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

[bortass]

Played Saturday. It was soft from rain but not cart path only. temps in the 50s and crept up to mid 70s as the day went on. Sunny and it was nice out but I was, and still am, sick with a cold, gotta love having a box of tissues in the cart with me. I was not feeling great during the round with a sinus headache but I can't blame my play on course conditions or how I felt.

 

 

1 – par 4, 404 yards, straight, #1 HCP, bunker front right. A solid push draw down the right side, 246 yards into the fairway. It's about 150 to center with a front left pin. I aim for center with my six iron and hit a low push draw, 165 yards, and into the back right rough. I hit a twenty yard chip with my sand wedge but that leave the ball well short. I two putt from twenty-one feet for a bogey, five.

 

2 – par 3, 142 yards, #17 HCP, bunkers short left and right, and long left. Hole is front left and I aim for center with my eight iron. I can not recall the shot shape and I may have thinned it but it goes 135 yards and ends up on the front right of the green. I have a fifty-four foot birdie putt and it four feet long. I miss the par putt and a two foot bogey putt. Double bogey, five.

 

The opening bogey was fine and I thought it was a good sign but a four putt double? That is not good.

 

3 – par 5, 458 yards, dogleg right, #9 HCP, couple of fairway bunkers on the left at the corner. I hit a big low push fade, almost a slice, around the corner. 199 yards and I'm in the left rough. I cannot reach the green and go with my five iron to set-up the approach. I top it thirty-two yards... Okay, now my four wood can get close and I top it eighty yards. Nine iron iron blind shot towards the left side of the green and top it twenty-four yards....

 

The hole is back left and I go with a partial pitching wedge. It's a high push 116 yards into the back right rough. Chip with my putter, about sixteen yards, to six feet. I mange to sink the putt for double bogey, seven.

 

What just happened?

 

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. Weak high push fade, 179 yards, with my driver into the right rough. The pin is near the front and a partial pitching wedge should get me near the middle. I top it eighty-nine yards instead. Blade my chip with the sand wedge about twenty-seven yards to get on the green about thirty-nine feet above the hole. Par putt goes six feet long and the final result is a three putt double bogey, six.

 

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 use my four wood off this tee and top it 139 yards but at least I made the fairway. A four wood shot will clear the corner and it's a thin push well right of my line and heading to a hazard. I find my ball and it was a 153 yard shot.

 

I'm in the rough short of the stream but now I have to carry it and some small trees. I am above the fairway though, so elevation is helping. A seven iron will get me back in the fairway and will cut some distance off and should have a shot into the green. I top it into the stream area.

 

I'm pretty much out of the hole, so I go sideways about twenty-seven yards and drop at the corner just behind the stream. Hit an okay seven iron into the fairway and I finally have a shot at the green. The hole is front left and I hit a nice high partial pitching wedge, ninety-five yards, to three feet! A good shot at last!

 

Two putts later I have a triple bogey, eight....

 

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. Thin my driver and it's a low push fade, 169 yards, into the left side of the fairway. Four wood can reach the green but I hit a push way right of my target line.

 

“Hit the cart path!” Sure enough it does and takes a big bounce to the right and is likely OOB. I do find my ball but I'm blocked from the green by tree trunks. I chip out of the tree and behind the green with my nine iron. I am below the back of the green and it also slopes away from me. Two chips later I'm on about twenty-one feet below the hole. I lag it to three feet and miss that one as well. A quad, eight.

 

Stick a fork in me.

 

 

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. A horrible pull into the left hazard and I would be dropping maybe fifty yards off the tee, so I opt to just take S&D penalty. I hit that one okay, 215 yards, into the fairway. I have an eight iron in and hit a high push to miss the green well right. I use my seven iron to hit a running chip to six feet. Two putts later I have a triple bogey, seven.

 

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. Eight iron to the middle of the green. That's my plan. Instead it's a high push fade that lands on the right slope in all the weeds. We see my ball bounce down and left towards the green, so I may be in the right rough.

 

Nope, can't find my ball. So I drop, short and right of the green, and add two penalty strokes. Leave the chip twenty-one feet short and two putt for a triple bogey, six.

 

9 – par 4, 357 yards, straight hole, #3 HCP, water on the left as you approach the green. The pond fronts this green. Tee off with my four wood and it's a high push fade, 213 yards, near a lone pine tree that is in the rough of hole #1. I have no shot and my punched seven iron is on the wrong line. It goes a bit over foty-five yards but stops in some pine straw under another tree. I try to punch my seven iron onto the green and hit it solid but it clips a branch and falls in the fairway, short of the green. I chip with my sand wedge, about thirty-five yards, to four feet. I actually make a putt for a bogey, five,

 

Lol, I can bogey the two hardest holes on the front but it's doubles through quad on all the ones in-between...

 

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. The tee markers are still tucked in the very front left corner because they punched the tee boxes a week ago. I go with four wood and hit a nice high draw, 206 yards, into the fairway. Front left hole and I have a clear shot. Eight iron should work but I mishit it short and luckily it does not roll backwards into the bunker. The ball is on a steep up-slope with the green above me. I can't see the putting surface but my chip is decent and gets to about five feet. I make the par putt, four.

 

Only took ten holes to get a par.

 

11 – par 4, 329 yards, 90* dogleg left, #12 HCP. Fairway eventually slopes down to a stream short of the green, forced carry. My five iron has not been working great on this tee shot, so I reverted back to seven wood. It's a bit of an over draw, 182 yards, into the fairway on the left side. I have a shot at the green but the angle is not great with the trees to my left. I hit my eight iron and it's a solid push draw that misses the green to the right. I have to hit a pitch with my sand wedge because the green is a bit above me and there's too much rough to risk a lower shot. It comes out nice and stops three feet from the hole. I make the par putt, four.

 

Wow, two in a row!

 

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 pull with my four wood that catches some trees on the left side, 162 yards, and the ball is in the left rough. I have a blind shot at the green and mishit my seven iron a a little but the line looks decent. My ball is in the rough short of the green. I have plenty of room and chip with my nine iron and hit it too hard and through the green. I chip with my putter and get it to a foot and come away with a bogey, five.

 

13 – par 3, 123 yards, #18 HCP, green is elevated with bunkers short right and left and long left. Tiered green as well. Front right hole and all the tee markers are bunched up in the front right corner making it roughly 100 yards. I hit a high pull with my pitching wedge and it carries the left bunker and lands on the green. I'm thirty-three feet from the hole and it's breaking left to right and down slope. I hit my putt and I miss low and nine feet long. I sink the par putt though, three.

 

14 – par 5, 543, straight hole, #4 HCP. Elevated tee shot to wide open fairway. Fairway slopes down left to right, water on the right closer to the green and fronting the entire green. Kit's a high push with my driver, 235, into the right rough and the ball is above my feet. I whack my five iron, 150 yards, and back into the fairway. The hole is middle left and I go with my seven iron. I hit it a bit thin and left, 134 yards, and just to the left of the green. Chip with nine iron but it's a touch firmn and the ball catches a tier and rolls twenty-three feet long. I two putt for bogey, six.

 

15 – par 4, 264 yards, straight, #16 HCP. Elevated tee shot to a fairway that is always soft and cart path only year round. Fairway bunkers on left side in line with the green. Bunker surround this green except for the left side. My drive sounded solid but I never saw the ball. Never heard it hit anything and one guy thought it was down the middle left. No sign of the ball anywhere and I have no clue where to even look. I drop near the cart path and add two penalty strokes. I go with a partial lob wedge and hit it a bit heavy and short of the green. Chip it eight feet long and two putt for a triple bogey, seven.

 

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 middle back and I go with seven iron and aim a bit left since I almost always hit a push fade. Instead I hit it fat and it comes up short of the green. My chip doesn't reach the top of the tier and rolls back down to the right leving me thrity-two feet for par. I two putt for bogey, four.

 

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 solid push with driver and that is not good. The ball is heading for the first bunker that mark the outside corner of the fairway and it carries it. The backside of those bunkers is a slope that leads to a hazard about ten yards away. Any ball that goes past those bunkers is toast.

 

Sure enough I find my ball a few feet in the hazard and can't get a club on it. I drop and top my six iron about twenty-five yards. I say screw it and just hit my six iron again and it's a 117 yard shot that gets on the front right of the green. I'm thirty-one feet below the hole and two putt for double bogey, six

 

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 the best looking drive of the day, a slight baby draw down the middle, 237 yards. I aim for the middle of the fairway, across the stream and well right of the pond, with my five iron and hit a high push, that lands near the pond and rolls in, 161 yards. I recover the ball, drop, and hit a partial lob wedge heavy and short. Chip to fourteen feet and two putt for double bogey, seven.

 

A 57/46, 103 and it's a 101 for GHIN. A score being used rolled off and my index crept up to 15.6, sigh.

 

I am struggling to make a decent swing on the course right now. Early in the round, my weight was shifting backwards, probably a reverse pivot, and that led to all the tops. I am trying to get the left shoulder down and right hip back and it is making things worse right now. I also tend to need to think about Cast B to start my downswing or I hold on and do not release the club and it's push fade time. So I am not surprised by the poor play. I do expect it to sort itself out over time though. At least I hope so. I'll reference my practice situation in a follow-up post.

 

 

birdies: 0

pars: 3

bogeys: 5

double bogeys: 5

triple+: 5

 

 

Stats:

Avg drive: 202, with three four woods and a seven wood

Longest drive: 246 yards

Fairways: 9/14

GIR: 2/18

Avg Approach: 104 yards

Up & down: 4/14

Putts: 35

 

Strokes gained compared to a 0 HCP. 

Overall: -31.0 strokes

driving: -8.7, five penalties...

Approach: -15.1, penalties and inability to advance the ball at times.

Short game: -2.3

Putting: -4.9, actually a bit bette than my last ten round average...

 

[bortass]

Practice is going to be changing some. The sun is rising later and I do not think I will be able to hit the range as early. I should be able to maintain my pattern of working on two twenty minute blocks but there is more of a chance that work will interfere with my practice schedule. 

