What/How did you practice today?

[cnosil 14,627]

Worked on short pitch shots in the backyard.  

[Sluggo42 6,033]

2 hours ago, cnosil said:

Worked on short pitch shots in the backyard.  

Seems to be a go-to these days eh?unless you have a few acres

[cksurfdude 7,925]

Last weekend went down to the beach to an 18 hole Par 3 to practice hitting wedges at real targets. Holes range from 60-100 yards, plus one Par 4 at 105 yds. Putting there can be iffy as the greens are usually slow and bumpy, and often a bit rough, too ... so the primary focus was on making nice shots onto the greens.

First bunch of holes shots were pretty much all on-line but mostly short; but then as it turned out the close-in scrambling was pretty decent (well, that day anyway!). After that missed one green wide right and two others to the left. The wind was not a big factor even though it was blowing onshore, and on the last hole which is the most exposed I put a nice shot right onto the middle of the green (100 yds). 

Made 1 birdie where I had an audience - two maintenance workers were blowing and clearing that area - rest of the holes were pars and bogies; about evenly split, I think, didn't track my score. All in all feel like I made a little progress in that most shots felt controlled and the misses were closer to the edge of the green vs in the past.

---

 For a bit of visual entertainment here are a few pics--

The start of the walkway to the course from the parking lot .. a lot of signage! (including no black German Shepherds ha ha)...

..and a close-up of a "sign of the times" on the right...

Strangely enough before all this they only took cash (which almost makes more sense to me vs me handing my card to the cashier and then them handing it back along with a pen to sign the receipt..??); also "before" the biggest dangers there .. after sunburn  .. were deer ticks and poison ivy.........

Here's a view of #3 (95 yds) - sometimes the wind is from the left, sometimes coming at you, sometimes from behind you, but today it was not a big factor...

..and here's a wide view of #9 on the left (70 yds) and #18 on the right (100 yds)...

 

[Lacassem 8,060]

1 minute ago, cksurfdude said:

Last weekend went down to the beach to an 18 hole Par 3 to practice hitting wedges at real targets. Holes range from 60-100 yards, plus one Par 4 at 105 yds. Putting there can be iffy as the greens are usually slow and bumpy, and often a bit rough, too ... so the primary focus was on making nice shots onto the greens.

First bunch of holes shots were pretty much all on-line but mostly short; but then as it turned out the close-in scrambling was pretty decent (well, that day anyway!). After that missed one green wide right and two others to the left. The wind was not a big factor even though it was blowing onshore, and on the last hole which is the most exposed I put a nice shot right onto the middle of the green (100 yds). 

Made 1 birdie where I had an audience - two maintenance workers were blowing and clearing that area - rest of the holes were pars and bogies; about evenly split, I think, didn't track my score. All in all feel like I made a little progress in that most shots felt controlled and the misses were closer to the edge of the green vs in the past.

---

 For a bit of visual entertainment here are a few pics--

The start of the walkway to the course from the parking lot .. a lot of signage! (including no black German Shepherds ha ha)...

..and a close-up of a "sign of the times" on the right...

Strangely enough before all this they only took cash (which almost makes more sense to me vs me handing my card to the cashier and then them handing it back along with a pen to sign the receipt..??); also "before" the biggest dangers there .. after sunburn  .. were deer ticks and poison ivy.........

Here's a view of #3 (95 yds) - sometimes the wind is from the left, sometimes coming at you, sometimes from behind you, but today it was not a big factor...

..and here's a wide view of #9 on the left (70 yds) and #18 on the right (100 yds)...

 

Oh that’s nice and green what a site to see these days! Wedge play = game changer 

[juspoole 1,411]

Had the opportunity on Tuesday to go to the range.  The local course put in several measures for keeping distance and many sanitizer stations to keep people safe.  I was only one of two people on the entire range as well so felt ok.  It was a beautiful day and I was just trying to ensure i was striking my irons solidly and getting good height with my iron shots.

 

[cksurfdude 7,925]

On 4/9/2020 at 4:59 PM, cksurfdude said:

Last weekend went down to the beach to an 18 hole Par 3... (etc.)

Well as it turns out, I got there just in time -- was wondering *when* it was going to happen and the State Parks announced the closure of golf courses in the area. This follows on the heels of my local muni .. after a number of stops and starts, re: closing / opening but with extra cautions .. that also closed "until further notice"..............

[cnosil 14,627]

Been continuing to hit short pitches in the backyard.  I go through about 4 shag bags full of balls pitching to different distances.   Most are off a mat,  but I do switch to hitting in the grass for a few swings,  feel like I am getting better and back to what I learned in my last lesson.    Definitely using the bounce now;  I can see the marks from the mat toward the back of the clubs sole.  

Also rolled putts working on center face contact while I watched past masters highlights.  

I guess that is the one benefit of being home is that I get to walk into the backyard to hit a few golf shots.    Looking forward to playing tomorrow to see if the practice is helping.    

[Kenny B 23,173]

6 hours ago, cnosil said:

Been continuing to hit short pitches in the backyard.  I go through about 4 shag bags full of balls pitching to different distances.   Most are off a mat,  but I do switch to hitting in the grass for a few swings,  feel like I am getting better and back to what I learned in my last lesson.    Definitely using the bounce now;  I can see the marks from the mat toward the back of the clubs sole.  

