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

[betarhoalphadelta]

10 hours ago, 95124hacker said:

Congrats on the 90. Yeah I have a hard time comparing your scores at your regular par 60 course to a par 72, so this is a good data point. We all know “x over” at an easy course won’t be the same “x over” at a harder course. Course handicap seems to underestimate for higher index players IMO.

 

Yep. I've certainly enjoyed some of those rounds, like a +4 on my little 9 hole exec course, and the +9 on the 18 hole short course. The latter being the first time I've notched multiple birdies (3) in a round. 

 

But being the star of your rec league softball team doesn't exactly mean you're ready for major league baseball. So it's not really the same thing.

 

Now I need to turn it up a notch and break 90 😉 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I was thinking of another metric that might be useful for a high-cap like me to track: Wasted shots.

 

Much like the Broadie metric for "awful shots", which apparently is any shot for which the SG is -0.8 or worse, these are shots that are so bad that I've basically added a stroke to my score without improving my position relative to the hole.

 

I think that for most high-caps like myself, if I don't waste any shots, I should be somewhere in between par and bogey on every hole. If I make GIR, a par should be my expectation. If I miss GIR, a bogey should be my expectation. Obviously I can three-putt a GIR or I can get up and down from off the green for a par save, but usually either way I should be expecting to two-putt in most situations once my ball is on the green. 

 

I could also track "great shots", but there aren't so many of those lol...

 

So for my most recent round:

 

Hole 2: My putt from the fringe wasn't particularly long (about 18 feet) and I left myself 5 feet or a little more to save bogey. From 18 feet I should be able to lag to tap-in, whereas I can expect to two putt from 5 feet too often. 

 

Hole 5: Flubbed pitch that left me pitching again. From that close to the green I should have gotten down in 3 for bogey, but ended up being 4 for double. 

 

Hole 9: Shanked GW that got me from 130 out to 70 out. From 70 out I managed to get down in 3 and save bogey, but from 70 I'm not anywhere near 100% to hit the green, and my expected strokes to the hole (based on my 9-hole exec course experience) is probably 3.5 or higher. 

 

Hole 10: Topped drive. I really didn't put myself in position to hit to the green on a short par 4, and had to lay up to center of the fairway. I again managed to save bogey, but that drive was wasted.

 

Hole 12: Flubbed pitch and I missed an 18" putt, so I have two wasted strokes there. Honorable mention could be the pulled drive, but I leave that one off. It wasn't topped and it actually did get some distance, so I don't think it was completely wasted.

 

Hole 13: Skulled sand shot and two of the three pitches back towards the green, so three wasted strokes. If I was counting "great shots" the putt here would count. 

 

Hole 14: Flubbed pitch. My drive put me in great shape for par, but I only made it halfway to the green on a 50 yard pitch. That was a wasted stroke.

 

Hole 17: Topped/pulled drive and lag putt. The topped drive on a VERY short par 4 and being stuck in deep rough basically made it a very dicey proposition to make the green. Then I three-putted, because my lag putt went to 5 feet or a little longer. 

 

Hole 18: Shanked 4w on my second shot. It moved me from just under 200 out to 160 out. My average to get into the hole from 200 is a little over 4, and from 160 is a little under 4, so it was a wasted shot.  

 

• Wasted shots: 13
• Driving: 2
• Irons/long game: 2
• Pitching/short game: 6
• Putting: 3

I scored a personal best on a regulation course of 90, largely because I wasn't wasting shots off the tee or with the long game. But looking at how much better I could have scored SIMPLY by not making a mess of my pitching is a big wakeup call. It is an area that I don't practice often enough, and it shows. 

[bortass]

I'm glad Arccos doesn't have the 'awful shot' stat. It might make me cry... Of course it's doing it behind the scenes and it's reflected in my post round stats but I rarely know how much a bad shot costs me in the SG department. 

 

Where I think it's a handy metric is how you just used it. You added the context of where it happened and have a idea that 'Hey, I should work on my short game'. Without some additional context I think just tracking how many wasted shots someone has could be detrimental depending on their makeup. For example, I'm a pessimist and if I just totaled my terrible shots that cost me each round, I'd naturally think I suck and it's now a negative thought.

 

The wasted shot also ties into something that Adam Young talks about in The Practice Manual, variability. We are not machines and will never swing exactly the same way repeatedly. The difference between a high cap and a good golfer when it comes to variability is that for a good golfer that variability leads to more positive things, while for the high cap it leads to a worse result. The variability in a good golfer's swing will make them hit the ball better, my variability will cause me to top my drive 50 yards.

 

I think it's a useful stat that can tell you a few different things about your game.

 

 

 

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Hit the range today. Took 5i, 8i, and 56*. Just wanted to focus on training the movements.

 

Overall I was happy. It got squirrely at the end because I was probably moving through too quickly. 

 

I was focusing on 3/4 length, 3/4 effort swings most of the time with the 8i. Just trying to make sure I had good sequencing and getting the left hip back on the downswing. I threw in full swings intermittently and generally my swing felt right, and the flight was good--not too many "lefts". 

 

With the 56, it was mostly partial swing target hunting at two of the 55gal drums at different distances. My direction control wasn't as nice as I'd like, but I was doing pretty well with distance control. I had a couple full swings shot at the 100y marker, and mostly felt good about both contact and direction there.

 

The 5i was not quite as perfect. Those were basically all "full swing" shots towards the 200y marker. I was having trouble avoiding the lefts with those swings. I did try to just focus on taking a nice controlled and easy swing, and some worked out and others didn't. Need to keep drilling. 

 

Towards the end of the session, it just wasn't great. I wasn't getting good contact, so I went back to just drilling 8i on the 3/4 3/4 swings, and got back to where I needed to be. I tend to get somewhat rushed when I run off to the range in the middle of a work day--especially since I was hitting the gym for a workout on my way back to the house--so I need to work on that from the mental aspect too. 

[bortass]

I don't think the 5i is a surprise, most people hit the lower lofted clubs worse. Are the partial 56 swings going left too?

[betarhoalphadelta]

1 hour ago, bortass said:

I don't think the 5i is a surprise, most people hit the lower lofted clubs worse. Are the partial 56 swings going left too?

 

I *can* snap hook a 56, but I don't usually lol... The partials I was having a little tendency to pull them left, not to curve them left like the 5i. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Played yesterday. Weather is finally coming around, with a nice cool start to the round at 8 AM, getting up into the low-mid 70s on the back nine. Perfect sun. This is great golf weather here in SoCal. 

 

The course is Oso Creek in Mission Viejo, CA. It's 3670 yards, par 60, rating is 58.2, slope of 99. Course has no driving range, so I just struck a few putts and then it was off to the first tee. 

 

Hole 1, 285 yard par 4, HDCP 11: Straight hole with little trouble. Creek crossing the fairway short and shouldn't be in play. Left-side fairway bunker and green protected in front right by a bunker. Tees up and 265 to the middle, and I decide to pull driver. I get contact a little low on the face so didn't get a great launch, but it started towards the right side of the fairway and curved back to the left, ending up on the left side of the fairway about 225 yards or so. Left with about 40 yards, I pitch with my 56* and put it up onto the green pin-high about 15 feet right of the hole. I lag it to a foot, and tap in. Par, E. 
 

Hole 2, 171 yard par 3, HDCP 9: Straight downhill par 3 with no trouble short, but a bunker right and a bunker behind the green, which slopes back to front. Playing about 160 downhill today to the pin. I take 8i and push it pin-high WELL right of the green, even beyond the right side bunker. Again I'm about 40 yards from the pin, pitch with my 56*, and it's a pretty good pitch with great distance control ending pin-high (relative to me) 15 feet right of (above) the hole. Now left with a downhill putt, which I miss but leave tap-in range again. Bogey, +1. 

 

Hole 3, 146 yard par 3, HDCP 15: Slightly uphill, with a bunker short left and long right. It's playing 150 to a back pin. I take 9i and felt like I made good contact, but it starts curving left towards the bunker. I see it hit behind the bunker, and due to the blind approach can't tell if I made the green or not. I get up to the ball and I'm on the fringe between the bunker and the green. I'm left with a very long "putt" off the fringe to the back pin, probably about 50 feet, and I lag it to 5 feet, which is a scary range for me. But I've been working on my putting mat recently, and I bang it right into the center of the cup. Par, E. 

