Brakkus

I agree with your thoughts. It seems there may be many of us who are either shorter hitters or older and don't have length in our games. I can hit 4 of my clubs over 200 yards but none of them over 250 with any regularity. I need to find 20 yards consistently which won't make me the longest hitter in the world but it would bring significantly more par 4's into range. I'm averaging 68% fairways however very little of that is with my driver. It's laying back with 3 wood or irons and hybrids. GIR percentage is 28%. Not all of that is poor iron play. It's having 2nd shot distances over 180 yards or so. Experimented on one of the par 4's at my course which is uphill. Hit 3 wood and then took a driver. 3 wood 200 roughly. Driver hit a 226 yard fade. Had 199 left after first shot and 173 left after driver both from the short grass. Missed green longer distance leaving a short sided SW and 2 putted for 5. After the driver I actually caught the iron heavy but landed on 10- 15 yards short. Chipped up and nailed the putt for par. Both were untidly played apart from the tee shot but proximity to the hole was very different and made the short game easier to execute because I was in a stronger position after my 2nd shot. Right now my ball has much more control and I'm really trusting that my work in the net combined with elastic band work will train my body to gain some swing speed. Only a few miles an hour more could make all the difference.

Did a small session in my net with the three wood.Interested in developing a stinger to my bow. Just rehearsing the move and set up.

Played a round today so did 3 hours hope that qualifys!! Went with the goal to play to my strengths. I'm never going to be freaky long off the tee so didn't try. Hit it smooth and play for position with longer clubs. No point being short and crooked when you can be short and accurate. Irons just suit me so aggressive cuts at the ball often pay off even if I just miss the green I have a shot. Recently changed my grip on my putter to superstroke and the increased feel is just incredible. I'm really looking forward now to having a go on the green where before I was quite neutral over putting. I'm really enjoying it now. Short game I stopped hitting SW unless I'm really short sided and need to loft it. Hit one shot with it tonight. PW has become my weapon of choice from 100 yards and in chips,pitches of all lengths. Even hit a 9 iron pitch. When you have green to work with it has just simplified the wedge game for me.

Just wanted to post this here after this evenings round. Played what would qualify as my local club. Scored 81 a career low. I think I'm going to be kicked out of this club. Just strategically did everything I wanted to do.Hit driver twice one in rough one in fairway. Took a variety of clubs off the tee tonight mainly 3 wood. However it was my PW that was on fire. When I missed the green with irons or couldn't reach in two I gave myself chances at putts. 29 putts with only 4 gir!! 38 on the back 9 when all parts of my game were clicking hit 5 fairways and had par on both par 3's. Scrambling percentage went up from around 20% to 36%. Love it knew I was due one

Sorry I was slow to pick up the joke doesn't always come across in print

Did about 10 swings in the net today. My main focus was right elbow room allowing some space at the top of the swing so I don't get stuck on the way down.Seen my swing in slo-mo and I don't get that right elbow forward enough. Also did some wedge work. Short pitches are my main goal picking random targets in the grass outside as landing areas as I have no putting surface to work with. Working on a loose feel in my arms so I can improve my touch.

I bought into a swing model one plane stuff mostly. The trouble with swing models is they leave something out that the body does naturally and athletically. Now I have freed myself up to refine my own movements and keep an open mind on golf instruction. Picked up 15 yards with my irons and about 25-30 on the longer clubs. Being honest with you paralysis by analysis is a danger with swing mechanics but being anylitical about your round is well worth it. If you are mid handicapper you have to consider a lay up somewhere or you would be a low handicapper. I can guarantee you that you have too many double bogies on your card I have and it's usually going for it or a poor shot choice or possibly just an error. I'm not saying lay up all the time but look at the difficulty of the hole and yardage and consider it. Just 2 years ago I hadn't broken 100 after playing for 6 years. All of sudden a different approach and the improvement has come. Please think more strategically you will drop your scores. Cheers man☺

You are an inspiration sir. All the best and golf is great game for the soul and to be enjoyed. My own goals I have an ongoing medical condition very controllable but I need dietary changes and serious now about keeping in physical shape to swing now in my early 40's. I'm a 15.7 currently but I can definitely see my self dropping another 6 strokes. Most of which are from errors of judgement rather than swing errors. I would like to get down to a 12 by this time next year. In my mind I believe that but I think there's more but that's the fun potential is open ended.

