Effington
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Just returned from talking to a retailer about practice nets. Wanted to run some comments by the peanut gallery here and see if it sounds right. The retailer had a similar size practice net as the ones I posted links to, at about the same price range. The employee I talked to even said he owned one and used it for years. He mentioned that it catches every errant shot except for the 90 degree shot directly to the side, which typically are on the ground and could use a supplemental pad to prevent damage to the house. It made me more confident that a 7-8' net would be sufficient. He is a good golfer and mentioned in about 5 years, he's hit only around 5 or so shots like that. The net return again looks like an upgrade item for me. My swing speed is pretty low (80 mph with a driver on a good day), so my thought was that if I really do hit a $150 practice net until there are holes, that can justify upgrading to a better model, but it may be unlikely to happen for a couple years. I showed the wife the net return packages and she was suspect that it was necessary to spend that much, however if I wore out the alternative I believe that would a sign that it may be.
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How is it for shanks / really bad hits? Does it catch everything or do some miss the net?
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Horrible day at range, should I just get lessons?
Effington replied to Quietus's topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
In general, I think the answer is yes, but it depends. I don't know where you live, but $24/hr seems like a very low rate. Market rate in my area is roughly double that. As others mention, I think lesson frequency is a factor of how often you can practice. If you can practice an hour or more a day, once a week seems reasonable. But if you can only get out a couple times a week, I'd space it out more. The dollars can add up a bit, so cost is a factor for many. Golf is not cheap. I had the same initial expectation for playing ability as you. Just FYI, I found that the more time I put into practice, the better I wanted to get, so my expectation changed. I went from "I want to hit it 150 yards straight and not embarrass myself with colleagues", to now I want to break 90. Here's a brief story that might help. When I first started learning the game, I'd spend 1-2 hours daily whacking balls at the range. After a tremendous amount of practice time, I found that I was not improving. Got a couple lessons, and now I see improvement. It's not fast, but looking back to when I was playing initially, there is a big difference. It's extremely important to have focused practice on specific techniques, otherwise you're not really improving by just swinging away and hoping for the best. A teacher can tell you what to focus on. -
Thanks, this is great feedback, I really appreciate it! You have me leaning that way now, I'll just have to see if the wife is in agreement. It's a pretty expensive toy.
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Hey guys, I'm considering getting a practice net for the home. Since I have limited time, I will be able to play more as I don't have to leave the house, and also there is the saved driving range costs I'm a high handicapper and am concerned that an errant shot on a typical net might miss, which I can not allow to happen. This will be set up inside and destroying my house with a golf ball is not going to fly; one missed shot and the party is pretty much over. I'm seeing some good reviews of a couple different nets that cost in $100-200 range, but am not able to tell if it can handle a shank or other types of mis-hits. Anyone with more experience can help out here? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087AM3EQ/ https://www.amazon.com/Rukket-Haack-Golf-Coach-Chris/dp/B00NSWHZCS/ This one looks like it can handle anything, but space might be tight. It's going to be for my man cave so I have some flexibility with space, but this beast may be too much: https://allsports-us.com/collections/golf-cages/products/swing-cage-pvc-10-x-10-x-10-golf-cage-kit The last option I was looking at was Net Return, but those are much more expensive and not sure it's worth spending a lot more money if the others would work. I'm thinking it might be the "upgrade" option if I'm using another one consistently but still want something more: https://www.thenetreturn.com/collections/golf-net-packages Anyone else have other suggestions or products that do the trick? Keep in mind I am not handy so a DIY idea probably isn't going to work for me. Any feedback is appreciated!
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I appreciate the feedback, but I'm not following exactly what your suggestion is. I know I'm a short golfer that almost never can hit a GIR, sometimes three putts and doesn't consistently strike the ball flush, but the purpose of my post was to ask why I don't experience this on the driving range, but do on the course. I'm at the range very often, maybe 4+ times per week for the last few months, to craft a nice mid-iron swing. My initial thought to golf was that if I could hit (a 7 iron) consistently 150 yards and straight, I would be happy with my skill level. While that's no longer my end goal, it is still a goal I am working on and honestly, am pretty darn good at that when I'm at the range. I'm just not getting why my shot looks so much different on the course.
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I appreciate the feedback! This is a slight tangent to the original topic, but on the topic of practice, it sounds like you're suggesting one thing to focus on at a time. Wouldn't there be an issue with feedback that way? What I mean is that you can potentially make one change that has an effect of making the ball do something worse than before. It's difficult to determine that you're doing a good job when your shots get worse. Additionally, at what point do you determine you can layer on a second change? In practice when building muscle memory it would make sense that you can layer on 3 or so changes as you are getting in several reps, so I'm not following the thought that making 3-4 changes in a swing is too much. Again, I appreciate the suggestions and am excited to be able to take some of these to my game.
