Russtopher

Is this a joke? I'm serious here. Is this a joke? Mike and Erik go out of their way to help as many people as they can, along with so many others on this board. The other thread was rightfully closed down, and this pops up instead? I don't think anyone wanted a debate - posters in that thread wanted to know some of the ideas and techniques behind Straight Talking Golf, and what made it such a great program. They didn't get it, and now there's this video? Guys, if this was your idea to get the name of your program spidered more often by Google, I shudder to think of what potential researchers of your DVDs are going to find out.

I plan to, once I'm more comfortable with the changes! With me, my butt was almost tucked in, which helped lead to the hunched stance. I don't feel any tension in my back with this stance; having had lower back spasms on and off due to other athletic hobbies (usually hockey) I'm very concerned with my back and the stance. I'm reviewing that thread again, though, which is always a good thing. Thanks for the tip; it's definitely not tense and rigid, and after swinging a few days in the new stance (inside with no ball), I'm finding it very easy to get into. Now I need to take it to the range and hit around with it some.

To use a phrase heard a lot around here, "feel ain't real". What I described are what the pro had me do to get me to stand up taller, that's why I mentioned that when I looked at myself in the mirror, I had what looked like a "normal" stance. Believe me, I immediately started thinking of that thread when I got that instruction. So after looking at myself in the mirror using the 5 things the pro told me to think about, I got into what I felt was my original stance - I looked like a baseball catcher with slumped shoulders and my chin practically on my chest. Small wonder I kept hitting a few inches behind the ball and lifting up. My back definitely doesn't look like the bad examples in that thread, which is why I noted the "feeling of a straight back". I'll give the thread another re-read (probably my 4th or 5th at this point!) and possibly post some pics of my before/after stance here if you feel it'll be helpful.

I'm in southeast MA, so it can vary widely - head towards Newport RI or Cape Cod, and the prices shoot up. The 9 hole that's 2 minutes from me offers alternate tees and $25 all you can play w/cart after 3pm. Another course about 20 mins away is 18 and offers the same twilight deal for $35. Most courses around here fit in between there, I'd say average cost for 18 is around $30, add another $10 if you want a cart. But most places around here are decent enough to walk. My friend's father was a country club guy until his brothers started playing in their 50's. He joined the local muni so he could play with them, $1000/yr for membership, all you can play any time with cart. Not a bad deal around here at all.

And that's exactly it. It does seem like it should be intuitive, but it's not... at least to a beginner, anyways. I tried to hard to teach myself, because I've been semi-successful in other endeavors using the 'net to learn things (guitar scales, music recording techniques, how to fix a 1972 American Standard faucet, and so on) but this just wasn't going to cut it. Could I have kept going on my own and eventually have gotten better? Sure! My last time on the course was pretty decent for me, but but in all honesty a lot of it was pure dumb luck. Nothing was the same about my stance or swing, things I've "learned" were by trial and error and lots and lots of conflicting online advice. I'd go to the range, spend $7 on a bucket, and it was 50/50 whether or not I'd leave feeling like I accomplished something. I think for me, now actually feeling what some positions feel like, what a proper downswing transition feels like, what the wrists should feel like just after impact, will help me get better faster than any article or video. A correct stance will hopefully get me to stop lifting on the downswing, stop my slice off the tee, and improve my distance. And of course, once I plateau after a few more lessons, I can try a million new swing tips all over again, and when those don't work, buy all new clubs!

