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The pursuit of 5

Giving how I've been playing, I've dreaded circling back to this thread. I've got some 9 hole scores in but also have several rounds where I've just gone out to "play" - those rounds where you hit a crap shot, drop another and smoke it, or drop another hit a a worse **** shot than you just did. I'll play the first ball but I've been trying to have a little fun smacking it around and to hell with whatever the score is. Yesterday, I shot a 41 on the front with a double the got the shanks on the back and was pretty lucky to shoot 48. On the bright side, I bogeyed the last 5 to stem the bleeding.

I've had fun playing different balls to see which ones feel better and perform, at least to the naked eye, better for me. Same with a couple of different driver shafts. I'll play 9 with one setup and 9 with another. I'm pretty sure I've found my ball. I have a driver shaft that I really want to like best. Call it shaft A. I've hit some good shots with it but the feel is different than shaft B which is giving me more consistent results but with maybe slightly less distance. B just feels better throughout the swing. I wish I could describe it more precisely but I can't. The first one I mentioned brings the left back into play more than the other. I've put shaft B into my LTDx 10.5 and hit some really nice shots wit it. Once I get the swing better settled, I may look at going 10.5 instead of 12.

I've done something that I've been able to avoid in past years, and I know better. I need to stop watching every youtube video that pops up. There are a few teachers I "trust" but I've been all over the place watching this guy and that one. Most everything makes sense but I'm not even sure the video is addressing a problem I have or one I think I have because the instruction makes sense to me. I had a lesson scheduled but weather intervened. With my coach's junior golf stuff and club duties, it's difficult to find time when we can get together. I'm to the point of looking for someone on Skillest but have to get some swings on video.

Pity party over.
 
Parrot said:
but also have several rounds where I've just gone out to "play" - those rounds where you hit a crap shot, drop another and smoke it, or drop another hit a a worse **** shot than you just did. I'll play the first ball but I've been trying to have a little fun smacking it around and to hell with whatever the score is.
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It sounds like we are both doing the same kind of thing to start the year. Even down to the shanks. I’m totally unconcerned with scoring right now. I’m not even reporting scores at this point. It’s so wet and muddy out there plus with the rust of coming out of the off-season it’s just not worth it to report scores in my opinion.

Plus just like you I’m testing out a bunch of different balls testing out different wedges. I’ve got a new driver in the bag. Basically the whole bag is new from last year so I’m gonna give myself some time and once it dries out around May I’ll reluctantly renew my USGA membership and start posting scores again.

I say that to say it’s probably not worth it to put too much stock in into what’s going on right now in the golf game you’re gonna get to this goal by midseason this year bank on it 👊🏼

Also, in regards to the YouTube instructor stuff, I totally agree. Over the past few years, I found one that I trust and I’ll only watch their content it’s Danny Maude. I might not use everything that he posts, but there’s enough content there that I can grab bits and pieces from, and just hearing one voice in my head has proved to be so much better.
 
Good on you @Parrot for going after it. It sounds like we are very similar - sitting at similar caps and with similar short game struggles. I am in a position where my long game and irons are approaching or in some cases surpassing a 5, but my short game and putting are letting me down. I will be committing to wedge practice and putting practice being my primary user of (limited) practice time over the next few months, with a few driver swings in there as I've struggled finding the middle of the face there recently.

Will be following with interest here for sure. Don't feel too bad about those janky early season swing hitches, they'll work themselves out with more reps. Also good on you for taking the challenge with physical fitness, it truly reaps benefits both in golf and in life!
 
I hit a couple of buckets Friday and got the shanks with my short irons. Towards the end of the last bucket, I found something that clicked. I movedmy right foot back about 3 inches. I hit about 15 shots with my 58, 53 and 48 that were as dead on as I can hit them. I could've covered the ball marks on each with a nickel, maybe a penny on the 58. Saturday morning, it wasn't as good on the range but close. Second hole after I killed a drive into the wind, I've got 105 to the pin. I addressed the ball in my new setup and shank city. Damned near hit my playing partners cart 30 yards up and right of me. I'm good until the 8th and shank a 53. I shanked a 58 on 9, 11 and 15. I shanked a PW on 18. I had no problems chipping or pitcing around the green and got up and down 6 times to save par or bogey to shoot 87.

Yesterday, I had 3 or 4 more shanks along with 7 tops off the tee or with a fairway wood and 8 straight up bladed shots. And I had a 4 putt from 10 feet on one of my 4 GIR.

Lesson tomorrow. I got a lot of work to do.
 
