Journey to Break 90

[Ronzo]

Bogey, par, bogey, other, bogey, par, bogey, other, bogey, other.

Bort, you should be pleased. The "others" will come down. Breathing exercises after a bad shot might also help. The yoga exrcise of alternate nostril breathing calms me when I'm really stressed.

Hang in there, bro!

[jkumpire]

To throw in with Ronzo, You should be pleased!

The others will go down, with experience and practice. I would suggest you take just a moment and review why you had your others, and what caused your mishits. Obviously we will all have bad shots, but your misses have a pattern to them, and if you can figure out why you have them, then you are well on your way to stopping the bleeding.

Good round.

[bortass]

I real happy with the round.

So I had 3 others.

Hole #3 - I slice my tee shot into the right rough. I'm too far out to think about going for it. So I decide to layup which is kinda normal for me on this hole. The greenis a blind shot from over 130 out and I'm comfortable to go for it from 150ish or so. I was 180ish out and sitting down in the rough.

My 9i was solid and it rolled out through the fairway and partway down the hill. 9i was the wrong club but I've "stubbed" my PW on this shot and left myself further out then I wanted. It was a good shot, just the wrong shot.

So I have the ball above my feet and a downslope/sidehill lie. I choose the wrong club and lobbed it right into the stream. I chalk this up to experience.

I drop and have what should be a low gw punch. I end up leaving my clubface wide open and hit a low slice right of the green. Maybe I got too quick, I really can't remember.

I cross the bridge thinking about the fubar I have going. I have a fair amount of green to work with. Most greens on the course are elevated for drainage. So if you don't land on the green, it's probably in the face of an upslope. I chip ith my GW and it's solid. It lands on the green and runs out quite aways. Of course I'm at least 10 yards right of the green in the rough, so that's probably a normal reaction for the ball. ie it's a long ways to travel in the air.

My first putt was kinda weak and left me 4 - 6 feet out I think. So I end up 3 putting.

Errors: Wrong club to layup with; Not reading the effect of the hill and what it'd do to my sand wedge; Sliced GW; Too strong of a chip ie too much roll out; 3 putting from 24 feet.

#7 - My tee shot is a low draw into the 5th fairway. I have to go under the trees to get back to the 7th. I hit a 4i runner that gets me to 80 yards from center with a slight downhill lie in the fairway. My SW is real fat and if fluffed short and right.

I need to make a 50 yard shot now and I'm on a downslope and the green is above me. I decide on a strong chip/low punch with the GW. I catch it thin and it rolls up the slope and breaks left near the top by the green. I'm short sided and chip with my sand wedge and it rolls out 12 feet past the hole. I 2 putt for a 7.

errors: fat sandwedge, but that'll happen at times; Thin shot with my GW, probably rushed it; Chip rolled out too far.

#9 - Tee shot with 3w is a bad swing and ends up 90 yards out in the rough on the right side behind the corner of the dogleg. I have a good gap through the trees, 6 yards or so, maybe more and try a 5i punch through them to get into position for my third shot. I hit it a bit left right into a tree trunk on the corner. So I'm slightly better off then i was before but still not clear of the corner. I have an angle though and hit my 3w and get to the 180ish out range. I try my 5w and it's low and right.

I'm in the rough below the green and a good 5 yards out. I either chip on the green and have it roll out or I chip into the slope. I decide to chip into the slope and the ball bounces in the air, lands on the green, and doesn't roll out. I misread the break on my first putt and end up 4 - 5 feet on the low side. So another 3 putt ensues.

errors: 5i through trees, I probably should have just tried to clear the corner instead of trying to make up lost yardage by going through the gap; Chip didn't roll out as expected, I landed the ball where i wanted but it just died. The slope killed it's energy; Bad first putt.

So the trends were: All had bad tee shots, though on 3 and 7 they weren't terrible. My chipping was either long or short. I had mishit SW on 2 of the holes but for different reasons.

Bad tee shots will happen. Mishits will happen. I need to not do them both on the same hole. I also need to work on my chipping to get some feel for how the ball will react.

Did I miss anything?

[bortass]

Played 18 this morning before my first set of meetings for the day. Earl is gonna move through the area over the weekend, so I doubt I'll be playing much unless it heads out to sea and the heavy rains/winds miss us.

It was sunny and hot. It was pushing 80 when I teed off before 8 AM and it was in the 90s by the time I finished.

1 - par 4, I hit a draw 235 into the rough in the 2nd fairway. I need to keep my next shot low because of trees. I'm 80 out and go with 7i. It comes out low and rolls through a greenside bunker and stops maybe 4 feet short of the green in the fringe. I chip to 12 feet and 2 putt for a bogey.

2 - par 4, I hit a low draw with my driver, 213, into the middle of the fairway. I'm 121 out and decide on 9i. I hit it a bit thin and short of the green. I chip to 9 feet and 2 putt for another bogey.

3 - par 4, I hit a high draw down the right side. I see it land on the back of a mound which kicks the ball left and towards the hole. 249 yards off the tee in the right fairway. I'm 116 from center and go with my PW. My shot goes right and into the trees near me. What the hell. A simple PW and I push it 45* right and into the trees. My ball is on a downslope and I'm in the woods. I have a fairly clear shot to the right of the green but I need to stay low. I decide on a 5i. I have an awkward stance and have to hack down on the ball. It comes out low at a downward angle and plugs in the bank of the stream on the far side. I can see the ball but there's no way I can play it. I drop on my side and hit a half GW short of the green. I chip to 18 feet and 2 putt for an 8. What the hell is up with this hole? It gave me problems for years and then I started to play good on it and now it's killing me regularly.

4 - par 3, it's playing 153 to center, so I go with my 6i. I make decent contact and it's on line and lands short of the green. I'm below the green and chip to 4 feet. I line up the putt and miss high leaving myself a few inches away from the hole. So another bogey.

5 - par 4, I hit a nice fade with my driver and see it land near the back of the hill. I'm 225 off the tee in the fairway on the right. I'm 157 out and hit my 5i. It's a low draw and short of the green. I'm below the elevated green and look my chip over. I chip the ball to 6 feet, it's a back flag. I sink the par putt. This is the #1 HCP hole on the course and I've shot par my last 2 rounds. The increase is distance off the tee is starting to pay off.

6- par 3, playing 134. I hit a draw with my 8i and miss the green left. I'm almost pin high and in the rough 4 inches short of the fringe. I have a downhill chip out of the rough. I hit the chip and the ball stops 4 feet to the right< low side, of the hole. I just didn't read enough break to the right into it. I sink the par putt. Two pars and row and I had to get up and down to do it.

7 - par 4, the tees are to the right again. I hit a high draw/hook that goes into the left trees. I can't go for the green, so I hit a 5i recovery shot. It's a shot I need to thank Pepperturbo for. I read his description of how he does it and I've been using that technique with good results. It's pretty much all arms, no pivot. The ball only gets a few feet off the ground but it runs out pretty good. That gets me to 108 from center. I go with PW and I'm on a slight downslope. I addjust my setup a bit and take a practice swing. I address the ball and miss the green to the right and I'm in the fringe 4 inches off the green. I'm 42 feet from the hole and decide to chip with my putter. I read way too much break and leave my ball 8 feet above the hole. I would have been better off chipping with a wedge.... I 2 putt for a 6. I go back and chip with the puttter and aim for the hole. It stops 3 inches from the cup. I read alot of slope that didn't exist.

8 - par 4, I hit a low draw 191 into the fairway. I'm 159 out and hit my 5i. It's a low draw that's short of the green. I chip on 24 feet short and 2 putt for bogey.

9 - par 5, I go with 3w off the tee. I hit a mid height draw that hits the face of the hill and runs up it curving left. I find my ball 184 off the tee but through the fairway. Great tee shot. I'm in the rough and decide on a 4i. I leave the face wide open at impact. I dunno if the club slipped or what but I felt myself not close it at all. I hit a weak slice into the right trees. I have a decent lie and a good sized gap to work with. So I use a 5i and the armsie recovery shot to get into the left fairway 70 yards out. I hit a 1/2 gw punch that stops short of the green. I chip to 14 feet and 2 putt for a bogey 6.

I didn't add it up till later but I have a 46 on the front with an 8 on my card.

