Argh...hate this game again

[kewarken]

I'm teaching myself to play golf....just started in the fall of last year. I'm generally a pretty good book learner and have been reading a ton of books and watching video on the swing, etc.

So the other day I finally understood the shoulder rotation and release a little better and really started cranking my irons (relative to what I was hitting before anyway). My 3 iron was going about 190 or 200 so I was feeling pretty good.

Of course, once you understand something and get it working, you need to study it, read some new drills, you know...fix it. So it occurred to me that I was bending more from the waist than the hips so I revamped my stance. Went to the driving range today and hit EVERYTHING thin. One or two fat divots but I basically could not make proper contact with the ball. My lower back was a little sore so perhaps I was pulling up as I went through but it's enough to make you quit the game. I don't know how I can hit only woods one day, only irons the next and nothing on the third.

Anyway, I'm just ranting. I expect I'll get the groove back with the new stance eventually. It's just such a frustrating game. I mean, I've been playing for a couple MONTHS for crying out loud....I should be good by now. Man, I play a lot of different sports and I've never found one as hard as this.

cheers,

Kris

[Ty Webb]

I'm teaching myself to play golf....just started in the fall of last year. I'm generally a pretty good book learner and have been reading a ton of books and watching video on the swing, etc.

So the other day I finally understood the shoulder rotation and release a little better and really started cranking my irons (relative to what I was hitting before anyway). My 3 iron was going about 190 or 200 so I was feeling pretty good.

Of course, once you understand something and get it working, you need to study it, read some new drills, you know...fix it. So it occurred to me that I was bending more from the waist than the hips so I revamped my stance. Went to the driving range today and hit EVERYTHING thin. One or two fat divots but I basically could not make proper contact with the ball. My lower back was a little sore so perhaps I was pulling up as I went through but it's enough to make you quit the game. I don't know how I can hit only woods one day, only irons the next and nothing on the third.

Anyway, I'm just ranting. I expect I'll get the groove back with the new stance eventually. It's just such a frustrating game. I mean, I've been playing for a couple MONTHS for crying out loud....I should be good by now. Man, I play a lot of different sports and I've never found one as hard as this.

cheers,

Kris

Kris,

If you can hit a 3 iron at all in this short timeframe, it appears to me that you are doing very well. Don't be so hard on yourself.

The greatest lesson I have ever learned it to decide which swing model to use and practice that. Everyone has ideas about things such as takeaway, downswing, etc. Find on that works for you and stick with it. Don't try to use this fellow's backswing and this fellow's folowthrough, etc.

Best of luck

Ty

[kewarken]

Kris,

If you can hit a 3 iron at all in this short timeframe, it appears to me that you are doing very well. Don't be so hard on yourself.

The greatest lesson I have ever learned it to decide which swing model to use and practice that. Everyone has ideas about things such as takeaway, downswing, etc. Find on that works for you and stick with it. Don't try to use this fellow's backswing and this fellow's folowthrough, etc.

Best of luck

Ty

That's some good advice there. I showed my girlfriend what I was doing and she said, "That looks really awkward." She's just a beginner too but she's a physiotherapist and understands body mechanics better than most. I think that I was exaggerating the bend from the hips and keeping my back too flat (like I was doing squats or something). I went away from the stance that felt really comfortable and natural to something that was uncomfortable and restricted my arm movement. I think I was bending from the hips just fine and I'm going to go back to the way it was.

As far as swing models go, with the exception of Natural Golf, I've come to a conclusion. Having read MANY books and internet articles, it seems that they are all mostly the same. What I mean is that when you break it down, they're mostly presenting the same fundamental movements. The differences are in how to reproduce those movements, the reasons behind them and the order to perform them in. Now when I read something, I look back at the other literature and see the similarities and differences.

It was just a matter of finding a particular explaination and method that 'resonated' with me. So far, the Leslie King one seems the best: http://www.golfpro-online.com/tuition/lking/index.html

cheers,

Kris

[Andru]

Don't think about any swing mechenics do as Jim Flick from the golf channel says. Get in tune with the clubhead. The mechanics will fall into place.

[kewarken]

Don't think about any swing mechenics do as Jim Flick from the golf channel says. Get in tune with the clubhead. The mechanics will fall into place.

