The OS Golfer's Thread!

[pietasterp]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Rumours going around the golf world that Tiger Woods has let Chris Como go and is going at it alone. Chris Como was nowhere to be found on the range with Tiger at the Quicken Loans National the past few days.

If this is true, this is what Tiger should've done from the start. The guy needs to get away from all this mechanical BS and get back to playing with feel and natural ability.

Seriously...since when was all this "swing doctoring" necessary? Having a coach or a second set of eyes to help correct some swing flaws that may creep in over time is one thing, but the most successful guys Tiger worked with - Butch Harmon most of all - have said they basically just tried to iron out some kinks, not overhaul his natural swing.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Tiger started off with 3 bogies in the first 4 holes. He is now 3 under after 13. Including just running off 4 birdies in a row. And he hasn't played the par 5 on the back yet.

[msuduo]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

36 holes in 6 hours. Not bad. Shot 80 and 78. Lost control due to fatigue from holes 29-32 but finished strong, including taking a 3h from about 230 to the green to set up eagle and just missed. Ended up being my only birdie of the day.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

[pietasterp]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Any of you guys ever take any lessons? I mean serious 1-on-1 lessons after you've already been playing for a number of years. Just considering doing it myself, since I'm not sure I can get better on my own. On average, how many lessons have you taken?

I think I've plateaued at this point. It seems like I've reached the limits of what can be accomplished by just going out and hitting balls at the range....

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Not bad Eldrick. -5 today and T3 at the moment.

[fistofrage]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Any of you guys ever take any lessons? I mean serious 1-on-1 lessons after you've already been playing for a number of years. Just considering doing it myself, since I'm not sure I can get better on my own. On average, how many lessons have you taken?

I think I've plateaued at this point. It seems like I've reached the limits of what can be accomplished by just going out and hitting balls at the range....

First and foremost, bad habits feel good. so just going to the range without a purpose or without getting some different eyes on it will probably yield little results. You'll grip the club how it feels good and swing how it feels good and its probably all wrong. Get someone to film you and watch the film. My daughter records me on my iphone and I break it down.

As far as lessons go, It all depends on the teacher. I've taken various 1 on 1 lessons from teachers and the benefit has been marginal. Mainly because they only seem to think they know what the perfect swing should be like. Everyone has a unique swing to some degree and varying degrees of athletic ability. I think the teacher should concentrate first on trying to make the most out of what an individual has and try to make their swing work.

The best advice teachers ever gave me was take the backswing to 75%.

I'm a range rat. I'll hit 200+ balls when I'm there to build endurance and just work on things. People watch me at the range all the time and ask me to give them some pointers. I look at their grip and their stance and takeaway, but never really concentrate on their swing at first. Most people in 5 minutes I have them hitting it straight. Now if they wanted me to get them driving it 300 yards that's a different story, then I'd refer them to a teacher. I know mechanically what needs to be done to generate the power but I can't pull it of. I hit 260 down the pipe off the tee and that's good enough for me, I just have to live with it because I've almost wrecked my game on many occasions trying to squeeze out extra yards. I still somehow still hit the occasional 300 yarder when the stars align but my focus is always on tempo and solid contact to make sure it stays on target.

Bottom line if you do go with a teacher, you should decide upfront if you want to work with what you have or do you want to retool and try to learn the "perfect" swing. My suggestion is to work with what you have.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

What are your goals for improvement? I feel like simply taking lessons doesn't do anything for people who have golfed for a long time unless you put a major time commitment in practicing on your own what your teacher is showing you. For me, it's definitely not worth the time and money - it would suck the fun right out of golf. I think we've established that you and I are wired differently when it comes to the sport though, lol.

But what are your end goals with doing lessons? Simply to become the best golfer you can? Win your club championship? Enter and be competitive in local tournaments?

I think those would be questions I would ask myself before I made the financial commitment.

[pietasterp]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Good advice, all. I think the bottom line is I'd just like to be able to be a more consistent ball-striker, and get away from the hot-cold thing I have going on with my game. I don't play competitively (other than against myself), but from hole-to-hole, sometimes even from shot-to-shot, it's a crapshoot whether I get a purely struck mini-draw or a flat-out shank. I think if I could just get to a point where I could confidently strike the ball relatively pure 80-90% of the time - and really be able to count on it - that would be enough for me. I actually don't even really care about my score all that much (although I think it follows that it would improve if I improved my ball striking).

