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Golf: Tips, Equipment, Your Game?, etc...


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#1 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 02:12 PM

Can anyone recommend someone located in the Ellicott CIty/Columbia area?  Looking to dedicate some time to actually improve my game.

 

Went to the driving range with Michael Keltics today and I am a total hack but I feel like with proper 1-on-1 instruction combined with practice I can at least become passable.

 

Thanks.


There is baseball, and occasionally there are other things of note

"Now OPS sucks.  Got it."

"Making his own olive brine is peak Mackus."

"I'm too hungover to watch a loss." - McNulty

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#2 SportsGuy

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 02:44 PM

I have taken lessons at the golf galaxy in Towson and they have been great..I still suck but its not their fault.


i know there us a GG in Columbia as well.



#3 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 02:47 PM

I have taken lessons at the golf galaxy in Towson and they have been great..I still suck but its not their fault.


i know there us a GG in Columbia as well.

 

Do you play often?

 

Are you at least passable?

 

I just want to go out there and not embarrass myself or slow my foursome down.


There is baseball, and occasionally there are other things of note

"Now OPS sucks.  Got it."

"Making his own olive brine is peak Mackus."

"I'm too hungover to watch a loss." - McNulty

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#4 NewMarketSean

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 02:59 PM

Watch YouTube.

 

Lessons are pretty expensive. I took one half hour lesson years ago and it was like $50.

 

Keep at it at the range. Keep playing.

 

That's all you can really do.

 

And shit, I haven't played in 2 years.


I never had friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?

#5 Mike in STL

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 04:26 PM

Best thing I ever did was take a lesson. The price for a half hour is as much as a round of golf. So instead of going out and spending $40 to keep hacking, grab a lesson. I cant recommend anyone in that area though.
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#6 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 04:52 PM

Best thing I ever did was take a lesson. The price for a half hour is as much as a round of golf. So instead of going out and spending $40 to keep hacking, grab a lesson. I cant recommend anyone in that area though.


Did you notice a significant change in your game after just one lesson?

There is baseball, and occasionally there are other things of note

"Now OPS sucks.  Got it."

"Making his own olive brine is peak Mackus."

"I'm too hungover to watch a loss." - McNulty

@bopper33


#7 Mike in STL

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 05:36 PM

Did you notice a significant change in your game after just one lesson?



Yes. But its tricky. There is a reason why pros basically are getting lessons everyday from their coaches.

You will improve your game. But learning it and then continuing to do it on your own are two different things. I have a problem continuing what I learned at times, and when one thing is off, your whole swing is off.
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#8 Mike in STL

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 06:03 PM

Im certainly no golf pro. But I am so close to breaking 90, I might finally do it this summer. Just a few things that have helped me at least consistanly be in thr 90s that I can share...

1. Best tip I took away from any lesson. There is a think box, and a play box. Think box is behind the ball. You think about the setup, the swing, the wind, you visualize it. Then you step into the play box, which is addressing the ball. Here, you stop thinking. Hum a song to yourself. Do anything but think. If you are telling yourself to keep the left arm straight in the play box, youre done. Ever wonder why when you shank a shot, you drop a second ball and in a hurry just whack it cause your pissed, and it flies perfect? You stopped thinking about the swing and just did it.

2. Have a plan at the range. Either take just one club and work on mastering it that day. If you take your whole bag, play like you are at the couse. Pretend the first hole is 350 yards. Hit driver. If you hit it great, figure the distance, say 90 yards left. Hit wedge to just in front of the 100 yard sign. If you mishit the driver, then pull the 8 iron. Now you have to go 125. Switching clubs after every shot at the range is exactly what you do on the course.

