What/How Did You Practice Today?

[BallsLeon]

Back to the sim tonight. Focusing on driving the ball into the ground with my wedges, and making as close to 100% swings as possible. Followed that up with some 7 wood before I played a sim round. Spin and carry is up on the wedges which I like to see. Finding that my fastest/strongest swing is finishing inside so trying to leave the face more open.  

[EnderinAZ]

Lagshotting it. Boy those clubs are something. I can really feel where the head is and it is giving me the practice to feel where the heads of my regular clubs are. Today I could feel and control where the heads of every club in the bag - including my driver- is going. Aiming my shots with accuracy or shaping a shot to fit a certain situation has never really been part of my golf repertoire. I simply did not know how to do it or how to feel it. I do now and it has me excited to go play!

[Silver Fawkes]

Went to the range. It was relatively warm for December here and I was about halfway through my session when this happened...

It was such a bizarre experience. I hit the ball a little thin then heard a loud metallic sound like a blacksmith hammering on an anvil... then all of a sudden my club had zero weight and I saw my clubhead flying 20 yards down the range. The other guys out there had a good laugh when I let out a, "Aww man W...T...F!!!!".

Then the guy next to me said, "Guess it's time for some new irons!". Yes, my friend, it is. 

[BLD7]

Spent some time today  on the putting mat in the office. I have a PuttOUT pressure putt unit that I like to work speed drills with. I typically will practice from 2, 4, and 6 foot distances. I tell myself I can't move to the next station until I get the ball to stay in the hole. For putts of these distances I historically look at the target, it wasn't until our call with Sasha a couple weeks ago that I learned that was called "heads up" putting. I originally started looking at the target only during practice strokes when putting and chipping/pitching then started doing it even when putting during rounds. 

[EnderinAZ]

5 hours ago, Silver Fawkes said:

Then the guy next to me said, "Guess it's time for some new irons!". Yes, my friend, it is. 

No it is time to take 1/2 an hour, some masking tape, a Dremel cutting disk or hacksaw, double back carpet tape, charcoal starter fluid and depending on the cost of the shaft you want as a replacement and grip maybe 100 dollars in stuff all toll. Then stuff a new shaft onto that iron head. The longest and hardest part of that job will be getting what is left of that old shaft out of the head, and to do that just takes heat. Your wife's hair dryer will do it but since you are not trying to save the old shaft I would get one of these...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-Trigger-Ignition-Start-Torch-Kit-with-14-1-oz-Handheld-Propane-Gas-Cylinder-and-Adjustable-Flame-361479/300870607 

Put the head in a vice, heat the hosel for a bit then stick a small screwdriver in the hosel and the shaft part will just pop out of there. Scrape out any old glue with the screw driver and you are ready for a new shaft. There are lots and lots of videos that tell you how to do this. It is VERY easy. Gets you back on the course in a day or two which will give you all the time you need to shop around or get fitted for that new set of irons. 

Never can tell. You might really enjoy club building. Oh here is a hint the videos don't really touch on. Club shafts have a "spine".  This company makes a ton of money "Puring" the shaft by finding the spine https://sstpure.com/.  Head to Pet Smart and get a el-cheapo cat laser toy, kind of a laser pointer. Put the new shaft in a vice with a minimum of 2 feet of the bottom of the shaft extended in the air. Put a strip of masking tape around the tip 6 inches or so from the end. Then mark off four quarters. Tape the cat toy to the tip and turn it on. My cat toy pointer has to have the on button taped to stay on. Point the laser on something on which you can clearly see the dot. Pull the tip down and then let go. Boing! The tip will bounce around and the laser pointer will show you a pattern. If the spine is 90 degrees off (1/4 turn) from the direction that you pulled the tip down the laser will paint a circle, or close to it. Loosen the shaft in the vice and rotate it a bit then repeat the test. The closer you are to pulling the tip down with the spine on the exact top or bottom of the shaft the narrower the laser dot circle will become. Eventually it will just draw a line going up and down with the shaft tip. Mark a line on the masking tape on the shaft and you now know where the spine of the shaft is. The spine points down the target line when inserted into the club face.  

[Josh Parker]

Got out to the range last night and continued the driver work.  My swing path is getting better but have been looking at LM's so that I can start dialing in on numbers.  Swing changes are never fun and something that I have settled in to for the long run of improving.

Changing bad habits from years of no lessons and taking expectations out in the range setting and just focusing on club path instead of where the ball goes has been humbling.

 

[scarughi]

Practiced on the simulator in my garage. Using GSPro with my Mevo+, they have a new practice program called Operation 36. It is 9 holes at varying distances and you must shoot par or better to advance to the next distance. Lots of fun with the added pressure to score better.

[Lou Caracappa]

I have been working on the same fault for the past 2 years, keeping my arm togther and elbows close duing the swing and I am just not getting it.  Three years ago I worked on shallowing the club and was able to learn it in a few months of practice.  Not sure why this move is so difficult for me to master.  

