Over the weekend I had a couple of range sessions where I simplified my golf swing.
I was hoping that I could carry this to the course. Swings change when you put a ball down and they change again when there are consequences to bad hits. I was delighted to find that all was going to work on course too.
I played some very flawless golf today in re the hitting of the ball. The path through the golf course was a broad, comfortable, yellow brick road. I was master of my fate for the most part. Now, it was not perfect and the problems that showed up were sometimes due to hitting the ball too well. How is that possible, I can hear you ask. Let's look at the second hole, par 5. It's about 480 yards and I started with a 4 wood down the middle, then a hybrid to 100 yards out. The pin is in the middle and there is a touch of breeze in my face. I took an extra club and promptly hit the ball over the back edge of the green. I got up and down just fine, but it was an interesting problem to have. Usually you can't hit a ball over a green when hitting into the wind. Hmm, new neural pathways were burning.
The next hole was a bit like the second. I hit a 4 iron and had 135 yards to the pin with a right to left wind. Over the past couple of sessions, I've recalibrated my irons and 130 is now the 9 iron. It was an eight not too many days ago. An effortless shot to the center of the green followed. Sadly the wind was not able to move the ball at all back to the pin.
And so it went through seven holes. I was one under par at that time and not really close to a bogey. Eight is like the 12th at the Masters. It's about 140 yards to the middle and there is a pond that lies in front of the green. You might have 6 feet between water and green and there is a trap right and one long right and then two green high on the left. There is no run up, you have to carry the water or bend the ball around. Now, a couple of the guys I play with excel in the "bend it around shot." In the "but wait there is more" category, it always seems to me that the water affects the ball flight and one more club is usually required.
Thus being as well informed as playing it 30 times or so, I hit my 150 yard club. The line is wonderful and once again it sails over the green and I'm up in the mounds at the back of the green. There is no trap or dogwood there, but it's a daunting flop to a down hill green and water beyond. I flop it well, but can't make the putt and I'm back to even. Again, it was an error due to hitting the ball too well...
During the back, some of the old habits came back. It's so hard to make changes. But I think I shot one over on the back for a 75 all day. It was a different round with different challenges. We shall see, it's a busy golf week ahead.
Monday, April 29, 2019
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Golf Week in Review
It was a busy week. Got out twice on Monday, took Tuesday off, then played Wednesday through Friday. Then some pitch and putt Friday night and some putting challenge, bridge, and pickleball, again on Friday to round out a busy week. Oh, I did get to the range on Tuesday...
On Monday afternoon I played with Sonny and Walt over at a course called Monarch Bay. I've played it before but probably 25 years ago. I remembered next to nothing of the place. I did manage to rise to the occasion and was almost perfect around the greens. The longest up/down putt was probably 5 feet and I dropped with elan.
Of course, because golf is what it is, the next day I couldn't chip to save anyone's soul, much less my own.
There are developments in rest of the game, your reporter should pass on. The long game is getting better, albeit slowly. I had a very nice day at the range today and I'm working on getting my hands higher and closer to my head, aka, more upright. And, this is the important bit, make sure the lower body is stabilized before doing anything drastic with the upper body. It's that old conundrum of swinging slowly to hit the ball further. With the proper sequence of events the ball was going higher with all the clubs, club ball contact was very good, and directional control was all that anyone would want.
So the answer going forward is to be more patient while swinging. It's hard to do not being much of an athlete. Repetition and meditation are probably all that are required. The golfers' monastery has openings...
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Brexit... I've long thought that the British were ready for self rule. Sadly it seems that the people in "control" don't think so and have been blocking the exit from the EU. A nation that once ruled large parts of the world are now bowing to their unelected overlords in Belgium.
And today I read that the Labour Party has officially declared that the world is in the midst of a "climate emergency." It seems that the 14 year old Greta Thunberg from Sweden was so convincing that it was going on; dear Greta actually skipped some school to drive home her point! She pointed out that in school they were shown pictures of starving polar bears! If that is not evidence that should awaken all nations, even those thousands of miles away, well, there probably just isn't any.
