Posts Tagged ‘practice’

New Putter Grip, Driving Range Practice

Posted: June 22, 2013 in Long Game Practice, Short Game Practice
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Spent the past few days at the range working on my game, Thursday I hit the ball well, continuing my solid play as of late, but Friday was kind of a struggle.  On Thursday, worked a lot with my driver trying to figure out how to hit it more solid and found that I was getting too steep again.  Went flatter and hit about 10 drives in a row in the true center of the club face to end my night.  Hearing that sound that a flush driver makes, is just music to my ears, one of my favorite sounds on earth is the sound of a pure flush golf shot!  After the great ending to my range session on Thursday night, I decided to head back again on Friday night to keep working on it.  This is why golf is so frustrating!! I felt like I was doing the exact same thing I did the night before, but could not find a flush golf shot.  I hate feeling like you just took a few steps back after taking so many steps forward over these past few weeks, but I’m just going to forget about that range session and chalk it up to the difficulty of golf.  I felt myself getting frustrated again near the end of the practice session as I could tell I was hitting the ball below what I’m capable of.  I was just getting too mechanical again instead of just letting it flow and swinging with a target in mind.  So I’m throwing away this range session away in my mind, moving past it and keeping positive and focused on my end goal.

Been about 2 weeks since my last lesson from my instructor, was going to wait until Tuesday this week to go see him because I thought I would be playing a round this weekend, but plans fell through, so I might try and book one for tomorrow, Sunday.  Wanted to get a short game lesson in, but after last night’s range session, I think I need a tune up with the longer clubs.  Really confident in my short game right now, what I’m doing right now is working, so I’ll hold off on that until next lesson, need to figure out this long swing and get more consistent.

I did get a new putter grip installed and got my putter head re-glued as it was coming loose.  I forgot to take a picture of my original putter before I took it up, but I’ll show you a picture of how it looks now.  I put on a jumbo sized tiger shark grip probably about 6 months back, thinking it would help with my putter grip and be more comfortable.  I liked it and I putted well with it on, but I could just never really get into the feeling, it just did not fit my hands very well and was a little too big.  Been looking at midsize grips for the past few weeks and I love the feel, design and size of this white Winn midsize grip I found.  Has a very soft tacky feel, the midsize is a little bigger than standard, but not overly, just right for me.  I putted a little with it yesterday and absolutely love the way it looks and feels.  Here are some pictures of the new grip and the old grip I had for comparison (Yes I’m left handed!)

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Round Recap: The Vineyard 76 (+6)

Posted: June 17, 2013 in Golf Rounds
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Was able to go play today with a buddy right after work, but unfortunately had zero time to warm up.  I got to the course at about 2:45 and we teed off at 2:52, so we got in our cart and headed to the first tee.  The first 4 holes should prove that a good warm up and stretch before a golf round is a must.  Enjoy!

The Vineyard Golf Course 6,531 Yards Par 70

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Front 9

Hole 1: 420 Par 4

With no warm up, I was surprised when I hit my first drive right down the middle.  Had just under 100 yards in, so I hit that first drive about 320, good feeling.  Hit a wedge to about 20 ft short right of hole.  Ended up crushing my first putt about 10ft by, no putting practice to get a grasp on the speed killed me on this hole as I hit my next a few feet by also and 3 putted the first for a bogey. Bogey

Round (+1)  

Hole 2: 351 Par 4

Short dogleg left with water surrounding the left side and green.  Started a 5iron on the left side, but it hung on just in the rough and was only about 100 yards to the green over water.  My wedge distances were off in the beginning of the round as I hit a lob wedge way over into the back bunker.  Hit a solid bunker shot, but it was downhill to the flag so it ran just off the front.  Used a putter from the fringe, had the line, but left it short, tapped in for another bogey. Bogey

Round (+2)

Hole 3: 125 Par3

Short par 3, Playing about 115 today, hit another lob wedge over the green, don’t know what was going on and ball plugged in the back bunker.  No green to work with, plugged lie and water behind the green, I just had to play it out the side and not risk hitting it over into the water.  Hit it over safe in the rough and pitched up about 15ft short on my next shot, 2 putted for a bad double bogey on this short par 3. Double Bogey.

