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1st Lesson: My Journey to the 70's

I had a nice short game practice session today. The distance control pretty well came back in short order after making a few adjustments from my lesson yesterday. On the other side of the spectrum I still have work to do on playing out of wet compacted sand (I am okay out of regular sand conditions, this one throws me). It was nice to get a little practice in.
 
So I have been trying to work on and incorporate more mental game stuff.

One thing is trying to have a strategy for the hole. Thinking about what needs to be done instead of just pulling driver. Thinking about where trouble is located and making a point of playing way from it. Thinking about where I want my miss to be. Laying up / playing to a preferred distance.

Second, temper my expectations and control my emotions. I have been doing better not worrying about hitting an imperfect shot but transitioning to thinking about how to make par from where I am or accepting that I've put myself in trouble and taking my medicine.

It can be easy to slip back into old habits, but things end up better if I am able to stick to it.
 
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tequila4kapp said:
So I have been trying to work on and incorporate more mental game stuff.

One thing is trying to have a strategy for the hole. Thinking about what needs to be done instead of just pulling driver. Thinking about where trouble is located and making a point of playing way from it. Thinking about where I want my miss to be. Laying up / playing to a preferred distance.

Second, temper my expectations and control my emotions. I have been doing better not worrying about hitting an imperfect shot but transitioning to thinking about how to make par from where I am or accepting that I've put myself in trouble and taking my medicine.

It can be easy to slip back into old habits, but things end up better if I am able to stick to it.
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there you go. my coach always says to play the hole backwards before playing it forwards. of course you want to be on the green in regs, but how are you going to get there? from 60 out? 150 out? and how are you going to get to that 60 or 150 out? from hitting a driver? hitting an iron? i think you get the point. make the game as comfortable as possible.
 
Thanks Jack. At my playing lesson yesterday I played three holes at one over. I didn't hit a single special shot. Just advanced the ball in a mostly straight direction and didn't do much too stupid. The game was so easy. Too bad it can't always be that way :)
 
tequila4kapp said:
Thanks Jack. At my playing lesson yesterday I played three holes at one over. I didn't hit a single special shot. Just advanced the ball in a mostly straight direction and didn't do much too stupid. The game was so easy. Too bad it can't always be that way :)
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No prob, Frank. Glad to know youre getting closer and closer to your goal.
 
tequila4kapp said:
So I have been trying to work on and incorporate more mental game stuff.

One thing is trying to have a strategy for the hole. Thinking about what needs to be done instead of just pulling driver. Thinking about where trouble is located and making a point of playing way from it. Thinking about where I want my miss to be. Laying up / playing to a preferred distance.

Second, temper my expectations and control my emotions. I have been doing better not worrying about hitting an imperfect shot but transitioning to thinking about how to make par from where I am or accepting that I've put myself in trouble and taking my medicine.

It can be easy to slip back into old habits, but things end up better if I am able to stick to it.
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This is a big one if you want to go low. I'm spending the whole summer pretty much only doing this. Can't wait to see how things progress for ya.
 
tequila4kapp said:
So I have been trying to work on and incorporate more mental game stuff.

One thing is trying to have a strategy for the hole. Thinking about what needs to be done instead of just pulling driver. Thinking about where trouble is located and making a point of playing way from it. Thinking about where I want my miss to be. Laying up / playing to a preferred distance.

Second, temper my expectations and control my emotions. I have been doing better not worrying about hitting an imperfect shot but transitioning to thinking about how to make par from where I am or accepting that I've put myself in trouble and taking my medicine.

It can be easy to slip back into old habits, but things end up better if I am able to stick to it.
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I've been trying to get a good strategy plan together on most holes as well. My approach is to take the distance of the hole then figure out what I need to hit to leave myself a full club into the green.

I think the expectation let down and mental recovery after a bad shot is the hardest part of the game for me.

Keep up the work there buddy and it will all come together.
 
golfinFF said:
I've been trying to get a good strategy plan together on most holes as well. My approach is to take the distance of the hole then figure out what I need to hit to leave myself a full club into the green.

I think the expectation let down and mental recovery after a bad shot is the hardest part of the game for me.

