iggywriter

Today I shot a 99. One of my season goals has been breaking 100 consistently; I didn't expect it to happen so early, and so quickly. I played Rackham again today, and I felt like it was going to be a good day from the start. With my strong finish Sunday, I felt like this round could be special. I parred the first hole (the first time I've ever done that at any course). My drive off the tee was very good (long and straight), but I managed to find my way into a chip situation over the back of the green. I made a fairly decent chip with my 8 iron, and then hit the best putt of my life (20 feet or so) for the save. Throughout the front 9, I managed to par 4 times (twice on par 4's, twice on par 3's), and shot a 41 (par 36). Going into the back 9, I felt really confident. I had played pretty well on the back 9 on Sunday, and I thought the same would happen today. It ended up a disaster, and I shot a 58 to close out my round. The driver ended up being the biggest problem; I just couldn't find the fairway, and I couldn't keep the second shot in good position like I did for most of the front. I finished the final 3 holes 6 - 6 - 6 (Par 3, 4, and 4 respectively). I think I made a major mistake after finishing #16: I had caught up to the group ahead of me, and had some time to kill, so I added up my score and found that I had a good chance to shoot in the mid 90's if I played boggy down the stretch. The triple at #16 about knocked the breath out of me, and the tee shot on #17 went wide right, and managed to find the only tree without a clear view at the pin... on #18, another bad tee shot led me to trying to be creative on my 3rd shot (I ended up with what looked like a pretty good out from the sand, only to end up nearly skirting off the green). I should have two putted, but I missed a very manageable 8 footer (it was just too fast and lipped out of the cup). To be honest, I'm really surprised the third putt sank, because I really thought I was going to blow the round and end up with 100. The positives from today: - The front 9 I played what I would consider excellent golf for myself - I found the fairway on most of my drives through the front 9, and once on the back - My short game has really improved in the last two weeks or so; I have spent some time learning how to chip and run with the 8 iron, and the versatility here probably saved a few strokes today. - My mid -short iron play was mostly on point; I managed a pretty creative play out of the bunker on #12 with my #6 that was the highlight of the back - My putter is mostly good; I hit at least one putt from 20 feet, and few others from 10 or longer. I mostly two putted again today. - The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was just wonderful to play today. I worked this morning and wasn't sure if I'd get the chance to get out. The negatives: - The back 9 was a disaster - The driver on the back 9 - Still not getting quite enough distance on my irons (I hit my 7 around 130 yards) - My mental collapse down the stretch when I felt pressure for the first time this season. - I missed at least two birdies on the front nine today (both on the par 3's; both times I two putted after having make-able putts) Listen, this might not be interesting to most of you here, but this felt really great today. A few years ago when I was playing regularly, I got into the grove at the end of the season and was consistently breaking 100. Doing so today, in my fourth round of the season, was a pleasant surprise. I'm hoping to do this consistently this year, and I really think with the progress I've been making, and the advice some of you have given me, has really helped. I don't believe that breaking 90 at some point this year is impossible, but that's a wish list item right now.

I'm really happy to report that today, for the first time in about two years (I took some significant time off playing due to financial limitations) I shot a 99. Breaking 100 was a mid season goal for me, and consistently breaking 100 is the goal for the season. This felt really good!

I haven't played many of the more prestigious courses, but I remember that the one time I played River Rouge in Detroit, it was a massive challenge. The greens play very fast, and the course features some rather amazing elevation changes (considering that the city and most of the midwest is mostly flat, it's very surprising). The front 9 at Rackham has always given me problems for whatever reason; the back 9 is where I usually play fairly decent. Down in Alabama, many members of my family are members of Inverness Country Club. I haven't played the course since the redesign, but it was always challenging, and beautiful.

Yesterday, winds were at least 20mph and that was challenging. The worst weather I've played in had very high winds (probably 20-30 mph) and it started to rain. I actually had a really good time on that course, because I was playing the only course that I know of in the Metro Detroit area which is a Scottish style, heathland course. It felt like playing oversees that day, and the experience has made Blackheath my favorite course in the area.

