Audaxi

My advice would be to get out every day, at least to hit chips, pitches, and Pitts at the course's practice facilities. The short game will help you score better, and being consistent will make your short game better. In addition, you will also improve you ballstriking by working on 30 or so yard wedge shots, because you need to hit them crisp to get the spin you want on them.

I'm still not sure on how you plan to get around the amateur status rules, but good luck with your tournament, and I hope it goes well for you.

Ummm...You realize amateurs can only accept prizes of up to $500 in value unless they forfeit their amatuer status, correct? Therefore, it's kinda hard to have a BIG prize at an amateur event, unless it's one where the winner turns pro or something.

Did you get a chance to talk to him at all?

Do you make similar cases for an iPod touch? I'm wondering because I'm too cheap to pay for a data plan that I'll never use to buy an iPhone.

Or, for about $5, you could buy an alignment stick and use it for the same purpose. Stick it in the ground at the same angle as your shaft, but one clublength (length of the club you're going to hit, not the same as a clublength for a drop) behind the ball. This keeps you from coming over the top, and a swim noodle works if you're worried about scratching your driver's paint job.

This, Tournaments used to scare the poop out of me when I had a 24 handicap, because I inevitably got paired up with someone who would shoot in the low 70's and launch their drives 300+ yards down the fairway, while I felt like I was just dinking around. If you want even more pressure, start playing for money with people of similar ability (small bets). When you know the money is coming out of your pocket or into it AFTER the round, instead of paying an entry fee to try and win money, the money seems much more real, even if it is a small amount.

Nice job. The one idea you might want to entertain is spending more time on your short game. Last year, at this time, I had a 14.5 handicap when I started to live on the chipping and putting greens until I was evicted for winter. It helped me a ton, even though there's always room for more improvement. Keep at it and remember to have fun.

Do any of the courses you play at have markers at 100, 150, 200, 250 etc? Do they have distances on the sprinklers? If so, I've gotten into the habit of looking for those near my ball, then pacing it off to my ball, or an equivalent distance. This will give you a free way to get a quick and dirty distance measurement, but I've had sprinklers be off by 20 yards or more once you get past 250 yards.

That makes sense, considering my misses are off the toe and thin. But I'll try alignment sticks to see about that.

I would put mine at about 190 carry with the rollout depending on the surface it lands upon. I don't really pull my 5 that often though, as its a weird club for me. My 6 flies 185 but my 4 is 215, so either my 5 has a weird fit, or I just swing it different. I am in the Rockies though, so probably only 180-185ish at sea level.

I hear you on the difficulty of greens above 10. I'm used to around 9 or 10ish since its dry and high where I live, but have played greens at a 12. Those you need to land on the fringe for your approach shots to leave them on. My best suggestion is to either use a heavier putter or try to slow down your tempo. Tempo works the best for me, but I have friends who swear by the heavy putter on fast greens.

I have a swing that goes up flat and comes up over the top, a big error to be sure, but I can do it consistently and wont mess with anything until the offseason. However, I have a question for you that my lesson giver couldn't answer. My divots all invariably point left of my target (I'm a right handed player), but I tend to hit high draws as my usual shot. I thought if I swung to the left, I'd end up with a fade/slice or a pull at the least. I find myself more often actually pushing the ball with a high trajectory. Does anyone know how to explain this?