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About this blog

Just a place for me to let you guys know what's on my mind... Relating to the beautiful game of golf.

Entries in this blog

While I Was Taking a Break From TheSandTrap.com…

Hello again, I haven't written one of these blogs in a long while. I haven't really been on the site for a long while. I had been practicing and posting every day for 405 days, That streak came to an end on May 10, 2018, when I went into the hospital. The last 11 months I have been going through things outside of golf, that are more important for my growth as a human being. Golf is my getaway, my therapy, my distraction, and my hobby. I love the game, it sometimes doesn't love me back when

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Gaining strokes on a 5 handicap- Part 2: Approach Shots

I think with a little work, just making sure I stay the course, with the previous part, I think the equipment change will help me become a more consistent driver. Now on to the single most important part of my improvement. My approach shots. I was going to break this part of the blog up into a few different pieces, but I decided that one long blog was better than three or four kind-of short blogs. So, about my approach shots. At times, I can hit 8 or 9 greens in a round, some rounds I hit 3

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Gaining strokes on a 5 handicap- Part 1: Driving

Remember my plan to get better at golf, that I wrote a few weeks back. Well I'm going to dissect it down to what I need to do in order to get my handicap down under 5... For wanting to be an sub 5 handicap, My driving well stinks. Probably 240, if I was lucky, and not-so-straight, It was absolute shit in comparison, but when I drove it well I was driving 280-290 with no problems. But it was Tiger inconsistent. You won't believe what led me to what happened with my new driver. But this

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Going to take time to get down to 4.x

I looked at some of my Game Golf statistics and some of my other statistics I kept, My short game is not as bad as I thought it was, my approaches inside of 100 yards need some work though, I'm actually gaining strokes on a 5-handicap with my driving already, even as bad, as I'm driving it sometimes. I'm losing shots on the approaches, but not much -2 ish (the 2 GIRs I need), and my putting is almost dead-on with a 5 Handicap. I'm only losing like 0.162 or something per round (mostly 3 putt

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

In the bag-Part the rest of the bag

So I think I figured out a way to get all of my needed pictures on here in one post. To review: Driver: Tour Edge Exotics EX10, 10° head with a Project X HZDRUS Yellow 65 6.0 shaft, Lamkin UTX Grip +1/8" , playing length of 44" 4-wood: Tour Edge Exotics CBX, Project X HZDRUS Yellow 65, 42" playing length, with a Lamkin Z5 grip also 1/8" oversize Hybrid: Tour Edge Exotics CBX 20°, with Project X HZDRUS Black 85, 5.5 this time... Standard length (40") with the same grip as the

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

In the bag? Part I (Driver and 4-wood)

Because of size limitations of uploads, and having a 13MP camera phone. I will have to do this blog in several parts. Sorry in advance. Tonight we'll start with the Driver and 4-wood. Driver: Tour Edge Exotics EX10 with a Project X HZDRUS Yellow 6.0 that plays at 44".  I chose the 10° model. I went with a 44" length for two reasons, I am 6'5", and should play 45.5" or so, but I would rather have more consistent strikes. Second, I have distance to spare. So that's why. It has 

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Journey to the Center Of the Green

Journey To The Center Of The Green By Shane Jones I wish I could just rename my blog the title of my new entry. However, if I can't it's all good. Anyway it's Sunday, well technically Monday wee hours... So this is part of my weekly blog. Recently, since my last lesson, back in February (remember Craig is in Florida for a month). I've added a new drill to my repertoire. It's the first move down drill. I have kind of explained it in the "5 Minutes Daily" thread (fingers crossed 20

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

My journey continued...

I have for the last few years slowly gotten better. I still have bad days. I want to walk of the course those days. However, I seem to be making measurable progress. As a lot of you know, I tend to switch equipment a lot, always trying to find that "perfect golf club" as Tom Wishon would call it. For 2 years, I played Tour Edge Exotics EXi irons, which are a game-improvement iron, that is gear a little toward better players. They honestly are great irons, think of them as a cross between a

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

*SOME* random gibberish you're reading

The Continuing Story Of My Golf Game Apparently I should only devote 15% of my practice time to putting. That's what Erik says anyway. My 30-75 yard game stinks. I mean it's bad. Like Alina is better from 30-75 yards than I am. (Not even a joke) It's sad, I'm 40 yards out hitting some sort of half sand wedge. Alina I hitting 8 iron or driver... I knock it to 20 feet... after stupidity, she hits her shot to 10 feet. Then pleased with her self she walks up to the green with her dad. I m

