What/How Did You Practice Today?

[cksurfdude]

4 hours ago, sp0rtsfan86 said:

I think two things: it's tough to be at the range and and grade yourself.

For instance: Were you really aiming at the yellow pin or the black one that was 20 yards to the right? Is that shot that's 5 yards right of the tree line good or bad?

On the other hand, how often do you have one shot go poorly and then hit three more that are what you wanted? That one shot on the course can be a penalty, OB, or cost you a few more strokes. And then it's in your head.

Great points, thx!

For me, I think of my practice sessions in two main ways - 1. mechanics, movements, etc. (eg working on pressure shift or low point), or 2. skills development (eg hitting different clubs to the same target) or as you mentioned trying to hit multiple consecutive "good" shots with the same club to achieve similar ball flights. 

On the course one of my biggest hurdles to overcome is I need to take literally just one second more with my setup and execution .. I have a tendency to step in and kinda rush the swing too much.....

Recall the memory of one of those "good" swings and let it happen!

[Willie T]

Day 218!(22 Aug 24) - weekly nine hole round with my good friend.  I switched it up, putting the MacGregor blades, Toney Penna persimmons and Spalding putter and sand wedge into play.  Shot about what I usually do. The course pro loved that I had them…they are a challenge to hit the sweet spot…

 

Edited August 22 by Willie T

[BIG STU]

14 hours ago, Willie T said:

Day 218!(22 Aug 24) - weekly nine hole round with my good friend.  I switched it up, putting the MacGregor blades, Toney Penna persimmons and Spalding putter and sand wedge into play.  Shot about what I usually do. The course pro loved that I had them…they are a challenge to hit the sweet spot…

 

I saw this and my heart did a leap!!! Another Persimmon player and a Macgregor and Penna nut too!!! As my everyday set I play Mac VIP blades with modern (somewhat) metal woods. Vintage I play a mix of Penna woods and which ever Mac blades I want to play. I have so much vintage stuff that I mix and match on a whim. I even play Macgregor Hickory shafted clubs on my Saturday Par 3 rounds with my wife. Sunday is usually my vintage day. I see you are in Eastern NC so you are not that far from me. 

[Michael.Sandoval33]

Range day was good today. Trying to let my hands and arms be more free should in theory be easy, but tell that to my swing. Still, found a good amount of success with it which allows for better follow through after contact. Work in progress indeed. The Qi10 Max was really good, and I think I've solved the puzzle on it, for the most part. Playing the ball about a balls length closer on the inside of my stance has worked wonders. SM10s were also good today, felt more comfortable working different shots, especially flop shots which used to be an enemy of mine. All around solid practice. 

[Willie T]

Day 219 (23 Aug 24) - What started as the Friday men’s group 18 hole round became 27 when my son and grandson wanted to play nine.  Got in some solid work based on the drills of the past few days.  Overall game was so-so, weather was good, company was awesome - made for a solid Friday of golf. 

[Indy_Oz]

On 8/22/2024 at 2:45 PM, Willie T said:

Day 218!(22 Aug 24) - weekly nine hole round with my good friend.  I switched it up, putting the MacGregor blades, Toney Penna persimmons and Spalding putter and sand wedge into play.  Shot about what I usually do. The course pro loved that I had them…they are a challenge to hit the sweet spot…

 

I've recently started checking the local Goodwill stores in the hope of building up a set of 80s or earlier Wilson blades and persimmon woods, to get close to replicating my first golf set that I should never have sold lol. I learnt with Wilson Staff blades and wedges. It would be fun to go and play 9 with them and see how badly I do. Ha ha.

Edited August 24 by Indy_Oz

[IndyBonzo]

2 hours ago, Indy_Oz said:

I've recently started checking the local Goodwill stores in the hope of building up a set of 80s or earlier Wilson blades and persimmon woods, to get close to replicating my first golf set that I should never have sold lol. I learnt with Wilson Staff blades and wedges. It would be fun to go and play 9 with them and see how badly I do. Ha ha.

I will keep my eyes open and reach out if I see anything!  Check shopgoodwill.com too!

[BIG STU]

5 hours ago, Indy_Oz said:

I've recently started checking the local Goodwill stores in the hope of building up a set of 80s or earlier Wilson blades and persimmon woods, to get close to replicating my first golf set that I should never have sold lol. I learnt with Wilson Staff blades and wedges. It would be fun to go and play 9 with them and see how badly I do. Ha ha.

