The Quest for 110 (aka A Terrible Golfer's Progress Log)

[Bourbon and Coke]

I'm obviously new to this site (though I lurked for a couple weeks before registering), but I saw some similar kinds of self-analyzing posts on here and, after looking at some well-maintained Scorecards, I wanted to keep a log of my progress this season. I've gotten a lot of benefit (well if you read on, maybe not too much) reading these kinds of introspectives, so I thought I would post my own for any other terrible golfers out there, or maybe for some advice from the low cappers.

I usually play at Lane Creek in Bishop, GA, which is 70.6/128. My last season ended in frustration as I threw my entire bag in the drink and swore to never play golf again. That lasted until April, when I picked up my father's old set and my old bad habits and started hacking again.

My dad's Dunlop clubs were pretty terrible, but they kept me on the course. I really couldn't hit them to save my life, as they were standard length and I'm 6'3". I quit again about 3 weeks ago after I played a round that cost me more than a box of balls (somewhere in the 130s) and left my back feeling like it had just taken a beating. I resolved not to quit golf, and instead went to a PGA Tour Superstore and picked up a set of Callaway X20s, +1/2", 1 degree upright.

The fitting was very hit or miss for me. I felt very confident that I had the right club length and lie, but my swing was still miserable. I was pushing everything right. I had some bad slices and a couple of real thin shots, but a lot of my strokes were hit solid, center, and were just pushed right. I probably swung 40-50 times in the fitting, and the length really fixed my back. I'm not perfectly upright and I still hunch over some, but it's much more comfortable and my stroke felt much more natural. I ended up choosing the X20s over the Titleist AP1 because I liked the grips and I liked the look better; the feel to me was almost identical (the fitter reassured me that this was a common sentiment.)

I left the store $750 lighter in my pocket, but excited to get my game fixed and see the strokes start dropping like flies.

They finally arrived at my door yesterday, and I anxiously unwrapped them. It was too late to go to the range, so I settled for organizing my bag and feeling around the short irons. They felt good in my hands, but it didn't tell me much. A buddy of mine was a PGA Pro for a while when he finished school, so I called him to tell him the clubs came in and we agreed to hit the range today.

My first real swings were disappointing. After a couple warm-up swings with a 7 iron to get adjusted to the heavier feel and longer shafts, I put a ball in front of my feet. I made solid contact, but it sliced. I adjusted my hands a little bit, got my right hand underneath a little more, and took another swing. High and right. Way right. Like 100 yards out and 50 yards right (my calculator tells me this was 110 yards in the wrong direction with my 7.)

I took a few more swings, hoping to get adjusted. My slice about disappeared within 10 shots, but the push would simply not go away. My buddy (who I'll just now refer to as my Coach, since he's pretty much taken on that role for me in more than just golf) took a look at my swing and told me that he was putting a gun to my head and do whatever I had to do to hook the ball left.

I couldn't do it. I wanted so hard to push it left, but it continued right. I took a couple more practice swings, and he told me I was having a problem releasing my hands with a ball; my practice looked better than my real swing, but I was releasing late.

He started me on a hip drill, where he wanted me to focus on my release. With my feet together, I was taking swings from the hip and exaggerating the release motion, really focusing on getting my right hand over early in my swing. At first it was awkward and I wasn't making good contact, but after a couple practice strokes, I hit a perfect stroke close to 100 yards. Perfectly straight.

After working on this for a while, he had me start widening my stance and lengthening my stroke. I got to a 3/4 stroke and was still hitting perfectly straight; occasionally i would get a little bit of a left-to-right motion, but nothing that translated more than 10 yards down range.

I still can't get a full swing though. At this point, I was running low on balls and wanted to try more of my new clubs than just the 7, so I started hitting 2-3 with longer and shorter irons. My 5 iron was a little iffy with a 3/4 swing, but was very straight from the hip and waist, so I'll be able to work on that tomorrow pretty easily. My 9 iron was great from 3/4 with a little bit of movement on a full swing; I really trust the 9 iron, which is a good feeling because I really couldn't trust it with my standard-length Dunlops. My wedges felt fantastic with a swing, but felt hard when I was chipping (more on that later.) I haven't ever had a Gap Wedge before (PW, SW, or a 64* Flop Wedge), and I really liked the feel of the X20 GW.

