Miller Time
Twitter - @joshmlr
Keep working buddy! Looking forward to seeing those improvements!
Bullitt's road to recovery and path to better golf
Bullitt5339
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- #52
Going out to walk 18 this afternoon with a friend of mine who is 73 years old and still plays really good golf. I feel like I've been overswinging a lot lately, as I'm getting sore after my rounds. So today, I think I am going to play forward with him and concentrate on slowing things down and keeping a good tempo in my swing by not swinging as hard. We will see what happens, but I really think that playing forward and relaxing will be good for me today and might actually help with the pull hooks I've been hitting lately.
No matter what, today is going to be a relaxing day on the course. No swing thoughts, no adjusting on the course, just step up and put a nice, easy swing on the ball.
No matter what, today is going to be a relaxing day on the course. No swing thoughts, no adjusting on the course, just step up and put a nice, easy swing on the ball.
Bullitt5339
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- #53
Very up and down day today. I ended up playing from the middle tees and shot a 53/45 for a 98. I couldn't do anything right on the front 9. I was slamming putts so far past the hole it was stupid and then calmed down a bit on the back.
On the back, I had 1 birdie and 3 pars and still shot 45. It was either really great or really bad there was no in between. I was even par through the first 3 holes and 2 over through 6 and then blew a couple holes up.
All in all, I showed some progress today so I'm not disappointed at all. Now I just need to eliminate those huge scores and my game will be more where it needs to be.
On the back, I had 1 birdie and 3 pars and still shot 45. It was either really great or really bad there was no in between. I was even par through the first 3 holes and 2 over through 6 and then blew a couple holes up.
All in all, I showed some progress today so I'm not disappointed at all. Now I just need to eliminate those huge scores and my game will be more where it needs to be.
Bullitt5339
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- #54
Headed out to the course to take advantage of this long weekend. 4 rounds of golf this week has been a lot of fun, but I'm feeling it this morning. We will see if I can capitalize on my stronger back 9 from yesterday and carry it over.
Wish me luck!
Wish me luck!
Great progress so far! Keep at it! Recovering from a golf injury can be tedious....
Bullitt5339
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- #56
Got out tonight for about an hour of wedge practice, concentrating on 30-40 yard shots, using my 58 and 54. Was hitting some pretty solid shots, which was surprising since these 2 clubs have been my enemy lately and I've resorted to playing lower lofted clubs when at all possible.
The best news from tonight: I can finally hit the low spinning wedge shot again!!!! This shot was a staple of my game for many years and then it disappeared and I haven't been able to hit it at all until tonight. I don't even know what I did differently either. I was just feeling really relaxed over the club tonight, so I decided to try it and the first one with the 58 came out about 10' high, went about 25 yards and stopped dead when it hit. I then was hitting them one right after another. I'm so happy to be able to hit that shot again, I used to use it all the time a couple years ago before my game left me.
The best news from tonight: I can finally hit the low spinning wedge shot again!!!! This shot was a staple of my game for many years and then it disappeared and I haven't been able to hit it at all until tonight. I don't even know what I did differently either. I was just feeling really relaxed over the club tonight, so I decided to try it and the first one with the 58 came out about 10' high, went about 25 yards and stopped dead when it hit. I then was hitting them one right after another. I'm so happy to be able to hit that shot again, I used to use it all the time a couple years ago before my game left me.
Bullitt5339
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- #57
Went out and walked 9 after work, and there was some promising points, and some things that I was surprised went a bit south on me but I had the practice mindset, so I was attempting shots that I probably wouldn't have if I was playing for a score. I went out cold which didn't help as I felt really stiff for the first few holes after spending over an hour in the gym earlier today.
Driving: Mediocre. Not nearly as good as it has been, but I got it figured out near the end and hit a couple of really good drives to end the round.
Fairway Woods: Only hit one all day, and it was straight as an arrow, which is odd for me. I typically hit a fade with them. I liked it.
Hybrid: Didn't hit a single full swing hybrid all day, only used it once on a par 5 to hit a low hook around a tree.
Irons: The best I've hit my irons in a couple years. After hitting a big cut on the 1st hole, everything else was a draw which again is odd for me. I've always hit a fade with my irons. Pleasantly surprised, but it didn't do much to help the GIRs, I missed a bunch left. Not unhappy with that at all, my instructor said that if I stuck with the changes we were making, I would likely start hitting draws and eventually hooking the ball so it's nice to see the changes are doing exactly what he said they'd do.
