golfrewind.com

Knocking on 40 and only took the game up recently. What a Dodo - why didn't I listen to my dad 25 years ago? Too busy with wine, women and song! But better late than never, and am - in the (early) prime of my life - ejoying it (golf, that is) tremendously. Like most I have good and bad days but generally I'm working on trying to improving my consistency, which to me means 'playing with grace' - not 'caveman discovers WMD'. My BIG irritation is the (too) occasional ramming of the clubhead into the ground - usually 3 to 8-odd inches behind the ball.

Welcome to Golf Rewind, glad to have you here!

keep your right knee flexed but braced and keep your head (spine angle steady thru the swing, no more fat shots. if you want more advice, start a thread in "golf tips"

Welcome to Golf Rewind. What part of South Africa are you in? I learned to golf there as a youngster many years ago! Hope you enjoy the forums, and that you share your experiences with us.

Hi Inconsistent. PE (Port Elizabeth) - on the south-eastern coast of South Africa. I see you have what appears to be a (U.S.) Air Force decal as you avatar. Reason I'm asking is 'cause I was permanently enlisted with the South African Air Force in the mid-80's through early nineties and still have (& treasure) my squadron badges. "Sursum Prorsusque"

Mikey, I think of you every time I go over my setup and get to the right knee! I swear that this tip alone improved my ballstriking over the last 6 months...

Diviot2deep...welcome to the site (sorry, I was caught up in the braced knee)...I hope to go to SA for the 2010 World Cup and get some golf in as well...beautiful country you have there...

Divot2deep,
We visited PE while living in SA. Of course, that was 30 years ago (I was 12 then), so I'm sure a few things have changed! We lived in what used to be Transvaal, in a town called Phalaborwa. Learned to golf at Hans Merensky Country Club. We took a holiday for 3 weeks and drove from Phalaborwa, to Jo'burg/Pretoria, Kimberly, down to the Cape, then along the coast to Durban and PE, then back up by Lesotho and Swaziland, then up through the southern entrance to Kruger Park back to Phalaborwa.

Yes, I was in the Air Force 10 years ('85-95), the last 6 in USAFSOC (Special Operations Command), which is the shield in my avatar. I still have some boxes somewhere with various patches, decals, emblems, rank insignia, plaques and diplomas, etc. Just can't get rid of them! That was a big, important chunk of my life!

Welcome aboard. You'll love GR. On hitting shots fat: every time this creeps back into my game, I take a bag of range balls and practice hitting at about 1/2 speed. The slower, deliberate swing gets me back on the right track.

Ek slaan my oë op na die berge, Teenstrydig (Afrikaans for 'Inconsistent')... Phalaborwa? I was inter alia stationed at AFB Hoedspruit (3 Squadron, 33 Squadron, BASS) which is a 'dogleg' 80-odd kilo's (that's about 50 miles) south from there. It's a scorching part of this (yes, Bigvivec) really beautiful country and we used to jaag (sl: race) there to go buy (cold) beer for the weekends on many a Friday afternoon. We were wild! We were free! We were stupid!
PS: For a (then) 12-year old you sure recall a **** of a lot of detail!
PSPS: The old 'Transvaal' has since fallen away and been divided into the Mpumalanga-, Northern-, and Gauteng provinces. Locally we also refer to Phalaborwa as being in the Limpopo province.
http://www.kruger2canyons.com/accom_hans_merensky.htm
PSPSPS: Thanks for the kind advice Mickey300 & Billyg

I can relate to this. I am the same age and have only just taken up the game.

I should have started when I had a shot or two on a pitch and put course in Ireland, I was around 11 years old at the time.

Although I can't offer any advice on your fine Divots I wish you every success. Personally, I'm working on getting the ball more than 6 inches airborne!