Gytaryst

I never thought my last gig would be my last gig. Kind of a week turned into a month turned into a year turned into two years . . . I enjoyed being on stage performing, and when the audience was into it, hootin' and hollerin' that was a high unlike any other. The behind the scenes crap killed the joy for me. My wife always referred to it as "Band Drama." No matter what the other 3 or 4 members of any band agreed on, there was always one who had to fight it. I played guitar from the time I was 6. I don't remember a period in my life that my guitar wasn't a huge part of. I played in a church group when I was 10. I played for talent shows in school. I was in high school rock bands, thousands of jam sessions over the years, I don't know how many sit-ins and guest appearances with various bands, and countless bands and/or projects. It was literally the biggest part of my life. After one long-time band broke up I was involved in trying to get a three piece classic rock cover band off the ground in 2014. The joy was gone. After about two months of giving up every Saturday afternoon to practice, and still not being any closer to being gig ready, I called it quits. I had such a bad taste in my mouth that I decided to take a break and not just jump into something else. A year later, after having no desire to even take a guitar out of the case in all that time, I sold all my gear. My wife eventually bought me another acoustic guitar a few years ago because it bothered her that I don't play anymore. I've taken it out maybe a handful of times over the years and strum on it for a few minutes... it's just not the passion it once was. Now anytime I start thinking I might miss jamming or performing, I remember the "band drama" and that urge is gone immediately. I've also been drug and tobacco free for years. I traded in music for golf, then traded in golf for brewing beer. After a few years of brewing beer and gaining 50 pounds, I traded that in for golf again. I appreciate good craft beer, but I despise drunk. At the end of the night when I sit down to relax I sip on 1 or 2 quality beers. Whereas I used to slam down Budweiser by the case, I drink 1 or 2 a night and rarely do I drink the same beer twice. my experience in brewing gave me a whole new appreciation for the craft side of it. It appeals to the artistic creative side of me.

Yeah. I think that's probably the best tip I took away from all the responses. For much of my early working career I had physically labor intensive type jobs that kept me in fairly decent shape; construction, truck driver, bee keeper, lumber jack, prison guard, concrete worker, warehouse, etc. Then I injured my lower back and that ended the labor intensive stuff. I started putting on weight (mostly in my gut). A couple of years ago I hit 275, (the most I've ever weighed). I decided enough was enough, bought a $1,000 treadmill and started a rigorous treadmill program 2X a day. I didn't lose much weight but what I did do was blow out my right knee. Now I have a screwed up back and a bum knee and can't do the treadmill. Not making excuses - I know I have to buckle down and get busy. I've just never had this much trouble losing weight before. In fact, losing weight has never been an issue at all. I've always been a healthy weight for my frame, and I've always been in slightly above average shape. Being 80 pounds over weight and barely able to walk makes losing weight that much tougher. But that's the goal. I played guitar in bands most of my adult life. That was my hobby. I gave that up in 2014. There comes a time when you just look silly up there on stage trying to act like a rock star. I traded in all my musical gear for golf clubs and decided that would be my new hobby. That lasted about a year before I traded all my golf gear for beer brewing equipment. Brewing beer was my hobby from 2014 up until about 6 or 8 months ago. Got bored with it - sold everything... and then bought another set of clubs. So I have to overcome the past 5 years of brewing beer, a sedentary lifestyle, and gaining a massive amount of weight. But what else do I have to do

Yeah, my club head speed is around 80 and the golf pro told me that was good. My carry distance is only 130-140 and total is around 160. I usually get 2 or 3 drives per round that go 175-180. In the past 5 rounds I only hit over 200 once, (210), and in retrospect I'm thinking it had more to do with miscalculating than actual distance. I don't know - I'll keep plugging away for now I guess. Like I said, my step-son took a video of me on the tee a few years back and when I watched it I was amazed. I was only going back about half way on my back swing but it feels like I'm stretching myself back around like a pretzel. I'll focus on getting rid of this beer belly and see if that helps

Yeah. I could actually care less about what others think of me. I've been paired with guys who shoot in the 80's or low 90's quite a few times. It's uncomfortable. Everyone is all smiles and back slaps on the first tee and by the fourth tee everyone's just trying not to make eye contact. That's usually about the time I say, "Hey why don't you guys just go on ahead, I'm probably just slowing you down." You can see the relief wash over their faces as they say, "Are ya sure?" So it's not that I care what they think - I just don't like being in that position. And that's kind of the point of this whole thread. I enjoy it and I wouldn't mind pursuing it, taking some lessons, trying different clubs, different shafts... If it's a question of facing up to the fact that I'm probably never going to hit a 200 yard drive no matter what I do or how much I spend - I'm okay with that . I'll cut my losses and look for another hobby. What people think is the least of my worries

My club head speed is 80-85. I'm not very consistent on striking it square. I tend to fade (or slice) most shots. When it feels like a solid hit it usually goes pretty straight; no L to R or R to L. Ball speed is 110-115