It seems that Greta wasn't told that all polar bears die of starvation. If you are the apex predator you live very nicely until you can't eat anymore. But, no, it must be due to too many cars on the M5 freeway. So the Labour party will want to get right on this and do what governments do when confronted with an emergency, and that is of course to raise taxes and restrict freedoms.
I don't know what the area of the UK is to that of the world. I do know that the US area is about one percent of the earth's surface. I suspect that the UK area is a bit smaller, it is not 4000 miles across for example. How much emergency will be averted by any action of the UK? Even if we were to scrape the UK free of all human beings, could we even measure the difference? I don't think so... But seeing that we haven't measured any emergency yet, it's kind of a mute point...
Oh and in this dangerously warming world, we are expecting snow this week in Chicago... And we are expecting maybe 8 inches. I lived there for 30 years and I don't think I saw snow in late April. I just checked and it seems that the last time it snowed over an inch was in 1940. There were some in May 1966, less than an inch, so it was in my time line, but not in my memory.
Here's my prediction in re climate: the next choke point of the human race is the next ice age, not some run away warming that is the current rage. Might see it in the next 30 years too. There are some Russian scientists that are expounding on this point.
Ok, that's about all for this post. Lot's of exciting things going on. I'm looking forward to the Democratic primaries; lots of excitement there!
On Monday afternoon I played with Sonny and Walt over at a course called Monarch Bay. I've played it before but probably 25 years ago. I remembered next to nothing of the place. I did manage to rise to the occasion and was almost perfect around the greens. The longest up/down putt was probably 5 feet and I dropped with elan.
Of course, because golf is what it is, the next day I couldn't chip to save anyone's soul, much less my own.
There are developments in rest of the game, your reporter should pass on. The long game is getting better, albeit slowly. I had a very nice day at the range today and I'm working on getting my hands higher and closer to my head, aka, more upright. And, this is the important bit, make sure the lower body is stabilized before doing anything drastic with the upper body. It's that old conundrum of swinging slowly to hit the ball further. With the proper sequence of events the ball was going higher with all the clubs, club ball contact was very good, and directional control was all that anyone would want.
So the answer going forward is to be more patient while swinging. It's hard to do not being much of an athlete. Repetition and meditation are probably all that are required. The golfers' monastery has openings...
------
Brexit... I've long thought that the British were ready for self rule. Sadly it seems that the people in "control" don't think so and have been blocking the exit from the EU. A nation that once ruled large parts of the world are now bowing to their unelected overlords in Belgium.
And today I read that the Labour Party has officially declared that the world is in the midst of a "climate emergency." It seems that the 14 year old Greta Thunberg from Sweden was so convincing that it was going on; dear Greta actually skipped some school to drive home her point! She pointed out that in school they were shown pictures of starving polar bears! If that is not evidence that should awaken all nations, even those thousands of miles away, well, there probably just isn't any.
It seems that Greta wasn't told that all polar bears die of starvation. If you are the apex predator you live very nicely until you can't eat anymore. But, no, it must be due to too many cars on the M5 freeway. So the Labour party will want to get right on this and do what governments do when confronted with an emergency, and that is of course to raise taxes and restrict freedoms.
I don't know what the area of the UK is to that of the world. I do know that the US area is about one percent of the earth's surface. I suspect that the UK area is a bit smaller, it is not 4000 miles across for example. How much emergency will be averted by any action of the UK? Even if we were to scrape the UK free of all human beings, could we even measure the difference? I don't think so... But seeing that we haven't measured any emergency yet, it's kind of a mute point...
Oh and in this dangerously warming world, we are expecting snow this week in Chicago... And we are expecting maybe 8 inches. I lived there for 30 years and I don't think I saw snow in late April. I just checked and it seems that the last time it snowed over an inch was in 1940. There were some in May 1966, less than an inch, so it was in my time line, but not in my memory.
