JD616

Played there when I was 12 from the middle tees (around 6500 yards), shot 85. I liked the course and would definitely go back there. My stepfather shot 75 from the 4th tees and he said it may have been one of the hardest if not the hardest course he's played (He's played Firestone South, Teeth of the Dog, and several others), so to me that says it is a tough course.

I have already played some of the top courses in the area, but I want to see what else is out there. Any course recommendations are welcome and appreciated. I have played: 1. Avalon Lakes 2. Squaw Creek 3. The Quarry 4. Oak Tree CC 5. CC of Hudson 6. Windmill Lakes 7. Westfield CC 8. Mill Creek 9. Kennsington 10. Firestone Farms 11. Gleneagles GC 12. Ellsworth Meadows 13. Pine Lakes 14. Reserve Run Courses I would like to play: 1. Boulder Creek** 2. Shale Creek** 3. Sawmill Creek 4. Buhl Park 5. Olde Stonewall 6. Nemacolin Woodlands 7. Sand Ridge 8. Youngstown CC** 9. Trumbull CC 10. Fowler's Mill 11. Little Mountain ** Indicates ones I will be playing before the end of the year Other Courses I want to play:

I personally like the look of Scotty Studio Select Newports, but what other kinds are there?

I was thinking about buying a used Newport series putter and then sending it in to have it customized, any ideas on how much this will cost me. Cost of a good used Newport and the cost of the customization?

No wasn't really trash talking you, all I was saying was that you could play a video game. It was more or less a joke and not meant to be an insult to you. As for doing drugs I find that unlikely mainly because I'm not into that. And if you mean you're going to beat me I honestly hope you weren't talking about score wise, because I would destroy you. As for actually like hitting me, I would like to see that because then you would end up in jail for numerous reasons.

I'm 15 and even I think that this was immature and downright wrong. Earlier this year I payed to play 9 holes, but when I got to the 8th hole I jumped back onto the 2nd hole to try and play a few more holes before the sun went down, but when I got done I went straight into the clubhouse and payed for another 9 holes and explained myself to the manager. He said he didn't have a problem with it especially because I was kind enough to at least come pay and not just leave. And for the OP: If you really wish to play several rounds of golf for a cheap price I would suggest buying Tiger Woods 2012: The Masters, it has some great courses and you can play them all you want for free after you pay the initial $60

Monday: Lifting for an hour and half, I do deep squats (4x7 or 5x5) with 275 or 315, bench 4x8 with 155, bent rows 3x10 with 135, then I use the rest of the time to do individual muscles with things like dumbell presses, curls, lat pulls, tricep ext, one-leg squats, leg press, leg ext, and hamstring curls. After that I run for 45 minutes 400 meters running then walk 200 meters then repeat as many times as possible in 45 minutes. We also do yoga or some form of cardio workout like kickboxing. Tuesday: Jumpstretch and kettlebell, jumpstretch is a local company that makes resistance bands specifically for athletes (they provide from 75-150 pounds of resistance). Wednesday: Recovery day... Thursday: Same as Monday's workout but different set and weight variations. Friday: Same as Tuesday's workout but with different kettlebell exercises Saturday/Sunday: Recovery days Also have to account for walking the golf course, but with the weather it's hard to tell when I'll be able to get out and play. In the summer I walk about 36-54 holes a day 4-5 days a week. I plan on starting p90x as soon as I get it, especially the ones for stretching and yoga, I need the flexibility. Friday:

I try to line up parallel to my target line, but my instructor says that I often line of turned from my intended target line which cause hooks and slices. Normal ball flight with irons would be a slight draw and with the woods a slight fade, but I can manipulate my grip so that I can hit either left to right or right to left. I naturally hit a draw, because of a strong grip. I would like to have more distance and as for bad iron shots the one that happens the most is missing to the left. My drives either end up in the fairway or in the right rough depending on how bad I fade/slice. But really the thing that hurts my game the most is my putting, but I rarely practice that so that could be why. I plan to practice putting much more this year, which will hopefully lower my putts per round (usually I'm up around 36-44 putts per round) However, I'm not really looking for swing changes or fixes, but rather things to try that might help with alignment or choosing an initial aiming point. My instructors know what they are doing and will be able to point out what I'm doing wrong/right and how to fix it, but I haven't seen my normal one in over 8 months.

I have a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W230 it records at 30fps and is a 640 by 480, but I can get a camcorder or better camera from other family members.

Are camcorders or digital cameras better? I know my instructor uses a camcorder, so I'm just wondering.

To be honest my original post was pretty scattered, because I was still trying to grasp the concept completely. What is the best way to record a swing? Digital camera or camcorder? I have been trying to get a video for awhile now, but I was unsure of the best way. I honestly don't know what my handicap is. My main focus in the last few years has just been to get better and have more fun, but now I'm getting to the point where I know I can perform at tournament level. I would take a guess that my average score is around 83-84, but I often get down in the 70s but also get close to 90 when my play is poor. I have put in a lot of work recently and I would venture to guess that my handicap will improve this year and I will also be tracking it this year in an attempt to see improvement in the future. I'm not really sure if the two instructors contradict each other, because I don't know how to differentiate the two or compare them. One thing they both stress is the fact that my tempo is too fast in their opinions. As for the actual swing I would say that they are both very similar, but just explained in a different way. However, the instructor that I met last night guaranteed me that he could show me things that will make me better such as: putting, chipping, working the ball, and power.

