All I know is when I get curious about the result of the shot, it often leads to a mishit of sorts. Some wait looking up on short putts til they hear the ball go into the hole. There must be a reason for this?

Now you make me look this up in the book. I'll try to forgive you.

And some lift and turn their head before they have struck the ball as well (Annika Sörenstam and David Duval to mention a couple of former world ranking leaders). I don't think there's one right way for all here, but where your nose points and how your head moves (if it moves) kan make a pretty big influence on the stroke.

Are we still talking about short shots?

No, that was long shots.

I think it's because they are using their hips more through impact. If the motion is more upper body oriented you probably need to keep your head more "down". But every time I see someone say to themselves that they forgot to keep their head down I see a number of errors and compensations before the head gets up and the shot is ruined.

I know that keeping the head down (especially on the longer shots) can be a problem, which Yoda also talks about. I wonder what his position is on the shorter shots? A stationary head - without swaying and bobbing - is essential. But a little head swivelling is ok. But why look at all on a putt under 3 yards IF that can cause you to miss more putts? If they always go in anyway, by all means: look,look,look. Personally I hit too many fat shots (chips/short pitches) if I lose sight of the ball, but that may just be me..

My putting stroke is sometimes such that I need to point my nose somewhere between the ball and the hole to make it work. At other times I look at the ball with the "left side of my left eye" so to speak.

I don't know about the rest of the golfing world, but it makes a huge difference to my strokes how I orient my head at address. My head seems to work like a compass that every body part navigates after.

Tom Tomasello in one of the tapes talks about a 18 pound heavy head which he actually has over his right leg at set-up (unlike Yoda!?) - and he wants his head to come over to the left side as soon as possible after impact, it seems, and he too likes to look after the ball. I guess it's a good thing at any time to know where your head is ..

U bet :-)

Your head should be at the right place at the right time, pay attention to what's going on and keep it's mouth shut! :laughing9

My head or heads in general?

Heads in general, and certainly MY head. You want to put your mind in your hands, remember?

Too much analysis while standing over the ball can ruin a shot. I'm an expert. Think I've turned into an artform &B

I have a tendency to start improvising a low pull draw or push fade or perhaps try a little something that worked really well two years ago and suddenly surfaced at the top of my mind. In other words: Change my intentions after I've addressed the ball. It workes quite often, but it is hardly the receipt for consistent golf.

Also, very often, I can't help but trying to shape the shot even though I deep down know that a standard stroke will probably give a better result. And certainly a better score after 18 holes. But after all it's just a game:laughing9

Almost sounds like Bubba Watson. Do you hit it a mile as well?

Yes, me and bubba has a lot in common :liar:

He hits the driver a real long way. I often hit the approach shot a real long way.

We're both lefties though.

180 y with the 7 iron?

I guess it's a good thing when elements/alignments of the golf swing occur naturally, but I would think it's also easy to get lost, when things go wrong, when you don't know what you are doing?

More like 205 Y with a 5 w.&B

But in any case: GIR !?

Every single time :liar:

Ante meg....

I think it is particalurly easy to get lost for us who picked up golf as adults and don't have a god given talent for the game.

I think you need to be able to feel the difference between good and bad.

But at the same time it is very difficult to feel what's causing trouble when things aren't right. So you need a geometrical approach with good routines, keys and check points etc to get in the ball park. Then you can use feel for the fine tuning, IMO.

I am an expert at feeling the difference between good and bad (shots).

Perfect swing?
 

If one could pick out a "perfect swing" - would this be it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ODdv5pmib4&NR=1

What's the importance of the ball?
Does this make it a pivot controlled hands swing, in which case it isn't "perfect" after all? :doh:

But it was a perfect swing for her, I guess...

Can pivot controlled hands and hands controlled pivot in a golf swing seemingly look alike even though they are the opposite of each other?

PGA Quiz
 

Who has more wins on the PGA tour..

1) Tom Watson or Phil Mickelson?

2) Johnny Miller or Lee Trevino?

