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I finally did it. For the past 2 years I have been on a the quest to a more consistent golf game and ultimately break 80. I've taken lessons, gotten fit for some club upgrades, practiced more intentionally and played a lot. Today it came together. 79 (!!) 38/41 - 8 FIR - 6 GIR - 29 putts - 12 chips I started off solid with a comfy par then 2 birdies on par 5s. The rest of the day was a little grind, with some great up and downs and solid drives. The best part is that I still felt like there were a few strokes left out there. A lip out par, a skull f*c!?d wedge inside 100 yards that flew the green and resulted in a double, and 2 wipey drives. But overall, it was a good grind and I am very proud of what I was able to accomplish. When me and my wife found out we were pregnant in January of 2021, I doubled down on the commitment to breaking 80 before baby girl comes. Well, 3 weeks before the due date, I did it. What a great game golf is and we are all so fortunate to be able to play. Time to put the final touches on the nursery... and maybe some more short game practice if I finish early.

The two weeks off from taking care of my wife have certainly been good for my game. You know that feeling when you first grab your clubs at the beginning of the season and most everything feels right? No bad habits? That was today. 78 from the middle tees doesn't sound too erotic but I hit the ball so good today. Normal mistakes, couple lost balls but when I was aiming at spots, the ball was listening. 40-38 10/14 fairways (the 4 I missed were 1 through the fairway and 3 just off the first cut) And it was nice and warm not too humid!

Son and I went out today and we both played pretty poorly. I have an awful habit of slicing my opening drive hard right. Today I teed it a little higher than usual (accidentally) and hit one straight and true. That was the end of the good news. Drives from then on ranged from terrible to brutal. A few holes in, a single behind us caught up and asked if he could join us since we were waiting a bit on the group in front of us. He was friendly enough, but angry with himself over mishits and a bit of a know it all. Drove my son nuts, lol. The guy has had a rough few years so I let him vent a bit and humored his advice. Luckily for us he peeled off after the front nine. I just got in my first set of wedges so I got to play with them for the first time. I clearly have a lot of work to do but they were fun to hit, so I suppose that's a good note. Couldn't settle in at all, lost a ton of balls, shot 121. 10/10 would do it again.

I got rained out this afternoon but was playing decent before the skies opened up. I missed two fairways by a club length and the third by four paces. The Big tour 3 wood is quickly becoming my new go-to for par 4s. I'm averaging 278y off the tee and hitting 72% of my fairways with it. The Tour 5 is so easy to hit off the fairway or rough. And the driver finally saw multiple pokes over the 300 mark... And it's really starting to fly straight. The one green I missed by 10 ft and then proceeded to flub my chip (hence the short game 0.0 strokes gained) but then nearly sank the second chip to save par. The irons are spinning the ball a little bit more than what I'm used to and I wonder if the AMT shafts have something to do with it in the mid and long irons. I hit a lot of greens but only 3 approach shots flew the distance I wanted... The others hit short and stopped on a dime. I'm even playing the Titleist Pro V1x left dash to reduce spin. Anyone have insight between my normal gamers (DG X100) and the AMT white x100?

It's been kind of a ho-hum well as far as the swing quest goes, I've been mostly working on getting my lead wrist straight all week. I'm probably driving my wife crazy because I'm constantly grabbing a club and just going back to lead arm parallel. I'm a firm believer in repetition, repetition, repetition, since I work assembling cars and it's my bread and butter. So, I took the new feelings I've been working on to the range tonight and had a pretty good range session. Most of my shots, felt like I got into position fairly well. I did have a few where I noticed a bowing of my wrist, but overall I saw improvement. I hit a lot more good shots than bad. Now, I still need to work on alignment as I'm seeing a lot of shots going left. I just can't seem to get comfortable lining up correctly. But, I think I could've taken my swing to the course and played better than I have been. The driver was decent, I was more scattered on contact than I have been recently. I was more toe biased than anything with a bit of inconsistency up and down with a couple that came off the heel. I think I might have figured out the root cause for my false turn. I have a tendency to get my weight on the outside of my right foot in the backswing instead of on the inside of my right heel. I'm going to have to get it on video to confirm, but some of the mirror work I've done is leading me to think this.

