As the regular readers will note, the driver has been an ongoing problem. On Wednesday last Sonny remarks that I'm flipping the driver! Really? (A flip is when the club head reaches the ball before the arms and hands get there. Ideally the arms and hands will stay ahead of the club throughout the down swing.)
I mention this to Walt, another pro, from whom I've had a lesson or two. "Yes, you've always had a small flip with the driver." Well, I've known Walt for 10 years or so and this is the first I've hear of this! What else hasn't he told me?
So it seems that I just have to flip the "no flip" switch and we are off to the Senior US Open. Yes, well, it's never that easy.
The question that has to be resolved is the flip is the cause or if there is some other problem which requires the flip to get the club head on the ball?
There are two main errors that require the flip for rescue purposes. The first is an overly active lower body that leaves the upper body too far behind the ball. The flip is needed to get the club forward enough to compensate for the upper body being too far behind the hitting position. The second is when the upper body has gone too far forward before the hit and the flip gets the club down to the ball to compensate for the wrong position, this time too forward.
Basically if the upper body is where it should be when the club comes down, there is probably no way to flip. Certainly the reactive mind will not call up the flip as a needed action.
So Thursday I'm at the range and determined not to flip. I'm going to make sure the arms and hands are leading and even if it feels like I'm leading too far I'm going to do it. I play with this at the chipping area, because if it works at speed it ought to work with a short pitch. And it does. The strikes are solid more often. It feels good and it feels like the swing is getting more efficient. A couple of guys watching me chip give me a thumbs up and nods of appreciation to impressive ball action.
Off to the hitting area for some full length shots. I start with a nine iron to warm up. It's going well. I move to the six iron and it too is no problem. The strikes are solid and the ball has a high trajectory more so than usual. Four wood is next and I'm getting happier. Then of course a migraine kicks in. Pretty soon I have a blind spot with shimmers that preclude seeing the ball with both eyes. Time to dig for medicine and head for home...
It's now Saturday and I've looked up the flipping causes and I'm not convinced that just holding the hands is going to solve the driver issue. I swing a bit in the backyard and notice that it's very easy for me to take the driver back without much of a shoulder turn. Ho, ho... Am I on to something? I think so, as I've noticed a too short, too quick driver swing on the course. If I don't turn the shoulders, then it probably causes me to get the upper body too far in front of the swing and then I'll need to flip.
The current theory is that is what is happening. Barb is doing some sewing things this afternoon and I think I can get away and do some testing...
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
The Match
Ted and I went out to play today. He sent a text last night: "My index is 21.4, let's have a match. How many strokes do I get?"
We teed off at 7:15 to beat the ladies group. "I'll give you a stroke a hole and we'll play for honor and glory," I said.
"I'll take all I can get."
Off we go. Ted hits his first shot into the trees, I smash one straight up the fairway. The game was on.
Now, giving up a stroke a hole makes it a bit difficult to win a hole. But I managed to shoot an even par 36 on the front. I had to hit the pin from 160 yards on the ninth hole for a gimme birdie to do it, but it got done. Actually a very solid round with seven pars to go with a lone bogey and the birdie.
On the 12th tee, Ted looks at me. "You're playing differently when there is something at stake."
"You wanted to see the competitive Mr. Hume, and now you've unleashed him a bit. Take care he does not fully awaken mortal," I reply calmly and crush a four wood up the center of the fairway.
The first nine put me three up going onto the back. I start with three pars, but Ted is hanging in there with bogeys to split the holes. Then I top a drive on the long 13th and we both bogey. Ted wins the hole with his stroke. The same happens on the 14th when I'm short of the green and pitch short and miss the putt. Then I'm on the 15th in regulation, Ted is short. He pitches to 12 feet. I roll the birdie putt to two inches, which Ted concedes. He then proceeds to knock in the 12 footer for his par and another winning hole.
On to the 16th. I finally hit a drive, it feels like it's been years, and I've a 150 yard shot into a back pin and some wind. I crank the trusty 6 iron and it looks like I'm stiff. Ted has been on a bit of an adventure, and he needs to get his third shot on the green. But he pushes the ball and it rolls through a bunker and is hanging on the far lip. He stands in the bunker, chokes up on the club onto the metal shaft and hits very nice chip onto the green. My shot is not stiff and I have 10 feet for a birdie. I miss it right, but Ted misses his bogey putt and I'm two up with two to play. Dormie!
