Sean Dainty

It completely depends on how much you practice....it needs to become a part of your muscle memory because on the golf course you automatically revert back to what is most comfortable. Be disciplined up front with your practice and it will take you no time to make that your new swing.

To hit a fade, opening your stance a little is essential, but one thing that has not been mentioned is to ensure you swing along your feet line. While this may be intuitive, knowing this in your head while you swing is essential to a controlled fade. Hope that helps!

At set up, you should have your left arm bent (each arm should be bent the same amount). Maybe this is why you are then bending it through impact.....here's a link to an image of Tiger's putting set up - http://tinyurl.com/64agyzr

It's all about personal preference....I agree with the above to try it out for a few weeks and see if it works. Only thing I know about putting is that whatever makes you feel the most confident, stick with it!

Hey - try putting the ball more back in your stance (the ball position on higher lofted clubs should be in the middle to back of your stance). This will likely stop you from pulling the ball. I have more details about ball position in my free guide (reference signature).

It sounds like you may be coming over the top.....try this drill: put a small towel under your left armpit and take a full swing with it. It should not fall to the ground and this will help you swing the club on the proper plane. Also, try to extend your arms fully after impact towards the target, which will avoid you from using too much wrist and coming across the ball. Hope that helps!

Long irons are harder to hit because the sweet spot is much smaller due to lower loft. The key is to keep your head very still and swing smoothly (per above advice). You can also get 3, 4, and 5 irons that are more forgiving (larger club heads) if you really can't hit your current ones.

A good take away to me has the following components to it: 1. Taking the club straight back at the same speed as your chest turns (hands are aligned with the centre of your chest). 2. Left arm is pressed against the left side of your chest (you should be able to put a small towel under your left armpit and swing fully without it dropping to the ground - this is a drill that a lot of the pros use. 3. Use the pad on your left hand to hinge the club upwards (when the club is parallel to the ground on the backswing, the toe of your club head should be pointing to the sky). I actually walk through the proper grip that will enable you to have the correct backswing in my free guide (link in my signature). Hope that helps!

The tips in the 2 posts above are what I do for every shot and it helps immensely to aim correctly. However, if your feet, hips, and shoulders are not aligned, then you will have a hard time aiming consistently. Go to the range and lay a club down, between your feet and the ball, and aim it 5 yards left of your target. Use this to get the right alignment (also ensuring that your hips and shoulders are parallel to the club). Here's a photo of the drill I use:

I agree with the risk/reward analysis above, however, I'd like to add that you should play to your biggest strength. For instance, my favourite distance is 110 to 150 yards, so I will try and hit whatever club that will get me there (I average about 290 off the tee, so unless the course is really long, I usually find myself hitting a lot of 3-woods). Play to your strengths and it will allow you to make easier decisions about what club you use off the tee.

Try putting it a little bit more forward (off the toe of your front foot). This might give you a little more breathing room to offset your spine issues.

Absolutely agree with Lessons first, clubs second. You could try and learn by yourself, but it will take you 5x as long to improve. I started out with my Mum's Powerbilt irons (they even had pink grips) and I got down to an 8 handicap in 2 years with them (starting from scratch). Club's don't really matter when you are working on the right things. Good luck and welcome to this wonderful and frustrating sport!

A closed stance and fully releasing your hands will help you to hit a draw as well. However, I think that you should focus on hitting it consistently straight first before learning how to shape the ball. If you think about it, trying to hit a draw and a fade may help you get the ball further down the fairway, but it's very likely that you will spray it more. There are very few holes where you can't still hit it straight and end up in the fairway.

I liked the comment about course management....the flop shot from a fairway lie is extremely difficult! Why would you put yourself in this position more than once during a round (other than missing it in that spot), if even at all? Play to your strengths and the easier shot.

You immediately take the club back inside and compensate on the downswing by coming over the top. There are a few tips I have for you: 1. Try to take the club straight back (imagine a straight line behind the ball) 2. Put a small towel (dish) under your left arm and make a swing with it. You will see that if you swing over the top on the downswing, the towel will fall to the ground. The idea is to keep your left arm tight to your chest ensuring that you are on the right swing plane (the pros do this drill all the time).

It all depends on the length of the hole. The last thing you want is to be hitting 3-wood or 3-iron into every par 4, however, if you hit your 3-wood that much better off the tee then I can see your point in hitting it more often. Although now that I don't play competitively, I just say grip it and rip it!

What I try and do is to keep my elbows wide so that you are forced to use your shoulders more. Another thing to ensure is that your forearms are horizontally aligned - meaning that if you were looking directly down the line behind you, you wouldn't be able to see the front forearm. Hope that helps.

For me it depends on what's in front of you (simplistic I know, but you need to work with what the course is giving you, not force fit one type of shot). If there is just fairway between you and the hole, go for a bump and run with a 7-iron vs. a high pitch as it will give you the best chance of hitting consistently close.

Having food throughout the round is extremely important - especially if it is hot out (water will keep you hydrated, but you also need to keep up your energy). What I find most effective is to eat a banana (Tiger Woods does this every round) and/or trail mix. Since there is little sugar in these, you won't have a crash period and your energy will remain throughout the round. Hope that helps!

It's all mental! The only thing that distinguishes the pros (assuming they have equal skills as there are many great golfers) are their mental abilities.

Hit the range? Putting only? No warm up? Drink a few beers? Share what your pre golf game routine is!

I agree with you there, but there will always be a cap on how well someone will play with a poor grip. Having a neutral grip (V's of both hands pointing to your right shoulder - if you're a righty) will allow you to consistently hit the ball straight. It is the foundation of a good golf swing as it allows you to take the club back on the proper path, keep the club face square through impact, and maximize distance. As for the knuckles, here is what I do: When addressing the golf ball (club on the ground), you should only be able to see 2-3 knuckles of your left hand . If you see more than that, this indicates a strong grip and if you see less, this indicates a weak grip. Use this self-check drill before every round to ensure your grip is where you want it.

Typically, hybrids are easier to hit and they are great out of the rough. I agree with NEOHMark in that you lose a bit of distance (10 yards), but the increase in accuracy well outweighs the lost distance. I will say, however, that I prefer a 3-wood vs. a hybrid off the tee as you lose even more distance and cannot work the ball as well.

I hear your pain....for me the biggest key to feeling good over the ball is an athletic stance (back angle is flat and knees bent so that your weight is over the front centre of your feet). You may have a swing flaw, but you also may be lifting your head up through impact, which would cause you to top the ball no matter how good your swing is. Try fake spitting (after impact) on the ground where your golf ball was. This will definitely keep your head down!

Hey Skates, in my experience it can be the shaft (go to a golf store and talk to one of the staff about it) or it could be your swing. One suggestion would be to check your ball position. If it is too far forward in your stance then that might be causing you to hit it really high as well.