PaperHogan

It's not always the case with lower handicaps representing a more thorough knowledge. I started taking lessons for the first time in my life recently, and I found out that everything I thought I knew about the golf swing, impact, position, etc. was, how do I put this delicately...completely wrong. I have a friend who's dad has been teaching for years, he can't break 80 to save his life, but I guarantee you he knows a lot more than the guys whipping my butt every weekend. And as far as the attitude towards higher handicap golfers, I just don't get it. You can hit a duck hook into a lake after shanking your first one OB in front of a group of Tour players, and not a single one of those guys could honestly say he hadn't done the exact same thing at some point in his life. We've all been there, yes folks, even Tiger.

When I first started playing in Nebraska, me and 3 of my friends were out on some goat track playing, myself and a friend were in a cart up by the green, the other 2 guys back in the rough 150+ yards and finally found the ball. So my friend yokes it from out of the rough and we hear "FORE!". I duck down but my other friend doesn't move, BANG! right into the post holding up the cart roof right behind his head. This guy can't hit a fairway all day but hit a 1/2" wide cart post.

Not really a fair comparison based on some personal goals I have, but I practice or play 6 times per week as a rule. I always take one day off to keep my sanity. Ideally I spend 45 minutes a day putting as well, however if work committments get in the way the putting CAN be considered the days practice, but only as a last resort. I recently had 2 trips to Seattle for 3 days each so in lieue of being able to practice I spent the nights in the hotel reading Bob Rotella books.

Match play at its finest. Beautiful, congratulations!

Played in the Chandler City Championship tournament back in August, second day I was playing like garbage, but getting it in from everywhere. We get to # 5, about a 440 yard par 4, over a hill then down to the hole, playing a bit into the wind. I smother hook the tee shot into the "native grass" which is simply weeds that they don't mow, literally about 180 yards off the tee. I'm 5 seconds away from declaring it lost and one of the other guys finds it. Eeesh, I wish he wouldn't have, it's basically in between the thick exposed roots of 3 different stands of weeds. I slash out a 9 iron that I thought I could get on it, it went nearly lateral (we don't say the S word) into the same type of grass on the right side. Advanced it a bit, but not quite what we were looking for. Now I'm 5 seconds away from declaring this one lost as well because the grass is even worse here. No joke, the same guy finds my ball again, this time, it's underneath a bunch of the stems of the weeds, but much less dense than the last one. I threw everything into an 8 iron that I somehow dug out of there to about 4 feet and made the putt. The guy that found my ball both times threw his hands up in the air taking all the credit for my par. Who can blame him, I couldn't have done it without him!

The audio files are a great idea, it's very beneficial to hear viewpoints on things, and I don't mean "hear" by reading them. Too much gets lost in the translation. I've been thinking of putting together short clips of 3 hole stretches for myself to review and look back on, to capture on video what I was thinking about before the shot, and then to witness the result. Might be good to look back on to see how I have matured or changed over a period of time, that might be a neat idea for your site as well. At any rate, the interactive aspect of it is the differentiator here. I think everyone is so bored with static content and articles. Heck, adopt a high handicapper who's willing, and let it be a community project to get him or her to a specific target handicap, soliciting feedback and advice on changes, approach, practice, etc. Hey, I just re-read that, I REALLY like that idea. Anyone else?

It's in the dirt, go dig it out and find your lower handicap. It's realistic, don't ever think it isn't. Go take what is yours. The moment you feel that a certain amount of strokes is good enough, that's where you'll be. An old Brunswick (makers of the Rifle shafts) ad in Golfweek read "Introducing a revolutionary new product guaranteed to lower your handicap..." and then on the next page was a picture of a bucket of range balls. That ad changed my life. Practice, play, putt, chip, etc. it's all good advice. But go buy 2 books by Bob Rotella "Golf is not a game of perfect" and "Golf is a game of confidence". Save up, sell something on eBay, rob a bank (Ok, don't do that), my point is, do whatever you need to do to own those books. Read them as quickly as possible and go play. What I mean is, ingest as much of the info in those books as quickly as possible and see how much better you play the next time out. I won't spoil it for you, just see what happens. Change the fundamental thinking of your golf game. You want a single digit handicap? Great! Go get it. It's waiting for you. Believe in yourself.

I am as well, but if I pull another muscle in my back like I did this morning, I'm going to be a 32 real fast. Ouch this hurts!

I'm no physics major, although I can tell you that the old Titleist Tour Balata's listed at 90 compression were more like 75-80, which is where the Precepts are thought to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that you play a ladies ball, just throwing it out there. Buy a sleeve and play a couple of holes with them and see what you think. I've played them a few times but never stuck with it. I do know a few guys however who still do and swear by them. At any rate, it's a different reply than Titleist, which is what almost everyone will give you. Try them out!

Don't ever be concerned about the flex rating on a shaft. I've seen way too many mislabeled shafts in my life. If you worked with Hotstix, and they said to use R flex cut to a certain length to get the correct frequency, then believe it. If it still bothers you, remove the shaft bands. In my experience, a good fitting program that merits out your requirements is much better than using the stock shafts. Good job on doing the clubfitting, you have taken a step that most people incorrectly feel is over rated, you made a good choice.

If you've never tried it, the Callaway HX Tour (the one in the black box) is a phenomenal golf ball as well. I will typically buy Pro V1's due to habit however. I am not personally a fan of the Pro V1x only because of the reduced spin rate, I'd rather give up a bit off the tee for a bit more spin on shorter shots. For an off the wall, Precept MC Lady, not the Laddie (which is just the lady's ball repackaged). A bunch of guys started playing it 5 or so years ago, and it is a great ball. No joke.

Hello, my name is Sean, AKA PaperHogan. I've started down my 2nd attempt to becoming a professional golfer at my wife's suggestion and my own inability to recognize impossible challenges. If you have a chance, please check out my blog from time to time at http://paperhogan.blogspot.com . We all need support, and I'd really appreciate yours. Let's do this! Thanks for looking in!

I used to manage a golf shop, we first started this in the winter. Midwest winters + golf shops = 1 or 2 customers per day. Originally we used the foam balls, but then the owner went to the PGA Merchandise Show and we broke out the balata's (dating myself here eh?). Let's just say that after a hole in the bathroom door and a snapped Wilson Staff RM 7 iron shaft due to an unfortunate clothing rack incident, we curtailed the indoor course antics. I will however say that nothing is quite as exhilerating as lofting a balata from a thin carpeted lie over a cash register and into a garbage can after a fortunate bounce off of a staff bag.

1. Caddyshack 2. Dead Solid Perfect 3. Follow the Sun Everything else just happens to have the word "golf" somewhere in the movie.

I've tried, but it just doesn't do it for me.