I hope Phil keeps doing what he's doing, worrying about kids first and golf after that. I'm sure that 2nd place finish will be more than anybody on this board makes in a few years, so he got to be with his kid on her Bday, and made a King's ransom after that. **** any trophy his kid didn't make...

He's grown up, that's awesome!

Celebrity golf instructors are pretty much charlatans. Their success is directly tied to their ability to market themselves. Leadbetter, McLean, Haney, Harmon, Foley...all bullshitters.

I think you have to have your hands ahead to putt consistently, but the press is too much.

I think Phil gets into his own head to much, technically.

The best putters are usually feel guys and have no idea technique wise what they really do.

Of all those guys, I actually think Harmon and specifically Foley are really good. I've been reading alot of Foleys stuff lately, while I think it's a bit too technical at times, it's pretty good stuff.

Leadbetter Haney and McLean are one in the same to me, in that they are pretty generic.

I think that all of those guys, save Haney, who is completely clueless, know little more about the swing than hundreds of other teachers around the country. It's not that they are vapid, but I don't see what separates them from the masses.

Marketability. Well, that and money.


Most of the best swing guys are the ones you never hear about.

No body took the bull by the horns so it wasn't a very compelling Open. I think it's a product of players being pussyfied . ie Hitting hybrids over 1 irons.

After today I have to take a month off from sports. Phil put me through the ringer again. Bastard.

why were you rooting for Phil so much?

He's a masochist?

Phil's been my favorite athlete in any sport since the '96 Masters. That was right around the time I really got into golf. I've live and died, and died far more than lived, with all the major heartbreaks since then.

I guess the only way I can compare it is that I'm a Bills fan in the early 90s and the US Open is Phil's Super Bowl. It's especially disappointing because he has squandered so many chances.

Karmically, it's also really disillusioning. You'd think that the guy who has played so well in this tournament so many times would be due one. Phil is like Greg Norman in that he's fallen on his own sword many times, but he's also had some stolen out from under him, and he's never had any gifted to him. There are a lot of major winners, like Webb Simpson, Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie Els (times two), who have just had these wins fall into their lap after doing little to earn them.

Phil and Peyton Mannning are eerily similar...

I'm a right-handed writer, but bat and golf left-handed, so I've always been a fan.. Plus, his recent shift to a kids-first mindset has me liking him more than ever.

At this point he's pretty much who I pull for. He's so good but he's such a doofus. I think it's genuine though. "Run Forest Run" The best players are usually a little eccentric in one way or another.

So they've got a shirt for sale that says "I'd tap that" with a picture of a golf ball right next to the cup on some Facebook page. I almost choked on Redbull when I read this comment.

So, here's the issue I'm dealing with:

In trying to make my shoulder turn steeper I'm having issues with swaying off the ball. If I feel like I'm getting behind the ball I feel like I sway too much. If I feel like I don't sway, it feels more like a stack and tilt swing, but I reverse pivot and never get the weight off my left side.

I'm compressing the ball well just by keeping my spine angle. It feels like I'm making more of an arm swing than a massive turn behind the ball, but it also doesn't feel artificial and imbalanced, and I don't notice a relative increase or decrease in distance.

Good players struggle with this from time to time. Try on te way back to keep flex in your right knee, if your right handed,keeping weight on your right toe instead of the heel. Hit a few shots that way see if it helps

Appreciate the input, but I just looked at both swings in a mirror and with what feels like an arm swing with a set spine angle I'm still getting about 110* of shoulder turn.

Appears to be more of a feel issue than an actual mechanical difference.

I read some of these posts and they may as well be written in hieroglyphics. A few of you are just simply on a different level.
My version of golf =
1) whack the ball toward the hole as best you can (cuss if it strays too far off)
2) repeat until ball goes in hole
3) do it again 17 more times

How's your own swing working out?

Playing in a 3-day Ryder Cup style tournament beginning this afternoon.

2-man scramble match play (18) @ Falcon Lakes today
2-man scramble match play (18) & 2-man Alt Shot (9) @ Shoal Creek tomorrow
18 hole singles match @ St. Andrews on Sunday

Never played at Shoal Creek before...I've heard it's a decent course?

