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

[bortass]

The last time I did this was early June. It's been a couple of months and this may not be that interesting but typing it out makes me look at the various numbers. I'll put a summary at the top since looking at numbers can be boring.

 

Summary:

My current GHIN index is 22.0, so I have shaved 1.8 strokes off that. 

The Arccos stats will contain rounds that don't get posted to GHIN because I played solo. As in the past this is my last 10 rounds and the SG is based off a 12 HCP, not scratch.

 

Overall: -9.4 strokes gained. This is +6.9 SG since the 6/1 stats update. I think this is probably the biggest improvement in such a short time for me. I improved in all aspects of my game in the last couple of months.

 

The biggest improvement was in putting, a 2.4 stroke improvement. I have increased my one putt rate and decreased both two and three putts.

 

Followed by Approaches. This is still  my weakest area but I improved by 1.9 strokes. Part of this is just a lack of distance. getting my woods on track may help improve this some. The interesting change with regard to misses is I'm going long, short, or right less. I'm missing left a touch more and hitting greens a touch more. I am struggling from the rough which is no surprise after the fiasco a couple weeks ago. I will eventually need to work this out but it's not the biggest hole in this area.

 

Next up is driver. This improved by 1.6 strokes. I'm getting decent distances and penalties are the issue. I hit fairways at a decent rate, 56%. It's the big pulls and pushes that need to go away.

 

Short game is last, an improvement of 1.1 strokes. Chipping has improved by 2.3 strokes and this will get better as more rounds are with my new technique. I'm averaging 10 feet from the hole with chips inside 25 yards. It's 27 feet for the 25-50 yard range and I think this distance may improve the most after my short game lesson last week but it's too soon to tell.  I'm losing strokes in the sand though. I got worse by 1.6 strokes with short bunker shots. The recent issues with skipping off clay, etc. killed the overall progress with my short game.

 

The practice and lessons seem to be paying off. I think I have the major pieces in place to get close to my current goal with plenty of room to improve further. I've come a long way in 18 months and I will have to remember that when I hit bumps in the road.

 

 

 Details:

Driving – Any non par 3 tee shot regardless of club

Overall: -3.4 , a change of +1.6, 

Distance : 0.0 , an improvement of +0.7 strokes. Average distance 205( a 12 averages 228), a gain of 6 yards.

Accuracy: -0.7, a change of -0.2 SG , 

FW hit 56%( a 12 averages 45%), + 3.0%

left 14%, +3.0%

right 30%, -6%

Penalties: -2.7, a change of +1.1 SG – Better but I need to avoid them more..

 

Approach – any par 3 tee shot and all non tee shots from outside of 50 yards

Overall: - 6.2, a change of +1.9. My weakest area is slowly getting better.

Par 3: -0.7, a change of +0.4.

Fairway: -3.7, a change of +1.9

Rough: -1.7, a change of -0.3. I have had some real issues from the rough

Sand: -0.1, a change of -0.1. This doesn't worry me since I'm rarely in fairway bunkers and I just want to get out in 1, nothing fancy.

GIR: Hit 22% , + 7%.

Long: 3%, change of -6%, so going long less often.

Short: 52% , change of -4%, not as short as often

left: 14%, change of +7%,

Right: 9% , -2%

GIR Avg distance to pin: 21 ft, 1 foot closer than last time. A 12 averages 32 feet, so I am doing good here. It probably because my GIRS are with shorter clubs.

All approaches avg distance to pin: 97 ft , 25 feet closer. A 12 averages 69 feet. This is why I think it's a difference in the longer clubs.

 

Short game – any non putts 50 yards and in.

Overall +0.3, a change of +1.1

Chips 0-25 yards: + 2.1 0.9, +1.2,

Chips 25-50 yards: - 0.4, +1.1

Chip 0-25 average distance from pin: 10 ft, 2 feet closer. A 12 averages 17 feet.

Chips 25-50 yards average distance from pin: 27 ft, 3 feet closer. A 12 averages 26 feet

 

Sand 0-25 yards: -1.3, a change of -1.6. Sand game is horrible lately as mentioned.

Sand 25-50 yards: -0.1, A change of +0.4 SG, so a touch better.

 

Sand 0-25 average distance to pin: 38 ft, This is 25 feet further away.... A 12 HCP averages 24 feet.

Sand 25 – 50 yards average distance to pin: 50 feet, 11 feet further. Not doing well here either. A 12 HCP averages 32 feet.

 

Putting

Overall : 0.0 , a change of +2.4

First putt 0-10 feet: -0.2, a change of +1.0

First putt 10-25 feet: +0.5, a change of +0.5

First putt 25-50 feet -0.3, a change of +0.9

First putt 50+ feet: -0.1, a change of -0.1
 

One putts: 5.3 , A change of +1.5

Two putts: 10.5 , a change of -0.7

Three+: 2.1 2.9, a change of -0.8

 

Putts per hole: 1.8, change of -0.1

Putts per GIR 2.1, no change

[betarhoalphadelta]

6 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

There are huge parallels with how Monte and the AMG guys see the swing. 

 

3 hours ago, BigTerp1524 said:

More or less. Monte seems to emphasize the hands (cast A) and delaying the pivot ever so slightly in transition. He doesn't go into much detail about the pivot itself. That's where I found the AMG video helpful for myself and the particular issue(s) I was having. 

 

 

Yeah, from what I've gathered they seem to have the same conception of how they see the swing, but potentially differences in the way that they teach and communicate how to get there. 

 

Which is where it can be helpful to see something the AMG guys say if what Monte says isn't "clicking" or vice versa. I'm an engineer, so I really like a lot of the Gears stuff that AMG does--it really helps me understand intellectually what I'm supposed to be doing. My lesson with Monte showed me how to actually get my body to comply 😉 

 

[BigTerp1524]

3 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

AMG does--it really helps me understand intellectually what I'm supposed to be doing. My lesson with Monte showed me how to actually get my body to comply

This is pretty spot on with how it works for me. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

For approaches, what does a 12 average regarding short percentage? 

 

Do you think your short percentage is due to mishits or not taking enough club (or potentially in some cases not having enough club)?

[Three_Jack]

54 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

 

Yeah, from what I've gathered they seem to have the same conception of how they see the swing, but potentially differences in the way that they teach and communicate how to get there. 

 

Which is where it can be helpful to see something the AMG guys say if what Monte says isn't "clicking" or vice versa. I'm an engineer, so I really like a lot of the Gears stuff that AMG does--it really helps me understand intellectually what I'm supposed to be doing. My lesson with Monte showed me how to actually get my body to comply 😉 

 

 

Monte advocates getting re-centered and shifting to lead side EARLY which is very similar to AMG.

 

I believe monte has a video where he points on how quickly John Rahm re-centers because of his short backswing. A lot of the same concepts of AMG.

[TheDeanAbides]

51 minutes ago, Three_Jack said:

 

Monte advocates getting re-centered and shifting to lead side EARLY which is very similar to AMG.

 

I believe monte has a video where he points on how quickly John Rahm re-centers because of his short backswing. A lot of the same concepts of AMG.

Remember that it's a pressure shift left not a weight shift. It's an important distinction. 

[Three_Jack]

28 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Remember that it's a pressure shift left not a weight shift. It's an important distinction. 

Recentering is absolutely a weight shift as well as a pressure shift. 
 

AMG and Monte both talk about moving off the ball and then recentering by the top of your backswing and getting as far shifted towards the target by shaft parallel in down swing.

