What Can Cause Wrist Pain?

After a week of not touching a club went to the range Tuesday night hit the ball great. After getting loose up with some Sw's and Gw's one of my tour buddies showed up and was whining about not being able to hit driver and wanting me to try his new Nike 9.5 driver and see what I thought and it was not a lot I did hit it fairly decent about 260 carry but not for me. I pulled my R9 driver out to compare and was carrying mine 275 on an up grade slope rolling out past 285 with 2-3 year old range balls. He hit it and loved it and tried to buy it from me I just laughed at him.

Anyway I went to figure my distances with all clubs and what I am going to carry in my bag this year.

Driver  275 carry up slope with 10 yards or so roll up slope 285.
3W  260 - 265 with roll on an up slope 
17* Fw 240 - 250 with roll on an up slope
Sw 110
Gw   125 
Pw   135
9 iron   145
8 iron  155
7 iron  165
6 iron   175
5 iron   185 
4 iron   195
3 Hybrid 215
Thinking about pulling the 3w and putting LW in also thinking about pulling the 4 and 5 iron and putting in 4 hybrid 205 yards and 5 hybrid 195 yards  much easier to hit. I am hitting the ball further now than last year by 5 - 10 yards

Dan,
When I started playing golf many years ago, I was using the interlocking grip. I  realized that I was applying to much grip pressure when I did this. Now I use the overlaping grip and make sure I relax the grip pressure before I start the swinge,especially the right hand. That has worked very well for me over the years.
Good Luck,Dan
Hal

Steve, I"ll repeat it again, you are a much better player than you make out
to be, LOL.

I think you're thinking of PhilNZ. He'll probably post when he recovers from his return journey around the world.

 Committing to the shot!  There's the rub!  Sitting in the middle of the fairway, I tend to think, "This is easy," and I lose concentration on the shot.  Sitting behind a tree, I concentrate better because I "have to hit it just so" to get where I want to be.

Shorton,

We have discussed golf balls here many times and you'll find several blogs on it by typing in "golf balls" in the right column you'll find the search box.

Here's one  example;
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Da...

Surge Nation:

   Time for another installment of "The Perils of the Ancient Golfer"   LOL
 
    Monday was a little unusual -- we played the #3 pin locations -- statiscally the  "hardest" set for me. It really shouldent make any difference though as youo always get 6 front, 6 middle and 6 back pins.

     results :

        9 of 14 fairways -- 3 of the misses were by less than a yard - and on the "correct" side of the fairway.   driving Average : 164 yds.
        5 pars - 4 on the back nine
        7 bogies
        5 double boigies
        1 triple bogie
        7 one putts for 29 putts used -- all from chipping or pitching  close to the hole
       0 GIR -- OUCH!!
       5 bunkers, 0 Sandies
   
      score:  49 + 43 = 92 -- "Pretty good" with the #3 pin locations

    Wednesday --  we played the #1 pin locations - statiscally my "easiest" set

      results:

          10 of 14 fairways -- 2 of the misses were "barely off" the fairway and once again the "correct miss"  to open up the hole.  Driving average: 172 yds
          1 Birdy  YEA -HAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! ( Missed a 2nd birdy on #18 by one "fly weight" of wffort on the putt - a 10 foot - mostly side hill with about a 4 inch left to right break, but also slightly uphill. I thought I had hit the perfect putt when it left the club face -- but alas it broke a little too soon and came to rest in the exact center of the cup on the low side with part of the ball overhaning the lip of the hole!) ARGHhhhh!

          6 Pars from 4 GIR and 2 "chip and a putt"
          7 bogies
          4 double bogies
          0 triple bogies
          3 Bunkers - 0 Sandies

         score: 44 + 44 = 88  -- 2nd best round of the year - so far

       Weirdest hole played in a lng time : #1 today
        Hit a good drive into the perfect spot in the fairway -- then hit a 7FW on the toe with and open face -- headed high and right towrda out of bounds -. THen it hit a tree just short of the canal and ws lost from sight.  After aobut a 4 minute serach, I determined it was not of bounds - so it most be in the canal.  Dropped a ball an hit a near perfect 9I to a back pin.
        Then as I getting back into the cart, I spotted a ball in the center of the fairway, aobut 30 or 40 yards behind me.  Since no one was on the first tee, or the cart path, I decided to investigate.  Sure enough it was my original ball!  It must of struck high on the tree, rebounded up and back and landed just out of my peripheral vision!  form that postion I hit a 7I onto the green, but it rolled off into a bunker.  As it turns out - I scored double bogie 6 with either ball!!  The Golf Gods will get even!!   LOL

