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

[bortass]

@acekun I agree with the driver assessment. I use it on all par 5s except for #5. It's a course management decision really. I'd love to have the extra yardage but I am not convinced I'm good enough with driver for this hole. Here are some pictures that may help some.

 

Here is a screenshot of the hole from a round back in the spring. I was playing the forward tees at this time. My current teebox is back where the turnaround in the cart path is.  The area to the right of the cart between where I teed off and my 7w shot is a ridge with a flat area. Going up there isn't great and I have an actual picture of the course that shows it better.  My 7w shot, in this picture, is at the corner of the dogleg. There is a small stream on the left side there that goes under the fairway. The darker green to the right of the cart path from the corner all the way to where that tree line ends near the green is the stream. That darker green area that is on the left side of the hole past the corner is another slope down towards the fairway. 

 

 

Here is a picture I took from on the left slope near the 150 marker back towards the tee boxes. So you can see that ridge area and the stream that's on the left of the landing area if you hit it far. 

 

This is from the same spot as above but towards the green. You can see the stream that fronts the left side of the green before it goes under the fairway yet again.

 

[acekun]

Yeah, that makes sense. Whatever gets you to that corner safely.

 

 

 

[bortass]

Got a quick 9 in today and snapped a picture from the 5th teebox. The shadows on the right is that slope and the bush in the distance that looks like it's in the middle of the fairway marks where the stream cuts under the fairway.

 

 

 

 

Sunny day again, no real wind. It was in the high 60s as well. Perfect golf weather, if only my game were so perfect.

 

1 - par 4, hit driver and never see the ball. I find on the left side of the fairway, 202 yard shot. I'm 200ish out and go with 4w. A couple is on the cartpath heading to the range. I wave them forward but they stay there and wave for me to hit. I proceed toi blade my 4w, 131 yards, into the left rough short of the green.  The flag is back left and I hit a partial SW 57 yards and I'm a few feet on the green. I'm 42 feet below the hole. My par putt breaks low and stops about 2 feet from the hole. I make the bogey putt, 5.

 

2 - par 3, I hit my 7i. I shift my weight a bit better and hit a high draw off the toe that goes 129 yards and lands on the green. I'm almost pin high and 20 feet left of the hole. My bal released about 4 feet from it's pitchmark and the greens are still firm. My birdie putt stops inside a foot of the cup, so i get a par, 3.

 

3 - par 5 dogleg right, I hit a high puish fade with driver into the right trees... My provisional is a pull that hits a tree on the left and I think it goes into the hazard on that side. I go looking and find my first ball under the trees on a bed of leaves, 175 off the tee. I have an angle towards the green that goes between a few tree trunks and I have to keep it under some branches. I grab my 7i and decide to not be stupid for a change. I hit a little running power chip kinda sideways, 73 yards, into the fairway on a line that to closes the distance to the green somewhat. I'm 200ish out and hit my 4w. It's a high draw that I see bounce short of the green. I get there and my ball is on the green by 3 inches. A GIR from the trees! I'm 24 feet short of the hole and I send the birdie putt 6 feet past the hole... I miss my par putt and settle for a bogey, 6.

 

Okay, I was thinking par once I saw my ball on the green but I cannot complain. A bogey after putting my tee shot in the trees is perfectly fine.

 

4 - shorter par 4, level hole, I hit what looks like a perfect baby fade with driver, 233 yards, into the fairway. I estimate I'm 70-80 yards from the hole which is on the back of the green. I hit a partial GW 60 yards to the middle of the green. I'm 29 feet below the hole and my birdie putt breaks low because I misread it and I'm now 3 feet out. I sink the par putt, 4.

 

I'm feeling real good heading to 5.

 

5 - par 5 with all the pictures. I tee up my ball and address it with my 4w. I'm thinking of taking a picture from the tee box after hitting the ball. It's a low pull into the left bushes.... I wasn't focused and paid the price. That was my last Gamer Urethane, I now am playing the current generation TopFlite Gamer which I have never used before. I drop since it's marked as a hazard and nail my 4w. It's  a low draw that goes 189 yards into the left side of the fairway. I'm about 160 from center and the ball is just a touch below my feet. I take my 7w and top it 40 yards dead right into the stream... So my first ball of the new model lasted all of 2 strokes, lol. Drop again and I have trees to deal with. So I punch a partial 7i 116 yards short of the green on the left. The flag is back left on the upper tier and I chip with my SW to 6 feet. I miss the putt and have a 3 footer that i also miss. So a 3 putt, +5, 10!

 

I'm am disheartened. I know what I did wrong. lack of focus on the tee and then being a bit dumb with the 7w decision. i should have just punched an iron short of the green and stream that fronts it to the left. Oh well. So much for a decent round.

 

6 - par 4, I hit a low draw with my driver, 219 yards, into the right rough near the cart path. I have 150 to center with a clear line and hit my 5i. My weight seems to shift well and it's a shank into the right trees, probably 60* right of my target line. The ball hits an oak and drops, so I find it on a bed of leaves. I don't like my lie and punch a partial 8i, 77 yards and just short of the green. I'm am pleased with this shot since my ball was sitting on loose leaves. I chip with my SW to 12 feet. My bogey putt stops about 3 feet past the hole. I make the next one for a double bogey, 6.

 

Stupid shank.

 

7 - par 4, elevated tee shot. I hit driver and never see my ball. It felt and sounded good. I go looking for it and no sign of it in the fairway. I eventually find in the right rough on the slope that is on that side of this hole, 202 yards off the tee. The ball is well above my feet, almost chest high. I don't like this at all. I take my 9i to try to punch the ball into the fairway. I swing and whiff... The next one pops the ball up and forward about 7 yards and it stays on the hill. The ball is now maybe knee high and i try, yet again, and it comes out okay. The ball comes to rest is the left rough just short of the green. I use my putter to chip and completely screw the speed and send the ball 9 feet past the hole. My putt looks good and stops about 3 inches short of the center of the cup... So a triple bogey 7.

 

Yup, this round is now a disaster.

 

8 - par 3, elevated tee shot. the flag is all the way at the back of this green and I go with my 7i which normally will reach the center. My pressure shift back and forward feels perfect. Contact is good and I follow through in perfect balance. It's a high draw tracking at the flag and lands near the middle of the green. The ball released about 3 feet. There's a grass mark on the toe of my 7i, so while the swing felt great, I did not hit the ball perfectly. I am 43 feet blow the hole and maybe a foot to the left of it. I misread the break and end up hole high, 3 feet out on the left side, which is the low side. I make the par putt.

 

Who cares about the round being a disaster! That 7i, even though it was mishit off the toe, felt like a perfect swing to me and the ball flight was that great high draw I used to be able to hit.

 

9 - par 4, with water left. I hit a low push fade/weak slice with driver, 218 yards, into the rough to the right of the cart path. I'm close to 150 out and the flag is left. there is a stand of trees to my right, 50-70 yards away. My line has to carry the pond. I say heck no to that. I power chip my PW 65 yards into the fairway to setup a third shot into the green. I decide to hit a full PW in. Again, my swing felt perfect like on #8 with regard to my shift and balance. It's another high draw, off the toe, that lands on the green, 97 yards. Perfect feeling swing and a very good mishit with regard to distance and ball flight. Now the issue. My ball is barely on the top tier and didn't roll down at all. The flag is bottom tier. I am 27 feet from the hole and tap my ball with the putter. It breaks a bit early, misses the hole by maybe 6 inches and rolls 15 feet past. I get the bogey putt to a few feet and have a double bogey,6.

