c0ncept's Golf Thread

[c0ncept]

I wanted to make this to track my progress as I try to get my game back to competitive form. For the last few years I really haven’t taken the game as seriously as I should have been given where I could have taken it and for the next two months I decided to actually see where I can get. Right now I rate as about a 4 handicap after a few weeks of polishing but the issue I have with my game is that when I am off I am way off. In two months’ time I would like to see if I can compete in the AZ Pub Links Championship.

My new home course is StoneCreek Golf Course in Paradise Valley, AZ. Here is the scorecard:

I plan on doing this in a different approach from how I normally would though. Rather than practice the back tees I will be starting from the silver tees and working my way back as I hit target scores. I also will be starting with only 9 holes at a time.
Silver Target- 28 for 9
Black Target- 29 for 9
Gold Target- 30 for 9

Hopefully I will be able to keep things updated frequently and include lessons/ideas/etc. Feel free to post anything in response to rounds, videos, questions.

Thanks!

-Andrew

 

[Just_Brad]

This is going to be a very interesting follow c0ncept! Looking forward to it.

 

[GregDan]

Glad you started this buddy! I will be following along and I hope you can get where you want to go.

 

[Mmaynard11]

Good luck and looking forward to following along with your journey!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[c0ncept]

So I played 9 holes yesterday and it was kind of an up and down round. I played from the tips just to get a feel for what the front was like before I start from the forward tees. I ended up shooting a (+4) 39.

Hole 1- 364 yards: Par

Hit driver and missed the fairway long left into the rough. Was a weird lie so I hit 9 iron from 130 to the pin but ended up on the back portion of the green and lipped out my long putt for birdie.

Hole 2- 399 yards: Par

Hit driver with a fade to avoid the deep rough that is on the left half of the fairway. Left 170 in and I flew to the pin with 7 iron but the ball rolled just onto the collection area behind the green. Read the break wrong on the chip and missed by a foot right but pin high.

Hole 3- 191 yards: Bogey

Hit 6 iron to the back pin but the ball checked up center green. Pulled the putt offline and left 3 feet for par. Rushed the putt and lipped out for a 3 putt.

Hole 4- 426 yards: Double Bogey

Huge dogleg right with a blind tee shot. I hit a draw instead of a fade and missed the fairway left into a few pine trees. Had 180 in so I tried to hit the RBZ and thought I hit it well but saw this crazy low shot that clipped the top of the bunker and slowly rolled out. Was a little frustrated at this point and rushed the next shot and went right under the ball. Pitched up and lipped out the bogey.

Hole 5- 170 yards: Par

Hit a shot pin high right but off the green a little but had a guy walking his dog take my ball. Dropped a ball in the spot where it was and got up and down for par.

Hole 6- 400 yards: Birdie

Dogleg right over water with a short fairway. Hit driver a little high but on the left of the fairway. Had 180 to a back pin so I hit a 6 iron with an open stance so I could fade the ball instead of drawing over the water ball and it rolled to a few inches.

Hole 7- 548 yards: Bogey

Hit the worst tee shot of the day because I was being an idiot. Tried to hit the RBZ again and saw the same result as on the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] hole and ended up in the bunker. Laid up to 160 and hit 8 iron just short of the green. Got up and down for bogey.

Hole 8- 370 yards: Par

Hit driver perfect and had 100 left to the back pin. Hit a low PW to try to run it up but ended up on the wrong side of the slope of the green. Just missed the left to right putt and tapped in for par.

Hole 9- 410 yards: Bogey

Hit a great tee shot that just rolled through the fairway into the dry grass. Had 180 to the back so I hit 6 iron but didn’t check my aim after I backed off the shot. Missed right pin high in the bunker and hit a great sand shot that just took the slope and ran away from the hole. Lipped out the par putt.

This was the approach on 9…After seeing the video I can see how I was aimed right of the green which would have followed the line of the fairway to the left.



What I took from the quick round was a few things:

1. Pay more attention…I had a few moments where I just didn't focus and it cost me shots (1 on 3, 2 on 4, and 1 on 7, and one on 9 so instead of 1 under I was 4 over).
2. The RBZ might not be the right club for me
3. When I planned each shot I saw the results I wanted.

Next range session I am going to work on:

1. Hitting the lob wedge to 50, 60, 70, 80 yards.
2. Alignment
3. Figuring out gaps since I was playing 12 clubs and one of them is out.

 

[checkered]

Right on C0ncept. I look forward to following along. Having played with you I know you can get where you want to be. best of luck!

