I mentioned last post that I was going to spend more mental effort on my putting.
I warmed up today with a bit of chipping, which what I usually do. Then I found a place on the putting green with the most slope.
The greens on the home course are not the fastest, but some of them can have some break with some speed.
I wanted to investigate the relationship between the two and that's why I looked for the practice spot.
I'm not sure I found out any great truths, but spending some time investigating lines and speed while trying to make the putt and also when trying to lag the putt was useful information. It seems to me that you need this insight to be able to pick a line and to imagine what the putt will do.
Ok then off to play. When the smoke clears on the front nine, I've scored three birdies and have 12 putts total. I'm not under par, as I've not played great golf, but it's been pretty good for me and for the 40 degree temperature.
I hit more greens on the back so there were more putts. But the problems on the greens were much more in control and there was not too much of the "what do I do with this?"
No three putts, as my speed was very good.
I came away from the round feeling that I played well. Scoring was about 79 or so. Driver was not punitive, chipping reasonable, and the irons behaved. I'm still not sure the irons are longer or straighter than the old ones. I am playing them to be, but I'm coming up shorter on occasion that I would like even with hitting it really solidly.
Tomorrow is a down day and rain is expected. My old job wants some help so I'll go in and then there is a birthday lunch with one of the groups I used to work with. More food! Less exercise!
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Monday, February 26, 2018
Back to the Links
We've been off traveling for a couple of weeks. We were not gone the entire time, but it was a short trip to Austin, back a couple of days and then a short trip to Santa Monica. It seemed like a long trip and I miss my golf course!
We finally got some rain last night and it was touch and go whether it was going to be playable today. The temperature was in the low 50s, too, not lending itself to a fine time.
But the rain kept out those who really don't want to play and while we had a 10:30 tee time, nine o'clock saw Dave and myself off on the first tee.
Per usual I had a a couple of things I wanted to try, because the "secret is out there" and I intend to find it. Don't tell me that these 160 pound pro golfers who hit it 300 yards are special people -- I don't want to hear that! It has to be there for the common man.
What I wanted to look into was 1) Soft, loose arms, 2) make sure I got the right shoulder to get past my head on the downswing.
The arms idea comes to us from Mike Malaska on Youtube. I saw the shoulder past the head on Instagram on Monte Scheinblum's feed.
I was not aware of the arms idea, but I had heard of the shoulder coming around. That's common. As I mentioned in a previous post, everything you've been told by a golf pro is probably true. Their experience has taught them to say the same 5 things in 123 different ways. So get the shoulder past the head is a lot like "spin the shoulders" or "Swap shoulder positions." But sometimes this stuff resonates and sticks and a lot of times it's just get dumped into the garbage disposal of the mind, hopefully to revisited later down stream.
With the exception of the first shot, which found the trees with an iron, I was able to just move my shoulders around and not lurch back and forth in an attempt to wack it.
It was one of my best hitting days ever. I didn't hit everything perfectly, but the long clubs, the driver and all the short guys were straight and consistent.
I think I shot 75 with a single birdie. Hit about 15 greens. I had three three putts as the greens were pretty wet and I got the speed wrong a few times. But I made almost all of the ones I should have.
The nicest part of this was the lack of effort. As the arms were not a big part of it and I was just making a good shoulder turn in both directions. The ball was traveling well and my club to ball striking was very good. I felt little effort, was not trying to hit it. My back didn't even complain much.
I had a few thin irons, so maybe I was leaning forward on a couple of hits.
I should probably mention the trip down to Santa Monica. Barb is a recent grandma for the first time and is understandable excited about it. I consider myself a pseudo grandpa and was looking forward to it too. Who knew, but babies hiccup! It seemed to be in sync with its auto-baby rocker, but I am not allowed to perform experiments; I could only observe...
There was also the expectation that Jay and I might sneak out down to Carlsbad and get fitted for putters. Alas Jay has a bad back and had a surgeon crawl in and try to fix it. He is recuperating and could barely get to the golf store much less dash 90 miles to Carlsbad.
The golf shop in S/M has a full set of the Evnroll putters, which are what I've had my eye on. I've decided not to buy one of these for the moment. For one, they are bit pricey and secondly, I am happy with my SeeMore and really putt well with it, if I pay attention to what I am doing.
I've never really paid a lot of attention to putting. I'm more in the school of Hogan who thought that putts should count for 1/2 a stroke. But with line and speed being conjoined and each requiring some attention, I think there is a more to it than I've given it credit for in the past. If I may sum that up, I've become interested.
We have a green on the local course with a lot of slope and shape and depth. You have to be very careful approaching it and even when on it, you are not well taken care of. When players complain about its complexity I usually respond, "be glad they are not all like this one." But as I played it today, I did think that it would be nice if they were all like this. The challenge of the green in seductive. You can't just hit it to the middle then easily two putt. Being above the pin is a position with the potential of disaster. Being below it requires you to figure out when the left to right break switches to straight up hill and when it will swing back to right to left. The break on the green is upper left to lower right. None of this straight back to front stuff.
The other issue is that the green is on the end of a 530 yard par 5. It requires a number of good shots to get there and then you are presented with this green.
Did I mention the trees and trap on the left and the driving range down the hill on the right? There are an additional two traps in the layup area and then two more to the left of the green and another fall off to the right and rear of the green.
