MiniMoe

If your shoulders are rotated fully, and your wrists are set, then the back swing is finished. Your full back swing might look like someone a 3/4 swing of someone else. Don't worry about it and keep hitting it good.

I look at the ball only, but in reality, I see the ball, the ground, my club, leaves and everything else as one big picture. My minds eye is focused on the target so I notice the ball, but I'm not "looking" at it.

sounds like the pro showed something quick to fix the hook, but did not really fix the root cause of the hook. The root swing flaw is still there, but with a different steering mechanism...aka - the new grip. I would tinker with making your grip a little stronger, but if that does not work, you might have to get to the root swing flaw.

Flatter swing plane means a more shallow angle into the ball. Check ball position, and check to see if you have too much of a lateral move. If the ball position is good, try to keep the trail foot on the ground as long as possible... even until after impact. This will help control the lateral move so you keep your head behind the ball at impact. It will also help control the spinning of the hips. Just a few thoughts.

Lessons are a great idea. Don't let the Pro try to band aid fix your swing. Start at the beginning with the basics and build a solid swing from there. It's going to take a little while, but in the long run it will be better.

Use an old wedge with smooth grooves.

right as he was setting up to hit the ball in the fairway I would have mentioned that he was about to hit my ball. He would have done one of two things. 1) He would have look at the ball and said, "I'm sorry, I was not paying attention.", or 2) Looked at the ball and said, "No, I am sure I hit this ball off the tee." If number 2 happens then you can call B.S. because you know he's been hitting Titleist all day then make him pull another one out of his bag to prove it. You don't have to be a jerk, but you also don't have to take it either. Put him on the spot and see what happens.

I never liked when lessons are only 30 or 60 min. A lesson is a lesson. If you don't get what you need in 30 min., why do you have to pay for more time? And, if you get what you need in 15 min, do you still have to pay the full price for the 60 min. lesson? Just give me one price for a lesson, no matter how long it takes. Granted, this is not to work on everything at once for the same price. It's just don't milk my a** to death, or leave me hanging because I don't get something in just 30 min.

it's more important for the hands to be in front of the club head, than it is for them to be in front of the ball.

for me it was always a push when the club lagged too far behind. Then after a while, I started to compensate and flip the wrists to try to get it to hook after the push. Finally I realized the shaft was crap and I changed.

Does thinking about all of this really help anyone achieve better control of the ball? The golf swing is a very complex sequence of events for the purpose of flinging a golf ball toward an intended target. However, the simpler you make it, the better you will do. It is very much a reactionary sport. You look at a target, then you hit it there. if you are thinking about how to do it, it's almost impossible to do it with any consistancy. Let me try to break all that complicated talk into a simple formula..... The ball goes where the hands go. Do you think that if you flip the hands at impact the ball will go right? If it does, you have issues with the grip. heheh Keep the game simple. It's more fun that way.

Who needs rain gear. Can't get any more wet that soaking. I say get some rain gloves and have at it.

the weight of the shaft play a big roll in how it acts during the swing. I can't swing a lightweight shaft, even if it is a double x stiff. They just don't keep up and the head lags too much at the bottom. I have been fitted by one of San Antonio's best club fitters. I totally disagreed with him on his assessment of what I need in terms of shaft and degree of loft on the driver. Some of the fitters go by the numbers alone to determine what someone "need" or does not "need". IMHO, that is just the beginning of the fitting process. I want someone that will work with me to find a driver that fits my needs and expectations. I don't want someone to tell me that the numbers don't lie and I need to change my swing to fit the driver that is "optimum" for me. Don't get into a hurry. It takes time to find the right driver/shaft combo.

The only way to really get better it to play against people that can beat you. If that means donating for a while, it's worth it in the long run, because one of two things are going to happen. 1. you get tired of donating so you quite gambling and find anther group to play with, or 2) you get tired of donating and learn how to manage your game better so you can turn things around and start winning. There is one guy in particular we play with and he donates most of the time. His swing is not very good, but he can move the ball and hit some decent shots. To this day he will not play smart. He always wants to hit driver even when he can't control it, and he more importantly, he lets it really bother him. Usually, one bad drive and his whole round is ruined. I've tried to give him some friendly advice, but he is hard headed and won't listen.. so as long as he keeps donating, I'll keep playing with him.

Hit the nail right on the head. My swing speed is around 105. I play with a 75 gram x-stiff with 8.5 degrees of loft. I need the x-stiff because of how I load and release the club at impact. Other people that have smooth swings can play softer shafts with faster swing speeds. It's all very individual so one thing will not work for everyone.

