My Swing (Golfingdad)

[mdl]

Haven't checked in here in a while.  Swing looks good!  And with all the work you're doing you've gotta expect some inconsistency out on the course, though I agree the strings with lots of doubles are maddening.  But the front nine was awesome except one bad drive and a mental mistake -- like you said, even with a 4i instead of hybrid a cut around trees with danger left with the ball well above your feet and in the rough isn't exactly a high percentage shot :)

One question, I haven't looked back at the old vids but if my memory serves you've had a relatively short back swing for a while but you seem to have cut it off even more?  Was that hard to do? I'm interested cause I'm fighting some issues with too long a back swing and getting across the line, and the videos keep giving the lie to the feeling that I'm taking a half back swing and not crossing the line!  But I'm not looking for particular mechanical advice.  We've got different swings and priority pieces and whatnot.  Just wondering if that was a super hard transition or if it clicked relatively quickly (by which I mean on the order of weeks, not 1 hour or anything).

[Abu3baid]

Very nice, I think it still an achievement to have so many issues like you mentioned but still shoot below an 85. Sorry I didn't catch why you aren't using driver?

[cipher]

Very nice, I think it still an achievement to have so many issues like you mentioned but still shoot below an 85. Sorry I didn't catch why you aren't using driver?

Good catch, I missed that.  I am curious as well.  Tough course?

[Golfingdad]

Very nice, I think it still an achievement to have so many issues like you mentioned but still shoot below an 85. Sorry I didn't catch why you aren't using driver?

[quote name="cipher" url="/t/60622/my-swing-golfingdad/270#post_963907"]Good catch, I missed that.  I am curious as well.  Tough course? [/quote]I'm usually good for a couple of swings per round that produce pretty horrendous drives - big snap hook or push fade - that might result in penalty shots. The 3 wood is easier to hit straight and even if I do put one if those bad swings on it, it's not veering as much. Since I struggled with my driver a bit last Monday, and this course is not overly long and is fairly narrow, I didn't see any situations where a driver was necessary. And all in all, that strategy worked ... I had zero penalty strokes off the tee, and only one really poor shot (#3), which would have had the same result with a driver. It's not something I'm doing regularly, just thought it was a good idea for this tournament.

[David in FL]

A 40 on the front (your back), with 3 freaking birdies?!  I'm sorry, I laughed.  I thought I was the only one that could do that!

Take away 3 or 4 swings, and it's a pretty damn good day.  That's all you have to take away from it....

[mdl]

Take away 3 or 4 swings, and it's a pretty damn good day.  That's all you have to take away from it....

That's what I thought when I saw the card too!  Frustrating with the final score I'm sure, but way more fun and encouraging than spraying it and getting up and down a few times and grinding out an 84!

[cipher]

I'm usually good for a couple of swings per round that produce pretty horrendous drives - big snap hook or push fade - that might result in penalty shots. The 3 wood is easier to hit straight and even if I do put one if those bad swings on it, it's not veering as much. Since I struggled with my driver a bit last Monday, and this course is not overly long and is fairly narrow, I didn't see any situations where a driver was necessary. And all in all, that strategy worked ... I had zero penalty strokes off the tee, and only one really poor shot (#3), which would have had the same result with a driver.

It's not something I'm doing regularly, just thought it was a good idea for this tournament.

Cough..cough..Driveway...cough.  ;)  That seems like good plan though.  You stuck with it and overall it paid off, as the course did not seem overly long.   Nice round, the potential was there for the good score.  To me any tournament round in the 80s is pretty solid.

[bplewis24]

#10 - Pretty short dogleg left par 4, with the approach shot over water.  4 iron off the tee, into the VERY mild right rough.  I had 120 left, and just rolled a gap wedge into the water.

Is it wrong that I laughed at this part?  You seem so much better than me with your wedges, your practice habits are much better, and yet you do something I would have done.

[Golfingdad]

A 40 on the front (your back), with 3 freaking birdies?!  I'm sorry, I laughed.  I thought I was the only one that could do that!

Don't be sorry!  It's worthy of a laugh!

