thumper07

thanks for the compliments guys. the field is right next to my home course. i only hit 7-8 balls then go pick them up(lots of walking, notice the weight loss from first vid and current) i do this so i dont get in the mind set of mindlessly beating balls, i focus on each ball and try to hit a certain shot. each ball gets full preshot routine and a precise target i'm trying to hit to. if im feeling lazy i'll only hit wedges so i dont have to walk real far. -matt

the results of a round should never weigh on your mind, a round of golf is simply a series of single shots that you must play one at a time. thats how you should look at it. -matt

I have been working on my swing and starting to see some good results. I dont use a pro or get lessons, kinda self taught. I record my swing then try and fix things that dont look right. I am currently at about a 6 hcp but thats because i cant putt. My ball flight is a high draw and my misses are blocks/hooks. As you can see i still get kinda stuck coming into the hitting area. I dont know how to fix it. Things i would like to work on are getting the club up on plane faster in the backswing i still bring it inside then come over to bring it down the correct plane. Even though i come over i am still hitting from inside. It just makes it harder to control my fade when i wanna hit one. I also have a swap during the transistion from back to down that i have kinda left alone as i feel there are some things we do naturally and everytime i try and fix it my ball striking goes to shit. Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated. before after

i like them, the nv is probally the best value shaft ever made. -matt

ok i'm goin to make a long story as short as possible. I am 24 and have been playing since i was little(dont remember the actual year) I play RH but i do everything in life LH. Never really did any thinking about til last week when i was playing with a LH putter for fun in golf galaxy and it looked and felt real comfortable and rolled the ball real well. So anyway i bought the putter and absolutely love it, ok now i will putt lefty, makes sense. just for shits and giggles i wanted to video tape me swinging lefty. now i have never hit a ball lefty. I am also no where near a teaching professional but i know more than average i would say. i would say lefty swing is fundementally stronger than my swing now! what do you guys think? http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n...t=MOV01474.flv http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n...t=MOV01475.flv http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n...t=MOV01478.flv http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n...t=MOV01477.flv i think i need to get through this season, try and play some good golf and next winter really investigate this. i think if i try and change now i will be working my way through the prime of the season instead of playing and enjoying it. -matt

First off Merry Christmas to everyone. OK I have a question I know is stupid, I am a volunteer firefighter, last night we did a santa detail. I dressed up as santa and we drove around many neighborhoods while i froze my ass off waving to kids and making them happy. My question is as a catholic was it wrong for me to promote christmas with santa claus, when the real reason to celebrate christmas is the birth of jesus? Now i am not losing sleep over this I would like to here everyones opinion. -matt

how are you an 8hc with that swing? very nice swing, very nice -matt

definately no insert if you want to putt well in my opinion. inserts take away what all great putters had and that is feel. i'm sorry but you could have the best stroke in the world and hit every putt exactly where you aim but if you hit it too hard through the break or leave it short and in the heart it doesn't really matter how good your stroke is. inserts just dont provide the feedback needed to putt well. I'm not just bias to camerons i really like(and used to own) a ping karsten series. even the becu pings are great putters. just my 2cents though. -matt

it is very important that regardless of how strong or weak your grip is, that your palms face each other. if not your hands will not work as a unit and that could be something else to compensate for. -matt

do it! i have lost about 45lbs now and between losing weight and getting healthy and working on my swing i am now down to about a 4. I was an 11 when the first video was shot. losing the weight and gaining muscle will change your game. in the first video i am hitting an 8 iron about 145 now i'm at 160. -matt

congradualtions you caught my typographical error. so you never hit bad shots at golf? do you get upset when you mishit? how much time do you practice? i know your only a 12 so i assume you miss alot, do you aspire to get better? how much do you actually care about the quality of golf you play? here's the thing this man's whole life has revolved around golf. since day 1 he has been labeled a prodigy, and has lived up to it quite well i may add. He works harder than anyone on tour and deserves the right to be cut some slack. He puts so much into the game that it bothers him when he makes a mistake. I put alot of work into my game and when i play like shit i get pissed, it doesn't mean i'm a bitch, it means i care enough to be passionate. he made a mistake yesterday and apologized for it. i apologize for sounding like a dick and my piss poor grammer but i stand by what i say and what i have seen. this is being blown way out of proportion, let the guy vent. -matt

