What Are You Working On?

[Where's the Cart Girl?]

Since the season here is rapidly fleeting I'm using what time I have left to try to lay the groundwork for what I want to accomplish next year (aside from play way more golf).

- Work the ball right-to-left more consistently with my mid/low lofted irons.

- Develop a go-to shot off the tee when the fairway is tight. (3w/2i stinger?)

- Hop-hop-stop from 20-40 yd. out.

- Less that 40 short game shots per round more often. When that number's below 40, my score is below 85 always.

- Everything else.

[mdl]

I've recently started working on getting my hips through better, and decoupling that with starting my shoulders, and thus increasing my lag a bit. It's working wonders for 7i-PW, with increased distance and accuracy, but I can't hit my 4i, woods, or driver worth a damn, and my hybrid's more up and down than it was a couple months ago. Especially bad off the tee now, and it's killing my scores. I went from 5-7 fairways, with a good number of those off the fairway close with a playable second shot, to hitting 1 fairway on Sunday, with no clear second shot on all but 3 or 4 holes, and I horribly snap hooked my 4i on both the long par 3s...

[JaY_B]

I am currently working with a guy in England called Andrew Lancaster who teaches Jimmy Ballards swing ideals. My two swing thoughts at the moment are to rotate the hips as much as possible on the backswing and then feel like im sliding on to my left big toe on the down swing, he's the only guy that could get me hitting draws again.

[kilbyman]

Backswing mechanics; i.e. nice one-piece take away, backswing through shoulder pivot not hip swaying, and not overturning/bringing the club back way too far. Also having the patience to do this with a SLOW tempo.

[BillyGoat13]

Trying to work out a combo push/cut that has developed after several weeks off. Amazing what happens when the sticks dont get out of the house... They learn all kinda bad habits.

[cksanjose]

We joined a country club late last year and renewed it this year. I took a lesson from the head pro. His first lesson for me is to have a wider take-away. This helps my consistency in hitting the ball and added some distance. My goal this year is to become a bogey golfer. This is the first time that I will play over 20 rounds, in my 4 years of playing golf.

[R7Player]

I am working on my putting. Short, Long, Lag,
ball roll, quality of ball used, because I 3 putt
too much, after two strokes to get to the green
I want to make birdies. I hope to keep my handicap.

[PEZGolf]

I am working on a fairly small change. My son watched me carefully last year, and taped my swing. The change is to shift my weight a little bit better on the downswing so that at impact, someone standing behind me can see both of the "cheeks" in my rear end. I have been working on it, and the goal is to hit my drives 20 yards longer. Other than that, my swing is fine. I have always been accurate, but simply not long enough.

Since I am 61 years old, I am not looking to smash my drives 290 yards. Going from 228 yards of carry to 250 would be nice.

[Lefty-Golfer]

I am constantly fighting a hook...working on opening the club face, not coming so far inside on back swing and having a better set up. the problem is when i set up properly it feels all wrong....it is going to take a lot of reps.

[sumo]

-putting because I usally die on the green.
-chipping from about 30 yards

[GamerJG]

More short game right now, chipping and putting. Also, consistency on long clubs. I changed my swing to a slight draw but have trouble hitting a draw with the driver. I can't complain, I shot my best round of the season last time out. I shot a 40 but was -1 after 4 holes. Unfortunately, I double-bogeyed 2 of last 3 holes but I hit the ball very well all day.

[R7Player]

I worked on my putting and bought a high quality ball
and did not 3 putt on my last round.

[GamerJG]

I worked on my putting and bought a high quality ball

I was never a big believer of using a top of the line ball unless you are a low handicapper but I was wrong. The technology of the ball in recent years is mind-blowing. I recently purchased near mint callaway tour i balls for cheap and I noticed a huge difference immediately. Surprisingly the biggest difference is the softness and feel on chips and putts. I have been chipping so much better and also not 3 putting. I went from mid-to-high 40's to low 40's right away. I would highly recommend any golfer to upgrade their ball to see immediate improvement.

