Fly With Me - Tomcat's Trek to the Grandaddy 2019

Excited to follow along!

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Looking forward to getting back into some lessons on Tuesday. Not sure what he has planned, but hopeful that the majority is spent just working on swing mechanics.

A funny thing that I was thinking about this morning... My screen name used to be tomcatxiv (xiv = 14, i.e. the F-14 Tomcat). During the Shaft Spectacular several years ago, multiple people (understandably) butchered my name. Getting the xiv mixed up. Some had it, other didn't. Kevin (the other participant) and I both said we were going to slightly modify our screen names so if we ever got into the Grandaddy, and they put our names on the bags, we wanted something easier to read. Glad I did.

Tomcat's possibly not-so interesting non-golf fun fact:

#1: While I won't ever identify as a band nerd, I was in the drumline for the Spirit of Oklahoma State Cowboy Marching Band.
#2: I earned my Eagle Scout badge my soph year in HS
#3: Mayo has no business being anywhere near me, unless it's masked in something good like Cane's sauce
#4: I grew up in a small town in OK, it didn't even have a stop light. Just 35 people in my grad class.
#6: Math is not my strong suit.
 
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tomcat ;n8901638 said:
#6: Math is not my strong suit.

So what you are saying is when we play together I should drive and keep score while you do updates. :laughing:
 
Snickerdog;n8901669 said:
So what you are saying is when we play together I should drive and keep score while you do updates. :laughing:

I'm just saying, that after trying to assist with my kids' math homework, my head hurts.
 
tomcat;n8901638 said:
#3: Mayo has no business being anywhere near me, unless it's masked in something good like Cane's sauce

Spencer. Mayo belongs on everything. But mainly French fries. You can get by with your inferior ketchup I suppose.
 
tomcat;n8612708 said:
In trying to add something a little different to this thread (golf related items will still be posted here too), I'm going to start a weekly segment about me, called......

Tomcat's possibly not-so interesting non-golf fun fact of the week:

Week 1: While I won't ever identify as a band nerd, I was in the drumline for the Spirit of Oklahoma State Cowboy Marching Band.

Well then, I read the title and thought, hell yes i will go with....then i figured it was follow along....WE need to get together and hit 18 sometime. As you can see from my titles, i am aPOKE fan also, i did not go, but two brothers of mine did. I chose to go Air Force out of high school. I am also just in the west side of Prosper. WOuldn't it be great if i got one of the last two spots....great thread and play for Prosper
 
radiman;n8901703 said:
Spencer. Mustard belongs on everything. But mainly French fries. You can get by with your inferior ketchup I suppose.

Fixed it for you rad. ::wink face::
 
I had my first lesson in a couple of years a few days ago. It was with a pro at the local country club, and I'd previously worked with him some, when I was just getting into the game. He's a good instructor who finds really easy ways to explain and show me what I need to modify and how to do it.

I arrived approx 25 mins early to pay and have time to warm up.

After telling him about the primary reason I was coming back to see him (work on getting a repeatable swing), I enjoyed getting to describe the Grandaddy and all that I'll get to experience. It's always fun to watch reactions as you talk about it.

We began with absolutely basic items: where is the butt of the club resting in your hands, where are your feet, how is the club sitting in relation to the ball, and just about every other "before the swing" item. Looked at what my arms were doing, as I'd gotten in to a bad habit of using my wrists far too much. We worked a lot on making sure my hands/wrists/arms were stable and in the proper position through the swing / impact / follow through. Felt really good for the vast majority of the time, as I was seeing some good results.

I think the main thing that prevents me from having consistency, at this point, is remembering to move my weight forward every time. He gave me several things I can practice as well as thoughts prior to the swing that will hopefully help get me into the habit of doing it properly.

Went back out to the range yesterday when I had 45 mins in hopes of seeing how everything stuck around in my head from the lesson. For the most part, I was able to repeat quite a bit of the good shots, but it's going to just take practice, practice, and more practice to get where it just comes natural. The good thing is that I know I can hit those shots. I just have to keep working.
 
tomcat;n8906434 said:
I had my first lesson in a couple of years a few days ago. It was with a pro at the local country club, and I'd previously worked with him some, when I was just getting into the game. He's a good instructor who finds really easy ways to explain and show me what I need to modify and how to do it.

