May Motivation

[Hawkeye77]

18 days later and I'm encouraged. Yesterday while out dropping balls at various distances, I played two holes (a shortish par 4 and a short par 3) from the ladies tees - two pars. Hitting my 4 hybrid off the tee about 150 or so (130 on the par 3, lol). Played a short par four from the ladies tee today and hit a nice little bullet hybrid off the tee, 54 degree from 65 to 5 feet and . . . ladies birdie! I was so excited I dropped a couple out 90 yards on a couple more holes (not far from trying Obee's challenge) and decided to try my 50 degree wedge (previously wasn't going beyond 70 yards) --- no problem! Little 8 irons from 100-110 no issues. Elbow still sore and has limitations and I'm not overdoing it by any means, but golf isn't making it worse and I'm over worrying about ground contact. Still keeping the swing compact and hoping this progress continues. We'll see when I'm brave enough to get out the 3w or driver, won't be this weekend.

[TIM929]

really glad to hear your elbow is recovering nicely! 5ft from 65 for the bird- Awesome!

 

I'm just now starting to understand and appreciate the skills needed to stop the ball 5ft and under (1 putt chances).

[Myherobobhope]

I’m working on a one way miss right... missed everything left on Tuesday... weird

[Hawkeye77]

LOL, lucky with that one! But, all the practice I'm getting inside 70 yards I'm hoping will pay dividends. Elbow = lots of experimenting with lower lofts and lower swing speeds, etc. as well and seeing how things work. Fun.

[TIM929]

Shot 88 on Saturday which is a pretty good for me. I had 1 blow up hole for 8 on a par 4(attention was on trying to fix my umbrella rubber band which snapped while walking), I see the potential to shoot even lower.

 

practice that worked:

 

the 100 yard Obee challenge is a great fit for me and I will continue till I can hit 9 out of 9 gir. This type of practice translates best for me in play vs grinding my swing at the range.

 

alignment/ ball position- if I get this right, on good swings I’m really athletic and on bad swings I can compensate pretty well for good results.

 

1/2 swings- When I feel like I’m taking 1/2 swings I could really rotate through the ball and stay balanced. On video my half swing feel looks like a full swing as below.

4 iron:

during play focusing on alignment, ball position, and 1/2 swing gives me the best results.

 

also notice my 60 is uncomfortably far from my 54.. Diving into a 58* but debating between a 12 bounce D and 14 bounce K grind.

 

also, Im not sure this makes sense, but I changed my shoes from rochies to AM1's and it feel different. The AM1's(higher in general) force me to balance more like snowboard boots vs. the roshies(which are flatter) force me to balance on my ankles through the down swing...

 

got a sick park of the no denim AM1's coming :)

[Myherobobhope]

I think golf shoes are one of the most underrated pieces of golf equipment... They can change the way you play, balance and swing... Unfortunatley, I wear a size 14 EW, so I have to either order online or hope or choose the "best" fitting pair at the local store... I've always liked New Balance and FootJoy, but part of that is just bias as they tend to make bigger shoes. I have some random pairs of shoes laying around, including a "barefoot" golf shoe... I'm like 2 inches shorter in those. They are an interesting shoe to play golf in.

We've gotten into a sort of coast mode in our home life... I work 12-9 Tuesday-Friday and 6-3 on Saturdays... wife tries to work from home with 2 kids climbing all over her... Now that it is warmer and sunnier in the AM, I will occasionally sneak out to practice, but it's always on the clock, so I work on maximizing productivity... I'm ready to get in some eighteen hole rounds... had a terrible 81 (which is about my handicap of 6 on my home course) with 37 putts, 11 fairways and 9 GIR... one of those numbers is decent.

I've spent a lot of time on the putting green... I've also spent some money adjusting my putter. Just put a wider, heavier grip on my counter balanced tank and moved away from my old 2 ball. I think it's going to work well, and as our greens get back to rolling true, I'm hoping my putting improves... I still need to spend more time on long putts.

I'm experimenting with driver technology, but haven't hit "real" balls with my new cobra shaft and need to borrow a Callaway head to try my new driver shaft I bought on here... Hoping to get some licks in tomorrow, but we shall see.

My current focuses are improving around the green (chips and putts), driving (length and distance, need to start working on speed training) and 100 yard and in shots... Pretty large buckets, I know... Current focus is on confidence in my putter, especially on 6 footers. I want to get automatic on them, and then work on that confidence at 8, then 10, then 15 feet... Putting practice is quick and easy for me right now, as I'm close to the club and it requires 0 warm up... Hoping to have a golf cart soon, so it should improve my time from bed to course.

Overall, I still have very little time to actually play, and I could use a local golf buddy... Listening to Chasing Scratch, having someone to go mental with about golf seems like fun... it's also more of a built in excuse to go play. I'm hoping to start putting up scores in the 70s this season, and think it's an achievable goal. I'm also loving my S62 watch, which helps me track my scores and shots.

[dmecca2]

Love the progress I am seeing in here. I now have inputted a total of 4 rounds into my GHIN app. (absolutely love their new app. Daily handicap updates and stat keeping is awesome!!) So far I have played 2 18 hole rounds and 4 9 hole rounds for scores on 75, 74 (18 holers), 33 35 for 68, and 35 36 for 71. I think they guys at chasing scratch really found a loophole with this 9 hole scoring cause my handicap dropped from a +2.9 to a +3.3, then back to +3.1 after the 71. I don't feel like I'm scoring as well as I can, but I'm very happy with where my game is right now. I need to fine tune my irons a hair and make sure my attack angle doesn't get steep, and my full wedges still need to get better, but nothing is bad.

Here are my stats so far based on the GHIN app, Scoring summary: 82% par or better, 15% birdie or better, 15% bogeys.

Par 3 average: 3.16

Par 4 average 4.16

Par 5 average: 4.62

Putts per round: 29

GIR: 61%

Driving accuracy: 66% fairways hit, 28% miss right, 4% miss left (I finally missed 2 drives left), 2% miss long

 

I still haven't had my wedge reshafted and my lofts/lies checked. Additionally, I have a new putter coming later this week. Hopefully this will be the one.

[dmecca2]

Officially signed up for my first tournament of the year. June 15th 18 hole stroke play. This will definitely motivate me to get out and practice with a purpose. New putter also came in and it looks good. Hopefully June will bring the same amount of improvement for everyone!

[bortass]

@dmecca2 let us know about the tourney results.

[TIM929]

shot 88 today again- 9 over front/ 7 over back. No warm up as normal due to 6am tee (range is not opened yet), but no excuses- Should do some push up and squats in the parking lot to get warm.

 

front 9- getting warmed and trying to hold it together.

Back 9- I was lighting it up with pars till I had a blow up hole with 7 shots on a par 3(positive note is I bounced back right after that hole).

 

notes:

 

I need to stick to my 95 yard Obee training and practice my decision making. I bump and run when I should flop and flop when I should roll out, I need to become a discerning golfer.

 

focus on club selection-I caught myself trying to take less club with a harder swing a few times, and forced more club in my hands. Every time I took more club with less swing, plugged the green.. I think I spin the ball more to stop, instead of roll off.

 

the saga continues.

[Myherobobhope]

Thought I was swinging well... saw my coach and hit on a trackman... my path is off... need to grind some time getting back to the inside...

 

ive been rolling putts and am excited to actually start playing again... just need the world to not burn down.