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

[bortass]

I got in 36 holes over the weekend. My membership is for two clubs, 56 holes. My home club just has 18 and the sister club has 36. I played the 18 at the sister club that I have not played yet on Sunday. I'll talk about it a bit more later.

 

Saturday was low 80s and humid. I had to put a rain glove on my left hand because of sweat in the middle of the second hole. I had my 7i slip on my tee shot on #2. before the round I warmed up a little on the range. Just a few pitches, full 8is, and then some driver. Driver was going nice and straight for a change.

 

I teed off with driver on 1 and hit a pull 227 yards into the left rough. My 4i approach from 150-155ish leaked right and went under the trees right of the green. I chip on and 2 putt for a bogey 5, which is a solid start.

 

I proceeded to lose a ball on the next 4 holes and carded triples on all of them. So my round was pretty much toast from that point on. #2 I bladed a ball from the front left bunker into the trees behind the green. Tee shot on 3 with driver was a pull hook into the left trees(red stakes). Teed off on 4 with 4w and pull hook into left trees(red stakes). #5 hit my 2nd shot with my 7w and it was a push into the right stream....

 

#6 I hit a solid 4w, 211, into the fairway which put me about 75 yards from center. A full SW put me on and i two putted for par. So I started to right the ship some.

#7 another good drive with the 4w, 206 yards, into the left rough. I then hit my 7w 169 and missed the green right. I used the 7i to chip and that went about 28 yards and got me about 12 feet from the cup. 2 putts later and I have a bogey.

#8 par 3, 7i, goes right 136 yards, into a bunker. Blade it through the green and then mess things up for a double bogey 5.

#9 used my 4i off the tee and hit a pull draw about 162 and short of the pond. My 5i missed the green right and I chipped with the 7i, about 28 yards to 12 feet again.

 

So I was happy to get some better numbers in at the end of the front.

 

#10 - nuke my 4w, 228, through the fairway into the right rough. Mishit my 8i and hit a SW through the green... A chip and 2 putts later I have a double bogey 6.

#11- tee off with my 5i again and it a perfect draw around the corner and catches the down slope, 201 yards. I blade my SW from 50 yards out, ball hits a rock in the stream in front of me and kicks back to my left and a few yards behind me.. Hit it again and to the back of the green and 3 putt from over 60 feet for another double bogey 6.

#12 - Real good drive with the 4w, 206 yards, to the right side of the fairway at the corner. Mishit my 9i but it gets on the green and i two putt from 43 feet for a par.

#13 - par 3, hit my 7i 120 and over the green. Chip and two putts later I have a bogey 4.

#14 - par 5, another good drive 208 down the left side. I proceed to hit a pull with my 7w OoB. I drop with the two stroke penalty and hit my 9i short of the green. I'm probably 15 - 20 yards short of the green and the flag is all the way on the other side. Nothing in my way, so I chip with my 4i. It goes 52 yards and stops 1.5-2 inches short of the center of the cup.... Almost a perfect chip, so I actually manage a double bogey 7 with 2 penalty strokes.

#15 - I hit a decent drive 196 into the right rough and near a small tree. I can't hit a full wedge in. I hit a bump and run with my PW and it stops 4 feet from the cup. I two putt for a par.

#16 - par 3, complete mishit off the tee and shortgame woes lead to a double bogey 5.

#17 - hit the 4w, 207, into the first right fairway bunker. Figure I'll hit my 5i out. It goes about 35 yards into the next fairway bunker. 5i again, blade it and lose the ball. I pick up and just write down a 7.

#18 - all kinds of mishits. The best shot was a 7w fade that went 177 over the stream. I two putt and card an 8.

 

It was a disheartening 53/51, 104, with 9 penalty strokes. I did have some good shots though. Chipping with irons is coming in very handy. The 4i chip on 14 was the best shot of my day. I don't know what happened on the tees of 3 and 4 but that was two pull hooks in a row. My drives on other holes were solid. I gotta avoid fairway bunkers. I just can't seem to hit a full shot from them at all...

 

The 4i off the tee on #9 seems like it's a good move. I also used it for my tee shot on #5 and hit a pull 176 yards and almost into the stream that's over there. I think the 4i is a safe club as long as I don't go way left.

 

I need to work on consistency too.

[bortass]

Now the 18 I played Sunday. It was in the afternoon and in the lower 80s and drier.There was wind to take into account, maybe 10 mph or so. I have never played this course before and it was just my wife and I. So there was no one to offer advice on where to go/not go. The bunkers were redone this year as well. So some were removed. The rest had great sand in them. The real fine white sand that you can actually hit an explosion shot out of. I hope they redo the bunkers at my home course and use the same sand. I loved hitting out of these bunkers even if it wasn't always pretty.

 

I played the white tees which are 5442 yard, rating 67.1, slope 120. The forward tees I play at my course are 5484, rating 67.3, and slope of 121. So very similar. The fairways are soft. I'm a bit puzzled by this because we also saw puddles in a couple places. This course winds around a lake in parts. Maybe the higher water table or they water this course more then my home course. Either way it's a change from what I have been playing on. This course is probably only 10 miles from my home course, so there shouldn't be a big variation in rainfall...

 

#1 - par 5, 444 yards, dogleg left. I stay with my 4w off the tee since I have no clue about this course. I hit an okay fade 178 yards into the right rough at the corner. I'm 225-250 out, can't remember exactly and hit my 7w. It's a pull into the left trees. Take a drop and I'm about 125 out. The green is elevated and the fairway is soft here. I chunk it and the ball lands in the fairway, picks up a big glob of mud and hops once and stops. LOL. I hit a partial GW 62 yards onto the green. I'm 33 feet from the cup and two putt for an opening double bogey 7.

 

#2 - par 4, 328 yards dogleg left. I smoke a great draw down the middle, with the wind. It goes through the fairway at the corner and hits the little slope out there which kicks my ball left into the fairway on the right, 221 yard shot. I'm about 105 from center and the green is slightly elevated. There are bunkers on the front right and that's where the flag is. I aim left with my 9i and hit it a bit thin. It's a high draw that lands on the back of the green and rolls off, 118 yards. I'm just a few feet off the green and it slopes away from me and left to right. I chip with my putter to 9 feet and two putt for a bogey 5.

