The Golf Thread

[byu71]

Sweet. Good to hear they have your endorsement. My biggest fear is I'll take them out to hit, and I'll still suck.

Sadly there isn't a club in the world that will make a bad player good. I was in the high 80's to 90's most of last year.

I think the good news is, as you improve your game and I think you will, the clubs will help. Also, the feel of that club when you hit a good shot is awesome.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Just got word that I'll be playing the preview of the new Par 3 course Bandon Preserve at Bandon Dunes in two weeks. Then will be playing the four other courses as part of a news story on the caddy program.

Please pray for good weather the first couple of days after Easter.

[byu71]

Just got word that I'll be playing the preview of the new Par 3 course Bandon Preserve at Bandon Dunes in two weeks. Then will be playing the four other courses as part of a news story on the caddy program.

Please pray for good weather the first couple of days after Easter.

I might be breaking one of the ten commandments right now. I will pray for good weather for you anyway.

[clackamascoug]

Just got word that I'll be playing the preview of the new Par 3 course Bandon Preserve at Bandon Dunes in two weeks. Then will be playing the four other courses as part of a news story on the caddy program.

Please pray for good weather the first couple of days after Easter.

If you need a 4th to fill out the "news story" let me know.

[KillerDog]

I have a chance to play 3 days in a row at Pinehurst. I've decided to decline because I don't think I'mm good enough and I believe the offer will be there next year too. Am I stupid?

[byu71]

I have a chance to play 3 days in a row at Pinehurst. I've decided to decline because I don't think I'mm good enough and I believe the offer will be there next year too. Am I stupid?

Each person has to decide their own situation so I would never call you stupid, you idiot.

[Donuthole]

I have a chance to play 3 days in a row at Pinehurst. I've decided to decline because I don't think I'mm good enough and I believe the offer will be there next year too. Am I stupid?

If someone else is paying, then you would be an idiot to pass it up. However, if you're paying, I would wait until I had a little more confidence in my game before hitting PH. Also, there are like 10 courses there, but No.2 is the biggie. If you're not playing No. 2 at least one of those three days, then you're spending a lot of money to play above averages courses.

[clackamascoug]

I have a chance to play 3 days in a row at Pinehurst. I've decided to decline because I don't think I'm good enough and I believe the offer will be there next year too. Am I stupid?

Go For It!

How can you measure your progress if you don't start with a baseline. Go this year, and then next year. Your play this year may inspire you to greater things for next year. The best part will be your report on the trip, for better or worse.

[jay santos]

Waiting for my new JPX 800's to get here. I get obsessed with golf equipment from time to time. I've come to realize the golf industry has completely ignored golfers like me.

Poor/inconsistent swing requiring max forgiveness, yet fast swing speed with no trouble getting the ball in the air.

All the game improvement irons seem to be focused on the problem many amateurs have of not being able to get the ball up in the air.

So golfers like me have two choices: large, forgiving heads that have the potential to launch too high and balloon or players clubs that are not as forgiving but won't pop the ball up too high.

I'm hoping the shaft will help control the ballooning effect. I went with DG X100's.

Which leads me to another gripe. Half the time I've gotten fitted or talked to someone about shafts, they say "oh no you don't need extra stiff, only pro's need extra stiff". The other half look at my swing speed (98 mph with my 6 iron--and yes that does qualify for humble brag as i drop my super human swing speed in the same sentence I'm bemoaning my poor swing), and tell me I definitely need extra stiff. For a long time, I didn't know who to believe, but I now think X works best for me.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I have a chance to play 3 days in a row at Pinehurst. I've decided to decline because I don't think I'mm good enough and I believe the offer will be there next year too. Am I stupid?

I'm awful and I love playing great courses. I say do it.

[byu71]

I slipped back last Saturday and fired a 91. I am looking forward to today to see if that was just a hiccup in my progression or bad news.

I appreciate those thinking we don't need the updates not laying that on me. My reporting is helping me in my resolve to get to a 10 or lower.

[jay santos]

I slipped back last Saturday and fired a 91. I am looking forward to today to see if that was just a hiccup in my progression or bad news.

I appreciate those thinking we don't need the updates not laying that on me. My reporting is helping me in my resolve to get to a 10 or lower.

I played East Bay yesterday. It's the fourth or so time I've been out this year. I shot 88 at Spanish Fork last time I went, which is about as good as I can do. I'm feeling like this is finally the year I turn the corner. I was going to play two balls and keep score, but after hitting my first two drives out of bounds on 1 I decided to not keep score and just take it slow and hit a lot of balls.

This is why golf is so frustrating for me. The carrot is always being dangled in front of my nose, and I can never reach it.

Half my shots were near perfect. 320 yard drives straight as an arrow. 250 yard hybrid shots landing near the green. Irons spot on from 200 yards out and in.

