BigTerp's swing journey

[chipa]

My advice is to look at other swing methods. My brother started golf at 50+ and made zero progress until he found an instructor online and from then its hard to believe his progress, he is now playing P770's and can hit the 4 iron stright.

 

I have come to accept that there are different ways to swing a club relatively well. On some days it seems like I hit it like a pro and others I feel like I never swung a club. My goal is to uncover that diamond in the rough like my brother has. Most everyone has a swing they can repeat if there are diligent enough I believe, but it's wrong to think that they have to look remotely similar.

[BigTerp1524]

2 minutes ago, chipa said:

My advice is to look at other swing methods. My brother started golf at 50+ and made zero progress until he found an instructor online and from then its hard to believe his progress, he is now playing P770's and can hit the 4 iron stright.

 

I have come to accept that there are different ways to swing a club relatively well. On some days it seems like I hit it like a pro and others I feel like I never swung a club. My goal is to uncover that diamond in the rough like my brother has. Most everyone has a swing they can repeat if there are diligent enough I believe, but it's wrong to think that they have to look remotely similar.

Thanks.

[chipa]

On 7/20/2021 at 8:03 AM, BigTerp1524 said:

Took some video last night for the first time in a few weeks. Not a ton to report. Things look fairly good to my eyes. I look to be taking the club back a tad better and not as far inside as I was before, which is something I've been working on. I do seem to be getting a little long at the top again, which is a continuing problem for me. One thing I did notice is my lower body/legs/feet are pretty passive in the downswing. After noticing it on video, I can feel it as well. I seem to get a decent weight transfer at the top and get the "push down" or "squat" that Monte describes with the weight transfer to the front leg, but I do not really get the push off with the back leg coming into impact. I feel that's leaving some power on the table as well as not allowing my hips to rotate through impact as well as they could. Part of the problem is it could be coming from my main fault of long in the backswing and spinning my shoulders out in transition. This leaves my hands a little behind and I have to stall a bit with the lower body to give them a chance to catch up/get through.  Not something I'm going to overanalyze though, or even work on. Just an observation. Plan to get together with Monte again for a lesson before I start working on anything that could be detrimental. In the meantime I'm going to continue working on a better takeaway (less inside), eliminating the overrun with the hands/arms at the top, keeping my shoulders closed a bit more in transition to allow my hands to drop down versus out and focus on hitting through the ball. Pretty much everything I've been working on since my lesson with Monte. Anything else that needs work I'll let Monte point out and address when I get the chance to catch up with him again for a lesson.

 

  

 

 

 

 

Ordered a 75g counterweight for my putter grip yesterday. The head is 375g on a 37.5" shaft, so it's a bit heavy in the SW category. Thinking that is part of my issue with controlling the speed of my putts. Hoping the counterweight will make the head feel a little lighter and help me control it a bit better. For a few bucks, it's worth the experiment. 

 

Nice looking swing. I'm no expert of course but I'd try to add a little more lateral movement to your swing. I understand it's not too popular but a lot of great golfers had a very significant lateral movement that today would be criticized probably. Walter Hagen and Byron Nelson moved off the ball significantly. In my own case I do have a significant lateral movement but I understand it's mostly due to limited flexibility in my lower back due to a surgery. What is for sure is that it generates easy clubhead speed. I can consistently swing over 110 mph with my 2 wood and I'm 56 and only 5'6".  Any easy way to get a more lateral component to your swing is to putt your hands around 4" farther forward than they would naturally fall from the shoulders. This also has the effect of locking down the legs a little forcing you to swing around them. If you like to play with your hands in the center then generally from what I've seen you have to shift the weight to the right leg initially, which is what Byron Nelson did.

[TheDeanAbides]

You don't need to look at new swing methods. You're already with one of the best teachers around. 

 

You need to find a way to play whilst learning. Do you need driver? I got to single figures hitting 3 iron from the tee and then added driver. 

 

You need a club that'll get you in play and able to play bogey golf. That should be your aim now until you can comfortably use driver. 

[BigTerp1524]

7 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

You don't need to look at new swing methods. You're already with one of the best teachers around. 

 

You need to find a way to play whilst learning. Do you need driver? I got to single figures hitting 3 iron from the tee and then added driver. 

