Be Better, Brad! (Update 4-11-2024 with new swing videos)

[TheDeanAbides]

14 minutes ago, dvq9654 said:

 

I'd also be curious what your mindset is when pitching / chipping. Do you go for the pin? Do you aim for the middle of the green? Based on recent rounds, it feels like if you aimed for the middle of the green and focused solely on good contact, you could take 5+ shots off any given round. I know that oversimplifies things and it may already be what you are doing, but potentially worth a try if you tend to be more aggressive than that 

In my experience, poor partial wedges are more likely because the player is too reticent rather than too aggressive. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

32 minutes ago, dvq9654 said:

 

I'd also be curious what your mindset is when pitching / chipping. Do you go for the pin? Do you aim for the middle of the green? Based on recent rounds, it feels like if you aimed for the middle of the green and focused solely on good contact, you could take 5+ shots off any given round. I know that oversimplifies things and it may already be what you are doing, but potentially worth a try if you tend to be more aggressive than that 

 

It really depends on the shot. Most of the time on longer pitches, where we're almost getting into "partial wedge" territory, i.e. 25 to 60 yards, my goal is good contact and center of the green. Lately that has led to many ones where I end up way on the back of the green, regardless of actual distance. The most recent round I made good contact on a few and left them short, which is probably due to trying to avoid sending them consistently long. 

 

On shorter chips/pitches, it's very much that I'm trying to land the ball in a specific place, to give myself a legitimate chance at an up-and-down. 

 

17 minutes ago, TheDeanAbides said:

In my experience, poor partial wedges are more likely because the player is too reticent rather than too aggressive. 

 

I think that may be part of it... Being afraid of hitting them too far can easily lead to decelerating into the ball rather than taking a smaller swing and accelerating, and that always ends badly.

 

I also think it also might have been lack of focus. When I practice I've been very clear about weighting the front foot and I think I was missing that last Sunday.

[TheDeanAbides]

1 hour ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

It really depends on the shot. Most of the time on longer pitches, where we're almost getting into "partial wedge" territory, i.e. 25 to 60 yards, my goal is good contact and center of the green. Lately that has led to many ones where I end up way on the back of the green, regardless of actual distance. The most recent round I made good contact on a few and left them short, which is probably due to trying to avoid sending them consistently long. 

 

On shorter chips/pitches, it's very much that I'm trying to land the ball in a specific place, to give myself a legitimate chance at an up-and-down. 

 

 

I think that may be part of it... Being afraid of hitting them too far can easily lead to decelerating into the ball rather than taking a smaller swing and accelerating, and that always ends badly.

 

I also think it also might have been lack of focus. When I practice I've been very clear about weighting the front foot and I think I was missing that last Sunday.

You don’t need to put very much weight on the front foot really. I generally go 55/45. The trick is to have a shallow AoA and release the club properly. 
 

It’s also important to feel like you’re extending your left side through the ball.

Edited May 19, 2022 by TheDeanAbides

[betarhoalphadelta]

Just got done at Rancho San Joaquin. Played from the blues, par 72, 6155 yards, rating 69.4 and slope 123. 

 

Woke up to it being misty outside when I took the dog out, and have a 7:30 AM tee time. Expected the weather to clear, but it was on and off mist and spatterings of light rain all round. Temps between say 58 and 65 degrees, and quite humid. So never quite ideal Southern California golf weather, but at the same time certainly nothing worth complaining about. 

 

Joined a threesome of good guys who seemed to have quite a bit of fun. They were all in a cart and playing some tunes, but when the first thing put on was Pink Floyd, I knew we'd get along lol. They were sparking it up during the round, and although I don't partake I don't judge people based on that (hell, I usually have beer during a round but didn't today because it was such an early start), but that should give you an idea of the vibe lol...

 

I had a good feeling about this round. Given some of the things I've been doing right on the range, and after getting around Oso Creek in bogey golf, I was really thinking that this might be a round to go low (for my skill level, at least). 

 

Narrator: It was not a round for Brad to go low...

Hole 1, 505 par 5, HDCP 5: Slight dogleg left par 5. Open fairway with trees right between the first hole and the range. To the left is sparse trees and farther left is the 18th fairway. Left can be bad if you're stuck too close to a tree, but can also be pretty open. Green is protected front left, and pin-high right, by bunkers. I teed off with driver, aiming at a tree beyond dead center of the fairway (through the dogleg). Make good contact, which is always nice, and it starts straight and is drifting left. I think I'm still in the fairway, but when I get up there it's in the left rough. I'm too far out to hit the green anyway, but on top of that I've got trees in my intended line. So I take 8i from there to go over the trees and hit one dead straight over the trees on my line. I'm left with about 80 to the center, and strike a partial 56* and put it on the green, 15 feet beyond the hole. Make a terrible lag putt to about 3 feet, but I sink that far-harder-than-it-should be putt. Par, E. 
 

Hole 2, 142 par 3, HDCP 17: Short par 3 on a normal day, playing to an extreme front pin. Green is protected by a big and nasty bunker front left, and is elevated so misses can leave tricky chips. The front of the green is very heavily sloped. Playing about 135. I take PW and nut it, long and left, just over the green in a closely mown area. I've got a tricky downhill chip and I don't make a good strike on it, starting it *well* right of what I intended, but it rolls out and catches the break and rolls to 5' from the pin. A stressful putt, but it looks straight and slightly downhill, and I put it right into the back of the cup. Par, E. 

 

Hey, that's a good way to start a round!

 

Hole 3, 325 par 4, HDCP 15: Shorter par 4 that plays a very slight dogleg left. To the right is OB, to the left is sparse trees. Green protected front left by a bunker. I've learned not to hit driver here (no risk/reward), and take the 3u. And then, I proceed to try to kill the ball, and top it about 50 yards. Oof. I don't like my lie very much, and I'm still ~275 out, so instead of trying to advance with 4h I decided on 6i. I hit a decent shot, draw towards the left side of the fairway. Find my ball resting up against a stake supporting the "don't cross with carts" rope. Take relief [in hindsight I suppose I should have moved the stake instead], and I'm about 105 out. I decide to take an easy 52* here. I leave it a little short right, just on the very edge of the green. I've got 40' for par, and three-jack it. Double, +2. 

 

Wasted strokes: 1, the tee ball. 

 

Hole 4, 336 par 4, HDCP 11: Another shorter par 4, but tricky. From the tee, the green is directly in line with a large fairway bunker that's usually about 200-210 off the tee. The fairway curls around the left side, and then there's a big valley between the bunker and the green, so if you're down there you're hitting to an elevated green, protected front right by a large bunker. OB all the way down the right side, and safe but sparse trees between fairways if you end up left. This is a driver hole, because that bunker is in range of other tee clubs but I can carry beyond it with driver. I hit driver and it's a weak push fade, which luckily hits the top of a tree and kicks left into the fairway. I actually am not counting this as a "Fairway" for my stats--I got VERY lucky. I get up to the ball and I'm in 6i range. I hit the 6i, and make smokin' contact but it turns left and ends up pin-high well left of the green. I pitch, and don't give it enough, leaving it ~36 feet under the hole on the wrong tier of the green. Again, three-jack from there. Double, +4. 
 

