What/How Did You Practice Today?

[Tom the Golf Nut]

20 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

Also - bought 2 bags of sand, dumped in the yard and am doing some 'bunker' practice. Need to feel the club hit the sand first and pop the ball out. I rarely get a chance to practice that at the range I go to.

Try to throw a tarp over the sand when you're not using it. I have had a few greens over the years with a sand trap. For some reason all the wildlife believes it to be their personal litter box. 

[Bang60]

Practice today was ok still surprised I'm hitting the long clubs better than my 7 iron, came home and adjusted the lie this arvo on 2 7 irons + 4iron and hoping it's about 2deg flat . If it's not raining I can have a hit tomorrow and find out, fingers crossed as it's my 1st time...

Edited May 31, 2023 by Bang60
Missed info

[Charles Lechair]

I went out last night and hit balls for about 20 minutes. I took some DTL and face on videos because i think i'm going to try out a coach on skillest to try and clean up my swing. 

After i got my videos i spent time trying to go back and forth between drawing and fading balls to the same target. Something i've never really practiced but it was fun and i think helpful really learning some club face awareness.

After that i chipped and pitched for about an hour. I think i can save a ton of shots cleaning up my short game, so the plan is to continue short game sessions at least once a week if i can. 

[DeBartola_B]

On Sunday, I played a round of golf and ended up shooting 9 over par. Things were looking promising at the beginning with a solid +1 37 on the front nine. I was on track to achieve my personal best, but unfortunately, my game took a turn for the worse when I hit three consecutive wayward tee shots, which resulted in a discouraging 7 over par 3-hole stretch.

While it was both frustrating and exciting to experience such a rollercoaster round, I'm proud of myself for overcoming the rough patch and ending on a strong note. This round marked my best score of the season so far, but I can't help but think about what could have been. Nevertheless, that lingering feeling of missed opportunities is what drives me to keep coming back to the game.

[Charles Lechair]

16 minutes ago, DeBartola_B said:

On Sunday, I played a round of golf and ended up shooting 9 over par. Things were looking promising at the beginning with a solid +1 37 on the front nine. I was on track to achieve my personal best, but unfortunately, my game took a turn for the worse when I hit three consecutive wayward tee shots, which resulted in a discouraging 7 over par 3-hole stretch.

While it was both frustrating and exciting to experience such a rollercoaster round, I'm proud of myself for overcoming the rough patch and ending on a strong note. This round marked my best score of the season so far, but I can't help but think about what could have been. Nevertheless, that lingering feeling of missed opportunities is what drives me to keep coming back to the game.

As disappointing as some of those rounds are, i'm always proud of myself for staying "in" the round and trying to turn it around a little bit. If i have a few bad holes I have a tendency to kind of check out, but I'm working on staying present and just playing the next shot. 

Think you really improve when you still grind it out despite not having your best stuff on the day

Edited May 31, 2023 by Charles Lechair

[BobBC78]

Super Speed training session 1 today. 

[DeBartola_B]

43 minutes ago, Charles Lechair said:

As disappointing as some of those rounds are, i'm always proud of myself for staying "in" the round and trying to turn it around a little bit. If i have a few bad holes I have a tendency to kind of check out, but I'm working on staying present and just playing the next shot. 

Think you really improve when you still grind it out despite not having your best stuff on the day

For sure, the hope is proving to yourself you can turn it around will make the bad holes turn into maybe just a bad shot.

[russtopherb]

I hit a small bucket this morning before work, almost exclusively focused on my shoulder turn in the backswing. My driver was a bit off, but irons and wedges were pretty good for not having been out very much this season yet. I mostly just picked various flags as my targets and my primary thought was rotating my rear shoulder and letting my wallet pocket rotate freely as well as part of the backswing, and just sending the ball to my target. 

