Topic: The Lounge / Traffic lights

These photos make you wonder if the idiots that design these things have ever driven a car. Ever, in their entire life.

It irks me to think of the money these clowns get paid to stuff up our roads and traffic system and still manage to keep their jobs. Borders on criminal negligence when you think about the number of accidents and injuries caused by their incompetence.

Thanks for the suggestions on writing to the gov depts but I’ve done that already, with zero results. Even the NRMA doesn’t acknowledge the problem which amazes me. And yes I did word them politely and unemotionally.

The ideas about approaching the local members might be worth a go though. I’ll investigate.

Topic: The Lounge / Wedding Question

Boz is over at Brookvale as well. Wonder if he is related to golfballs.com.au?

Topic: The Lounge / Traffic lights

That’s my point Walrus. This stuff would not be difficult to fix.
All it would take is enough ground swell to get the bastards of their collective behinds and a change of attitude.

The roundabout issue is another of those stupid ideas where blind Freddie could have done better.

Single lane roundabouts are a godsend at intersections. As long as they don’t have centres covered in pretty foliage that block your view of what’s coming for god’s sake. Simple, efficient and effective 100% of the time. Traffic is always flowing when it needs to.

But I mean who in their right mind would design a roundabout 2 or 3 lanes wide where you are just about condemning anyone on the inside lanes to an accident as they try to get off. If the traffic volume is such that it requires that to deal with it, an alternative solution should be employed. Like a block of one way streets to route traffic around the centre just like a roundabout, but with much higher capacity, and safer.

Topic: The Lounge / Wedding Question

I’ll bet money that Boz will help you out if you ask nicely. He’s a really nice, salt of the earth kind of guy.

Topic: The Lounge / Traffic lights

Thanks for the empathy and good wishes guys. My patience ran out when I realised that nothing will ever change until there is enough ground swell to make the bastards do something.

The frustrating thing is I feel like a voice in the wilderness, and these things need the voice of millions before they will ever change.

I need to become a politician to have any impact, but I will not sink to that level :-)

Topic: The Lounge / Traffic lights

Davego et al,

A couple of things to point out here.

1. I’ve been driving now for 45 years. Have driven articulated trucks, cabs, been a driving instructor, and gained one the highest ever points to qualify for the old advanced motorist chapter.

2. I also have a degree in electronic engineering so am well versed in the technology, what is available and what is achievable.

When I say these lights are new, they were 2 years ago but their operation hasn’t changed one bit in all that time.

Many sets have sensors under the road which can detect the presence of waiting traffic, but only the first in what may be a long line. These loops could be used to detect gaps in the flow of right turning or oncoming traffic, but are they? No.

We already have laser technology buts its used to raise revenue, not make traffic lights more efficient.

Then there’s the matter of timing between adjacent lights. This is fully programmable for different periods of the day but do they bother to check periodically and adjust to suit traffic flow? No they don’t.

Do they listen if someone rings and suggests a program improvement which would help traffic flow, reduce petrol consumption and pollution? No they don’t. Could this be because of the revenue they get from every litre of petrol sold?

Do they go back and validate their original traffic volume findings after a trial period? Never seen it.

Maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, or maybe society is becoming apathetic and far too naive in regard to the rampant inefficiencies of the statutory bodies funded by our tax dollars.

If this were a private business relying on income derived from satisfied customers, they’d have gone broke many years ago.
Oh, bugger, guess whats happening to them right now.

Is it because they’ve been spending up big on the states infrastructure? No, it’s because they’ve become so inefficient that no matter how many tax dollars we throw at them, they still can’t operate to an acceptable degree of proficiency, by any measure. All they ever do is find more ways to increase taxes.

I know traffic lights are just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s one that particularly pisses me off because I have to suffer it each and every day. And it’s too easy to fix if it weren’t all mismanaged by morons.

Topic: The Lounge / Traffic lights

Maybe this has to do with where you live as much as anything. I notice the NSW RTA web site has no feedback mechanism, whereas most of the other states do.

I’m in NSW and I can state this has nothing to do with accident history as I’m talking about newly built intersections with new traffic lights in many instances.

