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The THP Range/Practice Thread

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Strong week of practice finished up tonight. Just feeling real confident with some of the changes I've made this winter. Time to put it out on the course next week. I have some goals for the first rounds of the year, maybe unrealistic, but we shall see how it plays out. No practice this weekend for me. Heading to the sunshine state!
 
Hit a few pitch shots in the yard today. First time in forever it seems since I had enough energy after a round of golf to go back out and practice ?


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Hawk said:
Taking a day off was a great idea. Came back tonight with some energy and motivation. Results were pretty good. Stretching, drills, full swings. Putted around indoors for a review.
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Nice, Hawk. Knowing when to take a break is just as important as practice. Have to recover mentally and physically from time to time.
 
I had all intentions of getting some swings in tonight. I got my adams cmb 8,7,6 out to work with. I was in a good groove until I heard a noise that sounded like a ball hitting the garage wall. Much to my surprise I hit a hole through my net! Either I had my wheaties today or those pro tips Canadan gave me are paying off! Anyway, after that I was to paranoid to hit much longer fearing the net ball I going through the window!

aja3e2ez.jpg


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Good range session tonight. I'm happy to say that the x2hot irons and I are getting along just fine and the honeymoon phase is over. Man these irons are awesome!

I put in some extra work with the Bertha 3W off the turf. I recently read a Golf Digest article by Butch Harmon where he says to place the ball further back in the stance and hit down on it. That worked pretty well and more consistent ball flight than a sweeping-like swing. Need more reps to gain confidence and start attack par 5s in two.
 
Hit the range again tonight, some good work on the tempo, right elbow and now keeping my flex in my right leg.
 
Before my round I warmed up and worked on ball position with my irons. I had been letting it get a little forward and as a result had been hitting some shots fat. Was good to bring my short irons to maybe a ball forward of centerline, and my long irons to two balls ahead of center. Started getting much better height and compression against the turf (in addition to hitting the ball first, which I've heard is important). Paid off pretty well on the course.

After the round, spent some time around and on the practice green, working on chipping. I'd been leaving a lot of chips short, so I worked on using different clubs for my chips and bump & runs to try and get a better idea of roll out. One day I might actually become a feel player...but that's probably a long ways away.
 
AMart said:
I had all intentions of getting some swings in tonight. I got my adams cmb 8,7,6 out to work with. I was in a good groove until I heard a noise that sounded like a ball hitting the garage wall. Much to my surprise I hit a hole through my net! Either I had my wheaties today or those pro tips Canadan gave me are paying off! Anyway, after that I was to paranoid to hit much longer fearing the net ball I going through the window!

aja3e2ez.jpg


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Hahaha angry Amart is ANGRY!!!!!!!!!
 
Well we had a nice 59 degree day and got with Bhilln for another good range time. Started working on the irons first and all was good with them till I got up to the 6 iron then al hell broke loose and I was back to topping it. I tried working on the swing and what I was filling was I was releasing to early and that was causing me to top it. I felt like if I tried to release later in my swing I was hitting great shot's and wasn't topping it anymore. So I still got plenty of work with that. Then got the hybrid out and was having the same issue of topping the ball. Some day Ill get that fixed lol. Got the x2hot 5 wood out and all I could do was hit bombs with it on and off the tee. Funny how I can't hit my hybrid but I can hit my 5 wood with no issues. Thne it was onto the driver which yesterday I got help at lessons to change up my set up. Well it actually worked finally and I was hitting straight shot with a slight baby fades. Had Brian watch from behind when I was setting up and he noticed my shoulders were opened up compared to my body. So I worked on that and just continued to hit great drives. Man it's so nice to be able to hit a ball further that your 5 wood with your driver. Then Finally we both headed over to the putting green which was a soggy and I thought nice and slow. I felt like my putting 10 feet in was pretty solid and my putts outside of that I could get the ball pretty close for a tap in. Looks like my game is going well. Only issue I see I have now is my 150-200 yards with the irons and hybrid that need some help. Look forward to more nice warm days here and some more range time with THPer Bhilln.
 
I got some time in at the putting green and short game area. It was just okay. The wind started kicking up, I got cold and lost some focus.
 
tequila4kapp said:
I got some time in at the putting green and short game area. It was just okay. The wind started kicking up, I got cold and lost some focus.
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This wind is crazy. I hope it is gone asap. I hope to get in a lot of range time sunday before the round to work on sand shots and flighting the ball.
 
