Played King's Mill GC in Waldo, Ohio. Went out with my regular golf buddy and his girlfriend in the AM for a 10:30 tee time. It was sunny, temp in the 50s and a brisk 20 mph was blowing steadily. I shot a horrid 67 on the front 9, only hitting 1 GIR, 3+ putting and making no pars. I made a couple adjustments to my swing this week and was trying to draw the ball off the tee. I was able to play a draw, but a few times, the tee shot hooked violently. I'm not able to harness and use the draw yet. I'm better off playing not thinking about it since I don't naturally fade the ball when I swing with a fundamental grip and good tempo. The changes to my swing brought about inconsistencies to the rest of my game and my mind was straying from course management. On the back nine, I tried not to think, but went back to two fundamentals that always help me: 1) Bring the clubhead back on the takeaway with the arms instead of the wrists, and let weight shift naturally...and 2) Let the club drop and accelerate with a smooth tempo, elimating the jerk. That along with taking 3/4 swings and trying to consciously not swing for the fences, allowed me to post a 50 on the back 9. Still not where I want to be, but it was only my first full round of 18 this season.
Later this afternoon, my girlfriend got off work, and we decided to go to a local course and play a twilight round of 9. No snowmen during that round and only one 7 on a par 4 due to a rude, drunk, foursome hitting a ball at me. I usually play at a good pace, but my girlfriend was with me and it was only her second round ever. It doesn't help getting pressured like that when you're in deep rough on the second shot at a long par 4 where the green is flanked by sand on both sides. My girlfriend got closer to her goal of breaking 70 on 9 today. She shot a 72, but had a lot of fun as the evening progressed. The key is to let beginners have fun, let them enjoy being out there without getting too technical, and they will naturally want to improve. Golf is supposed to be fun. Let us not lose sight of that. I posted a 49 for my twilight round.