[bortass]

2 hours ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

For approaches, what does a 12 average regarding short percentage? 

 

Do you think your short percentage is due to mishits or not taking enough club (or potentially in some cases not having enough club)?

The only comparison to a 12 that is provided for greens hit and where's the miss is just for GIR. My GIR % is 22 and a 12 is 31%. My opinion is the short percentage is mostly from mishits and not being able to hit the ball far enough. I don't hit the ball near perfect and I base my yardages on the average result of my shots. I am more likely to mishit it worse than normal than to hit it pure. There are also some holes where I struggle to reach in regulation. #1 requires a solid 4w after a solid drive. #5 I need to be inside 150 yards or I likely lay up because of trouble. #9 is similar to #5 because of the pond. Now add in the potential of a short drive as well. If I am over 160 yards out I am hitting either 5i, 5H, 4w or 7w. Those are not high percentage shots.

 

Two other factors also help me buy into that position. If I do get a GIR I average 21 feet from the hole versus a 12 averages 32 feet. That's a big difference and I attribute it to most of my GIRs being with shorter clubs and distances. Arccos has GIR %s between 25% and 61% for 8i through SW. I'm between 7% to 20% for 6i through 4w. Also I average 97 feet from the hole on all approaches while a 12 HCP is at 67 feet. That's a significant difference IMO.

 

Good luck tomorrow BTW.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Got it. 

 

The main reason I asked is that I know that Monte has said here on WRX many times that one mistake nearly all amateurs make is not taking enough club. I've tried to listen to that and make sure I'm taking enough club...

Here is what The Grint shows me for tracking par 3s by accuracy:

 

 

I'm not entirely sure what the 19% is--that could be tracking as mis-hits, or a hole where I forgot to enter it. Assuming it's mis-hits (which I think is likely as I'll put tops and s$&^@s in as mis-hits off the tee on a par 3 rather than short), that means I'm probably about 33% short if we use the same measurement as Arccos is using.

 

But I am pretty happy that when I'm only taking into account solid strikes, only about 17% of my shots (14% divided by the 81% that aren't mishits) are short, which makes me think I'm taking enough club.

 

For you, Arccos is not only addressing par 3s though, so you're going to have a lot more short approaches then--especially if it includes short or mis-hit tee shots where you have no reasonable chance at reaching.

[bortass]

@betarhoalphadeltaYeah, Arccos is tracking all approach shots, not just par 3s. Now the distance breakdown is interesting. By pin distance I lose the following strokes to the mythical 12 HCP:

-0.6 from 50-100 yards ( partial wedges)

-2.9 from 100 - 150 yards(9i - 6i mostly, there could be some PW shots in this range too)

-1.9 from 150 - 200 yards (5i- 4w)

-0.8 from 200+ yards.

 

I got my work cut out for me!

[betarhoalphadelta]

Yeah, looks like accuracy for the short->mid irons is key. 

 

That said, distance wise it's going to be tough regardless. I don't know if my distance is representative of a 12 cap, but 100 is a partial 52 for me, 150 is 9i, and 200 is 5i. So I'm taking around 3 clubs less for equivalent approach distances. 

 

I think you can potentially close the gap partially, and accuracy in that 100-150 range is an area I'd focus on. But it's going to be hard to get that number to 0.0 or positive at your current distance--and if you do it'll probably come when you're a 10 cap comparing yourself to the mythical 12 cap 😉

 

 

[bortass]

3 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

Yeah, looks like accuracy for the short->mid irons is key. 

 

That said, distance wise it's going to be tough regardless. I don't know if my distance is representative of a 12 cap, but 100 is a partial 52 for me, 150 is 9i, and 200 is 5i. So I'm taking around 3 clubs less for equivalent approach distances. 

 

I think you can potentially close the gap partially, and accuracy in that 100-150 range is an area I'd focus on. But it's going to be hard to get that number to 0.0 or positive at your current distance--and if you do it'll probably come when you're a 10 cap comparing yourself to the mythical 12 cap 😉

 

 

If I ever got to 10 my comparison is gonna be scratch! I'll never be scratch but what the heck!

[95124hacker]

You play pretty much your home course 90% of the time & your sister course the rest, is that correct? Playing the same course over & over will lead to lower scores just by familiarity. 
 

Personally, I like variety & enjoy playing the many public courses in my area. The trade off for me is inconsistent scoring, likely a couple of strokes to my index.

[bortass]

1 hour ago, 95124hacker said:

You play pretty much your home course 90% of the time & your sister course the rest, is that correct? Playing the same course over & over will lead to lower scores just by familiarity. 
 

Personally, I like variety & enjoy playing the many public courses in my area. The trade off for me is inconsistent scoring, likely a couple of strokes to my index.

Correct. There's two courses at the sister club and the Saturday group I play with gets sent there every once in a while. There was supposed to be a rotation but that seems to have died down some. We'll be playing at one of those courses Saturday because of a tournament at my home course. I have a good feel about playing my home course. I definitely do not have a traveling index by any means and never have. 

 

 

 

 

[bortass]

First off some non golf good news. I am now down 15 lbs. It's slowed down but I'm making steady progress every week. I also expect to start working out again soon.

 

I used to wear contacts many years ago. I had eye surgery on '06 and it cleared things up nicely. Well things are starting to blur a bit more in the distance. Nothing major but I went in for an eye exam and came out with some contacts to try. What I have found is they make things worse in the distance. I wore them Saturday on the course even though I had some doubts and it was a mistake. I had a hard time tracking my ball in the air once it was more than 50 yards in a number of situations. Flags were a bit blurred as well even with shorter shots inside 50 yards. So I played with slightly off vision.

 

We were on the sister course that doesn't have all of the water. I did warm up on the range and was hitting the ball well. Temps reached 90 and the ground crew was out hosing down some of the greens when we were on the back. They also had some of the greenside fans running. The greens are bent grass and soft. They were also slow.

 

 

I expect to play one of the sister courses next week since they are punching the greens today and tomorrow at the home course.

 

Course stats: 5400 yards, 67.3 rating, 120 slope. Home course is 5963 yards, 68.9 rating, and 126 slope, for comparison.

 

Yardages for the holes are what is on the card.

 

1 - par 5, 419 yards #8 HCP, pretty straight hole. There's a fairway bunker on the left that's probably 50 yards short of the green. A couple bunkers are at the rear of this green. I hit a low shot down the left side just into the left rough, 200 yards. My lie is good and I'm around 200 out and hit my 4w. It's a great looking high draw towards the right side of the green. It's a 192 yard shot and I'm just short in the fairway. The flag is middle and around 30 something yards. I choke down on my SW and hit a small partial shot. Contact is good and it's a 40 yard shot that lands near the flag and releases 24 feet past the hole. I hit the birdie putt to about 18 inches and walk off with an opening par, 5.

 

2 - par 3, 116 yards, up hill a bit, #18 HCP. There's a bunker on the right front of the green. The flag is forward and I hit my 9i. The ball comes out great, a nice high draw at the flag, 111 yards. I'm 26 feet past the hole and putting down slope. I hit my birdie putt and come up 6 feet short. These greens are so slow.... Well I miss the par putt and wind up with a bogey, 4.

