thrasher

I'm having more fun now than I've ever had before, and my handicap continues to drop like a rock. I'm guessing that's going to change soon here though But I've always loved playing, it's just much more fun now that I can somewhat control the ball.

I would say out of 10 full 6 iron shots after being fully warmed up, I would pure 1 and at most 2 of them. Another 5-6 would be well hit but pushed/pulled a little and probably 5-10 yards short of the pured shots. The last 2-3 would be mishit a little more, with maybe a big push or hook, or really thin/fat. I usually play for my average shot, and my 6 iron flies around 175-180, on average. When I pure it, it flies 185-190, so if I have a 6 iron in my hand, I won't hit unless I have AT LEAST 190 to the back of the green!

When you're on the course standing over the ball, think about the best shot you hit on the range with that club, and nothing else. You need positive mental imagery to make positive things happen...

This is EXACTLY how it was for before I had my first short game lesson. My short game was VERY good (closer to that of a low single digit), but I still had some improvements in technique to make that were holding me back on certain shot types. After I got my lesson, I started hitting the ball significantly further on short shots until I learned to ajdust. Now, I would say that my short game is very near that of a scratch, as I get up and down from spots that I rarely could before.

8 iron from 170 downwind, over a trap guarding the green to about 10 feet. Missed the putt, but my whole group collectively said "wow" when the ball left the club

110%? This is why these threads are ridiculous...nobody can swing above 100%, it's not physically possible. The point at which you cannot possibly increase the force you apply to the ball = 100%, and everything is relative to that amount of effort. I highly doubt you swing as hard as you possibly can every time you step up to the ball. Or maybe it's just me.

They're actually driveway markers, just mention them to any rep there and they'll know exactly what you're talking about. Orange sticks with white marking meant to be stuck in the ground so you know where the end of the driveway is is winter. Think they were around $2 a piece. That's exactly what they're for, so I know where I was out of alignmnent! The way I look at it, the more I practice and engrain solid fundaments, i.e. proper alignment, the more likely I am to take those fundamentals out onto the course. That, and the fact that almost all of the pros at the PGA Champ last year were using them on the driving range

without alignment sticks. I always knew I should practice with them, but I was too lazy to go out and get a set of sticks from Home Depot. Finally did it this past weekend, and DAMN, what a difference it really makes to not have to worry about your alignment. Plop 2 sticks down, make sure they are parallel, make sure your body is aligned to them, and bam, you have eliminated a whole host of potential issues relating to alignment. I will NEVER practice without them again, it is such an easy thing to do, pretty much a no brainer at this point Do you guys use alignment sticks and find them to be helpful?

I don't swing hard, or easy. I swing firm...it's always been my swing thought with regards to "how hard I swing". From a percentage standpoint, I think it's around 75-85% of my max. At 90%, I can still somewhat control the ball if I'm swinging well, and it goes a mile when I flush it, but it's not worth the loss in accuracy when I don't flush it. At 100%, I have absolutely no control whatsoever, not even worth swinging that hard in my opinion.

Video is great for identifying swing flaws that you didn't know about if you don't have the help of a pro. But it also encourages you to develop a "good looking" swing...can be a good or bad thing depending on the results it produces. Personally, working with a pro who relied on video analysis did more damage than it helped. I don't care what my swing looks like, I just want it to perform, and if I can do that without complicating my swing thoughts using video, that's what I prefer to do. I've made great strides this way and am on the verge of having a very solid, repeatable swing, all without the use of video.

Definitely a swinger here, and much more so as I've undergone my recent swing changes. My current goal is to move the club into "the slot" after my legs initiate the downswing and then just let things happen. I'm hitting the ball quite a bit farther AND straighter now!

Reverse pivot. When I go to the range, almost every mid-high capper has some sort of reverse pivot, and it makes it extremely difficult to get into a good position at impact. Overswinging and poor stance are easier to correct I think

I'm 27 and have used a push cart for probably the last 3-4 years. I actually get quite a few snide/sarcastic comments from people about it, but why would anyone care? I'll never go back. Having the ability to carry as much stuff as I could possibly need is awesome. MN summers are SUPER muggy at times, and my bag used to get very heavy carrying all the water I would need in a round. Now, it's not even a concern, and I enjoy walking the course just as much as I did when I carried. Just enjoy your time out there however you like, and don't worry about what other people are doing!

Perfect - 5% Maybe 1 long shot and a couple chips/pitches Good - 40% Some longer shots and a lot of chips/pitches Mediocre - 30% Mostly longer shots and a few chips/pitches Bad - 25% Almost exclusively longer shots As you can tell, I struggle a lot with my long game and my short game is what allows me to shoot decent scores. If I ever get a decent long game I'll be good to go

17th hole at Hiawatha golf course, Minneapolis, MN Hooked my driver waaaaaay left, leaving myself about 200 yards into the green from the thick rough. Had to hit a 5-10 yard cut between two trees about 10 yards forward that were 2-3 yards apart, then up and over a grove of fir trees about 50 yards in front of there guarding a water hazard. Struck a PERFECT a 4 iron and carried it all the way to the green, the ball actually ended up about 10 yards OVER the green. One of my top 10 ten shots of all time! Also hit a great chip to tap in for par!

