What/How Did You Practice Today?

[Willie T]

New to reporting here (I also do daily practice journaling on the TST page as well).  Anyway today was about changing the grip on my son's TM Spider putter - he's upgrading to a Super Stroke 5.0 from the stock Super Stroke that came on it.  Since I do the grip work for him, I got to roll a few balls after the grip had cured.  Man - loved how that thing made some sweet rolls.  Got to work on lag putts, rolling for accuracy.   Looking forward to the Thursday round with my son and getting to roll a few putts with the updated grip - will compare it to the Odyssey Versa 7CS with its Super Stroke grip.  

[Rick Bouchard]

Hit a couple dozen balls with driver to see if my back pain can take 9 holes in leagues tonight. Don't want to have my son play both opponents. Might just be leaning to the right after, we'll see. Wish me luck!

[cksurfdude]

Played several practice holes after warming up at the range; just took a light carry bag (walking only today)  using 5 clubs - driver, 4H, 7i, PW, 54°.

Didn't bother to putt after a lot of rain yesterday and last night, plus as I was out there it started raining lightly, so greens were still really soft.

You can't see the raindrops but this was a few minutes after it started coming down.

Not usually a wet weather player but there's something nice about being out there when there are very few other players around and it's nice and quiet - and you can practice playing two balls, give yourself Mulligans off the tee and work on two short wedge approaches from about 65 and about 45 yards from two different spots to that front flag in that pic above.

The driver needs work - as usual!; the 7i and PW are Sub70 699 V2s and part of a set that i just picked up pre-owned .. so are in their trial period and wanted to test them on the course - think I like them!

Definitely more GI vs my 0211s and had several solid shots with each club. Will give them a few more runs at the range side by side vs the 0211s, and also a few more trial rounds to see if they stay...

[BobBC78]

Super Speed workout today, followed by some block practice chipping with my 58* wedge. My tendency with the wedge today was a toe strike. Need to spend more time on this shot before taking it to the course. 

[Syks7]

So, I've set up a practice program with some drills that help me find my feels along with speed training.  My goal is to take a min. of 40-60 swing a day -- picking a drill that is focused on some feels I find to be helpful with my swing and doing 20 swings focused on the drill, 20 increasing speed slowly still focused on the drill, followed by 20 more at full speed (85%).   In efforts of supporting this I've set up a somewhat suspect net in my garage (salvaging an old shade sail) with my Voice Caddie SC2 set up behind it.  It isn't perfect but it seems to be seeing enough of the ball to give me numbers in line with what I see on course.    Yesterday after running through the sequence I had sort of an epiphany about contact vs. speed after it became clear that I had my same carry numbers as my on course numbers with the partial swings and confirmed again with identical carry numbers with a faster swing during the last 20.   A little Dr. Scholls contact checking swings confirmed that I was much more consistent with contact around the sweet spot with the partial swings and a little video confirmed that I was more on plane with a better sequence.  It also surprised me to see that the feel vs. real difference.  The partials had nearly the same top of swing as the 'full speed ones' but were much much better.  Its a marginal difference in tempo but it's worlds better.  I think I'm going to focus on contact for the next month or so and shelve speed training until it starts to cool down.  All the speed in the world isn't going to make a difference to me if I'm hitting every ball out on the toe.  

Apologies for the messy garage.  (I'm mid reorganization as I convert half of it to an office)

Sidebar:  The thin little mat is going to force good contact.  Its not exactly forgiving to my wrists, elbows, and shoulders when I make heavy contact.

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Syks7

[BobBC78]

Got to the range today. Warmed up with partial and full PW and UW, followed by 7i. Then hit some 9-woods to check why I seem to be going right al lot with the club (conclusion: be careful with setup an aim). Spent a fair amount of time hitting my two Drivers: Ping G400 Max at 45.5" and Ping G400 at 44.5" working on improving strike while maintaining higher speed (checked strike with foot spray on the face and speed with PRGR). While results were mixed, I feel like I'm on the right track with no pull hooks (I've hit a lot of these lately) and generally keeping my drives within about a 60 yard dispersion area (mapped ahead of time using Google Earth).  Not surprisingly, my percentage of center strikes was higher with the shorter driver which accordingly I will use "on course" until I get the longer one dialed in better. 

[GVetter]

Yesterday I worked on dialing in the range of my wedges trying to figure out the proper gaping and consistency. With my swing change through lessons we adjusted my 3 wood and 3 hybrid (previously set up to counter my wicked slice). Looking forward to playing Prairie Falls in Post Falls this afternoon. 

[cksurfdude]

Attended a chipping clinic and found it really helpful for my game. It was totally old school (and I loved it!) .. as in low, short chip and roll .. that I've read about before but not been shown in person.

Some of you may be familiar with "The Rule of 11s" (or sometimes aka Rule of 12s I think) and here the instructor - really nice older guy who's won five times on The Tour (back in the day, I guess ) and was also a race car driver(!) - distilled it down to two clubs with two simple, easy to remember rules...