Round (+4)

Hole 4: 404 Par 4

Hit a 3 wood off tee and pushed it left.  Still had a great angle into the green about 140 in.  Hit a solid PW that landed on green, but rolled through to rough.  Hit a good chip to about 5ft past cup, but missed the putt for another bogey. Bogey

Round (+5)

Hole 5: 401 Par 4

+5 over my first 4 holes was really starting to get me down, but it also caused me to bear down and focus.  I made a goal for myself to play the remaining 5 holes of this front 9 at even or better….this is where my great string of holes started.  Hit my drive to the left, but hit a great wedge to about 12 ft, 2 putted for a much needed par. Par

Round (+5)

Hole 6: 152 Par 3

Pin was in the far right of hole, hit a 9iron at the flag, but it landed over in the rough.  Hit a great chip to 6ft and made the putt for back to back pars to stop the bleeding. Par

Round (+5)

Hole 7: 295 Par 4

A sharp dog leg right hole, but gives you an angle to drive the green in 1.  Usually about 250-260 to carry the hazard and drive the green.  I hit a 5wood today and hit it so pure.  We couldn’t see the flag stick, but I knew it was probably aimed at the center of the green.  When we got up there I was only 15 ft for eagle!  So happened I hit it exactly on line with the flag and had I hit it a few feet further it could have been a tap in eagle.  I missed the eagle putt, but I’ll take a birdie all day. Birdie

Round (+4)

Hole 8: 419 Par 4

Hit a driver and pushed it left into the opposite fairway.  Had another great angle into the green and hit a knock down wedge that spun back to only 8 ft.  A downhill putt that just burned the edge and I tapped in for par.  Par

Round (+4)

Hole 9: 503 Par 5

Very reachable par 5, but I pushed my drive again to the left.  No chance to go for the green in two today with trees blocking me out so I just punched a 7iron under the trees to about 120 yards in.  Hit another punch down wedge to about 12ft, 2 putted for par. Par

Round (+4)

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After starting +5 over the first 4 holes, I was able to turn it around and finished with a very solid 39 (+4) on the par 35 Front 9.  Fairways Hit (FW): 2/7 28.5% Greens in Regulation (GIR): 5/9 55% Up/Downs: 1/2 50% Sand Saves: 0/2 0%

Back 9

Hole 10: 389 Par 4

Pushed a 3-wood down the left side, but luckily stayed in bounds down the left side.  Side hill lie with ball below my feet, I hit a 9iron just short and to the right of the green.  Pitched it up, but it checked up more than I had anticipated and left me a good 10ft for par.  Missed and 2 putted for bogey. Bogey

Round (+5)

Hole 11: 457 Par 4

This is a very difficult driving hole and I pushed my drive to the left.  I pushed it so far left that I was on top of a ridge looking down on the hole and I actually had a straight shot to the green.  Hit a club less than I should have and it came up just short.  Had to hit a flop shot to stop it with little green I had to work with on the front pin location.  Hit it to about 7ft and made the left to right breaking putt for a real nice par save. Par

Round (+5)

Hole 12: 154 Par 3

Another par 3 over water.  Hit it to the center of the green and was about 20 ft left of the flag.  2 putted for par. Par

Round (+5)

Hole 13: 477 Par 4

Pushed another driver left into a trap.  Hit a great blind 9iron shot just onto the back of the green.  Chipped a pitching wedge to about 5 ft and made another par putt. Par

Round (+5)

Hole 14: 412 Par 4

Water on the left and out of bounds on the right; hit a 4 iron down the middle to 132 out.  Hit a punch gap wedge right at the flag, hit and spun to about 8ft.  A quick downhill putt off a slope and the putt looked like it could have broken either way.  I looked at it from both sides and came to the conclusion that the breaks might just cancel each other out and it would just be a straight putt….trusted it and rolled it into the back of the cup, birdie! Birdie

(Round +4)

Hole 15: 551 Par 5

Hit a drive that missed left again on an uphill slope.  Tried to just it a 6iron up the fairway, but the slope just killed my follow through and it squirted up the fairway with not much distance.  Had a lot father in that I wanted at about 170.  Hit a 6iron just short right of the green.  Plenty of green to work with and ran a PW up to a tap in par.  Par

(Round +4)

