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Becoming a scratch or better player.

Today I got slammed with work which caused me not to be able to get to the range to do the work I wanted to do, or play in men's night for that matter.

Instead I just putted in my office whenever I could, I probably have hit more than 200 putts today while on the phone or just taking a break from constant emailing. Thats something I think as putting is one of my biggest weaknesses
 
coolbreeze said:
Today I got slammed with work which caused me not to be able to get to the range to do the work I wanted to do, or play in men's night for that matter.

Instead I just putted in my office whenever I could, I probably have hit more than 200 putts today while on the phone or just taking a break from constant emailing. Thats something I think as putting is one of my biggest weaknesses
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This is great CB! I was looking at the carpet in my office today and wondering why in the heck I didn't have a putter in there.
 
Dr. Teeth said:
This is great CB! I was looking at the carpet in my office today and wondering why in the heck I didn't have a putter in there.
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You should. Go buy a back up GoLo and just use it in your office.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Hey yo Breezey.....first off I'm digging the routine and the metal commitment you're made to bettering your game.
To break the monotony of practice try different face position with your wedges and irons. Not so much to learn a new shot but to learn how the ball responds. I've found that knowing how the ball will respond will aid down the line when you are faced with unusual shots. It also will give you a 'feel' for how the ball feels coming of the face.
I'm
Excited for you, getting the most out of your game is always fun.
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What an excellent idea... I have recently started doing this and once you start hitting draws and fades at will you understand swing dynamics and your own swing much better.

And I am not even a very good player either. It's also a big weapon to know you can hit a fade on a dogleg right.

Wish I would have tried this yrs ago.
 
Dr. Teeth said:
I had my first official lesson ever on Monday and it was eye opening. He focused on balance and getting me to be more patient at the top of my swing. He wants me to focus more on my balance, especially at the end of the swing. I have never been someone to hold my finish and it is really hard to stay motivated to hold a finish on a snap hook, but he is trying to get me to be more self aware and that awareness will help to improve my balance and as he says "I can guarantee that if your swing is balanced than it is on plane." I really enjoyed the lesson and can definitely see how this is going to be a huge benefit to my game. We worked a lot with my 4 iron and he wants me to spend a lot of time with it and my driver. I can already see and feel the improvement on my 4 iron shots, but I must be the worlds worst driver 'cause I suck! If I could hit more fairways, I know that I can get to scratch, but it is far too difficult when you are scrambling after the majority of your tee shots. I am determined to be a 2.5 by June of next year, but I have got to start driving the ball better!
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Dr Teeth, I thought you told me you weren't that good!!....:)....2.5 by June sounds pretty good to me... We still need to get out this yr before the rain comes.
 
bgammill said:
People have been trying to get me aim at the center for years now but what's the fun if you cant go after the stick? :). There are shots will I will accept the middle but I feel you have to attack pins to make birdies because long putts won't always drop and can lead to more three putts. I've come to accept playing some smart shots but I'm not a center of the green type guy and never was. I'll never be the player I once was, I accept that, but still love going for the pins even if it might leave me a shot I hate and possible bogie.
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This is why I have been trying to work the ball more. Face of the club pointing at the hole, stance pointing to center of green. Misses go to the center of the green and poor shots end up towards the middle of the green. Prevents me from short siding myself and making the up and downs harder.
 
mact3333 said:
Dr Teeth, I thought you told me you weren't that good!!....:)....2.5 by June sounds pretty good to me... We still need to get out this yr before the rain comes.
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It really just depends on what day of the week it is. I can be good or I could be not so good, but either way, I am always enjoying myself. We definitely need to get together. How was the trip to the coast?
 
Cool Breeze have you been talking to John lately? You should set something up with him, he is outstanding with the mental aspect. Also I haven't been putting with him yet, but from what I've heard he's pretty strong in that category as well.
 
