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End of season thoughts


Lancj1

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It has been a good season for me, I have improved my consistency considerably and shot my best ever round (82 gross) and a few around that. I now feel confident on a golf course and not like I don't always belong on one.

 

Reflecting with a coffee heres what I have learned from the year - learned myself, not from forums etc.

 

1. Lessons and committing to practice does work better than any new club.

2. I scored best leaving the driver in the garage and using a strong (14.5 G400) three wood

3. Specialist wedges do give more options and versatility but the Gap wedge is an 11 iron

4. Urethane golf balls make a huge difference when playing well, but non at all during a bad round

5. Hitting fairways and putting are the key to scoring (for me). Get fit and spend money on ONE putter

6. Hybrids. As low down as you want. Mines five but tempted by six.

7. Forget the par for each hole - get down in as few shots as you can.

8. Always go out sideways from rough, fairway bunkers etc. Take your medicine. Take the sensible shot.You will shoot lower.

9. Have a consistent routine and swing thoughts. Mine is SSST (Short, still, slow, turn)

10. Find a way to get into a zone. Silly but I imagine I am being commentated on.

11. Occasionally drop a round and spend four hours practicing. Not four hours beating balls.

12. When playing out of rough etc, hit the fairway. When laying up, LAY UP

13. Know how far you hit your clubs, sort a system for measuring distances that works for you.

 

Id be interested to hear what you have learned

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I learned I need to be way better from 100 yards and in. This will be a major point of emphasis for me next season.

 

My distance is not really an advantage if I'm not hitting my pitch shots close enough to capitalize. It cost me a tournament or two even with a 40 yard cushion off the tee against some players.

 

I hit lots of greens for my skill level but my proximity to the hole is an issue.

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Also typing while fuelled by coffee...and rain is keeping me awake...

Had 6 lessons. Hitting it a little better.

Nee to get some length back. Played couple of longer courses and struggled to reach the par 4s.

Need to massively improve from 100- 30 yards in.

Back needs more TLC.

I will treat myself to new irons in 2019.

Employing a pack of bloodhounds to find my putting stroke.

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Up and down year for me, shot my best round of 81 and after went through a month slump trying to better that score which is a pipe dream at this point. I’m at the point of being able to score mid to 80’s pretty normally which makes me feel good. Need to hit driver better as I game a three wood but my wedges have greatly improved this year.

 

Looking up overall.

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I had probably my best seasom this year. Everything seemed to be better than past years. Driver and long irons were the biggest improvements and helped with scoring. The biggest difference was the bad rounds, they were not as frequent not as bad. Sad the season is ending but looking forward to November deer hunting here in Iowa also trip to Vegas for spring break with some golf planned!

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While I hope I still have a another couple of months to play - the reality is the season is winding down in Chicago.

 

Started the season pumped to play some vintage equipment I acquired during the winter as well as my hickories. Goal remained th same - get the HCP back down to a 9. Age and reality (a/k/a/ health issues) pretty quickly shelved my season plans.

 

After reading what some other WRX'ers were doing in similar situations, I put together a short set of Ping irons and a couple of TM woods - everything graphite and senior flex. Graphite has made the pains much more tolerable and modern technology has helped the score. While not the season I had envisioned, I have brought the HCP down to 13 - now I need to consider whether I move up a set of tees.

 

All in all, at age 66, not a bad end of season review. At least I'm still able to get out on the course and walk 18 holes!

Just an older guy with 7 or 8 clubs and a MacKenzie Sunday Walker bag

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I learned I need to be way better from 100 yards and in. This will be a major point of emphasis for me next season.

 

I hit lots of greens for my skill level but my proximity to the hole is an issue.

 

Taking out the distance advantage (my drive maxes out around 250 without a good tailwind) I have the same problem. I can get the GIRs, but i'll have a 30 foot birdie putt which can turn into a 3 putt easily.