Then half my shots were disaster. Snap hooks out of bounds, duffs, chunks.

Short game was mostly off, as always.

[Donuthole]

Waiting for my new JPX 800's to get here. I get obsessed with golf equipment from time to time. I've come to realize the golf industry has completely ignored golfers like me.

Poor/inconsistent swing requiring max forgiveness, yet fast swing speed with no trouble getting the ball in the air.

All the game improvement irons seem to be focused on the problem many amateurs have of not being able to get the ball up in the air.

So golfers like me have two choices: large, forgiving heads that have the potential to launch too high and balloon or players clubs that are not as forgiving but won't pop the ball up too high.

I'm hoping the shaft will help control the ballooning effect. I went with DG X100's.

Which leads me to another gripe. Half the time I've gotten fitted or talked to someone about shafts, they say "oh no you don't need extra stiff, only pro's need extra stiff". The other half look at my swing speed (98 mph with my 6 iron--and yes that does qualify for humble brag as i drop my super human swing speed in the same sentence I'm bemoaning my poor swing), and tell me I definitely need extra stiff. For a long time, I didn't know who to believe, but I now think X works best for me.

I played East Bay yesterday. It's the fourth or so time I've been out this year. I shot 88 at Spanish Fork last time I went, which is about as good as I can do. I'm feeling like this is finally the year I turn the corner. I was going to play two balls and keep score, but after hitting my first two drives out of bounds on 1 I decided to not keep score and just take it slow and hit a lot of balls.

This is why golf is so frustrating for me. The carrot is always being dangled in front of my nose, and I can never reach it.

Half my shots were near perfect. 320 yard drives straight as an arrow. 250 yard hybrid shots landing near the green. Irons spot on from 200 yards out and in.

Then half my shots were disaster. Snap hooks out of bounds, duffs, chunks.

Short game was mostly off, as always.

I think you know what your problem is, you're just too stubborn to give up the distance you'll lose by slowing down your swing a bit and getting a more consistent result. I can empathize, as swing speed is one of my big struggles as a golfer. I always want to cream the ball, but I play (and score) much, much better when I focus on the tempo of my swing, as opposed to swinging too hard.

BYU71 can testify. Last year I shot a 79 in his presence (with a triple bogey on a par 5!) focusing almost entirely on swing tempo and ignoring swing speed. The bad shots I hit were almost always because I "geared up" to hit the ball farther, rather than just clubbing up and keeping my swing the same.

[byu71]

I think you know what your problem is, you're just too stubborn to give up the distance you'll lose by slowing down your swing a bit and getting a more consistent result. I can empathize, as swing speed is one of my big struggles as a golfer. I always want to cream the ball, but I play (and score) much, much better when I focus on the tempo of my swing, as opposed to swinging too hard.

BYU71 can testify. Last year I shot a 79 in his presence (with a triple bogey on a par 5!) focusing almost entirely on swing tempo and ignoring swing speed. The bad shots I hit were almost always because I "geared up" to hit the ball farther, rather than just clubbing up and keeping my swing the same.

I echo these sentiments. It is hard to gear down, especially for you guys who when you connect can hit it a mile or more.

I can't tell you the number of times I have hit a great shot, plenty of distance and remarked to someone in my group, "you would think after 40 years of telling myself if I swing smoother, the ball goes further and straighter, I would quit swinging out of my bunghole".

P.S. Jay, I think 88 at Spanish Oaks is a dang good score for where you are at in your game.

[jay santos]

I think you know what your problem is, you're just too stubborn to give up the distance you'll lose by slowing down your swing a bit and getting a more consistent result. I can empathize, as swing speed is one of my big struggles as a golfer. I always want to cream the ball, but I play (and score) much, much better when I focus on the tempo of my swing, as opposed to swinging too hard.

BYU71 can testify. Last year I shot a 79 in his presence (with a triple bogey on a par 5!) focusing almost entirely on swing tempo and ignoring swing speed. The bad shots I hit were almost always because I "geared up" to hit the ball farther, rather than just clubbing up and keeping my swing the same.

I've struggled with this from the beginning. I experiment all the time, and slowing things down never seems to bring any consistency, even when I try to endure with it for several weeks. I had one lesson, and the pro didn't try to slow my swing down, but we focused on a slower more controlled back swing, keeping head down, and a big follow through high and out. Those are my swing thoughts.

Really, I would feel fantastic about being single digits hitting 250 yard drives down the middle of the fairway.

When I slow my swing speed down, I feel like a baseball pitcher who is trying to "aim it" vs "rear back and fire". For non baseball players, a pitcher who is struggling with aim will get worse if he breaks his form and tries to slow it down and aim it.

I think the swing speed is from being tall with long arms more than overswinging, but I could be wrong.

I'm getting better at identifying when I'm overswinging. My longest drives and irons are the ones where I do good in taking my arms out of it.