Hole 5, 502 (460) par 5, HDCP 1: Tough hole. Off the tee there's a bunker guarding the right side of the fairway. Right is OB all the way down, left is safer (trees or adjacent fairway) but if you get over there you only have a play back into the correct fairway and can't likely recover without it costing a stroke. After the bunker and down a hill, your second shot plays to a landing area where the fairway is narrow and guarded left and right by lakes. The green is wide but shallow, guarded by the right lake, and elevated 15' from water level. Not only that, 3 palm trees just off the shore of the right lake can get in your way depending on pin placement. Leaving your second short of the lakes gives a mid-long iron and good luck stopping it on that green, if you reach. I take driver off the tee. I make pretty good contact but it's and it's a pull fade down the left side, starting at the trees and curving back to the fairway. It ends up just in light left rough. From here I'm still way out of "reach the green range", and I have to figure out whether to try to put it short of the lakes or put it between them. I decide on between them, using the club that should put me at the widest section. I put one out there PERFECTLY on my intended line and right between the two lakes, leaving myself 110 to a front pin. I hit 52*, and I have the distance but it is a push, where the angled green is farther away, and it catches the slope. I see it rolling down but no splash. Get up to the ball, and it's off the edge being held up by a plant. So I have to take a drop for the unplayable and now I'm hitting 5 instead of 4. I chip and make decent contact but it runs out long to the opposite fringe. I am on the fringe but just barely, so I count this as a 30' putt, and lag it really well to tap-in range. Double, +6. 

 

Wasted strokes: 1, the terrible approach from 105 that forced taking an unplayable. 

 

Hate to see a good drive and a perfect lay-up end in double. 

Hole 6, 366 par 4, HDCP 3: Short par 4, but with a big lake that is in play if you're long-left off the tee. OB down the right side but this hole is diagonal at the corner of the property, so the farther you are from the tee, the more room there is. The water follows the fairway all the way down the left side, and then there's a bunker between the water and the green protecting the green. Driver is not great for me here, as it brings water into play. I hit 4h and it's a straight push. This isn't great, because I was already aiming for the leftmost tree at the dogleg (i.e. well right of the line to the green) to play a draw, but I didn't get the clubface closed so I block it. I get up to the ball and I'm a reachable distance (175 or so) but can't go high due to the trees protecting the corner of the dogleg. But I can go low... I take 6i and play my "back of the stance punch shot" and hit it perfectly, keeping it under the branches of the trees and between two trunks. I don't reach the green (which is expected with this shot), but I'm left with a short pitch. I pitch and make great contact and somewhat surprisingly (due to green slope / etc) roll out 15 feet past from landing on the green well short. This is now a tricky downhill left->right breaker. And I sink it dead center. Par, +6.  

 

Well, that par gets me back to "even bogey", and I feel like I need it. 

 

Hole 7, 346, par 4, HDCP 9: Hole has a giant tree down the right side that can really mess with approach shots if your tee shot is out right, and the left side is much more open. Green is protected front left by a bunker, and has a bunker behind. Tees are up, which scares me because there's a large net to protect houses from anything going right off the tee. Because of my natural shot shape I usually aim a bit right and there's not a lot of room there. So I take driver and aim down the center. And I just smother pull it, maybe 110 yards. But it's in a safe spot. From there I try to take the 3u because I'm just on the edge of that yardage, and mis-hit it, a low worm-burner which gets me to about 85 yards from a back pin. I hit the 56* from there and it's a long push, but just avoids the bunker. I'm far enough off the green that I'm going to use putter but not count it as a putt, and I leave it 12 feet short. Two-putt from there. Double, +8. 
 

Hole 8, 166 par 3, HDCP 13: Hole plays uphill over a pond to a blind green, with big bunkers fronting the green on the left and right. Pin is on the front edge, and with the elevated green my laser says it's playing 165 with the slope. I take 7i and it's way on the toe. Far enough to clear the pond, but it's a very short draw that ends up well short. I pitch, and leave the pitch well short again. I'm too far off to putt, so I chip and make a better go at it, leaving 10 feet. Unfortunately, I two-putt. Double, +10. 

 

Wasted strokes: 1, the first pitch. 

 

Hole 9, 414 par 4, HDCP 7: Pretty open hole. Decently wide fairway, with sparse trees left and right, and this hole is between #16 (left) and #10 (right), so you're actually pretty safe no matter where you end up (but #10 cuts the corner a little). Tricky multi-sloped green is protected by small bunkers all around. I take driver and hit a low hook that I can see is going to squirt through the trees and end up on 16. Oh well. Could be worse. Get to the ball and I'm outside 3u range, and have trees to go over, so I take my medicine and hit 6i. I smoke it and it turns over left, but to an area I know is safe, short and left of the green. I'm left with a simple pitch from there, and I don't know if I hit it of the hosel or if I just never close the face, but it takes off 30* right of my intended line and goes into the bunker. I'm in a flat part of the bunker with not a lot of sand, and the sand is wet. Great. But I get out in 1, still in the closely mown area short of the actual green. I chip with the putter to 10 feet, and two-putt from there. Triple, +13. 

 

Wasted strokes: 1, the horrific pitch into the bunker. 

 

So I'm out in 49 (+13), with 3 pars, 5 doubles, and a triple. So many missed opportunities...  

 

Hole 10, 355 par 4, HDCP 10: A bit of a tricky dogleg left, with houses and OB down the left side but still some room to cut the corner if you're brave. There's a fairway bunker at the corner and trees just to the left of that. There's bunker left of the green, but otherwise it's pretty open once you're past the corner. I don't like driver here; too much chance for trouble. So I take 3u and I do what I always do on this hole--completely mis-hit the safe club. Ugh. It's about a 50 yard top. From there I am still out of range, so I hit 4h and hit it perfectly over the small tree that cuts the corner of the dogleg. Now about 75 yards from the hole, and I lay the sod over a partial wedge. Hit it again and drop it to 30 feet. Luckily I at least two-putt. Double, +15.

 

Wasted strokes: 2, the terrible tee shot and the partial wedge that was more dirt than ball. 
 

Hole 11, 368 par 4, HDCP 6: This is HDCP 6 for two reasons. There are a couple of big trees down the left side that if you're over there, you have nothing other than trying to punch under them, lay up over them, or draw around them. That, and the green is very well protected by one bunker front left, and two bunkers to the right. Other than that, it's pretty straightforward. I take driver and make my best drive of the day, but it draws a little more than I'd like and I'm behind the trees. So I again use my 6i punch shot. I'm close enough that this COULD run up if I get it just right. I strike it well, but it turns left and ends up short left of the green in light rough. I've got about 35 yards and pitch from there and make good contact, but it runs out 30 feet past the pin. I've got a tricky downhill right->left breaker and I read it perfectly, but it stops 2 feet short of the cup. I tap in for my first actual bogey of the entire round. Bogey, +16. 
 

