Monthly Motivation: January 2020

@bortass and I have been discuss the idea for this thread. I was looking for a place to publicly commit to training and practice, state my goals and focus on working towards them. If you are interested, dive in. My goal is for this thread to be a positive place to ask questions and encourage each other to actually work towards our goals and improve at the game of golf. My hope is that any criticism is constructive and we build a place where people can focus on actually improving their golf games. This is a work in progress. If it works, expect changes to improve the idea.
This is inspired by the Chasing Scratch podcast, as it's nice to have people to BS with about your game. Honesty hour, Carl Weathers and bad 90s movies references are all welcome.Name: MyherobohopeHandicap: 5Strengths: ME HIT BALL FAR.Weaknesses: Making bogey from 100 yards out in the fairway. Wedge game needs to improve, as does chipping and putting. Need to dial in distances and then score on the green.Season Goal: Break Par on home courseMonth Goal: Improve fitness before golf season, work on short game when possiblePlan: I have mornings free from 7:30am to 12. My goal is to spend at least 30 minutes a morning focusing on improving either my golf fitness or my short game. Today I did a 30 minutes of kettle bells.
I don't have access to a gym, but I do own kettle bells. Right now I'm focusing on basic exercises as I haven't been working out. Doing Goblin Squats, Halos, Swings and some core stuff. Hoping to get in some wedge work at the course, but they are on shut down until it's warmer... I thought 50 degree was warm enough... Apparently they didn't. I have a golf trip to Kiawah at the end of February and want my game to be in decent shape (my wife is bringing me along as a trophy husband to win over clients). Mental Game: I've been thinking about my home course a lot and positioning myself to score on it... I play the same track 90% of the time, so it seems like I should set myself up for success there. I am taking a whole course approach to thinking about my game and my clubs. One of the first things I'm looking at is making sure I'm putting myself in a place to make par off the tee box. This means not pulling driver on a number of holes, but I need to figure out what club works and what distance I need it to go... From there, I need to figure out "best case scenario" distances and make sure I have that shot in my bag. I also need to stop chasing pins, get more confident on the greens and consistently 2 putt. Really need to work on leaving myself an easy 2nd putt, which is something I failed at all last season.
Please feel free to add or subtract any categories if you are interested in participating. I'm also open to feedback on my plan and suggestions on how to better improve my game.

Nice intro @Myherobobhope. This is something that I've seen done in a few different forums, such as fitness, weightloss, even bass guitar. We all have a common goal, to improve at golf. The difference is how we go about doing it. We will each have different ways we want to try and improve. This is a place to share your goals and progress, to draw motivation and encouragement from. So come join us!

My long term goal is to break 85. I quit golfing in 2013. I had gotten down to a 19.X index and the lowest score I ever shot was an 85. My game started to fall apart and I wasn't playing as much and my index finally hit 30.2 when I quit.
My short term goal is to break 50 for 9. I'm playing a new course which is harder and my swing is very bad with a 6 year layoff...Month Goal: Improve my full swing and work on my sand game. My ballstriking is MIA and I need to start getting it back to where it once was. My sand game is because the new course has over 40 green side bunkers. My old course had maybe 18 bunkers total on the entire course. So It was rare to be in a bunker. I have found in my few rounds here that I will land in a bunker around once per 9.Plan: I'm using Monte's videos, which are great, for my swing help. So work on the drills in the Efficient Swing series for my full swing improvement and practice his bunker shot from his Using the Bounce series. What I do is when I go to the range, hit a dozen or so bunker shots, just trying to get out, and then work on my swing.

great thread idea.

Name: TimHandicap: 11.6Strengths: I like to work hard. Weaknesses: changes every month, but currently I bomb a great drive and shank the wedge on the approach. Season Goal: I want to become a mid single handicap(5) who can piece together a good round in any situation/ I want a swing I'm happy with(form/function) and that can get me to my goal(course performance). Month Goal:

1) improve my green reading skills to match my stroke (just took an Aim point class and need to practice).

2) improve my swing with all clubs, especially wedges, Plan:

1) I have a 1 hour practice/ 4 times a week- 2 will be dedicated to full shot wedges and putting.

2) will take a lesson at the end of the month in Jan. Mental Game: focusing on pre-shot routine (changed my ball striking on the course). feel the course.

How do you like aim point thus far? I’d like to improve my putt reading.

"Nighthawks"

 

That's all for now, just trying to get in the spirit.

I really enjoy it and has help me a lot! If you have not tried it, I highly recommend it. It's a very simple system to read greens, make a decision, and commit to the putt. They break it down to 4 parts: 6 feet and in, 7 - 20 feet (birdie putts), 20 and over (lag putts), and double breakers. Systems proven at the tour level.

