pendlebg

The only way this makes sense to me is if and only if I get everything right in my swing and the club gets back down parallel around the hip, then my right hand is free to pretty much fire as hard as it can in that last split second through the ball (and I sense the momentum of the swing drives that more than I force the right hand into action, so it is still somewhat a result of a good swing for me) . If anything goes wrong in the swing between takeaway and that point, then any right hand action from at that point here is a killer. As you mention OTT, that is an example where the swing has already gone bad and firing the right hand more just makes it worse, staying passive in that case will lead to a better result. This is my opinion and experience only, others may disagree.

I had the same problem and did 2 things. The first , and most important was fixing my overall swing. Many of my flaws were present in my irons, but I got away with it because they are easier to hit (instead of a snap hook on bad swings it might be a pull). However, out of all of those, the #1 thing that I had to change to hit my 3 wood was to stop being overactive with my hands. Relative to where I was it felt like my fix came once I felt I was doing nothing at all with my hands on the swing. Once that was done I hit my 3 wood much better (as well as having my other clubs improve as well). The second thing was I bought a 5 wood when I was struggling with my 3 wood. I still use the 5 wood over the 3 wood. It is straighter and I tend to find I only might have maximum one or two shots a round that the added distance of the 3 wood might help, and even then, it would be marginal help at best given the extra risk. So, even though I feel I can hit either my 5 wood or my 3 wood now, I keep the 5 wood in the bag and carry an extra wedge instead of the 3 wood.

1) Developing 3/4 swing to tighten the circle I aim for, dropping distance on every iron by 10 yards at the same time. 2) Develop reliable FW Wood and hybrid swing to stretch out over a longer range of distance (see above not where irons are being shortened, need more range with woods/hybrids to make up for that) 3) Put Driver in the fairway more often End goal is to increase GIR's from 5-6 per round up to 9 - 10 per round.

Tampa / St. Petes area always good. Have had friends go to Inverness, just north of there and had a very good time. Many, many choices in Florida. Curious if anyone has ever tried South America? I know it is a much longer flight which makes it tough for a one week trip, but maybe 10 - 11 days (2 weekends bookending a week) would make sense. Argentina would be nice in the winter I am sure. If anyone has done that please share any details about whether it is worth considering (or not)?

yes that does suck but hopefully someday. Nice picture, when I was there the overhead entertainment was a little noisier, about every 20 minutes - half hour about 2 or 3 F-16's or F18's (I am not a military jet guy but they were low, fast, and loud) buzzed the course. Very impressive and glad I saw then (no idea if buzzing jets is par for the cours,e so to speak ) , certainly but made it harder to putt if they buzzed you on the green but an added element to the experience nonethelss.

It has been a long, long time for me so my memory is fuzzy, but if you are across the bay and not far from Berkeley, I remember playing a course that is in a park around Berkeley that if I recall correctly, I enjoyed, very nice scenery and some very hilly holes as I recall. The name was Tilden Park and was also reasonably priced. Others with more recent memory might tell me I was wrong, but I think it is at least worth checking into.

1) An early spring 2) Good weather for the week I pick to go to Florida and golf this winter.

Read Extraordinary Putting by Fred Shoemaker (I think). Some of the text is a little flaky but the drills are very good to try and tackle the mental side of putting, which has a direct relationship on the physical part of putting. I was an average putter at best and working on those drills has made me above average. On a recent round I had 27 putts, which would never have happened before I started working on the drills in that book.

Although I am not sure about the weekends, I am pretty sure if you are there at 4 - 5 am you will get out with no problem. Definitely ask the locals and the starter when you go there Friday. The putting greens are right there by the parking lot, I did not see the range as I was teeting off at dawn, there would appear to be no problem practicing. If you are a 12 then breaking 95 is certainly doable, if you stay out of serious trouble and keep the 3 putts to a minimum (they will be there, count on 5 or 6 or so more putts than your average) then breaking 90 is doable ( I had a quad and a triple on my card, which cost me a sub 95 score), but play the round for the experience, not for the score. I am a 14 and shot 97 and left several strokes on the course. Birdies will be hard to come by, but I missed 2 by leaving the ball right on the edge of the cup twice (#4 and #8, a little California quake would have jiggled them in), so they are out there. You can take aim at the flags and stick the ball right there (or suck it back pretty easy if you use a high spin ball, I used a low spin ball which just stuck wherever I hit it) , which helps trying for birdies, but on any sucker pins be extra careful, some of the greenside bunkers are tough (I was in them on #1 and #2 on the right, got away with it on one but did not on two) and a few holes (#3 and #14 come to mind) if you go long your ball is gone into the canyon. Watch out for the canyon to the right off of the 6th tee (Par 5), anything hit that way is gone ( I was lucky and hit down the left side). If you are long then #9 is the best chance for a Par 5 birdie hole (or #6 if you stay away from the canyon), both have openings in the front you can run the ball on with. The Par 5s on the back 9 have more trouble and you would need to fly the green, (pond on 18 and a serious gully and bunkered hill on #13). Almost every hole will have fairway bunkers in play, at first I thought I could fly some of them but at sea level I could not. Most of my tee shots were around the bunkers, fortunately only one went in. One other thing I thought of, if you do not have a GPS or rangefinder, buy a yardage book. I had none of the above and it was difficult finding sprinklerheads to get yardages.

