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

[Myherobobhope]

Latest video

[TheDeanAbides]

Stick with Monte.

[bortass]

@Myherobobhope Thanks for sharing that!

 

Made it to the range Tuesday but my tripod wasn't in my bag, so no video. I don't recall taking it out but I must have after one of the rounds last year where we got soaked. I worked on Cast A mostly and it went fairly well

 

Last night I got out for a rare twilight round. Played 9 on the forward tees using all clubs. I'm not sure when I'll be able to play again but it won't be until next week sometime. The course is still wet since it rained more late Tuesday night/very early Wednesday morning. Everything is soft and there wasn't much roll for a number of my shots. My ball had mud on it most of the round, lol. Weather itself was very nice, sunny and high 60s with a breeze.

 

 

1 – par 4, 375 yards, straight, #1 HCP, bunker front right. I use my driver and hit a very solid mid height draw, 223 yards, into the fairway on the left side. It's a front left flag, so no bunkers to deal with and I have about 160 to center. I decide to hit my 5i and I skull it. It's a low screamer that gets maybe a few feet off the ground but it's a rocket, lol. I watch as it's near the green and rolling. The ball starts up the slope to the green and the raised left lip of the bunker that's on the right side forces my ball to curve left and onto the green! A skulled 5i, 149 yards, for a GIR. I'm 9 feet past the hole and almost directly behind it. The ball barely misses low and I have 1.5- 2 feet for par which I make, 4.

 

Awesome start!

 

2 – par 3, 133 yards, #17 HCP, bunkers short left and right, and long left. The hole is on the left and about 128 yards. It's 120ish to center which is a 9i for me. I aim for center and swing. I don't know what happened but it's a very high baby draw along my target line and onto the green and it looks close to the hole. The shot was a thing of beauty. 128 yard shot (this is why I have a rough idea of distance to the hole from the tee box), and the ball is only a foot from it's pitch mark. I'm 9 feet to the right of the hole and maybe a couple feet short of it. I hit the birdie putt and I have the line but not the speed. The ball stops inside a foot of the cup. Par, 3.

 

I'm extremely happy with how things are going and thinking this could be a great round.

 

3 – par 5, 452 yards, dogleg right, #9 HCP, couple of fairway bunkers on the left at the corner. Reality sets in and I shank my driver off to the left into some deep stuff fronting the tee box. I hit another one and it's a fade that catches a tree, 164 yards. Not where I wanted to be in 3but here I am. I have a decent lie and and top a 5i about 8 yards... The next one is also low and thin but goes 144 yards. I have about 100 yards to the green and decide on a partial PW. The ball is above my feet just a bit and I blade it low and well right with a curve right as well, 84 yards. I pitch it 38 yards with my SW over a bunker and 10 feet past the hole. My putt misses and I have a one footer to secure my quad, 9.

 

LOL, it's all I can do. No reason to get frustrated.

 

4 – par 4, 283 yards, straight, #15 HCP, water left and OoB right. Right side has a slope. There's a fairway bunker on the right. I aim at my normal spot and hit driver. My aim is a bit off and I hit an okay, lowish draw, into the left rough, 200 yards. The flag seems to be middle left and it's about 90 ish yards to center. I decide to hit a partial AW, I am not sure why but my distances are creeping up with partial PW and AW shots.... Contact is good and it's a high draw a little right of and past the hole. It's a 96 yard shot ( I have been using this club for 80 yards). I'm 30 feet from the hole and the green breaks right to left. I look it over and hit my putt. It never breaks and rolls dead straight. I was expecting a significant break and I miss 4 feet high but I'm just past the hole, so good speed control at least. I make the par putt, 4.

 

5- par 5, 439 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 use 5i off the tee on this hole because driver likely leads to trouble off the forward tees. I want to make sure I get my weight forward in the downswing after the series of tops and blades on #3. I do that and top it about 9 yards to the front of the tee box. There's an impact 'crater' in front of my tee where the ball was forced into the ground.. Sigh. I walk to the front of the tee box, just past the ladies tees, and try again. This time I hit a great looking draw down the right side, 157 yards, and into the fairway.

 

I'm at the corner in two and decide to hit 5i again. Another top that goes 63 yards... I'm 200 out and there's no point in trying to get too close to the green because of a stream. I punch a 7i and it's a decent shot that goes 133 yards down the right side and ends up on the cart path. I take relief and I have a partial SW in now. Contact is good and it's a high shot that lands on the green. I'm 21 feet from the hole and I leave my bogey putt a foot short... Double bogey, 7.

 

6 – par 4, 290 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 decide to use driver and aim down the middle. Aim is a bit off and it's a thin, low, draw down the left side. Crap, that's not good. The left rough has a 'ridge' in it. To the right and the ball feeds right and down towards the green. To the left, it just feeds into the trees. My ball was on a line to do either but the draw means the trees are more likely.

 

Sure enough I find my ball less than a foot into the undergrowth. I can't hit it and take an unplayable. The hole is front right and there's some wind in my face. Ball is a touch above my feet and it's 100ish to center. I hit a a partial PW and it's a high draw that lands on the green near the flag, 92 yards. I'm 9 feet to the right of the hole. This would have been a GIR if not for the drop. My par putt comes up 6 inches short... Darn, tap in bogey, 5.

 

7 – par 4, 346 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. The tee box faces west. I'm looking directly into the setting sun. I pull down on my caps visor but it's not helping. This is a wide open fairway and I use driver and aim to the left side. Contact feels and sounds thin and I never see the ball. I keep watching to see if I can pick it up but no dice. I have no idea where the ball went. I look around in the fairway and left rough and no sign of it. I don't see anything on the right hill and I'm running out of daylight.

 

I drop near the 150 marker and add a stroke to my tee shot. The hole is on the right side and I hit my 6i. The swing feels a bit funky and I never see the ball. It felt like it was a bit to the right though. Sure enough, I find the ball to right of the green near the back, 154 yard shot. The ball is in some muddy grass and I chip with my SW. Contact is good and the ball misses the hole on the high side and rolls 9 feet long, 21 yard shot. Not great but I'll take it since I was skulling these the last time I played. I get the bogey putt to a foot and come away with a double, 6.

