quest to break 100

[jonesy369]

Great thread -- it's so refreshing to read something honest here (apparently everyone on golfwrx except bortass and me can drive 300 etc). Since you're a pretty organized writer and apparently a hard worker, I don't have much doubt you'll figure out whatever you need to meet your goal. I enjoy the narrative, because I can totally relate. It's like reading the story of some of my rounds.

 

Good luck and keep the faith.

[bortass]

Hey, no real updates. It's been 3 weeks since I've played. Real bad weather in the wonderful state of Maine lately. Alot of rain and thunderstorms.

 

I haven't hit the range either since my left shoulder was sore after my last lesson. I just hit too many balls that day, so I didn't have a chance to work on it before the crap weather.

 

My family is outta town for a week, so I hope to get in some good range/practice time if weather permits. I really want to try to narrow down my distances more. I'm still in denial on the 150 yard 5i :jester: but my GPS doesn't lie.

 

I find that writing down my rounds in this thread help. It's kinda quiet time to reflect and think about it as I go through it a second time.

 

Hopefully I can have another super( for me) round. Those two birdies were so nice! The good thing is I've experienced some of what I've read online and in books first hand. I've seen how I can score well just teeing off with my 7w and how my score went to crap when I started to try driver or 3w off the tee.

[Kreth]

Hey, no real updates. It's been 3 weeks since I've played. Real bad weather in the wonderful state of Maine lately. Alot of rain and thunderstorms.

I'm about to hit a dry spell myself. To make a long story short, I'm getting married next week. 3 generations of my fiancee's family have been married on 8/19, so we're doing a small legal ceremony that night, and then what I call the "fake" wedding the following Saturday for all of our out-of-town friends and family.

Unfortunately for my golf career, that means I'm unable to play this weekend (final wedding planning and errands), my normal Tuesday league (legal ceremony), or the following weekend (reception and family time). :jester:

[skyball11]

I just finished reading this whole thread. Pretty cool to know we are all thinking pretty much the same thing while we learn.

 

I can't wait to read the next exploit of our hero bortass.

 

OT: Anyone else think this reads like The Catcher in the Rye?

[bortass]

I'm about to hit a dry spell myself. To make a long story short, I'm getting married next week. 3 generations of my fiancee's family have been married on 8/19, so we're doing a small legal ceremony that night, and then what I call the "fake" wedding the following Saturday for all of our out-of-town friends and family.

Unfortunately for my golf career, that means I'm unable to play this weekend (final wedding planning and errands), my normal Tuesday league (legal ceremony), or the following weekend (reception and family time). :jester:

 

Congrats on getting married. :cheesy: I remember of it all these years later. Though I'm pretty sure it was my wife who stressed out the most.

[bortass]

I did hit the range this weekend.

 

Not too pretty. The ball was all over the place. Full swings were just SW, PW, 7i. I was hitting low runners dead left ie the ball never got off the ground. A few on the runners went straight. The majority of the balls that got in the air were slices. There were a few good hits in the mix.

 

I don't really to know what to make of it, except I haven't swung a club in three weeks. I also was doing range diagnostics aka messing with grip and stance, which likel just made things worse. Things just didn't feel right.

 

Good news is I arranged a lesson for tommorow morning to try and see where we are. I already gave the pro the headsup that our last lesson may have been a wash because I couldn't work on things.

[bortass]

Last night I hit the practice green to work on my chipping. This green is actually built into a hill. There's probably a good 2 - 3 foot drop from front to back. It's not a large green but it has alot of break. I use three balls and kinda toss them in the same area. I then chip them to the same target, so I get slightly different distances, lies, and break with each ball. I then toss the balls to a different spot and pick a new target. Rinse and repeat.

 

My chipping has been off ever since I had my new wedges lengthened. I wanted to match the shaft variation from my irons. I never got a good feel if people do this to their wedges or not. I did it anyways and now gotta deal with the outcome.

 

Things were rocky at first. Alot of skulls. I'm blowing the ball way past my target. Just like when I practiced chipping after the 56* was changed. I'm really starting to think I boned this decision. My chipping had been pretty good for my HCP level before the change :jester: .

 

Something clicked though. I started getting the right contact and ball flight. I also started to read the chips like I would on the course instead of just guestimating. I started putting most of my chips with 3 feet of the cup. Not awesome per se but it's legit 1 putt potential. I holed out a short chip and left some chips within 18 inches of the cup. Granted I still had some mishits but much better. I came away feeling good at least.

 

Now I'm not saying my chipping is great or anything. I am starting to get my confidence back though. That's a key, I think. I build up my confidence in my chipping( then tinkered with my club :cheesy: ). It was at the point where I didn't feel scared or clueless when I had to do it. Execution may not always be good but it wasn't something I worried about. I hope to get it back.

 

Confidence is a huge thing. I have built it up with my 7w off the tee. I have much more good then bad with it. It just feels natural when I grip it and swing. My chipping confidence had been growing. I want it to get up there with my 7w. Then I need to get my pitching confidence to that level. I think that combination would really help my scores drop significantly. Which is what a good player would tell you. Put the tee shot in the short grass and have a solid short game and you are cruising to break 100.

[Kreth]

Congrats on getting married. :jester: I remember of it all these years later. Though I'm pretty sure it was my wife who stressed out the most.

