Dweed

Haha I've been a verrrrryyyyyy long time lurker myself. Only now I am actually interacting and posting. Don't feel alone in this is all I have to say. We are in the same boat!!🤙🏾🤙🏾 

Welcome! If you have any questions feel free to send them our way via the forum or private message. 
It is a pretty amazing community here and one that gets a bit addicting after a little while!

Welcome aboard and than you for your service. I think we all started just lurking, reading equipment reviews and such. Then one day something grabs your attention and you reply to a post. Then your hooked. Great bunch of people here.

Hi,
I've been a lurker for awhile.  Whenever I do a search for golf equipment reviews or opinions this site pops up.  That's how I got here.
I'm still figuring out how to navigate the site and just started posting today.  Looking forward to becoming more familiar with the site and posters.

Sounds like me when I started playing golf.  Unfortunately, it not something that you can fix with a "tip".  Listen to the guys above; you need someone to see exactly what your issues are if you want to quickly fix your swing.  If the advice you get is correct (bad advice can make you worse), it will only be effective after many balls hit on the range.  It's difficult to make this change because any change will feel terrible... it should!  It's different than what you were doing.  Don't despair.  If you keep at it, you will begin to hit the ball better as your swing changes.  If you go back to what's comfortable, you will do the same old thing... slice.
Good luck!

It’s a common ball flight for many golfers. It’s a swing issue and chasing a fix from YouTube videos isn’t going to work because you don’t know what’s causing it.
More than likely you have an over the top move and you swinging across the ball with an open face.
My guess is that you roll the hands/arms early in the takeaway and then have no choice but come over the top compensate for where the clubface is at the top of the swing. Probably a number of issues in grip, setup and how the lower body is moving.
Only way for anyone here to tell you exactly what’s going on is to post a swing from face on and down the line. However your best is go see a local pro or do online lessons with a good pro 

Tough to diagnose without seeing your setup and swing, unfortunately. You could be coming over the top, you could be hitting with a wide open face, your shoulders may be misaligned and what you think is swinging down the line is actually swinging well left of target... could be a number of reasons. If you could post a video of your swing from down the line, you may be able to get some decent advice.
If you have any reputable pros in your area, a lesson or two so you have a set of qualified eyes on you in real time might not hurt either. 

Nice, double nice actually. Will be fun to follow the process. Don't forget to get the soil checked for acid content. With that pine so close it may impact the Bermuda a bit. If MPR could ship down some of that snow from the UP that would help compress and level...but may also keep the soil cooler for a while. Never mind. Good luck and have fun.

Quit, no. But I’m running out of tee boxes to move up to at 73  Averaging just under 200 yards, 10 less yards takes a 350 yard hole out of play. 370 is already a 3 stroke to the green. Already working hard to keep what I have/had. 

It's a "local rule".  If only the US Open and British Open adopt it, it only impacts elites.  That doesn't even consider the fact that should your local muni adopt the rule, you will ignore it ANYWAY!  Just like you did with your long putter and the no-anchoring rule change.

100% concur. Slow and easy shots, no longer than 100yardsor so. As you start to hit the center more increase speed, feet still together and you'll be out to 150. Then after that confidence builder, start to widen your stance a little at a time and slowly increase your swing speed. That will help get you into a confidence level to look at things like  shaft type and length and such variables. Good luck and smiling.

Have to ask "The Question??" Are you trying to Kill IT??
Also read all the Replies here. Some really good ones that I know have/will help me. & I'm am old guy & have a Listening problem,
Thanks to MGS & Readers & HRH, I am playing better & making some Coin!!
 

100% concur. Slow and easy shots, no longer than 100yardsor so. As you start to hit the center more increase speed, feet still together and you'll be out to 150. Then after that confidence builder, start to widen your stance a little at a time and slowly increase your swing speed. That will help get you into a confidence level to look at things like  shaft type and length and such variables. Good luck and smiling.

I have had the same struggles, believe me.  I don't know if I am turning the corner, but a few things that have helped me recently hit more fairways (all of which I learned on this site):  1.  Get to know the swing weight that works for you.  My driver was too light and I would lose the feel of the club head.  Increasing weight to D4-D5 has helped my accuracy significantly.  2.  As another poster said, a shorter shaft can help with accuracy.  Be very mindful of swing weight again.  A shorter shaft will decrease the swing weight, so you have to balance that with length.  3.  I have a tendency to try to hit the ball rather than swing through it.  This manifests in me not turning my hips all the way and creating an open face "block" that results in a push-fade.  The best tip I read here which has helped a lot is to focus my eyes on a spot behind the ball in my swing plane, and not at the ball.  It sounds counterintuitive to not look at the ball.  But my swing was stopping too much at the ball, so by focusing behind the ball and not having a target to hit I tend to complete the swing better.  It also helps with hitting up on the ball with the driver.
Good luck!  And share any secrets you find, please.  Lord knows I need the driver help! 

