gooch43

Well I went to the range yesterday. I started out hitting horribly but then I took a step back and started thinking about some of the advice on here. I think I just calmed down and started taking nice easy swings. When I make good contact I normally have a draw but after taking these easy swings it was a nice baby fade. It worked on the range....now let's see about the course.

Right up until you put a ball in front of me. Top, fat, chunck, shank.... I can't figure it out. I can be on the tee box and hit every broken tee I swing at. Put a golf ball in front of me and my whole setup changes, my hands change and everything else. I get to the point where I have to change my grip to so drastically to hit the ball I have no chance of making a good swing. I know it is in my head because I make great warm up swings. In fact if I'm hitting off mats I'm fine but as soon as I'm hitting of grass then it all changes. I took some lessons about a week ago and it totally screwed me up. I played a few days later and shot a 99 which is at least 10 strokes higher than I normally shoot. Any ideas?

You know that one shot during your round, no matter how poorly you are playing, that brings you back to play again. It's ok to brag in this thread. Mine was a 4 wood that I hooked around a tree fron 235 from the left rough on a dogleg left and put it on front edge. Missed the birdie putt but it was still a pure shot. What was yours?

My last round I had 36 putts which doesn't sound horrible except for the fact that I only hit a couple of greens and had a lot of chips. My distance is usually pretty decent it's the whole left/right thing that gets me. One huge problem is I don't know how to read a green. I have a ton of putts that I think break one way but actually break the opposite way pretty hard. Any tips for reading greens too would be helpful. What do you look for?

So here is another question. A guy told me my putting stroke should feel like I have my clothes on a hanger, if that makes sense. Basically my shoulders should sway like that. Is this right? Sorry if these questions are really noobish but I've only been playing for a little while and have never gotten a lesson. I just try things out until they work but nothing has worked for the putting yet.

As a matter of fact I'm pretty much a horrible golfer but putting is really holding me back. I usually shoot mid to upper 80's but I swear if I knew how to putt I could shave a ton of strokes. A little background...if it's over 3 feet I'll probably miss it. If its over 20 feet I'll probably 3 putt. I have spent countless hours on the practice green doing the 'round the world' or putting to a dime. Nothing helps. I'm not nervous about putting or anything like that it's that I simply can't putt the ball in the cup. I've tried different putters and am using the 2ball right now. Any tips, drills or insight would be awesome.

My last round was a 51/38. The 51 is horrible for me and the 38 is outstanding.

I will go with a homer pick of Brainerd, MN

They are the goods

I play a lot of softball...it's great for the golf swing

I'm a 15 handicap and a loser. I can hit my drives far and my irons are long. I can 3 putt from 3 feet. Being a loser has nothing to do with how I play golf.

If i'm hitting well right around 190