Well, probably not the last post, but it was a grand day for hitting the golf ball.
The stuff I mentioned in the last post worked wonders for the long and short game.
Irons were solid and straight. Ah, there were a couple of pushes, but sweet city for sure.
Four birdies for the day, a personal best. I hit it close a number of times.
I'll have to think about it, but nothing was amiss that I want to research it and test.
Drives were under control and straight. Even the bad ones were playable.
I was able to hit some 3/4 drivers and one deliberately a low hook into the wind.
All told, just a lot of fun to move the ball as it should be.
Monday, November 21, 2016
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Range Notes 11/20/16
My warmup starts and ends with some chips. I use this as a means to remember what I was doing last time out. Memory being what it is these days, a short refresher is a useful tool. Yes, I know that writing it down might be a good idea too. But I find I usually don't remember to do that either. And then I'd have to remember to read it!
My chipping is usually pretty good. It's the short chips that are more of a bother than the long ones. Hard to be delicate and all that. I think a lot of that is that golfers worry about hitting the ball too far and end up hitting it with a weak tentative stroke, usually with some hand flip, a fat contact, and a ugly results. Best to be manly and wack it hard, IMHO. (A long slow swing is a fun and useful tool for this shot.)
I notice that I may be flipping a bit too. I steadied my wrists and started getting a good divot on the pro side of the ball. Is this an issue for my long irons and woods? Sadly I can't say. I chip before and after each round and found this in the after portion. I would have like to have tested that theory. Well, I'll be playing tomorrow and we shall see.
Otherwise the long game was fine. I worked on twisting the hips on all the shots. Contact was pretty good. All of the drives were up in the air. If I hit it on the screws, it was going quite high. My driver is setup to 9 and a half degrees. I may dial this down a bit if I can keep the contact good.
One of the other things I wanted to try was to spin into the shot without making any attempt to hit the ball. Just let the club come through and do the job in its own sweet time. This seemed to work and I will try to monitor this as I play.
Have you, dear readers, read the "Inner Game of Golf"? The mechanism used in the book is too monitor a condition that you want to change. The act of monitoring will change your mind's evil ways and produce the result you want.
For example, let's say I want to make sure my divot is on the target side of the ball. If I monitor that and assign a result number, one to 5 is what is used in the book, the mind will figure out how to do it.
Try it, it's free!
My chipping is usually pretty good. It's the short chips that are more of a bother than the long ones. Hard to be delicate and all that. I think a lot of that is that golfers worry about hitting the ball too far and end up hitting it with a weak tentative stroke, usually with some hand flip, a fat contact, and a ugly results. Best to be manly and wack it hard, IMHO. (A long slow swing is a fun and useful tool for this shot.)
I notice that I may be flipping a bit too. I steadied my wrists and started getting a good divot on the pro side of the ball. Is this an issue for my long irons and woods? Sadly I can't say. I chip before and after each round and found this in the after portion. I would have like to have tested that theory. Well, I'll be playing tomorrow and we shall see.
Otherwise the long game was fine. I worked on twisting the hips on all the shots. Contact was pretty good. All of the drives were up in the air. If I hit it on the screws, it was going quite high. My driver is setup to 9 and a half degrees. I may dial this down a bit if I can keep the contact good.
One of the other things I wanted to try was to spin into the shot without making any attempt to hit the ball. Just let the club come through and do the job in its own sweet time. This seemed to work and I will try to monitor this as I play.
Have you, dear readers, read the "Inner Game of Golf"? The mechanism used in the book is too monitor a condition that you want to change. The act of monitoring will change your mind's evil ways and produce the result you want.
For example, let's say I want to make sure my divot is on the target side of the ball. If I monitor that and assign a result number, one to 5 is what is used in the book, the mind will figure out how to do it.
Try it, it's free!
Friday, November 18, 2016
Friday's Round (11/18/16)
Hello All,
I managed to play every day this week. I bought the monthly pass for November and my trip to Albuquerque interrupted some of my play time, so I needed to be diligent about playing.
