Life of a Conditional Web.com Member

[QMany]

If any members have any questions please feel free to ask.

How do you specifically work on wedge distance control, say from 75-135 yards? Are you a "clock system" guy, all feel guy, etc.? Do you regularly do any drills or such to practice that aspect? That, and driving the ball, are my two biggest focuses this season.

[GolfingBro]

If any members have any questions please feel free to ask.

 

For starters, thank you for taking the time to make/update this thread. As a hack golfer, I love getting the insight of what it is like competing on the various tours.

 

My question is, how did you get started in the game? And what do you think is the best way to get a junior in to the game?

 

Thanks again for the time.

 

Growing up my parents wanted me to be active and be outdoors. I began playing soccer when I was 5 and did tee ball and track. My dad did not play golf very often but he did on occasion (once every 2 or 3 months). There is a 9 hole course with a par of 31 in the town I grew up in. They took me to the range one day when I was 7 and I fell in love with it all on my own. I stated with the First Tee and other summer camps at Sea Pines in Los Osos and my passion grew from there.

 

I started taking lessons from the head pro out there and started making goals to play in college. That is when I was sent by my first swing coach to my current swing coach, Don Parsons. This is when I began to look into the future and plan out the best way that will get me to compete in college and then compete at the professional level.

 

The First Tee does a great job getting kids interested in the game and thats what I would recommend where you take your child. The other way is to have your child watch you play golf, like when I watched my parents. My mom played soccer, I played soccer and actually played for 12 years, and I think that was in part from me watching her.

[GolfingBro]

If any members have any questions please feel free to ask.

How do you specifically work on wedge distance control, say from 75-135 yards? Are you a "clock system" guy, all feel guy, etc.? Do you regularly do any drills or such to practice that aspect? That, and driving the ball, are my two biggest focuses this season.

 

I'm a clock guy (at least to get my favorite distance and then I base it off feel from there...making a bigger, slower or more aggressive swing.) I would recommend finding the distance you hit all your wedges when you make what you feel is a 3/4 swing.

 

For example....my 60 degree, 56 degree, and 52 degree and PW 3/4 swings are (65, 85, 105, 125 yards) As you can see I have 20 yards in between them and its not too difficult to give my 56 a little extra to make it go 10 yards farther or cutting down a 52 degree to make it go 10 yards less. The best way to practice is to find varying targets and distance in the 75-135 yards. Hit a ball at a target and switch targets, trying to hit them all (this is the competition aspect of practice to which I mentioned before) If you are working on contact of one yardage (hitting many balls to the same target is great). My coach told me to have a favorite yardage with each club, and my 3/4 swings are my favorites.

 

Off the tee is the most underrated aspect since people always say "drive for show putt for dough". For pros this might be the case since we all hit the ball well. For the average golfer getting off the tee is the number one priority. Having a shot that goes a similar distance and a decent straightness is important to lower ones scores. If the ball is AGIR (around green in regulation), meaning you have a shot of 50 yards or less if you don't hit the green in regulation is the best way to lower scores.

[Pert1862]

If any members have any questions please feel free to ask.

 

For starters, thank you for taking the time to make/update this thread. As a hack golfer, I love getting the insight of what it is like competing on the various tours.

 

My question is, how did you get started in the game? And what do you think is the best way to get a junior in to the game?

 

Thanks again for the time.

 

Growing up my parents wanted me to be active and be outdoors. I began playing soccer when I was 5 and did tee ball and track. My dad did not play golf very often but he did on occasion (once every 2 or 3 months). There is a 9 hole course with a par of 31 in the town I grew up in. They took me to the range one day when I was 7 and I fell in love with it all on my own. I stated with the First Tee and other summer camps at Sea Pines in Los Osos and my passion grew from there.

 

I started taking lessons from the head pro out there and started making goals to play in college. That is when I was sent by my first swing coach to my current swing coach, Don Parsons. This is when I began to look into the future and plan out the best way that will get me to compete in college and then compete at the professional level.