 

8 – par 3, 140 yards, elevated tee shot, #13 HCP, bunker on the right side of the green. Slope to the right of this hole that is weed whacked. So it's long stuff and wild. Balls can get lost here. The hole is middle back and a touch on the right side. It's a 9i to center because of the elevation. I catch it thin and it's a low draw, 155 yards, that lands near the back of the green and rolls into the back rough. Shoot. I have to go through 6 feet or so of rough to reach the fringe and use my putter to chip. It's a good chip and it stops 3 feet short. The par putt is too firm and I just miss high and 2 feet long. I make the bogey putt, 4.

 

Too bad, my first bad putt.

 

9 – par 4, 300 yards, straight hole, #3 HCP, water on the left as you approach the green. The pond fronts this green. There's a couple playing this hole but they seem to be looking for balls in the left trees. They wave for me to hit. I tee off with my 5i and skull it 76 yards into the right rough. I ask if they wanted me to wait since the sun was going down but they said to go ahead since they were just 'messing around'.

 

No way I can go for the green from here, so I don't even look at the yardages. A 7i punch is probably the shot to layup with, but I use the 8i instead for some extra protection from going long and into the pond. I skull that one 76 yards as well. Lol, I am feeling like an idiot with these two people waiting on me. It's a back right flag on the upper tier and around 150 yards. I decide to hit my 6i.

 

Contact is great! It's a high draw to the back of the green and into the fringe, 149 yards. I chip with my putter to 3 feet. I have to be careful I don't miss long and have my ball run down the tier. It's a 2 putt double bogey, 6. Darn.

 

A '48' but I left the course excited. I have the '' around the score because of the drop on #7. I'm by myself and can't post the score. Playing by the RoG I should have gone back and reteed it. But I lost it because I couldn't see the ball off the tee because of the sun and didn't know where to look. I mention this because I don't play fast and loose with the rules normally, so just calling out that I know I did, not that I've run across any rules lawyers in this thread.  There's no way to score well with a 9 on the card. So a 48 is a big number but I'm okay with it because of that quad.

 

I am excited because of what I saw out there. Cast A was in some swings, I can't claim I know how well I was doing it since I was also thinking about the issues with the skulls and tops. I'll start with what I didn't see. I didn't see my normal push fade miss. I also didn't see the big cut/fade that I had Saturday when Cast A was part of my swing. I used driver on 5 holes, one of which I never saw the ball and can't say what happened. 3 shots were draws. On #3 I had a shanked pull hook followed by a fade when I reteed.

 

The 9i on #2 was awesome. A high baby draw that stopped a foot from where it landed on the green. This is the shot shape I expect when I hit the ball perfect based on my past history. The 6i on #9 was the same way, a very high baby draw. The first drive of the day was a solid 223 yard draw. 

 

My partial wedges were very good except for the PW on #3. My distances are in flux with them though. Arccos has my PW closer to 100 yards now versus the 90 it has been. My AW is also starting to get closer to 90 yards versus the normal 80. Hopefully this trend solidifies. 

 

The stats are below and the star of the day were approaches.  All SG numbers are in comparison to a 12 HCP. Sure I topped and bladed too many but I was +0.1 SG when I normally lose 5 - 6 SG for 9 holes with approaches. I was +1.6 from 50 - 100 yards. +0.2 from 100-150 and this is normally an area where I'll lose 4 - 5 strokes. I was -1.6 from 200+, thanks to tops and blades. This is why I came away excited. The worst part of my game still had issues but was much better than normal. This was a round where I saw potential, score be damned.

 

 

birdies: 0

pars: 3

bogeys: 2

double bogeys: 3

triple+: 1

 

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 152 yards

Longest drive: 223 yards

Fairways: 3/7

GIR: 3/9

Avg Approach: 115 yards

Up & down: 1/4

Putts: 17

 

Strokes gained compared to a 12 HCP. 

Overall: -6.7 strokes

driving: -6.5, penalties are 4.0 of this.

Approach: +0.1, this is a holy crap number for me...

Short game: +1.8

Putting: -2.2

 

[Patnachts]

Do you hit skulls and shanks like you did in the last 9 holes as frequently on the range? Because I counted I think 7(?) or so in this round which is the exact number of strokes you are over a 12 handicap in strokes gained.

[betarhoalphadelta]

4 hours ago, bortass said:

 

7 – par 4, 346 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. The tee box faces west. I'm looking directly into the setting sun. I pull down on my caps visor but it's not helping. This is a wide open fairway and I use driver and aim to the left side. Contact feels and sounds thin and I never see the ball. I keep watching to see if I can pick it up but no dice. I have no idea where the ball went. I look around in the fairway and left rough and no sign of it. I don't see anything on the right hill and I'm running out of daylight.

 

I drop near the 150 marker and add a stroke to my tee shot. The hole is on the right side and I hit my 6i. The swing feels a bit funky and I never see the ball. It felt like it was a bit to the right though. Sure enough, I find the ball to right of the green near the back, 154 yard shot. The ball is in some muddy grass and I chip with my SW. Contact is good and the ball misses the hole on the high side and rolls 9 feet long, 21 yard shot. Not great but I'll take it since I was skulling these the last time I played. I get the bogey putt to a foot and come away with a double, 6.

 

...

 

A '48' but I left the course excited. I have the '' around the score because of the drop on #7. I'm by myself and can't post the score. Playing by the RoG I should have gone back and reteed it. But I lost it because I couldn't see the ball off the tee because of the sun and didn't know where to look. I mention this because I don't play fast and loose with the rules normally, so just calling out that I know I did, not that I've run across any rules lawyers in this thread.  There's no way to score well with a 9 on the card. So a 48 is a big number but I'm okay with it because of that quad.

 

 

Technically according to the rules, for pace of play there is an alternative to re-teeing and taking stroke & distance... It's to drop and take two penalty strokes for your drop. It's to help pace of play for casual games where nobody is going to actually to go back to the tee and shoot another ball, disrupting the flow for the entire group and course. 

 

So if you drop for a lost ball where you did in the fairway, you would be hitting your 4th shot rather than your 3rd shot. Just as if you'd taken S&D, you'd be hitting three off the tee and if you'd hit the ball to where you took your drop in the fairway with your provisional, you'd be laying three and hitting four. So taking two penalty strokes is the equivalent of S&D and then playing your shot from your drop zone. 

 

BTW, I hate that rule and one of the few areas where I don't always score according to the ROG is that I play pretty much everything as a lateral hazard. Identify where I think the ball entered the hazard, drop there, take one penalty stroke, and hit from there. That said, most of the courses I play I'm not dealing with a lot of OB or lost balls, so it doesn't come up ALL that often. 

