A long week away in Scandinavia with work is at an end so I thought I would finally post the result of my 1st Stableford comp last Sunday.
It was very hot, even at 9:40 and just kept getting hotter, I enjoyed the round and the company of Sam & Antony neither of whom I had played with before but both good blokes to share a round with.
Sam playing off 16 came second in the comp, and his eagle on the par 5 16th was good to watch, the second shot a 3 iron to 3 feet was the best shot I have seen in a long while.
I played ok but with far, far too many penalties and too many sand shots it came to nothing, 30 points including 3 blobs on the back nine when the heat just got to me. So all in all another 0.1 back.
Next comp on Wednesday, the midweek medal.
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Friday, 21 May 2010
Driver practice
I was advised to keep a practice log and I like the idea. I can then return to a written record and see how things changed or what I was working on in the past. It will also hopefully help to try and focus me in my practice sessions. So here is the first of them.
So today I went to the driving range at lunch time. I had a practice plan for the driver, however as I set to hit my first half wedge to warm up my wife rang wanting a lift in 40 mins time.
Having paid for the balls a slow deliberate practice session was turned into a quick blast. I'm not yet disciplined enough to leave the balls in the bucket for someone else, if I have them I will whack them :D
So I concentrated on tempo and straightness.
A nice tip I got on Golf Magic's forum was to swing alternating driver with an iron, and to use the same swing with the driver as I do with the iron. This did indeed seam to work very well at slowing me down.
A nice 6 iron followed by the same speed driver swing, interestingly I found I could not only hit it straighter more often, but also I could feel the swing more and it was quite easy to even slow it down further.
What this did to my flight was to lower it a lot, giving a bit less carry but lots more run. Interestingly I only hooked twice out of 30 odd drives.
In fact slow the driver swing really down and you start getting less back spin, the ball literally dips out of the sky at 180-200 yards ish and just rolls. That would be a bit extreme, but a good controlled tempo swing goes just as far as a thrash, and much much more likely to go in the right direction.
I got one out the back of the range with a smooth swing today, and I felt the club momentum release in the impact, it felt like effortless power, don't remember having that with driver before.
Anyhow the future driver development plan involves range work at least once a week.
I want to work on alignment always, so I plan to bring canes to the range and figure out my ideal ball position and how far away from the ball I should be standing for best results.
I will always hit to an imaginary fairway between two flags and keep FW hit stats. The goal is to raise my percentage of FW's hit. Always must step off the mat before every shot for fresh alignment every time.
Once I get confident in hitting fairways, then I will start to try and develop a fade and a reliable draw shot.
After that, it's work on a low and a high shot.
Each session will alternate Driver/3 wood with 6 or 7 iron for tempo.
The ultimate goal is to send the ball 250 yards down the fairway consistently and without major deviations, staying on the short stuff is always the goal but the more important goal is staying out of real trouble. I want to all but eliminate 3 off the tee.
Easy to say it! :p
So today I went to the driving range at lunch time. I had a practice plan for the driver, however as I set to hit my first half wedge to warm up my wife rang wanting a lift in 40 mins time.
Having paid for the balls a slow deliberate practice session was turned into a quick blast. I'm not yet disciplined enough to leave the balls in the bucket for someone else, if I have them I will whack them :D
So I concentrated on tempo and straightness.
A nice tip I got on Golf Magic's forum was to swing alternating driver with an iron, and to use the same swing with the driver as I do with the iron. This did indeed seam to work very well at slowing me down.
A nice 6 iron followed by the same speed driver swing, interestingly I found I could not only hit it straighter more often, but also I could feel the swing more and it was quite easy to even slow it down further.
What this did to my flight was to lower it a lot, giving a bit less carry but lots more run. Interestingly I only hooked twice out of 30 odd drives.
In fact slow the driver swing really down and you start getting less back spin, the ball literally dips out of the sky at 180-200 yards ish and just rolls. That would be a bit extreme, but a good controlled tempo swing goes just as far as a thrash, and much much more likely to go in the right direction.
I got one out the back of the range with a smooth swing today, and I felt the club momentum release in the impact, it felt like effortless power, don't remember having that with driver before.
Anyhow the future driver development plan involves range work at least once a week.
I want to work on alignment always, so I plan to bring canes to the range and figure out my ideal ball position and how far away from the ball I should be standing for best results.
