Chas

I hate how many of my drives look when I'm not using a 460 cc driver. Which would bother you more?

I'm looking for advice about which electric hand cart to buy. I'm talking about a powered hand cart here, not something you rent at the club and sit upon. I've looked at the Sun Mountain SpeedE cart but haven't actually seen one in action and wonder if it's robust enough for the job. You can pay up to $2000 for an electric cart, which is a lot more than I'm willing to come across with. The SpeedE cart sells for considerably less than that. In case you're wondering, I took up golf a few years ago after a bout with cancer that involved some intensive chemotherapy, which did a number on the nerves in my feet (peripheral neuropathy is the technical term). I can't run around any more, or even tolerate much pressure on my feet for any length of time, so I gave up tennis and switched to golf. I can still walk 18 holes, surely need the exercise and so avoid rental carts when possible, but my feet would be much better off if I didn't have to pull or push a cart the whole way and just walked behind. I've only seen a powered handcart maybe three or four times on the course in the four years I've been playing golf here in San Diego and am not expecting a big response to my question. Any advice would be appreciated, even if it's the opinion of someone you know about their powered cart.

I used to grip much too tightly as well, which usually led to stiff forearms and blocked/pushed shots. Then I noticed that many pros and low-handicap amateurs squeeze and relax their hands two or three times just before they swing, in a sort of "pumping" action. I do this now and find that it helps a lot, because 1) I become more conscious of grip pressure and remember to lighten up just before the take-away (especially facing a tough shot on the course that might tend to get me tense), 2) it seems to automatically remove any existing tension from all those small muscles in the hand and forearm. Try it, you might find it works for you as well. Mind you, I still sometimes push shots, but at least it's due to something else - usually swinging too much from the inside - and I can work on THAT. Or else I need to slightly strengthen my grip, as I recently discovered. The divot line tells me which one of these applies. Grip pressure should be one of the easiest problems to get sorted out.

All of that is good advice, georgep, but I would add that there is the other dimension to think about as well, namely that of the target line. I recently discovered that I had developed a pronounced sideways lean of the upper body in the backswing in the direction of the target, with my hips moving in the opposite direction. Of course this tilting had to be reversed on the downswing, with unpredictable results (too-frequent fat or thin shots). I now focus on minimizing lateral hip movement and maintaining a constant spine angle in the target line as well as forwards, and the results have been very gratifying. I am now much less likely to hit a shot fat or thin, and my carry distance is much more consistent as a result. A guy hitting next to me on the range pointed out my problem, bless him. I owe him a bucket of balls at least.

I feel your pain, since I'm a bit that way myself still. But, I'm finding that with time I'm blowing up less and less to the point where I can see this as becoming a rare event. You could go to the Stableford scoring sytem I suppose, but in a way that's a cop-out. It's better to work on eliminating the problem, which for me means taking my lumps and pitching out laterally from behind a tree or whatever and accepting a likely bogey (or double at worst) rather than going for the low-percentage recovery shot and blowing up like I did in my last round.

This is a very good piece of advice, I'll try to remember it next time I'm on the course and someone behaves inappropriately. Another thing to bear in mind is that all of us committed sins of one sort or another while we were learning, which for me wasn't that long ago. I'm still very much refining my on-course etiquette, which is a big part of golf. I have noticed that I'm much less easily distracted on the driving range than I used to be, in fact I now hardly care what's going on next to me. Hopefully this will carry over to the course to some extent.

Shortish par 4. Drove into fairway bunker, right. About 110 yds to green, nice unplugged, open lie. Hit a sweet pitcher to within 3 ft, sank the putt for birdie. On a later hole: took me 3 shots to get out of a greenside bunker for a double .... that's golf ! (well, I need to practise those little 40 ft bunker shots, clearly ....)