[bortass]

1 hour ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

Technically according to the rules, for pace of play there is an alternative to re-teeing and taking stroke & distance... It's to drop and take two penalty strokes for your drop. It's to help pace of play for casual games where nobody is going to actually to go back to the tee and shoot another ball, disrupting the flow for the entire group and course. 

 

So if you drop for a lost ball where you did in the fairway, you would be hitting your 4th shot rather than your 3rd shot. Just as if you'd taken S&D, you'd be hitting three off the tee and if you'd hit the ball to where you took your drop in the fairway with your provisional, you'd be laying three and hitting four. So taking two penalty strokes is the equivalent of S&D and then playing your shot from your drop zone. 

 

BTW, I hate that rule and one of the few areas where I don't always score according to the ROG is that I play pretty much everything as a lateral hazard. Identify where I think the ball entered the hazard, drop there, take one penalty stroke, and hit from there. That said, most of the courses I play I'm not dealing with a lot of OB or lost balls, so it doesn't come up ALL that often. 

I think that’s a local rule option for OoB and it involves dropping along the line it went in much like you can with a hazard. I know the rule exists but I haven’t read my most recent Decisions book yet, which is the best way I have found to learn and understand the rules.
 

I’ve used that option before and it’s handy for pace reasons as you mentioned. It wasn’t an option since I didn’t know where the ball even went, lol.  A ball lost left could be in either a hazard or OoB and one right is gonna be OoB. 
 

It’s all good in the end since the round doesn’t count for anything.

 

Oh, I made that walk of shame back to a tee box once in a tournament when I couldn’t find a ball I should have. I found it during my round the next day, lol.

[bortass]

16 hours ago, Patnachts said:

Do you hit skulls and shanks like you did in the last 9 holes as frequently on the range? Because I counted I think 7(?) or so in this round which is the exact number of strokes you are over a 12 handicap in strokes gained.

Nope, on the range I’ll catch it thin at times but the range is different overall.

 

It’s always dry since it’s the top of a hill and they have us hit off mats if it would be soft/muddy like my last few rounds.

 

My range sessions involve two clubs the majority of the time. Either SW or AW to warm up and hit pitches and partial shots. I’ll also have  my 7i or sometimes 8i to work on the full swing drills. Sometimes I’ll add in a different club to see what happens with a full swing but most of my work is done with the 7i. So I’m used to it, I’m not switching things around and changing ball position based on club.

 

The course brings pressure that’s not present on the range. A bad shot on the range is no biggie and I’m not trying to recover with the next shot.

 

The larger number of tops/blades are recent as well. I did it a lot back in early 2020 when I was coming off my 6-7 year layoff from the game. Things settled down and they still would happen at times, I’d have to go back and read some of my round write ups. 
 

Chipping I have always had an issue with skulling the ball. It got slightly better but has crept back in more in probably the last 4 rounds.

 

Historically I am an armsy swinger that doesn’t use the lower body/weight shift well. I was reading some of what I wrote about trying to break 90 back in 2011 and I mentioned not getting my weight forward and having a reverse pivot. Guess it’s still with me, lol.

 

Hopefully this made sense.

[SNIPERBBB]

When you say you hit things thin or top it...is it because your hitting the ball on the upswing or are you dropkicking on the ball?

Edited March 25, 2022 by SNIPERBBB

[bortass]

30 minutes ago, SNIPERBBB said:

When you say you hit things thin or top it...is it because your hitting the ball on the upswing or are you dropkicking on the ball?

I assume dropkicking is the club head impacting the top of the ball and smashing the ball down into the turf. 
 

The topped shots are as I described above. Club head hitting the ball on the upper side, forcing the ball into the ground which leaves a little trench, and it goes maybe 10 yards. The trench is where the ball is forced into the turf and the earth it moves as it starts forward until it gets above ground level. 
 

I almost took a picture of when I did it with my tee shot on #5. It started right in front of the tee and was couple inches long. My club head never touched the ground….

 

The thin shots feel like I’m catching it on the upswing and my weight feels like it’s towards my back foot and I finish in a C shaped position, ie hips are further ahead than my head at finish instead of feeling tall with everything on my left side.

 

Fun stuff, at least the thin shots go forward a good distance, lol.

[SNIPERBBB]

14 minutes ago, bortass said:

I assume dropkicking is the club head impacting the top of the ball and smashing the ball down into the turf. 
 

The topped shots are as I described above. Club head hitting the ball on the upper side, forcing the ball into the ground which leaves a little trench, and it goes maybe 10 yards. The trench is where the ball is forced into the turf and the earth it moves as it starts forward until it gets above ground level. 
 

I almost took a picture of when I did it with my tee shot on #5. It started right in front of the tee and was couple inches long. My club head never touched the ground….

 

The thin shots feel like I’m catching it on the upswing and my weight feels like it’s towards my back foot and I finish in a C shaped position, ie hips are further ahead than my head at finish instead of feeling tall with everything on my left side.

 

Fun stuff, at least the thin shots go forward a good distance, lol.

Dropkicking, is where you hit he top of the ball and your club is still going down.

[bortass]

12 minutes ago, SNIPERBBB said:

Dropkicking, is where you hit he top of the ball and your club is still going down.

Okay, that is the top I get. I’ve heard dropkicking used when a driver/wood hits the ground behind a teed ball and it bounces up into the ball. I’ve somehow hit a decent draw a time or two when doing that.

[TheDeanAbides]

Get a swing up. In the yard hitting a ball of paper will do. 

[Patnachts]

On 3/25/2022 at 10:37 AM, bortass said:

Nope, on the range I’ll catch it thin at times but the range is different overall.

 

It’s always dry since it’s the top of a hill and they have us hit off mats if it would be soft/muddy like my last few rounds.

 

My range sessions involve two clubs the majority of the time. Either SW or AW to warm up and hit pitches and partial shots. I’ll also have  my 7i or sometimes 8i to work on the full swing drills. Sometimes I’ll add in a different club to see what happens with a full swing but most of my work is done with the 7i. So I’m used to it, I’m not switching things around and changing ball position based on club.

 

The course brings pressure that’s not present on the range. A bad shot on the range is no biggie and I’m not trying to recover with the next shot.

 

The larger number of tops/blades are recent as well. I did it a lot back in early 2020 when I was coming off my 6-7 year layoff from the game. Things settled down and they still would happen at times, I’d have to go back and read some of my round write ups. 
 

Chipping I have always had an issue with skulling the ball. It got slightly better but has crept back in more in probably the last 4 rounds.

