This guy is simply awesome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f67E75m_RO4&feature=relmfu

breaking new ground

It took about 10 range balls but I started to get my swing back that I had when I stopped playing last Friday.

I know the key is if I rotate on my spine and not my hips.  I was hitting my 7 a good 180 and my driver was a consistent 250-275.

It's one of those days at the range where I had more bright spots then negatives.   ....I love these new clubs.  The only regret I had was not bringing out my five to see how far I could get it.

Some keys to the swing today,

1. Keeping the chin tucked under my left shoulder
2. keeping my left shoulder and replacing it where my right was on the back swing
3. Dragging my knuckles on the back swing (thanks Ben Hogan)

Not really sure how good it might get if I can add some speed to the swing but I even had some fellow buddies tell me the swing sounded good.

ADO - DAM 9...again

The laws of common sense says that you should probably play a couple of strokes better when you play a course you just played two days earlier.  Not the case but let me tally score as I type:

Hole 1: 6
2: 5
3: 8
4: 4
5: 5
6: 4
7: 5
8: 6
9: 5

Wow - I did play better.  That is a 48.  A good 8 strokes better than I played a couple of days earlier.

I know one thing, my drives on 8 and 9 were around 250 yards each.  I think I fixed my top gun issue of the ball flanking to the right by turning my right hand over on my grip.  This probably slows down my swing but I had two hits dead center on the fairway and I'm sure the 2nd one might have been 280 yards.

Overall, my chipping really stinks I need to work on that at the range this weekend.  Need to find some more YouTube videos that can guide me on the right path.

ADO - DAM 9

Well after the storm blew over, it was time for 9 holes at Arroyo Del Oso.

The good:  I shot a 51....yeah, I know that isn't great but I really could've been six shots lower if I would not have have 3 putted 2 holes where I was on in 2.

Worst hole was the 8th as I did an 8 on that one.  A par four and I started off in the sand, hit a tree twice and hit my approach shot twice.  It sort of buried me.   I also shot a 6 on a par 3....errr.

Overall, my driver was doing well (except on 8) and I need to continue to work on my chipping.

My new clubs felt great and I got some great shots with my 5 iron on hole 1 and hole 3.

Long ways from shooting par but I can tell for the first time my swing is starting to come together.  Time to find some chipping videos on YouTube

YouTube Training

I believe I know why golf is not a poor mans game.....Training classes are mad spendy.

The invention of YouTube has probably taught me more than my 3 in person classes with a PGA tour pro (Sorry  Bill).

This guy actually has some great videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5szD24Pxn8 so I would give it a shot if you need some basics on stance, grip and swing.

After watching some of his videos, I found that I was bending my knees too much and that was attributing to the iron hitting before the ball.  It also was slowing down the club which of course was keeping my distance down.  After about 50 balls I finally started to get some nice swings as I broke my habit of bending my knees too much and also not taking the club 'up the wall' when I brought it back.

In short, YouTube is kind of awesome and the amount of knowledge online is through the roof.

Assessment

I've played some great courses so far.

I've had some great holes but never been able to put anything back to back.

So I'm trying to shoot par and I believe on a 18 hole course I could be 30 strokes back (on some of the harder courses).  So what's wrong?

Driver - nothing spectacular but I'm starting to keep the ball on the course and sometimes I put it just 5-10 yards to the right of the fairway.  Probably averaging around 180-220 yards.

Irons - My initial thought was that I was going to ignore this and get some good hybrids.  That initially worked as most of my drives were short and I was always pulling my Adams 4 out of the bag but some of my drives on short par 4's have required a 9 or 8.   I finally was fitted and found out that I needed a 1/2 inch longer shaft.  I also came to the conclusion that I needed some consistency so I purchased a set of X20 Callaway's during their 20% sale.

PW/SW - for some reason I couldn't get under the ball but after two weeks of practice, I'm starting to hit it a little better.  Long way to go here but my approach shots are horrible.

