Range Exploits

[VoteWhitey4Prez]

So I got a chance to go out to the driving range with my roommate (who occasionally golfs) today. He suggested that I start out with a wedge and try to hit it at the short flag. So I pulled out my PW and after a while, much to my delight, I started getting the hang of it. And by that I mean that I could hit the ball in the "general" direction of the flag. One shot sailed right over the flag but was long, although I'm not complaining.

Then I decided to pull out the big guns, so I tried out my driver, and that was the nasty part. I kept hitting the balls in such a way that they were low to the ground. And they went everywhere. It was particularly bad when I tried to hit them off of the tee. Some of them went pretty far and rolled even farther, but there was no height.

Then we went to the putting green and putted around. Now, I know that everybody complains about their putting, but honestly, I thought that was the most fun part. Most of my putts came within a few inches and then rolled somewhere else. But my roommate said that I was doing pretty well. He could have just been trying to boost my ego, though.

Anyway, I'm probably going to go back tomorrow to give it another try.

[Crossfire]

Congrats for a decent session man. Honestly, since your new i'd learn how to play the right way. You have no muscle memory, therefore you can become very good very fast if you learn the right things. Personally, im glad you enjoy putting, so do i. Putt like theres no tomorrow, putting and chipping will help you score well even if your other clubs crap out on you. Ive always said if im having an off day with something, i want it to be with the driver, its the least important club to me. I can recover from a bad drive, a bad iron shot, even a bad chip. A poor putt is a lost stroke. Go to the library and get some books, or look them up online. Very rarely do we get the chance to learn to swing with no prior swing memory. Its a teachers wet dream.

[warbirdlover]

Keep at it and don't forget to have fun!!

[mont86]

Alot of practice, I'm allows thinking about my swing and how to improve it.
Which in itself could be the problem.

[VoteWhitey4Prez]

I still haven't gotten that book you all suggested, so I wasn't too sure I was doing everything right. I don't want to ingrain bad habits.

[mont86]

Originally Posted by VoteWhitey4Prez

I still haven't gotten that book you all suggested, so I wasn't too sure I was doing everything right. I don't want to ingrain bad habits.

Which book?

[VoteWhitey4Prez]

Originally Posted by mont86

Which book?

Ben Hogans Five Lessons. In a different thread it was widely endorsed by all of the posters here.

[Sean]

Maybe there's a time it's a good idea, but from what I'm reading above you were hitting the driver off the mat/grass with no tee for a bit? I'm not surprised you hit them bad! As a fellow new guy, just use tees with that thing. I've never even considered hitting off the deck with mine!

[VoteWhitey4Prez]

Yeah, I was kind of experimenting I suppose, but the tee was too high, if that makes any sense. The very top face of my driver came up to the ball, and I was having trouble hitting it square. My roommate had a driver that was huge, it looked about twice the size as mine. So I just tried hitting them off of the matt to see what would happen.

[mont86]

This may sound stupid, but after two years I'm finally starting to understand what the swing should be like. I use to cast,swat and every other possible flaw to ruin my swing.

[JEFF4i]

Oh you'll get bad habits, we've all got them.

Just gotta learn to fix them, and work around them.