Not so depressing...

[RayG]

...winter, so far. 

Here in NYC area this has been a less than depressing winter thanks to global warming. Other than the large blizzard and ONE weekend of extreme cold, I've been able to hit the range almost every weekend. There hasn't been a string of more than 2 weeks that I haven't hit the mats since October/November. Now this gives me some cause for concern. I usually head down to FL in late March/early April to get a few rounds in to start the year. Normally, I might hit the range once or twice in the weeks leading up to leaving, then a quick range session down there before teeing it up. I have no illusions with my game since I don't expect much after not playing for 3/4 months. After being able to keep my eye in and swing going fairly steady, I can only imagine how bad my game will be when I get there expecting to play at end of last season level. Am I doomed? Should I have stayed under the covers all winter as usual? 

[pganapathy]

No, what you should do is just relax and see where your game.  Do not go in with any pre-conceived expectations of how  your game will be.  It might be better or worse than last season, you never know

[bkuehn1952]

5 hours ago, RayG said:

Am I doomed? Should I have stayed under the covers all winter as usual? 

Yes, you are doomed unless the courses you play are covered in outdoor carpeting. 

Take low expectations with you.  Hitting balls on the range will help some but you are going to be rusty and unused to actual play on the course.

[Gator Hazard]

I would think you have nothing but upside to bring with you as you have been able to continue to swing the club and hit balls.  Don't sweat it, get of your head and enjoy that you should be in better shape than you normally are.  What area of Florida are you going to be hitting?

[RayG]

 I normally play the same course (Lansbrook in Palm Harbor) first time on each trip, so I am not going out to an unfamiliar course. I'm comfortable there and it's a kind of tradition. I get off the plane, go to their range, make a time for the next day, show up and play.

But it's a mixed bag this time. I was kind of working on some swing stuff over the winter and I HOPE to have it settled in by the time I get there. Normally, I didn't care about the swing heading to the range a few weeks ahead of time, it was just to loosen up the muscles, then just go play.

Meh, I'm not playing for millions... OR ones for that matter. Just getting a start on the season, some warmth and that first sunburn on the back of my neck when I forget to slather it before leaving the house and have some fun. Might have a buddy show for a couple of days, so that could be fun.

[DaveP043]

In my mind, expectations are the bane of a golfer's mind.  Sure, sometimes you meet or exceed your expectations, but lots of times you fail to meet them, and you get down on yourself.  I try to go out and trust my process, trust my swing, without expecting specific results.  I try to visualize each shot, to take the right steps in setting up, and to make my normal swing.  Maybe my practice swing includes a specific reminder of something I'm working on, but when I'm swinging at the ball I'm trying to turn that off.  Then I go off and try to hunt down that little sucker and start all over.  Expectations are "the future", you hitting a golf shot is "the now".  Stay in the now, and let the future take care of itself.  And remember, you could be at work instead, golf is ALWAYS an improvement on that.

[RayG]

and a gunga lunga right back at cha, Carl...

[dave s]

Same here in NE Ohio.  I've hit the range TWICE in February! El Nino has been very, very good to us this winter!

OTOH, I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop.  That being ugly, cool wet weather hanging on into June.  There's ALWAYS a trade-off.

dave

[RayG]

Dragging up the earlier thread instead of making a new one.

I seemed to have put a few things together in the month since I started this thread. I came across two simple swing tips that I have been working on over the winter.

1- release some of the tension and loosen up the swing to increase clubhead speed.

2- take a few practice swings (using the released tension) with the club head about 24-30 inches above the ball. More like swing a baseball bat. It makes a much freer turn and the "whoosh" is much more apparent. 

These two things along with a couple of little tweaks in weight shift and plane seemed to have made a real difference in distance and accuracy (especially off the tee which is what I needed most). Irons have improved a bit as well in a "trickle down" way. It certainly comes back to my previous desire to going back to "going after the ball" instead of just being satisfied with a mediocre result since that was good enough to beat my buddies. With the new balls at the range the last 2 weeks, there has been a definite increase in carry distance using those. I hope this bodes well when the real rocks come out on course. 

The best part is that I'm not really THINKING about these little things, they have become part of my swing. When taking time between shots to get behind the ball, line up, and go through the usual pre-shot routine for each ball- I might be reminding myself to "loosen up, relax", etc... Once over the ball, it's not running through my brain. It just happens. The best part has been the resulting consistency in shot shape and accuracy. If I were actually playing, the fairways hit percentage would be about 70% (based on the two markers at 225 about 25 yards apart-that's pretty narrow). (Oh, I'm FLYING those markers now as a bonus). The ones that miss aren't generally more than 10 yards either side with the occasional big fade or hook thrown in for comedy relief. 

I'm really hoping that it will translate. That course I mentioned (Lansbrook) has a reputation for a few really narrow holes and a couple that LOOK narrow but actually open up a bit past the chute. And a couple that need to be setup to the correct side to give a good angle in. Most of the other courses I'll play aren't quite so demanding but have their own needs for accuracy and distance. 

I have the old swing posted in the swing thread, but I'll need to get a new one of the improved swing and try to get that up to compare.

[paininthenuts]

On 2/28/2016 at 3:35 PM, RayG said:

...winter, so far. 

Here in NYC area this has been a less than depressing winter thanks to global warming. Other than the large blizzard and ONE weekend of extreme cold, I've been able to hit the range almost every weekend. There hasn't been a string of more than 2 weeks that I haven't hit the mats since October/November. Now this gives me some cause for concern. I usually head down to FL in late March/early April to get a few rounds in to start the year. Normally, I might hit the range once or twice in the weeks leading up to leaving, then a quick range session down there before teeing it up. I have no illusions with my game since I don't expect much after not playing for 3/4 months. After being able to keep my eye in and swing going fairly steady, I can only imagine how bad my game will be when I get there expecting to play at end of last season level. Am I doomed? Should I have stayed under the covers all winter as usual? 

I live on the east coast of the UK, and my course was only closed for one day during the winter. I refuse to play when it rains, but have managed to play 5 days a week on average. I only took up the sport at the end of August, so most of my experience has been playing through the winter. Now things are drying out, I can't believe how different the sport is

[RayG]

Update:

And the results are in... DOOMED... at least for the first 9 holes. Other than the perfect high draw around the corner to about 260 on the first hole, it wasn't a pleasant experience with the Driver. Par 3's were great. Shot a 43 for the front. Once I resigned myself to NOT bringing any decent shots from the range to the course and just playing out the string- Everything kinda clicked and the game came together. A 37 on the back with a six thrown in on a tricky, narrow par 4. Iron play was pretty much spot on for the most part. 

The other 2 rounds were a mix of mostly decent drives and irons with some questionable bunker conditions coming into play on a few holes at one course. Another 80 and an 82. <shrug>