After playing around with some of the other clubs in the bag (I still haven't used my 4, 6, 8, or PW... yet :)), I wanted to get a feel for playing a little more "on the course" so I picked up my 7 iron and went back to my 3/4++ swing for the last ball of the basket... flawless .

I then grabbed my GW and headed to the chipping green. I didn't stand far off the green, but I wanted to get a little feel for it before I left. It was rough. I couldn't slow the head down enough to get any touch on the ball. My aim was great (I almost landed one straight in the cup from 3 point range), clearly helped by the hip drills with my 7 iron, but the feel just wasn't there. I need to work on this more, because my short game has traditionally been very strong for me, and I really don't want to carry around my old Dunlop PW like a security blanket. I think the X20 head is a little heavier and it's speeding up my swing even on chips, so I need to make a conscious effort to control this better. If I could have taken just a little off of it, I could have holed 2 chips rather than watching them sail 12 feet past, and all of my chips would have been closer; I only hit about 10, but none of them was short.

We then jumped in my truck and headed home. I skipped the putting green because we were at a driving range, not a course, and the putting green is pretty terrible; my putting has always been strong for me, even with my current no-brand putter, so I'm not worried about it until I start hitting GIR often enough to have meaningful looks at long putts.

(continued in the next post)

[Bourbon and Coke]

General Musings On the Day
I think there was a thread a couple weeks ago (or it might even still be active) about what you do at the Driving Range, and one thing that came up as advice was to treat every shot like a shot on the course, including your pre-swing routine . This is the first time I've been to the range since I read that thread, but I could feel it pay dividends this afternoon.

After I saw the progression from hip-shot to waist-shot to 3/4-shot working, I began incorporating them into my pre-shot routine. My routine now goes like this: I face my target with feet together, and set my grip. I then lift the club to about nose-level to get a feel for my grip (I was told when I fitted for these clubs that I wanted my grip to feel like I was ready to throw them forward if I lifted it over my head--checking for that ready-to-throw feeling has really made my grip feel more consistent.) I then take a short swing from a little less than my hip, perpendicular to my swing plane for my target. I turn to face the ball, and take a swing from my waist. Both of these practice swings are really feeling for the release, and exaggerating my right hand turning over. I then line up on the ball and take a swing.

I may have to amend my pre-shot routine by taking the waist shot perpendicular and a 3/4 shot while facing the ball once I can effectively take full swings, because I really hate being with people who take excessive practice strokes before hitting the ball.

The pre-swing routine was also largely mental, I feel like. Coach and I are good friends, so we bullshit the whole time we were playing. A couple times I would take a bad practice swing whilst talking and the subsequent shot would almost always careen off to the right. I quickly learned that I need to restart my pre-shot routine if my concentration is broken. It sounds silly to say, and is even harder for me to believe, but the results are somewhere around the 130 yard mark.

I was also very proud of myself, because I tend to be a very self-conscious golfer (I hate swinging in front of people because I hate when people know that I suck.) The range was empty until the end, and a couple of guys walked past us to start hitting, and I knew they were watching me. I stuck with my pre-shot routine, even if it looked silly at the range, and ripped one. It was very satisfying, being able to watch my shot and smile as it flew perfectly straight as others watched. The pre-shot routine really calmed my nerves and helped me focus.

Looking Forward
I want want want to get a full swing behind my 7 iron quickly, because I can take a full 7 iron off the tee on 2 of the Par 3s on my course, and a 3/4 or hip stroke on another Par 3; even if no other club in my bag is working, a good 7 iron will prove useful on at least those holes.

I also need to get every club in my bag in my hands, and start knocking out full swings with some of the others (particularly the 5 and 9.) If I can hit those 3 clubs straight with consistency, I can start playing on the course and start watching the strokes fall off my score. My 7 iron is most important, and I want that to be my cornerstone club; if all else fails, at least my 7 iron is straight.

