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sleepness
Feb 9, 2006

Hi goons.

I've been playing for a month and I'm starting to finally get consistency. I absolutely love golf so far and I am super stoked I haven't given up (I'm 31 and just started). Now that I've gotten to the point where I'm pretty much making contact every shot, I'm looking to see what parts of my swing I can improve. I already think I can see that my upper body is moving which I don't think it should. I'm also getting a lot of loft on my shots which I am assuming is compromising some distance, and I'm not sure where that's coming from. Thanks guys!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap31jRXnig0

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Kirios
Jan 26, 2010




sleepness posted:

Hi goons.

I've been playing for a month and I'm starting to finally get consistency. I absolutely love golf so far and I am super stoked I haven't given up (I'm 31 and just started). Now that I've gotten to the point where I'm pretty much making contact every shot, I'm looking to see what parts of my swing I can improve. I already think I can see that my upper body is moving which I don't think it should. I'm also getting a lot of loft on my shots which I am assuming is compromising some distance, and I'm not sure where that's coming from. Thanks guys!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap31jRXnig0

Hey sleepness, I don't have any intelligent feedback to give you because I myself started about three months ago. What are you shooting so far? I'm averaging ~55 for 9 holes and I just can't seem to break past that mark. My chipping game is utterly horrible and iron game isn't much better, but I'm hitting drivers and fairway woods ok? I'm weirdly decent at putting.

I'm just curious where you stand, fellow goon playing his first season of golf! Keep at it, I also have the bug!

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...

Kirios posted:

Hey sleepness, I don't have any intelligent feedback to give you because I myself started about three months ago. What are you shooting so far? I'm averaging ~55 for 9 holes and I just can't seem to break past that mark. My chipping game is utterly horrible and iron game isn't much better, but I'm hitting drivers and fairway woods ok? I'm weirdly decent at putting.

I'm just curious where you stand, fellow goon playing his first season of golf! Keep at it, I also have the bug!

Good news? Chipping is the way to lower the score the fastest, along with putting. Better news? You can practice some of it even in a small yard. Take a look at Mr.ShortGame on youtube, the golfsidekick, on their practice around the green.

sleepness
Feb 9, 2006

Kirios posted:

Hey sleepness, I don't have any intelligent feedback to give you because I myself started about three months ago. What are you shooting so far? I'm averaging ~55 for 9 holes and I just can't seem to break past that mark. My chipping game is utterly horrible and iron game isn't much better, but I'm hitting drivers and fairway woods ok? I'm weirdly decent at putting.

I'm just curious where you stand, fellow goon playing his first season of golf! Keep at it, I also have the bug!

I am a big baby and I haven’t even attempted playing an actual round yet, because I’m just getting to the point where I can hit the ball a reasonable amount of the time. I need to fix a few of the major errors in my swinging before I do that. Plus my driving is just awful. How did you start your journey? Did you take lessons? I’m getting lessons now which is really helping. That’s really impressive you’re already playing 9 after 3 months (that’s actually my goal right now!)

Anno
May 10, 2017

I'm going to drown! For no reason at all!

sleepness posted:

Hi goons.

I've been playing for a month and I'm starting to finally get consistency. I absolutely love golf so far and I am super stoked I haven't given up (I'm 31 and just started). Now that I've gotten to the point where I'm pretty much making contact every shot, I'm looking to see what parts of my swing I can improve. I already think I can see that my upper body is moving which I don't think it should. I'm also getting a lot of loft on my shots which I am assuming is compromising some distance, and I'm not sure where that's coming from. Thanks guys!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap31jRXnig0

Between your hands and that quick stand up follow through it looks like you’re trying to help it up into the air as much as possible. I think that’s completely normal as a new golfer but it’s probably the main reason you feel like you’re losing distance. That follow through is usually a high push and/or fade for right handlers. Staying down and letting the loft of the club do its thing takes awhile to learn but it’s worth focusing on.

sleepness
Feb 9, 2006

Anno posted:

Between your hands and that quick stand up follow through it looks like you’re trying to help it up into the air as much as possible. I think that’s completely normal as a new golfer but it’s probably the main reason you feel like you’re losing distance. That follow through is usually a high push and/or fade for right handlers. Staying down and letting the loft of the club do its thing takes awhile to learn but it’s worth focusing on.