 

[c0ncept]

Spent most of the day at the hospital for my GF but worked with ping pong balls when I got home. It went well and I hope some of the work sticks. I really want to sharpen my greenside chips since that was my strength in high school.
tap tap taparoo

 

[checkered]

what are you working with ping pong balls? Never heard of doing that.

 

[c0ncept]

what are you working with ping pong balls? Never heard of doing that.

Yeah I came up with the drill a while ago as a way to work on both committing to a chip (not decelerating) as well as working on contact and touch.

The balls react very quickly off the face so if hit well it is like a normal shot but if hit poor you see right away. The first 4 are hit normally. The pink ball is hit thin and the orange is hit fat. (Sorry for the quality my HD video was turned off)

 

[c0ncept]

Got out for another 9 today and played from the front tees. Part of playing my way back is learning the course as well as working on short game. I get to play target golf this way so I pick what clubs I want to hit to the pins. I shot a (-2) 33 with 9/9 GIRs but did not come away happy.

Hole 1- 291 yards: Birdie

Hit 6 iron that left 80 yards in and hit my 60* to about 7 feet and made a great read.

Hole 2- 275 yards: Par

Hit 7 iron off the tee and had 100 left. Hit 52* just over the pin to about 8 feet but left the birdie putt short.

Hole 3- 93 yards: Birdie

Hit 56* to 3 feet. Felt very confident at this point.

Hole 4- 300 yards: Par

Hit 7 iron off the tee and had 130 left. Hit the RXF 9 iron over the pin to 10 feet. Left the birdie putt short and to the right.

Hole 5- 135 yards: Par

Hit the RXF 9 iron right onto the center that left 9 feet for birdie which I thought was perfect but somehow lipped out almost center cup.

Hole 6- 277 yards: Par

Hit 7 iron and was long through the end of the fairway. Hit 52* thin out of mud to the back of the green and had a great lag putt to get close for par.

Hole 7- 412 yards: Par

Hit driver but for some reason it was super high. Left 160 to the pin. Hit 8 iron and pulled it way left of the green. Chipped up and missed the 5 footer for birdie.

Hole 8- 275 yards: Par

Drove to just short of the front of the green but again a very high shot. Chipped up to 7 feet and pushed the birdie putt a few inches to the right.

Hole 9- 370 yards: Par

Hit 3 hybrid and had 160 in. Hit 8 iron to the back left of the green and had no chance of making the 10 footer for birdie. Was a 5 foot break to the right but lagged it close enough to get in for par.


Ball striking wise I thought I did great but I have never had a day where I missed so many easy putts. I really am bad when it comes to switching putters and I think I am going to switch away from the GEL again. Tomorrow will be a day where I see what putter will work for me and then just focus on getting the stroke back. Putting has always been a strength and I just couldn't swallow the step back today.

Focus wise I was on point today. I don't think I made any rash decisions and thought out every shot before I hit it. I also figured out how to re-gap the bottom end of the bag and it worked great.

 

[c0ncept]

Spent the last few days working on finding a new putter. The GEL seems to be the reason for having so many lip outs because of the spin. I narrowed it down to:

1. :heavy: B1
2. Method Mod 90
3. White Hot Pro #7 CS
4. Versa #7 CS
5. Karsten TR Anser 5/B60
6. True Balance Model DT-01
7. Bronze FGP

A few of these I know work well for me but a few are ones I just want to try before I rule them out.

 

[c0ncept]

Today I had to take a break from the course so I worked on coming up with a few drills/games to try to keep things interesting. I'm looking into playing a few tournaments to try to get back in mental shape too.
tap tap taparoo

 

[bigtazz53]

Good luck, look forward to the journey.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

 

[c0ncept]

Running into issues with fixing the bag setup and was wondering if anyone had any ideas/suggestions. Right now I have room for a few clubs but was unsure exactly how to fill it. I was thinking a 110 club as well as a 3 wood and dropping my hybrid. I just worry about taking a hybrid out of the bag because of the versatility. The other club I was thinking of dropping would be the 5 iron since it is not used a whole lot.

Driver- 270 yards
3h-220 yards
5i- 200 yards
6i- 190 yards
7i- 175 yards
8i- 165 yards
9i- 150 yards
9i- 140 yards
PW- 120 yards
52*- 100 yards
56*- 90 yards
60*- 80 yards
Putter

 

[Just_Brad]

Do you run into situations that the 3W would be a benefit for you? Looking at the recap of the round the other day, what situation would you draw 3W?

