Marinemike

I use AAA's. They're quite playable. Even the soft ones like tour ix's. They'll have logos, but I've never gotten one that I wouldn't tee up in a round. Now, how long were they at the bottom of the pond?...That's the million dollar question. Couldn't be that long if you're using a 2009 ball though.

Wow. $300 driver and $300 mixer. That's pretty awesome. I won free a cover for 6 months at the local downtown bar complex, Seville Quarter. as much as I enjoy not paying a cover charge to go watch live bands, wet t-shirt contests, and dueling pianos all on the same night, I gave it to my bachelor playing partner.

You got that right. I enjoy a frosty beverage, and I enjoy the beverage on the course, but I'm not breaking 90 on a day that I drink. Now a 54 after a 42!? That's like 2 different golfers!

Sounds like you took all the other stuff and put your own swing thoughts to it. You're still doing exactly what everybody else is doing. I'll remember your simple imagery when I want to teach my son to golf though.

I've used the Hogan method since I've read the book. I try to keep the ball position pretty consistent. I have found a few caveat over the past summer though. 1) With wedges I move the ball around depending on how I want the ball to behave. 2) I have alignment issues with the woods using his method. His instructions for stance while using woods is the modern day instruction for a power fade. I was getting so mad about it before I went back to getting my heals on line with the target line.

Ball stay between my center line and about 3 ball lengths forward. I should say that my wedges and 9i do take an average divot. But 8 and longer is disturbingly divotless and still soft and consistent. Exactly! That's why I brought it up to the peanut gallery. Thanks. I wouldn't say I'm knockin'em down, but they're the very biggest reason I'm not a 25 hcp.

I know picking it clean is not taking a divot. I was more asking what does it say about my swing and is it something that will hold up under pressure on the course. Distances have recently changed for the better. Here's my best data so far... 9i: 130 7i: Tiny, tiny bit short of 150 5i: between 170 and 175 I'm still working on nailing down some more exact distances with the rest of the clubs, but I spent most of my time today on my driver which is unbelievably short, but that's a different thread.

1) A putter iss a very personal thing. Just because a friend has a sweet $200 Odyssey doesn't mean it's right for you. Try out at least 20 before choosing which is right for you. I thought the one I have was a gimmicky waste of space until I tried it. Now you have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands. 2) It's Tom Watson wedges, not Tommy Armour wedges. They're made by Adams golf. I've heard they're good, but apparently don't work in pressure situations on links courses in the British Isles. I'm just sayin...

I think you hit it great. Perhaps those with the swing thoughts of "bump then turn" may actually be accomplishing the motion you describe but just think about it differently. The only thing I take question with in your illustration is perhaps the pivot axis on the backswing isn't the center but more over the rear leg. This would get more weight onto the inside of the rear leg/foot when we keep the rear leg at the same solid angle while turning. After that the pivot axis moves to over top of the front leg which causes the rotational pivot/ lateral slide motion. BTW, you have too much time on your hands. I would rep you, but apparently I've already given you too much according to vBulletin.

I don't really get what's risky about trying to make a 15 footer? Whether it's for birdie or par it's all about speed and line. Am I a simpleton who's missing a crucial mental dimension on the green or something? If I am, then I don't want it. I'm pretty happy with my 1.7 per green.

Alright, I've gotten down to bogey golf primarily through my short game going through the roof. I'm almost giddy about using the wedges and putter. Anyway, that's not what this thread is about. One thing I'm working on is getting my swing down with the irons. It's coming around on the range, alignment and ball flight are good, and I'm getting that Mizzie feeling about 85% now. Thing is, I am leaving NO divot. What does that mean? As a rookie (and now on my bad days) I would always get majorly fat. Is it an overcompensation? Is it desirable with the 4-8i's?

You're a genius. At that range I am a fan of the Noodles. The only thing that bothers me about them is that there is no alignment aid stamped on them. This is an absolute must if I am going to putt in the neighborhood of 30.

I immediately thought lessons and the Adam's Tom Watson wedge set, but people beat me to it. I hear they're pretty good wedges. If you're banging your 3 wood 235 right now you don't ned to replace that at all. You need at least a SW(around 56*) and soon enough you'll want a gap wedge(around 52*). Especially when that PW distance gets to be more like 120ish.

The two questions I ask in cold weather...Can I keep the layers down enough to not restrict my movement & can I go at least 9 holes without losing the dexterity in my hands. Both of these have to do with golfability rather than comfort. Both also came with experience! I'm pretty comfortable in the cold as long as it's for such an endeavour as golf. I can be warm in the clubhouse later. When the cold and wind and rain makes me not able to swing my club right is when I stop.

For those of us in my generation who may still be slow on the uptake, it's "Dr. Strangelove." Maybe a key component to old man golf; maybe not.

