Mizzy57

Since you haven't had formal training and chompin at the bits to get to the range, MY personal suggestion would be to do a little research on the fundamentals first. Grip, posture, stance, ball position, etc. Then go to the range, find someone that's hitting solid and looks approachable, wait til he's taking a break or something and go up and make a friend. Tell him you're starting out, ask him to show you grips, his basic swing setup, etc. Believe it or not, Golfers tend be be helpful creatures and more times then not someone will spend 10 mins showing you these things. But it's always good to have an understanding of the fundamentals before you do this so you can understand what he's saying. I beleive going to the range and just bangin balls when you really have no idea what's going on will form bad habits and eventually bad muscle memory. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

I had a long post typed out explaining everyhting I did but here's the cliff's notes version: Larger percentage of time on wedges and scoring Irons. Don't always aim for the same target, mix it up. Have purpose when you swing. Don't bang balls. Lots hit great at the range but can't transfer it to the course. It's mental because when you hit a bad shot at the range you just scoop another to hit. Take your time, do your preshot, align, etc. Vary your targets (to make sure you have to change alignment) and your clubs. Don't hit 40 8 irons at the same target. 1/2 > 3/4 > full wedges Scoring irons Med/long irons (only a few, like 6-7. 1-2 I hit stingers/knockdowns) Hybrids/3W off the deck Driver, maybe 10. I like to finish off by playing a game. I play like 3 or 4 "holes". Pick out targets. On misses, hit a longer club next and aim for a further target. 1. Par 4- 3W/Driver, short iron/wedge. 2. Par 3- Med Iron, wedge 3. Par 5- Driver, hybrid, wedge 4. par 4- 3W, Med Iron, wedge etc, you get the idea. Any balls left over for whatever you're working on, for me its my 1/2-3/4 wedges, trying to get better accuracy and distance control, working on different traj's. I usually don't "work" on putting same day as range, I do that on my short game days.

Haha, funniest thing I've heard

You're dead on. I actually haven't posted a USGA card for 8 months since Im not a member there any more. I guess my shame didn't work, I thought I could misdirect everyone away from close inspection and ridicule by outing others. Damn whistle blowers, they're always the ones with something to hide!

I agree, you should get your swing checked and on a monitor. Off the shelf drivers are bought for basically 2 things- you look at what shaft you think you need (sen/reg/stiff etc) and loft. Even if you get the correct shaft for your swing speed, torque and kickpoing might be way off for you. Better to spend $35 and get your equipment narrowed down by a pro before dropping $500 on that new fancy driver that you won't hit any further. Also remember that lowering the loft doesn't just lower your traj. Lower lofted drivers are harder to hit because they cause less backspin. But that "lost" spin is accentuated into side spin, so you'll hit more hooks/draws/fades/slices everything else being equal in your swing.

Dang it you figured it out! J/K. I actually made up those attributes for a 10 hdcpr so as to not offend anyone. Sorry if you happen to fall into that catagory. I guess what I was trying to impart was if you've never shot in the 80's before and were in a foursome that had real 10-15 hdcpr's would you: 1. Walk over and offer your swing advice to your playing partner who just skulled the ball? 2. or- watch, listen, and ask to get as much information as you can gleen from them? I mean, I've been in groups where the 15 capper can't break 100. I'd be more embarressed to state a lower handicap then to say "Hey, I shoot in the 90's/100's but I love the game and working to improve." You'd get so much better results and advice from your playing partners. I'm more open to help someone with that attitude and welcome the same. I.e., missed a putt last week cuz I read the green totally wrong. We had a Scratch golfer and he had me re-putt after quickly showing me what I missed on the read. That's invaluable information and what golfing (non competitive) in groups is about imho. I dunno, everytime I write something and read it, it seems to sound negative. Trust me, I'm not trying to be. I guess I'm just trying to get across the msg that all things said here may not be the best advice when you're trying to find/fix your swing.

I know I'm new and only been here a couple of weeks but browsing these boards i've noticed a startling trend...I'm not one to out others nor am I calling anyone liar's, but it really seems that the knowledge base of 10-20 handicap index is lacking. Maybe it's that I was a quick learner or retained alot of golf essentials, but reading some posts from 10 handicappers asking questions that is basic golf fundamentals needed to get to a 20 is pretty disheartening. I understand that the Internet intoxicates us with its anonymity potion and epeen elixers, but seriously, I believe you're only hurting yourself, and other's (if you offer swing tip advice) by trying to either impress others or not be embarressed by your real ability. Trust me, there's no one to impress or be embarressed by. We all started at somepoint and worked our way down, and in my case, back up a few times. I have no issues with beginners asking how to correctly grip a club, or how to questions. It's just when those same questions are asked by a mid capper I wonder about the advice they give to a true 30. I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this, so have at it. But If I can maybe have a new golfer or someone who truly needs help take a second look at some of the advice given here before revamping thier swing because someone who's a 10 hdcp but doesn't know what a shank is or why a slice happens offers poor advice, then I think I've done my part as a member of this community. Like I said, no offense, just be wary. Listen to some of the senior members and staff. They seem pretty objective and knowledgeable. Home course I keep score at: Marshialla Ranch 71.1/124 from the whites.