We are heading down to Santa Monica next week; baring a round with Jay, Monday will be the last day for a bit
My driving was reasonable today. I still like to be out of position when I allow the club through. I managed to get it all correct and banged one over the hill on the short par 4 12th hole. It's about 340 up the hill and into a gentle zephyr. I was inside the cart path, a mere 80 yards to a front pin. Alas I needed to get it over a eucalyptus tree. I hit it a bit fat and came down on a bight of the cart path. I dropped off the gravel and hit a smooth, spinny pitch inside 2 feet. Fellow golfers didn't make me putt it. Yes! Short game comes through.
The rest of the game was pretty good. I hit a lot of greens and my sand play was good; 2 out of 3 up and downs or so. Tip - beware of early morning sand, which can be firmer than expected. If so choose a wedge with less bounce until things are back to normal.
The last couple of days started pretty cool. The temperature in the back yard was in the upper 30s at the start, but with a clear sky it warmed up nicely. Jackets came off on the front nine and I'm still wearing shorts.
Scoring was good today. I think I birdied a hole on each side and shot about 76. That includes a double on one of the holes.
I had a snowman the other day. Knocking the first drive into the pond can do that.
The changes I'm trying to make with my driving also seem to be applicable to my iron play. This has not always been successful as in one case the iron went about 20 yards too far, flew a green and was never seen again. But more and more shots are coming together and the sound of the contact and the shape and size, not to mention carry distances, of the divots has gotten better. I'm pleased with the changes and look forward to getting the driver more consistent.
I managed to play every day this week. I bought the monthly pass for November and my trip to Albuquerque interrupted some of my play time, so I needed to be diligent about playing.
We are heading down to Santa Monica next week; baring a round with Jay, Monday will be the last day for a bit
My driving was reasonable today. I still like to be out of position when I allow the club through. I managed to get it all correct and banged one over the hill on the short par 4 12th hole. It's about 340 up the hill and into a gentle zephyr. I was inside the cart path, a mere 80 yards to a front pin. Alas I needed to get it over a eucalyptus tree. I hit it a bit fat and came down on a bight of the cart path. I dropped off the gravel and hit a smooth, spinny pitch inside 2 feet. Fellow golfers didn't make me putt it. Yes! Short game comes through.
The rest of the game was pretty good. I hit a lot of greens and my sand play was good; 2 out of 3 up and downs or so. Tip - beware of early morning sand, which can be firmer than expected. If so choose a wedge with less bounce until things are back to normal.
The last couple of days started pretty cool. The temperature in the back yard was in the upper 30s at the start, but with a clear sky it warmed up nicely. Jackets came off on the front nine and I'm still wearing shorts.
Scoring was good today. I think I birdied a hole on each side and shot about 76. That includes a double on one of the holes.
I had a snowman the other day. Knocking the first drive into the pond can do that.
The changes I'm trying to make with my driving also seem to be applicable to my iron play. This has not always been successful as in one case the iron went about 20 yards too far, flew a green and was never seen again. But more and more shots are coming together and the sound of the contact and the shape and size, not to mention carry distances, of the divots has gotten better. I'm pleased with the changes and look forward to getting the driver more consistent.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Notes for November 16 16
I was going to call this post "Shower Thoughts" as I had some inspiration this morning as I was cleansing the old bod and getting some hot water on the back before today's round.
I seem to have forgotten the exact thoughts I had, so in order to preserve my spotless accuracy scoring, I renamed the post.
But like a few other posts, the issue is the driver and why it's so different to hit than the "club of high confidence" which are all the clubs less in length than an 8 iron or so.
I think the shower thought was about how to keep my head behind the ball. It was the one goal for the day.
I was actually able to do this. My backswing was much more of a turn and had no lean or slide going back -- head stationary, weight shift as the shoulders turned. Then I was able to get my lower body in front to brace (ah, that was the shower thought, keep the left leg firm and muscles tense!) the left leg and allow me to present the club as I came through.
I was pretty happy with this. I hooked a couple, but nothing bad. Better yet, I was able to do this swing with all the clubs.
This seemed to cure my push of the irons. I did pull a couple however, but nothing like a bit of variety!
I'm still not quite in the right position to really wack the ball on the occasional drive, but it went well and I was quite confident in my expectation of where the ball was going to go.
It was a coolish day with Justin, Ted and Jerry at Las Positas. The greens were a bit uneven in pace, which thought might be due to the weather. As mentioned above, I was not particularly interested in the short game and I missed a lot of short putts.
