barney_bogey

BY FAR the least sensible thing in my golf bag. I do not have the speed to hit this Gen5 X driving iron...not even close. BUT it was SO cheap (bought the head only for less than $20) and had an old, uncut shaft laying around so, why not?! Even if I can't hit it, I'll be happy enough just looking at it 😍

Okay boys. Scramble for a good cause today. Typical mulligan packages, long drive, closest to pin and putting contest. Standard issue event.

We don't expect to win. We just come in respectable like and enjoy the buffet.

Two teams come in and post -25 scores.
47... 40 freaking 7.

The audacity of these guys looking out into a crowd of their peers with stolen accolades just astounded me.

Can't imagine how sharp the grooves were on those pencil wedges.

Anyways, I hit em petty good. Clean inside 100 and the new putter felt incredible! My pace was way better than average.

47....

B

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

Okay boys. Scramble for a good cause today. Typical mulligan packages, long drive, closest to pin and putting contest. Standard issue event.

We don't expect to win. We just come in respectable like and enjoy the buffet.

Two teams come in and post -25 scores.
47... 40 freaking 7.

The audacity of these guys looking out into a crowd of their peers with stolen accolades just astounded me.

Can't imagine how sharp the grooves were on those pencil wedges.

Anyways, I hit em petty good. Clean inside 100 and the new putter felt incredible! My pace was way better than average.

47....

B

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

A few years back played in a charity outing upstate that a good friend of my wife's was one of the sponsors of - at the prize ceremony, our group was each awarded a box of golf balls .. for being "The Most Honest" team .. which of course means we were absolutely DFL 😝
.. but it was fun outing on a nice day on a nice course and one of the guys in our group cleaned up in the raffles anyway!

We played last week, and had some holes you could buy An albatross, others had hula hoops set up from 20 yards away for an ace, and so on. The tournament officials caught on to the sandbaggers claiming 25 hcp though (max allowed) again, for charity,  so no skin off my back, but ethically , you don't take the trophy,  you find the group who truly shot worst in the bunch and hand it to them. We never take money's either, ot ALL goes back to the charity. Door prizes and raffles, that's different.
 
Yikes! Fyi, this rarely happens at our events, especially since it's 90$ law enforcement already there.  😆 

Okay boys. Scramble for a good cause today. Typical mulligan packages, long drive, closest to pin and putting contest. Standard issue event.

We don't expect to win. We just come in respectable like and enjoy the buffet.

Two teams come in and post -25 scores.
47... 40 freaking 7.

The audacity of these guys looking out into a crowd of their peers with stolen accolades just astounded me.

Can't imagine how sharp the grooves were on those pencil wedges.

Anyways, I hit em petty good. Clean inside 100 and the new putter felt incredible! My pace was way better than average.

47....

B

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

Okay boys. Scramble for a good cause today. Typical mulligan packages, long drive, closest to pin and putting contest. Standard issue event.

We don't expect to win. We just come in respectable like and enjoy the buffet.

Two teams come in and post -25 scores.
47... 40 freaking 7.

The audacity of these guys looking out into a crowd of their peers with stolen accolades just astounded me.

Can't imagine how sharp the grooves were on those pencil wedges.

Anyways, I hit em petty good. Clean inside 100 and the new putter felt incredible! My pace was way better than average.

47....

B

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

Okay boys. Scramble for a good cause today. Typical mulligan packages, long drive, closest to pin and putting contest. Standard issue event.

We don't expect to win. We just come in respectable like and enjoy the buffet.

Two teams come in and post -25 scores.
47... 40 freaking 7.

The audacity of these guys looking out into a crowd of their peers with stolen accolades just astounded me.

Can't imagine how sharp the grooves were on those pencil wedges.

Anyways, I hit em petty good. Clean inside 100 and the new putter felt incredible! My pace was way better than average.

47....

B

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

Okay boys. Scramble for a good cause today. Typical mulligan packages, long drive, closest to pin and putting contest. Standard issue event.

We don't expect to win. We just come in respectable like and enjoy the buffet.

Two teams come in and post -25 scores.
47... 40 freaking 7.

