My Road to Improvement - swing video 3/15/24

[bortass]

1 hour ago, Myherobobhope said:

I'm playing my 4th round from our forward tees on Wednesday... I'm tired of my course being 5100 yards, but our tee boxes are ripped to shreds... it's been an interesting experience and has taught me some lessons that hopefully stay with me into next season!

Playing forward can be interesting. I have found is it causes more variation with what to use off the tee. I'd expect it to be even greater for you since you hit it longer than me. It can be fun though and I plan to try to mix up tee boxes when I head out for 9 just to get a different experience.

[95124hacker]

I’m sure you mentioned this before but what is the course rating & slope for your home course & normal tees you play from?

[bortass]

1 minute ago, 95124hacker said:

I’m sure you mentioned this before but what is the course rating & slope for your home course & normal tees you play from?

Slope 126, rating 68.9, 5900 yards

[95124hacker]

Thanks. Not knowing the layout, it seems short but tight. Am I right? More trouble from the tee, on approach shots, around the greens or all of the above? 126 slope suggests med/high difficulty for non scratch players. Knowing where trouble lurks & playing conservatively to minimize the damage can often save a few strokes a round. I find myself re-reading Ray Floyd’s book often to remind me of those strategies.

[Myherobobhope]

33 minutes ago, bortass said:

Playing forward can be interesting. I have found is it causes more variation with what to use off the tee. I'd expect it to be even greater for you since you hit it longer than me. It can be fun though and I plan to try to mix up tee boxes when I head out for 9 just to get a different experience.

Honestly, it’s driver on every par 4 I can’t drive with less club, except for one hole… I hit 3 wood on 2 of the par fives.

[bortass]

23 minutes ago, 95124hacker said:

Thanks. Not knowing the layout, it seems short but tight. Am I right? More trouble from the tee, on approach shots, around the greens or all of the above? 126 slope suggests med/high difficulty for non scratch players. Knowing where trouble lurks & playing conservatively to minimize the damage can often save a few strokes a round. I find myself re-reading Ray Floyd’s book often to remind me of those strategies.

The course is like a figure 8 with 1 and 9 being the only two holes that are side by side. Everything else is either a hazard or OOB left and right. So accuracy matters but I wouldn't say it's super tight but it depends on the hole. A slice or hook will kill you. Pushes and pulls can too depending on how far offline you started and the amount of curve. Also the topography can feet balls into the trees since the course is built around a couple hills.

 

There's water on 5 holes:

#5 has a small stream 1 - 2 yards wide, that goes under the fairway at the corner, so a long tee shot can be wet. The same stream fronts part of the green as well until it goes under the fairway and makes it's way down the entire right side from green to corner.

 

#9 has a pond on the left that can be reached off the tee if you hit a very solid pull or hook. The pond fronts the green.

 

#11 has a forced stream, about 10 - 15 yards wide,  carry short of the green.

 

#14 has a pond to the right that comes inplay with the second shot and fronts the right side of the green as well.

 

#16 (par 3) has a forced stream carry, about 10 yards wide, short of the green.

 

#18 has both a stream forced carry and a pond that fronts the green.

 

Every green has bunker(s) and the main issue I have with those is the very poor condition they are in.

 

 

[95124hacker]

Been playing this stupid game since the late 1980’s & I’ve played with all kinds of golfers. My observations generally speaking are:

 

70’s shooter: let’s skip this, not relevant here.

 

80’s shooter:

- Almost never hooks or slices

- Almost never tops or chunks

- Misses are very slight. No wild misses.

- Can scramble to avoid doubles or worse. Bogey is typically the worst score. Doubles are result of bad luck (bad bounce, plugged in a bunker, bad yardage, unfamiliarity with the hole, etc). Rarely has to take a penalty stroke.

- Loses 0-1 balls per round 

 

90’s shooter:

- Will hook or slice a couple of times per round

- Will top or chunk a couple of times

- Misses are more offline, but generally hits the ball solid

- Average scrambler. One bad shot can add 2-3 strokes on top of the score (blades bunker shot, OB, penalties, etc). Takes 2-4 penalty strokes per round.

- Loses 2-4 balls per round 

 

100’s shooter:

- Often mishits the ball, has no idea where the ball will go

- Poor scrambler, cannot turn 3 shots into 2

- Takes 5+ penalty shots per round

- Compounds mistakes frequently 

 

Reason for me posting this is to give you a general “roadmap” for breaking 90. Once you can break 90 often, the 84 will be a piece of cake (saving 5 strokes with good luck/bounces, some holed putts, etc)

[bortass]

2 hours ago, 95124hacker said:

Been playing this stupid game since the late 1980’s & I’ve played with all kinds of golfers. My observations generally speaking are:

 

70’s shooter: let’s skip this, not relevant here.

 

80’s shooter:

- Almost never hooks or slices

- Almost never tops or chunks

- Misses are very slight. No wild misses.

- Can scramble to avoid doubles or worse. Bogey is typically the worst score. Doubles are result of bad luck (bad bounce, plugged in a bunker, bad yardage, unfamiliarity with the hole, etc). Rarely has to take a penalty stroke.

- Loses 0-1 balls per round 

 

90’s shooter:

- Will hook or slice a couple of times per round

- Will top or chunk a couple of times

- Misses are more offline, but generally hits the ball solid

- Average scrambler. One bad shot can add 2-3 strokes on top of the score (blades bunker shot, OB, penalties, etc). Takes 2-4 penalty strokes per round.

- Loses 2-4 balls per round 

 

100’s shooter:

- Often mishits the ball, has no idea where the ball will go

- Poor scrambler, cannot turn 3 shots into 2

- Takes 5+ penalty shots per round

- Compounds mistakes frequently 

 

Reason for me posting this is to give you a general “roadmap” for breaking 90. Once you can break 90 often, the 84 will be a piece of cake (saving 5 strokes with good luck/bounces, some holed putts, etc)

Thanks! I feel like I’m a mix of the 90s and 100. The 100s is namely the penalties. I know where my ball is going most of the time. It varies round to round though and my more recent rounds have not been good.

I am definitely not improving in a linear manner as @Myherobobhope mentioned. I can string together some decent golf for short periods of time. The good thing is there still is improvement even if the score doesn’t always reflect it.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if things progress faster once I do break 90 more often because that means my blow ups are less frequent and that’s what tends to hurt me. I have gotten a par on every hole and birdies on 4 or 5. So it’s not like there are holes I can’t play well. Sure, some holes are more difficult to get that par on but it’s never out of the realm of possibility.

 

Good thing I enjoy playing since it’s not an easy road😄

[TheDeanAbides]

10 hours ago, 95124hacker said:

Been playing this stupid game since the late 1980’s & I’ve played with all kinds of golfers. My observations generally speaking are:

 

70’s shooter: let’s skip this, not relevant here.

 

80’s shooter:

- Almost never hooks or slices

- Almost never tops or chunks

- Misses are very slight. No wild misses.

- Can scramble to avoid doubles or worse. Bogey is typically the worst score. Doubles are result of bad luck (bad bounce, plugged in a bunker, bad yardage, unfamiliarity with the hole, etc). Rarely has to take a penalty stroke.