Here's my prediction in re climate: the next choke point of the human race is the next ice age, not some run away warming that is the current rage. Might see it in the next 30 years too. There are some Russian scientists that are expounding on this point.
Ok, that's about all for this post. Lot's of exciting things going on. I'm looking forward to the Democratic primaries; lots of excitement there!
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Second Best Round Ever!
There were inklings out there... On Monday I shot one under for the back nine at Las Positas. That was rare. There were some miracle pars in there to make it happen. Hate to rely on that sort of thing.
Today I was applying some technique that I saw on Instagram. The video was shot from behind a player and on his downswing he dropped his hands right back where they started and continued to rotate his body to finish the shot. So no attempt to fling the arms or flip the wrists or much of anything else.
Hmm, I can do that and I don't think that is what I do for the most part. I'm used to slowing the body to allow the arms to swing out and hit the ball. However it looks from the clip that the arms are going to get to the ball without any help! And in practice it works and works well.
I shot a one over front nine with one birdie and a three putt. I was hitting the ball close and 15 feet was a long putt. Only missed a couple of greens and couldn't get it up and down once. I exploded out of a bunker and the ball leaped to land.
On the back nine I continued to hit the ball very solidly and rack up easy pars. There were some miracle ones too. Let me discuss 13, a 550 yard par 5. I hook the drive under a tree. Bang it out from there almost on the driving range. I punch out with a 7 iron and almost hit a tree and bounce through a sand trap. Then off a down hill lie I hit a pitching wedge to 15 feet and make a fast left to right slider, which if it hadn't gone in would have been 6 feet past the hole. Ted looked up and said with a touch of irony, "Nice Par!"
I couldn't get it up and down from a fairway bunker on 14, but then chipped in for birdie on 15, made a 5 footer for birdie on 16 and putted from the fringe, it dropped, for birdie on 17. On 18 I had a 20 footer for the fourth birdie in a row. Hit a great putt, but left it on the low side. It remained as a tap in for a one under 71. Second time under par for 18. All of 10 putts for the back nine -- Ted is my statistician and putts from off the green are not putts in his world view.
The swing is simpler with what I am trying to do. The distances are good and possibly a bit better. The sound of the club on the ball is different and inspirational.
Off to Wente tomorrow, hope it lasts!
Today I was applying some technique that I saw on Instagram. The video was shot from behind a player and on his downswing he dropped his hands right back where they started and continued to rotate his body to finish the shot. So no attempt to fling the arms or flip the wrists or much of anything else.
Hmm, I can do that and I don't think that is what I do for the most part. I'm used to slowing the body to allow the arms to swing out and hit the ball. However it looks from the clip that the arms are going to get to the ball without any help! And in practice it works and works well.
I shot a one over front nine with one birdie and a three putt. I was hitting the ball close and 15 feet was a long putt. Only missed a couple of greens and couldn't get it up and down once. I exploded out of a bunker and the ball leaped to land.
On the back nine I continued to hit the ball very solidly and rack up easy pars. There were some miracle ones too. Let me discuss 13, a 550 yard par 5. I hook the drive under a tree. Bang it out from there almost on the driving range. I punch out with a 7 iron and almost hit a tree and bounce through a sand trap. Then off a down hill lie I hit a pitching wedge to 15 feet and make a fast left to right slider, which if it hadn't gone in would have been 6 feet past the hole. Ted looked up and said with a touch of irony, "Nice Par!"
I couldn't get it up and down from a fairway bunker on 14, but then chipped in for birdie on 15, made a 5 footer for birdie on 16 and putted from the fringe, it dropped, for birdie on 17. On 18 I had a 20 footer for the fourth birdie in a row. Hit a great putt, but left it on the low side. It remained as a tap in for a one under 71. Second time under par for 18. All of 10 putts for the back nine -- Ted is my statistician and putts from off the green are not putts in his world view.
The swing is simpler with what I am trying to do. The distances are good and possibly a bit better. The sound of the club on the ball is different and inspirational.
Off to Wente tomorrow, hope it lasts!
Pickleball!
