Golf thread

[Splendid Splinter]

Kyle, if you want some tips for your nephew and his swing, just let me know and I'll PM you. I see like 3-4 minor things from that video that he can work on. You should take a video from behind as well.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Kyle, if you want some tips for your nephew and his swing, just let me know and I'll PM you. I see like 3-4 minor things from that video that he can work on. You should take a video from behind as well.

 

 

For sure. I’ve been leaning heavily on people who know what they’re talking about wherever I can find them

[jumbo]

I suppose it's partly due to Corona, but also due to my buddies who I do a weekend trip with every year talking about making next year a golf trip, has me interested in picking up golf. The last few pages of this have been gold. Thanks for sharing your journey Kyle. I'll be sure to post my personal updates if I get around to it. I think getting over the hurdle of trying something is gonna be big to get over because it is a bit intimidating.

 

 

Highly recommend. Maybe it’s because I was already playing a “hit thing on ground with a stick” sport, and maybe it’s because I haven’t actually played a real round yet and my hubris will catch up with me, but I have a sneaking suspicion it’s easier to be not terrible than many people have you believe. I see a lot of patterns that mirror other hobbies I’ve picked up where a vocal minority insisted it was incredibly difficult to get better but they were mostly shooting themselves in the foot.

 

I am pretty sure a lot of struggling amateur golfers are

 

1) neglecting their short game. Ive got a putting mat and chipping target at home, and anytime I have some downtime to watch tv or kid wants to be left alone in the yard, I’m grinding the simple shots.

 

2) overhitting to chase distance.

Ultimately if I do it with my buddies on a trip, I know it will be 80% about beers, cigars, and dicking around, and I could literally just do that with them and not pick up a club, but think I would enjoy the last 20% if I can look like it's not my second time picking up clubs (I've golfed 9 holes one other time and it was "best ball" so I couldn't slow things down).

 

But beyond the trip, I'm way too sedentary and while I should also do some real workouts too, golf does sound more appealing the older I get and seeing how my body has aged going on 15 years from my athletic prime. Insert the possibility to leverage it for business outings as well is more and more appealing as I shift into roles where I am expected to be a true advocate for my company and help establish/maintain relationships outside the 9-5 working relationship. I wouldn't want to offer a round of golf to a client/potential client right now and that's a little limiting.

 

 

Funny thing I've noticed is it's hard to get customers to go out and play golf. Too much of a time commitment for many. TopGolf is a pretty sweet alternative because you can get in and out in a relatively short amount of time, not as much individual pressure for anyone, and any size group can be accommodated. I'd rather golf, but it's still better than just buying someone lunch.

[stitchface]

kind of crazy golf week . . . played Monday and felt like crap. Went to range and hit a bucket - almost all bad. 10 minutes before our tee time, pro shop guy comes running out telling me we're up (I had three balls left). So I hit my three balls, walked over, and teed off with like 6 old men chattering as I was hitting. Naturally I shanked right and ended up with an 8. The rest of the round was great.

 

Today, tried to play without having any coffee. Terrible mistake. Worst round in weeks. Luckily playing again this afternoon.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Watched the PGA with nephew yesterday, he was really excited because Murikawa is from around here. Nephew learned about how pro golf works and decided he will probably win at least one major when he grows up.

 

We did some more work on his swing in the backyard. Just my idiot self teaching him what I’ve learned from YouTube, and good lord does he pick it up fast. He integrated half a dozen adjustments all at once and suddenly was thwipping the practice ball into the net with good contact every time. Still waiting to hear back from some options for real lessons.

 

https://streamable.com/7vgpyd

[David]

i play a golf scramble about once a year (it's a work related event). i am quite bad. i consider myself fortunate if i can get the ball in the air, regardless of what direction it goes.

 

what can i do to be less embarrassingly terrible and just regular terrible?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

i play a golf scramble about once a year (it's a work related event). i am quite bad. i consider myself fortunate if i can get the ball in the air, regardless of what direction it goes.

 

what can i do to be less embarrassingly terrible and just regular terrible?

 

Stand and stare off into the distance no matter what. Even if you topped it three yards. It *feels* like you striped one.

[WrigleyField 22]

Discovering yesterday that my bro in law has a set of clubs that he says he rarely uses just became key into my next steps. Now my initial equipment investment can be zero and he'd probably be happy to let me store them in my garage instead of his (and we're close by so he can swing by and grab them the 1 time a year he might use them).

