post a vid of ur swing if u can
it sounds like u fell your swing is okey.
maybe start off by lining the ball up closer to the toe.

also, a drill I used to use;

Lets say i'm hitting a standard 85% strength swing w/ an iron.
I would keep everything about my swing the same.
I would only change my feet.
I would stand w/ my feet together; maybe 1-2 inch space btwn.

IDK how, but alot of times I would hit the ball more consistent. I then would slowly move my feet apart, and hope that I keep swinging well.

I always felt it was a silly drill, and I doubt it did much to improve my swing. But it did increase my confidence.

No camera, except for cell phone, but I'll see what I can do. I am totally self taught (well, my father gave input when I was a kid), and played sparingly while finishing the Ph.D. and really only picked back up within the last 12 months. My biggest problem back in high school and early college when i played all the time is a bit of the same as it is now. My lack of distance puts pressure on my game (My 150y club is a high cut 5 iron). My strength has always been my short game, though I have not putted well either recently, but I have not been able to practice it as much as I normally like to since I moved 18 days ago. With my new clubs, i added about 30 yards to my drive when i catch it right (260-270 with roll) but that has been lost the last few rounds. My fairway metals go a little longer, but recently they've been all or nothing (duffs). I should also sate that I mischaracterized my normal shot with woods before, it should be a controlled push not a fade.

I downloaded and read the pdf in the Hogan thread, and picked up something in there about sway and weight shift. I think in my quixotic attempt to add distance to my game, I may have begun to sway recently, as I've always had a very quiet lower body and weight shift, and I think that's causing me to be so erratic. The drill you suggest is what the author suggests as well, so I'll have to check it out, thanks!

I'm also going to give the "9 to 3" drill a try as well to work on solid contact.

Just had a lesson today have been driving well but weakly pushing my irons.
My faults ball way to far back, aligned to the left of the target, upper back arched away from the ball were all the exact opposite of the faults I had last time I took a lesion with him.
I think I took what he said then so far to heart that I went beyond the position he was trying to get me into and as my shots started to suffer with the ball getting back of centre, my stance open and my back arched I did all these things even more to try to correct what I thought were the reasons, the things id been told to work on in the first lesson.

So my parents say they want to take me upnorth with my lil bro to go out and just have fun. We end up going to grand traverse resort, which i was here a few years ago, and remember it was awesome.

So let me vent.

My dad has 8 points on license, 4 tickets in 2 years, 0 patience for other drivers, and is a maniac on the road. I tell my parents ill drive to save every1 a hassle of him driving, and I know he will get a ticket driving for 4 hours upnorth, b/c every1 i talk to gets pulled over.

Well its all going good, and then i get pulled over. I knew the mother ****ing cop was there. I was going 90+ and slowed down when I saw the little opening in the median. Then i see the cop, slam on brakes, and it was to late. he pulls my ass over, just asks for my ****, doesnt say a word. He comes back, and says, you know how fast ur going. I say about 84. he says yep, thats what i radar'd u at. He wrote my for 75/70 which is $100 0 points.

So i got lucky. My parents offered to pay, but Im to nice and will pay it myself, since they could use the $100.


but anyways, its pretty nice up here. Cant wait to play the next few days.

Should be awesome weather this week. You going to play the resort courses (Bear, Wolverine, etc) or other places?

Yeah going to play all 3. I wanted to go to arcadia so bad, but its to far away. Along with bay harbor.

I cant complain about playing here though. Its pretty awesome how a course could be so good, when its only good golfign like 3 months of the year.

We have the unlimited golf, so we will play our original round in the morning, and maybe play another 9 a couple hours later or something.

Yeah, that's a shame. Mapquest says a little over an hour to Arcadia, but with summer traffic you never know. That's the only drawback - it's not close to anything.

Hard to beat unlimted golf on the resort courses though. I hope to get up there (or to Garland or Treetops) some time after Labor Day.

never been to the Garland, hows that? I went there for skiing which I will never do again. Treetops is very nice too. I want to go back to play the par 3 course, I just like spinning the ball on the 100 foot drop to the hole.
I think when wanting to play Arcadia, you have to just stay around there for a day, and go to another resort or something.


Oh my. I just was looking at the Bear b/c it says its the 18th hardest golf course in the country. That is crazy, right up there with medinah, pinhurst, spyglass, thats insane.

Can someone explain slope/rating to me. I have tried to read on it but its confusing. I have played golf my whole life, and never understood this.

Is the slope the avg score for a scratch golfer? On the scorecard im reading from the tips it says.......

76.3/148.

What does that mean?

There is a man called Knuth you need to hit over the head for this. Originally he published a catalog of computer algorithms, I think it is 5 volumes, each volume is a rather large brick.

That kind of sets the premises.

Ok 76.3 is the number of strokes a scratch player is supposed to use on the course you are playing.

148 is the slope that indicates how much tougher the course is for the higher handicapped player.

I have a handicap of 21.2 when I go to a course the number of strokes on the course is calculated by

21.2 * 148 / 113 + 76.3 - 72 = 32 strokes. (I made the assumption that this is a par 72 course).

The 113 is a constant defined as the number in slope where a difference in 1 in handicap will give a difference in 1 in strokes.

If I instead had 11.0 in handicap it would be

11.0 * 148 / 113 + 76.3 - 72 = 19 strokes.

If I where playing scratch it would be:

0 * 148 / 113 + 76.3 - 72 = 4 strokes.

If Tiger is +10 it would be

-10 * 148 / 113 + 76.3 - 72 = -9 strokes.