I will always hit to an imaginary fairway between two flags and keep FW hit stats. The goal is to raise my percentage of FW's hit. Always must step off the mat before every shot for fresh alignment every time.
Once I get confident in hitting fairways, then I will start to try and develop a fade and a reliable draw shot.
After that, it's work on a low and a high shot.
Each session will alternate Driver/3 wood with 6 or 7 iron for tempo.
The ultimate goal is to send the ball 250 yards down the fairway consistently and without major deviations, staying on the short stuff is always the goal but the more important goal is staying out of real trouble. I want to all but eliminate 3 off the tee.
Easy to say it! :p
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Practice, practice, practice, all on short pitch shots, 90-20 yards. Both yesterday and today, trying everything to work out the shank.
Finally tonight I hope I figured it. From memory I had 4 shanks tonight out of several hundred pitch shots on the practice ground.
What I did was make sure I was balanced and in good posture but just relax a bit then shallow out my swing and make sure the club head turned through the ball.
I think my obsession with getting my weight onto the left side had got me far, far too steep into the ball and over balancing onto the toes.
Tonight it felt like I was hanging back and almost lifting the ball, but I don't think I actually was hanging back or lifting, as the strikes were crisp and not fat, in fact it felt solid and a lot of confidence is returning.
One session does not make a cure, but I think I'm on the right road now.
Fingers crossed!
Finally tonight I hope I figured it. From memory I had 4 shanks tonight out of several hundred pitch shots on the practice ground.
What I did was make sure I was balanced and in good posture but just relax a bit then shallow out my swing and make sure the club head turned through the ball.
I think my obsession with getting my weight onto the left side had got me far, far too steep into the ball and over balancing onto the toes.
Tonight it felt like I was hanging back and almost lifting the ball, but I don't think I actually was hanging back or lifting, as the strikes were crisp and not fat, in fact it felt solid and a lot of confidence is returning.
One session does not make a cure, but I think I'm on the right road now.
Fingers crossed!
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Shank Cure
I don't know if you have ever had this, when a pro watches you in a lesson type situation you hit the most perfect shots of your life and you think to yourself, WTF, where did this come from?
Well, I played 12 holes with Pete the club pro tonight and after showing him a nice pull hook with the driver on the second, I preceded to stripe the ball down the fair way and hit greens with better play than I have almost ever done, no sign of the shank and no more hooks! I was beginning to think it would be a waste of time, until finally on the 7th I managed to demonstrate the short wedge shank not once but 3 times in a row.
never been pleased before to hit a shank!
Anyway, Pete confirms it's weight getting onto my toes with too wristy an action contributing. The cure is to plant weight firmly on my heels for these short half shots, open the stance a bit and to play them with less wrist movement, more firm wrists. On full shots my momentum and pivot takes care of my balance and there is no problem, but on part feel pitches there is not enough pivot to keep me in perfect balance so I need to be more rooted.
One drill is to shove a bit of two by one under my toes at the range apparently, I'll give it a try :D
Anything to eradicate the dreaded Artur J's...
Regarding the hook, I'm not swinging out to in and pulling it with my swing path like I thought, Pete pointed to the high flight as evidence that it is not a bad hook, more of an over active draw, he thinks it's again to do with over active wrists. Apparently the grip, alignment and back swing look sound and the club is not closed at the top of the back swing, the swing path is fine, so it must be too active a release closing the club face too much comming in to the impact. I'll also be working on having more passive hands from now on.
On another note it was a pleasure to play and watch Pete work the ball around the holes, fades, draws, punch shots and good putting all at a great tempo.
12 hole playing lesson, bunker tips, flop shot tips, general course management tips, and swing advice all for £30, bargain!
Well, I played 12 holes with Pete the club pro tonight and after showing him a nice pull hook with the driver on the second, I preceded to stripe the ball down the fair way and hit greens with better play than I have almost ever done, no sign of the shank and no more hooks! I was beginning to think it would be a waste of time, until finally on the 7th I managed to demonstrate the short wedge shank not once but 3 times in a row.
never been pleased before to hit a shank!
Anyway, Pete confirms it's weight getting onto my toes with too wristy an action contributing. The cure is to plant weight firmly on my heels for these short half shots, open the stance a bit and to play them with less wrist movement, more firm wrists. On full shots my momentum and pivot takes care of my balance and there is no problem, but on part feel pitches there is not enough pivot to keep me in perfect balance so I need to be more rooted.