We both par the 17th, which is a win for Ted and I'm one up with the long 18th in front of us. Well, I can't lose the match, worst case is we tie. So the handicapping is pretty fair.
I hit another good drive down the middle with bit of hook. Did I mention the hole moves left to right? It does and the drive splits the fairway. Ted heads for the trees to the right. He hits his next shot along the cart path and he's still a bit behind. His third crosses the fairway and our balls are about the same distance to the green. I pull out the four wood and aim over the fairway bunker down by the corner of the dogleg. Did I mention the hole has two dog legs? I don't get all of it, but it carries far enough and bounds like young kitten and I'm past the trap and into the fairway.
I knock my third shot onto the green and I've got 15 feet for a birdie. Ted hits short and has to pitch up. If you've been counting, he's well out of the hole at this point. Yes, winning by two! All of the honor and glory are mine! Life is good.
It's been a good day with company, pace, and reasonable play all coming together. I had a frozen yogurt to celebrate.
We teed off at 7:15 to beat the ladies group. "I'll give you a stroke a hole and we'll play for honor and glory," I said.
"I'll take all I can get."
Off we go. Ted hits his first shot into the trees, I smash one straight up the fairway. The game was on.
Now, giving up a stroke a hole makes it a bit difficult to win a hole. But I managed to shoot an even par 36 on the front. I had to hit the pin from 160 yards on the ninth hole for a gimme birdie to do it, but it got done. Actually a very solid round with seven pars to go with a lone bogey and the birdie.
On the 12th tee, Ted looks at me. "You're playing differently when there is something at stake."
"You wanted to see the competitive Mr. Hume, and now you've unleashed him a bit. Take care he does not fully awaken mortal," I reply calmly and crush a four wood up the center of the fairway.
The first nine put me three up going onto the back. I start with three pars, but Ted is hanging in there with bogeys to split the holes. Then I top a drive on the long 13th and we both bogey. Ted wins the hole with his stroke. The same happens on the 14th when I'm short of the green and pitch short and miss the putt. Then I'm on the 15th in regulation, Ted is short. He pitches to 12 feet. I roll the birdie putt to two inches, which Ted concedes. He then proceeds to knock in the 12 footer for his par and another winning hole.
On to the 16th. I finally hit a drive, it feels like it's been years, and I've a 150 yard shot into a back pin and some wind. I crank the trusty 6 iron and it looks like I'm stiff. Ted has been on a bit of an adventure, and he needs to get his third shot on the green. But he pushes the ball and it rolls through a bunker and is hanging on the far lip. He stands in the bunker, chokes up on the club onto the metal shaft and hits very nice chip onto the green. My shot is not stiff and I have 10 feet for a birdie. I miss it right, but Ted misses his bogey putt and I'm two up with two to play. Dormie!
We both par the 17th, which is a win for Ted and I'm one up with the long 18th in front of us. Well, I can't lose the match, worst case is we tie. So the handicapping is pretty fair.
I hit another good drive down the middle with bit of hook. Did I mention the hole moves left to right? It does and the drive splits the fairway. Ted heads for the trees to the right. He hits his next shot along the cart path and he's still a bit behind. His third crosses the fairway and our balls are about the same distance to the green. I pull out the four wood and aim over the fairway bunker down by the corner of the dogleg. Did I mention the hole has two dog legs? I don't get all of it, but it carries far enough and bounds like young kitten and I'm past the trap and into the fairway.
I knock my third shot onto the green and I've got 15 feet for a birdie. Ted hits short and has to pitch up. If you've been counting, he's well out of the hole at this point. Yes, winning by two! All of the honor and glory are mine! Life is good.
It's been a good day with company, pace, and reasonable play all coming together. I had a frozen yogurt to celebrate.
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Catching Up
There are a couple of topics to deal with, probably worth more than one post.
Sonny has passed on some tournament information, but not enough to spin a story. I've sent him some questions, but I probably need to sit down and interview him. But stay tuned for an "inside the ropes" report.
