collegefbfan

Yeah, I watched a video of a guy building some irons for a customer. He wanted PURE grips on them. They have a nice selection. I was hoping to stay around the $8-$9 per club for all irons and wedges. My son and daughter might be giving them to me for Father's Day. I don't wanna be like, hey just buy me these that are like $12 per grip. Something a little soft, little bit of cushion, and some tackiness. I just wanted to get some ideas. Many thanks.

Hey, many thanks in identifying those.

You all are light years ahead of me (just starting out). My goals: Have two lessons this summer. Become a lot more consistent with contact especially with irons and hybrids. No matter how much I want to hit driver, that is a focus later on. Spend at least an hour each day in the backyard hitting into the net or going to the driving range. Play a par 3 or this easy course about 25 minutes away.

Many thanks for the replies. I have a lesson in about two weeks. I am going to ask the instructor what he recommends. I remember thinking the grips on my old AP1's (bought used) felt a lot better. Old grips:

Yeah. As far as remaining still, I was thinking body rotates around the spine like an axis. Instead of pivoting, some like me, sway, come off that axis, leave weight on back foot, etc.

Oh I probably was thinking the wrong thing or the wrong way when I typed the golf swing was more of a body swing (in my mind). The in my mind part probably should have said in my opinion or based on what I have read. Just meant the body needs to be involved more than the hands and swinging the arms while the core remains still.

Thanks for all the replies folks. I was also thinking about when you have to tilt on the downswing and follow through. Different irons that are played have different lengths. Does this affect I guess what they call pelvic tilt? Or is it not that much difference really? I know I can ask my golf instructor these things and will. Lesson is near the end of the month. But just out of curiosity.

Many thanks. I read a lot of those posts. Man, that is really deep. As an old beginner, during a lesson or on the driving range, I have hit a good shot, you know pretty straight and it goes say 130 yards (7 iron). The very next swing, I dig a ditch behind the ball. I know I didn't do the same things on both swings. Even this last lesson I had, I would hit a pretty good shot, not so on the next shot. The instructor would quickly point out, "Hey you stayed on your back foot" or "Guess what happened there. You got all armsy or handsy". Sort of feels like I need a checklist when I prepare to swing each time. I can see it now before every swing, "Hey can you guys give me 10 minutes while I run through my checklist". In all seriousness, I see what you all are saying. I wouldn't be overthinking it so much if just I could make decent contact most of the time. Next lesson is about two weeks away. Can't wait.

The fact that he has a building that has one opening that hits out into a driving range, and the opposite wall has a golf simulator. The fact that weather will not play a part in my lessons. Every shot you take using either one is recorded and sent to you by email. I saw him just over a year ago for the first time, and it has gone downhill ever since. These weren't great results then, but it was my first lesson. Hitting a 7 iron then and this is total distance. Thoughts?

I was pondering a repeatable golf swing beings I am a beginner, and a lot of things have presented themselves in bad ways. I am mainly speaking irons here. The thing about golf is the ball is still, but the golfer is also standing over the ball. Are we saying that each time I hit the ball, my spine angle, lead arm, trail arm, wrists, etc. have to be just about exact to have a repeatable golf swing? This is already a "funky" position to be in, and a "funky" move to make. The golf swing is more of a body swing (in my mind). The ball is small and the sweet spot is small. I just feel defeated in the fact that I need to bend over the ball the same way every time, same knee bend, same swing arc, and hit a small ball with a small sweet spot. When I watch club fittings on YouTube, these guys are swinging about the same speed within 1 mph or so. Their Trackman numbers are pretty identical even in 10-20 swings. I am just trying to make sure that this is the main summary of what needs to be done. As a beginner, how did you all think through the process to make the swing repeatable? Much appreciated.

I feel that the stock grips on my Wilson D9's are a little thin. The grips on my other clubs (purchased used online and sold by me a couple months ago) were Golf Pride and they looked like the wrapped version. I will say they felt like they had a little more cushion. I don't have particularly large hands. Did the grips on my other clubs have more tape or was just a better feeling softer grip? I have no idea. Well, any brands you would recommend that have a softer feel?