100% concur. Slow and easy shots, no longer than 100yardsor so. As you start to hit the center more increase speed, feet still together and you'll be out to 150. Then after that confidence builder, start to widen your stance a little at a time and slowly increase your swing speed. That will help get you into a confidence level to look at things like  shaft type and length and such variables. Good luck and smiling.

100% concur. Slow and easy shots, no longer than 100yardsor so. As you start to hit the center more increase speed, feet still together and you'll be out to 150. Then after that confidence builder, start to widen your stance a little at a time and slowly increase your swing speed. That will help get you into a confidence level to look at things like  shaft type and length and such variables. Good luck and smiling.

Definitely go to Golf Galaxy and if they can do a demo or for for you that would be awesome!
Who knows maybe they have an older model as well that is on discount which could be great for you too! 

IF you aren’t going to hit them to see which is better for you I say buy the cheaper ones and apply the $400 in some other way: lessons, range balls, more rounds of golf, etc.  

I did a lookback on all my golf expenses the last few years and identified some clear culprits which may be specific to my area but in no particular order:
1. Playing a golf course that cost $80+ when we have several above average munis that can be walked for $34. My average cost per round so far in 2023 is $45 which is down from previous years which were in the high $50s. 
2. Equipment (clubs, balls, shoes, anything golf related that is tangible) is the biggest expense and I blame myself first and these types of forums a distant second. But I just love equipment for whatever hobby I am doing. So far I am on my same general equipment pace but trying to tame that. 
3. Vacation golf - this can be a golf trip or even just on vacation with my family and playing a round or two. These are always extremely expensive rounds/trips so stepping back from that would be helpful. In fact, I was thinking a few years ago about a birthday trip to Bandon or Sand Valley and now I am reversing course and thinking I could get much more bang for my buck (albeit less ELITE golf) in Alabama or Denver. 
4. Range expense - hitting balls at the range adds up. $12 here or $15 there once a week gets up to $600-$700 a year. I have taken to going to the "free" range at one of the municipal courses where you hit balls onto a range that you can then go shag. I already had a shag bag and I find this makes me more "conscious" when I practice because I have to go get those balls after I hit them. That may cover the medical bill when I get beaned downrange whilst picking up my shag balls, haha. 

I think the demand has gone up so prices have followed. Basic economics although I'm sad to see it become so. Looking at prices in AZ right now and wow! Most of the courses are $300-$500 a round right now. And then when you show up you find some greens in repair, course in bad shape, or a jammed tee sheet and have to play a 5+ hour round behind slow golfers. 
I don't see it changing unfortunately but I wish it would come back a little bit. 

Golf seems expensive because it is when compared to other sports and what is recreationally available to most people.  The perception starts with youth.  A child can play ball games on a school playground, football or soccer in their backyard. Tennis or basketball at the city courts.  All these games can be played with really inexpensive balls, a glove, a racket, etc. You learn and practice these sports at home, school, or with friends in a pickup game.  You generally don’t need to drive long distances and pay a $25.00 or higher fee just to walk and play.  Oh yes, you can argue that Seve Ballesteros learned with one club or you can play with a ball you found in the woods, but realistically very few people would say they learn and enjoy golf with such a minimalist approach.  Look at the fastest growing sport in America, Pickleball.  You can play Piokleball all day, investing less than the cost of one box of Titlelist Pro V1 golf balls. Golf is expensive to learn and play for most people that don’t have above average disposable incomes.

It does not have to be, At least locally there are several courses that offer memberships for less than 500 bucks,  Equipment prices are nuts, but come on that 600 driver, buy the one the produced 2 , 3 years ago and the performance is almost the same.   You can play golf and not break the bank if you do some homework

I think you are right Tom, that added zero is the markup to pay the people what they need in order to pay that added zero in everything we do, so we have the money we need not just for the fuel system parts but also the heat for the house, electricity for living, transportation to get the parts and such.  And proof of this to me is last time I talked to the boss about getting extra money into my paycheck he said no problem, my extra would be zero.

Expensive is relative and related to how much disposable income a person has and how much they spend on a particular hobby.   
 
i can purchase equipment for what I consider to be an inexpensive price.  Used clubs from the early 2000s (or earlier) are still decent clubs and can be obtained for a couple hundred dollars. I can buy used balls in bulk.  I can play twilight rounds of golf at municipal courses relatively inexpensively.   I don’t have to drink alcohol while on the course; which is an expensive purchase.  
 
I can choose to get fit, buy the latest and greatest equipment, play a new ball every hole, play prime time at a private course and the game becomes much more expensive.  
 
most every hobby can be expensive; it is about the individuals perspective and how they choose to spend their money while doing that hobby.  

Saw Bennett today and asked her for the list.  She indicated that she would try to remember to send the winners name to @GolfSpy_APHso he can communicate it in someway on the forum.