quest to break 100

[dludkin]

I love this thread; it's like an AA meeting. Except that we're trying to improve our golf score, not kick a destructive, possibly life-ruining habit.* Either way I appreciate all the 'sponsors' keeping our chins up.

 

I'd imagine golf HAS ruined a few lives... I bet it's been the bane of a few marriages (hmmm, interesting thread idea).

 

 

I like the avatar, dludkin. I'm a Brand New fan myself. This is a good thread. I'm under a similar struggle to break 90 (less than 45 for 9 would also make me smile). I find a great deal of joy in reading other's frustration as it reminds me I'm not the only one obsessing over this silly game. Came really close today, but had a ridiculous blow-up hole that screwed me.

 

Keep it up, Bordass.

 

Always glad to run into a fellow Brand New fan. Just found some great home footage from the Jesse Lacey solo tour on YouTube (teresaxchu is the poster).

 

 

I haven't been golfing (or on the forum) much in the past month, I've been doing an internship at the University of Michigan School Of Dentistry. Finally got out and played 9 today. I was rusty starting out and shot a 9 on the opening hole (a par 5), but then bogied the rest so I ended up with a 48! I was pretty excited. I think the break was helpful because it allowed me to forget some of my bad habits and just focus on what the lessons taught me. So hopefully it wasn't a fluke. I'm excited to get home and start golfing regularly again and get back to my lessons.

[bortass]

I love this thread; it's like an AA meeting. Except that we're trying to improve our golf score, not kick a destructive, possibly life-ruining habit.* Either way I appreciate all the 'sponsors' keeping our chins up.

 

I'd imagine golf HAS ruined a few lives... I bet it's been the bane of a few marriages (hmmm, interesting thread idea).

 

 

I like the avatar, dludkin. I'm a Brand New fan myself. This is a good thread. I'm under a similar struggle to break 90 (less than 45 for 9 would also make me smile). I find a great deal of joy in reading other's frustration as it reminds me I'm not the only one obsessing over this silly game. Came really close today, but had a ridiculous blow-up hole that screwed me.

 

Keep it up, Bordass.

 

Always glad to run into a fellow Brand New fan. Just found some great home footage from the Jesse Lacey solo tour on YouTube (teresaxchu is the poster).

 

 

I haven't been golfing (or on the forum) much in the past month, I've been doing an internship at the University of Michigan School Of Dentistry. Finally got out and played 9 today. I was rusty starting out and shot a 9 on the opening hole (a par 5), but then bogied the rest so I ended up with a 48! I was pretty excited. I think the break was helpful because it allowed me to forget some of my bad habits and just focus on what the lessons taught me. So hopefully it wasn't a fluke. I'm excited to get home and start golfing regularly again and get back to my lessons.

 

Awesome job. It's funny how sometimes a break can help. It's like it gives your mind time to process stuff at it's own pace. I wish I could bogey 8 straight holes. Some day, some day.

[bortass]

So I snuck out to the range while the wife was shopping :)

 

I was working through the drills with close to the same results except I got my grip a bit better.I really got it into the fingers of my left hand. It feels funny because the grip is so light and the handle moves around a little in the backswing when I set. At least I can feel the pressure of the handle change in my fingers.

 

The pro drove up towards the end of balls and asked how it was going. I told him and he told me to hit some while he watched. He liked the grip. He said my downswing was too steep. He had me tee a ball and do the backswing, pause, downswing with my feet wide, like a normal swing. After a couple of those, he started working on my coil.

 

I'm not rotating my shoulders enough. We eventually got to the point where I need to bend over from my hips more, Get my chin up, and rotate my left shoulder more. He showed me the drill where you hold a club across your chest and rotate. The butt should point outside and behind the ball. I was able ti hit some impreesive(for me and me only) shots. My 7i was going nice and high and dropping at the end.

 

I asked about the ball flight. He said I'd see more of that. I've been coming in steep and hitting more of a line drive style shot. This new flight would hold a green since the ball is dropping at a steep angle. It wouldn't hit and roll a ways like my normal low launch would.

 

We wrapped it up with he telling me my only swing thought now is to rotate that shoulder.

 

I ended up with a free lesson even though it was only 15 minutes or so. I think things are winding down with the basics. He's changed my swing and I feel like this may be the last piece of the puzzle. Those good 7i shots I hit looked perfect to me. I think his comment about my having a good swing during my first lesson was part of his teaching process. He didn't want to unleash the full extent of the changes at once since I could see that leading to frustration and despair on my end. So I haven't been playing all summer thinking "OMG my swing sucks". Instead I've been thinking about the stuff we've covered through our session.

 

I think I've really gotten lucky this year. I didn't have alot of luck after my previous set of lessons years ago. You guys pointed out I needed lessons but I was hesitant to do it. Also the local course went under a major change that included a new pro. So the old one that I didn't have alot of success with was gone. The new pro strikes me as taking the teaching side seriously. He's interested in hearing how things are going. Today's mini lesson was completely out of no wheres. I've found a teacher that wants to see his students improve.

 

 

Hopefully I can get out again tonight to work on what he told me about today. If nothing else, at least i'm excited.

[c010r4d0g01f3r]

Hey good job on making progress. I think that at this point in your career, with some short game practice, you can be a bogey golfer! It sounds to me like you are finally getting some confidence in your swing, especially with your 7-wood. Confidence is good in golf! Just wanted to tell you that I'm happy for you, and you WILL break 100 this year...I can just tell.