Master hole 13 and you've done some good work. We were playing the forward tees today and I used a hybrid off the tee to get to the arroyo, did I forget to mention it?, then cracked another hybrid to leave me 20 yards off the green in two. I've not been that close in a while. I chipped up a bit short, but a simple two putt put the hole to rest, but there have been days when it wasn't that easy.
I think this is getting long and I've probably lost have my readers, but it was another wonderful day out there where our group had no one in front and the group behind us was 3 holes back. Just playing and moving along. The sun would shine occasionally and light the grasses and warm the back. It does not get better than that; magic times.
We finally got some rain last night and it was touch and go whether it was going to be playable today. The temperature was in the low 50s, too, not lending itself to a fine time.
But the rain kept out those who really don't want to play and while we had a 10:30 tee time, nine o'clock saw Dave and myself off on the first tee.
Per usual I had a a couple of things I wanted to try, because the "secret is out there" and I intend to find it. Don't tell me that these 160 pound pro golfers who hit it 300 yards are special people -- I don't want to hear that! It has to be there for the common man.
What I wanted to look into was 1) Soft, loose arms, 2) make sure I got the right shoulder to get past my head on the downswing.
The arms idea comes to us from Mike Malaska on Youtube. I saw the shoulder past the head on Instagram on Monte Scheinblum's feed.
I was not aware of the arms idea, but I had heard of the shoulder coming around. That's common. As I mentioned in a previous post, everything you've been told by a golf pro is probably true. Their experience has taught them to say the same 5 things in 123 different ways. So get the shoulder past the head is a lot like "spin the shoulders" or "Swap shoulder positions." But sometimes this stuff resonates and sticks and a lot of times it's just get dumped into the garbage disposal of the mind, hopefully to revisited later down stream.
With the exception of the first shot, which found the trees with an iron, I was able to just move my shoulders around and not lurch back and forth in an attempt to wack it.
It was one of my best hitting days ever. I didn't hit everything perfectly, but the long clubs, the driver and all the short guys were straight and consistent.
I think I shot 75 with a single birdie. Hit about 15 greens. I had three three putts as the greens were pretty wet and I got the speed wrong a few times. But I made almost all of the ones I should have.
The nicest part of this was the lack of effort. As the arms were not a big part of it and I was just making a good shoulder turn in both directions. The ball was traveling well and my club to ball striking was very good. I felt little effort, was not trying to hit it. My back didn't even complain much.
I had a few thin irons, so maybe I was leaning forward on a couple of hits.
I should probably mention the trip down to Santa Monica. Barb is a recent grandma for the first time and is understandable excited about it. I consider myself a pseudo grandpa and was looking forward to it too. Who knew, but babies hiccup! It seemed to be in sync with its auto-baby rocker, but I am not allowed to perform experiments; I could only observe...
There was also the expectation that Jay and I might sneak out down to Carlsbad and get fitted for putters. Alas Jay has a bad back and had a surgeon crawl in and try to fix it. He is recuperating and could barely get to the golf store much less dash 90 miles to Carlsbad.
The golf shop in S/M has a full set of the Evnroll putters, which are what I've had my eye on. I've decided not to buy one of these for the moment. For one, they are bit pricey and secondly, I am happy with my SeeMore and really putt well with it, if I pay attention to what I am doing.
I've never really paid a lot of attention to putting. I'm more in the school of Hogan who thought that putts should count for 1/2 a stroke. But with line and speed being conjoined and each requiring some attention, I think there is a more to it than I've given it credit for in the past. If I may sum that up, I've become interested.
We have a green on the local course with a lot of slope and shape and depth. You have to be very careful approaching it and even when on it, you are not well taken care of. When players complain about its complexity I usually respond, "be glad they are not all like this one." But as I played it today, I did think that it would be nice if they were all like this. The challenge of the green in seductive. You can't just hit it to the middle then easily two putt. Being above the pin is a position with the potential of disaster. Being below it requires you to figure out when the left to right break switches to straight up hill and when it will swing back to right to left. The break on the green is upper left to lower right. None of this straight back to front stuff.
The other issue is that the green is on the end of a 530 yard par 5. It requires a number of good shots to get there and then you are presented with this green.
Did I mention the trees and trap on the left and the driving range down the hill on the right? There are an additional two traps in the layup area and then two more to the left of the green and another fall off to the right and rear of the green.
Master hole 13 and you've done some good work. We were playing the forward tees today and I used a hybrid off the tee to get to the arroyo, did I forget to mention it?, then cracked another hybrid to leave me 20 yards off the green in two. I've not been that close in a while. I chipped up a bit short, but a simple two putt put the hole to rest, but there have been days when it wasn't that easy.
I think this is getting long and I've probably lost have my readers, but it was another wonderful day out there where our group had no one in front and the group behind us was 3 holes back. Just playing and moving along. The sun would shine occasionally and light the grasses and warm the back. It does not get better than that; magic times.
Monday, February 19, 2018
Dresses on Men
Since this is Golf, etc., I'm going to be more free about branching about a bit on subject matters.
I have other blogs going, with limited attention from me. If you click on my profile, you can find links to the others. But most of my efforts are here.
Before we went off to Austin, we're havng a coffee in our local Peete's and there is a customer, very male, wearing a dress. I think I'd read that this was a thing and was happening, but I'd never seen it before.
