Learning To Golf - Practice Weeks 9-11

After my last round I had a list of things I wanted to work on
1. Putting - killed me, other than 1 25ft one putt, rest of round was three putts or more.
2. Driving - didn't use my driver the entire round - but need to gain some confidence with it
3. Pitching and Chipping - improve accuracy (target not distance)
4. Fix hitting shots fat with irons and hybrids

I sold my Rossa Corza Ghost and bought a pre-owned SC Newport 2. I couldn't get a feel for the distance with the Ghost, I'm sure it wasn't just the putter, but I tried my friends Anser and it seemed much easier to control distance. I've spent alot of time on the practice greens working on my stroke and it seems better, but the next round will be true test on real greens.

I practiced driving, but still haven't been hitting consistent enough to use the driver on a real round. Since the season is coming to an end, I'll probably give up trying to get it in my bag this year and just practice for next year.

Pitching and chipping is getting better. I read a book Breaking 90 which had a lot of good tips on aiming shots, which I wasn't doing right. The advice has helped me group my shots much better. I'm still not 100% certain when I'm better off chipping, pitching, or putting when I'm near the green and in 2nd cut grass.

I just started reading a book "The Impact Zone" which addressed the problem of hitting the ground before the ball, causing a divot behind instead of in front of the ball. This is a problem for me at the range and course so I was glad to see a book about it. The book basically tells you to draw a line from the top of your club to the ground when you're at the peak of your upswing. Your target point should not be the ball, but where the line hits the ground. I tried doing this in my back yard and for the first time I was seeing divots in front of the ball as opposed to behind. I went to the range today to practice it today, with good results. My shots were much cleaner (only a few mat hits prior to the ball due to lack of concentration) and had more distance. It's a bit tough to target a point in front of the ball, and not the ball on the swing, but it gets easier the more I practice.

I hope to get a round in next week, probably Friday, as it's getting colder here, and I want to get as much practice in as I can. Pretty soon it will be time to put the clubs away for a few months.

Just bring your driver next round and try teeing one or two up, worse that will happen is you will hit it out of bounds then you can re tee it with your 3 wood (or whatever you usually use)

I usually try one or two a round with my driver and a few rounds I really had it working for me.

I've had the same problem with mallet putters. I just couldn't feel distance.

Thanks, I've had some others tell me the same which led me to make the switch to a blade. I don't know if it's placebo effect or real, but I've seen experienced better accuracy distance wise using the Newport 2. I still have to improve my green reading. I bought Utley's book on putting and plan to read that when I'm done with the Impact Zone.

The Impact Zone has helped a bit with my driving in practice so I might take it next time to try on a par 5 depending on how my round is going. I've been hitting my 3w really well, close to what my buddies are hitting their drivers so until I see a big improvement on distance it doesn't seem worth the risk.