JonMA1

Regarding the slow practice, there is often immediate success when I’m applying a change at 30 to 75% effort. The difficulty lies in speeding it up. While that’s not as much of an issue when practicing, trying to apply the change to even a practice round on the course becomes nearly impossible. I can’t help but think I need to play a bunch of rounds at 50% (or whatever) so that the change I’m trying to make becomes the only thing I know. Thanks for the explanation, @boogielicious.

@boogielicious, when you're working every day on a specific area like this, can you describe how easy or difficult it becomes to work it in to your swing on the course? Do you have to think about it for the first few rounds or does practicing it on a regular basis allow it to become somewhat "natural" (for lack of a better term)?

Thanks @efdeel74. Likewise on your videos. The fall colors are not as impressive this year and it was overcast when I recorded this round. But when the sun hits those translucent leaves the colors really "pop". If I live to be 100 it's something I'll never get tired of seeing. I've never been to the tropics but I enjoy watching some of the tournaments on TV that are hosted down there... especially in the winter!

If a group of people want to get together and apply this way of thinking to their friendly competition, there's no harm in it. But during an official competition where all types of people are competing, there has to be an incentive to learn and play by the rules. I wonder though how one could play the ignorance card if their competitor tells them they just broke a rule.

Thanks @boogielicious. If you get a chance to record some holes you should. At least you have a good swing and play at a respectable level. I had to get over that whole self-consciousness thing. My instructor saw this and was giving me shit (which is what I need) about a lackadaisical pre-shot routine. He then told me I wasn’t getting my weight forward. I couldn’t help but think “remember when I approached you a few months back and asked if you could help me get my weight forward?”. Even if I hadn’t posted this, I think it was helpful in that I’m seeing some tendencies I hadn’t thought about before.... need to learn some short game shots, I’m being a bit too timid on staying away from trouble on approaches, focus more when putting, and maybe quit trying to swing easier with the driver.

The course was mostly empty yesterday morning and since my playing partner didn't show up, I decided to record the first 9 holes. I debated uploading the video because, let's face it, while it's interesting for us crappy golfers to watch good players, nobody want's to lose 14 minutes of their life watching me play shitty golf. But the round was fairly typical and when I watched it became clearer just how costly some of my weaknesses are. The full swing is what it is and while I'm still not getting any weight forward, it wasn't as bad yesterday as it's been at times in the past. Yesterday, the short game and putting cost more strokes than the full swing. Of course, that isn't always the case. And it could be argued that had I hit more greens, I wouldn't have to depend on my chipping and pitching. I simply have to improve everything if I want to get to bogey golf. Still, this wasn't a bad way to spend an October Sunday morning in Northern Michigan.

These were from a range session last week. Good distance and ball flight (fade) on nearly all of the shots. I didn't just pound the driver on every shot either. Took two or three swings, worked on other clubs and then picked up the driver again. I can see some of the issues - head moves back some, a little less than a full shoulder turn and of course weight staying back - but I can live with the results which are 220+ yard drives with less angled spin. (I'm not sure what the hell is going on with my index finger, lol). What I find hard to deal with is when the results go south as they did on my last round when I made horrible contact and the resulting 180 yard low pull slices. @HJJ003 suggesting putting powder on the face as he thought the weak shots might be heel contact. I will try that on my next practice session. During today's round I'm going to focus on my pivot at the top (from trail foot to lead foot), pulling the handle down, and swinging a bit harder.

Shot my highest score in several months with a 102. It was 40° at the course so I was wearing a few layers of clothes. TBH, I don't think that was the issue. While no part of my game was very good, my driver was especially poor. I might be trying to slow things down too much. Was getting a lot straighter flight at the range while swinging at my normal speed.

I agree 100% for the group of players who don’t explicitly state they work harder on it and become successful at making it their strength (relative to the rest of their game). Once that claim is made, it doesn’t make sense (for me anyway) to disagree or suggest they don’t understand a strength in their own game. Not a big deal if others choose to doubt it.

The full swing may be the most difficult part of the game to learn, but if @hespeler or anyone else works disproportionately harder on it than other part, it's shouldn't be that difficult to believe it would become their strength. Two years ago I would have made that claim (and I have data to back it up). It only meant the rest of my game really sucked.

I believe we should put a little more work than average towards a weakness - whether that's time on the range or figuring it out on the course. I consider distances that are longer than my irons but shorter than my driver an important part of my game. I'm not saying if we (high cappers) don't hit a green from 180 yards it's a weakness, but if we lack confidence to the point of avoiding clubs altogether, it may warrant the extra work if we're to have a balanced game. For the record, I consider 180+ yards to be a long par 3. If it was a tight hole, or if I had a lead I had to protect, I would layup as well. But under most circumstances, I'm going to challenge myself with the club I'm having trouble with. Developing the ability to make decent contact and keep the ball in play with those longer clubs is a big deal, IMO.

I curl up in the fetal position right there on the tee and softly cry myself to sleep, or.... Lie to my playing partners that it hardly ever happens ‘cause normally I stripe it 300 yards right down the middle. Seriously, I slow down the swing and continue to use the driver.

Mental lapses such as a loss of focus, putting too much emphasis on how a round is going, and sometimes not making logical decisions can add strokes. By far the most costly is getting pissed when I have too many blowup holes and my score is destined for failure. As far as practicing to improve that particular weakness, I’m not sure how to go about it. Getting pissed when something doesn’t go my way is not a logical reaction to anything. I suppose managing expectations would be a good start. Maybe adjusting my goal could help. For example, if breaking 90 after a series of poor holes has become out of the question, see if I can do well enough on the remaining holes to stay below 95. Lack of focus is easy enough to recognize and adjust to on the fly. Making smarter decisions requires experience and knowledge of my skills, maybe even becoming more familiar with options under the rules of golf. I love the challenge that trouble shots offer. But I have to recognize an unplayable lie when I see it.