[cnosil]

12 hours ago, Silver Fawkes said:

 

Then the guy next to me said, "Guess it's time for some new irons!". Yes, my friend, it is. 

 

I agree with @EnderinAZ, easy enough to replace a shaft if you have some basic skills working with tools. I don’t think you need to spine align the shaft; controversial topic that some say it is necessary and some say it is a waste of time.  I’ve even seen people do testing that shows each perspective.   
 

Even taking it to someone to repair is cheaper than a new set.   If you don’t like the irons or were ready for a new set then by all means go buy some new clubs; we all love new clubs! 

[Silver Fawkes]

6 hours ago, EnderinAZ said:

No it is time to take 1/2 an hour, some masking tape, a Dremel cutting disk or hacksaw, double back carpet tape, charcoal starter fluid and depending on the cost of the shaft you want as a replacement and grip maybe 100 dollars in stuff all toll. Then stuff a new shaft onto that iron head. The longest and hardest part of that job will be getting what is left of that old shaft out of the head, and to do that just takes heat. Your wife's hair dryer will do it but since you are not trying to save the old shaft I would get one of these...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-Trigger-Ignition-Start-Torch-Kit-with-14-1-oz-Handheld-Propane-Gas-Cylinder-and-Adjustable-Flame-361479/300870607 

Put the head in a vice, heat the hosel for a bit then stick a small screwdriver in the hosel and the shaft part will just pop out of there. Scrape out any old glue with the screw driver and you are ready for a new shaft. There are lots and lots of videos that tell you how to do this. It is VERY easy. Gets you back on the course in a day or two which will give you all the time you need to shop around or get fitted for that new set of irons. 

Never can tell. You might really enjoy club building. Oh here is a hint the videos don't really touch on. Club shafts have a "spine".  This company makes a ton of money "Puring" the shaft by finding the spine https://sstpure.com/.  Head to Pet Smart and get a el-cheapo cat laser toy, kind of a laser pointer. Put the new shaft in a vice with a minimum of 2 feet of the bottom of the shaft extended in the air. Put a strip of masking tape around the tip 6 inches or so from the end. Then mark off four quarters. Tape the cat toy to the tip and turn it on. My cat toy pointer has to have the on button taped to stay on. Point the laser on something on which you can clearly see the dot. Pull the tip down and then let go. Boing! The tip will bounce around and the laser pointer will show you a pattern. If the spine is 90 degrees off (1/4 turn) from the direction that you pulled the tip down the laser will paint a circle, or close to it. Loosen the shaft in the vice and rotate it a bit then repeat the test. The closer you are to pulling the tip down with the spine on the exact top or bottom of the shaft the narrower the laser dot circle will become. Eventually it will just draw a line going up and down with the shaft tip. Mark a line on the masking tape on the shaft and you now know where the spine of the shaft is. The spine points down the target line when inserted into the club face.  

I've done some club building before actually. I was in the PGA golf management program (level 2) before I left the golf industry. Their club technology and building facility at Port St. Lucie was awesome. We got to experiment with some really wild clubs they built to demonstrate different approaches to club building. My favorite one was probably the 38" long, 440cc head, driver. It was built to show the effect of club length on accuracy. Obviously there were distance limitations but there's not a fairway on the planet you couldn't find with that club damn near no matter where you hit it on the face. It was a lot of fun. 

I was half kidding about new clubs. I've had these for 6 years and I am looking forward to testing the new Mizuno Pro 245's in January, so new clubs were on the horizon anyway. I will get the club repaired though. 

Thanks for your insight! You're obviously a tinkerer. Do you have any Frankenstein clubs you've toyed around with? I did one which was putting a TT DG steel shaft into an old Nike driver head. It was fascinating.

[RickyBobby_PR]

28 minutes ago, Lou Caracappa said:

I have been working on the same fault for the past 2 years, keeping my arm togther and elbows close duing the swing and I am just not getting it.  Three years ago I worked on shallowing the club and was able to learn it in a few months of practice.  Not sure why this move is so difficult for me to master.  

Put a roll of toilet paper between your forearms and don’t let it fall out in the backswing. Practice making backswings with the drill. Then take slower swings and it’s ok if it falls out in the swing.

Cheaper solution than buying the tour striker ball

[Lou Caracappa]

Thanks.  I use a Chinese knock off of the Smart Ball - $10.99 on ebay 

[EnderinAZ]

50 minutes ago, Silver Fawkes said:

Thanks for your insight! You're obviously a tinkerer. Do you have any Frankenstein clubs you've toyed around with? I did one which was putting a TT DG steel shaft into an old Nike driver head. It was fascinating.