PW = 1/3 carry, 2/3 roll
8i = 1/4 carry, 3/4 roll

So yeah pretty simple, but ... the real learning (for me, anyway) was going through the landing spot selection considering distance to edge of green and to flag, uphill / downhill, and then getting into the proper setup and executing the proper chipping stroke. 

Again, I know it may all sound very basic but when you start to get it right........

I do use my PW and GW often around the greens* but not 8i so that's something else that will have to be posted into this practice thread in the future!!

* NOTE: the instructor based his formula for the PW on a 45 degree loft, so stronger lofted wedges may give you different results. FWIW my current PW and GW are 43 and 48.

---

Afterwards met my wife for lunch then we went out for 9 holes, and .. whether by luck or by accident or I actually learned and retained something  or whatever my short game was ON! Almost chipped in twice and other times I was scrambling I got the ball onto the green _and_ into a decent proximity to the hole.

Bonus: 8/9 first putts were really good, too, made 2 and most of the others were left just inches from the cup 

[Haro]

Playing a draw currently.  Beginning of the season it was all fades  Been having more control of the right to left flight pattern and no fear of the hook One of the things I learned when I played the fade once I understood why I slice I was not afraid of left to right flight and played controlled fade.  Then one day last month I could not hit a fade and everything was a draw /hook.  Took me a month now to not fear the hook 

Basically when I rolled my arms and aim straight I would hook   

For the slice when I open my alignment and aim straight I would slice 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Range day. Med bucket working on feels. Went 6i, 4i then 7i. Last 5 balls were 7w/4w/4w/Dr/Dr. Coming along

putting practice. 15ft/30ft flat x3. Then up hill and down hill 15/30/45 x3

shortgame. Stock 54. Then inspired by others experimented with pw and 8i bump and runs. 8i really runs. Holed a pw. Then did 27 balls in bunker with 54/58 wedges. Hit one solid into the farm by the course. Lol

[RichL85]

Spent an hour just working with the wedges in the 20-60 yard range. It's still an area where I frequently struggle with consistency. Whether it's practice or on the course, I have seen I'm capable from that range, but it can also go sideways real quick.

As much as the logical part of me wants some kind of system to deal with the partial yardages, I don't think I'm built for it. I get in my head too much and think about too many things and end up ignoring basic stuff. I seem to do better just letting things flow and relying on feel. Unfortunately that means I'm going to have to dedicate more time in that area to develop that feel. 

[BobBC78]

Super Speed training today, session 1, week 3, level 2

[Derek Lusk]

My brother in law received this game (Battle Royale) as a gift . We spent the afternoon with our wives playing it. Worked on chipping with my gap and pitching wedges.

[cksurfdude]

22 hours ago, RichL85 said:

As much as the logical part of me wants some kind of system to deal with the partial yardages, I don't think I'm built for it. I get in my head too much and think about too many things and end up ignoring basic stuff. I seem to do better just letting things flow and relying on feel. Unfortunately that means I'm going to have to dedicate more time in that area to develop that feel. 

Fwiw I'm in total agreement, and so is Monte Scheinblum...

He advocates imagining you're holding a golf ball in your throwing hand and you want to toss it onto the green so it rolls towards the flag - now make that exact same motion with a club in your hand.

Yeah it needs practice but compare that to pulling out your wedge matrix and then deciding which option to go with and then trying to execute that shot....

I know that system works well for some but for me I want to "react to" the distance in front of me and play the simplest shot I can. YMMV of course!

[JeremyD]

I brought my old PT15 out to see how I hit it. Goes better than my existing Callaway Epic 3w. Head looks amazingly small, but felt great. Great practice club.

My 7 iron (36 dgree), according to the Rabsodo, were 158, 162, 162, 163, 180, 157, 152, 156, 150. Avg of 160. Are there outliers where I can tell I hit them poorly, with one rocket?  Of course. This was the best training session I had in a while. The clubs went further than usual. My PT15 maxed out at 244. My old cleveland 2hybrid 19 degree was in the high 220's. 

My miss is a bad pull. I feel sometimes on the golf course I try to control too much. The one club I swing freely on the course is my 2H. I don't play 7000 yd courses, so hitting 220-230 off every tee, and down the fairway should be all I need. It was good to leave and not feel frustrated. 

[Ding-dong]

Time was limited so I got out with the garmin thingy for a simulated round. I did okay, -3 , all okay, but yardages were a little on and off. Driver is always a bit away from reality, but that’s okay because then I get a pleasant surprise in reality. . 

I hit a few clubs afterwards using the warm up function.

My 3 wood was delivering 136-138 mph of ball speed, my driver was 143 mph .. I think there is more there. But that step maybe okay , I really don’t know. 

My 6 iron delivers 122mph of ball speed max .. I have a little too much variation in my speeds, I know my potential but I just cannot find a steady number as it were.