- Loses 0-1 balls per round 

 

90’s shooter:

- Will hook or slice a couple of times per round

- Will top or chunk a couple of times

- Misses are more offline, but generally hits the ball solid

- Average scrambler. One bad shot can add 2-3 strokes on top of the score (blades bunker shot, OB, penalties, etc). Takes 2-4 penalty strokes per round.

- Loses 2-4 balls per round 

 

100’s shooter:

- Often mishits the ball, has no idea where the ball will go

- Poor scrambler, cannot turn 3 shots into 2

- Takes 5+ penalty shots per round

- Compounds mistakes frequently 

 

Reason for me posting this is to give you a general “roadmap” for breaking 90. Once you can break 90 often, the 84 will be a piece of cake (saving 5 strokes with good luck/bounces, some holed putts, etc)

I know plenty of 80s shooters who are more like a mix of 70s shooters and 90s shooters. There'll be 3 over for 15 holes and have three blowouts with doubles etc. 

[bortass]

13 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

I know plenty of 80s shooters who are more like a mix of 70s shooters and 90s shooters. There'll be 3 over for 15 holes and have three blowouts with doubles etc. 

 This is me. My pattern has always been play better for a chunk of the round and blow up at times. It's why I'm a handy player to have in a net event where total score doesn't matter, lol.

 

Got out to the range and I think it was a very productive session. The normal hitting area is being overseeded with rye for the winter, so the temp hitting area is on the range which is a downslope. The area it's in seems fairly level but it's not as level as the normal hitting area.

 

After warming up, I did 3 sets where I worked on my initial takeaway. Each set was 5 balls using a drill, followed by 10 shots using  a swing to try to feel what you did in the drill. The drill is where you hinge the wrists vertically, then horizontally, and push the hands back towards 7 O'clock, pause, and then hit the ball. So I'd do 5 balls with the drill and then hit 10 shots with a 3/4 swing. 3 sets was 45 balls. It wasn't perfect by any stretch but I hit a fair amount of good shots.

 

I then did 2 sets, same makeup as above, working on cast B. I had watched the cast B drill from NTC earlier today and saw I was doing it 'wrong'. The drill is take the club back to parallel, pause, and just hit the ball by flicking your wrists. The way I had been doing it is through a half swing. So each set was 5 balls with the drill and followed by 10 balls with a half swing. Results here were pretty positive as well. Like the other drill, I had some bad shots but I'd say most were okay or better. Hitting the ball with the drill was funny because I had no problem making contact and hitting it decent but I always sent it left, lol. The balls when i was just hitting them were a mix of true fades and push fades.

 

I then deviated from my weekly goals. I don't do cast A from NTC, so I tend to be steep. I also 'like' to hit push fades. I tried the drill from NTC for Cast A but quickly abandoned it. Instead I just took my 7i and made a full swing at a slower speed and tried to make sure I did cast A from the top of a full swing. This was a 'holy crap' moment. I am very in consistent but when I do it I hit a very high true fade right down my target line. I also hit it very close to the sweet spot. The reality is those shots are better than my normal 7i even though i was swinging slowly. Don't get me wrong, it's not at a snails pace, but it's not the speed I normally swing. It feels like I have a little time at the top to think about what I'm doing and do it. I didn't bother doing sets with this because i just hit balls this way. No idea how many but it was a decent amount. This set of shots was much more variable than the other drills. Cast A is normal for me so i hit a few that flew like a shank, low dead right with a lot of right curve, chunked some, bladed some, but the ones i made good contact with were worth it. I also found( I think this is true but may be wrong) that the mishits were when I swung too fast/hard from the top. A slower smooth tempo and it was a thing of beauty.

 

I finished up by hitting some half shots with my 7i. Contact was mostly very good.

 

So I am excited about how things went with this session. No major 'a-ha I'm fixed!' moments, which are always a lie anyways. It was solid practice to me. The slower full swings to work on Cast A included making sure I got a full turn with my left shoulder under my chin. So I really think I worked on my entire swing for a change instead of just parts of it. I think i will try to stick with a similar pattern to future range session. My cast A work will probably stay in place for a long time as I try to learn it and I could honestly swing the club and play that way, if i got more consistent with it.

 

Funny story time. I'm getting ready to leave and I notice a small hula hoop by some guy's clubs. I asked him about it and he says "It's for your shoulders, I'll show you.' The gist of it is setup to a ball and hold the hula hoop in front of you with both hands using an underhand grip and look through the hoop. So the hoop is vertical. Rotate like you would with your backswing and the hoop is supposed to rotate like a steering wheel. When I did it, the hoop moved to the right. The analogy is the hoop is an axel and there's a wheel in front of you. if the hoop moves to the right instead of just rotating the tire would snap off. So it's something he found on youtube and it's to help rotate the shoulders more up and down versus around. Interesting concept. I'll file this away and maybe do some research on it at a later date. Right now it falls under something I heard that may or may not help but it's not what I am currently trying to work on. Thought I'd mention it to see if any of ya' have run across this before.

[bortass]

Got a couple more range sessions in. Yesterday's was like Tuesdays for the most part. 3 sets of that takeaway drill, a couple sets of Cast B, and then hitting slower full swings while trying to do Cast A. Today was a little different. 3 sets of takeaway drill and then I went into the slow swing with Cast A. Once I started the Cast A stuff, I started to mix in some random full, 3/4, and half swings just to break it up a bit.

 

Overall this is what I am seeing. I am hitting a 3/4 7i shot a heck of a lot better than I did before Tuesday. I'm hitting this shot solid more and more. Not bad for something I couldn't really do before. Can I count on it under pressure on the course? Probably not but I could use the shot if needed when there's not a big downside if I mishit it.

 

The slow swings with Cast A are hit and miss. Yesterday, they were mostly a hit and today mostly a miss. When I actually do it though the ball just takes off nice and very high. It's a radical change in ball flight and I do not think I'm losing any real distance.

 

The random full speed full swing with my 7i were impressive (for me). I was getting that ball flight I get when doing the slow Cast A swings. It's likely a flash in the pan for now but I think if I keep doing what I've been doing my on course swing will be better.

 

I don't know what it is but I actually feel like I'm making some progress with my swing. It's still a long road to go but I'm on the right track.

 

Kinda excited to see what happens when I next play even though I will not expect to hit it as well as I did today. Also I just used my 7i, so it's the same club with all the drills.

 

Lastly, I have been mixing in some chips and pitches on the range. These are coming along nicely which will help me get up and down more often.

[bortass]

On 10/11/2021 at 2:21 PM, Myherobobhope said:

Honestly, it’s driver on every par 4 I can’t drive with less club, except for one hole… I hit 3 wood on 2 of the par fives.

How'd your round go yesterday?

[Myherobobhope]

3 hours ago, bortass said:

How'd your round go yesterday?

Poorly. I’m starting to fully grasp I can’t bounce back from not sleeping like I used to. My fine motor control was awful. 

 

But I was exhausted…

[bortass]

51 minutes ago, Myherobobhope said:

Poorly. I’m starting to fully grasp I can’t bounce back from not sleeping like I used to. My fine motor control was awful. 

