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Trying to Break 100

Today was a painful reminder that golf is a game of highs and lows. Last time out was a personal best 89 and today was pure sh*t 107. We started out with everyone double bogeying the first hole, and since there was no one behind us we declared a do over and replayed the hole - same score. I joked “I’m on pace for a 108”.

I expected a high score because I was trying some stuff out to see if I could get back to hitting the ball straight, which kind of worked at times. But it was cold and the course was really wet, which made for some lost time looking for plugged balls - even on the fairway.

Worst of all - Kevin Kisner would’ve been ashamed of my chipping and pitching. I just completely lost my feel and technique today and it cost me at least 10 strokes.

Oh well...we had fun playing golf in late November - so I’m not gonna b*tch about that! Any decent score would’ve been pure gravy
 
Grins said:
Today was a painful reminder that golf is a game of highs and lows. Last time out was a personal best 89 and today was pure sh*t 107. We started out with everyone double bogeying the first hole, and since there was no one behind us we declared a do over and replayed the hole - same score. I joked “I’m on pace for a 108”.

I expected a high score because I was trying some stuff out to see if I could get back to hitting the ball straight, which kind of worked at times. But it was cold and the course was really wet, which made for some lost time looking for plugged balls - even on the fairway.

Worst of all - Kevin Kisner would’ve been ashamed of my chipping and pitching. I just completely lost my feel and technique today and it cost me at least 10 strokes.

Oh well...we had fun playing golf in late November - so I’m not gonna b*tch about that! Any decent score would’ve been pure gravy
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It's an evil game. Pure-D evil.
 
LLIB said:
I’ve been through 3 fittings in the past year and every club that worked on the monitor didn’t work on the course so take from that what you will. I basically went polar opposite when I bought what I have now and so far it’s been working
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Lol. That really didn't help my neurotic obsession with my clubs.
 
Hamfist said:
Lol. That really didn't help my neurotic obsession with my clubs.
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I think I’m the exception more than the rule. I’m not against fittings for others they just don’t seem to work for me
 
Went out and played 9 holes on lunch. First time I’ve ever really played in the cold (like 35F here) so I had no expectations.

It was an alright round, had a few bad holes of triple bogey or worse, but I had a lot of just solid bogeys. +5 for five holes. The other four holes were +14.

Overall happy since it was a total of 55 with not feeling like I played well.
 
The past couple months I've been steadily improving. Haven't shot over 100 since mid summer. Been in the low to mid 90's for about the past dozen rounds. Pretty happy with the way my game has improved.

Of all things I tried, it seems hitting off the mats has made a world of difference. The local driving range installed these monitors to monitor your swing. You can play all the famous golf courses too. They use the Top Golf program. But you can only hit off the mats when you use the monitors. So I had something like 6 straight times I used the mats.

Then after a few rounds on the course monitors, I played at a real course for the first time in a month and half. I shot in the low 90's for the first time since last year. Everyone noticed how much better I hit my irons. I feel the time on the mats was the difference.

I've heard people say stay away from mats if you can. It throws your swing off. Not true for me. I feel like the feedback is much better off the mats than grass. You can definitely feel if you don't hit it clean. The ball flight might not look so bad, but you know you didn't hit it well on the mishits. I feel its made me work harder for clean hits. It increases my focus because I don't like the feel of the mishits.

Because of the early darkness this time of year we've been only playing nine holes. My playing partners schedules don't allow them to start earlier. My last 5 nine hole rounds have been 47/45/46/46/45. Twice I played bogey golf which is my goal. To be a bogey golfer.

I still don't get many pars but I can get on a pretty good bogey run. Sometimes I can run about 6 or 7 bogeys in a row. I basically try to play for bogeys. I don't try those hero shots to make par. Those have resulted in breakdown holes. And I haven't had a triple bogey in my last 22 holes. Really happy with my game at the moment.
 
charley48 said:
The past couple months I've been steadily improving. Haven't shot over 100 since mid summer. Been in the low to mid 90's for about the past dozen rounds. Pretty happy with the way my game has improved.