We played the blue tees and there are holes I can't get too without a good drive. That turned a lot of it into a pitch and putt contest.
Tomorrow Geno comes out of retirement and we'll see how the changes work for a second round. Remembering how to do this stuff and even to do it, is the real struggle. With the swing changes being used with all the clubs should help me make it stick in the old brain box.
I seem to have forgotten the exact thoughts I had, so in order to preserve my spotless accuracy scoring, I renamed the post.
But like a few other posts, the issue is the driver and why it's so different to hit than the "club of high confidence" which are all the clubs less in length than an 8 iron or so.
I think the shower thought was about how to keep my head behind the ball. It was the one goal for the day.
I was actually able to do this. My backswing was much more of a turn and had no lean or slide going back -- head stationary, weight shift as the shoulders turned. Then I was able to get my lower body in front to brace (ah, that was the shower thought, keep the left leg firm and muscles tense!) the left leg and allow me to present the club as I came through.
I was pretty happy with this. I hooked a couple, but nothing bad. Better yet, I was able to do this swing with all the clubs.
This seemed to cure my push of the irons. I did pull a couple however, but nothing like a bit of variety!
I'm still not quite in the right position to really wack the ball on the occasional drive, but it went well and I was quite confident in my expectation of where the ball was going to go.
It was a coolish day with Justin, Ted and Jerry at Las Positas. The greens were a bit uneven in pace, which thought might be due to the weather. As mentioned above, I was not particularly interested in the short game and I missed a lot of short putts.
We played the blue tees and there are holes I can't get too without a good drive. That turned a lot of it into a pitch and putt contest.
Tomorrow Geno comes out of retirement and we'll see how the changes work for a second round. Remembering how to do this stuff and even to do it, is the real struggle. With the swing changes being used with all the clubs should help me make it stick in the old brain box.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Is it all in the Wrists?
I must confess that I have a worn spot on all my grips. It can be severe. I wore a spot on one grip on one club that went down to the metal of the shaft.
"I've never seen that before," said a pro. Alas, he had no thoughts on what it was or how to fix it.
My friend has the softest grips I've ever seen. Softer than a ... well, let us just say, "very soft." I was always wondered how he kept from destroying them.
So I'm thinking the other day that the club head goes through a number of manipulations as it goes up and then down.
Each of the manipulations needed to be addressed at impact time. There is the wrist hinge and the movement of the club to match the swing plane of the arms. This last usually affected by the arms rotating around each other. Whether you should be thinking of these things as you swing is another question. But clearly you don't want to interfere with this action.
When it is all unraveled at the end, the club must find its way back to the ball as the wrists unhinge and the hands move the club from the arm plane back to the arc that will cause the club head to return to square. This arc is above the arm plane. I imagine this stepping out above the plane. Which suggests that the arm plane is below that of the club.
I realized that I'm grinding up grips by not allowing my right hand to close the club face or step out from the arm plane to return to the ball. I was of course moving the left hand and when the two hands were in conflict the worn spot is the result.
As I realized this and hit some slow motion shots to feel the hands moving together and the right hand aggressively closing the club, I realized that there might be just a touch of speed in this all this.
It also seems to be the reason I tend to have the club face closed at address as not using the right hand makes it tough to square it. Thus having a bit "in hand" to start seems a useful thing.
So I hit a lot of smooth, powerful hooks.
I have a game tomorrow and I'll see if I can implement this new found freedom.
Report from the field:
Sadly this will be a shortened report. For the second time recently I came down with a migraine on the later stages of the front nine. But I had 5 pars and a couple of bogeies. I hit the ball pretty well and I was happy with most of it. I have found that little pitches around the greens are much easier.
I hit a couple of crisp irons and found that I'm freer with my swing. I'll have to see what happens as there will be golf every day this week -- head willing!
BTW there is a folk treatment for migrains and that is to induce an ice cream headache. I stopped at 7-11 for a Slurppy, but I couldn't get the ice cream part to happen. I used the usual Imatrex and decongestant.
"I've never seen that before," said a pro. Alas, he had no thoughts on what it was or how to fix it.
My friend has the softest grips I've ever seen. Softer than a ... well, let us just say, "very soft." I was always wondered how he kept from destroying them.
