My Swing (cipher)

[iacas]

Looks fine… but let the wrists hinge a tad more, and feel like the right shoulder is a little bit higher.

[cipher]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

Looks fine… but let the wrists hinge a tad more, and feel like the right shoulder is a little bit higher.

Thank you, I will work on that!

[cipher]

 

Have not really been "working" on anything for a while.  I am pretty much just checking and tweaking a few things in very small ways here or there to gain more consistency.  We pretty much did what I set out to do this year and that was to hit fades, lots of fades.    I am not going to try any big changes now before the Newport Cup.

[Slice of Life]

Glad to see you're still pounding away. Inspiring me to potentially bust the net out and get back to work on my own swing.

[cipher]

1 hour ago, Slice of Life said:

Glad to see you're still pounding away. Inspiring me to potentially bust the net out and get back to work on my own swing.

Thank you Ryan.  

[cipher]

I just wanted to mention what I learned about my game under feeling the pressure to hit good shots at the Newport Cup.  I first realized that five months of playing some golf after two years away from the game was not enough to get my game back to where it was.  With that in mind I am not overly disappointed with my play at the Newport Cup.  The first nine holes were pretty brutal but I calmed down a bit and started to learn to adjust to the competitive atmosphere. 

I will grade the various portions of my game with a letter grade which is where my game is compared to where I would like to be or think it should be.  It is not necessarily a grade that for example a scratch player would set their benchmark at.  My grades are just a comparison to the potential that I think I can get to for that portion of the game.   

(Putting: B) - I think that this is the most improved part of my game and I was pleasantly surprised at how I did under pressure.  I took the time to make the proper reads, and had confidence in them.  I think I may have missed just one putt inside 4’ all week.  Made a couple longer ones, had a few lip out.  I definitely can improve on this but I am very happy with how I played on the greens under pressure, as I think it has been a weak point for me in the past.

(nGIR Shots: C)  I have some work to do with my shots around the green.  My touch was pretty decent but I bladed a number of shorter shots like this.  It should be pretty easy to fix but I will have to work on this.

(Greenside Bunker Shots: B+) This was definitely a strength for me in the tournament, as I think others would agree. I found myself in these bunkers a few too many times, but left myself a chance at putt for the next shot most of the time.  There was a couple longer greenside shots that I struggled a bit with but generally I was pretty happy with my play here. 

(Fairway Bunkers: B- ) I hit a couple heavy but I made good contact for the most part and advanced the ball as desired.  I can clean this up a bit yet.

(Short Irons/Wedges: C+) My distance control and club selection was solid.  As long as I hit the ball cleanly it was generally the right distance and my start lines were good.  The issue was my low point control.  I hit too many fat or thin short iron and wedge shots. 

(Mid Irons: B- ) I hit some great shots with these and was fairly consistent with my contact.  I had a little bit of a miss right with fade that cost me a bit though and I need to tighten this up. 

(Long Irons: C-)  I had been hitting these fairly solid all year.  During the tournament though I hit a number of them with the same(as the mid irons but more exaggerated) miss right fading even more right and I also hit a number of them out on the toe which ended up pretty short.  I did hit some great ones though, and they were fun to watch.  I was getting a bit to vertical and away with the club in the backswing, and was swinging too much to the left leading to that toe miss and too much of a difference at times between the path and the face.  There is some considerable work to do here.

(Fairway Wood: B) – I just carry a 5w that is set a bit strong so it is something like a 4.5 wood or so.  There were a couple holes at Mid South where this club was the right call and I hit it much better than expected.  I am not sure what the difference is with this club compared to my driver, but it was definitely working off the tee and on my second shots for par 5s.  I should have used it off the tee on more holes.  I hit my start lines with my desired fade for the most part. 

(Driver: F) – I am not even really sure where to begin.  Between literally trying 3 different kind of swings and having a two way miss I felt completely lost with this club.  I had some stretches of holes where I hit it okay but I could never keep it together for more than a few holes at a time.  I can and need to do so much better with this club.  Hopefully I can get onto evolvr and work on it soon.   It is and has been incredibly frustrating to not be able to consistently keep the ball in play.  

---

The good news is that I know I can improve these things.  I am confident that I have the ability to do so.  My wrist held up to 144 holes of golf in six days and so I feel lucky.  It is great to play again and I was able to enjoy playing competitively for the first time ever.  Unfortunately as I mentioned the 5 months of being able to play a couple times a week after two years being injured was maybe not enough time to fully prepare me for this tournament but I don’t feel completely embarrassed either.  I helped to earn a few points out there.  The experience was a great one and now I know what I need to focus on going into this next year. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by cipher

[GolfLug]

@cipher, that's a lot of golf for a week. The wrist holding up that long is a singular victory of it s own. 

Those courses are very penal on anybody that is short on some consistent match-play practice coming in and IMO can really affect mechanics if you get even a little bit out of sorts.

One thing I would suggest from my own experience is to join a league if possible for some competitive practice. It won't necessarily make you swing better but you will be able to sustain your better swing more in pressure situations.

I played best in the summer when I was playing in my leagues consistently. Have only played sporadic rounds in the last month and a half and it certainly manifested in some poor play as you witnessed. Hopefully I will get some good league play in before season runs out.   

