DeadMan

My #1 goal is to play in the gross division of my men's club championship. To do that, I need to get my handicap below a 10. My other goal is to finish the handicap year with a single digit handicap. How I plan to accomplish this is by working with evovlr in the winter doldrums. I think I've already improved a bit with just one video lesson, believe it or not. But I can see on video that I have a lot to work on, and it will be a long, hard slog. I honestly think I could get below a 10 if I just went and practiced on my short game a lot in the spring. But I think if I put in the work on my full swing instead, I have potential to be low single digits and be in the thick of the gross divisions in my men's club (usual winners are in the 3 handicap range). That's my long term goal.

My stats are closer to the 6-10 range than the 11-20 range, except for the average of 4 doubles or higher per round ...

I started playing seriously in about 2011, and broke 80 for the first - and only - time last fall. Probably took me somewhere between 70-100 rounds.

I don't wear them as pajama's, but they certainly are pajamas. One of the great things about being able to set up a net in my garage is that I can practice golf in my pajamas! @mvmac - thanks for the video. I can't watch it at work, but I will be sure to check it out when I get home.

New videos! Was focused on posture/set up and keeping head still on backswing. Hope you like my pants!

On the green: "One time!" --> Just let this putt drop so I don't have to watch him 3 putt again! "That'll play" --> we'll find your ball, but you're not going to like it

This is my only hesitation. It really depends on what is around the green, and it's hard to tell from the information. What's dead for someone else may not be dead for me. And if it's a lateral hazard around the green, I'm definitely going for it, because at worst I get a bogey, but at least I get an eagle.

The only thing that scares me is that the green seems small and is well protected with the trees. I still think it's an easy go-for-it decision, but hitting a 230 yard shot into a 30 yard window (I think that's about the width of the landing area at the green) doesn't leave a ton of room of error. Even then, though, I'd rather be in trouble around the green, hitting my 3rd, then trying to

Ask me again in a couple of months. But, yes, it is nice to have something specific to work on instead of just swinging.

Just watched my analysis. My head is wild on my swing - I figured I wasn't perfect on key 1, but I didn't think it would be that bad, haha. The funny part is that while I was hitting balls, I could see my head shdaw easily. And I swear it wasn't moving. Boy, was I wrong. That's okay, though, something to work on. I also need to be a little more upright with my posture. So I have 3 things to work out - flaring feet out more at address (along with outward knee rotation), more upright posture, and keeping head still. The first 2 of those seem pretty easy to fix, as long as I don't get lazy about it my address position. The head wildness will be tougher. But, man, I can see how I could have huge improvement just by keeping it more quiet in my swing.

I'm not sure if that's directed at me, but I feel pretty good about having a ball in play, and it will be further down than any other club. Again, your landing area is 75 yards wide here. That's huge. If you lay up off the tee, you're looking at a 200 yard shot to a good lay up spot. From the beginning of the bunker to the end of the trees on the left (which is where you'd have to be to have a decent shot at the green on the 3rd shot) is about 185 yards. You're still looking at a big landing area (~55 yards wide), but that's a long second shot for a par 5. Personally, i feel more confident in executing a driver with 75 yards to land than a 2 200 yard shots with a 75 and 55 yard landing area. I feel really confident in both, but I don't think there's much of reason not to hit driver, even if you end up laying up. Also, if you hit driver and lay up, you're looking at a 150 yard shot at most for the lay up. Personally, I strongly prefer a 150 yard shot to a 200 yard shot. I'd also prefer (albeit not as strongly) a 150 yard shot out of the sand to a 200 yard shot out of the fairway.

