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ctandc

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Everything posted by ctandc

  1. I guess it's coming along. I played Friday. Ended up shooting 84 with a double, and two 3 putts. I was upset with an 84 - I consider that progress. Driver was weird. Hit one right. Then hook one, making sure not to hit it right. Then hit one right down the middle. Left the driver in the bag on the last 6 holes and used 3W off the tee. 5 Pars and 1 Bogey (friggin' 3 putt).
  2. I've been trying to ignore my putting lately. I had 4 missed putts my last round (2 for birdie 2 to save par) that were perfectly on line and were inches from falling. I know if I thought (just hit it harder) it would have run past the hole by 5 feet.
  3. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And a buddy of mine who IS an orthopedic surgeon would disagree. No other sports even comes close to client referrals - Crossfit was the surefire winner.
  4. My son and I mainly play in the late afternoon. This time of year, the course is usually deserted in the late afternoon. We can tee off at 4:30ish and get 18 done in under 3 hours.
  5. I've been in VA for 20+ years now. The other day a buddy asked "Doesn't this heat and humidity bother you?" I laughed and told him I grew up in SC, without air conditioning for years. I'd rather sweat any day than freeze my butt off - the Army taught me that much.
  6. Just my opinion, but golf instructors aren't any different from hitting / pitching instructors when it comes to baseball. I coached for years, and I constantly watched good, amateur players get discouraged when they went to highly recommended (or convenient) instructors and didn't improve - but got worse. Most instructors have a "philosophy" and that's what they stick with. I would imagine it's the same with golf. Many times you can't blame the instructor. Most of them learned their trade a certain way, and that's the way they teach to get their students to improve. Applying what they know, based on a different swing "philosophy", to a student's swing is hit or miss at best. I would imagine the best amateur golf instructors have much in common with the better coaches in other sports. They have enough general AND specific knowledge in all aspects (of the golf swing in this case) to first find out what might be causing issues in their new student's current swing and then go about fixing it. Like someone else mentioned - in golf it's all about impact. How each golfer gets there can differ wildly. But if they all get to impact in a good position, is one "Style" right or wrong over other? I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems that the big difference with golf is the amount of time that the vast majority of amateur golfers can / will spend on practice / improving their swing and how much free time that takes up versus actually playing golf. Again, just my opinion, it seems that an open and honest conversation with a potential instructor, or maybe an initial, abbreviated lesson, would head off most issues. A clear goal would also be of immense help. I was picking the brain of a friend who was essentially a scratch golfer for years. He doesn't play all that much currently because of family responsibilities. I told him of my recent changes with my swing, experimenting etc - he told me that was fine. Everyone is different and certain things will work for one golfer that won't for another - then he point-blank asked me "What's your goal with golf?" We were on the phone and I must have gotten quiet. He continued on and explained. He said finding a SPECIFIC thing about my game / swing that I wanted to improve and work on that to give me a goal / target. I joked about wanting to shoot in the 70's consistently. His immediate answer "Then ditch the driver, find a fairway wood or hybrid or iron you can consistently hit in the fairway. If possible hit tee shots that give you approach shots using the clubs you are most comfortable with. Then spend the rest of your time practicing your pitching, chipping, putting and scoring consistently from 100 yards in." That's an approach to PURELY focusing on lowering scores. So I adjusted my actual goals, and got way more specific, after that conversation. YMMV
  7. Thanks - I'm definitely not worried about what other people think about my swing, more wondering what changes in the swing keeping the club more upright at address, essentially trying to mimic impact position. As a former baseball player, lower body rotation / speed isn't an issue for me. Since I started playing again a few months ago I started using a slower back swing to "keep control" but keying in on getting my hands "in and around" I can really get the back swing going it seems and really explode through contact.
