chisag

... Before I send some PM's, I am wondering if anyone on this thread wants to partner with me for this weeks 4 club challenge? I would never ask someone to join me in this heat but I may get out today as the forecast has dropped from 117* to 113* and it might be the only day I can play. Soooo who voted for Team #! and wants to be a part of History on the Winning Team?

... I would probably go insane inside your head LOL! An athlete is always trying to get better. Fix what doesn't work and build on what does. Technique is finite and many a golfer went down that road and never come back. Should Phillip Rivers have changed his side arm delivery? Peyton Manning improve his throwing technique and learn to throw spirals instead of floppy looking ducks that seemed to almost always find his receivers? Technique is simply a tool to get results. Did Chi Chi, Trevino or Floyd change their techniques that were all quite fundamentally flawed but repeatable? If they did would they still be in the Hall Of Fame? There are plenty of examples of athletes trying to get better that got worse when they tried to change a successful but flawed technique. Yes, we all want to swing like Rory or Tiger in his prime but most of us would be over the moon with Stricker or Palmer's results. ... Here is how I see you and I: Hall monitor vs late for class.

... Yup. V2 on the left and V3 on the right:

... I hear ya, words without inflection is subject to improper interpretation. Patrick Mahomes imo is by far the best QB to ever play the position. Time will tell if he becomes the actual GOAT. But he throws passes from every possible arm angle and any possible body position because he has the skill to do it. Sure it came with some repetition but more instant imagination, daring to attempt something unusual in game situations and of course a rock solid confidence in his ability. Compare to an Andy Dalton that depends on timing and his WR's being where they are supposed to be. He has excellent technique but very little (if any) imagination skills. I have always felt sports is about rising to the competition and winning. ... During practice rounds playing alone, I am always chagrinned at how completely different shots can have the same results. Dropping several balls from 205yds on a par 5 and hitting the first one a little thin that flys low and rolls compared to a very well struck 4 iron and getting to the green to see them a few yards apart is sports in a nutshell. When playing they both will result in an eagle putt and while I prefer the latter I will gladly take the former. The difference in the two swings was almost negligible with contact two grooves lower because swinging a club at 90mph using all of your body needing to cooperate in execution is impossible to replicate every time. I know guys that would rather have a par after hitting the ball solidly but long or short, than a birdie from hitting it poorly and being near the pin. I have to stifle a chuckle when they say "I didn't deserve a birdie". If they had one less number than par on the hole they most assuredly deserved a birdie. I have yet to see a scorecard where anything other than a box for a number is required. ... Your obsession with numbers and stats could be a detriment as I think it can undermines confidence. Only you know the answer to that question. I already gave the example of a 90 foot putt resulting in 1, 2 or 3 putts and all about the best I could hope for giving the circumstance. You may know, but I am unaware of any stats that take all of that into the equation where 1, 2 or 3 putts have an equal weight . It sounds like the biggest difference in our thinking is if I take every shot one stroke at a time and give it my complete concentration, I know how well I executed it. No stat is gonna explain the difference between a 9i I hit just a hair thin and ended up 2 feet from the hole or a 9i I flushed and ended up on the back of the green. Golf isn't exact and even Tiger mishits shots so the only "stat" for me is that one was a good shot and the other was not a good shot. Neither will effect the next 9i that I will attempt and execute to the best of my ability. ... And I think we might have a completely different opinion of confidence. It isn't measured and can't be backed up by any stats. More football (sorry) but when Jay Cutler threw 3 picks to the same DB in a game against his arch rival the Packers, he was asked after the game if he could go back and do it again would he have avoided the DB? Cutler replied that if there was more time in the game he would have thrown at him again. That is the kind of confidence every athlete should have imo. Jay wasn't saying any throw he made that was off target or a bad read of the defense that ended in the interceptions was something he would attempt again, he was saying he has confidence in his ability and that doesn't change because he threw a couple of ill advised passes. If the situation called for it, he would throw again without reservations whether it was that DB or another. ... But back to putting I have said I think I will make every putt I face and I honestly do. Even the ridiculous breaking putt on a fast green dealing with a tier. That confidence enables me to putt free of doubt. On days where nothing seems to fall and I missed every putt for 17 holes, I have an unshakable confidence I will make that putt on 18. Conversely there are days where everything seems to fall but my approach is still exactly the same. So 27 or 28 putts is an irrelevant stat for me. HOW I made those 27 or 28 may be important but the number is not. I will say if I agonized over the difference between 12 or 13 GIR's and 27 or 28 putts, I would quit golf and start Card Counting in Vegas. ... And lastly "I could have a terrible putting stroke and results but be extremely consistent. If I missed everything to the right, is the best answer to just align more to the left?" If you have a terrible putting stroke but make everything it isn't a terrible stroke, it is just a unique personal approach that works. But if I have a terrible putting stroke and miss everything, I need to make some changes. And for me that is always the bottom line. Does it work or doesn't it? So if you missed everything to the right and didn't start aiming left I'll let someone else answer for me: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein"

... LOL, I certainly was.