Putting - not so bad but I'm only consistent from about 5-8 yards out.

Next 30 days, I'm really going to focus on my irons and my short game.  Probably going to rotate 80 balls to PW/SW and 80 balls to my irons 5-9.   I'll hit maybe 5-10 balls with the driver to stay warm but I need to get my irons straight and my short game under control to get closer to the pin.

Alright

So how did my golfing go in Las Vegas?  Well, first - it can't go bad when you're playing Vegas.   ...but if I had to sum it up, I would leave it to my man Tin Cup.

"I was playing to win.."

"Greatness courts failure..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0tTtEnzFv0&feature=related

But I got my first par ever....and my second one.

Videos like this are worth their weight in gold

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSSzISs25-Q&feature=related

I'm sure I do a lot more than this wrong

Hybrids?

I started to look at hybrids after I saw D Fresh average 70 yard drives and 200 yard hits with hybrid on Sunday.

http://www.callawaygolfpreowned.com/

Doesn't look like bad prices but I'm going to need hit some of these at a shop first.  I've heard mixed reviews from "I hate those things" to "they should be banned because it's too easy to hit with"

Considering the fact that the club could be really good or really bad - I'm inclined to call it the Bruce Willis.

Not a bad video -

Let's see if this works tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEKrSdlNusQ&feature=related

Beaten by Dougie Fresh

Wow,

So the practice helped out and I had some great drives of 250+ today ( a couple of them sliced to the right of course) but I had a sh!tty day with my irons.

I had to many drives of 300 and then I would good the approach and two shot it to the green.  Brutal.  I ended up in the drink twice as well.

I did have a better day with my approach/chip shots to the green.  I'm keeping my legs about a foot apart and simply pulling back and swinging down at the ball.

Putting was a little abusive today as well and I ended up with a 118.   Ouch.  Not going to beat the bachelor with that one.

Looks like 3 days of practice at Balloon Fiesta Park.  I need it...really bad.

Fix the Driver - Broke the Iron

So after about 150 balls yesterday I was able to fix my drives and get them to start to go a little left and draw back to the middle.  By using the following a video that I can't find at this time (errr) I learned that I was pulling the driver back incorrectly and I needed to put 60% of my weight on the front foot until I can learn to get rid of the rotation of the ball after the hit.  At first I over exaggerated and put close to 80% of my weight on my front foot and was able to see the ball go about 150 yards dead straight.  Tip, by putting so much weight on the front foot the possibility of hitting some fly balls and shots to third base is high - so keep your arms fully extended through the shot.

Eventually I was able to put my weight 50/50 and then went back to 40 left and 60% right.  The other tip I noticed was pulling the club back slowly - pausing and then moving forward with my swing.

Still tons of problems about being consistent with my irons and that is bugging me.

The Slice is Back

So it's been some time between posts but that doesn't mean I haven't been hitting the ball around the course.

Over the last week and half I've played about 36 holes but most of that was in the prior week.  I really feel that I should be much further ahead in my game but here are a couple of things I have to remove to find more time:

1. Job.  This really gets in the way.  How can I make it to the driving range when I work from 8 to 5?  
2. Wife and Kids.  Wow, it's amazing how you have to consistently come home every day and can't go on vacation just to play some golf.
3. Driving Range.  Why is it in Albuquerque there are ZERO night driving ranges?  Last ball at 5:30?  Seriously?  I think I might have found a possibly business opportunity here.
4. Money.  $30 for nine holes.  That is a little on the spendy side.
5. Thirst.  After 9 holes I'm really thirsty and there are no bars at any place I've played yet.  

So what are my chances of competing and beating the Bachelor in Vegas.  Well, that depends on how fast I can fix this driver problem.  If I can push the ball at a consistent 300 then I think I can beat the Bachelor.  Problem:  The ball goes 200 yards straight and then veers for another hundred to the left.  So how can I fix this problem?  YouTube.  Below are some of my favorite videos so far:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFXGvZaBLpA&feature=related  The Helicopter.   No, I'll never buy this but it helps explain how the club needs to turn on the way down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yhk-sPIroo&feature=related  Not bad but seriously dude - 7 part video?  You know you're in the NOW generation right?