[Splendid Splinter]

Kyle... wow! The few things I was going to tell you from the last video, your nephew made those adjustments. Looks really good. The only thing I could possibly see is maybe his hand placement when he address the ball before he starts the swing. It should be slightly in front of the ball, but can't tell from that angle. It's very minor, but it could make him push the ball to the right over time if he lined up hands with the ball or slightly behind.

 

Next step would be breaking/hinging the wrist some so his club can be parallel to the ground. Right now he's fine with what he's doing, but that step will help him lengthen his backswing which will generate more speed and power. I would wait til he's completely comfortable with his swing before you do that. It's very easy to get away and start over swinging or get out of whack so let him develop some muscle memory with his swing first.

 

Also... you mentioned you're around Tiger's HS. Are you close to Chino Hills? I only ask because I have a really good friend who is an assistant golf pro at Los Serranos (I think I got that right) and she does lessons with kids.

[stitchface]

i play a golf scramble about once a year (it's a work related event). i am quite bad. i consider myself fortunate if i can get the ball in the air, regardless of what direction it goes.

 

what can i do to be less embarrassingly terrible and just regular terrible?

 

adjust your setup - stance and ball position. Should be easy to find articles online.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Kyle... wow! The few things I was going to tell you from the last video, your nephew made those adjustments. Looks really good. The only thing I could possibly see is maybe his hand placement when he address the ball before he starts the swing. It should be slightly in front of the ball, but can't tell from that angle. It's very minor, but it could make him push the ball to the right over time if he lined up hands with the ball or slightly behind.

 

Next step would be breaking/hinging the wrist some so his club can be parallel to the ground. Right now he's fine with what he's doing, but that step will help him lengthen his backswing which will generate more speed and power. I would wait til he's completely comfortable with his swing before you do that. It's very easy to get away and start over swinging or get out of whack so let him develop some muscle memory with his swing first.

 

Also... you mentioned you're around Tiger's HS. Are you close to Chino Hills? I only ask because I have a really good friend who is an assistant golf pro at Los Serranos (I think I got that right) and she does lessons with kids.

 

 

That’s only about 25 minutes from me. A little outside our normal radius but close enough to look into.

[Splendid Splinter]

That’s only about 25 minutes from me. A little outside our normal radius but close enough to look into.

 

Ok. I could be wrong on which course she's at, but I'm 99% sure she's in Chino Hills now. She started there a week ago. She used to be with Tony Brooks at Lion Golf Academy if you ever heard of that place.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

i play a golf scramble about once a year (it's a work related event). i am quite bad. i consider myself fortunate if i can get the ball in the air, regardless of what direction it goes.

 

what can i do to be less embarrassingly terrible and just regular terrible?

 

Don’t be afraid to swing like 75% of your full speed. Good contact goes further than bad contact swung hard

[sweetpeteman]

i play a golf scramble about once a year (it's a work related event). i am quite bad. i consider myself fortunate if i can get the ball in the air, regardless of what direction it goes.

 

what can i do to be less embarrassingly terrible and just regular terrible?

 

Don’t be afraid to swing like 75% of your full speed. Good contact goes further than bad contact swung hard

 

And in that vein, shorten your swing. Do what you think is 75% of your swing, it's probably actually how long your swing should be.

[squally1313]

i play a golf scramble about once a year (it's a work related event). i am quite bad. i consider myself fortunate if i can get the ball in the air, regardless of what direction it goes.

 

what can i do to be less embarrassingly terrible and just regular terrible?

 

Don’t be afraid to swing like 75% of your full speed. Good contact goes further than bad contact swung hard

 

And in that vein, shorten your swing. Do what you think is 75% of your swing, it's probably actually how long your swing should be.

 

Piling on here. Figured that out around my 5th round this year when I realized that taking my 6 iron and just trying to punch out of the woods was giving me my best contact. Even 175 right down the middle off the tee is plenty valuable in a scramble, and getting the experience of hitting down the fairway is going to help a lot more than bouncing through the trees until you make it to the green.

[stitchface]

 

Don’t be afraid to swing like 75% of your full speed. Good contact goes further than bad contact swung hard

 

And in that vein, shorten your swing. Do what you think is 75% of your swing, it's probably actually how long your swing should be.

 

Piling on here. Figured that out around my 5th round this year when I realized that taking my 6 iron and just trying to punch out of the woods was giving me my best contact. Even 175 right down the middle off the tee is plenty valuable in a scramble, and getting the experience of hitting down the fairway is going to help a lot more than bouncing through the trees until you make it to the green.

