zipazoid

Wasn't that where Ian Woosnam got gigged for having 15 clubs in his bag?

I love figuring out things on the range. I'll hit a shot & think, okay that went left. Why? Sure, you can look at it as "work," and in a way it is, but to me it's a very relaxed definition of work - labor of love maybe more appropriate.

I've kinda turned into a range rat. Not that I'm some kind of Hoganesque hit-500-balls-a-day guy, but I mean that in my younger days I rarely practiced; I just wanted to play. But it seems like in the past couple of years I prefer hitting a couple of buckets at the range over playing. Odd. I haven't played a round since April, but I've hit the range a good 20-25 times since then. Make me wonder at times, what exactly am I practicing for? And I guess the answer is, cuz I enjoy it.

All I can say is...sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug. It's a humbling game.

I'm picturing Tom Lehman as you wrote this. His feet are left of the target, ball starts right, draws to the middle.

About a year back, at age 58, I re-did my whole set. As a concession to age I got rid of all my stiff-shafted clubs & 9.5 degree driver. Went to R-flex on everything & got a 10.5 degree Driver. High draws...what a concept.

I'll have to experiment with opening the face - I imagine that's where the "push" in the "push draw" will come from. But as it is, with the inside path, the ball is starting out to the left of the target & drawing back (I'm a lefty).

Had an "accidental discovery" at the range a couple of months back re steepness. First I had the thought that I was too steep - my divots were too deep, and, being two months shy of 60, it hurt lol. So I thought, 'How do I shallow out my swing?' The conclusion I came up with was to come into the ball more from the inside - I just assumed that if the club is coming in from the inside then it's difficult to be steep. So I made a conscious effort to take it back flatter & keep it there - don't 'over the top' it at all - flat to inside was my thought. Well, it certainly worked, and what do you know - I started hitting a high draw! A HIGH draw. Not one of those low snipers. So over the past few months I've really been trying to ingrain that move. I find it easier to do with the shorter clubs as opposed to the longer ones, but the point is, by trying to fix one thing I fixed something else as well. Geeked.

Actually yeah, and it was very recent - Wife & I visited Mexico in April, researching places to retire since I'm two years away from that. We checked out Lake Chapala, which is a wonderful place - Mexico's largest freshwater lake, 5,000 feet up, a half hour south of Guadalajara. They only have two courses Lakeside, both of them 9 hole layouts. One of them is private, so I ended up playing the other, Chula Vista, 4 times. It's short, hilly & tight. No carts so you have to walk, and you must take a caddy. At first I thought, "Oh great. A short 9 holer" but by the time I played it the fourth time, that's a tough track! You got landing areas the size of a picnic table or you'll get a bad kick or worse. Greens in great shape with severe slopes to them. And without a caddy, you'd be lost trying to read them. Thoroughly enjoyed playing it along with getting to know my caddies. 😉

Four putters lol. The previous posts have pretty much nailed it - a putter & some kind of wedge, obviously. The other two clubs are whatever you're comfortable with hitting long & straight. For me that would be a 3h & probably a 6 iron.

Was gonna say, but already mentioned - FIVE wedges? What's the difference, really, between the 54 & 58? Why not split the difference & get a 56 to replace both of them?

lol I remember that well. What always got me about him was, how could anyone enjoy playing like that? If it were me I would have either taken lessons or threw my clubs away.

It's not beside my point. I just deviated off on a tangent by invoking myself. Any 2.2 is not going to play well in a professional event. Whether it's me, you or Steph Curry. And yes...I will concede that Curry's comfort with the big stage will help him...certainly can't hurt. But he simply doesn't have the game. It's a simple point that I needlessly complicated.

Okay, then I guess I should have kept myself & my experiences out of it since I'm not Steph Curry. My bad. So I'll just state it like this - a 2.2 HCI playing in a web.com event ain't breaking 85. Whether they have championship rings from another sport or not.

Never said that. All I did was try to relate it to my experiences playing amateur tournament golf. Of COURSE I am not implying that my experience compares to winning the NBA Championship. I was simply, and only, saying that posting a handicap at your club & playing to that in a tournament are very different. My personal experiences have proved this, irrespective of the level of the stage I was "dinking it around" on. He won't break 85.

So are you saying they're the same? I would imagine your experience as a professional golfer would say differently. I know my amateur experiences do. Am I Steph Curry? No. My index was a couple of strokes higher than his 2.2 when I played competitively. But I disagree that, since he can nail a jump shot under pressure means he can handle hitting a 200-yard shot over water under pressure. The only similarity is pressure. So if you think that similarity will carry the day for him, fine. But I don't think that argument holds water.

A lot. Like, for example, relying on your teammates. Is Kevin Durant his caddy & gonna hit some shots for him?

<sigh>....the stories I could tell... This is why I always try to get the furthest to the right stall.

There's golf...and then there's tournament golf. A 2 turns into a 10 in a tournament.

Yeah I'm not trying to be a hater here, but as the pros say, scratch ain't sh*t. And Curry ain't even close to scratch. He's gonna learn just how good these guys are, how tough the courses are, and how far he has to go. But it's all good. It's a web.com event. They can use all the pub they can get. I got no problem with the sponsor's exemption for him. Sponsor's exemption usually don't win, or even contend...they're there to build the gate. He will. So mission accomplished.

Wow. After seeing those scores, I will revise my prediction. I said earlier he won't break 80 - He won't break 85.

Sure. I'm trying to describe the feeling I try to achieve from the top - start with lower body (I think 'bump the hip') then just let the shoulders turn. I don't think arms at all. Seems when I do, that's when I get into steering the hit. I'm just wanting the stored energy released in a natural way.

And for me, I can't consciously think 'arms' for power when I swing. The downswing is just too fast to be able to do anything about it. But I think 'turn (backswing) and turn (forward swing)' of the core & let the arms/wrists essentially do their thing. By thinking the big muscles (hips shoulders, legs), the small muscles (arms, wrists) will respond naturally, like a whip - my core is the handle of the whip & the hands/arms are the end of it. That seems to work best for me. If I think arms I start steering the shot instead of a free release.

Thanks for this, and that was my logic for deciding on a laser (which I am still waiting to arrive...sure hope it comes tomorrow so I got it for the weekend) - that I decide what I want distance to, not a predetermined map telling me. I totally understand that the gps gives pretty much what a golfer needs to know, but I still like the idea of me choosing what I want distance to. Like you said - I can see me shooting a tree on the far side of the fairway on a dogleg & deducting 10 years or the far side of a creek to get the carry distance & so on. A laser just seems to give you more control.