Thank you! I’m definitely swinging too hard, and I think I’m taking the club higher than it should which causes the imbalance and sway. During the swing I felt like I was rock solid, but now watching the video, it’s crazy how much movement there is.

Halo14
Sep 11, 2001
If you're serious about playing and improving then definitely go see PGA Pro for lessons. Establishing the foundations of a swing at the start is so valuable.

daslog
Dec 10, 2008

#essereFerrari

Halo14 posted:

If you're serious about playing and improving then definitely go see PGA Pro for lessons. Establishing the foundations of a swing at the start is so valuable.

This times 1000. Taking internet advice will just mess you up more.

DJExile
Jun 28, 2007


Halo14 posted:

If you're serious about playing and improving then definitely go see PGA Pro for lessons. Establishing the foundations of a swing at the start is so valuable.

this this this this this this this

a few of us here (lord knows i'm not among them) can give you a pointer or two but taking the time to see a legit pro will do wonders for you and it's far better to get into the right habits early on than trying to pick things up piece by piece

Dr. Capco
May 21, 2007


Pillbug
For a beginner I couldn't recommend Monte Scheinblum's efficient swing video set enough. Teaches you how to get your takeaway dialed in, how to hit left arm parallel shots to dial in your contact and keep your backswing short and compact, and how to transition properly into your downswing which a lot of people have issues with. I use these drills when my swing starts to feel off and it's a great way to keep up your ballstriking skills. Definitely worth the price imo.

lloyol
Jun 23, 2005

NARFZ
I got my second ever birdie yesterday at a local pitch n putt course! Par 3 tagged at 155 yards and my 7 iron approach was just over a club length away from the pin. I had a few other bird opportunities but the greens became tricky as it became hotter so it turned into putting on a sponge surface to a drier one.

Kritzkrieg Kop
Nov 4, 2009
How would a driving iron (18 loft) and a long iron from a cavity-back set (19 loft) differ in terms of flight distance and height?

DJExile
Jun 28, 2007


Kritzkrieg Kop posted:

How would a driving iron (18 loft) and a long iron from a cavity-back set (19 loft) differ in terms of flight distance and height?

This is pretty general, but if everything else is the same (shaft, how you swing them, lie angles, etc) you might get a little more distance on the driving iron and more height and forgiveness on the cavity back. It would also depend a bit on the weight of each of them and the balance, but that's how I'd see it.

E:

lloyol posted:

I got my second ever birdie yesterday at a local pitch n putt course! Par 3 tagged at 155 yards and my 7 iron approach was just over a club length away from the pin. I had a few other bird opportunities but the greens became tricky as it became hotter so it turned into putting on a sponge surface to a drier one.

Hell yeah, congrats :toot:

par 3 courses are woefully underrated in how much they can help your game.

DJExile fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Sep 3, 2019

Kritzkrieg Kop
Nov 4, 2009

DJExile posted:

This is pretty general, but if everything else is the same (shaft, how you swing them, lie angles, etc) you might get a little more distance on the driving iron and more height and forgiveness on the cavity back. It would also depend a bit on the weight of each of them and the balance, but that's how I'd see it.

Thanks, I think I'll go for the 3 iron since it's also way cheaper.

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...

DJExile posted:

This is pretty general, but if everything else is the same (shaft, how you swing them, lie angles, etc) you might get a little more distance on the driving iron and more height and forgiveness on the cavity back. It would also depend a bit on the weight of each of them and the balance, but that's how I'd see it.

I find my driving iron far more forgiving than my regular 3. Basically a game improvement sized sweet spot. But...it is definitely tougher to get in the air from a fairway lie. If I needed 3 iron length for more than occasional tee shots, I stick with the 3 iron. As it is, it slots in for me off the tee, with occasional stingers from the fairway, but mostly a controlled, flat straight ball off the tee and not much else.

edit: Great round today, great weather, good company. Played from the tips because that's where my cart partner was playing, but hitting driver so much plus long approaches leaves me worn out after 18. But, hit it really well off the tee all day. Not a great accuracy day on approach, but nailed the distance mostly.