So I'm thinking the other day that the club head goes through a number of manipulations as it goes up and then down.
Each of the manipulations needed to be addressed at impact time. There is the wrist hinge and the movement of the club to match the swing plane of the arms. This last usually affected by the arms rotating around each other. Whether you should be thinking of these things as you swing is another question. But clearly you don't want to interfere with this action.
When it is all unraveled at the end, the club must find its way back to the ball as the wrists unhinge and the hands move the club from the arm plane back to the arc that will cause the club head to return to square. This arc is above the arm plane. I imagine this stepping out above the plane. Which suggests that the arm plane is below that of the club.
I realized that I'm grinding up grips by not allowing my right hand to close the club face or step out from the arm plane to return to the ball. I was of course moving the left hand and when the two hands were in conflict the worn spot is the result.
As I realized this and hit some slow motion shots to feel the hands moving together and the right hand aggressively closing the club, I realized that there might be just a touch of speed in this all this.
It also seems to be the reason I tend to have the club face closed at address as not using the right hand makes it tough to square it. Thus having a bit "in hand" to start seems a useful thing.
So I hit a lot of smooth, powerful hooks.
I have a game tomorrow and I'll see if I can implement this new found freedom.
Report from the field:
Sadly this will be a shortened report. For the second time recently I came down with a migraine on the later stages of the front nine. But I had 5 pars and a couple of bogeies. I hit the ball pretty well and I was happy with most of it. I have found that little pitches around the greens are much easier.
I hit a couple of crisp irons and found that I'm freer with my swing. I'll have to see what happens as there will be golf every day this week -- head willing!
BTW there is a folk treatment for migrains and that is to induce an ice cream headache. I stopped at 7-11 for a Slurppy, but I couldn't get the ice cream part to happen. I used the usual Imatrex and decongestant.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Playing in LA
Greetings dear readers,
I am on the road again and have enjoyed a day of golf in Santa Monica with Jay.
We played near the Hollywood sign, I am told. I didn't see it, but it could have been there. Lots of hills and you could only slice a drive onto the freeway on one hole.
The greens were po ana, which is what I am used to at home. What I wasn't used to were the slopes of the greens. They were a bit severe (hmm, either they weren't or they were, I'm thinking).
But the golf was good and the company better. There was a downside to the day. They paired us with two older oriental gentlemen, over whom we towered and out weighed by many pounds. What was the problem here? They played from the back tees, Jay and I were up a set and these old guys kept hitting it past us. Bummer!
We played the Wilson golf course in Griffith Park. Winds through the hills. There were large deer on one hole. A fair amount of elevation. It also had some run out on shots. My home course is pretty soggy and you get nothing.,
The greens held quite well. I was seeing run out the greens at only a couple of yards.
I managed to be on the proper side of 80, which is my goal, especially on the first round of a course.
We didn't tee off until 10 and finished about 2:30. Just in time for a couple of tall boys to relax us before dinner with Jessica.
All said, a good outing.
Next stop is Albuquerque. If I'm doing golf stuff, I'll contribute here with good bits, otherwise might be a bit sporadic. Ah, who am I kidding? I'll be hitting the ball and writing about it.
I am on the road again and have enjoyed a day of golf in Santa Monica with Jay.
We played near the Hollywood sign, I am told. I didn't see it, but it could have been there. Lots of hills and you could only slice a drive onto the freeway on one hole.
The greens were po ana, which is what I am used to at home. What I wasn't used to were the slopes of the greens. They were a bit severe (hmm, either they weren't or they were, I'm thinking).
But the golf was good and the company better. There was a downside to the day. They paired us with two older oriental gentlemen, over whom we towered and out weighed by many pounds. What was the problem here? They played from the back tees, Jay and I were up a set and these old guys kept hitting it past us. Bummer!
We played the Wilson golf course in Griffith Park. Winds through the hills. There were large deer on one hole. A fair amount of elevation. It also had some run out on shots. My home course is pretty soggy and you get nothing.,
The greens held quite well. I was seeing run out the greens at only a couple of yards.
I managed to be on the proper side of 80, which is my goal, especially on the first round of a course.
We didn't tee off until 10 and finished about 2:30. Just in time for a couple of tall boys to relax us before dinner with Jessica.
All said, a good outing.