The very good players always look like they are not trying to hit the ball or swing very hard. During my last two range sessions I've been trying to emulate that. I've simplified what I am trying to do and it now boils down to a shoulder turn going back, with the wrists cocking and then turn back. I'm trying to turn back with the speed I use for my nine iron. This is working quite well at the range. I'm staying in position better and I have no complaints about the ball reaction. No back issues, and my balance is good.
My nine iron has a worn spot right in the middle, right where you want it. But my 56 degree wedge has its mark much closer to the hosel. Sonny thinks that's because the club is too upright in its lie. I think the club is probably a flatter lie than the nine iron, and I am dubious the lie would cause this size of shift. What I think is happening is that I don't release the club and have to shove it out to the ball to get the strike. When I let the wrist unhinge about 45 degrees from the ball, the club walks out to the ball, the hands stay closer to the body and the strikes started to move out to the center of the club. There is some gain in distance too.
I also have some wear marks on my grips. One might conclude from this that the club and my hands are looking to go in different directions. The question is who is on the right path? My current theory is that this mismatch is part of the club release issue. If I let the club go earlier, it and my hands will be more in sync towards the path to the ball.
Finally, the current golf theory is that you don't want your arms to run past your body turn on the the backswing. So shoulders stop rotating, then the arms stop too. I've never really paid any attention to this, but it seems doable and makes the swing feel shorter and more controlled. There seems to be no loss of distance.
So perhaps I have resolved a number of long term issues this weekend. There is a lot of changes to be explored and incorporated. I'm, as always, optimistic that it's going to get better. Not that's the swing is particularly bad, mind you.
On the pickleball front, we have started to play some mini-games. We also had our first PB injury. Steve, trying to be less competitive than he used to be, still managed to damage a calf or knee. He heard a pop, then decided he was done for the day. Went home and iced it. He had a three day golf tournament the next day and with the help of a brace managed to play. Last I heard he and his partner were in the money and leading their flight.
Leather working: I made a bill fold, well, sort of a money holder. I cut it out and glued and sewed and then found it was too small. I was unsure about how much workable room I would have inside of it, so this result was not unexpected. It was just two pieces of leather and it turned out that there was little room near the stitches. I measured out a new one, allowing 1/2 inch margin from the stitches. It's being glued up until tomorrow. I then soaked the first one with water and I will try and stretch it a bit.
I think that's all that's going on. Stay tuned for more exciting news in the coming week!
Sonny has passed on some tournament information, but not enough to spin a story. I've sent him some questions, but I probably need to sit down and interview him. But stay tuned for an "inside the ropes" report.
The very good players always look like they are not trying to hit the ball or swing very hard. During my last two range sessions I've been trying to emulate that. I've simplified what I am trying to do and it now boils down to a shoulder turn going back, with the wrists cocking and then turn back. I'm trying to turn back with the speed I use for my nine iron. This is working quite well at the range. I'm staying in position better and I have no complaints about the ball reaction. No back issues, and my balance is good.
My nine iron has a worn spot right in the middle, right where you want it. But my 56 degree wedge has its mark much closer to the hosel. Sonny thinks that's because the club is too upright in its lie. I think the club is probably a flatter lie than the nine iron, and I am dubious the lie would cause this size of shift. What I think is happening is that I don't release the club and have to shove it out to the ball to get the strike. When I let the wrist unhinge about 45 degrees from the ball, the club walks out to the ball, the hands stay closer to the body and the strikes started to move out to the center of the club. There is some gain in distance too.
I also have some wear marks on my grips. One might conclude from this that the club and my hands are looking to go in different directions. The question is who is on the right path? My current theory is that this mismatch is part of the club release issue. If I let the club go earlier, it and my hands will be more in sync towards the path to the ball.
Finally, the current golf theory is that you don't want your arms to run past your body turn on the the backswing. So shoulders stop rotating, then the arms stop too. I've never really paid any attention to this, but it seems doable and makes the swing feel shorter and more controlled. There seems to be no loss of distance.
So perhaps I have resolved a number of long term issues this weekend. There is a lot of changes to be explored and incorporated. I'm, as always, optimistic that it's going to get better. Not that's the swing is particularly bad, mind you.