One drill is to shove a bit of two by one under my toes at the range apparently, I'll give it a try :D
Anything to eradicate the dreaded Artur J's...
Regarding the hook, I'm not swinging out to in and pulling it with my swing path like I thought, Pete pointed to the high flight as evidence that it is not a bad hook, more of an over active draw, he thinks it's again to do with over active wrists. Apparently the grip, alignment and back swing look sound and the club is not closed at the top of the back swing, the swing path is fine, so it must be too active a release closing the club face too much comming in to the impact. I'll also be working on having more passive hands from now on.
On another note it was a pleasure to play and watch Pete work the ball around the holes, fades, draws, punch shots and good putting all at a great tempo.
12 hole playing lesson, bunker tips, flop shot tips, general course management tips, and swing advice all for £30, bargain!
Practice time
I have made much more time to practice and play this year, but I find the lure of actually playing much stronger than the lure of the practice ground right now.
Basically I have Tuesday evening, Thursday evening and Sunday when I can get a full 18 holes in each week.
In addition I have an hour to two hours on Wednesday evening and Friday evening for practice.
My club has poor practice facilities, that means to practice I need to visit either a driving range or the local pitch n putt. However the pull has been to go upto the club and do 6-12 holes even on Wednesday and Friday. The benefit of this is that my game is transferring much better from the range on the course and scores are dropping in general play. The down side is that the practice is not focused but is more general and I feel like I'm developing swing faults. Apart from time spent on the putting green which I can only do at the club, I think I need to make a bigger effort to do focused practice sessions on short game and driving. Playing the course three times a week should be enough for me.
The plan for the summer is:
Tuesday - 12-18 holes general practice on the course and an hour on the putting green.
Wednesday - Driving range - working on tee shots and long irons (swing technique).
Thursdays - 12-18 holes scoring practice - one ball trying to shoot a low score + 1 hour on the putting green
Fridays - Pitch n Putt course - short game, pitching and chipping, short irons to small targets.
Sundays - Comp or 12-18 holes for fun and then putting.
On top of this I need to decide about more lessons. I still don't feel that I have worked enough on the last lesson about getting my weight through the ball and hitting ball first. I'm not sure another video lesson is worth it yet. On the other hand I feel like I'm fighting an out to in swing at the moment so a video lesson may help with that?
I'll see what happens in tonight's playing lesson first and then decide.
Basically I have Tuesday evening, Thursday evening and Sunday when I can get a full 18 holes in each week.
In addition I have an hour to two hours on Wednesday evening and Friday evening for practice.
My club has poor practice facilities, that means to practice I need to visit either a driving range or the local pitch n putt. However the pull has been to go upto the club and do 6-12 holes even on Wednesday and Friday. The benefit of this is that my game is transferring much better from the range on the course and scores are dropping in general play. The down side is that the practice is not focused but is more general and I feel like I'm developing swing faults. Apart from time spent on the putting green which I can only do at the club, I think I need to make a bigger effort to do focused practice sessions on short game and driving. Playing the course three times a week should be enough for me.
The plan for the summer is:
Tuesday - 12-18 holes general practice on the course and an hour on the putting green.
Wednesday - Driving range - working on tee shots and long irons (swing technique).
Thursdays - 12-18 holes scoring practice - one ball trying to shoot a low score + 1 hour on the putting green
Fridays - Pitch n Putt course - short game, pitching and chipping, short irons to small targets.
Sundays - Comp or 12-18 holes for fun and then putting.
On top of this I need to decide about more lessons. I still don't feel that I have worked enough on the last lesson about getting my weight through the ball and hitting ball first. I'm not sure another video lesson is worth it yet. On the other hand I feel like I'm fighting an out to in swing at the moment so a video lesson may help with that?
I'll see what happens in tonight's playing lesson first and then decide.
Saturday, 15 May 2010
Medal 4, Pride before a fall.
Normal Medal service restored today. Was hitting the ball poorly right from the start, a pulled and hooking 9 iron.
I should not have been so confident of another cut.
Two pull hooked shots out of bound on the second and the stage was set, throw in some assorted shanks, which i'm starting to think are related to the hooking, and it was not easy. One bright area was my putting 32 blows today which shows how bad my long game was. Putting does seam to be responding to all the practice it's been getting recently and a few tips Harry the Asist Pro and Stephen my regular playing partner gave me.
105 total, net 80 and 0.1 back. 3 shanks, 7 penalty shots!!!
