*Official Golfers thread*

[Chapp1e]

There's gotta be some golfers here.

Figured I'd start this thread off, as golf is a huge part of my life and I love it, and there's so much you can discuss that really, it's the perfect sports topic for forums.

I'll start things off with my big purchase of the year so far, a new set of irons:

Now if only the snow would melt so I could hit em.

 

[Member138406]

A Rangers fan in Philly.. oh my....




But on topic.. Do you think throwing yourself into the game is the best way to learn? I would really like to start? I go to the range about twice a month, but I am not to confident if I went to a course that I would not be holding people up and hanging balls on to different holes.

 

[jamor]

Sweet clubs.

I'm a good golfer been golfing since I was pretty young.

I also cannot wait for the snow to melt!

 

[jamor]

A Rangers fan in Philly.. oh my....




But on topic.. Do you think throwing yourself into the game is the best way to learn? I would really like to start? I go to the range about twice a month, but I am not to confident if I went to a course that I would not be holding people up and hanging balls on to different holes.

I think some lessons are always worth it. Gives you a frame of reference and they can video tape you so you can see what you are doing wrong.

Range is always the best place to start. If possible, practice on real grass as much as possible instead of the chunks of turf. You will get a lot better a lot faster playing on real grass. You can't take divots off of turf. It's unrealistic and it just makes you think you are better then you are. After you get some fundamentals down, start at some inexpensive/crappy/short courses where pace is slow and people aren't good. This will alleviate pressure to play well or quickly. Go on a Saturday or a Sunday and it's guaranteed that you will have some extra time to hit some bad shots.

Also when you first start, don't make it hard on yourself...

If you wack it behind a tree or in the woods, kick it out and give yourself a decent lie until you start gaining confidence. No one cares what your score is or if you kick your ball out unless its a tournament or a gentleman's game/bet.

There are a couple pet peeves with golfing which hurts pace.

Don't spend 5 minutes looking for your ball. Play with old/cheap balls and if you can't find it in 2 minutes or less, drop a new one and forget about it!

Also, don't take an hour to line up your putt. Nothing is more silly than amateur golfers spending 5 minutes for each putt.

Play ready golf - plan your shot while you are walking to your ball so you know what club to take out.

Don't rush yourself and try and have fun! But if you are in the t-box on a par 4/5 and the other people are already on the green/getting off - time to speed it up.

There is nothing more pathetic then watching bad players get pissed off after every shot when they think they are good. It's distracting and annoying.

Don't swing as hard as you can. Get the fundamentals down first before you start trying to hit home runs.

Don't have to be dressed to the nines but don't wear jeans and a t shirt. It's really hard to play in jeans. Also, you won't have any respect from your group. A lot of courses won't even let you on (except for the inexpensive municipal/city/public courses).

Those are some totally random tips off the top of my head!

 

[Chapp1e]

Those are all good tips.

My recommendation is something that really helped me. Read Ben Hogan's Five Lessons. He and Sam Snead really are the fathers of the modern golf swing, and his book is perfect for the person struggling with swing concepts. I still refer back to it whenever I can't get out of a rutt.

As for jumping in head first: do it. I'm a junior in college now and I picked it up back in my senior year of highschool. I went from a 20 hdcp to a single digit in that time through a little dedication and some smart practicing.

One thing I'll tell you is that make sure you always practice with purpose. A range session doesn't have to be long to be effective and If you hit too many, you may end up doing more bad than good. Go out, find a preshot routine, visualize what you want to do and then try to do it.

Something I like to do is try to simulate a hole in my head based on my shots.

I'll pull out my driver, aim for a target area. If I hit that area, I'll pull out my next club to simulate whatever my second shot would be on the hole Ive layer out in my head. If I hit to the left or right of the target, I pull out a more loftier club to simulate hitting out of the rough. This helps not only your swing, but also your course strategy.

My last piece of advise: practice off of real grass if you can. Mats make it easier since you can bounce off a mat on a fat shot and still catch most of the ball. This won't happen on the course.

 

[jamor]

Good stuff Chapie.

Definitely remember to try and relax. It's going to be very frustrating at first. Golf isn't an easy sport.

So I really can't stress enough to have fun and not get frustrated while you are learning.

Once you get good its an extremely rewarding sport. You're always the Point Guard and you get all 48 minutes!!

 

[Member138406]

The driving range I go to is really nice apparently. The range itself is all grass, has bunkers and hills and flags to mark distances. There is also sand pits off to the side to practice hitting out of.

