A Challenge to AI's and Teachers: The Grasshopper, The Jedi and The PLAN
 

I am challenging all AI's and Koolaid Teachers. This is the the development of the Bucket Doctrine.

The 7th Edition has now been released. We have the final words of Mr. K in print. The integrity of what has been added and deleted can and has been debated by some adnausium. Frankly it is tired. Mr. K could have stopped at the 1st Edition and we would STILL HAVE THE BEST INFORMATION IN GOLF bar none. It is time to move forward.

I would say that 99.9% of us visit the respective forums for one reason. And that reason is a selfish reason. We want to improve whether that be teaching or playing. We want to get better at what WE DO. More things have been accomplished for the "masses" as a result of "selfish" reasons than "charity." Study economics and you'll understand.

We are all blessed to play the greatest and most beautiful game of golf. We have been blessed with the best information in golf.

But . . .

Why are golfers stagnant in their improvement? I think that people under the wing of any AI have a better chance of sucess than just guidance from a normal PGA type. But still people are not improving. My contention is that they don't have a PLAN or a Roadmap to get BETTER. There is no orderly structure of practicing or long term, interim and short term objectives. We just drive around making left turns.

Golfers are different in their stages of life and golf development. You have young kids and aspiring professionals who can practice and play all day everyday. You have older working slobs with childern who have a limited amount of time to devote to the game. You have retired old farts with time but lacking in physical skills. So the road maps for each must necessarily be different.

I think teachers have done us a disservice by not starting with a Planning Session. I have take a ton of lessons from a bunch of people. I have had some absolutely fabulous lessons too. But never once . . . not a single time. . . zip . . . zero . . . nada . . . has anybody asked me. "Hey doofus here's where I think you are and just where do you want to go in this game? What do you want to accomplish? Oh by the way you got a little grease or something right there . . "

Selfishly I am a dude that has to work and has small little urchins tearing up stuff. I have accomplished nothing in the game to this point other than shooting a few low scores. So I would like to develop a set of long range goals, intermediate goals and short term goals to work towards. My mind needs to be focused and disciplined to follow a more structured approach to improvement.

Problem . . . I'm not sure how to go about it. I need a sheperd, a steward, a tour guide on my road to gettin' better . . .

Just thinking out loud . . . maybe a good long range goal would be to win my club championship. Great but what is the best way to get there? I need definable milestones to mark my progress along the way.

PLUS I need to know where I am RIGHT NOW. I need an assessment of my TOTAL GAME. Short Game? Putting? Irons? Driver? Course Strategy? Mental Game? Managing Emotions?

So once I know where I be and where I wants to go . . . How do I get from Point A to Point B? That's what we are missing IMO.

AI's and Instructors Baptised in the Kool Aid are much much much smarter than the average bear. You have the best INFO . . . what are you gonna do with it? So I'm challenging you. Let's come up with some sample PLANS for the different categories of golfers. We spend a lot of time on mechanics but the game is way more beautiful than mechanics. Let's accomplish something selfishly together.

Who's got a set?

Whoa Nelly....Tell us how you really feel!!! All plans need the abilty to adjust along the way..but I get your point and I do concur...The game of golf is much more than the mastery of one's mechanics it's a journey...And many friends, relationships, lessons, defeats and persoanl victories are encountered along the way....Perhaps the "Pursuit of Perfection" is what often causes one to lose perspective of smellin the grass and enjoying each and every moment...But to the original challenge....your position is well debated..but I'm afraid the true challenge lies within the individual to strive to get better...."The Intangibles" are what are the fuel that guides golfers to better golf....Talent,Heart,Work Ethic, Strong Will, Courage, Drive, Determnation, "A Sack" and etc...One can work on the mechanics for eternity and still not know how to score, grind, will that ball ito the hole to accomplish the simplicity of Rule 1-1(USGA Rulebook)...


My Deep Battered Little Friend..

Golf in it's simplicity....The Game of Golf consists of playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground by a stroke or sucessive strokes to a hole in accordance with the Rules....

We all forget how simple that is.....

Golf and it's complexity....The Game of Golf consists of controlling a ball with a club..........


You get the point...

Yes..one needs a guide and the right information but more importantly the individual needs to be able to do it frequentlyNot once a month....once a week, ...but each and every day....many times throughout the day....

At Campbell we have done a case study with a 1/1 hour lesson a week...3/20 minute lessons a week.. and 5/12 minute sessions a week...which one turned out to be the most successful?...I think we all know the answer to that......


