Clubhouse Grille (*** NO LIV DISCUSSIONS ***) (*** NO POLITICS/RELIGION ***)

[BIG STU]

You can still build your own long putter. I was on Golfworks and they have a mallet head that weighs 395 out of the box and they still sell the ski pole shafts with either a single or double bend. The split grips are a bit harder to find, but they are on eBay at a reasonable price.

 

https://www.golfwork...tters/p/as1002/

https://www.golfwork...haft/p/tt0048v/

https://www.ebay.ca/...p-/283331001585

 

I know that it's the dreaded Winn grip, but you can still get one. All in it looks like you're about $100 for parts with labour and shop materials on top. He won't get to try it first, but he'd get a new putter.

What you can do for a split grip on those ski pole putters is this. Take a standard round grip and either clamp it in a vise and drill a hole in the top crown or just cut the crown off for your lower grip. Leave the top grip like it is. What you have to do when installing it is use 2 sided tape all the way down and use solvent liberally to slide it where you want it. Top grip will only go so far. After all is dried you can trim the excess tape off between the shafts

[BIG STU]

I mentioned earlier that I have been using a longer putter,for several years now.

I just found it eased the lower back pain,and stress in that area. Like others, not nearly the stiffness or soreness after playing.

Have the YES putter, the Tracy 12,with a 37 1/2 inch length,and i am standing almost upright,with the only bend being in the

shoulder area,very little hip/lower back bend at all.

all i an say is it has helped me a lot as i get older !

 

Rad,I hope to get very close this year....as we all know, hitting a 73 is a lot easier than a 65 or so for you youngsters !

one of the few advantages of getting ancient !

That is one of the reasons I advocated the long putter was for folks like you. When they first started all the crap about the anchoring ban that was one of the reasons I opposed the USGA on the whole ball of wax. IMHO nothing at all wrong with the anchored putter stroke either. Keep on keeping on

[scotee]

Can't resist a partisan moment from the peanut gallery.

 

Sharing my worthless 2 pennies worth on "how" to break through the fog of conceptual jargon on the road to a little better putting. More importantly, how to do so with less strain and pain in the lower back. Ergo a win/win of sorts

 

The human head is whatever percentage of total body weight. I dunno what percentage but let's just say it's kinda heavy. Some defined group of muscles (whatever the heck they're called and wherever the they are) supports that heavy noggin. So in short, it weighs enough to literally tire us out - just holding it in place during practice and play.

 

Here's the crux of my lower back preserving tip when it comes to putting...

 

Rather than fight city hall by standing taller, with the chin up, go ahead a look face-down to the ball. Crouch down, drop your chin closer to your chest andand get the feet close eonough so that your entire face is looking straight down at the ball. Your eyes will be dead parallel to the intended line of the putt. Now suddenly the top of you're glasses or sunglasses frame is appearing just outside and beyond the line of the putt. You're NOT looking down your nose at the putt - not even slightly.

 

Stress and strain on the neck and back will plummet!

 

THIS DOES NOT IMPLY USE OF A SHORTER PUTTER SHAFT! To the contrary, the length of the putter should allow you to put the handle thru the palms of both hands with the elbows relaxed and bent - closer to your belly and hips, rather than long/extended/stiff-armed. It's going to take a long enough putter to allow bent/relaxed arms.

 

The instant of "hanging" your head comfortably with your face truly facing the ground, and crouch a little more, you'll stop working against gravity to hang that noggin. Can't do this if you lift the chin at all, or stand taller. Back pain and fatigue will race right back into the picture.

 

Where you'll likely first notice fatigue now is from the waist-down. The front of the legs from the knees up (quads), the back of the legs (Hamstrings and calves) have become the new home of "support". They"ll prolly be begging for a little more light stretching and simple little exercises but that's pretty fixable without becoming a total gym rat.

 

Less back pain - Able to practice/play longer without sapping energy - Eye-line properly over the putting line - No need to shorten the putter since the arms aren't "reaching". The legs will ask for a slight boost in stretching and simple at-home work for a few minutes every other day whilst watching TV.

 

Rant over.

 

LOVED reading you guy's posts on this stuff. Way to go gents!

And for me, one of my many real keys (one of) is a very light grip on the putter grip. I usually let go and regrip a couple of times before i putt just to remind myself to hold it ever so lightly, as if I were almost holding an empty eggshell in each hand. Lots of muscles interacting in there, and a tense one or two can eventually skew the putter face a tad, at least for me. Practice some putts with different tensions going on, especially at impact, it's surprising.

 

Couldn't agree more if my life depended on it. For me (and this takes a conscious effort until it's just plain habit) I crave that light feel of the hands on the handle at the the start, once in motion, when changing directions from back to through y and even while holding the finish. Without realizing it, I tend to wander off the reservation on this front at times. I know better but that doesn't stop me from lapsing into not-so-good habits. So in order to avoid a billion mechanical thoughts, it's more about set-up and grip. Much easier to turn THAT into action and results than analyzing it to death. Lol - just like the swing of any stick in the bag. :)

 

GREAT addition my friend.