[bortass]

I don't know what to do :) . I shot another impressive 70 today. I'll post in more detail later but...

 

I don't recall a single solid shot in the round. My 7w was MIA off the tee. My short game blew chunks. I had 2 and 3 chips. All my pitches were well short, if I even executed.

 

I did play with just 4 clubs, 7w, 7i, 56*, and putter. That had nothing to do with my problems. I noticed part of my chipping problem on the practice green pre round. I've been blading the ball because my left shoulder is coming up.

 

I have become the sliceomatic again.

 

I need a drink :)

[bortass]

So here goes. Today was the front 9 where i've played the majority of my rounds. Including the 46 that I call my flash in the pan. The greens were aerated and sanded yesterday but that had no impact on my game. I also played with just 4 clubs and again that didn't impact my score.

 

1 - 147 7w, I sliced this under the trees. I hit my little chip out from under them towards the hole w/o incident. My approach shot went right. I did pitch on and then 3 jacked for a 7. Not a great start but not terrible for me per se. I mean bogey and dbl bogey are decent holes for me.

 

2 - 111 56*, I left this short of the green on this par 3. I do chip on, but long, and 2 putt for a 4. So what if I had a 7 last hole, I just got a bogey and par threes have not been nice to me this year. I'm feeling good.

 

3 - I dubbed my 7w and it rolled into the fairway. I think it was about 100 yards, I didn't write down the number. I figure hit 7w again. I mess this up and go left 45 degrees maybe 20 yards into the rough. I now have a straight shot into the lower fairway, so I use my 7w again. I cracked this about 183 yards. I'm around 150 out in 3. Still feeling good because of where I am even though I boned my second shot. My 7i approach is skulled right. My pitch lands short of the green. So I then chip through the green. I chip on and then 2 putt for a 9. My lack of a short game reared it's head on this hole. I lost 2 strokes or so because of it. I'm no longer feeling too good about my round. Doubt is creeping in.

 

4 - par 3 about 150 ish. I figure 7i and I'll be short of the green. I hit a massive slice into the trees right off the tee box and I think my ball may have gone backwards. No way am I gonna find it, so I retee, stroke and distance. Another slice into a hazard. I take my drop and leave my pitch short(trend!). I chip on and 2 putt for the awesome 8!

 

5 -7w off the tee around 145 sliced into the trees. We find the ball. I almost took an unplayable to drop in a slighlty better spot in the trees. It took 4 shots to get out. My first one hit a small bush, like maybe 18 inches high, and came backwards at me. The next swing I whiffed(mental game is now shot). I dub one a few feet and then get out on my next shot. I'm still a ways out and mess up my full 56* shot. I also bone a pitch and finally chip on and 2 putt for 10.

 

6 - par 3 water carry. I dribble my tee shot along the ground maybe 15 yards into the pond on the left. I drop in the drops zone and chip on and 2 putt for 5. Not a bad hole considering....

 

7 -7w dribbled left and didn't even clear the red tees. 7w dubbed on next shot. I cleared the red tees but not by much. My third shot is a bit better. I slice that in to the middle/right side of the fairway. My approach shot is no good. So I pitch short, chip on and 2 putt for a snowman 8.

 

8 - tee shot dribbled left into a pond. This is the second hole in a row I somehow dribble my 7w at about 45 degrees left less then 10 yards. I take my drop and I hit a good 3 wood into the middle of the fairway. My 7i goes right on me and short. I chip on and 2 putt for an 8.

 

9 - Another hole I didn't write down my tee shot yardage. I hooked this one into the fairway of the 18th, I think I was actually aiming into that fairway. I'm 170 or so out and slice my 7w into some really long rough. It was a blind shot for me and I have no idea where my ball went. I drop and hit my approach someplace to the left of the green. I then chip off the green and it rolls a ways from the green cuz of the slope. I then chip it short. I'm within a few feet of the green and I chip short again. I finally get on and I three putt the damn thing for an 11 with 4 chips.

 

Can you tell I was less the happy with the round? One of the guys mentioned that it was obvious that I was rushing things during my awesome 4 chip.

 

I ended up at 70 with 5 penalty stokes, 12 chips and 20 putts. My chipping was terrible. My putting, I had some lip outs but I also had at least 1 "what was I aiming at" moments.

 

I think I had too many swing thoughts going for my full shots. We've changed alot in my last couple of lessons. My swing isn't natural yet. I'm kinda in that ugly transition phase where i can't hit the new stuff but I also can't hit the old. My short game is in shambles. i want to blame changing my 56* wedge but that may be a mental crutch. I dunno....

 

The season is winding down here in Maine and I'm almost where I started, just worse. I have see some potential ala the 46 but am unsure of how to recapture it. I can't count on my 7w anymore. It was a fairly good club for me but not the last two rounds. I definately feel like I didn't work hard enough to reach my goal. Right now I'm not holding my breath for the Hollywood ending where the hero shoots 45 consistantly and wins the hot cart girl forever after :)

 

I think I'm too scattered in my practice. I need a short game but I've been taking full swing lessons. I know what short game system I want to use, Utley( am I giving him a bad name?), so I've avoided lessons there. But if I don't work my full swing the lessons are for moot. lol. If I don't work my full swing, I'll be dubbing around the course and sitting at par before reaching the green.

 

I'll have to think about my limited practice time and what to work on. I'm kinda torn since I know I'm leaving alot of strokes behind with the short game but I'm also losing alot with my forays into the trees. Am I being dense?

