OhioBuckeye

All, So this spring I started playing after a few years off. All was going well. I actually started playing almost every day. Then about 1.5 months ago things started to slowly but surely go south quickly. I was had no idea what was going on. I would hit every shot off the heel and slice everything. Then shanks started to occur. It was really miserable as nothing felt good. Basically I was 100% miserable. At one point I figured a stronger grip was the solution. Wrong..... Standing too far from the ball. Wrong...... The correct solution: For whatever reason I must of started the season correctly using my left hand as the dominate hand during the swing(I'm right handed). But as the season went on I apparently started attempting to muscle things with my right hand/arm. As I've read it explains everything because I was coming outside in and would see the results I was experiecing. The last 3 days at the range everything has fallen into place. It's not perfect as I'm still re-learning but it's very very obvious what was going on now. So I can't stress enough that the forward hand(left in my case being righty) really should be dominant in the backswing and downswing. As soon as I did this i started hitting the ball in the sweet spot again which is a beautiful sight. I couldn't hit 180 yards with the driver and I'm almost instantly back up to 225 and feel that I'll gain even more over time. so the drills with only using your left hand/arm. Those in my opinion are very valuable and done for a reason. Hope this helps someone as I was becoming very frustrated.

ok Staying with front heel. Yea after posting I read a number of articles and everything said front left heel. So I'll stick with that but go with the arms straight/fully extended at address. Thanks

Ok I believe you are all correct. I took some practice setups and swings in the house and I see that yes I need to have my arms compeltely outstretched at address. I'll try this. Almost going to move the ball tad forward in my stance so it sits of my right toe instead of my right inside heel. I guess it just felt strange have that amount of space between the end of the club and my stomach.

ok it seems when I address and in relaxed arms that I'm standing the right distance. But when I hit my arms are more fully extended. Is this normal for everyone else? I'm concerned because it seems like I have to have the club almost inches away from the ball at address. meaning like 2 inches torwards me from the ball? Something doesn't seem right with that.

So I've beening slicing pretty bad lately. Today I cleaned my face after every hit in order to see the ball mark. Almost 96% of the time the ball mark would exist on the hosel side in a good bit from center. This is cutting about 75 yards of distance and also slicing. Any thoughts on what I can do to insure I hit the center. I have a feeling it can be one of 2 things if not both. Swing place and open face. I tried everything just to hit one in the center and I hit maybe 1 out of 50 there. Pretty bad. Thoughts and suggestions?

Just picked up a SeeMore putter and it's working great. Anyone use one of these? It seems like the best way is to follow the putter with your eyes and as long as you do "hide the red dot" it's really damn straight. I'm curious if what people have thought that have tested these out. I've only used it for about 3 rounds but so far really really good. I feel it's teaching me a proper pendulum stroke. OB

For those with hybrids how do you hit them off the tee? Do you setup like a normal driver shot or setup a an iron shot with the ball back in your stance? Do you hit it up like a driver or down/compress like a fairway/rough shot? I like to use my 5 and 7 hybrids for par threes but want to see how others hit them. thanks OB

I'm right-handed. My questions is how the right thumb and fore finger are placed in the proper golf grip. For some reason if I have them touching like most pictures I see then it seems like I have a natural tendancy to leave the face open. If I I have the right thumb going down towards the left but not all the way over like most pics and apply pressure almost acting like a pincher between my thumb and fore finger then the face stays straighter. I don't apply mass pressure just enough to keep face close. I'm curious how most of you do it. Are the forefinger and thumb actually touching? Thanks OB

Pretty Cool. I suggest getting a copy framed.

1. Is a GPS a good idea for a beginner? I think it would be valuable to have a history of your shots along with current distance but want to hear everyones thoughts on here. 2. What do you carry to clean your ball on the green with? At my local course the balls get dirty with grass, sand, colored spray junk. do you carry a towell to clean off each time? I do have a towell attached to my bag. Do you just use this towell or a different one? Thanks OB

I'm sure most of you already do this but I've had an issue with aim and i think I finally figured out a major check to assist with this. on my backswing I'm now attempting to have my club pointing to the target at the point that it is parallel to the ground. I did this at the range and my iron shots were going straight as an arrow. Do others do this same check, mental point during their backswing? OB

Great job. Looking forward to mine someday

I've been watching these two tournaments (PGA and Champions tour) and the Valero course looks very poor compared to the Alabama course Robert Trent Jones course. When say poor I mean bland in not in great shape. It actually reminds me of public courses around my parts in Ohio. On the other hand the Ross Bridge course looks awesome. I guess I would of thought the PGA would be playing nicer courses. OB

One other question for you....Do you believe the headcovers for these are imporant or not? There is an Ebayer that sells these sets cheap but without headcovers. I can get a replacement set or alternatives but I'm wondeing if they're even necessary. Headcovers are usually just a pain anyways. OB

How often, if ever, do you use the 3 or 4 Hybrid off the tee?

So you like the stiff shaft? I'm debating between stiff/regular. I'm working on swing speed now and don't want to get regular and later regret not getting stiff shafts.

Anyone use these clubs? I just received a 5 hybrid and the thing is a breeze to hit straigt and 200 yards. I'm thinking about picking up a set and selling my current set. I don't even think I'll need a driver or 3 wood as the hybrids can take their place. OB

I'm curious what is the best approach. Keep in mind I'm a beginner and my goal is stop using my driver for a while and concentrate on using my fairway woods off the tee. I seem to be able hit them straighter. To date I've tee'd these up very close to the ground and have been hitting them with the club going downward to the ball. Unlike how I would hit my driver which is tee'd high and and upswing into the ball. My question is I do hear it commonly suggested to use a 3 wood. But do most still tee it high as opposed to a more fairway type tee setting? What are the pros/cons of each? I seem to have good control with the low tee method. OB

I think he's saying nothing they'll do to replace the grips with others free of charge.

Pickup one when and if one comes availableon Ebay or Craigs List. I think one will turn up. There are probably hundreds of used one sitting out there for sale. Just need to find them. :)

Hey all new member here as well. Testing signature.

I think I'll be fine with the 'A' set. I went to golfsmith yesteday and I did some swings with their analyzer system and my speed was almost exactly 80 MPH. According to the chart at the link below I would say I'm fine. http://www.golfsmith.com/cm/display_...num=learn_how5 I don't beleive the flex will matter as much for irons anyhow. Also I just ordered a set of woods off ebay: 4, 7, 9: Callaway Big Bertha wood set for 99 bucks. All graphite regular flex. So for $400.00 I've got a complete set of clubs with a brand new bag and feel pretty good. I'll play it through the summer and in the fall/winter when prices drop I'll see if I want to upgrade then. The used sets I saw at Golfsmith were priced way to high. So overall I think I've got a decent set for a decent price. OB

Ok thanks. I actually hit the irons beautifully today. Now the Callaway R flex is a different story. I doubt that's due to the Regular flex but more to just not used to the driver. Kept skimming it across the ground. OB

Ok I'm a little concerned because there marking is an 'A'. Any idea what that is? OB

Picked everything up today. Still don't know how to determine if they are stiff vs reg graphite shaft. Any idea on this? They feel real good. Just was swinging them in the yard tonight. I play 9 holes tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for all the info.