10 - par 5, I hit a hoom with the driver 196 into the left rough. The ball is sitting up a bit and I figure 3w.[i] [/i]I take a rare practice swing. Address the ball and mishit it maybe 20 - 30 yards. Bah. I'm in the fairway now and have a good lie. So I hit 3w again. It sounds good and takes off with a midheight draw that I see land and roll. That is how you hit a 3w off the deck! I gps the shot and it's 235 yards..... The best wood off the deck of my life. So I'm now 67 yards from center. My GW punch is short. So I chip to 2 feet and sink the bogey putt. Holy 3w batman!

11 - par 4, I hit a low draw 192 into the fairway. I have a good lie and am 220 or so out. 3w time! I hit a slice and I find it near the green in a low spot and under the trees. I can't keep my GW low enough and it hits a branch and drops. I rush my chip and leave it short. So I chip again to 7 feet and sink the putt to save my dbl bogey.

12 - par 4, I hit a draw 224. I'm 133 out and hit my 8i through the green. I chip to 3 feet and my par putt misses low and I'm 1 foot out. What the hell? I was thinking par baby! So I get a bogey and move on.

13 - par 3, playing 143 into the wind. So I hit my 6i just short of the green. I chip to 11 feet. My par putt rolls for the hole and stops 3 inches away... SO another bogey.

14 - long par 4, I hit a draw off the tee 185 into the fairway. I'm 220 out ball above my feet. 3w time! I hit a high slice that is heading OB. I see it land in bounds, bounce towards OB and then bounce back towards me. I decide to hit a provisional and do the same thing. I find my first ball barely in bounds and I have to take an unplayable because i'm against a tree trunk. I hit a low 5i short of the green. I chip to 7 feet and 2 putt for a 7. I am kicking myself for that 3w. I had told myself earlier that I wasn't gonna hit 3w on that hole after the slice off the deck on #11.

15 - par 3 with pond, 161 to center. I hit a low pull with my 5i on the left front of the green. I'm 42 feet from the hole and my putt ends up 5 feet away on the low side. I sink the par putt. Good times.

16 - par 4, tees are on the right, I hit a fade with my driver down the right tree line. I hear it hit branches but nothing solid. I search for the ball and finally find it. 110 off the tee and in the rough of #15. The ball kicked either 90* right or something. I hit my 5i recovery and make good contact but it hits a tree, bounces back, hits another tree and stops 2 feetf rom me. A duck starts quacking in the pond as the ball stops. The stupid bird was laughing at me! I redo the shot and it's muffed a bit. I'm in the fairway but I don't like my angle. I hit a low 5i short oif the green. I chip to 9 feet and 2 putt for a 7.

17 - par 4, I hit another fade 199. I'm 149 from center, 140 to front and it's a forward pin. Long is bad, so i hit my 7i. It's a low draw just short of the green. I almost chipped in for birdie the last time I played this hole. I'm thinking I can birdie this as I hit my chip. It tracks for the hole and stops 6 inches away. So an easy par.

18 - par 5, I hit a high draw with my driver and lose it in the sun. I find it on top of the hill in the fairway 193 off the tee. I'm in a great spot but 3w stays in the bag. I want to hit a 5i to get inside 150. I hit it fat as hell..... So I then hit a 5i punch that gets me 70 yards from the back and it's a back flag. I hit a 1/2 punch PW through the green. So i chip to 2 feet and sink the putt for bogey.

48 on the back for a 94.

Now this is more like it. My irons are still off. So the dailing the yardage back is really helping me. i'm not hitting as many pulls either. I had 3 blowups in 18 holes. Only 1 was caused by a brainfart and that was on 14. My other two were from not executing.

I am starting to feel alot better about my chipping. I got the ball closer more often and set myself up for 5 up and down and should of had 7.

Great round even if I was sweating my butt off and drinking alot of water the entire time.

I need to work out what my issue with #3 is. It's getting to me alot lately.

[pappaf2]

Nice work Bort, that has to feel really good after the tease of 90's scores and then the rash of +100 scores that followed.

[Ronzo]

Nice round, Bort! As you said, mishits happen. Despite it all, it's a round in the low 90's.

And if you think it was hot where you are, we in South Florida would consider that a cool morning and an idyllic afternoon.

Oh, yes... about the other photography thing. Two words: Nikon School. I think Canon does something similar as well.

[jkumpire]

Bort,

Great job, what a good round!

Sorry I was unable to post here for a few days, but now that you have an idea of what really made your big numbers big numbers work on the things that cause the bad shots, be they mental or physical things. somwhere, in your mind or on the practice tee, you will start to unpack the problems and deal with them. then your scores will go lower.

Even your analysis of your last round, when you said one "other" was a brain cramp, and the other three were "lack of execution" means you are id'ing the walls keeping you from the next level. So, now get busy with the mental side, and fix the bad shots!

[bortass]

Got some stuff done around the house this morning and figured I'd play some golf after.

Prior to the round I stopped and talked to the pro and he pulled up the video he took of me. We spent probably a good 30 minutes looking at it and comparing it to some of the video of the guys on tour that he filmed in Boston. My swing didn't look anything like a pros. No shock there. The big observations were: My weight goes right and pretty much stays there; My left knee is bending inwards for no purpose which ties to the weight shift; My club is closed when it's parallel to the ground but he didn't think that was a big concern at this time; My swing has no width ie my right arm collapses inwards on the backswing and then my left arm does the same on the followthrough, kinda like a chickenwing; I took no divot and lost may lag as I neared impact. The good news is my club is staying pretty much on plane and while I have a short backswing (I'm too fat and not flexible) it looks good.

He then grabbed a bucket of balls and we went to the range and he had me work on some of what we saw. Namely trying to get some width on the swing and also not moving my left knee back away from the target. I hit maybe 20 balls working on this stuff and then headed to the course.

Nothing like an impromto mini lesson to get the round going. I've gone out and played after a lesson and shot lights out(for me) so I'm feeling good.

1 - par 4, it's getting windy and I push my driver 185 into the right rough, it bounces and hits a tree and kicks into the fairway. I'm 128 out and grab my 8i. I put alot of weight left, open my cluface a touch and swing. A nice draw that's just short of the green. I think the wind killed it. I chip on and 2 putt for 5.

2 - par 4, I hit a low pull hook into the left rough and it hits a tree and kicks back a bit.. I'm 189 out from center and don't have a good shot. I hit a little punch that gets me to 116. I hit my 9i and it's another draw short of the green. I then fluff my chip. My next chip goes 9 feet past the hole and I 2 putt for 7.

3 - par 4, I hit a low pull draw into the left trees. I chip out with my 6i but the ball rolls part way down the hill. I have another downhill angles ball above my feet shot in the rough. I take my GW this time and I hit the ball and it comes out real soft and my followthrough hits it again right into the stream! Awesome a 2 stroke penalty once I drop. I then hit a 1/2 punch with my GW from 50 something yards and nail it stiff, 3 feet from the hole. So I 1 putt for a 7.

4 - par 3, about 150 but a good wind in my face so it's 5i. I hit it super fat to the base of the hill. I'm 106 from center and hit my PW a bit fat and short. I fluff my chip again and hit the next one long and 2 putt for a 6.

5 - par 4, 3 boys are kind enough to let me play through them. I tee up my driver and hit a pull hook 110 yards into the rough on #7. I say screw it, thank them for allowing me to tee off and tell them to play on cuz I'm done and will play down 7. There was no one in front of them and this was the fastest way for me to get out of everyones way on the course.

I play a couple balls down 8 and 9 and it's not too pretty. The pro is on the range watching a couple of the golf team kids he coaches. So I go and watch myself. He askes me how I did and I tell him. So he has me grab my driver and hit some balls, the range is no woods or drivers since it's short, so this is a rare opportunity.

He has me move my ball back a few inches and open the clubface a touch and my pulls are gone. I'm sending the ball right. Oh, I also had to fix my shoulder alighment as well as my feet my be fine but my shoulders aim left on their own. I hit maybe 8 - 10 balls and we work out some kinks but nothing earth shattering.

The 2 kids on the range finish their balls and volunteer to pick the range since they were hitting balls the entire time i was on the course.

So while they drive the picker the pro and I head out and work a drill. It's trying to chip the ball with your right hand while maintaining your angles. I'm having a hell of a time even hitting the ball. When I do sometimes it's good and sometimes it squirts right. So he talks to me about the wedge, I think it's the flying wedge that I've seen mentioned. Regardless, he explains how the shaft of the club is supposed to stay inline with your forearm. and the way the shaft extends since your right wrist is bent is the angle of the wedge that you want to hold.

