The TourSpoon Blog

[TourSpoon]

During the last 3 rounds I have been playing left hand low on the belly and given the small sample I am averaging 29.6 putts per round and over 6 rounds with the belly I am at 30.8. This is 2.2 and 1.0 putts per round lower than my average over 65 rounds of 31.8. The biggest pickup seems to be in 1 more one putt per round, almost 1 more two putts per round, and slightly fewer three putts. There is a huge improvement in total distance with it increasing from 69 feet to 80 feet. Surprisingly, the putts inside 6 feet are down slightly but up dramatically from 7-10 feet. So after 6 rounds, it seems that I am starting to groove the belly. The rounds themselves were not all that spectacular with only one round getting kept for handicap and with me currently playing to a 5.2 index. Wednesday I go to a video lesson for one hour and then off to the Honda on Friday and Doral the following week. I always seem to play better after watching the pros as some much needed tempo creeps into my body. Those guys are just so pure.

[TourSpoon]

I went to my intro special $25 video lesson with an open mind hoping at least to get some decent video out of the deal. I filed out a sheet, had a little interview with the guy, and then got warmed up. I told him what we would see and it was confirmed. Surprisingly, I looked better than I thought I would with my rotation through the ball being good and impact decent with just a slight breakdown. I half watched the video they put on and asked the guy to turn it off after 10 minutes. Then we went to work on the centered turn. I have a tendency to overswinging my arms as I load up on the right side and then drift forward as I start the downswing. This puts my head slightly on the ball and then I get stuck and have to come down steeply into the ball with a tiny breakdown. We work a few drills concentrating on that centered move, a bump of the hips to start and viola, solid impact position. Back with a ball in front of me, I tend to slip back and struggle with swinging too fast. As we finish I feel pretty solid on the last swing and the video showed great improvement with my head behind the ball and impact solid with hands ahead. I was happy to see that final position! Then he went into the sell and he just kind of stopped knowing that during the lesson I was able to point out the flaws as they happened. I told hIm how much I would pay and for what and after a couple of cross outs, the contract stated 3 more lessons over the next 3 months for $150. I thought that 4 lessons for $175 was a good price especially since the guy knew my game (similar to his), he had good video equipment, and he had some fresh perspective. I logged into the site today and was surprised to see the entire lesson on video. That was a bonus. Tomorrow, I go back to the Honda and will take it all in. Fridays are my favorite days to watch as the guys have a round under their belt and there are AM and PM double tees to spread out the crowds. The one thing that I need to work on is tempo. I get so quick, I can make Nick Price look slow. Well maybe not but going to a Tour event puts perspective on how smooth and quiet these guys are when they swing the club.

[TourSpoon]

After The Honda,The Doral, and some new video, I have tried to make some adjustments. One is bending more from the hips with a little less knee flex and the other is to use my bigger muscles to take the club back. The set-up allows for a more centered turn and the take away change makes for a slower move back and better tempo. Both result in me better able to stay over the ball at impact and break down less as I swing through the ball. I had it going with the driver today hitting the fairway 6/7 times on the front nine. It was a strange round with a little bit of everything. I had 3 birdies, 2 doubles, 2 penalty strokes, a buried lie, a fluffed chip, a topped shot from the rough and then hit the pin from 100 yards to get up and down from 6 inches. The putting was just strange with 8 one putts and 3 three putts for a total of 31 putts with 5 one putts in a row. The result was an 81 that was interesting to say the least.

