Drunk Driver

Yes you are completely right, I did add an extra 20°F onto the average temperature to allow for the car being warmer inside, but perhaps that wasn't enough judging by dkm976's excerpt. Though in my defence the greenhouse effect happens in the passenger area of the car which has windows, it might not necessarily apply to the trunk, which may be self contained without any glass and therefore cooler. Either way I don't think it's possible for temperatures to reach the kind of levels that would melt epoxy. I have a hybrid which snapped a few moths ago and I have been wanting to remove the clubhead and reshaft it. Unfortunately the club head is painted so I'm a bit dubious about using the heat gun on it. I have tried putting it in the oven and it didn't have any effect. If only it were as simple as leaving it in the car on a hot day.

From what I've seen club heads tend to be metal and have quite a large flat surface area. I find it unlikely that the epoxy will get particularly hot since this is basically the specification for heat sync. If they have steel shafts too then it's quite a large heat sync. The hottest ambient temperature ever recorded in Michigan (according to the internetz) was 112°F (that was 80 years ago). The average yearly high seems to be about 83°F (Which is still below body temperature). Assuming your clubs are kept out of direct sunlight It seems improbable they will ever reach temperatures over 100°F which is barley hot enough to melt chocolate, let alone epoxy. If you are still concerned about this you could always try sealing them in a vacuum, or submerging them in water... that would keep them cool, but seems rather extreme.

This would actually be pretty low on my list of things to do if I had a lot of money. Though a little practice area at home is something I would like even now. I live in an apartment so I don't have a garden or any place to practice at home. But a little patch of grass is really all I ask. I wouldn't want anything more, even if I could afford it. I agree with the person who said they would just use the money to play at top courses all over the world. I would be more likely to do something like that... Though if I really had a lot of money I might quit golf altogether and take up a new hobby such as: collecting sports cars or sleeping with models all day. Man I can't wait! *clasps lottery ticket*

Maybe he was just really bad at putting?

My favourite shot is always when I get to hit my driver. I do really enjoy my driver and I often do okay with it, at least good enough to keep me coming back. My most consistent shot though is full swing with the short irons, especially the 9 and the pitching wedge. They almost never go wrong and I've been getting pretty actuate with them. I would say that is the shot I'm most comfortable with, so that is what I voted for.

I agree I think I would also have thrown your ball into the river, and I would have had a good mind to throw you in along with it. I think it would be very obvious who was the most ridiculous if you had ended up hitting someone. A golf ball could very easily kill someone, you should never hit into people. Slow play can be annoying, but I don't think it's punishable by death, that seems a little harsh. And I don't think anyone out trying to enjoy a game of golf should needlessly be placed in mortal danger.You could have simply asked if they would mind you playing through, and if they refused you could even have spoken to a marshal about them. Failing that you could just learn to be patient, we all know that there is a good chance you'll get stuck behind someone playing slow, especially when you just want a quick 9 holes. You have to make allowances. I find an amusing way to pass the time when you're stuck behind someone slow is to try and make bets with your playing partners over who will be next to shank/slice/lose the ball. It's not terribly mature but it makes watching them much more enjoyable and provides an outlet for your frustration. Most importantly no one gets hurt (unless they are big and hear you)

I know a lot of people who do grip training also like to balance it out by training the opposing muscles that open the hand. You can get rubber bands and stuff to work against, and there are other exercises to build up strength in that area. Restoring equilibrium to your muscles is understandably important in making sure their posture remains healthy. I understand exercising in this way can help curtail the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome.

It depends on the shot... If I'm playing a chip I always aim to land the ball on the nearest edge of the green and let it roll to the cup. Then however far the pin is from the edge will dictate what club I use. If the ball has to roll a very long way I might use a 5, if it only needs to roll a couple of yards I would use the 9 or the SW. I try to avoid using the lob wedge unless I really need to hit over something.