 

I now understand how important green reading is, it's the reason good putters are good.

 

Aim point really helped me understand the "why" I sucked at putting and a clear way on the "how" to improving. Everyone talks about visualizing a shot shape and focusing on a small targets(aim small miss small) on full swing shots. Pretty much making a firm decision/ commitment so your body performs it. Putting is the same, if you can't trust your green reading, you have no real target= wrong speed= no shot shape= no commitment= bad putts.

 

really thankful I was able to take the clinic with the founder. He was adding in a lot of extra info that's just eye opening.

 

I'm curious to hear about Aimpoint too.

I made it to the range today. It's been raining the last few days and still hitting off mats I took 10 balls into the bunker and worked on that. I hit 7 the way I wanted but caught the other three thin. I may not have taken the downslope into account with those but I'm not sure why I caught them thin. Regardless, I think it was a successful sand practice. I also worked on feeling the correct weight shift, left toes and right heel, that Monte talks about early on in the Efficient Swing. That seems to be coming around, so I'm happy with my progress thus far.

Name: ToolishHandicap: 4Strengths: Used to be iron play, but even that has gone off.Weaknesses: Wedges and putter. Season Goal: Hit 0 handicap at some stage this year.Month Goal: Get distances dialed in. Plan: I play once a week at most (year-round) and get to the range once a month if that. As such I have purchased a SkyTrak to practice at home. I have had a net set-up for ages but without feedback it is difficult to stay engaged. I have a tendency to tinker with my swing and look at video from each swing and change things, instead I am going to give myself 1 lesson a week, then spend the week focused on that before looking at video again.Mental Game: I need to stop score watching and stay engaged in the shot. I also have major issues with not committing to shot before stepping up to it. Need to work on both of those, and they are related.

@Toolish Not tinkering sounds like a good idea. For me, I'd try to focus on the key takeaways when I had a lesson and would try not to change too much else. Work on ingraining that one or two things and not mess with a bunch of stuff that leaves you either back where you started or worse off. Granted your game is light years ahead of mine but I think the concept still applies.
Score watching is a fun one. It took me years to get over that and it included me learning not to tally my score til I was done and ignoring bad shots. I found that I could have a bad hole and still make a decent score. It wasn't easy but I think it's one of the best things I've learned to date. Granted I'm not playing for money or anything else, so I don't have any outside pressure on me.

Name: Warrior42111 Handicap: 19Strengths: Athletic Frame / PowerWeaknesses: looking at my 2019 stats controlling my power / mental game in that I can get away with an mid iron off the tee and should more oftenSeason Goal:

Drop HC to 12Scoring Avg on Par 3s and 5s under +1 (currently 1.4 and 1.8 respectively)Putts per round under 31 (currently 31.6)Month Goal:

Gym at 530am instead of the afternoon. Allows me time to practice after work. (already started and it's amazing in life in general)Get my basic grip/posture/alignment confirmed as good and ingrained.Plan: While the gym hing is already in full swing and nice, just got to learn if I am double dripping (gym am / golf pm) to get a smaller bucket as I will fatigue and the results go to $hit. Have a lesson this Thursday to confirm the GPA, if he gives me the ok on it, we will see what the next step is on the full iron swing. Right Now my weekdays are gym M-TH with the driving range for a bucket one afternoon, and a short game session another.Mental Game:  Both really weak and really strong haha. I can "turn it on" and get in a zone and I usually play well however, in the zone I am not really social and so focused on just me, pretty much can turn into an a$$. Not really the right thing when playing rounds with friends. Need to learn to shake off the bad shot and hero recovery mentality

One of the best guys I play with is a dick on the golf course and completely focused on his game... he's a dick off the course too, but less of one! I do find it hard to balance the mental focus required to play well with the social aspect of a round of golf. Not something I had ever really thought about, but definitely worth keeping in mind... I wonder if there is a good balance to be worked on here... basically 30 seconds before approaching the ball, get into "the zone" and not talk or dick around... focus on the task at hand, hit the shot, see the result and then be social again... I'm not sure if I have the capacity to do that, but it's an interesting idea to at least strive towards.

I wish I could figure that out too. I played football through college so my zone was created then and it’s like a I’m gonna beat the ever living crap out of you through the echo of the whistle and I won’t shake you hand or help you until after the game when we shake hands and say man we battled. Being able to cycle that would be an interesting challenge.

luckily my regular group knows when I go to that place via my eyes and adjusts but that’s not fair to them lol

Yeah... it's an interesting challenge... something the pros don't have to deal with! I'm now curious on this topic and will do some research.