If that is what you learned on you might not do as bad as you think. Sometimes the natural instincts come back. One thing I encourage those taking up vintage golf to do is when playing vintage to move up one set of tees for a while to see. LOL with me I am as up as far as I can be now even with my front line set. When I play vintage it is not about the score but the joy of feel and the sound of persimmon hitting solid. I also practice with one of my beater persimmon drivers. If I can hit it reasonable in the face then my somewhat modern metal is a no brainer. FTR in all honesty on my home course playing from my normal tees I play about 6 to 8 shots more with the persimmon. The front side is difficult by any standards and the 2 Par5s I can not reach them in regulation and it is the same with a couple of Par4s. The back side is not as hard. I also do crazy stuff like one of our Par3 holes on the back can play about 210 from the tips. It has a huge bunker in the front and water on the right. There is a narrow opening on the left. In this stage of life no way I can carry that with the lumber. I play the hole from the tips sometimes and try to run it up with a low cut between the bunker. I play it as a Par4. Yes sometimes I pull it off sometimes I do not but I play it as a Par4. For me the Par is what I say it is playing vintage.

[fixyurdivot]

I spent a couple hours this morning practicing; about 40 minutes on the range hitting PW, 6i, 3w, and driver.  My focus was swing tempo (as in always trying to slow down in my case), and straight/square divots with the wedge and 6i.  All in all a good session.

One thing I messed with was the hosel setting on my G410P.  I've been playing it in the "O" neutral position for some time now and wanted to see if increasing loft would raise my ball flight apex.  It did not seem to make much difference - even at maximum loft.  I did however identify an wee little issue with "align type" grips.  Suddenly the raised align rib was clocked way off normal .  This is not an issue with most grips.  

I then went over to the practice chipping and putting green.  I had intended to do some side by side putting tests with my Odyssey and Evnroll putters but forgot to grab the Evnroll... so I'll do that tomorrow.  Instead, I grabbed the shag-bag and worked on long wedge and short chips.

This ~50 ball grouping from 70 yards.  I also did a set from the rough at about 90 yards and from the first cut height Bermuda. That really makes it tough to keep distance and dispersion controlled... good practice though.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 24 by fixyurdivot

[Josh Parker]

After working irons early this morning, I went back to range and worked with the new GT driver. I had initially put the Newton in it and was hitting decent but also felt maybe I was missing a little something. I cut down my Tensei 1K blue 65 down to my playing length and sent a small bucket down range. It may stay in the bag for a while. I was getting mid to high ball flight and just rockets down the range. One way miss was a baby fade and I can handle that all day long. 

 

[Willie T]

On 8/23/2024 at 5:10 AM, BIG STU said:

I saw this and my heart did a leap!!! Another Persimmon player and a Macgregor and Penna nut too!!! As my everyday set I play Mac VIP blades with modern (somewhat) metal woods. Vintage I play a mix of Penna woods and which ever Mac blades I want to play. I have so much vintage stuff that I mix and match on a whim. I even play Macgregor Hickory shafted clubs on my Saturday Par 3 rounds with my wife. Sunday is usually my vintage day. I see you are in Eastern NC so you are not that far from me. 

Thanks @BIG STU - yes I love switching up to the old clubs.  I know I don’t go as far with the woods and the irons are finicky - still they are for the most part the first set of real clubs  I had given to me.  So they come out for yard drills and of course for course work.  Love when some tell me they could never hit those woods and the irons scare them.  Golf is hard, and these clubs (for me) really don’t make it all that much harder….just more challenging…. 

Edited August 25 by Willie T

[Willie T]

Day 220 (24 Aug 24) - some work at the net this pm with a couple of adders - foot spray and divot board along with the ball behind the club to keep takeaway shallower. Primary focus was on getting consistent center of club face (only worked with 9i) and getting solid thru the call contact.  Swung at about 60% speed (what felt like it) to keep things in good sequence.  Hit maybe a total of 30 balls…here’s a couple of photos of the setup: 

Edited August 25 by Willie T
Grammar

[BIG STU]

5 hours ago, Willie T said:

Thanks @BIG STU - yes I love switching up to the old clubs.  I know I don’t go as far with the woods and the irons are finicky - still they are for the most part the first set of real clubs  I had given to me.  So they come out for yard drills and of course for course work.  Love when some tell me they could never hit those woods and the irons scare them.  Golf is hard, and these clubs (for me) really don’t make it all that much harder….just more challenging…. 