[TourSpoon]

It's been a while since my last entry and I have been working hard on some real changes. I have seen the video guys about 6 or 7 times even though I bought a 3 lesson deal. With that deal came practice time which is almost as good as an actual lesson because these guys still worked with me (in fact they told me I was one of they few students who actually did the follow-up so they would always spend more time with me). The things that I have really worked on is feeling the right pocket move back during take-away to help the centered turn and keeping the weight inside of the right foot. This allows for a more on plane back swing, and with keeping the backswing shorter, I don't tip forward from the top. I worked all the drills they gave me and the one that helped me the most I try to do daily. I call that drill the half swing drill and I swing back so that my hands are waist high and the butt is pointed at the ball. From there, freeze, then restart and swing through the ball. This forces the feeling of starting with the lower body and pulling through the ball. On video, it was clearly a solid impact position during the drill and I am working to incorporate that in the full swing. When I started this latest journey, I gave myself 6 months or else (not sure what the else would be). During last weeks visit my impact position has greatly improved from when I started. To accomplish making these changes, I decided to play golf without keeping score to eliminate the pressure. I played casually a few times hitting multiple shots and sticking to the plan. In the past, I would abandon a change for a score so to play this way was a challenge. Finally, in May I decided that I was ready to play by the rules and let the chips fall while sticking to the plan. The first round started rough despite a birdie on 2, with. 43. Going into 16 and coming off my 4th double, I finished par, birdie, birdie for a 38, 81. I could live with that score, but the round had everything, solid pars, streaky birdies, and a fair share of disaster. Still, more work needs to be done, but I had some great ball striking in there too. Two weeks later, I played after work. Being a single, I was able to hit a few extra shots (a lot of short game) but scored the first ball (even when I birdied the second ball). The result was 14 pars and some others for a solid 77. More work ensued, really looking at the loose shots. I was still using the belly and the last 2 rounds had 30 and 31 putts, well beneath my almost 32 putt average. In the meantime, I kept doing the half swing drill and decided to use it as my preshot routine. I stare down the shot, do 2 half swings pausing between transitions, address the ball and pull the trigger. The third round starts with 2h starting up the right side drawing to the left side. A 9 iron gets jacked past the whole and a three putt. I didn't want to start like that but that's golf. I rebound with 3 pars and a birdie from 5 feet and then lose a 5 iron on the next par 3 right into the water for a double. It was the worst shot of the day. Bogey, par, birdie (ball spun back and hit the stick from 100 yards) follow for a 37. On the back, I hit everything solid and finish with a great drive and a chip in for bird. Another 37 and I walk off with a well earned 74 despite the gusty wind. One note to myself is that I am hitting the ball a half club farther thanks to a much improved impact position. The belly came through with 27 putts despite starting with a 3 jack. Teeing it up 3 days later I try not to expect anything after coming off such a great round. I start with a par and with my partner commenting on my previous 74, I get up to the next par 3 and stuff a 7 iron to a few feet for a easy bird. Three bogeys occur after some great drives because I am having a tough time clubbing myself because I am hitting it a few yards farther. After 9, I am three over and go into 12 with a great drive. I am 225 out and I get quick with the 2h and push it into the water. From 70 out, I hit 60 within 10 feet to get u/d for par. The next few holes I have great looks for birdie and end up even on the back (missed a 3 footer for bird) On the last hole, I hit a huge block but got lucky in the adjacent fairway, and ended up scrambling for the final par and back-to-back 74s. I am ecstatic and really feel that I am seeing real progress. The 30 putts is again below average and with 11 rounds in the bank I am putting almost a full 2 strokes better with just under 30 putts per round with the belly. Now, I am totally jacked to have 2 incredible rounds back-to-back. I am still working the half swing drill, the mirror work, and the left hand only drill. I am very close to eliminating the slight cross at the top. I am stoked that I will be in the 4s very soon as it has been my goal since last summer after making it into the 5s. Equipment wise I am playing the same equipment but someone may be sending some new Vokey TVDs my way. The belly is starting to make sense as I figure it out. I am hitting the ball farther with less perceived effort. Change is good, but it takes a lot of work!

