new guy here

[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

[AustinH]

hi John, i might be able to help reduce your slice, If your right handed, you might have a really strong grip. You want your grip to be neutral. It's hard to explain, so go on youtube and look for some good golf grip videos. Your grip makes a big difference! I had the same problem when i first started. And for your driving distance issue, try not to use your driver to tee off, use your 3 wood or even an iron. You'll land much more shots onto the fairway. I didn't touch my drive for the first 2 weeks when i played because i kept slicing it. Eventually, i found a good tempo for my swing, and i fixed my golf grip, now i hit drives 245-260 yards on the fairway about 85% of the time.

[John Mark]

  AustinH said:

Originally Posted by AustinH

hi John, i might be able to help reduce your slice, If your right handed, you might have a really strong grip. You want your grip to be neutral. It's hard to explain, so go on youtube and look for some good golf grip videos. Your grip makes a big difference! I had the same problem when i first started. And for your driving distance issue, try not to use your driver to tee off, use your 3 wood or even an iron. You'll land much more shots onto the fairway. I didn't touch my drive for the first 2 weeks when i played because i kept slicing it. Eventually, i found a good tempo for my swing, and i fixed my golf grip, now i hit drives 245-260 yards on the fairway about 85% of the time.

thanks i like this idea and im trying out new grip today that i learned on youtube lol....i used a 4H today twice on a short par 3 and hit it straight giving myself a great chip shot.... i really have to stop caring what other clubs other guys use when i play with them and start to play my game ... i can only assume that with practice my drives and all my clubs will get distance... right now i would rather have straight and take an extra stroke because i get so freaking frustrated hitting from near out of bounds from a crappy drive... or worse topping the ball off the tee landing by the womens tee box in front of everyone lol ....thanks for all the advice!

[AustinH]

Any time! Remember, play the game how you need to play it. Everyone plays differently. Give it some time, and never give up!

[cart7]

  John Mark said:

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

A bass fishermen here. Gave up golf in the early 80's to bass fish even though I had gotten down to an 8 handicap. Take advantage of you tube video's and a subscription to one of the golf magazines. There is a tremendous amount of learning info available that wasn't around 20 years ago. Virtually every issue those golf mags have a stop action section focusing on one the pro's swings. Take the mag to the range and Emulate one of them. As for a few tips to help straighten out your swing now and increase distance? As already stated, make sure your grip is correct. Make sure the grips you have on your clubs are good and not worn out. RELAX when you're prepared to start your swing. You want to grip the club just hard enough to hold onto it through the swing. You want all tension removed from your body, especially from the shoulders all the way down to the hands. You also need to be balanced on your feet front to back. Distance = club head speed. Club head speed isn't built by a fast back swing. It's about slowing the backswing which is essentially cocking your body, momentarily stopping at the top and then starting the downswing with a combination of the lower body (hips and legs) followed ever so slightly by the arms and shoulders. It's what's called swing tempo. It's about all of it working in harmony (timing), that allows the clubhead to strike the ball with the clubhead flush, on the downswing with an iron and upswing with a wood, compress the ball, and send it on the best possible trajectory. Miss any part of that and as you've seen by your own experience, the results aren't favorable. Keep at it, think about investing in lessons. The game becomes addicting as you improve.