People want to play like the PGA Tour Players...Do they play and practice as frequently as the Tour Players...perhaps some...but I would say not nearly enough....

So Bucket ...I answer your challenge first and foremost ....because we are friends...Get your arse in your car and come see me for a minimum of 3/20 minute sessions per week or better yet move you family down here to the Creek and I'll work with you 5 days a week..You get the weekends off to be your "redneck mullet self"...

:boohoo:

Lesson Plan
 

Three 20 minute lessons a week sounds good but the real issue is how many weeks. Most students would go for two weeks and get very little out of the sessions but for 20 weeks the student could get enormous info and have the muscles trained. Mentally and physically.

D,

You are in fact one of the very very very few that have the unique qualifications to answer the call to my challenge. I think there are only a few that I would entrust to write a guide or produce a video to guide a player's improvement. The qualifications would be a blend of a pre-requisite amount of G.O.L.F. knowledge, lesson tee experience, playing experience and ability to communicate effectively. I have seen you in action and you got the goods.

I think a lot of pro's feel like to be successful they have to have a Tour Player in there stable. This may be so for marketing purposes. But I think the real area for a teacher to achieve prominence is with the "average" player. Tour Players well they are . . . Tour Players. They generally got it figured out. The "average" dude is struggling. But the nice thing about the "average" dude is there are a lot of 'em. If somebody could come up with a boilerplate on how to go about reducing your handicap by 30%, you'd be rich.

The golf book/video that needs to be produced in my opinion is this. The Makeover of Average Joe.

Chapter 1. What kind of "Average" Joe are you? Base it on current handicap, handicap goal, competitive goals, amount of time to devote to practice

Chapter 2. Where are your CURRENT strengths and weaknesses Give people quantifiable tests to determine their handicaps in different facits of the game. I go to this website where the do this my long game handicap is 3 short game is 11 and putting is a whopping 24. Yikes!!! So where do you reckon I need to spend my time.

Chapter 3. Defining your Roadmap Have different Goal schemes for each "Average" Joe type. I would base it on Time and Target Handicap/Competitive goal. So maybe one Joe wants to win his flight or another wants to win the State Am whatever. And then say with your X number of practice/playing hours per week here's how to organize your practice. And if that means taking lessons for 10 minutes 3 times a week so be it. Give stories on people who have broken out of a plateau and how the did it and how long it took.


Chapter 4. Fundamentals Here we teach the Imperatives Wedges etc. I would use some David Orr pics with Tour Player's along side Hacks and point out the differences.

Chapter 5. How to stop thinking Average and start thinking like a Champion I've never done anything so I got nothing here.

Chapter 6 How and What to Practice Breakdown how to organize Practice Time. How to Translate Precision Mechanics to FEEL. How to PRACTICE TO SCORE!!!


That's what I got. But I think a lot of people have the desire to get better but do they have the impetus to act? Debatable. I think if people can get the best information (which we got) and develop a Long Range Plan with intermediate goals to check off and away to practice effectively they can get better.

Hell maybe this doesn't need to be a book or video. It could be even better on the web where people could send in video of their motion. You could get a 10 minute lesson 3 times a week on the web without having to drive 2 hours to do it.

This is one thing that is extremely dissapointing to me about the current onwers of The Golfing Machine. Anybody could have just published the changes as Mr. K saw fit. But who's gonna pick up the ball and run with it? I talked to them on the phone about what's next. I got the impression that they didn't know. They were very nice. But I get the impression that a vision is lacking. I wish them the best. Therer are a lot of tools available now the Mr. K was not fortunate enough to have at his disposal.

The message needs to get out. The Yellow Book was way ahead of it's time. Now technology has caught up. Now people have chance to see the concepts demonstrated such as what's going on at LBG and orrgolf.com etc. We have the information. AI's know how to communicate the concepts. But now it's time to integrate it into a plan for people to get better. Let's get the ball in the endzone.

I just try to get as good as I possibly can. No point in doing anything else...esp. considering how much I love golf and how good, I feel, I can be.

If I had less time it would be: how good I can get considering how much time I have to give to golf.

I mean....lots of people dream about doing this or doing that...being pro....hell I think about that sometimes.....why not.....but for me it's more about being as good as I can rather than a hard-assed specific GOAL. Get as good as you can see how far it can take you....if it's to a 5 hdcp good stuff.....if it's scratch and club champ....good stuff.....if it's to the tour....hell yes good stuff. Either way you're as good as you can be.

