Richie3Jack

The big thing about Orlando when it comes to where you want to live is not so much the traffic, but the toll roads which can be a bit pricey. That's why people generally live closer to where they work, to avoid the tolls. I believe you can get from any place to any place without hitting the tolls, it will just take a lot longer. The Apopka area is actually pretty nice and when you get closer to Clermont you're looking at a place that is quite hilly. As far as golf courses go, the big thing you'll want is not only a nice course, but a place where the practice facility is open a bit late. A lot of these places will close down right at 3pm or so. I just know from experience that is something you want to look out for. I also would not want to pay a lot for membership. The courses need you more than you need them. Come April thru December, you can get on so many great courses for such a cheap rate. I am a member at one course almost exclusively for the range membership. It's a good course, but extremely difficult and when the wind is blowing it isn't a lot of fun. So I often end up playing somewhere else with my dad on the weekends for rates that will blow your mind on GolfNow. Also, be prepared to get hammered on vehicle registration. Something like $600 a car. I did a double-take on that and the DMV lady thought *I* was nuts for asking the price again. Good golf courses around Apopka are: RedTail (about 20 mins) Deer Island (about 30 mins) Mission Inn - El Campeon (about 30 mins) Metrowest (about 25 mins) Tuscawilla CC (about 35 mins) Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes (about 25 mins) Timacuan Golf Club (about 30 mins) If you're looking at Barrington, I think Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes is a great place for a membership. Not sure what you can afford, but you'll be saving a lot more money if you're making the same $$$ and moving from NJ to here. Cost of living is about 15% cheaper and no state income tax. You'll get used the summers in about 3 years. The fall, winters and early spring will be a huge relief. And when it comes to Florida, it's selling point is recreation. All sorts of people doing all sorts of recreation every day, especially after work. 3JACK

I think it's something you may have to practice a bit. I would also suggest looking at the ball position. It should be up front. However, I've found on uphill bunker shots I actually need to play the ball *back* in my stance. Haven't really understood why it works, but it does. The other thing is that you need to follow through with a bunker shot, many amateurs don't do that. You may also have the face a bit too far open. But again, I suggest trying to get some bunker practice in so you can figure out what works and what does not work with you. 3JACK

I've never had real close calls myself, but I've witnessed two of them. One time me, a buddy, and some stranger were playing on a par 3. Adjascent to it was a par 5, but the hole was tree lined. Still a dangerous hole because if you hit a hook it goes in the other fairway, landing about where every hits their driver on the other hole. My buddy gets up, his a slight draw, but with a little pull. We didn't even yell four since we figured it probably hit the tree and then fell down. The stranger gets up, his a big pull hook and we yell four which is customary. Anyway, we go to our balls and as we are walking we see a guy lying on the ground from the other hole. It was my next door neighbor and somehow my buddy's ball (the one that had a slight pull hook) hit him. Not in a million years did I think my buddy's ball would've hit somebody, if anybody I would've thought the stranger's shot would've hit and hurt somebody. Hit my next door neighbor on the corner of the eye and remarkably he was hurt, but didn't suffer any injury to his eye...much less get killed. The other instance was actually a funny one. We were playing on the high school team for practice and one friend named Artie was in the bunker and as he was about to hit the shot, my other friend Pat was walking up to the pin as he was going to wait for Artie to hit the bunker shot on the green and he would then take the pin out. Artie duffs once. And by then Pat has walked up to the pin and is holding the pin, waiting for Artie to get on the green so he can pull the flag. Artie duffs again. And again. And again. Then Pat says "c'mon Artie" and Artie gets really pissed and does a Happy Gilmore in the sand and I hear Pat yell "ARTIE!" The ball comes out a SCREAMING line drive headed right for Pat's nether regions and Pat is saved by the flagstick as the ball hits the flagstick and careens away. All of us fell down laughing so hard, but Pat was extremely, extremely lucky. YAKUZA

I agree with certain parts of Moe's swing, but the big flaw I see with his swing is the lack of body rotation. Moe wasn't known for distance and his lack of body rotation was why. Also, it can be difficult to hit is straight if you don't have proper hip rotation. But the best things to take away from Moe are how his hands are high at address and how he gets the arms extended at impact. 3JACK

Depends on the person and the time. I think the thing I don't like is having to look for golf balls every three holes or somebody who loses their temper a lot and somebody who asks too many questions on the game. But I've played with 12+ handicappers all of the time who play from the whites and have enjoyed it. I think the preference of playing with low handicappers just comes from it being easier and I can focus on the task at hand instead of helping out with the other golfer. Not trying to sound elitist, but it is my preference. 3JACK

I would suggest buying a camcorder. You will need it if you want to get lessons and you don't have to be a golf swing expert for it to be an invaluable tool for you to improve. Generally I suggest that if you want to take a serious step to improving, work on no more than 2 things at once...or you'll just get confused and get worse and I suggest trying to fix the biggest problems with your game first. Other than that, I suggest doing things to help improve your flexibility. If you can increase your flexibility, you're likely to improve just from that. 3JACK