 

While I don't disagree with the concept, I have always found this hard to implement. Trying to shorten my swing or not swing as hard just messes up my timing. The advice for me that always seems to work is relax and let the club do the work. It seems like over-swingers throw their hips forward and then miss the ball instead of being smooth.

[squally1313]

 

And in that vein, shorten your swing. Do what you think is 75% of your swing, it's probably actually how long your swing should be.

 

Piling on here. Figured that out around my 5th round this year when I realized that taking my 6 iron and just trying to punch out of the woods was giving me my best contact. Even 175 right down the middle off the tee is plenty valuable in a scramble, and getting the experience of hitting down the fairway is going to help a lot more than bouncing through the trees until you make it to the green.

 

While I don't disagree with the concept, I have always found this hard to implement. Trying to shorten my swing or not swing as hard just messes up my timing. The advice for me that always seems to work is relax and let the club do the work. It seems like over-swingers throw their hips forward and then miss the ball instead of being smooth.

 

Might just be anecdotal, but I feel like most beginners start in an overswinging mode. Playing with crappy clubs/balls, usually trying to catch up to everyone else, etc. Definitely not relaxed. I think what you're talking about is almost the next step, at least where I'm at. Slowly lengthen back out once you get used to a smooth, easy swing that you can replicate.

[jumbo]

 

And in that vein, shorten your swing. Do what you think is 75% of your swing, it's probably actually how long your swing should be.

 

Piling on here. Figured that out around my 5th round this year when I realized that taking my 6 iron and just trying to punch out of the woods was giving me my best contact. Even 175 right down the middle off the tee is plenty valuable in a scramble, and getting the experience of hitting down the fairway is going to help a lot more than bouncing through the trees until you make it to the green.

 

While I don't disagree with the concept, I have always found this hard to implement. Trying to shorten my swing or not swing as hard just messes up my timing. The advice for me that always seems to work is relax and let the club do the work. It seems like over-swingers throw their hips forward and then miss the ball instead of being smooth.

 

 

There is definitely a balance between going after it and trying to throttle yourself into a controlled motion. Usually I have to think slow/90% until I get into rythym, then it's just making the swing without thinking too much.

 

Since it is in line with the comments, here are my swing keys that I use for pretty much every shot.

Complete the backswing (this avoids hips firing during downswing and creates space for the downswing)

Slow motion swing (this avoids rushing the hips or shoulders and a hard left hook)

Belt buckle aiming at the target (this helps me complete the forward weight transfer instead of hanging back and pushing the ball weak right)

 

For putting my main key is to focus on the ball until it is out of view (this avoids a lift/turn your of the head which can result in off center contact, leading to short putts or push/pull)

 

Love all the golf chatter on here. I am obsessed with it and can't get enough.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

I play golf about once every two years or so, and the clubs I've been using were really nice...back in the 60s when they were made. I recently was given another set of used clubs, but these are at least close to the same age as me, and the club faces aren't the size of a baby's fist, so I decided to watch some youtube vids to try and correct my "starting right and still slicing" swing. I've NEVER been able to hit long irons for sh1t. Mostly would hit a 5 wood with a half swing instead. Some days I can hit my driver 250 with just a hint of a slice, but most of the time its 210-230 and 30-50 degrees off of straight, and that's when I don't completely shank it and its going 50 yards straight into a bush. Chipping and putting has always been my forte.

 

Went to the driving range and decided to test the new clubs, and some swing adjustments. Now, I just focus on the thumb of my right hand, and making sure its pointing at the ball as I make contact. Rolling over my wrists, essentially. DOOOD. I've been striping it like 85% of the time. I'm doing 18 holes tomorrow, and I probably jinxed myself typing this, but I think I'm going to stomp my old PR.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I haven’t had a chance to go to the range this week, but consistent striking of my irons has been the last thing on my checklist and it’s feeling really good in the backyard with a foam ball. I can spend about an hour out there each morning before my kid wakes up, and the last few mornings I was thwipping solid strikes into the blanket every time without a single whiff, shank or top. A week ago they were 80% mishits.

 

It’s hard to say what I’m working on because it’s such a moving target. Golf swings are complicated and everything is so interconnected.

 

Three big things that have helped me the most:

 

1) fixing my takeaway. I’ve slowed it way down to a degree that would have felt comical before. And shortened it. I’m only going as far back as my body rotation allows me while keeping my left arm straight, rather than getting out of stance trying to twist for a little more.

 

2) Dropping the hands and opening the hips to keep from coming in too high (the “chopping wood” motion). I think this is what fixed my nasty iron pulling problem.

