soloredd

I try to hit some balls on the range prior to the round - if I don't I know I'm screwed for the first two holes. It's all mental for me. I got invited last second to play a country club course last week and was so befuddled! Didn't have my push cart with me, didn't have a hat in the car - lucky to have my clubs. Didn't have a chance to warm up...went +4 thru 2 holes LOL. Ah well.

Never worn anything better than my TRUEs. Never going back to a spike shoe again. Looking to get a 2nd pair in the next month or so. Whenever those TW Free shoes come out I'll try those - I love my Free trainers. Ashworth also has some shoes that just came out, similar to the ECCO, might be worth a look.

I'm in pretty much the same situation as you but all I can tell you is that for me, my plan is to work diligently on my wedges and putter this winter and hope it pays off. Like Logan said, there is no set rule for your question. It's individual. So, I'd recommend you find the areas of your game that need the most improvement and work hard on those. For me, I need to get my putts down to about 30-32 per round (currently at 35) and this is partly due to needing to work on putting but also I need to get my short pitches/chips closer to 1-putt range. Stupid to be 50 yards out and still 2-putt or 10 feet off the fringe and 2-putt.

Try to find a course or a practice range with short game areas. By a shag bag and some quality balls (I buy AAAA used balls) and become super comfortable with your wedges. For us mid-to-high cappers, improving short game is #1. Learn to hit soft landers, run ups, etc. You will save yourself a TON of strokes here. Then work on putting. I'm at fault for not practicing with my putter enough and my scores have reflected it. I've stayed pretty stagnant the past 2 months or so with scoring because of putting. My goal is to get to 30 putts/round and I'm sitting around 34 - terrible. My last suggestion that has helped me is to find a distance you absolutely can convert from no matter what. Mine is a 8i from 145 - doesn't require a hard swing and I can repeat my results over and over. So, if I error off the tee, my 2nd shot mentality is to try and get somewhere 145 or so.

Played in stuff like that at Torrey Pines a couple years back, it was about 2 months prior to the Buick Invitational. Fing brutal. One of our playing partners tried hitting 3 wood out of it several times. I never did try to talk him out of it; always figured him to be a bit smarter than that. Dribble after dribble they came though For me, I usually take a much steeper angle and get down deep with the club head. Tame expectations accordingly. I'll never forget that swing Tiger took out of crap at Firestone.

Had a pretty pedestrian round today so not much to write home about. Guess my best shot was on the 18th, 294 yards. My tee shot I pull hooked into a tree 120 yards (!), had to use 7i and punch it low as far down the fairway as I could and past a huge oak tree that overhangs the fairway - brutal for wedges into green. My 3rd was from about 95 and I knuckled it into the front bunker protecting the green. Opened my 56* all the way - if I thin it it's going into water. Made a nice easy swing through and got the ball to within 4 feet from the cup. Got out with bogey. My only sand shot of the day, pretty happy with it. Been having up and down bunker play lately.

87 (47/40) today. My last 3 rounds now have seen 40 on the back nine but lousy front nines. Not sure what to make of that, really. If anyone has suggestions I'd love to hear them.

- I never take gimme putts when offered - always need more than one golf glove (hate the sweaty feel in the summer) - can never play with used tees off the teeing ground - always clean my clubs before a round and after a shot - don't talk very much during a hole (between holes, the turn, post round we can have a chat)

I couldn't get the live streaming to work. Got up at 7 to watch Tiger and the damn website was taking a dump. The PGA as a whole is worthless when it comes to using advanced tech to bring more golf. Thankful for DirecTV and having the extra channels dedicated to the Majors. Majors are only four times a year, TNT should be doing 10-hour broadcasts or allow GolfChannel to do some broadcasting before they go on.

Man, I was so excited when he was -3. To see him play after that was heartbreaking. He doesn't trust anything he is doing right now. Watch the replay of that tee shot on 15, looked nothing like the shots he hit last week. His left foot is moving around again.

Ideally, after impact your left elbow folds and right arm is straight as you complete the swing (remember to complete the swing!).

Much practice, most of it concerning my brain. My brain kept thinking my takeaway was too far outside so I would gradually get back to the "too far inside" move. I had been doing it so long it felt "right". Which is where probably most of us are. So I just hit the range and this is all I focused on. I am now at the point where I have a pre-shot check: I use Anthony Kim's waggle move, where at address he does about a 1/4 takeaway then re-addresses the ball. I do it in order to get the proper line of where my clubhead should be moving. Then I swing away. And my 300+ comment was not directed toward anyone just a light joke!