Thank you. I would LOVE to see 190 carry, 210-215. I suppose if you can do that after 3 back surgeries I should be able to do it. That's the same driver I use (exactly). 10.5 Cobra F Max (Offset), Aldila HM regular flex shaft, 45" I'm 6' and big. I've always been fairly active and weighed 220 ish my entire adult life with a size 36" to 38" waist. Big and powerful, broad shoulders, big neck, not buff... but not fat. I was always average at sports; not a jock, but not the last one picked in gym class either. Middle of the road. I've had a couple golf pros tell me I'm using only my upper body and arms when I swing, (probably because of the lower back and knee issues). After I gave up golf the last time, 6 years ago, I sold my clubs and got into home brewing beer. Just as expensive but didn't require as much physical flexibility. As a result I now weigh 275, (all in my gut). I'm not looking to win any long drive competitions. But if you saw me I'm 6' tall and look like I could hold my own in a biker bar fight. I know distance doesn't have anything to do with size, or strength, or any of that - but 150 yard carry 170 yard total??? It's embarrassing. If that's all I'm capable of that's fine, I'll give up golf and look for something I'm good at. Golf pros charge for lessons. I've had 3 lessons in the past 5 or 6 years and I'm not sure I noticed any difference whatsoever before or after any of them, (other than the $50 to $60 deduction in the bank account).

Thanks everyone. I now realize I asked a question no one can answer. I guess I'm grasping at straws. I was hoping I'd get an "I was in your shoes exactly and now I hit it 240 consistently - here's what I did..." response. Right now the course I play is a winter "snow bird" resort community. 90% of the residents leave and go back to wherever from April to October. It's a nice course: par 72, 6,600 yards, 125 slope, 71 rating. It's 3 blocks from my house and I can play 18 holes with cart for less than $15 during the summer. I maybe see 2 or 3 other golfers the entire round. I play from the white tees which is (6,200 yards). As fun as it is to go out by myself and have all the freedom and all the time in the world to devote to just improving my game at my own pace, part of thrill of the game (for me) is thinking that I'm going to eventually improve enough to not be embarrassed if I'm paired with others. Yes - it's an ego thing. I'm not so competitive that I have to be the best - at the same time I don't want to always be the worst in the group either. So I'm just picked an arbitrary number of 200-220 yards off the tee. It seems like if I could consistently hit in that range, with an occasional 240+, and develop the skills for the rest of my game, I believe I could be good enough to not be worried about whether they pair me up with another group or not. If the chances are I'll probably never hit 200 consistently then I'll hang it up and find something else to occupy my time. I don't want to waste a bunch of time and energy on golf if I'm never going to be able to play at a mediocre level. I've had 3 lessons. One lesson I gave the guy $60 and he sat there texting on his phone while I hit balls with a launch monitor. Every now and then he'd say "Good job" or "Great swing." The last guy I only paid $40 and all I did was hit my 8 iron for an hour on a driving range - no launch monitor. I have no problem paying for lessons if they help. So far I'm not sure what the lessons did for me that I couldn't have done with youtube videos... but that's another topic. I know I'm not the only person in the history of the universe that's in my position. Just wondering if there was anyone out there with similar experience who could give me an idea of what I can expect. I don't want to have to play par 3 courses from the ladies tees just to "feel" like I'm doing well. I'd rather not play at all.

Hi, I've played (on and off) for years. I've always been a hack shooting in the 100-110 range. The lowest I've ever shot was probably 97 or 98. I stopped playing back in the 80's - life, work, parenting, college, all took up my time. I got back into it briefly in the late 90's for a couple of years, but again, things changed and I just stopped going. Third time's a charm? No. I retired in 2012 and was bored so I took up golf (once again) in 2013 -2014. I was older now with a lot of health issues. Mainly a severe bad back, very limited motion, and 80 pounds of extra flab I never had before. After a year of trying to get back into it, I could only ever drive the ball 180 yards, (and not consistently). I went out with my step-son and a friend of his (the last time I went out). They chose a course where you had to hit at least 200 yards just to get to the fairway. It was embarrassing. I sold my clubs and gave it up . . . again But I missed it, so I'm back at it again. I've been researching it a lot more. I've taken one lesson (which was just hitting the 8 iron). I tracked every shot on the last 5 rounds I played and my average drive is about 158, (total). Yesterday I took my old Cobra driver and a brand new TaylorMade M6 to a launch monitor and hit 100 balls. My average carry (with my driver) was probably 130-140 and my average distance was probably 155-160. I hit a few 178-182. Not very consistent at all. With the TaylorMade I did even worse. My question, given my bad back and crappy knees, is it possible with lessons that I might gain 20-40 yards? If I can't hit at least 200 consistently it's no fun playing.

Just joined. Marc from Phoenix