Went to Pete the pro after the round and asked for a lesson to help me shake the shanks. He suggested playing a few holes on Tuesday evening so hopfully I will soon have some idea of how to banish this most destructive shot.
Next Sunday is the Stableford, I think I will play that and then wait till I have sorted the hook and the shanks before entring another comp.
I should not have been so confident of another cut.
Two pull hooked shots out of bound on the second and the stage was set, throw in some assorted shanks, which i'm starting to think are related to the hooking, and it was not easy. One bright area was my putting 32 blows today which shows how bad my long game was. Putting does seam to be responding to all the practice it's been getting recently and a few tips Harry the Asist Pro and Stephen my regular playing partner gave me.
105 total, net 80 and 0.1 back. 3 shanks, 7 penalty shots!!!
Went to Pete the pro after the round and asked for a lesson to help me shake the shanks. He suggested playing a few holes on Tuesday evening so hopfully I will soon have some idea of how to banish this most destructive shot.
Next Sunday is the Stableford, I think I will play that and then wait till I have sorted the hook and the shanks before entring another comp.
Friday, 14 May 2010
No win after all.
I spoke too soon, I just got my clubs weekly newsletter, it seams I came second in Wednesdays comp. The email I got from Howdidido put me first but another guy got a net 65 and he won on the countback.
Still winning was not the aim and the cut remains so I'm not put out at all.
Got home in the rain toningt after a long day and so no practice. Also I found out that this weekends comp is tomorrow not Sunday and is another medal not Stable ford.
I must have got my weekends mixed up.
Never mind, i'll try my best anyway.
Hoping for another cut, if I play a good game and stay away from the shanks I think i'm good for 85-90 strokes over 18 holes.
Hears hopping.
Still winning was not the aim and the cut remains so I'm not put out at all.
Got home in the rain toningt after a long day and so no practice. Also I found out that this weekends comp is tomorrow not Sunday and is another medal not Stable ford.
I must have got my weekends mixed up.
Never mind, i'll try my best anyway.
Hoping for another cut, if I play a good game and stay away from the shanks I think i'm good for 85-90 strokes over 18 holes.
Hears hopping.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Long game vs Short game
Got my first handicap cut last night and while I'm happy about that it was
an interesting round for more reasons than one.
It is the first time I deliberately favoured my 4i off the tee rather than a
3 wood or driver.
I was not hitting my irons too well last night and even found two left hand
lateral water hazards off the tee with my 4i although only one cost me a
penalty shot as the second was playable.
I had switched to my 4i because I believe my tendency to hook is costing me
a lot of shots with the driver and the 3 wood. While a good driver hit will
go a long way further than a 4i, it will also go a lot further left if miss
hit.
I always stay more relaxed and less under pressure on the second shot if I'm
on the short stuff or near as damn it. My bad tee shot with a wood often
gets followed by a poor decision and or a bad iron/recovery shot.
All this got me thinking about short game versus long game importance.
I have been really focusing on short game stuff recently, my chipping has
improved a lot, my short pitching (when not infested with shanks) has come
on leaps and bounds and even my putting is getting better with constant
practice.
My last two rounds have both been 34 putts and so under my personal holy
grail of 36 putts/round.
At the time I felt last nights cut was a direct result of my short game
being better because I did not hit my long irons that well. However now I'm
not so sure. Maybe I scored better because a not so good 4 iron is much
easier to deal with than a not so good driver hit. For sure I only had one
penalty off the tee where as I average 3 with a wood in my hand. Maybe my
tee shots being manageable lead to a good short game performance?
When I look back to the past my best ever scores have always been when my
long game or more especially my driving is on form. While the short game
practice is obviously important, I feel that driving practice for me at
least has to be given the same level of attention. If I combine my best tee
to green round with my best short game round to date the results would be a
sub 80 round of golf. While it's all well and good me teeing off with a 4
iron at 28 handicap on a 6k yard course. I can not do that for ever if I
want to attain a single figure handicap and to be honest that is where my
long term goal lies.
I think to get to a lowest handicap you must need to be able to drive the
ball well as well as being able to chip and put.
an interesting round for more reasons than one.
It is the first time I deliberately favoured my 4i off the tee rather than a
3 wood or driver.
I was not hitting my irons too well last night and even found two left hand
lateral water hazards off the tee with my 4i although only one cost me a
penalty shot as the second was playable.
