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My journey back into the 80's........... hopefully

golfinFF said:
Keep up the work! Are you still using the DVD training?
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Not like I should, to be perfectly honest. When I stuck to their practice regime, I was playing much better.
 
Hmm just not get things ingrained properly? Maybe spend some extra time on each section. Or going back every so often for reminder/check ups.
 
I think part of the problem is that I have some physical problems (back and hips) and when they hurt, I still go and play even though I can't make a proper turn. Those bad habits seem to engrain themselves much more easily than the good swing processes that I work hard to get better at.
 
Saw the thread title & all I could think of was "Hot Tub Time Machine"
 
Bullitt5339 said:
I think part of the problem is that I have some physical problems (back and hips) and when they hurt, I still go and play even though I can't make a proper turn. Those bad habits seem to engrain themselves much more easily than the good swing processes that I work hard to get better at.
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Ok yeah makes sense now, Breaking those old habits ingrained because of your physical limitations is tough. Have you spoken with an instructor about building a swing based on those limitations and not on the ideal swing.
 
golfinFF said:
Ok yeah makes sense now, Breaking those old habits ingrained because of your physical limitations is tough. Have you spoken with an instructor about building a swing based on those limitations and not on the ideal swing.
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Yeah, we try to work within my limitations, but unfortunately they seem to change often. I've tried slowing down my swing to a more moderate level, but I seem to hit the ball worse when I'm not being aggressive. It's a work in progress, that's for sure.
 
Bullitt5339 said:
Yeah, we try to work within my limitations, but unfortunately they seem to change often. I've tried slowing down my swing to a more moderate level, but I seem to hit the ball worse when I'm not being aggressive. It's a work in progress, that's for sure.
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I know how slowing things down doesn't work and it was based on my swing being completely based on timing and pure athleticism and not fundamentals. Since changing(still changing) to a swing based on proper fundamentals I can slow my swing down easier and maintain good contact as my new swing causes my body to release the club and doesn't force me to do it.
 
OK, after another day filled with irritation on the course, I called and scheduled a lesson with my pro for tomorrow. Today was very irritating. Everything was high and right. I know that I'm not closing the clubface, but I can't get myself out of it this time, so it's back for professional help.
 
Alrighty then......

Went for my one hour lesson and ended up being with the pro for 2 hours working on things. We were having so much fun on the course, it didn't feel like a lesson but was very productive. The first thing we worked on was my alignment. Since I've been leaving everything high and right, he took me out on a 150 yard Par 3 and told me to set up but don't swing. As soon as I got set, he dropped a magnetic pointer on my clubface and it was apparent that I had the face wide open at setup. Then he went through my pre-shot routine to teach me to aim the face at the target during a round, when I don't have the pointer on the club. This made a pretty big difference, but I still was hitting the ball a little fat, so a couple more adjustments to ball position and setup and I was hitting them much better.

Then we went around the course to different holes, where he tested my new alignment and setup and for the most part, I was hitting them acceptably so he laughed and told me to practice 3 times and play 3 times and we will adjust a little based on my results.

I had told him that I was having problems with short wedge shots, so we worked on that also. But this was different from any lesson I've had before. He took me to some different lies, some uphill, some really tight, from the rough, etc. and just applying the changes to my setup helped a bit, but I was still having a few skulling issues, especially off the tight lies, so he decided to teach me a new technique than what I was using. He had me put the ball back in my setup, take 1/4 backswing using all arms and then power down and through the ball, and the results were immediate and awesome. We practiced this a few times, and with one exception I was hitting most shots pretty close to the pin. It was also a wedge shot that I haven't been able to pull off in quite a while. That low/medium trajectory shot that looks like it's going to roll off the other side of the green in the air, but has so much spin on it that it one hops and stops. It was beautiful, and I love that shot. On the last hole, we had a closest to the pin contest from 20 yards out and the pro left his about 5', I hit mine just a tad too hard and it hit the pin with a lot of spin and then just shot back 15' or so. He laughed and said, "I think we've got your wedge game worked out." The next shot I put about 4' away.

This was the most productive lesson I've ever had. 15 minutes on the range and an hour and a half on the course.

