just bought clubs and have played 4 rounds

[John Mark]

this is my first post fella's so I would like to say hi to everyone.

im 32 and fished and hunted all my life ... i have always been interested in golf but everytime i picked up a driver it was BAD! so i never picked up the sport...

well i finally bought a starter set of clubs and all the guys at my work are going at least once a week to play at the local course

my questions are this

does anyone have any tips for practicing form and swing without being on a driving range .. like at the house or in the office?

and i saw a little practice club its about 2 feet long with a weight on the end at academy and thought about buying it but was not sure if this might mess up what im already working on

and last but not least any advice on relaxing and just hitting th ball straight ... i have a terrible slice if i try to hit the ball hard but if i relax and try to just drive nice and smooth and stay in form i can drive about 100 to 125 yards ( with roll) straight! but if i try to add any power ... YANK to the right every time .. or worse straight up in the air lol ....

also i have gotten good at my irons .. but same problem if i keep form i can hit my irons straight but not very far... my 7i is what most people hit a wedge but its straight.. but soon as i try to put some power and take a full back swing ... YANK! lol

im thinking that i need to to keep form and stay straight and with time i will start to pick up power and club speed... rather then trying to loose my straight balls and go for power .. what do you guys think??? i shoot about a 115 to 120 if i stay relaxed and not try and crush a ball... but i really wanna get under 100

thanks for any comments

[xilez]

Two things that really helped me were Ben Hogans book on the swing and Harvey Penicks Little Red Book.  Hogan does a great job helping you understand the swing, and swing mechanics. Most of the time slices or hooks are caused by grip issues. Sometimes a weaker grip will produce the slice if your clubface is open at impact.  I strongly suggest this book, the pictures help you when you are practicing because in your head you can align yourself to the images youve seen. Penick has a great suggestion for working on the swing at home, he suggests slowly, and i mean slow as shit, take the swing back and pause at the major positions for 10 or more seconds. This helps with the muscle memory. Im sure other members will have great suggestions, but for me...reading these two books dropped about 6 strokes off my game within a week.

If your yanking a full swing wedge, grab a bigger iron and swing less.