I look at it and am thinking how the hell do you even do that. I take the club back and the shaft drops below my forarm as I bend my wrist and my clubface is closed as well pointing at the ground. So i tryi again and rotate my right forearm and the shaft stay in the correct place and the clubface opens up like you see on a normal swing.

A lightbulb goes off in my head. Well not really it's more like a supernova. The pro's chipping balls and working the same drills and I ask him about it and show him. He says yes, that's it. So I try to chip a ball with just my right hand and bingo, solid contact and compression. So I do it again, and again, and again..... Holy crap. I show him my old motion and how my wrists bend and I start to put the pieces together. Like the closed face etc. I also noticed that I got some width on my backswing as well. I do a few more and he's watching me as I check my wrists as I stop my followthrough. "That's real good" he says. I keep chipping balls with my right hand and then both for a while. Real solid and compressed.

"You got it now", he says. I noticed that my right arm is extendened in my followthrough like it's supposed to be. I tell him I had an epiphany. All of a sudden I'm getting the width in my swing he was looking for and all I did was rotate my forearms on my takeaway.

I asked he how he hit his chips higher, since he was changing trajectories and he showed my how the left arm controls that by adjusting the the loft on the clubface. "Like Utley says", I said. "Yeah, but he doesn't explain it well", he replies. So I start messing with that and get a little variation, though nothing like he does.

So I'm starting to think to myself, can I fade a chip? I close my clubface and take a more out to in swing and the ball goes low since the close face smoothers it but it starts left and curves a little right and rolls out in a left to right path. I then try to draw a chip but no dice with that.

I keep working things and figure what happens if i open my SW wide and do this? A soft lob, the pro called it a cut. I did a couple of these in a row. i've never been able to do this. The perfect shot if your short sided and have to carry a bunker. I was surprised that it didn't take off 45* right of my feet like it used to whener I try a similar shot in the past.

We're running out of balls, since we're chipping them to help the picker and it's about done. I think we were out there 30 minutes chipping balls and talking. I chip a ball and notice my right shoulder is coming down instead of around. I've always rotated my shoulder pretty much level with the ground and it's something we were having a hard time changing. So I find another ball and do it again.

Holy crap, is this the magic key I've been missing? One simple move and all of a sudden my shoulders rotate more correctly; I keep my angles longer; I get compression; I can work the ball a tiny amount; Damn!

I try some full swings and can't quite do it but I did work my way up to half swings with very solid results.


I think I had a major breakthrough today. I am so glad I played like crap and walked off the course. I got that one key piece of info that let alot of the puzzle fit together. And it's was so easy to do, granted I'm just chipping the ball. I know it'll be more work to transfer it to my fullswing but this is going to throw everything I used to do in my swing on it's rear.



Oh, I also ran out and picked up the Stack and Tilt book. My pro has talked about it a little and we talked about it more on the course. He spent 45 minutes talking with Mike Bennett about it down at the Deutchbank Thursday. I already started, as of yesterday, putting more of my weight left at address and that's helped already. So i figured I'd get the book and see what other parts of the pattern I can leverage.

[bortass]

Interesting. Is that good or bad? I dunno.

I've played 36 holes since my mini breakthrough. I've also been reading the Stack and Tilt book. I shot a 99 Sunday and a 102 today.

The round of 99 had 2 blowup holes. A 6 on a par 3 and a 7 on a par 4. The big things were my chipping is in rough shape. I am making more solid contact now and am rolling the ball way past the hole and they are not skulls. The other thing is I hit a series of popups with my driver. 5 of the 7 driving holes on the back had popups.

SO last night as I read Stack and tilt I saw the part about how a lack of lateral shift leads to a steep swing.

Today I at attempted a more stack and tiltish swing and shot a 102 with 7 blow up holes. I only hit a couple popups with the driver.

My blowups were:
#2 slice driver;recovery strikes tree;3 putt.
#3 hook driver;recover fine; hook approach into hazard; 2 chips.
#4 tee shot fat and almost into stream; 2nd shot barely corsses stream; Next one goes long; chip and 2 putt.

I then go +8 over the next 8 holes.

#14 tee shot left into hazard. I find the ball but don't like my odds of getting it out. So I take the penalty. I hit my next 2 so so; 2 chips and 2 putts for 8.

#15 - par!

#16 - I chip well past the hole and have a long downhill putt and 4 jack for a 7.
#17 - lose a ball in the left trees; drop and it takes 2 to get out; approach is short and I lip out my chip and settle for a 7;
#18 - par 5 and I'm 145 out in 2; approacj\h hits a bunker and it takes 2 to get out; 1 chip and 2 putts for an 8.

Which round was better? I know today I got some par and bogies while the 99 was mostly doubles. I hit a series of really good shots and my chipping is still mostly a work in progress. Gotta adjust more to the better contact.

[jkumpire]

Which round was better?

The one you felt most comfortable hitting the ball in. If you think the S&T swing is the way to go, have at it! I'm not sold on it, but I am not you.

Just remember that changing your swing will take time, lost balls, and irritation. But if you and your pro think it will make you better, then go for it without hesitation. If your pro thinks it is not a good idea for you, don't make the change. He knows you and your swing beter than we do, unless of course you want some of us to come to your course and decided for ourselves!!!

Keep practicing hard, and you will reach 90.

[Ronzo]

Interesting that you're trying the S&T, Bort. After thinking about it, I've almost convinced myself that it may be the answer to the weight-shift inconsistency that my knee injury has caused... but I haven't summed up the nerve to try it yet. I'll be watching how you feel about it in your next few rounds. Good luck! Keep 'em coming.

[lee36328]

....

He then grabbed a bucket of balls and we went to the range and he had me work on some of what we saw. Namely trying to get some width on the swing and also not moving my left knee back away from the target. I hit maybe 20 balls working on this stuff and then headed to the course.

 

...

 

So while they drive the picker the pro and I head out and work a drill. It's trying to chip the ball with your right hand while maintaining your angles. I'm having a hell of a time even hitting the ball. When I do sometimes it's good and sometimes it squirts right. So he talks to me about the wedge, I think it's the flying wedge that I've seen mentioned. Regardless, he explains how the shaft of the club is supposed to stay inline with your forearm. and the way the shaft extends since your right wrist is bent is the angle of the wedge that you want to hold.

 

I look at it and am thinking how the hell do you even do that. I take the club back and the shaft drops below my forarm as I bend my wrist and my clubface is closed as well pointing at the ground. So i tryi again and rotate my right forearm and the shaft stay in the correct place and the clubface opens up like you see on a normal swing.

 

A lightbulb goes off in my head. Well not really it's more like a supernova. The pro's chipping balls and working the same drills and I ask him about it and show him. He says yes, that's it. So I try to chip a ball with just my right hand and bingo, solid contact and compression. So I do it again, and again, and again..... Holy crap. I show him my old motion and how my wrists bend and I start to put the pieces together. Like the closed face etc. I also noticed that I got some width on my backswing as well. I do a few more and he's watching me as I check my wrists as I stop my followthrough. "That's real good" he says. I keep chipping balls with my right hand and then both for a while. Real solid and compressed.

 

"You got it now", he says. I noticed that my right arm is extendened in my followthrough like it's supposed to be. I tell him I had an epiphany. All of a sudden I'm getting the width in my swing he was looking for and all I did was rotate my forearms on my takeaway.

 

I asked he how he hit his chips higher, since he was changing trajectories and he showed my how the left arm controls that by adjusting the the loft on the clubface. "Like Utley says", I said. "Yeah, but he doesn't explain it well", he replies. So I start messing with that and get a little variation, though nothing like he does.

 

So I'm starting to think to myself, can I fade a chip? I close my clubface and take a more out to in swing and the ball goes low since the close face smoothers it but it starts left and curves a little right and rolls out in a left to right path. I then try to draw a chip but no dice with that.

 

I keep working things and figure what happens if i open my SW wide and do this? A soft lob, the pro called it a cut. I did a couple of these in a row. i've never been able to do this. The perfect shot if your short sided and have to carry a bunker. I was surprised that it didn't take off 45* right of my feet like it used to whener I try a similar shot in the past.

 

We're running out of balls, since we're chipping them to help the picker and it's about done. I think we were out there 30 minutes chipping balls and talking. I chip a ball and notice my right shoulder is coming down instead of around. I've always rotated my shoulder pretty much level with the ground and it's something we were having a hard time changing. So I find another ball and do it again.

