Bogey Golfers Only (Index 16-22) / Breaking 90 Topic

[divot dave]

16 minutes ago, 808hacker said:

So much is mental. I was 2 up on the 8th hole (playing 9 holes). I hit a great drive and smashed a 3 wood to about 10 yards off the green. Then I realized I would shoot a great round if I just made a good score.

Chipped it too short, then too far so I had a long downhill putt, and then proceeded to 3 putt. Triple-bogey!

Luckily I made a par on the last hole for 5 over.... but....

Oh well.

- oh and about bringing your swing back, long ago, I worked on the range and have a short list of things that will help stabilize my swing. When the wheels come off, I refer to the notes and one of them will get me through the round and hitting the ball pretty good again.

I've been doing that as well... I have a running tab of notes on my phone of things that (seem to) work well that I refer to if I'm going thru a wheels-off stretch. Problem is, like I was saying to @RandallT , my swing changes so much that what works one day doesn't seem to hold up over the long run. 

[808hacker]

The notes will work better and better over time. I have some basic stuff like feeling like I am turning and feeling like the left arm is connected to the body - things like that.

I can almost always play 90 or better - even more so when I warm up. The first triple usually gets to you if you don't warm up!!!! Hahaha

[divot dave]

5 minutes ago, 808hacker said:

The notes will work better and better over time. I have some basic stuff like feeling like I am turning and feeling like the left arm is connected to the body - things like that.

I can almost always play 90 or better - even more so when I warm up. The first triple usually gets to you if you don't warm up!!!! Hahaha

True. That.

[808hacker]

I rarely warm up since most of the munis here don't have driving ranges. One day I decided to warm up when I played a pretty hard course around here. I played very well that day so I decided that if the round was important to me, I would warm up. Seems to have helped. Played a local pro am and hit a couple close to the hole and made more putts than usual. Was able to smash the ball perfectly on the last hole! That was a nice way to end the day! They used my drive on that hole. I'm not a long hitter - was 345 to green and we had 70 in, so that was a great drive for me.

[CoachCad8]

37 minutes ago, 808hacker said:

I rarely warm up since most of the munis here don't have driving ranges. One day I decided to warm up when I played a pretty hard course around here. I played very well that day so I decided that if the round was important to me, I would warm up. Seems to have helped. Played a local pro am and hit a couple close to the hole and made more putts than usual. Was able to smash the ball perfectly on the last hole! That was a nice way to end the day! They used my drive on that hole. I'm not a long hitter - was 345 to green and we had 70 in, so that was a great drive for me.

I chip/putt before a round but really should start hitting a small bucket. I always tell myself I don't want to waste my good strokes 

 

Yesterday I adjusted the loft on my Taylormade Jetspeed driver. It was set at factory 9.5*, bumped it up to 11*. I have also been working on my grip with the driver. I used to wrap my bottom hand under with the bottom of my palm on the side of the shaft and now I have the bottom of my palm more on top of the shaft. With the added loft and change in grip I have not been slicing my drives near as much.

[Fairway_CY]

6 hours ago, newtogolf said:

 

@divot dave I'm glad my struggles can do some good.  You're definitely not alone but it's been a while since I've been this lost with my swing.  

I hoped today would bring about some changes but no such luck.  I was all over the place, I'd hit a great tee shot then shank the next two, I'd flub a drive and then hit a perfect approach shot.  It was so frustrating I gave up after 9 and took Penick's advice, I'm scheduled for a lesson tomorrow to get things sorted out.  I thought I had the swing grooved in but the last few days the wheels have completely fallen off.  

Man... I know this all too well.  

I played earlier this season and had a crazy good (for me) round after struggling through the first 2 months.  I thought that I finally 'got it' enough that I'd be able to start scoring where I should be scoring.  

I went out 4 days later and threw up another triple-digit score.  The things I THOUGHT I had figured out were gone.  

At this level, and without taking lessons, my 'fixes' are nothing more than bandages that last a round or maybe 2 before I realize that I still suck.  

2 weeks ago, I showed up to my tournament round really early and worked on full wedges for a good hour.  I was rushing my swing and finally took some deliberately slow full swings.  I kinda changed my takeaway and slowed it down to sort of mimick Hideki Matsuyama with a brief pause at the top.  Something clicked and since then, I've stuck with it and I'm striking the ball better than I ever have.  I'm not losing shots from the tee as often... I'm putting my low irons and wedges into scoring spots... and I'm feeling confident over the ball.  

