Today I played my first round in nearly 2 weeks. In that time I spent 10 whole days without hitting a ball (hardly 'practicing every day')
I put in a bit of time on the practice green before the round. Nothing major, but it did seem to help. My speed was improved on recent weeks, and I made everything inside 5 feet. Although I did end up with 31 putts, with 1x 3 putt.
Naturally, ball striking was off. My driving was inconsistent and I had a hard time judging distance with my approaches. But I know this will return with a few consecutive days' practice.
Here's a stat you should keep, if you don't already...
Today I was 19 over for ball striking. Par for 'ball striking' is course par, less 36 (for putts).
My course is par 70 at the moment, so 70-36 (putts) makes ball striking a "par 34".
I had 84 strokes, 31 putts. So 84-31 = 53 field/ground strokes etc.
53-34 = +19. My handicap is 13, so I was 6 over my handicap for ball striking, assuming no one is given strokes on a green...
Naturally, people will more often be over their handicap in ball striking, making up for it with putting. But this is a good indicator of how well you're hitting the ball.
eg, in my previous 2 rounds I was +11 for ball striking, so it's taken me another 8 shots to reach the greens today.
Back at it tomorrow.