Well, it's frustating for those who know the golf swing and have to deal with other instructors, particularly well known ones, that contradict themselves all of the time. That being said, a lot of times a flaw in the golf swing can cause a golfer to make one of two or even three moves after that flaw. For instance, somebody who takes the club too far inside on the takeaway may wind up looping the club up over the top or they may do the opposite and come too far from the inside on the downswing. Then you have players like Hogan who were too flat on the backswing, but countered it with sliding the hips way too much on the downswing. Of course, Hogan had incredible hand/eye coordinator and practiced until his hands were raw so he could repeat that move every time. I think the best advice I could give is to find an instructor who is consistent and willing to explain (and more importantly) can explain away flaws in the golf swing. And always find somebody who will use video tape. 3JACK

I'd also suggest a chiropractor if you can afford it. Where I used to live I had a very affordable chiropractor and even though it was a pain to start coming in 3 times a week, it was well worth it. Not only did it considerably cut down my back pain, but for one year I didn't have a cold or any sinus problems. It's debatable whether that was do to going to the chiropractor, but I can't think it was just some odd coincidence. The problem is that chiros are expensive, but you're seeing more and more chiros putting together affordable plans for a patients. So go and seek that out. 3JACK

This is kind of a tough show for me to watch since I think it has golf going in the wrong direction. Because these kids have parents who have money, they are put at a considerable advantage when it comes to playing college golf. I squeeked onto my team because I knew somebody who knew my college coach, but when I got on the team it was loaded with considerably lesser players from wealthier families who could get into programs like this or junior tournaments. These kids have pretty high competitive low scores, yet they are talking about going to established programs like SMU. The girls actually seem to have some talent, like Whitney and Amy. It's good to see them go to the school because they do have the talent and just need the opportunity and the instruction to get them pointed in the right direction. But I get a little leery of kids whose only goal is to become a professional golfer and the parents thinking it's the greatest thing in the world. Because outside of playing on the PGA tour, most of what's in store for professional golfers is hardly glamorous or something you would want to do for an extended period of time. 3JACK

Muscles have almost nothing to do with distance. For instance, Tiger Woods is far more muscular today than he was when he first came on tour. Yet he his driver distance is the SAME in 2008 and 2007 as it was in 1997. Distance is determined by flexibility and then rotating the body properly. If you want to gain proper distance, the shoulders need to rotate at least 120 degrees and then the hips need to rotate on the downswing to the point where the belt buckle is facing the target at impact. Look on tour and you'll see the longer tour players have great hip rotation on the downswing (and most have great body rotation on the backswing as well). So lifting weights can be counterproductive because you can become less flexible. I think Fred Couples is a shining example. He was in the top 10 in driving distance for most of this season, at 48 years old and for a guy that doesn't lift weights and isn't exactly a physical specimen. But he's got incredible flexibility, particularly in the hips. 3JACK

Early wrist cock and rotate the shoulders. He likes to set the club on the takeaway parallel to the target line which is great if you like getting under the swing plane and having a flat golf swing. A lot of his players tend to lay the club off at the top as well. 3JACK

Power is generated from body rotation, particularly in the hips. Force = Mass x acceleration. So while bigger golfers have a bit of a natural advantage when it comes to power, it's all for not if they don't have the flexibility and technique to accelerate the big muscles. If you watch all of the long hitters on tour, almost all of them have great hip rotation on the downswing to the point where their belt buckle is facing the target at impact. However, it's also a bit important to rotate the torso and hips back as well. Jim Furyk has his belt buckle facing the target at impact, but isn't very long off the tee. But that's because he doesn't have much body rotation going back. Almost all of the long ball hitters on tour have at least 110 degrees of shoulder rotation on the backswing. This video of Sam Snead shows Snead with 140 degrees of shoulder rotation and for his time, he hit the ball ungodly deep. And as you can see, Sam's belt buckle is facing the target at impact. 3JACK

Depends on the situation. I generally play from the tips. There may be a 240 yard par 3 that I don't care to play, something you don't see in most pro tournaments and I'll just play it from around the 190-210 mark instead. If I'm playing with my ole man, I may move up little since he and his friends are playing the white and it can be a bit cumbersome. And if I'm getting ready for a tournament, I try to play the reds a few days before the tournament. I'll never forget Jack Nicklaus once stating that he played the reds a few days before a tournament because he wanted to get the mindset of scoring. It actually works. 3JACK

No. It's actually rare that a golfer rotates their hips too much on the downswing. There's the dreaded "spin out move", but that's mistakenly thought of as a hip rotation problem. Instead, what happens is the golfer improperly rotates the shoulders and comes over the top. Anyway, you have the right idea, rotate the hips and maintain a constant spine angle. But if you have the improper downswing sequence, you're likely to come over the top. The downswing sequence should be: 1. Left knee (or lead knee) moves towards the target 2. Hips rotate (they do NOT slide) 3. Shoulders rotate 4. Hands Drop 5. Club drops The problem with most over the top swings is that they'll do #4 before they ever do steps 1-3 and that usually causes an over the top move. 3JACK

I would choke up on the club. The problem with cutting the shaft is it can really effect swingweight and shaft flex, especially if you get a lazy clubfitter or a clubfitter who doesn't know what they are doing. If you're playing well by choking up on the club, just stick with what's working. 3JACK