To make it worse, she's leaving for Fox!

I was having this conversation with NXT the other day. Golfers rival poker players as some of the absolute worst at understanding sample-size, variance, etc.

My home course has a few shorter par 4s. To my knowledge, I'm one of the few who regularly pull driver on both of them. Beyond my normal group mates, I'll always get some sort of comment on the tee which inevitably leads to a "that's why I don't hit driver here" if I happen to end up making bogey. FWIW, those two holes are my best scoring avg in relation to par outside of Par 5s.

With you getting a shot, it's a no brainer for him to play the strategy that maximizes his chances of making birdie. Generally I would say that means hitting the driver, but lot of variability based on the specific hole and his strengths as a player.

anyone interested in playing in ATL? I just moved here and don't know any golfers/people and wouldn't mind getting out to play next weekend.

NXT is in ATL though he's a busy Daddy.

Pretty cool shot by Padraig Harrington:

the blind happy gilmore was impressive as well, although i've seen him hit that shot on a few different shows (but not blindfolded), so it's not like he's totally new to the motion. there was a bit on sports science a few years ago that showed him gaining 30 yards with the hg move. what's most impressive is how consistent he is with his swing positions using both hg and 'normal'. skip to ~3:55 for the side by side.

the city of santa clara is renting parking spaces to Levi's Stadium for 49'ers games.

the parking spaces are located across the street at Santa Clara Golf & Tennis Club...

Lol - there was something similar in the book 'Missing links' by Rick Reilley, but that's a comedy fiction...

just read some reviews online. tee times 7 minutes apart, 3 hours for 9 holes, drought and lack of watering has resulted in fairways that play like a parking lot.....hmmmmmmm, coincidence?

its a great layout for a muni and probably one of the best resident deals around. 38 bucks on the weekend v 53.

going to be pretty funny if they actually let them park out there after a rain (or lol, during), but it looks like they have secured plenty of parking in the area from companies. hopefully these on the course will be last resort, but you never know if the city gets greedy.

They've done that for years at a golf course next to Michigan Stadium. I guess it's worth it to the course financially.

Watching the golf channel and I just realized that Steve Flesch looks like a Dr Evil wannabe.

What do you guys do when you feel like you need to hit the reset button? I've been playing for about 8 or 9 years and my skillset has progressed year over year since I started. Every single season up to the end of 2012 every single facet of my game has gotten better. I've always had the same approach; I take every winter off, then I play/practice as much as I can all spring/summer/fall. This means playing 36 every weekend (18 saturday, 18 sunday) and practicing 1-2 times during the week as well as practicing before and sometimes after my weekend rounds.

Sometime last season I developed a sort of hitch in my swing where my arms keep going back after my body stops turning, flying right elbow, the club is in all kinds of weird positions at the top and it usually results in me spinning out and hitting snappers or big blocks. I've been fighting this new move both mentally and physically, but nothing has worked. Every single swing I take is different and I have every mi**** in the bag; shanks, tops, thin ones, slices, hooks; you name it, I can hit it.

I went to the range last night with every intention of working on my strengths, taking my time, focusing on targets, resetting after every swing, etc. But as soon as I start mi****ting balls, I completely lose it. I just start playing wack a ball and I watch my practice session deteriorate right in front of my eyes. If you had have watched me practice last night you'd have thought this was my first year playing golf. I was so frustrated and depressed after the session ended that I was almost in tears when I got back to my car (yes, it's juvenile but I don't care).

I'm in a really strange place right now. My short game is really good by my standards and I'm driving the ball well. Pitching wedge down to lob wedge game is fine. But as soon as I put a mid to long iron, hybrid or wood in my hands, my mind goes to ****. I know before I even start my swing that I'm gonna make my best Jim Furyk move and one of my mi****s are going to happen. I should be more positive, but after hitting thousands of balls and having the same thing happen over and over and over again, I have the exact same expectation as the last.

My friends have been telling me to take a break, but I really enjoy this game despite the anguish it's putting me through. Also, the season is short enough up here that I don't want to take weekends off. I also love getting out with my buddies and all the fun we have on the golf course.

*disclaimer; Despite all the above, I'm not lashing out and I'm a pleasure to play with. I'm basically suffering all of this anguish deep inside but I'm keeping it to myself.


tldr; what do you do when you turn into a basketcase?