Thanks! Don't tell my fiancee, but my main concern is how a wedding ring will affect my grip... :cheesy:

 

 

Something clicked though. I started getting the right contact and ball flight. I also started to read the chips like I would on the course instead of just guestimating. I started putting most of my chips with 3 feet of the cup. Not awesome per se but it's legit 1 putt potential. I holed out a short chip and left some chips within 18 inches of the cup. Granted I still had some mishits but much better. I came away feeling good at least.

I'd say that's pretty solid chipping. When my short game is on (not as often as I'd like), I can usually put chips inside 6 feet or so. Been quite a while since I holed one. I've had several near misses (including a pinseeker that left me a tap-in for par) in the last few weeks, so maybe I'm due...

[Logie]

I'm trying to break into the 70's so i know how you feel to some degree. Once you get under the 100, your next quest will be the 90's, then 80's but if we never had a target to beat it would make golf a bit pointless.

 

When i was shooting mid low 90's and trying to get under, i tried to think what was letting me down and it was simple. 150 yards and in, if i got on the green it was always furtherest away from the pin leaving me with a long putt. Putting was not my strong point so i ended up 3 putting killing my scores.

 

So i found a club i could hit consistant distance which was my 9i, it was pretty much bang on 150 yards. Move it forward an inch to drop it to 145 and back an inch to get 155.

 

Tee shots where aimed at the 150 marker, i was finding my self getting roughly in the middle of the greens giving myself a much easier putt.

 

Suddenly i noticed i had an 88, then an 86, then 85! Also using the 9i alot, my ball striking vastly improved, and with improved contact = increased distance and spin. Now, if there no wind i can hit a GW which will stop dead 90% of the time and varying grip length and/or ball position i can adjust the yards accordingly.

 

It makes golf alot more simpler!

 

Another big thing which helped me was learning to hit the driver. Now, i must admit im not very accurate, worked out my % of fairways hit was 33.7% yet my GIR are nearly 70%. Its much easier to hit a 7-9i, wedges etc onto greens. So i would definatly find a range that lets you hit a Driver!

[bortass]

Well I may have been smoking crack when I wrote about my chipping earlier today. I'm not a good judge of distance and I dunno about getting most of my chips that close.

 

I went and did some more chipping/putting tonight. I thought up a little game years ago, I'm sure it's nothing new but I've never heard of it. What I did is take my three balls and try to hole out and keep score for all three in total. I did this 9 times and here is what I got:

The format is total score/#chips/#putts to hole out all three balls

6/3/3 - awesome start but it was a close hole and fairly flat.

8/4/4 - ack 1 ball took 2 chips to get on the green!

10/3/7 - 3 jack

8/3/5

7/3/4 - decent. I either had 2 good chips or 2 good putts.

9/3/6

8/3/5

9/3/6 - I'm kinda happy with this one. I had sidehill chips and one ball was resting against the tall grass aka rough. 1 chip hit the hole but was going too fast and kept going. I had 1 short and 2 med 4 - 5 foot putts. The sidehill makes it interesting because you're not going up/down towards the hole.

8/3/5

 

This game represents up and down. The balls are within 6 feet or so of the green. A high number of putts means that my chipping wasn't getting the job done. I'm leaving myself in 2 putt land. I think I had a few that were pushing 8 - 10 feet. I normally don't make GIR and have alot of chips in a round, even when I card a snowman. So this kind of practice is vital to lowering my scores.

 

I don't have a good way to score this game but in my mind PAR aka expert play would be 6. 1 chip and 1 putt per ball. I track chips because, well if you duff a chip and don't even make it on the green :jester: . If anything that should add a penalty stroke to the mix.

 

What I like is it really shows how good your chipping is. A good chip should leave you in 1 putt range. But it also excercises your putting at the same time. It's not good enough to sit there and think you're in 1 putt land when the ball is 3 feet away unless you can 1 putt it. It also adds that little competitive edge to my practice. makes it fun and a challenge, like when I'm on the course.

 

I just happened to do 9 'holes' and it took me about 45 minutes including driving time to and from the course and getting ready etc. So I think I simulated 27 holes in about 30 minutes. I am a fast player though so I don't spend minutes thinking over a shot.

[bortass]

Very interesting. I now understand what the pro is doing. We're making incremental changes to get me to the correct swing. I don't know if this falls under a complete rebuild or if it's more guidance to the way things should be.

 

We had another modification to my grip today. My first lesson back in July had a change to my left hand grip to get it more in my fingers. Today, he shifted that hand over just a touch to strengthen the grip but he also had me change my right hand grip. My right hand now is more in my fingertips and lighter. My left thumb also fits in the slot of my right palm, which I've read about.

 

Today we continued to work on backswing, downswing, and release.

 

My backswing is mostly ok. I'm bringing the club back right, which was last lesson ie the one I couldn't practice. A big thing is keeping the club on plane. My habit is to lay off a bit, so the handle is pointing outside the target line.

 

The downswing was a bigger change. My downswing is normally more around like a baseball bat. We worked on dropping the club down the inside more. A feeling of it is my right elbow being close to my side, not locked there but tight. Also I tend to rotate my shoulders too soon.