I'm not sure I've mentioned it in past posts, but I, for a forgotten reason, found the sport of pickleball.
The big problem I thought, was finding a court. But after that hurdle was solved, I found that finding someone to play with was the real problem. I approached Dave, with whom I used to work and we got out yesterday afternoon to bat it around. That was after 5 months of looking for a player!
PB uses a wiffle ball and is played on a court about 1/4 the size of a tennis court. Basically it is tennis for people who don't like to run anymore. Frequently there are doubles, which makes the running even less of an issue. The ball doesn't bounce much, so there was the tendency to be too far away from it due to expecting a tennis like bounce.
Also as the ball has little mass, you have to really bang it to get back over the net. But the lightness of the ball allows you hit some interesting back hand slap shots that wouldn't work with a tennis ball. The ball will curve and spin seems to useful to modify the bounce of the ball. Drop shots might be a big part of the game.
So Dave and I slapped it around and even had a few rallies. After an hour we were tuckered out and wheezing for breath. There is some running involved!
I've been told that pickleball is world's fastest growing sport. An interesting thing to say, but how would they know? World's hottest April! Oh, really? Well maybe since 1850 and even then you might wonder about methods of measurement and error bars. I'll be kind and call that marketing. But it seems like a nice sport and worth the modest investment in bats and balls. Dave and I have plans to get out again.
The big problem I thought, was finding a court. But after that hurdle was solved, I found that finding someone to play with was the real problem. I approached Dave, with whom I used to work and we got out yesterday afternoon to bat it around. That was after 5 months of looking for a player!
PB uses a wiffle ball and is played on a court about 1/4 the size of a tennis court. Basically it is tennis for people who don't like to run anymore. Frequently there are doubles, which makes the running even less of an issue. The ball doesn't bounce much, so there was the tendency to be too far away from it due to expecting a tennis like bounce.
Also as the ball has little mass, you have to really bang it to get back over the net. But the lightness of the ball allows you hit some interesting back hand slap shots that wouldn't work with a tennis ball. The ball will curve and spin seems to useful to modify the bounce of the ball. Drop shots might be a big part of the game.
So Dave and I slapped it around and even had a few rallies. After an hour we were tuckered out and wheezing for breath. There is some running involved!
I've been told that pickleball is world's fastest growing sport. An interesting thing to say, but how would they know? World's hottest April! Oh, really? Well maybe since 1850 and even then you might wonder about methods of measurement and error bars. I'll be kind and call that marketing. But it seems like a nice sport and worth the modest investment in bats and balls. Dave and I have plans to get out again.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Changes and the Masters
The majors have started for this year. This is always a good thing as it heralds in the better weather and watching the Masters in high def with my hand on the remote, to avoid commercials and interviews, is a pleasure. What I'd really like to have is a way to selectively mute certain announcers. The Jim Nances of golf are driving me to three putt.
I cautioned Barb that it was Masters weekend and that I might be fairly busy. It is, as it happens, also a busy quilting weekend -- no conflicts!
I don't remember ever watching the Masters with my dad. I do remember watching a few British Opens with him. We always found the gorse and heather and guys having to hack out of trouble to be most interesting. The scenery and Henry Longhurst added to the shows. This is one of the things about golf that have stuck with me over the years. I have gotten up very early to watch the Open before we had recorders and such. I'd be wrapped in a blanket, trying to stay awake, and looking into a small tv.
I played with the gang on Thursday and Sonny had some things to say about my swing. It seems that I have three different swings based on which club I'm using. I believe this for a couple of reasons. The amount of yardage I get out of the clubs declines as I hit the longer ones. My short irons are long and long irons are short. Clearly there were differences going on.
Sonny had suggestions and I'm working to incorporate them. I'm trying to be more discipined in re my back swing and shoulder turning. Sonny also pushed for a different backswing position where it feels to me like I'm getting behind my right leg when I take it back. It feels that I'm about 30 degrees off of being perpendicular to the target line. But when I swing down from there, it keeps me from going both left and right.