Ok, I just got back and played the South course last week. Here are my tips 1) Locals told me it is quieter this time of year. I showed up at 4:30 (still on east coast time so not a big deal). however those that showed up as late as 6:30 were still able to get on as far as I could tell. I was not there on a weekend and both the South and North were open so that might make it easier, cannot say if going on the weekend would be easier. If you can go Monday - Thursday it will be much cheaper. FYI - a sign posted on the course indicated the course is playing in tournament conditions. This would not be US open conditions as the rough was not as bad as it could be, but could be similar to the Buick, will have to check it out next year and compare when the tour hits there again. So great fun to play, but do not expect to drop your handicap. 2) Try and find a coffee shop or breakfast place before you get there. The breakfast spot at TP opened about 6 am. 3) The bag lineup is along the patio fencing overlooking the course right beside the starters booth, closest bag to the starter is first (although it sounds like the weekend deal is parking in the lot and the last car puts their lights on). 4) Definitely walk the course if you can. It is a much better walking course then it is a riding one. I walked and enjoyed it, the cart paths are often a long, long way from the fairway and when I was there it was cart path only. 5) The north course just had some damage with a mower leaking oil on the greens on the front 9. Apparently it is aesthetic only and will not affect play, who knows they may discount the fee for the Norht though. 6) Be prepared for fast greens, especially if you are not used to them. But the good side is the greens will hold almost anything you throw in there. I had 38 putts and actually felt I putted pretty well. There is no easy 2 putt on the course I could see. 7) Watch out for fog, it had cleared up before sunrise when I was there but could be a problem. Not sure how you predict it (maybe ask the locals( , but I could easily see a bank of fog rolling in from the ocean. Saw it several times in the days I was in Lajolla, especially in the morning. I understand there are no fogchecks available. 8) I am a 14 handicap and my goal was to break 100, which I did by hitting 97, I could see if I had several cracks at it I could break 90 as well, but not regularly. I was probably 5 - 6 putts higher than normal, which is to be expected on those greens, and I played 2 holes very poorly (and 8 on the 9) Play the whites, they are 6600 yards and obviously right at sea level (the blues are over 7000) , with the morning dew there is not much roll, so it plays much longer and most of the greens are very well protected. Even from the whites I hit a lot of 5 , 6 and 7 irons in and one of the players I played a little shorter than me with hit a lot of FW woods in (but remember the greens will hold so you should not worry about rolling through the back). 10 ) I would say that the comments about most golfers there being mid handicappers would be true. My foursome was 2 guys who where around 10 and me and another guy who were both about 14. Gorgeous course and you will not regret getting up early to play it.

Just got back and played Torrey Pines and Coronado, like them both very much. Torrey Pines South you can play as a 20 handicap, just play off the Gold Tees, they are about 6000 yards. I am a 14 and played the Whites at about 6600 yards. If you are longer and not so straight then the Whites are playable. Do not worry about score, just enjoy the round. The putting is what will get you, very fast greens but they do hold very well, my foursome had a lot of 4 -5 footers go 5 feet past (or more) . The rough was very manageable I found. This time of year it is easier to get on if you go in the morning, get there on a weekday by 5:30 a.m and you will get on no problem, not sure about weekends. Even easier to get out if you want to play the North, almost everyone that came out wanted to play South as I did. Also, call ahead to the course and check the schedule, they will tell you the best days to come out in the morning to get on early. Coronado is also a lot of fun and the views are great. A lot of locals there so tougher to get on but I showed up at about 6 a.m., first tee time was about 6:45 and I was out on the course around 7:30. Those are the only 2 I can speak first hand about but Torrey pines is an incredible course and worth the money (unless you want full service and to be catered to your every whim, which does not happen there), but everyone who is there is very nice.

