forepoints

Playing well requires you to think back to a successful shot you made. Here's your chance to tell us about it. I'll start with my best shot of today. My best shot of the day was the approach shot on hole # 3 at River Spirit GC, Cat Tails course. From 196 yards out, I hit a sweet Taylormade 4-hybrid to the green. It was straight and cleared the water hazard guarding the green. It landed pin high, about 7 feet away from the hole. And yours was?

I took a lesson from Paul Holtby who won Big Break IV in Ireland. He told me that with the new drivers, it's now new to tee up the ball higher and off your toe. The reason is because shafts are longer these days and you have to account for a longer shaft by moving the ball further up towards the toes instead of the heel. Now, if you play with an older driver then off the heel is correct.

Strange, I was in the same boat last week. I was shanking and couldn't figure it out. Then I tried something new on my setup. I started addressing my ball from the toe of my driver. I aimed to return the club from the inside and hitting the ball from the 3-6 o'clock range. It worked - no more shanking.

I'm in this handicap range too but I don't consider myself a high handicapper. I tried out new clubs at a demo day to see if I would gain anything from new technology and a pro on the range told me to spend my money towards a lesson instead. He said if you have a good swing, you can hit anything. I took his advice and took a stroke improvement lesson. I took my handicap down a few points and noticed that I can now tell a good club from a bad club.

Worm burners are usually caused when you swing and lift up. Try slowing down your swing and concentrate on driving a nail through the back of the ball with your wood.

Wow! That sounds like me but I didn't injure myself. I was hitting it well, really grooving my swing then suddenly, the dreadful shank appeared. I didn't think much of it, laughed it off I thought then suddenly, it happened again and again. It got worst - it robbed me of my confidence. I was shanking more and more. It was frustrating to say the least. I read a really good article in Golf Digest last month written by Butch Harmon about shanking so I decided to give it a try. He suggested that I open my clubface instead of shutting it down. He goes on suggesting that I should try to hit it as though I want to slice the ball. Somehow in the mechanics, by hitting it with an open clubface, it's harder to hit the hosel which causes the ball to shank. Give it a try.

I started a golf league at the last place I worked at by hosting a golf tournament. I approached several managers who I knew played golf and asked if they could help me. They first suggested that it be a company event so I pursued it that way. The HR department got really sticky about the legality of the tournament, citing that I would have to clear everything with the legal department before posting any ad up on the company bulletin boards. They said if I ran the tournament during a work day, I would have big opposition from the higher-ups because it may mean loss of income for the company. (ie. they would have to pay employees while they attended this company function.) You can say, it got out of hand fast and I eventually lost interest in creating a league at work. I ended up creating a fun tournament and asking my coworkers to check around with people they worked with. Eventually I got 20-24 people interested in playing. I contacted some suppliers and asked for donations to provide prizes. They were happy to provide caps, balls and pens for tournament go-ers. After the tournament, people started talking about playing together more regularly. We formed a small league to tee off at 6:30am at a local golf course and play 9 holes before starting work at 8:30am.

There are a number of websites (eg. golfballs.com) that can personalize your balls. Sometimes, manufacturers like Titleist offer free personalization. I would look around locally and find a local supplier, otherwise you will be paying for shipping and golf balls are pretty heavy in bulk.

I picked one up for $10 and use it to fetch my ball or my playing partner's ball from the water. Recently, I used it to retrieve a ball that went underneath a dried up bush/ cactus plant that would inflict a nasty wound. I've seen the Callaway retriever that comes in its own case but personally, I don't think it's worth the money.

I'll be there next week to see third and fourth round. World No. 1 Stacy Lewis representing USA should fair well against Asian superpowers.

I second the RBZ irons. They are so easy to hit and they gave me more distance too.

You've been lucky. It's almost as though baggage handlers give more respect to those golf bags that look heavier. The lighter ones seem to be tossed more readily.

I like your attitude. Thanks a lot!

Then there's clubs from a company named Fourteen Golf. What do you think of their clubs?

Ah yes, the cliff hole. You're right, that was fun! I played it in the afternoon too and it was a scorcher. Strange thing is that there was hardly any breeze.

That sounds right. Is it worth the money they ask for?

That's why there's a lineup of people ready to clean your clubs at the end of the round.

At $199, I too agree with iacas. This looks a lot easier to sport around the lines at the airport.

Did you know there was a fee attached when you bought the unit? I know that would suck because when I registered my sonocaddie, they made it sound like it costed something once upon a time and they decided to make it free. I'm enjoying it more and more every time I download a new course.

I agree with the other post that you should come up with a business plan before deciding to go further. With the business plan, you will have to come up with some estimates for revenue and for operating costs. Some businesses look really simple to run and to make money but you will be surprised. Most businesses don't make money until they are well into their second year. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses don't even make it past their first year. What does the current driving range make? This estimate can easily be obtained by taking a count of golfers on the range for a given period, multiplying it out by the bucket cost then subtracting the expenses for operating a range. You'll be surprised once you deduct wages, balls, equipment, etc., there isn't much left over. Maybe that's why these two courses have rundown facilities - they don't make enough to maintain their ranges.

That's great to hear that you're hitting your longer irons better. Keeping your right elbow close to your rib cage won't hurt your swing but make sure you keep your body turning. It is better for you to do that than to have your right elbow flying out.

What bugs me the most are the guys who take the tip then just zip up your bag and not clean the clubs. I tipped the guy for 2 bags, my wife's and mine. He cleaned off my bag then skipped hers because she had iron covers on them. Guessed he figured it was too much work to remove and clean them.

I played there once when I got a discounted tee time. It ate me up and I lost a lot of balls there. But now that I'm a better golfer, I like to return and see how I do. I remembered it was wide open on some holes and other holes, it was tight.

I was at a local golf store the other day and noticed a set of clubs, boxed up in a wooden box and marked with "K.J. Choi" name on them. They wanted $1,000 for the set and said they were special clubs made by a Japanese company. We are all looking for clubs that hit well but I'm wondering if there is a market for high-end specialty clubs? In other words, if there was a new brand of clubs for sale that promised "pure" power, would you be tempted to buy it?