Thanks for including me on this article. I really appreciate it. I will try to explain what my objectives are and what I have done in the past with other instructors. I have been to five instructors in 4 years. Some of that time included a year layoff. I told each one that my main goal was to make good contact and hit the ball straight, I didn't care about crazy long distance. I know other things matter when hitting different clubs, where the ball is placed in the stance, rough or sand, etc. 1st instructor (about an hour away) was PGA certified, and he was more worried about me watching him hit his 6 iron straight than teaching me anything. For the little time he watched me hit, he watched me hit ground ball after ground ball with no advice or suggestions. 2nd instructor (1.5 hours away) was better, but it was more about club lag/lean without really telling me how to do it. 3rd instructor (about 40 minutes away) was PGA certified and said he taught a relaxed swing. I never really got what that meant. 4th instructor (1.75 hours away) was at a very nice country club and PGA certified with all the stuff a student would want. Never looked at grip. Also told me that the "wrists take care of themselves in the swing". Really? Have you seen all the questions about wrist hinge and timing? Tells me to get weight on my lead foot/leg but no drills or thought processes on how to accomplish it. Most current instructor (50 minutes away) looked at everything. Checks grip, has a way to have my weight on my lead foot/leg, etc. I said hey when do I come back. He says after you have become comfortable with these "short" shots and making consistent contact, we will discuss a good time for another lesson. I know being PGA certified matters to a lot of folks. I sort of relate it to this: I have had my vehicles worked on by my step grandfather, my father in law, my brother in law, even myself. None of us are ASE certified, but it got fixed without tons of wrong guesses as to what it could be. I am just a 50 year old guy that should have taken the game up 20-25 years ago. I have always liked the sport a lot. Just wanna be a guy that can hit the ball consistently and not hook, slice, and shank every other swing. Many thanks you all.

He does club fitting at another location. I thought there were a lot of people that were fans of learning from the hole outwards. When you are a 50 year old beginner like me, making contact and making it go pretty straight is a far different side of the spectrum that fatting it, thinning it, whiffing it, etc. He has been instructing for 30 years. I have been to 4 PGA teaching professionals. Not a single one of them looked at me gripping the club, saying it was fine, etc. Isn't the grip the only thing that connects the player to the club? I don't even have a consistent full swing yet, not sure measuring for lie angle and that stuff would matter at this point. Thanks you all.

So, I was looking for a golf instructor that was a bit closer to me. I made a couple of calls and was in touch with a guy about an hour from me. I call, and he says that he is a club fitter, club restorer, and instructor. I asked what technology he has and teaching area. He replies that he has a big front yard, a big backyard, and a net in the backyard. The good news, he charges $50 an hour. I said heck, why not. Didn't know what to expect. By far the best lesson I have had. We started out with short pitch shots. I had been shanking, hooking, slicing, and all the bad stuff. He wants to work on short stuff first. He says that if you can't hit it straight from 40 yards, how successful will you be hitting it straight from 140 yards. He tweaked my grip and worked on some swing mechanics, and I was hitting 20-40 yard pitch shots pretty straight. He also gave me a tour of his shop where he restores old clubs.

My swing isn't super consistent quite yet. I have hit my driver around 200, sometimes 190 sometimes 200-205. But usually around 190. I have only hit the 5 hybrid a few times due to all the rain we have had lately. At best it was around 160-165. I totally see what you all are saying about needing club to fill the gap more than a club to fill the bag. Many thanks.

I have driver, then 5 hybrid is next.

My bag is a club or two from being complete. My instructor said I would probably swing hybrids better than woods. I got a good deal on a 5 hybrid last week. Now, I am torn among a 3 hybrid (some say lower swing speeds and 3 hybrids aren't a good pairing), a heavenwood (might be too pricey), a hy-wood, a fy-brid, etc. Do I need a 4 hybrid more than a 3 hybrid? I am a 50 year old total beginner on a little bit of a budget. I know many will say you need to go out and swing a few at your local shop. My area has one local shop and offers very little. I hope to order online from a place that has a 30 day play it guarantee. Currently, I am looking at: Wilson LP LaunchPad Fybrid Draw Bias 19.5* brand new $57.00 Cobra Fly Z XL 19* very good condition $45.00 Why is this club so cheap? I have read great things about it. Cobra King F9 19* 3 Hybrid great condition Not sure how high the bid will go on this one. Cobra Baffler H Rail Older technology is keeping me away a bit. Prices are low. Cleveland HiBore Same as Cobra Baffler H Rail Cobra T Rail Newer technology. $70 - $90 Any others you suggest... Many thanks for all help and suggestions.