It's liberal in our neck of the woods, but it's not San Francisco liberal. Not too much extremes going on here and most people are solidly in the "earn a good living and live in a million dollar home" life style here.
So it was a surprise. The guy wasn't young either, maybe 40 or so. He was with a gal and other than the dress everything seems within a couple of sigma from the mean.
Ok, there are outliers everywhere. The staff at Peete's are young and are well tatted and hair color comes from a bottle and bits of metal dangle from parts you can see and probably others you can't.
Off to Austin we go. Barb and I drop the folks off for an appointment and we walk over to Steinmart, which is in the same U shaped strip mall.
They have a lot of golf clothes and my closet is full of the high wicking golf shirts, a lot of which came from them.
I spot the wing/rain reversible vest with fleece lining and it's all of $22! Well, sign me up. I don't hesitate long and I grab it. They have nice crew socks too, but I couldn't find what I was looking for.
At the checkout there is a young guy in a dress. With leggings. And purple fingernail polish.
I must say that the polish needed some work -- all chipped and worn. Sad when they let themselves go like that. Guy's haircut and nothing else seems more gal than guy.
Will this catch on? I can't say I'm worried, but I don't find it a happy thought that this will become common. Not sure where that attitude comes from, but if it does become common, I'll probably relax and adjust.
Have I mentioned my thoughts on those nose rings?
I have other blogs going, with limited attention from me. If you click on my profile, you can find links to the others. But most of my efforts are here.
Before we went off to Austin, we're havng a coffee in our local Peete's and there is a customer, very male, wearing a dress. I think I'd read that this was a thing and was happening, but I'd never seen it before.
It's liberal in our neck of the woods, but it's not San Francisco liberal. Not too much extremes going on here and most people are solidly in the "earn a good living and live in a million dollar home" life style here.
So it was a surprise. The guy wasn't young either, maybe 40 or so. He was with a gal and other than the dress everything seems within a couple of sigma from the mean.
Ok, there are outliers everywhere. The staff at Peete's are young and are well tatted and hair color comes from a bottle and bits of metal dangle from parts you can see and probably others you can't.
Off to Austin we go. Barb and I drop the folks off for an appointment and we walk over to Steinmart, which is in the same U shaped strip mall.
They have a lot of golf clothes and my closet is full of the high wicking golf shirts, a lot of which came from them.
I spot the wing/rain reversible vest with fleece lining and it's all of $22! Well, sign me up. I don't hesitate long and I grab it. They have nice crew socks too, but I couldn't find what I was looking for.
At the checkout there is a young guy in a dress. With leggings. And purple fingernail polish.
I must say that the polish needed some work -- all chipped and worn. Sad when they let themselves go like that. Guy's haircut and nothing else seems more gal than guy.
Will this catch on? I can't say I'm worried, but I don't find it a happy thought that this will become common. Not sure where that attitude comes from, but if it does become common, I'll probably relax and adjust.
Have I mentioned my thoughts on those nose rings?
Very Sad Day
It's not as bad as when Costco decided to suspend Polish Sausage sales, but it was pretty bad; (note ";" Uncle Bill!) or not that bad at all.
I've been traveling, being the dutiful son for a few days and I'd left my clubs alone and probably lonely in the car and off to Austin Barb and I went.
Upon returning, having eaten too much and not exercised enough, off I go to join the Monday morning old guys for a nice round at the local course.
We made the tee time last week and were told that while it was a holiday, holiday rates would not apply.
So I show up and run in Jimmy, 87, Irish accent and on his way out of the parking lot. "It's holiday rates! $65 and I'm going home." I couldn't argue with that logic.
So I chip a bit and the good part of missing this round of golf is that it's about 40 degrees, low humidity and a slight wind that feels harsh on the hands.
I chip for a few minutes and one of staff drives by in a work truck. I've gotten to know them and we chat a bit. He says there is only one guy on the course. I'm thinking it's that $65, okay, okay, the temperature might have something to do with it.
15 minutes of pitches and I'm done too. I found a vest with wind block at Steinmart while in Austin and I try it out. It works quite well. My core is warm and happy. But it's the hands that are afraid.
My old work emailed with an issue last week and I don't mind going in and I'm half way to the job site. I pull out the trusty cell phone and start calling. I'm willing to wander down for an hour or two and make a couple of bucks. Hmm, no one wants to answer. It dawns on me that they are still asleep as it's a holiday!
When you retire, weekends go from good things to bad things. And holidays are rarely reasons to celebrate either. All the people who should be working and paying into retirement accounts for themselves (and I might add me!), are running around and driving and basically getting in the way of my wonderful life style. The things they don't tell you before you retire!
So I return early and Barb is working on new plants and old. The cold is supposed to intensify tonight (actually the heat will leave) and we will be saving plants and close off the green house to keep them all from freezing.
And there is another Twilight Zone Marathon filling the background noise.
I've been traveling, being the dutiful son for a few days and I'd left my clubs alone and probably lonely in the car and off to Austin Barb and I went.
Upon returning, having eaten too much and not exercised enough, off I go to join the Monday morning old guys for a nice round at the local course.
We made the tee time last week and were told that while it was a holiday, holiday rates would not apply.