 

The First Tee does a great job getting kids interested in the game and thats what I would recommend where you take your child. The other way is to have your child watch you play golf, like when I watched my parents. My mom played soccer, I played soccer and actually played for 12 years, and I think that was in part from me watching her.

 

Thank you for the reply. I have a 7 year old who I have been taking to the course with me since he was 5. We usually play 9 on Sunday's before dinner. He loves the game and it would be awesome if he could achieve as much as you have in your playing career. I will definitely look in to the first tee. Thank you again and play well.

[agatha]

If any members have any questions please feel free to ask.

 

For starters, thank you for taking the time to make/update this thread. As a hack golfer, I love getting the insight of what it is like competing on the various tours.

 

My question is, how did you get started in the game? And what do you think is the best way to get a junior in to the game?

 

Thanks again for the time.

 

Growing up my parents wanted me to be active and be outdoors. I began playing soccer when I was 5 and did tee ball and track. My dad did not play golf very often but he did on occasion (once every 2 or 3 months). There is a 9 hole course with a par of 31 in the town I grew up in. They took me to the range one day when I was 7 and I fell in love with it all on my own. I stated with the First Tee and other summer camps at Sea Pines in Los Osos and my passion grew from there.

 

I started taking lessons from the head pro out there and started making goals to play in college. That is when I was sent by my first swing coach to my current swing coach, Don Parsons. This is when I began to look into the future and plan out the best way that will get me to compete in college and then compete at the professional level.

 

The First Tee does a great job getting kids interested in the game and thats what I would recommend where you take your child. The other way is to have your child watch you play golf, like when I watched my parents. My mom played soccer, I played soccer and actually played for 12 years, and I think that was in part from me watching her.

 

Thank you for the reply. I have a 7 year old who I have been taking to the course with me since he was 5. We usually play 9 on Sunday's before dinner. He loves the game and it would be awesome if he could achieve as much as you have in your playing career. I will definitely look in to the first tee. Thank you again and play well.

 

I think the first tee is a great organization and I definitely recommend it for the early years, Matthew wasn't able to be a part of it till he was a bit older as it took awhile for it to get started in this area but he was more of a helper when he was able to be involved. We put Matthew in a few junior golf camps at that local course -sea pines and that was a lot of fun for him. He played his first tournament at 9. He had a horrible result. I think he shot 97 for 9 holes because I knew nothing about golf and the course he played that day was way above him, the good part was it didn't discourage him, it drove him to work on things to become a better player.

 

By age 11 he was top local guy for age group (small town mind you) and at summer age 12 we started venturing out of the area so he could play some other events and face kids who were better thinking it would strive to make him want to be better but not get so destroyed that is made it discouraging. It worked, he would get better and we would expand his competitive arena bit by bit. We spent a lot of time in the car driving north or south in California. As he got older it was important to continue to try to find the best places for him to play as his game grew. State and National level events such as AJGA were next to come.

 

Also one thing a lot of people don't know about the AJGA is they have an Ace Grant program, its basically scholarship money from them that allows kids without the funds to be able to compete at the higher level if there play merits it. Matthew was a recipient for a few years and that was so tremendously helpful to our family. We just didn't have the funds at that time for all of the travel.

 

As a parent I think the best way to have your kid enjoy the game and grow in it is to provide the opportunities but stay off the gas pedal with the pressure and advise. I knew zilch about golf so that was easy, my husband didn't bug him about golf stuff either so it was very much his thing. I took him to most of his tournaments and would watch but I was never one of those parents on the range discussing every swing or getting upset if he didn't play well.

 

Junior golf was a blast, met so many nice parents and kids which then carried over into college and the whole team environment. Even at the pro level on the Canadian tour and some other higher profile events parents still go and support their kids and although it is not as frequent it is still a blast.

Best of luck to you going forward. Enjoy...

[Racerx63]

Thank you very much for taking your time to make this thread and good luck at the So Cal!

[msonaglioni]

Amazing post Matt. Best of luck this year.

 

Do you have any plans on playing U.S. Open qualy for Oakmont?

 

BTW... If you got to play this year on Buenos Aires (Argentina) in the PGA Tour Latinamerica, I'll gladly give you a helping hand!!

 

Cheers

[knock it close]

Hey Matt, how do you adjust yardage based on altitude? Set formula or do you figure it out in practice rounds?

[GolfingBro]

Hey Matt, how do you adjust yardage based on altitude? Set formula or do you figure it out in practice rounds?

 

I don't adjust it using a formula. I hit the ball very consistent so it takes a few times to figure out how far a 8 iron goes or 7 iron and once I have the 8 iron distance each of my clubs is basically separated by 10 yard increments.

 

The longer the ball is in the air (for example in Denver) the farther it will go. So higher ball hitters have to calculate more distance since the ball is in the thin air longer.

[Jsjones]

Hey man thanks for answering these questions, it's really cool you guys do this. It's much appreciated. what is your natural ball flight? Fade, draw, and are you a feel guy who can interchange them depending on how you see the shot, or do you always have that draw/fade and adjust with choking up/swing speed to hit your desired yardage?

 

On a side note: I grew up with Matt Fast and just thought I'd try to name drop a mutual friend if you know him ha

[GolfingBro]

Hey man thanks for answering these questions, it's really cool you guys do this. It's much appreciated. what is your natural ball flight? Fade, draw, and are you a feel guy who can interchange them depending on how you see the shot, or do you always have that draw/fade and adjust with choking up/swing speed to hit your desired yardage?

 

On a side note: I grew up with Matt Fast and just thought I'd try to name drop a mutual friend if you know him ha

 

I've heard of Matt but haven't me him.

 

My favorite ball flight to see is a fade. With a driver all I hit is a fade. If I need to hit a draw on a sharp dogleg off the tee, I will use a 3 wood. With all my irons I like to turn the ball both ways...a tucked left pin I like to hit a draw (aim at center of green and move towards pin) and a tucked right pin I like to hit a fade. If the pin is in the middle of the green it depends what club I am hitting. If I hit the less club and swing hard its usually a draw, if its perfect club or more club then I hit a fade.

 

What took my game to the next level was having one shot off the tee. When I am swinging well I can eliminate the left side of a golf course completely.

[Fairwaysandpitch]

Awesome Post. Looking forward to seeing your milestones accomplished.

[MidwestGolfBum]

Hey man thanks for answering these questions, it's really cool you guys do this. It's much appreciated. what is your natural ball flight? Fade, draw, and are you a feel guy who can interchange them depending on how you see the shot, or do you always have that draw/fade and adjust with choking up/swing speed to hit your desired yardage?

 

On a side note: I grew up with Matt Fast and just thought I'd try to name drop a mutual friend if you know him ha

 

What took my game to the next level was having one shot off the tee. When I am swinging well I can eliminate the left side of a golf course completely.

 

As somebody who isn't at the same level, I can say having a single shot off the tee that you can trust (regardless of direction) is going to bring confidence in the swing under pressure. All of the guys who I know who are mini tour guys as well as guys who are playing at the Tour level all say the same thing. Being able to eliminate half the course off the tee is huge, as Matt said.

[PJ72]

 

 

For all you curious about the Nike part of all of this, today was one of the days when I went to walk the dogs there were 2 big boxes on the porch. This surprised me because it seems he already has a ton of clothing but Nike never ceases to amaze me with their generosity. I believe this is now the 6th big clothing shipment he has received since Aug 2014.. So what is that, a new kit every 3 or so months? Anyway, they are awesome.. He is out of town so I took the liberty of opening them so I could peek and share with you all. He got text pics from me..

 

So the first picture is jackets/sweatshirt/pants.. There are 3 pairs of pants on the rt of pic 1, I like the colors, the middle pair is a gray, they send a lot of gray hues.. The long jacket is something I have not seen before, and there is a nice thick crewneck sweatshirt in gray which is new as well.

 

Second pic is 9 shirts and hats.. No mind you he already has a ton of clothing so some of the shirts may not match these pants but he has plenty of others that will match.