I finally had a round I was happy with. It’s been a while. Shot 40-43 today from the whites in the toughest league I play in. I’d guess 80% of the players are single digits who either play the whites or black tees. I caught a little ribbing from them when the results were announced because of all the strokes I got today, but it was good natured. They’ve seen me when I was playing well, and know all about my recent struggles. We had 51 guys, and I won low net on the front, got 5th on the back and 2nd fo lowr total. I ended up winning only $110, because even with a $20 buy in we also play skins, ctp on every par 3, and a random team game where we pull names from a hat after everyone is done. Fun day with a great group of guys I haven’t seen in a couple of months, and it felt really nice to play a decent round. EDIT I forgot to mention, on the 13th tee I snapped the shaft of my driver (only my 6th round with it!). The ball went about 130 yards down the middle, and I was left standing on the tee holding only the grip and maybe two inches of the shaft below it. Scared the hell out of me, to be honest. It figures… having a great day with it, and had to hit my last 4 drives with a 3 wood. Callaway was great though. I called them just before they closed tonight. They’ll get me a replacement by Tuesday. I can’t ask for better CS than that

Opening day of the club championship and I'm off to a disappointing showing. On the opening par 5, I hit a fair drive that found the rough and I hit a great 5W to 80 yards from the pin -- and that's when it started -- blade my SW 15 yards over the green, a poor chip from there ran off the front of the sloping green, putted from the fringe, followed by a 2 putt....Great start! By the end of the front 9, I'm already +7 (6 handicap). Take a triple on par 5 #12, three 3 putts on the round, and numerous poor chips, along with natural course bad luck (plugging into the side of green side sand traps twice) and I limp in with a very disappointing score of 85. Not an excuse, but the course superintendent did exactly what I expected after a month of slow greens as he cross cuts and rolls the greens speeding them up to how they should have been all season. In any case, my speed control was off and I ran several putts 3 feet by the hole. Made most of those but, as stated earlier, I did have 3 3 putts. Not sure how many I had for the entire round, but I'm sure it was more than normal. Still 2 days of play left and, although I have no false illusions of winning my division (super senior 65+), I am looking to return to form and play decent golf for the final rounds.

Played a full 18 for the first time in quite a while. It was club that my friend belongs and is very narrow and tree lined, but shorter at only 6450 from the back tees. I got off to a very rough start and was 5 over through 3 holes. Not the best way to get going. Luckily from then on out, I was able to piece together a few good shots here and there and ended up with an 80 on a par 71. Odd round for me as I had many gap wedges and pitching wedges that I hit fat and usually do not have that issue with clubs that short. I'm wondering if my Mizunos know that the T100-s are coming and were a little ticked off lol jk Although driving and putting wasn't much better..... Score 80 Fairways: 6 Greens: 8 Putts: 35

My son will eat cukes and tomato’s right off the vine he, won’t eat a salad though, figure that one out! sliced cukes in vinegar is so good. Going to try some jalapeño pickles and garlic pickles this year (dad did jalapeños and garlic so should be fantastic)

I had the exact thing happen to me with a Callaway driver as well when I was just getting started, it was my first "real" driver. Now in my case, I *might* have come in to the ball incredibly steep, but still - broke in the same spot as yours. Callaway also swapped mine out in less than a week. They were awesome to work with.

Just wanted to take a moment and express my appreciation for the people in the forum. I've been online for roughly 25 years in a variety of forums for a variety of topics and most of them have a pretty high level of toxicity. In my short time here, I've witnessed lots of helpfulness and general good vibes. Seems like a lot less "gatekeeping" in golf compared to most other hobbies, both online and in real life. Anyway, a heartfelt thank you for all the tips and other welcoming gestures.

