ncwoz

Got out to the range tonight for a maintenance session - alignment sticks showed me I've been lining my body up significantly open. Tweaked that back to neutral and was striking the ball well. It's funny how sometimes it's the smallest, simplest things that can make everything go sideways!

I wish I'd gotten a better look at how far they each rolled out, because most of my other drives for the day were more in line with my typical - something in the 290-310ish range depending on wind and elevation. And yeah it was! The 3rd green is the highest point on the property, with severe drop-offs and deep bunkers surrounding it. I had a ~60 yard wedge shot to be on in 3, and the wind carried it off to the right side of the green and proceeded to push it about 40 yards away haha. It really forces you to strike it pure when it's blowing like that.

I've been golfing so much lately that I haven't had time to post! In the last week and a half I've had 2 league nights and a work scramble, in addition to the two rounds I'll share more about: my brother-in-law and I got to play The Bluffs course at Arcadia Bluffs in Northern Michigan two weekends ago, and this past weekend I played in my first "competitive" round ever, a best ball 18 hole tournament at Thornapple Pointe in West Michigan. I'll talk about Arcadia in this post, and say more about the Thornapple round in a different post. For those who haven't heard of it, The Bluffs is an absolutely amazing course. It's basically right on the water of Lake Michigan, with some really interesting holes and some incredible views. Here's a few of my favorites: View from the par 5 third tee-box: View from the par 5 fifth tee-box: From the par 4 twelfth: From the par 3 thirteenth: Every hole is a unique challenge, with dune grass challenging wayward drives, varying elevation and deep bunkers to consider on approach shots, and firm fast greens with plenty of runoff. Being right on the lake, it's hard to imagine the wind is ever calm. For us, it was around 15-20mph most of the day, which certainly added to the degree of difficulty. I ended up shooting 87, even though I was striking the ball really really well. I had a personal best strokes gained day off the tee, +6.5! But I really struggled with my shorter approach shots and chips around the green. It was a really big adjustment playing a lot more rollout than I'm used to, as well as having to deal with a lot of bumps and runoffs around the green complexes. The course does lend itself to a decent amount of driver holes, and if you can stay in the fairway they ran out for days. After a hot dog at the turn, we had a down-wind and down-hill par 4, which ended up going a very long way: I hit it well, but honestly thought it must have hit a rock or the cart path or something to get that far down. However, the next hole was also playing down-hill and down-wind, and this one we could see bounding down the fairway so no funny business with a lucky bounce: Just don't mind the rest of that hole, it was a bit of a mess haha. All in all, it was an awesome day at an amazing course. Even though I lost some shots on & around the greens, we knew it was going to be a challenge so we weren't too worried about trying to go low. Just enjoyed the golf, the weather, and the views! If anyone is planning a Northern Michigan golf trip coming up, this is an absolute must play!

I tell ya what, playing fairways that run out is fun!

First league night last night, shot +5. Round was full of really solid shots and I putted great, just had a few poor swings that kept it from being a great round. I've got the rest of the summer though, so wouldn't want to be all down hill from here haha

The Max Milled looks really cool, I like that it's full faces groves and the weight ports at the back. But the lack of relief in the toe and heel makes me hesitant because I like to manipulate the face open and closed for different shots. I am a little surprised they went with a full face design on a wedge that doesn't really have relief, I would have thought that'd be more helpful when you really open up the face and potentially access high and left on the face.

Totally agree! Even though the scores weren't barn burners, I feel like we played really solid given the conditions. Just another reason to look forward to warmer weather

@therodI could be wrong here, but it sounds like there's a lot of unknowns with what shaft would feel good and perform for you, especially with the new head. You've also listed off a pretty good number of different shafts, is your plan to buy a handful and try them each out? If not, it seems to me like finding a place to get a fitting would be a good next step. When it comes to shafts I, like you, tend to do a ton of research, and sometimes there's just too much unknown for me to sort through on my own. Other times I have a much better idea of what I'm looking for, so narrowing it down to one or two options is much easier.

I've got Android as well, I checked a week or two ago and didn't have the new update but just logged on this morning and it's there now. Maybe check your app store to see if there's an available update? Or maybe they're rolling it out in groups somehow.

First outdoor 9 of the year! I played a super short course near me mostly to knock the rust off and remind myself what real golf actually felt like again. Shot of the day was on a 275 yd par 4, straight away to a green that slopes pretty severely back to front. I hit my 2 hybrid on the nose and it faded right toward the heart of the green. I actually plugged it on the fly into the green about 2 yards on, man it feels good to be golfing again!!

Funny this thread just started, my brother in law just asked if I could install a Superstroke for him. After your guys' recommendations I'll be giving the level/square strategy a shot!

Very nice!! How would you compare CC to Leading Edge over in Okemos? Also, what in the world is that wedge?!? I've never seen anything like that!

Man, wish I knew I could lock in a yes, this kind of thing sounds awesome! I'm a long stretch maybe with the travel, cost and some personal/family commitments, but this is the sort of thing I'd absolutely love to be a part of at some point, even if it is a few years in the future!

Wowza!! Cam Smith just duck hooked his tee shot on 18, I haven't seen a ball flight like that since watching my ball do that last summer lol

Finally getting my butt into some lessons this off season - even though the off season is almost over! Better late than never, right? The last few years I've gotten lessons from a local high school coach who's does a little teaching on the side. Really liked working with him, but his schedule was just super booked which made things difficult. I'm giving online lessons a shot, maybe more details coming on that at a later date. Wanted to post these as a bit of a bookmark for where my swing is at before starting lessons. I'm pretty content with my backswing (I struggle letting my arms and hands getting loose at the top), but I think I have some issues in my downswing and follow through I'd like to get sorted through. Excited to get some feedback from my coach and make some improvements!