 

#3 - par 4, 356 yards. A pretty straight hole with a slight dogleg right by the green with a little stream area to carry short of the green. I'm with the wind and smoke another great low draw down the left side. I see it land in the fairway and roll. We drive up and can't find it. Odd... There's a large hole just off the cart path under some trees with running water that goes into a culvert. I'd say it's at least 6 feet deep and 6+ feet in diameter. My ball is in that hole. The way it's situated i cannot get a club on it or take a stance, I think it was over a 60* downslope where my ball was, very steep. I see red paint on the edges of the cart path where it skirts this hole. So I take a drop, 212 yards off the tee. I'm about 135 from center and have to carry what looks to be a tiny stream that is short of the green. I hit my 6i and it's a high draw, 155 yards, that lands on the back of the green and hops into the rough behind the green. I'm in some decent rough but my ball is sitting up on it fine. I do have a slight mound in the green near me to deal with and the green slopes away from me. I chip with the niblick and it rolls out about 15 feet from the cup. I two putt for a double bogey 6.

 

#4 - par 4, 319 yards, slight dogleg left. I hit a pop up with the 4w, 145 yards, into the fairway on the right, short of a bunker. I also snapped my tee... Bleh. I'm 180ish out and hit my 4w. It's heavy and the ball goes 132 yards into the right rough. The green is elevated and there are bunkers front left. The flag is front right and I hit a partial SW 48 yards up and on but 27 feet long and left of the flag. I two putt again, for a bogey 5.

 

#5 - par 3, about 135ish. There is a forced carry over a stream area that's full of brush, about 10-20 yards wide near the tees. the green is slightly elevated and there is a bunker front right and one back right. The flag is back mid right I hit my 6i and it's a great high draw that goes 146 yards into the back bunker. I can't complain when a solid shot hurts. The green slopes away from me and it's the first time I'm in the sand. I actually sink in it as I walk. I use my SW for a change and I get out of the bunker but the ball rolls all the way to the front of the green. It was a nice shot but I swung harder then I needed. So I'm now 56 feet below the hole and I three putt for a double bogey 5.

 

#6 - par 4, 318 yards, slight dogleg left. I hit a decent drive down the left with my 4w and it looks like it rolls into a fairway bunker. Turns out they filled in the front half of this bunker with turf, so I'm on grass, 186 yards, off the tee. I'm about 115 from center, slightly uphill, and I hit my 8i. It's a decent draw, a bit thin that goes a bit left on me. 113 yards into the left front bunker at the back lip... Yup, it's slightly plugged, probably 1/3- 1/2 the ball in the sand and I have no follow through because of the lip of the bunker. So I do what I think I saw in Monte's sand video on a plugged lie. I take my SW, swing hard, and bury the club head behind the ball with no follow through. The ball pops up nicely and lands on the green. Probably only went 3-4 yards total but I am very happy. The flag is to the right 32 feet away and I two putt for a bogey 5.

 

Feeling pretty good about my round so far with it being a new course and all.

 

#7 - par 5, 414 yards, and your second shot has to carry the corner of a very large pond. I hit a pull with my 4w that goes into the left trees in the air. I find my ball and take a drop, 169 yards off the tee. I'm about 70 yards from the water and have to go 90-100 to carry it. The pond angles right, so I aim left with my 7w on what I consider to be a conservative line. It's a high push fade right into the drink... I drop where it crossed and hit my 6i. it's a high shot that lands on the cart path above and behind the fairway on the other side and it takes a few big bounces to the right, and the green, down the path. that shot went 155 and I'm above the green about 50ish out from center and the flag is towards the back of the green from where I am. I hit my SW and it's a decent shot that rolls back to the flag and off the green, settling in a sprinkler head hole. I take relief and use the putter to chip. I misread the break and leave it 5 feet from the hole. I sink the putt for a triple bogey 8.

 

Well that hole sucked...

 

#8 par 3, 126 yards, slightly uphill with bunkers along the left side. There's a forced carry right off this teebox. I hit my 8i and it's a pull that goes 122 yards into the left front bunker. I take my SW and hit an explosion shot out and on the green about 11 feet from the cup. I two putt for a bogey 4.

 

I like these bunkers a lot. The sand is so nice.

 

#9 - par 4, 306 yards, dogleg right, lake carry right off the tee. The lake follows the entire right side of this fairway and green. I hit a high draw with my 4w, 184 yards, into the fairway across the water. The flag is forward and I am 100 or so from the edge of the green. I take my 9i and chunk it 62 yards. I figure a little bump and run with my 8i should work now and I leave it just short of the green. I use the putter to chip and the ball stops a foot short of the hole. So a 1 putt bogey 5.

 

I'm not keeping track of my total score but am feeling pretty good overall. I have struggled with lost balls and penalties though.

 

#10 - par 4, 250 yards, dogleg right. So I don't like the looks of this hole. the lake runs down the entire right side of the fairway, including the tee box. I also don't know where the green is. I figure out the dogleg after I hit my tee shot. I tee off with my 6i and aim to the left side of the fairway. I hit a nice high draw, downwind, 163 yards into the left rough. It's now that I realize it's a dogleg right and the green is on the other side of the lake, another forced carry. I'm about 115 from center with wind behind me still. I count on the wind and hit my 8i instead of taking an extra club. It's a high draw that goes 123 yards and lands on the green. I'm 46 feet from the hole and two putt for a par.

 

#11 par 4, 260 yards, slight dogleg left. I top my 4w, 130 yards, into the fairway on the right. I'm 135ish out , green is slightly elevated and there's a bunker on the far front right. I chunk this shot and it's a high shot that lands short of the green in one of the bunkers they just removed. The sod is a mess in here, it's uneven with little gaps and I see a blue flag. I play it as GUR and take relief. I chip with the niblick to 12 feet and two putt for a bogey 5.

 

#12 - par 5, 477 yards with a forced carry short of the green. I hit a slight push draw with my 4w 182 yards into the fairway on the left. I proceed to top my 7w down the right side and behind a tree. I have to lay up and mishit a partial punch with my 8i. I top it about 58 yards into the fairway. I'm 135 out with a forced carry. I grab my 6i and blade it into the crap. take my drop and hit a partial GW 60 yards and on the green. I'm 24 feet from the cup and have a tier to go down. I hit my putt and it stops near the hole and i two putt for a triple, 8.

Ouch.

#13 - par 3, 154 yards. Hitting over a little valley with a forced carry at the bottom of it. The flag is to the right of the green behind a couple bunkers. The left is open and i aim there with my 4i. I hit a push fade, 149 yards, into one of the bunkers on the right... I have a fair amount of bunker and green to deal with and take my GW to hit it out. I FUBAR the first one and advance it a few feet. I get the next one out and 12 feet from the flag. I hit my putt about 2 feet past the cup. I decide to lose my focus and i miss my putt low... So a three jack triple bogey 6.