 

But I was exhausted…

Sorry to hear that. When are you getting out next?

[Myherobobhope]

12 hours ago, bortass said:

Sorry to hear that. When are you getting out next?

Not until Wednesday… I’m hoping we are back at the regular tees by then… Forward tees exposes my weaknesses a lot more. Wedge game, especially from under 50 yards and putting have been weak.

 

ive been pumping driver and my irons have been on point, but I’m not hitting much of either from the forward tees.

[bortass]

5 minutes ago, Myherobobhope said:

Not until Wednesday… I’m hoping we are back at the regular tees by then… Forward tees exposes my weaknesses a lot more. Wedge game, especially from under 50 yards and putting have been weak.

 

ive been pumping driver and my irons have been on point, but I’m not hitting much of either from the forward tees.

That's what can be interesting about playing different tees. I'm sure if I were to move back that the issues with my full swing would get magnified. I'm still thinking of trying sometime I go out by myself though. The tips on my course are just under 6500 yards and I used to play at 6300 but there's a big difference in slope, 130 here versus 116 in Maine. One nice thing is there are 4 sets of tees rated for men, so I have options.

[Myherobobhope]

On 10/15/2021 at 8:28 AM, bortass said:

That's what can be interesting about playing different tees. I'm sure if I were to move back that the issues with my full swing would get magnified. I'm still thinking of trying sometime I go out by myself though. The tips on my course are just under 6500 yards and I used to play at 6300 but there's a big difference in slope, 130 here versus 116 in Maine. One nice thing is there are 4 sets of tees rated for men, so I have options.

Allegedly back to the regular tees this week… but have been traveling and will

have been off for a week. Going to try to lay off caffeine and get good rest heading in and see if it changes anything.

[bortass]

I wasn't able to play a couple of Saturdays ago nor hit the range at all last week. I managed to play 18 last Thursday, Saturday, and today though.

 

The 'drill' where I try to do cast A with a slower full swing is money. I am finding that every once in a awhile I manage to make that move on the course without thinking about it. I will be sticking with that as my main practice I think.

 

An example would be a 7i shot on the par 3 #8 which is an elevated tee shot during the Thursday round. It was a very high draw that landed on the back of the green and rolled about a foot into the fringe, 174 yard shot. If you figure the elevation adds 20 yards, that's still about a 154 yard shot with my 140ish club. I'm finding that it's more likely to happen with my 7i, which is what i tend to use on the range, but it has shown up in some shots with my 8 and 9 irons. I've hit a couple 9i shots about 130 and that's normally a 115 - 120 club for me. So I think i will gain some decent distance once I get cast A down.

 

The rounds themselves were not good score wise, so I'm not gonna go into details but here are the stats and a brief summary. Things are erratic. I am hitting some very solid shots but also some extremely bad ones. Shanks with partial wedges, a shank with a full 8i on a par 3, etc.

 

Thursday was home course, shotgun start on #17.  I opened with a par and then tripled the next hole, lol.  For GHIN, I shot a 99 with 7 pars... Arccos has me at 56/46 102. I had a 10 on a par 5.... I had some dubbed drives that only went 50ish yards and shanked a couple partial wedge shots in a row.

 

birdies: 0

pars: 7

bogeys: 1

double bogeys: 4

triple+: 6

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 182 yards

Longest drive: 252 yards

Fairways: 7/14

GIR: 3/18

Avg Approach: 111 yards

Up & down: 5/15

Putts: 32

 

Strokes gained compared to a 12 HCP. 

Overall: -17.0 strokes

driving: -5.4

Approach: -10.9

Short game: -1.0

Putting: +0.2

 

Saturday was the sister course with the water. I shot a smooth 54/51 for 105, lol. I had 8 penalty strokes and took a couple of Xs. I had some real good drives but some that were bladed short or sent into hazards.  Nothing clicked but I did have some good holes. Opened with a par after hitting a baby draw 243 yards on the opening par 5. #2 was a bogey after a good drive and hitting the green in regulation because I 3 putted from 33 feet... I managed a double bogey on 18 which is the #3 HCP hole after topping my drive about 20 yards into the lake that's on the right. I just took a S&D penalty and my next drive was a great baby draw about 230ish. I hit an iron into the back fringe and got up and down from there. I putted like crap.....

 

birdies: 0

pars: 2

bogeys: 6

double bogeys: 5

triple+: 5

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 181 yards

Longest drive: 243 yards

Fairways: 6/14

GIR: 5/18

Avg Approach: 97 yards

Up & down: 1/9

Putts: 39

 

Strokes gained compared to a 12 HCP. 

Overall: -22.3 strokes

driving: -8.3

Approach: -9.5

Short game: -1.4

Putting: -3.1

 

Today was the sister course w/o all the water. A 50/53 103. Much like Saturday it was a mixed bag but my putting sucked. I had 7 penalty strokes on 5 of the last 7 holes. the two kickers were a S&D penalty when I shanked a 8i dead right, no where in the direction of the green and OOB from the middle of the fairway. Then on 18, I topped my 7w so laid up with my SW, short of the lake. GPS said the landing area was about 80ish yards which is a partial AW for me. So I decided to be safe and hit a partial SW. Contact was very nice and a high shot that landed on the flat area short of the lake and it rolled about 18+ yards into said lake.... My drop was 98 yards from the prior spot... Another day of horrid putting. i started the round leaving them short and then started to send them long. Also gotta love missing a couple 2 foot putts.....

 

birdies: 0

pars: 1

bogeys: 8

double bogeys: 4

triple+: 5

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 191 yards

Longest drive: 243 yards

Fairways: 6/14

GIR: 4/18

Avg Approach: 103 yards

Up & down: 1/11

Putts: 41

 

Strokes gained compared to a 12 HCP. 

Overall: -20.8 strokes

driving: -6.8

Approach: -7.0

Short game: +0.7

Putting: -7.8

[bortass]

 @berndgeurts asked @betarhoalphadelta about the cause of blowups the other day, so I thought I'd post the blow ups from my last three rounds since there are a lot of them.

 

Thursday: 

#3 shanked 4w into right trees. Shanked partial PW into right trees took an X. +3

#4 chipped through the green with SW. Chipped with putter to 5 feet and 3 putt from there. +3

#5 topped driver into the rough about 63 yards. Bunch of mishits lead to a 10 with no penalty strokes.... +5

#6 topped driver into the rough about 68 yards. Followed it with mishit 7i and 5i from the fairway +3

#9Topped driver 43 yards into the rough. Hit a pushy with a layup behind trees on the right side and eventually left a pitch short. +4

#18 drive forced a lay up short of the stream. I had 160ish to center and had to cross the stream and pond. Mishit my 5i into the pond....

 

Saturday:

#3 tee shot to the right that forced a layup which was an okay shot. Partial SW into the green is shanked right. I take S&D and get the next partial wedge near the green. +4

#5 Hit a pull into the left tree on a par 3. Find ball and my chip out of the trees hits a tree and goes backwards. Find the ball again and this time i chip it out of the trees and through the green. +3

#7 Push my 7w tee shot into right trees. I drop and layup short of the lake. Top my 4w into the lake and just take an X. +3

#9 Push fade my drive into the lake. Drop about 30 yards from the tee box and hit a 5i across. Shank a 9i into the lake and I take an X. +4

#14 decent drive followed by a chunked 9i and a chunked partial AW. Chip is sent 63 feet past the hole, 3 putts for +3.