I arrived approx 25 mins early to pay and have time to warm up.

After telling him about the primary reason I was coming back to see him (work on getting a repeatable swing), I enjoyed getting to describe the Grandaddy and all that I'll get to experience. It's always fun to watch reactions as you talk about it.

We began with absolutely basic items: where is the butt of the club resting in your hands, where are your feet, how is the club sitting in relation to the ball, and just about every other "before the swing" item. Looked at what my arms were doing, as I'd gotten in to a bad habit of using my wrists far too much. We worked a lot on making sure my hands/wrists/arms were stable and in the proper position through the swing / impact / follow through. Felt really good for the vast majority of the time, as I was seeing some good results.

I think the main thing that prevents me from having consistency, at this point, is remembering to move my weight forward every time. He gave me several things I can practice as well as thoughts prior to the swing that will hopefully help get me into the habit of doing it properly.

Went back out to the range yesterday when I had 45 mins in hopes of seeing how everything stuck around in my head from the lesson. For the most part, I was able to repeat quite a bit of the good shots, but it's going to just take practice, practice, and more practice to get where it just comes natural. The good thing is that I know I can hit those shots. I just have to keep working.

That’s great. Between that practice and seeing the teacher, you have the ability to drastically change where you are at event time.
 
tomcat;n8906434 said:
I had my first lesson in a couple of years a few days ago. It was with a pro at the local country club, and I'd previously worked with him some, when I was just getting into the game. He's a good instructor who finds really easy ways to explain and show me what I need to modify and how to do it.

Which club?
 
Nate;n8906668 said:
Which club?

Gentle Creek (I'm not a member). I've been working with Brent Blackburn there.
 
tomcat;n8906680 said:
Gentle Creek (I'm not a member). I've been working with Brent Blackburn there.

Ha-Ha, that's who I work with. He's also heard my GD stories. Played in a scramble with him soon after I got back and he was looking in my bag by the 2nd hole. I had the Rogue and was asking where I got it so soon from. He was a Callaway staffer (believe still is). Of course the GD stories then started and he finished by saying "no clue when I'll get one". Ha. Good dude and soon after started taking from him. You are in good hands! Listen to him!
 
Spent an hour at the range yesterday morning. It was windy, but I wasn't real concerned with distance, as I was just trying to solidify some of the swing techniques that my instructor had me working on.

Warmed up with various wedge shots to get loose. Focused on my stance, width of my feet, and my arms. Moved to the 9i, 7i, 5i, and then a few with the driver. "Amazingly" when I was able to get everything in the groove, the ball went straight. Funny how that works. :) After about half the bucket, I moved over to the short game area and spent the rest of the time working on 1/2 swings from off the green. It's always nice to pack up the bag in the car feeling really good about how things went.

Will be playing in a fund-raising scramble (I presume) on Saturday, so that "should" be a fun time to practice some strokes without the pressure of going low.

Tomcat's possibly not-so interesting non-golf fun fact:

#1: While I won't ever identify as a band nerd, I was in the drumline for the Spirit of Oklahoma State Cowboy Marching Band.
#2: I earned my Eagle Scout badge my soph year in HS
#3: Mayo has no business being anywhere near me, unless it's masked in something good like Cane's sauce
#4: I grew up in a small town in OK, it didn't even have a stop light. Just 35 people in my grad class.
#6: Math is not my strong suit.
#7: After spending two summers roofing houses / businesses during college, it's difficult to complain about any other job I've had.
 
Our local high school golf team's fund raiser golf tourney was yesterday and was able to play. My daughter's boyfriend is on the varsity team, so he invited me to join him and his dad (whom I had never met) in their foursome. They paid my entry fee, which was incredibly nice on their part. As well as just getting out to play, I was also using this as a reconnaissance mission to get to know both of them better. :)

It was a scramble, so I went in with no pressure, especially since our youngest member typically shoots high 70s, low 80s.

I split time playing with both the CS Truvis and ERC w/triple track. Both balls were nice, and I wouldn't have issues playing either. I found myself going back to the CS primarily because that's just the one I've been playing the most, recently. Most all of my greenside shots with wedges were with the CS and I just really like the way it's predictable for me (once again, since I've been using it).