So check these out, they work together just fine if you let them. Same nerves and muscles you use to pick your nose and swat a mosquito, only you don't have to line yourself all up and get all tense and stuff, you just do what comes naturally. So is the golf swing. These things will naturally do the same stuff in the golf swing if we will but trust them....

 

Love it Six. We have the makings of some good golf instruction books.

 

The Nose Picker's Guide to Golf by SixtySomePing

Wrist Lubrication a Reasonable Approach to Improving Your Game by Judge Reasonability

Turn the Mass a Fat Guys Secret to Better Golf by scotee

Just Hit the D@mn Ball the breakthrough best seller Golf For Dummies by Big Stu

 

Now available at the Grille store. Check often for new titles coming soon!

[Fellaheen51]

Will toss one more broad generalization out there for convo purposes.

 

This too may well be far more personal perception than fact, but I've come to honestly believe it, FBOW.

 

No golfer is a purely mechanical while likewise the purely "feel" golfer likewise does not exist, either.

 

My conivtion about this is born of what I see over and over again in the world around me as well as myself. The feel golfer eventually (sooner or later) does at least something with his club specs, his grip, his swing.... in search of even better "feel".

 

The analytical/mechanical golfer sooner or later seeks to convert his analysis into a relaxed, calm, flowing, FEEL during execution. The feel golfer simply arrives at the same forks in the road but CHOOSES to favor mechanical fixes under the flag of "feel".

 

By labeling ourselves, we simply become more comfortable with facing the same forks in the road on the journey everyone faces. It's easier that way. And that's perfectly understandable. Just pointing out that IMO, the polar opposite golfers we sometimes "think" are out there - actually don't exist.

You are absolutely correct on the feel golfer about basically 'tuning" a club. I do it all the time. I had another member ask me one night what SW I had on my personal clubs. I told him I had no idea. I weigh them strictly by feel. I also set my lies by checking on my lie board and do not go by published spec numbers I bend it up to where I need it. Shafts for me are not consistent for me throughout a set. Grips are not either. No joke I have been blessed or cursed however I may look at it with uncanny feel. Sometimes on a particular club a Tour Velvet may feel better than a Tour Wrap. If some of these OCD people would go through my bag checking SW Shaft flex and grips they would have a coronary. I have been known on the range when dialing in a club to go to my truck where I have a small c clamp mounted vise and portable air tank and change a grip in a flash. I would not expect anyone to be able to play with the stuff I play with

 

Stu, question. When you're setting lies on your irons, do you adjust each iron the same across sets? In other words, a Hogan 7 iron would be the same lie as a Mac 7 iron. And am I assume that you adjust wedge lies according to how they feel and ball flight and they may be different depending on the wedge? What's your angle to all this. TIA.

[Fellaheen51]

No longer can I blame the Ping bounce for my pitiful short game. As it's Auf Wiedersehen to the i20's. Like parting with an old friend. Not.

 

Also sold off a set of Mac Tourney M75 persimmons that I was going to restore, but realized that I never would. And if I did, likely would never play them. So no point in keeping them around. Hasta La Vista.

 

Still more needs to be purged. Sell, Sell, Sell it all.

.

.

.

.

Buy?

[scotee]

No longer can I blame the Ping bounce for my pitiful short game. As it's Auf Wiedersehen to the i20's. Like parting with an old friend. Not.

 

Also sold off a set of Mac Tourney M75 persimmons that I was going to restore, but realized that I never would. And if I did, likely would never play them. So no point in keeping them around. Hasta La Vista.

 

Still more needs to be purged. Sell, Sell, Sell it all.

.

.

.

.

Buy?

 

Buy low sell high.

[scotee]

I know very little about shafts. Based on my own limited experience one name has most consistently wrung true and that is Fujikura. I've played more woods successfully that came equipped with a Fujikura shaft than anything else, by a wide margin. Nothing fancy, just the made for shafts in R flex used by the likes of Taylormade, Callaway and Cobra. If I had consistency in struggles with wood shafts, then that dubious distinction belongs to Aldila. UST has been no bargain either.

 

Price is no yardstick of performance either. I bought a set of Nickent hybrids from Dallas Golf a number of years ago and those came with a cheap black Grafalloy shaft. I don't know if it was the Pro Custom or not, but those sure worked beautifully for me in that application. I would happily buy up any of those if I knew what they were for certain and use them in irons they worked so well!

 

For me, it's a case of weight and then a familiar feel which I suspect is the bend profile and the amount of work to load the shaft, but i can't be anymore specific than that.

 

I'm with fella on the shaft length question too. 36" is about the minimum for length in order to get a bearable posture in my new world. That will mean potentially graphite in wedges or at the very least moving down to something in the 100-120 gm range rather than std. TTDG S200.

 

I think for the reasons you have stated Sco, that is why many went to longer length putters...to

be able to stand more erect when putting. Putting, over the course of 18 holes, and possibly time

spent practicing, takes a toll on my back.......I think even moreso than executing a normal iron

swings.

