Fairway_CY

I was just browsing some of the blog entries and happened upon this one. Oddly enough, I just posted a hole-by-hole recap of my latest round which details exactly this. I played the front nine in +3 but when I made the turn, things were just different. I ended up going +17 on the back nine. One of the more frustrating things for me is when I'm out to just play nine holes... as is the case in our Wednesday evening game. I seem to always play well (with a few exceptions) and it leaves me wanting more. Then I have days like yesterday and I just shake my head. In your entry, you mentioned a front and back difference in a shotgun tournament. I've done the exact same thing. I started on the 13th hole and went +6 through my first 6 holes. I made the turn and shot even par on the front side. When I got to the 10th hole, I finished double - bogey - bogey. I was +10 with all lost strokes coming on the back side. Golf is dumb. CY

Today was a nice day. One of the nicest days in the last few months in terms of both temperature and lack of precipitation. Because of that, I had to find a way to get out to the course. I had played in a tournament on Saturday and a few things 'clicked' with me, so I was excited to get back out and see if I could put it together on the course rather than imagining it while taking slow motion swings in my living room. Anyway... there was a ton of promise early on. Tee shots were solid... and my misses were just left of the fairway, which was a welcome change since I had been battling a fade/slice over much of the last 2-3 weeks. Irons were, far and away, the best I've hit them since early October. Everything had a nice little draw on it. The things I had been practicing in my living room seemed to be good changes. Hole #1 - Par 4 - 355 Yards I opened with a good drive into the middle of the fairway followed by an 8 iron from about 138 yards that I pulled left of the green. Anxious to try and get it close, I flubbed my chip. I then nearly holed the next chip for par but settled for a bogey from 3 feet. Hole #2 - Par 3 - 165 Yards The pin was up front and we were into a slight breeze. Still, I hit my 7 iron from the tee which is typically a 160 yard club for me. It hit the green about 7 yards beyond the stick and finished just off the green. My putt from the fringe hit something and popped straight up, taking all the speed off of it. I still managed to jar the left-to-right putt from 16 feet for par. Hole #3 - Par 5 - 504 Yards A solid tee shot drew slightly and finished just off the fairway in the left rough. There is a big tree up the left side and I was still forever away, but I hit a low, running 3 wood that left me about 60 yards from the hole. I then all but sh--ked a lob wedge that skidded off the right side of the green. My chip didn't get close and I took 2 putts from 13 feet for bogey. Hole #4 - Par 4 - 331 Yards This was the first in a list of questionable decisions I made throughout the day. This hole should either be a 4 iron or my 18 degree hybrid. I hit 3 wood and tugged it a little left. I got lucky and it finished to the left of the fairway bunkers that dot the left side. I also had a pretty unobstructed look at the hole from about 90 yards. My sand wedge hit the green and stuck. The 14 footer for birdie was in the center of the cup but finished a roll short. Tap in for par. Hole #5 - Par 4 - 389 Yards This hole is difficult. It's only 389 yards but for some reason, with the slight incline, it plays a LOT longer. My drive was hit well and finished sitting on the 150 yard marker on the cart path. I took my drop and was left with about 155 to the flag. My 7 iron started slightly right of the hole then drew back, finishing on the left side of the green. The 31 foot putt ran by a few feet and I was able to make the 4 footer coming back for par. Hole #6 - Par 3 - 179 Yards I believe it was playing the exact yardage today, although it was slightly downhill and into a breeze. I hit a 6 iron 170 yards on average, and I knew I didn't want to be long, so I elected that club. I hit a high, slightly drawing shot that landed on the green and didn't advance any. From 34 feet, I lipped out for birdie and tapped in for another par. Hole #7 - Par 5 - 486 Yards My tee shot into the breeze was solid and finished in a great position in the fairway. I was left with about 225 yards to the stick. I caught my 3 wood a little on the neck of the club and pulled it just a touch. I was in the bunker front and left of the green. I blasted out and nearly holed the putt, but it ran 12 feet past. Another lip-out for birdie and a tap-in par. Hole #8 - Par 4 - 397 Yards This is listed as the #1 index hole on the course, but I love it. I blasted a drive that again drew into the left rough. I was blocked from going at the green by some overhanging limbs, so I tried to hook a 9 iron. It started at the greenside trap and just stayed there. I hit a decent shot out of there to about 4 feet, but it was a tricky, curling putt that I just didn't make a good stroke on. Bogey. Hole #9 - Par 4 - 342 Yards I hit an awful tee shot here than I never saw. Nobody else did either. It didn't hit anything and it didn't find the pond up the left side... but I hit another to be safe. That one found the fairway. As we approached that one, we saw my original ball well back in the fairway. I was about 175 yards away from the hole at that point. I hit another high, drawing 5 iron that found the green. A horrid first putt from 38 feet left me 6 feet for par, but I was able to make that. So... the front nine was a resounding success. It's the best 9 holes I've had in 3 months, give or take. Take away a poor shot from 60 yards on the third hole and it had a chance to be my lowest 9 holes ever. At any rate... a 39 was great and I felt great heading to the back. Hole #10 - Par 4 - 349 Yards My tee shot with a 4 iron for position couldn't have been any better. I very likely would have just dropped it in that spot if given an option. It left me a pitching wedge from 130 yards, downhill and with the breeze. I caught it well but didn't get 'all' of it... so it hit the front of the green. As I began walking back to my bag, it began to trickle towards the false front. Ultimately, it trickled off the green and just barely into a hazard. I was able to play it from there and pitch to about 9 feet. With the hole cut where it was... no putt was easy. I proved that by needing 4 putts from just 9 feet. Triple bogey. Hole #11 - Par 4 - 401 Yards My drive faded around the tree at the corner and finished just off the fairway. The ball was a little below my feet and I made a poor swing with a 7 iron. I topped it, basically. From 65 yards, I hit a lob wedge that landed 2 feet to the right of the pin and sucked back to 12 feet. My par attempt dipped low and I tapped in for bogey. Hole #12 - Par 3 - 164 Yards Things really started to take a turn here. After watching 2 of my playing competitors put the ball in the water (a large pond runs all along the right side of this hole)... I started my ball at the hole and turned it away from the water. I turned it too much and it finished to the left of the green. I had a fairly easy pitch onto the green from that position, but I managed to push it right just a tiny bit. That was enough to feed it off the green due to the false front. I putted from the fringe but absolutely blasted the ball 10 feet past the hole which left me an ultra-fast putt downhill and down grain. I never got it started on line and took a double bogey. Hole #13 - Par 5 - 525 Yards This is where I began struggling with my driver. I started my ball left of my intended line and watched it draw well left. On this hole, left is not good... but I did have an opening to try and punch the ball up the fairway to leave myself a wedge in. I absolutely pured my shot but started it just a little right of where I wanted (maybe 2 feet off). The ball slammed into a tree and kicked left and out of bounds. My second attempt wasn't nearly as solid, but it made it through the window and into the fairway. From about 160 yards, I hit a high 7 iron that found the green. Unfortunately, it left me a very quick 17 footer which I was unable to make so I tapped in for another double bogey. Hole #14 - Par 4 - 339 Yards This is a hard dogleg to the left which requires a nice draw or a shot high enough to get over the tree guarding the corner. Another poor choice here as I tried to hit a 3 wood instead of hitting a 4 iron that I KNOW I can draw around that corner. The 3 wood was tugged and clattered around the tree before being spit out well back. I hit a wedge back to the fairway and then made my worst iron swing of the day with a 6 iron that never got close to the green. When all was said and done... I took a triple bogey. Hole #15 - Par 5 - 462 Yards Another hole where position is more important than distance. Knowing this... I STILL elected to hit driver. It was left, low and hooking... and it found the hazard. Instead of being smart and hitting a 7 iron up to the right of the fairway traps, I tried to hook a 4 iron low and under the trees. I hit it low... but it stayed right and went out of bounds. Attempt number 2 was fine... then I hit a wedge onto the green and two-putted from 20 feet for another triple bogey. I was beginning to feel a little sick about how I was playing, so I had a pep-talk with myself heading to the next tee. Hole #16 - Par 4 - 309 Yards Another big dogleg to the left that requires position... another poor decision. Typically, a good 4 iron leaves a low iron into the green. Although this hole is listed at 309 yards, it's certainly a little longer than that. I decided that I needed to get aggressive... so I hit my driver. I got lucky as it skimmed past the tree and drew around the corner. I was left with only 75 yards to a tricky green. My lob wedge is a 75 yard club... but I hit this one 95 yards. I hit a pretty good chip that just missed the cup but then trickled out to 16 feet. The par putt slipped by and I tapped in for a bogey. Hole #17 - Par 3 - 138 Yards With the breeze into our faces here, I kept going back and forth between an 8 iron and a 9 iron. I ultimately decided on the 9 iron, which was the correct club... but I left the face open and put myself in a nearly impossible position. I was on a slight downslope, below the green, with a bunker between my ball and the hole. I got the ball up onto the green but watched as it trickled down the other side and into a trap there. I blasted out to 14 feet but couldn't make that so I tapped in for another double bogey. I was now +13 over my last 6 holes. Hole #18 - Par 4 - 312 Yards Mercifully, the last hole was finally here. Uphill all the way... this 312 yard hole plays more like 375. My tee shot was blasted and dead center of the fairway... finally. I was left with 97 yards to a flag that was all the way back on the top tier. My wedge as low and scooted past the hole and into the back fringe. I was left with a slippery little putt from there that I hit beautifully and left myself a 4 footer. I made that for par to close out a horrible back side. The back nine was awful from start to finish. I did very little correctly throughout and it showed in a final total of 53 on that side. The 39 - 53 = 92 was pretty sickening to look at on the card. Although I'm sure I've probably had a larger front-to-back difference in the past... this was the worst in recent memory. I actually had to add the back nine score multiple times because I couldn't believe I was +17 on that side. It's back to indoor practice for the next few days as the weather is supposed to be pretty ugly until Friday... but I'm looking forward to getting back out to the course for some redemption. I feel like, despite the horrible back nine yesterday, my game is actually pretty close. Some tweaks here and there and I'd like to believe I may finally break that 80 barrier! Until then... CY