 

Hole 4, 266 yard par 4, HDCP 13: This hole has trees all down the right side, and the fairway slopes pretty strongly right-to-left. The trees can catch errant balls to the right, dropping them on the slope where they often roll right to the middle. There's a fairway bunker to the left and the only protection for the green is a bunker behind and a pond to the FAR left. I take driver, and make beautiful contact. The ball launches high over the trees down the right and is curving back towards the pin. I see it land just short of the green and run up onto the putting surface. I drove the green on a par 4! Granted, it's a short one. I get down to the green and my buddy says "gee, did you have to get it pin high, too?" and I responded "It's all about distance control, Curtis" lol... Anyways, I'm pin high 18 feet right of the hole and I'm putting for eagle--I've never made an eagle. I know it's a significant right->left breaker but I just don't take enough line, and it turns and stops at the right distance 4 feet below the hole. A little scary to be 4 feet and concerned I might not even save birdie after driving the green, but again I bang it right into the center of the cup. Birdie, E. 

 

Even through 4! Good start!

 

Hole 5, 168 yard par 3, HDCP 5: This is an uphill hole, plays long to a blind green. Bunker to the left and anything farther left is a steep slope down to the creek. This hole can be my nemesis if I turn it left and send it down that slope. It should be playing about 175 up the hill and I take 6i... And proceed to duff it badly, hitting maybe 80-90 yards, but at least into the middle of the fairway. I take a partial wedge (I think 56* again) from there, and skull it over the green. I find the ball beyond the green, and try to pitch it back, and skull that over the green again, and it rolls quite a ways back down the fairway due to the slope. Ugh. I flub the next pitch to the green, and one after that. I finally hit a halfway decent pitch, and actually get onto the green, leaving myself 15 feet below the hole. Of course as is common for me, I nail that putt easily because it's to save my quad. Quad, +4.

 

Ouch. Wasted shots=4. On one hole. Ouch. 

 
Hole 6, 296 yard par 4, HDCP 7: Elevated tee, creek across the hole that shouldn't be in play, which continues up the left side and becomes a greenside pond. Fairway bunker down the right side about 200 yds and the green is protected on the right by a bunker and the left by the pond. Pull driver, and I hit a hook that I hear hit a tree somewhere over along the creek. Get down that way and someone from the 5th tee says he heard it hit and throws a yellow ball back over the creek and it lands in the rough. I figure that's as good a drop spot as any for the ball in the penalty area. Of course I look down and it's a top flite and not my Snell. But I'm 115 out and hit it anyway, hitting 3 with the drop. I try to hit a 90% 52* (that usually being my 120 club), and make great contact--into the bunker on the right/behind the green. I get into the bunker and it's a damn mess. Incredibly wet sand and a tight downhill lie. I figure my best option here is to try to not engage the sand before the ball and to use my 60* low-bounce wedge to pick it clean--and I skull it over the green and it goes into the pond. So I get over there and drop (5) and I'm hitting 6. I pitch it back up the hill onto the green to about 10 feet, and two putt. Quint, +9. 

 

Ouch again. There went this round. I only call one shot wasted here--the skull out of the sand. I struck the drive well enough and it's within my typical shot pattern, so even though it was a lost ball and penalty, it doesn't meet my "wasted" category. 

Hole 7, 148 yard par 3, HDCP 17: Straight hole, protected right and behind by bunkers. Middle pin and it's playing about 150. I take 9i and hit it a little past the pin right of the green, and it lands in the rough past the right-side bunker. Pitch to 10 feet from there, but can't make the putt and it's a two-putt. Bogey, +10. 

 

Okay, at least it's not a blow-up hole. 
 
Hole 8, 174 yard par 3, HDCP 3: Tough hole, always seems to play longer than its distance. Narrow, long green, protected right and left by bunkers, and a creek across the "fairway" that shouldn't be in play. Tees are back and pin is in the middle, so it should be playing about 180. I take 6i, and hit a pin-high hook that ends up WELL left over by the 9th tee. I'm now basically short-sided to the pin in the middle of a narrow green, in rough. I hit the 60* and it's a good pitch that lands short of the hole but rolls out to the fringe on the opposite edge. I "putt" from the fringe, about 30 feet, and it ends up about 5 feet above the hole. Unfortunately I miss that putt, and make double. Double, +12. 

 

I'm going to chalk up a wasted shot of 0.5 here because my lag wasn't good enough to be sure I could make a putt, and then I couldn't make a putt. 

 

Hole 9, 317 yard par 4, HDCP 1: There's a creek running along the left side and then crossing the fairway right at the 220-230 mark, particularly when the tees are back like they are today. The hole has a big valley leading to that creek in the middle, so laying up forces a VERY short layup to keep from running all the way down into the water. The green is then elevated from the fairway and protected front right by a bunker. Thankfully now that I've learned to hit driver, I know I can clear the creek off the tee, so I take driver... And snap hook / duff it left and I can't see if I'm in the left-side creek or not. I get up to the ball and find it just over the creek on some mud, and hittable as it lies without requiring a drop. But I'm still WAY out of range of the green, so I just take 7i and try to advance it. I hit the 7i fairly well for a crazy stance with the ball below my feet, and it just BARELY clears the creek across the fairway, so at least I'm safe. I'm now about 115 out in the rough and take the 52*. I feel like I make decent contact but I was playing on an uphill lie and probably added loft to the shot, and come up short right of the green (but not in the bunker). I pitch, and it's mediocre, leaving myself still 33 feet short of the hole. I do make a great lag putt and tap in. Double, +14.

 

I'm going to call that pitch another 0.5 wasted shot, so I'm up to 6 on the front. So I've finished the front at a 45, which would sound like a decent score if par on the front wasn't 31. 

 
Hole 10, 242 yard par 4, HDCP 16: Another hole that almost always screws me. It's so short and easy, that maybe I get overconfident and then end up playing it horribly. Today it's playing very short, about 200 to a front pin. That's in range of my 4h, so I decide to hit the 4h, which I have trouble with. I try to REALLY just focus on taking a nice easy iron swing and not kill the ball, and end up making great contact for once. It starts well right of the hole over some trees and is curving back towards the green. I see it hit the left side of a berm a little short of the green which is a great kick, and it kicks the ball towards the green. It ends up a few inches onto the fringe, pin-high, on the right edge. Again I have a legit look at an eagle putt with this being a par 4. It's another right->left breaker of about 20 feet, and again I don't play enough break and it rolls out the correct distance but 5 feet below the hole. Again, a scary putt and I'm worried I've screwed myself out of a birdie, but I nail it into the middle of the cup. Birdie, +13!

 

Okay, I know this is basically legit a par for a hole playing 200 yards. But the card says par 4 and I got it into the hole in 3, so I'm claiming birdie lol. 

Hole 11, 172-yard par 4, HDCP 6: It's slightly uphill, to a blind green. Protected in the back by a bunker but otherwise pretty straightforward. Tees are up and center pin, so I take 7i. I feel the strike off the toe, and it starts on a good line and turns left. But with the toe contact it doesn't make it to the green, so I'm short left. I choose to "putt" from about 2 yards off the green and I'm about 30 feet out. I don't give it enough because I was putting into the grain, and it stops 7 feet short. Luckily I make that putt. Par, +13.

Hole 12, 118 yard par 3, HDCP 18: This is a downhill hole, protected short left by a bunker with a pretty severe back to front sloping green. Pin is back today but tees are up, it's playing maybe 120. I hit my 52* and pull it left, finishing pin-high off the green beyond the front left bunker. I pitch from there, and have a great pitch to finish 5 feet from the hole. I make the putt. Par, +13.

 

Three holes of par or better in a row. At least I'm starting the back off well.  

Hole 13, 288 yard par 4, HDCP 8: Straight hole, with a bunker protecting the left side of the green and some boulders out on the right rough in the fairway, but overall pretty tame. Because this hole narrows as you approach the green, it doesn't set up well for driver. I did well enough back on 10 with the 4h, so I decide to tee off with the 4h. I duff it barely past the ladies tees to the right. I now have a sidehill lie in rough, so I just try to take 7i and advance the ball--and I hit it weak and topped and it goes maybe 50-60 more yards, and at least I'm in the fairway. I'm now at a distance I could reach--I don't recall exactly what it was but I think I was somewhere in PW/GW territory. I hit it poorly, only getting about 80% of the way. I'm now 30-35 yards out and pitch with the 52* to a front pin. I like how it looks but it stops on the fringe just short of the green. I "putt" from the fringe to gimme range, and tap in. Double, +15.

