Taking up Golf

Author
Discussion

taaffy

1,120 posts

238 months

Sunday 4th September 2011
quotequote all
Basically there are 3 different swing paths which produce these shots...

straight
in to out
out to in

depending on how the clubface is angled on these paths determines the flight of the ball and where the ball will finish.

ie. straight swingpath with square clubface to that swingpath = straight shot

the same swingpath with an open face gives you a fade to a slice depending on how open it is.Closed gives you a draw to a hook.

so you can have lotsof varying types of shots with differing combinations of swingpaths and face angles.

One guarantee though is that the ball does not lie ....it tells you what combination you have hit it with ....



Yoof Full Chav

38,748 posts

186 months

Sunday 4th September 2011
quotequote all
taaffy said:
Basically there are 3 different swing paths which produce these shots...

straight
in to out
out to in

depending on how the clubface is angled on these paths determines the flight of the ball and where the ball will finish.

ie. straight swingpath with square clubface to that swingpath = straight shot

the same swingpath with an open face gives you a fade to a slice depending on how open it is.Closed gives you a draw to a hook.

so you can have lotsof varying types of shots with differing combinations of swingpaths and face angles.

One guarantee though is that the ball does not lie ....it tells you what combination you have hit it with ....


Thats my answer to the question, whats your handicap??

Golf clubs and a fecking golf ball hehe

cheddar

4,637 posts

173 months

Sunday 4th September 2011
quotequote all
taaffy said:
As an ex golf pro i would advise seeking out some lessons ....it will make the difference providing you also practice what has been taught.

Some basics which should be adhered to depending on your physical capabilities though are these...

grip ...if this is wrong then you will never return the clubface square to the ball consistantly.

stance..... feet.. knees....hips... shoulders should all point in the direction of the desired ball direction.

Knees....should be flexed comfortably.

Spine angle when viewed from the rear..... this should be angled from the hips pointing away from the hole.

Assuming you are able bodied then there is no reason not to be able to set yourself up in a textbook manner.
from there it is a simple matter of turning the shoulders back and through to complete the swing.

Most problems even from a good set up arise from poor flexibility causing body movement and a huge urge to smash the st out of the ball.

You would be surprised at how little effort is required to send the ball away a reasonable distance ...

Lessons and practice .....you will improve and in turn will understand why you hit poor shots which will make you a better golfer who can then self correct on the golf course....
Smashing the b'jesus out of the ball is the golf equivalent of dropping two gears, nailing it and overtaking a long line of cars.

I simply have to put every ounce of energy into my tee shot - often with awful results - I'd give up golf if I couldn't do this.

That one time when it all comes together and flies dead straight for 280yds 260yds 220yds 180yds is worth all the slices/hooks and complete misses.

Bing o

15,184 posts

218 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
Top tip for all you slicers - stop aiming left, and aim right instead. The more you cut across the ball, the more you slice it, and aiming right will force you to stop doing that (assuming you are right handed).

Opening your body to compensate for a slice will just make it worse.

Fats25

6,260 posts

228 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
Gaz. said:
The hybrids are a liability in my hands, the fact that the Golf Monthly forums are full of diehard fans of them just makes me feel worse. I could hit that little white bd 3 times with a 4h and it'll go 12 feet in total, I could hit it a 4th time and the ball just launches like a motar.
Sorry - buy hybrids have saved my game recently! I love them. I have even now invested in a 6H, and this and the 4H are just about keeping me to my handicap whilst the rest of my game has gone to pot.

Bing o said:
Top tip for all you slicers - stop aiming left, and aim right instead. The more you cut across the ball, the more you slice it, and aiming right will force you to stop doing that (assuming you are right handed).

Opening your body to compensate for a slice will just make it worse.
I would actually say to aim straight, but be aware that you are trying to hit the ball right.

I naturally have a huge slice, and for the first few years of playing I compensated by facing so far left it was ridiculous. I have taught myself to line up straight but then think of the ball coming off the face to the right. I still have a fade, but no longer a slice (most of the time!). I still have to fight the slice every time I hit a ball - but on a good day I can control it this way. Is also a good weapon to have in the bag if you find yourself on the right of a fairway with trees, and you want to hit a flag begind the tree. Back to old swing, and you have a perfect shaped shot! smile

My problem (as per the diagram above) recently is that every 5 or 6 drives has turned into a huge pull - and that is the next thing I need to fix. Have never had it before, but has just developed this Summer.


