quest to break 100

[don28]

Keep up the good work, bortass! Your dedication is going to pay off, believe me. I finally broke 100 today for the first time 27th Round Is The Charm. When you do it, you're going to feel great. Your thread has inspired me as I can relate to many of the mishits, bad chips, and 4 putts that you have experienced.

 

My fiancee is from Maine, Waterville in fact. Maybe some day when we go back there for a visit you and me will get a round of golf played. Cheers!

[bortass]

Keep up the good work, bortass! Your dedication is going to pay off, believe me. I finally broke 100 today for the first time 27th Round Is The Charm. When you do it, you're going to feel great. Your thread has inspired me as I can relate to many of the mishits, bad chips, and 4 putts that you have experienced.

 

My fiancee is from Maine, Waterville in fact. Maybe some day when we go back there for a visit you and me will get a round of golf played. Cheers!

 

I'm about 70 minutes south of Waterville, I think. I've only driven there a couple times, so my distance estimate could be off a bit.

[bortass]

I've been thinking a little bit about the off season. There are two areas I think I can work on.

Putting: I feel like my average 2 putt is ok but that's hasn't been the case with my last couple of rounds. I think a better average would be 16 per 9 which means I need to make two 1 putts per 9. Is that a realistic target or am I off base? I know that my short game needs to improve to be able to do that. I can't start 10 feet from the hole and expect to come out with a couple 1 putts.

 

A plan would be to focus on the Art of Putting for the technique. I am thinking about getting a Boomerang as a putting aid. It sounds pretty inexpensive and will help with both line and speed, I think. I've also heard it can be addictive, which is even better.

 

I also have some questions about my putter itself. It's an Odyssey two ball, I picked up years ago. I've always had little doubts about it ever since I bought it. It may just have been buyers guilt for dropping $120 on a putter that was mostly a lemming like purchase. I basically read too much about them on forums and how the two ball was supposed to be easy to line up so I really focused on getting one, even though it may not have been the best idea. I feel like I have a hard time lining this thing up. The two white circles don't seem to help me that much. Maybe I just need to take a sharpie and add some lines to it. I do know that it has a very slight toe balance, and toe balance is what is recommended for the putting stroke I want to learn to use. Maybe i'll start looking for a new putter in the used club sections of a few places around here. But I don't want to be a lemming again either and just replace equipment. Maybe an Anser style would better suit me. My old cheap putter was that style but I gave it away.

 

The other area to work would be chipping. Art of the Short Game for technique. My question is are there fake balls that are good for indoor chipping? My basement floor is tiled, so a real ball will bounce to hell and back. I can get some of the foam balls and a chipping matt. This would allow me to work on technique only, I beleive. The foam balls don't react the same as a real ball, so building any feel won't happen. At least that's my uniformed opinion.

[bortass]

I finally got to play again since my last round. The change in seasons has really slowed things down. We have to tee off 30 minutes later now because of darkness.

 

I only got a couple range sessions in as well. Nothing great. I'm not hitting right much at all now. My mishits are frustrating. I am hitting the top of the ball and just driving it into the turf at the range.

 

I don't see myself making my goal, this season, at this point. I did break 50 for 9 once but I've been all over the map since then ranging from 52 into the 70s.

 

Todays round was a 59. 29 strokes were on 3 holes! I actually played decent bogey golf on the other 6. 4 of my 6 penalty strokes came on the three blow up holes. I also averaged 18 putts, which is nice to see after my putting issues. I had 3, yes 3, 3 putts that were offset by 3 1 putts.

 

I guess what I need to focus on is the fact, at least this round, I had 6 decent holes. Alot of the time if I have 29 strokes on 3 holes, I'm up in the high 60s/ low 70s.

[tm22721]

After four years, 9000 holes, 300 hours of instruction and 20+ golf books I can regularly shoot mid-high 90s with an occasional 90 and I even shot an 82 once. I think I did better in the first two years when I used my hands to manipulate the club. Using passive hands now but can't get decent ball contact.

 

Have found that you can't buy a golf swing and being a student of the game is not productive without athletic talent to match.

 

Seeing Slice in three weeks to start over.

 

YMMV

[bortass]

Here's how the round kind of played out. We were sent off the back 9 today. I think it's the second time this year we've played it. Last time I think i shot in the 70s :fool: .

 

We had real heavy rain this weekend from hurricane Kyle. Luckily the hurricane itself never hit us, just lots of rain. This means the course may be flooded in spots. There is alot of standing water in the trees. Some sand traps that have bad drainage are pools. Ponds have over flowed their banks and the stream that runs through part of the course has flooded it's banks.

 

The back 9 here is a bit tighter in spots. There are forced carries because of gullys that cross fairways. This is one reason i tend to not do so well here.

 

10 - par 5 7w 146, not a great tee shot but I'm in the middle of the fairway. There is a stream that cuts across the fairway by the green that must be carried and it's flooded it's banks. I was close to 200 yards out from the stream under normal conditions. I hit 7w for my layup and it's almost trouble. I hit a low line drive that stops on a downslope within 3 yards of the flooded area. I'm now about 107 to the center of the green. A normal pitching wedge should putt me on the green and with it's loft carrying the water should be a breeze. I kinda skull it and it skips twice before sinking in the stream. I decide to drop a few yards further back just to get a level lie. I top this ball into the stream. I cross the bridge and drop on the other side to save my sanity. I goof my pitch over the green. Then I chip all the way back off the green. I get the next chip on and 2 putt for 11. Not a good hole. I started ok and was in place to get on in regulation. But the water claimed my balls( no double entendres there , eh?). Still for some reason I still feel ok. I'm not bent out of shape like I could be after posting that score.