 

Okay, I was screwed on #9. Being on the top tier is never good because you can't stop the ball near the hole.

 

An even 50 which is not good. The positives? Well, I was +8 on two holes, so I played the other 7 at +6. My irons were high draws again for a change and I didn't mishit them except that 5i on #6. I had some good drives and 4w shots from the deck.

 

Strokes gained was -13.8 this time. I lost 5.5 to driving. 4.3 lost to approaches which is actually better than usual for me. I gained +0.7 in my short game and lost 4.6 putting, which is normal for me.

 

I am taking away the good that I saw this round. I acknowledge the mental errors on #5 that killed me and I have to learn from it. Tomorrow we're playing at the sister course with all of the water. it will be colder since it's a morning round and wetter thanks to the dew. I have no expectation of how it will actually go but I enjoy this course and feel good about my swing at the moment.

 

Have a good weekend!

[bortass]

Well it was a disaster today. Shot a 109 and that was with three penalties total. My first penalty stroke was on the par 3 16th....

 

the only club that was decent was my driver. Couldn’t hit my 7w off the tee nor my irons. Putting was pure crap as well.

 

Oh well. I like the course and it was nice out. Just got move on and work on things.

[Myherobobhope]

3 minutes ago, bortass said:

Well it was a disaster today. Shot a 109 and that was with three penalties total. My first penalty stroke was on the par 3 16th....

 

the only club that was decent was my driver. Couldn’t hit my 7w off the tee nor my irons. Putting was pure crap as well.

 

Oh well. I like the course and it was nice out. Just got move on and work on things.

Sometimes a  bad round is the start of my best golf... (sometimes!)

 

good luck

[bortass]

7 hours ago, Myherobobhope said:

Sometimes a  bad round is the start of my best golf... (sometimes!)

 

good luck

I hear ya. It was just one of those days. Greens were firm and fast. I hit a very high 6i into one of the greens and the ball lands on the green and bounced a foot 4 feet up in the air... left no pitch mark.

 

A couple pins were cut on the edge of slopes. Gotta love barely missing a putt and watching it slowly roll roll 20 feet below the hole...

 

No excuses though. I just couldn’t hit the ball well. It happens and is just a hiccup in the process.

[bortass]

Played some golf today. It was nice out, sunny with a 10 MPH wind and temps near 60. Nice weather! Got in 6 holes and quit for a couple reasons.

 

It was slow... I had two foursomes and two threesomes in front of me. So there was no playing through which is fine. As I have mentioned before, I never expect to play through and always expect that I will be waiting whenever I play as a single. I was waiting more today because of the cart. Had I been walking, which I need to start doing, it would have put more space between me and the group in front. That's what I am used to since I always walked until this May. The guys in front on me were quite pleasant and good golfers. They played the tips, 6478 yards, 71.3 rating and 130 slope. The drives I saw were all mid height and very straight. They could poke it out there into the fairway pretty good. Maybe someday I'll be able to do that, lol.

 

I played like Saturday, which is the main reason I stopped after 6. I didn't feel it was worth struggling out there AND waiting on every shot. So it was a combo deal. I lost a ball on 4 of the first 5 holes. Pure talent I say!

 

So why post here about it? Well there were some good things and I may have a shot that I will be using more. Good things first though, my drive on #3 was into the wind once it crossed the corner. I do not know how but I put what felt like a very good, balanced swing, aka it felt smooth to me for a change, on it. It was a mid to high shot, can't recall if it was draw or fade, but it went 240 into the fairway on the left side. A near perfect drive for me. My putting was a bit better as well. I also hit a partial SW to 5 feet on #6.

 

The 'new' shot is a partial iron. These are not high and I finish them like a punch. So it tends to be a low draw that will run on landing. I did it with my 6i and hit a good shot 154 yards on #5. I was laying up after losing my ball with my second shot. I just wanted to get it near the green in the fairway and it worked fine. I did it again with a 5i on #6 that went 159. Another intentional layup. This shot stayed more right and died when it hit the side slope, so it didn't roll out much. The distance was perfectly okay with me though.

 

I have a feeling I will be using this shot more often. My 4w off the deck was a mess today. If I can safely punch a 5/6i with 30 yards of my normal 4w distance, it may help. Sure I'm giving up some yardage from when my swing is good but I'm not talking a huge difference. Safely advance the ball a decent distance, that's all.

 

I am hopeful that I will get out again tomorrow. I probably should hit the range instead but we'll see. I have not been able to play as much as I would like, so it's hard to pass up the chance to do so. I will likely walk if I play which will help with my pacing on the course if it's busy.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you that celebrate it!

[bortass]

I could not resist the siren song of the course today. Weather was overcast in the mid 60s with a 10-12 MPH wind. There were sporadic sprinkles starting on #2 but it didn't rain until 5 minutes after I got home. I walked 9 for the first time since May when I got the golf cart. Lets just say I feel it already, lol.

 

 

1 - par 4, I hit driver into the wind and it's a decent draw down the left side, 220 yards into the fairway. I'm about 18-0 to center and there is no trouble on this hole, so I decide to hit 4w. The flag is on the right side behind a bunker. I aim for the left side and I'm fat. It's a very low draw to the right that goes 145 yards into the right rough, short of the bunker. I have to carry the bunker and the hole is on the front of the green, so I'm a bit short sided. I pitch with my SW and it's a nice high shot that carries the bunker and lands on the green. Things are elevated a bit so i can't see where the ball landed nor the hole itself. I'm 14 feet past the hole and my par putt breaks low and stops pin high a foot out. So a bogey, 5.

 

2 - par 3, flag is front left behind the left front bunker. I decide to hit 8i and aim for the middle of the green. It's a high push fade, off the toe, that misses the green completely to the right, 122 yards. I use my SW and my pitch lands on the green but I'm 32 feet short of the hole. My speed on the par putt is decent but not my line. I end up about 4 feet directly below the hole.. Not what i wanted but I make the bogey putt, 4.

 

3 - par 5 dogleg right, I hit driver and it's a mid height fade that follows the curve of the hole into the wind. 212 yards off the tee and I'm in the right center of the fairway. I decide to hit 4w and it's a touch thin but overwise solid. It's a low draw that I see bounce when it lands and then takes a big bounce forward. It must have hit the cart path on the second bounce.  195 yard shot and I'm about 40 yards from cebnter. The flag is back left and i decide to hit a partial LW. it's a bit heavy and travels 35 yards onto the green. I'm 39 feet below the hole and my birdie putt is a bit too firm breaks against the slope for some reason. My par putt is now from 8 feet past the hole. I take how my previous putt broke into account and miss it since it breaks the way I expected the first putt too. Lol, all i can do is laugh. I make the bogey putt, 6.

 

4 - shorter par 4, I hit driver, into the wind, and it's a high fade a tough right of what i would have liked. I'm 211 yards off the tee in the right rough between the cart path and the fairway bunker. I have about 80 yards to the forward flag and hit a partial PW. I FUBAR it by leaving the face open and it's a push, 72 yards into a greenside bunker. My sand shot is too firm and lands enar the pin and releases off the opposite side of the green. I use my putter to chip and my line is off, so I'm 4 feet above the hole now. I sink the bogey putt though, 5.