Just to add some 90s movies panache to this thought... I am going to channel Grosse Pointe Blank and try to be aware of myself and my breathing. This is me taking a breath. This is me hitting a golf ball...

Seriously, though... I think your point is an under looked part of the mental game (at least by me) and something I can actively work on improving on the mental side... I want to stand behind the ball after picking a club, take a deep, relaxed breath and FOCUS... try to get into a zone for 30 seconds. Practice swing, swing thought, hit ball... This is a work in progress for me, but I like the thought.

Let me know if you find something that works for you...

For Aimpoint, did you take a class or use the DVD?

I took a class(2 hour clinic).. It was really worth it. I don't think a DVD would do justice since 90% of the lesson is learn how/where to feel the ground to read the break. I saw on Dana Dahlquist's IG they were having a clinic in Long Beach so I jumped on..

 

it would be great to contact Preston(high level putting instructor) or Mark(founder) via IG to see if a clinic is in your area:

 

Preston IG handle: prestonsputting

Mark IG handle: aimpointgolf

 

I asked Preston if he was located in socal for a putting lesson but he confirmed his teaching studio was in Santa Barbara.. His putting studio looks soo sick on IG.. might have to take a vacay in SB and disappear from the wife and kids for a few hours lol.

 

Im going to check out aim point... live in Kentucky so who knows.

 

just finished my second kettle bell workout... golf season is 2 months away. First round in 6 weeks.

So a little follow up as I did have a lesson today. My instructor was very happy with my setup and posture. Backswing was very good to the top a little touch long or a overswing. We were both really happy that I was “keeping my right cheek on the wall” . Now the transition was the focus as I was having issues. First thing was I was getting my weight going a bit towards the ball which was causing my to dump my hands to save the shot aka out to in usually around 8 degrees....no bueno. First thing we did was just work on keeping my weight level on my feet with some drills. Best one for me was a mini swing but on transition I’d start with a little lateral step. It was weird at first but it was helping me properly start with my lower body and not lunge because if I was going forward when I lifted the foot I would fall forward. Once I had it going there we went back full swing it was better but not there yet. My hips were still a touch closer to the ball at impact. So we started chatting about what I’m thinking, what he wants (left cheek on wall at impact) and what my mind is thinking I am doing. In the end for me the thought was to turn my lower body past the target so I’d be looking right to see the ball after contact. It took a few swings but I ended the session with 3 straight 5 woods with carry and roll high 250s but more important was my path was now 0 to 2 degrees either way. I’ll see if I can post the video. Now to get those two ideas ingrained to not lean forward and to keep my butt on the wall.

 

Sorry for the long post I was really excited that I was able to ingrain the previously lesson and move on and make that progress in a 1 hour lesson.

Awesome! I love the “baseball” drill to help get me transitioning correctly. I go back to it 20 years later.

update/ experience at the range this week:

 

putting: don't practice putting(green reading) on bad greens(long grass), there is no break and everything is a straight shot..

 

Driver: make a real full body turn in the back swing for a good far drive and a lazy partial turn in the back swing to hit a block a unintended stinger.

 

irons: at the top of the back swing if I over hinged my wrist(over swing) the club head bottoms out inconstantly and my contact sucks- I feel my body over working in the down swing, I think it's a compensation to get the club from such a far distance to impact. If I stop my hinged(not over swing), I can rotate in the transition/down swing much easier (looks smoother too) and really compress the ball.

 

Wedges: less is more (back swing)

 

this weeks take away: practice a good focused controlled back swing which will result in a good impact. Find a course around my house with a good maintenance crew with better greens.

@Warrior42111 That sounds like a great lesson. Good luck ingraining the new stuff. Coming up with the feel that works for you is so important. I can't remember how many years I read the release will just happen on it's own if you let it. Too bad I had no clue what that actually meant until I figured out that if I relax my forearm/wrists enough it will. So my feel is a waggle of the club with loose wrists where I can feel like the clubhead is making my wrists bend from momentum, not because i'm making them bend by thinking about it.@TIM929 Sounds like you have a good idea of what you need to work on. I take it you play on different courses? I've never worked on green reading per se since I tend to play the same course for the vast majority of my rounds, so all my practice was at that course.

On the weekends, I actually play on the same course as well. During the weekday, there is weak 9 hole with an awesome range on the way home so I practice there (the greens there are horrible).

 

I hope to play different courses on the weekends in the future, but at the current situation in my life(which I'm really thankful for) I am bound to 1 course. I have 2 young kids and a wife who doesn't understand golf, so I'm the first tee Saturday morning, 3 holes with a glow ball, and be home by 9:30 am 3 Saturdays a month for course play guy.