  8. I'm building one this weekend. 1.5" PVC pipes with a UV mesh tarp from Harbor Freight. Actual hitting area will be 8x8. Total cost under $100. A buddy has this setup and he hits driver and all clubs into it. He leaves it outside in the weather. It's already lasted longer than the "name brand" golf nets he's tried over the last few years. I'm going to add this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00656BCLO/?coliid=II1D3OAQI1FVD&colid=70DKHVVEOF61&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it To hit off off and use some indoor / outdoor carpeting to stand on while hitting.
  9. I don't want to start a long argument for or against - so basically I've adopted some facets of the swing that rhymes with "sack and kilt". Doing this with my irons immediately improved contact, distance and most importantly consistency. I struggled trying to incorporate some of these swing thoughts into the Driver until I ran across a Youtube video that really broke it down in a different way. My driver improved enough that I almost immediately picked up 6-12 strokes a round. It's funny how having a shorter shot from the fairway makes approach shots easier. But I digress. I was on the range today and was messing around with my 4 iron. I incorporated one of the things I've done in my driver swing (faster back swing) and using a bit more upright posture and essentially keeping the hands / club more upright at address and focusing on moving the hands / club / arms basically as piece "around" my body and then letting the hips and then my upper body go through on the downswing. My normal 4 iron as of late is 180-185. This one one-hopped into the 200 yard sign. So I got the rangefinder out. 200 yard sign was 215 yards. Ball flight was a pretty tight draw. Adjusted my aim point and proceeded to do it again 5-6 times in a row. Then I tried the same changes on my 8 iron. Normally my 8 iron is 140 carry. Same effort "feel" but essentially feeling more "upright" netted an 8 iron (again with a small right to left draw) that landed right at the 150 yard sign. Measured that sign and it was 158 yards. I only had a few more minutes left - so the last few were chips with the matching G30 LW I picked up cheap on Ebay. The sound of the iron strikes with this change were more "crisp" - that's the only way I can describe it...and I feel like I was maybe a 6 or 7 in effort on a scale of 1-10. Just wondering out loud mainly.
  10. If you don't want to drop a bunch of cash one - I just bought this the other day: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RNCW7VT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I use TheGrint - and it's yardages are spot on. I was halfheartedly looking for a rangefinder with slope to add to the bag - and also to get more reference points for bunkers etc. I had some kind Amazon credit so the $79 one I listed cost me @ $50. It's dead on tested against two different GPS apps and a Bushnell. Slope actually came in handy last round. The guy with the Bushnell was PISSED when he found out how much it cost me - so he mentioned the only downside - it's BLUE. HTH
  11. Personally I don't care what other people think about how I dress - but that's just me. When other people start paying my mortgage then I will let them have an opinion on how I dress. I wear my everyday belt with golf shorts. I normally don't tuck my golf shirts in. Shirts that fit me well are always too short to tuck in without constantly messing with it (even with the strip inside the golf shorts meant to combat this issue) and if I buy shirts that are longer - they don't fit as well. If you like it wear it - that's all that matters.
  12. Yeah - the black Sub 70s look great. I was trying to find a pair to demo, then the tester thread came up. If I defy all odds and get to be a tester great - if not I definitely want to demo their irons.
  13. Shot the best front 9 I have shot since I started playing again a few months ago. +1 37 with 2 birdies. Then screwed the pooch on the back 9 with a 50. Then realized if I am really pissed off about an 87 - I am getting better. That 87 included 3 shots that went OB on three different holes. One an errant driver, one a 6 iron that I absolutely smoked. Flag was 160ish I hit that 6 185 yards, the third a second shot into a par 5. 220 to the center of the green. I hit a “smooth” 3wood 20 yards deep.
