Jump to content
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast! ×
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast!
  • entries
    63
  • comments
    496
  • views
    55,093

The Life & Death of Golf Forums

bkuehn1952

Entry posted by bkuehn1952

2,752 views

 Share

Many people start golf blogs or forums with good intentions of maintaining the site for an infinite period of time.  The sad truth is most rarely make it for more than a year or two.  

I first became acquainted with the idea of a golf blog/forum when a site called “Last Minute Golfer (LMG)” existed.  Really, the forum was just an afterthought.  The main reason for LMG was to sell spots 24-48 hours prior to the tee time.  They must have done reasonably well because eventually GolfNow swallowed them up. 

While LMG was rolling, they had forums for each part of the country in which they operated.  I discovered the Michigan forum one day and was excited to have an outlet to discuss golf.  Sadly, the rest of the LMG-Michigan users rarely engaged in this forum so there was not much discussion taking place.  The Atlanta area forum, however, was quite active.  I enjoyed reading what our southern golf brothers had to say and would occasionally participate.  It was the first time I encountered an internet “troll.”  At the time, I did not understand the process and just marveled at one particular poster’s ability to get all the Atlantans really worked up.  He adopted the role of a well-heeled, educated northerner who had transplanted to Atlanta.  He would constantly irritate the other posters with subtle and sometimes unsubtle jabs at the rest of the forum. 

Once GolfNow took possession of the site, they slowly dismantled LMG and I had to find a new outlet for my desire to read about and discuss golf.  At that point I stumbled upon Golfblogger.  This gentleman has maintained a golf blog for 10+ years.  Mainly centered upon Michigan, it was an interesting read but there never was much participation in the forums.  I finally stopped trying to create discussions and went in search of another outlet.  Fortunately, someone had mentioned “oobgolf.” In that site, I discovered an active forum plus the ability to capture one’s statistics. 

Oobgolf had a pretty nice run.  The forums were active and everyone maintained stats so one could see each poster’s “game.”  In fact, they did so well that SkyGolf purchased the site and used it as a model for their own offering.  Eventually, SkyGolf killed off oobgolf’s site and we were all faced with another internet forum diaspora. 

At this point I have become a golf forum vagabond.  My participation in forums extends to several sites along with a mostly private site run by a former forum participant at oobgolf.  With golf websites having such a high casualty rate, one can’t afford to get tied down to one place.

 

So what is everyone else’s story?

 Share

7 Comments

Recommended Comments

  • Administrator
iacas

iacas 15,776

Posted

  • Administrator

The Sand Trap isn't going anywhere. I know that much. 11+ years and going strong!

  • Upvote 2
Patch

Patch 959

Posted (edited)

As long as there are new golfers coming on line, good golf forums will survive.

Edited by Patch
rehmwa

rehmwa 626

Posted

Sandtrap has legs, and the best forums I've encountered.  I think it'll last for quite some time.

Too bad about OOB - I liked the handicap tool, but didn't really participate in much else....

Mr. Desmond

Mr. Desmond 430

Posted

Over 18 years, I've seen a few large forums grow and then die a slow death, or they reach a certain activity level and/or evolve to suit the needs of their members.

TST holds a unique position with instruction, equipment, and commentary in meeting its members' needs.

newtogolf

newtogolf 962

Posted

Forums are only as good as the people running and moderating them.  Finding the right mix of moderator intervention is tough.  If it's too loose, posters tend to get very personal and people start to get alienated.  If moderation is too tight, the feeling is that you can only post what the site owners want you too.  In either case, once key posters start to leave, it's tough to get them back and to stop others from following them.

I'd say the moderation on TST is just right, we have a lot of room to express ourselves but if we do overstep, the moderators are quick to intervene and get the thread back on track.  The site caters to a lot of different interests with more emphasis on instruction than equipment which is intentional based on past comments I've seen from Erik.

OOB would still be doing well if it didn't get acquired.  Other Forums I've been involved with changed after acquisition too, such as DPReview.   DPReview was acquired by Amazon and the moderation of the site changed significantly after it was acquired, especially some of the Pro Forums.

9wood

9wood 62

Posted

Everything dies eventually, including us. Enjoy it and make the most out of it while it lasts

flopster

flopster 80

Posted

Remember chipshot.com?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up

  • Blog Entries

  • Posts

    • iacas
      Extending the Right Knee on the Backswing

      By iacas · Posted

      Please see this topic for updated information:
    • iacas
      Myth of Maintaining Your Address Flex in the Rear Knee

      By iacas · Posted

      Please see this topic for updated information:
    • iacas
      Retaining Trail Knee Flex in the Backswing