That's what I thought when I saw the card too!  Frustrating with the final score I'm sure, but way more fun and encouraging than spraying it and getting up and down a few times and grinding out an 84!

Yeah, it's also funny how different they feel based on the order.  I'm not really too displeased with anything overall, just frustrated at a couple of the lost shots, and especially the last hole.  Take that exact same round, though, and put all of the bad holes at the very end ... and I'd be disgusted with myself for blowing the tournament.  OTOH, front load them and I'd be almost more ecstatic than playing well throughout and winning, just because I was able to overcome such a horrific start.

In reality, though, it's just an 84 that, hopefully, as I improve, becomes an 80, then a 77, etc, etc.

Could you imagine getting to the point in your golf game where scores in the high 70's were disappointing??  That would (will?? ;)) be fun!!

Cough..cough..Driveway...cough.  ;)  That seems like good plan though.  You stuck with it and overall it paid off, as the course did not seem overly long.   Nice round, the potential was there for the good score.  To me any tournament round in the 80s is pretty solid.

Nonsense ... you're going to tear it up this tournament season!!  Yeah, maybe I should look into the Driveway then?  Do you use yourrs only off the tee, or do you sometimes play it off the turf?  I feel like we've discussed this recently but I forget.

Is it wrong that I laughed at this part?  You seem so much better than me with your wedges, your practice habits are much better, and yet you do something I would have done.

Nope ... as I said above, a lot of this was worthy of a laugh, so laugh away!

That first short iron (and then the second, and the third) was pretty shocking to me.  I hadn't done that in a long time, so I was pretty surprised when it happened.

[mdl]

That first short iron (and then the second, and the third) was pretty shocking to me.  I hadn't done that in a long time, so I was pretty surprised when it happened.

Speaking of haven't done that in a long time.  Was in the back yard doing some video work and my wife came out with the dog when I was about to hit my last ball.  He LOVES chasing the BirdieBalls.  I reserve one that I'll hit with him, and it's the one with teeth marks in it so that was my last one.  Sweet, perfect timing.

I've assured my wife that I never outright skull one and risk hitting him (he's so pumped about it that it's enough work to get him to "go out" -- retreat 10-15 yards -- and stay and not just bow and dance around the mat excitedly that it would mean hitting one ball every 15 minutes to get him to also not anticipate the real swing and charge across towards the target line once he can tell I'm really swinging).  With the irons at least the never is almost true, or at least was.  I'm making the biggest swing changes I have in a long time right now, and of course for this swing I fully skull a seven iron for the first time in a long time, the dog was charging across the target line, and I smashed the ball right into his ribs maybe 15 yards out.  He saw it glance off to the side and changed course and kept running after it.  Right before he got to it he finally realized his ribs hurt like a bitch and pulled up and bent sideways.  Luckily it was a BirdieBall, not a real ball, and it didn't hit him in the face or elbow or anywhere delicate.  So thankfully he turned out totally fine.  But my wife...  Well, let's say she was a little pissed at me

[cipher]

Nonsense ... you're going to tear it up this tournament season!!  Yeah, maybe I should look into the Driveway then?  Do you use yourrs only off the tee, or do you sometimes play it off the turf?  I feel like we've discussed this recently but I forget.

What tournaments, I am not playing in any of those... Honestly I would be over the moon with anything near 80.   I would have to play very smart and control my nerves though.

As far as the Driveway goes I am pretty much the only person that I know that actually carries one day to day on the course so who knows.  It looks weird, sounds worse but the dang thing just works for me.  Yeah I use it of the tee(I tee it up like you would an iron pretty much), and out of the fairway.  It is not normally useful out of the rough, the head is too big.  I think the conversation we had before was about the ease of use out of the fairway.  You were possibly worried about how easy it was to use there.  I don't really know what it is but the ball jumps into the air off the club.  I hit a fade with it out of the fairway and it goes high and lands pretty soft.   It is just "kind of stupid" really.  :)

[Golfingdad]

