A new Personal best over the back nine holes last night, warmed up in the net and putted for 15 Min's. In particularly in the nets I felt pretty good and was feeling my swing plane quite well, this is something I have only recently started to become aware of, when I feel it like that, then it's easy to come down on the inside and get a draw shot. I also had great tempo for once.
I guess all the ball pounding at the range this weekend helped :)
Anyway, first tee and a cracking baby draw right down the middle set the tone for the nine holes. I hit every fairway but one which just ran through the dog leg into the first cut. I did not hit a huge GiR percentage but all the misses were close and I got up and down a couple of times, One bad hole on the par three 15th where I took a penalty in the water but rescued a double Bogey 5. That was more than offset by my best ever birdie on my nemesis hole 14, three iron drawn over and round the marsh, seven iron drawn over the trees and stream to 10 feet and a nice putt for the first bird on that hole I can remember :D
Steady play coming back in which should have been at least one stroke better and it added up to a 4 over par 38!!
Now I just need to put two good nines together and then do it in a comp :p
9 Holes
Score 38 gross (par 34)
FW's 83%
GiR 3/9
Putts 14 (1.56/hole & 1.67/GiR)
Penalties 1 :(
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Monday, 30 August 2010
New wood?
While I did not get out to the golf course over the bank holiday weekend, I did manage to get to the range a few times. I had in mind trying out some new three woods with a stiff shaft to replace my old regular shafted MD three wood. I tried the G15 in a few different shaft options, a Titelist 909, a Mizuno and finally a TM Burner superfast.
The G15 is solid and gave me the least side spin but was unremarkable in distance, the Titelist I just hooked the hell out of, but they only had it in a regular shaft that felt on the soft side. The Mizuno just felt heavy and lifeless and then there was the Burner.
While they only had it in a regular shaft It got my attention because it's so damn light, next it did something I was not expecting, it got me to hit a fade, normally a fade for me comes from a sketchy swing and happens only once in a blue moon far more common for my bad shot is a pull/hook, this three wood was fading far more often than any other club I have hit in a long time. Eventually I got it under control, I.e straight or a slight draw and it did feel like it was longer off the tee. I will have to try it in a stiff shaft soon to see what the difference is.
Because of the three wood I then tried the burner superfast driver in stiff and reg, all I can say is I want one!!! It's so light weight and so easy to hit compared to my 420cc R9. Probably because of the light weight shaft it did feel faster and the ball went longer their was no doubt about that, maybe as much as 10 yards difference on average. but there were also far fewer bad hits on the massive burner face, it may only be 40cc bigger than my R9 but the burner face looked huge next to my current driver.
Best driver I have ever hit which is not saying much because I have not tried that many, but still it's on my shopping list with one caveat. I'm not paying £199 for one!!!
I paid out £250 for my R9 which is now worth £60 with golf bidder just one year later! That is the problem with Taylor Made, too many new club releases and second hand prices fall too fast.
While I want the Burner I'm waiting till it is super seeded in 6 months and then I'll get one for £99!!
The G15 is solid and gave me the least side spin but was unremarkable in distance, the Titelist I just hooked the hell out of, but they only had it in a regular shaft that felt on the soft side. The Mizuno just felt heavy and lifeless and then there was the Burner.
While they only had it in a regular shaft It got my attention because it's so damn light, next it did something I was not expecting, it got me to hit a fade, normally a fade for me comes from a sketchy swing and happens only once in a blue moon far more common for my bad shot is a pull/hook, this three wood was fading far more often than any other club I have hit in a long time. Eventually I got it under control, I.e straight or a slight draw and it did feel like it was longer off the tee. I will have to try it in a stiff shaft soon to see what the difference is.
Because of the three wood I then tried the burner superfast driver in stiff and reg, all I can say is I want one!!! It's so light weight and so easy to hit compared to my 420cc R9. Probably because of the light weight shaft it did feel faster and the ball went longer their was no doubt about that, maybe as much as 10 yards difference on average. but there were also far fewer bad hits on the massive burner face, it may only be 40cc bigger than my R9 but the burner face looked huge next to my current driver.