Hole 12, 527 par 5, HDCP 2: There's water down the right side that normally requires a hell of a drive to reach (and usually is in play for a second shot). Houses and OB down the left side, but decent room between the fairway and those houses that you have to REALLY end up left to be OB. The fairway narrows about 100 yards short of the green near the end of the lake to the left and the encroaching trees on the right, and then the green is protected left and front-right with bunkers. I take driver. My wife texts me in the middle of my backswing and the buzz of my watch throws me off, and it's another smother pull under one of the trees on the left. I get to the ball and I don't have a great window to get out of around the tree trunk, but it's enough. I take 4h and deliberately cut it, and I make a good strike and think I'm in the fairway--but it rolls into a left fairway bunker that I thought I could clear. I have a good flat lie and there isn't a huge lip, but I'm still too far to reach the green so I take 7i. I play it like a fairway shot (hit ball first) and I launch one down the left side ending up in the rough about 105 from the pin. I hit my 52* and chunk it a little over halfway there. Pitch with the 56* which is a lot better, but rolls out 20 feet long. Two-putt from there. Double, +18.

 

Wasted shots: 2, the tee ball and the chunked 52*.  

 

Hey, all I need to do is finish the final 6 holes at even par, and I'll finish at bogey golf! 

 

Hole 13, 157 par 3, HDCP 14: Forced carry over water, protecting the green short and right. Bunker to the left, and the green is pretty heavily sloped so putting can be tricky, but otherwise a pretty straightforward par 3. Playing 161 to a back pin. I take 7i and make great contact, but it's turning left. It hits the edge of the green and hops a couple yards onto the fringe, pin-high. Now I'm left with 55 feet, and consider it a chip with the putter as I'm covering a fair bit of grass before the green. But I pick the right speed and it just doesn't curve as much as I think, finishing the right distance but 5' above the hole. Unfortunately I miss that for par, go 4 feet past, and sink that one despite being terrified of it. Bogey, +19.
 

Hole 14, 348 par 4, HDCP 8: This hole has a completely blind tee shot down a hill. Trees down the left side and open on the right. Bunker short left of the green, but the hole is not all that hard to play as long as you're not really far left. I hit driver and it's decent contact but a push fade to the right. I yell FORE as the 15th hole is where I'm hitting, but can't see where I land. Thankfully I get down there and the group ahead is teeing off on 15 (a par 3) and I'm between them and the green, not having ruined anyone's day lol. From here I've got 145 yards over trees, and should be safe to easily clear those trees with a 9i. But I hit too much ground and pull it, and leave myself 35 yards short in the fairway. I hit my best pitch of the day, and it lands and rolls 5' past the hole. I freakin' two putt. Bogey, +20.

 

5' to save par and I can't drain one, two holes in a row. 
 

Hole 15, 156 par 3, HDCP 12: Significantly uphill to a blind green. Bunker short left. 154 today to a center pin, but playing a little over 160 adjusted for slope. I take 7i and smoke it, just left of the pin, but I finish 30 feet long on the green. I have another player who is slightly outside me and shows the line, but I still don't take enough break, AND hit it 6 feet long. So... Yeah. Three-jack my GIR for bogey. Bogey, +21. 

Hole 16, 396 par 4, HDCP 4: Another relatively open dogleg right hole as it sits between #9 on the right and #4/5 on the left. Left isn't that great on this hole because you're adding distance to the dogleg, but right is fine. There's no trouble in the fairway, but three bunkers protect the green front-left, front-right, and back-right. I hit driver and it's my best drive of the day. Take it over a tree (my aim point for the dogleg) and nuked. It's stopped by an upslope just barely in the right rough, but I'm left with 149 to a back pin. With an uphill lie I decide to take an easy 8i. I don't know if I caught some grass or if I was a shade fat, but it's a good thing I took 8i because it landed just over the short right bunker and kicked towards the back of the green. I end up rolling JUST off, but I'm left with 21 feet. I count this as a putt (only about 8" off) and lag it to 2 feet, which I make. Par, +21.
 

Hole 17, 292 par 4, HDCP 18: Short, straight hole, but 3 bunkers ring a small green, and the fairway is pretty tight, so accuracy is a premium here. On the right side the trees are pretty dense, and if you get stuck there a few near the green are nigh-impossible to hit over. Down the left is more sparse, but still a lot of trees. I've learned not to take driver here (the hard way), and I'm not hitting the 3u well today, so I take 4h. I hit a nice push draw that starts right and curves back to the center. I'm left with 80 to a front pin, and hit partial 56*. Unfortunately I pull it long left, into a closely mown area back of the green. I've got a tricky pitch into a slope, over a ridge, then downhill to the pin. I hit it okay, but leave it short at the top of the ridge. I'm 15 feet out and again I've got two playing partners outside me to show the line, which is good because neither of them gave anywhere near enough break. So I line up for my putt and I give it exactly enough break--which would be fine if I didn't leave it 3 feet short. Ugh. I line up for the 3 footer, and again give it break--just a HAIR too much because it literally rides the lip 180 degrees and jumps out leaving a 2 inch putt. Double, +23. 

 

Wasted shots: 1, a missed 3 footer. 

 

Easiest hole on the course and I don't think I've ever made par. 

 

Hole 18, 457 par 5, HDCP 16: Short par 5, but narrow fairway in the first landing area. It opens up as you approach the hole, but with bunkers left and right of the green. I hit driver and it's a straight shot with good speed, but WAY off the bottom of the club. I don't think it ever got more than 10 feet off the ground. But it was enough to fly over all the rough before the fairway, and got plenty of roll-out. Goes about 200 yards, leaving me still outside range of the green but at least in the fairway. Take 4h and top it badly. Oof. Now I'm 175 out to the pin and I take 6i. And I nuke it. It is DEAD straight and about 3 feet right of the pin, but it lands on the back of the green and ends up 10 yards over. Not sure where a 195 yard 6i came from. Laying 3, I pitch, and flub it halfway to the green. Switch to putter (still calling it a chip, not a putt), and hit it 20 feet past. Two-putt from there. Double, +25. 

 

Wasted shots: 2, the 4h lay-up from the fairway, and the flubbed pitch. 

 

So came in at 48 (+12), for a smooth 97. 

 

Stats:
Birdies: 0
Pars: 4
Bogeys: 4
Doubles: 9
Triples+: 1

 

Putts - 38
Fairways hit - 3/14
Greens in regulation - 3/18
Wasted shots: 11, 3 off the tee, 4 long game/approach, 3 around the green, 1 putt.
Counts for HDCP: Yes! With a differential of 25.4, it will replace a 26.0. That'll drop my HDCP by 0.075 strokes, so I'll wait for the calculation tomorrow to see if rounding is enough to drop me from 21.8 to 21.7 lol...

 

Positives: Only one blow-up hole, the triple on 9. No lost balls, and only one penalty stroke (unplayable on 5). My stretch goal for every round is bogey golf, but my real goal for every round is for that round to count for my HDCP. If I'm trying to improve as a golfer, any round that counts for cap means it's one of my top 40% of differentials, so better than average. I at least accomplished that today.

