Pete's Programme (Single Digit to Tour Player)

[Nosevi]

Really interesting thread.

You said before you started this properly you went from an 18-20 handicap to 5 while working in a year or 2? How often were you having lessons and how much practice did you do to achieve this? At this stage you didn't have your GC2 I take it?

That in itself is a pretty massive achievement I think!

Hi there and thanks. I was having a lesson about every 3 weeks on average and as I was working my long game practice was in the evening either outside or in the garage I posted up earlier and my short game practice was on the weekend. I had the GC2 but not indoors in a sim set up, I just used it into a net using the ipad app.

[Nosevi]

My swing updates will be over on my swing thread: http://thesandtrap.com/t/72433/my-swing-nosevi (think that's where the mods would prefer them?) but when I update it I'll post a link here so anyone following this thread doesn't miss it.

[Hatchman]

Read through, looked at video, charts, thanks for sharing.

[Nosevi]

Read through, looked at video, charts, thanks for sharing.

No probs.

Firstly a quick swing update for anyone following that side of things. Early days but in 2 days I'd say I've started to change the 'picture', particularly the one at impact:  http://thesandtrap.com/t/72433/my-swing-nosevi/18#post_1179481

Between sessions in the swing studio stabbing @iacas 's pigs I've had a couple of good short game sessions with Jess so far this week. For me we've mostly been looking at chipping and small pitches, an area of the game where Jess excels and I don't. Don't got me wrong, I'm not bad but Jess just always seems to get up and down. She never duffs it or thins it or basically make a mess of it in any way. Even one handed it's a perfect strike every time. I can chip it's just my consistency of strike is in a different league at the moment.

We looked at a few things but on super slow mo video you could see Jess's lower body stability was fantastic compared to mine. I spent a couple of hours yesterday and another couple today simply working on that one aspect and saw an immediate benefit in the consistency of strike on shorter shots. A chip isn't a difficult shot but if the bottom of your swing arc is moving about during the 'swing' it's that much harder to hit a good shot.

Another difference was evident at 'snack time'. Jess had some energy bar she makes herself and while I have to say it didn't look half as appetising as my museli bar flavoured with maple syrup, she went through what was in it and why and I had to admit she had a point. The difference between my diet and Jess or Brian's is pretty simple - I eat what I fancy, they eat what their body needs to perform better. This is an area of the programme I know has been coming but I've buried my head in the sand to this point. As Jess said it's all part of improving your performance and there's no point in spending an hour or two in the gym then rewarding yourself with a large pizza and a beer. Grudgingly (in fact very, very grudgingly) I'm going to have to get with the programme and change my diet. Pizza, burgers, steak and practically anything that actually tastes good is out and baked fish, lean chicken, salad, pasta, nuts and seeds are in. Shame really but I've made other sacrifices in this programme so another won't make much of a difference. If I keep saying that enough I may even start believing it

The end of our practice session was a commitment to 'formalise' our joint practice sessions slightly. I practice with Brian on a very much ad hoc basis, he's always off somewhere in a tournament and we catch up and practice together as he passes through home to get some washing done. Jess is only playing a few tournaments this year and although she's maintaining membership of the tour she played last year she's around far more often. We've decided we'll practice together a minimum of 3 times a week (when she's not away) to include at least one on course practice/round. Through the rest of the summer we'll tend to prioritise short game and as it goes into winter we'll increasingly retreat into the swing studio. Both of us enjoy the competitions we have, I'm learning loads particularly in the short game area, and we keep each other on task.

More later but we have guests for a couple of days so will probably only get in the odd half hour practice session in before I'm discovered in the swing studio and dragged back to the house. Just leave you with a picture that I meant to post here but ended up on the swing thread. It's on the small balcony at the side of the building I had built to house the swing studio where I sit on an evening above my pitching arae which seconds as the kids' soccer pitch contemplating how things are going and where to focus tomorrow. Worse places to be (and I've been to a few of them in my time in the military........)

[MacDutch]

Pete, You already lost a lot of weight didn't you? Beware not to be to hard on yourself. For instance diet mo-fri and eat what you want sa&su;.