 

You need a club that'll get you in play and able to play bogey golf. That should be your aim now until you can comfortably use driver. 

I'm definitely comfortable with Monte and his methods. I don't plan on changing anything that I've been working on other than from his direction after my lesson next week.

 

I definitely should've hit my 4i off the tee more yesterday once I realized by driver was going to crap. It's a club that, for whatever reason, I hit really well. It was just one of those things where I've been hitting my driver well the past few rounds and yesterday I think I was just waiting for it to come around. Or more likely, was trying to make some changes to force it to come around. Not a good recipe for success there. 

[TheDeanAbides]

And I'll add here what I said in PM: your swing is easily good enough to break 90. The fact that you're not is down to pressure, course management, expectation management and, perhaps, short game. 

[TheDeanAbides]

2 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

I'm definitely comfortable with Monte and his methods. I don't plan on changing anything that I've been working on other than from his direction after my lesson next week.

 

I definitely should've hit my 4i off the tee more yesterday once I realized by driver was going to crap. It's a club that, for whatever reason, I hit really well. It was just one of those things where I've been hitting my driver well the past few rounds and yesterday I think I was just waiting for it to come around. Or more likely, was trying to make some changes to force it to come around. Not a good recipe for success there. 

Yes. When you're trying to break 100 you don't really have the skill to problem solve driver mid round. Better to accept it's not working and get something else in play so you can enjoy your round. Nobody enjoys hitting everything OOB!

[glk]

Glad you have another lesson.    I could see from your latest video you have plateau/regressed.   Don't be too disappointed - this is the nature of golf and especially changing the motion.    Nonlinear.     My last two lessons with Monte were about making sure i extended in the backswing - I just caught myself not doing it this week - have to get my right shouler over my left foot as an intent and swing around my shirt tag.   And I have swing DNA that i want to get my arms a bit inside - so i have to feel like they work away - they don't but that is my feel.

 

What aids are you using?    If you aren't using any then to me that is something that is likely holding you back.  For example,  I don't see you using an alignment stick on the ground - helps with aim but also with setting up more square - maybe it's your camera angle but sure looks like you setup with your lower body pretty closed - I see a lot of left leg in the down the line -  your left arm is pretty much swinging along the angle set by your feet which is taking your arms too inside.    I get this - it is easy to look down in swings and look at hands etc relative to feet - so if feet are square then hands appears move over then in takeaway - if feet are closed and hands are over them then takeaway is going inside relative to body angles.       when players setup open or closed - it is a square setup just angled one way or another.  

 

Plus an alignment stick pointing at target gives feedback on camera angle being good versus to much left or right - so if you setup and put a stick down on your toe line - then go back and line up the camera to point down the stick when you go back and setup - given the camera is hands level it'll be good to go.

 

It's the little things that add up and I work on setup almost every day in front of a mirror - bene of being retired.

 

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by glk

[TheDeanAbides]

1 minute ago, glk said:

Glad you have another lesson.    I could see from your latest video you have plateau/regressed.   Don't be too disappointed - this is the nature of golf and especially changing the motion.    Nonlinear.     My last two lessons with Monte were about making sure i extended in the backswing - I just caught myself not doing it this week - have to get my right shouler over my left foot as an intent and swing around my shirt tag.   And I have swing DNA that i want to get my arms a bit inside - so i have to feel like they work away - they don't but that is my feel.

 

What aids are you using?    If you aren't using any then to me that is something that is likely holding you back.  For example,  I don't see you using an alignment stick on the ground - helps with aim but also with setting up more square - maybe it's your camera angle but sure looks like you setup with your lower body pretty closed - I see a lot of left leg in the down the line -  your left arm is pretty much swinging along the angle set by your feet which is taking your arms too inside.    I get this - it is easy to look down in swings and look at hands etc relative to feet - so if feet are square then hands appears move over then in takeaway - if feet are open and hands are over them then takeaway is going inside relative to body angles.       when players setup open or closed - it is a square setup just angled one way or another.  

 

Plus an alignment stick pointing at target gives feedback on camera angle being good versus to much left or right - so if you setup and put a stick down on your toe line - then go back and line up the camera to point down the stick when you go back and setup - given the camera is hands level it'll be good to go.

