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ddetts' Swing Journey - 2020 Goals & Updated Swing Progress pg. 17


ddetts

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Just kidding. Makes sense, I can understand why you’d hit UDI in that situation.

 

:)

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> @ebrasmus21 said:

> > @ddetts said:

> > @ebrasmus21 - does the layout of the hole make sense with my thinking? Driver, and possibly a really well stuck 3w brings the creek into play. I'll hit driver every time from gold tees and blue tees I'll hit 3w if I need to dial back.

>

> Put your big boy pants on and fly the creek like it isn’t there.

 

It's not for lack of wanting to be able to hit that distance, but that's not a gear i've got! Maybe next winter I'll get serious about fitness and get the speed up for that!

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Today was a roller coaster round and a bit of a dumpster fire to say the least. Haven't processed this enough to state what the positive takeaways are yet.

 

Started on hole 10, a longer par 5 that dog legs straight left around 280 and the goes uphill significantly. Piped my drive with a nice draw, leaving 240 in. Proceeded to wipe my 2i right into hazard area. But a great PW after drop, leaving about 10 ft for par that I just missed. Hole 11 was 198, hit a 5i to hole high about 15 feet right but can't convert birdie. Hole 12 I pipe another drive leaving 130 yards to a back pin. Being downwind I fear flying my PW over and into trouble, so I hit GW with not great contact and was 50+ ft from the pin. Three putts later for bogey and from there things just got wacky.

 

I think if I'm honest the wind got to me and I started messing up swing trying to adjust, definitely was out of sequence on a lot of shots.

 

5 penalties and 34 putts later, I scraped it in for a smooth +15/85.

 

l2p9p410jxnh.jpg

 

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The state Mid-Am is tomorrow, and I have a 10:30am tee time. I got out yesterday to get in a final practice round at the course as it was a perfect day for golf (finally!). A lot of positives to take away, and still some bad. I'll start at the end, and then work back. Score was +14/84 and I'm not really pleased with that on paper but below I'll detail. Essentially I felt like I was easily cruising to 77 or 78, despite not converting any of my early birdie tries, but was de-railed by 2 holes.

 

**Pros**

* I hit a lot of great shots, this round was basically 16 good holes and two terrible holes (a 9 on a par 5 and a 7 on a par 5, which included two topped shots with one into a hazard)

* I was hitting the ball pure and long (too long actually). Started on the back 9 and here's what I mean: 11th hole/par 3 was 198 to a middle pin - I hit 5i that went ~215 settling on a tough downslope behind the green and had to settle for bogey, 13th/par 4 I had 175 to a front pin for my 2nd - hit a 7i that went 190 and left me with a long, nasty downhill slider but saved par, 18th/par 4 after a solid drive I had 118 to a back pin - I hit a gap wedge that went 130 into a back bunker you just don't want to be in (hard as a rock, on a downslope) & took double

- normally I wouldn't complain about hitting it long, but those are distances I 've never hit with my irons before and it just kept catching me off guard and costing me. Normally I would play 7i to 170-175 and 5i to

190-195 and gap wedge to 110-115. I'll certainly be please if that is becoming the new norm as swing changes take hold

 

**Cons**

* Disaster holes - I HAVE TO AVOID DISASTERS! I've made more triples or worse this year already than I think I did all of last year. My quintuple bogey is just ridiculous and hole I should've at worst walked away with a bogey. Here's the short version: Hole 2/short par 4(due to tee box work it's moved way up) - 3i off the tee mishit, flared right short into hazard area, top my 3rd (at this poing, clearly rattled mentally), fat my 4th, fat my pitch 5, blade chip long onto a nasty downslope 6 and 3 jack it from there.

* Putting - overall putting was good, had two three putts but made quite a few 5-6 footers to save pars but again didn't capitalize on the 4 birdie putts I had inside 12-15 feet. My lines and speed were great on 90% of the putts I hit

* Hitting irons too far (see above in positives)

* Mental - Need to allow my self to make mistakes, and forget about them and move on. I just mentally lost it on the hole where I made a 9, when I should've walked away with double at worst after the penalty stroke.

 

I'm really looking forward to playing tournament golf the next two days and feel like I'm ready to break through if I can just stop compounding mistakes.

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For anyone who actually reads this and has nothing better to do on a Saturday morning (probably no one, ha!) and wants to follow along the Golf Genius ID is SDMIDAM19 and I am teeing off 10:30 AM CST.

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> @Hawkeye77 said:

> > @ddetts said:

> > For anyone who actually reads this and has nothing better to do on a Saturday morning (probably no one, ha!) and wants to follow along the Golf Genius ID is SDMIDAM19 and I am teeing off 10:30 AM CST.

> I'm golfing (but not saying that's better than following along!). Good luck!

 

Let's be serious, that's way better than following along!

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> @ddetts said:

> > @ebrasmus21 said:

> > > @ddetts said:

> > > @ebrasmus21 - does the layout of the hole make sense with my thinking? Driver, and possibly a really well stuck 3w brings the creek into play. I'll hit driver every time from gold tees and blue tees I'll hit 3w if I need to dial back.

> >

> > Put your big boy pants on and fly the creek like it isn’t there.

>

> It's not for lack of wanting to be able to hit that distance, but that's not a gear i've got! Maybe next winter I'll get serious about fitness and get the speed up for that!

 

Just found this thread today and am a little late to the party, but that hole and former #12 before the creek re-route always frustrated me. Hate not being able to take driver off the tee on a par 5. Unless you have a south or no wind, most guys can take the thought of flying that creek out of their minds. A strong North wind is next to impossible.

 

I've been in those trees more than I want to admit. I think the play would be taking your punishment right away and playing back to the right of the fairway short of the bridge/creek. It leaves you about 240-260 (likely not going to get home from that distance with that wind anyway), so you're playing your 3rd shot to the fairway where it necks down at 80-100 yards and an opportunity to stuff a wedge in tight and a single putt par. The wind takes eagle off the board, and your drive takes birdie off the board unless you make a great play out of the trees AND stuff a 180yd iron to kick in range.

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> @"rich s" said:

> Hammer down my friend. Forget the past and focus on the shot at hand. Never give up, can’t wait to hear how you did

 

Probably the advice I need to heed the most right now, leave the mistakes behind right where they happened. Thanks @"rich s" !

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> @ddetts said:

> > @"rich s" said:

> > Hammer down my friend. Forget the past and focus on the shot at hand. Never give up, can’t wait to hear how you did

>

> Probably the advice I need to heed the most right now, leave the mistakes behind right where they happened. Thanks @"rich s" !

 

#ddforbirdie

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Mid round update, not going well, exceeded my handicap after 6 holes

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I'll post a more detailed recap later, but that was pretty bad. Finished at 87/+17 - was +10 at the turn and sort of righted the ship, was cruising at +4 on the back until 17. 150 to middle pin, i'd been hitting crappy all day, so took extra club into the wind. Poured, and wind dies, way long into long grass and mud that got some good awful reason isn't hazard or ground under repair. Lost ball, go refit, and end with a smooth triple. Then an easy par on 18 to shoot +7 on the back.

 

Putter was AWFUL, probably 36-38 putts. I made hardly a thing all day.

 

Wow, whatever secret sauce feel I had during on Thursday was not there. Hit it pretty poorly overall, and into the wind shots killed me.

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> @"rich s" said:

> Golf man, that round does not define your game. I know what you are feeling all too well. This weather is not good for our games

 

I think it's disappointing only because my ball striking was so much better two days ago and so was my putting. I expected to not play as well, but regressing that much is hard to take.

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What a soul-sucking two days of golf. I don't know that i've ever wanted to quit something more than I wanted to quit golf these last two days. Regretting my decision to play, as my game clearly is not in a good place. I really don't know how it could've changed so much from Thursday

 

It was embarrassing to even play. Essentially shooting close to 3x my handicap both rounds. This weekend really exposed my game each day. Today's highlights include another round of horrendous putting, plenty of chunked shots, lots of weak high right shots, plenty of bladed wedges and essentially little positive. I've never screwed up so many short game shots in my life.

 

Going to summarize stats, post later and then take a break from golf. Not sure for how long, just don't even want to think golf right now.