I have been so little to the range this year. Because of my work and distance involved getting to one. Since having a net I practice in it all the time.The other benefit is the amount of time I now spend with my wedges at home and the putter. The range seems to make me want to hit it further. Just having those big numbers out there sucks you in. Also the mats are different from hitting of grass at home.Really would love a big open field where I could hit into rather a range. It does have it's benefits but I have worked around the problem of practice with my current set up.

It depends doesn't it how much you want to improve. I love golf at this time of my life because it's relaxing and slower paced than my busy exhausting life. I will take pictures of the wildlife sometimes when I'm on my own. Also it's a skill and as my skill level rises so does the enjoyment of the game. I would always have a fair idea of when I had 3 putted a green or missed and iron or hit a ball OB. Because I hit shots I would consider serviceable I overestimated my ability rather than conned myself. Now I have an app to track stats on the way round. Wow what an eye opener. The numbers don't lie. It's cold hard facts but it has me thinking seriously about shot selection and specific shots that will impact my score. I agree with you a lot of guys I have played with just won't do it. As I have found out I'm a quiet relaxed person on golf rounds but it doesn't stop some having a go at my serious competitive approach as it appears. Really it's an excuse so they can keep conning themselves or live in denial about their own golf. I say enjoy it but I really respect players who excel and find that inspiring rather than threatening so I don't want to con myself

Interesting I know as I have read all the latest evidence to the contrary regarding the short game. Read a sample of Bob's from the unstoppable golfer. He said gir determines the highest score you could shoot. A pro may hit 15 greens and shoot 75 if his putting and wedge are off. If his short game is on then he will shoot in the low 60's. For an amateur who hits maybe 3-5 greens then 90 or so is the highest but a great short game can help you shoot low 80's. I know lots of you will disagree but one begets the other in my mind. It's like the chicken and the egg. Putting more importance into one than the other and I respect the numbers and percentage of practice time and so forth. My swing is much improved but I'm in my 40's and I won't reach a 250 plus drive on a regular basis. I won't stop refining it but know I can't rely on distance so my low scores will come from a lot of mid iron approaches and being realistic use of a higher caliber short game. Sorry if I sound like a heretic no offence to any who believe to the contrary.

I would say finesse pitches have been my weakest short game area anything up to 50 yards or so. Realised I was too rigid with that left arm. Softening the elbow joint cured the intermittent contact. Sometimes I would hit complete bricks or shanks to the right. Soft lead elbow allowed the right arm to release on the follow through and now my bounce really slides under the ball. I don't know if Mike agrees but you can still fat the shot up in your stance because there's no give in the arms.

Putting mistakes are often down to shoulder alignment. I had putted same way for years hands opposite each other but only one finger overlap on left hand. This brought my right shoulder forward and regularly pulled putts. Out of desperation and to just change things went left hand low. It squared up my shoulders and immediately cured my short putt problems. However I lacked feel for distance. Changed my grip to a superstroke mid slim and went back to right hand low but double overlap with my fingers and turned my right hand clockwise just a quarter turn on the grip. This solved the alignment issue. Putting is now rapidly improved. Putting needs experimenting with. It's the area where you can try different things.

