee while he is on the third. He waved me over and thinking I dropped something, I went back to see what he needed. When I got within shouting distance, he starts yelling at me about cutting in front of him. No idea what he was thinking. He proceeded to not putt out on the 3rd green and walked up right behind me on the 4th tee. While I am hitting, he is yelling at me about it being "my world" and how I was going to keep him from finishing his round. I ignored him, hit my tee shot and while lining up my second shot he hit into me. So, I called the clubhouse and told them what was going on. While I was standing on the green, he hit into me again while the ranger was standing right there. The ranger didn't throw him off of the course which amazed me. He made him wait until I could move on before letting him move to the fifth tee. Didn't matter, he hit into me again. At this point, I didn't want to be around anymore so I finished the hole and left. As I rode away, the guy kept yelling at me. Something like this has never happened to me before. I have seen other strange things happen, but never had anyone snap like this. I parred the first three holes, was sitting in the middle of the fairway 100yds from the green on 4 when he hit into me, and he ruined the rest of my round. Parring the first three holes is a big deal to me. To be honest, I can't figure out why they didn't toss him off of the course for hitting into me. That is simply unsafe - even if I was wrong, even if I wasn't letting a faster player through, even if I left spike marks on the greens, and failed to put the flag back in after holing out it doesn't justify hitting into me. None of those things happened. I fix ball marks, and even make it a habit of fixing at least one other ball mark on every green. There are an endless parade of golfers who don't fix them, so I don't have to go out of my way to find them. The fact that there wasn't a good reason for it is even more shocking. I play FAST. Usually, when people play a round with me they are talking during my shots on the first few holes because I am addressing the ball while the previous player's shots are still in the air. Plus, I was in the cart and he was walking. There is NO WAY he was being held up by me. There was a twosome behind me that left between the 2nd and 3rd hole, and one in front of me, so maybe he thought I jumped in front of him. Nothing I said made a difference though. He never asked to play through, he kept ranting about how it was "my world" and nobody else's. Ten years ago, I would have stood and fought, but now I am older and wiser. Leaving was the right thing to do. Still, it rubs me the wrong way since I wasn't doing anything wrong and felt like I had to leave for my own safety.

I really, really, really want my next set to be blades. But, neck, arm and hand problems make any "stingers" a serious problem so most likely another set of game improvement irons is in my future. Maybe a set of Diablo forged, or something like that. Mizuno MP-57s or Callaway X forged might be the most aggressive I can be with my clubs in trying to get a blade. At time it gets me down. Then I realize most of the pros don't use full blades and it makes me feel better. IF we are honest, most of us shouldn't be using blades based on our games. However, everyone has the right to use what they want, and I would NEVER presume to tell someone what they should, or shouldn't play. It is probably good for me, and my doctor that I've sworn off ever using blades. Still, I get that twinge whenever I head to Golf Galaxy and the pro there isn't helping. For those of you using them, all I can say is I am jealous!

One time in my hometown of Cicero, IL, a bar fight ended up in the parking lot where I was standing with a couple of friend. One of the combatants pulled a putter from his car trunk and embedded it in the head of his adversary. The victim staggered away with the putter firmly stuck in his melon. Never seen it happen on the golf course.

I currently live in Ohio, but will never admit to being an Ohioan. Instead, I am a Chicagoan trapped in Columbus, Ohio! Welcome to the forum. It's one of the better golf meeting places online.

If you like it, then enjoy! Personally, I think it looks pretty cool. I have the black pearl Cleveland wedges and might try it.

Go to the forum actions section drop down your will find toward the top of the page, choose the edit profile option. When that page opens, on the left hand side you will see edit signature. That is where people are filling in what is in their bag. Welcome, and enjoy.

During a recent round a player in my foursome hit a his third shot, which is a blind approach, to the right of the green on a par 5. Along the right side of the green is a small creek and a low spot not visible from the fairway, or from the cart path. After he hit the shot, I commented it might be in the creek and he assured me it was over the green. There was NO way the ball was long, it was clearly either in the creek, or near it. Well, the cheater was in the other cart and has I drove around behind the green to my ball, he was standing next to a ball I assumed was mine. That is until he told me it was his. So, we hit our chips and as I walked to my ball I looked over by the creek and there is a ball sitting there. It was not visible as we drove by on the cart path because of the depression created by the creek and was not visible from behind the green. At this point I am blissfully ignorant and mention to my foursome that there is a ball sitting just off the green near the creek. The same guy who claimed his ball was over the green makes a bee line for it and stuffs it in his pocket. So, we finish putting and I ask him what type of ball he found over there and why, since I spotted it, he didn't give it to me. That is when I realized why he ran over to pick it up. It was the brand and number of the ball he played. He showed it to me VERY quickly, and I noticed it was marked with the same color marker he uses as well. So, as it played out, he couldn't find his ball, was sure it was in the creek and dropped a new one behind the green. He accounted for everything, right until his first ball was found. I didn't say a word since he was 11 strokes behind me anyway. Plus, everyone knew, so nobody had to point out that he was busted.