 

It's the little things that add up and I work on setup almost every day in front of a mirror - bene of being retired.

 

 

100% agree with this. Never ever take the simple things that we can control before pulling the trigger for granted. nobody has an excuse for letting grip and setup slide because it's so easy to practice and keep in check. 

[BigTerp1524]

4 minutes ago, glk said:

Glad you have another lesson.    I could see from your latest video you have plateau/regressed.   Don't be too disappointed - this is the nature of golf and especially changing the motion.    Nonlinear.     My last two lessons with Monte were about making sure i extended in the backswing - I just caught myself not doing it this week - have to get my right shouler over my left foot as an intent and swing around my shirt tag.   And I have swing DNA that i want to get my arms a bit inside - so i have to feel like they work away - they don't but that is my feel.

 

What aids are you using?    If you aren't using any then to me that is something that is likely holding you back.  For example,  I don't see you using an alignment stick on the ground - helps with aim but also with setting up more square - maybe it's your camera angle but sure looks like you setup with your lower body pretty closed - I see a lot of left leg in the down the line -  your left arm is pretty much swinging along the angle set by your feet which is taking your arms too inside.    I get this - it is easy to look down in swings and look at hands etc relative to feet - so if feet are square then hands appears move over then in takeaway - if feet are closed and hands are over them then takeaway is going inside relative to body angles.       when players setup open or closed - it is a square setup just angled one way or another.  

 

Plus an alignment stick pointing at target gives feedback on camera angle being good versus to much left or right - so if you setup and put a stick down on your toe line - then go back and line up the camera to point down the stick when you go back and setup - given the camera is hands level it'll be good to go.

 

It's the little things that add up and I work on setup almost every day in front of a mirror - bene of being retired.

 

 

 

1 minute ago, TheDeanAbides said:

100% agree with this. Never ever take the simple things that we can control before pulling the trigger for granted. nobody has an excuse for letting grip and setup slide because it's so easy to practice and keep in check. 

 

All good points. Appreciate it!!

[betarhoalphadelta]

9 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

You don't need to look at new swing methods. You're already with one of the best teachers around. 

 

You need to find a way to play whilst learning. Do you need driver? I got to single figures hitting 3 iron from the tee and then added driver. 

 

You need a club that'll get you in play and able to play bogey golf. That should be your aim now until you can comfortably use driver. 

 

Definitely good advice here, especially if your driver isn't making great contact or if it's costing you strokes due to penalties. 

 

When I came back into the game last summer, I rarely teed off with anything more than a 4i because I didn't trust driver.

 

Part of this was equipment--I had a 20 year old small-headed driver on a long steel shaft, and I couldn't even find the face of it much less worry about whether it would go straight. But part of it was of course swing--I was even more inconsistent then than now. 

 

Since getting the more modern club, I'm at least finding the face of it. I still make VERY judicious decisions about whether I'm going to use it on any given hole though. On certain holes it's more likely to give me trouble than benefit.

 

You have the luxury of also being a pretty long hitter, so you can probably still reach most par 4s taking a long iron off the tee. 

[chipa]

18 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

You don't need to look at new swing methods. You're already with one of the best teachers around. 

 

 

Assuming you were referring to my comment I did not know Bigterp had an instructor.

 

However, without knocking anyone my brother paid thousands of dollars to a PGA professional who came highly regarded in Virginia and taught good college golfers and had no results. After trying a few other instructors he found and ex Australian pro who has methods that seem more compatible and has moved from GI to players irons in little over a year. 

 

I think that sometimes one has to find a teacher that one is able to click with and this doesn't mean that any particular instructor is not good just maybe not the best fit.

[BigTerp1524]

12 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

Definitely good advice here, especially if your driver isn't making great contact or if it's costing you strokes due to penalties. 

 

When I came back into the game last summer, I rarely teed off with anything more than a 4i because I didn't trust driver.

 

Part of this was equipment--I had a 20 year old small-headed driver on a long steel shaft, and I couldn't even find the face of it much less worry about whether it would go straight. But part of it was of course swing--I was even more inconsistent then than now. 

 

Since getting the more modern club, I'm at least finding the face of it. I still make VERY judicious decisions about whether I'm going to use it on any given hole though. On certain holes it's more likely to give me trouble than benefit.

