benny

My condolences to you and his family. He'll live on in your heart and memories. On the course he will be nearby. I took up golf a few years back as way to stay close to my father who had passed at 57. Too young... All the best, G

Here is a drill/training station I used when I had issues with the hosel of my club... Firstly, when working on the range I always set up target and foot line clubs so I know I'm set up square. Practice doesn't make perfect practice makes permanent. The drill I used was/is to set up a water bottle just outside my ball, on a line perpendicular to my target line. I leave just enough room for my clubhead to pass and make center/sweetspot contact. You can vary the distance to change the difficulty level, tolerances. This drill helps insure that the distance of my clubhead from my feet line established at adress remains consistent through the swing. Water Bottle 0 Target line------------------------0-------------------- feet line------------------------------------------------- feet-----------------------{l}-------------{r}----------- Start with more room between the bottle and the ball. Gradually move the bottle in closer, not too close as you don't want to promote toe contact. Swing slowly to get the feel, of course don't hit the bottle. HTH G

Nick, I have no personal experience doing it, but I slept at a Holiday Inn :wink: . Just kidding, I was at a club fitter this past week and someone came in to reshaft a 905. I asked about the sleve and they said titleist didn't want anybody doing aftermarket work on the club. So I asked what they were going to do and he said they would cut the shaft just above the hosel and would proceed to precision drill the tip out. Heat would loosen the sleve and may even warp the aluminium. I would think that if you loaded the head in a drill press at the proper lie angle you could do as you say and step drill it. Go slow... G

Resist the natural urge to hit at the ball, and hit through it. You have to build trust in a full release, trust that oily swing is going to deliver the ball to your intended target. Work on L to L swings where the effort isn't to drive the ball as far as you can, but to feel what a fully released club/body is. G

Just went to the launch monitor and heres what I got: R510tp 9.5* Zcomtw64 S flex(freq 248): Launch- 10.5* spin- 2966rpm ball spd- 148.0mph swingspd - 104.3mph Generic 10* GD YS 8.1 X flex(freq unknown): L- 10.8* S-2429 BS-158.7mph SS-106.9mph L- 10.2* S-2153 BS-160.6mph SS-112.5mph Generic 10* Speeder 661 S flex(freq unkown): L- 12.1* S-2232 BS-148.4mph SS-107.0mph I'm looking at trying the ys8.1 to see what I get out of it in actual play. I have a tendency to get over on the ball, smothering a lot of shots left. I need to stay more centered through the impact zone, working on it. I have no problem swinging from the inside, my path was/is pretty consistent at the 2-3* inside range. I don't fully if at all release my body and club through impact, resulting in a lot of pulls, again I'm working on it. Anybody have any suggestions on shaft options? Any responses to the numbers? Thanks for all your help... G

A slight lateral movement of the head is acceptable. By slight I mean a few inches, certainly no more than is necessary to make a complete backswing. One caveat, the head must remain on the same level throughout the backswing and downswing through impact. By changing the level established at address (rising up or lowering down) it makes it exponentially more difficult to get consistent solid contact. Fat shots and thin shots will result as well as the occassional solid strike. Having vertical movement in your head also indicates a change in spine angle, not good hard to time up. Junior, when putting it is imperative that you learn to keep your head quiet, as well as your torso and legs. The putting stroke is preformed by "rocking" your shoulders. Moving your head at all produces very inconsistent results in an area where you need to be most precise. You can use a CD to check your eye alignment and head movement. Set a ball in the center of a CD thats been turned over to expose its reflective side, practice stroking putts without lifting your head to check the roll. Another drill would be to place a dime beneath your ball and stroke your putt holiding your head still until the dime comes into focus. Good luck, HTH. G

Landy, I think your right 8.5* wouldn't give you enough launch. I think with a lower ss you need more initial launch, higher than the advertised 11-13*. I think golf digest or golf magazine did a story a while back that give some peramiters to consider based on swing speed and the results of different launch angles. The guys at Putter Around should be able to help point you in the right direction, and more clearly articulate the relationship of swing speed to launch angle. HTH... G

Check out- www.swingweightestimator.com The site has a swing weight calculator that you can use for free. I haven't used it myself so I'm not sure exactly how it works, but its a good place to start. HTH G