 

My lower back is usually sore after a round and grows stiff on the drive home. This has gotten me

to thinking that maybe it's more the putting that's causing it. I have been blaming it on my full swing.

 

Watching Jack at the Father/Son drain some nice putts I was tempted to copy his style. I wondered why more players don't try his extremely effective technique. Then I thought about my back and said "maybe not".

[Wriggles]

Strange weather! 38 this morning in the valley when I left for work. On top of the grade it had snowed overnight but was almost 50 deg with a Chinook wind. Played yesterday with mixed sun and clouds and a cold breeze and had my best round in a long time! Two birds, no doubles, one three putt. If I can shoot that score in ten years I can shoot my age. :) Prolly less chance than Reasey's pending HIO but we can dream.

 

Nice game, congratulations.

[Wriggles]

Yesterday was a rainy, warm sloppy day. Almost 50 degrees, but snow melting made it dangerous to walk. The high point of my January was yesterday's chiropractic adjustment. He really cracked my neck, both ways. Always afraid he's going to cripple me.

 

He's keeping me pretty mobile, though.

 

Dying for a game of golf and a pipe full of tobacco. Have done neither for the last three weeks.

 

We'll see what February brings.

[scomac2002]

What a difference a day makes. After the Arctic blast of last weekend we had about a foot of snow on the ground. Yesterday we get the spring like temperatures that everyone else was getting along with a substantial amount of rain and voila; no snow! This morning i woke to see a fresh coating of snow, about an inch to cover up the mess left behind from the previous day's deluge. It's just daft!

 

WE're supposed to drop back into the freezer again this weekend and then get hit with another heavy shot of snow early next week. I hate winter! I think I should quit watching the weather network. Counting the days until we get outa here...

[Fellaheen51]

Yeah, it's been a roller coaster weather-wise. Tuesday evening, had freezing rain and sleet. While it was 25*!!! Yesterday, a cold rain. Then temps dropped in the evening turning everything into ice. My driveway is a mess. Slick and crunchy. The area school districts are closed again today. Not because of the primary roads, the gravel back roads are an ice rink. Buses can't get back into these areas to pickup students. Reports of cars unable to drive up small hills on these roads because of the ice.

 

Need some snow to fall to cover up this mess up. Can get traction in snow, not so much on ice.

[Conrad1953]

Yeah, it's been a roller coaster weather-wise. Tuesday evening, had freezing rain and sleet. While it was 25*!!! Yesterday, a cold rain. Then temps dropped in the evening turning everything into ice. My driveway is a mess. Slick and crunchy. The area school districts are closed again today. Not because of the primary roads, the gravel back roads are an ice rink. Buses can't get back into these areas to pickup students. Reports of cars unable to drive up small hills on these roads because of the ice.

 

Need some snow to fall to cover up this mess up. Can get traction in snow, not so much on ice.

 

Fella, congrats on selling the i20 irons so quickly. Glad we were both able to unload them without

much difficulty.

 

Reading your post got me thinking about all the winters I spent on the road. This is the first winter

since 1995 (when I first started driving) that I have not been out there battling the elements, slick

roads, etc. It's amazing to me the relief I feel just sitting here in the comfort of home this winter.

In this case it doesn't really matter where "home" is, it's about having the choice to just say no, lol.

[Fellaheen51]

Your quick success with unloading the i20's proved motivational. Get mine listed and see what happens. Same money as well. Figured if it was good enough for you, good enough for me. :taunt:

 

Lot to be said for chill'n at home. Doing whatever on your own terms and timelines. Being on the road for 23+ years was a very long time. You've earned the right to just say no. Unless it's to Cobi.

[Reasonability]

Rad SMA happens here but unfortunately there's always holes left to be played. :).

 

Don't know about you guys but I see golf as a shining example of wishing I knew then what I know now. Am convinced I'd have been a better golfer. But, A) it's a fruitless thing to consider since we can't go back. And B) I wouldn't have processed what I know now very well back the. Like all of us it was too tempting back then to swing too hard - because I could. The miracle shot was always a vividly real possibility so a "why not?" mentality ruled.

 

Truth be told I have only one golf regret, given the fact it's been a blast and I still love it even when it doesn't love me back at times. The one true regret is falling in love with the X-factor swing when it first came out. Did damage to my back that can't ever be fixed. From that point on both golf and life changed forevermore. It's such an unnatural and tortuous thing to do to your body. The thing I actually regret is being so gullible. Knew it was inducing stress and strain but kept pushing through it. Dumbest thing I ever fell for and was in it hook, line, and sinker. You can fix a lot of things but stupid is hard to cure. Lol

[scomac2002]

Rad SMA happens here but unfortunately there's always holes left to be played. :).

 

Don't know about you guys but I see golf as a shining example of wishing I knew then what I know now. Am convinced I'd have been a better golfer. But, A) it's a fruitless thing to consider since we can't go back. And B) I wouldn't have processed what I know now very well back the. Like all of us it was too tempting back then to swing too hard - because I could. The miracle shot was always a vividly real possibility so a "why not?" mentality ruled.