 

Today:

#3 Pull drive into left trees and it takes me 2 to get out. Chip though green. +3

#7 Bladed 7i off the tee followed by a topped 4w, and a bladed 6i. 3 putts from 21 feet, +3

#12 drive was a solid push fade OOB. +3

#16 Mishit 7w strikes a tree on the left and bounces into the middle of the fairway. Shank my 8i dead right and OOB. +3

#18  Bladed 7w off the tee goes 117 yards. Lay up short of the lake with a partial SW and it somehow rolls 18+ yards into said lake after I hit a nice high shot... +3

 

Current trends are 1) topped tee shots. 2) shankes with a short iron or a partial wdge(I used to think partial wedges were my strength....) Shortgame.

[betarhoalphadelta]

5 minutes ago, bortass said:

 @berndgeurts asked @betarhoalphadelta about the cause of blowups the other day, so I thought I'd post the blow ups from my last three rounds since there are a lot of them.

 

<snip>

 

Current trends are 1) topped tee shots. 2) shankes with a short iron or a partial wdge(I used to think partial wedges were my strength....) Shortgame.

 

Yeah... I'm sure better players get blow up holes due to risky strategies. Of course, better players consider "double" to be a blow up hole lol 😉

 

Guys like us just hit a couple awful shots on the same hole instead of spreading them out across a round, and we call those blow ups.

[MattC555]

My scores are definitely negatively affected by my tendency to take chances.  I'm mostly out there for fun and greatly enjoy taking the big stick out far too often.  🤣

 

I played a shorter course with my elderly uncle the other day and got eaten up by a bunch of geriatrics.  It is a different game from 5800 yards.

 

Keep going bortass, your work will pay off at some point.     

[bortass]

 

19 hours ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

Yeah... I'm sure better players get blow up holes due to risky strategies. Of course, better players consider "double" to be a blow up hole lol 😉

 

Guys like us just hit a couple awful shots on the same hole instead of spreading them out across a round, and we call those blow ups.

Yup, it's all relative. Someday a double will be a blow up. I think the it's a good question to ask and answer post round though to detect if there are any trends.  Lately the things that really hurt the most were errant/dubbed tee shots and shanks.

 

Tee shots had some pulls and pushes that went into trees/hazards. One thing I have found is when I finish my follow through, I am facing where the ball is going. Something may be up with my setup/aim for these. I never hit a true hook and a true slice is extremely rare. 

 

The tops are another story. Some were due to frustration with others. For example Thursday, on #6 there's a non-golfing woman standing on the cart path talking on her cell phone by the forward tees which are 50 yards forward and to the right of the white tees. I thought she was a realtor taking pictures of the back of a house and told her she might want to move. She looks at me and slowly starts walking down the cart path towards the green.... Someone was out for a leisurely stroll on the course. So I had to wait for her to clear the area since I do hit it right on this hole often. I tell the guys I'm with, who are playing the forward tees, that I told her to move and she's trespassing on the off chance something went wrong and I sent a ball in here direction. It probably took her 5 minutes to mosey her butt out of my likely flight path on a mishit and i proceed to top it with the heel. 

 

Same day #9 and a guy on #1 is sitting in his cart on #9 waiting to hit after the guys he's with that in #1 hit. he finally hits and drives his cart towards us and barely across the cart path of ( and into the rough of 31. he's now sitting broadside to me and again, while unlikely, it's a spot a bad low push could go. So i get frustrated and do another hell topped shot, lol.

 

As always, this is all on me. I just needed to take a deep breath, relax and swing when it was all clear. It was the lack of situational awareness of these people that got to me because I tell the guys I'm with that I never know where the ball will go when I hit it. People moving around etc doesn't bother me, but if I might hit them with a ball it does.

 

The other dubbed shots, I'm not sure about except they were obviously bad swings. tempo may have been off etc.

 

The shanks are a real killer. A partial wedge was my money shot. I didn't screw them up at all and I had supreme confidence9again this is all relative) in my ability to hit a good shot with them. Now that I am starting to shank them for some reason it really kills my mental game. I don't think about not shanking the ball but once it happens I get frustrated with myself because it's a simple shot that turns into a disaster. I gotta work this out.

 

18 hours ago, MattC555 said:

My scores are definitely negatively affected by my tendency to take chances.  I'm mostly out there for fun and greatly enjoy taking the big stick out far too often.  🤣

 

I played a shorter course with my elderly uncle the other day and got eaten up by a bunch of geriatrics.  It is a different game from 5800 yards.

 

Keep going bortass, your work will pay off at some point.     

Taking chances will get me once in a while. My blowup hole on #18 Thursday was that way. I had to carry 2 bodies of water, forward flag and center of the green was about 160 yards. A 5i will reach and I decided to push myself and try it. I hit it a bit offline and it dropped in the water a bit short of land. Safest play? Nope, but I think we do have to occasionally push our boundaries and this wasn't a big leap of faith. Lesson learned and I know I will try it again sometime.

 

I'm seeing some of the work paying off. 7 pars in a round is pretty good for me. My driver is longer than ever. The work on Cast A with a slow swing is causing interesting things on the course. once in a while, I do cast A.  #4 Saturday,  I hit a meh drive almost 200 yards but in the fairway. Forward flag to an elevated green.  I think it was around 110 yards or so. I hit a 9i, felt Cast A, and watch a high baby draw head for the flag. I get to the green and I'm on the back, 83 feet past the hole.... A 127 yard shot and my pitch mark was a foot from my ball, so all carry. Same round #14 which is a par 3, I hit my 6i and felt that move, 166 yards to an elevated green, 17 feet to the right and just past hole high....

 

I feel that if I got rid of the spate of terrible mishits, I'd do fairly decent out there. it'll come together eventually.

[bortass]

Last set of weekly practice goals were:

 

1 - Work on set-up and takeaway. I worked on this some at all 4 range sessions I managed two weeks ago. I am starting to be able to hit a 3/4 shot now but it's not reliable.

2 - Work on half swing and Cast B. I did this a couple days but that's it.

3 - BroomForce, keep doing the Sweep It  with my 7i, if I have time. Did not do.

 

Practice goals this week:

1 - Slow swings with Cast A. I think this will have the biggest impact on my overall swing, so i want to focus on it.

2 - Work on set-up and takeaway. This gets me hitting 3/4 swings and will eventually be useful on the course.

 

I don't want to add a third goal. I'm sure I'll be mixing some random stuff in but Cast A is the key for me IMO.

[betarhoalphadelta]

1 hour ago, bortass said:

 

Some were due to frustration with others. For example Thursday, on #6 there's a non-golfing woman standing on the cart path talking on her cell phone by the forward tees which are 50 yards forward and to the right of the white tees. I thought she was a realtor taking pictures of the back of a house and told her she might want to move. She looks at me and slowly starts walking down the cart path towards the green.... Someone was out for a leisurely stroll on the course. So I had to wait for her to clear the area since I do hit it right on this hole often. I tell the guys I'm with, who are playing the forward tees, that I told her to move and she's trespassing on the off chance something went wrong and I sent a ball in here direction. It probably took her 5 minutes to mosey her butt out of my likely flight path on a mishit and i proceed to top it with the heel. 

