Journal - My quest to the 80's - (Continued from the WALL 93-96) thread

[Ctp722]

Yea I know I felt really dumb too.

Honestly it could be made really easily in the backyard, but if you dont mind paying the $125 I believe it helped me find the plane I was looking for with my driver. For that day anyway!

[xburbx]

i would say 99% of the gimmicks out there are just that.  you'll have to refer to chris for this one, but it did help him.

[anotherday]

I can just picture me hitting the entire plane finder and sending it into the neighbor's back yard...

[xburbx]

Played yesterday.  Chris shot under 90 2x in a row now.  We are still very focused on our short game.  Nothing new otherwise to report.

Chris - 89

Ian - 92

[Ctp722]

I need the forums help in telling Ian that he should pick a ball and play one consistently. He won't listen to me

[xburbx]

Ahhh. I see where this is going.  I shot an uncosigned 85 yesterday from the blues.  Played a prov1 90% of the day and then found a nike 20xi.  I will settle on a ball at some point, but I dont know which one that  is.  As my chipping becomes more consistent I will make a decision.  I feel like it is where I see a difference in the ball the most.  The release on the green.  I could be wrong on that observation, but lets get Chris to work on his wedge to make his consistent ball worth using first.

Obviously that is 2 uncosigned rounds in 1 week under 90.  Consistent contacts and good short game are really the most important thing.  Knowing your distances of your clubs is also very very important.

86 Wednesday*

85 yesterday

*6 holes from the whites with a couple of guys I joined with, then switched back.  (yes, i did do the stupid * thing)

[xburbx]

I will also toss this out to any followers.  If you have any games that you think are fun to play with 2 players, let us know and we'll try it.  Games we play now

Match play

Bingo Bango Bongo

Wolf (4 players)

Betting games of sorts are preferred.

[Ctp722]

Just so were clear these are found balls on the course with no backups in the bag. We all know he is improving. But good players play a consistent ball for many reasons. If were using your own words of knowing your clubs one ball could add as much as 10 yards to that very same iron? See the irony (no pun intended)

[xburbx]

Fair enough.  Game on today

[anotherday]

A fun game for a bad golf day is to choose the only 3 clubs your partner will be able to use for the hole. On a Par 5 we've gone with 6i, 9i, LW.. its fun for days where Golf wins and you just need to lighten up.

[xburbx]

That game is fun.  I like playing it on executive courses.  We'll be playing that in a few weeks.  Chris and I both just had an ugly day.  We shot ok, but it wasnt pretty.  The good thing is that we have gotten pretty decent at getting out of trouble.  We ended up jumping around to holes after 18 to play match play.  We were even after 8 and I won the last one.  Today was nothing to write home about.  We went to the range after and even that didnt feel great.  I just need to put the clubs down for a day and rest.  Chipping has been getting better and better so I am liking that wedge around the green for sure.  Chris almost had his first hole in 1 today.  He had the line on the par 3 and was about 2-3 feet short.  A small gust of wind would have had that ball carry into the hole.

Ian - 93

Chris - 92

[xburbx]

So Chris and I decided to play a different course today to see how our game was coming along off the usual course.  It was not pretty.  Our ball striking in the last couple rounds hasnt been too hot so we werent at our best but we finished in the mid 90's.  Not where we wanted to be.  It's strange because we strike the ball much better than we did a year ago, but we still have chunked shots or slice/hooks.  We will then pick up on something causing it in the middle of the round, adjust and be ok.  How do we get to that consistent point of less error and more repeatable shots.  Some days we are on fire and others it is like we have never hit the course before.  We would be up for any suggestions from someone that has been in the range where we are.  Is it more time at the range? Just keep playing because we'll get there?

[Mordan]

Originally Posted by xburbx

How do we get to that consistent point of less error and more repeatable shots.  Some days we are on fire and others it is like we have never hit the course before.  We would be up for any suggestions from someone that has been in the range where we are.  Is it more time at the range? Just keep playing because we'll get there?

Do you have a pre-shot routine? It doesn't have to be long or complicated, but by doing the same things to prepare for every shot you're going to increase your chances of repeating the same setup and swing and thus getting a more consistent result.

[xburbx]

Yea, there is a pre-shot routine but it is very small.  It is consistent though.  2 practice swings and then set my weight and hands slightly forward.

[Mordan]

Originally Posted by xburbx

Yea, there is a pre-shot routine but it is very small.  It is consistent though.  2 practice swings and then set my weight and hands slightly forward.

What about the mental side of things? If you're standing over the ball thinking about your last drive that sliced out of bounds, or how you really don't want to hit another shot fat then you're probably not setting yourself up to have the best chance of hitting a good shot.

[xburbx]

So an idea I had last night.  I noticed that the poorly hit balls tend to be the same bad shot.  It isnt like there are new flaws popping up in our swings.  There is some tendency that creeps in a couple times a round and then we try to figure it out.  On those poorly hit shots the flight pattern and feel of the swing are the same in error.  Chris and I are going to tape a ton of shots at the range and then when that shot comes up, we will make an audio note.  Then we will post it here and see exactly what causes the error.  We both have 2 tendencies that seem to creep in during the rounds but we just can't peg exactly whats wrong.

[xburbx]

so an interesting update.  i went to the range yesterday after playing 9 holes.  i just wants feeling my swing.  i hit a ton of balls with the intent to figure out what i was doing right and what i was doing wrong.  after about 150 balls and taking out each part of the swing, i took a few "natural no thought" swings.  then realized i was still making contact but a slight slice was coming into play.  the reason was my right elbow was popping out.  after focusing on keeping my right elbow tight and in, it was cured right away.  we played today and ball contact was back to normal.  further than that, around the 11th hole i told chris i head about a baseball grip on the golf club.  i thought it was funny, but chris tried it.  he used to be a good baseball player so it felt natural to him.  the funnier part was that it was working for him.  it worked really really well for him.  it also somehow added about 15 yards to his irons, with a draw!  his driver was longer and more accurate than we have ever seen.  he has to figure out his new distances, but it looks like it has some promise for him.  i have no intent on using it but we will keep the forums posted.

ian - 90 (missed the 89 with a 5 foot put by 1/2 and inch)

chris - 93 - noodling with new swing

'

[Ctp722]

I think there could be a few things going on here. I used to play baseball, I'm also ambidextrous and do other sports left handed. I need to research and figure out why this worked so well, but it was fun! Idk if there is a reason it's working but it was today