Hole 16: 453 Par 4

The most difficult hole on the course according to the handicap on the scorecard.  Hit a 3 wood up the right side that settled just in the rough on a little side hill lie.  Ball was below my feet, still about 165 out so I decided to hit a solid 7iron.  Hit it flush and it landed in the center of the green about 15 ft away.  My putt looked in all the way, but died left at the very end…so close to stealing a birdie on this #1 handicap hole, but I’ll take par here everytime. Par

Round (+4)

Hole 17: 157 Par 3

Pushed a 9iron pin high, but way left.  Tried to trap it and hit it low under the wind, but ended up blocking it.  Had to flop it over a bunker onto the green, hit a great shot to 6ft.  My 6ft and in putting has been really good lately and that part of my game is improving drastically….drained it for a nice par save. Par

Round (+4)

Hole 18: 411 Par 4

Very scenic 18th hole heading back down the hill to the clubhouse.  Was at even par for the back 9 and 1 under since the 5th hole.  Hit a horrible 3 wood to the left and found the out of bounds!  Had to re-tee and thankfully hit a perfect drive.  Laced a sand wedge to about 10 ft below the hole, but 2 putted for a disappointing final hole double bogey.  Had I not hit my tee shot out of bounds, I would have made a par, but the 2 stroke penalty cost me a nice +4 round. Double Bogey

(Round +6)

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A good 37 +2 on the Par 35 Back 9.  Was at even on the back until the 18th.  Would have been nice to shoot even, but I’m not complaining about +2, especially with the few amount of FW’s and Green’s hit that back 9.  Fairways Hit (FW) 1/7 14% Green in Regulation (GIR) 3/9 33% Up/Downs 4/5 80%. Sand Saves 0/0 Penalties: 1

I’m really proud of myself for not letting my horrible +5 start over the first 4 holes affect the rest of my round.  I was able to refocus and shoot -1 over the next 13 holes, until the double bogey at 18.  My iron, wedge and short game are improving nicely and my driving has gotten better, but not anywhere close to where I need it to be to shoot under par.  I’ll keep grinding my driver and woods and get this figured out soon enough, I’m improving, just got to take it to the course and prove it.  Will hopefully be playing again this week on Wednesday and possibly Saturday too, so stay tuned for more round recaps.  Might get in a lesson sometime this week as well.  Final stats for today’s round are as follows:

Final Score: 76 (+6) Fairways Hit (FW) 3/14 21% Green in Regulation (GIR) 8/18 44% Up/Downs 5/7 71%. Sand Saves 0/2 0% Putts: 30 Penalties: 1

Round Recap: Carmel Highland Golf Course, 80 (+8)

Posted: June 15, 2013 in Golf Rounds, Long Game Practice
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I hit up the driving range on Wednesday night like usual to work on my long game, really hitting the ball well and am excited about the progress I am making.  Thursday was the start of the US Open, probably my favorite golf tournament to watch other than the Masters so I decided to take the day off and watch the first round.  I had set up a golf round on Friday, so I just enjoyed a nice quiet day off from practice and watched some spectacular golf from my countries open championship.

Friday I played my 3rd golf round since starting this blog.  We played at Carmel Highlands Golf Course, a course that we seem to play quite often because of the cheap rates we can find online.  It is in fair condition, some of the rough and fairways are in terrible condition right now, but the greens are in fine shape.  This is a course you will probably see me playing at a lot, as it is really close to home, cheap rate, good condition and challenging.  Although it isn’t too long, it is a really good test of driving skills as it has many tree lined fairways that require an accurate tee shot or you will have no shot at the greens.  It plays at a rating and slope of 71.4/129 from the Blue tips.

Carmel Highland Golf Course 6,428 Yards Par 72

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Hole 1: 340 Par 4

A blind tee shot up a hill, but a straight away hole.  Took my usual 5 wood off this tee and hit a great shot down the middle, only about 90yards left.  Hit a lob wedge that landed about a foot away from flag, but skipped and stopped about 10 ft above the cup.  Had a makeable birdie, but just can’t seem to drop them right now, 2 putted for par. Par

Round (E)