 

Now this sucks...

 

#14 - par 4, 349 yards, fairly straight hole with nothing to carry. I top my 4w 109 yards... I top it gain 77 yards... So I'm 165ish out in the left rough. I go on and top my 7w twice, advancing the ball a total of 58 yards... I am very unhappy right now. About 105 out, going uphill. I hit my 9i and it's a high draw that lands on the green, 97 yard shot. I'm 16 feet from the hole and three putt again for an 8.

 

Okay, I am extremely not pleased with my game now. i had been tooling around, doing pretty good in my mind until now.

 

#15 - par 4, 274 dogleg left. I hit a low pull with my 4w that lands near the cart path that runs down the right side of this hole. I don't know what my ball hit but it kicks left and forward. 197 yards and I'm in the fairway about 75ish out. I go with a full SW and i hit a nice high shot 67 yards and on the green. I'm 27 feet from the cup and two putt for par.

 

#16 - par 3, 112 yards with bunkers fronting the green. the flag is on the back right, behind a bunker. I hit my 9i and it's a high draw to the left side of the green, 110 yards. I'm 25 feet out and two putt for another par.

 

#17 - par 5, 467. tee shot has to carry a bunch of stuff and there's water all down the right side of this hole. I hit a solid draw with my 4w, over the crap, and into the fairway 201 yards. the fairway is wide and i aim well left and hit 4w again. It's a low fade that follows the curve of the hole, 197 yards. I'm a few yards from the lake and about 70 yards from center. I take a full swing with my SW and hit a high push fade that lands well short of the green and rolls back a few feet into the water... I drop and chip with my 7i, 15 feet from the cup. I go on and two putt for a double bogey 7.

 

318 - par 4, 360 yards, water down the entire right side. I aim down the left side and hit a nice draw with the 4w, 197 yards, into the left fairway. I'm 160ish from center and don't want to hit my 7w here because long will be bad. I aim for the left of the green with my 4i and hit a high push fade into the water.. OMG, I wasn't even aiming close to it... I drop and can chip with my 7i. I hit a decent chip to about 11 feet and two putt for a double bogey 6.

 

So a 50/51 with 7 penalties. I lost a ball on every par 5 and I wasn't playing risky. I hit more good then bad shots but that stretch from 13-15 was horrid.

 

All that said, I am happy with the round overall. I think I did good playing a course for the first time with no one there to give me a heads up on how a hole plays. My putting was pretty good for never having seen these greens before either. I really liked the bunker. I seriously hope that my course gets an upgrade with the bunkers at some point. It was nice to play in what seems like beach sand versus builders sand.

 

I'll try to post images from Arccos of the round so you can see what the holes look like. Just keep in mind that penalty shots won't show up on it and a couple bunkers in the image no longer exist.

 

Have a good one and thanks for reading my ramblings.

[berndgeurts]

The last sentence... It's like a holy grail, consistency.

[bortass]

Picture time for Sunday.

 

1 par 5

2 par 4

3 par 4

4 par 4

5 par 3

6 par 4

7 par 5

8 par 3

9 par 4

10 par 4

11 par 4

12 par 5

13 par 3

14 par 4

15 par 4

16 par 3

17 par 5

18 par 4

[Chip Duffer]

Bortass you are the one and only golfer I "know" that typically is overclubbed on approach shots. So many routinely are chipping from the front of the green. That BTW, is intended as a compliment. It is so much easier to learn distances for clubs and adjust back. One question I have is, are you targeting your approach shots to the flag, or the middle of the green? I know it has helped me targeting the middle of the green on longer approaches.

I'm seeing your irons are establishing distance trends for full swings. Below are the approximate yardage trends I'm seeing. I suggest replacing the 4 and 5 irons with the 7 wood and or hybrids. They're too hard to "get well up" as Tom Wishon recommends. The 7W and/or a hybrid will help with that.

6i 150

7i 135

8i 120

9i 110

PW 100

GW 85

SW 70

Just observations from a guy who is trying to get his game back too.

fwiw, I played yesterday (VERY windy and wet) after missing another week. Had no golf for 6 weeks, played 2 Sundays, missed last week and played yesterday. Everything felt out of sync for most of the front (Triple and 2 doubles) and I felt like I was playing "golf swing". Started to settle in and strike the ball more solid on the back and would up shooting 47-41=88. YIKES!

[bortass]

@Twin2L I hope reading this thread hasn't made my game start to rub off on ya. Playing "golf swing" isn't very fun IMO. I think it gets me even more frustrated because I only do that when things are wrong and it tends to snowball. I do better mentally if I just swing the club. The ball doesn't always go where I want it to, actually that's more common than not, but I find it a bit easier to shrug off mishits. High winds can make it interesting. The biggest thing I consider is the effect on the ball curving. I know wind in my face will amplify any side spin I put on the ball. So some of those days where I've toyed with playing driver on a certain hole, it stays in the bag because I'm into the wind and don't want to make it even more likely that I go offline.

A hard one for me to work out is the impact of the wind on iron shots. I have had a number of cases where I take the wind into account for my club selection and it didn't help. Wind in my face, long. Tailwind, short. I bet most of it is the fact my contact is scattered over the map. A weak mishit still won't make it to the green with a tailwind, lol. I

I mostly aim for the center of the green but there are exceptions. Let's take #1 and #3 as an example. Both greens have bunkers on the right side and the left has none. I will aim for the left more if I have reasonable angles into the green that avoid the bunkers. So being on the left side of the fairway on both holes helps with this. If I am on the right side of the fairway and there is nothing forcing a different shot, I'm probably going for middle. A couple par 3s, I will aim a bit more left or right based on how the green slopes. The shorter the club the more aggressive I'll get. I'll probably be aiming at the flag for a 50 yard shot unless it's a sucker pin that is set to have issues with most possible mishits.

I am aware of the trend for amateurs to under club an approach. "Why I hit my 5i 175 this one time, so it's my 175 club...." @scooterhd2 brought this up early on in this thread. You will find me complaining about hitting my 6i on 120 yard shots and whining because it hurts the ole ego. My goal was to shift my misses to be long, left, and right, and not short. Pretty much the miss has to have made it past the front of the green since that means I could have actually made it on. Short ones never will... Once I started to go long more often with my 6i, I switched over to my 7i for the 120 yard shots.

