MuscleBack Sauce

for people who understand the whole "descending blow" concept it is usually one of 2 things. 1) The ball. If you aren't using a soft cover ball you simply aren't going to get check from short distances. My buddy will sometimes use hard balls on the practice green (which infuriates me ) and then start complaining about lack of control which is just the opposite of practice. 2) Aggressiveness. Shorter and faster is the key. To get check take half the backswing and accelerate through impact. Also, if the ball position is too far up in the stance it will tend to cost some backspin.

yea i may start hitting choke 3 woods but we'll see. I definitely don't have a draw problem. my misses are always bleeding fades which might be helped by a slight upright bend. maybe I'll get a new shaft in the hybrid, get it bent, try it out and then sell it if i'm still displeased

I am going to have to make this decision pretty soon. I have the Titleist 503H which I NEVER, EVER hit because of the V2 shaft on it. I absoluetly love the look of the club but, let's face it, that shaft just stinks for me and gives me no chance of a strait ball path. I am at the point where I am not going to reshaft it unless I know I can hit it. I have always hit my 3 wood pretty well and I am thinking of just getting a new 5 wood probably with a blueboard in it as I think I would just be more comfortable at this point because I basically took out a 2 yr Hybrid loan from Titleist at this point. Your Thoughts...

Putting advice is like giving advice on how to make a sandwich at this point. Everyone is different. Just do whatever you have to do to get the ball rolling as quick as possible and end over end. (I know, I know, just try to build the pyramids in one day)

2009 Tally: Driver: B (with an 8 year old dead faced driver) Irons: C- (with irons that were 2* flat which have since been bent upright) Short Game: A- (all I do is practice...20+ chip ins for the season) Putter: B+ (New Scotty really got it rolling and it's going to get better this year) Overall Game: C (just not where I could be and where I have been before)

^^Exactly..everytime you're left with 100 yds or so on a hole, put on your running shoes and get to your ball to try 2-3 shots to get a feel. The only way to master feel from 100 yds and in is hitting the shots

FULL. CORD. GRIPS. BABY. Aside from the fact that full cord grips rule the world, when it's raining you get to watch your buddies with all rubber grips fiddling for a dry spot on their towel while you just give yours a simple grazing on your pant leg and are good to go.

this intrigues me because my friend just got a job as an assistant pro at a course and I was envious that he would be able to play and hit balls virtually for free. Tell me more about this supervisory work

you guys are crazy, I do this allllll the time...on Tiger Woods 10 for PS3

my short game is always what saves my game from my inconsistant ball striking. my grandfather's quote has always resonated loudly, "no sense in hitting it close if you miss the putt". With all that said, I would say i'm an above average putter (maybe not the most consistant) but in general I'll have the lowest putt totals in my group. The main reason is practice. I am up at the putting green, chipping as well, for at least an hour 6 out of 7 days a week in the summer. That is the most simplistic way to achieve better putting. As far as technique it is tough to lend advice in an age of 1000s of different putter heads, lengths, styles, and those icky belly putters. What I would advise is focus on getting the ball rolling immediately and end over end. That is the formula to consistant putting and gives your ball the best chance of dropping. A common mistake is focussing on having your hands foward and ahead of the ball. It isn't necesarily a bad thing but it can interupt the pendulum motion and make you actually raise your hands/elbows in the back stroke and follow through, i.e. no dice. What you want is a slight opening and closing of the club head and almost hitting the ball with an upswing to promote the ball rolling right off the bat as opposed to it skidding along for the first few feet of the roll. My last comment is a quick story: On my golf team in high school we had an outside instructor come in to help for a week. He was working on putting one day and said, "did you know that every putt actually skids for the first 30% of its total distance?" and me and my friend snapped our necks at each other because we knew this was simply not true and ESPECIALLY not true of good putters. I had to interject and ask him to mentally review what we've all seen at this point and that is close ups of Tiger Woods' putts and how his ball instantly rolls end over end right off the blade. One easy to find video is his famous putt on 18 from the Sunday round of the 2008 Torrey Pines US Open.

Minimoe, that video was hilarious. I thought bubba was too laid back until i saw this. but i agree, just no sudden noises in my swing please

This thread should be titled "Nor-Easter Woes". I'm from CT and the dissapation of my gold game each winter makes me so frustrated each spring it's like relearning golf every year. I'm going to suck it up and white knuckle my blades until it gets warm on the range

I'm doubtful that his return to golf will be at a tourament sponsered by a company that dropped him but I will personalyl garuntee a Masters appearance and probably 1-2 starts before then

i would say don't focus on the specialty shots so much as where you want your "leaves" to be. Pick out where you want your ball to end up in the event it doesn't end up where you plan. i.e. hit a fade if there are bunkers on the left and just rough on the right. things like that

you're probably doing what i do which is come over the top (which tends to happen to a lot of us amateurs when we swing harder). try to feel swinging the club with your left hand. Many people swing with their arms trying to hit the ball with their right hand as opposed to turning through the ball on axis