Assume = ass-u-me

[ditchparrot19]

I've been back to playing regularly again for 2 months after a decade-long hiatus. I was a 12-handicapper and had broken 80 six or seven times when I quit, and the first several rounds I played after coming back, I shot in the low 90s each time. Then last Sunday I had a good chipping round to end up with an 87 despite, ironically, an 8 and a 7 on the card.

I went out Monday evening and played 9 holes. I'd been pulling a lot of shots to the left ever since launching my comeback and hitting quite a few balls off the heel of the club. I thought it might have something to do with my swing path and that I'd work it out with some more practice.

Then, while setting up for my tee shot on No. 8 on Monday, I noticed something: My clubface was closed slightly at address. I was playing by myself with nobody else behind me, so I took a few minutes to work on my grip.

I'd just been assuming that I knew how to put my hands on the club and that my grip was okay. It wasn't.

After making that adjustment on the tee, I hit the ball real solidly on those final two holes. I eagerly looked forward to last night, when I could try out the improved grip for a full nine.

I shot a 39 – the first time I'd come in under 40 for nine holes since 2000 (granted, I'd played only four or five times between then and this past June). It was a little bit flukey as I took only 12 putts, including a three-jack on No. 1. I chipped one in and had three other chips to 3 feet or less.

The big thing, though, was I hit the ball well from the tee and the fairway. I hit four greens in reg. and missed just slightly on three others (making those chips a bit easier than usual).

Just a couple of weeks ago, I doubted I'd ever break 80 again. Now, I'm hopeful I might do it this weekend. Ball-striking has been my No. 1 issue since my comeback, and now I've taken a big step toward rectifying that.

Man, what a great game this is! I'm not sure how I got along without it for such a long period.

[Zeph]

Assume makes an ass out of u and me.

[dak4n6]

Really don't mean to be a debbie downer, but in many sports there is this phenomena that when you come back after an extended break you play well because 1) you don't have expectations and don't pressure yourself  2) don't have a head full of technique thoughts.

When I first joined my CC last Oct, I went from playing once every couple or few weeks for the last 6 years, to playing 2 or 3 times per week.  Immedeately I dropped to shooting around 80, with a few rounds in the 70s. I really thought I was coming back to a single digit HC like 10 years ago when I played in a league. However, after about 3 months, my scores started to climb as my mind decided to play too. I shot mid-high 80s from Jan to about a month ago, when my scores have been dropping slowly to low-mid 80s.

[ditchparrot19]

Originally Posted by dak4n6

Really don't mean to be a debbie downer, but in many sports there is this phenomena that when you come back after an extended break you play well because 1) you don't have expectations and don't pressure yourself  2) don't have a head full of technique thoughts.

When I first joined my CC last Oct, I went from playing once every couple or few weeks for the last 6 years, to playing 2 or 3 times per week.  Immedeately I dropped to shooting around 80, with a few rounds in the 70s. I really thought I was coming back to a single digit HC like 10 years ago when I played in a league. However, after about 3 months, my scores started to climb as my mind decided to play too. I shot mid-high 80s from Jan to about a month ago, when my scores have been dropping slowly to low-mid 80s.

Yeah, good points there.