lostmyballs

Don't the first two bullet points apply to every driver shot? In regards to #3, are you saying that to hit a draw you want an open clubface?

I'm no expert, but maybe you should buy a better ball (at least, that what I blame my lack of spin on).

How far does your 60* fly on full shots? Mine goes about 50 yards (if that). Is that normal?

I also bought a cheapo 60*, a Maxfli Revolution. I wonder how stark the difference would be if I were to pick up a premium wedge.

I did a zero carb diet (Atkins) for about a month and a half. I lost 12 pounds of beer belly. The diet is successful as far as weight loss goes, but I felt myself lacking nutrients from fruit, for example (high in sugar). It is also a difficult diet, practically speaking. Restaurants are forever off limits and eating on the go is very difficult unless you like hamburgers minus the bun. In all, I'd recommend it for a short period of time for someone trying to lose weight, but I would be surprised if they could maintain that lifestyle for very long (if you are one of those who can, more power to you).

I bought this book recently ($35 at book store, 1cent online) and gave it a whirl. It has some useful tips regarding ways to get out of trouble quickly in order to reduce the severity of your "disaster" holes. I haven't yet implemented the technical advice yet (how to change your set-up, swing, and feel when playing from troublesome lies), but I sure it will come in handy (I spend a lot of time in the rough). Has anyone else read this book? What was your impression of it, and when did you find yourself putting it to use on the course?

They always say "don't hit the ball, swing the club and let the ball get in the way". To me, wasn't so helpful at first. But It helped me to think of the club not like baseball bat (as I had at first, without knowing it), but like a rock at the end of a string. When you swing, really feel the weight of the clubhead, and try to maintain the sensation of centrifugal force working on it . Try swinging a few times in a row without stopping, to feel the flow of a smooth swing. If you can keep this centrifugal feeling in your real swing you will have largely tamed your "murder the ball" habit.

I seem to have trouble getting under the ball for a flop with my 60*, because when I open it the leading end is well off the ground, which causes me to thin the ball. Is bounce the culprit here? If so, would replacing the club with a 60* with little bounce fix the problem? Or would it open the door to new problems?

1. Keegan Bradley, -4 2. Phil Mickelson, -3 2. Tiger Woods, -3

What is the point of it? Is it really only for sand shots? Does it only exist on wedges? How do you know whether to buy clubs with a lot or with a little bounce? Thanks!

Original poster, have you ever read Golf is Not a Game of Perfect, by Bob Rotella? Its one of the most widely read sports psychology books out there. Its a light read, should take about a day or two to finish. One example of the advice he offers starts off by pointing out how nobody, nobody has a perfect round. You could shoot a 59 but still kick yourself for lipping out the eagle putt on the 13th. Because perfection is not attainable, you will invariably come to experience those holes or those swings or those bad breaks that could either make you curse, ruminate and bring down your level of subsequent play, or you could shrug it off and move on, endeavoring to limit the effect those bad breaks have on your score card. He gives an example of some PGA golfer, I can't remember who, who after having hit a shot into the trees, would smile and say to his caddie, "this is golf". Its a good attitude to have. This is golf! It aint a game of perfect! I find myself quite often putting this advice into practice by saying aloud after every less than perfect shot,"I'll take it". Try it on for size.

With so much emphasis on the short game these days, I am surprised nobody has chosen wedges.

When you say "x number of points", what scoring system are you referring to? What is a good number of points relative to a bad one? Thanks for clarifying

If you could only have one class of clubs from a premium maker, and all your other clubs made by a wal-mart knockoff brand, which would you opt for? Why?

I shot a 50 on the front nine last weekend, that was the first time for me. The back nine wasn't so friendly, likely due to a combination of a jack & coke and the unreasonable belief that trees can't deflect the path of my ball as long as I hit it hard enough.

Shorty's icon really does fit his communication style, doesn't it? To the original poster, my recommendation is to use your instances of failure as opportunities for improvement (I can speak from experience - I have experienced lots of opportunities for improvement, if you know what I mean). Perhaps you jot down to yourself those weaknesses in your game that you need to focus more on. For instances, find an angle on a practice green similar to the 12' put you misjudged. Conquer that put when its practice time. But leave it alone until then. I find that it helps me shrug off a bad shot when I can say, "well, that's what I need to improve on for next time". You aren't getting cheated, remember that. You owe it to yourself to learn from your mistakes, but you certainly don't fix those mistakes by ruminating on them when you should be focusing on your next shot!

If they are slow and there is nobody in front of them, then just drive past them and skip the hole. EDIT: Did not read your #4 above. Sounds like you need to find a new golf course.

I've never considered golf a race, and its a shame its becoming one due to everyone's lack of patience nowadays.

Myself and two friends played 18 yesterday, and decided to play skins under the presumption that it was scored similar to matchplay, but the skin from holes without a winner get carried over to the next hole. We approach the end of our round, person A leading person B by one hole/skin. On the 15th, and then again on the 16th, person B (down 1) ties person C (out of contention) on both holes (person A was defeated on both holes). We then carried these skins over to the 17th, which person A won, clinching the match. My question is , is it within the rules of skins for person A to claim all three skins, even if he was not one of the players who tied on the previous two holes? How would you have scored these results? Thanks for your help

Now that watchespn.com (formerly espn3.com, formerly espn360.com) no longer shows golf, is there anywhere left to watch golf (even replays) online? I'm thinking the Nationwide tour or amateur events may have something available, no? The closest thing I know about is that you can watch past seasons of Big Break on golfchannel.com for free. Do you know of any online golf worth watching, or am I just daydreaming?

I saw a great tip on the Golf Channel. You can watch the episode for free here: http://www.golfchannel.com/media/12-nights-academy-michael-breed/ He uses a simple empty box to illustrate the side-spin imparted by an out-to-in swing path, and then shows how to train an in-to-out path. I tried it in my living room with an empty shoe box. It is certainly a new sensation, which is probably a good thing! Check it out, maybe it'll help.

Excellent tips, WUTiger. I have time to practice and am relatively new to the game so "reworking" my swing isn't much of a problem, so Pelz jumps out at me. Do you find that the relatively outdated nature of Pelz's book detracts from the help it gives? For example, does he advise anything that is more recently discredited? Or is it still relevant and useful? Also, you mention Phil's emphasis on bounce in the short game. This is something I have no clue about! Does Pelz ignore this topic? Thanks for your help.

I can't get flops to work, my short chips are atrocious (I'm always catching them thin), and my sand play is nonexistent. Which book would help me best? If anyone is particularly interested in any of these books, visit their threads in the reading room linked below. http://thesandtrap.com/t/14236/the-short-game-bible-by-dave-pelz http://thesandtrap.com/t/23514/secrets-of-the-short-game-by-phil-mickelson http://thesandtrap.com/t/14234/the-art-of-the-short-game-by-stan-utley

Quoted for truth

Great info mvmac! I will try that out next time at the range. I am so concerned with correcting my flight path that I haven't thought much about my weight transfer (or lack thereof).