Diary of a bogey golfer with his 1st custom fit clubs

[RandallT]

6/1/15 Broke 80 for only the 2nd time with my personal best record of 78

It was 25 months ago when I broke 80 for the 1st time.  At the time, I didn't think it will take 25 months to break 80 again.  Had I known that, I probably quit golf right there and then .

The course set up was easy, 68.4/124/5637 yards, similar to the 1st time I broke 80.   Unlike the 1st time though, I didn't have too many GIRs (5) but had 12 pars & a birdie.   All the recent pitching practice & putting improvement all came together for this round.  I had ten 1-putts which meant my chipping/pitching were excellent, and I made all the short putts thanks to my fitted putter/Aimpoint lesson.   My short game was the star of the round.

What I still didn't have was the ball striking that was there two months ago.  I didn't hit as long, and wasn't accurate as before.   If I keep my current short game and get my ball striking back, my HI can go down to 13 - 14 in a heartbeat.  To make that happen, I am back to practicing with The Punisher again, and recording my swing with slow-mo equipped camera for review.  I have neglected them of late and blame myself for letting my ball striking to regress.

I was skeptical of fitted putter & Aimpoint lesson initially.  But they are doing their job.  My last 6 round total putt average is 30.33.  Lag putting is more consistent and I am making more short putts.  Now my wife wants to have a fitted putter .

The hits keep coming. You must feel pretty vindicated so far! 80 has been elusive for me, so I know it must feel pretty satisfying- particularly when you know you left some "long game" shots out there. You're looking at mid to low 70s on that course on a day when you can consistently do what you know is within you to do. That's pretty cool.

[dfreuter415]

6/1/15 Broke 80 for only the 2nd time with my personal best record of 78 It was 25 months ago when I broke 80 for the 1st time.

All the recent pitching practice & putting improvement all came together for this round.  I had ten 1-putts which meant my chipping/pitching were excellent, and I made all the short putts thanks to my fitted putter/Aimpoint lesson.   My short game was the star of the round.

Lag putting is more consistent and I am making more short putts.  Now my wife wants to have a fitted putter .

Congratulations Rick, that is terrific. It's been a long 25 months, but I think your journey was something that you will never forget, especially with the current results. I know you are striving for consistency, and I think the day will be coming soon, when a score of 90 and above will be an aberration.

Many times in TST I have put forth the theory that the key to lowering your scores, and thus being more consistent, is developing your short game. Your posting shows that the work is paying off. Well done.

As for lag putting.... Years ago, after playing the greens at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, I decided that lagging a putt and and having an easy tap-in, was a better trying to make every birdie and then ending with a three putt. I have kept that philosophy at every course I play, and I find I make almost as many birdies, but I don't have nearly as many 3-putts.  Your posting is validation of lag putting.

As for your wife wanting a fitted putter, just remember, "Happy wife, happy life."

[dfreuter415]

6/5

An average round of 96 (CR 71.4/128).   No GIRs but had 5 pars & 30 putts (six 1-putts, no 3-putt).  Short game remains in good shape.   I've got my driver ball striking back with 10/14 FIRs.  The rest of ball striking is itching to come back.  Misses are significantly less drastic than last week but still, they are misses and to all directions (short, long, left, right).   I have been practicing & using knockdown shots.  They worked.  Shot dispersion is smaller but I am not accurate with distance.

6/6

93 at the same course.  5 GIRs, 10/14 FIRs - ball striking was working.   But this time, short game was missing which led to 36 putts.  Yesterday, every chip seemed to land within a gimmie putt range.  Today, every chip seemed to land at least 10 feet away from the hole.

6/7

92 at the same course (71.2/128) - 4 GIRs, 9/14 FIRs, 33 putts.  Ball striking is back to my usual, finally.  Short game was slightly off although better than yesterday.   My homework for the next weekend's rounds is to keep to the current ball striking level, and get my short game back.   That should be good enough to lower my HI.

Hi Rick,

I saw your last three scores and hope you don't mind that I added them to your diary.

Scores:  96, 93, 92            GIR: 0, 5, 4           FIR: 10, 10, 9           Putts:  30, 36, 33

Very consistent scoring. I can see by your commentary that you are striving to get a more consistent level of play in both your ball striking and short game that would turn those 90's into 80's.

