iPutt

Don't you love that excuse? I was at Bethpage State Park (playing the green that day, but was watching some people tee off on the black before my own tee time) and there was a foursome just about to tee off. One guy proposes to the group "You guys wanna play from the tips? We'll experience the whole course." Another guy responds "Sure, I want to play it like they did at the Open last year."

Sure thing, will post as soon as I read it over winter break

400 off the tee and 190 with a 9-iron.... Jamie Sandlowski??

Tiger bogeying 3 out of the 5 par 5's on the day. From what I saw from watching the limited NBC coverage (do not have the golf channel) his driver seemed a bit out of whack. I just think that when Tiger's successful, he's at least -3 for the par 5's on the day.

One extra stroke changed his world.

I agree with this 100%. I think that for anyone breaking those "score barriers" for the first time, there's so much pressure that we put on ourselves that it just creates tight, conservative swings. I'm happy that the one time I've broken 90 so far is over with, so that the next time I'm getting close I'll have the confidence to know that I've done it before. I also think that letting go at that point is a big help, because if you trust that you're going to make the shot, you can make those free swings that lead to those great shots. However, I do think that once you start to get better, it's tough to completely block out where you stand for a round. If you're at +3, it's not hard to remember that it's been 5 bogeys, 2 birdies. I really don't think the problem lies in knowing where you stand for the round and playing ignorant, but rather having the mental strength to let go and trust all the practice you've put in.

Also, I feel like an underrated aspect of the range finder is being able to shot distances to hazards, bunkers, doglegs, etc. I like knowing that the fairway ends at about 240 because the tree right behind it is about 250. I also like knowing that the front of the green where the water hazard is is at 176 exactly, even though I'm just past the 200 marker on the course. I really think that the benefit of the rangefinder is being able to get those abstract yardages that you wouldn't have without a caddie (Also with the use of the rangefinder I've found that par-3 yardage can sometimes vary GREATLY than what's on the card/yardage plate).

1) Make the club golf team at my college. 2) I don't even care how crazy it sounds, I want to someday qualify for the US open.

Does anyone know what channel the Saturday and Sunday rounds are gonna be aired on? I really want to watch but we don't get the golf channel at my school . Crossing my fingers that NBC or CBS picks it up.

I have the Taylormade ultra-light stand one (not sure of the exact model name) in my signature and love it. The clubs actually stay separated and there are a ton of great pockets and features. However, I feel like most of the "ultra-light" bags are about the same and jut go with one of the major brands and you'll be alright.

Dear Mr. Martin Chuck, I need the tour striker for reasons that I discovered this summer. The story begins with my discovery of a new teacher who informed me that my ball flight was too high. At first I somewhat disagreed with him; throughout my whole golfing career I always loved to hit the ball high, I thought that there was no better way and I've always gotten complements on my swing. However, I went to the Barclays this last August (my first PGA Tour event) and realized that what I lacked was that piercing trajectory that all the pros have. Since that point, I have set out to acquire this ball flight through any means possible. I have improved with the help of my instructor, and my own toils at the range, but I can always do more. This is where the Tour Striker comes in. I have used a tour striker once at the range since my epiphany, and I could see the night and day difference when I finally got my hands ahead of the club face and forward pressed the club at impact. Unfortunately, this Tour Striker was not mine and I had only limited use to it. I would love to purchase one, but being a college student does not exactly mean I have the funds to acquire such a luxury as the Tour Striker, so it does not seem to be in the cards right now. I do hope that you can help me with this, and I will be forever grateful if you do. Thanks for Listening, iPutt