Had my lesson this morning. I told my coach what I was seeing - shanks, thin/bladed shots, tops off the tee and that most of my solidly struck shots were pulls or pull draws/hooks. He watched me hit some balls and said my swing didn't look as out of kilter as it did this time last year. He told me I was starting with an open clubface and fanning it open more on the takeaway, and I was early extending (a historical swing fault for me) getting my my weight out on my toes, finishing more on my left toes than heel. We worked on a pressure board and right pocket back, left pocket back against a wall. He then had me using this deal that is a half ball with a strap that goes around your lead fore foot to get a feeling of getting to my left heel as I rotate through, rather than stall and early extend. He had me address the ball as usual and showed where my clubface was aimed. It was a good bit right. When I set up with the club square to my line, the face looked miles left. We worked on keeping the right palm facing down to about thigh/waist high. By the end of the lesson, I was hitting some solid iron shots that stayed on line or drew just a bit, which is what I see when I'm playing my best, with my weight on my left heel.

So, things are not as bad as they seemed Sunday. There is a lot of work to do to for these improvements to become more repeatable. I feel a bit optimistic. Today.
 
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Since the lesson, I’ve gotten out to hit a few buckets and have worked on having my right palm down at thigh high. I’ve also worked on the right pocket back, left pocket while having a thin book under my right fire foot. These are still not second nature to me and I have to think about them and rehearse the swing to feel them.

I played today and had a much better round than last week. 10 shots better. I’ve got to tighten up the driver. I still hit a couple of tops but not anything near as many as last week. A few pushes left me no shot at the green. And no shanks today! I hit more shots solid than I have this year, it seems.

If I can stay on track and keep working on the things my instructor showed me, I think I’ll have a reasonable shot at getting to 5 at some point. Just maybe not this year.
 
Little update here. I've continued to work on the drills my coach gave me. One of these days, the moves will be more intuitive. I have to think about what I'm doing and sometimes that gets away from me on the course.

I've played 3 times in the last 10 days or so. An 84 at Oxmoor Valley (Valley), 86 at Ross Bridge and 88 at home. Some good some bad. I was 10 over on 4 holes in the 88. I'd done a fair job at avoiding more than a couple of bad holes a round until then. I'm not unhappy with my progress other than putting. It's killing me. Sunday, I had 6 birdie chances inside 10 feet and went 0/6. 2 downhill that stopped just short but dead center, 3 that burned an edge and 1 270* lip out. I've not made very many between 5-10 feet. You work to get better in one area and a relatively good part of your game goes to pot.

I've been playing an AJ 10.5* with surprisingly good results. I'd been playing an LTDx 10.5 and really started struggling with it last Spring. I put the 12*, with a softer flex shaft, in my Morgan Cup bag to reduce the lefts and help with height and carry. It worked pretty well. I saw some glimmers of hope hitting a few different 10.5s earlier this year with @OldandStiff so I decided to try the 10.5 AJ again to see if I saw good results on the course. The swing is still a work in progress but I like what I'm seeing with the 10.5. Height is a little lower but I've picked up some roll and overall distance. Got to say, it's fun to see drives farther down yonder than I'd been.

I'll #getthere as I #gochasemore. :LOL:
 
Keep grinding on your #drivefor5 ;)
 
Parrot said:
Little update here. I've continued to work on the drills my coach gave me. One of these days, the moves will be more intuitive. I have to think about what I'm doing and sometimes that gets away from me on the course.

I've played 3 times in the last 10 days or so. An 84 at Oxmoor Valley (Valley), 86 at Ross Bridge and 88 at home. Some good some bad. I was 10 over on 4 holes in the 88. I'd done a fair job at avoiding more than a couple of bad holes a round until then. I'm not unhappy with my progress other than putting. It's killing me. Sunday, I had 6 birdie chances inside 10 feet and went 0/6. 2 downhill that stopped just short but dead center, 3 that burned an edge and 1 270* lip out. I've not made very many between 5-10 feet. You work to get better in one area and a relatively good part of your game goes to pot.

I've been playing an AJ 10.5* with surprisingly good results. I'd been playing an LTDx 10.5 and really started struggling with it last Spring. I put the 12*, with a softer flex shaft, in my Morgan Cup bag to reduce the lefts and help with height and carry. It worked pretty well. I saw some glimmers of hope hitting a few different 10.5s earlier this year with @OldandStiff so I decided to try the 10.5 AJ again to see if I saw good results on the course. The swing is still a work in progress but I like what I'm seeing with the 10.5. Height is a little lower but I've picked up some roll and overall distance. Got to say, it's fun to see drives farther down yonder than I'd been.

