Best Shot of the Week - Page 178

Played last Sunday and had back to back birdies on 8 & 9.  On 8 I hit a nine iron to about three feet and made the putt. The 9th is a good par 4 - 459 yards, and I hit a seven iron to about 15 feet and made the birdie.  Both skins held up as well.

So far this week, 8 hole at harbor town. hit a good drive up the right side,(in the fairway) but left me blocked out by a tree. water on the left, 166 to the pin in back. I hit a high fade (not my normal shot shape) just missed the edge of the tree. started over the water, drew back over the bunker and onto the left edge of the green, pin high, 12 feet... 2 put for par... 8 is the number 1 handicap hole... probably the 2 bast swings so far this week on a hole...

 

I have hit some other good shots this week, but to pull off the fade on command with trouble left and tree right felt really good, almost like I know what I am doing.

I've made 6 birdies in my last 2 rounds of golf, but I still don't have a "shot of the day" worth sharing!

 

 

My highlight of today is a 460yd par4............uphill and into the wind.  I hit a rescue club to the front fringe in 2, but the pin is tucked in the back over a big slope.  The putt is uphill for 60feet.....then breaks sharply right and falls downhill to the pin in the final 20'.

 

 

................I lag putted to 2'  from 80feet away.  My best shot of the week resulted in a 2-putt par...LOL

Best shot today of a strong drive off the tee in the middle of the fairway on the first tee.  Anytime you start like that you have the makings of playing well.
 

My nemesis hole ... 415 yd par 4.     What makes it so tough is that the tiered green is TINY and the entire front is protected by a continuous bunker.    I've never par'd it.    Can't hit a running shot of any kind because of the bunker across the front.      I've hit the green probably a dozen times, but it's always with a long iron & can't hold it ... rolls off the back edge down into some brutally sucky shittage.    

 

After much thought, the whole key to it for me is to hit an above average drive ... I cranked it up & put the drive out there around 260 (thats all I got), and I then hit a perfect 7 iron with enough height to hold the green (ball wound up on the back edge of the fringe, overlooking the shittage, but stayed up for once).      Nice putt up the wonky tiered green & wound up two putting & made par - thats my success story of the week...

We're playing verifiable skins (you have to at least tie the low score on the next hole to win your skin) and there are seven on the line. I win the hole and go to the next tee needing to at least tie the low score to get the seven skins.

It's a 465 yard par 4 (#1 handicap hole) and I balloon my drive about 200 yards into a bunker. Nobody really hits a great drive and it will be difficult for anybody to hit the green in reg. I try to hit a hybrid out of the bunker to get somewhere within striking distance of the hole and I flub it about 20 yards. So now I'm laying 2, about 250 yards from the green. I can hit my 3-wood about 220 on my best day, so the green is out of the question. There's nothing but trouble around that green, but there is a very narrow strip of fairway leading onto the front. I load up and hit a towering shot that ends up about 10 yards short of the green. I hit a decent chip to 10 feet and sink the putt for one of the best bogies I ever made, and collect the seven skins.

 

Best 3-wood I hit in years.

a purely struck 3 wood is the best feeling in golf to me.     I hit my 3 wood of the year last month on a fairly long par 5 - nice drive left me about 225 out.    Hit a pure 3w & rolled onto the fringe - just missed my first eagle putt attempt & (settled  ) for birdie.      Nice job taking those skins !!

I would like to start with last week when I took a demo Cobra Baffler T-Rail 4 hybrid out and hit it within 6 feet on Skyline Country Club's 190 yard par 3 7th hole. This week, during a golf team match, I had a chip in birdie on Waubeeka Golf Links' par 5 8th hole. Helped me out a lot since I sliced the drove way right and was very angry. I was in the paper ;)

My new RBZ 5w from 200+ out to within 3 feet of the pin! What a great feeling.

I chipped in today on 17 to save par.  It was a critical part of the match - and I was able to halve the match winning both the 17th and 18th.  Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!! 

I made my first ever eagle late this afternoon/early this evening. It was amazing. It was at Hominy Hill in Colts Neck, NJ from the white tees. 

 

On the fourth hole, a 508 yard par 5, I crushed my drive and had only 200 yards left for my second shot, which was very downhill (and the pin was in front so maybe it was only about 190 to the flag). I hit a 6-iron to 15 feet and then got a little excited that I had an eagle putt, and ended up 3-jacking it for a par.

 

But on the ninth hole, my final one of the day, which says 475 yards on the card (another par 5), the tees had been moved way up. How far up they had been moved, I don't know, but the hole was playing significantly shorter than normal. It's all uphill and I blistered a 5-wood, leaving me only 165 yards for my second shot! I hit an 8-iron to 7.5 feet.

 

I was between 30 degrees and the zero line, so I played it right edge, maybe half an inch out. With one revolution left on the ball, it dropped! I let out a huge YES with a fist pump that could probably be heard 100 yards away.

 

I was crushing the shit out of the ball all day long, but overall my putter and short game let me down today. That said, the putter usually carries me so it was a bit funny to have a role reversal today. 

 

I'm feeling pretty confident about my improvement this year. Huge strides in the right direction!

 

Edited by JetFan1983 - 9/12/12 at 10:08pm

 

Congrats!!!!!!

