dfreuter415

My favorite story was when my two brothers and I (all teenagers) played a local muni and were paired with an 88 year old golfer. We all walked 9 holes that day. We were young and strong, but didn't know where the ball was going. The old man was short and straight and got to the ball in a timely fashion. It was a wonderful day listening to his stories and watching a gentleman play the game I love so much.

I remember breaking 80 for the first time almost 50 years ago. Last year I broke 80 a half dozen times out of about 45 rounds. As I age and my distance decreases, I have found that by working on my short game I have been able to keep my scores consistently in the 78-85 range. It all comes down to how many times I get up and down as to whether I break that magic 80 mark.

I ended the year with a 9.6 HI and would like to keep it in single digits. I will be 67 in April and after 40 years of handicaps in the single digits, this might be the year it ends.

I recently got into a putting slump of my own making. Beginning in the winter of 2012 I decided to work hard all winter to improve my putting. I read Dave Pelz's Putting Bible, and Joe Parent's, Zen Putting. Every night I went into our game room and spent 60 minutes working on fundamentals. I changed my putter grip to oversized and went traditional with the placement of my hands on the grip, right hand low, after being cross-handed for 15 years. It seemed to have worked as my putting stats for 2013 were more than one stroke per round better than the previous year. (32.5 to 31.2). Last year (2014) was pretty steady as well, as was April through early July of this year. I have always been a lag putter, preferring to have tap-in pars and bogies. But then, around the third week in July, I let a couple of negative thoughts creep in, and my putting suffered. First, I questioned, "Why can I consistently lag a putt within a couple of feet from the cup from 40+ feet and under?" Then, I asked myself, "How far back and how far through should i take my putter?" The result was that I would 3-putt two or three time per round, where my average for 3-putts was usually one every 2-3 rounds. Then my short putting became erratic, because I was worried more about the path of my putter. I tried 5 different putters in the span of four weeks. My HI went from 7.8 to 9.7. I started getting pretty desperate, but I went into an analytical mode, and today, I might have just turned things around. I made a commitment to use my Ping B60 for at least the next month and also changed my hands on the grip to a reverse overlap, still right hand low. I also moved the ball an additional inch or two toward my left foot. The hands are feeling much more comfortable on the putter grip and moving the ball forward has allowed me to just swing the putter freely and not worry about how far back and through I should be stroking the putts. The initial results were most impressive. I had 28 putts, including 8 one-putts, and zero three-putts. I know that things might change, but today was the first day I have felt comfortable on the greens in the last 3-4 weeks. I love this game.

I agree. I love playing with strangers just for that reason. I think you learn a lot about yourself in those types of interactions. On Sunday I was part of a threesome. After a few holes a single golfer caught our group and we offered to let him play through on the par 3, or if he liked, he could join us. The gentleman, named Tom, decided to join us. He was walking, as was I, and Jerry & Jack were on a cart. I had nice conversations with Tom as we walked the fairways after hitting our drives. It turned out that he was a physicist who was currently working on nuclear reactors. Originally Tom was going to play 9 holes, but since we were moving pretty quickly and having a nice time, he played the back nine as well. I have to say that whether it has been me as a single, or someone who has joined our group, 99% of the time playing with other golfers who are strangers has been a positive experience.

As seen by the responses, it is not a matter of golf being a social sport, because to some degree golf is social, but the question should be: When you decide to play a round of golf, on average, what percentage of the time is spent in socialization, and what percentage are you concentrating on your golf game. My wife likes 9 holes of golf and then dinner. She is 50% social and 50% spent of the fundamentals of her game. As for me, my average would be 25% social and 75% on my golf game.

For the third consecutive round, I started off very well, then had a string of bogies, and had to finish with a number of pars to shoot 80-81.

No shanks today, but on Sunday I play a public course that was dried out on a number of fairways. (The greens and approaches were well watered.) On a par 5 I hit a great shot that ran forever, but I was on a dried out area of the fairway. I knew that I couldn't hit my 3 wood for the second shot, so I pulled out my hybrid. I hit the ground just before the ball, the clubhead skipped of the concrete-like surface and hit the top of the golf ball. The result was the classic "roller." (FOOTNOTE: since the ground was very dry the ball went about 85 yards and left me 130 yards to the pin.)

Best shot this week: 170 uphill shot to a plateaued green with a 4 iron to 10 feet. Missed putt but made par.

8/16 - 80 @ Rittswood GC, Valencia, PA 8/17 - 81 @ River Forest CC, Freeport, PA Both scores from the senior tees. In both rounds I started well, then went about 8 consecutive holes with nothing but bogies, and then recovered with several consecutive pars on the back 9. My putting is still mediocre and that is costing me a few strokes per round.

Congrats. Looks like your hard work is paying off. I have enjoyed following your progress from the new fitted clubs, to the Edel wedges and putters, to the new putting greens, and the rest of it. You are a prime example of what I truly believe: The journey is more important than the destination. Take the time to smell the roses along the way.

Well, I got the new HI this morning and I am now 9.7, the highest I have been in two years. My 2015 golf goal is to keep my HI in single digits. This fall will be very interesting.

I agree with your assessment for the "average avid golfer." As for my story.... We used to have a plaid rug in the family gameroom. It was the absolute best practice aid that I could ever hope for. I would put my indoor practice cup on the line and practice "straight back and straight through" on my putting stroke. I then took that stroke to the course and made a lot of putts in the 3-6 foot range. Then we had a sewer backup in the neighborhood and it came into our gameroom. We had to replace the rug, and no matter how much I begged my wife for a plaid one, she rejected my pleas. My short putting has never been the same. The story continues... When I was younger, I guess I was like a lot of public course golfers. You could attack the cup and not really worry a lot about a comeback putt. Then as I got older, (and lost my plaid rug), my short putting was not as reliable. I then resorted to becoming a lag putter. My rationale was simple. I wanted to eliminate the 3 putt from my game and lag putting was the best way to do it. (NOTE: practicing bocce is a great way to help your lag putting.) I have been keeping detailed stats since 2009 and in the last 6+ years I am averaging 31.9 putts per round.

I can't wait until you have the sand trap installed.