Travis Robinson

Short term goals(this year): -Shoot a par round of golf (I shot 1 over a week ago!) -Get down to a 3 handicap (currently at a 6.2) -To not get mad and always focus on the shot at hand Mid term goals(the next 2-3 years): -Get to a scratch or better handicap -Get rid of debt and save money for tournaments, golf, instruction, etc. -Move to Florida Long term goals(2016 and on): -Play competitively -Pick up sponsors -Compete in mini tour events, Web.com events, Monday qualifiers -Become a regular in a pro tour series.

If I'm playing a round of golf, I clean it off so the grooves are clear. If I play a tournament round, I make sure the whole clubface looks good, I don't know how much it helps but mentally, it makes me feel like I'm ready to hit a ball without any distraction or obstruction. When I'm practicing on the driving range, I clean the club but I leave the debris in the grooves BECAUSE I practice a lot and I don't want to wear out my grooves from hitting range balls when I don't care about spin. I also don't have money to buy brand new sets every year so I need these babies to last!

A common mistake is that many amateurs are at a nice position at address, but in between the backswing and downswing, they move forward towards the ball and in turn, the ball hits the hosel. A good drill to try if you think you might be moving towards the ball is thinking about following through with your weight going to your left heel. Or another one, take your setup, put a chair behind you so the back of the chair is maybe an inch or two away from your butt. On the back swing, make sure your right butt cheek makes contact with the chair, and during the downswing, make sure your left butt cheek makes contact ---if you're right handed golfer obviously.

Talent is overrated. Let's take a look at one of the most "natural" and "talented" golfers in the history of golf or maybe the history of sports all together, Tiger Woods. I'm borrowing this from the book "Talent is Overrated" by Geoff Colvin by the way: "Wood's father, Earl, was a teacher, specifically a teacher of young men, and he had a lifelong passion for sports." "Earl had plenty of time to teach his son and was intensely focused on doing so." "Tiger is born into the home of an expert golfer and confessed "golf addict" who loves to teach and is eager to begin teaching his new son as soon as possible. Earl's wife does not work outside the home, and they have no other children; they have decided that "Tiger would be the first priority in our relationship." "Earl gives Tiger his first metal club, a putter, at the age of seven months." "He sets up Tiger's high chair in the garage, where Earl is hitting balls into a net, and Tiger watches for hours on end." "Before Tiger is two, they are at the golf course playing and practicing regularly." "Amid all that has been written about Tiger, a couple of facts are especially worth noting. First is the age at which he initially achieved outstanding performance at a level of play involving regular international competition. Let's call it age nineteen when he was a member of the U.S. team in Walker Cup play. At that point he had been practicing golf with tremendous intensity, first under his father and after age four under professional teachers, for seventeen years." Sorry for the long read but some people forget even though this "kid" at 19 years old was amazing, it's not because he was necessarily born with talent, but he was working extremely hard for a very long time.

Great job!!!! 5-10 times last year is quite a bit so I don't know if I'd judge a month and a half as being fair ;) but nonetheless that's great! You pinpointed it that the short game was your problem. It's the fastest way you're going to knock off strokes so make sure you give that a lot of time to practice. I was the same way sort of, I picked up the game for the first time and played maybe about 10 times shooting 100-120. I fell in love and really worked on the game the following year when the snow melted. I didn't shoot a low 90 score until mid summer I'd say. I think I broke 90 the end of the year and then broke 80 the following year though. Practice a lot, and especially work on that short game, and keep up the great work!

Very true about the fake sellers and clubs. The nice thing is that you can usually tell certain vendors on eBay sell A TON of clubs. Just make sure you check their seller rating and feedback. Many sellers you'll see has a 100 percent rating at 20,000 or so. Very reputable but yes make sure you buy from one of those sellers.

Yes eBay is a great place for new clubs for sure!

Thank you very much for the reply. Yes I'm very flexible on moving anywhere and also it would be very long term. And yes also, weather is the most important thing I'd say, temperatures and precipitation are key. Thanks again!

Hello everyone, I'm eventually looking to move somewhere warmer to be able to progress all year round on my golf game. Can some of you shed some light on the Jacksonville area or Florida in general as where would be the best places/areas to be living to immerse myself in golf with awesome courses and resources and all that? Thanks everyone!

Thanks everyone, and thanks for those last couple of posts. All is well, I'm improving and working on my goals. I just paid off my student loans and I'm going to become debt free before 2013 ends. That's about 43k in a year which is crazy, one of my big goals that will definitely help along the road. I've been getting fit, I've lost 20 pounds and am really trying to be conscientious of staying fit and injury free. I've been working with golftec still to create a sound and repeating swing. I'm signing up for a handful of tournaments this summer. I've gotten fitted for some nice MP64s which are so freakin nice. New taylormade r1 driver which I love. This year besides continually restructuring my swing, I'm going to focus intensely on my 100 yards and in game. Still on track with all goals, be scratch and have money saved up and move to Florida by 2015. All is well everyone! Follow me on twitter as I check that more than I check this, but I'll be on here from time to time. Follow me here @travdaddy226 Take care and well wishes!

Wow thanks for the tips guys! Yeah I don't know about 400-600 a day. I'm realizing that I'm actually cutting down to 150 swings a day, not 200 BALLS. I'd say I hit about 75 balls and then I hit 75 imaginary balls as well. It's working out and a good balance. Thanks for the tip on the practice clubs, I didn't think about that one and have been doing that. I also like the 100 in the morning and 100 at night kind of thing. If I really want to put in some work then I've been planning on stuff like that. I appreciate all the input. Another question....how do you guys practice your short game during those winter months if you're in the northern states?

Thank you everyone for your responses I appreciate the feedback! Yes I'm planning to move there but will be saving money as I am with a few friends there. I also have some music networks there as I am a musician who could benefit there as well. Luckily, I'll have the freedom to play on weekdays almost whenever so I don't have to always get stuck in those long weekend rounds. I'm also not talking about exactly Los Angeles, All the areas around it as well. I might be transferring to the golftec in Pasadena since I take lessons at golftec up here in Wisconsin.

Hello everyone! I'm planning to move somewhere warm all year round in about 2 years and one of the possible options is Southern California. Can anyone explain to me the golfing scene there? Mini/developmental tours? Major courses and practice facilities? To specify I might be moving close to Los Angeles with a friend to save money, I know there probably could be better places in socal for golf but I don't have many options as far as saving money. Can anyone give me some insight on the area? I appreciate everything!

Also to follow up on Striking It Rich with Reid Sheftall, here is a little spotlight that golf central did on him: