My Swing (Lihu)

[billchao]

Isn't that as close as it gets to an oxymoron?

Yea I was totally confused. [quote name="Lihu" url="/t/71030/my-swing-lihu/300#post_1095288"] Yeah, that was a hard one to describe. :hmm: It's "hard pan", but with a 1cm layer of wet soppy mud on it? :smartass:   [/quote]Can't say I've ever encountered it, so I'll take your word for it.

[Golfingdad]

Yeah, that was a hard one to describe.

It's "hard pan", but with a 1cm layer of wet soppy mud on it?

Any reason why you couldn't have taken a free drop from casual water?

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abu3baid

Isn't that as close as it gets to an oxymoron?

Yea I was totally confused.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Yeah, that was a hard one to describe.

It's "hard pan", but with a 1cm layer of wet soppy mud on it?

Can't say I've ever encountered it, so I'll take your word for it.

Okay picture yourself on hard packed dirt like a parking lot, next imagine a puddle with wet soppy mud in it. Your feet and ball can only sink about 1cm into it?

Actually, it's funny that during some football games they actually do park some cars there.

[mvmac]

Any reason why you couldn't have taken a free drop from casual water?

Yeah check this out @Lihu

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Decision-25/

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Yeah, that was a hard one to describe.

It's "hard pan", but with a 1cm layer of wet soppy mud on it?

Any reason why you couldn't have taken a free drop from casual water?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvmac

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Any reason why you couldn't have taken a free drop from casual water?

Yeah check this out @Lihu

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Decision-25/

Thanks for the posts.

The one thing that kept me back from moving it to the fairway was that I couldn't see any free water. It appeared to be adherent to decision 25-1

Quote:

25/1

Soft, Mushy Earth

Q.Is soft, mushy earth casual water?

A.No. Soft, mushy earth is not casual water unless water is visible on the surface before or after the player takes his stance – see Definition of "Casual Water."

However, "Winter Rules" are in effect, and I think I am possibly entitled to relief based upon that, but I try to be as conservative as possible about taking "free drops" as I got burned by "nearest point of relief" in the past.

It was also a multiple ball practice round, and I wanted to see if I could get on the green in 2 shots. What I found out is, for one, I couldn't hit my 3i and also that I didn't really know how to hit out of this situation very well. My first attempt went 120 yards second one further and my 3rd attempt went 170 yards. All three shots were fat, but the last one was the "cleanest" I could probably realistically get.

Next time I will take some pictures of any situation like this one and post it in a rules thread.

[billchao]

Okay picture yourself on hard packed dirt like a parking lot, next imagine a puddle with wet soppy mud in it. Your feet and ball can only sink about 1cm into it? Actually, it's funny that during some football games they actually do park some cars there.

Ok, I think I know what you are talking about. Sounds to me like water from the sprinklers that didn't have time to seep down into the soil. I probably would have called it casual water, too. Then again, when it doubt, play it as it lies.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Okay picture yourself on hard packed dirt like a parking lot, next imagine a puddle with wet soppy mud in it. Your feet and ball can only sink about 1cm into it?

Actually, it's funny that during some football games they actually do park some cars there.

Ok, I think I know what you are talking about. Sounds to me like water from the sprinklers that didn't have time to seep down into the soil.

I probably would have called it casual water, too. Then again, when it doubt, play it as it lies.

The main thing is it was a practice round, and I wanted to see if I could do it.

I do a lot more crazy stuff during these rounds as well. The bottoms of my wedges tell a lot about the antics I put them through.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

14th was a disaster.

I've been following your recaps of your rounds and it seems like #14 always gives you trouble.  Off the top of my head I think you hit a tree at least twice on the left and I assume today was something similar.

Given this is a short par 4 at 358yds from the blues, why not change your strategy on that hole and hit a 3W or 3H or even a 5i?

It's downhill so you should get some roll out of it.

I'll have to say I played there last week and the conditions were just horrendous, has it improved any?

Well, I tried my 5i off the14th tee box on the blue tees. I shanked it about 155 yards, then hit 3i to just behind the green side bunker on the left. Chip and putt for a relatively easy par. That's how I plan to play the hole in the future, well, not the shank part and probably a 4i off the tee. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Lihu]

Played 9 holes in the early morning, with pretty decent results except on the last hole. I ended up 9 over on the 6800 yard tees with a double par on the last hole. Made 4 GIR, and mostly near green conditions. Drives were pretty good.

Played again in the late afternoon.

Started off okay:

1st I messed up the 40 yard pitch shot and left myself with a 20 foot putt for a Par

2nd was the first time I hit Driver 8i to 5 yards of the green. Pretty excited about that. Tap in Bogey.

3rd good drive, hit my hybrid fat, PW second approach. Tap in Bogey.

4th decent drive, but high and short (got under the ball). 5i to near the green, chip and 2 putt. Bogey.

5th Pegged upper lip of the right bunker off the tee and the ball jumped out and ended up behind the cart sign. pitch and 2 putt for a tap in Par

6th Hit a decent drive to within 220 yards of the green. Hit a low hybrid into the left bunker. The ball was too low and hit the trailing edged of the bunker and embedded into the bunker. Got out okay then pitched and putt for Par.

The 7th hole was a duck hook off the tee, 6i recover shot punched between the trees pitched and 2 putt for Bogey.

8th I hooked a hybrid into the 12th fairway behind some trees, shanked a chip right into the water, took the lateral, and chipped into the bunker, 2 shots later I was on the green with 2 putts. Snowman.

9th I hooked into the 10th fairway, punched my 7i under to the right green, just short of the green. (I intended to hit over the trees, thinned it and ended up right next to the green. The ball hit a bump giving it an upward flight and rolled all the way. Pitched to the back of the green over the bunker. Made the 45 foot putt for the most unbelievable par in my life. 3 bad shots in a row and Par?

10th Hit a drive that ricocheted off the right side of the bump on the left side bunker to the 150 marker. Hit my 8i fat and ended up bouncing in the ravine to some wood chips. Hit my 60 out of the ravine landing just behind the green. Pitch and putt bogey.

11th Duck hook off the tee behind the fence. Hit an 8i into a tree and it landed next to the pond. Punched a 3i near the left side fairway bunker. 52 degree to the green and putt for par.

12th Hit a perfect drive down the middle just short of the bump on the right. Hit a nice hybrid just short of the green. Chip and 2 putt for a tap in Bogey.

13th Skipped because some people waved me to pass.

14th Ahem. . .Hit my 4i just short of the 150 marker. 9i just short of the green. Chipped and 2 putt tap in Bogey. I should have waited for the thing to teeter in. Arrrgh. . .

15th Drove a nice line, but short of where I wanted to be. Hybrid to the 12th tee box area. 60 over the tree blocking the green on the left. Putt off the fringe. 2 putt again for a tap in Bogey.

16th Nice drive, but again, short. 7i to the right side of the green because my only line was there. It was a well executed shot about 165 yards (no roll). Chip and putt for Par.

17th Hit a 7i again just left and short of the green (1 foot), but past the leading edge of the green. It hit the Bermuda grass and pretty much stuck. Chip and putt par.

18th "Duck hooked" high into the protection fence to keep it from going into the Rose Bowl stadium. It was a pretty solid sound off that fence. 3i to punch out of the mess to the 150 marker. 8i fat to the slightly uphill island green side of the bunker. Chipped pretty badly ending up 20 feet from the hole. 2 putts for Double.

My muscles were really sore after the round, and I think my short game was disintegrating first. As I got more tired I started hitting fat shots and duck hooks. I can either play a heck of a lot more to build up endurance or do some other conditioning. It's pretty obvious that my short game is linked to my level of "tiredness".

13 clubs in my bag:

Adams A70 Putter

TM Rac 60 wedge

TM Rac 52 wedge

Mizuno MP-32 3-P KBS Tour xstiff with old fashioned 1965 lofts

TM Burner 2.0 19 degree (meas.) hybrid KBS-Hybrid xstiff

Cobra Biocell PX6.0 Set at 9 degrees

[Lihu]

Switched back to my steel shafted Ping G15/X100 getting a little more consistency in my drives, but still had a duck hook pop up today. Distance is about the same as with my Cobra BioCell PX6.0, but a lot more consistent.

Played a practice round on the shorter course today, and was driving pretty far if I didn't hit trees that were in the way. I had only one duck hook off the tee. Shots are relatively high, and seem to carry farther than with my Biocell. I didn't make many greens or even near greens today, but I was mostly far/right/left of the pin. Shot a couple birdies, a few par and mostly bogey or blowup holes.

My new swing is a lot more powerful, and I feel like in another month or two I can start scoring better once I adjust to my swing and these clubs again.

[Lihu]

Today was a pretty good near green day. I might add from the worst possible positions.

Played holes 10-18, then 1,2 and 15-18 again from the 6800 yard tees.

Hole 11: Pulled my drive to the area above the green on 8, 6i to the electrical box on the left, 9i to the green. 2 putts for par

Hole 12: Pushed the drive towards the last tree on the left. Hybrid to 30 yards of the pin. Chipped past the green. chipped back and forth and putt for a double.

Hole 13: Thinned a 5i under the tree on the left and rolled up the green. 2 putt par.

Hole 14: Hit driver again, straight almost to the 100 mark. 8i to the green, 2 putts par.

Hole 15: Hooked into the gate on the right and it bounced back towards the fairway, 3i near the green, chipped past the green. chip and 2 putt bogey.

Hole 16: Hooked just behind this tiny tree on the right. Hit my 5i through the little tree nicking it, and landing within 20 yards. Chipped and 2 putt for bogey.

Hole 17: 7i to the front of the green. mishit the first putt. 2 more for bogey.

Hole 18: Drove 15 yards past the 200 marker right down the middle. 3i to the front fringe, 3 putts for bogey.

Hole 1: Cut a drive really short. LW to the front of the green 3 putts for bogey.

Hole 2: Drove straight down the middle left of the right side bunker. Thinned (rolled) 6i just middle short of the green. Picked up my ball and joined a friend on Hole 14.

Hole 14: No drive, just hit an 8i 140 yards from his tee shot. Missed the pin by 4 feet, and the ball stuck a foot from where it landed. Made my "fake birdie".

Hole 15: Straight but short (240-250 yards or so?), duck hooked my hybrid 30 yards from the green. Chipped past the hole. Chipped off a sprinkler head dropping 15 feet from the pin 2 putt for bogey. Redid it taking relief from the sprinkler head, and almost birdied.

Hole 16: Drove into the center of the 17th fairway. only 140 yards, but needed to go above some trees. Setup my 8i at the front of my stance, hit the tree and landed in some leaves pin high. Chipped on and put for par.

Hole 17: Hit 6i to the right of the green and left of the bunker. Back pin was about 170 yards slightly uphill, so I decided not to hit 7i again. The pin moved to back placement since the previous time I played the hole.

Hole 18: Hit one down the middle but not at my "maximum power position" (my timing was off), My friend laughed at my displeasure of my "short" 240 yard drive. "Your not good enough to think that was a bad drive". We both laughed, and he hit his tee shot to the left bunker in the other fairway. Hybrid duck hooked right 1 yard short of the green on the bank of the bunker. Chipped past the green, chipped short, 2 putt for double.

In retrospect, maybe it's time I actually worked on my short game a bit.