 

I, too made my first eagle (and second) this year. I've been playing off and on for about 20 years and had several chances over the years on par 5s but usually never even sniffed the hole and sometimes three putted them.

 

A little over a month ago, I hit a par 5 (500 yds I think) in two by hitting a 3 wood over water (just barely cleared it) and had about 8' for eagle. The guy I'm betting with holes out from the bunker for eagle right before I putt. I was barely able to take the club back but I did sink the putt (rammed it in). One of the greatest feelings I've ever had. Faced with the pressure of seeing the guy hole out for eagle and having to make mine to halve the hole but making the putt was awesome. I forgot that hole was one of three he was getting that side so I lost two bets (sandie and the hole) despite making eagle there.

 

Just yesterday I'm playing a short course out in Oklahoma City, OK (6150 yds  69/117 slope) but there was a steady 15 mph wind so conditions were tough. The course is pretty open and I hit a semi-hard hook on the 5th hole and wind up in the 3rd fairway. Using my laser range finder, I see that I'm 172 yds out but dead into the wind. I'd been hitting my irons a little further than normal so I figure I'll try and step on my 4 iron to compensate for the wind. As soon as it left the face, I knew I couldn't have hit it better. It started off just left of the pin and drew in (I'm a lefty). It appeared to hit near the cup and then disappeared leaving me to wonder 'did that shit just happen?!!!'

 

Walking up to the green, I see what looked like a ball mark several feet past the pin and I think 'oh, I guess it hit back there then bounced over the green.' I then notice the ball mark is actually a leaf and then I see my actual ball mark just under a foot from the hole. I check the cup and there sits my ball for my second eagle ever. I lipped out another eagle chip on a par five 3 holes later.

 

The holing out eagle definitely was more exciting than the par 5 one though. I ended up shooting 74 for my lowest score ever as well. I played it again today with even more wind and shot 75 but no eagles.

Playing a 530 yard par 5 with a water hazard about 210 from the tee box... you either have to lay up or carry 250 to clear it.

 

Hit my 4 hybrid off the tee and it landed around 180, right of the cart path in a muddy patch of bare ground.  Ball was about 30% burried and had mud all over it.  Since I don't know the ins and outs of taking relief I took out my 6 iron and blasted it as it lied.  Carried the hazard and landed in the fairway about with about 200 left to the green.  Granted it covered my lower body in mud and it took me a couple holes to walk all the mud out of my spikes, but the shot felt great.

 

I followed that with skulling my 5W right into a fairway bunker about 60 yards away and ended up taking a double for that hole.

Last hole, and we are one up on our opponents, but they hold all the cards, as both of them are on the green in reg, and we both had to lay up after lousy drives. My partner blew a 90 yard shot over the green. I had 65 yards to the pin and I almost jarred a floating 58 degree that stopped a foot past the hole.

 

As I was walking up, my opponent was fixing the ball mark and looking at my ball, and as I got close he wacked it off the green, giving us the match. Nice guy, but ultra competitive. A fun guy to beat.

Changed a few things with my stance and started hitting my driver straight. So, my best shot is a great 290 yard drive straight down the fairway. That felt amazing to confidently hit a tee shot with a string full swing and have it end up in the fairway. That felt better than a 25 foot put for birdie in the same round.

Par 3, about 130 yards to the flag. Hit a 9 iron pin high, but about 10 yards right. Ball hung up on steep grassy downhill ledge on the far side of a greenside bunker.  When I got to the ball my thought was that I wished the ball had just gone in the bunker, because there lie was too steep to have any chance of getting over the sand in 1 stroke.  

 

Upon further inspection, the lie appeared fluffy enough to slide a club under, so I thought I had a chance to at least get over the trap. The bunker was too deep to put my left foot in and make a swing, so I set up on the ledge, my body probably 60 degrees open to the target line, opened my lob wedge face as much as possible, and made a few practice swings to see if I could keep my balance. I swung and the ball jumped over the bunker, landed on the green, and stopped less than 1 foot past the hole...par.  Given the lie, hazard, stance, and result, I think this was the best shot I've ever made.

I didn't have many good shots today, far to erratic after a few weeks...

However, one shot stood out. I hadn't been swinging well all day, but on #13 I learned a thing or two during the take away, so I felt a little better on the 14th. I was in the rough just off of the fairway, so not too deeply cut. I was about 235 yards out. Normally I'd take out my 5 wood, but given that I was in the rough and actually had a yardage reading on the new GPS I made the smarter move and took out the new 3 wood. From the take away to the initiation it felt really good. When I made contact it made a nice crisp sound and it had the feel of great contact! It sailed straight for the green and for the first time in ages I stuck a green with a wood.

Unfortunately, the rough took some distance away from the shot and I ended up further away than I would have liked. However, it wasn't important.... The look and feel of that shot was more than enough to qualify for best shot. :)

Best shot of the week has been topped! :)

Best shot was one of my drives that set me up for a nice second shot and followed with a par. :)  The best part of it wasn't how far it went, which was the farthest I have hit it in years. It was the fact that it sailed nearly straight as an arrow and landed in an excellent zone in the center fairway to set me up for a nice GIR up. I misread the putt a bit and had to settle for par, but the way I've been shooting, that wasn't a problem!

New swing plane finally feels good! :)