 

You have the luxury of also being a pretty long hitter, so you can probably still reach most par 4s taking a long iron off the tee. 

Yes, this is a good strategy I should implement my next round. Like I said, I hit my 4i really well and get it out around 200 yards consistently. 200 yards in the fairway, or at least in the short stuff, is much better than 280 god knows where!!

[BigTerp1524]

10 minutes ago, chipa said:

 

Assuming you were referring to my comment I did not know Bigterp had an instructor.

 

However, without knocking anyone my brother paid thousands of dollars to a PGA professional who came highly regarded in Virginia and taught good college golfers and had no results. After trying a few other instructors he found and ex Australian pro who has methods that seem more compatible and has moved from GI to players irons in little over a year. 

 

I think that sometimes one has to find a teacher that one is able to click with and this doesn't mean that any particular instructor is not good just maybe not the best fit.

No worries. It's all good.

[rondo01]

31 minutes ago, glk said:

What aids are you using?    If you aren't using any then to me that is something that is likely holding you back. 

I’m learning that one can never underestimate the power of a can of foot spray. I’m also curious if you’re incorporating any differential practice in your work?

[TheDeanAbides]

30 minutes ago, chipa said:

 

Assuming you were referring to my comment I did not know Bigterp had an instructor.

 

However, without knocking anyone my brother paid thousands of dollars to a PGA professional who came highly regarded in Virginia and taught good college golfers and had no results. After trying a few other instructors he found and ex Australian pro who has methods that seem more compatible and has moved from GI to players irons in little over a year. 

 

I think that sometimes one has to find a teacher that one is able to click with and this doesn't mean that any particular instructor is not good just maybe not the best fit.

He's perfectly happy with Monte. 

[BigTerp1524]

11 minutes ago, rondo01 said:

I’m also curious if you’re incorporating any differential practice in your work?

I've read up on this, but have not incorporated any of it. I do need hit some balls with some foot spray on the face. Need to see if I have a consistent miss on the face. I believe it's a toe strike. But some foot spray and a range session would clarify.  

 

Edit - Now that I'm thinking about it, I have ZERO club face awareness during my swing. Is the idea of differential practice to help with this? Like, if I can learn to hit it off the toe or the heel on command then finding the center of the face will be easier? Or if I can hit it fat or thin on command, then I now know how NOT to do that? Interesting stuff!!

Edited July 22, 2021 by BigTerp1524

[rondo01]

So you and I are doing a similar project here - same timeline even - except I havnt been documenting mine. A few weeks ago, after a similar blowup round I got frustrated with mirror work, and in that frustration realized that if I cant hit the ball where I want on the face, and hit the ground where I want consistently, who cares. It occurred to me that I was wasting reps at some point. Even with foam balls you can see where you're striking, so why wouldnt I devote some practice to just that? I've also torn up a spot in the back yard where I can spray a line on the ground and practice hitting it, or around it.

 

Mixing block and diff practice has been a bit of a revelation for me, as it actually feels like I'm practicing, not just doing interpretative dance with a golf club in the garage. I've got a notepad I keep results on. "Hey! The movement I want was there, but I couldnt hit the face like I wanted." Two weeks later, "Hey, the movement is there, and I hit where I wanted 5/10 times!"

 

I think it's important to have different intents for each mode though. For instance, the goal of mirror work is to see and feel the movement. The goal of block/drills is to exaggerate, and see if the desired movement is there. The goal of diff practice is to see if/how that movement works in a task oriented situation (ie- hit ball to target) where results matter, the move not as much (with the goal of having the new move eventually blend in). This is all much more well stated (and I'm way over simplifying) by guys like Adam Young and Game Like Training; I think that the Golf Science Lab guys have talked about this as well.  

 

And you've got the basic idea of diff practice. Try and hit the toe 3 times, the heel 3 times, center 3 times. Once you get good at that, scale up the difficulty by giving yourself 1 shot at hitting each point. With the line on the ground (low point work), hit in front, hit behind it, hit it. Scale it like, "hit it 1 inch behind, 4 in in front, on it" etc...