I went to a public course a few times and did ok, this was also before I even started going to the range very often. I am not so much worried about my own frustration but the people behind me who want to play thru and I am holding them up.

What is a good price and length for a lesson?

 

[Chapp1e]

Depends.

I think for you, you don't necessarily need the fine tunings that lessons off of natural grass can provide. What would be better for you is something like a Golf Galaxy or Golfsmith lesson (depending on how well rated their pro's are). They are cheap, their rates are set, and use pretty good technology.

They use a good program to record your swing from a couple of angles so you can see it and then they will draw up a couple of different planes to give you a good idea of what needs to be done, and where you are. From there, they start working their style of teaching to get you where you need to be.

The local Golf Galaxy here has a master professional who is very good, and though I've never used him, I know him and he's also a great guy. He actually gave me this during a free lesson thing, just because he liked my swing so much.

You'll get a print out like this + another angle that shows you head on, and also a video that you can replay and allow you to break yourself down.

 

[Chapp1e]

My new sticks:

 

[jamor]

Sweet clubs. Get them new? Did you get any money for a trade in?

I have Mizunos right now and they serve me pretty well.

 

[Chapp1e]

Nah TM stopped producing them in 07 or 08. They are used, but great condition. I picked em up off a guy in a golf community I belong to called golfwrx.com (greatest golfing community on the internet) for 220. He was trying to move them quick I guess, because he could've easily gotten 500 for the condition they are in.

Mizuno's are awesome clubs, some of the softest forgings out there. I was actually looking for a set of MP-33's when I found these babies.

 

[bigbadwulff]

KZG ZO blades here

Have played to a 5-handicap at one time without much trouble. Probably about a 7 now.
Really think I could "have been somebody" but played baseball in college. Looking back I should have played golf. But...
Been very lucky with having a good game.

Hope this comes off without sounding like I'm bragging. I know I am lucky and appreciate it.

 

[Chapp1e]

I know what you mean.

I was lucky to find and have the time to get the right practice techniques, and that served me well.

I'm playing around a 9 right now, but that's mostly because last year I played only about once every week, if I was lucky (tough year $$ wise).

Hoping to get down to 5 or below this year, which means I'm going to need to get the spin #'s down on my driver and my putting more consistent. Could use a bit of a tidying up on my second shots into the green with longer irons when I go for it, but again that's not as big of a deal and I think that'll come with more play.

 

[batgeek]

i've been a Taylormade driver guy since i started playing, and i did not care much for the R9s. love my R7 Quad, and my previous R5 TP.

Callaway irons are my preference, currently swinging X-20s. but would love to purchase a nice forged set.

my handicap is 13 right now...so i'm not as good as you guys. can't wait for the weather to get better! it's the only hobby i have that the gf doesn't bitch at me for doing!

 

[Chapp1e]

The Superdeep is a really special driver. For a guy like me, it's perfect because I swing my driver on average at 114 mph and can get it up to 117 mph when needed, and I have a slightly descending swing into the ball, which means I produce a LOT of spin. The Superdeep, along with a low spin shaft actually put me right in the target under 3k. My VR Tour that I had previously had a Project X shaft that was great, but the head just spun a bit too much. This thing = perfect.

 

[03machme]

i need to go play!!! but with the wind chill below 0 here in dallas i dont see that happening anytime soon!

i play Wilson Pi5 irons, mixed wedges, Ping Zing putter, Nike DymoSq driver, Bazooka 3w, and Wilson Hybrid 3. yes i have 3 different 3s. i need to get rid of my 3 iron and replace it with a 52deg wedge.

short vid of me at TopGolf in dallas. im trying to slow down my swing a little. last time i checked it was at 115 club head speed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M18-rbEHMQ

 

[Chapp1e]

Nice. The pi-5's are one of my favorite players cavities. In fact, most of Wilson's clubs from the last 4 years have been excellent.

Looks like a pretty steep swing , high ball hitter?

 

[03machme]

Nice. The pi-5's are one of my favorite players cavities. In fact, most of Wilson's clubs from the last 4 years have been excellent.

Looks like a pretty steep swing , high ball hitter?

yea a little. i really need less loft on my driver but the 9.5 will have to do for now

 

[Chapp1e]

I'd recommend trying to round out your swing some more, but if it works, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I'm also a high spin/high ball hitter, but my problem has more to do with how much lag I put on my club and how I release it. It's perfect for irons, makes for a hell of a lot wedge spin, makes my fairway woods launch high (why I play stronger lofted woods) and makes my driver a spin machine, lol.

