RFKFREAK's Journal About Golf Past, Present, and Future

[RFKFREAK]

Thats a great result fulla. Coincidence it happened just after a gym session?

Regards

Mailman

INORITE?  And not too sore!  I also put some out there off the tee further than I had been; coincidence?

[colin007]

That means you didn't lift hard enough, BRUVVAH!!!!

[RFKFREAK]

That means you didn't lift hard enough, BRUVVAH!!!!

You still trying to get out of Columbia or did they let you back in the US?

[colin007]

You still trying to get out of Columbia or did they let you back in the US? :-P

COLOMBIA!!! Spell it right, Holmes. Still here till Saturday. Thank god for Wi-Fi.

[RFKFREAK]

COLOMBIA!!! Spell it right, Holmes.

Still here till Saturday. Thank god for Wi-Fi.

Wanna play Sunday?

[colin007]

Wanna play Sunday? :-)

Tantalizing proposition.

[RFKFREAK]

Tantalizing proposition.

Check your PM Inbox.

[RFKFREAK]

I played a round with @colin007 and I'm hoping he might be able to provide some analysis from his perspective as I'd love to see it in writing from another person's point of view who I think will give a good assessment.

105 on a Par 71.

7/13 FIR (54%)

6/18 GIR (33%)

40 Putts (2.2/hole)

• 2 - One putt
• 10 - Two putts
• 6 - Three putts

0 Birdie

4 Pars

7 Bogeys

4 Double Bogeys

3 More than Double Bogey.

What really hurt was a 14 that I put up on the third hole which was a Par 4.  Putting three balls into the woods (slicing which I rarely do nowadays) certainly didn't help but then when I finally got the ball in play, a 100 yard or so drive and then two really bad shots with my hybrid and a 3 putt really hurt.  The other hole that hurt was the second hole as I put up a 9 on a Par 4 which happens when you push two balls into the woods.  What made that particularly frustrating was that I can't remember the last time I pushed a 3 or 5 wood shot.  After the frustrating 4th hole, my driver seemed to cooperate (probably because I concentrated more on having a good tempo) so, there's that, and I got a few out there.  A little disheartening because a score in the 90's was definitely a possibility.

The Scorecard:

The Game Golf

I've also come to a realization about what has been hurting me lately.  I track my stats and what is jumping out to me right now is that it appears I have a glaring weakness with the putter:

Round	Total Putts	Putts/Hole	Total GIR Putts	GIR Putts/Hole	Total 3 Putts or More
1	30	1.67	6	2.00	1
2	38	2.11	1	1.00	6
3	45	2.5	9	3.00	10
4	39	2.17	9	2.25	6
5	37	2.06	4	2.00	3
6	30	1.67	5	1.67	0
7	41	2.28	19	2.71	6
8	40	2.22	14	2.33	6
Avg.	37.50	2.09	8.38	2.58	4.75

@colin007 were discussing it some and he seemed to indicate that my first putt on a green, for the most part, well, sucks.  So, presuming that's true, I obviously have a huge issue with distance control.

Anyway, here's a couple of vids of my swing that @colin007 was kind enough to take for me.

[RFKFREAK]

One other thing I noticed is that on long putts I tend to leave them woefully short which, eventually, leads to the 3 putts and then, I over-correct and then run it by the hole by 8 feet or something as such.

[colin007]

Hey bro! You could have had a 7 in the second hole and a 10 on the third and broken 100...and to have done that you would have needed to improve the tee shots and those hybrids that you duffed....So it's the long game primarily. But yes, you're right about those first putts, they need to be much closer. Christian, would you say that your line was ok? And that your distance was the biggest putting demon? Also what do you think about hitting something different to reload when you pump one into the woods? Like on 2, you're lost off the tee, why not just hit a 7 iron and get it going forward?

[RFKFREAK]

Hey bro! You could have had a 7 in the second hole and a 10 on the third and broken 100...and to have done that you would have needed to improve the tee shots and those hybrids that you duffed....So it's the long game primarily.