I had switched to my 4i because I believe my tendency to hook is costing me
a lot of shots with the driver and the 3 wood. While a good driver hit will
go a long way further than a 4i, it will also go a lot further left if miss
hit.
I always stay more relaxed and less under pressure on the second shot if I'm
on the short stuff or near as damn it. My bad tee shot with a wood often
gets followed by a poor decision and or a bad iron/recovery shot.
All this got me thinking about short game versus long game importance.
I have been really focusing on short game stuff recently, my chipping has
improved a lot, my short pitching (when not infested with shanks) has come
on leaps and bounds and even my putting is getting better with constant
practice.
My last two rounds have both been 34 putts and so under my personal holy
grail of 36 putts/round.
At the time I felt last nights cut was a direct result of my short game
being better because I did not hit my long irons that well. However now I'm
not so sure. Maybe I scored better because a not so good 4 iron is much
easier to deal with than a not so good driver hit. For sure I only had one
penalty off the tee where as I average 3 with a wood in my hand. Maybe my
tee shots being manageable lead to a good short game performance?
When I look back to the past my best ever scores have always been when my
long game or more especially my driving is on form. While the short game
practice is obviously important, I feel that driving practice for me at
least has to be given the same level of attention. If I combine my best tee
to green round with my best short game round to date the results would be a
sub 80 round of golf. While it's all well and good me teeing off with a 4
iron at 28 handicap on a 6k yard course. I can not do that for ever if I
want to attain a single figure handicap and to be honest that is where my
long term goal lies.
I think to get to a lowest handicap you must need to be able to drive the
ball well as well as being able to chip and put.
1st win!
Well despite the 11 last night I just found out that I won the comp with my net of 65. there was one other dude with a 65 as well so no idea how I won, but howdidIdo has me down as comming 1st.
Did not imagine I would win, last medal was won by a net 60!
And the handicap cut is official now i'm off 25.2!
I took a night off from the practice today. Gave me time to construct this blog as most of the posts were written and just needed posting.
I will prep on Saturday for the comming Stableford on Sunday. I'm looking for another cut and this time it does not mater if I have a blow up hole :D
Did not imagine I would win, last medal was won by a net 60!
And the handicap cut is official now i'm off 25.2!
I took a night off from the practice today. Gave me time to construct this blog as most of the posts were written and just needed posting.
I will prep on Saturday for the comming Stableford on Sunday. I'm looking for another cut and this time it does not mater if I have a blow up hole :D
Medal 3, Finally!
Medal 12th May
Got a cut!!!
Finally, after starting to believe I would never do it I played a blinder with one sublimely ridiculous hole.
It did not start out too well, 9iron on the first looked mint but took a left bounce off the green and into the steep bunker. I took two to get out, the second was long just to make sure it stayed out, end result a 5 on the easy par 3. Then my tee shot on the par 5 second went left and into the red staked hazard. After that it all settled down, actually I chipped in on the second to make a 5!
One crappy shank on the third while laying up but a rescued it and got a 5 on the par 4 SI 1 hardest hole on the course. After that I just played solid golf, not hitting it that well but started to believe, over compensating to avoid shanks so not to accurate, but out in 46 is not bad after recent performances.
Onto the back nine and I started scoring, my striking became worse but my scoring held
bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey, Eleven, par, bogey, par, bogey.
Spot the obvious anomaly in that scoring sequence?
Yes I had an eleven on the par 4 14th.
Crap tee shot, lay up, shank into the water, shank into the water, shank into water, desperate lob to get over the water, chip back onto the green breathing again, one put and run like f**k out of there!
All witnessed by a three ball that just let us play through!
Anyway, That scar will heal and I still scored a 93, net 65 so I will get a cut !!! so I'm one happy camper :)
Going to have a night off now and do this blog. Then I'm not going to get chance to play again till Sunday and the monthly Stable ford, less stressful to a shanker than the medal :p
Next week the one and only goal is to have a lesson to try and get rid of my Arthur J's, it's suddenly become priority number one, two and three! Ha-ha.
Got a cut!!!
Finally, after starting to believe I would never do it I played a blinder with one sublimely ridiculous hole.
It did not start out too well, 9iron on the first looked mint but took a left bounce off the green and into the steep bunker. I took two to get out, the second was long just to make sure it stayed out, end result a 5 on the easy par 3. Then my tee shot on the par 5 second went left and into the red staked hazard. After that it all settled down, actually I chipped in on the second to make a 5!
