Dev 0

I've thrown a club once or twice in my life. Sometimes I will just let the club drop to the ground after a bad shot as if to ask the heavens why I just did what I did. If I get angry it is only right after the shot and I don't let it stay with me. Because I know I have a chance to make a nice shot on the next one.

With The Open going on right now I'm hoping for a couple big names up top for Sunday, with Tiger being in the last group and playing well. That way I can get out and play a round and hopefully the course will be fairly uninhabited with everyone watching Golf instead of playing. Am I alone in this or anyone else have a similar idea?

Wow, Some awesome advice here guys. Thank You. Some of the things I already do such as FIR, GIR, and Putts. My Chipping and putting are probably my strong suit, my issues start to come at 110 yards and further. Accuracy with my Driver and all my irons is off a bit. I think if I could be more accurate 150 yards and in with getting on the green I would see much better scores. It would also help if I was more consistent with my Driver. I used to have a fade usually fairly easy to compensate for but would would turn into a slice real quick if I made a mistake. Recently I have started hitting a draw and mistakes can turn into duck hooks or slices which is no fun at all. My iron play is OK. Distances are pretty much dialed, its just mis hits that kill me of which their are plenty. Chunks or topping it happen often in a round. As far as my mental game goes the advice given here seems very useful. Some things I found very useful were hammerhead and a couple others saying I should strive for my handicap. I think this will help take the pressure off and I will be more pleased when I score well. Also I have recently started doing this but rustyredcab stating not to go for it every time is always a good reminder. I try to play to my strengths and if that means I am hitting a shot that leaves me 80-90 out on a par 5 then hitting on the green on my third shot instead of going for it on my 2nd then hey I am still putting for birdie and will hopefully have a very realistic par putt if I miss. A couple people mentioned practice smart and ironically my father said the same thing to me yesterday. I definitely need to work on this. I am able to go to the range multiple times a week, but unless I am chipping I generally just whack at balls as fast as possible trying to fix whatever I did wrong on the last shot. I am going to go again tonight so I will definitely try to slow everything down. Try to hit every ball like I am taking a shot on the course. Again thanks for the advice.

My game right now sits around 20. For me while there are some physical faults in my game I know my biggest issue is making mental mistakes. Now my question is this. With such a high handicap should I be striving to score lower or try to aim for my handicap of around bogey golf. I've tried playing with both mindsets and I've noticed that when I play with trying to get a low score and I don't some disappointment sets in. When I play for Bogey and I score better then I get excited. I don't notice any differences in my actual game play. I don't really expect to start shooting lower scores either way (that will hopefully just start coming with more practice), but which do you think is the better mindset to be in?

My Drives are so big that I have to tell everyone within 30 yards of me to stand directly behind me otherwise the Sonic Boom that comes off my ball as it prepares to make escape velocity would disintegrate anyone standing off to the sides. My ball has to orbit the Earth a couple times before it comes back down on the fairway 5 feet in front of me and rolls the rest of the way to the green. Its a pretty tricky shot but I've got it down to were I can hole out 50% of the holes on the course.

You have a problem with that statement?

Some tough love on this forum. I think you are doing pretty well for only being 13. 18 handicap is better than the majority of other golfers. I think for your age and how long and how much you play that is quite good. I wouldn't expect you to be any better, and am a bit jealous that you are that good at 13. There are going to be a lot of people who tell you can't do it and you should give up. Those people are cowards themselves and you should never listen to them. Not everyone on the PGA was/is a prodigy golfer, a lot had to work very very hard to get where they are and all of them still do work very very hard to stay at a professional level. Here is my advice and its a bit lengthy so bear with me. Right now don't worry about distance. You are small so hitting it a little over 200 is nothing to be mad about. It sounds like you still have a lot of growing to do. Distance will come, and with it your swing will probably be hard to maintain as you are able to make generate more power. Right now I would focus on accuracy, your short game, and putting. You can quickly turn an otherwise good hole into a poor one with a 3 putt or a flubbed chip. Keep working on your mechanics, because like I mentioned when your growth spurt happens its going to mess with a lot of things. There is nothing wrong with being a perfectionist, and I despise people who put others down for this trait. Perfectionists almost always go far in life. I think the biggest challenge in front of you is keeping things in perspective. That can be very difficult for a teenager. I know it was for me and it still is now. Don't forget you still have school and social obligations. If your high school has a golf team try out for it. Even if you don't make it the first year keep trying. There really is no reason for you to ever give up your dream of becoming a professional. Allen Doyle didn't turn make it onto the PGA Tour until he was 46. Keep up the hard work Kid and don't lose sight.

I almost always try to put those or take a nice easy putt style stroke with a longer iron.

I think it is all mental with me. When it is above me I think the ball is way too close. When it is below me I just think, well I better stay down.

Side hill lies where the ball is above me. I can never seem to hit these well. Other way around, no problem.

I want to shoot consistently in the 80's by the time the season is over. Which really in Sacramento is never if you don't mind a little cold. To do this I have 3 goals Really work on my short game around the green!!!! I have been going at it like crazy and will continue to do so. Work on accuracy and consistency off the tee. This is easy to accomplish on the range but I need to translate that onto the course. Work on accuracy with my irons. Consistency is really starting to come together. Now I just need to really focus on getting the ball to go where I want it. The best part is I feel these are easily reachable goals and by end of season next year I will probably want to break 80. I wish everyone the best of luck. I think always setting goals and then getting them done keeps the game interesting.

