We've launched the new forums! Read more here

PhillyV's Road to Reality

I like the commitment.

Playing by the rules is the only way to know what your true score is. A ton of people I've encountered are turning in scores 5, 8 or 10 strokes lower than they actually would have scored.

Does it matter to them? Probably not. Would I ever mention it? Absolutely not. Let them do what they find fun. But I think you'll become a better golfer through your commitment. You'll learn to hit more shots and more importantly, play smarter golf when you have to deal with the real impact of a poor shot.
 
This is great Philly. Its a step I took about 15 years ago and have kept. Prior to that I didn't use all the rules or even make an effort to understand or know them. Playing the ball down, and keeping a "real" score was a hit to the ego for the first few months, but I look back on it now after all this time and I realize how it made me a better golfer and also gave me that true measure of my ability. I'm looking forward to following along!
 
Well today was my first time on the course since I've decided to go this route. And honestly I didn't even want to post this score but hey it's all part of the process right?

So first let me get the excuses out of the way. I've played this course for about 15 years as this is the first course i ever played. But, I've maybe played it three times in the past three years so there were some things I wasn't used to. They no longer have a range which is terrible for me. I need at least 20 to 30 full swings just to get loose and get a feel for what my swing has in store for that day. Second issue for me was the course conditions were odd to say the least. Greens were very firm and it seemed like the play was to land everything short and have it bounce and roll up which is absolutely not my game so it took a little bit to adjust.

So I shot a 46. 1/7 FIR 2/9 GIR 15 putts and 2 penalty strokes. Carded three 7s for the first time in a long time but I gotta say this. After struggling to put together anything that resembles golf, finishing par par par felt amazing.

Two things I'm not used to doing but will start to be a focus. First is staying focused on my mental approach to the round and second is to develop short term memory loss with bad shots. The more they linger in my mind, the more it feels like I'm standing in quicksand.

To be continued....
 
par par par is a great way to finish a round. The balls moves forward and your focus needs to do the same. You can never change the shot you just took but you can improve with the shot your about to take.
 
I play nearly 100% of my rounds with no warm up hits; straight to the first tee. It definitely can make it challenging to get off to a good start some times, especially if you're not used to it. Don't know where your 7's came, but sounds like starting cold is a rarity for you. It sounds like you were able to shake the first 6 holes off though. Finishing strong is huge. Only problem is then it makes you want to keep going lol.
 
I just rely on tempo so much in my swing and it takes me a few full swings to get it down pat. I need to make it a point to make more full swings for a warm up if I can't get on a range
 
Good thread Philly. Big time reminder that when we "bend" the rules the only person we are kidding is ourselves.
 
I like it buddy and I believe you will not suffer bad scores for long, you have game and won't take you long to be shooting the same scores
 
So today was a step in the right direction...sort of. I made a few good par saves today that really kept me from full on blow up mode. Played the same course as my last round but played 18 today. My original thought from last round still stands. I NEED warm up time. After about 10 holes I really started to feel my swing get in a groove which lead to more confidence at the tee box and was able to have a few looks at birdie which kept my confidence up. I really struggled staying down on the ball and was thinning just about every wedge shot I had. All in all, but a bad round but not a good one. Tons of room for improvement still.

45/40 for an 85
6/14 FIR
4/18 GIR
29 Putts
 
Today was a much better day for me as far as my swings go. Probably the best I've hit the ball this year and really wish I would have putted better. The greens were absolutely lightning and the pins were in impossible places. We played Medina Country Club which is notorious for its fast greens. I watched the guys this morning as they were rolling the greens and figured it wouldn't be that bad but wow. This was like putting on glass.

41/41 for an 82
37 putts
8/14 FIR
8/18 GIR

It's not all there yet. But I'm going in the right direction
 
82 with 37 putts is pretty good shootin, shows just how strong the rest of your game was!
 
greggdrews said:
82 with 37 putts is pretty good shootin, shows just how strong the rest of your game was!
Click to expand...

I think I had 5 or 6 three putts. There were a few times where I would miss the first putt by less than an inch but would take the slope and roll off the green
 
PhillyV's Road to Reality

Today was a day where everything started to come together. A slight grip change is helping my ball striking too. I put the club a little more in my palm in my right hand and it's helping me really hit down and through the ball. Putting was much better too. When I struggle with the putter, I look for something to change to help get my mind off the struggles. Today I was looking at the ball during the entire stroke and kept my eyes in that position through the whole stroke. It really seemed to help me get the ball on the line I wanted it. Still some issues with pace but that's just a typical brain fart for me. All in all, I'm very pleased with my round today and just missed a 6 footer for my first sub par 9 holes.

43/36-79
4/14 FIR
6/18 GIR
29 putts
 
PhillyV's Road to Reality

Nice round Phil. You'll be a forex at LITA!'
 
Gonna bump this back up. Today was a tale of two 9's as I started off the front 9 with four bogies and a double. Just couldn't get on the green in regulation. After settling into my swing I started having a few more solid looks at birdie but couldn't get any of them to drop today. My putting wasn't great but it wasn't awful either. I felt like I made a number of good strokes that just didn't fall. All in all it was a good day on the course.

44/37-81
9/14 FIR
6/18 GIR
34 putts
 
Canadan said:
My dude, it's time to realize that you've got all kinds of game in that bag.
Click to expand...

Thanks brother. Just gonna continue to work on my iron play because it seems like everything else is coming along pretty well. May just be alignment or something small like that. But it's close
 
PhillyV said:
Gonna bump this back up. Today was a tale of two 9's as I started off the front 9 with four bogies and a double. Just couldn't get on the green in regulation. After settling into my swing I started having a few more solid looks at birdie but couldn't get any of them to drop today. My putting wasn't great but it wasn't awful either. I felt like I made a number of good strokes that just didn't fall. All in all it was a good day on the course.

44/37-81
9/14 FIR
6/18 GIR
34 putts
Click to expand...

solid round there. keep up the hard work.
 
Heck of a back 9 phil
 
PhillyV said:
Thanks brother. Just gonna continue to work on my iron play because it seems like everything else is coming along pretty well. May just be alignment or something small like that. But it's close
Click to expand...

I watched your game for a number of holes in Orlando. You hit a great tee ball, your irons are crisp and your all around game is quite solid. You are so close to breaking a huge barrier that its insane.

Its the "how to score" barrier. The one that takes a golfer that hits the golf shots you hit from a low 80s golfer to a mid 70s golfer. Its not always the glamorous shots, and its sometimes "less interesting", but you are so close its scary.
 
Thanks fellas
 
JB said:
I watched your game for a number of holes in Orlando. You hit a great tee ball, your irons are crisp and your all around game is quite solid. You are so close to breaking a huge barrier that its insane.

Its the "how to score" barrier. The one that takes a golfer that hits the golf shots you hit from a low 80s golfer to a mid 70s golfer. Its not always the glamorous shots, and its sometimes "less interesting", but you are so close its scary.
Click to expand...

I've been telling him this for YEARS.
 
If you need some putting lessons, I'm available.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Bazinga
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top