Finishing up my best Golf season ever.

BigEx44 · October 9, 2021

This year, without a doubt, has been my best golfing season ever (I picked up the game late in life, starting in my late 30's. I'm now 63)
And just in time, as I've always said I wanted to settle on "one" swing before I retire (so I could spend my time playing and improving, not learning a new swing) - and I'll be retiring in Jan 2022.
I started this season with my handicap at a 12.1 and as I sit here today it is down to a 9.0. Hopefully it will go even lower.

(I've only managed to get to a single digit handicap, a lifetime goal of mine, once before - and that was a 9.8 for a few weeks way back in 2016)
I'd also only broken 80 a couple of times in my golf life over the last 25 years (with 79's).
Now over the last two weeks I've broken 80 three of the last five times I've played - including an all time low 76 for me a few days ago (38+38).

I couldn't be more excited about my game.
Here are the reasons why I think I've had so much success this year:
1) As someone who would constantly experiment with different swing styles (especially if I was struggling) - I was determined to stay with one swing philosophy/style this summer - and I did.
2) That swing was a Julian Mellor "La Danse" swing focused on relaxation, balance, and rhythm with a touch Manual De Le Torre thrown in for good measure (swing with the arms and let the body react).

3) I joined Julian Mellor's "Proper Golfing" website. It has been a wonderful resource for me. Julian is a Brian Sparks disciple who broke off to start his own school. His website has ton of videos organized in such a way as to walk you through the "La Danse" swing step by step. Also, as part of his membership Julian does free swing analysis and holds weekly zoom meetings (which are cool...). I've taken advantage of both and I think some of Julian's suggestions are starting to slowly starting to take hold in my game. (Turning more on my BS and also trying to be a little more "connected").

Here's his website: Become a Member for Monthly Golf Swing Analysis - Proper Golfing
4) One of the biggest gains I got from Julian's website was his greenside bunker philosophy. I've always struggled with sand. With Julian's method I have not left one ball in the sand over the last two months and have gotten so confident in my sand game I'm now thinking about "how close can I get the ball to the hole" rather than "just get the ball out and on the green". This alone for me was worth the price of admission!
5) I'm still sidesaddle putting, but made a slight adjustment by bending a bit more and getting lower. For whatever reason that got me to stroking the ball really well. I've had very few 3 putt greens this summer and found myself making a lot of longer putts.
Bottom line - it's been a really fun summer - don't wake me up!

How has your season been going?

ShortGolfer · October 9, 2021

Great! I bought some clubs a few months ago and have been practicing and adjusting them to my needs. I now have all the clubs I need.

I got on the golf course for the first time and have now played two nine hole rounds.

I have the basics. I can hit the 7 iron a reasonable distance. I can chip the ball on the green or advance the ball out of bunkers. And putt the ball in the hole! I had four legit bogeys in my 2nd round.

As a stroke survivor I know that with something as hard as golf, I need to have reasonable expectations.

When I was in the rehab ward for a month recovering from ataxia or loss of coordination playing golf in the future would have been an entirely unreasonable goal in a psych evaluation.

I already have a pretty good idea about course management. I did a great job of avoiding hazards in my 2nd round. When I hit my 7 iron 20 yards past the hole it was on one of the few holes where I could get away with doing that. I mistakenly factored in the elevation gain and hit a high towering shot. And left my ball short when the green was protected by treacherous scrubby bushes. I also hit the ball straight enough to pick a line for where it will go, though distance is obviously an issue at this stage. SGI clubs help with direction control as well.

Edited October 9, 2021 by ShortGolfer

BigEx44 · October 9, 2021

28 minutes ago, ShortGolfer said:

Great! I bought some clubs a few months ago and have been practicing and adjusting them to my needs. I now have all the clubs I need.

I got on the golf course for the first time and have now played two nine hole rounds.

I have the basics. I can hit the 7 iron a reasonable distance. I can chip the ball on the green or advance the ball out of bunkers. And putt the ball in the hole! I had four legit bogeys in my 2nd round.

As a stroke survivor I know that with something as hard as golf, I need to have reasonable expectations.

When I was in the rehab ward for a month recovering from ataxia or loss of coordination playing golf in the future would have been an entirely unreasonable goal in a psych evaluation.

I already have a pretty good idea about course management. I did a great job of avoiding hazards in my 2nd round. When I hit my 7 iron 20 yards past the hole it was on one of the few holes where I could get away with doing that. I mistakenly factored in the elevation gain and hit a high towering shot. And left my ball short when the green was protected by treacherous scrubby bushes. I also hit the ball straight enough to pick a line for where it will go, though distance is obviously an issue at this stage. SGI clubs help with direction control as well.

Wow. Great ShortGolfer. Good luck on your journey. It's a great game!

ShortGolfer · October 9, 2021

10 hours ago, BigEx44 said:

Wow. Great ShortGolfer. Good luck on your journey. It's a great game!

Thanks! I played again today and managed to find all the balls I played! Immediate benefit from better course management!

I continued my streak of hitting trees and getting lucky bounces. This one kept it out of the adjacent fairway. I took a drop to avoid the nasty tree root. Its just a game.

Edited October 9, 2021 by ShortGolfer