 

i'm actually pretty good at around 100 yards, it's really 50 yards and in for me (chunking half wedges because i'm trying not to swing too hard and put it over the green)

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I've had a mixed season, pretty much following on from the same last year but I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Driver - was poor to utterly useless at times but thanks to the club pro is now at least launching well and I'm learning to trust it again. I really hope I can get it back under control. When it could only send the ball 170yds it was nearly always in the fairway and was my most reliable club. Now it sends the ball over 220 yards but can go horribly wrong. 8/10.

 

3 hybrid - Could barely use it at start of year (it wasn't much cop last summer either as various threads I started attest). Now it's pretty reliable and aside from an occasional strong fade will usually put the ball 190yds+ from where I'm standing. 9/10.

 

Other hybrids and irons - Pretty good. Still struggling with accuracy but I'm hoping that paying more attention to my stance will fix that. 6/10.

 

Wedges - still randomly pushing and pulling. No real progress there but then I haven't really tried. 7/10.

 

Short game - yuk. Chipping has never come good despite a lot of practice. Putting dire to poor. Possibly down to state of greens after extreme summer. 3/10.

 

Overall: 6/10. Could do better :)

--

What I've learned:

* Some forearm rotation is needed to launch the ball. Let your arms do what they naturally want to do.

* Feel like you're leaning back from the hips up when striking the ball.

* Do a full shoulder turn. Especially with the driver.

* Pay attention to stance.

* Don't let the ball get within 100 yards of the pin unless it's on the green (aspiration).

* Limit use of driver (for now).

--

But it's not end of season for me. I play all year round. No doubt winter will introduce some changes but I can still work on iron accuracy and trusting my driver.

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Picked up golf last September, spent the whole winter on the range, went for my first real round in April (you need to get a „license“ here to be allowed on golf courses). Played a couple tournaments and got down to a 31 (starting at 54 in Europe). I never cheat, count every stroke and study all my statistics meticulously. Using 18 Birdies or The Grint for round logging (when The Grint doesn’t feature the course I‘m playing, 18 Birdies usually does).

 

Biggest realizations: the mental side is so darn important. Swing thoughts are cancer. You‘ll have good and bad days and the occasional extremes in both directions. Havin fun, enjoying the beautiful game and cherishing the great shots is where it’s at for me. And good banter among buddies.

WITB 2024

Dr Mizuno ST-Z

3W Cally Rogue ST Max

5W Mizuno ST-Z

4H New Level NLH-01

5/6i New Level 902 OS

7i-PW New Level 902 PD

GW/SW/LW  Mizuno S23

Putter Odyssey WhiteHot OG 2-Ball

Ball  Vice Pro/Snell MTB Prime

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Health has been kinda tough lately, mostly shoulders. Had some rough rounds then last week had a good round. Put the Ping irons in the bag again(G) and did better. The Ping Glide wedges are amazing for me, so much confidence. The Fusion driver is so reliable. I put the XR16 5 wood back in the bag, and doing better. I also put a Ping Sigma G putter in, and the touch is nice. Golf has become fun again when I accept the fact that bogey is a good score, not bad, and pars are icing on the cake, not the norm.

Bag is in overhaul mode

Clubs identify as hacker set

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My end of the season thought is about which week in February am I going to Florida to start the season early

Driver- Tour Edge EXS 220

4W- Sub 70 949X

4H- Sub 70 949X

Utility- Sub 70 699U 21 degree

Irons- Sub 70 749 5-PW

Wedges - Sub 70 286 50+54 degree

                 Tour Edge 1 out 58 degree

Putter- Cleveland Huntington Beach #11

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It was a good season, especially coming from a full left knee replacement.

TM SIM2 Max Driver

TM SIM2 Max 3 & 5

PXG 0311 XF Gen 1 4-W 

Titleist SM8 Black Wedges 48-54-58

Srixon Q-Star Tour 
2009 Custom Scotty Cameron Welded Neck 009 35/330g (with a slap of lead tape for sauciness)
“Check your Ego at the Club House and Play the Correct Tees”

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Roller coaster season for me, especially as I'd sold all my clubs by this time last season having struggled towards the end. Totally lost the ability to hit a ball of any kind.