Best driver I have ever hit which is not saying much because I have not tried that many, but still it's on my shopping list with one caveat. I'm not paying £199 for one!!!
I paid out £250 for my R9 which is now worth £60 with golf bidder just one year later! That is the problem with Taylor Made, too many new club releases and second hand prices fall too fast.
While I want the Burner I'm waiting till it is super seeded in 6 months and then I'll get one for £99!!
Friday, 27 August 2010
A game of two halves.
Harry could not make it back in time, so my lesson is postponed until week of 4th September. Instead I went to play a few holes and ended up playing a full 18.
Tonight's 18 holes were a tale of two halves, I started out playing really good golf again, solid swing and the ball was under control to a satisfying degree. I ended the front nine 5 over par for a PB on the front nine of 41 out. Then after a couple of easy Bogey's I had a decision to make on the 12th tee (which is a natural walk off spot as it's the closest point to the clubhouse). Walk off and practice putting, or continue around and see if I could put together a low score.
I should have taken the putting option :p
I'm sure it happens to everyone but my swing left town on the 12 tee and got progressively worse culminating in a 7 on the 18th.For the back nine was a 13 over par 47 but the score does not tell the whole story....
Front nine five pars --- Back nine just one par!
Front nine hit 50% fairways --- Back nine hit just one fairway, 16%!!
Front nine hit 6/9 greens in reg, 66% --- Back nine hit none!!!!
Only thing that was better on the back nine was my short game :(
Also after bragging about no three putts for ages I had 2 of them back to back.
Anyway I should be happy with anything in the 80's :)
18 Holes
Score 88 gross (par 70)
FW's 35%
GiR 6/18
Putts 33 (1.83/hole & 2.16/GiR)
Penalties 2!!
Tonight's 18 holes were a tale of two halves, I started out playing really good golf again, solid swing and the ball was under control to a satisfying degree. I ended the front nine 5 over par for a PB on the front nine of 41 out. Then after a couple of easy Bogey's I had a decision to make on the 12th tee (which is a natural walk off spot as it's the closest point to the clubhouse). Walk off and practice putting, or continue around and see if I could put together a low score.
I should have taken the putting option :p
I'm sure it happens to everyone but my swing left town on the 12 tee and got progressively worse culminating in a 7 on the 18th.For the back nine was a 13 over par 47 but the score does not tell the whole story....
Front nine five pars --- Back nine just one par!
Front nine hit 50% fairways --- Back nine hit just one fairway, 16%!!
Front nine hit 6/9 greens in reg, 66% --- Back nine hit none!!!!
Only thing that was better on the back nine was my short game :(
Also after bragging about no three putts for ages I had 2 of them back to back.
Anyway I should be happy with anything in the 80's :)
18 Holes
Score 88 gross (par 70)
FW's 35%
GiR 6/18
Putts 33 (1.83/hole & 2.16/GiR)
Penalties 2!!
Thursday, 26 August 2010
A quick Nine
After work I went up to the club for nine holes and some putting practice. Before I started I booked a lesson with Harry, as he is going on his vacation next week, he will fit me in tomorrow for a 45min lesson. I'm really interested to see what he has to say and what he wants me to work on.
My golf tonight was a mixture of solid good golf, and horror holes. 6 pars, with a double a triple and a quad bogey!!!!
It added upto a nine over par 45. Should have had one birdie as well but missed a three footer through trying to hard :(
One bright note, for the third time out no three putt's!!! I'm sure that run can't continue long but it's evidence of my improving putting/chipping.
45 (Nine over par)
50% FW's Hit
5/9 GiR's
16 putts (1.78/hole & 2.00/GiR)
3 penalties!!!!
My golf tonight was a mixture of solid good golf, and horror holes. 6 pars, with a double a triple and a quad bogey!!!!
