Be interested in what you strength and flexibility regime looks like. This is my main focus this winter. My back has restricted my swing this year just as i feel i was about to really get my game going. I really need to tighten my core and back.
My Golf Journey in 2021 - Can I get to Scratch?
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- #52
I am looking into it. I will share it here.
Cheers. I just pulled the trigger on the TRX home suspension system. I'll let you know how its going when i get it.
Have you ever taken a putting lesson? If there is a certified SeeMore SPi teacher, I'd do that!
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- #56
I have a putting lesson on my to do list. It will happen in December.
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- #58
I made a nice move over the weekend in lowering my index from 2.6 to 2.3, shooting a decent score at Wolf Creek in Mesquite, Nevada, a tricky course with a 137 slope rating. Part of my plan for improvement over the winter is to get down to the warmer weather at least one time each of the winter months.
I got the TRX suspension system. Did a 30 minute strength and core workout - this thing is legit. I was blowing out of my a-s-s at the end. Can see this doing wonders for my core and stability and hopefully end my years of sore backs after golf.
It has loads of workouts, around stability, core, mobility, strength etc... have a look in to it for your off season. Its relatively cheap too.
It has loads of workouts, around stability, core, mobility, strength etc... have a look in to it for your off season. Its relatively cheap too.
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- #61
I will check this out. Thanks
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- #62
Which bundle did you purchase?
SunnyWalker
Well-known member
So, maybe working on those 5-10 footers would help?
Some things I analyze when my putting is off.....
My setup...I work on this every practice session... getting the blade square and loft at 0 at address, my eyes over the ball, the putter soled as lightly as possible, my wrists locked through the stroke
What makeable putts did i miss during the round and why? Now I believe every putt is truly makeable and I read a line on each one whether it's 3 feet or 40 feet. However if I miss inside 10 feet and its not a wild break I know probably did something wrong. Confidence out to that 10-12 foot range is huge! All that said, everybody eventually 3 putts and has a bad day here and there. Knowing fundamentals and your own trends are key
Don't be hesitant with trying different putters. I don't change often but when I do it's always helped.
If I was getting a lesson, I'd want to get one from someone who feels that are a very good to great putter. I'd want to know what his keys are both in practice and on the course.
Good luck!!!
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- #64
As I contemplate trying to achieve this goal, I feel that I need to work most on three things:
1. Believing that I can do it. I took up the game late, but was fortunate to play with some really good players, almost from the outset. They talked about this a great deal. At that time, I really wanted to be able to break 80 on a regular basis. They would tell me that my game was good enough, that I could bogey one third of my holes and break 80. They told me to break my rounds into mini rounds of three holes and try to be one over in each of these mini rounds. They said once I had broken 80 a couple of times, my mind would tell me it was acceptable, that I was good enough to do it and I would start doing it regularly. It turned out to be true. As i have made a jump to a new level of proficiency, it seems that once I do it a few times, I settle into that new area of scoring. A couple of years ago, I would still often see scores in the mid to high 80’s. Now, I rarely do. When I play a fairly poor round, it seems like I still score in the high 70’s or low 80’s at worst, even when I am playing like crap. I shot two rounds below par this fall, something that I very rarely have done, maybe two other times. Since doing so, I am noticing that my scores are bunching up between 74 and 77. I think I just need to convince myself that I really can regularly shoot around par.
2. Putting. I need to shave a couple of strokes off of my average putts per round. I tend to hover around 33 putts per round. The last two rounds, I have had 31 and 30 putts. I am going to buy a high end indoor putting mat and work on my stroke. I am going to have a goal of sticking with one putter for next year, unless my putting really goes south. Right now, the new Cobra King Supersport 35 is the candidate. This is going to be hard for me, because I have a large stable of putters and I tend to switch when something gets “cold.” Not this year... I am feeling something that really works for me with this putter and my intent is to stick with it.
3. Fitness/strength/flexibility. I am still trying to determine how to achieve this and it is a priority. A few THPers have offered suggestions. I am looking into it. I am going to focus much more on this area than on my swing, which is different than last winter, where hitting indoors on a TrackMan multiple times per week. I definitely am not in as good of shape as I was a year ago. The pandemic and closing of gyms broke some good habits. I need to re-establish them.