 

5 - par 5, dogleg right. I used driver yesterday and decided to try it again. it's a low push fade, like yesterday, that hits the face of the slope on the right and it kicks left barely across the cart path. I lost a bit of yardage hitting into the face of the slope like that, a draw would have just kicked left and kept some speed. Anyhow, I'm 192 yards off the tee. I don't like hitting a wood from where I am since there's the stream on the right and I have a spur of the right slope to deal with. I hit a partial 5i and forget to fully release the club. It's a high fade that looks good but i can't see it land because of that spur I mentioned. I never find the ball.. All I can think of is it kicked right into the stream. So I drop.  I'm on the right side and there's a small tree in the distance that is in play if my shot is a bit right. I'm 130ish out and decide to punch a 6i with a partial swing. I do not know why but I hold off my release and follow through high. The ball takes off with a high fade, over the tree,135 yards, into the right fringe at the back of the green. That was not my plan and I have no idea why I did it. It was an active though by me to swing that way. The flag is front left with a tier to deal with. I use my putter to chip and get it 5 feet out. I make the bogey putt, 6.

 

Overall, I am happy with my strategy for the hole. I lost the 5i but a partial iron shot is the right call I think. I just need to execute better. As for driver off the tee instead of 4w, I am not as sure. I gained just a bit of yardage because i hit it low and into the slope on the right both times. It kills the yardage and means the second shot has to be more conservative.

 

6 - par 4, It's a low push fade with the driver again. It hits the right slope and kicks left into the rough, 175 yards. Another drive where I lost yardage because i hit the ball into the face of a slope. I'm about 200 yards out and don't like the odds of a wood. I'm in the rough with a slightly ball above my feet lie. I decide on a partial 5i and it's much like the swing with the 6i from  the previous hole. I hold off my release and it's a high fade, 154 into the fairway short of the green. I am feeling pretty good since i was laying up and i executed a shot that worked, even if the lack of a release to punch the ball is a bit odd. I pitch with my SW from amybe 10 yards short of the green and chunk the ball dead right..... So I'm not even on the green now. I walk over and blade my chip through the green, 28 yards... I chip with my putter, about 16 yards, to 6 feet from the hole. My double bogey putt ends up 3 inches out.. So a triple bogey, 7 because i screwed up my short game. 

 

I walk to 7 and i'm happy with my overall play of the hole with my first two shots. The partial 5i was the safe call and it worked great. the ensuing pitch/chip did not and it spiraled from there.

 

7 - par 4, elevated tee shot. I hit driver with the wind and it's a high fade, 262 yards, into the left side of the fairway. Yes, that is not a typo, 262, and I'm inside 100. Flag is forward and I estimate it's 80 yards. I hit a partial PW but I come up short and in the front bunker. Turns out the flag was actually in the middle of the green, oops. Wrong shot. I'm in the bunker and hit my sand shot, 14 yards, to 1 foot. i make the par putt, 4.

 

8 - par 3, elevated tee shot, guys in front by the green wave me through... Flag is forward and I hit my 8i. It's off the toe and a high shot that misses the green to the right. 141 yard shot and my ball is in the right rough and pin high.  I would have been real close if I had hit it towards the hole, lol. I chip with the putter and hit it way too hard and about 18 feet past the hole. My par putt misses low and I'm 2 feet out.  I make the bogey putt, 4.

 

9 - par 4 water left. I hit driver and it's a high fade, with the wind, 249 yards into the left rough of #1 which runs next to #9. I've got no direct shot at the green because of a stand of pine trees. An aggressive line would be to try to punch a ball through the left gap, carry the pond, and be on the front of the green. I decide to punch a 9i through the right gap in the trees, wghich is a line with no water and leads to the back of the green. I settle on the 9i to try and avoid the rear bunker. I make good contact and it's a low, slight overdraw that goes 112 yards into the back fringe between the green and rear bunker. The flag is back left and I use my putter to chip. The ball goes 12 yards and stops a foot out. I end with a par, 4.

 

A 45 which I am real happy with based on how my last few rounds went. I had one penalty and messed a single hole with my short game. My swing was not perfect but I managed. i did not have any real big duds, outside of that chip/pitch on #6, though. The partial iron shots are coming in handy and I'm sure they will be a big help as I get more used to them and how they behave. My sand shot on #7 was near perfect and that 9i punch between the trees on #9 was very well executed.

 

Arccos has me with strokes gained of -9.0 for the round. I only lost 0.7 strokes to my drives. Gotta love the wind assist to help hit the ball 249 and 262. I lost 5.1 strokes with approach shots, no surprise there but still better than normal. Only 2.0 shots in short game which is better than normal and I lost only 1.2 strokes putting. 

 

A positive round to head into Thanksgiving with. It'll be funny to see how I feel in the morning. Walking 9 shouldn't be a big deal but I'm out of shape and overweight, lol.

 

Have a great one!

 

[Myherobobhope]

Walking the course is a great way to get back into shape... I also find it easier to think about my next shot and start envisioning what I’m going to hit... 

 

hope you had a good thanksgiving!

[bortass]

10 hours ago, Myherobobhope said:

Walking the course is a great way to get back into shape... I also find it easier to think about my next shot and start envisioning what I’m going to hit... 

 

hope you had a good thanksgiving!

We had a very good Thanksgiving. Hope you and your family did as well.

Walking 9 more will be good for me. The cart spoiled me, lol. I am thinking I will start walking 9 during the week and ride Saturday’s 18. We’re paying a monthly trail fee, so gotta use it.

 

The pace walking is also better if I play alone. I will still catch people but not as fast. I also have, as you say, more time between shots.

Also cart path only doesn’t apply, so I can keep my clubs with me on those days. I don’t like trying to figure out what to hit from across the fairway. Sure, I bring multiple clubs but I have found a time or two that I had the wrong ones, lol.

[Myherobobhope]

have you spent anymore time reading golf books?

I think my next book is going to be either unconscious putting or the art of scoring... I want Adam young’s book, but it’s not available digitally.

 

[Stanks]

I was visiting this thread a lot but now, I am on a mission to break 95. It's been a hell of a month, boys. 

[platgof]

I shot 88 Friday, so I guess I need to figure this out as well. I did not hit a lot of balls on the range, and the irons/woods really suffered. For some reason the driver was money, but I just could not convert. Three putting from 9 feet, arghhh! Then i decided to be DJ and start killing the ball. I nuked a couple of iron shots into areas, that again, I could not convert for par. I was able to smash some drives as I was trying to kill it, and got away with it, 220-230 for me, but the next shot, oh well. I need to find some middle ground on hitting it hard, and not loosing control, plus my old shoulders are not pleased with the DJ swing, had to break out the tens unit and a hot bath! I shot 7 pars in a row last week at the same course, golf!!

[bortass]

On 11/27/2020 at 9:47 AM, Myherobobhope said:

have you spent anymore time reading golf books?

I think my next book is going to be either unconscious putting or the art of scoring... I want Adam young’s book, but it’s not available digitally.

 

I have not. My evenings are mostly playing video games, lol. I got and read Art of Scoring when it first came out back in 2009. I can't remember much of it now. I have a small library of golf books and I think I have lost some over the years. I don't see my copy of Pelz's Putting Bible. Unconscious Putting, I got in Kindle form also back when it came out around 2011. I liked both books and may need to revisit them so day. I also need to review Short Game Bible because I used his wedge system to good effect and I think I may have made a change because I recall Pelz talking about dead hands and I have not been doing that...

 

Let me know which one you settle on and what you think about it.

 

@Stanks How long ago did you break 100? For me, I broke 100 and shot in the low/mid 90s shortly after that. I spent 2 years trying to break 100 and once I did I played some carefree golf. I just went out and swung the club and good things happened. So I decided to try to break 90 which took another 2 years, lol. Of course I had a short season since I was in Maine but even if I could have played year round, I don't know if it would have been faster. Winter gave me an off season to not think about golf at all.