Just having a better wedge technique is going to save me 8-10 strokes per round.
 
Sounds like a great day of practice!

I can't wait for my on the course lessons to start this yr.
 
It was so much better than just hitting balls at the range. One if my major complaints has been that I can't take my range game to the course, so this is the next logical step to golf domination.
 
The pro also thinks that I would benefit greatly from getting fit to my irons. I had a tendency to hit my own irons fat and the divots were deeper at the toe. He wouldn't tell me the specs on his irons at first, just had me hit them a few times. I was nervous about hitting them, since he plays blades, but I didn't get any fat shots with his and my divots were uniform in depth.

Turns out that his blades are 1" short and 2 degrees upright. Mine are standard/standard and the Amp Cells are actually 1/2" longer than his stock.
 
It's amazing what happens when a set of irons fits you. Set up is easier, ball striking better and swing just feels right.
 
Went and played today after my half-day of work and the iron lesson really paid off. While I shot a terrible 96, it wasn't because I was blasting my irons dead right, in fact, they behaved pretty well today. I still have some work to do, but compared to Friday's round it was a vast improvement. I also had the same issue with digging the toe in today, so I'll have to get the TM TP CB's bent upright. Today, my driver decided that it wasn't going to do anything correct and it cost me quite a few shots.

I'm going to go the range and possibly play 9 tomorrow and work on my irons and wedges a lot more. I will try to hit driver a few times and see what happens, but if it doesn't behave, I'm just going to concentrate on my irons and leave the driver for my next lesson on Friday.
 
Well u kept it under 100.. Hit a 3 wood off of the tee for a while or hybrid. Getting in the fairway should be number 1 priority..opens up your options
 
Mystery Meat said:
Well u kept it under 100.. Hit a 3 wood off of the tee for a while or hybrid. Getting in the fairway should be number 1 priority..opens up your options
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The problem isn't the club, it's some kind of mental block on the tee box, so I don't end up any better using my 4 wood or hybrid. I know, it's crazy, but I am working on it.
 
:act-up:I know..been there myself a million times. I really have no advice except stick it out...maybe it is just a phase.

post a swing, maybe we can help
 
:act-up:This thread..and other journey thread are a great template for the 2014 advances by panda...IMO. Would be a great idea for me and others who want to do a journey/ diary thread.. Can't wait for members swing area
 
I went and played 9 holes from the forward tees using only irons and shot a 38. 5300 yard for the 18. Had an absolute blast and figured out a lot of my problems are simply off the tee
 
I am playing 18 today. I may do the same thing as yesterday and play from the forward tees, but there's a couple old guys playing with us today, so I may just use the same technique but play from the gold tees with them if they don't want to play forward with me.

I'm getting this iron game down before the 17th, when I leave for the TM Ultimate Club Testing. I'm so close to it being good it's not even funny. Just some little tweaks now. My lesson on Friday will likely concentrate on hitting fairway wood and driver after a quick check on my irons. My handicap went up to a 20.3 this recalculation, so I'm a little upset about that, but it's just more motivation for me to get this together.
 
OK, I ended up playing from the forward tees again with only irons. It was going great, but I realized on the back 9 that I hadn't eaten anything and kind of fell apart a little bit from just the lack of nutrition from nothing in my stomach at 4PM. I ended up shooting an 86, but it could have been so much better if I wasn't so exhausted and hungry at the end. I hit every fairway using my hybrid through #13. Just a completely different game than I'm used to without the pressure of recovering from bad tee shots. The funny part is that I ended up in the same general area using my hybrid that I would have with a good drive, albeit I don't hit good drives very often.

So I ended up with 86, 11 fairways, 32 putts.
 
Sounds like 2 solid days on the course and improved iron game. Keep up the work.
 
Went and played today on a wet and soggy golf course that was partially flooded. I haven't been able to play or practice all week because of the weather and it showed today. I was stiff. Noone in the group was playing very well today, to be honest and I was right with them.