 

3 - par 4, 365 yards, #10 HCP, fairly straight as well. Left is trees and to the right is #7. There's a bunker short left and long left. I hit a solid push draw towards some of the trees on the right between this hole and #7, 235 yards. I don't have a great shot at the green. My ball is near a tree trunk and there's a small stand of trees further up on the right that have branches in the way of my shot. I can hit a half shot towards the left side and decide to use my 6i for it. Contact is decent and it's a low running draw towards the green and I see it curling towards the front left bunker. I get up there and my ball is in the rough to the right of the bunker and short of the green, 119 yard shot. The shot was pretty good( for me) and got the job done. The flag is towards the middle and a bit forward. I use my new chipping technique and it's a nice shot, 17 yards, that rolls 6 feet past the hole. I drain the par putt, 4.

 

I'm feeling real good so far!

 

4 - par 4, 265 yards, #10 HCP, slight dogleg left. Left side is a steep slope and trees, so a pull down the left side is a lost ball. The right side is  #6. Bunkers cover the front/left of this green. If you go right far enough the bunkers aren't an issue and will save balls from heading into the left trees. I decide to tee off with my 4w. I hit a terrible low pull into the left trees... No sign of it, so I drop 137 yards off the tee. I figure I'm 120ish from center and the hole is on the left. This green slopes from right to left, so I aim for middle with my 9i. It's a nice high draw that lands on the green, 131 yards. I'm 29 feet short of the hole on the back middle of the green. I'm putting down slope and leave it 5 feet short. Another 3 putt, double bogey, 6.

 

Crap.

 

5 - par 4, 296 yards, #12 HCP, slight dogleg left. Left is woods but shots down the left shorten this hole. Right is trees but open for the most part. Something feels off with my setup and I ignore it and swing away. Pretty sure it's a shank with my driver. All I know is the ball got a foot off the ground rolled across the little cart path bridge and into the trees on the right. I can't see the ball once it crosses said bridge thanks to the contacts... We can't find it. I drop about 97 yards off the tee and punch a 5i down the fairway, 134 yards. It's 50ish yards to the hole and I choke down and hit a partial SW. Contact is okay and it's high, 63 yards, and 24 feet past the hole. Another down slope putt and this time I hit it firm. The ball stops a foot short. So a tap-in double bogey.

 

I'm coming off the rails or that's how it feels.

 

6 - par 5, 440 yards, #4 HCP, slight dogleg right. Wide open fairway. Left trees are hard to reach unless you hit a strong pull. Right trees are in play off the tee though. It's uphill all the way to the green and into the wind today. I hit a very solid high draw down the middle, 222 yards. A great shot! I have a good lie and hit 4w. It's a bit thin and it's a low draw towards the right side of this green, 172 yards. I'm short of the green and to the right of the front left bunkers in the rough. My ball is sitting down and I pitch the ball and don't quite swing hard enough. It lands on the green and I'm 27 feet below the hole. My birdie outt is up-slope and there's a small tier involved. I hit the putt to 2 feet and secure the par, 5.

 

That's better.

 

7 - par 4, 336 yards, #2 HCP, pretty straight hole but ... Elevated tee shot to a fairway that slopes down to a stream, which is a forced carry, and the fairway then slope up to the green. It's 200 yards to the front of the junk according to my GPS and a 230 yard carry roughly. I tee off with my 6i and it's a low pull, 177 yards, into the fairway on the left. I'm on a down slope and I'd need a wood to reach the green. So I decide toi lay up with my 7i. I swing and blade it into the junk 25 yards in front of me... I drop and it's flat here, so 7w time. I blade it into the junk. I say screw it, I'm out of this hole, and drop on the other side. I mishit a partial 9i short of the green. Chip with my putter to 4 feet and sink the putt for a quad, 8.

 

Yup, I'm feeling a bit like toast.

 

8 - par 3, 157 yards, #16 HCP. Bunker short right and that's about it. I take my 5i and top it 91 yards towards the green, lol. Well I'm in partial SW range at least. I choke down a bit and hit it 61 yards and 12 feet past the hole. I miss the par putt and easily make the two footer that remained for a bogey, 4.

 

9 - par 4, 336 yards, #6 HCP, dog leg left. You tee off, carry the lake, to the fairway on the far side which runs right to left as viewed from the tee box. The lake is down the entire left side of this hole. I aim at the fairway bunker and hit driver. It's a high fade that clears the bunker to the right and lands almost on the cart path. I see the ball kick off to the right into the trees. One of the guys says “That's a great drive if you aimed 40 yards to the left.” I eventually find my ball under the trees, 228 yard shot. It's very open as these are mature pines and it's between this hole and the parking lot, so there's no undergrowth or low limbs. Gotta make sure people can see the lake and hole! I don't have a good angle and need to keep it low. I'm on bare dirt and hit a power chip with my 6i. Contact is good but either my aim or ball position are off. It heads to the right and bounces on the cart path into a bush between the cart path and clubhouse. Luckily the ball pops out and rolls to the left and back to where I can hit it. I'm above the green and my chip is too firm. It lands shor tof the green and rolls through it. I chip with my putter to 5 feet and then two putt for a double bogey, 6.

 

Glad that 9 is over. I started very well and just fell apart.

 

10 - par 5, 307 yards, #9 HCP, dog leg right. This is a stupid par 5 from the whites. The longer tees have to hit a tee shot across the lake and past the white tees. So the next set of tees back make it a 450 yard par 5 with a forced lake carry of about 150 yards off the tee. No idea why this is not a split par hole. It should be a par 4 from the whites but.... I hit driver and can't see the ball. One of the guys tells me it was to the right where there's a stand of mature pines between the tee boxes and the green to help keep people from trying to drive it from these tees or hit a second shot in if you are playing the longer tees. It didn't hit anything and I find it under the trees, 220 yards. It's a forward right flag and probably 45 yards away from me. There's a smaller shade tree in my line and I can't pitch the ball. It'll just go into the leaves. I also have to carry a bunker. No good shot, so I decide to hit a low runner with my 7i. Contact is good and it misses all the trees and squirts to the right of the bunker and on the green, 56 yard shot. I'm 33 feet past the hole and hit my eagle ( yes, this is stupid) putt. The ball is tracking real good and stops a foot short of the hole. Tap in birdie, 4

 

 

11 - par 4, 337 yards, #11 HCP, straight hole. I hit a high push fade, 230 yards, into the fairway of #15. The green is above me and I need to keep my shot low because of the mature pine trees between these two holes. I decide to punch a 9i and contact is solid. I get through the trees and my shot was a touch left, so I'm likely in the front left bunker. It's a 105 yard shot and I'm in the bunker. There's not a deep layer of sand but I open my Sw a bit and swing. It skips into the ball a bit but I'm out of the bunker and barely on the green. I should have just used my normal technique. I'm 21 feet from the hole and I hit my par putt to 6 inches. Tap in bogey, 5.

 

Decent start so far.

 

12 - par 4, 351 yards, #5 HCP, straight hole. Elevated tee shot over a stream to a fairway that then slopes upwards to the green. I top my driver 89 yards into the rough just past the lady's tees and short of the stream. No need to be stupid, so I take my 9i and hit it 89 yards into the fairway. I'm a 4w out or so. Decent lie and I hit a push. It bounces on the cart path and into the overgrowth to the right. Not finding that ball, so I drop back on my line but 149 yards closer to the green. I'm above the green and chip it, 32 yards, to 15 feet. My double bogey putt misses and I have 1 foot left for my triple, 7.