Oh yeah. I put together a set of irons 10 years or so ago with the shafts all the same length, 7 iron. They were fun. 4 iron was way more accurate, but short. Pitching wedge and sand wedge went way way too long. The set made funky gaps in my distances that I could not remedy.  I have never tried a super short driver though. That sounds like fun to use on the range at least. 

 

56 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I don’t think you need to spine align the shaft; controversial topic that some say it is necessary and some say it is a waste of time.

It is very important if you are building a 6 weight or lighter fly rod . Golf clubs?? It has helped one old guy who had a swing speed so slow you needed a time lapse camera to see it move. His 8 iron always hooked the ball left when he swung it. So I popped the head off, aligned the spine and set the spine so it faced 180 degrees out from the target line. I figured like a fly rod you want the spine to help snap the club forward. But, I have no idea if that statement holds true or not especially when dealing with steel shafts. It did help his hook on that 8 iron though.

If someone from the men's club wants me to fix or build new clubs for them I don't except payment. Instead the requester must help with the build. Then, we always "pure" the shaft. This always makes the task more fun and interesting. Plus, the person who is helping walks away with a new club feeling it has a professional tinge to the build.  

[Josh Parker]

Got out to the range and continued to work on driver.  The swing change is slow but making progress.

I spent about an hour chipping and putting as well and worked thru my 58 and 50 degree wedges on different shots and trajectories. 

Putting I worked on 3,6,9 footers and different locations around the cup with different breaks and speeds. Worked on lag putts as well from 30-40ft and then putted out. 

Overall it was a productive day at the range. 

[cksurfdude]

Pretty nice day here today (for December in NY) so went to the range for a bit. I know I've been posting about not hitting balls to rest my back and wrist, but ya know been feeling better lately and who knows when the next chance will be!

Hit a bunch of wedges between 5 to 50 yards just trying to get the feel of the movement and make decent contact; hit some PWs with a fuller swing to a 90 yard target; took a few swipes with the driver; then some 7i shots towards the 90 yard target followed by a few full swing 7i's.

Overall not too terrible even though I was feeling a little stiff and awkward (not unexpected, I guess .. been a month since last time hitting golf balls).

I know @sirchunksalot has been on the IR list for a while so we haven't seen any foot powder spray pics .. but the old range bags did leave marks on the club faces...

> 7i

..okish maybe a tad low and got me thinking I may start to work on face contact drills

> Driver

..there are 4 newer ball marks with 2 just outside the center but the other 2 moving out to the high-toe side

Then a few minutes of basement putting when I got back home (practice green closed for Winter).

Well till the next time!!

[Preeway]

Life is way too busy these days but I was able to get in some putting practice. I am really finding myself more comfortable with the Odyssey Ai compared to my Bettinardi and my results from practice tonight are posted in the Odyssey Ai testing thread. In short, I really like and notice the forgiveness of the Odyssey Ai.

[Alan Scalzi]

I put a dime on my putting mat or on the ground and try hit it when practicing my putts.

[BobBC78]

Indoor putting practice today (it's about 35* out). Started with setup practice using a (PuttOUT) mirror followed by 3' putts swinging the putter head between gates. Finished with the Kenyon start line drill, getting 15/15.  

[warrenator8]

On 12/12/2023 at 7:48 PM, Silver Fawkes said:

Went to the range. It was relatively warm for December here and I was about halfway through my session when this happened...

It was such a bizarre experience. I hit the ball a little thin then heard a loud metallic sound like a blacksmith hammering on an anvil... then all of a sudden my club had zero weight and I saw my clubhead flying 20 yards down the range. The other guys out there had a good laugh when I let out a, "Aww man W...T...F!!!!".

Then the guy next to me said, "Guess it's time for some new irons!". Yes, my friend, it is. 

Happened to me at the range about a month ago. Head of my five iron flew about a hundred yards down range. Was lucky to get it back and that Cobra would fix it. Definitely surreal thing to see.

[RichL85]

Have had a couple solid practice sessions in the past weeks, but it's been sporadic due to work. I have been happy with the results of where my swing is at, but I'm also overly critical of myself, as most people are. I took some video the other day just to see where I was at compared to two years ago when I picked golf back up, and I just see problems all over the place. Having said that, I can work with it and it may or may not be as bad as I am interpreting, I should probably just stop messing with technique and learn to score better with the swing I have.

[Jcole22]

I decided to hit the range and specifically work on my body control. I have found recently that I am developing a bad habit with leaning too far forward throughout my swing. Although it is not a huge movement, the slight lean I have is causing more inconsistency with my irons/driver. I have tried a few drills to help, but so far, it has been a frustrating issue to try and fix. 

[unccross]

Last night I rented a Trackman bay at Golf Galaxy to test out some irons for a review. I hit a ton of shots with my old irons and the ones that I was testing.  My swing is a mess!  I hadn’t taken a golf swing in a couple months. I really enjoyed hitting some different clubs other than the ones that I have had for 20 years!

