Swing Easy | USHandicap Classic

dday39 Professional Champion
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Confidence is a crazy thing. At one point I played a lot of golf and enjoyed trying to improve. Then this site starting passing out handicaps. I found myself forcing and trying to score. I had to step back because I wasn't enjoying the game. For the last 2 years, I've rarely played any golf other than what could only be considered practice rounds, and just working on my swing. I haven't put a lot of time into my short game because I need to work on consistent sweet spot contact. First 2 times out this year, I was hitting it really well. I didn't score well because little shots around the green and 3 putts just killed me. I was feeling pretty good. Finally, took what I had to the big boy course. It started OK, but as my playing partner started heating up, I started pressing. Things got away from me really fast. I don't think I hit a solid shot on the back 9. I really need to remember, just because you can hit a wedge 150+ doesn't mean you should.
dday39 Professional Champion
# 16 6/2/2014 7:56:10 AM
So rather than take my medicine and play a few more practice rounds, I decided to reconnect with a club member and play a course I've never played well. I began with a quick warm up at the range. I was really trying to get the feeling of not going at the ball at 110%. Hit the irons fairly well. Driver was another story. Pulls and hooks with the big dog, very uncharacteristic. Pulls and pull hooks with the driver pretty much all day left me compensating off the tee, so that did not help my round. Short game is still messy. I lost too many shots around the green, out of the sand, and the putter couldn't save me.
dday39 Professional Champion
# 17 6/2/2014 8:05:09 AM
The biggest frustration though, seemed to be alignment. Really just strange. It seemed everything I hit landed 20 yards or so to the right. I was a chronic slicer of the ball for years and I've fixed that. My shots are usually straight or a slight push draw. However, I guess I still have a fear of aiming left. It screws up my ball position and my stance feels incredibly open when I do so. It makes me feel as though I'm going to shank or slice the ball. I probably should've asked Otterman if he noticed that my alignment was off or something. I just don't think that's the right thing to do while playing a round of golf. Still some work to do. I guess the goal for this year is to break 100 before August.
OtterMan08 Legend
# 18 6/2/2014 10:26:18 AM
The biggest frustration though, seemed to be alignment. Really just strange. It seemed everything I hit landed 20 yards or so to the right. I was a chronic slicer of the ball for years and I've fixed that. My shots are usually straight or a slight push draw. However, I guess I still have a fear of aiming left. It screws up my ball position and my stance feels incredibly open when I do so. It makes me feel as though I'm going to shank or slice the ball. I probably should've asked Otterman if he noticed that my alignment was off or something. I just don't think that's the right thing to do while playing a round of golf. Still some work to do. I guess the goal for this year is to break 100 before August. I didn't really see anything that jumped out at me with alignment. Looked like you were more or less pointed in the right direction. This place really makes even small misses look at lot worse too. You did hit a couple of hard duck hooks, but most of the other stuff would have been OK anywhere else. I was having my own problems anyway and wasn't spending too much time figuring out what anyone else was up to.
dday39 Professional Champion
# 19 6/2/2014 10:36:09 AM
I hear ya. I was hitting those duck hooks on the range too. It just seemed like my irons were coming straight off the club face but landing to the right. I felt like path and alignment were good. Maybe had the face a bit open to the target line (but square to the path). I'm not really worried about the driver. I was probably over-swinging and came a bit OTT.
Don Freeman Professional Champion
# 20 6/2/2014 10:46:27 AM
I hear ya. I was hitting those duck hooks on the range too. It just seemed like my irons were coming straight off the club face but landing to the right. I felt like path and alignment were good. Maybe had the face a bit open to the target line (but square to the path). I'm not really worried about the driver. I was probably over-swinging and came a bit OTT. forgive me for butting in, but it sounds like you may be getting stuck inside. You could be throwing the club from inside out This happens when you start the downswing before you allow the hips to start to open. The club has nowhere to go but to the outside. If the face is square to the target you will spin a duck hook, and if it is open to the target, you will dead push it. Just a thought.
dday39 Professional Champion
# 21 6/2/2014 10:58:00 AM
forgive me for butting in, but it sounds like you may be getting stuck inside. You could be throwing the club from inside out This happens when you start the downswing before you allow the hips to start to open. The club has nowhere to go but to the outside. If the face is square to the target you will spin a duck hook, and if it is open to the target, you will dead push it. Just a thought. maybe I'm mostly positive that the duck hooks with the driver were from OTT, gorilla swings. I could be stuck with the irons, but I'll never know without video. My usual shape with an iron is a push draw. The shots I hit never moved, so I just kind of assume I was zero'd out with the face in relation to the path.

