So, I Went To The Driving Range On Sunday..

[jlbenedict]

So, I've decided to get back into the game of golf. I was first introduced to golf during my senior year of high school (1993) and was hooked. I played regulary for about three years; around 1996. This was when I returned from South Korea and got stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. I guess drinking with my buddies and partying in Austin was much more important.

While I was playing, I got to the point to where I was shooting in the low 80's and on occasion would break 80 and bust out a 78, 79, etc (on a real easy course). Golf is a great sport and I always had a great time, even if I was on a single outing, by my lonesome.

A few of the guys here at work play golf on occasion and hearing them talk about it all the time got me itching to see what I was capable of after eleven years. So I shot down to my local sporting goods store and picked up a cheap set of clubs. I picked up the Ram G-Force TS 14 Piece Package Set. Golf clubs have come along way in ten, eleven years. I see these new clubs called a "hybrid" and think "damn.. i've been out of the loop for a while!".

Overall, these clubs are better than the cheap starter Dunlop's I had eleven years ago. Even after eleven years, I still haven't lost my swing. I hit about 150 balls Sunday; of course I wasn't perfect. I was actually suprised with my results. A little rusty: yes; but once I got loosened up, by the end up the day I was hitting my #7 iron around the 140-150 yd mark. These clubs really get the clubhead down and have excellent lift on the ball, which suprised me. But, I know that can be a bad thing on those windy days.
I was really impressed with the #3 hybrid. I could never hit a #3 iron, but this thing is pretty easy, at least I have found so far. A few times, with ease, I was constantly hitting the 200 yd mark with the hybrid; straight as an arrow, with very few mishaps.

The driver on the other hand, is where I need some more work. It could have been a combination of the rainy, windy weather. But, at best, I was able to carry a drive 200-220 yds. At about the 200 yard mark of this particular driving range, it begins to slope uphill significantly, so there is very little roll on any drives once the ball hits the ground at this point. This particular driver seems a little bigger than the one I had eleven years ago so I'm going to have to hit the range a little more and get some more swings out of it.

Overall, I had a blast. I definately look forward to getting back out on the course and hitting some real shots.

 

[George P Burdell]

Sorry, but I'm still sleepy so I have to ask: cliffs?

 

[Papagayo]

Very nice..

I'm hooked on golf.
Love the sport, but I still suck at it..
I usually score around 85-90..

 

[meltdown75]

I've only been out twice this year so far. Once for 9 and once for 18 last Friday.

Just don't have the time or $ anymore. Hopefully I'll get to play in a scramble or two. I gave up trying to be good... it's all about the fun and social aspect for me now.

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: Papagayo
Very nice..

I'm hooked on golf.
Love the sport, but I still suck at it..
I usually score around 85-90..

Hopefully I can get out to play 18 here in a few weeks for my first time in 11 years.. I'm not expecting anything spectacular. I should be able to break 90 though.

Lost strokes seem to always come from having a piss poor short game and/or lots of 3 putts

 

[destrekor]

yea, driver heads are light and huge these days. Mine is rather large, compared to my father's older driver, the clubhead on my driver is insane.

i haven't shot in forever, but when I can hit a ball with my driver, and when it doesn't veer off, I have been able to hit 250yd. How often? Not quite sure. I have a powerful swing that I have to get under control, and grip the club like a golf club and not like a baseball. My power swing comes from baseball, as does my grip... played my whole life and I am having a hard time adjusting.
but this summer I am going to get it under control. I was messing around with my clubs when I went home one weekend, and it felt right holding the driver with the proper grip. Only problem is, how far can I smash it now, as it didn't quite feel like I could power swing.

 

[Sinsear]

Good for you OP! It's a great game and I find it to be quite enjoyable on a nice day. I don't score as well as you but I still have a great time. A round in the 90's for 18 is a good day for me.

 

[Patt]

I golf all the time ... although I have a 9 month old daughter now, and the rounds are bit slower this year Got a game lined up at 5:30 tonight :thumbsup:

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: Patt
I golf all the time ... although I have a 9 month old daughter now, and the rounds are bit slower this year Got a game lined up at 5:30 tonight :thumbsup:

Report back with the 19th hole report.