Of all things I tried, it seems hitting off the mats has made a world of difference. The local driving range installed these monitors to monitor your swing. You can play all the famous golf courses too. They use the Top Golf program. But you can only hit off the mats when you use the monitors. So I had something like 6 straight times I used the mats.

Then after a few rounds on the course monitors, I played at a real course for the first time in a month and half. I shot in the low 90's for the first time since last year. Everyone noticed how much better I hit my irons. I feel the time on the mats was the difference.

I've heard people say stay away from mats if you can. It throws your swing off. Not true for me. I feel like the feedback is much better off the mats than grass. You can definitely feel if you don't hit it clean. The ball flight might not look so bad, but you know you didn't hit it well on the mishits. I feel its made me work harder for clean hits. It increases my focus because I don't like the feel of the mishits.

Because of the early darkness this time of year we've been only playing nine holes. My playing partners schedules don't allow them to start earlier. My last 5 nine hole rounds have been 47/45/46/46/45. Twice I played bogey golf which is my goal. To be a bogey golfer.

I still don't get many pars but I can get on a pretty good bogey run. Sometimes I can run about 6 or 7 bogeys in a row. I basically try to play for bogeys. I don't try those hero shots to make par. Those have resulted in breakdown holes. And I haven't had a triple bogey in my last 22 holes. Really happy with my game at the moment.
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I’m curious if you’re a digger or a sweeper because I find the same thing to be true. A good mat translate way better than a crappy grass range. If you’re hitting off 1980s AstroTurf this probably isn’t true. But a good may it definitely is.
 
Joshnoble01 said:
I’m curious if you’re a digger or a sweeper because I find the same thing to be true. A good mat translate way better than a crappy grass range. If you’re hitting off 1980s AstroTurf this probably isn’t true. But a good may it definitely is.
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I'm more of a digger than a sweeper. But the mats are helping me to sweep more on the hybrids and not hit behind the ball too much. That was my biggest problem with the hybrids. I don't want to sweep my mid irons too much because I'll hit it thin. But I don't want too much dig either. Sometimes I can hit the ball first and hit a real nice, high shot on the mid irons. But I'm worried I'm gonna hurt my wrist if I dig too much. A few months ago I hurt my wrist on what was actually a good shot. I hit ball first then the club head dug down so hard it jammed my wrist. It was sore for a few days. I'm trying to avoid that. The mats have helped.
 
No golf for me since my last post. :(
 
Played 18 yesterday - last of the nice (for NE Ohio) weather (55 degrees & sunny). Shot a 48/48 for a 96. I had a great time out there (December golf is a gift around here. Surprisingly (to me) I had 2 pars on par 3 holes - that seems to neve happen for me!
 
I finally got a tee time on an 18 hole golf course. Very hard around here unless you have a players card and log on at 6:00am 8 days prior to playing. I failed to catch next weeks window, logged on at 9:00am, and the best I could get was 1:00pm. We may be able to get 15 to 17 holes in before it gets dark depending on how slow the pace of play is. Anyhow, I shot a 99 yesterday, which was not as good as precovid, but very encouraging. My new swing (knees slightly bent, and straighten the right leg on back swing) had me hitting my driver 20 to 30 yards further (hitting it close to 250 yards now), and I cleared those pesky hazards mid fairway twice. Was trying a new technique for chipping, and while showing potential, is still a work in progress (feet together, putting arc stroke). My putting was so so, but did sink a nice slightly off fringe putt for a zero recorded for putting strokes for that hole. My swing did not deteriorate through 18 holes, but my wife thinks this is because of the mild temperatures, vs my stamina. Iron shots were mostly well hit, but a little off target. Lots of things to work on but I am finally happy with how things are progressing and see the potential for great gains. The wife was happy on a par 3 where she came up 30 feet short, but then chipped it right in for a birdie. It was fun to see.
 
We knew today was gonna be a lot of rain here. So we cancelled our team time for today and played nine holes yesterday afternoon. Shot a 47, which is fine with me. Its a funny game this game of golf. I was hitting my mid irons so much better lately and my scores started dropping from upper 90's/low 100's to mid 90's. Then I started hitting my hybrids better and the scores started dropping to the low 90's. Bottomed out at 91 over a month ago. Then the time change and we were playing 9 holes. Scores still held steady with anywhere from 45 to 47.

