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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.......

Yes!  They do list a few of the local tournaments here - although there are certainly a lot more.  I know of at least two cities nearby that have Am Championships that aren't on that list.

I've said it before, but my next "big" goal is to be able to play in those state (or even just southern state) qualifiers.  Just glancing through a few of them and it looks like the State Am requires an index below 4.4.  I think the State Mid-Am is 5.4.  Once (if) I'm comfortably beneath that ceiling, I'd really like to try to qualify for those tournaments.

Most of the public courses up around where I live have men's clubs with regular tournaments.

Good call.  I have a "Players card" at Talega, and now that you mention it, I'm almost positive that it gives me access to all of their member tournaments.  I just have to run down there and find the schedule.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Played a great round yesterday:

The double was caused by a dumb setup flaw on the tee.  Ball teed up a tad high and a tad back in my stance ... either by itself would have been fine, but both together led to me going under it and skying it 100 yards and into the trees on the right. :doh:

Otherwise, I was fairly pleased with every aspect except one:

There were 5 holes (#5, 7, 12, 14, 18) where I was between 80-100 yards away from the green and in the middle of the fairway (and one other, #3, where I was 80 out and in the mild rough) and not once did I put myself in a reasonable position to make a birdie.  6 holes from 80-100 yards and I totalled 19 strokes.  I even missed the green entirely on two of them.  I should NEVER take 4 strokes from less than 100 yards, and out of 6 tries, I should definitely be able to get up and down at least once.

Oh well ... woulda, coulda, shoulda.

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Is that close to a personal best?  10 straight holes of par or better is outstanding!  I actually had a good round myself last week.  Some of the pieces are starting to come together again.

Brandon a.k.a. Tony Stark

-------------------------

The Fastest Flip in the West


Played a great round yesterday:

The double was caused by a dumb setup flaw on the tee.  Ball teed up a tad high and a tad back in my stance ... either by itself would have been fine, but both together led to me going under it and skying it 100 yards and into the trees on the right.

Otherwise, I was fairly pleased with every aspect except one:

There were 5 holes (#5, 7, 12, 14, 18) where I was between 80-100 yards away from the green and in the middle of the fairway (and one other, #3, where I was 80 out and in the mild rough) and not once did I put myself in a reasonable position to make a birdie.  6 holes from 80-100 yards and I totalled 19 strokes.  I even missed the green entirely on two of them.  I should NEVER take 4 strokes from less than 100 yards, and out of 6 tries, I should definitely be able to get up and down at least once.

Oh well ... woulda, coulda, shoulda.


Yeah, but that 76 is at Rancho San Joaquin, so that doesn't count :-P

Kidding, of course - Great round, GD!

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Great round bro! What happened on 15??

Also, how is that course holding up? I might play there this Saturday...

Whoops, sorry I never answered your post Ben.  The course was as it always is.  Nothing great to look at, soggy everywhere, some bare lies and/or weeds in the fairways, etc, etc.  But they allow me to make tee times as a single, and there are always some available early in the morning before the course gets bogged down, and if I play like complete doo-doo there I still come away with an 81 or 82 because there is almost nowhere to get into big trouble.  It's very good for the handicap. :)  (And unlike a lot of other area courses right now, the greens weren't punched, and they were actually in quite decent condition)

On 15, the pin was back right, on the tiny, flattish shelf before it all falls to the front left.  I fatted my tee shot 30 yards short of the green, but hit a pretty good pitch shot that I wanted to make sure got onto that shelf.  So it just went onto the back fringe and left me with about a 12-15' over 18" of fringe ... and luckily it went in, or else it was going at least 5' past (if not off the front of the green, lol).

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I'm very encouraged with how things have been going the last couple of weeks.  My number one goal is still to get my legs straighter at impact.  One of the things that Stephan has been pointing out in the model swings (usually Grant Waite) is how his belt buckle is rising and eventually pointing up in the downswing and throughout impact, so that has been one of my feels lately.  Two reasons why I'm encouraged.

  1. I have been hitting the ball really high (and still solid, with good distance) lately.
  2. Here are two recent stills.  Green shirt is from February 21, grey stripes is from 2 hours ago.  It looks to me like progress is being made:

Yeah, I recognize that the pictures aren't at the same moment, but the better one is actually further along in the swing by a fraction, and yet it still looks like the legs are straighter, so it's even more encouraging.  The shutter roll reminds me that I need a better camera!

