GangGreen

I've found a putting mirror to be very helpful for indoor parctice over the winter. Very useful if you need to work on you're alignment.

Nice summary, I always understood how to calculate my index, but was a little fuzzy on how to actually use it for competitive purposes. This is helpful.

I post all my scores as well, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I'll probably spend a lot of time working on my putting in the basement again this year and getting back in shape. Started a yoga routine last winter and it really helped with the flexibility, this year I will probably add some strength training as well.

Just happened to me 2 days ago. Went to the range to work on stuff, started with my sand wedge and slowly worked my way up the bag. Hitting it really really well until I got to my 7i and then BAM it was likely I had never hit a club before. We're not talking just poor shots, I literally couldn't make decent contact with the ball and was thinning everthing to the right. It was a little distressing standing over the ball and feeling like I had no idea what I was doing anymore. Usually when I hit one of those stretches at the range I just grab a seat for a few minutes then club down and start hitting 1/2 and 3/4 shots just to get back into a groove. This time was different though and I felt like my swing just totally got away from me. The only thing I could figure was I've hit a ton of balls this year and I think physically my body is telling me its time to start winding down the season (although I hate ending it on such a bad note).

Great read, really makes you appreciate how good these guys really are and how hard it is for them to make a living out of it.

I picked the game back up last summer after being away from it for 15 years. I purchased new clubs last year when I started playing again and, from my experience, the difference in technology over that time span was HUGE particularly with respect to forgiveness. Hard to say how its effected my distance, I hit the ball more or less the same distances now then I did back then but I think age has offset some of the benefits of today's clubs for me. Would have loved to have had these clubs when I was a 20-something.

You're definetly a non-golfer if you don't have a ridiculous looking tan line where your socks are!!!

I'd have to say yes, but maybe not as much as I would have liked. I've taken 3.5 strokes off my handicap this year, all due to lessons and focusing on improving my full swing fundamentals. Biggest change I've noticed is that my "misses" aren't nearly as wild as last year and, more often than not, still playable. My pitching/chipping also improved, not to the point where I would consider it a strengh, but I'm at least giving myself chances when I'm around the green. Lately, though, I feel like I'm taking a few steps backward, just too focused on my swing technique and too many swing thoughts when I play.

I'm ready for a little break myself as well. I feel like I've hit a lot of balls this year between lessons, range time, and playing and, honestly, I'm a little burnt-out. I still have a couple of more rounds left in me before the clubs find there way to the closet but I can't see me hitting the practice range the way I was earlier in the season. I like playing in the fall, though, since when I do get out the local course is usually pretty empty. Time to start putting those yellow balls in play again!

My first choice would be to play with friends, but second choice would be to play alone vs. being paired up with strangers. For whatever reason, I find that I get way too self-consious when I play with people I don't know (even though I know they could absolutely care less about what I'm doing). I tend to be more deliberate and focused when I'm alone and, when I play with friends, we usually have a gentlemen's bet going so that usually keeps me on my toes. That's not to say I haven't met some great new people on the course, but one of the previous posters compared golf to fly fishing (I think) and its a good comparison for me as well. When I used to fly fish I'd either want to enjoy the camaraderie of the day with my buddies or the serenity of the surroundings on my own.

I got a 30. I thought the article was well written (although a little on the long side).

You're story sounds similar to mine (started in college, 15 years off, took it back up again last summer). I'd recommend the game improvement clubs, you'll likely get many years use out of them. I'd also suggest trying out some hybrids (I carry a 4H and 3H myself), very forgiving clubs compared to their iron counterparts in my opinion. Also, if you can, I'd highly recommend getting lessons. Best thing I did this year. Don't get me wrong, I still stink but I stink less because of the lessons. Good luck and welcome back.

Been there for sure, I'd be a very very rich man if I had an explaination...haha!

I had a similar experience yesterday at a charity golf outing as well (scramble format). Been struggling off the tee lately but, for whatever reason, I was hitting it REALLY well yesterday. I don't know, there's just some "freeing" about a scramble format. I too have been taking lessons this season and it was nice not having to think about swing mechanics or the implications of a bad shot...just line it up and hit it.

When it comes to club selection, a lot depends on how I'm hitting it that particular day. I went through an odd stretch earlier this year where I was hitting my driver really well (for me) but just couldn't seem to connect with my fairway woods at all off the tee so I found myself playing driver even on the shorter holes where a well-struck 3 or 5W would have given me more than enough distance to still play a mid-iron in. I have the same love/hate relationship with my 5i, just one of those clubs that I never know how I'm going to hit it until that first swing with it (if its off, I usually opt for the 4 hybrid).

Good advice for sure, I've slowly come to the conclusion I need to do more of this. Lately my go to club on shorter par 4's has been my 5w. I seem to be able to get it out there around 200 yards and most of the par 4's on the home course are under 350 yards. The home course is pretty tight though so even a slightly errant 5w can leave you with a difficult shot in, but its still better then the pulled out of bounds driver...haha!