Hole 2: 442 Par 4

A long straight away par 4, I consider this and the 12th to be the hardest holes on the course.  The 2nd is a tight tee shot, out of bounds left and lined with trees on the right.  Hooked my driver into the trees on the right.  Tried to make a hero shot and play a big hook and try to run it up in front of the green.  Was about 150 out and took the wrong club.  I decided to hit an 8 and hook it, but it just went straight and landed out of bounds.  Really poor decision and shot, I’m really confident hitting the big hooks, but this time it went straight somehow and the 8iron was way too much club, wasn’t thinking it would go straight.  Ended up dropping and knocking my 4th on the green, then 2 putting for double bogey. Double Bogey

Round (+2)

Hole 3: 316 Par 4

A short par 4 with out of bounds left.  I normally hit my 21 degree hybrid here and draw it off the left side into the right side.  Hit a solid shot, but it stayed down the left side about 5 ft too far left and stayed out of bounds.  Back to back bad shots gives me 2 penalties in the first 3 holes.  Hit my drop onto the green and 2 putted for a bogey. Bogey

Round (+3)

Hole 4: 217 Par 3

Slight uphill par 3, the tees were way up today and only played about 155.  Hit a 9iron to about 12 ft left of the flag, nice uphill look at birdie, but left another good birdie look slip by. Par

Round (+3)

Hole 5: 502 Par 5

A reachable par 5 if you hit a good tee shot, but I hooked mine to the right and could only layup.  Hit my 2nd over some trees to about 100yards in the fairway.  Hit a poor wedge that I blocked and it was pin high, but just left of the green.  Hit a nice chip to about 4 ft and made the par save. Par

Round (+3)

Hole 6: 522 Par 5

Another par 5, hit a good driver to the right side that just ran off the fairway.  Had about 215 in, but my ball was in a depression, with a small hill right in front of the ball.  No way could I have gotten a hybrid up enough to carry the water in front of the green.  Just tried to lay it up to a wedge shot, but the lie caused me to pull it slightly in between some trees.  Had about 120 from the rough, but had a good angle between two small trees, knocked it about 30 ft.  I was never able to really get the speed of these greens today and I left my birdie putt about 10ft short.  Lipped out the par putt for a bad 3 putt bogey on a par 5. Bogey

Round (+4)

Hole 7: 428 Par 4

Frustrated with myself for this horrible start, I pulled another drive to the right.  Had a blind shot to the green that I pulled again.  Had a quick chip that almost hit flag stick, but rolled through green just on fringe.  Made another good chip and tapped it in for another bogey.  Bogey

Round (+5)

Hole 8: 420 Par 4

I had to start to stop the bleeding somehow, but was facing this difficult uphill par 4. I realized that I was setting my club down closed off the tee in the set up.  This was why I was hooking my tee shots up to that point.  Fixed it and crushed a 3 wood down the center and then hit a wedge just underneath the hole about a 12 ft putt uphill.  Another great birdie look that I missed (Birdies are just NOT falling for me right now, frustrating) Par

Round (+5)

Hole 9: 162 Par 3

Short downhill par 3, where the green slops hard back to front with out of bounds long.  Hit a 9iron on the front, but it spun back off the slope just onto the fringe.  Felt like I killed my putt uphill, but it still ended up about 6 ft short.  Made the tough par putt though to save my 3. Par

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A disappointing score of 41 (+5) on the Par 36 Front 9. Fairways Hit (FW): 2/7 29% Greens in Regulation (GIR): 4/9 44% Up/Downs: 2/3 66% Sand Saves: 0/0 0% Penalties: 2

Hole 10: 304 Par 4

A short par 4 with a large bunker in front of the green.  I have driven this hole before as I hoisted a driver that went about 300 in the air and stopped on the green.  Today though, I wasn’t feeling confident enough to go for that, so I just crushed a 3 wood to about 40yards in front of green.  Made a solid chip to about 8 ft and had a nice look to get a shot back, but missed AGAIN a great birdie look and made par.  Par

Round (+5)

Hole 11: 309 Par 4

Hard sloping hole right to left, did my usual and tried to hit a 5 wood down the left side and let the slope take it down in front of green, but hit a block to the left that went into a hazard.  My 3rd penalty of the day, 2 on short easy par 4s.  Hit my 3rd right at flag, but clipped a green side tree on its way down and settled in a bunker.  Hit a great bunker shot to about 5 ft, but lipped it out for another 6. Double bogey

Round (+7)