 

13 - par 3, 129 yards, #15 HCP, elevated tee shot.  I hit a high push into the right trees with my 7i. It's overrun with kudzu and there's no way to find a ball in there. I drop in the rough. The ball settles down and i'm chipping up a slope. It's a mishit and I'm short of the green. Chip it again and it's 18 feet short... 2 putts later I have another triple, 6.

 

14 - par 5, 500 yards, #3 HCP. fairly straight but narrow hole. Elevated tee shot and the fairway slopes down towards the lake. The green is offset to the right with a carry over the brush and swampy area that borders the lake in this area. I hit a solid push fade down the right tree line... Sure enough we can't find it. I drop where it likely went in, 234 yards off the tee. I decide to hit 6i for my second shot and try to get in position. I blade it 107 yards... I'm in the fairway and to reach the green I have to go over some small trees. They are low enough that I can do it with my 6i. It's a blind shot though. I swing and it's great contact. A nice high draw over the trees but more right that I'd like. I think I hear my ball land on a cart path.... Can't find it, so I drop and hit a 10 yard chip with my SW to a foot. Tap in double bogey, 7.

 

15 - par 4, 343 yards, #7 HCP, straight hole with the green a bit offset to the left. I hit a high push fade that hits a tree on the right side and the ball kicks into the rough of #11, 153 yards. I don't have a shot at the green because of trees and I'm just trying to get into the fairway. I'm in a blind spot from the 11^th tees and this is a landing zone if you push or slice. I rush my pitch to the fairway with my SW and it hits a tree 15 yards in front of me and bounces behind me, 3 yards further back. Try again and I hit it 72 yards into the fairway. I'm a 5i out and it's a slight mishit that comes out low and ends up in the right front bunker. I have a blind shot as the green is above my head. I use my normal sand technique and I hit a shot that clears the lip. My ball is 3 feet from the hole. A great sand shot! I two putt for a triple bogey, 7.

 

Yup, I suck today.

 

16 - par 4, 264 yards, #13 HCP, dogleg left. It's straight off the tee and then 90* left, forced carry over a stream, to the green. I tee off with my 7w and it's a low draw that lands in the fairway and rolls down the small slopeto a flat area short of the stream, 196 yards. I'm in a great spoit and the hole is back right. I hit a partial SW and it's a high shot that lands on the green, 66 yards. I'm 14 feet past the hole and my birdie putt misses low. I have 18 inches for par and sink it, 4.

 

17 - par 3, 103 yards, elevated tee shot with a stream carry. The tees are forward and the flag is forward as well. GPS says about 83 yards or so. Well this is easy! I drop my ball on the tee box, no tee and hit a partial AW. It's a great looking, high draw at the hole. It lands on the green and stops past the hole. 84 yard shot and I'm 12 feet past the hole. I hit the birdie putt and come up a foot short. Tap in par, 3.

 

18 - par 4, 336 yards, #1 HCP. Dog leg left. This hole has water, the lake is 200 yards off the tee. You then cross the lake to reach the green. I play it like a par 5 normally. 2 shots to get short of the lake and then an iron into the green. I decide to tee off with my 7w and it's a great looking low draw down the right side. I find my ball on the flat area short of the lake, 198 yard shot thanks to the slope. I'm about 140ish from the hole and hit 7i. I blade it into the lake.... Drop 10 yards closer to the hole and hit 7i again. It's a high push, 154 yards, into the rough on a mound at the back of the one bunker that's back right. I hit my chip a touch too hard and it goes 19 feet long. My first putt stops about a foot out. Tap-in triple bogey, 7.

 

a 48/50 98. Such an ugly round. I just don't know what to really say at the moment. I had some real good holes but I struggled too much. I don't know if I should blame the contacts or not, lol. One of those days I guess.

 

Avg drive: 187 yards ( this is all par 4 and 5 tee shots regardless of club)

Longest drive: 235 yards

Fairways: 4/14

GIR: 6/18

Avg Approach: 98 yards

Up & down: 3/9

Putts:35

 

Strokes gained compared to a 12 HCP. 

Overall: -16.2 strokes

driving: -7.6

Approach: -8.9

Short game: +1.6

Putting -1.2

 

Birdies: 1

Pars: 5

Bogeys: 3

Dbl bogey: 4

Triples+: 5

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by bortass

[betarhoalphadelta]

Congrats on the weight loss! 

 

I wear glasses and want to get LASIK. I am not a fan of contacts though--I just can't mentally get over the idea of putting something on my eyeball lol. Agree that if they screw up distance vision, you probably shouldn't wear them on the course. If they're primarily for reading/close-up work, there's not much need. Maybe get a pair of glasses if you need them for reading greens or something similar (although I can't imagine it'll make that much difference). 

 

Sorry to hear about the round. One of those days when ballstriking goes off the rails--looks like your short game and putting were fine. Problem with those days that ballstriking goes away is that you start taking penalty strokes and that usually means blow-up holes. But there are positives to take away. 6 par-or-better scores show the potential there. As you keep working through your swing and the ballstriking comes back, it'll get better. 

 

It sounds like you, @BigTerp1524, and I are all going through the same ballstriking trouble right now as we're working on our swings. Hopefully in a few weeks we'll all have rounds to celebrate 🍻

[bortass]

59 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

Congrats on the weight loss! 

 

I wear glasses and want to get LASIK. I am not a fan of contacts though--I just can't mentally get over the idea of putting something on my eyeball lol. Agree that if they screw up distance vision, you probably shouldn't wear them on the course. If they're primarily for reading/close-up work, there's not much need. Maybe get a pair of glasses if you need them for reading greens or something similar (although I can't imagine it'll make that much difference). 

 

Sorry to hear about the round. One of those days when ballstriking goes off the rails--looks like your short game and putting were fine. Problem with those days that ballstriking goes away is that you start taking penalty strokes and that usually means blow-up holes. But there are positives to take away. 6 par-or-better scores show the potential there. As you keep working through your swing and the ballstriking comes back, it'll get better. 

 

It sounds like you, @BigTerp1524, and I are all going through the same ballstriking trouble right now as we're working on our swings. Hopefully in a few weeks we'll all have rounds to celebrate 🍻

I wanted LASIK but it wasn't an option. My prescription was quite bad and there wasn't enough cornea thickness for them to do it. So I had PRK done which was the prior surgery where they reshape the outside of the cornea. I have had friends and family do LASIK and they all loved it and healed quickly. I loved mine too but the healing was much slower. 

 

The contacts have messed that up close in stuff too. They are a mix of distance and reading. I really just want them for stuff in the distance. There's just this tiny bit of blur I'd like gone if possible. I'm scheduled back in a few days to follow up and I'll tell them that the contacts I tried made everything worse than wearing nothing. Worse case if i get desperate is a pair of glasses I got a couple of years ago for this. I only really wear them when driving long distances. I was 20/20 without them and 20/15 with them when I got them in early '19. I doubt it matters much for my golf game but it'd be nice to have things be more crisp when I'm looking at them, lol.

 

Yeah, all three of us have had a rough patch. I never got to the range last week, so I am hoping to this week. I know what I want to work on and I still think the major pieces are there for me. Just need to not have so many bad mishits and I'll be fine. Really like the results of the short game lesson and my woods are much improved. 

[BigTerp1524]

Nice work on the weight loss!! It's nice to see everything paying off on the scale. I'm sure you feel better as well.

 

That's interesting on the contacts. I wear contacts myself, but only when I "need them". I don't wear them daily but do when I'm playing golf, going to a football or basketball game, etc. Basically anytime I want to see better at a distance. I don't have any issues, in fact they give me perfect vision that makes me want to get LASIK done. You might need to tweak your prescription?

