KellyBo & Gray -- Diary of taking Lessons

Played 18 holes today and shot an 87. My game started off really good but finished the last two holes of the front with an 8 and 6 for a 45. The back nine was better with a 42 but I still had 4 three putts today. The good news is that I finished strong with two birdies on the last 2 par fives. That boosted my confidence after making some really bad short shots. My drives were really good today. I hit 11 out of 14 fairways long and down the middle. What is so frustrating is to be looking at the green with 50 yards to go and end up making a 6 because of bad chip shots. Ugggghhhh! I will work on that short game next. I had 36 putts today. This is my first time keeping stats so I don't know how that compares to the past. There is hope!
 
green with 50 yards to go and end up making a 6 because of bad chip shots

Tell me about it. It seems whenever I make a great tee shot and approach I tend to mess up the short game. Must be a mental thing I guess.
 
Lesson 4 today:

Oh my it's hot today! Upper 90's and no shade at the learning center. I thought I was melting.

I reported to my instructor that I shot an 82 this week but had 35 putts. I told him I had done well on the front with only 15 putts but had 20 on the back. He decided right away that we were going to the putting green. He got Gray started on some short drills at the range and we went off to the green. I asked him to take a look at my putter to see if it fit me okay. He watched me putt a little and said my putter was fine (it's 34"). He liked my setup and stroke fine (I worked hard this week practicing). He said what he sees with me is that I do not have a routine for setting up for my putt. So after spending a little while with him, this is what I learned I must do on EVERY putt.

1. Draw a line on my golf balls to help align putts.

2. Look at the lay of the land and decide how my ball will roll (talked about that a little last lesson).

3. Find my line while facing the hole. Place my ball on that line with the line on the ball aimed in that direction.

4. Now set up to putt. Don't change the line of the putt at this point because I won't see a good line from this stance. Trust the line you have set up. I'm right eye dominant so he talked about how that affects things from that stance.

5. Before putting, take a practice stroke or more if needed. While taking the practice stroke, look at the cup and practice your stroke imagining the stroke you will need to roll it to the hole. Once you are comfortable that you have the correct stroke, set up to the ball and hit down the line of the ball.

He emphasized the importance of me having this pre-shot routine on EVERY putt even when I am just practicing. He says he always does this on his putting and chipping and it really makes a difference. I've heard he is a superb short game player.

I hit some iron shots on the range and started hitting them thin. He reminded me to use that right hand to "wipe the table" all the way across. Once he said that, I started flying the balls high in the air again.

This is the first time ever I feel hopeful that I may be able to improve my putting. Finally I have some hope. I will be practicing later and playing in a tournament this weekend so I'll let you know how I do. Don't care if I win but I do hope I play well.
 
sounds like a great teacher kelly! i like how old gray's just off in the corner bashing balls while you get all the instruction......haha. it was hot today, i can't imagine it in macon......ugh.
 
sounds like a great teacher kelly! i like how old gray's just off in the corner bashing balls while you get all the instruction......haha. it was hot today, i can't imagine it in macon......ugh.

Hehe - yep I stole the coach. Not nice, huh? I actually told the coach that he should go work with Gray the rest of the lesson because he really needed some one on one time with him. I only got about 15 minutes and Gray got a solid hour of reassurance and instruction. I think it was a good day for Gray too.
 
Hehe - yep I stole the coach. Not nice, huh? I actually told the coach that he should go work with Gray the rest of the lesson because he really needed some one on one time with him. I only got about 15 minutes and Gray got a solid hour of reassurance and instruction. I think it was a good day for Gray too.

i dare say that was very important! glad to hear you both had a good day, and that neither is suffering from heat sroke!
 
Wow, was just reading my golf coach's facebook page and saw where one of his long time students has advanced to the U.S. Open. He shot 73-64 and came in first in the qualifier. His name is Russell Henley and he is from Macon, GA, and is currently a junior at the UGA. Here's an article about him that is in today's Macon paper. http://www.macon.com/2010/06/13/1160282/building-to-a-dream-henley-adding.html

Here is his college page:

http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=1209769


Pretty cool. His picture is one of many on my coach's wall at the training center. I've heard he was really good but I had no idea he was this good!
 
Lesson #5

Today we worked with our drivers.

1. The placement of the ball in front of your club is different with a driver than the iron. When you set up with the iron, you center the ball in front of the face of the iron. However, with the driver, you should place the ball more towards the toe of the driver on set up because you hit the ball while the club is in the air with the driver, not on the ground like an iron. He hovered the driver over the ball off the ground and showed the difference of where it is in comparison to where it is when you rest it on the ground behind the ball.