  14. FWIW I started Keto probably 5 years ago. I didn't mess with macros etc. I also don't have high cholesterol or blood pressure. I simply did my best to eliminate carbs. The thing is - there is a carb free (or almost carb free) solution for pretty much everything now. There are multiple sweeteners to replace sugar, even in baking / cooking for example. I dropped 50lbs in about 4 months. I was injured at the time - so no working out - just Keto. I'm still with it (I do eat carbs now and again but not that often) what I noticed was with Keto my energy level went WAY up. I was sleeping less than before Keto and wasn't getting tired in the late afternoon like I was before. The thing about Keto? It naturally killed my appetite at times. I would do intermittent fasting without realizing I was doing it. I just wasn't hungry - so I wouldn't eat. I also took to heart the advice I heard from a doctor once - whenever I THOUGHT I was hungry, drink a bottle of water, and if I was still hungry - eat - if not, I wouldn't. Apparently the hunger / thirst mechanism / trigger in the brain are very similar. I've had MULTIPLE co workers and friends go Keto over the past few years. The ONLY complaint was some saying they got the Keto "flu". Which every time turned out to be that person not getting enough hyrdration / electrolytes. It happened to me too - I simply would add a bit of normal table salt to a bottle of water (normally I use those sugar free flavored "drop ins" in a bottle of water). Every one of them told me about how after the first week or so on Keto - their appetite would just plummet.
  15. I may have to try the green. I found a Callaway Super Soft Green in the last round I played. I played it as my 2nd ball for the remainder of the round and honestly liked how easy it made the ball to spot.
  16. I personally think it's different for every golfer - because we're all different. I played a couple of competitive team sports at a decent level when I was younger. I coached baseball at an even higher level. If I learned anything coaching baseball (starting with 5-6 year olds all the way up to 17+) it was simply that kids and people are wired differently. Some just have a competitive drive. It doesn't matter if it's a team sport, an individual sport, academics, etc etc. It's there and these people are normally driven by the competition - to constantly improve and get better. Inevitably, as these type of people get older and get more life experiences under their belt, they realize in reality the true competition, the true drive is within themselves. They are almost always their own worst critic and they are rarely satisfied with their performance regardless of the outcome. They constantly think they can do better. Some people are also goal driven. They need / want to focus on a particular goal, whether it's golf or something else. Just saying "I want be a better golfer" doesn't cut it. They want a precise GOAL to work towards. The problem can be sometimes setting unrealistic goals in unrealistic time frames. That applies to much more than golf. Me personally? I try to keep playing golf a bit separate from practicing. If I'm playing a round as practice - and I'm approaching it that way from the beginning, then I consider it practice - period. Playing is trying to consistently perform the things I've been practicing on. It's just my opinion, but it can make a hard game even harder by trying to incorporate new things while playing. You usually have the pressure of your playing partners, the pace of play and other golfers in front of behind you on the course etc - which just compounds that. When I hit a bad shot I do my best to forget it - for the moment - and focus on executing the next shot, because on the course what matters is scoring. Worrying about the messed up shot I already hit doesn't help my score. Sure, I may go through a mental checklist of sorts to see if I'm doing some particular thing wrong, or maybe I reverted back to something I recently changed - but I make it a "mechanical" exercise in criticism. I try to detach from it. As a former pitcher - I can tell you that sometimes you throw a good, if not GREAT pitch, and it gets hit hard regardless, or maybe you don't get the call from the plate Umpire. Your defense will make mistakes etc. I did my best to teach my players that as a pitcher you CAN'T CONTROL ANY OF THAT. The only thing you can control is executing the next pitch and focusing on that. Same in golf. You can't change the bad shot that already happened. You can only control how you approach and TRY to execute the next shot. And the shot after that. I will say that when I struggle - my main focus becomes on making SOLID contact with the next shot. So even if I mess up my aim etc - if I hit the shot SOLID - I focus on the fact I did what I was trying to do. Trying to correct multiple things at the same time is almost always an exercise in futility. Just my 2 cents.
  17. I did that the other day when I played 18 by myself. Late afternoon, no one else really on the course. I counted the first ball only. I didn't use the 2nd ball on driver tee shots, just par 3 tee shots and approach shots. It seemed to really help on "in between distances" and figuring out swing effort etc.
  18. After my stint in the Army, I SWORE I'd sleep late and grow my hair out. I still wake up WAY too early, even without an alarm clock, and I can't stand my hair growing out. I'm 0-2.