BigCountryStein said:
Cool Breeze have you been talking to John lately? You should set something up with him, he is outstanding with the mental aspect. Also I haven't been putting with him yet, but from what I've heard he's pretty strong in that category as well.
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I have a lesson with John coming up soon.
 
Dr. Teeth said:
It really just depends on what day of the week it is. I can be good or I could be not so good, but either way, I am always enjoying myself. We definitely need to get together. How was the trip to the coast?
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It was great... Sold my place and moved everything out... Feel like i won the lottery!...:).

Golfing in Bend this weekend and Chambers Bay following but after that we should definitely hook up before the rain comes.
 
MarcH said:
Next time you go practice short game think about the clubhead staying outside of the hands going back and rhythm. Once that clubhead gets sucked inside you're done...unless you have a great set of hands. So think about the clubhead going back in a straight line with your hands staying inside of it. Should help you a lot of you're having trouble with shortgame.
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Thanks for this tip. As usually the case if MarcH gives a tip it is a good one. I had been pretty good with short game shots but had left out the crucial step of keeping my hands inside of the club. I practiced that today for 30 minutes before my round, it made worlds of difference for me.
 
So today I finally managed to get to the range and carved out 2 hours that I was able to work on my game. I had preplanned by practice and I managed to stick to it which was nice.

I started by hitting 7 irons at the 160 flag and I was hitting them very well. I was peppering that stick so after about 20 shots a felt pretty happy about my iron game so it was time to move on to some drivers. I hit 5 drivers at the "fairway" I had given myself and I hit the fairway everytime and they were long and high bombs. Enough of that, time to work on my biggest weaknesses.

I pulled out my 54* wedge and started hitting full shots to the 105 yard flag and was hitting them great. I then hit my 50* wedge at a target at 115 yards and that went well. Now I'm feeling good, but was it to last...

I laser'ed some spots on the range at 80, 60, and 40 yards respectively. These are the yardages that give me the most trouble, and need to be worked on the most. I never know which of my wedges I want to hit the shot with, and then I always second guess my choice when I'm over the ball. My goal was to use both my 54* and my 58* to hit balls to each yardage and to start getting comfortable playing these shots.

It went ok, not great, just ok. I find I'm much better playing these shots with the 58* wedge where I can take more of more of a full swing at the ball and thats how I will be playing those shots in my club championship this weekend. I'm not going to be second guessing which club to be playing those shots with, it will be that club every time for pitching for now.

Next I went over to the practice bunker, which went well, and then onto chipping. I won't bore you with too many more details but I was happy with how I was chipping the ball.

Now it was on to putting. I brought 2 putters with me and really wanted to see what putter I was more comfortable with and was rolling the ball better with. It wasn't even close between the 2 and I started rolling in a lot of putts from 10-15 feet and the more they fell, the more comfortable and confident I started to get. This is the putter thats going back in the bag probably for quite some time as I'm rolling the ball great with it.

Tomorrow I will be doing a similar practice session but with even less full swings, and more short game.
 
Breezy, couple of things.

First of all, you're rocking this dude. As soon as your short game gets comfortable I see you shooting close to par very consistently. Second, have you checked out Pelz's short game bible? I know some people that like it and some people that don't but I think the system is really cool for helping you think about distances and wedge play in a different way. I know you say you really like the 58 for that and thats awesome that you're comfortable with it, but it scares me a little bit because I know if things go south with the 58 it can go south quick. I feel like the 54 may be a more beneficial and consistent tool IF you get comfortable with it. But then again, thats just my opinion bro. If you like the 58 then rock out with it!! Third, which putter are you gaming for sure? I see the 770 in your sig and am really curious on what happened to knock the DART out of the bag.
 
bahester said:
Breezy, couple of things.