I tend to think that different people benefit from different approaches. After 2 years of reworking my swing in very mechanical ways I found this book and the follow up Extraordinary Putting very helpful. It helped me eliminate mechanical notions from my swing, develop trust that for the most part my swing was pretty good, and gave me something very specific to the swing that was happening in real time to focus and concentrate on. This helped free my swing up considerably and my ballstriking, short game and putting have all improved as a result. The thing I did not realise was that by doing that, it did help me understand at a better level where I still had mechanical flaws, so served to work in practice as a feedback mechanism to help me identify what mechanical parts of the swing needed work. However, a case in point of how this helped, the other day I played a round and my primary ballflight off the tee was a fade. This is odd for me and in the past I would have fought it all the way around trying to eliminate it on the course. After reading this book I decided to take the approach that my swing felt good and felt reproducible but that day I was doing something that was causing a fade. My result was I went with it and kept trying to enjoy the swing I had. I realigned for the rest of the round and simply trusted that I would achieve the fade ballflight and it worked. I left it until my next range session to try and determine why I started fading. It was a little difficult and I ended up with a few bogies and doubles early on until I decided to trust the fade was what I brought to the course that day and went with it. As soon as I did my swing was smoother and I hit my line for the rest of the round.

You very well maybe had this checked and determined not to be the issue, but I had some of the very same symptoms you describe, went several weeks without the pain improving and thinking it was a muscle problem but it turned out to be a gallbladder attack. It did go away for me after a very severe and painful attack that told me it was not a muscle problem, ended up in emergency, doctor diagnosed the gallbladder attack and then went for Ulrasound to investigate further. But if you have not had that checked out (or kidney stones are similar) you might want to. It is very painful, feels like a muscle pull, and will either go away or else you may need your gallbladder removed (not a big deal from what I hear) or have your kidney stones dealt with. Certainly a good chance that is not it, but apparently gallbladder attacks are misdiagnosed as muscle pulls all the time. Good luck.

Hi, I am in he same position, will be in San Diego next week so I called TP and asked the best way to get on as a single. Response was show up about 5 - 5:30 am and get in line. First tee time is about 6:30 and first booked tee time is 7:30. Those who come early will be put out in order of arrival for the first 6 tee times from 6:30 - 7:20, so that would be 24 players per course, hence room for 48 if both courses are available for early play. Best to call the course and ask the schedule for the day you are playing, depending on tournaments, etc.. some days are better than others to get on and some days one or the other course will not be available to you. For example next week I was told Thursday and Friday morning would be the best days to come early and get on. I do have a question I forgot to ask for those who have done this before. 1) I read the "lineup rules" for how you establish the order of who goes first in the morning and it sounds like you put your golf bag in a rack that holds your spot. For weekends there was a car lineup rule where as each car comes you put you parking lights on. My question is, if you are renting clubs and arrive with no bag and arriving by cab so have no car then how would one do that? I presume there is an easy answer, like put a golf glove or something there or just stand by the rack at your spot or tap on the window of the last car to get the name of who you will be behind. something like that. 2) Given it sounds like for the early morning spots they like to move things along quickly, do they have rental bags right at the check in post to hand you? Would hate to get out there and have them expect all early morning players to have brought clubs to get on. This will be the only round this trip I play so am not prone to want to lug my clubs down for a single round. I read earlier you get Taylor Made rentals which would suit me fine. I want to bring my shoes, some balls, glove, repair tool, and then grab some clubs and tees at the course. Thanks for any tips anyone may have on when to arrive (e.g. how early) to ensure getting out between 6:30 and 7:30 and any lineup etiquette tips. I will call the course again before flying out but thought someone who has the players experience could share some wisdom. Thanks

Here is my experience with how someone who can drive 250 -300 yards (depending on roll, wind, elevation, etc..) yards and 105 - 110 mph swingspeed can have a 20 handicap. Now that is optimal distance, many drives (with Driver) could be 180 yard snap hooks or 250 yard slices. Hard to say what average Driver driving distance would be on the course as I rarely hit driver due to inconsistency. Driving clubs over 90% of the time have been mainly irons, hybrid and 3 wood. If someone is talking Average distance in that range then that is a different story I would agree, a 20 handicap does not average that driving distance, but reaches it when the ball is hit properly. In the past 3 years, have dropped handicap from 20 to 17 to 13 but driving distance has been the same. What has changed is accuracy and control. For the most part rarely use driver due to tendency to spray. Next years goal is to get driver under control and start to take advantage of that length on the course and continue to improve short game to get to single digit handicap (here's hoping anyway). Main point for this thread is that swing speed was the same regardless of handicap, but mechanics improved every year with effort and practice.

