benharris

I figure if Player A is better than Player B, then Player A will win a majority of the time barring some strange unforeseeable circumstance. The best SHOULD rise to the top on both easy courses and hard courses. I don't see how a worse player would beat one of the top pros given an easier course. The best players would see just as much benefit playing an easier course as poorer players would. WHOA THERE SKIPPER, there's no way I'm shooting par or better at the US Open. Ever. There's plenty of both at the majority of events on tour. There are holes where you'll be losing strokes to the field with a par. Short holes are, with a few exceptions, that way, both par 4's and 5's. There's also holes where bogey isn't that bad. There are definitely events where there are more of one than the other and I do enjoy both. I just don't think players being able to shoot low 60's scores is some kind of affront to the spirit of the competitive game.

I love seeing the pros dismantle a golf course that I know I'd never have a chance on. Serious question here, what is with this obsession over seeing the pros struggle to break par? really? I mean if I wanted to watch golfers stink it up I'd just go out and watch some of my members play. The biggest reason I have for watching pro golf is seeing them play a game I can't play. I can shoot 71, 72, and 73's but I sure as shit ain't gonna go out and shoot 63's and 64's. What gives y'all?

Which courses? You know those courses can vary in length quite a bit? You talking Torrey PInes South or something like TPC Deere Run. On TPC Deere Run you'd be unable to reach just two par 4s in two. Even on Torrey PInes you's still be able to get on six of the ten par 4s in two. I assume you're talking about hitting from the masters tees which is an absolutely ridiculous premise. c'mon man. Playing from the members tees is going to allow a chance for GIR on at least 3 holes, maybe 6 if you count 14, 17, and 18 which play 380, 370, and 385 respectively. I understand that after a 200 yd drive a 185 yard approach probably won't work out but I included them just in case. Maybe not everyone, though I'd wager that MOST have the option. There are, of course, times when one must play from a pre determined set of tees in an event/tournament. General play though? Move forward. And don't tell me you can't move forward unless you're already at the ladies tees.

I'm sorry, really I am but I still don't understand what you're talking about. The "average for good players" is dependent on which set of tees one chooses to play from is it not? A "good player" (read: scratch player) from the senior tees isn't going to be close to that average from the championship tees. I read your comments as saying you really don't care about par as a target score? Is that wrong? whether you get in the hole in two shots or ten shots doesn't really matter as long as you play the hole as you've envisioned? Do I have that right? Sorry if I'm way off base, I'm just not seeing the picture here.

Well, obviously if you are not able to choose which tees you play, playing from forward tees is out of the question. That is a specific circumstance that falls outside of the general play situation that I was meaning. How is par arbitrary by the way? If par really means that little to you why not tip it out? Play from the pro tees. If par is arbitrary, why not just make the pars 5,6, and 7 instead of the usual 3,4, and 5?

Quick question to those who would play a par four like this as if it were a par five. Why not just move to a more forward set of tees? Or play a hybrid tee setup? I do not understand the mindset of stepping up to a par 4 and just accepting that bogey is your best realistic score. It just seems like a stressful way to play golf. I know that if I was was playing some monster of a course where I was playing long irons/hybrids/woods into all the greens after hitting good drives that I would really not be having fun.

I'll echo the sentiment that if you hit a good drive you should always have a realistic chance to get on the green with your approach. Sounds like moving forward a set of tees is your best bet. Just for reference, the 27 hole facility I work at has only 2 par fours that are over 450 from the tips. From the blue tees (one tee forward from the tips), our longest par 4 is 424.

If we're talking overall greatness here across his entire career, I can't see any reason to not go with the whole thing. Sure some of those parts (GIR definitely a big part) of his game may be bigger influencers on his performance but to be as great as he is it's gotta be the whole package. Maybe if the question was which of those things contributed more to that greatness then I think I'd probably say his ballstriking but as the question is worded I'm sticking with the whole package.

I wanted to choose hitting it perfectly just because that is, for me, more enjoyable during any given round BUT it depends on when you ask. I think I'd enjoy the lower scores afterwards more even if I was not enjoying the round itself. If you ask in the middle of a round where I'm grinding out pars and sweating bullets trying to shoot a decent score I'd probably say I hated it without hesitation. On the flip side, I'd probably not mind not scoring that well if I was striking it perfectly during the round but I might be a bit miffed afterwards counting the score. Overall though, lower scores bring me back time and time again so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@iacas What does the toe balancing upwards mean for your stroke? We know what putters in various degrees of toe hang are for and what face balanced putters are for but I wasn't sure what kind of stroke, if any, would be preferable for this style of putter.

Hello everyone! One of the assistant pros at my work bought a new putter and it has a unique feature I’ve never seen in a putter. The putter is an edel E-3. It’s listed online as a torque balanced putter and I was wondering if anyone was familiar with this kind of putter and if torque balancing is an actual thing or marketing mumbo jumbo.

welp, that seems to be a common theme huh? Are there any drills I can work to help me with that or is it just a physical strength issue?

Definitely a different feeling here. Almost feels like a half swing but gets me in a good position at the top and I was able to get just a bit more forward at impact than before. One other question for you @iacas. Does it seem like my hips get a bit too open at impact? My hips look to be somewhere around 60-65* open. Shouldn't it be closer to 40-45* at impact?

I was just thinking this morning that my excessively long swing may be a contributing factor to my inability to get my hands forward considering the distance they have to cover compared to my hips. I'm playing today and will make a concerted effort to make what feels to be 3/4 swings and see how that works.

I've been Playing Golf for: 6 years My current handicap index or average score is: 1.3 My typical ball flight is: push-fade The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: draw Videos: Hi all, First off, I apologize for video quality. Youtube compressed my videos to hell and back and I'm not entirely sure how to keep that from happening. ANYWAYS I've got a couple of swings for y'all to check out DTL and FO. These are mainly just for people to check for any glaring issues with the swing other than the obvious overswing. Believe me, I've been working on my swing length for a LONG time. One thing in specific that I'd like to work out is how in the face on view, the shaft is in a completely vertical position. I'd like to get into a little more of a shaft leaning forward, hands in front of ball position. My lower body and core have always been much stronger than my upper body/arms. I feel like this may contribute to my inability to get my hands forward at impact. Comments and feedback greatly appreciated!

Like what @allenc said, blades are honestly unnecessary even for the best players. With current club technology you can get a players iron that has much more forgiveness than a typical blade and still has the capacity to work the ball left/right. I took the route you're considering by buying a set of Mizuno MP-4 blades when I was around a 18-19 handicap. Were it not for my world class stubbornness I would've given the game up long before I learned to use those clubs. If you're looking for a fair challenge to keep you working on your game without getting discouraged, I'd look into clubs like the new JPX-919's, the i210's from ping, or the AP2's from titleist. Honestly, the only thing limiting you with your clubs would maybe be the shafts you have. When/If you do get new clubs I would try to make sure your clubs have shafts that will fit your swing. That will go a long way in making sure any problems you see in your game are resulting from your swing and not from your clubs.

Since, as @iacas said, amatuers more typically draw the ball with a de-lofted clubface, would the miss not be bigger with a low hook than a high slice? A lower lofted club can generate a much more significant tilt in the D-Plane than a higher lofted club right? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Draw/Equal I'm pretty sure I think the draw is cooler just because of a form of social conditioning. As long as I can remember, I've been told by various people, including the instructors I've taken lessons from, that the draw was the perfect result of a perfect golf swing. I was told the draw was the 'pro shot'. I know better now that's not necessarily true but whenever I see a perfectly executed draw I can't help but get a little misty-eyed...