 

Historically I am an armsy swinger that doesn’t use the lower body/weight shift well. I was reading some of what I wrote about trying to break 90 back in 2011 and I mentioned not getting my weight forward and having a reverse pivot. Guess it’s still with me, lol.

 

Hopefully this made sense.

This makes a ton of sense.

It sounds like you have a hard time finding the same mental stress on the range as you do on the course. This thread is filled with advice, but I'd recommend trying to incorporate some games into your practice routine. Something that creates a score, adds some pressure. 

 

My personal favorite game is as follows:
1. Hit a tee shot to a predefined fairway

2. If you hit the fairway you get a wedge towards a green, if you do not hit the fairway you get a longer club (7 iron) towards a green.

3. If you hit the green you get a 8-12 foot putt for "birdie", if you miss the green you have to try and get up and down.

 

Do this as many times as you like and score it just like out on the course. I've found that creating some of that pressure on the range helps your swing transfer to the course. 
 

[betarhoalphadelta]

For me, range work depends on what I'm trying to do. But my goal is never to just go out there and "beat balls". I try to give myself mental time between shots so I'm not just racking and hitting. 

1. If it's working on the specific movement from my lesson with Monte, it's going to be one iron, typically 7i-8i depending what I bring to the range, doing 2/3 length low-effort swings interspersed with occasional full swings. I usually try to get some video of both the drill swings and the full swings. Video helps "break up" the session as well as taking breaks between balls. 
2. If I'm working through the bag trying to simply ingrain consistent motion, I try to cycle through clubs so I'm not just hammering one club over and over. Going through a large bucket can be tiring, so I'll take breaks multiple times during the session working on target practice with my 52/56/60 wedges. With those I'll sometimes vary ball position and try to hit at targets using multiple trajectories too... Usually I'll try to get a little extra focus on my "trouble clubs", like 4h, and now the 3u, though. But the bulk of it is going to be various irons and wedges, and no more than 10-15% driver. For these sessions I'm always picking a target because I'm trying to hit to a specific place, rather than focus on a movement. 

I agree with @Patnachts that focused practice is the important part, whether you make an actual game of it, or just whatever works for you. And if you're not focused, remember that you don't have to finish the bucket. Some days you get there and you realize your brain is elsewhere. There's no point in continuing in those cases. 

[bortass]

Let the pain begin : 

 

 

Made it to the range and captured some video. I didn't work on anything since it still took about 40 minutes to warm up and take a set of video.

 

I did play 9 from the forward tees Wednesday night. My driver was great! Irons and woods were thin or topped, lol. So not a good score...

[betarhoalphadelta]

Hmm... Bear in mind I have no idea what I'm talking about... But I'm wondering a few things.

 

First, I see this position:

 

 

Are you trying to focus on getting the club more outside in your takeaway? 

 

From what I see online, this can lead to a takeaway that's too steep, but you end up going from there to here:

 

 

With your takeaway outside the hands, I was expecting a much more upright arm plane--above the shoulder plane. It seems like despite trying to take the club away more outside, your body still rerouted and forced it inside by the time you reached the top. 

 

A flatter position at the top like this isn't necessarily a problem from what I understand, but you have to keep the club shallow as you return to the ball whereas you're getting steep. 

 

That gets you here at P5:

 

 

You've steepened the shaft and when you watch in slow-mo, you can see that you're rotating OTT with your shoulders. You kind of push your right shoulder up and out towards the ball, "spinning out" the shoulders...

 

 

At shaft parallel on the downswing your clubhead is back outside your hands, where my understanding is that it is correct to be even to behind your hands. At this point you can't do much of anything except an out->in swing path, which if you slow-mo your swing you can see the club gets to the right of the ball before impact and cuts across it. 

 

 

At impact, you're in a typical flip condition. Shoulders square, hands behind ball, shaft vertical to backward lean. 

 

How do you end up here? Improper sequencing. Which is something I don't know enough to tell you how to fix...

 

...but I can tell you that improper sequencing is basically another way of saying that your body movements are NOWHERE near your potential for power. If you think about cracking a whip, it's basically about transferring power in such a way that from your body, to your arm, to the thick part of the whip, to the very thin light part, you're applying that power at the right time. It's the same way with a golf swing. Your hips and core transmit power to your shoulders, which transmit it to your arms, which transmit it to the wrists, which transmits it to the clubhead. It's a heavy->light crack of a whip. If you get the sequence right, your clubhead speed will jump significantly. 

 

So go find someone like Monte so he can tell you how to actually fix it 😉 

 

[bortass]

@betarhoalphadelta Thanks for the input!

I’m not trying to takeaway to the outside versus trying to not suck the club inside like I normally do.

 

Good to see I still have the shallow OTT swing as well, lol. That’s gonna be a pain to fix because it’s so ingrained.

 

I posted the video in the swing video section in hopes that more people will see it . I doubt Monte reads this thread…

 

[SNIPERBBB]

4 minutes ago, bortass said:

@betarhoalphadelta Thanks for the input!

I’m not trying to takeaway to the outside versus trying to not suck the club inside like I normally do.

 

Good to see I still have the shallow OTT swing as well, lol. That’s gonna be a pain to fix because it’s so ingrained.

 

I posted the video in the swing video section in hopes that more people will see it . I doubt Monte reads this thread…

 

Sucking the club back and taking the club back outside the hands are both symptoms of the same problem. Arms lifting the club instead turning back with the shoulders.

[bortass]

10 minutes ago, SNIPERBBB said:

Sucking the club back and taking the club back outside the hands are both symptoms of the same problem. Arms lifting the club instead turning back with the shoulders.

So to break this down in a simplistic way. Rotating my torso gets the club behind me, as in behind my trail leg, but still in front of my chest. My arms just raise and lower in front of my chest.

 

Maybe the reverse of what I wrote is better. Arms move straight up, so if I was standing upright my hands are shoulder height and inline with the middle of my chest. From there turning my torso to the right is what gets the club behind me.

[SNIPERBBB]

24 minutes ago, bortass said:

So to break this down in a simplistic way. Rotating my torso gets the club behind me, as in behind my trail leg, but still in front of my chest. My arms just raise and lower in front of my chest.

 

Maybe the reverse of what I wrote is better. Arms move straight up, so if I was standing upright my hands are shoulder height and inline with the middle of my chest. From there turning my torso to the right is what gets the club behind me.

More or less. there is still an itsy bit of arm lift.

