Pete's Programme (Single Digit to Tour Player)

[Senseicads]

Hi Pete,

just wondering if you could post a link to your game golf? Would be interesting to follow you and keep up with how your rounds go.  No prob see if you don't want to though! I'm looking to get a Gamegolf for a combination of birthday and Christmas this year, fingers xssed!  I've used the phone app but it's a bit distracting having to whip the phone out every couple of minutes

cheers

 

 

[iacas]

Hi Pete,

just wondering if you could post a link to your game golf? Would be interesting to follow you and keep up with how your rounds go.  No prob see if you don't want to though! I'm looking to get a Gamegolf for a combination of birthday and Christmas this year, fingers xssed!  I've used the phone app but it's a bit distracting having to whip the phone out every couple of minutes

cheers

It's at http://www.gamegolf.com/player/nosevi but he doesn't seem to be using it too much.

[Nosevi]

It's at http://www.gamegolf.com/player/nosevi but he doesn't seem to be using it too much.

Thanks Erik. 

So far I've only used it for 15 rounds and most were set to private when I shot them so you can only really see the stats that fall out of those rounds which is what I've posted above. I use it now to collect the data for the strokes gained spreadsheet so if people are interested I can set rounds to public in the future. I never use it for practice rounds as I often shoot multiple shots into a single green so guessing I only use it about once a week.

[ZappyAd]

 

Thanks Erik. 

So far I've only used it for 15 rounds and most were set to private when I shot them so you can only really see the stats that fall out of those rounds which is what I've posted above. I use it now to collect the data for the strokes gained spreadsheet so if people are interested I can set rounds to public in the future. I never use it for practice rounds as I often shoot multiple shots into a single green so guessing I only use it about once a week.

Can you get the data out of GameGolf easily or do you have to do it manually?  I was looking at using GameGolf to capture stats for use in my own spreadsheet/analysis but it (and none of the ios apps I saw) didn't really offer an easy export function as far as I could see.

[Nosevi]

Can you get the data out of GameGolf easily or do you have to do it manually?  I was looking at using GameGolf to capture stats for use in my own spreadsheet/analysis but it (and none of the ios apps I saw) didn't really offer an easy export function as far as I could see.

Simple answer is no, you have to do it manually. Gamegolf have released a new version called Gamegolf Live and one of the features is it gives you Strokes Gained but against a Scratch golfer, not a pro. 

I've just popped out and shot 9 holes for Senseicads so will upload that in a bit then show how it looks in Randy's Strokes Gained spreadsheet. It's got to be done manually though, Gamegolf just collects the gps position. 

[Senseicads]

Cheers Pete, I'm following now. Looking forward to getting my game golf, although the biggest surprise on mine was that I wasn't hitting it anywhere near as far as I thought I was  definitely overly optimistic on my previous estimates!

[Nosevi]

Cheers Pete, I'm following now. Looking forward to getting my game golf, although the biggest surprise on mine was that I wasn't hitting it anywhere near as far as I thought I was  definitely overly optimistic on my previous estimates!

No probs. Round posted here: http://www.gamegolf.com/player/Nosevi/round/650305

As the comment says, the pro was practising chipping on the first and stood aside to let me hit in - not the time to fat the ball into the rough short then fail to get up and down Got a little better later on though.

Regarding distances, I hit further on the indoor launch monitor than on the course at this time of year. Cold temps and wet fairways covered in leaves are not conducive to driving the ball great distances. Drove the ball ok this afternoon though, just didn't have my A game with my irons handy....... and then didn't scramble as well as I might - never a good combination.

Later on (or perhaps tomorrow) I'll fire that round into Randy's spreadsheet to show where it calculates I lost most shots. I've got a fair idea but it quantifies it which I like.