That's similar to what Leslie King is saying. Bottom line, if the clubhead is square, centered, and traveling straight through the swing path, the ball has to fly correctly.

Incidentally, I went back to the driving range again today and stopped doing that silly straight back, butt sticking out thing and I was cranking them straight and far....happy day. I still tend to push to the right a bit sometimes and still don't hit the woods very well but if I can hit my 3 iron close to 200, maybe I don't care so much. I'm beginning to be suspicious about the shafts on my woods. My irons all have steel shafts but the graphites on the drivers seem a little 'whippy'. Maybe they're too soft for my clubhead speed?

cheers,

Kris

[Andru]

Show me a golfer who hits it perfectly straight all the time and I'll show you a hockey fan who doesn't blame the officials after a loss.

A bad shot is nothing more than a bad shot. It happens. If you start tinkering everytime you hit a bit offline you'll never take the game to the course.

"Trust your swing" write that on every club. Make sure that's the second last thing you think about. The last thing is target, target, target.

You'll be great. If you're hitting a 3 iron straight and 200 yards? You're way ahead of the curve. Just so you know. Your scores will improve when you can get the ball up and down 6 out of 10 times from inside 100 yards.

Cheers

[kewarken]

Show me a golfer who hits it perfectly straight all the time and I'll show you a hockey fan who doesn't blame the officials after a loss.

A bad shot is nothing more than a bad shot. It happens. If you start tinkering everytime you hit a bit offline you'll never take the game to the course.

"Trust your swing" write that on every club. Make sure that's the second last thing you think about. The last thing is target, target, target.

You'll be great. If you're hitting a 3 iron straight and 200 yards? You're way ahead of the curve. Just so you know. Your scores will improve when you can get the ball up and down 6 out of 10 times from inside 100 yards.

Cheers

Thanks. I actually love the short game and I find I practice with my short irons more than anything else in the bag. To say I hit it straight is a bit of an exaggeration. I definitely have a slice or a push plenty of the time but the fact that I CAN hit it straight is very encouraging. Just a matter of doing more of what's good and less of what's bad right? Slowing my backswing down is making a big difference. You're not supposed to whack yourself across the shoulders with your backswing right?

[Andru]

Thanks. I actually love the short game and I find I practice with my short irons more than anything else in the bag. To say I hit it straight is a bit of an exaggeration. I definitely have a slice or a push plenty of the time but the fact that I CAN hit it straight is very encouraging. Just a matter of doing more of what's good and less of what's bad right? Slowing my backswing down is making a big difference. You're not supposed to whack yourself across the shoulders with your backswing right?

It's funny you say that ben hogan use to come very close to his shoulders during his transition to the down swing.

I use to pull slice it. Then hook it. Then I started playing with a nice draw. Now I hit hard straight fade. Ball starts straight and falls off to the right a wee bit. Í've never played better. I'm torn because I like the fact I learned how to draw the ball. It was a great lesson in club control, but it really isn't a fun way to play when your timing is off. Look what's it's doing to Tiger. He's a mess. I remember when I was learning to draw an older gentleman asked why I wanted to learn that.

I said "All the greats draw the ball" He listed off severall great players including Nicklaus, Els, Singh, travino. They fade the ball. "Don't start hooking it you'll never stop". He was right. When playing right to left. I hit the ball well, but from time to time. I'd get the hooks and the ball goes so far out of play and the miss pattern is either a duck hook left or a push right which really sucks.

I love playing a true pwr fade. You have two ways of missing. You hit it dead straight or it falls some degree to the right. But you're never fighting a two way miss.

Keep up what you're doing. It sounds like you enjoy the game and learning experience. I hope you meet all of your goals this season.

Cheers

[Keating]

So what's the difference between a slice and a fade?

My BIL usually drives the ball ~200 yards, and it rips out dead straight for 100+, but then breaks REAL hard to the right.

It drives him crazy.....is that a slice or a fade?

I'd be happy to do that.....my driver head usually ends up hitting the ground rather than the ball, toeing the ball, or missing altogether.

[el tigre]

So what's the difference between a slice and a fade?

My BIL usually drives the ball ~200 yards, and it rips out dead straight for 100+, but then breaks REAL hard to the right.

It drives him crazy.....is that a slice or a fade?

I'd be happy to do that.....my driver head usually ends up hitting the ground rather than the ball, toeing the ball, or missing altogether.