I mean he has been the most helpful so far in that the others didn't do much for my swing. This instructor showed me a few drills to keep the club from coming over the top, evened out my swing path, and saw that I was making the mistake of falling back on my trail foot at the point of contact or a little after that. We did a few drills there that helped a lot of other things. However, I know that in my head/mind/body/thought processes or whatever that I just don't want to follow through (belt buckle towards target at or near the end of the swing). I know there is no way that a one hour lesson was going to cure all the problems of a 50 year old beginner, especially one that doesn't want to turn the body around the spine. And my head or upper body wants to raise up also. That is a lot to remedy in one lesson. The videos that were posted here that I thought were good/great in that there are some simple thought processes presented. One of them was put a piece of tape on a full length mirror about where your sternum is. Then, turn the body to where your left shoulder is at the same spot on the mirror as the tape. Things like that click in my mind better.

Oh yeah for sure. He has told me to send a video or two after I have practiced some. However, three days away for anniversary and the rain here, I haven't had the chance. I am wondering if I can clean out the garage and put my net in there. The rafters might be a little low. We will see.

I totally agree. I am on my 4th instructor. I am driving over an hour and a half to get instruction. The current one is by far the most helpful. And the lessons are indoors, so rain is not a factor, which is huge because all it seems to do here is rain. He mainly wanted me to focus on weight transfer to the lead foot/leg and follow through. However, not a lot of drills were provided for this. He was able to correct the swing path during the first lesson. He was able to see that I had a lot of the pieces of the swing down, they just aren't in the correct sequence. I know the faults won't all be fixed in one lesson. Not necessarily trying to watch random videos for help, but I do like simple thought processes to try and improve what needs to be worked on. Many thanks.

Man, those videos are great so far. Super detailed so far. Many thanks!

Whew, not sure I want to embarrass myself quite this early.

April 1st: Finally, a golf instructor that can actually teach. I was glad to be on the simulator and not out on the range in front of a lot of other folks. I show up, and he is just finishing up with another customer. The guy at the front desk sets up the simulator and says it's all yours. Just practice a bit. I actually did just south of okay. I made contact, but man, everything was going to the right off the hosel and badly to the right. I haven't had a chance to swing any in quite awhile. So much rain and busy cleaning out our deceased friend's house. The instructor comes in, and he notices right away my swing path is pretty bad, also, I just will not finish the follow through. We do a couple of drills, and my swing path is looking better. However, I am still hitting about 80% of my shots off the hosel. And severely off the hosel. The instructor said that I need and he wants me to have about 60% of the weight on my front foot even on the backswing. Staying on that back foot is a killer. And then in the follow through, he wants to see by belt buckle point towards the target. I am lifting my back foot heel right after contact. He wants to see it happen right before contact. Another thing is I am raising up a lot of times during the downswing/follow though. THE GOOD FROM THIS FIRST LESSON: I actually hit the ball. I really couldn't believe how many balls I actually hit and how very few I whiffed on. I told the guy that set up the simulator before the instructor came in that I could hit my 7 iron about 130-140 yards with my best contact shots. I was very close to being right on that. Improvement of swing path. THE BAD FROM THIS LESSON: Hitting the hosel and heel on almost every freaking swing. So many ground balls too. Update: Was going to set the golf net up today. No use as it will rain here the next three days. So, anyone here please provide some swing drills and/or swing thoughts that make you stay down in the golf swing. I need to rotate around my spine like a pivot point and transfer weight to the lead foot. Many thanks.

New member here. A 50 year old total beginner. I have decided to get some lessons on the regular. I have one next month. I have purchased the Wilson D9 irons. I got a great deal on them, brand new, and trying to sell the Titleist AP1's I have. The technology is so advanced compared to the 712 AP1's. Currently, I don't have anything in between my driver and 5 iron. I just need a couple of clubs to close the gap. I am going to ask the instructor which route he thinks I should take in regards to hybrids or woods or both. I do have a budget in mind. Just for discussion, what do you all think about these? I am looking for something for a 50 year old beginner. I just want to hit the ball straight and as far as my body allows. Any advice on any of these would be appreciated. HYBRIDS: Tour Edge E522 Hybrid #5... 25 degrees. $100 Wilson Launchpad 2 Hybrid #5... 25.5 degrees. $80 FAIRWAY: Callaway Steelhead XR 5 Wood... 18 degrees. $110 Wilson Launchpad 2; 5 Wood... 18 degrees. $85 Wilson Launchpad 2; 7 Wood... 22 degrees. $80 Snake Eyes Golf MAX 5 Wood... 18 degrees. $100 Mizuno ST-X 220 5 Wood... 18 degrees. $120

I am a 50 year old beginner. I needed some newer technology from the AP1 712's I have. Just bought a set of Wilson D9 irons brand new with the discount, a total of $314.