2. The placement of the ball in your stance is different with a driver than an iron. With an iron, you are hitting down on the ball so you place it more centered in your stance. With a driver, you are hitting up on the ball so you want it more forward. He set me up with the ball up further than I had been placing it. It was almost even with my front foot and shoulder. Once I was square and set up to swing, he stood behind me and made me tilt to the right a bit and then told me to stay in that position and just turn my shoulders and hit it. He also told me to quit lunging. He said I was moving too much when I took my back swing. It felt very awkward at first but I started hitting the ball much higher and further. I had been hitting line drives before he changed my ball position. I learned that placing the ball too far back on your drive delofts the club. That explains why I sometimes have trouble getting the ball in the air on my drives.

3. Coach talked about how he took lessons from Davis Love, Jr. when he was at Sea Island. Davis had him hit a bucket of balls that was HUGE. They were range balls and he made him set up the stripe on top and the emblem on the inside of the ball. He was to aim for the emblem each time he hit the ball. I've been really focusing on hitting the inside of the ball this past week and my drives have been so much better! No fades or slices, either straight or baby draws most of the time.

I still have some work to do with this lesson since it still feels a little awkward. He gave me some contact stickers to put on the face of my club so I can see where I'm making contact. I'll be at the range working on this!

No time for putting lessons today...had a student waiting. I have some drills and a new SeeMore FGP putter so I will be practing a lot during the week on my putting.

Our next lesson is playing the course next Saturday at 5pm. I'm super excited about that even though it may only be 6 holes.
 
I feel bad because I'm getting lessons for free here by reading the threads you and Gray update. So awesome to see both of you improving your games!
Lesson #5

Today we worked with our drivers.

1. The placement of the ball in front of your club is different with a driver than the iron. When you set up with the iron, you center the ball in front of the face of the iron. However, with the driver, you should place the ball more towards the toe of the driver on set up because you hit the ball while the club is in the air with the driver, not on the ground like an iron. He hovered the driver over the ball off the ground and showed the difference of where it is in comparison to where it is when you rest it on the ground behind the ball.

2. The placement of the ball in your stance is different with a driver than an iron. With an iron, you are hitting down on the ball so you place it more centered in your stance. With a driver, you are hitting up on the ball so you want it more forward. He set me up with the ball up further than I had been placing it. It was almost even with my front foot and shoulder. Once I was square and set up to swing, he stood behind me and made me tilt to the right a bit and then told me to stay in that position and just turn my shoulders and hit it. He also told me to quit lunging. He said I was moving too much when I took my back swing. It felt very awkward at first but I started hitting the ball much higher and further. I had been hitting line drives before he changed my ball position. I learned that placing the ball too far back on your drive delofts the club. That explains why I sometimes have trouble getting the ball in the air on my drives.

3. Coach talked about how he took lessons from Davis Love, Jr. when he was at Sea Island. Davis had him hit a bucket of balls that was HUGE. They were range balls and he made him set up the stripe on top and the emblem on the inside of the ball. He was to aim for the emblem each time he hit the ball. I've been really focusing on hitting the inside of the ball this past week and my drives have been so much better! No fades or slices, either straight or baby draws most of the time.

I still have some work to do with this lesson since it still feels a little awkward. He gave me some contact stickers to put on the face of my club so I can see where I'm making contact. I'll be at the range working on this!

No time for putting lessons today...had a student waiting. I have some drills and a new SeeMore FGP putter so I will be practing a lot during the week on my putting.

Our next lesson is playing the course next Saturday at 5pm. I'm super excited about that even though it may only be 6 holes.
 
I've learned so much from this site that it feels good to give something back. I hope someone will gain from the information we post even if most of it is beginner level. :)
 
I know I have. Ball position... Takeaway.. etc..! Hitting the inside of the ball was a drill I did when I had lessons a while back. Your post reminded me of that!!! I can't wait to hit the range later.
I've learned so much from this site that it feels good to give something back. I hope someone will gain from the information we post even if most of it is beginner level. :)
 
That's great Yuccos! Makes me feel good! This diary will be helpful to me down the road. I'll just go back and read over it when I get rusty.

Hit 'em well! Let me know if the info helped you any.
 
After taking a lesson on my driver yesterday, I didn't hit it too good today. Too many swing thoughts. Luckily I hit everything else pretty good and my scramble partner hit nice drives!
 