 

Negatives: Man, I left a lot of strokes out there today. Putting was bad. I'll give a little of that to the weather, because on the longer lag putts I had some where I'd be putting up rooster tails from the ball and others were dry. It was really hard to judge speed when you couldn't tell just how wet the green was. But it was bad on top of the weather--I was terrible in that 3-6 foot range, and didn't do well enough lagging either. Tee shots on the par 4/5 holes were bad. Only three "wasted strokes", but I was spraying all over. No consistency of contact or miss. And frankly, too many damn double bogeys. Just little mistakes that turn bogeys into double are the difference between 97 and maybe 91-92, which would have been a really good round for me. 

 

All that said, it was a good morning. Heck, any morning spent golfing is better than a morning spent working. Despite the fact that the weather never cooperated. I had a good time, was playing with a fun group, and I played "okay", which is a hell of a lot better than playing terribly. I feel like there are a ton of things I could have done better, but, well, that's golf. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Shortly I'll be picking the kids up from school, and I'll have them every one of the next three weekends. Planning to get out to at least the range and probably the putting green with my son this weekend. Going to send HIM to the range and putting green next Friday and maybe even have him play 9 solo at the exec course (he has next Friday off school) and hope to take him to Oso Creek over Memorial Day weekend--both so I can actually play lol and so he can get some time at a longer course. 

 

I seriously need to spend time on putting, so if we go to the range together I might just watch him for the first 1/3 of a bucket and then go putt while he continues to hit balls. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

At the range. My son was hitting and just having tons of contact issues.

 

I handed him my 7i and told him to see how if felt. All of a sudden he's, well, not exactly flushing them, hitting them well!

 

He kept on with it, occasionally testing against his own 7i, and it stuck.

 

I guess he's outgrown the senior flex ultralight graphite shafts. Not that he'd probably fit into my shaft, but it's a heck of a lot closer.

 

Time to pull down my old set for him. They're NS Pro 950GH in stiff. Maybe some electrical tape 1.5" down from the end of the grip as a marker as he'll need to choke down. 

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Also interesting is that the range is installing Trackman Range. It's clear they're making good progress on it so far, and that might be nice to help get more data as I practice. 

 

Of course, some of the range balls there look like complete trash, so we'll see how valid the data is. I swear I've had range balls there spin both ways--start out as a draw and then start fading lol...

[TheDeanAbides]

19 hours ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

Also interesting is that the range is installing Trackman Range. It's clear they're making good progress on it so far, and that might be nice to help get more data as I practice. 

 

Of course, some of the range balls there look like complete trash, so we'll see how valid the data is. I swear I've had range balls there spin both ways--start out as a draw and then start fading lol...

Can you use a different range? Bad balls are so counterproductive. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

3 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Can you use a different range? Bad balls are so counterproductive. 

 

Not likely. It's like when I moved houses from a house that was 1/2 mile from the gym I was a member at to a house that was 2 miles from the same gym and stopped going... This range is SO convenient to me that it's the only way I can actually manage to go there and practice--and even then I don't go enough lol. 

 

The other nearby course (Oso, that I play often) doesn't have a range. There's one less than a mile from my office (Rancho San Joaquin, that I also play often) that has a similar "player's club" option as my local course, but I only go into the office 1-2 days a week, and their balls are pretty terrible too, so no benefit there. 

 

Everything else in the area are ritzy courses that are at least a 10-15 minute drive from the house. They probably have better range balls, but if I only make it out there once a month, what's the point, right? 

 

For me, I'm working more on movement and contact than ball flight. I can at least generally determine based on start line, launch, and curvature what I did in my swing. Beyond that, I know that these balls aren't trustworthy. As mentioned I've had balls that change curvature in the middle of flight, so I know the aerodynamics of those balls are highly suspect. I've had balls on great strikes just drop out of the sky. I know they can't be trusted for gauging club distances. Some of the balls look shiny and new, some look like they don't even have a cover any more and the yellow has faded to almost nothing. 

 

I'm hoping that the installation of Trackman Range is an indication that they're trying to put money into the facility and make it better, and that eventually that'll translate into better balls too. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

On 5/20/2022 at 2:34 PM, betarhoalphadelta said:

Shortly I'll be picking the kids up from school, and I'll have them every one of the next three weekends. Planning to get out to at least the range and probably the putting green with my son this weekend. Going to send HIM to the range and putting green next Friday and maybe even have him play 9 solo at the exec course (he has next Friday off school) and hope to take him to Oso Creek over Memorial Day weekend--both so I can actually play lol and so he can get some time at a longer course. 

 

 

Sent him to the range and putting green on Wednesday, because he has early dismissal those days and there was a lull between picking him and his sister up and picking up his brother at a different school (normal dismissal time). He said he was all over the place, and I think it was from getting into his own head with all the things he's been trying to learn. It's hard for a novice when there are SO many things trying to be corrected at a single time. 

 

He went again this morning, and I told him to clear his head and just focus on hitting the ball. He said that was a huge help and he was making much better contact as a rule. He then did some putting and played 9 holes. Where he shot 46 on the par 29 course, which is his second-best score there to date. Even made 3 pars!

 

He says that my old clubs are making things much better, so I had him try my driver as well--unfortunately he seems to not be getting any launch on it. He says from the top deck at the range (where there's a fake grass "slope" going up from the hitting bays) he keeps hitting it off the slope. I'll have to get a chance to actually go to the range with him to take a look--not sure what he's doing wrong since I wasn't there. 

 

We're playing Oso on Sunday, so I wanted him to get as much practice time and some actual golf in before going out there again. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Not sure I'll have time for a full writeup. Short story for me is that I played terribly. Shot 89 (+29), with 5 penalty strokes (2x OOB for 4 strokes, and one water drop for the 5th). That comprised my three blow-up holes of triple, quad, and quint. Only hit 2 GIR all day. I was straight and short, or pin-high and left or right, pretty much all day. 

 

On the positive end, it was only 36 putts, which is a little lower. My 4x three-putts were balanced by my 4x one-putts, including a couple mid-range that I rarely sink... I hit 5 of 6 fairways, and 6 of 7 if you count the 225 yard par 3 18th hole. The one fairway I missed was a great strike with my 3u but pushed right, and would have been safe if not for a huge bounce off the cart path that allowed it to end up OB. 

 

The real positive on the day was my son... The only other time he played this course, he shot 118 (+58). I figured that breaking 100 would be a huge accomplishment. Yesterday he shot a 94. So a 24 stroke improvement--albeit he did have two blow-up holes where I told him to pick up for pace of play and marked an 8. He made 4 pars, including on the #1 handicap hole, #9. He was hitting my driver and it was his best strike of the day so far, and I thought it was going to kill him because he first good shot I figured would be in the creek. But he stopped short, hit 7i up to/through the back of the green, putted on and sunk his first par of the day. I actually was worried at one point he was going to beat me lol... I know that day will come, but it can't come for at least a little longer!

 

His best drive of the day was on 18. Best contact of the day, and hit it 200 yards of the 225 needed to reach the green. Later after we got home I thought to ask him... "Hey, when you hit that drive on 18--how did that make you feel?" The grin answered me. I think he's hooked!