It added upto a nine over par 45. Should have had one birdie as well but missed a three footer through trying to hard :(
One bright note, for the third time out no three putt's!!! I'm sure that run can't continue long but it's evidence of my improving putting/chipping.
45 (Nine over par)
50% FW's Hit
5/9 GiR's
16 putts (1.78/hole & 2.00/GiR)
3 penalties!!!!
Back to the Golf.
Well I got back onto the golf course again last evening after nearly three weeks away. The weather was fine and Stephen was keen to get some holes in so we went straight off at 5:15 and played 14 holes, missing out a loop of four holes to bypass some slow four balls, the holes we played including the last 6 with Harry the assistant pro who joined us on the 12th. My game was part rusty part ok, I was 9 over after 11 holes but then I remember a couple of shockers which included a nine on my nemesis hole 14 (par 4). In all it came to a 71 gross out of par 54. I also remember missed 4 foot birdie putt on the par 5 16th Green.
My mid/long irons were strangely either pushed or fading, I felt that I was coming across the ball out to in, but a bit of range time will sort that, driver was playing nice if not long, with a baby draw and apart from the missed 4 footer my putting was really good including a couple of ten footers holed for once.
14 holes
score 71 (par 54)
FW's 63%
GiR 3/14
Putts 24 (1.71/hole & 2.0/GiR)
Penalties 4!!!
It was noticeable that the sunset is drawing in and soon I will not be able to play 18 holes of evening golf. there are no more mid week medals with start times after 5 pm. So if I want a few more cracks at the handicap I'll have to play on the weekends. I will see how that goes.
Basically the plan is to enjoy the remaining light evenings by playing and practising short game stuff then to start working on my swing as the weather/light gets more scarce.
I have more or less decided to give Harry a go at shaping/improving my swing/game this autumn/winter and I'll take his first lesson in September, Because he has seen me play so often, both good and bad games and because I know him well enough to get a no BS opinion, I think he is best placed to know about what's realistic for me and what I should work on.
My mid/long irons were strangely either pushed or fading, I felt that I was coming across the ball out to in, but a bit of range time will sort that, driver was playing nice if not long, with a baby draw and apart from the missed 4 footer my putting was really good including a couple of ten footers holed for once.
14 holes
score 71 (par 54)
FW's 63%
GiR 3/14
Putts 24 (1.71/hole & 2.0/GiR)
Penalties 4!!!
It was noticeable that the sunset is drawing in and soon I will not be able to play 18 holes of evening golf. there are no more mid week medals with start times after 5 pm. So if I want a few more cracks at the handicap I'll have to play on the weekends. I will see how that goes.
Basically the plan is to enjoy the remaining light evenings by playing and practising short game stuff then to start working on my swing as the weather/light gets more scarce.
I have more or less decided to give Harry a go at shaping/improving my swing/game this autumn/winter and I'll take his first lesson in September, Because he has seen me play so often, both good and bad games and because I know him well enough to get a no BS opinion, I think he is best placed to know about what's realistic for me and what I should work on.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
New personal best score from the yellow tees.
Well I followed Tuesdays front nine 42 with a 43 last night together with a 41 on the back nine for a personal best 18 hole score of 84 (14 over) seven shots dropped on each nine holes is at least consistent!
One caveat, I was playing alone last night, where as on Tuesday I was in a three ball, so less pressure and distraction last night. Even so it was encouraging.
I went back to mainly using my three wood or an iron off the tee, only pulling the driver where there is very wide margin for error. Iron shots were slightly less well struck than Tuesday but still mostly solid. The short chipping/pitching was not to bad and although I did not drain many memorable putts, I managed to get around in 33 blows with the flat stick and for perhaps the first time ever no three putts!! One 4 iron that found the left hand lateral hazard was the only penalty on the card with a failure to get out of a bunker on the 10th being the other obvious error. All in all I played pretty well, not so many brilliant shots, it was more a case of fewer really bad shots.