 

Release is still a big one. We did the feet together, take a half swing, and make the ball go left drill. We even went back to it when I'd hit the ball to the right during other parts of the lesson. I gotta add this to my routine instead of just hitting balls at the range. I now have a good idea of how my clubs sound off the ball if I made solid square contact.

 

The other drill worked all aspects. Again it's feet together. Bring the club back slow, correctly, set the wrists and stop. Then do the downswing into a teed ball. Doing the backswing slow helps build the feel. Starting the downswing from the correct position, remove some variables. This last drill is definately something I plan to work on at the range.

 

We're slowing ingraining the feels/moves of a swing. I thought it was interesting that I was hitting my 7i about my PW full swing distance with that last drill. My feet are together so there's not alot of power from my hips. I also start the downswing from a static point, so there's no real lag. I also am not swinging that hard/fast. makes we wonder what will happen when everything comes together.

[Five by Five]

This is one of my favorite threads on the forum, keep it up bortass, you'll get there eventually. It sounds like your lessons are helping you to get the basics down, once you break 100 I'm sure it'll be no time before you're going even lower. Good luck!

[Under99]

Went through this a while ago myself (on my own, no lessons).

 

Here's my suggestion:

 

I think you should play one 9 the following way, just try it once:

 

1. take only the four clubs you like the best: certainly the trusty 7w, putter, wedge and one iron.

 

2. Putt and chip a bit beforehand

 

3. Keep no statistics except your score (no drive length, no GIR, no putts) (it would be better if you played with a friend and he kept your score, and didn't tell you)

 

4. Remember that the current shot - the ball by your feet - is the only shot that matters

 

5. Don't think, don't use course management, clear your mind out and hit the ball squarely, in the general direction of the hole.

 

My guess is that you're an overanalyzer (the statistics and analysis of your lessons were my clues), and that you're thinking about the shot you just hit, or last week's lesson, weight transfer, clearing your hips, or the number of putts that day, etc, when - at your stage - you should be thinking about one thing: solid contact with the ball.

 

While I appreciate the goal, I think you should worry a lot less about your score and just worry about the current shot. When your score average drops to, say, 55, then it's time to start thinking of targets.

 

All IMHO, and I enjoy reading about your quest.

[Under99]

Bort, I see you're reading this so I'll explain the four-club thing: As I looked over your posts, you have two clubs that are consistent: 7w, putter (maybe wedge too)

The shortest club in your bag is that driver (due to number of OBs, duffs, etc).

 

Your irons don't have a dialed-in distance (and won't for a while), so a 5 might be no longer on average than a 9. Fear not, your 180-yd 7w is plenty of distance for your course.

 

You could easily break 50 regularly since you're a decent putter, getting to be a good chipper, and have a 180-yrd tee shot.

 

Now pick one iron (7?), and grove that swing on the course. Add the 5 in a month, then 9, whatever.

[bortass]

This is one of my favorite threads on the forum, keep it up bortass, you'll get there eventually. It sounds like your lessons are helping you to get the basics down, once you break 100 I'm sure it'll be no time before you're going even lower. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the compliment. I'm actually surprised with the number of views this thread has garnered so far. I figure that i can provide some comic relief if nothing else.

[bortass]

My guess is that you're an overanalyzer (the statistics and analysis of your lessons were my clues), and that you're thinking about the shot you just hit, or last week's lesson, weight transfer, clearing your hips, or the number of putts that day, etc, when - at your stage - you should be thinking about one thing: solid contact with the ball.

 

While I appreciate the goal, I think you should worry a lot less about your score and just worry about the current shot. When your score average drops to, say, 55, then it's time to start thinking of targets.

 

All IMHO, and I enjoy reading about your quest.

 

Just a partial response...

 

I don't think I'm over analyzing on the course, at least not at a concious level. Of course I may be wrong. How's that for a reply? Lol.

 

The stats are compiled during the hole but I don't do any running totals. Even the week with 'the round of my life' I had no clue it was that good until I was walking off the course. I know that if I keep a running total going, i risk letting it mess with my head.

 

I use this thread as my real analysis time. I'm trying to narrow down areas of focus and detect trends. I can't say I've done a bang up job on that yet though.

 

My swing thoughts are ???? I can't say, at address I'm thinking about grip and relaxed arms. Once the club moves, IDK.

 

I do know what you are saying though about good contact. My best hits have always been with nice relaxed swings where I'm not thinking about anything. Just swinging the club.

 

I can have problems with the mental game on rapid events that cause me to get frustrated. I have a great example of this from todays round, that I'll post later( the round that is) I had a medium range putt and missed long by 3 feet. My return put missed the cup by an inch and rolled three feet past. I did this two more times before I picked up my ball ie missing by an inch or so and going 2+ feet past. I didn't want to hold up the group and I didn't want to even deal with having to attempt a 6th putt, if I missed yet again.

 

I've noticed this trend, hey I found one, from a previous round where something went belly up on me and just snowballed. Now I didn't think about that awesome putting later in the round while putting other holes. I thought about it in between holes and after the round.

[bortass]

So I went to the range last night. I wanted to work on what we covered in my lesson. I did the drill where your feet are together and you just do a mini swing trying to get the ball going left. I should look in Slicefixers thread/encyclopedia to see if it has a name. I think I've heard of this drill before. Good results.