 

Hoping to get him started on lessons next weekend. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I swear that customer service has gone extinct... I want to throw money at an instructor for my son, would it kill them to reply to an email?! So no lessons this weekend.

 

Bought him some new wedges for his 8th grade graduation.

 

 

We did get out to the range and putting green this morning. He's making progress. I brought 56*, 7i, 3u and driver. Everything was working except driver. Not sure what's up with that.

 

I had to head home to fire up the smoker for dinner, but he stuck around to play 9 holes. Made his personal best for this course. 

 

 

He's starting to get it 😁

 

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Got out to the range this morning. Just driver, 3u, 4h, 8i, and 56*.

 

Started with some partial wedges to warm up and work on contact and distance control. 

 

From there most of my session was working the "zipper away" drill from Monte with the 8i. Mostly just 3/4 swings and full length swings with 3/4 effort, with occasional full swings interspersed. Overall I think it was a good session. I didn't worry much about contact or ballflight during the drill swings, but I found when I'd run the full swings I was getting good contact and seeming to get 10y+ distance increase too. The ball was just launching off the face with no additional effort in the swing.

 

I blended in more partial wedges during the session, as well as some work with the driver, 3u, and 4h. I'm definitely getting more comfortable with the 3u, and hitting it better. 4h was even better--getting really good contact and shots that really get up in the air the way they're supposed to. Driver I was making good contact, but directional control was a little loose. 

 

Overall it was productive work. I need to keep with the zipper away drill... I've been making progress at reducing the flip/ee, but still not really getting the left hip depth in the downswing. A little more work and I'll need to schedule a time to go see Monte again. 

 

After I got home I cleaned up all my grips, which really need it, so hopefully that'll help too. That's a job that I do FAR less often than I should. 

 

Tomorrow AM I'm going to head out to the practice green and devote some time to putting, and then on Sunday I'm playing Rancho San Joaquin. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Hit the practice green this morning. 

 

Started with some lag putts and putting out with 3 balls just working on getting a feel for the greens and getting warmed up. 

 

Then I jumped into the 30 for 30 game because it forces me to read putts individually both for distance and line, and punishes 3 putts. 

 

For that game, high score is better, and the goal is to reach 30 points, ideally within the first 30 "rounds". If you remember, the first time I tried this, I was -18 after 30 rounds, which is... not good. 

 

Today I still quit at 30 rounds, but I at least improved to finish at +3. And I was a little proud of myself that I was -5 after 25, and *really* wanted to finish in the positive, and I drained some clutch putts that I had put the pressure on myself to need to drain to get there. One of these days I'll get to that +30 score, but I didn't have time for 300 rounds to do it today lol 😉

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Played yesterday at Rancho San Joaquin. Played from the blues, par 72, 6155 yards, rating 69.4 and slope 123. 

 

Beautiful weather. High in the low 80s, sunny the whole round. Made sure to set up my umbrella on top of my push cart for shade. Great day for golf.  

 

Gave my buddy who lives 1/2 mi away a ride, and we got there early enough to split a small bucket for warm-up before getting some time on the putting green. Was making good contact at the range, didn't have a rubber tee with me so no driver; it was just wedge, 7i, and a few swings with 4h and 3u. 

Hole 1, 505 par 5, HDCP 5: Slight dogleg left par 5. Open fairway with trees right between the first hole and the range. To the left is sparse trees and farther left is the 18th fairway. Left can be bad if you're stuck too close to a tree, but can also be pretty open. Green is protected front left, and pin-high right, by bunkers. Took driver, and launched one right down the center of the fairway, about 250. A good start! Get up to the ball and I'm out of range of the green, so I hit 4h. It's a line drive off the bottom of the face, but it has some speed and rolls out maybe 160 yards total, leaving me 90 to a center pin. I hit the 56*, and make clean contact and it's headed a little right of the flag... And bounces off the back of the green... From there I pitch it back on, and runs up 10 feet short. I drain that putt. Par, E. 
 

Hole 2, 142 par 3, HDCP 17: Short par 3 on a normal day, playing to an extreme front pin. Green is protected by a big and nasty bunker front left, and is elevated so misses can leave tricky chips. The front of the green is very heavily sloped. Playing about 152 (148 slope-adjusted) to a back pin. Last time I was here I nuked one over the green and given the slope of this green I'd rather be short than long anyway, so I hit 9i. Which I chunk and leave it about 40 yards short. I try to pitch with the 56*, and hit off the bottom of the face and it lands pin-high but has no chance of stopping, and runs off the back. I find it in some nasty mulch under a tree, and try to pitch it back on--I make better contact this time but it goes past the pin and down the big slope to finish 2 yards off the front of the green. Oof. It's about 60 feet up the hill to that back pin, and I chip with the putter rather than loft it again. I have good speed but it's right of the hole, and I end up 5 feet from the cup. I drain that. Double, +2. 

 

Wasted strokes: 1, the first pitch.  

 

Hole 3, 325 par 4, HDCP 15: Shorter par 4 that plays a very slight dogleg left. To the right is OB, to the left is sparse trees. Green protected front left by a bunker. I've learned not to hit driver here (no risk/reward), and take the 3u. And then, I proceed to try to kill the ball, and top it about 50 yards. Oof. I hit my 4h hoping to advance the ball, and I make good contact but it's pushed right, and ends up in loose mulch under another tree. I have a little window towards the green, so I try to put it on, but I take a little too much mulch and it's fat, getting halfway to the green back into the fairway. Now it's a mid-length pitch and I make good contact and it's on line, but stops on the green about 10 yards past the front pin. This is a tricky green where I'm on a different tier above the hole, so I try to gingerly get the putt over a ridge but with only enough speed to trickle down to the hole. I nearly make the putt, but it rolls out 7 feet past. I two putt from there. Triple, +5. 

 

Wasted strokes: 1, the tee ball. 

 

Hole 4, 336 par 4, HDCP 11: Another shorter par 4, but tricky. From the tee, the green is directly in line with a large fairway bunker that's usually about 200-210 off the tee. The fairway curls around the left side, and then there's a big valley between the bunker and the green, so if you're down there you're hitting to an elevated and heavily-sloped green, protected front right by a large bunker. OB all the way down the right side, and safe but sparse trees between fairways if you end up left. This is a driver hole, because that bunker is in range of other tee clubs but I can carry beyond it with driver. I hit driver and it's a bit of a low shot that wouldn't clear the bunker, but thankfully it's left of the bunker and not quite far enough left to be in the trees. I get up to the ball and it's on the left side of the fairway, just in the range of a partial 56*. I hit that and it's a little right of the pin, and it lands on the green--but with the crazy slope ends up rolling all the way back to the front edge. 30 feet up a big hill with significant break. I three-jack it for bogey. Bogey, +6.

I hate a three-putt, especially a three-putt for bogey, but on both of the last two holes it was from 30 feet on really difficult greens, so I can't assign wasted strokes to putter on either hole. 
 

