snackdaddy

For now my goal is bogey golf. I'm retiring in a couple months, so I'll be playing more instead of being limited on weekends where its busier and more expensive. I've been working strictly at the range on my days off and my swing is becoming more consistent. Last time I played 18 holes was about 3 months ago and I approached it with the mindset that bogeys are fine. Just don't compound a bad shot with another trying to do something I'm not good at. I shot a 93 which wasn't my best but a little better than normal. I'm usually in the mid to upper 90's. I had no triple bogeys for the first time ever but not quite enough pars to offset the doubles. I believe I can reach that goal by limiting the mishits. There is nothing more frustrating that sitting 150 yards out with your second shot, a clean lie, no obstructions, and you shank it. Now I'm sitting at more than 100 yards on my 3rd shot and maybe not a clean lie. That is the part of my game I'm trying to shore up. Its getting better but I need more time at the range to develop the muscle memory. When I shank it at the range I usually know why and I correct the next swing. But there are no do overs on the course.

I'm not at the point where I can attack a certain point on the green unless I'm under 50 yards. At 150 I don't really pay attention to certain spots. I'm just happy to land it somewhere on the green.

I'm on the fence with Trump. In the beginning I thought he had no chance. That people wouldn't take him seriously enough to vote for him. And he says some outlandish things. But I guess to some thats a refreshing change from the politically correct rhetoric out of the other candidates. His popularity rating is much higher than I ever thought it would be. He does have some good points that I'm in favor of. He just needs to use a better method of delivery and quit insulting people. But I'll bet he says some things the other candidates wish they could say.

I'm far from an accomplished golfer. I struggle to break 90 most times. And I watch so many training videos on youtube, golf channel, etc. and so many of those just don't sink in with me. But there was one tip from a youtube instructor that seemed to click for me. He said to pretend your club is a whip. If you take a whip and swing the motion like a golf swing the part of the rope closest to your hands will be in front of the tail end. Then the tail end catches up and whips through the imaginary ball. I was having trouble with cutting across the ball and causing sharp slices losing distance. Or over correcting and causing a snap hook. So I went out to the range and tried swinging the clubs like it was a whip with my hands being part of that whip. And I'll be danged, it went to an immediate draw on the 7 iron. I slowed my swing down and it went straight. So I did this with all the clubs and everything was so much better. I did have to sacrifice distance with slowing down the swing in the beginning. I started trying to hit everything at 2/3 distance by slowing everything down. But before long the distance came as long as I focus on the right swing speed. Too fast and it doesn't go straight. Too slow and it loses distance. But when I get a good rhythm my contact is better and the distance is fine. My 7 was about 150 with my old swing but all over the place. It went down some when I slowed down a lot. Now its back to 150 but smoother feeling. And contact is more consistent. Less mishits. I just gotta keep practicing that rhythm and whip motion. Its not as easy as one would think to slow it down just right on a consistent basis. I don't know if this works for anybody else, but it helped me. And the slower swing speed means I don't get worn out hitting a larger bucket of balls. I used to use a smaller bucket because that aggressive swing would wear me out. Last time I went out I felt like I wasn't finished. I still had plenty of stamina. Before I would hit the last 20-30 balls with the pitching wedge just trying to pitch it 30 yards because I was so tired from trying to kill it.

I do prefer playing with friends. But when thats not an option, I go by myself. I find I can concentrate better alone. Even if they pair me up with others I can still concentrate better. With friends I tend to get frustrated easier and it shows in my game. I get down on myself too much. With people I don't know I don't talk or act negative about my game. My friends tell me I would play better if I was more positive. Its hard to be positive if you're not confident. I think when I reduce the mishits I'll be more confident. Its still a work in progress. Seems like when I'm not mishitting I'm either on the green or not far off. Being by myself or away from friends allows that concentration to avoid the mishits. My best round ever was with complete strangers.

I've been working on getting myself lined up better on putts. At home I have a 8 foot throw rug with designs. It has a straight border line about 7 foot long. I used that to line up and putt over a penny at the edge of the rug. Seems like I never miss that penny close to 8 feet when I do that. So I took some thread, something small and light enough to not affect the ball rolling, and made a straight line at the local practice green about 10 foot long. I tie it to a couple tees, stretch it straight and put the tees in the grass. Then I slide the tees out and it stays straight. It really helps me line up straighter. I find myself lining up better even without using the line. I can make a higher percentage of putts under 10 feet than I used to. Now I just have to worry about reading the greens.

I don't pay much attention to anyone else. I got my own problems to worry about. I never make sounds or gestures in disgust when I hit a bad shot. I just put my head down and try it again.

