GamerJG

the one thing i noticed was that you take back the club on an inside path and swing through on an inside path as well. that is a recipe for a major slice and not what i'd recommend. i'm a firm believer in hitting a slight draw as your "go-to shot". i would do this on almost every golf swing. to do this, swing the club back on an inside path and swing through the ball on a slightly outside swing path following through pointing just to the right of the target. this should create a slight right to left ball flight. this shot is easier to hit and easier to control. give it try and see how it works out for you.

in my experience, getting the latest most expensive gear won't make that big a change in your game. i'd recommend using a top of the line ball, that will help most. now that you have new gear, just keep practicing and playing with it to get comfortable. your progress so far is way ahead of the curve so just keep at it. pick a swing that works for you and stick with it. usually it's your "natural" swing that will work best for you and work around that. if you want to take the next step, then focus on mastering the game inside 100 yards. if your looking for swing advice without paying for expensive lessons, i recommend "the golf swing master key" ebook by noel thomas. i read this and dropped about 10 strokes/round so far and i just started using it. good luck and let us know how you progress.

i recommend changing your swing to a draw. i know it sounds drastic and it's easier said than done but its an easier swing to learn and easier to hit with consistency. i went from a fade to a draw in 1 practice session. take the club on an inside path on the backswing, then slightly outside through the ball on the downswing. you'll find that you'll be a more consistent ball-striker in a short period of time. once you do that, see if you still have the same distance with the driver. i bet you start hitting your drives farther. if not, try different drivers that fit your swing better. get your swing speed measured and make sure your shaft flex is correct for you. you may need a stiffer shaft if you hit a lot of slices. good luck, hope it helps.

great tip, I'm gonna try that next time out. I find that I have trouble with these shots because I do give up on the shot without knowing it. I think that opening the face and making a more aggressive swing will help. Thanks for the tip!

I was never a big believer of using a top of the line ball unless you are a low handicapper but I was wrong. The technology of the ball in recent years is mind-blowing. I recently purchased near mint callaway tour i balls for cheap and I noticed a huge difference immediately. Surprisingly the biggest difference is the softness and feel on chips and putts. I have been chipping so much better and also not 3 putting. I went from mid-to-high 40's to low 40's right away. I would highly recommend any golfer to upgrade their ball to see immediate improvement.

If you can afford all of that, go for it. If you can't, I'd go the used ebay route or get new clubs of older model big names(such as a new set of callaway irons but the model is from a few years back). This will give you better equip. at a more affordable price. I think it's more important to have clubs that are fitted to your swing speed, and other specs. This is vital to play your best and get the most out of your equipment. I'd also recommend getting a top of the line ball to help give you that extra edge. The most important technology in golf in recent years is to the golf ball, so take full advantage of it. As far as clubs, I use a $100 set of irons, $60 driver, $50 wedges, etc. and I get great performance out of them because they fit my swing so I wouldn't be spending a fortune on clubs if I were you. The ball on the otherhand, I would go with the top ones, Titleist Pro-v or Callaway Tour i. Good luck, let us know how you progress.

I'd recommend a Callaway driver. I went through about 10 drivers before I found one that was comfortable enough for me to crush on a regular basis. I bought a used callaway erc fusion for $60 on ebay and the first time i hit it, it just felt like a canon off the clubface. I've been killing it ever since. I'm not a big believer in getting the newest, most expensive driver out there. I'd recommend getting a driver that looks good and feels good to you in your hands. You should find out what your swing speed is and get a shaft flex that fits your swing speed. I swing very fast so I use a stiff shaft. This is very important so find out and choose wisely. I'd also recommend using a top of the line ball. These will give you a huge advantage with extra distance and tons of feel around the greens. Hope this helped and good luck. Let us know how it works out.

I used to never wear one but now i do because of blister problems. I do like the feel of having all my fingers on the grip but the glove gives me stability because i swing very hard at the ball and sometimes the grip slips. Now i also keep the glove on when i putt. I guess its a preference and everyone is different. I find that i get blisters all over my left hand when not wearing a glove when i practice.

More short game right now, chipping and putting. Also, consistency on long clubs. I changed my swing to a slight draw but have trouble hitting a draw with the driver. I can't complain, I shot my best round of the season last time out. I shot a 40 but was -1 after 4 holes. Unfortunately, I double-bogeyed 2 of last 3 holes but I hit the ball very well all day.

hey brianc, if you're fighting a slice i recommend using a slight draw as your go-to shot. you said you were using a draw before and went to a fade. i did the same thing and lost my ball striking consistency. i went back to a slight draw by taking the club back on a more inside path. on the downswing i was trying to watch the impact of the ball while finishing on a more outside path. so my swing thoughts would be inside-out swing controlled by my left shoulder and finish with clubface pointing just right of the target. give it a try and i hope it helps you out.

This was my introduction to golf instruction when I started to play golf at 19 yrs. old(I know, late starter). I had the VHS version and let me tell you, I learned so much, so fast from the greatest player of all time. I didn't realize at the time how lucky I was to have such information from Nicklaus. At the time I knew he was the greatest player ever but I didn't really see him play at his prime. His instruction was so simple and easy to understand, that he gave you confidence that you could do it too. After watching these videos, I would rush right out to my golf net and hit balls for hours to try to emulate his lessons. I'd recommend every golfer to own this. I also heard he is coming out with this on DVD next year if I'm not mistaken. That would be fantastic!

Found this book at a clearance book store sale for $5. I'm not a Tiger fan, actually I dislike him but I respect his knowledge and there is plenty of it in this book. Also, this book is helpful because Tiger goes into how he manages the course and his game. You also get an inside look at his thought process on many of his big, clutch shots. There are tons of great illustrations and photos which help a great deal in golf instruction. Well worth picking up.

I just ordered this DVD set on ebay for $10. Can't wait to watch it. My short game is the weakest part of my game. I have been practicing it more recently and I'm getting much better but this DVD should help. I respect Mickelson's touch around the greens.