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revkev

 
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Everything posted by revkev

  1. I think that might be the case JMiller - my normal shot is a fairly high draw (2 or 3 yarder). I do like to feel that right hand releasing through the ball and have to be very careful to make sure that I'm griping it lightly with my right hand or I leave the ball a bit right (to tight a grip and the release is late.) Interestingly I don't manipulate the club with my hands to hit a fade - I set the club open a bit left of target and then set my stance for the starter line - I have to really focus on pulling the club through with my left hand and letting the open clubface hit the ball high or else I'll get a double cross. Experience has taught me that when I'm trying to hit a fade or a slice it's a block fade or slice and so I have to aim a bit further left. I hit a really nice one on Tuesday with my five hybrid - freaked the guy out who I was playing with because I originally said that I would hit an 8 iron over the tree and then play from 175 into the green - he walked to his ball and on second look I released that I could get my 5 hybrid over the left side of the tree and cut it back thereby getting it down inside of 130 - creamed it and since I hit it so high out of the rough down wind I got it to the 100. Set up a really nice blocked short sided wedge into the trap. I can draw/hook anything about any amount that you'd want either by manipulating the club with my hands or the more traditional way aligning my feet right and closing the clubface - I generally go the hands route because it's so natural for me. I played baseball for so long and was a pitcher up through High School and a catcher as well (into college.) So I just see the ball going right to left and understand the spin axis needed to make that happen really well. (A curve, slider, cut fastball from a right handed pitcher)
  2. I feel your pain RR - I'm 55 - I can't get out of the car and walk to the first tee cold anymore unless I want to risk missing a month of golf. Oh well at least we're still playing and at times playing rather well.
  3. I've got them too but I also have a puzzler that perhaps someone can help me with - maybe even the boss man James. I get bruising on the pointer finer on my right hand - the better I'm striking the ball the more pronounced the bruising. I use a very straight forward Vardon grip that's a shade on the strong side of neutral. Any thoughts on why this would be? Like I said the better I'm hitting it the more pronounced the bruising. Oh yeah I'm a right handed golfer so the right hand is my bottom hand.
  4. That's central Florida RR. It's generally nicer over here on the West Coast - That sun is still strong but we get as many days in the 80's as in the 90's because of the sea breeze - we're stuck in a pattern where we aren't getting our sea breeze which is letting the heat build during the day and then dump once it gets to around 4 - hopefully something will come by and break the cycle. Hope you also enjoyed a few drinks with the guys along with the praise - I still have to be carefull about drinking which made being stuck out on the course for an hour until the rain let up enough to get in the other night a big time pain. But, the nice thing about living in a place like Texas or Florida is that there is always another day to play and in a few months when are buddies here are winding down - we'll be cranking up.
  5. I like James - I keep a club in my office and grip it all the time - I have a two room suite which is really nice - I keep the club in the back room where no one can see me - I also have two mirrors in there so I can do some mirror work - I often put in 12 hour days and this lets me at least hold a club every day.
  6. I've been very busy the past few days assimilating back into work!!! So I went to play in my league yesterday evening. Tee'd off at 3.45 and normally I'll be done by 7:30. I was much stronger than last Friday which was great. But..... not so great because with my reshafted stronger 3 wood I drove it into a trap I normally don't reach with that club on number 1. But.... I putted really well which was great. But....... the first two 8 footers that I ran in were for bogey. But....... the next one was for birdie. But......... it started to thunder, lightening and pour. So I had my lowest round ever - 14!!!!!!!! And I got a rain check to go get rained out again any afternoon after 3 because that's the kind of guys they are at my course. Got to love golf in Florida in the summer.
  7. I can hit what ever you want on the range - on the course it's draws or hooks - usually draws - If I'm in huge trouble I can hit a slice - Fades? We don't need no stinken fades. (Actually I'd kill to be able to hit a fade with some sort of consistency on the course when it counts.) Guess it won't shock you that I have a fairly but not ridiculously strong grip.