 

So November to March was spent with a coach and a sports pyschologist to work on things and get to the bottom of why I could literally beat anyone one day and would be threatening triple digits the next. That's far too much of a variance to be normal.

 

So what are my thoughts? Well I had 3 wins, got a regional final tomorrow which will be a new experience and I've settled my expenditure down as I have full confidence in my set up. So here goes:

 

1) A round is never over until you sign your score card. First medal of the year 52 out, 38 in. I almost walked off after 9 it was that bad.

 

2) Pitching from 20-110 yards is key. Previously I'd always try and hit full shots without thinking about the consequences. Now I have a repeatable shot & trajectory for every yardage within that bracket and it has really separated me from the others.

 

3) Woods are not the be all and end all. This was the season I dedicated a lot of time to long irons (2-4) and it's paid off in the latter half of the season. I find them very easy to control and more predictable in terms of results. Previously I'd always hit a wood or hybrid second shot and hope for the best.

 

4) Putting is still king. Sounds obvious but I've two putted the majority of the season and it really is the difference between a good score and a cricket score.

 

5) Believe. I've walked onto the course last twice telling myself I'm going to get cut and I have. It's focused me on the shot at hand, not taking any risks and relying on my short game if required. When you do what you set out to do it validates the time and hard work out in during the winter months. Two cuts, two wins to end the season. 3 in total.

 

It's such a frustrating game but I've shown myself it can be really deadly simple. So I'll be back next season for more.

 

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Two things stuck out more than anything over the last few months of the season.

 

1) I really need to become more consistent with driver. I had a good stretch early where driver was probably the strongest club in the bag. I could go at it without care and hit it right down the middle. That went away and driver became a 50/50 bet on whether I would find it after contact. Even bleed into my three wood some.

2) Need to really increase my cardio over the offseason. Part of the problem is that I mostly play 9 holes when I go out. It's seldom I had time for a full 18 this year. So around 14 or 15 I would start breaking down and losing interest. I gave up three or four rounds in the 60s due to playing horrible on the last few holes.

 

I have a second child coming in Dec and most of the first of the year will be without playing. What time I'll have to practice will also be limited. So I'm gonna spend the late night time working out in my garage and finding time to start running.

[color=#000000][b]TM 2016 M2 10.5 w/KK Silver 60 S [/b][/color]
[color=#000000][b]TM 2016 M1 3(15) w/KK Black 70 S [/b][/color]
[b][color=#0000ff]TM Rescue 11 3(18) w/NVS Org Next Gen 85 S
Nike VPC 4-PW w/Nippon Modus Tour 120 Stiff[/color][/b]
[color=#000000][b]TM MG2 52 SB and 58 LB w/DGS200  [/b]
[b]TM Spider X Copper [/b][/color]
[b][color=#000000]TM TP5 Pix[/color][/b]

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Two things stuck out more than anything over the last few months of the season.

 

1) I really need to become more consistent with driver. I had a good stretch early where driver was probably the strongest club in the bag. I could go at it without care and hit it right down the middle. That went away and driver became a 50/50 bet on whether I would find it after contact. Even bleed into my three wood some.

2) Need to really increase my cardio over the offseason. Part of the problem is that I mostly play 9 holes when I go out. It's seldom I had time for a full 18 this year. So around 14 or 15 I would start breaking down and losing interest. I gave up three or four rounds in the 60s due to playing horrible on the last few holes.

 

I have a second child coming in Dec and most of the first of the year will be without playing. What time I'll have to practice will also be limited. So I'm gonna spend the late night time working out in my garage and finding time to start running.

 

Congratulations on your second child.