Maybe you need that specific goal for extra motivation...but that's never been an issue for me.

Improve or nothing IMO....

I dunno how ppl can say "Well I just want to have fun....." Esp. the ones who are out there quite a bit. To me, playing well is what fun is all about. I don't have fun when I'm hacking it up all over the place....good god....all that does is piss me off (rargrgAARGrHAGRHGrhgr! like this).

I mean, I guess I can understand having a good time with your buddies on the course, etc.....and also can def. understand not going to the range all the time, etc. (although everyone who plays fairly avidly or seriously should go once in a while)....I dunno....I still want to be good tho.

...lol I'm honestly not a big try hard or a hardass either....or bigtime hothead (when I lose, etc.)....I just want to be good....that's how I have my fun.

I dunno....if I'm playing a sport I want to be good.....no point otherwise.....have fun of course....don't be a bad loser....be your on your best aside from the game itself.....but man....you've gotta want to play well.

What is your email? I will send you my practice log that I use. It is very detailed and I keep track of precisely what I practice and how well I do each time I practice. I then enter my results into a database and I trend out how I am doing.

Richard@parrottinsurance.com

Thanks man!

File sent. I would post it on here for everyone to see, but I am not sure how to do that.

Stickner! You are amazing! This is super stuff man! Thanks a ton.

BAM BAM!!!! You need to get with Stickner about this. It is awesome.

Stickner I'll toot your horn for you. He followed this plan and went from a 7.8 to a 2.

Way to go! Very nice contribution on your 3rd post. High quality.

Me Too
 

send work log to me also if possible
thanks

barknoll@yahoo.com

Stickner, I'll PM you and we'll get this thing posted.

I hate to say this, but I really think Bucket is lying about being illiterate. No one that is illiterate types "ad nauseam" or has someone else type it for them, even if the spelling is butchered. You are exposed Bucket!

Matt

I would love to get a copy of the log.

Could you email to: ptimbs@eircom.net please?

Thanks in advance

Good Ideas
 

Many good things here!

I believe many/most people are not practicing well. They may think they are, but often are not very close to doing what they want to do. They may have the correct information, but they simply are not doing what they think they are doing.

Solution... they need to be monitored while they practice. If the student gets the correct information, then is monitored, at least some, during each and every practice session... he will improve, and probably improve drastically. He won't be able to practice wrong.

Many tour players do this. Nearly every time they practice, they have their teacher, or caddie, or someone they trust watching.

If you know you have good information, but are not improving... try to figure out a way to do what I'm suggesting. Eventually, after a sound technique is learned, the player can gradually be reduced off this, until he is monitored less frequently.

8th edition
 

I'd like to do the 8th edition!:hello2:

There are two people who could handle it . . . you are one of them. I would love to see the Mike (psych)O edition.

I agree. I think our boy Stickner has a fantastic tool. It needs to be out here for all with his blessing of course. I think even if people are not monitored and the have an "outline" where they can measure there improvement e.g. I hit can now hit 6 out of 10 chips from 30 pace inside a 10 foot circle. They will get better. Bottom line as annikan said this game is ultimately about getting the ball in the hole.

Yo Stickner . . .
 

Hey man . . . could you give an explanation of your practice routine for each area of the game that you have outlined in the spreadsheet? Basically how you go about your business and how long it to for you to reduce your handicap from 7.8 to 2?

You rock dude!

I believe many don't know the difference between practice and playing -I thought I did before old Waverly.It turned out I had been practising for about 20% of the time. It is very difficult to go to a practice area and be totally motion oriented whilst hitting a ball,ignoring ballflight and target.It is then difficult to force yourself to hit a bucket of balls with acquired motion,let alone basic motion. Those of us who can be disciplined will improve-and it is all in the book.Practice can be done 95% at HOME. I believe people really need to understand the basics of the book before trying to build a stroke pattern and good teachers will teach the basic ,short strokes which can be succesfully monitored by the student. This does not stop you from going into playing mode,just go and play . You may transfer your practice feel into your play very quickly-or not...but first of all learn-REALLY LEARN what practice is- then what to practice. Most of you on this site will think I'm insulting your intelligence ,I can assure you that is not the intent. This post is written by an amatuer who is just trying to play better and who spent years only "playing"-even on the range.I have since learned what practice is and have worked as hard as I can(work permitting),mostly at home. I pass on the above advice so that other begginers may avoid years of fruitless "practice". In the past 6weeks since old waverly may game has begun to change.Of course it could just be coincidence;)

Question
 

will this be posted onto this thread..... or into training aids or some other folder?