I'm playing 9 at ADO tomorrow with D Fresh and then hopefully another 9 with the Wop at 3pm.  I know I'll need a warm up sometime in the week but unfortunately I have to work.   I think I'm feeling sick, ...around Tuesday ...afternoon.

Guess who's got a brand new Lady?

Me.

Can't par without a putter

Ever try playing golf without a putter?  What would you use as your second club if you forgot your putter?  I can't be the first jackass to forget my putter (wait I never had one) ...

Location:  UNM North

Holes: 9

My first time hitting the ball on the course.  Yes, it's amazing that I've never played a round of golf but at the tender age of 36 I hit the link to find out what 3 trips to the driving range equates to.  Hmmm - let's look at this equation:

((3 trips to driving range) + 3 beers))/ 9 holes = Triple bogey average.

Yes, it might sound a little impressive at first but the fairways were big enough for a jumbo jet to land on and I landed in the dirty plenty enough.  It might also be worthy to note that I didn't have a driver in the bag and used my four to start all nine holes.

The Good:  I had a lot of fun

The Bad:  Don't give the Wop any beer as he really starts to limber up around beer 2

The Ugly:  I couldn't even get to the course before the jack arse in the clubhouse made some reference to Jousting.  What is with these Golf schmucks and their pretentious behavior?  Shut up, hand me my receipt and  you advanced level roller rink DJ.  What, want to impress me and try to show that you don't run the mic at Bingo night?  Give me my tee time and shut it down.

"She's a Lady, WHOA WHOA WHOA She's a Lady"

Wanna know how to ruin a perfectly good day of striking with irons?  Start to swing with a driver.

Nothing is quite like swinging with the driver.  Nothing will bring down your confidence and have you rechecking your whole swing and have yourself questioning whether you can play golf like swinging a driver.

Which gets to my point.  The driver is the 'hot chick' in the golf bag.  When things are going right, and fellas you know what I'm talking about - nothing is like a good swing with the driver.  The driver is pricey (mad spendy), need fur coats when they're not being used, unforgiving on any mistake, looks nice and shiny and has some wonderful curves.  Just like the hot chick, you see guys all the time walking around the house showing off their 'driver' and spitting out specs like it was a sub-component on the space shuttle.  If the sports car adds 2 inches to the perception of the man's cactus then the driver is the ultimate showboating that almost takes us back to caveman days.  Guys love to pose with it, crossing their feet while putting a slight arm around her to let everyone know she is with him.....wait, am I still talking about golf?   The bragging is through the roof, you let your buddy take a look but never touch ...it's the hot chick in the bag.

But like any hot chick, the good hits are few and far between and you wish you would've never left your irons that consistently put you 150-180 yards and more importantly on the fairway.

How did my first use of the driver go?  Not too bad  - and while I enjoyed the ping of driving a couple of balls 200 yards I realized that my maturity had me yearning for the driver and consistent swings down the fairway.

Other possible names for the rest of the clubs in the bag?

• Putter - 'The Democrat' - likes all the glory but needs very little in the way to be successful
• Sand Wedge - 'The Hooker' - you don't want to be seen with this one as it means you're not in the best of places
• 2 iron - "The Ben Affleck" - Would like to think it had the power of the driver but comes up short too many times to count

I need to play a round now that I've hit with the driver.  I'm gonna see if the wop is up for a quick round of 9 this weekend.  He's a tropical cracker so hopefully it's around 65-70.

24 days away

So this Friday (time permitting) I'll try to do a couple of holes over at Balloon Fiesta park.  From what I understand the Balloon Park setup has a short 9 course (par 3's) which should give me a good idea of playing through the holes.  I plan to get at least 2 bucket of balls in for practice but that will be tight after looking at the schedule this week.

