2015 Tournament Prep and Updates

Creating my own thread here to keep myself on track for 2015 with Tournaments and progress. If anyone cares to read this then great, if not no big deal. I want to keep this online so I know to stay motivated and stick to the plan. Last year I ended the year with a 75.75 Tournament Scoring Average(not great). If anyone shoots 75 on a normal day and you think you're good, I have learned this year that 75 gets you absolutely no where but a $17-$50 gift card in the mail for 12th place. I did have some top 10's and ended up winning two smaller events. Put myself in the final group a few times.

I will be using Lowest Score Wins as my blueprint for this year. I am already 3 weeks behind on my plans due to a fractured rib from playing hockey.. but it should be healed up soon as it is getting better everyday. Right now I am restricted to putting and chipping.

So while sore and healing, I have put together my golf schedule for 2015. It looks like I will get at least 30 competitive rounds in this year, which is awesome. Goals are to make cut at one of two events and then also get top 20 in points standings in St. Louis for our Amateur Organization. I will be doing the US Open Qualifier as well as the MId-Am qualifier now that I am old(27). There are some great courses on the schedule this year such as St. Albans CC, Boone Valley CC, and Fox Run GC.

First tournament could be the last weekend in April but Definitely will be by the first weekend in May. Depends on where I am if I want to travel down to Poplar Bluff and play against all the D1 players in Missouri. If my game isn't ready, its not worth the money.

January-February 2015:

This may be hard to believe, but none of my clubs were fit for me(except I know the iron shafts are what I need). So I averaged 75.75 with not one club in my bag fit for me. I am excited to see if being fit will make a difference on that.

I got a new putter for X-mas and it is now fit for me. I built a 9x8 putting green in the basement with some really nice turf and it actually holds chip shots. All my cups are smaller than regulation by design. If I can condition my mind for smaller targets, I am hoping it = more putts. I averaged 34 putts per round in 2014. Goal is 29, but let's start with lowering my scoring average by 2 strokes before I get to 5 from just putting. This will be a deviation from Lowest Score Wins, but I will be doing it in addition to the practices in the book. I miss at least two 3-4 footers every round.

Swing changes are in the process. You can see my video on my swings. I am working to be more in a sitting position at address, feet slightly open(still don't like the feel but working on it), and I am getting my right elbow in a better position. Once these changes are made, I will be getting my lie angle adjusted. I am hoping to have swing changes complete by the end of February and the rust knocked off by then as well.

Driving distance is a focal point for me this year as well. I have been hurt so haven't been able to do much but working out (squats, deadlift, forearms, tripceps, med ball throws) will be the first step to adding more swing speed. I want to get up to 110-112 MPH from around 108. I also will be getting fit for a shaft/driver to get my launch angle up. My spin rate is already pretty low and I am happy with it but I definitely could use some more carry distance.

Once March rolls around, I will be getting in tournament prep mode with playing more rounds and switching focus from swing to scoring and practice/repetition. It takes at least 6-7 rounds for me to start getting used to making par, making birdie, not making double, etc. Always has been this way for me. Excited for the season for sure and will be re-reading Lowest Score Wins again within the month. More to come.

If anyone has any advice throughout the process, I am open. All I want is a 73 scoring average at the end of this year and be able to post a link to my WAGR lol.

That I am doing. So I have been extremely sore the last two weeks getting into my routine of working out. The workout I am using is below:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/149444688/Spartacus-Workout-20pdf---Team-Beachbody

It is not easy as it is intense. I chose to do the 2.0 vs the 1.0 because it has a lot of leg, triceps, and abdominal pieces to it as well as explosiveness in a couple of the workouts. I also add in the Goblet Squat from Spartacus 1.0(or just Spartacus). I am going to add in some forearm workouts as well.

Hitting balls: I have been hitting some balls and in the last two weeks I have about 4 range sessions with a large bucket (ours goes medium, large, xtra large, family). My chipping is a little rusty, but that is to be expected. (putting it 6-8ft instead of 2-5 ft; not blading or hitting fat)

Focus 1: Set up posture- I am "squatting" a little more in my setup and that has been a little tough. I feel like my shoulders are a little further away from the ball which is leading to some thinned shots for sure. It sounds like I could just move close to the ball but I think I am pulling up a tad. Focusing on staying down works well, but then I can't think about Focus 2. I am a one swing-thought kinda guy.

Focus 2: My downswing is my focus right now during the swing. Keeping that right elbow in front of where it previously was is the goal. The good news is I am hitting the ball higher as of now. The bad news is that sometimes I feel I come over the top or outside to inside by focusing on the right elbow and trying to keep it more in front.

