mellojoe

I would think that for more roll, you'd want a less lofted face and keep the ball forward in your stance. This would reduce the amount of backspin the ball has, give you decent carry distance, and when it does hit the ground the less backspin means it will be easier to roll and it will just keep on going. I'm new to this, but does that make sense? I'm thinking from a physics standpoint here: More loft and more back in your stance is going to have the ball roll up the clubface producing lots of backspin, like a wedge. More backspin means a tendancy to want to bite when it hits the fairway. Less loft hitting a bit on the upswing means the ball is going to jump off the face instead of climbing it. That will translate into less bite when it hits the fairway, meaning more roll.

Ahahahaha! I wish I had seen that. The bear: Rawr! Jack: Mind if I play through?

Great story! I'm glad you got a chance to try that. You can check that one off your list. I found a new "cheap" course. Its a 9-hole that you can play 18 if you play it twice. But, its only $15, including cart. It was a fairly average course. Nothing to write home about. It was in decent shape, although the lack of rain out here has made the fairways pretty hard. The interesting part came as you finished up #6 straight uphill. And then #7 was blind all the way down. It doglegs back to the right, but there is a pond on the right. So you have to tee off down the left, carry the water, and then make the turn back to the right. All blind from the tee-box. An interesting two holes, even if the rest of the course was nothing to right home about. For 15-bucks though, it was a cheap way to play. In any event... I guess I was just rambling there. My whole point. I had a good day, and I'm glad your weekend was even better. A great weekend for golf, it seems. Especially since you had fun, with your wife, and she ponied up the cash.

If you are hitting 10, hole it or pick it up. That's the "casual rule" we play with out here.

I can't believe the audacity of him to ask a stranger on the very first hole, nonethless. Sure, if you guys have been chatting it up for 3 or 4 holes, maybe... maybe I could see him asking to give it a swing. But, after you just met? Nope. Sorry. Thats just incredible.

Thanks for the tips. I'm going out tonight, so I'll try to see about working on this. I played yesterday, but my irons were all over the place. My wedges almost always were way off to the right, but I wasn't making good contact with any of my irons so I'm throwing away that game. I'll concentrate tonight on: #1) Keeping the handle closer to my body, thus raising the toe of the club off the ground a tiny bit more. #2) Be sure to take the club straight back. I do this with my drives, and they seem to be going straight. A slow and straight take-away is my driver solution, so I will apply the same take-away mentality with my iron shots. I'll start with these simple fixes and see if this works. If not, then its a more complicated problem that I may need someone to watch my swing and see where to fix it. I'll start here, and try to add the additional advice as I go on. Thanks a million, everyone.

One tip that I got that helped me last time out. Finish high. I had one of those holes where I took 4 swings to get out of the sand. After the third, someone said "finish high" and it worked. Not what you are looking for, I know. But, I thought it was fitting since I JUST went through that yesterday (Thursday evening round).

This may sound silly, but... I just did a quick Google search for "proper golf grip" and found some interesting pictures that gave a fairly clear idea to answer your question. i'm no pro, and I'm working on my own grip problems, so I shouldn't be answering your question. However, maybe one of the experts here will steal a Google image and give us a "this one is good" or not.

You know... someone mentioned in passing that I keep my hands too far away from my body. I dismissed it because it was someone that I didn't know, and therefore didn't trust. However.... if my hands are too far away, then I'm pushing the toe of the club down further than regular. If that's the case, I could be hitting the toe of the club deeper into the ground, twisting the club open. That could be the case. You think?

Lately I've been getting better and better. This is a good thing. Mostly its just being more consistent in getting contact, instead of just hacking. I am, by no means, good or even average. I'm well below. However, I have found that my #1 most common problem, even if I make good contact, is watching the ball shoot straight off to the right. SHOOOM! Its not slicing or anything, it just shoots off to the right (i'm a right handed hitter). This is when hitting off the grass, not from a tee. I've done it with my 5-wood. My hybrid. My 7-iron. And even my wedge. I make solid contact, and the ball goes streaking off into the woods (or lake, or the poor guy's golf cart on the previous hole ). What are the common reasons why people push shots? What are common things to look for to correct this?

According to the experts, I doubt you'll lose distance with a smooth swing, vs a HARD swing. You'll be hitting the "sweet spot" more, and thus generate more ball speed at impact. Thus, a smoother swing could produce LONGER ball flights than a hard one.

Funny that this comes up. I tried playing Monday by myself. I got through 4 holes before I quit. I hated it. It was boring. I don't think I'll do it again.

That same website puts Natalie Gulbis #1 on their list, but Michelle Wie like #5, right? However, in another list of the Top 50 Hottest Female Athletes, they put Natalie at #45 and Michelle Wie at #29, and Anna Rawson (who was on like the 3rd page of the Top 50 Golfers) beats out them both at #18. What gives? PS: I disagree with most of the Top 10 on this Top 50 Athletes list, but that's another story.

I think: The farther back in your stance, the more you DE-loft the club. The further forward in your stance, the more you ADD loft to the club. Yes? No?