 

Same day #9 and a guy on #1 is sitting in his cart on #9 waiting to hit after the guys he's with that in #1 hit. he finally hits and drives his cart towards us and barely across the cart path of ( and into the rough of 31. he's now sitting broadside to me and again, while unlikely, it's a spot a bad low push could go. So i get frustrated and do another hell topped shot, lol.

 

As always, this is all on me. I just needed to take a deep breath, relax and swing when it was all clear. It was the lack of situational awareness of these people that got to me because I tell the guys I'm with that I never know where the ball will go when I hit it. People moving around etc doesn't bother me, but if I might hit them with a ball it does.

 

 

I know this all too well. I had a round with my son at the exec course, which is always a bit of a slow round. The 9th hole stacks up so when we got there we were 2 groups deep. The group before us is a threesome and they were terrible. Which is fine, but they were VERY slow at being terrible, which is not. 

 

This is a short par 4 where you lay up into a fairway and then typically have a short iron across a creek to the green. It usually takes a while for the fairway to clear, and it took even longer than usual that day, but it eventually does and I hit a nice shot right into the layup area. The players I'm with (incl my son) take several shots each to get to the layup area, so it's not like we were fast. But then I get up to the ball and the threesome hasn't cleared the green. Ok, that's fine, sometimes it takes a few minutes. But they're just on the green, and on the green, and on the green. They're on the green about 10 minutes from the time I get to the ball. I can't tell what they're doing, but it looks like they're screwing around, taking extra putts, etc. Just completely oblivious to a group of players waiting to hit in the fairway. 

 

And of course, once they finally clear the green I top a short iron right into the creek. Easy shot, but I was just seeing red by that point. 

 

The other one is when I wait to take a shot because "I can reach them from here with this club". If I swing while they're there, I'd be 100% certain to hit it pure and hit into people. So I wait until they clear, and invariably duff it badly. It's like karma is punishing me for my confidence. 

[bortass]

4 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

<snip>

 

The other one is when I wait to take a shot because "I can reach them from here with this club". If I swing while they're there, I'd be 100% certain to hit it pure and hit into people. So I wait until they clear, and invariably duff it badly. It's like karma is punishing me for my confidence. 

Lol, this one is a given. I know I can hit a 4w over 200 yards, very rare but it's happened. So 210 to center on a par 5 and I wait just in case only to wind up blading it 100 yards, lol. It's still better than taking the shot and having it reach the green in the air and possibly hit someone though.

[TheDeanAbides]

21 hours ago, bortass said:

 

Yup, it's all relative. Someday a double will be a blow up. I think the it's a good question to ask and answer post round though to detect if there are any trends.  Lately the things that really hurt the most were errant/dubbed tee shots and shanks.

 

Tee shots had some pulls and pushes that went into trees/hazards. One thing I have found is when I finish my follow through, I am facing where the ball is going. Something may be up with my setup/aim for these. I never hit a true hook and a true slice is extremely rare. 

 

The tops are another story. Some were due to frustration with others. For example Thursday, on #6 there's a non-golfing woman standing on the cart path talking on her cell phone by the forward tees which are 50 yards forward and to the right of the white tees. I thought she was a realtor taking pictures of the back of a house and told her she might want to move. She looks at me and slowly starts walking down the cart path towards the green.... Someone was out for a leisurely stroll on the course. So I had to wait for her to clear the area since I do hit it right on this hole often. I tell the guys I'm with, who are playing the forward tees, that I told her to move and she's trespassing on the off chance something went wrong and I sent a ball in here direction. It probably took her 5 minutes to mosey her butt out of my likely flight path on a mishit and i proceed to top it with the heel. 

 

Same day #9 and a guy on #1 is sitting in his cart on #9 waiting to hit after the guys he's with that in #1 hit. he finally hits and drives his cart towards us and barely across the cart path of ( and into the rough of 31. he's now sitting broadside to me and again, while unlikely, it's a spot a bad low push could go. So i get frustrated and do another hell topped shot, lol.

 

As always, this is all on me. I just needed to take a deep breath, relax and swing when it was all clear. It was the lack of situational awareness of these people that got to me because I tell the guys I'm with that I never know where the ball will go when I hit it. People moving around etc doesn't bother me, but if I might hit them with a ball it does.

 

The other dubbed shots, I'm not sure about except they were obviously bad swings. tempo may have been off etc.

 

The shanks are a real killer. A partial wedge was my money shot. I didn't screw them up at all and I had supreme confidence9again this is all relative) in my ability to hit a good shot with them. Now that I am starting to shank them for some reason it really kills my mental game. I don't think about not shanking the ball but once it happens I get frustrated with myself because it's a simple shot that turns into a disaster. I gotta work this out.

 

Taking chances will get me once in a while. My blowup hole on #18 Thursday was that way. I had to carry 2 bodies of water, forward flag and center of the green was about 160 yards. A 5i will reach and I decided to push myself and try it. I hit it a bit offline and it dropped in the water a bit short of land. Safest play? Nope, but I think we do have to occasionally push our boundaries and this wasn't a big leap of faith. Lesson learned and I know I will try it again sometime.

 

I'm seeing some of the work paying off. 7 pars in a round is pretty good for me. My driver is longer than ever. The work on Cast A with a slow swing is causing interesting things on the course. once in a while, I do cast A.  #4 Saturday,  I hit a meh drive almost 200 yards but in the fairway. Forward flag to an elevated green.  I think it was around 110 yards or so. I hit a 9i, felt Cast A, and watch a high baby draw head for the flag. I get to the green and I'm on the back, 83 feet past the hole.... A 127 yard shot and my pitch mark was a foot from my ball, so all carry. Same round #14 which is a par 3, I hit my 6i and felt that move, 166 yards to an elevated green, 17 feet to the right and just past hole high....

 

I feel that if I got rid of the spate of terrible mishits, I'd do fairly decent out there. it'll come together eventually.

Post your swing. Let's see what's happening with those shanks. FO and DTL with the shots that they're showing up on.

[bortass]

I'll start with something positive albeit non-golf related, I passed the 40lbs lost mark today. Things have been nice and steady in this area, so at least I'm getting smaller and healthier.

 

I changed the formatting of my round write up a bit. In the past I did a paragraph per hole but that leads to a wall of text. So I tried to break it down a bit more to make it more readable.

 

Saturdays round was overcast with some wind. It had rained for a few days prior and it was misting and even had a shower mid round. Everything was wet but there wasn't much casual water. Preround my range session warmup was so so. Not great but i did hit some real nice 7i shots. I also did some putting but that wasn't so great...

 

1 – par 4, 404 yards, straight, #1 HCP, bunker front right. My drive is a push fade over the trees between #1 and #9, 194 yards. The ball is sitting in the wet rough, just across the cart path for #9 which runs between the two holes. I have no shot at the green from here. I decide to try to punch a low shot with my 5i under and between the trees to advance the ball back into #1 at an angle that also gets me closer to the hole.

