lefty.drew

I think the venue plays the biggest role. We played a course that my friend played years back and remembered fondly, and it was an absolute disgrace. I absolutely fixed my own marks, but it's hard to walk around and treat the greens sacredly when the ownership doesn't put any money into the course.

I got my first (and only) eagle this season. Was a 510 par 5 that doglegged right. I cut the corner with probably my best drive of the season, and hit a 4 hybrid to about 13 feet. It was pretty sunny that day, and I hit my second shot and couldnt see it at all. I knew it was good, and I knew it was on line, but I pretty wasn't sure on the club. The fairways were running very hard close to the greens, so I clubbed down. As we were pulling the cart up, I saw my ball about 10 ft from the hole, and started a dead sprint to it. My friend yells to me, gives me a "what the hell are you doing look" and I stop and realized one of our foresome was lining up an approach, We all had a good laugh about my childish sprint, then I buried the put. A little downhill, right to left -- dead in the heart. Incredible feeling.

Definite draw. Ball pushes left of my line and comes back almost to my original target--a little left usually.. (that's if I was hitting it well. I definitely hit a couple hooks that started out straight and drew right). I've worked really hard at alignment. I typically use a line of the ball to line up tee shots to a target. I'm convinced it's grip, because when I drop my left hand, I get my fade back without changing anything. I would love to hit a consistent draw, because I feel much more confident with irons, but I can't afford the hooks.

I would watch some youtube tutorials on a basic golf swing then hit the range and let er rip.

A drill I did for a while that really helped me hit a nice controlled fade was to place a ball in a straight line behind the tee about 2-3 feet, and to make sure I hit that ball on my takeaway. It will help to keep the club on plane.

In place of a pre swing waggle, I life the club directly up from the ground twice just to kind of bounce it. Helps me with my grip pressure tremendously. I had the opposite of your issue; my grip pressure was far too strong, but if I counciously bounce the club just to feel it a bit, I find that my pressure is nice and light but solid enough that I'm not worried about losing the club. Of course, if you've been playing the clubs for quite some time, a re-grip may be in order. You also may want to assess the grips against others, especially depending on your hand size.

I think if you have to defer to 3W off the tee; it's realistic that you have longer approaches. I would imagine 220 with a 3W from around 6500 is pretty realistic in terms of what you're look into most par 4s would be. Everyone has different theories about tees and what to use, but when I see "out of comfort zone" I translate that to you challenging yourself, and that's a good thing. The 7100, however, seems a bit aggressive. I'd imagine you would be wanting to get at least 240-250 out of 3-wood for that yardage to be playable.

So, I bought a new glove (had been using the same brand of glove for a while), and it happened the M-L for this brand is a bit tighter. My controlled fade off the tee turned into a slight draw on the range. On the course, I was hitting a nice draw on the front nine, then almost a drop-kicked hook off the tee on the back 9. This only ever seems to effect my driver. My iron accuracy was actual above average. I guess what I'm looking for, trying to accomplish is some type of guide/tips to understanding grip and possibly a routine to ensure repeatability. It's tough when you're a serial fader of the ball, then you're out on the course hitting a draw. This isn't the first time I've had issues with my grip, and I'm learning to trust what I have on the course on that particular day. But I believe my grip is holding me back in many ways. It's almost incredible how the smallest details have such a huge effect. I feel like my grip pressure is a strong point. I keep my grip nice and light during my backswing. I have had the face fall open on me once in a while, but I equate that to lack of concentration. Hit me with some knowledge.

http://videos.underpar.com/s?53wpnOgiqysUah4OAwSkQJn1 That should hopefully work.

They were filming swings for free on the 10th tee box a few weeks back. Attached is the link. Just want to get some feedback. The drive ended up on the left edge of the fairway. My target line was the right edge. My normal drive is a controlled fade. If I'm really grooving I can hit a big power fade. A miss is obviously a slice left. I tried tinkering with my swing to hit the ball straight/draw it, and I was a disaster off the tee for 2 rounds. But I definitely want to work on my swing to gain more control. I appreciate any thoughts. (I also hope the link works.) http://videos.underpar.com/watch?v=75028

This was a few weeks ago, but it may have been my best shot of the summer. It was the 18th hole, and I needed a par (par 4 372) to win a bet that I wouldn't shoot under 90. I had been fading the ball off the tee all day, and this hole was a dogleg right (I'm lefty), so I decided to close my stance and try to hit a draw, which only works half the time for me. (In retrospect, I probably should have just hit 5 wood to the apex of the dogleg, but I'm pretty immature when it comes to putting away the driver.) I ended up yanking the shot right over a treeline and out of sight. After a few expletives, I tracked down the ball, and it luckily landed right in the middle of the adjacent fairway. My shot into the green was about 125 over a line of trees with no sight of the pin. I hit the best 9i of my life and stuck it about 8 feet out. Of course I lipped the birdy put, but I did knock in the par for the bet.