[Senseicads]

Cheers, just try not to laugh too hard when you look at my rounds

[Nosevi]

Cheers, just try not to laugh too hard when you look at my rounds

Wouldn't dream of it. The great thing about golf is that, no matter what your level, you can always compete against the course at your own level. Doesn't really matter if you're scratch, 18 handicapper, 28 handicapper, plus 4 - you can always try to improve your game. 

[Shorty]

Do you seriously think that hitting wedges off artificial grass does anything positive for your game?

And do you also think that you can measure the ball "skipping on 2 yards" of fake grass and a launch monitor?

I would contend that a minute hitting wedges under these conditions is a minute wasted and may even harm your game. There is no correlation between hitting wedges from artificial grass and turf. You may as well be hitting from concrete. 

 

[Nosevi]

Do you seriously think that hitting wedges off artificial grass does anything positive for your game?

And do you also think that you can measure the ball "skipping on 2 yards" of fake grass and a launch monitor?

I would contend that a minute hitting wedges under these conditions is a minute wasted and may even harm your game. There is no correlation between hitting wedges from artificial grass and turf. You may as well be hitting from concrete. 

 

Happy for you to have this opinion but I think you're dead wrong  

I've had guys using the sim for exactly this, working on wedge yardages, who currently play on tour. Had one guy come over just prior to a tournament and work on wedge distance control and say afterwards that it made a big difference to his game during the tournament.

Why? Because when you strike a wedge shot properly you hit ball then turf. By the time you hit either turf or mat the ball is already gone. So the question isn't whether the turf or mat makes a difference because if you strike the ball purely it doesn't, it's whether the kit is accurate enough to determine exactly where the ball will land. Butch Harmon says it is, if you disagree that's fine  

Regarding using the kit to judge whether a ball will skip forwards and stop or not, fair call - who knows in the real world. But it will tell you how much spin you're getting precisely and by knowing the decent angle it can make a stab at saying what would happen on a standard green on a standard day. After that you need to assess whether the green is softer than average, harder, uphill lie, downhill etc But then isn't that what you need to do any way? 

At the end of the day it's not a substitute for hitting off grass, it's something to be used in conjunction with hitting off grass in order to improve an area of your game. 

Edit: Kind of kicking the arse out of making the point but in which of these shots do you think the ball 'knows' if it's sitting on turf or a mat?

Edited October 29, 2015 by Nosevi

[iacas]

Do you seriously think that hitting wedges off artificial grass does anything positive for your game?

And do you also think that you can measure the ball "skipping on 2 yards" of fake grass and a launch monitor?

I would contend that a minute hitting wedges under these conditions is a minute wasted and may even harm your game. There is no correlation between hitting wedges from artificial grass and turf. You may as well be hitting from concrete. 

I disagree, @Shorty. Yes, it is a valid way to practice. Especially if you have a good mat.

[Nosevi]

I disagree, @Shorty. Yes, it is a valid way to practice. Especially if you have a good mat.

I have to say that I'm on my second mat. I started with a standard mat but it quickly became obvious that it didn't stand up to testing - hit a ball fat and it made very little difference. I then got a top of the range mat from a company here in the UK called Huxley Golf who supply our national academy and the difference is huge. Hit a shot even slightly 'fat' and not only does it kill the distance but it totally kills the spin you get too. In fact I feel a fat shot on this mat almost more than I do on turf - on turf I sometimes get away with it, on this mat I never do.

I take Shorty's point that you do need to get out and practice in the real world, but for working on technique and dialling in wedge distance I've found it works pretty well.

[Nosevi]

I said I would show what the gamegolf round (or rather 9 holes) looked like when plugged into Randy's Strokes gained (or lost in my case) spreadsheet looked like so here it is:

What l this is telling me is that my driving was pretty good for those 9 holes, I advanced the ball well, but my approach play wasn't so great. I failed to get up and down a couple of times but this wasn't really the fault of my short game around the green, more a result in my approach play putting me in tough spots and my putting not being up to it. Now this is clearly only 9 holes but putting lacking is clearly starting to be a bit of a trend so it's something I really need to focus on.