On the pickleball front, we have started to play some mini-games. We also had our first PB injury. Steve, trying to be less competitive than he used to be, still managed to damage a calf or knee. He heard a pop, then decided he was done for the day. Went home and iced it. He had a three day golf tournament the next day and with the help of a brace managed to play. Last I heard he and his partner were in the money and leading their flight.
Leather working: I made a bill fold, well, sort of a money holder. I cut it out and glued and sewed and then found it was too small. I was unsure about how much workable room I would have inside of it, so this result was not unexpected. It was just two pieces of leather and it turned out that there was little room near the stitches. I measured out a new one, allowing 1/2 inch margin from the stitches. It's being glued up until tomorrow. I then soaked the first one with water and I will try and stretch it a bit.
I think that's all that's going on. Stay tuned for more exciting news in the coming week!
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Pickleball as a Sport
I should talk a bit about pickleball (pb).
Rich II, a fellow golfer and frequent visitor to these posts, has taken up the game, as well as Steve, also a golfer. Then there is Dave and Mike, who don't golf, but hang out at the dog park together. Note that they have dogs, it's that they are dog lurkers.
Steve is a good golfer and has played a number of the racket sports before. He took to pb quite quickly and it didn't take him long to adjust to the ball and paddles. He made a comment in re pb that reserves to be passed on. The comment was, "This game has a nice speed."
Yes, I would agree with that. When they designed the game they did a good job. It doesn't require too much running, or much strength, nor agility. It does require a bit of all of those, but not much. The balls bounce ok, but not too high.
The court is about 1/4 the size of a tennis court and the areas behind the baselines is not real deep. You get away with this due to the lack of bounce of the ball. The also created an area from which you cannot volley the ball. This is named the kitchen. You can volley but you can't be in or fall into the kitchen in doing so. Also if you are serving, you can't volley the return of service. Serves are done underhanded. All of this is to slow the game down a bit.
Now what you can do is to volley a ball that is hanging over the kitchen, but you have leap to the side of the court. This is known as an "Ernie." I'm not sure who Ernie was, but his fame, small though it maybe, will live on.
Finally let me touch on the paddles. The current state of the art are a honeycomb composite with graphite or aluminum or various plastics. They are about the size of a racketball paddle. And they provide a very nice sound when the ball is hit near the middle of the paddle. Ben Hogan talked about the "unmistakable click of a ball well hit." If you are as good a golfer as I am, you don't hear that sweet sound very often. But even us beginning pb players hear it quite often. It's nice and the ball paddle interaction has a nice feel.
We've been playing pb on Tuesday and Thursdays for an hour. Then we kind of wilt. Sweat soaked and wobbly of leg, we seek the shade and a slug or two of water. It's been a nice variation on golf. It's an excellent full body work out. Rich II was so taken with the game he went and got himself a paddle. He found an old Davis tennis racket cover for protection. I used to have a Davis racket and the cover brought back a few memories.
We had the courts to ourselves for a few weeks, but then others showed up! They play indoors during the Winter and move outside during the fair weather. They have a machine that will lob balls for them, they have a leaf blower to clear the courts and they have buckets of balls. Big buckets. We have 12 balls between all of us. They have 20 gallons of balls.
One of them played a game with us and learned us a bit about the rules. They are friendly and complimentary. Bonding on the pickleball court!
Rich II, a fellow golfer and frequent visitor to these posts, has taken up the game, as well as Steve, also a golfer. Then there is Dave and Mike, who don't golf, but hang out at the dog park together. Note that they have dogs, it's that they are dog lurkers.
Steve is a good golfer and has played a number of the racket sports before. He took to pb quite quickly and it didn't take him long to adjust to the ball and paddles. He made a comment in re pb that reserves to be passed on. The comment was, "This game has a nice speed."
Yes, I would agree with that. When they designed the game they did a good job. It doesn't require too much running, or much strength, nor agility. It does require a bit of all of those, but not much. The balls bounce ok, but not too high.