 

Wasted shots=2. The duff off the tee is a wasted shot, and I'm going to call my second and third shots a combined additional wasted shot. I was in distance to be within 2 shots of being able to putt the ball, and it took 3. 

Hole 14, 163 yard par 3, HDCP 10: Another uphill par 3 to a blind green. Protected on the right by a bunker, and on the left by a severe slope down to the creek. Playing about 150 today (it rarely plays full length) so I hit 9i. I catch it well but it's a slight pull, and I see it hit the top of a berm left of the green and just hope it doesn't end up going all the way down the slope into the creek--but I think I'm safe. I get up there and I'm safe--just barely. I make a decent pitch back to the green from there, but get a little more distance than I want and it rolls out past the hole to the fringe on the other side. I "putt" it back off the fringe to gimme distance and tap in. Bogey, +16.

 

Hole 15, 162 yard par 3, HDCP 12: Round back-to-front sloped green, with a bunker left and pond more left. Tees up and back pin, it's playing about 155 today. I take 9i because I'd rather be short than long with this pin location. I hit a decent shot but it's pushed right, gets caught up in some trees, but drops and kicks left ending up in a pretty decent location short of the green. I pitch from there, and flub it badly about 10 feet forward. I pitch again and this one goes up past the pin about 9 feet. I two putt. Double, +18.

 

Wasted shots=1, the flubbed pitch. Just inexcusable. 

Hole 16, 136 yard par 3, HDCP 14: Bunkers left and right, but a pretty easy back-to-front sloped round green to hit to. Playing longer today, about 150, so I take 9i. I end up starting it on line but it's turning left, and it stops inches short of the left side bunker. Which means I'm standing in the bunker with the ball well above my feet in the rough, trying to pitch. I make a mess of it and flub it, but at least get it out to the point where I have my feet and the both both in grass. I pitch again from there, and give it too much, and it rolls out well past the pin to the opposite fringe. Now I've got a long (30+ feet) putt that I'm reading as a significant right->left break. I hit it about perfect distance--and it doesn't break basically at all, leaving me 7 feet above the hole. Thankfully I sink that putt. Double, +20. 

 

Wasted shots=1. The flubbed chip out of the awkward stance.

 

Hole 17, 193 yard par 3, HDCP 4: Pretty straightforward hole but long for a par 3, with a bunker behind the green but not much other trouble. It's playing short today with front tees and a front pin, with the downhill my rangefinder says it's about 150 so I take 9i. I strike it well and it's starting right of the hole and curving back to the pin and I feel like I'm about to stick this one close--and it stops just short of the green and kicks left. Well, that's no good. I go to pitch from there, and again screw it up and end up going over the green to the opposite side of the green, and rolling into the rough so I have to pitch again. This one I do right, and stop it 3 feet from the hole--and miss the damn putt. Double, +22.

 

Wasted shots=2. Pitching over the green from short, and then missing a near-gimme. 

 

Hole 18, 225 yard par 3, HDCP 2: Tough hole, due to length as a par 3, and that it's a long narrow green protected left and right by bunkers, and a pond more left. There's also a creek across the fairway that shouldn't be in play. It's to a back pin today and even with tees not all the way back it's probably a good 235. The last time I played this course I tried to hit a super easy swing with driver and it went over, riding a cart path another 50 yards and leaving me with a terrible option. My round has gone to hell at this point. Might as well take out the 4w that I haven't hit in months and just go for it, right? So I take the 4w and just try to take a nice smooth cut at it. And it's a bullet dead at the green. Not the highest trajectory, but it's got distance and line... It hits just short of the green, runs up the green, and finishes just on the back fringe. With a back pin, I think I'm within 20 feet (don't recall exact distance) and "putt" off the fringe to about three feet. I make the putt, for the first ever par I've had on this hole if I remember correctly. Par, +22. 

 

At least that was a good way to end the round. 

 

Stats:
Strokes from <100 yards: 31/26, for 57 ot 3.17 per hole
Putts: 27, but that's really not true because of the number of putts from the fringe
GIR: 3/18
Wasted shots: 12, almost entirely short game / pitching
Counts to HDCP: Yes, because differential of 23.7 aged out a 22.5, handicap increased from 20.2 to 20.4. 

 

Birdies: 2
Pars: 5
Bogeys: 3
Doubles: 6
Triples+: 2

 

So I finished 45 (+14) / 37 (+8) for an 82 (+22).  Had some positives--I could actually putt today. Had some negatives--I couldn't pitch/chip for squat most of the time, but actually had some good scrambling others. Ballstriking / directional control was middling.

 

The two blow-up holes were killer though. Overall I had more pars/birdies than doubles, which is the way to play bogey golf or better. But the quad and quint were the difference between playing bogey golf and not quite making it. And there was NO excuse for it on hole 5. That was just wrong in every possible way, and wasted some of the good things I did.

 

I *really* need to devote practice time to pitching/chipping. 

[bortass]

I’d say this was a decent round. Driving a green is always nice.  You had the major blowup holes but still had 7 holes of par or better golf. That is a good sign of the progress you’re making.

[berndgeurts]

What is causing the blow up holes in general? We all have them, we all hate them and they all ruin our scorecards

 

I personally don't think it's concentration of tiredness. I think its an overestimation of our abilities and therefore choosing a risky strategy. 

There are so many elder guys and women on our courses just hitting 100-150 yards straight, never missing a fairway and without the blowup holes. They just don't end up in trouble. 

Do I think we should play like them? 

No, I think we should still try those higher reward shots, it is all practice and experience gained. We want to get to a another level, a level where we can hit a green from 180 yards out with an iron from the rough.

In a competition: choose wisely, take the drop or chip back to the fairway.

[TheDeanAbides]

18 hours ago, berndgeurts said:

What is causing the blow up holes in general? We all have them, we all hate them and they all ruin our scorecards

 

I personally don't think it's concentration of tiredness. I think its an overestimation of our abilities and therefore choosing a risky strategy. 

There are so many elder guys and women on our courses just hitting 100-150 yards straight, never missing a fairway and without the blowup holes. They just don't end up in trouble. 

Do I think we should play like them? 

No, I think we should still try those higher reward shots, it is all practice and experience gained. We want to get to a another level, a level where we can hit a green from 180 yards out with an iron from the rough.

In a competition: choose wisely, take the drop or chip back to the fairway.

Unless you hit your 6 it 7 iron 180 yards consistently then there's no value in planning on hitting irons from the rough from 180 yards. Better to be thinking hybrids or lofted woods from 180 plus. At any level. 

[berndgeurts]

1 hour ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Unless you hit your 6 it 7 iron 180 yards consistently then there's no value in planning on hitting irons from the rough from 180 yards. Better to be thinking hybrids or lofted woods from 180 plus. At any level. 

The post was not about which club and how far, more about playing a different strategy and with that learning how to play longer more riskier shots.

[TheDeanAbides]

1 hour ago, berndgeurts said:

The post was not about which club and how far, more about playing a different strategy and with that learning how to play longer more riskier shots.

My point was about realistic expectations because that's a huge factor in course management. 🙂

[betarhoalphadelta]

23 hours ago, berndgeurts said:

What is causing the blow up holes in general? We all have them, we all hate them and they all ruin our scorecards

 

I personally don't think it's concentration of tiredness. I think its an overestimation of our abilities and therefore choosing a risky strategy. 

There are so many elder guys and women on our courses just hitting 100-150 yards straight, never missing a fairway and without the blowup holes. They just don't end up in trouble. 

Do I think we should play like them? 

No, I think we should still try those higher reward shots, it is all practice and experience gained. We want to get to a another level, a level where we can hit a green from 180 yards out with an iron from the rough.

In a competition: choose wisely, take the drop or chip back to the fairway.

 

So I basically had 2.5 blow ups (one I managed to "save" double). 