[Nosevi]

Pete,

You already lost a lot of weight didn't you? Beware not to be to hard on yourself. For instance diet mo-fri and eat what you want sa&su.;

Wise words and not a bad idea, I can live with mon-fri.

I lost 21 pounds pretty much straight off just from starting to do some exercise rather than changing my diet at all (which I have to admit isn't close to as healthy as it could be). Going to a tournament with Brian it really hit me what shape the vast majority of the guys who were in contention were in. Not all but probably 95% of them. Then talking to Jess about nutrition (she did a course on sports nutrition for her own development) it was evident that I need to take that area more seriously.

I think a little like my swing it's an area where I'm falling back on a little natural ability to be 'ok' rather than maximising what I have and I'll need to maximise everything if I want to give myself any chance of success. I remember an interview with Clive Woodward (England Rugby coach in 2003) after England had dominated the world Rugby scene on the run up to winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003. He was asked what it was that gave England the edge over every team they came up against. He said his philosophy was that it wasn't a case of doing one thing much better than anyone else, it was a case of doing every little thing just 1% better than everyone else. It all adds up to an improved performance on the day.

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="MacDutch" url="/t/80287/petes-programme-single-digit-to-tour-player/252#post_1179620"] Pete, You already lost a lot of weight didn't you? Beware not to be to hard on yourself. For instance diet mo-fri and eat what you want sa[/QUOTE] Wise words and not a bad idea, I can live with mon-fri. I lost 21 pounds pretty much straight off just from starting to do some exercise rather than changing my diet at all (which I have to admit isn't close to as healthy as it could be). Going to a tournament with Brian it really hit me what shape the vast majority of the guys who were in contention were in. Not all but probably 95% of them. Then talking to Jess about nutrition (she did a course on sports nutrition for her own development) it was evident that I need to take that area more seriously. I think a little like my swing it's an area where I'm falling back on a little natural ability to be 'ok' rather than maximising what I have and I'll need to maximise everything if I want to give myself any chance of success. I remember an interview with Clive Woodward (England Rugby coach in 2003) after England had dominated the world Rugby scene on the run up to winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003. He was asked what it was that gave England the edge over every team they came up against. He said his philosophy was that it wasn't a case of doing one thing much better than anyone else, it was a case of doing every little thing just 1% better than everyone else. It all adds up to an improved performance on the day.

I would think that a large number of people competing in your category are also in their mid 20s as well? You can't really compare to younger people. My doctor just told me to lose 30 pounds even though my BP is lower. Go in for antibiotics and you end up getting a full physical, hah. He said ideally I should be 167 @5'10.5", but that 180 was sufficient as age is a factor. So, my next thing is also to drop from 210 down to 180.

[Nosevi]

I would think that a large number of people competing in your category are also in their mid 20s as well? You can't really compare to younger people. My doctor just told me to lose 30 pounds even though my BP is lower. Go in for antibiotics and you end up getting a full physical, hah. He said ideally I should be 167 @5'10.5", but that 180 was sufficient as age is a factor. So, my next thing is also to drop from 210 down to 180.

That's true, I'm aiming at what we term a 'developmental tour' here in the UK. It's basically a step up from what we term 'mini tour' and is run to prepare guys for progress to the European Tour. It's on a level with what's called the Sunshine Tour in South Africa if you've heard of that? Anyway, many of the guys are in their 20s but I don't think I'll have the luxury of alowing them to be far fitter than me and using age as an 'excuse' for that. I know guys late in their 50s who run marathons for fun, one of my ex-bosses is just turned 50 and he competes in Triathlons. As an Officer training instructor we all did the cadet fitness test and all passed it even though I had 16 years on most of the cadets. The point is I could say I'm going to try and do this without being as fit or strong as those young lads on tour but I think that'd cut my chances of success down. By how much I don't know but I don't think I'll be able to afford even a smidge :-) Just got back from a couple of hours short game as our guests are about to arrive. Did half an hour of pitching which is not normally my forté keeping my head back with a little spine tilt at setup. Struck every pitch purely for the full half an hour. Either fluke or the changes I'm making in my full swing are carrying over to an area I've previously struggled with (comparatively speaking). Kind of think it's the latter, just felt so easy.

