Hacker's eyerolling questions- please help!

[hopefulhacker]

Thanks to both of you guys.
BlackJack- you've helped me on GEA, greatly.
Ted- brother, I'm the guy (twan55 on GEA) who had to go to Berlin this summer for work and therefore missed the Long Island sessions and was distraught about it. I'm coming to see you, come hell or highwater, this summer (if possible, in June).
I hope you guys realize that just by applying and doing MAYBE one thing correctly, I hit some shots the other day that I personally have never hit in my five years of playing. Honest. I believe in the book. Dukenasty's posts did it for me.
All of you guys are patient as all get out with guys like me, and I appreciate it. I'm trying to decipher the book, but it's hard, and I DO NOT WANT TO INGRAINE THE WRONG THINGS. That scares me more than anything else.
Two last questions, to you or anybody else...
-what would you say is the most common mistake beginning hitters make, i.e., what should I ESPECIALLY try to avoid?
-Is Brian Manzella's "Confessions of a former flipper" CD a good buy?
Once again, thanks.

[tongzilla]

-what would you say is the most common mistake beginning hitters make, i.e., what should I ESPECIALLY try to avoid?

Trying to Hit too hard and being too rigid or 'wooden'. Remember that tremendous energy can be consumed in trying to offset conflicting alignments, without ever achieving your full speed potential.

-Is Brian Manzella's "Confessions of a former flipper" CD a good buy?

Yes, it's a good buy. It's Swinging based, so make sure you filter out the relevant information.

[kmmcnabb]

I have been a convert for a while now and would highly recommend the following to get you on the right track:

1. Look at all the video here....first and download them for future looks too. Yoda has a DVD coming so be on the look out, I expect it will be at the top of my list.

2. I highly recommend videos from Manzella's site especially former flipper and building blocks (which is new). The building blocks is great since it starts with grip and moves on to chips, pitches and full swing info.

3. I also love Bobby Schaeffer videos from OHP, especially the one on illusions and the one that discusses the full swing (Ultimate Power swing....title off but close).

4. And finally, if that is not enough, I like the DVD from Chuck Evans but if you do the above, you have it all anyway.

Hope this help. Good luck.

I too was like you (20 plus years) of slices, and no divot. Fixed both in about a month of hitting chips and pitches, working on impact bag, dowels, flashlights, and tennis racquets (search on this site for how to do drills).

Keys for me were getting a true neutral grip, setting flying wedges, and aiming point with hands.

We are similar in size and build (I do hit it a bit further, lifted weights as a youngster) but now kill the ball off the tee (260-280) and my irons are much, much better with low boring trajectory. Still have some fat shots (too much lateral slide) and do hit off line sometimes (used to lining up for slice) but all in all, much, much, much better after 8 months. I did spend a month or two just hitting chips and pitches with my 7, 8, 9, PW, Lob and Sand Wedges before I moved to a full swing and/or my woods. Lucky for me, I am in Texas so the weather is great almost the entire year.

Good luck. By the way, I don't make money from anyone on any site but am passing on what worked for me. Also, these are all for swingers (which I am) but much is the same (accumulators, etc).

[Yoda]

I too was like you (20 plus years) of slices, and no divot. Fixed both in about a month of hitting chips and pitches, working on impact bag, dowels, flashlights, and tennis racquets (search on this site for how to do drills).

Keys for me were getting a true neutral grip, setting flying wedges, and aiming point with hands.

And so it goes...

[ejhong]

I've also just been getting started - spent a few nights up till the wee hours reading the book and the archives, watching videos, etc.

The only not at home practice I've been trying to do the last few days is get in a bunker and hit small chips while trying to hit the ball first and then take a divot. At first it was extremely frustrating because I couldn't make clean contact for many many hours. It's amazing how impossible it felt at first.

I think I've tracked it down to a flaw in my pivot - my hips were rotating by my right hip coming forward causing my right arm to get closer to the ball and leading to a super fat shot. Things have vastly improved when I work on getting my left knee straight and making sure I preserve the angle in my left hip socket - it leads me to pivot by pulling my left hip back. After this - I've been able to finally hit down with some precision and I've been making much better contact. I think the bad pivot was caused by a subconscious desire to hit up on the ball.

I've seen Ben Doyle's bunker lesson without the ball but I think there might also be a lot of advantages to chipping with a ball: You can easily see the divot and if you hit it fat you'll know for sure. I've chipped many times on a carpet or grass and you can fool yourself into thinking you're chipping it well because it's so forgiving. I hope there are no downsides to this practice routine.

[Vandal]

I just wanted to welcome these new guys, though I'm still pretty new as well. Keep up the work and soon things will start to click. First one ball, then two, then a dozen. Dowels, the videos here and Manzella's are great resources.

[hopefulhacker]

It's responses like these that make me KNOW I've made the right decision. I WILL NOT turn back.

But man, do I have some WORK ahead of me.

Thanks for the support, guys.

[Bob Cunningham]

Welcome to a fascinating lifelong quest !
Advise to the housebound snowbirds. Dig below the snow and get several handfuls of grass clippings. Place these on a mat or carpet sample and practise with a downward motion of a wedge scrubbing each tiny blade off over and over ad nauseum. Remember repetition is the mother of learning and come golf season that ball will loom very large and easy to compress !
Another great drill, weather permitting, is to go out in your backyard or field with your wedge and whack some weeds.
Remember, they are your enemy-so be sure to hit down to the roots to extract them totally. Great excercise, better than beating a tire carcass, impact bag or your dog.
Happy weed whacking-
See you on the course

[Yoda]

I'm coming to see you, come hell or highwater, this summer (if possible, in June).

Why wait until June, hopefulhacker? Come and see us at Old Waverly on April 21-23! You will learn in a truly magical environment from Ted, V.J., Tony and me, four Instructors totally dedicated to helping you improve your Game.

Jumpstart your summer season. Throw all those 'can't' reasons into the bin and reach for the 'can.'

Life is short.

Play hard and live it now.