hendog

Cypresswood Golf Club - Cypress Course, Humble, TX 78 and I needed 3 birdies in last 4 holes to get there. Short course but fun. Going for green in 2 on every par 5 although I was crushing the driver. Putter was asleep or it could have been epic.

Uh. Ok? Is the picture wrong then?

Ok then maybe this is where I am getting lost. Draw spin for a righty would be backwards from the front left of the ball to the back right correct? This spin would seems to indicate a draw would go back and to the right, not the left.

I took 1 30 minute lesson years ago. I was thoroughly disappointed. Not sure what I expected but I am visual learner and really wanted him to just show me the correct way to swing and then I would go work on it. My general feeling is that golf instructors are like pharmaceutical companies. The money is not in the cure, the money is in the medicine. I am afraid of a lesson now because I don't want someone changing what I have worked a decade on. It may not be some classic form but it works for me. If I was confident that an instructor was going to work with me on MY swing and not try make wholesale changes I might take the plunge for a few pointers or problem areas. Bottom line is there are lots of ways to successfully swing the golf club and if an instructor is only teaching one way and trying to mold everyone to that swing then that's a problem. I am a "Hands" golfer. Weak grip. Very active hands. I like to work the ball using my wrists. It takes timing and strength but at least right now I have both. It is very different from the "Modern" golf swing so that is why I avoid lessons.

I played a R580XD for years. One day it sounded weird and I found a small crack. I went to Golfsmith and tried a few and ended up with a Burner. I played it for 6 months but then decided I needed something more tuned to me so I did a fitting and got an R9 Supertri. Adjustable face angle was the key for me. I needed an open face. Once I got this I was off to the races. Took a little time to dial it in but I went from a 15 to an 8 and picked up probably 30-40 yards on average although I rarely hit the old drivers consistent enough to get an average. Proper fitting is what will add yards IMO. Don't believe any marketing campaign.

For a long time I could not hit the ball very far. It was not for lack of trying though. Even my best drives would go only 270 and that was when I felt like I crushed it but these were rare. I'm 37 and an ex-baseball player so I am reasonably athletic and strong. I felt like I was underachieving in the distance category. As a result of that lack of distance I learned to play more accurately and precisely. Draws and fades. Punches and Flops. 3W and 5W off the tee. Creativity galore. About 6 months ago something clicked with my driver and I went from 270 max maybe 1 out of 15 times to 310 max and 285 consistently. Now if I hit driver and it does not go at least 270 then something went wrong or I was purposefully playing it short. Now I can go at a course 2 ways. Bomb and Gouge which is really fun or Carve and Slice (I just made that up but you get the point). If the Driver is feeling good and the course is open, its bombs away. If not, then the 5W gets the call and I focus on accuracy and short game. Bottom line: It is not ALL about distance but it can be. Focus on your strengths and avoid your weaknesses.

You pretty much stated my yardages exactly and I too have that gap. I have tested some hybrids but honestly I don't like them. I'm sure I could get use to them but I just don't like the feel plus I would have to drop a wedge and its seems wrong to replace a scoring club with a 200yd club. What I have done is worked on my 4 iron (I don't even have a 3) such that I can hit 2 shots. One is the normal smooth 85-90% that give me 185ish. The other is a bigger swing, going at it 95-100%, setting up a little further away and lengthening my swing. Obviously this is much easier to do off a tee so its perfect for those pesky 200yd par 3s. I would not recommend this approach unless you are a lower handicapper since you don't want to mess up your normal game. You are at 14 so you're close. Hybrid is probably the way to go especially since you are carrying a 3I and the Hybrid won't force you out of a scoring club. Maybe give this a shot at the range one day though and see how it works. Its good to have options.

Off the tee its my 5W. Good distance but more control. If I need to hit a fairway then 5W is the man for the job. For general layups or recovery I love my 6 iron. Long enough yardage wise to get me where I need to go but short enough physically to control like a short iron.

It is hugely important to go to the range if you are a high handicapper. 15+ maybe? You need repetition. You need to be able to instantly hit the same shot again whether you hit it good and want to reinforce or hit it bad and want to make the correction. How many times on the course have you hit a shot OB, dropped and hit again and striped it? You feel what you did and can instantly correct it. You also need to be able to experiment. Strengthen the grip, weaken the grip, swing more inside or whatever. See and feel what works and what the effects are. Once you get into the low teens, I think you can start substituting range sessions with practice 9 hole outings. This is because the one thing you CAN'T practice at the range is "playing golf". If you can stripe it down the range every time but can't navigate a hole or put 4-5 shots together for a par or bogey then the range becomes less valuable. Also my home course does not have any type of Short Game area and working on spinning wedge shots with range balls onto a rock hard range is useless. These shots can only be dialed in by hitting a real golf ball to a real green surface. As an 8 right now, I go about twice a week to the course, spend 10-20 minutes on the range getting loose and working on what I consider benchmark shots such as an 80ish yard wedge, full wedge, an 8 or 9, a 4,5 or 6, 3W or 5W and then Driver. Then I walk over and play 9 holes. Here I play my first ball all the way through so I can at least have a score to think about and evaluate my progress. If I am unhappy with a particular shot and want to hit it again or want to drop a ball at a certain distance I will do that but then pick it up and continue to play my first. Not exactly a legal round but I am not posting them and its just practice. Finally if I ever feel that something is off, something that I don't want to work out on the course (I don't want to chase down 20 golf balls) I will make a special trip to the range and work it out. In the end, just make sure your expectations are correct. If you don't practice but like to play then don't get mad when you don't play well. Just enjoy being out there. Grab a beer, flirt with the cart girl and laugh when you hit a tree and it almost hits you in the head. After all, if you are on the golf course, life is pretty good.

As an ex-baseball player, I always tell people to try and hit the ball at the second baseman. Not second base but the second base position. Most slicers are swinging down the left field line and leave the club face open and voila, banana ball. Going at the second baseman will help you swing from the inside more. At first you will hit push slices and think that its now worse but from there you should start to work on squaring the club up and feel the right timing for when to bring it back to the left. IN to OUT can be just as bad as OUT to IN but you have to start with IN and then work towards finishing IN as well and swinging to the second baseman will help you with that. Good Luck.

I don't ever step up and think, "hit it straight". Every shot I hit I have a plan on which way I want it to move. It may not always do what I tell it to but at least I have a plan and more often than not your body will work to execute that plan. If you are just thinking "oh man I hope I hit it at the target" then you are doomed from the get go. I also have worked hard to NOT be a 1 shape guy. My natural shape is a draw but that it not always the best option and sometimes it may not be available due to trees etc. I've worked to be able to turn it both ways and that gives me options and helps me feel more in control. Plus it looks and feels awesome when you hit a big draw with your driver and then fade a 9 iron into the green and then the next hole you cut your 3W and then draw a 6 iron out around some branches onto the green . Makes you feel like a real golfer :)

Get to and maintain a 6 handicap (started year around 12 and now am 8). Break personal best of 77. Maintain gains over last year and not regress. Enjoy myself more Hope: Shoot even par 1 time this year.

This may have been talked about but a search with the word Spin results in hundreds of threads. The question is: When I hit a draw to a green it hits and spins left. Fades do the opposite. This seems logical but when I consider the physical spin of the ball that created the flight it is no longer logical. Does any know what happens to the ball when it lands that causes it to seemingly rotate 90 degrees and then grab and spin?

38 yesterday. Kingwood CC - Lake Front 9 3 bogies, 1 birdie.