Jamo's Blog on TheSandTrap

[jamo]

With gorgeous weather today, I decided to go to a golf course in Newton called Newton Commonwealth Golf Course. My father used to play there all the time when he lived in Newton, so I thought i'd try it out. I was going to go to a course in Providence, but I couldn't get a tee time until the afternoon, and Newton is closer. The conditions were iffy, with some areas iced over and some squishy and wet. Because the were in such bad shape, and terribly slow, I allowed myself a max of 2 putts, but I never 3 putted so it didn't matter. Most of the greens were of the wet variety. The course itself is a Donald Ross design that was only 5354 yards with a lot of sloping fairways and steep inclines in front of many, if not most, greens.

I ended up with an up and dawn score of 3 over par 73, a pretty good score, but it only netted me a differential of 6.7. Here is my Scorecard from today. I was driving the ball badly until the 11th hole, and from then on out I drove the ball much better. I finished with 7/12 fairways, 10/18 GIR, but only got up and down 2 out of 8 times, and I had a whopping 32 putts, well about average for me. I had 3 birdies and 6 bogeys, still it was a good first round of the year, especially on a course I had never played.

Some memorable holes:

Hole #1: My very first swing of the day the ground was frozen solid and I couldn't get my tee in very far. I ended up hitting the ball about 100 yards into an adjacent fairway. But I made up for it my sticking my 8 iron to about 2 feet.

Hole #4: On a short downhill par 3, I hooked a PW to about 10 feet and made the putt.

Hole #11: I had been hitting my driver really poorly until this hole, where I absolutely pured one to about 20 yards. If would have made the green if the green wasn't ridiculously elevated.

Hole #13: A short par 4 with a pond short, and they don't let you go for the green because the clubhouse is right beyond it. It was way downhill (the hill I climbed on the 11th) and I hit a soft 6 iron to the left side. I hit a very soft PW to the back of the green, and made a solid 3 putt.

Hole #15: I don't normally go for par 5s in 2, but this one was so short I had to. My drive was just off the fairway to the left, and I nailed a hybrid to the back of the green. I nearly made a 40 foot eagle putt to a front pin, but settled for a birdie.

Hole #16: I hit another soft PW to about 5 feet, but missed a really easy birdie putt.

Hole #17: I hit a drive that went 300 easy (well, alright, is was a bit downhill) and hit a LW to the green. 2 putts for a par.

Hole #18: Another killed driver left me a LW to the green. Nearly made the birdie putt after hitting the approach to 20 feet.



And the best part was, I drive most of the way home with the window down and the Red Sox playing on the radio. 'Twas a good day.

[RIduffer]

Nice jamo! Glad you had a good day. It's for the best you didn't go to Triggs...you couldn't handle a course like that anyway .

[jamo]

Nice jamo! Glad you had a good day. It's for the best you didn't go to Triggs...you couldn't handle a course like that anyway

We'll see about that. I would have gone but it was 10 AM and I was ready to go and when I called they said they were booked until 1:30. I was hoping to use that local knowledge.

[Saig55]

Good post, I enjoyed reading that. It always good to get out and hit them.

[jamo]

First off, if anyone cares, I got accepted to college yesterday! I don't like really talking to my friends about it, because I don't like bragging, but telling anyone who reads this is not the same because you don't know me. Anyway, got accepted to Northeastern University in Boston. It isn't my top pick, far from it, but it is good to know I got in somewhere. It is also the only place I've heard back from, so so far I'm batting 1.000!

Anyway, I went to Forekicks a couple days ago just to hit balls. I wasn't working on anything in specific, just hitting golf balls. I noticed that my hips, left arm during the backswing, and right elbow at the top were all pretty good. I was swinging with a good tempo, and I kept it short of parallel. I was focusing on maintaining my weight right over my center on the backswing, which always helps me swing in to out. I was hitting a slight push, which is just further evidence my club is open at impact, and also that my impact positions is far from ideal. But for now I'm content to deal with it, partially because I know fixing it will be tough.

At the Boston Golf Expo over the last weekend, there was a free swing analysis, so I decided to go. The guy (who had some very good credentials) had me wear this thing that measured my shoulder angle on the backswing, and he had me swing this stick the easily showed the club angle on the backswing. basically what he said was that my shoulders are a little too flat, and my arms are a little to upright. So, nothing new, I need to find that happy medium that i've been working towards. 'Tis the story of my golfing life.