 

The third pic is possibly an error in packaging as they are all XL items and he is a Large. He will need to contact his person at Nike to let her know and ask what he should do with them. They either put them in by accident or put wrong size in his box. Either way, it will be easily resolved and its the first time that has happened.

 

Did I say I love Nike!!!!

 

That's great, thanks for sharing!

 

It sure does feel good to play golf in new gear.

[mallrat]

I can't believe you had a coach/swing instructor send you to another swing instructor who they thought would be better or help advance you further. Kudos to him, that is wonderful. Compare that to the AAU basketball, baseball or football stuff where every coach is trying to get known for making the next big thing so they can get rich off of it is good to hear.

 

On a side note, are you enjoying this board and your postings? Seems like it would be almost be like talking to a shrink and helping you talk or work things out, or even analyzing some things; i.e., wedge practices, that you did but weren't sure why. Keeping going and best of luck.

[TheGoo34]

If you ever make your way near Savannah, Georgia and aren't busy I'd love to play a round of golf with you on base at Fort Stewart!

[GolfingBro]

I can't believe you had a coach/swing instructor send you to another swing instructor who they thought would be better or help advance you further. Kudos to him, that is wonderful. Compare that to the AAU basketball, baseball or football stuff where every coach is trying to get known for making the next big thing so they can get rich off of it is good to hear.

 

On a side note, are you enjoying this board and your postings? Seems like it would be almost be like talking to a shrink and helping you talk or work things out, or even analyzing some things; i.e., wedge practices, that you did but weren't sure why. Keeping going and best of luck.

 

I like it because its a bigger version of twitter. I don't have many followers yet but on here a lot of people read and follow articles. I like passing along insight and advance to beginners and even aspiring pros. I like to teach and help fellow golfers.

 

If you ever make your way near Savannah, Georgia and aren't busy I'd love to play a round of golf with you on base at Fort Stewart!

 

Sounds good to me. I'm always up for a round anywhere new.

[GolfingBro]

I've only read the intro so far but I had to comment. Do you know Andrew Haggen? I played in high school with him. Also I went to UCSB so I used the range at Twin Lakes where it seems like you got lessons

 

I do know Andrew, I was lucky enough to spend a couple years with him on the team before he graduated. Good ol Twin Lakes, home of the best swing coach in the country.

[The Chicken Connoisseur]

I've only read the intro so far but I had to comment. Do you know Andrew Haggen? I played in high school with him. Also I went to UCSB so I used the range at Twin Lakes where it seems like you got lessons

 

I do know Andrew, I was lucky enough to spend a couple years with him on the team before he graduated. Good ol Twin Lakes, home of the best swing coach in the country.

 

Haha I wasn't playing much in college so I didn't know that. I have a friend who lives there who wants to start golf so I'll let him know

[agatha]

I've only read the intro so far but I had to comment. Do you know Andrew Haggen? I played in high school with him. Also I went to UCSB so I used the range at Twin Lakes where it seems like you got lessons

 

I do know Andrew, I was lucky enough to spend a couple years with him on the team before he graduated. Good ol Twin Lakes, home of the best swing coach in the country.

 

Haha I wasn't playing much in college so I didn't know that. I have a friend who lives there who wants to start golf so I'll let him know

 

Don Parsons Twin Lakes. the UCSB guys are often practicing there.

[kekoa]

Top 15: that will work.

 

Some of you may wonder how far I was hitting it in Fresno this week. Here are my distances (about what I would play them when it got a little warmer in the morning)

 

Driver 290-310

3 wood 250-270

 

2 iron 235-245

4 215-225

5 200-210

6 190-200

7 170-185

8 160-170

9 145-155

PW 135-145

 

52 degree 100-130

56 degree 85-100

60 degree <80

 

Matt you fit right in here at wrx with thos distances????????

[agatha]

I've only read the intro so far but I had to comment. Do you know Andrew Haggen? I played in high school with him. Also I went to UCSB so I used the range at Twin Lakes where it seems like you got lessons

 

I just have to say Andrew was one of my all time favorites!!! Such a great guy, so fun to talk to and hang out with. Our team had a very tight knit group, most all players parents would go to the events and we would all go out to dinner, players parents and coaches.. So fun. Andrew quit during Matthew's soph year, I was so bummed when he did, but it was the best thing for him at the time.

