My Swing (phillyk)

[phillyk]

Had some fun today. A couple personal records and one group record. 

I shot a 64, which is 1 above my record. Definitely felt something good in the swing once I got it. We started on 13 to “find a gap.” I had a penalty par and a double in the first 3 holes. I proceeded to get a record 5 birdies in a row.  My other record is getting 10 birdies in a round.

Sucks a lot that a double contaminated this round, but it did. I had several hurtful misses too. On the hole I lost my streak, I missed a 6ft slider for birdie. 7 I was green-side in 2 and missed my pitch. 8 I missed a 10ft birdie. 10 I missed an 8ft birdie. I mean there was an absolute ton of potential in this round. I was sticking approaches tight and making putts most of the round. Most fun I’ve had playing in a while. 

The group record is we shot -14 as a best ball. One person played the first 6 holes with us before he left. He had 1 birdie (3 handicap). The other 2 handicaps are 6 and 3-5ish (hasn’t kept any handicap before). I mean only missing 4 holes for birdie is crazy. 

[phillyk]

Well, I don’t know what to say or think. 

64 a couple days ago. 62, my All Time Career Low today WITH a HIO!!!  What the heck is going on? 

Either way, thank goodness I don’t have to post a 64 and 62 to my ghin. 😉

[JetFan1983]

You've made some great changes to your swing over the years, man. Congrats on the round and the hole-in-one! 

[phillyk]

Well played another 18 today. Brought my kid along even. I hit ball well enough tee to green. Didn’t feel quite as tight, but I’m pretty sure I was 16/18 GIR (one sandy save and one fringe putt). I missed a couple easier putts early on and lipped out several throughout the round. However, I still managed to finish at a -7, 65. Which puts me at an insane -25 through my last 3 rounds. Going -5 on the par 5s and being bogey free helps. So there is my no 6s and no 5s round for 2024! 😉

In today’s round I did a 3v1. Played against three 5ish handicaps who did a best ball. No strokes given as I have no idea how long I’ll keep up this crazy run. I won on hole 14 (got to -7 here, so parred out).  I haven’t had this much fun playing in a long time. Hopefully I can keep whatever it is. 

[phillyk]

Played again yesterday and yet again, another 65. I was actually -7 through 11 holes but got cold. I also broke my no bogey streak. I went 41 holes without a bogey. Not bad! So through 4 rounds, I’m -32. I’ll try to keep it going!

[boogielicious]

15 hours ago, phillyk said:

Played again yesterday and yet again, another 65. I was actually -7 through 11 holes but got cold. I also broke my no bogey streak. I went 41 holes without a bogey. Not bad! So through 4 rounds, I’m -32. I’ll try to keep it going!

That’s got to be getting old.😜

[phillyk]

Through the last couple years, a couple friends have attempted WM Phoenix Open pre-qualifying. So, I knew it was a popular one to try.  Prior to the streak above, I would never had thought to try it. But, I got hot, and I had to try.

I hadn’t ever played in Arizona and it was on the bucketlist. So, why not?

In terms of distances and playing full shots, it was very similar to playing in Eastern WA, which is desert. The greens played remarkably flat and the cups, somehow, seemed/played smaller.  I had a 180 and several 90 degree turns in my round.

The short of it is, I didn’t make it.  I shot a +2, 73. Qualifiers shot -7, 64.  I would rate my game today as: Full swing C-, Short game D, and Putting B+. Despite the misses putting, distance and my reads were good, it just didn’t drop for me.  Full swing, I had to resort to my B swing after several holes.  My miss has been a flippy hook. My second hole had a very unfortunate bounce to put me OB, so 2 strokes gone right away. My B swing kept things straight enough, but obviously not where I’d want it to be.  The course played very short (6800yds today played like 6100yds at my course in WA). My wedges are typically very on point, but I hesitated too much because of the swing. Left myself too far away on putts. Missed enough greens.  Whenever possible, if I missed the green, I putted and it was successful. The times I had to use short game, I failed. The yips came running back. Luckily, I only needed these yippy shots three times, but those were three shots I lost.  I did finish on a high note like I have before. Hit a 400yd drive on my last hole (570yds down wind, had 145yd left), soft lipped for eagle, and made birdie.

I have 3 big takeaways from this. One, I drink too much beer 😆. Seriously, these guys take their body and well being very seriously. Two, I met a lot of cool people. Canadian PGA Tour, Latino PGA Tour, and more. These guys are grinding to get into these events. I met and played my practice round with a retired 14yr MLB catcher who played with the Yankees (very nice guy and super laid back), and he was sponsoring a couple of the local pros in their hometown.  Three, I have the skills to play this game at the elite level.  I am not consistent enough, yet. There is nothing they did, that I didn’t and can not do. The guys winning just do it more often.