 

I also did the one where feet are together, backswing, pause, then downswing. Mixed results but more good then bad.

 

I like both of these drills even if I look a bit touched standing there with my feet together. I have very specific feedback on what should happen if I execute right. I think this is very good to have.

 

I only did a few full swings and they were disappointing. Most were slices, doh. I'd slice then go back to the two drills and it'd be good with the drill setup. Full swing, slice. So I've got aways to go to integrate this new stuff into my full swing.

[bortass]

So I played today for the first time in 4 weeks I think. Writing this one is gonna be painful since it throws what I thought about my game on it's rear.

 

Setting the stage: I woke up this morning with a dehydration headache. I played volleyball last night and the level of play was low, so I didn't move/sweat as much as normal. So I didn't drink the water after playing that I normally do. I did drink the usual amount while playing though.

 

I do some chipping and putting before the round. Chipping seems ok but my putting is off. I don't have the speed down and I'm missing even inside 3 feet.

 

They sent us off the back 9 at the course. The back 9 is significantly harder IMO then the front. The front tends to have open fairways and only 1 real carry over some ponds on a par 3. The back is more narrow. There are no fairways side by side, so a miss is in the trees. There are more carries over either a stream or these gullies that are full of brush and cattails. You need to be able to get the ball in the air at times or you are SOL.

 

I decided to join my buddies on the blue tees. Normally there's another guy playing the whites but he moved to AZ three weeks ago, so I'm gonna be by myself on them. You may now beat me with sticks and call me names.

 

10 - 7w 147, par 5 with a stream fronting the green and OB down the right side. My partners both slice OB. I hit more of a high fade/slice but I was aiming left and landed in the fairway. No way am I even going to try for the green in two. I'd need to hit a wood and carry about 170 to clear the stream. I layup in some longer grass. About 10 yards from the stream. A nice pitch and I'm near the green in three, but no. I skull it into the stream. I drop and get over. I then proceed to 3 chip! Argh, there is no excuse for this. 1 putt later for a 10. The stream ball sucked but I can deal with it but the three chip is what I think about. An 8 on a par 5 with a water ball isn't bad in my mind in relation to my game. Plus I've been practicing my chipping.

 

11 - 7w 166. Dogleg right, par 4. I aim left and slice it. I'm not on the fairway but I have a good lie. I don't have a clear shot and I didn't make the corner, I'm just inside it. I pitch into the fairway and over a pond. I mess up my pitch into the green. I do chip and sink a 1 putt for bogey. I am feeling good about my game right now. Even with that mess on 10.

 

12 - 7w 147. Dogleg right par 4. This is funny. I get off a good hit with my 7w. it's high but heading into the middle of the fairway. It comes down and bounces 15 feet back up in the air to the left. It landed on the gravel cart path. One of the guys made a comment along the lines that I got robbed because it sure looked like a good drive. I told him it was the rub of the green. Stuff happens and it didn't bother me too bad. My ball went left and backwards. Now I'm sitting in this area of soft ground with long grass. No shot at the green because I'm pinned inside the corner. I figure a pitch into the fairway, well I somehow skull it right and it comes to a rest in the rough I have shot at the green but I can't hit a pitch. There are pine tree branches I need to get under. I figure a 7i chip style shot since i'm 60 or so yards out. Let it run it's way to the green Well I shanked it right into the woods, to the right of my target line.

.I chip back into the fairway, pitch on the green and 2 putt for 7. I'm a little frustrated with my second shot and third. I can take the tee shot bounce but I messed a pretty simple shot up and it cost me 2 strokes.

 

13 - ? 7w, dogleg left par 4. tee shot 1 major snap hook and lost withing 20 yards of the tee box. Second tee shot was high and sliced. We never found it. Took a drop in the area of a hazard we're pretty sure it went into( yes I know this isn't technically correct since maybe it went into the trees or a different hazard) There's no way to go for the green unless I want to try a wood shot. This fairway is woods on both sides and there is a gully with brush that needs to be carried. I lay up w/o incident. 100 or so yards out and not too far from the gully, and I skulled the ball right into it. Take my drop and do a partial wedge over the gulley. I missed the green but ship on and 2 putt for a 10 with 3 penalty strokes. Now my game has gone south on me. I had been feeling good after 11 but this hole combined with 12 is getting to me.

 

14 - 188 7w, par 4 dogleg right with a carry between the tee box and the fairway. I'm aiming left and slice right. A trend is forming! The ball is on a cartpath but it's the wrong side. Nearest point of relief is the side with the woods that are the right side of this hole. I'm inside the corner with no shot at the green. Pitch into the fairway again. I skull my pitch and it rolls down a slope near the green into the trees. Take another drop. Now the green is above my head and the flag is near me. I hit a nice easy pitch and it acted like a chip when it landed, ie it only fell a few feet before hitting the green. Reading the shortgame bible all those years ago paid off here since i had a good idea how the shot would land and react. I 2 putt for 7.

 

15 - 108 PW par 3. I actually get airborne on a par three but I'm short and on the left in the rough. The club made a thud sound at impact so it wasn't clean contact. I chip on but leave myself way short. I promptly 3 putt for a 5. My mental game between holes is kinda in the crapper. I'm making comments about the blues being a big mistake and fondly recall #11 while babbling about the travesties since then.