I think the hybrid duffing was a result of frustration - a combination of very little confidence in how I'm swinging the club and what happened off the tee. So, it was really mental at that point and I should do a better job of staying focused. [quote name="colin007" url="/t/78581/rfkfreaks-journal-about-golf-past-present-and-future/200_100#post_1191935"]But yes, you're right about those first putts, they need to be much closer. Christian, would you say that your line was ok? And that your distance was the biggest putting demon?[/quote] I'm usually very confident about the line, the only exception being on multitiered greens. I have to get over my "fear" of running the ball past the hole. I think that's going to be a priority this weekend. @RandallT did an analysis for me and wow, is/was putting disgusting. [quote name="colin007" url="/t/78581/rfkfreaks-journal-about-golf-past-present-and-future/200_100#post_1191935"] Also what do you think about hitting something different to reload when you pump one into the woods? Like on 2, you're lost off the tee, why not just hit a 7 iron and get it going forward?[/quote] I think that it's an anomaly and that it won't happen again. If it happens again, then it's a situation where I'm going to show the club (or maybe golf Gods) that I'm going to succeeded and hit the club rather than lose the "battle" by changing clubs. A terrible mindset and, to be honest, had you not asked, I probably wouldn't have analyzed it to that extent. So, a lot/most of it is really mental.

[mailman]

Quick question for you fulla but are you a member anywhere?

Regards

Mailman

[RFKFREAK]

Quick question for you fulla but are you a member anywhere?

Regards

Mailman

I am not.

[RFKFREAK]

A pretty atrocious round today.

109 on Par 73
1/14 FIR (7%)
0/18 GIR (0%)

4 Penalty Strokes
33 Putts (1.8/hole)

• 5 - One putt
• 11 - Two putts
• 4 - Three putts

0 Birdies
1 Pars
4 Bogeys
8 Double Bogeys
5 More than Double Bogey.

The one bright spot was putting - it wasn't as bad as it's been because I made a pretty conscious to not be afraid of going past the hole.  Had 4 putts that I left just short and were on the right line and would have likely gone in had I given it a bit more.  Other than that, though, miserable.  Ball striking was **really** bad.  Wasn't hitting my drives very far, wasn't hitting my approaches well, wasn't hitting my wedges well.  Anyway, here's the scorecard:

Game Golf

[RandallT]

I think you posted the wrong round. Today was 109, not 105. I sent you the putting analysis and unfortunately even though just 33 putts today, the strokes gained wasn't great because you were typically very close to the hole. I believe the SG was nearly the same as when you had 40 putts. Crazy but true. If I misread the initial distances you sent me, then disregard! (Double check what I sent please!) To keep from losing lotsa strokes in putting you gotta hit mid range putts somewhat frequently. Those guys are good. Good luck tmw!!

[RFKFREAK]

I think you posted the wrong round. Today was 109, not 105.

I sent you the putting analysis and unfortunately even though just 33 putts today, the strokes gained wasn't great because you were typically very close to the hole.

I believe the SG was nearly the same as when you had 40 putts. Crazy but true.

If I misread the initial distances you sent me, then disregard! (Double check what I sent please!)

To keep from losing lotsa strokes in putting you gotta hit mid range putts somewhat frequently. Those guys are good.

Good luck tmw!!

You're right about the scorecard.  The correct one should be below.

[DrvFrShow]

The thing is that when you're having a round like that what are you really learning? Nothing. You said you learned you had a crappy day of ball striking. That's about it, and you're diligently cataloging every moment of it compounding the agony. Are you playing in a tournament? No. You're basically practicing. There's no USGA rules official looking over your shoulder. So practice. Just put the gadgets away so they're not distracting you, don't worry about the statistics, and just work on making your swing on every shot. Keep it simple. If you miss it really bad, drop another ball and hit it. Pick up the badly hit one and move on. Forget about the score. Just work on your swing.

Then another day go back to the range and work on hitting your 9 iron, your 6 iron, and your driver. Even on that long par 5 you don't even need to hit a 3W for your second shot - you can get by fine with a 6 iron and still hit in with a sand or gap wedge.

I'm suffering through this right now, too. I know my weaknesses and it's not being consistent at the simple shot off a flat lie. So I'm a recreational golfer until I'm more consistent at that, and this doesn't mean I don't keep a rough score. I suck. I'm shooting around 100 right now. My pro doesn't even want me worrying about score. Just swing the club the same every shot. So that's what I'm doing. He told me I will birdie holes and get tempted, but not to do it. I did birdie a hole. And I parred four. I still didn't count them.