Yesterday I got there in a totally different way. I was not good at all with the hybrids. Couldn't hit them at all during the warm up at the range. First hole was a bad hybrid on my second shot. So I left it in my bag the rest of the way and decided to see what happens if I stick with 7 iron or shorter from the fairway. Honestly, I didn't hit my irons as well as I have been lately. But it was probably my best wedge day ever.

After a double on the first hole due to a water drop penalty, I went on another bogey run by not missing a chip from anywhere inside 40 yards. When I say not missing I mean hitting the green. Not saving par. No pars yesterday but still a solid +11. I will never complain about that. Putting was pretty good until the last hole. I did double the last hole with a 3 putt after running a downhill putt too far past the hole and leaving over 10 feet uphill. I just crushed that first putt. It happens. The first hole needed a one putt from 15 feet to save double. Would like to do better than 18 putts in 9 holes, but I didn't miss any 5 or 6 footers due to better lagging to within 3 foot. Still happy with the steadiness of my game. Its due to better chipping. I know sooner or later I'm gonna get some pars and break 90. Or 45 for 9 holes.
 
I played this morning and shot a completely legit 96. I played the whole round with one ball. I had the longest chip in I’ve ever had (probably 30 yards), and it was for birdie...and then I got a par on the hardest hole on the course. I even putted fairly well.

The front nine was the best nine I’ve ever played. I shot a 44 on the front (which included the birdie and par on the difficult hole). The back started off with two straight triples. Normally that would be a de pie for things to fall apart, but I managed to (mostly) keep the wheels on.

This was the best round I’ve ever played, and it happened without any part of my game really being very good. It’s encouraging, because it’s probably the first time I’ve ever played a round without at least one part of my game being really bad.

I’m gonna keep at it with my lessons and practice, and hope this can become the norm.
 
Annhl8rX said:
I played this morning and shot a completely legit 96. I played the whole round with one ball. I had the longest chip in I’ve ever had (probably 30 yards), and it was for birdie...and then I got a par on the hardest hole on the course. I even putted fairly well.

The front nine was the best nine I’ve ever played. I shot a 44 on the front (which included the birdie and par on the difficult hole). The back started off with two straight triples. Normally that would be a de pie for things to fall apart, but I managed to (mostly) keep the wheels on.

This was the best round I’ve ever played, and it happened without any part of my game really being very good. It’s encouraging, because it’s probably the first time I’ve ever played a round without at least one part of my game being really bad.

I’m gonna keep at it with my lessons and practice, and hope this can become the norm.
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(y)Way to go! I'm sure if you keep practicing this will happen more and more.
 
Annhl8rX said:
I played this morning and shot a completely legit 96. I played the whole round with one ball. I had the longest chip in I’ve ever had (probably 30 yards), and it was for birdie...and then I got a par on the hardest hole on the course. I even putted fairly well.

The front nine was the best nine I’ve ever played. I shot a 44 on the front (which included the birdie and par on the difficult hole). The back started off with two straight triples. Normally that would be a de pie for things to fall apart, but I managed to (mostly) keep the wheels on.

This was the best round I’ve ever played, and it happened without any part of my game really being very good. It’s encouraging, because it’s probably the first time I’ve ever played a round without at least one part of my game being really bad.

I’m gonna keep at it with my lessons and practice, and hope this can become the norm.
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Nice. Sounds like its getting better. Keep at it. And just remember, this game can turn on a dime. If you experience a disappointing round at some point, don't let it get you down and just get back out there.

I remember when I thought I was on my way late last year going from upper 90's/low 100's to the mid 90's and occasionally low 90's. Then earlier this year it started creeping back up. Even went over 100 a couple times. After spending more time at the range my scores are low 90's again. The practice really does make a difference. So does the short game. My wedges are much more consistent than they've ever been now. I never go more than a week without a range session. And wedges are a big part of those sessions.
 