 

I know you've been working with a pro and going through some swing changes. I fully expect some regression for myself with my current swing changes and it looks like you're experiencing some of the same back stepping. For me, I'm just staying focused on what I need to work on and not so much the immediate results. As long as I continue to put in the work, I know things will improve. 

[bortass]

1 hour ago, BigTerp1524 said:

Nice work on the weight loss!! It's nice to see everything paying off on the scale. I'm sure you feel better as well.

 

That's interesting on the contacts. I wear contacts myself, but only when I "need them". I don't wear them daily but do when I'm playing golf, going to a football or basketball game, etc. Basically anytime I want to see better at a distance. I don't have any issues, in fact they give me perfect vision that makes me want to get LASIK done. You might need to tweak your prescription?

 

I know you've been working with a pro and going through some swing changes. I fully expect some regression for myself with my current swing changes and it looks like you're experiencing some of the same back stepping. For me, I'm just staying focused on what I need to work on and not so much the immediate results. As long as I continue to put in the work, I know things will improve. 

The weight loss has been fairly easy but I have revamped a lot of what I eat. I'm eating a bit healthier but still have plenty of room I could improve. One thing with WW is there's a fat and added sugar penalty. So that's helping move me away from things with a lot of sugar. I prefer to avoid most fat free items because they tend to have other things added to them to make up for it. Fat free cheese is off my list now. I'd rather pay a bit more in my points to eat the normal or part skim versions. Fat free mozzarella kinda looks like plastic after it 'melts', lol.

 

They'll likely tweak the prescription when I go back in tomorrow. The one thing I'd mention about surgery is weigh the possible side effects versus what you'll gain. I don't know what they are for LASIK since I wasn't a candidate. With PRK I have dry eyes which are annoying and I get halos at night. The halos are with any light source if it's dark. The halo goes away as I get closer to the light source and my eyes focus on it. It's odd but not the end of the world for me. Keep in mind I could not function without glasses/contacts prior to surgery. I don't know what my prescription was but my glasses were high index plastic. They use that to keep the lense thinner and they were still pretty thick. I probably would of had coke bottle glasses if they were normal lenses. So the risks were worth it to try to reset my vision.

 

I hear ya on the swing changes. The rough part is prior to my short game lesson my full swing was very good(for me) based on what the ball was doing. After the short game lesson, it was shank city. So I can't complain about the rounds I have played since then since I was shanking almost every ball on the range a couple weeks ago. So I'll keep working at it when I can. A bunch of rain is being dumped on us today, so no range for me. It also means the range may be off mats for a few days or so once  it stops raining. I'm not sure what this means for punching the greens. They were supposed to have started yesterday but I don't know if they did or postponed it to keep the rain from washing out the sand....

[MattC555]

Great work on the weight loss!  I've been trying to get down 20lbs or so myself.  I think I'm halfway there, but this summer has seen my progress stall.  Ho hum.  Impressed how you guys keep track of your stats as well, and how many rounds you get in.  Keep at it, and enjoyed the update as always. 

[bortass]

On 8/17/2021 at 11:24 AM, MattC555 said:

Great work on the weight loss!  I've been trying to get down 20lbs or so myself.  I think I'm halfway there, but this summer has seen my progress stall.  Ho hum.  Impressed how you guys keep track of your stats as well, and how many rounds you get in.  Keep at it, and enjoyed the update as always. 

Thanks. It's not as easy as putting the weight on but progress has been steady and I'm just following the program. 

 

Back to golf - Managed to get to the range Friday. It went fairly well. I did some work on the takeaway drill from NTC. I followed that up with full swings where I focused on getting my right hip back. It made a big difference with my 7i but I need to remember to do cast B as well or the ball leaks a bit right. I eventually grabbed my driver and hit about a dozen balls with that feel and I was hitting some nice draws. 

 

Played the home course Saturday because they didn't finish punching the greens last week thanks to the tropical storm. I noticed part way through the round that some of the greens had been punched already but they used the small tines this time, so it wasn't a big deal.  The round went out the window early on as far as reaching my goal. They closed #3 on us as we were partway through. There's a sewer manhole in the fairway on the left side maybe 120 yards from the green. It had water pouring out of it and from the smell it's not clean water.... It was bad enough they closed the cart path and routed everyone down the section of fairway by the green that is always no carts. I carded a 6 for GHIN which is a net par.

 

I also played like crap. I had some terrible putts. Send a couple drives to bad places. Hit some approaches to bad places etc. Another one of those days... I did have some solid shots though but not enough to salvage much. I'll do a write up later but it's not pretty.

 

One funny thing is a couple of the fat shots I had were different. I know I did it with my 7w and an iron, I think it was my 5i. I hit the ground first but no divot or chunk. Instead there was a strip of damaged grass. My non-expert take on it is I actually shallowed the club instead of coming in steep. I didn't chunk it even though I hit a few inches behind the ball. I am hopeful that my assessment is accurate and those mishits showed a better swing than my normal steep OTT one.

 

I need to see if I can make some changes in how I approach things and I don't think it will be easy.

• I need a pre-shot routine
• I need to focus on a target. I am not specific enough and my aim gets off. I aim in a general direction. This ties into the above bullet.
• I need to find a better way to practice. I don't think I am as efficient as I could be. I bet I could maximize my practice more with a better process.

And that last one shows what I need. A process, and I'm not process/ detail task oriented as some of you may be able to tell. So this is why I think it won't be easy for me to do. Not directly related but it may help is I'm trying to get a copy of Atomic Habits from the library. I think @Myherobobhope mentioned it once. I'm sure someone did anyways. Hopefully I can learn from that how to make process changes such as a pre-shot routine stick over time.

 

As always, have a good one!

Edited August 23, 2021 by bortass
It was a 7w not a 4w....

[Myherobobhope]

2 hours ago, bortass said:

And that last one shows what I need. A process, and I'm not process/ detail task oriented as some of you may be able to tell. So this is why I think it won't be easy for me to do. Not directly related but it may help is I'm trying to get a copy of Atomic Habits from the library. I think @Myherobobhope mentioned it once. I'm sure someone did anyways. Hopefully I can learn from that how to make process changes such as a pre-shot routine stick over time.

 

It was probably me... I still haven't finished it... embarrassing. It's good, and I like the concepts in it... I should really see what else he has to say. 

 

Congrats on the weight loss... I'm on a similar mission, and am down 10 lbs this month... I've cleaned up my eating (mostly) and started to hit the gym...  as you said, it went on a lot easier than it is coming off... but that's fine... this time around I'm just trying to build good habits and stick with them!

 

My golf game has been a frustrating place, but I think I've put too much pressure on myself... I keep wanting to perform and worrying about score, my overall round and everything else... I'm taking a couple days off of golf (I haven't done that in a bit) and hoping my next round I can focus on the shot ahead of me and not worry about anything else! We will see if it happens.

 

Keep grinding the work, make sure you are doing actionable stuff towards your game, and you will see improvements... I certainly haven't improved as much as I thought I would, but that's OK. Plenty of time to get better, just have to keep putting in the work!

[bortass]

Saturday was on the home course after all. Things were soft from the 4 inches of rain earlier in the week. No casual water though some fairways were cart path only. #3 got closed part way through playing it because of a sewer overflow. Overcast with some sun at times. Not too hot but humid though.

 

Warmed up on the range and it went very well.

