Well, Sunday was a test of my patience. We only had 3 of our regular foursome so right as we were teeing off, we took on a straggler. No biggie. He seemed like a nice enough guy. That wore off by the third hole.
The guy was a total hack, which is no big deal since I'm not exactly Tiger Woods myself, but it kind of sets the stage for what comes later. I had two good holes on 1 and 2 (par and bogey) and was really feeling pretty good. I teed off on 3 (par 3, 120 yards) and I completely chunked my GW like I have never chunked before (I thought I broke my wrist for a second). This jackhole has the gall to say "I don't think I've EVER done that". Up yours, Gary Player. I let it go and moved on.
We get to 6 which is a nice straight par 4, about 310 yards. I hit a really nice drive that was arrow straight and ended up around 270 yards. I get to my ball and chip on and proceed to birdie the hole. This dill weed starts in with "I was playing here last week and some guy teed a 3-iron and hit clear over the green and out into the road". And your point, Mr. Daly?
I finish the front 9 with my best half ever (43) and we head over to 10. I have a little trouble with my tee shot and hit a low burning drive that goes about 180 yards. "Thinking about that 43 aren't ya"? I seriously want to make this guy look like a popscicle if you get my drift. He then finishes the round by following me around in his cart telling me what I'm doing wrong on each shot. All this coming from a guy that probably shot 20 strokes over me and has been playing twice as long as me.
I'm glad Paul's back.
I got my new hitting mat yesterday (www.sportnetting.com). It's a 3'x5' commercial-grade mat with a ball tray. It should hold up to anything I can dish out. So, I threw the net up, got the mat set and went to town tonight on my own little backyard driving range.
I really put a lot of time on my 3-iron (probably 80% of the shots I hit) and made a discovery. I found that I have been letting my right elbow get disconnected during the downswing on long clubs. By tucking my right elbow into my side at the start of the downswing, I made really good contact (I might even call it "pure"). Tucking my right elbow seems to have two effects:
1) It helps me keep my left arm straight at impact (crucial)
2) It seems to help me square the club face without using a strong grip
I don't really have to focus on this thought on my shorter clubs due to my setup on the ball. My posture and close distance to the ball naturally makes me get my elbow in and that is why my short irons have not been a problem.
This will have to help me on my driver. I know for a fact (especially as the round wears on) that I have been swinging for the fences and getting all separated.
I'm really excited for this weekend to see if I can make any improvement on the course. I'm also signing up to get my official USGA handicap Sunday. I have a lot of scores I can put in and I should have a card in a couple of weeks. This will allow me to play in local tourneys where I can play my handicap and essentially be on a level field.
I just got back from Mill Creek. I had a record front nine (43) and a below average back nine (56). So, a 99 is not too bad considering my last 4-5 scores of 100+.
On the front nine, my driver was working really well. I hit some really long, straight drives and that really helps the rest of the shots on that hole. Irons were pretty good. I had a few thin shots, a couple of fat ones (those hurt) but overall they worked.
Putting was OK. I'm still over 30 putts per round. I had one 3-putt and a few 1's with the rest being 2's. My chipping was pretty good overall.
My problems started on 11 with my driver and that kind of set the tone for the rest of the round. I think I'm still setting the ball too far forward in my stance and topping it.
It feels good to get back below 100. I'm ready for my next round...
I got out Sunday. Conditions were not ideal (high 30's and misting rain all day).
My front 9 went pretty well. I shot a 48 which has been about typical for me lately (I didn't card anything over a 6). I two-putted every hole but one (which I one-putted) and that really hurt me. I'm used to a couple more one-putts per side. I'm just not reading the break very well. Speed was good, but break was off. Driver actually worked pretty well. I didn't hit many fairways, but my drives were actually pretty straight.
Enter the back 9...Total Collapse. It started right off the bat with a 7 and got worse from there. I carded three 7's and three 8's. I just couldn't put two shots back to back. My driver fell apart and my irons gave up on me.
The most frustrating part is I hit like it was my job at the range and even did really well on the front, just to have the whole thing go down the toilet on the back. Damn this game.
On the bright side, my 3 iron came in today and I picked that up. More practice is in the forecast...