Played 18 yesterday. Absolutely KILLED it on the range. Hits were clean, the swing was easy. The ball was going exactly where I aimed it (after warming up). Stepped out onto the 1st tee, chunked it and that sat the tone for the rest of the day. I had hit the low 90's on Monday (same course). For some reason, everything fell apart. Topping the ball, moving my feet during the swing, sheesh. Ended up with a 105. :rolleyes:
 
charley48 said:
Nice. Sounds like its getting better. Keep at it. And just remember, this game can turn on a dime. If you experience a disappointing round at some point, don't let it get you down and just get back out there.

I remember when I thought I was on my way late last year going from upper 90's/low 100's to the mid 90's and occasionally low 90's. Then earlier this year it started creeping back up. Even went over 100 a couple times. After spending more time at the range my scores are low 90's again. The practice really does make a difference. So does the short game. My wedges are much more consistent than they've ever been now. I never go more than a week without a range session. And wedges are a big part of those sessions.
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Yup. Practice, including short game practice, is something I’ve never really done before on a consistent basis. I’ve been hitting the range at least once a week and getting a lesson roughly monthly.
 
Played 9 at Caledonia Friday after our annual luncheon (outside on the porch at the club). Shot a 50! Some days I just love this game.
 
Maric said:
Played 9 at Caledonia Friday after our annual luncheon (outside on the porch at the club). Shot a 50! Some days I just love this game.
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That is great and one heck of a great golf course.
 
Annhl8rX said:
Yup. Practice, including short game practice, is something I’ve never really done before on a consistent basis. I’ve been hitting the range at least once a week and getting a lesson roughly monthly.
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Lessons are probably the single best thing you can do as long as you haven't been golfing the wrong way for too many years. I wish I took lessons early on. If I had taken lessons early on I think I woulda been started in the right direction.

Now I'm afraid to take lessons. Its been too long with my own style. I worry about an instructor who is steadfast in one certain method. Maybe a tried and true method but I don't see it working for me. If he tried to re-invent the wheel at this stage it would set me back. I'm too old to be patient enough.

I'm pretty sure an instructor would not like my grip. But it works for me. I do know what the proper grip is. I did have a pro at another course help me with that years ago. He used to like walking around the range and talking to people. He spent about 15 minutes with me explaining the proper grip. Problem was, when I started using that it made things worse. Created a bad slice. Not right away but gradually got worse and worse over a few months.

I had that slice for years. Even stopped golfing for ten years because I was too frustrated I couldn't fix it. About 3 years agoI started golfing again. I spent a lot of time at the ranging experimenting. I finally found something I can use. Been using it for the past couple years. And it all started by switching my grip to a baseball type grip. I did need some other tweeks for a few months. But it started coming together when I changed my grip.
 
charley48 said:
Lessons are probably the single best thing you can do as long as you haven't been golfing the wrong way for too many years. I wish I took lessons early on. If I had taken lessons early on I think I woulda been started in the right direction.

Now I'm afraid to take lessons. Its been too long with my own style. I worry about an instructor who is steadfast in one certain method. Maybe a tried and true method but I don't see it working for me. If he tried to re-invent the wheel at this stage it would set me back. I'm too old to be patient enough.

I'm pretty sure an instructor would not like my grip. But it works for me. I do know what the proper grip is. I did have a pro at another course help me with that years ago. He used to like walking around the range and talking to people. He spent about 15 minutes with me explaining the proper grip. Problem was, when I started using that it made things worse. Created a bad slice. Not right away but gradually got worse and worse over a few months.

I had that slice for years. Even stopped golfing for ten years because I was too frustrated I couldn't fix it. About 3 years agoI started golfing again. I spent a lot of time at the ranging experimenting. I finally found something I can use. Been using it for the past couple years. And it all started by switching my grip to a baseball type grip. I did need some other tweeks for a few months. But it started coming together when I changed my grip.
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I have about 10 years under my belt of trying to figure things out on my own to no avail. I had one terrible experience with a few lessons I took early on and it soured me on the idea for a long time. I finally got so tired of always being the worst player in my group that I tried again with a different instructor.