 

I am not sure when I will be able to do swing practice. They aerated both ranges and last week the hitting stations were off mats. I won't be hitting balls until we are back on grass, which I hope is soon but I have no clue. Also as we head into late fall and winter, rain will probably cause it to be mats only more often. I plan to do some Power Shift stuff at home, namely the drill using a wall to try to work on the correct feels for my shift. Short game and putting will be my focus when I do go to the range if it's off mats only.

 

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Question for you, when you're doing your full swing practce, is it all drills or do you try to do what I would call "independent" to see what your contact is like? I wonder if you're focusing too much on drills and not enough on the actual swing and making some setup adjustments to make consistent contact.

[bortass]

1 hour ago, SNIPERBBB said:

Question for you, when you're doing your full swing practce, is it all drills or do you try to do what I would call "independent" to see what your contact is like? I wonder if you're focusing too much on drills and not enough on the actual swing and making some setup adjustments to make consistent contact.

Hmmm, I almost  always have a drill for my swing practice. I'll do the drill three times and then hit ten balls trying to replicate the feel of the drill. Once in a great while I may take a club and just hit it for a twenty minute block. I think I have done it once for driver and once for my four wood in the last two to three months.

 

If I understand what you wrote, the suggestion would be using some of the range time to just hit balls w/o a drill involved to try and work out better contact. Essentially practice blocks where the ball flight is what is important, not what the swing itself is. Did I interpret correctly?

[betarhoalphadelta]

Do you think it's a time to try to schedule a video lesson with Monte? I wonder if you're drifting from what he taught you at the clinic, or perhaps in trying to implement what he taught at the clinic, you've introduced something else that's getting you in your own way?

[SNIPERBBB]

1 hour ago, bortass said:

Hmmm, I almost  always have a drill for my swing practice. I'll do the drill three times and then hit ten balls trying to replicate the feel of the drill. Once in a great while I may take a club and just hit it for a twenty minute block. I think I have done it once for driver and once for my four wood in the last two to three months.

 

If I understand what you wrote, the suggestion would be using some of the range time to just hit balls w/o a drill involved to try and work out better contact. Essentially practice blocks where the ball flight is what is important, not what the swing itself is. Did I interpret correctly?

Pretty much. You've gotta see what happens when you make non drill swings. Practicing with only drills is like shooting blanks out of a gun. Yes you learned how to take the safety off and pull the trigger but you don't know if you're going to hit what your aiming with when you have a live round. 

[bortass]

On 10/16/2023 at 1:52 PM, betarhoalphadelta said:

Do you think it's a time to try to schedule a video lesson with Monte? I wonder if you're drifting from what he taught you at the clinic, or perhaps in trying to implement what he taught at the clinic, you've introduced something else that's getting you in your own way?

I think it's just me trying to improve my pivot after seeing the last set of video I took and the feedback I got on it. I am having a hard time not thinking about it on the course when I'm playing. That type of thing usually leads to some real bad swings, I am unable to separate  practice and play.

 

 

On 10/16/2023 at 3:50 PM, SNIPERBBB said:

Pretty much. You've gotta see what happens when you make non drill swings. Practicing with only drills is like shooting blanks out of a gun. Yes you learned how to take the safety off and pull the trigger but you don't know if you're going to hit what your aiming with when you have a live round. 

Gotcha. I did a bit of this last week when I practiced.

 

Speaking of practice, still not over this cold and only went to the range two days. It is still off matts, so full swing is out unless I decide to bit the bullet and live with fat shots flying decent. I'm looking forward to the time change, can't believe I am saying this, because it will make it lighter earlier so I can still try to hit the range and not be rushed by work, lol.

 

Tuesday block 1 - twenty minutes chipping with SW and putting out

Tuesday block 2 - ten minutes chipping with nine iron and putting out ( had to cut short for work meeting)

 

Wednesday block 1 - twenty minutes chipping with nine iron

Wednesday block 2 - twenty minutes just hitting driver, no drills, just trying to hit the ball in the correct direction with reasonable shape. This was so so. I had some good ones but also some bad ones. I was unable to find and adjustment or single swing thought that helped.

 

Played both days this weekend. 

 

Saturday was at the sister course without all the water. It was ugly to say the least. Weather was awesome, so at least I had that as a positive. I had no clue where my driver was going, left, right, topped, idiot mark sky balled, etc. Irons weren't much better with fat strikes being the main pattern. I had one GIR and didn't break one hundred with ten penalty strokes on the back nine to keep the three from the front company.

 

Sunday was the home course and actually went better. Great weather again with some wind.

 

Opened with a double on #1 when I left my chip forty-eight feet short and then hit the putt twelve feet long. Par on #2 and bogey on #3, so not bad.

 

#4 - par four, drive is right but in the rough. I have a wedge in and chunk it short of the green. Chip through the green, chip to three feet and two putt for double.

 

#5 - par five, tee shot is four wood and a solid pull draw into the left hazard. Drop and have some struggles and get on the green in five. Thirty-three feet from the hole to the right and on the lower tier. Firast putt reaches the tops of the tier and rolls down to the left twenty-four feet below the hole. So a three putt triple.

 

#6 - par four, pull driver into left trees but I find the ball and hit it out with an awkward chip. I got it past where I'd have to drop and with a look at the green. My drop would have been blocked out by the tree line. Hit a decent five iron but miss the green right. two chips and two putts later i have another triple.

 

# 7 - par four, decent drive into the right slope. Ball above my feet in heavy rough and hit nine iron just short of the green. Chip to five feet and two putt for bogey.

 

#8- par three, wind in our face. Hit the green with seven iron. Fifty-four foot birdie putt that tracks at the hole and stops within six inches. Par.

 

#9 - par four, thin toe four wood that goes right on me and ends up in the rough of #1. My shot at the green would be seven wood across the pond and I have to stay to the left of some trees about thirty yards ahead of me on my line. I decide to lay-up back in to the correct fairway with my seven iron and I top my 'power chip'. Mess up my next shot but i get it near the green. Long chip is left thirty-three feet short and two putt double.

 

Finish the front with an even fifty and one penalty. the driver is still a bit over the map but not forcing a drop.

 

#10 - par four, solid four wood, high draw into the wind 189 yards. I'm in the fairway near the 150 marker. I have a six iron into the green and hit a solid shot, 151 yards, and on. I'm twenty-four feet past the hole and going down a tier. I misread the break and end up missing and leaving a six footer. End result is a three putt bogey.

 

#11 - par four, solid high draw with my seven wood, 212 yards, and through the fairway. It's about 123 yards to the hole, I'm above the green with a tailwind. I go with pitching wedge and it's a nice high draw that ends up hole high and six feet to the right. I have a right to left breaking putt and sink it for birdie!

 

#12 - par four, A great looking high draw with four wood, 217 yards, into the middle of the fairway and past the corner. I have a pitching wedge in and it's a bit heavy but the ball reaches the green. The ball is on the front left and the hole is front right and up a tier that seperates the right and left sides of this green. I hit a pretty good birdie putt to a foot and come away with par.

 

#13 - par three, The hole is near the front, just over one hundred yards. My pitching wedge could come up short, so I take my nine iron and take a bit off it. I hit it a little heavy but the ball lands on the front left of the green. I two putt from eighteen feet for par.

 

#14 - par five, drive is a solid fade down the right side, 255 yards, into the right rough. I have a good lie and decide to hit four wood. I aim well left and hit a solid draw down my line, 221 yards, and onto the slope that's to the left of this hole. I'm above the green with a clear path in and the pond is to the right. I take a bit off my sand wedge and the ball lands on the green and takes a slope and rolls thirty-one feet past the hole. I'm fine with this result, i just wanted to get on the green and leave the pond out of play. I get the birdie putt to a foot and have a par.

 

I am even par through the last five holes!

 

#15 - short par four, I hit a blocked push fade high right and OOB. Re-tee and I hit an okay drive, 226, into the left rough. I hit a twenty-seven yard pitch onto the green and two putt from thirty-six feet for double bogey.

 

#16 - par  three, hole is on the left and a sucker pin. A guy lasers it at 132 yards which is eight iron and wind in our face. I have a bit of a brain cramp and go with nine iron at the middle of the green. It's a bit heavy and I end up in the front bunker. I really should have used my eight iron, lol. I get out into the fringe in one. Chip with my putter to seven feet and i sink the bogey putt.

 

#17 - par four, bad push fade with my driver towards the right trees. I actually find my ball and do not have a realistic shot at the green. I punch a seven iron, 120 yards, to get in the middle of the fairway and about sixty yards from center. Back left flag and it's around eighty yards. I do not want to go long, so I hit a partial lob wedge. I catch it fat and it lands short of the green. I chip on and leave it thirty-one feet short.

 

The hole is in a terrible spot. The slope is steep and balls will not stop near the hole. Both guys I am with go high and the ball goes four feet above the hole and we watch as they slowly roll back towards the cup, miss and end up ten to twelve feet below the hole.

 

So I miss and end up twelve feet below the hole and it's a three putt triple.

 

#18 - par five, my drive is a decent fade into the right rough, 217 yards. I aim well left of the pond with my four woods and hit a high push fade that lands near the pond and rolls in.  I drop and hit a partial sand wedge over the green. Chip to five feet and two putt for double.

 

A 50/44, 94...  I was not able to keep things rolling on the back nine but that stretch of five holes where I hit the ball well repeatedly is big. It has been six weeks since I have done anything like this. I hope it is a sign that I am starting to work things out with my full swing.

 

I have been practicing my chipping but it is not going well on the course. I can hit a higher chip/pitch no problem but the lower ones that land and run are a struggle. Maybe I should just pretend I always have to carry a bunker with my chips but that shot is very lie dependent. I notice a couple issues on the course with the chipping. Sometimes my weight goes backwards/I don't stay down and sometimes I feel very stiff/rigid. I am hoping more practice will sort this out because I do not have these issues nearly as often when I am on the practice green.

 

My index is now 15.9 with good scores rolling off but I am happy with how I ended Sunday's round. It's good to know I still can play solid golf, lol.

 

Have a great one!

 

[bortass]

Well a tale of two nines. A forty-three/ fifty-three, ninety-six. lol. It’s a ninety-five for GHIN and my index will not change.

