Where is the comic where they're talking about how golf courses encourage drinking and driving?

....so i dropped $99 on one of those momentus swing trainers (the 48 oz) this year. just wanted to say its worth every dime. works wonders for helping you get loose before a round, and improve your turn through the ball.

i highly recommend picking one up.

Random question;

Just as a reference, I shoot 100-105 on avg w/ strictish rules.

Whenever I have a lie where the ball is > 5 inches above my feet, I can just mash any club far and very straight (for me). It's like clock-work.

Whenever the ball is < 3 inches below my feet, I tend to shank it a lot more often, even topping it sometimes.

Is this normal, or indicative of something wrong in my swing that I should work on?

If you have a mirror that you can swing in front of. Try placing a piece of electrical tape where the top of your head is. Make a swing in front of it, and see if your head travels above the tape during the downswing, and at the point of contact. If you can get something ~3 inches to stand on and swing for the ground that might help give an indication I'de think.

You may be bending your back more to get down to the lower ball (which might be the reason you raise your body, which is often the fault), try keeping the same angle with your upper body and bend more in the knees to get down to the ball.

developing a course management feel.

i play this short course sometimes. it's pretty hilly. here's my exercise.

i am going to play it with just three clubs: SW, 9i, 6i. and see what i can do with it. a couple of holes were giving me problems, but for some reason i would still pull out my driver or some sort of wood from the tee. not necessarily a mistake, just definitely a more aggressive play that caused me to lose balls. i am going to force myself to play ultra conservatively by only taking short clubs with me.

any ideas, thoughts, suggestions?

Occasionally I go out and walk a few holes with just a 5 iron.
It gives me a fresh perspective on strategy of holes I've played often-
the proper side of the fairway for the best approach,
playing for the center of the green,
where to leave the approach for the best chance of up and down, etc.

a mantra I used before with success on certain holes:
"conservative plan, aggressive swing."

I see this often when the player sets up aimed right of the target.
On the shot with the ball below your feet,
line up as for left as you can make yourself aim, and then see what happens.

so you recommend this approach? what other course strategy drills/exercises would you recommend?

yes, I think it's helpful for an occasional change of pace.

Instead of just a 5 iron, I might recommend carrying a 9 iron as well.
You may find that it is a better option around the greens than always grabbing the LW or SW.

On casual rounds, take out half your clubs. You'll become more creative with working the ball, and hitting 3/4 shots. You shouldn't lose hardly any shots from your handicap by playing with only 7 clubs.

Lately I've been hitting a lot of chips (while practicing) with only one hand.
Sometimes the left, sometimes the right.
I could right pages on what I've gathered from doing so, but it's a lesson best learned by doing. But I think it is a great exercise.

When I had wrist surgery years ago, I played a few rounds from the red tees without using my right hand/arm.
It really showed me the importance of great tempo in hitting golf shots.
If I tried to force anything, I had miserable results. If I relied upon tempo and large muscles (legs, hips, shoulders, abs), I learned to play fairly well.
This also brought a new look at course management.

In general, changing your normal routine from time to time keeps your mind open to learning.

Also, just remembered Thisnamedoesntfi's bucket drills. They are excellent!
Hit some shots with your left foot on the range bucket.
Then the right.
Great for stability, among other things.

i am in the market for a 3w. here's my dilemma.

my irons (TT) and driver (Aldila) are stiff shafts. i normally hit a draw with my driver, well, after the major changes my swing has gone through over the last 12 months and weight training in the last 6 months. i've stopped slicing the driver. my 4h and 5h are regular shafts. i have a big draw or hook with them now. seriously, it's pretty big. i haven't measured my swing speed in a couple of months. it's a mizuno mx500, 9.5 with a stiff NV-65 and i hit it about 250 on a good driving day (like today ). i normally have to try to hit a super smooth light swing with the hybrids with a slightly open face to get them to straighten out.

my 3w is normally the safer club for me, not something i am going to want to swing out of my shoes. does it make sense to get a stiff or regular shaft? i was dead set on regular until the last week and a half, when i am hooking everything with my hybrids.

thanks in advance.

Anyone in the kitchener/waterloo ontario area?

The short answer is that you should play the stiffest flex you can handle without having to swing harder then normal.

