L3BeatIt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > why do people like golf? is it because it’s an > “aspirational” thing to do? let’s be honest- it’s > neither fun to play nor fun to watch, come on. i don’t think it’s fun to watch unless you play the game. if you play golf, you can appreciate how difficult the game is and how freaking good all of these pros are!! it took me a long time to really get into golf. but at some point, something clicks and you become addicted. If you played other sports, golf brings out all of the same competitiveness and drive to improve that other sports bring out. i think a lot of guys who have played competitive sport in the past gravitate toward golf just for that reason… or maybe it’s just me.
cfasf1 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > L3BeatIt Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > why do people like golf? is it because it’s an > > “aspirational” thing to do? let’s be honest- > it’s > > neither fun to play nor fun to watch, come on. > > > i don’t think it’s fun to watch unless you play > the game. if you play golf, you can appreciate > how difficult the game is and how freaking good > all of these pros are!! > > it took me a long time to really get into golf. > but at some point, something clicks and you become > addicted. If you played other sports, golf brings > out all of the same competitiveness and drive to > improve that other sports bring out. i think a lot > of guys who have played competitive sport in the > past gravitate toward golf just for that reason… > or maybe it’s just me. I meant what is the real reason people play? If you like the exercise or sport of it can’t you get that from a hike, which is free? I believe the motivation for getting started is purely aspirational. Maybe once you get into it’s okay.
Here are a couple of reasons that I play golf since you asked: I have played all kinds of sports all my life. Golf without question is the most challenging, frustrating, and rewarding, all rolled into one. It’s you against the course, no teammates to blame. Golf isn’t just about hitting and chasing a ball and hitting it again. It’s about being outside, with your buddies for 4 or 5 hours, catching up and hanging out in this world of emails and texts and god help us all, facebook pages. Golf is a game of a lifetime…you can play when you are 4 and possibly when you are 84. Tom Watson demostrated that the ball doesn’t know how old you are this week at the Open. I played nine holes with my Dad this afternoon and he is 76. Wish I could do this more because I know the opportunity won’t be there forever. Lastly, while playing you can talk (not during a shot mind you), drink, smoke, gamble, and let the golf cart do most of the dirty work. Instead of drinking in bars, my friends and I have happy hour outside on the course.
I used to think golf was a waste of time, until I realized how ingrained it is in the business world. It was one of the ways I was able to socialize with many of the senior managers at a bank I worked at eariler in my career. I don’t golf that much for entertaining clients, but it is a tremendous networking tool and building business contacts. Pingdanny wrote: By the way, the best advice I can give someone consistently shooting in the 80s, 90s is to work on your pitching, chipping, sand play, putting, etc. The sooner you can consistently get shots ont the green from 100 yards and in, and within makeable putting distance the sooner you will shave 5 -10 shots off your game. My putting has usually never killed me, unless I am on a links style course where the greens have no rhyme or reason. Nick Faldo gave an excellent lesson on fairway bunker shots and since then I can usually send it 150-170 yards down stream if I find myself there.My biggest problem right now is middle iron work, followed by consistency from the tee-box with driver. I think I lose 5-7 shots from bad approaches and shanked tee-shots.