 

11 - par 4 7w 160, I hook this and land on top of a mound that is next to one of the cart paths. I have a straight shot to the green from a level lie in low cut rough. I'm 180 out, so I hit 7w again. My average 7w should putt me 10 yards from the center of the green. I hook this one too and it catches a cart path near the green and comes to a rest in really long, wet grass, and it's sitting down. This is a real crappy lie. I decided to try and play this shot as if I were in a bunker. I advance the ball about 6 feet onto shorter rough. I think i had the right idea but did not swing hard enough. I do chip on and sink my putt for bogey.

 

12 - par 4 7w 140, I slice this a bit into trees on the right of the fairway. My ball is sitting in a small puddle and the trees are marked with red stakes, so I don't think I get relief from the casual water. I have a pretty open shot to get back into the fairway though. I decided to use a 7i and try to get it into the fairway by picking the ball a bit, I was hoping to avoid covering myself in mud, etc since I had to go to work after and didn't have a spare shirt. I end up advancing the ball 3 feet and am still in the woods. I ground my club behind my ball and a small stick I didn't see moved my ball an inch. So there's another stroke and I just realized I may need to tack on an additional one for grounding my club in a hazard, doh. I feel stupid since I lost a stroke from not paying attention and I hit my shot a bit too hard and it goes through the fairway into the trees on the other side. It's red stakes again, so I drop near where I went into the trees. I skull my pitch over the back of the green, chip on and 3 putt for a 10! Booya, damn am I good! Funny thing is, I'm still keeping my composure. I guess I'm in a Sh!t happens kinda mood.

 

13 - par 4 7w unknown, I hit this dead left into the trees. I take my drop where I went in, red stakes again. I'm 160 out on the left side but there is a gully I need to carry but the green is towards the right a bit. This gives me a straight shot into the green but I'm within 5 feet of the left trees until I cross the gully. The ball is a little above my feet so it'll go a bit left on me, which may be ok since that should be after the gully. I hit my 5i and end up short of the green. I chip on and 1 putt for a 5. I didn't hit any bad shots on this hole, in my mind. Yes my tee shot went left into the trees but it wasn't a hook. I'm in denial maybe :man_in_love:

 

14 -par 4 7w 152 into the middle of the fairway. I mishit this ball a bit, actually i've been mishitting alot of tee shots in that i'm hitting the ball fat. I think this time I just left little marks in the grass with my clubhead in stead of the divots I've had on previous holes. I forgot to mention this trend off the tee. This is still good though since there's a gully carry off the tee box before you reach the fairway. I'm about 160 out, so I'm between clubs. My 5i is 150 and my 7w, normally is 170+. I know I'm hitting it shorter then that today off the tee but my two fairway 7w shoots were in the 170+ range. I hit a nice 5i just short of the green. I chip on and miss my par putt to the right. My line was off though the speed looked good. I sink the next one for bogey.

 

15 - par 3 I skull my pw 137 yards over the green. My chip stopps on the edge of the short grass next to the green. I'm not on the green but decide to putt and the ball barely reaches the hole. I thought the dew was gonna slow it down too much but it reached the lip and barely trickled in for par.

 

16 par 5 7w 191, again I hit left and it goes into the trees but I see it kick right towards the fairway. I find my ball at the bottom of a 1 foot ditch with running water in it. I take an unplayable and drop. the ball is about 18 inches above my feet and I have to carry a gully about 70 yards ahead of me. I'm on the left side and the fairway doglegs a bit left when you hit the gully. I have no shot towards the pin. The ball is gonna go left on me, which could be good. I hit my PW and make it across all the crap. It gets kinda weird now. My GPS says I'm 117 from the center of the green but I'm within 10 yards of the 150 marker. The front of the green is listed as 107 and rear as 155. They have done some rework on this green over the years but i've only played this side maybe 4 times in my life. I have an uphill lie and decide to hit my 7i. The lie means my club will have a bit more loft. I get the ball up in the air and I'm on the green about pin high but on the wrong side. I guess i guessed right on the club. My first putt ends up above the hole by about 2 feet or so. I hit a nice easy putt and thought I read the break, only to have it run past the lip low. it turns out there was a little ramp all around the cup that i missed seeing. I hit the putt so softly that ramp shunted it away from the cup. I did sink the thrid putt for a dbl bogey 7. A 7 on a par 5 with a penalty stroke and 3 putt is a pretty good score for me. I should of had a 6 but it wasn't to be.

 

17 - par 3, I'm about 137 front the center of the green but it's a raised tee box. I opt for my 8i. This is a real narrow par three and short is ok but long is into the woods. I hook my shot and it hits a tree bounces down onto the green and rolls across it near pin high. I'm lucky and the long grass stops it from entering a bunker on the right side. This is pure BS, I should have been on a different fairway with no shot to this green at all. I dub my chip short, so it takes 2 to get on. I then 2 putt for a 5. I feel lucky to have a 5 because of what my tee shot did but I really should have gotten a par.

 

18 par 4, 7w unknown. I hit an awesome duck hook. I thought I'd find it in the 10th fairway but there was no sign of it. I took a drop( yes i should have hit a provisional or gone back to the tee box). I'm over 200 yards out in the long grass of the wrong fairway. I hit my 3w fat and advance the ball maybe 10 yards. I then hit a nice 7w to get into the right fairway about 67 yards out. I hit a nice high SW that lands on the green. I have a long putt and somehow leave it real short. I end up with a 3 putt for an 8.

 

Overall, a fun and interesting round. 3 holes account for almost half my strokes. The holes I bogey aren't perfect, a number of shots go left on me, so I have to make some recovery shots. Things did come together on those holes though. The other neat, for me, thing is that I had shots where I was thinking about how the lie of the ball would affect my shot. It felt good when I made those shots and they kind of behaved as expected.

[bortass]

I talked to the pro I've been getting lessons from yesterday for a few minutes. The course should be open until mid November, weather permitting. I think I can sneak in another lesson then.

