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Val Raj

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About Val Raj

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    Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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  • Index: 18
  • Plays: Righty

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  1. Finally broke 90 yesterday and shot a +15. Main areas I felt that helped a lot bring the low 90 scores under 90 were the following: - Got more consistent with driver. Went from slicing almost everything badly to occasionally slicing a third of the time. It is a lot improved from where it was last year, but i feel like it is still the worst club in the bag for me. I feel like i can shave off another 2-4 strokes if I can keep it consistently on the fairway. - Play a lot more looser and don't overthink things. I tend to tighten up and screw up the short game if i overthink it. - Don't three putt - More consistent Iron play. My misses are a lot less horrible w/ the irons compared to last year.
  2. A few goals at the start of the season here: - Shoot +16 or lower (hit that goal yesterday and shot a +15). Need a new goal now 🙂 I would be real happy if i could shoot a score +12 or lower by end of season. - Become more consistent with the driver (Loose way too many strokes due to errant drives)
  3. Yup, when i switch from my maltby PTMs which have a lot less offset to the Ping G irons, i have to take extra care to ensure that it is pointing in the right direction --- otherwise it tends to point to the left. I have some markings on my grips which helps ensure the grip/alignment is consistent.
  4. I have a couple of different irons I play with. An older Ping G game improvement iron which has quite a bit of offset, and a newer Matlby PTM iron which are still cavity back, but look more like a player's iron than a game improvement one. The Maltby has a lot less offset. The offset on the ping didn't really bother me until i got the Maltby PTM. After i got used to the offset of the Maltby, the Ping G looks downright weird with the larger offset. I hit both just fine, and typical ball flight is quite high on both irons. What are the negatives of offset? Is there something w/ offset that could potentially be a crutch if I wanted to improve the quality of my iron play?
  5. True that... Went a few rounds when nothing was working just using a 7i, putter and a sand wedge. Safest club in the bag for sure.
  6. Great point. When we have a bad day ago the course or range, we chase the next hotness rather than figuring out what was slightly off in what we were trying to do. I am guilty of this for sure. Trying to commit to some simple basic ideas this year without all the noise ...
  7. Maltby PTM 8i. Goes about 145yd carry. Feel quite confident with it... Also does double duty as my chipping club. Again feel much more confident chipping with that then anything else in the bag.
  8. Here is what worked for me this year. Eliminate most swing thoughts and just focus on a simple swinging motion to target. Work on driver and 125-150 yd approach shots (i.e. lowest score wins, highest separation value skills). Use more feel for the short game and putting. I was so mechanical and full of specific thoughts like half swing, three quarter swing etc. I was basically just freezing up with all these thoughts in my head. Just eliminated all of that and just focus on doing things by feel and it seems to be working a lot better!
  9. Val Raj

    Val Raj

  10. Having been around +18 handicap for a while, I have been always curious at what things made the biggest difference in handicap. For example, the ideas of separation value make a lot of sense, and I have been putting a lot of time practicing the approach shots and driver at home during the lockdown. It will be nice to put the driver in play after not using it for the last 3 years!! Hopefully that will pay off when the courses open here. I know it is hard to compare someone who drops a +20 to +18, to someone who drops +3 to +1. So perhaps absolute value in drop is less important than the % drop. So what made the biggest difference in your game? it could be that fancy new piece of training equipment, or that drill you kept practicing off the course, or that new putter you put into play ... If I was to look back over the last 5 years, the biggest thing that made a difference for me was just practicing a 7i hitting around 150yds or so --- the one year I did that at the range regularly, my scores dropped dramatically. In fact, I played a couple of rounds using just the 7i and managed to break 90. However, I have not been able to find that form again given the typical reset that happens over the winter here.
  11. Discovered the forum and the video set recently. Awesome videos BTW! Enjoyed the ideas behind separation value and the five keys. I was familiar with Mark Broadie's work on shots gained and some of the statistics he gathered on pros and amateurs. The ideas behind separation value are much cleaner in spirit, and very easy to put into action. I have been practicing in my basement during the lockdown with the separation values in mind --- hoping to see some gains on the course soon! The driver was my nemesis for a long time to the point where i didn't have a driver in the bag for around 3 years or so. It just wasn't reliable enough for me to use it. But I have been putting in work during the off season to get that back in play.
  12. Hello folks, Just dropping a line to introduce myself to the forum. Discovered the forum after finding Dave and Erik's stuff online. Went through the LSW videos etc. A lot of their ideas around the 5-keys and separation value resonated with me. Been playing somewhat regularly for around 8 years or so with my handicap around +18. I don't practice enough to lower that further, and even when I manage to tune up my game to consistently break 90, the winter layoff in ontario means that I have to rediscover everything starting in May. So typically start of the season hovering around +24 and then gradually work down closer to +18 by end of season ... With the extended COVID layoff here in Ontario, I have tried to invest in equipment and more time practicing at home, and hopefully that pays off when the courses finally open! Looking forward to participating in the forum. Cheers, Val.
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