One crappy shank on the third while laying up but a rescued it and got a 5 on the par 4 SI 1 hardest hole on the course. After that I just played solid golf, not hitting it that well but started to believe, over compensating to avoid shanks so not to accurate, but out in 46 is not bad after recent performances.
Onto the back nine and I started scoring, my striking became worse but my scoring held
bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey, Eleven, par, bogey, par, bogey.
Spot the obvious anomaly in that scoring sequence?
Yes I had an eleven on the par 4 14th.
Crap tee shot, lay up, shank into the water, shank into the water, shank into water, desperate lob to get over the water, chip back onto the green breathing again, one put and run like f**k out of there!
All witnessed by a three ball that just let us play through!
Anyway, That scar will heal and I still scored a 93, net 65 so I will get a cut !!! so I'm one happy camper :)
Going to have a night off now and do this blog. Then I'm not going to get chance to play again till Sunday and the monthly Stable ford, less stressful to a shanker than the medal :p
Next week the one and only goal is to have a lesson to try and get rid of my Arthur J's, it's suddenly become priority number one, two and three! Ha-ha.
Medal 2, from bad to shank
Medal Saturday 9th May.
Playing with two guys I did not meet before, Mathew and Mark. Good lads, went through the speal again, yes off 28 should be better, looking to get cut etc etc.
Bit more nerves on the first than usual.
True to form I completely knob a 9 iron 30 yards. Head down and off to hit the second. Three quarter wedge shot, swing, monster shank over the hill and down the other side. I'm now playing three from further away from the green than I started :(
In complete shock, I dolly chip the ball up the hill in three to eventually hole out for an Eight! on a par 3!
I could never really recover from that. I went 8, 7, 7,7 for the first 4, after that it was no longer an issue so a just played and came home with a 101 total. Including one more shank into a hazard on the 7th.
Mathew played a blinder and with 63 net came second in the 2nd division and got a nice cut from 21 into the teens. Both guys were real gents and invited me to play with them again next week.
These shanks are the most sole destroying thing I have come across yet in golf. But I don't have time to get it sorted.
On Wednesday I'm playing again in a medal with Stephen after work, Pete the pro can't give me a lesson this week as he is booked and I have another comp on Sunday.
I searched on Golf Magic and read every shank thread in history also watched some vids and hope I know what's causing it. Off to practice on Tuesday in the hope of sorting it.
Playing with two guys I did not meet before, Mathew and Mark. Good lads, went through the speal again, yes off 28 should be better, looking to get cut etc etc.
Bit more nerves on the first than usual.
True to form I completely knob a 9 iron 30 yards. Head down and off to hit the second. Three quarter wedge shot, swing, monster shank over the hill and down the other side. I'm now playing three from further away from the green than I started :(
In complete shock, I dolly chip the ball up the hill in three to eventually hole out for an Eight! on a par 3!
I could never really recover from that. I went 8, 7, 7,7 for the first 4, after that it was no longer an issue so a just played and came home with a 101 total. Including one more shank into a hazard on the 7th.
Mathew played a blinder and with 63 net came second in the 2nd division and got a nice cut from 21 into the teens. Both guys were real gents and invited me to play with them again next week.
These shanks are the most sole destroying thing I have come across yet in golf. But I don't have time to get it sorted.
On Wednesday I'm playing again in a medal with Stephen after work, Pete the pro can't give me a lesson this week as he is booked and I have another comp on Sunday.
I searched on Golf Magic and read every shank thread in history also watched some vids and hope I know what's causing it. Off to practice on Tuesday in the hope of sorting it.
Getting ready for the next comp.
6th May
12 holes practice scoring the first ball as normal. 54 for the 12, no shanks, normal service?
Friday 7th May
Pitch and putt only one shank but bad news fro the doctor trying to lift too much weight in the gym has given me a small hernia, scan confirmed it, surgery sometime soon :(
Anyway, can still play golf and looking forward to the Medal on Sunday time for a cut!
Saturday 8th
Pitch and putt, oh S**T the shanks are back! Time to get on the internet and try a last minuet fix.
12 holes practice scoring the first ball as normal. 54 for the 12, no shanks, normal service?
Friday 7th May
Pitch and putt only one shank but bad news fro the doctor trying to lift too much weight in the gym has given me a small hernia, scan confirmed it, surgery sometime soon :(
Anyway, can still play golf and looking forward to the Medal on Sunday time for a cut!