 

I also started talking to him about next year. I told him my scoring goal is to get under 50 more often. I suggested we start off next year with a playing lesson. Let him see my game and start working on it.

 

I already have a good idea about where the biggest issue is going to be. My short game. My round earlier this week I easily lost 8 strokes, either pitching, chipping, or full PW. 6 of those strokes were the first hole. I know I have lost close to 4 strokes in other rounds because of my inability to pitch/chip.

 

This is actually a good thing though. Earlier this year I was dubbing the ball from tee to green alot. The lessons have really helped reduce that. I'm getting close to greens in 2 or 3 shots alot more now. I have not trended my scores but I think I've shaved 7+ strokes on average from my scores. Normally if I have a round with 11, 10, and 8 on the card I'd have shot in the 70s. This week i got away with a 60, once I add the penalty for grounding my club in a hazard. I've entered most of my rounds on the FGI gametracker, so I'll have to trend this out a bit. See if i'm right or not.

 

I also ran my mishit problem past the pro yesterday. I still top the ball and drive it into the turf, especially on the range. He suggested that my swing was getting too steep again. I need to shallow things out again.

[Ronzo]

Bort, this is just an opinion from an obvious hacker, but are you going to ask him to focus on you hitting driver off the tee next season? I've looked at your hole-by-hole descriptions, and it seems that hitting 7w short off the tee puts a lot of pressure on your approach shots. I looked at the course description link you provided, and getting 200-220 yards off the tee would have you hitting short irons into many of the par 4's. If you hit 8i to a 135 yd. par 3 and you're getting 160 on average from a 7w off the tee, it seems that getting out there further with a driver might be an answer.

 

As I said, just a hacker trying to help. What does your pro think?

[bortass]

Bort, this is just an opinion from an obvious hacker, but are you going to ask him to focus on you hitting driver off the tee next season? I've looked at your hole-by-hole descriptions, and it seems that hitting 7w short off the tee puts a lot of pressure on your approach shots. I looked at the course description link you provided, and getting 200-220 yards off the tee would have you hitting short irons into many of the par 4's. If you hit 8i to a 135 yd. par 3 and you're getting 160 on average from a 7w off the tee, it seems that getting out there further with a driver might be an answer.

 

As I said, just a hacker trying to help. What does your pro think?

 

I'd like to hit driver off the tee for the added distance. I've been known to crank one in the 250ish range before. Not awesome but plenty long to make life easier. I've left it in the bag because it tends to get me in trouble. Also i used it on one hole after I got my GPS. That day I hit it 202 yards, the previous week on the same hole I hit my 7w 201. I can't remember the weather parameters but I don't think I had a huge tailwind the day I striped my 7w. So I came away thinking why hit driver if it's not a huge improvement. Bad snap judgement. I was averaging 170 with the 7w at the time with some nice 180 - 190 yard shots mixed in. So that's still maybe a 30 yard gain and i may have mishit the driver.

 

I can say that my ball flight has changed through the course of the year. Earlier my 7w shots were low and penetrating. Today they get higher and drop, so I'm losing yardage on the roll. This may be because I'm getting steep with my swing again instead of sweeping. The pro mentioned the steep aspect when I described my mishits from a previous range session ie the dreaded smash the ball into the turf mishit.

 

I was hitting the 7w good in the middle of the season, so I thought I'd experiment with my other woods during a round at a longer course. It was a nightmare. I was slicing my D,3w, and 5w. 7w was still on though. I had gone in thinking practice round but mentally I was playing for real, so I got frustrated.

 

I used to tee off with my 5i years ago and the pro I was seeing back then told me to stop doing it. He said I needed to learn to hit my driver. Of course that goes against the conventional wisdom, which is tee off with something shorter that you can control.

 

The only other problem with working on driver is that the course the pro is at doesn't have a range that you can hit any long irons, woods, or drivers. I've heard they plan on putting in a real range at some point. I'm hoping it's next year.

 

I do agree shortening a hole would help me out. I'm hoping the playing lesson, whenever I do it, will help give me an idea of where I can get the most bang for my time.

[jkumpire]

Bort,

 

Let me offer one suggestion for your on course play. If you are having lots of trouble chipping the ball, then why not try using a wood (your 7 wood would be a good club) to putt from off the green.

 

Set up like a putt, and use a fairly short back and forward motion, like a putt! you will have to adjust your stance a little, since your 7 wood is longer than a putter, and it is offset unlike a putter.

 

Set up the face so that it is square to your target, then let it go! The head will go through grass better than an iron, and you vary the speed and distance you hit it by the length of your backswing/followthrough.

 

It is easy to do, and it does not take long to get used to it. For professional instruction, just google it, or even look it up here. It might help you save strokes.

[bortass]

Time to do some analysis. I took the rounds I've tracked at FGI this year and started to dump some numbers into a spreadsheet. I then let the spreadsheet create some pretty charts for me. Feel free to post any thoughts or comments about what the charts are telling you. Also if there are any other ways to slice things, let me know. I may be able to do that.

 

The maroon bar is my uber round of 46. Kinda funny that it happens to be right in the middle of the graph. This is helpful though because not only does it provide a mid point in the season, it's also when I started to take lessons. The season reads left to right BTW with each bar being a single round.

 

Here are my par 3 stats:

 

 

My average score on par 3 holes has improved slightly.

 

 

My average score when I remove penalty strokes drops just a bit but not by alot. This represent how many strokes I made to hole out. I am putting fewer balls in trouble. I had 7 penalty strokes on par 3 holes prior to my starting lessons and just 2 after.

 

 

This is my scoring percentage on par 3s. What's nice is I'm starting to get some pars. The back 9 only has 2 par 3 holes compared to the front which has 3. There is definately some room for improvement here. I shouldn't be shooting so many 6+ scores on par 3s.