You know, just a thought, but I looked at your driver videos. You have nice extension in your legs when you do your practice swings like you could hit the ball a country mile. You appear to be nice and relaxed. When you're in contact position that front leg is straight. But when you approach the ball you appear like you're concentrating more and tensing up. I can see the wheels turning. You don't have the fluid motion you had in the practice swing. Now I'm just a hack at golf. One thing that helps me a lot is taking a breath and letting it out before I make my swing. It relaxes me. I trying to do this on every shot. I practice doing this on the driving range so it becomes automatic.

[RFKFREAK]

The thing is that when you're having a round like that what are you really learning? Nothing. You said you learned you had a crappy day of ball striking. That's about it, and you're diligently cataloging every moment of it compounding the agony. Are you playing in a tournament? No. You're basically practicing. There's no USGA rules official looking over your shoulder. So practice. Just put the gadgets away so they're not distracting you, don't worry about the statistics, and just work on making your swing on every shot. Keep it simple. If you miss it really bad, drop another ball and hit it. Pick up the badly hit one and move on. Forget about the score. Just work on your swing.

Then another day go back to the range and work on hitting your 9 iron, your 6 iron, and your driver. Even on that long par 5 you don't even need to hit a 3W for your second shot - you can get by fine with a 6 iron and still hit in with a sand or gap wedge.

I'm suffering through this right now, too. I know my weaknesses and it's not being consistent at the simple shot off a flat lie. So I'm a recreational golfer until I'm more consistent at that, and this doesn't mean I don't keep a rough score. I suck. I'm shooting around 100 right now. My pro doesn't even want me worrying about score. Just swing the club the same every shot. So that's what I'm doing. He told me I will birdie holes and get tempted, but not to do it. I did birdie a hole. And I parred four. I still didn't count them.

You know, just a thought, but I looked at your driver videos. You have nice extension in your legs when you do your practice swings like you could hit the ball a country mile. You appear to be nice and relaxed. When you're in contact position that front leg is straight. But when you approach the ball you appear like you're concentrating more and tensing up. I can see the wheels turning. You don't have the fluid motion you had in the practice swing. Now I'm just a hack at golf. One thing that helps me a lot is taking a breath and letting it out before I make my swing. It relaxes me. I trying to do this on every shot. I practice doing this on the driving range so it becomes automatic.

Well, even though I don't plan on entering any tournaments anytime soon, I do carry an official handicap so, as to avoid vanity capping, I have to keep score.  Picking up and hitting again might work if I'm playing alone and the golf course is empty, but, for the most part, I play on the weekends and when I play with my friends, if we have a little action going, I can't just hit again.  The other thing is that it's good to work on the mental side of it when things aren't going your way and trying not to be negative and dwelling on a previous shot.  Now, I failed in that today, boy did I fail in that today.

I continue to be consistently inconsistent.  I had a better ball striking day but I pretty much let bad luck snowball.  I had just parred the 16th hole (on which I left a birdie putt short) and hadn't been hitting my driver well (my first drive of the day went 97 yards, another 169, and a third 186).  I stepped up to the slight dog right 17th hole and absolutely crushed (for me) the ball.  It flew the fairway and hit into the rough but I thought it'd be ok.  I went to look for it and couldn't find it.  I surmised that the ball probably hit the rough, bounced onto the cart path and likely went into the woods to the left of the fairway and cart path.  So, I dropped a ball where I thought the ball went out where I was also surrounded by trees and hit my "4th" shot which was a chip with my 5i from about 85 yards which left me 2 feet from the pin.  For some reason the thought of missing the putt got into my head and instead of stepping back and refocusing, I went ahead and putted and lipped it out.  That got me really upset and then I went to the 490 yard Par 5 18th hole and tried to get myself together mentally...and then proceeded to crush the ball 74 yards with my driver.  A couple of duffed shots later and I put up a double bogey.

So, on an easy course, I ended up shooting the most unsatisfying sub-100 round I ever have.

98 on Par 71

67.7/110
2/14 FIR (14%)
4/18 GIR (22%)

2 Penalty Strokes
31 Putts (1.7/hole)

• 6 - One putt
• 11 - Two putts
• 1 - Three putts

0 Birdies
3 Pars
6 Bogeys
6 Double Bogeys
3 More than Double Bogey.

Game Golf