Scott_K

I'd want one of these. http://www.perfectputtingmachine.com/

I went to the US Open last year at Bethpage for a couple of days. I waited about an hour in the rough at #4 to catch a glimpse of Tiger. It was dead silent as he was deciding which club to hit. As he pulled his 5 wood (I think it was) everyone let out an "Ooooo". He cranked it out with one of his casual swings. I was then almost killed by the crowd trying to keep up with him. It was like a swarm of bees. If you can, spend some time watching them on the range. They hit all sorts of different trajectories. It is really amazing how they're like snipers out there.

I make a conscious effort and focus on the point of where the ball once was when thin shots creep in. The momentum of the swing brings my head up. Possibly you just had an off day at the range.

Zeph, I'm not sure what club head throwaway is. Are you blocking the ball out to the right ? I have a similar problem where my lower body starts moving during the transation from my backswing to my downswing. I've tried to add a pause at the top, but have not had too much success. I am past parallel at the top and actually see my driver head out of the corner of my eye at the top. My hips and shoulders are open at impact, resulting in the block shot to the right. Where is your head throughout the swing ? What contributes to my blocked shot is that my head is kind of with the ball at impact instead of behind it. One thing that is helping me out right now is the video where Dave is throwing the rock/bolder. It's the same site as ball flight laws, but I'm blocked right now, so can't find the link. His demonstration of this helped me realize a way of keeping my head behind the ball. This is still work in progress for me, but towards the end of my last range session, I started belting my driver pretty well.

It sounds like you're having "blow up" holes. Most of your round you're actually scoring around your capability, but a couple of holes, you just have a disaster and give up on your game. I encounter this with my game as well. For example, I'll hit a bad tee shot on a par 4, but hit a good trouble shot to put myself with an oppurtunity for an up and down. At that point though, I'll be still upset with myself for the tee shot which is well behind me. It distracts me of hitting the proper wedge shot at hand. I might end up carding a 6 or 7 because of a few sloppy shots. I basically lose the hole on the walk from the tee to the 2nd shot. I focus too much on the bad tee shot rather than good low hooking 4iron I hit from the trees. I noticed this "blow up" occur on a few scorecards and picked up Dave Pelz Damage Control book. Nothing earthshattering yet, but it's shed some light on my thought process of course management.

My driving is streaky. I like to go after it so probably end up in that 90-100% area. When I drop to the 80% range, it feels like I'm stearing it too much. Looking to change the shaft to keep the dial set at "grip n rip". My good shots have about a 5 to 10 yard fade, but I do hit a few into the trees and lose a couple per round.

My irons are a little over 10 years old. I thought the Hogans were an underrated set back then. I also couldn't afford the DCIs. My Driver is from last year. It was kind of a quick buy just to get myself back in the game. I had to buy a gap wedge because the new driver put me into this "gap" territory. Putter is one of the first odesseys (I think) that had inserts. Back then, there was a choice of Blue, Black and Green. Each with their own "firmness" feel. I thought it was a cool idea back then and felt good. My SW is the oldest club in the bag, it's practically bald but I use it for pretty much every shot inside 100. Old clubs kind of have their own personality.

Cool. I love'd the driver out of the box, but then started to let it rip a little more and it gets a little loose. Good luck, hope it works out.

pchaney301, which burner do you have ? The '07 or the '09 ? I'm thinking of going with the V2 stiff 65. SS is like 105-112 last i checked. The stock shaft in my '09 kicks the ball too high and feels like a noodle latley.

Red, Blue, Green and Yellow didn't go up, did they ? I remember paying around $50 for Red last year with reservation fee and #1 and #18 under construction. Who am I kidding, I'll still play Beth and IKE.

I found this interesting. I've been reading a number of threads (sway your hips, not releasing the club and ball flight laws) to get a better understanding of my driver swing. Combining some of the ideas in those threads along with strenghthing my grip a little, I've been able to cut down my dispersion with the driver which is my nemisis. Watching the masters, I picked up on stronger grip when they kept refering to Freddie. As for flattening the plane, I find it feels like I'm squatting too much. So far it's been better control, but the ball tends to go sky high.

I mainly play 2 groups of muni's by me (3 at on, 5 at the other). The fairways differ and I notice I can take divots easily on some tracks, while others are a little less forgiving. I've learned to come in a little shallower on the hardpan fairways and only clip out the grass roots. The trajectory is different, the spin is different, but that's making adjustments to the track you play.

