Conference 7.286::golf

    Being a fader/slicer of the ball for the first 4-5 years that I
    played this game of golf about four years ago I decided to try and
    one of the "old timers" at my club one day told me if I really wanted
    to draw/hook the ball all the time I should think of one thing when
    swinging...well this one thing just seemed to click and I have improved
    1000% since he gave me this advice:
    
    	IF YOU WANT TO DRAW THE BALL SET UP A LITTLE TO THE RIGHT OF
    WHERE YOU WANT THE BALL TO END UP AND THEN SWING TOWARD SECOND BASE..!!
    
    You know what it really work's...at least for me!!

	The one that is easiest to describe is that while putting your
	left eye should be directly over the ball.  You will see the line
	better and be able to swing the club on the line.  This avoids those
	nasty pushes & pulls.

	The other one is the three proper positions for a club during the
	swing. 
	1)  When the club is on the way back & parallel to the ground
	the butt should point at the target & the shaft should be parallel
	to the line.
	2)  When the club is vertical it should point straight up & down &
	your hands should be waist high.  If you release your grip the club
	will drop straight down.
	3) At the top the shaft should once again be parallel to the target
	line.  The clubhead is pointing just left of the target.

	Larry

    That's easy, I read Ben Hogan's Five Lessons The Modern Fundamentals
    of Golf, I recommend it to everyone, it took me a couple of years
    but I'm on the right track because of the book. It's my bible.
    

    My golf game was VERY inconsistent.... I started reading Golf Digest
    and issue by issue I became more consistent. They give great tips.
    
    The one tip I value the most was from David Love III... never swing
    100%. Always stay around 80-85% of max, drop a club if necessary
    but never think "I better smack this one". That tip has kept the
    disaster holes from becoming too frequent.

    I've heard so many, and so few have helped...but one comment from
    a total stranger really made a (positive) difference, at least for
    the rest of that round: After watching me flail futilely at my first
    two shots, all he said was, "What's your hurry?" I immediately slowed
    everything down, and hit the ball solidly the rest of the day. Come
    to think of it, it still helps, if I take the time to remind myself!
    
    In a more formal (i.e., I was paying) instructional vein, Dave Heuser
    showed me how to release my hands (I think I need a reminder lesson
    on that); and Tommy Armour's book, "How To Play Your Best Golf"
    is never too far away.
    
    	Frank

    I think possibly the best advice I was ever given was throw away
    all those books.  The more you read the more you try to think of
    standing over the ball.  The end result is likely to be total
    confusion and a walk back over to your bag to pick out a second
    ball !  Why not just go out onto the course and keep playing as
    much as you can.  This way you can mould a natural swing, without
    confusing yourself with a thousand and one pieces of advice, which
    may leave you with a very unnatural mechanical swing.
    
    Love_Golf_But_Hate_Golf_Books.
    
    Aidan.

    re. 6 - Yup, to a point. Certainly too many books, videos, etc.
    can do a lot more harm than good. The trick is to find one good
    one and stay with it. For me that's Tommy Armour; for someone else,
    Ben Hogan or Jack Nicklaus...and the worst thing you can do is to
    go out on a golf course immediately after a lesson that has changed
    your swing or setup in some fundamental way. I made the mistake
    of going for a lesson just before taking off on vacation, and the
    instructor (correctly) pointed out a basic flaw in my stance. It
    was without a doubt the worst thing I could have tried to change:
    I got to the point where I couldn't put both feet on the ground
    in a straight line! But who wants to spend a vacation in Arizona
    at the driving range?
    

    Re: .5
    
    The best bit of advice I ever heard was a prayer!
    "Lord give me the strength to hit this easy".
    
    Try it!

    Re: .8 - Thanks! It couldn't hurt!!
    

    
    
    Best advice i hit upon thru trial and error is to really concentrate on
    a sloooow backswing you cannot be too slow try it just swing slower and
    slower you'll be suprised how crisply you can hit it,Especially with
    the driver,i always found i wasn't getting it off the sweetspot until
    i slowed the backswing down now 4 out of 5 when i remember my own
    advice.
    
    Another anti slice/hook thing i found alied to extra power and a real
    inside attack on the ball,is to really pull the butt end of the club
    down from the top like bell ringing it also helps retain the wrist 
    cock up to impact its a great feeling and then smack the ball with your
    left hand thru impact.
    
    I know all this is old advice but thats what its all about eh finding
    what works for you
    
    By the way i play/or practice 7 days a week so this is hard earned
    advice,still need to get my putts around 30 though.
    
    
    
    Give it a try,good luck
    
                                  Ken.