Your fix for the driver is still working beautifully. I actually was able to "feel" what you talked about with the swing path and moved my right foot back forward and it's still going straighter and longer than it was before. THANK YOU again.
My irons have evaded me over the past couple of weeks (four rounds) but I think that's just a matter of being "off".
Putting has been off and on....I switched to an Odyssey 2-ball two weeks ago and haven't quite got the feel for it yet, but it's coming along.

Hoping to hit them well when I play Rolling Meadows this weekend.

I did something like that a few weeks ago

2 day 2 man

1st 9 Scramble
2nd 9 Scotch (true alternating shot)
3rd 9 Best ball
4th 9 Agregate

It was also a Calcutta

FYI: Most of those 2-balls are face balanced putters which means that your putting stroke should be more straight-back-straight-through than a swinging gate that opens and closes.

Who here putts cross-handed? I think it's the superior way to putt. I use a Newport 1.2 with 1/2 shaft offset.

I think it's very useful inside of 12 feet. Outside of that I have no judge for distance and it feels way too stiff.

My biggest putting key is to make sure I stay down in my stance and keep my left wrist solid.

I am right handed

regardless of how far I am hitting I always send it end over end. If I read it right and get the speed, I am either going to make it or have a stress free second putt. I like it because my right wrist isn't going to move or break down.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Ft2fLuz9mF0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My swing is a complete disaster right now. Disaster.

Slow it down and don't think.

I was rocking my irons today with a nice draw. Got put on the spot to play thru a group of 4 and hit a big fade off the tee on a dog leg right. Mashed 8 iron from the fairway and put it on. Missed the putt by a few inches but made par and left.

It's always a great feeling rising to the occasion.

Had a better session at the range today. It's still very hard for me to get my shoulders steep enough with the longer clubs. I've found that I wasn't keeping the clubhead outside my hands, which lead to me getting way too far across the line and fatting the shit out of the ball.

When I hit the ball well I was flying my 9-iron 150 and my LW 100, which is a significant distance increase.

I typically get in trouble off the tee box. Bad problem swinging outside in and slicing. Divots give it away. Thursday went out with one of my wife's coworkers who is close to scratch. He hadn't played Lawrence Country Club, so I got him on. I had more than my average number of memorable shots, including two 25 foot+ putts and a couple of bunker shots that raised an eyebrow or two. Jacked up enough holes to keep my score about where it ought to be (I'm a 16 H), but for the first serious 18 I've played this year outside of a scramble on a tough course, I couldn't bitch.

How can I get more distance off the tee? I play in a group of 12 guys and am consistently the shortest. Puts me in a bad spot being so far out. They play back too so this puts me in the hole from the beginning. Takes my money clubs out of play.

Gonna try a stronger grip and keep my left elbow straighter. Issue is flexibility for me. Was never flexible and now that I'm 53 it's tougher. But dammit, guys 10 yrs older are out hitting me!

There are dozens of things you could try. Stretching and a golf-specific exercise program will likely result in the biggest increases that aren't related to changing the nature of your swing.

Without seeing your swing on video it's impossible to comment on where your power leaks are.

get one of these

http://forums.iseekgolf.com/forumdat...1121868885.jpg

and swing hard

I like the flags at the tournament today. Much better than the baskets. I think Haas has it locked up.

Does anyone else get annoyed by all the people who yell "get in the hole" after every shot. sometimes it's not even close and some dipshit is yelling get in the hole. Enough already, we get it.

So, about that steeper shoulder turn thing...**** it.

Saw a video of my swing today and almost puked. If the results were decent I might stay with it, but I've had three horrific range sessions in a row and I'm getting tired of laying the sod over the ball.

As I look at old videos of my swing it's actually apparent that my shoulder turn was not too flat.

I have five keys for the swing:

1) Take the club away with both hands
2) Maintain my spine angle
3) Maintain knee flex
4) Start the downswing with my hips
5) Post on my front leg to make sure I get through the shot

It's usually a fool's errand to **** with the essential nature of your swing. I tried it four years ago to the same kind of disastrous results. My only hope is that I get back to where I was before in the next month or so.