I found it really interesting the way you worked your way around the course. Not knowing setup bunker wise etc, in the past I could see myself hitting driver on 7 holes. Then seeing how you played it, I thought why would I hit driver? I could play an iron or hybrid like you did, and potentially leave myself in a much better situation.... Thanks for the lesson

 

[Just_Brad]

I also noticed you listed 9i twice in the clubs with the yardages... was that just a mis-type?

 

[c0ncept]

Do you run into situations that the 3W would be a benefit for you? Looking at the recap of the round the other day, what situation would you draw 3W?

I found it really interesting the way you worked your way around the course. Not knowing setup bunker wise etc, in the past I could see myself hitting driver on 7 holes. Then seeing how you played it, I thought why would I hit driver? I could play an iron or hybrid like you did, and potentially leave myself in a much better situation.... Thanks for the lesson

Yeah since I played it so short I wanted to hit certain clubs in to score. Basically the fronts are a way to play a perfect round if I could have putt well.

The idea behind 3 wood is for tee shots where I can't hit that long, where I need to shape the ball, or if I can go for a par 5 in 2.

I play 2 sets of irons and they overlap at the 9i I should have separated them better when listing.

 

[HoselRocket104]

Our distances are very close driver down to your first 9 iron. My nine is 150 then my PW is 135. The I go 50, 54 and then 58. I wouldn't take my 3 wood out of the bag because I more comfortable with it off the box. One suggestion since you mentioned pulling out the 5 iron is to get a 4 or 5 hybrid. It's more versatile. It looks like you have your gaps pretty well handled though.

 

[tequila4kapp]

Running into issues with fixing the bag setup and was wondering if anyone had any ideas/suggestions. Right now I have room for a few clubs but was unsure exactly how to fill it. I was thinking a 110 club as well as a 3 wood and dropping my hybrid. I just worry about taking a hybrid out of the bag because of the versatility. The other club I was thinking of dropping would be the 5 iron since it is not used a whole lot.

Driver- 270 yards
3h-220 yards
5i- 200 yards
6i- 190 yards
7i- 175 yards
8i- 165 yards
9i- 150 yards
9i- 140 yards
PW- 120 yards
52*- 100 yards
56*- 90 yards
60*- 80 yards
Putter

I would add a 3W and learn to hit a 9:00 shot with one of the 9is to fill the 110 distance. Also, it looks like your 2nd 9i could be a 135 club to even out the gaps.

 

[c0ncept]

Our distances are very close driver down to your first 9 iron. My nine is 150 then my PW is 135. The I go 50, 54 and then 58. I wouldn't take my 3 wood out of the bag because I more comfortable with it off the box. One suggestion since you mentioned pulling out the 5 iron is to get a 4 or 5 hybrid. It's more versatile. It looks like you have your gaps pretty well handled though.

That could work with they hybrid. Could also fill a longer gap too.

I would add a 3W and learn to hit a 9:00 shot with one of the 9is to fill the 110 distance. Also, it looks like your 2nd 9i could be a 135 club to even out the gaps.

I can hit the 110 with pw choked up I just dont always think that is as accurate as a wedge could be.
tap tap taparoo

 

[c0ncept]

Okay so I learned something in the past few rounds...I might need a new driver and new irons lol. This has been a weird week indeed. Going to go to the Boccieri performance center today to talk about getting a fitting as well as work on the putting. Such a fun place to go when I need help putting.

Yesterdays round showed me not to be afraid of certain distances with wedges. I hit a few great shots into greens that were fun to watch. I tried to put the RXF irons back in play but I have messed up the weighting and length of the clubs so bad that anything past 8 iron was not hit-able. As for driver I think the 10.5 head is too much loft after seeing the ball go straight up with no roll all week.

 

[c0ncept]

Felt like I took a huge step back today playing with a group that had me thinking of walking off the course before I had even tee'd off. I gave the R7 irons to my mom because she hits them so much better than her other irons and tried playing the Callaways again after having them bent back to where they should be (thinking this would fix the problem I have always had with them). We go out and on the first shot of the day I shank the 6 iron. First and last shot with that club. I cannot for the life of me hit these past 7 iron. They just are not finding their way back in my bag...great clubs just not for me.

I am going to be playing the Cleveland Black iron heads 5-PW but I will be changing the shafts to what is looking like either the Aldila RIPs or the Aerotech Steelfibers. The shafts get in next week and I will be doing the fitting then. This will be the first time I get fit for irons since the guy in Washington put me in a setup that has left every fitter I met in Arizona baffled...I have been too afraid to try it again but I know I have to do it now and I trust who is fitting me having worked with him for the past 2 years now.