 

 

This chart is how many strokes it took me on average to reach the green. There are no penalty strokes in these numbers. It's taking me close to 2.5 strokes to get on the green. Most of the par 3 holes on this course play in the 115 - 130 yard range. I really need to get this average under 2. That would mean that I'm getting on with my tee shot with the occasional miss.

[bortass]

Par 4 time.

 

Again my average score has dropped a little after taking lessons. I'm still averaging triple bogey though.

 

 

When I remove penalty strokes theres a small dip in my scores. This tells me that I'm still averaging about the same number of penalty strokes on par 4 holes throughout the season. There is definately a little room for improvement here as well.

 

 

My scoring percentage however is improving. I'm making more bogeys now. This means I'm starting to play a bit more solid on my par 4 holes and I'm getting killed on blowup holes. For example the last round, I had 3 bogeys and an 11 and 8 on the other two par 4 holes. If I can minimize my blowup holes, I bet my scores will drop.

 

 

It's taking me close to 4 strokes to get on the green on average. All I've done is become more consistent after starting lessons. I think this is more evidence of a bad short game. I am getting closer to the greens with my second shot but I'm still taking 2 additional shots to get on. Getting this average to 3 would be a big help. I tend to 2 putt so I would be playing bogey golf.

[bortass]

Par 5. par 5 are historically killers for me. It's like I start hearing Dueling Banjos playing in the background :fool:

 

My par 5 scores are definately improved. My pre lesson scores ranged from 9 - 13 while it's 7 - 11 after I started them.

 

 

I have not improved my penalty stroke situation. I had 3 before and 4 after. This tells me i'm dubbing the ball on this long holes less then earlier this year.

 

 

Scorewise par 5 are still my bane. The good news is that I'm starting to sneak some double bogeys into the mix. This course has 1 par 5 on the front and 2 on the back. So I've played 11 par 5 holes and got the double bogey on two of them. Pretty weak but there is some light in this tunnel.

 

The number of shots to the green shows a nice improvement. I've dropped about 3 strokes on average to make it to the green. I think this shows how my teeshots and full swings are getting better. My par 4 numbers on this chart didn't show a similair improvement. I think this really helps show that my short game is hurting me. A par 4 won't have as many full shots as a par 5.

[bortass]

Bort,

 

Let me offer one suggestion for your on course play. If you are having lots of trouble chipping the ball, then why not try using a wood (your 7 wood would be a good club) to putt from off the green.

 

Set up like a putt, and use a fairly short back and forward motion, like a putt! you will have to adjust your stance a little, since your 7 wood is longer than a putter, and it is offset unlike a putter.

 

Set up the face so that it is square to your target, then let it go! The head will go through grass better than an iron, and you vary the speed and distance you hit it by the length of your backswing/followthrough.

 

It is easy to do, and it does not take long to get used to it. For professional instruction, just google it, or even look it up here. It might help you save strokes.

 

That's a very good idea. Long wet grass is where I tend to end up with my extra chips. I used to do that when i first started playing. I think I saw it on the Gary Player Playing Lessons. I was using my 5w and it annoyed one of my playing partners since it worked so well. No idea why I stopped using it and forgot about it.

[Ronzo]

Hybrids also do the chipping and, especially for me, the run-up shot well. I still make mistakes, but the hybrid run-up from 50 yards out to an unguarded green leaves me in a better position than if I chunked or bladed a LW. It's saved me 1-2 shots per round lately.

[bortass]

Bort, this is just an opinion from an obvious hacker, but are you going to ask him to focus on you hitting driver off the tee next season? I've looked at your hole-by-hole descriptions, and it seems that hitting 7w short off the tee puts a lot of pressure on your approach shots. I looked at the course description link you provided, and getting 200-220 yards off the tee would have you hitting short irons into many of the par 4's. If you hit 8i to a 135 yd. par 3 and you're getting 160 on average from a 7w off the tee, it seems that getting out there further with a driver might be an answer.

 

As I said, just a hacker trying to help. What does your pro think?

 

I had a lesson today and this kinda came up.

 

Today the pro had me hit a bunch of balls while he watched. We've made good progress on my grip and squaring the clubface up. Now he wants to start working on the transition. He had me focus on getting a full shoulder turn and dropping my arms on the downswing a bit before rotating my shoulders. Get the in to out swing going(I think I'm describing this right).

 

We worked on a drill where you tee a ball and when you take your stance you put your right foot behind you a bit. It looks like you are getting ready to start running. Start the backswing and the downswing should be real in to out to in, the swing at first base hit it over second base analogy I've heard before came up. I hit a mixture of shots with this drill. The good thing is I'm getting to the point I can diagnose why the ball flight is wrong ie i didn't release, was too tense etc. The gola is to start the ball right and then come left with it.

 

After awhile, we went to a normal stance with a teed ball. He had me get te full shoulder turn on the backswing and then add a hip bump to the left to get my hips moving as I start dropping my arms before my shoulders start to turn. This really changed my ball flight. The ball just took off from the clubface and got some major height and pretty good distance. He told me that my old swing was throwing away all it's power early. Adding the hips and arm drop, along with swinging out to right field, is storing energy. I'm starting to generate some lag now! I don't know how much but I'll take what I can get.

 

This comes into the length you mentioned Ronzo. The pro knows I only hit my 5i 150, but I told him that length is not something I'm concerned with at the moment. After adding the hip bump and making solid contact the pro mentioned that if I'm still having distance issues then it'll be a strength/flexibility issue more then a swing issue. I'm very curious if my yardages change after I get this next set of changes ingrained.

 

The pro doesn't think the extra distance would help my scoring per se. My short game needs to improve for that to happen because I feel most of my issues are inside of 120 ie missed pitches and dubbed chips.

