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Tight budget golfer advice

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Crowe925

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Location
Hilliard FL
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The ball
Here's where I am:

1. I am 32 with a 5 yr old and a 1 yr old. My oldest just started racing mx.
2. We do not have abundant $.
3.I know I need lessons.
4. YouTube has helped and hurt me.
5. I hit wedges everyday in the yard, from day to day the swing changes. (Prolly from watching YouTube)

I guess my question is what do y'all suggest to a guy like me to be able to go out and have descent ball striking when I have a chance to play a round?

I know I'm a wreck but thanks anyway.
 
Crowe925 said:
Here's where I am:

1. I am 32 with a 5 yr old and a 1 yr old. My oldest just started racing mx.
2. We do not have abundant $.
3.I know I need lessons.
4. YouTube has helped and hurt me.
5. I hit wedges everyday in the yard, from day to day the swing changes. (Prolly from watching YouTube)

I guess my question is what do y'all suggest to a guy like me to be able to go out and have descent ball striking when I have a chance to play a round?

I know I'm a wreck but thanks anyway.
Click to expand...
I guess my question is how good do you need to be to keep you happy? If you are happy with just being on the course and shooting what you shoot now IMO just enjoy the game. The only person that needs to be happy with your score/swing is you. If you are not set aside a few months and instead of playing take some lessons/practice more. If you are happy just go out and enjoy yourself when you get the chance.
 
Definitely get a few lessons. Call around, ask around, they don't need to cost an arm and a leg to be beneficial.

Post a few swing vids in Freddie's subforum and I'm sure he'll be able to give you some good feedback on YOUR swing, so you're not relying on YouTube drills/moves that may or may not work for you.
 
Why not use the Swing Tips with Freddie forum? You post video of yourself and ask for help. Freddie rains wisdom down on you.
 
Try to get a video of your swing and post it in the swing help section. Freddy will find it and get you started on the right foot. Until then I've found that if I watch every youtube video out there I start thinking to much and muck everything up. Try to find one or two instructors videos and watch those. A few small swing thoughts are better than 50!
 
I guess that depends on what you consider to be decent? Where do you want to be and be happy?
 
I think Freddie is a great option and it's pretty cheap for some great eyes on your swing, another option is go ask an assistant pro at a course, they usually charge half the rate of a class A pro and can give valuable advice as well. Not all of them are great but most are good.
 
Trout Bum said:
I think Freddie is a great option and it's pretty cheap for some great eyes on your swing, another option is go ask an assistant pro at a course, they usually charge half the rate of a class A pro and can give valuable advice as well. Not all of them are great but most are good.
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Awesome advice about the assistants Marc!

JM
 
Thanks JM, Freddie would be my first choice but if someone needs a local set of eyes it's a good option and the assistant needs the practice teaching too.
 
Mine too buddy. He has helped me so much. I would love, love, love to have a session with him sometime.

JM
 
He should hold a 2 day class in Orlando, I think he'd be great at it. Range time and play time then more range time.
 
Tight budget golfer advice

Crowe925 said:
Here's where I am:

1. I am 32 with a 5 yr old and a 1 yr old. My oldest just started racing mx.
2. We do not have abundant $.
3.I know I need lessons.
4. YouTube has helped and hurt me.
5. I hit wedges everyday in the yard, from day to day the swing changes. (Prolly from watching YouTube)

I guess my question is what do y'all suggest to a guy like me to be able to go out and have descent ball striking when I have a chance to play a round?

I know I'm a wreck but thanks anyway.
Click to expand...

First thing I would tell you is to get out of MX racing as fast as you can! . As much fun as it is, it is very dangerous and very very expensive. Maybe you already know that but I have been down that road.

Edit: I know this sounds cold as I have reread what I wrote it but truth is, I raced in the 70's and my kids raced during their school years. We buried two close friends and know a couple of more that passed away from racing. Trust me, we loved riding and still watch and go to supercross races. But when the kids got out of school they both hung it up, thank God, and I was relieved for sure. It is a family friendly sport as it has to be but the cost are astronomical. So now my golf budget is bigger, no more motor costs! Anyway a lot on here have given you some good advice about your golf so I will leave it with them. Good luck and you came to the right place!
 
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Trout Bum said:
He should hold a 2 day class in Orlando, I think he'd be great at it. Range time and play time then more range time.
Click to expand...

That would be a hot THP ticket for sure
 
tequila4kapp said:
Why not use the Swing Tips with Freddie forum? You post video of yourself and ask for help. Freddie rains wisdom down on you.
Click to expand...

This is 100% accurate.
 
Check in with Freddie and get some helpful hints from his vast knowledge of the swing.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned that is free and will absolutely save you strokes when you play, get to the practice green at your nearest course and practice putting and chipping. Having a solid short game will take pressure off other aspects of your game because you know you will get up and down if you miss greens.
 