I have to say I am very excited to go through this fitting since I feel like this could be the starting point for actually making the steps to get back to where I was a few years ago trying to walk onto the school team.

The first thoughts for the new bag setup (and this could change after the fittings) would be:

Strong 3W
21* Hybrid
Cleveland Black Irons 5-PW
Callaway Forged Copper Wedges 48* 52*, 56*, 60*
Boccieri Heavy Putter B1

So far I see no reason to have driver in my bag after being able to generate more club speed with the fairway woods. Clubs in orange would be the new additions. The Exotics Beta in 11.5 or the CB Pro 13* is what I had in mind as a driver replacement although the Callaway Bertha 3W in 13* seems like it could fit.

Going to play a few rounds this week at other courses to just have a break and then start the real work next week.

 

[c0ncept]

Been a week from hell in terms of pushing my body past where it wants to go. There is such thing as too much golf in one week for me. Played 18 4 times and 9 holes 3 times.

I started the week shooting in the low 70s and ended the week shooting an 83 today that was a very fun but ugly round of match play with a buddy of mine (He got me on the 16th).

Worked on wedges a lot this week and am getting very accurate from 80-110 yards and was pin high 90% of the time which was a result I loved seeing.

When I wasn't trying to be fancy with the driver it was perfect so I need to continue being relaxed with that club as I was picking up distance a bit. Today was about 260 yards without putting anything behind it and feeling pretty sore so I hope to get up to 270+ very soon.

Putting...where to start...I have never struggled with putting the way I have been lately. 3 putting half the holes or 2 putting from inside 5 feet. I think I got things sorted after going back to the Corza Ghost (old gamer that was out of state) Speed was right on after I switched today. I think I know what I will be focusing on next week.

Today's round in a nutshell...played the tips at Starfire so par 70 and only 6100 yards. Hit 50% greens and had 34 putts. 41/42. Found water 4 times and plugged a ball for 5 penalty strokes. The score was 90% putting today in my opinion. Had one birdie but that was the only one putt outside of 2 feet. I had a lot of chips that were over aggressive but didn't leave long at all and I only converted one of those chips.

This week will be less "playing" and mostly putting and fitting work to find irons I can play. The bag is starting to take better shape and I can't wait to start playing 5 wedges. Nervous but excited for the fitting.

 

[Squiddy]

Today I had to take a break from the course so I worked on coming up with a few drills/games to try to keep things interesting. I'm looking into playing a few tournaments to try to get back in mental shape too.
tap tap taparoo

c0ncept....I think this is key to getting back to taking total control of your game...Simply put Nothing prepares you mentally more than Competition, I like your style

 

[Floor-is]

Running into issues with fixing the bag setup and was wondering if anyone had any ideas/suggestions. Right now I have room for a few clubs but was unsure exactly how to fill it. I was thinking a 110 club as well as a 3 wood and dropping my hybrid. I just worry about taking a hybrid out of the bag because of the versatility. The other club I was thinking of dropping would be the 5 iron since it is not used a whole lot.

Driver- 270 yards
3h-220 yards
5i- 200 yards
6i- 190 yards
7i- 175 yards
8i- 165 yards
9i- 150 yards
9i- 140 yards
PW- 120 yards
52*- 100 yards
56*- 90 yards
60*- 80 yards
Putter

First: your distances are very very close to mine. Basically I'm a few yards shorter then you are with the driver and the wedges. But my gaps are better, I've built up my whole bag around the gaps..

60° - 60m
56° - 75m
52° - 90m
48° - 105m
9i - 120m
8i - 132.5m
7i - 145m
6i - 157.5m
5i - 170m
4i - 182.5m
20° hybrid - 205m
4wood (16.5°) - 225m
Driver - 245m

Sometimes I leave the 60° home and take my 3iron to fill the gap between the 4iron and hybrid, but I rarely need to do so I am thinking about going 48-54-60 or 48-53-58 but find it difficult to find the right sole and bounce.

Nice read by the way, like your write ups about the rounds you play!

If you're going for a fitting, talk to the guy(s)/lady about the complete bag. From a fitters' standpoint it's a whole different game looking at a complete bag/setup or part of it. I've been fit, have been at a lot of fittings and seen what horrible fitters can do and what good fitters will do. Find a good one, give him the grand idea, have him help you on finding the gear you'll fall in love with. (Oh and hitting balls in an indoor age doesn't work for everybody. My fitter makes me hit balls of a board, of a mat and off the grass.)

(My fitter is a friend, I've been at over 50 of his fittings. Been at other places to get fit and with friends/acquaintances who where fit.)