dozu

if you ride a bike for the first time after a year, it gets wobbly for the first few minutes. that's golf... there is always refinement, but you quickly gets into smooth ride if the technique is correct - the solid fundamentals - good set up, balance, grip, swing path, kinetic chain, body/arm unity. short of good fundamentals, then the golfer is at the mercy of massive amount of practice to maintain a short period of playing grooved but flawed ways.

flaws are flaws - they can be somehow compensated by grooving, but it always come back and bite you in the rear. once you have good technique, golf is like riding a bicycle.... you will never forget it simply due to lack of practice.

well, i was trying to make a point about margin for error, so bunkers / trees actually make a straight fairway not straight :) golf being aerial is not relevant... if the ball follows the shape of the hole, then both the aerial and the ground (run off) part have more chance to end up in good places than bad.... dogleg to the left, does a draw have more chance of staying on the fairway, or does a fade... that's pretty obvious. but for the purpose of this discussion.... i think the bottomline question is, does a intended draw/fade reduce spray angle... and the answer to that question depends on the player.

always thought that the shot shaping is more about going with the shape of the hole (i.e. shape of the fairways and greens and where the pin is)... than about margin for error. in other words, if every fairway is dead straight, and every pin is in the dead center of a perfect circle green..... how much advantage is still there to shape the shots... I do agree with Jack N's theory about 'fading has advantage'... but I think it comes also from the fact that a fade has more underspin and holds the green better. on the other hand, if we are dealing with doglegs and corner pins, yeah, shot shaping definitely has advantage.

the most reliable tempo is gravity - the G force constant. try to feel the gravity in the forward press - take back - downswing sequence.... instead of trying to rely on some artificial rythm aid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFGrmHocmjM starting at 3:50 - explanation of grip pressure.

this is over-complicating things. just do a balanced comfortable practice swing, that takes a divot on the grass or does a brush on the mat... then just put the club head at where the divot or the brush mark is, that is the right distance to the ball. got this from shawn clement.

golfing 'journeys' are as boring as fishing stories.

not to step on anybody's toes :) just grab an iron, (anything from 5i to SW), grip it like a putter and swing it like a putter... putting stance, rock the shoulder. you can even use hybrid/woods (even a driver lol) with this method.... actually, golf stores sell them 'chipper' clubs... that have similar grip and head weight as putter, except with lofted faces. chipping has to be one of the easiest shots in golf, there is NOT MUCH to it.

funny people get all excited whenever they see the slightest hint of political incorrectness... it was a joke.. sure it's a sport in a general sense... but in my own definition, it's not a sport if the heart rate never goes above 100.

welcome.... actually the video above from padraig is a similar idea... arm/body connected as 1 piece, and move the 1 piece thru the ball..... that way the brain won't sense 'something aint right' lol.... good luck.

it's all about the connection between the body and the arms.

just shows ya that golf is not a sport.

it's in the techniques.... yips come from small muscles, hands and arms... big muscles simple don't and can't yip..... make sure you arm is well connected to the body... for me, it's a matter of making sure there is pressure maintained at the right armpit, then during the forward chip/pitch swing, make sure I swing my right armpit thru the ball. clean crisp contact, every time.

do this experiment - hold the club with the grip pressure you have at address, then hold it with the grip pressure you have at impact.... I bet $5 that the club head goes up and out? if that is true, then the grip is the cause for the shank, and it is a flawed grip.

it's actually cart in front of the horse for beginner golfer to worry about arc vs. straight. distance is 4X more important than line.... and aint got nothing to do with arc/straight.

110 after 8 months aint bad. score improvements come in stages.. as you fix your flaws, it will become 100, 90, 85 pretty quick... but the big IF is that you do identify and fix your flaws. just beating range balls usually won't help - evidenced by all the hackers who have been at it for decades and still shoot 100+. you need to UNDERSTAND, by self study, or aid of a coach, what gives you consistent ball striking. Groove that, all else will be good. pitching/chipping is just a small version of ball striking... and putting.... it's all about feel.

so here is another example of the swing of 1000 positions. I think every golfer, either student or teacher, should read EA Tischler's work, even though it maybe difficult to understand for a beginner. all this left side right side arm hands stuff... if you fight your own body type, chance of success will be slim, if any at all.

dak!!!!!!!!!! you are right on! I am using the same concept and my golf game has improved greatly. tennis is getting better also - 1hbh is a beast now... still working on my serves, which has been my weakest link.

well - i don't think it's legit to blame the sand... them guys had to hit out of the sandy area in this year's PGA and I am sure all that stuff is 'beach sand'... like the post above says - it's all about angle of attack and how much bounce you use... as long as the stuff is CONSISTENT, there should be no problem.... the only problem I ever have in a bunker is when it's poorly maintained, and you may have a 1/4 inch of fluffy stuff on top, covering the rock hard stuff underneath, then you are in for a surprise LOL. and yes, you do have to be precise, 1 inch behind the ball.... now if you can't do that, then wouldn't you have problem with all the other shots... woods, irons, pitching etc.

even on mats, a fat shot vs. a flush shot feels completely different. you just gotta pay attention.

both can work... do whatever works for you

^^ this is also true. no matter how you cut it, golf is not easy to teach/learn... it takes an experienced teacher (could be a pro, or the player him/herself), to individualize how the game can be taught... therefore the 'teach by feel' part must also be individualized. in any case, I think the method of 1000 positions almost guarantees failure because cookie cutter swing almost never works.

learning by feel is 1000X better than trying to achieve 1000 positions.

mats hide a lot of problems... that 'nice swing' you see is actually flawed somewhere.