Old Tom, I agree with your post, since I've been using a couple of hybrid clubs for a while now and never used a long iron (3 or 4). But, just a few weeks ago, I finally worked on my 3i and 4i at the range and find I can hit them pretty good now (at the range at least ....), I'm no longer intimidated by these clubs. I'm more accurate with them than with a hybrid (directionally), but still am more likely to chunk or thin the ball and so don't get such consistent distance. I do advise people to work on their longer irons, because if you're confident with those, the shorter irons (5i on down) feel easier as a result. I'm no low-handicapper, but I think you've got it about right TerenceFinn (but some scratch player please correct me if I'm wrong). The ideal contact with any wood or hybrid is essentially at the very bottom of the arc, hence the forward ball position. With a long iron, you should hit just slightly before bottom, to better ensure a solid hit. Of course hitting it at bottom wouldn't be a problem, but it's a bit harder to avoid the chuck/thin that way IMO. Problem I've got now: to keep within 14 clubs, do I take the 3i, 4i, 18deg hybrid or 21 deg hybrid ? (I always take 3 and 5 woods as well as the driver, I like hitting fairway woods when I need the distance on par5s etc). Gotta choose. I haven't settled on anything yet, which is OK: variety is the spice of life !

When I s****, it's usually because my balance has gone off during the swing. Usually I'm in good balance at address (easy enough) and in the backswing, but I sometimes tend to let my weight move forward onto my toes too much on the downswing - resulting in a s*****d or a chunked hit. Check this out, it might be a problem for you as well. Concentrate on keeping your weight fairly evenly spread between the heels and balls of your feet the whole time. Works for me.

That's just the way I see it. So, it doesn't matter which club you have in your hand, the fundamental swing should be the same. You've got to keep things as simple as possible - the game is hard enough as it is ! The angle of attack at impact then depends on where the ball lies in relation to the bottom of the arc made by the clubface. Obviously, the further back the ball (towards the back foot), the steeper the attack angle at impact and the more turf will be taken AFTER the ball is struck. If you aren't taking quite a bit of turf with the short irons, you are probably not getting set up right (i.e. ball too far forward) - resulting in lots of chunked or sculled shots.

Hansmixer, Your post has the ring of truth to it ! I used to work with weights, but haven't for about six months and it shows. You encourage me to get back into it again, I'm sure it will make a big difference to many things - including my balance issues, which are indeed probably mostly strength/fitness issues in the back and legs. Charles.

Great post. It's when I realised that saving par or saving bogey with a shot like this was A VERY GOOD THING, something to feel good about, that I began to have confidence in my game and really start playing golf. This was about six months ago. I mean sheesh, if I can pull-hook a drive out of bounds and still pull off a bogey on a par 4, say, it's something to be proud of, no ? In the bad old days, a rotten drive like that would invariably have been followed by two or three additional rotten, angry shots and a treble bogey most likely.

Occasional twinge in a back muscle, like right now, that causes me to take a few days or a week off. Other than that, nothing major .... touch wood. But I forget to mention, I actually took up golf about four years ago after a lifetime of tennis because I got a pretty bad case of peripheral neuropathy in the feet after some intensive chemotherapy (Hodgkins Disease). The cancer is gone, my tennis career is over (feet start to hurt when I run around more than a few minutes), but motor function is unaffected and I just love the game of golf. So, I'm still alive and enjoying my time on the range and the golf course. My peripheral neuropathy in no way affects my game, so I've got no excuse there ! My brain neuropathy (age-related) is another matter of course ...

Unfortunately, my game is far from being at a point where I don't need to make any changes. So I need to keep going to the range, as well as playing a round when I get the chance. I was on the range for about 2 hrs earlier today, some guys from Callaway were there under a tent so I got to try some of their late model irons and drivers (comparing them with Mizuno irons and Taylor woods that they also supplied). Perhaps this disrupted my rhythm or something but I didn't have a very good session really. My balance was a bit off - I notice that happening to me sometimes, nothing you can do about it really. Next time I go out my sense of balance will probably be just fine, like normal. Does anyone else have occasional balance issues like this ? Sorry, this is getting off-thread rather. To bring it back on-thread, a few months ago I bought a wobble-board or balance-board, that I find quite helpful in getting me to control my center of gravity precisely. It also strengthens the muscles of the ankle. Haven't tried to hit a golf ball standing on the thing yet though - might do myself an injury ! It would be very amusing for others to watch me try though.

