Lizzyboy

This is excellent advice. Your approach makes a lot of sense. I went to the range today and tried feeling like I was hitting to the right and a few times I hit a nice fade right on the sweet spot. Next time I will video myself and see if many of my symptoms have lessened when I do this. I appreciate the advice I will give your ideas a try. If you have any other general advice to make the learning process more productive I would be certainly interested. Being new at this, its easy to get side tracked and not focus on the most important things. Thanks again.

I'm working on getting my swing fundamentals. My take away is good but my downswing needs work. ie weigh shift to the left, not lagging the club, coming over the top, chicken wing. I try and work on one thing at a time at the range. At the moment I'm working on shifting my weight and droping the club from the inside. I'm thinking I should be doing 10 minute exercises at home on some of the other important issues ie turning on my spine (what else?) just to keep myself aware of the proper movements. Any suggestions on what are the most important areas I should focus on and a good daily routine? Am I on the right track or is there a better way of doing it? I need advice from people who have been there and learned how to practice intelligently. Thanks for the time.

One way I use them: Now I'm focusing on getting my weight to my left side properly. I listen to my teacher and I look for how others explain and what drills/thoughts others have on the subject. If their way of thinking or drills make more sense to me then I incorporate them. Yes it can be easy to get to many thoughts at one time so I try and work on 1-2 things at a time.

I'm not saying it's better than taking lessons, but it seems many of the tips just repeat the same basic principles which is a good thing. ie weight forward, proper impact position etc. Of coarse some tips are silly so you have to be selective. I use some articles/drills to supplement what my teacher says. Isn't it great to read how Luke Donald approaches his chip shots or Hunter Mahan's ideas on how to swing a club properly? What is the downside? PS I know a one page article isn't going to teach you how to swing a club but as supplemental info it seems good.

Thanks for the link but I have a mac and this appears to be a pc only download. Plus I would like to find a free website if possible. I just need basic features like slo-mo and lines.

Hello everyone, I'm looking to analyze my swing with slow motion and the ability to make lines etc. The golf channel swing fix looks perfect (and free) for what I was looking for but it is taking 20 minutes+ to download a 1 min flip video. ( I like to video 3 swings). I has what I'm looking for but too slow. Any other websites that serve the same purpose? Thanks

Gamer v2 Ebay has (6) 15 balls boxes for $59.99 shipped. I bought them and its a great deal from a established seller.

Thanks for the advice

Being a high handicapper and new player, I wondering if it would be better to replace my 3 and 5 woods with the equivalent hybrid that have the same loft. Get a 15 and 19 degree hybrid as opposed to 15 and 19 degree fairway wood. The thought is they would be easier to hit and at my level and a consistent hit is more important than distance. Actually I only have a driver and 5 wood now. I am not consistent with the 5 wood but that the case with all my clubs. What are the pros and cons? Any suggestions? Thanks

I can see lessons/and indoor ranges over the winter sounds like a great way to focus on your swing. The problem I have with the range is I hit the ball very well at the range and on the coarse I am much more inconsistent. The range is gives me a false sense of confidence. I shoot in the high 90's but my range play would put me in the mid 80's. I wish I could hit the ball the same on the coarse.

I'm a new player working on the basics. Living in the Northeast, I guess I can play until Nov then pick it up in the spring. (golf in freezing weather just doesn't sound fun) I need lessons but I'm not sure when to take them. Now when the cold weather is coming and there is limited playing time or wait until the spring when I'll be able to play and go to the range more often. I want to get the most bang for my buck as lesson are pricey. How do experienced golfers treat the winters when they can't play. Thanks

Thanks for the input. Got off my butt and bought double-sided tape and it's fine now.

Thanks for all the replies. When I hit my driver and 3 wood, I do grip down. Otherwise it too out of control. Doing this, I hit pretty for my level....except for "those" days. Do players that feel a driver is better for a later time, feel differently if you grip down on the driver? I'm thinking if I need a 3 wood or if gripping down on my driver is somewhat the same. I checked out the other thread. Very good. http://thesandtrap.com/t/53317/how-many-of-you-do-not-use-a-driver/36 A little surprising. It sounds like a lot of people buy one and leave it in the bag.

I am just learning the game and I carry a Driver and 5 wood. After I got my driver I realized it was difficult to hit so I figured I'd use the 5 wood off the tee. Now I use both off the tee depending on how I'm hitting the ball that day. It works but now I'm thinking maybe a 3 wood and driver would be better. Or does it matter? Right or wrong, I focus on hitting the ball well and straight rather than focusing on distance. Any thought from experienced players as what is the best approach and what is the most important things to focus on?

I have a practice club I use around the house that I want to regrip it with a grip trainer. I don't have double-sided tape and I'm being lazy so can I just use a high quality, thick scotch's packing tape and just double it over? ie make a "loop" like us old people use to do years ago when they didn't sell double-sided tape. Thanks

Where do you play the ball?

I want to learn to hit a 10-20 yard shot that will go high and land on the green with very little roll. I'm told a lob or cut lob is that type of shot. Dave Pelz and Mickelson say almost the same thing: Open the club face wide open stance play ball middle of stance Mickelson (on his dvd) says to swing down the target line and Pelz, in his bible book) says to swing down the stance line. Very different. Last month in Golf Digest, Rickie Fowler said to play the ball off the left foot with a square stance and slightly open club. This month, Luke Donald says "to get more height on your pitch shots", play the ball off the left foot and open the club. Dave Pelz says you should always play the ball in the center of stance for all wedge shots, never forward! Am I missing something here?

I'm thinking of getting a swing trainer and wondering how effective it is. Anyone have any particularly good or bad experiences with the swing trainer. Thanks

I'm more of a leg man.

I would call Titleist and ask them directly. They would give you the most informed answer.

Anyone specialized in better quality sun umbrellas? What's the best UPF? Size? (One thread said most people liked 68" which seems really large) Anything else I should look for? Thanks

I'm a HH, new player with the typical swing problems. My wedge shots are much better and consistent thanks to the Pelz short game bible. He says for wedge shots, a full back swing leads to disaster. My irons are hit or miss so I was thinking if I do a 3/4 swing and use "more club" for all my iron shots, maybe I would get more consistent results. A shorter back swing would leave less room for error. Sounds good in theory. I'm sure I'm not the first "genius" to think of this but why is this not a good idea? If you are not trying to be a pro, I would think this may get you a lower score sooner. I haven't tried this yet. Any thoughts?

That makes sense. My numbers are far from exact but my overall point is I rarely hit "bad" shots at the range (shanking, rolling the ball etc) but at the course it does happen more than I would like. I wish I could say this wasn't true. thanks for the input.

thanks for the exercises! I will try them tomorrow.

Thanks for all the replies. I will try "playing" golf at the range. It makes sense and I'm playing more often.