 

[timswim78]

Yes, hybrid clubs are nice. I am a complete hack and have trouble with long irons; however, I can make some great shots (relatively speaking) with my hybrid-3.

 

[spidey07]

Yes. Technology has changed a good deal. I would never say the clubs can make you better but when it comes to drivers and hybrids they REALLY do improve your game.

Today's drivers are much more forgiving. The hybrids are a god send. With these clubs even if you mis-hit the ball it is still going to advance a good deal (70% maybe?) and when you do catch them dead on the screws they sail.

On the topic of hybrids...I LOVE a 2 or 3 iron. They're like throwing darts at a long green. But the margin for error is very small. My 3 hybrid is my go-to club at 190+ yards without thought now unless the lie is perfect.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: destrekor
yea, driver heads are light and huge these days. Mine is rather large, compared to my father's older driver, the clubhead on my driver is insane.

The heads are not lighter, only larger. The move from wood to steel to titanium allowed them to more than double the size without increasing the weight. The average driver shaft is much lighter and longer these days. Back in the days of wooden woods driver shafts were steel, weighed about 120 grams and the typical club was 43 1/2" long. Nowadays a standard proshop OEM driver is probably 45" and possibly even 46" long and has a shaft in the 60-65 gram range.

 

[spidey07]

GagHalfrunt,

Why do the hybrids strike so well? I'm talking the 2,3,4 range.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

2 reasons:

1) They're shorter than fairway woods, so that helps deliver the clubface to the ball more squarely. It's the same reason that it's easier to hit an 8-iron instead of a 4-iron. Making good crisp, clean contact is the #1 key to hitting good shots.

2) The heads have a lot of forgiveness built in with VERY low center of gravity and lots of heel-toe weighting. So they help get the ball in the air extremely quickly which most amateurs struggle with. They also react much better to slight mis-hits when compared to ordinary irons which again, most amateurs struggle with.

For MOST golfers they're amazing tools. These days the average weekend player probably should not carry anything longer than a 5-iron and perhaps even a 6-iron. For women, seniors and high handicappers dropping the 7 iron and even the 8 might not be a terrible idea. There are already quite a few sets that are hybrids or very hybrid-like irons all the way through the bag and you're likely going to see more of that.

That being said, I don't like them personally. The vast majority of the guys I fit, advise and build clubs for get much better by swapping out long irons for hybrids, but I can't hit the damn things. I hit the ball fairly high with a natural draw and all the things that make hybrids so useful for most players make them awful for me. I hit them straight up in the air and not very accurately. Goes to show you, nothing works for everyone.

Freaking word censor, you can't say mis-hits without the hyphen.

 

[FreshPrince]

go get yourself this driver

these new drivers are amazing....

 

[everman]

I picked up a book a couple months ago called "The 7 laws of the golf swing", It's a really great book with very nice pictures and well-worded descriptions. I mainly picked it up because I wanted to learn a good one-plane swing and I've really made a ton of progress, so I'm very happy with it.

And hybrids, yes they're wonderful. I think Adams makes some of the best.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
2 reasons:

1) They're shorter than fairway woods, so that helps deliver the clubface to the ball more squarely. It's the same reason that it's easier to hit an 8-iron instead of a 4-iron. Making good crisp, clean contact is the #1 key to hitting good shots.

2) The heads have a lot of forgiveness built in with VERY low center of gravity and lots of heel-toe weighting. So they help get the ball in the air extremely quickly which most amateurs struggle with. They also react much better to slight mis-hits when compared to ordinary irons which again, most amateurs struggle with.

For MOST golfers they're amazing tools. These days the average weekend player probably should not carry anything longer than a 5-iron and perhaps even a 6-iron. For women, seniors and high handicappers dropping the 7 iron and even the 8 might not be a terrible idea. There are already quite a few sets that are hybrids or very hybrid-like irons all the way through the bag and you're likely going to see more of that.

That being said, I don't like them personally. The vast majority of the guys I fit, advise and build clubs for get much better by swapping out long irons for hybrids, but I can't hit the damn things. I hit the ball fairly high with a natural draw and all the things that make hybrids so useful for most players make them awful for me. I hit them straight up in the air and not very accurately. Goes to show you, nothing works for everyone.

