Breakthrough Round!

Hi everyone- just wanted to take a moment and share with you the round I had on Friday. Not that anyone really cares, but hey I'm still beaming with delight so figured I'd talk about it!!

I shot 77! It was a fairly easy track (69.3/123) that I have played quite often, but I have never even come close to breaking 80 on it. (I've never come very close to breaking 80 on any course really).

What I find amazing is that I did it with 34 putts! It was by far the best day of ball striking that I have ever had. For me, anytime I put together a decent score it's because my short game and putting were on. This was completely the opposite. I couldn't get a damn birdie putt to fall, couldn't even get them to the hole (finally did on the 17th hole, a 6 footer). I had one other birdie on a par 5, I had reached the green in 2 though and then lagged my eagle putt up close.

Played again Sunday on a different course, much more difficult and shot 85. Still a pretty decent score for me, but man this time my putting really hurt me. Struck the ball well again, but I had three 3-putt bogies, not mention a handful of 5-8 footers to get up and down for par that I missed. Just when my long game starts to come around my putting goes to hell!!

Seeing my swing on video about a month ago has helped tremendously. I had been working constantly on my swing - a lot of technical, mechanical type of things...which pretty much just made the swing worse.

After seeing the video - I was basically quiting on my shots and abbreviating my follow through with a chicken wing type action, not to mention my weight never really came to my front foot until after impact. I just decided that I needed to commit to the entire shot and swing. This has helped me get through the ball better, get my weight to the front foot and a better impact position. No real technical swing thoughts at all. My iron game has improved 100% as a result.

Regardless of your skill level, get your swing on video ASAP.

Wow, that was long. sorry.

EDIT: Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I am declaring war on my short game!! My putting must improve! (maybe I should video tape myself putting. LOL)

Did you get nervous down the stretch? Did you know how close you were to your goal on the last few holes, or were you clueless until you added them in the end.

Great job Nassau. I used to play at a course with 69.3/123 as well and Didn't consider it a really easy course. I guess some ratings are different but this course was tough and at some spots could really kill you.

These scores will come in bunches now, you've acheived a huge level of confidence from that one round.

Btw: I love the way you swing your driver, you have a great swing and I wish mine was close to that. Congrats, and keep em coming.

Shot 38 on the front, a pretty clean 9 holes for me (7 pars, 2 bogeys). I always kind of know where I stand score-wise, no matter how hard I try not to. Not sure how some people completely block it out, that is amazing in my opinion.

On the back, where my meltdowns usually occur, surpisingly I didn't really think about it too much until the last 2 holes. It was an adventurous back though so that may of helped...started off with 2 bogeys, then a birdie, then a string of pars. I bogeyed 16 and was +2 at that point. That's when I started to think about it. But at that point I was oozing with confidence (kept it to myself though). I said to myself "you are breaking 80, it's just a matter of how far below 80 you will go, stay agressive but smart." That led to a birdie on 17 and I stood on the 18th tee box +3 for the day. Hit probably my longest drive of the stay, slight blocked though. Had to chip out but chunked the chip (I was pretty nervous at that point and didn't make a good swing- my hands were shaking hitting that chip. LOL). Took a 6 on the hole for a 77. Oh well. Tough to complain.

Thanks man. You know - I've made a mess out of that course so many times I guess it's not really "easy" for me either. Like you mention, there are certain spots where you simply can not be, luckily I did not hit any of those spots (except on 18).

Thanks for the compliment on the swing. You posted your swing right about the same time and I loved how you got through the ball aggressively. That's what I felt I wasn't doing. By getting "through" the ball and getting my weight to my front foot a little earlier I have really reduced my tendancy to hook the ball. I'm going to keep working on it for a little while longer and then post an updated video, because I know it will still need work.

That's a great attitude. Whenever I think that I'm about to have a special score, I lose it. I had a round at a buddies place a few months back and though, "just need to come in at 1 or 2 over these next 3 holes and I set a personal best..." and of course, I went 5 over on those 3 holes. So tough to get the fact that a personal goal is within reach out of your mind, but it is so necessary to do.

I love stories like this; it always motivates me to get out to the range/course more often. Great job man, and work on those putts!!! I want to hear about a 72 in the next few weeks

I just want to add my 2 cents to your video comments. I don't think you can over estimate the value of seeing yourself on video. I play pool at a fairly high level and have been recording my practice sessions for most of this year; it has helped my pool game a lot. I'm getting similar results in my golf game. Trust me guys, no matter how much you think you know about what your doing when your over the ball, video will show you exactly what you really did. No amount of having a friend watch you or trying to execute your swing while watching yourself in a mirror can compare to seeing yourself actually striking the ball. I highly suggest adding comments after each swing; this can go a long way to helping you pick up your mistakes. I can't tell you how many times I've said "that one felt great" only to watch the video and see my front heel coming up in my backswing, my left arm bending at near 90 degrees, my shoulders starting to move first in my down swing, etc...... I bought a 2 gigabyte digital video camera (flip I believe) for about $80 bucks in December. It works great for pool, but I'm thinking about getting something with a higher frame rate for golf.

69 rating isn't that easy. i think the course I usually play on is 66/118 I believe, something like that...and I've been breaking 80 consistently now. But, nice, nice job man.

Way to go!. Well done.

You stole my thread title - I was going to post the same thing today (I just put it another thread on my swing). I shot 76 yesterday (par 72, 70.4/130), my lowest net-to-par ever. It should have been lower. My one bad decision came on #18, where a big hook with a 3-wood puts you in A-1 position, but a straight hybrid would have been fine. I didn't pull it off, hit right through the fairway. Hit a nice little punch, but it rose just enough to clip the last branch. Just missed the third, meh chip on, good bogey roll just missed.