 

What are you currently working on/what are the big holes you need to fill?

 

@platgofSounds like our tee shots are likely the same distance. I have never been a smash driver player. It may be something that holds back my distance because I never did the swing hard and pray. It was a given that driver would slice on me back when I started, so swinging hard just made it curve more and further into the right trees...Lol. My second shots are killing me it seems, lol. Are you trying to shoot a score?

[bortass]

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving/weekend. Did any of you get in a round? If so, how'd it go?

 

We played the home course Saturday morning. It was sunny, temps started in the 50s and hit close to 70. There was some wind and the course was wet. It was cart path only for a few holes. No standing water but it was soft and there was casual water. Some bunkers had puddles in them as well. I hit the range preround and it was a disaster. Thin shots that were barely getting off the ground. Even the partial wedge shot was a complete mess. 

 

1 - par 4, thin drive that's low into the fairway on the right, 200 yards. I'm about 200 out and hit my 4w. It's thin and goes 150 yards. I chunk a partial SW into the right bunker and the flag is left... My sand shot goes 35 feet past the hole and I two putt for double bogey, 6.

 

That was a microcosm of most of my round... I had two holes on the front that were better than double bogey.

 

4 - short par 4, I hit a high fade down the right side, 203 yards, into the rough. I pull a partial SW into the front left bunker. My sand shot stops 5 feet from the hole and I two putt fro bogey, 5.

 

8 - elevated par 3, flag is way back and into the wind. I decide to hit 7i and not my 6i. It's a high draw at the flag that lands barely on the front of the green. I two putt from 75 feet for par, 3.

 

Well the back is a new 9 right?

 

10 and 11 are disasters. 

 

11 - par 4, dogleg left with a forced stream carry short of the green. I hit my normal 7w off the tee and it's a strong high fade down the right side. I just made this hole as long as possible. I punch a partial PW, 106 yards, to the bottom of the slope that fronts the stream. A perfect layup, I'm 20 yards from the stream and hit a partial PW to the green. That was the plan, I chunk it into the stream... Drop and my partial SW is chunked and barely gets across...

 

12 - par 4, dogleg left. I normally tee off with my 4w and say screw it. My driver has been decent all day, so I use it.  I hit a strong draw, 230 yards , into the fairway just short of the rough that marks the far side of the corner. The flag is on the right, behind a bunker, and the green is elevated. I'm 90ish out and decide to hit a partial 9i. I'm a bit heavy and it goes into the bunker... I'm now in the bunker and the lip is above my head. I can barely see the top of the flag. I hit my normal sand shot with a square face. I see the ball make it out of the bunker. I then here one of the guys I'm with who's on the green saying something. I almost holed out and my ball stopped a foot from the hole. Par!

 

13 - par 3, forward flag. I hit my 8i and it's a low, bladed pull into the left front bunker. The green slopes away from me. My sand shot gets out and I'm about 15 feet from the hole. I hit it a bit too hard and it rolled past the hole. I two putt for bogey, 4.

 

14 - par 5, elevated tee shot. I hit driver and it's a high fade, 230 yards, into the middle of the fairway.  I aim left, since there's a pond to the right of the fairway, and hit my 4w. It's a decent fade that goes 179 yards. I'm in the fairway on the right. The hole is back middle and I have to carry some of the pond. I take more club and hit my 7i. It's a high fade that lands near the back of the green. 138 yards, a great shot for me, and I'm in the back fringe. I chip with my putter to 3 feet and secure a par, 5.

 

15 - shorter par 4, elevated tee shot to a fairway that's cart path only year round because it's always wet/soft. I hit a high fade to the right, 188 yards, I got no roll. I'm in the fairway  and hit a partial PW. It's a high shot that lands on the green neatr the hole. 73 yard shot and I'm 5 feet out. I make the birdie putt, 3.

 

16 - par 3 and the flag is middle back, 150ish off the back. I hit my 6i and it's solid. A high pull draw, 150 yards and over the back left bunker. My ball is a few inches past the lip of the back lip of the bunker. So I'm in the rough with a big tuft of Bermuda behind my ball. I'm above the green and it slopes away from me. I wish I was in the bunker, lol. Never thought I'd ever say that. I hit the ball too hard and it rolls off the right side of the green. My return chip sucks and I two putt from 30 feet.

 

17 - par 4, I hit driver and it's a high fade, 225 yards, into the right rough. I'm 120ish out and the flag is on the left side. I hit my 8i. I push it and it's a chunk that goes 97 yards and misses the green short right. Partial SW is long. The green slopes away from me and this is a tricky green. I chip with putter and get it to 3 feet and make the bogey putt.

 

18 - a disaster with not a single penalty in sight. I started pulling shots and took 4 shots from next to the green to hole out...

 

The round was a disaster, 104... My approaches blew chunks but much worse than "normal". My previous 9 I do okay with a 45 and a few days later it's a 55/49.

 

Arccos has me at -31.8 strokes gained compared to a 0 HCP for the round.

 

Driving is -2.9... I lost 2.3 strokes because of my distance and 0.5 for accuracy.  This is the best area of my game for this round. I don't what I'm doing but my driver is performing much better overall. It's kind of a head scratcher because driver has never been a strength that I can recall and it's turning into the best part of my game.

 

Approach is -20.3. I lost 13.8 strokes with shots from the fairway. So it's not because I put myself in bad places. Distance wise I lost 6.5 from 50-100 yards and 6.9 for 100-150 yards. I expect to lose strokes in the 150+ range but I bled them inside 150 which should be where I can be decent.

 

My short game was -3.9 which is slightly better than normal for me.

 

Putting was -4.7 which is about normal for me.

 

last week I got out and played a couple 9 hole rounds instead of hitting the range. I am not sure how this week will shape up but my goal is to hit the range at least once and also get in 9 holes another day. Hopefully I can make it to the range a couple times since my irons are killing me. So I'm still in that pattern where I see some improvements but it's not reliable on the course yet. Someday, someday, lol.

 

 

 

[platgof]

I like to be around 82-84. I was not playing well enough so 88 was it. Irons were just not consistent, but neither was my swing speed. Not going to the range to get the 7 iron dialed in was a killer. 

[bortass]

Hit the range yesterday and it was okayish. Some good stuff, some bad stuff. It was much better than the pre-round range session on Saturday. One thing I noticed is my grip is a bit off. I use and interlock grip and I wasn't quite getting it correct. It was in the 40s and windy, so I can't take much away regarding distances. I was just looking at ball flight. I only used two clubs, PW and 7i, and I'm hitting fades. Guess that's the shot shape I need to start planning on.

 

I also watch the Breaking 90 videon that @sshadow2posted yesterday. I have a hard time with the limited club concept that is proposed in the video but that's my personal hangup. I think the video has some good info in it. There are three things I came away with and hope to do better with.

 

1 - use the shot shape that you got. I am mostly hitting fades now with all my clubs. As much as I remember my "glory days" hitting draws, I am no longer there. I need to take that more into account going forward. My shots are gonna curve right, start line is in question though, so plan on it. I did that once today in the 9 hole round I played and it worked out okay. Aimed driver a bit more left and hit a fade into the wind that came to rest in the right rough.