I'm just curious, at this point in time, if you would comment as to:

1) Level of satisfaction with your new clubs. (Which ones are you happiest with and which ones need more work)

2) What you plan to work on on the range to achieve your new goals.

3) Is your wife getting a fitted putter?

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

6/5

An average round of 96 (CR 71.4/128).   No GIRs but had 5 pars & 30 putts (six 1-putts, no 3-putt).  Short game remains in good shape.   I've got my driver ball striking back with 10/14 FIRs.  The rest of ball striking is itching to come back.  Misses are significantly less drastic than last week but still, they are misses and to all directions (short, long, left, right).   I have been practicing & using knockdown shots.  They worked.  Shot dispersion is smaller but I am not accurate with distance.

6/6

93 at the same course.  5 GIRs, 10/14 FIRs - ball striking was working.   But this time, short game was missing which led to 36 putts.  Yesterday, every chip seemed to land within a gimmie putt range.  Today, every chip seemed to land at least 10 feet away from the hole.

6/7

92 at the same course (71.2/128) - 4 GIRs, 9/14 FIRs, 33 putts.  Ball striking is back to my usual, finally.  Short game was slightly off although better than yesterday.   My homework for the next weekend's rounds is to keep to the current ball striking level, and get my short game back.   That should be good enough to lower my HI.

Hi Rick,

I saw your last three scores and hope you don't mind that I added them to your diary.

Scores:  96, 93, 92            GIR: 0, 5, 4           FIR: 10, 10, 9           Putts:  30, 36, 33

Very consistent scoring. I can see by your commentary that you are striving to get a more consistent level of play in both your ball striking and short game that would turn those 90's into 80's.

I'm just curious, at this point in time, if you would comment as to:

1) Level of satisfaction with your new clubs. (Which ones are you happiest with and which ones need more work)

2) What you plan to work on on the range to achieve your new goals.

3) Is your wife getting a fitted putter?

Yeah, the scoring has been consistent in a narrower range.  The average score (counting all the strokes, no ESC applied) has gotten better this month by 1.5 points but HI didn't.  Despite unlikely positive movement in HI for the next GHIN report, I am playing my best golf ever.

In today's round, I finally got my ball striking back.   Short game was almost there, too.   But I've lost 6 strokes due to poor course management.  Three wrong judgement calls led to 3 triples.

1) I am happiest with putter, driver, and iron set.   I felt they helped me get to the next level.   Hybrids & 3W are ok in comparison to my older set.  They certainly go 5 - 15 yards longer but had less of impact so far b/c I have not been consistent (not the clubs' fault).  Wedges need further loft and lie angle adjustments.  There is a significant gap between GW & PW which I need to address.    I have an appointment to fix them this week.    Taking the Aimpoint lesson has been a good call, too.   I was skeptical of the lesson's impact but it taught me how consistently I under-read breaks on long putts, and chips putts.

2 a) More accuracy for all my clubs.   Whenever I have a bad round, the main culprit is OB.  I will be reviewing my past swing lessons (on video) and will do the drills again.

2 b) More bunker, pitching & knockdown shot practices.   I have gotten decent with knockdown shot and have been using it in field.  But I need to get more accurate with it.   And the only way to get better at these is by repeating the practice until I can do them with my eyes closed.

2 c) I need to increase my driver distance.    All my club tournaments are from blue tee.  Being a short hitter, I am left with too many long approach shots.  If I can hit 240 yard drives consistently, I  believe it can improve my HI by several points.  As is, my solid drives are averaging about 220 yards, and only 1/2 my drives are solid.

3) She had one good putting round last week and changed her mind.   When her putting goes south again, I am sure she would want a fitted putter.

[rkim291968]

6/11/15 Another scoring improvement run?  Knockdown shot!

