billm408

Downhill- less club, ball back Uphill- more club, normal ball position (I play everything off the inside of my left heel)

Measuring the length of your stroke for distance control works to the extent that it's a good starting point. But it doesn't always translate well on the course considering uphill vs downhill, grain, break, etc... And that's a lot to remember if you've measured all of that out ahead of time.

For me it's all execution. Knowing I can hit the shot I want and actually hitting it are often not even on the same planet. That and fighting swing thoughts when I'm on the course.

Did he cheat you? Did he win anything by cheating? Let it go... golf is a self policing game. If he doesn't have the integrity to call it on himself and his actions didn't hurt anyone, just make a mental note that he's not trustworthy and don't play with/against him again.

I had a regular group for the last 10 years, but this year 2 of them have moved out of the area. We were all about equal skill wise so it was fun and the betting never got too far out of hand. We met at the same course years ago by playing as singles.

I play better when I walk. Keeps my back loose and I get a better feel for the course. Unfortunately, it seems that the newer courses all require carts and are routed with long green to tee distances. Played a course yesterday like that and I doubt I'll go back.

Had the day off so I got up early and played the Ranch in San Jose. Never played the course before but was lucky to be paired up with some nice guys in the morning who knew the place well. Short (6305 blues/6650 tips), hilly lots of tiered greens and environmentally protected areas. Shot 78 from the blues in the am and 75 from the tips in the afternoon. Nice enough track and good greens but probably won't go back. Walking is not allowed (distance green to tee is ridiculous) and I'm not a big fan of target golf. Even from the tips a lot of long irons and 3 wood off the tees- think I hit driver 3x. Plus as a result of the eco-terrorists, some of the holes are designed just stupid. All in all a fun day though. Played 36 start to finish in just over 7 hours. Tired now... think I'll turn in early!

You can't make a proper weight shift or turn if your weight is inside your left foot at/through impact. Here's a good balance drill; Use the mat at your driving range. Take your stance with your heels off the back of the mat. You should be able to make a backswing w/o your right heel changing position. Now make sure that the outside of your left heel is on the concrete in your finish position.

Pros play the same course as the members or public- some are well marked, others not so much. What the yardage books are good for is specific yardages based on hole locations. ie; distance to carry a bunker, a ridge, backstop behind the hole, etc... Poulter's ydg book looked kind of off-the-rack standard. I've seen some covered in hand written notes (I have a couple like that myself). One of the great things (IMHO) about courses like Cypress Point or SF Golf Club... not a single yardage marker on the course and they don't have books either.

It was an amusing finale anyway... I thought Derek deserved to win but agree with the backlash he's getting for the fist pump comments. BFD- she fist pumped. It's the kind of thing you do for yourself... it's not gamemanship. This is really the first time I've seen much of the course though- seems awfully short. Longest par 3 was 165? Par 4's under 400 yards? Did Derek have any approach shot longer than 100 yards? Greens didn't look well protected and the bunkers seemed flat. Granted there's some contour to the greens, but I play tougher muni's. Do they set it up for TV to promote lower scores.

I was about 14 when I started to beat my dad and his weekend duffer buddies. One of their fun little games was to throw stuff at me during address... tees, ball markers, etc.. While it pissed me off at the time, I learned to shut everything out. You could start a chain saw behind me now and I wouldn't hear it. good luck.

While a lot depends on the kind of shot I want to hit, I use a combination of both. I know from measured swings how far I hit my wedges. It's the in between distances that require more feel on the course. For me, my wedge game improved by leaving myself full shots in. Playing from hole to tee probably saved me 2-3 strokes round. YMMV.

Seems a little excessive. 20 yards is not anywhere near putting anyone in danger. Weekend play on public courses is often like being in a shooting gallery. IME, more often from the adjacent holes. In 30+ years, I've never pocketed anyone's ball- OK one altercation, but I didn't take the guys ball... I left it with him. To the OP... I probably would have waited on the next tee and insisted that they play through.

Agree with Hawk, but I do have a question: Are you measuring stance width by your heels or your toes? I only ask because IME most people think of the position of their toes when it's really heel position that determines stance width.