 

16 188 7w, par 5 slight dogleg left. Gully carry 240 yards out from tee box. The right side is trees and then a gully with a stream, left side is all trees. I'm aiming left and I don't slice! I'm in the rough on the left side. I figure 9I across the gully to the right side of the fairway. Well my ball is in the air and I see it's gonna be short. Right into the gully. I had toyed around with laying up but it was a 60 - 70 yard layup. I under clubbed this maybe. I didn't want too much club because I'm aiming right at some bunkers with woods right behind them. I thought the 9i would get me across and safe. Take my drop and I get across. I'm not too far from the center of the green with a clear shot in the fairway. I decide to pitch the ball in. I don't know what happened. My ball went 45 degrees right of target like it was skulled into the trees, my divot was well left of target. I must have come way outside to in with the club face sitting open. I was saved by some sticks and found my ball. I get on the green and the fiasco begins....

 

The hole is back right and was placed on a ridge, so you had breaks before and after the cup. I have a good length putt and I seem to have the speed but not the line. This leaves me at least 3 feet away. I putt and miss by an inch or so and it goes 2 - 3 feet past. I putt and miss by an inch or so another 2 - 3 feet past. I putt and miss by an inch or two and it rolls a few feet past. I'm frustrated now. This is pure crap putting by me. I end up picking up my ball. The way it was going I was likely to miss again and be where I started. Looking at a 6 putt. Also i don't want to keep the whole group waiting because I'm inept and can't sink a three footer with three putts. No one behind us but this is a before work round. So an X. maybe a 12 if i'm lucky and just 6 putt. WTF?

 

17 120y 5i. This is a very narrow par 3 and the tees are about 170 yards from the center of the green. I have a problem. My 5i is maybe good for 150 and my 7W is good for 180. Big gap and I'm right between it. My plan is to hit a 5i and be short of the green. Well I slice it low almost into the trees. I do a low chip just to get into position to go for the green since a direct shot involve trying to get over greenside bunkers. 1 chip and an awesome 3 putt for 6.

 

18 149y 7w, par 4 nice and straight and wide open. First swing and I whiff, how much worse can it get? I hook my shot into some real long grass. i have no shot. I take a PW and hack the ball out. It was a shot you see where these strands of long grass go flying on the PGA when these guys are in real deep rough but instead of going 180y like the PGA, it goes maybe 20 for me. The PGA reference is to the flying grass, not what I was trying to do. I didn't care how far my ball went as long as it was on the fairway. I'm around 170sh out. Again between clubs. I chock down on my 7w and hit a low hook into the next fairway. I pitch on and 3 putt for 8.

 

I shot a 70, if i assume I got a 12 and a 6 putt on #16. I only had 9 chips but it's deceiving. There's a 3 chip in the mix. I had 22 putts assuming I 6 putt. There are 6 penalty strokes and 1 whiff.

 

Every aspect of my game was off. My trusty 7w succumbs and while still the best club in my bag, it wasn't pretty. My putting was way off today. My chipping was crap too.

 

I don't know what to say about my mental game. I don't think I dwell on bad shots on the course when I'm standing over the ball. However I know I can do it if I play alot of shots real fast like that set of putts where there's no real walk/cool down time in between the shots. Maybe I have my blinders on here? I definately feel like I was in fat, dumb, and happy land about my game after todays round.

 

My personal morale took a beating today. I just did not leave the course feeling good about much of my game. All I have is my bogey on 11, which is pretty good in my mind still. I've been writing on how lessons have seemed to work and I shoot the round of my life and practice seems to be going good.

 

Now the blue tees was just plain dumb. However with all the carries and my habit of not always getting the ball airborne, the back 9 here is a huge challenge for me, even from the whites. The fairways are almost all tree lined on both sides and they are more penal then the front.

 

That said, if someone said you can play tommorow but it's the back 9 from the blue tees, I'd be there. It's golf and while I got kicked in the teeth today, I almost always have fun even when I stink it up.

[bortass]

Bort, I see you're reading this so I'll explain the four-club thing: As I looked over your posts, you have two clubs that are consistent: 7w, putter (maybe wedge too)

The shortest club in your bag is that driver (due to number of OBs, duffs, etc).

 

Your irons don't have a dialed-in distance (and won't for a while), so a 5 might be no longer on average than a 9. Fear not, your 180-yd 7w is plenty of distance for your course.

 

You could easily break 50 regularly since you're a decent putter, getting to be a good chipper, and have a 180-yrd tee shot.

 

Now pick one iron (7?), and grove that swing on the course. Add the 5 in a month, then 9, whatever.

 

 

I know what you mean. I have a coworker that I play with that has told me how he does this sometimes.

 

It's funny you mention 7i because every lesson I've had this year has been with a 7i. I even think one of my birdies involved a 7i approach shot. Not saying my 7i is a go to club but it's not a bad one either. I spent all season doing just that, grooving a club, with my 7w. I never used it till this year.

 

I like the sound of it too. My range time will be mostly 7i except when I'm working wedges. I'm alreading using a single wedge/pitching style. I'll take that under serious consideration.

