Gravenor

Spent the day hitting putts and getting a feel for my new putter. It's interesting how unforgiving this putter is compared to the newer models on the market, but it feels fantastic. I love the gate drill, it helps my stability and the tempo of my stroke. I still need to put some work into my lag-putting, but all in all the new flat-stick is feeling good! Enjoying having a face-balanced blade putter for the first time too!

Couldn't help myself. Can you blame me? Brand New (35") Nike Method Precision Milled Model 004 - £150.00 Can't wait to put it into play this weekend!

Started todays session in the nets warming up. I was working on adding width to my follow through (not flipping the wrists or getting too far inside after impact). I didn't have a launch monitor or any flight-tracking equipment with me, but I could feel an instant increase in club head speed without intentionally swinging the club any faster. I wanted to do some putting drills today, specifically tailored towards lag-putting, but as luck would have it every single person within a 15-mile radius decided they wanted to do the same thing this afternoon (typical ). Decided to go and dial in my chipping & pitching instead. Hit maybe 20-30 shots from a complete circle around the green with every club from my 7-iron to my 60°. This is by far one of my favourite drills as it forces you to play shots that you're uncomfortable with. Everything from a downhill short-sided pitch with a 7-iron, to a long uphill chip to a back flag with a 60°. It's a really great test of versatility and has really helped me learn how to control spin & distance. Finished the session on-course. Not a soul out there - except me. Hit a range of shots from maybe 85 yards and in until the sun went down.

What a beautiful facility. I'm sure it's not just me who's jealous!

Sometimes... its just not your day. That was the case for me and my brother today. You know its just not quite going the way you drew it up when you decided to play a 2-ball better ball format and triple bogey the first - (176y, par 3). And the buggy was broken. The Tennessee Honey & Davidoff Mini's flowed nicely on the back-9 though. We go again.

What are your initial thoughts on the PuttOut AirBreak? Been looking at getting one for sometime but haven't taken the leap yet. Looks great, enjoy!

Beautiful course, especially that last picture. I've been playing great golf recently too, and I think it is in large part down to what you've just said - don't stress! To keep myself in a good frame of mind throughout my round I always remind myself that i'm in a beautiful place, playing golf, in the sun... it could be worse... In fact it can't really get much better - regardless of what I shoot!

Just do it, who's going to stop you? If it makes you happy, do it. I do.

Practiced for about 1.5 hours today, all focused towards chipping and pitching around the green. Hit some simple pitch shots with my 56° to warm up. Followed up by some bunker practice and short sided practice (over a bunker to a pin tucked short right). Then worked from my lob wedge down to my 8-iron, hitting a range of different chip, pitch and bump-and-run shots from different lies and angles to all of the different flag positions. I must admit I have always been the "just pull a lob wedge" guy. Regardless of lie, factors or circumstances, my decision making rarely changed. I couldn't believe how accurate I was hitting bump-and-run PW's, 9-irons and 8-irons! Always seemed like a boring way to play the game when I was younger, but I can definitely see my scores drastically improving using these types of shots more. Everything felt very natural today - struck the ball well and hit my landing position more often than not... even if the practice "green" is more like a fairway!

Spent todays session hitting about 100 balls, focusing on keeping the club wide and closed during takeaway. One of my biggest faults and bad habits that I always fall back into is getting flippy with the wrists during my takeaway, bringing the club way too far inside the plane and ending up in a very shallow position at the top of my backswing. This causes the arms to "get stuck", so to speak, when you begin the transition into the downswing. My strike pattern improved significantly, and this drill always helps smooth out my tempo. I always lose ball speed and yardage when I use this drill, but i'm more than happy to make that sacrifice when my strike pattern and shot shaping increases so significantly. Spent the rest of the session working on some alignment issues with my wedges. All-in-all very successful range session.

That bag is amazing, and those irons... Enjoy!

I'm glad you asked this because i've been thinking the exact same thing since watching that video. I think one of them also said they "guarantee" most golfers would be considerably better with larger grips? Don't quote me on that, but it was something along those lines. I've been toying with the idea of adding a few extra layers of tape, or maybe going up to a midsize and keeping the one layer just to see what it's like?

I currently use a traditional 52, 56 & 60 setup, but i'm in the process of rebuilding the lower end of my bag. I will be getting a set of irons which are 4-GW, and will only be carrying a 53° or 54° and a 60° - in terms of "specialised" wedges, that is. I've realised I use my GW far more as a "full" club than for playing around the greens, so why not just play the iron instead of adding an extra "specialised" wedge? I think this will massively simplify the lower end of my bag and make things less complicated, so this could be a route you may want to look down yourself.

You've got to be some player to hit them! Love it.

All of the golf courses I have previously played have a bar - warm up in here with a couple of pints and a flaming sambuca and I promise you'll be as loose as ever.