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> @ddetts said:

> What a soul-sucking two days of golf. I don't know that i've ever wanted to quit something more than I wanted to quit golf these last two days. Regretting my decision to play, as my game clearly is not in a good place. I really don't know how it could've changed so much from Thursday

>

> It was embarrassing to even play. Essentially shooting close to 3x my handicap both rounds. This weekend really exposed my game each day. Today's highlights include another round of horrendous putting, plenty of chunked shots, lots of weak high right shots, plenty of bladed wedges and essentially little positive. I've never screwed up so many short game shots in my life.

>

> Going to summarize stats, post later and then take a break from golf. Not sure for how long, just don't even want to think golf right now.

 

Hang in there, brah. I can tell you that I know exactly how you feel. Take your mind off of golf for a little while and recharge.

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Yup, last year I shot a 59 for 9 holes in our club championship. I know the feeling and it sucks. A few days later I vowed to practice enough and admit my shortcomings so that would never happen to me again. It’s the pressure that kills me and I hate that about myself. Take some time off and don’t sweat it. Anyone who plays this game has experienced this. In the end, it’s just a game

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Chin up Ddetts. Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously. I know I do. It’s still a game. A lot of times, the most progress is made shortly after a failure/disappointment. After shooting 32-42 Saturday, I was ready to throw in the towel and put the clubs in a dark place for a long time. But the game will keep calling us back.

 

Whether you shoot 87/89 or a career best, tomorrow is another day and we will be going back to work. Frankly, we put too much pressure on ourselves as ams. Outside of family and close friends, nobody really cares what you shot. A week from now, nobody remembers except you. Those become the internal demons to conquer.

 

Tournament golf is a different animal. You’ll do things you haven’t done in forever. I missed a one foot and two foot putt on Saturday. It costed me a W. And tomorrow I’ll be back to the office and bringing the boys to soccer. Such is life.

 

It’s good to push yourself but doing it too soon will only delay progress in my opinion. You have to own the changes you are making. Fix that one thing and be relentless in fixing that main issue. forget about it feeling weird or different. If it doesn’t feel weird, it’s your old move. Your swing should look different than it did last month. You are trying to be better than you were last week/month/etc. then you can look back years later and be amazed at how far you’ve come and that you were even able to break 90 with the old move.

 

Once you are getting it at home in the net, bring it outside. Then to the course by yourself. Then with others. Then in a tournament. Rinse and repeat with other changes needed. If you jump to the end, be prepared for disappointment. We’ve all been there.

 

See the changes on video and don’t get obsessed with ball flight. Easier said than done but it’s how you improve. Obviously when you do it right, it should be better than your old move but when you have a great coach, you need to trust them. Do what they say! That’s what you pay them for!

 

Post the blow by blow and info from this weekend and maybe something will jump out to you or others.

 

 

 

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First - thanks all for the encouraging words. I went to the range after my round Sunday, took out a lot of frustration and then made sure to leave all of my frustration, anger, & disappointment there before heading home. My wife and kids really aren't in to golf, so I respect & appreciate any time they give me to be away playing and I make sure I never bring a bad day on the course home with me. I quickly cheered up and had a blast of an afternoon; having a water balloon fight with my 6 year old & a few of her neighborhood friends in our backyard, grilled out and enjoyed some nice company.

 

@ryan983 - Congrats on the tournament, I'm sure it doesn't help with not winning due to a couple missed short putts but it looks like you shot the round of the day by two shots yesterday. I'd call that some pretty good perserverance after a disappointing back 9 on Saturday. Also, I appreciate the post, it really has me doing some reflecting. I really didn't have high expectations, because I knew that despite some solid strings of holes I haven't put together a truly good/complete round this year without 1 or 2 big numbers. So just knowing that danger lurked on any hole/swing I kept it low. Where I am really disappointed is the short game, which is normally a strength for me. I've spent the better part of 5-6 years shooting mid to low 80s mostly by getting up and down for pars or bogies at worst and not on my ball-striking. I've definitely got work to do and it's likely time to revisit my practice and instruction. I may need to consider a lesson or two locally. And I want to be clear for anyone reading, this isn't a shot at Monte but more a shot at myself. I thought I could work out my issues on my own but perhaps I need a bit more oversight and hands on initially. I'll have to film a couple swings and get another online lesson to see what's going on and if I have actually made any progress or if I've really just regressed.