I carded another 92 today, an excellent round considering it rained all day yesterday.   The fairways were soft, killing my roll-outs on drives.  On average, I've lost about 10 yards on every drive due to "one hop and stop."   Greens were mushy and I had no idea on how long my lag putt would go.  It showed as I struggled in  putting department with three 3-putts, and 35 total for the round.   I played 7 rounds in June and the average score is 2 full points lower than my recent norm.   I am cautiously optimistic that it's due to pitching, putting improvements.   Perhaps, this is another run at lowing my HI.   Unfortunately, the scores have been in such narrow range that it has not done much to improve my HI.   My next GHIN HI will be same or slightly lower than the current one.  Patience, my grasshopper.  Patience.

I have been practicing knockdown shots.  I used them before to get out of trouble but not as a replacement for full swing shot.   It's not a hard shot to master and I am already hitting them as accurately as I do with full shots.  I am also learning when to use them effectively.   I used one to perfection today from a poor lie from which I can't hit a full shot.  With nothing but fairway between my ball and the green, I used a knockdown shot to get the ball close to the hole.  Sweet.  What next?  I should start practicing draw again.  This is the shot I had before to get out of trouble (around a tree, e.g).   It's time to add it back to my arsenal.

A week ago, I advanced to the round of 16 for the season long club match tournament.  The match went to 19th hole, had 5 lead changes & 6 ties with no lead bigger than 1-up at any time.   It was exhausting at the end, mentally & physically.   I hope this match was a turning point for my tournament ways.   I have been playing really poorly in every tournament it seems.

[dfreuter415]

6/11/15 Another scoring improvement run?  Knockdown shot!

1) I carded another 92 today, an excellent round considering it rained all day yesterday.   The fairways were soft, killing my roll-outs on drives.  On average, I've lost about 10 yards on every drive due to "one hop and stop."   Greens were mushy and I had no idea on how long my lag putt would go.  It showed as I struggled in  putting department with three 3-putts, and 35 total for the round.

2) I played 7 rounds in June and the average score is 2 full points lower than my recent norm.   I am cautiously optimistic that it's due to pitching, putting improvements.   Perhaps, this is another run at lowing my HI.   Unfortunately, the scores have been in such narrow range that it has not done much to improve my HI.   My next GHIN HI will be same or slightly lower than the current one.  Patience, my grasshopper.  Patience.

3) I have been practicing knockdown shots.  I used them before to get out of trouble but not as a replacement for full swing shot.   It's not a hard shot to master and I am already hitting them as accurately as I do with full shots.  I am also learning when to use them effectively.   I used one to perfection today from a poor lie from which I can't hit a full shot.  With nothing but fairway between my ball and the green, I used a knockdown shot to get the ball close to the hole.  Sweet.  What next?  I should start practicing draw again.  This is the shot I had before to get out of trouble (around a tree, e.g).   It's time to add it back to my arsenal.

4) A week ago, I advanced to the round of 16 for the season long club match tournament.  The match went to 19th hole, had 5 lead changes & 6 ties with no lead bigger than 1-up at any time.   It was exhausting at the end, mentally & physically.   I hope this match was a turning point for my tournament ways.   I have been playing really poorly in every tournament it seems.

1) Wet greens can be tough to judge. With that in mind, 35 putts really isn't that bad, but I know that you feel that you left a couple of shots on the course and could have broken 90. We played early last Monday after some overnight rain, and I couldn't get my first putt to the cup. How much rain did you get in California? Was it enough to make a difference in your state's drought conditions?

2) Consistency in you game is a thing to strive for, and it seems to be happening recently without a wide disparity of scores. But, as you continue to work on your game, I think your index inevitably will continue to come down. (Just think back a few months ago when it was 23.)

3) Aren't you having a lot of fun, as you begin to add shots to your arsenal? Enjoy the journey.

4) Round of 16? Congratulations! Is this a handicap tournament, or are you playing your opponent at scratch? I made it to our club finals last year, and then lost as my opponent shot par on the back nine. Play well in your upcoming matches.

[rkim291968]

1) Wet greens can be tough to judge. With that in mind, 35 putts really isn't that bad, but I know that you feel that you left a couple of shots on the course and could have broken 90. We played early last Monday after some overnight rain, and I couldn't get my first putt to the cup. How much rain did you get in California? Was it enough to make a difference in your state's drought conditions?

