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Question for golfers |
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#126 |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 14,234
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However I think the best money I spent was the £40 on my lesson yesterday where the pro explained to me that I've been gripping the club incorrectly all these years. He was saying that apart from that and a few small things my swing is almost perfect. Am hoping that after a bit of practice i'll be under 100.
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The best thing you can do if you want to improve is to get a series of lessons with a pro and spend lots of time at the range. I read in a book once about a pro complaining about these people who go out and spend several hundred quid on a new driver thinking it will improve their game - had they stuck with the existing driver and spent the equivalent money on lessons instead, they'd be far better off!
![]() ![]() I haven't played for months now. Can't wait to get out again.
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#127 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Brackley, UK
Posts: 16,657
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I've been trying to tweak my swing recently but with mixed results.
I wanted to do a better job of getting the ball into the air and my instructor suggested I adopt a stronger grip and cock my wrists more on the backswing. It certainly works - I can now get a lovely arc and ten more yards on my 3-hybrid - but it's brought back the straight fade I've been long fighting on my driver and introduced a pull on my irons. So I'm going back to my weaker grip but trying to keep my left thumb right of shaft centre. That way at the top of my backswing I'm not trying to over bend my left thumb. But the results are still a bit variable. The driver fade is just an annoyance but a random pull on my wedges costs strokes. |
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#128 |
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South
Posts: 10,848
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How right I was back in post #4 when I said that....
![]() ![]() I haven't played for months now. Can't wait to get out again.Though i'm very happy with the new kit - if only because i'm less embarrassed to be seen with it going round the course
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#129 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 9,208
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Quote:
However I think the best money I spent was the £40 on my lesson yesterday where the pro explained to me that I've been gripping the club incorrectly all these years. He was saying that apart from that and a few small things my swing is almost perfect. Am hoping that after a bit of practice i'll be under 100.
Tell me that wasn't per half hour ![]() Well done though! |
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#130 |
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 9,208
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I bought a new driver yesterday after a few swings on the simulator in the Pro shop.
I had a T/M JetSpeed. My Pro had a T/M R15 at £199. I got him down to £169 and I used a £30 voucher from our Sunday comp. So, quite pleased at £139. Took it out for 18 holes but couldn't judge improvement on distance as. It was blowing a gale .... and directly at us on every tee! |
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#131 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Brackley, UK
Posts: 16,657
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Last night I played 18 at my home course (Cherwell Edge). Got round in a record 2 hours on my own. Despite the speed I scored well. If it wasn't for a slight drop toward the end I'd have broken 90. Tempting to blame that on lighting since I didn't finish until quarter past seven. The trick to my new swing seems to be making sure that my right elbow stays close to my hip on the down swing. Also with the driver moving my gaze off the ball and slightly right and down at the start of the downswing seems to help. In effect I'm looking at the end of the swing path just before contact. I got some stonking drives and several excellent shots with my 3-hybrid. I'm still coming up short on putting distance though. I really need to work on my green speed estimates. Quote:
Took it out for 18 holes but couldn't judge improvement on distance as. It was blowing a gale .... and directly at us on every tee!
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#132 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South
Posts: 10,848
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£40!!
Tell me that wasn't per half hour ![]() Well done though! |
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#133 |
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 9,208
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That was for a 45 min session and 15 min sit down where he explained what was going wrong. I'm planning to do a 9 hole lesson with him which costs £90 but should last 2.5 hours.
I did bag a "special" of 10 for £100 and have four left. I've stretched those well over a year as too many too soon is counter productive. I've also had lessons with all three Pro's and found that one is really best suited to my learning style. |
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#134 |
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South
Posts: 10,848
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I played 9 holes on Friday and 18 yesterday.
It's a bit strange at the moment as I now have a completely different set up routine and am having to concentrate a lot of each shot. My driving is now more consistent in that i'm getting distance every time (if not in the right direction!) and my pitching is much better. However my long irons and recovers were absolutely awful. It's a little odd in that with my much improved tee shots and pitching my score didn't budge at all - still hit 116 yesterday with two maximums. Maybe it will all come together at some point. |
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#135 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Brackley, UK
Posts: 16,657
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However my long irons and recovers were absolutely awful.
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It's a little odd in that with my much improved tee shots and pitching my score didn't budge at all - still hit 116 yesterday with two maximums. Maybe it will all come together at some point.
