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The THP Range/Practice Thread

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Using one of my 30 minute lessons for a length/lie fitting, so that leaves me with two actual lessons left before the big event. Trying to figure out when I want to take them. At this point, we're mostly just tweaking/correcting the things we've worked on for 7 months. Wouldn't mind a final one the week of the event just to cap off this journey.

Summer is busy and family life is cutting into the practice schedule a little right now, but I'm at peace. Just have to pick and choose a little more than I was for awhile.
 
Went to the practice range last night intending to work on putting, chipping, and then full swing. Asked for a bucket of balls and was told the range was closed due to all the rain we've had... Huh? Ended up putting for an hour and chipping for 30 from various distances and approach angles. Putting is coming along quite well. Still not making a ton of long ones, but the second putt is usually a tap in or very short; gimme range to everyone but Coers.
 
DevRickus said:
Playing 9 after work today. Place is usually empty so I am going to play 2 balls. Going to mess around and play an aggressive ball and a conservative ball. See how this goes. Going to use it as a practice round so I hope to have some good results.
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Well sick child derailed this. Hoping to do it today.
 
Good luck getting out there Rickus. Hoping to do the same a couple times before the big show myself, but finding time is a challenge.
 
I've been practicing short game stuff lately, mostly like nabbing a bucket (empty) from the range, setting it upright in an open area and dumping balls from the shag bag at different distances and trying to make the balls in the basket. I am not good at it but am improving and it is really easy to see the improvement transfer from practice to the course, which is nice. Given my horrific GIR numbers this type of practice seems to pay a lot of dividends.
 
dcbrad said:
1) Being aggressive with my stroke on putts and my attack point on chips (the point where the ball hits the green in proximity to the cup) (I literally just made up the phrase "attack point", I think I am going to make a DVD now). I haven't played on terribly slow greens, but I have been playing on greens that have allowed me to be aggressive on my pitches and chips with minimal rollout.
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Brad,

I agree completely. I find that the vast majority of the time I'm aggressive with a chip, it turns out well. In fact, sometimes it turns out fabulous. Most of my bad chips are a result of not being aggressive enough. Obviously there are situations where you should not be aggressive (green running away), and there are times when an aggressive swing turns out badly (ball bladed over the green). But I find the ball typically has less rollout than I think, so it's rare an aggressive chip rolls way by unless I misread the slope. More often the aggressive chip is the one that actually spins and stops dead - and since you were aggressive, it stops close to the cup.
 
My round was cancelled tonight due to weather. Time to do some swing drills and practice my putting indoors.
 
Howzat said:
My round was cancelled tonight due to weather. Time to do some swing drills and practice my putting indoors.
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Stupid June weather. It's been rotten here too.
 
Howzat said:
My round was cancelled tonight due to weather. Time to do some swing drills and practice my putting indoors.
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supposed to be crappy like that here the next few nights too.
 
It has been very hit or miss lately. Makes it very difficult to keep a regular schedule.
 
Time to get to work



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Nice looking range there Christian!
 
Love it Christian, have a good session dude.

I just got home, I hit golf balls until my hands ached and actually blistered a bit today. Six bags on the range and then I hopped out on the course for 14 holes in a GIANT lull and played up to 8 balls at times. Just hitting different shots and trying to get myself to re-commit to swinging from the inside now and creating a slight pause at the top of my turn to let it drop instead of throwing it.

Just a LOT of work today, but very very simple work/thoughts too. Turn back, turn through, swing through, don't throw, release, don't hold off.

I've also started working on committing to a new shot, a very elementary shot for most I know, but the little low runner from both the fairway and around the greens. Closer to the ball, ball back, take away low and finish low to just let it work. Working it with 7i all the way to my 58. Simple I know, but its going to be a really good one for me to work on now that I am really comfortable with my pitch, chips, and even flops when necessary.

Then I spent 35 minutes on the putting green rolling the X3 and re-acclimating to the insert.

Good, long, day.
 
Fantastic work James, that's one hell of a practice session!
 
I had a pretty average range session at lunch, just working on irons and Pelz type shots. The latter was hindered by once again failing to properly turn off the VC100 and discovering at the range that the unit needed new batteries.
 
#Cookie said:
Fantastic work James, that's one hell of a practice session!
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Thanks buddy, the short game work is REALLY paying off too. Just have to work more with the longer clubs and dropping the club in the slot.
 
Hit the range for an 90 minutes after work today. Wanted to spend more time on my turn so after the usual stretching, I worked on 65, 85, and 100 yard pitches for thirty minutes. This has been the hardest area to transition the swing work into. I was so comfortable at these distances before that its real hard to go away from something that was working. Still, the more time i spend, the easier it gets.

I spent the next 30 minutes with just my 8 iron. this is a very comfortable and reliable club for me, so I thought it a good one to go with. I started off well and got through a couple dozen ball when one of the assistant pros came down and chatted me up a bit. He eventually watched me swing a few and saw (after I told him what I was working on) that I was still coming too far to the inside in my takeaway. I realized that I had started coming off of my spine angle again and needed to keep my left shoulder down at the top. A few swings later I was back in a groove again and hit for about 10 more minutes before heading to the putting green.

I decided to switch putters again because I felt I was fighting my stroke. I think my natural stroke is more of an arc, so I switched to an arc putter. I started off with twenty 5 footers followed by 3 footers and ten footers in sets of 5 at each break direction.

Solid practice session. Felt nice not be rushed by a tee time.
 