I would have to play very smart

Yup.  Except for that decision to hit the slice 4 iron on my approach shot to the last hole, I did this pretty well yesterday.  And I had a little help too.  On 17, I skied my drive and it only went about 150 yards, albeit in the middle of the fairway.  I had about 205 to the pin, which was on an elevated green, with very little bailout, and a creek short.  I pulled my 4 iron and was ready to go ahead and try and reach the green.  However, we caught up to the group in front of us, and a guy in that group was having some troubles (at least one lost ball, and one, likely more, others in the creek) on his way to a 12 on the hole, forcing me to stand there and think about what I was about to do for a few minutes.  It allowed me to wisely change my mind.  I hit a gap wedge to about 75 yards, a 59 to about 20 feet, and a 2 putt for a bogey.

I think this part is easy to plan ahead for ... but not as easy to stick to during the round.

The other thing I have a problem with is "giving up."  I have a score in my head before the round (in my flight in these tournaments, the goal is usually 79) and a couple early doubles means that I'm not likely winning.  The risk is then that the game plan goes out the window and you do stupid things, only to realize when you turn your scorecard in that you were still in a position to finish with a very decent score.

and control my nerves though.

This is a bit harder.  First tee jitters in a casual round don't exist for me, but in these tournaments, they are nuts.  I am so freaking nervous going into that first shot every time.**  I've pretty much got to the point where I'm hitting a 4 iron no matter what the hole calls for.  Once I'm off that first tee I can breathe a little and the jitters go away ... unless I think I'm winning. ;)

**But it's really exhilerating.  I love playing in these tournaments even if I'm still struggling more than I'm succeeding.  Something to still shoot for!!

[cipher]

**But it's really exhilerating.  I love playing in these tournaments even if I'm still struggling more than I'm succeeding.  Something to still shoot for!!

This is very well said. This needs to come first. Anyone who plays tournament golf needs this.

[mdl]

Honestly I would be over the moon with anything near 80.

Wait, you're a 3.8, right?  Do you play tourneys on ultra challenging courses?  I've just started playing tourneys and I finally understand how hard it is to play above average in competition, but at a 3.8 I'd guess you'd be carding a ton of 78-82 and be disappointed you never card those 72-75 rounds you can card sometimes in casual rounds?

control my nerves though.

My third tourney was the first I felt like I played pretty well (82).  I literally chanted this to myself before maybe 1/2 my shots and whenever I felt myself tightening up or getting frustrated http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvo-CCtC3Zs (the poem/mantra itself starts around 0:45 if you don't have patience for the intro).  Worked like a charm.

On 17, I skied my drive and it only went about 150 yards, albeit in the middle of the fairway.  I had about 205 to the pin, which was on an elevated green, with very little bailout, and a creek short.  I pulled my 4 iron and was ready to go ahead and try and reach the green.  However, we caught up to the group in front of us, and a guy in that group was having some troubles (at least one lost ball, and one, likely more, others in the creek) on his way to a 12 on the hole, forcing me to stand there and think about what I was about to do for a few minutes.  It allowed me to wisely change my mind.  I hit a gap wedge to about 75 yards, a 59 to about 20 feet, and a 2 putt for a bogey.

I think this part is easy to plan ahead for ... but not as easy to stick to during the round.

Honestly that is super impressive.  I've worked pretty hard to play smarter, taking less club off the tee when I don't need the driver (except recently when the driver has been by far the best club in my bag and I feel way more confident standing over the tee shot with that than with a 3i or hybrid), ignoring the pin, aiming for the center of the green or away from trouble, hitting the high percentage recovery shot when I'm jail, etc.  But if I mishit a driver short but end up with a clean look at the green at 4i distance, there is an almost zero chance I wouldn't go for it even though if I stop and think about it I know that my average score with that approach is worse than with your approach.  Very impressive.

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

The other thing I have a problem with is "giving up."  I have a score in my head before the round (in my flight in these tournaments, the goal is usually 79) and a couple early doubles means that I'm not likely winning.  The risk is then that the game plan goes out the window and you do stupid things, only to realize when you turn your scorecard in that you were still in a position to finish with a very decent score.