 

[turn_key]

A Rangers fan in Philly.. oh my....




But on topic.. Do you think throwing yourself into the game is the best way to learn? I would really like to start? I go to the range about twice a month, but I am not to confident if I went to a course that I would not be holding people up and hanging balls on to different holes.

jamor had some good tips.

I've been golfing for only about 8 years now and I still have trouble. The one tip I always give new golfers is do not be hard on yourself. Golf is the one game where you are playing against yourself. Getting mad makes you lose focus, and having fun will give you the best games. I broke 80 for the first time last summer. I was with some friends, had a nice cigar, not a cloud in the sky, joking and laughing the whole time, and didn't pay attention to my score until the end.

When I started I couldn't even hit the ball...literally COULD NOT hit the ball...as in whiff. I made sure to play with friends and keep pace. If I had a good shot, I played it. If I shanked it, I picked it up and moved along, or I dropped in the fairway with the others. If they were on the green, I dropped and putted for practice. Everyone I know started this way and it's how I'm starting my wife.

Practice A LOT, take lessons, play with friends. Good luck!

 

[bigbadwulff]

Never liked the Ping drivers until the G series. Got a G-5 and STILL like it. May not switch for along time.
Had the original Taylor Made "Pittsburgh Persimmon" metal driver when it came out. I think the head on it is smaller than my present 5-wood

 

[bigbadwulff]

Chappie you and I have the same "problem". High spin/ high ball flight. Gotta get less spin on the driver for sure.

 

[Chapp1e]

Chappie you and I have the same "problem". High spin/ high ball flight. Gotta get less spin on the driver for sure.

Yep, it works out fairly well with my irons, but I tend to hit the ball pretty high. Can hold a small green with a 4 iron when I want to with ease, usually I can keep it to within a foot of where I land it off the tee, which means I can throw darts.

It's nice, but on windy days I get killed, especially with my driver. Prior to buying these Rac TP's, I was playing Taylormade 300 Forged's (which happen to be amazing, and irons I will never part with... Love those clubs).

They were fitted with flighted rifle shafts, which in the 3-6 iron range kept my shots pretty high. Because of them being cavity backs, this didn't help as the center of gravity was a bit lower and deeper, which made for a higher ball flight.

My hope is that, with the less offset and s300's in these, my ball flight will be a bit lower, and I know I'll be able to do a little bit more with them. The 300's are workable, but obviously not as much as a blade will be.

I have to say dude, if you have high spin/high ball problems, try the superdeep. Combining that with a low spin shaft like a whiteboard, project X, ATTAS or even old school shafts like the NV, ProLaunch Red, or graffaloy blue, it will drastically reduce the spin and launch angle.

I have a 1 3/4" inch tipped 73g stiff whiteboard (which makes it effectively play like an x-stiff with an even stiffer tip than you'd normally find) and it does the job nicely, but the extra tipping was a bad idea, as it doesn't play nearly as smooth as a normal whiteboard. I think my next purchase will be either another Project X (used to game one in a Nike VR Tour) or another whiteboard in an x flex that is tipped by maybe 1/4" instead, should make playability a lot better and shouldn't effect the profile of the shaft.

I'm a super golf nerd, so this kind of stuff I could babble on for hours.

 

[bigbadwulff]

I started trying to swing up at the ball with the driver. Sure the ball goes high, but it gets less back spin on the ball.
Tee the ball a little higher and put it more forward in your stance. Seems to go straighter for me.
For irons I am the opposite. I dig out a divot in front of the ball a gopher would be proud of.

Oh and swing speed= 120mph range Been tested at a Wilson research testing area. They threw me out of the testing because
they didn't want that kind of data Cranked one out at 127............once.

 

[Chapp1e]

Nice. I've hit 122 once, but that put my spin into the 5k range and my ball way left, lol.

I try to swing up, just is very hard with my swing. I take dollar sized divots at medium depth with my irons and deep divots with my wedges. I like to pin hunt when at 100 and in so I literally throw darts that either check and release a foot or so forward, stop, or when I really need it, spin back. I'm pretty good with my wedges, I get up and down well and have definitely holed out my fair share of times with them on shots off the green.

My favorite shot is choking down on my 54*, closing it's face and hitting a lower trajectory pitch that hops once or twice and stops. Did that once in my companies golf tournament and made the other guys in our group just go silent (and that's tough).