After feeling like I've been spinning wheels and wasting money trying various swing thoughts and tricks and tips and everything else the Internet has to offer, I finally smartened up and had a 1 hour lesson with a local pro. I started playing last summer at the age of 36, and I am very far away from having a repeatable swing. To be honest, I'm disappointed that I waited so long to finally see someone. The pro watched me swing and identified 3 main areas for me to work on. 1. Grip - this one was actually quick and painless to address. My left hand needed to just slightly move the grip diagonally to get the butt end closer to the pad at the bottom of my pinkie, vs. having the whole grip in all 4 fingers. My right hand was moved slightly, and the grip placed in the knuckles of my fingers vs. the palm. Within 5-6 swings, I was immediately hitting better and more comfortably. Awesome. 2. Takeaway - I was hinging my wrists fairly quickly, causing the clubface to open up and my swing to go off plane. I had read plenty online about rolling the forearms or limiting the roll, but never knew what it felt like until someone slowly moved my arms and the club so I would understand the motion. By having me swing with just my left hand, I felt the differences and am working on a slow, wide takeaway with a natural wrist hinge. Again - once I started doing it correctly, the ballflight became much better and the swing felt easier. 3. Stance - this one is the killer. I was using far too much knee bend and hunching over at the shoulders. I had read the 10 page proper posture thread here multiple times, and thought I was doing OK. Nope. Wrong. Very, VERY wrong. We worked on chin up, shoulders back, butt slightly out, and the feeling of a straight back with the weight on the balls of my feet. I felt like I was standing far too erect and stiff, but when I looked at the stance in the mirror at home, I immediately thought "wow, I look like I might know what I'm doing!" It was uncomfortable, but not painful in any way; I just wasn't used to it. I've been lifting up on my downswing because my body knew I was too low and the club would smack into the ground well behind the ball. The bulk of my "homework" is to work on the stance. I thought I knew a bunch about what I was supposed to be doing thanks to reading threads here, watching videos, buying books and DVDs, etc. But when someone actually explained things while putting my arms and hands in different places really made things click. For instance, I've felt like I didn't have a proper weight shift and have tried sliding hips, posting on my left leg, all sorts of things - but once I started getting into the stance the pro had me in, I felt pressure in my right big toe and inner arch during the backswing, which helped me start my lower body on the downswing. The ball flight wasn't very pretty, but the pro said that would come with adjusting to the better setup, so I wasn't worried. We ended with the driver, which started out horribly as well, but ended with 3 decent drives that went around 200 in the air with maybe a 5 yard fade. If you'd seen me tee off before, you'd understand why I was so thrilled with those! Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to share because I'm sure there are others who are getting frustrated and trying different things without someone telling them what should work FOR THEM. I'll be headed back for another lesson in 2-3 weeks once I'm more comfortable with the new changes. I don't expect to start contending for championships, but I know I'm laying the groundwork for a repeatable swing that should make playing much more enjoyable.

Spent this week working on swallowing my pride. I guess it worked, because I finally scheduled my first lesson for next week. I'm done wasting time and money at the range, trying WOOD techniques and tips. Had a decent round this pas weekend (for me, anyways) but it's time to get some real help, not me trying the latest swing tip that's on the forums.

Shot a 53 over 9 holes. Given that it was my first time on a course this entire season, and 4th time overall since starting to play last summer, I was OK with it. Especially since my friend who plays almost weekly shot a 51. I've been a range rat this summer just trying to figure out "my" swing (and honestly I haven't wanted to embarrass myself playing with strangers), but it is just totally and completely different out on the course. I almost don't even want to go back to the range now, I just want to get out on the course and play. I was OK off the tee and in the fairway (my slice has calmed into a gentle fade which I just need to learn how to play properly) but anything from 50 yards in was dreadful. Skulled chips that shot over the green, almost every hole was a 3 putt... I definitely know what I need to work on. My wife bought me a gift card for the 9 hole course 2 minutes from our house, so I know I'll be by there much more often!

One of those short weighted swing trainers with the molded grip. Not a fan of the grip, but it was cheap ($9.99) and easier to keep and swing in my office than the gap wedge hidden behind my door. Less chance of hitting and breaking something this way. Not that I've done that. Definitely not. Nope. Not at all.

You and me, both. My biggest problem is that as a relative beginner, I don't have my swing yet. I try something, it works, I get happy, then the next time I'm out I hit nothing but worm burners and pulls and I'm back to the interwebs searching for the latest miracle advice. I need to just relax, remember something that worked, and take the time to figure out why it stopped working, and fix it. Or, suck it up and go get some lessons.

I'm really glad this thread started, as I've been working up the nerve to head to a course on my own for the first time. My wife bought me a gift card for a few rounds to the course down the street from us, I've been wanting to actually get out and play instead of hitting buckets at the range. That's pretty much all I've been doing since starting to play last summer, save for some outings with friends. I've been worried about not being able to keep up with folks I get partnered with, making some gigantic breach of etiquette, etc.

It's my major miss-hit with irons too, and when I hit a pull it almost always goes 10 yards further than a straight hit... it's just a good 10-15 yards left too. Ball feels wonderful coming off the face, it just ends up further left than I wanted.

Jeebus... I was hitting my 6i 150 yards and pretty straight today on the range, and felt like a king. Then I came in here and read this thread....

My hair's thinning way too quickly to do *anything* outdoors without a hat. When I took up golf last year, the rest of my family rejoiced with all the new gift ideas for me. So of course I have a shelf full of golf-related hats in my closet now.