 

1 – par 4, 404 yards, straight, #1 HCP, bunker front right. My opening drive was a very nice mid height draw down the right side of the fairway, 238 yards. The hole is back right and behind the bunker. It's 170ish and I hit my 7w. This is the fat shot I mentioned in the prior post. The grass was damaged a bit but not divot. It was a decent height draw, 154 yards, into the front bunker. Not terrible for a fat shot, at least for me. There's not much sand under my ball and I manage to get it out of the bunker and into the back fringe. I chipo with my putter, about 9 yards, to 2 feet. My putting issue start here and I two putt for a double bogey, 6.

 

Yep, 2 putt from 2 feet. Pure skill...

 

2 – par 3, 142 yards, #17 HCP, bunkers short left and right, and long left. The hole is middle front and 127ish, if I recall what someone said regarding the distance they shot to the flag accurately. I decide to hit my 8i and it's a very high draw that lands past the flag, 142 yards total. I'm 36 feet above the hole with a left to right break that I don't read correctly for some unknown reason. I hit my putt and I see it's gonna miss low. The ball stops about hole high and 4 feet to the right of it. A complete misread on a green where I know which way the slopes go. I sink the par putt though, 3.

 

3 – par 5, 458 yards, dogleg right, #9 HCP, couple of fairway bunkers on the left at the corner. Did not finish hole because the hole was closed in the middle of us playing it. Carded a 6 for GHIN which is a net par to keep it index neutral. The wheels started to come off the bus for me on this hole prior to having to stop. I had some serious issues with driver....

 

4 – par 4, 293 yards, straight, #15 HCP, water left and OoB right. Right side has a slope. There's a fairway bunker on the right. I hit a low draw down the right side, 201 yards, into the right rough on the slope near the fairway bunker. The hole is middle right and about 80 something yards. I go with a partial AW. The ball is above my feet a bit and I make good contact. It's a high shot that lands on the green, past the hole, 91 yard shot. I have a 21 foot putt for birdie and I miss low. I have 2 feet remaining and decide to 2 putt again.... Double bogey, 5.

 

Yep, that's some crap putting. Same mistake as before, I didn't hit it firm.

 

5- par 5, 501 yards, dogleg right, #5 HCP, hazard down the left side. There's a slope on the right side which makes the fairway narrow in the landing spot. A stream runs down the right side from the corner to near the green. I hit a push fade way right. We saw my ball land near a dead tree that's fallen on the right slope. No sign of my ball, so I drop 191 yards off the tee. I'm on a flat spot but don't trust myself to clear the corner since a shot a bit to the right of my line risks hitting the trees that are growing in the stream area. I take my AW and just pitch the ball into the fairway, 72 yards and at an angle, to get me in position to hit past the corner. I'm in a great spot and hit 4w. It's a high draw that goes 185 yards down the fairway. The hole is front right and I don't want to be long. It's around 70 yards or so and I hit a partial SW. It's a bit heavy but comes out nice and high. It lands in the fringe just short of the green, 67 yards. I can easily chip with my putter which I do. The ball rolls about 6 yards and stops 3 feet short. I make the putt for a double bogey, 7.

 

6 – par 4, 367 yards, slight dogleg left, #7 HCP. Medium width landing area with a bunker on the left. Houses are on the right and there's a sharp slope into the left trees if you end up too far into the left rough. I hit a real good looking fade down the middle, 223 yards. It made it past the crest of the slope that leads towards the green. It's wet though, so the run out wasn't as much as it would have been in the afternoon. The hole is to the left and behind the bunker that guards that side of the green. It's 150ish or so and I hit my 5i. This is the iron shot that I mentioned in a previous post that was fat but just damaged a strip of grass w/o removing any of it. So I assume I came in shallow. The ball gets in the air and goes 123 yards, landing in the bunker. It takes me two to get out...So I advanced the ball about 20 yards with the two sand shots and I'm 21 feet short of the hole. I hit the putt and I miss and it stops 3 feet out on the low side. I make that putt for a double bogey, 6.

 

A solid drive squandered by my short game...

 

7 – par 4, 351 yards, slight dogleg right, #11 HCP, elevated tee shot to a wide open fairway that slopes down right to left all the way to about the 100 yard marker. Bunkers on the left marking the corner and a slope on the right. I aim down the left side like I normally do and hit a push fade way right and likely OOB. I tell the guys I'm gonna hit a provisional after they tee off. One of them mentions I hung back on that swing ie I didn't shift to the left at all or very little. I hit my provisional and do a much better job this time. It's a high draw that goes 231 yards and ends up in the fairway on the left side. I can't find my first ball, so have to play the provisional. The hole is front right and about 118ish. I hit my 9i and the ball starts right of my target line and I miss the green entirely. I was a touch heavy and sent some turf downrange. It's a 112 yard shot and I have to chip from the right rough. I use my new technique and it comes out decent. My 20 yard chip stops 7 feet past the hole. My putt misses and I have a tap-in from a few inches for a triple bogey, 7.

 

8 – par 3, 160 yards, elevated tee shot, #13 HCP, bunker on the right side of the green. Slope to the right of this hole that is weed whacked. So it's long stuff and wild. Balls can get lost here. The hole is right middle and about an 8i. I hit a great looking high draw that starts just right of the green and curls back in. the ball lands on the right side of the green and a bit past the flag. It's a 141 yard shot and I'm 10 feet past the hole. It was a great shot in in my opinion. I miss the birdie putt a bit long and make the 18 inch par putt, 3.

 

My second par of the day. That took a long time to get but at least I hit a great shot for a change and didn't screw things up afterwards.

 

9 – par 4, 357 yards, straight hole, #3 HCP, water on the left as you approach the green. The pond fronts this green. It's a mishit off the tee. A low pull draw that travels a whooping 174 yards into the left rough. The hole is front left and I might be able to reach with a 4w but I have to carry the pond most of the way there. Nope, lay-up time. I hit a little punch with my 7i and contact is good but my aim sucks badly. The ball flies off to the right without much curve, 106 yards, and comes to rest behind a tree in the right rough. Great shot, crap direction. I have no shot at the green but I can chip it forward to the right of the tree blocking me and trying to go down the cart path. I use my SW and I miss the tree that's about 4 feet in front of me and the ball goes about 35 yards down the right rough but now I can hit into the green. It's about 65 yards or so. I hit a partial SW and take a bit of fit. It's a good looking high shot that lands on the green and stops 4 feet short of the hole, 64 yard shot. I actually make the bogey putt, 5.

 

A bogey is fine on this hole but I wish I didn't make it so hard to earn.

 

10 – par 4, 342 yards, dogleg left, #10 HCP hole. Elevated tee shot to a lower fairway. Green is elevated with a bunker front right. I hit a great looking draw down the right side and we're wondering if I'm gonna go through the fairway and into the trees... Luckily my ball lands in the rough and doesn't really go anywhere. It was a 220 yard shot and i'm in the right rough. The hole is back right and I don't have an angle. A 7i should get on the green towards the middle or left side. The ball is above my feet and I club up to a 6i. It's a complete mishit, nice and fat. The ball stays low and it's a push directly into the right trees. It's marked as a hazard so I drop. I still have no shot at the hole or green because of the trees. I chip the ball about 40 yards with my 7i to get into position. From there I hit a partial SW onto the green, 44 yards since I think it was fat. I'm 30 feet short of the hole and I leave my putt 6 feet short. I somehow manage to sink the next one for a triple bogey, 7

 

11 – par 4, 329 yards, 90* dogleg left, #12 HCP. Fairway eventually slopes down to a stream short of the green, forced carry. I go with my normal 7w and aim at the leftmost fairway bunker that's on the outside of the corner. I top it 80 yards into think rough next to the forward tees... The rough is very deep but we find it. So deep rough and ball above my feet. I just want to get into play. I hack at it with my 9i and it goes forward but drops in the rough about a yard short of the fairway. It's still pretty thick and I hack it out with my 9i a second time. This time the ball goes 68 yards into the fairway. The hole is front left and it's 170 something to center. I hit my 7w and it's a good looking draw. The ball lands on the green near the back right and rolls off the right side, 183 yards. I chip with my putter, 26 yards, to 7 feet. I two putt for another triple bogey, 7.