Saturday 8th
Pitch and putt, oh S**T the shanks are back! Time to get on the internet and try a last minuet fix.
Practice
Tuesday 4th of May
Up to the club after work, Stephen is up on the putting green and we start off with putting practice, then out onto the course. I'm scoring one ball and dropping another working on chipping and putting. Not strictly cool on the course but it's late and as there are no practice facilities, a lot of guys do this of an evening.
One awesome shank of the 3rd but other than that it just my normal crap hook off the tee with a driver that kills the score, adds up to a 95, a bit of confidence restored.
A lot of good work on the short stuff leaves me feeling good for the medal on Sunday.
Up to the club after work, Stephen is up on the putting green and we start off with putting practice, then out onto the course. I'm scoring one ball and dropping another working on chipping and putting. Not strictly cool on the course but it's late and as there are no practice facilities, a lot of guys do this of an evening.
One awesome shank of the 3rd but other than that it just my normal crap hook off the tee with a driver that kills the score, adds up to a 95, a bit of confidence restored.
A lot of good work on the short stuff leaves me feeling good for the medal on Sunday.
The Arthur J's
Friday the 30th Practice at the pitch and putt.
On the third hole something happened that never has before, I spent an hour after that totally destroyed, because after the first one I could hit nothing but shank after shank after shank. After a while I gave up and went home.
Did not really worry about it, must just be an off day.
On the third hole something happened that never has before, I spent an hour after that totally destroyed, because after the first one I could hit nothing but shank after shank after shank. After a while I gave up and went home.
Did not really worry about it, must just be an off day.
where did my game go?
27th April roll up game.
Got a text from Stephen the guy I play with of an evening, fancy a game it said.
Turns out it was a roll up £2 each and we are playing with Harry the club assistant pro. On the first I whack a 9 iron into the wind a bit and uphill, missed a little right but it was a good hit, Harry turns to me and says "your off 28"? 'Yes' I reply, "bollocks" he say with a smile "I'm not playing you again for money".
Maybe it was him saying that who knows? but I preceded to knob it round like a d**k again, scoring 20 odd stable ford points with a massive destructive hook, when that is I made contact!
Suddenly the wheels were falling off.
Got a text from Stephen the guy I play with of an evening, fancy a game it said.
Turns out it was a roll up £2 each and we are playing with Harry the club assistant pro. On the first I whack a 9 iron into the wind a bit and uphill, missed a little right but it was a good hit, Harry turns to me and says "your off 28"? 'Yes' I reply, "bollocks" he say with a smile "I'm not playing you again for money".
Maybe it was him saying that who knows? but I preceded to knob it round like a d**k again, scoring 20 odd stable ford points with a massive destructive hook, when that is I made contact!
Suddenly the wheels were falling off.
Not going quite to plan (1st Comp of 2010)
25th April Monthly Medal.
To say I was confident was an understatement. Last time I shot over 100 was last year. Best score of 85 this year I wanted a cut! I'm not a bandit in the sense that I want to win comps, actually I could care less about wining £20, what I want is to get a handicap that I can feel proud of I figured I could shoot 90 easy if I played ok.
On the first tee I had nerves but that was usual, the white tees never bother me, the yardage on the course is never long regardless they just present a different look to the holes.
So as I stepped up to play my first shot I was very happy.
It came off the club fantastically, I thought that will do, but wait it's drawing more than normal, oh s**t! the ball hit the very edge of the left hand bunker and catapulted away left down the hill and out of bounds. Queue shell shocked reload, I duly thinned the second attempt through the green and the wheels just fell off from there.
To be fair to my playing partners who I had never met before they were very kind on me never a word of impatience, and towards the end I did start enjoying the game, after all my card was long gone. More three puts and penalties than I can remember all in all it added up to a very very embarrassing 111. Some bandit hey?
It knocked the confidence right out of me and ever since my hook has got a lot worse especially with driver.
To be honest I almost bottled out of playing another medal, but eventually manned up and put my name down for the next three weekend comps and a rabbits matchplay.
To say I was confident was an understatement. Last time I shot over 100 was last year. Best score of 85 this year I wanted a cut! I'm not a bandit in the sense that I want to win comps, actually I could care less about wining £20, what I want is to get a handicap that I can feel proud of I figured I could shoot 90 easy if I played ok.