Was good to go smash some balls tonight after work... OFF GRASS!!!!! So it was a little soggy... and windy... who cares, we hit balls outside off the GRASS!!!! Worked on a more upright posture and creating speration between hips and shoulders in the back swing and then starting the downswing with the lower body. 3rd range session with the new shafts and like what I'm seeing / feeling with them. Getting a good ball flight and feel great. Good session getting rust off, looking forward to things drying out and getting on the course!
 
Tonight some random pro at the range says softly as he walks by "extend down the line after impact" and shows me what he means quickly. I didn't ask for the tip.

Oh my goodness does that work like a charm! Best ball striking I've ever had after that tip. My draws and hooks turned into soaring straight balls. Talked to him about a few lessons in the future.

So excited!
 
bhilln said:
Was good to go smash some balls tonight after work... OFF GRASS!!!!! So it was a little soggy... and windy... who cares, we hit balls outside off the GRASS!!!! Worked on a more upright posture and creating speration between hips and shoulders in the back swing and then starting the downswing with the lower body. 3rd range session with the new shafts and like what I'm seeing / feeling with them. Getting a good ball flight and feel great. Good session getting rust off, looking forward to things drying out and getting on the course!
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You didn't even mention about the bombs you were hitting with the driver. After watching you hit them I ended trying to throw some missiles out there.
 
I can't wait till tomorrow. Heading out in the morning around 8 to Ohio to meet some THPers and follow Albatross teammates for a good long practice session.
 
I had one of those practice sessions today that I'd rather forget. Warmed up good, and was hitting wedges and partial wedge shots pretty well. Moved up to 7 iron. I was hitting that pretty well, but I just couldn't get it to hit the sweet spot. I was hitting it consistently in the same spot, just on the heel side of the middle. I hit a few good 5 irons, and then all hell broke loose. From that point on I just could not get good contact. I have been working on starting down with my left hip, and I feel that I was getting that move down. I hope that's what was causing my issues. I'm chalking it up to a bad day. More practice and a lesson this week.
 
Another good range session today. Was kinda nerve racking/uncomfortable because I went out to the grass part of the range and was working my wedges. And before you know it the local university (Bradley University) Golf team is surrounded by me practicing. Then the coach is behind me watching. So besides that irons were good up to the 6/7 irons and right now I need to find my happy medium. I am either topping them or digging a hole trying to hit it. After that worked with my new 588 Custom Driver and was hitting it very well. Even got complimented from the Golf Coach which I thought was pretty cool. Funny how last week couldn't hit it worth crap and after some tips from my instructor during lessons and Bhilln I am back to hitting nice drives. After that headed over to the putting green for an hour. Putting is pretty good, could tell my birdieball in the basement has helped me this winter with my putting game. Funny thing about me putting on the green was there four and hour, range was packed with people and not one person came over to the putting green to practice. It's crazy that its one of the most important part of your game and no one practices it.
 
I did not play today however I worked on 60 yard pitch shots for an hour ala KellyBo. It worked really well for her last year so I'm incorporating that into my daily schedule. I walked away a bit tired but with a smile on my face :thumb:
 
The course right by my house was open yesterday, so I got out on grass for the first time since December. Temporary greens and tees, so no actual golf, but I spent 2.5 hours walking the course and hitting shots from different spots as practice.

Good news is that the swing was pretty good for the first trip outside my garage in three months. Some of the things I've been working on actually showed up for at least part of the time, though I still found myself fighting old habits at times. That's expected and my focus was first trying to avoid them and second to correct if they showed up. Mainly worked on knee flex in the back swing, hip bump, and a good turn through. Ball flight when I did those things was really nice. Nice high balls, which I hadn't seen in a while, and a little draw that wanted to start right. Hung a few out to the right when I couldn't get the ball to turn over, but nothing off the planet. Bad swings were easy to spot since they produce the same old left/left ball I've worked to get rid of.

Wedge touch was mostly nonexistant - at least inside 70 yards. Distance control on 1/4 swings was what I struggled with most, but I don't think I've taken one of those shots in three months, so I know what to work on a little before I can actually play. 70-100 yards was better than expected and probably better than the end of last year. Good distance control and accuracy. I've actually worked a little with that longer partial swing though, so makes sense that I had better results there.
 