I posted the practice log in the training aids forum. Here's the link:

/forum/showthread.php?p=27969#post27969

Here is my explanation of my practice log. In this excel spread sheet I have 4 different pages. I have 2 days of a full practice session, and 2 days of a "half" practice session. Each day essentially has the same drills, I just alter the distances and my number of reps.

I must also note that I use an extensive amount of video to help with setup and analysis of my swing. I will very often have a camera setup with a laptop out on the range. I setup the laptop so that it is displaying the live video feed. I will then get into my setup position and then verify my setup by moving my eyes to the laptop to see how I look. This has helped my posture IMMENSELY!!!! I will also record several swings while on the range and then review them to see how it looks. Immediate video feedback is HUGE!!!

Putting
1) Touch drill to tees.
I pick one spot near the edge of the putting green. This is where I stroke each putt from. I then proceed to step off the distances that I am going to be hitting to that day and place a tee in the ground. I always walk off my putts on the course - so this is a very valuable drill for touch on medium to long putts for me. My distances that I am putting to are measured in steps and not in feet. I take "normal" steps here that are about 2.5 feet each.

I have 8 balls with me. I randomly hit putts to each tee. If my putt finishes within 2 feet of the tee, I mark an 'X' in the box. My goal is to have as many as possible finish in that 2 foot circle. After my first 8 putts (1 to each distance), I 'X' the putts that finished within 2 feet, collect the balls, and stroke my next 8 putts. I always vary distance and I never simply "go up or down the distance ladder". I do this 5 times on a full practice day (40 total putts).

2) Fine touch space drill
I place a tee in the ground at my starting point. I then place a tee in the ground 2 steps away and also another tee at 20 steps away (You need a bunch of balls for this drill). I start by hitting my first putt as close as possible to the tee that is 2 steps away. I then try and hit my next putt as close as possible to the first putt, but just past it. I keep doing this all the way out to 20 steps. My score is the number of balls that I can fit between 2 and 20 steps. If I can fit 25 balls in that space - my score is 25. There is a catch though!! If I am unable to hit a ball past the previous ball, I subtract 2 from my overall score for each time this happens.

3) Full Routine
I simply hit 10 putts from different distances utilizing my full pre-putt routine. I track the number of putts made and also the number of putts that finish within 2 feet of the hole. I mark an M for made and an X if I missed but it finished within 2 feet.

4) 10 ft putts on aimline with putter clip.
I built my own "aimline". I use wooden shishkabob skewers that you can buy at any grocery store. I attached thick string to the top of each shiskabob. I hit putts from 10 feet away on as level a spot as I can find. I also use putter clips from Dave Pelz to help me work on center face contact.

I hit 25 total putts and I track the number of putts that I made and also the number of putts that hit the prongs on the putter clips and veered violently offline.

5) Clock drill
I will find a gently sloping hill and place 12 balls around the hill. I will place 4 balls on a straight line at the 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock position. These balls are on a straight line at 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feets, and 6 feet away from the hole. Looks like this:

.
.
.
.

. . . . O . . . .

.
.
.
.

I will pick one of the lines, and hit all 4 balls from each. I place an x in the box for each putt that I make.

6) Sloping short putts
For this drill, I try and find a hole that has a lot of slope around it. Just like the above drill, I have 4 lines of 5 balls around the hole with one line being left-to-right putts, one line being right-to-left putts, one line being straight uphill, and the final line being straight downhill putts. The balls are placed 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 FEET away from the hole.

I do one line at a time and record with an 'X' which putts I made.

7) 3 foot drill
I stroke 20 putts in a row from 3 feet and record how many I made.


Chipping

This is pretty easy. I have several pieces of black rubber that I cut out into 4 inch circles. I place the pieces of rubber at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 steps onto the green. I then go to a spot that is 2 steps off the green (2 steps from the fringe). I hit a chip to each distance, always varying my distance and never going "up the ladder". I record if the chip finished within 5 feet, and I also record what club I used. I always vary what clubs I am using to chip with. I believe this really helps to promote feel.

I do this drill from 2, 5, 10, and 15 steps off the green. I hit 4 balls to each distance. 20 chips per "station". 80 total chips.