 

3) feeling more athletic in my stance. This should have been number one since it comes first in the setup, but I’m on my phone and don’t want to rearrange it. I use the “club behind ball, hitting above the knee” thing to gauge the proper distance, then before I take my grip, I set my feet and get into a balanced stance. It feels a lot like a hockey stance for playing defense except a bit less knee bend. I want to feel my weight resting happily in the middle of my feet.

 

It fascinates me how much of the work is done before you start swinging the club toward the ball. I remember one video I watched before I started recommended spending 30 minutes a day for your first week just practicing your grip. I spend a lot of time in the house just practicing address and takeaway, and it helps.

 

The next thing I want to get going in my swing is forward weight shift. I just don’t think I’m getting enough of it. When I watch the golf swings I want to emulate, the slide forward is almost a whole intermediate step between takeaway and swing, and they end up with basically all their weight on the forward foot. I’m still not quite getting that right and struggling to get rotated all the way through in the follow through because my weight is still too middled.

 

I also suspect I’m still opening up my hips a little too early, which is pulling my hands forward. I would have to take video of myself to be sure, but it feels like my hands are about even with the ball at contact instead of in front of it.

[squally1313]

Shot a 43 at Billy Caldwell (generic 9 hole Chicago public course) this morning, which is definitely the best 'round' I've put together. Pretty terrible off the tee, but played around the green really well...only one double.

 

Also played with a guy who kept wanting to talk about the "China Virus"....so that was fun.

[stitchface]

"The next thing I want to get going in my swing is forward weight shift. I just don’t think I’m getting enough of it. When I watch the golf swings I want to emulate, the slide forward is almost a whole intermediate step between takeaway and swing, and they end up with basically all their weight on the forward foot. I’m still not quite getting that right and struggling to get rotated all the way through in the follow through because my weight is still too middled."

 

 

This seems to be my problem with the driver. Worked on it this morning and definitely improved although the work also resulted in a couple miserable shanks.

[sweetpeteman]

A couple/few years ago I was out playing with my parents and getting real frustrated with how I was playing, to the point that I really didn't enjoy going out. I came to the realization that I had two choices: stop playing or try to get better. Since I still wanted to go out an play with my parents, I decided to try to get better. At the time I wasn't playing or going out to the range much, so I started going more. And I started watching videos on youtube. Since then I've essentially re-built my swing and made quite a few realizations that have both helped and hurt my game. Where I'm at now really boils down to a few things.

 

1. Grip. I was squeezing too hard with my grip. Now I take a firm but not tight grip with my left hand and keep my right looser.

 

2. Set up properly. Make sure the grip is right, the stance is right, etc. The big thing for me is making sure to set my shoulders. I realized that when I came set, I tended to close my shoulders, bringing my alignment off to the right (and then would wonder why I kept pushing things right). I tried to fix it by opening my stance and rotating, but then I was over-swinging.

 

3. Slow down. A smooth, loose swing will generate more power and be more controllable.

 

4. Rotate my shoulders, not swing my arms. By focusing on rotating the shoulders through the swing, I'm rotating my core and using my whole body for the swing, not just swinging my arms.

 

I still need a ton of work on my short game, but otherwise I;m playing a lot better. I usually shoot in the mid to upper 80s (I don't know my handicap, I should probably actually calculate it).

 

The one part of my game I'm surprisingly decent at is putting. I watched the Phil Mickelson video on his short game and how he set's up putts, and it really helped. If you look at the stats for PGA golfers, it's something like within 3 ft they're like 99%, but at 6 ft it's 70 % and at 10ft it's 41%. I'm (obviously) not anywhere near as good, but within 3 ft I'm easily over 90%, so my basic goal is to get within that 3ft circle from wherever I am on the green. Just by doing that I usually am guaranteed to at most 2 putt, so I rarely 3 putt.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I’m aware that barstool sports is a stain on society and I’m losing millions of good place points for this, but i like some of their golf content and specifically this video singlehandedly taught me to chip:

 

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

My driver was worse than it's ever been. I hit the first 3 shots I made out of bounds. I prob averaged 120 yards with it, for the day. The driver never recovered, but I averaged 2 putts a green, chipped like a pro, and my long irons and 3 wood were awesome...I shot a 104. I'm the horsefeathers!!!

 

Meanwhile, my dad shot a 72. BUT, I beat him on two of the three holes where I shot par, one of which was "the beer hole" so he had to buy a round. I'm certain I'll go pro within the year.