A prime example is one that has a right turn arrow where you wait for ages, with nothing coming in the opposite direction. When something does come, we get the green arrow and the newly arrived traffic then gets a red light. And this in a state where traffic gridlock is a daily problem.

I’d be willing to bet money it’s nothing more than inefficient beaurocrats and public servants making uniformed decisions, then no accountability for traffic flow or pollution.

Bear in mind we’re talking about the same state Government that has stuffed our public transport, our education system, our hospital & medical system, our ‘lack of’ road management system, our budget, and anything else they’ve touched.

Topic: The Lounge / Traffic lights

I agree many people abuse traffic lights and take risks which endanger other road users. That’s another argument about the licensing standards which I won’t get started on.

But don’t you think a large part of the reason some people do take such risks at traffic lights is out of frustration with their inefficiency?

If they actually catered for the traffic, which by the way is surprisingly achievable with better programming, I think all but the silly drivers would respect them more and not take those risks. Or is this being too idealistic?

Except for the fact they wouldn’t do anything about it, I’d love the chance to report to the government on the efficiency rating of traffic lights where the efficiency was given as the of time traffic was flowing through an intersection against the of time it was stationery.

I can almost guarantee it would be below 50% except during busy peak hours.

The police minister recently commented on the fact that only 5% of crimes were solved in NSW by saying he thought they were doing an excellent job. So clearly their standards are pretty low.

Topic: The Lounge / Traffic lights

Just reading the post about ‘what is the world coming to’ and it got me thinking about some of the things that piss us off about society in general.

My pet hate for years has been traffic lights and the way they hold everything up most of the time. I feel sure this is a big cause of road rage as people get frustrated with being unnecessarily held up by red lights when there is no rational reason for it.

For instance, the number of intersections where there’s a right turn arrow that prevents you from making a right turn, even though there’s nothing coming from the opposite direction for as far as the eye can see. And when they eventually turn green, they let only half the cars get round before turning red again. And the number of times they turn red as you approach an intersection, even though there’s nothing in the cross street.

They are so bloody inefficient, and yet when you call them to complain about the programming, they act as if they know everything when they have no bloody idea.

People get licenses after passing a driving test which says they have some degree of competence, and yet they program these traffic lights as if we are all incompetent idiots.

I’ve complained for years about this and written to motorist associations and it all seems to fall on deaf ears as if its some kind of taboo subject.

Australia’s per capita pollution is about the world’s worst and idleing at traffic lights is one of the main causes. I can’t believe this doesn’t get more attention by both the public and the authorities.

Is it just me getting old, or does anybody agree with me?

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / Compensating for a swing flaw

GottaStartSomewhere,

I think of it as ‘back to the ball’ but I don’t think that’s important. My problem is years of doing it wrong through lack of good instruction, and you know how old habits die hard. They say you can’t just stop a bad habit, you have to replace it with something.

I knew I came OTT because of the slice. Gradually, the knowledge I’ve gained here taught me a number of ways to not come OTT. But the old habit dominated despite all the things I tried. One day, whilst figuring out how to get the right shoulder to drop instead of turn, I discovered it felt like I was delaying the upper body rotation, and keeping my back towards the ball much longer than normal. I tried this with a full swing and it hit me like a freight train.

The impact felt so much more solid, the slice disappeared, and the distance increased. I thought a lot about why this happened and realised that I just have a very strong tendency to turn my shoulder, instead of dropping it.

If you have a chronic slice, give it a try and if it works, great. However, it may not be for everybody. I just think I’m a particularly bad case of a body that takes a lot of time to adapt to new habits with some physical limitations that probably don’t help much.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / Compensating for a swing flaw

Agree with slower arm movement in the backswing Jeff as it gets closer to mimicing the static position, which I think is where things should stop. However, it does change the natural tempo but that could be something to get used to maybe.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / Compensating for a swing flaw

I was focusing on extensor action last weekend and hit some of my best ever drives to lose another shot. Slow continuous improvement is where I’m at.

