cmay119

I've actually started to put the ball towards my back foot on longer irons and my ball striking has improved dramatically over when I had the ball towards my front foot. Do you believe this to just be a quick-fix or patch-work to an underlying swing issue? Or is this merely a different strokes for different folks kind of deal?

Sometimes pain can be attributed to something as simple as Dehydration. Are you drinking plenty of water when on the course? I don't know if this is your particular issue, but cramping and other aches on the course have effected me due to that.

Shot a 92 on Saturday afternoon. Somewhat disappointed as I shot a 45 front and birdied hole 10. That's when things went downhill. I proceeded to bogey 11, double-bogey 12, triple-bogey 13, then double-bogey 14. Yeesh! I was getting tired and the wind was howling with 30MPH gusts all day. I was finally able to pick my game back up on the 15th but by that time it was too late to really save anything from the round... I was really hoping to break into the 80's, with the birdie on 10, I thought I was on my way. I probably put too much pressure on myself to shoot well on the back nine and it had the opposite effect of what I wanted. Oh well, there's always next time. :)

It's not 4" of bare ground, it's just the deepest part of the divot is about 4" past the ball. The divot should start almost immediately past the ball.

The highest degree wedge I have in my arsenal right now is my SW. On wet sand shots, would it be better if I use the gap wedge out for green-side hits?

Ahhh okay. Yeah, sounded like kind of a cookie-cutter apology. Probably best to just move on like you're doing. :)

May we inquire the specifics of the resolution? :D

-8 strokes to put those all down to acceptable 2 putts. -2 for two chunked chips you shoot an 85. This game can be maddening, can't it? We've all had those days. The good score gone bad by little mistakes that soon add up heavily on the score card. Obviously the putting is the thing to work on there, but if your first putts for most of those were from a considerable distance or had aggressive break, don't beat yourself up too bad. I don't know if you're like this, but I used to be the type of person that would lose my composure quickly with 3-putts and duffed chips, just stay positive and play each shot independently and hopefully you won't see too many more of those dreaded 3-putts. :)

I also played here in Minneapolis on Saturday (2PM Tee-time, never really warmed up though). We were playing a Links style course, so there weren't many trees on the interior holes to keep the wind down, it was rainy and cold. I was wearing a Polo T under a sweatshirt and I was also wearing a fall jacket over that. For the first couple holes, I played like crap, With all of that stuff on, I didn't feel I could make a solid swing at the ball. So I decided to remove both the jacket and the sweatshirt and bear the cold. I shot 49 on the front due to the first 4 holes being a double-bogey, double-bogey, triple-bogey, double-bogey. After removing all that stuff, I was able to turn my score around, especially on the back-9 where I shot a 42. I was pretty happy with the 91 after such a crappy front nine. I only wish I had removed my extra-layers earlier, as I had felt I was playing pretty well after all of that. My hands remained cold pretty much the entirety of the round (which I despise while playing golf).

Dicks Sporting Goods in-house brand (it might be at Golf Galaxy now since Dick's owns them now as well). When I worked for Dicks back in 2006, their Walter Hagen offerings were (IMO) pretty bad. Seemed like they were just copying all the conventions of what Taylor Made was doing and still had the nerve to charge top dollar for them. Just my opinion, but I didn't think the Walter Hagen brand brought anything to the table that made them worth the money they were asking.

Yeah, the reviews from everyone here really convinced me. The swing did really feel natural last night when doing it. Before, I felt as if I were forcing things (hips, shoulders, wrists, etc.) to be in the right place at the right time. Probably sending my tempo into dissaray. I'm really excited to hit a ball and see if this really is as good as it sounds. :D

Just purchased this book last night and read it in one sitting. Pretty interesting stuff. I went and swung my Sandwedge to the audio CD last night, and found 27/9 to be quite slow. I went to 24/8 and that seemed to be my normal up and down speed (though I don't know if it were in 3:1 tempo or not). I'm going to practice with it again tonight and see if 21/7 is the better tempo for me. As a lot of other people have said though, it immediately makes you think about lining up the beeps and not worrying about swing mechanics. I'm excited to start hitting some balls with this tempo and see if my contact has improved.

Hi all, I just played 18 yesterday, and while I didn't score that well, I felt I was as hot with the flat stick as I've ever been. I had 29 total putts yesterday. Far lower than what I usually do per 18. What's an acceptable amount to you guys out there? Just trying to find out what I should really be aiming for (Obviously, I'm aiming for as low as I can go, but would like a tangible number if possible).

Congrats on the 80. Man, that 18" putt you're talking about probably would have ruined my day if it were me. Taking a stroke for something like that usually gets to me pretty bad (something I need to work on).