I got bit today... by the double bogey bug. 4 today?!? Hole 1 with one of my best drives immediately followed by chunky pitch, chip over the green, and two putt. I tried to block out the negative thoughts because they were strong. I grinded through the front with a 44. I thought I was headed for an 87/88 round, but I kept fighting on the back and put together a decent round. 83 - 44/39 - 10 FIR - 9 GIR - 32 putts - 11 chips - 2 penalties I was trying to be a hero today. Instead of taking my medicine and punching out, I tried some hero shots. A few chips could have been closer but overall I like the direction my game is trending. Sub 80 is out there and I'm really close. Today I had fun with friends and left feeling grateful that I get to play golf.

Hell yeah it was a great morning. The course is Hawk's Nest in Creston, OH. It's run by Ohio St.'s ATI program. It was a little soft still but we were off the cart path. I shot 78 (37/41) with 37 putts. Other than one drive, the putter really let me down. I average 31. One birdie on the hole I hit the Epic. 12/14 were good drives and I hit 14 greens. I'm feeling close and glad one of the Spies got to see me break 80 so they don't think I'm fibbing . Looking forward to the next time!

Got out for an early round with @DiscipleofPenick this morning. Had a great time at a new-to-me course, but feel like I left a lot of meat on the bone. I ended up with 43/43 for +14, which is right at my handicap. Drove the ball decently, with no real bombs but not into much trouble. The struggles were irons and putting. Not many real solid irons with most everything out towards the toe and ended up with 36 putts where I am averaging 31. If I could have figured those things out, it could have been a very good round, but I'll take it nonetheless. On the 9th, Tom decided to try out my Epic Speed and hit a missile that Arccos measured at 303 that probably didn't have much roll due to the wetness where he landed (couldn't see the landing area from the tee). He hit it again on 10 with not as good of a result but still pretty damn good. Now it's lunch and nap time before I need to start attacking the "honey-do" list that seems to build whenever I'm on the golf course. EDIT: forgot to mention that I eliminated the big numbers today - nothing worse than a double, and only 1 of those, so manged to avoid the stupid numbers.

Wow...this is hurtful. You mean y'all don't remember that I'm the 2012 Texas Left-Handers Golf Association State Champion? I defeated a strong field of at least...15...maybe 17 golfers and I was the only one under 60 years old. There are a plethora of gifs I'd like to use right now in response to these statements but I'll refrain. It's Friday and my wife says I need to work on my internet sarcasm. Yes, I'm a lefty.

Played at Kelly Plantation on a work trip today in Destin, FL. It was “The Match” of our office, Alabama grads vs Auburn grads (I’m team Bama). Did a modified stableford scoring and we whipped the AU team pretty good. And that’s good because if you know anything about this rivalry you know there is a ton of trash talking! Course was really fun, had some great holes on it. Personally I shot at 87, 44/43 and hit 5/14 FIR and 5/18 GIR. Had a few of each that were right off as well but still need big improvement in those two categories. Was able to card 3 birdies which was fun, with one being about a 60 foot putt on their signature hole (number 4) and another being about a foot from an ace. Those birdies were a big part in the team win which was fun. But on the other hand had 5 doubles. Did not drive as consistently as I did last time out (had two penalties off the tee) but hit irons a little better which was encouraging given the lessons. I will say the heat and humidity was brutal which did not help the grip on the driver. If I can make sure to limit myself to bogey on holes and not drop meaningless shots that will help me stay in the mid to low 80s and beyond which is my short term goal for now.