 

Now the reason we are working my full swing is because that's what I wanted to work on. It's not the standard thing when you are trying to lower your scores to do. My swing was crap though and I wanted it fixed. I'm definately making progress since I don't dub my fullshots until i hit that area where i have a wedge in my hand ;)

[Ronzo]

It's good to hear you be optimistic about your game, Bort. I'm on the road with you, so I'm interested in your progress. I don't know enough to be helpful, but my anecdotes may have some parallels with your journey. Keep on keepin' on!

[bortass]

It's good to hear you be optimistic about your game, Bort. I'm on the road with you, so I'm interested in your progress. I don't know enough to be helpful, but my anecdotes may have some parallels with your journey. Keep on keepin' on!

 

It's funny in a way since I'm normally very self critical. Golf is a funny game though. I have always sucked at it but I still have fun playing. I've never seen huge strides of improvement in my game over the years but I kept playing.

 

Working with this new pro has really changed things for me. I am seeing some definitive changes in my game even if my score doesn't always reflect it. I shot a 60 last week but it was due to three blow up holes. I had a par, 3 bogeys, and a dbl bogey on 5 of the 6 other holes. That's real big for me. I seem to click with the new pro's teaching style and attitude. He seems to have a plan, which I've never asked about, that makes alot of sense once I realized what he was doing. He never told me my swing was complete crap and that we needed to rebuild it. We are slowly rebuilding it though in a logical progression, which means that me swing didn't go all to hell in the process. I've read alot of posts on forums about how some people take a lesson and the pro tries to rebuild their swing and they start playing even worse.

 

I also started reading "Golf is not a Game of Perfect". I'm hoping that I can start improving my mental game so that the meltdowns that caused me to 6 putt one day, don't happen again.

[Five by Five]

but I still have fun playing

 

That's the most important thing! Don't forget that in the quest for lower scores, love reading your posts bort, good luck!

[bortass]

but I still have fun playing

 

That's the most important thing! Don't forget that in the quest for lower scores, love reading your posts bort, good luck!

 

Thanks.

 

Well I went to the range after work last night to try to ingrain what we did in the lesson while it was still fresh in my mind.

 

Things went fairly well. I am using a tee and my 7i. Lessons are always with a 7i, so I always do the drills with it. Kinda funny looking I bet, some guy standing on a range with a large bucket of balls and only 1 club, I leave my bag in the car. The pro said to tee the ball for the drills, so you aren't dealing with odd lies etc. Fine with me, let's remove as many variables as possible.

 

All I can say is I am amazed how adding the hip bump, to the left, along with dropping my arms on the downswing has changed my ball flight. The ball just takes off and then drops w/o alot of roll. It's the kind of shot that will not roll off the green unless you land your ball near and edge and whatever spin is on it makes it roll off. I would probably consider aiming for the flag with this ball flight since it doesn't go far from where it lands.

 

The distance seems to be better too. However I didn't measure anything with my GPS. I'm not willing to say I have increased my distance yet. It looks like it's going further but I'm not a great judger of distance, which bis why I bought the GPS in the first place(awesome tool BTW).

 

These changes have also reduced my mishits while on the range but maybe it's just because I'm teeing the ball up. I am hitting alot of draws with some hooks, but no banana ball hooks. The hardest part so far is swinging the club to right field. If I remember to do that I hit a nice far, high draw that lands on my target line. other wise i get draws that stay to the left of my target line. I think this is gonna be the hard thing to ingrain from yesterdays lesson.

 

I did have a Golfwrx moment at my lesson yesterday. The pro was having me go through the motions slowly and at 1 point my hips are starting to open and the clubhead is down behind me and it reminded me of some of the Hogan avatars that a few people here have.

 

I figure that I may have a decent swing by sometime next year. Too bad that winter is approaching and the course i get me lessons at shuts down in 4 weeks. The one saving grace is the course I play at doesn't close until there's snow on the ground and they've been know to reopen the course if the weather is good. I remember they opened for 1 week in January because we had some freak weather in the 70s a few years ago.

[bortass]

So I have been to the range a few times since last weeks lesson. It has been a little bit of a mixed bag. Some real nice shots and then some that go right on me, add in a few where my swing was too steep etc. I worked on the drills as well. This change may take the longest for me to ingrain. I'm now working on changing my downswing and the swing to right field is still foreign to me. I am not doing that alot but when I get it right :D

 

Last night I went to the range where I can hit longer clubs. I warmed up with my 9i and that didn't go so well, so I switched to 7i. I hit a few balls and tried the new swing with my 7w. I had good contact and ball flight. So I pulled driver. My first 5 shots, I just smoked( for me). I'm thinking maybe 225 or so. Nice high, far, and fairly straight. I started mixing up the clubs a bit and bad things happened, like I started to get fat with the driver and slices. So I went back to 7i and worked on the drill for a few swings. Overall it was pretty good. I felt like I could hit my 7w off the tee with the swing change and I felt that driver may be an option for me now.

 

I played 9 this morning and will post in more detail later. My 7w tee shots were 180 - 188, except for 1. So I may have picked up a little distance. I pulled driver on the last three par 4s. I pushed the first one right about 225. I hooked the second about 208, and had a strong fade for about 216. Overall the driver experiment was successful. I was able to keep the ball in play with the big stick. I'm still a short hitter but I don't care right now.

 

I've gotten over halfway through "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect". I think it's helping me out and I'll have more comments when I post the details of todays round.

[TJW]

Hey there. Just caught up on this thread. I took up the game 5 or 6 years ago, and with a growing family I haven't been able to put the time in to actually playing rounds (just books, magazines, TV, some lessons, equipment, range and putting green for me).

 

I've shot anywhere from low 90s to 116 in the past few years, and this past weekend finally scored my low of 88.

 

Here are some random thoughts (in no particular order):

 

- I've had lesson packages with various pros over the years, but I always regressed. They're good for fundamentals, but you really need a constant eye...at least a checkup. Swing plane changes I spent an entire summer of lessons on 3 years ago were completely back to normal by last spring.

