Vinsk

I recently played Lake Buena Vista and Magnolia while at Disney World. Had a great time at LBV, loved the course. Magnolia....not so much. A few weeks prior Magnolia had some damage to their greens. Most of the greens had the blue sand all over them along with patches of turf repair. Being that they charged over $100 and no beverage cart on the course, the experience was sub par to say the least. Felt great to knock one close but then arriving to the green seeing blue sand and turf squares all over the place was a downer. Oh well. Still had a good time and managed a 79. Course was used for "The Classic" with TW and Davis Love III being past winners.

Absolutely it does. I'll be on a par 3, pretty flat layout, 170yds....get the 7i out and feel a nice swing, flush contact.....20yds over the green. I certainly feel my iron game has huge variances but my driver....same swing..pretty much blueprint. I've actually been on a range with my range finder and found I was consistently hitting my 5i 185-190 yds over and over with a nice little fade. That afternoon I was confident that I'd found the perfect shot for this annoying 186 yd par 3 that favors a fade (I'm left handed). I struck it sweet...felt great....landed 25yds short of the green. My range finder had the pin at 187 to the middle of the green....183 to the front edge. Silly. So yeah....def. struggle with it.

If I stood in a fairway 150yds away, straight and flat with no wind, I could hit PW probably 5/10 times. My short irons I swing very easy. Except for the driver, If I swing like a gorilla all kinds of disaster happens. It's not confusing at all. My weakness is I don't have a Pro swing that has no variations and is a blueprint over and over. However, when I swing gracefully I can correct mistakes and guide a decent shot even if it isn't my best swing. I would like to hit my irons longer consistently and working on getting a video up here and maybe some if you guys can help me out.

Yes. I've always been able to excel at my drives. Yeah, I do a lot of shot making. I draw it, fade it, etc. unfortunately I still struggle with inconsistencies. Sure, I can hit a 7i yds. But I can consistently hit a well controlled 7i 150-170 and make it do what I want. I'm 6'3 and about 245lbs. A linebacker in the day. No lying necessary here, seems pointless. I swing my irons pretty gently but hit the driver hard. Again, I'm answering what I do consistently, not what I simply CAN do.

Driver: 280-300 3w: 220-230 5w: 200-220 4i: 190-200 5i: 180-190 6i: 170-180 7i: 150-170 8i: 140-150 9i: 130-140 PW: 120-130 UW: 80-100 56*: 50-80 60*: shank-50 Lol....sorry, had to say it.

Video...def. But the way the club is made pretty easy to chunk ground even on a shallow angle if you're leaning the shaft. Could just be be ball positioning. If he's moving sod before the ball I'm surprised he's getting any decent strikes with the striker club.

Well as SCC4380 said, you have forward lean of the shaft but a shallow AOA (angle of attack). So the face is striking the ball at an acceptable angle, but you're not optimizing your strike by hitting the ball FIRST with a DESCENDING blow. You're achieving this by having forward lean but with a shallow angle.

500 golf balls in 2 days....3 fat shots...the rest were butter.....feels so good.

I've hit this club too. I didn't experience hitting the ground first. But I tend to hit down pretty well on the ball and this club made me believe that. I found it quite easy to hit too. I figured my first few attempts would be blades but I hit it nicely from the very first outing with it. Did you notice if you were hitting the tour striker further than your regular 7i? I'm wondering if you were "sweeping" a bit? So a downward blow but planed out quickly at ground level? Hope I didn't confuse you.

Ok. I like Spieth and Bubba. The only thing I have about Spieth...not his fault...is the silver spoon syndrome. Not necessarily a negative thing, but I have a little more respect for the kids who played on munis' growing up and using a Saturday morning garage sale set of clubs in a Sunday bag that would drop its pants when set in the rack. Spieth , like Davis Love III , comes from a wealthy family who probably paid for whatever he needed to continue pursuing golf. I'm betting his first set of clubs was a name brand. Not saying his character is flawed at all. Just saying those kids who didn't have sponsors and wealthy parents paving the way well....earn it just a little more.

Thanks for the video! For green side bunkers, soft but not deep sand, would you feel the better club would be: 56* 12bounce 60* 14bounce 60* 10*bounce I appreciate your help!

Having trouble seeing how it compares. I seldom skull pitches. I don't look an inch or two behind the ball when pitching. I make contact with the ball first when I pitch, kind of a nice pop off the club face..I certainly shouldn't be hitting the ball first on a bunker shot right?

Thank you for your responses! I play in both firm and soft sand. Usually the same problem. I'm gonna focus on the points you made. It's a problem for me as I seem to only get bunker practice while actually playing....thus a disaster hole. My practice area has a bunker that's next to a green. Unfortunately there are always people there either chipping or putting on the green. It's a small area and the practice bunker is just behind the driving range.....so of course I'm fearful of practicing because if (when ) I skull it, I'll be hitting into people. I need a bunker that's isolated from people so I can practice without hurting anyone! Lol. I'll try and post a video. Again, thanks guys!

I'm a physician. Family medicine but also do urgent care.

Shanks.

It would be helpful to get a POV shot of the club face on the setup. I struggle with bunkers. I seldom move the ball a few feet. What I do is skid right off the sand and hit the ball 40 yds over the green. It feels like I'm hitting right under the ball and spinning it like crazy..and off it goes sailing away. Even when I focus on hitting well behind the ball, good amount of sand yet I feel my club face clearly striking the ball. Hope that's a good description. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

LOL! What a great post. I would never wish the shanks on anyone...well... Maybe Sergio or Patrick Reed....but it actually eases the pain to hear there are others out there who know exactly what it's like. I actually considered buying that shank proof wedge with the offset hosel just to see how long it would take before I shanked the bejesus outta it. Such a fascinating virus.

