zeitgeist

After sharpening up my putting, chipping and driving, I started to hone in on my Callaway X18 irons as a potential reason why I couldn't get the game to where I wanted it. I never got fitted for these Callaway clubs, and I suspect they're too long, but all in all I just don't hit the Callaway X18 irons well. One day, partially out of frustration, I picked up my wife's irons and decided to hit them. I bought them for her a couple of years ago, as an inexpensive experimental beginner set for her, and never really took them too seriously. But this time, while inspecting them, I decided they were the strangest irons I have ever seen, and haven't seen any like them. They have really wide soles, and the blade on rear side juts out and has a line (so you can line up the shot - pretty cool). They're fairly heavy, despite having what I guess would be defined as a cavity back. I could post a picture. Anyway, I took these out, and couldn't believe how accurate they were, and how forgiving. I could line up the shot, and it would get a good loft, and even if you hit behind the ball it seemed to catch-up and give you something loft and distance-wise. The weight distribution just guides the club to the proper iron swing. But these are her clubs, and they're in a pink breast cancer theme. I am wondering if there is a mens' version of these clubs, or if there's another club out there on the market that looks like these? Even if I wind up moving back to a thinner or blade iron, I would like to have these (or similar) onhand. And I think I'd like to play some irons like this for a season and see what results I get.

My right hand is hurting. It's an 'arthritic' ache. But just in the right hand. Started with this golf league I just joined, so I know it's related to golf (I also play drums once or twice a week, so it could be a combination of the two, or maybe the drums doesn't help it or aggravates it further). I play a round of golf on Monday evening (9 holes), and then a small par 3 round on Sat or Sun to prepare for the Monday round. I'm not like the guy up there hitting 150 balls a day. In fact, I've laid off during the week to try and let the pain subside. Could be that the grip is too tight; I am working on loosening the grip. But man...does it really ache.

The problem with raising on toes, is that you're body raises up, robbing you of power (first), and increasing your chances of topping the ball (second). I blame this heavily for creating the off-balance situation. Some people have issues with toe-walking, and others just naturally walk on the balls of their feet rather than the heel. They (like me) are prone to raising up, and keeping heels planted is a constant battle because our weight is just naturally forward, and not on that back heel (my wife wears the heels out on socks...her weight by contrast is too far back). I've got a problem where I raise up on BOTH toes at impact. If I fix it, it creeps back. Happens mainly with the Driver, but on any shot requiring power. I can work at it, and usually train the left to stay down, bit it's harder to keep the right one down. It's also hard to see this, unless you freeze the video. Took me a while to see this problem until I had an app on an iPhone. But for me, topping the ball is the indicator that the problem has come back. I wish I had a training aid that could keep the weight on that back heel.

About 2011, I decided to give golf a more dedicated shot, after spending numerous years in "Dad mode" doing little league sports, cub scouts, etc. The kids were getting older, so I bought some nice clubs, and started playing a par 3 course to develop the short game. I also had a 'personal coach', in the form of a friend of mine who is a scratch golfer. We worked on fixing a sway in 2011. Then, in 2012, the company shut down and he moved. I continued on, using video feedback, fixing the next issue "hip clearing". This year, in 2013, I focused on a problem of raising up on the toes. I finally figured the game might be 'ready' for a golf league. So I joined a league that plays 9 holes every Monday. I shot a 65 the first week, which was humiliating. I finally went down to a 57, then a 52, then a 49. Since then, a 51, 53 and 55. I don't see any improvement anymore, and in fact, the golf game seems to just be a back/forth regression. I'll usually drop a nice par on one of the par 3s, and on one of the par 4s, I'll get up and on in 2 strokes for par. But the rest of the holes, an inconsistent mess - "hacker golf". Here's a breakdown of my last round yesterday: Hole 1: Topped the ball off the tee with driver. Ball went left into woods, Pitched out to fairway, pushed it down the fairway, then hit back into the woods right with a 7 iron. The pitch out failed, and I wound up with an 8. Hole 2: Beautiful drive fairway center. 7 iron shot went right, settling at tee box adjacent to the green. Lob Wedged onto edge of green. Chipped, poorly, and then 3 putted. 6 for that hole. Hole 3: Skulled an 8 iron shot which rolled to within 10 yards of the green. Used a 7 iron to bump/run it to green. Ball went left of hole. 3 putted. Wound up with a 5. Hole 4: Tee shoot (driver) left into woods. Pitched out. 3 iron down fairway. 5 iron to green edge. 3 putted. Total score 7 for the hole. Hole 5: Tee shot skulled with 6 iron, but luckily rolls enough. 7 iron bump and run goes long. First putt way too short. I sink a 10' foot to save bogey. Total score 4. Hole 6: Nice fairway shot with 6 iron. 3 wood over lake to edge of green. Farted up the putt onto green (short). Putted too long over the hole. Wound up with a 6 on what should easily have been par. Total score 6. Hole 7: 6 iron beautifully placed on fairway. 7 iron on green. 2 putt for par. Only decent hole. Total score 4. Hole 8: Nice drive down fairway. 3 iron faded right into woods. 2 shots to get out of woods onto fairway. Pitch to green was short. Another pitch gets on. 3 putt. Total score 9. Hole 9: Somehow, I completely miss ball with a 3 wood. It falls off tee. They look the other way (mulligan). I hit the 3 wood down the fairway. Pitch it onto edge of green. Pitch onto green goes way long. 3 putt. Should have been a 4. Winds up a 6 for the hole. Score: 55. The mistakes are as follows: 1. Poor tee shots, including topping the ball on the tee shots. 2. Chunked iron shots at the worst possible time, when I'm trying to get it down the fairway 3. Irons that just don't go straight - or straight enough. 4. Putts from the edge of the green that go 10 feet, leaving me with another 40 foot putt. It's not fun to go out there and have this kind of erratic sloppiness - over and over and over. By now, these problems should be worked out in my mind. I play a par 3 course each Sunday to 'prepare' for the Monday round, and regularly shoot mid-70s on it. Same issue on that course. I ALWAYS blow up 2-3 holes. I record par on 4-5, and then a bunch of 4s and 5s, as I recover from mistakes - constantly. I'm just really tired of it. Thinking of just letting go and not playing anymore.