[Lihu]

Here are a few 6i drill swings from a couple weeks ago. Note that I have raised my arms above parallel with my shoulders as of the last two weeks to make it a little more like the position Mike wanted me in earlier, and mainly to get rid of the pulls you see in the video!

They are about 55-60% my normal course swing. They feel like 25% because of the minimal effort, but they are drill swings.

My contact on the course is not so great with 5i to 3i, but luckily it's rare for me to need those. 6i is so so contact.

Hoping to take some new on course videos, but I've been paired up with people every time this last couple weeks.

[mvmac]

The move from A1-2.5 looks good. Just make sure not to "rush" the rest of the backswing. I think you speed things up at too fast a rate and that causes the shoulder to level out and for the club to get laid off (shaft pointing too much to the right).

[Lihu]

The move from A1-2.5 looks good. Just make sure not to "rush" the rest of the backswing. I think you speed things up at too fast a rate and that causes the shoulder to level out and for the club to get laid off (shaft pointing too much to the right).

So, my move kind of starts with my legs "flexing" the hip to turn, but then after this you are saying there is a point where I might be accelerating too fast? So true, and I know this. Some of my swings feel "right", but I am not exactly sure what I am doing to get it dialed in like that. Is there some kind of "tempo" training I can use to help with keeping the sequencing "right"?

The other thing is I am just getting used to the feeling of my arm being higher than my shoulder. It's a really awkward feeling, but the results are really good on the course. Is it reasonable that my arm is about 10 degrees or more higher/steeper than my shoulders at the top of my swing? Unfortunately, I am not able to take videos until the weekend due to lack of daylight and getting partnered on the course every morning.

[mvmac]

So, my move kind of starts with my legs "flexing" the hip to turn, but then after this you are saying there is a point where I might be accelerating too fast? So true, and I know this. Some of my swings feel "right", but I am not exactly sure what I am doing to get it dialed in like that. Is there some kind of "tempo" training I can use to help with keeping the sequencing "right"?

I would just say to feel much slower from A3-4. You're good to about A2.5 and then you really speed up during the rest of the backswing. This gets things out of sequence and you "throw" the club more from the top of the swing.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

So, my move kind of starts with my legs "flexing" the hip to turn, but then after this you are saying there is a point where I might be accelerating too fast? So true, and I know this. Some of my swings feel "right", but I am not exactly sure what I am doing to get it dialed in like that. Is there some kind of "tempo" training I can use to help with keeping the sequencing "right"?

I would just say to feel much slower from A3-4. You're good to about A2.5 and then you really speed up during the rest of the backswing. This gets things out of sequence and you "throw" the club more from the top of the swing.

Thanks. I'll try that tomorrow's practice round.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvmac

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

So, my move kind of starts with my legs "flexing" the hip to turn, but then after this you are saying there is a point where I might be accelerating too fast? So true, and I know this. Some of my swings feel "right", but I am not exactly sure what I am doing to get it dialed in like that. Is there some kind of "tempo" training I can use to help with keeping the sequencing "right"?

I would just say to feel much slower from A3-4. You're good to about A2.5 and then you really speed up during the rest of the backswing. This gets things out of sequence and you "throw" the club more from the top of the swing.

Thanks. I'll try that tomorrow's practice round.

Okay, I'm a believer!

Longest drive today was on the 16th hole 403 yards from the blue markers.

Nice soft PW (114 up a slight hill) left to the green (which I missed pin high to the left by about 3 feet):

Google map shows a 285 yard drive, while the course yardage minus the 114 yards left indicates a 289 yard drive. 285 is still really nice, even if slightly downhill and downwind (breeze)!

Of course my next drive on 18 was a humbling 250 barely passing the 200 yard marker. It hung in the air longer than this one so I wonder if there is a prevailing headwind (light breeze)?

I also hooked my 7i into the water on the 17th for a double.

[billchao]

[URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/113397/] [/URL]

They use this hole for parking? Doesn't anyone worry about getting their car damaged? ;-)