I first posted about used golf balls over 13 years ago and I’ve been using them ever since. I’ve never been able to tell the difference between a good quality used ball and a brand new one.
I don’t think I’d buy refinished balls again like in 2017, because the line wasn’t straight and the stamp looked bad. The minor cost savings wasn’t worth it.
After having some problems off the tee recently, things have turned around in the last week or so. I didn’t realize what I had changed until one of my league partners told me I looked more fluid and controlled in my swing. It turns out I was swinging nice and easy instead of trying to crush the ball. Guess what…I am hitting it just as far as if I was swinging out of my shoes and I’m a lot more consistent.
Over the weekend I hit some great tee shots when I stayed in control. As soon as I sprayed one off to the left or right I could feel my swing get quicker and I was snapping the wrists over the top or leaving the club face wide open. If I take a nice and easy swing with the driver I can still bomb it out there 280-300 yards or more. In fact, I put the ball on the green on a 272 yard par 4…with my 3 wood!
If you’re having problems with your swing and can’t seem to figure out the problem. Slow down. You’ll be amazed at the results most of the time.
How to Break 80 is a site where you can purchase an eBook (along with many other free bonuses) of golf tips for $37. Travelling Golfer was doing a review a few weeks ago, so I visited the site and found the free newsletter. Each week I get an email with 2 golf tips in an effort to help me break 80 in an 18 hole round of golf. It hasn’t worked yet, but the tips are very good. Simple, but very understandable.
In just the few short weeks I’ve been receiving the newsletter I’ve read some great tips I had never heard before. Eventually I’ll probably dish out the cash for the eBook and free lifetime upgrades to “How to Break 80” but for now I’m enjoying the free golf tips in my inbox each week. Sign up and you won’t regret the extra email message once a week.
For the past couple of weeks my scoring has been stuck in the 43-46 range. I did break 40 once this year, and over the weekend shot a 40 and 41, but I seem to be giving away too many shots on most rounds. The inconsistency of my driving is the part of my game that gets me most often.
Two weeks ago I wrote a post about the driving range and I haven’t been there since, which I know is my problem. I’ve found out what’s wrong with my driver swings, but haven’t had the time to put in the repetitions and get comfortable with the changes. When I do things right I’m smoking my drives, but the confidence isn’t there yet and it’s costing me several strokes each round.
I’m definitely stopping at the range tonight after work.
Ever since I made the decision on which fairway woods and irons I was ordered I hadn’t been back to the driving range. Nearly two weeks has passed until yesterday when I stopped by the Saginaw Golf Centre on my way home from work. Over the past few weeks I had been spraying everything out to the right. I’d rarely make a miss left so I knew that had to be something relatively simple in my swing causing the problems. I needed a trip to the “Doctor’s Office” where I could examine my symptoms more carefully than on the course.
I warmed up with the three pound eight iron and then picked up my pitching wedge. I started with full swings but nothing stood out as being horribly wrong. I slowed down my swing a bit and shortened it as well and then it hit me. My club face was wide open at impact, which doesn’t take rocket science to figure out, but it was the reason why that really clicked. On my back swing my right wrist was rotating so far open that it was nearly impossible to snap it back though and square up at impact.
I took a few more shots with the PW and moved on to the driver where I could really see the results. As I kept the wrist from rotating open on my backswing it felt pretty weird at first. Near the end of the bucket of balls I was crushing drives out to the 250 flag on the fly. On the last couple of shots I was even able to hit a nice little draw with my driver. I’ve never been able to play a draw!
I kept putting off trips to the range waiting for my new clubs to arrive, causing my golf game to suffer. I’ll definitely be making more of an effort to hit the practice range once or twice a week from now on. It can do wonders for your game!
This summer I bought a new driver and it was the greatest buy I made in my golf bag. I’ve never been able to hit a driver in my life and although I still have problems with the new one, it’s the best driver I’ve ever made a swing with.
Going to a large head driver (usually 460cc or similar) can cause problems for a lot of golfers because it really is a different type of club to hit. Here are some great tips I found on another blog.
- Tee the Ball Higher
- Move the Ball Forward in Your Stance
- Set Up to Hit the Ball on the Center of the Face
- Hit the Ball on the Upswing
The article goes into a bit more detail on each point, but they are all great points to be made. I’ve had a lot of people mention that I tee the ball forward in my stance and kind of chuckle to myself. With a club head so large you really have to in order to hit the ball on your upswing.
Titleist’s Dr. Greg Rose offers 5 tips for parents who have a junior golfer.
Read What Your Junior Golfer Needs or visit the Titleist Performance Institute.
Take a step by step look at Michelle Wie’s swing on the Golf Digest site. It seems as thought they removed the page from the site. Wie writes that she concentrates on tempo while playing. Most weekend hackers swing too hard which causes many problems in the golf swing. Of course Michelle also averages about 280 yards with her drives so she hits it farther than most of us also.
Tiger’s latest golf tip is Pay attention to short putts. It’s a great tip, but I don’t like the timing of it’s release. With the way John Daly lost to Tiger Woods in last week’s American Express Championship, it just seems like a slap in the face.
I’m sure Woods has plenty of other golf tips to share with the world, so why not wait to share this one?
Nick Momrik 