narshadda

Thanks! I'll give that a shot - I think I am definitely trying to help get the ball in the air - I always hit it pretty thin. For example tonight at the range I was hitting my SW 150yds consistantly. Definitely not what that club should be doing.

Hey all, I am having a huge issue with tempo. Do you guys have any recommendations for gaining proper tempo. Right now I try to take it back slow but as soon as I get the club back in my swing, I am trying to kill it. I believe that it is engrained in muscle memory since I played a lot of baseball, but there has to be something I can do to get things working better. Thanks, Narsh

That is awesome - my 2 1/2 year old always tries to grab my clubs. The problem is he starts singing yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me and starts tearing the place up. LOL

selks13, I started at about the same time as you I think (2monts or so) and I am currently getting over the slice little by little. I hit 2 out of 10 with a slice as opposed to all of them. :) First off, take at least one lesson from a pro - there are a few fundamentals that need to be engrained in our mids that help build a solid foundation. If you miss any of these your end result will be horrible. Here are a few things that I tinkered with to help mitigate the slice: I am a RH by the way... 1. Check your grip: Hand positions, too stong or too weak, fingers not aligned etc. 2. Keep your elbows tucked in - no chicken arms 3. Make sure your left hand is flat on the backswing, you don't want to cup your wrist. 4. When you start your downswing, swing from the inside out, you want your right elbow to feel like it is sliding down and across your body. 5. Make sure you turn your wrists over at impact. Kinda like a baseball swing where you roll your wrist over at impact with the ball. 6. Maintain your knees slightly bent and keep balance at all times - don't over swing. 7. Keep your eye on the ball These few points aside from the other basics I left out helped big time! The biggest changes were seen/felt when I checked my grip and rolled my wrist at impact. Hope that helps out - and try to get your hands on "The Five Lessons: By Ben Hogan" I got this book at the recommendation of one of the guys on this site and it is awesome. Take care and don't get frustrated, apparently we all go through this at some point. -Enrique

Upright, I tried what you said and it worked. I went out and hit some targets with a buddy of mine at the range, then started to hit the driver for practice. I actually hit his club which he had just put an extra stiff shaft on and ended up hitting the driver for about 45 minutes. It felt so good to hit the crap out of the ball that I just couldn't stop. :) When I went back down to the wedges and concentrated on finesse I slowly got back to my groove. I did pick up another problem with the driver which was lifting my left heel up quite a bit. I played baseball all my life so those habits are going to be hard to brake. Either way... The next time I went out I played a hole (even though I have never been out on a course.) but I hit the driver about 270yds then went to a 6iron followed by the pitching wedge and I was doing fine. Felt great too. Thanks again for the great advice. Not only that but my ball placement has gotten better and my slice is finally going away. I only slice 3 out of 10 which is a monsterous improvement for me. Thanks a million, Narsh

Joliffe, I started about 2 months ago and this is what I did: Bought a used $10 set of Irons a $5 3 Wood , a $10 driver, and a $2 putter. I went to the range with a buddy to see if I actually liked golf and build some sort of swing. At least to just make contact with the ball. I ended up taking a lesson from a pro for $50. That helped big time since he set up my stance, grip, swing and got me to where I hit the ball more than 5 feet. :) I had a horrible slice but still. Shortly after that I purchased a set of Adams Idea G2's Irons, 3 & 4 Hybrids along with a 56dg sand wedge from Rockbottom golf for $150. HUGE DIFFERENCE from the $10 Wilsons. I have gone to the range at least times a week to work on different aspects and have been reading every magazine, book (Golf for Dummies, and 5 lessons of Golf by Ben Hogan). I can now hit decently straight with 7 out of 10 shots without a slice and I feel a lot better with the grip/swing piece. Definitely get a lesson or two, get familiar with the game, the lingo, and learn to blame your equipment for all your problems. Don't try kill the ball when you hit and most importantly don't get discouraged, it takes time but it will come to you soon enough. Sorry for blabbering a bit there. :)

Thanks again! I'll definitely give that a shot the next time I go out. And thanks so much for taking the time to answer. -Narsh

Hey Thanks a lot! I can see where that is part of my problem. I'll see if I can get my hands on that book. The only one I have taken a look at so far is Golf For Dummies that I got as a gift. One thing I didn't understand was where you said: "I like to feel as if my driver is lined up about the width of my foot inside the left heel, and a pitching wedge is closer and almost right in the middle." Do you mean: LF-------O-----------------RF for the driver, and: LF----------O--------------RF for PW? Where LF = left foot, O = ball, and RF = Right Foot? I have always had a problem judging how far out in front of me the ball should be, I guess I have to reguage my club handle distance from my waist line. Either way thanks so much, I'll give that a shot. -Narsh

Hey gang, New to the forum. Glad to be here, you all seem like a great bunch. I have been playing for about two months and just recently started making solid contact. I haven't been on the course yet, mainly because I had a pretty wacky shoulder injury which kept me from swinging for almost a month but after a cortizone shot I feel much better. (MRI is on the way too.) None-the-less, I am having trouble switching between clubs at the range. I usually warm up with a 56 deg. sand wedge which I hit pretty good as of late. Then I move up to a PW then 9 then 8 then 7 etc.. I am usually pretty solid until I get the the 3-4 hybrids (Adams i-woods). I can't hit those to save my life. But I just recently got them and haven't spent the necessary time practicing. The Driver I just started hitting and I have been starting to slowly hit the crap out of the ball. I stll have a slice 6 times out of ten but it has been increasingly getting better. Today when I switched from the driver to a 7 iron I was totally out of wack, I missed the ball every time, topped it the others etc... My Adams idea set fell so heavy after hitting the driver as well. My driver is pretty cheap I bought it used for $10 but it is pretty decent I guess, a 9.5 degree loft and graphite shaft. Is this another normal thing I have to work through or should I consider getting a new driver, maybe even the original from the Adams set to keep consistent swing weights? Any advice would greatly be appreciated. Sorry for the long post, Narsh

Hey all, Started playing about 2 months ago and got addicted rather quickly. I am here to learn as much as I can and I hope to contribute as I learn. -Narsh