[berndgeurts]

Swing changes go with baby steps at a time. Don't bite off what you can't chew.

Starting with grip and setup and build up from there.

Like Monte says in his videos: the setup and backswing must be correct, practicing the casts without it would be useless.

 

 

Setup looks oke. Nice tall position, athletic.

Maybe the grip a little more in the fingers of the left hand. Then a bit more forward bent and the arms hanging straight down.

 

When correct. Start looking at your takeaway. Many already posted great tips on this. In brad's post you can see your arms have turned but your upper body is still facing the ball.  

 

Oke enough said: have fun playing golf. 

Ps for the grip change, lay a club around the house and grip it every now and then.

[bortass]

2 hours ago, berndgeurts said:

Swing changes go with baby steps at a time. Don't bite off what you can't chew.

Starting with grip and setup and build up from there.

Like Monte says in his videos: the setup and backswing must be correct, practicing the casts without it would be useless.

 

 

Setup looks oke. Nice tall position, athletic.

Maybe the grip a little more in the fingers of the left hand. Then a bit more forward bent and the arms hanging straight down.

 

When correct. Start looking at your takeaway. Many already posted great tips on this. In brad's post you can see your arms have turned but your upper body is still facing the ball.  

 

Oke enough said: have fun playing golf. 

Ps for the grip change, lay a club around the house and grip it every now and then.

My grip feels very much in my fingers of my left hand. I will try to get some video of how I grip the club. 
 

One thing is the part about the upper body not turning. That’s a bit of a light bulb for me. I don’t know why but I don’t let things react naturally. So I need to be aware and actually let things happen consciously or what is natural for some will not happen at all.

[SNIPERBBB]

You should feel a bit of tension in your back/lead shoulder as you turn.  The tension you feel in the back is your "coiling"/"loading the spring".  Makes it easier to generate power in your swing without having to muscle the club to generate power.

Edited April 2, 2022 by SNIPERBBB

[berndgeurts]

1 hour ago, bortass said:

My grip feels very much in my fingers of my left hand. I will try to get some video of how I grip the club. 
 

One thing is the part about the upper body not turning. That’s a bit of a light bulb for me. I don’t know why but I don’t let things react naturally. So I need to be aware and actually let things happen consciously or what is natural for some will not happen at all.

Excellent, then nothing is said about your grip ☺️. Couldn't see it that well.

[betarhoalphadelta]

16 hours ago, bortass said:

So to break this down in a simplistic way. Rotating my torso gets the club behind me, as in behind my trail leg, but still in front of my chest. My arms just raise and lower in front of my chest.

 

Maybe the reverse of what I wrote is better. Arms move straight up, so if I was standing upright my hands are shoulder height and inline with the middle of my chest. From there turning my torso to the right is what gets the club behind me.

 

A good thing to understand the arm movement is the Jim Waldron thread here on the Arm Swing Illusion. 

 

Effectively a good thing way to "feel" and understand it is the following:

1. Take your normal address position.
2. Hinge your wrists 90 degrees upward. 
3. Lift your arms (without moving your spine angle) about 6-12" vertically. 
4. Move your hands slightly to the right--about in line with your right pectoral muscle or armpit.
5. Turn your body from there around your spine angle like you're turning on a normal backswing.

You should find yourself in basically a perfect position at the top of your backswing. 

 

It's illuminating, because we think of our arms swinging "around" our body in the backswing--but they don't. A slight lift, a slight move to the right, and the body turn takes care of the rest...

[bortass]

On 4/2/2022 at 2:09 PM, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

A good thing to understand the arm movement is the Jim Waldron thread here on the Arm Swing Illusion. 

 

Effectively a good thing way to "feel" and understand it is the following:

1. Take your normal address position.
2. Hinge your wrists 90 degrees upward. 
3. Lift your arms (without moving your spine angle) about 6-12" vertically. 
4. Move your hands slightly to the right--about in line with your right pectoral muscle or armpit.
5. Turn your body from there around your spine angle like you're turning on a normal backswing.

You should find yourself in basically a perfect position at the top of your backswing. 

 

It's illuminating, because we think of our arms swinging "around" our body in the backswing--but they don't. A slight lift, a slight move to the right, and the body turn takes care of the rest...

I tried this once last night and it was very foreign and felt completely different. I'll have to read that thread to see what insights I can glean from it.

[berndgeurts]

8 minutes ago, bortass said:

I tried this once last night and it was very foreign and felt completely different. I'll have to read that thread to see what insights I can glean from it.

Best is to do the drill, take a photo of the result and connect the feel with the real.

[bortass]

 

Played my normal 18 Saturday and I was a bit worried going in. I knew there would likely be feedback on the swing videos and issues would be pointed out and I'd not have a chance to do anything about it. I guess I could have not looked at the comments but I did. This led me to doing something different on the course. I just swung the club. I didn't think about my takeaway and it's issues, trying to feel like the club was steeper at the end of the backswing, no cast A or B.  Just try to make a smooth swing and let the chips fall where they may...

 

Weather was real nice, high 60s low 70s, sunny and just a bit of wind at times.

 

1 – par 4, 404 yards, straight, #1 HCP, bunker front right. I aim at an irrigation control box that's down by the green and off to the left some. I do this because I tend to lose the ball to the right and tee it up on the right side, so this gives me the widest amount of fairway to hit into. I hit a solid draw with my driver, 223 yards, into the fairway just short of the left rough pretty much down my target line. The hole is back right behind the only bunker. I'm still about 180 from center and have to make a decision.

 

4w is likely too much club but 7w should work except my woods have been off for a number of rounds. I could hit an iron layup which means a definite third shot to get on no matter what. I decide on the 7w. My logic was if I hit it well, I'm on. If I mishit it then I'm in the same boat as laying up but with more variability on what that next shot will be.

 

I setup and aim to the middle left side where there's no bunker. I catch it pretty thin and it's a wormburner heading towards the green. There's a manhole size drain front left of this green and my ball runs between it and the bunker but it's a touch to the left, so the ball climbs part way up the slope fronting the green and curls left and down towards the drain. Maybe a couple of feet more right and it would have rolled on.

 

I'm happy with the result, 159 yard shot and i'm just short of the green with a good lie. The drain grate isn't in the way at all. I chip with my SW and it's lackluster. 27 yards and on the green but I'm 27 feet short of the hole. I hit my par putt to 3 feet though. 3 feet is my kryptonite though and I miss... Double bogey 6.

