DKunks

id love to be a lights out putter. How great would it be to consistently sink 25 footers?!! that would make me a happy man.

There are some guys carrying excellent handicaps on this site. Im curious - what did it take and where did you encounter the biggest struggles to getting your handicap down nice and low. ive been between an 11-13 handicap for the past 2 years and cant seem to break 80 consistently. It feels like I am plagued to shoot 82 everytime i go out.

if your making ball first contact it shouldnt matter if your hitting off of grass or matt or whatever. its like when your hitting a fairway bunker shot - the most important thing is to hit the ball first. if you hit enough balls - youll start to notice what each shot feels like - skinny / fat / FLUSH

probably the most important thing for making the ball dance is having perfectly clean grooves. tour caddies clean their guys clubs so that they are perfect everytime they are pulled out of the bag. next to that, firm wrists and an aggressive swing. this is a great play for those 25 - 50 yard pitch shots, because you can go right at the pin.

there are many many things you could try - but why mess w/ a good swing if you dont have to? remember when phil played 2 drivers at augusta w/ the same swing? If you really want the draw to be your shot on every driving hole - just throw a couple of swing weights worth of lead tape on the heel. i fight a hook - so i put 2 peices on my drivers toe and voila - no hook, just a baby draw.

exactly - i get the feeling that you felt your new driver was gonna help you edge out your buddy, and you wouldve been embarassed when he was pounding it and you werent.

the reality is that they hit the ball 300 yards once out of 12-14 holes they use the driver. any 20 handicapper is probably also spraying it all over the course. so they see the one drive that ends up in the fairway after hitting it downhill / downwind and they think they are the next comming of tiger. piece of advise to those that like to speak highly about their own driving distances... better to underestimate than over estimate. additionally - stuffing a 75 yard wedge shot to 5 feet and getting in from there is much more impressive than hitting 1 bomb out 10 attempts. and much harder to do might i add.

AND, FYI - shooting 12 over does not make you a 12 handicap. there are more factors than just your # over par. if your serious, register for a legit handicap and track your next 20 18 hole rounds... youll see how good you really are. and lastly - the pros are playing to about +6 - +10... so your only 22 strokes away. hahahahahahahahaha

in order to compete in any real tournament- you have to be at least an 8 handicap. Most tourney wont let you compete unless your 4 and below. I first broke 90 around the same time you did - and had the same sorta pipe dreams... i now play to a consistent 12 handicap. unless you can commit 8 hours a day / everyday to hitting balls, and being coached and eating sleeping, crapping golf... you have no shot. not to be a pessimist... maybe you have unlimited resources - who knows. fact of the matter is this... had you played 18 that day - you likely woulda blown up on the back 9 and shot a 90. Start by tracking a legit handicap - youlll see how hard it is to even get near a 10.

take it to the bank... 1- Mickelson 2- Ogilvy 3- applebee on a side note - sergio will win the open at bethpage black. its a lock.

pick someone that you feel has similair tempo. i try to emulate Vijay. hes all tempo and feel and thats how i want my game to be.

Im curious as to what shot most low handicappers would use for a short sided shot, w/ the green sloping away. ive been working a on a little high chip shot but i seem to always be over shooting it by a couple of paces. what do all the low handicappers out there do for this?

i have issues w/ this as well. i can make great contact - but i cant predict the distance - if i bump it w/ a 9 iron i can easily put it through a 35 yard deep green. i would love to be able to execute a nice little 9 or 7 iron bump and run... but ive never really committed to practicing it, so i guess i shouldnt expect to be able to hole em just yet...

my stock 100 yard club is 52' wedge. to bring it in a stitch lower i would hit a 9 iron at 50% ive been toying w/ a 100 yard 7 iron punch / chip / pitch type shot as well. its all situational.

