Gibby

You're obviously too good for the drivers they make nowadays. They only make drivers for people who can hit their 3 wood as far as most players and up to a 50% GIR max.

Anyone know if the used balls from Play It Again Sports are recycled or refurbished? From my understanding, refurbished are the bad ones, balls in really bad condition but with a new coat of paint on it, which actually hinders the performance even more, while recycled are balls that are lightly used with nothing done to them except a wash down. I saw a box of used ProV1s at a PIAS near my house but i couldn't figure out if they were refurbished or recycled and i couldn't find a rating (AAA, AAAA etc.)

I actually tend to agree that professional instruction is overrated. Not to say that professional instruction is bad, I have no doubt it can be very helpful, i just don't think it's necesary, maybe moreso for some than for others. Of course, the instructors out there are going to tell people that without professional instruction they won't reach their potential or what not. A few minutes ago some guy on TV told me i needed a shamWOW as well - jus sayin' I think self teaching yourself is a very effective way to learn, mainly because you will actually learn and understand things better, instead of repeating certain motions because someone tells you to. I've never taken formal lessons in my life, and feel like as a 17 year old, my game has progressed nicely over the last few years. Whether or not I would be better had I the money to take lessons everyday at the local CC i'll never know...and I don't care. Last summer, I went to a golf camp for my high school, and as part of the camp, there was an pro at the driving range to help us. Many of the things he said were ridiculous. His swing was all about swaying, and he also told us about how all of the power in the swing came from the unhinging of wrists...I even remember him telling us how Tiger Woods' swing was one of the worst on tour, and only his extreme athleticism helped him hit the ball well. I feel most instructors out there are like this - they claim that there is one way to swing the club correctly, and everything else is wrong. Now, much of my swing is based off of stack and tilt, ideas i've been implementing into my swing long before i ever discovered this forum that at times seems to be a S&T; Church of some sorts =P (even though I realize i'm arguing against a S&T; instructor) I just believe that grooving the "perfect" swing is all about taking what you have and what your swing is like naturally, and then working with what you have. You can grip it interlocking or overlapping, work with a fade or a draw as your natural shot, have a flying elbow or not, the list is endless. Look at all the tour pros that have "abnormalties" in their swing. For every swing on tour that is like Ishikawa or McIlroy, there is a Furyk, Dustin Johnson, or Lee Westwood swing. I think teaching pros should tailor their instruction for each specific swing, and try to change as little as they can. Just my two cents.

I agree that many, many people overestimate their driving distances. I also agree that very, VERY few people can AVERAGE over 300 yards. On that same note however, I believe quite a few of you guys here are taking the opposite side to the extreme. It is not anything extraordinary to average over 250 yards. On my High School varsity team, I don't think any of us average less than 250 yards. The thing is, with proper contact, it doesn't take much at all to hit it 250 yards in normal conditions. I would argue that a majority of single digit handicappers average over 250 yards. I'm one of the shorter hitters on our team, and I comfortably average over 250 yards. I will admit, I dont usually use a GPS to measure my drives, and I don't keep an average, but I know I've hit my fair share of drives over 300 yards. I also know that even on my not so great drives, I'm hitting around 250. All my point is, while I agree it is hard to believe all the people who claim to average over 300 yards, I just also think many of you guys are too eager to jump at people's throats who claim to average 260-270. I once played with an elderly man, swing speed couldn't have been more than 85 or so, and he didn't get his swing anywhere near parallel. He was also using very old clubs, his driver was the size of my three wood, and probably about as long too. He consistently hit it almost 250, and even reached a par 5 in two that measures 465, without significant tailwind or anything. He ended up shooting the same score as me that day, an 80. What i'm trying to emphasize is, you do not need 120+ swingspeed to hit it far. Good contact will gaurantee you good distance.