Yoof Full Chav

38,748 posts

186 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
i guess i might struggle with a hybrid, due to my inability to hit a driver/wood, whereas irons are not an issue for me as a rule

Fats25

6,260 posts

228 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
Yoof Full Chav said:
i guess i might struggle with a hybrid, due to my inability to hit a driver/wood, whereas irons are not an issue for me as a rule
I can hit woods from anywhere - fairways, deep rough, sand etc. Probably why I find the hybrids so easy to hit.

100 yard plus irons are the generally the bane of my game. Inside that distance - Irons are fine. But greater than 100 yards I am beginning to struggle until I get to 170 yds and get my hybrids out...... I have actually began to play my game around it now. I will leave myself 170 yards in from a green if I can, so I can use my 6H. Or else will leave myself less than 100 yards.

Obviously this is in the perfect world where I can hit the distance I want off of the tee!

Yoof Full Chav

38,748 posts

186 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
Fats25 said:
Yoof Full Chav said:
i guess i might struggle with a hybrid, due to my inability to hit a driver/wood, whereas irons are not an issue for me as a rule
I can hit woods from anywhere - fairways, deep rough, sand etc. Probably why I find the hybrids so easy to hit.

100 yard plus irons are the generally the bane of my game. Inside that distance - Irons are fine. But greater than 100 yards I am beginning to struggle until I get to 170 yds and get my hybrids out...... I have actually began to play my game around it now. I will leave myself 170 yards in from a green if I can, so I can use my 6H. Or else will leave myself less than 100 yards.

Obviously this is in the perfect world where I can hit the distance I want off of the tee!
Now anywhere up to and including 175 yards, i can hit an iron shot no problem, after that i need to use a wood/driver, and it's a waste of time for me, so i have to take an extra shot in that case. hmmm, may have to investigate a hybrid, see what difference it makes

taaffy

1,120 posts

238 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
Just be aware that the better you become and the lower your handicap gets..... the more frustrating the game becomes.

When you are learning you expect to hit poor shots frustrating as they may be...

But when you get to a stage when you are hitting good shots 90% of the time then the poor 10% really do get under your skin ......

Golf is a great game but always a challenge with weather conditions and difficulty of golf course....and of course the biggest challenge is controlling yourself ...

Yoof Full Chav

38,748 posts

186 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
taaffy said:
Just be aware that the better you become and the lower your handicap gets..... the more frustrating the game becomes.

When you are learning you expect to hit poor shots frustrating as they may be...

But when you get to a stage when you are hitting good shots 90% of the time then the poor 10% really do get under your skin ......

Golf is a great game but always a challenge with weather conditions and difficulty of golf course....and of course the biggest challenge is controlling yourself ...
You have no idea how accurate that statement is. The thing that gets me, is that i just know, that within 30 seconds of starting lessons, i'll be belting the ball miles, and straight, almost as if i have played for years, but within 30 seconds of playing after the last lesson, back to square one, and cue the frustration at not being able to repeat what i was doing during lessons.

I think i'm also way too hard on myself, as i can do it once, so i assume i can do it every time, and get properly ticked off when i can't, yet i only took up golf properly 4 months or so ago. My biggest problem is sorting out my slice, and then learning how to pitch a shot onto the green, as with a pitching wedge it either goes sky high and about 50 feet, or head height and about 50 miles.

Oh well, it's a challenge i guess

Yoof Full Chav

38,748 posts

186 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
Gaz. said:
Gaz. said:
but if I play tomorow I'll be lucky to get within 15 of my PB on that course.

Funnily enough my bunker play is as sharp as a tack & my putting is pretty good too.
As it turns out, I was within 2 strokes of my PB and my putting was terrible, all but two tee-shots were pretty good too. smile

Thanks for the tips btw.

Lesson booked for Friday morning & hopefuly playing on the par 3 every day for the rest of the week, hopefuly it should all come together for our game on Saturday afternoon (same course as last saturday, my score card had more 8's than the old Going Live phone number).

smile
Just out of interest Gaz, where do you play your golf?? Oh, and if it's any consolation, due to bad drives, lost balls etc, on the three par 5's on the back nine where i play, i managed to treble the par on each hole. When things are going well, i can sometimes get par on the fours, and be on the green in 3 on the 5's, but right now things have gone to pot. Hopefully i can sort this and get back to normality, as i am losing way to many balls right now, 24 in the last 24 holes frownfrownfrown

Yoof Full Chav

38,748 posts

186 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
ahhh, none of the courses near me have a par 3, so it's full on courses. the front nine isnt so much of an issue, i can go round close to the maximum handicap, but the back nine....... oy vay, it's all doglegs bar the last two holes, and i just cant get it right. oh well, we live and learn eh??

andr3w

218 posts

174 months

Monday 5th September 2011
quotequote all
cheddar said:
taaffy said:
As an ex golf pro i would advise seeking out some lessons ....it will make the difference providing you also practice what has been taught.

