did I do something wrong?

My 2+2 -> Edit Options -> Posts Per Page = 50 or 100

ahhh....science is tricky. I was about to offer an internet rumble or something!

Spenda, that is very helpful, I appreciate it a lot. Ship this, I will work on what you're recommending. Spenda, I am definitely willing to take criticism. I'm of the frame of mind that if you're a handicap of 5 or more, you probably have big leaks in your game, the same way a micro- stakes player probably has some big leaks in their poker game.

Thanks guys.

at least you know how to multi-quote!!!

I was just showing off.

Goobers,

I made the recommended adjustments, and I feel like I had one of my best days ever at the range. Gonna play 36 tomorrow, will let you know how it goes.

BeerDonk

Here's a question for all.

You've got a 5 handicapper, and someone who averages 5 shots a round better.
In the normal round, where are those 5 shots saved?

Obviously it varies from player to player, course to course.
But a guesstimation may help with knowing what to practice.
And the better golfer will usually be mentally better, but for now let's categorize it on golf shots. (assuming better mentality will result in better shots)

Driving distance .2
Driving accuracy.3
other shots 200+ yds..2
shots from 160-200.2
from 120-160.2
80-120.3
40-80.3
chips, pitches, and bunker shots inside 401.4
distance control on putts1
direction of putts.5
recovery shots (require controlling traj., line, curving ball, etc.).4

I'm guessing the shots lost depend a lot on the age of the golfer. A 55 year old 5 handicapper probably loses a lot more shots due to distance, while a 25 year old with the same handicap is likely to have very different issues.

A good point.
Maybe a better way of asking-
Beermoney, where do you think the 5 shots that you improve will fall?

JTrout, Driving accuracy. I also seem to have a few sloppy holes here and there. I feel like I often have a hole or two where I make a double, when I should be able to escape with just a bogey.

But overall, driving accuracy is what gets me. On the first 5 holes at my regular course, there are a lot of hazards. say if I make it through the first 4, I get a little worked up, and blast one out of play on the 5th.. So that's obv psychological. But, once I make it through these first 5 holes, it's usually clear sailing. I realize that sounds like real amateur hack stuff, but....

Overall, I feel like I can play in regulation (maybe better) from the fairway.

I could definitely improve every area of my game, but this is the biggest problem.

Sounds like the first five holes of your course are more difficult than the rest.
At least driving wise.
So first, note that they are challenging. For everyone.
So a five handicap will average 2 over on this stretch (or close).

Don't consider being +2 after 5 a terrible thing. It's par (or close) for you.

You must separate each hole. What is your strategy for #1? 2?...
Each hole is independant of the other.
Know your tendency, and adjust accordingly.
If you make it through the first four, and know that you are prone to "get worked up" on the fifth, then adjust. Adapt. Do something different.

The next two times you play the fifth, take two completely different stategies than your normal.
Play one very aggressive, and the second very conservative.
If you normally try to draw a Driver, fade it. And visa-versa. But be aggressive.
On the second, hit something like a 4-iron off the tee. Plan on getting up and down for par.
But change your pattern. It helps you to learn and improve your focus.
Know that there are many ways to succeed. Many ways to par.

But also know that even if you could start on #6, you've still got shots to save..
Where are they wasted?
You're probably right that you can "play in regulation" from the fairway.
But realize that the scratch golfer isn't always playing from the fairway either.
He's missing 5 fairways or so per round as well. And still finding ways to beat you.
How?

Most likely, around and on the greens.

It's almost a guarantee that the scratch golfer is considerably better at chipping and putting than the 5 handicapper.
Many individuals will think differently, but they are almost always wrong.

But the good news is- the short game is the easiest part to improve.
So notice the difference. Pay attention to the difference.
The lags that are a little closer,...
the chips that finish below the hole,...
the bunker shot that is 4 feet instead of 6.

These are the things that add up. These are the things that it comes down to on each and every hole.
A small improvement in this department will reward you over and over. Day after day.

You're right that driving accuracy is a very big part of you reaching your goal of scratch,
but don't neglect the rest. An improved short game will do more than save you shots every day,
it will relieve the pressure of having to drive it well on each of the opening 5 holes.
You'll know that even if you screw up on a couple of the opening drives, that your short game will more than make up for it.
Confidence!
Confidence! is what it gives you!

