Major Golf Help?

Question

one day I'll be draining birdies and be hitting the ball so far and so straight and right on target

on 18 i can almost get under 90 (im 14)

another day ill be out on the course and i will top all my balls and hook all of them and will shoot a 63 on nine holes.

i want to play golf for my school.

I have been weight lifting with the football team lately and I have lady's clubs because when i got them i was to small.

Now the clubs feel like whips and they are as light as twigs.

my dad says i can get a nice set of clubs if i play in HS but i need to adjust to them. i can probably smack the ball farther than ever now (used to get up to like 230) thanks to all the lifting.

now heres all the questions i need you to answer.

How do I get rid of my inconsistency?

What should I be able to shoot to do good on the team?

How do i get rid of my hook?

how do i stop topping the ball?

How far should i be able to drive the ball?

What kind of men's clubs should i get?

Answer 1

well your asking alot of questions there and Im guessing thats why you got the answer sure so lets break it down a little bit and work on one thing at a time. first off you have to know why your inconsistant. this is usually a combination of bad decisions and  a single bad shot that got you in trouble. this is where most mess up. be willing to sacrifice a stroke to gain position. That being said, there is a method of thinking that can help you figure out where you need improvement both in thinking and shot making.

Ill try to be clear.

There is a stroke value on every shot you make on the course and it can be calculated  BEFORE you take the shot.

heres are the values

off the tee- 1.5

second on a par five-2.0

approach shots-1.5

first putt on the green 2.0

second putt- 1.0

These are the best scores you can make on every possible shot on the course. Granted every stroke counts as one but if you hit the perfect drive that would be worth 1.5 strokes to you.

just as an example-

you hit a perfect drive and consider that to be 1.5

say you hit a 320 yard drive  on a par 4  436 yard hole.

now instead of taking three shots to the green you can get there in two. you have saved half a stroke. The second shot is worth 2.0 strokes. so say you hit it within 2 feet of the cup on your second shot, now your stroke total is 2 but your score total is 3.5 because if you sink that birdie on what is likely rated the number 1 or 2 handicapped hole on the course you have just hit 3 strokes under your handicap for it.

so you see the value of the shot is the number of strokes you can save. using this method you can see what is expected of you by the course, its handicap and how you relate to it.

So faced with an impossible shot knowing you can save only half a stroke with the best possible swing, is it really worth it to you? NO

now armed with this method you can go out on your home course and find your weaknesses, then figure out what you need to work on. once you know that you can focus on things individually.

Keep us posted

Answer 2

sure

Answer 3

Here's my opinion, In order

Inconsistency - practice, but more than just your swing. Try to find out where your swing is inconsistent (take-away, backswing, transition, uncoil) and practice that. Let muscle memory work for you instead of against you.

Scores - That's very relative, it depends on your competition. You probably need to score in the low 80's, if not better.

Hook - learn to "hold on" through impact and purposely hit a fade by keeping the club face a little open. You already have the hook, learning the fade gives you another weapon. You sacrifice distance with this swing, but it helps you control shot shape.  

Topping - This comes from a very shallow impact, you're not getting down and into the back of the ball. Practice hitting half shots by hitting down into the ball without worrying about distance, you need to get used to hitting the ball first.

Driving distance - it depends on so many factors, get into a launch monitor and hit every driver head and shaft you can find. Your results will tell you more than I can.

Brands - It's all about preference, which relates directly to confidence. The shaft is more important than the head, but the head is important too. I really like the playability info at RalphMaltby.com, there's a whole lot of really useful info there, it wouldn't hurt to spend some time reading his website. Especially the "find your shaft" link. Good stuff.

Best of luck bud, don't give up on your goals!