 

2 - Aim for the middle of the greens. This makes sense in that I'm not good enough to pin hunt. I have been trying to get ballpark yardages to the flag based on where it looks to be on the green. I then select a club based on that yardage, unless I have a reason to override it. An example of this is a round a week or so ago where on #4 the flag was back and I hit a club that should reach the middle of the green. Long is very bad on this hole. I hit the green and made my 2 putt par. This will be something I need to work on but I will have a few challenges. One is the game we play on Saturday's has greenies on the par 3s. I want to try to hit the green and be close enough to win some $, lol. The other is a 2 putt isn't a given from the middle of some of our greens. the tiers and slopes can make that a challenge.

 

3 - Think. He talks about this quite a bit but doesn't go into great detail. It comes down to paying attention to what is going on with your lie and learning what happens. For example, today I was 70 yards out in the right rough and hit a partial PW that went almost 90 yards over the green. I think I hit a flyer or maybe my swing is just junk, lol. It came out good but was long. So I need to pay attention to my lie and try to learn what happens when I hit from it as I play. Some of this may be no brainers for some of you but not for me.

 

I also think I am going to start playing differently. My 9 today was a mess with my approaches again. I even screwed up a full 9i and dumped it in a bunker since I topped the ball. I have been reading Monte's thread where he challenges how hard we hit our wedges. I am probably going to apply that concept to all of my irons and forego full shots. I am struggling with them, so why bother on the course. In theory a shorter swing will be more in control. This may 'mess' up my yardages in Arccos but more club and a partial swing may yield better results for me. this doesn't apply to driver though.

 

I started to hit partial irons on #5 today and the results are mixed. For the most part the ball gets airborne and goes in the correct direction without a large amount of curve. On #7, I hit  a partial 5i that was a high push fade that missed the green right but it went 150 yards. My partial 6i from the elevated tee on #8 went 165 into the left rough. #9 I hit a partial 9i 104 and on the green. It's not perfect since I mishit a couple of them but I think it may help me in the long run.

 

Now regarding Monte's thread, I hit an easier PW, left arm roughly parallel, but not quite a full swing. The ball came out nice and high and I was 3 feet from the hole...

 

Strokes gained I was -13.9, for 9, today.

 

Driving was -3.0, mostly from lack of distance. I had some good drives but there were at least 3 that were not good such as the topped 4w on #5 that went 20 yards...

 

Approaches were -7.2, I topped a few and it just wasn't pretty. I am hoping that this will improve if I ditch full shots, until I get better with them, and use more club to get the ball going the right direction and distance. It's not sexy or pretty but I am struggling in this area, so maybe it's time for me to just hit shots that are more likely to be successful.

 

Short game was -1.3 thanks to my sand game, for example on #4 I hit a sand shot 37 yards from the front left bunker to a back pin and I was pin high and 12 feet right of the hole. It's not perfect by any means but i am starting to feel better about my sand game. I tend to get out in one and I'm getting the ball closer to the hole. 

 

Putting, I was -2.4. Nothing special here but it's still not the main weakness.

Edited December 3, 2020 by bortass

[acekun]

2 hours ago, bortass said:

Hit the range yesterday and it was okayish. Some good stuff, some bad stuff. It was much better than the pre-round range session on Saturday. One thing I noticed is my grip is a bit off. I use and interlock grip and I wasn't quite getting it correct. It was in the 40s and windy, so I can't take much away regarding distances. I was just looking at ball flight. I only used two clubs, PW and 7i, and I'm hitting fades. Guess that's the shot shape I need to start planning on.

 

I also watch the Breaking 90 videon that @sshadow2posted yesterday. I have a hard time with the limited club concept that is proposed in the video but that's my personal hangup. I think the video has some good info in it. There are three things I came away with and hope to do better with.

 

1 - use the shot shape that you got. I am mostly hitting fades now with all my clubs. As much as I remember my "glory days" hitting draws, I am no longer there. I need to take that more into account going forward. My shots are gonna curve right, start line is in question though, so plan on it. I did that once today in the 9 hole round I played and it worked out okay. Aimed driver a bit more left and hit a fade into the wind that came to rest in the right rough.

 

2 - Aim for the middle of the greens. This makes sense in that I'm not good enough to pin hunt. I have been trying to get ballpark yardages to the flag based on where it looks to be on the green. I then select a club based on that yardage, unless I have a reason to override it. An example of this is a round a week or so ago where on #4 the flag was back and I hit a club that should reach the middle of the green. Long is very bad on this hole. I hit the green and made my 2 putt par. This will be something I need to work on but I will have a few challenges. One is the game we play on Saturday's has greenies on the par 3s. I want to try to hit the green and be close enough to win some $, lol. The other is a 2 putt isn't a given from the middle of some of our greens. the tiers and slopes can make that a challenge.

 

3 - Think. He talks about this quite a bit but doesn't go into great detail. It comes down to paying attention to what is going on with your lie and learning what happens. For example, today I was 70 yards out in the right rough and hit a partial PW that went almost 90 yards over the green. I think I hit a flyer or maybe my swing is just junk, lol. It came out good but was long. So I need to pay attention to my lie and try to learn what happens when I hit from it as I play. Some of this may be no brainers for some of you but not for me.

 

I also think I am going to start playing differently. My 9 today was a mess with my approaches again. I even screwed up a full 9i and dumped it in a bunker since I topped the ball. I have been reading Monte's thread where he challenges how hard we hit our wedges. I am probably going to apply that concept to all of my irons and forego full shots. I am struggling with them, so why bother on the course. In theory a shorter swing will be more in control. This may 'mess' up my yardages in Arccos but more club and a partial swing may yield better results for me. this doesn't apply to driver though.

 

I started to hit partial irons on #5 today and the results are mixed. For the most part the ball gets airborne and goes in the correct direction without a large amount of curve. On #7, I hit  a partial 5i that was a high push fade that missed the green right but it went 150 yards. My partial 6i from the elevated tee on #8 went 165 into the left rough. #9 I hit a partial 9i 104 and on the green. It's not perfect since I mishit a couple of them but I think it may help me in the long run.

 

Now regarding Monte's thread, I hit an easier PW, left arm roughly parallel, but not quite a full swing. The ball came out nice and high and I was 3 feet from the hole...

 

Strokes gained I was -13.9, for 9, today.

 

Driving was -3.0, mostly from lack of distance. I had some good drives but there were at least 3 that were not good such as the topped 4w on #5 that went 20 yards...

 

Approaches were -7.2, I topped a few and it just wasn't pretty. I am hoping that this will improve if I ditch full shots, until I get better with them, and use more club to get the ball going the right direction and distance. It's not sexy or pretty but I am struggling in this area, so maybe it's time for me to just hit shots that are more likely to be successful.

 

Short game was -1.3 thanks to my sand game, for example on #4 I hit a sand shot 37 yards from the front left bunker to a back pin and I was pin high and 12 feet right of the hole. It's not perfect by any means but i am starting to feel better about my sand game. I tend to get out in one and I'm getting the ball closer to the hole. 

 

Putting, I was -2.4. Nothing special here but it's still not the main weakness.

I think partial shots is a good idea but it can be difficult to do with mid-irons due to their length.That's probably why you had more success hitting partial shot with your #9 and PW. It may be easier to take full swings with mid-irons but at 75% effort until you become more comfortable with the shot.

 

The other thing you may want to think about is using the yardage to the middle of the green for front pin and back of green for middle/back pins. I used to do that and it helped increase my GIRs

[sshadow2]

@bortass

 

What I got out of the video regarding thinking is just to take your time when prepping for the shot. He mentions that we can feel rushed, frustrated, etc. since we are trying to look good, appease, or even make new friends with our playing partner(s). We need to take just 10 secs to think on his points. This hit a nerve for me since I especially feel this way when I spent decent (or significant) amount of time looking for my ball.

