May 2013

There were 17 posts published in May 2013 ( this is page 2 of 2).

Basics of the Golf Setup

As with the grip, it is important to have the correct setup before hitting a golf ball. A whole website alone could be dedicated to this subject. But here are a few quick tips for the casual golfer. I strongly advise anyone who hasn’t already, see a professional for a lesson. Even if it is just one 30 minute lesson to look at your grip and setup, it will make a huge improvement to your game and help eliminate some of those bad habits early on.

This video shows you how to correctly set up in 5 easy steps…

Alignment: At address your body (feet, knees, hips, forearms, shoulders and eyes) should be positioned parallel to the target line.

Foot position: Your feet should be shoulder width for the middle irons. The short iron stance will be two inches narrower and the stance for long irons and woods should be two inches wider.

Balance: Your weight should be balanced on the balls of the feet, not on the heels or toes.

Posture: Your knees should be slightly flexed. Your body should bend at the hips (not in the waist) with a straight back.

Swing Whistle Review

The Swing Whistle is a small gadget which clips onto your golf club. According to the manufacturer this training aid is designed to “provide instant multi-sensory feedback to train your swing to have maximum speed at impact”. If you swing with a good tempo you hear a constant low whistle at impact.

  • Shrill = you are swinging too fast
  • No whistle = no lag and swing of the club
  • Early whistle = you are coming over the top and releasing the golf head too early
  • Constant low whistle at impact = ultimate result. This means that you have gradual acceleration through impact of the club with the ball.

The manufacturer claims that “installation is super simple, you just clip the Swing Whistle onto the shaft of the golf club”. The Swing Whistle goes at the bottom of the shaft on the hosel (just above the club head). To be honest I personally found it a little tricky to install. It is stiff plastic and it took a few minutes to force it onto the bottom of the shaft. It did not clip on with ease. Also every couple of swings I had to re-apply the device as it would slip off the hosel on the club

The Swing Whistle retails at  $19.95 plus shipping. I feel that this product is a little overpriced for what it is. It is just a small piece of plastic – I would be more comfortable with purchasing it at a price point of around $14.95 shipped.

Would I recommend it? Probably not. It is not that much of a game-changer for me. It makes the whistling noise as described. But I often found that with the speed of the swing it was sometimes hard to tell exactly when the whistle occurred. I would probably need to record the swing or have a spotter to give me feedback. What I do like about this training aid is that it can be used at home. You don’t necessarily have to hit a ball. Just swinging in the backyard will help you with your tempo. If you are hard of hearing or have issues hearing high pitch sounds, then this is obviously not for you!

Roosevelt Municipal Golf Course (Grifith Park) – Executive

2650 N. Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 665-2011

9 holes (par 33)
Yardage: 2,478 yards
Hours: Dawn to dusk, 7 days
Green fees: $14.50, $19 on weekends and holidays

This course is located in in Griffith Park, by the Greek Theater. You can reach it by heading up Vermont Ave, north of Los Feliz. Roosevelt is regarded as one of the better executive golf courses in the LA area. The course is built into the hills, so you get plenty of exercise walking up and down the slopes of the various holes. Roosevelt is a scenic course and there is also a good chance you will see wildlife, such as deer or coyotes on the course. 

Roosevelt is a long executive course at 2,478 yards, with the shortest hole being 156 yards. Due to the length this course is probably best played by a golfer with intermediate ability, rather than a beginner. I suggest that you are able to consistently hit the ball 200 yards off the tee before playing at this course.


As it is a City of Los Angeles course it is relatively reasonably priced. We went during the week. We walked straight up and started with no wait. But there started to be a backlog around hole 3. At each hole there was about a 5 minute wait to tee off. The whole round took the two of us about 2.5 hours to complete. I have read other reviews of people who play here at the weekends and they say it can get very busy. It is probably advised to book a tee time for peak times and plan your playing time accordingly. 

The course itself was very enjoyable. As mentioned earlier it was long, but the fairways on most holes were wide, so it is forgiving if you are not totally accurate. It is deceptive as when you start the first hole you can not see anything else of the course. The course twists around the hillside with good separation between each hole. There are several dog legs and very few straightforward holes. There are no water hazards on the course, but a few bunkers spread throughout. Each bunker was well placed and in a challenging location.

For me one of the best holes was hole 6. It is 310 yards, straight but drops down significantly in elevation. This hole is actually quite narrow and tree lined. I have pictures and a video of this hole, further down in the post. Hole 8 has a nice view of the Griffith Observatory in the background.

There is a putting green and chipping area at the course. There is also a little cafeteria by the starters office. I did not go in, but they had a neon beer sign in the window. Which indicates that they most probably sell alcohol. The parking lot is not all that big, but there are plenty of other parking spots in the local vicinity.


Richie says… “I enjoyed playing here. It is really long for an executive course. You get a great workout as this a hillside course. My heart was really pounding and I was sometimes breathing heavily walking some of the holes! They have a good twilight special, just $8.50 during the week.”. 

