What I learned from yesterday's round

[amcquay]

I hadn't had a chance to play in well over a month, so yesterday a buddy and I hit a local 9-hole course after work. I'd never played this course, and while I certainly didn't shoot the lights out (scored 56) I learned a lot about my game and my progress.

Now, this course punishes you if you aren't accurate, as there's about 10 yards of rough between the fairway and the trees - and a lot of those trees actually overhang the fairway. That said, here's a few discoveries I made:

1. Driver practice has paid off, I hit 4 of 7 fairways and the others I was just off to the side. I wound up about 80 yards away from the green on one shorter par 4, right down the middle.
2. I need to spend more time with my irons (4-9). I need a better feel for distance on partial shots, and my accuracy could be much better. I only mishit a few balls yesterday, but all of them were with the mid irons.
3. My short game is actually pretty good. I was able to get the ball within 10 feet of the hole the majority of the time from within ~70 yards. I don't generate much spin yet, but I anticipate my overall distance well.
4. I need to practice putting. A lot. I only one-putt a single hole, and had maybe one or two two-putts. The rest were three or four, including one where I hurried and didn't set up for a "gimme" about a foot away. It was stupid and lazy and cost me a stroke. I'm also starting to question how much I like the feel of the insert in my putter.

Overall it was a good round, only the third I've played since I started golfing again after about 5 years. My accuracy is getting much better with the long clubs, I just need to work on the irons more.

Because of the trees, the times I did wind up off to the side were costly as I opted to hit punch shots back to the fairway instead of trying to force a full shot through branches. That probably cost me 5-10 strokes.

This was the first round I played with my new irons and when I hit the ball well it was a thing of beauty. I also can't wait for my 3 hybrid to arrive, there were two or three times yesterday where it would have been the perfect club. I'm looking forward to the next time I can play!

[cbetofop]

From yesterday's round I learned that I really suck at golf!!!

[Jax]

Tuesday i will learn that golf aint my sport :)

[shankapotamus]

I hadn't had a chance to play in well over a month, so yesterday a buddy and I hit a local 9-hole course after work. I'd never played this course, and while I certainly didn't shoot the lights out (scored 56) I learned a lot about my game and my progress.

Hitting punch shots saved you 5-10 strokes, not hurt you.

[pinhigh27]

Hitting punch shots saved you 5-10 strokes, not hurt you.

Yes, sergio is a good example of this. He goes for the gusto with his recovery shots. Sometimes its a godsend, other times its a crutch. The second happens the majority of the time...

[amcquay]

Hitting punch shots saved you 5-10 strokes, not hurt you.

Yeah, I suppose you're right! It was my... "less than accurate" shot immediately preceding the punch out that cost me 5-10 strokes

. I also played from the tips that day, which I won't do again for a while.