Wedges: I've been working on my wedges a lot lately, so I decided as a practice round, I would try to use my 58 as much as possible. This worked well for the 1st 4 holes where I was 2 over par. After that, I hit it from quite a few lies that I normally wouldn't and it cost me dearly. I lost 6 shots because of it throughout the rest of the round from hitting it too far trying the low spinning shots that I was practicing yesterday. These are shots that I could have cut a lot closer if I wouldn't have attempted them, but what the hell, it was a practice round.
Putter: Good today. I didn't make any long bombs, but I also didn't 3 putt at all and my speed was excellent.
Ended the day with a 49 because I was trying wedge shots that I had no business attempting on the course and most of them were unnecessary anyway. If I would have played my normal wedge shots, it could have been a 43 really easily. I did enjoy the practice aspect and learned a bit about my game. Distances were dead on all day, I just need to play for the draw I'm getting with my irons and I would hit a lot more GIRs.
Just a productive day, even though the score doesn't look that way.
Driving: Mediocre. Not nearly as good as it has been, but I got it figured out near the end and hit a couple of really good drives to end the round.
Fairway Woods: Only hit one all day, and it was straight as an arrow, which is odd for me. I typically hit a fade with them. I liked it.
Hybrid: Didn't hit a single full swing hybrid all day, only used it once on a par 5 to hit a low hook around a tree.
Irons: The best I've hit my irons in a couple years. After hitting a big cut on the 1st hole, everything else was a draw which again is odd for me. I've always hit a fade with my irons. Pleasantly surprised, but it didn't do much to help the GIRs, I missed a bunch left. Not unhappy with that at all, my instructor said that if I stuck with the changes we were making, I would likely start hitting draws and eventually hooking the ball so it's nice to see the changes are doing exactly what he said they'd do.
Wedges: I've been working on my wedges a lot lately, so I decided as a practice round, I would try to use my 58 as much as possible. This worked well for the 1st 4 holes where I was 2 over par. After that, I hit it from quite a few lies that I normally wouldn't and it cost me dearly. I lost 6 shots because of it throughout the rest of the round from hitting it too far trying the low spinning shots that I was practicing yesterday. These are shots that I could have cut a lot closer if I wouldn't have attempted them, but what the hell, it was a practice round.
Putter: Good today. I didn't make any long bombs, but I also didn't 3 putt at all and my speed was excellent.
Ended the day with a 49 because I was trying wedge shots that I had no business attempting on the course and most of them were unnecessary anyway. If I would have played my normal wedge shots, it could have been a 43 really easily. I did enjoy the practice aspect and learned a bit about my game. Distances were dead on all day, I just need to play for the draw I'm getting with my irons and I would hit a lot more GIRs.
Just a productive day, even though the score doesn't look that way.
Bullitt5339
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- #58
Went to the range and then walked 18 after work today. Pretty promising and frustrating day at the same time. Promising because I ended up with 8 pars on the card, I don't think I've ever had 8 in a single round before. Frustrating because I still shot a 91. I had 3 blow up holes that cost me a total of 10 strokes. Once I can eliminate the huge scores, I will be back in the 80's easily.
Driver: A little shaky today. Started out hitting a couple heeled cuts and then transitioned to pull duck hooks and then back to fairly straight near the end of the round.
Fairway Wood: Not good today at the start, but started coming around on the back 9.
Hybrids: Didn't hit it at all. I'm not liking the hybrid and will likely replace it with an iron shortly.
Irons: Excellent. My irons, which were my weak point a month ago really saved me today. I was comfortable with every one of them. The stars of today's round.
Wedges: Mediocre. Had some great ones and some really crappy ones. I still need to work on them more.
Putting: Excellent day on the greens that could have been better. I left quite a few birdie putts just short and missed a few by millimeters. I had 28 putts total.
Driver: A little shaky today. Started out hitting a couple heeled cuts and then transitioned to pull duck hooks and then back to fairly straight near the end of the round.
Fairway Wood: Not good today at the start, but started coming around on the back 9.
Hybrids: Didn't hit it at all. I'm not liking the hybrid and will likely replace it with an iron shortly.
Irons: Excellent. My irons, which were my weak point a month ago really saved me today. I was comfortable with every one of them. The stars of today's round.
Wedges: Mediocre. Had some great ones and some really crappy ones. I still need to work on them more.