You can learn a lot your own once you learn the “ball flight rules”. It is just physics. So lets fix that driver FastEd. EVERYTHING BELOW ASSUMES YOU ARE PROPERLY AIMED AT YOUR TARGET The initial direction and shape of your shot are determined by two things - swing path and face angle relative to the target line at impact. At slow swing speeds (think putter) almost the entire direction of the shot will be determined by the face angle. You can convince your self of this by hitting some 3 foot putts. First, hit a nice straight putt with the face square (congrats you just made a putt). Then try it will the face wide open, but still swing directly down the target line (you will miss badly). Lastly, keep the face square but swing in to out (you will probably miss but not as bad as above). At fast swing speeds the opposite is true. The INITIAL direction of the ball is determined by the swing PATH and the ball will LAND where the face was pointed at impact. In reality it is a little more complicated than this but the generalization will work well enough to self diagnose your problems. So if you are hitting a big slice, you swing path has to be out-to-in and the face has to be wide open or well right at impact. This will produce the familiar ball starting way left and cutting way right of the fairwary shape. If the ball is starting right of the target then you must be swinging in-to-out. If the face is shut at impact this swing path will produce a hook, if it is open you will hit a big block to the right. The physics don’t lie. Remember, this assumes you are aimed at your target which is a BIG assumption. 90% of right handed golfer aim WAY right of the target. Golf is one of the few target games in which you don’t have your eye along the target line (contrast with shooting). This is what causes right handers to aim right. They are aiming their body to the target instead of the club. These people are dead before they even bring the club back. Anyway, what are you drives doing Ed? Left-to-Right or Right-to-Left, low or high, pop ups (different problem), something else?
hey, as long as you’re diagnosing swings, how about a high, high slice that starts off pushed right and never comes back, but only with driver/woods? I’m sooo tired of playing off of the wrong fairway (when I’m lucky) or hunting for my ball (when I’m not).
nbnog Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > hey, as long as you’re diagnosing swings, how > about a high, high slice that starts off pushed > right and never comes back, but only with > driver/woods? I’m sooo tired of playing off of > the wrong fairway (when I’m lucky) or hunting for > my ball (when I’m not). Sounds like you are coming into impact very steeply with the club. This leads to excessive backspin which causes the ballooning trajectory. If the ball is ending up way right then you have to be leaving the face wide open at impact. The most likely cause is your grip. Stand normally and notice how your left hand doesn’t hand straight down (meaning the palm of your hand doesn’t face the outside of your left thigh), it actually turns in a little. This is the same position you want your hand on the club. Notice how you can see two knuckles on your left hand? You should see the same when holding the club. If your grip isn’t the problem then we will have to go deeper, but the face is open at impact. : ) AGAIN, THIS ASSUMES YOU ARE AIMED AT THE TARGET!
Mwvt9 - are in the Pittsburgh area? Wow. Online lessons, I love it. Okay, with driver I’m doing usually one of the following: 1) hitting the ground before making contact with the ball 2) duck hooking once I get “warmed-up” 3) pop-ups from time to time 4) I know I clearly come over the top somtimes too and then the ball will move from left to right. Quite a mess if I don’t say so myself.
Fast Ed…If I may: Hitting the ground before the ball and duck hooking are symptoms of swaying too far onto your right foot on the backswing and in the process, shifting the bottom of your swing to 2 or 3 inches behind where you started out, and unless there are huge compensations on the downswing, you will hit behind the ball. Duck hooking is likely a result of you flipping your hands over thru impact attempting to compensate and square the clubface. This is typically the miss of the “better” player but not always You may also be “reverse pivoting”…on the backswing you may be leaning left / putting weight on your left foot and then falling back on the right on the downswing. A good thought is to think “back right, thru left”…at impact almost all of your weight should be on your left leg / foot. I use the swing thought “hit into a firm left side” because sometimes I am guilty of swaying too much to my right on the backswing hope this helps
pingdanny Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Fast Ed…If I may: > > Hitting the ground before the ball and duck > hooking are symptoms of swaying too far onto your > right foot on the backswing and in the process, > shifting the bottom of your swing to 2 or 3 inches > behind where you started out, and unless there > are huge compensations on the downswing, you will > hit behind the ball. Duck hooking is likely a > result of you flipping your hands over thru impact > attempting to compensate and square the clubface. > This is typically the miss of the “better” player > but not always > Yes, the sway is the problem. My pro told me to not even move my hips onthe back swing and power forward after I reach the top. Good work pingdanny, thanks!