Gonna have to think about what happened out there. I feel like I checked out mentally towards the end of the back nine.

 

Hope you played better than me if you got out this weekend!

[bortass]

Last week was rough with regard to practice. I made it out one day. The first twenty minute block was bump and run chips with a bunch of range balls that were scattered around the practice green by someone that had been practicing pitches the day before. My focus was just on overall contact and ball flight, not distance control to a specific target which I'd use my normal ball for. The second twenty minute block was putting some of the random range balls on the green while focusing on keeping my hips still. Again, I was not working on speed/line, so didn't use my normal ball. Both blocks went well.

 

This week, I'm hoping to get to the range but work and weather may not co-operate. Hopefully it will not be off mats if I can make it out because I need to work on my full swing w/o drills. I think I need some time just hitting balls like @SNIPERBBBsuggested. Just worry about ball flight versus ignoring ball flight which is what I do when working with drills. Irons are killing me on the course...

 

Saturday's round was a bit frustrating for me. Not so much on the course while playing but afterwards seeing the results. The forty-three/fifty-three is one of the larger dichotomies in my scoring that I can recall. I did not play great on the front, I had a number of bad swings that led to some poor numbers, but I also played a few holes very well to stabilize the score in a respectable range. The back nine, I just fell off the rails with a few different issues that I'll get into.

 

 

1 – par 4, 404 yards, straight, #1 HCP, bunker front right. A decent pull draw with driver, 231 yards into the left rough. I have a five iron in and mishit it, 145 yards, and a bit short of the green. I hit an okay pitch with my sand wedge. The flight was perfect but too firm, so the ball ebnds up eighteen feet long. I two putt for bogey, five.

 

2 – par 3, 142 yards, #17 HCP, bunkers short left and right, and long left. Chunk my eight iron all of 101 yards short left. I have to pitch over a bunker and hit a nice one to six feet. I two putt for bogey, four.

 

3 – par 5, 458 yards, dogleg right, #9 HCP, couple of fairway bunkers on the left at the corner. I hit a push fade with my driver that hugs the right tree line and catches some leaves at the corner. Only 199 yards but the ball is in the fairway by a yard or two on the right side. I do not have a good angle and my four wood off the deck has been lackluster for months now, so I opt for a safer five iron.

 

I hit it okay but again hug the right tree line and the ball only goes 151 yards and is in the right rough. I look at Arccos and I mess up my club selection a bit. It looked like pitching wedge was what I needed and so I hit it. It's a nice high shot over the green, 101 yards, and my pitching wedge is roughly 100 yards. So either I read something wrong or the GPS was a bit off with yardages which happens at times.

 

The ball is in the rough back left and the hole is more back right. There's too much rough to putt through, so I chip with my sand wedge and leave it short of the green... Now I chip with my putter and watch as the ball drops for par, five.

 

For all the chipping practice, I still seem to suck.

 

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 great mid-height draw down the middle, 227 yards. The hole is near the back and about eighty yards. That would be a partial sand wedge but long is bad, so I opt for a partial LW.

 

I catch it heavy and the ball goes sixty-four yards and lands on the front of the green. I'm about twenty-four feet below the hole and two putt for par, four.

 

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 tee off with four wood and it's a push draw that's heading right. The ball hits the slope on the right side and rolls down off it and across the cart path to barely get in the fairway on the right side, 187 yard shot.

 

I don't trust four wood and hit five iron again. I start it a bit right, yet again, but it goes 161 yards, and I am past the corner and in the fairway on the right edge. The hole is back right and I opt for my six iron.

 

I am not sure what is up with that club selection. I hit a low push fade that misses the green a bit long and right, 135 yards. Six iron is my 150 club... Maybe a GPS issue again?

 

I have a tough chip because i'm above the hole and the green slopes to the front with a tier starting just past the hole. I chip with my nine iron and hit it pretty decently but it slowly rolls past the hole and catches the tier and rolls down to the front. I two putt from twenty-four feet for bogey, six.

 

I am not hitting it great but am scoring fairly well for my skill level. I have been able to overcome my mistakes and not blow-up.

 

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. A thin pull with driver, way left and maybe ten feet off the ground, it goes 152 yards and stops short of the left trees, so I dodged that bullet at least.

 

I cannot reach the green unless I try to hit a big draw with my four wood. I am blocked out by the left tree line, so no direct path. It's a low percentage shot, so I opt for five iron and aim short of the green to the right. It's a decent shot, low draw, 158 yards, and I'm in the fairway and inside fifty yards of the hole.

 

I pitch with my sand wedge and do not hit it hard enough. The flight is nice but it only goes thirty-three yards and ends up in the fringe short of the green. I chip with my putter to three feet and then two putt for double bogey, six.

 

I used to be good at pitches in the forty to fifty yard range but seem to have lost the ability. I am always coming up short. Something has changed in my technique, it is not just a matter of swinging too softly, and I need to sort that out.

 

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 great looking high fade with driver, 264 yards, and into the middle of the fairway.

 

The hole is back right and about ninety yards or so. I feel good with a partial gap wedge and catch it heavy. It's still a high draw but only seventy-two yards but it lands on the front of the green. I'm thirty-six feet short of the cup and two putt for par, four.

 

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 left and I opt for eight iron. I hit a high draw, 148 yards, and miss the green left. I'm fine with the miss since I have been hitting push fades on this hole which leads to a possible lost ball scenario.

 

I'm almost pin high in the rough and chip with my nine iron. I get it on the green but fourteen feet short of the hole. I get the par putt to two feet and miss the bogey putt... Double bogey, five.

 

Well that sucked...

 

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 decent low draw with four wood down the center, 190 yards. It's a front right hole location and I'm about 150 from center. I go with six iron and hit a very solid push, 160 yards, and I miss long and right. I chip with sand wedge, down the tier, to six feet and drain the par putt, four.

 

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 normally tee off with seven wood here. The last few weeks have been a bit windy and fairways have been soft, so I started to use my four wood again. I hit my four wood and nuke a high draw, 226 yards, through the fairway at the corner. I'm in the right rough on a slight downhill lie. The hole is middle front, so I am not blocked out by the right trees.

 

Nine iron should get me on towards the middle of the green but it's a low shot that only goes 99 yards. I have a pitch on and leave it well short of the green. Chip with my sand wedge and I'm short of the green. Chip with my putter to six feet and two putt for triple bogey, seven.

 

Okay, what was that? My short game just killed me worse than usual. It really stings because based on strokes gained, short game is my strongest area. I'm not great at it by any stretch but when your strength really lets you down, it sucks.

 

11 – par 4, 329 yards, 90* dogleg left, #12 HCP. Fairway eventually slopes down to a stream short of the green, forced carry. I block my seven wood, 200 yards, into the right rough and I just made this a tough hole. I have a clear shot but it's a five iron to reach center. I go for it instead of laying up. The ball comes out real low and I hear it hit rocks, so it did not clear thew stream. I have no idea where the ball went since it was a blind shot, so I dropped on the line it was taking when I last saw the ball. I hit a pitch across the stream and onto the green. I'm twenty-three feet long and left of the hole. It's a two putt double bogey, six.

 

I had thought of laying up before we even left the tee box and I probably should have done that instead of going for it with my five iron. So a triple from bad execution to a double because of a mental mistake. Great start to the back.

 

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 an okay draw with my four wood, 181 yards,and end up in the fairway just past the corner of the dogleg. It's a nine iron in and I hit a pull that lands on the cart path and bounces long, 126 yards. I have a tricky chip from the rough on a steep down slope to a green below me. It takes two chips with my sand wedge to get on the green, thirteen feet from the hole. I sink the long bogey putt though, five.

 

13 – par 3, 123 yards, #18 HCP, green is elevated with bunkers short right and left and long left. Tiered green as well. The tees are further forward than normal and the hole is middle back. It's in the 120 yard range and I hit nine iron. It's a high draw that starts left of where I wanted. A good looking shot otherwise. My ball is on the back left of the green, it was a 123 yard shot, and I'm thirty-three feet from the hole.

 

I am putting down slope with left to right break. Stopping it near the hole will be tough. I hit the birdie putt and I miss high and it rolls three feet past the hole. I sink the par putt though, three.

 

Okay that's better.

 

14 – par 5, 543, straight hole, #4 HCP. Elevated tee shot to wide open fairway. Fairway slopes down left to right, water on the right closer to the green and fronting the entire green. My drive is a pull draw into the face of the slope on the left side of this hole. It kills my ball, so it only goes 219 yards, but it does rolls towards the fairway and winds up in the left rough next to said fairway. I avoid four wood and mishit my five iron instead. It's a low shot that only goes 144 yards.

 

My ball is in the fairway on the left and I can reach the green with four or seven wood but have water down the entire right side. I decide to punch a five iron and layup short of the green. I chunk it fifty-nine yards instead. Now it's about 120 yards in and I hit a high draw with my nine iron, 127 yards that misses the green to the left. I chip with my putter to six feet because I misread the break. It's another two putt for double bogey, seven.

 

15 – par 4, 264 yards, straight, #16 HCP. Elevated tee shot to a fairway that is always soft and cart path only year round. Fairway bunkers on left side in line with the green. Bunker surround this green except for the left side.

 

My drive is a terrible high push fade into the right trees. I should have hit a provisional but don't. I find my ball in the right trees, 187 yards off the tee, and sure enough it's OoB. I move my ball a yard or two to get it back in bounds( add two penalty strokes), still under all the trees and hack it out with my seven iron. From there I pitch it onto the green to twelve feet and two putt for another triple bogey seven.

 

A provisional may have saved me a shot assuming I didn't hit it into the right trees again but all bets are off with a two stroke penalty is involved.

 

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. I almost always hit a high push fade on this hole. It's 140ish to center and I go with seven iron. I hit a low pull draw, 156 yards, over the back of the green and I clear the back left bunker in the air.

 

This is bad. I'm in the rough, on a down slope, and have to pitch over a bunker to a green below me, that feeds away from me. First chip with sand wedge is short of the green. Second chip with sand wedge rolls off the front of the green. Chip with putter to three feet. Two putt for triple bogey, six.