        Just a side note -- both days I was palying as a single, on a nearly deserted course --- about 4 or 5 holes behind the "real early birds" - and perhaps 5 or 6 holes ahead of the "sleep ins"  -- Finsihed in 2 hours, 45 minutes both days -- after taking my "standard" 3 to 5 minute break between 9 and 10  and at the 16th tee.

     Keep hittingh them STRAIGHT and LONG

     Amos

Definitly too wide for my screen, even when viewed upside down

Steve
Those numbers or under normal conditions. Into a wind or down wind becomes a guessing game adjusting up or down a club. I felt like I was swinging at about 80% Tuesday and I can get a little more out of the irons if I go at them but do not need to.

I ended up buying the demo Ping G 20 irons my buddy let me try out while he was going to reshaft my Mizunos but I told him to forget ordering the shafts. 
These pings are a 1/2 " shorter through the set and much lighter than the mizunos we checked the lies and lofts which were all good. 
These are the easiest clubs I have ever had to hit and hit straight I can work them either way. 
I have only played them on a course once 2 weekends ago at a tourney and was very happy with them shot 88 in 22 mph winds were a couple of 2-3 handicappers shot 90. My mistakes that day were chipping pitching and putting mistakes which cost me 13 strokes. 
Out  of about 150 iron shots Tuesday I thing I pulled maybe 5 shots when I went after them full bore.
I will put my swing and clubs to the test this Saturday our first major of the year hopefully we will not get rained out.
We will see.
 Add
I have always had pretty good distance control but its has been in the past were the ball was going.

I think it has to do with Robert Meade's post immediately below. Probably needs to edit in a carriage return after that URL. Despite shortening the appearance of the URL, Disqus seems to be making it take up the full space.

Kevin,
Yes I agree,other factors in our set up can effect our grip 'feel'. I think we change a bit from day to day physically,emotionally and mentally. Some days I just feel off balance and out of whack. Nothing feels comfortable including the grip. on those days and in general I just do an over-all check on all fundamentals and as you say something else may be the culprit or any combination. Best if I follow the K.I.S.S. method and keep thing nuetral and simple and balanced. Then take dead aim and keep it 3/4's and rythmic. I don't over compensate with grip or anything els anymore. Just keeping it simple and lately it's all clicking. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I do know more golf is on the schedule for the next 25 years or so! BTW, I just ordered 3 pair of new bionic grips on sale for 19.99 each from Amazon.com. Fresh gloves and the right grips on my clubs make a difference for me. As it gets warmer I like to rotate my gloves at least twice a round.

I have been having trouble opening the videos,when I click on the start button nothing happens
stan

Which ball to use? I'm a 30.2, 69yo, swing speed about 88 mph. Any recommendations?

Very nice round, indeed.

Thanks Mike. Before Surge I hadn't broken the 80 barrier since 1980 something. In the last two months I have had several 78's and 79's. The 74 was a complete breakthrough and I see par for 9 soon and who knows. I owe it to this web site and steady hard work.
Hackers can get better
and I'm living proof!
Thanks Surge and fellow Surgites:)

 Nice round Robert

Cool numbers Mike. Sounds like things are coming together nicely for you. Being able to understand our gaps and getting them set up so we can have  a fair amount of confidence is a powerful feeling. I have been working on that process for a couple of months now and am getting real comfortable with my gaps too. I have to say that getting a laser range finder has helped alot. I can pick my clubs real fast now and know that a well struck shot will get me fairly close to my desired distance. Fun stuff.

 Stan,

In addition to the suggestions from Steve, just below the video, right above the rating stars, you'll see a (Clicking Here) highlighted in gold/brown for those having trouble viewing the video. Good luck.