In short, I think the goal is to become a more consistent ball striker and maybe fix 1-2 major swing faults that I've been unable to fix on my own to date.

[RoundingThird]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

I've been playing 2 or 3 times a week all summer. My short game and driving has been the most consistent. Irons have been spotty, but I think I found a fix. Anyway, I played a quick 9 this afternoon and played bogey golf, but only because I had two bad holes. I was +4 over the other 7 holes, and nearly had a helluva par save on #9, a par 3 at my home course. My tee shot got buried in some Chambers Bay-like rough. I hacked it out to 10 feet, and the putt lipped out. On the other holes that I bogeyed, I missed par putts by inches, one of which was about 60 feet. So, all I need is some more solid iron play. On those other holes? A 7 on a par 5, and two balls into the water on a par 4.

[teejay0218]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

[SinisterAlex]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Just played the same 9 hole course again late this afternoon. Shot even par 31, but I had 5 birdie chances and 3 of which were 5 foot putts. I had two birdie putts lip out, one came up 6 inches short, and two burning the left edges. This round could've been -2 or -3 easily.

Aside from missing my birdie chances, I hit the ball probably the best I ever have, even better than last time. My wedge game from 100 yards and in was on point. Just was throwing darts at everything just too bad my putting wasn't as good.

I'm playing a full length course on Monday. Course has a lot of long holes but the weather we've had up here has pretty much dried out the fairways. Plan for me is to just play low 4 iron/3 wood stingers off most tees and just let the insane amount of roll I'll get get my down the fairway. Greens have been kept in good condition and are soft so if my wedge came carries over to Monday I have a feeling that I'll be having a special round.

Stoked for Monday!

[fistofrage]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Well now I know why they had a wind delay at the British Open. I was playing in our skins game yesterday, bright sunny afternoon with gusts up to 50 MPH. Hit 3 drives over 320. I hit a ball into a sand trap with my drive into a greenside bunker on a par 4 and actually saw the wind move it 6 inches as I waited for my turn to hit. Driving the ball was nuts, you didn't know if the ball was going to fall off the tee in your backswing or not it was shaking. My playing partner missed his birdie putt, left it about an inch outside and the wind blew it in.

On the approach shots you had no idea. You couldn't tell towards the end of the round if the wind was gusting or that was just the wind. Straight into it, it was a solid 2 to 3 club wind. My partner hits his 9 iron from 120 and ends up short of the green by 10 yards, so I decided to use my 9 iron from 115, wind dies for a second during my downswing, fly the green by 20 yards. Balls that should have landed center of the green get carried away land on the cart path and bounce in the heather.

Played the worst round of the year, shot a 90. Luckily putted one birdie in from off the green and ended up paying $60. Up over $800 in skins for the year now.

Got to get to the range and rally practice my 20 to 70 yard pitches now, that part of the game feels like its slipping and I have a huge 2 person best ball tournament in 2 weeks.

[SinisterAlex]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

I posted my personal best score of +4 76 a couple of weeks ago. I went out and played another course today and just beat that score as I shot a +3 73. Again my game was totally on point, only real bad shot I hit was a unlucky one. Hole 7 was a straight forward par 4. I hit a really good 3 wood that I pushed slightly to the left, it hits the cart path and ricochet'd into the water on the left. If that ball was in the fairway I would've had a great chance to birdie the hole as the pin was placed into a valley and you're ball would literally roll right down to the hole. I missed my par putt though.

I hit three green side bunkers and got up and down on all three. I left 3 birdies out there that we're great chances. This round could've been lower if it weren't for the water on 7 and just me missing good birdie putts.

[RoundingThird]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

I've only been playing for 3 years, so don't judge me when I say that I broke 90 today for the first time, in pretty hefty winds, or at least stronger than I'm used to.

[pietasterp]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

I've only been playing for 3 years, so don't judge me when I say that I broke 90 today for the first time, in pretty hefty winds, or at least stronger than I'm used to.

I've been playing for a lot longer than that, and I don't routinely break 90...and no one on here would make fun of you anyway. Good work!