... It is pretty amazing how differently we think. Not doing school homework has nothing to do with sports and practice. I have no idea how you interpret that to mean I am not actively trying to get better. I had zero desire to get better at a subject I had little interest in. I, like most all athletes do have a desire to get better at any sport I play. Because of 2 back surgeries it is difficult for me to stand in one spot on a range and practice. I need to move and stay flexible and will take 2 or 3 swings on the course during a practice round which I find it much more valuable than the range. But the truth is before my first back surgery I always liked playing and learning as I go more than practice. Practice at the range at that point in my journey was necessary, but I can't say I really enjoyed it. ... I was also an instructor at a range before my back surgeries, I was not a golf coach and didn't work at a golf course. My job was to give my student the skills both physical and mental they required to play better and this almost always was dictated by what they wanted to improve. Most of my students came from word of mouth and were high/mid index professionals that were older and picked up golf later in life. Several wanted to be good enough to not get embarrassed during business rounds with clients. I only taught a handful of low index players and they were mostly fine tuning lessons. "Technique versus skill building. Mental versus physical. Without some form of measurement (stats) how do you determine better?" I interpret this to mean you never played another sport. See how that works? There is no stock answer to those questions. A good athlete does them all. Technique and skill go hand in hand. We have all seen athletes with superior physical skills and poor mental skills like Jeff George, one of the most gifted passers I ever saw play. And you seem to miss the obvious. Without stats how do you determine better? I didn't need homework to understand a 68 is better than an 88. You don't need stats to tell you hitting more greens and fairways, pitching and chipping closer to the hole and making putts is better. Maybe you do? "keeping in line with this thread, do I need a new putter, do I need to work on technique, or do I need to build skills?" I have no idea if you need a new putter. Does you current putter fit your stroke with the right weight, length and balance? Do you have confidence looking at it behind the ball? Do you have confidence in it while stroking your putt. After stroking your putt? Since I have no idea of your skill level or how consistent your stroke is, this is an impossible question to answer. I could of course make the same argument I always make to you. All of them are important so which one feels best and makes the most putts with the stroke you have?

... I actually refused to do homework til college and it cost me several times. I failed the 5th grade and had to go to Sumer school so that was a lesson learned. Then my senior year in high school I was put in the college prep English class and complained to the guidance counselor I was a dumb jock QB and in waaaay over my head even though I would be going to college on a football scholarship. She was sympathetic put me in a standard English class. Now my graduating class was only about 225 students but when we took the SAT's I had the highest SAT in the school. To say the guidance counselor was furious would an understatement and back into college prep I went . But I still refused to do homework. I always felt after school was football, basketball, baseball and MY time. ... I am not even sure I have a left side of my brain. And even though I pay no attention to stats I am an avid reader and watcher of anything golf* and I am always up to learn something new. My game was changed too by Broadie and I credit that piece of the puzzle for getting me to a + index. * I can't do podcasts because my right brain almost immediately wanders.

... As you know I am almost anti stat, at least for myself. If you follow the philosophy that every shot is the most important shot most know where they need work and where they excel. One of the reasons I pay no attention to putting stats is if I have an 8 footer that breaks a few inches, I expect to make that putt every single time. I know I can set it just outside the hole and if it breaks less than I think it drops in the high side and if more than I think it drops in the low side and if it breaks just like I think it falls dead center. But faced with a 5 foot putt with 3 feet of break my chances drop exponentially, especially on grains Bermuda. ... Fwiw, I very honestly think I can make every putt but of course I don't. Yet that mindset leaves zero room for doubt and gives me the best chance to make every putt. About the only time a missed putt bothers me is because I am a die in the hole putter, leaving an uphill or level putt inside 10 feet just short but dead in the hole. I chastise myself then immediately forget it, although I do put it in my memory bank for the nest rounds. ... I would add I have shot under par with around 20 putts and also around 30 putts but it is the where and when that makes all the difference. If I am on a par 5 in two with a 90 footer facing a tier and a huge break that I have little chance of getting down in two and if I leave it short of the tier, I am looking at possibly 3 more putts after it rolls 10 feet past the hole, I would never 4 putt in that situation. So rolling the fist putt 10 or more feet past and missing the difficult breaking come back putt for a 3 putt is irrelevant given the circumstances. If I am on a par 5 in two with a 90 footer that is flat and gently breaks to the hole and cozy my eagle putt close for a tap in birdie, 2 putts are irrelevant. And if I am on the fringe in two on a par 5 with a 90 foot putt to a tap in birdie, that 1 putt is equally irrelevant. That's 3 very similar distances and 1, 2 or 3 putts are acceptable with given pin placements and the contour of the green. Same scenario on a par 4 with a 90 footer and I know I hit a really bad approach shot. I don't need stats to tell me these things. But then again, I never liked homework!

