Chunk

90 (46-44). 5 rounds in 8 days. Handicap down to 19.4 from 20.3 in that time period. Happy about heading in the right direction

(93) 52-41 on the first 18 (88) 44-44 on the second 18 Didn't hit balls before I played today. Can you tell? Haha

I'm still back on track after my switch back to 10 finger at the beginning of last week. 88-91 today. I think it's safe to say I shaved off 10 strokes per round since I switched.

What a great thread. I started playing golf last May seriously. I play about 3 rounds per week as weather permits (I live in Ohio where we really only have a 8 month-ish season. From last May to September, I used a 10 finger grip. My thumbs point point down the shaft. I started to establish my handicap 4 months in and settled in at a 16. I played baseball at a high level through high school, college and 6 years after college. My friends told me I picked the game up quick. Then, wanting to start breaking 80 and shoot in the 70's, I bought lessons to fine tune my game. I listened and did everything my pro told me to do to the best of my ability. The first thing he told me was to change my grip to the overlapping or interlocking (whichever I felt most comfortable with) because he said that I would never shoot in the 70's with my current 10 finger grip so I changed. I finished the season last December with a 19.8 handicap. I wasn't very happy that my handi went up with lessons. I figured it took time. So I practiced when I could during the winter months. I played 6 rounds of golf this year. My handi went up to almost 21. Shooting high 90's and once over 100. I finally said SCREW THIS INTERLOCKING!!!!! After my drives were flaring right right right right and when I did hit it straight I was losing 50 yards. I was only hitting 230-ish down from 280-ish. I have played 3 rounds this week. 84-87-86. Pars and sometimes a birdie are now back in my vocabulary. Needless to say I am back on track and smackin it 280+ again and my irons are better. Yes, I get too much right hand on some shots and have developed a draw on my drives that sometimes is a hook, but now, 85% of the time, Im hitting the fairway or missing slightly left. Moral of the story, I think we've all heard it. Do what feels comfortable for you. I know I am going to keep the 10 finger and fire my pro. I dont care if its for women or juniors.

Thanks for the info guys. I especially enjoyed the sandbagger stories. I have never heard of a sandbagger in golf. I have seen a foursome turn in a -21 in a golf tourney that everyone knew that was BS and a fight ensued at the bar afterwards. At any rate, thanks and ill keep my eye peeled.

Do these exist? I see some people post about golf tourneys they play in and look at their handicaps and they are around my 20 handicap. Not talking about booze it up golf outings (Very big fan of those by the way). But somewhat serious tourneys. If they do exist, what are the best way to find them other than a golf league. Thanks! Chunk. PS - My apoligies if this is a stupid question.

170 yard par 3. 5 iron. Front Hole Location. One bounce. Hit the Pin. Hit the Green. Rolled 7 inches away from the cup. Tap in Bird. That was in my 3rd month playing golf. Brought me alot of confidence. Then a month later, the confidence went away. Then it came back. Then it went away again. Gotta love this game.

I just respiked my 1 year old shoes. Sprayed them down with Simple Green then scrubbed the hell out of them. They are like new. Has anyone ever wondered why golf shoes are the most comfortable shoes you own. I always wonder why others have not caught on to this yet. At least that is how I feel.

First 2 rounds using new irons on Monday and Tuesday. Shot a 96. 8/14 fairways 3/18 GIR 33 putts What I learned.... I have gained a club in distance with new irons. Other than a 175 par 3 I hit fat and came up 5 yards short, I was long on almost every approach except the par 5's where I was 3/4 GIR (because I was within 100 yards and in). Then the next day, I played 2 balls and didnt keep score. Didn't even pull my driver out. I hit 4iron off the tee. Just wanted to get distances on my irons.

Yup. Have played 2 rounds and I love them. One of my biggest problems before was having a low ball flight. Not any more. I played yesterday and played 2 balls each shot to help figure out distances. Not only are they higher, I have gained about a club in length from my data so far. Need to re-grip them but outside of that, I feel good about paying $350 for them. Now I just need to straighten my driver out.

Well, the road has ended. I pulled the trigger on a Titleist AP1 710 iron set (4-G). Nippon 105T Stiff shafts. I went and got fitted and was told these lighter gram shafts will help me get the ball up in the air more. And of all the irons I hit over the winter, these have been the most consistent. They arrive Monday then its off to the range then to play 18. Thanks for the input guys.

Does anyone own a set of these? I just pulled the trigger on them yesterday and they come Monday. My buddy has a set of the original AP-1's and that is how I came to love and buy them. And I hit every new kind of iron (almost) over the winter. How do you like them? I guess this post is more "I cant wait to hit them and play a round on Monday. HA!

42 at Ben Curtis' course on Ostrander, OH named Mill Creek. His brother Nick happened to be playing in front of me and let me play through. Best 9 of the year (only 6 rounds in). Still struggling with hitting greens. Just missing them.

Played a course for the first time today by where I moved to. Indian Springs in Mechanicsburg, OH. Slope rating 125/70.1 Shot 90 (44-46) Net 73 8/14 Fairways 6/18 GIR (this is what I need to work on this year) 5 one putts (There were up n downs) 2 three putts 11 two putts Best day of the year weather wise. 5th round played and ball striking was much better than last round.