Dart, you mentioned how shocked I’ll be at how open the shoulders will be through the ball. I just want to clarify the above statement about this feeling of keeping my back to the ball.

I don’t think for one second that I actually do that. Obviously, it would be darn near impossible. But with that pre swing thought in mind, it encourages me to drop my right shoulder instead of turning them too early and coming OTT. I’m confident my shoulders do pretty much what they should after that, but for some strange reason that’s how it feels to me. I’m sure in time that will change and I’ll be able to focus on driving the shoulder and arm down on plane but for now that’s what works consistently, with all shots.

I see this as not being much different from curing a chronic slice or hook. You teach them how to do the opposite, and then find the middle ground don’t you? I grant you its not ideal to focus on doing something to prevent something else, but when I focus on the right stuff, it just doesn’t work for me as yet. I suspect because this tendency to rotate too early is so strong.

As I said, hopefully in time I will be able to do that. Make sense?

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / up/down/side hill lies???

I think that’s the confirmation light I was waiting to see come on, Paul.

From there I can work it out myself. Thanks.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / up/down/side hill lies???

I’m still very unclear as to the balance thing here.

The difference of opinion Loren is where Shawn teaches to balance on the inside of the downhill foot/leg for uphill & downhill lies. Whereas prior to the posting of his video, it seemed we were agreeing it should be on the inside of the uphill foot (thankfully, the ball above/below feet advice is consistent).

I can see arguments in principle for both cases but my opinion doesn’t matter much, given I am asking the question and don’t ‘know’ the answer… yet.

I’m not a particularly talented golfer, I’m one of those who struggles to keep up. So I’m a big believer in getting the correct information before spending weeks or months practicing the wrong thing, then having to spend years correcting it afterwards

My home course has a few holes where this issue can influence the score a bit, so it will help with my handicap and more importantly, my confidence and progression as a golfer.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / Compensating for a swing flaw

I think Steb was just having a little stir Darty. And I perpetuated it in good fun.

However, you haven’t answered my question:
What’s the best thought/method to get the active right elbow on plane? Is it a matter of driving it down to 4:30 on the ball?

There have been numerous ways mentioned on here that could be used to try and achieve this, and it’s important to me to use the correct one. To mention a few;
Tracing the plane line with the right hand/fingers,
Driving the right shoulder down at the ball,
Driving the right elbow down at the ball,
Pulling the butt of the club down at the ball,
etc. etc.
I’ve tried them all with varying degrees of failure so have stuck with what works for me. i.e. the intent of keeping my back to the ball as long as possible.

Now I grant you that doesn’t mean it is correct. It probably just means I haven’t executed or practiced the others well enough. But as you know. I’ll stick with something if I know it will work eventually and for the long term.

So whats the good oil? Whats the goal, and the best way of achieving it?

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / Compensating for a swing flaw

Damn right Steb! Who the hell wants to look like they don’t know any better?

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / up/down/side hill lies???

Beg your pardon Loren? Sorry, I had to read that a few times before it sank in :-) I think I’m losing my concentration.
Is this saying there is more than one way to skin a TGM cat?

Or is it saying the best way (and TGM) is to recognize the inherent balance issues of these shots and maintain a relatively quiet, centrally balanced body in order to counteract any tendency to fall toward the downside of the slope?

I’m trying to gain a better understanding and it seems we have some differences of opinion even among the experts.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / Compensating for a swing flaw

Dart,

The video tells me I do have a FLW at impact (most of the time anyway :-) although I don’t maintain lag as long as I’d like to. More of an early gradual release than a quick late one. Just don’t have the timing skills I guess.

Extensor action definitely helps and I’ll continue working on that. I confess I haven’t watched for the wedges that much but I’ll check them out.

What’s the best thought/method to get the active right elbow on plane? Is it a matter of driving it down to 4:30 on the ball?

Believe it or not, I still find that keeping my back to the ball is my best thought for consistency. It seems to be the only thing to prevent me from rotating my shoulders too early, which you know causes sh*t to happen.