 

Holy crap, is this the magic key I've been missing? One simple move and all of a sudden my shoulders rotate more correctly; I keep my angles longer; I get compression; I can work the ball a tiny amount; Damn!

 

I try some full swings and can't quite do it but I did work my way up to half swings with very solid results.

 

 

I think I had a major breakthrough today. I am so glad I played like crap and walked off the course. I got that one key piece of info that let alot of the puzzle fit together. And it's was so easy to do, granted I'm just chipping the ball. I know it'll be more work to transfer it to my fullswing but this is going to throw everything I used to do in my swing on it's rear.

 

 

...

 

 

Bortass,

 

Thanks for sharing your journey. Your posts are both entertaining and educational, and I am following this thread with interest.

 

Your moment of supernova epiphany is a key highlight.

 

Specifically, it contains some important concepts that will help others in a similar stage in their game if they read it carefully.

 

Don't you find, after you discover the shaft through elbow key, that you start to see this everywhere when you watch a good golf swing on tv or youtube?

 

I look forward to your breaking 90 soon.

 

Happy golfing,

Lee.

[bortass]

[quote name='Ronzo' timestamp='1284055141' post='2687477']
Interesting that you're trying the S&T, Bort. After thinking about it, I've almost convinced myself that it may be the answer to the weight-shift inconsistency that my knee injury has caused... but I haven't summed up the nerve to try it yet. I'll be watching how you feel about it in your next few rounds. Good luck! Keep 'em coming.
[/quote]

I haven't played much but I've been working on it at the range. So far I like it. The only draw back is my left ankle is real sore from the stretch/strain/stress I'm putting on it. I had the same problem back in July when I was working on trying to get to a full finish. So this is not a S&T issue. It's a I'm too fat issue.

I'd say give it a shot. The book mentions that this is not an all or nothing approach. You can work in parts of S&T as needed. The big thing I noticed my last round is that while my score was ugly I was more consistent between my irons and woods/driver. I didn't have that hot/cold thing going where irons were great and tee shots sucked or vice versi.

Funny how I consider a score of 102 ugly when I broke 100 for the first time a bit over 2 months ago. Lol. It's really not a bad score.

Today I spent time on the range working on partial swings with my tour striker. I was doing pretty good and started to notice that I got even better results when I made sure to slide my hips left to start my downswing. The contact was definately better and the ball went higher. I hit some full 7i and 5i. I wasn't getting a high draw. I was getting more of a low draw that will run out. The good news is overall that draw was what i wanted. I was either on target or missing a bit right when it didn'rt curve back as much. So i wouldn't stick a green but I could probably roll a ball on it. I'll take it. My chipping is spotty but that's cuz i'm not used to hitting the ball so well. Even when I use a sw and don't deloft it alot the ball comes out high and rolls out past my target. This is mostly when i'm working a chip where I'm short sided. So i guess it's time to manage my misses more.

[bortass]

....

He then grabbed a bucket of balls and we went to the range and he had me work on some of what we saw. Namely trying to get some width on the swing and also not moving my left knee back away from the target. I hit maybe 20 balls working on this stuff and then headed to the course.

 

...

 

So while they drive the picker the pro and I head out and work a drill. It's trying to chip the ball with your right hand while maintaining your angles. I'm having a hell of a time even hitting the ball. When I do sometimes it's good and sometimes it squirts right. So he talks to me about the wedge, I think it's the flying wedge that I've seen mentioned. Regardless, he explains how the shaft of the club is supposed to stay inline with your forearm. and the way the shaft extends since your right wrist is bent is the angle of the wedge that you want to hold.

 

I look at it and am thinking how the hell do you even do that. I take the club back and the shaft drops below my forarm as I bend my wrist and my clubface is closed as well pointing at the ground. So i tryi again and rotate my right forearm and the shaft stay in the correct place and the clubface opens up like you see on a normal swing.

 

A lightbulb goes off in my head. Well not really it's more like a supernova. The pro's chipping balls and working the same drills and I ask him about it and show him. He says yes, that's it. So I try to chip a ball with just my right hand and bingo, solid contact and compression. So I do it again, and again, and again..... Holy crap. I show him my old motion and how my wrists bend and I start to put the pieces together. Like the closed face etc. I also noticed that I got some width on my backswing as well. I do a few more and he's watching me as I check my wrists as I stop my followthrough. "That's real good" he says. I keep chipping balls with my right hand and then both for a while. Real solid and compressed.

 

"You got it now", he says. I noticed that my right arm is extendened in my followthrough like it's supposed to be. I tell him I had an epiphany. All of a sudden I'm getting the width in my swing he was looking for and all I did was rotate my forearms on my takeaway.

 

I asked he how he hit his chips higher, since he was changing trajectories and he showed my how the left arm controls that by adjusting the the loft on the clubface. "Like Utley says", I said. "Yeah, but he doesn't explain it well", he replies. So I start messing with that and get a little variation, though nothing like he does.

 

So I'm starting to think to myself, can I fade a chip? I close my clubface and take a more out to in swing and the ball goes low since the close face smoothers it but it starts left and curves a little right and rolls out in a left to right path. I then try to draw a chip but no dice with that.

 

I keep working things and figure what happens if i open my SW wide and do this? A soft lob, the pro called it a cut. I did a couple of these in a row. i've never been able to do this. The perfect shot if your short sided and have to carry a bunker. I was surprised that it didn't take off 45* right of my feet like it used to whener I try a similar shot in the past.

 

We're running out of balls, since we're chipping them to help the picker and it's about done. I think we were out there 30 minutes chipping balls and talking. I chip a ball and notice my right shoulder is coming down instead of around. I've always rotated my shoulder pretty much level with the ground and it's something we were having a hard time changing. So I find another ball and do it again.

 

Holy crap, is this the magic key I've been missing? One simple move and all of a sudden my shoulders rotate more correctly; I keep my angles longer; I get compression; I can work the ball a tiny amount; Damn!

 

I try some full swings and can't quite do it but I did work my way up to half swings with very solid results.

 

 

I think I had a major breakthrough today. I am so glad I played like crap and walked off the course. I got that one key piece of info that let alot of the puzzle fit together. And it's was so easy to do, granted I'm just chipping the ball. I know it'll be more work to transfer it to my fullswing but this is going to throw everything I used to do in my swing on it's rear.

 

 

...

 

 

Bortass,

 

Thanks for sharing your journey. Your posts are both entertaining and educational, and I am following this thread with interest.

 

Your moment of supernova epiphany is a key highlight.

 

Specifically, it contains some important concepts that will help others in a similar stage in their game if they read it carefully.

 

Don't you find, after you discover the shaft through elbow key, that you start to see this everywhere when you watch a good golf swing on tv or youtube?

 

I look forward to your breaking 90 soon.

 

Happy golfing,

Lee.

 

Glad you like it. One reason I started the original thread on breaking 100 was in case something I wrote might help some other people. I find that posting sometimes helps me since the time I take typing is time spent reflecting on whatever it is I'm babbling about.

[bortass]

I didn't get to play at all this weekend:scare2:


I did some more work on the range though and it went good IMO.

I played a quick 9 this morning. It was about 55* out and overcast. Fairways were wet with dew and I played the back so there were sprinklers running in the fairways. The only reson I mention this is that rollout was limited.

I'm not gonna do a hole by hole breakdown. It was ugly and I shot a big number. My ball striking was pretty much off all round. It didn't feel good; My left ankle was pretty sore; And I felt kinda flat while playing.

Tee shots were low and left until #17, I was playing the back. The change there is I tried to get my weight left better during my downswing and hit a low to mid draw. I did the same on 18 but it was short. 18 is a par 5 and I was 80 yards from center in 3. My tee shot was 2 feet above my feet, so my second shot ended up where a real good tee shot would and I hit a nice 3w off the deck to get to 80 yards. So I hit my SW, a high draw, that hit the green and stopped 5 feet from the hole. I 1 putted for par and got up and down from 80 yards. So I was happy with how my round ended.

I stopped in the pro shop to enquire about a lesson.

"What are you doing now?" he asked.

"I'm free till 11."

'Ok, let's go. Let me grab my camera and meet you on the range."

So off we went.

I hit a few 7i and a couple driver shots and he videoed them. I hit low draws, hiot one real thin so it pretty much just rolled. Kinda like on the course but a bit better.