[Lihu]

[quote name="Lihu" url="/t/80287/petes-programme-single-digit-to-tour-player/240#post_1179826"] I would think that a large number of people competing in your category are also in their mid 20s as well? You can't really compare to younger people. My doctor just told me to lose 30 pounds even though my BP is lower. Go in for antibiotics and you end up getting a full physical, hah. He said ideally I should be 167 @5'10.5", but that 180 was sufficient as age is a factor. So, my next thing is also to drop from 210 down to 180.

That's true, I'm aiming at what we term a 'developmental tour' here in the UK. It's basically a step up from what we term 'mini tour' and is run to prepare guys for progress to the European Tour. It's on a level with what's called the Sunshine Tour in South Africa if you've heard of that? Anyway, many of the guys are in their 20s but I don't think I'll have the luxury of alowing them to be far fitter than me and using age as an 'excuse' for that. I know guys late in their 50s who run marathons for fun, one of my ex-bosses is just turned 50 and he competes in Triathlons. As an Officer training instructor we all did the cadet fitness test and all passed it even though I had 16 years on most of the cadets. The point is I could say I'm going to try and do this without being as fit or strong as those young lads on tour but I think that'd cut my chances of success down. By how much I don't know but I don't think I'll be able to afford even a smidge :-) Just got back from a couple of hours short game as our guests are about to arrive. Did half an hour of pitching which is not normally my forté keeping my head back with a little spine tilt at setup. Struck every pitch purely for the full half an hour. Either fluke or the changes I'm making in my full swing are carrying over to an area I've previously struggled with (comparatively speaking). Kind of think it's the latter, just felt so easy.[/quote] Many older people are fit, nowadays, but to try to be as fit as in the 20s is physically impossible. You can still be as good at golf, just not on their terms.

[Nosevi]

[quote name="Nosevi" url="/t/80287/petes-programme-single-digit-to-tour-player/252#post_1179903"][quote name="Lihu" url="/t/80287/petes-programme-single-digit-to-tour-player/240#post_1179826"] I would think that a large number of people competing in your category are also in their mid 20s as well? You can't really compare to younger people. My doctor just told me to lose 30 pounds even though my BP is lower. Go in for antibiotics and you end up getting a full physical, hah. He said ideally I should be 167 @5'10.5", but that 180 was sufficient as age is a factor. So, my next thing is also to drop from 210 down to 180.