  8. The reality is we're all getting older Shambles - expect the unexpected!
  9. Shambles - love you - If you look you'll see my handicap listed here is a 3 but actually I'm lying - since then my index has dipped to 1.8 which puts my handicap at 2 on the courses that I play - Given that I drive the ball 240 I'm not over powering the course so I'm thinking I have some game inside of 150 - I'm not overly impressed by it but when I look online my handicap index puts me in the top 2 to 3 percent of all golfers so it's probably better than I thik. Obviously I don't have a touring pro's game but I have a pretty reasonable game - again it's nothing that impresses me, in fact I'm embarrassed by how many bad shots I hit and how it turns out when the scores get added up sometimes. I think my biggest strength is that I don't fritter away strokes by doing stupid things like shooting at pins when a slight miss could net a bogey as oppossed to leaving a 12 to 20 footer on the safe side that might bring a birdie and will always bring a par. Do what you want, shoot at sucker pins - God knows I have lots of friends that do that all the time - doesn't bother me - it's their game and their score card not mine. I'll always suggest what I would suggest for anyone if they want to know how I shoot the scores I do - always play to the safe part of the green - if the pin happens to be on it then you can go hunting. I'll also always put in the oppossing viewpoint if someone is suggesting that guys with 18's shoot at pins - I don't think it's a wise idea most of the time. I do have a question for James that has to do with coming back from an illness. I've not been able to play for 3 weeks because of pneumonia. I lost about 12 lbs during that time. I hit a few balls on the 4th, maybe 20 to 25 and the doctor cleared me to play the next day so I played 9 after work on friday. I was very weak, hit several really ugly shots left. Went to the practice green on Saturday and hit 100 pitches and chips and then putted for a while as well. Hit balls again today (about 50 or so before I started to feel tired). I hit the ball much, much better except for with my middle irons (6 and 7) which still were going low left and short - In fact I was hitting my 8 iron, 7 iron and 6 iron the same distance 140 - I hit everything else normal - is it just a matter of needing my legs more for those clubs and thus working to get that strength back. Is that a normal phenomena when you're weak and building your game back up?
  10. It's really nice to read about someone with so much enthusiasm for the game FLV and great round RR although winning money would have made it better! That's exactly what I shot the round before I got sick, 74, in competition - I'll be back there in a couple of weeks. I could tell - I hit enough good shots yesterday to know - just hit a few ugly ones and far worse didn't get up and down a single time even though I had three very easy chips and really one pretty straight forward trap shot. I don't get to play this weekend because I have church this evening and don't want to wear myself out and I rarely play on Sundays for obvious reasons - I will take shag bag with to church, leave an hour early and chip and then hit the range tomorrow to hit a few balls and the trap and putting green. I get to play twice, perhaps even three times next week and three times the week after that so I should be up or down to par in a few weeks. Happy to be back in the game regardless - you can't win if you don't play.
  11. Alright made it through 9 - It wasn't pretty 4 pars, 5 bogeys - the body just didn't want to do what it needed to do but it's a start. Had no legs - hit lots of pull hooks - I actually found myself in exactly the scenario we've talked about here - duck hooked a drive into 3 inches of bermuda rough - It was on a par 5 so a lay up was in order - played the 4 hybrid back in the stance and banged it out straight down the fairway to the 100. I would not be able to make that play from knee high rough however.
  12. Just hoping to get the ball airborn and moving in the right direction. I have been to the putting green twice, chipped once and hit about two dozen balls the other day - most of them went generally towards what I was aiming at.
  13. Finally having the stomach to look at this thread because the doctor cleared me to play golf today!!!!! B) I'm so happy, happy, happy! Jim Thorpe - you dog JP - that's awesome - 6 times plugged jmiller - I'd be ranting too. You must be right on the cut line between bent and bermuda - I miss bent grass but we have this new strain of bermuda that only needs to be plugged once a year - not bad when you can play year round. While Rover Rick's advice is dead on in that you shouldn't be hitting anything out of the rough that won't get out of the rough and that the idea behind each shot is to make the next one easier (I really like that) I do believe that hybrids are very easy to hit out of the rough - easier in fact than a middle iron. You need to move the ball back in the stance a bit to make your swing more upright and if there's a lot of grass don't worry about catching it a bit fat - you can chase those suckers a long, long way using that technique - just make sure you aim for a spot that will leave you an easy chip/pitch if you miss the green. What you won't be able to do is hit that shot over a bunker or some other hazzard and get it to hold. Most people make the mistake of trying to hit a home run when a double will do FLV. Try it - you'll like it. Alright weather permitting I'm playing nine holes tomorrow evening (I'd normally play 18 on friday - my day off but I'm starting this comeback slow.)
  14. I'll be anxious to read James' answer but my pro uses a stiff shaft in his 3 wood and long irons and tour stiff in his other clubs. I think it's more common than one would suspect. I use a stiff shaft in my 5 wood, 4 and 5 hybrids so that I can flight them down a bit in the wind. I also notice that more and more touring pros do what I do - they have blades up through their mid-irons but use a cavity back for their 4 and 5 iron. You have to use what works for your game.
  15. And unless I'm mistaken none of us are Tiger or anyone else on tour - Often times they have lines of approach that are far different because they put more spin on the ball - at least than I do. That's the advantage to spin. I can't agree with the blanket statement that tells an amateur golfer to fire away at the pin all the time - you have to know your tendancies and play to the closest safest spot, occasionally that is the area around the pin and when it is we have a green light. Also one hopes that the spot gets closer to the pin the closer you get to the green but as we know that's not always the case.