Don't be afraid of the "bump and run" 8-iron off the fringe. I suck at this game, but I've used this one before fairly successfully. You don't have to swing hard, so there is less chance of mishitting the ball. You just have to get it close, so let it roll. You just want some loft to get over the rough bits and land on the green. The less loft, the more roll. ie: Use a 7-iron will roll more than using a PW. Aim for about 3 to 5 feet onto the green. That's your landing zone. Just get it onto the green, and let it roll the rest of the way. It is a very "safe" shot and will usually get you as close as a "risky" lofted stinger lob shot arrow dart thingy.

Well, there is a mini-movement with the group I play with that says to start keeping track of your GOOD shots, not just your overall score. Sure, maybe you shot a 90. But, you hit 10 extremely good shots. They may be good for any reason: for me, if they go where I'm aiming, they are a good shot. For some people, it may be that "go-for-it" risk shot that you actually hit. For others, it may be that layup "safe" shot that you forced yourself to take, instead of going for it. But, keep track of your GOOD shots each round. Then, when you are talking about your score, don't forget to mention those as well. ie: "I shot a 110, but I hit 20 really great shots this week compared to only 2 last week". I find, as a beginner, that it makes more sense for me to do it this way.

Awesome. Confidence with your driver helps a lot, too. Now that you've got a good one that fits you and that you are comfortable with, I'm sure you'll be having tons of fun with it. I have to admit that I'm a bit jealous.

Marketing. Man, it can make you or break you. She's got great marketing and a great marketed image. Whether you like her or not, she's extremely marketable.

I have that same feeling. Honestly. I am the worst golfer in our group, but I'm just a beginner so I do have an excuse. But, I feel like I'm slowing the group down. The big thing I do is I try to get ready for the next shot as soon as I'm done with the last one. I guess its kind of like reading the menu before you start to chit-chat at a restaurant. Some people don't look at the menu until the waiter arives. As soon as I see where the ball lands, I start thinking about which club can get me where i need to go next. Also, watch your ball all the way until it stops rolling. Not having to search for your ball saves a TON of time. I know it does me. I used to spend too much time searching for balls, but now that I watch them finish the roll it helps a lot. But the biggest thing is just to have fun. If you work yourself into a tizzy about it, you'll get to hate the game and you'll end up quitting. Not good. So, just relax and have fun.

I think that the more that she does this, the less of a "novelty" it will become. Eventually, we'll find someone who can compete on the men's tour. Whenever that woman gets to that level, the ground will already have been paved and she can get on with playing instead of dealing with the circus. Let Wie be the circus so that she can open the door for whenever a real competitor comes along. It will happen one day. When? Who knows. But it will happen. And when it does, she won't have to struggle like previous women have.

I'm sure you've heard that "practice makes perfect". That's not true. Trust me. "Perfect practice" is the only kind that can "make perfect."

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'm going to just start taking a little notebook. I'm going to start making notes as I go. Right now, score isn't too important to me since I'm so inconsistent. But, I want to be MORE consistent by playing more and getting comfortable knowing what I'm doing. Learning to quickly judge how far I've got left, a bit of quick math should tell me how far I've gone. Right? So, I'll just make quick notes about each club and how far it went out on the course. I guess that's just the best way. I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling to use driving ranges for distance. The balls they use around here are just random assortments of whatever they can get their hands on, it seems. Nothing is consistent out there. Thanks again for the tips. I'm hoping I get the chance to play this weekend and try using a little book.

I had the privledge of playing with a 16-year-old on Monday night. He was extremely courteous, very polite, very knowledgeable and quite an exceptional player. I do NOT understand the whole concept of "judging" people based on their looks. It harkens back to the dark days of golf with "restricted" clubs only for W.A.S.P.s. Very, very sad. Don't be too angry. You should feel sorry for him.

So, the yesterday I went to the driving range ($4 for a big bucket ) and I brought along a notepad. Each time I made good contact, I recorded how far the ball went. I'm thinking that I'll make a chart for each of my clubs and keep it in my pocket when I'm on the course. I have trouble with depth perception, so once I get a distance marker I can just check my pocket and get an idea for which club to use. HOWEVER: How am I supposed to figure out distances, when the balls at teh driving range are rocks that don't go anywhere. On the course, I hit my 7i pretty much at 120 to 130, according to the guys I play with and according to the few times I've hit the green from about 140 or so out with it with the roll. At the range, I hit the same club at 100 right on the money. I have this old hybrid I was testing out and it would only do 120 on the fly, when I KNOW I've hit it 150 on the course. So, what do I do? Just add 10% to 15% to each distance from the range? How am I supposed to get an idea what my club distances are? How is any beginner supposed to learn? ((frustrating)) PS: A quick side story... I was trying this 60* club. I hit it perfect, 60 yards in the air, bounced once, and then landed in a small bucket on the back of the ball-pickup tractor which was out driving around. The two guys next to me started cheering.

No scorecard! That's a really good idea. I'm DEFINATELY going to try that next time. I'm sure that would take a ton of tension off just by itself. One less thing to worry about. For me, though, the best thing I have found about this game is hte people you play with. I have found a group of about 8 guys where we play regularly, once a week, 5:00pm golf. They all laugh and joke the whole time. So, if one guy is having a bad day, it doesn't last long since everyone else is having fun. You get caught up in the "fun" and you just go with it. It makes the day a whole lot better, no matter what you shoot.