osean79

Just be happy that you are able to golf, alot of people can't. Your bad round shouldn't hurt your overall handicap unless you keep shooting such a high score 10 times in a row. And if that happens, you have a legit reason to get upset and rant. Why don't you purposely try to shoot worse? I heard it helped some people...

My first eagle was a par 4, driveable 307yd hole. Drove the green, and made the 20' down-hill left to right putt. It was during a round with my regular Sunday morning round buddies and I was ecstatic!! It was a career round for me that day, carded a 74 with a birdy at 17th to make a nice finish. You never forget your first birdy and first eagle.

I always count the steps from the ball to the hole. 3 steps equals to about 2 inches of back and forward swing with the putter. Using that formula, i adjust accordingly to slope and usually find a tap in for a missed putt.

Practiced diligently for a full month before playing my first round. Shot a 62 over par, and can only remember my first tee shot which i swung at with all my might and dribbled the ball 20 yds forward.

I definitely recommended taking a video of your swing. I too was shocked when I first saw my video and realized my 3/4 swing was actually past parellel. After viewing the video and a short practice session later (again with video) i realized my 1/2 swing was 3/4. Zeph is right, feel is not real. Seeing your own swing on a vid is absolutely an eye opener. Make sure to record the voice, and loudly comment what type of swing you will be making to properly note what your goal for that particular swing is.

I also never took a lesson, but can't hit the ball like Bubba. Amazing natural athlete, great golfer, and great person. It's entertaining to watch him murder the ball off the tee as well. =)

I also came to realize that i hit better shots when making only 3/4 swings not soon after I started playing golf. I do this for all swings, including the driver and it works. Of course, if i need an extra 20-30 yds i do purposely make a bigger backswing but only if i can afford to mishit it. As for losing distance, i actually gained more distance as I developed a better swing and consistant hit on the sweet spot. Average 7 iron is about 170, so i'm not concerned with distances. I don't ever make a bigger swing just to get another 5-8 yds more, but just grab a club longer and swing easier.

I don't like posting any negative reply, but I gotta say this post was a bad one. Honestly, why would you go and post how you quit on your round cause your game went sour? It's not something to be proud of. This game is about recovery, and you just announced to everyone here that you'd rather quit the game then to suffer a bad round. Just enjoy the game. Oh, and your hook, you probably got excited about your multiple birdies and your arms got tight.

I went from a 18 to 10 handicap by switching my iron set to blades. You are right in that the blades would force you to make better swings to have good results, and it'll help you in the long run. It took me 3 weeks of practice and tinkering with the swing, before hitting them well consistantly. It's a great feeling hitting a pure iron shot with a blade!

At this point, you've got the arsenal of weapons to shoot under 80, but you lack the mental game. You are shooting your best game ever, and a couple of mental lapses later you are finishing with a 11-12 over par again. I too am all too familiar with the above picture, and I think I've learned to get over the hump by a positive attitude and avoiding the danger zones. I believe the biggest favor you can do for yourself on the course is, first know your game and know the course you will be playing. Honestly, I play better on courses that I know back to front. Avoid the little traps that each hole offers and you will save alot of strokes. From a mental point, I tell myself that we can't par every hole out there... I really can't since I am bound to get bogeys and birdies here and there. Knowing this, I don't kill myself over a bad drive or approach, but tell myself to make the best choices to save par or at worse bogey. Key point is eliminating double bogeys and worse. A good way to avoid the blow up holes is to leave your ego behind when you go up to the tee box. That's where it begins. Choose the shot that effectively eliminates the bad spots for you. I avoid all bunkers off the tee, since that's my weakness, choosing to play the 3 wood or hybrid quite often to avoid bunkers or bad spots in the rough. I'd rather hit a longer iron from the short grass.

You may also have good result, from lowering the right shoulder on the down swing. Try swinging like skipping stones, or hammering a nail sideways.

Let me share with you, the way I went from shooting mid-high 90's to breaking 90's in a very short amount of time. I just tweaked the way how I viewed the GIR. On Par 4's, goal was to be on green in 3, and 2 putt. On Par 3's, 2 on - 2 putt. On par 5's, 3 on - 2 putt... second shot is either a 7 iron or 6, which leads to a wedge for 3rd shot. If you calculate the above, i'm going for bogey on par 4's and par 3's, and going for par on par 5's. It takes a load of stress off yourself, since you now give yourself 1 more shot to get on the green in regulation. You also start making better club selection for your second shot, which is usually your confident iron. With that in mind, a little practice on 30-50 yd pitch shots and some putting practice, you should be shooting 14 over-par if you follow the above equation to the letter. It also made me a smarter golfer, though I'm still working on it. Try this out, and hopefully this little change in your course management should let you score better and have more fun!

you can hold off the hook, by swinging more upright with weak grip. On your backswing, once your hands get to about hip high, just raise the club straight up instead of around your body... this should fix it back into a nice fade =)

Nanananananananan, haha that movie is the greatest. I'm not sure if my chi power is strong enough!!