My girls (11 and 12) have been struggling with this for the last year, too. They've basically just been wearing khaki colored shorts (sometimes even jean shorts) with whatever nice top they can find. Both of my girls are small for their ages and take after their mother who is 4' 11". We managed to find ONE girls polo in their size around Christmas time at a local store, but that's about all we can find. No cute golf skirts or anything for them in their size. I even asked the pro at my club if he had any ideas and reached out to the local First Tee chapter for advice. I was essentially told to stalk the racks at Marshall's and (at the time) a Golfsmith that was going out of business. I wish I had advice, but... in over a year, we've found very little. CY

Agreed. I'm living proof. I've hit way more trees that have kicked the ball back into the fairway than I have hit fairways that have taken a bad kick. Way more. I'm far from a 'good' golfer. I have my moments... but they're equally split between good shots and shots that just happened to turn out good. CY

I got to play both Friday and Saturday of last week. Friday was at a course one of my golf buddies is a member at. We played from 6484 yards with a rating/slope of 71.7/136. I play here about once per month, so I'm familiar with the course. A quick start was halted in a bunker near the 9th green. I managed 42 - 44 = 86 for the day with a pair of birdies. All-in-all... not a bad day. Saturday was at my home course. Although short at only 6147 yards, it's a tricky little course with the greens being the defense. The rating/slope here is 69.8/129. Being my home course, I'm generally out here 5-8 times per month, depending on how busy I am with work. We played a small, two-man best ball format with a total of 6 teams. My partner, despite getting 10 strokes from the low index in the tournament, did not fare very well. This left me to pick up a lot of slack. I struggled early going double - bogey - triple to start... but settled down and went 45 - 40 = 85 with a single birdie. Not horrible for winter golf. I feel like my short game is coming around, which is going to be nice with the first tournament of 2018 next weekend. Still a lot of work to do in my game, but... I'm happy with the progress for now. CY

