bplewis24

I hate seeing myself on film. Something about the turn that I don't like. It may have something to do with the way my left knee sways so far inward or something. I have no problem posting distances afterwards. My distances right now are sporadic. At my best, it would look like this: Dr: 275 3i: 210 7i: 155 I tend to have a pronounced flip and thus I hit the irons pretty high and (I think) lose some distance compared to other people I know who hit their driver that far, but hit their irons 10+ yards longer than me. At my worst (like the past few weeks), I can't hit my driver at all. Everything is an over-the-top push/slice that goes around 200 yards. And some days I'll have virtually no hip slide forward and hit my 7i like 145. I've never been able to find consistency in my distances unless I practice every day.

I think Mike suggested we do it here. I'd be okay with it happening in a new thread if that's what folks want. Just let me know. I'd just like to add that this is about the perfect timing for lessons. I probably would have shot about 100 on Sunday if I would have played out every hole (I picked up twice), and I can't get off the tee to save my life. I can hit my 5 iron about as far as I can hit my driver at this point. Nothing feels good. I am open to instruction!

Posted a new video in my swing thread: http://thesandtrap.com/t/37582/my-swing-bplewis24/126#post_998559

Mike said it was okay to post this video for starters. The range without stalls will be open tomorrow and I can get more video up then. In the meantime, Mike will give me some tips/pointers on better video angles.

Holy crap! Thanks for the votes from all. I'll try not to disappoint! Headed to the course for a round now. I'll try and get some swing vids from the range before the round. If not by tonight then no later than Tuesday. Deal?

Since you guys are discussing days, I'm interested in this one and it'd definitely be easier for me to make a Saturday event vs Sunday.

Nathan, I noticed you didn't count the birdie on #8 as an up-and-down. Is this a limitation of software, or do you consciously not count this as an up-and-down because it's not a "scrambling" situation? I've been curious to know if I should count those for my statistics or not. The reality is, if I'm on a short par 4 and drive it around the green (or going for it on a par 5), and I have a chip-and-putt for a birdie opportunity, I'd like to keep track of how often I convert on those the same way as if I was scrambling for par.

Anybody think he's going to go from 63 to 80? GHIN, you don't have to answer that one .

I've only ever played with one. It was last year while visiting some local country clubs. My host just happened to be a +2. Former college tennis player or something. He was -5 through 8 holes before bogeying the 9th. We only played the front nine, which he repeatedly insisted was the "scoring nine". Apparently the back 9 is much tougher. Still, I believe the course rating is a 70.9 from the tees we were playing from. So the front nine was probably somewhere around a 34, and he would have finished at 32. I posted this last year, but the interesting thing was nothing was particular memorable about his game, except that every one of his drives was equivalent of my best drives. And every one of his approach shots was probably 3-4 feet inside of my best approach. He only had to get up-and-down maybe twice, so I think he was 1/2 (bogeying the 9th after chopping out from inside the water hazard line). I think he sank every birdie putt inside of 10 feet. He didn't bomb it incredibly far, just consistently 270-280. And he didn't shape the ball all kindsa different ways. He just played his normal baby-draw on every hole. The course favored a draw, and he never got into any real trouble forcing him to try anything else. Keep in mind phillyk isn't a newbie. Just a guy who doesn't post as regularly or frequently. But he has been around a while.

I think more people understand than you are giving credit for.

I would add that some course diversity is probably needed as well.

Quote: Originally Posted by GHIN0011458 Your statement is kind of out there.. you are bringing up the hardest courses with only 4 guys shooting UP TO an 80, or 10 strokes worse. You are talking about Major Championship golf.. which is another level. A pro playing in his first US Open isn't going to fire a 90, and if he does, its because its windy, the rough is twice as long as normal, and you cant hold a green. Right. Mine is out there. Somehow you can appreciate how good a +2.4 is, you can appreciate how much better a professional is than a +2.4, and yet can't put a professional shooting in the 80s in perspective relative to what a +2.4 amateur could possibly shoot. Quote: Anyone who is a +2.4 handicap is ready for tournaments at ANY LEVEL. What does this even mean? Any +2.4 should be ready to play the Masters on Sunday at even par? No worse than 79? You should have informed Rory McIlroy of that a few years ago.