We went inside to watch the video and some stuff became apparent.

My backswing is longer now. I'm getting more shoulder rotation then I ever did before. This was a little bit of a surprise since I wasn't working on trying to turn my shoulders more.

My head didn't float around as much as before either. it was moving the way it should.

I was holding my wrist angles through impact better. In fact, I was holding my angles well after impact which could cause the ball to go right on me eventually.

Now there were a few things off a bit.

I'm leaning too far left and I need to flare my left foot out. These weren't real big issues though. I'm also a bit off plane.

The main one was my pivot. I'm not straightening my right leg on the backswing and rotating my hips away from target.

So off to the range we went. He had me trying to lock my right leg at the top of my backswing, exagerate things. Also to not lean so far left. So I worked on that and something interesting happened. I started to hit the ground alot more and it started to get kinda consistant. Before I was hitting the ball thin quite a bit. The better pivot helped me get the club down to the ground. So I started to hit some really fat shots. Then when I started to work in the hip bump left, my low point moved forward as expected.

He had me hit some driver and I got better ball flight overall.

We ended with my PW. It was funny. I was hitting it as far as my 7i, for carry distance. The PW was higher and didn't roll out as much while the 7i did roll out quite a bit. Though I was getting better compression with the PW. I figure it's cuz it's a shorter club and it was at the end of the lesson.

So I've ended lessons in the past hitting the ball better then I did today. So I'm not running around thinking I've had a major improvement. I do think that the right leg and my pivot is the next piece of the puzzle for me. The pro commeneted when we watched the video from the start of the lesson how my swing has changed alot since the last lesson. It's looking better overall.

My swing is definately evolving alot faster now then ever before. The reading of S&T and the work I've done on the range has moved things along, namely that larger shoulder rotation, which is a side effect of something else in my swing. Overall alot of my swing looks good on the video. I know that a pretty swing is useless if you don't make contact. The right leg and the pivot will move me closer to getting that solid contact in a more sound manner.

What does a more sound manner mean? Well I was making solid contact and compressing the ball pretty good when I started to shot my low scores. I had the ball back in my stance and came down pretty steep with a shut club face. There was no real pivot. My tee shots bit at the time.. So overall I think I'm getting a better swing that once it works itself out will work better with all my clubs.

[bortass]

Long time, no post.

I think I started this too soon but it is my next goal since breaking 100. My scores have been fairly steady. A brief recap:
[size="1"]9/27[/size][size="1"]Gorham CC[/size][b][size="1"]98[/size][/b][size="1"]9/25[/size][size="1"]Gorham CC[/size][b][size="1"]48*[/size][/b][size="1"]9/23[/size][size="1"]Gorham CC[/size][b][size="1"]48*[/size][/b][size="1"]9/17[/size][size="1"]Gorham CC[/size][b][size="1"]51*[/size][/b][size="1"]9/15[/size][size="1"]Gorham CC[/size][b][size="1"]49*[/size][/b]

One of those 48s I shot with 2 7s on the card and the other started with 3 7s. So I'm started to play a bit better overall. I'm seeing lower scores per hole and my blowups.

Thinks of interest.

Putting - I still don't practice this at all. I'm averaging 1.92 putts per hole over the last 20 rounds. I'm normally around 1.96 and it crept up to 1.99. So my putting is slowly improving. I feel pretty good inside 3 feet.

Driver - I feel comfortable with this club off the tee. I see more good then bad tee shots with it now. I had the drive of my life on 9/23. I hit a mid height draw 267 yards down the middle of the fairway. The problem is I ran through the fairway and halfway down the hill that leads to the stream fronting the green. So I put my second shot right into the stream.

Irons- This is where I need to focus. I've been thinking about the rounds I shot the 91 and 93 in July. I was hitting my irons real good and my tee shot just ok. I'm the opposite now. I've been pulling alot of irons. Pretty bad at times, like I'm 150 out and I'll pull hook it and miss a good 40 yards left. Part of that is I need to open my clubface more.

The other biggie is I am not getting any compression. I'm back to my 150 yard 5i and I'm hitting everything fat. Not super fat but I see the mark of my clubhead start behing the ball. I gotta get my pivot/weight shift corrected.

So all approaches and par 3s have been dodgey lately.

Here's the good thing. The little halfswing is very solid. I'm using it alot now when I'm inside 70 yards. I hit those cleanly and take a divot after the ball. One reason I think is it's a slower swing and there is no weight shift. I have also used the same technique with my sw and with the handle more upright. I use the bounce and hit pitches that don't roll out much. I'm just starting to mess with this one but it's working great when I gotta carry a bunker.

I was invited to play in the 'Ryder Cup' this year. It's some guys at work and they;'ve done it the last 10 years. 27 holes. The team competion is 6 holes scramble, 6 holes alternate shot, and 6 holes best ball. Followed by a 9 hole individual match. I was on the European team, so I wore my kilt for shock and awe and it worked, lol.

My partner and I won the scramble and alternate shot matches. We both went into the tank bad for best ball but we each won our individual matches. So we pulled in 4 of the 6.5 points our team won. The US team spanked us hard. Notable shots: My team is in the second group. So I tee off first with 11 other guys watching me. I hit a nice driver down the middle. I also sank a 20 footer to halve the hole. There was a short par 4 on the alternate shot and I had to tee off. I hit a draw with my driver that put us 66 yards from center in the middle of the fairway. I wasn't GPSing my distances so I have no clue how far i hit it but it sure felt good. I also used the little half shot to good effect. I tried to stay within my game and even dialed down to 3w a few times in my individual match to try and not give one away off the tee.

Overall it was a very fun day of golf in the rain. If you ever get to play something like this format it's well worth it.

Cheers

[EnglishBob]

Glad your still playing and improving Bort, I have just played my first round after a month layoff due to a hand injury... I took the end off my middle finger on my right hand.

You wouldn't think that would affect the swing too much, but it sure has LOL. Hope you manage to break 90 before your season is over.

[bortass]

[quote name='EnglishBob' timestamp='1285912565' post='2722802']
Glad your still playing and improving Bort, I have just played my first round after a month layoff due to a hand injury... I took the end off my middle finger on my right hand.

You wouldn't think that would affect the swing too much, but it sure has LOL. Hope you manage to break 90 before your season is over.
[/quote]

I hope you have a speedy recovery. Run in with a table saw?

[bortass]

Hit the range this morning and made a discovery. I've been hitting the ball fat or thin alot lately.

I started with my tour striker and hit 15 or so half shots. Most were pretty good. I then went to my SW and was hitting them fat. I noticed something though, my divot always started in the same spot, under my right shoulder. Hmmm, so I move the ball back and hit my PW and I hear the crack of club hitting ball before the ground. I hit a handful more this way. Almost always ball first contact. So I tried the 7i and it came out pretty low but still ball first. SO I shift the ball forward a little bit. I still hit the ball first and got a bit higher. I move to my 5i and it's low but ball first.

Now the ball being that far back means no height but contact was solid. I tried to get my weight left faster and no matter what I did that 5i always hit the ground under my right shoulder. I gotta make that contact with the ball forward more. So at the end I grab my PW and move the ball forward and took some slower swings ie better tempo and started to get my divot forward. I hit 1 or 2 balls that I heard spin, a high draw, that rolled straight and stopped fairly quick. So I try to replicate that with my 7i with the last 3 balls and divot starts under my right shoulder.

I talk to the pro a bit and he confirms that's way too far back. I can play that way but the ball will be low and I'll never carry anything. So I know the problem but why?

After lunch I looked in my S&T book at the section on troubleshooting. The first trouble spot they have was "divot behind the ball". Bingo, that's me. So I look at it and they list 3 things: Weight not far enough left becuase of lower body; weight not far enough left because of upper body; wrists uncocking too soon.

I figure it's my weight, not my wrists. So I grab my 7i and go behind my garage. I try the fix for the lower body not being left enough and swing w/o a ball. I'm just looking for a divot. Sure enough, under my right shoulder. So I look at the fix for upper body causing it. I swing and the divot is forward where it belongs. I try again and same thing. A third time and again the divot is forward. I really wanted to run off to the range to test this more but the heavy rains that are hitting the eastern seaboard finally arrived.

If I get this forward divot going I expect to see a significant change in how my iron shots look and behave. I at least know I can move the ball back to make solid contact albeit low. Those don't seem to squirt offline as much but the forward divot could bring back the high ball flight that will hold a green.

