Shindig

Anyone see the article in the new issue of Golf Digest about this? The issue came in (for me) yesterday and I read the article today. Hank Haney wrote about a variety of things that may be causing the increase in foreign players, and what domestic teens and early-20s folks are doing to hurt their abilities.

So, I have a funny story about getting clubs, and the putters are just a part of it. When I first went to play (Nov 05) for-real, I used my grandfather's old clubs (1970s era clubs). I played a par-3s only course, and kept at those and executive courses for a while. As such, I decided to buy a set of irons (rather than a new driver). I could tell more of the story - is there a thread for "how did you put together your first set of clubs?" - but the short story is I kept his putter for a while. It was a Dunlop Andrews: a mallet style putter. Eventually, I got fed up with this and took mom's old putter; she hasn't played since she was in her 30s, other than to come with me to the range a few times. Hers was a blade-style "Patty Berg" Wilson putter, and I loved that. I started putting really well (for me)... almost always two-putting or better once I was on a green. Of course, most of this time, I was playing small courses, so the greens weren't large either. In November, the golf store near me had a "Tent sale" and I bought a used driver, 3W, hybrid, and putter. Due to their money-back guarantee, I've sinced returned all except the putter, using the credit for other clubs (such as "same club regular flex shaft instead" for all three, degree change in some). The putter, a Ping Anser, is sticking with me for a while. I've contemplated getting a Scotty Cameron putter at some point, but I figure I need to be putting well to warrant such a purchase, and then I'd be betraying the putter that got me there. So, 3 putters in a year, technically, but I won't be switching again for a while.

Of course. In her shoes, I'd do that too... but there are only four majors, plus their match-play. Although in retrospect, she's holding on for events hosted by her sponsors.

No, but they're going on my "to read" list.

I'm incredibly jealous. I didn't pick up the clubs until after I was eligible for NCAA status. Not on purpose. I often say that if I had picked up golf at a younger age, I'd be doing something very different now. My current job, computer science -related stuff, comes from a childhood hobby that I kept practicing because I enjoyed it. [I'm not claiming I'd be a pro, but I'd try to find a job where "corporate golf" is part of the job]

My problem with books is that they tend to have very different instructions in them, which causes me to have multiple thoughts in my head when I swing (should I putt the way Pelz says or Harmon says?, etc). Maybe spend the time and money on a gym membership and do golf-related fitness?

She's supposed to play in the LPGA's first major. Somehow, she wasn't set to play in the LPGA events in her home state.

Why? I find every 12 holes or so, I've cut my ball to the point where I don't think it'll fly well anymore (the other reason it doesn't fly well is because it's me hitting it). I put it away and put it in the shag bag when I get back to the car. Maybe you play with balls stronger than mine (Strata)? Or am I being wasteful by putting it away?

I have a huge problem here too on par-3s. I don't know why, but I have some guesses. Probably because so many of the practice places for me are mats, so I'm just used to hitting off a mat with my irons, hybrids, and woods (I never practice driver on rubber tees, but hit that just fine). But on par-3s, especially long ones, I have horrible problems. For 180-200 yard par-3s, I need to hit hybrid, 5W, or 3W, and I almost never hit GIR. Maybe I should try to get distance with irons, since I hit my traditional 4-Iron 155 yards or so. I hope you don't mind if I add Par-3 Tee Shots to my list of goals, inspired by your post.

Well, if college doesn't work out for me, I'll see what I can do about being such a person ;) Seriously, people complain about Tiger's playing frequency... and there will probably be a problem keeping the purses as high as they are without either another star or more Tiger. But, on the other hand, someone could come along and dominate those tournaments. Or there could be a variety of players who, together, become big players. We discussed Jeff Quinney on another thread; maybe he'll come along in a few years and be a big player. He's got the charisma. Meanwhile, Camilo Villegas and Bubba Watson could be crowd gatherers. Or if Tim O'Neal makes it to the big leagues, I think he'll draw fans. And then there's Tadd, but his career on the PGA Tour is 4-8 years off. I'm not saying that any of the above will dominate the game the way Tiger does. I am saying that they seem to have charisma and could provide interesting duels without seeming too far removed from us mortals.

I haven't read all that many (yet), but last summer, there was a time where I was missing the ball consistently by coming over the top - not topping the ball (which would have been preferable, as it would've moved the ball at the same cost), but literally missing over it. I picked up a copy of Butch Harmon's The Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf back in July. I'll admit, I didn't pay much attention to the parts where he spoke about the mechanics of hitting shots, but rather I read the parts about him, about course management, and about fitness. At this point, I decided to start with the fitness (medicine ball every morning, rest of the stretches/exercises a few times a week scattered) and then get lessons (I don't figure I can learn the golf stroke out of a book. Same reason I ignore the physical lesson portions of Golf Digest ) The book got me excited about the game again, and next week while at the range, I witnessed the pro that I now work with give lessons to a variety of players. I scheduled a lesson and now can hit the ball (an important step to improvement). Unrelated to content or experience, the last time that my mom went back to Korea she bought me a book that I think, based on the illustrations, is about how to play golf. Of course, it's in Korean, which I can't read (growing up in SoCal, I learned another language). But it's the thought that counts. I'll be reading more as the opportunity presents itself.