[unK]

bortass.. You are a great guy! I really wish you the best...

 

Having broken 100 and 90 not long ago here is my 2ps:

 

1) Learn to be your own coach. Best Training aid is a video camera. This will help you track your swing changes and monitor old habbits from cripping back in.

 

2) In golf you need to be brave by learning to go against your instincts. i.e - If you are slicing it. STOP aming left to compensate because it actually makes the over the top even worst. Challenge yourself and START aiming RIGHT to promote an in-to-out path. It may go bad at first but at least your are braking the loop and heading in the right direction.

 

3) Mental tip. Dont worry that much about bad rounds. They will ALWAYS be there. I used to get excited when shooting 95's last year..... Now If I shoot over 90 I feel pretty bad. This goes on and on until you quit or die lol.. no matter the handicap..

 

Best of luck mate

 

Keep us updated..

[bortass]

bortass.. You are a great guy! I really wish you the best...

 

Having broken 100 and 90 not long ago here is my 2ps:

 

1) Learn to be your own coach. Best Training aid is a video camera. This will help you track your swing changes and monitor old habbits from cripping back in.

 

2) In golf you need to be brave by learning to go against your instincts. i.e - If you are slicing it. STOP aming left to compensate because it actually makes the over the top even worst. Challenge yourself and START aiming RIGHT to promote an in-to-out path. It may go bad at first but at least your are braking the loop and heading in the right direction.

 

3) Mental tip. Dont worry that much about bad rounds. They will ALWAYS be there. I used to get excited when shooting 95's last year..... Now If I shoot over 90 I feel pretty bad. This goes on and on until you quit or die lol.. no matter the handicap..

 

Best of luck mate

 

Keep us updated..

 

I know people love video. I don't have a camcorder though and don't know if I can justify one because of golf. It would be nice though because I can't see what everyone else or my pro sees. I know mirrors are used for that but i have low ceilings and I know my son and/or a friend of his would find a way to break em if they were in my garage, which may be high enough.

 

About the aiming left. This year I haven't been slicing my tee shots with the 7w alot. I know years ago I was the slicer king and then became a hooker then a slicer again. My ball flight isn't consistent so before today most 7w tee shots were fades/draws/ and straight, granted we're only talking for a few rounds. I was slicing at the range this week though. So when I aimed left it was just tee shots. Also the layout of the course encourages it. 4 of the 9 holes have less risk of trouble by aiming left. Also I wasn't aiming left and hoping to slice it in the middle of the fairway. I was aiming a bit left so if I did slice, I wouldn't be completely screwed.

 

Here's an example of my thought process from today.

 

One of the guys I play with started the season off well with a 42 for 9 (I think a 17 capper may be the best golfing buddy I have). He's progressivle shot worse scores. He's been fighting a slice and has started to tee off with a 5i. On one of the doglegs right, he hits a low line drive, to the right a bit, into the trees that make the right corner. I asked him what he was aiming at. He said just left of the trees. Now that shot will shorten the hole if you don't go in the trees. He's been having issues with the ball slicing and still tried a shot that a simple push risked trouble.

 

When I teed off I'm aiming more towards the left where a good tee shot leaves me sitting nicely but i'm not flirting with certain disaster when the ball goes right. Too bad I still found plenty of trouble on the right. I had mostly protected myself from lost balls due to slices but still left myself near the right trees with no shot. Lol.

 

I hear ya on the mental thing and I know that's the case. I played all 18 holes on this course once and I lost 20 balls. I think I shot a 140. That was a year I played alot and had gotten good with teeing off with my 5i. Well I started slicing the ball out of nowheres that day. I tend to do ok with the big picture. It's when something goes south that I don't think should like that putting mess or when it's a stupid decision that get's me in trouble. The 'practice' round where I thought I'd try driver on the second hole and I topped it to the red tees, so i figure 3w off the deck which I sliced into another fairway etc. I 'know' better then to do that but I guess I takl an occasional stupid pill :)

 

Oh if anyone is wondering about my spelling and lower case I, I can spell, mostly, and know my grammar but I can't type. So I either forget to hit shift or my timing is off(like my swing). Luckily I haven't noticed alot of grammar police on this forum.

[unK]

1) You can get a nice second hand camcorder for 100$ on ebay. Look for Panasonic DV

 

2) Mirrors are great for enhancing the relationship between feel and action. You can get a shortened club for indoor practice.

 

With regard to magic/low percentage shot temptations this is what I do. If I hit a nice tee shot on a par 4/5 and it lands in the fairway on a good leveled lie and my stance is dead level and perfect then I reward myself with a magic shot coupon. But if instead I hit a great tee shot that doesnt end up in a nice slope/stance I hit a High percentage shot and concentrate on an up and down.

 

Good luck

[Under99]

Whoa, tough round.

 

Here's what I'm thinking: you need to play on a different course until you get some basics settled. My strong guess is that you're thinking "gully, OB left, stream, etc" and not thinking "white ball near my feet."

 

Every place I know of has a parkland (sometimes called "goat path") course that is essentially a big open area where you can swing away without worrying about OBs and streams. Once you feel that solid contact that comes from a (relatively) worry-free swing, you'll have the confidence standing over the ball to get going.