[bortass]

Figures. I just spent 30 minutes typing a post and lost it. Somehow my wireless connection went belly up.

 

I went to the range tonight after dinner. I wanted to work on my fullswing. I got a large bucket of balls and grabbed my 7i. I've been only using this club for my full swing work and lessons lately.

 

I started warming up with the drill where I try to hit the ball left using a partial swing. It was so so, some good and some bad. I was warming up when the pro drove up. He watched me slice one and asked if that was normal. I told him that I was slicing everything earlier today.

 

We talked a bit and he had me hit some balls as he watched. He noticed that my grip was getting weak and I was coming out of my stance. Also I wasn't releasing the club. He worked with me a bit on how the release should feel and how a full swing would feel. he does this by guiding me through the swing in slow motion.

 

This is the second time he's stopped by to check up on me when I'm at the range. I tell him I appreciate it alot. This is on his time and he's giving me small freebie lessons. He left me to work on things after about 10 minutes.

 

I have never understood the release. I don't know what it is but I just don't grok it. I've heard that the release will happen on it's own. If that's true then why don't I release the club? I'm kind of holding my wrist set into impact.

 

I'm hitting balls and I remember something. My wrists. I recalled a segment from a Roger Gunn DVD, real good DVDs btw, that I watched years ago. He was explaining lag and compared it to cracking a whip. The only way to crack a whip is with soft wrists. Any sort of tension kills the lag required.

 

I'm swinging and holding my set. Something isn't right with this picture. I started swinging with a real loose grip and wrists. It feels like my hands were floppy in the backswing and the momentum of the club head was setting my club. I kept the same loose feeling through impact and bingo. The ball went high, far, and straight. I went through over half my bucket working on this 'new' key. I was slicing the ball maybe 10 - 15% of the time instead of 75%. A number of mishits were straight. I was making more good shots from the turf, no tee, then I can recall doing anytime in the recent past, aka a few years. I could feel why I was mishitting the ball when that happened. I was also hearing the click of solid contact.

 

The end result is my ball strking was vastly improved (over what I started with). I'm hoping this will be repeatable. I've had range sessions/lessons where I came away feeling good about my ball flight but then had a hard time recreating it later. This time I kind of know why I was hitting better and what it felt like. I beleive this will be repeatable but that has yet to be proven.

 

Regardless, I'm feeling excited again :) . I have a long ways to go but if this swing thought sticks, I'm in business. Most of my mishits would have been playable. They weren't the screaming slices that are destined for trouble. I feel like the swing tonight would have been good enough to threaten par on par 4s and maybe even having a shot at birdie if I strung two good ones in a row to make GIR. this is all i can ask for. Too bad I didn't figure it out till 12 hours after I teed off on 1. it would not take long for me to regain my confidence on the course with tonights swings.

 

Thanks for putting up with my rambling.

[don28]

Hang in there, man! I too am trying to break 100, and I'm going about it myself without any lessons. I had two sets of lessons over 6 years ago with 2 different instructors, but they fixed one problem yet created another. That's why I decided to get serious about my game this year, but via book reading, practice sessions, and plenty of playing.

 

Today was just one of those days where once you feel like you're on the verge of breaking out, you slide back a little again. It keeps happening to me, but I'm determined to fight through it and come out on top.

 

Reading your continuing quest thread inspires me and lets me know that I'm not alone out here. Keep up the good fight!

[Ronzo]

There's no "putting up with" your posts, Bort. I wish all the people I've played with had your integrity and persistance. You ARE on the Shining Path. You'll see -- it'll all come together. Not completely, but enough that your "aberration" will become the norm.

 

Good luck, and keep on keepin' on. You'll get there! :)

[bortass]

Don, Ron,

 

Thanks for the support vote of confidence.

 

Slight brain cramp today. I decided to stop at the range where I can hit woods/driver on the way home from work. I thought that after last night it'd be fun to hit my driver and see what happens. I thought I deserved it, yeah that's it. Unfortunately that's kinda like losing half a pound and thinking that cake and icecream would be a good celebration.

 

I started with my 7i and my first 2 shots were nice like last night. Then some slices crept in. Well enough of that let's see how the trusty 7w is. Slice or near shank. I saw my clubhead hit the outside of the ball, ie the side facing directly away from me, with the bottom/back of the heel. Those balls dribbled left. Goota love that way outside target swing. Well let's try driver! Slice heaven. The few that went straight were real low and short. I missed 1 ball completely whiffing on the outside.

 

Back to my 7i. Nothing good was coming of my wood and driver. More slices. I also had some tops that rolled straight. Very few good hits. My right elbow wasn't staying in nice and tight. I thought I had my wrists loose but the high percentage of slices make me doubt that.

 

I ended the session hitting a few ok pitches with my 56*.

 

My next range session will be 7i only. I'm hoping that my troubles were caused by screwing around with my 7w and driver. Maybe I'm smoking some good stuff, but I'd like to think that whatever adjustments I made while trying to hit those longer clubs interferred with my 7i swing. That's what I'm hoping anyway. I want that 7i swing from last night to return, but I have to admit there's a chance I undid last nights work because it's obviously not ingrained.

 

Practice is the key but it needs to be good practice. Today wasn't that. I still tell myself that I feel good about this year so far. Gotta try to keep the mental side strong.