 

He didn't mention this but I also believe confidence and commitment to the shot also plays a role in the "thinking" part. If you get to your ball and you are not committed to your shot (something achieved by thinking about all his points), then you won't be able to execute.

 

Thinking about golf rather than the golf swing is another point he made.

 

Lastly, and I mentioned this before, if we are constantly duffing our shots, none of this will work anyway. We have to have some measure of consistency in our swing. Long, short, and putting.

Messing up that approach shot/chip after a great drive really screws everything up. Or worse of all, bad drive, bad recovery, bad approach, and bad putting!

[bortass]

@acekunOnce upon a time I had a very reliable partial iron shot with my longer irons. Back around '08 or '09, I read something that PepperTurbo had posted about how to punch out of trees. I outta go through my two old threads to see if I can find it to refresh my memory and relearn it. Back on topic, I was in the trees a lot back then and needed to be able to hit an iron low. I had a lot of practice and got good with it. I recall using the shot with my 4i from the right rough on #7 during  a league night sometime back then when I didn't want to hit a full shot. I knew I could punch my 4i a long ways (for me) and it would be fairly straight. I'll just have to see how it goes. I know my full swing is a mess unless it's my driver at the moment.

 

As an aside, back then I wasn't scared about being in the trees. I was in them so often because on my slice that I got good at hitting it out. Of course I didn't want to be in them but it wasn't always a I'm screwed now situation. That would be a bunker since the course had very few of them and the sand was rough and firm. I could never get out of them well. Now a days I have to deal with bunkers and not trees so much. Kinda amusing how we adapt.

 

@sshadow2 Confidence and commitment are good points. I think it was discussed in the How to Break 70 thread that was actives a few months ago.

 

I am thinking I need to add in working back from the green from that video as well. I never had a favorite yardage except as close as possible. Now I feel better if I am in partial wedge range which is 50 - 80 yards depending on which wedge I use. I tend to not screw those up too badly. So I think I need to start working that into my shot selection when I don't like going for it with a longer club for whatever reason.

 

Tomorrow we are playing the sister course with all of the water that I seriously struggled on because I couldn't swing the club that day and I checked out with my putting. I didn't lose a ball until #16 last time so it wasn't because of a lot of penalty/water balls.  I'll make my adjustments and see what happens.

[acekun]

That's good if you've had experience doing that. It can be a valuable tool.

 

 

[bortass]

15 minutes ago, acekun said:

That's good if you've had experience doing that. It can be a valuable tool.

 

 

I agree, now if I can get to the same point again remains to be seen. It's kinda funny how a shot I felt good about is from being in the trees so much. That's how golf is though, you learn to hit the shots you need. I never needed sand shots in Maine because my home course didn't have many bunkers, so I really sucked at them. Current course has more green side bunkers on just the front 9 than there are bunkers on the entire course in Maine. Current course is a figure 8 with houses, so there are not many shots out of trees.  Most of the trees you hit into are hazards, full of brush, because of streams and you can't even find a ball if you wanted.  The course in Maine had a number of areas with mature pines and no undergrowth, so you just needed to avoid branches and trunks.

[acekun]

Yeah, you just need reps. You'll get it down.

 

Based on what I've read, you would really benefit from a go-to shot. This would be a good one to have. Especially shots where you are just trying to advance the ball down the fairway and keep it out of trouble. 

[bortass]

Disaster.... I picked up on 4 holes, so I have excluded it from my stats. No aspect was solid today though I did start off pretty good. I think I have the right idea but need to work on it. 
 

The irons without a full swing is better in that I don’t duff them. I’m still pushing the ball right though.

 

Shot of the day was a 54 yard SW that I stuck to 4 feet.

 

My short game was a mess. Can’t chip to save my life, so I need to look at my practice routine.

 

I cannot putt the greens on this course. I can’t figure out the speed at all. It will get better as I play this course more.

 

The important thing is it was good to be out on the course. That’s all that matters, even if I suck out there, lol.

 

Hope you have a good weekend.

[Chip Duffer]

As I read  todays post, it brings to mind a few thoughts of my own misses. With your partial swings crisp and full swings a bit "chunky", I wonder if you aren't sliding and too active from the waist down. (this applies to the chipping too)

 

As for the "Push", when I am doing that, I'm getting the club just a bit too far behind and end up being too far inside to out resulting in a push and the occasional nasty, nasty hook. My thought when this is happening is to swing through my right shoulder keeping the clubhead outside my hands early in the backswing.

 

As for your putting, you tend to be a solid putter. Trusting your lines and adjusting to the speed of the green will be more difficult in winter golf because of the temp and water variations than the warmer more consistent months. I find it more difficult to read the greens as they begin to go dormant.

[bortass]

And I lost my response halfway through typing it, lol. I was about to start hole #9 but no...

 

@Twin2L You may very well be correct with the pushes. I have been know to take the club too far inside in the past. The slide I'm not sure about but maybe I'm starting to do that. It's not a normal issue of mine but I have been trying to fix my weight/pressure shift the last couple weeks.

 

The putting issue this weekend is because I don't know the greens well enough. I have 93 rounds, both 9 and 18 holes, on my home course. Saturday was round #6 on that sister course. I just don't know the greens and their slopes and tiering. For example #5, I'm 75 feet from the hole, back right. Flag is more front left and the green slopes back right to front left, no tier involved. My putt went off the green...It led to essentially a 4 putt. I think this is something that I will get under control as I play this course more.

 

Also the greens keeper, once again, had some odd pin placements. #4 for example, it was like this two weeks ago, had the hole on the upper tier, 3 feet from the tier itself. Miss from above the hole and you roll off the green...

 

Saturday it was about 41 when I got to the course and it was low 50s when we finished. There was a decent wind, 10 MPH, is my guess with some gusts at times but nothing that would blow your hat off. Cart path only as well. I had shots in the fairway that were from casual water because there was no place to take relief unless i wanted to see if i could find a dryer spot 50 yards away. It was not a day for scoring. None of the guys in the Saturday group did well out there. I just looked and GHIN has the PCC for that round as +3.

 

1 - par 5, dogleg left, I hit a decent drive, 192 yards, into the fairway on the left. This hole curves left, so I can't see the green from where I am.  I decide to hit a partial 5i, and it's a decent fade that goes 137 yards into the fairway on the right side. I now can see the green and hit a partial 8i that is a high fade, 104 yards, onto the front of the green. I'm 25 feet below the hole and putting uphill. I give the ball a good whack and come up 4 feet short. I sink the par putt though, 5.

 

Great start with the conservative irons.

 

2 - par 4, dogleg left. I hit  a decent drive 200 yards into the fairway on the right side, almost through the fairway at the corner. I'm 140-150 out and hit an easy 5i. I'm a bit heavy since it's soft, and the ball goes 121 yards into the front bunker. The bunkers were redone earlier this year and they have good sand in them, unlike my home course. I open the face of my SW and get the ball out, 24 feet short of the hole. I'm putting uphill again and my par putt stops about 3 inches out. I get my bogey, 5.

 

Still going well.