Haha I was totally exaggerating, folks. In all seriousness, I've notice one of the major factors that leads to me not making good contact with the ball is feeling rushed because of groups plying up behind me, and slow play ahead of me. This was certainly the case yesterday. When the course opened up on the back 9 (because the group ahead of me only played 9, and the group I was with only played 9, so I was able to get a nice cushion alone) everything became much more enjoyable, and my driving and iron play ended up better. I mean, skill wise, it's still not very good, but I'm learning, and the back 9 yesterday made me feel like a real golfer because it was the first time this season that I felt like I actually could reach a par 4 or a par 5 in time to make par.

75% of Golf has to be mental. Today, I played a Donald Ross course for the first time in about two years. The course is right around the corner from where I live (Rackham; designed in 1924, but received heavy modifications to the front nine in 1983. The back 9 still play almost exactly to the design of Ross, and the front 9 are certainly in his spirit.) and it's been a favorite of mine since I started playing. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I love Ross courses (I've played at least three, maybe four...the origins of Detroit's River Rouge are unclear, but it feels like a Ross course and it has been speculated that he designed the course because it was built roughly around the same time that Rackham, Warren Valley, and Oakland Hills were). My tee time was at 12:52 but I didn't tee off until about 1:15 due to groups ahead of me. Winds were very heavy, and I was incredibly nervous because my previous practice session at the range had gone poorly. I took out my Orlimar Trimetal Driver and hit, and immediately regretted the swing. I was playing behind a family for the first hole, and I had troubles with my swing and making contact. I somehow managed a 6 on a par 5 without actually getting any good shots. I joined up with the family starting on hole two because a group behind me was catching up and the group ahead of us was a foursome. We played together thru 8, when I decided to play ahead because the group in front had finished and there was an opening to play faster as a solo. With the family, I managed very few good shots. I had a nice save from a green side bunker that came out 4 feet from the pin. I managed some decent drives towards the end of our time together; but it wasn't with the Orlimar. The other day, I managed to stumble across a relatively nice Spalding Dan Spikes Persimmon Driver. I loved the way it looked (I'm a sucker for classic clubs) and I bought it for $2. I put it in the bag today, because I wanted to see if I could manage to hit the thing. The first two attempts with the Persimmon ended exactly as you would have expected an inexperienced, high handicapper, to hit one. But I stuck with it, mostly because I was afraid of going back to the driver I knew from previous rounds wasn't doing me any favors. The back nine was were I started to feel like a real golfer. The kinks in my swing that had plagued me through the front nine started fading away. On the #9, I hit my first really great drive with the Persimmon and I started feeling confident. I relaxed and began hitting the clubs, getting solid contact and nice distance, and finding myself within par. I hit a terrible pitch and ended up boggying the hole, but on #10 I managed another really solid drive that found the fairway, and again found myself with a chance at par, before two putting and boggying again. Throughout the back 9 I drove the Persimmon onto 7 fairways, and missed the fairway to the left only slightly twice. The game is so much easier from the fairway than the rough, and my iron play started to go my way. Below are a few pictures, including the best tee shot of my life and the approach I had for my second shot on a par 4. I ended up with a par here (the first of the season for me) after another bad pitch left me with a two putt situation. The last comment of mention should be that on the #12 (another par 4) there's this blind tee shot with a slight elevation change. The fairway and the pin are hidden from view of the tee box by this massive bunker. Again, here I played the Persimmon and I knew that I had to just clear the bunker and I'd be okay. The shot felt amazing, and the sound that came off the driver was like a baseball making contact with a well swung bat. I'm not sure exactly how far I drove it, but I did take out the Orlimar Tri Metal and gave a pretty good swing with it. I out drove the Orlimar with the Persimmon by about 15 yards.

It's hard these days to keep politics out of things, especially when someone in public life owns something you enjoy. That being said, I really don't care if the President owns a course or not; given the chance, there are several Trump courses I'd love to play; the number 1 course on my bucket list is Turnberry, and yes I would play in a heartbeat given the chance.

The City of Detroit courses always seem near death; but recently, Palmer Park was finally shutdown. I played it twice during its last season and both experiences were terrible. The course needed so much work that playing it seemed next to impossible! The back nine had been flooded and closed for at least three years before the city shut it down for good. two of the three remaining courses in the city are jems; Rackham is where I first broke 100 and where I’ve shot my lowest round. But, given the lack of investment by the city in the courses, I’m afraid it’ll be gone one day soon.