Short term, I'd try to tee it a little higher/move forward to see if it works. Long term, I'd work on the legs. I'm about 6' tall, very thin, very lanky. I generate clubhead speed by using a big sweeping arc. My cousin who's probably around 5'8" is a walking muscle (runs marathons, ironmans, cycles, etc.). His swing is pretty compact, but he's able to generate a lot of power from his legs up. Flexibility is always important as well, but at 14, you're probably pretty flexible. Good luck in your tournament.

I had a pair of Nikes (pre Tiger days) that fell apart about half way through a season. The soles came apart at the heel and would flop up and down. I prefer FJ Dryjoys and never had a problem with them. Although this season, I'm starting with a budget pair of Adidas I picked up at an outlet. 500 hundred right turns ? Zoolander ?

When my feet are too wide, my lower body feels like it gets a too stiff. I also tend to have more lateral movement swaying instead of turning in the backswing. I'll hit the ball more toward the right when I do this, but will hit it straighter if I turn in the backswing instead of sway. With my driver, I aim to keep my feet about shoulder width apart. As I go through the irons, it gets continues to get narrow.

This is usually due to deceleration. Whenever faced with a pitch or chip, I try to hit my actual shot the same as my practice swings. The tempo and speed have to match ( or as close as possible). I'd love to have your fairway percentages. Whatever you're doing there, keep doing it.

I've noticed I hit the ball further when my right elbow drops in the slot. I also feel the torque built up in the backswing is more efficient and the overall swing is more towards the effortless effort end of the spectrum. I do experience the flipping action as explained by Gioguy21. I don't practice enough to keep my timing in check. I like the figure skater analogy here. When skaters tuck in their arms and legs, they are able to spin faster. When right elbow drops in closer to my body, the hands are closer as well and the speed is there. The arc is tighter as well. This is mostly with my driver. My irons are fairly predictable, but I think the club weight is a factor for me.

I love the way he stares at the ball when it's in the air. Always like to see him in contention.

TW, As far as the thoughts, I rely on the mindset that the bottom of the arc is in front of the ball. I stare at the back of the ball as I've never felt comfortable looking at the front of the ball. It just doesn't work for me. I also have a foward press to iniate my swing which over the years lead me to "good" divots. It also ties into the bottom of the arc idea. By the time I return to impact, the hands are ahead of the ball. My divots are usually deeper and longer with wedges and short irons, while my mid irons are usually just getting into the dirt. My long irons I'm just taking the grassroots out. So there's different levels of divots for me. When I don't execute properly, I run into too much of a pick or sweep and similarly end up a club short. The ball usually flies way to high and I know it as soon as the ball is in the air. Here's another thought. If you put a club on the ground and step on the face, the shaft will point into the air. The shaft line is kind of like the trajectory the ball will fly on. This isn't an exact science, but I try to explain this to others I teach. It helps envision the shot a little and rely on the clubhead to lift the ball into the air instead of helping it up with the swing. It helps keep the head down through the shot and let the head come up naturally with the follow through. I'm guessing you're past that part though.

For chipping and putting, I use an interlocking grip. My chip shot is pretty much the same as my putting stroke, except I use my SW instead of the putter and play the ball a little back in my stance due to the bounce on my wedge. The interlocking grip helps me keep my hands together and limits the wrist bend (more mentally than physically). Otherwise I'm a very handsy player with my pitch shots. Whenever you change a fundamental like the grip, it's natural that it won't feel comfortable right away. If you're comfortable with your current method, I'd keep using it, but I wouldn't discount any new methods. I'm looking to add a few new shots to my chipping and pitching game just so I have more options.

My range is open. They have last year's rocks and the winter curtains still up, but it was nice to make contact. Hopefully they'll cycle the rocks soon.

I'm in the market for one to keep it low and controlled for short tee shots. I'm reluctant to try a hybrid because of the height.

Congrats on breaking the barrier ! Don't let the disaster holes get you down, everyone has them. The fact that you were able to turn it around after them is what counts and will count in the long run. Keep that part in mind. Cheers !

I've done it in the past and should probably do it a couple of times this season (but I won't :)) I think it's a good way to strenghten your iron / wedge game. You can also try it with just 4 or 5 clubs. It will force you to learn those clubs and how to hit different shots. If you have scoring barrier, it is very possible to make a breakthrough this way.

In my earlier years my natural shot was a draw or straight. These days my natural shot is a fade. I can still draw the ball, but not as reliable/predictable my fade. Sometimes they just hang out there and don't come back in. If you can do both, more power to you. I think the more shots you have, the better off you are. If you can do it with different types of trajectories, that is really sweet.