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

My Plan To Get Better at Golf

My Plan to Get Better at Golf By Shane Jones               After over two decades, I have decided that I am not very good at golf. I mean at all, I am a terrible driver of the golf ball (If you look at my strokes gained statistics), I don’t gain a lot of strokes with my approaches. I am a terrible wedge player. I’m a decent putter, but anyone who plays miniature golf with a four-year-old child can do that. With all of stuff I’m bad at, I needed to find some things that I wa

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Long term goals and progress- part III

Approaching my 31st Birthday on Wednesday is a good time to look back and assess things. As many of you may know my wife and I, welcomed our second daughter, Zoey Bree on November 11, 2017.  But I was thinking of what I need to do to get from a 6.7 Index to below a 5 this year, and even though it's snowy and cold, I've already taken some steps. I decided it's finally time for me to get some outside help. I've been doing this myself for 21 years and it's about time a second set of

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Long term goals and progress- part II

Part II: I Can't Hit a full wedge shot I imagine some of you probably think this is a joke, for an 8.1 Handicap Index to talk about. But, unless it's part of my iron set, if it has the markings of a "wedge" I cannot hit a full shot with any consistency.  I can get away with a 9 to 3 swing occasionally a 10:30 to 1:30 swing. But any fuller, hell no.  So recently I decided from 90 yards and in, I will not hit a full shot. Ever. Period.  90 yards. Ok, you would think under normal cir

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Long term goals and progress

Well here we are the middle of May with my fresh 8.1 Handicap Index. Why am I posting here? Well I don't know whether to say I'm getting better, or my bad rounds just aren't as bad anymore. Two years ago, I would occasionally still have a blow-up round that was in the low 100s. I would typically have a bad hole and wouldn't be able to get off the doubles train. My good rounds were pretty good, I had shot in the 70s twice that year, with my typical scores being in the mid 80s. Fast forw

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Why is getting the four major facets of the game working at the same time hard?

The first sentence in Lowest Score Wins is "Golf is hard" I agree with that statement 100%. In my opinion, Golf breaks down to four major facets. Driving, approaches, chipping, and putting. I have had rounds where I have had one going. Usually when that is the case it is putting. There have been rounds I have been able to put two facets together. I've had a handful of rounds where I have three facets going... Why can some days can I get three facets going and the fourth one just takes

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

You don't really need 14 clubs to break 100 (or 90 for that matter)

I realize this entry is coming from an 80s shooter and not a pro, but it's based on personal experience. I figured that you would appreciate it.  It is my belief that most high-handicappers carry too many clubs, mostly clubs that they struggle with. Since golf is hard and simplifying it is impossible, We will simplify what we can namely what you carry in your bag. With the vast forgiveness of the newer drivers, Driver will be in the bag and obviously a putter. So now we figure out the

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Tournament Update and status of my game update

My month of July was filled with some bad scoring and bad decisions in tournament rounds. I shot 98-92=190 at the club. Didn't play well at all either day really... (I don't carry a vanity handicap I promise) I had a 9 and a 10 the first day (automatically reduced to 8 with ESC) and some bad shots and brain farts around the greens. The second day was a little better hitting the ball but two or three triple chips turned an 84 into a 92, I hit 3 fairways that day. And 4 or 5 misses were by a

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Busy summer of tournaments for me

It's July, that means it's becoming time for me to prove myself amongst others. The Newman Club Championship is. July 16-17, TST Outing on the 23rd, and the Ithaca City Golf Championship is August 27, 28 and Sept 3, 4 and 5. I've been playing ok lately... But not great... Pure B Flight here... I won't be winning the championship flight... Or probably the first flight... (I won't shoot a good enough first round) But I'm playing pretty well... Just need to eliminate the brain fart double

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Getting better with shorter clubs (still gotta work with longer clubs)

Recently my consistency with my shorter clubs has gotten better.  7-iron down to the 54° wedge has been much more predictable... My distances have been very good for the most part... I'm not fearing much from 75-160 yards... I hit it very well. I do have issues missing greens with 7 and 8 irons... But it's not by much typically.  My longer clubs 4w, 3h, 4i, 5i and 6i need a lot of work... But that will come around soon I hope... If anyone has any suggestions on my longer clubs let

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

I've got a lot to work on...

