golfrewind.com

Just thought i would come out of the shadows of lurking on this forum as today was a big day for me on the golf course.

After playing this game competitivly for the last 4 years i finally played 9 holes without dropping a shot.. 37 on the front 9 of my local course.It may not be a big deal for most of you low handicap golfers but iam off an 18 handicap and have been stuck there for the last 2 years.

Being fed up with not playing to the way i knew i could play i decided at the end of last season to do something about it and got Ben Hogans book (the 5 fundimentals of golf) out of my local library and practiced these fundimentals over the winter months.Finally feel i may be getting somewhere with this game thanks to Ben Hogan, and i would definately recommend anyone struggling with an inconsistant swing to give this book a try

The first compition of the year is in a couple of weeks so i will let you all know if i can finally get off the dreaded 18 handicap and if today is anything to go by who knows what i could get down to

That is a huuuuge deal: Well done!

I think it is a big deal, and although only 9 holes, there is a huge difference between an 18 handicap and playing at par. Plus, if you haven't played for quite a while and can come out rusty and do that means a great deal as well. I would guess that just taking 3 weeks off playing adds 5 or 6 strokes to a round for me.

It's not going to happen that a bogey golfer is going to get lucky and shoot par over 9 holes. You probably won't do this every round, but it is a very encouraging sign. Just make sure not to get frustrated if you have some periods of regression. In personal experience, it can be hard to maintain newly learned fundamentals all through a round. Somehow being on the course makes it easier for old bad habits to resurface.

And congrats!!

straightshooter thanks for your kind words,that,s just what i needs at the begining of the season..Thanks

Eagle Thanks for your kinds words. I have been playing once or twice a week and shooting around the 85, 86 mark but felt everything has finally clicked into place and 2008 will be a good year for me? Whenever the bad habits have crept in i,v been straight at the range and its sorted for the next round iv played.Plus a few putting tips off youtube seems to have helped alot,like lining your putter face up before lining your feet & body up!!And keeping my head down on putts..

I couldn't agree more about the Hogan book. It first published in 1957, but it is not old in any way. The fundamentals in the book are as true today as they every have been. The equipment may be better made today, more MOI, hotter faces and balls, etc, but how to swing 'em hasn't changed.

There are a few inaccuracies in the book (the biggest is Hogan talks about being square again at impact when in reality his hips were a good 30 or degrees open and his shoulders were 20-10 degrees open at impact), and most people would do better with a slightly stronger grip than Hogan recommends, but the ideals are still very sound. I find that if people truly do everything Hogan recommends -- things like setting up the elbows pointing at the hips which a lot of people overlook -- the method is still as good as it ever was.

just a quick up date on this thread, in 2 months iv got down from an 18 handicap to 14 and last week playing with a friend finally broke the 80 barrier and had a 79 with a double bogey on 16 &17 so finally making a move in the right direction....