This is pretty easy for me, especially after looking at the hole in google maps. If count the bunker as part of your landing area, you have 75 yards to land the ball and not be in the rough. That's a lot of room to miss. I don't see the bunker has being that big of a deal. If you hit it, you're looking at going for the green with your 3rd shot instead of your 2nd. And I've had good success hitting fairway metals out of bunkers, so I think even being in that bunker might not stop me from going for it. If I chunk that shot, I'd still have a ~150 yard shot into the green. Not ideal on a par 5, but not in trouble either. So, my play: Driver off the tee - I'd probably aim at the right edge of the bunker. Unless you absolutely cannot get out of the sand in one shot (or can't keep your driver on the planet), I think that should be the play for everybody here. The bunker just isn't as penal on a par 5. Second shot will depend on where I end up. If I'm on the left side, I'm laying up to as close to the end of the fairway as possible. Then I'll hit a wedge into the green and probably end up with par. Trying to a shape a shot in to the green here is too risky. Too much trouble. If I don't have a clear look at the green, I'm laying up. If I'm on the right side, this is a green light special. If I hit an average drive, I'm looking at a 5W into the green. It's a bit tight, but definitely worth it. A drive under 250 would have me lay up same as if I hit the left side. If I'm in the bunker, I'm probably still going for the green. Unless I hit it far enough that I couldn't hit a 5W into the green. I don't trust a long iron out of the sand. I might still think about it because I still think I'm unlikely to leave the ball in the sand, but I'd probably end up hitting a 150 yard shot to the end of the fairway. To sum up: bunker doesn't you from making par on this hole. Don't worry about it off the tee - the only real danger is not hitting the 75 yard landing area. If you have a look at the green with your 2nd shot, then go for it.

I feel like you may have told me that before ...

Videos! Finally! Also, some good videos of my garage :)

Link to video: http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/one-rory-mcilroys-worst-shots-ever-happened-dubai I like this part of the description in that link: Quote: Instead, he hits the weak fairway wood shot that is all-too-familiar to many of us amateur players. It usually happens to us after we've waited a few minutes for the group ahead to clear the green though. Been there. Many times.

I'm young (late 20s), and I use a push cart whenver I walk 18. I prefer to walk whenever it's possible - I can take in the outdoors better, also helps me clear my mind a little better between shots I think. It's also at least $15 cheaper. While I can carry my bag for 18 and play, I much rather walk. I will be sore and tired after walking 18 carrying - I'm never sore after walking 18 with a push cart. Plus, I think carrying is not very good on your back. I feel like carrying would affect my golf swing negatively. Tired body = tired swing. Push carts all the way.

Figured I would bump this for an update. I'm signing up for evovlr. I have an indoor hitting bay set up in my garage that I plan to use this winter. I'm hoping to work on my swing this winter without the pressure of a handicap (this is more pressure on my self, to be fair) or tournaments. My goal is to get into the single digits this year, and be able to play from the tips in tournaments with my men's club (requires a handicap below 10 - length isn't an issue for me). I will post my most recent videos when I get home and can upload them to youtube.

The fact that the thread on the article has about a fourth of the replies that this thread does speaks volumes. The original article wasn't that funny, interesting, or new. I don't think it was even really that harsh to Tiger, honestly. The worst things in there was that he cheated on his wife and that he's a bad tipper. I probably wouldn't even have read it if Tiger hadn't put up a hissy fit about it. The only way that article was going to get read by a lot of people was if Tiger bitched about it. Tiger really needs to learn to pick his battles. When someone says that other golfers want to lynch him, that's when he should be speaking up. Some mediocre article in an irrelevant magazine? Keep your mouth shut.

When my wife played high school golf, one of her teammates had to kill a goose because it attacked her. Apparently she had to break the goose's neck. Do not mess with geese in the spring. They can be really nasty if there are little geese around. My dog loved to chase geese, until he did in the spring once and they hissed and ran at him. Now he avoids them.

I've played at right around freezing. That's pretty much my limit. I have to walk in those temperatures though. It actually makes it a lot better to play in.