 

- After a 116 to start the season in April, I went to a new pro. Swing plane and grip were way off. I spent 7 lessons working on NOTHING BUT BACKSWING PLANE AND TRANSITION MOVE. That's alot of time and money. But it's a long term fix.

 

- When I began lessons in April, my pro wouldn't let me hit balls at the range for the entire first month. He wanted nothing but work on positions. He said if I was at the range and making poor contact, I'd start making adjustments to hit the ball straight...even if I had been swinging correctly beforehand. As a practice-addict this was difficult, but I listened...and the first bucket I hit a month later was awful. Practically missing the ball. Went back a few days later, and suddenly...sweet contact.

 

- You're putting alot of pressure on your swing changes by testing them on the course so much. Give them time. And don't worry about score. I've scored well with my old swing making bad contact. I'll take a bad score with some GOOD swings and GOOD contact anytime when you're in the middle of building a swing.

 

- Hit small buckets at the range. Sounds like you hit some big ones. Leave the balls in the bucket and take one out at a time. Practice your backswing and transition move a couple of times, then take a couple of full practice swings, and then go into your preshot routine, picking out a target, lining up your club, and then hit. Even a small bucket should take you a good hour or so. You're not Vijay Singh. Believe me, I had a driving range membership 3 summers ago and hit hundreds of balls every day...it does more harm than good. ESPECIALLY for high handicaps. Yes, you may hit some great shots here and there at the end of the bucket, but overall there are diminishing returns. Here's something I do...when I get down to around 10 balls or so left in the bucket, I move to short iron or PW and just try to hit ONE good full swing to end on before I'm out of balls. So if I hit a good one with 6 balls left, I just chip the last few balls so I leave the range confident. You might even want to give yourself a 20 ball window. Yes, it seems like your getting less balls/swings for your money...but you'll have to get over it.

 

- Practice your positions at home every night in front of a mirror...or even a window when it's dark out and you can see your reflection. I practice my backswing a good 20 times or so a night, and at the range, and on the course...and my real swing is STILL not as close to my practice swing as it needs to be. It takes months, maybe years.

 

- Everyone says it, but you do need to practice putting and chipping. I love practicing those shots, so it's actually fun for me. This is why I believe I can be good if I ever improve my full swing. I'd love to spend 75% of my practice time with wedges and putter.

 

- Bomb and gouge. On some holes, it might be okay to be in the trees if you know you'll find your ball. If you're not 100% certain your 7 wood will find the fairway, it might make sense to go driver. There are some holes where I've tried to "play smart" with a hybrid off the tee and still sent it into the woods. So SOMETIMES I've decided that "I might as well have 120 yards to the green after I punch out of the trees than 180 yards."

 

- Focus on your punch outs and layups. Even in the woods, I pick a target to start my ball on when punching out.

 

- Don't put too much focus on 9 hole scores, for better or worse. It's great to play 9 holes b/c you really learn to "play" golf...but score wise, you're not giving yourself a chance to make up ground on the back 9. When I play, because it's so rare, my back 9 score is almost always better than my front 9 as I get warmed up, used to my shots for the day, familiar with the green speeds, etc. With just 9 holes, a single blow up hole will kill your score...so ignore it.

 

Keep up the hard work.

 

-TJW

[bortass]

I've had lesson packages with various pros over the years, but I always regressed. They're good for fundamentals, but you really need a constant eye...at least a checkup. Swing plane changes I spent an entire summer of lessons on 3 years ago were completely back to normal by last spring.

 

I'm hoping to build a long term relationship with the pro I've been working with. I like his style and approach. Once I get most of my basics straightened out, I still foresee a good 3 - 4 lessons a year. There is always room for improvement, maybe if I was scratch I'd feel differently. I agree with that constant eye. this is his first year at this club, so I just gotta hope that everything works out between him and the owner, cuz i want him to be there for the long term. BTW, I'm not saying there's a reason he might not be, it's just the scenario of new owner bringing in a new pro.

 

- When I began lessons in April, my pro wouldn't let me hit balls at the range for the entire first month. He wanted nothing but work on positions. He said if I was at the range and making poor contact, I'd start making adjustments to hit the ball straight...even if I had been swinging correctly beforehand. As a practice-addict this was difficult, but I listened...and the first bucket I hit a month later was awful. Practically missing the ball. Went back a few days later, and suddenly...sweet contact.

 

- Hit small buckets at the range. Sounds like you hit some big ones. Leave the balls in the bucket and take one out at a time. Practice your backswing and transition move a couple of times, then take a couple of full practice swings, and then go into your preshot routine, picking out a target, lining up your club, and then hit. Even a small bucket should take you a good hour or so. You're not Vijay Singh. Believe me, I had a driving range membership 3 summers ago and hit hundreds of balls every day...it does more harm than good. ESPECIALLY for high handicaps. Yes, you may hit some great shots here and there at the end of the bucket, but overall there are diminishing returns. Here's something I do...when I get down to around 10 balls or so left in the bucket, I move to short iron or PW and just try to hit ONE good full swing to end on before I'm out of balls. So if I hit a good one with 6 balls left, I just chip the last few balls so I leave the range confident. You might even want to give yourself a 20 ball window. Yes, it seems like your getting less balls/swings for your money...but you'll have to get over it.

 

My pro has a different approach. He wants me on the range hitting balls. He strikes me as more of a feel guy while yours may have been more mechanical. So far there has only been one position check in all my lessons. It was when he had me do the drill where I start my backswing, stop, then do my downswing. I was to check that i was more on plane during the stop.

 

I definately agree with taking a few practice swings and slowing down when I'm on the range. I tend to beat balls and I do not go through my preshot routine, even though it's fairly simple. My routine is stand behind the ball to get my line, set my club, take my grip and address the ball, maybe look at my target, pause and relax, swing. I never take practice swings on the course. I can't explain why but I just don't. I guess part of my personal 'tempo' is that I don't take practice strokes.