You know the greatest driver in the world has still got to manage to get it in the hole.
Sure it's much easier from the fairway, but the fact is the pressure begins to mount if you constantly drive it well but don't make birdies.
It starts to mess with your head.
I've known a lot of very good golfers.
I've known some of the best drivers of the golf ball in the world.
And I've known some very good putters.

The putters are richer.


Please to forgive the ranting as I've had a few

why not just keep all the headcovers on til hole 6?

sidebar: people still use headcovers right?

I played a round of 18 holes with my pro today. I haven't had a chance to get feedback from him since he had to leave right after our round, but I'm happy I have a pro nice enough to go out and play a round with me. We actually had a match for the last 15 holes which I won by one hole. (He has never played the course before, I'd say I got lucky sinking some long-ish putts and he suffered some around the greens from never playing the course before..)

JTrout. Thanks for your thoughts. I've always had a lot of respect for you/ your posts, and I'm glad you're posting in this thread. Believe me though, I do not neglect the short game. My home course has an awesome short game area, and I love spending hours listening to my ipod, and hitting chips and putts. I'd spend even more time if it wasn't so far away, and the sun didn't bother my fair skin. I'm fully sold on the idea of the short game taking pressure off of the long game. I'm not an ace around the greens by any means, but i'm not hands of stone either. I wasn't trying to brag by saying I can play in regulation from the fairway. Sorry if it came across that way. I actually feel like I made some progress today with the driver. I'm getting a better feel for the right hand coming through. How many beers have you had?

Spenda, I'd love to skip those first few holes!

Pictures of cute caddies to come soon.

Thanks guys.

Beermoney-
I didn't take the "scratch from the fairway" as bragging. I believe it.
I just wanted to point out that everyone is much better than their current handicap if they played exclusively from the fairway (except maybe Funk)
Imagine how good Tiger, Phil, VJ would be!

I was just trying to get you and others to think about the best way to improve.
You are getting some great swing advice in this thread, and it will undoubtably help you towards your goal.
I would caution you to be aware that getting advice from different sources (this thread and your teacher) can sometimes be conflicting and have a negative effect.

But back to the best way to achieve your goal. An improved swing is an important ingredient. It just isn't the only one.
I'm happy to hear you enjoy spending time on the short game.
It is often neglected.
As an example- you've read this forum a decent amount I think.
What percentage of video that you've seen has been someone chipping or putting?
I can't remember any.
Are any of your 3 lessons with the pro chipping or putting lessons?

Sounds like you played well yesterday. Congrats!
What was your up and down stats in your last round?
Any 3 putts or missed putts inside 4 feet?
How many 2nd putts did you have outside 3 feet?
How many fairways hit?
How many greens?
How many shots did you have from 40-80 yds? What % were inside 12 ft.?
Of the shots that weren't close, how many were 25 ft. short or long?

Review every round in this fashion, and focus on the weaknesses where you will likely be able to find your 5 shots.
Keeping in mind that scratch golfers (and better) will be missing maybe 5 greens and 5 fairways each round. Maybe 3 putting once per round or once every other round.
You may find that your stats are very similar to the scratch golfer.
But like poker, the deeper you look, the more you'll find.

If you continue to work on understanding your swing- what works, what causes your misses, what you can rely on when you get to #5 even par, and what is not working,
and you look hard at all aspects of your game and where your strengths and weaknesses lie, you'll reach your goal.

Enjoy the process!


ps.
I'm probably about 5 shots better now than I was when I was 18. Here's where I think the improve has come from:
1) emotional control. Not tilting when things go wrong. It's golf. Things are always going to go wrong!
2) Driving accuracy. I put it in play much more often. This is mainly a biproduct of understanding my swing and tendencies, and being able to properly adjust instead of searching, overcompensating, and losing confidence. And a more fundamentally correct swing.
3) Wedge game inside 100 yds. My distance control is significantly improved.
Thank you Dave Pelz!
4) Putting. Many people think that they putted better when they were teenagers. By and large this is bs. Selective memory.
I putt better now because my fundamentals are better, my speed is better, and my thinking is better.