Last 10 rounds from 53-150 yards, so SW through probably a few 4i, my shots into a green are 28.2 GIR, 38 short, 12.7 left, 14.1 right, and 7 long.
Last 10 rounds from 53-125, SW through 7i, 42.5 GIR, 27.5 short, 12.5 left, 12.5 right, 5 long.
So I'm getting better...

Right now I'm using 6i 135 and 7i 125 and basing all my gaps in 10 yard increments off that. Those two clubs are a focal point because both par 3s on the front use the same iron, so I have hit them more often. #8 is elevated so that's a bit of a wrinkle, a pure 7i can go over 155 on that hole. I will keep adjusting as I hit more shots with other clubs. One thing is I never feel bad if I launch a green because of a pure shot, skulling it over is another story.

The problem with my 7w is my range variance. This is a club I can hit over a green with because if I catch it good, it just goes. I've sent it a good 15 yards over a green before, carried everything, lol. So I save it for shots that are closer to 170ish.

I do have a hybrid or two kicking around but never really have used them. I think I have a 2h and maybe a 3h. Never have hit them well when I have tried them but maybe I can now. More food for thought.

[SNIPERBBB]

Going long is fine as long as trouble isn't behind the hole. My course, going long is dead, dead. Short leaves an easy pitch/chip everytime.

[Chip Duffer]

Bortass, no, I don’t think this thread had me struggling in the front Sunday. It was definitely lack of play and practice. I used to play twice a week, then cut back to once, then the covid stay home deal. I’m confident I can get my scores down again. I also made a change to my driver and corrected my grip as I was getting too weak with my bottom (right) hand. As a result, the cut driver I had been working on became a draw with 3 nasty hooks making an appearance in the round. I’m going to have to work on that again/always.

Like SniperBBB, most of the courses I play long is dead.

[bortass]

@SNIPERBBB @Twin2L I hear ya on going long can be bad. Most of the trouble going long here is probably 15 yards behind the green. Like on 1, there's a stream on the other side of the cart path, so 10 over the back and you're screwed. Other holes long is bad because of the chip you have etc. There are a couple where short and long are bad like #9. Short and you're in the pond. Long and you're probably in a bunker behind a green that slopes away from you and has a tier in it feeding to the pond... Not a fun shot.
I couch my wanting to be long versus short in the context of taking enough club instead of always under clubbing. A guy I play with lands in the front bunkers a lot on his shots into greens, even par 3s. He's almost always short. So I hit the club that I think has a reasonable chance to reach the target, since I sometimes play for front or back of the green. It's just right now I know if I catch it clean the ball may go 15-20 yards longer than expected. My swing isn't repeatable enough to get my average closer to my may yet. Luckily when I do go 15 long, I'm probably 5 yards off the back, or near the back of the green. Hopefully this makes sense.

I look forward to the day when I have a better understanding of my distances and my normal is closer to my max.

[Chip Duffer]

Bortass, find a “normal” that is within a club (10 yards). That level of consistency will allow you to target the middle of every green with confidence. A 10 yds short, you’re on or near the front, 10 yds long you’re on or near the back fringe.

I think those distances you’ve been hitting the last few rounds will trend to your “normal”.

what I’m suggesting is, pick a base line for each club and play a round or two with them and see what happens. I think you’ll find your ball striking and scoring improve as you will be using one swing, just with different clubs. Adjust after a round or two as the “real” course numbers reveal themselves.

[SNIPERBBB]

The under clubbers are just not honest with themselves and nothing short of being forced to play a course with water in front of every green will get them to change.

The "perfect" contact shot should never hurt you. I call it the nuked shot, not to be confused with skulling a shot over the green as those should never be considered in your shot planning unless it's a delicate wedge with water lurking if you skull it.

 

Nuked shot should just hang on to the green, your normal contact shot in the middle and the slightly weak shot on the front. Put those distances in your target window. Once you can develop better contact consistency you can shrink that window.

[berndgeurts]

Arccos should take care of this with it's caddie function.

Works like a charm.

Followed the arccos caddie function for 9 holes and shot a very conservative 4 over par. Excellent guidance for me as an 8 handicapper.

Enough people talk themselves into being longhitters. Today I stood on the tee for a 168yd par 3 and a 32 handicapper took out his 7 iron. Didn't club up after my recommendation: he shot 40 yards short of the green. Typical.

 

[bortass]

@Twin2L I follow. I'm actually starting to play around with my distances a bit more. I think you may be right that things are starting to shift a bit for me.@SNIPERBBB Nuked shots hurt me because they go much further than I normally expect. For example, Sunday I hit a 6i from the fairway and it was a high draw that went 155 yards total, it landed on the back of the green and rolled off. I expect to hit a 6i about 135ish. Normally my nuked shots are on a par 3 because the tee helps me get better contact. I'm not sure if I'm ready to call my 6i my 145 club yet. I guess it's just gonna be a phase of new learning for me. Four months ago, I was just trying to make contact and get the ball in the air, lol.
@berndgeurts I mostly ignore the Arrcos caddy feature. It gives me advice that may be suspect because of how I have used it. I started using it in January. I was maybe 6 weeks back playing after my 7 year layoff and playing a new course in the winter. Fairways were wet, I couldn't make clean contact, even on par 3s. That's when I was hitting my 6i for shots that were about 120ish... So I have a bunch of shots in my history that aren't valid, if you will. I hit the shots and they went as far as Arccos said, I just don't hit the ball that poorly as often now. For example I can be 150 out and Arrcos recommends I hit 7w. I went with it once and hit a very nice shot 170....

I have toyed with unpairing and repairing all my clubs to get it to start afresh but the numbers it has are accurate, so I'm torn.

I greatly appreciate the feedback. It helps me think about things and perhaps view it in a different light. I've followed some of the advice given in this thread and it has worked well and I hope to refine it even more. You guys are awesome.

[Myherobobhope]

How much are you practicing? Getting some confidence and consistency in your swing is going to pay dividends... that and being able to hit driver and get it into play...

One of the best things I ever did for my swing was spend time hitting "half shots" and focusing on good contact... it quickly improved my striking, but I've been playing golf for a long time.

[bortass]

It's story time. I got in a fairly quick 9. It's in the low 70s, partly sunny, 10 mph wind. It rained late Sunday and some yesterday, so the course is a little softer but nothing major. No dust when the club hits the ground but it's still fairly firm. I am still on the forward tees.