[CB_DXB]

1) Play more intelligently...its obviously a very general concept however, I know and believe I can play well. Recently i've been playing every week and, even though i feel i'm playing better i'm still not scoring lower. I'm hitting some really good shots, my drives can be a little erratic some days but when they go....they go miles. I think my shot choice is sometimes questionable. I never get up to the tee box and think "hold on, i've got 400 yards to go in 4 shots and there's bunkers everywhere...why do i need to take a driver?" Of late though i've been trying to slow myself down and think more logically instead of trying to attack the pin every time and playing aggressively. I'm pretty sure that is what's costing me shots.

2) Better accuracy within 50 - 60 yards - up and down in 2 shots. There's only one way i'll achieve this and its practice practice practice. I used to be very accurate...now its all gone to pot as i stopped practicing.

3) Slow down. I know I swing way too fast...but i can't help it.

[CB_DXB]

I was never a big believer of using a top of the line ball unless you are a low handicapper but I was wrong. The technology of the ball in recent years is mind-blowing. I recently purchased near mint callaway tour i balls for cheap and I noticed a huge difference immediately. Surprisingly the biggest difference is the softness and feel on chips and putts. I have been chipping so much better and also not 3 putting. I went from mid-to-high 40's to low 40's right away. I would highly recommend any golfer to upgrade their ball to see immediate improvement.

100% agree with this. I recently went through a phase where i was losing 6 balls a game...they were all Pro V1's. I think hangovers were the key factor.

Anyways, i then went and bought a pack of cheap Top Flights thinking there'd be no difference. How wrong I was. On the greens they make such a difference. I went back to my Pro V1's and barely lose a ball a game these days. On and around the greens they make such a difference. You can literally pick your spot. Not so with the cheaper balls. I'll never make that mistake again.

[daveg]

I've been working on what Michael McTiegue has to say in his Effortless golf swing book. I concentrate on proper foot/knee/hip/shoulder action as described in the book. No full swings, just trying to develop the muscle memory to accomplish what was said in the preceding sentence. The author calls it the lighthouse swing. I use a 7i and hit 30 balls. Then I chip and putt for 30 minutes. Equal time for each.

[sean_miller]

100% agree with this. I recently went through a phase where i was losing 6 balls a game...they were all Pro V1's. I think hangovers were the key factor.

I shoot pretty much the same score no matter what ball I play - unless we're talking about a vintage Starflite or DDH or some POS like that. I suspect a top player would have no problem shooting under par with any of the newer Top Flites (since Callaway bought the franchise).

Examples: I picked up a 15 pack of Wilson Eco-Cores because they're just over $1 per ball and when I putted them in the Walmart golf shop (the aisle between the toys section - Polly Pockets were on sale too - and the hunting supplies) they felt reasonably soft. In 3 rounds I've shot 82 (45-37), 81 (42-39), and a 93 in a gale force wind when the next closest person didn't break 105. I didn't detect any flaws in performance - at least as far as a 10ish hdcp can detect. I've been recommending this ball ever since. My last 9 hole round of the year (at least out doors) I played 2 balls Strata and a Ram Tour (tour my a$$) and I shot 37-43. I'm not even sure what brand the Strata is - I found it in the bush. The Ram could have been a better score but I got cocky and tried to cut the corner on a par 5 - I'd be willing to say that the Ram was a bit shorter, but don't forget I kind of suck. I suspected I didn't make the corner and hit a provisional - into the weeds. Anyway, I did make the corner with the Strata (maybe Top Flite?) and put a 6-iron to about 10'. Sure I missed the eagle putt, but that's okay - it was my read, not the ball. I would not recommend the Ram balls though - well, duh, those I picked up on clearance about 10 years ago and they sucked even then.

[9424tm]

I am working on the dreaded (for me) 50-75 yard pitch shots. That is my no-mans-land. I am trying to get the feel of the distances right now. The key for me is to remember how far back I am taking the club on each shot. ie- 9 o'clock for 50 yrd, 10 o'clock for 60yrd, 11 o'clock for 70 etc.