I played today and tried to follow Sonny's advice. I think that I'm doing a lot of it. I hit irons very, very well. The driver was still erratic, but the misses were better than my usual misses. It looks like distance is up for all the clubs. Shots are going higher too.
I'll keep working on the changes. Sonny and I have some tentative plans to get together and pursue the new swing further.
The curious thing about golf swing "changes" is that when I look for the new positions or motions I can see the pros doing them. But until I knew what to look for, I never saw them. I always wonder what else I can't see. The physical aspects of the golf swing ought to be fairly simple, I would think. I also believe that maybe it isn't and all the guys and gals who hit it "pro" length figured how to do it and taught themselves. They may not know how they do it, but they can do it. All of this is of great interest to me, but frustrating when I can't seem to get things to improve.
Ok, that's all for now, enjoy the Masters!
I cautioned Barb that it was Masters weekend and that I might be fairly busy. It is, as it happens, also a busy quilting weekend -- no conflicts!
I don't remember ever watching the Masters with my dad. I do remember watching a few British Opens with him. We always found the gorse and heather and guys having to hack out of trouble to be most interesting. The scenery and Henry Longhurst added to the shows. This is one of the things about golf that have stuck with me over the years. I have gotten up very early to watch the Open before we had recorders and such. I'd be wrapped in a blanket, trying to stay awake, and looking into a small tv.
I played with the gang on Thursday and Sonny had some things to say about my swing. It seems that I have three different swings based on which club I'm using. I believe this for a couple of reasons. The amount of yardage I get out of the clubs declines as I hit the longer ones. My short irons are long and long irons are short. Clearly there were differences going on.
Sonny had suggestions and I'm working to incorporate them. I'm trying to be more discipined in re my back swing and shoulder turning. Sonny also pushed for a different backswing position where it feels to me like I'm getting behind my right leg when I take it back. It feels that I'm about 30 degrees off of being perpendicular to the target line. But when I swing down from there, it keeps me from going both left and right.
I played today and tried to follow Sonny's advice. I think that I'm doing a lot of it. I hit irons very, very well. The driver was still erratic, but the misses were better than my usual misses. It looks like distance is up for all the clubs. Shots are going higher too.
I'll keep working on the changes. Sonny and I have some tentative plans to get together and pursue the new swing further.
The curious thing about golf swing "changes" is that when I look for the new positions or motions I can see the pros doing them. But until I knew what to look for, I never saw them. I always wonder what else I can't see. The physical aspects of the golf swing ought to be fairly simple, I would think. I also believe that maybe it isn't and all the guys and gals who hit it "pro" length figured how to do it and taught themselves. They may not know how they do it, but they can do it. All of this is of great interest to me, but frustrating when I can't seem to get things to improve.
Ok, that's all for now, enjoy the Masters!
Sunday, April 7, 2019
What I Learned at the Range Today
There were a couple of things I wanted to explore today. One was proper posture, the second was the right wrist position on the down swing, and I also wanted to look at club head speed.
It looks like my normal posture is pretty good and I didn't find that I was rounding my back too much. So, I'm going to ignore that issue for the time being.
There is a YouTube group called Athletic Motion Golf who explores the minutia of the golf swing. They have pros and amateurs alike and explore the differences in the swings between the two groups. A recent video discussed the right wrist actions which they have found should be a position to cause the right palm to face towards the ground during the latter portion of the downswing. This seemed strange to me. I would have thought that the palm would have faced parallel to the ground during this portion of the swing.
Well, live and learn! It works quite well that the right palm is facing ground ward. This seems to allow the hands to work together well. I was happy with ball contact. It also seems to allow me to move the grip towards the left as it comes across the body. I think that's needed to make room for the club to finish its path.
Finally I was curious about club head speed. I have a radar meter that tells me this. It came from Santa, thanks Barb! These data were interesting too. The slower I swung the faster the club seemed to go. Now, this meter is not calibrated and maybe not accurate, but as long as it is consistent, then I can pull useful information from it. I also found that my club head speed was faster with the four wood than the driver. I do hit the four wood quite well and the driver is the worst of my clubs, so this is maybe not a wild surprise, but it was unexpected.
