Official Golf Thread

[LucasCLarson]

Originally Posted by nootje

clubs I still regret selling
mizuno mp33's , I was an idiot for selling these
titleist pt15, the only three wood I could hit consistently..

I love the mp33s--great clubs!

Funny thing about the pt15. The pt13 was the only strong three I've ever felt extremely comfortable with over the ball. The new Titleists aren't bad, but nothing will beat the PT, IMO.

 

[StephenHero]

I went to work on my putting today. I'm not a great putter. I can't decide whether I should rotate my feet along the line of the putt, keep my feet aimed straight at the pin with a rotation of my putter's blade through impact, or a combination of both. It feels unnatural to twist my alignment and then hit every putt straight through because it disorients me from the pin, but I'm under the impression that pros do it like that.

 

[archetypal_yuppie]

What is all this "game improving xyz" ****? Is that a new mantra I haven't yet heard? Ala Adam's "right sized" tiny woods, which then got much bigger....

 

[bdeuce22]

shot a good round today in preparation for my charity outing thursday.

and booked a trip to northern MI for a weekend of golf in a couple months. northern MI is very underrated in terms of golf courses.

 

[Piobaire]

Very windy here today and made it hard to concentrate. Some very nice shots but I tend to get thin towards the end of the bucket. Two days running this happened. Need to think about that.

 

[leftover_salmon]

Shot a 97 today. Not bad for the 2nd round of the year though it did bring my handicap up to a 17 (from a 16.4). Though given that I started last year in the 22-range and got down to a 16, I'm hoping to get down to a 12-14 handicap this year.

 

[pscolari]

Originally Posted by nootje

played nationally for 3 years, turned pro at 19, played and taught a few years and realised I liked playing more then teaching. Started studying and dramatically cut down on golf. These days I get in one round a month or so, still around scratch.

in the bag:


titleist 54 degree davis love the third wedge (refinished twice, love the thing)

titleist pt15, the only three wood I could hit consistently..


Nice setup nootje.

You can pick up the PTs on ebay currently for pocket change compared to 00-01 when Tiger was using them. I also remember when Titleist came out with the inspired by series or tour series wedges. I always wanted the Faxon one that was ported. Sucks being a lefty and having maybe 60% of the options righties get.

 

[Douglas]

Frustrating game. When I lived in CA, I played a fair amount, never a lesson. I got "decent" I guess; never kept track of my handicap but used to hit low 90s consistently, broke 90 a few times. I decided a few years ago I really wanted to be good. As a coordinated, athletic guy with good muscle memory developed from years of swimming and other sporting pursuits, I decided to take a lesson. There was no reason I couldn't hit in the 70s if I put my mind to it, right? So I took a lesson. Biggest mistake ever. Well, biggest poor coaching selection probably. This is about how it went down. Instructor: Take a few swings for me, let me see what you've got. Me: Swing, swing, swing, swing Instructor: Looks good, you have a nice swing for a guy who's never taken a lesson. I notice you don't ever really release the club though. I want you to swing, again, but this time, think about [three new ideas, which we'll call] A, B, and C. Me: OK, swing. Instructor: Better. Now, swing again, but this time think about D, E, and F. Me: OK, swing. Instructor: Good. You did D and E well, but you missed F. And it's like you forgot about A and B. Swing again, but remember all six things, and also, try doing G and H as well. Me: Ok, swing. [By this time, who knows where the ball is going.] Instructor: Better on G and H, pretty decent on A, C, D, and F, but the rest were off. Now swing again, but also I, J, and K. Me:

And so on and so forth, me swinging once, and him introducing 2-3 new concepts or ideas with each swing. 15 minutes into the lesson, I had swung the club 15 times, and had 45 new things to remember. By the end of the hour, I was so screwed up I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't play again for about 4 years. He totally ruined it for me. I quite literally had no desire to set foot on a golf course. Finally, last year, I got an invite to play Caves Valley, which is about the nicest club in the Baltimore area (hosted a US Senior Open a few years back) so I went out and practiced a bit and bought a new driver and 5-wood. Really surprised myself - I played very well. We got rained out about 12 holes in, but I was probably 6 over or something. I was on pace to play the greatest round of my life. Caddy was huge though - probably responsible for knocking 5 strokes off my score alone. Haven't played since, but I got invited to go back to Caves July 4 weekend, so I have to go back to the range and try to figure it out again. My new woods are nice, Taylor Mades and I can hit them very nicely. Irons are some really, really old "Tour Made Scorcher" brand (Taylor-Made Burner knockoffs) that are probably 20 years old now; I bought them secondhand off some guy I knew when I was a teenager. But they work.