 

Hole 5: 168 yard par 3, uphill, danger left but otherwise no issue. There wasn't any sort of explanation for the blow up. I simply could NOT pitch the ball. Yes, I badly topped my tee shot, but it left me right in the middle of the fairway with an easy pitch up to the green. Skulled it over and behind the green, skulled the next one BACK over and down the fairway. Then chunked two pitches. Got on in 6 and one-putted.

 

Hole 6: Hit a bad drive causing a penalty stroke. From there hit a nice wedge to the green, but just caught a little too much, went long, and ended up in a TERRIBLE downhill lie in nasty wet sand in a bunker, and skulled that over the green into a pond, for another penalty stroke. Pitched up and two-putted. It was a blow up only because of the penalties. I actually counted it wrong above, it was actually a quad not a quint. 

 

Hole 13: Chose to hit 4h because there's no reason to hit driver there (the hole narrows at the green). Shanked it. Had a bad lie in deep rough and hit 7i to advance (not going for it), and didn't hit it well, only got maybe 75-80 yards advance. Was then within I think GW territory and hit it fat. Couldn't get up and down, so ended up with a double.

 

So I don't think any of it is course management or poor decision-making. It's just hitting bad shots. Part of it is that I just REALLY need to work on my pitching/chipping game, and playing out of the sand (although that sand shot on 6 would be difficult for anyone).

[betarhoalphadelta]

Played yesterday again at Oso Creek. As mentioned, it's 3670 yards, par 60, rating is 58.2, slope of 99. No driving range, so no warmup other than putting. 

 

Weather was cool and overcast until the 17th hole when the sun started breaking through. Which was good, as I'd gotten a little too much sun the day before so I appreciated the respite. 

 

I haven't practiced much since my last round. Went to the range last weekend with my son, but he hit about 80% of the bucket as I wanted to focus on him getting practice and giving him some tips. Then I had some other issues: car trouble with my daily driver, a new coffee table that arrived broken which has been sitting in my son's room where the putting mat is located, busy at work, etc. So I really haven't been putting the work into my game that I'd like. 

 

Hole 1, 285 yard par 4, HDCP 11: Straight hole with little trouble. Creek crossing the fairway short and shouldn't be in play. Left-side fairway bunker and green protected in front right by a bunker. Tees are back so no real chance of reaching. I take driver and hit a sweeping hook that starts straight down the middle and ends up landing on the other side of the creek splitting holes 1 and 9, probably 220 yards. From there I'm in some deeper rough (didn't really see the ball until I was right on top of it), and try to hit my 56. I don't make great contact and it stops about 10 yards short of the green. I pitch and flub it, and then finally pitch and get on the green, leaving myself about 18 feet for bogey. I putt to tap-in distance, and make it. Double, +2. 

 

One wasted shot for the flubbed chip. 

 

Hole 2, 171 yard par 3, HDCP 9: Straight downhill par 3 with no trouble short, but a bunker right and a bunker behind the green, which slopes back to front. Tees back so it's playing about 175 to a center pin. I take 6i and blade a line drive 25y short of the green. Have a simple pitch to the green with the 56, and I don't know WHAT the hell I did wrong but it goes right on a 30 degree angle and dribbles into the sand trap. The trap is horrible wet sand with a downhill lie. I try to get out with the 60 and blast it 20y over the green. I pitch back to the green and finally make a good swing, but run it 20 feet past the hole. Two putt. Triple, +5.
 
Two wasted shots. The bad chip and then the bad sand shot.

 

What a crap way to start a round. +5 after two holes. Pretty sure this one is going to get ugly.

 

Hole 3, 146 yard par 3, HDCP 15: Slightly uphill, with a bunker short left and long right. It's playing about 135 to a center pin.  I take PW (my 140 club) and I think I teed it up a little too high and caught it high on the face, as I had a great line and I thought good contact, but it launched REALLY high and dropped on the front fringe. Given my lack of chipping skill, I decide to putt, and hit with pretty good speed control but it finishes 4 feet left of the cup. I've been focusing on lining up these short putts and really giving them full attention, and I drain it. Par, +5.

 

Okay, recovery.

 

Hole 4, 266 yard par 4, HDCP 13: This hole has trees all down the right side, and the fairway slopes pretty strongly right-to-left. The trees can catch errant balls to the right, dropping them on the slope where they often roll right to the middle. There's a fairway bunker to the left and the only protection for the green is a bunker behind and a pond to the FAR left. Tees are back a bit. I take driver, and hit a lower trajectory shot than I normally do, but hit it DEAD straight at the green. The ball runs up to about 5-6 yards short of the green in the fairway. Again given my chipping/pitching woes, and the fact that the fairway is pretty smooth up to the green, I decide to putt, which ends up about 10 feet right of the cup. From there I see some right->left break, but I don't read enough, and the putt turns down leaving me about 3-4 feet below the hole, needing it to save par. I drain that putt. Par, +5. 
 

Hole 5, 168 yard par 3, HDCP 5: This is an uphill hole, plays long to a blind green. Bunker to the left and anything farther left is a steep slope down to the creek. This hole can be my nemesis if I turn it left and send it down that slope. It should be playing about 175 up the hill and I take 6i... I blade it, hitting maybe 100 yards, but at least into the middle of the fairway. It's a front pin, so I pitch with my 60, and tug it a little bit and think it's low, but it hops and stops and finishes just past pin high on the left edge of the green, about 12-13 feet from the pin. This is a TRICKY putt, heavy break and downhill, so I barely tap it well left of the hole and it rolls down to tap-in. Bogey, +6.

 
Hole 6, 296 yard par 4, HDCP 7: Elevated tee, creek across the hole that shouldn't be in play, which continues up the left side and becomes a greenside pond. Fairway bunker down the right side about 200 yds and the green is protected on the right by a bunker and the left by the pond. Pull driver, aiming right of the green assuming some draw, and I hit a shot dead straight on my aiming line, this one with good high launch and contact. It easily carries the fairway bunker and I don't see where it stops. I get down to the ball and find it in the right side rough, just left of the cart path, with a clear pitch ~50y to a center pin. I pitch with the 56, and hit a good pitch to pin high about 15 feet right of the pin. Tricky right->left breaking birdie putt, and I miss it but leave myself a tap-in. Par, +6.

Hole 7, 148 yard par 3, HDCP 17: Straight hole, protected right and behind by bunkers. Back pin and it's playing about 147. I take 9i and hit a high draw that drops on the left side of the green. I've got about 25 feet uphill, and misjudge it and hit it about 6 feet past the hole. Oof. But... I drain that putt. Par, +6. 

 
Hole 8, 174 yard par 3, HDCP 3: Tough hole, always seems to play longer than its distance. Narrow, long green, protected right and left by bunkers, and a creek across the "fairway" that shouldn't be in play. Back tees and front pin, so it's playing a full 175. I take 6i and hit a nice strike, that draws and lands just on the front left fringe. I putt because I'm not going to try to chip, and put it about 4-5 feet past the hole. And I drain that. Par, +6.

 

Hey, start +5 through 2 and I'm +6 through 8. This round doesn't actually suck [so far]!
 

Hole 9, 317 yard par 4, HDCP 1: There's a creek running along the left side and then crossing the fairway right at the 220-230 mark, particularly when the tees are back like they are today. The hole has a big valley leading to that creek in the middle, so laying up forces a VERY short layup to keep from running all the way down into the water. The green is then elevated from the fairway and protected front right by a bunker. Thankfully now that I've learned to hit driver, I know I can clear the creek off the tee, so I take driver... It's a little bit low and curving left, but I see it land and kick just over the creek on the left, so it's safe. From there in the rough I've got 95 up to a center pin (rangefinder says 100 with the slope), and I have a tendency to leave things short because the uphill lie adds loft, so that should be a full on 56 for me. Unfortunately I catch it very clean and a groove or two low, and I go over the green. I'm 5 yards off and in slight rough, but putt instead of chipping again. Unfortunately the rough/fringe doesn't slow me down as much as I expect and my putt rolls out 24 feet past the hole. I putt from there and leave myself 5 feet to save bogey, and miss that. Oof. Double, +8.

 

Adding up +1 wasted shot [combined] there because I should have no problem getting down in 3 from just off the green, but it took 4. 

 

Either way, I finish the front 9 at 39 (+8), which isn't all that bad, particularly after starting +5 through 2. And even with the double on 9, I'm pretty pleased with the way I've played since those first two holes.  

