lostmyballs

Greens don't give multiple choice questions, so I think this quiz is kind of silly. Give me some pictures of greens and I'll tell you how they'll break.

I've heard it said that 90% of all golfers struggle with a slice at some point in their golfing careers. My question is, when that time came for you, how did you deal with it? What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself when that slice first surfaced?

Definitely the OB. A bad putt is one extra stroke, an OB tee shot is 2, plus the demoralization that comes with starting the hole on such a bad note.

Of course! I play as a single quite often. I can appreciate the calmness of a round of golf without anyone around. A few hours of exercise, my thoughts, and many lost balls. In general, don't let the fact that something may not be "normal" ever discourage you from doing it. Still searching, Lostmyballs

I have to disagree with this. The range is for making mechanics changes, the course is for scoring well. If I try to fix my slice on the course... let's just say I'll be spending a lot of time in the woods. Which is why I leave me driver in my car, and work on it at the range. It has gotten far less sporadic, but I can still hit my 3W 90% as far and straight twice as often, so why bother bringing the driver just yet?

Can people just chill the hell out on the golf course? It is the most frustrating thing when you have been looking forward to a nice relaxing day playing golf in the sun, and then you get there and it seems like everyone is playing speed golf trying to get home as soon as possible. Just take it easy already! Its golf, not a triathalon. I've been yelled at by a course attendant (not a marshall - that word carries way too much respect for a time keeper in a golf cart) because I spent 5 minutes looking for my ball. I thought that was in the rules? Just TAKE IT EASY out there, jeez.

I'm no golf pro, but I think you should start by identifying your biggest weaknesses. What shot is hurting your game the most? Once you can determine your number one priority, spend some time (read: hours, not minutes) on the range working on that one problematic shot. Do your research on that one shot: What are the most common causes for your problem? Identify at least one technique-focused (as opposed to outcome/score-focused) drill that is intended to cure this problem area. Master those drills, paying attention to performing the techniques required rather than on seeing immediate performance results (perfect shots). If you have identified the correct causes to the problem, identified effective drills to fixing the problem, and successfully mastered the drills, then logic says your problem will be solved. Easier said than done, of course, but its just a matter of how bad you want it. Once that top-priority weakness is fixed, pick weakness #2, then embark on that adventure.

Put a sand trap next to it!

That retro driver would look great in my hands.

That happened to my Burner driver last year. I still had the receipt, and brought it back to Golf Town. They replaced it for a brand new one (same model & year) with no hassle at all.

A big pet peeve of mine is when I'm looking forward to playing 18 all week long, and when Saturday finally rolls around, my playing partners show up and tell me they are only up for 9.

Hi, I bought a set of Adams Idea A3s last year, and I notice the longer clubs don't sit quite even on the ground. Furthermore, I've always heard it said that having clubs fit to you is a great service done to your game. First off, can I take my clubs to a Dick's sporting goods? Or should I seek out another place? Also, will it be expensive? As a college student, money for a round is hard enough to come by. Finally, what kinds of gains should I see, assuming I go from a poorly fit set to a perfectly tuned one? Thanks for your help! Still searching, lost my balls

Keegan Bradley -14 Jason Day -12 Rory McIlroy -12

Two questions: 1) Why aren't you in the Tiger Woods video game? Not a video game guy? 2) What does Webb stand for? Still searching, lostmyballs

Lost tee balls ruin scores; You don't need to use the driver.

I am far from knowledable on this subject, but I can share something I have heard about shafts recently. If anything I say is misguided, please correct me! With a regular shaft, the clubhead "lags" behind a bit on a fast swing. Changing to a stiffer shaft reduces that lag. Some lag is desirable, but not too much. If you're using a stiff shaft and aren't swinging fast, the clubhead is probably not lagging enough, which may hurt performance. Then again, my driver is my least faithful club, so take whatever I've said with a grain of salt. Hopefully someone else can verify or alter what I've said.

Allow me to indirectly answer your question with a short tale of my most recent golf membership purchase. As a young graduate student, I don't have a lot of money. So little, in fact, that $300 is, more or less, my golf budget for the year. There happens to be a student membership for $300 at a nearby country club, a nice place by the looks of it, but no driving range, and no chipping area. Meanwhile, there is a different country club that offers a $300 driving range membership. This place has a chipping area and a putting green bigger that my apartment complex. The question I faced was: Do I spend my $300 on unlimited rounds of golf, or on unlimited driving range and practice? To decide, I had to ask myself what my biggest goal for the year was. Was it playing as many rounds of golf as possible? Or was it making real changes to my mechanics that would improve my skills forever? Since then, I've chosen the driving range. After school hours I head to the range, practice chipping and pitching for an hour, practice my big sticks on the range for an hour, and practice putting for an hour. Because I'm not focusing on scoring as high as possible (as I would be on the course), I am free to tinker with my processes and discover what techniques are moving me forward as a better golfer, and what techniques I have been using that have actually been holding me back.

My pet peeve is people who get so bothered by slow players. You're on a golf course, standing in the beautiful outdoors. Either play through, or appreciate the trees and the birds. Complaining about slow people who aren't going to speed up with you glaring at them just seems like a waste of mental energy, and a distraction from the blessing of the day. But that's just my two cents. Go ahead, keep cursing the slow players while your blood pressure rises.

The woman bought it for me for Christmas. I think its a good read; it sits atop my toilet. I think its more leisurely reading than serious sports psychology though (but so is Rotella's stuff too). Might I recommend "The Mental Game of Golf" by Patrick Cohn? There's a lot less narrative, and a lot more practical advice. PS: There is a specific form on this site for books etc. I think its called the Reading Room.

Never follow a bad shot with a dumb shot. -Jack Nicklaus Whats your Golden Rule?

If you have the opportunity, could you show me the ruling for your second answer, or direct me to where I can find it? I'd love to tell my friends about this rule, because my double bogey is far less impressive when my friends, lost in the woods, pick up and call it a quadruple.

Hi, I have two unrelated questions. 1) Is it legal to play a shot from an adjacent fairway without penalty? Does it make any difference whether the ball found its way there accidentally, or was aimed there for strategic purposes? 2) Is there a max stroke limit in stroke play? Our rule of thumb was that the max was 4-over par, no matter if it was a par 3, 4 or 5. Thanks for your help! Still searching, lostmyballs

I've got a pair of Footjoy gloves that are in good shape but just really dirty. They're leather I think, so I'm not sure how to clean them. Do you have any tips? Thanks! Still searching, lostmyballs

Ah, I see. And it is interesting to hear about how similar a flop and a pitch are (too much Tiger Woods video game experience where a flop and a pitch are distinct shots). Are flops are preferable to pitches in most situations? I get the feeling that pitches as far more frequently used, but it seems logical to infer that a flop with no roll on the green would be easier to predict the ball's final location than a pitch where the end location of the ball is very much a result of its play on the slope of the green after landing. Or am I wrong about this?

Simply for interest's sake, would anyone care to give a brief tale of their experience in an event like this? As a golfer who loses a dozen balls per round, it'd be nice to take a scenic ride through a good player's mind during a competitive round.