I love it when either on the range or the course with the old stuff. You hear some say especially the prim or proper crowd "man you need a set of clubs" I have some ask "why do you hit that old antique junk?" On the last one I reply "because I still CAN!" I have also had some say when they see my regular set. "Oh man you still play those old blades?" Yeah I tell them I finished 3rd out of 60 players in the club championship last year with those old blades" LOL it shuts them up fast. None of our regulars or members give me any grief because they know me and frankly most regulars around my place do not pay attention. LOL One guy who is a stand up guy in my league was with me when I had my HIO in May. He asked what did I hit? I held up my old 8 iron and told him 8 iron. He goes "OMG you have old blades" I told him yeh and he said "how long have you played those?" I told him ever since you have known me and played with me some 3 years now. He shrugged

[Gravenor]

On 8/22/2024 at 7:45 PM, Willie T said:

Day 218!(22 Aug 24) - weekly nine hole round with my good friend.  I switched it up, putting the MacGregor blades, Toney Penna persimmons and Spalding putter and sand wedge into play.  Shot about what I usually do. The course pro loved that I had them…they are a challenge to hit the sweet spot…

 

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

[TJ Hall]

Went to the range for a bit today…it was a struggle. 

[fixyurdivot]

Spent about 90 minutes rolling the Evnroll and the Odyssey.  It's been 4+ months since I've used the ER5v.  I immediately noticed how much more solid the Evnroll is in both sound and feel.  It really rolled them well and felt great. The first couple of cycles around the holes with each had me thinking a switch was needed.  But a few more cycles had them near identical in performance... making me aware it's more an archer not arrow issue.  I may have found the same issue that plagues my short chipping - back and forward stroke tempo being too fast.

I had forgotten that the Evnroll it is almost 1" longer than the Odyssey.  I noted that during the product testing and somewhat wrote it off as a non-factor.  But I also wonder how lengthening the shaft might help?  The one big difference I noted with the ER5v was how much easier it is to generate ample energy to move really long (40'+) lag putts. Perhaps having that additional 1" of swing arc would help?

The good thing about installing a plug extender is that it can be easily removed.  I suspect they are pretty light and will not change balance too much.  

[Willie T]

8 hours ago, Gravenor said:

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

Not sure how much a player I am - some would call me a “glutton for punishment”…lol, just like the challenge they present.  
 

 

On 8/23/2024 at 11:12 PM, Indy_Oz said:

I've recently started checking the local Goodwill stores in the hope of building up a set of 80s or earlier Wilson blades and persimmon woods, to get close to replicating my first golf set that I should never have sold lol. I learnt with Wilson Staff blades and wedges. It would be fun to go and play 9 with them and see how badly I do. Ha ha.

Yes - local Goodwills, even Salvation Army or Habitat Restore stores are good places to look.  Have to say “shopgoodwill.com” is a great resource, got one of my all time fave putters there for cheap.  Also if there are big yard sale/thrift stores in your area - hit as much as you can.  

[Willie T]

Day 221 (25 Aug 24) - An easy session with the MacGregor 7i and hard balls into the net.  This club will let you know if you miss hit and reward when you get it solid.  Love the concentration this requires to get a smooth thru the ball swing.  

[Shapotomous]

I got to the range to hit a small bucket just to keep the swing muscles loose.  Contact was still solid and I was hitting down and through with the irons getting a nice ball flight.  Spent some time at the putting green with chipping and bump and run shots since nobody was there.  Golf league playoffs start this week and I hope to keep the good swing going.

[sp0rtsfan86]

This week may be a putting practice week. It's my annual "my putting isn't working, I've tried nothing and I'm out of ideas" phase I go through around this time every year. I did have 2-3 solid makes last go around, but I did have 4 or so that missed. The goal for these sessions are more or less to determine if it's reads that are wrong of it's more mechanical.

[Jim Shaw]

23 minutes ago, sp0rtsfan86 said:

This week may be a putting practice week. It's my annual "my putting isn't working, I've tried nothing and I'm out of ideas" phase I go through around this time every year. I did have 2-3 solid makes last go around, but I did have 4 or so that missed. The goal for these sessions are more or less to determine if it's reads that are wrong of it's more mechanical.

ask around for the "best" putting instructor in your area, they will give you some great feedback and what to work on.

[RonnieB]

I got out early yesterday morning to hit a bucket. I have been focusing on driver and 3w. I had been popping up my driver and the conclusion is I have been letting my body get in front of the ball. I got that figured out yesterday, now, I am working on standing more upright to get more of an effortless swing. Far as the 3w I have only been able to hit off a tee. I was drop kicking whenever hitting off the ground. I determined my swing was too shallow and got steeper and was able to make it fly. 