 

1 - par 4, that's pretty straight. I decide to be 'brave/bold' and hit driver. I aim for the left side of the fairway in the distance since that's the best angle into the green even if it's a longer shot. I hit a mid height draw down my target line, 222 yards, into the fairway on the left side, maybe 3-4 yards from the rough. Well that was interesting... I don't know how far any of my shots go when I play, I don't bother to look until after the round. I'm 155 from center, I wrote down some numbers this round. The flag is middle, so maybe the left edge of the right greenside bunker is in play. I aim to the left side of the green and hit my 4i. I top it right, 123 yards, and short of the bunker. I have to carry the bunker now and figure i'll pitch my niblick on. I skull it over the back of the green.. luckily it somehow stops a few feet short of rolling into the bushes that front the stream behind this green. So I have to chip from a bare spot and there is a hump at the back of this green I have to deal with and things slope away from me once I cross said hump. Oh, the green is also elevated regardless of said hump. I chip with the niblick and the ball hits the back of the hump and pops over it. Just as I wanted. The shot is blind, so I don't know what it did afterwards. I'm about 12 feet below the cup. I look things over and hole the putt for a bogey 5.

 

2 - par 3, the foursome in front of me are on the green and wave me to hit. they are all near the right edge of the green and the flag is middle right. I aim for the middle with my 7i and hit a high pull draw. It lands on the left side of the green and bounces into the back left bunker, 131 yards off the tee. I'm able to get out of the bunker with my SW but I'm still about 36 feet from the flag. It's a left to right break and I'm going across the slope of the green. I hit my putt and it stops hole high about 2 feet below the cup. So I two putt for a bogey 4 and move on.

 

I'm feeling good about my putting as I walk to 3.

 

3 - par 5, dogleg right. The wind is behind me some. I aim more right than I have in the past because the tee have been moved back and it changes the angles. I hit a nice high draw, 258 yards, to the left side of the fairway. I'm 194 from center and hit my 4w. It's a dead push that goes into the edge of the right trees in the air. I hear it hit leaves but nothing solid. It takes me a bit to find my ball since it did get knocked down. I'm on a hill and higher than the green. I gotta carry the right side bunkers and my ball is in some longer grass and stuff. I use my GW and make decent contact. The ball comes out low and lands right in the bunker. Bleh. I use my SW and I hit the ball out of the bunker but it's low and hot. It rolls through the green and up the backing slope and stops. So I'm in the rough on a down slope and the green slopes away from me just a bit. Nothing major. I use my putter to chip but I'm a bit too firm and it rolls 11 feet past the hole. I get my putt inside 2 feet, so it's a two putt 7.

 

Not super excited about what just happened but my mood is fine as I walk to 4.

 

4 - shorter par 4, and pretty straight. I aim down the middleish of the fairway but the tees are on the right side, as is the green. So I'm drawing a line that eventually goes left of the greens and it's bunkers. I hit driver and it's a mid height draw down my target line, 243 yards, through the fairway a couple yards into the left rough. I'm 46 yards from center. I take my SW and hit a shot I used to hit a lot. Hands slightly forward, club to parallel, come down on the ball and take a decent sized divot. The ball gets up in the air with a lot of back spin, lands on the green, hops once and stops. My shot went 50 yards and was a bit right, so I'm front right and the flag is closer to mid left and i'm 30 feet below it. I lag my putt within a couple of feet and sink the par putt.

 

5 - par 5, dogleg right. The fairway narrows at the corner and there is a stream on the left side up there. I have started to hit my 4i off the tee on this hole because my 7w has gone long and rolled into the stream on well struck shots. I tee the ball in the middle of the teebox and aim right. I hit a great looking mid height draw down the right side. It lands on the cart path, which is right of the fairway, and kicks left and it moves fast. Crap..... I find my ball in the stream where it first comes out from under the fairway, 217 yards off the tee... I think I would have been fine if I had not landed on the cart path. I drop and hit a high shot with my 7w, 176 yards, into the middle of the fairway, 44 yards from center. The flag is back right and there's a tier in this green. Based on the slopes and how the tier forms, I want to be right of the flag. I take my SW and hit the same shot I did on 4. It get up in the air, hits the green, hops and stops. It looked like maybe it went 3 feet after landing. That shot went 44 yards and I'm on the back tier 11 feet right and below the hole. The putt will break right to left. I hit my putt and miss a tough high and the ball stops hole high less then 6 inches behind the cup. So I card a 6 even with the penalty stroke.

 

I have no complaints as I walk to #6. The 4i shot was very well struck and just bad luck. For the record that hole is level until you get to the green, so i didn't have a slope helping me, just the cart path, lol.

 

6 - par 4, slight dogleg left. Houses right, so i aim a bit more left and hit driver. It's another mid height draw down my target line. It reaches the little down slope that starts near the 150 marker in the air and I see it land in the fairway and bounce. The shot went 235 yards and because of the curve of this fairway, I'm on the right side of it. I'm 65 yards from center and the flag is front right. I decide to take my SW and hit the same partial shot as I did and 4 and 5. I hear a click as I make contact with the ball. it gets up in the air and lands on the green, 53 yards. I'm 23 feet past the hole but it's not a super tricky putt. It is down slope but no crazy breaks. I hit my putt to a few feet and sink the par putt.

 

7 - par 4, dogleg right, elevated tee shot into the wind. It's a very wide fairway and I aim for the left side of it, the tees are on the right and there's trees and houses right. I have hit OoB with push slices here before. I have no reason to question my driver so I hit it. It's a high draw down my target line that goes 204 yards and lands just left of middle. i didn't get much roll since the wind and height made the ball drop fairly vertical. I'm 152 from center, wind in my face and the cup is on the right where there are no bunkers. I think about what to hit for longer than normal. yardage says 4i but the wind in my face may mean 7w... I go with 7w and hit a very high push into the wind. It flies like an iron and goes 149 yards and lands 4-5 yards right of the green. The flag is back right and I'm actually not that far from it. I chip with my 7i and it bounces a bit too much with some random bare spots in the fringe and rolls on the green but i'm 16 feet short of the cup. Oh well, not great but I'm okay with it. I miss the pat putt and the ball stops between 12-18 inches behind the hole. So I secure my bogey 5.

 

8 - par 3, flag is left front/mid. Wind coming at me and an elevated teeshot. Arccos is saying the front of the green is playing 108 yards (this is about 140 to center). I decide to go with 8i instead of my 7i. I hit a high draw off the toe that goes 126, and lands a couple yards onto the green and releases left some. I'm 32 feet below the hole and i leave my birdie putt about 2 feet short. I sink the par putt though.