      By iacas · Posted

      When you've been teaching golf as long as I have, you're going to find that you can teach some things better than you previously had, and you're probably going to find some things that you taught incorrectly. I don't see that as a bad thing — what would be worse is refusing to adapt and grow given new information. I've always said that my goal with my instruction isn't to be right, but it's to get things right. To that end, I'm about five years late in issuing a public proclamation on something… When I first got my GEARS system, I immediately looked at the golf swings of the dozens and dozens of Tour players for which I suddenly had full 3D data. I created a huge spreadsheet showing how their bodies moved, how the club moved, at various points in the swing. I mapped knee and elbow angles, hand speeds, shoulder turns and pelvis turns… etc. I re-considered what I thought I knew about the golf swing as performed by the best players. One of those things dated back to the earliest days: that you extend (I never taught "straighten" and would avoid using that word unless in the context of saying "don't fully straighten") the trail knee/leg in the backswing. I was mislead by 2D photos from less-than-ideal camera angles — the trail leg rotates a bit during the backswing, and so when observing trail knee flex should also use a camera that moves to stay perpendicular to the plane of the ankle/knee/hip joint. We have at least two topics here on this (here and here; both of which I'll be updating after publishing this) where @mvmac and I advise golfers to extend the trail knee. Learning that this was not right is one of the reasons I'm glad to have a 3D system, as most golfers generally preserve the trail knee flex throughout the backswing. Data Here's a video showing an iron and a driver of someone who has won the career slam: Here's what the graph of his right knee flex looks like. The solid lines I've positioned at the top of the backswing (GEARS aligns both swings at impact, the dashed line). Address is to the right, of course, and the graph shows knee flex from the two swings above. The data (17.56° and 23.20°) shows where this player is in both swings (orange being the yellow iron swing, pink the blue driver swing). You can see that this golfer extends his trail knee 2-3°… before bending it even more than that through the late backswing and early downswing. Months ago I created a quick Instagram video showing the trail knee flex in the backswing of several players (see the top for the larger number): Erik J. Barzeski (@iacas) • Instagram reel GEARS shares expert advice on golf swing technique, focusing on the critical backswing phase. Tour winners and major champions reveal the key to a precise and powerful swing, highlighting the importance of... Here are a few more graphs. Two LIV players and major champions: Two PGA Tour winners: Two women's #1 ranked players: Two more PGA Tour winners (one a major champ): Two former #1s, the left one being a woman, the right a man, with a driver: Two more PGA Tour players: You'll notice a trend: they almost all maintain roughly the same flex throughout their backswing and downswing. The Issues with Extending the Trail Knee You can play good golf extending (again, not "straightening") the trail knee. Some Tour players do. But, as with many things, if 95 out of 100 Tour players do it, you're most likely better off doing similarly to what they do. So, what are the issues with extending the trail knee in the backswing? To list a few: Pelvic Depth and Rotation Quality Suffers When the trail knee extends, the trail leg often acts like an axle on the backswing, with the pelvis rotating around the leg and the trail hip joint. This prevents the trail side from gaining depth, as is needed to keep the pelvis center from thrusting toward the ball. Most of the "early extension" (thrust) that I see occurs during the backswing. Encourages Early Extension (Thrust) Patterns When you've thrust and turned around the trail hip joint in the backswing, you often thrust a bit more in the downswing as the direction your pelvis is oriented is forward and "out" (to the right for a righty). Your trail leg can abduct to push you forward, but "forward" when your pelvis is turned like that is in the "thrust" direction. Additionally, the trail knee "breaking" again at the start of the downswing often jumps the trail hip out toward the ball a bit too much or too quickly. While the trail hip does move in that direction, if it's too fast or too much, it can prevent the lead side hip from getting "back" at the right rate, or at a rate commensurate with the trail hip to keep the pelvis center from thrusting. Disrupts the Pressure Shift/Transition When the trail leg extends too much, it often can't "push" forward normally. The forward push begins much earlier than forward motion begins — pushing forward begins as early as about P1.5 to P2 in the swings of most good golfers. It can push forward by abducting, again, but that's a weaker movement that shoves the pelvis forward (toward the target) and turns it more than it generally should (see the next point). Limits Internal Rotation of the Trail Hip Internal rotation of the trail hip is a sort of "limiter" on the backswing. I have seen many golfers on GEARS whose trail knee extends, whose pelvis shifts forward (toward the target), and who turn over 50°, 60°, and rarely but not never, over 70° in the backswing. If you turn 60° in the backswing, it's going to be almost impossible to get "open enough" in the downswing to arrive at a good impact position. Swaying/Lateral Motion Occasionally a golfer who extends the trail knee too much will shift back too far, but more often the issue is that the golfer will shift forward too early in the backswing (sometimes even immediately to begin the backswing), leaving them "stuck forward" to begin the downswing. They'll push forward, stop, and have to restart around P4, disrupting the smooth sequence often seen in the game's best players. Other Bits… Reduces ground reaction force potential, compromises spine inclination and posture, makes transition sequencing harder, increases stress on the trail knee and lower back… In short… It's not athletic. We don't do many athletic things with "straight" or very extended legs (unless it's the end of the action, like a jump or a big push off like a step in a running motion).
    • 5amZ
      "5 Minutes Daily" Practice Challenge

      By 5amZ · Posted

      Day 135 12-25 Wide backswing to wide downswing drill. Recorder and used mirror. 
    • DeadMan
      "5 Minutes Daily" Practice Challenge

      By DeadMan · Posted

      Day 31: did a stack session. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

  I accept