[bortass]

Put up not so hot score Saturday. However I hit a 5i off the tee on a par 3. It was a high draw that hit the green hopped once and stopped inside 18 inches of it's pitch mark. My tee shopts with the driver were real good. I had 1 bad tee shot but other parts of my game bit, like needing 3 to get out of a bunker etc.

This morning I went to the range to work on things and the pro stopped by and videoed me and gave me a free mini lesson. He likes my shoulder turn and pivot alot more now. The move to S&T principals it's helping me get a bit more solid in my fundamantals. I don't want to say I'm a S&T swing yet because it's a work in progress. I'm heading down that pathg but not there yet. The main things is I still have no width in my swing, so I get too inside and stuck. My stance was also too narrow. Lastly I still do not release the club and let my right forearm roll over.

I worked on things and it was a b!tch. Lol, just have a hard time with it but I started to get it at the end of my bucket.

I came home and grabbed lunch and went and played 18. I started on the back to avoid the groups on the front.

10 - par 5, driver about 200 yards into the right fairway. I forgot to turn on my GPS and had no satelites but the 200 is about right based on what i did Saturday. The tees were back so the hole is really a par 6 unless I smoke a 3w. I don't and 2 3w later I'm about 113 from center hitting into a stiff breeze. I grab my 8i and hit a nice high draw that stops 1 foot from it's pitch mark. I'm pin high and 8 feet right of the flag and 2 putt for 6.

11 - par 4, I fubar my driver with a low pull 165 in the fairway. I'm over 200 out and fubar a 3w into the left rough... Now I'm 133 from center and hit a 7i. It's way short. I punch the ball on to 8 feet and 2 putt again.

12 - par 4, My driver is a popup hook into the left trees. It's a hazard ad I take my drop. I top a 7i layup and it goes maybe 30 - 40 yards. I'm 122 out slightly uphill into the wind. So i hit a 7i. It's a draw that hits the green and leaves me 36 feet from the hole. I 2 putt for a 6. I'll take it since I have a penalty in the mix.

13 - par 3, about 142 and into the wind. I hit a 5i, high draw short of the green. My chip is dubbed short. Damn it. I chip again and hole out for par...

14 - par 4, I pull my driver into the left trees, again a hazard. I drop and layup to 140. I go with 5i and it's thin and short of the green. I dub my chip. Jesus, I suck at chipping. I chip again an dhole it out for a 6......

Wow!

15 - par 3 over a pond and playing 163. I hit my 3H short of the green. I chip on and 2 putt for a 4.

16 - par 4, I hit my driver down the left middle 179 yards. I'm 164 out and my 4i is short of the green. I chip to 3 feet. The hole is on a side slope and I 3 putt... WTH?

17 - par 4, I hit my driver 199 down the middle. I'm 133 out and hit a 7i. it's fat city and way short. I hit a partial wedge on and 2 putt for a 5.

18 - par 5, I hit driver and it goes a whooping 140 yards. I have a slight sidehill/uphill lie. My 5i is fat. So I'm in the left rough about 223 yards out. I hit my 7i. It's a high draw into the wind and goes about 150! I', 83 yards out and hit the green with my SW and 2 putt for a 6.

I add it up and I have a 48. I need a 41 on the front now. 4 shots below my PB.

1 - par 4, I hit my driver and it's a high draw that goes an impressive 236 yards! I'm 73 from center and go with my sw. I hit a high draw 90 yards over the back. I chip on and 2 putt for 5.

2 - par 4, I hit a nice draw with the driver 198 into the middle of the fairway. I'm going uphill into the wind. I'm 121 out and hit my 7i. It's a high draw and just short of the green. I chip to 3 feet and sink the par putt.

3 - par 4, another nice draw 199 into the fairway. I pull my approach right of the green. I can't go for the flag cuz of a large pine tree. So I chip below the hole and 2 putt for a 5.

4 - par 3, I hit my 5i and it's a high draw but left of the green. I have to chip the ball a good 12 inches below my feet from the rough. So I skull it. I'm 55 feet from the hole and my par putt catches the left lip and goes 5 feet past. So a bit low and too fast but at least I got it there. I sink the bogey putt.

5 - par 4, I push my tee shot into a tree on the right. My 7i layup from the rough is fat... My 3w from a decent lie in the rough goes left on me. I'm 118 out in 3 and hit my 8i cuz of wind etc. It goes over the green... I chip on and it catches the lip of the hole but keeps goin. So I 2 putt for a 7....

6 - par 3, I hit my 6i and can't see the ball. I hear it hit a tree and see it drop short of the green. My chip is thin and rolles past the hole and I 2 putt for 4.

7 - par 4, a nice high popup that goes maybe 120. I'm in a valley and have to go over a hill so my 3w is a no go. I hit either a 5 or 7i layup and top it. I'm 173 out now and hit my 5w and top that... I then pull my PW left of the green. 2 chips and 1 putt later I have another 7.

8 - par 4, I hit a low shot with driver but it's in the fairway and 187 off the tee. My 5i approach is short and left. Again 2 chips and 1 putt for a 5 this time.

9 - par 5, I hit a nice darw into the wind with my 3w. It only goes 147 but I clear the corner. My next shot is fat. I'm now about 203 yards out. I layup with a 7i. My sw approach hits the green but short of the flag. I 2 putt for another 6.

So a 48/47. I only had 2 blowups but you can't really have any and break 90 unless you can bag some pars or a birdie. No idea how I holed out chips on consectitive holes.

I think I hadabout 7 really good iron shots that flew like they should. My driver was dodgey though, sigh.

Playing lesson Tuesday AM.

[bortass]

I've been working on things that the pro pointed out during the playing lesson and other sessions.

I played in a modified scramble yesterday. Everyone tee's off and you pick the drive to use and play your own ball the rest of the way. It was gross and net, so I got about 30 strokes to help with the net part of things. I played good and we came in second. Some team mates were joking about my HCP and that I was a sandbagger, etc. Lol. I did tell them all my scores arer in GHIN if they want to see them. I was making some shots that they didn't expect from a 29 index.


Played 18 today.

1 - par 4, low hook with the driver about 124 into #2. Way too far out and dub my 5i but get into the left rough of my fairway. Dub another shot and end up hitting a 9i. It's a high draw over the back of the green. I chip to about 9 feet and sink the putt for a 6. Off to a dodgey start.


2 - par 4, I hit a low draw 184 down the left side of the fairway. I'm 143 from center, uphill into the wind and go with my 5i. It's a bit thin and a low draw that runs up onto the green. I'm 15 feet away and 2 putt for my par.

3 - par 4, I hit another low draw down the left side 201 yards. I'm 144 out but it's downhill with a tailwind. I select my 7i and hit a nice high push that misses well right. I'm blocked by a tree, so no diret line to the flag. I dub my first chip right and don't get on. I chip again to 8 feet and sink the bogey putt.

Not bad, 15 after 3. I'm on pace.

4 - par 3 w/stream. It's 150 into a srong breeze. I hit my 3h and it's a push, right into a pine tree and it drops into the stream. I find my ball on the bank and try to play it. It ends up in the stream. I drop and pitch short of the green. Chip to 3 feet and 1 putt for a 6. I could of had a 5 maybe, if I had dropped instead of taking that second shot.

5 - par 4, I hit my driver and it's a low fade 171 into the right side of the fairway. I'm 200 out and hit 3w to get close. it's a fade that gets me to 47 yards from center. I hit a pitch to 15 feet and 2 putt for a 5.

6 - par 3, about 136 into the wind. So I go with my 6i. I hit a high draw, right of the green and almost over it. I'm in a bunker now. I get out of the bunker and on the green about 12 feet above the holeMy par putt misses and I sink the 1 footer for bogey.

7 - par 4, I hit a low fade with the driver, 199 into the right rough. I have a good lie and lie. I'm 169 out and go with my 5w. I top it to about 92 yards from center. My GW is a high draw and it lands onthe green. I two putt from 15 feet for another bogey.

8 - par 4, another low fade but only 155 with the driver. I hit my 3w short of the green. I'm 30ish yards out and pitch the ball and it rolls just a few inches long into the fringe. I chip to 2 feet and sink the bogey putt.

