Lbob

WRT your distance concerns, you should remember a couple of things. First, when it's 36 degrees out the balls won't perform as well because they're cold. You will lose compression. Second, when it's cold the air is a bit denser. Both these factors will hurt your distance. Wait till it's warmer and you're more familiar with the clubs and your new swing. Also please take the advice about consistancy to heart.

I would agree with many of the comments above especially those about equipment. Getting my first oversized driver, a Cleveland Launcher 460, knocked about 3-4 strokes off my score because I was getting the ball out around 200 (as opposed to the 180 with my 3 wood) and in the fairway. Getting my new Cobra M/F speed series (M shaft, F head) helped too. I get more distance and much more forgiveness on mishits. But I think that lessons and practice made an equal if not greater contribution. At the very heart of improved scoring is a sound repeatable swing. I think that this year I've finally approached that, and I'll tell you it wasn't easy for me. I practice weekly and it's all pretty structured. I'm working on one particular aspect of my swing or on a particular club. I also took regular lessons for the first three years. This is mostly because I have no natural talent. I need to know the mechanics and what my bod is supposed to be doing. Otherwise I'm out of luck.

I think I play better with company. The only time I broke 80 was in a foursome created from 4 walk-on singles. I didn't know anybody and really didn't want to embarrass myself. The result was the best round I ever played scoring wise. I agree with the preshot routine comments. But I keep the routine regardless.

I noted earlier that I had had a "click" experience with my full shot game. I'm longer, straighter, and more consistent than ever. But interestingly my overall scores have only come down about 2 shots per 18. I think that the observation that the full shot game determines the maximum scores is dead on. For some reason my short game seems to have gone south on me, especially chipping and short wedges shots. I'm not giving myself too many chances for up-and-downs when I miss a green. That's important because I miss the green a bit more than half the time. So I'm going to re-focus my practice on chipping, wedges, and putting. Getting inside 10 feet, as Dave Pelz's data shows is critical to scoring. I'm aiming for 5 feet because my putting still needs work.

This year I played about once a week. In previous years it was quite a bit less. Maybe once a month or so. I think that the link above is the slot drill.

This year things finally "clicked" for me on my full swing. I'm now hitting the ball much more consistently and as result my shots are straighter and even longer. Interestingly it happened that things came together very quickly in a span of about 2 weeks. It was a result of three factors: 1) A very good lesson from my teaching pro. He took me from "grounders" to breaking 80 in four years. The lesson involved starting my downswing. I had been getting to a good position on the backswing, but was doing something funky when I started the club back. He showed me how to start the downswing with my body. This helped me get my weight moving forward and more on my front foot. Now I feel like I'm hitting down on the ball as opposed to swinging up. 2) The slot drill that I got from the Golf Digest web site was a great learning device and let me see exactly what it meant to be "in the slot." This helped in two ways. It eleminated casting and over the top swings which had plagued me, and it helped me make more consistent contact. I use this on the course now instead of practice swings. 3) I finally realize that I don't have to swing hard to hit the ball far. I don't know exactly how/why this occurred. Just one day at the range I decided to just swing about 75% and make good contact. Suddenly I was hitting the ball better and farther than ever. I'm pretty tall (6'4") and I guess I need a little time to let speed develop and to get my weight forward. As a result I started getting 20 yards more on my drives and am about a club longer on my irons. It's like my body is saying "Ohhh, so that's what you want me to do. OK no problemo." My pro says that he's seen this "click" thing before. He also says that once you get the "click" you rarely regress. That was nice to hear! Any other "click" stories out there? Anybody know how to make my putting "click?"

I average 86. Of course I also shoot in the 60's, but then I play the last 5 holes

Keep at it buddy. Once you make friends with your 3i you will love it. Before I got my 2i getting on a green from 190 or so was just not in the cards. Now I'm on about 1/3 of the time and close pretty much the rest. Plus you'll find it's much more forgiving. Mishit a 3-iron and it goes nowhere. Mishit a hybrid and you can still get a pretty decent shot.

I got new irons this year which i am very happy with, but now I have only 12 clubs. What would you suggest that I get (if any)? My game tends to be "short but straight" I hit my driver about 220 and 5 iron about 160. I had thought about getting a 51 degree gap wedge as my sand wedge goes about 85 yards and my full wedge is about 110. I'd also thought about another hybrid. Or maybe I should just get 3 or four golf lessons

Thanks Jeff. Truth be told I stole it though. There used to be a golfer on the pro tour whose nickname was xerox because he was so straight and consistent. But I'll tell you that having confidence in a club can really help your swing. That xerox image has a way of coming true nowW

I traded my Launcher Comp for a Cobra speed series. I just hit one for the heck of it at a demo day and started xeroxing shots right down the middle with about 5 yards of draw. I normally hit a draw so that didn't surprise me. I liked my Launcher, but I had control issues with big sweeping hooks. I bought the Cobra on the spot. I find that I'm straighter with the Cobra and also about 15 yards longer. As an added bonus it's more forgiving. I also got to play with shafts and heads a bit and ended up with driver with a M shaft and and F head. It really fits my tempo and I just love the feel. I was like you and hadn't seriously considered Cobra, but I think the driver is a great club especially for golfers like myself who aren't tremendously gifted.