Compare this to the last weekend in April when I played a 2 day tournament.  At that point, I was spraying the ball from the tee... and when I'd kill one and put it in a great spot in the fairway... I'd shank 2 out of every 5 with those short clubs in my hand.  I was purposefully laying back to a 6 iron or 7 iron distance because I was afraid of my scoring clubs.  

Golf is a game of confidence... and I believe that's especially true at the high handicap level.  When we're feeling it... we have rounds where things click and we're capable of posting career scores.  When that confidence is gone... it does a lot of damage and takes some (if not most) of the joy from the game.

CY

[808hacker]

> I was rushing my swing

Usually this is culprit. When warming up, really focus on sweeping the ground and try to keep your swing still as much as you can - make a smooth swing. Another culprit is making a too large backswing  (so you sway backwards a little too much). Sometimes shortening the backswing will help.

That pause can work for the driver as well. I tried it a few times and it really worked.

[newtogolf]

I had a lesson today and my instructor immediately noticed I was out of sequence.  I wasn't turning my hips early enough and that was causing me to come over the top with my arms.  We went over some drills to work on and I wrote a checklist of things I should review if my swing goes off on the course.   We also discussed a feel of my arms being whipped around my body versus trying to swing my arms which helped me avoid my swing from getting to armsy. 

After my lesson I went to the range and hit about 80 balls.  They all were well hit but I was pulling some when I'd be a little late with my hip turn.  I'll do some more range work tomorrow to keep the arms back longer so the ball starts on line and draws slightly.  

[Rainmaker]

On 5/20/2016 at 2:41 PM, 808hacker said:

The notes will work better and better over time. I have some basic stuff like feeling like I am turning and feeling like the left arm is connected to the body - things like that.

I can almost always play 90 or better - even more so when I warm up. The first triple usually gets to you if you don't warm up!!!! Hahaha

I'm a big one to never warm up.  A couple practice whiffs is good enough for me, lol.  But I have recently realized if I want to take between 2-4 strokes off my score immediately . . .warm up first. 

[rkim291968]

Trending 16+ HI after a couple of month of sub 16 HI.   I am still having issues with my left wrist breaking down during backswing.   

[Fairway_CY]

Played a quick round today at a 9 hole course... so I played twice.  

I struggled a little bit early on, and then settled down... but then I struggled again.  More than anything, my putting killed me today.  I was consistently 7-12 feet short or 7-12 feet long.  I couldn't get the speed of the greens down at all.  I putted 39 times throughout the round.  

I shot 47 - 48 = 95 which is usually a score that neither makes me happy nor makes me wince, but... because of how I had been playing the last few times I went out, I wasn't happy with this one.  

Nothing really stood out as good or bad besides my putting.

I've got some work to do before next Tuesday when I play in my next tournament.  

CY

[9wood]

Had a rematch round with my neighbor. Last time I played him, I beat him by 6 strokes for the nine holes we played when I scored a 43. This time around he ended up beating me by one stroke. He got a 42 and once again I ended up with a 43. He kept score this time. Last time I kept score. I was quite sure I had a 41, he said no.

[RandallT]

12 minutes ago, 9wood said:

Had a rematch round with my neighbor. Last time I played him, I beat him by 6 strokes for the nine holes we played when I scored a 43. This time around he ended up beating me by one stroke. He got a 42 and once again I ended up with a 43. He kept score this time. Last time I kept score. I was quite sure I had a 41, he said no.

I don't compete much (and if so, just among friends), but I don't think I've ever had a question as to what my score was. I'm sure there is an interesting story behind him saying "no" to your 41.

[9wood]

2 hours ago, RandallT said:

I don't compete much (and if so, just among friends), but I don't think I've ever had a question as to what my score was. I'm sure there is an interesting story behind him saying "no" to your 41.

I guess the real reason my neighbor and I keep score is to see how evenly matched we are. Playing with someone who scores about the same as I do makes for a comfortable as well as enjoyable round of golf

 

[Fairway_CY]

Because I'll be working this weekend, I had today off.  I decided, with it being a nice day, to head to another local course.  I had never played here before, but I found a $25 deal on GolfNow so I jumped on it.  The reason it was so cheap was because they had punched & sanded the greens yesterday.  Still, I figured I could use the practice.  

I was paired with a threesome that consisted of an uncle teaching his adult niece and nephew to play.  The first 4 holes took awhile longer than average, but nothing horrible.  We had a group behind us that was pushing us... so they'd hit a few, pick up and put the ball on the green and then putt out.  When we got to the 5th tee (a short par 3), we all teed off and then the uncle mentioned he wanted to let the other group play through.  He suggested I should probably just play on ahead so that I didn't get held up.  I agreed and went on to play the rest of the course by myself.  

