Chatter Golf Sub-Forum

[itsgr82bag8r]

Exactly. It is amazing the number of holes that have elevated tees or greens or both and as you say, you can’t appreciate them until you see them in person. And knowing where to hit your approaches without penalty requires a thorough knowledge of each green and it’s nuances. Each group basically hit their tee shots and approaches and then spent a greater amount of time around and on the greens, chipping/pitching, sand shots, and putts to each of the tournament’s four pin positions. All were very meticulous with their practice on and around the greens.

Watching them warm up on the range and putting green was fun. Saw some impressive long iron shots as well as drives. Dustin Johnson was hitting bombs. Almost to a man, their tee balls were left to right. Control and accuracy off the tee is obviously a premium.

The size of the place surprised me. On TV it seems like the course is much more spread out than it is. The trees help with the illusion, but it really was cool being able to watch tee & approach shots to #13 and simply turn around to see the same on #14. Same thing on #15 & #17. It’s not a large place.

 

[AugustaGator]

NIce Cover2! I was there all day Monday with my pops and a couple of buddies. It is a must do bucket list for any golfer. Was my Pops 1st time, what a treat for me to take him!

I was there Monday morning. I haven’t been out there in like 5-6 years. It’s changed so much. It’s like Disney now.

I could not believe the line for people get pics in front of the Clubhouse.

 

[gator1946]

Almost to a man, their tee balls were left to right. Control and accuracy off the tee is obviously a premium.

And I spent 6 months wiping out muscle memory for a natural fade off the tee. I got there with a nice draw. Now I see every guy hitting a fade. I should have spent 6 months working on getting it up and down. What a dumb a.s.s.

 

[cover2]

And I spent 6 months wiping out muscle memory for a natural face off the tee. I got there with a nice draw. Now I see every guy hitting a fade. I should have spent 6 months working on getting it up and down. What a dumb a.s.s.

Golf can sure be fickle at times. I’ve never been great at it by any means, but had a stretch where I played to an 8, about 30 years ago. At that time my natural shot was a high, controlled fade. I wasn’t overly long, but stayed in the fairway off the tee and was on or around the greens consistently. For whatever reason, I decided I needed to change things in order to play a draw and get more distance off the tee and with my irons.

I rebuilt my swing (1st mistake) by myself (2nd mistake) and after a bit I was hitting that piercing draw off the tee consistently with more length due mostly to run out. Irons weren’t quite as consistent, but I figure with practice they’d only get better. First sign of trouble was on the dogleg rights. Then, Lee Trevino’s famous words “you can talk to a fade, but a hook won’t listen” came to roost. The more frustrated I got, the worse the snap hooks became. I stopped playing for a while.

When I started back, I worked on recapturing my natural swing and since then I’ve been able to hit the controlled fade off the tee. I don’t play blades anymore and my Callawys are pretty straight. 2, 3, and 4 irons have been replaced with hybrids and though I’m not as long as I’d like, I’m back to being in the fairway off the tee and at least around the green on the majority of holes. I could kick myself for the time and good golf I wasted trying to change what I was best at. I guess that’s probably the moral of a lot of golf stories.

 

[G. Gordon Gator]

Never got into golf myself -- to me it's a little tedious, and it's too hot to be trudging around out there for the "fun" of it -- but have always enjoyed tuning in for at least a little bit of The Masters on TV. Even though we don't really have winter in Miami, it feels like the official end of it and the start of spring, which we don't have either.

It really is a miracle that Tiger Woods is giving it a go, just 14 months from that car accident. Also, very good energy from the early TV coverage on account of this being the first Masters that is fully back to normal, with covid being officially over and no longer a factor at all.

 

[cover2]

@G. Gordon Gator It’s understandable that you don’t play golf if you’re not married (am I right on that?). A single guy doesn’t have to have the alibi to go off drinking beer with his friends that a married guy does. Still, it can provide a level of competition if you need it. Also can be a big money drain if you get too wrapped up. So, you’d have to balance golf equipment and outings against boat drinks and hookers…or hell, do a combo

 

[MJMGator]

And I spent 6 months wiping out muscle memory for a natural fade off the tee. I got there with a nice draw. Now I see every guy hitting a fade. I should have spent 6 months working on getting it up and down. What a dumb a.s.s.

Basically why I quit playing over 20 years ago. Had a natural fade and over time learned how to hit the ball straight, while always having the fade when needed. Then decided I wanted to be able to draw the ball, too. After about a year of teeing it up and not knowing whether it was going left, right or straight I said screw it and sold my clubs. Shoulda just stuck with what came natural and I’d probably still be playing today.

 

[NVGator]

There’s no such thing as a natural draw or fade. It’s all about ball position and set up. Grip will also change that in a lick.

 

[cover2]

@NVGator it's natural if that’s the consistent result of your swing and set up and that’s what works for you. I’d offer that the better a player becomes they will experiment outside of their established comfort zone. That said, the best and easiest advice on working the ball left and right came from Nicklaus who suggested keeping the same grip and swing, but work on slightly opening or closing the club face to get the needed left or right ball flight for the specific situation. That works for me, but the swing that feels most natural with a neutral address produces a slight fade that is very consistent.

 

[gator1946]

@NVGator it's natural if that’s the consistent result of your swing and set up and that’s what works for you. I’d offer that the better a player becomes they will experiment outside of their established comfort zone. That said, the best and easiest advice on working the ball left and right came from Nicklaus who suggested keeping the same grip and swing, but work on slightly opening or closing the club face to get the needed left or right ball flight for the specific situation. That works for me, but the swing that feels most natural with a neutral address produces a slight fade that is very consistent.