Haha! I'm sure you remember last year On a similar sports note, I almost had to cancel my account when I noticed iacas had Sidney Crosby as his avatar. I spent my entire summer writing about the Penguins and their cup victory as a Flyers' fan. This after they ousted us in round 1. New season, new results?

I'd call that an undeniable fact. I've encountered several people whose first response was to point out that I didn't pay their greens fee.

Hey all. I'm a recent college graduate working in the insurance business, putting Journalism BA to good use I freelance for some local publications and am toying with the idea of writing some kind of something about golfing next summer. As far as golf goes, I'm a complete neophyte. I was a football player/wrestler my whole life and am an avid pro sports fan (Eagles,Flyers,Sixers,World-Champion Phils). While interning at a sports publication in Pittsburgh this summer, I got heavy into golf. I had played in summers during high school and was always decent (sub-100), but I've been watching golf like a fiend all summer and feel compeletely hooked. I think a large reason for my new obsession is the ability to play and compete. I love football, but I can't toss on the pads and play a pickup game under the lights. But golf I can play whenever I want. Anyhow, I've been reading these forums for a while and figured I'd join, pick the locals for some knowledge and see where my new hobby takes me.

I think some of this tee business boils down to perspective. If you're playing a nicer golf course, a person playing from a longer tee could be adding an extra stroke a hole because of stubborness. On a lower-end course, the blues are 10 feet behind the whites and 1- feet in front of the ladies, so it really doesn't matter. I do, however, believe players should play the tee their distances match. Here's how I convinced an older uncle of mine: You take a standard Par 4 on a course. From the white tees, if you make your average swing with your average contact, can you reach the green with a tee shot then an iron? (we're stricly talking distance, not accuracy) If the answer is a definite no, or a likely no, then you should move up a tee box. It's the same for going from white to blue. My driving distance isn't supreme, but I'm an athletic guy who can put it over/around 250 consistenly. If I'm playing a decent course, it's white all the way. But I've played some courses where some a lot of the par fours are rather short, and I find myself hitting a pitch shot into every green (assuming I'm not behind a tree 50 yards offline!). In that case, I'll play the blue tees so I have the chance to play full swings into the par 4s. Now, if you're a male in your 20-40s and you're not reaching because you're a duff machine; then maybe hit the range a bit and forget about the tee box debate altogether.

Up until this summer, I golfed on a limited schedule like yours. What I generally did was spent the majority of my range time working on the weakest facet of my game from the previous round -- which was generally mid-to-long iron play. But I really started to see lower numbers this summer when I spent a good deal of time working on my short game.

Driving distances basically fall in line with every other pissing-contest subject. If a guy says he can bench 320, it's probably 250. If he says he can drink 15 beers and not catch a buzz, he's lights out after 12. There is a macho stigma to how far you can hit a golf ball, so the average person will probably pump their's up a bit. I definetaly understand taking anyone's self-proclaimed driving average with a grain of salt. Even my own ;)

I think it's ridiculous to assume someone with a high handicap is lying if they say they can hit the ball long. I can drive the ball 300 yards straight down the fairway. I can also yank it 130 into a huge tree. It's not distance that neccesarily seperates good from mediocre (what I like to call myself !) to not so good; it's precision. I also agree 100% on the losing balls point. From my experience, the number one reason people hold up play is that they're looking for errant tee shots. you will occasionally get the person who thinks the golf course is the best place for a begginer's lesson, but it's ussually the latter. Plus, winning and losing is all perspective. If I shoot below bogey golf, I feel great. My friend whom I generally always play with would be livid if he shot an 85.

"Ok, everyone knows how a guy in the 20's want to live life and all that. The question is if wether it is suitable to do it during a tournament where you are one of twelve to represent the entire country. I'm not saying he did go out, but let's say hypothetically, if someone did. Could be anyone of them, not specifically AK. Of all the 52 weekends during one year, the one with most prestige is not when you want to go raving. " The question is whether it is acceptable to aim the microscope at a player because a bitter, sore loser decided he'd revert to grade school tactics and attack a person's character after being defeated on the golf course. If Kim's behavior was questionable by any stretch, it would be one of his teammates' or coaches' peragotive to call him out -- not a person he just beat.

My best round all summer came when I had a pretty viscous hangover. And I can remember being on the first tee box (par 5) where I'd normally try to add yardage to reach in two. I felt so rough I just swung smooth and put it right down the fairway. That basically set the tone for the entire round. There are a lot of times where I opt to put a little "extra" on the ball and generally get myself in trouble. This day, I clubbed down, swung smoother and played great. If only I were mentally mature enough to play that every round.

Hey all, I've been anonmously reading this forum for months, so I finnally decided to register. I work for State Farm Insurance and freelance as a sports writer whenever I can.