 

3 - par 4, fairly straight with the green offset a bit right, across a stream. I hit a push with the driver and the ball lands right of the right fairway bunker. I see the ball roll into the trunk of a tree and it kicks right a few yards. I'm under mature trees with no branches or brush to deal with. The green is 180ish and I don't like it. I have to go through the trees and down the right side which is also wooded. I decide I'm going to hit out at an angle to set myself up in the fairway about 50-70 yards out. I punch my 7i and it's a nice low shot that goes 110 yards into the fairway on the left side. I'm about 60 yards outand have to go over the tiny stream. I hit a partial GW and skull it, 88 yards, through the green. I'm in the back rough, almost in the tree line and my ball is sitting on wet leaves. I clear what i can from behind the ball but it's still resting on some leaves. My pitch/chip lands way left and the ball rolls to the right front of the green. The flag is more mid front on the left side, so I have a 44 foot putt. This is going slightly uphill and the ball stops 2.5 feet from the hole. I sink the double bogey putt, 6.

 

Well I screwed that up with the misfire with the GW. It's bugging me as I head to #4.

 

4 - par 4, fairly straight with an elevated green. I hit a solid drive down the left side, 219 yards, into the fairway on the left. I am in a muddy fairway. I look for relief from the casual water and there is nothing nearby at all. So I leave it and hit from muddy grass. I know about the pin placement issue because one of our groups in front of us made a comment about it as we were teeing off on #3. SO we know going into the green what we are dealing with. I want to be below the hole and decide to hit an easy PW. I aim for the left side where the hole is. I'm heavy and it's a high shot that lands in the front left bunker. The sand is damp, so it's firmer. I still open the face on my SW but swing too hard. The ball comes out and goes 41 yards through the back of the green. No bueno...So everything slopes towards the front of the green and the hole is 3 feet short of the tier. I chip with my putter and watch my ball roll 34 yards off the front of the green. I chip with the putter again and I get up the tier and 3 feet from the hole. I make the double bogey putt, 6.

 

If I had aimed the PW at the middle of the green, I likely would have been on it because there's a tongue of green that goes between the two front bunkers and my ball in the sand is past where the green starts over there. So lesson learned that i should have just aimed for the middle of the green.

 

5 - par 3. I decide to hit an easy 6i and it's a high push that goes 145 yards to the back right corner of the green. i'm maybe 6 inches from the back fringe. The flag is more forward mid left. I'm 75 feet from the hole and everything slopes towards the front left. No tiers involved. My 75 foot putt misses the hole and keeps slowly rolling off the front of the green. I chip with the putter from the rough and leave it 12 feet short. Two more putts later and i hole out with a double bogey, 5.

 

I am real unhappy with myself. It's essentially a 4 putt since I have no way in Arccos to hit a putt, mark the next one as a chip, and keep putting. I had a GIR and was thinking par all the way but no....

 

6 - par 4, this hole goes upslope the entire way. I hit a decent shot with my driver into the right side of the fairway, 199 yards. I decide and easy 9i into the green. It's soft, like pretty much everyplace here. I'm a bit heavy and the club slides under the ball and it's a high shotthat goes 85 yards and lands short of the green. I use my putter to chip through some wet rough and I leave it 32 feet short. I have a right to left breaking putt and I'm going down slope again. I hit my putt and it rolls 6 feet past the hole. here we go again. It takes me 2 more to hole out, double bogey 6.

 

I am not feeling to good about things. I'm making mistakes around the green and it's really costing me.

 

7 - par 5, dogleg right. Imagine an L rotated 90* right. The short leg of the L is the tee shot with a lake around 200 yards out. After that the rest of this fairway runs perpendicular to the fairway you tee off into with a lake separating the two. So once you hit across the lake, you have water down the entire right side the rest of the way, including at the green. I tee off with a 7w here since it shouldn't reach the water. It's a high pull, 180 yards, down the left side. My ball is in a puddle next to the cart path. I take relief from the puddle and cart path and punch a 6i, 125 yards, across the lake into the fairway. I have about 110 or so to center and a back flag. I decide to hit an easy 8i. It's a high push that lands short of the green, to the right, a few yards from the lake and the ball kicks right and bounces into the water... I drop and blade my chip through the green. The ball is now on a slope next to a bunker that i almost rolled into. I use my putter to chip and the ball takes a weird roll, curves left and into the bunker... I putt out of the bunker and leave it 18 feet short. My first putt stops a foot out and I end up with a nice 9...

 

I am really unhappy with myself. I hit my first two shots as expected and thought I was safe from the lake...Sure I have not been playing well but I've been limiting the damage to double bogeys.

 

 

8 - par 3, I hit an easy 7i and it's a push, 129 yards, that misses the green right. I'm pin high though and I chip with my putter. The ball stops 3 feet from the hole and I secure a par, 3.

 

9 - par 4, much the same as #7 in that it's L shaped but the tee shot is across the lake and there's water right the rest of the way. I hit a mid height, strong baby fade, across the lake and my ball hits the slope that's behind the fairway and it kicks right, towards the green, 225 yards.  I am in the fairway on the left side, inside 100 yards. The hole is middle and the right of the green is water as is the back of the green from the angle I am at. The fairway is soft and I go with a partial PW. I'm heavy again and the ball goes 63 yards and is short of the green. I chip with my putter to 4 feet and sink another par putt, 4.

 

Well, I played good the last two holes and it's a new 9.

 

10 - par 4 dog leg right, again imagine the L shape except this time the tee shot is down the long side of the L and the approach to the green, over the lake, is the short side. I tee off with my 7w, which is my normal shot tee shot on this hole. It's a high shot down the left side, 169 yards. I have 120 yards to center, into the wind and it's not super warm out, so I ignore it all and hit an easy 7i from the soft fairway. it's a nice high shot that drops in the lake maybe 5 yards short of land... I drop on my side and hit a partial PW which somehow completely carries the green, 91 yards. I think i'm in a bunker and grab my SW. No sign of my ball in either rear bunker. I find it further back in the rough. So I'm above the green, in the rough with a level lie, have to carry a bunker with a lake on the far side of the green from me. This can only mean one thing! Flop shot with my SW! I swing and contact is good. A nice high shot that's more left than I want. It lands on the green and rolls off the left mid side. I look at my club and it turns out I had grabbed my LW by mistake, lol. I use the putter to chip the ball about 14 yards. I'm 4 feet out and not focused. I miss the putt and end up with an 8.

 

So much for a new 9....

 

11 - par 4, I hit a push into the right trees with driver, 198 yards. It's open here since houses are on both sides of this hole. I punch a 9i but it's a bit too high and catches a branch. The ball lands in the rough short of the green. My pitch with SW is short and doesn't reach the green. I chip with SW to 120 feet and two putt for a 6.

 

12 - par 5, I hit driver and it's a solid push that goes into the right brush. I find my ball and it's too far in, so I drop back in the fairway on my line since it's marked as a hazard, 199 yards shot at the point of the drop. I hit an easy 6i, 134 yards into the fairway to try to setup an approach to the green. i'm 150 out and have to carry some junk where a stream feeds into the lake. Time for a full 5i! I blade it into the junk. Can't find the ball and drop. Blade a partial SW into the junk that's right in front of me.. I pick up for my first X of the day and card a 10.

 

13 - par 3, about 150ish and i hit an easy 4i. It's a slight push but very solid and lands on the right side of the green, 157 yards. The flag is more mid left and i'm 33 feet away. the green slopes away from me and there is a tier i have to go down. I hit my putt and watch it miss the hole by a few inches and roll 15 feet past it. A guy in the group has his ball on the green about 3-4 feet left of the hole. We're behind a bit so I hit my putt and watch as it tracks at his ball and misses it barely to the left. I do not know what happened but I just sent my ball 4 feet left of the hole and it was tracking that way from impact. So a 3 putt bogey, 4.

