hansol04

This is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks very much guys. I actually hadn't heard of "playing one side of the course", but I can see how that could actually work. I think I will try and include that into my game. These days I'm really trying to work on my swing mechanics, and it seems that my most "repeatable" and fluid swings tends to fade the ball right-to-left (I'm a lefty remember), and I wasn't sure if this was a horrible thing, or if a guy can work with that or not. And thanks for the heads-up on not taking it too hard if people don't reply. I will definitely try to limit my posting of stupid non-sense. Although I suppose I should watch what I say, as I'm sure you experienced guys read this and rolled your eyes haha. Once again, thanks guys, and have a wicked amazing phenominal weekend -Cameron

So does my having no responses to this topic mean I am an illiterate idiot who can't compose a decent, intelligible thread of sentences? My apologies guys. -Cameron

Hey all, I am just starting to get into the "finer" points of golf, learning about the importance of body alignment and target lines and swing mechanics and all that stuff, rather than just walking up to the tee box and swinging away. That being said, I was watching on the tv the other night a thing about Ben Hogan, and one thing that was said really interested me. Apparently, Ben tended to hit a consistent draw with his swing. And because he was consistent with this, he just included it into his game in that he would aim a little further to the right of the fairway, knowing that the ball would draw back in towards his target line. (Hopefully that made sense.) So that got me thinking, is this common practice in low-handicap players? I always thought that a guy should strive to always shoot arrow-straight shots all the time, but to also be able to add a little draw or fade to them depending on the course lay-out. What exactly is the "goal" here? Arrow-straight or knowing your swing and playing according to the faults in it? Thanks for humouring me guys -Cameron

Well I'm sure the last thing you guys want to hear about is my mediocre (if that) statistics, but like was stated previously, golf used to be a gentleman's game. And usually being humble and polite was part of being a gentleman. Now it seems there are less of that type of person around maybe? Certainly we find a lot of braggarts and over-exagerrations, but I like to hope that somewhere out there, there are a few guys who can turn to their golf partner and say "Buddy, I am playing horribly today, my shots are horrid, my short game is laughable, and my 11-year old sister could out-drive me", and be completely comfortable saying it. I mean, it's golf after all: A classy, laid-back, skilled game. If someone is so motivated by the need to beat their chest and go on about 400 yard drives, maybe they should take up professional bodybuilding, or maybe even try duelling Chuck Norris with a flintlock pistol or something. That is pretty masculine... Cheers -Cameron

Well guys, here is my story for you, and maybe it will help calm some frustrations: I drive the ball about 180-ish yards. If I hit the sweet spot, maybe it goes further. Often times I slice it and it goes OB. But if I do hit it straight, I usually bounce clear of the 150 yard sign and it rolls near the 200 yard sign. Very seldom does it carry further. My 150-to-the-pin club is my 4 iron. My 119-yard par 3 club is an 8 iron. My short game blows, I can't get hardly any spin on the ball, and most often I 3-putt. What I can't figure out is why some guys have such difficulty posting such info. Maybe the whole idea of "competition" negates being honest, but to me, with the way I golf right now, all I try to do is try and shoot better than I did the day before. I can't see any shame in saying what a guy honestly hits. Or maybe that is just me... Cheers -Cameron

Hey all, New to this site, and this is my first post, so it probably doesn't count for much but figured I would chime in anyway. After having golfed as a junior with cavity-backs for years, I stopped playing weekly when I became an "adult" (the green fees got too expensive.) But recently I moved out to a small coastal-town on the west coast, where they have a very nice course, and best of all the green fees are very cheap, and I can play every day if I wish. So I picked up my old clubs and started playing again. I started shooting in the 90s, but slowly the scores are starting to come down after each round, and the other day shot an 86. I then decided it was time for new clubs, as my "Pro Select" set seems a little outdated, and I wanted something that I can feel confident using. So I started looking on the internet, learned a little bit about clubs and designs and stuff, and this thing called a "blade" kept showing up. I had no idea what the hell it was, so looked into it. And what I learned was that blades were apparently an 8-headed monster that will bend you over and destroy you 14 different ways, 11 of which are illegal in 28 countries. But one thing that kept coming up when I was reading this stuff was how you can instantly tell via "feedback" if you had a decent swing/shot or not when you use a blade design. Now call me crazy, but to me, the whole reason I play golf is to not just score low, but to be able to have consistency in my game. And the way I figure it, if you want to be able to hit these "monsters" called blades, you had better be fairly consistent. So to me, having a club that instantly tells you what you did wrong is kinda like having a swing coach right there in your bag. What isn't to like about that? To me, it seems that a blade is a "total-game improvement" club. If you swing these well, it means you are doing things right. With a cavity-back, one could say that it is a "shot-improvement" club. No matter what you do (within reason) your shot will be perfect-ish, regardless of the actual imperfections in your swing. Now this may or may not matter to some people (golf is frustrating enough without handicapping yourself via club selection). And, in the end, the scorecard speaks for itself. But I for one like to know when I am doing something wrong. "Masking" my faults, but still doing well on the scorecard doesn't make me feel good about myself at the end of the day. Maybe it is my stint in the army kicking in, but "if you are going to do something, do it right" was what was drilled into our heads. Don't let pretty colours and big words cover up faults. Fix them at the source. So that being said, I just ordered a brand new set of Tommy Armour musclebacks off ebay. I'm quite sure I will get a lot of looks at the course, not to mention a lot of laughs at all the screw-ups and rediculous shots I'm sure to have. And my scorecard will most likely be rediculous as well. But I'm confident that slowly my swing will improve, become more consistent, and I will become a better all-around golfer because of it. I mean, if a guy can hit blades well, he can probably hit the cavity-backs well too. Switch those two around, and it might not be the case. For what it's worth. Cheers -Cameron