Jack is my hero. But "Golf My Way" and his uber upright swing and huge shoulder turn was what at age 14 I modeled my swing after. Hence my natural fade. I could control Irons just fine. Now years later looking in the rear view mirror I realize that only one human being could swing that upright with that kind of shoulder turn and just for good measure add in the flying elbow. That would be Jack. If it were not for you Jack I could have been a contenda

I've got blame my lack of talent on somebody. Might as well be Jack.

 

[Zambo]

An interesting discussion for sure WRT the “natural” swing. I took my early lessons from Phil Blackmar. I remember every time I would tell him that something he was trying to get me to do didn’t }feel right,” he would say “Zambo, if all you had to do is what “feels” right, then everybody would be a scratch golfer.”

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

There’s no such thing as a natural draw or fade. It’s all about ball position and set up. Grip will also change that in a lick.

You left out swing plane, timing and head movement along with several other components.

However, each person does have their own “natural” swing that evolves from a mix of body build, instruction and a host of other personal inputs. That’s why every pro has a different swing and a natural tendency to work the ball either right to left or left to right. The development of refined skills to make the controlled changes to their natural swing ultimately determines how successful they will be.

Fighting this natural swing can work, but usually is more difficult to maintain consistency over a long period of time. Long time successful pros don’t fight their natural swing but embrace it and learn to make those small adjustments to it for specific shots or courses. Players like Nicklaus, Couples, Player, Palmer & Trevino and plenty more who defied Father Time to play at extremely high levels well past their “prime” prove this.

 

[NVGator]

Imagine if you had giant boobs you had to swing around.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

Imagine if you had giant boobs you had to swing around.

Normally I’d want pictures to make a more hands on decision, but in this case I’ll pass.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

On the other hand….

 

[Zambo]

Tiger playing a very controlled game so far. Follows a brutal lip-out on 5 by stuffing his tee shot on 6 to two feet. 1 under thru 6.

 

[G. Gordon Gator]

Shhhh! Opening round of The Masters is on now. Quiet in this thread.

 

[gator1946]

An interesting discussion for sure WRT the “natural” swing. I took my early lessons from Phil Blackmar. I remember every time I would tell him that something he was trying to get me to do didn’t }feel right,” he would say “Zambo, if all you had to do is what “feels” right, then everybody would be a scratch golfer.”

Yeah well I came along before you could easily take a stop action picture and definitely not slow mo video of anything. I started at 14 with a local pro and he really didn't help much. Typical session as I blasted drives as long as most pros "That's really good. Keep doing what your doing". Then when things went off the rails. His comment was, "that's awful Chris" and he'd walk away. I knew it was awful. I needed some help.

My pro when I turned 16 was ahead of his time and when I first decided I wanted to hit a natural draw, he looked at me and said what's wrong with a fade? I didn't listen and found somebody else.

I had a really good textbook swing...usually. Analyze my swing on slow mo. and I even impressed myself. Buuut at least twice a round I completely lost it. What was lost? That little thing called connection. The result was over the top with a desperate attempt to correct with my hands. Where did that shot go? Don't ask me how but it was a giant push probably with a slice added in. I called it my parking lot shot. I could be chugging along at near par and them bam I lost it. I never recovered after that. Then the between the ears "what was that" kicked in and I was toast for the rest of the round.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

Yeah well I came along before you could easily take a stop action picture and definitely not slow mo video of anything. I started at 14 with a local pro and he really didn't help much. Typical session as I blasted drives as long as most pros "That's really good. Keep doing what your doing". Then when things went off the rails. His comment was, "that's awful Chris" and he'd walk away. I knew it was awful. I needed some help.

My pro when I turned 16 was ahead of his time and when I first decided I wanted to hit a natural draw, he looked at me and said what's wrong with a fade? I didn't listen and found somebody else.

I had a really good textbook swing...usually. Analyze my swing on slow mo. and I even impressed myself. Buuut at least twice a round I completely lost it. What was lost? That little thing called connection. The result was over the top with a desperate attempt to correct with my hands. Where did that shot go? Don't ask me how but it was a giant push probably with a slice added in. I called it my parking lot shot. I could be chugging along at near par and them bam I lost it. I never recovered after that. Then the between the ears "what was that" kicked in and I was toast for the rest of the round.

 

[NVGator]

Yeah well I came along before you could easily take a stop action picture and definitely not slow mo video of anything. I started at 14 with a local pro and he really didn't help much. Typical session as I blasted drives as long as most pros "That's really good. Keep doing what your doing". Then when things went off the rails. His comment was, "that's awful Chris" and he'd walk away. I knew it was awful. I needed some help.

My pro when I turned 16 was ahead of his time and when I first decided I wanted to hit a natural draw, he looked at me and said what's wrong with a fade? I didn't listen and found somebody else.

I had a really good textbook swing...usually. Analyze my swing on slow mo. and I even impressed myself. Buuut at least twice a round I completely lost it. What was lost? That little thing called connection. The result was over the top with a desperate attempt to correct with my hands. Where did that shot go? Don't ask me how but it was a giant push probably with a slice added in. I called it my parking lot shot. I could be chugging along at near par and them bam I lost it. I never recovered after that. Then the between the ears "what was that" kicked in and I was toast for the rest of the round.

WTF are
You starting on 14? What kind of Tournament?
:
So much for you natural ________