Sharkgolf

Sure you can!! Just throw the clubs in the nearest ocean. But be sure to leave them in the trunk of your new Ferrari as you do so. Why not? it's a great idea to have that good old rust finish, to a Ferrari as well as a golf iron. Come to think of it, maybe you should stay in the car as well!!!! ONLY kidding!!!! (People are way too sensitive these days, it all in the additives) But what are you thinking dude? Clubs aren't soooo expensive. Get a new set.

Here's the reason why you are hitting off the toe: your hands are way too high at impact! You are a 14 hcp player and you have grooved your swing over time. Now you have a gremlin in there which is giving you grief. Think about it. If your hands were lower at impact - spine angle has remained in posture etc, your club would meet the ball centrally. Raise the hands higher through impact and the club toes down through impact, and voila! You have a seriously shitty shot. Get those hands back down where they belong - video the swing from behind, run it in slomo and you will have your fix. I hope.

Hey Ethan! You can buy as much equipment as you like, but without the right education in a sport, you aren't going to get anywhere in golf by having brand-named clubs. This is a solo sport, friend: it's you, the landscape, the weather, and a little ball which has to go into a hole, which is pretty small, and pretty far away. And that has to happen 18 times!!! And it has to be done with ridiculous equipment!!! Yes, it is right to have good clubs, but it is WAY more important to get the correct basics. Spend some time in your area seeking out a good, communicative teaching professional, and spend some money on his or her teaching. If you are serious about playing well, the investment will be worth it. Good luck!

Man oh Man!!!!!!!! What a thread!!!!! Only ONE post in this entire thread has damned Daly as a nogood-loser. ONE!! Isn't that amazing?? What is it about John we all love so much? The God-given talent? The no-risk-no-fun attitude to every aspect of his game? The workingclass style, winning majors and giving the stuffed shirts of golf the finger? Whatever it is, MARK THESE WORDS: John will make the comeback of the century in sports. He will win when we least expect it. And then he will go on winning. And winning and winning and winning. He is our Shrek.

Ah lameburns, what a shame. You would have lost 6 of them anyway, in the 3rd hole water hazard!! Now you can lose those old Top Flites instead!!! What is the world coming to??!

the answer to all the above: The Dave Pelz Short Game Bible, and anything he says on putting. Dave is so sincere, so serious about the short game, so experienced, so eloquent, so able to instruct and communicate all his knowledge. His emphasis on routine, on how to swing a club well for the inside-100yd shot, from any lie, from any sand, across any obstacle, on how to putt on any type of green, will and should grab your attention and lower your scores dramatically. Hail Dave!

Hey, you're a 10 handicapper and that means you have played some pretty good golf already, so you know all there is to know about great balance, posture, finish positions, weight transfer, etc etc, right? You don't become a 10 handicapper without the basics. One of the basics is to have your weight transfer to your left side, making a turn towards your target as you strike the ball. A lot of people though, don't have anywhere to turn FROM because they didn't move their weight to their right side during the backswing. To practise this, you have to overdo it a little. Grab a club, assume your address position (make sure no lamps or other household furniture is in the way!) and start your backswing, being conscious of shifting your weight to the inside of your right foot, yeah, go on, quite a lot of weight! At the top of your backswing your head should be about 8 inches to the right of where you started - ( I said we were gonna overdo this!!) Now you have somewhere to START your downswing from. Right! GO FOR IT!! Shift the hips to the left, let those arms come down, get onto your left leg, turn, straighten the left leg up and BAM!!!! The ball is gone and you are all the way onto your left side, feeling like Freddy Couples.........ok? OK - practice this move at home and then when you get onto the range again, trim is all back so there isn't so much disco going on, but feel that there is some place to go TO on your backswing, and then some place to go TO, with a turn, on your downswing. Good luck!! Jeez, 10 handicappers need help!!!!!!!!!!

Here in Europe our coverage starts at 1600 and goes on live until the round ends, at about midnight. Normally, I am mesmerised in front of my TV by the brilliance of the Tour Players and how they dominate a golf course. This time, with the Oakmont setup, it makes for really boring TV, only because we are seeing the guys play defensive golf and trying to stop the trainwrecks from happening. I read iacas observations - they are all really informative but as far as riveting TV goes - the US Open is a dud. With greens and rough like this, there's no chance of anyone "storming" up any leaderboard. It's a players tournament, not a spectator's. Am I right or am I right on this, dear Trappers????