Hole 12: 460 Par 4

Crushed a drive that had some draw on it.  It took a big hop in the fairway and hopped down the slop on the right side in the rough.  Had only about 145 in, but had to hook it drastically to get it on green.  A very similar shot to the one I had on 2, but this time I did what I pictured and hit a nice high hook that landed just over the green.  Looked like a perfect shot when I hit it, but just too much club.  Made a great chip to 2ft and tapped it in for a nice solid par on this #2 handicap hole. Par

Round (+7)

Hole 13: 388 Par 4

Straight tee shot, and then the hole turns to the left with a back to front sloping difficult green.  Hit a great 3 wood down the center, but hit a wedge just on the front of the green.  Hit a great 20ft uphill putt that stayed on the LIP of the hole….I really can’t find a birdie!  Waited for a few seconds to see if it would drop in, but it wasn’t so tapped in for a par. Par

Round (+7)

Hole 14: 315 Par 4

Straight par 4, hit another solid 3 wood down the middle to about 40 yards.  Pin was in the front and to an uphill green where you can’t see the putting surface.  Landed it a little too far and it ran about 15ft by.  2 putted for par. Par

Round (+7)

Hole 15: 495 Par 5

Straight par 5 that has a sharp uphill for the 2nd.  Boomed my driver down the middle and had about 170 left in.  Hit a nice 5iron just to the left of the green.  Took my bread and butter PW and just tried to run it up onto the green.  I love that shot and it’s one of my most confident I have, but on this particular shot I chunked it.  I can’t even remember the last time I chucked that type of shot; in fact it’s the reason I play that shot to avoid that type of thing.  Frustrated, I left the 40ft birdie putt 12ft short and missed again to 3 putt again on the par 5 for a bogey.  Horrible bogey when I was just about pin high in 2 with a great lie….disappointing. Bogey

Round (+8)

Hole 16: 123 Par 3

Uphill par 3 that always plays a club more.  Played here enough to know my perfect club for this hole is a solid PW, pulled it a bit though and it was pin high just off the green.  Used my PW again to hit the chip and run, (this time I didn’t chunk it) and it ran about 5 ft past.  Missed the straight putt comebacker for another bad bogey. Bogey

Round (+9)

Hole 17: 314 Par 4

Straight par 4 that is narrow by the green so difficult to try and drive it.  Just hit a 3 wood that I pushed down to the left side.  Had to hit a big fop shot about 40 yards over some trees.  Hit a great shot, but it was just a little right and stayed on the fringe.  Hit a nice chip to about a ft and made a par. Par

Round (+9)

 

Hole 18: 361 Par 4

Yet another straight par 4, that you can make birdie at if you hit a good drive.  Crushed my drive down the middle for about 40yards in.  Pitched it just to the back of the green about 10 ft from pin that was in the back.  FINALLY made a putt and ended the round on a solid note, making my only birdie of the day. Birdie

Round (+8)

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A 39 (+3) on the Par 36 Back 9. A good ball striking back 9, lots of fairways and greens hit.  Fairways Hit (FW): 5/8 63% Greens in Regulation (GIR): 5/9 55% Up/Downs: 2/3 66% Sand Saves: 0/0 0% Penalties: 1

Overall score 80 (+8) Fairways Hit (FW): 7/15 47% Greens in Regulation (GIR): 9/18 50% Putts: 33 Up/Downs: 4/6 67% Sand Saves: 0/0 0% Penalties: 3

This is my 3rd round since starting the blog and it’s weird because although my scores have increased each time, (+4 to +6 to +8) I have hit the ball progressively better each round.  Today I hit the ball better than my previous two rounds, but made some silly mistakes.  I had 3 penalty from shots that just went out of bounds, had two 3 putts on par 5’s that I was on the green in regulation, and missed countless makeable birdies.  If you just take away the 3 penalties and the 3 putts that’s 5 strokes for a 75, not even counting if I had made a few birdies.  So overall I’m pleased with my progress, I hit the ball well enough today to shoot mid to low 70’s and I’m happy with that, just one of those days.  My driving is improving, my up and down game is improving and those are the things I have really been working hard on.  My putting within 6 ft has really been solid over my last 6 rounds, making most of those must need par saves.  I have the correct lines on my longer putts, but am just leaving too many birdie putts short.  Once I start rolling those birdies in, watch out.  I can smell that under par round cooking, I’m starting to gather all the ingredients needed to make it happen and one day soon they are all going to come together to create that under par round….I can taste it!!!