 

9 - par 4, water on the left as you get closer to the green. I have started to hit 4i off the tee since my 7w has found the pond when i have gone a bit left on a well struck shot. Also I seem to hit moistly push slices on this hole with a wood... I think the ball may have been a touch forward in my stance but I'm not sure. I hit a mid height overdraw that only goes 145 yards, into the fairway on the left. I'm 157 from center, wind in my face and a pond carry. I think about going for it with my 7w. I have the range but I decide to punch a 7i layup instead down the fairway to the right of the pond. I make good contact but i diddn't aim right enough.. The ball lands and rolls to the left and into the pond, sigh. I drop about 60ish out and use my GW with that partial shot I've been hitting with my SW. I'm into the wind and make great contact. It carries the green and lands in the bunker behind the gree, opps. I somehow launched this thing 79 yards. it was a nice high shot too, not skulled. I chip out of the bunker and the slope of the green feeds down and 4 feet past the hole. I look over my putt and miss it just high of the hole and stopping within a foot of the cup. So a two putt triple bogey 7.

 

Not happy with #9 at all. Maybe I should have gone for it with the 7w.

 

I ended up with a 45, with 2 7s and a 6 on the card. The driver was on which is strange to me. Up north when I was able to hit driver, I was real happy when it went 220 total. I also hit 4/5 fairways and my miss was going through the fairway...My putting was on except for that one on #9. Overall a good round IMO and I'm happy to finally have a decent 9.

 

[bortass]

@Myherobobhope Very little practice actually, perhaps to my detriment. I think I might get to the range once every couple of weeks but I'm not positive. My first inclination is to always play, especially since I'm paying for a membership. I want to break even or better each month. So that takes about 27 holes per week. I'm not a range rat, lol. Though once upon a time I spent more time on the range than the course. My friend's father was a member at the course and he told me to start playing more. That had a bigger long term impact on my game. I started to learn to golf and how to deal with situations that don't happen on the range. I still spent a fair amount of time on the range but I was also getting lessons. So had to work on things..

[Myherobobhope]

I get the desire to play over practice, and it's something I did alot last season... lots of play, little practice... definitely got my money's worth out of my membership! This season I've thus far only had a few hours a week to sneak in golf... and I try to devote it to practicing things I want to improve on... Today was my first full 18 at my home course in quite some time... The practice paid off, but I learned some practical lessons as well.

The biggest thing that has helped me as a golfer is confidence off the tee... It is one of those things that builds on itself... I am confident I'll hit the ball well, so I hit it better... lather, rinse repeat... but I built that confidence on the range to start with... I'm working on rebuilding my shattered putting confidence, but I stood over balls today and didn't worry about MISSING them, which was a huge upgrade for me.

As long as you are having fun, you are doing something right!

[ClubBuildRookie]

When your considering distances to the green, are you considering the lie, backspin, bounce and roll you’ll get. All are key insights you need to have and understand to produce better results.

As example, Sunday late afternoon between 3 and 4 pm, I had a 148 yards approach shot to the flag into a par 5.

My ball was in the rough on the right side of the fairway. Pin was in the center of the green.

Then green was of decent size but around the entire left half of the green was a pond.

At the edges of the green it had a relatively steep downslope to a pond. The green also had bunkers in the front on both sides.

I looked at my GPS, seen the 148 yardage to the flag and it was calm conditions so wind wasn’t a factor.

I pulled my 7i which I typically hit 146 to 150 total yards including roll very consistently on my SkyTrak the LM with no wind in the garage off of a mat.

I made a nearly a perfect stock swing, contact and ball flight was spot on. I stood posed at follow thru watching the ball hit the green pin high 3 feet left of pin.

The ball then made a large bounce or two hitting the down slope off the back left side and proceeded to roll into the pond.

I recite this example for several reasons. First, I was playing in the late afternoon, the greens are always firmer, I should have anticipated bigger bounces.

Secondly, I was hitting my ball from a lie in rough. I should have anticipated less spin and more roll simple due to grass getting between the club face and ball negating the effect the clubface grooves causing less backspin on the ball and inducing more roll release.

Third, less backspin on a 7i shot also produces longer carry distances. That is a fact. If you don’t believe it, put a piece of tape on the face of your 7i at the range and give a whirl. You can get another 20 to 30 yards easily. With a piece of face tape of my 7i, I can cranked it out to 180 yards on the launch monitor.

Lastly, if you don’t know this type of stuff, its very hard to come by and it will likely take a very long time to learn if someone doesn’t help explain it to you. In addition to the wind; lie, spin, ball release, green firmness are all very serious considerations a golfer needs to bake into their preshot club selection that must be accounted to experience their potential.

In hindsight, considering the lie in the rough, reduced spin and green firmness, I should have pulled my 8i hitting a stock 134 yard approach shot that would have most likely carried the bunkers putting me pin high to back of green at worst case. I hope you find this example and nuggets of insight helpful.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

I'd try to hit the range at least once a week. Right now thats kinda what Im doing is hitting the range for 30mins to an hour after work and playing on the weekends. My tuesday league started last week, rained out tonight, and my wednesday night league has been covid delayed till june 3 so my during the week playing is down. Usually try to hit the range before those rounds. Now im just trying to get down to the range on thursday or friday to get ready for my money games on the weekend. My irons are pretty predictable, so I do some maintenance work on those and really concentrate on my 40-100 yard game and make sure I can keep my driver with a reliable shape. I'm one of those rare straightballers and never know when my driver goes will switch from draw to fade and back. Sometimes its different days, sometimes it pops up halfway through the round. I have to have confidence with my driver as theres some holes that laying up is is no better than hitting driver as the landing area for the layups is literally 10 yards, the driver landing area is much wider but still OB/lost ball potential on both sides.

 

Been playing from the senior tees for the money games because of the players involved and its just been so darned wet this year that who knows what my game will be like once we get back to the "real tees".

[bortass]

@Myherobobhope Interesting about the confidence part. I build some on the range but the majority is built on the course. So with chipping and sand shots, I practiced the technique to learn it and get a basic level on confidence that I know what I'm doing. What happens on the course is what will either build or destroy my confidence. So if I do well I feel much better about it but I remember back in March playing 18 and all my early chips were skulls. I had no faith is chipping the rest of the round. Part of it may be I don't have much experience/remember being good chipping. It seems to have always been a struggle.