So for the round tomorrow: continue to keep the right palm facing down, and swing slower! I watched the Texas Open today and the pros seem to take the club back more slowly than I do. Emulate, emulate, emulate!
It looks like my normal posture is pretty good and I didn't find that I was rounding my back too much. So, I'm going to ignore that issue for the time being.
There is a YouTube group called Athletic Motion Golf who explores the minutia of the golf swing. They have pros and amateurs alike and explore the differences in the swings between the two groups. A recent video discussed the right wrist actions which they have found should be a position to cause the right palm to face towards the ground during the latter portion of the downswing. This seemed strange to me. I would have thought that the palm would have faced parallel to the ground during this portion of the swing.
Well, live and learn! It works quite well that the right palm is facing ground ward. This seems to allow the hands to work together well. I was happy with ball contact. It also seems to allow me to move the grip towards the left as it comes across the body. I think that's needed to make room for the club to finish its path.
Finally I was curious about club head speed. I have a radar meter that tells me this. It came from Santa, thanks Barb! These data were interesting too. The slower I swung the faster the club seemed to go. Now, this meter is not calibrated and maybe not accurate, but as long as it is consistent, then I can pull useful information from it. I also found that my club head speed was faster with the four wood than the driver. I do hit the four wood quite well and the driver is the worst of my clubs, so this is maybe not a wild surprise, but it was unexpected.
So for the round tomorrow: continue to keep the right palm facing down, and swing slower! I watched the Texas Open today and the pros seem to take the club back more slowly than I do. Emulate, emulate, emulate!
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Refinements
The golf I've played in the last week showed some improvement. I play a lot with Sonny, who teaches golf for a living and can play pretty well. He and I trade philosophical and technical thoughts in re golf and the swing.
The current thoughts are about stability and mobility. Trying to hit the ball straight and trying to hit it far may require separate techniques. Stability inhibits changes, but when the sequence of the swing require changes in direction and coiling and wrist hinging and such, it may block what you need to hit the ball properly. Sonny pushes for mobility.
One of the things I'm unsure of is my back position in the swing. I'm watching some videos from a teacher in the UK, Russel Heritage. He lays out the swing nicely. Interestingly he almost talks too fast for me. He does speak well, with few verbal stutters, so is nice to listen to.
Russel wants a back bend from the hips and not a rounding of the back. The reason for this is for the back and pelvis to be in a positon to easily rotate. If the back is not straight, then you are going to have to move the pelvis up and down to compensate for this. I also hope that being able to more easily rotate will inhibit my tendency to slide towards the ball. I do get back pain after a round. It rarely hurts when playing. When I can stay in a good position it feels that it's being strained less. That can't be a bad thing for the long term.
Well, a trip to the range ought to answer the posture question.
One of the other things I've been doing that have helped is the image of the swing as being an unwinding. This keeps me from trying to slam arms down and hit the ball. I now am more able to stay behind and let the arms come around, then the club swings out and into the ball. Distance has been good and direction, very good. I'm even able to do it with the driver on occasion!
The current thoughts are about stability and mobility. Trying to hit the ball straight and trying to hit it far may require separate techniques. Stability inhibits changes, but when the sequence of the swing require changes in direction and coiling and wrist hinging and such, it may block what you need to hit the ball properly. Sonny pushes for mobility.
One of the things I'm unsure of is my back position in the swing. I'm watching some videos from a teacher in the UK, Russel Heritage. He lays out the swing nicely. Interestingly he almost talks too fast for me. He does speak well, with few verbal stutters, so is nice to listen to.
Russel wants a back bend from the hips and not a rounding of the back. The reason for this is for the back and pelvis to be in a positon to easily rotate. If the back is not straight, then you are going to have to move the pelvis up and down to compensate for this. I also hope that being able to more easily rotate will inhibit my tendency to slide towards the ball. I do get back pain after a round. It rarely hurts when playing. When I can stay in a good position it feels that it's being strained less. That can't be a bad thing for the long term.