First of all, you're rocking this dude. As soon as your short game gets comfortable I see you shooting close to par very consistently. Second, have you checked out Pelz's short game bible? I know some people that like it and some people that don't but I think the system is really cool for helping you think about distances and wedge play in a different way. I know you say you really like the 58 for that and thats awesome that you're comfortable with it, but it scares me a little bit because I know if things go south with the 58 it can go south quick. I feel like the 54 may be a more beneficial and consistent tool IF you get comfortable with it. But then again, thats just my opinion bro. If you like the 58 then rock out with it!! Third, which putter are you gaming for sure? I see the 770 in your sig and am really curious on what happened to knock the DART out of the bag.
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I have not read that but I'd be willing to give it a shot, I've always been comfortable with a 58* or 60* wedge and while I'd love to be able to consistantly hit those shots with either wedge and be able to flight them differently, for now I was just far more consistent with the higher loft as I was able to go after it a little more and swing back a little farther.

As for the putter, yes, the TaylorMade TM-770 was the clear winner and there are I'm sure a few reasons for that, but I've been gaming that putter for about a year now and I'm comfortable with it, and I just love almost everything about it. My distance control was better and I was just plain and simple making more putts.
 
coolbreeze said:
I have not read that but I'd be willing to give it a shot, I've always been comfortable with a 58* or 60* wedge and while I'd love to be able to consistantly hit those shots with either wedge and be able to flight them differently, for now I was just far more consistent with the higher loft as I was able to go after it a little more and swing back a little farther.

As for the putter, yes, the TaylorMade TM-770 was the clear winner and there are I'm sure a few reasons for that, but I've been gaming that putter for about a year now and I'm comfortable with it, and I just love almost everything about it. My distance control was better and I was just plain and simple making more putts.
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Nice that's all that counts dude! I would advise taking a look at that book. You can get it pretty cheap on Amazon and it has some good fundamental things in there that really helped me to look at the short game a different way
 
coolbreeze said:
I have a lesson with John coming up soon.
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Sounds great. Hopefully I can say the same, I'll find out soon. It seems like you're doing really well with your practicing, keep up the good work.
 
So an update from the last week or so. Work has been busy this week and I haven't been able to practice as much as I would like but I have gotten in 1 range session, 1 round, and a ton of putting inside on my putting green.

Some good things are that my bag is now set. With the addition of the new 3 wood the top end of my bag is complete, and I have decided without question that the Yes! Carolyne putter is the one I'm going to game going forward. Good round or bad round, this is the putter thats going to be in my bag, and the one that I'm going to work with going forward.

Yesterdays round in heavy winds had me learn a lot about my game. Even into the wind and cross winds my ball flight with irons and woods still had a strong ball flight that didn't deviate as much as my playing partners, so I was hitting ball well again. I did however get myself into awkward pitch yardages because the wind if it was with me would carry the ball further than I intended and I was left with a bunch of 60-75 yard pitches that while they all hit the green, only one was within 10 feet and thats just not good enough from that distance.

Putting was really good yesterday, and I had a lot of good long two putts, and some really good one putts for par saves and burned the edges on some birdie chances. I can see all my hard work is starting to pay off, but I've yet to put everything together at once.
 
I think sticking with a putter is a great idea, Breezy.
 
coolbreeze said:
So an update from the last week or so. Work has been busy this week and I haven't been able to practice as much as I would like but I have gotten in 1 range session, 1 round, and a ton of putting inside on my putting green.

Some good things are that my bag is now set. With the addition of the new 3 wood the top end of my bag is complete, and I have decided without question that the Yes! Carolyne putter is the one I'm going to game going forward. Good round or bad round, this is the putter thats going to be in my bag, and the one that I'm going to work with going forward.

Yesterdays round in heavy winds had me learn a lot about my game. Even into the wind and cross winds my ball flight with irons and woods still had a strong ball flight that didn't deviate as much as my playing partners, so I was hitting ball well again. I did however get myself into awkward pitch yardages because the wind if it was with me would carry the ball further than I intended and I was left with a bunch of 60-75 yard pitches that while they all hit the green, only one was within 10 feet and thats just not good enough from that distance.