It wasn't today it was Saturday but I shot a 95 on a par 72. Not my best score ever (a little worse than average) but I did better on the back 9 than I usually do. Generally I do well on the front and poor on the back, was the opposite this time. Putted 35 times which Is nice because I strive to 2 putt or better.

Thank You for the offer and I am very tempted, but I think this will need to be a new driver. Just something about that brand new club feel knowing no one has ever hit it before. As soon as I sell off some of my old hobby stuff I foresee a long day at Haggin Oaks getting fitted for the correct driver.

Unfortunately I never had the funds to really buy clubs on a whim until recently so I have literally be stuck with hand me downs or borrowed club from a friend that was a hand me down as well. Drivers I have hit so far King Cobra 360cc: Max I ever hit this was 300 yards, it went straight when I put a good swing on it. King Cobra 440cc: I could crush this driver, when hit straight I would hit this thing 300+ all day, but misses were very very unforgiving and a slice or duck hook happened more times than I like to admit Taylor Made Burner 460cc: This is by far the best driver I have used. Misses aren't terrible and it has the longest flight time and good roll out. I wouldn't even dream of replacing it except its not mine. My friend is letting me use it because he got a RocketBallz for free and didn't need the Burner anymore. I think as far as distance Its not much, Accuracy with a proper swing is roughly the same too. I think the new technology is better at covering misses than the older clubs are though. So I am finally going to buy my first driver and the Titleist 913 D2 is at the top of my list along with the Callaway X Hot and Cobra Amp Cell (in Orange)

Hmm Hours spent on the course vs. hours on the practice range between playing is probably around 50%. Balls hit practicing vs balls hit on the course between playing a round is closer to 99% practice 1% play I usually go to the range 2-3 times a week and play once every other week.

A lot depends on age, and fitness level, and flexibility level, oh and height too. For instance My dad is 45. 6'2" Very good shape and very strong arms. He has lost some flexibility over the years since I have been playing He drives the ball ~300 on a straight drive with a decent ball on the course. He uses a lot more strength to hit it that far. I'm 23. 6'0 Good shape but not nearly as strong. Very flexible. I drive the ball 300+ yards when I hit it straight with a decent ball on the course. We are usually pretty even but I am hitting further than him more often than not. I don't swing as hard and more use my long arms to do all the work. Like tuffluck says its a lot to do with age. I can just get more torque on the club easier. If I hit the ball straight with a driver more than 50% of the time the numbers might be pretty impressive but I would rather hit it 270 every time straight down the middle than 300+ and in the rough/trees/another holes fairway half the time.

I recently went to the range and hit some chips and pitch shots on 3 types of balls and 3 different wedges. I have been working on my chipping and pitching technique a lot to increase spin when I am close in. The balls I used were Titleist Pro V1x's (what I play), Titleist NXT Tour (non S), and Callaway HX Diablo. The Wedges were the Sand Wedge that came with my callaway (CW) x18's (used), a cleveland (CV) 588 forged 56 (used), and a Brand New Cleveland (CV) 588 RTX CB 56. Here is what I found For the CW SW, all the balls pretty much looked and acted the same but with the pro v1x's having the best feeling. This is not a purpose made wedge and I know from lots of rounds before using a dedicated wedge that this is what I expect. Both CV wedges performed much better with chips and pitches. All three balls checked up nicely with the better wedges with some roll out. I didn't notice any difference with my chips. My pitching is where the difference started to show between the golf ball. The PROV's checked up just a bit more and I had to hit them a little farther to get them to the same place. They also feel nicer when hit. It wasn't a huge difference but I did notice it. IMHO unless you are using very cheap long distance, low spin balls most won't be able to tell much of a difference. From the fairway and on 150 I hardly notice any at all though that is just an observation from the past. I think a lot has to do with technique and using a wedge that isn't an el cheapo. disclaimer* I am by no means even close to pro level and not even a scratch golfer. This is just my opinion and some observations I had. I am an average golfer with an average handicap. I practice my chipping a lot because my accuracy from distance still needs help and I miss the green more times than I would like.

Just got back into playing a ton after 3 years of on and off. I used to slice the ball all the time. I finally ended up changing my stance and worked on a very slow back swing and made sure I was tucking my right elbow into the pocket under my ribs. This helped tremendously and I only slice about 1/15 shots with my driver now. Welcome back and good luck!

I'm surprised there aren't more Northern California golfers on the forums. There are always tons of people at the course any given day of the week. As for wedges thank you for the link. I just got back from sport chalet and hit a few clubs there but you can only tell so much. I checked out the new Cleveland 588 RTX and it was great (of course) a Taylor Made, Nike, and a Callaway Forged that I really liked. Unfortunately I didn't get the names of the TM or Nike because I was not impressed by them at all. I will be heading to Haggin Oaks to get a better selection to choose from. Thank You for the warm welcome.

Hello, I just started getting serious about Golf again, haven't played a ton since highschool, and I joined so I could learn as much as I could and just read about golf. Right Now I'm roughly an 20 handicap but improving quickly. Before I stopped playing in Highschool I was about a 15/16 and want to be better than that. I am 23 years old so I haven't had too long of a gap and its all coming back to me. I'm currently looking to purchase a few new wedges as I have never bought a dedicated 52/56/60 wedges and after using a friends I saw they could help me out drastically, any advice on what to check out is welcome. I am actually probably a better teachers as its pretty easy for me to pick out nuances in peoples swings and try to help them correct them. Looking forward to learning a lot more and helping out when I can. ~Dev