Brutal today. I played Sunday and felt like things were starting to 'click' again for me. Today, I went out alone. Started pretty well... +2 through my first 5 holes. I made a poor decision on a pitch shot on the 6th hole and ultimately ended up with a triple. Lipped out a par attempt on the 7th. Duffed it around on the 8th for another triple. Ended up with a bogey on the 9th for a +10 front side. I managed to go +8 over the last 4 holes there. Things didn't get much better on the back. Poor swings on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes resulted in no pars. Found a narrow branch on my lay-up on the 13th hole that kicked across the fairway. Still gave myself a look at par from just in front of the green, but another lip out from 25 feet gave me a bogey. Played the 14th and 15th like I kinda knew what I was doing. Finished triple - bogey - triple. Dunno what it is about the closing stretch at my course. Index holes 18, 16 and 14... respectively. I just don't play them well. Back to the course tomorrow for some range time and some time spent at the short game area. ETA - I forgot my score. Duh. 46 - 48 = 94. CY

Thank you, sir! I hope to do that a few times this season, at least! I believe I had a 38 for nine holes once last season. Thank you as well, sir! I did do some putting drills in my house after work that day (focused solely on putter path and starting the ball on my line). Seemed to pay off a bit on the course this morning. Still... temporarily patch one thing and another falls apart on me. Back at it tomorrow on the range and short-game areas! CY

Definitely frustrating. Someone here once told me to step away for a few days and let your body re-calibrate. Dunno why... but it sees to work. CY

I've never really met anybody who minds what others shoot providing they keep a good pace. If you shoot mid 90's but you spend 5 minutes looking for balls on half the holes or something... they're gonna be ticked. Beyond that... most will be happy to share a round with a golfer of any skill providing they keep it moving. CY

I had a group of friends out to my course yesterday to play. We had some pretty heavy rains the night before, so it was cart path only throughout our round. In our group, our indexes ranged from around 12 to as high as 18. We've not horrible golfers, but we're not "point and shoot" golfers either. On the 7th hole, we had one of the guys from our pro shop pull up on us and ask us to move a little faster. Admittedly, we were about half a stroke behind the group in front of us, so we said we'd pick up the pace. When we finished the 9th hole, we realized we had played that side in just under 2 hours. A pretty good pace on a pretty cold day where it's cart path only. We had to wait at the turn for about 10 minutes while our group and the group in front of us grabbed some drinks and whatnot and kept up with the group in front of us with no issues, but on the 13th hole, the same guy drove up on us and again asked us to pick it up. I was a little frustrated with him because we were on the group ahead of us and then the group behind us was nowhere in sight. We finished in 4 hours and 10 minutes with a 10 minute delay at the turn. I fail to see how that's to be considered even remotely slow. I've been a member here for about 15 months and the average round is about 4 hours and 15 minutes... often approaching 4 hours and 30 minutes. To play as quickly as we did on a cart path only day was more than sufficient in my opinion, especially since we hit our approaches to 18 shortly after the group ahead walked off. I had to apologize to my guests for being pushed. I'm gonna have to speak to the guys at the course when I'm there next, but... I'm pretty certain that the group behind us called in to the clubhouse on us. They were on top of us all the way through the 7th hole... then they started to fall back a bit. Still... I don't see how a 4 hour round constitutes being slow. I feel like that's a good pace and allows me to enjoy the company and the course while not feeling like I'm out of breath or rushing myself to putt out. I know guys who love to play fast and I know guys who are definitely on the slow side. I like a 4:30 pace, personally... but I'm fine with 4 hours. I get annoyed when it gets beyond 5 hours... but during tournaments, I regularly see 6 hours. To each his or her own, I suppose. As long as you're within the 4:00 - 4:30 range, I don't think anybody should be complaining. CY