Keep up the work there buddy and it will all come together.
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They mental side of the game and having a strategy when standing on the tee is huge. I don't play as much as needed to keep a super sharp partial wedge game so I carry 4 wedges and always try to hit a full shot. You will never find me with a shot between 30 and 85 yards because of this. If I can't reach a par 5 green in two, I'm laying up to 90 yards, even if that means hitting a 8 or 9 iron for my second shot. If a par 5 green is well protected by hazards this means I'm laying up sometimes when I'm only 220 yards out - painful to hit a wedge layup but it's often the right choice if you want to make birdie. I'm much better from 90 yards than I am from a buried lie in a bunker or deep rough around the green. I also often hit 3 wood off the tee on par 5's when I know I can't get home in 2. On par 4's shorter than 400, I always hit 3 wood off the tee as that will leave me only a 9 iron approach. Staying mentally focused with a clutter free mind is as important to me going low as how I'm hitting the ball. Too many golfers are playing golf swing rather than golf when on the course. Many people think they are concentrating when they are really just worrying. Leave the swing thoughts for the range!
 
tahoebum said:
They mental side of the game and having a strategy when standing on the tee is huge. I don't play as much as needed to keep a super sharp partial wedge game so I carry 4 wedges and always try to hit a full shot. You will never find me with a shot between 30 and 85 yards because of this. If I can't reach a par 5 green in two, I'm laying up to 90 yards, even if that means hitting a 8 or 9 iron for my second shot. If a par 5 green is well protected by hazards this means I'm laying up sometimes when I'm only 220 yards out - painful to hit a wedge layup but it's often the right choice if you want to make birdie. I'm much better from 90 yards than I am from a buried lie in a bunker or deep rough around the green. I also often hit 3 wood off the tee on par 5's when I know I can't get home in 2. On par 4's shorter than 400, I always hit 3 wood off the tee as that will leave me only a 9 iron approach. Staying mentally focused with a clutter free mind is as important to me going low as how I'm hitting the ball. Too many golfers are playing golf swing rather than golf when on the course. Many people think they are concentrating when they are really just worrying. Leave the swing thoughts for the range!
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If I am merely hitting intermittent loose shots I am usually okay on this one. If I have a consistent miss going I can get pretty frustrated and spiral in the wrong direction mentally.
 
tequila4kapp said:
If I am merely hitting intermittent loose shots I am usually okay on this one. If I have a consistent miss going I can get pretty frustrated and spiral in the wrong direction mentally.
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One of my very good friends really struggles with playing golf swing instead of golf. If you watched him hit balls on the range you would swear he is a 5 handicapper. He's 6'5" and hits the ball beautifully on the range. He's about a 14 index because his mind on the golf course is rarely in the right place for more than a few holes.
 
A variant of this is not thinking about scoring because we are just swinging clubs and hitting balls. My pro reminded me of something I mentioned before about breaking the course up into sets of three and (for me, since I'm trying to get into the 70's) creating your own expectations. I had to admit I hadn't been doing it. That is a mental game leak which let's me get lazy and just 'go play' instead of really playing with a purpose.
 
As stated in the trying to break 80 thread:

Not even close. 45/45. Frankly, I'm not really sure how I did that well. Terrible, terrible wet and windy conditions that made it very rough out there and F grade iron play which put a ton of pressure on my short game.

34 putts.

Comng down the home stretch I got really lightheaded, my upper body was numb/tingly and my hands were shaking. It felt like when I got altitude sickness backpacking over a pass in the Tetons (minus the vomiting) several years ago. I didn't eat or drink enough fluids and I got soaking wet/cold in the weather. Got home and started asking care of myself and am feeling better. Lesson learned.
 
Today was the day, I did it!

I kept the ball in play off the tees, hit more GIRs, didn't lag putt especially well but made just about everything inside 6 feet.

I knew I was in good shape at the turn. Played 10 and 11 well then went double, bogey. I thought it was slipping away then I hit 8i from 155 on a par three to 3 feet and made the putt to get back on track. Damn I was nervous coming down the home stretch. I did my best to flub it up on 18 - thinned an 8i, chunked a chip, blew my first putt past...but I made the 10 footer coming back. Thank God too because I didn't want even a 6 inch putt to make 79 :)

SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!!
 
