"5 Minutes Daily" Practice Challenge July 2017

[Shindig]

July 2:  played 18 at a club outing.  Did some range work well before working on driver, as it was a big concern.  Mike gave me some pointers online that I wrote down and can't remember at the moment.  Either way, I drove it very well today.

Focus during the round:  remembering that the distance to the flag isn't the distance I need to hit, even when aiming dead center.  I added 5 yards to forward pins and subtracted 5 from back pins (although I'm rarely over the back).  I think I read something about that last night in a Newport Cup thread.  In any case, I attribute at least two near-GIRs I can think of offhand to planning that way.

Also from playing I have an idea of something else I need to work on going forward so it's all good -- at least one dropped shot was due to a poorly flighted wedge.  I should get better at both the shot and I should get an idea of what the distance I get out of a flighted wedge is.  Would be nice if I could categorize shots with the same club in GameGolf. 

[todgot]

Played 18 holes today and then worked on pitching over a bunker for about an hour.  Yes, during the round I dumped one in a bunker.., then took 2 to get out.  Worked on the pitching technique discussed on TST pitching thread and got a good feel for it.  Worked on turning and using the bounce.

[onthehunt526]

7/3/17:

Mostly 9 to 3 swings this morning with no balls working on tempo, probably going to work on extending the swing a bit but with the same tempo.

[WUTiger]

July 3

Form work related to wedges. Practiced takeaway for half and 3/4 swing in mirror for 10 minutes.

I'm a bit inconsistent on top position for half swing (7:30 swing à la Pelz) - L.hand just outside R. thigh when done properly. Half swing distance inconsistent last time I played.

[freshmanUTA]

Hit probably 400 balls today. I spent the first hour working on swing feels then the rest practicing accuracy. I also spent an hour putting and 45 minutes chipping and taking 1/2 and 3/4 wedge shots.

[socialputts]

July 3: Practiced 5-7 ft putts in my office for 20 mins.  Focused on keeping head down as the club goes through the ball.  No acceleration/deceleration, just a smooth, consistent swing.

[todgot]

Watched YouTube video's on Key #4 and #5.  worked on the Impact Snap swing trainer for 10 minutes.  Hit 50 pitches in my back yard... working on rotating hips and not swinging the handle... also using the bounce and not the leading edge. 

 

 

[Shindig]

July 3.  Visiting friends in another city, and oh my are the ranges here expensive.  I'm also still a little sore from yesterday's round, so I elected to putt for about 45 minutes and not hit balls (if I wanted to hit balls, the money wouldn't have stopped me;  just something I noticed).  I worked about equal parts on 4', 8', and 12' putts.  I didn't track how many I made.  I focused on taking a few practice strokes, lining up properly, and hitting them.  I made a good number, but I also didn't put much pressure on myself.  I plan to do the 4' 8' 12' drill again soon, possibly tomorrow.

GameGolf tells me that putts in the 10-33' range (thanks!) can help lower my score by up to 1.6 strokes per round.  The exact upper bound and number of strokes depends on the benchmark I'm comparing myself to at the moment.  For now, I'm using the "vs. 10 handicap" number, thinking that's a reasonable baseline.  Since I'm not planning to practice 15'-25' putts for reasons I think are obvious, I'm taking this to ultimately mean I should take a bit more time on 12' and 30' putts, although I welcome differing opinions here.

Month so far: 3 for 3 on practicing at least five minutes a day (two practice sessions and one round played).

[boogielicious]

July 3 - 45 minutes practice with foam balls. Filmed my swing and focused on my lesson work. Then I hit 5 real balls with no pain, which is encouraging for my wrist. 

[socialputts]

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Chipping contest this morning into the chipping net.  Need to stop chili dipping chips with high loft wedges.  Did 4 rounds of 25 balls each.  Best round was 18/25 with no chili dips and all the misses were close.  Gotta keep working on this until I can always make 20+.

[todgot]

Hit 50 pitches and chips in the backyard before heading out to the lake for the 4th.  Happy 4th of July!

[onthehunt526]

7/4/17:

Happy Birthday America! Some practice with 50, 75 and 100 yard shots today focusing on distance control. Also flipped some burgers and dogs for the family this afternoon focusing on perfect grill marks.

[WUTiger]

July 4

Did golf-related stretching exercises before I went out and ran.

Mowed lawn, including close trim of my tee box and wedge green (areas about height of first-cut rough).

For 15 minutes, practiced wedges from inside 20 yards. I'm trying out hinge and hold pitch shots with LW from close in.  Seems to be easier to control distance without quitting on short shots.

Chip shots fairly good this season, just need close-in pitch.

[woodzie264]

Looks like my posts from yesterday didn't go through again....

7/03 - kettle bell swings for balanced weight shift with focus on centered turn & steady head. 

Playing 9 holes this morning as well - will focus on Centered turn and steady head

 

7/04 - pitching x30 mins

[boogielicious]

July 4 - intentional rest day for my wrist. It feels good, but I did two days in a row. I did walk and do walk drill shoulder stretches. 

[Shindig]

July 4 - went to the range.  Despite advertised as about 25 balls, it was more.  Perhaps the guy filling them was generous.  Maybe it was related to my amazing clothing for the day, consisting of blue shorts, a red shirt, and a white belt.  Happy July 4 everyone!

I did about a dozen with my usual routine that involves 2-3 practice backswings before taking a swing at the ball.  

I then hit about another dozen low shots, deliberate, trying to emulate what @Golfingdad showed in a video he posted yesterday.  I feel I did well enough that I'm more comfortable with the shot, but I still have plenty of practice to do.  Still, if it shows up next time I play, I'll have a better feeling about what to do and expect than I did.  I was successful in keeping the ball down, but I'm not quite sure how far out they went.  Whatever it is, though, I improved it somewhat and will practice more going forward. 

I hit about a dozen "flighted" wedges, using an abbreviated form of the 2-3 practice backswings motion, as that isn't what I was practicing on this.  I don't quite have a way to evaluate how I did and will need to measure some shots.

That took about an hour.

I then went to the putting green for 4' 8' 12', intending to do 3 complete drills (I did).  The first one took only one reset to do successfully, while I had six (SIX!) resets, mostly at the 12' mark, before the second completion.  The third took only two more resets.  I'm not 100% sure I measured the distances correctly, though:  I started about at the hole, did big-step small-step for 4', then repeat for 8' 12'.  Note to self:  learn how to measure distances without pacing off one foot at a time.

To add for July 4:  I'm 4-for-4 on the month's practice so far.  Will probably have to do at-home practice tomorrow, am playing Thursday Saturday & Sunday, and will get to do a full practice session on Friday and Monday.  Just anticipating, not claiming these in advance  

[woodzie264]

7/05 - chipping with putting stroke x 10 mins.  The slow turns with focus on centered turn and steady head

[socialputts]

7/5: Hit the range with my son.  Hit irons and driver working on a draw to eliminate my slice.  Got it to a nice fade most of the time.  Also had a pitching contest with him to two different pins from 30 yards out.  Lots of fun!