FastEd Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Mwvt9 - are in the Pittsburgh area? Yes, I am actually. South Hills area. > > Wow. Online lessons, I love it. Okay, with > driver I’m doing usually one of the following: > > 1) hitting the ground before making contact with > the ball > 2) duck hooking once I get “warmed-up” I think these two problems are both related to what pingdanny said above. > 3) pop-ups from time to time too steep. You are actually hitting the ball of the very top of the club. > 4) I know I clearly come over the top sometimes too > and then the ball will move from left to right. > > Quite a mess if I don’t say so myself.
mwvt9 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > FastEd Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Mwvt9 - are in the Pittsburgh area? > > Yes, I am actually. South Hills area. > > I was just in Wexford a few weeks ago. Should have stopped in to get some further lessons from you.
Do you live near Pittsburgh Ed?
No, I’m in Milwaukee. Family is in Wexford, State College, Williamsport and Jersey Shore. I was out there for a week about 2 weeks after the exam. I wanted to golf the new courses at Penn State but just ran out of time. Where do you like to golf in the PIT area? Member of a club?
I am not a member anywhere. A guy that works for me is a member at Sewickely Heights CC, which is nice. I also play Chartiers CC a good bit. Other than that I just bounce around. I really don’t play much anymore. I passed my “test” on the blue course (i think) at Penn State. I didn’t know they were building new ones there.
mwvt9 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > nbnog Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > hey, as long as you’re diagnosing swings, how > > about a high, high slice that starts off pushed > > right and never comes back, but only with > > driver/woods? I’m sooo tired of playing off of > > the wrong fairway (when I’m lucky) or hunting > for > > my ball (when I’m not). > > Sounds like you are coming into impact very > steeply with the club. This leads to excessive > backspin which causes the ballooning trajectory. > If the ball is ending up way right then you have > to be leaving the face wide open at impact. The > most likely cause is your grip. > > Stand normally and notice how your left hand > doesn’t hand straight down (meaning the palm of > your hand doesn’t face the outside of your left > thigh), it actually turns in a little. This is > the same position you want your hand on the club. > Notice how you can see two knuckles on your left > hand? You should see the same when holding the > club. > > If your grip isn’t the problem then we will have > to go deeper, but the face is open at impact. : > ) > > AGAIN, THIS ASSUMES YOU ARE AIMED AT THE TARGET! Many thanks for the analysis. I finally broke down a few months back and took a lesson from a supposedly well-thought-of club pro. He had me address the ball, and told me right off that I must’ve taken lessons as my grip was pretty solid. I’ll put that out there for what it’s worth. I tend to have a fairly strong - to overstrong - grip, but I think I somehow subconsciously compensate for that during the swing as I end up with the same ball flight no matter what I try. As far as aim goes, I’m not sure about this. Anything below a wood I’m pretty much dead on most of the time, so I assume my aim is ok, but I may be doing something funny with the wider stance necessitated by longer clubs that points me too far right. The only other thing I can thing to add is that, with the woods and up, I tend to have 3 basic ball flights: Fairly high wood, pushed right with a slice Lob wood, straight down the fairway. Low, pulled shot with no curve and great distance, usually when I’m tired. Any ideas?
By the way, anyone checked out Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for the wii? Apparently it’s ‘as close to the real thing as you can get’.
How about Calcavecchia yesterday with nine birdies in a row? I have been playing for about 25 years and my record is 4 and I only did that once. I have had 3 a bunch of times. Nine is insane!
pingdanny Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How about Calcavecchia yesterday with nine birdies > in a row? > > I have been playing for about 25 years and my > record is 4 and I only did that once. I have had > 3 a bunch of times. Nine is insane! I don’t think I’ve ever even had 4 birdies in the same round, so even 4 in a row is insane to me.
Took a step backwards this week. The changes in my swing overwhelmed me. Low irons and wedges have adjusted very well, but anything higher than a 5 iron just flat out stinks. Nine hole score this week was 54 vs 47 last week. Ouch. Ball flight is very low as I work my way up the bag. I suppose this is where I need to take that leap of faith that the pro is correcting for things that over the last several years I have done incorrectly.