Eight weeks ago I cracked a vertebrae, and three weeks ago got hit by a golf ball in almost the same spot. This meant that I haven't been able to work out, and at 61 it's been frightening how fast my strength and fitness melts away. All of my recent rounds have suffered at the end as I run out of gas, and in too many cases I get to the late holes just needing to stay steady to break 80, and I haven't been able to get it done. Tuesday I finished bogey-double-bogey to shoot 82. Today I stood on the 17th tee knowing I could finish bogey-bogey and break 80, so I promptly hit my tee shot (par 3) two zip codes to the right. I was fortunate to find the ball, and doubly fortunate to get away with double, but on the 18th tee I needed par to break 80. I hit a straight but short drive that found the lone wet spot in the fairway to plug, so no roll. The approach is about a half club uphill, but I had about a half club tailwind. All those recent scars made me take an extra club (7i), which I proceeded to hit as well as anything for the entire round. Fortunately I stayed on the back of the green, but faced a 30' downhill slider that I had grave doubts about two putting. But after my purest iron of the day I had my purest putt, and made birdie for 78. I don't know if I've turned a corner on finishing rounds after just one good occurence, but I'll sleep better tonight.

We had 37 players today(25 Players and 12 Qualifiers). The course was packed with two other groups going off at the same time….made for a 5 hr 15 min round….Ugh! There were two groups on every hole. i shot 47/44:91 FIR 10/14 71% GIR 2/18 17% Putts: 30 Penalties: 3 I did have 4 Polies today(putts made longer than length of flagstick).

I have no issues playing multiple sets of tees. I encourage people I’m playing with to play the correct tees for enjoyment. When I go with my dad and brother we could be playing 3 sets of tees. Any time we take on the tee gets made up when my dad and brother aren’t taking extra shots into the green. In league play we used to all play from the White tees. While I don’t mind doing it, it takes driver (and some fun) out of it for me because there is a lot of forced shots to landing areas. As for a struggling with casual rounds, yeah… it is much more difficult for me to stay focused if it’s not somewhat competitive. I love playing with @Lacassembecause we enjoy the competition between ourselves and @StrokerAce because he’s super consistent and I need to play well to stand a chance. Playing with my brother can be hard as he’s learning the game and I feel like I end up trying to teach more than play, but he will often play with me as competitive as we can. I usually give him a stroke a hole except for par 3’s. We have some good competitive holes that way. With my oldest son starting to play, and actively rooting against me, I’m sure I’ll have enough motivation over the next few years even in casual rounds to beat him! I can’t remember the last time I was sitting over a 25 foot eagle putt with someone changing “No Eagle, No Eagle, No Eagle!” In my ear. …… Yes, I drained it.

I got out for another round this morning. Hot and extremely humid down here in Alabama. I didn’t play quite as well as I did yesterday, but I battled on the back 9 and finished just fine. 80 43/37 - 3 birdies, 1 triple (barf) and 3 3 putts on the front 9. I didn’t drive the ball as well today. Had a couple shots off the heel that spun out and landed in the rough. I’m still missing the big tour 3 wood and 5 wood. Would have loved to pull out the big tour 3 wood a couple times off the tee today. My hole of the day was definitely hole 18. I’m realllyyyy enjoying the 4 hybrid. I have been very pleased with it. I’m averaging around 225 yds with it, but pured this one on 18 (a little downwind). Had a 15-20 footer for eagle.

Taking our seats. Meet and greet was pretty cool, and my son was first in line so he’s the very first “meet and greeter” at Willie’s very first concert!

... Since I am new to Phoenix the majority of my rounds are played with strangers. I am comfortable from 6200 - 6600 and prefer to play from the longer tees but if I am paired with 3 folks all playing from 6200 I will join them. Any shorter and I will play what is appropriate for my personal enjoyment and challenge. ... I have played many, many rounds with folks teeing off from different tees. I have played twice with a 4 some using 4 different tees and it went as fast as a normal round with everyone teeing off together because everyone was ready when it was they turn and never congregated on one tee box. At the course I play almost exclusively in the winter I have run across 2 women that play from the fairways on the longer holes as the women's tees have four very long par 4's and two par 5's at 461/478. They both just move up about 40-50 yds and tee it up in the fairway. Brilliant!

Took my first lesson last week. Have been working on the swing tips and drills on the mat/net.... first full round to test it under course conditions.... two words... Ouch. ok, one word. I would definitely say it is a work in progress. Next round will be better (as John Lennon would say... I couldn't get much worse..).