  19. I would love to walk when I play - but for me it's time constraints. I can hit the course near my house after work, play 18 (riding), then go home and still have enough daylight to mow grass, get some work done in the shop, house etc. Just the other day I played 18 in less than 3 hours. Went home mowed the front yard and did some more yard work (we have 4 mainly wooded acres so lots of work to keep it up). I just started playing after a 15+ year hiatus. Back when I started playing I would walk with the old guys at my course (usually teeing off in the first or second group off), then walk another 18 after. I always shot my best scores that 2nd trip. I always figured it was because I was bit tired and didn't try to over swing, but man I learned a lot walking / talking / playing with that early morning group, and not just about golf.
  20. I have to agree with that. Like I mentioned - just being able to consistently get the driver in bounds at a decent distance has made the my scores drop CONSIDERABLY. I didn't even feel like I shot that well yesterday and I shot a 83. I also believe having that confidence on the tee box helps your entire game. The last few rounds - while my tee shots weren't perfect with the driver - I was griping (mentally) when my drive didn't land on the part of the fairway I wanted to be on for my approach shot. Less than two weeks ago I would have been thrilled to be on the fairway with the driver.
  21. That DEFINITELY was not me saying I "average" 270. I wish. Like I mentioned, my driver swing is totally different from my iron swing now. I won't get into specifics - but it works for me so I'll take it. With the new approach to the driver, I'm swinging at maybe a 6 or 7(on a 1-10 scale) and driver swing speed is 95-98 mph and I'd say average driver carry + roll out is maybe 250? Two different launch monitors show my new driver swing at 225-235 carry. I hope to get comfortable enough with this driver swing to amp it up and see if I can keep the accuracy. What's funny / odd etc - yesterday I tried incorporating a bit of the driver swing change to a couple of 4 irons shots and my consistent fade turned into a draw and both those shots flew 10 yards or so longer than I normally hit the 4 iron. The other funny thing (it's golf) was that while I didn't drive the ball perfectly by any stretch of the imagination, the few errant tee shots I had were harder to find - because they were longer than they were previously, so I got to see parts of the course I haven't really explored yet LOL.
  22. I'm maybe 15 rounds in after a 15+ year hiatus. It's a wonder how much lower your scores are if you have confidence in hitting the driver from the tee box. I totally revamped my driver swing and it's showed in my scoring. My last three rounds were in the low 80's - all because I'm putting the vast majority of my tee shots in the fairway and giving myself a good chance to score. I got a quick 18 in yesterday later afternoon. (Gotta love a course that isn't packed and being able to play 18 in under 3 hours). Shot 83. And that's with missing 3 birdie putts and a double bogey. I must be the short hitter around here - I hit a drive almost 270 last night on one of the par 5's and it was nice having a 2nd shot from the fairway.
  23. How long have you been playing golf? Which time? LOL. I played for probably 2-3 years then basically quit (the odd round every year or two) for @ 17 years or so. Just started back a few months ago. What's your handicap or normal score? According to the Grint I'm a 18. Shot a 100+ the first round back. In maybe 12 rounds or so since I've shot twice in the 80's and rest in the 90's. What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Found it like most - reviews. Read over the forum and realized that unlike another popular golf forum - people here for the most part don't all have single digit handicaps and hit the ball 300+ yards with ease. Do you know any other Spies? Not that I know of. Were are you from? I'm in Virginia. Have been for 20+ years. What is your home course? Don't really have one yet. I play a local place Brookwoods - that is close to the house and I like the course and the people. I've played a few of the other courses around Richmond as well. What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? I don't mind the heat (where I grew up it was hotter and more humid than VA most days) so the best thing is that during the hot months / days, golf courses seem to be less populated and I'm okay with that. Playing 36 holes in 6 hours is nice. Worst thing? I see people with snow in their yard in April - so I'm not complaining. What do you do for a living? As little as possible. How did you pick your user name? Had it a long time.
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