 

Mentally, I am starting to check out of the round. I didn't feel much focus on the putter chip or first putt from three feet.

 

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 low pull draw into the left trees but find my ball, 216 yards off the tee. It's sitting on packed clay from where course machinery drives but it is not a cart path per se. I probe the ground for rocks/roots with a tee and don't feel any.

 

I have a shot at the green and it's around 120 yards, so nine iron. I swing and subconciously do not want to let the clubhead reach the ground. I top it with a massive amount of top spin. It was funny seeing to ball get a few feet off the ground and just as quickly drop down. Luckily it was down slope to the green and with the topspin roll out, it traveled 101 yards. I then hit a great high chip with my sand wedge to two feet!

 

I miss the putt, bogey, five.

 

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 great looking draw down the middle, 237 yards, with driver. I decide to hit five iron to get across the stream and I top it into the stream instead. Drop about 100 yards closer and I have a shot at the green with my six iron. Leave the face wide open and hit a push face into the pond.

 

Drop where it crossed the margin of the pond and hit a partial pitching wedge, 94 yards, to twelve feet. Sink the putt to 'save' a double bogey, seven.

 

I did okay off the tee on par fours and fives. My puttuing had some issues but it was still better than normal per Arccos. My approach game sucked, as always. Lastly my short game took a big drop compared to usual.

 

The silver lining is the forty-three on the front nine. That is a solid nine for me. I had a good stretch of five holes the week before, so I am hoping that things are getting back to normal with my swing because I have been struggling scorewise. It is movement in a positive direction at least, lol.

 

birdies: 0

pars: 5

bogeys: 5

double bogeys: 5

triple+: 3

 

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 208 yards, three four woods and one seven wood in the mix.

Longest drive: 264 yards

Fairways: 7/14

GIR: 3/18

Avg Approach: 111 yards

Up & down: 1/13

Putts: 32

 

Strokes gained compared to a 0 HCP. 

Overall: -23.9 strokes

driving: -4.2 with two penalty strokes, so not a terrible day driving the ball.

Approach: -11.8, I just suck at approach shots and par three tee shots but this is about where my approach game has been lately.

Short game: -3.7, 2.9 strokes worse than my average over the last tren rounds.

Putting: -4.2, which is an improvement over my average SG putting for the previous ten rounds.

 

[bortass]

The poor play the last six weeks or so cost me. I came in fourth for most improved golfer in one of the groups I play with.  I had hoped I'd pull off a repeat but no dice. I improved a lot and the three guys who beat me out made great strides.

 

I'm looking forward to trying to snag it in 2024, Monte can get me there if I can go to his clinic again and I work on what he tells me to 🙂

[95124hacker]

FWIW, you’re probably the most improved gofer on WRX!

[bortass]

On 11/3/2023 at 8:26 PM, 95124hacker said:

FWIW, you’re probably the most improved gofer on WRX!

Thanks! There has been a lot of improvement and I'm looking forward to my year end review.

 

This may be a long post, hope it's not too boring.

 

I think I need to make a wedge change, which is a bit surprising to me. I had been using my set AW and SW since I got the new set back in '21. A few months ago I decided to swap them out for the Vokey 52* and 56* I had gamed previously. The Vokeys should be better than my set wedges. They are from before 2010 and I can't think of anything notable about them off the top of my head. I noticed something when I was playing Saturday. I had an 80ish yard shot and Arccos recommended the 52* and I had been hitting the set SW for that yardage. Hmmmm, the set wedges, I assume, are +1 inches like the rest of my irons, the Vokeys are not.

 

Here we go, last 100 shots:

Vokey 52* SM - 77 yards and SG of -0.33

Vokey 56* SM - 65 yards and SG of -0.27

 

TM SIM Max AW - 88 yards and SG of -0.35

TM SIM Max SW - 73 yards and SG of -0.25

 

My ability to hit the ball close is about the same regardless, I'm spitballing that statement based on the SG numbers being almost the same, but I have lost close to a club's worth of distance.

 

They say numbers don't lie but that doesn't mean they are painting the picture you see. One hundred shots is not bad for basic trending but I do not think it is enough to paint an accurate picture. I have struggled a lot the last two months on the course and my ball striking is a mess. I noticed that some of my iron distances are starting to drop because of the mishits. So are the Vokeys the issue or is it my swing? I am so tempted to just put the set wedges back in play but is that the right call?

 

I had  my typical partial SW distance to hit a green this weekend and used the Vokey 56*, came up well short and dumped in a bunker but I also hit it heavy. I know I have gone through spells of hitting the set wedges heavy and coming up well short a fair bit too. As I type this, I am thinking the issue is more my swing. I do not feel like I am making decent contact with my wedges( or most of my clubs for that matter). I have a feeling I'll be going in circles thinking about my wedges....

 

Things were very ugly this weekend, so same old same old, sigh. Logically I understand there is an ebb and flow with regard to how well I play. I had a solid front nine last week and thought I was starting to turn it around but no. I am having a hard time emotionally dealing with it. I am using emotional to represent the non-logical thought process aka feelings. I sooo want make some jokes about bubble wrap right now..... Anyways, I am having a real hard time not getting frustrated by my poor play. Logical side says it is no surprise, emotional side says why do you suck? I always play worse in the late fall and winter aka winter golf effect, so that's no surprise either. I still can't seem to separate things though and since I have shot in the eighties, these rounds in the nineties/low hundred are killing me. 

 

On a macro level nothing is going well, on a micro level I still see great shots here and there, sometimes a very well played hole. My mental game can brush off mistakes only if I am doing well on the macro level of a round. I feel confident and know I will hit bad shots when I am playing well overall. I cannot do that if I am just playing poorly though. I start to get frustrated and am unable to get my head outta my @ss. An example Sunday, playing like garbage and I get to #9. I decide to forego four wood and hit driver. It's a decent shot, a slight pull draw, and I'm telling my ball to go in the pond.... That's no place to be. 

 

As far as what is going wrong, I'd say everything. I almost always feel fine over the shot at hand. I am not thinking don't hit it short in the pond, don't hit it fat, don't hit it OoB. I have my club and my target, and swing thoughts(lol). I have had a few times where I second guess myself and it blows up. Normally, my first thought is conservative, for example tee shot is a push and I tell myself as I watch the ball land, okay time to layup. Get to the ball and it turns into 'hey my five iron can reach'. So I hit the five iron thin and it does not clear the stream fronting the green.

 

Driver - tops and shanks that go ten - eighty yards,  a few push fades into hazards, throw in a pull hook into hazard as well. Then throw in some great looking draws down the middle that make it look like I can play, lol. I had a round with no penalties with my driver but maybe the tops had something to do with that, hard to lose a ball in a hazard if it just rolls 70 yards.... 

 

Four wood - off the tee push fades and pull/pull hooks into hazards/bad spots, also add in the few great looking draws. off the deck, almost always a thin push fade that leads to trouble, once in a while I hit the solid high draw that was more common in the past.

 

Irons - Thin, fat, off the toe, push fades to miss the green well right( can't seem to close the face).

 

Wedges - fat, sometimes a wide open face to send it way right of target. Coming up short a fair bit.

 

Short game - a lot of multiple chips. The practice is not clearing that up it would seem. The 'highlight' has been I have holed out some long chips with my putter. Chips with an iron or a wedge are not clean and either short of the green or I send it pretty far past the hole when I do make decent contact.

 

Putting - A head scratcher. My lag putting has been very good but I had a three putt from three feet the other day. Saw a two footer get right at the hole, suddenly break to the right from the little raised area formed by the hole being cut, and pick up speed to stop two feet below the hole. Inside ten feet is killing me even with the putting practice.

 

Practice will be picking up again. Daylight savings will make it so I can go to the range before work more easily. Weather is a wildcard though, for example there was frost a few days last week. So I do expect a more disjointed pattern but not dead in my tracks like I was last week. I also heard we may be off mats this week as the grass from the range being overseeded is coming along well.

 

My near term practice plan is to just hit balls with irons and wedges. My full swing practice has been very drill focused and I have not been spending much time just trying to hit the ball and judging things based on ball flight. The drills should improve mechanics, if I do the process correctly, but that doesn't help me on the course if I can't get the ball to go roughly where I want it to. I miss the high draws with my irons and the draws with my partial wedges that actually go the correct distance. So I guess, it's time to just work on ball striking versus how I move.

 

I also miss my solo nine hole rounds. I can't recall off the top of my head the last time I played one. I know back in the summer, I got out for some solo eighteens, and maybe got in a solo nine. A few years ago, I was getting out for nine one or two times a week, but I wasn't spending much time on the range. Now it's all range time with just the weekend eighteens. I think I need to get back to having some practice rounds where nothing is being posted plus I enjoy solo golf. it would be a nice change for me I think. 

 

My rounds this weekend were ugly. Both were in the mid to upper nineties. All kinds of issues, I really 'love' triple bogies on a par three thanks to two chips and three putts... The only saving grace is I did have some solid shots and even entire holes. I actually hit the high draw with an iron on a par three, I so miss seeing that ball flight. I had enough good shots to know all is not lost but I definitely misplaced my game. Index has crept up to 16.3 as good scores roll off. The next seven rounds to roll off, eighty-three to ninety-one range,  are all in my top eight, so my index is going to balloon if I can't find a way to play better. It is what it is, but damn if I can actually buy into that and be like Spock....

 

Cheers!

Edited November 6, 2023 by bortass

[bortass]

Tripped across this video and it hits home with the mental issues I run into when I do not play well. It's nothing new and I've read about it in Four Foundations of Golf and other places. Sometimes I can be a process golfer but when things start to go really AWOL, I revert back to my outcome golfer roots. I've only watched this first part of his series on the topic and liked it, so I thought I'd share.

 

 

[bortass]

Made it out for a quick nine at lunch. Took about seventy minutes to play the front. Weather was great, sunny and low seventies with a slight breeze.

 

Depending on how I count some penalties, I shot either a forty-seven or a forty-nine. I can't post the round so I wasn't following the rules super strict. I made three changes and I think the results were positive for the most part.

