The TourSpoon Blog

[TourSpoon]

Just to keep things interesting, I volunteered to try Golf Pride's Decade Multi-Compound grips for an upcoming product review. I re-gripped 5 clubs, went to the range on Friday, came back and finished the set. I thought the cord tops would be rough, but they were quite comfortable even though I go gloveless. I played Saturday and got so into my round, I never really thought too much about them (which is a really good sign). They performed well and I never lost my grip. Below is a picture of the grips and my new Sun Mountain C130 cart bag.

Saturday's round was at the private Jupiter Country Club from the Gold Tees (Greg Norman/6800/73.2/134). The opening holes are pretty tame and after an easy par I doubled the second after hitting into a bunker, splashing to 12 feet and then running the first putt downhill 8 feet by for a 3 putt. I rebound quickly and par the next few, bogey 7 and 8, then par 9 for a 40. I par the next three holes, yank a fairway wedge and 3 putt from 60 feet to bogey 13, par the next three and then double bogey 17 with a sand shot that got caught up in the heavy collar, a buried chip and 2 putts. A great chip from just off the green on 18 put me 2 feet for a 39 and a 79 for the day. The ball striking was actually very good today and even though I didn't hit that many fairways or greens I was really close which set up easy up and downs. The mid irons shined with a stellar 5 iron into a 190 yard par 3 pin high, a 6 iron downwind from 180 to 10 feet, and another 6 iron from the heavy rough. This shot was set up by the worst tee shot of the day that nestled down into a heavy section of rough. I had 155 to cover the bunker and the pin was at the very back of the green at 185. I hit the ball and it knuckled out over the bunker and rolled out to the back and hung up on the collar about 20 feet from the hole. There were no birdies, just a few lip-outs, and a couple of nice par saves. The course was ultra plush with a mixture of holes that gave an excellent variety.

[kcarile]

Just to keep things interesting, I volunteered to try Golf Pride's Decade Multi-Compound grips for an upcoming product review. I re-gripped 5 clubs, went to the range on Friday, came back and finished the set. I thought the cord tops would be rough, but they were quite comfortable even though I go gloveless. I played Saturday and got so into my round, I never really thought too much about them (which is a really good sign). They performed well and I never lost my grip. Below is a picture of the grips and my new Sun Mountain C130 cart bag.  [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/77730/] [/URL] Saturday's round was at the private Jupiter Country Club from the Gold Tees (Greg Norman/6800/73.2/134). The opening holes are pretty tame and after an easy par I doubled the second after hitting into a bunker, splashing to 12 feet and then running the first putt downhill 8 feet by for a 3 putt. I rebound quickly and par the next few, bogey 7 and 8, then par 9 for a 40. I par the next three holes, yank a fairway wedge and 3 putt from 60 feet to bogey 13, par the next three and then double bogey 17 with a sand shot that got caught up in the heavy collar, a buried chip and 2 putts. A great chip from just off the green on 18 put me 2 feet for a 39 and a 79 for the day. The ball striking was actually very good today and even though I didn't hit that many fairways or greens I was really close which set up easy up and downs. The mid irons shined with a stellar 5 iron into a 190 yard par 3 pin high, a 6 iron downwind from 180 to 10 feet, and another 6 iron from the heavy rough. This shot was set up by the worst tee shot of the day that nestled down into a heavy section of rough. I had 155 to cover the bunker and the pin was at the very back of the green at 185. I hit the ball and it knuckled out over the bunker and rolled out to the back and hung up on the collar about 20 feet from the hole. There were no birdies, just a few lip-outs, and a couple of nice par saves. The course was ultra plush with a mixture of holes that gave an excellent variety.

How do you get into product testing for a company? I would like to get into this because I play so frequently. Thanks

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by kcarile

How do you get into product testing for a company? I would like to get into this because I play so frequently. Thanks

kcarile, keep hanging around and become an active member of the site. If you are able to be a productive member of the site by posting quality contributions you can be selected to become a forum leader and/or join as a supporter. You can always start now by doing some reviews on the products that you already use like balls, gloves, shoes, clubs, etc. The better the review the more likelihood of being selected when the opportunities arise. At least this is how I did it.

[TourSpoon]

The last 30 days have seen some lower scores with rounds of 72, 81, 76, 76, 79, 80, and 82 for a 78 average. This beats my Scorecard average over 120 rounds by a good 1.5 strokes. More importantly, it drops my index to a new all time low of 4.2. I feel confident that with my current routine I can maintain my goal of a solid 5. Many thanks to the TST crew for all the knowledge and encouragement along the way.

The last 2 rounds were a little disappointing. The putting was off and I had no birdies. I am going back to really working on the 3-6 foot range. This seems to help me the most saving par and avoiding 3 putts. When I feel confident over these, then even the 15 footers start dropping. The other area is bunkers. I hit a bucket yesterday in the bunker and really worked on the solid base and follow through. Both are keys to getting it close.

The Golf Pride Decade Multi-Compounds are working out great. They give me a feeling of a little more control in the left hand which is important because I don't wear a glove. The cords are done just right and don't tear up my hand. I just posted the review here: GP Decade Review

Finally, the key to my recent success has been improvement in balance and tempo. I finally posted in the My Swing thread after a lengthy delay. Here is a 5 iron face on that shows some improvement along with a sound I don't hear often enough.

[TourSpoon]

I shot 79 last week and while I putted OK, I didn't really make anything to speak of except a 21 footer. Up and downs on the front were a dismal 0/5 and on the back 4/7 for a total of 4/12 with 3 missed sandies. I hit the ball decent avoiding doubles and played the same ball for all 18. I went for some short game practice focusing on putts at 3, 6, and 10 feet, then on to bunkers and pitching. I finally figured out that I was arm putting and started back on the shoulder rock and saw an improved line. The sand game take away was to set-up, swing and follow through hitting the sand 2" behind the ball swinging about twice as hard as I would for a normal shot. I did some core work this week but laid off the Orange Whip.

Today's round started horribly with a penalty, 3 putt and double on the first hole. I follow that up with another bad tee shot and 3 putt double and then a penalty and bogey on the third putting me at 5 over after 3. I par a couple, hit a birdie from 15 feet, 3 putt again for bogey, par and finish with another penalty and double for 43. I am not having a great day and feel out of sync coming over the top and not using my legs. I started the back with a great up and down, then hitting one in the hazard on the par five but save par. I go around the next seven holes making 3 routine pars, a sandie, and 3 more up and downs for an even par back for another 79. I didn't hit it great, and I didn't try to fix my swing but just played with it trying to just add some lower body. Somehow I managed to get around and the short game saved me. Concentrating on rocking the shoulders and keeping the legs quiet along with the head, I made every first putt inside 15 feet. The 29 putts was surprising with 3 three putts and 10 one putts using a total of 5 balls (4 penalties). That's golf for you.

Next week is our golf trip to Orlando's Orange National so I going to try to hit the half swing drill and the Orange Whip trying to get the legs engaged to start the swing. Hopefully, I can carve out some range time before the trip.

[TourSpoon]

Last weekend, we went on a golf trip to Orange National in Orlando and played 4 rounds. The 3 individual rounds were 81, 79, and 80. I had some really good holes (opened with a birdie) and a few holes that were just total garbage (par 5 driver, 3 wood to greenside bunker, bunker to bunker, chip and 2 putt double). As the rounds went on I just really lost my turn and my legs to the point where every tee shot was a total cut. I played it knowing not to change and got away with it for the most part. The other part of the game to go south was putting. I had no feel.

Monday, I went back to the range and worked on my angles. I started with a drill to promote turn by placing a dowel parallel to my feet and putting a club across my shoulders, swinging back and then matching the rod to the dowel. This kept me from overturning into a forward tilt and put me in a position to give me some tilt. Anyway, I posted the pics in the my swing thread. Here is one that I liked through impact showing a before and after.

The putting was more about path and keeping the angle in the right wrist. I tried the belly without anchoring and got some really good rolls so I may try to putt this way this weekend. It seems that by not anchoring, I have better distance control so I am willing to give it a shot. If it really works out, I may cut the belly down to 40" and use it as an almost belly. I have until 16 to get that part done so I will see how it goes.

[David in FL]

OCN is a great facility. A must play in Orlando. Did you play both courses?

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by David in FL

OCN is a great facility. A must play in Orlando. Did you play both courses?

Yes, Crooked Cat and Panther Lake. I really liked Panther the best. There are some incredible views there!

[TourSpoon]

After some rough putting with the Futura Mid, I played with a friend that uses an old 2 ball center shafted mini mallet. I gave it a shot and found it extremely easy to get the ball on line, unfortunately I had to give it back. With that idea in my head, I went over to my uncle's house and picked up the Scotty Cameron Square Back and put it in the bag. I have played 2 rounds with it and have made over 90 feet in putts in both rounds. The distance control is a little off, but the line is there. Bye bye belly.

I played with my group yesterday with the remnants of a tropical storm just lingering off the coast that brought milder temperatures along with some windy conditions. The pace of play was perfect and my group cruised through the course. Sand Trapper ShankyMcGee shot 70 to my 76. The other side of the match carded 83 and 75. It was a great day as Shanky was on fire with 4 birdies on the front. I hung in there all day, had to punch out twice, but played well enough to shoot 2 over on both nines. The new putter (new for me) was a welcomed edition and I was 5/9 in scrambling.

[TourSpoon]

I went back to the launch monitor this week because I have felt that I am losing a little distance off the tee since I switched to the Razr Fit TA 9.5. I did a comparison sample (10 balls min) against the Octane Tour and ended up dropping some loft to maximize numbers. DOT (1* open) SS 100 BS 146 LA 13.5 Sp 2700 Carry 251 Total 275 TA (.7 open) SS 100 BS 145 LA 14.8 Sp 2800 Carry 250 Total 274 TA (1.5 open) SS 100 BS 147 LA 14.5 Sp 2500 Carry 255 Total 280 At the last setting the loft comes out 9.0 and clearly lowered launch angle and spin with a 1.47 smash factor. I went ahead and opened the face a little more but the numbers fell off so I will stick with the 1.5 open for now.

[TourSpoon]

I hit the driver pretty good today hitting 10 of 14 fairways in a pretty otherwise mediocre round. I did one thing that I have never seen before. On the 17th hole I hit a wedge that hit the up slope of a plateaued green and it went down the hill leaving a good 60 feet. I gave it a good rap and it went up the slope, past the hole, and ended up just off the green. I made the 18 footer coming back for par from off the green giving me a GIR, a one putt, and an up and down. You have to love it!

[David in FL]

I made the 18 footer coming back for par from off the green giving me a GIR, a one putt, and an up and down. You have to love it!

You're killin' me.......:-D How're you liking those New Decades now?

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by David in FL

You're killin' me.......

How're you liking those New Decades now?

Oh, I ended up putting the 3Gen RELs back on. The Decades were just a little too firm for my taste.

[David in FL]

Yup. I was always a tour wrap full-cord guy. They're positively soft compared to those!

[TourSpoon]

Today was a bonus round and I went out looking to improve on yesterday. After knocking in a 5 footer in for birdie on number 2 and failing to get up and down on 5, I was even par. I was striping the irons and hitting my targets. On the par 5 7th, I bailed right and had to punch out to 163. I hit a 7 iron on a rope and just missed the birdie. A good up and down on 9 and I was in with 36.

On hole 10 I almost carried the bunker and hit a 7 iron from the sand 45 feet past the hole onto the upper plateau and 3 jacked. On 12, I split the fairway and had 111 into a pin tucked behind the bunker on the upper shelf. I gripped down and hit a 3/4 pw into the stiff breeze and stuffed it to a foot. I got around the next few holes and on 15, another 3 putt. Feeling the pressure to finish, I hit a drive on 16 behind a tree, punched out, just missed the green and got up and down for bogey. On 17, playing it safe, I blow a 3 wood right and hope for it to be in play. I advance it up and again another bogey. Starting to breath, I hit the 3 wood again, this time remembering to turn and hit fairway, green for the final par and a 75 at my old home course.

I knew that on the back I had worked my driver into a case of the rights, but I didn't try any major adjustments because I knew it was all tension. This leads to me not turning and then getting too armsie as the lower body fails to support. I limped in but when I added it up, I was excited that I limited all the damage to bogeys and finished with a strong par. The Scotty Squareback 1 will be staying in the bag. I am working on distance control with it, but it is hard to do with summer greens that are not consistent due to maintenance.

[TourSpoon]

Yesterday was back to the range to work on path. In the last few rounds, the rights snuck into a couple of my tee shots which indicates an inconsistent and steep path. I did the half swing drill (from the backswing with left arm parallel to the ground - hold this position and swing to the finish - it forces you to start with body eliminating over the top move) twice and then would hit a ball. This improved everything immediately as I fell back into the slot. I hit a lot of straight to push draws with the worst shot being a straight push. I need to keep doing this drill and feel it in my swing. I plan to incorporate it into my pre-shot routine during the next round.

[TourSpoon]

Three shots separated a good round from a great round yesterday. The first one was a pulled tee shot that was unplayable in the jungle about 75 yards off the tee, a bladed 60 from 85 yards that sailed the green into a clump of palmettos, and a 7 iron from a lie above my feet hit a little fat and skanky that found the water on my approach to 18 all leading to double bogeys. I also had three other bogeys that were pretty routine and were not round breakers. Now the highlights were a lot of good pars, two putts or par saves from very good positions and 3 birdies kept me in the game. Birdie one was pitching to a par 5 and making the putt from 10 feet, following that up on the next hole by making an 18 footer, then on 17, rolling one in from the fringe about 20 feet away after hitting my approach from an above the feet lie similar to the one I had on 18. The short game was on and I only required 26 putts. This is something that really gave me some confidence as I recently switched to a 33" inch putter from the belly that I had been using for so long.  The 78 computes to a 4.8 contribution as the course rating is 71.8/147.

[TourSpoon]

I've played a few times since my last last post and shot 81 and 79. I went back to the range to work on the takeaway as I tend to roll my forearms slightly which points the club head to the inside of the line. Finishing the swing from here puts me across the line at the top. It's not that bad, but it puts me on a slightly steeper angle coming down. I worked on this all week and the results were that I need more work. Making a small change like this seems simple, but it's a hard one to make because I have been doing it so long. I did make a little progress so it will happen if I stick with it.

Today's round was a sneaky 74 at Madison Green (71/147). I made my way around the front hitting 4 greens and getting up and down 3/5 times with a nice sandie to 6 feet for a 2 over 38. On the back, I made a birdie on 11 by hitting my 60 to 8 feet and made the putt. On 12, I made a 9 footer to save par and get distracted by adding up my score and hit 5 iron on the par 3 into the wind from 185 yards just to block it right. It hits the cart path and bounds OB and a nasty triple. Ok, so now I am humbled and on the par 5 lay up to 102 and stuff a 54 to 2 feet for a kick-in birdie. I par the next hole, and on the next par 3 into the wind from 192 yards I hit my 4 iron on a line to 15 feet and a par. On 17, I overplayed a 3/4 pw but make a putt from 27 feet for birdie #3. On 18 I hit a draw into the left rough and hit a 9 iron just missing the upper shelf. From there I hit my putt and the ridge throws if right and now I have a 7 footer on the right edge that I pour in for a even side back and 74. I hit 7 greens, was up and down once, had a triple and 3 birdies.

Putting was big today making 93 feet with 29 total. I was reading about putting from a link on another thread posted by Stretch about Mangum. I picked up 2 things that helped me. The first was to set up the blade and then make sure you are square paying attention to the angle of your neck in relation to your body. When you do this correctly, it allows the gaze to be more in line. The other tip was to pay special attention the the last 3 feet of the putt as this is where the most break occurs when the ball approaches the hole. These 2 things paid off today.