In the second shot, look at your chest and body position right around impact. It may be the camera angle but it look like your chest is pointing WAAAY up and out. Look at pretty much any tour player, and their chest is pointing down to the ground at impact. I think this will lead to inconsistency in the long run.

I've been doing P90x for the last 3-4 months, and I am significantly stronger AND more flexible than I have ever been. Don't know if I've gained distance, too early in the year to tell, but I have a strong suspicion that I have. I would strongly recommend P90x to anybody who has 1 hour per day to devote to getting into the best shape of their life!

I just got the Casio about 2 weeks ago. Was super excited, but have had this very strange problem where it skips a whole bunch of frames at seemingly random times in playback. It's actually quite aggravating, and if I don't get the issue resolved soon I'm sending it back. But when it does work, man is it sweet. 210fps is AWESOME, with pretty high resolution as well.

Yup yup, it's the takeaway and wrist angle that get you so flat. Try thinking about taking the club straight back along the target line (you won't actually take it back along the target, the club needs to come inside) and that should help you get on a better plane. For your wrist angle, think about keeping your right palm facing the golfer in the next stall over. I think doing those 2 in combination will bring your swing much more on plane. Good luck!

Agreed, although I think the solution is not necessarily so easy. You are likely coming in too steep (i.e. over the top) and your body compensates by lifting up right before impact. Otherwise, if you DO come down really steep you will just chunk the club into the ground behind the ball. Without seeing your swing, it's hard to say, but this would be my guess. Work on making sure your down swing comes from the inside and that you keep rotating your core towards the target through impact, and I bet you'll lose the lifting thing!

I had the same problem all the time before I broke 80 for the first time. I would be at 2 or 3 over at the turn well on my way to 70s, then I would blow up on 10 and 11, get a couple doubles, and end up at 80 or 81. The day I broke 80 for the first time, I just let myself go and gave in to playing well. I wasn't worrying about the score because I KNEW I was playing well and I could easily break 80. I end up shooting +2 on the front and -3 on the back with a bird on the last hole to break 80 AND Par for the first time, lol

Horribly inconsistent with the driver most days and I tend to hit somewhere around 30-50% of fairways. When I DO hit my driver well, I usually shoot lights out b/c my confidence goes through the roof.

That's the funny thing about golf, at least for me. No matter how ingrained I think my fundamentals are, i always seem to drift away from them a little bit. I'm starting to realize now that as I really need to be on top of my fundamentals every time I practice. Otherwise, I become slack in my grip or posture or alignment and then one day I'm hitting the ball 40 yards left! I completely agree with that. One of my instructors said that you can always tell in a tournament who has sound fundamentals because when the pressure is on, their swing will not breakdown.

Agreed. I actually think a lot of times (even low handicappers) should be checking their fundamentals regularly and assessing their fundamentals FIRST when trying to fix swing problems. It is so easy to be off by just a little bit in one or several fundamentals which makes it almost impossible to hit the ball well.

So this past Friday, I was out hitting balls at the range, when all of a sudden my newly re-developing draw (I'm in the midst of complete swing overhaul) starting turning into a vicious hook. And then go back to a perfect draw. And back to a CRAZY hook. In my desperation, I tried everything I could think of to fix it: Swing plane, tempo, timing, alignment, backswing, downswing, you name it. And then it dawned on me: my grip. My instructor has told me all along that my grip is perfect, which it usually is. Except when it's not, lol. A simple change of the grip and the hook was completely eliminated. As a side note, I have also recently been having much trouble developing any consistency in my short game, which is usually my strong suit. Turns out that my little grip change also completely solved that issue, and I was sticking 20-50 yard wedges close again! For me, this seems to be somewhat of a recurring issue, and for some reason my mind always tried to find the hardest solution that I can think of when my swing goes awry. It must be my swing plane, or my wrist hinge, or my right hip angle when initiating the downswing, when almost always it is a matter of fundamentals for me. I believe, and constantly need to remind myself of the fact that practicing/playing without sound fundamentals is an exercise in futility. Whatever progress you make will ultimately become undone if your fundamentals are not rock solid. I have worked with a bunch of instructors over the past 8 years of so (including several top 100s and "best in the State" types) and have found that the ones who really know their stuff ALWAYS stress this point. Anyways, thought this may be of help to the struggling beginners out there. Work on fundamentals first before worrying about your hip rotation 3/4 of the way through your downswing!