Thanks all, after a few weeks of working on this, I think the flying elbow was the main culprit. A bit of focus on that and I realised it is a very natural move away from the ball to let the right elbow go out (think of the big "C" arc of the elbow on the tennis forehand, which I have). What I think I discovered is that since it is such a natural move for me, nothing registered in my brain as incorrect until later in the backswing when the body is in full compensation mode to try and recover the swing (which is of course, hopeless). An interesting corollary came out of that discovery, which I do not know if it is related to tennis in any way, but part of the correction was to eliminate my forward press, which I barely even noticed I was doing (again, just felt natural), but in fact was very forward. Getting the clubhead pointed to the belt buckle instead of the left hip at setup for me helped me to setup at address with no tension in the right hand and arm anywhere and allowed the swing path to controlled by the core and without the right elbow and arm trying to take over. The forward press definitely activated the muscles in the right arm right from setup and they would then just become increasingly more active throughout the entire swing. Still working on this, but the end result when done properly is a simpler and smoother feeling swing for me. Thanks for the tips.

thanks for the input. as I said this is jsut a theory. To what Yamhang said, yes that is my intent, to turn the body and keep the hands/arms out of it. However one of my problems is doing precisely that and I have narrowed it down to one very specific point in the swing where my right arm/hand just jump in and take over. If I make it past that point without it happening, all is good. It seems to me it is the point at which the arm happens to be in the same spot rlative ot the body with the holf swing and the tennis serve. It is just a theory but for me I personally have hit likely a factor of a hundred more serves in my life then hit golf balls, so am wondering if it is a tenins muscle memory that I am fighting. Thanks again.

Quick question on this to determine if this is normal or not. Have worked on what I "think" this is, which does generate a more promounced feel that the club accelerates through the ball, all good. Also get the feeling of posting on the left leg more and not drifting too forward. Last good thing is that the follow through is more complete and I can "tap" the right toe at the end and finish in good balance. Those are all good. however, after doing this for awhile, admittedly for the first time, the left side of the left knee and left hip are a little sore. Is this normal while adopting this (and requires more stretching exercises to build up flexibility and strength on the left side of the left leg) or is it possibly overcooking the move abit and the correct feeling is likely not quite as severe as I may be doing. Wodnering if others expereince when first doing this is to expect a little bit of achiness until you get it smoothed out or not. Not talking excruciating pain here, but just the general achiness of stretching out where you aren't used to it. Thanks

I have a theory, but not sure about it, wanted to gather some thoughts. I seems to me that about 2/3 of the way through the backswing in golf, the right arm / hand is roughly in the same position (similiar muscle memory feel) as it is during the tennis serve backswing. At that point however, the path of the club in the golf swing and the path of the racquet in the tennis serve diverge greatly (in tennis this is where your elbow starts separating from your body moving upward into the serve). As a tennis player first I get the feeling I have a strong muscle memory that activates the hand and forearm at that point and subconsciously wants to route it where I would for a serve. I get the feeling that if I can get past that point and resist the muscle memory manipulation, then then the rest of my golf swing continues and I usually have a good swing. If I cannot pass the point without the right arm / hand muscle activation, then the rest of the swing could be just about anything depending on whether it is a little twitch of full fledged yank of the club. Does this make sense to anyone else? If you play alot more tennis then golf, have you ever noticed an urge to activate the right hand/arm as you are nearing the top of the backswing and subsequently destroy that particular golf swing? Mainly curious about other thoughts on this.

