EMC2144

That's true, I just feel so tight which is why I ramp up. My starting 5 or so are like half or three-quarter swings in terms of speed but exaggerated turn (which is saying something because I have a VERY long swing and a large amount of rotation). I just hate to see people that get upset with themselves at the range but are just aimlessly smacking the ball, without care for what's going on or even aiming. Whenever I practice I like to try something new. It could be learning how to punch and slice a 4 iron, or intentionally hook an 8 iron. You never know when you may need something so you may as well give it a go. Yesterday I tried driver off the deck, since my 3 wood is on it's way to me but I need to close the gap between my 5 and driver. Worked amazingly well considering I was just guessing.

That's an interesting concept. Most people seem to start with short irons or wedges. Personally I start with a 9 iron. I don't actually carry hybrids, so I couldn't, but if I did I would at least give that a try. The point of this thread, besides my own curiosity, was to give people without a good routine, or looking for a new one, some new ideas on practice and how to maximize efficiency and learning each time that they practice. So thank you everyone for the feedback. Keep it up.

I'd love to have a golf simulator but can't afford anything. However, I did find that the Optishot 2 is pretty cheap, does anybody have any opinion on it? Is it a good practice tool, or just for fun? My understanding is that it is just a sensor underneath but does not track the ball, so how would it know if you would catch it thin or can it read attempts to shape a shot? I have a garage I don't use so I'm debating about turning it into a home gym or practice area, or possibly both.

So I recently I just corrected my shanks (and with the correction gained 15 yards on my irons and 30 on my drives). I found that if I felt as though I was putting weight towards my heels and brought my shoulder blades together (opposite of rounding them), I got rid of it. Then I concentrated on keeping my head "up." What I mean is giving more room for my shoulders to rotate below my chin. Now I have a beautiful draw or dead straight drive, and my iron ball striking has improved immensely. At first with these changes I was playing a pull-draw (and a heavy draw at that). Now that I don't have to exaggerate it for my brain to remember to do it subconsciously, I can balance it out and 90% of my shots are what I want. Although my short game has suffered a bit, I'm now hitting 40% of greens or more in every round. So all in all, exaggerate some corrections. But have you been playing baseball or anything? That's where my issue started, when I started playing corporate softball. Good luck though, I almost quit for a few months to forget about it, I was that frustrated. So don't do that.

So I'm just curious what other people use for their practice time. Recently I've been doing my standard 40 shot warmup where I hit five 9 irons, five 7s, five 5s, five 3s, five 3 woods, 5 drivers, and 10 various wedges. Then I mentally play a round of a course I have somewhat memorized. For example, first tee at my normal course is 360 dogleg right, so I hit 3 wood. Then estimate my distance to the green and how I should hit it. If I slice a tee shot, I practice a punch. Obviously it's hard on a range to do rough or uneven lines. Anybody else have a routine they like, or an opinion on if what I'm doing is good or bad?

I'd like to put Cobra in for most under rated manufacturer. Everything they produce seems to be good and they actually make changes bit just release a new product for the sake of releasing. And the adjustability is the best in the industry.

I used to believe it wouldn't make a difference. Until I started to understand touch a little better, and started to feel the ball off the club differently. Now I'll pick up lost balls, but only play something similar to mine on bad days when I've lost some good ones. I have hit Pro V1s and Pro V1Xs, but just can't justify even the $2/ball for the best quality ones on lostgolfballs.com. I have seen that comparison, and it amazed me because of the Pro V1X has less spin on the driver, and more on wedges, why does anybody play the regular Pro V1. The X literally is the ball everybody seems to want. Just for quite a price tag. I also am curious of the difference between older generations and the new. If I bought like 2014s on lostgolfballs.com, would they be worse than 2016s?

I'll have to give them a go. I really need to fix my swing rather than a lower spin ball, because I play some heavy doglegs that require good shot shaping with irons off the tee, so getting something that would hurt me there might not be a good choice. The benefits of a higher spin ball outweigh the negatives if I can just fix my slice on my driver. It's the only club I have it. Have a nice draw naturally on everything else, and can shape every club with relative consistency.

The e6 intrigues me, especially with the whole "straightest ball in golf" thing. But from my understanding it's for lower swing speeds. Is that so? And is that Snell similar in it's properties?

