New Member

[jocoxVT]

Hey everyone, long time reader first time poster, finally decided to join in the fun.  A little about myself.  My grandfather and uncle started me playing the game when I was fairly young but I never really developed much of a game.  I feel I peaked when I was in college and since getting out have done nothing but decline.  A few years ago it was painful to go out on the course.  Had a horrible slice which would go maybe 125 to 150 yards and take the dreaded 90 degree turn to the right.  I started really trying to improve over the past year and slowly but surely am regaining confidence.

Regardless, my miss now is for what feels to be almost a straight pull.  The ball goes straight as an arrow but what I feel is significantly left of my target.  I am beginning to think this is more alignment than anything else and having to force myself to regain confidence and not fear the slice coming back around (i.e., I think I am aligning to the left of target worried I will slice, I think I have tricked my eye into thinking I am aligned but set up left regardless).  Right now I feel my ball striking has significantly improved but due to hitting left off the tee find myself in trouble far too often making it hard to score.

At this point in my game I am hoping to not only work on consistency but also distance.  While I know distance isnt everything I feel for a 31 year old male I am struggling.  An average drive for me, with roll, is going maybe 225 and a shot of 150 to 160 I usually have to pull 4 or 5 iron to be comfortable.  I am sure some say, and I agree, that distance isnt the end all be all but when most people I play with pull 8 iron from 150 and hit the ball 250 I always feel like I am lagging behind.  I have attached two videos of my swing below and would appreciate any tips that you all may be able to provide.  I have also attached both in the Member Swing section which I hopefully will be able to use to chronicle the evolution of my swing and game!  Nonetheless, I look forward to learning from you all and hopefully being able to add to the community myself.