billchao

I follow the #1 rule: never argue with the wife 😉 It also helps that I compartmentalize well.

Doesn't El Niño mean it will be warmer than usual?

I'm thinking no. If you're using a different shaft (especially with the driver or 3w) than you play, the feel may be different and you may react to the club differently. There's some value in learning the feel of where on the face you're hitting (some woods I have a hard time picking out when I toe it by feel), but I don't think different clubs are going to make you change your swing any faster. I used to use vintage blades for practice and while hitting the ball off the toe feels like complete crap, it hasn't stopped me from missing off the toe when I play.

Yea, this is exactly what I meant by not thinking about it once my shot is selected. I've already shifted my shot zone away from trouble; the next step is focusing on hitting the ball where I expect it to go. Barring an egregious error (which happens), I won't be in trouble with my chosen shot. The trouble is no longer on my mind because it's no longer expected to be in play.

I would think if you didn't raise your arms up so high in the backswing, it wouldn't be as hard to bring them down in the downswing.

If it's a course I'm familiar with then I trust my strategy and blame the execution so I'll hit the same shot. I tend to evaluate my course strategy often and adjust as my shot patterns change so my strategy is usually sound. The only time I'll hit a different shot is if something unexpected happens, like I hit a good drive that runs through a fairway I wasn't expecting to or something, or I reached a hazard I didn't think was in play. Then I'll hit a shorter club.

Crystal Springs has a couple of spectacular holes but a lot of the experience for me was ruined by the mounds and OB being on half the holes being so close due to houses. Yea I'll have to go back for Ballyowen one day.

I played Crystal Springs once with @Jeremie Boop and the course was peppered with mounds. They're dumb. They keep sending me email deals and I'm tempted to sign up for their rewards program but then I remember I didn't really enjoy the course enough to want to see the others.

Maybe but you sound like you're ready to get back at it. I'm probably done until spring rolls around.

I think we can all do with a break once in a while. Mental recharge and all that. BTW I haven't played or practiced in three weeks.

I could use a new GW, @Valleygolfer 😉

Just a point of semantics, but if your game was improving, your score would be, too. Your swing and contact could improve and not necessarily reflect in your score, but that's not the same thing as your game improving. An example of your game improving would be scoring well despite having a "B" day because you've gotten better at putting the ball in the hole in fewer strokes and avoiding big numbers. I'm not sure you can "turn off" the propensity to mis-hit the ball. Sometimes you duff an approach shot and it dribbles 50 yards down the fairway and other times you do it when you're trying to carry a lake. I don't think about it. I get my yardages and figure out what I need to carry or stay short of and then choose a shot based on that information. Once I have selected my shot, my sole focus is on executing it. Sometimes I miss. Shit happens

I'm going for the green at 187, but my miss is probably going to result in a nGIR. I don't know how that would help your game, though. If you can't get on in 2 teeing off the 3h but you can by teeing off the 6i, go with the 6i.

The lower body movement is essential in a good golf swing. Whether or not one needs to feel it is a completely different story.

No multiple choice? My answer depends on a number of factors. If it's just the one round, I'll work through it if the miss is playable and if it's not, I'll go to the bunt drive. If it's a lingering issue over multiple rounds, I'll start teeing off with different clubs. If it's anything like I've been dealing with recently where I snap hook everything longer than my 4i and even my "good" shots curve 40 yards and don't get more than 20 yards off the ground, I don't even bother playing at all.