3. Find a "go to shot". Mine is a choked down 52 wedge with a 3/4 swing. I can pepper the 50 yard marker all day. So what I should do, instead of going for those par 5 greens in two and rolling my second shot into greenside bunkers, is lay up 50 yards short. Then hit my go to shot, and make a couple birdies. A better "go to" shot would be one from 100 yards. Working on that lately with a choked down 9 iron. Most straight forward par 4s with a decent drive leave you around 100 left. (Choke down for better control, but robs you of some distance)

4. On the putting green, for distance control, pull the putter back one inch for every 3 feet. I walk off every putt to see how many paces (3 foot steps) I am away. Uphill add an inch downhill subtract. My distance control is much better and that eliminates a lot of three putts. I was three putting probably half the round. After that lesson on putting, I only three putt from like 50 feet+ out now.
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#9 Mike in STL

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 06:04 PM

With all that being said...if anyone has ever had a problem with slicing because they swing out to in, and they fixed it, please share your secret with me.
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#10 NewMarketSean

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Posted 23 July 2015 - 07:51 AM

I mess with my golf stances more than Cal Ripken changed batting stances.

 

I really need to get back out to the range.


I never had friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?

#11 bnickle

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Posted 23 July 2015 - 08:08 AM

With all that being said...if anyone has ever had a problem with slicing because they swing out to in, and they fixed it, please share your secret with me.

 Try your Grip.  I hate to say the proper grip, because some people have success being stronger or weaker. I would try going with a stronger grip. I know thats not a  direct response to your out to in swing. I used to hit the ball straight or with a nice draw. Problem area was snap hooking when things went bad. Last year I had the weak fades.  At the end of the year, I finally realized how much weaker I had gotten in my grip and the difference it made. Going really strong with my bottom hand made all the difference. Im left handed so I really go strong with the right hand and Im pretty strong with my top hand too.  It keeps my arms connected and avoid the chicken wing which led to my weak fades. 


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#12 SportsGuy

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Posted 23 July 2015 - 08:13 AM

Do you play often?

 

Are you at least passable?

 

I just want to go out there and not embarrass myself or slow my foursome down.

I guess it depends on how you define passable.

 

I play legit.  I don't improve my lie, I count all strokes, etc....The only thing I will do is take a mully once every 9 holes off the tee.

 

I have broken 100 once.  



#13 SportsGuy

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Posted 23 July 2015 - 08:16 AM

 Try your Grip.  I hate to say the proper grip, because some people have success being stronger or weaker. I would try going with a stronger grip. I know thats not a  direct response to your out to in swing. I used to hit the ball straight or with a nice draw. Problem area was snap hooking when things went bad. Last year I had the weak fades.  At the end of the year, I finally realized how much weaker I had gotten in my grip and the difference it made. Going really strong with my bottom hand made all the difference. Im left handed so I really go strong with the right hand and Im pretty strong with my top hand too.  It keeps my arms connected and avoid the chicken wing which led to my weak fades. 

My biggest issue is my right hand.  I use it too much.  I don't allow for enough natural wrist rotation and its too strong on the grip, so i have tendancy to make mistakes because of that.

 

My 2 biggest issues are that and just too much tension at the point of hitting the ball.  The worst part is that I don't usually feel it, so its hard to correct it.

 

I just don't go to the range nearly as much as I should.  You need to get the muscle memory down.

 

The GG lessons are good though Pedro.  They video tape the lesson and then text and email it to you with a voice over telling you what to do to correct the issues.  If you get a package, they are like $33 a piece, lasting about 45ish minutes(even though they say 30 min).



#14 bnickle

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Posted 23 July 2015 - 08:41 AM

My biggest issue is my right hand.  I use it too much.  I don't allow for enough natural wrist rotation and its too strong on the grip, so i have tendancy to make mistakes because of that.

 

My 2 biggest issues are that and just too much tension at the point of hitting the ball.  The worst part is that I don't usually feel it, so its hard to correct it.

 

I just don't go to the range nearly as much as I should.  You need to get the muscle memory down.