My driver, I used to be able to hit it and keep it in play fairly well. It didn't go far, 220ish, but it worked. I start playing again and it's push slices. So I hit it once in a while on the range to see what my shot shape is looking like. The other week, after going back to my original driver, the shape started to straighten out. Saturday before my round I hit some and it looked good. I hit a nice shot with it on #1. Pull hooked it into the trees on #3, so it went back in the bag. Of course I also pull hooked my 4w into the trees on #4 but it got better after that. Yesterday I hit driver well on #1 and then #3, and #4. So I felt real good about using it. I was hitting draws down my target line and I can't ask for anything more than that.
@ClubBuildRookie I think about some of those things. My irons are high and drop, let's leave 4i and 5i out of the mix for now. So I don't really think about green firmness much. Our greens are fairly firm right now. Some of the guys that I play with on Saturdays hit irons that are low and will run when they land. I've seen a few of them hit what looks like a good shot until it starts rolling away from the hole.

I look at my lie to determine what club to hit from the perspective of how well do I think I can make contact. Yardage may call for a 4w but in the ball is someplace I don't feel good about hitting 4w, maybe I need to take an awkward stance or it's heavy wet rough. I'll take a short iron instead. I don't look at it and think 'hmmm wet grass, I might hit a flyer'.

I am starting to look at slopes around the green and how it will affect my ball. #2 slopes back right to front left, so I will try to aim a shade right and let the green feed my ball closer to the hole with the run out I get.
@SNIPERBBB Your routine makes sense. I'll have to take all of the advice regarding hitting the range. Pain free reps to groove my swing. I probably need to work on my long irons aka 4i and 5i some to see what I can get out of them. I'm starting to use them a bit more, namely tee shots, but for approaches at times too. 7w off the deck, I tend to hit pretty well but I'm leery of using it to carry ponds into #9 and #18. I've done it on 18 before and it worked out but I still feel it's risky though I could shave strokes if I get on in regulation. It's that entire risk reward thing...

Your weekend money game comment is kinda funny because it's kinda like the one I play in on Saturdays. Mine is low stakes, skins and greens. What I don't get it they use half of your index regardless of the tees you play. So I get 14 from the forward tees and would get 14 from the whites. If they went by course handicap and cut it in half, I'd get 12 from forward and 14 from white. They don't have any set rules on who can play forward, the guys in Maine had age + HCP over 85 to play the forward tees. I see no reason to move back to the whites and lose 2 free strokes that a number of others are already getting. Score wise I think it would be close to a wash for me. It's a 500 yard difference on the card between the tees and there's only a nice yardage advantage on a few holes. One guy wanted them to change the rule and use course handicap but it was shot down. The guys getting 2 free strokes want to keep them. Of course if I ever hear rumblings that I need to move back to the whites, I will.

Speaking about tees. I am hitting my irons closer to what I used to when I played 6300 yards at sea level. I think my 6i was my 150 club. I may still be looking at it as a 135 club but it's not a 120 anymore. I had to play forward when I started out or go nuts hacking the ball around. I still think I want to break 90 for 18 from the forward tees and maybe even 85 before shifting back and trying to do it from the whites, which is my goal. Any thoughts?

[SNIPERBBB]

We don't use those silly stroke things for our money games. It's a team stableford game taking the best three of four/five scores.

 

As to moving back, breaking those milestones isn't important to that's long as you're confident you can confidently hit the longer clubs well enough to to not be always 40+ yards short on every approach shot.

[Myherobobhope]

@bortass I was reading "Every Shot Counts" and it has some interesting takeaways about strategy and where we lose strokes... I think gaining confidence with driver will help you a ton (you yanked your 4w out of bounds and didn't put it in time out... why did you treat your driver differently?). Consistently getting off the tee 200+ shouldn't be a huge challenge, and will help lower your scores... but it's one of those "the only way forward is through" situations... Have to pound it on the range and the course until you are comfortable with it.
Getting off the tee is crucial... You might want to look at a shorter, 12 degree driver... the bigger head will help minimize misses on the club face, and the shorter shaft will give you more control. I've considered doing this exact thing but just to limit flight off the tee box for certain holes at my home course... but you should be able to pick one up cheap... Get an old 12 degree TM head that works with their current hosel design, and then pick up a good 3w shaft on the cheap... Honestly, I'm now considering this idea for myself. BRB, eBay.

[bortass]

Yeah, the game in Maine was team points. I loved it since I needed 6 points and I could usually do that on the front 9 and then some. Gotta love having a high index because of blow up holes. The one good thing, IMO is it's half your index. So even the guys with fewer strokes still have a chance. I'm the worse player, so everyone plays straight up on HCP holes 15-18 and probably HCP holes 1-5 as well since everyone gets a stroke.

 

Regarding moving back the "significant" holes, everything else is 15 yards or less.

#1 par 4, 29 yards longer. Even from forward tees I'm 150-205 out with 190 being more likely. This may change if I keep getting more distance on tee shots like I have the last week or so.

#5 par 5, 62 yards longer. I am now teeing off with a 4i because of the hole design. My 4w and 7w have been getting me in trouble with good shots that go into a stream on the left. Moving back gives me more room for error.

#6 par 4, 77 yards longer, from 290 to 367. The white tees are slightly elevated. I've been putting my tee shots inside 100 lately.

#9 par 4, 57 yards longer, 300 to 357. I'm now teeing off with a 4i here since I have hit my 4w and 7w into the pond with good shots that were left too much. The pond causes me headaches on this hole with my second shot pretty much always.

#11 par 4, 61 yards longer, from 268 to 329. This is a 90* dogleg left and I tee off with my 5i because I once hit my 4i through the fairway and into the bunker at the outside corner.

#14 par 5, 96 yards, from 447 to 543. This is the biggest variation. The 96 yards from the whites to teal is all downhill though. So it's a fairly elevated tee shot.

[bortass]

I don't think I have read that book. How do you like it? I may have to look into getting a copy.

 

Regarding the 4w not being yanked. Over the 52 rounds I have tracked with Arccos I have hit driver 30 times and my 4w 486. So I have confidence in my 4w off the tee. The driver still needs to earn it but I think it may be getting there after my last round and today's range session. Current driver is an Adams Speedline, 10.5*. I recall the 'thriver', aka 3w/driver mix from years ago. Never tried it. I'm also not a tinkerer/clubho otherwise I probably would have.

 

I agree completely about getting off the tee. That's the main reason I banished my driver early on when my swing was junk. My 4w was better at finding the fairway and not going as far right, lol. Took a slight hit in distance at the time but nothing major. I have a feeling the discrepancy may be a bit larger right now if my drives from yesterday are my new norm.