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Ha, I suppose I'll clarify. I am taking lessons and my instructor always has plenty to talk about. I don't have enough lag in my swing, it's too much arms and not enough lower body weight shift, and my wrists sometimes move in ways they shouldn't. These are things I'm working on. I'm seeing some improvement and am happy with my results on the range. My concern is that my range results are not even remotely recognizable compared to how I play on the course; that is the origin of my original post and what I was hoping to gain clarity on.
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Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate it! Regarding a video, I may do this one day, but don't have a good camera and still have a lot to work on. I was at the range yesterday and what's amazing is that the employee there asked me, "What are you working on?" and I realized I couldn't give him a good answer--it was mostly about determining the cause of poor results. He took a look at my swing and gave me something to work on. So I need to improve the way I practice, clearly. Regarding that book, a quick google search tells me the author is the owner of this website. Are you getting any kick backs on this? Thanks, this is great advice! I agree that it is definitely a mental thing, but saying that and fixing it are two different things. I will look up pre-shot routines and see if this helps out with the mental part. I never really thought that slow play would effect me. I know that fast play would hurry me and cause problems, but I wasn't feeling rushed. Thanks, this is quite possible. I kept trying to tell myself to keep my swing slow and relaxed, but trying and succeeding are often two different things. Any tips on how to do this best? This was a priority for me as I have definitely overswung and ruined rounds in the past, and focused on this, but possibly without any positive results.
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Hey guys, I'm usually not much of a sharer, but thought I'd indulge with my latest experience. I'm sure this is nothing unique, but I'd like to hear how others have resolved the issue I've encountered. A brief background: I don't get on the course much, but I've been hitting the practice range regularly, and was able to craft a swing that consistently got my 7i to travel about 150, and my 30 degree hybrid to go roughly 160-170 (my two favorite clubs), with a slight turn to the left. I have a driver but am not consistent with it, so it usually stays in the bag. I played 18 once this year on a short course and shot 118. Anyway, I took the day off to play 18 on my local & very short course. I started off by hitting a small bucket off grass at the driving range, and it was wonderful. Everything was exactly as I hoped; in fact my clubs were traveling slightly further than I expected (I typically practice indoors with a Trackman, which isn't always calibrated well.) Off the first tee, things started out perfectly. Dead straight down the middle of the fairway, solid contact, the exact distance I was hoping for and next thing I know, was putting for par. On hole two, another par 4, I actually hit the green in regulation. I did a dance; this was well beyond expectation. Through six holes, I was +9, with solid contact all the way through, hit every fairway, and on my way to destroying my personal best by a large margin. Hole 7 was a par 4 with a very wide fairway, so I thought, it's now or never to try out the driver. I topped it and it rolled on the ground about 100 yards. I thought, no big deal, I tried it out but let's go back to what was working. Then I hit the hybrid thin...twice. It took me five just to get near the green, and a lucky chip at the hole gave me a 7, but it was downhill from there. The entire rest of the round, I hit maybe 2 or 3 shots with solid contact. I had completely lost the feel of what a good swing should be, and made it difficult to enjoy the round. (I had to keep repeating to myself, this is my day off and I'm playing a game for fun, and with perfect weather.) Despite the blow-up starting on 7, the front 9 was actually a personal best of 53, but the back 9 was simply a disaster. So my question is, how do you avoid this? After hole 7, it's like I forgot how to swing. Another mention of note, on the first 7 holes I had no one in front of me and was playing very fast, on pace to finish in 3 hours flat. At about 7, I caught up to a pair that was playing at regular speed, which is paced about 4 hours 15 for the round. After the 18th, I went to the pitching green and was instantly pitching fine; solid contact and just like the range. Left me flabbergasted. Cheers and looking forward to insight that will change my life forever.
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Distance per club Hey guys,I picked up golf in ~2011, played for a couple years but then stopped due to frustration (this game is hard!). I brushed the dust off my clubs this year, took a couple lessons and the interest is back. While I'd still consider myself a duffer, I'm able to practice 3+ times per week for about 30 minutes each. I bought an annual pass to an indoor range, which has a trackman device.I've been silently reading these forums for a few weeks now and don't have much to add, but thought I'd throw out a question based on an observation: there are many different measures of how far I can hit a club. When someone asks me how far I hit the ball, I could tell them: Trackman carry distance. Of note, the two machines at the practice range have a 10-15 yard difference in estimation on them. My instructor notes that the shorter one is inaccurate. Trackman carry + roll. This greatly differs based on what type of lie I'm hitting to; if it thinks I'm on the fairway, it's much more generous. Trackman carry + roll +10: My golf instructor notes that the practice balls we use are poor and a better ball will give another 10 yards of distance Outdoor driving range: Pretty much a guess of how far it goes, can you really tell where it stops? Also, some ranges have shorter grass. Actual Course distance: As I'm still working on my swing, I'm rarely on a course, and even then, conditions vary greatly. To me, this is my worst check figure (but to a better golfer, is probably the most important.) The range of the above options have a 50 yard spread. Logic tells me the answer is probably somewhere in between, but I'm curious how other people rate themselves. I find that in general, people describe their golfing ability based on executing their best shot every time.When having casual conversations about golf with colleagues, an observation was that shot distance was one of the first questions that come up when gauging someone's skill level, and didn't want to misrepresent mine. Any thoughts?