Next stop is Albuquerque. If I'm doing golf stuff, I'll contribute here with good bits, otherwise might be a bit sporadic. Ah, who am I kidding? I'll be hitting the ball and writing about it.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Tomorrow is another day, but will it match today?
Twas a dark, wet, and cold morning and I went out to struggle with the demon par. This was after a needed day off on Tuesday, where aches were soothed and doped.
It was an uneven front nine, where I managed to struggle to a 40. Lots of pars, but the dreaded others were there too.
I hooked with a 3 some, which slowed me down and helped my tempo. I managed to par out once I joined them.
The back started ok, but ragged. Two quick bogies.
Then, while trying to figure out what the heck I do on the range and don't (or do) on the course, it occurred to me that I don't take a full shoulder turn on the course. Hmm, I thought, perhaps I ought to make make sure I do that.
Most of golf theory suggests a full shoulder turn will help with timing and a touch of power. Who am I to argue with that?
So I'm on 14 by this time, three over par, and I go par, par, birdie, birdie, par to end it all. Now there were close birdie putts on all the pars too. I hit all the greens and all the fairways and got the driver out there. Pretty much a different game when all that was happening.
So, I'm excited that I may have worked out my course/range issue. I'll see what happens tomorrow.
It was an uneven front nine, where I managed to struggle to a 40. Lots of pars, but the dreaded others were there too.
I hooked with a 3 some, which slowed me down and helped my tempo. I managed to par out once I joined them.
The back started ok, but ragged. Two quick bogies.
Then, while trying to figure out what the heck I do on the range and don't (or do) on the course, it occurred to me that I don't take a full shoulder turn on the course. Hmm, I thought, perhaps I ought to make make sure I do that.
Most of golf theory suggests a full shoulder turn will help with timing and a touch of power. Who am I to argue with that?
So I'm on 14 by this time, three over par, and I go par, par, birdie, birdie, par to end it all. Now there were close birdie putts on all the pars too. I hit all the greens and all the fairways and got the driver out there. Pretty much a different game when all that was happening.
So, I'm excited that I may have worked out my course/range issue. I'll see what happens tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Where Does it Go?
"Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
-Gordon Lightfoot
One might rewrite this to be: "When the greens turns the minutes to hours?"
Yes, one might also quote Heidi Klum, the great philosopher who states weekly, "One day you're up and the next you are down."
So I play last Friday and the game is so easy, I begin to think about what the next hobby might be. I fire up the lathe and make sawdust out of perfectly good wood and putter about.
But yesterday, while it was soggy, but I was in the mood to play, and I was not trying to test too many theories, it is as rough a round as I've had in years.
The back nine, where it is usually 7 pars and 2 bogies, now it is 2 pars and 7 others! Yipes. I'm back to topping drives and all sorts of other things long thought dead.
All of that didn't do my back much good either. So I'm taking today off and trying to gobble as much ibuprofen as possible and try to get my body to recover.
Did I mention that I was at the range on Sunday and hit it like I knew what I was doing? As if I were the master of my fate; as if all greens and traps were opportunities and not hazards? Yes, just like that.
Well, it's a process and not a goal.
Back to find the difference between range and course (if I figure it out, my fortune may be made.)
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
-Gordon Lightfoot
One might rewrite this to be: "When the greens turns the minutes to hours?"
Yes, one might also quote Heidi Klum, the great philosopher who states weekly, "One day you're up and the next you are down."
So I play last Friday and the game is so easy, I begin to think about what the next hobby might be. I fire up the lathe and make sawdust out of perfectly good wood and putter about.
But yesterday, while it was soggy, but I was in the mood to play, and I was not trying to test too many theories, it is as rough a round as I've had in years.
The back nine, where it is usually 7 pars and 2 bogies, now it is 2 pars and 7 others! Yipes. I'm back to topping drives and all sorts of other things long thought dead.
All of that didn't do my back much good either. So I'm taking today off and trying to gobble as much ibuprofen as possible and try to get my body to recover.
Did I mention that I was at the range on Sunday and hit it like I knew what I was doing? As if I were the master of my fate; as if all greens and traps were opportunities and not hazards? Yes, just like that.
Well, it's a process and not a goal.
Back to find the difference between range and course (if I figure it out, my fortune may be made.)
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