GamerJG

wow that bubba watson swing is amazing!! look at how wide his arc is and how he gets ridiculous lag. that is one powerful golf swing.

thats what works for you, all the better to you, i hope you get to scratch and continue to enjoy the game, that's what it's all about. like jharrell said we are different types of learners. what works for me is that i have ONE theory and i stick to it because it works. if something goes awry, i pinpoint it and fix it. i'm technical in my learning but i'm a feel player once i step on a golf course. remember it's not you against me or anyone else. it's you against the golf course so you worry about that lol.

exactly, there are different types of learners and we are pretty much the same. my whole reason for coming on this forum is to pick up tips that may help my game and also share some of my knowledge that can help others. i also enjoy talking "shop" so to speak with others like me who love golf. i was away from the game for so long that i want to absorb everything i can and share it with other golfers. i think it's fun. i'm not on here to come across as a know-it-all or i'm better or worse than anyone else. it's not a competition. golf should be fun.

From you comments, I don't think you respect teaching pros at all. Down to an 8 hcp in three months? You must be very talented.[/QUOTE] don't get me wrong i'm not claiming to be a know-it-all about golf and i respect your comments. my personal way of learning is probably unorthodox. i do get golf instruction but in a different way. i played golf when i was about 17 til i was 22 with limited rounds and practice. due to life's responsibility(relationship, work, etc.) i didn't play again until this year, i'm 34 now. i'm the type of learner who reads golf magazines, online tips, watches the golf channel alot, etc. i came across an e-book about a month ago or so that clicked for me and i immediately went down about 10 strokes per 18 while only playing or practicing a limited amount of time. i don't have the amount of full rounds in to accurately calculate my handicap but i now shoot around 78 to 82. my point about instruction from lessons was that maybe they can fill your head up with too many thoughts at once which can destroy the swing and confidence for some people. i'm sure millions benefit from lessons.

i'm a 12 after playing for 3 months after not playing for 5 yrs. i have a swing method thats works for me that i've been using for a month. after getting some rounds in i should be down to about an 8 or so soon. i've never had a lesson and i know how my swing works and how to correct it without video or someone analyzing it. i only have time to practice once a week and play 2-3 times a month if i'm lucky. since the change i've shot 40, 43, 40, 37 for 9 holes when before it was high 40's sometimes higher. who do you listen to for advice? someone who's not on the pga tour or even the nationwide tour i'd assume? i respect teaching pros but they are not for everyone.

i'm glad others have found out about this ebook. i've had just about the same experience as you with it. it really has worked miracles for me. i'm not down to a 3 handicap yet but i believe i will be pretty quickly when i get a chance to play more. like you, all i really need to practice after reading the ebook is my short game and it has improved pretty quickly already. i've been flirting with par for 9 holes recently due to this instruction. i first 2 rounds i played after reading it, i was scaring myself with the way i was hitting the ball. i was playing with a twosome of guys i didn't know and they were blown away with how i was hitting the ball and so was i. one of them was a 6 hand. and i basically smoked him. so i'm probably not a 12 hand. anymore and i'm on my way to a 5 or less. i noticed one of the areas that this instruction really helped with was my wedges inside 100yds and pitch shots. i've been surprisingly stiffing these shots when before i'd never get the distance right or skull them. this instruction is pretty amazing and if anyone asks, i'll swear by it. i wrote noel thomas and personally thanked him, that's how much this has helped me.

i'd recommend spending the $6 on it and read it a few times. there's no illustrations and it's very technical so reading it once won't give you immediate benefits. i'd give you a more detailed explaination but i'd prefer that Mr. Thomas makes his money for the years of study and effort he put into the book. i emailed him my testimonial and he notified me that he is currently working a DVD of his methods which will probably be out early next year. he will be giving discounts to ppl who purchase the ebook. i have recommended it to everyone i know who plays because i'm a big believer. i went from shooting in the mid-90's after not playing for 5yrs. to shooting in the low 80's consistently while breaking 80 a couple times. i've only had the ebook for about 1 month. i list my handicap as a 12 but i'm probably single digits now. i only get to play a handful of times a month if i'm lucky and only practice maybe once a week. with this system, you don't need as much practice time. the ebook doesn't go into detail about the short game except for a small section, it focuses more on the golf swing. i do use some of the same techniques for pitching and chipping. it has even improved that immediately and i recently bought phil mickelson's "secrets of the short game" and that has helped also but i'm in the beginning stages. buy the ebook and read it, you have nothing to lose.