I got to do a light range session today for the first time in 10 days (not counting chipping and putting). I was a little concerned because last night was not a good one with pain returning to the neck, shoulder and arm. But, I felt better this morning, so went to the range to try a full swing. I stretched out well and then just started with short easy swings with a wedge. Moved on to a seven iron, again swinging about 3/4 and very easy. Funny how those easy 3/4 swings were going almost as far as my full swing. Then the big test--the driver. I hit only about a dozen drives and still felt pretty good. At this point, I actually wanted to play nine, but decided to not go too crazy. I plan to try that tomorrow. Finished it off with an hour chipping and nearly that putting.

It may not seem like much, but it was important to me. The nerve is still pinched in my neck, affecting my left shoulder, arm and hand. So being able to not only swing, but probably a full rounds worth without too much discomfort was very encouraging.
 
Got to the range today for the first time in a week, worked on weight transfer on the back swing while keeping flex in the right knee by not letting the right hip slide back&up

Did a lot of work with driver for OC since the format is shamble I want to contribute off the tee. I'm certain if the swing travels we will be good off the tee as I nuked a couple and most were average for me. The new shaft should give me a little more carry which will be nice.
 
I took several weeks off due to an injury and found myself very rusty. My annual development membership at the local club was coming up for renewal so I did some research on other courses and came across a golf academy near me that I didn't know existed. On a whim I called for a lesson with the lead instructor. I'm glad I did. I've been taking lessons with a great instructor for months now and have gradually improved in all areas. However, I'm the type of guy that wants to get as many opinions from people as possible.

The last instructor told me early on that a lot of people play a fade. As if I shouldn't worry about hitting a draw at all. This new guy watches me hit and films a few shots and of course my pull miss shows up. I knew before from trackman data that I was very close to the target line, but I found out that this was because of a series of adjustments to in my swing to get me there. I was too steep in my back and down swings, forcing the club over the top. A minor adjustment and I was hitting from the inside. I was taking my back swing over my shoulder instead of through my bicep area causing the over the top move. I didn't know I was doing it, and the previous instructor didn't tell me. Maybe he wasn't worried about it, but it was such a simple change and I found it easy. Actually, I normally have a sore lower back after a range session and this time I was fine. This new guy is convinced that swinging OTT will cause that because of the way your spine is aligned when twisting for an OTT swing.

I also was hitting a little short and assumed it was because I was rusty. But the camera picked up that I was being lazy or forgot how to swing and wasn't shifting much weight forward. I started out with 130 yard 8 iron shots and ended up with 150-160 yard 8 iron shots from holding my wrist hinge a little longer and getting my weight moving in the swing.

He also had a series of ropes tacked to the ground with tees and working on my set up to hit draws and fades more easily. This is the first time I've done this and enjoyed it. I don't know if it's possible for me, but I'd love to be able to pick a draw or fade on approach shots on demand depending on pin placement.

Needless to say, I spent the cash to turn the lesson into a 6 pack.
 
v.man said:
I got to do a light range session today for the first time in 10 days (not counting chipping and putting). I was a little concerned because last night was not a good one with pain returning to the neck, shoulder and arm. But, I felt better this morning, so went to the range to try a full swing. I stretched out well and then just started with short easy swings with a wedge. Moved on to a seven iron, again swinging about 3/4 and very easy. Funny how those easy 3/4 swings were going almost as far as my full swing. Then the big test--the driver. I hit only about a dozen drives and still felt pretty good. At this point, I actually wanted to play nine, but decided to not go too crazy. I plan to try that tomorrow. Finished it off with an hour chipping and nearly that putting.

It may not seem like much, but it was important to me. The nerve is still pinched in my neck, affecting my left shoulder, arm and hand. So being able to not only swing, but probably a full rounds worth without too much discomfort was very encouraging.
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Just gotta take it slow Ken. I saw on the golf channel today snippets of Tiger's press conference today and he talked about his injury. Some days felt good and he'd do what he was max allowed to do. On days that didn't feel right, he shut it down and let it rest, then tried the next day instead of pushing through it. You do what you can, but don't fight what your body is telling you. You want to be getting better so you're healthy by end of July, not limping in.
 
v.man said:
I got to do a light range session today for the first time in 10 days (not counting chipping and putting). I was a little concerned because last night was not a good one with pain returning to the neck, shoulder and arm. But, I felt better this morning, so went to the range to try a full swing. I stretched out well and then just started with short easy swings with a wedge. Moved on to a seven iron, again swinging about 3/4 and very easy. Funny how those easy 3/4 swings were going almost as far as my full swing. Then the big test--the driver. I hit only about a dozen drives and still felt pretty good. At this point, I actually wanted to play nine, but decided to not go too crazy. I plan to try that tomorrow. Finished it off with an hour chipping and nearly that putting.

It may not seem like much, but it was important to me. The nerve is still pinched in my neck, affecting my left shoulder, arm and hand. So being able to not only swing, but probably a full rounds worth without too much discomfort was very encouraging.
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Ken, if you can. Go buy yourself a tens machine. It's the size of an iPod and send electrical stimulation to the area needed. You can get them at the mall on kiosk. Under $100 and well worth it. I use mine all the time.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Ken, if you can. Go buy yourself a tens machine. It's the size of an iPod and send electrical stimulation to the area needed. You can get them at the mall on kiosk. Under $100 and well worth it. I use mine all the time.
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Probably would be a good investment Freddie. The doc used one on me last week as part of my treatment.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Ken, if you can. Go buy yourself a tens machine. It's the size of an iPod and send electrical stimulation to the area needed. You can get them at the mall on kiosk. Under $100 and well worth it. I use mine all the time.
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I have used my brothers in my neck and shoulder. They can certainly provide relief Ken. Worth a look for sure.

JM
 
v.man said:
Probably would be a good investment Freddie. The doc used one on me last week as part of my treatment.
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They are covered under insurance but the kiosk at the mall are worth a visit.
 
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