The OS Golfer's Thread!

[ty5oke]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

I've been exploring OS more lately and thought I would join in on this one. I've been playing off and on since I was 14 (I'm 25 now), but have never had enough money or time to play consistently enough to get good.

Background of my talents (or lack thereof). I'm solid off the tees, can hit my driver 280-300 consistently. I've always hit my irons the best, but my short game is abysmal. I have absolutely no feel and if I'm terrible from 100 yards and in

As for recently, I shot an 84 at Broken Tee Golf Course in Englewood, CO a couple of weeks ago, and since then I've lost my swing. Shot 100 at JFK Golf Course last week and quit after 8 holes this morning playing City Park Golf Course in downtown Denver. I mi**** balls every way that you can. I sliced, pulled, snap hooked, skulled and chunked shots all day and just can't figure out what is wrong. They guys I was playing with are better than me (usually shoot low to mid 80s) and couldn't figure out what I was doing. I know a couple of pros in the area so I'm going to try to get one of them to check me out at the range sometime soon and hopefully fix my woes. I love the game, but it can be sooooo frustrating.

I look forward to sharing stories with everyone here, and I'll try to help where I think I can

This game is crazy. Not saying this was your problem but I find it mind boggling how much confidence can affect my golf swing.

[Jr.]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

This game is crazy. Not saying this was your problem but I find it mind boggling how much confidence can affect my golf swing.

Oh my confidence was shot after the 3rd hole. The funniest part if that I have a masters degree in sport psychology but it didn't work at all for me today

[orthostud23]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Love this thread!! Last week I had the 9 holes in my league where I was in the zone. I play the first 4 holes at +3 thanks to a tripple bogey on the par 3 second. Then proceed to go birdie, birdie. Get to the the par 5 7th and on in 3 (horrible second shot to the greenside bunker. good out though to 7ft. The putt goes in right edge and then proceeds to do a 360 around the cup and comes out!! Par 4 8th I am only 100 yds in where I stick it to 10 ft. SAME THING THAT HAPPENED ON 7 happens on 8!! I should be 4 birds in a row!! On 9 I hit driver, wedge, to 15 ft and make the birdie. Finish with even par and GHIN wise had to post a -1 for the 9 holes which was very cool!! heres the course just in case you are curious. http://www.wahconahcountryclub.com/course.html

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

One thing I'd point out here is that you're making it sound like you want him to make an effort to slow the downswing. Decelerating on the way down is death. I like to think slow back and a smooth accelerating swing focusing on exploding through the ball. Nothing should feel hurried nor slow - if that makes sense.

JJ, if you're hitting your irons fat, focus on making sure you hit down on the ball, taking a divot after you make contact. You should feel like you're "pinching" the ball against the turf.

As for feeling like you're not good enough, set realistic goals. Maybe "par" for you is a bogey on every hole. Once you get to the point of shooting that, set another realistic goal to reach. Golf is not for the impatient, but once you get the hang of it, it is very rewarding.

It could be a number of things. Without seeing your swing and the way you address the ball, it's tough to diagnose.

Could be your grip, too much upper body movement, shoulder alignment etc...

Obviously all players have different swings, but one thing that is consistent with all great players is TEMPO. Slow things down. It's a common misconception that you have to swing hard to hit the ball far. It's just flat out not true. In fact swinging harder causes your muscles to tense up, decreasing flexibility and overall power in your swing.

On your backswing, make a concerted effort to slowly drag the club back across the grass at a nice easy pace and on your down try and keep that same pace.

Also do your best to try and look at the ball as long as possible, even after you hit it, keep your head down. Let your arms and torso pull your head around to a natural release. Amateurs have a tendency to want to watch the ball before they hit it, causing them to pull out of their swing resulting in the inconsistencies that you have listed as your problems.

Also, I would love to see your grip. One of the keys to a good ball flight is the grip. If you're slicing the ball, that leads me to believe that your hands are not releasing through impact. This part is easily fixable. When you grip the club, ensure the face of the club is square, then start with your left hand, making sure the club is resting in the bottom thirds of your fingers, then put your palm over top, with your left thumb, pointed straight down the shaft. Then with your right hand, overlap your pinky in the gap between your index, and middle finger, with the club resting again on the bottom thirds of your fingers. If your right hand is too strong, meaning, more than half of the back of your right hand is showing, this can cause your hands to get "stuck" and not release. Try to make sure that your right hand is a mirror image of your left hand, going down the club. In your case, seeing slicing is your problem, try to place right thumb on the right half of the grip. Doing this will force the club face to turn over at impact, and ensuring a greater chance of being square when striking the ball.

Obviously we can't give you a proper diagnosis without seeing your swing, but these are all basics that you can work on to get more consistent.

I think I can help you. Without watching you swing it may be hard but I can offer some advice. To fix the slice you should do these 3 things.
1) Stager your feet. Mover front foot (left foot) a little forward and your back foot (right foot) further back. stance would look like this.

R
L
2) Don't grip the club so tight. It can cause you to slice the ball.
3) Slow down your swing. One common error is to swing harder to make the ball fly further. Thank Tiger for that. If you over swing it will cause miss-hits and the ball to have poor ball flight. This leads to the pop-ups.