When you start making rather big changes, things get really tricky. I'm not a huge fan of any swing plane, body plane changes like you were talking about because as you've found, they're just really hard to do and hard to get iingrained.

Good, Bad, and Ugly from my round today:

Good (Great for me): Shot 85, which beats my previous best by 2 strokes and shot a 40 on the back nine.

Bad: FOUR putted #4, the 3rd of which was under a foot...(if I believed in gimmes, I might have broke 85)

Ugly #1: Hit my 3rd into the sand on the par 5 15th and let the wedge slide completely under it leaving it in the sand....hit the 4th 15 feet past for a 2 putt bogey. I generally play MUCH better than that from the sand. That's only the 2nd time I ever recall leaving a sand shot in the trap

Ugly #2 Like an idiot, looked at the scorecard on 18 after my buddy said, "Damn Dude, you're killing it today on the back." and saw that I was sitting on 80 going into the final hole. Proceeded to hit my driver into the right rough about 2 feet from a tree where I had to punch out sideways to the fairway...made a bogey 5, but again, could have parred it for a 84 had I not whacked it behind a tree.

All in all, I obviously have to be pleased shooting my best ever (though I know for some of you a 85 wouldn't be a good day) but there's still a bit of regret not being able to break 85.

I'm looking forward to going out over the weekend where I'm fairly certain I'll shoot in triple digits.

Phil came thru today in typical Phil fashion.

Bogeyed the last when he had the lead and forced a playoff

In the playoff chipped it close as hell to win the Scottish open

John Deere Classic coverage upcoming. One of my favorite tournaments, mainly because I've played the course.

That driver off the deck was a great shot but he couldn't convert for eagle.

Zack has this most likely if he can pull off this long bunker shot

Just needs to get up and down.

Looking like a playoff now.

Oh shit!

it is anybodys tourney now

3-way playoff.

So long as you have a swing that is sound enough I couldn't agree more with this. Do you have anyone you can go see to look at your swing?

Holy crap.

Zach just got robbed.

I know it sounds too simple, and you seem knowledgeable about the golf swing, but are you staying down through impact and keeping your eye on the ball? And when I say keeping your eye on it, you visually see the club smack through the ball on each swing, and you are not looking up too soon to see your shot? It is a common problem and could be why you are having inconsistent contact. Having a good grip, shoulder turn, straight firm left arm, good weight shift, and staying down through impact with eyes on the ball is 99% of the golf swing.

How about that 59 on the Web.com tour? Wow!

Another playoff hole!

Great playoff

Congrats to youngest player to win in decades!

Keeping your eye on the ball is the biggest myth in the golf swing, but your point is actually correct, IMO.

What you need to do is maintain your spine angle. When people say "he came out of that shot", what it really means is that the player lost the angle formed by their hips, not that they looked up. The technical term for it is early extension.

In actuality, I've had a productive week of practice despite not practicing much. I did so my noticing that my left arm was breaking down way too much, leading to really inconsistent contact. Shortening my back swing, making sure that my left arm stayed straight and that my right arm didn't fold excessively appears to have straightened me out.

Hamas, I bet with the steeper shoulder turn, you were coming in too steep to the ball and just weren't able to keep the angle.


And FWIW, I'm a huge fan of shortening the back swing. I love watching Davis Love III hit balls because of it.

There is no doubt. I was digging some ****ing trenches, and there is absolutely nothing I hate more than hitting the ball fat. As a result, I started coming out of the shot to save it and all hell broke loose.

I've always fought EE anyway. The only thing with this modification is that I don't tend to hinge my wrists as much. Hopefully I can "float load" to use a TGM term.

Taking the wrist hinge out isn't a bad thing though, the hands are the devil in the golf swing.

<---- Worries obsessively about distance.

Get in the gym and work that core then. :LOL:


I'm in the process of a golf philosophy change, in terms of power and distance as well as ball striking and where it comes from. I think it's all about flexibility and leverage and not much about strength, if said strength can't be used.