I figured there had to be a few like this still in the UK. I get what you're saying with the PGA / USGA / R&A/ Golf England etc. , but places like these seem like such a good place to introduce kids and adults to the game for the first time. Partnership with the First Tee program (which Buhl park does do) seems like an ideal way of maintaining the relevance of these courses. One of the many reasons I think so many people don't start playing the game, especially when they have families and limited income, is because of the expense that comes into the game. I know I had to take some serious time away due to my own financial limitations in the past. Fortunately, there's a great muni course near my house that's pretty affordable to play ($12 for 9 walking; $20 for 18. $8 for 9 before 9 AM). With the great reduction or decline in courses remaining pretty steady throughout most of the USA, I'm wondering if re designating old courses as public parks (and still keeping say 9 holes instead of 18 or how many the city courses closing down used to have) would be possible. In my city, we used to have two 18 hole public courses maintained by the city. ROGC is still open, but Normandy Oaks has been shut down for years, due to dramatic decline in sales (something like close to 45% by the time they decided to shut the doors a few years ago). The city is now investing close to 4 million to turn it into a public park, and I'm curious as to what it would have cost if they had decided to keep a few holes for short game practice or even 9. In any regard, the new park will be a wonderful addition to the city, but it's sad to see a course just die.

No, obviously you're right in that it's not free, but only free - to - play. I guess where I'm coming from is sort of a roots thought here, because many of the first courses were played on publicly designated land, like St. Andrews. I'm sure that Buhl Farm's isn't the nicest course, but there's something incredibly beautiful about the fact that the course has never charged Green Fees. Oh man, you've been missing out 😉 In all seriousness, I'm likely going to drive down and play it in a month or so. You're more than welcome to come play a round with me (though I'd likely slow you down a bit).

I came across this article the other day: The Pennsylvania golf course that hasn't charged greens fees in more than 100 years Over 100 years ago, Buhl Park Golf Course opened as one of the best bargains in golf. Anyone could play free of charge. It remains that way today. It's got me thinking about taking a weekend trip and playing a few rounds when the weather gets nicer. Has anyone here played the course? The other thing that this article made me think about is really basic: Why aren't there more free courses out there? Can you think of any? I understand maintenance fee's alone would cost close to $200k, but you've gotta think that through sponsorship with the PGA, or the USGA, there would have to be some way of feasibly creating a series of true public links throughout the country. Thoughts?

I've honestly never been a fan of Rickie Fowler for whatever reason. He just rubs me the wrong way. Kuchar is probably the guy I'm loathing right now, with all the drama this season.

Players - N/A Masters - Tiger Woods PGA Championship - Rickie Fowler US Open - Tiger Woods British Open - Bryson Dechambeau FedEx - N/A

Hard to really capture the history of the sport with four names. If I had to pick, it'd be: Bobby Jones - The most dominate player of his generation; perhaps the greatest to ever play the game. Still relevant on tour today with the Masters, the brand that carries his name, and the Scholarship partnership between Emory and St. Andrews. Arnold Palmer - He made the open relevant again. American's were simply not traveling to the UK to play in Golf's oldest, and most important championship (with the exception of Snead & Hogan, no American won the tournament from 1934 - 1960). Palmer brought glamour and style to the game, and looked better in a polo than anyone since. Gary Player - I'm surprised to see his name missing from so many lists. Player was one of the most dominate golfers of his generation, and has basically served as a global ambassador to the game. He won 9 Majors (including the Career Slam), and has been a force in course design. The last name is tricky. We could put Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, or any other number of greats on the list here. But I want to really go back to one of the most important, historic figures of the game: Donald Ross - Practically invented American course design; Oakland Hills, Pinehurst #2, East Lake, Scioto, etc. Anyone who has gotten the privilege to play one of his courses can't help but fall in love with him; I've played two (perhaps three; there's some debate as to whether or not he designed River Rouge in Detroit as no records were kept, but the course has a familiar Ross layout). Another way of looking at this question would be to think about the four greatest courses, from design perspective, and have them represent golf. For me, those four courses would be Royal Dornoch, St. Andrews, Pinehurst #2, and Pebble Beach.