Pitching
For this I walk off on the range distances of 30-70 yards at 10 yard intervals. I use small orange cones that you can buy at any sporting goods store. Your best bet is small soccer cones, they are about 5-6 inches wide and only a few inches high. They are small enough that I keep them right in the bag.

I then hit a shot to each distance and never going up the ladder. I will hit shots from 30yds, 60yds, 40yds, 70yds, and 50yds. I will repeat this pattern 10 times for 50 total swings. I record how many shots land within a 10 foot circle after each rep. I also record what club I used that day. I will vary from 60* wedge, 56* wedge, 52* wedge, PW and 9I.

Bunker play
Again using the orange cones, I set up cones at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 STEPS away from the edge of the bunker. I will hit 4 shots to each distance, recording how many land within 10 feet.

I then hit full swings from the bunker. I hit 12 total shots using 4 different clubs. I hit 3 balls with each club. I simply record whether or not I made good contact. You will be amazed how confident you will get on full swing bunker shots after you start working on them. I no longer fear a full swing bunker shot. I used to hit them fat all the time and would advance the ball half the distance I wanted to. Not anymore!


Full Swing

"Target box"
When I do this, I am hitting 5 balls each with alternating clubs. I will hit 4 or 5 balls in a row to a specific target using the same club and record if I hit with a reasonable distance of my target. When hitting 3 wooods in this drill, I always hit them off the turf.

"Alignment box"
I always have the video camera on for this. I use a PVC pipe T-square for alignment. I use the camera to check setup. I alternate clubs and hit 5 balls with each club. I will generally record and review 2 or 3 swings during this portion of my practice. I will hit 4 or 5 balls in a row to a specific target using the same club and record if I hit with a reasonable distance of my target. When hitting 3 woods in this drill I always tee them up.

"Wedge Work box"
I will hit 8 full shots with each of my wedges to specific targets. I vary targets with each shot. I will record if I hit within a reasonable distance of my intended target.

"Tee shot work"
I will hit 10 balls with my driver to an imaginary fairway and record how many finished in the fairway. I do this also with my 3 wood and my hybrid 3-iron and record number of fairways hit. (I only hit 5 balls with my 3 iron)

"Play front or back nine"
Using my full pre-shot routine, I will play my home course's front or back nine. I will hit my tee shot, guess where it ended up, and then hit approach shots. I will record how many "good shots" I hit.

The thing I find most frustrating about golf is everytime you think you have fixed something it rears its ugly head again.

I mean look at this !



This is dreadful! I do get it back close to the turned shoulder plane on the downstroke but this is what ive been doing since a kid! - Last year I had thought it was gone forever.... Took a video yesterday for first time this year and guess whats back ! - it was a pretty nice shot though.... 5 yard draw...lol

Monitoring myself on video nearly every time I go to the range has been a HUGE help for me.

Stickner . . . In my opinion you have made an invaluable contribution to this forum and it should be commended. You should be proud to have the discipline it take to follow such an organized systematic approach to improvement. I think you have the template down but the question for most people would be do they have the self discipline to follow it?

Questions . . .

How many days a week did you/do you practice? How much time do you devote in a session? Do you go through the entire long-game, chipping, pitching, putting drills each practice session?

Way to go man!

Thanks again.

B

That's a good idea about using video feedback...

You can try things....see what you're doing immediately...

Try other things....make sure you're doing it right (see how it looks).....then ultimately you can better judge how different things work.

...

You put lots of emphasis on putting eh? Prolly a good thing....most ppl have strokes to shave.

This sounds like great "playing" but is it "practice"?:eh: It sounds like a fantastic way to check if your "practice" is working

Practice For Play
 

Great stuff. Thanks, Stickner!

Now...

For a variation on the theme...

Do you know exactly how many yards you hit a full Lob Wedge choked down to the steel?

Larry Nelson's answer: "49 yards."

Does your Practice Routine facilitate such self-discovery?

There is the necessary Mechanical Stroke Practice...

And there is the necessary 'Practice as you Play' Practice.

Neglect neither.

Show me a golfer that has too many swing thoughts, and I'll show you a golfer that simply can't hold up under pressure. The guy that learns to get the ball in the hole is the guy that wins.

And you have given us the organized template to follow in how to do just that . . . GET THE DAMN BALL IN THE HOLE!

At the end of the day you have to write down a number . . .

If I knew exactly how many yards I hit my lob wedge, I probably would be a plus 2!!!!

