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

[xburbx]

I wondering if anyone could answer this.  How do you measure a distance increase/decrease off of a tee box for hills?  There are several holes at my local course that I don't remember the tee distance but just know which club to play because I play it so much.  This is more related to par 3's.  If the distance says 140 and I have a good size downhill shot to the green, is there a rule of thumb for how much to subtract?

[xburbx]

Played today and shot a 90.  Good round overall.  Ball striking was good but getting up and down wasnt as good as last round.  I ended up joining with a guy that had an amazing short game.  He was deadly with a wedge.  He noticed that my short game was based around my 8 iron and bumping the ball.  He showed me how to to chip from 20 ft and in on short grass.  I got pretty decent with the 8 iron but I knew proper chipping was something that I was going to have to learn.  I didnt realize how much thought goes into the kind of ball to play, the release on the green etc.  I will be adding that into the mix with the driving range pre/post round.  I worked about 80 chips after today round.  I feel confident enough to use it on short grass in that 20 foot range but thicker funny stuff and I will have to use my 8 iron until I can learn it with the wedge.

[xburbx]

Played today and tried that sand wedge chip shot in the round.  I understand that shot cost some strokes for me and Chris, but we are gambling it on being worth learning.  It will take some getting used to.  I still feel more confident with an 8 iron bumping but I'm guessing to get to the next level I have to chip better with a wedge.  There seems to be mixed reviews on that in the forms.  I asked the pro at the course to give a chipping lesson next week and he is in.  The crowd at Hanover is a nice group and can golf well so I'm pretty excited for that lesson.   I will look to take something away from it to drill.

Ian - 96 today

Chris - 100 today

We both put our egos aside and decided to really try that chipping stroke.  We play enough where the saying "dont work on something on the course" doesnt really matter right now.  We arent playing for money so we work it on the range and the course.

At the driving range we were both a bit off on contact.  Chris beat me in the contact/accuracy game.  Contact wasnt as smooth as the other day when we committed the forward weight transfer and it's because we werent doing it as well.  Go figure.

[TWG50]

Ian,

I recently broke 90 for the first time and empathize with your frustrations.  A couple of thoughts that helped me:

• Avoid the 3 putt.  I went from having 4-5 a round to 1 or 2 by changing my swing so that the tempo is the same, but I adjust the length of my backswing to the distance from the cup rather than trying to hit the ball harder/softer.  Also, practice your lag putting from 30 + feet as this will help you develop 'feel' and make those long putts easier once you are on the course
• Don't be afraid of playing a long iron off the tee.  It's better to hit the fairway than be playing out of the woods/desert, especially on short par 4's, long par 3's, and holes with narrow landing areas.
• Constantly work on the short game and practice situations you run into on the course.  Get comfortable with 2 or 3 clubs from 50 yards and in.  It helps to know when and how to hit the high wedge shot in addition to your normal bump & run.
• Get your iron shot distances dialed in so you know that from XXX distance, you know you can get there with X club
• Again, practice real situations when you are on the range.  Imagine you have to hit a low draw 150 under tree branches, a lob shot over a small tree or water.  Practicing these shots has helped me tremendously. once I get on the course.

Good Luck!

Paul

[Ctp722]

Paul thanks alot sounds like solid advice and all of those things are being worked on

[xburbx]

So it has been a few days since an update.  I went to Florida and got 2 rounds in.  The course was great.  From the blues it had a slope of 138 and whites I think were around 132.  It is called Eagle Marsh.  It was a really awesome course.  I have never played something like that.  I played with a set of clubs that are 15 years old but did ok considering.  I shot a 101 from the blues and a 95 from the whites the second day.

I also got a round in at Hanover today and played ok.  I shot a 44 on the front and a 50 on the back.  I am really working on chipping with the sand wedge rather than the 8 iron.  Learning this has cost me some strokes as I shot across some greens with a wedge where I usually wouldnt with an 8 iron.  Roughly 4-6 strokes would be a good estimate in how much it cost me.  I am starting to dial it in a bit but it will take lots of practice.  Contact overall was decent.  I also hit about 40 range balls after focusing on a high iron, mid iron and 3 hybrid.