If you are having trouble with you irons as well then I would say you have a ball striking issue. You are not hitting the ball clean. One of the common things I see as a high school golf coach is issues with the arms. I suggest looking into the product in the link.
http://www.golfsmith.com/products/23..._Swing_Trainer
It is cheap and will get your arms in the right position. Over time you will build muscle memory.

Don't give up on golf. It's a hard sport. You have to work almost daily to improve. When I was in high school and college I would hit every day, year round. If I could not hit outside I would go to a golf store that had a indoor demo range. I would hit the demo clubs then purchase a bag of tee's or something. I felt like I should walk out with something for the time. Go to the range and work on the swing. Feel free to PM me for more advice.

Thanks for the tips. I shot a little better yesterday...even sank a 25 footer to end the round. I'll try to get a video of my swing ASAP so you guys can see if you spot anything that needs changing.

[1Rose]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

One thing I'd point out here is that you're making it sound like you want him to make an effort to slow the downswing. Decelerating on the way down is death. I like to think slow back and a smooth accelerating swing focusing on exploding through the ball. Nothing should feel hurried nor slow - if that makes sense.

No, I was clearly telling him to keep a consistent pace on his swing. Not sure where I said slow the downswing.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

No, I was clearly telling him to keep a consistent pace on his swing. Not sure where I said slow the downswing.

You didn't. But I don't agree that the downswing should be the same pace as the takeaway. That's what I was trying to get across. A little semantic mixup.

[1Rose]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

You didn't. But I don't agree that the downswing should be the same pace as the takeaway. That's what I was trying to get across. A little semantic mixup.

I agree, but concentrating on keeping a consistent pace through the golf swing will regulate your tempo and allow proper release through the ball.

[DonkeyJote]

I agree. Since I concentrated on slowing my swing down, my ball striking has improved greatly.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[fishepa]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Alright, I played at Valhalla in Louisville yesterday. Awesome course, very fun to play. I ended up shooting an 86. I hit two balls in the water and I really think if I played there a couple of times and knew the course a little better, I could shoot in the 70's. Course was fantastic, but the greens weren't fast.

It was just fun to play on the course and remember where people were hitting shots at the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship. I wanted to recreate the putt on #16 at the 2000 PGA Championship 3 hole playoff with Bob May where Tiger starts walking after it and points it in and then went on to win his 3rd out of 4 straight majors. It was just a very fun round of golf. I've been to several PGA Tour events, but have never really played on one of those courses. Great time.

I played Valhalla two weeks before the 96 PGA Championship, I think I shot around a 110. The rough was absolutely ridiculous, it had to be 3-4 inches. If you were off the fairway no chance of getting on the green. Great course by the way.

[speels]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Played in a scramble tournament last weekend with my brother and a couple other guys. Anyway we step up to the 196 yd $10,000 hole and I hit a 5 iron that I lose in the sun. Anyway, we get to the green and see that I landed 2 inches left of the hole and it rolled 3 feet by!! That is the closest I have ever come to a hole-in-one for $10,000. Funny thing is, we needed all 4 putts to make the birdie! Hahaha

[jbrew2411]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

I agree. Since I concentrated on slowing my swing down, my ball striking has improved greatly.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

People often confuse slowing the swing down as deceleration. They are not the same. Often times the harder you try to swing the more often your plan is thrown off and so deceleration can occur. Creating a nice smooth tempo with your swing will improve ball striking.

[jbrew2411]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Oh my confidence was shot after the 3rd hole. The funniest part if that I have a masters degree in sport psychology but it didn't work at all for me today

I tell my golfers this. "You can't do anything about your last hole but you can do something about the next hole. Focus only on what you can do something about." My college golf coach would tell us that all the time. It sounds like a bunch of crap but it worked for me and works for my golfers at times.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Played in a scramble tournament last weekend with my brother and a couple other guys. Anyway we step up to the 196 yd $10,000 hole and I hit a 5 iron that I lose in the sun. Anyway, we get to the green and see that I landed 2 inches left of the hole and it rolled 3 feet by!! That is the closest I have ever come to a hole-in-one for $10,000. Funny thing is, we needed all 4 putts to make the birdie! Hahaha

LOL, the SAME thing happened to me in a scramble a few years ago. $10,000 and everything. Only mine was a terribly struck thin shot that rolled up to the hole and lipped out! It ended up about a foot behind and to the right. Still the closest I've been to an ace. I've hit the flag stick two other times on a high hop and rolled away several feet.

So anyone out there have an actual hole in one story? I love hearing them.

[Jr.]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

I tell my golfers this. "You can't do anything about your last hole but you can do something about the next hole. Focus only on what you can do something about." My college golf coach would tell us that all the time. It sounds like a bunch of crap but it worked for me and works for my golfers at times.

It's basic sport psychology. Control the controllables. Focus on what you can affect, forget about what you can't

[Jr.]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

So anyone out there have an actual hole in one story? I love hearing them.

I wish. Closest I've been is about 6 feet. Amazing that Tom Watson knocked in his 15th career this weekend