squaddie

Thanks, that's some good info, and that tip in the article looks promising. I don't believe I have a physical infirmity, but it's possible I'm turning my upper body slowly rather than quickly. In the downswing I turn back my hips left and get my weight over the left side, and at that point I'm just trying to swing through the ball and not thinking anymore due to how fast things move close to the moment of impact. I also focus on keeping my left arm straight since I've had a problem with over-bending the left arm. As a result in my downswing I might be hoping the lower body is propelling my upper body to help turn the arms and club quickly. But in reality I'm just lurching over to my left side and letting my arms and centrifugal force rotate my shoulders around. This behavior may also explain why I come up in the follow-through off-balance at times. Anyhow, I will look into rotating my upper body quicker and try out the tips in that article, after my right elbow recovers. That upper body rotation could be the missing link.

To answer your questions, I believe I'm in good physical condition at 42 years: I ran 2 miles in 15 minutes last week, and was able to leg-press 400 lbs for 4x10 reps. My lower body is a little stronger than my upper (I can only bench 150 lbs during my work-outs). On lessons, I've been taking lessons through GolfTec the past year (around 16 total). As a result I'm hitting straighter than when I began, starting from a big push-cut in my swing. But I have not seen any improvement in my technique that would add to distance. After my recent club-fitting session for the driver and woods another instructor at the store looked over my fitting statistics and stated, "Perhaps you aren't hitting hard enough". But I don't understand how one hits harder on top of all the technique. Perhaps it's also time for a new instructor...

I agree on your suggestion to avoid rotating the left arm (intentionally). On the video request, I'll try to put together a video perhaps in January 2011. The reason for the wait on the video is that I suspect I have developed golfer's elbow in my right arm sometime during the last 2 weeks, so I will need to rest my arms for a while. Thanks, I'm doing some of what you suggested but I'll try to put in more frequent sessions (exercise, stretching and stability, etc.) and also read through the exercise and fitness threads. saevel25, I see you list using stiff-flex shafts. At what point of your swing do you feel like you power it, right around impact? Is it the lower body driving club or do you feel like your upper body is really socking it to the ball at impact? Or perhaps a combination of things?

I was getting fitting for a driver yesterday and found out I have a very slow swing-speed for my age with a driver (42 years, 72 mph) . For the control driver I was was using my Nike Sumo SQ 5000 with regular flex. In the past I've hit the Nike driver straight but not very far, so I believe the fitting statistics were accurate. The fitting system recommended a Taylormade 2010 Superfast driver with a senior-flex shaft, which seems to add 5 MPH to my average club-head speed and 20 yards to total distance (at 200 yds). I swallowed my pride and went ahead and ordered the senior-flex driver and fairway wood (bought them used to save some money). For 2011, I want to work on improving clubhead speed, so I'm looking for suggestions from people who have had the same problem I have with slow speed and got their speed up to at least 90 mph within a year. I'm open to any ideas (training gear, exercise tips, technique) that may have helped you improve your own speed. For strength and speed training gear I have two devices I picked up in the past, a Speed Stik (older model) and also the Medicus Maximus weighted driver club. I had kept these items in the closet since my swing was bad at the time and I wanted to work first on hitting straighter and eliminating my bad slice. But now I hit straighter, and wonder if those two training devices would help me out with speed, and also what kind of daily routine I should follow. I also have a Roger Fredericks CD on golf stretching. I was doing those daily but slacked off, perhaps just following the routine once a week.

Phil Mickelson has used a heel-shafted putter at times. Example from the following article: http://blogs.golf.com/equipment/2010...r-masters.html I remember Tiger tried a Nike Method putter at the (British) Open and didn't have great results with it. There was a photo shot around that time where it shows Tiger after throwing the putter, the club being in front of him mid-air and inverted. That's a big change to go from the old Anser-style Tiger was used to, switching to more of a modern-blade style. I thought Tiger was again using the Method putter just to keep Nike happy, but the complete design-change was unexpected. The following article about Tiger's recent putter change gives some more good reasons and speculation on why we are seeing the Nike Method 003 putter in play now: http://www.putterzone.com/2010/12/ab...ew-putter.html

A drill I was recommended by my Pro was to put a business card down right in front of where a ball would be placed (but don't place a ball). Then I would swing and try to launch the business card. You could practice that on a mat or turf not on the range. If on the range and there are trees nearby, just put a small leaf down slightly in front of the ball, and aim for the leaf.