Edited July 22, 2021 by rondo01

[chipa]

1 hour ago, BigTerp1524 said:

 

Edit - Now that I'm thinking about it, I have ZERO club face awareness during my swing. Is the idea of differential practice to help with this? Like, if I can learn to hit it off the toe or the heel on command then finding the center of the face will be easier? Or if I can hit it fat or thin on command, then I now know how NOT to do that? Interesting stuff!!

This has long been my #1 problem too. I think it could be because of right side dominance, which can be good for power if one can ever get the technique right.

 

When I do swing well I feel like my left hand has control of the clubhead, which never happens when I am swinging bad. To that end I do have a handsy left hand takeaway it's not the preferred technique anymore but it does seem to help. John Daly and Tom Weiskopf swing like this.

 

BTW, I don't take lessons because there are no real coaches where I live in the Caribbean plus I don't have the budget, so I'm left to piecemeal my swing from what I see online. Good luck.

[BigTerp1524]

Really appreciate all the advice, suggestions and encouragement. Seriously. It helped to pick me up a bit after a bummer of a round yesterday.

[TheDeanAbides]

13 hours ago, BigTerp1524 said:

Really appreciate all the advice, suggestions and encouragement. Seriously. It helped to pick me up a bit after a bummer of a round yesterday.

Remember that there are no bummer rounds - especially at your stage. They're all great learning experiences. 🙂

[rondo01]

6 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Remember that there are no bummer rounds - especially at your stage. They're all great learning experiences. 🙂

IMO until you’re “playing golf” and somewhat own your swing, score is a bullxxxx number. I’ll take a solid day of ball striking over a lower score any day.

[BigTerp1524]

3 minutes ago, rondo01 said:

IMO until you’re “playing golf” and somewhat own your swing, score is a bullxxxx number. I’ll take a solid day of ball striking over a lower score any day.

You're right. I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself focusing on score instead of just hitting more good shots than not. 

[bortass]

7 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Remember that there are no bummer rounds - especially at your stage. They're all great learning experiences. 🙂

 

Very true but sometimes it takes a while for the dust to settle to see the learning amid the wreckage. At least for me it does. 

 

 

38 minutes ago, rondo01 said:

IMO until you’re “playing golf” and somewhat own your swing, score is a bullxxxx number. I’ll take a solid day of ball striking over a lower score any day.

 "playing golf" is a funny term. The first time I recall feeling like I was playing golf was 6+ years after I first picked up a club. I had recently broken 100, which if I believe the stats, made me better than half the people that golf. I went out after that milestone and just swung the club and shot some easy rounds in the 90s. No pressure, no fighting a swing flaw, no spending a chunk of the round in the trees looking for my ball, etc. It was just find ball, hit ball and shoot a bit over bogey golf which was very good for me at the time.

 

I've felt that way recently with my game even though I have a scoring goal but the pattern is the same. Mostly solid shots off the tee into play; Decent irons with minimal mishits that cost me; My normal short game and putting. Now as I'm playing almost every hole it becomes: Getting to my ball after the tee shot and either feeling good because I'm in position to get a par. If the approach shot hits in GIR, I'm thinking par. If I duffed it and now have a shorter shot in, well it's bogey time. The kicker to all this is it's the pars and bogeys that make me feel like I'm playing golf if it's "boring". No excitement from hitting the ball between trees or well above your feet, etc. I don't have to hit it great. I need to hit my full shots decently and in play and get pars and bogeys that feel routine. A quiet confidence builds in me when this happens and it's that quiet confidence in my game that makes me feel like I'm 'playing golf'. It's really playing without any negative thoughts or feelings, now that I reflect on what I typed.

 

As for a day of ball striking over lower score, I'll take the lower score almost every time. Now this is just my current feeling about what happens when I play. In no way am I saying this applies to anyone else but me. One of the great things with golf is there are so many different ways to enjoy the game, a great shot, a low score, the views, being outside, etc.

 

 

Back to the score over ball striking. First, I have a scoring goal that I'm trying to reach. Second, for me to shoot a low score my game was either good overall or extremely good in some facets. Maybe off the tee wasn't great but I scrambled much better than I normally do. Or my drives were great but the irons a bit lack luster. The caveat is the worst part of my game is full swing, driver and irons. So it makes perfect sense that great ball striking will lead to a low score for me unless I putt with hands of stone or something. if the score isn't great but the ball striking is, I'll look at the ball striking as the positive aspect that ties into @TheDeanAbides no bummer rounds thought. It'll ease the pain, lol.