So I show up and run in Jimmy, 87, Irish accent and on his way out of the parking lot. "It's holiday rates! $65 and I'm going home." I couldn't argue with that logic.
So I chip a bit and the good part of missing this round of golf is that it's about 40 degrees, low humidity and a slight wind that feels harsh on the hands.
I chip for a few minutes and one of staff drives by in a work truck. I've gotten to know them and we chat a bit. He says there is only one guy on the course. I'm thinking it's that $65, okay, okay, the temperature might have something to do with it.
15 minutes of pitches and I'm done too. I found a vest with wind block at Steinmart while in Austin and I try it out. It works quite well. My core is warm and happy. But it's the hands that are afraid.
My old work emailed with an issue last week and I don't mind going in and I'm half way to the job site. I pull out the trusty cell phone and start calling. I'm willing to wander down for an hour or two and make a couple of bucks. Hmm, no one wants to answer. It dawns on me that they are still asleep as it's a holiday!
When you retire, weekends go from good things to bad things. And holidays are rarely reasons to celebrate either. All the people who should be working and paying into retirement accounts for themselves (and I might add me!), are running around and driving and basically getting in the way of my wonderful life style. The things they don't tell you before you retire!
So I return early and Barb is working on new plants and old. The cold is supposed to intensify tonight (actually the heat will leave) and we will be saving plants and close off the green house to keep them all from freezing.
And there is another Twilight Zone Marathon filling the background noise.
Monday, February 12, 2018
New Toys on the Course
I've been asked by Jay to provide shot by shot details in re the new toys.
Well, I won't bore you all with that. But I can spin some stories and conclusions from today's play.
From my limited time at the range, I was pretty confident that I could hit the new clubs pretty straight, but the distances were a bit unknown. The flight monitor at the golf shop said I was going to gain about 1 club's worth. If that would be more true at lower lofts than higher ones was ground for speculation.
I also was concerned with a gap between the pitching wedge and my gap wedge. I hit the old PW about 110 and the gap about 100. But if the new PW was going to go 120, aka nine iron distance, then I'd have a problem.
I decided to leave out the old PW and figure out something as I went along.
I expected the irons to be longer and decided to play one less club than I would with the old set.
So first tee is a layup in front of a pond, then a long iron to get to a long green. I normally hit a hybrid on this tee, which gets me pretty close to the water. I'd be happy to be able to hit an iron here, as the layup area is small and I'm pretty straight with the irons.
The virgin 5 iron clears the bunker and has a great line. There is a very buttery feeling to the clubs and the shot feels great. But when I get to it, I'm about 10 yards back from where I like to be.
I should mention that it's about 45 degrees this morning. I'm not really expecting the balls to be hot off the club face.
Ok, then new hybrid to the back pin. I come out of the shot a bit, but get close to pin high and chip to 4 feet and miss the putt. About the only 4 footer I would miss all day. I didn't miss it by much.
The second hole is a par 5 and out comes the new driver. I push it and catch a trap, but the distance is good. I hit a 6 iron fat and then have about 175 in. Mr. hybrid gets hit thin and short, but chip and putt for an easy par.
Another target hole is the third. I hit hybrid to the middle of the fairway. Now it's 140 to the pin and it's normally a 7 for me. But I grab the 8 and pull it a touch, but it gets about pin high and 20 feet left. Two putts for another par.
This is a lot of detail and there are holes I don't want to remember! Let's skip ahead to 5, where the drive is a push, but I can hit a 7 iron from the trees and once again chip closely enough.
Then 6, par 5, drive is hit quite well to center of a narrow fairway. Then I smooth a 5 iron 180 yards that leads to a 90 wedge and a ticklish down hill two putt.
Hole 7 is an iron off the tee. I hit 5 and find myself in good shape. I've again substituted an iron for a hybrid and it's working. Now 130 out and hit 9. I'm about a club short, but dead on line and on the green. Two putts.
We'll skip 8 as I don't carry the water. The shot was a little off the toe, but I didn't try to hit it very hard. Certainly an error not to be repeated!
On 9, I hit a driver off the heel a bit. This is the shot I'd normally expect to hook hard. But it goes straight and with reasonable distance. I miss the green from 180, but get it up and down.
So the front goes well except for the butchery at the par 3s. More mental errors than equipment.
The back nine starts with a driver, nicely struck, leaves me 120 in. It's up hill and there is some wind, so I take a 9 and hit it high and pin high. Par again.
Now for the first par 3 on the back. I hit a thin 7 iron and it gets pin high - a lot of that today - and I chip ok, but miss my first short putt.
On 12, drive to the top of the hill, not well struck, but the driver delivers. I can get used to this.
Nice 8 iron in, though I could have hit the 9. Two putts. The ball did land pin high, but ran on a bit. There was some right to left wind at this point. Have I mentioned the nice divots? Yes, square! and about 3 inches on a side. The Mizuno irons are very flat at the hitting area. I think of this as different to the old clubs where there was a little roundness here.
I think the new lies of the clubs are better fit for my swing.
Now on to the par 5 13th, which is an honest 500 yards. I pull the drive with a heel strike and catch a bunker. I'm fat out of it, but then a nice 5 iron to 90 yards and a wedge in. Two putts for a bogey.