On the first tee I had nerves but that was usual, the white tees never bother me, the yardage on the course is never long regardless they just present a different look to the holes.
So as I stepped up to play my first shot I was very happy.
It came off the club fantastically, I thought that will do, but wait it's drawing more than normal, oh s**t! the ball hit the very edge of the left hand bunker and catapulted away left down the hill and out of bounds. Queue shell shocked reload, I duly thinned the second attempt through the green and the wheels just fell off from there.
To be fair to my playing partners who I had never met before they were very kind on me never a word of impatience, and towards the end I did start enjoying the game, after all my card was long gone. More three puts and penalties than I can remember all in all it added up to a very very embarrassing 111. Some bandit hey?
It knocked the confidence right out of me and ever since my hook has got a lot worse especially with driver.
To be honest I almost bottled out of playing another medal, but eventually manned up and put my name down for the next three weekend comps and a rabbits matchplay.
2010 and goals!
Into 2010, I tried to hit balls in Feb this year but my hand was too painful and it was too damn cold. Instead I started for the first time to work on chipping and my fitness. Going to the gym and running again I lost a stone fairly fast and by April found some long lost fitness.
In march my hand got a little better and I was able to hit the first full shots of the year. I brought new irons on the recommendation of a pro and on the results of a launch monitor. Nice second hand Mizuno MX 25's stiff shaft and after a couple of sessions fell in love with them. Yardage has increased again with these clubs over my old ones.
I decided that I needed to have some goals for the year to come.
Looking at my game my irons are going the best they ever have. They should be it's all I have worked on for two years!
So this year it's driving and short game but not in that order!!
My putting is woeful, my chipping has no feel, my short pitching is hit and miss. In effect I don't have a short game.
I want to be off a less than 28 handicap and fast, I really want to be off 18 by the end of the year, I think it's time I play comps and not wimp out of them.
So goals for the year, get to 18, get a short game, and then if I have time stop going left off the tee!
In April after they removed the winter tees and temp greens I scored a PB 85 on a wet course and the season began.
Instead of going to the range I brought a £30 season ticket to the local pitch and putt course. I think this may prove to be my best decision for a while. The place has 14 holes from 65 to 115 yards long. It's quiet of an evening you can mix the tee's making shots of up to 145 yards. The greens are tiny and hard, stopping a ball is a challenge. In short it's an ace cheap short game facility and I use it often for pitching and chipping.
Also in April I went for a lesson back to the golf academy. Having forgot my last lesson it was once again put to me that I need to hit down on it rather than hang back because hanging back causes fats and lefts. This has been what I have been working on right up to two weeks ago when something stopped me cold from hitting down on it. I'll detail that in another post.
So coming into the first Medal of the year on the 25th April it could be said that I was confident. Maybe even a bandit in waiting.
How wrong I was to be!
In march my hand got a little better and I was able to hit the first full shots of the year. I brought new irons on the recommendation of a pro and on the results of a launch monitor. Nice second hand Mizuno MX 25's stiff shaft and after a couple of sessions fell in love with them. Yardage has increased again with these clubs over my old ones.
I decided that I needed to have some goals for the year to come.
Looking at my game my irons are going the best they ever have. They should be it's all I have worked on for two years!
So this year it's driving and short game but not in that order!!
My putting is woeful, my chipping has no feel, my short pitching is hit and miss. In effect I don't have a short game.
I want to be off a less than 28 handicap and fast, I really want to be off 18 by the end of the year, I think it's time I play comps and not wimp out of them.
So goals for the year, get to 18, get a short game, and then if I have time stop going left off the tee!
In April after they removed the winter tees and temp greens I scored a PB 85 on a wet course and the season began.
Instead of going to the range I brought a £30 season ticket to the local pitch and putt course. I think this may prove to be my best decision for a while. The place has 14 holes from 65 to 115 yards long. It's quiet of an evening you can mix the tee's making shots of up to 145 yards. The greens are tiny and hard, stopping a ball is a challenge. In short it's an ace cheap short game facility and I use it often for pitching and chipping.
Also in April I went for a lesson back to the golf academy. Having forgot my last lesson it was once again put to me that I need to hit down on it rather than hang back because hanging back causes fats and lefts. This has been what I have been working on right up to two weeks ago when something stopped me cold from hitting down on it. I'll detail that in another post.
So coming into the first Medal of the year on the 25th April it could be said that I was confident. Maybe even a bandit in waiting.
How wrong I was to be!
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