I have a Cleveland Halo 2i and love it. I traded in my 5 wood for it as I could hit the 2i just as far and much straigher and consistently. But I think thsi would be true of almost all hybrids. In fact if you don't find it easier to hit than a fairway wood you probably shouldn't buy it. I found that the simulator was pretty accurate in terms of length. I'm not sure why that's a concern. One thing I liked about the Halo was that it had a higher trajectory compared to some of the other hybrids and I can actually hit a green and keep the ball on it. I do think this comes at the expense of a little bit of distance on the roll out on lay ups, but I prefer the control. Just out of curiousity how many have you tried? There are a bunch out there. Try all you can. IMHO there's a lot of difference between hybrids. I tried hitting the Taylormade and it was a disaster.

I don't think it's a good idea to "learn" on one driver then switch to another. Especially if it's a crappy driver. What you're likely to learn are bad habits. Go get a used driver that's decent but affordable and learn on that one. Then after your swing has developed try a few that you think you might like at a demo day.

Amen to this. 80% effort and 80% mental. Sometimes I think that the best thing a golfer can have is no memory. Forget the last shot, forget how poorly/well you're doing, just go through your routine and make a swing. It's funny but when I'm playing well I'm seldom thinking that much about the shot. After I decide on the club and where I want to hit it (well where I hope it will go) usually I start getting tune in my head. I've heard other golfers say the same thing (even Gary McCord, though God knows what music he'd be hearing!). One of my best rounds was accompanied by Kenny Rodger's "The Gambler". Know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away, know when to run.

I can empathize with you. Had the same experiences. I just internalized the 80% rule this year. I started thinking about making a nice smooth easy swing and started hitting the ball much better and farther. I think part of it is confidence. I used to think that I really had to belt the ball on shots of 150 yards or more. Now instead I think "Well I've got plenty of club." That helps me swing smooth and make better contact, which usually equals more distance. Just try slowing down a bit and thinking smooooooooth.

Went out Friday and had the most exasperating day I've ever had on a golf course. I had 6 3-putt greens, but the exasperating part is that I really only hit 1 putt that I'd call a bad one and one that was stupid. Does this sound strange? Well let me enlighten you. I had 8 lip outs! Yes count them 8 lip outs. I even had two on one hole! I'd hit a putt that looked like it was center cut. My buddies said "Good putt." And then, oooops. I had two 360's a couple of 180's, and the rest were somewhere in between. I lipped them on th high side, I lipped them low. Speed was good for the most part. I think my reads were OK too. The damn ball just would not go in the hole. Note that this doesn't count the putts that rolled by the lip and just peeked at the hole. I had worked hard on my putting. I put lines on all my balls and practiced putting this way on the practice green. I felt really comfortable. It just wouldn't go in the hole!!! Anyone else had a putting horror story?

From the Y chromosome perspective the pink belly button picture wins hands down. From the avid golfer perspective, the tee off picture is great. What a position! I'll bet she hit the ball a mile!

I just got a new Cobra Speed series driver. I didn't think it was particularly loud at all. I didn't really hear any difference between it and my old Cleveland Launcher. Maybe I don't hit it hard enough to make a loud noise.

I'd love to have Stewart Appleby's swing. I think it's probably the simplest one on tour. But of course I'm not nearly as strong or flexible as Stewie so it probably wouldn't work for me. But you know if you're talking about a pretty swing, I think that Michelle Wie's is about as good as it gets. Wish I could swing like that. All I lack is the flexibility, timing, and hand-eye coordination. Plus she get a heck of lot of power from her legs that I'll never have.

Does anyone find that praying helps? BTW who or what are you praying to?

Here's the address for a video on the Golf Digest site. I think it's a great drill. I saw the results almost immediately in terms of better contact. For me I think it helped me stop casting. http://www.golfdigest.com/video/inde...slotdrill.html

Yeah I agree about the swing change point. they might have to change things dramatically and probably wouldn't want to risk screwing up what had taken years to groove. Swings from 40 years ago are much different. And swings from the early 20th century are in a class by themselves. Did Bobby Jones really hit a 300 yard drive with hickory shafts? Or was he in the early steel shafts era? Didin't a golf magazine try to have somebody recreate Nicklaus' famous 1 iron shot? As I recall the amateur couldn't even come close.

Idon't know about Rat Shack, but Bushnell has some for hunting. Hey maybe you could take your bow to the course and bag a turkey! We have plenty on our courses in Nebraska. Course they're of the two legged variety.

I was explaining to my wife how new breakthroughs in technology have changed the game of golf, and how it has made it easier for hackers like me. I told her about how clubs and balls used to be less forgiving etc. Then from out of the blue she says "Why don't they have a tournament where the pro's compete with old time equipment?" Wow! What an idea! Set up a course with yardages from say 1913 or maybe 1963 is more realistic, get some companies to make up some balls and clubs, and get some top pro's to play the course as a charity event. I think it would be educational and hoot to watch. Watching Tiger cream a driver 220!!! Seeing Phil hit a 5 iron 150. Now that would be television!

Has anyone used any of the currently available range finding gadgets like the Bushnell Pinseeker or the Sky Caddie? They seem like a good investment to me.