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Good to hear you're starting to get a bit more serious about the game, even if it is only due to the pressure of having to play with people from work. Some very good advice in the other posts so I won't repeat it. Just go with the flow and let the others take the lead. You might want to announce that you are a new golfer and as such will be picking up after 8 strokes so you don't slow the group down. Most of all, have fun!

He was going from green to tee through the ropes not signing autographs. My son stuck out his hat and said "Hey Brett, can I have an autograph?" Brett looked him in the eyes, rolled his eyes & said "Can't you see I'm not signing autographs right now?" in a tone that left no doubt he thought my son was an idiot for asking. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but even Tiger and Phil had the courtesy to just say "after the round" rather than purposely belittling someone. The guy next to us said in voice loud enough for Brett to hear "Don't worry kid, he's never won anything anyways!"

I like Kelly too. The guy might be a complete whack job, but he believes what he believes and has the courage to put it out there regardless of what anyone else thinks. How many of us have the guts to do what we need to do without worrying what everyone else will think of us? And do it on national TV to boot! I remember seeing an interview with Chris Dimarco about the claw grip and how it took him over a year to screw up the courage to use it in competition even thought he was putting out of his mind with it in practice. He was too worried about what his fellow pros would say. I wonder how much $$$ that fear of looking stupid cost him in tourney earnings?

Ben Crane - Come on already, hit the freak'in ball!!! Gotta be the slowest player I've ever seen. Even slower than Glen "All" Day. Brett Quigley - For no other reason than he was a dick to my 10 year old son during practice round at the 2006 PGA Championship.

How old is your daughter? Since she is very kinesthetic she needs to feel it. Try this - have her hold a club straight out in front of her like a baseball bat. Swing back and forth like you're tryin to hit a baseball. As she swings bigger and bigger she will have to turn her shoulders. Ask her what feels more powerfull, the arm only swing or the swing with her shoulders, arms and torso working together? I have young kids. I explain that this baseball type swing is like a merry-go- round in that it goes round and round on a horizontal plane. The other extreme is a ferris wheel (try and demonstrate an arms only completely vertical swing). I want them to swing half way between a ferris wheel and a merry-go-round. When they get too vertical you just tell them they need a little more merry-go round in their swing. Hope this helps.

I can't reccomend the "Almost Golf" balls enough - they're great. They go about 1/3 to 1/2 the distance of regular balls and are soft enough that they won't damage anything. My kids and I regularly hit these in the front yard and have hit cars, houses, etc.. with zero damage. Usually we hit short irons around the house and will walk to a nearby school to hit drivers. We actually hit AT the school so we don't spend a lot of time looking for balls in an open field. My 10 year old has become an awesome chipper practicing with these. Great for working on your technique and very easy to re-adjust to a real ball in a few strokes. We'll even chip in the house with them and chip on to the couch. At about a $1 a ball, what's not to like?

I use a Medinah 2006 PGA Chmpionship ballmarker on my hat clip. Took my boys to a practice round, dropped 80 bucks on hats so they could get autographs, and got a set of three ball markers for myself. Of course my oldest promptly took 2 of the markers for his bag

Teed off with a 3 iron and caught it thin. Sent a rocket down the fairway 1 foot off the ground about 150 yards right into a flock of geese. Hit a goose right in the head. The goose went down like a ton of bricks. It honked a couple of times but by the time I got down the fairway it was dead.

The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf Who's Your Caddy? Bud, Sweat and Tears