What/How Did You Practice Today?

[cksurfdude]

Had an ok practice yesterday afternoon...

Started with some putting where my typical thing is to work on different lag putts first across various pieces of the practice green; then differing, call it, mid length distances to different flags trying to nestle it in close; then an around the clock drill or two; then back to some mid length putts with this time working on making the second putt. That all went well (wellll.. on that day anyway ).

One new thing I tried, kinda outta the blue, on the short putts is to stand a little closer and taller in my setup and just think pendulum stroke .. seemed to work!

On to range time... 

Wedges - felt nice crisp contact on most, with decent distance control. Two problems still being worked on - a bit of a pull to the left; then the occasional *fore-right!* hosel stuff that is ugly, embarrassing and frustrating...

Irons - not as crisp as last time; way fewer good ones vs prior practices. Just telling myself, hey it happens and keep working on better pressure shift, better arm structure, etc. 

FW - use an old 5W for practice and was not catching the ball well at all. I alternate hitting it to about a 140 yd target vs full shot. Again: Just telling myself, hey it happens and keep working on better pressure shift, better arm structure, etc. 

Driver - same so-so results as usual. Alternated 2 or 3 shots with driver and then a few with a 7i or a wedge. Put it away for a while and went back to PW to about a 90 yd target.

Then said, ok one more challenge: put 3 balls into the "fairway" ie middle of the range between the two furthest targets. 1st ball kinda of a bunt shot but at least it went in the right direction; 2nd ball slowed down my swing - yes!; 3rd ball actually repeated that same swing and result - yes!

Driver goes back in the bag, and I go back to the putting green for a bit.

Work In Progress!!

[sirchunksalot]

21 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Had an ok practice yesterday afternoon...

Started with some putting where my typical thing is to work on different lag putts first across various pieces of the practice green; then differing, call it, mid length distances to different flags trying to nestle it in close; then an around the clock drill or two; then back to some mid length putts with this time working on making the second putt. That all went well (wellll.. on that day anyway ).

One new thing I tried, kinda outta the blue, on the short putts is to stand a little closer and taller in my setup and just think pendulum stroke .. seemed to work!

On to range time... 

Wedges - felt nice crisp contact on most, with decent distance control. Two problems still being worked on - a bit of a pull to the left; then the occasional *fore-right!* hosel stuff that is ugly, embarrassing and frustrating...

Irons - not as crisp as last time; way fewer good ones vs prior practices. Just telling myself, hey it happens and keep working on better pressure shift, better arm structure, etc. 

FW - use an old 5W for practice and was not catching the ball well at all. I alternate hitting it to about a 140 yd target vs full shot. Again: Just telling myself, hey it happens and keep working on better pressure shift, better arm structure, etc. 

Driver - same so-so results as usual. Alternated 2 or 3 shots with driver and then a few with a 7i or a wedge. Put it away for a while and went back to PW to about a 90 yd target.

Then said, ok one more challenge: put 3 balls into the "fairway" ie middle of the range between the two furthest targets. 1st ball kinda of a bunt shot but at least it went in the right direction; 2nd ball slowed down my swing - yes!; 3rd ball actually repeated that same swing and result - yes!

Driver goes back in the bag, and I go back to the putting green for a bit.

Work In Progress!!

Sounds like you had a productive range session. I applaud you for getting out and working on your lag putting because it's a very important part of our game that a lot of us overlook when we're practicing. 

It's just not as sexy as pounding golf balls.

The iron and fairway swing will come and go, but it sounds like you're making progress in those areas and that's what it's all about.

I'm glad you found a thought with driver at the end that is working well for you and I hope that continues. 

All I can say Chuck, is keep doing what you're doing. I feel like lower scores are in your future. 

[BobBC78]

Pitch shots in the yard with my newly acquired Cleveland CBX Full Face 2 56* wedge. 

[richk9holes]

Putting practice, 2 1/2-7 1/2 feet. Made 47/50 including 29/30 to finish. Missed a 5' and 2x 7' no misses inside 5', 94% make percentage. Very pleased with this.