 
Hole 10, 242 yard par 4, HDCP 16: Another hole that almost always screws me. It's so short and easy, that maybe I get overconfident and then end up playing it horribly. Today it's playing 225, and after hitting a beautiful 4w shot to finish the last round I figure I'll take a nice easy swing with the 4w and can probably reach. Beautiful practice swing, and then I decide to muscle it once I get into transition and downswing and top it 90 yards into the fairway. OOPS! And I felt it too... I just got into "kill the ball" mode as soon as started swinging down. But at least I'm in the middle. I've got about 135 left and take PW, and chunk it about 90 yards. OOPS! I pitch it and at least get on the green, leaving myself 20 feet, and I two-putt. Bogey, +9.

Hole 11, 172-yard par 4, HDCP 6: It's slightly uphill, to a blind green. Protected in the back by a bunker but otherwise pretty straightforward. Tees are back but a front pin, so I take 6i because my distances have generally been on the low end today. I feel the strike off the toe, and it starts slightly right and bends back to the center. But with the toe contact it doesn't make it to the green, so I'm short. I try to pitch it up, and flub the pitch, but get myself to putting distance from off the green. I then putt to 5 feet, and drain that. Bogey, +10. 

 

Not assigning a wasted shot here. From where my ball was short of the hole, I can't claim any expectation of getting up and down for par.  

 

Hole 12, 118 yard par 3, HDCP 18: This is a downhill hole, protected short left by a bunker with a pretty severe back to front sloping green. Pin is center but tees are up, and with the downhill it's playing maybe 105. I take the 56 and strike it well, but pull it left, and it clears the bunker. I think I may be on the green, but it's actually on the fringe behind the bunker. I've got about 30 feet, and putt from the fringe. I hit it about 3 feet past the hole, and make that. Par, +10. 

Hole 13, 288 yard par 4, HDCP 8: Straight hole, with a bunker protecting the left side of the green and some boulders out on the right rough in the fairway, but overall pretty tame. Because this hole narrows as you approach the green, it doesn't set up well for driver. I take 4h and just plan to take a nice, easy, relaxed swing. I keep having trouble when I try to hit 4h for "distance" rather than strike. I make beautiful contact, the ball starts right and just BARELY clears some of the tree branches short right off the tee, and curves perfectly right back into the center of the fairway. I'll take it. I'm left about 100 out and take the 56. I strike it well and can't see it because it's a blind green, but it looks to be almost dead on line (a few feet right) and I'm just hoping the distance is good. I get up to the green, and the distance was great. I'm 5 feet from the cup and sweating because this is a perfect birdie opportunity. I hit the putt and my heart stops as it catches the lip... And circles around and in the hole! Birdie, +9. 

Hole 14, 163 yard par 3, HDCP 10: Another uphill par 3 to a blind green. Protected on the right by a bunker, and on the left by a severe slope down to the creek. Tees are WAY up front, so it's barely playing 135. I plan to take PW and just take a nice easy swing. I make good contact but apparently forgot to close the clubface as it starts WAY right, hits a tall tree which saves me from losing a ball OB, and drops down and kicks left of a tree on the right edge of the fairway/rough. What a complete terrible shot after a birdie lol. I'm now about 60 out and hit the 60, and pull it a little left but it lands and stops on the very left edge of the green. I've got a tricky 20-footer, but I get it close, and make the next one. Bogey, +10. 

 

Hole 15, 162 yard par 3, HDCP 12: Round back-to-front sloped green, with a bunker left and pond more left. Playing about 145 to a center pin. I hit 9i and it doesn't feel like I've got the best contact, and it starts a little right of the pin, curves back, and drops short left of the green. I putt from there, and putt it 15 feet past the hole. Oof. It's a tricky downhill breaker from there, and I don't make a good roll of it, leaving myself 4 feet. I miss that. Oof again. Double, +12. 

 

Add a wasted shot for about two terrible lag putts and then missing a 4-footer. I should have converted to bogey at least from there.  

 

Hole 16, 136 yard par 3, HDCP 14: Bunkers left and right, but a pretty easy back-to-front sloped round green to hit to. Playing about 145 today to a back pin, so I take 9i. I hit it and strike it very well, but it turns a little too far left and ends up pin high in the left bunker. I've got a tricky lie here but at least this bunker isn't wet and nasty, so I feel like I can play it like a standard bunker shot. I use the 56 and focus on taking sand, and I hit it nicely out--it lands short of the pin but rolls out 20 feet past. Which for me, getting OUT of the bunker and ONTO the green is all I want, so I don't mind. I putt and don't make the best lag of it, leaving myself about 5 feet to save bogey. But I focus, and drain it. Bogey, +13. 
 
Hole 17, 193 yard par 3, HDCP 4: Pretty straightforward hole but long for a par 3, with a bunker behind the green but not much other trouble. It's playing short today with front tees and a front pin, with the downhill my rangefinder says it's about 155 so I take 8i. I chunk it and it goes about 100 yards into the center. I flub a pitch about 15 feet, and then pitch again to 15 feet. I've got a tricky breaking 15 footer, but I see a bit of the line from a playing partner, and feel good about it--and drain it. Bogey, +14. 

 

Assigning a wasted shot here from the flubbed pitch. No excuse for that, even though I managed to recover with a good 1-putt. 
 

Hole 18, 225 yard par 3, HDCP 2: Tough hole, due to length as a par 3, and that it's a long narrow green protected left and right by bunkers, and a pond more left. There's also a creek across the fairway that shouldn't be in play. I've got a really good round going so I decide to lay up here with 5i. Unfortunately I don't hit it with ANY power and is see it land short, then over, then kick backwards, of the creek down on the right side. Luckily I get to the ball and it stayed up, so no penalty stroke, but I'm in deep rough 50 yards from the hole. I hit the 56 and it's crap, jumping about 10-15 yards closer. I pitch again, to pin high right of the hole leaving 15 feet. And I drain that putt. Bogey, +15. 

 

No wasted shot assigned here. Unlike the previous hole, I was in deep rough rather than a perfect fairway lie. 

 

Stats:
Strokes from <100 yards: 32/25, or 57, average of 3.16 per hole
Putts: 31, not counting putts from the fringe
GIR: 4/18
Wasted shots: 6, four short game [one sand], and two from bad putting
Counts to HDCP: Yes, HDCP dropped to 19.8. I'm under a 20!!!

 

Birdies: 1
Pars: 6
Bogeys: 7
Doubles: 3
Triples+: 1

 

So I finished 39 (+8) / 36 (+7) for a 75 (+15).  

 

Had some positives--Was happy with my putting, overall my ballstriking was decent and my huge hook wasn't mostly evident. Brought down my number of wasted shots from 12 (last round) to 6, and surprise surprise, my total score dropped by 7 strokes between the two rounds. Amazing how much that "wasted shot" metric means to scoring at my level. Only one true "blow up" hole as a triple, although to some extent I feel like all three of my doubles were avoidable--due to wasted shots. But then I saved holes that I could easily have doubled by sinking putts too. And obviously any round which counts towards HDCP is good because it becomes one of my top 40% of rounds, but this one dropping my cap under 20 was a REALLY exciting thing to see. 

 

Negative continues to be short game. Which of course is the least-practiced part of my game. So I know what I need to do. 

 

 

[bortass]

Great round! You didn't let that rough start derail you and you made some good shots. Things are coming together for you. Success breeds confidence and that in turn can become a positive feedback loop.

 

Also congrats on the sub 20 index! There's something about being under 20 that has just felt different to me. The reality is if you can break 100 than you're already better than most golfers but sub 20 is when I felt I was a decent/competent golfer. Can get around the course fairly well; Play some very solid golf with the attendant blowups etc that come with the territory, etc.

 

Awesome job!

[betarhoalphadelta]

Played yesterday. Had a heat wave. Started at 8:00 AM in the sun and the heat hadn't really hit yet, but it was well into the mid-high 80s by the time we finished at 11:45. Back 9 was toasty. Should have brought the umbrella for my push cart.  

 

The course is Oso Creek in Mission Viejo, CA. It's 3670 yards, par 60, rating is 58.2, slope of 99. Course has no driving range, so I just struck a few putts and then it was off to the first tee. 