I honestly didn't know what was going on when he approached me. I go to another instructor that is well respected in my area for his work with junior golfers (his one student is the number 1 player in the world under the age of 12), but I listened to his advice and learned a lot about the man. In fact he offers lessons to all juniors every Saturday and doesn't charge anything from them. He said his only rule is that I can't have more fun than him. I assume he does this because of the person he is, but also because he is 72 years old. And by the way I'm not saying he is Ben Curtis's coach now, but was when he was younger and still in this area (Youngstown,Ohio), which leads me to assume that it may have been during Ben's college years at Kent State. I didn't want this to turn into a battle of who is right and who is wrong. I simply posted this to see what others thought about what he was telling me. As for one-plane and two-plane swings I don't know what they are. Keep in mind that I'm only 15, so it isn't like I'm some amazing player that swings exactly by the book, but I manage to score decently well in my own right. What he was really explaining about pulling the right arm back like you were making a muscle was the point that in order to create power it must originate from the muscles and then be transferred from them down your arms into the club and then into the ball. He used an example of hoeing in the garden. He said that you would never pick the hoe straight up over your head between your eyes and swing it, but rather that you would pick it up on your strong side, forming a muscle and then releasing that energy from the flexed muscle. His teaching may sound confusing the way I put it, but it was actually one of the easiest concepts to follow, because it was such a simple move. In all actuality though, its the same swing of many other teachers just taught in a different way.

As for over training I don't think I am, because I allow my body time to recover. Here's how a week normally goes unless I decide to go to the other gym instead of working out at the school. Monday- Lifting Tuesday- Band resistance training and kettlebell Wednesday- Off day Thursday- Lifting Friday- Band resistance training and kettlebell Weekends are recovery As for golf I at least swing everyday, whether I play or not is dictated by the weather, but when summer rolls around I would say I play at least 5 out of 7 days a week. I plan to start running when this crappy weather gets out of here, but until then the only cardio I get is Monday and Wednesday at school during one of my classes. (We do things like: step aerobics, yoga, kickboxing, and various other things)

It took me a few balls to get used to but I picked up on it pretty fast. I will continue seeing him as much as possible once a week I hope and still continue seeing my other coach as well. Everything I mentioned weren't swing thoughts I was just trying to describe the swing. He said to get the hands high from the start (one-plane swing), sorry if I made that a little inconspicuous. He said the only swing thought should be to get the right arm straight and it truly is an easy concept if you don't let your mind get in the way. He also taught me another lesson that was really relating to golf, but life in general: He said there are 3 things in life: 1. Right 2. Wrong 3. What you are unsure of He said everyone has their own swing and the ability to play the game to their greatest ability and the only thing that is stopping them is that they are unsure of the proper way to do it. (Sounds reasonable enough to me)

I was at a local driving range today when I was approached by an elderly gentleman known as "Smokey" and I came to find out that he was a friend of my grandfather and also a former teacher of Ben Curtis and various other well-known players. Anyways he came to the point of teaching me a new swing thought and I wish to have some opinions from other players out there. He said to pull the right elbow back as if you were making a muscle in your right arm, which naturally pulls the left arm straight across the chest and sets the club on the proper swing plane. He also said to keep the hands high which will drop the club into the power slot and create a consistent ball flight swing after swing. He said the only thought on the downswing should be straighten out the right arm. Any thoughts on this swing sequence/method would be appreciated!

I do the major barbell lifts that most people do and then I do different variations with both dumbbells and barbells. I end up doing about 4-5 sets of squat, 3-5 sets of bench, 3-4 sets of hex bar deadlifts, 3-4 sets of various types of rows, and anything else I can get it within an hour and a half. I also do a lot of body weight exercises like dips, push ups, one-leg squats, and this weird row like exercise. I also do strength bands once a week, which are specifically for explosive strength and speed. Another thought is that I can do kettlebell twice a week as well, but I've neglected to do it so far as the room we do it in is pretty small for the number of people that go, should I do kettlebell as well?

Just had flash flooding around my area. And the company my father works for owns that course, usually pretty dry they put a lot of money into the drainage there. I walked Candywood on Saturday and I thought it was decently dry as long as you stayed in the fairway.

I've been told many contradicting things throughout the time I've been playing, but here are few things to think about: 1. Ball farther forward- can cause hooks/pulls because the club face is allowed more time to get backed to square 2. Ball forward- can cause fades because the club is already returning back towards the body, so it's like an outside-in- swing path. 3. To my knowledge the only thing that can cause a push is an open club face at impact. You can try moving the ball or changing your swing, but I think that may lead to more problems, especially if you're trying to hit straight and not work it one way or another.

I'm from the Youngstown area and they said on the news that we have had rain 20 out of 25 days this month. The only places we can play around here are places with really good drainage or walking only in soaking wet roughs and fairways.

Exactly, they may have the same name, but they are by no means the same shaft. Any shaft that you get in a stock driver is just a lesser form of the real shaft it is made to resemble. Most of them are co-engineered by the company that sells the club, in the previously mentioned clubs Titleist co-engineers these shafts alongside Mitsubishi.

You might benefit from a better shaft. While the shaft says it is a Diamana Blue, it is actually a cheaper version of it that is offered by Titleist. The real Blue Board has technology that is far superior and therefore has a price tag that is almost equivalent to the price of the driver itself.

That makes plenty of sense and it is true that all athletics require different things, but at the same time they all require a few of the same things: strength (explosive strength), endurance, stability, and flexibility.

I have been checking this quite a bit, but I've pretty much set up my workout for the time being. However, I must ask one thing about what you said. You said you did a lot of dumbell exercises to maintain flexibility? I've always been taught that complex moves are much better for athletics, but either way you have to stretch.