 

Speaking of which: Anyone want to recommend some good mental game and course management books? I have Zen Golf but never finished it from a few years ago. The long winter in the NE makes a good time to read none technical golf books. There are no local indoor ranges except for the indoor golf simulator places and I dunno if it's work renting time to use it as a driving range or not. I can read stuff about the swing but I can't easily work on it with 3 feet of snow on the ground.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Bort,

Its nice to see so much dedication and determination on your quest here, and best of luck to you.

As far as books go. For the mental side I have enjoyed Dr Bob Rotellas golf is Not a Game of Perfect and even more his newest book called The 15th Club real good insight to the mental approach. after reading I have had 3 of my better rounds of the year including my best for the year.

A great book for the course managment side is by Butch Harmon called Playing Lessons.

I have also read about your struggles with the short game, you may want to check out The Short Game Bible by Dave Pelz or one of Stan Utleys books on the short game. I have a feeling very soon we are all going to be congradulating you on breaking 100

 

Playing Lessons

 

Rotella

 

Dave Pelz Short Game Bible

[Ronzo]

Bort, just a question: Where has your instructor told you that the clubhead should face in your follow-through?

[dludkin]

Well so much for last weeks great round; I played the University of Michigan course last night and ended up in the 130-135 range. Beautiful course, but much harder than anything I've ever played; I don't think I even saw that much sand last time I went to the beach. It's really hilly and has a number of holes where you have to hit over a hill to reach the green, so I really got punished if I didn't get under my drives. Still had fun though, I showed up by myself so the pro just added me to a twosome and they were good guys to golf with. But I think I'll work on my game for awhile before stepping up to a course like that again!

[bortass]

Bort,

Its nice to see so much dedication and determination on your quest here, and best of luck to you.

As far as books go. For the mental side I have enjoyed Dr Bob Rotellas golf is Not a Game of Perfect and even more his newest book called The 15th Club real good insight to the mental approach. after reading I have had 3 of my better rounds of the year including my best for the year.

A great book for the course managment side is by Butch Harmon called Playing Lessons.

I have also read about your struggles with the short game, you may want to check out The Short Game Bible by Dave Pelz or one of Stan Utleys books on the short game. I have a feeling very soon we are all going to be congradulating you on breaking 100

 

Playing Lessons

 

Rotella

 

Dave Pelz Short Game Bible

 

I have Playing Lessons. I like that one and have read through it 2 or 3 times. Are you aware of anything else like it?

 

On the short game side, I have Art of the Short Game, Art of Putting, Short Game Bible, and Putting Bible. I read the Pelz books years ago. The Utley books are more recent purchases. I've been going through Art of the Short Game. I was rereading chipping, for the 4th time last night, and saw my ball position is off. I need to practice w/ the book handy.

[bortass]

Bort, just a question: Where has your instructor told you that the clubhead should face in your follow-through?

 

 

He hasn't mentioned that. It feels like we are slowly working our way through my swing and haven't reached that point yet. We started with grip and relaxing the arms. After that we worked on the backswing, going back on more of a straight line instead of bring the clubhead inside right away, and trying to get the downswing inside. The next lesson was more grip, along with getting the club on plane with my backswing, and trying to get a release. He's also started to work on trying to get me to rotate more ie getting my left shoulder behind the ball at the end of my backswing.

 

I haven't specifically asked him if there's a method to it. Some of my swing faults that have been mentioned are: My downswing tends to be too steep. My backswing is off plane. I don't release. I don't get a full coil. I come up on my right side at times. My grip tends towards the weak side.

 

Not mentioned but I have noticed is that I don't follow through all the way. I tend to not get my belt buckle aimed at my target. It's aimed more to the right in alot of cases. I don't seem to get that feeling of the clubhead pulling my through my followthrough, which I've noticed over the years on my better pure shots.

 

Luckily some of these have been addressed in the lessons and I'm making progress on them. So far the only thing that's been revisited has been the grip.

 

What are your thoughts about the clubhead?

[bortass]

I have a question and maybe I'll post it in the forum as a new topic.

 

Has anyone noticed any damage to their hands from the club? I have two examples:

 

My middle finger of my right hand has a split near the nail on the pinky side of the finger. I first got this when i started trying the 9/3 Slicefixer stuff. My grip changed into my fingers and that area is now taking on more force then in the past. I can't wait for the callous to form.

 

The other one makes me wonder if something is not quite right with where I hold the club. I have a bruise on the palm of my left hand that is caused by the butt of the club. The butt end of my club doesn't extend out past my palm (yes I'm holding it in my fingers). The bruise is where the grip ends. This didn't show up until yesterday morning. It doesn't hurt or anything, I'm just curious if it's an indication that i'm doing somethign wrong.

[Marbelizer]

I personally have not noticed and damage to my hands, just the normal callous's on 3 of my fingers. I dont understand how you could be getting the bruises unless your grip is way out to lunch. I guess an option would be to try to choke up a little more on the club.

[creativegolfer]

I have a question and maybe I'll post it in the forum as a new topic.

 

Has anyone noticed any damage to their hands from the club? I have two examples:

 

My middle finger of my right hand has a split near the nail on the pinky side of the finger. I first got this when i started trying the 9/3 Slicefixer stuff. My grip changed into my fingers and that area is now taking on more force then in the past. I can't wait for the callous to form.

 

The other one makes me wonder if something is not quite right with where I hold the club. I have a bruise on the palm of my left hand that is caused by the butt of the club. The butt end of my club doesn't extend out past my palm (yes I'm holding it in my fingers). The bruise is where the grip ends. This didn't show up until yesterday morning. It doesn't hurt or anything, I'm just curious if it's an indication that i'm doing somethign wrong.