Yes, a lesson is the best route, but if you are stubborn like me, you are likely convinced that just a little more work will solve it. Question for you. Is your weight distribution different after the driver then the low irons?. Again, I am comparing to my flaws, which is presumptious but all I can do, but I find this thread very helpful as I feel you are describing me (so I will therefore talk more about me in the hopes we both have the same problem). I find when I get this worked out I finish nicely balanced with weight on the left side and being able to "tap" my right toe on the ground in balance for my 3 iron and 2 hybrid but still do not get my weight forward on my driver, still hanging back and and my right heel doesn't come up. My goal is once I get the feel on the 3 iron and 2 hybrid to reproduce that with the driver, which takes much longer to get (again, for me). For a test, my next range session will have one change. As I work to longer clubs (once one club feels good, I move to a longer club) , I don't use a tee until I get to my driver. I think I will forego the tee and try to hit the driver off the ground (well, the mats in this case, which makes it easier to do this). If that works then I will reintroduce the tee, basicaly inserting one more step in the correction process. Am wondering if I have a mental block about the ball height that unconsciously changes my swing to hang back on the right side and overdo hitting up on the driver instead of letting the ball position and club arc take care of it. Will let you know. I do agree with all the posts about relaxation. I suspect the problem is rooted in being too tense / swinging too hard w. the driver, and that starts wth grip, stance, posture. I think I am much tenser right from the get go with the driver. I may also try alternating clubs on balls between 3 iron (or 2 hybrid)and driver, to see if I get the 2 swings closer together in feel. The perverse thing about this whole problem is that once it is sorted out and things are fine, then it creeps back in if and only if I hit my driver alot on the course. If my driver stays in the bag, my swing stays smooth. If my driver comes out, then it works back to the overhitting, which then creeps into my hybrids, long irons and I get into trouble off many tees. Logic would dicate to keep the driver in the garage instead of the bag and I would be fine for more extended periods of time. However, on nice dry days, with some roll my driver has ended up over 300 yds and straight (with a nice , smooth swing)and I am not willing to give up on having the capability of putting for eagle on Par 5's (even though those strokes are lost 10 fold due to the penalty strokes incurred when the swing goes south again). Playing smart golf is for me is an on again off again pursuit. Some day I will learn, maybe tomorrow will be that day but I doubt it.

My fix for this, when I start having an awful time of pulls or banana slices, depending on which compensations I made during the swing, Was found in a reread of Hogans 5 fundamentals and a mental refresher of things taught to me by a pro combined with time on a range. In fact, usually if I start to struggle, I reread hogans book and something stands out that gets me back on the right track. 1) Get the grip right (my true grip test is how the club sits at the top of the backswing as opposed to address, if I grip wrong, the club in my hands feels more wrong at the top of the backswing then it does at address) 2) Backswing: Let the shoulders turn the hips around (I tend to overrotate my hips going back). Feel the tension build in the inner right thigh 3) Feel the club staying in plane and pointing more toward the target at top of backswing. My flaw is to flatten the swing out and drop below the plane. The longer the club, the worse the problem. 4) Start the downswing with the left knee and hips and feel more like pulling with the core body rotation instead of pushing it with the arms. Focus on hips then shoulders then arms then hands then club. But really focus on left knee/hips first and all else should follow. That said, those are the things I used to fix as those are my flaws, other components of the swing I think I do more or less right (or my flaws or less severe which is more likely), so an instructor can help better if your flaws are different. hope it helps

Thank you. That helps considerably. My current thinking has refined to the following. as my PW is 46, and I am keeping my Cleveland 588 60 degree (for now, anyway), was looking at the T Series 51-6 and the 56-13 to have my gaps at 5, 5, and 4. Any thoughts on the different models (Chrome, Black Nickel, Raw Haze). Is the difference mainly a visual one? Or are there playing characteristics worth noting. I suspect for me that any difference in playing characteristics between them would fall well behind improving my technique in order of importance for improved wedge play, but I might as well ask before I buy instead of after. Thanks

you can add a 14 degree hybrid as an option. TaylorMade and Hogan both have them, as I am sure others do. I am thinking of replacing 3 Wood with one. If it works, let me know.

I am about the same handicap and, after recently trying some irons by TM, Cleveland, and Callaway along with 2 sets of Mizuno's I settled on a set of Mizuno MX-23's. Far and away the best combination of feel and forgiveness. The Mizuno MP series had better feedback but were not foregiving enough compared to the MX-23 for my game. If I am lucky enough to fine the time required to become a low handicapper I may look at the MP's (or whatever the equivalent is that many years down the line). I am in the camp who thinks that any other irons in the same category just don't compare to Mizuno. Likely personal preference but the combination of feel and the way my mishits stay generally on line and don't lose much yardage. I have had mishits that felt they would be 20 yards short and well right with other clubs endup on the fringe instead with the MX 23's. I know price is not a big deal for you, but the MX-23's are being discounted since the MX-25 was introduced. Not sure if the 25' are any better than the 23's but the price of the 23's is excellent right now. By the way, on a round a month ago I friend who has the TM Game Improvement Clubs hit the 7 iron and didn't want to give it back. Good luck.

Thanks and yes I am likely overthinking this. I guess I could rephrase my question to be as follows. If you assume I will buy mizuno wedges and have Mizuno MX23 irons, does anyone have any suggestions as to which model makes the most sense? I completely understand if the best answer is try them for yourself, which I will likely do anyway. But, if I were to consider good shape used club option and stab a guess, then was looking for anyone who has tried this combo and has input, good, bad or otherwise. Choice seems to be the T Series vs. R Series or some older models. Other than Mizuno's web site description, cannot find any comparison on them. Thanks