9 par 5, I go with 3w and it's a fade that catches a tree on the right, so I don't clear the corner and it's an awesome 121 off the tee. I have a good size gap through the trees though that moweres etc use. So I hit a little 5i punch up into the fairway. So I'm a little better then I'd be with a solid tee shot. This is like a solid tee shot followed by a mishit. I'm 220 out and the ball is below my feet a little. I hit my 3w to about 78 yards from center. I hit my SW on and 6 feet right of the flag and darin the par putt.

Now that is a great start. I didn't add anything up but I know I have a shot at cracking 90.

10 - par 5, I dub my driver low and left 124 yards. I hit my 3h into the right rough but I made up enough yardage that it's like a decent drive and a solid iron shot. I hit my 3w from the rough and it's a low draw that runs all the way and stops 50 yards short of center. I hit a half SW on and 2 putt for a 6.

11 - long par 4, I hit a fade with my driver about 172 into the wind into the right rough. I have a good lie and hit a fade with my 3w to get to 65 yards from center. I hit a partial GW on the green and 2 putt for a 5.

12 - par 4, I smoke a draw 230 off the tee into the middle of the fairway. I'm on a slope with the ball above my feet. I had a similar shot on this hole yesterday and hit it fat as hell. I'm 125 out and go with my 9i. I make a change though and choke down, so I have my normal stance and the club will bottom out like it should taking the hill into acout. I hit a nice draw just short of the green. A couplke things, choking down means I need more club and that 9i is my 110 club. So i kinda messed up. I chip on and 2 putt for bogey. So close to a par but not quite.

13 - par 3, I hit a thin 5i that rolls on the green and I 2 putt for par.

14 - long par 4, I hit a nice draw down the right side. I'm too far out and hit my 3w and mishit it but I'm now 92 yards from center in the fairway. I grb my GW and it's fat and well short. I chip on but short. I have a tricky putt and miss high and send the ball 12 feet past the hole. Bite me. I miss the come back putt and settle for a 3 putt 7. There goes my great round....

15, par 3 with a pond. I hit my 3h and it's a pull left of the green but safe. I chip on and 2 putt for a 4.

16 - par 4, I hit my driver 202 down the middle. I'm 130 out and my 7i is thin and misses short and left. I have a tricky chip and leave myself 15 or so feet from the hole with a right to left side slope putt. I miss but sink the bogey putt.

17 - par 4, I hit a high popup into the left trees 170 yards. I find it and have a clear path out but not at the green. I hit a low 5i to 50 yards from center. I leave my SW short. I need to keep the ball below the hole and i chip it about 6 feet about the hole. Not a bad spot. I know how to make this putt. You tap the ball and it rolls in because it's a pretty good slope you are going down. I do that and miss just an inch or 2 right of the hole. So I settle for a 6. Not bad after that tee shot.

18 - par 5, I hit my driver down the left side, 200 yards, into a fairway bunker. It's a low lip and I hit a great 5i that goes to the 110 mark. I garb my 9i and make a nice swing. Solid contact, high draw, over the green... Damn. I'm in the woods and my shot from there is hot and through the green. I chip to 20 feet... I line it up and sink the putt to save a bogey.

I add it up and have a 45/47 for a 92. My second lowest round ever. Sooo close. The blown putts on 14 and launching the green on 18 kinda hurt. I had a solid round where no single area of my game was super awesome. I made decent shots and kept myself out of trouble for most of the round. I did have some clutch putting though.

[LUMA]

The best way to do this is play smart. Lay up. Hit the clubs you are better with. It it calls for a 5 wood but there is water or sand, just lay up. Those xtra 1 and 2 strokes add up big time.

Good luck!

[bortass]

Wow.
I took a half day and played 18 today. I started off strong. I was @ 36 after 8 par for those holes is 30! On 9 I almost hole out my approach shot, so I'm 3 feet from the cup in 4 on a par 5. I 3 putt for a 7.... A 43 on the front. My personal best 9 ever.

I start on the back and it's a long par 5 and I get a bogey. On 11, long par 4. I hit a good drive and decent 3w to get to 90 yards or so from center. My GW misses well right with a push. I chip to 15 feet and 3 putt for 7... It spirals from there and I shot a 57 on the back for an even 100. My putting went in the tank and I put some tee shots into hazards.

Now I think my blow up on the back was all mental. I knew I was on pace for my PB on the front and had a solid shot at breaking 90 and it got to me.

I definately think I'm making some progress. That 43 on the front wasn't all awesome shots. I hit what should have been a nice draw into a pine tree near the forwards tees and it goes 90 yards and I pull out a 5, par 4. I had two other shots off the tee go under trees and I pulled out bogey on both holes.

Bad news is I messed up my right hip playing VB tonight. It hurts to stand up. No idea what I did since I didn't feel anything when it happened..... I think my golfing is toast for a bit.

[bortass]

There was a holdover item from my thread on breaking 100. My clubs. They have been questioned a few times in that thread and I tried to get an idea about them last year. I learnt that they we 1 inch too long and +5 degrees upright. So I had then cut down to std length and regripped with midsize grips. I never touched the lie angle nor figured out if I had the right shafts.

Yesterday I drove down to the Boston area for a club fitting and learned some interesting stuff. This fitting was on a launch monitor and I think I hit around 120 balls as we worked through my irons and driver.

I have the wrong shafts in all my clubs. My irons have stiff shafts. The guy that fit me many years ago just said 'you'll need stiff shafts because you're a big guy'. I had only been playing a few years at the time and had no clue that what I went through was not a proper fitting. So I'm pleading ignorance as the reason I never realized that maybe things weren't as good as I had always assumed with that fitting. My woods and driver, and my hybrid, all have stiff shafts because that's what my irons had. Again, ignorance on my part.

My iron fitting showed I should be R flex, std length, +3 degrees upright, and my grip should be +1/32 which is between std and midsize. The LM stats had me hitting the R flex shaft about 14 yards further then my current irons. I carried about the same distance but got a bit more roll. My smash factor was also better with the r flex.

He looked at my iron heads and told me they are in great shape for their age. So for the irons, I play MacGregor 565s, he recommends just reshafting them all, bending them, and regripping. My Macgregors had a higher launch then the Wishon iron with r flex. So I'm thinking that my M565 with the correct flex will still get airborne better. He also recomends a better shaft for my wedges.

My driver is just a shaft replacement to a high launch R flex shaft and the proper sized grip. I gamed a 420cc head last year but i have a 460 cc head that has a shaft that was even stiffer then my 420, so I never used it. The 460 is the MacGregot MT, I picked it up for less then $70 new a few years ago when macGregor clubs were being dumped on the market. My 420 stiff had carry of 147 and total distance of 178. The demo club was a larger head, same loft, with a hi launch shaft and I got a carry of 159 and a total of 202. So again I'm thinking a new shaft in my 10.5* 460cc driver is going to get me more distance in the air. I also assume that the clubhead is better overall then the Wishon head i demoed, though I may be wrong.

Other interesting things. My swing speed is pretty consistent. It varies about 2.5 mph within each set. I'm an amazing 76 MPH with a driver! He also noted that the LM was showing that I was squaring up my clubface real well, though I wasn't hitting the sweet spot much. He had me try a Bridgestone ball for awhile to see what that would do. Once I went back to my Gamer, my launch angle improved. The gamer spins more then the Bridgestone and with my low swing speed backspin is my friend since I need to keep the ball in the air as long as possible.

Overall it was a real positive experience for me. Now I just need to work out the club changes.

[bortass]

The season is set to begin soon. At least in theory all of this snow is supposed to melt, I thought global warming was supposed to help. I'm hoping that some courses may open in the next 3 weeks. The snow pack is disappearing at least.

I had my irons, SW, and GW regripped, bent, and reshafted based on the club fitting. So I'm going from a stiff steel rifle 6.0 to a 95g R flex graphite shaft in my irons. The two wedges have 110g graphite R flex shafts. I haven't done anything with my woods yet. So those are still S flex shafts.

I got a new driver with a high launch R flex shaft as well, again based on the club fitting. It's a 460cc 11* head. This replaces the 420cc 10.5* stiff shafted driver I used last year.

I have been hitting some balls for the last few weeks. I am mostly hitting Almost Golf 3Point balls. Those are the foam ones that Pelz sells. They are nice because they show your ball flight w/o going that far. I was hitting my 7i about 55 yards with a high draw and my driver only flies 80ish yards. These balls really die off near the end. Most of my work has been hitting off a matt in a parking lot until the last week or so.