 

After hitting the irons until I got a blister on my thumb, I got a few swings in with the new driver my dad gave me for Christmas. Only the second time I’ve swung the G430 max. At least I hit a couple decent ones!

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by unccross

[srooch2]

I’m still hitting golf balls nearly everyday despite the time change and weather restrictions. I’ve developed a lot of skill and completely play and understand the game differently having a sanctuary to practice at. Picked up a ball shagger which was a great purchase. Playing has gone down and I still play a couple times a week but have to get creative on finding time to go.  

[srooch2]

On 12/12/2023 at 6:48 PM, Silver Fawkes said:

Went to the range. It was relatively warm for December here and I was about halfway through my session when this happened...

It was such a bizarre experience. I hit the ball a little thin then heard a loud metallic sound like a blacksmith hammering on an anvil... then all of a sudden my club had zero weight and I saw my clubhead flying 20 yards down the range. The other guys out there had a good laugh when I let out a, "Aww man W...T...F!!!!".

Then the guy next to me said, "Guess it's time for some new irons!". Yes, my friend, it is. 

I’ll throw those away for ya, don’t play em like the dude said

[Josh Parker]

I got out to the range this morning to put something to the test and must say that I am pleased with the results on day 1.  

I have struggled getting my club in the right position and primarily with the driver is where I struggle the most.  I watched a Monte video yesterday evening on the perfect backswing and did it a few times in front of the mirror last night.  Wouldn't you know..... puts my body and club in the right position and my lead arm isn't breaking like before.

I got out to the range early this morning in a brisk 39 degrees. (yes I'm aware this isn't cold to many of yall) HA

I plan on incorporating these 3 moves into my pre-shot routine for the time being, until I can get it drilled into my brain and make the swing a habit.

Making A Perfect Backswing

[RichL85]

I thought hitting the range after work yesterday would be a good idea to get some practice in. Apparently, I drastically overestimated the courtesy of other golfers involved. Barely a tuft of grass in site in the hitting areas at the range and the ground was pretty wet on top of that. Decided that I didn't really want to practice hitting off mud, so after about 15 swings I spent around an hour over at the chipping green so it wouldn't be a total waste. Overall it was probably a good choice considering where I tend to lose strokes, but still a bit frustrating. 

[Jim Shaw]

9 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

I got out to the range this morning to put something to the test and must say that I am pleased with the results on day 1.  

I have struggled getting my club in the right position and primarily with the driver is where I struggle the most.  I watched a Monte video yesterday evening on the perfect backswing and did it a few times in front of the mirror last night.  Wouldn't you know..... puts my body and club in the right position and my lead arm isn't breaking like before.

I got out to the range early this morning in a brisk 39 degrees. (yes I'm aware this isn't cold to many of yall) HA

I plan on incorporating these 3 moves into my pre-shot routine for the time being, until I can get it drilled into my brain and make the swing a habit.

Making A Perfect Backswing

good job getting out and working on your game Josh, watching that Video, "Monte" voice sounds like he had a fun night before he shot it... 

[Josh Parker]

2 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

good job getting out and working on your game Josh, watching that Video, "Monte" voice sounds like he had a fun night before he shot it... 

Always a work in progress and really trying to dial in my game for the 2024 goals.  I want to break 70 and play in a couple tournaments.  I need to get the driver worked out but it begins with a good swing with all clubs.

Ha, and keeps the glasses on.

[Jim Shaw]

27 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

Always a work in progress and really trying to dial in my game for the 2024 goals.  I want to break 70 and play in a couple tournaments.  I need to get the driver worked out but it begins with a good swing with all clubs.

Ha, and keeps the glasses on.

solid goals for sure, I love playing tournaments, they really exaggerate my areas of opportunity to work on, and build great relationships... 

[rjacobs4]

Got a couple sessions in this week.   Thursday was a good 2 1/ hour session.  Spent a lot of time on the range working on just mid-range wedges ranging from 30-90 yards with my PW, AW and 52 degree.  After a quick progression through the rest of my irons and hybrids (a few balls each), that I "played" 9 holes on the range going through the shots/clubs required tee to green on the first nine holes of one of the courses here.  Once that was done, I moved to the practice green or some chipping followed by a longer session on the putting green.  This time I really focused on long putts, an area I have struggled with this past year.  Overall, a great practice session.  FYI, I was the only one on the practice tee and green the whole time.

Friday I got in an hour practice before playing 18 with friends (a bonus in PA in December).  More time on my driver this time along with my wedges and some mid-irons.  Again more time on the green focusing on putts in the 6–10-foot range as well as more work on long putts.  Had a good day on the course highlighted by shooting a 39 on the back nine.

My plan is to continue to try to get in at least one practice session per week weather permitting until spring and the new season.   Fingers crossed.