OldManMorris

I seldom post, but I read this forum often for advice and news. A question is nagging me and I cannot wait to ask my local pro so I am posing it to all you: I'm a solid player all around but one issue with my game is my consistency with my driver. I've been fitted in the past but I'm not sure if I have been fitted for shaft length and I was wondering if I might be swinging a club that's too long for me to handle. I stand at 5'8" and swing smoothly with every club except my driver. There are moments where I can maintain a solid turn and finish with my driver but they are few and far between and most of the time I battle with either pushing it right or a push slice. Even my best shots always land 10 yards to the right of my target. I don't have this inside out swing plane with my other clubs--at all, in fact from a 3 wood on the ground to a wedge I am confident in where I can put the ball. My current driver is 45 inches long and throughout the swing I feel as if it is athletically difficult to square the club at impact--consistently. Does anyone think I am playing with too long a shaft? I understand that a shorter shaft may limit distance, but I'm not too concerned about that. I can hit it in the 260 range already, but I would sacrifice distance for accuracy and flush feeling shots. But, how much distance would I lose if I went down to 43 inches?

That's a great suggestion. I already have the idea for the essay.

Seven Oaks at Colgate and Cornell's course are challenging and fantastic to play. I grew up in this area and there are a number of courses that don't fit the prestige bill but are still worth checking out like Drumlins, Foxfire, McConnellsville, Newport, Rome CC, Oneida Limited, Thendara in Old Forge...those are some of the semiprivate clubs I can think of off the top of my head.

Education of a Golfer by Sam Snead. This might be a difficult book to find. It's an autobiographical tale at the core with subtle secrets to a building a home grown swing. The stories are entertaining and as a whole it provides a rich history of the pro circuit--back when the tour was a true make or break risk. There is an excellent story about Ben Hogan breaking down and sobbing in a parking lot and convinced he had to give up the game because he could barely make ends meet. All and all this is the perfect combo of history, and instruction--both mental and physical.

My goal for 2008 is to suprise my father with a golf trip to Scotland. It's high time for a father/son trip across the pond. I've wanted to take him over there for sometime as a thanks for, well you know--all the guff he's giving me. And after several years of living the carefree, vagabond lifestyle, I've finally set myself in a position to buy his ticket. I'm making plans for the early fall. It will be a huge birthday present!

Howdy everyone! I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm a jack of many trades for the National Park Service--design and analysis of sustainable alpine trails, safety and rescue and wildland firefighter here. Nice to meet you all.