To put into perspective, I’m generally pleased with my game and my best drives are now 230-240m. So I’m fine tuning here, looking for that added consistency that allows one to perform on demand, and belies the old cliche – ‘that’s golf’.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / Compensating for a swing flaw

Understand your point Guru. I used to be (and maybe still am sometimes) prone to an “arms only” action. Then I discovered the “pivot” so hopefully that’s not an issue now.

I assume the end of my swing should be as far back as it goes in very slow motion or near static. My thinking is if I go back any further at full speed, then “something” is bending when it shouldn’t. And it’s my left arm. However, this ’’end’ is barely more than horizontal (is that P3?) and is what I find so hard as I had a ‘normal’ swing before the shoulder damage about 7 years ago.

I think I turn the shoulders as much as I can already as my spine is also not as flexible as I’d like. In fact I was born with short tendons, ligaments etc. so generally not as flexible as many. Had Scoliosis as a kid and never been able to touch my toes, touch my hands behind my back, sit with my legs under my butt, none of that.

Maybe I should learn how to swing like Lonard.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / Slowing Down

Ain’t it amazing the way that misinformation leads to misinterpretation.
As Guru says, obviously the intent is not to slow down the clubhead through impact. The intent must be to accelerate the clubhead through impact. The only way this can happen is if you haven’t wasted all your effort before getting there. Therefore, avoid starting the downswing with 100% effort so you have something left to accelerate through the ball. Simple when you think about it, but not instinctive for all of us.

Like most quick off the cuff tips, it might be well intended, but without the correct underlying explanation, it leads down the wrong path.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / Compensating for a swing flaw

Another question for those with an in depth understanding of the swing (bio)mechanics.

I’ve found I’m unable to maintain a straight left arm at the top of my back swing due to torn rotator cuffs and what are now partially frozen shoulders. By monitoring on video, I’ve also discovered that the bent elbow takes me to a more upright plane at the top. I suspect that the required correction probably reduces my consistency somewhat, and most likely robs me of some power as well.

I am in the process of trying to correct the straight left arm but find it physically and mentally challenging as I’m very reluctant to reduce the length of what is already a slow swing speed. I plan to keep at it, but it may take a while.

My question is this. What swing elements should I focus on most to avoid inconsistency or loss of power until I can correct this bent left arm? I’m 63 and I should probably accept that I may never get it as straight as I’d like, but at least if I’m doing the right thing to compensate, I know I’ll sleep better.
As always, your help and wisdom is most appreciated.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / up/down/side hill lies???

Hmmm….interesting.
The video above seems to agree with the weight into the slope for the ball above/below feet scenarios, but contradicts that principle for the uphill/downhill slopes.

I tried what we’d discussed above on the weekend and while I wasn’t overly thrilled with the quality of the results, it was at least more consistent than what I’d been doing. Maybe because I was concentrating on my weight and keeping it relatively static.

I’m very curious to hear comments on what I see as a contradiction of the initial advice for the uphill/downhill lies though.

Topic: Golf Talk / GOT THE FLIES BEAT

Speaking of which there was a thread some time back on how to discourage flies. Peaked my interest as I seem to attract them like stale sh-t on a hot day and I do forget to not breath in on backswing. Nearly choked last week on one. Anyway, best solution I saw was to place a dog turd in opponents sand bucket.

Had to wonder though, where do you find doggy dung on a golf course and how to explain carrying it around to the lady members, or handle it without leaving it on yourself. Certainly needs some creative thinking.

Might try the Rosemary & Cedarwood next weekend.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / up/down/side hill lies???

Theres a basic change to my thinking and technique involved with this so I’ll give it a go this weekend and see how it works out.

Thanks for the help all. Hope you have a good weekend and play well.

Topic: Ask Golf Guru - Golf Instruction / up/down/side hill lies???

I can sense some logic coming through here :-).

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like one should always lean weight into the hill to help try and maintain balance?
So weight predominantly on high foot, or heels or balls (of feet that is), depending on slope direction.

That would explain my inconsistent results as I’ve been trying to move everything to allow for the natural weight shift tendency.

The side hill lies haven’t been that much of a problem for me but I just want to get the principles right so its easier to remember.