Also rolled putts working on center face contact while I watched past masters highlights.  

I guess that is the one benefit of being home is that I get to walk into the backyard to hit a few golf shots.    Looking forward to playing tomorrow to see if the practice is helping.    

My wife and I mowed the lawn this morning, then did a little pitching in the backyard.  She struggles with consistency, but she can hit some good ones.  I told her to take the club back and let the weight of the club set the wrists.  No active wrists.  Then the same on the followthrough. No holding the face open or actively closing the face.  After a couple of pitches, she was deadly on the target.

[cksurfdude 7,925]

17 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

After a couple of pitches, she was deadly on the target.

Oh oh..... Don't make any big bets on your games with her from now on!

[Kenny B 23,173]

1 hour ago, cksurfdude said:

Oh oh..... Don't make any big bets on your games with her from now on!

I can still take her, except if I shoot my worst score of the year and she shoots her best.  However, I'm almost 73 and she's 64.  I think time is on her side.  

[revkev 22,052]

Hotter than blazes on the range today. Don’t know that I’ve ever been to a golf course on Easter in my life. I did watch my own church service this morning with my family. We are making them TV or movie style, out of sequence whenever musicians and others are available. So even though I’m there for the whole thing it’s fun to see how the lovely Laura puts it together.

I definitely found something the last time that I played. Was able to carry that same swing thought to the range and hit lots of good shots today. I found an old 90 compression titleist balata ball in my pile - saved it for one last shot with driver before heading over to putt. That felt so sweet.

Putting green was ridiculous - I hope they put some water on them before I play tomorrow - oh my!!!


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[bens197 5,872]

I’ve been using my downtime to work on putting. Last week I received a new Betty in the mail and I’ve been working hard to focus better on my stroke. Essentially, the goal is to change my habits and improve how I drill myself.

Rather than rolling putts I am using visual aids to offer better consistency in how I train.

So here it is from today. Keeping the putter head inside the track of Post-It’s while the Kleenex boxes are the outer limits of where I want the putter to travel.

[juspoole 1,411]

Went to the green last night to work on chipping and putting.  Found my touch on 40 yard and in to really be dialed in thanks to the extra work I've been doing in the back yard.  Picked my spot and was able to get really close to landing it right on it most of the time.   Putting was ok, but didn't really concentrate as much as I should have for it to mean anything. 

[cksurfdude 7,925]

On 4/12/2020 at 2:58 PM, bens197 said:

Keeping the putter head inside the track of Post-It’s while the Kleenex boxes....

Good setup! My wife teases me when I find yet another use for binder clips around the house .. think I'm up to like 237...

[cnosil 14,627]

Doing gate drills with the putter. Results are fine with 1 Degree of error gates, but having a right miss with the 1/2 degree gates. Ball position seems to have crept back in stance just a bit.

[TR1PTIK 2,625]

Been working on creating lead arm wrist flexion in the backswing - first at home, and then finally took it to the range last night. Irons were pure, but need to make some adjustments with the woods. Since I was releasing a touch early before with a negative AoA, the launch and spin dynamics seemed to work okay. With a later release and a negative AoA, I found that contact was a touch high on the face and the ball just wasn't coming out with the same kind of spin - so made some minor adjustments to hit up on the ball a bit. Gonna take a while, but this is something my instructor touched on in the last lesson I had before I left Missouri. With all the extra time available now, I should finally be able to incorporate it into my swing with the goal of achieving better face control and a much stronger ball flight.

I also worked a bit on my flop shot. Used to be the flop was an easy shot for me to hit, but as I've made improvements elsewhere this skill has essentially vanished. Bunker play is poor and for the few occasions where the shot is required anywhere else I just don't have much confidence in it. I watched the video Taylormade released on YouTube with Tiger and J. Day discussing how they hit bunker shots. Was able to utilize what they talked about and find something that really seems to work. Need to keep practicing, but hopefully my next shot from the sand won't be so intimidating.

[juspoole 1,411]

23 minutes ago, TR1PTIK said:

Since I was releasing a touch early before with a negative AoA, the launch and spin dynamics seemed to work okay. With a later release and a negative AoA, I found that contact was a touch high on the face and the ball just wasn't coming out with the same kind of spin - so made some minor adjustments to hit up on the ball a bit.

Do you have some sort of launch monitor to still show that you are doing this?

[Rickp 20,627]

Went by a couple practice ranges, putting greens today but kept on going. Thought there was enough people there and didn’t want to “crowd” in.


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[TR1PTIK 2,625]

55 minutes ago, juspoole said:

Do you have some sort of launch monitor to still show that you are doing this?

It's more a matter of knowing what my tendencies are from years of working with a golf professional and seeing my numbers on launch monitors - as recently as last month - and also looking at what the ball does.

[GolfSpy MPR 9,537]

I keep a putter and my PuttOUT at the church for little putting sessions during the day. Most often, I'm using a mat, but occasionally I try to make some long-distance putts (with camera on, just in case). And today I was awarded the long distance perfect putt record (a bit over 40'):