These are my three areas of focus for the next 90 days. I am open to suggestions.
1. Believing that I can do it. I took up the game late, but was fortunate to play with some really good players, almost from the outset. They talked about this a great deal. At that time, I really wanted to be able to break 80 on a regular basis. They would tell me that my game was good enough, that I could bogey one third of my holes and break 80. They told me to break my rounds into mini rounds of three holes and try to be one over in each of these mini rounds. They said once I had broken 80 a couple of times, my mind would tell me it was acceptable, that I was good enough to do it and I would start doing it regularly. It turned out to be true. As i have made a jump to a new level of proficiency, it seems that once I do it a few times, I settle into that new area of scoring. A couple of years ago, I would still often see scores in the mid to high 80’s. Now, I rarely do. When I play a fairly poor round, it seems like I still score in the high 70’s or low 80’s at worst, even when I am playing like crap. I shot two rounds below par this fall, something that I very rarely have done, maybe two other times. Since doing so, I am noticing that my scores are bunching up between 74 and 77. I think I just need to convince myself that I really can regularly shoot around par.
2. Putting. I need to shave a couple of strokes off of my average putts per round. I tend to hover around 33 putts per round. The last two rounds, I have had 31 and 30 putts. I am going to buy a high end indoor putting mat and work on my stroke. I am going to have a goal of sticking with one putter for next year, unless my putting really goes south. Right now, the new Cobra King Supersport 35 is the candidate. This is going to be hard for me, because I have a large stable of putters and I tend to switch when something gets “cold.” Not this year... I am feeling something that really works for me with this putter and my intent is to stick with it.
3. Fitness/strength/flexibility. I am still trying to determine how to achieve this and it is a priority. A few THPers have offered suggestions. I am looking into it. I am going to focus much more on this area than on my swing, which is different than last winter, where hitting indoors on a TrackMan multiple times per week. I definitely am not in as good of shape as I was a year ago. The pandemic and closing of gyms broke some good habits. I need to re-establish them.
These are my three areas of focus for the next 90 days. I am open to suggestions.
Sounds like a great plan. I'm a big believer in all three of those things. And in you.
I might add fuel (nutrition) to the list of things to work on/improve as part of that fitness equation 'cause why not? Most of us can eat and drink better and it can go a long way for optimizing gains, recovery, sleep patterns, mood, and on and on, which ultimately can help keep someone on track.
What's the biggest part of your putting you want to improve?/Work on your stroke to what end? Consistency, tempo, distance control, launch/roll, setup/alignment...?
You missed your chance to pawn off your Azalea on me, ya know. You're stuck with it sitting there begging to ruin your plan.
I might add fuel (nutrition) to the list of things to work on/improve as part of that fitness equation 'cause why not? Most of us can eat and drink better and it can go a long way for optimizing gains, recovery, sleep patterns, mood, and on and on, which ultimately can help keep someone on track.
What's the biggest part of your putting you want to improve?/Work on your stroke to what end? Consistency, tempo, distance control, launch/roll, setup/alignment...?
You missed your chance to pawn off your Azalea on me, ya know. You're stuck with it sitting there begging to ruin your plan.
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- #67
You are funny and insightful, my friend. It is interesting how on a forum like this, we can grow an affinity (hell, let’s just call it a man crush) for people we have never met. I will never have your game, but I can take a lot from your insight.Sounds like a great plan. I'm a big believer in all three of those things. And in you.
I might add fuel (nutrition) to the list of things to work on/improve as part of that fitness equation 'cause why not? Most of us can eat and drink better and it can go a long way for optimizing gains, recovery, sleep patterns, mood, and on and on, which ultimately can help keep someone on track.
What's the biggest part of your putting you want to improve?/Work on your stroke to what end? Consistency, tempo, distance control, launch/roll, setup/alignment...?
You missed your chance to pawn off your Azalea on me, ya know. You're stuck with it sitting there begging to ruin your plan.