The 14th is about 370 or so; a longish hole for this course and since 220 is considered a long drive, enough hole for any of us. I push this, but hit it pretty well. I've got 125 in over trees and a trap. I clear the tree with a 9 iron, but hit the top of the trap and it bounces into the rough.
I chip and one putt and we are off to the 15th.
Which is a par 3 and playing about 160 today. I have trouble getting to this and while the weather is warmer, it's still a long cold haul.
I think I've grabbed the 5 iron, but it's the 6 when the smoke clears. However the ball has come out a bit low and ended up in the back trap! Quite the surprise and I would have said that in French if I remembered how to spell it.
I plop out of the bunker a bit shot and my putt, which is nice, doesn't drop.
On 16, I cream a drive down the middle and have 120 to a back pin. The wind is cross and I decide to hit an 8, but try to keep it right and see if the wind will bring it in. I don't pull it off as I push a bit and I'm in another trap.
A reasonable explosion and a good putt, but it doesn't drop.
17 is a short par 4 and hit driver. It's short and left but I'm in play and have a 9 in from 130. I hit it to two feet and make the only birdie of the day.
18 is the last par 5, ok, it's the last of everything. For some reason, worthy of thought, I hit a lot of good drives here. And this is no exception. It's up the middle with a tiny draw. The sound of the driver is still quite strange. There also doesn't seem to be a lot of feed back with the club. It just seems to go straight and pretty much on line.
I hook a hybrid around the corner and I'm hitting a 60 degree wedge pin high with 12 feet to putt. I can't make up my mind on the break and decide to play right to left. A lot of putts look right to left to me. I think it's my eyes. Alas, the putt was straight, but I rack up a final par.
I'm quite happy with the new clubs. The driver seems to be very helpful and while I've lost a couple of shots by being in bunkers, I've avoided disasters on the left side of course and have hit some real good ones.
The irons seem to have the length that the fitter promised. I'm happy with trajectories. The feel of the clubs is very nice. I can get used to that. They make the Pings seem quite harsh. I do hope they will be durable.
The new hybrid is quite easy to hit, it's an Tour Edge Exotics EX10 20 degree and it's proving to a club of "high confidence" as my father used to put it. Even bad hits are going well.
It was not a great day for scoring and I had some doubles, which are pretty rare for me. But I was confident with the new clubs and it was fun to use new tools around the course.
The good drives did get me off the tees pretty well. I was very happy with the 5 iron as a means to layup. I didn't need to hit it into a green all day, which is a good thing. The short irons had good distance, great feel and trajectory. They seemed to bite pretty, but not exceptionally more than the Pings. I was using a Calloway supersoft in deference to the cold conditions.
By the way, I tried a TaylorMade TP5X ball the other day. This is 5 layers and it felt very soft, but distance everything else was great. If you like that feel, they are worth trying. They are not cheap, so keep your eyes open when walking the rough!
Well, I won't bore you all with that. But I can spin some stories and conclusions from today's play.
From my limited time at the range, I was pretty confident that I could hit the new clubs pretty straight, but the distances were a bit unknown. The flight monitor at the golf shop said I was going to gain about 1 club's worth. If that would be more true at lower lofts than higher ones was ground for speculation.
I also was concerned with a gap between the pitching wedge and my gap wedge. I hit the old PW about 110 and the gap about 100. But if the new PW was going to go 120, aka nine iron distance, then I'd have a problem.
I decided to leave out the old PW and figure out something as I went along.
I expected the irons to be longer and decided to play one less club than I would with the old set.
So first tee is a layup in front of a pond, then a long iron to get to a long green. I normally hit a hybrid on this tee, which gets me pretty close to the water. I'd be happy to be able to hit an iron here, as the layup area is small and I'm pretty straight with the irons.
The virgin 5 iron clears the bunker and has a great line. There is a very buttery feeling to the clubs and the shot feels great. But when I get to it, I'm about 10 yards back from where I like to be.
I should mention that it's about 45 degrees this morning. I'm not really expecting the balls to be hot off the club face.
Ok, then new hybrid to the back pin. I come out of the shot a bit, but get close to pin high and chip to 4 feet and miss the putt. About the only 4 footer I would miss all day. I didn't miss it by much.
The second hole is a par 5 and out comes the new driver. I push it and catch a trap, but the distance is good. I hit a 6 iron fat and then have about 175 in. Mr. hybrid gets hit thin and short, but chip and putt for an easy par.
Another target hole is the third. I hit hybrid to the middle of the fairway. Now it's 140 to the pin and it's normally a 7 for me. But I grab the 8 and pull it a touch, but it gets about pin high and 20 feet left. Two putts for another par.
This is a lot of detail and there are holes I don't want to remember! Let's skip ahead to 5, where the drive is a push, but I can hit a 7 iron from the trees and once again chip closely enough.
Then 6, par 5, drive is hit quite well to center of a narrow fairway. Then I smooth a 5 iron 180 yards that leads to a 90 wedge and a ticklish down hill two putt.
Hole 7 is an iron off the tee. I hit 5 and find myself in good shape. I've again substituted an iron for a hybrid and it's working. Now 130 out and hit 9. I'm about a club short, but dead on line and on the green. Two putts.
We'll skip 8 as I don't carry the water. The shot was a little off the toe, but I didn't try to hit it very hard. Certainly an error not to be repeated!