The court is about 1/4 the size of a tennis court and the areas behind the baselines is not real deep. You get away with this due to the lack of bounce of the ball. The also created an area from which you cannot volley the ball. This is named the kitchen. You can volley but you can't be in or fall into the kitchen in doing so. Also if you are serving, you can't volley the return of service. Serves are done underhanded. All of this is to slow the game down a bit.
Now what you can do is to volley a ball that is hanging over the kitchen, but you have leap to the side of the court. This is known as an "Ernie." I'm not sure who Ernie was, but his fame, small though it maybe, will live on.
Finally let me touch on the paddles. The current state of the art are a honeycomb composite with graphite or aluminum or various plastics. They are about the size of a racketball paddle. And they provide a very nice sound when the ball is hit near the middle of the paddle. Ben Hogan talked about the "unmistakable click of a ball well hit." If you are as good a golfer as I am, you don't hear that sweet sound very often. But even us beginning pb players hear it quite often. It's nice and the ball paddle interaction has a nice feel.
We've been playing pb on Tuesday and Thursdays for an hour. Then we kind of wilt. Sweat soaked and wobbly of leg, we seek the shade and a slug or two of water. It's been a nice variation on golf. It's an excellent full body work out. Rich II was so taken with the game he went and got himself a paddle. He found an old Davis tennis racket cover for protection. I used to have a Davis racket and the cover brought back a few memories.
We had the courts to ourselves for a few weeks, but then others showed up! They play indoors during the Winter and move outside during the fair weather. They have a machine that will lob balls for them, they have a leaf blower to clear the courts and they have buckets of balls. Big buckets. We have 12 balls between all of us. They have 20 gallons of balls.
One of them played a game with us and learned us a bit about the rules. They are friendly and complimentary. Bonding on the pickleball court!
Monday, June 10, 2019
Le Morte d'Gopher
A couple of years ago a gopher lived in the lawn. He built his mounds and probably did more aeration than the lawn puncher guy. Then he was gone and the mounds disappeared with the Winter rains and the lawn went back to just being a lawn.
Then this Spring another gopher arrives. The mounds show up again. All is well, we can live with this one too.
But, but, this guy decides to move a few feet to the south and now there are mounds amongst the rose bushes. Barb's rose bushes. Bushes she has watered and trimmed and encouraged for 20 years. Yes, those roses.
Do gophers eat roses? If they don't we are back to free soil preparation services. Hmm, per Google, yes they do.
War is declared.
We go and get the tools of war. We find a two pack of cute green metal springy traps, highly rated by Amazon buyers. I install the first trap. They have to go into a tunnel. By the way, gopher tunnels are not as easy to find as you might think. Yes, they are under the mound, but as we found out, usually off to the side and pretty well plugged. But they are there and can be found. I set the trap and put it into the tunnel. Then we bury it per instructions.
Will this be it? We will check the next day.
The next day we go back to the tunnel. Is he dead? Is the trap tripped? Oh, and where is the trap? It seems it's gone missing. I get out the metal detector. I find a couple of coins, but no trap.
More research. Apparently it's a good idea to tie a string to the trap and attach the string to a stake. Back to the killing field. Find another tunnel. Set the second trap and insert it. Push the stake into the ground, bury the trap and wait for the next day.
Dawn breaks and the string on the trap still leads placidly into the tunnel entry area. I pull on the string. It comes out of the ground. No trap!
More research. It seems that string is not the thing, wire is recommended as "a gopher will chew through the string with its last breath." Hmm... Last breath? Is it dead? We wait a couple of day and sure enough new mounds show up.
We know more about setting traps, so if we get some more, we might win the war.
I'm at golf on Friday and I've become friendly with the ground crew. I talk to one of the guys who is fixing a loose board on a bridge. He has a commercial gopher trap in his cart. How's that work? I ask. He gives me general training and then... offers me the trap!
The beauty of this trap is that it has a huge metal flange with the trigger mechanism and no gopher is going to run off with it.
I worried as the distance from the trigger is a long way from the catching part. Just how big are these guys? But I set it. We find a fresh hole, insert the trap, cover it up... You know the drill by now.
"We have to pick up the trap in the morning. Young kids walk by and might be attracted to the trap!" This is from Barb -- you'd think she'd be more protective of the roses than some stray young kid. So in the morning before golf I go and look at the trap. It's been sprung.