 

Here's where that 4-club thing comes into your last round: if you're 100 yards out now, you're as likely to skull it as to make solid contact. Removing "club selection" and concerns about distance from the equation will have the effect of removing two variables that are clogging up your mind. Take your 7-iron, make it your friend from until you're within chipping range (just vary the backswing length).

 

I would go so far as to say that you should try to hit the 7-iron no more than 80 yards - straight - until you gradually build in control. This will save tons of strokes, e.g.:

 

350 yard hole:

1 - 7w 150 yards

2 - 7i 80 yards

3 - 7i 80 yards

4 - PW or 7i chip 30-50 yards onto green (assuming 20-yard deep green)

5/6- 1-2 putt

 

You're far more likely to closer to 50 hitting it straight and very short than the current way.

 

Length and the blue tees are not the main issue here; it's the number of skulls and putts. Many a senior hits it 150 off the tee and shoots in the 80s.

 

Good luck and we're pulling for you.

[creativegolfer]

This is a great thread. I love your honesty and insight.

 

There is one thing that really sticks out in my mind. Your best shots with the 7w are about 180-190yds, but I would say your average distance with the 7w is more like 160yds (do to slight mishits). Yet you elected to go with 5i instead of 7w on the 170yd par 3. You may be underclubbing.

 

I can't recall you writing about flying the green on any of you approach shots. Maybe you should try to play a round where you take an extra 15 to 20 yrds of club on each hole and see how your results turn out. As your swing gets more consistent you can slowly start backing down to shorter clubs.

 

I also notice that you don't use the 7w very much from the fairway or rough. The 7w should be a really good club for hitting out of the rough (woods resist twisting better than irons). The 7w should also be pretty easy to hit from the fairway (especially since its one of your favorite clubs).

 

Good Luck.

[bortass]

This is a great thread. I love your honesty and insight.

 

There is one thing that really sticks out in my mind. Your best shots with the 7w are about 180-190yds, but I would say your average distance with the 7w is more like 160yds (do to slight mishits). Yet you elected to go with 5i instead of 7w on the 170yd par 3. You may be underclubbing.

 

I can't recall you writing about flying the green on any of you approach shots. Maybe you should try to play a round where you take an extra 15 to 20 yrds of club on each hole and see how your results turn out. As your swing gets more consistent you can slowly start backing down to shorter clubs.

 

I also notice that you don't use the 7w very much from the fairway or rough. The 7w should be a really good club for hitting out of the rough (woods resist twisting better than irons). The 7w should also be pretty easy to hit from the fairway (especially since its one of your favorite clubs).

 

Good Luck.

 

You know, you're right. My 7w average is lower then I think because of the mishits. I realized this last night as I went through all the rounds I've entered here. I range from about 145 - 201 with it. I'm ignoring the 80 yard dribbles since they don't occur anymore. I can't ignore the mishits though because they are still occuring.

 

I'm definately under clubbing. I didn't really realize this until I saw my 5i is only good for about 150. That's at least 30 yards lower that I thought I hit it. I think yesterdays round is the first I've played since making that discovery. I didn't get alot of open approach shots but I never fly the green with approach shots. I do fly them with pitches though.

 

I don't use my 7w from the fairway much. I actually don't use any wood from the turf much. I think it is to due with yardages and shot possibilities. I say think because I can't say I know that's why.

 

Well I can say this. I'm more likely to use a wood either on a par 5 or if I dub my tee shot and am barely 20 yards from the tees. The tee shot dubs seem to be mostly gone. That leaves par 5s.

 

The front 9 of the course I play the most only has 1 and it kinda hard to explain. There is an initial fairway landing area in front of the tee boxes for a good 190 - 200 yards. Then theres a 10 foot drop and the fairway begin again 30 yards later but it isn't truly straight. It's shifted to the left a good 20 yards with trees and pond on the right. So it's tee off into the upper area, then aim left to get to the lower fairway. Then go back right to get to the hole. I haven't been able to try a second wood on this par 5 because of how I've been in relation to the lower fairway and trouble. I tend to hit an iron to be safer and avoid the pond.

 

There's another par 5, different course, where I'll use 3w for my second shot if I have a green light. A green light includes the ball below my feet. I dunno why but I can hit my 3w fairly well when the ball is below my feet. It's probably because it forces me to stay down or I won't make contact.

[bortass]

Whoa, tough round.

 

Here's what I'm thinking: you need to play on a different course until you get some basics settled. My strong guess is that you're thinking "gully, OB left, stream, etc" and not thinking "white ball near my feet."

 

Every place I know of has a parkland (sometimes called "goat path") course that is essentially a big open area where you can swing away without worrying about OBs and streams. Once you feel that solid contact that comes from a (relatively) worry-free swing, you'll have the confidence standing over the ball to get going.

 

Here's where that 4-club thing comes into your last round: if you're 100 yards out now, you're as likely to skull it as to make solid contact. Removing "club selection" and concerns about distance from the equation will have the effect of removing two variables that are clogging up your mind. Take your 7-iron, make it your friend from until you're within chipping range (just vary the backswing length).