For anybody interested, I came across this while browsing for some new polo shirts. It's a series of tips from Greg Norman (he's always been my favorite golfer; the 2008 Open was where I really feel for his style of play...of course, that Open was eclipsed by Tom Watson's incredible 2009 Open) and there seems to be some really interesting material here. I'm curious if the advice seems sound to some more experienced members here. Greg Norman's Golf Tips Golf has its trying moments, even for Greg Norman. So when you want to know how to stay out of those bunkers, hit a flock of birdies and eagles, and play better than par, this will suit you to a tee. It will help with ideas on...

The only reason I haven't done this yet is that I generally play solo, and practice on my own. I'm thinking about starting some lessons with the club pro again, and seeing where that will take me. Once I can get someone to capture the swing on video for me, I will totally post it.

Okay, So this is going to be an interesting post (I hope!). The last two trips have been range trips. I've reviewed the links and watched a few videos in the last few days, and things are starting to click a little more for me. The first thing of note: Ben Hogan's Five Lessons is going to become my bible. I've started working with the grip and figuring out just exactly where to stand. I think I'm getting close here; because I'm making much better contact, and I'm starting to get a feel as to where exactly the club face is making contact with the ball during the strike. My SGI's, while wonderful for lowering scores, is kinda hard to use to figure out exactly how to make changes to the swing. I just don't get enough feedback or feel to understand things the way I would like. I ended up searching for a blade for this purpose, and lo and behold: I managed to purchase a Wilson Staff FG-17 3 iron and PW for a combined total of $2 (Salvation Army find). Believe it or not, the clubs are in pretty damn good shape; they could use some new grips, but otherwise, they look rarely played. I took the FG-17's to range today with the hopes of seeing if I could manage to hit the things. I really wasn't hopefully when I took a leap of faith and bought them. The first thing of note is that I can hit the PW about as well as I can hit the PW from my SGI Wilson set. I like the way the club feels; it's incredibly smooth and has this unbelievably smooth feeling when correct contact is made. I've never felt anything like it. The 3 Iron scared me; I've never tried to hit one before, and frankly, I would have preferred a 7 iron, but there wasn't one to be found. The first few swings with it were absolutely terrible. I wasn't making contact, or when I did, it hooked really far right (about 160 yards straight, and then another 20 yards with the hook). I took a break from them and went back to my standard clubs, and found that I started hitting the 7 iron consistently straight and about 140 yards. Towards the end of my session today, with only 25 or so balls left, I decided to spend the time focusing on the swing with the 3 iron. I discovered that I was standing too far away from the ball. I stepped in a little bit; I relaxed my hands in the grip (I tend to hold the club super tight), and I practiced the wobble. I gave a swing and knew it was bad before I looked to see where the ball was going; I could feel that I toed it, and I could feel that contact hit the mat first before striking the ball, and that little bit of vibration in my fingers let me know that if I did it again, it'd sting just a little bit more. I really didn't want to feel that sting; so I took another ball, found my stance and loosened my grip again, wobbled, and took a few practice swings. I remembered to lead with my hips this time, instead of my arms, and when I made contact with the ball it was so smooth and beautiful feeling. I can't really describe how it felt; it was just the most satisfying swing. The ball coasted upwards and I could see it still climbing, and then gently dropping out of the air. It carried past the 150 sign; probably about 160 - 165 and then a friendly bounce gave the roll at least another 10 yards or so. I repeated the swing, and got similar results on about half of my remaining balls. Each good swing felt really good; each bad swing felt really bad, but I instantly knew where the face made contact, and was able to adjust for the next shot again and again. I know I'm not going to be able to actually play blades anytime in the near future, but I think these Wilson's can provide enough to help me work on the mechanics of the swing, and work with my playing clubs better. This is probably going to be controversial, and I understand if a bunch of you think I'm insane, or just inexperienced, or whatever. Maybe all of that's true; but I felt something really good today on the range and I feel like I accomplished a great deal.

