Triple-R

Sank a 25 footer from the fringe. Had a slight left to right break downhill... and it had just stopped raining. It was one of those that you knew was going to drop as soon as you made contact.

Well, I played at Southern Oaks out in Houma, Louisiana on friday and I shot like crap. I shot a 114. I wasn't that upset though because after all I haven't played golf in over a year and it was better than being at work.

Driving range of course (With accurate yardage markers and possibly decent golf balls) Chipping Range- for practicing those finesse shots. Putting greens- Learning to use "Tiger Vision" in real life. Sand Traps- Hey why not be able to enjoy a day at the beach. Motion Capture setup... (Dont know if anyone has seen this yet but it was on the news here in south louisiana yesterday) but there is some golf instructor that bought a motion capture studio and is using it as a 3-D training tool. You put on a suit, get up and swing away at a screen (With real clubs and balls) then computer analysis tells you what you are doing wrong and the instructor can help you fine tune your swing. Thats all I can think of right now... I will be sure and post more if I think of any more.

To the original poster: Dude, I was in the same boat as you about a year ago. I was jumpy, tense and I worried about killing the ball just to compete with the people I was playing with. I took about a year away from the course (To compete more heavily in national level tournament paintball) and when I got tired of wasting all of my time and money on paintball I decided to hang it up and take up golf again. Well, I went to the driving range about a month ago and to some surprise I lost most of my swing flaws... I guess I have calmed down in the past year. Long story short, Just calm down and swing. Dont think about hitting the ball. Swing just as you would with a practice swing and keep your movements fluid and dont stretch too much trying to have a perfect "Tiger-like" swing. You will probably find that you were just trying too hard and thinking about too many things while addressing the ball... hope this helps you, I hate when people give up on things just because they dont go pro within the first couple of weeks. My best friend went and spent 700 bucks on a brand new competition bow and we went up to the local indoor shooting range yesterday and after shooting ten or twelve shots he puts the bow down and says "Oh well, I guess that was 700 bucks wasted, I cant even hit the bullseye" He honestly wanted to quit shooting and decided that we should leave. Just keep at it, sooner or later you will get the hang of it.

So, I have been golfing for about 4 years now. Took about a year break from playing though and I just started getting back into it. I recently corrected my slice and I am really getting excited to go and play a round. Hopefully I can pick up some tips here...