Long and Short Game Practice

Posted: June 11, 2013 in Long Game Practice, Short Game Practice
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Monday

Headed to the driving range tonight for about 3 hours to practice my long game, really took my time in between shots to analyze the feelings and position I was getting into and to work on the things my coach has been teaching me.  Needless to say I hit the ball extremely well, one of my most consistent and best range sessions of my life.  I’m showing those positive signs that my game is heading in the right direction and really am feeling more confident than I thought I would at this point in changing my swing. So pleased with the progress I’m making especially in my driver and woods, gaining my distance back and a lot more accuracy.  My misses are not big and every drive I hit tonight at the range would have stayed inbounds.  Will be heading to the short game area tomorrow for a few hours of practice and then probably back for some long game on Wednesday night like usual.  Hoping to continue my solid play and keep moving in the right direction.  I’m not sure when I’m going to play again, I’d like to get out and play as soon as possible, might try and go play by myself on Thursday or Friday if everything goes well on Wednesdays session, but at worst hopefully I’ll get a round in this weekend.  My buddy will be done with school after this week and he has told me he would love to start going a few times a week, so hopefully that will help me get a ton of rounds in this summer.

Today

Did some short game practice today over at the range I normally frequent; practiced chipping and bunker play for about 2 and half hours.  I feel extremely confident in my chipping game right now, with all range of distances.  They give you a sleeve of balls to practice at that contains about 22 golf balls I believe.  On the chipping range, I was hitting about 5 or 6 balls to a certain flag then switch my target to a different flag.  It’s important to go at different flags if you are going to hit about 20+ balls consecutively.  I like to change after about 5 or 6 just because anymore than that and you start to get a rhythm and feel for where the shot should land and it makes it easier.  On the course however, you only get one chance, so it’s important to keep it moving around so you’re testing yourself with every shot like you would when playing.  After awhile you start to “see” the shots easier and with enough practice that is going to translate to lower scores on the course.

 View from my chipping practice area today

One area I definitely need to put more focus on is my bunker play.  I have decided that I’m going to get a lesson from my instructor solely on bunker play because now that I think about it, I never have before.  I have only watched videos on bunker play and always gone purely through feel.  I do ok out of the bunkers, but have a lot of room to improve and a lesson from a PGA professional will certainly help me tremendously in that area.  I do a good job of avoiding green side bunkers on the course, but it is a weak aspect of my game I will need to tighten up if I’m going to become scratch.

Golf Lesson: Hip Rotation and Arms

Posted: June 7, 2013 in Lessons
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On Thursday I decided to take most of the day working to revamp the blogs look.  I hope you enjoy it, I think it looks a lot better now and the page layout kind of has that “scratched” look and feel to it.  I added an about me page, if you click the photo on the left side of the page it will take you to that profile.  I love that photo, every time I look at it, it brings a calming and peaceful feeling to me, and I hope you enjoy its beauty as well.  I added also on the left side a definition of a scratch golfer and a handicap (including my current handicap) for some of you who might not be familiar with the terminology, as well as categorized my posts.  There are currently 5 categories at this point which are golf rounds/recaps, lessons, long game practice, short game practice, and just blog posts about life and general stuff.  Should make it easier to find what you’re looking for in future visits to the site.

Ok, now on to the golf game!  Thursday night I decided to go to the range and try and figure out my driver problems.  Was still struggling to hit my driver and woods solid and straight, but the rest of the clubs in my bag are coming around very nicely.  After the range session last night, I decided that today I would go back to my teacher to try and get some help with my driver and woods.  We worked on getting my left elbow into a better position tucked underneath my right.  This is something my coach has been trying to get me to do over the past few lessons, but subconsciously I had let it slip back into the old routine of left on top of the right.  Once I start to figure that out, it will bring me a lot more consistency in my swing.  Overall, he thought that I was improving nicely in my setup, grip, balance and swing path.  Today we also worked on not moving so far forward in my downswing.  This was causing me to get way out in front and my hands were getting stuck behind.  I was just shifting my hips forward instead of rotating them.  We worked on a few drills to help me get that feeling and yea it is going to take some time and practice before these feelings become normal and I’m able to repeat it each and every time.  It did help my driver though and I was starting to hit the ball fairly straight near the end of the lesson.  I need to feel like my arms are almost just dropping and moving first in my downswing.  My knees need to feel like they are separating and my right hip stays in the same spot and only rotates and does not shift forward.  You can check out my swing in the video lesson recap I’ll be posting here at the end of the video.  It might make a little more sense for you to see it than for me to explain it.

