PJCdude

This summer I dropped from a 19 to a 14 by: 1) Having opportunities to play way more than usual. 2) Using The Grint to identify my weakness based on data (approach shots) and make a specific goal (hit more GIR) 3) Use Top Tracer range to get my REAL yardages and accept that I’m a short hitter 4) Replace 5i with 5 hybrid I went from averaging only 2 GIR a round to averaging 5. Might not seem like a huge differences but my misses were way closer and easier up and downs too. Now that I made a weakness a strength, my short game that was “good for a bogey golfer” will not be good enough to become a single digit so more chipping and putting practice will be in order. Also, as a short hitter, I need all the distance I can get and a properly fit driver might be the play….I guess a lesson could help too.

New personal low 86 at Whitney Farms in Monroe, CT. 41-45. On the back I had two triples including a shank into the hazard area. The fact that I reeled off 3 straight pars post shank made me so proud of myself regardless of the score. I have a habit of letting mistakes compound but I just took a breath, refocused and forgot it happened. I had 31 putts which I think is also a personal best and I don’t want to put too much stock in it but I decided TODAY to try a new putting strategy. For the past few years I’ve putted with almost a pitchy loose wrist stroke that I had good distance control with but would miss short putts. Recently I tried keep the right wrist (I’m a lefty) stiff and it helped ALOT with short putts but I had no feel for distance so my second putts were still not short. I decided to do my wrist putt for my first putt (unless I was inside like 10 feet) and then change it up to the stiffer wrist for short putts. Seemed to work out! Will see if it still works tomorrow.

Shot a 90 Today at the town course which is my 3rd best score ever. Recently acknowledged my decreasing clubhead speed and got a 5 hybrid. OnlY hit it on the range once but had the yardage for it on 15. Didn’t have any great expectations but Hit it to about 5 feet! (Missed the birdie putt 😞 )

Played 9 at The Links at Brigantine Beach near Atlantic City. Was there for my bro’s bachelor party. Was way more inebriated than usual but still managed a 47 for 9 after an 8 on the first hole. 18 capper here to that’s pretty solid. Best shot was the second to last. Approach landed in a bunker and had a short sided downhiller. Hit my 60 degree K grind and ball bounced once in the rough, once off the fringe then gently trickled down, narrowly missing the hole and stopping a foot away. Made the par putt then kept the party goin!

This describes me the past few years. Spend all summer in the 91-95 range chasing that 80s round and once I get it it’s like I lose my fire and am up shooting 98-105. Let me know if you figure it out!

I said yes even though after reading everyone else, 90 percent is a lot but I’m prob close with my 54*. I struggled having the same touch with my set wedges that I have with my vokey. Use it for basically everything inside 75 yds besides bunkers and short sided shots from rough (that’s the 60). If I’m on a real tight fairway lie close to the green I’ll putt with a hybrid but the 54 is used at least 80 percent. Now that 60ish yd range I’ve actually been experimenting with some pelz clock method swings with my set wedges because my full swing with the 54 is good and the half swing from 50 yds is money but I tend to skull the 3/4 swing from 60-65 yds. But anyway, inside 50 yards it’s 54 degree S grind all day. Versatile grind, am comfortable manipulating ball position/face enough thanks to practicing in my yard all during quarantine.

Iron set wedges are 44(Pw) and 49(aw) vokeys are 54s and 60k set wedges are mainly full Shots. The 54 does everything inside 75 yards except bunkers and if I’m short sided in rough (that’s the k) I’m thinking of getting new irons next spring but wondering if I’ll have to get a 50 degree wedge (will most likely drop my 4h if 5i is long enough) with all of these new long hitting irons. Rogue x has a 46 degree gap wedge!

It's worth noting that the golfers who keep handicaps are GOOD golfers. I have plenty of friends I play with pretty regularly who shoot around 100 but DON'T keep a handicap. I'm an 18 which is clearly below average in that chart but other studies put the average male golf score at 97-98 which I beat 70-80 percent of the rounds I play so I still consider myself better than average. Now compared to people on The Sand Trap.....different story.

Yea I think Driver is the answer here. Neither would be pretty but I say Driver.