That said, I would doubt the flex of the shaft is the sole cause of your major hooks. Check the weight of the shafts as well. In general, a heavier shaft will keep you from hitting hooks.

i realize that my swing still needs a ton of work. that's pretty much why i wouldn't just get a stiff shaft. if my swing is off, then i certainly don't want to just get an equipment solution. i'd rather work on the swing. on the other hand, if i am naturally outgrowing the equipment, i certainly want to identify that. i am only saying this because of what i consider really big changes in my mechanics and physical strength.

what you say about shaft weight is interesting. can you explain exactly how it affects the clubface opening/closing?

Whether you need a stiff shaft or not has to do with your swing speed. Whether or not your swing is off, has little to do with it.

Your equipment should fit your swing. Period. Not the other way around. If you have to swing one or two clubs in your bag differently then the rest replace those clubs.

I am all for you working on your golf swing and not relying on equipment to make you better. But at some point playing with ill fitting clubs will hurt your swing as you have to make compensations that are counter to the idea of fixing your swing.


Think about swinging a clubhead stuck on the end of a broom stick. Now think of one stuck on the end of a telephone pole. Which club will be easier to get the face to rotate shut?

ok thanks for your opinion

i am catching and fixing the problem early, which is good. normally my swing is in ruins before i address it. i actually had a little moment of clarity today with regards to my hooks. it seems i am not keeping my left wrist as flat as i'd like. this problem came up when i was trying to work on keeping the lag longer. it gave me a bit of extra distance with the wedges (probably by de-lofting them), but clearly is causing a severe shut face for longer clubs. once i was focusing on striking the ball with a flat wrist, i had a nice high straight shot with my driver and hybrid.

ok, but is 20 grams of shaft weight really going to make that much of a difference? should i try swinging the 75-S or 85-S at a golf shop?

Simple rules question:

Bunker to the left of the green, pond to the right of the green.

You're in the bunker. You hit a bad shot, it runs across the green, and into the pond.

Where do you drop?

(I've always been told that you can drop anywhere on the line that the ball went in on. But, obviously, dropping pin-high on the green seems way out of whack).

Thanks,

Josh

you can't drop on the green, but you can drop on the fringe right before the water.

You can drop where you played the shot from (in the bunker).

Drop a ball on the line from where the ball entered the water hazard and away from the flag.

AND if it is a lateral water hazard, within two club lenghts from where the ball crossed the boundary of the hazard (no nearer the hole), on either side of the hazard.

The above options will cost you a penalty of one stroke.

And you can play the ball from the hazard as it lies. (But don't ground the club).

Very wrong. If it's red-staked, you have to drop keeping the point of entry between you and the hole. Otherwise, you just treat it like an OB and drop from the bunker (you do get to rake it though...but have to 'drop').

Couple questions

Would you guys recomend using more then 1 wedge? I've only ever used a pitching wedge and seem to be pretty good with it from every situation. I rarely have needed to use another one, and dopn't know when I would.

If you were to get a 2nd wedge what loft would you recomend, and why?

If I were to pick one up on Ebay, does it really make any difference perormance wise if it's been used a good amount? Or mostly a looks thing?

IMO you should immediately get a standard sand wedge. 55-56 loft, some bounce. The sand wedge and putter are the two major game improvement clubs, you can buy a better score pretty easily. Learn how the bounce works from sand and how to play different shots with the sand wedge. I would not buy a heavily used sand wedge. SWs wear faster than other clubs and it can affect the performance, although I doubt you are spinning it enough to really notice. Just get yourself a decent one. Don't go for a 60 degree or something if all you have is a PW.

Thanks. I guess I'll pick up a Sand Wedge. What would you recomend? I was looking at cleveland, and Titleist vokey.

Also there was a guy on here that said he prefered playing 4 wedges in his bag. What exactly is the point?

Most players now need at least 3, because of the lofts on the clubs. Irons have gradually been delofted by the manufacturers, so a PW now might be close to what a 9 iron used to be. So players have a gap between PW and SW. So they invented the gap wedge, which is closer to an old pitching wedge. And the 60 degree wedge came out, which a lot of players like, so they might have a PW, gap wedge, sand wedge, and lob wedge. There are also systems out there that players use to hit different distances with similar swings. So one swing gives them 4 yardage options. I don't do that but maybe should as bad as I am hitting them from 50 yards.

Anyway, I think you can hit a bunch of shots with a standard sand wedge and IMO that is the first one to get. Vokey or Cleveland is good. I personally have a vokey and like it, but can't really say which is better or why.