From your video: 1) I don't like all that bouncing around you do when you get into position - just bend over a bit and then unlock your knees - you should feel springy without bobbing up and down, the weight even between the heels and balls of the feet. As you unlock the knees it appears you straighten a bit and lose your spine angle. 2) Grip and club position: For a short iron it appears you are choking down too far on the club. If the club is the correct length your left hand should be gripping no more than 1/2" from the end. Sometimes for me it's a 1/4". Make sure you understand the proper ball position for each club, as that can't be determined here except with a video that faces you from the front-side. 3) On your backswing it appears like you start leaning into the ball, as your head moves forward and downward slightly, which could mean a weight-shift issue, or perhaps you are bending your knees in the backswing. Ideally in the backswing you should feel like your weight is getting over your right leg as your arms and shoulder turn, without losing the flex of your right knee at address. 4) The downswing weight-shift and the follow-through path of the club look pretty good. But to ensure you don't push the shot make sure you focus on watching the ball as you swing through it at impact, rather than lifting your head up to see where the ball is going.

I believe putting ability is more important to low scoring than ball-striking. It's very difficult to make a consistent approach shot where a short-range putt is guaranteed. Even if the approach shot lands at 3 feet a 1-putt is not automatic. Referring to Pelz's putting bible, on page 7, figure 1.4.1, the diagram indicates tour pros make 3 foot putts only 90% of the time (as of statistics up to year 2000), and only make half their putts at 6 feet. If your ball-striking off the tee is consistently good, in that you typically have the correct clubface angle and swingpath angle to hit the ball straight or shape your shots, then you should end up in the fairways. As the distance to the hole gets into a Par-3 range then being able to consistently land on the green is important, as within 200 yards one can overshoot the green with the wrong club, or end up in any hazards surrounding the green. But with a putting stroke there is less margin of error as there is with a full swing. In putting the target is very small, and more variables (per Pelz) can affect the ball's path to the hole, such as green-reading ability, slopes in the green (uphill, downhill, multiple elevation changes), speed of the green, direction and grain of the grass, wind, any imperfections on or inside the ball, putting stroke, aim and alignment, etc. With a full-stroke to the fairway or green there are less variables involved, such as lie, swing angle, club-face angle, and wind, and distance management on the approach shots, and the focus is landing in a target area consistently rather than a particular spot (though the cup is the primary target).

Watching him play late last year and just recently I think he has a very good chance to win one this year, even if Tiger manages to jump back into the fray. It looks like he has made his shortened swing very consistent, which is amazing considering he was playing so bad a few years back.

Just my 2 cents: The frequency of lessons depends on your golfing objectives and what issues you discover while playing on the course or at the range that you cannot resolve. If you take a lesson and want to practice before playing, then do a few range sessions, working on what you learned during the lesson, until you are confident you can take it to the course. If you are playing a round a recognize a few problems you can't resolve, like constant pushes or slices off the tee, then that's the sign it's time for another lesson to determine the source of the swing problem and the resolution to work on.

It's possible in your follow-through you are coming up too shallow and to the right (as a lefty), a path that makes it tough to close the clubface. Turning too shallow in the follow-through will counter the arms turning of the hands and club-face, which keeps the club slightly more open through impact. Check your swingpath on your follow through, preferably on video. Ideally your arms should be turning more down the target line, and you should see the club head coming up through your right shoulder. I was having push-cut and fading problems recently and from video analysis my instructor found my follow-through was too shallow. Swinging more down the line and following through steeper helped me to minimize the unintentional fade and push-cut.

Driver: C- Last round I managed to not duff any balls off the tee, but I lacked distance, pushing the ball most of the time. Some guys in my group with less experience than me were hitting their 3 woods further off the tee (and they had no confidence in their driver swings). Irons: C+ Half the time I hit a decent shot, the other half I push or top the ball. But when I make contact the ball usually goes straight. My 3 wood contact is pretty good off the turf. Wedges: C- Same issues with my irons - inconsistent, but I usually make contact. Bunker play still needs a lot of work. Putting: B- Last round I only 3-putted one green. Managed to make one 15' putt. Still need a lot of work on green reading and swing tempo. Overall: C I'm confident enough to play a round with all my clubs, but still have some swing issues to work out.

The second option (green's biggest feature and instinct) defines my approach well. I look for the most obvious break then try to feel out any nuances or secondary breaks. Then I line myself up, try to mentally picture the shot, then I pull the trigger.

I have multiple putters (8) mainly due to the fact that being a new golfer I wanted to experiment with different putter types. So I bought over a dozen used putters from ebay just to try them all out. Since my stroke was SBST I settled on an older face-balanced, mallet-style putter that's not too heavy (listed in my sig). But I also try a more toe-balanced putter once in a while, since I'm curious to try out the Utley-style stroke in the future, after having read his book on the Art of Putting. Sometime this year I'll pick up a used Cameron, hopefully one a proper length, and experiment further with the Utley approach.

jaragon126, yeah, if the instructor you have just isn't working out, ask if you can use another one. Just tell them it's nothing personal, but perhaps you would benefit with someone else's insight, see if there's better chemistry. I use the "head pro" with my Golftec. He's helped identify some valid issues, but other times I feel like he's just going off a script, not really analyzing my swing based on the past lessons. What I do now is review my lesson history and progress myself and set the lesson agenda, which has helped him focus on problem areas important to me (like my open clubface issue). Recently the lessons have been more productive now that I call the shots somewhat. Also, you mention in earlier posts that one can't tell about ball flight from hitting into a net, which is true. However, when hitting in the bay they have sensors that should detect the swing path and clubface angle, and from that one should be able to get a good measure of ball flight (i.e. for draws and fades, etc.). I'm guessing your instructor uses that info to also analyze your swing.

Yeah, my Golftec Pro said the same thing. During my last lesson where I was addressing my open-club face issue, my I-O path was 4*, but my clubface was about 11* (lol). He also said I needed to be at around 2* instead. I never considered until now that my open clubface problem could be caused by where I'm ending up in my follow through. I've been following-through the wrong way for quite a while, with my arms and hips, so I will really have to work on correcting my problem (about to head out to the range now).

I think putting on carpet can help, but best to use carpet that is rather thin so it's similar to a real green. With thick carpet the ball will slow down too quickly so your sense of timing and speed of the swing could go off. You can purchase artificial putting surfaces that are thin layers of material that can lay on top of thick carpet or hardwood floors. I have one putting surfcae that has a raised hole at the end that returns the ball back to me (if I sink it or miss it). The device cost me about $40. Indoor putting can help you work on your swing mechanics, but you should still make time for practicing on a real putting green, as the only way to practice reading greens and judging the breaks is to putt on a sloped surface.

It's _not_ guaranteed an OTT swinger can close the clubface if they start swinging on the right path (assuming the right path is in to out). The clubface could remain open due to issues with weight transfer and release path of the arms. Using myself as an example, I started golf with a tendency to swing OTT _and_ have an open clubface at impact, _and_ hit off the heel. Once I had lessons to get my swingpath more in-to-out I was still pushing, push-cutting and slicing and shanking the ball with all my clubs, which was due to not being able to square the clubface at impact, as well as having a tendency to hit off the heel. My Pro has recently indicated (from video analysis) that my open-clubface problem is due to a combination of poor weight transfer to my left side _and_ not releasing properly in the impact zone, my arms turning very shallow and left through impact as opposed to being a little more steeper down the target line. Since I'm trying to get my arms too far left in the release the club is naturally staying more open.

That pain is not normal. I've been playing for over a year and never had a pain like that in my legs, but my legs are in good condition from running and weight training. Seeing a doctor is best if you are already somewhat athletically inclined. Perhaps you should warm up your legs and hips a bit before you swing. Spend a few minutes doing leg stretches for quads, thighs, calves and gluts. There are also a few hips stretches you can try, but search youtube for those. Get some blood flowing in the lower region by doing a few squats before swinging. If a stretching and light calisthenics doesn't help eliminate the pain then go see a doctor.