 

Bummed by the outcome but I'm happy by my drive. Bogey is what I will get the majority of the time on this hole, so an opening double isn't terrible.

 

2 – par 3, 142 yards, #17 HCP, bunkers short left and right, and long left. The hole is middle front between the bunkers that front this green. The white tees are back a bit today and it's about 130ish or so. I go with 8i and hit a high push fade, 133 yards, and miss the green to the right. I now have to chip to a green that's above me. I'm above the hole as well. I use my SW and hit it a bit better. The ball gets on the green and rolls to 6 feet below the flag. My par putt just misses and I have a tap in from inside 6 inches for bogey, 4.

 

3 – par 5, 458 yards, dogleg right, #9 HCP, couple of fairway bunkers on the left at the corner. I aim at the outside edge of the rightmost fairway bunker that mark the outside of the dogleg. I hit a decent draw a bit left of that line, 218 yards, and I'm barely in the left rough. It's fairly thin rough and I have a great angle. I don't like the thought of a wood and use my 5i instead. I catch it thin and it's a low draw down my line, 144 yards, and into the fairway. The hole is on the right side. The green is narrow on this side with bunkers both short and long. You also can't see the putting surface on this side because of the bunker lips. It looks to be about 120ish and I hit my 9i towards the flag. Contact is good and I see my ball carry the front bunker. It was a 124 yard shot and I'm just off the back of the green and to the left of the hole. I chip with my putter, 8 yards, to 2 feet and make the par putt, 5.

 

So far so good!

 

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. Driver has been pretty good lately, so I stay with it. I hit a high fade into the right rough near the fairway bunker that's on the right side, 206 yards. I lost distance from the height and my ball curved into the face of a slope. The hole is middle right and around 80yards or so. The ball is above my feet thanks to the side slope lie I have. I go with a partial AW. It comes out low and left and lands on the green and releases towards the back left, 94 yards. A GIR at least! I'm 45 feet from the hole and don't play enough break. The putt has no chance and with the slopes involved ends up 7 feet below the hole. I miss the par putt and have another tap in from inside 6 inches, bogey 5.

 

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 high draw down the left side that doesn't go as far as expected, only 187 yards. I notice that I popped a blood vessel at the base of my right middle finger where it meets my palm during the swing. I haven't seen this happen golfing before, though I've done it a few times playing volleyball. I'm worried there might be swelling especially since it's at the inside of a joint.

 

I get to my ball and I have a good angle and am in the fairway on the left side. A 5i past the corner should do the trick. I grip the club and feel a sharp pain at the base of my middle finger. I swing and almost drop the club from the pain. The club comes in wide open and I shank the ball 70 yards to the right and onto the face of a slope. I'm bent over in pain hold my hand after the shot. I tell the guys I may be done for the day. There's a road that cuts between 6 and 7 that I'd take home. So I figure I'd see how things go before packing it in.

 

I have a side slope lie in some decent rough. I take my 7i and hack the ball, 111 yards, into the fairway past the corner and it hurt but not as bad. It's 140ish to a front right flag, so 7i. I don't know exactly what happened but I sent the ball high and way right and into trees nowhere near the green... It didn't hurt that time at least. It's marked as a hazard and I drop. My pitch is short of the green, so I try again and get the ball to 9 feet. It's a 2 putt from there for a quad, 9.

 

Well crap, I was playing good and then went sideways with the injury.

 

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 low draw, 200 yards, into the fairway on the left side. No real pain though. The hole is on the left, behind the bunker. I aim for the right side with my 5i since it's 160ish and it's a mishit to the right, 132 yards and next to the green. I pitch with my SW, about 43 yards, and get on but 36 feet short. The par putt gets to 3 feet and I make the bogey putt, 5.

 

I think I'm okay and keep playing. I never felt the finger again during the round though it's in my mind until I got to the point where I knew it was okay sometime later in the round.

 

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 hit a high fade, 213 yards, with driver into the rough on the right slope. I'm not going to try for the green from the thicker rough with a sidehill lie, so I take a 9i and just huit a little punch, 74 yards, into the fairway short of the green. The hole is on the left and I have to pitch over a bunker. I use SW and contact is good and it's a nice high shot into the bunker, lol. Just not enough speed on the swing.

 

The bunker is hardpan with rocks and clay. I shut the face of my SW and swing. The ball pops out nice and high, land son the green near the flag and rolls off the back into another bunker. There's no lip where I am and I use my putter to get the ball to 5 feet. I make the putt for double bogey, 6.

 

8 – par 3, 160 yards, elevated tee shot, #13 HCP, bunker on the right side of the green. Slope to the right of this hole that is weed whacked. So it's long stuff and wild. Balls can get lost here. The hole is middle right and an 8i should be okay. Contact is decent but it's a high push fade, 139 yards and into the right rough. I catch my chip thin and the ball speeds at the hole, hits the flag, and stops 4 feet past it... Oops. I sink the par putt, 3.

 

9 – par 4, 357 yards, straight hole, #3 HCP, water on the left as you approach the green. The pond fronts this green. I hit a low draw, 199 yards, down the middle. The hole is front left on the bottom tier and behind the pond. It's 130ish to center and a ball hit there should feed to the front left. I aim there with my 8i and hit a low push draw down the right side, 147 yards, and into right rough, almost behind the green but not quite. I have a tricky chip because of the tier and hit it pretty good and the ball ends up 9 feet below the hole. My par putt goes 2 feet long and I miss again... Double bogey, 6.

 

That hurt. This is a hole where I'm playing for bogey, so a double isn't the end of the world but I just missed a 2 footer....

 

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. Driver is still behavinbg, so I stay with it and aim at the right rough through the fairway at the corner. I hit a high shot down that line, 218 yards, and through the fairway. I don't have a good shot at the green, so I layup with a partial AW. It's a good shot that goes 88 yards, and sets me up in the flat part of the fairway before it climbs back up to the green. It's a back right flag and a completely blind shot of about 70 yards. I hit a partial Sw and it's nice and high. I see it clear the crest, so I should be on the green. It's a 72 yard shot that I put to 5 feet! I miss the par putt and have a 2 footer that I make for bogey, 5.

 

11 – par 4, 329 yards, 90* dogleg left, #12 HCP. Fairway eventually slopes down to a stream short of the green, forced carry. The bunkers I aim for are about 210 yards or so away, so I use my 7w. Contact is great and I get a high draw, 201 yards, into the fairway just short of the rough fronting the bunkers. The hole is front left and it's narrow there with a bunker long. It's inside 110-115 yards as well, so I don't have a shot I feel good with going at it. I decide to go for the middle of the green with my 9i, which is a 120 yard club for me. I hit the ball and it's a thin draw that I see completely carry the green and bunker...I can't believe it.