[Fongle]

Just worked on hitting some knockdown approach shots, hit through a large bucket of balls just aiming at all the shorter flags and trying to get a better sense of the flight path and distance with different clubs while trying to hit some low flighted run up shots when dealing with strong cross winds

[Bang60]

19 hours ago, Bang60 said:

Practice today was ok still surprised I'm hitting the long clubs better than my 7 iron, came home and adjusted the lie this arvo on 2 7 irons + 4iron and hoping it's about 2deg flat . If it's not raining I can have a hit tomorrow and find out, fingers crossed as it's my 1st time...

WOW I'm so good unbelievable HOW good, so back to reality lol the Mizuno ladies flex T-Zoid 7 iron performs v-good straight but the Mizuno MP57 7iron not as long but it's got a super light stiff steel shaft and feels a tad heavier. The T200 4iron slight improvement but needs more bending flatter still and could be a keeper, the T-Zoid from 135metres to the front landed 2metres short and run about 3 metres onto the green 2metres short of the Pin. It's a great feeling to be vindicated and know I'm getting better at Tinkering with my own clubs, so lots more tinkering in my future...

[Haro]

Driving and iron play more consistent but my putting and short game sucks 

Did some practice and review after my round 

Recalling What has worked for me    Matching the shaft of the putter/chipper with my right forearm I can start the ball online and good to get the ball rolling immediately. Great for uphill putts /uphill chips /slowish greens 

What I’m still having problems is with breaking putts and downhill chips /speedy greens  

Experimenting with different methods to line the putter/chipper shaft above or below my left forearm and then lining up my right forearm

 I just cannot line up my left forearm to the putter shaft    I prefer my right forearm to be the one that lines up 

 

[Stevenhp]

Yesterday (5/31/23) in between doctors appointments I went to the local course and worked on chipping and putting,then went to the range and went through the bag hitting 3/4 shots with irons first. Primary on stance,posture and tempo.Then hitting driver and then returning to some of the irons full swing. I normally take thee irons and driver for practice or wedges and putter. 

[Cruise]

Tuesday and Thursday practices are committed to ZEN golf.  I start Tuesdays with SuperSpeed training, then work on my mechanics in slow motion drills (1 min swing).  Then I break down my swing to different steps to verify I am in the positions I want to be in.

Thursdays are similar, just no SuperSpeed training.  I will hit balls on Fridays

[gajrsports]

Full wedges!  58, 54, and 50!  Yesterday!

Speed training today!

[Alan Stewart]

Local golf course range is under 220 yards, so irons only and maybe 7 wood if wind is blowing in.  

Just working on hitting middle of irons as primary goal, which for me is focusing on good tempo.  Only using PW, 7i and 4i for practice.

Secondary goal is swing path and face to target.  I have gotten a little too fadey on my swing this year and need to get back inside path on impact.  I haven't been a slicer since I was in middle school and it is driving me crazy.  

Then 3-5 foot putts

Basic sand shots

Basic pitches within 10-20 yards of the green

Rinse and repeat this week several times

[RollingGreens]

Really been trying to hone in my iron game, we fixed a few things last week with a lesson. Working on setting my hands forward to help with shallowing out the club helping with a negative attack angle vs mine previously being close to neutral. The problem is I used to set my weight/hips forward to help with weight transfer and it's caused me to have a small push fade, plus it was a lot of moving parts for me to time up at the same time. Took out the weight transfer at setup and strikes are back to solid and on line more consistently. Working with the driver today on quality strikes. Right now it's and all or non on the course, its bombed or it's terrible. A lot of it has to do with the swing, I know I stay under the plane with my driver and it's what helps me to get to an upward attack angle and also improve my club path. Tempo can be very bad with the disco stick at times.

