m11

yea i definitely know where you are coming from, just wanted to explain why sometimes you'll hit a solid shot and why on the next swing you might not. And regarding your grip...it looks a little improper based on what i see on your face on view. Notice the v's that your thumb and index finger make up when they are pressed together. Your right hand's v's should be pointing to your right shoulder (yours are pointing basically outside your shoulder) and your left hand's v's shoudl be pointing to essentially your right ear (yours are going up to your chin). I made a thread yesterday called something like "gripping a golf club" I highly suggest you watch that video. In my opinion, the neutral interlocking grip is the way to go.

You certainly dont want to even play your fairway woods off your front foot. That'll cause you to thin almost every shot (hit the bottom grooves of the club causing it to take off very low...or worse top it...causing the ball to dribble forward 20 yards). You want to play wedge-7iron in the middle of your stance...your 6i-hybrid about 1-2 ball lengths forward of middle. Your woods about 3 ball lengths forward, and your driver off the inside of your heel...not your toe. Alignment refers to the orientation of your feet, knees, hips, shoulders in relation to the target line. Basically, its how your body is facing the ball and the target. The idea is to use a "train track" type concept. You want to imagine the rails of a traintrack. The ball is on the outside rail...and your feet should be on the inside rail. You also want your feet, shoulders, hips all parallel with your target line (an imaginary infinite line that passes through your ball towards the target). Right now you should be working on those fundamentals. Not to be short, but pounding balls on the range wont really help you out if your fundamentals are off. I made a thread last night called something towards the effect of "gripping a golf club". I highly recommend you watch that video regarding grip. I suggest that you use the neutral interlocking grip. Its explained in the video. They also provide a lot of good information for developing your swing on youtube. Another source i'd recommend is Shawn Clement. He's got a bunch of free videos on youtube that'll get you in the right direction. RIght now you want to learn to develop good habits as well as understanding the theory behind how the club and the ball interact. The concepts are fairly simple, but they arent necessarily intuitive. Just an example, If you dont understand how the club works, it'll be counterintuitive to hit down on the ball to make it go up...and your brain will fight your body from hitting down...making you want to scoop it up...causing a certain mishit. So watch those videos. You want to be going in the right direction as soon as possible. I'd also recommend getting an instructor. Although of course going out and playing is fun...spending those green fees on some instruction is definitely a worthy investment if you are interested in the game and would like to improve. Frankly, i spent years trying to stubbornly create a golf swing until i went to an instructor and after a 1 hour session i dropped from shooting 100's to 80's. So thats my advice on your situation. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

You made the correct move by switching out your long irons for hybrids. And to answer your hybrid question, you basically play it in the same position as you would a 6iron. But in reality, there isnt really a quick tip to remedy the overall situation. It is your overall golf swing situation that is causing those problems. The first thing that you would need to take care of is your grip. Its extraordinarily important. Your grip can vastly change whether you hit a succesful shot or not and is very much taken for granted with most golfers. Also you need to perfect your posture and alignment. You may not have the same flexiblity or strength as a lot of the tour pros (all though it certainly is possible for you to be stronger and more flexible than many pros), but you can certainly have perfect grip, posture, and alignment. After you get all of that together, then you want to work on your swing. If you would like to take that route, i wouldnt mind helping you out.

Saw the commercial for the towel and looks like a pretty nice product. http://www.amphibiantowel.com/index.php has anyone used this or have any thoughts?

certainly a pretty good rule of thumb.

we talked about this at my school as well Not too long ago breast cancer was found to be the highest among women professional golfers over all other sports. It was finally discovered that the herbicides on the golf course was the cause. Herbicides are estrogen mimickers and the body thinks it's getting more estrogen, hence the increased rate of estrogen-positive breast cancers. This may also be implicated in prostate cancers, because of the hormone relationship. Most golf courses have stopped using herbicides. If your favorite golf courses haven't, ask why not. http://www.best-golf-guide.com/Inter...olf_Facts.html

more or less the way i did it. i had video feedback at golftec, so i was able to rewind my swing after each swing to see how far i brought back the club. the mirror is the same idea. he needs to understand how far a proper backswing feels. Flexibility is a wasted thing if you overswing with it. Another little note is that when i adjusted my grip to a very fundamentally sound one, i felt the overswing coming much easier...and it was easier to stop it.

you've hit good shots because you've learned to create compensations for what you have going. The issue is that those compensations are very difficult to carry over from day to day. You want to create a swing that becomes repeatable in the sense that although you'll miss your target sometimes, you'll still be making solid contact and you'll be able to obtain feedback on those mishits.

I just came across this video and am a big fan of it. Its very comprehensive and i basically feel that the content is accurate. I'd like to add that the concept of feeling the unification of your hands as well as the idea of having the hands mirror each other is extraordinarily important. And of course, you dont want to go with a 10 finger grip.

yea that works, but a caveat of this technique (which essentially is the proper technique for long drives) is that if your fundamentals are off...you'll end up physically not being able to transfer your weight...and therefore not be able to fully finish your swing and you'll come up with a nasty banana ball.

i suggest making sure that you have the proper grip..club in your palms..not in your fingers..and that you dont grip the club too hard. once you tighten your grip, you rob yourself of your natural ability to feel distance.

i dont see why you dont align the ball on the sweet spot at address.