76.3 indicates a very difficult course 76.3 >> 72, and 148 indicates that it is much harder for higher handicaps 148 >>> 113.

I hope this helps and that it is that there are not that many errors.

Went and got a "Swing Analysis" at GolfTec yesterday which was great. Used a coupon, so it was only $25. The guy was really nice, and I could immediately see the issues with my swing.

Biggest issue, IMO, was that my head was coming ahead of the ball on the downswing. He said that my biggest problem was my hip turn. I was turning my hips 71* closed in the backswing, when tour average is 41*!!! My left knee would come way in and my right leg would completely straighten out. He said I have what they call "Elvis legs".

So, he put a small waste basket next to my inside my left leg, and hit some shots with the thought of keeping my right knee bent. I could definitely feel the stretch in the back swing, and the video showed that I was now inside the tour average on my hip turn, and my head is staying behind the ball on the downswing.

He said my set up and alignment were perfect as well as my take away. I'm coming a bit over the top on the downswing, and it's crazy to see how far back the club goes when you don't feel like you're taking it that far back. He gave me a drill for keeping the club inside on the downswing as well as one for keeping my head back.

My only question is that Shawn Clement has a video about the legs and feet where he talks about getting a good hip turn and NOT to resist. In the comments of the video though, he says that the right leg shouldn't straighten completely out, but in the video, you can definitely see his left knee come way in on the back swing. So, while I'm a bit confused, going to try out the tips from the Golftec guy at the range and see how it goes. Excited.

EDIT: Oh, I was also hoping that I would be able to access my swing online for review, but I guess that doesn't come with this type of lesson.

i am trying to get my girlfriend into golf. she has a good swing, but he is rather small, so it's difficult for her to get much distance. i signed her up for some clinic lessons and she likes it right now. she is almost a complete novice, though we've been going to a driving range since the beginning of the season. i am like a 20 handicap currently.

while she is progressing, we are playing a scramble format from the red tees, so that neither of us gets too frustrated with the game. yesterday was our first 9 holes. to my surprise, we did what i consider very good, 40 (par 36, ~2400 yards) with 6/9 GIRs and 19 putts. to limit my length, i played with 4h, 5i, 7i, 9i, GW, SW and putter, and she plays with driver, 25deg hybrid, 7i, 9i, SW and putter. 5 pars, 4 bogeys. s we hit every fairway, and the course did feel short to me, but we used 3 of her tee shots. on one hole she drove the ball 180 yards with a driver and then got on the green. on another, 140 yard draw with a hybrid. i was extremely impressed.

anyways, my question is 40 good or bad? what do you think your scramble scores would be if you played with a partner of similar handicap?

I think that that is excellent. You both seem really good for your level. The driving range and lessons seem to be paying off.

If you want more information, you might try the FAQ at popeofslope.com, I think that's the guy that invented the slope system.

Since 155 is the highest possible slope, 148 translates to "really f'ing hard".

one more random thought:

does anyone endorse/recommend tennis as fitness/cross training for golf?

My nephew/godson Jeff is playing in the Mass Amateur Golf Championship for the first time. It is being held at The Country Club in Brookline. So my brother asked me if I wanted to go watch and I did, the first time I've ever watched a golf match other than TV.

Well what a treat. Jeff was very good, shot a even par 71, good for tied for 4th. Tomorrows round gets added and the top 32 make the cut and then it becomes match play, a very interesting format.

If he makes it to Thursday the semi finals, I may go again. Wish him luck.

http://mgatpp.org/results/results.aspx?ID=144

I just wanted to post today that my father, aged 59 years, 10 months, and 8 days, aced this hole yesterday with a 159-yard 4-rescue.

Anyone know where I can do something awesome for him?

Question:

w/ my irons I always hit it to the left a bit.
Lets say I am aiming strait ahead.
My shot will fly nice and strait, but about 4-10 degrees to the left.
So If the pin is 150yds away, the ball will be about 6-12yds to the left of where I was aiming (about).

If you're 100% sure your aim is correct, then I would get your clubs bent 1 or 2 degrees flat.

Are you sure you are not hooking at a little bit? This can happen if you start your downswing with your hands instead of the hips. I had this problem when I was trying to get my swing right. Also if you go right with your short irons and left with the long ones, this is definitely something you want to check.

Not sure how awesome it is, but .. this?

I'm supposed to play in a state best ball event next month. I was looking at the scorecard and hole diagrams for the course last night and holy **** does it not suit my game. It's hard to guess how they'll have it set up, but if it's the tees recommended for 6-10 handicaps, the course is 6900+ yards and super tight with water lining almost every hole.

Some time in the next month I need to pick up 40 yards and learn how to hit a dependable fade. FML.

It is true! If you grind your teeth in any instance, it can cause serious tension which will lead to pain. It is common for golfers to wear mouth guards for protection. I recommend golfers check out http://www.totalgard.com/bruxism.html ..which will explain teeth grit/grinding. It is also possible to purchase a sports mouth guard.

- Mike

my thumb on my left hand started going numb during the swing. like i am pinching a nerve, or hitting my funny bone, but in my thumb.

does anyone have any experience with this? how do you deal with it? i'd rather not look for a surgical solution which is what i fear my doctor will say.

well, I wanna see if I could work on fixing this problem through my swing 1st.
i'll prolly go out to the range next time and try tweaking my swing.

ill pay closer attention to the flight, but I am 70% sure I'm not hooking.
I also have no idea how I am starting my down swing. I'll pay attention to my hip movement. FWIW: my short irons and long irons take the same flight: slightly left all the way.

Hopefully I will post a vid of my swing one of these days.
Sorry about clogging this thread up w/ this.