I am sure that I will have days were I will make adjustments on distances depending on how I feel and in the past I would make a decision  in there first couple of holes if I need to go up a club and would do so and if I started carrying the adjusted club to far then I would drop back down a club. 

Dan, I surmise that our grip can start to "feel" out of sorts over time for many reasons. Things you may consider (in addition to the experimenting you are doing) are the actual grips themselves.... Are your grips worn? Grips that are starting to get slick or loose tackiness cause us to grip tighter.You may want to simply try out a new and different grip thickness and style. Stop by a golf store that has a large grip bin and multiple grips sizes, makes and materials. Having trigger fingers and arthritus and generally sore hands from 12 years of doing deep tissue massages have all got me using larger jumbo grips. Maybe you are do for a change or simply fresh grips. Buying a fresh new glove can help too. I started using the bionic golf glove and the extra padding and feel suits me well.

                      http://compare.ebay.com/like/1...                                                                                                                                                                                                                       On that note, how's your grip pressure? Is it too firm or too loose? Mine was too tight. This causes a feeling of muscling it and contributes to a dominant hand taking over during the swing, in my case the back right hand. I focus on keeping the same pressure throughout my swing and not allowing the grabbing pressure to move up into my right shoulder but staying below forarm level.
As far as grip style, I use the overlap. I was getting into a much stronger grip position but have recently found that a more nuetral grip allows me to return my hands to square (on,on,on) much more consistently than the strong grip.
    Our grip can feel out of sorts for no understandable reason sometimes and the club feels like a foriegn object in our hands one day and natural and good the next. It is odd at times. My Dad use to say that if your grip is comfortable it is likely wrong. Not sure but anyhow, results is what I go by. So when you start hitting balls at the range consider which grip seems to give you the best ball flight and consistency, then perhaps you'll be able to forget about the grip and move on to all the other set up basics that you'd rather focus on.
I'm sure you'll get back into the groove after your season gets into full 'swing' there. Maybe some of these suggestions could help, if not well hope you and your family are well in Canada and maybe we'll see you this Fall out here in the southwest again this year!
Good golfing to you Dan:)

Kinda sad to see DJ get off to a bad start again this week. Hopefully he will have a great round tomorrow.
 

Robert 
Its nice to know were the ball is going with these pings and I picked up a bunch of confidence 2 weekends ago with them in tournament play we will see how it works out this weekend. May get rained out Saturday tournament but Sunday is suppose to be nice  hopefully I will get to play at least once this weekend.

Hal/Dan, likewise I started with an interlocking grip, read too many books on what the champions were doing, but since have crossed
to the overlap. From my personal perspective, the interlocking creates too much tension in the knuckles, especially when Don recommends
a grip pressure of 3/5. I also think the overlap allows more lag as the right hand position is passive at the start of the FUS, but then becomes
the power source about half way down after the club is "on line".   

You know how we talked about how often we hit our best shots out of trees and not out of the scary middle of the fairway? LOL! Yesterday was agreat example. Three times after great shots left me around 100 yards from the flag from the middle of the fairway I missed the greens. Agrivating for sure. Two of those misses ended in bogies and one a par because I made a 12 foot putt.
On the other hand two of my best holes involved trees. On #9 I hit my drive short right after hitting a tree and dropping in a position where I had to go around or under limbs (was too close to the tree to go over it) I hit a 5 iron from about 140 yards low under the branches to about 15 feet of the flag. Easy par.
On the last hole my drive was left and with around 105 left to the pin I had to hit it high and over a healthy tree. To 4 feet and birdie time:) If I can learn to confidently hit it at the flag when there are no obstructions from the middle of the fairway I'll be dangerous!! Golf, go figure huh?

Don't worry. They all live upside down there. It's hard to tell one guy from another when you're looking at his shoes. ;-)

Sorry to see DJ didn't take part in the hickory-shaft three-hole charity event at the Zurich Classic. Or if he did, they didn't get any pictures of him. 

I think it may also have to do with an inability to see the target from where you're hitting the ball. I usually find those shots to be more successful.

Mike, very cool that your new Pings have helped you dial it in pal. Way to go.