First pretty cool that your son has started racing mx. I raced for about 6-7 years, starting on 80's and ending in the B classes. Racing was always fun and it really is family friendly. It's expensive too, but I'm sure you know that lol.

As far as working on a tight budget, as many others have mentioned; Post a vid and get some feedback from Freddie. Lately I've been on a tight budget too. I don't know how often you play but I suggest walking the course more if you usually ride. That always saves me a few bucks as well as gets me some extra exercise.
 
russtopher said:
Definitely get a few lessons. Call around, ask around, they don't need to cost an arm and a leg to be beneficial.

Post a few swing vids in Freddie's subforum and I'm sure he'll be able to give you some good feedback on YOUR swing, so you're not relying on YouTube drills/moves that may or may not work for you.
Click to expand...

Was going to post this exact thing, Panda will be more than happy to take you under wing. He knows what he is doing and loves helping THPers, especially guys who want to get better. That would be a definite help to your budget instead of paying a local pro and his advice will be specific to your swing, not a shotgun approach like that used on the net videos.
 
My dad took 5 years off from golf after having some back problems. Last year, he took golf back up. He took one lesson, and the pro just made him tweak a few things. The pro had one goal in mind for my dad, which was hit the ball somewhat straight. He didn't fill my dad's head with 20 swing thoughts, he didn't even try to explain why something in the swing was supposed to be one way or the other. He just got him hitting the ball.

It cost $50, and my dad's enjoyment of the game last year increased ten fold as a result of just one simple lesson to get back into the game. So honestly, I'd say start with one lesson, and let that get you some sort of foundation for the game.

~Rock
 
Yeah, as somebody getting back into the game, I'm intentionally staying away from YouTube videos that aren't anything but the very basics. It's too easy to end up way down a rabbit hole, trying to keep a dozen thoughts in your head every swing. Instead I have 3 goals:

1. Make sure I'm getting the basics of grip, address, and swing right.
2. Keep practicing until I have a *consistent* swing. I don't care if it's short, long, left, right, or straight as long as it's the same every time.
3. Tweak one thing at a time until I'm hitting straight.

I figure if I can hit pretty much where I'm aiming, I can start having fun on the course again. Playing the course management game is what I really enjoy, plus just being outside hitting golf balls. I don't need to hit 300yd drives or land my pitch shots in a garbage can to do those things.
 
Adding on what others have said, if you got time, watch a bunch of golf instructions on golf channel on tv or online. Other than that, repetition is key. You can practice your swing without a club pretty much anywhere.
 
Regarding "..chance to play a round." Find a local par 3 course. If it's not busy you can drop 2-3 ball on every hole and just tinker around the greens, assuming the pro shop is agreeable. It will cost the same as a large bucket of balls, it's more fun and only takes 1-3 hours not 5 hours.

Most training aids are expensive versions of what can be recreated at home with coins, yardsticks, string, etc. There are dozens of ways to use those to help groove a stroke. HAVE FUN!
 
With two young kids and limited budget, I suggest just enjoying the time you have on the course for now. When the kids get a little older you will have more time and, hopefully, more money; then you can work on improvement.
 
Crowe925 said:
Here's where I am:

1. I am 32 with a 5 yr old and a 1 yr old. My oldest just started racing mx.
2. We do not have abundant $.
3.I know I need lessons.
4. YouTube has helped and hurt me.
5. I hit wedges everyday in the yard, from day to day the swing changes. (Prolly from watching YouTube)

I guess my question is what do y'all suggest to a guy like me to be able to go out and have descent ball striking when I have a chance to play a round?

I know I'm a wreck but thanks anyway.
Click to expand...
Have you tried calling around to the local courses and asking about lesson rates? There is about a $50/hr difference in lesson rates between the two courses closest to my house. Maybe you get what you pay for, but I'm going with the cheaper option first. :)
 
Crowe925 said:
Here's where I am:

1. I am 32 with a 5 yr old and a 1 yr old. My oldest just started racing mx.
2. We do not have abundant $.
3.I know I need lessons.
4. YouTube has helped and hurt me.
5. I hit wedges everyday in the yard, from day to day the swing changes. (Prolly from watching YouTube)

I guess my question is what do y'all suggest to a guy like me to be able to go out and have descent ball striking when I have a chance to play a round?

I know I'm a wreck but thanks anyway.
Click to expand...

Youtube can be very detrimental if you're watching a bunch of different people.

The golf channel has some great teachers that have videos on their site you can look into. Michael Breed who hosts the golf fix on Mondays at I believe 8pm is a great teacher and his lessons are very helpful. I record every episode so when I have time I go back through to try to learn some stuff. You can look up a bunch of his videos on that website as well. Free advice and it's a fun show. It's actually helped a couple things for myself.
 
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