Just an odd day for me. I had holes where I could do no wrong, and I had holes where I couldn't do anything right. The good is that my wedges have really come around and while I didn't putt horribly, it wasn't up to my average. The driver was on and off today and cost me a few shots from having to chip out and even cost me 1 penalty from a loose shot. Irons were OK, but I really need to have them bent upright. I was catching the toe on my long irons quite a bit today. I've also been working on slowing things down, so while my iron shots were for the most part straight, I had no idea on my distances with the things we're working on so I was coming up short on a lot of iron shots today for that reason.

We started on the back 9...

Hole 10: 140 yard, Par 3. Pulled my approach shot left, leaving me behind a greenside bunker, short sided. Hit a decent wedge into the green, but it rolled out a bit too much and left me with a 15ft putt. Made the putt for Par.

Hole 11: 360 yard Par 4. Duffed the tee shot with my 4 Wood left, right on the edge of the creek. Couldn't get to the water guarded green from there, so I tried to hit a layup to the 150 marker, but mishit it and still wasn't in range to clear the water. Super irritating to screw up a layup. Then hit an 8 iron that came up short. (this won't be the last time you hear that). Chipped on and 2 putted for a Double Bogey.

Hole 12: 491 yard Par 5. Pulled my tee shot left into the adjacent fairway. 2nd shot was a punch through a lot of trees. 3rd shot into the green that came up short. 4th shot on the green and then 3 putted for a double bogey. Not good.

Hole 13: My nemesis.. And it lived up to it today. A 390 yard Par 4, dogleg sharp left. 2nd shot to the green over water. The shot is to hit a draw around the corner. If you can hit the hill, it will pull the ball around the corner and you'll end up with 130-140 yards in. I went for it and overcooked the draw, which went left off a tree and into the water. Dropped from there and couldn't see the green from where I was, so I went to layup with a wedge. I somehow managed to not take into account the overhanging tree limbs and smacked one with my layup and back in the water. Hit the next one to a good layup position, were I hit a decent wedge into the green and then 2 putted. Ended up taking a 10 on that hole.

Hole 14: 362 yard Par 4, dogleg left, uphill tee shot. A good drive will get to the corner. I hit a great drive that hit and ran forever, through the fairway on the side of a little mound about 130 yards out. With the weird sidehill/downhill lie, I hit a decent shot, but no spin on it and it ran through the green. Chipped up, 2 putts for bogey.

Hole 15: 378 yard Par 4. Straight hole, but a lot of elevation changes. Uphill tee shot that goes into a valley and then back up to an elevated green. Drive ended up just off the right side of the fairway, but nestled perfectly against a tree so I couldn't go at the green. Chipped out to the bottom of the valley, 110 yard out. 3rd shot on the green and 2 putted for bogey.

Hole 16: 367 yard Par 4. Pond on the left, stream guarding the front of the green. I pulled my drive slightly towards the pond, but luckily it was soggy enough to hold it up. 2nd shot looked great, but guess what? Short again. Chipped on, 2 putted for bogey.

Hole 17: 158 yard Par 3. Deceptively uphill. Hit a pretty iron shot that ended up...... You guessed it, just short. Chipped on and 1 putt for Par.

Hole 18. 493 yard Par 5. Slight dogleg left off the tee. Should be an easy hole. Ended up hitting a high slice (where did that come from?) that ended up well right of the fairway. Tried to hit a nice fade with my 4 iron, which started a little too far right and ended up just off the fairway. 3rd shot....... Short... Surprise!!!!. Chipped on and 2 putted for a bogey.

Hole 1: 358 yard Par 4. A fairly simple hole. I hit what I thought was a decent drive and about 200 yards out it just started fading and fading... Hit a tree and kicked into the woods. 2nd shot was supposed to be a low runner towards the green, but I caught a tree on the way through. 3rd shot, I had a small tree in front of me, but thought that I could get the ball up quick enough to make it over it. I was wrong and hit the very top branch. 4th shot.... Short..... Chip on, 2 putt for double bogey.

Hole 2: 163 yard Par 3. Tee shot just right of the green, chip on, 1 putt for Par.

Hole 3: 499 yard Par 5. Decent tee shot on the right side of the fairway. Top the 2nd and 3rd shot. 4th shot pulled left and long. Chip on and 2 putt for double bogey.