 

Truth be told I have only one golf regret, given the fact it's been a blast and I still love it even when it doesn't love me back at times. The one true regret is falling in love with the X-factor swing when it first came out. Did damage to my back that can't ever be fixed. From that point on both golf and life changed forevermore. It's such an unnatural and tortuous thing to do to your body. The thing I actually regret is being so gullible. Knew it was inducing stress and strain but kept pushing through it. Dumbest thing I ever fell for and was in it hook, line, and sinker. You can fix a lot of things but stupid is hard to cure. Lol

 

It may have been the X-factor for you, Reasy, but it was the tuck delivery and directional sweeping for me. All that is fine when you're in peak fitness in your twenties, but not worth a darn when you're a senior player. Like you I tried to push through it even though my body was telling me different and here we are. Like with the modern golf swing and pros having back surgery the story is almost the same for pro curlers with their hips in particular. It's an absolutely brutal contortion that you put your body through. Multiply that by the amount they play and practice and you know that it's only a matter of time not a matter of if.

[Reasonability]

Fella mentions short game woes.

 

Will share the core of that reactor for me.

 

There's an almost indescribable "thing" that comes and goes at times, which most frequently visits just off the green.

 

The heart and soul of it is getting totally and completely lost in envisioning a shot, which club would best deliver it, and a raft of confusion about it being one of those weight-forward / ball back in stance/ wristless chips with less loft --- versus a choked-down and much more hands/wrist driven pitch shots with more loft. I literally CAN'T envision either. To avoid slow play some stick, right or wrong goes in-hand, followed by some sort of motion right or wrong. The feeling is almost like waiting to be flicked by a rubber band - lol.

 

We're talking 150% lost in a fog when this happens.

 

There are times when this same dreaded "blue screen" mental crash happens when putting. Sometimes I simply can't envision the line and speed. It's the total opposite of walking up to that putt with a strong sense of anticipation as to how that ball will roll all the way to the cup.

 

Other times my mind sees such shots so vividly before the stroke it's almost spooky. There's zero doubt in my mind what's about to happen - like a premonition of sorts.

 

Summary - I think it was Stu who once said we need to practice and experiment around the greens more in order to feel confident out there. May only apply to me but that same practice develops not only the stroke, and club selection, yadda.... BUT for me it helps develop that all-important visualization of what's about to happen before it happens. LOL - Awfully hard to commit to a stroke you can't remotely visualize.

 

Best way I come up with in giving this dreaded little blue-screen visitor words.

[Reasonability]

Rad SMA happens here but unfortunately there's always holes left to be played. :).

 

Don't know about you guys but I see golf as a shining example of wishing I knew then what I know now. Am convinced I'd have been a better golfer. But, A) it's a fruitless thing to consider since we can't go back. And B) I wouldn't have processed what I know now very well back the. Like all of us it was too tempting back then to swing too hard - because I could. The miracle shot was always a vividly real possibility so a "why not?" mentality ruled.

 

Truth be told I have only one golf regret, given the fact it's been a blast and I still love it even when it doesn't love me back at times. The one true regret is falling in love with the X-factor swing when it first came out. Did damage to my back that can't ever be fixed. From that point on both golf and life changed forevermore. It's such an unnatural and tortuous thing to do to your body. The thing I actually regret is being so gullible. Knew it was inducing stress and strain but kept pushing through it. Dumbest thing I ever fell for and was in it hook, line, and sinker. You can fix a lot of things but stupid is hard to cure. Lol

 

It may have been the X-factor for you, Reasy, but it was the tuck delivery and directional sweeping for me. All that is fine when you're in peak fitness in your twenties, but not worth a darn when you're a senior player. Like you I tried to push through it even though my body was telling me different and here we are. Like with the modern golf swing and pros having back surgery the story is almost the same for pro curlers with their hips in particular. It's an absolutely brutal contortion that you put your body through. Multiply that by the amount they play and practice and you know that it's only a matter of time not a matter of if.

 

My friend, you and I were of that mindset where "no-pain, no-gain" was the mantra. We saw it as "putting in the reps". Relentless refusal to be out-worked by anyone - ever. We strove for that break-through on the other side of dedication and old fashioned hard work. We were willing to pay the price for it no matter what. It made too much sense for us to NOT do it. We saw any lack of results as the signal to get right back out there and push even harder and harder. It was in our nature to persevere and get ourselves there at all cost.

 

Geez - golf is supposed to be a relaxing, pleasurable, flowing, efficient, pain-free, thing.

 

What a totally unnessary thing we did to ourselves,

 

Oh well. We can at least say we know what it means to exemplify dedication and determination - even when that's manifested in not-so-healthy means to an ends. We're unfortunately scarred but at least wiser. We now know the cat can be skinned in smarter rather than harder ways. So at least some good came from it I suppose.

 

Good thing you and I didn't fall in love with becoming circus performers who eat fire - lol.

 

[scotee]

Fella mentions short game woes.

 

Will share the core of that reactor for me.

