When I said I was seeing how good a complete duffer could get at golf given a bit of time, effort and pretty close to all the advantages the pros have, a couple of people said to keep them informed with how things are going. Having taken some (possibly well deserved) flak for posting about golf in the café, and endured several discussions about golf not being a sport by people who probably think they could play the game to a high standard having scored a hole in one on a course where at least one hole features a windmill, I thought I'd better move over to a different section of the forum to post how things are going.
The idea of this thread is both to share things I've found that may help other players (there's one hell of a lot of dross out there about golf on the likes of Youtube and even from some instructors I've chatted to) as well as allow any other golfers out there to post bits and bobs that may help others, me included, I'll take all the help I can get.
This is a little background to where I am now and why I am where I am - feel free to skip it though.
I took up golf about 5 years ago and had an inkling that I would like to see if I could get good at it - loved it right off. Then in an unrelated accident about 8 months later totally severed the patella tendon in my right knee (bit that connects the knee cap to the shin and so has all the strength going through it, basically I totally shagged my knee). It wasn't a clean break and the tendon itself was knackered so having had my knee wired back together I was in a cast then leg brace for about 6 months after which I could only bend my knee about 15-20 degrees. Took about a year of physio 3 times a week as well as exercises every day to get most of the movement back in the joint but it'll never bee quite what it was.
After that I couldn't play rugby any more so decided to totally focus on golf, as it was my right knee that is now numb and a bit of a different shape to the left, I can play round it. Ticked over slowly improving for a bit, but not taking it too seriously, until about 2 years ago the RAF informed me that, as I couldn't deploy on operations they would no longer be requiring my services. After a little chat in court about the fact that the leg injury was in fact their fault (they had a scan showing the tendon was in bits but 'lost it' or ignored it and put me on intensive, high impact physio until the tendon snapped - not bitter mind), the nice judge told them they should really consider making it up to me financially. This gave me the opportunity to give the golf thing a real go and see how good I could get, basically practicing full time, using kit like a top launch monitor (http://www.clubscuderia.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?49061-GC2-Golf-Launch-Monitor), being coached by the head pro at the English Golf Union Academy who found the idea interesting, using their practice facilities, that sort of thing.
So that's me. I started taking the game a bit seriously when I left the RAF a little over a year ago and got my initial handicap about 6 months ago I think at 5.5 . Although it would have been a little lower going by the rounds I submitted, the EGU won't give out a cat 1 handicap (less than 5.5) straight off so that's my starting point. Right now I'm concentrating more on getting my swing where I want it to be and getting some sort of short game in place rather than lowering my handicap, that'll be next year's goal - hopefully by then I'll be playing well below it.
The idea of this thread is both to share things I've found that may help other players (there's one hell of a lot of dross out there about golf on the likes of Youtube and even from some instructors I've chatted to) as well as allow any other golfers out there to post bits and bobs that may help others, me included, I'll take all the help I can get.
This is a little background to where I am now and why I am where I am - feel free to skip it though.
I took up golf about 5 years ago and had an inkling that I would like to see if I could get good at it - loved it right off. Then in an unrelated accident about 8 months later totally severed the patella tendon in my right knee (bit that connects the knee cap to the shin and so has all the strength going through it, basically I totally shagged my knee). It wasn't a clean break and the tendon itself was knackered so having had my knee wired back together I was in a cast then leg brace for about 6 months after which I could only bend my knee about 15-20 degrees. Took about a year of physio 3 times a week as well as exercises every day to get most of the movement back in the joint but it'll never bee quite what it was.
After that I couldn't play rugby any more so decided to totally focus on golf, as it was my right knee that is now numb and a bit of a different shape to the left, I can play round it. Ticked over slowly improving for a bit, but not taking it too seriously, until about 2 years ago the RAF informed me that, as I couldn't deploy on operations they would no longer be requiring my services. After a little chat in court about the fact that the leg injury was in fact their fault (they had a scan showing the tendon was in bits but 'lost it' or ignored it and put me on intensive, high impact physio until the tendon snapped - not bitter mind), the nice judge told them they should really consider making it up to me financially. This gave me the opportunity to give the golf thing a real go and see how good I could get, basically practicing full time, using kit like a top launch monitor (http://www.clubscuderia.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?49061-GC2-Golf-Launch-Monitor), being coached by the head pro at the English Golf Union Academy who found the idea interesting, using their practice facilities, that sort of thing.
So that's me. I started taking the game a bit seriously when I left the RAF a little over a year ago and got my initial handicap about 6 months ago I think at 5.5 . Although it would have been a little lower going by the rounds I submitted, the EGU won't give out a cat 1 handicap (less than 5.5) straight off so that's my starting point. Right now I'm concentrating more on getting my swing where I want it to be and getting some sort of short game in place rather than lowering my handicap, that'll be next year's goal - hopefully by then I'll be playing well below it.