Hole 5, 502 (460) par 5, HDCP 1: Tough hole. Off the tee there's a bunker guarding the right side of the fairway. Right is OB all the way down, left is safer (trees or adjacent fairway) but if you get over there you only have a play back into the correct fairway and can't likely recover without it costing a stroke. After the bunker and down a hill, your second shot plays to a landing area where the fairway is narrow and guarded left and right by lakes. The green is wide but shallow, guarded by the right lake, and elevated 15' from water level. Not only that, 3 palm trees just off the shore of the right lake can get in your way depending on pin placement. Leaving your second short of the lakes gives a mid-long iron and good luck stopping it on that green, if you reach. I take driver off the tee, hitting it really solidly down the left side of the fairway. From there I have a good feeling about putting it between the ponds, and take 7i to lay up into the widest portion of that landing area... And blade it. It rolls out down near the edge of the pond on the right, but stays dry. Now I'm 130 out, but I'm hitting into the wind so I club up to 9i. I hit it left of the green from there, slightly short as well due to middling contact and the wind. Try to pitch it onto the green, and flub it. Pissed off, I chip with putter instead on the next one, and get it to 5-feet, but I two-putt from there. Double, +8. 

 

Wasted strokes: 1, the flubbed pitch. 

Hole 6, 366 par 4, HDCP 3: There's a pond that is in play if you're long-left off the tee. OB down the right side but this hole is diagonal at the corner of the property, so the farther you are from the tee, the more room there is. The water follows the fairway all the way down the left side, and then there's a bunker between the water and the green protecting the green. I've been avoiding driver here but haven't profited from doing so, so I take driver. I hit a perfect push draw right into the center of the fairway... Or so I think. Get up there and I'm thinking "where the eff is my damn ball???" Well, it turns out it ran out a little farther left than I thought, and ends up JUST on the edge of the pond... I'm 115 out. My buddies, in the hope I'd do something memorable, decided to grab a video this time...

 

 

Yeah, that's right you jokers... On the green. About 25 feet under the hole. Which I proceed to three-jack for bogey. Bogey, +9.

Wasted shots: 1, I didn't lag perfectly but I left myself a VERY makeable ~4 foot putt to save par, and just pulled left of the cup. 

Hole 7, 346, par 4, HDCP 9: Hole has a giant tree down the right side that can really mess with approach shots if your tee shot is out right, and the left side is much more open. Green is protected front left by a bunker, and has a bunker behind. I hit driver and stripe one perfectly down the center of the fairway. I've got about 90 remaining and hit my 56*, and blade it left into the front bunker. I take two shots to get out, and even then only make it to the fringe. I chip with putter from the fringe, leaving only a tap-in. Double, +11.

 

Wasted strokes: 1, the first bunker shot.  

 

Hole 8, 166 par 3, HDCP 13: Hole plays uphill over a pond to a blind green, with big bunkers fronting the green on the left and right. Pin is center-left. We've got a tailwind here and I know my natural shot shape, so I pull 7i and have my aim point at a big palm tree that is center-right on the green. A straight shot will be left of the right-side bunker, and should give me room in case I turn it left. Instead, I push it right--into the right-side bunker. It half-embeds into the landing spot on the lip of the bunker, and so I've got a steep uphill lie--which suits me fine as I do MUCH better hitting bunker shots out of uphill lies. I hit the shot and it gets out of the bunker, but still only hits the fringe and trickles onto the green. I'm 30 feet out and two-putt. Bogey, +12. 

 

Hole 9, 414 par 4, HDCP 7: Pretty open hole. Decently wide fairway, with sparse trees left and right, and this hole is between #16 (left) and #10 (right), so you're actually pretty safe no matter where you end up (but #10 cuts the corner a little). Tricky multi-sloped green is protected by small bunkers all around. I hit driver and it's not the best contact, I think a little bit of a heel pull cut, lower trajectory and nowhere near the necessary speed, but it finds fairway and leaves me an approach. I'm about 170 to center with a back right pin and a tailwind, and I take 7i. It's a low pull line drive off the bottom of the face, but oddly enough it finishes *just* on the left fringe, pin-high. Despite being on the fringe I'm calling this a putt, and I've got about 50 feet. I lag it to basically tap-in range, and make the saving putt. Par, +12. 

So I'm out in 48 (+12), with 2 pars, 3 bogeys, 3 doubles, and a triple. 
 

Hole 10, 355 par 4, HDCP 10: A bit of a tricky dogleg left, with houses and OB down the left side but still some room to cut the corner if you're brave. There's a fairway bunker at the corner and trees just to the left of that. There's bunker left of the green, but otherwise it's pretty open once you're past the corner. This is another hole where I've avoided driver and never profited from doing so, I pull the big dog. I stripe one dead straight just right of the corner bunker, and actually hit it THROUGH the dogleg to into the right rough. From there I've got a clear angle, and hit my 56* nearly full. I make good contact and get the right distance, but I push it into the right fringe. I have a long chip with the putter which I actually get the distance perfect but it doesn't break, leaving me 5 feet above the hole. Sadly, I two-putt from there. Bogey, +13. 

 

Hole 11, 368 par 4, HDCP 6: This is HDCP 6 for two reasons. There are a couple of big trees down the left side that if you're over there, you have nothing other than trying to punch under them, lay up over them, or draw around them. That, and the green is very well protected by one bunker front left, and two bunkers to the right. Other than that, it's pretty straightforward. I take driver and smash a push draw into the center, about 265 or so. Left with an easy wedge to the green, I do exactly what you might expect... Hit it fat about 40 yards short of the center pin. Pitch from there and make perfect contact, feeling like I barely touched it, but it's a bit long and rolls out JUST onto the back fringe. From 50 feet, I then two putt (counting this putt from the fringe as a putt). Bogey, +14.

 

Wasted shots: 1, the partial wedge approach.  

 

Hole 12, 527 par 5, HDCP 2: There's water down the right side that normally requires a hell of a drive to reach (and usually is in play for a second shot). Houses and OB down the left side, but decent room between the fairway and those houses that you have to REALLY end up left to be OB. The fairway narrows about 100 yards short of the green near the end of the lake to the left and the encroaching trees on the right, and then the green is protected left and front-right with bunkers. I take driver. It's my worst drive so far of the day, a low line drive pull that ends up in the left rough without a ton of distance because the rough slowed it down. So I'm still WAY out of range, probably 350 out, and take 4h... I push it and think it's wet (it's blind from where I am), but getting down there it stayed up. Later my buddy told me that I narrowly avoided the pond--the ball hit a tree on the very edge that kicked it back. I'm 160 out but I have no line at the green due to the trees along the edge of the pond, so I take my 60* and try to hit it back to the fairway--and push it into the pond. Ugh. So I take my drop on the line back from where it entered, hitting 5, and in 9i range. I hit the 9i and just make it onto the left edge of the green. Again, I've got about a 50-footer, and put my lag into tap-in range and make that. Double, +16.

Wasted shots: 1, the 60* into the water--classifying this as "approach".  

Hole 13, 157 par 3, HDCP 14: Forced carry over water, protecting the green short and right. Bunker to the left, and the green is pretty heavily sloped so putting can be tricky, but otherwise a pretty straightforward par 3. Playing shorter to a front pin. I hit 9i, and it's a fat push into the pond. Ugh. Drop on my side of the pond and pitch it over, and make good contact but leave it just on the front fringe. Have 20 feet and I'm just barely on the fringe so I count it as a putt, and get it to tap-in range, which I make. Double, +18.