I spend a gross amount of practice time trying to find out how to do this. On those rare occasions when I succeed it provides a glimpse into what decent ball striking might be like... just how you've described it above. @Sandhills Golfe, in my opinion, being able to control your lower body is very important. A failure to do so makes other keys such as a better downswing path and a better inline position at impact more difficult. Again, just an opinion from someone who struggles to do it. When I'm failing more than usual on the course, I just feel beat up after the round. It's as though I'm fighting against myself because I'm trying to hit the ball from the awkward position of having too much weight on my back leg. I can hit the occasional good shot like this, but it is with such a small margin of error.

Not sure if any of this is useful... I just started carrying my 4h the last couple of months to go along with my 5w. I tend to hit my 5w higher than a lot of other higher cappers I play with - maybe due to a swing fault. The upside is I can often hold greens with that club if the shot is online. That said, the hybrid puts the 5w to shame on holding greens. I know the topic is about a 3h but I'd guess it's similar as far as getting a softer landing on the green. The 5w is second in distance only to my driver. So it's nice off the tee and from the fairway (or a decent lie in the rough) when more distance is needed than what the 4h can provide. The 5w provides that extra distance from an easy swing. As for the hybrid, I generally hit it straighter, make better contact (less duffs), and can hold greens easier.

I’ll get an argument from this, but from a guy who sprays his driver around and can keep the next club (far more) in play, developing better accuracy with the driver has been and continues to be key. To stay on topic, keeping the ball in play saves time. Accomplishing that with the longest club in the bag saves time and strokes. But those who swing out of their shoes without the skill in an attempt to get more yards are hitting a lot balls out of play. For a lot of us, it takes time and a different attitude. Learning to keep the ball in play (not necessarily the fairway) saves time and is a helluva lot more fun than hitting the occasional bomb down the middle amongst a myriad of hooks, slices, tops, pop-ups and provisionals. Maybe @Moxley‘s point was that a busy course may not be the best place to develop that skill.

I think working out is a great idea. Maybe weight training and some sort of stretching regimen. Almost any physical activity is better than just sitting around waiting for spring to arrive. Trying to live healthier is about the only control we have over the aging process. Keep active, try to eat a bit healthier.... and keep working on our game.

@Buckeyebowman, at least you knew what it was like to play at that level. And even though you've lost some yardage, a 13 index is still a pretty high level from my perspective. I've never known what it's like to hit long, but even in the last couple of years I've seen the average come down as I try to keep the ball in play and develop a swing that will yield consistent results. And I haven't even hit 60 yet. So be grateful for the game you have. Just play it as well as you can based what you have as far as physical abilities.

I suppose there are a couple of things I could do to play faster... Too many practice swings on chips and pitches Tagging clubs with my GameGolf phone app. Overly concerned about moving while someone else is taking a shot or putting Probably too much conversation But really, a lot of that changes when a course is busy.

I’ve seen pre-shot routines that are painfully slow to watch, but for the vast majority I don’t think it causes much delay. A pre-shot routine which includes a practice swing or two is common and reasonable imo.

I prefer to spell out my name with a divot pattern. Seriously, I was taught to keep the divots in a straight line as well. It just makes sense.

3 1/2 hour round in a threesome today with two playing partners in a cart and me walking. Two of us are 90's players and the third rarely breaks 110. If someone got to their ball first, they'd take the shot. No one looked for lost balls. We still had time for conversation and didn't feel like we rushed through the course. No one was behind us and the husband wife in front of us played even faster. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable round. I'm starting to understand how a foursome can play in under 4 hours.

Shot a 91 at my home course today, 4 strokes below my average. No blow up holes or penalties. Six pars, seven doubles, five bogeys and no triples or birdies. I didn't record the round through GameGolf, but I hit a lot of GIR or nGIR even with shots that were not well-struck. The round included some of the worst putting I've had since before I bought my current putter. Aerated greens with a bunch of sand applied helped lead tol 3-putts and even a couple of 4-putts. My ball striking was piss-poor as well. The upside is that I was able to keep my focus to some extent by disregarding the poor results and moving on mentally to my next shot to shoot a score I'm not embarrassed by. That's not going to happen every time I play, but it's nice when it does. Case in point, on a par 4, I duffed a 4i from the tee, hit low 4h screamer just short of a marsh, flew my wedge through the green, bladed the wedge coming back, but then 1-putted from 10' or so for the bogey. This is the opposite of what usually happens when I hit a bunch of good shots only to have a single poor shot screw up the hole.

Shot a 47 on a quick solo 9. I had a single blow up hole but other than that, played decent bogey golf. I have to learn to manage trouble shots and learn the rules a bit more. The 5 over on a par 4 came about after my approach shot drifted into some thick pines. I just couldn't get at it for a clean shot to even punch out. So I just hacked at it until I finally got it out of there. I continue to lose distance with the driver. Putting was good on very slow aerated greens. Approach shots were pretty good.

All things being equal, the 80's group is faster. However, the reality is that some groups of better players don't play ready golf and some groups of higher cappers are very good at it. I'm not saying this as someone who is very fast, but it's at least on my radar to try.