Baseline for the year

[chilly]

I'll be using this blog to record my progress throughout the year, in my attempt to get to a 12hcp.

Background:
I played roughly 2x/yr before April of last year, never taking the game seriously. I started playing in a casual work league, and shot a 117 my first time out...embarrassing. I started playing a bit in April, then joined a small local private club in May. I basically played once or twice a week but didn't really practice. My HCP was 26.5 after my first five recorded rounds.

Progress last year:
I basically had no plan but wanted to be an 18hcp by the end of summer. I didn't have a set practice plan and would just play a bit as time allowed. I got one lesson late in the summer which was the first time I saw my swing. I take the club way inside, then get steep lifting my arms, with the club ending up well across the line at the top of the swing. Lesson showed me that I need to bring the club back down the line, and lay off at the top (as a start). I ended up as an 18hcp last year and was pretty happy but realized I needed to work on all aspects of the game. Over the winter, I played a few times when available, got a driver fitting, and prepared for spring.

Progress early this year:
Unusually cold winter in Richmond, so I was stuck hitting chips indoors with wiffle balls for the most part. I was able to play a few times, but windy 30* days weren't optimal. I was able to improve my game off the tee, and chipping became more solid. Unfortunately, I went into a funk with my putter, having the "yips" from 25ft or so that leaves me with many long second putts.

I started hitting more balls this spring, reshafted a couple drivers to find something that would help with consistency off the tee, and kept working on the chipping. Purchased a Odyssey Sabertooth as the putter to use this year, as it seemed to roll well for me. Also picked up a set of used MP52s for an incredible price and will be working with them this year.

Went on a gold trip to Florida playing several medium difficult courses, much tougher then my 70.3/126/6100yd home course. Played decent and felt much better with my game off the tee. Irons are still erratic as I haven't grooved the flatter swing.

Present:
Currently I'm working on fixing flaws with my irons. I take the club back way too far inside with woods, and too flat, but they're not the weakness in my game at this point so I'm not messing with that swing. Last two times out I've shot new low rounds of 87 and 84, the 84 coming in a round with SIX three putss...six. Our greens are not difficult, it's the "yips" from 30ft that are killing me. I'm not great from inside 10ft, but that's not my issue.

The Plan:
I'm going to hit balls Tu/Thu every week, concentrating on PW-7i for the time being. I rarely hit longer then a 7i into a green. I've purchased a used video camera and will be using that to record swings at the range and tweak as I go. I'm going to dedicate 1/2hr on those two days, minimum, to chipping and putting and try to get my short game more solid. Chipping is decent in relation to my hcp right now (16.2 as of last revision), but putting is atrocious. I'm averaging 6fwy hit per round, driver is roughly 270yds in warm weather, goal is to bring that to 8fwy hit per round. I'm hitting around 5 GIR, so I'll be working to bring this up to 8GIR. Want to get to 50% saves converted, and max of 34putts per round. If I do these things, I should be in good shape to get to a 12hcp. I should crack into 15hcp range with the 84 posting in this revision.

I'll be playing one round per week, and possibly an additional 9 once or twice a week when I can get out of work. I'm going to stay at 6100yds until I'm below a 10hcp, then I'll move back.

That's about all for now, I'll post range sessions and rounds throughout the year.