I voted no, but that is not entirely correct. I have been fitted, but I did not agree with him on any of his recomendations. He was basing his recomendations on swing speed, spin rate launch angle only. My driver swing speed averaged around 105 with my spin rate being in the low 3000's and my lunch angle was 10 degrees. He told me I need a light weight, stiff shafted driver with about 10.5 degrees of loft because I "need" to hit the ball higher with less spin to get more carry, which will increase overall distance. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! When I told him I load and release the club different than most people so a light weight, regular stiff flex driver will not work, he looked at me like I just shot him in the back. So, he brings out this driver he already has made up and tells me it is what I should be hitting to gain accuracy and distance. I hit it and the numbers were better.. almost perfect. But then I started to hit it compared to my driver. He watched as I hit the "perfect" driver 20 yards shorter then my "not perfect" driver. After a while I had to mention that the numbers do lie sometimes. Just because the numbers are perfect does not mean anything when you get out on the course. You have to find one you like and can control.. numbers be damned.

we gamble just about every time we tee it up. Matter of fact, I just got a call and the balls get thrown in the air at 1:00 to determine batting order for 2/4 wolf ($2 if the hole is won with par, $4 if it's won with a birdie or better). There is a thread on gambline games where I explained the two we play the most.. wolf and umbrella....always with $1 skins on top of that. It's fun, you get to test your nerves when a putt could be worth $32.... and we get to heckle each other. Add a little beer and some music and it's a good day on the course, even if you lose 50 bucks. A few years ago I played in a $20/$40 carry over wolf game. After 9 holes I was 3 under and was down $360. I finished the day 5 under and got to where I only owed $200. It was handicaped and the guy that won was probably a 2 handicap but got 8. Every time it was his turn to pick he went blind from the front, which doubles the bet. Last time I played with those cheaters.

When things don't go right, or the swing gets off, it's always best to start from the beginning and check all the fundamentals before you try to "fix" what's gong wrong. It's amazing what a simple change in grip or stance can do to a golf swing.

Work on synchronizing your arms and hips. The lag will take care of itself. As far as the driver not going very high.... don't worry about it. The longer the ball is in the air, the more it can go offline. I have a very penetrating ball flight with my driver. Besides, a low straight ball is a lot better than a high ball that you can't control.

Personally, I would not take a lesson if I could not practice and play to help ingrain what I learned. Save that for the first part of the spring. I would read a bunch of books about all aspects of the game. I'm not talking very technical books, but stuff that helps you learn to use what you have to play your best. Bob Rotella writes about the mental side of the game, the series of books from Harvey Penick is also a good read. It would be good to read a few books on basic golf principles and swing fundameltals, but don't get too hung up on changing your swing. Just read to learn what other think about the swing. Next spring when you take lessons, you will have a better understanding of what your instructer wants you to do.

1/2 hole behind is not really slow play, especially when there is a threesome in front of a foursome. I don't care how old they are, a threesome is going to play faster than a foursome.... most of the time. This is junior program. They are just learning the game, so they have to be given a little slack and more importantly, they have to be given some direction. The ranger should have used the situation to teach them what is expected and how to speed up play. Instead, he gave them a lesson on "I'm bigger, your smaller, so you do what I say". What a tool. One more thing. These are juniors... walking. It takes time. No reasonable person would ever think a 12 year old that is new to the game and shoots 100 is going to play as fast as a 18 year old that has been playing a few years and going to shoot in the upper 80's.

That Tiger guy can't play a lick. He needs to give up on his dream and get a job in the real world.

Are your wrists cupped at the top of the swing. If they are, they could be "stuck" and under a bind.

If we step back and think about this just a little it's easy to see how simple golf really is. So much time and money is spent taking lessons and trying to learn the "fundamentals" and the correct movements of the golf swing, when in reality there are only a few things that must happen in the swing to produce consistent results. How else could so many people be so good with swings that are not perfect? 1) you have to have a decent grip.. one that can allow the club to be in the correct positions. 2) you have to keep your head behind the ball. 3) you have to have good balance and tempo. 4) this is the most important.... you have to be able to understand the relationship between the club, your hands, and your left arm.. after all, the club is an extension of the left arm. Golf is a game of target orientation and feel. It is impossible to play well if you are thinking about mechanics because your brain can not think of two things at the same time. it's going to be either your target, or your mechanics. By learning the feel of the correct movements, you don't have to think about mechanics. You can "feel" what you have to do while you focus on the target. I taught myself my swing with just a few fundamental thoughts. 1) get a good grip. 2) Don't twist the wrists going back and keep the left are straight as long as possible so that it bends naturally and it's not forced. 3) swing down the line and point the club at the target at waist high in the follow through. 4) swing the club like I'm trying to skip a rock or tossing a ball underhand keeping the palm of the right hand facing the target at impact These are very simple swing thoughts that promoted the correct movements of the club and my body. As long as I had good tempo, everything stayed connected. There is never just one way to swing a club with good results, and most defenantly learning the golf swing does not have to be made difficult or confusing....defenantly, defenantly. If you really must fight through and learn mechanics by minute detail, do it in slow motion to solidify the correct movements... and don't just try to fix one thing. Work on all the fundamentals all the time because everything is connected, so changing just one thing might have bad consequences.

I think I'll be in Houston next month. If I get enough money together, I'll be playing in a few mini-tour events. If I don't I might go caddy for a friend. I would love to find someone to play with on an off day.