The audacity of these guys looking out into a crowd of their peers with stolen accolades just astounded me.

Can't imagine how sharp the grooves were on those pencil wedges.

Anyways, I hit em petty good. Clean inside 100 and the new putter felt incredible! My pace was way better than average.

47....

B

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

Day 106 (29 Apr 24) - Played 18 with son and good friend (he joined in for just the back nine).  Had a personal best of 79 (39 front/40back), officially breaking 80 today!   I realized that this may happen when we were on 16 and I was only plus 6 for the day.  Bogie on 17 put me at plus 7 and I was hoping not mess up 18.  Wound up with a GIR and two putt par to finish plus 7 and 79.  Personal best of 11 of 18 GIR, putting was a little messy at times, but still solid for most of the round.  Even the two double bogies did not super phase the round.  A great way to start the week with a new low score.  Here's a screenshot of the scorecard via Garmin...

I tend to spend a little time putting in the evening…tonight my 11 year old decided she would putt with me.  Got her an old Zebra mallet to play around with.  She was getting better towards the end and starting making some 8 foot putts.  Alignment needs some work and she cuts across the ball terribly, but she at least showed interest on her own.
I then spent time putting focusing on grip and setup after she went to bed.

Had to laugh. I can't count the amount of times I see cheaters win scrambles. Last year 4 high school kids won one that I was in. We could see them all hitting off the womens tees, take 8 putts per hole and so on.  They didn't even pay for mulligans and came in with a 51. 
Another time it was a big Boys and Girls Club fund raiser and a team cheated. They had someone watching the scores turned in and came in a little later with 2 strokes less. The team behind them saw they were not playing well and called them out when their names were announced. They challenged them to a two hole scramble top rove they heated. The once they refused, a fight broke out. Real fight, fists were flying and police were called. Some charity event that was.
I'm there to support the charity. But it's pathetic watching people cheat like that. I used to get mad but now I just expect the worst going in to it.  

Okay boys. Scramble for a good cause today. Typical mulligan packages, long drive, closest to pin and putting contest. Standard issue event.

We don't expect to win. We just come in respectable like and enjoy the buffet.

Two teams come in and post -25 scores.
47... 40 freaking 7.

The audacity of these guys looking out into a crowd of their peers with stolen accolades just astounded me.

Can't imagine how sharp the grooves were on those pencil wedges.

Anyways, I hit em petty good. Clean inside 100 and the new putter felt incredible! My pace was way better than average.

47....

B

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

Okay boys. Scramble for a good cause today. Typical mulligan packages, long drive, closest to pin and putting contest. Standard issue event.

We don't expect to win. We just come in respectable like and enjoy the buffet.

Two teams come in and post -25 scores.
47... 40 freaking 7.

The audacity of these guys looking out into a crowd of their peers with stolen accolades just astounded me.

Can't imagine how sharp the grooves were on those pencil wedges.

Anyways, I hit em petty good. Clean inside 100 and the new putter felt incredible! My pace was way better than average.

47....

B

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

Always loved the old Ashworth logo.  Loved their shirts too.  Don’t see them around as much anymore but they should make a comeback!

Got to go home and hit the "home range".... dedicated the 45 minutes to 4i and 5i. I hit 10 flatballs and 2 regular golf balls in rotation. I find the flatballs definitely give the fine tuning to hit the ball more pure. Not sure if anyone else uses or has tried them, they seem to be helping me with my irons immensely. I'll get home from work this afternoon and go out and hit some more with the 4i and 5i. 

Respectfully, I'm gonna do the drills that work best for me and my swing. The trail arm is going to separate from the body regardless; I'm not binding my arm to my torso. The drill with the towel or headcover is helping with a feel of not allowing my arm to lift like it has in the past with worse habits. I don't struggle with speed and this drill has helped with consistency in my ball striking.

I have a Mizuno ST-X, 10.5 degree head dialed up to 11.625, Diamana Red 50-gram shaft, regular flex. I went in to demo the Ai Smoke a while back, told the fitter there I was doing strength and speed training, and he suggested I wait to do anything more to my driver (like a different shaft or a new driver) until I finish making those changes. Red is supposed to be the high-launch version of the Diamana, but clearly that's not working for me. I'm thinking there's a decent chance my next shaft will be lighter than 50g. I'm also thinking there's a better than decent chance I'm not gonna spend $750 on an Otto-Phlex, but I'm sure there are less expensive options to accomplish the same goals.

