Its nice to get the first full round in and see that what you've been working on has improved

[nikuk]

I apologize for the lengthy diary entry format, I didn't realize I had so much typed out until I'd submitted the post!

Whats the best "feel" for the hands to square up the face @ impact?

I have a handheld video cam with 60 FPS @ 720p, but have only used it for down the line view so far and haven't had a chance to set it up from face on due to space limitations in my garage simulator. Err, some background may help my question...

My goal for this season is simple: Get on in 1 over, and down in 1 over. Double Bogey golf. I realize this may not seem impressive, but I'm trying to be realistic as well, I'm restricted to weekend golf (at least 18 holes, if not 36, on either a par 69 or 72) based on work & family duties. I can sneak in a 9 hole par 27 or 35 on occasion during the week.

I'm new to the game (this'll be my 3rd season), and found it late IMO @ age 31 now, but I've been bitten pretty hard by the game. After some marginal improvement through last season, I really dedicated some time over this past winter to improving my game. Through reading (selectively) online i decided to really work my way up from the fundamentals. The order of operations was basically:

Figure out how it is that I was swinging OTT, and stop it.

Shore up my grip.

Get a consistent baseline address setup & stance.

Try a number of shaft length, grip size, and clubhead lie combinations since I wasn't comfortable with my static fitting results. (alot of homemade lie board / face tape hitting)

Readdress setup & swing with the most comfortable club combination.

Recheck grip, setup, swing plane, club path.

Take all this to the range to see how ball striking consistency has progressed, and see physical ball flight. Recheck above based on outcome.

I live in the northeast and knew I could only go so far by practicing in a 80yd deep domed range, so I setup an Optishot simulator in the garage. I realize that the setup is at best 90-95% accurate, but considering the lower entry cost & the extreme availability of having it in the garage I figured it'd be better the and hour a week at the domed range. I tried to rationalize that if the IR swing pad said I was 20* open, then I was probably pretty open, and I'll worry about how accurate this reading was when I get to the point of being consistently <5* open/closed. I also pretty much disregarded the swing speed / yardage altogether by the same thinking.

After an average of 5-6 hours a week over 4 months on this poor mans simulator I'm happy to report that my first full round (on a real course) of the year I had many more shots that I liked then shots that I didn't.

At the municipal course around the corner from me (par 69, rating 65.5 slope 102) I shot a 107 & 109 unadjusted. Each round included 1 very bad hole (5 over & 6 over), and 5 or 6 gross mishits (bad thin shots), so I'm hopeful that if I can continue to improve upon making consistent contact that I can not only attain double bogey golf, but actually break 100 (gasp!) this year.

As far as going forward, I need to figure out how to be less handsy (duck hooked a few) while squaring up the face more consistently (fought the usual beginners slice through last year) - most of my good strikes were sold fades, bordering on slicing even though I'm very consistently swinging inside out or even straight.

I also need to stop standing up into my downswing in hopes of stopping the topped shots.

I have found that I've picked up clubhead speed without really trying (on an About Golf LM) as my solid strikes seemed to carry alot further going off my phone GPS App - so I'm also looking into new shafts now.

Thanks for any input!

Nick