Off the tee with my driver, overall, was a good experience. Spending most of my time trying to get the mechanics down, rather than distance, led to good shots in the fairway. The minute I'd forget to move weight forward, or possibly overswing, as you could imagine, ball hooks OB. When we had about 4 holes to go, my driver head started loosening up, and my wrench was at home. Unfortunately, none of my playing partners had one either, so I was relegated to my 3W on three of the last holes.

Felt good about my short iron play, and look forward to getting back out before too much longer.

Need to continue to work on the putter. Stroke feels pretty good, but need work on speed control.
 
Spent some time in the yard just swinging the wedges this afternoon while the kiddo rode her bike around the cul-de-sac. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get a round in during the first half of the week. We'll see. Planning on scheduling another lesson with my instructor, likely during the next two weeks. Looking forward to getting back with him, and see what he thinks of my progress.

Tomcat's possibly not-so interesting non-golf fun fact:

#1: While I won't ever identify as a band nerd, I was in the drumline for the Spirit of Oklahoma State Cowboy Marching Band.
#2: I earned my Eagle Scout badge my soph year in HS
#3: Mayo has no business being anywhere near me, unless it's masked in something good like Cane's sauce
#4: I grew up in a small town in OK, it didn't even have a stop light. Just 35 people in my grad class.
#6: Math is not my strong suit.
#7: After spending two summers roofing houses / businesses during college, it's difficult to complain about any other job I've had.
#8: During the UST Shaft Spectacular back in 2016, my user name was tomcatxiv (the "xiv" is roman numerals "14", which is due to the F-14 Tomcat. During and after the event, multiple people would misspell it or leave it off, and it wasn't super easy to say/explain. Afterwards, Kevin (the other participant, who had a similar odd name) and I both changed our handles to something easier because we said that if we ever got in the Grandaddy, we didn't want our more confusing names sewn on the bags. :)
 
Will be rooting for ya big guy. Keep up the good work. Quick tip: make sure you have a good/solid pre-shot routine before leaving. Something quick that allows you to pull the trigger and will help with any nerves. I changed a thing or 2 knowing I wanted to handle 'em when they came into play. Good Luck!
 
Arrived at the range a few days ago and who else was walking out, but Grandaddy alum, and all around awesome guy, @Phil75070! Jumped out of the car and once he realized I wasn't some random guy wanting to renew his car's extended warranty, we had a good 10 min chat about the event and some things that he really took from the event. It's always good to talk to those that have experienced golf nirvana and listen to advice they have for the current team.

After our chat I moved over to the range and actually had quite a good day with my ball striking. With my continued effort to slow things down and focus on basics, I'm feeling better about my swing. Distance control will come over time, but just a renewed look at just hitting the ball with the proper form, the weight forward, swinging through the ball, follow-through, etc. I don't care if I'll be hitting it shorter than most everyone else there, as long as it stays in play, I'll have the opportunity to score well.

Moved over to the short game area after that and just worked on 15-20' pitches.

Should be able to get one more lesson on the books within the next week to 10 days.

Tomcat's possibly not-so interesting non-golf fun fact:

#1: While I won't ever identify as a band nerd, I was in the drumline for the Spirit of Oklahoma State Cowboy Marching Band.
#2: I earned my Eagle Scout badge my soph year in HS
#3: Mayo has no business being anywhere near me, unless it's masked in something good like Cane's sauce
#4: I grew up in a small town in OK, it didn't even have a stop light. Just 35 people in my grad class.
#6: Math is not my strong suit.
#7: After spending two summers roofing houses / businesses during college, it's difficult to complain about any other job I've had.
#8: During the UST Shaft Spectacular back in 2016, my user name was tomcatxiv (the "xiv" is roman numerals "14", which is due to the F-14 Tomcat. During and after the event, multiple people would misspell it or leave it off, and it wasn't super easy to say/explain. Afterwards, Kevin (the other participant, who had a similar odd name) and I both changed our handles to something easier because we said that if we ever got in the Grandaddy, we didn't want our more confusing names sewn on the bags.
#9: I'm an airplane nut. Rarely does an airplane fly overhead that I don't have to see what airline it is and, what type of aircraft it is.
 
Really enjoying you fun facts! Great to learn more about people around THP! Keep up the practice, can't wait to see the payoff come December!
 