That is all I really have for now. No rounds in to date. I played a par 3 with the kids and hit it a little thin as I was seeing how my posture was on the course. I only hit 3/6 GIR from 90-120 yards because I was hitting it over the green just a tad, nothing crazy. Not too worried about it for now as that was when I first changed. I haven't hit a driver since I hurt my rib. Right now I am focusing on the swing process.

I will be building a hitting mat in the backyard. I have a whole roll of impact tape that I will be using up. I think that I should stay off the range until I get my swing down and can hit it on the center again routinely. That is all for now.

Still a cold winter here in St. Louis. Launch Angle is one of my biggest issues with gaining some distance this season. I am trying to get to that 20 more yards mark and with my launch angle only being around 9 degrees I am looking to get it up with the driver. So I am doing everything I can to do this. I have talked to a club fitter and he recommended some high launching shafts and one high launching driver head that I have purchased.

Bassarra 55g Hi   (should increase speed and launch)

Graffalloy ProLaunch Blue

The club that I just bought is a Burner Superfast TP shaft, regular head 10.5 degree Matrix Ozik HD6. I could put a ProLaunch Blue in there no problem as they are cheap. I am going on the cheap because well, I am cheap.

Also- if distance is as important as they say it is, why doesn't everyone play the topflight gamer? Obviously I get zero spin around the greens with them which I am guessing would be the answer but if distance is a big key to getting your score down why aren't all 10+ Handicappers using a ball like the gamer.

What I am looking for- Higher Launching Premium Balls- Right now I use the ProV1 and have researched that the ProV1x is slightly higher launching.. is this true?

I also keep thinking about the Callaway Tour I(x) or I(s). I thought those were super soft golf balls that were well performing. Was thinking about going back to those maybe. So if anyone has recommendations as to what ball launches highest in the premium range to where I can one hop it and stop it by a pin from 40 yards out please let me know.

Study: I am going to purchase 4 or 5 sleeves of different balls and going to get out to a course and hit all of them to find out what is the longest. Then hit the same sleeves into a green to see which ones  I like to feel. I just need about 4 different ball flights as I will be comparing to the ProV1.

If you're going to out several different ones, I'd recommend at least trying the Callaway Chrome Soft .  I loved the way it felt off the putter.  You might like the Bridgestone B330 too.

Not sure about launch angle of either though.

Okay thanks. My main goal is going to be distance for now which launch is where I think I can pick up some yards for sure. I will try the B330 as I have read numerous places that is fairly higher launching. I have found them in the woods and hit them on approach shots and they didn't have the same feel. But all I have really used for the last 3 years is ProV1 so everything will feel different.

Actually the TF Gamer is one of the best balls I have played, and it spins just fine for me around the greens.  I just did not like the look of it a couple years ago.  I may have to give it another shot this year.  I think your plan is good though.  Good luck in your tournaments this season.

Tournament schedule all finalized for 2015. Makes me excited to get the season going. I have a couple of conflicting tournaments. One of them is a weak field, and I won last year.. should I even go back to defend or should I go to the Southern Illinois Championship with a much stronger field. With the SIGA there is more expense. Also- the Forest Park tourney is a really good tourney with some really good players but it is only one day. Should I go with the Indian Spring Invitational instead? Still a somewhat solid field but it is 2 days of competition. I may be adding another tourney or two throughout the year to try and get competitive rounds up to 30 for this year. Now Y'all can follow me lol.

Swing is going a lot better- hit a small basket and started hitting really well off the mats actually. A little more draw and some pulls but I am hitting it on the center of the face for the most part. I think I am gaining a tad bit more of distance but that is yet to be seen when I get on to a course I am familiar with. New Driver shaft has come in and so has my fresh 3 Iron. I am ditching hybrids all together as I cannot find one that I am consistently good with. I bit the bullet and bought a matching 3 iron to go with my set. I will be posting some swing videos by April 1 as long as the weather cooperates.

Quick update. This week was pretty good. New setup has taken shape. Last couple of adjustments should be complete by the end of the month. Wherever I am at at the end of the month, I am going to stick with it and solidify the small points I have worked on. Starting April 1 the focus will be switched to scoring and keeping the ball on line with a stock shot. Check out my swing video to see the changes I have made so far.

All good news: New shaft for my driver is great. The Taylormade driver I picked up is not going to be the answer so I will try and sell it. The shaft in my Titleist is definitely the way to go. I have it set at 12 degrees with a high launch shaft lol. My launch angle is only around 7 degrees still but it seems much better than it was. It was around 4 degrees. I have some room for improvement on this.