I grab it and pull it out of its loose burial debris. I'm really expecting the trap to be empty or, worse than that, have a half dead gopher in it. But nope, the guy has been caught. Killed is probably a better word for it. I hope it happened quickly. The gopher is huge. I unload the trap and he falls out into the green waste barrel. Since picked up and off it goes to the central city receiving.
"I wonder if there might be a second gopher," Barb ponders.
Then this Spring another gopher arrives. The mounds show up again. All is well, we can live with this one too.
But, but, this guy decides to move a few feet to the south and now there are mounds amongst the rose bushes. Barb's rose bushes. Bushes she has watered and trimmed and encouraged for 20 years. Yes, those roses.
Do gophers eat roses? If they don't we are back to free soil preparation services. Hmm, per Google, yes they do.
War is declared.
We go and get the tools of war. We find a two pack of cute green metal springy traps, highly rated by Amazon buyers. I install the first trap. They have to go into a tunnel. By the way, gopher tunnels are not as easy to find as you might think. Yes, they are under the mound, but as we found out, usually off to the side and pretty well plugged. But they are there and can be found. I set the trap and put it into the tunnel. Then we bury it per instructions.
Will this be it? We will check the next day.
The next day we go back to the tunnel. Is he dead? Is the trap tripped? Oh, and where is the trap? It seems it's gone missing. I get out the metal detector. I find a couple of coins, but no trap.
More research. Apparently it's a good idea to tie a string to the trap and attach the string to a stake. Back to the killing field. Find another tunnel. Set the second trap and insert it. Push the stake into the ground, bury the trap and wait for the next day.
Dawn breaks and the string on the trap still leads placidly into the tunnel entry area. I pull on the string. It comes out of the ground. No trap!
More research. It seems that string is not the thing, wire is recommended as "a gopher will chew through the string with its last breath." Hmm... Last breath? Is it dead? We wait a couple of day and sure enough new mounds show up.
We know more about setting traps, so if we get some more, we might win the war.
I'm at golf on Friday and I've become friendly with the ground crew. I talk to one of the guys who is fixing a loose board on a bridge. He has a commercial gopher trap in his cart. How's that work? I ask. He gives me general training and then... offers me the trap!
The beauty of this trap is that it has a huge metal flange with the trigger mechanism and no gopher is going to run off with it.
I worried as the distance from the trigger is a long way from the catching part. Just how big are these guys? But I set it. We find a fresh hole, insert the trap, cover it up... You know the drill by now.
"We have to pick up the trap in the morning. Young kids walk by and might be attracted to the trap!" This is from Barb -- you'd think she'd be more protective of the roses than some stray young kid. So in the morning before golf I go and look at the trap. It's been sprung.
I grab it and pull it out of its loose burial debris. I'm really expecting the trap to be empty or, worse than that, have a half dead gopher in it. But nope, the guy has been caught. Killed is probably a better word for it. I hope it happened quickly. The gopher is huge. I unload the trap and he falls out into the green waste barrel. Since picked up and off it goes to the central city receiving.
"I wonder if there might be a second gopher," Barb ponders.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
A Pan At Sea, Eh? Or something like that?
I took my triggers to the course on Friday.
Now what you have to know about golf and shooting as it turns out, is that if it's tough out there for you, it might be the general conditions and it's tough for everyone. I have stories to tell about that, but basically don't give up hope!
To remind my dear reader(s), the triggers were to try to have the heel of the club come into the hitting area and when putting, try to exaggerate the follow through. What the triggers were designed to do was to keep me behind the ball and not trying to help/flip the club to square it up, and with the second trigger, make sure I started the putter on line.
Well, as the title hints, it was no panacea. But as the second paragraph suggests, it might have been a tough day. Golf courses change with the weather and the maintenance crew's labors. No one could make a putt for instance on Friday. On Wednesday everything was dropping. I think the pins were in places where the breaks were subtle.
My tee to green game was better than average. There were some highlights as the 240 yard drive on hole 5 would attest. Normally a difficult hole for me to get too, but Friday it was driver and nine iron. Not driver, chip out then 6 iron. Being long and in the fairway are very useful things...