In hindsight, that was probably a poor decision.  I was relying on his course knowledge to guide me from the tees as I really had no idea which was holes went and there was no map on the scorecard or at tee markers to assist.  

I held my own from the 5th hole (bogey - quad - bogey - double - par) until I got to the back nine... and then I fell apart.  I had posted a 50 on the front (bookend pars with a bunch of garbage in between) so I was looking to rebound on the back.  

On 10, I thought the hole went left... so I aimed that way and pulled it slightly.  I went out of bounds after kicking off a mound.  My provisional was well right... I hit an 8 iron on the green and two-putted for a double bogey.  I made a straightforward par at 11... then, after an ugly drive (left trees and dropped down 85 yards from the tee), I hit a good pitch shot up near the green to 3 feet and salvaged bogey.

From there, I lost my game.  I aimed where I thought I needed to... and I'd either hit a good shot at my target and wind up in trouble or I'd yank the ball into oblivion.  I played the last 6 holes in +17 (and that included a par on the 15th hole).  I posted a 56 on the back for a cool 106 total.  

5 of 14 fairways... 5 of 18 greens... 37 putts on bumpy, sandy greens.  

Part of me wants to go out tomorrow and play again... but the rest of me wants to just put the clubs away until next Tuesday.  

On the plus side, when I was taking my time... I hit some very solid shots.  On the negative side... I need to buy more balls.

CY

[RandallT]

19 minutes ago, Fairway_CY said:

From there, I lost my game.  

CY

We need to come up with a name for this phenomenon where you have some established rhythm and pattern to your round, and then, boom. The back nine arrives, and at some random point and due to no apparent cause, it feels like the swing is a foreign concept. 

I avoided that dreaded scenario today, but mostly slopped my way around the course: http://www.gamegolf.com/player/randallt/round/921612

I'm proudest of keeping it together after an OB tee shot on 4. Prior to that, I had a dumb double bogey on 1 (flubbed chip to the bunker!). I had a careless push 8-iron on 2 to a creek (for my second double bogey). Then a textbook par.

On the 4th tee, the round could've gone south as I pushed my tee shot right (and I thought I'd find it). I played a nice provisional against the wind, but I fully expected to play my first. Nope.

So there I was, +4 after 3 holes, and lying 3 in the fairway, still two shots out to a well-protected green, cursing myself that the round was getting out of hand fast. Slow down, smooth swings, don't lose it.

I double-bogeyed that 4th hole, but it felt like a par (after the re-tee). Then I parred the next 3 holes. And an extremely easy 8th and 9th holes coming up. Unfortunately, I didn't muster par on those, but I easily could have. Easy holes with no trouble, and if I was striking well, those could've put me down around 42.

44 for the front was a sigh of relief, as it kept solid hopes alive for shooting sub-90 after that start.

The back was just an ugly slog, but I kept it in play and eked out just 1 par, and 8 scrambling bogeys. Not a great round, but kept the blowup holes off the card. 44.

88 is a bit of confidence, because I know I can score that without feeling too great about the way I struck the ball. 

[divot dave]

17 hours ago, RandallT said:

We need to come up with a name for this phenomenon where you have some established rhythm and pattern to your round, and then, boom. The back nine arrives, and at some random point and due to no apparent cause, it feels like the swing is a foreign concept. 

yes, we need to... so here's some brainstorming thoughts.

Its similar to bi-polar disorder so maybe some sort of medical terminology like "swing schizophrenia" 

it seemingly comes out of no-where so the word "phantom" comes to mind... like "phantom golfer syndrome"

I often feel like Charles Barkley standing over my ball when these symptoms strike: "Barkley manifestation"... or "summoned my inner Charles" ???

 

just throwing out some ideas. 

[rkim291968]

My HI on 5/31 was trending to 16+ until today.   Today, I carded my personal best round at the championship tee at my home course. I broke the old record by whopping 3 shots with 83.   This immediately lowered my upcoming HI to 15.8, likely keeping me out of bogey golfer status for two full months in a row.  

 

What did change?   I (re)fix my swing.   I kept my right elbow close to my body throughout the swing.   It helped me keep my wrist straight, too.  All my shots were much more accurate (had just one ball not found), and lowered drive trajectory (hit further).   I am hoping I can remember to do this more often.