Sounds odd that it would be one club. Check your set make up i.e., lies, lengths, swing wieghts, flex/frequency. This will help determine if there is something that distinguishes the five iron from the rest of the set. I don't think ther are any drills that would focus specifically on one club, or range of clubs. One swing for all full shots throughout the bag. Things you might try: Alternate shots between clubs you strike well with the clubs you don't... Say 5 balls with your 4 iron followed by your 5 iron. Set up a swing station with a gate around your ball. You can do this with tees or clubs or broken shafts. Doing this with your clubs raises the bar on failure, you don't want to make broken shafts for the sake of this drill. Place the shafts tees etc... just far enough to swing your club head through and make center face contact. Unfortunately, I've been having the opposite problem, I've been having some heel hits (hosel rockets). I've been using a water bottle placed just outside my ball as a visual and feedback aid. It helps me keep the clubhead from extending beyond my target line. It also helps establish a good inside out path. Good luck and I hope this helps... G

I'm with you there Sam. Unfortunately, I've been lashing too much and not remebering enough! :blackeye: G

Mike, If you are able to maintain soft hands, wrists, and arms through the shot your release should come naturally. The rotation of of your torso combined with a solid wieght shift will square your clubface without any minipulation by your hands. Trying to time a release in your hands is tricky business. Some players have outstanding hand eye coordination and can work a release with thier hands, most don't. A more consistant method is to "release" with your legs and hips, adreniline has less effect on the larger muscles of your lower body. Sounds like you found some good timing the other day, keep focusing on your turn through the shot and your release will happen on its own. Keep putting your time in sounds like your on a good track. Good luck... G

Mike, I suggested the video to confirm your current "natural" path. It is still possible to hit a ball high and right from an inside path, i.e. Tigers big flares right. Tiger hasn't come over the top since he was three and he still is susceptable to the shot lost right. Check your ball flight. If your shots start right and dive further right you have an inside out path with an open face relative to your path+target. That would be more correctly termed a push-slice, not the same as the more common pull-slice or banana ball that comes from an over the top move. Do you finish with your weight fully on your left? Or do you have a recoil or fall back on to your back leg? Hanging back often results in one of two shots, snap hook or push high right. Check your ball flight. Another drill and a good way to check your path is to set a basket or bottle of water (vijah) a few inches behind the ball and just enough outside your target line so that you are still able to take the club away with out interference. On the downswing if you clip the basket/bottle you've come over the top, if not your coming from the inside and you have to work on face recognition. The tee drill is more of a visual guide and doesn't give you much feedback when your not on the correct path. It offers a visual reminder of where you want the clubhead to move. A draw shot helps provide more distance and lower ball flight for shots into the wind, but it is much more difficult to control and can turn into a hook, muy malo. A fade is much easier to control, though it can be difficult into the wind. If your swing dynamic takes the left side out of play than you can swing/release as hard as you like without much penalty, just remember to complete your swing. Good luck, G

Mike, I would have your swing put on video so you can check your current path. Having an inside-out path is a key to stricking your ball with maximum power. Yet, Sam is correct coming from to far inside can cause all sorts of problems, particularly in the irons. Alot of things can happen to allow that power fade to leak. My suspicion is your not completing your turn through the ball, "hanging back". I was working on hitting fades to help eliminate the left side. When I ran into problems I noticed and it was suggested that I wasn't getting off my back foot, the fade away jumper, resulting in shots that flew high and right. To correct this I worked on feeling more pressure on the inside thigh of my back leg and the instep of my back foot (right) at address. This helped me initiate the down swing by driving off that foot and shifting my wieght toward the target. It promoted a fuller turn and release through impact, straighter ball flight insued. Get your swing on video so you can better diagnose where your swing is breaking down. HTH G

For me grip size is a personal "feel" thing. I have huge hands, I use a xxl glove, most would recommend a mid-size to jumbo grip for "proper" fitting. I didn't like the "feel" or really the lack of feel in my hands with larger grips, so I use standard size grips with two wraps of tape bringing them to +1/16th. These give me good feel of the club in my fingers. Before going to big check your grip to see if the club has worked in to close to the palm. Try and get the grip more into the fingers. As Hogan has suggested in "five fundementals" check for caluses on your left hand. They should be developing at the base of the last three fingers on your left hand(righty). Golf digest had an article where you could check you glove to see if you are incorrectly gripping the club. Check for abnormal wear on the palm, it could give you some clue as to where the grip sits in your hand. In an ideal setup you should have a little space (not much) between your fingertips and your palm. The proper grip size for your hands will allow your hands to remain passive in the swing. Too narrow and they become overactive- hooks and shots that move left. Too wide and it becomes more difficult to have a natural release- slices and fades. Good luck and I hope this helps... G

Coca Cola! That ish will eat anything. :laugh: