The TourSpoon Blog

[TourSpoon]

Well, it will soon be official. I just posted another 8.3 which puts me below 7.0 to a 6.9. I started the summer after a long layoff since playing any serious golf (like a decade) and came back 2 years ago for 4 months to get down to a mid 8. I have been playing now about 3 months, have taken 6 lessons and have been really working on feeling the proper swing. My goal is to get into the 5s which I haven't done in a very long time. I feel like I am on my way. I just have to stay out of my own way (today I was 5 over going into 17 and went double-double)!

[tws1098]

Nice. That double double is what separates the great from the good. Keep that early round feel, focus on your routine, think about the conditions (wind, lie, etc.). Sounds like you will reach your goal pretty quick the way you are going now. Good luck.

[TourSpoon]

Thanks tws1098, on 17 I had a 95 yard sw into the green from a bunker and my stance was high and outside the bunker and I didn't go down enough and bladed it. Ugly stuff followed behind the green with trees and nastiness. The last hole I blocked my drive into the lake which was my first bad drive of the day. Unfortunately, the line where I crossed was close to the tee so the distance really killed me as I hit 3 to about 175. Hit the iron onto the green and two putts for 6.

[tws1098]

Yeah, a lot can go wrong from a fairway bunker. Many people do not practice longer sand shots, so I would say they are one of the harder shots in the game.

[TourSpoon]

Lesson #7 today...putting...geesh, just when you think you have something going on right...find out that I am really need to tighten it up. IE shorten back and accelerate through. I have a tendency to get sloppy and pull the putter head to the left. So we worked on forward press, back, contact in sweet spot with right hand pushing toward the hole. I worked on this later and amazingly started seeing more progress with the consistency of the line. Felt more like a "pop" but that will work itself out as I was exaggerating the concept. With the full swing we worked on "widening the swing" with the arms and how both sides of the body have their place. It was very similar to my putting as when I tense I tend to shorten the follow-through. With the driver I was starting to feel more and more swing with the arms and less reliance on the hands to square the face. Anyway, I have a lot more to work on. I figure I will continue with the lessons as this is something I really want to nail down.

[Dvazzz]

I noticed you both have top flite gamer v2 balls, i looked into these balls a million times just never had the gusto to buy them. i heard theyre a great cheap 3 piece ball but i hear this years version is a little harder to prevent scuffing. Wat r youre thoughts on these guys? i either use nike juice or titleist NXts

[TourSpoon]

IMO, they are comparable to the NXTs with a touch more spin for a lot less money. More guys on the forum have been trying them. Good distance, feel, and spin. The first round out I shot 76!

[Dvazzz]

wow a 76, id kill for that. im always on the look out to save money on balls. ill definelty give em a try now. THANKS

[TourSpoon]

Well we played Saturday and on the front nine tee-to-green, I hit the ball as well as I have ever hit it. There was some wind that attributed to 2 missed greens and my short game just let me down. If I could putt, I would have been 1 or 2 under but instead I settled for a 39. The one time I got in trouble, I pitched out and hit my 60 to 7 feet and blew the putt. But overall, I was ecstatic about the ball striking. The back was horrendous and I was 8 over after getting in major trouble off the tee three times. I finished with an 83 which is the highest round that I have had in a month. The only thing that I did well on the back was to nail my 3 wood several times, hit an awesome bunker shot (to 6 feet from 40 feet only to miss the putt), and pitch my 60 to spin out on the hole.

Back today for lesson #8 and we continued putting with more weight on the left side and releasing the putterhead to make the ball roll. I then went to chipping and it was pointed out that I needed to get a little more action on the ball, which I totally agreed with. Finally we worked on the full-swing and my instructor commented on my round and said that my breakdown is when my left shoulder stops and doesn't turn through to the finish. We worked on the finish and viola, the ball striking was unreal. I finished with the driver with a couple of long draws and called it a day. I see real progress, as I am able to hit more and more quality shots throughout the round controlling the distance and hitting the ball where I need to more often. I am going to continue to work on the short game with the new insight that I felt today.

[TN94z]

Well, it will soon be official. I just posted another 8.3 which puts me below 7.0 to a 6.9. I started the summer after a long layoff since playing any serious golf (like a decade) and came back 2 years ago for 4 months to get down to a mid 8. I have been playing now about 3 months, have taken 6 lessons and have been really working on feeling the proper swing. My goal is to get into the 5s which I haven't done in a very long time. I feel like I am on my way. I just have to stay out of my own way (today I was 5 over going into 17 and went double-double)!

I am in the same boat...except for the payoff. I got to a 4 on my own and got stuck. I decided to take some lessons to help get to scratch. I had to make some swing changes which are taking far longer than I had imagined to become second nature, and I have since fallen to around an 8. I expected to drop but I figured I would be back on the way to scratch by now.

Congrats on getting to the 6! Keep up the hard work!

I noticed you both have top flite gamer v2 balls, i looked into these balls a million times just never had the gusto to buy them. i heard theyre a great cheap 3 piece ball but i hear this years version is a little harder to prevent scuffing. Wat r youre thoughts on these guys? i either use nike juice or titleist NXts

I just bought a dozen of these. I like them so far. They are more durable...I know this because I hit the cart path a time or two and didn't really see any noticeable scuffs.

[TourSpoon]

Thanks...I am trying to be patient as I know that changes don't occur overnight. I am starting to feel that the correct action is getting more and more repeatable. Every now and then the old action creeps in but I have been very aware of it when it does happen.

A 4 on your own is impressive.

[TN94z]

A 4 on your own is impressive.

That's what I thought....until I started taking lessons and have fallen back to an 8. It kind of makes me wonder why I chose to go this route

[TourSpoon]

Ok, I got my putter bent today so that it sets up flatter and the toe is not off the ground. I was hitting everything online in the shop, but really haven't practiced since my last lesson.

We got rained out at the course we wanted to play so we went across town and played a backup course that I used to work at. No warm-up as we were pushing on time. I still need short game work especially with the putter. I ended up 81 from the tips which computes to a 6.7 performance which is great, but I left too many putts on the course. It will come, I have faith.

[TourSpoon]

Today we played a windy course from the tips...9 bogeys, 4 pars, and 5 birdies for a 76 (3.1 differential). My drives were erratic and I played out on a couple of holes, but all those birdies made up for it. I left a couple of putts for par out there, but I did chip in for bird so it all evens out. The big difference was that I had no big numbers which with the wind blowing about 10-15 was really good. I need to stay down through the drives and make sure my weight transfers onto my left side. I have no problem with the irons but on the tee when I get tentative I hang back slightly and I could tell when it happened. Last week was a poorer performance with 85 that gets thrown out of the mix for handicaps. This should get me down to 6.4 which is better than I ever thought I could get down to this summer. Luckily, this score will stick around for another 19 rounds so hopefully I can add a couple of sub 80s in there to get me to a solid 5 which is my best ever! Next week I am going back for another lesson which I plan to hit the short game again and of course work on those drives.

[max power]

IMO, they are comparable to the NXTs with a touch more spin for a lot less money. More guys on the forum have been trying them. Good distance, feel, and spin. The first round out I shot 76!

This is exactly what I found with the Gamer. Spins a little bit more than the NXT Tour, and the V2 is a little bit sturdier. I actually find the NXT Tour to shred as fast or faster than any other ball.

[TourSpoon]

I played out on a couple of holes, but all those birdies made up for it.

Clarification...played out meaning playing the drive as it lies, but not going for the green. Essentially I had to play near the green to give myself a chance to get up and down. Luckily nothing was too punishing.

Yeah max power, Gamer V2 is a pretty good ball.

[Cornbread]

congrats on the progress.

[TourSpoon]

Like last week, we played the tips and I went into the last three holes 3 over. I ended up bogey, bogey, bogey, with 2 three putts and one sand save left out there from 5 feet. Uggg...still this gets me down to a 6.1 and even if I have a few off rounds the next score can still drop and put me at a 6.2. That is a lot of progress. It was pretty windy again and I will take 78 (4.8) every day of the week! The driver is not being my friend so I used three wood a few times and pounded it. Tomorrow I go for lesson #9 and we are going to work chipping and the driver. I need to get it so that I can trust it and it is the only club right now that is giving me trouble. I am on my way to becoming a 5 which is my goal. Thanks for the support from my fellow sandtrappers!