I hit into the net for about 45 minutes today. Everything felt pretty good there, so I figured I'd head to the range and see what my ball flight was like.
I hit my 4-SW and my driver at the range. Everything from 7-SW went really well. My 4-6 were kind of spotty. I was tending to hit them a little fat and so my distance was really lacking. I'm not sure what it's going to take to correct this. Maybe being a little more shallow on my swing plane will help. Today I was able to switch back and forth between a straight flight and a 10-15 yard draw on my irons almost at will. I did find my draw tended to get me a couple more yards overall.
My driver actually went well, all things considered. I managed to get away from long slices and get to about 240 yards relatively straight. When I really try to pound it, I get my high looping slice. If I just focus on keeping my spine angle constant and my left arm straight, I can hit it straight. I just can't seem to get any loft or distance. I have a really low ball flight right now. I think if I picked up 3 or 4 degrees of launch, I could really get the distance I'm looking for.
I've put some yardage on my irons. My averages today:
SW - 100-105 yards
GW - 110-115 yards
PW - 120-125 yards
9 iron - 130-135 yards
8 iron - 140-145 yards
7 iron - 150-160 yards
4-6 iron - too inconsistent to get a good estimate
Conditions: 42-45 degrees, 10-15 MPH wind from the SW.
So, after a truly humbling and frustrating round earlier this week, I've been looking for the source of my problems. It would seem I am focusing on keeping the wrong arm straight at impact. I've been working like hell to get my right arm straight at impact and it's causing me to chicken-wing my left and flip the club. Left arm straight, please.
Fast forward to last night...
I've been looking online for tips since my real lessons have been less than helpful lately and I come across this guy named Ron del Barrio. He promotes a very passive swing. Some of his key points are:
1) The ball goes in the middle of your stance no matter what club you are using, from 3W down to LW (except driver). I have to say I was a little skeptical about this at first, but I tried it and it seems to work.
2) To help promote a good downward strike on the ball, he talks about having your weight left-side biased. By putting 60% of your weight on the left leg at the start this helps keep you in a position to bring the club down to the ball instead of possibly lifting it.
3) He has a very slow, passive, tempo-driven swing. I thought this guy had to be lacking for distance after watching his swing, but I've read about people (on other sites) that have taken lessons with him and say he has no problem with distance.
4) He also has a good tip for setting up to the ball, primarily on how to know how far away to stand. Arms straight out in front with the club pointing up. Back straight, knees locked. Bend at the waist/hips and start to let the club down. When the club contacts the ground, unlock your knees and you are at the correct distance. Watch the video on the site for a little better description of how this works.
So, I took some of Ron's tips and got the net setup in the back yard. I worked on slowing down my swing and getting a better tempo. I also really focused on getting my left arm straight and keeping the shaft ahead of the club head at impact. It really made a difference. I felt like I was putting no effort into it and yet I was hitting the ball crisp. I felt a little silly using the setup routine at first, but after I saw how well it worked, I'll use it on the course. Ball-to-feet distance is something I have struggled with from day one.
I'm going to try to hit the range Saturday to see how my distance is stacking up so I am prepared for my round on Sunday.
If you want to see more about Ron and some video tips go here: http://www.rdbgolftips.com/
I just got back from Raymond where I put in the most grueling 9 holes I've ever played. I had one decent iron shot. The rest were garbage. Driver was naturally slicing like a Ginsu. Chipping went really well. Putting was mediocre. I have forgotten how to play...
My driving net came today. It's an Izzo Cage Mouth. It sets up super easy and takes only a couple minutes to put away.
I've decided I need to get in the habit of setting aside about an hour a night to practice. I spent a lot of time at the net tonight after work. I'm finding I keep moving back toward opening the club face for some reason. My one swing thought is, on the start of my downswing, I have to start turning my hands so I can get the club face square and get my right arm out. When I focus on doing this, I hit great (I think I'm even taking divots now). If I don't do this, results are pushing, blading and topping.
I'm also getting away from really pounding at the ball. I find that once I get my swing in motion, if I just keep it smooth and fluid, the club will take care of the work.
More practice tomorrow. I think I'll work on my driver tomorrow and try to correct this fade/slice. I'm pretty confident if I focus on turning my hands like I am with my irons, I can get things straightened out and get some distance.