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Pace of Play Question Hey all, I'm a novice golfer that took 5 years off. I just brushed the dust off my clubs, took a lesson and am swinging better than ever on the range, which has encouraged me to get on the course. After reading so many messages here on pace of play, as well as a quick search on the topic, I'm a little surprised at what I've read and wanted some clarification The first website that popped on my search (http://www.popeofslope.com/paceofplay/), notes that pace of play is too slow for 18-20 handicappers who are very deliberate in their approach (taking practice swings, slowly line up their shots, watch shots completely before moving on, etc.) With that as my baseline, I will surely be a lag on the course as I'd be ecstatic to break 100 and also do those things as previously mentioned. The above website also cites dealing with this slow pace as a reason so many quit the game. Golf is as much, or more about etiquette than any other sport, and I'd like to follow protocol (and be welcomed back). What types of things should I do to make sure I'm staying in line with expectations on pace? I see that I should probably schedule a later tee-time as opposed to morning, and probably get a cart (this is disappointing, honestly), but what else? As a novice I have a built in 30+ shots in my round that an expert would have; does this mean I shouldn't be playing all of those shots and pick up if I'm not on pace? Honestly, this topic gives me a little anxiety and surely this will also impact my game. (On a side note, taking no practice swings, not deliberately lining up shots or watching shots completely sounds like a speed round that is not fun!)
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General question for anyone who has played a while
Effington replied to Effington's topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
Thanks for the articulate reply. Here's another (similar) episode that I'm having trouble understanding: Went to the driving range, with the goal of getting solid contact on shortened swings, and working on making sure I am not leaning backwards at the end of my swing. After a couple warm-up swings that aren't terrible, the next 5-10 shots get progressively worse until I'm topping them again. I continue to top/shank shots for the better part of an hour. All I'm trying to do is chip the ball ten feet...still no success. I take a break, try to relax...no help. Then for an unknown reason, it just stops. All of the sudden, my contact is fine and shots are going very straight, with excellent trajectory. I get as many swings in like this as I can, and just try to remember the feel. At the end of the day, I have no idea what I did differently. At work, it's quite dangerous to fix a problem without knowing the cause, because you aren't able to prevent it from happening again. This is the feeling I get with golf. -
General question for anyone who has played a while
Effington posted a topic in Instruction and Playing Tips
Hey guys, I'm in my second year of playing the game now, and am looking for some insight from anyone who has played the game longer than me, no matter at what level. I seem to have experienced some fairly dramatic changes in my ability in a very short period of time. Most recently, I went out on an executive par 62 course, and shot roughly in the high 80's, which would be probably my best round of golf so far. Consistently solid contact in the middle of my club, no OB shots, a lot in the fairway. Most of my holes were bogeys, and even a couple pars. However, a few days later I'm out at the driving range, when all of the sudden I'm shanking and topping balls. This was not unusual for me when I first started playing, but it hadn't happened in a while for me. My instructor had told me that this is fairly common, and the best way to fix this is to take a few minutes break, and then come back with quarter length swings just to get good contact, which is what it did. However, it took three driving range sessions until I was able to get consistently solid contact (over an hour of consistently shanked/topped shots). This period was quite demoralizing, and made me question why I spend so much time, effort, and money on the sport. I know there will be ups and downs in the game, but I didn't expect my game to get that down, after I've practiced so much. I spend a lot of time at the range and I had thought I had progressed past this point; in fact my last 4-5 times at the range were excellent. (In case it's helpful, I had a lesson with my teacher and he said that my horrible mis-hits were caused by a very big inside-to-out [swooping] swing, coupled with overactive wrists, which projected the ball to the right and with a hard slice) My general question is, is this common, and how do you resolve this issue? If it's not common, do you have any idea what I could be doing that causes this? -
To answer the OP's question, it depends on what population you're considering. I often go to the local driving range and no one can hit the ball over 150 yards...over half of them can barely get the ball in the air. I've played a par-3 course where I shot +20 on 9 holes and it looked like I was the best player on the course. Overall, I'd say a very small percentage of players legitimately break 100.