4) Round of 16? Congratulations!   Is this a handicap tournament, or are you playing your opponent at scratch? I made it to our club finals last year, and then lost as my opponent shot par on the back nine. Play well in your upcoming matches.

1) It rained for one day and won't do anything to the drought.   But it rained enough for the course to declare cart path only.

2) It's 100% handicap event.  I am dying to play the last year's winner who beat me in the round of 16.  He's in my bracket and is a known sandbagger (or as another club member puts it, "he manages his handicap well").   If I win another match, I will likely to face him in final 4.   But one match at a time ...   Good luck with your match tournament this year.

BTW, I strongly feel playing in tournament sharpens my game including course management.   During casual rounds, I "go for" shots that I have no business in going for.   The end result isn't pretty more often than not.  During tournament plays, I tend to stick to sounder strategy.

[dfreuter415]

During casual rounds, I "go for" shots that I have no business in going for.   The end result isn't pretty more often than not.  During tournament plays, I tend to stick to sounder strategy.

I agree, and in the casual rounds, when you "go for it," you either get a spectacular shot, or the double bogey+.  I tend to forget the double bogey+, but I still remember the spectacular shots every time I play the hole.

You gotta love this game!

[rkim291968]

6/18/15 My set is complete

I had my wedges modified to close distance gap between PW & 50.   I've adjusted 50 to 48, and 54 to 53.   This adjustment gave me about 9 yard difference between 50, 54, and 58 wedges.  That's it.  I have all new fitted clubs tweaked to my liking.   Am hoping this club set will last me more than a few years (< 2 years has been average life span of my previous sets).

It's too early to tell, with not enough data.  But in June rounds (7 total), I am averaging 1.5 point lower than previous two months averages.   It seems, that 1.5 reduction is coming from total putt/round stat (from 33+ of 1 year average to 32).   The putting improvement is even with 1+ more GIR I am averaging this month.   GIR usually means 2 putts for me.

Need to work on bunker shots again, master knockdown shot, fine tune pitching (50 - 70 yards), get back my ball striking in shape, and I am good to go for getting my handicap closer to 16.0, my 2015 initial goal.  My next GHIN report is likely go down to 16+ range given the soft numbers to beat.

Pura Vida.

[RFKFREAK]

6/18/15 My set is complete

I had my wedges modified to close distance gap between PW & 50.   I've adjusted 50 to 48, and 54 to 53.   This adjustment gave me about 9 yard difference between 50, 54, and 58 wedges.  That's it.  I have all new fitted clubs tweaked to my liking.   Am hoping this club set will last me more than a few years (< 2 years has been average life span of my previous sets).

It's too early to tell, with not enough data.  But in June rounds (7 total), I am averaging 1.5 point lower than previous two months averages.   It seems, that 1.5 reduction is coming from total putt/round stat (from 33+ of 1 year average to 32).   The putting improvement is even with 1+ more GIR I am averaging this month.   GIR usually means 2 putts for me.

Need to work on bunker shots again, master knockdown shot, fine tune pitching (50 - 70 yards), get back my ball striking in shape, and I am good to go for getting my handicap closer to 16.0, my 2015 initial goal.  My next GHIN report is likely go down to 16+ range given the soft numbers to beat.

Pura Vida.

Are you Costa Rican?

[dfreuter415]

6/18/15 My set is complete

I had my wedges modified to close distance gap between PW & 50.   I've adjusted 50 to 48, and 54 to 53.   This adjustment gave me about 9 yard difference between 50, 54, and 58 wedges.  That's it.  I have all new fitted clubs tweaked to my liking.   Am hoping this club set will last me more than a few years (< 2 years has been average life span of my previous sets).

This is one of the fun things about golf.... finding that "perfect" set of clubs. I change my irons about every 15 years or so. (I'm due for a new set in 2020.) Hybrids and fairway woods about the same. But, the driver only lasts a few years, at best. I'm always looking for a little more distance.

Rick - your fitted clubs, and a new sense of dedication, have transformed your game. Keep up the good work.

[rkim291968]

Are you Costa Rican?

No, I've learned that from my vacation to Costa Rica.

This is one of the fun things about golf.... finding that "perfect" set of clubs. I change my irons about every 15 years or so. (I'm due for a new set in 2020.) Hybrids and fairway woods about the same. But, the driver only lasts a few years, at best. I'm always looking for a little more distance.