 

The GG lessons are good though Pedro.  They video tape the lesson and then text and email it to you with a voice over telling you what to do to correct the issues.  If you get a package, they are like $33 a piece, lasting about 45ish minutes(even though they say 30 min).

Yeah, its natural to want to go at the ball hard. You watch anybody good and you realize how smooth they are when they swing. 

 

 

 

Using the simulators at a place like GG can definitely help if the guy there is good at explaining what its showing you and how to make the changes to maximize your swings and shots. 



#15 SportsGuy

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Posted 24 July 2015 - 08:55 AM

Yeah, its natural to want to go at the ball hard. You watch anybody good and you realize how smooth they are when they swing. 

 

 

 

Using the simulators at a place like GG can definitely help if the guy there is good at explaining what its showing you and how to make the changes to maximize your swings and shots. 

Thats why I like Oosthueizen.  He has such a simple and smooth swing.  He looks like he is barely swinging the club.

 

At one of my lessons, the guy showed me a view of Vijay's swing from behind and basically, his hands were barely holding onto the club.  It literally looked like the club should fly out of his hands.  Just amazing how simple these guys make it look.



#16 Mackus

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Posted 24 July 2015 - 12:39 PM

My game has plummeted the last couple seasons.  I was playing a lot for a few years, often multiple times a week and actually practicing a bit, and my game was at a level I really was happy with.  Mostly played easy-as-shit courses, but I shot low 80s a few times, and even on harder courses I was breaking 90 most of the time.  I was down to about a 15 handicap.  Last couple years though I've started getting busy (and started playing in 3 softball leagues which ate into most of my free time), stopped practicing, played less and less, and my scores went up and up.  Once I stopped playing well, I stopped wanting to play, so I played less, then would play even worse than before because I was rusty when I did play.  Right now I'm fortunate if I break 100, in fact I've only done so once this year in about 6 rounds (and no rounds below 50 in my 9-hole work league that I've played about 5-6 matches in) and I often don't even enjoy it when I'm out there.

 

Such a fickle sport.  Hope I can get my interest in it back up at some point and have the quality of my play follow.



#17 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 24 July 2015 - 01:51 PM

Do you guys believe that simply playing frequently, with very little instruction, will automatically make you better? Or do you need lessons?

There is baseball, and occasionally there are other things of note

"Now OPS sucks.  Got it."

"Making his own olive brine is peak Mackus."

"I'm too hungover to watch a loss." - McNulty

@bopper33


#18 Mike in STL

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Posted 24 July 2015 - 02:02 PM

Do you guys believe that simply playing frequently, with very little instruction, will automatically make you better? Or do you need lessons?



Probably both. You face different shots on the course than the range can prep you for. But lessons help, as long as you practice what your taught. Hitting 100 balls the wrong way wont fix anything. A lesson should correct some wrongs.
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#19 bnickle

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Posted 24 July 2015 - 02:11 PM

Do you guys believe that simply playing frequently, with very little instruction, will automatically make you better? Or do you need lessons?

Maybe. So much is muscle memory on touch shots. Ive always been good tee to green but no matter how much I played my short game would come and go. If I chipped, pitch and puttedfairly well I would shoot in the low 80s. If I didnt I would shoot in the 90s.  And it seemed to come and go on a whim. I would get locked in one day and the next I would be scolding chips across the green. I never got consistent with anything on my short game. 



#20 SportsGuy

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Posted 24 July 2015 - 02:11 PM

Do you guys believe that simply playing frequently, with very little instruction, will automatically make you better? Or do you need lessons?

I don't think you ever need lessons unless you are incredibly screwed up and have no clue what you are doing.

 

What I think you will need lessons for is if your game gets stagnant.  Say you consistently shoot in the 88-100 range but you want to get better.  You likely will need lessons to give you an understanding of how to get better.

 

The problem with lessons are this...they will most likely try and change things that you have done your whole golf playing life.  So, everything becomes very weird to you, feels awkward, etc...in other words, you will probably get worse before you get better.






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