I have a similar issue. I have a high swing speed, but a low bank account. Most golf balls made for higher swing speeds are more expensive. I actually found that I liked the Nike SuperFar for some reason. Not a great ball, but it was working. Was getting them cheap at Dick's up at school, and was playing my best golf. But came home, couldn't find them, and tried the Nike PD Longs and PD Softs, but hated both. Found a great deal on Slazenger Raw Distance, and got one of each pack (was 3 doz/$30), but they felt like I was hitting a marshmallow. So I went to Golf Galaxy before I played on Sunday and asked one of the men working there and he recommended the Titleist Velocity, which I played decently with. It felt good off all clubs, and I could even get the ball to spin back with my 7 iron occasionally, which is nice to have for me. But I'm slightly willing to sacrifice some spin on my irons to reduce it on my driver. When I hit a good drive, it goes forever, but my problem is that when I slice one, I SLICE it. As in, I contemplate ignoring the ball because it's too embarrassing to be that far over. Even the Velocity, which I believe is Titleist's cheapest ball, is pretty expensive. I have thought about buying from lostgolfballs.com, but I'm not sure if I want to commit to buying online in case I don't like the balls. I really just want to have a ball I can get for cheap but still actually have a quality little white ball to put in the little white cup 400 yards away. Because for some reason I find doing something that in concept is so frustratingly stupid, so amazingly fun. I just don't want to be upset when I put one in the water that some doofus thought would be a good addition to an already difficult sport.

Has anybody tried the Superstroke grips for clubs besides putters?

Is it similar to the Ping crossover club? I tried a "3" and wasn't hitting it amazingly, but rarely had bad shots. I just don't understand the point. Is it just a hybrid for people that prefer the iron look? I seem to hit hybrids better but I'm not really sure of the benefits between them. Sadly, Golf Galaxy never has cobra stuff ready to test, and won't remove the plastic, which is really annoying on the grip. I love my Cobra irons, wedges, and driver, but can't try the other stuff because they don't have any unwrapped. Really annoying.

At a course in Central PA called Toftrees that I played once, there were lots of little bunkers. Not recalling exactly how small, but I feel like I remember being in a bunker where I had to stand with one foot outside it with the ball at the far end. So maybe 2-3 foot diameter? I also remember that hole being a disaster.

I love a reachable par 5 (but still decent length (500-520ish maybe), maybe downhill with water in front of the green. Love taking a wood to go the green. There's a course near me where 18 is 530, with a slight dogleg and two fairway bunkers to clear. Then the green is across a decent sized pond with the green and water well below you. Most people are laying up but I gave it a go last time with a great drive and a 3 wood, which was on the green. The interesting part is actually laying up. The fairway drops off on a hard slope from about 150 out up to the water at 70-80. So no matter what you can't leave yourself an easy (well, short) shot, unless you hit into the water and drop.

I actually have tried that, but I don't get as solid a rotation or power. It's weird that it came from nowhere. Also found that if I put my shoulders back (like push the blades closer together) it works better, but not sure if that's good honestly. I think it's the weight that I lost and not having the same stability. 30 pounds in 3-4 months is hard to adjust to.

I wish I was good except within 50 yards. Everything between my woods and 75 yards in hopeless right now. Although it makes me great in scrambles. I bomb drives, shank easy irons, but can rescue my team around the green, and my putting has improved. On a 9 hole scramble I had 2 chip ins and 2 putts over 20 feet. My team liked me when we weren't like 150 out. Then I may as well have putt. But it's so frustrating to have that issue, when you try everything to fix it.

Not quite suse I understand how something that far away would help. It would be more like 8 inches but still. I tried the 2 ball trick. Problem is I put them too close together sometimes. So if I hit a little towards the heel, I'd hit two. I did find it entertaining when you feel the extra resistance and when both flew well.

I don't understand high launch, stiff shafts either. I don't know all the numbers but I have had stiff and extra stiff Grafalloy Reds (low launch on woods and still hit them what felt too high to me. However there clearly is a market for it. Henrik Stensson I believe uses blues (high launch) on his 3 wood (the main club he hits off tees). I'm not as sure of the technical stuff, but clearly their "high launch" shafts for high swing speeds are good. I guess I should look into this more before I buy a new 3 wood.

Sometimes ifor I'm just playing alone or with my girlfriend I'll throw away the round and play for fun. Not having a score to freak out about can help you laugh off the bad shots and reduce frustration. In terms of course management, on difficult courses I use Google Earth and a program called Inkscape to map out the holes and important yardages, hazards, and lay up areas (and sometimes even club selection). For example, 600 yard par 5, split fairway at 250-280 yards. So 3 or 5 wood off tee (depending on wind), played to left side to play the fairway slope to the right. 2nd shot 5 wood to dogleg right, play on left again to avoid tall tree. Then wedge to green. Obviously it's based on me hitting all the shots properly, but it's good to know so you don't make the same mistakes over and over. I also use it for those deceptive yardages or major elevation changes, like the 145 yard par 3, that although flat, seems to play 130. I print one out before I play, and then take notes on it throughout the round in pen, and mark my round in pencil. This allows me to add notes digitally and track my rounds as best I can. You can also buy yardage books at some courses. Although my method takes a few hours (or more if you want lots of detail), I prefer the personalization to my game from my own, although theirs may have more detail initially. Apps never seem to have everything I want, and the GPS and rangefinders are too expensive for me. There's also something cool to me about looking at an old school yardage book.