 

First, I actually stuck to a process oriented round. I had some dogs of shots but I did not let it get to me. I really did not care what I shot at the end of the day. I had a great time and never lost my cool.

 

Second, I made sure to hit a full finish after my shots. I ran across this on Youtube yesterday. My finish is always a bit lazy and I have a history of not getting through the ball fully. This doesn't fix my swing per se but I noticed something. My contact was better with partial wedges and pitches. I did not dump them short like I have been. I also ripped a drive 250 and a four wood off the tee 228, both nice draws into the fairway.

 

Third, at the range this morning I discovered that if I address the ball near the hosel with my nine iron, I hit it much better(also with the goal of a full finish). I don't know exactly what flaw that is compensating for but it seemed to work with my irons. I actually hit both par three greens for a change. The ball flight is high like i expect but I am still hitting a fade,  just not as bad.

 

So what happened? Keep in mind, I played with the above changes the entire round. partial wedges and irons were addressed near the hosel. Woods and driver were not.

 

#1, par four. Great drive, 250 yards into the fairway. I'm 155ish from center and go with five iron. Hit a worm burner about 100 yards. I have a partial 56*to a back flag and I need to take something off it. Hit a great looking shot nine feet past the hole. Two putt bogey.

 

#2 par three, aim for center with eight iron and hit a high fade that started a bit right of my line but it lands on the green. 136 yard shot and ! am pin high and eighteen feet right of the cup. The birdie putt is low and rolls three feet long. Sink the par putt.

 

#3 par five. Blocked push fade way right and OOB. Retee and same thing just not as bad. I go drop in the right rough about 194 off the tee box. This is where I got loose with penalties. Hit a great low draw with my five iron, 195 yards, to set-up an approach into the green. I pitch with my 56*. The ball lands in the front fringe and rolls to two feet, forty-one yard shot. make the putt. So a bogey or triple bogey depending on how I count the penalty strokes.

 

#4, par four, high push fade with driver, 218, into right rough. A back flag, around 90 yards, and long is bad. I opt for a partial 56*. I make sure to hit the full finish and it's a nice high draw that lands on the green and rolls back and to the left, seventy-seven yards. A very reasonable result that left me thirty-six feet below the cup. I misread the break on my birdie putt and miss low and four feet long. make the par putt.

 

#5, par 5, tee off with four wood and smoke a high draw, 228 yards, into the fairway on the left. I have a great angle to clear the corner. I decide to try my four wood from the deck and mishit it. A low push worm burner into the right hazard.  Instead of dropping near the hazard, I drop where I am and try my five iron which is what I would have hit if I wasn't in practice mode. I chunk it about eighty-eight yards, lol. I just mark it as a two stroke penalty with my four wood in Arccos. I can't reach the green and decide to punch a low six iron to get close. Contact is real good and it travels 139 yards. I have a pitch with my 56* to a back left hole and getting it close is unlikely because it's within a few feet of a tier. Good contact and the ball takes the tier and stops twenty-seven feet below the hole, as expected. Two putt for a triple.

 

#6, par four. terrible push fade way right and way OoB. Retee and it's a low mishit fade, 177 yards into the right side of the fairway. It's about 200 to center and i try four wood again. It's practice after all... Mishit a low push, 180 yards, and miss the green well right. I'm on a downslope with a long chip to reach the green. I do okay and get the ball on but thirty feet short. Hit my putt and it stops a foot short, double bogey.

 

#7 par four, hit a low push fade with driver, again a fair bit right of my target line. It hits the face of the slope which kills the ball, only 207 yards but it is in the right rough. Ball is just a bit above my feet since it did not quite roll all the way down. About 130 yards to center with a left pin. I aim right to account for the ball being above my feet with my eight iron and hit a high draw down that line but it only goes 121 yards. I'm just short of the green and have hit a twenty-0two yard chip with my putter that goes six feet long, oops. Sink the par putt though!

 

#8, par three, elevated tee box.  Back flag and I opt for seven iron which should be near center. i hit a great looking high shot, a slight push fade, 161 yards and onto the green. I'm thrity-three feet below and right of the cup. hit the birdie putt and I watch as it drops!

 

#9, par four. tee off with four wood and I block it high and right, 174 yards. No shot at the green, well not quite. I have a clear shot from the rough of #1 but it's 200 yards with trees right and the pond fronting the green. I 'power chip' with nine iron to layup. Great contact and it goes eighty-five yards and into the correct fairway. I mishit a partial PW and end up right of the green. I chip with putter down a tier and off the front of the green near the hole. Chip with putter again three feet long. Three putt for a quad, lol.

 

Not quite sure how I managed two chips and three putts to end the round but I did.

 

Bad score but I saw some good stuff out there. I either played a hole real well or spit the bit. A birdie and three pars. My only bogey was on #1 where bogey is a fine score. I had the triple on #3, if I count four penalty strokes off the tee, so I played it well after dropping a ball in play. Triple on #5 was a bit lame after the great tee shot but I tried four wood off the deck which has been a disaster for months now and it stayed that way lol. Triple on #6 thanks to the OoB tee shot and mishit re-tee was unfortunate but a triple is what I expect after a S&D penalty off the tee. The quad on #9 was just dumb, nothing else to say about it.

 

I managed to hit three greens in regulation for a change and got up and down twice as well. Only sixteen putts thanks to that three putt from three feet on #9. The three one putts offset it though. My short game felt much better. My pitches all reached the green for a change. The only real bad one was with putter on #9. Driver is an issue though but it has been a rollercoaster of late. Irons were better IMO. Not always great but I hit more high shots like I used two. Still a fade bias though which is annoying.

 

 

[bortass]

Spent some time on the range this morning hitting four wood off the mat. I addressed it near the heel like I did with my irons and the sound of impact was different, almost like I was hitting it closer to the center. My on course mishits have been off the toe, at least that is the feeling I have about them.

 

I decided to try some foot spray, see below. I was addressing the ball close to the four dots on heel side of the face and at impact it's on the toe side of center. Lol, at first blush I'm thinking it's my awesome OTT move. I'm sure there are other reasons it could happen but I have always been OTT, so I am gravitating straight to it.

 

 

 

 

One thing I did notice on the range was that while I still had the 'stupid' push fade mishit, they happened a fair bit less. Most shots became solid again with either a nice draw or just a slight push fade that would still be playable. I wonder if I need to start to address my driver off the heel as well...

 

Still wish I was not hitting off a mat but I think I have gotten some pretty good feedback from it the last two days.

[Nels55]

2 hours ago, bortass said:

Spent some time on the range this morning hitting four wood off the mat. I addressed it near the heel like I did with my irons and the sound of impact was different, almost like I was hitting it closer to the center. My on course mishits have been off the toe, at least that is the feeling I have about them.

 

I decided to try some foot spray, see below. I was addressing the ball close to the four dots on heel side of the face and at impact it's on the toe side of center. Lol, at first blush I'm thinking it's my awesome OTT move. I'm sure there are other reasons it could happen but I have always been OTT, so I am gravitating straight to it.

 

 

 

 

One thing I did notice on the range was that while I still had the 'stupid' push fade mishit, they happened a fair bit less. Most shots became solid again with either a nice draw or just a slight push fade that would still be playable. I wonder if I need to start to address my driver off the heel as well...

 

Still wish I was not hitting off a mat but I think I have gotten some pretty good feedback from it the last two days.

One of the best practice drills that you can do is to practice hitting balls off the toe and off the heel.  This practice will make it more likely that you can find the center of the club when you want to.  Also it is good to practice hitting the ball fat and thin for the same reason.  Learn to control the low point of your swing.  Develop skill.

[bortass]

@Nels55 Great point. I have only done drills like that a small handful of times. I probably need to do it more often and I do enjoy that type of practice.

 

I played with the seniors today and had a good time. Weather was great, sunny and in the low seventies. I actually showed up early enough to warm up on the range beforehand. All I did was hit different shots with my pitching wedge. I have to say it was a positive experience. Contact was crisp and it seemed to help sort out the rhythm of my swing. It didn't carry over to the course but that's okay. Baby steps...

 

My index will be going up again. I didn't look at what GHIN predicts the new number to be but it will go up. I shot a ninety-six, ninety-four for GHIN since I had a ten on a par five which was over NDB. I played the back better than the front but instead of sharing the actual nines, I'll do best nine holes and worst nine holes.

 

My best nine holes had a score of thirty-eight, five over par for those holes, and worst nine was fifty-eight, nineteen over par.

 

Tee shots killed me. I had seven penalties off the tee. Driver had two S&D and another drop. My seven wood had a S&D because of a lost ball in leaves. One positive is I managed a bogey on the hole where I hit driver into a hazard and doubles on the seven wood and one of the driver S&D holes.  I can't ignore the penalties but at least I played those three holes at par before adding in the extra strokes. That is really the best i can ever hope for when a penalty is in the mix.

 

The ten on the par five was when I hit my driver OOB, got my provisional into the right rough, and then pushed faded my five iron into the right trees and lost the ball, so I had four penalty strokes.

 

All was not lost though. I had a couple great drives, 265 and 254 yards, high draws right down the middle.  I hit a great four wood off the deck, high draw, 208 yards. Managed to hit a forty-three yard pitch over a stream to two feet. 

 

My short game was a bit better than my last ten rounds. I chipped with either my 52*, 56*, or putter. I hit the 52* a bit too long each time but I left nothing short. I did have one hole where I needed two chips still but it was an improvement. I did get up and down four times which is a nice change.

 

Putting was better than the last ten rounds as well. I had three three putts but offset it with five one putts. 

 

The big miss is still a push fade with driver or irons. I feel like I am not releasing the clubhead, not sure if that is true or not but that's what is in my mind after I hit one of those mishits.

 

The real good shots had one thing in common. I felt myself get into the full finish position, nice and balanced. I did not make it to that position as much as I did when I played nine the other day but I think it will be a good checkpoint for me after every shot.