In re the use of triggers: I think this is quite useful. It seems to work as memory aid and allows me to keep the swing thought active the whole round.
I went to the driving range on Saturday and was swinging very well. The new trigger for that was to make sure to rotate the arms around and not fling the club head. It feels like a slower swing, but the contact was very good, trajectories were very high and the distances were good too.
Should one seek perfection? It's, in my humble opinion, a relative measurement. Perfect for me might be an 80% rate of very good club - ball contact. My distances will never be pro like, but hitting them as squarely seems to be possible.
So I'm going to run with this trigger idea for a while. I think the triggers from last week led to the new one for this week, which suggests progress was made.
Sonny, who has been mentioned in the blogs a couple of times, tried out for the Senior Open -- I'm not sure what event it was, but I asked him if he would like to do a guest blog post. He has agreed. So look forward to that!
Now what you have to know about golf and shooting as it turns out, is that if it's tough out there for you, it might be the general conditions and it's tough for everyone. I have stories to tell about that, but basically don't give up hope!
To remind my dear reader(s), the triggers were to try to have the heel of the club come into the hitting area and when putting, try to exaggerate the follow through. What the triggers were designed to do was to keep me behind the ball and not trying to help/flip the club to square it up, and with the second trigger, make sure I started the putter on line.
Well, as the title hints, it was no panacea. But as the second paragraph suggests, it might have been a tough day. Golf courses change with the weather and the maintenance crew's labors. No one could make a putt for instance on Friday. On Wednesday everything was dropping. I think the pins were in places where the breaks were subtle.
My tee to green game was better than average. There were some highlights as the 240 yard drive on hole 5 would attest. Normally a difficult hole for me to get too, but Friday it was driver and nine iron. Not driver, chip out then 6 iron. Being long and in the fairway are very useful things...
In re the use of triggers: I think this is quite useful. It seems to work as memory aid and allows me to keep the swing thought active the whole round.
I went to the driving range on Saturday and was swinging very well. The new trigger for that was to make sure to rotate the arms around and not fling the club head. It feels like a slower swing, but the contact was very good, trajectories were very high and the distances were good too.
Should one seek perfection? It's, in my humble opinion, a relative measurement. Perfect for me might be an 80% rate of very good club - ball contact. My distances will never be pro like, but hitting them as squarely seems to be possible.
So I'm going to run with this trigger idea for a while. I think the triggers from last week led to the new one for this week, which suggests progress was made.
Sonny, who has been mentioned in the blogs a couple of times, tried out for the Senior Open -- I'm not sure what event it was, but I asked him if he would like to do a guest blog post. He has agreed. So look forward to that!
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Golf and the Mind - updated 6/6
Update - there is a new paragraph at the bottom.
One of the great problems with being a golfer is taking one's "range game" to the course successfully. I ran across a YouTube video that looked specifically at that problem.
Jonathon Taylor provides us with a different look at this vexing problem. His view is that the mind has multiple swings for each club. And when you go to the range and work on something or fix something, that becomes a new swing. The old swing does not get overwritten. Then when you go back to the course, armed with new skills, the brain looks at a familiar situation and pulls up a solution. Sadly - and I think we can say this for golf, but it makes sense in a more serious survival situation - the brain uses a old swing from its library and there you go with a duck hook which was not there at the range.
There is much to support this view of mind and swings. I think Jon is on to something. Now, let's look at his solution...
1) When you are working on a change, find something new that provides a "trigger" for it. We could call this a means to recall the new moves and that may let us cause the brain to use the new swing and not the old one. This might be a movement or position that you want to get to or a feeling when the club is in a good position. Then, when you want to use the new swing, you invoke the trigger.
One point with this that Jon didn't mention, is that when you work on something new, you want to look for the trigger. I'd suggest you write it down and maybe add some commentary about what it does and why you like it. It maybe down the road you will need to revisit this trigger.
2) The new swing has to be coupled with some success. When we return to the course, we want to remember the good swings or hits or ball flights and armed with good memories, coax the brain to go along with the new idea.
3) Finally as you approach the on course shot you want to trust the trigger and believe in it, think about it, and try to use it. Those thoughts will help the brain go and grab the new swing and not fall back on an old solution.