 

I would go so far as to say that you should try to hit the 7-iron no more than 80 yards - straight - until you gradually build in control. This will save tons of strokes, e.g.:

 

350 yard hole:

1 - 7w 150 yards

2 - 7i 80 yards

3 - 7i 80 yards

4 - PW or 7i chip 30-50 yards onto green (assuming 20-yard deep green)

5/6- 1-2 putt

 

You're far more likely to closer to 50 hitting it straight and very short than the current way.

 

Length and the blue tees are not the main issue here; it's the number of skulls and putts. Many a senior hits it 150 off the tee and shoots in the 80s.

 

Good luck and we're pulling for you.

 

You triggered something. I think I have shot better on holes 7, 8, 9 then other ones. At least my really good holes have been these. They match the goat track. 5 fairways side by side, 7, 8, 9, 18, 10. Unless you put it into a pond, there isn't alot of trouble.

 

I can easily hit my 7i straight just doing that new drill. I know that's not what your saying to do but I could put my feet together, backswing, pause, downswing and the odds are it's 100 yards straight. I'd do it just to see what my buddies would say but with my luck it'd be one of the ones that is mishit. Oh wait, I forgot that drill involves a teed ball.

 

I don't use alot of clubs in a normal round. I'll go through the rounds I posted to see what clubs I listed as using. The two clubs used the most are putter and SW.

 

I think I'll do this when we play next week. I'll take everything else out of the bag, so I can't "cheat". It'll be fun!

[Under99]

^

Great, rock it out.

 

My own experience is that my first "set" of clubs was, IIRC, my Dad's 8-iron, 2-wood, and an unmatched 6-iron. I hit those 'cause they were all I had and while I wasn't a 'good' golfer yet, I learned how to hit those clubs with some reliability (and not even on courses, just out in the field)

 

Later, I graduated to a 3, 5, 7, 9 Dunlop set that I used for, gosh, 15 years or so. It was with those clubs that I became a golfer (and then only used the 5 and 9, only rarely the others)

 

Finally got a full set 10-12 years ago (Powerbilt) and, finally, fitted Mizunos this summer.

 

In honor of your attempts to break 100, I'm going to take the Dunlops and a persimmon 3-wood out for a spin and try my own medicine. Might be interesting.

[bortass]

So I'm wondering about my improvements.

 

I'm willing to write off my putting earlier this week as an off day. The historical trend isn't that bad unless it just started to go south on me. I haven't been focusing on this area for my 2 putt average is a static baseline.

 

My chipping has regressed or at least my confidence in it. I've practiced this more then I have before but still not enough. I haven't adjusted to the length change in my 56*. Though I also had a long layoff. I'm re-reading Art of the Short Game and I'm hoping to be able to dedicate 90 minutes a week to chipping practice. This may be a bit tough but it's something I can do at home. I can at least work on the solid contact and distances there.

 

My long game is a work in progress as always. I hope to hit the range today to work on the drills with my 7i. I finally have some concrete things to work on here. I need to be able to do this at least once a week, though more would help alot too.

 

I'll have to think about if I want to implement some sort of program. IE focus on just one aspect until it becomes decent, instead of trying to work multiple areas. I'll have to really consider a strentgh/weakness profile. I kinda have one in my head but should look at my rounds and see what they say.

[bortass]

Hit the range yesterday after work. All I can say is it was awesome. It was 85 and sunny with a nice breeze. I had a large bucket which is about 75 balls I think. I went through that bucket at a nice relaxed pace. It reminded me of why golf can be so good for you. I guess I had a touchy feely moment basking in the sun with that breeze.

 

I can't make heads or tails yet of the range session though. I started with the snap the ball left drill to warm up. I wasn't getting the super contact but I was getting the ball to hook, most of the time.

 

I moved on to the backswing, pause, downswing drill. I want to say I'm close to 50% on this. My good shoots are either draws or a slight fade. They are supposed to always draw but the fades were what I'd consider a good shot. I'm getting the ball in the air, of course it is teed up so that makes it easier. I didn't really keep track of how many good vs bad,so I can't really say how good I did. I felt comfortable and successful with this drill though.

 

Full shots were almost all slices. I didn't take alot of them and they were scattered around the session. I was mixing up the drills and full shots tonot get into a rut.

 

This is why I can't make heads or tails of it. My contact with backswing, pause, downswing is positive but it's not transitioning to to full swing. I told the pro about it after the session and said I'd keep working the drills. I've only worked these twice now so it's too early to expect much.

 

The other good news is I learned they allow chipping on the putting green near the clubhouse. This green is small but flat. It's a better place to learn the chipping method.

 

Hopefully I can get out later today again.

[jkumpire]

Hey, no real updates. It's been 3 weeks since I've played. Real bad weather in the wonderful state of Maine lately. Alot of rain and thunderstorms.

I'm about to hit a dry spell myself. To make a long story short, I'm getting married next week. 3 generations of my fiancee's family have been married on 8/19, so we're doing a small legal ceremony that night, and then what I call the "fake" wedding the following Saturday for all of our out-of-town friends and family.

Unfortunately for my golf career, that means I'm unable to play this weekend (final wedding planning and errands), my normal Tuesday league (legal ceremony), or the following weekend (reception and family time). :)

 

Where are your priorities?

 

You can get married any time, there are only limited months of the year you play in North America.

 

Get you brain in gear ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratualtions and God Bless you and your new spouse!