Putting was really good yesterday, and I had a lot of good long two putts, and some really good one putts for par saves and burned the edges on some birdie chances. I can see all my hard work is starting to pay off, but I've yet to put everything together at once.
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Sounds like it won't be long and your game will Gel Ben.
You've posted some good reading material that inspires others to seek their potential on the course.
 
Breeze I'm enjoying this process with you. Curious, why the Yes! Putter vs the other? What about this putter gives you the best chance to succeed?
 
I would suggest that if you're most comfortable on the range from 75-80 yards with the 58*, leave it in the bag. Keep working with the clubs you're least comfortable with, learning to hit a variety of shots from that distance with all of them.

Kevin
 
Tadashi70 said:
Breeze I'm enjoying this process with you. Curious, why the Yes! Putter vs the other? What about this putter gives you the best chance to succeed?
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Thanks buddy. Well to start the moment I put it down for the first time I felt like I could made putts with it. Good start. Then I started rolling putts with it, and I couldn't miss my line inside 10 feet, and short putts I just felt like I couldn't miss. I like the weight of it and the Center shaft seems to fit my stroke better than anything else. I figure since I like everything about it and I'm putting a good roll on the ball with it my first round out, it will be my gamer for at least a year as I work on my putting and overall game.
Esox said:
I would suggest that if you're most comfortable on the range from 75-80 yards with the 58*, leave it in the bag. Keep working with the clubs you're least comfortable with, learning to hit a variety of shots from that distance with all of them.

Kevin
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Kevin, this is exactly what I did today. I went down to the range with just my 50* and 54* wedge and just worked on full shots and pitches with both wedges to the different points on the range. I did this for an hour and I think it was really good practice, and I will continue to do this.
 
coolbreeze said:
So an update from the last week or so. Work has been busy this week and I haven't been able to practice as much as I would like but I have gotten in 1 range session, 1 round, and a ton of putting inside on my putting green.

Some good things are that my bag is now set. With the addition of the new 3 wood the top end of my bag is complete, and I have decided without question that the Yes! Carolyne putter is the one I'm going to game going forward. Good round or bad round, this is the putter thats going to be in my bag, and the one that I'm going to work with going forward.

Yesterdays round in heavy winds had me learn a lot about my game. Even into the wind and cross winds my ball flight with irons and woods still had a strong ball flight that didn't deviate as much as my playing partners, so I was hitting ball well again. I did however get myself into awkward pitch yardages because the wind if it was with me would carry the ball further than I intended and I was left with a bunch of 60-75 yard pitches that while they all hit the green, only one was within 10 feet and thats just not good enough from that distance.

Putting was really good yesterday, and I had a lot of good long two putts, and some really good one putts for par saves and burned the edges on some birdie chances. I can see all my hard work is starting to pay off, but I've yet to put everything together at once.
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Nice to see that putter you weren't expecting to win is the one that will take you to the promise land Breezey!!!

I'm jealous of your wind game. Hopefully those pitch shots get sorted out soon. Letting them run out, or biting after a few hops?
 
Breeze, confidence in your equipment is key! Glad you are rolling that putter well. I gamed that model for a couple of years and really enjoyed it.
 
Today I wanted to play, but there was nobody up there that wanted to get a round in and it was so hot that I didn't want to try and play 18 so I just went to the range for a while. I've been working really hard on my short game lately and just sort of trying to keep my full swing where it is, but I've noticed over my last few rounds that I've gotten a little sloppy with my swing and it needed some attention.

At first I was hitting the ball ok, but the ball flight was a little too low, and it just didn't feel right. Plus I wasn't seeing my normal distances and I just knew something was a little off. I took a little video and I could tell that I was letting the club head get inside of my hands and I was getting stuck on the back swing, forcing me to make some adjustments to hit the ball properly.

After about an hour I was really in a groove and the swing felt great again. I will be playing a round at some point this weekend as well as reshafting my wedges with shafts that are similar to the shafts in my irons.
 
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