Nature of golf. Last round I shot 49 on the opening 9. Struck it well but didn't have short game down. Had 19 putts and messed up a par 5 badly and a par. Then got sloppy a bit on back 9 but rescued myself with some great irons closer chips and pitches and 1 putted 4 of the last 5 greens the other 2 putt being a 6ft save. The 18th summed up the back 9. Hit a nice 3 wood but left no line of sight. Hit a hybrid too far as it bent left into the green. Ended up under a tree branch with a second not far away. 150 yards to go so I hit hybrid choke down under both trees. Shoot through back of green. Behind a flag pole beside the green hit a high pitch filtering down to the hole. Roll a breaking putt 5ft for the par. Back 9 home in 41. I've learned that I don't get rewards from great shots it's just one shot. Playing tough golf making canny shot selection is the pay off. Think where the ball needs to go and how. Scoring sometimes doesn't reflect how well you hit it

I'm on the cusp of breaking out of the target group for this. After a swing change last year my scores crept back up to 90 plus but now back in the high 80's. I really have switched my focus to strategy. My game is reliable but not stellar. I have hit hundreds of wedges in my garden to get comfortable with the feel of shots. I started making progress when I got my head away from a swing model. This helped in the full swing enormously. It's now a case of working on a priority piece to refine my swing rather than make changes. Got a superstroke grip on my putter mid slim which has transformed my feel for putts. Short game is now starting to bail me out a bit. Recommend taking all your stats. Got a mobile app that has GPS and the ability to record all major stats as you play. A real eye opener. It also helps me remember why I scored double bogey or failed to get a par. The improvement needs to come from better decisions on certain holes. As a 16 really I should examine the stroke index and play for a 3 shot approach on those tough par 4's to take a double or a triple out of play. Irons are a strong part of my game so better than than my handicap there. Possibly 1-9 stroke index I play those conservatively leaving a short pitch. Just experimenting with what I'm capable of. Really think there's a low 80's round to be had. I come home better than going out and have a few back nines at 41. Front nine I have never shot sub 45 so something to address but it shows I mentally warm to the challenge rather than lose it. Things to work on it's those finesse pitches and chips. 1st putt has to be good. Tee shot driver still not reliable enough to be weapon. Picking more variety of clubs off the tee to get on in 2 according to the hole layout and distance. Perhaps first 4 holes playing stingy golf play my way in by not going for more until I'm grooved to solve the front nine scores.

This is a flaw that keeps creeping back into my swing so this is a very helpful tip. Feels like you are going to go over the top but if you have a good secondary axis tilt then you don't Will need to work on this for a good month I think to bed it down.

If money was no object and I had the time I would take lessons. I have taken a liking to certain instructors who have lots of free stuff on blogs or videos. It would be whether I could find an instructor who would be in tune with how I learn. I'm quite independent and need the room to have a cooperative relationship just encouragement really. However I don't have either at the moment but I'm still doing alright and still making progress. Hey how maybe later.

Being brutally honest yes because if we really admit it the driver doesn't lie about the state of our mechanics. It takes some real ego check to not play a round with it. I broke 90 without it a few times. A small fade with your irons becomes a big miss right with a driver. This whole summer I made a couple of swing changes everything in my bag was straight up to the driver. It had been all my longer shafted clubs that missed right. The biggest cause for me was coming down above plane even with a great back swing. Imagine skipping stones sidearm and that will give you a picture of your move down. Rotating the shoulder the right one inward forces the club outside hence the slice. So a right elbow slide forward like skipping a stone will keep that shoulder back. Really difficult to explain all the needed swing advice in a post but the downswing move from the top is the number 1 swing killer for every high handicapper. Master the first move and the club will come from the inside.

I didn't worry about it because of threads like this articles and pictures like above. However I have always had a high ball flight and suspected I had a flip. Contrasting the feels of flat and cupped at the top I started hitting balls. Even went as far as adding the turn of wrist into that from cupped in transition. It certainly feels more comfortable to have the club resting in your palm more with cupping particularly if you have a stronger grip. Ask yourself will that cup go by impact when the wrist needs to be flat or bowed. I thought it would but after actually working on flattening it at the top I put myself in a better position on the way down. The effect on the driver is staggering because you get the club more under the hands at impact. My opinion is do it in transition to flat or when you actually get to the top.