57% fairways hit
5/18 GIR's
33 Putts
1 Penalty off the Tee.
1 Birdie
6 Pars
2 Doubles
That could well be my last golf for a few weeks, we will see if I manage to escape over the weekend or not.
One caveat, I was playing alone last night, where as on Tuesday I was in a three ball, so less pressure and distraction last night. Even so it was encouraging.
I went back to mainly using my three wood or an iron off the tee, only pulling the driver where there is very wide margin for error. Iron shots were slightly less well struck than Tuesday but still mostly solid. The short chipping/pitching was not to bad and although I did not drain many memorable putts, I managed to get around in 33 blows with the flat stick and for perhaps the first time ever no three putts!! One 4 iron that found the left hand lateral hazard was the only penalty on the card with a failure to get out of a bunker on the 10th being the other obvious error. All in all I played pretty well, not so many brilliant shots, it was more a case of fewer really bad shots.
57% fairways hit
5/18 GIR's
33 Putts
1 Penalty off the Tee.
1 Birdie
6 Pars
2 Doubles
That could well be my last golf for a few weeks, we will see if I manage to escape over the weekend or not.
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Day and night
I played 18 holes on Tuesday and 9 holes on Wednesday, the contrast in my ball striking could not have been greater.
On Tuesday I was 24 over par by the end and I could not hit a solid shot for anything. Driving was very poor with huge hooks followed by huge blocks and my iron play was abysmal too I only managed one par on the 15th hole and I hit just one GIR all round on the 18th where I proceeded to three jack for Bogey, never felt in control of my swing.
1/18 GIR, zero birdies - one par and 37 putts.
However on Wednesday I hit my irons totally solid and stood on the 6th tee at level par, I did wobble a bit on the last few holes but that was due to dodgy tee shots followed by silly course management not poor iron play. In fact I don't think I ever hit my irons better, highlight was a 6 iron to the 5th hole from the left rough to the uphill raised green, 174 to the middle (according to the GPS) and it carried onto the green to leave me a 12 foot birdie attempt. But it was not the distance that pleased me, it was the completely solid hit with a nice 5 yard draw. The fact that I tried a 6i at all was testament to the fact that I was finding the middle of the club face! The end result was a 6 over par 42 for the front nine, which is my best ever score on the front nine holes.
6/9 GIR's, one birdie - three pars and 19 putts.
It's a strange fact that although my putting stroke is vastly improved and I have a lot more confidence in it, my putting stats don't yet bear this out. My lag putting and my chipping/short pitching is improving but I'm not one putting enough times from 3-10 feet and so I still don't get up and down as often as I should and I still make too many three putts from long distance.
Next Monday I'm away for a two week family vacation without golf, when I come back I'm going to restart taking lessons again.
On Tuesday I was 24 over par by the end and I could not hit a solid shot for anything. Driving was very poor with huge hooks followed by huge blocks and my iron play was abysmal too I only managed one par on the 15th hole and I hit just one GIR all round on the 18th where I proceeded to three jack for Bogey, never felt in control of my swing.
1/18 GIR, zero birdies - one par and 37 putts.
However on Wednesday I hit my irons totally solid and stood on the 6th tee at level par, I did wobble a bit on the last few holes but that was due to dodgy tee shots followed by silly course management not poor iron play. In fact I don't think I ever hit my irons better, highlight was a 6 iron to the 5th hole from the left rough to the uphill raised green, 174 to the middle (according to the GPS) and it carried onto the green to leave me a 12 foot birdie attempt. But it was not the distance that pleased me, it was the completely solid hit with a nice 5 yard draw. The fact that I tried a 6i at all was testament to the fact that I was finding the middle of the club face! The end result was a 6 over par 42 for the front nine, which is my best ever score on the front nine holes.
6/9 GIR's, one birdie - three pars and 19 putts.
It's a strange fact that although my putting stroke is vastly improved and I have a lot more confidence in it, my putting stats don't yet bear this out. My lag putting and my chipping/short pitching is improving but I'm not one putting enough times from 3-10 feet and so I still don't get up and down as often as I should and I still make too many three putts from long distance.