Hole 4: 369 yard Par 4. Good tee shot down the left side of the fairway. 2nd shot on the green. 2 putt Par. Wow, I like this boring golf.

Hole 5: 323 yard Par 4. Would be a very easy hole, except for the huge pine tree in the center of the fairway. If you go left of the tree, you're ok as long as you don't hit it over 240 yards, right of the tree will usually end up with tree or branch trouble. I took the easy route over the tree. Ended up with 70 yards into the green. Stuck a wedge to 4 ft and made the putt for Birdie. Now we're talking. I like this kind of golf even more.

Hole 6: 369 yard Par 4. #1 handicap hole. Dogleg right with the fairway slanted to the right and water down the right which crosses over in front of the green. Just a nightmare hole for someone who hits a fade. So I made sure I didn't go right by duck hooking it into the woods on the left. Hit a layup short of the water guarding the green, leaving me 70 yard in. Pitched on, 2 putted for bogey.

Hole 7: 200 yard Par 3. Pushed a 4 iron off the tee into the trees on the right which we couldn't find. Hit the next shot on the green and 2 putted for a double bogey.

Hole 8: 369 yard Par 4. Slight dogleg left. Duck hooked the ball again, which bounced off a tree and went backwards towards the #7 green in a hurry. Found the ball, but could only chip out sideways, leaving me just ahead of the forward tees. Hit 4 Wood that didn't make it to the green. 4th shot on the green and then ended up 3 putting for triple bogey. Ouch.

Hole 9: 520 yard Par 5. Don't duck hook it. OK, so I'll slice it over the fence OB. Hit the next shot nice and long and in the center of the fairway. Why didn't you do that the 1st time, dummy? Hit 4 Wood and although I caught it a little fat, it ended up pretty good. It was a perfectly acceptable shot. Next shot in the greenside bunker. Out of the bunker and 1 putt for double bogey.

Ended up with a 96, but keeping these notes has been helpful for me. I realize that I'm losing the majority of my strokes from mistakes off the tee and not knowing the distances on my irons with the swing changes I'm going through. My irons are working pretty well besides the distance issues and my wedges were decent all day. Granted, today my putting was a bit off, but I still ended up with 36 putts. My average is 31 putts.

So there's light at the end of the tunnel. I made quite a few mental errors out there and obviously my driver needs a lot of work, since I'm still having a 2 way miss with it.
 
After injuring my back and playing absolutely horribly at the Ultimate Testing while witnessing a bunch of other THPers play some amazing golf, I'm motivated to get healthy, stronger and better at golf even more. It was irritating to play so badly, but inspiring to see so many great swings.

One thing that really made me think that I have the wrong instructor happened on Friday. I have been very bad at driving the golf ball for a long time and have spent a lot of my lessons on driver. My instructor has made a huge deal about me coming too far from the inside and had me working on bringing the club more straight back. After a few holes hitting the driver badly on Friday, Zenger simply said "You're just too steep". On the next hole, I hit a nice draw down the center of the fairway and continued to drive the ball decently all weekend. Well, except for the first tee shot on both days when everyone was watching....... But those are just THP first tee jitters. I can live with that.

So I've been working on weight transfer as much as I can with my back being hurt, taking some 50% swings with my wedges. Contact is improving, although I'm still a bit inconsistent at this point. I stopped by the Pro Shop on Ft. Bragg and scheduled a 30 minute swing eval/lesson with the new Assistant Pro for Friday afternoon. I know what I'm lacking right now is weight transfer and swinging too hard and I must improve that before I can really improve.

This new pro has me hopeful though, because after talking to him for a few weeks I really like his laid back attitude while being passionate for the game. He's about 20 years younger than the instructor I have been using and is really motivated.
 
After a few recommendations from THPers on weight transfer drills, I worked on it a bit today and what a difference it made. I was only hitting a pitching wedge, but ended up hitting nice high shots that were all landing in the same area 120 yards out. Very happy with the change from just slowing down my swing and widening my stance to facilitate a better turn with less lateral movement.

I can't wait for my lesson tomorrow, but as long as I keep concentrating and practicing on my turn and weight shift, only good things can come from it.
 
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