Interesting comment you made, and I would like to hear your response to this. I have worked the range several times at a PGA event. Haven't done it in about 3 years. I have watched up close countless players hitting balls on the range for hours. I don't think they have that level of accuracy where they know exactly how far the ball goes. Don't get me wrong, the groupings of their shots are AMAZING, SIMPLY AMAZING, but they are not that exact. I would bet the farm that Nelson couldn't hit a dinner plate at 49 yards more than 4 out of 10 times. He would be very darn close, no doubt about it, and I would probably be pooping myself with each swing he took if I had a big wager on it. But I would guess that he would miss several of them by 2-4 yards.

His average distance from target would be even higher if he was forced to hit a different club in between his 49 yard shots. After all, when we are on the course, we rarely have the same exact shot twice in a row. If we do, it usually means a penalty stroke of some sort and that would be a bad thing.

So....

* How many times out of 10 would Nelson hit a dinner plate at 49 yards?

* How many times out of 10 would Nelson hit a dinner plate at 49 yards if he had to hit drivers and 3 irons in between his 49 yard shots?

Edit: The same as above, only for 90 yard shots.

In my 9-hole league last night, I was 1 under through 7 and was playing very well. I had to write down a double bogey on 8 and a bogey on 9. Not fun numbers to write down!

I put a HUGE emphasis on putting, chipping, pitching, wedge work, and bunker play. Nearly 80% of my practice time is devoted to those parts of the game.

I do this routine 4 times per week (2 full day sessions and 2 half day session). I practice about 10-11 hours per week. I went from an ~8 index down to ~2 index in about 4 months after I started this routine. The biggest difference was WITHOUT question my improved shortgame. That easily knocked 4-5 shots off my index.

Dinner Date
 

Agreed, Stickner. Which is why he was practicing that particular shot when I asked him the question! :)

BTW, my post was addressed to all readers regarding their Practice Routines and not yours specifically. Sorry for any confusion.

Mathew,
Thanks for posting that.... this is off topic, but I can't tell you how frustrated I get about my progress at times. There are days when I know TGM has given me all I need (informationally) to control a golf ball and yet I'm unable to execute. I recently found I was mixing rft and stt.... I'm a hitter and there is no way that will work. I can work on something at the range and I'm fine but go to the course and it's gone on half the swings..... at least I know I'm not alone.

It is so amazing to watch those guys hit balls at that level. I wish I was able to ask them questions about what they are trying to do when they are hitting balls.

Interesting..

Especailly the comments regarding:

- Getting the ball in the hole

- Knowing what is practice and what is not...

A while back on the Internet a company offered free at first then charged a short game practice routine. It had a lot of similarities to the one provided here. The short fall I discovered for a few who had tried it, they didn't have the mechanics to perform it consistently or adapt.

Granted on the score card it only indicates how many strokes taken, not how you did it. But that then leaves the question 'can you repeat your performance?'.

I think and believe that there are severaly types of practice required.
1. Practice to learn the stroke (focus on mechanics)
2. Practice to learn how to score (focus on results of a shot)
3. Practice to learn how to play (focus on abilities/strengths to get the best score for that hole)

After more than a year of practicing and tracking results I have discovered that I am still a mental midget when I get a golf club in my hand.

It is not that I don't know how to make a good golf stroke, it is not that I can't make a good golf stroke, it is that I can not Score consistently....I discovered just recently that playing short courses vs normal course indicates that I lack distance to score. Par 4s of 420 yds have me hitting 5 or 3 wds to the green. Hitting the green can be a problem, but if I do hit them I am still three zipcodes away from the hole.

So either I discover and correct massive power leaks if they exist or I get off the couch and away from the computer and get FIT....and then there is the thought that that new ball and driver will be the answer :confused1 .

To the end I think each individual needs to isolate and identify a routine to build on thier strengths and correct thier weaknesses, as they say one size doesn't fit all be it the golf stroke or golf practice...

It is the archer - not the arrow. Good luck in your quest!

Stickner . . . Sorry to keep peppering you with so many questions . . .

How many times do you PLAY in a week? Also let's say that you only had 3 to 5 hours to devote to practice a week would you re-organize your routine or would you continue with the same drills etc? How would less practice time available change your focus if at all?

thanks man!!

B

Stickner, maybe you've already answered this and I missed it, but where are you in the development of your stroke pattern? Are you working on specific components, motions, etc.. while you practice or more on scoring/making shots?