Interesting topic....and here is the answer, from Tiger himself... How to Escape from Heavy Rough - The key to playing from deep rough are generating clubhead speed and controlling the clubface. Position the ball toward the back of your stance and open the clubface slightly. The latter will help you get the ball up quickly and counteract the tendency of the grass to grab the hosel and close the face. Align your body slightly left of the target, because the open clubface will send the ball to the right if the grass does not close it. Apply extra grip pressure with your right hand to keep the clubhead square through impact. Also, take the club back a little higher on your backswing. For best results, remember to grip the club firmly throughout the shot and abbreviate your follow through. Added by me: Ernie Els said, in a tip I read once, to try the baseball or doublehanded grip for this shot.....because basically, it's a strength shot with the main aim being to get the hell out of where you are and back into some kind of sanity.... Good luck.

A good subject - one I have been a real victim of. Managed to sort it out by reading a lot of Dave Pelz. A LOT OF DAVE PELZ!!!! Body movement is usually responsible for lousy contact, especially on short irons. But what kind of body movement? Usually a spine which is not "over" the ball at contact, but is somehow curving toward the target - allowing contact to be with the big ball before the small ball. Try "dominating" the ball with your spine (on the range).....to do this, keep your chin UP through the turn back as well as through, and feel consciously that your centre (spine) is ever so slightly flagside of the ball at impact......the idea of a "proud" spine is emphasised by having your belt buckle point AT the ball at address, with that chin high! Try it. Chunky shots adieu!!! Good luck! This is REALLY hard to take to the course because there has to be a lot of thought going on, in order to make it part of your routine....and under pressure we usually all resort to our brainless "before" swings.....but keep me in mind when you find out how damn easy it really is!

...indeed.. You carry a 64 deg wedge too, I see. Hmmm. 21hcp.....Hmmm. indeed. indeed. Golf is difficult enough without adding the Russian Roulette factor, nibs my man! Ambition + desire + gambling mentality + clubs which are hard for high handicappers to use = wtf happened to my round socrecards..... Lord help ya!

Gentlemen - thanks for pointing me in the direction of the Stack & Tilt swing. I searched a few sites and was taken through the Baddeley swing in Golfdigest.com......then yesterday, off to the range full of skepticism for something which seems a little gimmicky. Lo & behold, brothers of ballflight!!!! This swing produces the crispest contact I have felt off my irons in ages!! Because your "center" is guaranteed to be ahead of the ball at impact with this technique, your trajectory is lower than usual, and after only 6 or 7 shots I was also producing a straight shot. Along came a flexible 17 year old, I showed him the swing - and then we played 14 holes, and the young fella had adopted the Stack & Tilt for his 3 iron tee shots on a pair of our really tight tee shots - he is 5 hcp and claims he now has his "safe shot" in the bag. That's the feeling you get....a lot less body shift...a kind of guarantee of straight....it's not for my woods though, yet.

......I agree so much with the guy who wishes for the local alligators to attack Sabbatini on his way to the drop zone.......as a fellow South African all I can say is that this guy's demeanour is the perfect bodylanguage for all the hateful things my homeland's troubles.....swagger, bullshit, skindeep sincerity, ignorance and a boorishness, topped off by those aggro eyebrows and an ability to engage his tongue before his brain.....make it a PAIR of alligators!!!!!!!!!! LONG LIVE the 17th!!! A gimmick! Yeeeahhha!

Basically, and just because I am as good an asslicker as anyone, I have to agree with Mr. Woods. Of COURSE 17 at Sawgrass is gimmicky. Why? because Tiger says so, that's why!! Does anyone on the planet have an ounce of golfing integrity in them to disagree on matters golf with Tiger Woods???? Step UP! OK; Jack, you can come over and talk about it, but the rest of you?? GO AWAY! Tiger said it, and therefore, it is FACT! Are we gonna change it?? Nööööööööö! Whatever for? We LOVE it. We love the splashes and the trainwrecks and the slumped shoulders and the brilliant putts and the "better than MOSSTSS" and the seagulls stealing balls and the huge crowd and the fact that no leader has a real lead on Sunday until 17 has been dealt with. Its a GIMMICK, and we LOVE it!!!!! Sigh. Forums are fun. Can I go out & play now?