[TourSpoon]

I played again today and of course coming off two great rounds I wasn't expecting much, but I would take it if it came my way. I started off on the first hole 65 yards for the third shot and barely making the green giving myself a 50 footer and a 3 putt. The next hole I rebound on the number 1 handicap with a busted drive and an 8 iron to 15 feet and made the putt. Bogey, par, bogey and stick a drive and second shot to 7 feet for another birdie. Par, par and I walk into 9 and hit it a little right and have tree trouble, chip it into a bunker, advance it down the fairway, blade a wedge and take 3 to get it into the hole for a double and a 39. I start the back missing a 7 footer to save par, and then on 11 smoked a drive that set up a 118 yard shot into a tight right pin. I hit a fade pw to 3 feet and make the putt for my third birdie. Going into 17 I am 5 over for the day and decide on a seven iron and hook it into the hazard that sets up another double. The last hole I parred and ended with a 79 (72.5/129) with 32 putts. Again, I hit the ball fairly well and it all comes down to wedges and putts and hitting a couple of bad shots including a bladed wedge. I had a great run this week and I probably will not get to play again until the weekend. The checklist for the upcoming week will be to give some attention to my wedge game and continue the full swing work.

[TourSpoon]

I have been slacking on my homework (half-swing drill and mirror work). I have just been busy. My group got a hook-up at a private club and we went there 2 weeks ago. It's the kind of club that when you go to the starter, you get tees, ball mark tools, shaved ice, fountain drinks and wet towels hanging on the rear of the cart. The greens are rock hard, super fast, and difficult to read. The lies are perfect, they have iced towels on the course and you never want to leave. I started off even until I snapped one OB but made the 6 with 3 off the tee and 4 on. The course, tipped out playing 72.7/143 is a Joe Lee and got the best of us as I cruised around in 85. I never could get the greens as they are so much better than I am used too (and I play decent greens). Today, I am up in Tallahassee, and walked on the FSU Seminole Course. It's a nice layout and I decided to play up to try to make it a little more enjoyable as I was unfamiliar with the course. I had to play the back nine twice (front was being punched) and on my second loop I played with 2 old-timers. I decided that I focus a lot better with company and shot 39-38 with one birdie. From 6400 yards I hit a lot of 3 woods and hybrids. I did manage one monster drive up and over (blind) a hill and caught the backside for a 299 yard tee shot. I promptly toed my 5 iron from 203 and left it 20 yards short. I pitched on and two putted for an easy par. The shot of the day was from an 8 foot deep bunker, short sided, I got it to 4 feet. Since I had an up hill lie I knew I could hit it with a little more authority as it would most likely play a bit fat. It was really good. Last, I am waiting for my set of Vokey TVD grinds to come in from Titleist. My cousin is on staff and is hooking me up with a new 54/60 combo. Now I will be all conforming if I ever decide to play in a real tournament. I still don't care for the Nike 20XI-X, and I am thinking about giving them back. I love the feel of the Pro V1 and the performance of the Pro V1x. There is something about that Nike X ball and I am convinced it is just too high of a compression for me to be consistent with my 105 swing speed.

[Nole77]

Hah, my home course.  Love that par 5, especially when the wind is blowing from behind.  Thanks for the heads up on them punching, might just wait a few days before going out again.  It's too bad though, I actually prefer the front 9 as it tends to really make you hit the fairway.  The back is a little more forgiving for the most part.

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

I did manage one monster drive up and over (blind) a hill and caught the backside for a 299 yard tee shot.

[TourSpoon]

Hah, my home course.  Love that par 5, especially when the wind is blowing from behind.  Thanks for the heads up on them punching, might just wait a few days before going out again.  It's too bad though, I actually prefer the front 9 as it tends to really make you hit the fairway.  The back is a little more forgiving for the most part.

I enjoyed the back, not too difficult from the green tee and the place is in decent shape. The greens were a little bumpy as it looks like they were done a few weeks ago. My favorite hole was #12. At 370 it was a 3 wood - 9 iron with the putt breaking towards the street. That was my birdie hole. The bunker on 14 was a beast with the pin in front. I am sure the men's team must score real well there. I also hear that they play Southwood too. I loved that course.

[TourSpoon]

The Vokey TVDs are here. As a little surprise they came customized in blue (54) and red (60) with my initials in the snowflake pattern. The TVDs are a special "M" grind Tour Van version that is a Vokey special order. So far so good and I will keep everyone posted!