 

this is why I grind my swing game and practice. My HCP went down as my swing got better and I don't have enough time to play on the course to become a single cap learning from the dirt.

Yeah, kids and gainful employment are really killers when it comes to golf... That's one of the things that made me motivated to start this thread... It's more than finding the time, it's focusing that time on improving what needs to be improved... an hour whacking balls on the range isn't going to lower my handicap significantly. I need to spend the time I have focused on improving various aspects.

Name: scooterhd2Handicap: 13Strengths: Irons, and recovery shotsWeaknesses: Inside 50 yards. Pitching, chipping, putting. Season Goal: Stop flirting with 80, and get under on a more regular basis.Month Goal: Look into getting fit. I know my clubs dont fit me at all.Plan: I've freed up some funds for clubs. Just need to commit.Mental Game: I've worked really hard on improving my strategy when it comes to course management. I used to be a grip it and rip it guy, but now I play so many more smarter and safer shots. Really talking out loud to myself about the strategy of club selection and where to aim. Noticing where the best spots to miss are. Playing away from trouble. I am really eliminated alot of silly mistakes and dropped my handicap massively over a year ago. But around the greens I am too complacent. I don't want to put pressure on myself because I have had chipping and putting struggles, but when I miss the green on a par 4, I am just hoping to get the chip on and two putt for bogey and move on. I need to get more confident in trying to get up and down from anywhere. And to start to more aggressive lines on 3-6 foot putts.

oh I see, I'm starting to really get into this. Awesome thread!

 

Yes, I have to be very careful due to my limited practice time and course access. I worked it out with my wife were I play golf on the weekends at the butt crack of dawn, but one of the weekend mornings a month belong to her(funded by me, good trade off). If I have the opportunity for a class or lesson I'm interested in, I sacrifice a golf day for it. So it has to really be worth it, I don't mind paying (what it's worth) as long as it's worth the time. My week day practices need to be really focused too since after I'm warmed up, I really only have 40 mins to focus.

 

So, my January weekend schedule went as follows:

 

1-4 played

1-11 sacrificed one of my golf weekends for the Aimpoint class

1-18 - wife's

1-25 sacrificing one of my golf weekend for a swing lesson

 

The course has been really empty at first tee(so I'm playing fast), dark(since I'm playing fast the sun shows at 5th hole), and cold(it's freezing and my swings not coming out).

I figured I better take as many classes I need over the winter and use my course time as practice for the month of Jan. Once it's warm and lights up earlier, game time.

Ha.... I'm in the saving funds money to get fitted right now... Have you don any research into getting fit around you? I will tell you from experience the right person makes a WORLD of difference. Go in with an open mind, and try anything they hand you. I actually spoke to my fitter today (Greg, Golf Headquarters, Louisville, KY) and told him this was the year of pulling the trigger... Hoping to get in to see him before end of February for my first club purchase (need a new three wood)

Yeah. I am looking to do a driver fitting at PING. and then do an outdoor iron/wedge fitting at Cool Clubs. I dont personally know any of the fitters though, so I am just hoping it works out. everything im gaming right now is a random collection of discount clubs off the shelf and ebay purchases. I know I am giving up distance off the tee because I have alot of spin and very little roll out. and my iron shafts are lightweight regular flex when my driver swing speed is 105. something a little heavier and stiffer has got to help my dispersion. we'll see.

 

Ha, I'm playing regular flex steel irons from 1996... I really need to update! My dad did the PING fitting and loved it. They are an awesome company.

So I had my first round of the year, apologies to my Northern friends. What a mixed bag of emotions more than usual. As good as my driving was, my shot game was abysmal. Shot a 103 hitting 8 FWs and had 3 that were one or two paces off. Had two 3 putts the front nine both on the par 5s and had a 6 and 5 respectively. The latter being the most frustrating par ever. The real pain was the shot game chips and pitches. I knew it has been a little over a month since I played so I opted to bump and run when I could and the touch was not near knocked chips over the green or shorted them on 11 holes. Hopefully it's just an not playing thing that I can get back at the short game area of the range.

@Warrior42111 How good is your short game usually? Mine has never been great and I know that not playing seems to hurt it first and most. At least that's how I've felt in the past. It was on once upon a time when i played a lot and worked on it, though I think experience on the course is what really helps a short game. Some may disagree but you get all kinds of lies and conditions, and shots to make that way. Kinda like it's hard to practice a recovery out of trees on the range. Sure you can work on a low shot that curves but until you are under the trees with a funky lie and need to make the shot......
So I wouldn't 'panic' over your short game just yet unless you know you have issues in that area historically.