It's an evil necessity that we face every year, spring and fall... I'm going to a course this weekend, that will have freshly aerated greens. Does anyone have a good idea how to putt on it? =P I know of the "2 putt rule" and the unfairness of playing on aerated greens. But between my friends, we count everything till the ball is in the hole! lol. Any tips to help me get some extra skins while the others fumble around with 3 putts?

I also hit my pitch shots similar to what you've described. Usually, swining back to just past my right leg... i'd be hitting short chip shots about 10-20 yds. You should always accelerate on the downswing... and yes hit it faster.

If your swing was upright before, and it has flattened out since your lesson, does that mean you still have a slightly upright swing plane? or do you mean that your swing plane is very flat now? If your swing plane is slightly upright, compared to being perfectly on plane, it should be alright, unless you want to draw all your shots all the time. Flatter swings tend to draw the ball.

Take a very short backswing and follow through long towards the hole on short putts.

I draw most of my shots. However, nowadays I go for the fade off the tee since it is more predictable and won't run away too far from where it lands. The fade lets me hit the fairways more, avoiding hazards and unwanted positions. This lets me relax for my second shot, with a better chance of getting on the green... My misses with drawing the driver are, pull hooks, strong draw to left side rough, or big push to the right.

I also agree, driver should be swung in a sweeping motion. My trick is to hear my driver brush the grass as I make my backswing... It lets me know i'm making a flat swing. Did you also make sure to tilt your spine slight away from target?

I also had the same problem quite recently, destroyed my confidence from 100 yds in for a week or two. My fix was real simple, swing more upright. I natually draw all my shots, which means i have a inside out swing. It seems i over did it too much, swinging too flat and too around my body for a short wedge shot. All I did was just make sure my swing was straight up and straight down, fixed the problem. Oh and make sure you hit down, don't sweep. Sweeping tends to make me swing too flat as well... hope this helps.

Congrats! Only 2 less putts to break 90! =) Keep playing and enjoying this game!

hmmmm well i don't think i sway, and at this point in my golf I'd like to think i have a proper stance width and hip turn. =) I do see your point in setting up more even, as possibly it is a more natural weight distribution and will help me load up on the right foot more. I will definitely give it a go at my next range session. My 70/30 setup for irons, prepares me mentally to hit down on the ball and take a divot. I developed it sometime during last summer when i was shooting low 90s. It really helped my game and I stuck with it ever since. My questions to you is, you said you use the same weight distribution for all full swings. I'm guessing for the driver and 3wood as well? I found it hard to hit the driver consistantly if i don't keep my weight consentrated on the back foot throughout the swing. It may be just me from some swing fault, but if i start out 50/50, or even 60/40 like some instructions say... my driver will come out hooking, slicing, even topping quite many times. My usual driver ball flight is a high draw. My irons are mid flight draw. I also keep 90% on my left foot for all chip shots and putting. =)

Hi William, before I get to my iron distances, let me mention I'm not a S&T; as my setup may indicate for the irons... My "setup" weight distribution was what I mentioned before. During the back swing, I weight shift to the right foot to about 70-80% at the top of the swing, and then 90% to the left foot for the follow through and finish. My typical iron distances, under normal conditions is as follows. PW - 130 9 - 140 8 - 155 7 - 165 6 - 175 5 - 190 4 - 205 3 - 220 3 wood - 250 off tee, 235-240 off fairway Driver - 280

i've been having the same problem! My normal shot is the draw, and i've noticed that most my shots start way right of target and draw back in. Sometimes it's a push, and mostly a strong draw bordering on a hook. I tend to set up irons to the middle, and shorter clubs slightly back. I tried to fix this probelm by trying to take away as straight as possible on the back swing and swing more upright. This kind of worked a little bit, but i lost some good distance and wasn't hitting the ball as crisp. I will definitely try your solution, by positioning the ball to the front of middle and see if it can fix the initial flight path. I've been always afraid that having the ball forward will make me hook even more... but we'll see how it goes tonight. Thanks for sharing!