Edited October 24, 2017 by GolfLug

[DeadMan]

I think you're a little harsh with your putting grade. You made some really nice putts, and too often it seemed like you nailed a 20 footer to halve or win a hole. I knew I felt like I dodged some bullets when you missed mid-range putts that are tough makes in the first place.

[Golfingdad]

37 minutes ago, cipher said:

My wrist held up to 144 holes of golf in six days and so I feel lucky.  It is great to play again and I was able to enjoy playing competitively for the first time ever.

Agree with @GolfLug - this is really the only important takeaway. 

(Also, you should have a "Taught Drew how to throw a frisbee" category, and in that one give yourself an A+!)

[RandallT]

9 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

I think you're a little harsh with your putting grade. You made some really nice putts, and too often it seemed like you nailed a 20 footer to halve or win a hole.

I know you're thinking of this one:

The note says that Nate drained this one on #12 at Talamore (Thursday PM Fourball) in a match against you and Phil.  That got BLUE (Nate/Dave K) to AS on the back nine.

[cipher]

25 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

@cipher, that's a lot of golf for a week. The wrist holding up that long is a singular victory of it s own. 

Those courses are very penal on anybody that is short on some consistent match-play practice coming in and IMO can really affect mechanics if you get even a little bit out of sorts.

One thing I would suggest from my own experience is to join a league if possible for some competitive practice. It won't necessarily make you swing better but you will be able to sustain your better swing more in pressure situations.

I played best in the summer when I was playing in my leagues consistently. Have only played sporadic rounds in the last month and a half and it certainly manifested in some poor play as you witnessed. Hopefully I will get some good league play in before season runs out.   

Very good points V. It is hard for me to do that on a weekly basis with the young kids, but maybe I can play in a few tournaments a year or something as a substitute, and that would help.  

22 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

I think you're a little harsh with your putting grade. You made some really nice putts, and too often it seemed like you nailed a 20 footer to halve or win a hole. I knew I felt like I dodged some bullets when you missed mid-range putts that are tough makes in the first place.

I am not sure a B is too harsh but I get what you are saying.  Maybe it was a B+ or even A- or so.  It could be I just felt it a little lower from watching you make everything.  

17 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

Agree with @GolfLug - this is really the only important takeaway. 

(Also, you should have a "Taught Drew how to throw a frisbee" category, and in that one give yourself an A+!)

(Taught Drew to Throw a Frisbee: A+) Only problem is he now throws it better than me! 

And yes, I am able to play golf again and that is a HUGE win. 

12 minutes ago, RandallT said:

I know you're thinking of this one:

The note says that Nate drained this one on #12 at Talamore (Thursday PM Fourball) in a match against you and Phil.  That got BLUE (Nate/Dave K) to AS on the back nine.

Neat photo!  I missed seeing that one somehow.  Thanks @RandallT!

[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, cipher said:

The good news is that I know I can improve these things.  I am confident that I have the ability to do so.  My wrist held up to 144 holes of golf in six days and so I feel lucky.  It is great to play again and I was able to enjoy playing competitively for the first time ever.  Unfortunately as I mentioned the 5 months of being able to play a couple times a week after two years being injured was maybe not enough time to fully prepare me for this tournament but I don’t feel completely embarrassed either.  I helped to earn a few points out there.  The experience was a great one and now I know what I need to focus on going into this next year. 

I was very glad to meet you, and to get the chance to play on Sunday with you.  I'm impressed with the quality of your swing, even during your struggles, I'm certain you'll get it tuned up before long.  It took me a good long while to get back after just one summer with a broken wrist, I can't imagine I'd be as far along as you are if I was out for a couple of years.  Competition is tough, and from everything I heard you did really well holding up to it.  And every one of us who played had  a part in scratching out a very close win.  Stay warm over the winter (it must be starting now) and good luck in the spring! 

[billchao]

28 minutes ago, cipher said:

(Taught Drew to Throw a Frisbee: A+) Only problem is he now throws it better than me! 

I think that just means you are a great teacher.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Golfingdad said:

(Also, you should have a "Taught Drew how to throw a frisbee" category, and in that one give yourself an A+!)

I gave myself an A there too.  

Also frisbee is a brand name. We taught you to throw a disc.

[cipher]

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

I was very glad to meet you, and to get the chance to play on Sunday with you.  I'm impressed with the quality of your swing, even during your struggles, I'm certain you'll get it tuned up before long.  It took me a good long while to get back after just one summer with a broken wrist, I can't imagine I'd be as far along as you are if I was out for a couple of years.  Competition is tough, and from everything I heard you did really well holding up to it.  And every one of us who played had  a part in scratching out a very close win.  Stay warm over the winter (it must be starting now) and good luck in the spring! 

Snow in the forecast for this weekend.  Good news is that there is an indoor golf center by my work now!

1 hour ago, billchao said:

I think that just means you are a great teacher.

Could be!

46 minutes ago, iacas said:

I gave myself an A there too.  

Also frisbee is a brand name. We taught you to throw a disc.

Edited October 24, 2017 by cipher

[Golfingdad]

46 minutes ago, iacas said:

I gave myself an A there too.  

Also frisbee is a brand name. We taught you to throw a disc.

Yes, it was a team effort!  

[iacas]

Just now, Golfingdad said:

Yes, it was a team effort!  

Order that MVP set yet?

[Golfingdad]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Order that MVP set yet?

They will be here Friday. :)