My Swing (BostonBrew)

[BostonBrew]

Walked a quick 9 earlier today. The short game around the green has definitely improved with the hours I've been spending on it the last week. It showed on the first hole. Hit a great drive to about 50-60 yards short of the green (elevated tees, 355 par 4).  Bladed the approach just off the back. Chipped a PW to three inches for a tap-in par. I was pumped. Feels so good to work hard on improving part of your game and have it show when you're playing.

My wedges drove me nuts though today. I hit wedges into 6 greens and only hit one of them. So frustrating.

That's golf I suppose.

[BostonBrew]

I've had a bit of an aha! moment over the last couple of days in regards to my short game. Read Stan Utley's Art of the Short Game in two nights. Quick read but has a lot of great instruction in it. I was definitely nervous about the pitching technique because of the active unhinging of the wrists in the downswing. I thought for sure I'd blade the ball every time. I've always been a "dead-wrister" with my short game which is probably why it has been so terrible. I was a little amazed at how far I could hit the ball with so little effort. Utley's explanations and descriptions worked well with me. His book is definitely in my top-3 must read instructionals I think.

Also played around a little with placing my weight on the left side while putting. Not sure if I actually made any more putts than usual, but it felt like I was. I've always been neutral or balanced with my weight when putting. Will continue to test the waters and see which one I prefer.

[BostonBrew]

My boss just changed my plans again. I'm heading to Dayton, OH next Wednesday and will be there for a little over two months. So I will definitely be heading to Erie to try and fit a lesson in.

Headed to VA Beach this weekend to play some quality golf courses.

[BostonBrew]

Got to play Bayville Golf Club in Virginia Beach this past Sunday. My friend's uncle is a member and we walked the back nine with his son. It's a very exclusive club with a membership roster of only 300.

http://www.bayvillegolfclub.com/Home-5.html

First impressions were awesome. The course is in a beautiful area. The cars in the parking lot were the first clue as to what kind of members belonged to the private club. S-class AMG Mercedes, 7 and 6 series BMWs, quite a few Range Rovers, and one very pretty Porsche 911 (997). The range was neat with pyramids ready to be used. Range balls are available for free to those who are playing or practicing. And these weren't your typical Pinnacle or Rock Flight range balls. They were all what looked to be fairly new Titleist NXT Tours. The putting green was also littered with Titleists to be practiced with. Ice coolers with bottles of water were at seemingly every tee box. And the greens and fairways were in fantastic shape. As you can probably tell, the course and atmosphere blew me away.

We played the blue tees which were one set up from the tips (there is also a green tee that on the score card is in between blue and black, but each tee box, blue and green were the same). There was a two-club wind and the course layout meant each hole either played directly into the wind or it was helping. A lot of the par-4s were right at 400 yards with a couple playing shorter with a lot of bunkers and water to make up for the shorter distance. So I hit 3w off the tee a lot, only hitting driver on the two par 5s. I shot 44 mainly because I couldn't make an up-and-down to save my life. If I hit the green, it was a guaranteed two-putt par seemingly. If I just missed the green, I bogeyed it almost every time. Made double on one of the par 3s after a sliced iron off the tee and a terrible first pitch that didn't get up the bank and on to the green. Swung the club fairly well though. Just need to keep pouring sweat into the short game so I don't keep punishing myself for missing the green by 5-10 yards.

Headed to Dayton, Ohio in the morning. Once I have a better picture of my schedule for the month of August, I can pick a date and set up a lesson in Erie. Really looking forward to making that happen.

[BostonBrew]

Played Beavercreek Golf Club in Ohio this afternoon. Walked the front nine. Played fairly well. Shot 39 from the green tees.

Despite playing so well though, I left the course pretty frustrated. I had to bag the driver after two back-to-back slices, both of which just barely stayed in play. Just when I was starting to gain some confidence with it after hitting it so well in Virginia Beach. Fortunately my 3w is the always consistent ~240 off the tee and my approach and short game picked up the slack.

The course also frustrated me. The #2 tee box is what felt like a 1/4 mile away from the #1 green. Then, after the par 5 #7, the walk back to #8 and #9 was another very long walk around some houses. The layout just felt really awkward. Almost all of the bunkers looked like they were filled with rocks. I had to move a few on the par 3 #8 greenside bunker (rules be damned, I'm not hurting my clubs for a non-posted score). And it cost $23. I've played much nicer courses for less money. The course is about a mile from my hotel room, but I might take my business elsewhere and just use their range in the evenings after work.

[theworldengine]

It does look like you have a tendency to come OOT, a fraction though. It's like you are starting to flip the club over immediately on the downswing

[BostonBrew]

Originally Posted by theworldengine

It does look like you have a tendency to come OOT, a fraction though. It's like you are starting to flip the club over immediately on the downswing

Yes. I've fought OTT since I picked up a club. I know when I start striking the ball poorly or slicing it, it's because I'm coming OTT. My most recent outings, I've tried to feel as if I delayed my downswing a fraction of a second and feel like I bring the club down and strike the ball from the inside-out. It's worked fantastic so far. A lot of straight ball flights and a baby draw here and there. Even picked up a few yards on my distances.

[BostonBrew]

Walked 9 holes this evening after work with a couple of co-workers. We played one of the courses at the Air Force Base in the area. I shot 40 with two double bogeys and 7 pars. Just couldn't sink a birdie putt today. Only pulled the driver twice and both were good tee shots. Two par 4s were short enough that I hit 3i and the others I hit 3w. Feeling good about my game. Just need to stay focused and make every shot count. Both of the doubles were a result of missed greens, poor chips, and two putts.

Still trying to get to Erie for a lesson. Hopefully we can make something happen while I'm in Ohio.

[BostonBrew]

Played the back 9 of Beavercreek this evening. Shot 41. Three double bogeys, a birdie, and 5 pars. Poor play from tee to green on all of the double bogeys with one 3-putt. Had trouble feeling where the club was on the downswing for some reason.

Not playing as much as I was in Virginia. So I'm not terribly upset about my game.