yes, you are referring to noel thomas' "golf swing master key". i started using this system a month ago. it did seem crackpot when i first read about it but everything he said made sense so i bought it for $6 thinking what could it hurt to try. let's just say i dropped 10 strokes immediately and i'm a huge advocate for it. it's premise is to control the whole swing with your left shoulder and everything else will fall into place automatically. everything else in it is basically having correct fundamentals. the thing that helped me most is using a swing that promotes a slight draw with a inside out swing plane. it worked miracles for me so i'd recommend it to anyone.

this is very true. when we try too hard or try to crush everything, we choke the club which will kill your swing. relax the grip and recheck all the basics, grip, setup, watch the ball, swing plane, etc. i have a system that works for me all written down and when i start to struggle, i go back to the basics. then one by one i recheck all of these to get back on track. i like to start from square one which is usually the grip. i make sure my grip is correct and then i hit shots with a more relaxed grip. it usually works. see if this works for you.

dave, don't panic or give up. everybody goes through this at some point. i think your confidence is just shaken and getting lessons have put alot of thoughts in your head at once. if you paid for all the lessons then finish them and take the points that help and integrate them with what works for you. i have never taken a lesson and the reason is i know my swing better than anyone else pro or otherwise. i compare it to the great baseball hitter who is in a slump and everyone is trying to give him tips to get out of it. he then is so filled with different thoughts and lack of confidence that he tries too hard and can't get out of it. at that point, you just have to get back to basics, grip, setup, alignment, etc. then you get back to what you were doing before. keep it simple and don't put too much pressure on yourself. you'll figure it out in no time. good luck.

sounds like you could be trying to help the ball in the air or trying to pick it. just focus on hitting down on the ball and making a nice divot. check your setup to make sure you are the correct distance from the ball. also, many of us forget to watch the back of the ball and do this until you make contact. try not to peek up to see where it's going. this is a bad habit most golfers get into from time to time.

like the other posters said, range balls are inconsistent. i'd go by how it feels off the clubface. also if you hit off mats you may be hitting the longer irons a little chunky but you can tell by the feel. if it's a problem on the course, then i might be concerned.

your swing plane may be equally as steep with both clubs but should be a little flatter with the longer clubs. if you are taking big divots and maybe hitting some chunky shots with the 4i, this may be the case. you should be taking a small divot. also, you may be trying to pick the ball with the 4, which can cause some lower traj. and not so solid shots. i'm not suggesting you make different swings with the 2 clubs but naturally the 4 swing should be flatter because the club is longer. i would check my setup, ball position, and distance from the ball with the 4i. have you ever used a hybrid club? i have ditched the 3 and 4 irons alltogether. the hybrids are much easier to hit than long irons. they feel like a 6,7 iron when you swing them. you would probably get 200-215 yds. with a hybrid and they come in handy off the tee on shorter par 4's and long par 3's. maybe adding one or two to your bag would solve all your problems. hope it helps, good luck.

i'd have to go back to the dvd again but i understood it as hinge back and hold the finish. i think the key to this method is most instruction tells you to use an arm swing with no wrist when you chip but phil teaches to hinge those wrists immediately on the backswing and then use full acceleration through the release to the finish and hold that finish. the length of the backswing will be used to judge the distance.

hi all, i'm jeremy. i'm 34 years old and i live in connecticut. my golf background is somewhat odd but i'll share it with you. i starting learning the game from my grandfather when i was 17. he is a golf nut who started to play the game later in life, around 30 yrs. old. i would just go out when he played to spend time with him and carry his bag. he was a 3 handicap and i was amazed how good he played. he started to teach me parts of the game and i just liked being out on the course to watch. then i used his clubs and would just start hitting some shots. pretty instantly i hit the ball really well just by watching him and trying to copy him. he gave me some old clubs and we would go out before dark to play a little. i started really hitting the ball well and decided to try out for my high school golf team as a senior without playing for long. during the tryout i was super nervous and didn't really play well at all but i was hooked. i went to c.c. down in florida but didn't go to class much because i just wanted to hit the range and practice my game. i got to about a 10 handicap pretty quickly but didn't play often. then i stopped playing for many years because of life's responsibilities. i just started playing again this season. i didn't think i could get back to where i was for a long time. i only get to practice maybe once a week and play maybe once or twice a month. i started reading golf tips online and in magazines and realized i didn't know alot about playing the game. my first trip to the range was tough and i was sore after hitting an extra large bucket of balls. but some of the magic appeared in some swings. so i kept at it and played a round when i felt i could hit the ball around decently. i shot around a 50. during practice i realized my swing was completely different then it was when i hit the ball great as a youngster. i went back to my original swing and started using a system i bought online for $6. since then i got back to shooting in the low 40's for 9 almost instantly. i actually shot 40 twice and the game was coming back. i started working on my short game which was my weakness. i have studied the swing for awhile now and i think i could help some high handicappers here. i think i'm on the fast track to becoming a single handicapper that can flirt with par, i'm very close. i look to learn from all of you on here and help others when i can. i love the game and enjoy talking about it with others like me. it's great to talk to all of you on here.