[Garbox80]

Working on getting back on track after winter, third time on driving range. Past two times I took my 7 iron and both drivers with me to try and compare them (drivers, not 7i and driver  ) and also both putters for the same reason. This time I only took the 7 iron so that I would have to work with one club only. Better to do that when trying to get some sort of consistency.

Took one batch of balls (25 if I remember correctly) and added 12-15 balls that someone had left there. First 15 ish were all kinds of horrible, no feel on what my body was doing (warm up? what's that?). Started to get a hang of it and gradually and about the last 10 were better. Today's medicine was to take reeeallly slow backswing and even stop on top and hit full force (without pushing). I usually have troubles if I try to hit easy, my wrists have time to get active and I tend to hit fat. On full speed swings I use hand-eye coordination better. I usually also have a problem that every day I have to try some different things to get my swing to work (for what I've heard, it's not that uncommon that some days people tend to hit fade and sometimes it's draw etc. so I'm not too worried about that). I understand why it happens (only need one muscle to be stiff to make the balance different), but it's so annoying when one day you find something that works and the next day that same thought doesn't work at all. Better consistency will make the difference smaller of course, so gotta just keep grinding.

Hitting from grass is prohibited at this point of year (grass is JUST starting to grow), but the mat on this range is just about an inch thick and on tarmac; I was able to tell when I hit fat quite well  (poor clubs though).

[ZackS]

Played 10 holes at the end of the day working on trying to keep my back foot on the ground longer. Also testing the Wilson Triad and Mizuno RB Tour balls. Working on a swing change I hit good shots but timing is still inconsistent as expected. Balls are pretty similar.  The Mizuno is a little better through the wind but has some durability issues. So I have to say the Wilson is better overall. Figured I would share this to show the 2 on a 220 yard shot into a 8 to 10 mph wind. Pretty close

[acatalano32]

Not the best set up, but practiced with the mlm2 pro and the rukket spdr while the wife and kids took an after church nap

[Preeway]

57 minutes ago, acatalano32 said:

Not the best set up, but practiced with the mlm2 pro and the rukket spdr while the wife and kids took an after church nap

Are you finding the data from the MLM accurate so far?

[cksurfdude]

On 4/29/2023 at 1:33 PM, sirchunksalot said:

Sounds like you had a productive range session. I applaud you for getting out and working on your lag putting because it's a very important part of our game that a lot of us overlook when we're practicing. 

It's just not as sexy as pounding golf balls.

The iron and fairway swing will come and go, but it sounds like you're making progress in those areas and that's what it's all about.

I'm glad you found a thought with driver at the end that is working well for you and I hope that continues. 

All I can say Chuck, is keep doing what you're doing. I feel like lower scores are in your future. 

Thx for all that, Sir!!

I think the lower scores will come from fewer blow-up holes;  eg keeping the ball moving in the right direction more consistently but also improving my course management decisions...

And yeah IMO lag putting is one of the most important skills to develop ... imagine getting your first putt close from anywhere on the green .. takes a lotta pressure off your approach shot.

[cnosil]

15 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

And yeah IMO lag putting is one of the most important skills to develop ... imagine getting your first putt close from anywhere on the green .. takes a lotta pressure off your approach shot.

100%. If you can get you distance putts into a 6 foot circle around the hole, you will significantly improve you ability to avoid 3 putts.  

[ballplayer002003]

12 hours ago, ZackS said:

Played 10 holes at the end of the day working on trying to keep my back foot on the ground longer. Also testing the Wilson Triad and Mizuno RB Tour balls. Working on a swing change I hit good shots but timing is still inconsistent as expected. Balls are pretty similar.  The Mizuno is a little better through the wind but has some durability issues. So I have to say the Wilson is better overall. Figured I would share this to show the 2 on a 220 yard shot into a 8 to 10 mph wind. Pretty close

I won some Mizuno balls in a tournament last year and I was excited to try them out.  I hated them.  Like you said, not very durable.  I would not recommend the Mizuno golf ball to anyone.

[richk9holes]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

100%. If you can get you distance putts into a 6 foot circle around the hole, you will significantly improve you ability to avoid 3 putts.  

This is what I hope to work on today. Last time I played this course was front 9 only. Shot 41 but 19 putts with 2x 3 putts. Being able to lag would have put my 9 hole score where I want it to be.