I’m definitely losing distance from where I was at before, but I just want to hit it straighter right now, the distance will come when I get more comfortable and am able to swing harder.  Going to be playing a round tomorrow morning with a buddy over at Meadow Lakes Golf Course, I have never played there before, but I have heard it can be quite challenging.  I’m not expecting to go out and shoot another 4 over round, but I’m hoping that I can continue my solid short game and improve on my driving.  I was able to get away with my horrible driving in my last round because I was able to put it into the other fairways and spots that I knew would be alright having played there many times before.  At a new course however, having seen only a few pictures where it looks like there are more canyons and out of bounds, I really need to keep my drives in play.  I’m more confident after this lesson though with my woods going into tomorrow, so my goal is just to break 80 (it’s a par 71).  My coach told me today that it is going to take a few weeks to get my body used to the new positions and that I should not expect to get it over night.  I’m excited that I am moving in the right direction and I can’t wait to get to work practicing and I’m looking forward to that day when it all clicks.

Here is my video recap lesson from today, enjoy!

Golf Lesson: Balance

Posted: June 4, 2013 in Lessons
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Saturday I decided to take the day off, I really felt myself getting frustrated after my dissapointing range session on Friday and I wanted to just take a day and regain focus and confidence. “Frustration, although quite painful at times, is a very positive and essential part of success.”- Bo Bennett

Sunday I went over to see my coach again to get another lesson.  I asked him for reassurance that I was applying my grip correctly.  I want to have a solid understanding for what is exactly right, so in upcoming range session I don’t go trying to tinker with it again like I did on Friday.  Overall he thought that my set up, grip and takeaway were starting to improve nicely, but he wanted to work on my balance.  I tend to get my weight more on my toes at address and that causes me to bring my left leg up and in at impact, rather than straight and toward my right knee. It changes my spine angle and causes inconsistent strikes. (You must remember by the way that I’m a lefty, so for many of you picturing the right and left knee in your mind might be thinking that previous sentence didn’t make much sense)  By the end of the lesson my balance was a lot better and after hitting the rest of my golf balls after the lesson, I started to get more consistent strikes.  Just focused on my long irons Sunday, no woods and tonight I’ll be heading to the range again like usual on Monday night and test my whole bag with the new balance point.  Really need to get my driver and woods back to where they were before the changes if I’m going to continue to break 80.  I’m playing golf on Wednesday this week, not sure where at the moment, but am locked in with a friend to play on Wednesday, so this will be my first round since starting the blog and we will see how my new swing transfers to the course.  I’ll be posting a picture of my scorecard, where I keep track of varies stats. Fairways and greens hit, up and downs, sand saves, putts and penalty strokes.  My goals right now are to continue to break 80 with an improving short game saves %.

My lesson video wouldn’t process on here last night so I had to wait till today to post this after uploading the video to YouTube.  My range session last night was really good, started to implement the changes in my balance you’ll see in this upcoming video and it really seemed to work.  Kept my focus the entire session, visualizing playing golf holes and playing at flags.  Swing is still a work in progress, but feeling more confident with my swing going into my round on Wednesday than I was last week.  Here is the video recap of my lesson on Sunday, you can see how my balance has changed and looks to be in a much better position for more consistency strikes.

Chipping Practice

Posted: June 1, 2013 in Long Game Practice, Short Game Practice
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chipping-pitching