So a poor 6 drops my ball speed down by 8mph, despite using 0211 DC irons.

Initially I thought these irons are just hot, but I am thinking it’s just me, so this is my next job. I will drop my effort to find middle road .. it’s nice to know that I can step on one though, but I only do that successfully with 7 iron or less. 

( yes the 0211dc  are strong clubs, 1/2 “ longer in shaft length than average, and strong lofts, which I weakened by 2 degrees) 

[Haro]

Starting to take practice putting strokes pre putt routine.   Have not done it years but felt good doing two practice strokes and holed a few putts and distance control better with incorporated into my routine 

Also doing practice twirls in the air as it helps me feel the draw   
Don’t really do practice swings pre routine 

Last time I did was trying to hook a ball on purpose and had to make hook type practice swings 

 

[Bang60]

Practice today was 18 swings with a Mizuno MP18 demo 6iron and 919 Hot metal demo 7iron, MP18 was no different than my MP57 6 iron. The 7iron Hot metal is unbelievable how good it is I dropped onto wet soft grass area sat up alittle hit with smooth swing and it's gone so straight I'm still in disbelief how good I hit 3 balls in a row the grouping is just so good and yeah I have a photo sorry photo is poor quality but grouping is inside 3metres which is something I don't remember doing for ever from 140metres...

Oh yeah I hate Rich guys buying the latest golf gear ...

[Bang60]

Forgot to add shaft info I put the 6iron shaft in the 7iron head as there Demo heads and Mizuno use an Adapter system so easy to change heads, the shaft is Regular N950-R Steel and I think it's the first time I've used one like it..

Edited July 24, 2023 by Bang60
info

[Mrhockey]

I send 15min hitting irons into my golf net

[Bassbeamer]

Going down to work on fairway woods off the deck and then putting.

[Haro]

Eliminate the forward press in my chipping and putting.  Not easy as that was my natural tendency 

I have a very slight forward shaft lean for certain toe chips/putts now but nothing massive 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

thought id share this for those who struggle with putting.

 

 

[chisag]

13 minutes ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

thought id share this for those who struggle with putting.

 

 

 

... Awesome post and excellent example of speed and line! I am a die in the hole putter and always putt on the high side. Someone with a more aggressive stroke can play a lot less break. Of course a consistent speed is a must for either stroke. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Just now, chisag said:

 

... Awesome post and excellent example of speed and line! I am a die in the hole putter and always putt on the high side. Someone with a more aggressive stroke can play a lot less break. Of course a consistent speed is a must for either stroke. 

Totally. One other thing, and I am trying to lean into Die at the hole putting, it capture rate of putts. Sure, if you have a faster pace, you can play less break but you better make damn sure you are hitting the center of the cup, or your make rate will be miserable.

[chisag]

1 minute ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Totally. One other thing, and I am trying to lean into Die at the hole putting, it capture rate of putts. Sure, if you have a faster pace, you can play less break but you better make damn sure you are hitting the center of the cup, or your make rate will be miserable.

 

... Playing QB and 2 guard I always threw/shot to my target. I had a high arcing jumper so a straight line through my target never worked for me. While occasionally short die in the hole putts can fall off the hole, more fall in the sides when a more aggressive putt would lip out. Good luck with your new technique! 

[StrokerAce]

50 minutes ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Totally. One other thing, and I am trying to lean into Die at the hole putting, it capture rate of putts. Sure, if you have a faster pace, you can play less break but you better make damn sure you are hitting the center of the cup, or your make rate will be miserable.

Probably have seen this but just in case... the more pace you use the smaller the 'relative' size of the hole gets.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

1 minute ago, StrokerAce said:

Probably have seen this but just in case... the more pace you use the smaller the 'relative' size of the hole gets.

yup! this is ingrained from Four Foundations  

[StrokerAce]

Was listening to the post-round interview with Harman and they asked him about getting off to a bad start and how he was able to course-correct this time vs others (or something along that line) and something in his answer caught my attention.

(paraphrasing here...)

He talked about not getting ahead of himself. How he would start thinking too far ahead and it would be detrimental. Then one of the commentators later said that Langer said something similar after he won the latest championship on the champions tour. 

It really got me thinking about something I need to practice: being present on the course. In the moment. Don't think: I made double now I need to make a birdie to even it out, or, there are a couple short par 5's coming up so I can afford a bogey here. 

I really need to work on staying in the moment and not get ahead of myself. Sounds easier than it is and I'm not sure how to practice that but I'm going to try.

[cksurfdude]

3 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

It really got me thinking about something I need to practice: being present on the course. In the moment. Don't think

Yes! Someone (sorry to the dude but can't remember exactly who...) mentioned that in another topic recently and it resonated with me.

Or: "The next shot is the most important shot."

Or to paraphrase from Rocky and Creed - one shot, one hole, one round.