 

Before this post gets too long, here are the lowlights from the weekend:

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a4s136wxl184.jpg

 

Putting, putting & more putting - this is definitely the worse stat. That's the most disappointing part from this weekend considering overall, last year in the state amateur I putted fairly well over three rounds, and significantly better than this tournament. I don't know, maybe the greens at Willow this weekend were just more difficult than Elmwood's last year. As much as I have practiced with the new putter since last fall I'm just not sure it fits my eye and/or stroke. I was feeling really good at the start of the season as I had used my putting mat and putting mirror & really worked on alignments and setup but it seems like once I am on the course I'm never comfortable setting up/lining up the putter. I'm not sure if it's the rounded flange on the back or what. Also, still not sure if a stroke with a slight arc is for me. I putted with a double bend neck Odyssey #7 for like 12 years with a straight back and through stroke. Probably should go into the local store and do a putter fitting with both putters and see.

 

Short game - I think I had probably 4 times that I bladed a chip or pitch over a green and then another 2 times that I flubbed a pitch or chip well short of my target. That is just pretty uncharacteristic for me and probably the other big disappointment from the weekend. While my ball striking was pretty poor, I didn't put myself in a lot of trouble penalty/lost shot wise but I didn't get squat up and down for pars or to minimize to bogey when I did cost a shot.

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A very small consolation to the weekend's abysmal performance, my handicap has dropped to its lowest level in probably 5-6 years. The downside here is that given my recent play, it's making it difficult to win my matches in league! If I don't right the ship soon, I'll have scores dropping off and trending back in the opposite direction, need to get back on track.

 

8fjmdkviyw42.png

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The putting and short game numbers are irritating. I know the feeling. But to be fair to yourself, you can’t expect your short game to be on the same level as normal play. I haven’t played willow in a couple years except a couple scrambles but I can’t imagine you ever see those pins or those greens speeds. They have to set it up significantly easier daily or the pace of play would be killer.

 

When the greens are running slower, the chance of a chip running 12 feet by is pretty slim. Same with a downhill putt. But it was definitely possible last weekend.

 

You have to hit more than 1/3 of the GIR if you want to score better. No other option. Yes you might have been able to shoot low 80’s with a few better chips or make a few putts but the GIR has to go up. To break 80 and shoot mid 70’s, GIR has to go up. More distance off the tee will help this too.

 

I’m far from someone that should be giving advice on putting. Have a putter and stroke you believe in.

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> @ryan983 said:

> The putting and short game numbers are irritating. I know the feeling. But to be fair to yourself, you can’t expect your short game to be on the same level as normal play. I haven’t played willow in a couple years except a couple scrambles but I can’t imagine you ever see those pins or those greens speeds. They have to set it up significantly easier daily or the pace of play would be killer.

>

> When the greens are running slower, the chance of a chip running 12 feet by is pretty slim. Same with a downhill putt. But it was definitely possible last weekend.

>

> You have to hit more than 1/3 of the GIR if you want to score better. No other option. Yes you might have been able to shoot low 80’s with a few better chips or make a few putts but the GIR has to go up. To break 80 and shoot mid 70’s, GIR has to go up. More distance off the tee will help this too.

>

> I’m far from someone that should be giving advice on putting. Have a putter and stroke you believe in.

 

You're right, especially on the chipping/pitching and balls running out. I've played a couple of times when the greens seemed to putt that fast or close to but don't recall ever having chips and pitches run out like that. I put myself in some very hard positions (short-sided or long and chipping downhill) and paid the price.

 

Part of the problem is likely knowing my ball striking was sucking, so I was already mentally putting a lot of pressure on my short game knowing I'd be working for a lot of up and downs. Then, when you're leaving yourself 8-10' instead of 3-5', it really grinds on you.