 

I'm shaking my head and walking to my cart and notice I'm carrying a 6 iron, lol. Well now it makes sense.

 

I find the ball in very thick rough, it was a 155 yard shot BTW, so only 30 yards long... The green slopes back to front, and the back of the green is above my head. So it's a blind shot to a green that slopes away. I pitch with my SW and it seems good. The ball at least made it to the green. I get to a spot where I can see my ball and it's off the front right side of the green. I chip with my putter, 18 yard shot, to 5 feet. I sink the bogey putt, 5.

 

Phew.

 

12 – par 4, 315 yards, 90* dogleg left, #14 HCP, green is elevated. Narrow tee shot that opens as you reach the corner. I hit a great draw with my driver down the left side and I see it hit the cart path and bounce forward. 220 yard driver into the fairway and almost through it. I'm in great position. The hole is back left, so the bunker isn't in play and it's about 70 – 80 yards. I hit a partial SW and chunk it. The shot is nice and high but only goes 64 yards and it short of the green, sigh. I chip with my SW, about 16 yards, to 11 feet. I hit the par putt too firm and end up 3 feet past the hole... Oh crap! I hit the bogey putt and it drops, 5.

 

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 the tees are back a bit. I have 130ish and hit my 8i. It's a high shot at the flag and on the green. I can't see it but a guy says the ball ran up near the hole and then rolled back down. It was a 119 yard shot and I'm on the lower tier and 17 feet below the hole. I don't get the discrepancy in the yardages. My GPS must have been a bit off for the tee shot. The good news is I'm almost directly below the hole so I can hit it firm to get up the tier and no worry about the break as much. I hit the putt and it's tracking pretty good and it drops dead center for birdie, 2!

 

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 tee it up on the right side of the box and aim for the left rough way in the distance to protect against the push fade OOB right. I hit a very solid draw, 244 yards, into the middle of the fairway. I have a great, level lie. I feel good about trying a 4w off the deck. I aim towards the left side and swing. Contact is great and it's a high draw, 196 yards, into the fairway on the left side. The hole is back left and it's 110ish. I decide to hit a partial 9i and chunk it 50 yards... I hit a pitch with my SW, 64 yards, and 24 feet short. I hit the par putt to a foot and tap in for bogey, 6.

 

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. Driver has been good, so I stick with it. It's a push draw that ends up on the cart path that runs down the right side, 222 yards. I take relief and it's about 50 yards to the forward flag. I take some off my normal partial SW and hit a good shot onto the green and 7 feet from the hole. The birdie putt lips out and I have a tap-in for 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 and the entire green slopes to the front right. It's 140ish and I go with my 7i. Contact is good but it's a high push fade that misses the green to the right and is almost in the right trees, 144 yards. I chip with my SW to 15 feet. My par putt is too firm and I miss and go 3 feet long... Yup, I miss again and it's a 3 putt double bogey, 5.

 

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 hit a pull with my driver, 162 yards, onto a slope on the left. I have to punch it low and under some trees and use a 7i, which was a mistake. Contact is good but it catches a low branch and drops. I only advanced the ball about 10 yards. Do it again and I get it into the fairway on the right. It's a right flag, behind a bunker, and about 100 yards. I hit a partial PW and it's a nice high shot, 97 yards, into rough near the bunker. I blade the ship through the green and then use my putter to chip to a foot and I sink the triple bogey putt, 7.

 

My second blow up of the day and the first I'll blame on poor execution.

 

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... My drive is a pull onto the left slope, 176 yards. The rough is thick and the ball is below my feet. There's no way I'm going to try and get across the stream with my second shot. I take my 6i and hit a small punch, 82 yards, down into the fairway. The green is just over 200 yards away with a stream and pond carry. I'm not liking the odds, so I take my 4w and aim down the fairway at a bunker that's over 210 yards away. I make great contact and it's a high fade that goes 193 yards and lands in the fairway. The hole is back left and I pitch with my SW, 36 yards, to 6 feet and drain the par putt, 5.

 

A 49/44, 93. This is currently tied with the lowest score in my last 20 and dropped my index by 0.5. I thought I was going to be in trouble because of the swing video feedback and getting in my own head. I just swung the club and saw early on that things were actually pretty decent. Driver was on and I wasn't topping my irons. I was quite bummed when I injured my finger on #5 tee shot. Things had been going well and once I took that second shot and almost dropped the club, I thought I was done. It led to a big blowup but I am writing that off as being because of my finger. Things stabilized after that and I did okay until the back 9 where I played quite well until 16 and 17.

 

I also completed all 18 holes with the same ball for a change. I found my ball under a bush when i hit it into the right trees on 5.

 

Thoughts of my swing issues went away and got replaced by feeling good about my score 🙂 The issues are there and I need to figure out how I can resolve them. I did learn that I can play decently if I don't think about my swing while playing. I just don't know if it's something I will be able to keep doing or not. 

 

 

birdies: 1

pars: 4

bogeys: 7

double bogeys: 4

triple+: 2

 

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 206 yards

Longest drive: 244 yards

Fairways: 8/14

GIR: 3/18

Avg Approach: 109 yards

Up & down: 3/14

Putts: 33

 

Strokes gained compared to a 12 HCP. 

Overall: -8.4 strokes

driving: -1.3

Approach: -6.1

Short game: +0.8

Putting: -1.8

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by bortass

[betarhoalphadelta]

Sounds like a pretty decent round. Always nice to see a round count towards cap and that number go down. I aged out a good round from my last 20 yesterday and my cap went up 2 strokes lol...

 

One thing I try *never* to do on the course is think about my swing mechanics. I swing whatever swing I brought that day and just try to adjust to whatever the ball is doing. If I'm going to work on something, I'll do it on the range...

[bortass]

Got out for a quick 9 late yesterday from the forward tees. Same great weather and I used no swing thoughts during the round.

 

1 – par 4, 375 yards, straight, #1 HCP, bunker front right. Solid draw into the fairway and almost into the left rough, 235 yards. It's a left flag and about 130ish. I have to wait on a single in front of me that's is chunking chips etc by the green. They eventually move on and I lost focus and didn't do my new preshot routine. I hit my 8i and it's a good looking shot directly into the front bunker. I set-up too far to the right... It takes 2 to get out to 10 feet. The bogey putt misses and goes 3 feet long. I somehow make the double bogey putt, 6.