7 Irons, 40mph winds and Women stick to the kitchen

Note: When it's 40 degrees outside with head wind strong enough to knock the ball off the tee...it might not be the best time to play some golf.  Also, the bar was closed - that should have been a key indicator,

Economics of the game:  Once again, I'm amazed at how much a bucket of balls cost ($10).  I'm cheap -

It's and up and down game, no doubt about it.  A constant reminder that I need to get a little dirt before contact helps quite a bit.  I usually forget the rest until I can consistently get that ball up in the air.

No real improvement on distance today as the farthest ball I hit with the 7 was 75 yards....maybe 80 but there was a good head wind.  Which brings me to sport of golf that says I should be hitting it at least 120 to 150 with the 7.  Look at this web sites distance chart as it shows that women should not be hitting the ball as far.  Golf is quite the stereotypical male-chauvinistic sport that perception builds.  Ladies ...don't get mad.

*Reference: http://golf.about.com/od/beginners/l/blclubdistance.htm

Club	Men	Women
Driver	200-230-260	150-175-200
3-wood	180-215-235	125-150-180
5-wood	170-195-210	105-135-170
2-iron	170-195-210	105-135-170
3-iron	160-180-200	100-125-160
4-iron	150-170-185	90-120-150
5-iron	140-160-170	80-110-140
6-iron	130-150-160	70-100-130
7-iron	120-140-150	65-90-120
8-iron	110-130-140	60-80-110
9-iron	95-115-130	55-70-95
PW	80-105-120	50-60-80
SW	60-80-100	40-50-60

Cooper on the Links

Ah, first lesson and my journey into the Pro Shop couldn't be more typical.  Old guy, old guy with oxygen tank and my instructor is 10 minutes late.

Instructor - not bad at all considering.  I was expecting some geezer who was going to remind that wood sticks are better but this guy is alright.  A former Lobo basketball player from the right side of the coast.

Notes on the day:  Hmmm - this isn't as hard as I thought it was going to be but it is a mathematical wonder when you hit the ball straight.  Bend this, keep this straight, up and down and follow through...reminds me a little of something else and that sometimes is just as complicated.

Best of the Day - A couple of 150 yard pings down the fairway

The Bad - About 10 chili pepper shots up the alley 

Surprise of the day:  A saw some people there under 50 which is a good sign but mostly I didn't have any slices - lots of hooks.

I've got a 9 hole session with Doug on Sunday so it should be interesting to see if I can really play that much after one lesson and probably 10 buckets of balls for practice.

First golf lesson

First lesson is tomorrow at 9:15am.

I'm sure to get some heat for not wearing any tight pants or not having something like Jr. or the III (3rd) after my name.

I picked up some clubs on Craigslist for $20.   I didn't want to get anything expensive and be accused of cheating when I dominate.

It's all downhill from here

The Setup:  In approximately 30 days I will be attending a bachelor party for my man Maynard in Last Vegas.  

The Problem:  My attempts to play golf before have been few and far between.  I've bought a bucket of balls and taken some swings but never any formal training.  Basically, I've never played more than one hole much less 9 or 18.

Why:  I'm old (36) and I need to live down the past of contact sports and try to play this mundane, ridiculous and high society sport.

Prediction:  I believe that I can keep a 8 stroke average in 30 days and possibly beat 20% of the field.   Bold prediction?  Not really, I intend to expose the perception on this sport being 'hard' since only nerds, geeks and rich fat kids dominate the sport.  Everything is hard for them.  Not to mention the fact that if golf clubs and courses were free for most kids like football and soccer then we would've never heard of any 'Tiger Woods' or that stiff Phil Mickelson.  If you take an athletic person - like me - then this should be rather simple.  Yes, some foreigners are good at this sport but that goes more to the point that this 'activity' (not really a sport) is just an obstacle much like ping pong or shuffle board.

Let the games begin.