Grinde6

Why do alot of people lie about their scores and distances...it's internet inflation. If he is really shooting those scores and hitting the ball 330 with little effort...why didnt his coach or other players tell him he has a shot at going pro. So playing hockey means you have the fundamentals of golf down?! I played hockey as well, the main things it has to do with golf is hand eye and leg strength...I know a lot of people that played hockey that aren't good at golf at all... I'm not saying some of it isn't true, but where did he go?!? Since people have questioned him he hasn't been back...I'm just saying the stats to me seem to be a little inflated.

I would go into it with an open mind...if you don't you will try too hard on hitting the driver you want and it might actually end up being your worst one because you are overswinging. If you go in not caring what the name on the driver is but that you hit it well you will be doing yourself a huge favor. I also wouldn't try to "kill" every driver when you are swinging. Take nice swings even if they are 80% swings it is much more beneficial than trying to overswing. Just keep an eye on your swing speed for each driver and how far they are going with that swing speed and that should tell you which will be better for you, if you start overswinging we all know what happens, they go left and they go right on us. Couple thoughts on the drivers: Nike Vapor Flex - this is the driver I ended up getting, I am a Nike guy (that's why I said go into it with an open mind), but this driver is a bomber for me...I can work the ball both ways with it no problem and it feels great. Ping G30 - I think this is the best driver that was released this year, this thing is a beast...I tried one after buying my Nike and it goes a little further than my Nike, but it was hard for me to play a nice tight draw like I can with the Nike. My buddy went from the Taylormade SLDR to the G30 and its about a 30 yard difference..

The that got me is he says he hits the ball 330 somewhat easily...I mean that's Bubba type stuff there...Dustin Johnson is leading the PGA Tour right now with a 318.8 average...330 somewhat easily?!?!?! C'mon man! and he has his handicap as a +4 right now but shoots from the mid 60's to high 70s? Does that indicate a +4 handicap? I know it would depend on how many of each he is shooting, but come on...if this isn't a fake post his college coach (if he actually played college golf) is an idiot for not telling this kid he has a shot at turning pro and making some serious money...

Practice rounds ARE about setting up a "game plan" and you said it yourself in your next sentence. If you are putting to known locations from different sides of the hole, you are setting up a game plan to where you want your approach shot to be. If one side of the hole is a big breaker or another is lightning fast, you obviously don't want to be on those sides of the hole, that's a game plan...and practicing certain shots on different holes is also a game plan...laying up to certain yardages, missing the green to a certain side, is all practicing shots and is all setting up a "game plan"...

Huh????? This thread is asking what his first 2 rounds at the 2015 Masters will be...

Got my team in for the $2.2M Masters challenge. I wish they would give you about 20,000 more to spend on the players..haha, but I feel I have a very solid team going into it, I just like helping others become millionaires, so if I don't win that's what I will go with...

I would play a 3 wood cut off the right side of the bunker which should get me to the left side of the green just a few yards short or in the brown area to the left of the green. If the shot is into the wind, it is a straight 3 wood to the bunker and a wedge in, but my favorite shot is a cut and I can get my 3 wood 250+ if struck well...it also depends on what hole it is in the round and if I need to make shots up or hold onto a lead. If I need to make shots up its a 3 wood cut. If I am trying to hold on to a lead, its 5 iron to the middle of the fairway and then a wedge in.

Do some research before just picking a pro to go and work with. You don't want to spend all of that money and not get anything out of it. I would recommend watching The Golf Fix with Michael Breed on the Golf Channel if you get it over there. He is excellent. He just did a piece on posture the other day which is more than likely why you are hitting the ground before the ball. He shows you how to correct it with affordable tools. Also, just a heads up I would be willing to bet that during your lessons if your clubs are in fact that old the pro (if he is a good pro) would tell you to get a new set of irons if you can.

Sharpie marker on the ball is not considered foreign material. Therefore this rule does not come into play at all. You can put any marking you want on your ball, and if it comes off on your club and you can see where the club struck the ball that's fine as well. You can use the line you make on your ball (if you use one) to line up drives and putts, and can also use the markings on your ball off the tee as an impact point.

But it technically isn't inceasing the putting stats by excluding those because those aren't considered putts if the ball is not on the green. If I have 18 putts in a round that is great, but most likely my GIR is going to be suffering. So by that it shows me that I need to work on my approach shots. They aren't evaluating their game more honestly because it technically isn't the correct way to do it. If anything it is the opposite of what you said...I'm not trying to show off my stats if I am doing it the correct way, but if I am doing it my own way that seems to me more like the person wants to show off their stats more than the person that is doing it the way it is supposed to be done...inflate the GIR and still have "normal" putting stats...

No it's not the ballgame because the stats are wrong if they are doing it any way other than the correct way. It doesn't make sense to me that people don't want the most accurate stats as possible. Whether they can interpret the stats or not, they aren't correct unless they are recorded correctly.

I use GolfShot pro or classic whichever you want to call it. I have used it for the past few years, so I am pretty fluid with getting to the notes section. And it isn't like I'm putting something in there every hole, it's just if I notice something I'm not doing well I go ahead and put it in there. Or if I hit a bad shot that causes a bogey then I put that in there so I can work on it at the range.

There are a lot of varying opinions, but I always go by if its not on the green its not a GIR. If I putt from off the green, its not actually a putt. This gives me the most accurate stats I could possibly get. There is a spot for notes in my app I use and this is where I put if my ball striking or putting killed me, what distance the approach/putt was so I can work on those next time I go to the range or putting green. One of the posters said if they pured a 4 iron from 200+ yards out and it rolled by the pin and off the green they still count it as a GIR...how? Maybe a 5 iron was the right club? Maybe that person needs to go to the range and learn how work the ball and get different trajectories for those types of shots so the ball lands softer on the green and doesn't roll out. Get an app that lets you put notes in and don't count it as a GIR and put in there the approach was from 200+ out and a 4 iron didn't hold the green so you can work on trajectory next range session. I also keep notes on my phone in the notes section when playing and put things like "need to work on draw with driver" "work on a 160 yard cut with 7 iron", etc so I know what to do next range session. And a person should ALWAYS practice putting anyways. I just don't understand people not wanting the most accurate stats possible. Everyone wants the most accurate distances for their clubs and everything else, but doesn't care about their stats as long as they can interpret them...to each their own, but it doesn't make sense to me... just my .02

Yes, you can (and should) repair any and all ball marks you see on the green. As long as you aren't testing the surface of the green with your hand or fingers when repairing the ball mark it is perfectly legal. I want to say spike marks are not allowed to be fixed if in your line of play but may be fixed afterwards, but I may be wrong on that. I think that is why sometimes when watching the PGA on TV you will see a player call his playing partner in to decipher whether it is a ball mark or spike mark.

Whether Notah would say a disparaging thing about Tiger or not wasn't the issue. ChrisP said that Notah had said previously that Tiger was hitting the ball like his old self or better than he has seen. Which was backed up by everyone on the range at the tournaments he was playing. I don't disagree that Notah wouldn't say anything bad about Tiger which is him just being a true friend...something that is all but lost these days...but that wasn't he point I was making in saying that you can take Notah seriously.

If you have been watching golf at all when Tiger has been in the tournament EVERYONE says he has been absolutely striping it on the range. Its been his ability to take that to the course that has been plaguing him. So yes you can take Notah seriously...

I decided to go see a PGA Professional the middle of last summer after being sick of fading/slicing everything. It wasn't a terrible ball flight, but I wanted to draw the ball to get more distance. It was hard to stick with it, but I figured I payed the money so I might as well stick it out and see where it gets me. I went from shooting 75-78 to shooting a couple rounds of 85-86-96, and these were in tournaments. I was so frustrated I almost went back to the old way, but I was drawing the ball nicely and stuck with it. My last 5 rounds of the year were 9 hole rounds since in North Dakota it gets dark at just after 6 in the fall went 36-33-32-32-35 on a par 36. Just hit balls on the range today for the first time this year and my ball flight is a draw, and I can now work it both ways, excited for the season to start. So to make a long story short I would say to stick with it, it will get better, it just takes time and range balls.

Shaping shots is fun and I think its something everyone should learn how to do or just take a bucket of balls at the range and try hitting the 9 shots. The person that plays a draw has a heck of a time getting to those back right pin locations, where hitting a nice fade into the green and letting it release back to the hole would be very beneficial. Same with the fader to the back left pin location. If you can work the ball both ways with the driver it can help immensely as well. Its an out to in path for the fade and in to out path for the draw, then exaggerate it more or less for more draw/fade or less draw/fade...try it next time on the range and I guarantee you will find it fun!!

If your looking for at home, yes. I noticeably saw gains in my body in the 30 days of doing it. I did it twice because, well why not. It's a good program and it kickstarted my workout routine.

I have been working like crazy on my fitness this off season. Started out with the T-25 workouts, finished that twice, then coupled it with the Joey D Golf training. Felt myself really getting stronger and visibly too. Since I have completed both of those I have been working out in the gym doing a golf specific workout I found and on days I don't do that I am working my legs and glutes. I have dropped 15 pounds, but have put on quite a bit of muscle most notably in my legs which is good for golf. Anyways, from last winter to this winter I have picked up over 6 mph in club head speed and haven't changed my swing much at all. So I am on the side that believes fitness (mostly in the quads, glutes, hamstrings and core) does improve club head speed. Its all about the rotation and how much coil you can get (core) and then how to release that coil (core and legs/glutes). just my .02