trumps4

Good post! IMHO, the reason indexes haven't dropped more is because of our society/culture. The world is becoming more and more fast paced and golf does not mesh well with "fast paced." People are now cramming more stuff into their day than ever before and this leaves less time to work on their game. I mean on this very board there are almost daily posts (with increasing frequency) of people complaining about slow play. I think this is largely due to people being more rushed. Personally, I believe we would see average scores going up were it not for advancement in golf technology. I do see and agree with your overall point though. You cannot buy a good game.

I am not going but this is one of my favorite tour stops. I really, really, like the course and the increased focus on Hogan whom I admire very much. Maybe I will get to go one day!

This is interesting. I have seen this mentioned before but I am afriad I do not fully understand it. Is it as simple as addressing a ball such that it is outside the left foot and taking half swings? Is the focus of the drill to improve the downswing/weightshift? Please elaborate if you dont mind.

It is the only drill I have ever found that gets me back to hitting it straight. When I start spraying it, I can spend an hour or so on this drill and like magic, I can play golf again. I know it doesn't work for everyone but for whatever reason, it helps me...

Its a tough call (which is why I started this thread) but I think I'd have to go with golf glove under the arm pit.

..for the rest of your life what would it be? Most of us have a few favorite drills that we use to stay on track or right the ship when things fall apart. Maybe you hit balls with your feet together, or do something with an impact bag, or put with only your left hand, or make swings with a glove under your armpit. It could be any number of things. I guess another way to ask this is, what drill do you think does your game the most good?

What about LPGA players? Seems like most of them actually do prefer to play a draw.... Thoughts?

I feel your pain friend. I am trying to do the same thing right now. Have faith. Hang in there. Be patient. We will get it in time! I have been at it since the season started (roughly 2 months) and just now starting to have some success. No improved scoring (a little worse actually) but inside-out is starting to become more natural. I might also suggest changing your drill by putting the object your are trying to miss (a second ball, towel, whatever) behind the ball rather than in front of it.

I would add that there are actually two handicaps that are often confused. "Handicap index" is generally the number people quote you when you ask how good a player they are. This is the number that takes the 10 best out of your last 20 and multiplies it by roughly .96. It also takes into account the slope and course rating of the course you played when posting those scores. This is not how many strokes you get on the course on any given day. That number is your "course handicap" and is derived from the slope, course rating and handicap index of the player. In other words, your course handicap varies depending on the difficulty level of the course and it can be very different from your handicap index in some cases. For example, I currently have a 14.1 handicap index but this equates to a course handicap of 16 on my home course. Most courses post a chart to make it easy to convert your index to your course handicap.

Unwarranted compliments can be annoying but not nearly my biggest playing partner pet peeve. 1.) Cheating/Playing by your own rules. I may be alone on this but why bother? Mulligans, playing OB as if it is hazard, grounding club in a hazard, etc. If you want to play that way "just for fun" fine but don't bother telling me what your "score" was. And for the love of all things holy, do not claim that you beat anyone. 2.) What everyone else has pointed out.

I struggle with toe-contact as well. For me, it is accompanied by "heavy" or "fat" contact. As I have mentioned on here before, my neighbor is an assistant golf pro. He insists that it is a byproduct of "coming over the top." He says this make me come into the ball to steep and leads to inconsistent contact. I can correct it as long as I focus on my swing path/plane but focusing on your swing while you are actually playing will limit your ability to score because you aren't focusing on the shot at hand (at least that's my excuse). The more "into the round" I get mentally, the more likely I am to revert back to my OTT swing and bingo..... fat and on the toe. So that is my struggle. At this point I want to grove the proper swing plane to the point that it is my natural swing and what I revert back too. Hopefully one day.... As for the OP, there is no way to say without video but you might try really focusing on striking the ball from the inside.

It sounds like there is not a definitive answer to which shot shape "most" touring pros prefer to play. This seems to suggest that there is nothing inherently better or worse about either shot because the people playing the game at it's highest level are made up of both drawers and faders. I guess the best answer is that the pros hit the ball pretty straight. Period.

When my contact starts trending on the heavy side I usually find that staying more centered (ie. less weight shift) on the backswing improves it. For me, it then becomes a matter of flat left wrist at impact and forward swing bottom.

I have been told by countless buddies that most pros favor a fade. However, if I understood correctly, I think I heard a commentator say this past weekend that "so-and-so likes to draw the ball like most other PGA players." Having only been to a couple PGA tour events, I don't think I'd say most pros favor any particular ball flight. What say you? Secondly, if there is a preferred pro ball-flight, why do you think the pros prefer it?

I am pretty much always happy when I leave the course. Just glad to get out of the office / house. Sometimes I am happy but disappointed with how I played. Now that you mention it, my disappointment has less to do with my score and more to do with the quality of my ball-striking that day. If I feel like I "hit it well," I usually feel good about the round even if it is a high score for me.