That's great T4K, was it the first time you have ever shot in the 70's?
 
tequila4kapp said:
Today was the day, I did it!

I kept the ball in play off the tees, hit more GIRs, didn't lag putt especially well but made just about everything inside 6 feet.

I knew I was in good shape at the turn. Played 10 and 11 well then went double, bogey. I thought it was slipping away then I hit 8i from 155 on a par three to 3 feet and made the putt to get back on track. Damn I was nervous coming down the home stretch. I did my best to flub it up on 18 - thinned an 8i, chunked a chip, blew my first putt past...but I made the 10 footer coming back. Thank God too because I didn't want even a 6 inch putt to make 79 :)

SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!!
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WOOOOHOOOOO!! Great job, Frank. I knew it was coming soon.. Now comes the even more fun part: breaking par :)
 
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This is awesome man!

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
Congrats on busting 80 dude, Keep up the hard work and you'll go lower!
 
That's awesome man,way too go!
 
Congrats T4K on breaking 80! Keep working on what got you there.
 
Just read through this whole thread with interest - and what a happy ending! I know exactly how you feel as I just hit my first sub 80 this week (77). I think this was all down to working hard on two parts of my game; putting and course management. Taking a 6i from tees where I've often hit my driver. Being in play and nailing those putts makes it seem so much easier!
 
Well done, sir.

Have followed this thread with interest and it definately has me considering the lesson option. There are some rough edges I need address. Probably the biggest of all is finding something from the tee box that I can count on.
 
Timdog said:
Just read through this whole thread with interest - and what a happy ending! I know exactly how you feel as I just hit my first sub 80 this week (77). I think this was all down to working hard on two parts of my game; putting and course management. Taking a 6i from tees where I've often hit my driver. Being in play and nailing those putts makes it seem so much easier!
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Congratulations on breaking 80, Tim, great job!
 
Otis32 said:
Well done, sir.

Have followed this thread with interest and it definately has me considering the lesson option. There are some rough edges I need address. Probably the biggest of all is finding something from the tee box that I can count on.
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Thanks!

I'm biased of course, but I'd say go for it. Lessons make such a huge difference. You won't regret it.

Getting off the tee has been a challenge for me too (fwiw I started yesterday with a 100 yard topper on a par 5 and a 200 yarder that was about a foot off the ground, and later in the round had a seriously grotesque block right into a different FW and a merely normal block right into some trees. Oddly those were all 3W, which I'm normally pretty good with, but was trying to manage my way around the course). Big picture, there were some swing things I had to clean up with the driver but in all honesty the R1 with the right shaft - which allows me to really dial in a club configuration that helps me and my swing - has made a huge difference off the tees. Huge.
 
tequila4kapp said:
Thanks!

I'm biased of course, but I'd say go for it. Lessons make such a huge difference. You won't regret it.

Getting off the tee has been a challenge for me too (fwiw I started yesterday with a 100 yard topper on a par 5 and a 200 yarder that was about a foot off the ground, and later in the round had a seriously grotesque block right into a different FW and a merely normal block right into some trees. Oddly those were all 3W, which I'm normally pretty good with, but was trying to manage my way around the course). Big picture, there were some swing things I had to clean up with the driver but in all honesty the R1 with the right shaft - which allows me to really dial in a club configuration that helps me and my swing - has made a huge difference off the tees. Huge.
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It's going to happen. The only thing stopping me right now is defering so the kids can get some lessons during summer vacation. Probably looking at fall from a "don't get too crazy with the golf $$'s" perspective.

Actually put a 3-wood in the bag for the first time in ten years last month. Not the total answer but has been a better option on medium length par 4's and also the par 5's that I can't hope to reach in two with the driver.

The only thing I'm getting in the fairway with any consistency at all is a little stinger 4-iron. Works great on shorter par 4's but if I don't get it solid on medium length and up holes it can sure make for some long approach shots.
 
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