Putting: Excellent day on the greens that could have been better. I left quite a few birdie putts just short and missed a few by millimeters. I had 28 putts total.
Bullitt5339
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- #61
Went out today and carried my bag for the first time in probably 20 years. I typically use a push cart. I felt really good on the front 9 and only got a bit tired on the last few holes of the day. Ended up shooting 45/48 for a 93. Not too bad, since I'm not really used to carrying, but I actually enjoyed carrying a lot and will continue to do it. Only 1 blow-up hole today, so that's progress, but not as many pars because of my putting.
Driving: Mediocre today, but I was able to recover decently for the most part.
Fairway Woods: Only used them off the tee a few times today. I was working on my irons specifically, so I didn't hit any from the deck and instead hit irons just to get more practice in.
Hybrid: I hit one hybrid shot all day and it was a disaster. That's the last straw. I'm hitting my irons so good right now that I'm ditching the hybrid and ordering the 4 and 5 irons to match my set.
Irons: The highlight of my day. After coming back, I couldn't hit an iron well to save my life but now they're getting to be point and shoot. With the exception of 2 thinned shots and a single fat shot, I was extremely happy with my iron shots. I've been concentrating on slowing down my backswing so that I don't get stuck and it's paying off. I can't wait to play with my Carolina THP brothers, they're not going to believe the progress in such a short period of time. I have complete confidence in these irons now.
Wedges: Decent, but could always be better but isn't that always the story?
Putting: I don't know if it was me, but it seemed that I couldn't get the speed of the greens down today. My playing partner was struggling as well and we've been having a lot of rain here lately, so the TIFF Bermuda greens don't really like that much and we both had the same issues with speed. One hole they'd seem very slow and the next hole you'd touch the ball and it was 10' past. I'm going to chalk this up to an anomaly and not worry about it too much, but I had way too many 3 putts today.
Driving: Mediocre today, but I was able to recover decently for the most part.
Fairway Woods: Only used them off the tee a few times today. I was working on my irons specifically, so I didn't hit any from the deck and instead hit irons just to get more practice in.
Hybrid: I hit one hybrid shot all day and it was a disaster. That's the last straw. I'm hitting my irons so good right now that I'm ditching the hybrid and ordering the 4 and 5 irons to match my set.
Irons: The highlight of my day. After coming back, I couldn't hit an iron well to save my life but now they're getting to be point and shoot. With the exception of 2 thinned shots and a single fat shot, I was extremely happy with my iron shots. I've been concentrating on slowing down my backswing so that I don't get stuck and it's paying off. I can't wait to play with my Carolina THP brothers, they're not going to believe the progress in such a short period of time. I have complete confidence in these irons now.
Wedges: Decent, but could always be better but isn't that always the story?
Putting: I don't know if it was me, but it seemed that I couldn't get the speed of the greens down today. My playing partner was struggling as well and we've been having a lot of rain here lately, so the TIFF Bermuda greens don't really like that much and we both had the same issues with speed. One hole they'd seem very slow and the next hole you'd touch the ball and it was 10' past. I'm going to chalk this up to an anomaly and not worry about it too much, but I had way too many 3 putts today.
Ron S
New member
When I saw Tiger flinch in pain after hitting the tree root buried under the pine needles yesterday, I immediately thought of this thread and feared Tiger would have to withdraw. Fortunately he was able to recover and hopefully he is able to continue making a comeback. He can take a page from your book and keep working hard and staying focused.
Bullitt5339
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- #63
Yeah, I rewound it to show my wife what it looked like when I got hurt. He was lucky though, it could have been much worse. I bet his entire body hurts today though.
Bullitt5339
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- #64
What a productive range session today.
I started out hitting some wedges into the 50 yard flag and after the first couple shots, I was pegging the flag. My instructor was on the range doing a lesson and yelled over to me saying "I can't even do that".... Made me feel good. Then I moved to mid irons and was absolutely striping my 6 iron. Moved to my 5 hybrid and couldn't hit a single ball decently...... bummer.
So I went into the pro shop and ordered the matching 4 and 5 irons to go with my RSi1's. I figured that if I could hit the 6 iron that well now, the 5 shouldn't give me too many problems and I could probably hit a 4 iron for the first time in forever. I'm not real confident with the 4 iron, but I figure with a little practice I can get it to work since I can't hit a hybrid to save my life anymore.