I'll #getthere as I #gochasemore. :LOL:
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Enjoy following the grind! Seems like you're closer and closer to uncorking that bad boy and seeing some lower scores roll in
 
It's been difficult to have some good range time to instill better the things I'm working on and play. The arthritis in my hands has given me fits. I've played 18 on back to back days a couple of times and really suffered for it. But, knock on wood, between new grips (SuperStroke Cross-Comfort oversize) and my doc prescribing a different anti-inflammatory, I've been able to hit balls twice and play 18 in 4 days without a lot of pain. I'm playing again this afternoon so we'll see. I'm hopeful.
 
Parrot said:
Little update here. I've continued to work on the drills my coach gave me. One of these days, the moves will be more intuitive. I have to think about what I'm doing and sometimes that gets away from me on the course.

I've played 3 times in the last 10 days or so. An 84 at Oxmoor Valley (Valley), 86 at Ross Bridge and 88 at home. Some good some bad. I was 10 over on 4 holes in the 88. I'd done a fair job at avoiding more than a couple of bad holes a round until then. I'm not unhappy with my progress other than putting. It's killing me. Sunday, I had 6 birdie chances inside 10 feet and went 0/6. 2 downhill that stopped just short but dead center, 3 that burned an edge and 1 270* lip out. I've not made very many between 5-10 feet. You work to get better in one area and a relatively good part of your game goes to pot.

I've been playing an AJ 10.5* with surprisingly good results. I'd been playing an LTDx 10.5 and really started struggling with it last Spring. I put the 12*, with a softer flex shaft, in my Morgan Cup bag to reduce the lefts and help with height and carry. It worked pretty well. I saw some glimmers of hope hitting a few different 10.5s earlier this year with @OldandStiff so I decided to try the 10.5 AJ again to see if I saw good results on the course. The swing is still a work in progress but I like what I'm seeing with the 10.5. Height is a little lower but I've picked up some roll and overall distance. Got to say, it's fun to see drives farther down yonder than I'd been.

I'll #getthere as I #gochasemore. :LOL:
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Sounds like the putts just didn't fall that round. I've had rounds where I was putting pretty well but they were just burning the edges. As long as I'm doing that I don't get upset about. Now if I'm missing by a few inches or have a bunch of pulls/pushes then I'll get upset. You might have another day with similar putts and you may get 3-4 of those to fall. How far past the hole were the ones that burned the edge?
 
Raiderboost said:
Sounds like the putts just didn't fall that round. I've had rounds where I was putting pretty well but they were just burning the edges. As long as I'm doing that I don't get upset about. Now if I'm missing by a few inches or have a bunch of pulls/pushes then I'll get upset. You might have another day with similar putts and you may get 3-4 of those to fall. How far past the hole were the ones that burned the edge?
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One was about 4 feet, the others were less than 2 feet. I need to get out the mirror to check my shoulders and eyes and the putting gates to work on start line. Go back to the basics.
 
Parrot said:
One was about 4 feet, the others were less than 2 feet. I need to get out the mirror to check my shoulders and eyes and the putting gates to work on start line. Go back to the basics.
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I try to go 2-3 feet past the hole on those 5-10 footers. One reason is to make sure I get the ball there as I hate leaving it short and the other is having a little pace helps take out a little of the break. Even if you end up having all of those 3-4 ft past you may have had those two short ones go in since they were center cup. At that point if you just make one of the 3 that burned the edge you are still even and if you make 2 or all 3 you would be gaining. Just keep rolling it and they will start falling. Once they do you will get that confidence.
 
42/41 for an 83 with a triple and a double. I drove the very well and, for me, loooooong. I caught the wind right on a couple that were between 280-85 and downslopes on another 2 that are slightly downhill that were 298 and 315. Yardages per Shotscope. 7 fairways plus 2 that I drove through. Many thanks to my friend, @BigDill, for the driver head. 8 GIR and another 3 that were just off and puttable. I had 35 putts with a birdie but 2 3-putts.

Overall, I’m very happy with the round. It’s one of those that had too many loose approaches and putts. I definitely feel like I left several shots out there.

Hands feel good now. Hope it is the same tomorrow.
 
Cap nudged up again to 10.9. I can't seem to escape several doubles or worse per round. Low round of the year from my usual tees is 83. If putting comes around with some of the more recent tee and approach play I'm seeing, I could have some really good rounds in store.

The new medication has really helped with the arthritis. I'm able to play more often and practice some in between. I've been working on short game and it has helped. I need to focus more on putting. Lips and edges don't get it done.

By first of March, I had let my weight creep up to 250. I was 233 this morning. Had my annual wellness exam yesterday and all the numbers were good to excellent. Cholesterol is well-managed (<100) and BP was 100/60. I'm happy there.
 
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