TKing

I glanced over that link and it looks very good. Watch the rotator cuff exercises. I don't think they went into those deep enough and maybe only enough to get people into trouble. At best the rotator cuff muscles are very small and should never be worked with anything like heavy weights. I would say that a person would have to be working them for years before going above 10 pounds. I do rotator cuff exercises three days before I work shoulders. I do the ones they show plus one that has the upper arm about 45 degrees in from the shouldler and with the elbow down at another 45 degrees resting on a table. This is one muscle group where I strongly recommend getting someone who knows how to show you-and this is not someone who just passed some certification a few weeks ago.

It's funny that there is always advice against lifting weights given by people who have never exercised to amount to anything. I lift weights, but not for anything specific for any sport. You need to work everything. Spend more time on strecthing than on lifting. Don't lift to see how much you can lift. I've never done that and have never been injured. I did start in 1963 though and it's a good thing that I didn't have more than 110 lbs. when I was a teenager. I squat 365, do flat flys with 45 lb dumbbells and do various bicep curls. 12 to 15 reps on my final sets. I've been doing the same routine with weights, which does vary some each week to a schedule, for 13 years. I'm 57 years old and just started golf this past August, although I did live across the street from a driving range in 1973. I'm 5'7" and 180 so not exactly a hulk. I drive over 300 yards with roll from my 3 wood. Just installed an xstiff in my driver so am anxious to try that tomorrow after the epoxy has had plenty of time to cure. Playing around in Golfsmith last week I found out that my controllable swing speed was 120.6. My best score so far has been 2 over on 9 holes. My putting needs improvement. If I hadn't been exercising all this time I think my entry into this sport would have been a bit different. Lifting weights can only help your golf. Don't overdo it. Go slow letting all the muscles in supporting roles learn their job. I only work each muscle group once a week but I'm just trying to maintain, not to keep building. Spend much more time stretching than you do lifting. Heck, being fit strong and flexible will make everything you do more enjoyable. I've never seen anyone I consider to be really strong who does not work free weights.

I ordered a bunch of different kinds, blew them on and off with compressed air (high volume,low pressure) and hit golf balls with them. I sent back the ones I didn't want and ordered the kind I liked. They do torque around not glued on if you are a hard swinger but you can still tell what they are like. I had thought that this would be something that a lot of people would like to do but never heard of it being done. I tried it and it worked fine. I've read of people blowing up grips and other problems installing grips with air but I can tell you for a fact that it can be done easily.

I think it's funny that it seems like grinding a wedge is such mysterious art and science. Just get rid of the part that gets in the way. Our local course gets very hard sometimes and the heel of my 60 had to go away to be able to open the face and get under the ball. I just used a bench grinder (dipping in water so as not to overheat)to get rid of the bulk of it, a belt sander to smooth out the curve, and a flap wheel disk on a 4 1/2 inch side grinder to finish it out. If you want it to shine you can go to a buffing wheel next but I figured that it wouldn't shine for long anyway so stopped with the flap wheel. Of course I had these tools anyway. It just took a few minutes. The longest amount of time was spent changing the wheel on the little sidegrinder.

A bag of 500 practice balls and aiming for a specific temporary marker (flag on temporary step-in fence post) at a known distance. I made a bunch of small concrete markers with the yardage on them and set them flush with the top of the ground so a mower can run over them. Dug a long divot sized trench in the tee area and fill with damp sawdust since the ground will get chewed up faster than the grass can grow back-especially this time of year. The damp sawdust is easy to replace, you can take whatever sized divot you want, and it doesn't harm the club even as much as taking a divot on grass. Next I need a practice green since my putting has a long way to catch up to my iron play. I found a forum for building your own greens and have that project planned for this spring.

Air carry between 260 and 270 with my driver which is the original Nike SQ 9.5 with the stock stiff shaft. I can get it out there farther if I do a John Daly ankle scratching backswing with a Sergio shoulder turn but I have to turn my head and I can't always remember where I left the ball. This club won't hold up for much of a late release so the swing has to be long and smooth. I can easily carry my 3 wood, Nike SQ2 15 with stock xstiff shaft, 260 because the shaft is stiff enough to hold during a late release. Needless to say the driver hasn't been used since I got this club. xstiff pull on order for the driver. I haven't had time or opportunity to get any kind of fitting. I have tried a few of my friends drivers, but none have a x shaft.

I learned to bounce a ball on a club. It's really helped with hitting balls too. Really it's not as impossible as it seems. Also you see real quickly exactly where the sweet spot is and how big it is. Plus it really freaks out the group on the green while you're waiting to tee off and is lots of fun looking at the look on salespersons faces trying out different wedges in a store. My best so far is 42 on a PW and 14 on a driver-hand gets tired but it's improving.

4 iron. I don't know why but for some reason I can always hit the 3 and 4 iron right on line and I'd rather take a smooth relaxed swing with the 4 than a harder swing with a 5. I have a 5 wood but it doesn't go in the bag now. I probably couldn't choose which side of the flag I wanted to go to with it.

I built my own. It's not really a driving range since the markers only go up to 200 yards. There is a narrow slot between the trees at 210 and continues on for a long ways but I don't try to hit many balls through there-although it is fun to send one through there once in a while. I just started playing golf last summer but try to hit a few hundred balls most days. Most days just with one club. Other days mix them up.

Burton CXS