 

My contact is meh at best, and I get a low shots that stays well under the trees but only goes 65 yards. Luckily I'm through them though my ball is resting on pine straw still. The hole is on the right side and behind the bunker. It's 150-160ish and I go with my 5i again. I blade it 111 yards down the right rough. Wet grass just killed it but also made it almost impossible for me to reach the bunker with this type of mishit.

 

I now have to pitch over the bunker from wet rough and I do a decent job. The ball clears the bunker and I'm not 6 feet past the hole and a bit to the left of it. I think I messed up my read, regardless I miss low and 2 feet long. I do make the double bogey putt, 6.

 

Not a good start to the day. This is really a bogey hole for me, so a double isn't horrible, just not what I would have liked.

 

2 – par 3, 142 yards, #17 HCP, bunkers short left and right, and long left. The hole is front middle and between the two front bunkers. I decide to hit my 8i. I swing and I'm pretty sure I did Cast A from NTC because the ball comes out and it's a very high baby draw, 145 yards, to the back of the green! I'm 30 feet past the hole and get my birdie putt to 3 feet. The par putt misses.... Bogey, 4.

 

A great iron shot but the hole is marred by my putting...

 

3 – par 5, 458 yards, dogleg right, #9 HCP, couple of fairway bunkers on the left at the corner. I aim a bit right of the fairway bunkers since I hit the push fade on #1. I still hit a push fade that starts right of my line and I think it's okay as it goes around the corner just outside the tree line and then we hear it strike a tree..... Bite me... No sign of the ball, so I drop in the right rough, 188 yards off the tee, and add a couple penalty strokes.

 

I see no need to try and hit my 4w and try to get close because i'm close to 270 out and have a not so great angle. I layup with my 7i and slightly mishit it, 138 yards, down the right side. I had wanted to be a bit more left and in the fairway. Instead I'm still in the right rough and on a sideslope with the ball above my feet a bit. The hole is on the right side of the green and over 100 yards away. I decide to hit a full PW. It's a shank to the right that hits a branch and drops, 49 yards...

 

I'm in SW range and mess up that shot as well, hitting it 57 yards into the front bunker. Iget the ball out in one but it goes through the green, 23 yard shot, and I'm in the rough just short of one of the back bunkers. I have to use my SW to chip and I get it to 6 feet. It's another 2 putt for a nice quintuple bogey, 10.

 

Oh yeah, I screwed the pooch on that hole.

 

4 – par 4, 293 yards, straight, #15 HCP, water left and OoB right. Right side has a slope. There's a fairway bunker on the right. I aim a bit more left than normal because of the previous tee shots. I make decent contact and it's a mid height draw right down my target line, 227 yards. Yay, I hit one straight and into a fairway! The hole is middle right and around 70ish yards which is a partial SW for me. I swing and it's a high push with no chance the land on the green. It goes 60 yards into the front right bunker. I manage to get out in one and am 15 feet short of the hole. I hit my par putt and miss, though I don't remember which direction. Regardless I'm now 3 feet out and make the bogey putt, 5.

 

I'm a bit bummed about the bogey because with my drive I was thinking par all the way. That said, I tell myself that bogey golf is good especially after the fiasco on the prior hole. I'm a pessimist by nature and have been working on more positive self-talk on the course for quite a while. So I have been reminding myself that a bogey is a good score for at least the last 6 months whenever I end up with a bogey or I mess something up and it makes par unlikely.

 

5- par 5, 501 yards, dogleg right, #5 HCP, hazard down the left side. There's a slope on the right side which makes the fairway narrow in the landing spot. A stream runs down the right side from the corner to near the green. I catch my drive very thin and it's a wormburner pull that goes 152 yards thanks to all of the dew/water on the course. It kept it from reaching the left rough/trees though which is nice. I do not have a good second shot to clear the corner unless I want to hit my 4w and there's a hazard to the left and right at the corner and it's a narrow gap. I hit a partial AW as my layup and it comes out great, nice and high and travels 83 yards into the fairway.

 

Now I'm in a spot where I can hit my 4w to get past the corner since the hazards aren't near my landing area now. I chunk shank it into the right hazard which is just under 50 yards away.... Something didn't feel right with my setup, it was either ball position was off or I was too far away from the ball. I swung anyways and paid the price.

 

I drop 44 yards from the prior spot in the fairway on the line the ball took into the hazard. I decide to hit my 5i and contact is decent but I'm aimed a bit too far right. It's a mid height draw that lands at least halfway up the slope that makes up the left side of this hole once you get past the corner. This kills the ball and it only rolls partway down and towards the fairway, 141 yards.

 

The hole is front right and there's the little stream that guards the front of this green. It's about 105ish I think. The ball is below my feet in the rough and I decide to hit my 9i. I catch it thin and it's very low and travels 75 yards but stays to the right of the stream. I hit a small pitch with my SW, 26 yards, from the wet rough to 5 feet. I miss the first putt and have a tap-in from a foot for my quad, 9.

 

Okay, I'm not good enough to just pretend I didn't have another major blowup while playing. I turned it into some gallows humor at different spots in my round where I have a less than stellar hole but say 'At least it's not a quad'.

 

6 – par 4, 367 yards, slight dogleg left, #7 HCP. Medium width landing area with a bunker on the left. Houses are on the right and there's a sharp slope into the left trees if you end up too far into the left rough. I aim at my normal spot in the distance because there's issues both right and left. I hit a thin pull, 172 yards, into the fairway just short and to the right of the bunker that's on the left.

 

I'm about 200 yards out and don't think risking a 4w shot is wise from here. I decide to layup with my 7i and mishit it. It's a lowish push that goes 93 yards and ends up on the slope on the right side. So now the ball is above my feet in the rough. The hole is back left and 115 yards or so away. I decide to hit my 9i. I'm aiming more for the right side of the green because of the topography. That gives me the best stance on the slope, also I'm expecting this ball to go left on me.

 

I make decent contact and it's a low draw that lands on the green and runs towards the hole. 116 yard shot and I'm 5 feet short of the hole. A great shot! I hit the pat putt and it drops, 4.

 

At least I followed both blow-ups with decent to solid holes. It's not much but not letting the bad stuff spiral out of control is a win in my book.

 

7 – par 4, 351 yards, slight dogleg right, #11 HCP, elevated tee shot to a wide open fairway that slopes down right to left all the way to about the 100 yard marker. Bunkers on the left marking the corner and a slope on the right. I aim towards the left side in the distance as normal and hit a high push fade into the right trees... The ball drops and we see it roll part way down the slope on the right. I find my ball and it was a 206 yard drive,

 

I'm in thick rough and the ball is above my feet. The hole is kind of middle left behind a bunker. I figure an 8i will work. I have no idea what I do but I feel my arms pulling way left on my follow through and sure enough the ball goes way left with no hope of reaching the green. It's a low shot that lands just short of the cart path and bounces over it. To the left of the cart path in this area is a down slope of rough that leads to brush and trees that are marked as a hazard.