TM SIM2 Max Driver

TM SIM2 Max 3 & 5

PXG 0311 XF Gen 1 4-W 

Titleist SM8 Black Wedges 48-54-58

Srixon Q-Star Tour 
2009 Custom Scotty Cameron Welded Neck 009 35/330g (with a slap of lead tape for sauciness)
“Check your Ego at the Club House and Play the Correct Tees”

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I could play more or less all year round, but will be playing less during the colder months.

 

The upside of the cooler weather is that I get to spend more time in my hobby machinist shop! :D

Primary bag:
Titleist 913 D3 8.5
Titleist 915Fd 13.5
Titleist 913h 17
Mizuno MP-18 4-PW
Scratch wedges 50, 55, and 60
Bettinardi mid-shank putter

Backup bag:
Ping G400 9
Ping G30 fw 13
Ping G30 hybrid 19
Ping iBlade 4-PW power spec
Macgregor VIP wedges 51, 56, and 60
Bettinardi mid-shank putter

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Two things stuck out more than anything over the last few months of the season.

 

1) I really need to become more consistent with driver. I had a good stretch early where driver was probably the strongest club in the bag. I could go at it without care and hit it right down the middle. That went away and driver became a 50/50 bet on whether I would find it after contact. Even bleed into my three wood some.

2) Need to really increase my cardio over the offseason. Part of the problem is that I mostly play 9 holes when I go out. It's seldom I had time for a full 18 this year. So around 14 or 15 I would start breaking down and losing interest. I gave up three or four rounds in the 60s due to playing horrible on the last few holes.

 

I have a second child coming in Dec and most of the first of the year will be without playing. What time I'll have to practice will also be limited. So I'm gonna spend the late night time working out in my garage and finding time to start running.

 

Congratulations on your second child.

Thanks.

[color=#000000][b]TM 2016 M2 10.5 w/KK Silver 60 S [/b][/color]
[color=#000000][b]TM 2016 M1 3(15) w/KK Black 70 S [/b][/color]
[b][color=#0000ff]TM Rescue 11 3(18) w/NVS Org Next Gen 85 S
Nike VPC 4-PW w/Nippon Modus Tour 120 Stiff[/color][/b]
[color=#000000][b]TM MG2 52 SB and 58 LB w/DGS200  [/b]
[b]TM Spider X Copper [/b][/color]
[b][color=#000000]TM TP5 Pix[/color][/b]

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It’s not end of season for me as I will play all 12 months.

 

A decent year but still prone to a bad round sometimes, really bad. From the heights of 78,74,79 in three consecutive rounds in July to 98 last week, albeit I have a heavy cold and didn’t get any sleep the night before because I stupidly took some cold tablets without reading that they were packed with caffeine. And it was a new course by the coast and very windy...

 

Anyway, two swing thoughts to continue with.

 

1. Use your torso not your arms to swing.

2. Keep that right leg taught.

 

If I can do that I play well generally.

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1) I seemed to figure out my chipping after watching Greg Norman on GC. Kudos to Lanny Watkins who taught him .

2) I am not satisfied with my full swing. Going to work on Monte’s no turn cast swing thought.

 

My season will continue until it’s below 50 with wind. 60+ is our group’s favorite for this time of year. Of course we are all mostly 60+ in age.

Driver: Callaway Paradym 9 set to 10 Draw

3W Callaway  Epic Flash

5w Callaway Epic Flash
Hybrids: 4-5 Epic Flash    
               6-7 Big Bertha 

               7 Ping G430 played as an 8 

Irons: PXG Gen4 XP 9-GW

Wedges: PXG 0311 52 56 degree Forged

Putter: Odyssey Rossie Pro 2.0 

 

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My season was pretty solid all and all. I saw an all time best round (73) and personal low handicap (8.7) this season. I think both accomplishments are encouraging moving forward. I drastically improved my putting this season, but i felt like my chipping and driving took a step back this year.

G400 Max 9* Ping tour 65r   

G410 17.5* Atmos Blue 7r

G25 23* oban devotion

G400 5-U AWT 2.0

Tour-W 56* AWT

Karsten Craz-e

Black Hoofer C-1 

K Sig

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