I should be playing tomorrow, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

[ochmude]

May I ask what your reasoning was for switching the way you chip?  I'm about 10 or so strokes behind you, averaging 108-102 currently, and chipping is definitely a weak spot in my game.

[Ctp722]

Your chipping will never be precise playing with dirt balls and dirt sand wedge, lol

[xburbx]

Im still not sure what I am going to do with my chipping.  The only reason I switched is because I have played with a few good players and noticed all of them don't chip like me.  They obviously know something I dont.  I am stuck between the saying "just get the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible" and doing it the traditional way.  CTP is correct but I always love finding prov-1's

[xburbx]

Big adjustment

so earlier this week chris and i played 2x.  He beat me pretty good in score and match play.  We both were playing not as well as we could,.  I became really frustrated and stopped caring how I was playing.  I started just hitting at the speed of my practice swing.  Once I did this, I noticed I was making excellent contact.  My practice swing is roughly 50% of my regular swing.  It feels as if it wouldnt make the ball go anywhere.  After noticing this, I took it into the weekend.  Chris also made this adjustment.

Yesterday

Chris - 90

Ian - 90

Today

Chris 91

Ian 90

It is unreal how much more fun this game is when you play consistent controlled rounds.  I would highly recommend the following to anyone struggling with good contact.

1. Leave your ego in your car

2. Swing at %50 speed

3. Have good weight transfer

It really was that simple.  You will lose about 10 yards per club but it scores and it hits the sweet spot a lot more often.

The other things that is helping is that I have decided to use my 8iron bump from about 10 feet and in and then the sand wedge chip from beyond.  the really soft sand wedge from inside 10 feet seems harder to me than 10ft and out.

[Paradox]

you have to practice practice practice and then practice some more to get the really short chip shots down.  Its kind of scary at first but after a while you will feel super confident that you're going to hole the chip from that distance.  Stick with the wedge practice and before long you'll be hitting shots that get you out of all kinds of trouble

[Ctp722]

117 holes of golf played in 4 days, pretty decent amount of play lol

[glk23]

Here is a tip for those short chip shots. The biggest problem I see for higher hdcp golfer's is deceleration through impact. For these types of chips, I use my "slow motion" shot. I focus on taking a real slow backswing which forces me to accelerate through the shot. When done with a higher lofted club, the ball pops up, lands softly with a little run out.

[bplewis24]

Your goal is interesting.  I've never considered such a precise goal (shooting within a 5-stroke range).

Perhaps I am being too negative or pessimistic (and feel free to call me on it if I am), but even the best golfers have days where things just never seem to go right and the score balloons 5-10 strokes higher than their mean score.  It would seem like getting an average score under 90 for the last 10 rounds is a bit more realistic than 10+ rounds under 90, when historically that (90) has been among our best scores.  What do you think?

Just some constructive criticism, please don't take it the wrong way.

Brandon

[xburbx]

yea, i think an average score under 90 is the better bet.  i certainly have those rounds that blow up in my face.

as far as that chipping technique, that is really what i focus on as well.  i try a slow pullback and then focus on a sweeping faster downward motion.

[ochmude]

Have you gotten any instruction on chipping at all or read any books?  I read The Art of the Short Game but unfortunately I wasn't able to take a lot out of it.  I recently found a great deal on Phil Mickelson's DVD's and will be viewing those soon.  Hopefully that might provide some insight into what to do up close to the green.  That's my biggest problem.  When I stand over a chip or short pitch I'm essentially guessing as to what I should be doing.

[Ctp722]

I have the Phil Mickelson DVD will watch soon.

[Tugglife2]

Nice idea and I'll be following your progress.  Do you guys always shoot within 1-4 strokes of each other playing 18?  That's crazy.