That's true, I'm aiming at what we term a 'developmental tour' here in the UK. It's basically a step up from what we term 'mini tour' and is run to prepare guys for progress to the European Tour. It's on a level with what's called the Sunshine Tour in South Africa if you've heard of that? Anyway, many of the guys are in their 20s but I don't think I'll have the luxury of alowing them to be far fitter than me and using age as an 'excuse' for that. I know guys late in their 50s who run marathons for fun, one of my ex-bosses is just turned 50 and he competes in Triathlons. As an Officer training instructor we all did the cadet fitness test and all passed it even though I had 16 years on most of the cadets. The point is I could say I'm going to try and do this without being as fit or strong as those young lads on tour but I think that'd cut my chances of success down. By how much I don't know but I don't think I'll be able to afford even a smidge :-) Just got back from a couple of hours short game as our guests are about to arrive. Did half an hour of pitching which is not normally my forté keeping my head back with a little spine tilt at setup. Struck every pitch purely for the full half an hour. Either fluke or the changes I'm making in my full swing are carrying over to an area I've previously struggled with (comparatively speaking). Kind of think it's the latter, just felt so easy.[/quote] Many older people are fit, nowadays, but to try to be as fit as in the 20s is physically impossible. You can still be as good at golf, just not on their terms.[/quote] I get that and would never be as fit or strong as I was in my 20s........ but I pretty much guarantee I was fitter than the vast majority of the golfers at that level. At Oxford I played Openside Flanker (possibly the position on the pitch where you need to be the fittest) and rowed in an 8. Our fitness coach back then was a Royal Marines PTI and to say he pushed us hard is a massive understatement. On leaving I was a soldier in a small unit called The RAF Regiment before rebranching to Air Traffic after an injury. As an officer we had to do more than the troops could do so our standard weekly run was 10km in pack and weapons load, the last 500 yards was sometimes in a respirator, still running. We had to be able to pass the standard military fitness test AFTER finishing the 10km run. We were fit. Now the odd one of those lads on the tour I'm aiming at may be able to do that but I kinda doubt many can. I'm not trying to get as fit as I was at 20 I'm trying to get part way there which would put me in line with many of those younger blokes. When you say "on their terms" I'm not convinced you're right. Right now I can drive the ball as far as most of them and further than some. That's just a strength thing rather than technique. Brian is longer off the tee than most of the guys I've seen him compete against and we're touch and go who's longest but he normally just pips me. His technique is better than mine but I'm stronger even though he hits the gym daily. I know that because I was teasing him a few days ago - I have a bar I use for upper body strength (kind of two handles with a very stiff spring between). He struggled to bend it, in fact most guys do, I can do it no probs and hold it while calmly holding a conversation. Didn't half annoy him. Natural strength is a talent to a degree but you can build on what you have. By that I mean that some people are just naturally stronger than others and I've always been towards the top of that spectrum. What I need to do is make the most of that by getting in the best shape I can. Ernie Els has great technique but he's also a big strong guy. Not sure how far he drives it these days but guessing he gets it out there ok. He's older than I am. Best thing to do is hold this conversation and come back to it say 3 1/2 years from now. If you were right I promise I'll say so :-)

[Lihu]

At Oxford I played Openside Flanker (possibly the position on the pitch where you need to be the fittest) and rowed in an 8. Our fitness coach back then was a Royal Marines PTI and to say he pushed us hard is a massive understatement. On leaving I was a soldier in a small unit called The RAF Regiment before rebranching to Air Traffic after an injury. As an officer we had to do more than the troops could do so our standard weekly run was 10km in pack and weapons load, the last 500 yards was sometimes in a respirator, still running. . .

Sure, when you are young you can do many things, but I don't see what that has to do with getting older and weaker. . .I'm not stating anything about being able to meet your goals or not, just that youth and the fitness associated with youth is not on your side.

[Nosevi]

[QUOTE name="Nosevi" url="/t/80287/petes-programme-single-digit-to-tour-player/252#post_1179937"] At Oxford I played Openside Flanker (possibly the position on the pitch where you need to be the fittest) and rowed in an 8. Our fitness coach back then was a Royal Marines PTI and to say he pushed us hard is a massive understatement. On leaving I was a soldier in a small unit called The RAF Regiment before rebranching to Air Traffic after an injury. As an officer we had to do more than the troops could do so our standard weekly run was 10km in pack and weapons load, the last 500 yards was sometimes in a respirator, still running. . .[/QUOTE] Sure, when you are young you can do many things, but I don't see what that has to do with getting older and weaker. . .I'm not stating anything about being able to meet your goals or not, just that youth and the fitness associated with youth is not on your side.

No, I got that, I'm just saying I'm not guessing I'm strong enough I know. I train with a guy who is competing pretty successfully at that level and I'm stronger than him. He's strong enough, he must be because he's there. I must be strong enough if he is and I'm stronger. Surely that makes at least a little sense?

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nosevi

At Oxford I played Openside Flanker (possibly the position on the pitch where you need to be the fittest) and rowed in an 8. Our fitness coach back then was a Royal Marines PTI and to say he pushed us hard is a massive understatement. On leaving I was a soldier in a small unit called The RAF Regiment before rebranching to Air Traffic after an injury. As an officer we had to do more than the troops could do so our standard weekly run was 10km in pack and weapons load, the last 500 yards was sometimes in a respirator, still running. . .

Sure, when you are young you can do many things, but I don't see what that has to do with getting older and weaker. . .I'm not stating anything about being able to meet your goals or not, just that youth and the fitness associated with youth is not on your side.