 

The thing I am most happy about though was my mental state. My score sucked and some of the mishits were horrid but I just kept it in the mindset of following my process. I never got frustrated and even laughed after one terrible mishit. This is a big win because I had fun regardless of the numbers. This is a mindset I always seem to lose sight of. I manage to do it for a few rounds and then I get outcome oriented and start getting mad with my score and mishits. My guess is i will fall into the results based trap again, I always do but maybe I can make it happen less often. Dunno if it's doable but I'll try.

[bortass]

Made it to the range today and I am in a weird place, big shock huh?

 

First twenty minutes was just hitting my pitching wedge. Anything from chips, low punches, to what I call a partial wedge. Overall it went very well and was not the source of weirdness.

 

Second twenty minutes was full swing with my seven iron. By full swing, I mean trying to make a complete backswing, not my normal partial backswing I use with irons. Monte pointed this out at the clinic and it's been a while since I worked on it. What I found is to do it I had to hinge my wrists upwards near the end of my backswing. On the downswing, my wrists felt like I was hammering a nail. Ball just takes off with a very high draw... It was not 100% repeatable but the high flight was a constant. I wish I had the tripod with me to grab video to see what the heck I was actually doing. If I hit my seven iron on the course like I did off the mat at the range today, I think it would make a big difference in my iron play. 

 

I don't know what to make of it. Is it a legit feel that I should be excited about? Is it just a flash in the pan based on how I swung the club today? Too many times I have thought I was on to something and it didn't bear fruit. Hence the weird place.

 

I have to head into the office next week, so the soonest I may be able to hit the range to get video will be next Friday. Possible rain this weekend, so I am not sure if I'll be golfing any either.

 

Have a great weekend!

[bortass]

Rained out two weekends ago and in the office last week, so no range time. Weather this last weekend was great. Sunny and it hit the upper 60s/low 70s with a 10 MPH breeze Saturday.

 

My golf followed my pattern of being erratic, lol. I did not play great either day but there are some signs of life.

 

Saturday, I was distracted by some non-golf related stuff during the opening and closing holes of the round. I will not blame the scores on those holes on it but I was not mentally focused on the round and what I was doing. I also found myself playing golf swing throughout the round which tends to not be good for me.

 

I started out with a triple on #1, okay drive but out of realistic range of the green. Hit my lay-up thin and had a partial sand wedge instead of a pitch. Shanked the wedge way right. Pitch through the green, chip with putter to thirteen feet and two putt. I manage three pars and five bogeys to finish the front at forty-four.

 

The wheels come off on the back though. I hit a solid tee shot into the fairway on #10 and come away with a double bogey because I have two chips and two putts. Tee shot, seven wood, on #11 is off the toe and way right. Provisional isn't much better but at least I can hit it again, a triple bogey with the S&D penalty. I then go bogey, par, bogey, par, par, and reach #17 tee. 

 

#17, par 4, is a quad. tee shot into right hazard(drop). Mishit five and seven irons, pitch/chip is twenty-one feet short of the hole and three putt.

 

#18, par five, solid tee shot into right rough. Toe skull five iron into a stream about seventy yards in front of me. Drop, mishit seven wood into said stream, take an X and card a triple, eight for GHIN.

 

The back is a fifty, for a total of ninety-four.  Full shots hurt me the most but there were some short game brain farts. My putting was a bit better than normal but clearly not enough to make a difference.

 

Sunday, I reversed the script a bit, lol. Great drive into the fairway on #1 and I shank my seven wood dead right fifty yards. Mishit seven iron and I end up with a double. #3 is a triple bogey, eight, because I hit my tee shot OOB. #4 is a double bogey, six, because I pull hook my tee shot behind a tree and have to chip back into the fairway to have a shot at the green. I mange three pars and two bogeys the other holes for a forty-six.

 

The back nine started with two pars and two bogeys. I double #14, par five, when I hit my approach shot into the pond, a bad push fade. I double #15, par 4, decent drive within about fifty yards of the hole and it takes me a pitch(long), two chips and two putts to close the deal. Finish the back with two more bogeys and a par, for a forty-four.

 

It was similar to Saturday with regard to the struggle areas. My putting was improved but it can only do so much. The notable difference was that I did not play golf swing for this round.

 

The bad news for both rounds is they dropped off a couple good scores, so my index went up 1.2 to 17.7. I have more decent scores that will be rolling off, including an eighty-three, so  expect the rise to continue.

 

The good news is there were more good shots than previous rounds. I managed to play one of the nines under bogey golf each day. I need to eliminate the blow-ups and mistakes but at least things looked like they were going better for the last two rounds.

 

Rain is forecast for tomorrow, so maybe I can hit the range Wednesday but I'm not sure. I have 18 planned for Saturday and Sunday is the red tee scramble which was a lot of fun last year.

 

On a side note, our two clubs are being sold to an individual. All we know is the deal is supposed to close at the end of November and that Bobby Jones Links is the golf management company that will be running things. I think it will be an improvement over Invited (Club Corp), which is not saying much, but who knows what will change with the new ownership.

 

Have a great Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

[bortass]

Well another bad round in the books and my index went up yet again to 18.1. Hard to believe it was 14.4 two months ago but the good scores are rolling off and there are still a few more to go including another 83. Right now I'll be lucky to replace it with something in the low 90s.

 

My putting was technically a bit better than normal but I had a four putt double bogey on a par 3. Gotta love following up a GIR like that. Five penalties off the tee, two drives OOB and another into a hazard, also had a real bad shank that led to a triple bogey. Throw in a couple penalties in my approach game and just the usual miscues and it was a scoring disaster.

 

The red tee scramble was no better. We came in last in our flight at -2. I couldn't seem to do anything except for one long birdie putt and one drive. Really feel like I let the guys down, my goal was to try to hit the ball far after we had one in play. Most of the time if I hit it far, it was offline and unusable, the rest of the time it was either mishit or just ho hum. Did have a good time though.

 

I have had no chance to practice the last two weeks and it was around freezing this morning. Tomorrow is supposed to be below freezing. Maybe I can find time in the afternoon to hit the range. 

 

I pulled a 'go to Jail, do not pass Go' as well. All my own doing of course. I've been thinking about wrist action because my clinic Hackmotion numbers were +32 at the top of my swing and +28 at impact. I am bending my left wrist in the wrong direction. I watched the takeaway portion of NTC for the first time in over a year and when Monte talks about the backswing, he references how the wrists should move, hinge up and flat left wrist at arms parallel. He also very clearly states do not go move on until you have this down.  Well, I did my normal backswing, no ball, to that point and my left wrist is no where near flat. I looked at the video I posted from September and the left wrist looks wrong there too. 

 

When I was working on NTC, I thought I had my backswing in a good place and spend most of my time on Cast B, some Cast A sprinkled in.  I should have been spending all that time working on getting the wrists to work correctly in the backswing. I know looks can be deceiving so there's a Hackmotion in my future thanks to BF sale. I'll be able to measure things to know if I really am doing it better or not.

 

Also thanks to a BF sale, I snagged a three day clinic ticket from Monte. I don't know if it will be as much of a game changer, 2023 was massive, but I will learn a lot and hopefully have something new to fix to let me move the needle more.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Damn, sounds like we're both in similar places with games going the wrong direction. Good luck turning it around!

[bortass]

9 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

Damn, sounds like we're both in similar places with games going the wrong direction. Good luck turning it around!

Yup, we do seem to be.

 

I'm not too worried about it though because the pattern for me has been hit my lowest index in the summer/early fall and then have it go up in the late fall/winter season. 2022 I hit my then low of 18.X ( can't recall the exact decimal) in October and I was back up to 22.3 by late April, '23. Both rounds this weekend had temps in the 45 to 51*F range, add in some wind and it's not like the conditions are great for scoring. Not that my issues were weather related per se, a crap swing is a crap swing, lol.

[bortass]

I've only watched about half of this and thought it was pretty good, so figured I'd share.

 

 

[bortass]

Who would have thought wrist action was so important?

 

The stars semi-aligned and I was able to get out to play with the seniors today. It was mid 40s when we teed off and got into the low 50s. I shot a 45/47, 92. 6 pars, 5 bogeys, 6 doubles, and one triple. Doesn't sound exciting but...

 

And it's a big but( insert Sir Mixalot here), I decided to have a single new swing thought, try to flatten the left wrist in my takeaway. The impact was evident. I had zero penalties off the tee and I was 3.1 SG better than my driving SG for the last 20 rounds! 

 

Some drives: 242 yard draw into middle of fairway; 226 yard draw into middle of fairway; 249 yard draw into fairway; 238 yard draw into fairway. I didn't expect to hit solid drives with the cooler temps and trying something I have not practiced. It wasn't perfect of course, I had some poorly hit woods off the tee and a couple drives that were not good which cost me some strokes by putting myself out of position but these are the types of mishits I have been making the last few months anyhow, so it's really a wash in my book.

 

I actually hit a couple of solid 4ws off the deck for a change using the new swing thought. It's been a while since I have done that.

 

Approach game was a bit off though. A lot of heavy shots but again I was trying to do something different with my swing. I had the two solid 4w approaches and I did hit a few shots with my irons well, such as a 144 yard 7i that ended up 6 feet from the hole. I know that's not a realistic expectation but I did hit some solid irons with the nice high draw shot shape. I saw some signs of life for a change.

 

Short game was same as always, the best aspect of my round but damn the mistakes kill me. I had too many holes where I needed multiple short game shots to get on the green. 

 

Putting, well it made me a bit sad. I stuck a partial wedge to inside 15 inches for birdie and missed.... I had 29 putts for 17 holes because I chipped in on one hole. Five one putts and twelve two putts with zero three putts. Not great but not terrible.

 

A 92 may not sound good but it's the second best score I have shot in the last twelve rounds and there were no holes capped by NDB. I reached NDB on #18 but I did card that triple versus having a quad+ reduced to a triple. My only penalty was an errant 6i into a pond on the second hole I played. I ended the round feeling like this is the best I have played in a while. I am very curious about what could happen to my game if I am able to improve my wrist action long term. It's not easy having it as a swing thought but perhaps working on it with Hackmotion will make it easier to have less cup in my left wrist while playing. 

 

Saturday's round looks like it will get rained out. Practice has been non existent, the frost every morning is the current issue with getting out to the range. 