Many muscles are used in the golf swing, all throughout the body. To answer your question, yes, the triceps are used in the golf swing. In general, for all sports, the triceps are one of the most important muscles, while the biceps are near a useless muscle (it's funny how lots of people will curl in front of a mirror though, and never work out their triceps =P). For the most part, I would say the deltoids, pectorals, triceps, all core muscles, obliques, and various back muscles are used. Also your legs do quite a bit of work, as shown by Tiger's leg problems. I don't think there is one specific muscle that does a majority of work in the swing however, if anything, I would lean towards the core in general, but not a specific muscle. If your triceps are noticably sore, I would guess to say you're doing something wrong, unless you haven't played golf for a long while. I used to have a problem when starting up tennis after several months off, where my right deltoid would hurt like heck for a month or so from serving, probably because I wasn't used to using the deltoid in that particular way. But in a tennis serve, the deltoid should play a large role. I wouldn't think the tricep plays a large enough role to become sore after a round of golf. Either way, if it goes away after a couple more rounds, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I would say you are over-extending your right arm too quickly on the downswing, but I can't be sure, we can't have perfect swings.

Hey guys I picked up a couple of free sleeves of each of these golf balls for free at Golf Galaxy earlier this year and was wondering if any of you guys had experience with these balls and would care to share. Thanks. -Gibby

I would just take my 60 degree and hit a standard chip, maybe ever so slightly open face, and try to land it a couple feet onto the green. If i had the right lie i might try a mini-flop. Either way i'm pretty confident in my short game, and i find it fun to execute all sorts of shots, even if i miss one every now and then. For chip shots, i would argue confidence is more important than anything. Any slight deceleration because of any hesitation makes incredible differences in the result.

While you mght be looking for every extra yard you can get, and just want to hit the ball as straight as possible, some of us might not need an extra 10 yards and prefer to have a more responsive ball for our short game. Plus once you have a decently consistent swing, there are lots of situations where being able to work the ball is much to your advantage. Personally, i just think TopFlites and most two piece balls feel rock hard and i hate putting and chipping with them. -Gibby

Couldn't agree more. This might be the most ridiculous question i've read in a while that is apparently...serious. *insert triple facepalm* Why do i carry my bag? Basically because i'm not a piece of crap. I don't have beef with anyone who wants to ride carts or push their bag, but for someone to tell me carrying my bag is dumb? That's sad if you're that out of shape and feel the need to justify it. Carrying a bag for 18 holes is not tiring at all if you're in half decent shape. Sure, if it's really hot or really hilly, you may not feel like prancing around, but you'll be just as tired walking and pushing a cart. Plus it's not as if the golf swing requires muscular endurance. If you can't summon up the strength to concentrate on swinging a club for 2 seconds, I have much pity on you for your lack of willpower and a competent human body. Basketball players can run up a down a basketball court for 40 minutes, and still have the strength to shoot a jumpshot, which requires much more energy. Granted, i'm not saying you have to be built like LeBron James, but I don't see why you should want to justify being like Tim Herron. Are you going to send your kids to school with one of those ridiculous luggage-backpacks because carrying a backpack is oh so much work? I could see you as someone who rides around a segway instead of walking out of laziness. Not that i care at all if someone wants to ride a segway, but if they then tell me i'm "wasting energy" by walking, I'm going to sue them for the hour of my life i just lost facepalming out of lost hope for society. What, next you're going to tell me to always use a straw, because lifting my coke up is just wasted energy? Not using a straw, man, that would just be stupid , you can get your excercise elsewhere. Please, hide in a closet, it's because of people like you that when i hear someone say "golf isn't a sport", or "americans are fat lazy turds", all i can do is open my mouth to retort...before realizing there are all too many of you who prove them right. Go ahead and be lazy and/or out of shape, i have no problem. I can be lazy too. Just don't try to make yourself feel better publicly. It's annoying and depressing. I'm going to have to go walk 18 tomorrow and immerse myself in rainbows and butterflies to restore my faith in the world. Coolness.