Thanks, my biggest weakness these days continues to be off the tee. Although I've been able to keep the number of penalty strokes down (ie. out of bounds or lost balls), still too many of my second shots consist of me having to pitch back in play due to a wayward drive. Fortunately the irons have helped me keep the scores in the low 90s for the most part. The number of true blow-up holes are down, but my scorecard usually consists of a lot of bogey's with the occassional par and/or double bogey thrown in there. Not a lot of realistic looks at many pars since my shots into the green are usually my third shot. Needless to say I've been working more with the driver/3w at the range these days. At my last lesson, my instructor pointed out how open the club face was in my backswing so I've been working on keeping the club face a litte more closed on my takeaways so I don't have to work so hard to get it back square at impact. For whatever reason I don't seem to have the same problem with my irons (or at least not to the same degree). Feels very awkward, but the results (at least at the range) seem to be promissing so far.

I'M FINALLY IN!!! As of the last revision, my index had dropped to 21.5 so I can finally enter this thread. After a good number of lessons, I've slowly worked it down from a peak of 25 this year. Honestly, I had hoped to be much farther along at this point in the year when I started taking lessons, but still working on getting some fairly significant swing changes under my belt. Goal is to end the season under 20 so hopefully mother nature cooperates and I'm able to get a good number of rounds in before the clubs go in the closet for the winter. It's a long shot, I know, but it'll keep me motivated to keep the progress/practice going for the balance of the season.

It varies depending on what I worked on at my last lesson, but it's generally along these lines. - A few minutes of stretching (mainly back and shoulders). - 10-15 balls with either my gap and/or pitching wedge, usually start with 1/2 swings and work up to full swings. - 40-50 balls replicating the drills at my last lesson, specific drills vary of course but they typically inovle a 7 iron, 3/4 swing, focusing on one aspect of my swing. - 20-30 balls with my driver. usually start with 1/2 swings and feet together and slowly work up to full swing with a normal address. - if I have any balls left, I'll hit to a few to targets with a handful of clubs. Usually I'll go PW, 8i, 6i, 4H, 5W and 3W. Short game practice is much more hit or miss for me but it usually just involves chipping/pitching in my backyard. One little drill that I've found helpful is a "ladder" drill that my instuctor showed me, basically you take 3 balls and try to pitch each one slightly farther then the one before.

Got in 9 at the home course on Saturday before the rain came. Shot a 45 with 2 pars, 5 bogeys, and 2 doubles. 4/8 on fairways, but no GIR's on the round. Only 3 putted one hole (the first one on the day) and all and all pretty happy, although I would have liked to finish out the round to see if I could finally break through the 90 mark for the first time.

Shot a 46/46 = 92 on Saturday. Was a flat out mess of the tee but probably the best I've hit my irons all season and pretty decent on and around the green. 1 birdie, 2 pars, 10 bogeys, 4 doubles and a triple. 6 fairways, 4 greens and 2 penalty strokes on the day.

Another +1, I've been taking lessons and working to correct the same issue and my instructor always starts our lessons with this drill. The other thing for me (and might not apply to your situation) is working on only taking 3/4 length swings. I have a tendancy to over-extend my backswing and, as a result, have a very difficult time getting it back on the correct plane in my downswing. My other problem (again, might not apply to you at all) but the other culprit for me is often lack of body rotation, I tend to get very "armsy" and vertical with my swing which makes it difficult to attack the ball on an inside path. 2 other drills that have helped me are setting up with my feet only about 3 inches apart, ball in the center of my stance, then drop my right foot back a few inches and take 3/4 shots with a mid-iron (even though your foot is back, you still want to keep your body square to the target line at address). The other is the old headcover under the right armpit drill, again with a 3/4 swing and mid-iron. For both drills, I use a shoe box set up per the above quote. Most recently, he's had me also putting a credit card in my glove to help promote a flatter wrist since I tend to cup my wrist at the top of my backswing which also gets me off plane and coming back over the top on my downswing.

I'm certainly not an industry expert by any means but I tend to agree that TM's woes are, in large part, self-inflicted. Certainly the state of the market didn't help, but they seemed to have totally misread the demand for their new products.

I like Rory a lot and think he's GREAT for the game on a number of levels (most of which has already been noted on this thread). As far as star power goes, from my perspective the answer is yes...why, pretty siimple, when my 14 year old daughter (who could absolutley care less about golf) comes home from soccer practice and asks me "is Rory winning, I hope he wins because I really like him" then the kids got something going for him beyond just what traditional golf fans appreciate (side note, she also feels the same way about Spieith and, to a lesser extent, Fowler). Can he sustain it, depends on whether he keeps winning really. Will he surpass Tiger in terms of star power, worldwide maybe (again if he keeps winning) but probably not in the States since I do believe there is someting to the argument that Americans like to see Americans win.