KARR2001

I would definitely recommend getting custom fitted for your clubs, especially if you are 6'1" because the standard length might not be the best fit for you. If the clubs don't fit you then what happens is that you adapt your swing for the club which is never good. You definitely want a club that fits your swing. I know places like Golf Galaxy, GolfTEC, and several other places fit people for clubs. Also, cutting shafts lowers the weight of the club and actually affects the swing characteristics because the shaft was designed to perform a certain way at that length.

What is happening to you is that you are swinging on an inside-out path with a club face that is square with your swing path so you hit the ball straight. What you are doing is correct just that your club face is not slightly closed compared to your swing path. Having a flat left wrist, bent right wrist at impact is correct and hitting down on the ball definitely helps to increase distance. Do not change what you are doing just work on club face control. I posted a YouTube link on a different post today which explains perfectly why this happens in case you want something for reference. I have included that link below as well in case you wanted to reference it. It my help you understand your problem even better.

What she said is correct for her swing. This is because most professionals have a swing path and club face angle that are relatively close to each other but not identical. this way they can hit their draw, fade, cut shot, etc. There is a great video on youtube which explains how this works which I have included below because I would need 2 pages to explain it in text. Enjoy the video.

Well, we got my club face squared up last lesson and when I went to the course I was actually closing it up a little too much but I still hit a very nice draw and got a 97 which could have been an 89 had I committed to several shots inside 100 yards. Great progress is happening for me at GolfTEC. I also kept all but two of my drives in play. Now I just need to work on my fairway woods and driver for my long game and keep working on my short game and better results should be coming.

Here are the rules in question: 4-4a: Selection and Addition of Clubs which states "The player must NOT start a stipulated round with MORE THAN 14 clubs. He is limited to the clubs thus selected for that round, except that if he started with LESS THAN 14 clubs he may add any number, provided that his TOTAL number does NOT exceed 14." The penalty for breach of rule 4-4a in stroke play is 2 strokes per hole for which the breach occurred to a maximum of 4 strokes. 4-4c: Excess Club Declared Out of Play: "Any club or clubs carried or used in breach of rule 4-4 MUST be declared out of play by the player to his opponent in match play or his marker or fellow-competitor in stroke play Immediately upon discovery that a breach has occurred. The player MUST NOT use the club or clubs for the remainder of the stipulated round." The Penalty for breach of rule 4-4c is DISQUALIFICATION. 6-1: Rules: "The player and his caddie are responsible for knowing the Rules." So what those mean is that if you start you round with more than 14 clubs you get a two stroke penalty for each hole where you have the extra clubs up to a maximum of 4 strokes. Also, if the player notices or knows that he/she has more than 14 clubs they must immediately declare them out of play or they will be disqualified and as long as you have the extra club(s) with you then you STILL get the penalty of Rule 4-4a. Now, if you were to tee off and then declare an extra club out of play you get a two stroke penalty for that hole, you are not disqualified because you declared it out of play, and if you go say put it in your car then you only get the two stroke penalty for that hole because that is where the penalty for rule 4-4a occurred. The application of rule 6-1 is easy...you are supposed to know all 34 rules. What is the learning point from this...don't carry more than 14 clubs. No fights will break out and everyone can actually enjoy their round.

Has anyone ever used the Bushnell Tour V2 (standard or slope edition) or another one of their rangefinders? Are they really good or are there better ones out there? I'm not really interested in the GPS rangefinders but I have been eying up a laser rangefinder for quite some time now. Any suggestions? Thanks.

For chipping I like to use my most lofted club (for me that is a 60 degree wedge). I break my hands going back and accelerate into the ball. This is definitly not even close to a full swing though. I bring the club back about about a foot for a 10 yard shot and my club is parallel to the ground for a 50 yard shot. I break my wrists going back and then I accelerate through the shot. This is how Phil Mickelson chips and teaches in his Secrets of the Short Game DVD (which you can actually watch parts of on YouTube). Doing this will actually create a good amount of back spin. The one thing you definitly do not want to do is flip your wrists through impact to "scoop" the ball up into the air becasue if you miss you will most likely blade it and send the ball flying past the green on a very low trajectory. Since you always want to accelerate at the same speed you can control distance by how far back you bring the club. Now, I will admit that this is not the best method for everyone. If it works for you great, if not then you need to try a different chipping technique. Also, other people may have suggestions which are good as well and might be better for you. Finally Meenman's suggestion for low running shots/putting off the green is great as well and I use those tyes of shots as well.