[TourSpoon]

The wedges are working out pretty good. For the last 3 rounds I am 50% (7 of 14) on sand saves and 42% (8 of 19) on u/ds. Not too shabby! In the first 2 rounds I had 3 penalties both times so I really looked at why. I concluded on another thread that I was neglecting the long game so I went to work on trying to really eliminate the right side of the fairway. After looking at my stats, I noticed that my misses were almost equally left and right and that I was so bad that GIR from rough was down and penalties were up.. When I went to the range yesterday my game plan was to start working on the draw. I first worked on ball position and squaring up the club face to the target line by using the range stripe. Amazing! I was lining up my driver a few degrees open from the start. From there a centered turn was producing a better flight that either was straight or had a draw. I tried the same thing with the 3 wood and hybrid. Now if I could only take it to the course. Today was extremely windy. I really concentrated on elinating the right side by setting up properly and square. The result was not one ball lost to the right on any tee shot. In fact I missed left 8 times, and hit the fairway 5 times and had zero penalties. Now I just have to trust it. I hit 2 bombs today both over 290 (driver 2h on green -3 putt par on one) and on the 391 yard hole hit 3w wedge. I was hitting the tee ball better and only had 2 bad tee shots from just getting distracted and not swinging, but I came out only one over from those mistakes. The big factor today was wind and hitting and holding greens. Anyway, the shot of the day was a 90 foot bunker shot from wet sand. I squared up the face of the 60 and hit it 15 feet past the hole and made the save.

[TourSpoon]

Continuing on working on set-up off the tee to avoid the big number, I ventured out this morning feeling pretty good. Despite only one birdie, I shot a solid 74 with 3 bogeys and 14 pars. I had a lot of looks, and made a lot of par saves with scrambling coming in at 67%. The birdie came from being in a green-side bunker on a par 5 in two and getting it to 3 feet. The par save of the day was from my worst drive being duck hooked off the tee into a sandy waste area avoiding some nastiness, a hybrid that clipped a palm and was 70 yards to the.pin, and a 60 to 15 feet. Saving par there gave me some confidence to keep swinging with confidence.

[TourSpoon]

After a couple of ehhh rounds I found myself wondering about what to work on next. Soon after I turned on TGC and saw the Ladies playing at the Evian. I payed attention and noticed their impeccable tempo and balance. Swing after swing was in rhythm and I compared it to my game. I have gotten stuck on mechanics and my last lesson was on how a smoother tempo allows for a better swing and how a rushed tempo can get you out of sync, off balance, and out of position. I decided right there that I was going to play my next round concentrating on tempo and target.

I played my home track and while there were many really good shots, there were less really bad ones. Despite missing a 3 and a 6 foot putt, I shot 80 with no birdies and no doubles. The no doubles part was huge and even though I missed a few birdie putts, I made my share to save par and bogey. Scrambling was over 50% and putts per missed green was 1.30. The story of the day was not panicking and doing nothing really dumb avoiding all the OB and any wild shots. I think I may be on to something as my balance improved and I was able to hold the pose at the end of the swing. It seemed when I was patient in my swing, everything lined up, the ball took off and the results were good. The contrast was feeling a little rushed which created inconsistency and a feeling of being out-of sync and off balance. Staying relaxed, focusing on the target, and swinging with rhythm gave myself a better chance of success.  Lesson learned!

[TourSpoon]

I went to the range yesterday and was still working on the tempo thing. I was hitting the ball so good that I caught two people at the end of the range checking out my ball flight with my three wood off the deck. That went to my head and I grabbed my driver and tried to hit it resulting in a block. A couple more and I was just laughing because I was roping everything else. I realized that in progression up to 3 wood, I had nice tempo never rushing the club or swing, but turning and transitioning nicely without much thought. I decided to try that with the driver and it was back.

Today we got the 7am tee time and after a night before deluge, the course was cart path only which means that drives will be carry only because of the slop. We jump on the tee with no warm-up and I pipe it over the bunker into the middle of the fairway hitting it about 250. I lay up and hit a 6 iron and still have 160 into the hole 570 par 5. Stuck my 7 iron to 2 feet for a nice little bird. I go through the front with little trouble even hitting the flag on the par 3 8th with a 9 iron from 140 out. I get to 8 (430 dog leg left par 4) and hit it in the far right side of the fairway giving me 210 to the pin. I  hit a week 5 iron short and in the hazard and a double. I follow that up with a missed u/d for a 2 over  37.

The back starts with par, u/d par and then on the par 5 533 yard 12th, I bomb a drive off the super elevated tee to give me 200 to the middle of the green. I have a forced carry and just overcook it into the hazard for another penalty and a bogey. I follow with another bomb off the tee and drive the green on the 13th par 4 playing 342. I carried it over the ravine to pin high @ 275 and have 45 feet across the green. I leave myself a 4 footer which I lipped out for a 3 putt. The next hole is the tiny par 3 downhill which I also 3 putt. I play the next 4 holes with one bogey for a 40 and a 77 for the round. Not bad considering how long the course was playing and slow the greens were.

This round puts me down to a 4.5 index which is the lowest I have had since starting this thread. The key today was a relaxed back swing and smooth transition which put me in good positions off the tee.

[TourSpoon]

Club	Handicap Index	Effective Date	Low H.I.
Florida State Golf Association	4.5	8/15/2012	4.5

It's Official!

[iacas]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

Club

Handicap Index

Effective Date

Low H.I.

Florida State Golf Association

4.5

8/15/2012

4.5

It's Official!

Congratulations! Lowest ever?

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by iacas

Congratulations! Lowest ever?

Thanks. Lowest ever!

[TourSpoon]

Today I played at the course that I worked at 20 years ago. Playing there brings me back to a place where if you hit it 250 off the tee you were jumping for joy, now 250 is a marginal drive.  My distances that I remembered on that course are with balata balls and 1st generation metals so when I hit a tee shot today it just reminds me of how much better I am and how much better the equipment has helped us out.

I start with a driver sw on the 400+ yard par 4 for an easy par. The tees where playing up, but I have never hit sw into that green. The next hole I short-side myself, fluff the chip high on the face, chip on and miss the 4 footer for a dub. Miss a 6 footer on the par 5 for bird. Easy par on 4, and rock a drive and push a wedge into the bunker. The bunker is muddy and I proceed to blade the ball across the green and a double. I follow that up with a drive and get blocked by a tree, punch out, miss green and 2 putts for double. That is 3 doubles and 3 pars. I par out with some great shots and miss 2 birds to stick at 42.

The back starts with an awesome sandy, routine par, u/d, and then a missed putt from 5 feet (downhill slider and first bogey). Then a sandy, birdie, and a 3 putt from behind a knob that was either hit the hole or watch it go past. I missed the come back putt for a bogey. I par with another u/d and miss a bird for a tap in on 18. Despite three bad holes on the front, I kept it together for a 37 on the back and a 79 overall.

The wedge game that killed me on the front, saved me on the back. I went 2/3 u/d. 2/4 sand saves and had 32 putts (18-14) The putter was not liking the 4-6 footers today only making 25% of those. Really, I played great today despite 2 horrible short game shots). I can't ever remember having 3 doubles and still breaking 80. The 79 was very satisfying when I added it up because I never gave up.

[TourSpoon]

This morning I took off work for an extended weekend vacation with my wife and we played a round near our stay-cation resort. I felt pretty groggy the whole day. I managed to not play too bad and not play too good. I had 13 pars , 4 bogeys, and a double. There were 2 penalties for a bogey and a par. The par came from hitting a tree that kicked my ball into the hazard and hitting 9 iron from 140 to 15 feet and making the putt. I finally woke up one the back after a double and a bogey and parred in the last 4 holes shooting a smooth 78 (6.4).It was one of those rounds that makes you double check the score card as nothing stood out but it ended up being ok. I went u/d at 50% and took 33 putts on the slowish greens.