I'm generally a very calm person, but reading your post actually did stir a little bit of anger in me. I think it's a terrible shame that a nice day out with your wife has to be tainted by some idiot pontificating. There is nothing that annoys me quite as much on the golf course, as people who act like they own the course and you are some kind of unwelcome freeloader there on probation. I think it's despicable that your wife should be made to feel like she is doing something wrong when she is just there trying to have a nice time and enjoy golf. I would hazard a guess that the reason he felt so compelled to say something is because it's the only opportunity he gets in his pathetic life to sound important. Unimportant people love nothing more than to bask in the glory of correcting other people on their mistakes. I wouldn't bother trying to think up ways to get him back. Don't even give it another thought, he's not worth your attention. I think the important thing is to let your wife see that you are not phased by him, and that she shouldn't be either. I think I would make a point of telling her she can royally ignore him (dipshit) and tee off from wherever the hell she likes (what are they going to do? throw you off the course? When he is smoking a pipe out too! don't make me laugh). I hope at very least, she was not too put off by the experience.

Earlier in the year I went out to play 9 holes. It was a wet day but I don't mind that because the course is less busy. But as I got to putting on the first hole it started to hale. I found hale to be very distracting while trying to putt. But it wasn't so bad because at least I was dressed for it. The most unpleasant round I've had for weather was one day when it was nice and sunny, I got caught half way round the course by a sudden shower, and I was only wearing a t-shirt. I did thankfully have an umbrella, but the wind picked up quite a bit and was blowing the rain sideways, and turning the umbrella inside out. Needless to say I felt very cold and wet and unhappy

Aren't balls difficult enough to find without having the sun in your eyes? ... I chose late morning.

It could be lots of things... Having a vertical swing plane can make slicing more likely (when your back swing starts high over your head) because you tend to transfer a lot of spin onto the ball that way. If you try a more horizontal swing you might find you are able to hit the ball straight and even hook it. Standing too far forward can also be a problem, because it allows you to hit down on the ball and put even more spin on it. Too far forward + over the top = WOW banana slice! Make sure you have a nice wide stance and the ball is somewhere in line with your left foot... it's much harder to put spin on the ball from there so you are more likely to hit a push or a draw. You also need to make sure your arms (and wrists) don't bend as you swing. Even though you might not think you are doing it, it takes a lot of strength to hold the right wrist position when you swing a heavy club like the driver at speed. And you can end up hitting the ball like a hockey or cricket shot with the face wide open, and that causes a slice too.

Ahhh apologies, I actually read this topic yesterday but I didn't really have anything useful to add at the time since my faults involve things like banana slicing into woods and topping the ball onto the ladies tee... I have yet to figure out how to turn these amazing skills to my advantage. However I did come across a video of some guy called Jack Nicklaus (who might know a little more about golf than me) talking about just this kind of thing. The video also includes some quite good graphical explanations, of why hitting a fade might be the best shot even on a straight hole. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM3HTujsSsY I hope that is somewhat relevant and helpful As for the modest number of replies... I wouldn't take it too personally. From what I know of forums... the best way to get 6 pages of replies instantly is to post something stupid, which everyone disagrees with. People love nothing more than to tell you when you are wrong. So if no one said anything chances are you're probably okay...

Yeah I think it depends on what your goals are. If your goal is to practice intensively and become a scratch player then I don't see any problem starting out with blades... In the long term it's probably the best way to go about it once you get past the initially steep learning curve. My own personal goal is to get round the course without embarrassing myself. To that end blades are probably not for me... unless I just stand next to them and try to look cool. I'm happy to stick with my cavity backs for now. One thing I am curious about though... Are blades really that difficult to use? I mean I can understand if you are talking about long irons... because long irons are difficult to use regardless, even the cavity backs. But I find the majority of my Iron shots are with the 9i and the 7i which are fairly short and forgiving, would these clubs really be so different if they were blades?

I notice there is quite a bit of give in his left knee too on the backswing... @ Razorhog... Letting your left leg give more will allow you a geater turn of your hips as you draw back, and that allows you to keep your left arm straighter for longer. which might be helpful if you are not very flexable. I think keeping your left arm straght is one of the most important parts of the swing (probably more important than keeping your knee straight) because it allows you to guide the club head back to where it came from. Trying to find the sweet spot with bent arms is like trying to hit a fly with a dart. I'm not certain where to draw the line with the left leg. I have in the past nearly lifted my whole left foot off the floor, which has produced perhaps some of my most powerful drives ever, due to the extra torque. Though I doubt this is something I should recommend, perhaps one of the more experienced players could explain how much movement of the left leg is too much.