Here's what I think about this. I average a little under 15 over par on a round. That's about 1 birdie, 6 pars, 8 bogeys, 4 doubles or higher (approximately). I think a pro driving for me would almost completely eliminate doubles or higher. When that happens to me, it's normally a mistake off the tee that makes it impossible to get near the green in regulation. Very rarely will I have a shot at the green that doesn't result in a nGIR. Maybe once a round - maybe. So I think that would move those 4 doubles to 1 double and 3 bogeys at worst. I think I would likely get 17 or 18 nGIR from a pro driving for me. Once I get a nGIR, I very rarely make a double. So I think I'd have 17 bogeys at worst, and 1 double from this at worst. Also, I would likely be able to get a nGIR in 2 on every par 5. Assuming a normal par 72, I would say that the 4 par 5s are likely 2 pars and 2 birdies. On the 10 par 4s, I'd say I'd hit 6 GIR. I think I'd make about 6 pars from that. So 6 pars, 3 bogeys, one double. I think the pro would hit 75% of the greens from the distance I play par 3s at. So I'd call that 3 pars, 1 bogey. Add that all up, that's 11 pars, 2 birdies, 4 bogeys, one double bogey. So I'd be looking at somewhere in the range of a 76. I think that might be a little aggressive. But honestly, I'd think the pro would be leaving me with approach shots where I'd be using a wedge every single time. I don't think I'm all that great with wedges, but I think if they're leaving me about 100 yards, I should be able to hit the green more often than not. When you add in the length advantage on par 5s, I think it's reasonable. Honestly, with a pro driving for me, I'd be really disappointed not to break 80, so this makes sense.

I essentially learned to play on an executive course, so they have a spot in my heart. I still really do enjoy playing on them now. It's a great tune up of your irons. There's an 18 hole executive course near me that I really enjoy playing because they have par 3s that require me to use every club in my bag. It's also a way for me to get out with friends who aren't as good and couldn't keep up on a full course. You can take a little more time and relax a little more. I also really enjoy the occasional par 3 course for the same reasons.

Probably for the first time ever, I played a hole like the pros would. So, apologies that this is two shots, but here goes: This was 18, which is a medium length par four that is sort of a dogleg right - the fairway is straight, but the tee boxes are at a diagonal to the start of the fairway. There are trees on the right side of the fairway, which makes it difficult to cut the corner too much. The wind was blowing straight down the fairway, so off the tee it was behind us, blowing slightly left to right. Normally on this hole I don't hit driver because I can run through the fairway unless I take a too aggressive line. But today, I wanted to just launch the ball high into the air and let the wind blow it down the hole. I did exactly what I wanted to do - I hit a really high drive that had just a bit of a fade to it. The wind caught it and it went forever. It ended up being a 318 yard drive, GPS confirmed. It actually wasn't in the fairway, but I didn't care. I'm now laying ~50 yards out from the pin. I hit a 3/4ish LW, and the ball is tracking right at the pin. It lands probably 7-10 feet short of the pin and starts rolling right at it. From where I was, it looked like it would stop short of the pin. But I still jokingly said "go in." It hits the pin and somehow lips out out of the hole. No idea how that was possible considering it looked like it had stopped rolling to me. I ended up with a 2 foot birdie putt, which I made. Even though it was a short shot, I've never hit the flag on an approach shot before. It was pretty cool. An eagle 2 would have been nice, but I'm not complaining (I swear!).

Yes. I play the Callaway Hex Chrome +. It's not a difficult ball to find, but it's not their top of the line model either. It's pretty much my perfect ball - spins on half wedge and short game shots, reasonably straight off the tee, etc. And it's about $30 for a dozen, so a lot cheaper than other urethane balls like that. I am comfortable enough in playing similar, albeit more expensive, balls that it won't make a difference in my score. But I would also be spending $15 a dozne more, so that's not really cool.

Posted one score and I went from an 12.2 to an 11.7. Oops. Our handicap season actually ends on 11/15 (although it might be 10/31), so I won't have much change for a while. So far, I have two rounds scheduled before then, but I'm guessing I'll get in 5-ish rounds before the season is over.