I am getting to the point where I can do minor swing adjustments to fix my swing. Last week, I got my putter grip figured out to keep from going left of the hole. I am hoping this is a breakthrough for me to get into single digits on my handicap. 

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, sp0rtsfan86 said:

This week may be a putting practice week. It's my annual "my putting isn't working, I've tried nothing and I'm out of ideas" phase I go through around this time every year. I did have 2-3 solid makes last go around, but I did have 4 or so that missed. The goal for these sessions are more or less to determine if it's reads that are wrong of it's more mechanical.

Since you have tried nothing I would suggest you try something.   .   As Jim suggested find a putting specific instuctor, but that won’t be an easy task since few swing instructors are good putting instructors.

my question would be what’s wrong with your putting and how do you practice putting skills?   The are 4 skills, aim, stroke, touch, and read.   Ask yourself:

• am I aiming the putter down my intended line?
• Is my stroke sending the ball down that intended line?
• is the ball rolling the speed I intended and getting to the hole?
• Do you know how to read the green?  

Edited August 26 by cnosil

[MrBandit]

Let's just start by saying, I hate going to the range.  I may go once a month, if that and all I end up hitting about 30-40 balls and am super done.

Now I practice 3-4 days a week chipping and putting in the morning for about an 1hr.

The last 3 rounds have really been shown the practice session have been working. Even going back last 10 rounds.
Chipping and putting Strokes Gain have been improving consistently.

If I enjoy the range at all maybe the approach stat would improve more, which is my worse stat. 

IMO short game fine-tuning is where you make up a lot of your strokes especially if you struggle of the tee or your weakness is your approach shots like me.


My last 3 rounds.
  
My last 10 rounds:

  

Strokes Gain last 3 Rounds and last 10 Rounds.
  

 

 

Edited August 26 by MrBandit

[Michael.Sandoval33]

Went to the range this morning before an eye appointment. Hit a bucket of balls, again focusing on letting my hands/arms be more loose. Things are clicking, still working on other things, it's a process. Driving with the Qi10 Max was good again today in practice. Crushed a couple further than I ever have at the range. Wedge practice was solid, lower trajectory shots are really rolling along (pun intended). Putting was good today as well, trying to go less for lag putts and more for the cup instead. All in all, solid practice day.

[Rob Person]

4 hours on the range today testing out my new jumbo grips. Im knackered!

 

[Murrrrrrrr]

As the season is coming to a close and I make my Late Summer Run (IYKYK) to break 5, I am no longer practicing "swing" and rather practicing golf until the end of the season. Today was all about making sure my routine is in check and seeing if there is anything I want to fine tune in that area. Off the tee, my practice revolves around putting all my attention on one dimple and striking it. With the irons/wedges I am building low-point awareness by setting a strip of painters tape on the mat right behind the ball. On the green, I've noticed in pressure situations I take more practice strokes than I typically do, so I am trying to be conscious in two tempo strokes, then committing to the putt.

At the same time, off the course and range, I am trying to convince myself that failure to break 5 this year does not mean a failure in the overall goal of improving. Enjoy the journey and do your best. In the long run, 5 is just an arbitrary number and I hope to be scratch one day. 

[Willie T]

Day 222 (26 Aug 24) - worked thru the 'somewhat vintage’ bag today - TA845s Silver Scots, TM R580 driver, SLDRs 3HL and Callaway Diablo 3h.  Hit into the net to get the feel back on how these hit.  Have to say the 845s irons are still sweet swinging clubs.  Will be using these in the monthly nine hole super ball round tomorrow.  

[Rob Person]

1 hour ago, Murrrrrrrr said:

As the season is coming to a close and I make my Late Summer Run (IYKYK) to break 5, I am no longer practicing "swing" and rather practicing golf until the end of the season. Today was all about making sure my routine is in check and seeing if there is anything I want to fine tune in that area. Off the tee, my practice revolves around putting all my attention on one dimple and striking it. With the irons/wedges I am building low-point awareness by setting a strip of painters tape on the mat right behind the ball. On the green, I've noticed in pressure situations I take more practice strokes than I typically do, so I am trying to be conscious in two tempo strokes, then committing to the putt.

At the same time, off the course and range, I am trying to convince myself that failure to break 5 this year does not mean a failure in the overall goal of improving. Enjoy the journey and do your best. In the long run, 5 is just an arbitrary number and I hope to be scratch one day. 

I like that.  Practicing Golf..

 

[cnosil]

Today was a fairway wood most wanted session and then I hit a few putts on the puttview system.  Didn't too to bad putting,  but of course  I wasn't on the course.