That's why GOLF is a four letter word. Once you get one aspect of your game working, another fails you. To me it seems like it's like a biorythm chart lol, only for a few weeks does everything seem to click and I lower my scores. Then either my driving, ball striking, or putting fail me, and as I work that out something else pops up...A few weeks ago I had the perfect putting stroke, yesterday I felt lost over the ball and my putting distances were off. It's all part of the expierence.

Thanks, you may have solved it for me. I think I just need to come in at a steeper angle of attack to get added spin. I've been using my normal pitch shot, but just with an abbreviated followthru. Do you release like a pitch or hold off like a chip?

Basics of working the ball, purely from my expierences and what I've been taught. Straight: square club face at address (or slightly open if you have active hands), square shoulders and feet, imagine 2 railroad lines- 1 line is the ball to your target, the other is your feet to just left of target. Swing on plane with the ball railroad. Draw: slightly closed clubface (or moderate if you have late hands). Closed stance, as in railroad lines aimed to the right of your target. How much right depends on how much you have your clubface closed. Swing online with your ball railroad. Path of ball should follow the railroad line to the right of target and draw back. Fade/Cut: Open clubface. Open stance aiming left of target. swing path is on ball railroad line to left. etc etc. Condensed easy to remember version: keep the clubface perpindicular to the ball in relation to the target. Open or close your stance for Fade/Draw respectively. Swing on plane to left (fade) or right (draw) of target. There's a nice diagram in last years Golf Digest with Lorena Ochoa explaining this. target ........... _!_ ................................ _!_ ........................... _!_ ...... ............................................................................................. ............................................................................................ ........ | ... | ........................... \ ... \ ................................. / ... / ........ ........ | ... | ............................ \ ... \ ............................... / ... / ......... ........ | ... | ............................. \ ... \ ............................. / ... / .......... ........ | ... | .............................. \ ... \ ........................... / ... / ........... ........ | ... | ............................... \ ... \ ......................... / ... / ............ WWWW o WWWWWWWWWWWWW o WWWWWWWWWW o WWWWW __ feet __ ball ______________ feet __ ball _______ feet __ ball ___ Straight ________________ Fade ___________ Draw Keep clubface aimed at target. Remember, swing parallel to your feet, not AT the target. Sorry for the welfare drawing DOH! I found the link. http://www.golfdigest.com/instructio...aking90_gd0704

Hey guys, Been trying to work out the 30-60yd low wedge shot that bounces then checks. I can hit full LW/SW/GW shots and spin the ball back, usually too far but I need the shot that goes about half height of a full shot that skips and stops. I've subourned to the fact I'll have to keep hitting half wedges until I get it down. Prob is, I'm acurate with full shots, my 1/2 and 3/4 shot distances are off and im usually short of what I practice at. I've been doing the abbreviated follow thru after striking sharply down on the ball at the range, 3/4 backswing to 1/4 follow thru but cant really tell the spin at the range. This gets the ball at a lower longer flight, but it comes in pretty hot. On the course I've tried it a few times but haven't had luck as the ball seems to wanna roll out like a pitch. seems like only 1-5 tries actually gets the ball looking like it hit thick snot on the green. Thanks for the help.

I'd try them, but I can't get over the dimple in dimple. Looks wierd at address and even worse standing over them on a putt.

Just some personal advice for those 15+ handicappers that wish to switch to blades that I went thru when looking to buy new irons last year with my Pro. Are you really a 15 handicapper? You consistantly hit GIR's? Be honest with yourself, no Epeens. Your game WILL suffer, no matter how much you want it or how much practice you put in. How solid is your ballstriking? Your lil draws and fades will be accentuated. You'd be surprised how often you DON'T hit the sweet spot on your SGI's and GI's. Do you stick 120-180yd shots (Par-3's) or are you chipping? It all comes down to what everyone has said, your ballstriking. If you're getting blades so you can tell you're mishitting 5/10 time's, the're cheaper and less frustrating methods. I was in love with the allure of blades but after looking deep into myself and my game, went with the MP-57's and havent looked back. They'll take me well into the next level handicap and beyond. But, if you're set on blades, get them by all means. Buyer's remorse sucks as everyone knows. Just don't be THAT guy at the course with $4000 in equipment sporting blades in the bag who sh@nks, duffs, slices, or hooks on the first hole. You're sure to be the butt of a few jokes for the turn...

Amen to that.

Tiger Woods

Rad engineer