 

If you have the book "5 Lessons" by Ben Hogan, that book has a good picture of where the callous locations should be. I believe it is pretty normal to get a callous on the heel pad of the left palm. I would be more concerned about the right middle finger. It sounds like maybe your right hand isn't working together with the left hand, or maybe you are just applying too much pressure.

 

I think that one of the easiest ways to improve your swing is through grip pressure. I try to keep my grip pressure as light and relaxed as possible, but firm enough to keep the club from twisting inside my grip. I have trouble releasing the club unless I have very soft arms throughout the entire swing, and it is very hard to have soft arms if your grip pressure is too tense. The harder you squeeze with your fingers the greater the tension you add to your wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Someone had a good example(oneupgolfer I think): Extend your right arm out in front of you and grab your right elbow with your left hand. Now feel how the tendons react to even small changes as you squeeze your right fingers together. You can even feel the tendons of your shoulder reacting to the squees (left hand over shoulder).

 

The other important thing to note is to keep the grip pressure constant. I used to start out with a light grip pressure, but then I would start strangling the club at the top (during transition). I would mostly tense up my right hand grip which would seem to activate my right shoulder and cause an OTT casting move. Try taking a few very slow practice swings with the right hand gripping as tight as possible. Then try taking a few very slow practice swings with the right hand barely gripping at all. Notice how the light right hand grip allows the right shoulder to stay passive (and the club seems to come into the imaginary ball more squarely vs coming from the outside). The transition should be smooth and relaxed vs. a tense and violent pull at the top.

 

I probably should leave this stuff to the experts, but I thought I would share my experiences (I played OTT / outside to inside golf for 10 years before making a commitment to change).

 

BTW, I think Raymond Floyd's "Elements of Scoring" is a pretty good book about course management. It kind of ties in with playing relaxed.

[Ronzo]

Bort, just a question: Where has your instructor told you that the clubhead should face in your follow-through?

 

 

He hasn't mentioned that. It feels like we are slowly working our way through my swing and haven't reached that point yet. We started with grip and relaxing the arms. After that we worked on the backswing, going back on more of a straight line instead of bring the clubhead inside right away, and trying to get the downswing inside. The next lesson was more grip, along with getting the club on plane with my backswing, and trying to get a release. He's also started to work on trying to get me to rotate more ie getting my left shoulder behind the ball at the end of my backswing.

 

I haven't specifically asked him if there's a method to it. Some of my swing faults that have been mentioned are: My downswing tends to be too steep. My backswing is off plane. I don't release. I don't get a full coil. I come up on my right side at times. My grip tends towards the weak side.

 

Not mentioned but I have noticed is that I don't follow through all the way. I tend to not get my belt buckle aimed at my target. It's aimed more to the right in alot of cases. I don't seem to get that feeling of the clubhead pulling my through my followthrough, which I've noticed over the years on my better pure shots.

 

Luckily some of these have been addressed in the lessons and I'm making progress on them. So far the only thing that's been revisited has been the grip.

 

What are your thoughts about the clubhead?

 

First, let me say that I have no right to give anyone advice on the course. :) I play to a 22.5 index as of today (even though today's 9 holes before work were awful), so, as my sig says, I still suck. But I'm getting better. :)

 

My thought relates to the clubhead's position in your follow-through being evidence that you've released. When you posted that you and your instructor were working your way through your swing and that you may not have gotten to that point yet, I thought that might be the case. That's why I framed the question as I did.

 

That description of what you and he are working on and toward is just more evidence to me that you are on the proper path and that you have a patient instructor that is truly interested in building a swing rather than patching it. You're lucky to find such a pro. I need to do the same.

 

Good luck, Bort. You're on the way.

[Antiny]

The other one makes me wonder if something is not quite right with where I hold the club. I have a bruise on the palm of my left hand that is caused by the butt of the club. The butt end of my club doesn't extend out past my palm (yes I'm holding it in my fingers). The bruise is where the grip ends. This didn't show up until yesterday morning. It doesn't hurt or anything, I'm just curious if it's an indication that i'm doing somethign wrong.

 

Aren't you supposed to have 1/4 inch of the butt end extending outside the palm?

[jkumpire]

Bortass,

 

May I make a recommendation or two?

 

1. Next time you have a lesson, make it a playing lesson with your pro, if he will do such a thing. Even if he walks or plays with you for a couple of holes, he will have some insight for you. From what you say, I am getting a sneaking feeling that on the course you are doing some things differently in your swing than you are on the range. It might just be a mental thing, or a physical thing. But IMO a playing lesson will do you a world of good, and it will help your pro see your swing as it really is on the course, not in the artificial environment of the practice tee.

 

2. I get the impression from somewhere that you are hitting off mats at the range. If I am right, get off the mats and hit off grass. Or even better get out to the course you play one night with a bunch of balls and hit practice shots from the normal distance you hit a ball. For example, when my game is in the tank (as is now) I will sneak out to the course, find the 100 yard mark on a hole, and hit wedges to the flagstick until i start to figure out what my problem is. Even if I can't figure it out, I can get a shot pattern to tell my teacher the next time we meet, and then I can chip/pitch/putt the balls into the hole. that practice might help, and build some confidence.

 

KEEP WORKING AT IT! I am very impressed with you and this thread.