 

Hole 1, 285 yard par 4, HDCP 11: Straight hole with little trouble. Creek crossing the fairway short and shouldn't be in play. Left-side fairway bunker and green protected in front right by a bunker. Tees are 275 to the middle of the green, and I pull driver. I make beautiful contact but push it. I think I got a slight cart path assist and the ball finished nearly pin high in light rough between 1 and 2, to the right of the path. From there I need to hit over the bunker, and pull the 60*. I proceed to blade it, it hits short of the bunker, skips over the bunker, and rolls out ~6 yards off the green on the other side. I decide to putt through the rough and fringe, and that's not a great decision... It gets caught up and barely rolls onto the edge of the green, leaving me 20 feet for par. I hit a poor par putt that leaves me ~5 feet. Miss that, and tap in. Double, +2.
 
Oof. Hit a great drive and turn it into a 3-putt double bogey. Not a great start.

 

Wasted shots=2 -- the poor putt from the rough that didn't even get me anywhere near the pin where I even had a CHANCE at making a put, and then missing my 20 footer so bad that I couldn't finish with a 2-putt.

 

Hole 2, 171 yard par 3, HDCP 9: Straight downhill par 3 with no trouble short, but a bunker right and a bunker behind the green, which slopes back to front. Tees back and pin back today, so it's playing almost about 175-180. I hit 6i and it's a low pull, not great contact, which runs out underneath some trees left. I get up to the ball and I've got a clear shot at the green of about 35 yards, and pitch with my 56*. I pitch it nicely, and end up 20 feet from the hole. I miss the putt, but make the second. Bogey, +3.

 

Hole 3, 146 yard par 3, HDCP 15: Slightly uphill, with a bunker short left and long right. Tees up to a front pin, playing a little over 130. I take my GW and make good contact but pull it left, and thankfully it clears the bunker and ends up a few yards off the green to the left. I have to pitch from here, so I pitch with the 56* and get it to about 10 feet. I three putt from 10 feet. Double, +5. 

 

Hole 4, 266 yard par 4, HDCP 13: This hole has trees all down the right side, and the fairway slopes pretty strongly right-to-left. The trees can catch errant balls to the right, dropping them on the slope where they often roll right to the middle. There's a fairway bunker to the left and the only protection for the green is a bunker behind and a pond to the FAR left. I hit driver, and make great contact but again push it well right with a slight fade. I figure it's gone. I get up there, can't find the ball, and take a drop, hitting 3. I have a half-wedge and make a great shot, putting it on the green 10 feet from the hole. Again, I miss the putt. Bogey, +6.  

 

Hole 5, 168 yard par 3, HDCP 5: This is an uphill hole, plays long to a blind green. Bunker to the left and anything farther left is a steep slope down to the creek. This hole can be my nemesis if I turn it left and send it down that slope. Tees and pin both back, playing 180+. I end up taking 5i, and I hit a low push draw that's starting right of the green and coming back. I see it land short and skip up towards the green, but can't see much because it's a blind green. I get up to the ball, and I'm off the back edge of the green about 3-4 yards in light rough. I'm short-sided, and figure my best chance here is putting... Again a bad decision. My putt doesn't even make the green, stopping on the fringe. Well, at least I can putt from there... And I knock it downhill 10 feet past the hole. I miss that. Double, +8.

 

Wasted shot=1, the bad putt from the rough. I should have gotten out of there with bogey at worst.

 
Hole 6, 296 yard par 4, HDCP 7: Elevated tee, creek across the hole that shouldn't be in play, which continues up the left side and becomes a greenside pond. Fairway bunker down the right side about 200 yds and the green is protected on the right by a bunker and the left by the pond. Pull driver, and I hit a powerful hook that I believe crosses the creek. So I head down there and find the ball between the 4th green and 5th tee, with a shot about 70 yards to the green. There are palm trees directly between my ball and the pin, but as 70 yards is just a full swing 60* for me, I know a well-struck shot will clear those palms. So I hit 60*, and make a decent contact, pushing the ball just right of the green (from my vantage), or just in front of the green where it's a front pin. I putt from the fairway, but it's a bad putt that goes WELL past the pin and leaves me 15 feet. I two putt from there. Bogey, +9. 

Hole 7, 148 yard par 3, HDCP 17: Straight hole, protected right and behind by bunkers. Middle pin and it's playing about 145. I take 9i and hit a high draw that lands pin high off the left side of the green and kicks left of a slope, finishing about 15 yards off the green. I pitch with my 56*, and hit it low on the face and it rolls onto the fringe on the far side of the green. I've got a long right->left breaker and pick a good line, but don't give it enough oomph, and leave myself 7 feet. Thankfully I finally make a damn putt. Bogey, +10. 
 

Hole 8, 174 yard par 3, HDCP 3: Tough hole, always seems to play longer than its distance. Narrow, long green, protected right and left by bunkers, and a creek across the "fairway" that shouldn't be in play. Tees are back and pin is back, so it's playing a little north of 180. I take 6i and make "ok" contact, and it's a slight draw that finishes just short and left of the green. I pitch and have great distance control but push just a bit right, leaving myself 10 feet from the hole to the right. It's a mostly straight putt maybe just outside the right edge, and I strike it well and it drops. Par, +10.

 

Finally a par! Only took 8 holes lol.

 

Hole 9, 317 yard par 4, HDCP 1: There's a creek running along the left side and then crossing the fairway right at the 220-230 mark, depending on tee location. The hole has a big valley leading to that creek in the middle, so laying up forces a VERY short layup to keep from running all the way down into the water. The green is then elevated from the fairway and protected front right by a bunker. Tees are WAY back so I know I need a good drive to comfortably clear the creek. I blast a really strong contact drive, but it's pulled left and lands short of the first tee. At least it's over the creek safely. I head up and find the ball, and I'm about 50-60 yards from the green, but I don't have a clear shot due to trees. The only choice I have is a punch under the trees. So I take my 7i and put the ball back in my stance with a face almost closed down to driver / fairway wood loft. I take a little half-swing punch and the ball shoots out basically exactly as I plan. I don't quite make the green, but the ball stops about 6-7 yards short of the green. I've had trouble with the putter from these types of holes, so I pitch--and flub it. Crap. At least I'm close enough on the fringe to putt... And knock it 10 feet long right of the hole. I miss the 10-footer and tap in. Double, +12. 

 

Wasted shot=1, the flubbed chip.

 

So I'm out in a +12, 43. Not a good front 9 by any stretch. 

 
Hole 10, 242 yard par 4, HDCP 16: Another hole that almost always screws me. It's so short and easy, that maybe I get overconfident and then end up playing it horribly. Today it's playing about 235 to a center pin. I figure this is a good time for the 4w, as that should be almost perfect distance. I try to just take a nice easy swing... And top it 100 yards into the fairway. Oh well. At least I'm PW distance now. I make good contact with the PW and hit a slight push, and long. I'm a little off the back right of the green. I pitch and leave myself 10 feet, and two-putt. Bogey, +13.

Hole 11, 172-yard par 4, HDCP 6: It's slightly uphill, to a blind green. Protected in the back by a bunker but otherwise pretty straightforward. Tees are back and the pin is back, so this is playing a strong 180 up the hill. I take 6i and hit a weak draw headed well left. This isn't great because it's headed for three enormous boulders, and it looks like it hits and caroms just off one of them. I get up to the ball, and that's exactly what happened. I MIGHT have a shot if I get enough loft to get over the boulder, or I can just pop it out right of the boulder into the fairway in front of the green. My round is already well off track, so I say screw it, pull the 60*, and decide to go at the pin. And... Surprisingly, it works! I slightly clip some leaves on a tree just short of the green, but I get onto the green and I'm 30 feet from the hole. And then, I three putt. Double, +15.

Hole 12, 118 yard par 3, HDCP 18: This is a downhill hole, protected short left by a bunker with a pretty severe back to front sloping green. Pin is front and with the downslope the rangefinder says it's playing 107. I take the 56* and a full swing, and make great contact but pull it. I clear the bunker and it lands on the green and hops back a few feet, 30 feet left of the hole. Now I've got a very difficult breaking 30 footer, and I knock it about 10 feet past the hole. I miss that putt and tap in. Bogey, +16. 

 

I hate ruining a GIR and ending up three-putting for bogey.