 

[nootje]

Originally Posted by pscolari

Nice setup nootje. You can pick up the PTs on ebay currently for pocket change compared to 00-01 when Tiger was using them. I also remember when Titleist came out with the inspired by series or tour series wedges. I always wanted the Faxon one that was ported. Sucks being a lefty and having maybe 60% of the options righties get.
thanks, and ill probably will go through the ebay route for the pt. might even pick up the 20 degree version as well, the 2 iron is a bit too macho for me these days

I just dont have any desire to go through the trying fase with new clubs again. I remember that faxon wedge, seen it perhaps once in all these years..quite a rarity..

 

[MrG]

Originally Posted by pauliodotnet

good golfer is mental.

the swing is mechanics, its easy - it's knowing the strength and what you are planning to do. making sure you never move your swing differently.

golf is a mental game. the mechanics can be learned easliy. I played in college 2 years, 4 years competatively after.

I learned this the hard way on Saturday. Every other time I've been to the range I've hit really well for someone who is just learning, but that all seemed to completely go away Saturday morning. From my first few swings I got it in my head that something wasn't quite right, and I shot like crap for the rest of the time I was at the range. It was like I caught a case of the yips, and it was ridiculous. The best balls I hit on Saturday would have been low-average on the other days I've gone. The guy who is teaching me kept saying "you're right there; it's just like there's one little piece missing."

Here's hoping I have a short memory and the next trip gets me back on track.

 

[skyman]

Originally Posted by StephenHero

I went to work on my putting today. I'm not a great putter. I can't decide whether I should rotate my feet along the line of the putt, keep my feet aimed straight at the pin with a rotation of my putter's blade through impact, or a combination of both. It feels unnatural to twist my alignment and then hit every putt straight through because it disorients me from the pin, but I'm under the impression that pros do it like that.

I really used to suck at putting. Took a few lessons and this worked for me. I used to always turn my body around the waist through the hips and raise my head. This led to a stange pull. Came to a point where i was hitting the greens in two or three shots and then 3/4 putting everytime.

Keep the shoulder straight, do not rotate the wrists in any way. keep your eyes on the ball untill you hear that godly sound of the ball falling into the cup. There should be no movement of the legs, just the arms (this will cause the shoulders to go a little) in a straight line, ensuring the face of the putter does not rotate and keeps straight at all times. Memorise the movement untill it becomes second nature. Your eyes should also fall over the ball. If your putter is correctly fitted you should strike the ball cleanly and straight everytime.

Certainly worked for me, hope you manage to get those scores down.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by MrG

I learned this the hard way on Saturday. Every other time I've been to the range I've hit really well for someone who is just learning, but that all seemed to completely go away Saturday morning. From my first few swings I got it in my head that something wasn't quite right, and I shot like crap for the rest of the time I was at the range. It was like I caught a case of the yips, and it was ridiculous. The best balls I hit on Saturday would have been low-average on the other days I've gone. The guy who is teaching me kept saying "you're right there; it's just like there's one little piece missing."

Here's hoping I have a short memory and the next trip gets me back on track.

I think the range can be dangerous for us noobs. Too easy to get wound up. As I've noticed, first 50% of my shots are on the whole not bad. Last 50% I get progressively worse. I figure part of that is mental, as mistakes accumulate on top of each other and part is physical, as those muscles are not really used to working together in that certain way and tire unevenly, screwing up my swing. Probably why the instructor specified we get only a medium bucket and split that between the two of us.

Next lesson Friday morning.

 

[nootje]

yup, the range can screw you up bigtime.. I learned the game from an old welshman, he pretty much kicked me out on the course with different tasks to do every time. Worked like a charm, I still avoid the range quite a bit

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by nootje

yup, the range can screw you up bigtime.. I learned the game from an old welshman, he pretty much kicked me out on the course with different tasks to do every time. Worked like a charm, I still avoid the range quite a bit

Just as I suspected!

 

[edinatlanta]

Thread inspired me to hit the range today after work. First time I had done that or played in at least three years. Probably more.

I was...consistent. Sliced the ball really really badly about 80% of the time, couldn't get it up 15% of the time, and the rest were great! Distance wasn't too bad but considering I wasn't very good when I left off, I don't mind.

Going back out tomorrow!