 

There's an almost indescribable "thing" that comes and goes at times, which most frequently visits just off the green.

 

The heart and soul of it is getting totally and completely lost in envisioning a shot, which club would best deliver it, and a raft of confusion about it being one of those weight-forward / ball back in stance/ wristless chips with less loft --- versus a choked-down and much more hands/wrist driven pitch shots with more loft. I literally CAN'T envision either. To avoid slow play some stick, right or wrong goes in-hand, followed by some sort of motion right or wrong. The feeling is almost like waiting to be flicked by a rubber band - lol.

 

We're talking 150% lost in a fog when this happens.

 

There are times when this same dreaded "blue screen" mental crash happens when putting. Sometimes I simply can't envision the line and speed. It's the total opposite of walking up to that putt with a strong sense of anticipation as to how that ball will roll all the way to the cup.

 

Other times my mind sees such shots so vividly before the stroke it's almost spooky. There's zero doubt in my mind what's about to happen - like a premonition of sorts.

 

Summary - I think it was Stu who once said we need to practice and experiment around the greens more in order to feel confident out there. May only apply to me but that same practice develops not only the stroke, and club selection, yadda.... BUT for me it helps develop that all-important visualization of what's about to happen before it happens. LOL - Awfully hard to commit to a stroke you can't remotely visualize.

 

Best way I come up with in giving this dreaded little blue-screen visitor words.

 

Oh! Great description of an "almost indescribable thing" Somewhere I have marked a video that talks chipping and maybe even putting that warns against becoming ball bound. It talks about looking and focusing on the hole or your landing spot and letting your eyes move during the shot. It also talked about allowing your wrists to hinge just a little (oily wrists?) to improve feel and touch vs. the stiff wrist shoulder rock technique that is often promoted.

[Reasonability]

Fella mentions short game woes.

 

Will share the core of that reactor for me.

 

There's an almost indescribable "thing" that comes and goes at times, which most frequently visits just off the green.

 

The heart and soul of it is getting totally and completely lost in envisioning a shot, which club would best deliver it, and a raft of confusion about it being one of those weight-forward / ball back in stance/ wristless chips with less loft --- versus a choked-down and much more hands/wrist driven pitch shots with more loft. I literally CAN'T envision either. To avoid slow play some stick, right or wrong goes in-hand, followed by some sort of motion right or wrong. The feeling is almost like waiting to be flicked by a rubber band - lol.

 

We're talking 150% lost in a fog when this happens.

 

There are times when this same dreaded "blue screen" mental crash happens when putting. Sometimes I simply can't envision the line and speed. It's the total opposite of walking up to that putt with a strong sense of anticipation as to how that ball will roll all the way to the cup.

 

Other times my mind sees such shots so vividly before the stroke it's almost spooky. There's zero doubt in my mind what's about to happen - like a premonition of sorts.

 

Summary - I think it was Stu who once said we need to practice and experiment around the greens more in order to feel confident out there. May only apply to me but that same practice develops not only the stroke, and club selection, yadda.... BUT for me it helps develop that all-important visualization of what's about to happen before it happens. LOL - Awfully hard to commit to a stroke you can't remotely visualize.

 

Best way I come up with in giving this dreaded little blue-screen visitor words.

 

Oh! Great description of an "almost indescribable thing" Somewhere I have marked a video that talks chipping and maybe even putting that warns against becoming ball bound. It talks about looking and focusing on the hole or your landing spot and letting your eyes move during the shot. It also talked about allowing your wrists to hinge just a little (oily wrists?) to improve feel and touch vs. the stiff wrist shoulder rock technique that is often promoted.

 

Please share that vid if/when you have a moment to do so.

 

That wrist-less and shoulder rock based chip stroke... I'll be honest about it. On or just off the collar - okay "maybe" then the 7 or 8 or 9 iron delivers. Feels right, rolls like a putt. Easy Peary.

 

But beyond that isolated situation I personally don't have that shot in my toolkit. In a hot second it converts into a stab "at" the ball. Ceases to be a stroke and morphs into a messy "stab". Sometimes it sorta-kinda works out and just as often not.

 

But, gimme that 48* - choked down - fanned open with the hands without much in terms of arms swinging and lifting that handle up and down... I feel suddenly pretty even though that's not what we hear is "supposed" to happen right around the green when getting it rolling asap is called for.

 

FWIW - (I could be 100% wrong) - It's good to have oily wrists with most all wedge shots. They're still quite oily but typically that "handshake" in the follow-through is a little more (operative word little) palm to the sky with the trail hand. AKA purposefully "released" with a "hold-off" as they say. More so with say bunker shots - Less so from say 50-90 yards out.

[Fellaheen51]

Not sure if I want to post this. Seems like it's ground I've already covered to often. But I can't exactly remember so here goes:

 

The short games woes are from very close, roughly 20 yards and in. If I'm back far enough, where I can take a 3/4 to full swing with SW, doesn't present the same measure of ineptitude. I can fly the ball up and onto a green half way decently. But a 20 yard chip and run shot, makes me a basket case. And easily throw far to many strokes away being unable to execute the most routine of shots.

