I think I am on to something....

[TN94z]

I have only played about 6 or 7 times since October of last year.  I have been to the range a few times as well.  There are a couple of key swing thoughts that I have that really allow me to strike the ball well.  I played in a scramble this past weekend and I was driving the ball better than I have in a while.  This has been slowly getting better the last few times I have either played or practiced.  My driving has always been my problem with regards to scoring.  If I drive the ball well, I score in the mid 70s.  If I don't, I score in the mid 80s.  My irons are always pretty steady unless I am playing around with some things and then they aren't bad off.  My short game has been pretty steady (not so much right now, but that is just from a lack of play).

What I am getting at is that I think I am finally on to something that will aid in consistency. I have the feeling that I will be shooting some low scores this fall.  I can feel that it is just right there and with a little more range time, it will come to light.  The two 9 hole rounds I have played recently were 38 and 37 and 2 different courses....and that was with my short game being off. I am still playing around with some things on my irons (trying to get a little steeper angle of attack) and that seems to make my distance a little more effortless...I'm assuming due to better contact.  In the scramble this past weekend, it didn't look like I played that well, but it was mainly attributed to at least a club difference on all my distances with my irons.  For instance, there was a downhill par 3.  173 to the pin with a laser, 196 to a retaining wall at the very back.  The wind was a bit in my face. I usually hit my 6i 172. So I pull the 6i having figured the wind was canceling out the downhill, and took an easy swing.  I took a descent divot, a nice baby draw as usual and then.....it flies the retaining wall by 10 yards!!!  I just stood there dumbfounded.  That happened all day.  I was having to pull my 9i for 150y shots, PW for 140y shots.....this was a good 15 yard difference across the board.  It made for a confusing day.  Driver was longer too!  I liked that.

Anyway....I think I am on to something.

[rdwoody]

Man, to have played that little lately and still be scoring that well makes me feel bad. Heck, I've played 6 or 7 times in the past month and I'm not playing at the top of my game yet! Maybe I need to meet up with you and you can get me onto that good stuff, too!

My driver is really the thorn in my side right now, too. Yesterday, I shot par or better on every hole that I hit the fairway on. The others turned out pretty messy. I just need to dial the swing in a bit. When I hit it well, I hit a nice draw, but that swing also causes some pushes. It's just not quite there yet.

My iron play has taken a hit recently. A shaft change is really in order for me. I've made a lot of changes to my swing recently that slowed me down slightly and gave me a very smooth tempo. Without my former aggressive transfer, I'm just not properly loading my shafts anymore and it just feels like crap. I took my old blades from high school out yesterday (they have R shafts) and struck the ball better than I have in 3 or 4 years.

Anyway, it really sounds like you're on a good track if you're hitting about a club longer than usual.

[TN94z]

Originally Posted by rdwoody

Man, to have played that little lately and still be scoring that well makes me feel bad. Heck, I've played 6 or 7 times in the past month and I'm not playing at the top of my game yet! Maybe I need to meet up with you and you can get me onto that good stuff, too!

My driver is really the thorn in my side right now, too. Yesterday, I shot par or better on every hole that I hit the fairway on. The others turned out pretty messy. I just need to dial the swing in a bit. When I hit it well, I hit a nice draw, but that swing also causes some pushes. It's just not quite there yet.

My iron play has taken a hit recently. A shaft change is really in order for me. I've made a lot of changes to my swing recently that slowed me down slightly and gave me a very smooth tempo. Without my former aggressive transfer, I'm just not properly loading my shafts anymore and it just feels like crap. I took my old blades from high school out yesterday (they have R shafts) and struck the ball better than I have in 3 or 4 years.

Anyway, it really sounds like you're on a good track if you're hitting about a club longer than usual.

I wish we had a group that got together and played a couple times a month.  Every other week would be fine.  All of my usual golfing buddies have all but quit.  That's why I haven't played much.  The few times I have been was me and my step son who is 9.

Yeah, my driver has hurt me for years being inconsistent.  One of my biggest flaws at the moment is coming out of my posture coming into impact.  If I stay in posture, I hit a nice small draw and my distance is there.  When I come out of that posture, then it goes right. Add that with a faster tempo and it goes way right!  Posture is my biggest thought right now.  I don't know how I got into the funk of standing up, but it's a killer.

I hope this distance continues.  I may have had really fast tempo and was just getting lucky on the contact.  Something was different.  I'll know once I hit the range or course again.

Where do you usually play?

[rdwoody]

I've been playing almost exclusively at Chickasaw since I moved back to Henderson. I wouldn't mind playing a couple times a month at all. My #1 golf partner just moved to Knoxville to start grad school, so I'm left trying to round up whoever I can to go play. I've been playing for about 10 years now and I went and played my first solo round a couple weeks ago because I couldn't find a partner.

[TN94z]

I have a group of guys that we can probably get together a few times a month.  We always had matches on saturdays until about 2 years ago when Chickasaw lost their greens and fell apart. Anytime you want to play just shoot me a pm on here or friend me on Facebook....I'm the guy that had the conversation with you about Tiger this past weekend in Jaron's post.  I can usually get some guys to play.  Once it cools down, I'll be at Chickasaw quite a bit.  It's just about too hot right now.

[rdwoody]

Haha, yeah, I know it. I struggled to get through 9 yesterday afternoon. It was rough out there.

[TN94z]

Well, I was right.  I am on to something.  But it's still not there.  Now I have the problem of hooking the ball.  I think in my attempt to come more inside out instead of over the top, I have exaggerated that swing thought.  Even my irons are off right now and they are usually the rock of my game.  So, it's going to take a little more work to get it there.  The good news is my distances were pretty much the same as in the scramble.  On the second hole (for example), I had 156 to the middle of the green.  In the past, I would hit my 7i here.  I pulled my 9i going by my distances during the scramble.  I thought about it and put it back in favor of the 8i just in case it was adrenaline during the scramble.  So, I hit the 8i thinking it would be good and over shot the green.  So it flew at least 160.  The 9i would have been a good choice. I also noticed that my SW (which I generally couldn't hit over 80 yards) is flying a good 100 yards now.

I realize that some of the distance can be chalked up to the heat, but I am comparing to the summers of the past.  I really think it's because of my ball striking and compression.  I have been focusing on hitting down more and I think that is the cause.  Either way, it may take me a bit to really get comfortable picking the shorter clubs for the longer distances. In other words....my game is in shambles at the moment!

I'll be hitting up Evolvr pretty soon