Ah what the hell. Learn to hit a ball which runs at enormous speed very low to the ground. Ball well back, maybe a 4 iron, and a wrist-fee backswing, not too fast on the downswing, and as you make contact you yell SORRY. Soon, the problem will solve itself. Always phone the Medics first, it creates the impression you really didn't know anyone was in your line of fire. After all, you were practising with your iPod earphones in, you didn't hear anything and hey: nobody's supposed to be out there right? It only has to happen ONCE. And face it, if you DID bean one of them on the ankle, shin, or ass, you would go to sleep that night with a smile on your face. Especially if you have a little toke before going to bed.

Hey Pelsh - you really are well on plane! You also seem to have great balance. It's hard to pause-play-pause in YouTube, so it took me a long time to try and analyse your swing. Two things I "seem" to be bale to see: you have a real dip in your head on the way down. Could be dangerous with some of your mid-irons for good ball striking. Second: you seem also to have a power leak with your wrist-cock on the backswing and the release through the ball. I thought I noticed from the face-on videos that your wrist-cock and release are not very flexible. This could be a grip-pressure problem or it could be that the thumb of your left hand is very very short in your grip. If you try to lengthen your left thumb in your grip, and ease up a bit on your grip pressure, you may find that your wrists will hinge more easily. Go for it!!!!!!

This happened 8 days ago, on a beautiful spring afternoon. Two buddies and I head off in a competitive 3 ball. We've all been working really really hard this past winter to be up for team selection for our club, and a feisty match between us is on the cards......we all par the first two holes, and its my honour on the 3rd, a monster par 5. I slice my drive a bit, and it lands in a cow pasture adjacent to our course. I see it bounce in there, and because we don't have OB, I hit a provisional and reckon that with my trusty 8 iron I can turn this into a par with some careful course management and still kick my buddies butts.........ok, this is getting a bit long-winded so I'll cut to the chase: I didn't find the ball, so went across to the shin-high anti-wild-pig electric fence to clamber back into the fairway, but had to also get through the farmers' fence as well. And it was in this position, half-bent over to clamber over the mini fence and through the larger one, that I forgot I was trailing my 8 iron, which at that moment connected with the electric fence. kKKKKKkaaaazzZZZZZZamMMMM!! I was thrown up into the air, twirled, lost all my protective instincts - like being Tasered - and landed thumPpPPP on my right chest. My buddies jaws were hanging on the ground as they saw me roll to a stop, being stared at by some curiously bored cows. The result: several bruised ribs from the impact, and up to 6 weeks rest from golf. Nice eh? Please, repeat after me: I AM AN *************HOLE!!!

Hello all - the Masters begins today, spring is here, we are all pumped & ready for all the drama which always unfolds behind the trees which line Magnolia Lane. But, another issue on gear: as a cursed LEFTY (because we never get to test out equipment, because the demo days NEVER have lefty stock and sheepish grins are all you get when you bitch about it) I have always had to go by gut feel when buying gear......so I look to you guys and your opinions for feedback which will help me make decisions: has anybody had a chance yet to play with the Ping Rapture irons? Can they/ do they compare well to the Titleist 755s? I have had the Ping i3s for an eternity now - have never really raved or moaned about them - they've just been a part of me for a long time. Now I am headed for hopefully, a single digit handicap, and it's the right moment to step up to the plate with some spanking new irons.....

Hey Steve - nice theory on release!! I looked at a few of your other videos and clearly you are not yet winning any cinematography awards for your video instruction quality, but the content is great. The amount of full-swing stuff we see out there and on the Golf Channel is bursting with so much information, yet it seems that only Dave Pelz has his eye on what we all need so much, and that would be, in my case at least, a sure fire way to make certain contact from all kinds of lies within 8 yards of the green. Its mainly the chipping game I am talking about, where a sure-fire up & down technique is needed. I find that statistically I am not hitting GIR as much as I should, and that I am left with many of these easily rollable chips, a lot of which I do NOT place close enough to the flag for a certain up & down. Do you have a good routine or drill for chipping well? Would be much appreciated, thanks.

