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I always wondered why my shots didn’t go very far, and now I know. This definitely makes things more complicated. The more lessons I take the more I've had to learn to coordinate my shots. Now that I’ve learned the full swing; which adds a full right waist turn to my current swing, it's made it more difficult again to hit the ball squarely. In addition I now have to worry about the position of my club head. Furthermore, I’m working on fixing my posture which adds even more to it. The movement definitely feels unnatural which makes me think it’s right. My shots are terrible again, and I figure it should take a week or two to get used to it.

There is light at the end of tunnel though. I asked my instructor how far I’d be able to hit my 5 iron if I suddenly gained the skills of Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus. He said about 180 yards for a person of my build and he added that it should be possible for me in about a year.

That’s why I love golf, similar to why I enjoy playing the piano; the challenge of coordinating your movements properly. Golf merely brings it to a grand scale. So what if my shots are going to be lousy again for a bit and that I'll have to practice even more before I try a course again. It’s the challenge of it all that I love .

Just thought I’d share my slow but steady progress. I’ll post in this thread again after I’ve adjusted to the new swing movements and I’ll share the results.

You are destined to succeed with a great attitude like that. Yes, it's interesting how one little swing change can open a whole new can o' worms. Oh, and btw, you can hit a 180 5-iron without Tiger or Jack's skills...you may get there quicker than your instructor thinks (now hitting it straight is another matter). With your attitude and dedication it could just happen. Go get 'em.

Shade

My one weakness is impatience. I thought I finally had the power in a swing concept down but it appears I don't quite have it yet. Even with a full waist turn to the right and then moving my waist to left as quickly as possible I"m not getting any more distance really.

My guess is either I'm not moving fast enough in my downswing, it's an error in timing or it's something else I'm not even aware of. I kept thinking in my mind connect the backswing and downswing in one motion and move FAST! but that didn't seem to work, today at least. It's also much harder to keep a proper swing plane when I have to move my backswing so far to right. It's hard to keep my head still.

I guess I'm going to need another lesson, this is going to become a weekly event! Lessons are my way of learning much faster than I could on my own.

Two things:

1. Focus on your posture. It is easier to fix your swing plane when you have a good axis.

2. If you have a camcorder, record all your lessons so you can see what you are doing. I've done this and it helps a lot. It gives me a visual image I can picture in my head when I address the ball.

Great to hear of your "taking to the game". FWIW, and I'm no expert, I have read/seen, and expierienced, that a "quiet" lower body works better for the backswing? Personally I will push every shot if I turn my hips to the right. Jim Mclean(sp) did a piece called the X=factor? Golf Channel. Others can explain more here I'm sure. Got some probs of my own, so gonna post my question. HAGD&KIITSG

I went the driving range again today and I now know pretty much what my errors were.

#1: Expecting to hit the ball to the blue flag (180 yards) right now rather than months from now.

#2: Practicing while sick/tired. I had insomina and a small touch of the flu. Today and yesterday are the first time I've gone to practice golf and felt less than good.

#3: Slow backswing and disconnection between backswing and downswing.

#4: Still using my arms rather than my body to force the ball when I swing (hard habit to break).

A full backswing definately adds distance (when I hit the ball squarely). Now that I'm used to the backswing, when I feel better I need to work on speeding up my pace.

Your posture is probably the second most important thing in the swing other than the grip. If you can keep a good posture you will hit the ball well, its just a matter of turning your body around your spine.

it took me a while to develop my swing.
here are my yardages from when i first started to now.

Driver-200-240+
3 wood-190-n/a
4 wood-n/a-225
5 wood-180-n/a
3i-n/a-203
4i-175-193
5i-165-185
6i-155-175
7i-145-165
8i-135-152
9i-120-143
pw-80-120
gw-n/a-108
sw-n/a-98
lw-65-85

so you see, with years of hard work and dedication, i gained a whole buinch of distance.

Your starting out yardages are much better than mine! Here's what mine look like on average. With the driver and 3 wood I'm counting my best hits as I don't practice much with the larger clubs.

Driver-180+
3 wood-170ish
4 wood-n/a
5 wood-130+
3i-n/a-
4i-n/a
5i-130
6i-n/a
7i-100+
8i-n/a
9i-75ish
pw-n/a
gw-? what's a gw?
sw-n/a
lw-n/a low wedge?

Note I never played sports in my youth and I think it is affecting my game slightly, making it a bit harder for me to pick it up as quickly as others. But the key is never to quit! I'll get good at it as long as I practice and take lessons. I aspire to be a good or hopefully very good amateur player.

I also just realized I'm pretty stupid taking lessons every two weeks rather than once a week. I can afford a weekly lesson, and everytime I take a lesson it ends up taking a full week of pracitce just to get me hitting the ball squarely once again. Then I take another lesson and I have to start the process again .

I only take lessons once a month. After each lesson I practice what I've been taught for 4 weeks. After going to the driving range 4-5 days a week and playing 18 holes once a week I have gained the ability to do what I was taught in my lesson consistently. If you go every week you are not giving yourself enough time to practice what he teaches you and when you go back he'll just tell you the same thing.

Just my .02

The instructor I see recommended that to me. His usual students have 1 lesson per week. I guess it's because we are beginners, otherwise I don't know. Personally I haven't tried a lesson a week, I've done it about every two weeks and it's been ok.

A question again here while I'm at it. While trying to stop using my hands in the swing so much I tried something different, I loosened my grip up in my swing from a vice like grip to a feather grip. I did a full swing with a very loose grip (in my mind at least)and it seemed like the ball flew much farther. That blue flag feels more and more within reach.

Would a looser grip add to distance, or is just in my head?

I know I have a bit of fixation on distance but that's only because I can't really begin to play on the big courses until I can hit with distance.

let me tell you what i tell my students. let the big muscles move the small muscles. dont focus on the hands, wrists things like that. worry about that shoulder turn and your butt and legs. from there things should start falling into place. I actually tell my students to envision "stiff wrists" when swinging. to often people "slap" at the ball, while they might SOMETIMES hit the ball longer the timing aspect of that type of swing over the long haul is a nightmare. good luck and great attitude.

ay, bit like me, THE CHALLENGE IS EVERYTHNG, IS IS THE ADDICTING PART OF GOLF, i wish i could get the wife to see this....