Mitch360

Duh, that makes more sense! Gotta start keeping my scorecards. I bet there are a lot of golfers who shoot a 40 over 9 and then claim to score in the 80's!

I forgot to mention, I suffered for ages with an over the top swing. It still tries creeping back in almost every time I play. Any tips here?...

This is an interesting one. I nearly always play 9 holes at a time due to other commitments. If I shot a 40, which would be very good for me, I struggle to justify doubling it for an overall 80 over 18 as I'm benefiting twice from my lucky round. That said, if I we're to shoot 55 then it unfair on me cos I'd have probably done better on the 'theoretical' second nine. Could always add two scores together, but which ones? If I'm being stupid, please tell me :-)

I've been Playing Golf for: 2 years My current handicap index or average score is: 20ish My typical ball flight is: slight fade The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Hooks Videos: 1 - [video]http://youtu.be/HRv4xy7HmsE[/video] 2 - [video]http://youtu.be/F8RH_oEOdbA[/video] Be good to get your opinions and ideas for improvement. Thanks all

Thanks Golfingdad, I'll prob just see how it goes on the day. Just pleased to hear it's quite relaxed and we can walk around. Thanks for your responses

That's a good point as it's cheaper on Wednesday and it's less than 1 hour drive away. Be great to see all the golfers I've spent so much time watching on TV. Can't wait.

Thanks. That's great advice! I'm going to check to see if there are any upgrades or privileges available. Just praying for nice weather now.

I'm going to Wentworth in 2 weeks to watch BMW championship. There's some top names in the entry list (Mcilroy, Els, Stenson, Garcia etc) so really excited :-) Can anyone tell me whether you are free to roam around the course or casually follow your favourite player? Or is it more controlled than this? With designated areas? Is it possible to get up close to the action, or will I be constantly competing with the crowd? I know competitions and clubs are all different, but would love to hear from anyone who's been to a pro tournament. Cheers everyone.

Good point. Didn't consider distance control.

What do you think is a more common cause of missed puts? - misread line, or; - mis hit putt. Interesting to know what people think.

I may well send it. Thing is... Don't want to play with it and ruin it in case it's real, but can't sell it cos it's unfair on the buyer. Probably will send it. I've removed the grip tonight looking for further evidence :-) and it's revealed a code on the shaft. So I'll probably send this to honma and see if it's an internal code that they're familiar with. Chances are if the shaft is legit, so is the club (it's the shafts that are the expensive part apparently). Now that the grip is off, I've noticed it does have a weave of carbon lace all the way to the end, and there's a series of tiny metal strands running all the way to the tip (you can see they are metal when you look at end of the un gripped shaft) Seems like a lot of effort to counterfeit. But the Chinese are an innovative bunch.. Wouldn't put anything past them ! If I ever find out more ill post it here.....

Ok, so in case anyone is interested, Honma In Japan came back to the UK agent who forwarded me the email. The Club and shaft look original. Because the hosel does not have a serial number it cannot be an original 4* Hosel. They cannot confirm that it is counterfeit. Although "it does not appear that all parts of the club originated from their factory in Japan". The agent said "that is not to say its an attempted forgery as sometimes people tinker with their clubs I.e re-shafting etc. The only way to get the club properly authenticated is to send it to japan for formal scrutiny. I can't believe some one can fake a high quality diver so well that even the factory cannot identify it by Hi Definition images! Seems a bit odd.

Also, as mentioned in another post, if they were making fakes this good, surely they would make countless copies? Which doesn't explain why I can't find a single one like it. I thought it maybe it's had a new hosel fitted as some point, but this can't be true as it still has the 'original' 18kt gold ring around it.

I've emailed honma in the UK as the Japanese email address isn't working. Probably be Monday now before anyone gets back to me. The whole head and face is supposed to be titanium which apparently doesn't attract a magnet. I've tried this and a magnet will not attract to any part of the head, so looks promising. According to the internet, this is a sure sign of a fake. Apart from aluminium, I can't imagine what else it could be made of? It's certainly not steel cos that would definitely attract a magnet. It's all very puzzling.

Be interesting to see what Honma say. I'll be sure to post back here soon. Cheers!

... Oh, and I also only paid £65 for it :-)

Well that's what I thought... Because it is so well made. There's even a hologram effect on the shaft and I've tested the the face with a magnet to make sure it's titanium and not steel, but in Honmas website they say every single club that leaves their factory has a serial number on the hosel, and it hasn't got one.

Actually, I'm starting to doubt its real. I find it difficult to believe that such a good fake could be made! But it has no serial number on the hosel. I've contacted Honma, bit I'm 90% sure it's fake now. :-(

Thanks for the info. I have found a few 2* and 3* drivers in black. But I've yet to find one in gold and this one also has 'Hiro Homna' inscribed on the too, whereas none othe the others have this. Thanks for your help.