Yes, swing academy is easy to use. Its free and you just upload the videos. It allows you to slow motion them and thats the best way to analyze your swing. If you are consistently hooking the ball when it is placed in the proper position, you are probably releasing the club too early. This is causing the face to close slightly at impact and hook the ball. Another reason could be your grip is too strong, and therefore you to hook the ball. A third is that mentally, you feel the ball is too forward and you wont be able to reach it with your club. This causes you to shift laterally towards the ball and therefore alters the clubface at impact. Any of these sound plausible?

I love my Taylormade r7 TP's. You dont need to be an amazing ball striker to hit them either. Certainly forgiving, but they still have the feel of players irons with the minimal offset and thin top line.

yea im playing tiger woods right now on ps3. its definitely how youre supposed to putt in the game. and it got me thinking...you need ridiculously astute kinesthetics in order to be able to control precisely how many inches back you bring your backswing.

Im a big fan of the software. Been using it for some time. There are no complaints with the software itself, and the customer service is great. However, i believe that this doesnt give you an actual handicap index that is recognized by the USGA that you can use in tournament play. (is that true?)

Looks like you are holding driver. That said, your ball position is too far back. you want it about an inch inside your left heel. Looks like you have good tempo right now and looks like you are making a good shoulder turn with no reverse pivot. Do you have a Down The Line view? Also, if you upload on Swing Academy i can slow motion the video and provide more help

lol thats basically the strategy youre supposed to use in Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Im not sure how well that applies in reality.

I cant particularly vouch for the series because i havent personally watched them. Although i've heard good things aoubt these guys. they have dvd's for sale as well. http://www.bettergolfforkids.com/ But just to offer up my two cents. As im sure you know, kids love to emulate the stars. If you son is familiar with Tiger, i'd definitely recommend just showin him how tiger swings. You can get plenty slow motion videos on youtube. He'll get the idea of the simple fundamentals (keeping his left foot down, not wildly moving his body) and notice that you dont need to try to muscle the ball to hit it long. Also, when he gets frustrated, you can explain to him how golf is a difficult game, and that its a long process...and that by having him learn the proper grip, alignment, and most importantly, the mental aspects of the game ( just staying cool even when he makes mistakes) that when he gets older and stronger...he'll be well ahead of all the other kids. You can explain to him that tiger isnt the best golfer in the world because he hits the ball the best, but because he's mentally better than everyone. He understands that he makes mistakes and he can control himself when he gets mad (although he has been going off a little bit now and then...but we can keep that away from your son). i'd also recommend spending time on the putting green. Mishitting an iron or his 3wood can be very frustrating because the results can be far worse of course than what he see's on tv or what he sees you do. However, a missed putt by you can look the same as a missed putt by him. The feedback on his shots will be much more positive and even havin little contests between him and you can be a lot of fun for him (especially if you are like me and can't putt worth a lick). but besides that it sounds like you are doing an excellent job introducing him to the game and you are certainly taking the correct approach with making sure his attitude stays in check.

I'd actually recommend going to an Edwin Watts or Golf Galaxy, Golfsmith...any of those kind of golf specialty stores to check out clubs. They can put you on a launch monitor to get you empirical answers in letting you know whats the best club for you. I think thats the first step instead of walking into your driving range (im assuming your range doesnt have similar technology....if it does wonderful) and looking for the prettiest club. The club that looks the best might not be the best one for your swing. From there, they can give you a selection of clubs that you hit the best..and its generally recommended to pick one from that group. If the one that you realllly had your eye one isnt part of that....there certainly isnt anything wrong with getting it anyways...but at least allow the technology thats available to point you in the right direction.

in order try not to hijack the thread on your behave Dub, i'll keep it short. Hitting it high with the drive is likely to be a result of playing the ball too far back in your stance. There are of course other possibilities, but generally...ball position is the first thing to address. David Leadbetter recommends an inch or two inside the heel. It may look naturally like its too far forward....but trust that thats where the ball needs to be.

If you are making a proper stroke, putting it in the middle of your stance will likely pop the ball straight up however, your best bet is get fitted at a golf store. They do a good job and will let you know the specs that you should be hitting.

enjoy them..they certainly caught my eye the first time i saw them

there really is a lot of stuff on the internet about grip...googling it will give you some good results. try to find somewhere that shows pictures from the perspective of the golfer himself so that you know what to look for. i'll see if i can find anything a little bit later

I think teaching grip without actually putting your hands on a club is kinda tough. If you just ask your local course pro to quickly take a look at your grip, he can probably show you the proper way to hold it in a few minutes. Nonetheless, i'll give it a shot. The idea is to hold the club in your fingers. Place your hand to your side with your fingers together. You then want to place the grip across the bottom of your fingers (not in your palm) and WRAP you hand around the grip. If you do this properly, you'll be able to see the knuckles of your index, middle and maybe your ring finger. Thats a big tell to whether or not your left hand is on properly, whether or not you can see 2-3 knuckles. After that, you lift the club up, and place your right hand so that you life line covers you thumb..this will also put the fingers on your right hand on the grip.