On 9, I hit a driver off the heel a bit. This is the shot I'd normally expect to hook hard. But it goes straight and with reasonable distance. I miss the green from 180, but get it up and down.
So the front goes well except for the butchery at the par 3s. More mental errors than equipment.
The back nine starts with a driver, nicely struck, leaves me 120 in. It's up hill and there is some wind, so I take a 9 and hit it high and pin high. Par again.
Now for the first par 3 on the back. I hit a thin 7 iron and it gets pin high - a lot of that today - and I chip ok, but miss my first short putt.
On 12, drive to the top of the hill, not well struck, but the driver delivers. I can get used to this.
Nice 8 iron in, though I could have hit the 9. Two putts. The ball did land pin high, but ran on a bit. There was some right to left wind at this point. Have I mentioned the nice divots? Yes, square! and about 3 inches on a side. The Mizuno irons are very flat at the hitting area. I think of this as different to the old clubs where there was a little roundness here.
I think the new lies of the clubs are better fit for my swing.
Now on to the par 5 13th, which is an honest 500 yards. I pull the drive with a heel strike and catch a bunker. I'm fat out of it, but then a nice 5 iron to 90 yards and a wedge in. Two putts for a bogey.
The 14th is about 370 or so; a longish hole for this course and since 220 is considered a long drive, enough hole for any of us. I push this, but hit it pretty well. I've got 125 in over trees and a trap. I clear the tree with a 9 iron, but hit the top of the trap and it bounces into the rough.
I chip and one putt and we are off to the 15th.
Which is a par 3 and playing about 160 today. I have trouble getting to this and while the weather is warmer, it's still a long cold haul.
I think I've grabbed the 5 iron, but it's the 6 when the smoke clears. However the ball has come out a bit low and ended up in the back trap! Quite the surprise and I would have said that in French if I remembered how to spell it.
I plop out of the bunker a bit shot and my putt, which is nice, doesn't drop.
On 16, I cream a drive down the middle and have 120 to a back pin. The wind is cross and I decide to hit an 8, but try to keep it right and see if the wind will bring it in. I don't pull it off as I push a bit and I'm in another trap.
A reasonable explosion and a good putt, but it doesn't drop.
17 is a short par 4 and hit driver. It's short and left but I'm in play and have a 9 in from 130. I hit it to two feet and make the only birdie of the day.
18 is the last par 5, ok, it's the last of everything. For some reason, worthy of thought, I hit a lot of good drives here. And this is no exception. It's up the middle with a tiny draw. The sound of the driver is still quite strange. There also doesn't seem to be a lot of feed back with the club. It just seems to go straight and pretty much on line.
I hook a hybrid around the corner and I'm hitting a 60 degree wedge pin high with 12 feet to putt. I can't make up my mind on the break and decide to play right to left. A lot of putts look right to left to me. I think it's my eyes. Alas, the putt was straight, but I rack up a final par.
I'm quite happy with the new clubs. The driver seems to be very helpful and while I've lost a couple of shots by being in bunkers, I've avoided disasters on the left side of course and have hit some real good ones.
The irons seem to have the length that the fitter promised. I'm happy with trajectories. The feel of the clubs is very nice. I can get used to that. They make the Pings seem quite harsh. I do hope they will be durable.
The new hybrid is quite easy to hit, it's an Tour Edge Exotics EX10 20 degree and it's proving to a club of "high confidence" as my father used to put it. Even bad hits are going well.
It was not a great day for scoring and I had some doubles, which are pretty rare for me. But I was confident with the new clubs and it was fun to use new tools around the course.
The good drives did get me off the tees pretty well. I was very happy with the 5 iron as a means to layup. I didn't need to hit it into a green all day, which is a good thing. The short irons had good distance, great feel and trajectory. They seemed to bite pretty, but not exceptionally more than the Pings. I was using a Calloway supersoft in deference to the cold conditions.
By the way, I tried a TaylorMade TP5X ball the other day. This is 5 layers and it felt very soft, but distance everything else was great. If you like that feel, they are worth trying. They are not cheap, so keep your eyes open when walking the rough!
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Irons and Driver and Hybrid, Oh My!
I bought some new gear this week and some of my peeps want to know about that first range experience.
This might be a bit technical, so I apologize for those who want a bit more humanity and story telling.
When I go to the range, the first thing I do is some chipping. This gets me started and clears the mind and on a good day will help me recall all the stuff I was trying to from the last session. But none of the new clubs I use for chipping, and I was time limited, so I skipped that and headed out to the grass tees.
One of the reasons for getting the new clubs is that the last ones were wearing out quickly. I had been replacing individual irons yearly. I warm up and practice with the same irons. The tees are pretty sandy and the clubs pretty soft, so they don't last. Replacement clubs are not cheap.
I was thinking about the new Ping G700, which are hallow with very hard faces welded to the front of the club. My wedges are that way and I like them and their faces are holding up pretty well. But they were not out yet and I didn't get to hit them.
The fitter had me try these, Mizuno JPX 900 Forged. I also tried some Srixons, but these seemed to fit better. They have very little offset, which is fine with me. I tend to close the face a touch and with an offset the club looks more open than ever. I shudder to think what I might do to those. That eliminated most of the Pings and some of the other game improvement irons.