I'm not suggesting that you slow down your swing; I'm saying mine is slow, hence regular flex. But if you were to slow down, then yeah, you'd probably need regular again. Ironic, since I keep hearing that most amateurs have shafts that are too stiff for their swing speed.

Was this by inspection or by measurement? If you got fit for your clubs, I'd guess that it'd be right, assuming you were doing your normal swings during the measurement. The pro with whom I work noticed a certain flight pattern on certain clubs of mine, and sure enough, those were stiff shafted, whereas the normal (within my own margin of error, low enough on the range) flight pattern was caused by regular shafted. So, he had me switch the stiff shafts for regular... would be expensive, except I had bought them used at a store with a 90 day 100% money back guarantee on used clubs, so I just traded them for the same club with a regular shaft :) [just trying to indicate that it might be mental and have a real purpose]

Absolutely true, but knowing that you don't have to put energy into something counterproductive has to help. Now, my wondering is, does anyone on Tour use regular flex? Or are their swing speeds all fast AND propel the ball far. But perhaps that's a topic for another thread.

A bit of perspective: I first swung a golf club August 2005, and didn't again until I played 9 holes of par 3 in November 2005. I first played 9 holes of regulation in August 2006, with a score of 79. I then went for a private lesson (first private lesson with a PGA Pro) and two weeks later shot a 58 for the same 9 holes. Since then, my best for 18 regulation holes is 103. I haven't much of a chance to play during school quarters, but for 2007, I want to keep playing when I can. I want to improve my putting mostly. I'm also hitting the gym more for various exercises I've seen described at TPI's freebies. The exercises help me feel good in general (and really, I need to be serious about working out, even absent golf). I'm hoping the two combined lead to a score improvement, but my goals are to improve my putting (I 3-putt about 4 times per round... bad enough on its own, but I miss GIR most of the time, too) and maintain exercise.

Shop around for a teaching pro who has a variety of students. Make sure you and he (or she) get along great. Take lessons and tips from this teacher - and only the teacher! I've only been playing a year and I play executive courses to around bogey-average, far better than when I wasn't taking lessons and just went to hit the ball however I thought seemed right. In seven lessons (plus some serious practice), I went from shooting 80 for 9 holes in June to shooting low-to-mid 50s for 9 holes in December. Two of my friends play to scratch and refuse to give me tips (other than the tip about finding a pro, above). Yet my friends who shoot in the 130s want to tell me that my swing isn't long enough or that I must be hitting it wrong since my PW doesn't send it as far as Tiger's. Which reminds me of a tip you should take: weigh each tip given to you, don't just accept it. That having been said, know your distances. One advantage I have from playing par-3 courses is that I have a decent idea where my average 7-Iron lands (125 yards). A friend of mine hits his 7-Iron when he's 175 yards out, on account that he heard that Davis Love III hits his from that distance (I'm not claiming that the measurement is accurate in either direction). So I guess that's three. Maybe I've taken a wrong tip by accepting one of the above? More experienced players, please let me know.

I have to admit, I use generic brand clubs ( they look like super-game improvement, 4-PW + SW ), a company that a friend of mine suggested when I was first getting into golf (about a year ago) and was using my grandfather's old clubs (from 1970s). Since then, though, I've started trying name-brand for a few things, and I bought 52* and 58* Titleist Vokey wedges. I like them much better than the SW in my bag, and I'm tempted to see if they make clubs like these for my irons too. I'll admit I haven't tried many other wedges. I tried a friend's Callaway something or another. I also tried many in the store when I was buying my Vokeys (first the 58*, then came back for a 52* a few months later when I realized my wedges were 46-55-58), but that's a mat in a store. Really, my confusion is : how do I try a bunch of different clubs? If I try my friends', I don't know if they're fit for me. Most of my friends are convinced that off-the-rack is good enough for anyone that isn't a pro. Maybe I should wait until I have played more than five full rounds (the rest were on par-3 courses) before judging equipment :)

(This is as good a topic as any for my first post) Woods likewise got me into the game. It was Summer 2004, I was about to start my last year of undergraduate college, and my roommate had just been given the EA Sports Tiger Woods video game. It looked like fun, I played the video game a bit. A few months later, a friend of mine took me to the range and I've been hooked ever since.