1017 replies to this topic

[Styles]

Murph, great looking swing!

[Charlston]

Murph, it seems to me that your balance is not what it should be. Try to widen your stance a bit when swinging that Driver. To the trained eye, your right arm also has some tension in it at address of which should be looked at.

[Shimonko]

I wish you success Murph. Don't worry about your eagle % - that would put you in the top 40 on tour.

[BrotherGhecko]

I love it when a plan comes together.....

[BuggeraCup]

Murph, great looking swing!

Its better to stay silent and look a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt

- Mark Twain

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an unchartered land,or opened a new heaven to the human spirit

- Helen Keller

Thanks mate, thats quite a good wrap after looking at your smooth swing! It was your blog that has inspired me to work towards the goal instead of just mucking around thinking that I should be a better golfer. I don't have a coach as such but I do have a lesson every few months or so just to get the basics sorted again and any bad habits that have crept in identified and fixed.

[Styles]

Murph, invest in a putting mat (or cup if you have carpets at home) and spend 10 minutes a day working on your putting. Hole a lot of 3 footers, ideally going for 10 in a row eyes open, 10 in a row eyes closed or something similar. I'd also recommend you pick up a copy of Lynn Blake's 'Alignment Golf' DVD. Not cheap (cheaper if you register on his website) but you get 3 absolutely fantastic DVDs that will catapult you on towards your goal. 2 by Easter!

[BuggeraCup]

Murph, it seems to me that your balance is not what it should be. Try to widen your stance a bit when swinging that Driver. To the trained eye, your right arm also has some tension in it at address of which should be looked at.

Thanks for the advice Charlston. I actually used to have a wider stance but sometimes felt like it restricted my shoulder turn so I narrowed it a bit but I still make sure that I can hold my follow thru til well aftet the ball has gone. Having said that it does look pretty narrow in those vids for a driver swing. As for the tension in the right arm, I don't think that its a problem. I only say that because one of the few conscious thoughts I have before I pull the trigger is to relax my hands, arms and shoulders. You can see this in my routine in the vid before I swing when I "shake" my right arm and waggle. Appreciate the comments though mate.

[bluenose]

Hey bud, ok here goes... I joined my current golf club on Hcap 11. 3 years back. Ive just had a december to remember and now have just hit my lowest yet of 3. How ? I started reading how to shoot lower and 3 things kept arising. 1. Drive the ball better. 2. Play the percentages. 3. Putting & Short Game. What i did was on all these was: 1. Kept the driver in the bag a little more. Took the 3 wood, even 2 hybrid and kept the ball on the short stuff of the tee. 2. If hit trouble played out, excepted the mistake and kept the round flowing. 3. I have a good short game but putting was not great. So just hit balls across the carpet at home. What happened ? Well i hit more fairways, which then let me hit more greens and then made more putts. Hope this helps. By the way great swing and good luck.

[KycGolfer]

Here is another view of my swing from side on taken on the next hole. Again solid contact with a nice draw which went about 260m and actually set up a birdie this time.

Once again ignore the gay undertones of my mates!
Murph Driver – side view

I will play off 5

Nice and smooth swing sounds powerful too are you driving with the standard stock Nike SQ Sumo (round) 460 stick ? what loft ? and what's your average distance from the tee ? cheers

[BuggeraCup]

Cheers Bluenese, you're absolutely right mate in your assessment - I think the putting is a big one for me - thats where I really need to shave some strokes. Congrats on getting down to three as well mate.

[BuggeraCup]

Nice and smooth swing
sounds powerful too

are you driving with the standard stock Nike SQ Sumo (round) 460 stick ?
what loft ?
and what’s your average distance from the tee ?

cheers

If Tiger plays Lefty will he be that good ?
Square is Good ? Sure is, if it's the right stick !
Good Golf is Fun plus the Great Outdoors...
In the Bag: Clubs and Balls. My Handicap is Bad Golf.