Sorry, but no videos this time, maybe next time. Well, next time might not be for another week, I got a nasty blood blister playing baseball in the cold today, and I can't really grip the club too well.

[RIduffer]

Congrats on Northeastern acceptance!

[jamo]

Congrats on Northeastern acceptance!

Thanks!

[RIduffer]

What other schools did you apply to?

[jamo]

Lehigh, Lafayette, University of Delaware, Villanova, Rensselaer Polytechnic, UMass Amherst, Boston University, and of course Northeastern.

[WUTiger]

Congratulations! You're already ahead of me. I was No. 6 man on our junior college golf team back around 1970. I did my job - in both seasons, I prevented us from having to forfeit a match when top players were sick or injured.

Now I'm a college professor. One of the big challenges for college golfers is that the A squad tends to go "on the road" for days at at time. This means you miss lots of classes some weeks. Make sure that you coordinate with your professors so that you can keep up.

With a school like Northeastern, one of the best things is that you'll get play courses in a lot of different states. Bring your camera so you can record some of the more interesting holes you find.

[jamo]

Thanks WUTiger!

[jamo]

I went to Natick today to hit some balls. I had a couple of focuses (foci?): mainly I was working on keeping my left leg straight at impact, which helps clear space for my left arm to be straighten at impact. The problem was that I was loosing my hip slide, so I have to work on that. I was hitting a couple of balls fat, and that is not something that I want to make a habit out of. It is easy enough to do in slow motion, but in a full speed swing it wasn't too bad. I felt like I made some solid progress today, but without video I don't really have a confirmation. I also adjusted my stance a little, flaring open my front foot a little which makes sure that it doesn't slip when the left leg straightens. My swing stayed short of parallel, and my right elbow was in good position. I have decided that I am going to flatten out my left arm plane a little, thereby flattening out my swing plane, which should make it easier to make the shoulder plane more upright.

If you want a college update, I got wait listed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Judging by some friends that got in, I think I have a pretty decent chance of getting in, but it is still about my 4th choice.

I am going to try to play a round, possibly at Newton Commonwealth again, this weekend because it I've heard it might be in the 70's, or at least the 60's.

[jamo]

Good post, I enjoyed reading that. It always good to get out and hit them.

Thanks!

[NI4NI]

Congrats with the NU acceptance, and don't crap on my alma mater! :) It was not my first choice either, but ultimately offered the best balance of academics, on the job work experience opportunity (Co-op program), and don't forget a pretty active social calendar. It's all what you make of it, and I look back fondly at my time spent there. I could have gone to either Dartmouth or BC, but didn't want to bankrupt my future. Have fun and enjoy - and save up to to play Granite Links a few times.

[jamo]

I went to Natick today and used the outdoor range. The wind was really blowing hard right to left and the tee is very elevated, so the wind had a lot of effect. I started off hitting good short irons, and when I got to the long irons i realized that I was doing a lot of lifting of my right elbow. I made sure by the end to keep it against my chest, and I had it down by the end. The contact was not to good with the long clubs, but I really felt like with the short clubs I made some leeway on keeping my left arm and leg straight. With the long clubs though I didn't make quite the progress that I had hoped to. I was hitting good shots, with some draw due to the wind, but I wasn't hitting it very flush. All in all, not bad, but I just need to keep working on it, it is a tough change that needs to be made. No video once again, so sorry about that, but I will try to get it next time, it is supposed to me very nice out this coming week, as it has been the last couple of days.

[jamo]

I went to Southborough golf today. It's a pretty nice driving range, with the only downside being that it is at the top of a big hill, and the wind was really blowing left to right. I swung the club pretty well today, focusing almost exclusively on keeping my left leg straight at impact, which helps me keep my left arm straight. Overall, I was very happy with my swing today. I felt like the leg stayed straight, and the one video that I did get confirms that. My right elbow was a little loose, and consequently my swing had some unwanted lifting. The video below is sort of an anomaly, because my elbow was fine most of the time, but not on that swing. I could have redone it, but there were a lot of people around and I was worried about someone taking the camera, etc. The only video I have is a behind video, but angled a little bit and you can see the left leg. I was also very happy with my weight shift. I made sure my weight was just a touch on my front foot at the top, and then I made sure to push forward.

[sean_miller]

I have only one critique: It looks like your iron is getting worn out on the sweet spot - try hitting your irons all over face instead - you'll get a few more years out them.

[jamo]

I'll make sure to work on that.