Uber$winG

As golfers, I’m convinced we all try this from time to time…

I used to live outside Lowell, MA and I went to this place for batting practice in the winter. It is actually more geared towards the golfer than the ball player. I don’t know where in MA you are located but this place is in North Chelmsford. http://bpappasgolf.com/

I bought the California Del Mar about a month ago and it’s perfect for me.

I mix up my swimming routine by alternating between breast stroke and freestyle, i.e., breast stroke one lap, and freestyle on the way back down the pool. I don’t go in for the whole Speedo thing (I swim for golf not for the Olympic trials) I wear regular workout shorts - and I have found it has the added benefit of offering more drag so I have to work harder doing laps. Laps can be boring and there is no remedy for that – but swimming is truly the best exercise for the human body. Stretch well before your sets and always wear goggles.

I guess I should post this for the OP – and I’ll take ten percent of the savings. http://gourock.com/golfcages_multi-use.html

http://www.gourock.com/

That’s a lot of money for a practice set-up. But if that really isn’t a lot of money then I say go for it. Minus the swing speed radar, I built my practice set-up for one-quarter the price. As for handling the “lumpy mat” situation… I recommend constructing a sand pit in which the mat will fit nicely. What I did was this: I measured my mat and cut 2x6 planks to frame the mat (I used wood screws to fasten the frame together). Next I dug a pit so that the wood frame would fit flush to the ground. Back-fill the outside part of the fame so that it is secure in the earth. I filled the framed pit with sand so that the mat rests on top of the sand and so that it is flush with both the top of the frame and ground. This sand pit serves a few purposes: first, you can practice your bunker play – be it either greenside or fairway. Second, hitting out of the sand allows you to work on developing a balanced swing. Third, when you do place your mat on the sand’s surface you are able to hit down on the ball while the substratum sand provides a cushion.

Polonius said it best: Neither a borrower nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

I knew a kid who played on the Gateway Tour when I was living in Colorado, and he gave me some advice to which I still adhere when it comes to practice… He said that there are essentially two kinds of practice on the range: one is practicing your golf swing; the other is practicing your golf game. The first one is more about working on the mechanics of your swing. That is to say, you are consciously working on, and are ostensibly aware of, things like takeaway, maintaining your lag angle, getting to a sound impact position, and the like. The second one is all about practicing real course situations. Instead of spilling a bucket of balls in front of yourself – play just one ball at a time (with the rest of the balls out of sight when addressing the one ball). Go through your pre-shot routine, pick a target and hit that target. For example, let’s say you miss your target twenty yards right, but it’s hole high (concerning the target anyways) – now you are left with a twenty yard pitch shot to the target (of your choosing) twenty yards away. Of course it depends on the practice range, but you can practice shots from the rough, shots from either above or below your feet, uphill and downhill lies, and the numerous other situations in which we tend to find ourselves. The key point relative to this kind of practice is to put yourself in a situation where you have to make the shot you want to make - with just one swing. In this respect, you are only limited by your imagination. Regarding the second scenario, I bring a course yardage book (or scorecard) with me in order to help visualize the imaginary hole that I am going to play. Keep a practice scorecard that denotes the kind of shots with which you have trouble, and work on those types of shots in the mechanical practice sessions.

I am DVR’n it now… and the whole series, thanks for the heads-up.

I’ll take the “exercises to strengthen key muscles” part of the question. Try to incorporate the old-school compound-movement lifts into your workouts, for example, squats, dead lifts, and stiff legged dead lifts. I perform a lot of “hanging power cleans” as part of my golf specific workout. In my limited estimation, this is the most useful lift for golfers. This lift will allow you to work on balance, speed, strength, and flexibility – all in one lift. Seek out the advice of a qualified trainer to show you how to perform these movements – and it is worth noting that these movements require a straight back… the same kind of straight back that you would want to adopt while addressing the ball in your stance (N.B. the pelvic tilt differs from lift to lift, and from the actual address position in golf).

The actual Tiger “Slam” clubs have Cadillac Escalade wear marks on them.

I have it on good authority that the European team is going to break with tradition this year and don denim tank-tops and cargo shorts - while talking on their cell phones for every round.

I would have haggled with him for a fungible $10 – that’s a good deal.

I am thinking that I shall love every minute of it. I moved here in May (from Denver to AZ) specifically so that I can golf year-round. In Denver most of the courses stay open all year, but snow does fall and stick around for a couple of days at a time - so there is the promise to play every day provided it’s not too cold and there’s no snow on the ground. But here in the land of cactus-milk and honey it’s golf 365. The only problem with which we shall have to contend come early fall is over-seeding (from Bermuda to rye). And I shall endeavor to keep my complaints to a minimum while the rest of you are scraping windshields and shoveling driveways.

Try a cheap and chalky deodorant – smear it on the clubface and swing away. Your clubs will also smell fantastic.

Jerry Garcia kicked me in the balls at Altamont back in ’69.

Regarding your OTT move... It might simply be a symptom of over-swinging. That is to say, maybe you are trying too hard to swing too hard with the woods. I am guilty of this, what I call an “ego based swing flaw,” from time to time. Instead of staying in tempo, maintaining my lag, and swinging smoothly, I concern myself with trying to crush the ball. The result is tension, spinning out, coming over the top, and going Oscar Bravo. Of course, I offer this without seeing a video of your swing - so I could be wrong.

Regarding visors… Tour visors have wide brims, high profiles, and come with loop adjustments for fit (as opposed to Velcro) – and, in my opinion, unless you have an exceptionally large cranium they don’t look all that great. I prefer to don both the low profile and garment washed visors – but not necessarily at the same time though.

I’ll describe myself… I’m the perfect sociopath, and I’m never sick at sea.

I have often opined that if I were able to have some kind of super human powers bestowed upon me by; for instance, being struck by a bolt of lightning, drinking from the same river that feeds Three Mile Island, or falling into bed with a very nubile Kim Kardashian , that I would both wish and want those super powers to be somehow connected to the supernal ability to make good looking women take part in the Sapphic honored tradition of cunnalingus… In my opinion, there is nothing in life that can’t be improved upon by a good old fashioned lesbian sex scene.

I found a permanent solution… I moved from Colorado to Arizona.

I don’t think there is a planet in our solar system where Chris Evert would ever qualify as a trophy wife… even when she was young and easy and wrinkle free.

I really use the net to work on segmented hitting drills. That is to say, I may take 5 full swings to every 50 drill swings – like flying wedge drill swings. So I’m not necessarily worried about ingraining bad habits since I’m really working on instilling the proper mechanics of the full swing - just in segments. I also have a full length mirror attached to PVC that I place in front of me when I’m working on said drills (I should have posted a picture of that too). This is the net that I both bought and recommend: http://gourock.com/mcart/index.cgi?I...=IT823&code;=13