My brain don't like to pick up on new things too quick, either. Right now I'm kind of in the stage of having to think too much about what I'm doing. I appreciate the encouragement! That might be a better swing thought than worrying about the heel. I took some backswings this morning waiting for the coffee to brew, and honestly, it's easier to think about than the heel. I guess it takes too long for my thoughts to reach my foot than the upper back leg . I appreciate you sharing your experience, I think it's going to be beneficial to me and will also help other people.

Starting to get some big cukes. Almost time for pickle and salsa season! Tomatoes are all popping

I had that problem too, for me it was when I was starting out. One feel that the pro I was working with gave me was to feel the weight in the inside of my right thigh, rather than thinking about my feet. He wanted me to feel like the inside part of my upper rear leg was tightening up to bear weight, that helped me stay more centered and make a good turn. I'm sure you have plenty enough swing thoughts and feels right now! However when you posted that, I wanted to share my experience in case it might help you (or someone else reading this thread at any point).

This is a biggie. My dad died when I was 18 of a heart attack, there one day and gone that evening. Oh to see him just for 5 minutes and be able to say thanks and that I love him. 46 years later and it still brings a tear to my eye. I hate that you have to lose her but I’m thankful that you’ll see her.

Went to the lighted range with my son tonight. Love watching ballflight under the lights! Again… driver was pretty good. Just keep on working on the setup and trying to ingrain the feelings so I don’t fall apart at the course. I had my son experimenting with ball position and taking lots of practice swings so he wouldn’t just bash away. He used my old graphite shaft irons not the steel shafted Cobras my dad gave him. After a while his ballflight straightened out somewhat and I asked what he was figuring out. He responded that he was taking a pause at the top and not rushing the downswing. I honestly couldn’t notice anything different but he said he felt a short pause and his hooks turned into push draws. Next time out he’ll bring the steel shafts and I’m curious to see how the heavier irons will work for him.

You’ll be fine buddy. +6 isn’t the end of the world, in fact, lately I wish it was my world,

41… par, par, par, par, par, par, bogey, double, double…

Day 2 of the Club Championship is in the books and, although I shot a better number, I did leave a bit disappointed with certain elements. I was not driving the ball well, nor was I hitting a lot of greens in regulation. On the plus side, I had 30 putts and no doubles or worse. I had a 3 putt on #9 par 3 to come in with a 39 on the front. On the back, my driving was even more annoying, and putting me in places requiring a recovery shot to get back to a decent position. Subsequently, I bogeyed the last 4 holes to shoot 41 on the back and an overall 80 -- 2 over my course handicap. On #17, I faded my drive into the right rough and found myself in a position behind some tall evergreens. Were it not a tournament and I were playing match play, I might have attempted a shot through a window of opportunity to get on the green. However, I did choose to pitch back to the fairway and I hit a nice little pitch pin high about 4 or 5 feet to the pin. I read a break and played the ball just above the high edge of the hole. The pace was perfect, but the ball didn't break a bit and I carded a bogey. Interestingly, one of my playing partners for the day had a similar shot, but even a bit easier. He chose to go for the green. Short version of the story -- he took a 7 on the par 4. Closing round tomorrow, and I'm looking to improve yet again on today's score. Again, no illusions of winning -- I just want to play well.

Little over a year later and i have my new workbench setup. Its pretty awesome (at least to me)

@tchat07 I try to play the tees I should be playing and like Bryan said encourage others to play appropriately. I struggle with a group of my friends when we go out 1) because they play the wrong tees and are not great to begin with, I get pace of play in my head with them and I realllllllly struggle on those rounds and can be very frustrating. 2) drinking a lot and can be obnoxious on course. Needless to say I don’t play often with them unfortunately. Playing with my dad, brother, @B.Bostonand @StrokerAceare the best rounds because we all know the game.

That's a great accomplishment, congratulations! Making changes and seeing results is one of the best feelings in the world. Congratulations on the upcoming birth of your daughter!