 

- You're putting alot of pressure on your swing changes by testing them on the course so much. Give them time. And don't worry about score. I've scored well with my old swing making bad contact. I'll take a bad score with some GOOD swings and GOOD contact anytime when you're in the middle of building a swing.

 

I'm getting better about not worrying about the score on the course. It's the good swing/contact I'm looking for, as you mention. It's been the only redeeming thing sometimes when I write that 8, that there was a good stroke in there. My total scores are a bit lower but I'm getting alot more holes that are not 3+ over par, ie bogey/dbl bogey.

 

I don't feel like I'm testing my swing on the course. Everytime I have a lesson there is only a couple things that get changed and my lessons are probably close to 3 weeks apart. I don't have 500 swing thoughts running through my head on the course.

 

- Practice your positions at home every night in front of a mirror...or even a window when it's dark out and you can see your reflection. I practice my backswing a good 20 times or so a night, and at the range, and on the course...and my real swing is STILL not as close to my practice swing as it needs to be. It takes months, maybe years.

 

This could be a challenge, my house has low ceilings. But my pro has suggested working with a weighted club during the off season. I have a weighted driver and I can do it in my garage if need be. Mirror may be hard since my son and his friends tend to play out there and I can see it getting broken accidentally.

 

 

- Everyone says it, but you do need to practice putting and chipping. I love practicing those shots, so it's actually fun for me. This is why I believe I can be good if I ever improve my full swing. I'd love to spend 75% of my practice time with wedges and putter.

 

I agree 100%. I've really gotta focus on this area of my game to start scoring well. I kinda started this year wanting to score well but I steered my lessons into the long game. I am reaping some benefits from it though.

 

- Bomb and gouge. On some holes, it might be okay to be in the trees if you know you'll find your ball. If you're not 100% certain your 7 wood will find the fairway, it might make sense to go driver. There are some holes where I've tried to "play smart" with a hybrid off the tee and still sent it into the woods. So SOMETIMES I've decided that "I might as well have 120 yards to the green after I punch out of the trees than 180 yards."

 

- Focus on your punch outs and layups. Even in the woods, I pick a target to start my ball on when punching out.

 

I have never heard the term bomb and gouge except that it's a guys handle here and his avatar is a circle T scotty putter. My 7w is fairly decent for me. I do find the trees at times but I tend to keep it in play more. The other thing is, at least on the front 9, the course I play doesn't have any good driver holes until #7. 1 and 4 are par 4 doglegs, I have come real close to driving through the fairway on #4 with a 3w. On #1 a solid driver may go through the fairway but I don't know, maybe I'll GPS the edge of the fairway some time. A 180 yard shot puts me in the middle of the fairway with a clear shot to the green, it's a funky 90* dogleg left. Longer clubs would make sense if i wanted to take the risk of trying to cut the corners, but i don't have that much confidence yet :D

 

- Don't put too much focus on 9 hole scores, for better or worse. It's great to play 9 holes b/c you really learn to "play" golf...but score wise, you're not giving yourself a chance to make up ground on the back 9. When I play, because it's so rare, my back 9 score is almost always better than my front 9 as I get warmed up, used to my shots for the day, familiar with the green speeds, etc. With just 9 holes, a single blow up hole will kill your score...so ignore it.

 

Keep up the hard work.

 

-TJW

 

I hear ya on 9 vs 18 but 9 is all I have time to play before work. I think I have played 18 hole rounds maybe 5 times in my life.

[bortass]

Today's tee time was at 7:28 AM. It was about 55 and overcast. I got there early and did some chipping and putting. My chipping was alot better. I was working on it last week for about 20 minutes in my yard. I noticed if I moved the ball back a bit that I would get the right ball flight for a chip. My distance touch is off but I was not skulling as many. My putting was also fairly good.

 

1 - par 4 188 7w into a fairway bunker on the right. I didn't release. I have a good lie so decided to go for the green with my 7i. My first shot went 3 inches, I dunno how that happened since i wasn't trying to blast it out. So i try again and get it out of the bunker in the long grass up by the green. I execute my pitch to get on( carrying a bunker) and 2 putt for 6, my first putt lipped out. Not a bad start, the only terrible shot was the first one in the bunker. All my other shots were at least ok.

 

2 - par 3 66 pw, I completely messed this up and hit a real high dub to the right. I didn't know if i cleared the hazard so i hit a provisional which I sliced. I find my first tee shot sitting on a leaf. I can't ground my club w/o my ball moving. So my pitch is launched over the green. I chip on and 3 putt for 6. Not good but I'm still in a good frame of mind.

 

3 - par 5 7w ???, I sliced this and it bounced backwards, so maybe it went 20 yards. I'm under the trees between #2 and 3 with a pond in between. I try to pitch over and it goes in the water. There is a group behind us, starting to putt out on #2, so I say screw it and I drop on the other side of the pond. maybe that golf gods were displeased. I had a series of mishits that got me in some real tall crap about 180 yards out and I'm laying 7. I just picked up my ball at that point. I decided that with a group behind us, I don't want to hold things up because I just regressed to pure super hacker. So right about now I should be all bent outta shape mentally, I don't feel that way though.

 

4 - par 3 8I ???, I dubbed this shot high and short, and forgot to note my yardage. I pitch the ball short and then skull the next pitch over the green. I chip on and line up my putt. I hit it too hard and it skips over the hole and leaves me at least 5 feet away, my line was perfect but speed sucked. 2 putts later I'm done with a might snowman on a par 3. My partner thought I was rushing my shots but I didn't feel like I was at the time. I dunno.... I still don't feel frustrated even though i am playing like pure crap right now.