Apologies! I still read your user handle as "sam" almost every time I see it.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! The 8th hole is one of my favorite holes! Specifically because of that tree there! Sam, I believe you circled the wrong tree(s). The one you circled is to the left of the 8th (top) fairway, and to the left of the 9th (bottom) fairway. The big tree that I'm thinking of that typically causes problems for people on the 8th hole is the very large tree across the fairway, above and to the right of the tree you circled. I've played this hole (8th) many, many times. One of the reasons it's my favorite is because I hit the ball high (usually) even with my driver. I've generally been able to hit it over the tree on the right (above the fairway) even if I push it right. From the tips I'm sure it would be much more difficult. However, some days if I'm worried about hitting it into the tree, I'll take less than driver and leave it short of the tree. Honestly, I don't find it to be that difficult of a hole. It's not that far, and unless you get stuck directly behind the tree (or apparently in it), you can still reach the green. And bailing out to the left presents no real danger at all except a small bunker (in the circle that Sam drew). And if you get it over the tree, it's so wide open that even being in the rough presents an opportunity for birdie. Lastly, the guy who got stuck in a tree on the 9th hole must have hit a horrendous shot, worthy of a bogey for sure. The tree circled in the above picture would NOT be in play for a tee shot on that par 3, so it must be the tree on the right side of the green (in fact the article states that it was "and right of the ninth green"). You can see it pictured at the very bottom of the frame, below the greenside bunker. That has to be at least 20 yards away from the green on what is typically about a 200 yard par 3 (for me it's more like 180 from the blues). Not saying triple was warranted, but I've never seen anybody come close to hitting that tree before. He hit a horrible shot.

This is a blanket statement that I find pretty silly. Forget the specifics of his handicap for a moment, and remember a few things: 1) Last week at a non-major, I counted five scores of 78 or worse (up to 80) in the first two rounds between 4 different pros. 2) I can recall several pros shooting that or worse in major tournaments. 3) These pros are leagues better than an amateur, + handicap. (subjective, but quantifiable) 4) An amatuer, + handicap playing in his first local qualifier might as well be a pro playing in his first US Open. (subjective, I know) There is no real ceiling on what a person of a specific handicap can shoot. I'm not saying the OP's handicap is tried and true (even he acknowledged that it might be somewhat due to the course he plays), but having known his posting history over the years, I don't believe he is a vanity capper. I'm about as cynical as they come, but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt on this one. I think he had a bad day, and isn't ready for tournament conditions at that level.

The voice of Zeus can only be displayed in capital letters.

Can't believe everything that is stated on the internet :-)

I will try those next week, but with less weight.

Called it! The ringer even played the part by hacking it around for the first few holes, just to throw everybody off. That's golf!

I agree with you here. Seems like a lot of quibbling over a subtle variation or semantics. I don't see anything wrong with what you said, but more to the point, I doubt it has any relevance to the OP. My guess is the OP simply gave up on the round at some point and didn't take his putting seriously. There's no technical excuse for 58 putts (or I guess it was 55 putts?). Gripping the club too tightly or a little too loose in the wrists doesn't result in a +25 explosion in putts.

It' probably doesn't matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. But I guess you could say my issue is that this thread gets an inordinate amount of attention. The question I have is, "why"? Plenty of folks have swing threads that they update semi-regularly and they get attention, feedback and advice. This thread, as it exists now, is basically just a daily/weekly blog or musings from a site member with nothing really unique being added to the site. That's fine and dandy, but I think the reason why it still gets attention is because it started as operation scratch, and eventually single digits, and then was revived somewhat because you were going to get a lesson. But there hasn't been much follow-up to that lesson, other than more blog musings. Come to think of it, I sound envious of the attention. So, I digress...and unsubscribe. Cheers

Typical Jets fans...turning on each other. BOOM!

I've been feeling the same for a while.

6:16 this morning! 5 minutes better keep an eye out

Right now just one mile at a time. It took shaving 10-15 seconds off my time every day for the course of 6-8 weeks before I got to this point. I have a 3k coming up in 3 weeks, so I'll eventually try and hold the same pace over longer distances and work my way up to 3k, but I have no real goals for this. It's just a new challenge that keeps me motivated. Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I'm not really worried about my weight. I generally start doing sprint work when the weather heats up (like now). A few times a week I'll go hit the track in the afternoon for some sprints, and that's when the weight really comes off. I think high impact boot camps and cross-training has similar results. I actually do that once a week. Every Monday, actually. I find it pretty refreshing.