[bortass]

The other one makes me wonder if something is not quite right with where I hold the club. I have a bruise on the palm of my left hand that is caused by the butt of the club. The butt end of my club doesn't extend out past my palm (yes I'm holding it in my fingers). The bruise is where the grip ends. This didn't show up until yesterday morning. It doesn't hurt or anything, I'm just curious if it's an indication that i'm doing somethign wrong.

 

Aren't you supposed to have 1/4 inch of the butt end extending outside the palm?

 

That's why that bruise makes me wonder. I don't think I've got the butt of the club quite right or it doesn't feel right to me sometimes.

[bortass]

Bortass,

 

May I make a recommendation or two?

 

1. Next time you have a lesson, make it a playing lesson with your pro, if he will do such a thing. Even if he walks or plays with you for a couple of holes, he will have some insight for you. From what you say, I am getting a sneaking feeling that on the course you are doing some things differently in your swing than you are on the range. It might just be a mental thing, or a physical thing. But IMO a playing lesson will do you a world of good, and it will help your pro see your swing as it really is on the course, not in the artificial environment of the practice tee.

 

2. I get the impression from somewhere that you are hitting off mats at the range. If I am right, get off the mats and hit off grass. Or even better get out to the course you play one night with a bunch of balls and hit practice shots from the normal distance you hit a ball. For example, when my game is in the tank (as is now) I will sneak out to the course, find the 100 yard mark on a hole, and hit wedges to the flagstick until i start to figure out what my problem is. Even if I can't figure it out, I can get a shot pattern to tell my teacher the next time we meet, and then I can chip/pitch/putt the balls into the hole. that practice might help, and build some confidence.

 

KEEP WORKING AT IT! I am very impressed with you and this thread.

 

I want to do a playing lesson at some point but it may not be till next season. Not sure how the rest of the year is going to play out golf wise. I spent this last weekend cutting down trees and I was too tired to consider hitting the range in the evening. I wanted to go after work but I have a meeting that runs past my normal leave for the day time today.

 

I never hit off mats. At least not this year. One reason I like the range at the course I get lessons from is there are no mats. I can't hit woods or driver there but it's always grass at least. The range at the course I play the most has mats some days and grass the rest. I've shown up a couple times and they were using mats, so i either left or did some chipping.

[bortass]

A mystery was solved yesterday. I went to the range and grabbed a large bucket of balls. I was all over the place. Some hooks, some slices, some fades, some nice and straight, and some worm burners straight. I was messing around with my grip, ball position, where to grip the club handle, and my posture. I'm out there flailing around and getting frustrated. Not super frustrated like when I pull a serious of boners on the course but I ain't in a happy place.

 

I got to the point I no longer had any faith in my grip. Something is just not right. I have it in my fingers and I read parts of Slicefixer's encyclopedia at work, so I've got his grip stuff very fresh in my mind. I try to replicate my loose swing from the previous weak but no dice. I'm starting to wonder if my grips need to be replaced or are the wrong size.

 

The pro stops by and asks how I'm hitting them. I was honest and said "like crap". He watched me hit a few and i'm not releasing the club. I decided to ask him if he fits grips and he said yes. So I brought over my 7i and he looked and the grip was the right size. My fingertips touch my palm. So that ain't it.

 

My right hand has gotten too far under the club. I picked that up from the encycopedia but I may not have understood what Slice wrote. I hit some more balls and things still don't seem right with my grip.

 

I hit a real stinker and he comes over because I'm questioning how I hold the club. He did mention that the club will shift around with a bad shot. I show him how I hold it from a different angle and bingo.

 

I hold the club all in the fingers of my left hand. The best example I have, unless you have a club handy, is take your right hand index finger and place it in the fingers of your left hand like you'd hold the club. Now just close your fingers and place your left thumb straight so your thumbtip is touching the tip of your index finger. That has been my grip for awhile now. If you take the right index finger out w/o moving your left fingers, your left hand will look like a hook.

 

My fingertips of the left hand are touching my palm up near my knuckles, not down around the large muscle of my thumb.

 

This explains a couple things. I always have a funny wear pattern on my glove in the palm down below my ring and pinky fingers. It makes it look like I have a palm like grip when I don't. I also really feel the club shifting around in my backswing when I try to stay loose. This is all caused by the club only being supported by the fingers of my left hand. I'm not getting much of any of my left palm to support the handle through my swing.

 

Once I got my grip right by getting the handle supported by my palm, my shots improved. I've been playing for a few years now thinking I have the grip in my fingers(which I do) but I have it too much in my fingers. I can't say exactly where this crept in but I think it was me after reading something and not understanding it correctly.

 

I hit a couple bad shots after the grip change but that was tempo related. I only had 10 - 15 balls left by the time we sorted things out, so I didn't have alot of practice with it. I don't want to jump to any conclusions because of that. I did notice that I feel like I have more control over the club, it's not feeling like it's flopping around on me.

 

The pro said once I can get through a bucket of balls w/o slicing, we can talk about ball flight changes.

 

FWIW, the swing is coming along. The pro seems happy with it since all it's been taking are minor tweaks to get me hitting the ball well. He feels my swing has come a long ways from the beginning of the year. I wish I did have some video so I could see how much of a change has occurred but oh well.

 

I asked about playing lessons and he does do them. They are 70 compared to the 45 of a normal lesson. He thinks I'm ready for one and he wants to see my game on the course. I had one once years ago and I liked it. I'll have to look at my schedule and try to set one up in the upcoming weeks.