B-Rad - have you tried a different driver? Shafts are so different from each other, and judging by your hcp index, it "could" be that you have a driver, the shaft of which doesn't match your swing speed. This could mean that you don't feel any decent whip and feedback from the club on the downswing, and that you maybe feel that you are swinging a telephone pole at the ball - with this kind of feeling, your subconscious maybe making you stand up a bit through the impact area, which would take you away from the ball and give you a heel impact. If the shaft were softer, you might just feel more confident to keep your posture intact, and that would possibly ensure a more central-faced strike. But this is all conjecture, until we see a video of how you really do it. If you do post a video, try to get it shot from down the line as well as straight on. In the meantime, DON'T keep practising alone! Get a PGA pro lesson to sort it out, or you will just ingrain all the bad stuff!

There will be no surprises this year. It's somehow really obvious - only because NOBODY apart from the following, have their A game to offer so far in 2007. 1. Tiger 2. Justin Rose 3. Charles Howell 4. Vijay Singh 5. Trevor Immelman MAYBE Vijay will do better than 4th, but if I were anybody reading this and I had the spare cash, I would dump a LOT of money on Immelman and Howell and Rose to place high next week. That's called putting your hand in the fire! Let's see how my predictions shape up in 9 days from now!!

Wow. We Euro-trash really got it in the neck in this thread. Nobody understands us, really! We ALWAYS spit when we miss easy putts!!! If you come to Europe and play golf with us here, you will find little courtesy spittoons everywhere. Usually, they are the little plastic upturned funnel-things on the tee-boxes, but most people clutter them up with broken tees. A disgusting habit, throwing broken tees into our spittoons!!! Most of our cinema and aeroplanes' carpeted floors are awash with our bodily fluids which we proudly deposit at every opportunity - it keeps the air moist and stops us from getting virus-borne diseases from crowded places. Our underground transport system also actually rides on cushions of human spit. Come on guys! Shove another wad of that tasty gum-cancer producing gorgeous chewy tabaccky in your cheeks and let's hear it for Sergio, Master Expectoranta from Espana!!!!!!!! The ingenious intellect of this thread has me panting for more!!!

2006 Summer. A good buddy of mine was co-sponsor of a large Invitational tournament, which travelled through Germany, and cost his company 60.000€ as one of four co-sponsors. There were 8 tournaments in all, and the day was 60 players, all invited, with 3-ball flights, a huge champagne reception and dinner in a fantastic restaurant overlooking the lake and downtown Hamburg - the entire 9 yards. There were masses of prizes available, including a trip to a French Chateaux for a Grand International 2-day Finale, for the winning man and woman, based on a netto Stableford score. I went out and blazed it!! Playing off a 14 hcp I came home with 44 points, which is really ok, and looked set up for some of those Grand prizes. Yummy! However, at the dinner, three people joined us at our table (we were 6 buddies of the sponsor friend) - and boy did they look smug! Turned out, that they were the final 3ball group to play - all were co-workers in the same office, two guys and a girl. Each had shot in the high 50s in Stableford!!!!!!!!!! All had hcps around the 21 mark. The one fella in the group won the closest-to-the-pin, the lady also won it, the next fella won the trip to France, as did the lady too, the one fella won the longest drive, as did the lady too........... the prizes were 5 liter jeroboam bottles of vintage wine from the Chateau which they were going to......as well as really fancy watches from one of the sponsors...... We just sat there, stunned, as these people went up again and again to get their prizes, and the applause, which started off really well for them in the beginning, started to become a surprised and automated stammer, more out of genetic politeness than appreciation. For my 44 pts I did win one of those watches, as 3rd overall netto........ Later, my Scottish pro buddy said on the phone: they would have been launched into the canal below the balcony, if that happened in Scotland.... Well, you learn....and tournament directors learn: don't only put buddies in groups.....and these cheats were never reprimanded for being "ringers" or for maybe returning incorrect scores or results for their extremely expensive outing.... So maybe this tale doesn't really belong in the "funny examples of cheating" - it wasn't funny and it will happen again this year unless the tournament directors get their act together.

1st. Fire your PGA pro. 2nd. Buy Hogans book The Five Fundamentals. 3rd. Read all 42 pages on The Grip. 4th. Now you have a new grip! 5th. No more blisters. 6th. Get a new PGA pro. The "karate chop" part of your hand has no place rubbing the front of your second finger. Maybe for someone peeling apples, but not on a golf club. Good luck.

Ah! A great subejct!!! For me, on the golf course, a short smoke is a better idea...so the Monte Christo No. 5 is just the right size, lasting only 3 holes max....but the best smoke for me after a round, is the Ramon Allones Special Selection. It's a robusto in size, and draws like an open door. here, we only smoke Cuban.