If you can hit your 3w 250 and are a 18 hc, just about the dumbest thing you could be worrying about is how to hit your 3w 275. Work on your short game. And learn to hit your driver, don't try to hide from it.

That happens when you completely miss the clubface....not something i'd expect from an 8 handicap.

I'd recommend Nike SV Tour wedges or Callaway X-Forged wedges. They are both going for $70 a piece i believe at Golfsmiths and Golf Galaxies. I went with Nike SV Tour Wedges at the beginning of the year to replace some old Purespin Wedges. I'm satisfied. They look and feel great, and the spin decent. At the price, they're both really solid options. I've also heard only the best feedback from Adams Tom Watson 3-Wedge packs for $90 which you could give a look. In my opinion there isn't much variation on the different brands of wedges as there are in say, irons. Most of it wll come down to if you like the look and feel of the wedge. Besides brand new Vokeys, most wedges are going to get similar amounts of spin. Get what you can be confortable with, and don't feel that you necesarily need to shell out $120 for a Vokey or CG15 -Gibby

Oh mannn that is terrifying. I wish I could that far consistently. In all honesty though, you guys aren't much of outliers as you think you are, if those are accurate distances. There are two guys on my highschool team that can drive our first hole consistently, par4 345 (it is a dogleg though, so it's more like 300 yard drives). Almost everyone on our team can come close to 300 yards if we give it our all in the right conditions. But I also realize what my average driving distance is, right at 250 yds, and I'm one of the shorter hitters on our team. When you become a good ballstriker, and have a reasonably efficient swing, it's really not that impressive to hit it 270. It's much more impressive if you can hit it 270 and straight, consistently You should be hitting the ball the furthest in your teens, where you are the most flexible, and most likely the strongest because you have time to go to the gym and lift and what not. I'm sorry I lied, I really wasn't all that scared when I read your post. I just peed myself a bit. -Gibby

errr..this from the same guy who made that pointless thread about which brand was best?... Seriously, since you seem so caught up in impressing everyone around you, you'd have a much easier time impressing people with good golf, not matching clubs from the brand you think is coolest or whatever o.O

I use a MaxFli Crossbax 1.0 (wilson 8802 style/napa style). I play the ball off my front foot and have a forward press going on. One of the most important aspects of putting IMO is to keep it natural. I think way too much emphasis is placed on "only use your shoulders"/"pendulum stroke" and people get too stiff and robotic. People also get all caught up with getting the ball rolling right from the get go. Honestly, it just doesn't matter if the ball goes airborne for a few inches, it's impossible to roll the ball perfectly, so stop trying to, you won't start putting backspin on the ball, i promise. It's impossible to develop any sort of feel if you are too mechanical and robotic. Both Camillo Villegas and Mickelson have emphasized this when they made their putting changes - putting like a kid again, just doing it naturally. I like to think about shooting a basketball right before I make my stroke. In basketball, no one thinks when they shoot. It all happens so fast you just have to do it. There's no thinking "hmmm...hoop is 12.5 feet away, I want my shot to peak riiiggghhttt there, keep my right elbow in...."etc. You've done it so much you will know what to do, so just do it. Particularly with the speed on lag putts, this helps a lot. It takes some time and practice to trust yourself enough to putt with this mindset confidently during a round, but it helps a lot. Some of you guys might be able to relate, but I know my revelation came when I was on the practice putting green one time. Normally I putt around with three balls, putt them out, then move on to another putt. Then I started noticing, after I took my three balls out of the hole and picked a new putt, sometimes I would sort of one hand the three balls off to a spot I wanted to putt from. Because I wasn't really thinking about how I was hitting the balls - with one hand, while walking - my balls would almost always end up right around the spot I was targeting, all within a foot or two from each other. I took this new mindset of trusting my instincts to my putting and it's worked wonders. Just hit the ball, you will know how hard to hit it, forget about the pendulum stroke and all that technical crap, and do what comes natural. -Gibby