[Smackey17]

I had a 9-hole playing lesson on Tuesday, where we played from the red tees so that we could work on our scoring clubs (8i - SW). The session revealed what I already had been experiencing this year:  my half-pitches were killing me, shots from 40-80 yards out. I had 5 such shots and I actually missed the green on two of them and left myself more that 40-foot putts on two others. The problem was a lack of commitment to the club and shot choice in those instances. So today, rather than hitting full shots I plan on working exclusively on dialing in my pitches. Based on my experience this will likely be something close to the following:  40 yards (carry)  = 9 o'clock swing with my 54; 50 yards = 10'clock w/54; 60 yards = 10 o'clock w/GW; 70 yards = 10 o'clock with PW. With the exception of the 40-yard swing, I prefer to dial in distances with a consistent 10'clock swing using different clubs rather using one club and varying the swing length because I think it can be more repeatable and consistent. 

[BobBC78]

Played 9-holes at Pinecrest (Richmond, RI) today. 

[ChuckZ]

Rode for the second time this week with my instructor.  He has been working with me on the courses on my short game which is very bipolar.  Have been loosing at least ten strokes a round in this area.  Think we might have found one area that might have been causing the problem.  Might be a tad bit closed.  Came together on the very last hole yesterday.  This six month layoff has really hurt my short game.  Still having back pain, which does not afford me the amount of time I would like practicing.  Most of my down time is being spent working on strengthen machines to develop my core and my lower back so I can actually play.  Not over doing it.  As my physical therapist says that challenge me in repetition.  No heavy weights or workouts that put a lot of strain on the back.  Guess it is all about retraining my body and the short game is the last to catch up.  Want it to be ready for the new T350s when they are released this fall.   

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Just had a two hour practice session (what!?!).

Range. With no driver, the focus today was on long irons. Pressure board work. Slow rehearsals and swings with various feels (Palmer rotation from top to shaft parallel, then move club up 1" and rotate through, Also some 25 and 50% speed swings). Also did a two ball drill where i set up to the outside ball, and try to hit the inside ball. This drill left lots of good feelings and results. After that focus on experimental practice. Trying to purposely hit different shapes with 4i and 5i. Took some shots purposefully out of divots. Learned i either need to club down or swing softer. Then some 5i work off the tee as I struggled with that Saturday. Lastly, there were some range balls on the downslope of the grass and I just worked on hitting shots from that position.

Putting green. Found a drill in golf digest for distance putting. The spiral drill. I had 7 balls at varying distance from 6' to 40'. When i started from the short distance, my distance control was pretty good. When I started from long distance, a lot more were left short. Went back to heads up putting and I think that is where i will stay. Got many more balls closer to the hole, which is what i need to do. After that I played two rounds of around the world from 6-12 ft. Made 40-50% of my balls, which is a big net positive for me.

Chipping green. Shared it with another golfer but he was using up two of the three pins (ugh). Worked on chips from rough and apron with 54 and 58 and then soft pitches with both clubs from just the apron. Then alternated pins once other golfer left for variability practice on pitches.

Pitching Area. Bunker play. Spent ten minutes just working on getting the ball out. Listened to a Hack it Out episode and it hit me, you need speed to get out of bunkers. I will say, i was 100% in this today with my 54 and 58. Once I get more comfortable, then more fine tuning on distance work. Lastly, finished off with some pitching practice with my 54 and 58, aiming at different target. The last 3 rounds, 1 was from ~45 yards with my 54 from rough, working on high and low pitches. The last two were alternating my 54 and 58 working on hi and low to different targets.

Overall, one of my best practice sessions I have had.

[JeremyD]

yesterday was all swinging a club. last time I played, it was in a scramble about 10 days ago (it's been raining a lot in NC), and I was essentially trying to swing too hard on drives, etc. Felt good to get loose, film my swing, and actually hit it more consistent than I had been. Maybe, since I wasn't trying for targets, most clubs were hit pretty good

[WiTerp50]

At 73, my first priority is strength and stretching routine. My drives were down to 180-190. Even the forward tees would be difficult to get a GIR. Taking this seriously 4-6 times weekly, I can routinely get 200-230 with the occasional 240+ bomb. As well as resolve knee, hip, and back pain/discomfort in the rest of my life. I’ve worked hard on putting, and getting better at chipping. My kryptonite is downhill lies and bunkers No consistency at all. The longer drives allows more iron use, but score changes need fewer 2nd shots going awry. 