 

Seemingly commit to hitting a certain shot quite quickly. From any distance. Do not spend time mulling over which iron to hit, which shot type to hit. See the shot, commit to executing it. Have this theory about changing implements and shot type. Don't. That one's first inclination is likely correct. Over-thinking it, changing from the first choice, all to often does not work out as expected. Not good enough to consistently hold true to this theory. But I've realized far to many negative consequences when I change my mind.

 

Get lots of practice with around the green shots. Seemingly a location I find myself all to frequently. By and large, been utilizing the low chip and run up to the hole. More margin for error hitting that type of shot. The courses I typically play are conducive to hitting this type of shot as well (most of the greens are open in front, allowing for the run-up shot). Not always, sometimes have to fly the ball over an obstacle. The high lob is not a preferred shot, 50/50 proposition that I'll properly execute. Which is surprising because I'm a pretty decent bunker player. The shots are sorta similar.

 

The problem is in two areas. On low chips, I have this tendency to get overly wristy with the stroke and end up with the chunk that goes nowhere. Or blading the ball across the green because I didn't get the clubhead down on the ball. Keep telling myself to keep the wrist firm, back of the lead hand towards the target. But cannot stop "flicking" at the ball. On higher pitch shots, the tendency is to quit on the swing. Meaning I stop at ball contact with little to no follow through. And the ball goes nowhere. Mentally, thinking that to much follow through is preceded by over cooking the swing and flying the ball over the green.

 

All of this gets into one's head. Walking up to the ball, seeing the shot that's required, with little confidence that you're going to be able to execute. Having already shanked away four or five shots on holes prior. Absolutely, without doubt, the most maddening aspect of my golf game. I have to get serious with practicing these shots this year. Even if it's just at the range, trying to consistently hit a spot 10 yards out in front with a PW. Because realizing even a modest improvement in consistency with these shots would provide a meaningful improvement on the scorecard. NTM, my mental health while playing.

 

Yeah, I'd like to view that vid as well.

[scomac2002]

We all have our crosses to bare. Some can't chip. Some can't putt. Some fight the slice and others still deal with the shank. Some of us have fought all those things at one time or another and some have fought them at the same time. It's the nature of this game that it will test your resolve while at other times rewarding you for your perseverance with those all too rare rounds that go down in the memorybanks forever. It's that combination of characteristics that keep us coming back. The joy and frustration that seem to go hand-in-hand.

 

As I typed the above, the memories of past shots come flooding back. The 270 yard drive with an obsolete club; the par fives hit in two; the back-to-back birdie holes where I stiffed it to less than a foot; the up and down from 20 yards off the green to preserve a run of 7 consecutive pars on the way to my all time low of 81. I miss it.

[scotee]

Fella mentions short game woes.

 

Will share the core of that reactor for me.

 

There's an almost indescribable "thing" that comes and goes at times, which most frequently visits just off the green.

 

The heart and soul of it is getting totally and completely lost in envisioning a shot, which club would best deliver it, and a raft of confusion about it being one of those weight-forward / ball back in stance/ wristless chips with less loft --- versus a choked-down and much more hands/wrist driven pitch shots with more loft. I literally CAN'T envision either. To avoid slow play some stick, right or wrong goes in-hand, followed by some sort of motion right or wrong. The feeling is almost like waiting to be flicked by a rubber band - lol.

 

We're talking 150% lost in a fog when this happens.

 

There are times when this same dreaded "blue screen" mental crash happens when putting. Sometimes I simply can't envision the line and speed. It's the total opposite of walking up to that putt with a strong sense of anticipation as to how that ball will roll all the way to the cup.

 

Other times my mind sees such shots so vividly before the stroke it's almost spooky. There's zero doubt in my mind what's about to happen - like a premonition of sorts.

 

Summary - I think it was Stu who once said we need to practice and experiment around the greens more in order to feel confident out there. May only apply to me but that same practice develops not only the stroke, and club selection, yadda.... BUT for me it helps develop that all-important visualization of what's about to happen before it happens. LOL - Awfully hard to commit to a stroke you can't remotely visualize.

 

Best way I come up with in giving this dreaded little blue-screen visitor words.

 

Oh! Great description of an "almost indescribable thing" Somewhere I have marked a video that talks chipping and maybe even putting that warns against becoming ball bound. It talks about looking and focusing on the hole or your landing spot and letting your eyes move during the shot. It also talked about allowing your wrists to hinge just a little (oily wrists?) to improve feel and touch vs. the stiff wrist shoulder rock technique that is often promoted.

 

Please share that vid if/when you have a moment to do so.

 

That wrist-less and shoulder rock based chip stroke... I'll be honest about it. On or just off the collar - okay "maybe" then the 7 or 8 or 9 iron delivers. Feels right, rolls like a putt. Easy Peary.

 

But beyond that isolated situation I personally don't have that shot in my toolkit. In a hot second it converts into a stab "at" the ball. Ceases to be a stroke and morphs into a messy "stab". Sometimes it sorta-kinda works out and just as often not.

