The Golf Thread

anyone ever play Clear Creek in Bristol, VA?

Crazy laid out course, but what do you expect being on a mountain i guess. Lots of tough shots off the tee that force you to keep the driver in the bag, so I brought my Callaway Steelhead Plus 15 Degree 3 wood out of retirement. I was crushing that baby. No problem hitting it straight, hitting it high to land softly and even working a little fade on it. Tomorrow it goes to the pro shop for a new grip and I have to find a club to take out of my bag. I don't really want to take out the 17 degree Adams (there is about a 15 yard difference in the two clubs for me), so I'm guessing an iron somewhere. Most likely the six iron.
 
anyone ever play Clear Creek in Bristol, VA?

Crazy laid out course, but what do you expect being on a mountain i guess. Lots of tough shots off the tee that force you to keep the driver in the bag, so I brought my Callaway Steelhead Plus 15 Degree 3 wood out of retirement. I was crushing that baby. No problem hitting it straight, hitting it high to land softly and even working a little fade on it. Tomorrow it goes to the pro shop for a new grip and I have to find a club to take out of my bag. I don't really want to take out the 17 degree Adams (there is about a 15 yard difference in the two clubs for me), so I'm guessing an iron somewhere. Most likely the six iron.
why not lose an even longer iron that you're more likely to hit fewer shots with and miss the green with more often anyway? maybe the 3 or 4? Maybe the club that you have the least confidence in should go.

just thoughts. You gotta do what's comfortable. I tend to lose my 4 iron when I take one out.
 
why not lose an even longer iron that you're more likely to hit fewer shots with and miss the green with more often anyway? maybe the 3 or 4? Maybe the club that you have the least confidence in should go.

just thoughts. You gotta do what's comfortable. I tend to lose my 4 iron when I take one out.

Me and my 4 iron are tight. As I've mentioned before, I have no trouble whatsoever with my 3 and 4 irons. It's why I've always been able to fight off the urge to buy a hybrid. My six is probably the least played club in the bag. I typically either just ease up on a 5 or occasionally try to stroke a 7. Especially since I adopted the swing 80-90% theory a couple of years ago.
 
Me and my 4 iron are tight. As I've mentioned before, I have no trouble whatsoever with my 3 and 4 irons. It's why I've always been able to fight off the urge to buy a hybrid. My six is probably the least played club in the bag. I typically either just ease up on a 5 or occasionally try to stroke a 7. Especially since I adopted the swing 80-90% theory a couple of years ago.
then the 6 should go.
 
then the 6 should go.

that's what I'm thinking. It's now got the new grip on it (the golf pride half cord thing, same as my irons), and I'll head out to the range later today, or maybe try to squeeze nine holes in and see if I continue to stroke it. I'm just happy about the possibility of having a 240 yard club in my bag.
 
that's what I'm thinking. It's now got the new grip on it (the golf pride half cord thing, same as my irons), and I'll head out to the range later today, or maybe try to squeeze nine holes in and see if I continue to stroke it. I'm just happy about the possibility of having a 240 yard club in my bag.
240 with confidence is a very good thing.
 
i seem to be having a hard time remembering to line myself up properly over the ball. it's a matter of leaning upright in my stance. this causes me to slice the ball.

any ideas that could help me remember this, or something to think about in my pre-shot routine? i can't translate it from the range to the course.
 
I have not carried an iron lower than my 5 iron in 15 years...the ole 7 wood replaces both of them nicely and I added a wedge
 
i seem to be having a hard time remembering to line myself up properly over the ball. it's a matter of leaning upright in my stance. this causes me to slice the ball.

any ideas that could help me remember this, or something to think about in my pre-shot routine? i can't translate it from the range to the course.

not getting that picture in my mind...explain please
 
i seem to be having a hard time remembering to line myself up properly over the ball. it's a matter of leaning upright in my stance. this causes me to slice the ball.

any ideas that could help me remember this, or something to think about in my pre-shot routine? i can't translate it from the range to the course.
maybe make it your final swing thought for a while if you don't have time to work through it on the range.

What works for me is usually hitting more balls. Sounds trite, but that's most often what it takes to fix a swing / setup problem. It's hard to overcome the discomfort of getting rid of something that's wrong but feels comfortable, so practicing it out is most often the fix.
 
What works for me is usually hitting more balls. Sounds trite, but that's most often what it takes to fix a swing / setup problem. It's hard to overcome the discomfort of getting rid of something that's wrong but feels comfortable, so practicing it out is most often the fix.

What I see cause the biggest problem in transferring something you've worked on at the drange to the course is setting yourself up every single time as if you are hitting the ball on the course. I think just going through the exact same routine every time helps. This includes standing behind the ball, picking a landing target and approaching the ball every time you hit it.

I notice a lot of people at the range will continue to hit balls from just about the same spot every time and never really move from where they are setting up. What happens is as they move through their bucket, they gradually start slipping in accuracy and contact.

Anyways, just a thought.
 
standing up too much instead of staying bent over the ball.
try to pick a spot for your eyes or neck or something to be relative to your hands. E.g. maybe your hand should be directly under the bottom of your sternum at address or something like that. Maybe your eyes aligned vertically over the label on the shaft. Some physical or visual cue that you can use every time.
 
standing up too much instead of staying bent over the ball.

That will definately change your swing path and cause you to pull the club head through on an outside in path.
It is something that has to be worked out on the range.
Are you haveing trouble getting the ball in the air. Standing too upright is sometimes a result of trying to help lift the ball.
 
That will definately change your swing path and cause you to pull the club head through on an outside in path.
do what? standing too vertical would tend to cause a very shallow path and be more inside out.

There are several pros out there than stand very vertical, a la Ben Curtis. It works for some.
 
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do what? standing to vertical would tend to cause a very shallow path and be more inside out.

There are several pros out there than stand very vertical, a la Ben Curtis. It works for some.

if he usually is not verticle, his hand would pull away from the ball and finish on an inside path causing a slice...although I am directionally challenged so I might have it backwards since I am not seeing it live...don't listen to me Doozer
 
if he usually is not verticle, his hand would pull away from the ball and finish on an inside path causing a slice...although I am directionally challenged so I might have it backwards since I am not seeing it live...don't listen to me Doozer
I'm confused.
 
Shot a 40 on the back nine of Pine Jokes. I must say that course has dramatically improved since I left for grad school in 2006. First time I've played the back since then and other than a few times just not knowing the right club, I played well and the course was much more receptive than usual. Even chipped in for bird on #11. That always makes the day better.

As for my 3 wood, I hit it extremely well. Hit a nice power fade into 16 (for those that know the course) that landed about 10 ft off the green. Bad chip forced a par though.
 

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