All in all, a pretty damn good range session. Hopefully the weather will hold out a little this week and I can get a few holes in before the member/guest tournament on Saturday.
I started out hitting some wedges into the 50 yard flag and after the first couple shots, I was pegging the flag. My instructor was on the range doing a lesson and yelled over to me saying "I can't even do that".... Made me feel good. Then I moved to mid irons and was absolutely striping my 6 iron. Moved to my 5 hybrid and couldn't hit a single ball decently...... bummer.
So I went into the pro shop and ordered the matching 4 and 5 irons to go with my RSi1's. I figured that if I could hit the 6 iron that well now, the 5 shouldn't give me too many problems and I could probably hit a 4 iron for the first time in forever. I'm not real confident with the 4 iron, but I figure with a little practice I can get it to work since I can't hit a hybrid to save my life anymore.
All in all, a pretty damn good range session. Hopefully the weather will hold out a little this week and I can get a few holes in before the member/guest tournament on Saturday.
sudseh
Hacker Extraordinaire
If nothing else, the 4i is really good for those low shots that you still want to go somewhere but don't want to deloft a 6i for.
Bullitt5339
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- #66
With the changes that I've made to my iron swing, I'm pretty confident that I can hit the RSi1 4 iron. It can't be any worse than I hit the hybrid, that's for sure. It's probably been the worst club in my bag since I came back to playing and only seems to be getting worse.
sudseh
Hacker Extraordinaire
You and a 200y 4i would be deadly.
Bullitt5339
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- #68
Well, after a couple rough rounds getting off the tee, I grounded the driver today for the entire round and shot a 91 without it. Pretty decent round, but they had just sanded the greens and they were sloooooow, so I left a bunch of putts short. I have to figure out what's going on with the driver, I was hitting it so well and now it's duck hook city. My round today could have been a lot better, but I've found some distance with my irons out of somewhere and air-mailed quite a few greens today.
Bullitt5339
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- #69
Played 18 today in the rain and shot 92. I'm hitting the ball really well, I'm just not scoring well. I had 32 putts today, which is decent for me. I had 2 penalties today, both of which were just stupid decisions on my part. I ended up getting a double and a triple because of the penalty on each hole.
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Mystery Meat
Ben Hogan Fan
Maybe have your pro do a on course lesson with you, and let him see the 4iron/hybrid issues in person. The range is different than playing. And the struggles you have in this thread may only appear while playing. The issues you had with the 4 iron and hybrid aren't the club, it's usually the guy swinging it. The driver was my Big hang up for years and years
Bullitt5339
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- #71
The 4 iron is a done deal. I'm hitting it 190-195 pretty consistently. I just couldn't get comfortable with a hybrid in my hand. I guess I'm just an irons type of guy.
I hit the 4 iron on a dogleg left part 4 today. It's right at 200 yards to the flat and I crushed it. Hardest hole on the course for me. A good shot to the flat landing area us 200 yards, which leaves 180 over a pond to an uphill green with a massive false front that will put you back 30 yards if you don't carry it.
I used to try all kinds of things to do well on that hole, without much success. Today, 4 iron, 5 iron, 2 putts for a par. I finally defeated that hole..... But my playing partner who has the same troubles on that hole chipped in for a birdie and just took all my celebration away. I think it's the first time he has ever birdied that hole in 10 years.
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I hit the 4 iron on a dogleg left part 4 today. It's right at 200 yards to the flat and I crushed it. Hardest hole on the course for me. A good shot to the flat landing area us 200 yards, which leaves 180 over a pond to an uphill green with a massive false front that will put you back 30 yards if you don't carry it.
I used to try all kinds of things to do well on that hole, without much success. Today, 4 iron, 5 iron, 2 putts for a par. I finally defeated that hole..... But my playing partner who has the same troubles on that hole chipped in for a birdie and just took all my celebration away. I think it's the first time he has ever birdied that hole in 10 years.
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Bullitt5339
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- #73
Well, it has been a little while since I updated this thread, so I guess it's time. I've had a bunch of 91s and 92s on the course and a best 18 hole score of 89 since I last posted. I've made some major changes to my golf swing which has really hurt my ball striking in the short term, but should pay off in the long run. I have three issues right now:
1: I am hitting a strong draw/hook with my irons now.
2: I am unable to hit my driver right now. Every shot is a low hook.
3: I'm hitting my wedges a lot further with a lot less effort, so I have been flying greens quite a bit when I'm under 125 yards.