Something going on with my left foot. I think it is plantar fasciitis…. Had it for. Well. Year now, doc said it would go away. Just was working in the yard, pulled it weird, now my foot feels like I just stepped on a bed of nails/glass/hot coals all at once.

1lb TBone on the grill medium rare, SWMBO was having Crab Legs. Just starting to rain so had to get out of there. Beat the lightning.

Went to range and just got some swings in wasn’t really practicing anything just did my routine I usually do on the range ..

Okay fast forward a few weeks - I wish I had more time to practice/play but between the start of school, COVID spike and daily evening rain it is what it is. I am seeing some improvement just by changing (probably returning) my grip. I think my posture is okay right now and so I’m working on the 3rd thing - first takeaway move is core rotation. That one seems weird but I have to say it brings results when I do it. I could see the difference in the swings my buddy videoed for me when I was playing on Sunday afternoon. I think this will get me to the consistency I’m looking for. I saw someone post something about swing thoughts. I maintained a 0-1 handicap for 3 years as little as 10 years ago. At that time I had no swing thoughts. I got behind the ball, pictured the shot I wanted and hit it. And I was playing 6 times a month, short game practice every week and range 2 or 3 times a month. I want that game back!!!

Congrats man...I would laugh if the credit was for something silly like $9 and you covered the rest

Got out for an early morning round. Had a great round minus the last hole. Hitting everything pretty good right now. 78 40/38 4 FIRs and 13 GIRs. 1 eagle on a par 5. I was -2 on the back until the last 2 holes. I tripled the last hole after an unfortunate bounce off the tee resulting in a penalty and then a 2 chip 2 putt once I got to the green.

Rough morning today. It was beautiful out, but a 30 mph wind. There was very little that went well today, but that's how it goes at my level. I was fighting my push all day and didn't really get my clubhead closed all day. Lost 5 balls (2 on one hole). First drive of the day was a hook into the woods. Next two drives were pushes. I did manage a par on the 4th with a great up and down. Put the driver away on the 5th, snap hook with the driving iron off the tee... second shot was beautiful.... right into the woods. Then I also bladed the approach into the woods. Putting was bad too, couldn't figure out the speed. 22 putts over 9 holes. End result was a 56. I did hit one brilliant shot on 7 (340 yard par 4) with my 3U. I laced a baby draw about 260 right in the middle of the fairway. Approach shot to 8 feet (three putt...fml). It felt good to get that shot in play. It's becoming a reliable fairway finder (provided I get the clubface closed). Lot's to work on.

Alright played today and have two questions out of it: 1. Whenever you are playing with a 4-some do you play different tees or for pace of play purposes do you play the same tees? I ask this more as a do you move up. 2. Does anyone else struggle with "casual" rounds? I feel like going and just playing with friends or a random group I struggle being focused and scoring well

Grilling corn on the cob, burgers, and hotdogs for the family

Haha. Little more than $9 lol. I had bought a driver from them and returned it under their $90 day guarantee. So it worked out!

Atta boy. Keep that chip on your shoulder! #TEAMCHAD FTW!

Your recent pics show much improvement over your starting point. I can tell you have been working hard at it. The DTL pic is a good position at club parallel. Keep working!! Many swing issues can be fixed when you have a good setup and get the backswing going in the correct direction. Don't be discouraged by bad shots on the range; they happen because you are making a change to something your brain is not used to. You are essentially training your brain to recognize new motions and make your body react to make better ball contact. Takes time!! I know... my brain is a slow learner.

Bags look great! One thing I really love about what Cobra has been doing is providing excellent color ways for golfers across the spectrum. When I think of Cobra, I think of bright yellows and oranges, but I know not everyone loves that look. The more muted grey/white combo looks great, just like the peacoat/red option on the woods and the matte white "Avalanche" color from last season. That being said, I rock my bright yellow/black Cobra-x-Vessel bag nearly every single day at the range. Have yet to see another bag like it.