CallawayGolf25

37 today at Fox Hills in south Michigan... shot a few 37's there this year. Managed to eagle the last hole on the Lakes Nine... It felt so good after throwing away a few strokes I shouldn't have!

This year I'm playing some great golf but there's a big hole in my game... I'll put a drive out there really well, and I'll be hitting a short wedge into the green and it's like I hit the shot fat 3 out of 4 times! It's super frustrating, knowing that I should be putting shots like this within 10 to 15 feet, even closer on some attempts and should be getting good looks at birdie chances, but instead I'll either settle for par or take a bad bogey on occasion... all when I'm within like 60 yards. Any tips on how to hit these shots? I just started playing them a little further back in my stance and it's helped a little, but it still happens quite a bit. More than it should. Any tips would be awesome... Thanks guys! Either way, I'm hitting the range soon to sort this out... lol

Bring your A-game! Seriously though, a great tip like others have already said, be relaxed... the last tournament I played in, it was years ago actually, but I was nervous... The way the first tee was set up didn't help me either. We tee'd off in front of everyone at the event, so there were like probably 60 people crowded around the tee box and it really got me going. My tempo was way too quick for most, if not the entire round after that and I played terrible. Just stick to your game, use your head when you need to, and slow yourself down if you're getting nervous. Above all, just have a good time!

Nice man! A friend of mine, who just started playing golf, had one just like that last summer, for his first... about 45-50 yards out. It was a great shot! Reminded me of this...

I had no idea you had to go back to the point where you played your shot... That sucks! ...especially when the ball should be in plain sight!

Congrats man! Great story... Still haven't gotten my first ace. Hoping it comes sooner rather than later, if at all... lol

I was probably 9 or 10 years old... during a scramble tho, so it wasn't really a legit eagle, but it was a par 4, about 80 yards out I would say, hard to remember... but it was a slight, uphill shot, green sloped from back to front too... took out and hit a light 6 iron for a lower trajectory. It landed on the front of the green, bounced a couple times, rolled... kept rolling, breaking closer and closer to the hole and finally dropped! Played the shot exactly how I wanted to! My family and I went crazy hahaha!

I went out yesterday, had a fairly decent round going considering it's the beginning of the season (ground's still really wet and greens are like putting on carpet)... but I was on a par 5, hit an alright drive, had a couple trees to deal with but was in position to reach the green in 2, hit my second shot, bailing out right a little bit because there was trouble on the left... It was a well struck shot, and then I walk up and can't find the ball! Maybe it was the wet ground, or the fact that the ground was pretty bad and littered with leaves and sticks, or some combination of the 3, but I should have been up by the green and was hoping for a Birdie chance... I eventually just took a drop. What do you personally do when this happens out on the course? Do you take a penalty stroke or take a free drop? Either way, I hate these scenarios! lol

I leave them, or give them to one of my friends that is a higher handicapper... I try to at least give them semi-decent balls though, that at least have some short-game value. I wouldn't wish a Top-Flite on anyone... ;)

Lately I've been really wanting to improve my distances with my irons... My drives are anywhere from 270-300 yards depending on how well I come through the ball. But once it comes to irons, my yardages are a bit short given the distance I am getting for my Driver and woods. Wedges too... I'm honestly lucky to hit a full sand-wedge 70 yards. Gap-wedge about 90 yards, give or take... Then say a par 3 comes around... I'll be hitting a 6 iron, when a friend of mine is hitting a 9 iron (about 160-165) and he's a bigger hitter than me yeah, but not by that much. He hits his sand wedge like 115... no idea how he does it! Now I've been experimenting with putting the ball back in my stance... I always have played it forward, no matter what club I am hitting, and I'm actually getting less distance playing the ball further back than forward, despite hearing that the ball should be flying further due to de-lofting the club and everything. I'm probably doing it wrong lol it feels really weird after playing the ball up for so long... Any ideas or tips? Thanks!

Excellent... thank you!

When it comes to your ball flight? I was playing in 45 to 50 degree weather today... it was my first time out this year. I guess I am just curious as to how the ball will fly when it is say, 75 to 80 degrees... Any ball-park estimates on how much further the ball will fly, if at all?

I would say if you're hitting a 9-iron around 110, your 6-iron should be up around 150, give or take... It depends on a variety of factors tho, your technique, swing, etc. It's hard to say... it's going to be a little different for everyone.

Memorable holes, well kept fairways and greens, and playability... Challenging courses are great, but there comes a point where a course is so tricked up that making par is next to impossible. That's where things can get frustrating.

