nikuk

I apologize for the lengthy diary entry format, I didn't realize I had so much typed out until I'd submitted the post! Whats the best "feel" for the hands to square up the face @ impact? I have a handheld video cam with 60 FPS @ 720p, but have only used it for down the line view so far and haven't had a chance to set it up from face on due to space limitations in my garage simulator. Err, some background may help my question... My goal for this season is simple: Get on in 1 over, and down in 1 over. Double Bogey golf. I realize this may not seem impressive, but I'm trying to be realistic as well, I'm restricted to weekend golf (at least 18 holes, if not 36, on either a par 69 or 72) based on work & family duties. I can sneak in a 9 hole par 27 or 35 on occasion during the week. I'm new to the game (this'll be my 3rd season), and found it late IMO @ age 31 now, but I've been bitten pretty hard by the game. After some marginal improvement through last season, I really dedicated some time over this past winter to improving my game. Through reading (selectively) online i decided to really work my way up from the fundamentals. The order of operations was basically: Figure out how it is that I was swinging OTT, and stop it. Shore up my grip. Get a consistent baseline address setup & stance. Try a number of shaft length, grip size, and clubhead lie combinations since I wasn't comfortable with my static fitting results. (alot of homemade lie board / face tape hitting) Readdress setup & swing with the most comfortable club combination. Recheck grip, setup, swing plane, club path. Take all this to the range to see how ball striking consistency has progressed, and see physical ball flight. Recheck above based on outcome. I live in the northeast and knew I could only go so far by practicing in a 80yd deep domed range, so I setup an Optishot simulator in the garage. I realize that the setup is at best 90-95% accurate, but considering the lower entry cost & the extreme availability of having it in the garage I figured it'd be better the and hour a week at the domed range. I tried to rationalize that if the IR swing pad said I was 20* open, then I was probably pretty open, and I'll worry about how accurate this reading was when I get to the point of being consistently

Over the last two seasons I've tried four apps for my android phone which promised to give hole by hole distances & ball stirke distance tracking, I'd actually bought a year to GolfLogix as I had found it the most user friendly while playing a round and was worth the $20/year. I still maintain that its a nice app, but I recently discovered Swing by Swing and found the free version to be even more friendly (simple interface, faster to load hole maps, much more diverse club tracking) and decided to try the paid version ($14/year)... WOW. I would pay more! The distance tracking is as accurate as a friends SkyCaddy. The club tracking allows you not just to input what club you used, but also if the shot was a top, chunk, slice, hook, fade, draw, etc... and it does so with TWO total clicks/touches. However, what really truly astounded me was how the phone app updates the secure website. I got tour level stats as far as percentages, putts, saves, FIR & GIR, % of total shots which faded or were drawn, % of strikes which faded & drew by club , distances of clubs automatically kicked out any shots selected as tops/chunks, pitches. Then I discovered this: It uses a Google Earth overlay of its GPS data and will show you the distance and direction of you shot! ANY shot you tracked. I now know that I'm going to track EVERY stroke I make (save maybe for putts) for posterity if nothing else!! I was so excited when I stumbled across this I had to call my wife in to check it out and, while she humors my golf addiction in a supportive manner, even she was impressed. Just though I'd share.

After sneaking in a couple rounds on a par 54 and buying s new glove I had no problems at all. After hitting. Bucket on the range mats this morning they're back... I'm just going to dismiss it as the evils of hitting off mats!

correct, about 1/16" larger radius. okay, i thought that'd be overthinking it!

When I started getting more serious about my game in the beginning of this year (golfed past two seasons but rather casually) I had a mean slice about 2/3 out with the driver. I have since spent 6 buckets worth of balls exclusively on the driver this summer. Thinking and adjusting one thing at a time, hit 5-10 balls and seeing what happened. I can now hit my driver much much much more consistenly. Now 9/10 shots will get down the fairway with a bit of a fade or a bit of a draw depending on what I do with the swing. Coming into the spring my 10 ball effectiveness was roughly: 6 high slices, 2 mid slices, 2 neat fades. Also, without trying for distance I've managed to pick up ~20yards on average. I'm still only carrying ~225 but I'm on the fairway - MY OWN fairway! -Nick

After finally getting fitted (and doing a ton of reading on it before visiting two fitters) I grabbed a new set of irons (+0.5", +2* up, +1/16" dia grip). Spent some time (~200 balls) on the range today to figure them out and for the first time in two years I have a callus on my left / glove (i'm a righty) hand. Middle finger, just shy of both knuckles - when coming up from the palm. Granted my glove is a little worn as its nearing the end of the season, but someone suggested my grip was too big for me. Judging by nearly every single clubfitters book & chart I could find I "should" use this 'midsize' grip... Any correlation or odd coincidence?

The names Nick. I'm from buffalo ny - there's a few nice courses, :) Typically started golfing by hanging out with friends, playing a grab bag of clubs and just trying to crush the ball last year. This year I really got into it quite a bit more early in the season (April to May here), grabbed am off the shelf 4-pw +1&3 wood set from dicks sports. I've beat up on them all year pretty well. As the season professed I really got bit and for the last few months I've been really paying attention to my swings, positions, and outcomes. Done a ton of reading online, talking to pros, and picking the minds of my more experienced playing partners. I'm 6'3 in sneakers and after playing a round with a friends custom irons (+0.50" length) I'm studying into a custom set for myself over winter. Also fell across shawn clement videos thanks to this site and intend to relearn my swing more along those lines to hopefully develop a simpler and more consistent swing. I've tried it on a couple par 3s and at the ramge and I think I like it. Otherwise I intend on doing some lore reading around here and beating a bunch of range time to hopefully get lore consistent!