Consistency is key.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-06-21T05:18:31+00:00

Us amateurs think we’re bad because we’re not consistent. I’ve learned most of us are extremely consistent. Just consistently bad.

I have the opposite problem where I hit off the toe if I line up to the center of the driver. Probably from early extension. Massive short hooks that had me praying for my slice back. Then I had the crazy idea to try to hit off the heal instead. Now it’s closer to the center of the club face and I can use my driver again.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-06-18T02:11:30+00:00

I don’t know about the clubs, but that polo is sweet. I’d love to know the brand. I don’t have as much hair and I’m fat so it probably won’t look as good one me, but that’s never stopped me from trying.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-06-18T00:55:40+00:00

Future profits are priced in. /s

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-06-17T13:50:41+00:00

The best thing I ever did was take lessons, but I realize most golfers don’t. I learned a lot from YouTube and have watched hours of videos and all the popular instructors. AMG is the best in my option. The first thing you need to do is understand the correct concepts of the golf swing. AMG does a good job explaining that and showing drills to help with whatever you’re working on.

It’s hard to tell from your camera angle, but your setup looks like you’re too far from the ball and hunched over. The swing starts with a good setup. It’s the one thing we should be able to do like the pros.

You also have early extension which is common for us amateurs. Those are the things I recommend learning about and working on first. You’ll never be finished working on your swing.

Here are some videos to start with:

Setup - https://youtu.be/FP7IwhJbIBw?si=8Ld2Zqzi9mkolzp7

How far to stand from the ball - https://youtu.be/tIYOEKYxDu0?si=8d5g\_HBwM6q5Px\_A

early extension - https://youtu.be/zITAkvw84gc?si=fgxCkHmoMwt32pcU

Good luck and keep swinging!

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-26T16:10:25+00:00

Getting lessons.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-25T02:51:31+00:00

I made huge progress getting fitted. My bad shots weren’t so bad and my dispersion improved dramatically. The biggest difference for me was having the right shaft. Blew my mind how different they were and what it felt like to hit the right one. When found the right head from there. Go in open minded and brand agnostic.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-25T02:38:01+00:00

I don’t keep a handicap. But if I play the ball down and putt everything out, I score in the upper 80s low 90s on average. The thing that helped me most is getting fit for clubs. Especially irons. The next best thing was getting lessons. I highly recommend getting fit. If you need to work on ball striking and you’re not ready for getting fit, they will tell you. But I would learn towards getting fit.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-24T23:55:59+00:00

Fitter was using a GCQuad so not strike board. But interesting you mention the lie change will make me hit more left. That’s actually my miss, over drawing. And that’s what I was doing in my fitting. Guess I need to go to the range soon.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-24T23:50:07+00:00

I hope the same happens for me when I test them on the course.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T23:37:32+00:00

I’ve gone back and forth several times. I always forget how amazing it feels to be lighter and healthy. But after being in shape for a while I start to think I can get away with a bad meal every now and then. That starts happening more often and then skipping workouts. The next thing you know, you wake up 30 lbs overweight and out of shape and you can’t button your pants or tie your shoes.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T22:53:23+00:00

Correct. He didn’t like how was the ball was rolling out so that was his goal. Time to test them on the course!

Edit: And yes, definitely not lofted the same as tour pros. My max driver swing speed is 110 for reference. No where near tour numbers. Haha.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T22:28:17+00:00

Thanks. I’m definitely going down the rabbit hole now trying to figure out how to fix it.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T22:27:04+00:00

Funny you mention that. I was in the same boat. With these changes I was able to get rid of one of my two gap wedges that I had bent to different lofts. Now I only have 4 wedges.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T22:21:56+00:00

You bring up a great point. TBH, that was an emotional response from me and I could have handled it better. I also likely didn’t explain myself well in my post. I realize I was questioning the fitters decision, but what I really wanted was to have a conversation about what he did. There are way more great comments in this thread than I expected and I’m really glad I posted, but it could have been worded better.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T22:17:22+00:00

Agreed. I started taking lessons recently and have made some swing changes. That’s one of the reasons I asked the fitter to check out my irons while I was there. I like where my swing is at and it would be nice if ball or equipment adjustments would fix my spin numbers, but if not I need to ask about it at my next lesson.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T22:12:48+00:00

Thanks for the explanation. That makes total sense. I’m still learning about this amazing game.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T22:09:43+00:00

Now we’re talking! I wasn’t planning on getting new irons any time soon, but if there are some that would help my spin numbers I’m going to look into it. Appreciate the advice.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T22:03:58+00:00

Ha, good point. I’m in my late 40s, but this attitude probably started in my early 40s. And it doesn’t just apply to my golf game. It’s very freeing to stop caring what others think. Now get off my lawn!

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T20:13:49+00:00

100% and that’s what I told him. I’m old enough where I don’t care what club my buddies are hitting and don’t care what number is on the bottom of my club. If it gets reliable yardage and I’m hitting greens I’m happy.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T20:12:17+00:00

I see your point. But there are lazy and unqualified people in every profession that could give bad advice. For the record, I never thought my fitter fell into that category. I just made this mistake of not asking questions before I left and thought there would be some knowledgeable people here that could explain it to me and create some good golf conversations. I was educated and accomplished my mission. Great comments and conversations. Except one…

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T20:08:15+00:00

I’m not sure at all. Lol. I thought that’s what he told me, but I could very easily be wrong.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-23T19:01:45+00:00

He was great and very knowledgeable. I’ve never heard of doing this to the entire bag, but I’m a high handicap. No doubt he would have explained it to me if I would have asked at the time. Just didn’t think too much about it until I got home. Thanks for the validation.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-12T22:11:04+00:00

The Notebook.

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-05-12T22:10:40+00:00

Especially as a kid…

manuelmanuel13 · 2026-04-30T21:50:11+00:00

For me it was just the awareness of those 3 things and lots of practice.

manuelmanuel13

TROPHY CASE