I need to chip more. I only got about 10 chips today, and the feel of the X-20 GW is significantly different than the Dunlop PW I've gotten proficient with. I haven't even tried my new PW, so I'd like to get some good touches with that as well. I am confidant that I can swing the wedges, but I also need to hammer down their distances at full-swing so I can use them on the course. This should probably only take 5-10 balls with each wedge for me to feel confidant.

Coach said he might not be able to make it tomorrow afternoon, so I may be alone. I'm confidant in his partial-swing drill and my pre-shot routine, but it will be nice if he shows up.

Thanks for reading.

[mellojoe]

Great post!

One thing I took away from this was the benefit of having a teacher and taking that first lesson. I know, he was just a friend of yours. But, he was an experienced and knowledgeable guy, from the sounds of it, and he gave you what amounts to a lesson, regardless of what you call it.

That lesson helped you tremendously, no? I'd say it probably helped more than the $750 in gear (although, getting properly fitted clubs is definately a good thing). Having someone evaluate your swing is excellent help.

I look forward to the day that I get to buy a new set of clubs and work them out. New toys are always fun!

Have fun out there and good luck.

[phatone]

Good luck on your quest. As far as being nervous in front of people, I am too. This past weekend a friend and I played through a group and they sat on the tee box and watched us tee off. The hole is 321 yards according to my Skycaddie and I nuked my driver to the front of the green. It felt good to do it in front of people. Of course it took 3 putts for me to get in the hole... I don't know if the nervousness ever goes away.

[Bourbon and Coke]

I just got back from the range again. I got to work through more of my clubs today; the only club left to hit in the bag is the 4 iron (which is probably going to remain pristine for a while.)

I started with my 7 iron, went through a couple warm-up swings and then started taking shots following my pre-shot routine. I felt like I was closer to a full swing, and my distance seemed better today. I kept the 7 iron straight as an arrow, except for a couple misstruck balls. For some reason, I occasionally wind up drilling the dirt behind the ball and sending in the slice-wards direction. It doesn't happen with the 7 iron or shorter often enough to get a feel for what's causing it, so I'm hoping continued practice will groove it right out.

I tried my 8 iron and PW for the first times today. Both felt good and took only a short time to start hitting full distance high and straight. I worked through my 9 iron a little bit, as well. It was coming up a little short and rolling to the 120-ish range, but I was keeping it straight so I'm happy with it for now.

I tried working with the 6 iron and it was utterly terrible. I couldn't get any feel for it; I almost believe it was mental, because I switched to a 5 iron and I was getting hip shots pretty consistantly and the occasional shot from my waist. I couldn't take 3/4 or full swing with either club, so I'm going to work on these two heavily the next time I hit the range (after the 4th.)

Resigned to hold off on the 6 and 5, I switched to my driver. The Dunlop driver has a tiny head and isn't very friendly to me. It must be at least 15 years old and I really don't like it very much. Surprisingly, with my pre-shot routine intact (adjusted only to put the ball slightly forward in my stance for the tee shot), I was able to hit my driver relatively well. I had more slices than I would have liked, but I also had more solid, straight shots than I've ever been able to hit with it. I dropped down to my 3 wood and got similar results, though errant balls were far fewer.

I then started a 3-club routine to get a feel for switching clubs as I would on the course. I took driver or 3 wood off the tee, then switched to 7 or 8 iron for the "approach shot," and finally took a partial wedge to the nearest ~50 yard green. I did this for 5 or 6 "holes" and had some interesting results.

My tee shot actually stayed pretty consistent. The 5th or 6th tee shot went maybe 20-30 yards off center, but otherwise I was very pleased with my swings off the tee. On one "hole", I actually took a Driver off the tee, then a 3 wood off the deck, followed by the 7 iron and then a wedge (the so-called par 5) and I hit all of the clubs solid. I am still having problems with the distance on my wedges, but I haven't been able to devote much time to them yet. This gives me a lot of confidence that I'll be able to put it all together on the course next week when I take my first stab at dropping strokes from my score. If I can strike the ball as well on the course as I did today and yesterday on the range, I could be breaking 100 sooner than I thought.

I then went and chipped 20 times or so. The adjustment for these wedges is going to be pretty diffcult; I'm not able to get much back spin on the ball to control it, so I need to focus on getting a feel for the roll. The bright side is that, of my near-green chips, I didn't hit any thin or off the green. I also didn't hit any short, so it goes both ways. My aim felt good, though.

