mellojoe

I'm going to hit the driving range after work (only $4 !!! ) and double check on this. I do the first half correct, laying the club across my fingers and not my palm. The more I think about it, though, I'm really sure that I "collapse" my grip and sqeeze the butt of my palm into the club. I'll work on this today and see how I do.

Don't forget the greedy customers who agreed to an "interest only" loan thinking they could flip the house for profit in a few years. Yes, the mortgage guys screwed up royally. The banks made some terrible mistakes by gambling on real estate futures. But, many customers knew what they were getting in to, they just bet on the wrong horse and they want to blame it somewhere else. Both parties are to blame. Equally. PS: I read one bank CEO quoted as saying, "Yes, we lost some money. But, it wasn't customer money that was lost." Whaaa...??? Profits come from customers. How can you say things like that?

Extremely well put. I work in the banking industry and it just got out of hand. Mortgage lenders weren't being conservative with their figures. The hopes were that even if someone got upside down, the market would catch up to them in 2 to 3 years and they could still sell and get out from under it without losing. Worst case scenario, they thought, would be that they would break even ... even on a bad loan. Of course, that doesn't work. Houses flooded the market, consumer confidence plummetted, and it is now a buyer's market. I mean, property values were increasing at 10% per year!! Of course it had to end. People were buying way more house then they could afford. Heck, I saw people getting reverse-amortization loans! They assumed that no matter how negative they went in equity, they surely would make it up with the market gaining at 10% a year. That kind of thinking only breeds trouble... as we have seen. To our Canadian friend, I know you are in a boom right now, but please beware that you could hit a bust. Treat your real estate smartly, and you'll make out like a bandit. Get reckless, and you'll end up like a lot of these guys in bankruptcy and forclosure. Good luck to all those who are facing hard times. Its really bad in some areas. I hope you all pull through.

I'd rather have the Saturn Sky instead. Same platform, just much better looking. now, the Solstice coupe that's about to launch is hot, but the Sky looks better than most cars under $100,000.

Good read! Thanks for the article. It definately reinforced some concepts I've learned... It is better to be accurate and consisteant than it is to try to show off and bomb it into the trees. And of course, I laughed at the end.

Hitting the fairway off the tee is by far WAY more important than distance off the tee. Many amateurs go for distance and end up in trouble, thus losing valuable strokes. It is easier to hit hazards, out of bounds, and just general trouble with a Driver, than it is with a wedge.

This could make sense. I've been told that I "tense up" when I play. The best advice given to me came when I was told to "RELAX" and it helps. Maybe I'm just gripping too hard.

Do you mean that I'm too high on the grip, too close to the club head? Or too far from the club head?

I'm a beginner and I just discovered the joy of a hybrid. I hit my 3-Wood off the tee. (like you, I have very little control or consistancy with the Driver right now). Instead of hitting a fairway wood (which I pretty much suck at), I have found that a hybrid is great for any lie in the fairway or rough on long 2nd shots. My bag looks like this: 3-wood 3-hybrid (my new club, on its way hopefully) 5-hybrid 5-iron 6-iron 7-iron 8-iron 9-iron PW SW 60*W Putter It works for me, but then again, I'm just a beginner. But the hybrids are the easiest to hit "fairway woods" I have found. I have actually GAINED distance with them, since I used to try to just get my 4-iron to go far, and I struggled to hit that one solidly all the time. And I couldn't hit the woods except from a tee, and that does nothing when you are in the fairway or rough.

Well, at least I got a good deal on the clubs.

This picture shows where I developed a blister from being out and playing yesterday. What is it trying to tell me? Am I gripping the club too tight? Too loose? I'm trying not to hold the club with my hand, but to hold it with my fingers. Is this right? wrong? Or is this kind of a normal "newbie" blister that will go away once my hands start to develop callosouses? PS: I didn't have a glove yesterday, so I was playing everything bare-handed.

Congrats on a huge drive. That's just awesome. Keep it up!

At the LPGA event I went to earlier in the month, I was amazed at how ... NORMAL ... the players were. They did silly little drills like the one you mentioned to ensure they played consistently. If they can do those things to improve, so can we. Right?