Quick question- can the ball affect ball speed? Or does every ball have the same ball speed? I ask because the balls I was using look like they have been through hell and back and the shiny cover is now a matte color white. My smash factor was only 1.44 today with the driver so I can get that a little more flush with more swings and becoming more comfortable with the swing I have been working on. If the ball has any affect on it, it will make me feel better.

Other good news: I haven't worked out in 5 days but I did hit balls twice. Once at the range, once on the monitor. I hit balls on the monitor today and at the range last night. My swing speed is up on average 3 MPH already. I am averaging around 109-112 MPH from 106-109 MPH and I have only hit balls maybe 4 times this year. I am hoping that goes up another 3-4 MPH with continued workouts and strengthening my hitting muscles through bashing balls on the range over the next month or two.

I had my irons fit for lie angle today. Both my 9, 6, and 3 iron were all perfectly in the middle and they told me I don't need any lie angle adjustment. I was happy because that saved me roughly $60 on the fitting.

Something about the new swing is really helping me crush my 3 wood off the deck which has been a HUGE challenge for me over the last 2 years. I can also get my 3 iron up in the air and it is a huge relief to figure out what club I could hit for a 225-235 club. I must have 4 hybrids and three other 3 irons that just never seemed to work out. I know it is still early but with my normal swing it has been perfect compared to the other clubs I have.

Still looking: Still looking for the right ball. Hopefully I can find a ball that will get me up another degree of launch. I would be HAPPY at 9-10 degrees even though ideal is more 12ish or even more. My spin rate is 1850-2300 with the driver and on the monitor today I was hitting between 299 and 308 with around a 267 carry on average. I don't believe the total numbers much but if I can average around 290 this year I would be more than happy. I lose so much distance from very little carry when I hit it into the rough or on wet days. Last year at the US Open qualifier it rained all day and I must have been 220 out 5-6 times which made it very difficult.

Tomorrow I get out on the course for the first time in a 2 man scramble. Usually I expect to win but tomorrow I want to see how my swing will hold up on a course and what my misses are for now. I still WANT to win, but my partner is around a 9 HCP and I have no idea how I will play so we are just going to have a few beers and have fun. It will only be around 50 degrees(which feels like summer here)

So I just finished up practicing for my first month- technically two more days of practice remaining for the month so I will do 2 more hours of practice. I really had some rust to shake off as I just was somewhat uninterested in golf over the winter and really went two months without touching a club. This month I was able to practice 29.5 hours which felt like much more. Doing the math, I really tried to break down my practice time and stick with 65/20/15. In actuality, via my spreadsheet, it worked out to be 60/29/11. I truly enjoy chipping, it is free, I make a lot of shots, and I work on different flights for different shots. I will try and get the numbers more aligned over the next month. I have been working on my take away and while it may still not be perfect, I think it is a lot better and I am going to have to run with what I have as I start focusing on gaining consistency with my flight.

Scoring: I started off scoring horrible. The courses were extremely wet and about 50 percent of my tee shots were mud balls.  I ended up this month with an adjusted scoring average** of 77.09. I ended last tournament season with a 75.55 Scoring average. Although I feel I play better in tournaments and score better as well, I am still 1.5 strokes off where I need to be over the next month. Not great by any means, but considering I had two horrible rounds of 80-81 I can't be too upset. Yesterday I ended up playing 27 and shooting 36-36-38. Less mud, slightly more roll, but very windy.

Over 99 holes right now I have 6 birdies and 3 double bogeys. No Triple or worse, no eagles. Relation to par over those 99 holes is +37 which is not good by any means but it is just the first month of getting back into things.

Driving:

Driving the ball has been a focus. In another thread I was talking about the drill I have been doing to make sure I hit up on the ball. I have raised my launch angle substantially but it is still around 9 degrees on the monitor. The ground is wet and the weather is still a tad chilly. I think the warmest I have played a round in this year is 65 degrees. Yesterday it was around 50 and I averaged 267 off the tee according to Google Maps. I was getting a little more roll than I was so I am guessing my carry has gone from 240 to about 250 over the last week and a half just from that drill. I was able to get my swing speed up 2 MPH on average from working out going into the season but it has been pretty stagnant since. I research and research and research swing speed increase but everything seems to be aimed at mechanics. While I know there is some room for improvement, all of the articles are focused on higher handicappers and not lower handicappers to increase swing speed. I am going to continue lifting and training by swing a shaft as fast as I can 50 times per day over the next month. See if that and doing workouts(squat, deadlift, forearms, latpulls, and pushups) will get me up to where I want to be. So far, I have hit 9 buckets of balls- I am wondering if that is enough to get my muscles back to full strength in terms of golf muscles.