Believe those are Mcgregors made as a celebration anniversary for Coca Cola. I've seen them go for no more than $450 if in mint condition. Gotta find a die hard collector though....more so Coca Cola rather than a golf enthusiast.

We talkin' shanks?! Ok....let's talk shanks! Devastating to say the least. When I shank, it's colossal. Not only does it make a crack sound heard around the world...but it's painful...physically. I've actually noticed that sometimes I actually hit the shaft! I mean the spot where the epoxy holds the shaft tip to the hosel. But of course , my swing feels completely normal. I'm left handed. 8 HCP. If it wasn't for the shanks I believe I could get my HCP down to 4 or less. Just don't get it. Seems like once they set in...it's gonna be weeks before I lose them...and I have no idea what happens to make them go away. I've even hit 20yd sand wedges and shanked it. I'm looking to attend Golf Made Simple school in Denver this summer. For now I've been working on putting...never shanked a putt so no fear there. I dunno....it's such a devastating virus.

Yeah...good call. I actually like my high flight. I tend to like the ball landing from a drop outta sky rather than an f-15 screech landing. I don't get a lot of spin on my longer irons so a nice drop works out for me.

I knock 'em high too. I hit my 7i about 165yds on average. I tend to play the ball a bit forward..two balls past middle. When I really balloon it it's often due to "wrist flipping". You may be doing this. To hit it lower try putting the ball a little back in your stance. This works for me when I want a little lower flight....wind, going under overhanging tree...

I agree with the lessons. I had my first lesson at about 12 years old. I won a Jr. tournament but then soccer and teenage nonsense came around and I didn't play for years. Picked it up again in college and had a best friend who I would caddie for while trying to qualify for the US open. I even took a golf class my senior year that allowed me free golf rounds. Joined the Peace Corps and went off to Africa. Once again golf took a long absence from my life. Once back in the States I started again and played about twice a week. Got to a 6 handicap. Well..decided to go to medical school and again...7 years of no golf. Finally as of last July my career was stable and my schedule more open for golf time. I'm currently an 8 handicap and struggle with the occasional horrible shots that I can't believe I haven't been able to eradicate. Aside from reading, most of my instruction has been from better players, but no true lessons from any pro since my first at 12 years old. My dad was a great golfer (3 hcp ) but he plays left handed cross handed! He still plays but at 74 he's lost his edge a bit. Besides more lessons from a pro what would I change? I wish I would've kept playing and spent more time playing with my dad throughout the years. I'm finally at my pinnacle of dedication to becoming a good golfer...but my dad is winding down his golfing now. I've traveled the world, dined with kings, ran with elephants. But I truly can't find anything id rather do than roam a golf course with my dad. Golf is the greatest sport there is. No matter when you start. Enjoy yourself and take pride you've taken on the most enormous challenge you'll ever love.

Liver. With some fava beans and a nice chianti ......fssssthhhhthh!

Looks like we have a whole friggin club of this problem! Yeah, my swing just frustrates the hell outta me. Went out Wednesday and shot a 78 at a difficult course. Felt good with that (I'm an 8 hcp). Next day I hit 500 golfballs working mostly on wedges, pretty good session but struggling with my draws. Then comes Black Friday. I go play a nearby par three course and made an assclown of myself. Couldn't hit an iron to save my life. Maybe three good shots the whole round. So I leave and head to the course for some practice. Well...there was a slot for me to tee off and play 9 so I figured I'd relax and just play alone and work this out. First tee. Slice my drive. Chunk my second. Pitched up third and sank 12ft'er for par. Second tee (after deep breathing and focusing) topped my drive. Shanked my second. Bladed my 3rd. Yada yada. Next three holes pretty much played out similarly. Guys, what the hell!!!? I understand being a little off, but how am I so violently inconsistent? I practice so diligently. I just don't understand the magnitude of my inconsistency. I've been known to fire a 75 and literally shoot 90 the next day. My frustration is not because "I just couldn't make a putt" or "just couldn't knock it close today"....it's " I literally feel like I've never swung a club". I'm shanking, topping, blading it...swing feels the same but I look like someone who's never played! Does anyone else experience this? Criminey!! Help me guys!

Moe Norman would often walk along the golf course mumbling phrases that were basically incoherent. He did not like one on one communication. He preferred to be left alone and in fact led a rather reclusive life. He had a very difficult time adhering to the stringent rules that are strictly enforced in a PGA tournament. This is one if the reasons he didn't really have a phenomenal golf career as far as winning tournaments. He was an anomaly as one put it. Comparing him to Hogan or Woods in regards to accomplishments is rather silly. That's like saying you want to copy one of those long drive champs because Palmer Nicklaus nor Woods can hit it that far! Moe's swing was unique but it worked for him. His build, tempo, flexibility and mindset. It can be imitated but not replicated. His swing has just become a silly propaganda tool for some people to try and make some cash. It's like that new diet that takes no calorie counting and lose 20lbs in 2 days. It's not any easier than any other swing theory. You'll go out and hit some balls and think you've made an amazing discovery. In a short time you'll realize all the same faults that we all experience in the conventional swing will start to creep in. Why? Because you're not Moe Norman. The fact that all the best golfers in the world save a handful are of the basic conventional golf swing technique has to give us some clue that it's effective. Golf is a difficult sport to be real good at..consistently. There are no short cuts or secrets, and I feel that is really what the people are trying to sell. It works so well in the weight loss market, they figure they can turn a dime in golf. My 2 cents. I hope I didn't offend anyone.