This is always one of my favorite threads each year. It gives me a chance to get really specific with my goals and then I get to look back on them at the end of the year. Anyway... my 2018 goals are below. 1. Reduce penalties to fewer than 1 per round. Last season was my best in this category, but I still averaged 1.39 penalties per round (for almost 2 strokes per round). I'd like to reduce those numbers to less than 1 penalty and less than 1.5 strokes per round. A large number of my penalties last year came on the approach shot of the 10th hole of my home course. The lie is almost always downhill... plus there's a hazard fronting the green and OB very tight to the right side of the green. I need to work on that shot so that it's no longer in my head. 2. Increase GIR percentage to greater than 40%. My ball striking was better last year than ever before, but I still battled some pretty bad misses with clubs longer than my 8 iron. I finished 2017 hitting 36.28% of my greens in regulation. To get there, I'm going to have to spend some time with my 5 iron, 6 iron and 7 iron. A majority of the par 3 holes that I play require the use of those clubs. Although I don't have a number in my spreadsheet for par 3 GIR percentage, I'd be willing to bet it's lower than what my overall number is. If I can fix that... I can score better. 3. Hit greater than 50% of fairways. I came pretty close last year, hitting 46.64% but I'd like to eclipse the 50% mark this year. Achieving this goal will make achieving the one above much easier as well. I've been enamored with increasing my distance, but it hasn't really happened. I've been right around 235 yards off the tee for the last 3 years. I need to stop worrying about hitting it further and start worrying more about hitting it where I need to. 4. Putt better. This is not a specific target. It's very broad, but it's a part of my game that confidence is very fleeting. The average distance of all putts I made last year was only 2.96 feet. I also had an extremely high number of three-putts. Finally, I averaged over 35 putts per round. I would like to get that number below 34 putts per round this season. It's going to take me spending some time on the practice green at my course, but I'm determined to make this a stronger part of my game in 2018. 5. Get back to the tournament winner's circle. In 2016, out of 19 tournaments I played in, I won 2 and placed in the top 4 another 5 times. In 2017, I played in 15 tournaments overall. The first 4 were in C Flight where I finished T-10th, 2nd, 1st and 3rd... but then got moved into a more competitive flight due to my index dropping. In the higher flight, I played 11 tournaments and failed to place in the top 4 in any of them. I came close a few times but couldn't crack the barrier. I'd like to get back into the money spots in 2018, so... this is the goal I want to reach the most. That's it. They're all there. Tomorrow begins my 2018 season. Time to get cracking on reaching at least a few of these. CY

Number 1 is the only way toast should be cut. Any other way should be considered illegal and the toast should be thrown out. PS - I'm the same as @saevel25. I don't cut toast when I make it at home. I fold it in half and eat it that way. My wife cuts toast and that's the reason I say number 1 is the only way. That's the only way I've seen her cut it, ever. CY

Definitely getting into the 70's. Actually... getting to 80 would be an accomplishment I've yet to reach. Since March of 2016, I've got 17 rounds between 81 - 83 but I can't seem to crack that barrier. One of my good golfing buddies who has a game very similar to mine has shot 79 twice this year (the first 2 times he's done it in his life). I'm convinced that I CAN do it... I just haven't been able to yet. Another friend of mine who regularly shoots 90+ shot a 78 earlier this year as well (and I believe he's got 5 or 6 sub-80 rounds under his belt in his life). I've focused on not counting my scores up until the end... but I subconsciously know when I'm at or near the 80 mark. It's gonna happen... I've just got to buckle down and focus on making better decisions. CY