  16. @ Steve - It's probably my bias - both Nicklaus and Trevino whom I grew up watching play had open stances as does Freddy Couples - it really was a question is it better to play from an open stance than a closed stance - again strictly from my limited experience guys who play with close stances seem to be very subject to coming over the top on their shots. There are multiple ways to hit fades and draws - Once you understand how to do it you can use the stance method but ultimately you have to undertand that a draw occurs by getting the ball to spin towards the left on its axis (for a righty). I stand square to the target and hit a small draw - I suppose that means that I hit a push draw. Whatever it works and is very repeatable. I do open my stance just a bit to hit a fade/slice but again my bigger concern is getting the ball to start on the proper line with that right axis turn spin - getting it to curve is easy - getting it to curve the proper amount is the trick.
  17. Very interesting - Often times I'll notice that friends who are having trouble with direction have their shoulders aligned open or closed to their feet. I've long believed that you can play with your shoulders a bit open but that it is nearly impossible to do so with your shoulders closed. Any thoughts?
  18. Sorry to disagree with you here shambles but I'm going to - touring pros don't try to hole every shot and there's a reason why - Pins don't often or always reside in the middle of the green - they are normally tucked on one side or another, near some sort of trouble or another - Even at 100 yards it's pretty rare that I'll go directly at a pin - I'm normally looking to put it in a position to leave a makeable putt - I like 100 - great number for me as are 85 and 70 - those are my prefered numbers to lay up to.
  19. I like the cute girl option. I'll normally go for the kid on the range but I'm going to start looking for the cute girl as my primary when giving balls away. :blink:
  20. With all due respect to Matt I think the real point that James is making is don't waste time on the range when you need to be on the putting green. I don't go to his extreme but if I'm hitting the ball well I hit very few balls on the range - I basically get a small bucket, go through my warm up, hit a few balls squenced like I'm playing on the next course I'll play and then hit to a target inside of 100 with the balls I have left over before moving to the trap, the putting or the chipping green - that's where I spend my time - the trap, the putting and the chipping green. The only time I hit lots of balls on the range is when something is not right or when I haven't played for a while. Even then I try to avoid lots of balls. Like most of us my droid works well enough as a camera, I can get a friend to video some shots from some angles, watch the video, saunter over to the mirror and work through what is ailing me without the blisters and bad back. If it gets bad enough I have a pro to call on. Regardless I really appreciate it James.
  21. Just a quick question jmiller - how long does that take? Sounds like a lot but I'm suspecting it happens in very little time - I think it's important for our middle to higher handicapper friends to learn that a good preshot routine speeds up play rather than slowing it down.
  22. Matt how high are you teeing the ball up and where are you putting it in your stance? I'm with the other low handicap guys here. You get to tee it up, why not? I'd say experiement some on the practice tee and move it back in the stance a bit. James you are overly kind to let us have at you here. Thank you so much. I've got one for you. Practice time. I figure that since the short game represents sixty percent plus of the shots that we should use about two thirds of our practice time around the practice green (traps, chips, pitches, putting.) I work lots of hours but have lots of flexibility so I carry a wedge, shag bag and putter in my van. Try and do 15 to 20 minutes around the green four days a week, one day on the driving range if I'm playing twice that week or two days on the range if I'm only playing once. (I hit about 100 balls when I practice mixed between long and short shots.) I rarerly go a day without at least holding a club and practicing my grip. Sound about right or should I make adjustments.
  23. Bummer RP - Rookie I sure wish that round could have been with me. The way things are going I may not play between now and when you come back. I hope your wife loves her sister and wants to see her often.
  24. Rookie let me know ASAP - I think it would be the bomb to play in a two man together - we should be ideal as a team.
  25. As Rookie well knows I'm not a tee tootler by any stretch - I'm a Lutheran pastor so we do believe in Christian freedom and are fine with alcohol in moderation. My general rule is that I don't drink when I'm playing competitively. I will have a couple of beers, one a nine, when playing socially - I'll never have more than 3 and rarely that many - you have to drive after finishing the round. I don't care of my playing companions drink althought it's pretty disconcerting if they're drinking and we're playing as partners in a competitive situation. If it's warm I always alternate between water and beer - I'm pretty used to warm weather living in Florida so it really doesn't bother me. I'm hoping that Rookie and I can play as a team in a two man scramble when he's here - if we do that I won't drink - if we play for fun I will - either way we're going to play one of my favorite tracks - TPC Tampa Bay.
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