Next Monday I'm away for a two week family vacation without golf, when I come back I'm going to restart taking lessons again.
Monday, 2 August 2010
July month end
I managed to play 18 last Thursday to add to this months stats, even with that round it feels like I only played half a month and August could be worse with a two week vacation coming up soon.
Just a mention for my regular playing partner Stephen, who carded a personal best 1 over par round last week when we played a full 18. He was 1 under through 9, level through 16 and it was so close to a par round, great golf by him.
As for my game, my full swing feels a bit out of sync at the moment, but my putting, chipping and pitching has benefited from the focus I have put on it. Correspondingly my confidence is actually high.
Stats for the month
Faiways hit 48.6% (My average 46.8%)
Missed left 33.2% (33.8%)
Missed Right 18.1% (19.4%)
Greens in regulation 34.0% (26.8%)
Scrambling 6.5%* (6.4%)
Sand saves 25.0%** (6.7%)
Putting Average 2.02 (2.01)
Putting per GIR 2.19 (2.26)
Scores by Par
Par 3's - 4.3 (4.2)
Par 4's - 5.0 (5.4)
Par 5's - 6.6 (6.1)
Scoring
Eagles - 0% (0%)
Birdies 2% (1%)
Pars 28% (23%)
Bogies 45% (40%)
Doubles or worse 26% (36%)
Score total +19.0 (+22.6)
* (only records up and down for a par not a bogey)
** (only records sand saves for a par not a bogey)
July Practice log
•18 holes, general practice, 29th July.
•2 hr's pitching practice, 29th July.
•20 holes, general practice, 28th July.
•30 Min's chipping practice, 28th July.
•45 Min's Putting Practice, 28th July.
•40 Min's putting practice, 27th July.
•8 holes general practice, 27th July.
•30 Min's chipping practice, 27th July.
•30 Min's putting practice, 21st July.
•75 balls Driving range, 20th July.
•11 holes, marking a card, 5th July.
•10 holes practice, short pitching, 2nd July.
•30 mins Putting practice, 2nd July.
•160 balls, 1.5 hr's Driving range, 1st July.
•Log July 2010
Just a mention for my regular playing partner Stephen, who carded a personal best 1 over par round last week when we played a full 18. He was 1 under through 9, level through 16 and it was so close to a par round, great golf by him.
As for my game, my full swing feels a bit out of sync at the moment, but my putting, chipping and pitching has benefited from the focus I have put on it. Correspondingly my confidence is actually high.
Stats for the month
Faiways hit 48.6% (My average 46.8%)
Missed left 33.2% (33.8%)
Missed Right 18.1% (19.4%)
Greens in regulation 34.0% (26.8%)
Scrambling 6.5%* (6.4%)
Sand saves 25.0%** (6.7%)
Putting Average 2.02 (2.01)
Putting per GIR 2.19 (2.26)
Scores by Par
Par 3's - 4.3 (4.2)
Par 4's - 5.0 (5.4)
Par 5's - 6.6 (6.1)
Scoring
Eagles - 0% (0%)
Birdies 2% (1%)
Pars 28% (23%)
Bogies 45% (40%)
Doubles or worse 26% (36%)
Score total +19.0 (+22.6)
* (only records up and down for a par not a bogey)
** (only records sand saves for a par not a bogey)
July Practice log
•18 holes, general practice, 29th July.
•2 hr's pitching practice, 29th July.
•20 holes, general practice, 28th July.
•30 Min's chipping practice, 28th July.
•45 Min's Putting Practice, 28th July.
•40 Min's putting practice, 27th July.
•8 holes general practice, 27th July.
•30 Min's chipping practice, 27th July.
•30 Min's putting practice, 21st July.
•75 balls Driving range, 20th July.
•11 holes, marking a card, 5th July.
•10 holes practice, short pitching, 2nd July.
•30 mins Putting practice, 2nd July.
•160 balls, 1.5 hr's Driving range, 1st July.
•Log July 2010
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