I'm in the 'never' camp. I play one brand and one model until I don't anymore. Also... I've played golf for almost 24 years now and I can count on 1 hand the number of times I've ever purchased golf balls at a course. Gloves? Sure. Tees? Yep. I've even purchased a few hats here and there. Very rarely have I purchased golf balls. Usually, it's an 'emergency' because I forgot to put some in my bag or something. CY

Generally, I'm laying up if there's a reason I shouldn't be going for it. Using my home course par 5's as examples... #3 is too long for me to get at in 2 strokes... but there's no real trouble to prevent me from hitting my 3 wood and getting as close to the green as possible, so I almost always go driver - 3 wood at this point. #7 is very reachable... but if my drive is struck abnormally well, it may run into the cross-bunkers which will prevent me from going for it. Typically, this hole is driver - 4 iron for me and I'm either on or around the green in 2 strokes. #13 is the longest of the par 5 holes at my course and also plays slightly uphill. I've been within 3 yards of the front of the green once. Similar to #3... there's no real trouble. The only major problem would be if my drive is up the left side and then I'm blocked out by the tree over there. That requires a big, quick hook... or a low punch, so... I'll play 4 iron at that point. Otherwise... driver - 3 wood. #15 is short and I can get there providing my drive is up the right side. If I'm in the proper position... it's going to be driver - hybrid or driver - 4 iron in most cases. The only trouble is if you're way offline, so... low risk. When I'm at another course and there's a forced carry over water or some other hazard to get to the green... I won't attempt it unless the carry is 205 or less. I don't hit my 3 wood very high... so carrying it over 205 yards is difficult. No need to bring that trouble into play. I'll lay up to a safe spot and then go in from there. As far as bunkers and stuff around the greens... often times, I'll actually aim for a bunker. I don't mind being in bunkers most of the time. Lie is a definite factor. Out of the rough... I won't attempt it with my 3 wood unless it's propped up. If the ball is on a downhill slope... same thing, I'm almost guaranteed to hit it low on the face or top it. I guess just about anything can be a factor. How do I feel that day? Weather conditions. How I'm scoring at that point in my round... do I need to be aggressive to get strokes back or should I be conservative to not kill momentum? I'm a headcase. CY

I use my 4 iron more often than any other club for this situation. That said... it'll vary depending upon the lie. If it's really sitting down in something, I'll deloft a 7 iron. A typical situation, though... it'll usually be a 4 iron. CY

Probably not the best shot of the week for me last week, but certainly the most satisfying... 13th Hole - Par 5 - 525 Yards I've played out at this course for just over a year now. I've told most of the guys I play with that the 13th hole is out of reach for me in two. I absolutely pured a drive off this tee on Friday afternoon. It was measured at 287 yards. The pin was up front that day, so I was sitting about 220 yards from the hole. Typically, if there is no trouble... I'll pull my 3 wood anywhere up to 240 yards and just try to get it close. Average 3 wood off the deck for me goes around 220 or so. On this hole, there is a narrow opening to the green with deep traps on either side of the fairway a the front of the green. I hit one of the best 3 wood shots of my life there. It never left the pin and rolled up to within an inch of the front of the green. I was left with about 20 feet from there for eagle. I left that just a bit short but left myself a tap-in for birdie. Like I said... it probably wasn't the best shot of my week, but it felt great to execute when my partner was in his pocket on that hole. CY

I guess it depends. There are 2 golf versions of me. The 'everyday' me and the 'competitive' me. If I'm out with buddies and we're playing for fun or for a small amount of money or something... I'm the quiet guy who stands back and lets everybody else throw the one-liners around. I'm not as quick-witted as a lot of my friends are... but every once in awhile, I'll throw one out there. That's usually when the biggest reactions come because I'm the least likely in our group to do that. Still... that's my favorite time to golf. When it's just buddies and we're all just having fun. If I'm playing in a tournament... I like to focus. I'll still have fun and I'm never the guy who anybody would complain about playing with (at least I hope I'm not)... but, I like to keep my mind on the task at hand. I find that if I let my mind wander even a little bit, I'm likely to have a double jump up and bite me. I've been trying really hard to avoid doubles whenever possible because they're my score killer. With either version of me... noise doesn't bother me (unless someone is banging pots & pans as I'm starting my downswing or something). I also don't worry about shadows from others or if anybody steps in my line. It happens. It's never been intentional when someone has done it. I can't ever remember a putt where I looked back afterwards and said to myself... "if that guy didn't just walk on my line, it would have gone in"... so, walk where you may. I'm not gonna say anything unless it's habitual. CY