Only recently have I felt like I've gotten the putting stroke down fairly well. It's been the weakest part of my game since I've started playing. The thing I always thought I was doing, but actually wasn't doing was putting with my shoulders. I've been putting with my forearms and my hands, and didn't even realize it. I thought I was putting with my shoulders, but alas that was not the case. What I did to correct this, was concentrate on stroking with my shoulder blades. This has led to a much better pendulum stroke, and I'm A LOT more confident in distance control. Remember too, you should ONLY be putting with your shoulders. Your lower body should NOT be moving at all (a concept that took a long time for me to grasp). Proper posture is important too, practice with a comfortable posture and hold the pose... I hope this helps you. :D

Saw him play Monday @ Hazeltine. He starts very early in the day, I arrived at the course around 9AM and he was already making the turn. The gallery was disgustingly large for a practice round as well. Amazing to see his swing live though... EDIT: I must've arrived earlier than 9, because I just confirmed with a buddy that Tigers tee time for the Monday practice round at Hazeltine was @ 6:45. I caught him from middle of hole 9 and on...

So what's the word on this, guys? I'm a pretty short hitter myself, and would always appreciate more distance. Is this a solid practice, or is it BS?

Never had an eagle. I just don't hit it far enough to plausibly reach the green in 2 on a par 5. I've actually been on the putting surface once for eagle on a par 5 at my local course, but I was about 35-feet away. Missed the eagle putt and the corresponding birdie putt. Dammit I was pissed after that one.

Picked up the same putter about 1 week ago. So far, I absolutely love it! EDIT: The Newport 2 comes only with the headcover right? I was talking with my friend who owns an older Scotty Cameron putter that received some sort of towel to use on the putter so it doesn't rust (I think his Cameron is around 5 years old or so). I didn't get one with mine, but just wanted to make sure as I'll run back over to the place I bought it to pick one up.

I got to play at a country club course today near my house for free. I'm not a member, but my buddy works there. The weather was horrid today, and we wen't out there to see if I could come on, due to the foul weather. Well, we showed up at the club, and not a single person was there. We decided that that was a fine 'go-ahead'. Normally it costs $100/round for guests. All and all I played pretty crappy today. But at least I got to play for free on a course far superior to the usual muni I frequent. :D

I've been in the same boat as you this whole season, and have only recently started grooving my stroke into something respectable. Here's some stuff that has worked for me. First and foremost you want to be putting the ball with your arms not your body or your wrists. The make sure you're not rotating your body through the stroke (or moving your legs) through the putting stroke: Go grab a full toilet paper roll, and place it between your legs so that your knees are holding onto it. This will cause your knee's to go Knock-kneed, and virtually eliminates all lower body movement when putting. The next thing that's very important for distance (and I'd argue accuracy), is Short back-swing, long forward swing (with a very slight acceleration through the ball). Long back-swings in putting will cause you to slow down the putter head on the forward swing, causing you to be very inconsistent when putting certain distances. The short Back-swing to long follow through is a great putting stroke, because your objective is not to hit the ball, but to swing through the ball which will promote a natural roll in the ball off the putter face. Also, if you're willing to try a different grip style, check out this thread (This grip really helped me keep my wrists locked): http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17852 I hope you get your putting figured out. I've been having a helluva time with it all this season, but feel like it's finally starting to come around for me after cementing these practices in my mind. :) EDIT: When I mean changing your grip, I mean changing how you hold the club, not the actual putter grip. (If that was confusing at first).

Holy hell, has this putter grip worked wonders for me. I've been putting TERRIBLY all season (3-putts & 4-putts were not uncommon in my rounds). I played 9-holes today and only made 15 putts (which for me is incredible), and I sank a 30-foot birdie putt. Thanks so much for bringing this style to my attention. This grip feels so much more solid to me than the more conventional style that I was using before.

Yeah, I've stopped trying the fire the hips procedure a couple years ago because I did have a major tendency to start 'Hula Dancing' in front of the ball instead of rotating on an axis. I still get rotation in my hips now, I'm just not as aggressive with their release as I should be. I'm going to head out to the range tomorrow and give it another shot. I guess I had forgotten about it, since it's been since about 2004 since I've really tried to release from the hips. Thanks for the suggestion. :)

I wish I could just average about 10-20 Yards further on my drives than I do. I'm a pretty small guy, I have good flexibility, but I don't seem to transfer a lot of power to the ball at impact on my drives. I'd say on average I hit my driver 220-230 (I'm not really sure). I'm pretty consistent with keeping it in the fairway, however, it really sucks on par 5's, because it's very rare for me to be able to get the ball on the green in 2. The farthest drive I think I've ever hit was 250-260. Just eye-balling it, and measuring from tee box marker to fairway yardage markers (so probably 10-20 yards of error could be accounted for) on a dead straight par 5. For the first time this season, I actually was able to get on the green in 2 on a par 5 (I couldn't believe it), my first actual putting attempt at eagle. Unfortunately, I missed the eagle & the birdie putt, and got the most disappointing par of my golfing 'career'. :( I'm playing on some older Orlimar Trimetal's (for my driver/woods), anyone know if I upgrade to a newer & better driver if distance would be improved? Or is it all just marketing bull? If I can keep the fairways hit consistency I have right now along with being able to add another 10 or so yards to my tee-shot, I may actually have some more realistic prospects of getting on the putting surface in 2 on par 5's.

Thanks for the comment and advice Dub. You just happen to have the exact putter I'm really debating on right now. I'm really considering going out and getting fitted into a putter that will be best suited to my stroke. I really wanted to upgrade the driver + woods in my bag. But those seem far less important than this particular part of my game. Hopefully, a different putter will at least get me on the right track to better putting.