I was also hoping for more distance -- some of the new clubs have hotter faces than my old ones. My old clubs are Ping S56s and about 10 years old. The new clubs have stronger lofts by 3 to 4 degrees and more trampoline effect faces.
So I get to the range and it's a two club wind right into my face. But I'm there to hit some clubs and by the old gods and new, I'm going to hit some.
With this wind, I was not going to draw any conclusions about distance. At the fitting, the 7 iron was a solid 13 yards longer than my old one, with a 150 yard carry. Maybe 145 with a bit hit.
But what I found was that the clubs are very straight. I had seen some left bias at the fitting, which was a bit worrying. I like to hit them straight. The irons being the saving grace of my game and my driver being short and crooked on occasion, this is important.
But even with the wind, the shots were very much on target. They didn't seem to get blown around much.
The feel of the new clubs was softer than my old ones. The old ones are very blade like and there is not a lot of "soft" that they generate. The new ones are more butter like. I've had soft clubs in the past, some of the Hogans were quite soft, but as noted that was quite a while ago.
I was able to move the ball left and right and low. That seemed to be pretty easy. It felt quite doable and didn't require tremendous effort to do so.
The club heads are traditionally shaped. Forgiving clubs can be bigger and club like, but these are about the size of the old blades. I like that.
My old clubs were 1/2 inch long and 2 degrees up. But times have changed and we added 1/4 inch to the length and a bit more upright. Grips stay the same as Lamkin midsize.
I also bought a used Excite hyrid three wood in 20 degrees. Yes, no wood, but what else shall we call it? I liked this one as well. It seemed to fly pretty high. There seemed to be a tendency to drift to the right, which fits my eye. I would be happy to play a fade with everything.
I bought this because it looked like the 5 iron from new irons was going to cover the distance of my old hybrid and this new one is about 15 yards longer than old one.
Finally we come to the driver, which is a Calloway Rogue model in 9 degrees. It's setup for me with one degree less loft and one degree upright.
I like the look of this club. And I've always liked the sound of the Calloways. The Pings have a loud, unhappy clang to them and it never was welcomed into the ear.
But the Rogue is a bit different than the older Calloways. Less of a "hit the side of beef" sound more the sound of a suppressed air rifle. Which, if you are not familiar with, is more a muted click than anything else.
The club head felt quite light and then it would click and off the ball would go.
I was able to control it well. Hits off the heel were still strong.
Distance? Can't really say, the hill I was hitting over was about 180 from where I was and I hit them over that. Remember this was a good two club wind. More to say after I get it out the course. I would be happy to carry the ball 220 or more and that seems doable with no wind. I did manage to hit one 265 last week, threading an arroyo and a bunker -- a dream to do that every time.
I was able to draw and fade it too. It did seem to like to go straight. Straight and up in the air would be pretty nice...
So we have clubs that are a bit longer -- I tend to grip off the end of the shaft; I'll try and do better. More upright too. Note that irons have been the hallmark of my game and I don't see issues with the new clubs. How long they are remains to be seen.
I'll play them as a club longer than the old ones and see what happens.
This might be a bit technical, so I apologize for those who want a bit more humanity and story telling.
When I go to the range, the first thing I do is some chipping. This gets me started and clears the mind and on a good day will help me recall all the stuff I was trying to from the last session. But none of the new clubs I use for chipping, and I was time limited, so I skipped that and headed out to the grass tees.
One of the reasons for getting the new clubs is that the last ones were wearing out quickly. I had been replacing individual irons yearly. I warm up and practice with the same irons. The tees are pretty sandy and the clubs pretty soft, so they don't last. Replacement clubs are not cheap.
I was thinking about the new Ping G700, which are hallow with very hard faces welded to the front of the club. My wedges are that way and I like them and their faces are holding up pretty well. But they were not out yet and I didn't get to hit them.
The fitter had me try these, Mizuno JPX 900 Forged. I also tried some Srixons, but these seemed to fit better. They have very little offset, which is fine with me. I tend to close the face a touch and with an offset the club looks more open than ever. I shudder to think what I might do to those. That eliminated most of the Pings and some of the other game improvement irons.
I was also hoping for more distance -- some of the new clubs have hotter faces than my old ones. My old clubs are Ping S56s and about 10 years old. The new clubs have stronger lofts by 3 to 4 degrees and more trampoline effect faces.
So I get to the range and it's a two club wind right into my face. But I'm there to hit some clubs and by the old gods and new, I'm going to hit some.
With this wind, I was not going to draw any conclusions about distance. At the fitting, the 7 iron was a solid 13 yards longer than my old one, with a 150 yard carry. Maybe 145 with a bit hit.
But what I found was that the clubs are very straight. I had seen some left bias at the fitting, which was a bit worrying. I like to hit them straight. The irons being the saving grace of my game and my driver being short and crooked on occasion, this is important.
But even with the wind, the shots were very much on target. They didn't seem to get blown around much.
The feel of the new clubs was softer than my old ones. The old ones are very blade like and there is not a lot of "soft" that they generate. The new ones are more butter like. I've had soft clubs in the past, some of the Hogans were quite soft, but as noted that was quite a while ago.
I was able to move the ball left and right and low. That seemed to be pretty easy. It felt quite doable and didn't require tremendous effort to do so.
The club heads are traditionally shaped. Forgiving clubs can be bigger and club like, but these are about the size of the old blades. I like that.