I agree, but I also think a lot of it is based upon quick twitch muscle fibers. I'm ridiculously flexible, and I'm longer than an average amateur, but by no means am I long. A well struck drive rolls out to 260-270 for me. SS is about 101-105.

Yep.


Although, I think you then get into getting those quick twitch fibers to fire in a way and sequence to get you into the correct angles. I'm a taller guy and have always hit the ball pretty long, which is what got me by as a younger, high school player and it wasnt' until I got to college that I started really working on the other nuances of actually playing golf.

And now that I've done that, I think thats the funnest part of the game.

And on a side note, it's Open Week. Probably my least favorite major due to the time of it's playing.

Love watching it though.

The British Open is probably my favorite, with the US Open being a close second. Love the different golf culture they have over there and how the weather has such an impact. The time of it does suck though, and it is hard not to see the scores and spoil it before you can see the round tape delayed.

So true. My 14 y/o with the 6 pack and gumby arms out drove me by 60 yards on average this weekend. I can bench my weight but my core is just too flabby. Better to be able to bend like a rubber band and let it fly.

So is anybody playing well and shooting any good scores?

I was getting out once a week until the last 10 days where I got out and played nines practicing along the way probably 5 times. I was going to do the same today(Because I play Branson Creek on Sat. and I want to play well.) but when I got to the course a ran across a buddy who invited me to play with him and another guy. I accepted as it was time to take my game out for real. I played well although I did have a few glitches along the way. I Won $15.00 and carded a +1 73 from the back tees and of course playing the ball down. I double bogeyed the 1st hole, bogeyed #9 and #18 and I hit in the sinkhole on #15 which is a lateral hazard so I had a 1 stroke penalty. In between all that all that I made 6 birdies. However I missed a 2ft birdie putt and a 5ft birdie putt. The two footer was for my fourth birdie in a row........:facepalm: All in all though It was a good day. My change of direction at the top of my swing was beautiful. That was my focus and I had it working. It was a good feeling and it was a good day for an old, balding, fat man.

Actually, been playing really well.


Shot even at Murder Rock a few weeks ago, threw up a 74 at the National from the tips.

Best round though was last weekend at Big Creek in Mt. Home. Threw up a 69, but it felt like a hundred in that I played with a guy I played with in college who tossed up a 66.

Picked up a new big stick too .

Titleist 913 D2. It's lovely.

That's awesome. If you're ever in Springfield and going to play golf we should hook up. sounds like you'll probably lay a whipping on me but that's alright.

Will do. Buddy of mine just joined at Highland, so looking forward to playing it again.

Although, I've been playing alot this summer but with a baby on the way, my playing time is about to go down alot.


Where do you play in Sprignfield mostly?

These days I play at Deer Lake. It's a little rough but for $40.00 a month it's like a sore peter. I know Highland pretty well and Hickory Hills really well. Really I know most courses in Springfield pretty well. If you need a fourth or whatever just let me know.

Will do. I like deer lake, played our high school state champ there a few times.


Hickory is proby top in Springfield though, actually plan to join there in a few years. We will ha e to play once I do, you being a chiefs fan ill have ya out a bunch

My 84 year old daddy is one of the oldest members at Hickory these days. I played there for ten years on him and I love the course. I'm not going to say I grew up there because I experienced my first five years of golf at Horton Smith G.C. The goatiest goat ranch of all time. But I do know Hickory....I play my best there.

Sigh.....you want to play then contact me.....

Um.....no on the bolded part... That distinctive honor would have had to have gone to Silers Shady Acres Golf Course. That place had aspirations to be a goat ranch. Never got close.

:)

Entertaining field heading into the weekend. Mickelson with some outstanding par saves to redeem his afternoon round (so far).

Sorry Phil fans. Jinxed his ass. Just 4-putted by missing two 5-footers.

There's the man boobs we all know & love! :clap:

Nice. We got us a ringer fellas.

Any of you guys ever made the trip to Kiawah Island? We're looking at doing a family trip there and wondering if any of you guys had any ideas about where/when to play?