This is a great thread, thanks for all the good ideas. Me, I'm gradually getting more focused when I'm on the range, which means always having a very specific intent. I think it's good to try to set up a Pass/Fail situation. Pick two visual markers out there that about are as far apart as they should be, given the club in your hand. The longer the club, the wider apart obviously. If the ball lands inside the markers (e.g. distance marker on one side, some flag or something on the other), you made a good shot. If not, you blew it again ! Keep track of you hit/miss percentage, and put pressure on yourself to "catch up" if you're falling behind on your expected average. For wedge work, at one range around here we have big netting targets, with buckets in the middle for an even smaller target - at about 130, 110 and 70 yards. When I started using those nets seriously, I missed them most of the time . Last time I was out, I hit 4/5 of the 110y yard nets with my PW (hit the fifth fat and short, but straight !) - very gratifying. Sorry to brag, I'm still mostly a hacker but sometimes I get the feel ..... My point: you've got to set it up so that if you mishit on the range, you really know and admit to yourself that you blew it. Heck, that's what it's like out there on the unforgiving course for Pete's sake - no weasling there ! And besides, it makes practising much more interesting, challenging and entertaining. Keep track of your "score" this way, be competitive with yourself, and see if you are really improving (which you will be, trust me ..). p.s. I agree about hitting 1/2 and 3/4 shots as well, I've just starting doing that and it helps a lot - now I'm starting to use them more often on the course too.

My first round at Torrey Pines South course, a few weeks ago. 15th hole. Too much draw on a long (for me) drive put the ball off the fairway on the left, good lie but about 20 yards behind a large tree, 130 yard to the green (modest downhill). Branch of said tree nicely blocked the natural ball flight. So, I went with a choked down 5-iron, ball well back in stance, and hit a knock-down shot at maybe 3/4 power. Best shot of my golfing career possibly, crisply hit, trajectory just as intended, ball landed 10 yard in front of green and rolled to within about 10 ft of the pin. Uphill putt to boot. Imagine my excitement . Possibility of my first birdie on Torrey South - fame and fortune awaited ! Well, I was too excited, I putted about 4 feet passed and then missed the downhill comeback for a bogey . O well, such is golf. Still, that knockdown 5i was possibly my best shot ever, in the circumstances. I can just see and feel it now.

All of the above, and make sure that your head doesn't drift in front of the ball EVEN ONE IOTA on the downstroke and through contact. Usually when I start pushing the ball way right, it's because my head has drifted forward, when I realise that it's quite easy to correct. And then later it happens again of course.

Yes, the right elbow-hip thing is key IMHO. With that going well, many other things more or less fall into place. Right now I'm working on a full shoulder turn, no overswing at the top, and NOT reverse pivoting. A kind gentleman on the range pointed out my reverse pivot recently, it's something that sort of developed unchecked I think. I hit MUCH more consistently, and shift weight properly, when I'm not doing that. Just my own issues, FWIW.

Nice post. Yes, this is surely what the pro was trying to get our fellow to avoid doing - the dreaded "early release". By hitting the ball on a "low" trajectory (the correct one really), the hands stay slightly ahead of the ball at impact, and the clubhead is still descending a tad as well (and may take turf depending on the ball position and club #). As a result, the ball is squeezed off the ground. It's one reason why the pros seem to get so much more distance from the same iron as amateurs - it's because they're hitting down on the ball much more than the rest of us at impact, effectively reducing clubhead loft. Of course there are other reasons as well - like clubhead speed !

All I know is, the less close to parallel my backswing is, the more consistently and longer I hit the ball. My biggest fault is overswinging, which I used to combine with regripping at the top - fortunately THAT (regripping) is mostly under control. At some point I'm sure it will be counter-producting to shorten my backswing further, but I haven't got there yet.