Cheers for the comments KycGolfer. The driver is actually a tour version Sasquatch - not the Sumo. It has a regular Aldila shaft and 10 degrees loft and it can certainly give it a slap! I average around the 250m mark off the tee with the big dog (but can get it out there a bit more if I chase after one but usually try and play within myself) , 230m with a Sasquatch 3wood and 200m if a take a 3 iron (Taylor Made R7 irons). I have nothing between the 3 wood and 3 iron which is a pretty big gap and does cause some problems with club selection on occasions. The driver shaft, being regular, I feel may be a little on the soft side for my swing style and clubhead speed (which I don't know exactly). I have quite a high ball flight with my preferred shot shape being a slight fade although I can hit a draw if required. Also I have a tendancy to balloon drives into the wind sometimes which I feel may be improved by a stiffer shaft. Thoughts?

[BuggeraCup]

Played 36 holes today with some old mates in our regular tournament that we have been playing together for almost ten years. Played 18 at The Glades (in their daily comp) and 18 at Emerald Lakes. I hit it beautifully in both rounds (even lowered the handicap!!!) and I'll post a bit of a story on the two rounds tommorrow - but right now I'm a bit shagged.

[KycGolfer]

The driver is actually a tour version Sasquatch – not the Sumo. similar to Tiger's ... ?? you show good balance, yet able to generate the necessary club speed have u tried a stiffer shaft....for your club speed... i guess if the regular is serving u good..why bother...your swing's tempo may allow for that regular flex anyway still no harm trialling a stffer shaft if there's a chance, that should give you a more penetrating flight with less ballooning and may enhance your distance too.... btw, are your other clubs ie 3-wood, Irons in regular flex too ? 36 holes is a marathon indeed esp in the heat of summer ! but good to hear you did well..... sleep well

[BuggeraCup]

Played 36 holes yesterday with some mates where we play for a trophy that we had made up - been playing for the trophy (called the Buggera Cup - hence my user name) for almost 10years ever since we did a golf trip to North QLD and back playing golf every day for two weeks. Played The Glades in the morning, a tough resort style course with a fair bit of water. My ball striking was brilliant - probably the best I have ever hit the ball but my putting was woeful, especially on the front nine. I actually had 5 three putts today in a total of 34 putts!!! Somehow though I still managed to shoot 78 and had 40 points in thier stableford comp so my handicap has dropped from 9.5 down to 8.9!!! I just couldn't get the speed or the line of the bent grass greens (which I'm not really used to) so I made next to nothing. Managed to shoot 1 under on the back nine when I hit every fairway and only missed two greens. So it was a great round but it could have been anything if I could have worked those greens out. In the afternoon we played at Emerald Lakes which is members course that is fairly short but also has a fair bit of water in play. Ball striking was not as good as the morning round but I just felt much more comfortable on and around the greens being back on bermuda grass. Never got into any real trouble until I tripled the 16th after thinning a bunker shot. However I was very happy that I regrouped from that to finish birdie - par to shoot a nice 77 but once again could have been much better except for that one blemish. I just feel very confident over the ball at the moment but I just have to continue to work on the short game and eradicate the odd error. I will probably play on monday again up here in Brisbane, hopefully in a comp. First comp round for the year has me going in the right direction though in my journey to 5 - 9.5 down to 8.9. I will play off 5

[BuggeraCup]

The driver is actually a tour version Sasquatch – not the Sumo.

similar to Tiger’s … ??

you show good balance, yet able to generate the necessary club speed

have u tried a stiffer shaft….for your club speed…

i guess if the regular is serving u good..why bother…your swing’s tempo may allow for that regular flex anyway

still no harm trialling a stffer shaft if there’s a chance, that should give you a more penetrating flight with less ballooning and may enhance your distance too….

btw, are your other clubs ie 3-wood, Irons in regular flex too ?

36 holes is a marathon indeed esp in the heat of summer ! but good to hear you did well…..
sleep well

If Tiger plays Lefty will he be that good ?
Square is Good ? Sure is, if it's the right stick !
Good Golf is Fun plus the Great Outdoors...
In the Bag: Clubs and Balls. My Handicap is Bad Golf.

Yep all of my clubs at the moment are regular flex. I did not try a stiff shaft in the driver when I bought my set based on the salesman advice - which in hindsight may have been erroneous. I should have at least tried some different combinations but I trusted his advice. You are right though - I hit the driver pretty well and very consistently so I am reluctant to change anything but I do think that I could get a more penetrating ball flight and, perhaps more distance, with a stiffer shaft combination.