Some basic questions.

I am a beginner in golf technicalities. Since I bought my beginner set 3-4 months, I have been just playing with some buddies... like grab your clubs, go to the course, grab some beers and start hitting. My scores are around 105-110. I realized that I have been hitting the clubs pretty much like baseball, without giving a thought about the technique. I have found that I am very consistent with the irons; I can hit a 5-iron 150 yards straight, but horrible with the woods. Now I have decided to approach the game from the techniques standpoint and get my basics straight.

So here are some questions...

1) Terms: What is lie, takeaway, cut on the rough?

2) I am 5'10" and 175 lbs. What size clubs should I use? Does everyone play with the standard size? What are various club sizes for irons and woods?

3) I have $120 beginner clubset (Knight Electra). What are some good brands around $250-300? I don't want to spend too much till I get a good feel for the game.

4) I want to buy a utility wood, since it is shallower and easier on the fairway. Please recommend something not very expensive.

5) What exactly is a strong grip? I fade/slice (unintentional) too much with the driver. So people on the web told me to use strong-grip. But if I shift my grip a bit towards right to make it strong, my right hand goes under the club if I want to keep the club square at address, and I still end up slicing/fading the ball unintentionally. If I shift my grip towards right, but then re-adjust my wrist so that my right hand does not go under the club, then the clubface is a bit closed at the address. But the latter has helped me to hit the ball straight. Am I still doing something wrong?

6) Is it common to get calluses on the 4 top mounts on your palm? Or does it indicate my grip is wrong?

7) On the downswing with the driver, sometimes, I totally miss the ball or the clubface hits the ground way back and all the power is expended and the ball just moves a few feet or the clubhead strikes the ball at a place other than the clubface. This happens though I have worked a lot on my backswing after reading too many books. Is it happening because my right elbow is not staying connected to the body or wrists are moving during the downswing? How to correct this problem on the downswing?

I'll be back with more questions the next time after I try your tips on the range this week. Thanks guys.

Boy raj, not much love for you. I'll give 'er a go.

Lie: This has two uses. One use is in reference to the angle of the shaft in relation to the sole of the club. This is know as the lie angle of the club. The second use is to denote where and how your ball is lying in the grass/fescue/sand. This is known as your lie. A tight lie is in a place of little or no grass. A fluffy lie is where your ball is sitting up in longer grass (ie you run the risk of actually slipping your club right under the ball). A plugged lie is where your ball is buried in the ground. (You get a free lift, clean and place here).

You should use clubs that are fitted to you. There are two options here: One is to buy a set of clubs 'off the rack', then see a clubmaker to get them adjusted. The other option is to see a clubfitter, and have a set of custom clubs built for you. Option two is generally more expensive, but not prohibitively so. If you buy clubs from a guy, the fitting fee is usually smaller than if you bring clubs for assembly or tweaking.

Stick with those, but get them fit. Then, you can get new sticks/reshaft when your swing improves.

You can find not very expensive clubs at your local WalMart. They also may not fit very well.

No. Most modern drivers are actually manufactured to have the face setup closed these days. No, really. It's true.

Calluses anywhere indicate too much pressure. Relax!

Quickly, chunky has to do with either a slide backwards during the takeaway, or a shoulder dipping on the downswing (rather than turning).

OK. Enjoy the range!

__________________
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A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Thank you so much.

One more Q? What is the use of cocking the wrists? I find that if I leave my left wrist uncocked, the impact is more accurate. Cocking wrist is proving bad for me as the wrist may remain a bit bent during downswing and I shoot a chunky. Moreover, wrist starts paining after a few days of range.

Cocking the wrists is a source of power. Mine don't cock very far - it could be why I'm so damn short!

if you leave the wrist uncocked then you can't have a full backswing and you will end up sweeping under the ball not hitting it on a decending blow which can lead to fat or thin hits. cocking of the wrist is (stand at adress postion) then move the club strait up and down, that is cocking and uncocking, a huge power "source" it is not really a source in that it does not develpop much power by itself, but if you use it and release correctly then you are transfering all that power developed by our core into the club and crush the ball. it also allowes you to hit the ball with a decending blow (the correct way to hit th ball) giving you good divots and backspin and contact with the ball.

it you have a weaker grip then you might have a little cup (the backward bending of the wrist) in your lift wrist when you cock it.

go to gregs site, it is an outstanding site that tells you about cupping and cocking and has forever changed my swing.
http://members.cox.net/gregjwillis/LESSON1.htm
i would reccomend looking at all of his site.

back to cocking.... (this is just what works for me, it may not be correct)

place an (old) club on the ground at adress with the left hand only and press the club into the ground as hard as you can with your left hand, and adjust your grip accordingly to the grip that can push into the ground with the most resistance. (for me that is a slightly strong grip with a very short thumb, (meaning that the tip of the thumb is under my forfinger). now put the right hand on so that the"v's" line up. then pactice hammering down as hard as you can into the ground with you hands cocking and uncocking. learn that feeling...... now take the club back and on your downsing, try to keep the cock as long as possible, then hammer strait down into the ball..... i know it is wierd the fact that you need to "hit" downt the target line...... but don't hit down the target line release strait down (the unwinding of your body will trasform you downward striking into a down the line hit and you will hit "the small ball before the big ball" on a decending blow and leave a perfect divot. chunking can be from casting or releasing the cok to early, don;t realease untill your hand at about waist high, then you can release or "hammer down" as hard as you want/can.

that is all uncocking is, just releasing the club into the ball.... that will cause you hands/forearms to crossover after impact. many golfers (even though may not have correct swing techniques) have alot more potential swing speed then they have becasue they do not release the club properly, they swat at the ball and actually loose swing speed. but even if they develope alot of powre by using proper technique and unwinding correctly, if they don't releas correctly then they are robbing themselfs of swing speed.

that may not be a proffesional answer but if works for me, hope it helps

As far as the $120 set, My first set cost the same at Walmart. My current set cost around $160(Knight Virage). I hit them just as well as a lot of guys I golf with that have more expensive sets. The only thing I find with a cheap set is the drivers don't seem to be very good, so you might want to pick up a good driver on sale at a golf store.

Like one of the other guys said, you can get a utility wood at Walmart. Not sure what your local Walmart carries, but here they have some of the cheaper Topflite stuff.

Wrist cock is very important. Check out the link for the right hand drill that lgskywalker37 gave you in an earlier post. Greg has some other lessons you can access at that same link that might also be helpful.

Also, at the top of this webpage there is a link to Golf Lessons. Check them out.

Most of all, keep asking questions on GTO. These guys have helped my game out quite a bit and I'm sure they'll do the same for you.

__________________
Golf is a game of inches. 36 inches = 1 yard
I think you put that one about 2160 inches too far right. LOL

Ping TISI Tec 400cc driver
Knight Virage woods, irons and wedges
Knight putter
Cheapest double titanium balls I can find. lol

interesting place to post and get rid of the post reminder

i think lowpost has summed it up preety well with his replys.

if you want to get more technical and start playing golf more seriously then i highly recommend getting a lesson from a qualified professional to get out of any nasty habits you have...

with the new set of irons. i wouldn't worry about it for a while until you fix your swing.... your still going to swing badly with a new set even if they are fitted for you. though still have the lie angle checked...

with the utility wood. r u talking about a hybrid or a fairway wood.... either way. test each club out before you purchase, hopefully the golf course you play at will have demo clubs so you can try before you buy.. with this. i wouldn't change your irons, work with what you have until you know something needs changing.. suggest getting a 5wood, i've had mine for 4 years and it's the best club in my bag. i use it anywhere.

with your shots.. missing the ball and hitting well behind the ball... try not to hit the cover off teh ball.. ie. don't try and hit the ball hard. you'll be suprised, you'll probably start hitting it straight and get more distance.

the callasis on your hand... wear a glove...... wear 2 gloves if need be.

the thing i liked best about your first response was the fact that you said you hit the ball like a baseball. keep doing this with teh right technique and you'll start hitting the ball a mile.

I agree with oz, get a few lessons and get the basis sorted,it becomes difficult to unlearn ingrained bad habits the more you practice them,above all stick to it ,it is more like a journey of discovery than a game.