 

But, gimme that 48* - choked down - fanned open with the hands without much in terms of arms swinging and lifting that handle up and down... I feel suddenly pretty even though that's not what we hear is "supposed" to happen right around the green when getting it rolling asap is called for.

 

FWIW - (I could be 100% wrong) - It's good to have oily wrists with most all wedge shots. They're still quite oily but typically that "handshake" in the follow-through is a little more (operative word little) palm to the sky with the trail hand. AKA purposefully "released" with a "hold-off" as they say. More so with say bunker shots - Less so from say 50-90 yards out.

 

Well I just spent time looking and have not found it yet. My bookmarks in two browsers are kind of a mess. I will pass it on if it turns up. It was a vid or an article and very short. The simple things are what i shared. Don't be ball bound. Keep the big picture focus. Let your eyes follow the shot. Allow soft and subtle wrist action. Don't be stiff and mechanical. Isn't it amazing that we can find so many contradictory golf videos and articles. The sad part is I have had success in techniques that are polar opposites that end up in my swing thought bank. When something stops working I go looking for another fix and chase my tail on this adventure called golf.

[tolmij]

This whole experience has been a bit of an eye opener to say the least. It brings into focus what is important and what isn't. I know with myself it's about trying to find a way to play period in reasonable comfort so that one wants to play on a regular basis. The quality of play is largely irrelevant. You will simply decide that you're okay with it or you'll quit and look for something else to do.

 

I suspect that much will change from what I've been used to. It has to. I like Reasy's description of calm and free flowing rather than the old habit of going after it which will undoubtedly die a hard death! Anything that requires work to get an acceptable result will have to go. With that in mind the Titleist 913D2 definitely falls into that camp shafted as it is. At the very minimum a remake of the top end of the bag will be required. The rest of it I can work with as is.

 

There are times when we are pulled up very quickly and have to re evaluate what we can and cannot do, I know I used to have the alarm set at 4-15 am not very long ago to go and play first off the tee, son and I were usually standing on the first tee waiting for the sun to rise. In this part of the world it comes up from dark in about 15 mins. Now when I eventually crawl out of bed it’s around 6/6.30 and most days I feel. Like getting back in.

 

My problem is I find it difficult to accept I cannot do all the things I used to, I go to the shed or the garden, work away for an hour or so and feel as if I have had 10 rounds in the boxing ring, there are always many things to do but lately I have gone to the studio to paint for an hour.

 

It’s been around two months now since DW had the ablation so that problem seems to be behind us, it was getting difficult to do anything as she would go into AF regularly and after the time she had a stroke because of the AF I found it impossible to leave her, go to golf or even do jobs in the yard. She has a follow up medical soon so possibly I can return to golf.

 

It’s difficult to accept the aging process, my body and my mind are constantly in conflict so I can understand your concerns. Time will tell but it will improve, it has for me.

[SixtySomePing]

Just saw the weather forecast here for next Wednesday. A high of 5* and a low of -15* at night. I don't think I remember it being -15* in Ohio. I was in Minnesota one week for a seminar in February and the high during the days was -14*, but that was Minnesota in February. This is Ohio. I guess the only good thing about that is we can count on playing golf the following week...

[Fellaheen51]

The Mrs. just pointed out this inconvenient fact not 10 minutes ago. The high for next Wednesday, -1*. Not a day in the next ten with temps reaching 20*. Harrumph!!! Guess this means winter has set in with earnest. Watcha gonna do? B & M.

[tolmij]

The Mrs. just pointed out this inconvenient fact not 10 minutes ago. The high for next Wednesday, -1*. Not a day in the next ten with temps reaching 20*. Harrumph!!! Guess this means winter has set in with earnest. Watcha gonna do? B & M.

 

We have another few days in the high 90s and then a cold front is supposed to be on its way, a cold front for us is the mid 70s. Some outback towns are now running at 130 plus, the farm animals are dying from lack of water and food and it’s too far and expensive to run it in. Wildlife is gone, someone found a whole herd of wild horses dead at a dry waterhole and so it continues.

 

Untill I started reading the likes of Stu, I never considered anything other than practice would alter a golf shot, me in my total ignorance of the finer points just used whatever was there usually borrowed old sets ready to be scrapped. It’s only recently when my son purchased a good set with the correct length and shaft flex did I find out the difference. Now I can actually feel if I have hit the ball well, I don’t have to look up to see it. It’s not done too much for my score but that’s down to my recent very sporadic games. I usually have a good nine, sometimes the first sometimes the back but have yet to put two nines together, waiting now for a drop in temperature to get back out, some clubs have closed the course because of the extreem heat, normally when it’s over 95.

 

Stay safe Grillers seems as if you are in for a long cold winter.

[SixtySomePing]

Just saw the weather forecast here for next Wednesday. A high of 5* and a low of -15* at night. I don't think I remember it being -15* in Ohio. I was in Minnesota one week for a seminar in February and the high during the days was -14*, but that was Minnesota in February. This is Ohio. I guess the only good thing about that is we can count on playing golf the following week...