Wednesday/Thursday

Hit the ball fairly well on Wednesday night, am starting to get more comfortable with the new swing path and grip.  On Thursday, I decided to just work on chipping for the day, went over to Carmel Mountain Ranch Golf Club and chipped for 2 hours.  My chipping has been steadily improving over the past few months, really utilizing multiple clubs for certain situation and not solely relying on my 60 degree lob wedge for every chip and pitch.  I’ve known that the ideal way to chip is to just land the ball on the first 1/3rd of the green as quickly as possible and have it run out like a putt the rest of the way.  The chipping swing should almost be exactly the same every time, in terms of set up, length of swing and speed, the only difference should be the clubs for different distances.  It takes many hours of practice to really hone in on your chipping distances with every club, from lob wedge  all the way up to 5 or 6 irons.  The lowest lofted club I chip with right now has been a 7 iron.  I’m really going to try to practice chipping hard and learn the distance each club travels.  That is really going to help you lower your scores when you are on the course.  It gives you not only more options for shot types, but confidence to know that this certain club will go this certain distance and you can have a clear picture in your mind before performing the shot.  Short game is the most important aspect of scoring well, you must get up and down at least 70—80% of the time to shoot consistent low scores and right now according to my golf stats over the past year and a half am only at 22% successful saves.  Recently however over my last 4 rounds, I’m saving at a 42% clip so definitely improving as I get more comfortable with my distances and shot selection.

Friday

Did some more chipping today over at Carmel mountain for about 2 and a half hours.  Chipped amazing today, only was chipping 3 balls at a time and no exaggeration, I counted 8 times I chipped in and several more would be tap in putts.  8 chip-ins in 2 and half hours just hitting 3 balls at a time is a pretty awesome feat.  At a proper range they give you a sleeve of about 20-25 balls to hit and I have chipped those for 3 hours straight before and chipped in maybe once.  So to do it 8 times while hitting probably 80% fewer balls than I would normally in 2 and a half hours feels really good and means that my chipping is seriously improving.  I’m giving my chips chances of going in and that feels good, now I only wish I could take this over to the course!  After work on Friday night I went to the range for 2 hours to work on my long game.  I was hitting my wedges really crisp and nice, new grip and swing plane felt good, but once I got to the longer irons and driver I couldn’t seem hit it how I wanted.  Admittedly I got frustrated with myself after I hit the ball fairly well on Wednesday night with these clubs.  After getting frustrated, I started to lose focus and just started hitting balls and not really analyzing each swing and feel or thinking about what I was doing right or wrong.  I was just pounding balls for the last 40 minutes and that is not the way to improve in golf.  I’m not too concerned, but I do want to try to get a lesson either Sunday or Monday so that I can make sure that I’m implementing the correct changes to my swing that my teacher wants me to.  I need to remember that these changes are going to take some time and I’m not just going to hit the ball amazing over night, it’s going to take a lot of work, time and patience.  One of my biggest faults, like many in this day and age, is that I always want that instant gratification.  Golf is not the game for that type of thinking and I need to keep reminding myself that with time and constant practice, I can get to where I want in this game.  “Change is not a process for the impatient.” – Barbara Reinhold

Golf Lesson: Grip, Setup and Swingplane

Posted: May 29, 2013 in Lessons
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On Monday I went to the driving range at night and practiced for about 2 hours, worked mainly on my driver trying to improve my consistency.  I hit the ball really well and was feeling confident in my game heading into Tuesday where I decided to go get an hour lesson from my instructor.   We discussed how I have been playing lately and had him take a look at my driver and swing.  Needless to say he found quite a bit of flaws in my set up and grip.  I will be posting the video recap of my lesson that he sent me at the end, which is a really useful and cool thing that he does for his students.   At first, the feelings of the positions he was telling me to get into felt completely foreign and awkward.  I went from striking my driver solid and 300 yards to duck hooking it about 175 yards.  I was a little frustrated at myself for not being able to really “do” the changes he was asking me to do, but after the lesson I hit about 80+ balls and was really starting to figure it out by the end.  I started to hit the ball straighter with better strikes and distance.  It is going to take a lot of practice to start to feel comfortable in the new position I need to be in with my grip, set up and swing path, but soon enough if I keep practicing it, those feeling will become my new normal.  If it’s the correct position to be in that will help me be consistent in the long term then I’m all for trusting it 100%.  It is really frustrating though when you feel like you are finally improving your game only to have to retool your swing again and you start to feel like you are going to have to take a few steps back in the short term to hopefully move a lot further in the long term and get to where you need/want to be.   “Choose your goal and keep your eye on it. Never give up.  Perhaps you will need to change your plan and approach your goal from a different direction, but don’t quit.  Keep thinking. Keep re-planning. Keep going” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Going to go putt for a few hours today and hit up the range at night with a buddy.  Here is the video recap of my golf lesson on Tuesday.

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