you guys that thinks tiger is an ••••••• and f'ing retards. you know why he doesn't lke making mistakes and gets pissed? its becuase everytime this man does make a mistake you guys crucify him for it. it prolly makes it worse knowing that everyshot you hit is televised. and if you think he's a bad role model for golf!? what about the golf channel's big break!! those are the whiniest, arrogant bunch of babies i have ever seen. they cuss and throw shit all the time and the golf channel is trying to help them gets jobs. so then is golf channel bad? NO its a sport and people get pissed, you idiots have nothing better to talk about so you are hammering on tiger(prolly because he is just that much better than the golfer you like). he apologized but it was NOT intentional. loosen up and if you dont like it go watch another sport. rant over! -matt

ditto ^ i love my i10's the 15's look GI compared to the 10's even the offset seems dramatic. -matt

i have an instant shank fix, when you swing through try and rotate your center over top of your left heel not your left toes, i guarentee you have too much weight on your toes and that is causing you to lean in alittle at impact. for years everytime i started hitting the ball well it was then followed by a case of the shanks. I finally figured out that when i got comfotable with my swing i would get my weight out on my toes(dont know why but it happens). give this a shot and i bet you will stop shanking. -matt

yep i got my scotty for 120 when the had 50% off clearence sale -matt

i did this with my new irons, i was right between the s300 and x100 and went with the x100 because the just felt like they swung themselves. 3/4 shots were not really a problem just dont try to rush it unless you have strong forearms or you will block/shank in a heart beat. I had to learn this the hard way because i love playing half shots and working the ball and what not. but i say if you even close i would play the x100. My 6 iron club head is in the mid/upper 90's if its any help to compare to what you may need. but DG and PX are really two different shafts i dont know why people keep trying to compare them. DG=low launch high spin PX=high launch low spin

has to be Ping, consistently been making high quality clubs that put Function>Form. Which is important to me. Its also nice to buy clubs that feel nice and soft but will last more than 2 years like forged counterparts. -matt

hard to compare two different balls besigned to do two different things -matt

stand closer, should help your arms should hang straight down -matt

!MILD RANT! You put the baby from the etrade comercial on the top of a ski slope and i bet he can hit it 300yds. My point is i am sick of people coming on here bragging about how far they say they can hit it. I wanna see(but never will) people bragging about hitting 13/14 fairways or 14 GIR or having less than 25 putts for the first time. This is why national handicapps never come down. I dont give a f*ck how far you hit it. Put it in the hole thats impressive!. Sorry, but i had to get it out -matt

sounds like you are sliding your weight foward instead of rotating. make sure you are turning through impact and not sliding with your hips. if you slide your hands get stuck behind forcing them outward causing a shank. this lesson wasnt with mike at golf galaxy was it? it sounds like something he would teach.

@ that clubhead speed you should definately be using an xstiff. i wouldnt say it will cure your duck hook but it should help. using a shaft that is too flexible will only take your bad swings and make them worse matt

get rid of the graphite, it is no where near as consistent as steel. it will take getting used to but it will be better in the long run. Did you buy your irons you have now from a golf store? if so that salesman should be shot. I only reccomend graphite for when its needed, i.e women, children, seniors, and the injured. you will be much happier with steel trust me -matt

Its hard to not add up score when your only shooting 3-7 over par regularly, 85's and shit yes but as you get better you'll know what you are shooting so you better come to terms with it quickly. Golf lf is not a game of Perfect Your 15th club These two books, read, then re-read, then apply. You'll learn to enjoy situations like that and instead and trying to just get by, like by ignoring what is actually happening. You'll learn that you can go lower and keep going because you enjoy the moment and your aren't scared of it. I have 5 books at home on golf and only one is about the swing. Mental game is what got me to the next level after years of beating balls as a 10-11 handicapp. -matt

I thought this poll was already done but after a search i came up with nothing so we'll do it again. I use the interlocking grip, i have my whole playing career. Nothing wrong with it i think, i was at the range yesterday and was just hitting away and got board cause i was hitting them really well(that rarely happens) i began playing around abit, and i tried the vardon grip(overlapping grip) because i had never done it before. I was shocked, i struck the ball much more crisply and with a huge draw. Its feels good because its makes me feel like the club is going to come out of my hand if i dont swing on plane. i am considering switching, i need to do some more r&d; first cause i only hit my last like 6 balls like this. Let me know what grips you guys use and if you have ever changed and what the results were. Also are there any low handicapp guys out there using an overlapping grip? -matt