Interesting and good timing. I hit the range before work this morning and hit a small bucket, really trying to just go for what I felt were incredibly short backswings, keeping my right elbow tucked in and working on pointing my elbows down during the takeaway. Being a relatively new golfer (mostly range work last summer with a few rounds on the course) I've been trying different swings to find the one that feels right and works for me. I've been OK on distance, albeit a bit shorter than a lot of you claim to be hitting a 6i 125-140, but spraying it all over the place. Lo and behold, with a shorter backswing and no flying elbow, I was hitting the ball nearly straight, often with a slight draw, but only getting to 120 max with my 6i. The ball had a nice solid "thwak" sound, and the majority of the shots felt good, but with much less distance. However, I'm not thinking that I need more backswing - I'm thinking that with the new shorter backswing and the change in elbow position, I'm more tense in my forearms and wrists and losing any lag far to early. Still - if I can continue to hit as straight as I did this morning, I'll settle for shorter... for now, anyways!

I think a lot of his older vids with 50k+ views tend to turn up a lot during searches, since they have so many views. I want to say around 5-6 months ago he moved to a multi-camera HD setup, so his vids look fantastic now in comparison with some of his vids from 2008 or so. Shawn Clement, who Amazing Whacker mentioned, also now shoots HD vids. He doesn't post with the regularity that Mark does, but I find Shawn's vids to be very informative and easy to watch. I bought his Beginner and 5-disc video series last year, well worth it IMO for a beginner like me.

I've been a subscriber for over a year. I like his videos a lot, especially his new gear reviews where he basically says "yeah it's new and shiny, and not really any better than the last 2 versions of it". His tips are well thought out and easy to follow, although I will say that with how long he's been on YT, a lot of things he's saying have been covered by him in the past. Now the vids just look a lot better!

My local range couldn't open until last week due to blizzard damage, and it's been in the 30's since it opened. I found a range with heated bays not too far from my office, but aside from 2 quick excursions while on the way back from meetings, I haven't really been able to get out at all. This past summer was my first "real" summer golfing, and I've been itching to get back out there. Up to now, I've been swinging daily, sometimes using the Tour Tempo tones but mostly just working on stance, grip, etc. We used to have an indoor range inside a dome a number of years ago, however after the dome collapsed it was never re-opened.

Oh, no worries! Glad I could be of help. I've always been worried about my knees too, and had done a lot of research on osteoarthritis over the past years. A lot of people who tear their meniscus bounce back fine. I just happened to have had a pre-existing condition that's stopped me from being able to run/skate anymore since that. Like NewToGolf, I also skipped the surgery in lieu of doing strengthening exercises at the gym because it's something I'm stuck with the rest of my life, no matter what.

Yes, I do. I have degenerative knee osteoarthritis, which I inherited from my father. He had to have a total knee done at the ripe old age of 42, a whopping 5 years older than I am right now. I didn't have many issues for quite a while, I always ran with a sleeve and wore a brace when playing hockey, but the doc wanted me to quit now before I started doing any real damage.

I did C25K twice and I loved it. My first time was dreadful until about halfway through, as I was a complete lump prior to that. I ran a while (probably around a year or so) until I injured my knee. I picked up C25K again to ease my way back into running and ran a few 5Ks locally. Running was wonderful, as it was a way to just turn my brain off after a long day of work and just GO. Then, I tore the inner meniscus in my right knee on a treadmill (and promptly flew off the back and hit a wall, that was enjoyable in front of everyone at the gym) and the doc told me with my history of knee issues, I had to stick with swimming and biking from then on. No more running, no more hockey. That's actually when I decided to take up golf. I always recommend C25K to anyone looking to try running, because it's a perfect way to ease in. The first time I did it, I was using a watch to time myself. Then I discovered the podcasts and finally the app, which was a lifesaver. It's a great program.

I own 4 watches, including a pocket watch that was a wedding gift. I'm completely secure in my masculinity, thank you very much. Andrew Rice did a short, not very scientific study on wearing a watch while playing golf. I don't normally wear mine (it ends up in the bag along with my cell and wallet, even at the range) and this link seems to show a slight decrease in swing speed while wearing a watch - http://www.andrewricegolf.com/2012/09/when-you-play-watch-or-no-watch/

Bought my 7 yr old a kid's putter on closeout so he can putt along with me on the living room rug. He's been making noise about wanting his own clubs, but in another month it'll be t-ball season again and that's all he'll talk about until September.

Callaway Warbirds (stocked up at Dicks with them on clearance) and Titleist DT Solos. I really want to try the new 3Up ball as they're fairly local to me (and I know someone who's doing some marketing for them), but given that I lose a sleeve+ every round, I can't stomach $40/dozen balls just yet.

Interesting. I just went to the Golf Town in Seekonk for the very first time about a week ago (got a driver given to me re-gripped) and I was in complete and total gear overload. My neck was on a swivel looking at everything in that place! I'll be interested to see what happens to the store/inventory with it becoming Golfsmith. Up to now (which hasn't been that long) I've bought my gear at Dicks which is only 5 minutes from me, but the Golf Town/Golfsmith store is only 12-13 minutes from my office so I may end up there a bunch.