Fortunately the guy I’m going to now is great. He doesn’t use a “one size fits all” approach, and instead is making small adjustments to the swing I walked in with. I’ve had four or five lessons from him and am seeing progress. I’m still really inconsistent, but the good strikes are better than they ever have been and the bad ones aren’t as bad as they once were.

In my last round I beat two of my three most frequent playing partners (the one I didn’t beat is a single digit handicap). I don’t expect that every round is going to be under 100 right now, but I think I’m on a path to get to where at least most of them are.

More lessons, getting fitted clubs, and continuing to practice are the things I’m looking to do in 2021.
 
Annhl8rX said:
I have about 10 years under my belt of trying to figure things out on my own to no avail. I had one terrible experience with a few lessons I took early on and it soured me on the idea for a long time. I finally got so tired of always being the worst player in my group that I tried again with a different instructor.

Fortunately the guy I’m going to now is great. He doesn’t use a “one size fits all” approach, and instead is making small adjustments to the swing I walked in with. I’ve had four or five lessons from him and am seeing progress. I’m still really inconsistent, but the good strikes are better than they ever have been and the bad ones aren’t as bad as they once were.

In my last round I beat two of my three most frequent playing partners (the one I didn’t beat is a single digit handicap). I don’t expect that every round is going to be under 100 right now, but I think I’m on a path to get to where at least most of them are.

More lessons, getting fitted clubs, and continuing to practice are the things I’m looking to do in 2021.
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The last few months my game has improved quite a bit. Haven't been in the upper 90's for quite a while. Pretty steady in the low to mid 90's for 18 holes. Steady between 45 and 47 for 9 holes. There are two things that have made the difference. My mid irons and the wedges are much better these days. I haven't missed the green on wedge shots under 30 yards for the last 3 rounds. I rarely one putt on those but a lot of steady two putts for bogey.

A couple weeks ago I missed every green in regulation on the back nine but had par putts on all 9 holes. Didn't make any pars and I 3 putted the last hole for a 46 on the back nine. But I was very happy being so steady with my game and taking away the breakdown holes. Bogey golf has always been my goal. I'm not there yet but getting closer. I feel its a matter of time.

We've been only playing 9 holes at a time because of darkness, but we're trying to get two rounds a week in and saving our scorecard for the second one. The pro shop lets us play the back nine because its always slower at that time. The last 18 hole score for me was a 93. I was pretty steady on the front nine too. Did double bogey the first hole after finding water. And doubled the last hole after 3 putting the 9th. But no triples. Very satisfied with that.
 
After a nice 96 last weekend, I went out and shot a 110 on the same course today. It was cold and windy, so I expected a higher score. What I didn’t expect was a complete inability to hit my irons. I don’t think I hit a single green from more than 70 yards out. It was just chunk city all day long. The only decent iron shot I hit was on 18 when I found a range ball in the fairway and decided to hit it into the woods.

My slice with the driver has returned with a vengeance. For the most part I was able to just account for it, but I did have two that went straight on me when I was aiming left. Those were penalties from the tee box.

My short game has really improved from my last couple of lessons. I still need more instruction and practice in that area, but I at least have an idea of what I should be doing.

I was also bit by some bad luck today. I hit one drive that would have been great if it hadn’t hit a flipping power line. Millions of cubic feet of air up there, and I hit a 1/2” thick piece of cable. It knocked it straight down and turned what would have probably been 250+ yards in the fairway into a less than 100 yard drive in thick rough. On the very next hole I found myself in the trees on the right side. I tried to use my utility to keep it low and hit a cut toward the green. I hit it just like I wanted. It stayed low and was turning the right direction. Then it hit the only tree left to clear...which was only about 4” across. Hit it square and ended up about 30 yards further back than where I started.

I’m playing the same course again tomorrow. I’m hoping I can find my iron swing and maybe tame that slice a bit, but we’ll see what happens.
 
After a long lay off 102 was the best I could do. Well at least I did drop 20 pounds. Ready for 2021.20201205_105904.jpg
 
Johan185 said:
After a long lay off 102 was the best I could do. Well at least I did drop 20 pounds. Ready for 2021.
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Nice! I'm dreaming of a light Christmas - just like the ones I used to weigh.
 
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