My goals for last year were a bit more big picture than statistics, this year I think I'm going to go a little bit more balanced... 1) Break 80 - My goal last year was to break 100, did that. Then I got the breaking 90 out of the way by shooting 87. I shot 39 on the back of that round, so I know I have the potential if I keep up the same amount of practice and commitment that I had last summer. 2) Average 36 Putts or Better per Round - This may seem easy to many of you, but really my putting is what's holding me back. To accomplish this goal, my putting is not the only thing that needs to get better (although that's a major part of it), but also my short game in getting up and down/closer to the pin (at least close enough to give myself a chance or put it to tap-in range) and my short iron play. I have to cut out the three putting as I average way too many of those a round. 3) Keep the Left Foot on the Ground Through the Entire Swing - This is one thing that I really hate about my swing and causes me to lose balance. I've fixed a lot of things about my swing, and this really needs to be fixed my the end of the year, no excuses. 3) Practice the Short Game More - Now that I have a place to do so, I really need to practice around the green more even if it's just once a week after my lesson. All aspects of my short game need work, especially bunker play. This summer I want to have more up and downs and give myself a better shot at par even if I don't get the GIR. 4) Stay Mentally Committed in Every Round - This includes thinking on every single shot and limiting blowup holes. It also includes letting said blowup hole not effecting the upcoming holes. Way too many times this year I would be putting together a pretty good stretch, but then a single decision derails a hole, or a single hole derails the round. Sometimes I just need to learn to take my medicine and play for bogey. 5) Play in at Least 3 Tournaments - I really want to start the tournament golf scene this upcoming season and I have my eye on a few tournaments through the Long Island Golf Association (Long Island Amateur, Long Island Open, Michael Hebron Amateur Championship). From what I can tell, they're open to anyone, and I would need to shoot somewhere in the mid 70's to make the first cut (around mid 80's not to embarrass myself...). Although I don't think I can make the cut just yet, I really think I can be competitive, and from past match play experiences I play even better under pressure. I just love that competitive atmosphere and it really focuses my thoughts for the entire round. 6) Shot a Combined 3-Over or Better on the Final 3 Holes at my Home Course - This one is pretty straight forward, and is one of my personal demons so to speak. The last 3 holes at my home course are by far the 3 toughest holes on the course, and they always give a little boost to my score by the end of the round. If I can conquer this goal, it will be a big thing for me. 7) Make the School Club Team by Junior Year - For my final goal, I need to be about an 8-10 handicap. I think I can get to this point by the end of nest summer, and really want this goal more than anything else. This is what I'm working for, and really believe that I can accomplish it. I have many more goals than last year, although I feel like all of these are things that I can definitely achieve with enough work. Like last season, I want to be able to look back and clearly see my improvement. But this season, I want to be able to hit the objective goals as well so that I can measure directly how much better I've gotten. I really am looking forward to this season more than any other, and am gonna be struggling this whole off season with golf fever.

1) Check - Completed on the third round of the season with a 98. Continued to shoot in the 90's for a majority of the season, even going as far as to shoot an 87 (48-39). Was a great day and one I will never forget considering how zoned in I felt on the back 9, making only 4 bogies along with 5 pars. 2) X - I believe that I got in 18 recorded rounds, although there were a bunch of 9-hole rounds, and a handful of rounds that weren't recorded as I was pretty much going out just to have fun with friends and what not. I probably could have gotten a few more in although I broke my finger in early September so my season was ended prematurely. 3) Check - Besides the end of the summer when there were some personal issues that got in the way, this goal went pretty well for the summer. Practiced a ton and also took weekly lessons. If I didn't play or practice for a few days, it was like I was going through golf withdrawal. 4) Check - Although I found a place (practice bunker and short game area where I started taking lessons), I really didn't to use it much as I only discovered it more than halfway through the summer and it's over 40 minutes away. I also found a public grass range, but it as well is somewhat far away. So I found the places, next year is to actually go. 5) X - Though like I said, I had a feeling it wasn't happening this year. I'm getting closer and was even going to try out, however I broke my finger and wasn't able to. So yes, I got miles better this summer. I improved in every aspect of my game, especially my driving and ball striking. I went up at least a club in distance, had 2 drives lasered at over 300 yards, was about 8 inches away from my first hole in one. My handicap must have dropped at least 10 strokes (I know because I keep my own handicap now) and I can really see the improvement. I'm almost exactly a bogey golfer now, and I can't wait until next year to keep breaking down walls. Great season, and I'm enjoying the game so much more.

Who the hell cares? The last time I checked, there are plenty of public golf courses out there and the word public means open to anyone. Honestly, I don't care who I play with as long as they're respectful to me and are good company. Go out there, be a nice guy, and have fun.

The scores may have been low, but I was at the course Thursday and Friday and it was far from easy. The only thing this showed was how good these guys are when the course is soft. If it was hard and fast, the greens would have been ridiculous with the mounding they have and the fairways wouldn't have been so easy to hit either.