 

Awesomesauce... I fear the worse but find my ball hung up in the rough just over the cart path. 116 yard shot. The green is elevated and the ball is sitting down a bit in wet rough. I hit a pitch with my SW and I carry the corner of the bunker. I get up to the green and my ball is 27 feet past the hole( 47 yard shot). I hit the par putt and it comes up 2 feet short. I make the bogey putt, 5.

 

I'll take it because it's not a quad.

 

I had seen where the hole was on #8 when I rode to the clubhouse before the round. I decide to hit my 8i as I'm walking off the 7^th green.

 

8 – par 3, 160 yards, elevated tee shot, #13 HCP, bunker on the right side of the green. Slope to the right of this hole that is weed whacked. So it's long stuff and wild. Balls can get lost here. The hole is middle right and 154 yards. I grab my 8i and swing. I do Cast A again and it's a very high draw down the right side that lands on the right side of the green, hops once and stops. 154 yard shot and I'm pin high and 4 feet right of the hole...

 

I hit the birdie putt and miss low and a foot long. It caught the lip but no dice. I manage to make the par putt, 3.

 

I've been losing confidence in my putting and this doesn't help any.

 

9 – par 4, 357 yards, straight hole, #3 HCP, water on the left as you approach the green. The pond fronts this green. I aim down the middle with my driver. Contact sounds good but we lose it in the overcast. I never saw the ball takeoff. It was a high shot from the feel of things and I assume it went right. Sure enough I find it in the rough of #1, 180 yards off the tee.

 

I have to go through trees to get back to the correct hole. No shot at the green, so this is a layup to try to get into position w/o hitting it too hard and into the pond. I hit a low partial SW shot, 62 yards, that gets me through the treeline and into the right rough of #9.

 

The hole is towards the middle and on the lower tier. It's 140ish and I feel fine hitting my 7i. I aim more towards the right side of the green to take as much pond out of play as I can. It also will let my ball run towards the hole when it lands. I mishit it and it's a low push, 105 yards, and to the right of the green. I chip with my SW (21 yards) to 5 feet and make the bogey putt, 5.

 

10 – par 4, 342 yards, dogleg left, #10 HCP hole. Elevated tee shot to a lower fairway. Green is elevated with a bunker front right. There's a strong wind in our face. I stayb with the 7w that's been working well on this tee box. I aim for my normal spot through the fairway a bit past the corner. I shank it off the heel and the ball goes maybe 30 yards into the very long grass on the slope by the forward tees.

 

I'm not sure what word to describe how I felt. I think pissed at myself might be accurate. I doubt I can get any kind of good shot where the ball likely is, so I retee and hit a high push fade a whooping 154 yards and almost into the right trees....

 

I'm in the right rough and punch my 9i a bit too far left, 85 yards, into the fairway. The hole is back right and about 150 yards out. I go with my 6i and shank it into the right trees... I drop in the fairway on the line my ball took( 38 yards from prior spot). I decide to hit a partial AW and make good contact. A high shot that carries the bunker and lands on the green above me, 82 yards.

 

I'm 49 feet short and left of the hole. I have to putt up a tier as well. I hit my putt and it's rolling right at it and stops 2 feet short. I make that one for another quintuple bogey, 9.

 

Sigh. It starts raining as we drive from 10 to 11

 

11 – par 4, 329 yards, 90* dogleg left, #12 HCP. Fairway eventually slopes down to a stream short of the green, forced carry. I decide to hit my driver because of the FUBAR with my 7w and my 4w has been crap off the deck, add in the weather as well. I catch it a bit thin but it's a draw down the right side, 200 yards, and just in the rough maybe a foot to the right of the closest bunker.

 

The rain stops and I have a decent lie. The hole is forward and I decide to go for it with my 6i. It's a bit thin but it carries the stream and lands on the back of the green, 159 yards. A GIR!

 

I'm 63 feet past the hole though and putting down slope. My birdie putt is 9 feet short... My par putt is four feet long. My bogey putt is 2 feet long.... A 4 putt double bogey, 6.

 

Yup, I suck or that's how I feel as we head to 12.

 

12 – par 4, 315 yards, 90* dogleg left, #14 HCP, green is elevated. Narrow tee shot that opens as you reach the corner. I hit a push fade with my driver into the right trees. It's marked as a hazard and I drop 190 yards off the tee. The hole is on the left side and around 140ish. I go with 7i and chunk it 91 yards, lol.

 

I'm 9in the fairway though and pitch with my SW(43 yards) 12 feet short of the hole. I get my first putt to about a foot, so double bogey, 6.

 

13 – par 3, 123 yards, #18 HCP, green is elevated with bunkers short right and left and long left. Tiered green as well. The hole is back right and I decide to hit my 8i. Contact is off the toe and it's a low shot a bit right of the hole, 133 yards. There's no way I'm on the green because it slopes to the right. Sure enough, I'm in the rough behind the green.

 

There's too much rough to use my putter for the chip. The green also slopes away from me and there's a tier just past the hole. I chip with my SW and it comes out decent. It rolls towards the hole but I'm a bit high. The ball slowly rolls to the tier and starts on down. So now I'm 17 feet below the hole and putting up the tier. I hit the putt and it breaks into the hole at the end for par, 3.

 

14 – par 4, 543, straight hole, #4 HCP. Elevated teeshot to wide open fairway. Fairway slopes down left to right, water on the right closer to the green and fronting the entire green. I aim towards the left rough in the distance because I have a tendency to hit push fades into the houses on the right quite a bit on this hole. Contact is very solid and it's a high draw down the left side, 231 yards, into the fairway.

 

I'm in great position with a good lie, so it's 4w time. I aim down the left side and make decent contact and it's a bit of a push fade that travels 196 yards and stops in the right rough, a few yards short of the pond. The hole is back right and it's 120ish to center. I decide to hit my 9i and I think I did Cast A again.

 

The ball takes off and it's a high draw at the flag and over it. 140 yard shot into the back rough. I will say there was also a tailwind but still, it was a great shot. I chip with my putter to 2 feet and sink the par putt, 5.

 

Finally a par 5 that's not triple or worse! That's been the trend for me it seems lately.

 

15 – par 4, 264 yards, straight, #16 HCP. Elevated tee shot to a fairway that is always soft abd cart path only year round. Fairway bunkers on left side in line with the green. Bunker surround this green except for the left side. Have a tailwind and I aim for the right side of the green. My drive is the typical high push fade to the stand of small trees on the right side, 197 yards. I'm in this general area quite a bit, so it's not a big deal.

 

The hole is forward and about 65ish yards. I go with a partial SW and hit a low push, right of the green, 68 yards and into a bunker. I'm actually past the hole and have some room to work with. I get out in one and the ball stops 6 feet short of the hole. I second guess my read and barely miss but it rolls 3 feet long. I manage to sink the bogey putt though, 5.

 

16 – par 3, 147 yards, #8 HCP. Elevated green with a forced stream carry. Bunkers short right and long left and middle. Tiered green with a strong back left to front right slope. The hole is on the right and I think we're going into the wind. I decide to hit my 7i. Again, I think Cast A happens. It's a high draw, over the left side of the green and carries into the back bunker, 154 yards. So well struck but my aim wasn't so hot. I have plenty of room for my sand shot and there's a tier to go down on the green.