The Casio I bought myself for xmas was a wise purchase. I have been taking video of some swings and the pro I work with has looked at them and we've made some changes. The big one, and last we made, was for me to take a longer backswing. I don't know what you would call my old backswing but my shaft is closer to verticle then parallel when I started my downswing. So now I'm trying to get it more parallel then verticle. This should help my clubhead speed and gain me some distance. The caveat I was given is more speed is good as long as I don't start losing control of the clubhead. Makes sense to me, so this is what I've been working on.

The last week I have been able to hit balls on a soccer the field. I started with irons off my matt because the ground is kinda frozen and I don't want to chew up the field. I'm near the boundry fence, so I didn't use the matt today. I'm not on a section of the field that a few small divots will hurt. It's slow going because I'll hit 5 balls and then go pick them up.

Now the fun part. I've hit a few real balls w/ my driver. Maybe 8 swings over 3 days. I'm losing my stash of old balls because I hit them and lose them in the snow. The new driver definately hits the ball higher then my old one. I was hitting some and it was under 40 degrees out and windy. The ball was struck a bit low on the face closer to the toe then center. The ball took off and climbed. I watched the ball keep going up until the angle from my eyes to the ball went over the 60 foot trees in the distance. The ball then leveled out and landed and snow shot up like a mini mortar round landing. It was kinda cool to see. I was able to find the ball and it carried about 160 or so. I had no rollout with the snow.

I know 160 doesn't sound like much but it was all carry, on a cold windy day, using random balls i had found on the course last year. My average driver total distance last year, including mishits and my few great shots, was about 175 yards. A solid drive went close to 200 and at times i'd poke one out there 220 - 240. I don't know what to really expect once things warm up and I hit it on the course but I'm feeling optimistic. The ball flight looks so much better. I have also been using masking tape on the face to try to find the setup that will let me hit the ball closer to the sweet spot.

Today, I hit some irons off the deck. It was 35* out and the wind was a good 15 - 25 MPH almost into my face. One gust actually knocked my stand bag over... I can't believe how high my 9i went today. I could easily hit it over some trees if I wanted. The ball came down and either died on landing or spun back towards me a bit. I had the GPS and the best shot went 99 yards. Last season my 9i was my 110 club, but I'm hitting into a wind that should cost me 20 yards, if what I have read is correct, and it was barely above freezing. The balls BTW were not frozen, I have them in my bag which has been in my basement which is about 50 degrees. I only hit about 6 shots with the 9i. The flight really surprised me and I dunno how much the wind had to do with it.

I hit a 4i as well. This is a club I struggle with. I only hit two balls. The first my tempo sucked and I topped. The second I slowed down and struck it decent. I got a higher flight then I'm used to and it flattened out and travelled. Again not super far with that wind but it still looked pretty good.

I have been using my Tour Striker wedge alot and I'm learning that my tempo is getting to be important. I flip when I get quick. When I smooth things out I'm able to make solid contact and get the ball airborne and high. The TS showed it today and I've seen the same thing with my 9i, 4i, 3w, and driver. This is a great tool and it's really helping me out.

I've also been watching Mickelson's Secrets of the Short Game. I bought it last year and never watched it. Now I feel like a dummy. His methodology is pretty straightforward. I've started to work on it in my basement a bit and have been getting good results. I've even been able to hit some chips that spin more and land softly. I can't wait to start trying this on the practice green. It makes sense and it seems to work.

I am getting excited about the upcoming season. I know I can't say anything definitive about the swing or new/modified clubs but what I'm seeing looks better then what I saw last year. I think I have a real good shot at cracking 90. I came real close last year and the new ball flight should help my irons hold the green. The driver is getting high enough that I may be able to carry the ball over the crests of some of the hills on the course I play. The S&T swing is coming along as well.

Here's a video of my driver. It was after dinner, so it's a bit dark. 35 degrees out with some wind. I never found the ball because it landed in the snow in the distance.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwa22VfVbG0[/media]

[Rohlio]

Holy crap Bort, It has been a while since i have seen your swing. That is looking much better. Nice to seey ou still working hard.

[bortass]

Thanks Rohlio. All the credit goes to my pro. I put in plenty of range time many years ago but had no clue what I was doing and the few lesson with a different guy never took hold. The guy loves to teach and I've lucky enough to reap the benefits of it. Practice is fun for me. I enjoy it and it doesn't feel like work. That helps alot too. Though I still prefer to play then practice, lol.

The move to S&T is helping out alot too. We started to notice that I was getting a better shoulder turn even though that was not something we were working on at the time. I still have a ways to go with it though. I have a feeling that I'm not moving my hips forward enough with the driver. My swing plane with the driver is very upright. I compared it to a 7i swing and I seem to be swinging on the same plane. My understanding is that my driver should be a shallower plane then my 7i, but I'm waiting to hear from Rick, my pro, before I do much about it.

How's S&T coming along for you?

[Rohlio]

[quote name='bortass' timestamp='1301237637' post='3092636']
Thanks Rohlio. All the credit goes to my pro. I put in plenty of range time many years ago but had no clue what I was doing and the few lesson with a different guy never took hold. The guy loves to teach and I've lucky enough to reap the benefits of it. Practice is fun for me. I enjoy it and it doesn't feel like work. That helps alot too. Though I still prefer to play then practice, lol.

The move to S&T is helping out alot too. We started to notice that I was getting a better shoulder turn even though that was not something we were working on at the time. I still have a ways to go with it though. I have a feeling that I'm not moving my hips forward enough with the driver. My swing plane with the driver is very upright. I compared it to a 7i swing and I seem to be swinging on the same plane. My understanding is that my driver should be a shallower plane then my 7i, but I'm waiting to hear from Rick, my pro, before I do much about it.

How's S&T coming along for you?
[/quote]

I took a lot from S&T and incorporated it into my motion. A lot of it really helped me and increased my understanding of the swing. I think a lot of people would gain a lot by understanding what it is really about, glad it is helping you ( and it clearly is). I am very happy to see you found a teacher to work with who is really helping you. Too many people taking money for lessons who are not helping their students get better ( not bad people, just in the wrong profession).

I haven't played hardly at all for the last year or so, but I am hitting the ball fantastic with the bit of range time I get. It is certainly nice to have had all the practice and perseverence pay off in a swing that I barely have to maintain. I played three rounds last week after taking 5 months off and only going to the range 3 times and shot all 3 rounds in the 70's while hitting 67% of greens.

I made a little movie of my swing progression from when I first got serious about the game until the present. Check it out if you want. Maybe if you see how bad my initial motion was it will inspire you.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knHUqUfnD3o[/media]

[bortass]

Very nice progression. It's amazing how fast you got your HCP down. It's harder the closer you are to 0 and you started at 20.

I've shaved over 20 strokes the last few years but that's going from a 50 to a 28, lol. It's easier to improve at the high end of things.

[bortass]

Sunday I went to a local store in search of a 4W I could hit off the deck. This will replace my 3 and 5 woods. I want something that is high launch, so I can have a go at some of the long par 4s where I'm 200 yards out after a decent drive and on par 5s.

They started me off with a 3w and something interesting happened. My swingspeed was between 83 and 86 MPH. Big whoop you may say but at my fitting in February my driver swingspeed was 76 MPH. Where did this magical 10 MPH come from?
Well, one of the changes via video and email last week was for me to get a fuller backswing. That seems to be making a difference in my SS.

So I hit some 3w to narrow things down a bit and the guy gives me a Cally Diable TE Octane 4w with a regular shaft. I have a few mishits, like I did with the other clubs when my tempo was too quick. I did have more solid hits then mishits and this club was getting the ball in the air. I even carried 190 on 1 swing. I tried a Mizuno 4w but the Cally was easier for me to hit for some reason. The ball tended to go right of target and the guy working with me called it a cut. It's not a slice or fade and I'd probably have said it's a high push. So I walked out the door with a new club .

I really think it will help me out based on what I saw on the LM. It wasn't terribly difficult to hit either. I'll have to work with it some to see what it's true performance on course will be though.

I also started to mess with my driver tee height. I find if I address the ball on the toe with the entire ball above the crown, I hit it near center and higher on the face. I'll need to keep playing with things to work out the best tee height.

Now if only the accursed snow would melt so some ranges would open. They started Girls lacrosse practice today and I say them working near the field I've been hitting balls in. So my days to use it, except on weekends, is probably over till this summer.