I think Jon is on to something with this. I've noticed that when I'm at the range and hitting it well, (ah but then I repeat myself), I sense the lack of how to remember what I was doing to hit the ball well. Looking for a trigger, finding it, cherishing it, and writing it down seems to be a path with much potential.
On course update from today. It was a good day for playing. I was in a good mood, playing with a good group and the pace of play was good. We might have had to wait for the group in front of us twice during the day. I think we played in 3:45 hours or so. I managed a 37, 39 with a couple of lost shots. I topped two drives on the front nine. I managed some remarkable up and downs -- a soft flop shot that had to land in the deep rough, to then trickle through the fringe and then wander down to a down hill pin. No problem!
Or, a drive to the right to a down hill lie in the rough. Four iron pushed, hitting a tree, then the four iron again to end up pin high from 180 yards on a two tiered green. There was some magic out there. Made most of the short putts and hit it pretty close a lot of times. It was the golfer being somewhat in control of the ball and the results. It doesn't always happen that way. A satisfying day and one that a golfer remembers late at night when reviewing the day and smiles inwardly.
Ok, on to a catalog of triggers!
I was at the range today after an hour of pickleball. The two triggers I came across are: try to bring the heel of the club into the ball - works for all clubs including chips; when putting make sure there is an exaggerated follow through. I play tomorrow, I will report back!
One of the great problems with being a golfer is taking one's "range game" to the course successfully. I ran across a YouTube video that looked specifically at that problem.
Jonathon Taylor provides us with a different look at this vexing problem. His view is that the mind has multiple swings for each club. And when you go to the range and work on something or fix something, that becomes a new swing. The old swing does not get overwritten. Then when you go back to the course, armed with new skills, the brain looks at a familiar situation and pulls up a solution. Sadly - and I think we can say this for golf, but it makes sense in a more serious survival situation - the brain uses a old swing from its library and there you go with a duck hook which was not there at the range.
There is much to support this view of mind and swings. I think Jon is on to something. Now, let's look at his solution...
1) When you are working on a change, find something new that provides a "trigger" for it. We could call this a means to recall the new moves and that may let us cause the brain to use the new swing and not the old one. This might be a movement or position that you want to get to or a feeling when the club is in a good position. Then, when you want to use the new swing, you invoke the trigger.
One point with this that Jon didn't mention, is that when you work on something new, you want to look for the trigger. I'd suggest you write it down and maybe add some commentary about what it does and why you like it. It maybe down the road you will need to revisit this trigger.
2) The new swing has to be coupled with some success. When we return to the course, we want to remember the good swings or hits or ball flights and armed with good memories, coax the brain to go along with the new idea.
3) Finally as you approach the on course shot you want to trust the trigger and believe in it, think about it, and try to use it. Those thoughts will help the brain go and grab the new swing and not fall back on an old solution.
I think Jon is on to something with this. I've noticed that when I'm at the range and hitting it well, (ah but then I repeat myself), I sense the lack of how to remember what I was doing to hit the ball well. Looking for a trigger, finding it, cherishing it, and writing it down seems to be a path with much potential.
On course update from today. It was a good day for playing. I was in a good mood, playing with a good group and the pace of play was good. We might have had to wait for the group in front of us twice during the day. I think we played in 3:45 hours or so. I managed a 37, 39 with a couple of lost shots. I topped two drives on the front nine. I managed some remarkable up and downs -- a soft flop shot that had to land in the deep rough, to then trickle through the fringe and then wander down to a down hill pin. No problem!
Or, a drive to the right to a down hill lie in the rough. Four iron pushed, hitting a tree, then the four iron again to end up pin high from 180 yards on a two tiered green. There was some magic out there. Made most of the short putts and hit it pretty close a lot of times. It was the golfer being somewhat in control of the ball and the results. It doesn't always happen that way. A satisfying day and one that a golfer remembers late at night when reviewing the day and smiles inwardly.
Ok, on to a catalog of triggers!
I was at the range today after an hour of pickleball. The two triggers I came across are: try to bring the heel of the club into the ball - works for all clubs including chips; when putting make sure there is an exaggerated follow through. I play tomorrow, I will report back!
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