IttiAfter a month and about 9 rounds, I've got a lot to work on. My long game is just OK, my alignment sucks, and 100 yards and in needs a lot of work... I'm hoping to shave a 3-5 strokes by the Club Championship in July, the outing the week after, and the Ithaca City Championship the last week in August and over Labor Day weekend. So I've developed a practice plan to work on this. 1) Alignment: In the past I've had no pre-shot routine. I've watched a few videos on alignment and t

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Golf Club Hoarder?

I'm starting to think serious golfers don't live in 900 sq ft. 2 bedroom apartments. But hell, Becky (my wife) says if we every get a 3 bedroom home, we won't be able to have another child, because the extra bedroom would have 30 sets of clubs in it... Don't believe me... Here's a comprehensive list of every club I own. (Not including Becky's one set on Alina's clubs) Drivers: Tour Edge EX9, XRail, Callaway Steelhead III, Wilson 1200 GE (actually wood). Fairways: Tour Edge EX9 (4+7), X

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Introducing Alina to Our Beautiful Game

My daughter Alina is almost 2 and a half, she has a couple of clubs, and she tries to mimic my swing. She kind of holds the club like a long putter (The way she holds it, actually is legal) I didn't start playing golf until I was 10. Alina has a huge head start on me as she started actually attempting to hit the ball at 15 months. The good thing is she actually is enthusiastic about playing golf with me... but I only take her to hit balls, if she asks me to... Wouldn't want her to do someth

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Knowing I have a long way to go.

As a 29 year old, who has played this game for nearly 20 years now, I've been steadily getting better at this game over the years. I actually had a stretch where I was a lower single digit handicap (around a 4 or 5), but I got into a bad car accident, while riding with a friend in 2010. I'm lucky to be alive, but I lost a ton of speed and was out of golf for 8 months.  When I came back, I struggled to get any kind of distance, and really struggled to score. After 2 years, I finally sta

onthehunt526

onthehunt526

Tour Edge Exotics EX9 Driver Review

Tour Edge usually puts out quality equipment. The EX9 driver is no exception. The quality of the clubhead design is not matched by many. The aerodynamic crown helps to actually make the clubhead feel that it's going faster than most of the drivers I've swung in the past. As I've posted in a few different threads, I went through a full bag dynamic fitting. The EX9 was actually not the first driver I hit. I hit the Callaway Great Big Bertha, TaylorMade M1, and the PING G before I hit the EX9.

onthehunt526

onthehunt526



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    • FINALLY hit some balls this weekend. I did a short range session Saturday.  Hit only 20 balls.  10 with 8 Iron & 10 with Driver.  Overall the foot felt good during the session but I did notice I was not fully turning and was rather flat footed on the last couple of shots.  In the past that usually happened as the pain in my ankle kicked up but this time I did not feel pain...AT THAT TIME.  About 30 minutes after the range session pain clearly kicked in and I had to ice that evening.  I
    • While both of these are true, of the two I'd peg beer as the greater of two evils. It turns out the problem, maybe the greater problem with alcohol isn't just the empty calories, but alcohol also raises your cortisol level. Increased cortisol encourages your body to save/add fat. Chocolate, conversely, particularly dark chocolate, can actually help lower cortisol. I've all but given up alcoholic beverages. This coming from a man with an enviable stock in spirits (particularly Bourbon,
    • I agree with all comments 100%.  I did speak about it with PT today and they felt I should be able to swing and asked if my not doing it was due to pain or due to lack of confidence.  Right notwI would say maybe both.  I've not even tried a normal speed swing.  Just now I finished a short walk after lunch and the foot is hurting so I am thinking a true swing could cause some pain, or at a minimum discomfort.  Either way, discomfort or pain would inhibit a successful Stack session. The frust
    • Yes, this. Stack is not rehab. And you don't want to train yourself to swing slowly.
    • Make sure you are really confident with swinging fast before you start Stack. Stack is going to ask you to swing as hard as you can 20+ times during a session. If you're still a little tentative, I would be worried about injuring yourself and not getting as much out of it as you could.  And repeating what others have said, don't beat yourself up about having chocolate and beer. If your diet is to eliminate those things entirely, it's going to be harder to be successful with it. Much better
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