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

[xburbx]

played at a tough course today but played it well.  overall chipping and striking were good but it is an easy course to get into trouble if not managed right.  i did end up getting in trouble on 3 holes which blew my score up.  i shot a 95 which i can handle there.  the sky caddie actually really did help.  it wasnt too important on 200+ yard shots but it made a big difference from 100 and in.  shots that i would normally say play for a 60 yard shot were actually 80 on the sky caddy.  i trusted it and was 10-15 feet from the pin on 3 separate approaches because of it.  it's a pretty neat toy.

my ball was leaking right on me a little today and i realized i wasnt "clearing my hips" enough.  it wasnt major

[xburbx]

had a good few rounds since Thursday.  i played 4 courses other than my normal course.  the short game seems to be coming along and the goal for the journal is hopefully approaching.  chris has been playing just as well if not better.  the place i feel i will need to improve right now that can have a good impact is the following

1. hitting a driver to get in distance for GIR on long par 4's

2. getting tighter on chips

round 1 - 93

round 2 - 88

round 3 - 89

round 4 - 89

[Ctp722]

The driver really is the next step. Time to get one I also had an 89 on sunday

[oltombon]

Just read through your whole thread. Love it. Keep it up. I hope you shoot par one day.

[xburbx]

Thanks. Chris is right. I have to start working a driver on the range until I have the confidence to bring it off the tee. I also was talking to him tonight about the 50-60 yard distance being a weaker point in my game and deciding if laying up to a comfortable 100 yard gap wedge is the smarter play when i know i wont reach the green either way. There was an argument for both sides of that. I think he was right in saying to just work the 50-60 yard shot until it isnt a weakness.

I thought this was worth mentioning when looking at how you want to play a hole and how not to let a bad shot impact your mental end of the game. Today Chris hooked a ball off the tee on a par 4 which forced him to punch. Then he punched into a fairway bunker about 150 out. Most people would have been really mad and thought the hole was gone. His following shot was a clean sand shot onto the green for a 2 putt. Bogie saved. If he made the 1 putt, it is still a par. The point being that getting good at getting out of trouble is crucial and not giving up on hole is very important.

[xburbx]

so i went out last night with one of the course local guys that has a ton of experience.  he's a real good guy.  we were jumping to different holes to keep the pace of play good.  he ended up just full on coaching me.  i picked up some great stuff from him.  he forced me to use the driver.  it is good that he did.  i am so used to bogey golf that i didnt care if my tee shot got in trouble because it was so much further than my hybrid.  i was going to be in a similar spot if i hit my shot after my hybrid anyways.  the driver gave me the chance to hit a lot more GIR.  i went into the club house today to demo a driver because i am trying to figure out which one is best for me.  i think regular flex, 60kg, 440cc seems to be a good pick.  i played with one that wasnt real comfortable as it was a stiff flex tour style cleveland.  even with that i was able to get the ball out there.  it was such a drastic change that i went 1 under for 7 holes.  it was a bit crazy for me.  i managed to not be able to hold it together but still shot an 85.

ian - 39 front - 46 back

[xburbx]

played yesterday

Ian - 86

Chris - 87

[Ctp722]

We also got a full on walking lesson.

Charlie worked on my swing. Some of the major things he saw were deceleration and my left wrists while chipping.

He said I was using a bit too much power in my swing, one of the main concepts was to club up and make a much smoother swing instead of overpowering the shot. I didn't feel deceleration until yesterday so this may be very good for me, now at least I can pin point it when I do it and try to make a smoother swing.

With my chipping, I was not "pulling" with my left wrist and truly leading the club with my hands.

[bplewis24]

You guys are hitting the 80s with pretty good regularity now, it seems.  How close are you to reaching your goals...or are your goals starting to shift lower now?

Brandon

[Ctp722]

Shot an 82 today sort of. First 9 with Ian and my bro second 9 with just my brother. The only reason I would say sort of is because we played the back 9 twice due to a women's league. Still great shots and all but I'd like to shoot an 82 front to back. Brandon I think I speak for the both of us when I saw the immediate goal was 80's. Real goal = scratch golfer or close to it.

[max power]

I don't think there's anything wrong with playing the same 9 twice.  If you're posting for handicap you still put that in for your 18 hole score.

Originally Posted by Ctp722

Shot an 82 today sort of. First 9 with Ian and my bro second 9 with just my brother. The only reason I would say sort of is because we played the back 9 twice due to a women's league. Still great shots and all but I'd like to shoot an 82 front to back.

Brandon I think I speak for the both of us when I saw the immediate goal was 80's. Real goal = scratch golfer or close to it.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by max power

I don't think there's anything wrong with playing the same 9 twice.  If you're posting for handicap you still put that in for your 18 hole score.

I don't think he would put it in as an 18-hole score unless he had the option of listing the front 9 twice.  The 18-hole slope/rating may be different from the front 9x2 rating/slope.

Brandon

[max power]

Good point.  I was thinking of playing a 9 hole course twice, or playing one 9 one day and the other 9 another day.

Originally Posted by bplewis24

I don't think he would put it in as an 18-hole score unless he had the option of listing the front 9 twice.  The 18-hole slope/rating may be different from the front 9x2 rating/slope.

Brandon

[xburbx]

the 9 he played 2x is actually the harder of the 2.  if anything, the slope would be higher if that back 9 was used 2x.  regardless, it is just one round.

i have been driving the ball now but really need to get a regular flex.  the ones i have been using are stiff flex.  i need to develop more confidence with it.  when it's atleast a playable shot, it is usually far enough on par 4's to approach and be on in 2.  thats where i need to take advantage.

ian - 94

chris - 93

off day

i took more hazards than usual and chris's chipping was a bit off. im ok with having those scores as bad days considering where this thread started.

[Ctp722]

Playing so much we are slipping a bit. Very hard to stay focused and bring my A game almost every day of the week. Two back to back 93's. Not getting down on myself but it sucks not staying in the 80's completely.

[xburbx]

After a break this weekend Chris and I both shot well on Monday.  He shot an 84 and I shot an 86.  We have played a good bit of rounds that I havent reported because I slacked off on the journal a bit.  Lots of strokes we have shaved from a local guy that is good and has really helped us with our chipping around the green.  There is so much going on around the green that most people just don't know.  What kind of stroke to use, hit the fringe or hit the green, worst case best case landing spots etc

[xburbx]

Played today and shot an 87.  It was a good round.  I realized I was putting my handicap in based on the wrong info for the course.  We play deeper tees than the default and the slope was wrong in the skycaddie.  It has me at a 13.8 right now.  The new goal will be to be a single digit handicap.  I'm going to probably start that journal in another month but won't hit that until next year.

The major improvements have been - chipping and course management

The major improvements needed - chipping and becoming more confident with my driver.  With better chipping, my putts will become lower.  I obviously can use more work  on putting as well.  I 3 putt maybe 1x per round and on a bad day 2x.  I usually offset the 3 putts with a couple of 1 putts.  Better chips will lead to more 1 putts.

[ks8829]

This video might help, it should be renamed swing like Rory McRory.