One of my partners hit the cart, with people in it, of the group in front of us. Hitting from where he couldn't see their carts, saw them walk off green, to where carts were, waited a minute, then hit. They were writing scores down, chatting. He should have asked one of us about them, but he really did wait for them to clear. I was across the fairway, stewing over how long they were taking and could have told him, but he was well behind me and I didn't realize he was hitting.

9 holes later, they parked their carts 40 yards in front of a par 5 green. So, instead of being able to hit my approach that could not reach the green, but could reach 40 yards out, both I and my cart partner had to wait until they putted out, walked back 40 yards and drove away. Made me so much less sympathetic to the original incident.

torgeaux fucked around with this message at 02:32 on Sep 4, 2019

Shrapnig
Jan 21, 2005

torgeaux posted:

I find my driving iron far more forgiving than my regular 3. Basically a game improvement sized sweet spot. But...it is definitely tougher to get in the air from a fairway lie. If I needed 3 iron length for more than occasional tee shots, I stick with the 3 iron. As it is, it slots in for me off the tee, with occasional stingers from the fairway, but mostly a controlled, flat straight ball off the tee and not much else.

I’m similar with my driving iron. Love it off the tee, tough in the fairway. If I get a fluffy lie in the rough the driving iron is great for that too. The wider sole on the driving iron definitely makes it more forgiving than a standard 3 iron in a lot of circumstances.

Rotten Cookies
Nov 11, 2008

gosh! i like both the islanders and the rangers!!! :^)

DJExile posted:

This is pretty general, but if everything else is the same (shaft, how you swing them, lie angles, etc) you might get a little more distance on the driving iron and more height and forgiveness on the cavity back. It would also depend a bit on the weight of each of them and the balance, but that's how I'd see it.

E:


Hell yeah, congrats :toot:

par 3 courses are woefully underrated in how much they can help your game.

I got my rear end kicked at the local par 3. In a complete opposite of how I normally work, my tee shots and putts were pretty good. Postage stamp greens that rolled off like a motherfucker meant anything less than a perfect placement on the green was a little chip up on to the green again, and that's where I was hosed. If anything rolled off the green, I was missing my little shots on to the green all over the place. Like my biggest miss was leaving me 20 yds off the pin, but I couldn't bring it back in. It didn't help that they were usually very uneven lies. I'm normally poo poo at putting, but pretty decent at chipping. I just started putting from pretty far into the fringe, or doing the ol' trick of putting with a 5 wood from there. Both were way better options than my wedges, but I only tried/figured that out the last few holes.


But hey! I was putting pretty well!

daslog
Dec 10, 2008

#essereFerrari
I have the chipping yips so bad right now that I can't even practice them without shanking the ball. I don't even want to play anymore.

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...

daslog posted:

I have the chipping yips so bad right now that I can't even practice them without shanking the ball. I don't even want to play anymore.

gently caress that, it's the worst.

What technique do you usually use? What distances are killing you?

When mine bit me hard, I changed to the weirdest setup I could find and just said gently caress it. Feet together (literally touching), aimed hard left, opened the club face, swing away. Worked for shots 25 yards or less until I could get my chips more standard on the range.

daslog
Dec 10, 2008

#essereFerrari

torgeaux posted:

gently caress that, it's the worst.

What technique do you usually use? What distances are killing you?

When mine bit me hard, I changed to the weirdest setup I could find and just said gently caress it. Feet together (literally touching), aimed hard left, opened the club face, swing away. Worked for shots 25 yards or less until I could get my chips more standard on the range.

Great question. I was using the "hand forward, weight forward" but I was chunking everything. I tried a couple of youtube videos, now I'm just lost. Anything around the green.

Suprfli6
Jul 9, 2008

:shepface:God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title:shepface:

daslog posted:

Great question. I was using the "hand forward, weight forward" but I was chunking everything. I tried a couple of youtube videos, now I'm just lost. Anything around the green.