Well, a trip to the range ought to answer the posture question.
One of the other things I've been doing that have helped is the image of the swing as being an unwinding. This keeps me from trying to slam arms down and hit the ball. I now am more able to stay behind and let the arms come around, then the club swings out and into the ball. Distance has been good and direction, very good. I'm even able to do it with the driver on occasion!
Friday, April 5, 2019
Is it coming together?
It was a wonderful day on empty links. Rich II, John, and myself braved the atmospheric floods to get out and tempt the golf gods.
We managed the front nine dry, but spent the tenth through the 17th with a persistent light rain. Rain gear was out and on, umbrellas were raised, and my Goretex hat was busy keeping my head warm and dry.
This part of California glows in green this time of the year with enough rain. Couple that with like minded golfers and a course that, except for our group, contained only one other golfer. I think of this kind of round to be magical. It repeats my first exposure to golf when I was young and out with my dad and grandpa during a vacation. Mowed fairways leading to tucked greens with no waiting between shots, it will never be better than this.
And, and, I hit the ball more consistently than I ever have. I enjoyed the ability to move the ball around the course and play golf with so few errors that it transformed the game from one of hope to one of strategy.
I didn't hit every shot perfectly, but with the exception of maybe five shots, I would seek no "do overs."
We started dry, ended dry and then went off to a cheap lunch at the local big box store; some pizza, diet cola and then home for a much deserved nap!
We managed the front nine dry, but spent the tenth through the 17th with a persistent light rain. Rain gear was out and on, umbrellas were raised, and my Goretex hat was busy keeping my head warm and dry.
This part of California glows in green this time of the year with enough rain. Couple that with like minded golfers and a course that, except for our group, contained only one other golfer. I think of this kind of round to be magical. It repeats my first exposure to golf when I was young and out with my dad and grandpa during a vacation. Mowed fairways leading to tucked greens with no waiting between shots, it will never be better than this.
And, and, I hit the ball more consistently than I ever have. I enjoyed the ability to move the ball around the course and play golf with so few errors that it transformed the game from one of hope to one of strategy.
I didn't hit every shot perfectly, but with the exception of maybe five shots, I would seek no "do overs."
We started dry, ended dry and then went off to a cheap lunch at the local big box store; some pizza, diet cola and then home for a much deserved nap!
Thursday, April 4, 2019
That Time of The Year
And what is meant by the title is that they plug the greens at the courses this time of the year.
The plug holes are not too bad, but they also top dress them with sand and or fertilizer. The sand clings to the ball and you have to clean it before each putt. The fertilizer is animal based and the fragrance is, shall we say, bullish!
The plug holes themselves have the annoying habit of kicking the balls to and fro. You might make the putt or not; it's all in the whims and wills of the gods.
With that in mind, it is not the time of the year to work on putting or to be discouraged by putts that don't get to the hole or veer off like a drunk chicken. It is a reasonable time to work on full swing.
I've played four times this week and have plans for tomorrow. The rains have returned to this part of California. The "Pineapple Express," aka, the atmospheric river is due tomorrow. I've used the hourly rain forecasts this winter. I've never been rained out, but they promised that I would have, and we are talking more than once. Yogi Berra put it, "Prediction is difficult, especially about the future."
I've been very happy with my long game. It continues to evolve as my "knowledge" changes. Sadly, I'm not real sure that what I'm learning is what I need to learn. If I were to take up the game from scratch, I would go to a golf camp for a week or two and make sure I knew what I wanted to do. Maybe not know how to do it, but at least have the proper swing goals.
I've said before that the discovery and experimentation is part of the attraction to me. Like learning a few words of the local language when traveling.
I had a couple of birdies today at Wente, which is the difficult course in my two course rotation. We've started to play from the shorter tees, which suits my game and most of the others' too. We don't hit the ball real far and when the holes are too long it turns all holes into pitching and putting contests. A little of that is entertaining, but not being able to play like the pros is a bit discouraging.