[Randall Robbins]

Range work for 2 hours, went through the bag with full swings, then to the bunker finally ended with chipping and putting.

[Syks7]

Good practice today.  It was on the range, but I have to credit the LAB putting test for helping me identify a problem in my game -- alignment and variance in setup.   It's been affecting every aspect of my game.  I spent an hour going through a small bucket today focused specifically on running through my pre shot routine with an eye on minimizing variance and making sure I aligned properly.  Focusing specifically on repeating the same things each time with minimal to no variation.  When I was fully setup I'd check my alignment.  If it was off I'd reset and start over.  I discovered that I was consistently aligning right of the target.  Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, but always right.  It turns out what I've been classifying as pushes have actually just been straight shots from a very poorly aimed golfer.    Gotta love the game -- it humbles you and forces you to learn every day.

[Bang60]

My practice was on 8.5holes lol meeting Wifey for lunch, BUT STRAIGHTER irons today which I'm loving. I've got 5 irons with the flat lie now and all shots into the green are NO wider than the green. And my Mizuno T-Zoid F "gap wedge" is magic into the green 80metres or less, I bought months ago and never used it before go figure lol...

[RichL85]

CEO decided to give us the day off so I finished up a couple loose ends and hit the course for a longer practice session. Forced myself to actually spend time on the putting green and short game areas today. Probably hit more putts today than I have for the year combined from different distances working more on speed than reading. I do have a tendency to over read breaks, but leaving putts short has always been the killer for me, so that is what I'm dedicating more of my practice to. At least get the ball a foot or two past the hole. 

After about an hour in those areas I went to take some full swings to work on a few little things. Not really intentionally, but I found a weird tendency of mine. Apparently my swing makes slight adjustments based on where I'm looking. Long story short, I tend to look at the leading side of the ball with any club other than driver. When I pick a spot around 9 o'clock, I tend to hit a little fade, but when I look at 10 o'clock, my swing adjusts just slightly to hit a nice little push draw. It was not a ball flight I'm used to seeing, but it was interesting to make a note of it and switch it up between the two.

[Irish-Assassin]

My preferred shot is a draw, have always played that way.

issue is I play a lot of courses that have some interesting cut/fade holes but have managed to make it work with a draw. Well most times.

So today played golf and practiced the cut/fade shot after having a chat with the head pro.

Worked like a charm, he said, set up as normal but push about 70% of you weight on the lead leg, left if your righty, right if you lefty and then hold your hands of a little and don’t rotate around your torso like you would with a draw. 
 

[BobBC78]

9-hole league tonight. 

[Swood1994]

Driver has been awful lately losing everything to the right hard. Not so much a slice as it is a push fade. Realizing after watching video I’m bringing the club very inside so about 3/4 of the way up I get stuck, throw my hands casti mg the club on the down swing. sort of a common problem for me and hopefully easy to fix.

I’ll be focusing on muscle memory drills at home. Bringing the club back slow and outside. Starting the downswing with the hips clearing the front knee and rolling the hands over. Hitting 3/4 or 80% controlled shots so I get the ball back on line and finding fairways.

I have a 3-day tournament next week so I’m hoping I can get things back to square before then
 

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Swood1994

[cksurfdude]

Was on the range hitting my usual assortment of right, left, low, etc - all quite UNintentional mind you - and one of the pros walls over after chatting with someone else, says Let's take a look...

Turns out I'm using my hands and wrists way too much in the takeaway, eg the classic swing killer of rolling the wrists "in" and getting the club head too far inside... Something I'd actually thought I had been working on getting away from

.. Well it's amazing how much better you can hit the ball, and with less effort, when you start taking out the "bad" stuff!!

Work In Progress