 

I'm bummed but it's my fault for letting the longish wait on the guy in front of me distract me.

 

2 – par 3, 133 yards, #17 HCP, bunkers short left and right, and long left. The hole is back left and it's 130ish to center. I hit my 8i and it's a high push fade, 138 yards, that misses the green to the right. I hit a 22 yard chip to the slightly elevated green and the ball rolls out 17 feet below the hole because of the slope. Not great but it's okay. I get the par putt to 2 feet and get my bogey, 4.

 

3 – par 5, 452 yards, dogleg right, #9 HCP, couple of fairway bunkers on the left at the corner. I have been hitting driver well and I aim a bit more to the right since I'm seeing draws more often. I hit a low snap hook, 214 yards, into the left rough between the fairway bunkers. Ouch... My lie is so so and I'm just looking to advance the ball in the fairway and use my 5i. It's a meh little punch that goes 78 yards down the fairway. I have a good angle and lie and the green is 200 yards away with a left flag and not trouble in front of it. I decide to hit my 4w since I hit some solid woods in yesterday's round. Contact is great and it's a mid height draw that lands on the greens and rolls off the back and into a bunker, 210 yards... There was a slight tailwind but I didn't expect this result at all.

 

My sand shot gets the ball into the fringe. I chip with my putter, about 8 yards, to inside a foot. Bogey, 6.

 

I am stoked by the 4w shot as I head to 4,

 

4 – par 4, 283 yards, straight, #15 HCP, water left and OoB right. Right side has a slope. There's a fairway bunker on the right. I stay with driver and hit a slight pull draw, 221 yards, through the fairway into the left rough. The hole is front left and inside 70 yards. I take a bit off my partial SW and hit a shot over the greenside bunker and onto the green. It looks pretty close to the hole, 63 yard shot to 3 feet. A birdie putt from the distance that makes me pull my hair out... I drain it though, birdie, 3!

 

5- par 5, 439 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 use a 5i off the forward tees on this hole. I aim down the right side and hit a great looking draw down that side. 'Don't hit the cart path' I say and it does....The ball takes a big hop forward. I'm worried because it gets narrow at the corner because of how the stream goes under the fairway. I find my ball in the middle of the narrow fairway, 226 yards off the tee... Wish I could say I hit my 5i that distance normally but the cart path added a good 50+ yards in my guess.

 

I'm in great shape and it's 200 yards to the green but there's streams to deal with and a tree as well. So I look at good options and hit an 8i. Contact is decent but a little thin. It's a low shot, 142 yards, into the fairway. The hole is front left and I'm coming in from the front right. I decide to hit a partial SW to center and let the ball work it's way to the hole. I am a bit heavy and I wasn't swing through hard, so the ball only goes 50 yards and lands short of the green. I have a long way to go and hit a 29 yard chip with my putter to 6 feet. I miss the par putt and have about a foot for my bogey, 6.

 

6 – par 4, 290 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 stick with driver and hit a solid draw, 213 yards, over the hill and into the fairway. The hole is middle back and just under 80 yards or so. Long is bad and I so with a partial SW. I step on it and hit a nice high shot, 78 yards, and 15 feet to the left of the hole. The back of this green is heavily sloped to the front, so I have a big left to right break to deal with. I aim high and try to hit the ball softly, it breaks and almost catches the lip on the low side and stops 5 feet below the hole. Not much I could do with this one. I miss the par putt and tap in from a few inches for bogey, 5.

 

It's a tough first putt but I'm still happy with a bogey even though I was thinking par once I saw I was near the flag with my approach.

 

7 – par 4, 346 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. Directly into the sun and I never see the ball... It's a mishit based on feel and sound off the club face. I think I hear something but it's faint, so I hit a provisional. Same type of mishit feel and again never see the ball. I find a ball in the middle of the fairway, 172 yards off the tee, and it's the provisional. I never find the first ball. So the ball that survived 18 holes yesterday got lost on the tee shot of it's 25^th hole.... may it R.I P. lol.

 

The hole is on the left side behind a bunker. It's about 160ish and I decide to hit my 5i at it. Contact is good and it's a mid height draw at the green. I see it carry the bunker and roll off the back of the green into another bunker, 180 yard shot with mky 160 club... My ball is in mud and I barely get it out of the bunker. I say screw it and clean most of the mud off my ball. Chip with my SW, about 19 yards, to 6 feet and 2 putt for a triple bogey, 7.

 

Real sad I lost that tee shot but I just can't see when teeing off late in the day on this hole since it 's elevated and looking almost due west.

 

8 – par 3, 140 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 near the back of the green but long is bad, so I tend to just hit a 9i from the forward tee. It's a complete mishit. It's a bit heavy and off the toe, you could see the divot to the inside of the tee. The ball is a high push that goes 114 yards, thanks to the elevation, and stops in the rough in front of the green. It's a long ways to go but I chip with my putter. I whack it but not hard enough. The ball rolls 29 yards and stops 12 feet short. Luckily I'm almost directly below the hole, so I can be firm with my putt like I was yesterday on #13. I hit the putt and it drops for par, 3.

 

9 – par 4, 300 yards, straight hole, #3 HCP, water on the left as you approach the green. The pond fronts this green. I tee off with a 5i from the forward tees on this hole and hit a high push, 178 yards into the rough of #1. I do not have a shot I like at the green. I'd have to punch the ball 130 yards, under a tree and over a pond. So I take my 8i and aim right down the cart path and hit a little punch. The ball come sout nice and low, lands on the cart path and bounces down it and off to the right and almost onto the right side of the green just as I had planned. The flag is back right, so not too far. I chip with my sw, 20 yards, and 15 feet long. There's slope to deal with and I hit a terrible putt that is too hard and goes 9 feet past the hole... It's a 3 putt double bogey, 6.

 

A 47 that had a real chance to be a little lower. I came away happy overall. Full swing is serviceable for the moment.

 

 

 

birdies: 1

pars: 1

bogeys: 4

double bogeys: 2

triple+: 1

 

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 209 yards

Longest drive: 235 yards

Fairways: 5/7

GIR: 2/9

Avg Approach: 122 yards

Up & down: 2/8

Putts: 17

 

Strokes gained compared to a 12 HCP. 

Overall: -5.5 strokes

driving: -1.8

Approach: -1.3

Short game: -0.7

Putting: -1.7