Sometimes it just takes a little training in course management. On a local par 5 I had a friend who is new to golf and probably an upper 20s handicap pull his 3h on his 2nd shot to try to hit the green on the other side of a very large pond with some pine trees. The silly part is that there is a nice wide, safe dogleg around it. I asked him if he really believed he would make the shot. He answered with a very firm no. I told him to just take a 6 iron and then 9 iron around the corner. He got up and down for par. It just wasn't in his mind until then to do anything but go straight toward the hole. That's fine when it's a wide straight tract, but not on something gnarly like this.

That's funny! I am still on TW '08. I usually play it on random Saturday mornings. I skipped '09 and am getting '10 for Christmas. The game really served as the catalyst to actually get me playing for real. Now I can't buy video games because I have greens fees to pay. That may have been a little counterproductive for the game company.

That's one of the best parts of golf. It's way better than sitting around getting greasy over the course of the day doing nothing. You wanna smell bad...Try a hard practice at rowing crew and not immediately changing your spandex or being in several races over the course of the day. THAT is a narsty stench. Also, being the field for weeks with one uniform and nothing more than baby wipes to keep yourself clean. The worst part about that is you don't even know how bad you smell until you shower and go back to where all your dirty stuff is.

I've also hit both. The Mizunos felt sweeter and had a sweeter topline. Those are BOTH subjective though. My ability to shape a shot with each was pretty much exactly the same, but I have the shaping ability of an 18 handicap so there's that. I would say that if you like both equally and price on the front end isn't an issue, have a look at durability and resale. What are the warehouse stores taking for each on a trade in? What do the reviews say about durability?

This is right up there with the "hip slide" as the big secrets of golf for the 20 handicapper. I was at a 25 4 months ago. Teaching myself that a card full of +1s is a nice round (for now) was key. A par is almost always in the picture, and in my world is "getting one back." Now I almost never score over about a 92 and am putting most of my effort into getting up and down. +3 is almost never in the equation unless I jack one OB and completely misread my first putt. This was really hard for me. It's about getting past the whole "good is the enemy of great" mantra. However, it's a completely different paradigm. Perhaps when I'm a 9 or 10 I'll come back to expecting par with a significant chance at birdie.

The great thing is that this round basically has no bearing on your index except that it takes up a spot on your list of your last 20 rounds. The solution to that is to go play golf 20 more times. So I embrace the crappy round here and there. The only time it stinks is when it makes a really good round fall off the list; which it sounds like it did to you.

Been in Ma Corps for a bit over 9 years now. I came in enlisted, but have since gone through a commissioning program. Good on you for enlisting. Think really hard about your choices though. Once this train leaves the station you can't get off. The first year you are in is going to be the toughest year of your life. You won't want to repeat it ever, and except for a few moments here and there it isn't very rewarding either. But trust me, it getss way, way better. The Marine Corps is home for me. There are other forums that are military specific that a lot of guys like you hang out on where you can probably get questions answered. The best source is your recruiter though. Unless he's a turd or you're a turd he'll help you with everything you need help with. He'll even give you ways that you could end up going to bootcamp as an E-2. Best of luck to you.

A confidently stroked layup that you know for a fact is going to happen exactly as you want it to is way better than a bold shot that you're noncommittal on because you know that it may or may not happen right. It's better for your mind, and that will be better for the rest of your game. Dance with what brung you.

I want the staff to talk to me like they want me there and like they want to be there. That's all. The only muni here has a Tuesday special and I tried it...once. The old bastard in the pro shop acted like I was going to steal something. After my buddy and I got to the range (on the other side of the course driving over 4 fairways without cart paths) we realized he didn't give us range tokens. We drove back, and he gave us guff about how he gave them to us and he insinuated that we were trying to rip him off. The cart girl was smoking (like a cigarette, not smoking hot...at all) the whole time and she didn't want to be there. The starter was okay for the 3 minutes we interacted. I never went back. My real course is awesome. Pro shop staff cares, cart girls are always nice, and the head greenskeeper used to be a teaching pro...ever have the guy on the mower shut down and give you a short lesson because he's been watching you for three holes? Both pros are excellent as far as I know, but I don't interact with them much.

Whatever grip you end up with, fire the instructor and find a new one. You already think the guy sucks, and that's probably not going to go away. Being that this game is 90% mental you need a new instructor. My fix for everything...Go get Ben Hogan's Fundamentals. I'm not saying you won't need an instructor, but if you want fundamentals, you got'em. EDIT: and what the hell...24 balls in 9 holes gone? Are you playing at some sort of island hopping course where you have to take a boat from shot to shot? Here's a pro tip...watch where the hell it goes and go find it.