On Vinsk's recommendation, I have looked over the links he has sent me. I'm going to be trying to incorporate some of the stuff into my game moving forward. Today, I went out and played rd 2 on the season, and had much better overall results. RD 2 in Review: I played this little executive course near my house (Red Oaks) that was designed by Jerry Matthews. It's a short 9 hole course, but has some nice elevation changes, and the 7th hole is a very long Par 4 that might border on being a Par 5. Par for the course is 31, and I shot a 46 ( +15) which is certainly better than the 120 + I shot during my opening round of the season (I'm feeling like this round would have played like a 104 on a traditional, Par 72 course). The big difference today was that the short game played well, and I did manage to get some more distance off the tee when I took out my driver. I still sliced from time to time on the driver, and my 4 iron, but overall I played much more consistent and felt better about things. My putting was on point today, as I two putted every hole except the last hole (I ended up three putting it for a horrible 6. This after I missed a very makeable putt for par due to a miscue; the second putt lipped off the side of the cup.) Outside of the last hole, I think I played fairly decent considering my lack of experience with the game. I had a nice stretch of four holes where I boogied every one (I know that doesn't sound all that good, but I was pleased with the results after mostly double and triple boogying everything in my first round). The first hole at the course is one that I always struggle with. When I was playing it twice a week (about three years ago) I never shot better than a 7 on it. Today, I shot a 6! That felt good, and it would have been better if I didn't have that horrible slice off the tee. I need to really work on the driver at the range. This might become the course I play the most. The things that I like about it really outweighs the things I like about most other courses in the area. First, it has elevation changes; most courses in Southeastern Michigan are very, very flat. This one has nice, rolling hills. The third hole (par 3) has a water hazard (the only one on the course). Hole 5 has a beautiful dogleg right (same with the last hole). Depending on where your ball ends up, trees become a major factor on this course. On the fifth, I had a blind shot with my 8 over two trees and landed just off the green. The other major benefits of this course are: It's cheap ( $12 to walk; $22 with a cart), it usually isn't overbooked for tee times, it's well maintained (the Greens play beautifully), and the staff is generally very friendly. I've never had to worry about rangers in the past (though there is one guy who rides around the course). This is also a course I'm not all that embarrassed about with my poor play. The group of guys ahead of me were playing much worse than me! I felt pretty good, about that, actually (which probably sounds really bad; It was just nice to know that I wasn't the worse person out there!). Anyway, I might play again tomorrow or Friday, depending on work and if the weather stays beautiful. Here's the results from the score card: 6 4 4 4 5 5 7 5 6 ( #1, #5, #7, #9 are the Par 4's. The rest are Par 3's.) Also, on a side note: I'm really loving the Wilson Staff Duo Soft Balls. They play just incredibly well, and for the price, I don't think there's anything that can beat them ($18 for a dozen). I used to play the Callaway Chrome Soft, but I'm getting better results out of these Wilson's.

No, thank you so much for the thoughts and the links! I will certainly be checking them out, and working on my game. I want to get back down to at least the mid 90's for a season goal. I'm always wanting to improve! The game today was certainly enjoyable, despite the lack of success I felt on the course (I'm still kicking myself for over shooting on #4 because getting a birdie this early in the season would have been awesome!). If there's anything else you want to send my way, feel free to do so! Vinsk, Can I ask a really stupid question? Why does it seem like I can really just hit the 8 iron better than my 7 and get consistently better results, and almost the same amount of distance (I think I actually hit the 8 further than the 7 today; in past seasons, it also always seemed the case that the 8 iron would be my mid - short game go to choice). Is there any benefit to learning how to chip and run with the 8 or a traditional wedge? Again, I'm asking because historically, I've had better success with the 8 at the fringe than with my L or SW (I used to be really good with the SW out of traps, but that was about it).

