Played An Almost Perfect (for me) Nine Last Night

[Fairway_CY]

So... things have been coming together for me with my golf game recently.  Something clicked with my full swing about 2-3 months ago and then it got even better when I slowed down a bit.  My tempo has never been better and I'm really starting to strike the ball well.  Even better, though, is the fact that I've begun putting much better.  My daughters were talking to one of the assistants at our club after a junior clinic about 3 weeks ago.  They've struggled with putting... so, they asked about some help with putting.  

The assistant took them inside the pro shop and set them up on the carpet, which has a pattern with lines in it.  He was trying to get them to putt about 15 feet straight down the lines.  One of the things he showed them just made sense to me.  I had always had kind of an arc when putting.  I don't know why... it just felt natural that way.  He was having them try to keep their putters straight back and straight through.  I started using that motion in practice sessions and, although it felt foreign at first, I started to see MUCH more consistency when it came to distances and lines.

Last night, I made a last minute decision to play in our weekly dogfight.  It's a nine hole stableford competition.  I posted 8 pars and a single bogey.  The bogey was the result of a poor tee shot forcing me to hit a punch hook 5 iron out of the trees.  It ended up pin high next to the green... but because I was short-sided, I decelerated on the chip and left it in the rough.  Next chip got to 6 feet and I made that for bogey.  

I hit 8 of 9 greens and posted a 37 (+1) for a stableford score of +4.  My blind-draw partner posted a +1 so we won handily.  

It felt really nice to play a round that way.  It's certainly not something I'm used to.  The frustrating part was having to stop after just nine holes.  I'd have loved to keep going and see what I could have posted overall, but... darkness (and the 19th hole) meant I had to stop.  

Oh well.  Just had to type it out.  

CY

[dennyjones]

Congrats.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Good for you. It's fun to play like that isn't it?

[GolfLug]

17 minutes ago, Fairway_CY said:

So... things have been coming together for me with my golf game recently.  Something clicked with my full swing about 2-3 months ago and then it got even better when I slowed down a bit.  My tempo has never been better and I'm really starting to strike the ball well.  Even better, though, is the fact that I've begun putting much better.  My daughters were talking to one of the assistants at our club after a junior clinic about 3 weeks ago.  They've struggled with putting... so, they asked about some help with putting.  

The assistant took them inside the pro shop and set them up on the carpet, which has a pattern with lines in it.  He was trying to get them to putt about 15 feet straight down the lines.  One of the things he showed them just made sense to me.  I had always had kind of an arc when putting.  I don't know why... it just felt natural that way.  He was having them try to keep their putters straight back and straight through.  I started using that motion in practice sessions and, although it felt foreign at first, I started to see MUCH more consistency when it came to distances and lines.

Last night, I made a last minute decision to play in our weekly dogfight.  It's a nine hole stableford competition.  I posted 8 pars and a single bogey.  The bogey was the result of a poor tee shot forcing me to hit a punch hook 5 iron out of the trees.  It ended up pin high next to the green... but because I was short-sided, I decelerated on the chip and left it in the rough.  Next chip got to 6 feet and I made that for bogey.  

I hit 8 of 9 greens and posted a 37 (+1) for a stableford score of +4.  My blind-draw partner posted a +1 so we won handily.  

It felt really nice to play a round that way.  It's certainly not something I'm used to.  The frustrating part was having to stop after just nine holes.  I'd have loved to keep going and see what I could have posted overall, but... darkness (and the 19th hole) meant I had to stop.  

Oh well.  Just had to type it out.  

CY

Congrats, always great to hit potential.  

[beaureed445]

Very nice.  Congrats!

[tristanhilton85]

Nice job! It's nice when everything starts working and you have confidence on the course.

[rehmwa]

2 hours ago, Fairway_CY said:

He was having them try to keep their putters straight back and straight through.

seems like weird coaching to me - straight in which dimension - Vertical (cancel the pendulum)?  or down the putting line (less of an orbit around your feet)?

glad whatever you're doing is working - those rounds make it worthwhile for sure

Edited August 16, 2018 by rehmwa

[Club Rat]

Great job, keep it up and you'll be playing Ho-Hum pars and guys will start calling you "Boring"  😉

[Patch]

Congrats on your current success in your golf game.

You are right about how a good, consistent swing tempo will help a golfer's game. 

Also glad your straight back, and straight forward putting stroke is paying dividends for you. I have used that stroke for most of my golf journey, and swear by it. 

Continued success your way. 

[Fairway_CY]

Thanks everyone!  It felt great being out there.  My scores have been dropping pretty consistently, but... last night was just a different type of round.
 

2 hours ago, rehmwa said:

seems like weird coaching to me - straight in which dimension - Vertical (cancel the pendulum)?  or down the putting line (less of an orbit around your feet)?

glad whatever you're doing is working - those rounds make it worthwhile for sure

Straight as in down the line.  I almost always had a small arc (like the orbit you mentioned).  It wasn't major... but it led to a lot of pushes and pulls at times.  With the straight back - straight through swing... those pushes and pulls have been significantly reduced and I'm starting the ball on my lines more consistently.  I've been using it for about three weeks now and the results (especially from inside 10 feet) have been night and day.  No more terror sweats over 4 footers.
 

1 hour ago, Club Rat said:

Great job, keep it up and you'll be playing Ho-Hum pars and guys will start calling you "Boring"  😉

Haha!  Yeah... I got called "Mr. Two" last night because of all the two point holes I had in the stableford format.  I've certainly been called worse!

CY

[iacas]

Maybe you had a hell of an arc, because I doubt you're actually SBST. Unless your shoulders are horizontal, virtually nobody actually moves the putter SBST. There's almost always an arc.

Feel ain't real, though, but I'd record what you're doing now so when the feel changes, you can go back to the video.

[Fairway_CY]

On 8/16/2018 at 5:49 PM, iacas said:

Maybe you had a hell of an arc, because I doubt you're actually SBST. Unless your shoulders are horizontal, virtually nobody actually moves the putter SBST. There's almost always an arc.

Feel ain't real, though, but I'd record what you're doing now so when the feel changes, you can go back to the video.

I'd venture to say you're right.  I know it's not actually SBST... there's still a bit of an arc to it, but it's far less of an arc than I'd ever had before.  The feel of it is more like I'm pushing it outside on the way back (which I'm not, it just feels that way right now because it's new to me) with a shut face and then trying to hold it off a little after impact.  

It's been helpful in getting the ball started on my intended line, which has resulted in a lot more putts dropping and my lag putts being much closer to the hole.  

Good idea on taking video.  I never really think to do it on the practice green.  I do it frequently on the range and at the short game area just to see if the things I'm working on are actually being put into practice.  I'll have to do it next week at some point.  

CY