 

14 - par 4, I hit a push with driver into the right trees. It's open in here since there are houses on that side. I never find the ball, so I drop under the trees and add a 2 stroke penalty. I hit a partial 5i that doesn't quite clear the trees near the green. I find my ball in the roguht with a clear shot. I hit a partial SW 54 yards to 4 feet, shot of the day. I make the double bogey putt, 6.

 

15 - par 4 downhill the entire way. I hit another push with my driver, 200 yards, into the edge of the right trees. I decide to punch my PW out, at the green. I make good contact and the ball lands on the green and rolls off the far, right, side. I chip/pitch from the rough with my SW and blade it through the green. Try again from the other side with same results. I have had it and pick up. I card a 7 for GHIN.

 

16 - par 3, I hit an easy 8i and it's a push that goes 113 yards. I'm in the back right fringe and the hole is more mid front left. The green slopes that way and i chip with my putter. I leave the ball 24 feet short...two putts later I have my bogey, 4...

 

17 - par 5, you have to tee off over an area of junk where a stream enters the lake and the lake runs down the entire right side. I hit my 4w and it'a pull that hits a tree in the junk about 3 times. I never find my ball and drop. I hit a partial 5i and it looks good but is completely blind, so I never see it land. I search and can't find it... I assume it's in the lake and drop again and hit my 4w off the deck. It's a push that goes 179 yards into the fairway on the right side by the lake. I'm heading back to my cart when one of the guys finds my ball on the bank of the lake further up....  Already dropped though, so too late... I figure a partial 8i into the green and I blade it into the long stuff near a rock on the bank of the lake. I'm done now. I pick up and card a 7 which is a net 0 for GHIN since I get 2 strokes on this hole. X number 3 of the day.

 

18 - par 4, lake down the entire right side. I hit driver and the ball gets a few feet off the ground and snap slices into the lake about 30 yards in front of me. I've had it. X number 4 and I card a 6 for GHIN which is again a net 0 since I get two strokes here.

 

This round was just frustrating. I thought I started out decent and also thought I might turn it around on the back after paring 8 and 9. Nope, not gonna happen. I think my driver went south on me on the back because I was frustrated by the mess I made on the front 9 with short game and putting. I was not calm nor as 'smooth'. #10 was just disheartening. No point looking at the Arccos stats since I never finished 4 holes. I excluded the round from my overall stats as well. Oh well, it could always be worse. At least I got to golf in December 🙂 

 

I think I need to start taking some time to work on chipping as well now, sigh. I expect things to be a bit more difficult because of winter golf, so I don't know when I'll be writing a post that has me actually shooting a good number. My index is creeping back up right now, however my low since returning was 23.4. I think that's significant since the best I ever got was 19.X. So I got within 4 strokes of my best ever after taking 7 years off from the game. I was a 30.X when I gave up at the end of 2013. It may not be pretty but it's progress in the right direct and i am still convinced I can crack 85. The question is when.

 

 

[ericg33]

Hi Bortass. I’m convinced you can break 85 too. I followed your last journey and the thing I think you are missing this time is an instructor that you can work with and develop a relationship with which may need to be local. While you do not say it, my assumption is that you are trying to self correct on the course for every perceived fault you think you made on the last swing. While improvement is certainly a longer journey, it will help to be focused and prioritize your practice and effort. 
 

Good luck with your quest. I think you will

get there in the end. 
 

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

Hey @bortass, wishing you all the best on this journey! Great write ups and very relatable and interesting self assessments, keep them coming, and never give up!!

I‘m a 19 index in my 3rd season, using The Grint to track stats. The app says I‘m a 13.7 index, which counts all my rounds, some of them on easier tracks, and some on a very hard course, so I‘m confident this is my real potential.

 

I‘ve hovered around mid to high 90 scores since 2019. Lately, I’ve come closer to breaking 90, and I know very well that my misses and weak areas are curable- approach shots and stupid penalties. I score well on a 9 hole course with few water hazards, which also tells the story about my mental game- scoring higher on the back 9 usually. 

I‘m a Monte believer and practice the NTC drills religiously. I‘ve found that making crisp contact with partial wedge shots and working my way up from those to full shots is the ticket to better iron play. 
 

I‘m a short hitter, considering I‘m a 40 y.o., 6‘2“ hockey player- driver goes 230, 7i 153, PW 115. Pretty sure there’s a lot more in the tank if I got lessons. 

 

I‘ll report some of my progress here, too. Subscribed!

[bortass]

13 hours ago, ericg33 said:

Hi Bortass. I’m convinced you can break 85 too. I followed your last journey and the thing I think you are missing this time is an instructor that you can work with and develop a relationship with which may need to be local. While you do not say it, my assumption is that you are trying to self correct on the course for every perceived fault you think you made on the last swing. While improvement is certainly a longer journey, it will help to be focused and prioritize your practice and effort. 
 

Good luck with your quest. I think you will

get there in the end. 
 

That was a long time ago, lol. I agree on the instructor part. When I first decided to try to break 100 I knew I needed help with my swing. Rick and I clicked and it was great working with him for 4 years as I improved and broke 100 and then 90. I would never have done it without his help and the hours fixing things on the range. He was just as vested in my progress as I was. This is a bit harder to do these days and I'm not as freely able to pop out for a lesson as I did back then. 

 

On the course, I am not self correcting much lately. I know earlier this year I was all over the map with this, so it is a very legitimate comment. During Saturday's round I never thought to myself "I need to make sure I XYZ my next swing". There were a couple of times where I thought to myself "I should have taken more club". But I never tried to change anything with the pushes for example. Now a swing thought I had been using is to try to do cast B from NTC from the top of my back swing to trigger the arms coming down. I don't recall doing that this weekend.

 

 

[bortass]

@LukeDonaldsTiger Glad you are enjoying the reading. I have a similar thread here on my attempt to break 90, if you want a good chuckle. You can find it via search. 

 

You're a bit longer than I am. I'm 6'2 as well, just out of shape and was never an athlete, so I don't have some other sport to build on. The biggest things for me when I was trying to break 90 was keeping the ball in play; having a fairly reliable shot; the mental game.

 

Keeping the ball in play: It's hard to break a scoring barrier with penalties on the card. This is because a scoring barrier is better than one plays, so we don't have as much wiggle room. Someone like Obee can take a stroke and distance penalty and will still probably be in the low to mid 70s. Our margin for error is just much smaller. It becomes bigger as we improve though. We just don't have strokes to give away, if you get my meaning.

 

A reliable shot: You need to be able to reliably advance the ball in the air a reasonable distance. Earlier this year, i was topping and bladeing a lot of my shots. There was no way I was going to crack 100 while doing that. When I finally broke 90, my shot shape was a fairly reliable draw. Sure I was not perfect but I no longer had the insta slice that made it questionable if my ball would go in mostly the right direction.

 

Metal game: This was the big areas to break 100 and 90 for me. It was how to handle adversity and not give up. Learning that I can card an 8 and still shot a decent score. One bad hole does not mean that you can't break 90. Sure it makes it harder but it is not a situation where "OMG, I just carded a snowman on #1. I'm done. There's no way I can recover." The reality is you may be able to recover. The other thing is the mental gymnastics to keep your nerves out of the mix. For me it's not adding things up until the end of the round. Avoiding the mindset on #18 'if I bogey this hole I have an 8' and proceeding to pull the tee shot into the trees...

 

Glad to hear NTC is working for you. I like it as well. I 'simply' need to work on it more. I like the results I've seen to date.

 

Let me know how things go for you.