Even with these issues, I've been scoring about the same because my short game has really come around and has been saving me lately.
I have said before that my instructor said with the changes we were working on, I would start hooking the ball and it is here with a vengeance. The main problem with that is that he accepted a new job a couple hours away and is working at a very exclusive and very private country club in Cashiers, NC. Now I've gotten to where he wanted me and he's gone. This seems to happen to me every year. Last year the instructor that I was working with got a job at TPC Boston during the summers and TPC Scottsdale in the winter. So I'm a little stuck right now. I talked to the Director of Golf today and told him what we were working on and he said to stop by next week and he would take a look and get me back on the right track.
1: I am hitting a strong draw/hook with my irons now.
2: I am unable to hit my driver right now. Every shot is a low hook.
3: I'm hitting my wedges a lot further with a lot less effort, so I have been flying greens quite a bit when I'm under 125 yards.
Even with these issues, I've been scoring about the same because my short game has really come around and has been saving me lately.
I have said before that my instructor said with the changes we were working on, I would start hooking the ball and it is here with a vengeance. The main problem with that is that he accepted a new job a couple hours away and is working at a very exclusive and very private country club in Cashiers, NC. Now I've gotten to where he wanted me and he's gone. This seems to happen to me every year. Last year the instructor that I was working with got a job at TPC Boston during the summers and TPC Scottsdale in the winter. So I'm a little stuck right now. I talked to the Director of Golf today and told him what we were working on and he said to stop by next week and he would take a look and get me back on the right track.
Bullitt5339
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- #74
Left the driver in the bag today and moved up a set of tees and went out for a nice relaxing 9 holes. Maybe I need to relax more on the course? I ended up shooting a 40, my 2nd best 9 of the year. I was striking the ball pretty well, but my putting was a little off today or it could have been a lot better.
The lesson for this week is club position at the top of the backswing. I'm not sure what the correct terminology is, but we are working on getting the club to be less vertical at the top, which flattens my left wrist and is giving me a lot more distance with my irons. I have a tendency to hit them a little thin right now since this change, so I'm working on that and when I do it right......... Wow....
The lesson for this week is club position at the top of the backswing. I'm not sure what the correct terminology is, but we are working on getting the club to be less vertical at the top, which flattens my left wrist and is giving me a lot more distance with my irons. I have a tendency to hit them a little thin right now since this change, so I'm working on that and when I do it right......... Wow....
Bullitt5339
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- #75
This week's update:
Not much to report. I worked a bit to improve my putting this week since it has fallen off a little and played 18 yesterday. Admittedly, my tee game has been horrible lately and yesterday was no different. Driver is a low hook every time, so it wasn't used much yesterday. I have a 2 way miss with my 4 Wood, which is troubling and is causing my score to balloon a bit. I am still hitting my irons very well compared to last month. I am hitting 4 and 5 irons with no thought involved, which is something I've never been able to do before.
I've got a round at Tot Hill Farms scheduled with some other THPers tomorrow and will not get a chance to get to the range today to try to figure out the woods today, so I will try to get there a bit early tomorrow to work on them on the range before the round. Maybe I will have an epiphany, who knows? Either way, it's a round of golf with THPers, so it won't be bad anyway. I'm going to Disney in September and want my game to be in decent shape by then, so I'm going to start putting in the work to get it there. I will be spending a lot more time at the range and walking a few holes after work in order to get some stability in my game.
Not much to report. I worked a bit to improve my putting this week since it has fallen off a little and played 18 yesterday. Admittedly, my tee game has been horrible lately and yesterday was no different. Driver is a low hook every time, so it wasn't used much yesterday. I have a 2 way miss with my 4 Wood, which is troubling and is causing my score to balloon a bit. I am still hitting my irons very well compared to last month. I am hitting 4 and 5 irons with no thought involved, which is something I've never been able to do before.
I've got a round at Tot Hill Farms scheduled with some other THPers tomorrow and will not get a chance to get to the range today to try to figure out the woods today, so I will try to get there a bit early tomorrow to work on them on the range before the round. Maybe I will have an epiphany, who knows? Either way, it's a round of golf with THPers, so it won't be bad anyway. I'm going to Disney in September and want my game to be in decent shape by then, so I'm going to start putting in the work to get it there. I will be spending a lot more time at the range and walking a few holes after work in order to get some stability in my game.