 

Have a good one.

[bortass]

I actually made it out both days this weekend. I kept with the flat left wrist on the backswing swing thought both days.

 

Saturday was a solo round because all the guys cancelled. The rain shifted to the north and it stopped raining about forty minutes before I teed off and it stayed dry the rest of the day. I played the forward tees and made a mess of it. I forgot on a couple of holes and played the whites, lol. The only thing of note is I had a forty-six on the front with a +5 ten in the mix. I actually birdied two holes to help reduce the damage. Fell apart on the back though, lol.

 

Sunday was also cart path only. Fairways squished when walking but there really wasn't any casual water. Temps in the 60s with some wind. I played with one of the guys from the whites.

 

 

1 – par 4, 404 yards, straight, #1 HCP, bunker front right. I hit a decent fade, 227 yards, into the right side of the fairway. It's a front left pin and I have about 160 yards to center. I opt for my five iron and aim for center of the green. Contact is decent but it's a push fade that does 155 yards and ends up to the right of the green side bunker. I have to go over the bunker and the hole is about thirty yards away. I hit a high pitch with my 56* that lands near the hole and rolls out eight feet past the cup. It's a two putt bogey, 5.

 

2 – par 3, 142 yards, #17 HCP, bunkers short left and right, and long left. The tees are back a bit from where they normally are, so it's about 140ish to center. The hole is front left and I take seven iron and aim towards the middle of the green. I hit a high draw that's tracking at the flag and lands on the green. The ball didn't release much and is about twelve feet past the hole, a 141 yard shot. I miss the birdie putt but leave the ball within a foot of the hole, so I come away with a par, 3.

 

3 – par 5, 458 yards, dogleg right, #9 HCP, couple of fairway bunkers on the left at the corner. I hit a pretty high fade that hugs the right side of the hole, 212 yards, with my driver. The ball is about a foot from it's pitch mark in the soft ground. I have a good lie and new found confidence in my four wood, so I opt for it. It's a nice mid-height draw, 185 yards, that ends up in the fairway about forty-five to fifty yards from center.

 

The hole is on the right side behind some bunkers. My line goes between the bunkers though. I chunk the pitch with my 56* and it only goes about sixteen yards. My ball is between the bunkers now and they are not a risk anymore. I chip with my 56* and hit it too hard and through the green, thirty three yards. I hit a nine yard chip with my putter to two feet and make th eputt for a bogey, 6.

 

Blah.

 

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. My drive is slightly mishit and it's a low pull fade that goes 204 yards and ends up in the fairway on the left side. The hole is on the right side and a bit forward of where the center line would be. I have about eighty yards to the hole, based on the angle, and go with a partial 56*. I catch it heavy and the ball only goes sixty-eight yards and lands short of the green.

 

I have a clear path to the hole and opt to use my nine iron to chip. I have a brain cramp and use a chipping motion versus a putting motion. Contact is good but I send the ball eighteen feet above the hole. I hit the par putt with good speed but aimed too low. The ball stops hole high and two feet out. I make the bogey putt, 5.

 

That chip kinda bugged me more than the fat wedge because I mixed things up. I almost always using a putting motion when I use an iron to chip near a green versus a more typical chipping motion that is used with a wedge. I set-up like a typical wedge chip out of habit and swung that way.

 

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 tee off with four wood and hit a nice draw down the right side, 205 yards. My angle and lie are good, so I go with four wood off the deck.

 

It's thin and a low runner that travels 181 yards and ends up on the left side of the fairway past the corner. The hole is back right and I have about 130ish to it. I opt for eight iron and the numbers don't look right in Arccos but here goes.

 

I hit a bad push fade, 118 yards that misses well right but I'm about pin high. The problem is I am about twenty-five yards from the hole, short sided, my ball is in the rough and on a down slope and there is a tier that drops off just past the hole. I just screwed myself with this miss.

 

I chip with my 56* and come up short of the green because I was scared of hitting it too firm and having the ball end up 40+ feet past the hole( based on my angle in). I chip with my putter, barely miss the hole, and it luckily stops just short of the tier leading down to the front of the green.

 

Now it's a four foot bogey putt which I miss. Double bogey, 7.

 

That eight iron shot killed me. I couldn't hit a bad push fade like that but I did and it led to my first double bogey of the round. Felt like I wasted the two good four wood shots prior.

 

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 catch my drive a bit thin and it only goes 196 yards into the fairway on the left. It's 170ish to center and I go with my seven wood.

 

Contact is decent but it's a bit of a push fade, 161 yards, that ends up just a yard from the green on the back right. The dogleg makes the right side of the green closer to me than center which is why a so so seven wood is almost long.

 

The hole is front left, so I have to chip across almost the entire green and it's down slope. I use my putter and hit it a touch too firm. The ball goes twenty-eight yards and ends up just off the front left of the green. I'm about 12 feet from the hole and chip with my putter again. I get the ball to about a foot and settle for a bogey, 5.

 

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. My drive is okay and goes 212 yards and into the fairway on the right. I have about 140ish to center and go with seven iron, which I mishit. I caught it heavy and hit a low shot that only went about ninety-five yards and stops short of the bunker.

 

The hole is front right and I need to go over the bunker. I hit a real nice high pitch with my 56*, 25 yards, onto the green and about five feet to the right of the hole. I sink the par putt, 4.

 

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 back right and around 160 yards. I hit seven iron and it's a high draw that starts just a touch right. The ball lands almost pin high in the right fringe, 161 yard shot. I hit a five yard chip with my putter and miss high and two feet long. I make 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, which is offset from the fairway to the left. I tee off with four wood and hit a decent shot, 194 yards, into the fairway. The hole is front left and it's 160ish to middle. I hit five iron and it's a high push fade, 144 yards, that misses the green to the right.

 

Good news is the ball is dry, the bad news is that I'm near the back right and have to chip across the green and down a tier.

 

I chip with my nine iron using a putting stroke and the ball lands on the green and rolls towards the hole and stops twelve feet below the cup. I two putt for a bogey, 5.

 

This is a hole where I am always happy with a bogey. It's a tough par four thanks to the pond.

 

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 nice drive with four wood, 196 yards, into the middle of the fairway. The hole is back right and I'm inside the 150 marker, so I go with six iron. I leave the face open and fan a high push fade well right of my line and possibly into the right trees by the green. I get lucky and find it my ball on the edge of the trees( it was a 128 yard shot).

 

I have a blind shot to an elevated green. I pitch with my 56* and hit the ball to the back of the green, about twenty-one feet to the left of the hole. I two putt 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. I hit a push with my seven wood, 177 yards, down the right side. The ball is in the fairway but is almost at the far side of the corner, so I have a pretty long approach in.

 

The hole is front left and my six iron should reach the middle of the green thanks to the elevation. I hit a high push, 157 yards, that ends up in the rough a few yards off the right side of the green near the front. I hit a nice twenty yard chip with my putter to two feet and then make the par putt, 4.

 

12 – par 4, 315 yards, 90* dogleg left, #14 HCP, green is elevated. Narrow tee shot that opens as you reach the corner. Contact is good off the tee with four wood but I pull it just a touch and the ball draws into the face of a slope on the left which kills it, 156 yards.

 

Ball is in the rough and I am standing on wet leaves on a down slope. There is no good angle at the green as far as my skill is concerned. I want to take my nine iron and hit the ball across the slope and into the fairway past the corner, about sixty-five to seventy yards away. I don't give it enough juice, which may have been just as well because me feet slid on the wet leaves and I do not reach the fairway.

 

I advance it fifty-two yards though, so even though I'm still in the left rough and dealing with a slope, I have a clear shot to the green which is about eighty yards to center. The hole is back left, so closer to me than center. I take my 52* and hit the ball towards the center of the green and get on. I have a twenty-one foot putt that I leave three feet short. It turns into my first three putt of the day, double bogey.

 

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 there's a tailwind, about 130 yards. I FUBAR this. I almost always hit nine iron(120 club) to the center and call it good. I also rarely take a tailwind into account because when I have in the past, I come up short because of mishits.

 

I hit eight iron(130 club) and it's a beauty. A very high draw at the flag and over the green, 141 yards. Yup, I just screwed myself because long is almost always bad on this hole. It was bad club selection but I hit it great, so I have no room to complain and was fine with it on the course.

 

I am on a down slope facing the back of the green, thus above it. The green slopes away from me with a tier past the cup. There are large patches of wet leaves in my way just short of the green where they collected in low spots in the rough around sprinkler heads etc. A chip that carries to the edge of the green is likely all the way at the front of the green or even in the front fringe because of the tier and slopes involved.

 

I use my nine iron and a putting stroke and land the ball short of the green but not enough to get on, a nine yard shot. I chip with putter, seven yards, to two feet and come away with bogey, 4.

 

Anything better than bogey would have been pure luck for me based on where my tee shot landed. I was, and still am, happy with the result but nine iron off the tee would have been smarter.

 

14 – par 5, 543, straight hole, #4 HCP. Elevated tee shot to wide open fairway. Fairway slopes down left to right, water on the right closer to the green and fronting the entire green. My drive is a low push fade down the right side and close to the houses. It looked like it hit the face of the slope on the right in bounds and should be findable. Nope, can't find it with all the leaves, so I drop and add two penalty strokes. I advance the ball 165 yards with my five iron. It is around 130 yards to center and the flag is near the back of the green. I hit an okay eight iron, 127 yards, into one of the green side bunkers on the left.

 

The bunker is GUR because they removed all the sand to fix the drainage and have yet to replace the sand. I take relief in next to the green. I have a clear path to the hole just have a fair bit of rough to traverse because of the angle. I chip with my nine iron using a putting stroke and watch my ball roll twenty-one yards over leaves and other debris on the green and down a tier. The ball is tracking right at the center of the cup and stops less than six inches short, lol. Double bogey, 7.

 

Double bogey is the best I can expect after a two stroke penalty, so this isn't terrible.

 

15 – par 4, 264 yards, straight, #16 HCP. Elevated tee shot to a fairway that is always soft and cart path only year round. Fairway bunkers on left side in line with the green. Bunker surround this green except for the left side. A high push fade with driver, 227 yards, into the right side of the fairway.