No doubt, man! I'm not a patient person. People ask me why I don't play poker at the club and the answer is because of my lack of patience. My wife always says if she could change something in me, she'd either choose to make me more patient or less competitive. I think she'd elect to make me less competitive, personally... but, I know I lack patience, for sure! I even struggled to not fast forward your video to finally see you take a swing, so... yeah. The good thing is that the pro at our club works with guys like me all the time. He's told me that he already has a few things he'd like to see me work on, but he won't say anything until after my final tournament because he knows I don't want to go into it with any 'stray' thoughts bouncing around my skull. CY

I've taken a lot of these suggestions and put them into practice. I spent a good amount of time around the short game area on Tuesday morning. I played games to keep myself engaged and never got bored. I had to leave after about 90 minutes because I got a weird pain between my calf and my ankle of my left leg. I then went out on Wednesday morning and played nine, but I had to leave again because of the same pain. I played really, really poorly. Like... 52 poor. I felt like I couldn't swing the club through the ball because of the pain in my leg. I was completely off of work today, so... I spent the morning on the course. I played 27 holes. The first nine was tough. I struggled with a lot of my game. Off the tee, I was wild... but in play. On the greens, I really struggled. The speed of my putts was horrible. I shot a 47 there... but I started to feel more comfortable over the last 2-3 holes. The back side was totally different. I narrowly missed a par putt on the 10th hole... then three-putted the 11th for back-to-back bogeys. Then, it started to click again. I made par on 12, 13, 14 and 15. On the 16th, I hit a good chip from just in front of the green, but once the ball got near the hole, it gathered steam and finished 17 feet away, so... I settled for a bogey. A poor tee shot to the 17th resulted in a bogey before I finally got up & down for a par on the 18th to post a 40 on the back. As I was packing up my clubs, one of the members asked if I had time for 9 more, so... seeing as I had nothing to do, I went back out. I hit 6 of 9 greens and managed to get up & down on 2 of the 3 holes I missed the greens. I did three-putt the 6th hole, but... that was just mental and I rushed the par putt. An unlucky kick on the 9th after I hit the pin and it kicked 15 feet backwards instead of settling 4-5 feet away. I shot 38 there. I really didn't want to leave, but... I had to go so I could be home when my daughter got home from school. Providing the weather allows, I'm going to spend some more time in the mornings next week at the short game area of the club to see if I can get things together before the final tournament of the season in less than 2 weeks. CY

We're definitely on the opposite ends of that spectrum. I love to be on the course. I used to love to go to the range and beat balls over and over. I enjoyed going to the practice green at a local course to putt just to get away. It was a monetary decision, though. It was cheaper to buy a large basket of balls for $12 than to go to the course and pay $45 to play 18 holes. Since I've joined a club and I have access to play whenever I want, I just find it more fun to get out and play. I've improved quickly by being in different spots and having to teach myself certain shots. I was never able to draw the ball on command before I joined there... but the course has a number of holes that require a draw, so... I had to learn it or my scores would suffer. Now, when I'm in a tournament and I need to hit a draw... I can with pretty good consistency. It may not always be pretty... but it's better than not having the shot at all. So... now that I've improved to where I am, I'm looking to pick up strokes on the other things. My stats show me that I struggle in certain areas. I tend to try and work on those areas when I DO practice, but... like my original post mentioned, I get bored easily. This is something that I do on the course pretty regularly... although in a 'playing' situation. I don't drop balls and try shots like that, but... it's something I'll likely be doing over the winter. I completely understand what you're saying. I'm just not capable of not competing. When money was tight, I played a lot of video games with friends because once I owned the $50 game... I could play it as much as I liked. It's the same reason I play tournaments now... I just want to win. I'm fueled by success and motivated by failure. Golf certainly gives me more motivation than fuel. That's what led me here to post this. I'm motivated to succeed in 3 weeks when I go play a 3 day tournament against about 200 other people all with similar handicaps to my own. I have a huge desire to get better and actually get to Hilton Head and find myself in contention. I love the input, guys. Keep it coming! CY