 

Wasted shots: 1, the approach into the water.  

 

Hole 14, 348 par 4, HDCP 8: This hole has a completely blind tee shot down a hill. Trees down the left side and open on the right. Bunker short left of the green, but the hole is not all that hard to play as long as you're not really far left. I hit driver and it's smashed with a slight draw right down the pipe. Get down there and after landing on the slope on the left side of the fairway it's rolled down to the right side, leaving a partial wedge into the green. I hit that and put it a little left and long of the pin, but on the green. Line up my 25-foot downhill heavily breaking putt, strike it, and it drops dead center of the hole! Birdie, +17. 
 

Hole 15, 156 par 3, HDCP 12: Significantly uphill to a blind green. Bunker short left. Pin is back and up the hill, but with a tailwind, I hit 7i. I turn it over and it clearly wasn't good contact because it pretty much fell out of the sky--right into the bunker. Takes three shots to get out of the bunker, and even then only onto the fringe. I chip with the putter, 10 feet past the hole, and two-putt from there. Quad, +21.  

 

I guess there's the PBFU!

 

Wasted strokes: 2, in the sand. 

 

Hole 16, 396 par 4, HDCP 4: Another relatively open dogleg right hole as it sits between #9 on the right and #4/5 on the left. Left isn't that great on this hole because you're adding distance to the dogleg, but right is fine. There's no trouble in the fairway, but three bunkers protect the green front-left, front-right, and back-right. I hit driver and it's okay contact, but a bit left into the rough, about 225 or so. From there I'm left with a 7i, IIRC, and put it into the front left bunker. I love sand! Based on my previous holes, I've really been thinking that my bunker technique is fine, but that I'm just too scared to swing hard enough to get the ball out. So I take a much bigger swing, still trying to use the same technique and a smooth stroke, and I blast the ball out of the bunker and it lands a little past the pin and rolls out to the fringe. Now I'm 30 feet out on the fringe, counting this as a putt rather than a chip, and I three-jack it. Double, +23. 

 

Well, not a good hole, but the bunker play was at least rewarding. For once I wasn't scared to hit it, and it worked out.  

Hole 17, 292 par 4, HDCP 18: Short, straight hole, but 3 bunkers ring a small green, and the fairway is pretty tight, so accuracy is a premium here. On the right side the trees are pretty dense, and if you get stuck there a few near the green are nigh-impossible to hit over. Down the left is more sparse, but still a lot of trees. I've learned not to take driver here (the hard way), so I take 4h. It's a low line drive push draw off the bottom of the face, but just fine as it rolls out to the center of the fairway, probably 190 yards total due to the burned-out condition of this fairway. Leaving 100 to a center pin, I take the 56* and stick it to 10 feet. I just BARELY miss the birdie putt, and tap in for par. Par, +23. 

 

Hole 18, 457 par 5, HDCP 16: Short par 5, but narrow fairway in the first landing area. It opens up as you approach the hole, but with bunkers left and right of the green. I hit driver and just smoke it, right down the center, leaving myself 225 to the center of the green (back pin). This is just within range, so I wait for the green to clear, hit my 3u, and snap hook it into the left rough. I'm left with 90 into the green, hit my 56*, and it hits the back of the green and rolls off. I'm just on the edge so I'm counting it as a putt rather than chip, 30 feet from the hole. I stroke it and it rolls out about 5 feet past. I need this hole to be positive on the skins for the day. My buddy also has a 5-footer for par and leaves it an inch left of the hole, so I need to make this par putt to win. I drain it dead center. Par, +23. 
 

So came in at 47 (+11), for a 48/47 result of 95. Ends up being 94 for ESC in the handicap calc, due to the quad on #15. 

 

Stats:
Birdies: 1
Pars: 4
Bogeys: 5
Doubles: 6
Triples+: 2
 

Putts - 36
Fairways hit - 9/14
Greens in regulation - 6/18
Wasted strokes: 10, 1 off the tee, 3 approach, 3 bunker, 2 short game, 1 putting
Counts for HDCP: Yes. Differential of 22.6 due to ESC. Unfortunately it aged out a differential of 18.3, so despite counting for my cap, my handicap went up from 21.7 to 22.2. 

 

Positives: Driver was on fire today. It was my greatest weapon on the course. Also, although the number of putts wasn't stellar, I felt like qualitatively there was some improvement there. I drained a few more mid-range putts that I normally miss. Not falling in the pond was another. 

 

Negatives: Sand, for starters. Contact on a lot of approach shots was awful, a lot of shots struck off the bottom of the face, and a few fat ones too. Felt like I was just wasting great drives all day long. And like a lot of rounds, this one felt like there were just a lot of wasted opportunities. 
 

[bortass]

Man, I was waiting for a big splash too... leaving much disappointed.... LOL. 

 

Great to read your driver was on. Hopefully it's the new trend for you because it'll make things much easier IME.

 

I know what you mean regarding the feeling of wasted opportunities but that means you're giving yourself them. That's the first step and it'll start to fall into place as you keep at it. 

 

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Yeah, I'm hoping that more dedication to putting practice will help. While it wasn't as bad as some other rounds, I was helped by setting myself up for one-putts with good chips (whether chipped or putted from off the green). But I could have done better, and 4x three-putts isn't great, especially since I was two-putting from 50 feet but three-putting from 30 lol...

 

I wonder if I screwed myself up a little from my range session Friday working on the "zipper away" feeling and that took interfered with iron contact. But more work should hopefully bring that back in line. 

 

 

[bortass]

I should have asked this in my previous post: What made you decide to stand in the pond to hit the ball instead of just taking a drop?

 

That type of play isn't an option at my courses because the banks are pretty steep and it's usually a vertical drop from the edge of the bank to the water's surface. Not to mention I don't want to upset any of the snapping turtles that are hanging out. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

1 minute ago, bortass said:

I should have asked this in my previous post: What made you decide to stand in the pond to hit the ball instead of just taking a drop?

 

That type of play isn't an option at my courses because the banks are pretty steep and it's usually a vertical drop from the edge of the bank to the water's surface. Not to mention I don't want to upset any of the snapping turtles that are hanging out. 

 

Essentially, it was simple. I thought I could pull it off and wanted to avoid taking a penalty for unplayable lie. The pond didn't have a steep slope underwater, so I wasn't too concerned I'd slip and fall. I figured it was worth the risk.

 

An unplayable would have been hard already, since 2 club lengths would still have put me along the slope of the land down to the pond. I'd still be hitting from a lie with the ball extremely above my feet. It's not like I'd be able to end up with a nice flat fairway lie assuming I took my drop according to the rules. 

 

Then the final straw... Attempting that shot AND pulling it off, in front of my buddies, is a lot of fun 😉 

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Hit the putting green this morning for practice. As before, I started with three balls just getting warmed up and gauging the speed of the greens. 