Albino says… “It’s a good course. It is a big course and you get to use all of your clubs. Also it is well maintained. It’s awesome.”

Hole by Hole

Hole 1 – 275 yards
Hole 1 – green
Hole 2 – 392 yards (green is about 150 yards over brow of hill)
Hole 2 – second shot (200 yards out)
Hole 3 – 156 yards
Hole 4 – 340 yards (dog-leg right)
Hole 4 – 2nd shot (130 yards out)
Hole 5 – 339 yards (dog-leg left)
Hole 5 – 2nd shot (150 yards out)
Hole 6 – 310 yards
Hole 6 – 2nd shot (80 yards out)

Hole 7 – 158 yards
Hole 7 – the green is behind the bunker
Hole 8 – 346 yards (dog-leg right, note Griffith Observatory in background)
Hole 8 – 2nd shot (130 yards out)
Hole 9 – 162 yards

The Proper Golf Grip

The grip is an important part of your swing mechanics. Without the proper balance in your hands your golf club can do a number of bad movements in your golf swing from beginning to the follow through. According to the PGA, 70% of golfers need to correct their grips.

Here is a video from the Golf Fix. This is an instructional show broadcasted on the Golf Channel on Monday’s at 7pm. The Golf Fix is hosted by PGA 2012 Teacher of the Year, Michael Breed.

www.free-online-golf-tips.com

Practice Center Review #3 – John Wells (North Hollywood)


11501 Strathern St
North Hollywood CA 91605
(818) 767-1954

Hours: M-F 8am-10pm, weekends 8am-9pm

Medium bucket (66 balls): $7
Large bucket (120 balls): $10
Jumbo bucket (220 balls): $16
Big John (550 balls) $35
*Before 4pm, “all you can hit” – $20

The range is located off the 5 freeway in North Hollywood (although in reality it is more Sun Valley). It is not in the best of areas and overlooks the picturesque cement works. The range has a large parking lot and plenty of spaces. They claim to be one of the best public golf driving ranges in the Los Angeles area. I am not sure who/ how that was determined. I think it may be a tagline which John Wells created themselves to market the business.  


This range is very large (60 stalls). It is single story and you hit off mats. The mats seem to be in decent condition. Whenever I have been to John Wells it has always seemed pretty quiet with plenty of stalls available. They use good quality balls and they seem to be replaced regularly. There are plenty of metal picnic tables and chairs behind the hitting area. Allowing you to rest while hitting, or for people to sit and watch.

The surface of the range is very unusual. As you can see from the pictures it looks like hitting on the surface of the moon. For whatever reason the entire hitting area is covered in what appears to be sand. I presume there is grass underneath. The hitting area is large and very wide with plenty of targets to hit at. I personally can not adjust to this hitting area. Call me weird, but I like hitting on regular grass. It just seems so unusual to look out at this landscape. There is a small putting surface, but it is pretty much useless. It is in disarray and need replacing.

They offer lessons at John Wells and have several professionals with bio’s listed on their website. Private lessons are $40 per half hour, 6 for $200. Which is reasonably priced. However if you want the video analysis they charge an extra $5 per lesson. From my experience the video analysis is a must. You can really see your swing mechanics and what needs to be corrected/ improved.

John Wells has a lot of promotions. They have an “all-you-can-hit” for $20 if you go before 4pm. Also they have a website and Facebook page where they have coupons and other promotions. I noticed they have a marketing campaign linked to hitting a lot of golf balls – with a basket containing 550 balls! I could not imagine hitting anywhere near that many in one sitting. When visiting a range it is about quantity not quality. You should take your time and think about each hit, using your usual pre-hit routine. If you just step up and fire off balls like a machine gun, you are not really going to achieve to anything from the practice session.

Overall the range is in good condition and very large. The back fence is 260 yards. I just wished they replaced the hitting surface with conventional grass. As it stands I would personally rather just go to the De Bell range which is 10 minutes down the road in Burbank.


The World’s Longest Par 3 Hole (Legend Golf & Safari Resort)

Legends Golf and Safari Resort in South Africa is the home of the highest and longest par 3 golf hole in the world. The 900-yard (yes, that’s right) par 3 features a tee atop Hanglip Mountain and a green – shaped like the African continent – 1,410 feet below. The fairway is seeded with Cynodon grass, and has been landscaped to direct the ball towards the green and the green is surrounded by a large waste bunker.

The par-3 is actually a 19th hole and is used to settle ties. Its tee is accessible only by helicopter. Because of its extreme height, balls hit off the tee are estimated to have a “hang time” of 26 seconds or more. The severe drop requires spotters on the ground to find tee shots, which are usually made with a driver.

  • Vertical Height – 430m (1,410ft)
  • Horizontal distance from foot of mountain to back of green – 400m (437 yards)
  • Horizontal distance from foot of mountain to start of fairway – 280m (306 yards)
  • The vertical drop from the start of fairway to the front of the green is 21m (23 yards)