 

5 - par 4 7w 184 w/ a slight draw that stayed left. i missed the fairway but have a clear shot to the green. I make good contact but push it right on the cartpath. I take my relief on the wrong side of the cart path under the trees. I pitch on w/o problems again carrying a bunker. I miss the par putt and settle for bogey. Now i'm feeling the effects of "Golf is not a Game of Perfect". I had 2 crappy holes and I just bogeyed a par 4 which is very good for me.

 

6 par 3, pw 129, skulled over the green into a hazard. I drop in the drop zone and chip on. I miss my putt a little bit and sink the next for a 5.

 

7 - par 4 driver 225, I was 259 from the center of the green; I felt good about my swing and driver was ok the night before. i pushed it to the right so I'm in long grass under some trees. I leave my pitch short of the green, by maybe 2 yards, in the fairway, I was coming in at an angle so it wasn't terrible. I chip on and my putt does a 180 lip out stopping 2 inches from the cup, so I settle for bogey. I'm feeling good right now. I shortened the hole by about 45 yards and had a good chance for par.

 

8 - par 4 driver 208 another one that hooked near the end and landed in a fairway bunker. I'm about 140 out with a clear shot and a good lie so I decide to go for it. It's a slight mishit that leaves me in the fairway. I'm 69 yards out and I pitch to about 3 yards from the flag! I just had to use the GPS to see how close I was. I end up 2 putting for another bogey.

 

9 - par 4, driver 216 pushed right. I'm around 130 yards out in some wet rough. My ball is sitting down and I figured 7i into the green. I dub it into some long crap instead. I should have used a wedge into the fairway because of my lie. So I wedge into the fairway and my pitch lands within a few feet of the green, but it's elevate so it kicks right and stoops a few yards off. I pitch and sink my putt for 6.

 

I ended up with 46 for 8 holes. The X I took on #3 hurts but it was the right decision. The book on the mental game was paying dividends. I had two completely lousy holes but did not let it get me down. I just went about my business and did fairly well after that. I ended the round with 3 bogeys and 3 double bogeys.

 

My short game was a bit better today. It's still shakey but I did execute some shots. I had 9 pitches on 7 holes(2 too many) and 4 chips. 3 chips were after I boned a pitch, so still 3 too many but at least I got on 4 greens via pitches. I had 16 putts on my 8 holes. Still a 2 putt average but I had 2 lip outs and one where my line was right but my speed was way off, so it jumped the hole. The numbers don't reflect it but I felt good about my putting while on the course.

 

The driver experiment really worked out. I shortened 3 holes by 30 - 45 yards. I legitimately had a shot at birdie on #7 but I just didn't execute the pitch to get on in 2. I won't fear pulling driver if my swing seems on and it's the right hole going forward.

[don28]

Glad to hear Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect is working for you. I had my doubts before reading the book, but was able to break 100 finally shortly after completion.

 

Also, like you recommended to me, I just got my SkyCaddie 2.5 courtesy of my fiancee. I am taking it out on the course tomorrow. I'll fill you in since I'm playing at a course that I have only played once, 15 months ago. I am adding different courses to my usual 2 in order to keep things fresh.

[bortass]

Glad to hear Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect is working for you. I had my doubts before reading the book, but was able to break 100 finally shortly after completion.

 

Also, like you recommended to me, I just got my SkyCaddie 2.5 courtesy of my fiancee. I am taking it out on the course tomorrow. I'll fill you in since I'm playing at a course that I have only played once, 15 months ago. I am adding different courses to my usual 2 in order to keep things fresh.

 

How did it work out for you? My iGolf neo is pretty basic but I love it. being able to tell how far you are from the center of the green has been real handy. My ability to judge distances isn't the greatest. Though the ability to accurately get distances of your shots is the best thing. I really, really like that capability.

[don28]

The SkyCaddy worked out well. It is everything that is advertised, and I love it. The owner of the SkyCaddy (me), couldn't swing worth a hill of beans yesterday.

 

After starting out with a 286-yard drive (downhill, with roll, but still a personal best), I fell apart. I think some of it had to do with partnering up with 2 players that were much better than me. I tried to play at their level, and didn't stay with my own game. I began pull-hooking all of my tee shots, and came completely apart. Lesson learned, stay within oneself.

 

I went to to range this evening, and took 3/4 of a bucket to work out the kinks. I am going out to play again Sunday, so we'll see how it goes.

 

Keep up your good work, bort!

[Desert Golf]

I'd consider picking up a copy of Break 100 Now: From Hacker to Golfer in Just 90 Days by Mike Adams & T.J. Tomasi. The last chapter is a 13 week plan to break 100.

 

And, of course, lessons would be helpful.

 

 

My quest this year was to break 90 on a regular basis. A series of full swing lessons with a pro and "How to Break 90" by Adams and Tomasi helped me get there. Adams and Tomasi focus on course management skills and it was the best golf instructional book I've ever read.

[golfware]

Learn how to pitch, chip and putt (and get up and down), and you'll shoot in the 80's nearly every time.

[bortass]

I'm looking forward to next year and seeing if I can get there or not. My approach this year wasn't really geared to breaking 100 or 50 for 9. I pretty much ignored my short game, which is where all the scoring is done and focused on my full swing.

 

What I'd like to do is sit down with my pro, tell him my goal, and see what course of action he recommends. I really liked his teaching style and I'm comfortable with letting him direct my instruction. I may be able to start working with him in mid March depending on the weather etc.

 

I'm at a bit of a loss on whether or not I can do much over the winter. I don't have a good place to swing a club indoors, bought the house before I started golfing. I might be able to swing in my garage. I do want to pick up "putting out of your mind". I really liked "golf is not a game of perfect" and think it could help.

 

Also, maybe I can find something for putting. I did think about the boomerang but that wouldn't be cheap. Dunno...

 

Regardless '08 was a good year for me. I had fun on the course and saw some potential. That's what keeps me coming back.