Which ties right into my practice session tonight. Drove four hours to Charlotte this afternoon, went to my normal range there after arrival, but they close at 6 on Sunday. Fortunately, a half mile away is a place called The Golf Village, which not only has a range open after 6 but a lighted 9-hole pitch and putt. Considered a pitch and putt round but given the amount of time since I'd hit a ball (9 days ago), thought I'd do the range instead, and set up the Garmin.
My Rypstick training tells me I should be able to swing 85ish right now. Tonight I hit one with an 83 mph swing, and straight. Which is not to say that it's exactly what I wanted. Peak height was only 36 feet and backspin was 1900; those two things are related. Angle of attack was absolutely level. Most of my drives were line drives, which work great in Scotland with the wind and the hard courses, sometimes not so well over here. But I think I'll leave my sweeping swing alone until I get back from Scotland in July. I'd much rather hit a bullet that bounces down the middle than a high hook or a higher banana.

Went to the range today and worked on 5,6&7 irons . As crazy as it sounds , I was working on a punch 5 iron @170 yards , punch 6 iron @ 160 yards and a punch 7 iron @150 yards . A commitment to tempo and trust is a must .

I went to the range today to work on my swing after some inconsistent play on the course yesterday. One of the things I was focusing on today was keeping my right arm tucked more on the backswing to promote a more connected swing. I've also learned that feeling like I'm bending at my hips more has helped me to get a better turn at the top.
I also used the ProSENDR training aid to ensure I was reaching a good position at the top of the backswing as well as staying connected to start the downswing. I was really happy with how I was hitting the ball and hoping I can translate that feeling onto the course next weekend!

Overall had a great day on the course. Still compiling data for the Spider / L.A.B. DF3 comparison. Got to Fox Hollow at the crack of dawn to do some pre-game work with the Spider which was "eh" overall. Did my normal setup for comparison setting my markers at 3', 5', 7' and 10'. Then went out and played 18, which the front 9 my putting was, for some reason, way better than normal.  Four 1 putts on the front? Never, ever happened before, VERY happy with that. Then, the back nine I kinda fell apart a bit... I had at least three putts that were rim shots that just didn't want to fall.... shot a 43 on the front and a 49 on the back. Once we were done shooting 18, went right back to the practice green, setup the markers again and went through the paces once more.

 

The positive thing about the misses is that I'm not leaving myself long putts like I have in the past: my dispersion is close to the pin so the second putt isn't from Timbuktu... I'm very curious and excited to compare all this with the DF3: how much difference will the L.A.B. style of putting change my putting game? So, practice is definitely making "better"... and anxious to see what improvements the DF3 will help make in my game as well! 
I hope everyone had a great weekend and that golf was part of yours! Hit 'em straight MGS Nation!!! 🏌🏼⛳

First range session of the year is in the books. I mostly hit wedges and short irons to just get things to come back to me along with a few drivers, then spent some time in the short game area with my son putting and chipping. 

I didn't a little time on the range today mainly focusing on staying connected with partial wedge shots. The short game has been a bit off lately and I wanted to see if I could make better contact and have better control on those in between shots. 
I was making crisp contact and seeing fewer left misses by staying connected through the swing and letting my body do the work. 
My longer clubs need some work, once I got longer than 7 iron, it all went downhill. I actually erased my 5 wood shots from the Mevo since I didn't have a single solid strike. 

My driver was just ok, I only had 1/5 shots that would not have been playable.
I still need to work on strike as the SS and carry distance aren't where they need to be. 
 

Chipping - 12 shots each with my 58* SW (carry about 14-yards) and 50* GW (varied the back swing length to vary the carry) focusing on turning back and through and making good contact.
Putting - Worked on developing a routine to get into my setup consistently. Based on my poor short putting in my league this past Friday, my next trip to the practice green will include practicing 4' to 6' putts.