Wife has one of those, she never uses it, imagine that.

A lot of people I golf with that have bad backs have an inversion table. They all seem to like it.

I could see it turning into a novelty pretty quickly. I have a few really bad knots in my upper back and traps and this thing has been a godsend for me.

Interestingly, or not, the injury wasn't due to a weak back. I tried to lift way too fast, Particularly on the 3rd rep of Deadlift at 245 lb. I wasnt entirely focused and forgot to concentrate on a slow push through the heels. Instead I basically yanked it to 3/4 the way up my shin before it ran out of momentum. Then I had to consciously recover and power through with hamstrings glutes and lower back strength. The weak link was between spine and shoulderblade apparently. I'm just hoping for 100% recovery.

Im back to 100%. Took a few days complete rest. Then Dynamic stretching and mobility work the next few days. Then Dynamic stretching and strength work. The pain is still about a 3 on the 1-10 scale when I first wake up for an hour or two depending on how soon I start doing stuff to get blood flowing.

During my recovery I actively tried to think critically about different aspects of the proper golf swing and my golf swing and how to become more congruent with all the fundamentals considering my most common mistakes and my greatest assets. Tl;dr self review time.

My biggest mistakes are not keeping my head down. Sliding with lower body toward target. Diving towards the ball with shoulders during downswing. Overcooking draws due to extra strong grip(which actually gets strengthened by practice swings little by little).

Ok those are my key errors. If I make 2 or more of these errors in 1 swing, fore!

My introspective time this past week has also taught me why avg golfers cant hit long shots off turf. Its exactly because they have hit good long shots so infrequently, that neither their body nor mind knows what a good shot off turf feels like. They have an idea of what it feels like, but the idea is fleeting at best for most golfers. Hybrids help the issue a lot imo. But hybrid or iron the issue remains. The average golfer probably doesnt practice the long shots enough to be able to have the feel of a good shot smelted in their brains and nerves. So what happens when the duff the tee shot on a par 4 or 5? They get over the next shot and they know what the fundamentals are but they lack the feeling of a solidly struck 4 3 or 2 iron. Theyre forced to manufacture the shot through fundamentals. Bob rotella wrote of the difference between manufacturing a shot (as though a previous swing or the image in our minds is an apt prototype lolol ) and creating a shot based on all factors and the way the swing feels throughout the body. I believe that without some idea of what a good long shot feels like, a golfer is exiled to the isle of manufactured golf shots.

Also I need more lee trevino follow through with my short irons and less John Daly. This is something that I dont practice enough.

Also insert putting ramble here. Hypothesis is that I need to pace out putts for better distance control because of my blind eye, which hampers my depth perception. Thus I must become a bit more scientific with putting in this way. However I do believe that putting is 99% cerebral and 1% physical execution. This is why I place my ball blank dimples up when putting. I dont want the alignment guideline. No numbers nor letters please. Just a ball a stick a hole and me. Keep it simple.

/fin

Any course recommendations for the area between Sarasota and Naples? Preferably near the halfway point of those places, which I think is Port Charlotte.

Thanks in advance!

Bob, how do you know what your biggest mistakes are? I ask because my main issues are tops and chunks.....but I have no clue why they happen. Like, literally no idea of where my swing goes wrong.

Correction: looking for a course in Sarasota. Thx.

I spent 2001 through 2007 studying and applying Ben hogans 5 fundamentals of golf (I believe thats the title). Took several years off due to nagging injuries and started playing again last spring. Last year was basically relearning the fundamentals. Now I know what good shots feel like and I know what different mistakes do to ball flight. So if I push or slice I know I slid with my legs and the club got stuck behind me and the face couldnt catch up. Or if I chunk it while keeping my head down I know I dove at the ball with my shoulders. Its quite obvious to me now when I dont keep my head down; I'm already looking at the target when the ball comes in to view(or not, usually).

Tops and chunks are probably inability to maintain consistent chest position due to back, hip, and or knee weakness.

makes sense when i think about it. i'll focus on that.

2 weeks post-op

Had my appointment today to take the splint off and to have the stitches removed. First observation was the incision was much longer than I would have anticipated. Second observation is how much atrophy you get in your muscles when you don't use them for 2 weeks. Hand is really stiff, especially trying to bend the fingers backwards.

Still going to be 4 weeks before I am able to touch a club. Nothing like missing prime golfing season in FL.

i'm guessing they gave you some sort of PT regimen? my one bit of advice is to do what they say and stick to it.

Correct. In week 1 I have 10-15 mins 3x a day.

Week 2 I have the above plus another thing for 10 mins 3x a day.

Also starting week 2 I have to massage the incision 10 minutes 4x per day.

I am allowed to stop the first two once I regain mobility back in my hand and wrist.