 

12 – par 4, 315 yards, 90* dogleg left, #14 HCP, green is elevated. Narrow tee shot that opens as you reach the corner. This time I get off the tee box with a low draw down the left side, 212 yards. I'm in the fairway past the corner. The hole is back left and in partial AW range. I hit my shot and miss a bit left, 86 yards. I'm in the left rough near the hole and chip with my putter. I hit it too firm and it rolls 12 feet past the hole... I get the par putt to about 18 inches and settle for a bogey, 5.

 

At least it wasn't a triple...

 

13 – par 3, 123 yards, #18 HCP, green is elevated with bunkers short right and left and long left. Tiered green as well. The hole is back right and 135ish according to someone that shot it. I don't want to be long and go with my 8i. I hit a great looking high draw at the flag and over the green, 140 yards uphill... My ball is in the rough short of the back bunker, so that's good. I chip with my putter and have a brain fart again on the break. I miss low and long by 6 feet. I miss the par putt and tap-in from 18 inches for a bogey, 4.

 

Blah... It was a great 8i though. It's amazing what happens if I actually get close to the sweet spot, lol.

 

14 – par 4, 543, straight hole, #4 HCP. Elevated teeshot to wide open fairway. Fairway slopes down left to right, water on the right closer to the green and fronting the entire green. I aim left and hit a push fade down the right side again. At least this time I was so far right that I risk being OOB. I'm barely in the fairway on the right side, 239 yard shot. My lie is good and I hit my 4w. Contact is decent and It's a true fade that travels 179 yards down the fairway. It suddenly starts raining. The hole is back left and about an 8i. I don't trust things though. It's raining and I have to carry part of the pond. So I aim well left and hit a solid 8i, 127 yards, over the back of the green and over the back bunkers, 127 yards. I'm in the rough, above the green, and need to chip over a bunker. I make okay contact and end up in the fringe. I chip with the putter to 4 feet and then two putt for a double bogey, 7.

 

Yup, no faith in my 8i approach hurt. I hit it fine but didn't take the line I needed. More short game/putting issues too.

 

15 – par 4, 264 yards, straight, #16 HCP. Elevated tee shot to a fairway that is always soft abd cart path only year round. Fairway bunkers on left side in line with the green. Bunker surround this green except for the left side. The rain stops before we tee off. I hit a high draw down the right side, 22 yards. I'm in the rough past the trees that I tend to be around on this hole. The hole is to the front and around 40-45 yards away. I choke down on my SW and try to hit a partial iron. It comes out good, nice and high landing on the green past the hole. A 51 yard shot and I'm 27 feet from the hole. I hit the birdie putt and it stops inside a foot... So a tap-in par, 4.

 

16 – par 3, 147 yards, #8 HCP. Elevated green with a forced stream carry. Bunkers short right and long left and middle. Tiered green with a strong back left to front right slope.

The hole is on the right. I aim for the middle to let the slope take my ball to the hole. I hit a high draw with my 6i that lands near the middle of the green and just stops, no release. It was about a 132 yard shot but that number could be wrong sinc eit seems a bit short. Anyhow I'm on and have 23 feet for birdie. I hit my putt and miss 2 feet long. I do make the par putt though, 3.

 

17 – par 4, 363 yards, dogleg left, #6 HCP. Fairly open fairway with bunkers on the right at the corner. Green has a tier and heavily slopes left to right, can putt off this green... Bunkers short of the green as well. I aim down the middle and hit a high push fade to the right of the fairway bunkers on the right and the ball lands and kicks right, towards the trees. No sign of the ball and I drop. The bunkers are in my line and are above me, so I figure punch a 5i. I chunk it about 6 yards. Try again and it's a low shot into the fairway, 108 yards. The hole is on the right side behind a bunker. I want to land my ball to the left of the hole because of how this green slopes. It's around 65 yards or so and I hit a partial SW. Contact is okay but my aim is bad. I'm more left than I want and the ball travels 57 yards and lands in the front left bunker.... I hit my sand shot out in one for a change and i'm 14 feet from the hole. It's another 2 putt for a quad, 8.

 

LOL.

 

18 – par 5, 504 yards, straightish, #2 HCP. There is a stream carry on either the second or third shot. There is also a pond fronting the green... I hit a decent high draw, 227 yards, down the middle. It's 150 to carry the stream, so I go with my 4w and aim left. I blade it about 2 feet high and it hits the far bank of the stream and falls in. I drop at the edge of the fairway where it crossed the hazard. The hole is back left and about 160ish. I could go for it with my 5i but I decide not to since it's a stream carry and then a pond carry. Instead I hit my 5i down the left side and at the fairway bunker in the distance. Contact is solid and it's a high draw that carries said bunker... I just went through the fairway... My ball is across the cart path and under a small tree in the rough and on a down slope. The shot itself was 159 yards, guess I should have gone for the green after all. I chip out from behind the tree into the fairway. My pict/chip from there is hit well but I didn't swing hard enough, so I'm short of the green. Chip with my putter to 12 feet and two putt for a quad, 9.

 

A 48/54 102. Yup, it was rough. Trying to get my hips moving more correctly, my weight shifting, and remembering to do cast B didn't make it easy on me. When I pulled it off, I hit some great shots but more often than not I screwed up and hit a dog instead. It'll come with time( I hope). I had issues in all facets of my game. Kinda frustrating but I'm not surprised since I'm an eternal pessimist, lol.

 

birdies: 0

pars: 4

bogeys: 5

double bogeys: 4

triple+: 5

 

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 206 yards

Longest drive: 239 yards

Fairways: 8/14

GIR: 6/18

Avg Approach: 104 yards

Up & down: 1/11

Putts: 35

 

Strokes gained compared to a 12 HCP. 

Overall: -16.4 strokes

driving: -6.5

Approach: -7.4

Short game: -0.5

Putting: -2.0

 

[95124hacker]

I’m not well versed in the details of strokes gained but I can tell you this: there are different forms of a 12-capper. I guess averages are ok, but what is the std deviation/spread for each category? I know some 12’s that are great ball strikers but stink at short game & vice versa. I’ve lately been tracking my round to GIR/Near-GIR. I feel my pitching & chipping are my strengths & anywhere around the green in regulation should lower my scores, and in general, my lower scores reflect high % of GIR/Near-GIR.

[bortass]

1 hour ago, Myherobobhope said:

It was probably me... I still haven't finished it... embarrassing. It's good, and I like the concepts in it... I should really see what else he has to say. 

 

Congrats on the weight loss... I'm on a similar mission, and am down 10 lbs this month... I've cleaned up my eating (mostly) and started to hit the gym...  as you said, it went on a lot easier than it is coming off... but that's fine... this time around I'm just trying to build good habits and stick with them!

