BrianJ

Thanks for the info everyone, that was a lot of info to read and digest. I suppose I should have mentioned that I guess it's a bit obvious if there is something about the hole that demands the fade/draw. (Such as a tree in the way, a dogleg, etc) I was more wondering about why they appear to hit draws when they are in the middle of a fairway and there is nothing in the way. Maybe it is the cameras depth of field and it's more of an illusion than what is really going on.

So I have been playing for about 4 years, and I learn and get better each time. I have not spent much time practicing working the ball left to right, or right to left. Honestly, I'm not sure why I would want to be doing those things. I am very happy with how my ballstriking is, and I am finally very confident standing over a ball at address and have reasonable confidence that my ball is going to go to my target, and land somewhere near the target. So with that said, why when I watch pro golfers on TV do they start the ball dramatically off to the right and then curve it back towards the green? What are they accomplishing by doing this? Is it because they want to control their misses, as I often hear that term being used. Is my game suffering because I cannot / have not been practicing these shots? These are some questions I was thinking about earlier today. Any insight would be great, thanks!

Quote: Originally Posted by ****lfing We are at 50; urashanker took Jamo's spot. Roger that, if someone drops let me know!

So does that mean there is room now? If so I'd like to be in, I was in last years!

Ok great thanks for the reply. I have definitely employed the punch shot technique before, it was part of my game last season when things were getting out of control, but I seemed to forget about it. I'll work on this on the range this weekend!

Hey everyone, I have been golfing since the fall of 2008 and truly love it. I have taken about 10 lessons and they have been invaluable to my game. I plan on taking more lessons this season with my pro (Marty from Redgate in Rockville MD). Anyway, a peculiar thing has happened lately with my long irons, especially my 4 iron. Just before impact I seem to be uncontrollably turning my clubface back towards downswing, or in other words away from my target. It has the effect of hitting the ball thinly with the very bottom of the clubface. If you picture just holding the club like normal at address, and then turning your hands clockwise so that it gains loft. I am not opening face, and I don't suffer from a slice anymore. If anything I am starting to suffer from a hook these days. I am coming thru a bit too thin and losing tons of distance, the impact has an entirely different feel than when I make solid flush contact with the ball. Has anyone experienced this? It does not happen every time, but id say on 15-20% of my long iron shots. This never happens with my short irons at all. Thanks for reading

Wow I'm glad I clicked this thread. All of this somehow is new information to me. I'm going to order some from lostgolfballs right now. their prices seem a bit better than knet. Thanks for the info!

My best shot happened on hole 1 at Chesapeake Hills here in southern Maryland. Hole 1 is a dog leg to the right after about 180 yard tee shot. I was hoping to fade my tee shot a bit but it was dead straight, and then my second shot I hit pretty fat. I was 70 yards away for my third shot (I have a rangefinder). There is a bunker that is in front of the green as you approach, and a hill to the left of the green which feeds in a bit on your putts. I purposefully kicked it over the bunker and off the hill, letting it feed down to the hole and the thing sunk right in. What made it my best shot was that I actively planned it and had it work out 100% perfectly. I don't feel like luck was involved at all with it. I was completely stunned that it went in, my buddy and I were thrilled. I have no hole in ones or anything like that, not even any eagles in my short career. I started playing in 2008, so far this is the best!

I just got back from being fitted by my local PGA for a set of G20 irons. The pro told me my current set was 1.5" too short for me, when I got to the range to test out the 7 iron I was just stunned at how easily I hit them. I went back to my old 7 iron (an X-22 which I wasn't fitted for) and it was like night and day. I never realized how much I had to reach with my old set. The trajectory with the G20s was a good bit higher and I definitely picked up some yards on the 7 iron, I'll hit it with the rangefinder when my set comes in and it gets warmer. I can't wait until they come in, even if its too cold to go play anywhere lol

Mine was Jan 1 as well. I'm in Maryland and fortunately it was around 65 degrees here that day. I've been taking advantage of the exceptionally warm winter all year so far!

I have been having this same question internally with myself everytime I go out lately. I use a Callaway stand bag on a Sun Mountain push cart and the combination of the legs and the cart are just a terrible duo. The bag is CONSTANTLY sliding to one side or another. Often it will sag down and then get the left wheel hung up and I'm always adjusting it. I have been scouring reviews for a great cart bag to use with it. I seem to be favoring an Ogio but I don't know which model to go with. Any ideas?

Will there eventually be 10 teams of 5? or 9 teams of 5 plus 5 individual teams?

I joined this morning, only a few spots left. The Double Eagles - MD. Never played fantasy golf before, but it looks cool after I've read the scoring and how it seems to work. Good luck all and thanks for setting this up for us. http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/sports/fantasysports/golf/basics/ This link might be helpful to other newbies like myself.

I plan on playing once on the weekend once the local weather here warms up. Right now in the DC area its been mild, but Jan and Feb are usually non-playing months (for me anyway). I took a new job in September, which will not allow to play my usual 2-3 times per week like my old job. I miss working right next to a golf course

You most definitely won't be dissapointed with the V2. I used mine this past season as it was a Christmas gift and it was just brilliant. Easy to shoot targets, slope works great. All around a great item and invaluable to golfers like myself.

Wow apparently I'm not the only one who has been screwed by Shotly. After learning of Shotly from the sand trap forums, I purchased a pair of footjoy golf shoes from them on August 12th. I have yet to receive my item. I have emailed them 3 times and left 2 voice messages and have heard absolutely nothing. I filed a paypal dispute but it was past my 45 days of purchase, they recommended that I get in touch with my bank and try to recoup my $77 that way. I honestly don't care about the money, well thats half true, I do care about it, but I care more about the fact that there hasn't been one shred of communication as to why they are completely ignoring me. I am seriously considering filing a lawsuit against them, but I'm not sure if its worth my time or not. As of now I am out $77, but extremely annoyed. A company just can't take money and send you absolutely nothing without suffering something as a business.

I really enjoy the Golf Fix, however like the previous post said, it sometimes fills my head with too much information. I like to watch it thru the week and slowly digest what he is saying. I really enjoy the show the most when he concentrates on one club at a time, like a putting show or a driver show. This helps the overflow of information a good bit IMO.

I see, OK that makes sense and thats what I've been doing all along I guess I just didn't know how to qualify it into words. It sounds like the chipping you are describing is Mickelson's "hinge and hold" technique.

I always thought difference between pitching and chipping was just the distance involved, not really a mechanical swing change. Obviously this is wrong, but can anyone describe the swing changes involved with the difference between the two?

I feel the same about my new TM Ghost Corza. I love how the balls comes off the face, and the alignment aides really help me take the putter back on a straight(er) line. I'm lovin it!

Sam Adams Octoberfest! Its out now, rejoice!!!

Slow controlled swings are a great thing to do any time of the season. Great "chapter" in Penick's Little Red Book goes over the process of this. I do it all the time and it seems to help me and my game.

I would recommend lessons first. Your swing will change drastically with them. Don't sleep on getting fitted for sure, but lessons would go first IMO.

It has been my experience that starting off the back always sounds like an easy plan to fix a bottleneck at 1, but it creates headaches and problems for the starters and the golf course in general. Great post by fourputt, however like he said the marshal shouldn't have any say in directing you where to go. The marshal should have been out at the lady 4some and "gently" persuading them to pick up the pace :)