Used Nikes for awhile but once I started walking courses I realized I needed a better shoe. Switched to the FJ superlites and really can't see switching to anything else now.

Always great to have a shot come out exactly as you envisioned it, not a better feeling while you're out there. For me this year there have been quite a few great shots. I had my farthest drive ever this year at about 295 yards (downwind on a rock solid fairway, still counting it though). I hit some beautiful 4-hybrid shots, one to save my career low round of 87 on the 18th hole from a fairway bunker and one to par one of the toughest holes on a different course. Some great 5-irons that I stuck close for birdie. I have to say though, some of the best shots I've had this year are those completely pure iron shots that I really haven't hit before in my short golfing career and I really do think it shows how much I'm improving.

Not really looking to insert my own opinion here, but you could change every singe "cart girl" to "stripper" and the thread would still make a lot of sense with pretty much the same argument.

I can think of a couple of reasons that might explain it... 1) A driver puts more spin on the ball since it is the lowest lofted club in the bag (besides the putter of course). This causes it to exaggerate the curve of the ball and turns what may be a soft fade with a 9-iron is actually a larger slice with the driver. 2) For some reason (I think it could be the longer length) amateurs tend to swing a driver more outside in going through the ball either causing a big slice of a straight pull. Work on swinging "out to right field" as some like to say and focus getting more on plane. 3) The irons you're playing are game improvement irons and one characteristic of these irons is that they'll have more offset. Most people believe that offset in a club promotes more of a draw spin, so this may be why you hit your irons straighter than your driver. Just a few thoughts that I think may help but if not, going to a few lessons would probably shed some light on the problem.

I agree with what has been said here about hitting down on the ball, a critical point in every single swing no matter the style (a great book on this is called "The Impact Zone" which teaches the forward shat lean at impact). However, I never felt quite right about a teacher that says he needs to completely "reconstruct" a swing for someone to play well. I believe that anyone can make changes, although there are natural qualities to each swing that should really not be messed with. Just my two cents though and if you really think that in the long term you'll drastically improve your game then I guess it could be worth it.

I think that the main aspect for a golf instructor is for him/her to be someone you can fully trust what they're saying and someone you can be able to voice your concerns to. I think your best bet would be to tell him exactly all of this. Tell him that you feel like you're going too fast and that you need more guidance as you're a brand new golfer. If he seems unhappy with this or refuses to really go in the direction you want, I would just find someone else. There is absolutely no point in working with someone you don't have full confidence in. There's so many great instructors out there and some aren't right for everyone. Don't worry, in no time you'll find the right person and be on your way to the 70's. Hope this helped!

Was playing with two brothers who are friends of mine the other day and we were coming down the 17th fairway after me and the younger brother had been playing pretty shitty all day. The older brother put his drive pretty far down the middle and with out telling us, was something like bogey par away from breaking 50 on one 9 for the first time. Now normally during our rounds, we'll get into each other's heads but it's all in good fun of course. Turns out he didn't take too kindly to out questioning at the time. Things like, "do you breathe in or out in your backswing?" and "is your club face normally that closed at address?" So next shot he somewhat shanks into the trees, then dropping another ball he hits it again in to the trees! By now me and his brother are just doubled over with laughter, and with a few choice words, he turns around and hurls his 8-iron into a tree! We're absolutely in tears by now and he seems beside himself at what he just did. Well the 8-iron actually snapped in half after we finally got it down from the tree. I actually felt a little bit bad after the fact, but it was just our normal group dynamics and his reaction was way over the top. Makes a great story though.

I'm going to be staying in Bradenton, FL in a few weeks and I'm bringing the clubs! The only problem is is that I have no clue where I can play. If anyone is familiar with some public courses in this area that I would able to play would be greatly appreciated. Nothing too far away from the city (like 20-30 minutes) and somewhere that a single would be able to get on early on a weekday morning. Thanks in advance for the help and I'm psyched to see what this Florida golf and bent grass is all about!

I didn't get my masters tickets so that obviously means that my luck will be better for this contest. Great giveaways, sig updated!!!

Your application was not selected for 2012 Masters Daily Tournament tickets. At this time you may edit your application for 2012 Practice Rounds tickets. The application deadline for 2012 Practice Rounds tickets is July 30, 2011 . All applicants will be notified in mid-August when the random selection process is complete. ^^^ My emotions right now