After chipping, I went back to the range to hit my 7 iron a couple more times (this is clearly my confidence club.) I utterly mishit the first ball I swung at (club hit ground way before it hit ball), but I was able to adjust and, sticking to my pre-shot routine, hit the final ball of the day a dead-straight 150+.

Looking Forward
I need Coach to come with me the next time I'm working on swinging because my 4, 5, and 6 irons are basically dead to me. It might be a mental block, knowing it's a longer club that I haven't traditionally hit well. Coach's patience and drills really help me focus on the swing to get past these blocks (prior to yesterday, the 7-iron was not a confident club for me at all.) I might actually play a round before I work on the 4-6 irons, so let's hope I don't need to put any shots 160-200 over water.

I also need to spend 40-50 shots on my wedges, plus chipping. I fear I'll probably put this off until after I get the 4-6 hammered out because I'm impulsive and want the ball to go far, but this has the potential to really hurt me on the course.

I am also at about the point I need to start working on a warm-up order. I can switch clubs and hit them all relatively well one-after-another, so I want to establish a solid warm-up to keep the muscle memory on my short irons before I devote a lot of time to chipping or long irons. Also, keep drilling that 7 iron.

General Reflections
Practicing alone was more difficult because I lacked the safety blanket of Coach's advice. I didn't have much feedback other than blatant mishits, so I really had to rely on my pre-shot routine to focus me for the next shot. It worked very well, for the most part.

I also need a new glove, as mine is about worn to pieces. I have blisters on my left thumb and my right ring finger. I'm hoping this is a result of swinging the clubs so much more often in the past 2 days than I have in the past 2-3 weeks, and not an error in my grip. My grip is giving me a lot of confidence and is the first part of my pre-shot routine. The Callaway grips have done me great favors in getting my hands to look correct at address, though I feel comfortable with the Dunlop grips on my woods. Both grips have an arrow shape inlaid on them, aligned perfectly for the thumbs, making it easy to find the right hands. The Titleist AP1 came with different grips, so it's another reason I'm pleased with my purchase.

Does anyone know how to clean clubs? My 7 iron is getting a lot of work. I am leery of using water because I don't want to leave any on the club and rust it. I've heard Windex... does this work? I'll have to do some internet searching.

[bsnone]

Good luck! It sounds like you want to improve your game and are willing to work through some of your problem areas. I like the routine you set up trying to mimic an actual round of golf (or a few holes at least).

Something I did a few years back when I was consistently shooting in the 105-110 range was after a round go through every hole and map out what I hit and how may putts I had. It was eye opening to see my pitching wedge (i didnt have a gap sand or lob wedge at the time) was being struck around the green 20-25 times a round (approx 22% of my shots) and i was avg around 40 (yikes, 35-40%!!) putts a round. I reevaluated my practice and decided to break up my practice time into amounts similar to the amount of strokes I was taking which meant that over 50% of my time at the range was spent chipping next to the green and putting. I came up with a little game/challenge that I wouldn't let myself leave the putting green until I could two-putt every hole (there were 12 pins on the green)

It really didn't take long to drop my score into the 90's after starting up a practicing routine that forced me to work on areas that dramatically effect ones score.

Good luck and have fun.

[Bourbon and Coke]

Great post!

I would say they were about equal; He's a good buddy of mine and we've played and gone to range before. There really wasn't much he could do to fix my swing with standard LLL clubs, because it didn't feel at all right even to me.

The clubs are definitely a factor.

Good luck on your quest. As far as being nervous in front of people, I am too. This past weekend a friend and I played through a group and they sat on the tee box and watched us tee off. The hole is 321 yards according to my Skycaddie and I nuked my driver to the front of the green. It felt good to do it in front of people. Of course it took 3 putts for me to get in the hole... I don't know if the nervousness ever goes away.

Thanks.

[CoolBreeze20]

It is VERY common to have problems hitting those low irons. If you have the money, I would HIGHLY suggest replacing your 3i and 4i with hybrid versions. they are MUCH easier to hit consistently (at least to me they are). Good luck man!