Hey all. I am fairly new to the site and fairly new to taking the game seriously. I started taking this seriously May of last year and since then been able to hack off 20+ strokes since. I established my handicap at my "home course" and am down to a 17.9 there for par 72. Anyway, I am still having trouble with hitting my 3W, 4H, 4iron and 5iron. I snap hook the living hell out of these clubs. And do not get distance. If I was at a range, for every 10 shots with each of the above clubs, I would make 1-2 decent shots. Everything else will be short and left. I get killed on long courses (anything over 6700 or so yards). I think I have been able to compensate for this because all the other clubs in my bag are the complete opposite. Especially my wedges and short irons. So, bad tee shots, par 5's, and par 3's (over 170 yards) are rough for me. And I am not a huge hitter (Driver avg 260yrds and 150yrds is a full 8 iron). I am breaking 90 regularly. This year I would like to break 80 and get my handicap down. Any tips or drills or input in helping me out with these clubs would be great. I am fairly new but played baseball at a high level for most of my life. I am very spongy and feel that I translate tips well to my game... Thanks guys. And please tell mother nature to get her act together!!!!!

Man, thanks. I found a lot of similarities in your road. Mine may be a little more condensed (1 year) but running a popular bar certainly has its perks. Especially when the pros and Assitant pros from a very nice popular golf course frequent said bar. Played about 5 rounds total with them last year. And it has helped. I just didn't know if I should actually get formal lessons. That's my dilemma. I'm down to breaking 90 most of the time. At least that's how it ended last December. I've mostly been hitting wedges this winter. I want to break 80 a few times this year. It helps that one of my "golf buddies" is an assistant pro and a 6 handi and my other "golf buddie" is a 1 handi. So I think I'm going to just go with the same this year and see if I can break 80 without formal lessons. I've spoke to a fitter and hit some balls with DGX shafts and titleist AP1 710's that he had sitting around in his shop and loved them. Hit 6-9 iron and they were high, straight (maybe a slight draw, averaged 7 yards off center) and an entire club longer than my current. I know there's a lot that goes into it. I know those clubs are a few years old. But are those clubs deemed "dated" now with all the new technology out?

Thanks for the input. My strongest and most confident area of my game is my PW, 52*, 56*, and my putter. Hands down. I think I have a bead on a good fitter in town. I never realized there is sooooo many combinations for shafts, grips, etc..... What a game.

That demo day would be a great thing. I will be sure to look into that. Golfsmith used the one on the side. Galaxy used the one you hit into.... That is the one I felt was off anyway.

Thanks for the replies. I am taking that I need to get some in town reccomendations on a fitter from some of my friends and go from there. I went and hit a G25 7 iron today and liked it. Alot. How accurate are those simulators at golf galaxy BTW?

Hey everyone. New to the site. Fairly new to the sport. A little background: I got the bug last May and have not looked back since. I just turned 40 and I have no idea what took me so long. I love the game..... I think... haha. Really, I do... wait... yea... I'm pretty sure I like it most of the time. My first round last year was a 116. I started breaking 100 after a month or so and started breaking 90 after 3 more months. Best round was an 83 on a par 71 with a slope of 117. Anyway, I bought some cheap clubs off of ebay Cleveland TA7's and a Cleveland Launcher DST 10.5*. All clubs have regular flex shafts. First question: I am currently club shopping. And it seems to me that the guys working at Golf Galaxy and Golfsmith just seem to push on me what they may or may not have alot of in stock... I dont know. It just seems really impersonal and nonchallant. Is this how it is? Or should I try a mom and pop place? Second question: I hate how I can feel the clubs flexing when I swing. I feel that my hands are way ahead of the club head at where impact should be. Needless to say, I have grown some confidence with my swing and I swing hard but with my current clubs I get a lot of pushes and slices. Would stiffer shafts really help? AVG swing speed with driver is 98 MPH according to the Golfsmith machine. Third question: I have hit some of the new adjustable drivers. Both of the people assisting me have been pushing some of the more adjustable (R1, 913, etc...) where I am kinda favoring the PING G25. Mainly because its only slightly adjustable and I am worried that if I had a driver that could adjust in 168 different ways, I would start tinkering too much with the driver instead of my swing. What have you guys found. Are these super adjustable drivers good for a player or do they become swing crutches? Forth question: Shafts. I want to get clubs and shafts that help me to get a higher ball launch/flight. I hear this is a part of it. Fifth question: How helpful are lessons. I am and always have been very good at sports. Baseball was my best as I played in college and some years after. I usually pick things up to where I am above average in a short time. This little game of golf is the hardest thing I have ever played. Hands down. Thanks in advance for any input and thanks in advance for reading my book I just wrote. I have been reading through this site for months and have finally joined due to the simple fact that I love the game and could talk about it for hours and there seems to be some decent players on here that I could learn a thing or 2 from.

Very true. I researched this last year when I picked up golf seriously and started playing 3-4 rounds / week instead of my usual gym regiment. I was curious to why I wasnt putting the weight back on. I was pleased to find that you actually burn a decent amount of calories playing 18, even riding in a cart. And when I started to walk is when I read that you actually burn upwards of 1000+ (depending on the person). I carried all of last year and am currently thinking about purchasing a push cart. I actually dropped more weight walking 18 than my 4 day a week cardio and light resistance training in a gym. That even hooked me more on golf because I HATE the gym. Boring. I'd rather play golf. HAHA.

Hey everyone. I figured I should finally join since every time I google search a question about golf and equiptment, I usually get directed to this site. I just started playing golf serious last May 2012. I have played before in tourneys for fun, but never tried to get good at it. And I have no idea why not because I have the bug bad now. My first time out last may I shot a 116 and finally in December (my last round I played), I shot an 82 (that doesnt and hasnt happened very often. I am usually high 80's). My handicap index is 15-17. It fluctuates quite a bit from week to week. I play about 3-4 rounds a week and just want to get better. Anyway, I joined mainly because I could talk about golf all day. So, hopefully this will quench my thirst. And hopefully pick up some good tips to help me get my handicap down even lower this year. I run a bar in Dublin Oh (so I have my most of my week days free) and live in Marysville, OH and have 3 really nice courses within 10 minutes of my house. Thanks and see ya around.