 

I did make it to the range today for about 45 minutes. It was decent overall. I hit driver and it started out good and then fell off. I was tinkering a bit though, so I'm not reading anything into it. I hit 4i off the deck and I really liked the results. Some were dogs, but that applied to every shot type I tried today. Most were playable and got nice and high. So I think even those would drop at the end. The distance is hard to tell because I'm hitting downhill. I think they were going 170ish. I did the same with the 7w and that was very interesting. That ball was just going and was very high, dropping like an iron at the end. Those seemed to go close to 200 but again, slope issues. It'll be interesting to see what I get on the course if I can replicate those shots/ball flights.

 

[Myherobobhope]

If your club had a demo cart, grab a 12 degree head and a three wood shaft... give it a try. Not to be a broken record!

keep grinding, regardless of what you choose to do... playing golf, practicing golf... have fun, have a plan and keep playing!

[bortass]

@Myherobobhope I don't know if my club has a demo cart, well I think I've seen one for Ping irons. The pro shops have been closed since Covid hit. They have been checking in golfers either outside or in the foyer of the clubhouse.

Well I suck but I have to laugh a bit too. Started out bogey, bogey and felt good. Pushed my driver OoB right on 3. managed a double bogey 7 even with stroke and distance. Driver on 4 was fat, hit 5-7 inches behind the ball and made a divot all the way to the tee. I'm 168 out in the fairway and have 7w. I swing and miss... A whiff, lol. It's been years since I did that. Okay 4i off the tee on #5 and I hit my 7w off the toe and fat, it's a push into the right stream. Finally get a decent drive on #7 and chunk my 4i from 156. Hit a slight pull draw on my tee shot on #9 with the 4i and it rolls into the pond. I didn't really care what happened after that.

Some positives though.

#2, I hit my 7i off the tee and it's a high push into the wind that goes 126. Maybe I can start considering it my 130 club? #8 I hit 8i off the tee since the flag is forward and it was a great high draw to the left side of the green, 143 yards (elevated tee shot).

Putting was okay, 20 putts, and my average first putt was over 25 feet. Had two putts of 36, 44, 31, 11, 36, and 33.

I decided to stay with driver the entire round. I never got it back on track but that's okay. I can't post a solo round, so the only thing impacted is my ego.

I'm wondering if the whites may make more sense for me. A couple of holes that get longer, 5 and 9, would give me more room before having to worry about my tee shot going into trouble. I'm using irons off the tee and it's better than my woods but I'm still having issues at times.

It's still fun exercise though and a great walk. Not sure I'll get out and play tomorrow or just hit the range.

[SNIPERBBB]

Dropping back tees to avoid trouble isn't a solution long term. Short term perhaps until you can develop a club or shot to fix the problem. The proper solution is to pick the club or hit the same club but softer that doesn't get you in trouble on those nuked shots.

[berndgeurts]

What about par+1 golf? Don't use your long irons and woods. Every hole 1 shot extra to the green to get a bogey. So a par 5 in 4 shots on the green and a par 4 in 3 shots. Two putts to make bogey. 72 + 18 makes 90. This will get you swinging with your irons and create a stable base for swinging your longer clubs. I tried it a few times when I was trying to break 90 and worked like a charm. Easy swinging and keeps you out of trouble.

[bortass]

@berndgeurts It's similar to the personal par concept in the Break 100 Now book. I have used the concept over the years to manage my expectations. namely on longer par 4s that I have trouble reaching in two. I consider them a par 5. So I'm happy with a bogey, though I do try to get on in 2, within reason.
@SNIPERBBB Very good point. I determined that I can't hit a pull with the 4i on #5. It goes into the stream. I mishit a second 4i off the tee and it only went 143 yards but a follow up 7w that was very well struck put me about 110 yards from the green in two (par 5). I think I can dial back to a 5i on both #5 and #9. I played both holes okay with tees shots that went under 145 yards, lol.

I played a practice 9 today. Things started out ugly and I had to wait on shots, which I expected, so I started to hit multiple balls when I mishit a shot. I pretty much played the first ball down but ended up excluding the round from my stats in Arccos. I'm just gonna mentioned the positives I found today.

The first positive is I didn't care about the score or where shots went. There's a thread here about dealing with frustration, which I have skimmed in the past and I caught up with today. My mishits didn't bother me as much today as they would have. I accepted it and moved on.

On #3, I had mishit a 4w from the fairway that went maybe 10 - 15 yards. I wasn't in practice mode yet, so I went to my ball and hit it again but this time I slowed down my swing. It was a great mid height draw that went 190-200. On the tee box of #4, I take the same slower swing with driver and hit a low true fade 241 yards into the fairway and 50 yards from center. I tried to be slower with my driver and woods the rest of the round. I hit a very nice higher fade with my 7w off the deck that went 182. The driver on 6 and 7, stayed in play, though they weren't great shots distance wise, 186 and 206 respectively. #9, I hit my 7w for my approach over the pond and at the green from about 162, into the wind. I swung easy and it was a great mid height draw, 169 that landed on the green and rolled back into the front fringe because of the slope involved. That shot was a nice confidence booster. All of these were just hit with a single ball ie my first swing from the current sopt and i didn't bother to hit a second shot.

Taking extra shots, was good. I think I learned something regarding chipping with irons and had a couple cracks at my irons to try to work out what is going astray.

The last positive, while not golf specific, is walking 9 is helping me in my attempt to drop some weight. I finally got fed up with the status quo and started to do something about it. It's another reason I prefer to play over the range. Anyhow, I used a new notch on my belt in the correct direction for a change today. Dropping lbs will make it easier on me during the summer while I'm out there and make it much easier to find clothes I can golf in. I'm currently stuck wearing Tall shirts because normal cut of the same size won't stay tucked in. Once the 'ab' shrinks enough normal cut shirts will start to be fine again.

I hope you have a good weekend and happy Memorial Day if you're in the US. Thanks for your service to any vets out there. We greatly appreciate what you have done.

[bortass]

I have been thinking, for good or bad, about how I’m going about things. I am currently feeling like I am not on a solid path to my goal.

 

I’ve knocked the rust off my swing and my accuracy and distance are much improved but my scores aren’t. It’s a mixture of things, so it’s hard to say if I just improve X, I’m all set.

 

arccos has driving and approaches as my worst areas. Followed by chipping, putting, and sand. My really good rounds had my full swing being on.

 

I have to spend more time on the range. I may make some improvements just through playing but I don’t think that will cut it. I feel that I am being unrealistic with what I have been doing the last few months.

 

I won’t be a range rat and still plan on at least 27 holes per week. I think I need at least 1-2 range sessions a week minimum. Gotta balance it with work and home though.

 

I’ll see how it goes and look forward to any comments and/ or criticisms.

 

Cheers!