84 (44/40) @ my home course yesterday. Walked in 99F heat but felt good, trying to build up some stamina for a 72-hole trip to Bandon soon. Finally back into the 80s after 5 straight rounds in low 90s (really lost my feel for awhile there). Only hit driver 3 times, stuck with the 3 wood off the tee, which put me in more fairways. Hitting the 3w solid, will probably stick with that strategy from now on. Still trying to break 80, which is my #1 goal for 2011.

I've suffered from the inside takeaway and finally worked on over the winter. Took me awhile to get used to the feeling - taking the club straight back felt so awkward. Lowered my index from 19.4 in March to 12.0 as of yesterday, mostly due to fixing this error. Video is so important (or have a knowledgeable person watch your swing). They always say the first 18 inches or so in your takeaway will make or break a successful swing - I believe it. (I'm not putting it out there 300+ though; need to work on that )

Went to the range after work this morning and concentrated on my left foot. I felt like the foot was rooted to the ground and the grass was a lot less messy after my session. I did flare my foot out a touch, as mentioned above, which helps. I also noticed it helped a bit with my tempo - concentrating on keeping it planted really helped with a nice and smooth tempo and slower, which I've been needing.

I know I do this as well. The grass is pretty well torn up where my left (front) foot was.

I actually had a slight pain below my left hip after a couple range sessions when working on this. Not sure if that was to be expected or not!

This was mine in this thread: For once, I agreed with what Brandle Chamblee said tonight after the tournament: Europe hasn't found another Seve, it's found it's own Rory. I also for once agreed with Johnny Miller in that in remains to be seen if Rory has that desire to be a legend. I mean, he stormed away with this one but I want to see what happens when he's either tied or trailing by 2 shots. He's not going to win majors by 8 strokes again. We've seen him crumble before when things got tight - has he truly learned from his past experiences? Time will tell. Great kid, I'm pulling for him big time.

After I got the very general feeling of it (trying slow exaggerated swings like Donald) all I focused on was my post leg (left leg). Look at that Fowler picture and also look at Donald right before impact - their left legs straighten, extending the spine (while maintaining spine angle) and then it's just a follow-through to finish. It's a helluva feeling when you do it close to right - and it's a helluva feeling when it goes wrong

There's a Luke Donald video on youtube that shows him on the range working on this. Basically, it's an exagerrated move but gives you an idea of what you want to happen. I've been working for about a week now on this. I'm struggling making sure my left hip goes toward the target and not toward the ball. If I make the move right, it's solid contact and great distance and ball flight. If I screw it up it's a weaker push. edit: here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY1KfhysbEA

88 (45/43). Not thrilled but looking at my scorecard it could have been a lot worse. Had one triple bogey and four (4!) double bogeys, one 4-putt and two 3-putts. How in the hell I didn't flirt with 100, I have no idea. Two birdies helped I guess. My short game has been terrible the past 3-4 rounds, lost so many strokes from inside 50 yards it's unbelievable.

Played by myself today on a whim and played like top notch crap. Shot a 93. Couldn't do a freaking thing from 100 yards in.

What would usually happen if a player had a neutral left hand and a stronger right hand (righty player)? Would that make it very difficult to get adequate wrist cock? Reason I ask is yesterday during my round I was struggling to get my irons up. Hit a lot of low shots, mainly with the 6 iron. For some reason with my mid irons I was using my normal neutral left but I think my right was too strong?

I bought the game a week ago and started on Tour Pro level. Pretty tough. I've made it to the PGA Tour but am having a helluva time scoring low enough to be in contention. My average score is 75! I like the difficulty though. Putting is killing me. I've missed a ton of 2-foot "tap ins". I bought the Eagle package DLC - but I'm holding out hope for EA to bring more real-life courses. I want to play Congressional. I think it's pretty lame to leave that out of this year's offering. Pebble Beach is fun but it's the most played out video game course in history (I remember Pebble Beach Golf Links on Nintendo!).

Played a local course this morning, shot 87. Had 86 here 2 weeks ago, was expecting ~82 or so. My game was weird today, never felt like I got in a good flow. +4 after 3 holes really pissed me off, didn't start getting solid hits with my driver until the back 9, and what really just sent me over the edge was #17 par 5 dogleg right with a small lake and I sliced my drive right into it. Such an easy hole to get at least par and I ended up with a double.