Anyways, feel free to rain on my parade if my excitement is unwarranted! :beer:

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Looking good! What's up with the shaft flex though! ;P

Nate

:tmade:(10.5) :pxg:(4W & 7W) MIURA(3-PW) :mizuno:(50/54/60) 

 

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Awesome GDaddy! This is more or less my piece right now too. Can't wait to see some of my own progress. Sadly, it snowed last night and is supposed to snow again on Sunday. :cry:

Yours in earnest, Jason.
Call me Ernest, or EJ or Ernie.

PSA - "If you find yourself in a hole, STOP DIGGING!"

My Whackin' Sticks: :cleveland: 330cc 2003 Launcher 10.5*  :tmade: RBZ HL 3w  :nickent: 3DX DC 3H, 3DX RC 4H  :callaway: X-22 5-AW  :nike:SV tour 56* SW :mizuno: MP-T11 60* LW :bridgestone: customized TD-03 putter :tmade:Penta TP3   :aimpoint:

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Looking good!

What's up with the shaft flex though! ;P

He has supersonic hand speed :-P

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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He has supersonic hand speed

Or a buggy whip for iron shafts... :-P

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

What's up with the shaft flex though! ;P

He has supersonic hand speed

Or a buggy whip for iron shafts...

No, you're all wrong.  It was a "check swing" and I'm really, really strong. ;)  Like this:

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

No, you're all wrong.  It was a "check swing" and I'm really, really strong. ;)

True, but I doubt the club can smell ya. :w00t:

Yours in earnest, Jason.
Call me Ernest, or EJ or Ernie.

PSA - "If you find yourself in a hole, STOP DIGGING!"

My Whackin' Sticks: :cleveland: 330cc 2003 Launcher 10.5*  :tmade: RBZ HL 3w  :nickent: 3DX DC 3H, 3DX RC 4H  :callaway: X-22 5-AW  :nike:SV tour 56* SW :mizuno: MP-T11 60* LW :bridgestone: customized TD-03 putter :tmade:Penta TP3   :aimpoint:

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

True, but I doubt the club can smell ya.

LOL ... ya got me!  Was that punishment for giving @newtogolf golf an internet high five for the robot look alike joke??

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Just making conversation. :-)

Yours in earnest, Jason.
Call me Ernest, or EJ or Ernie.

PSA - "If you find yourself in a hole, STOP DIGGING!"

My Whackin' Sticks: :cleveland: 330cc 2003 Launcher 10.5*  :tmade: RBZ HL 3w  :nickent: 3DX DC 3H, 3DX RC 4H  :callaway: X-22 5-AW  :nike:SV tour 56* SW :mizuno: MP-T11 60* LW :bridgestone: customized TD-03 putter :tmade:Penta TP3   :aimpoint:

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Looking good!

What's up with the shaft flex though! ;P

First thing that crossed my mind.. When is the last time you were fitted for clubs?  unless it is a camera illusion?

:adams: / :tmade: / :edel: / :aimpoint: / :ecco: / :bushnell: / :gamegolf: / 

Eyad

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First thing that crossed my mind.. When is the last time you were fitted for clubs?  unless it is a camera illusion?

Camera illusion. I think it's the shutter speed, rolling shutter effect.

Colin P.