Gonna take this down a notch for the mid/high handicappers without a connect. Since moving to Fairfield CT 4 months ago, here are my top 5 western CT public courses: 1) Sterling Farms 2) H Smith Richardson 3) Tashua Knolls 4) Tradition Club at Oak Lane 5) Whitney Farms none of these courses have any relevance in the history of golf and everyone can get on one of these courses at a reasonable rate but I stand by my ranking. Honorable Mention: Winged Foot about 40 minutes away.

I have a 6 year old that I’ve taken to the course but he’s not to your sons level yet. you mention the competitiveness, why not do some kind of chipping game with him? You each get 9 balls from off the practice green, keep score. If he wins, more Taco Bell. I think if he plays enough, he ll realize the importance of the short game more, you just need to find a way to make it close to as fun as hitting bombs. Just my two cents but you know your kid better than I do so really just a suggestion.

Played 9 at H Smith Richardson. Shot a 42 (+6) which is my PB for 9 holes. 3 pars and 6 bogeys. Missed a few putts too which is crazy to think I could be threatening the 30s when last week I shot a 110. I think what helped was working the ball both ways on the range before hand and trying to work EVERY shot GW or longer. Kept me loose and content when the ball went the right direction instead of stressing when I wasn’t dead straight. Small fade with short clubs, draw with long clubs. Driver draw off the tee has been a huge weapon and instead of laying up before the bunker on tight driving holes, I’m hitting past it. Really hit home today how important tee to green is.

Bump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=431TNVycczM Soooo it's been about 5 years since I last updated this. In the time being, my scores have improved and last year I took my first lesson with a PGA pro. It was very helpful and my scores improved even more! This paragraph is a little TMI but I feel it's necessary. I got a vasectomy over the winter that STILL hasn't totally healed. I can't really run or do anything strenuous. I can still golf which has kept me sane but I have had to modify my swing. My source of power after last year's lesson was creating separation between shoulder and hips and starting the downswing with an aggressive shift to the target with the hips. This causes me pain now and I've had ot adjust. I don't feel any pain when my shoulders and hips are synced up but I feel like I'm unable to get my weight forward enough for impact. My miss has been a pull so with longer clubs I've just been trying to own it and setup aiming left with OK results. I've been messing around in the yard during COVID with plastic balls and playing about once a week. My scores are similar to last year (probably due to a solid short game and better course management) but swing is back to being inconsistent and I've been tinkering without guidance, changing my swing from round to round. I decided to check in here and finally get some guidance from people with more swing knowledge. Here's DTL embedded

So I just moved to Fairfield, CT and have been exploring all of the courses in the area (so many great courses) but next year, if the world is normal, I will probably join the Mens Club at H Smith Richardson. It is the Fairfield town course and I'll probably get a Resident ID. Prime tee times are tough to get. I've only played here once but I'll tell you about the number one handicap. Its Number 14, Par 4, 405 from the whites but uphill so plays closer to 420. It's the hole in the middle with the green top left. As you can see, there's other holes on each side so there is room to miss but the green is tougher than it looks on GPS. The back has a decent roll off if you go far and the bunker in front has a higher mound than you can tell on GPS. The green is decently undulated with I believe a semi valley, punchbowl in the middle. The one time I played it, I hit a great drive but it only went 215 due to the up hill. (230 is my "solid drive" distance) For my second shot, I hit hybrid 190 out trying to aim at the right bunker and fade it in but it came out low and over faded, ended up JUST short of the front left bunker. I could have tried to land RIGHT on top of the mound and let it feed down to the hole but I didn't want to risk it coming up short in the sand so I went for the middle of the green and 2 putted. It's not THAT difficult but I think the distance and unforgiving green area gets it the number one. A bogey golfer hitting hybrid/fairway wood 200 out is going to be less accurate and make worse decisions than the single digit hitting a mid iron from 170.

Was on vacation with the family last year right outside of DC and went to the Alexandria one with my wife, son (5 at the time) and daughter (3 at the time.) I agree, don't expect it to match anything close to REAL golf but it's still fun to get some swings in with people that don't usually play. This one sloped to the short targets so when my kids and wife were topping shit they still felt good getting points. Meanwhile, I was getting pissed when I barely miss the target at 150 and losing lol. I liked the food and atmosphere. Did NOT like the rental clubs. Would probably bring a few of my own if I were to go to one again.