My old clubs were 1/2 inch long and 2 degrees up. But times have changed and we added 1/4 inch to the length and a bit more upright. Grips stay the same as Lamkin midsize.
I also bought a used Excite hyrid three wood in 20 degrees. Yes, no wood, but what else shall we call it? I liked this one as well. It seemed to fly pretty high. There seemed to be a tendency to drift to the right, which fits my eye. I would be happy to play a fade with everything.
I bought this because it looked like the 5 iron from new irons was going to cover the distance of my old hybrid and this new one is about 15 yards longer than old one.
Finally we come to the driver, which is a Calloway Rogue model in 9 degrees. It's setup for me with one degree less loft and one degree upright.
I like the look of this club. And I've always liked the sound of the Calloways. The Pings have a loud, unhappy clang to them and it never was welcomed into the ear.
But the Rogue is a bit different than the older Calloways. Less of a "hit the side of beef" sound more the sound of a suppressed air rifle. Which, if you are not familiar with, is more a muted click than anything else.
The club head felt quite light and then it would click and off the ball would go.
I was able to control it well. Hits off the heel were still strong.
Distance? Can't really say, the hill I was hitting over was about 180 from where I was and I hit them over that. Remember this was a good two club wind. More to say after I get it out the course. I would be happy to carry the ball 220 or more and that seems doable with no wind. I did manage to hit one 265 last week, threading an arroyo and a bunker -- a dream to do that every time.
I was able to draw and fade it too. It did seem to like to go straight. Straight and up in the air would be pretty nice...
So we have clubs that are a bit longer -- I tend to grip off the end of the shaft; I'll try and do better. More upright too. Note that irons have been the hallmark of my game and I don't see issues with the new clubs. How long they are remains to be seen.
I'll play them as a club longer than the old ones and see what happens.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
And a Bridge Dream
It is, of course, the ambition of all right thinking folks to be good at bridge and golf. If you master those, your mental and physical claims to achievement are beyond reproach.
However, these activities can be a bit haunting and not for those without the mettle to survive.
I can remember my grandmother who needed one or more stiff drinks after a round of bridge. She handed me a glass once for a refill, "I could barely taste that one," she said.
I have a recurring bridge dream that dates back to my early days. It has shown up occasionally across the decades. I'm not sure of the last time I had it. It remains vivid however.
The dream goes like this...
I'm playing three no trump and I have to establish a suit by knocking out the ace. My holding in the suit is solid as I have the king, queen, etc., all the way down. The nightmare portion is that the opponents will never play the ace! So I'm leading the suit and like the guy on the subway in Boston, it goes on forever.
However, these activities can be a bit haunting and not for those without the mettle to survive.
I can remember my grandmother who needed one or more stiff drinks after a round of bridge. She handed me a glass once for a refill, "I could barely taste that one," she said.
I have a recurring bridge dream that dates back to my early days. It has shown up occasionally across the decades. I'm not sure of the last time I had it. It remains vivid however.
The dream goes like this...
I'm playing three no trump and I have to establish a suit by knocking out the ace. My holding in the suit is solid as I have the king, queen, etc., all the way down. The nightmare portion is that the opponents will never play the ace! So I'm leading the suit and like the guy on the subway in Boston, it goes on forever.
Monday, February 5, 2018
Golf Dreams!
Something different this time. A couple of my buddies mentioned that they have recurring golf dreams and I thought I would pass them on. I've got one too, but it's slipping my memory at the moment. If it comes back to me, I'll add it to the mix as well.
Dream 1: Playing hole where there is a 5 foot fence between two holes. Our dreamer finds a golf ball on his side of the fence. To whom does the ball belong, he wonders. He asks the group from the other side of the fence.
They disavow ownership.
But then a woman golfer shows up as deamer number 1 picks up the ball.
It turns out that the ball has been cut in half!
"It's my ball," the gal says.
"But it's just half a ball?"
"Yes, I find the game too easy with a full ball, so I play with this."
Our dreamer at that point wakes up in a cold sweat. (Ok, I added the part about the sweating.)
Dream 2: A different dreamer.
"I playing on a course with and there is a canyon next to the fairway. I hit the ball into it. When I get down to the bottom of the canyon, I find that the walls are very tall and the bottom is so narrow that I can't get a club on the ball to hit it out."
Hmm, I still can't remember mine. But I will say that golf dreams are a lot easier to live with than recurring bridge dreams.
Dream 1: Playing hole where there is a 5 foot fence between two holes. Our dreamer finds a golf ball on his side of the fence. To whom does the ball belong, he wonders. He asks the group from the other side of the fence.
They disavow ownership.
But then a woman golfer shows up as deamer number 1 picks up the ball.
It turns out that the ball has been cut in half!
"It's my ball," the gal says.
"But it's just half a ball?"
"Yes, I find the game too easy with a full ball, so I play with this."
Our dreamer at that point wakes up in a cold sweat. (Ok, I added the part about the sweating.)
Dream 2: A different dreamer.
"I playing on a course with and there is a canyon next to the fairway. I hit the ball into it. When I get down to the bottom of the canyon, I find that the walls are very tall and the bottom is so narrow that I can't get a club on the ball to hit it out."
Hmm, I still can't remember mine. But I will say that golf dreams are a lot easier to live with than recurring bridge dreams.
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