It’s such an individual thing that it likely won’t do you any good, but when I’m focusing on keeping my weight and hands forward for chips (especially on downhill lies) I also try to emphasize keeping the clubhead close to the ground on my backswing. I feel like that helps prevent me from getting more wrist hinge than I want and scooping the ball or coming in too steep.

Anno
May 10, 2017

I'm going to drown! For no reason at all!

When my chipping confidence is down I go in the back yard and just swing the club at the ground, not even hitting a ball. I’m looking for the right kind of thump that lets me know I’m letting the bounce do it’s thing and there’s no negative reinforcement for the ball not going where I want it to.

Dr. Capco
May 21, 2007


Pillbug
I had a super bad time the last year and a half with my chips but I've gone to Dan carrahers chipping method and it's been good the last two months or so for me. Lots of using the bounce and it seems impossible to gently caress up after you practice it for a bit.

prom candy
Dec 16, 2005

Only I may dance
Played again tonight, had a couple of okay shots which is all I'm hoping for. No idea how someone would even begin to get good at this but it's definitely a fun outing.

daslog
Dec 10, 2008

#essereFerrari

Dr. Capco posted:

I had a super bad time the last year and a half with my chips but I've gone to Dan carrahers chipping method and it's been good the last two months or so for me. Lots of using the bounce and it seems impossible to gently caress up after you practice it for a bit.

Have a link to a video? I did a Google search and all I found was a couple of really low quality videos with so much wind noise I couldn't hear what's going on

Halo14
Sep 11, 2001

Anno posted:

When my chipping confidence is down I go in the back yard and just swing the club at the ground, not even hitting a ball. I’m looking for the right kind of thump that lets me know I’m letting the bounce do it’s thing and there’s no negative reinforcement for the ball not going where I want it to.

This is good advice, finding the bounce of the wedge and reinforcing that feeling.

ironlung
Dec 31, 2001

daslog posted:

Have a link to a video? I did a Google search and all I found was a couple of really low quality videos with so much wind noise I couldn't hear what's going on

Tons of videos out there on how to use the bounce. Boils down to this:

Slightly open stance
Slightly open club face
Ball position middle or slightly back in your stance
Weight a bit forward but more evenly distributed
Nice firm stroke, accelerate through the ball (important on all short game shots)

This guy does a good job demonstrating the thud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0NELsh54C4

daslog
Dec 10, 2008

#essereFerrari
What do you do with your right arm? Fold it or keep it straight?

Dr. Capco
May 21, 2007


Pillbug
I sprung and paid for his short game videos on his website, I think it was like 30 or 40 bucks and they're all really helpful. I think there's like 13 total.

Agent355
Jul 26, 2011


Been playing golf all summer having picked it up back in May or so. It's going well enough, I can do some things with some consistency but not others.

Whats really been frustrating me the past 6 weeks or so is this horrible persistent slice in my driver/woods. It's really severe and despite watching youtube videos and going to the driving range a great deal I just can't seem to nail down whats causing it or how to fix it.

I think I might just have to go down to the club and pay for some one on one time with one of the pros to see if he can't lend me some insight on how to correct it, but before I do that I thought I'd check in here.

My understanding is bad slice isn't exactly an uncommon problem, so maybe some people here have some advice.

DJExile
Jun 28, 2007


If you're comfortable, posting a video of your swing/swings here would be a good help because it can be any number of things causing it.

Still, you're best off getting a pro to look at yourself, and odds are it's something you don't even realize you're doing but will stand out like a sore thumb to a pro, who can get you corrected pretty quickly.

Kameh
Apr 27, 2004

Resident Sergio Apologist
CHAMPION
I'm playing in my first member-guest (as the *guest*) in a few weeks, and I'm psyched. I played the course for the first time last week, and I shot a 79 with 5 3-putts lol. Greens were just the wrong sorta speed for me that day, and a lot of clean up par putts had way less break than they appeared. It's a flighted handicap tournament, and I had to renew my USGA handicap to enter it. It's still pulling my scores from 2011-2013 when I was slightly better than scratch. I'm closer to a 3 or 4 now, so I better get it together.