Putting: Not good still- I worked on putting the most over the winter. I actually do have my putting average down 1.3 strokes though, so I am feeling better. goal was to average 31 putts this year, and I am 32.7 for the month of March. That is pretty good IMO and I feel like I can easily shave off a stroke or two on my tournament scoring average from putting alone.

Irons: Irons have been tough for me this month. I started working on my backswing a lot and was hitting the ball thin, then flush at the range, then thin on the course and now they are finally starting to come around going into april. I hit 18/27 GIR yesterday and I had 6 nGIR. I had 3 shots that were just not very good- one out of a bunker that was in a footprint, one came up well short due to wind/tad heavy, and the other was a 210 yard par 3 that I just blocked way right. So yesterday definitely gave me some confidence going into the month before my tournaments start. Prior to that, the most GIR I hit was 6 in 9 holes. Outside of that, it was 7,7,8 for my 18 hole rounds. I think that had something to do with the drives going no where as well and being further from the hole by 30 yards. Goal is to average 11.5-12 GIR this year.

Overall- Overall it was a solid month of practice. I was able to see what my ball was doing and although I didn't score very well, I really wasn't totally focusing. It was mainly rounds with my friends who are 12 HCP and just hitting the ball around.

**Adjusted Scoring average = (Total Strokes/Holes Played) * 18

Monthly Update for this year today..  I actually forgot I was doing this, not that anyone cares but I figured I would keep it going throughout the season.

April has been pretty good. I was able to get my first round in the 60's out of the way already which usually doesn't happen this soon in the season. Swing is feeling pretty good, ball flight with the driver is WAY higher than last year and as stated above, that was a huge objective for me. The main thing that worked was a drill I put together for myself. I am carrying the ball further for sure. I even won a long drive contest! This is actually my second win but this total drive was 316 according to Bushnell.

The highest was a 76. Pretty good I would say considering my tourney scoring average last year was around that mark.

Last Rounds that I can remember:

27 Holes: 36-36-38(that was 4 weeks ago)

then I went 74-76-69-71. Played in a 4 person scramble which we won. I did play 9 holes a couple times and shot 38- 37. And THEN I ended up committing to an invitational tournament in Poplar Bluff, Missouri with some very good players.  Here is a link to the Final Results:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/tpX0aGlYncdm6ZUXQR14DMg/htmlview#

I had 5 3 putts, two of which were acceptable. I only made one birdie on par 4's and played the par 3's at -2 and the par 5's at -3. Wedge game is definitely going to be a focus tonight at the range.

This upcoming weekend I have a 36 hole event on Saturday and I have the City Championship at Forest Park on Sunday (18 holes). Should be a good weekend. I will update with those scores when they are posted online. I have decided to SKIP out on US Open Local this year. I really just don't like the layout at Chambers Bay(kidding). In all honesty, I just don't want to take a day off work. The percentage of me actually making the US Open is slim, very slim. I made the decision after shooting 74-72 and getting 20th place.. Until I am shooting 70-72 average, I think I am going to hold off, and use the $150 for another tournament such as the US Am Qualifier.

Here are my longest drives this month: (will upload later computer not working)

Actually, I find it quite interesting since you're way better than I am and I like to see how you're approaching the game.

What drill did you do to get a higher ball flight with your driver?

Lol this one. I have posted it previously, but it really did help me hit up on the ball. Also, thanks for following. I am hoping this weekend goes well.

These were the pictures I was going to post about my long drive winner and my longest drive of the month. I am hitting it a little further and am proud of that since my carry distance is up so I thought I would share.

I'm guessing when you started this drill, you didn't do it at full speed.  What speed did you do it when you started to avoid the tee in front of the ball, 30%?

Well I do it at full speed without a ball first actually. I pick up the hand-eye piece pretty quick. In fact, most drills I have done over my time with working on my own ALL have to do with not looking at the ball lol. When I want to work on hitting down on the ball, I put a broken tee in front of my ball and only try to hit that. My first drill ever actually that really helped me with the drive was to look at the ground in the middle of my stance and not at the ball. It helped me fix a slice it was weird. But I do this at full speed, and the ball is teed up extremely high. Of Course I hit my fair share of pop ups, but I was happy with a pop up since that was the whole idea anyways.

I ask because I've been suffering from really low ball flight with my driver so I'm looking to fix that (along with the zillions of other things that suck with my swing).

I'll give it a shot.

Thanks for sharing.

Glad you posted this thread!  I'll check up on it...  Good Luck on the season!!!