[prorobo]

Besides Nike providing clothes and clubs, do they kick in anything in terms of paying for events, travelling etc?

 

Not at my level. They give a yearly bonus depending what tour you are on. (PGA Tour and Web.com tour). And that money helps pay for travel.

 

Does Nike restrict their clothing deals on all levels with regards to other sponsors and logos? Or are lower level guys allowed to pursue and sell space on their person?

 

Fantastic thread! Best of luck this season and looking forward to seeing your career progress!

[GolfingBro]

Amazing post Matt. Best of luck this year.

 

Do you have any plans on playing U.S. Open qualy for Oakmont?

 

BTW... If you got to play this year on Buenos Aires (Argentina) in the PGA Tour Latinamerica, I'll gladly give you a helping hand!!

 

Cheers

 

I do plan on attempting to qualify.

[GolfingBro]

Besides Nike providing clothes and clubs, do they kick in anything in terms of paying for events, travelling etc?

 

Not at my level. They give a yearly bonus depending what tour you are on. (PGA Tour and Web.com tour). And that money helps pay for travel.

 

Does Nike restrict their clothing deals on all levels with regards to other sponsors and logos? Or are lower level guys allowed to pursue and sell space on their person?

 

Fantastic thread! Best of luck this season and looking forward to seeing your career progress!

 

Any Nike guys on contract restrict other sponsors logos on your bag. Since I am with Nike, I only can wear Nike clothing and that goes for all Nike players. The staff bag is the place that Nike allows sponsors logos. Some guys (the most paid guys) can have a entire bag logo'd by a sponsor. I am allowed to have a spot on the front with one logo.

 

I've heard Nike pays the most of any company and thats why the players get all decked out in the Nike logo and nothing else since the compensation is so good. NIke doesn't allow sponsor logs on any hats or clothing.

[GolfingBro]

Took down my swing coach and buddy today in a little friendly match at Alisal Ranch. It's great to play courses I haven't played in 5+ years. I'm trying to do that up and down the central coast (playing courses I haven't played since junior golf days).

[balladm]

Do you have a schedule you go by? If anything is close by, I am sure some of the guys here would love to come support you.

[rlconklin]

Matt, great thread, thanks for posting. I'm a high handicapper (16) and I (as well as most high handicappers) find it much easier to hit hybrids, rather than 3 and 4 irons. I notice most pros use irons, is there a reason? What is the advantage of hitting irons instead of hybrids for low handicap players?

[GolfingBro]

Do you have a schedule you go by? If anything is close by, I am sure some of the guys here would love to come support you.

 

My website has a schedule: Here is the link to my website and the schedule that I keep updated.

 

http://www.matthansengolf.com/schedule-results/

[GolfingBro]

Matt, great thread, thanks for posting. I'm a high handicapper (16) and I (as well as most high handicappers) find it much easier to hit hybrids, rather than 3 and 4 irons. I notice most pros use irons, is there a reason? What is the advantage of hitting irons instead of hybrids for low handicap players?

 

What I have noticed playing with guys who use hybrids and guys who use long irons is the difference in workability. Hybrids are great clubs for someone who is looking to hit it higher, land it softer, and have a consistent trajectory and shot shape. Due to the design of a hybrid it is not as workable as a long iron. Irons are easier to flight down, and even hook or slice more when you need them.

 

The reason I don't have a hybrid is I'm a high spin and high ball flight player so I never needed to get the ball up in the air. Plus, I like to work my long irons whether it be hitting a soft high cut into a par five or turning over that same iron off the tee to get some roll out.

 

The one area where a hybrid is great on tour (or a 5 wood for guys like tiger), is out of thick rough. Hybrids do a great job out of rough and the club head wont get grabbed by the blades of grass.

 

Also, the irons designed today are much easier to hit up in the air due to the fantastic technology inside them. I hope this answers that and keep the questions coming guys.