They way I've always seen it, when you're doing something wrong, just hitting balls is really just a way to practice the timing of whatever you have to do to get the club back to a workable impact position.

If you don't know what you're actually trying to work on, practicing isn't going to fix the problem. Sounds like it's time for a lesson, friend Just being positive and confident may improve the timing of whatever bandaid you have in your swing that helps you hit the ball workably, but obviously something is wrong in your swing and getting professional help to spot the real problem is your best bet.

Best move I made this year was when I started going south I ran to my pro for a lesson. You can't practice unless you know what to do.

No joke. I spent a lot of money on lessons. Anytime I'm having issues with my irons. I do 2 drills.

1). Hit irons with my feet together. If you are doing it right it should be a little bit of a hook.

2). Hit balls with your lead shoe off. It will help with correct weight transfer and you should be hitting crisp shots, just probably not as much distance.

Thanks guys. One thing I forgot to mention above is that I take lessons all season too, ever since I started playing. I'm going to a new instructor this year who teaches with the Core golf methodology in mind (he's also an old friend). He's given me some things to work on, but it's just added to the list of things that are clogging me up. I play my best when I get out of my own way, but I can't seem to find a way to do it this year. I have a lesson with him next Wednesday.


Another disclaimer, I'm also a functioning pothead, but feel like it's use is leading to some of the negative thoughts this year. I'm going to commit to playing/practicing sober for a while and see if my mental state improves. However, in the past I have been high for all of my best rounds including a 73 I shot in 2012.

You shot a 73? Ok forget everything I said then. I'm a noob.

Nah, I appreciate any feedback at all. I've been as low as a 6.5 handicap in 2012 and now currently sitting at 9.x

My first instructor used to drill the feet together with me and I've used it with great success over the years.

Getting some input from a pro could be good provided he's the right type of pro.

From talking to club pros, I've found there are two types -- the kind that try to mold you into what they think a swing should look like, and another that fosters what you do well and makes some small tweaks to help you improve.

Honestly, you probably just need a little injection of confidence and a quick lesson with the pro could help. He might point out one small thing or give you a little preshot thought that clears your mind and helps get you back on track.

Yeah, I agree with the confidence issue. Actually, this weekend I 'found' something on the range that I used to do in my setup but seem to have neglected this year. I started working on it before my round Saturday and was hitting the ball really well. It was a little pre-turn I do to get the hips turning a little before I start my backswing (a la Shawn Clement). I had 3 range sessions on the weekend and my ball-striking got better and better as the sessions went along. Of course, the feeling didn't quite carry over to the course aside from a few shots here and there, but it was a positive direction. The warmup before yesterday's round was absolutely incredible and it really helped to get my attention and realize that this season is definitely not lost yet.

I have my next lesson Wednesday night and I was actually considering not doing full-swing and working on short-game instead. I have a really good short-game for my handicap (I think I do anyway), but I have a lot of glaring weaknesses in it, particularly 40-60 yards and higher shots over obstacles. Since I'm relying on my short-game so much this season due to my sketchy game-play, I figured it might give me some good confidence to strengthen it up even more and maybe even have some of it carry over to my full-swing.

I had a great moment of clarity on the course yesterday. 16th hole, 160 yard par 3; I hit my ball a touch thin and it fades right into a bunker. We had a really long walk to the green as the cart path meandered around water and the entire time I was walking I was focused on my ball and the shot I was going to hit (a 20 yard or so bunker shot). As I was assessing the shot, I got this odd premonition and a voice in my head said "I'm going to make this or hit it within 6 inches". My pre-shot demons got replaced with an air of arrogance and all I could think about was how well the shot I was about to hit was going to turn out. The ball came out exactly as I had pictured it and settled 2 inches past the hole. Too bad that feeling isn't easy to bottle up and use at will.

spotts good on y ou for sticking with it. anytime i start to struggle i think i get overly critical, like with say i hit a shot thin and it comes up 15 yards short...well that is not a bad miss...infact it is a great miss!

concentrate on set up and rhythm and i think you will be fine.

Just came back from the driving range (which has a couple of practice bunkers).

I hit about 40 balls into the wind (out of the bunkers) until I had to stop due to too much sand in my mouth. (that and it was just too damn hot)