 

Hole 13, 288 yard par 4, HDCP 8: Straight hole, with a bunker protecting the left side of the green and some boulders out on the right rough in the fairway, but overall pretty tame. Because this hole narrows as you approach the green, it doesn't set up well for driver. But I'm feeling it today and might as well, right? So I hit driver and make contact very low on the face, and it's a bullet down the left side of the fairway, barely above the ground--but just enough that it doesn't land for about 150 yards and rolls out well over 200 yards. So now I'm left with a partial wedge, and chunk it two thirds of the way to the green. I pitch again, and leave myself 30 feet. I hit that putt and it rolls out much farther than I like, maybe 9 feet beyond the hole, and 2-putt from there. Double, +18. 

 

Wasted shots=1, the flubbed chip. I could probably combine the bad pitch and the bad lag following into another, but I'm not going to. 

Hole 14, 163 yard par 3, HDCP 10: Another uphill par 3 to a blind green. Protected on the right by a bunker, and on the left by a severe slope down to the creek. Tees about center and pin a ways back, playing just over 160, so I take 8i. I do the same thing I do two weeks ago and just fail completely to close the face, and launch it WAY right over some trees into the brush. Somehow, I find it way up on the slope in some pine straw and playable. So I pitch with my 56* and end up putting it on the front of the green, leaving myself 50 feet. I make a halfway-decent lag but only to about 7 feet, and miss it, for a tap in. Double, +20. 

Hole 15, 162 yard par 3, HDCP 12: Round back-to-front sloped green, with a bunker left and pond more left. Playing about 145, so I take 9i. I hit a shot with good contact but pushed right, and I see it land just right of the cart path in the pine straw and don't see any bounce. Nobody else in the group saw it either. I get up there and I'm looking for the ball and can't find it, while a playing partner is walking up to the green and asks "how'd your ball get over here?" Well, it kicked left and it's on the left edge of the green, 15 feet from the hole. Better to be lucky than good sometimes, right? It's a tricky breaking putt for birdie and I get it to tap-in range. Par, +20.

 

Hole 16, 136 yard par 3, HDCP 14: Bunkers left and right, but a pretty easy back-to-front sloped round green to hit to. Playing longer today, about 150, so I take 9i. I end up starting it just right of on line but it's turning left, and it lands on the left side of the green, leaving me 40 feet from the pin. I hit a lag putt that finishes 3 feet below the hole, and sink that. Par, +20.
 

Hole 17, 193 yard par 3, HDCP 4: Pretty straightforward hole but long for a par 3, with a bunker behind the green but not much other trouble. It's playing shorter today, about 165 to a back left pin. I hit 8i and strike it well, a push draw that starts towards the right edge of the green and curving back to the center. It drops on the green 30 feet short of the hole. I make a so-so lag putt and leave myself well short, but I sink the next putt. Par, +20. 

 

Hole 18, 225 yard par 3, HDCP 2: Tough hole, due to length as a par 3, and that it's a long narrow green protected left and right by bunkers, and a pond more left. There's also a creek across the fairway that shouldn't be in play. I feel like my round is better so I'm not going to try anything silly here, and just tee off with my 4h to lay up. And I top it 110 yards in center of the fairway... Oops. But now I'm left with about 105 to the pin, perfectly in range of my 56*. So I hit the 56* and strike it perfectly, and it lands pin-high pulled just 5 feet left of the pin. 5 footer to finish with four consecutive pars? I can do this, right? Nope... Miss it, and tap in. Bogey, +21. 

Stats:
Putts: 40
GIR: 4/18
Wasted shots: 5, pretty much all with the flat stick
Counts to HDCP: No
HDCP: Moves back above 20 to 20.7, because I aged out a +15 that I did on this course a while back... I'm not a teens golfer any more 😭

 
Birdies: 0
Pars: 4
Bogeys: 7
Doubles: 7
Triples+: 0

 

So, out in 43 (+12) and in 38 (+9), for an 81 (+21). 

 

All in all, there are positives here. I didn't have a single blow-up hole (triple or worse). For the most part my ballstriking was decent. I didn't have huge hook problems.

 

The issue is that I didn't play horrifically bad, but I also didn't play well. I had scoring opportunities that were badly missed due to putting. I had par chances that became bogeys, and bogey saves that became doubles. 40 putts?! Holy crap that's bad bad bad. I left tons of strokes on the golf course, and that's not even counting wasted shots. It was just everything just slightly off and so I wasn't earning enough pars to overcome the doubles. 

 

I suppose it's a sign of progress that I see this round as a bit of a disappointment, because there were so many missed opportunities. It's a lot better than a bad round where I can't hit the ball at all. 

 

[bortass]

A decent round I think. Everything is relative but no blow ups and I only recall reading about a single drop. Could it have been better? Sure, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Hopefully that comes across right.

 

Biggest issues I see are short game and putting.  You're not getting the ball close it seems and that's putting a lot of pressure on your putting. Have you thought about using a wood or hybrid to chip with using  a putting type stroke instead of the putter when you are going through a fair bit of fairway or rough? The loft helps get the ball up and moving so the rough doesn't kill it. I know Monte has video on the hybrid version, which I think is different than the old school way of using a wood. With a wood, it was setup like you were putting with it and make a stroke. The hybrid version seems to be the same concept but you want it to be toe down because you need to deaden the face a bit. It's worth checking out and even trying to see if it helps in those situations.

 

With the putting, it seems like working on your speed control would help. The reality is once we get outside 6 feet our make percentages start to drop quite a bit. My opinion is you want to try to make all putts, I'm sure there are edge cases, and if you miss leave yourself as short of a putt as possible.

[betarhoalphadelta]

@bortass Yeah, I actually did end up buying Monte's UTB 2.0 and saw his lesson on the hybrid chip... Still haven't tried it though. 

 

My speed control was off with this last round, but it's an area I've done well on in other rounds. I don't know what was up with me at the time. 

 

But I agree with you, short game and putting is where I need to spend my time, and they're not doing well because it's where I'm not spending my time. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Played Sunday at Oso Creek. No time for a full write up as I'm busy with work and I'm traveling for work for the first time in almost two years this week... 

 

It's par 60 and I finished with an 85, so +25. Everything was going well, playing to my normal level of bogey golf (+15) through 15 holes, but then went quad/double/quad (+10) on the last three holes to ruin it. Didn't even lose a ball or take a penalty on those three holes, either. I just sucked. 

 

There were a couple highlights. I feel like my ballstriking is doing fairly well, and I'm mostly avoiding the snap hooks and the giant sweeping hooks. I've had a few block pushes with driver that I need to iron out, but really my ballstriking was a strength in general. I'm happy about that. I also sunk an uphill 60-footer for birdie from the fringe on the 6th that I was excited about... It was struck with about 80 feet of speed on it, but it nailed the flagstick, hopped up and an inch left, and then just dropped in the hole.

 

Lowlights were putting and short game, as usual. I count 42 putts (I did count a few from the fringe as "putts") even though I called that 60-footer for birdie a zero-putt. I count eight 3-putts on the card, and the worst thing about it was that two of those were GIR that I turned into bogeys. Oh, and none of them were particularly long putts. I kept putting myself above the hole, leaving myself downhill putts, and striking them too hard. So I'd have a 7-15 foot putt and leave myself 6-7 feet past the hole. Short game wasn't a universal bad, but those quads on 16 and 18 were short game failures compounded with 3-putts. 

 

The putting was a bad problem, but it may have been for a good reason. On the putting green before the round, I realized that when I was cleaning up my lag putts, if I didn't allow my head to "follow" the ball after striking, I was striking so much more pure and straight and hitting the center of the stick. It was actually occurring on short putts during the round too--I made pretty much all of my 3-5 footers. The problem was that it screwed up my speed control, where I was hitting nearly every putt slightly harder than usual. On those downhill 7-15 footers, I would just barely miss the line but the ball would just roll and roll... 

 

I think I might be on to something with regards to not watching the putts, but I need to recalibrate my putting speed. 

 

And of course I need to practice my putting and short game... I keep saying it, and I keep not doing it. 

[aenemated]

The biggest issue I'm seeing is simple course management. Seems all these ~300yd par 4s, you're hitting as much as you can to get close to the green ... then leaving yourself either in jail or with a shot you're not comfortable with.