Kameh fucked around with this message at 18:51 on Sep 10, 2019

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...

Agent355 posted:

Been playing golf all summer having picked it up back in May or so. It's going well enough, I can do some things with some consistency but not others.

Whats really been frustrating me the past 6 weeks or so is this horrible persistent slice in my driver/woods. It's really severe and despite watching youtube videos and going to the driving range a great deal I just can't seem to nail down whats causing it or how to fix it.

I think I might just have to go down to the club and pay for some one on one time with one of the pros to see if he can't lend me some insight on how to correct it, but before I do that I thought I'd check in here.

My understanding is bad slice isn't exactly an uncommon problem, so maybe some people here have some advice.

Grip? First thought for me is always grip. But, there is literally no way to know without some video. If you can afford it, the pro time is going to be worth it.

Keyser_Soze
May 5, 2009

Pillbug
Learn how to hit a draw and then you can have a "2 way miss" like me with no idea which one will appear at any time!

DJExile
Jun 28, 2007


Keyser_Soze posted:

Learn how to hit a draw and then you can have a "2 way miss" like me with no idea which one will appear at any time!

"long, strong, and wrong" crew :hfive:

Agent355
Jul 26, 2011


I don't have a good way to record video but I'll keep that in mind for the future if I have anything I need to work on. I decided to just up and pay for some protime but I'm going to do it at the start of next season rather than now because I don't know how much more golf we're going to get up here in Maine. Then I'll degrade back to utter garbage over winter anyhow and have to relearn a ton of stuff in the spring I'm sure.

In the meantime I just decided to bench my woods entirely and hit 100% irons which go straight more often than not so I can have a fun golf game in the short term.

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...

Agent355 posted:

I don't have a good way to record video but I'll keep that in mind for the future if I have anything I need to work on. I decided to just up and pay for some protime but I'm going to do it at the start of next season rather than now because I don't know how much more golf we're going to get up here in Maine. Then I'll degrade back to utter garbage over winter anyhow and have to relearn a ton of stuff in the spring I'm sure.

In the meantime I just decided to bench my woods entirely and hit 100% irons which go straight more often than not so I can have a fun golf game in the short term.

In that case, watch some of the Scratch Golf Academy on youtube. They can give you some generic tips for curing a slice. Look at some of the youtube guys like Shiels and Crossfield and Finch for specific tips. I wouldn't recommend them while you're doing a lesson, but in the absence, do something, even if you only do the fixes on the range and stick to your irons only resolution.

DJExile
Jun 28, 2007


Biggest thing that I notice causing my slices is getting too quick, which is a really easy habit to fall into. You might think about shortening up your backswing, especially with woods, and slowing down a bit to make sure you're getting good contact.

Today's woods, even cheap beginner ones, are fabulous clubs and they'll do almost all the work for you if you let them.

Keyser_Soze
May 5, 2009

Pillbug
I wish I could hit a slice on purpose when needed. :smith: I cannot get any club in my bag to go left to right.

For me, misses are either straight block right or the snapper into the left jail.

Having a strong grip and slowing down at first definitely helps get the club face closed in time to hit the ball with a higher percentage of hitting the center of the club face. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be drawing everything too much......forever.

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nerox
May 20, 2001
I have started hitting my irons really well (even my 4 iron) and can't hit my fairway woods for poo poo all of a sudden.

I played my first foursome on Saturday. I haven't ever played with 2 of the guys and we were talking prior to starting what we normally shoot (everyone around 95-100) and then my normal golf buddy shoots around 75.

So we get to the first tee, a 325 yard par 4.

The first two guys both slice far right. My buddy hits his right down the middle about 210. Then I hit a great 225 yard drive right down the middle.
I was 100 yards out, which is 9i all day for me, I hit it right on line, but not enough power and left myself about 5 yards off the green, with another 10 to go to the hole.

I grabbed my pitching wedge and did a perfect chip shot, the ball landed about 6 yards from the hole and kept rolling, straight in for my first ever chip in and first ever birdie.

I think the 2 new guys thought I was sandbagging them until I did a double bogey on the par 5 right after this and then a triple bogey on the par 3 after that.

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