I have the TW 2010 Wii game along with the Wii Motion Plus attachment. I tried out the game using my regular swing to see how well it would match up to my swing in real life. I found a few problems using it for practice. 1) It's difficult to grab the Wii Mote like you would your real club. There is also no weight felt in your fingers like with a real club. 2) It's hard to tell where the impact point is, as where you would hit the ball. I can't tell if it's center of my stance or the ball is forward. 3) I don't know if the game accounts for the lie of different clubs. It's tough to gauge if you are holding the Wii Mote at the correct angle for a 5 iron compared to a 3 wood. 4) Lacking in short-game mechanics - no way to simulate a correct bunker stroke, chip shot mechanics seem incorrect, putting doesn't feel real at all. There's another Wii title in the works by another company called David Leadbetter's My Golf Trainer, that uses both the Wii Motion Plus _and_ the Wii Fit board to track weight shift in the swing. I don't know when the game will be released, but I hope that proves to be a title better suited for indoor golf practice. I'm still skeptical and will have to see a few positive (and unbiased) reviews from people who are skilled golfers before I make the purchase.

Wow, as the news keeps developing I'm amazed now at how many women Tiger was involved with and hiding from his wife. Perhaps Playboy magazine can be Tiger's next sponsor, as he's exactly what the magazine needs to bring back the Playboy brand name to dominance. Tiger and Hef could have articles and golf-tips side by side, and there could be a "Cocktail Waitress of the Month" centerfold spread in each issue that Tiger has personally tested. All kidding aside, I wonder what the gallery's reaction to Tiger will be when he plays his first PGA US tournament next year? I know many people here state, "I watch Tiger for his golfing abilities", but I don't know if the PGA tour galleries will be as understanding. Will he be cheered on with his first appearance or will he receive nothing but boos? Will Tiger's wife show up at the events? Imagine the commentators as the camera focuses in on her, "...and there's Tiger's supportive wife and their children, and....um, (awkward pause)....yeah." I don't see how Tiger will be able to play a single round at any tournament without getting some flak from the public. I'm a fan of Tiger's golfing abilities, as he motivated me to start playing golf, but this infidelity problem will be a big setback to his career in 2010 until it blows over. Hopefully his wife can forgive him, perhaps publicly. Or divorce him and get it over quickly, then at least Tiger may get some sympathy.

Basically that's setting the wrist early, which is a technique used by Nick Faldo (per his book, A Swing for Life). I was practicing early setting of the wrists at the range this evening (with success). To prevent the left wrist cupping I think about rotating my left forearm about a quarter turn (90*). When I turn my left forearm this way my right wrist has to hinge back, as does my left wrist hinge properly without cupping. At that point I should be at the 9 oclock position, then I just focus on turning my shoulders without turning the arms or hinging the wrists any further. Here's a drill by David Leadbetter that gets one in the set position at 9 o'clock. Leadbetter was an instructor for Nick Faldo, and Faldo also lists a variation of this drill in his Swing for Life book. Leadbetter doesn't state to rotate the forearm in the drill, but I do so in order to avoid getting my left wrist too cupped. Per Faldo you can also put a headcover under your left arm to ensure your arms are turning properly with your body to the 9 o'clock position, rather than independently.

Haha. In some ways this may turn out to be great publicity next year for Tiger and the game of golf in general. Though Tiger didn't win a major tourney last year, he has recovered well from the knee surgery and is playing in top form. People who don't care about golf and normally don't know much about Tiger, now have their curiousity peaked, since Tiger appeared on gossip sites like TMZ, a site that appeals to a broad audience beyond golf. As a result this new audience may start paying attention to Tiger's wins in the news and even watch a few games, maybe even take an interest in playing golf. Now Tiger has a chance to really impress this new-found audience if he manages to continue playing well in 2010. Hopefully Tiger will steal some thunder from the gossip sites and come up with some creative commercials for clubs or Cadillac's products. Here's to your next major win, Tiger! I think I'll grab up some Nike stock soon ;)

kmarkham, thank you for posting these photos. I just finished reading a book named, "A Course called Ireland", by Tom Coyne, which includes many courses listed in your photo album. Coyne's book documents his journey to play every golf course along the coast of Ireland. Per the book he played over 50 courses, starting at Kilkee and ending up at Ballybunion Old. The only thing lacking in the book that there were only a few photos included that only gave glimpses of around 11 courses. With the help of your photo album I can now fill in the gaps of what many of the other courses looked like. I hope to play over in Ireland one day, definitely on my list of things to do (hopefully soon). EDIT: Wow, your photos are really amazing.

At my current high-handicap I want to be a consistent ball striker off the tee (or with my approach shots), as that's my weakest skill at this point. My short-game is much better, though not as good as the low-handicappers. My bunker play still needs work, but I need to reduce the number of strokes it takes me to get to the bunker ;)