Hi Grant Massive improvement very impressed. I too stumbled across Kelvin Miyahira at around hawaii and the spine engine theory. As with all golf mechanics you get very heated debate by some who wish to say it's pie in the sky. I just like the fact that he shows his findings with moving gif's and plenty of pics. Whether it's all accurate some will disagree but there are enough commonalities there for all to see. I went out with the goal just to attain the lateral bend in my right side and true enough I gained 10-20 yards on my irons and 30-50 with the woods. It also put more height into my hybrids and longer irons. Messed up my course strategy and yardages completely. Still need work but from not breaking 100 to scoring in the 80's not bad. http://www.aroundhawaii.com/speed_training.html Have a look if you are curious this really put me in a different direction because it shows you that your body know how to develop power and we should question swing models before deciding on a change.

I had a putting horror show last week. 3 putted then 4 putt,3 putt,3 putt in a row. I don't feel particulary nervous over putts but I do putt inconsistently. Always said to myself putting is more mental not mechanical. Clearly I needed to investigate. After a putting session at home noticed my putter could be very wafty going back. Stumbled upon this advice and did more research. Tucked my right elbow in and hey presto it creates a nice anchor point. Also a different feel and sound off the putter face and like other golf shots hitting the sweet spot on the putter added easy pace. This was on my carpet at home but I could miss left a lot. I rarely pushed a putt. I'm really looking forward to testing this in a round.

I quit after 3 years. Had a horrible time one round. Just frustrated that I couldn't play often enough. I literally play once a month at best. Fortunately I have good hand eye and games like tennis, snooker were always my favourites. The key to both those games is practice. You gotta love it. Golf is no different. Any task you do automatically is done everyday. Driving a car is complex set of movements done consciously and unconconciously. Yet we can do it because we spend hours every week and passing year doing it. Golf is the same the body will learn it doesn't distinguish between golf and driving a car. It learns. Take pressure off yourself and just allow learning to take place. Your body is more intelligent than you are and it will process what it needs to do. Your job is to expose it to the proper instruction. Show it and it will learn. Seems simplistic but respect the amazing machine of the human body take your concious ego out of it and let good golf come to you. It can't be forced.

http://www.lakesidepress.com/Golf/Contents.htm Have a read of this. It's got some great stuff really puts you in a proper mental space about golf. The guy is slightly negative though about talent and ability. I still think that I could be great if I had time and money to my advantage but it does set out the enormity of golf and a way to plan your way to a better game.

The main reason most people find golf hard and lose patience is because most take it up later on in life. Mainly due to money and most kids are not exposesd to golf. Here in the UK it would be football,rounders,hockey,and badminton or tennis you would play well before picking up a golf club unless your father plays and is rich enough to be a member who can show you some basics. The game has a fair number of pro's who grew up hitting chips and putts on golf courses next to their home from a very young age. They all developed feel for mechanics over those formative years before refinement later on. When you are an adult you don't have that luxury so it takes patience to stick with it. I started in the 110's and now can break 90. Now the work really starts. Golf is long term improvement. I was 35 when I started playing. My abilities from other sports have been very helpful for golf. The requirement for precision is the most testing aspect of golf. If you can accept that poor shots will happen you will avoid frustration. Learn to love getting out of trouble. Escaping from a poor drive or from the rough greenside,from a bunker can be fun. Its a chance to be creative.

I would have to disagree with that. I think its true of someone who has some swing knowledge. A beginner needs confidence and starting with the short game is a good area. Get confident with pitching and chipping early on. If you have access to a sizeable grass area in your own home or playing field take some wedges and practice some basic techniques in between your range time with the full swing. You won't regret it. The thread on ratio of practice time is very helpful on here. As a beginner you are bound to have an obvious weakness more than likely it will be around the greens. Mine was chipping which I ignored for several years. That lead to 3 putting too. So honestly look at where you can divide your practice time. All the things mentioned like steady head,posture,centered pivot and such can all be worked on with short game in conjunction with the full swing. I wish I had a better balance at the start probably could have improved quicker. Also learn course strategy early. Learn to play golf. You can get sucked in playing golf swing very hard to resist. Playing a course is what counts and planning a hole according to ability. Congrats on your weight loss and best of luck with your golf