 

I think I may have a good 8 weeks left if the weather holds. The main course I play doesn't close until there's snow on the ground and one year we had a stretch of weather in the 70s in January, they opened the course. The place i hit the range and get my lessons used to close in mid October. Now that the ownership changed, I dunno what they plan to do.

[bortass]

I was able to hit the range after work Friday. I planned on just hitting a small bucket but got lucky and scored a second small bucket. A member grabbed a bucket and went to the range at the same time as me. He met a buddy there and they decided to play the back 9. So he left the bucket there w/o hitting any balls. I worked through my bucket and no one else ever came to the range. So I decided to hit the bucket that was left behind. Maybe I'll be lucky and end up in a driving range rant because I hit some one elses balls that had been abandoned for only 30 minutes :man_in_love:

 

I came away happy. I had a total of 8 slices in the 2 buckets, 3 in the first and 5 in the second. One slice was my second hit of the day. The pro wants me to get through a bucket (I assume the larger one) w/o slicing before he does any additional changes that would effect the overall shot pattern. So I was actually counting them.

 

I think I hit just as many solid shots. Ones that went high, far, and straight( still using my 7i). I didn't count them but I'd get little runs of 2 or 3 solid shots in a row. These were shots that I'd consider close to perfect. Of course that's hard for anyone else to judge because maybe I have low standards, lol. But in relation to how I've been hitting, i don't think i could do better.

 

I had a good number of playable mishits. These would have been fades, draws, shorter shots that went straight. These did not have the click of solid contact. I want to say that these travelled about 75+% of the distance of my good shots.

 

My other mishits were either left or straight. Alot were real low runners. A number of this would have been ok for a hacker like me. I would have rolled the ball closer to the hole roughly along the target line and still would have been in the fairway.

 

My real bad ones were either fat shots or the embarassing, I just hit the outside of the ball with the outside heel of my club, shot that goes very left maybe 3 yards.

 

That grip fix really seems to have had a positive impact. This was my best range session is recent memory and it was a follow up from the night before. Alot of times I don't get carry over into the next range session. I'm hoping to hit the range again after work tonight. if it goes well, maybe I am finally on the road to a swing.

[bortass]

Hit the range last night and played a round this AM.

 

The range was shaky. 34 balls, I counted this time, and 3 slices. About a 10% slice rate. I didn't have any real great solid shots. I had a few good ones though. It was a majority of mishits though. I think it's ball position related. I feel like I'm hitting the ball near the top with the leading edge of the clubhead. I'm leaving little ball impressions in the ground in front of the ball where I've driven them into the turf.

 

We played 9 this morning. Nothing like teeing off as the sun is rising with 60* temps and a slight breeze. The only drawback is the first tee faces due east, it can be a pita, even with sunglasses, to track a tee shot.

 

I had a decent round overall. I shot a 53 with 22 putts. My putting really has gone down the tiolet, I once again 4 putted. There were times when both my speed and line were off. I did stay positive though. I was putting bad but I was making some other nice shots. I was coming away from holes feeling like I was doing pretty good. The frustration of a crappy round didn't hit me like it did with some other recent rounds.

 

I said to myself and partner after the round "I would have shot 49 if I had my average putting". A 49 is under 50 and technically isn't a break 100 but that's my real target, under 50. So I feel good. I also am feeling good about my progress this year. I've had some terrible rounds but I've had more good ones.

 

I'll be posting the details of the round later.

[bortass]

Here is Tuesday's round.

1 - 7w 178. I sliced this tee shot and hit a provisional, which went fairly straight and nice. I found my first ball on a cart path with a clear path to the green, so I played that(which I had to anyways). I sliced my approach shot into some trees. I didn't have a good shot at the flag since my ball was near the base of a tree and I'd need to carry a bunker. I think I was maybe 10 yards to the right of the green near the front. I took my 7i and hit a real low shot that hooked. I wanted to hook since I was trying to get to the back of the green, I just hit it a tad too hard. I ended up in the long grass behind the green and it took 2 chips and 2 putts to hole out, for a 7. Not great but i was feeling ok. I had 2 slices but was able to play the ball and my chipping cost me 1 stroke.

 

2 - PW 128. I sliced this one but I was about middle of the green high and off it by 5+ yards to the right. i have an open path to the green. I chip on and leave myself 10 ft from the cup. I then proceed to 4 putt. My speed was off, I blasted my first putt 6 feet past the hole and my return shot went past the hole. Bah! A 6. I still feel good. I'm slicing my tee shots but they have been playable. Maybe someone slipped some happy juice into my big gulp.

 

3 - 7W 185. I sliced this into the trees but it was playable. I hit a half 7i since I want to stay low because of branches and am just trying to get into the fairway. I end up under some trees that mark the right side of the fairway. This is a par 5 with a funny fairway. It's straight for 200 yards and then there's a downslope and the fairway restarted after it shifts to the left a bit. So My second shot was aimed left from the right trees of the upper landing area and stopped under the right trees of the lower fairway. I take my 7i again and take a stroke bump and run type swing to just get into the fairway. I hit my approach shot a bit short. I chip on and 2 putt for 7. A 7 on a par 5 for dbl bogey. This is good as far as my game is concerned. I'm hitting into trouble but I am making the recovery shots. The weather is nice and I feel relaxed and happy.