Golf swing & baseball swing= same thing. Golf is just a low inside fastball. The move is the same... starts with a weight shift, followed by a rotation of the hips with the hands trailing.

I don't think I've ever gone out to play with a number in mind (the exception was the PAT and they tell you what number you need to post). For me, that's thinking way too far ahead and prevents me from playing the shot in front of me. Focus on the process not the result- it's the only thing you can control.

As a former + golfer now playing to an 8-10 hcp, I can only relate my experiences. I honestly don't think that there's that much difference between a 12 & 2 hcp when it comes to ball striking- no one hits the ball perfect every time. I'd venture that course management and the mental aspect are the big differences, but short game is the biggest. A 2 hcpr is able to recover from their mistakes better and largely has a better short game. When I was playing well, I was getting up & down better than 50% of the time within 100 yards of the hole. That's a lot more birdies and, more importantly, a lot of saved pars over the course of a round. Around the green, a 12 hcpr is trying to get it close, a 2 hcpr is trying to jar it. Statistically 80% of your shots will be w/in 100 yards of the hole. Start tracking your U&D;'s from there and work on that part of your game.

Great job! That is an elite group in the top 1% of golfers worldwide!!

I've done it a few times on different courses over the years, but just because you can doesn't mean it's the best play. I like a course that offers good risk:reward ratios.

I thought that was what broken clubs were for.

Some of you guys just kill the ball! All my distances are full swing carry. I don't mind being the short knocker here. Driver- 265 3 wood-250 2 iron- 230 3 iron- 210 4 iron- 195 5 iron- 185 6 iron- 175 7 iron- 165 8 iron- 155 9 iron- 145 PW- 128 SW- 97 LW- 78

The first person I saw using S&T; was Casey Martin back in the late 90's (although it wasn't called that). For him it was a matter of necessity since he couldn't shift weight to his right leg because of his disease and degenerative bone loss. He kept his weight on his left leg throughout his swing and just killed the ball. I tried it a few times as an experiment, but couldn't understand why you'd swing that way if you were able to make a weight shift. Just seems like a lot of extra effort needed to generate clubhead speed. Just like McLean's uber upper body shift found favor with guys like Curtis Strange, or Moe Norman's wide stance/baseball grip approach, it eventually became a passing fad. I think over time, players assimilate the best parts of swing phiosophies like that and just incorporate that into their more traditional moves.

Long reply... sorry. Lag (the opposite of casting or early release) is the result of maintaining a 90 degree angle between your left arm and the shaft for as long as possible in the downswing. The key is keeping your right wrist cocked coming down. There’s a lot of ways to visualize it- pulling the butt of the club down, etc…, but the best drill that I’ve found is this; First, use an old club or broken club to start with. Find a fence, bench, railing at the driving range etc… that’s approx 3-4 feet tall. Small children would work but I don’t recommend it. From your normal stance position take your backswing so that your hands are at hip height- check to see that the club is still in front of your upper body and the toe of the club is pointing straight up. Step back without adjusting your reach, so that the hosel of the club is resting on top of the fence/railing/bench. Now complete your backswing and downswing slowly making sure that the club does not hit the fence/railing/bench on the way down. (Now you know why I suggest an old club!) You can’t do this if you’re releasing early. Go real slow at first -can’t stress this enough- until you can build the muscle memory to repeat this consistently. It’s a great drill, but can be hard on clubs. Also… don’t hit balls doing this, just train the move.

Sweet! Along with an ace, I've come close but never had one.

Took the day off and played Stanford GC today. I haven't played there since the remodel and they've stretched it to a stupid 7600 yards! We played the middle tees at just over 7000. Anyway... started off with a couple of scrambling pars and one of my friends made the comment that my swing looked different. That I used to hit against a firmer left side and now it looks like I'm sliding through the shot. Boom! Hit 12 of the next 14 greens in reg with birdie putts no longer than 15 feet (4 were under 4 feet). Went 34-33 for a boring 67! Felt good to play well again.