On Grip (for right-handed golfers): As a beginner, I find my biggest grip problems are not rotating my left hand far enough to the left. I get lazy or tired or stop paying attention and my left hand opens up which means I start slicing like crazy with the long woods, or I just don't make solid contact with my irons. I force myself to play with a "strong" grip position by rotating my left hand enough so that I feel like it is going underneath my other wrist. I don't know the technical terms for this, but it feels weird at first.

Number 1 Lesson: Grip. Get someone to show you how to properly hold the club. It will change your world. I promise. It did mine. When I was first starting out, I couldn't do anything right. I'd hit some decent shots, but they were the exception to the rule. 5 minutes of showing me how to properly grip the club changed everything. I wasn't perfect, but I was more solid more of the time. 20 minutes later of basic swing mechanics and I actually was hitting most every shot straight as an arrow about 100 to 140 yards with my 7-iron. Now, I actually have confidence heading out to the golf course. I'm still a beginner, but I actually know what I'm doing.... sort of. I guess what I'm saying is... Get a Grip!

I have a 10.5* Driver, but I really want an 11.5* or even 12* Driver. I have a very slow swing speed right now and I don't get a very good launch angle. I usually tee up with my 3-wood. With the higher loft, I get a great trajectory. Not much distance, though, so I want the longer shaft and bigger head of a Driver, but the loft of a 3-wood. Hence, a 12* driver should be perfect for me.

Another quick tip: When I start getting tired, I get lazy. I start picking my head up way too early. When I start doing that, I start hitting everything BUT the ball. I have to remind myself to keep my head down.

Well, I agree with the OP. You pay good money to play golf, and you are having a good time but the weather isn't cooperating. Just a general sense of morality would say that you give the guys a rain check and let them come back. And give it to Everyone, but especially someone who gave a significant portion of his life to service of the community and protecting its people. I'd buy him a drink.

Last year, a co-worker convinced me to finally start playing golf. I'm so glad he did, since I'm having a ball. (Wait, no pun intended.) He sold me his old set of clubs + bag real cheap since he just spent a ton re-outfitting himself and his wife. I got a great deal on them, and I've been using the snot out of them. However, what exactly do I have? John Letters of Scotland - Trilogy I can't find anything that shows that these clubs are in America, just overseas. Did I get some really cool rare clubs? Or do these make me the laughingstock of the golfing community?

I'm a 9-i guy. I know... strange. I don't hit too long, and it is just comfortable for me. I take an easy swing and aim short to let it roll on. obviously, that changes if there is an obstacle that I have to get over, then I go with my 56* wedge, since it is my next go-to club. I'm not perfect judging distances with it, so I just swing away and hope its close. Hence, I like my 9-iron since I'm more familiar with it and I have a decent idea of distances.

Whenever I hear this topic, I always relate a little story: In our group the two longest (and straighest) drivers are the 92-year-old and the 84-year-old. The rest of us average about 40-50 years old (I'm the youngest at 30) and we only WISH we could keep up with these older guys. Its definately not about strength. I don't have any advice... my longest drive was 240 and that was a fluke. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to know... what was the tip? PS: Congrats! Thats awesome making such a breakthrough.

That's what I like about the courses here in Bella Vista.... no colors, just numbers. Tee's are numbered #1, #2, #3, and #4. 1 is the longest and 4 is the shortest. Most people don't call them Ladies or Seniors or Juniors, thank goodness. I play from the 3's, where as most people play from the #2's. But, I swallow my pride and step up and play from the 3's. Since people just call them 3's instead of "juniors", I don't feel too bad.

For non-tournaments, why not look at X-outs?

Ah. Didn't see the "age" in his signature. Yeah, legally you can't be held liable in a contract, so nobody will allow minors to take credit. You'll have to look at someone face to face who trusts that you'll make the payment. As a minor, you could break the contract and refuse to pay, and there is very little the creditor could do to recover the losses. A local guy who knows you or knows your family would be more likely to make some kind of deal with you. Good luck! PS: Advice for you when you DO turn 18. You will get credit card offers by the truckload. You will be inundated with them. Throw them all away. Well, pick one. But, set a spending limit of only $500. Trust me. You'll thank me later. Eventually you'll forget how much you spent on the card and the only reminder will be when you hit that Limit. A $500 hole is a whole lot easier to get out of than a $5000 one. Just your friendly advice from a banker who's seen too much.