My dad is in town, so played the first couple rounds of the season. There were some hiccups, but generally things looked promising, especially after the second round. Driving was good, I pulled a few but generally was getting in play and a couple were bombs. Irons were probably above average. It was real windy, but I was able to adjust clubs. My main miss was thinning it, which was definitely from casting, but again, most of those misses still kept me in play. Towards the end of both rounds, I realized those misses went away and I was hitting it where I wanted. Hybrid and woods wise, the big surprise was I was killing it with these clubs. Just a nice full swing focusing on getting the club head completely behind me and was getting great distance and flight. Wedges and putter were a little rusty, but much better than I expected. Still, it's where I lost the most strokes. I need to make every putt within 6 feet. Plain and simple.

Yesterday we played a pretty challenging course that usually kills me and I ended up shooting a PB there, so I'm definitely seeing some of the off season work paying off. Gotta keep working on staying focused on my new swing while I'm out there, as good things generally happened if I did. Staying in tempo, focusing on nice wide backswing and getting the club vertical as opposed to laid off helped me a lot, so I'll be building off that and checking in with my pro in a couple weeks.


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Yesterday I worked on improving my swing with a focus on dispersion and ball striking. With the help a TrackMan my swing faults were clearly displayed: Club path and face angle pointing severely left at impact and an AoA right around -8 with an iron. Some big steps were taken to flatten out the AoA a bit and work on hitting the ball "right". A quick grip adjustment and set-up change put me into the correct position. A couple drills to ingrain the feeling of the club coming from the inside a bit and feeling my hands raise a bit through impact had me feeling very strange about my swing. I also worked on taking the club back with the butt end of the club first. The feeling of my hands leading the butt end (instead of moving the club head first) really help to putt my in the proper position half way back in my take away. I started to hit some half shots and started seeing some shots more right to left. There was much celebration! I slowly worked up to full swings and the results were almost instantaneous. The TrackMan clearly showed my swing path change, as evident by a blue line pointing out the the right, along with a fairly square club face at impact. My AoA dropped to around -3 as well. After a short break I was back at the range working on what I had learned.
 
AMart said:
Yesterday I worked on improving my swing with a focus on dispersion and ball striking. With the help a TrackMan my swing faults were clearly displayed: Club path and face angle pointing severely left at impact and an AoA right around -8 with an iron. Some big steps were taken to flatten out the AoA a bit and work on hitting the ball "right". A quick grip adjustment and set-up change put me into the correct position. A couple drills to ingrain the feeling of the club coming from the inside a bit and feeling my hands raise a bit through impact had me feeling very strange about my swing. I also worked on taking the club back with the butt end of the club first. The feeling of my hands leading the butt end (instead of moving the club head first) really help to putt my in the proper position half way back in my take away. I started to hit some half shots and started seeing some shots more right to left. There was much celebration! I slowly worked up to full swings and the results were almost instantaneous. The TrackMan clearly showed my swing path change, as evident by a blue line pointing out the the right, along with a fairly square club face at impact. My AoA dropped to around -3 as well. After a short break I was back at the range working on what I had learned.
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Andy your swing looked phenomenal after that little time Chris spent with you. You started hitting every ball on the screws, you could tell with just the sound of the club. It was awesome to see how quickly you took to the changes and just started hammering it.
 
Drove a little over 3 hours to get some range time and some instruction with a few THPer/MC Teammates. I have a lot to work on. Pretty much need to completely change my swing which I'm going to start working on today. Got to see my Captain Canadan hit balls. He may not be happy with his numbers but my god, outside of watching the tour pros at Oak Hill I've never seen anything like it. The guy hits the ball on the screws every single time. It's remarkable.
 
Six4three5 said:
Drove a little over 3 hours to get some range time and some instruction with a few THPer/MC Teammates. I have a lot to work on. Pretty much need to completely change my swing which I'm going to start working on today. Got to see my Captain Canadan hit balls. He may not be happy with his numbers but my god, outside of watching the tour pros at Oak Hill I've never seen anything like it. The guy hits the ball on the screws every single time. It's remarkable.
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Man I wish I could have been there with you guys!
 
kc720 said:
Man I wish I could have been there with you guys!
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It was a great time buddy. Watching Dan hit balls was worth the drive alone, not even joking. The smoothness of his swing paired with him murdering every ball was something to be seen.
 
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