Guest The Phoenix Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Wouldnt agree with that mate... I was using a 10.5 degree driver before and whenever it was windy (90% of the time) the ball got caught in the wind and went nowhere. Invested in a 9 degree and while I still hit the ball higher than I would like, it certainly benefited my game. Works for you but it's a fact that a straighter faced driver doesn't automatically equal longer distance. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I have a really fast swing speed and swing that makes be hit 'up on the ball' more than most so it was perfect for me. The run I could get off my drives was unreal. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
printer Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Gaz, only idiots or geniuses at golf use a 9.5 degree driver. It's also actually a myth the lower the loft the further you will hit the ball. I use a 10.5 degree and I have a controlled fade rather than the pronounced slice that I get if I try to use a straighter faced driver. Interestingly I have an uncontrolled draw. I'm not sure that low lofted drivers are as difficult to hit as they used to be. Mine's a 9.5deg and I can still get plenty height and length. Modern drivers are pretty easy to use if you get one that suits your swing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 I have to confess that up until I played with my paw-in-law I had no idea that drivers came in different degrees - I just thought there was a standard degree of loft and that they were all the same. It was only that he noticed that mine was 9.5 and his was 10.5 that I knew. What did you get Gaz? Just a basic Dunlop three-wood for £15. Nothing fancy the now, I'm not good enough that I can justify spending lots on one club! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
printer Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 My main problem in golf is keeping my mind positive/clear when playing.......mostly through my backswing. When I pull the club back and wee voice in my head go's "Oh no". Also, I tend to overthink the full game too much. Any idea how to conquer this simply? Get a pre-shot routine. You could read a good golf "mind" book (e.g. Bob Rotella's "Golf is not a Game of Perfect). Or get this guy's dvd. Golf Brain 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottyB Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 (edited) s I have to confess that up until I played with my paw-in-law I had no idea that drivers came in different degrees - I just thought there was a standard degree of loft and that they were all the same. It was only that he noticed that mine was 9.5 and his was 10.5 that I knew. Just a basic Dunlop three-wood for £15. Nothing fancy the now, I'm not good enough that I can justify spending lots on one club! Hey Gaz, if memory serves me correctly from football you were left sided. Are you playing left handed clubs too? I could be totally wrong and your right handed but just a thought! Anyway, I bought myself some clubs 3 weeks ago after not playing in 10 years. Absolutely kicking myself that I ever gave it up. Played 18 at Melville 2 weeks ago and shot 95 (9 hole course, +15 for front 9, +14 for back 9 so slight improvement!). Played Turnhouse on Friday morning which is a difficult course and shot 99. It could have been so much better as I missed about 7 par opportunities and ended up +1 or +2 on those holes due to very poor putting within 8 feet. It's pretty frustrating but I suppose the only way to improve is to practice, practice, practice. My driving is going very well though, I'm regular hitting 220-260 yards accurately off the tee. I'm not too bad with my wedges, vast majority are weighted well. I've found difficulties with my fairway woods and my mid irons though, about half of them just seem to rocket along the ground 70-100 yards or so. Something I'm going to try and improve at the range. I've generally been going to the range 2 or 3 times a week to keep myself practicing. Going to play either 9 or 18 at Meville again tomorrow and see if I can improve on my scores. Set myself a target of +10 for the 9 holes. Edited April 30, 2011 by ScottyB 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mid-table Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Gaz, only idiots or geniuses at golf use a 9.5 degree driver. It's also actually a myth the lower the loft the further you will hit the ball. I use a 10.5 degree and I have a controlled fade rather than the pronounced slice that I get if I try to use a straighter faced driver. I used a 9 degree driver. I'll let you work out which of the two I was Wouldnt agree with that mate... I was using a 10.5 degree driver before and whenever it was windy (90% of the time) the ball got caught in the wind and went nowhere. Invested in a 9 degree and while I still hit the ball higher than I would like, it certainly benefited my game. Works for you but it's a fact that a straighter faced driver doesn't automatically equal longer distance. I'm not sure that low lofted drivers are as difficult to hit as they used to be. Mine's a 9.5deg and I can still get plenty height and length. Modern drivers are pretty easy to use if you get one that suits your swing. The loft of the driver is really not a massively important factor in anything. What has an impact on your ability to hit the ball, and the height it goes, is the launch angle. Launch angle is made up of a combination of your swing, the loft of the driver, and the strength of the shaft in the driver. There is no such thing as a right answer, even for a beginner. For example, I use a 9.5 degree driver, and have a launch angle of around 12.5 degrees. I have increased this launch angle in the last year from about 11.5 degrees (when I played in Scotland it was about 11 degrees), not by changing the loft of my driver, but by changing my swing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 Hey Gaz, if memory serves me correctly from football you were left sided. Are you playing left handed clubs too? I could be totally wrong and your right handed but just a thought! I'm left-footed but right-handed. All of the males on my dad's side of the family are left-footed and left-handed apart from me! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottyB Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Played 18 at Melville today, my 3rd round since I started up again. Shot 88 (+22) but it could have been so much better. Only 4 GIRs, mainly due to horrific 8/9 irons that were either pulled or a club short. Putting was inconsistant - 6 1 putts, 5 2 putts, 7 3 putts. Driving was far less accurate today than it was at Turnhouse on Friday and my pitching was a bit of a mess from areas where I should get up and down. Managed 5 good pars, but gave up some good birdie opportunities and bogeyed/double bogeyed where I should have made par. Maybe I'm focusing too much on the negatives of the round, as I have made great improvement on my first round there 2 weeks ago. Will try and play 9 holes there on Thursday night, aim for +10 again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 (edited) An update guys I've played three rounds at Grangemouth since moving to the 3-wood. The first one was pretty bad to start off with while I was getting used to it - and had a nightmare first hole, going into one of the bunkers. Went out in 73 and came back in 63 for a total of 136. Second was a lot better - went out in 54 and came back in 59 for a total of 113. Was delighted with that. Yesterday I had a horrible front 9 thanks to fucking up completely at the 7th and putting three balls in the water from the tee. After the nine holes I was ready to either go home or play the front 9 again, but I kept persevering and ended up going round the back 9 in 52 for a total of 118. I feel like I'm getting a bit better each time, my decision making improves and being able to put the ball 180 yards on the fairway has really helped me. My target is to break 110 by the first week in June - I finish Uni on the 17th of May and don't have anything to do until I start work on the 6th June, so I'm probably just going to play every day. Edited May 7, 2011 by Gaz 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Love III Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Glad to see you're seeing some great improvement Gaz! It can only get better the more you play, your decision making, technique and shot making skills will only improve! Keeps us up to date! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Love III Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Is it possible my golf clubs can be to big for me? Or am i just talking shit? How tall are you? And are the clubs a regular length? If you are under 6 feet tall, and are using longer than standard length clubs, as a lot of tall people would, then they might be a little too big for you! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottyB Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Has anyone got any tips on the mental side of the game? I played Turnhouse this morning and after a fantastic first 6 holes I blew up at the 7th with an 8 after hitting a drive miles wide. In the back 9 I had a 10 where I hit my first drive out of bounds, then my second straight into the exact same spot! I also had three 7s in the back 9 and every hole where I had a bad score I just played every shot poorly. My driving was shocking, everything was hit well but miles right. Pitching was well off too. It's clear that when I hit a poor shot I just let it affect the rest of my game for the remainder of the hole. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Love III Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) Has anyone got any tips on the mental side of the game? I played Turnhouse this morning and after a fantastic first 6 holes I blew up at the 7th with an 8 after hitting a drive miles wide. In the back 9 I had a 10 where I hit my first drive out of bounds, then my second straight into the exact same spot! I also had three 7s in the back 9 and every hole where I had a bad score I just played every shot poorly. My driving was shocking, everything was hit well but miles right. Pitching was well off too. It's clear that when I hit a poor shot I just let it affect the rest of my game for the remainder of the hole. You were reallty frustrated at messing up a great start. Happens to everyone at some point. There is no absolute answer on the mind in golf, but if anyone has it, it's Bob Rotella. You can buy his books cheap off Amazon: The Golfers Mind He has helped alot of great players over the years. "The past has already happened, the future hasn't happened yet, so the only thing you can control is the present shot at hand" But personally, I've always been very relaxed on the golf course, but it's the simple cliche of taking every shot as it comes. After a bad drive, don't try and force a shot to get a par, take a 5, then move on. Just stick to the gameplan and don't rush yourself putting pressure onto you. Just focus on the fundamentals of the game in your swing, and the good shots will come back and you'll stick make a good score, and because you got over a mistake, will feel even better for it. Edited May 15, 2011 by Davis Love III 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endieinreekie Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I think this weekend I will try and get some golf in. I have a golf day at Bathgate next week and haven't played an 18 hole course since last year. Managed a couple of rounds on the par 3 course a couple of weeks ago which wasn't too bad (I am pretty rubbish though), so am dreading next week. Anyone played Bathgate? What can I expect? I wish this bloody wind would go away as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mid-table Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hit a 66. Everything just went wrong. Whats the difference between mens clubs and womens clubs? Generally the people who use them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowshed Chris Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 G-Man, ladies clubs are shorter and tend to be slightly lighter than men's clubs. Regarding your game in general, assuming you are generally hitting 55-65 shots per 9 holes - could you offer a breakdown of where you're losing shots on average? Ie. How many putts do you generally have, penalty strokes due to lost balls/unplayable lies, fresh air shots. This information should allow folk to offer slightly more useful advice to help improve your game. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowshed Chris Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Im not sure about whether shorter clubs would suit better... It will possibly depend upon whether you hunch over the ball rather than being more upright. I would think that average men's clubs would be ok for someone of 5'6. I think you've given yourself a handy piece of advice... If you're comfortable with a half swing then stick with it and then develop into a full swing - a well struck half/3qtr swing will go far better than a duffed full shot. I think pros generally get beginners to start with a half swing also. Glad to hear you aren't losing balls as happens with most new players. Provided you can keep the ball in play and just keep moving it forward, you'll see your scores lower particularly as you become more confident around the greens. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smit Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Yeah im starting to think i may need short clubs as im just 5ft 6. Would you agree? I generally feel when using any club im not confident at all when trying a full swing. A half swing im most confident at. Accuracy i feel im not to bad at, generally i can stay on the fareways. Just for a par 4 say it will generally take me 4 to 5 shots just to get there. Using my driver i am terrible at. Putting is probably is what im best at as i seem to be picking up which way i should be hitting the ball to run with the green I wouldn't suggest getting shorter clubs, instead use the money saved to get a video lesson with a decent Pro. There is a chance that shorter clubs would suit you, but take the advice about swinging slower and increasing the strike. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonofjenova Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Played Lethamhill this afternoon, shot an 83. Not too bad. The three times I've played there I've birdied the par four 9th - I'll be gutted when that run comes to an end 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.