Dan, I think Robert is right, but I don't mind being mistaken for a Kiwi, we are brothers in the lands down under. Both our
nations have just commemorated ANZAC day, where we lost thousands in WW1, including my great uncles.
If one ever needs to understand the meaning of "Sacrifice", then they need to go no further than a visit their local Memorial,
after seeing "Saving Private Ryan" some years ago, I think you guys know what I mean.  

Surge, about a week ago, you did a daily on Loading onto your back leg(sit or sink) on the BUS. Boy did you hit the nail on the head as far as what has been my problem for several years. I went from hitting the ball well years ago to an army(left, right, left, right) golfer and did not know what was causing it. Well I tried your sit/sink move as that is what I use to do while playing tennis or when I use to pitch in baseball just as you described. I have tried the sit/sink move for three rounds now(never tried it on the range) and it is starting to pay dividends as well as feel more and more comfortable. My scores are indicating the new move too. The first round was an 80 with a few old swings thrown in but the last 2 rounds were 75 and 74 and I really feel like I can once again control the ball more-straighter than ever. I only hope that some other Surgeites  try this if they are struggling keeping the ball straight. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. Steve

A quick note on the use of suppliments such as Gluecosamine and Chondroitin. I am one who has used them for many years and am not sure of the benifits. As Surge says, many swear the benies and others not. I say if you can feel the difference is the key. A couple that I can really feel the benifits of are SAM-E and Flexcin. Sam-E helps with joints and mood. I notice I'm more easily grouchy when I miss a few days of the daily dose. Have noticed it helps with the joints too. As for the Flexcin, I have reported several times here that it has helped my hands and back noticably. I especially realised this after using it for 3 months and running out of it for 1 month. The stiffness and pain increased appreciably so I now have a revolving automatic order every three months. Cheaper that way too.
BTW, I learned about Flexcin right here from another fellow Surgite.
Heading out to practice putting and short game now........

Okay Surge Nation,
I want to give you an update on my game. Morning nines at muni have been consistently around 40. I really feel a 36 in sight. At the par 70 Los Prados I had my second 78 last week with a 38/40. Ironically the front nine is usually tougher as it is par 36 and the back is 34. I told my wife if I can just play the front well and follow with a normal solid 9 on the back I can break the 78 barrier. 78 there is like 80 at muni.
     That sets the stage for todays round. I was just hitting the ball consistently well right off the first tee. Sarted out par,par. Then was rocked by bogies at the par 5 3rd and the par 5 4th. Funny thing was both were ripe for par and the most consistent part of my game from 100 yards in let me down. then I had a run of 5 straight pars finishing with 38 on the front. Here we go.Back nine started bogie, par, bogie then at the often challenging par 4 13th a good sign. My wife followed me up to the back tees, driver in her hand. for some reason I thought she had my driver for me. It was her driver. A flex, off the shelf Ram driver that came with her "starter" set. She said, "here give it a go". I hit her driver 240 right down the middle! Fun! Here's the kicker, I forgot to put my putter back in my bag before we left and had to use her putter all day. After hitting my second shot from 155 to 5 feet I drained the birdie there with her stock Ram putter.Go figure. I went on to go par,bogie, bogie and then finished par and a birdie on 18 with Cindy's putter from 4 feet after hitting my pw stiff from 105.
A two over 36 on the back gave me my first 74. Needless to say this is a breakthrough for me.
     Several factors have contributed to the over all improvement. Consistently driving the ball in play and often down the middle. Not as long as last year because keeping it neater. basically 3/4's on all swings. Not worried about drawing the ball for those extra 25,30 yards now because I'm getting 210 or more from my 5 wood and am leaving the 3 wood in the garage (for now). I have replaced my 3 wood with a 60* wedge so now carry 48,52,56,58 and 60. Also have gone with the 22* Adams hybrid insteed of my 4 iron. Constant tinkering getting my lofts and lies right has paid off too.
Having fun and hope you all are getting out and playing golf.
PMG

Robert, thanks for the back-up, LOL.  I agree, one good shot can make a par, but if the other 3 were totally crap, then the task
becomes much harder. Good players bad shots are my good shots.   

Thanks Robert. Now the other area I'm working on is eliminating the ocassional pulled putt. just got and am reading, "The putting perscription" by Craig L. f
Farnworth. He has several interesting and potentially helpful drills there. Time to hit the practice green and see how they help.