One of the reasons you hear about practicing short game all the time is because it is a MUST! Dave Pelz has performed many studies and has shown that more then half of all your shots occur from 100 yards and in. A good short game can really lower your scores, especially for players with a higher handicap. As a result I will spend 2 hours on the practice green for every hour I spend on my long game. Obviously you need to spend time on your long game but if you can learn to get short game shots close to the pin you can lower your scores significantly. Every inch farther away from the hole decreases the percentage of the putts you will make. 7 feet 10 inches is the point where Tour Pros make 50% of their putts and that stat is even lower for us amateurs so having a good short game to get closer to the hole is a must.

What you are looking for is a 50/50 weight distribution in your feet to give yourself good balance and a stable lower body. I was taught to find this position by taking your stance and rocking your feet forward and backward to find a spot that was comfortable. Doing this also gives you a feeling for where too far forward and too far back in your stance is. All your weight in your heels is definitely wrong. I learned the balance for my feet from an LPGA member/LPGA Teaching Professional.

It depends where you are having your pain on the right side. You probably strained a muscle and need to rest it for a little while. If you keep having those symptoms though I would talk to your doctor since there are many causes of right sided chest pain.

I am working on squaring up my club face at impact since I tend to push all my shots to the right. I am trying to get a flat left wrist and bent right wrist at the top. Right now I have a cupped left wrist which causes me to have an open club face in my downswing and as a result I need to use my hands too much. So far i am doing better with this but still a work in progress.

For the record I have not been able to do my lessons every 2 weeks or so because of school so I take lessons when I can. Also, I have a problem of opening my club face at impact and push all my shots to the right. However they did bring me down from an average score in the 150s. And my scores are still going down just having trouble lately which we are working on. Plus I have a hot head sometimes on the course and I let bad shots get to me so I keep making mistakes and I start rushing it which is not good. GolfTEC cannot fix the mental part of the game. But compared to my old swing I am a completely different golfer than I was when I started.

The swing speed companies use for recommendations is based on your driver.

I have been a GolfTEC member for almost 2 years now and I have never regretted my decision. I started out having one of the worst golf swings they had ever seen. Now I have a great swing that is much more productive then my former swing. When I first went to GolfTEC is was interested in getting fit for new clubs and I walked out very impressed with their program and not as interested in new clubs (my decision). It was definitely rough at first as we changed my horrible posture first to a more athletic one and worked on getting my swing to the top. The great part during that time is that while I was out on the course with people I was getting compliments about my posture which made me even happier about my decision to choose GolfTEC. Then My swing started improving when I finally got to a good top position. Then it all started coming together and my scores started dropping very quickly. I started out before GolfTEC as a player whose average score was in the 150s and I am now averaging in the 100s with my lowest score ever in the 90s. When I miss-hit a shot now I tend to push the ball or hit it really "fat" (which is my own fault for not shifting my weight properly on the downswing) and the only time I really hit a bad slice is with my driver (that lesson is Tuesday). I have even taken chipping and putting lessons as well. Plus my coach does not put me in the harness to give me all the numbers because where I am taking lessons it is about making a swing that fits me...after all I'm NOT a tour pro. Now about the bay. Yes you are indoors (which means I never get a lesson canceled because of rain) and you hit into a big net. Most people say that then you don't get to see your ball flight for your swing. While there is some truth to this it is not completely accurate. The bay gives you information about swing tempo, swing speed at impact, club path through impact, face angle at impact, where impact was on the club face (toe, center, or heel), and how far the ball traveled. With this information the coaches know (and now I do) what your ball flight will look like. Also, since the data is based on your swing, fixing your swing will produce a better ball flight on the monitor and on the course. I have gone from a nasty slicer to a golfer who hits a nice draw (right to left movement) on many shots. Now the key for me is taking it out to the course and making it work there too. Something else I will be doing with my coach soon...an outdoor playing lesson. I have even had outdoor putting and chipping lessons. So, just because there is a bay does not mean you cannot use some of your lessons outside.