I like the ideas you mentioned above... especially the 18 holes of up & down from various, difficult lies. As for the short game, right now it's definitely hurting my scores. Prior to this weekend, I went over my last 17 scorecards and I counted 53 putts from 6 feet and in that I missed over those 17 rounds. A lot of them were 3 and 4 feet. I didn't bother going through the short game misses, but I can count at least 8 times over the 2 rounds I played this weekend where I was greenside (or close to it) and I hit especially poor shots. Overall, I converted just 1 of 15 up & down opportunities for the 2 day tournament and I finished 8 strokes behind the winner. It's been a weakness for awhile. I took a short game lesson the Friday before last that has me at least making clean contact and not hitting it fat anymore... but my tendency now is to hit it 15 - 25 feet past the hole. I'm gonna play 18 tomorrow morning and then on Wednesday morning before meetings, I'm gonna spend some time at the short game area and I'll try out what you listed. That should keep me engaged. I've got a 3 day member guest event Thursday, Friday and Saturday... so, I'll have plenty of on course time too. Thanks for the suggestions. Simple, but not something I would have thought of doing on my own. It's in my wheelhouse too because I like to keep scores and stats, so... I can do that with an up & down challenge like that. CY

I'm glad to know that at least I'm not alone in my boredom. @iacas - I'm certainly not content. That's the primary reason for my post. I want to practice more. I would just like to find a way to keep it interesting so I'm not looking to bail after only 30 minutes or so. My course is a 35 minute drive from my house, so... driving 35 minutes to practice for an equal amount of time and then driving back become tedious. I'd like to spend at least an hour (closer to 90 minutes) around the short game area really building confidence in the areas of my game that I'm struggling the most with. CY

For some reason, I have absolutely no problem going out on the course alone and enjoying 3 hours of hitting a shot and leisurely walking to hit the next one. I'm at peace. I'm happy. I'm focused. That said... I don't really 'practice' on the course. Each time I step on a course, I'm trying to post a score. Doesn't matter if I'm alone, playing with a friend, playing a match at the club or playing in a tournament. I want to post the best score I can. That pretty much leaves the range and practice areas to work on my game. Currently, I'm working on having more confidence on and around the green. That means hitting a ton of chip shots to try and ingrain the feel I need to be able to step over the ball and know I'm going to hit is crisply and with the right amount of spin. It means tediously putting hundreds of 6 footers so they no longer jump up and get me during competition rounds. The problem is... I get bored easily when doing that. Now, if I've got someone with me and I can make a competition out of it... I can stand there for a few hours. I did it last year in Hilton Head with 2 of my buddies. We went to one of the courses we were going to be playing... stood on the putting green and just hit putts for 2 hours while making a game of it. Then we spent another hour at the short game area playing what was essentially a game of HORSE. I've tried to make it a game when I'm by myself, but... it only lasts so long before I'm bored. I start looking at my phone... looking up at the clubhouse to see who is heading into the 19th hole... or even worse, packing up to head home. I'd love to just say that I can bring a buddy to the course with me, but... most of my practice is on weekdays when my wife is at work and I'm between meetings or visits. Most of my golf buddies are at work... and when they aren't, they just want to play. How do you guys keep your practice sessions interesting? Am I alone in my boredom? CY