So if after 2 weeks I am not seeing enough progress i am going to ask my GP to prescribe me physical therapy. Shouldn't come to that but you never know. I guess that's the advantage of sitting at a desk at home all day long and watching hockey all night long. Nothing but time.

i suggest watching swing analysis of guys like adam scott and rory mcilroy. you can see the excellent posture when these guys set up and address and they maintain the angles in their knees and hips, while maintaining the spine angle they start with at address through out the shot. the only thing that breaks this spine angle is the forward/upward momentum of the follow through on long shots. this is why you see the nice vertical spine angle when pros hold the follow through. the swing is the cause(provides movement and momentum) while the uprightness of the follow through is an effect of this momentum.

I've been getting emails from my Dr's office saying to make an appointment to get the vaccine. But when I log in the only location with appointments available is like 6 1/2 hours away (I'm not driving to freaking Durango). I checked it again today there was an appointment that opened up near me for Saturday that I could have grabbed. But I'm playing Saturday morning so hopefully another appointment opens up soon....

If a golfer doesn't know what a solidly struck shot with a longer club feels like they have no business with a 5-iron, let alone a 2,3, or 4. I play with a 1 handicap who has a 6-iron as the longest iron in his bag. Average golfers should learn a lot from this.

On the course putting should be nothing more than muscle memory with very little thought. On the practice putting green putting should be 99% physical execution. Let that work naturally flow into your stroke on the course.

Doubtlessly, a person has to practice a particular club at some point to be able to hit with it, so the implication here is that a person essentially should use the range exclusively to develop the feel for a properly struck golf shot if it is something he doesn't already possess in any significant capacity.

There are clearly potential benefits for surrounding golfers if people follow this advice, such as avoiding slower play and not being endangered by errant shots. Also the round stands to be more enjoyable for the hypothetical golfer we are discussing here. However, rounds of golf are certainly a means of beneficial practice that compliment practice done off of the course. I have personally experienced that to be the case in my opinion.

So, suppose someone is making an earnest effort practicing off of the course with a certain club. What is the threshold of capability that you believe that person should attain before he uses it on the course? Is knowing or not knowing what a solid strike with it feels like an apt description of this threshold, or would you elaborate upon that with something more comprehensive?

Suppose your 1-handicapper friend suddenly decided to practice longer irons at the range with the intent of being able to satisfactorily use them on the course, hypothetically speaking as I'm not suggesting that he would do best to do that in actuality. I'm guessing that he would want to start trying them on the course relatively soon in order to benefit from that complimentary effect. To be sure, in his case I would think that he would at a minimum at least know what a properly struck shot feels like with those longer clubs in short order if he doesn't already. I'm guessing that you wouldn't necessarily recommend or be of the opinion that he should eschew those longer clubs on the course until they actually improve his score, but I could be wrong. What do you think?

But to take it even further, I wonder if a person practicing a certain club on the range who didn't meet a criteria or threshold for using it frequently on the course, whatever that might be, might do well to instead use it sparingly here in there on the course for the complimentary effect of using both practicing venues, i.e. the course and the range, as opposed to eschewing its use on the course altogether.

haha, received first dose yesterday. But then again if golf was on the menu, hmmmm

"The implication here is that a person essentially should use the range exclusively to develop the feel for a properly struck golf shot if it is something he doesn't already possess in any significant capacity."

I believe this is the correct conclusion. As lee trevino would say people go to the range and end up practicing their mistakes.

Rose Zhang hitting some loose shots this final round but what a stone cold killer she is. She's on a hell of a heater.

I did the thing I was always so conscious of when I played last weekend...I lost clubs!

We played a course with 3 different 9 holes. Family outing with dad, uncle and brother in law. After finishing 18 my uncle was buzzed and said lets go out for the last 9. Dad and brother in law had to go home I stayed. Cart path only. Had the 9 to ourselves basically. Ended up bringing different clubs from the cart to my ball to hit different shots. Realized I left my 7 iron and my Volkey 56 somewhere on the course. Pissed me off bc I'm so anal about it. I never lose them in the green but realize how easy it is to do in the rough/bunkers. This is also another reason I love walking.

Do you guys get those labels for your clubs? Are they something you put on yourself? When getting my clubs fitted and thus customized can I have them do that in the store?

I'm getting fitted May 5th and new clubs prob mid-june so I'm basically going to play 2 months with no 7 iron and nothing lower than a gap wedge which sucks. Luckily my clubs were a shitty starter set and my Volkey was used for like $50 on ebay.

LFC, have you called the course?

I left my info at the clubhouse after we finished...the guy did seem very disinterested though lol. Are lost clubs typically found and turned in? This was a week ago so maybe I should give them a call.

by the description you give of your clubs I'd be surprised if they don't get turned in. I'd give them a call.

give 'em a call. more often than not clubs are turned in, especially if they aren't brand spanking new and attractive for someone to keep for their own.