I love what I do. I love teaching/coaching and learning as much as I can in the game.  IDK, but I really want to try more of these in the future.  I didn’t expect to walk away feeling like this is something I can do.  I didn’t want to fail, I guess. But, more, I didn’t want to feel close.   I have to and want to take myself more seriously, competitively.

Onto the next…  

[phillyk]

Since the pre-qualifier, the game has remained ok, but my area got hit hard by snow/ice. So, greens went to crap at nearly every course around me. Hard to want to play good when you know there’s no trusting the line. It’s as bad or worse than aerified greens because of bumps and the speed changes between dormant/yellow grass and green grass. Plus maintenance won’t touch them, for good reason, until growth starts again. 

However, for some reason, today went well putting. Wasn’t thinking today would be special at all. Hit good approaches on 1 and 2, and only converted hole 2 for birdie. Bogeyed 4 after a mediocre chip. However, my short game really did well other than 4. Ended with 1 bogey, 9 birdies and an eagle to tie my PR of 62! 32/30 were the 9’s. Birdied all par 5’s but only got on in 2 on 3 of them, but the third shots were all easy enough chips. Drove the par 4, 14th and made the 15ft putt to go -8. Finished birdie birdie on 17 and 18 with 2 good approach shots. 

Crazy how a month ago I shot a series of crazy low scores, and now I popped another. Of course, I didn’t want them to end, but didn’t think today would happen at all. I think posting season starts March 1st. It’ll be interesting if I keep scoring like this. Handicap will drop a lot. 

[klineka]

Great playing! Curious when you say "good approaches" on like 1,2,17,18 that resulted in 3 birdies, what kinds of distances are you hitting for the approach shots and how far are you leaving for your birdie putts? 

Maybe a better way to ask is during this great run of golf you've been playing obviously you've been doing a lot of things well, but is there a common theme among the really low rounds that you hadn't had prior to this stretch? Like has it been a case of stuffing everything to 5 feet, making a ton of long putts, not missing a fairway, etc.

[GolfLug]

62 is cool as hell. Damn

[phillyk]

1 hour ago, klineka said:

but is there a common theme among the really low rounds that you hadn't had prior to this stretch?

I’ll recount this round more specifically, then answer your question. 

1) hit normal, first tee shot, duck hookish drive left of fw. Hit a low, below the trees, 95yd 52 wedge to inside 10ft. Missed the putt. 
2) cut drive, still missed ever so slightly left of fw. Put approach to 3ft, made birdie. 
3) 2iron to mid fairway, had 130 in and hit pw barely over the green (within 20ft of pin). Hit a putt from the rough as it was straight downhill, made par. 
4) par 3, hit front edge of green after a high toe chunk of a tee shot. Couldn’t get up and down.

5) par 5, perfect drive, left with 200 or so in. Missed green to the right but pin high, chipped to a tap in. 
6) par 3 missed green short right, chip hit the pin and stopped close. 
7) par 5, good drive, had 5iron in, missed slightly right but carried the bunker. 2 putt birdie

8- Good drive, missed fairway, but it’s a short hole and ended short right of green. 65yd pitch to inside 10ft. made the putt. 
9) pounded the drive, approach from 45yds ended up inches from the hole. Birdie
10) missed drive right into the trees, punched out, had 105yds in and put my 56 to 4ft and made par. Key par there. 
11) par 5, drive missed right of fw but still fine, hit 4iron to inside 20ft, 2 putt birdie. 
12) par 3, thought i hit it perfect, bit landed mid green and spun to front. Had a tough uphill putt from 40ft or so. Made par. 
13) par 5, good drive but slightly left of fw, hit 2iron to pin high right of green. Chip to 5ft, made the slider for birdie. 
14) 315yd par 4, drove green (must have had a lucky kick, I’ve been plugging in front approach all winter), ended within 15ft and made the putt for eagle.

15) cut 2iron down left side fw, tucked right pin so did my normal draw off it to middle of green. Had 25-30ft, made par. 
16) par 3, 150yds, tucked right pin again, hit 15-20ft away, made par. 
17) hit hooky 2iron, but ok in left rough, had 100yds in slightly downwind, hit my 60 8ft past, made birdie. 
18) hit 2iron hard down right but hit trees and kicked, luckily, slightly left back into fairway, had 130yds in and had my 52 to 4ft, made birdie. 

That is 7/14 fairways and 14/18 greens. Basically the driver was hit well, and for the most part, not in trouble and leaving short wedges in. From there I hit wedges really well, including many of the chip/pitch distances. When my game is around even par, there’s definitely no putts made and approaches aren’t as close. Mid to upper 60s means better approaches and some putts. Low 60s is good approaches with more putts made. Certainly making birdies on the 4 par 5s is important as well as making virtually no bogies. 

I’ve said it before about my game but when my driver is doing good, I’m doing good. If it’s not, I’m not. My full/partial wedges are the best part of my game. Pitching/chipping is getting a ton better. Putting is a lot better but variable depending on conditions. The game just happens to be aligning more the last few months. 