Any pro will tell you... its a matter of having perfectly clean grooves and a ball w/ a soft cover like prov1s and HX tour, etc. crisp contact and firm wrists are also key.

http://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/p...cy=129&Id;=2582 Hominy Hill is the crown jewel of the Monmouth County Park System’s golf courses. This classic Robert Trent Jones design is often rated as New Jersey’s #1 public golf course. Hominy Hill has been the host of two USGA National Amateur Public Links championships and numerous regional championship tournaments. The course measures 7,049 yards from the blue tees and has USGA course and slope ratings of 74.2 and 131 from the blue tees. 138 bunkers

the more you play, the more youll feel "it" for me, its when I address the ball, and i just know that im going to pull off exactly what i see in my minds eye. its like in basketball - you know its going in the second it leaves your finger tips... in golf, the second i address the ball, i know its gonna be perfect. My last round started with a front 9 36... i was in and out of the "zone" the entire front 9... the second i looked at my score card and realized in on my way to a career low... i fell out of the zone and tripled 10... needless to say i didnt regain that feeling again all day long. shot 11 over on the back for an 84. The most dissapointing 84 of my life. i find the zone comes with great rhythm and clarity... as if you know that the shot youve chosen to hit is the perfect shot. i like to think of Bagger Vances "find your authentic swing." that scene when Hardy and Bagger are on the green at night... thats the zone.

untrue. if you are registered w/ the county, you can make a tee time exclusively for the black pretty much any day of the work week. I always take a day off around the end of april (they dont open the black till 4/15). or you can walk up and get on w/ in an hour or 2. than you can get in some good practice time... youll need it for that track

i worked on this all last year and finally got my ball flight sky high. 1- my grip was to strong, i weakened so i can now see 2 knuckles on my right hand 2- my follow through was to short- finishing at my ribs, now i finish at my shoulder height 3- to steep... Now when I take the club back low and slow, it leads to a shallower swing arc and a more open face at impact, equalling a much higher ball flight. to flight it low - i do the opposite of all 3. low release, strong grip, steeper swing. voilla!

Since seriously getting into golf in 2005, i have played Bethpage Black once a year every spring. I cant wait to get out on it this year and play it year of an open. Im a consistent low 80s player, and i havent broken 90 yet... in fact - it easily plays 10 strokes above your normal scoring average. its simply a monster, its so long and the rough is so dense that its just not fair. the majority of the par 4s play like 5s. One of the big reasons it plays so hard is that there are no carts allowed, and there are so many big elevation changes, by the time you cross the street for 15 you are totally shot. BUT, a friend of mine that plays to a 15 shot an 84 there w/ a course caddie... so there are definitely secrets to playing it well, I just havent figured em out yet ;)

It seems like your really just need to work on ball striking. Its the worst feeling to stripe a drive and then duff the 80 yarder. forget the diriver for a while - shots get harder as you get closer to the green, practice those. or, if you are satisfied shooting 100, just keep bombing it for fun.

its tough to say... the only way to lower your handicap is to card a lot of low scores, but the only way to card low scores is to practice the shots that make it happen. it depends on your level of satisfaction w/ your game. if you are happy being a 15, than just keep playing rounds, If not, you need to evaluate where your game needs work and practice so you can start shooting low 80s to get your handicap down. what is the handicap of the #1 player on your HS team?

if your hitting it 300 yards and are playing to a 25, chances are your spraying it and have a brutal short game. if your in the fairway as you say you are, than your short iron game must be non existant. short game, short game, short game. i believe they say "drive for show"....

Low handicappers will tend to go w/ the more responsive, more expensive balls like proVs and HX Tours because they offer better feel and the ability to better predict their action. I am somewhat budget minded Mid - Low handicapper, but still want the soft responsive feel and the ability to peel the ball back and stop it on a dime. i play the Callaway Hot Bite. Its a 3 piece ball with nice soft cover that IMO is the best mid price ball. Its the best value ball available. it responds like a prov around the greens and it goes a long distance. my only complaint is that i rip the covers with my XForged wedges' mack daddy grooves... but the balls still play well all round long. i believe this is the best value ball on the market, $25 / dozen w/ similair characteristics as the $50 / dozen balls. thanks for having me SandTrap!