That's a slice. A fade would only break right about 5-10 yards at most.

[Andru]

So what's the difference between a slice and a fade?

My BIL usually drives the ball ~200 yards, and it rips out dead straight for 100+, but then breaks REAL hard to the right.

It drives him crazy.....is that a slice or a fade?

I'd be happy to do that.....my driver head usually ends up hitting the ground rather than the ball, toeing the ball, or missing altogether.

fade is a nice shot that starts straight and maybe falls off to the right.( or left if you're a lefty) about 5-10 yards.

What direction does the ball start in? I'm guessing it starts just left of your target ans breaks right. That's a slice. The difference is this. Trying to be very simple.

If you start the ball straight. Your driving the ball in a straight line and your club face is slightly open ( pointing right ) at impact.

I think you have the face square at impact but your club head is cutting across the ball. Rather than driving it forward.

That's the best I can do via message forum.

[dbleber]

dbleber:
Something that I have always found amusing about golf is that we as golfers seem to think that we can teach ourselves! When I first started to play hockey as a kid I had a coach, soccer, baseball and basketball too. But when I wanted to start golfing my Dad gave me a club and a quick lesson of his bad habits! If I could do it all over again I would have taken lessons from day one and then over the years turn to myself. In golf it seems to be the opposite, we do it ourselves, screw it up and then get a pro to show us what we are doing wrong. When what he says doesn't fix everything wrong with our game in one lessons then it must be the pros fault. I say all of this being a guilty person to these crimes. If you are just starting to play, go take as many lessons as you can afford until the core fundamentals of the game are instinctive. Then you can slowly turn away from lessons and use the books and the golf channel. Don't wait until you have what you think is a good setup, swing, grip from a book and then have to spend the rest of your golf life trying to figure out where you went wrong.
Denny

[mkemila]

I saw a show on the Golf Channel by Phil Mickelson's sister. I had seen plenty of golf videos before teaching golf swing mechanics, but I have never seen anyone instruct in such a simple yet useful manner as her. Unfortunately I can't remember her first name, but I have yet to find a video that has been more beneficial to my game. As an added incentive, she is very easy on the eyes

dbleber:
Something that I have always found amusing about golf is that we as golfers seem to think that we can teach ourselves! When I first started to play hockey as a kid I had a coach, soccer, baseball and basketball too. But when I wanted to start golfing my Dad gave me a club and a quick lesson of his bad habits! If I could do it all over again I would have taken lessons from day one and then over the years turn to myself. In golf it seems to be the opposite, we do it ourselves, screw it up and then get a pro to show us what we are doing wrong. When what he says doesn't fix everything wrong with our game in one lessons then it must be the pros fault. I say all of this being a guilty person to these crimes. If you are just starting to play, go take as many lessons as you can afford until the core fundamentals of the game are instinctive. Then you can slowly turn away from lessons and use the books and the golf channel. Don't wait until you have what you think is a good setup, swing, grip from a book and then have to spend the rest of your golf life trying to figure out where you went wrong.
Denny

[Andru]

dbleber:
Something that I have always found amusing about golf is that we as golfers seem to think that we can teach ourselves! When I first started to play hockey as a kid I had a coach, soccer, baseball and basketball too. But when I wanted to start golfing my Dad gave me a club and a quick lesson of his bad habits! If I could do it all over again I would have taken lessons from day one and then over the years turn to myself. In golf it seems to be the opposite, we do it ourselves, screw it up and then get a pro to show us what we are doing wrong. When what he says doesn't fix everything wrong with our game in one lessons then it must be the pros fault. I say all of this being a guilty person to these crimes. If you are just starting to play, go take as many lessons as you can afford until the core fundamentals of the game are instinctive. Then you can slowly turn away from lessons and use the books and the golf channel. Don't wait until you have what you think is a good setup, swing, grip from a book and then have to spend the rest of your golf life trying to figure out where you went wrong.
Denny

I have to disagree. My game improved when I stopped seeing pros and learned how to teach myself. The process of attacking the ball is really quite simple. Once you know where to hit the ball. and how the club is designed to be used. You can teach yourself to play this game. No Really. You can. Obviously some people learn in different ways. If lessons arent' working for you. Then try something else.

If you walk away form a lesson and you're worse than when you started. Get a new teacher.



Cheers