 

My golf game has been a frustrating place, but I think I've put too much pressure on myself... I keep wanting to perform and worrying about score, my overall round and everything else... I'm taking a couple days off of golf (I haven't done that in a bit) and hoping my next round I can focus on the shot ahead of me and not worry about anything else! We will see if it happens.

 

Keep grinding the work, make sure you are doing actionable stuff towards your game, and you will see improvements... I certainly haven't improved as much as I thought I would, but that's OK. Plenty of time to get better, just have to keep putting in the work!

I still need to finish The Practice Manual. I think learning more about the processes aka things that can make practice more effective will help me. For example I watched something where the coach had a kid hitting balls. Nothing big there but the area the kid hit from was a good 4 - 5 feet from where the balls were. So it prevents the raking a ball over and just flailing away. Hit a ball, take a few steps to get another, then hit it. It slows it down, so maybe you don't hit as many balls in said amount of time but your brain has more time to process things. Little things like that.

 

Building good habits is the challenge! I'm looking forward to working out again. Waiting on some equipment to arrive and Amazon seems to be taking their time shipping it.

 

I know the frustrating side of golf all too well. The self inflicted pressure is probably the worst since I doubt most of us are playing for serious $. I think part of it is learning acceptance. Yes we can do better but today is not that day and that's okay.  For me it is kind of like feeling fine with a bogey. A bogey truly is fine for a golfer like me, I'm not trying to sniff scratch. Once upon a time I thought bogey was great and then I eventually improved and became more focused on par which isn't realistic in the slightest. Bogey may not be great but I'm cool with it.  It's a fun learning experience, eh?

 

I'll keep with my slow paced version of grinding. I do have rough ideas on what I should work on and will eventually sort things out. luckily I have been seeing improvement. It's sporadic but there. One reason I like Arccos and the stats to help me see trends that show things are better than last year even if I still post some dogs of a round.....

[bortass]

4 minutes ago, 95124hacker said:

I’m not well versed in the details of strokes gained but I can tell you this: there are different forms of a 12-capper. I guess averages are ok, but what is the std deviation/spread for each category? I know some 12’s that are great ball strikers but stink at short game & vice versa. I’ve lately been tracking my round to GIR/Near-GIR. I feel my pitching & chipping are my strengths & anywhere around the green in regulation should lower my scores, and in general, my lower scores reflect high % of GIR/Near-GIR.

 I don't know for sure. Here is my assumption. Arccos has a database with millions of rounds of golf in it from all levels of players. Their numbers are being driven off the analytics of that and not an extrapolation of say tour numbers. So it's very true that there are different forms of players at almost all levels. In theory if I were close to being a 12, I'd expect the overall SG numbers to total out around 0 or so. For me it's about comparing my game to a HCP that's close to my goal. If I'm a 12, I should be shooting in the 80s quite a bit. My driving and approaches are my weakness and when I do better with those, I score lower.

 

Arccos thinks I'm a 21.5 HCP since it has all the rounds that I can't post to GHIN where I'm a 22. If I look at the HCP breakdown of the 4 areas it covers I get the following:

I drive it like a 24.8. I hit approaches like a 27.8. My short game is like a 9.1. I putt like a 15.5.

 

SG compared to a 12 has me at -10.7 overall. -3.6 driving, -6.9 approach, +0.7 short game and -0.8 putting.

 

So I'm not an average 22. I hit the ball worse than the average 22 but my short game and putting are a fair bit better than said average 22.

 

 

[MattC555]

I think the Arccos data is terrific for finding what area of your game needs the most work.  That I feel is the purpose of the data. 

 

When I play I prefer to only focus on one swing thought.  Trying to work on too many things will certainly impact my score.  There is enough variability in my swing from day to day.  Trying to reign that in and work on multiple things is too much for me. 

 

For instance I went to an indoor golf place on Friday with coworkers and was swinging as well as I had all season.  I then played a Saturday morning round, and it took a good 4 holes for me to start making solid contact.  I managed to top my first drive 30 yards from the tips to the ladies tees.  I'm a single cap mind you.  I later bladed a wedge on the same hole.  The next hole saw me duck hook a 3W and duff a chip into the trap.  One of my playing mates is a + cap and he was spraying the ball all over the place.  The golf swing is a fickle beast, that's for sure.  I felt like losing my mind then and there, but I managed to stayed calm, didn't panic, and finished 8 over.  I kept my swing thought and found a groove.  I grind out most rounds, sprinkling in easy golf here and there. 

 

My motivation is always based around having fun and progressing.  As you said, we all need to have some level of acceptance with our game.  It is just a game after all.  No matter how good you get at it, they'll always be tons of room for improvement.  

 

   

[betarhoalphadelta]

55 minutes ago, MattC555 said:

I think the Arccos data is terrific for finding what area of your game needs the most work.  That I feel is the purpose of the data. 

   

 

I don't need Arccos for that. My whole game needs work! 😉

 

Seriously, though, Arccos would tell me what I already know. Ballstriking, ballstriking, ballstriking. I'm similar to @bortass in that I know I'm losing the most strokes off the tee and approach. He and I differ in that for me it's never a distance issue; it's that I'm spraying the ball [mostly left], making poor contact, etc. It's not to say I'm a great putter, or a short game wizard, but I know the worst part of my game is the long game. 

 

The area where I think Arccos would help me more is to really understand my distances. I feel like I've got a decent grasp on it, because on approach I'm more likely to miss left or right rather than long or short (assuming I make good contact), but having a much larger sample size tracking every shot would help me...

 

...just not enough to spend $300 at this point. 

[MattC555]

The distance information would certainly be nice to have.  I hit our local indoor facility a couple of times a month.  Getting carry distances from the monitor has been invaluable.  I've considered Arccos myself, but haven't pulled the trigger. 

[BigTerp1524]

22 hours ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

I don't need Arccos for that. My whole game needs work! 😉

 

Seriously, though, Arccos would tell me what I already know. Ballstriking, ballstriking, ballstriking. I'm similar to @bortass in that I know I'm losing the most strokes off the tee and approach. He and I differ in that for me it's never a distance issue; it's that I'm spraying the ball [mostly left], making poor contact, etc. It's not to say I'm a great putter, or a short game wizard, but I know the worst part of my game is the long game. 

 

The area where I think Arccos would help me more is to really understand my distances. I feel like I've got a decent grasp on it, because on approach I'm more likely to miss left or right rather than long or short (assuming I make good contact), but having a much larger sample size tracking every shot would help me...

 

...just not enough to spend $300 at this point. 

I agree with the importance of improvement off the tee and ball striking in general. Typically, high handicappers like ourselves are told to focus on short game and putting. Obviously it's important, but there is so much more room for error off the tee and with longer approach shots that it creates much more work to recover from than a duffed chip or missed putt. I'm not talking about firing down the fairway 75% of the time off the tee, or hitting it to within 6 feet on every approach shot. I'm referencing keeping tee shots out of the woods, for the most part, and certainly not hitting it OB. For long(ish) approach shots getting it close enough for a simple chip or pitch should be considered a success, and on the green an A+. If I have to punch out of the woods after an errant tee shot, then miss the green by 50 yards with my approach shot I'm certainly not doing myself any favors. Tightening up even one of those type of shots would save guys like us an easy stroke each hole. I'm not diminishing the importance of short game and putting, rather I'm trying to show the importance of the long game for high handicappers, like myself.