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    • I'm not an "official" instructor but I've been helping people for a few years now. I find that most beginners never get taught a proper concept of how the swing works. I also find that most people need a better understanding of what the arms and hands do before even working on the grip or the rest of the body. This is because what your concept of how the arms work through the downswing will dictate how strong or weak your grip must be. And if your arms work correctly then you can get away with a lot of variation in the lower body and still hit the ball decently. This will be long by the way... now...I get technical because...well...if you're writing it, you have to make it understandable. So let's understand the swing structure of the left or lead arm. The clubhead is controlled by the left hand, the left hand is controlled by the left wrist which is made up of the two bones of the forearm; the ulna closest to the pinky finger and the radius closest to the thumb. The forearm is attached to but can work independently of the humorous or upper arm which ends at the shoulder joint. That's the structure you are working with. Now how each section of that structure can work in different ways so let's talk about them starting at the upper arm. You may have heard people use the term "external shoulder rotation." It's usually used in reference to the right arm but that's okay you need to understand it in the left arm as well. First off...that's not a correct term. The shoulder is a complex structure of three bones; the clavicle in the upper chest/neck area, the scapula or shoulder blade that glides across the back and the end of the humorous bone that is the upper arm. So when you hear that term what they really are saying is "external rotation of the humerus." A simple way to understand this is to think about arm wrestling. If you are arm wresting someone with your elbow on a table you are trying to force your opponents arm into external rotation while your upper arm would be internally rotating. If you are losing the wrestling match you will find that while your elbow stays in place, your forearm and hand will be pushed back behind the elbow as your humerus externally rotates. So in the golf swing we don't want to be the winner of the arm wrestling match... at any point in time! Both upper arms need to externally rotate. The right upper arm externally rotates in the backswing and stays in that position through impact or for some people just before but very close to impact. The left arm must externally rotate in the downswing from impact through the finish. Some people choose to set-up with both upper arms externally rotated...think elbows pointed at the hips or biceps up. Others will start with just the right arm in this position...some people describe it as the "giving blood" position. Others start with both elbows internally rotated...biceps facing inward toward each other. You can set-up whichever way feels best to you but in your backswing and downswing the upper arms MUST externally rotate. Now back to the left arm...with which you should try to control the swing...and the forearm. The forearm is where most people get in trouble because it can rotate left or right no matter which orientation your upper arm is in...try it...it's just how the forearm is structured to work. And this is where you MUST make the decision as to how you want the forearms to work in order to choose how strong or weak your grip must be. Ben Hogan in his book 5 Lessons uses the terms supination and pronation. To illustrate it simply grab a club in your left hand and hold it out in front of you. Rotate your forearm to where your knuckles point to the sky (this is pronation) and then rotate your forearm the other way so that your knuckles point to the ground (this is supination). When your lead forearm is in pronation (knuckles up) the ulna will be on the left side of the radius. In supination (knuckles down the ulna rotates under the radius and the radius is now on the left side of the ulna. Very important that you relate this to the position of the ulna. At the top of the backswing you should be in a position where you feel that the knuckles of the left hand are pointed to the sky. As you rotate your body open and your chest pulls your arms down and into impact you will need to be aware that your ulna stays on the left side of the radius as long as possible. This is the position instructors are trying to have you achieve by pulling the butt of the club into an invisible wall past your left leg while maintaining the 90 degree angle formed by the shaft and your forearm. You've probably seen or heard of that drill as we all have over the years. Now here is the IMPORTANT part that no one seems to ever speak of...what happens from there!?! From that position...ulna on the left side of the radius, shaft and the forearm at a 90 degree angle, hands directly over the ball...you have two choices. 1) You can keep the ulna traveling toward the target on the left side of the radius and only release (unhinge) the wrists to lower the clubhead down into the ball or 2) while you unhinge your left wrist you can rotate your left forearm from the pronated position (knuckles up) to the supinated position (knuckles down) and let the ulna rotate under and eventually to the right side of the radius. If you choose to release the club with method 1 you will need a strong grip. The clubface will stay stable and square to the target throughout the swing but you probably will lose distance and have a very spinny ball flight. If you choose to release the club with method 2 you will probably require a much weaker grip as the clubhead will be less stable as it closes down coming into impact. This method requires more timing but results in more power through impact and usually more distance. You may also hook the ball if you start with too strong of a grip or a closed clubface at address. Method 2 is what most pros use but not all. Method 1 is what causes most people to hit weak, spinny slices and requires an unusually strong grip because with method 1 the left forearm has a tendency to open more coming into impact where the ulna stays in front of the radius too long.    Here's the catch...you need to learn both releases. Release 1 is how you want to use your wedges when you want to make sure the bounce interacts with the turf or if you need to hit a cut from left to right around a tree. You'll get more height and more spin with release 1. Release 2 will let the leading edge tear through the turf taking a nice crisp divot and can be used to hook a ball from right to left. Congratulations to anyone that read through all of this! I believe that once your brain understands precisely how it needs to control the different parts of your body it can do it repetitively on command. Your swing will repeat and not fall apart from day to day. Learn how you want to use your forearms and you can choose your grip and clubface position at address. Either method will work and both methods are used by the best players in the world for different shots.
    • Day 330 - Mostly just partial swings today, so I could really focus on exaggerating my hips towards the target in my finish. 
    • Day 72 - 2024-12-11 /sees a picture of Chet after shaving with a saw, goes back to doing a little mirror work at AMG.
    • Day 147: more mirror work. Trying to hone in the backswing stuff real nice. 
    • If I was going to try to help someone fix a low snap hook without actually seeing their swing I would have to tell them to break down the problem into pieces. See if you can fix the "low" part of the problem first. A low ball flight tells me you are probably swinging level or hitting down on the ball instead of hitting up on it. Try teeing the ball higher than you are comfortable and put the ball up in your stance a little further up than comfortable...try putting it off your left heal or even the left toe. Try to feel like your club head is swinging up through impact. Try that first and see if it gets you to a high snap hook or a high pull hook.    If you want to address the hook part of the swing you are going to have to look at two areas of the swing as well as your concept of what the arms and hands do through impact. I love talking through this stuff with people but I'll only go into it further if you really want to go down that rabbit hole...you would have to say so. Swing well my friend!
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