[TheDeanAbides]

28 minutes ago, aenemated said:

The biggest issue I'm seeing is simple course management. Seems all these ~300yd par 4s, you're hitting as much as you can to get close to the green ... then leaving yourself either in jail or with a shot you're not comfortable with.

Yeah, agreed. These 300 yard par fours are nothing more than a 6 iron wedge/9 iron. Make them as effortless as possible. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Interesting... This past round I don't know that it was the big stick that got me in trouble... This is a muni targeted at novice players, and doesn't have a tremendous amount of trouble.  

 

Hole 1: Block pushed a drive, which hit the cart path and got enough distance to end up pin high right of the green. I made a good pitch over a bunker, which rolled out just onto the fringe on the other side of the green, and two-putted for par. 

 

Hole 4: A bad drive, to be honest. It was pulled and turned left from there. Couldn't find it; assumed it was in the creek. Took a drop, had a 60y pitch to the green. Got on and two-putted for bogey. Obviously the water hazard killed me, but it wasn't because I put myself in a shot I wasn't comfortable with. 

 

Hole 6: Drive dead straight where I aimed (slightly right to avoid the potential of over-draw into trouble / plenty of safe room to the right), ended up in the right rough with a 50y pitch to the green. Didn't hit my pitch well and it checked up in the front fringe. That was where I made the 60 footer (to a back pin) for birdie.

 

Hole 9: Hit a low bullet drive dead straight, carried over the creek which bisects this fairway, and landed straight in the fairway. 80y partial wedge. Made good contact but hit it long, pitched back to the green and two-putted for bogey.

 

Hole 13: Hit a gorgeous drive right in front of the green. Pitched onto the green, but three-putted from 7 feet for a bogey because I screwed up the downhill putt and left myself too long of a comeback. 

 

Compare that to my blowup on the 16th and 18th hole:

 

Hole 16: Short par 3 and I took PW, I chunk it and leave it well short of the hole. I have an easy pitch the rest of the way, and flub it. I go up to the ball and pitch again, and ended up hitting it past the green. I pitch back onto the green, leaving myself 10 feet--and three-putt from there for a quad. 

 

Hole 18: Long par 3, I took 4w and topped it. Left with 170, took 7i and didn't make great contact, hitting about 140 and landing short right. I flubbed a pitch from there halfway to the green. Pitched from there and flubbed it again getting it just barely onto the front of the green. Three-putt from 50 feet for a quad. 

 

-----------------------------

 

I know a lot of people advocate hitting to a comfortable full swing distance. But for a course with a lot of par 3's, I only had 5 GIR. Looking at the par 3's, I missed greens with 6i, 8i, 6i, GW(48*), 6i, 52*, PW, and 8i. 

 

I feel like getting my pitching, chipping, and putting practice in would lower my score more than leaving driver in the bag. 

[TheDeanAbides]

From what you've said, it looks a lot like more practice with your iron accuracy would serve you well. It's great to get up and down, but you're missing a lot of greens with clubs you really shouldn't. 

 

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

On 11/30/2021 at 10:50 PM, TheDeanAbides said:

From what you've said, it looks a lot like more practice with your iron accuracy would serve you well. It's great to get up and down, but you're missing a lot of greens with clubs you really shouldn't. 

 

 

Oh, totally agree. That's a lot of what I've worked on based on the changes that resulted from Monte's lesson. The bulk of my range work [albeit I haven't gone much lately because I've been swamped with other crap] is with those irons, working on building a more consistent and repeatable movement instead of dumping my hands inside with a big in->out path and being able to hook a 9i 50 yards into the adjacent fairway... 

 

It's a work in progress. If it means anything, I feel like I'm missing those greens closer than before 😉

 

BTW the corollary to the poor iron accuracy is that hitting 6i/GW on those short par 4's isn't automatic, because I don't always know where that 6i is going lol!

 

[bortass]

58 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

 

[snip]

 

It's a work in progress. If it means anything, I feel like I'm missing those greens closer than before 😉

 

BTW the corollary to the poor iron accuracy is that hitting 6i/GW on those short par 4's isn't automatic, because I don't always know where that 6i is going lol!

 

Missing the greens less is a good sign of progress.

 

Your corollary is very true in my experience. We've discussed it before with @BigTerp1524 (just mentioning this so you don't think I think this is news to you). The concept of a shorter club off the tee didn't play well with my game because my mishits were prevalent regardless of club. Shorter clubs tend to be more accurate but it doesn't matter if you blade or chunk it nor if the directional miss is extreme. At one time I could miss the green by 20 yards with a push with either a 9i or 5i. 

 

The equation changes when you get to the point that there is something you hit more consistently. Say I feel good with a partial wedge shot, which I do. Assuming I have the distance that you do, which I don't, an iron off the tee would make sense because while I may mishit it like my driver, the odds of me blocking it OOB are much less. In the long run it may save me strokes. The reality is since I don't have your distance, I hit driver on even the short par 4s to try and get into that partial wedge range. Of course being realistic is important. If my driver is completely AWOL and I don't want to try to work through it and try to score instead, sure I'll drop to a wood or even an iron on those holes.

 

So this is just my long winded way of saying; I agree with your statement and that it is all based on the context of an individuals game. Doesn't mean it's not a sound strategy. Just might not be the right strategy at the time.

 

Playing this weekend?

[betarhoalphadelta]

No plan this weekend, although I may try to take my son to the range tomorrow afternoon. Next weekend tho!

 

I always hit iron off the tee with my old driver. It was a 20 year old driver with a head the size of, well, a 20 year old driver, a steel Dynalite S100 shaft, and I couldn't hit it for squat. Since I got the new driver with a head the size of a dinner plate and a giant face, I find it quite easy to hit, actually. 

 

If I was on a super narrow tree-lined course with tons of trouble, that driver would get me in, well, tons of trouble. But for the wide open munis I play, I think getting closer to the green is usually a benefit. Especially since the irons aren't perfect either, and I can get an iron into trouble too.

 

I'm still trying to get better control of my 4h and 5i for off-the-tee work when I want to keep it clean. I almost never use my 4w because I don't hit it consistently--it's also a tiny head, and it's on a long shaft. 

 

I find the driver easier to hit than those clubs.

[aenemated]

What I was kinda going after with my comment kinda echoes what I think was the best lesson I ever got as a kid - which was "play towards your strengths and away from your weaknesses." Same pro also was the one that was like "Pick one scoring iron and make that your go-to. Work on that one till you can play any shot with it and play towards that one." 

 

I chose my 8 iron and it's still - some 30 years later - where I feel most comfortable. So my goal on most any hole anywhere is to get where I can approach with my 8.

[bortass]

3 hours ago, aenemated said:

What I was kinda going after with my comment kinda echoes what I think was the best lesson I ever got as a kid - which was "play towards your strengths and away from your weaknesses." Same pro also was the one that was like "Pick one scoring iron and make that your go-to. Work on that one till you can play any shot with it and play towards that one." 

 

I chose my 8 iron and it's still - some 30 years later - where I feel most comfortable. So my goal on most any hole anywhere is to get where I can approach with my 8.

Makes sense. Wish I had lessons like that. Having a go to club would take some pressure off the game since it simplifies course management.

 

 

[aenemated]

19 hours ago, bortass said:

Makes sense. Wish I had lessons like that. Having a go to club would take some pressure off the game since it simplifies course management.

 

Yeah, we rarely worked on swing mechanics because I was already pretty solid on that front by the time I started working with him. Mostly did playing lessons on the course. 

[TheDeanAbides]

On 12/3/2021 at 7:59 PM, aenemated said:

What I was kinda going after with my comment kinda echoes what I think was the best lesson I ever got as a kid - which was "play towards your strengths and away from your weaknesses." Same pro also was the one that was like "Pick one scoring iron and make that your go-to. Work on that one till you can play any shot with it and play towards that one." 

 

I chose my 8 iron and it's still - some 30 years later - where I feel most comfortable. So my goal on most any hole anywhere is to get where I can approach with my 8.

Great idea in theory, but if you can't hit longer clubs with any accurate how often do you leave that 8 iron distance? 

 

I think it's better, and less pressured, to work on a few clubs that you're comfortable with. This is usually 7 to 9 iron. This way you have a range of about 30 yards you can be comfortable in.