There is more to the enjoyment of golf than playing well or scoring well. The scenery around Wente is wonderful. You play through a couple of valleys and this time of the year the hills are as green as any in Ireland. The Turkey Vultures, quail, jackrabbits, and the odd bobcat scamper the course. While the scenery is not as good as Wente, the local muni is a great walk. Wente requires carts due to the steepness and length of the course. Las Positas is great for walking; there is not a lot of elevation change and the greens and tees are not very far apart. It feels good to walk the fairways and contemplate the game and chat with the fellow golfers.
I'm still working on the usual things. Mostly the longer clubs. I've been getting better with them. Perhaps more by swinging less aggressively than any technical issues. If I swing with more control and less angst about distance, I am able to control my slide with the driver and everything gets better.
I had a nice front nine on Wednesday, with a short putt for a one under 35. But the ball dove and ducked and was not going to go in. Please see notes about the greens above! It was a fun round of being able to control the ball.
So another round tomorrow. I'm still looking forward to getting out and playing, walking, hanging with boys.
A shout out to Jimmy, who turned 90 the other day. He is mentioned in a previous post or two. A good chap and fun to be with. He has stories that cross oceans and decades.
The plug holes are not too bad, but they also top dress them with sand and or fertilizer. The sand clings to the ball and you have to clean it before each putt. The fertilizer is animal based and the fragrance is, shall we say, bullish!
The plug holes themselves have the annoying habit of kicking the balls to and fro. You might make the putt or not; it's all in the whims and wills of the gods.
With that in mind, it is not the time of the year to work on putting or to be discouraged by putts that don't get to the hole or veer off like a drunk chicken. It is a reasonable time to work on full swing.
I've played four times this week and have plans for tomorrow. The rains have returned to this part of California. The "Pineapple Express," aka, the atmospheric river is due tomorrow. I've used the hourly rain forecasts this winter. I've never been rained out, but they promised that I would have, and we are talking more than once. Yogi Berra put it, "Prediction is difficult, especially about the future."
I've been very happy with my long game. It continues to evolve as my "knowledge" changes. Sadly, I'm not real sure that what I'm learning is what I need to learn. If I were to take up the game from scratch, I would go to a golf camp for a week or two and make sure I knew what I wanted to do. Maybe not know how to do it, but at least have the proper swing goals.
I've said before that the discovery and experimentation is part of the attraction to me. Like learning a few words of the local language when traveling.
I had a couple of birdies today at Wente, which is the difficult course in my two course rotation. We've started to play from the shorter tees, which suits my game and most of the others' too. We don't hit the ball real far and when the holes are too long it turns all holes into pitching and putting contests. A little of that is entertaining, but not being able to play like the pros is a bit discouraging.
There is more to the enjoyment of golf than playing well or scoring well. The scenery around Wente is wonderful. You play through a couple of valleys and this time of the year the hills are as green as any in Ireland. The Turkey Vultures, quail, jackrabbits, and the odd bobcat scamper the course. While the scenery is not as good as Wente, the local muni is a great walk. Wente requires carts due to the steepness and length of the course. Las Positas is great for walking; there is not a lot of elevation change and the greens and tees are not very far apart. It feels good to walk the fairways and contemplate the game and chat with the fellow golfers.
I'm still working on the usual things. Mostly the longer clubs. I've been getting better with them. Perhaps more by swinging less aggressively than any technical issues. If I swing with more control and less angst about distance, I am able to control my slide with the driver and everything gets better.
I had a nice front nine on Wednesday, with a short putt for a one under 35. But the ball dove and ducked and was not going to go in. Please see notes about the greens above! It was a fun round of being able to control the ball.
So another round tomorrow. I'm still looking forward to getting out and playing, walking, hanging with boys.
A shout out to Jimmy, who turned 90 the other day. He is mentioned in a previous post or two. A good chap and fun to be with. He has stories that cross oceans and decades.
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