In a way, you're both right on your analogies. With a bad setup MclRoy would still hit much better than an 18 handicapper. But he wouldn't hit as good as the other tour golfers. A bad golfer will hit bad shots. There's many reasons why. A good setup doesn't guarantee good ball striking. I equate the golf swing to a baseball pitcher. Some days the pitcher is on and pitches great. Other days his ball doesn't move well, his velocity is down a bit and he struggles. But nothing was changed from the last time out. Same as the golf swing. You can hit well one day and lousy the next. Even though you tried to do everything the same. What caused the differential?

I've had back problems for years. I only notice it at the practice range though. Practicing chipping is the worst. That slight bend really starts to hurt after a few minutes. I starting bending a little lower when I practice putts and it helps. Its that in between bend that bothers me the most. Out on the course it isn't a problem. Its only when I hit 25 or more balls in that slight bend position it hurts.

I golfed with a couple low handicappers a few weeks ago. They missed fairways on occasion just like anyone else. But one thing I noticed that was different from high handicappers like me. They never mishit the ball. Me, I hit a good drive. I'm 150 yards out in the middle of the fairway, pull out my iron and hit it so fat it only goes 40 yards. So there I am, over 100 yards hitting my 3rd shot. No guarantee I can hit the green from there. And of course, I don't. I chip on the green and 3 putt for a triple. Those guys either hit the green or don't miss by much and chip on for either a par or no worse than bogey. One guy shoots a 78 and the other shoots an 80. And he's disappointed he had a bad round. Heck, if I shot 80 I'd be framing that scorecard.

I got a great deal on a Callaway FT-IQ 13 degree driver. They've since upgraded, b You know, it sometimes seems like I hit it better when I swing hard. I'm not sure why, but when I slow down I might be unintentionally slowing too much which throws everything off. When you've been swinging at a certain speed for so long, its hard to change it. Every sport I've ever played I always relied on power rather than finesse. Thats why golf is so frustrating. You need both.

I'm fortunate in this area. This weekend is warm. Low 70's and sunny all weekend. Even December and January the weather is playable. Mornings are cold and foggy. But afternoons are OK. Usually in the 50's. Its only not playable when its raining. Which hasn't been much this winter. I love my Callaway FT-IQ 13 degree driver. Most forgiving driver I've ever had. Ball doesn't spin much. Some reviews even complained about not being able to draw or fade it as much as they like. Which is perfect for me. I just want it straight. Now I gotta clean up some other things. I can pretty much land the green on any chip, but I don't get close enough to one putt very often. And my lag putting needs work. I still have to be more consistent on the fairway. One time I hit the sweet spot, another time I chunk it or top it and it doesn't even go halfway to the green. Just a matter of practicing and developing the muscle memory along with focusing on the ball.

I'm still fairly new to golfing. But its not like I started from scratch. I used to shoot in the mid to upper 90's over 20 years ago. But family, work and other obligations made it too difficult to keep it up. Now I'm starting over. I took a lesson a few months ago to get me started in the right direction. The biggest thing was my drives off the tee. But switching to a more lofted driver seems to have straightened it out. I still haven't broke 90 at a par 72 course 6600 yards from the white tees. There are 3 courses around that length around here. But I did shoot my best yesterday. A 91 is now my current best. Now that the driver is no longer the problem I gotta work on other parts of the game. I 3 putted 4 times yesterday. That alone woulda got me in the 80's. I have to work on my lag putting. All 4 of those 3 putts we a result of a bad lag from over 30 feet. I also need to get better around the greens. Better chipping wouldn't put me so far from the cup. Its still a work in progress, but I'm diligent. I will keep practicing every chance I get. I also need to cut down on mishits. I had couple bad ones resulting in triple bogeys. But thats just a matter of practicing. Building the muscle memory to hit cleanly every time. I'm a competitive guy and I will practice, practice and practice some more till I get to where I want to be.

I might be the wrong person to offer advice being new to the game. But when I switched to a 13 degree driver I immediately began hitting almost every fairway. I was lucky to hit 3 or 4 fairways with a 10 degree. And I didn't lose distance. I'm able to swing a little harder with the extra loft. Even mishits land in the fairway or not far off. Just a little shorter. The extra loft worked for me. Driving is no longer a problem. Its the other clubs.

It never gets too cold here in central california. It might rain on weekends at times, but its not like I'm stuck all winter. But if it rains on the day I wanted to golf, I just browse the web for golf deals, news, etc or browse my football forums. Then I go out next week. I'm fairly new to the game. I played some over 20 years ago but family and other things got in the way. Now that its just me and the wife, I want to try it again. But I'm a working man so weekends are the only chance I get.

I'm new to the forum. I'm a Warehouse Manager at a state prison in Central California.