 

A complete aside, I love these threads because I get to read other people's thoughts and advice. It's great to be able to expand my own knowledge and perhaps look at things differently w/o the confrontation that can sometimes happen in other threads on the WRX.

[BigTerp1524]

Excellent post above. I enjoyed reading all of it and especially agree with your last paragraph about how these types of threads help you to look at the game a little differently, which can be helpful. I don't always comment, but have enjoyed reading yours and several other threads that follow the progress of someone trying to improve their game from a higher handicap perspective. They've really helped me to realize it's more of a marathon versus a sprint. I've always understood that, but it's easy at times to get frustrated and forget that it's a long process to improve at this game. 

 

14 minutes ago, bortass said:

As for a day of ball striking over lower score, I'll take the lower score almost every time.

 

The above quote really stood out to me though. I obviously have a scoring goal (sub 100) but have realized that just hitting the ball well is so much more satisfying, at least for me at this point in my game. What @TheDeanAbides said earlier, as well as your discussion here made me realize I'm way more satisfied with good ball striking versus score than I had thought. I had 1 GIR my last round. I cold topped my 54* wedge from 80 yards out and it skidded and rolled to the green. I muttered something under my breath and my playing partner said "who cares, it's a green in regulation". I'd have honestly rather hit it good and come up long/short or left/right and off the green that top it like that and end up on the green. Right now the feeling of a crisply hit iron or wedge or a drive played just right with my "typical" shot shape is so much more rewarding than slugging my way to bogey or even par with crappy miss hits, punching out of the woods or hitting a miraculous recovery shot. I hit a few absolutely pure iron shots the other day that came up short. Just poor club selection on my part. But man it felt good to strike the ball well and have it go exactly where I was aiming, even if it came up short. The discussion today about all of this was a bit of a revelation for me. I'm WAY to focused on my score when I should be enjoying the good hits and focusing on repeating them.

[bortass]

13 minutes ago, BigTerp1524 said:

Excellent post above. I enjoyed reading all of it and especially agree with your last paragraph about how these types of threads help you to look at the game a little differently, which can be helpful. I don't always comment, but have enjoyed reading yours and several other threads that follow the progress of someone trying to improve their game from a higher handicap perspective. They've really helped me to realize it's more of a marathon versus a sprint. I've always understood that, but it's easy at times to get frustrated and forget that it's a long process to improve at this game. 

 

 

The above quote really stood out to me though. I obviously have a scoring goal (sub 100) but have realized that just hitting the ball well is so much more satisfying, at least for me at this point in my game. What @TheDeanAbides said earlier, as well as your discussion here made me realize I'm way more satisfied with good ball striking versus score than I had thought. I had 1 GIR my last round. I cold topped my 54* wedge from 80 yards out and it skidded and rolled to the green. I muttered something under my breath and my playing partner said "who cares, it's a green in regulation". I'd have honestly rather hit it good and come up long/short or left/right and off the green that top it like that and end up on the green. Right now the feeling of a crisply hit iron or wedge or a drive played just right with my "typical" shot shape is so much more rewarding than slugging my way to bogey or even par with crappy miss hits, punching out of the woods or hitting a miraculous recovery shot. I hit a few absolutely pure iron shots the other day that came up short. Just poor club selection on my part. But man it felt good to strike the ball well and have it go exactly where I was aiming, even if it came up short. The discussion today about all of this was a bit of a revelation for me. I'm WAY to focused on my score when I should be enjoying the good hits and focusing on repeating them.

And here in lies some of the beauty as we evolve as individuals within the game. I have done the same exact thing as you with not being happy with a bad shot that had a good result. Pretty sure I had a number of moments like this early in 2020 and I definitely felt that way when trying to break 100. Once my swing got to the point where I was getting the ball in the air with reasonable distance and direction last year, it changed. It was easier to focus on score since my swing didn't feel broken/embarrassing, lol.