If nothing else, the three iron may be good for punching out, if you have problems keeping punches down.

I gave that a go, which resulted in chunk after chunk (but at least the ball went straight). I also tried to move further away, to the point where I was "set" with the ball at the end of the grooves on my irons. It seemed to work a little bit. One of my things is that I almost never ground the club head. It's always worked for me to have the club head just off the ground, and give it a waggle (like how many do with their driver, I just do it with every club). It's certainly strange to look at when I watch it on video, but it has worked up until now.

I'm going through a similar, albeit less drastic change. I've lost 30 pounds since February/March, and I know my swing speed went up. My whole body just feels like I'm falling apart in my swing. At 5'-9" (when I wake up on a good day) and 190, I felt so poised and balanced, which helped with my long swing (except for wedges, I generally have my body turned completely and the club has wrapped back so you can look down the shaft at the target). Now I feel my arms pulling my body when there's less weight holding myself back. My driver swing speed went from about 105-110 to 115-120 (and sometimes higher if I feel great), and I think is some of the cause of my issues with the driver. My irons I can't explain, but I do feel part of it is being healthier. The thing I've been trying to work on is slowing down. Even though I have the capability to swing that hard, I learned to swing with less force, and with a more planted body from the extra weight. It's been working on my woods and my wedges, and I've been working in. My go-to 7 through 9 irons have been the worst for me recently. I figure eventually I'll have to look at clubs that can help me to unleash some of that speed, but for now I need to reestablish my fundamentally sound swing and build up core strength that I used to have before college ruined me. But anyways, congrats on the weight loss, that's a huge amount. I have read, in regards to working out, that some exercises could actually hurt your game. Have you been working out with golf in mind, or just in general? One guy I know claims that yoga is his secret. He works out everything, and lifts a decent amount, but he says that doing yoga once a week (and stretching all the time) has been the biggest benefit. All the balance and flexibility that you work on help your golf swing immensely. I just can't find the patience to learn all those poses.

I used to think that way. I went out of my way to find a set with a 4 iron, and then found a 3 iron that matched up properly. Now I regret it. At a demo day I tried the new Cobra King F6 irons (and the respective hybrids) and the same clubs from Taylormade M2. I hit the 4 irons in each set about 210-220. I enjoyed the F6 more, so I tried the hybrids. I hit the 4/5 set to 25* loft 225-230 yards, and it was easier (once I found out that you swing it like an iron, not a wood. The only question I have that I couldn't answer at a demo day is how they work in the rough. I've read that they cut through better than an iron, but that makes no sense to me. The biggest issue I see is that since they have graphite shafts, you better make sure you like the shaft. In my opinion, it's easier to play with most any steel shaft given the correct stiffness than any graphite. Just more finicky to me. I could just be crazy though.

So, this year I have been playing the best golf of my short time (2 years). Was shooting mid 80s to low 90s. Then it all went wrong. I like to blame getting hit in the wrist by a stray golf ball, but I know it's more sinister. I've got the shanks. Some of it I believes come from a swing and grip change at the advice from my pro. He had me play the ball further forward with a weaker grip, which helped counter the heavy draw I got with the ball forward (which did add about 15 yards on my 7 iron (not that I was complaining about 170yds). Well, I hurt my back and then had a bad few holes, and my wrist started to bother me, and now I'm falling apart. The only clubs I can hit well are my wood (now only my 5 since my 3 broke) and my lob wedge. I'm wondering if part of it is the offset on my irons. I would think they should help but if my non offset clubs are working, why aren't my offset ones? I occasionally hit good shots with a short swing (like a punch without trying to keep it down), but I lose 15-20 yards. I think it is 80% mental and a bit physical, with my ailing body and also losing weight, which has helped me increase swing speed by 8mph which I think may be messing with my rhythm? Some of my shanks even feel off the toe, but I don't even trust my own judgement. Any advice so I can actually get back out on the course? I'll try to do video this weekend when I can get my girlfriend to go to the range with me, but I'm hoping for a stop-gap since my company plays on Fridays. Just something to get me to the around green so I can use my wedge and putter, which miraculously improved with my normally good iron game falling apart.