That's what I was thinking to be honest... My current wedge is a 56 with 10 degrees of bounce and I like the feel of it a lot, it's just time for an upgrade. ;) I'll likely make a similar choice based on my current 52 degree. Thank you for all the help everyone!

I'm looking to purchase 2 new wedges... 52 and 56 degrees... but with the Vokey's design/specs and them being made for different types of wedge players, I am unsure of which model I should get. I play a wide variety of shots with my wedges, from flop shots, to low-trajectory chips or 45-50 yard shots. I tend to like "thumping" the ground with my wedges tho. Should I be looking at the mid-bounce versions of each wedge? Or should I be looking at either the low or high-bounce versions? I'm not sure how each wedge feels so I don't want to make the wrong choice. I'm trying to get fitted before buying, but I'm curious to see if anyone knows what would be more appropriate for me based off my style of play. Thanks!

Yeah that's what I'm thinking... I'm actually not sure what my actual handicap is tho, I was just basing it off of what I usually shot a couple of years ago, but this year I've been playing better so who knows? I know I'm better than what I'm shooting right now tho. I walk off of the course feeling like I was all over the place, as if I shot much worse than what I actually ended up doing. Idk... it's weird lol. walk18: That's a good idea too... I should play be playing full rounds more often, it's just I go out to play twilight and usually get to the course a little later on. I was playing 18 hole rounds more earlier this year and was playing pretty well then, front nine usually wasn't so hot but the back nine I'd shoot down closer to par in the upper 30's or so. Could be part of it.

I've been playing a lot of golf lately... This past week I got out to play 9 holes during the evening probably 5 times, 4 times for sure. But a little earlier in the summer I was shooting consistently in the 30's or down around par, I shot even once or twice... but lately I'm up shooting like 41, 42 nearly every round. I don't know what the deal is... I'm not putting as well for one, and I'm just finding trouble off of the tee on occasion, or hitting a shot that is totally uncharacteristic. Idk, it's weird... Like it'll turn into a double or triple bogey on it's respective hole and just kill my score. Driving accuracy has been a little off at times... Something just feels off... any thoughts? I've taken a couple of days off, hopefully that helps lol.

Can't believe no one said the Phil Mickelson commercials... There's another one I'm thinking of too, that I couldn't find, might be even funnier, lol.

It seems that the more I play, the more I fall into my old habits of slicing my drives/woods/irons... It was really odd, I hadn't played golf for a full year before my first time out earlier this year and at first, I had to get the feel for swinging the club and hitting shots again, but then after that I hit the ball dead-straight pretty much most of the time! Now that I've played quite a bit and am playing more often I've noticed my slice slowly making it's way back into my game... I kind of think my hands are lagging as I swing through and it causes the face to open up at impact. I've heard this recently that I'm looking forward to trying out, but what if I lean back as I make contact with the ball? I've heard it causes more of a hook than anything, if you don't hit it straight, but it basically gets rid of your slice (or so this tip I read says)... Any experience with this? Any extra tips/thoughts would be great as well! Thanks!

I do for the most part... For me it's all about how I address the ball and keeping a consistent tempo. If I try to crush it, I'll usually end up slicing it and going off balance (which contributes to that slice)... If I just slow things down a little, and focus on making a good swing, I'll put it out there pretty straight and occasionally draw it a little, and I'll put it out there a ways anyway so I just need to be better about staying in that more conservative frame of mind. Sometimes I just feel that need to try to pound it tho, lol. Can't help it! ;)

Man it looks brutal! One of the narrowest fairways I think I've ever seen and the elevated (and heavily guarded) narrow green... It will be interesting to see how the hole plays out into the weekend. To be fair tho, the course as a whole is looking really tough. Pullin' for Phil this week...

I personally feel that long par 3's are the most difficult holes in golf, especially when hazards are involved... You have to play them perfectly, where as (par 5's especially) you can sometimes throw away a shot and still get up and down for par. I support short par 3's... needs to be more of them, lol. But, if I'm being completely honest... I enjoy the challenge of a long par 3 on occasion.

I ended up moving back home to MI after a few months in CA, so I've just been playing the course in my hometown. It's in pretty good shape, decent layout, and twilight golf for $10? You really can't beat it... They have two 18 hole courses, but I always end up playing the links style north course. I've played it a small handful of times since I've been home, and I feel like the more I play the more comfortable I'm getting on the course and swinging the clubs, which is great. Today I shot a 1 over, 37 for 9 holes after a lost ball and a couple of mediocre chips that cost me a couple strokes throughout the round. I was pleased overall tho. :) Hit a great shot into #1, stuck it about a foot and a half from the hole and rammed it in for birdie, lol. Felt great!

I hope so... my two favorites. ;) lol