 

I do look at ball striking and take satisfaction from it when the result is bad. A few weeks ago I launched my 7i completely over a green to a bad spot because I hit it off the sweet spot and it went 20 yards longer than normal. It was a gorgeous high draw, a thing of beauty. I cannot feel bad about any shot that I strike very well even if it costs me in the long run. So I will go back and forth between score versus ball striking. I want a good score but if it's not a good score, I want to be able to look at some of the ball striking to buoy my spirits.

 

Guess I'm rambling now, lol.

 

I'll end this with saying I was very focused on score when I was trying to break 100. It led me to having many rounds where I was frustrated because my swing wasn't good enough. It took a while to learn to start overcoming that. I'm better now but still learning. It's all in our heads which is what makes it difficult, lol.

[BigTerp1524]

7 minutes ago, bortass said:

And here in lies some of the beauty as we evolve as individuals within the game. I have done the same exact thing as you with not being happy with a bad shot that had a good result. Pretty sure I had a number of moments like this early in 2020 and I definitely felt that way when trying to break 100. Once my swing got to the point where I was getting the ball in the air with reasonable distance and direction last year, it changed. It was easier to focus on score since my swing didn't feel broken/embarrassing, lol.

 

I do look at ball striking and take satisfaction from it when the result is bad. A few weeks ago I launched my 7i completely over a green to a bad spot because I hit it off the sweet spot and it went 20 yards longer than normal. It was a gorgeous high draw, a thing of beauty. I cannot feel bad about any shot that I strike very well even if it costs me in the long run. So I will go back and forth between score versus ball striking. I want a good score but if it's not a good score, I want to be able to look at some of the ball striking to buoy my spirits.

 

Guess I'm rambling now, lol.

 

I'll end this with saying I was very focused on score when I was trying to break 100. It led me to having many rounds where I was frustrated because my swing wasn't good enough. It took a while to learn to start overcoming that. I'm better now but still learning. It's all in our heads which is what makes it difficult, lol.

 

Very well said!!

[TheDeanAbides]

I know I don't play anymore, but I don't think I've been interested in score since my 20s. All of my golf since then has been under the cloud of a chronic health condition, so I focused on enjoying the game, ball striking and spending time with friends. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

For me I focus more on score. 

 

Obviously I feel good when ballstriking is good. And when ballstriking is good, it usually contributes to good scoring--like @bortass when I make GIR I'm thinking par. But when I'm not hitting all that well but still scoring, I consider that a win as well because it means my scrambling and putting is good. And when ballstriking is good but I'm leaving strokes on the course score-wise (like my 9 hole round Sunday when I couldn't putt), I consider that to be wasting opportunities. 

 

As far as a bad shot with a good result? Heck, I'll take that. Scorecard doesn't tell you how you got there lol! 

 

The way I look at that is that I'm an inconsistent golfer. I can use all the help I can get. If some of that is luck, so be it.

[BigTerp1524]

43 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

As far as a bad shot with a good result? Heck, I'll take that. Scorecard doesn't tell you how you got there lol! 

I totally get this. And I think one day, hopefully sooner than later, I'll be able to lean more towards this. But for now, and where I'm at with my game, there are so many mishits that my focus should be on limiting them as much as possible. As my swing continues to improve, ball striking will improve and I'll start becoming more and more consistent across the board. Soon I hope to be able to get upset with myself when I hit my 7i as good as possible, but leave it 10 yards short of the green because I should've went 6i. I need to focus more on the simple things that I can currently control. Things like making solid contact, course management, etc. I quickly went back to look at my last round and I had 14 mishits on the day. I'm not talking about missing left/right or short/long or even the drives that I sliced way right only to follow it up with a drive that I pulled way left. 14 balls that I either chunked, skulled or hit off the toe so terribly they went 45 degrees right. Those are the types of shots for me right now that leave the most strokes on the course and what I need to focus on. If I hit an approach shot or a tee shot on a par 3 well but leave it a little short or left/right, so be it. I hit it solid. Then my focus moves to hitting a solid chip/pitch. Judged the speed wrong and left it way short? Oh well, I still hit it solid. But if I'm chunking and topping my way around the course and still making bogey's and a few pars, that's not a good way to get better.  

 

I appreciate the conversation today. It has really shown me what my current focus needs to be on during a round.