I'm still at work and business is slow so I went out to the putting green to practice my putting a little with my new SeeMore FGP putter. I'm telling you what, that thing is the bomb! If you can find the line, that putter is going to be square every time as long as you hide that red dot. It is amazing how much more confident I feel with it. I was hoping to play a round of golf today but ended up having to work a full day. I'm itching to break into the 70's soon...I've been close and missed mostly because of my putting.
 
I see your boy Henly played superbly in the US Open. Great story.

And yours is too, keep it going but please stop adding to my temptation to get hold of a SeeMore.......please...I am a man and therefore weak and feeble when temptation is near.
 
LOL - it has nothing to do with being a man cuz I've been spending like crazy on golf! If I break into the 70's because of this putter, you'll have to get one! hehe
 
LOL - it has nothing to do with being a man cuz I've been spending like crazy on golf! If I break into the 70's because of this putter, you'll have to get one! hehe

Stop it!!!! Si 2 fills my dreams as it is.....anyway nice diary, look forward to seeing how you do over the summer. Good luck.
 
I'm still at work and business is slow so I went out to the putting green to practice my putting a little with my new SeeMore FGP putter. I'm telling you what, that thing is the bomb! If you can find the line, that putter is going to be square every time as long as you hide that red dot. It is amazing how much more confident I feel with it. I was hoping to play a round of golf today but ended up having to work a full day. I'm itching to break into the 70's soon...I've been close and missed mostly because of my putting.

that's great stuff kellybo! i think everyone that has a seemore says the same exact thing!
 
Gray and I went to the course for a quick 9 holes this evening. I couldn't hit squat. He played well. We reverse our roles regularly...seems like when he plays good, I play bad and vice versa.

Things I need to remember!

Don't swing so hard

Stay down and "wipe the table" with my irons. I was hitting everything thin.

Stay with my putting routine ALL the time.

Stop thinking so much!

Oh well...I think I owe Gray 6 cents. We were betting a penny per hole. I'll get him tomorrow.
 
Well I played golf by myself for two days and shot 81, 81. Today I played 9 holes with a scratch golfer and shot 44. Weird that I play so much better when I am by myself. I make myself play by the rules and hit every putt. I find that I am 100% focused when I play alone. When I'm golfing with Gray and other men, I am overanalyzing my swing and trying too hard. When I'm with the girls, I'm too busy socializing. I am playing golf with the ladies tomorrow AM so I'm going to try to focus on my shots more than usual and see if I can't overcome my apparent attention deficit disorder. :bulgy-eyes:
 
gotta get in that zone kellbo! there's always some sort of pressure we put on ourselves depending who we're playing with. i come up with a game plan for each hole when i'm on each tee box and i focus on that game plan til the ball's in the hole. good luck tomorrow, working on a routine's very important.
 
I'm the same way. My best rounds always come when I am quiet and focused. When I get in the zone I quit talking and don't pay any attention to what my partners are doing. Another weird thing for me is that I seem to feed off others playing badly.
 
Just as predicted (maybe my problem) I played horrible today. I ended up playing with just one woman who is very competitive. Today I shot a 97 and she shot an 84. It was obvious that she felt bad for me. She even said she wanted to beat me but only when i'm playing good. We played on my home course where I have been playing really well. I don't get it.

Gray ordered and just received a book called "Extraordinary Golf, The Art of the Possible" by Fred Shoemaker. This is what the back cover says:

"Most players bring more than their clubs to the course. They come with doubt, excitement, fear, desire---and a lot of hope. They believe that getting the right swing or hitting the right shot will lead to the best scores. They get so hung up on looking good, they often end up looking bad."

I plan to start reading the book and hope that it will help me with the "inner" game.
 
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KellyBo is like most of the rest of us..... When we try to impress our fellow competitors we overstress ourselves and it all goes to pot! I have seen her strike it lately and she is hitting the ball pure for sure :eek:)...... I am saying this for all of us "we need to quit playing for other folks, and just play for ourselves"... Take the "I'll show your arse syndrom out of the picture".... I played some great golf today with a fellow soldier ( I'm an old Vietnam vet) and he whacked the hell out of ball off the first tee. Well I just remembered my lessons and the swing in rhythm stuff and piped by new TaylorMade R9 Tri 9.5 driver out there pretty darn good. I enjoyed playing with my brother from another war and he asked me if I would play again with him. To me that is the ultimate compliment! I shot another nine holes under 40. I look forward to my new swing and look forward to showing my coach he did a good job this Saturday at Idle Hour CC!!!
 
gray, do you have yourself a supertri? you sly devil! glad to hear you had a wonderful day out there buddy.
 
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