Just catching up on your last few updates, you're going to crush it dude. Looking forward to seeing you enjoy the experience. Can't believe this is a month away for you.
 
Arrived at the range a few days ago and who else was walking out, but Grandaddy alum, and all around awesome guy, @Phil75070! Jumped out of the car and once he realized I wasn't some random guy wanting to renew his car's extended warranty, we had a good 10 min chat about the event and some things that he really took from the event. It's always good to talk to those that have experienced golf nirvana and listen to advice they have for the current team.

After our chat I moved over to the range and actually had quite a good day with my ball striking. With my continued effort to slow things down and focus on basics, I'm feeling better about my swing. Distance control will come over time, but just a renewed look at just hitting the ball with the proper form, the weight forward, swinging through the ball, follow-through, etc. I don't care if I'll be hitting it shorter than most everyone else there, as long as it stays in play, I'll have the opportunity to score well.

Moved over to the short game area after that and just worked on 15-20' pitches.

Should be able to get one more lesson on the books within the next week to 10 days.

Tomcat's possibly not-so interesting non-golf fun fact:

#1: While I won't ever identify as a band nerd, I was in the drumline for the Spirit of Oklahoma State Cowboy Marching Band.
#2: I earned my Eagle Scout badge my soph year in HS
#3: Mayo has no business being anywhere near me, unless it's masked in something good like Cane's sauce
#4: I grew up in a small town in OK, it didn't even have a stop light. Just 35 people in my grad class.
#6: Math is not my strong suit.
#7: After spending two summers roofing houses / businesses during college, it's difficult to complain about any other job I've had.
#8: During the UST Shaft Spectacular back in 2016, my user name was tomcatxiv (the "xiv" is roman numerals "14", which is due to the F-14 Tomcat. During and after the event, multiple people would misspell it or leave it off, and it wasn't super easy to say/explain. Afterwards, Kevin (the other participant, who had a similar odd name) and I both changed our handles to something easier because we said that if we ever got in the Grandaddy, we didn't want our more confusing names sewn on the bags.
#9: I'm an airplane nut. Rarely does an airplane fly overhead that I don't have to see what airline it is and, what type of aircraft it is.
@tomcat Thanks for the shout out! By the way, I have you beat on the small number in your graduating class, despite going to HS in a 'big' city (Washington, D.C.). There were only 26 in my graduation class, AND we were the "senior" class all four years as they filled in behind us! :D
 
@tomcat Thanks for the shout out! By the way, I have you beat on the small number in your graduating class, despite going to HS in a 'big' city (Washington, D.C.). There were only 26 in my graduation class, AND we were the "senior" class all four years as they filled in behind us! :D


You graduated with this guy right?
 

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I’m just looking forward to your next fun fact Spence. Never know when one of these comes up as a question on trivia night at my local WingStop ;)

Also, go pokes.
 
Good stuff Spencer! I can relate to the small town thing, my graduating class had 32.
 
Got out for my last lesson prior to the trip. It was a beautiful 70* this morning, and with some rain coming tomorrow, I was just enjoying the sun.

When I made the appt with him, I requested that we spend our time working on short game items. I left it up to him as to how much of each different type of shots and locations since I didn't want to go in asking for one thing, when really I should have been working on something else.

Started out by talking through how you choose what type of shot and club based on working backwards from the hole. Based on pin placement, where do you want the ball to land that would accommodate the rollout. If I want it to land there, what kind of shot will I choose (most height, more roll, etc). Then which club do I need in order to accomplish that. So talked through different scenarios and then worked through some shots. Some using an 8i to just get it on the green and rolling, up to high lofted wedges. Worked the same exercises using different hole locations and distance from the green. Much of the time was just continued reinforcement of body rotation, hand placement on the grip, shoulders, etc.

One thing that I've never done, primarily because I've never been properly taught how to do it, was really opening up the face on my 56* to get as much lift on the ball as possible. We walked through where it sits in my stance, club placement, etc. Hit a few then moved into a fairly deep bunker. Four of four out of the bunker with very little problem. Really like that shot. Will have to continue to practice this one, for sure.

Since I'm not a member at that club, after my lesson, went over to a nearby course. No avail tee times, so spent some more time practicing the shots we were working on, as well as getting the putter going. Things felt good.

Can't believe that will be there in just a handful of days.

New fact will come soon.
 
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