[boogielicious]

You need snow and ice more often!😜

[klineka]

8 hours ago, phillyk said:

That is 7/14 fairways and 14/18 greens. Basically the driver was hit well, and for the most part, not in trouble and leaving short wedges in. From there I hit wedges really well, including many of the chip/pitch distances. When my game is around even par, there’s definitely no putts made and approaches aren’t as close. Mid to upper 60s means better approaches and some putts. Low 60s is good approaches with more putts made. Certainly making birdies on the 4 par 5s is important as well as making virtually no bogies. 

I’ve said it before about my game but when my driver is doing good, I’m doing good. If it’s not, I’m not. My full/partial wedges are the best part of my game. Pitching/chipping is getting a ton better. Putting is a lot better but variable depending on conditions. The game just happens to be aligning more the last few months. 

Makes sense, thanks! Wedges in that 40-100yd range is definitely an area I need to improve on in order for me to get closer to scratch. 

[phillyk]

Played in another US Open qualifier yesterday. Same story, sort of, as Phoenix Open pre-qualifying. I shot a +5, 75, with 5 birdies, a triple, and 7 bogies. Chipping and pitching sucks. 

The course was Palouse Ridge. Very fun and interesting track. They played a couple shorter par 5s as 480-500yd par 4s. But as we say, par doesn’t mean much, still need to get lowest score possible. The wind protects this golf course. Length isn’t that bad with the firmness of fairways.

Driver was ok, for most part. My plan for day was my fairway finding “bunt driver.” Basically hitting it low because of the wind. Normally it comes out as a cut. Throughout the round, it slowly went into a draw. My triple was from losing one left off the tee because I was set to cut it. After that, I played for the draw and it went well.

Generally, throughout the day, I overestimated how much the wind would hurt when into the wind and cross the wind. So I went a little long on my approaches throughout.

Chipping and pitching lost me at minimum 4 strokes. I worked hard on it, but I’m used to soft ground. The ground was firm here and I couldn’t play it confidently.

I had 11/18 GIR. Two 3 putts hurt. Had two 2 putt birdies, one was a par 4. It really wasn’t bad. I just couldn’t get comfortable with my game the whole day. I had the moments, but then I got aimy and guidey.

2 things to sum it up, continue practice on short game and trust my normal shots versus trying to play stingers and punchers when the wind picks up. 

Next big event, I think, is our Section PGA Championship in September, which is at a close-ish course I’m very familiar with. So I’m excited for that. Summer is dedicated to some practice but mostly teaching. I’ve had a very strong start to the year. I want to keep it going. 

[phillyk]

I took a closer look at my scoring. All my birdies were down wind holes. My big mess up holes were into. I play enough with wind where I’m at. It comes back to the fact I tried to do too much with the wind. I should’ve played my game, not the wind game. 

[phillyk]

Well this has been a disaster of a summer, regarding playing. Played the least amount of golf in a summer since 2008. Yips on short game to partial wedges came in full hog. Full swing continued to be ok. Putting was the best part of my game. Handicap went from +2.5 to now 0.0. The number of rounds were low because I taught much more. Numbers are up over 50% from last year. A great thing but my own game was sacrificed and it annoys me a little. Short game really suffered from lack of play and practice. 

I had rounds where I would lay sod over the ball, from the rough with a decent lie, looking at a simple chip from barely off green uphill to a pin. It would happen several times a round. I resorted to putting or using a 2iron to chip with. Obviously the less short game shots meant full swing was good. But, if it was off a little, I was screwed. My right wrist, elbow and knee all buckled and jerked right before impact. I couldn’t stop it. Tried everything I could think of. I went through a week occasionally that something would work, but never stuck. I remember not even having a club in hand. Just looking down at the ball and knowing I was in trouble. 

A couple weeks ago, I watched a short game chef video on chipping and it has really helped turn my short game around. Yips aren’t completely gone, but very minimal now. Most of my issues now are distance control as the flight is slightly different. It was clear that I was too steep before. But I also realized I was decelerating quite a bit and trying to compress it for spin.

Now, I’m much more neutral in setup. I’m really focusing in the very beginning of my take away and making my chest do everything there. If hands do anything to start, it will be a yip chunk or skull. I’m Trying to take shorter backswings and accelerate more through the ball without a feeling of “compressing” it. Allowing my draw biased motion to do its thing.  It’s resulting in much higher ball flights which means distance control up to 75yds will have to be reworked. The ball still has plenty of spin. I’m also able to use any club now to chip with versus feeling stuck with one. 

My goal this off season is to try and break 60 from the forward tees at my home course. It will focus my game on tee shots and short game. Putting has become almost second nature and am not worried about it. Most of all, I need to figure out a better balance next year between work and play. Maintaining a high level of play is important to me (especially to my stress levels 😆).