Rick - your fitted clubs, and a new sense of dedication, have transformed your game. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the encouragement.   Changed your irons every 15 years?  That's a long time for iron face to last.   Between my practice and playing, I had a few clubs' face worn out.  I re-grove them a number of times.   A reason for changing my previous wedge set to Edel ones is b/c one of the wedge's face worn out and I've got tired of re-groving it.

[dfreuter415]

I do have a grooving tool that I use periodically. But, I have a Ping BeCu Eye 2+ lob wedge that I bought in 1989 that is still in my bag, and will probably come out. This is the 16th year that I have been using it, and it is still in great shape. It's remarkable to me with all of the golf I have played over the years, but I won't complain!

I never thought that I would look at an other wedge than my Eye 2+, but your success with the Edel might make me reconsider.

[RFKFREAK]

No, I've learned that from my vacation to Costa Rica.

When did you go and what did you think?

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

No, I've learned that from my vacation to Costa Rica.

When did you go and what did you think?

2 years ago, took Caravan.com (<--- their web url) tour - a 10 day bus tour.  It's pretty stress free way to see Costa Rica at cheap price.   We enjoyed it.  I even rented a bike and rode it to a resort golf course there.  I think the only golfers playing there were North Americans (nortenos, gringos, Canadians, snowbirds, ...).  Adjacent houses along the course owned by American celebrities, and rich folks.

I hope you got over the cold and play some golf.

6/21/15 Played 4 rounds from Friday to Sunday.

All scores were firmly in 90s, scoring in narrow range.  The four rounds were a bit neurotic in statistics.   Had only 25 putts in one round at the expense of zero GIRs.  I think 25 putts is my personal best.    Approach shots were close, resulting chip & pitching shots even closer and I made all the short putts.  In another round, I hit 12 of 14 fairways.   But all 4 rounds had one thing in common, occasional 8s, 9s, and 10s caused by hitting ball into OB, losing balls in tall grass, hacking unsuccessfully out of thick rough, etc..   Coupled those misses with bad judgement calls and I could not break 90 in the last 11 rounds.   The good news is that I didn't break north of 100 either and my average score (not HI, differential scores without ESC applied) in June is still the best since I started playing at my home course (19 months).

[dfreuter415]

But all 4 rounds had one thing in common, occasional 8s, 9s, and 10s caused by hitting ball into OB, losing balls in tall grass, hacking unsuccessfully out of thick rough, etc..

Rick,

Are you using your Equitable Stroke Control when you post your score?

If you are posting a score for your GHIN, I'm pretty sure that it is mandated that you use the ESC.

-Dan

PS - A 17 handicap max score is 7, but first you have to adjust the HI to the course you are playing. On a difficult course your handicap might go to 20 and then the max would be 8.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

But all 4 rounds had one thing in common, occasional 8s, 9s, and 10s caused by hitting ball into OB, losing balls in tall grass, hacking unsuccessfully out of thick rough, etc..

Rick,

Are you using your Equitable Stroke Control when you post your score?

If you are posting a score for your GHIN, I'm pretty sure that it is mandated that you use the ESC.

-Dan

PS - A 17 handicap max score is 7, but first you have to adjust the HI to the course you are playing. On a difficult course your handicap might go to 20 and then the max would be 8.

Yes, for GHIN, I use ESC score.  Right now, I have to use max score of 7.

[RFKFREAK]

2 years ago, took Caravan.com (<--- their web url) tour - a 10 day bus tour.  It's pretty stress free way to see Costa Rica at cheap price.   We enjoyed it.  I even rented a bike and rode it to a resort golf course there.  I think the only golfers playing there were North Americans (nortenos, gringos, Canadians, snowbirds, ...).  Adjacent houses along the course owned by American celebrities, and rich folks.

Nice.  The reason I asked is because I'm Costa Rican so I always like to know what people think when they visit there.

I hope you got over the cold and play some golf.

I did, thanks.

I was able to play after a bit of a layoff and put up a 103.  I'll probably do a post about it soon, just have to do some housekeeping first, haha.