Rd 1 in Review: I felt like hitting the course today, even though I knew it wasn't going to be the best conditions. It's been rainy the last few days, and the course of course was rather muddy. I decided to play the Royal Oak Golf Course because Rackham, my go to course, was kinda busy and I really only wanted to play the back nine (Rackham is a Donald Ross design, though the front 9 were significantly altered due to the creation of I 696; so if you want a real Donald Ross feel, the back 9 still remains mostly unchanged). The fourth hole at ROGC is it's real treasure. I'm pretty sure the course was designed by Jerry Matthews; it has the feel of a Matthews Natural Design course. The Greens were in pretty good shape, though playing slow today. About the only part of my game that felt rather good today was putting; I mostly two putted, though had a few single putts, and one three put. Off the tee, my driver was pretty horrible for the first three holes; I kept hitting really far to the right. I corrected by aiming more to the left, and from 4 on, my drives were mostly consistent (I managed to make the fairway on 3 of the last 5 holes off the tee). Iron play was hit or miss. I hit my 8 iron three times with really good results. My 4 iron was my go to club today because I walked with my Sunday Bag and decided against carrying the 3 wood. I did pretty well with the 4, though I did manage a few bad tops, and one or two slices. The real issue today was wedges. I just couldn't hit a wedge to save my life. I had one good recovery with my sand wedge of out a trap that resulted in a single putt, but otherwise it was really bad. I'm going to be spending some time in the backyard and at the range this week really focusing on my short game. In all fairness, I haven't practiced with a wedge in about two years, and it really showed. It used to be the best part of my game. I didn't keep score today because that really wasn't something I wanted to deal with, but I mostly doubled and triple boogied from memory. I had a chance at a birdie on #4, but made a really stupid call. #4 plays slightly uphill and over water. I had about 120 yards from the pin to go, and because I was carrying my Sunday bag, I had decided not to carry my 9 iron, which I really thought was the right club for the shot. I decided to hit my trusty 8 iron (my favorite club and the one I usually hit the best), because I figured it'd be safer than working with the pitching wedge due to the water hazard. I over shot the green, and ended up boogieing the hole (this ended up being the best hole for me on the day).

Totally understand. My apologizes. I'm not trying to offend anyone here. This is again more of my own sorta understanding that I'm finding out as I go along this season (I will refrain from specifically using terms like "you" when I'm referring to myself).

No worries! It's different with everyone, right? I think more of what I'm trying to say is that the body movement shouldn't feel all out of wack. When I was hitting yesterday, that was how I started. I could feel the ting roll down my arms and into my hands with every mishit, and my back was contorting in the wrong way, so it felt painful. A little while later I noticed when I wasn't so much thinking about it, everything seemed effortless. It felt like my body was just moving the way it naturally would, with the motion. I had to remember to pivot, but that was about it. The result felt really good, and when I focused my attention on keeping eye contact, the results just drastically changed. Things seemed to flow naturally. Anyway, it took about 100 - 125 balls for me to figure this out, and it's something I'm going to half to work at on the range and on the course. We'll see if the results turn out better!

Feel free to disagree all you want 🙂 . I'm talking more I think about what's working for me. I still obviously need to test it out on the course, but in practice there was a HUGE difference. That's interesting you're still pulling, slicing, topping, etc. Heck, I don't know what causes it, but mine seemed to resolve with this little change. Maybe it's something else with the back swing? I took lessons with a PGA coach a few years (during the season my score starting to drop, and by the end, the last three rounds all broke 100; first time I did that) so I would totally recommend seeing a coach if you want; video of the swing helps a lot and gives some good insights, though I'm starting to become convinced that 90 percent of the game is overthinking it all and getting frustrated, which leads to even more mistakes. That was a takeaway at the end of my season that I was breaking 100. Anyway, thanks for reading, I appreciate the thoughts and would love to hear more 🙂 That's what they say, right? I don't know. My first two seasons or so were miserable and I couldn't figure out how to hit an iron to save my life (I was playing some worn out, hand me down Hogan Apex irons at the time, so switching to a SGI significantly helped me out on the course. I'm thinking about picking up an old Wilson Staff FG 53 6 or 7 iron just for working on mechanics of the swing) Thanks for reading. Feel free to share some of your experiences and results here as well! 🙂