 

4 - Par 3 just under 150 out from center. the flag may be forward but short is good here so I hit 6i, since my 5i is 150 yards.(Hard to believe a 210 lbs guy that's 6'3 only hits his 5i 150 yards :good: Well I slice this one into a hazrd about 126 yards. I take my drop and pitch on and 3 putt for a 6. So I'm pretty sure that my putting sucks at this point. I'm slicing my tee shots but i still feel like I'm doing good. Maybe there was some mind altering substance in my big gulp(that's just a large fountain soda for anyone that maynot have a 7/11 in their country) I drank before the round.

 

pausing here to go grill burgers or my wife will kill me....

[bortass]

Ok, continuing after grilling the burgers.

 

5 - 146 7w. Another slice, what a shock. I've sliced every tee shot this round( and then some). I'm lucky and find it in the trees. The trees I'm under are fairly clear of underbrush and low branches. I try a 7i bump and run/strong chip to get out. I get lucky and roll through a fairway bunker. I'm sitting around 100 yards out from the center of the green. I hit my 52* gap wedge real high and short. I find the pitch mark in the fringe a few inches from my ball, it's about the depth of a ball. I chip on and 2 put for dbl bogey.

 

6- 117 PW. This is a par 3 with ponds in front and on the right with a drop off red stake hazard on the left. I slice this one too but land on the green! I leave my birdie putt well short but focus and sink my 5 - 6 foot par putt! The evil water guarded par 3 doesn't claim me as a victim this week.

 

7 - 207 7w. I crushed this off the tee. I do have a tail wind though. It was a very high and very straight shot. The card says it's a 315 yd par 4 but it's playing shorter. I'm within 60 yards of the center of the green and it's a forward flag and I'm sitting in the middle of the fairway. I skull my pitch over the green, luckily it did not go in the pond. I chip on and 2 putt for bogey. If my shortgame was worth anything, I'd be talking birdie right now. I hit a perfect tee shot but wasn't able to close the deal. I'm still feeling good about this round though. My putting is weak and so is the rest of my shortgame but I've not had a terrible hole where I just lost alot of strokes to mishits. Yes I know my shortgame is in shambles but I'm staying positive because of how things are playing out. i haven't cared a 10 or 12.....

 

8 - 181 7w. This is into the wind and i'm in the middle of the fairway. Another perfect tee shot. I have a problem though. The guy mowing tells me that the fairway is flooded in front of the green. Gustav came through Maine Saturday night and dumped 5+ inches of rain. The ponds on the side of this raised green flooded. I figure I'll hit a PW and layup short. I sliced this into the area of the 9th hole tees. Not too bad since the only way to get to the 8th green w/o swimming is via the 9th tees. I still have to carry water to get on the green though. I hit my pitch strong and end up on the fair side of the green in the long wet grass. The hole is downslope from me and I leave my first chip short on the edge of the fringe and long grass. I was worried about blowing this past the hole on the chip. I chip again and get on. I then end up 3 putting for a snowman :good: . My first putt caught the lip but my speed was off and it went three ft or so past the hole....

 

9 - 188 7w. I hit this straight left. It didn't hook/draw. I think I messed up my aim and alignment. I find the ball under a small pine tree about 150 yards out. I'm on the left side of the tree so nothing is in the way of my swing. 150 yards, well that's my 5i. tree is maybe 5 - 6 feet tall. So my swing will come in under the lower branches but I have a clear shot to the green. I hit my 5i straight but to the right. My ball hits the slope in front of the green and rolls down into the fairway on the right side. I hit this ball good as far as shot pattern is concerned and I came close to being pin high. I chip on and 2 putt for a 5 and bogey. Again my putting and chipping betray me. I left my chip 10 feet short and my par putt 4 - 5 feet short.

 

I end the round at 53, which is decent. My 7w started to turn around on the 7th hole and I had chances for legit par/birdie play. My shortgame and putting just weren't up to the task.

 

I had 22 putts which is 4 above my average. I've been putting like crap lately. I have found myself not focusing and thinking too much about the putting stroke. I had all of the following at one time or another, speed off; line off; speed and line off; I may get a Boomerang to work on my putting this winter. The reviews seem positive.

 

I only had 1 penalty stroke and did not lose a single ball. This is always welcome. I dunno what it was but I went through the round feel very positive. Maybe it's because my worst hole was a 7 until I hit the 8th. I normally would have carded a snowman or 10 by then. Regardless I came away feeling good and had fun, I can't wait to play again. My good 7w shots make me dream of what I could possibly do if I hit my driver as well. I assume I'd shorten holes by 30 yards but I am not ready for the big stick. I rarely use it on the range and i was slicing alot through the early holes so another 30 yards would have putt me in even worse crap.

[bortass]

For anyone that cares:

Here is the link to the course I play the most. This has the courses description of the holes along with a scorecard image. Almost all my rounds are white tees off the front.

 

Nonesuch River Golf

[devlbasher]

My good 7w shots make me dream of what I could possibly do if I hit my driver as well. I assume I'd shorten holes by 30 yards but I am not ready for the big stick. I rarely use it on the range and i was slicing alot through the early holes so another 30 yards would have putt me in even worse crap.

 

You'd shorten holes by 40-50 yards more than likely, but you're right to keep it in the bag until your comfortable with it. I've been the same way during some periods of play. I'd always laugh at my buddies when they'd say "How do you hit it so far and still shoot those scores?!", to which I'd reply, "you hit it that far and that far RIGHT, and see if YOU can find the ball!" All other things being equal, if the ball is offline, the farther it goes, the farther offline it goes.

 

Kudos to you for all your hard work on this! Oh, and practice the 4 footers until you see them in your sleep. Never missing from four feet will not only help your score, but it helps with the nerves!