Chipped in for birdie on the second hole at oak Hills in Norwalk, CT. 2nd birdie chip in in the past 2 weeks! Had only chipped in for birdie once in my 7 years playing before this! (Plenty of chip ins for like an 8 tho). Also on 1, my chip lipped out but still made par putt.

Moved to CT in April and finally played my new home course (H Smith Richardson in Fairfield) Only the second time in my life with 2 birdies in a round (not counting pitch and putt/par 3 courses) and to top it off it was my birthday! The birdie on the back was a pretty run of the mill par 5 in 3 but a nicer putt than usual. The one on the 7th hole was by far the best shot of the day though. 7th hole is a dogleg where it's difficult to get close without being risky. My first time playing it so I hit right to the turn and had 170 to hole. Hit my 5 iron to about 2 feet. Before this round I was hitting my middle irons like crap and since that shot, the 5 has been money.

It’s funny cause this is the year I’m starting to get older and wiser (turn 36 next week...age is relative) and stopped doing full range sessions for like an hour before play. Hit just enough shots to get comfortable and see what shot shape I brought that day and then 5-10 minutes putting to figure out speed and hit a few 5 footers to gain confidence.

I'll take that into consideration. The trouble long will most likely be water!

As I sit here in NYC trying to avoid all other people (non-family) it's nice to have something to imagine. LOCATION: OK, I'm thinking big here...I'm taking over Governor's Island: For those unaware, Governor's Island is a little island in NY harbor in between Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island and NJ. This pic is pretty consistent with a map view (top=north). I did a quick thumb test and its slightly bigger than most neighboring golf courses on google maps.Any buildings will be demolished. Sorry guys. FEES: This will be a Public Course! It will be pricey. At least 150 for 18 plus the ferry ride. However, to appeal to the common man, there will be a daily lottery (think broadway show tix) for 4 4somes at 20 bucks a person. LAYOUT: Clubhouse will be on the North End. I want to make sure water is in play for slicers AND hookers so the 1st tee and the 10th tee will both be in the middle of the island facing south. As players make their way back north, the front nine on the west side will have water left and the back nine on the east side will have water right. DESIGN: Being in the middle of the water, this will be very linksy. Not a ton of elevation but plenty of bunkers and meandering fairway widths to make it interesting. medium fast greens (10ish?), thick rough and a few collection areas to really test people's wedge play. It's not going to be super long since there will be plenty of challenges already so the Tips will be 6800. Regulation will be 6200 and front will be 5600. Par 72. Par 4's will have a wide variety of lengths. At least one will be driveable with little challenge (270 from middle with just one greenside bunker), other will be only 300 from the middle but with a huge burranca bunker 225-250 from the tee so lay up is the play. Also a few that are around 400 from the middle. Will definitely do a little digging to make mounds that separate each fairway. If we're a success, I'll put in floodlights and be the late night NYC golfing hot spot. Par 3's will have one that is hybrid/fairway wood range inland , two that are middle irons (one inland, one on coast) and one that's 100 yds from all 3 tees on the windiest part of the property. Par 5's will have similar theme as par 3's. One that is ultra long inland, think 580 from middle/600 from back. A shorter, reachable one inland about 460 from middle and two right around 500 on each coast.

See answers in bold below. Since 7i is my 150 club they are very genuine. As a 19 handicap, don't tale this as what you SHOULD do. Take this as WHAT I DO and feel free to correct me. As a lefty I will try to use universal directional designations:

Chop Salad Mac and Cheese Deviled Egg Pulled Pork BBQ Chicken BBQ Ribs would find some local brewery and get a Pilsner, Stout, Session IPA and Double IPA Ice Cream Self-Serve Bar (after COVID anxiety has died down)

I tried this a few years ago at a range that wasn't that fancy. It was very cold but it was pretty accurate. They even included where yardage markers on the REAL range were in relation to bunkers, hazards and the green etc to help you aim. Very cool and very accurate.

Given all that we now know about what helps you score low, those 300 plus yard drives put him ahead of most of his “starting to get the golf bug” colleagues. I also happen to play regularly with a friend who was a good tennis player (not at your friends level) and he almost never goes to a range or practices but routinely shoots in the 80s. I feel like it’s a sport that translates well to the course.