Do you ever do a post-mortem? I do. I try and go through each hole by memory noting which shots let me down. Then I know where to target my practice sessions. Of course if I was organised I'd write each shot and the result as I played it but that ruins the fun of the moment for me.I played 18 yesterday and had mostly okay, some good drives. Pretty handy on the fairway as well. Green work was poor to terrible. Eventually scored 103 and lost two balls. I really struggled to adapt to green speed. It seemed like the greens played normal speed in one direction and slow in the other. I know that's always supposed to be the case but I've never really noticed before. On one hole I went two yards past the pin uphill (and we're talking a proper slope here, one you can see from the tee) but on the return shot I was half a yard short ![]() Maybe it was because they'd not been used for a couple of months. They'd also just aerated them but that's not been a huge issue for me before. |
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#136 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 21,753
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Quote:
I played 9 holes on Friday and 18 yesterday.
It's a bit strange at the moment as I now have a completely different set up routine and am having to concentrate a lot of each shot. My driving is now more consistent in that i'm getting distance every time (if not in the right direction!) and my pitching is much better. However my long irons and recovers were absolutely awful. It's a little odd in that with my much improved tee shots and pitching my score didn't budge at all - still hit 116 yesterday with two maximums. Maybe it will all come together at some point. ![]() it can just get you deeper into the trees keeping the ball on the short grass is the best way to bring your scores down, it will just take time if you have made some technical changes for you to get used to them and for "muscle memory" to start kicking in once your swing starts to feel more natural it should be something you repeat more often and the accuracy will follow |
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#137 |
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South
Posts: 10,848
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Awful in what sense?
Thinking back, my main issue is that my second shot is always bad, regardless of the situation. Doesn't matter if i'm in the rough or on the fairway with 150 yards to go or 40 yards from the flag. It must be a psychological thing . Also in my defence it was extremely windy! |
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#138 |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 14,234
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It must be a psychological thing .
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#139 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 21,753
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A large portion of golf is exactly this, in my opinion!
as far as the question above about approach shots, its about identifying the shot you want to hit and then committing to it if you are standing over the ball worrying about whether you are hitting the right club or not 100% sure the type of shot you want to play then most likely you wont commit to the shot and that uncertainty will lead to poorly executed shots |
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#140 |
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,306
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if you are standing over the ball worrying about whether you are hitting the right club or not 100% sure the type of shot you want to play then most likely you wont commit to the shot and that uncertainty will lead to poorly executed shots |
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#141 |
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 9,208
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I've played some of my best rounds of golf actually wondering if the ball will actually go where I'm hoping it will go and often being astonished that it did.
I play with a guy who I can easily out drive but he will always tee off absolutely dead straight at moderate distance. I often ask him if he misses the excitement of wondering where the ball is about to go as you rip it.
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#142 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 21,753
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I've played some of my best rounds of golf actually wondering if the ball will actually go where I'm hoping it will go and often being astonished that it did.
I play with a guy who I can easily out drive but he will always tee off absolutely dead straight at moderate distance. I often ask him if he misses the excitement of wondering where his ball is about to go. ![]() ![]() course i played at was quite a short course but with small-ish greens and accuracy was always more important than distance. during the summer when the ground got quite firm it wasn't just a case of getting your drive on the fairway, you had to be on the correct side of the fairway or you would have a hard time holding the green |
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#143 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Brackley, UK
Posts: 16,657
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I was literally duffing my 4 and 5 recovery about 20-30 yards for most of the holes. I hit them cleanly maybe 2 or 3 times. My 5 and 6 irons were slightly better - but only going 120 yards odd.
On the off chance you have the same problem I cured myself by thinking I should throw myself toward the target after ball strike. I still hit the occasional duffer but now they go at least 100 yards and longer clubs can go over 150 yards. Not what I want at the time but not disastrous either. My duffers have also changed. I used to top the ball but now my fault is that sometimes I'm hitting it a bit late. When I duff one there's usually a ball shaped furrow where the divot should be
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#144 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,306
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I had this problem when I started. Turned out that I was reverse pivoting. It's actually quite a good way to hit a driver and in my case at least didn't affect my wedges. I'd have expected an instructor to spot that immediately though.
On the off chance you have the same problem I cured myself by thinking I should throw myself toward the target after ball strike. I still hit the occasional duffer but now they go at least 100 yards and longer clubs can go over 150 yards. Not what I want at the time but not disastrous either. My duffers have also changed. I used to top the ball but now my fault is that sometimes I'm hitting it a bit late. When I duff one there's usually a ball shaped furrow where the divot should be ![]() It can cost a lot of distance when your rotation and weight shift arent in sync. |
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#145 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South
Posts: 10,848
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Quote:
I had this problem when I started. Turned out that I was reverse pivoting. It's actually quite a good way to hit a driver and in my case at least didn't affect my wedges. I'd have expected an instructor to spot that immediately though.