3) Davis Love III or Hale Irwin?

4) Gary Player or Paul Runyan?

5) Kenny Perry or David Duval?

:doh:


http://golf.about.com/cs/historyofgo...ourcareerw.htm

hole in one Qiuz.
 

1) Oldest golfer to get a hole in one?
2) How many holes in one has ..

# Jack Nicklaus -
# Arnold Palmer -
# Gary Player -
# Tiger Woods -

http://golf.about.com/b/2007/04/19/g...ole-in-one.htm

How many do you have?
I have none.

Hole in ones?

WOW, I've been playing golf over 40 years, this will take some thought...

Let's see, there was... then there was.... oh yeah, don't forget the one...

OK, I've got it.

ZERO :angry2: :golfing_banana:

but you could be wrong?? :golfer3:

Heres my favorite golf trivia question.

How many times did Jack W. Nicklaus finish in the top ten in a major on the PGA Tour?

He wun 18. Edited: About 70?(I forgot that there were 4 majors each year)
The (British) Open also counts on the PGA Tour?

That is a feeling you should hold on to, nurture and listen to. I truly believe having a feeling of what's going on beats everything geometrical - if you take it serious.

I'll give you my highly personal answer, which isn't quite out of the book;

If your left hand is laid off at impact you're in serious trouble.

If your right hand is laid off at impact you're playing the pivot game. And more so the earlier it happens.

I think true impact control means having two strong hands at the club during ball contact. I had an hour today where I only needed to think draw or fade, and the hands delivered. I was totally connected from both sides during the impact interval.

The left wrist controls the clubface, right? If the FLW is at the right place at impact - does it really matter that much what happens in the backstroke - it's the downstroke and especially how the left wrist works at impact that counts? Or?

Maybe you are talking about small differences, because your bad shots are not that bad? I'm talking about REAL bad shots. One has to blind and dumb and one handed not to feel the difference between this and an occational real good shot.

The back stroke is very important. Start to study the back stroke of your playing partners. You should soon be able to spot something being off in the early part of their back stroke when they hit poor shots.

All the pros you see on TV have a "perfect" back stroke by comparison so you have to study "real" golfers :toothy1: to appreciate this.

It happens to the best, air. Have you not seen when Tiger drives the ball into the next county? Even the best players in the world make a lot of mistakes.

I'm talking about small and big differences. If you can feel a bad stroke while you're executing you are not far away from feeling a bad stroke while doing the back swing. Perhaps you can feel that already. And perhaps you can even sniff whether you're going to be successful before you start moving the club.

As you get better you may be amazed by how small differences you can feel.

I am at a stage where I usually can feel a lot of early indications about what's waiting at address. At my best I see/feel a good impact coming. Sometimes when I struggle, I get a visual of a snap hook. What I feel is a reflection of how I am aligned and how I have programmed the motion. So part of the programming and the alignment is controling me but it should be the other way around.

Part of the improvement for me is to become better at reversing the relationship: Feel the stroke I intend to make and then program the machinery for proper execution.

air
 

good morning/ good evening

I might add i am very happy with your success at
the big C, and with Yoda. You mentioned the word
depression,if may draw an analogy. Yoda is a surgeon you are the patient, sometimes the "arm"
needs to be broken before it can be reset.Just allow
yourself to enjoy the journey, you will attain your goal. Good Luck to you and happy holidays

overpar85

Thank you for your concern. It didn't last more than a couple of weeks - and I found the solution - a new trip in March - something to look forward to.

Air's Short-Lived Depression
 

Correct me if I'm wrong, Air, but I think your "depression" was one born of having to leave Cuscowilla (and your golf experience) and return to Norway (with the onset of its long, dark winter and its golf courses covered in snow and ice). It had nothing to do with the tremendous progress you made with your Golf Stroke during your time with me.

:smile:

Correct. The transition was like a paralyzing shock.
(I have always had problems in my transition in golf as well).

You are 95% right, but there have been some strange backswings - Furyk, Darcy etc - but they managed to have great impacts.