Hi folks, So I wanted to do something a little fun. I've been a golfer on and off now for the last seven years. Three years ago, I had my best season (I started off averaging about 120, and by the end of the season, managed to start breaking 100 on a regular basis). Last year, due to financial limitations, I only played four rounds. This year, I'm going to be out there at least once a week! So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to keep this thread going, and after each round at a course, or practice at the range, give everyone who wants to read it, an update with some thoughts, or ramblings about golf in general. So let's get this thing started: DAY 1: It's been close to year since I've been out to the range or a course. The weather was a nice 42 F with little rain, but some winds. I called my favorite little executive course and found out they're opening on Monday should the weather be good enough. I NEED to see if I can even remember how to swing a club. I grab my 7 iron, 4 iron, and driver and hit up the Royal Oak Golf Center. I get the balls, stretch, and give a few practice swings with my 7 iron. I'm playing the same irons I bought 3 years ago, when I decided I wanted to be a "serious" golfer (whatever that means!). They're these Wilson Reflex Irons Dicks Sporting Goods sold me for about $250. I almost bought a set of Strata's that year, but decided I liked the way the Wilson's looked, and I was vaguely aware of the history of Wilson Staff irons, so it felt like a cool thing to get. They have this mat black polish around the head, with red offsetting the black. I take five balls and line up for the first swing. It feels really awkward. I'm looking around at all the other golfers who seem to have flawless swings, and I'm nervous because I just know this isn't going to go well. There's this woman three or four lanes away from me and she's obviously just taken up the game, because she keeps topping the shots. Her boyfriend is trying to help her out, but she's just doing her thing. I smile and feel a little better about myself. I focus on the ball and take my first swing. I top it and it flies like 30 yards down in front of everyone else's lane. It's like that scene in Tin Cup when he's first arriving at the driving range for the US Open and he can't seem to get rid of the shanks. I shank three, maybe ten more. I step away and look around. Nobody cares, and then I remember I'm all alone. It doesn't matter at all. I need to find my swing, because I really want to start playing again. I line up behind another ball, take a deep breath, and have my first really good swing of the club. I can feel when it's a good swing, because it feels natural, and the ball seems to float up in the air, before landing and taking a bounce. I hit a few more with mixed results. I switch to the 4 iron. The 4 iron I'm hitting really well; 165 yards! I'm not understanding what the difference between why my swing is working with a 4 iron, but is hit or miss with the 7 iron. I switch to the driver (an old Olimar Tri Metal from the 90s), start off with huge slices. Switch back to the 4 iron; no issue. I'm really starting to wonder what's going on. I slow things down, and then make a discovery: right before the club contacts the ball, I'm breaking eye contact with every shot that's not using the 4 iron. With the 4 iron, I'm concentrating so much that I'm allowing myself to access swing mechanics appropriately. I go back to the 7 iron, remember to keep good eye contact, and every single one of the next 15 balls I hit end up at 130 yards and right at the spot I'm aiming. I go to the driver, repeat the same process, and I'm mostly hitting straight and at about 220 yards (still a slice on a few shots here and there, but overall much more consistent and a better feeling). The end of the practice session was good, but the struggle was real for a while. Finding the swing was really hard because of the lack of practice in the last year or so. I had to constantly remind myself that this is a simple game; it's a simple thing. I think we tend to overthink the game, and the swing, too much. It's also helpful, I think, to remember that at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter all that much, because we're out there to have fun and enjoy life. I went to a few stores afterwards and looked at some nice things (bought some Wilson Staff Duo balls for the season and am looking for a Sunday bag because I want to walk courses not ride) and I'm really looking forward to the season. That first round is going to be a nightmare, but I don't care. I probably won't even keep score! So, here's the three main takeaways: 1. The swing should feel natural. If it doesn't feel natural, you're doing it wrong. 2. This is a really simple game and it's helpful to remind oneself of that simplicity; keeping calm and cool is better than getting frustrated and upset. I don't think I understood that when I first starting playing. This is meant to be fun, not frustrating. 3. Keep you eye on the ball at all times and do not anticipate the contact between the club and the ball, otherwise you will pull, slice, top, shank, etc. Eye contact will certainly almost always give you a good and consistent result if your swing feels natural.

Hi Everyone, I'm Joe and I'm from the Metro Detroit area. I was a member on here about 5 or so years ago, until I just stopped playing because of a bunch of personal and family stuff. Anyway, it's good to be back. Looking forward to some great conversations, and hearing about how the season goes for all of our members.