As well as this overview tab it also analyses driving, approach play, short game and putting in greater detail:

All of this tells me pretty much everything I could possibly want to know about my performance for that 9 holes of golf but the bottom line is, today at least, driving was 'good enough' but not startling and none of the rest was. Long way to go to even sniff what I'd like to achieve.

As an aside, I commented in Gamegolf that it was getting a bit dark towards the end. This was my view for my shot into 18:

[Nosevi]

I know what a scrptical chap you can be @Shorty so just provided to show that my 'two mats anecdote isn't just a convenient story to tie in with Erik's post:

The sofa in the swing studio sits on the first mat because it wasn't up to the job.

I know you're massively sceptical of any 'plan' like this and I don't blame you - bloke who hasn't played throughout his youth thinks he can be a pro? Who's he trying to kid? But unlike say Dan for example I'm not going to stand here and say "No doubt about it, I WILL make it!" You know what? I probably won't.

Secondly I'm aiming at the Europro, not the PGA Tour. Courses played are here in the UK and on average (last year) were 24 yards per hole shorter than on the PGA Tour (and only 9 yards per hole longer than my home track) which makes a pretty big difference over a round, a tournament or a season. I know the lengths of the courses used, the fairway widths, the average course ratings (just over 0.5 more than my home course) because I've bothered to find out. Making the cut last year basically meant shooting par golf each time out and by a coincidence doing this would also have meant I'd cover my costs almost to the pound for the season which for reasons I won't go into on an open forum is all I actually need to do - it's not about the money at this level and you're not going to get famous, it's purely as a fun challenge.

I've said it before but it I'll reiterate it - I know precisely how guys at this level perform. With a few of them I've got their launch data for every club in the bag, I've practiced short game with them including competitions around the green (which I sometimes lose but not always anymore), I've got high speed video of their swings from every angle both in the swing studio and on the course, I've played practice rounds with them including matchplay comps, I've analysed their rounds using the spreadsheet posted above so I can see where I need to focus training, I've walked the fairways with them in tournaments on the Europro (no ropes in the Europro) to see how they break the course down in a tournament and exactly how they stack up with their peers....... You've said before about how good the guys are at pro level, trust me I know precisely how good they are at the level I'm aiming at.

Lastly, and possibly most importantly, none of this was ever supposed to be open to the 'public' (for want of a better word). This was something I wanted to see if I could do. I didn't start this thread, it was started by a moderator moving a comment I made on the Dan Plan thread into it's own thread. People asked questions, I responded, it just sort of went on from there. I didn't actually want any attention and if it wouldn't hack people off I'd say something along thr lines of "So guys, that's the plan, will let you know if it works 4 years from now  " But then that would seem disingenuous given people posting support.

I guess what I'm saying is try to suspend at least a little scepticism until you prove me right. This isn't some haphazard, no idea plan shooting for something totally unobtainable. Yes, it's 'ambitious' and possibly beyond my ability to accomplish. We'll see  

Edited October 30, 2015 by Nosevi

[b101]

Good to see you still working hard, Pete. I love and hate that setup you have going...

[Nosevi]

Good to see you still working hard, Pete. I love and hate that setup you have going...

I'm going to love it come the snow and ice over the winter! Car will stay in her protective bubble for the winter now and I'll be working hard on my long game in particular.

The Europro is played exclusively in the summer here other than the tour championship which is in Spain right now so while practising in 2 and 3 degrees C isn't a total waste, it doesn't really replicate what I'll be facing there. My parents actually live in southern Spain so depending on commitments here I might drop in mid winter for a few rounds and some short game practice, will just have to see how it goes. If I don't do that this winter it'll certainly be something I look to do in year 3, 4 and 5.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Nosevi

[Senseicads]

Loving all the stats, and it just highlights the difference in your meticulous approach to dans!