I've just noticed, there are 4 stars on the shaft. I cannot find an identical driver anywhere in the internet whatsoever.

My one looks almost identical to the one on eBay from the top, but the bottom is totally different. If I google the model I can find similar drivers in the results, but I cannot find a gold one anywhere. I'm sure it's not like a collectors item, but the workmanship and quality is outstanding. Thanks for the info!

Sorry about the huge photos. Ill have to figure that one out!

I bought this driver from eBay for a 'buy it now' price. It's immaculate and I doubt it's ever been used. I can't find one in gold anywhere on eBay or the web, I'm hoping it may even be limited edition. It's a Honma MG460-RF Gold. Which apparently are not well known at all. Any rough guesses on how much it's worth would be much appreciated. I doubt I'll ever play as I'll probably ruin it and it's a beautiful driver! Thanks.

Hi, I thought I'd share my thoughts after playing for close to a year and half and finally seeing positive results from all the hard work. I practice and play with a friend who has a handicap of 6, which has really helped. The first time in played with him I was amazed at the speed and ball flight he could produce, and I've been trying to replicate it since. I thought I'd mention some of the things I've changed in my swing which I think have had he greatest effect on my game. From humble beginnings to the current day... I'm not suggesting that because the following worked for me that they will by any means work for everyone, and I'm certainly not a pro. 1. When I first started It took a while to realise that I was not hitting the ball before the ground. I started visualising the ball 1-2 inches forwards, and making sure that the divot appears after the ball. This made a big difference. 2. I found that when I reached the top of my backswing I was then going full throttle all the way back down. I find the ball a lot easier to control and strike well if I begin the downswing gently and turn on the power gradually and smoothly through the ball. 3. Another game changer for me was making sure that my left wrist is facing target at address and kept flat-ish. The two changes I've made recently however have had by far, the greatest effect in terms of accuracy ball flight and adding huge compression. I noticed that when the pros set up for an iron shot l, their arms hang straight down. I noticed that mine hung forwards quite a bit. I think even when you 'feel' like they're hanging vertically, you'll be surprised to see in the mirror they are usually not. I now set up with my arms closer to my body (which means tilting forward more or moving ball closer. Finally, I think that majority of beginners do not realise how much you can attack the ball from the inside. I'm talking here about 'feeling' like you are hitting the back of he ball on the corner closest to you. Whether this is actually what's happening i don't know, but that's how it feels. The more I approach the golf ball on an inside path, and follow through with the club swinging to the right of the target, the more powerful the shot. If i exaggerate this action, the ball then starts to draw, which is something I didn't think I would be able to do. I would encourage anyone who is about to put a lot if time into practicing at the range to get a camera / iPhone. I used to hit bucketloads if balls and did not get any better until I started recording myself and was shocked that my golf club was not travelling anywhere close to the path that I thought it was travelling along. I had a severe 'over the top' swing that I was totally unaware of and was losing all power and accuracy due to me slicing across the ball. I think (in my amateur and zero qualified opinion :-). That it's difficult to hit the ball on an inside - outside swing path if your hands are pushed out away from your body at address and the ball is too far away. I think it's very difficult to get an inside out swing path and a powerful descending blow, without having your arms close to your body and swinging the club behind and around your body, instead of 'up and over' the head and body. Anyway, I hope there's some sense in that. If anyone disagrees with any if the above I'd be happy to be corrected. I am still learning.

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I started playing golf around 9 months ago, I'm 31. I started golf to get into a new hobby and didn't realise how addictive it would eventually become. Anyway... I've watched a lot of YouTube videos and I guess I've followed the same tips and progression as most new golfers I.e. stationary core, straight left arm, transfer weight forward, ball first - then divot and I thought I was becoming a reasonably good golfer, although I'd never seen or played with a scratch golfer. This afternoon I played with a friend who claimed to play a round in 72. I just witnessed him play 1 under par..... Without a single 'gimme' It's wasn't his drives, or his putting / short game that blew me away, it was his mid iron shots! First thing I noticed was the sound of his ball in flight...the ball actually sounded like it was cutting through the air! Secondly it was the way it launched in a straigh upwardstline, then tapered off and fell onto the green right at the last moment. I watched closely to see what he was doing that I'm not and I couldn't spot it. I've tried many, many variations and having hit thousands of balls... I would have expected to have have shot a shot like his at least a few times, even if only by fluke, but not so. Is it just a question of practice and technique? I'm starting to question the length of my clubs and geometry of my body!!! I can connect sweetly with the ball, rarely hit fat or thin shots..... But my shots tend to look like one big arc... He's been playing for 8 years. What exactly is it he's doing that's producing this ball flight? Power? Technique? More compression? Or is it just years of practise?