No, I got that, I'm just saying I'm not guessing I'm strong enough I know. I train with a guy who is competing pretty successfully at that level and I'm stronger than him. He's strong enough, he must be because he's there. I must be strong enough if he is and I'm stronger. Surely that makes at least a little sense?

Yeah, but that is not fitness level. He might weigh 60% of your body weight and be 90% of your strength. That's the strength of youth.

[Nosevi]

[QUOTE name="Nosevi" url="/t/80287/petes-programme-single-digit-to-tour-player/252#post_1180048"]   [QUOTE name="Lihu" url="/t/80287/petes-programme-single-digit-to-tour-player/240#post_1180000"]   [QUOTE name="Nosevi" url="/t/80287/petes-programme-single-digit-to-tour-player/252#post_1179937"] At Oxford I played Openside Flanker (possibly the position on the pitch where you need to be the fittest) and rowed in an 8. Our fitness coach back then was a Royal Marines PTI and to say he pushed us hard is a massive understatement. On leaving I was a soldier in a small unit called The RAF Regiment before rebranching to Air Traffic after an injury. As an officer we had to do more than the troops could do so our standard weekly run was 10km in pack and weapons load, the last 500 yards was sometimes in a respirator, still running. . .[/QUOTE] Sure, when you are young you can do many things, but I don't see what that has to do with getting older and weaker. . .I'm not stating anything about being able to meet your goals or not, just that youth and the fitness associated with youth is not on your side.[/QUOTE] No, I got that, I'm just saying I'm not guessing I'm strong enough I know. I train with a guy who is competing pretty successfully at that level and I'm stronger than him. He's strong enough, he must be because he's there. I must be strong enough if he is and I'm stronger. Surely that makes at least a little sense? [/QUOTE] Yeah, but that is not fitness level. He might weigh 60% of your body weight and be 90% of your strength. That's the strength of youth.

It is mate, I'm not debating that, but golf doesn't have weight or size divisions. If I'm as strong as those guys and can hit it as far due to natural 'talent' (ie I'm naturally a big pretty strong guy) then it matters not if that's through fitness or just being neturally strong and having some natural athletic ability. My point is I need to maximise that, not sit on my laurels and say "Hey, I'm up with most of them." If I can dive it over 300 yards while in mediocre shape I'd say I'll do better in good shape. And I'm not over confident enough to assume that I won't need every advantage I can get.

[No Mulligans]

Is strength that important for golf?  These two are really thin and hit the ball a long ways.  I'm sure they're fit and flexible, but they don't look terrible strong...

Troy Merritt 6'0", 160lbs, average driving distance 284.  Justin Thomas, 5'10", 145 lbs. average driving distance 302.

[Dave2512]

Is strength that important for golf?  These two are really thin and hit the ball a long ways.  I'm sure they're fit and flexible, but they don't look terrible strong...

Troy Merritt 6'0", 160lbs, average driving distance 284.  Justin Thomas, 5'10", 145 lbs. average driving distance 302.

My experience is no nothing is a substitute for good technique. I play with strapping kids all the time and outdrive them, me at the tips and them on whites. I am not even overly long, my best drives are middle of the pack LPGA long so not a beast by any means. If I hit something 265ish I am usually 30-40 past the athletic younger guys I see out there. I am 47 and sort of fit at 6'1 210ish but nothing like I was at 25.

[Lihu]

Is strength that important for golf?  These two are really thin and hit the ball a long ways.  I'm sure they're fit and flexible, but they don't look terrible strong... Troy Merritt 6'0", 160lbs, average driving distance 284.  Justin Thomas, 5'10", 145 lbs. average driving distance 302. [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/129355/] [/URL] [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/129357/] [/URL]

Yeah, these two are young and strong.

[No Mulligans]

Yeah, these two are young and strong.

lol,

The word "Yeah"  implies you are agreeing with me that they are not strong.

The phrase "these two are young and strong" is stating you are not agreeing with me.

Imo, those are not the arms of someone who is strong.  Strong for their weight, maybe.  Strong in absolute terms, no.