 

GIRs have definitely been tough the last 4-5 years. I can honestly say I would be surprised if I ever had a round (looking at 18 hole rounds only, I've had a couple 9 hole rounds where I got it going and hit 6 or more GIRs) with 50% or better GIR in that time frame. I know there's still definitely some flaring flaws, and I definitely get caught between better swings and old habits still too often as evidenced by the fact that I still am hitting a top 1-2x a round (probably over swinging on the backswing, and swinging too hard) and fat shots. The tops are the most embarassing - as a single digit, I feel like those shouldn't be happening on the regular.

 

I still believe I was onto something Thursday, my pivot felt amazing, my backswing felt short and my transition felt effortless when I was hitting the ball so far. I was really just focused on a couple things:

1. maintaining side bend on the backswing (as I tend to have flat shoulder plane and extend my back toward the target/aka reverse pivot) & really feeling like I loaded right heel and rotated/moved my right glute toward the target.

2. Feeling like I'm making 1/2 swing (which for me was probably darn near parallel

3. Feeling like I start the downswing with my arms first and hips stay closed (this was something Monte gave me to feel)

 

I have never in my life hit/felt iron shots like the 5 or 6 that I hit last Thursday, and the distance they want. I'm sure some think I am exaggerating on the distances but they were measured GPS distances by my playing partner that day. I was and still am astonished as they were in the neighborhood of 10-15 yards longer than I've hit those clubs ever. I truly believe that those were likely the first times I've ever really made an efficient, solid golf swing.

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Sorry the mid am didn't go as expected Derek. I definitely know the feeling of not performing in a tournament the way you had hoped or expected. Tournament failure is part of the game though, and it's something to learn from and grow from. Golf in many ways is a game of failures and misses, so it's how you handle them that's important.

 

That being said, here's some tough love...

 

I've followed your thread since the beginning and commented in August of last year when you posted some punch swings that those should be your full backswing. There's been lots of talk of changes and reversion, but to be honest, I don't think you've made the changes that Monte wanted you to make. You never shortened your swing, at least not meaningfully. All of the misses that you've chronicled, especially in your mid am rounds jive with a backswing that is too long, and subsequently, a downswing that's out of sync. Thins and fats, high flares, they're all from an overly long backswing and a flippy downswing. I would argue In your Thursday round that you were timing it up well without any pressure in a casual setting without real consequences. Tournament golf has real, tangible consequences when every stroke counts.

 

I say that you haven’t shortened your swing because I know the process to do so. I had an overly long backswing, and I still struggle with it today. It took me over a year of dedicated focused practice to shorten it. I tried to shorten it on EVERY. SINGLE. SWING. And guess what? I still have to work on it every practice session.

 

You posted swings the beginning of last month. One of them, the DTL pic here was “a nice little wedge swing”. That backswing goes to parallel. Way too long. The other is a face on 7i, all the way to parallel. Way too long. You need to make shortening your swing your one solitary focus for the foreseeable future. Get it 1% better every day and be relentless about it.

kuzlfdpjns8m.png

6ptet5munc2d.png

 

Next, I would argue you need to seriously reassess your distances. You should not be hitting a 5i 215 yards. That’s Brooks Koepka territory. You should be trying to hit way more club than you are currently. That’s also why you struggled in the wind in the mid am. Hitting full out shots with irons into the wind is a recipe for disaster: Something I learned quickly in Scotland. Also, I would bench the UDI. It’s exacerbating your flip. I sold mine because it was hurting my swing more than helping. The only way to hit it with your swing flaws is to tee it up, tilt back and hit up too much. That’s why you’re snap hooking and pushing it into the junk. I know, because that’s what I did.

 

You need to go out every practice session and work on shortening your swing. On the course, take what you think is way too much club and hit it so it doesn’t go over the green. You’ll find that you’re hitting it straighter, flighting it better, and playing better overall.

 

You missed 24 greens in regulation this past weekend. Your ballstriking is the main issue. Your short game and putting faltered because of tough/tournament conditions and because your ballstriking put undue pressure on it. If you want to meaningfully lower your scores, you need to hit more GIR and hit it better, full stop. If you’re making big numbers, 7,8,9 etc in casual play, it’s unrealistic to expect them not to show up in a tournament setting. People say there’s golf and tournament golf and it’s completely true. Things happen in tournament golf you can’t explain in the moment, but need to address after the dust settles.