Well according to plan #1 as written above that last part should probably be less modest and more 'You're going DOWN, Stiffster!!' haha
Nah, I love chopping up scenarios/stats/gear with you, man. You're driven to look for ways to improve, and that's why I have no doubt you can do this.
SunnyWalker
Well-known member
Hit 1 more green ....could save up to one shot
make one more birdie....-1
get up and down one more time......-1
Luchnia
You will never conquer golf.
I really appreciate you sharing your areas for improvement. Those goals even help us higher cappers!
Number 1, believing that you can do it. I think this mental piece is so important. As I built up confidence I built up a better game. Of course it is golf and I have my bad days, but I am amazed at how the thinking process really has to change. My cap has steadily improved and I keep setting goals for myself. I have some serious goals for this coming year and one is to get down to a 10 cap. I will have to improve putting and chipping mainly to get there. It is certainly obtainable.
As far as the mental aspect, the other day I was golfing with a buddy and I got him to start hitting toward targets and each time his shot was so much better than when he just struck the golf ball. I would approach his ball and say something like, hit it to the right of that brown grassy area. Sure enough, it would not be perfect but he would get it close. That seemed to take his mind off all the mechanical crud that he has built up in his brain. The minute he did not hit toward a target his game was dismal.
It seems to me that we get to "questioning" our shots and in my opinion that is detrimental. If I simply think about my targets and not question myself I play better. I also have to accept that bad shots will happen, but learn how best to minimize them.
Number 1, believing that you can do it. I think this mental piece is so important. As I built up confidence I built up a better game. Of course it is golf and I have my bad days, but I am amazed at how the thinking process really has to change. My cap has steadily improved and I keep setting goals for myself. I have some serious goals for this coming year and one is to get down to a 10 cap. I will have to improve putting and chipping mainly to get there. It is certainly obtainable.
As far as the mental aspect, the other day I was golfing with a buddy and I got him to start hitting toward targets and each time his shot was so much better than when he just struck the golf ball. I would approach his ball and say something like, hit it to the right of that brown grassy area. Sure enough, it would not be perfect but he would get it close. That seemed to take his mind off all the mechanical crud that he has built up in his brain. The minute he did not hit toward a target his game was dismal.
It seems to me that we get to "questioning" our shots and in my opinion that is detrimental. If I simply think about my targets and not question myself I play better. I also have to accept that bad shots will happen, but learn how best to minimize them.
i have a buddy who rides me about this all the time. “how can you ever be consistent if you’re changing your clubs every few months???”
I think it's a fine like between the need to seek new/different/better tools necessary to perform best and not sticking with the ones you have long enough to get the most out of them in terms of performance. A problem I see is that no swing goes completely unchanged over a season, or month, week, or even day. So when it does change, for the current clubs to be better than a hypothetical set that better fits that change, however small, familiarity has to influence the end result more than fit. And that just seems like a really hard thing to quantify well enough to give proper perspective on any club changes when you're talking about seeking maybe a single average stroke over a season. You might be able to prove (real loose use of that word though) easiest that any club changes cost you more than no club changes over a period of time, but you can't really know that the ones you didn't change from were the best for you of the group then, can you? So what do you do??
Faith until you've lost faith?
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- #74
I think it’s a matter of balance. If somebody is completely changing his/her swing, or a new player is improving rapidly, maybe picking up lots of club speed, changing equipment certainly would be beneficial. I am not all of a sudden going to pick up 10 mph at my age. I am not going to grow. I can improve my angle of attack, but other than that, I am going to work on grooving what I have more than radically changing my swing.
Tiger Woods is notorious for being very picky about his equipment. He went through two or three major swing changes in his career, but has always been very slow to change his equipment. It was earth shattering when he tried a different putter for a time.
I have been trying different equipment mostly because it was fun to do. I don’t think something new is going to shave strokes as much as me being confident in my equipment through repetition will save strokes. I cannot see any benefit to my scoring in the binge buying that I have done for fun over the past few years.
Well alright then. Is there an equipment decision date for this coming year you want us to help hold you to?