 

I then went into "30 for 30". Off to a rough start (3-putted the first round), got back to positive, then negative again around round 5. From there I improved and didn't go negative on my score at all in the 2nd set of 10. Ended up quitting after 20 rounds, as the practice green was getting busy with kids showing up for a First Tee camp about to start. 30 for 30 is difficult on a busy practice green, because you are trying to swap holes every round and not get in others' way. But I was at +9 after 20 rounds, which is better than my negative finish of -18 in 30 rounds the first time, and +4 in 30 rounds the second time. So that was nice.

 

I'm finding this to be a very good game to keep myself engaged, and the pressure that I need to make a second putt when I've missed it by 5-6 feet to avoid a -3 score on that round is making me really focus on those mid-range putts. 

 

Just need to keep at it. 

[bortass]

38 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

Hit the putting green this morning for practice. As before, I started with three balls just getting warmed up and gauging the speed of the greens. 

 

I then went into "30 for 30". Off to a rough start (3-putted the first round), got back to positive, then negative again around round 5. From there I improved and didn't go negative on my score at all in the 2nd set of 10. Ended up quitting after 20 rounds, as the practice green was getting busy with kids showing up for a First Tee camp about to start. 30 for 30 is difficult on a busy practice green, because you are trying to swap holes every round and not get in others' way. But I was at +9 after 20 rounds, which is better than my negative finish of -18 in 30 rounds the first time, and +4 in 30 rounds the second time. So that was nice.

 

I'm finding this to be a very good game to keep myself engaged, and the pressure that I need to make a second putt when I've missed it by 5-6 feet to avoid a -3 score on that round is making me really focus on those mid-range putts. 

 

Just need to keep at it. 

How long does playing take you on average, assuming it's not on a crowded green?

[betarhoalphadelta]

56 minutes ago, bortass said:

How long does playing take you on average, assuming it's not on a crowded green?

 

Maybe a little less than a minute per round, on average? I haven't really ever timed it... 

[betarhoalphadelta]

My son had his first lesson Saturday morning, so I got to work with the Trackman Range for the first time. It's... Questionable. 

 

Hit a lot of 8i, which was pretty consistent. It had me at 152 average carry and 159.6 when they "convert" from range ball numbers to what a premium ball would be. I think lately 8i has been about my 155 club, so I'm not entirely sure of their conversion. 

 

Other clubs (4h, 3u, driver) were a lot more inconsistent wrt contact, so the "average" number is less meaningful due to dispersion. Same with 56* as I was taking "full" swings as well as shortened swings so that was deliberately inconsistent. The "good" drives ranged between 215 and 226 carry, 229-241 total, but with the "convert" function it was 244-253 carry, and 265-276 total. I can say that with premium balls in my last round, my well-struck drives weren't averaging 270--I got 265 or so on one with a tailwind, but they were more like 250. 

 

So again, not entirely sure of their conversion... 

 

Given that it's an extra $5 to use Trackman, and I'm not exactly sure of the numbers as it is, I'm not sure I'm going to use it very often.  

[betarhoalphadelta]

Played 9 at the exec course with my son yesterday for Father's Day. 

 

Oh boy what a mess. Not just my own play (which was terrible), but it was the hacker's paradise out there. Group in front of us was a father, his wife, and their two adult daughters--everyone but the father looked like they'd never swung a club before. I didn't figure out the group behind us (could have been a father, son, son w/ girlfriend), but again quite the mess. 

 

Granted, I sucked. Chunked my shot on 1, and on 2 (into the water), thin and over the green on 3, chunked on 4, topped on 5, and chunked on 6. After the 6th I was already 10 over, hadn't made a par, and my son was only at +8 so I was in danger of losing to the boy for the first time--on Father's Day! 

 

Then on 7 I hit a perfect 56* to a short pin (95y), which flew about 6 yards long, bit and almost rolled into the cup, leaving me 3' for birdie which I made. Hit a great 56* on the next hole to leave 21 feet which I two-putted for par--he went bogey/quad on those two holes, so I was safe lol. Finished with a 3-putt double on 9 from 18 feet, for a 40 (+11) on a course I should never play worse than bogey golf. Son shot 44, which is decent for him.

 

My company happens to have today off in observance of Juneteenth, and my son is going to play 18 at Oso. Unfortunately, with the other two kids and their schedules, I can't join him. Then Tuesday he'll hit the range, putting green, and play 9 at the exec course. So he's going to have some good practice before Wednesday when he goes back to his mom's house. 

 

[bortass]

Regarding Trackman, I always take some of that with a grain of salt. I know it's gospel to some people but I dunno, lol. 

 

Did you notice anything different about the two good holes with your swing?

 

Regarding Father's Day golf, I remember seeing stuff like that on the public course I belonged to in Maine but hey people were having a good time, so not a biggie. 

 

How did your son like the lesson?

 

My son doesn't golf and neither does my stepdaughter, so I'm safe in that regard, which kinda makes me miss the opportunity those who play with family have. Maybe if there are grandkids they'll smoke me on the course someday 🙂 So in the meantime, I'm waiting for the day you post that your son finally beat you out there, lol. 

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I did some research on Trackman Range and I had read that some other people thought that its "conversion" algorithm for premium balls was a bit inflated as well. Probably deliberately IMHO--that way I can say on the range that I would have bombed that drive 276 even though the ball only actually traveled 241. 

 

I didn't really notice anything different about the good shots. I think I was just off all day. Maybe one of those things having gone to beat balls at the range Saturday morning threw me off. 

 

My son liked the lesson. He'll be going back again every two weeks for the summer. Unfortunately this instructor is moving up to the Bay Area in August, so at that point we'll need to switch to someone else. Either way, he's still at such the novice stage that just getting a stable and consistent movement is all we're going for right now. 

 

I'm sure he'll beat me one of these days. Although I'll say that if you want to feel better about your putting, you should watch him. Right now I'm able to "watch" his round at Oso through The Grint app that he uses for scoring tracking... He's three-putted 5 times... Through 9 holes. That's even worse than us lol! 😉

 

[bortass]

16 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

I'm sure he'll beat me one of these days. Although I'll say that if you want to feel better about your putting, you should watch him. Right now I'm able to "watch" his round at Oso through The Grint app that he uses for scoring tracking... He's three-putted 5 times... Through 9 holes. That's even worse than us lol! 😉

 

I say good chap, did you just disparage my putting? Pish posh I say!  LOL, 🤣.

 

Glad the lesson went well and he liked it. Getting  a stable foundation will pay dividends IMO. 

 

How are you liking the new putter?

[betarhoalphadelta]

One off his best score...

 

 

Edit: pay no attention to the fairways hit... I don't know if he's entering that. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by betarhoalphadelta
finished my thought...

[betarhoalphadelta]

53 minutes ago, bortass said:

 

How are you liking the new putter?

 

So far I've gotten used to it by now. I think the longer alignment lines are helping me. When the face looks square the alignment lines show me I'm pointing right, so I'm starting putts on better lines now. 

 

I've been more confident over mid-range putts now and I think I've made a few more, but I don't know if that's the putter or the additional practice I've been doing with 30 for 30... 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Ordered an Orange Whip and the Force Pedal today.

 

This also just showed up... So I can start working off the chonk.