there isn't a pro out there that hits the ball consistent every time out. it's a constant struggle to recognize what is working or isn't. look at some tour pros even the top ones that are always working on something with a swing coach or short game guru. i think the best thing is to know your swing and how it works. then when you make a bad swing, you know what you did and how to correct it during a round of play. it's like searching for the holy grail. i believe what separates the pros from the avg. player is the short game. watch a pga tour telecast. they almost always show the guys near the top of the leaderboard who are playing near perfect golf. even those guys are spraying shots here and there but they are so good around the greens that they make up for it with a great close chip or make that 10 footer to save par. have you ever watched tiger hit it all over the place but shoot 68? he can recover from anywhere and drain the big putt to save par. that's the difference to me. so i guess my point is get out there and focus on your short game lol.

i'd focus on hitting fairways and short game. if you do that you should see your scores drop even with limited practice time. good luck.

i recently purchased the phil mickelson dvd "secrets of the short game" and it's a great dvd. the putting section may help you alot. i'd recommend working on reading the greens better(slope, grain, break, etc.) also you said your short game is good, maybe you're not getting your chips and pitches close enough for easy finishes. that's something that may help also. good luck.

it's hard to tell without seeing you hit a ball but the swing looks pretty good. i like the fact that you swing pretty "hard". the only thing that looked a little off is you swing a little steep. when you release to the finish, you don't quite keep that right shoulder down and through but it's only by a fraction. if you get that plane a tad flatter and tilt your spine just a little bit you can probably get that right shoulder down and through better. overall i like your swing, keep the slight draw shot. it's more controllable and easier to hit.

congrats on your improvement in such a short time. you have officially caught the golf bug. i recommend if you aren't able to get out to the course, do a lot of reading and thinking about the game. there are many sites online that give free tips and try to absorb as many as you can. if you have a garage, i'd recommend getting a practice net to work on the swing. you may also have an indoor facility somewhere nearby where you can practice in the offseason. i also live in the northeast and there are ranges that are heated with overhead cover. if you really want to continue your improvement, i'd focus on mastering inside 100 yards. the short game is crucial to lowering your scores. good luck and keep it up.

i agree with the poster who said to get your swing speed checked out then go online and find a driver for cheap online. if you have a swing speed of 100+mph, then i'd recommend a stiff flex shaft. i also would recommend an older model big bertha etc. you can get those new for an affordable price. it's always best to demo one first but i bought mine for $60 used on ebay and it's been in the bag ever since. i too have used many low end drivers with no results. they damage easily and just aren't the same quality as a callaway, taylormade, etc. you feel the difference immediately when you hit them. i went through driver after driver that i could only hit as far as my 3 wood. then i tried a callaway driver and instantly got 25-30 yards more distance with a much better feel. you can also add even more distance by using a quality golf ball. give it try, i think you'll see a lot of improvement and it'll make you feel better about your game.

golfswingmasterkey.com, thank me later. took 10 strokes off per round in a month. no lessons, do-it-yourself.

from what you are saying, you might want to go back to the swing you had before. i wouldn't worry as much about changing equipment as i would about getting my clubhead speed back up. i would go back to the basics, grip, setup, etc. i'd actually just start going for a more controlled grip it and rip it attitude. once i did that, i'd focus on making a big shoulder turn, taking the club back on a slight inside path with a low, long takeaway. you want to get the feeling that you are winding your body up like a coil to the top and then start transferring your weight to the left side creating a "lag" which is a huge clubhead speed source. from the top, just let your body unwind and just let it rip. make sure also that you have a fairly light grip pressure. if you are squeezing the club, you will lose considerable distance and speed. let us know how you do.

when u get a chance, post a vid of you hitting some iron shots. how do u score so well if you're not hitting any greens? if you have an amazing short game, i'd like to get some tips from you. describe a little what a common round is like for you as far as where you are missing greens(left,right, short, long?) and how you hit it(fat, thin,pull,push). the most description, the better some of us can try to help.

ok i understand now. i have a hard time understanding handicaps. i like to go by what your avg 18 hole score is but most use their handicap. either way, it's a lot better than me, lol. what parts of your game are you looking for help in? you seem to score very well, regardless of what your swing looks like. as soon as i can i will get my swing video on here for some input as well. it can do nothing but help. there's a lot of knowledgable golfers on here which is great.