Some basics which should be adhered to depending on your physical capabilities though are these...

grip ...if this is wrong then you will never return the clubface square to the ball consistantly.

stance..... feet.. knees....hips... shoulders should all point in the direction of the desired ball direction.

Knees....should be flexed comfortably.

Spine angle when viewed from the rear..... this should be angled from the hips pointing away from the hole.

Assuming you are able bodied then there is no reason not to be able to set yourself up in a textbook manner.
from there it is a simple matter of turning the shoulders back and through to complete the swing.

Most problems even from a good set up arise from poor flexibility causing body movement and a huge urge to smash the st out of the ball.

You would be surprised at how little effort is required to send the ball away a reasonable distance ...

Lessons and practice .....you will improve and in turn will understand why you hit poor shots which will make you a better golfer who can then self correct on the golf course....
Smashing the b'jesus out of the ball is the golf equivalent of dropping two gears, nailing it and overtaking a long line of cars.

I simply have to put every ounce of energy into my tee shot - often with awful results - I'd give up golf if I couldn't do this.

That one time when it all comes together and flies dead straight for 280yds 260yds 220yds 180yds is worth all the slices/hooks and complete misses.
There's nothing wrong with leathering the ball off the tee but it has to be done at the right moment - sequencing the downswing is all important. Trying to murder it from the top of the swing is what leads to much despair.


Carl_Spackler

2,623 posts

187 months

Tuesday 6th September 2011
quotequote all
I rejoined my local club after quitting for 10 years, I had played 1-2 times a year over that period but I just didn't have the interest for the game I once had.

Then. In August last year. Out of the blue. I was bitten again hehe

Out of nowhere I started to practice swing every time I passed a mirror in the house. I suddenly spent a lot of time on ebay looking for clubs, a new bag, and everything else. I was buying golf magazines and trying to get a game whenever I could.

Just got cut to 8 last Saturday. bounce

Now I've just got to find a way of telling the wife that I bought a set of Galvin Green waterproofs for the winter to celebrate, it might be tricky considering I just told her we don't have the money for a new lounge carpet at the moment.....thank the god of golf for the locker room.laugh


Yoof Full Chav

38,748 posts

186 months

Wednesday 7th September 2011
quotequote all
So, did the OP buy himself any clubs then?? We need closure, i may have to go bug the hell out of him, over in Biker Banter hehe

n_const

1,707 posts

200 months

Wednesday 7th September 2011
quotequote all
not sure tbh but after reading this thread i decided to splash out on some new clubs thumbup turning up tomorrow soooo excited lol (sad i know)

Yoof Full Chav

38,748 posts

186 months

Wednesday 7th September 2011
quotequote all
n_const said:
not sure tbh but after reading this thread i decided to splash out on some new clubs thumbup turning up tomorrow soooo excited lol (sad i know)
Well?? Dont keep us in suspense, come on, what did you get??

n_const

1,707 posts

200 months

Wednesday 7th September 2011
quotequote all
ohh go on then ......... nike ignite 3 irons and a wilson fatshaft driver biggrin

Yoof Full Chav

38,748 posts

186 months

Wednesday 7th September 2011
quotequote all
n_const said:
ohh go on then ......... nike ignite 3 irons and a wilson fatshaft driver biggrin
Very nice indeed. Sadly for me, everytime i got to the golf club to play, i have to go past the Taylormade display, and everytime i do, the burner superfast driver/wood/hybrids call my name. Maybe one day i'll be good enough to justify such things, maybe i'll have a job by then too, so i can afford them hehe

n_const

1,707 posts

200 months

Wednesday 7th September 2011
quotequote all
Yoof Full Chav said:
Very nice indeed. Sadly for me, everytime i got to the golf club to play, i have to go past the Taylormade display, and everytime i do, the burner superfast driver/wood/hybrids call my name. Maybe one day i'll be good enough to justify such things, maybe i'll have a job by then too, so i can afford them hehe
hehe the taylormade drivers are lovely but soo damn expensive , im probably not good enough to justify a £10 driver from sportsworld hehe