 

The hole is front right and roughly forty yards away. I have a tendency of hitting my drive within forty to fifty yards of the front of the green and then coming up short with my second shot. Kinda dumb to not make a GIR when the shot is so short. I hit a pitch with my 56* and make sure to give it some power. The ball takes off nicely and lands near the middle of the green and releases a little. A fifty-five yard shot that is on but thirty-nine feet past the hole.

 

I am fine with the result because of my trend to come up short. The birdie putt dies about six inches from the cup... 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 front right and about 145 yards from the tees. The green is offset to the right, so the tees are in line with the left side. Center is 140ish, so I aim there and hit my seven iron.

 

It's a high pull draw, 146 yards, and completely over the left side of the green. Doh. The ball is in rough on a steep down slope and the green slopes away from me and there is a tier to go down as well. Stopping a chip near the hole is unlikely. I use a putting stroke with my nine iron and get the ball on the green and running. I picked a spot on the tier that was too low, so my ball breaks past the hole and trickles a foot or so off the green. I have about twelve feet for par and chip with my putter and miss. I do leave it about a foot out and get the bogey, 4.

 

Bogey is all I was realistically playing for once I send my ball long on the other side of the green. The seven iron shot was pretty solid, I just started it too much to the left.

 

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 center left with my driver and mishit it. A high push fade, 213 yards, that lands in a bunker at the outside corner of the fairway and rolls out. The bunker saved it from going into the right trees.

 

The hole is front right, behind a bunker. It's about 160 yards to center. This green has a strong left to right slope, so anything near the middle should roll to the right side. I aim for the middle with five iron and catch it thin. A low draw, 145 yards, that lands between the two green-side bunkers.

 

This is a good miss. I am above the hole with a clear path to it. I know I just need to get the ball rolling on the green and let the slopes take care of things. I opt for the nine iron putt. Contact is good and the ball tracks the way I want but I'm a touch too high, so the ball stops about two feet past the hole. A great chip!

 

I sink the putt, par, 4.

 

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 would call my tee shot a slice. I pull my driver and it starts down the left rough and the ball curves all the way across the fairway and into the right rough, 203 yards. Horrible shot with a playable result.

 

I do not like my odds from wet rough to cross the stream since it's at least a six iron. I decide to lay-up with my nine iron and chunk it only eighty yards. That takes going for the green in three out of question. I aim for the far fairway bunker across the stream, about 175 yards away with my six iron. I can't reach the bunker with this club and I am aimed well left of the pond. Only thing is I leave the face wide open and hit a push fade directly into the pond. My ball had no chance of staying dry...

 

Well crap. I drop where it crossed the margin of the pond and hit a partial 52*. A great looking very high draw that goes eighty-nine yards and lands on the back left of the green, about ten feet from the hole. My ball was a few inches from its' pitch mark. I two putt for a closing double bogey, 7.

 

A 43/45, 88. I am so happy with this round. I felt good about my game as I was playing. I wasn't perfect but I avoided truly terrible shots. The S&D penalty on fourteen was a tough break. I am fairly sure I could have found the ball if not for the leaves.

 

My index went up another 0.3 to 18.5 because my eighty-eight is replacing an eighty-three. At least I did it with a sub ninety round for a change.

 

The nine iron putting chip is working out pretty good. I plan to lean on it more going forward when I don't need to carry a bunker, etc.

 

I also think the swing thought of trying to get the flat left wrist during my back swing is helping. My driving feels better and four wood off the deck is back to being solid again. Granted I am not expecting miracles and there will still be plenty of bad shots still. I hope to get to the range this week and actually practice it bvut I am happy with what I have seen the last three rounds with just having a simple swing thought about it.

 

birdies: 0

pars: 6

bogeys: 8

double bogeys: 4

triple+: 0

 

 

Some stats:

Avg drive: 204 yards

Longest drive: 243 yards

Fairways: 11/14

GIR: 2/18

Avg Approach: 132 yards

Up & down: 5/14

Putts: 28

 

Strokes gained compared to a 10 HCP. 

Overall: -5.4 strokes

driving: -1.9

Approach: -4.9

Short game: +2.3

Putting: -0.9

 

[Foxx]

My road has come full circle.

 

From a good swing to paralysis through analysis, from trying to tighten up misses and create a consustent stock draw.

 

Now back to my natural effortless fade.

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Foxx

[bortass]

Hackmotion time. Warmed up with PW and then hit twenty shots with my seven iron. No swing thoughts about my wrist since I wanted to grab a baseline. One thing I wish they had was an ability to download the graphs.... So this will be ugly looking I think. Bottom line my wrist motion is very poor, lol. I am too extended at the top and it gets worse at impact.

 

I can drop an individual swing in if there is one that any of you experts would like to see.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2023 by bortass

[bortass]

I learned an important lesson Saturday.

 

It was raining right before we were going to tee off, rained stopped maybe twenty minutes beforehand. There was casual water around the hole on the 8th green as I drove to the clubhouse( it was gone by the time we played the hole but there was still a large puddle on the green. There was casual water everywhere and standing water in the low spots. Not good conditions to play well. The big group cancelled but three of us played anyways. I was doing okay with a forty-five on the front, that included two doubles.

 

Ninth green, I hole my bogey putt to secure that forty-five.  The best golfer in our group was struggling on this hole. A number of uncharacteristic mishits. He sinks a 7 foot putt.

 

"Nice putt, was that for ten?" I say jokingly. Now the three of us golf together a fair bit and have played the same scramble together the last two years, so trash talk isn't unheard of.

 

The third guy bends over with his hand on his side. 'Did you hear that? That was a low blow."

 

"You know I'm going to pay for that. I'll probably go triple, triple, triple on the back." I reply.

 

Karma became a running joke for the back. I didn't go triple, triple, triple but I started to mishit the ball more. Tee shot on ten was a push into the right trees and a drop. Tee shot on eleven was a cold top. Bad double bogey on a par three. I topped it off with a +5 ten on fourteen. Shot a fifty-three on the back. Karma is a beatch. LOL.

 

The main positive was my short game was better. I used the putt with a nine iron chip a lot with good results. I still messed it up on two holes when I hit it too hard and through the green, both led to doubles. Overall though this chip is helping quite a bit.

 

Putting was about as normal with regard to Strokes Gained except I had eight one putts. Five were in that half to one and a half foot range thanks to nine iron chipping. The other three were five, five, and six feet. Only two three putts and thirty putts total.

 

I posted a ninety-six to GHIN because I exceeded NDB with that ten. Another good score rolled off and my index went up to 19.0.  This isn't what I would like to happen but it is what I expected since I had seven consecutive good scores rolling off. This was the last of the bunch and now there is only one sub-ninety score in my last twenty.

 

I don't know about my ability to practice this week. Lows are below freezing three of the four next days with the other low at 37*, so I can't go to the range before work in the morning and I don't know if I can make it out any afternoons. If I do get to the range, I will work on the flat left wrist in the backswing from NTC.

 

I will say I miss practice. I enjoyed getting up early to hit the range range before work four days a week. It was a good pattern and I did it enough that it became part of my routine.

 

Have a great week and hope you go low if you are able to play!

 

 

[Patnachts]

22 hours ago, bortass said:

I learned an important lesson Saturday.

 

It was raining right before we were going to tee off, rained stopped maybe twenty minutes beforehand. There was casual water around the hole on the 8th green as I drove to the clubhouse( it was gone by the time we played the hole but there was still a large puddle on the green. There was casual water everywhere and standing water in the low spots. Not good conditions to play well. The big group cancelled but three of us played anyways. I was doing okay with a forty-five on the front, that included two doubles.

 

Ninth green, I hole my bogey putt to secure that forty-five.  The best golfer in our group was struggling on this hole. A number of uncharacteristic mishits. He sinks a 7 foot putt.

 

"Nice putt, was that for ten?" I say jokingly. Now the three of us golf together a fair bit and have played the same scramble together the last two years, so trash talk isn't unheard of.

 

The third guy bends over with his hand on his side. 'Did you hear that? That was a low blow."

 

"You know I'm going to pay for that. I'll probably go triple, triple, triple on the back." I reply.

 

Karma became a running joke for the back. I didn't go triple, triple, triple but I started to mishit the ball more. Tee shot on ten was a push into the right trees and a drop. Tee shot on eleven was a cold top. Bad double bogey on a par three. I topped it off with a +5 ten on fourteen. Shot a fifty-three on the back. Karma is a beatch. LOL.

 

The main positive was my short game was better. I used the putt with a nine iron chip a lot with good results. I still messed it up on two holes when I hit it too hard and through the green, both led to doubles. Overall though this chip is helping quite a bit.

 

Putting was about as normal with regard to Strokes Gained except I had eight one putts. Five were in that half to one and a half foot range thanks to nine iron chipping. The other three were five, five, and six feet. Only two three putts and thirty putts total.

 

I posted a ninety-six to GHIN because I exceeded NDB with that ten. Another good score rolled off and my index went up to 19.0.  This isn't what I would like to happen but it is what I expected since I had seven consecutive good scores rolling off. This was the last of the bunch and now there is only one sub-ninety score in my last twenty.

 

I don't know about my ability to practice this week. Lows are below freezing three of the four next days with the other low at 37*, so I can't go to the range before work in the morning and I don't know if I can make it out any afternoons. If I do get to the range, I will work on the flat left wrist in the backswing from NTC.

 

I will say I miss practice. I enjoyed getting up early to hit the range range before work four days a week. It was a good pattern and I did it enough that it became part of my routine.

 

Have a great week and hope you go low if you are able to play!

 

 

Sounds like you are playing winter golf now! Bad conditions, tough to practice, etc. 

When that comes around I almost shift my focus a bit, start working on parts of the swing I'd like tightened up. Additionally, you just gotta expect the 2-3 index increase that comes with the bad conditions. Winter golf is really where you lay the foundation for a successful next season.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Patnachts

[skim4]

How's the road 4 years in? Have you seen dramatic improvements in your game? Or at least had fun along the way? The journey can be the destination.