... Haha another 70 and another tie! (Gotta be tough pulling clubs with all those sand bags in the way though ) Cobra Challenge, the gift that keeps on giving. Just awesome to hear the FT's have become your gamers. I loved mine, just not what I really need but I would put them up against Taylor Made P790's and think for most, they would win. Great round CFredo!

... Here's a question for you Jerry. If you had not been fitted and like someone just picking clubs on line or off the rack at a golf store, what clubs/shafts do you think you might have ordered instead?

... I have it in my left leg/foot from spinal nerve damage and two back surgeries. I don't know if you are taking anything but Alpha Lipoic Acid has been a miracle supplement for me. While it doesn't get rid of it completely, about 95% of it is gone when I take it. https://topsupplements.com/products/nutricost-alpha-lipoic-acid-600mg-240-capsules?variant=41276092416189&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI36yzlpKUgAMVD8vCBB3-fAJvEAQYBCABEgKYUPD_BwE

... I want to laugh I really do, but it isn't funny. Not really. Maybe just a little. Ok, it's funny.

... I think this is one of the things that has kept me in my position as spokesperson for medicare advantage plans. Without actually using a southern accent I almost always drop the g and I think it produces a more conversational and friendly tone. The original ad agency wanted a "proper" annunciation but the folks from Louisville liked my homey approach and obviously still do.

... So what you are saying in ole gray language:

... My King Tour iron review is up!

... Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! Gotta close the gap and make this a real competition.

... Clubs look awesome in your bag and I am so proud of you:

... Really nice review of the Forged Tec X irons! Being a proud redneck I am assuming your wife proof read your review and she is the one that substituted "enjoying the patina they’re developing" instead of "color looks darn gud after hacking' em around some" and instead of "If you don't try em, your a dumbazz" she substituted "I believe you’d be remiss". PS. Wedge reviews not due til next Sunday.

... Much to the contrary they fit many more high index players than anyone else, so they are used to less than perfect swings. Their job is to help you into clubs that fit how you play, and for many that is a lot of mishits. A really good fitter can bridge the difference between well struck shots and where you typically miss or even misses all over the face. ... Feeling intimidated is similar to those in a golf forum outing that worry others will look down on them for poor play and the truth is nobody cares because they are worried about their own poor play, regardless of their level of play. A scratch player missing the green and ending up on the fringe with a short iron they flighted down is just as discouraged as a high index player hitting a short iron thin and over the green. The level of miss is different but the disappointment is exactly the same. ... And finally I would add it was easier for me as an instructor to teach those with bigger issues than those that just needed a subtle adjustment. I started every first lesson asking my student to please show me their worst swings because if they hit the ball well, it just makes my job so much more difficult. For most that put them at ease with lots of smiles and comments like "Oh don't worry because I can do that!" Same for a good fitter that can get you into a much better head and shaft combo than what you are playing as proposed to fine tuning a head shaft combo for a low index player where the differences are subtle with feel and personal opinion playing an even larger role. ... So you are just wrong if you think a fitter is judging you because:

Cut: +1 Highest Round: 84

... I am sure you have heard this but what a tribute to such a great artist. I am not normally a fan of country music but I think this is transcendent.

... Then you would love it here this weekend!

... Yo Dawg! Nice ensemble.

A guy was walking along a beach in California when he stumbled on something. He bent down and picked it up and it was an Arabian lamp. He proceeded to wipe the sand off when a Genie appeared. The Genie seemed to be angry and said “This is the third time that I’ve been disturbed this week, so you’re only going to get one wish instead of three, so you’d better make it a good one!” The man thought for a minute and said, “I’ve always wanted to visit Hawaii, but I get sea sick, and I’m afraid of flying, so I wish that you would build me a bridge so that I can drive over.” The Genie exclaims “You’ve got to be out of your mind! Think about the logistics, all of the steel that would have to be sunk in the ocean and all of the asphalt! That’s too hard, think of something else.” The guy thinks again and says, “You know, I’ve been married and divorced three times and each time, they say its because I don’t understand them. So I wish to be able to understand women, know what they’re thinking when they’re quiet…” The Genie interrupts him saying “Stop right there! Did you want that bridge to be two lanes or four?”