On the off chance you have the same problem I cured myself by thinking I should throw myself toward the target after ball strike. I still hit the occasional duffer but now they go at least 100 yards and longer clubs can go over 150 yards. Not what I want at the time but not disastrous either. My duffers have also changed. I used to top the ball but now my fault is that sometimes I'm hitting it a bit late. When I duff one there's usually a ball shaped furrow where the divot should be ![]() My first drive was straight and about 50 yards from the green. After a poor pitch, knock on and then 2 putt I finished up with 5. My second drive was straight and left me 230 yards (par 5). I hit my 3 wood the sweetest i've ever done and ended up 20 yards from the hole. Knock on and 2 putt gave me par. Then it all fell apart. My drives were slipping left and whenever i tried to hit any club it just took out a divot and went about 20 yards. I hit two maximums in a row before pulling it back to my usual 6s and 7s. Every single pitch I did was about half the distance it should be - which considering that pitching was the best part of my game on Sunday was infuriating. |
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#146 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 21,753
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I went back down the 9 hole course yesterday evening.
My first drive was straight and about 50 yards from the green. After a poor pitch, knock on and then 2 putt I finished up with 5. My second drive was straight and left me 230 yards (par 5). I hit my 3 wood the sweetest i've ever done and ended up 20 yards from the hole. Knock on and 2 putt gave me par. Then it all fell apart. My drives were slipping left and whenever i tried to hit any club it just took out a divot and went about 20 yards. I hit two maximums in a row before pulling it back to my usual 6s and 7s. Every single pitch I did was about half the distance it should be - which considering that pitching was the best part of my game on Sunday was infuriating. practice is all about muscle memory and imprinting on your brain how to execute a shot when you are standing over a shot your brain recognises from previous experience what it needs to do and how hard you need to hit the shot, the more often you have done it the more accurate that becomes its one of the reasons where shots when you cant see the bottom of the pin or there is some sort of hidden hollow between you and the green are alot harder as what your eye sees and thus what the brain recognises is not the true distance and you have to try and remind yourself to take account of that difference hope that makes sense, not sure if i am explaining it right |
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#147 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South
Posts: 10,848
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Quote:
really just comes down to time, got to be patient
practice is all about muscle memory and imprinting on your brain how to execute a shot when you are standing over a shot your brain recognises from previous experience what it needs to do and how hard you need to hit the shot, the more often you have done it the more accurate that becomes its one of the reasons where shots when you cant see the bottom of the pin or there is some sort of hidden hollow between you and the green are alot harder as what your eye sees and thus what the brain recognises is not the true distance and you have to try and remind yourself to take account of that difference hope that makes sense, not sure if i am explaining it right But this wasn't a case of misjudging distance or shot strength. This was me taking a chunk of the ground under ever ball I hit on the fairway - and I mean every one from the 3rd hole on, no matter what I changed. Oh well, back to the range this evening, where I physically can't go under the mat
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#148 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Brackley, UK
Posts: 16,657
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Oh well, back to the range this evening, where I physically can't go under the mat
![]() * Playing off a mat is not the same as playing off the ground - especially if the ground is damp. Mats can hide the fact you're hitting fat. This time of the year is a great for finding that out :-/ * Since switching to mostly grass play I actually struggle more with mats. My problem is on and around the greens at the moment. I'm hoping it's down to green condition but right now my speed is way off. I used to be a reliable two putter or chip and one putt with the first shot usually being an 'almost in' leaving an easy 2nd. I seem to be struggling to read the slope and still have a tendency to rush through the putting to get to the next tee (which is just stupid)
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#149 |
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South
Posts: 10,848
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Well irons were going well at the range but driving was a bit poor.
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#150 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Brackley, UK
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Well irons were going well at the range but driving was a bit poor.
"Notice that you do NOT need long irons, hybrids, fairway woods, flop shots, or, most of all, a driver. For high handicap players, the driver adds more strokes than it saves by a huge margin. Yes, hitting driver is fun (sometimes), but you’ll notice that this is not a plan for having fun on the golf course, it’s a plan for breaking 100…which is fun all the time." Can't say I've ever done that but it's a valid point ![]() Last night was pretty good for me. Everything was working 'okay'. Even my green work was okay, back to what it should be. Makes me wonder if my recent issues has been more down to dodgy greens than me. They've either been wet, aerated or almost bare. Last night my speed was mostly spot on and I genuinely felt confident. I came away with a 94 but the last two holes were played badly (fatigue probably) and I lost two balls. |
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Can't wait to get out again.