dday39

Professional Champion

Go to Last Reply

172 Views 21 Replies 0 Likes

Confidence is a crazy thing. At one point I played a lot of golf and enjoyed trying to improve. Then this site starting passing out handicaps. I found myself forcing and trying to score. I had to step back because I wasn't enjoying the game.
For the last 2 years, I've rarely played any golf other than what could only be considered practice rounds, and just working on my swing.
I haven't put a lot of time into my short game because I need to work on consistent sweet spot contact.
First 2 times out this year, I was hitting it really well. I didn't score well because little shots around the green and 3 putts just killed me.
I was feeling pretty good. Finally, took what I had to the big boy course. It started OK, but as my playing partner started heating up, I started pressing. Things got away from me really fast. I don't think I hit a solid shot on the back 9.
I really need to remember, just because you can hit a wedge 150+ doesn't mean you should.

dday39

Professional Champion

# 16 6/2/2014 7:56:10 AM

So rather than take my medicine and play a few more practice rounds, I decided to reconnect with a club member and play a course I've never played well.
I began with a quick warm up at the range. I was really trying to get the feeling of not going at the ball at 110%. Hit the irons fairly well. Driver was another story. Pulls and hooks with the big dog, very uncharacteristic.
Pulls and pull hooks with the driver pretty much all day left me compensating off the tee, so that did not help my round. Short game is still messy. I lost too many shots around the green, out of the sand, and the putter couldn't save me.

dday39

Professional Champion

# 17 6/2/2014 8:05:09 AM

The biggest frustration though, seemed to be alignment. Really just strange. It seemed everything I hit landed 20 yards or so to the right.
I was a chronic slicer of the ball for years and I've fixed that. My shots are usually straight or a slight push draw. However, I guess I still have a fear of aiming left. It screws up my ball position and my stance feels incredibly open when I do so. It makes me feel as though I'm going to shank or slice the ball.
I probably should've asked Otterman if he noticed that my alignment was off or something. I just don't think that's the right thing to do while playing a round of golf.
Still some work to do. I guess the goal for this year is to break 100 before August.

OtterMan08

Legend

# 18 6/2/2014 10:26:18 AM

The biggest frustration though, seemed to be alignment. Really just strange. It seemed everything I hit landed 20 yards or so to the right.
I was a chronic slicer of the ball for years and I've fixed that. My shots are usually straight or a slight push draw. However, I guess I still have a fear of aiming left. It screws up my ball position and my stance feels incredibly open when I do so. It makes me feel as though I'm going to shank or slice the ball.
I probably should've asked Otterman if he noticed that my alignment was off or something. I just don't think that's the right thing to do while playing a round of golf.
Still some work to do. I guess the goal for this year is to break 100 before August.

I didn't really see anything that jumped out at me with alignment. Looked like you were more or less pointed in the right direction. This place really makes even small misses look at lot worse too. You did hit a couple of hard duck hooks, but most of the other stuff would have been OK anywhere else. I was having my own problems anyway and wasn't spending too much time figuring out what anyone else was up to.

dday39

Professional Champion

# 19 6/2/2014 10:36:09 AM

I hear ya.
I was hitting those duck hooks on the range too. It just seemed like my irons were coming straight off the club face but landing to the right. I felt like path and alignment were good. Maybe had the face a bit open to the target line (but square to the path).
I'm not really worried about the driver. I was probably over-swinging and came a bit OTT.

Don Freeman

Professional Champion

# 20 6/2/2014 10:46:27 AM

I hear ya.
I was hitting those duck hooks on the range too. It just seemed like my irons were coming straight off the club face but landing to the right. I felt like path and alignment were good. Maybe had the face a bit open to the target line (but square to the path).
I'm not really worried about the driver. I was probably over-swinging and came a bit OTT.

forgive me for butting in, but it sounds like you may be getting stuck inside. You could be throwing the club from inside out This happens when you start the downswing before you allow the hips to start to open. The club has nowhere to go but to the outside. If the face is square to the target you will spin a duck hook, and if it is open to the target, you will dead push it.
Just a thought.

dday39

Professional Champion

# 21 6/2/2014 10:58:00 AM

forgive me for butting in, but it sounds like you may be getting stuck inside. You could be throwing the club from inside out This happens when you start the downswing before you allow the hips to start to open. The club has nowhere to go but to the outside. If the face is square to the target you will spin a duck hook, and if it is open to the target, you will dead push it.
Just a thought.

maybe
I'm mostly positive that the duck hooks with the driver were from OTT, gorilla swings.
I could be stuck with the irons, but I'll never know without video. My usual shape with an iron is a push draw. The shots I hit never moved, so I just kind of assume I was zero'd out with the face in relation to the path.

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