 

Improving at golf is a long, arduous, and demanding task, both time and money wise. This mid am should be a sign to you that you have major things to work on. It sucks to play terribly. Take it and use it as fuel, to be better tomorrow than you were today. Practice harder, be more diligent, and work on the things that need to be fixed instead of chasing unnecessary ends. Shorten. Your. Swing.

 

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@Schnee thanks for the brutal honestly, much needed and much appreciated.

 

No one is more disappointed in my lack of progress than me, especially approaching nearly a year since the clinic last summer. I still really struggle with my right hand grip getting weak, so when I turn my attention to that, the swing length loses focus. Then I focus on short swings and the sway off the ball gets bad again. It's just sort of a vicious cycle, and clearly i've struggled to make meaningful change. It's funny, I can rehearse and make 100s of swings indoors with a mirror feeling where to stop when my turn ends but as soon as I get outside it's like complete memory failure. Then, when I make a couple good swings, I start going at it.

 

I'll admit, and have said before on here one of my biggest problems is not making meaningful, focused use of my practice all the time and that's usually at the driving range where I'm the biggest offender. I get too hung up on the result being good and not the change being good.

 

I've got a long way to go, but dang it I'm tired of sucking.

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> @ddetts said:> A very small consolation to the weekend's abysmal performance, my handicap has dropped to its lowest level in probably 5-6 years. The downside here is that given my recent play, it's making it difficult to win my matches in league! If I don't right the ship soon, I'll have scores dropping off and trending back in the opposite direction, need to get back on track.> > 8fjmdkviyw42.png

That's objectively good that means your practice has paid off with some good rounds, as far as losing some league matches... that's good too. You wanted to get better and now you get some of the commiserate pressure to go with it. You've earned it and your good enough to handle it. #fight on

@ddetts

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> @ddetts said:

> @Schnee thanks for the brutal honestly, much needed and much appreciated.

>

> No one is more disappointed in my lack of progress than me, especially approaching nearly a year since the clinic last summer. I still really struggle with my right hand grip getting weak, so when I turn my attention to that, the swing length loses focus. Then I focus on short swings and the sway off the ball gets bad again. It's just sort of a vicious cycle, and clearly i've struggled to make meaningful change. It's funny, I can rehearse and make 100s of swings indoors with a mirror feeling where to stop when my turn ends but as soon as I get outside it's like complete memory failure. Then, when I make a couple good swings, I start going at it.

>

> I'll admit, and have said before on here one of my biggest problems is not making meaningful, focused use of my practice all the time and that's usually at the driving range where I'm the biggest offender. I get too hung up on the result being good and not the change being good.

>

> I've got a long way to go, but dang it I'm tired of sucking.

 

@ddetts from what I could understand I think Schnee is right but I would advise you that it's not brutal, it's just different. And in fact you're well ahead of the curve right now.

 

* You know where you want to get to

* You know where you are now

* You know what the problems are

* You have the talent and the opportunity to get the results you want.

 

Now all you need to do is address them. I really liked the idea above to just get 1% better at every practice. Nobody cares about your time line other than you. If you get to your goal in 2 years or 3 or 4 its going to be just as cool

 

If the task is too big there would be nothing wrong with breaking it down into smaller more doable parts.

 

Congrats on taking this path it's exciting to see.

 

 

 

 

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Haven’t read the whole thread but I’m guessing as a 7 now you haven’t played in tons of tournaments. I run a team play thing in my state, many of the better Ams play and I’d say it’s mid pressure. Less than a qualifier obviously but more than a stroke play event on your home course with a bunch of fellow members. Over the years almost without fail we see that guys get better every year. New guys come in as “scratch” and average 80 over 8 matches on different courses. Then the next year, 78, 76 and so on. After 6 or 7 years I’m finally to the point that I’m shooting even par rounds and not nervous any more at qualifiers, and I’ve been a 0 for the last 3 or 4 of those and never higher than a 3.

 

Just responding more to your post about how bad it made you feel, it’s nothing to get upset about and honestly exactly what I’d expect you to have shot. If you feel like tournament golf is something you want to do, you need to play 10 rounds a year if you can.

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