Bauer

"Get off the sticks" means "get off the video game controller, it's my turn to play."

Well it was noticeably swollen for about a year. I have a picture somewhere if I find it I'll put it up. It was actually pretty dumb... my dad and I were hitting golf balls back and forth to each other, probably a bad idea to begin with, and a ball he hit was sailing over my head. I decided to throw my iron up in the air as if I could knock it down. Clearly this would be nearly impossible but the ball managed to hit off the club face and ricochet to my face. Didn't actually hurt that bad.

I've been hit in the face once. Right between the eyebrows above the bridge of the nose.

At least you don't have to completely stop because of the winter. I won't play a round of golf again until late March.

So the swing analysis here is worthless?

This thread got confusing fast.

I wasn't aware that anyone, aside from yourself, refers to you as that.

As someone who has never taken a lesson and really wishes he did, I would say to stick with the lesson and commit 100% to what you are being taught. What kind of reputation does your instructor have? I wouldn't guess that you are "pissing away" money on the lessons.

Exactly. I would also add to this that I try to make sure I don't over-extend myself and attempt a shot that is clearly not a good idea. Sometimes you have to settle for that extra stroke.

I typically go for a straight shot but I do like to play a cut shot quite a bit. I can play it rather consistently and it has been successful for me. I never really try and play a draw and I will only try and play one, or a hook, if I really need to go around something.

What he said exactly ^ If you post a swing video here a lot of people can take a look and help you out. Meanwhile, there is a plethora of information on this website and on the internet about the out-to-in swing path.

I think he means on the outside of the ball. Same drill to quit coming over the top. Only speculation though.

How many putts per round do you average? I personally average around 32-35 putts per round. If you don't know, start keeping this stat along with others such as GIR, Fairways hit, and Up and Downs.

Why exactly shouldn't he be playing Pro V1's?

I take the same stroke as you and on the short putts I speed my tempo up a bit and shorten the back swing still keeping acceleration on my forward stroke. On short puts I don't finesse it in either so a soft touch for me isnt necessary. Granted I am not great putter averaging 32-35 a round. Best thing you can do is go practice these over and over. The biggest problem is the short downhill putts... you don't want to decel and cause a poorly hit putt to miss because you pull it, hit it off center, etc.

I struggle from pulling it with my short irons since I have started tring to keep my head back as well. For me it is because my shoulders are releasing/turning too early and I come over the top. It could easily be this but I am not sure really what else it would be.

No. Women's tennis is very strong.

I am the most inconsistent with my driver and lack confidence in it. I am very confident in my wedges from any distance. When I step up with a driver, I am thinking "I hope this works" and take a swing. With my wedges I can see the shot I am going to hit and I usually hit very close to that shot.

I'm shopping around for a new set of irons and am torn between what to get between blades or game improvement irons. I hear that getting blades at my handicap might not be such a good idea. However, I enjoy blades look so much more than anything else. I like my clubs to be very simple looking. My main question is, is it a terrible idea to get blades at my current skill level? I wonder how much I will handicap my improvement if I do decide to switch to blades. Thanks, Bauer

Those options sound great I will definitely have to go hit those. My biggest concern however is if the Titleists and Mizunos are outside of my skill range. I think they are definitely outside of my price range. How are the Srixon i-302 and i-701's? They seem to be closer to my price range 300-400 and the game improvement style. Also, I was looking at these MacGregors... http://www.golfsmith.com/products/MG..._Iron_Set_3-PW

Hey someone from Seattle too! Anyways... Those Adams sound like some good clubs. I do like sets that look more plain however. And possibly a year or 2 older set that I could get for about 100 less than those Adams. What is the benefit of forged and do I want to pursue getting forged irons?

I plan on getting a set of new irons within the coming months as my Pings are 13 years old and were fitted to a person who is 6'2" and I am maybe 5'9". I have been looking at anything forged. I really like the Nike CCi's and they are in my price range but I get the feeling those are out of my league. Please confirm this and tell me why. I have also looked at Bridgestone and MacGregor Combo sets with blades in 9-PW and the rest more forgiving irons. Is this a path I want to go? Any clubs you can recommend would be great. Again, I want forged irons and I am not stuck on those 2 companies at all. I really like the CCi's but probably need something more forgiving. Give me all the advice and help you can please. Thanks guys, -Bauer

Why don't you want to use anything other than a SW? Anyways, I roll my hands over if I want the ball to run out more when chipping with my wedges.

David, do you think it is really doable by incorporating the DVDs and video swing analysis only? I have thought about S&T; as well but I am not even close to being able to afford training for it. My swing up to now has been completely self taught and I am not displeased. I really want to progress more and believe I can do it by myself, in fact I know I can, but I also know it will take a hell of a lot more time. Just to clarify I want to know if you honestly believe it is realistically doable? If so I have some thinking to do during the "off season" coming up.

I am aware he didn't challenge him to a fight I merely trying to point out the likeness of both challenges being childish. How do you figure the person at the range thought his golf skill were superior to the OP? I often ask for advice from someone I am playing with even if that means just looking at my swing and seeing if something doesn't look right. A lot of the people I play with I would not consider better than me but their advice is still very valuable. I agree that sports are all about challenge but I think that challenge starts with challening yourself and this is moreso in golf than any other sport. If you want to challenge someone, challenge them to 18 holes in a fitting game. Challenging them to a one time $20 bet seems like a pretty clear way to try and show how masculine you are. Seemed like a pretty unreasonable reaction when simply saying "I am actually working on drawing/hooking" would suffice. If someone was persistent on helping me then I would end up being pretty rude to that person. The OP made what the person said to be a harmless mutter of advice. Of course if the OP said it jokingly then everything I have said is moot relating to his encounter specifically; but very pointful in general. KBYE!