GolfTec

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

It has been so long since I've played [-]gold[/-] golf, and I played it so poorly, that I decided to upgrade my clubs and take a few months of lessons from Golftec. This is a franchise outfit that uses lots of short lessons, tapes them and upload them so you can review at any time, and has video measurements of your swing to compare to. I told the instructor to treat me like a novice. After 4 lessons, my swing looks much better, but I am "forbidden" from going to the range until my swing is stable.

So, we've worked on setup, take off, back swing, but not the swing. Today I was supposed to get measured for clubs and had to hit a few for the machine to do its magic. Damn, I topped every single shot, couldn't make a good connection and got really discouraged. He finally called it off and said let's try again after we work on the last part of the swing.

Anyone used GolfTec? Tried to refresh your game after decades of layoff?

 

[REWahoo]

It has been so long since I've played gold, and I played it so poorly...

Freudian slip?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I'll edit it but leave the original for your reading pleasure.

With the cost of the lessons, I just may have to do that, too .

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

This thread is useless without links to the videos.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Oh, all right.

 

[Rustic23]

Very nice swing! However, I think you should stay in Florida for your golfing needs.

 

[Leonidas]

I bet Jarhead will have some good advice on this.

The more I play golf, the more I understand why the pros all have coaches and take lessons. There is so much going on in a golf swing that you can fix one thing and wind up messing up two or three other things. I planned to take some lessons this year (wish I had done so before last week's golf trip), and have take some in the past (not GolfTec though).

Some of the best golf-related money I ever spent was a few bucks at Half-Priced Books for a copy of Paper Tiger by Tom Coyne. Started playing when he was nine, went off to college with a 5 handicap, and wound up years later as a hacker. He wrote the book on the premise that he would take one year off and make it to Q school and get his card. I highly recommend it as a good book to help any golfer get a good grounding in the reality of what it takes to play really well.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Best advice I ever got was to pretend you're holding a baseball bat and a rattlesnake just popped up out of a hole next to you.

 

[ZMAN]

Rich,

I am 57 and have been (trying) to play golf for 7 years. If that is you in the video, you have the makings of a fine swing. Excellent range of motion. I wish I could swing like that. Good luck.

Zman

 

[Jarhead*]

I bet Jarhead will have some good advice on this.

The more I play golf, the more I understand why the pros all have coaches and take lessons. There is so much going on in a golf swing that you can fix one thing and wind up messing up two or three other things. I planned to take some lessons this year (wish I had done so before last week's golf trip), and have take some in the past (not GolfTec though).

Some of the best golf-related money I ever spent was a few bucks at Half-Priced Books for a copy of Paper Tiger by Tom Coyne. Started playing when he was nine, went off to college with a 5 handicap, and wound up years later as a hacker. He wrote the book on the premise that he would take one year off and make it to Q school and get his card. I highly recommend it as a good book to help any golfer get a good grounding in the reality of what it takes to play really well.

Leonidas: My advice is to be kind to yourself, and keep things in perspective.

An analogy that is pretty much accurate in the degree of difficulty, is to compare the sport of baseball versus golf.

Last information I found was that there are more golfers that are playing, by far, than baseball.

There are currently about 1200 ball players at the Major League level.

There are about l50 golfers that can pound out a living in the PGA.

Then, there's the visual comparison.

When you're watching a ball-game, and the pitchers throwing in the mid 90's and has the usual assortment of sliders, off speed pitches, pin-point control, etc. etc., it is pretty much a given that you aren't going to be deluded into thinking that you'd have a "snow-balls chance in hell of even making contact with the ball.

Now, watch a golf match, the ball teed up, all you have to do is make a decent swing, and the good results will follow. (What could be simpler?)

Hence, the advice to keep things in perspective and be kind to yourself.

However, if you're willing to dedicate yourself of being able to take a l8 handicap, down to the single didgets, a solid foundation by a good pro, and a year or so of range work is within reason.

The key is hitting enough balls with the proper swing mechanics, that allows "muscle memory" to be a permanent part of your game.

Good luck, and don't forget to spend more time at the driving range, than actually playing at a course for a while.

 

[Leonidas]

I knew you would have some sage advice on this thread

Leonidas: My advice is to be kind to yourself, and keep things in perspective.

That's what I was trying to say, but you did it better.

An analogy that is pretty much accurate in the degree of difficulty, is to compare the sport of baseball versus golf.

Hence, the advice to keep things in perspective and be kind to yourself.

Sounds a lot like what Coyne wrote.

 

[HFWR]

However, if you're willing to dedicate yourself of being able to take a 18 handicap, down to the single digits, a solid foundation by a good pro, and a year or so of range work is within reason.

Hell, I'd be thrilled to have an 18 handicap...

 

[Nords]

Good luck, and don't forget to spend more time at the driving range, than actually playing at a course for a while.

That's like telling a sailor to spend more time in drydock than actually out on the water...

 

[Jarhead*]

That's like telling a sailor to spend more time in drydock than actually out on the water...

Have no idea what your comment has to do with the subject at hand, but knowing a few sailors in my life, the idea of them spending more time in the water, (way out in the water), seems like a pretty good idea.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

So, Jarhead, this guy is basically re-engineering my swing. It's a painful exercise but I'm sure I'll be a better man for it . I keep wanting to inject a bit of a baseball swing and it pisses him off.

For perspective as to how, uh.. rusty I am, he told me to bring in my old clubs and all he could say was "this old Ping putter is a collectible." They got this deal where they do a split screen of Tiger on the left and me on the right, swinging in parallel. Nuf said.

I'm having a pretty good time with it. Almost broke the chandelier swinging in my dining room last night. DW kicked me out.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

the idea of them spending more time in the water, (way out in the water), seems like a pretty good idea.

Niiiiiice....

 

[Jarhead*]

So, Jarhead, this guy is basically re-engineering my swing. It's a painful exercise but I'm sure I'll be a better man for it . I keep wanting to inject a bit of a baseball swing and it pisses him off.

For perspective as to how, uh.. rusty I am, he told me to bring in my old clubs and all he could say was "this old Ping putter is a collectible." They got this deal where they do a split screen of Tiger on the left and me on the right, swinging in parallel. Nuf said.

I'm having a pretty good time with it. Almost broke the chandelier swinging in my dining room last night. DW kicked me out.

Rich: "Take two and hit to right (behind the runner).

Listen to your "Swing Doc", spend as much time as possible at the "Range", and you'll be amazed at how much you've improved.

Trust me on this. When you and your wife are both retired, she will be as enthusiastic as you are about your being "Hooked on Golf".

Hang in there, don't lose your sense of humor, and always remember that the reason the game is called Golf, instead of AW-hit, is that AW-hit was already taken.

Good Luck, Jarhead

 

[FinanceDude]

Hey Rich, you're in Florida, so golf is a "residency requirement"..........

I usually start the year as a 20 handicap,and work my way down to about 12-13. If I played more I would get better, but I only play about 10 times a year, and 3 of those are scrambles.......

Here's a thought: "The morer you practice, the "luckier" you get".........

 

[Achiever51]

After years of trying to learn how to play golf from DH and random periodic lessons, I finally signed up for a week long session at the U.S. Golf Academy in Indiana. For five straight days you work on various parts of your game -- very small group lessons all morning, followed by course work/actual rounds with your instructor all afternoon, all video taped and reviewed each evening - with optional, but highly recommended, range practice afterward. You're exhausted every night, but it's amazing how the muscle memory starts to form from the repetition.

I remember vividly one of the sand trap lessons. Each member of our foursome had a milk crate full of golf balls scattered all over a bunker that we had to get out of the sand. Then, if you finished your crate-full, you got to help the slowest member of the group by hitting some of theirs.

I learned more about golf in those five days than I did in all my years before!