 

Well, it takes me 2 shots tyo get out of the bunker and I left it on the top tier 39 feet short of the hole. The bogey putt goes 8 feet long. Double bogey putt is 3 feet long after just missing the hole. I sink the triple bogey putt though, 6.

 

Sigh.

 

17 – par 4, 363 yards, dogleg left, #6 HCP. Fairly open fairway with bunkers on the right at the corner. Green has a tier and heavily slopes left to right, can putt off this green... Bunkers short of the green as well. I aim down the left side with driver and hit a high push fade way right and I watch as it carries the cart path and lands under the big trees on the right side.

 

That ball is gonna be lost. There's maybe 3 yards of room before you get into brush and woods that are marked as a hazard. Sure enough, no ball and I can't find it in the woods either. I drop, 211 yards off the tee. And hit a punched 7i, 118 yards, into the left side of the fairway short of the green.

 

The hole is on the right side and it's about 70 yards. I chunk my partial SW 41 yards.... I hit a 29 yard pitch to 8 feet and sink the putt for double bogey, 6.

 

Okay, a double bogey isn't good but there's a penalty stroke and a chunked wedge in the mix. It's not the end of the world.

 

18 – par 5, 504 yards, straightish, #2 HCP. There is a stream carry on either the second or third shot. There is also a pond fronting the green... I aim down the left side and move the ball slightly back in my stance. I felt like it was too far forward on #17 and helped lead to the push fade into the trees.

 

I make contact and it sounds good. The ball takes off with a mid height draw, 234 yards, into the fairway on the left side. A great drive! I can easily cross the stream with my second shot and go with my 4w.

 

Contact sounds great and it's a high shot but it's right of where I wanted and is fading. The ball lands short of the pond and rolls in. Crap.

 

I find my ball and recover it from it's watery grave, I drop 172 yards from the prior spot. The hole is back left and about 70ish yards. I hit as partial SW and chunk it 49 yards, barely getting across the corner of the pond. My ball is on the bank of the pond and I grab a wedge w/o looking. Turns out it's my AW and I know this before I take my shot but don't care. My pitch is a bit long and almost goes into the back bunker(49 yards). I chip with the SW to 4 feet and 2 putt! Triple bogey, 8.

 

A 51/54 105 with 36 strokes on 4 holes.... It's embarrassing on the surface. My scores are horrible lately and I'm mishitting short shots. My putting sucks, at least that's how I feel. Why I'm not all bent out of shape is because of my irons. I'm seeing Cast A creep in a touch more every round. I'm not thinking about it on the course, it's just happening every once in a while.

 

It really makes a huge difference in my distance and ball flight. I am going to write off the terrible score because I know I'm going to be in a weird spot swing wise. I'm attempting to learn a new move and that'll throw things a bit out of whack.

 

Sure, I do not like the scores lately. They really suck but I am feeling more confident when I have a 7i-9i in my hands. Eventually I'll do Cast A more often than not and it should eventually make it's way to my driver

 

5 blow ups. 2 were S&D penalties off the tee(at least that's what opened up the hole). 2 were 4w shots from the deck, one was horrible and the other was just bad aim. The last one was bad bunker play followed up with crap putting.

 

birdies: 0

pars: 4

bogeys: 5

double bogeys: 4

triple+: 5

 

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 195 yards

Longest drive: 234 yards

Fairways: 5/14

GIR: 3/18

Avg Approach: 103 yards

Up & down: 4/14

Putts: 35

 

Strokes gained compared to a 12 HCP. 

Overall: -20.1 strokes

driving: -8.7, 6 of these are from penalties.

Approach: -10.9, everything sucked SG wise except the 150-200 yard band where I was +0.3 SG compared to a 12. I lost 3.5 strokes or more in each of from 50-100, 100-150, and 200+ yards. True talent, eh?

Short game: +1.7, a bright spot.

Putting: -2.3, needs work. I was -2.9 strokes from inside 10 feet but +0.9 in the 10-25 foot range.

 

 

 

[bortass]

On 10/27/2021 at 9:04 AM, TheDeanAbides said:

Post your swing. Let's see what's happening with those shanks. FO and DTL with the shots that they're showing up on.

I'll see what I can do at some point.  My video set-up is a bit of a pain, lol.

 

 

Practice goals last week: Only 1 range session because it rained most of the week.

1 - Slow swings with Cast A. I think this will have the biggest impact on my overall swing, so I want to focus on it. This went okay but wasn't quite as good as I hoped. I did 3 sets of 15.

2 - Work on set-up and takeaway. This gets me hitting 3/4 swings and will eventually be useful on the course. I think I only did one or 2 sets of 15 of these. The 3/4 shot is getting better and I may replace my half partial wedge shot with these since i'm struggling with my partial wedge shots at the moment.

 

Practice goals this week:

1 - Slow swings with Cast A. I still think this is an area that will have the greatest long term reward and it's showing up at times on the course.

2 - Work on set-up and takeaway. This gets me hitting 3/4 swings and will eventually be useful on the course.

3- Short putts, I am not happy with my putting lately.

 

[TheDeanAbides]

12 minutes ago, bortass said:

I'll see what I can do at some point.  My video set-up is a bit of a pain, lol.

 

 

Practice goals last week: Only 1 range session because it rained most of the week.

1 - Slow swings with Cast A. I think this will have the biggest impact on my overall swing, so I want to focus on it. This went okay but wasn't quite as good as I hoped. I did 3 sets of 15.

2 - Work on set-up and takeaway. This gets me hitting 3/4 swings and will eventually be useful on the course. I think I only did one or 2 sets of 15 of these. The 3/4 shot is getting better and I may replace my half partial wedge shot with these since i'm struggling with my partial wedge shots at the moment.

 

Practice goals this week:

1 - Slow swings with Cast A. I still think this is an area that will have the greatest long term reward and it's showing up at times on the course.

2 - Work on set-up and takeaway. This gets me hitting 3/4 swings and will eventually be useful on the course.

3- Short putts, I am not happy with my putting lately.

 

Regarding this: 1 - Slow swings with Cast A. I think this will have the biggest impact on my overall swing, so I want to focus on it. This went okay but wasn't quite as good as I hoped. I did 3 sets of 15. Try to do this without worrying too much about the results just yet. I don't know what you did hope for, but to see a positive change from this you're going to have to hit a thousand balls minimum. 

[bortass]

1 hour ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Regarding this: 1 - Slow swings with Cast A. I think this will have the biggest impact on my overall swing, so I want to focus on it. This went okay but wasn't quite as good as I hoped. I did 3 sets of 15. Try to do this without worrying too much about the results just yet. I don't know what you did hope for, but to see a positive change from this you're going to have to hit a thousand balls minimum. 

All I meant is I didn't hit it as well as I did the prior time. A few weeks ago, when I started the Cast A stuff, I think I made it to the range 4 days in a row. What I found is it didn't take as long to hit some great looking shots and each day I hit a few more. So I kinda thought the pattern would continue is all. I'm not expecting miracles and I'm not going to try to change/tinker with anything.

 

 

The real test is on the course and I do see it popping up a little bit more each time.

 

I'm going to trust the process I am working with and see where it leads.