I think that these are where many people will find improvement.
anyway- hope some of this helps a little!

And I'm looking forward to the pics!

Ha! I was going to take a stab at this until I saw that you already did. Where did you get these numbers? Your personal estimates?

yeah, just my guess.

I think I could take a 5 handicapper and tell him exactly how to play every shot and make him a 2 at worst. I see some of the dumbest shots attempted all the time....incorrect club selection off the tee, for approach shots, chips, you name it. So I would say the quickest way to eliminate 2-3 shots would be to play conservative. Middle of EVERY green regardless of club in hand, do not hit a club off a tee that brings any hazard into play, and lag ALL putts over 20 feet. Thus I think the quickest way to go from 5 to scratch is to work on lag putting, putts inside 5 feet, and stop trying the hero shot. You would be shocked I think at how many more birdies you will make by getting more putts at them from the middle of the green instead of chipping from short sided...and make fewer bogeys, win/win.

So. I'm starting to hit my irons really well. I'm hitting farther than I ever thought I could. I think basically just coming more inside to out has helped.

However, this increase really hasn't shown with the driver. I'm definitely hitting more fairways, which is really all I care about with the driver, but it's a little weird. I really need a new driver and a new putter. My old putter is crooked, and I screwed up my driver by taking a half an inch off of it.

Tx for the help thus far, its greatly appreciated.

One interesting side effect of starting to play better, is that I notice more people will want to play a round with me. I would imagine, for those of you with sick games, people must get pretty excited to watch you play, is this true. I think in ship_this' case, it seems like this has been really beneficial for him to make business connections, etc.

Good to hear it's going well...you are probably hitting the irons further from getting the correct loft of the club on the ball and compressing it.

There is no question the my playing background was extremely important in the success of my company. When I was my busiest I probably played in a charity scramble per week with a customer and they always loved winning...I would think my teams were 100-10 over a 3 year period in scrambles. I always enjoyed trying to give each person something to work on and watching them enjoy playing well. It usually wasn't from the tip but just the relaxed atmosphere/cocktails of the scramble...they always thought it was the tip and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell them different!

It's been a while since I've updated. My last 3 rounds have been 72, 79 (from the big boy tees) and 73. I'm happy with my progress and still have areas I know I can improve . (Putting.)

Will post some videos soon.

looking forward to the next installment. Hope that waggle is gone, lol. waggles annoy me for some reason.

I'm going to break down the video, but addressing a good post for the most part, your tilt sucks because you're using your shoulders to tilt and weight distro. We need to do this differently which I'll address later.

Tiger doesn't have enough spine tilt away from the target, but is setup among other things has been pretty poor lately. He can get away with this most of the time, 99% can't.

Ok, brief analysis:



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The red line on the right is your starting left hip position & the one on the left is it's farthest point to the left during the backswing. What happens is your left hip slides left a bit during the backswing.

This is likely because of the spine angle at setup. It's not drawn perfect(a lot easier to see from behind view) Your lower spine is a bit too vertical, and you get the tilt you do from dropping your right shoulder which can cause problems.

Video 1 is actually much better in this regard, as in your setup you actually do this. I don't know if it's purposeful or not. However, in V1, your weight distrubution is pretty bad. Your weight should be slightly to the left with a 5 iron and your hips can be closed to the target a bit.

Do this:
-without a club, set up to a ball(or air) with your feet close(3-4 inches apart) together & your spine completely vertical with no shoulder tilt, bend over like you would address a ball and let your arms drop and put your hands together. From here, kick your right hip to the inside. feel it push in and you should feel your entire spine angle to the right and your weight shift a bit left and your right hand should drop below your left without dropping your shoulder. Do this a few times until you are making sure you are not tilting by use of your shoulders.

This should allow you to wind & unwind on a better angle. This allows your right hip to open much easier(you should be able to tell) and not have to slide any.

Film your grip up close in addition to behind, DTL, face on if you can. Try to do a bunch of swings like V1 so we can catch impact, and other important frames.

Thanks for the feedback gators. This is actually a vid from a month and a half ago. I think my alignment is a bit whacked.. I'll take some vids tomorrow if the weather permits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPcYYyRPIn0

I'll get some more soon.

I think I'm hitting a 5 iron here.