Looks like they made it -8* now on Wednesday night in this weather circus forecast. Another 2-4 inches of snow coming on Monday afternoon to Tuesday. I believe we are having a real winter here. People are saying 'well, at least it will kill the bugs off'. What does that mean, the food chain now will be disrupted totally? Somehow I can see us sitting down at the table in the back yard (no bugs of course) in 2023, eating cardboard chips saying 'dang that winter of 2019, we've got nothing left to eat'. No more birdies or eagles in golf, oh man, I don't want to have to change my avatar...

 

Not sure why I thought of this song, it has to be one of the stupidest ever, anybody remember it? Totally off the wall with content and just the entire concept. Poor women, if they could just survive, try and get that song published today...

[Fellaheen51]

Haven't even taken a peek yet at the weather forecast. I'm not particularly optimistic that its going to improve. I just did. Sheesh. Now forecasting 5" - 8" of snow for Monday. But temps staying above 0* for highs. So that's a plus. Perhaps the weathermen are indeed clueless. Making it all up as a ruse. Spoof'n us. Maybe?

 

Of course I remember Z & E's "2525". One of those apocalyptic songs that were in vogue BITD. However, considering the upcoming forecast, thinking Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" may be more apropos. And I have a appointment scheduled with the sleep Dr. early Wednesday morning. Hope I will survive venturing forth into the elements. If I should stop posting, you'll know the reason why. Headlines: "A fella found frozen on Bushwood's 5th tee, with club in hand, waiting for spring."

[Wriggles]

Just saw the weather forecast here for next Wednesday. A high of 5* and a low of -15* at night. I don't think I remember it being -15* in Ohio. I was in Minnesota one week for a seminar in February and the high during the days was -14*, but that was Minnesota in February. This is Ohio. I guess the only good thing about that is we can count on playing golf the following week...

Looks like they made it -8* now on Wednesday night in this weather circus forecast. Another 2-4 inches of snow coming on Monday afternoon to Tuesday. I believe we are having a real winter here. People are saying 'well, at least it will kill the bugs off'. What does that mean, the food chain now will be disrupted totally? Somehow I can see us sitting down at the table in the back yard (no bugs of course) in 2023, eating cardboard chips saying 'dang that winter of 2019, we've got nothing left to eat'. No more birdies or eagles in golf, oh man, I don't want to have to change my avatar...

 

Not sure why I thought of this song, it has to be one of the stupidest ever, anybody remember it? Totally off the wall with content and just the entire concept. Poor women, if they could just survive, try and get that song published today...

[media=]

[/media]

 

I remember that song, around 1966, I guess.

 

I always thought mankind would destroy itself before all that song stuff took place. I think I'll be right.

 

Cold and blustery this morning. Yesterday, I took a walk with Penny around the block. I smoked a hurried pipe full of tobacco while we walked. A couple neighbors down the street said hello. The ATS diagnostic report informed me that one of my tires had 29 pounds of air, fronts recommended at 32, back 35. So, after putting Penny back in the house, I got my compressor/jump starter and hooked it up to the low tire. I hear a hissing, the compressor hose is leaking, and the tire has about 10 pounds of air.

 

After a jerry rig repair to the hose, I fill the all the tires to the recommended pressure. Am in my unheated garage for the best part of an hour, freezing. When I go back into the house, go into the computer, the OnStar email informs me of sudden tire pressure loss, and to consult my dealer. What bull. I feel like Elaine Benes on Seinfeld. The dealer probably has a chart on me. One of the first diagnostic reports I got said that I was driving the car hard. This happened when I was driving the car home from the dealer. I recall going 55 in a 35 mph zone unknowingly, didn't realize the turbo kicked in.

 

Stupid stuff like that irritates me. I literally gave my 02 Deville away, never sat outside, and was in pristine condition. The ATS is a nice car, but all the bells and whistles are overkill. The steering wheel is chock filled with buttons that I'll never use.

 

I hate to say, but I'd rather drive my little 90 HP Lebaron.

 

Keep warm, guys.

[scomac2002]

That's three of us that remember that song. I think that fella tagged it correctly with apocalyptic protest song; either that or an acid trip...

 

Blowing snow here. More cold and blustery as Wriggs calls it than anything. It would appear that Mother Nature is manic depressive. Supposed to be a nasty week upcoming, but beyond that it will moderate. We always seem to get a couple of weeks worth of really nasty weather every winter and then more manageable conditions beyond that. Here's hoping...

 

What is it about this time of year? Cabin fever I guess as I always seem to buy something golf related. Last year it was the Vokey wedges and a new three wheeled cart. The wedges saw two nine hole rounds. In fact, I don't think that the 58° has even hit a ball! The push cart is still in the basement wrapped in plastic where I left it after putting it together. Presently I'm taken with the idea of getting some woods in A flex as there is a fair selection available at good prices for lightly used models -- yes we've had this discussion before. It's like a disease or at least that's what DW calls it! :blush: