Newb thinks its a great game, and havent even had one round yet

Hello everyone, This is my first post....to go right along with only my second bucket of balls at the range....so far so bad heh.

No really, a buddy of mine talked me into going to hit some balls with him, and now I am hooked (no pun intended...well maby sort of intended)

My handicap is about a 6pack. Well, honestly I have never actualy played a round of golf yet. I want to at the very least understand the aspects of the swing, and be able to understand my limits before I head out (and pay the green fee)

My stratigy for now, is to continue hitting balls at the range, atleast 2 or 3 more times, and then get a lesson once I have looked at what my problems are. This is mostly due to the $50 that an hour lesson will run me.

I am a big boy...6'1" 295lb, you would think that hitting a golf ball a couple hunered yards would be no problem...right? Wrong

Anyway, I understand the stance, shifting weight on the feet during swing, grip (at least sort of), following thru, and thanks to Greg Willis http://members.cox.net/gregjwillis/LESSON1.htm I understand a bit more about how the hips come into play and cupping, altho I have yet to try this.

Here is a bit of a question tho. I know I have a HUGE curve to the right when I hit the ball. Most times the ball will travel about 10-15 yards straight and then arcs right....strongly. Is this a slice? If so, why does it not begin as soon as the ball is hit?

I have now pulled my hands togaither a bit (take my normal grip and then twist both hands towards the top), and on the last few balls hit they went straight with just a bit of a slow curve but not very far (might help if I knew how far apart the flags are on a driving range...)

I do not know when I will be able to aford a Lesson (WHAT! a POOR boy playing this game! ) So I hope to get as much help as I can. I feel comfortable adjusting my swing/stance/whatever, but I dont think I know what all else plays into the swing.

How close am I supose to stand to the ball? I have seen photos of people driving while standing 3 or 4 feet away...and others standing close.

If anyone has a Newb swing checklist heh, please let me know.

Thank you,

if you look at gregs 9 ball rle you might understand better. the path you swing your club is the ballistacal flight your ball will take, if your ball goes strait at first then that is good, that means you have an in to in swing. the reason it curves left or riht later on in flight is becuase the club face wasn't square at impact. it puts side spin on the ball. after a certain amount of speed is lost then the aerodynamics of the ball kick in and it responds accordingly. if you watch a pro or someon with high ball speed hit, if they slice, it will usually not start curving untill about 50-80 yds of ball flight. aerodynamics is also what causes the ball to rise in flight after hitting it as most pros do with enough backspin, but too much backspin can be bad and as it causes the ball to rise too much and then it falls short.

to draw the ball you want a in to out path and a closed face what you are really doing is hitting a weak push hook. but they are aligned right of the target so itdraws back.
to fade it you want a out to in swing with an open face then you are really hitting a weak pull slice. but they are aligned left of the target so it fades back. and to hit it strait you want a swing path that goes in then square and back to in with a square face at impact.

as far as how far to stand, it depends on how flat or steep your swing is and if you are a one or two plane swinger. if the loft on your club is standard then you determin how far to stand based on just letting your arms hang naturally...... usaully an iron has steeper aproach and your hands are about a fist away from your body and a driver you want to be flatter and so you have aobut 2 fist difference.

sounds to me like you have a strait slice, try to get a stronger grip, or maybe you are fanning the club open on your backswing making it hard to return it back to square at impact.