I struggle with this as well.  Been trying to use it as a way to enforce practice for in the moment, next shot only mental game.  But it's a  struggle for sure.

[David in FL]

Wait, you're a 3.8, right?  Do you play tourneys on ultra challenging courses?  I've just started playing tourneys and I finally understand how hard it is to play above average in competition, but at a 3.8 I'd guess you'd be carding a ton of 78-82 and be disappointed you never card those 72-75 rounds you can card sometimes in casual rounds?

80 at a modestly difficult 73.0/135 course gives a differential of 5.8......within 2 strokes of his index.   Tournament pressure, unfamiliar course that's likely set up tough.  Yep, I'm right there with @cipher , anything close to cracking 80 is usually a really good tournament round.

[Golfingdad]

80 at a modestly difficult 73.0/135 course gives a differential of 5.8......within 2 strokes of his index.   Tournament pressure, unfamiliar course that's likely set up tough.  Yep, I'm right there with @cipher, anything close to cracking 80 is usually a really good tournament round.

Yeah, oftentimes in my tournaments, the winner of my flight (8-12 caps) has a score that is equal to or even lower than the better flights.  The tournament I won last year, in fact, I tied the score of the winner of the championship flight (<4 caps) and beat the winner of the 4-8 flight by 2 shots.

However, I played a set of tees forward from both of those guys, so their 76 and 78 were both actually better than my 76. @cipher is definitely playing on harder courses and setups than Matt and I would be.

For me currently, anything 83-ish or better and I'm likely going to be a happy camper.

@mdl what tournaments do you play in?  I have a big lull in my Golf Channel Am Tour schedule (nothing until mid-July) and would like to branch out and try something different.  I don't really know where to look though, other than to just start googling City amateur championships in the area.

[David in FL]

@mdl what tournaments do you play in?  I have a big lull in my Golf Channel Am Tour schedule (nothing until mid-July) and would like to branch out and try something different.  I don't really know where to look though, other than to just start googling City amateur championships in the area.

Have you checked your state golf association?  Florida has a ton of single and two-day tournaments throughout the year and located throughout the state.  I keep meaning to start playing in some of them but haven't gotten off my butt yet.  Maybe this year.......

[mdl]

@mdl what tournaments do you play in?  I have a big lull in my Golf Channel Am Tour schedule (nothing until mid-July) and would like to branch out and try something different.  I don't really know where to look though, other than to just start googling City amateur championships in the area.

I joined the men's club at the best of my regular courses, Rancho Park.  It's the best of the LA city courses, used to host pro events way back but it's now too short, a ton of trees have died over the years making it a bit easier, and they keep it too busy to fund the city parks department and don't maintain it well enough.  But it's still a solid course with a fun, medium difficulty layout.  Typically there's ~1 weekend tourney a month, usually at Rancho but sometimes visiting at other LA city courses, and another one or two smaller weekday tourneys per month, so if you sign up early and get an early tee time (starts at 7am) and can take a half day at work every once in a while, you can play a couple tourneys a month.  So far I've just been doing the weekend ones so I've played 3 since joining around the new year.

Most of the public courses up around where I live have men's clubs with regular tournaments.  I'd bet your favorite nearby courses do too.  Ours are fun cause there's both the official prizes (scrip that can be used at various golf shops and whatnot), but also a group skins organized by some of the members.  It's $20 cash, within flight, $10 for gross skins and $10 for net skins.  You win a skin if you get the best score on a hole and no one else matches it, and your prize per skin is the total money entered divided by the total skins won.  As you'd imagine, this generally means there's only a handful of skins won in each flight in each tourney, so it adds some excitement, especially on the easiest few holes on which you get a stroke, where your chances for a net skin are really good if you birdie.

I cost myself $42 at my last tourney by choking on a ~3 foot birdie putt on the handicap 8 hole when I was getting 9 strokes.  Bombed a huge drive down the middle on a downhill hole, hit a perfect 60˚ 40-50 yards back up the hill to ~3 feet, then tightened up and yanked the putt left