Freaking word censor, you can't say mis-hits without the hyphen.

Makes a lot of sense really. My favorite clubs are 4-6 iron. If you mis-hit a 2-4 iron it hurts. If you mis-hit a 2-5 hybrid, not so bad. The game is moving quickly to 3-6 hybrids for beginners. I told my pro that I think I hit them low, he responded "that's what most amatuers think.....for the most part they hit them too high in a effort to get the ball airborne."

But I will say this, when i strike my 2-4 iron properly it is nothing short of beautiful.

 

[HopJokey]

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
...

Overall, I had a blast. I definately look forward to getting back out on the course and hitting some real shots.

:thumbsup:

I just started golf last October and now I'm addicting. Last Saturday I played 52 holes

I'm glad the game sucked you back in. I love both the physical and mental aspects of the game!

 

[Spydermag68]

My parents got me a new set of clubs about 2 years ago. I use to play every week in high school. I did not have the time to go play but since I started dating my girlfriend we usually go to the range 1 or 2 nights a week. I am still trying to get my swing down but I finally figured out why I have such a constant slice with my driver. My left wrist breaks and it opens up the club head.

Gold tips.

 

[PrelateBishop]

I played golf several weeks ago for the first time in 12 years. I played so awful I figured it was an anomaly. I played again last week and sucked so badly I vowed never to play the game again.

As I have had time to reflect, I do not believe I'll ever play again unless I seek professional guidance. I simply do not know how to play the game. :/

 

[jlbenedict]

Went again on Thursday evening. A few sore muscles that haven't been worked in a while.. but that is to be expected.

I can hit all of my irons with no problem and the #3 hybrid.

But, the #3 wood and driver I'm having issues. I guess I either need to break out a video camera or grab a lesson and see if there is something I'm doing wrong. I"m suspecting that a minor tweak or two will sort out the problems.

My drives just don't seem to carry that far; no power. I think i'm trying to swing the driver and woods in the same manner as my irons, and that is not going to work. I think i'm also standing too far from the ball.

Other than that, my second trip was fun.

My accuracy on my #7-PW has the makings of what is going to be my strong point. Back when I played eleven years ago, it was my long game that was my strength and around the green I was horrific.

 

[spidey07]

Driver off the tee....

Put it forward in your stance. It's the only club you want to hit the ball on your upswing, everything else is hit before the bottom of your swing (not counting short game). Make sure your take away is long and low, that's a big key to hitting your driver.

For the 3 wood it can be difficult to hit off the fairway unless you're used to that shot, you pick it cleanly at the bottom or slightly before the bottom of your swing. 3 wood off the tee use middle or slightly forward in your stance. Remember these clubs are longer so adjust your stance accordingly. One easy tip is to put the club behind the ball like you are hitting it and then move your feet accordingly.

Most important tip...
get some lessons

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Driver off the tee....

Put it forward in your stance. It's the only club you want to hit the ball on your upswing, everything else is hit before the bottom of your swing (not counting short game). Make sure your take away is long and low, that's a big key to hitting your driver.

For the 3 wood it can be difficult to hit off the fairway unless you're used to that shot, you pick it cleanly at the bottom or slightly before the bottom of your swing. 3 wood off the tee use middle or slightly forward in your stance. Remember these clubs are longer so adjust your stance accordingly. One easy tip is to put the club behind the ball like you are hitting it and then move your feet accordingly.

Most important tip...
get some lessons

I play the ball off my left foot for my driver. The thing that sucks is this driving range has those fake driving mats, with the fixed height, rubber tees. I tried searching for one that someone may have trimmed down, but no luck

I like to use my 3 wood to drive also, when a driver is not needed. I don't even attempt to hit a 3 wood off the fairway. If I need that much distance, I'll just play it safe with a long iron.

When you mention the low takeaway: I do believe that could be one of my issues. I think I may be swinging with a more upright swing, like an iron: resulting in my hands/wrist not getting low and creating that "sweeping" toward the ball.