[Preeway]

5 minutes ago, ballplayer002003 said:

I won some Mizuno balls in a tournament last year and I was excited to try them out.  I hated them.  Like you said, not very durable.  I would not recommend the Mizuno golf ball to anyone.

Last years model had serious durability issues. Try the 2023 model. I absolutely love it and would put it up against any other brand out there. 

[ballplayer002003]

1 minute ago, Preeway said:

Last years model had serious durability issues. Try the 2023 model. I absolutely love it and would put it up against any other brand out there. 

I keep bouncing back and forth between ProV1, Snell Black (left overs that I had) and the Bridgestone Tour BXS.  They all feel pretty much the same to me and perform close enough to each other.  I just wait to see who is running deals, granted the Snell is much cheaper.

[Preeway]

3 minutes ago, ballplayer002003 said:

I keep bouncing back and forth between ProV1, Snell Black (left overs that I had) and the Bridgestone Tour BXS.  They all feel pretty much the same to me and perform close enough to each other.  I just wait to see who is running deals, granted the Snell is much cheaper.

Same. With the 2023 Mizuno balls being $10-$13 cheaper per dozen with the same performance as Pro V1s it was an easy call for me. 

[Merlin1313]

Went out in the wind tunnel that was Saturday morning to work on the "new" chipping method. Figured out that I occasionally have a bad habit of pulling instead of "swinging"- I'll give it another shot when the cross winds aren't 30+mph. But for the most part I think it went relatively well. Still need a LOT more work on the lower lofted clubs.

[BobBC78]

Practiced at North Kingstown today:

Range: 9 to 3 swings with 7-UW, alternating driver, 9W; driver, hybrid, etc.

Practice green: Putts from the fringe to various holes, chipping from rough and fringe to various holes. 

[StrokerAce]

5 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

And yeah IMO lag putting is one of the most important skills to develop ... imagine getting your first putt close from anywhere on the green .. takes a lotta pressure off your approach shot.

I heard recently your second putt after your lag putt should be 10% of the distance to the hole.

i.e. a 30 foot lag should leave you with a 3 foot putt...

Tough, but not impossible...

5 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

And yeah IMO lag putting is one of the most important skills to develop ... imagine getting your first putt close from anywhere on the green .. takes a lotta pressure off your approach shot.

I heard recently your second putt after your lag putt should be 10% of the distance to the hole.

i.e. a 30 foot lag should leave you with a 3 foot putt...

Tough, but not impossible...

5 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

And yeah IMO lag putting is one of the most important skills to develop ... imagine getting your first putt close from anywhere on the green .. takes a lotta pressure off your approach shot.

I heard recently your second putt after your lag putt should be 10% of the distance to the hole.

i.e. a 30 foot lag should leave you with a 3 foot putt...

Tough, but not impossible...

5 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

And yeah IMO lag putting is one of the most important skills to develop ... imagine getting your first putt close from anywhere on the green .. takes a lotta pressure off your approach shot.

I heard recently your second putt after your lag putt should be 10% of the distance to the hole.

i.e. a 30 foot lag should leave you with a 3 foot putt...

Tough, but not impossible...

[StrokerAce]

6 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

 

And yeah IMO lag putting is one of the most important skills to develop ... imagine getting your first putt close from anywhere on the green .. takes a lotta pressure off your approach shot.

I heard recently your second putt after your lag putt should be 10% of the distance to the hole.

i.e. a 30 foot lag should leave you with a 3 foot putt...

Tough, but not impossible...

[Blaine Dye]

Today went and worked on my putting. Started with the gate drill just working on not pushing or pulling / then I putted down a wooden yard stick then I did some full club length. out idk what the drill is called but basically you do a full club length out in 4 spots and place 2 balls at each spot must make both to move on I find if I make it into a little challenge it seems to help the I went way back and just did some lag putting to work on my speed .

[Syks7]

More on course practice today.  Played 9 with multiple balls and made a nice little discovery about my trail arm and staying connected that instantly helped consistency across all clubs.   I've been that elbow get way too out to the side -- getting disconnected then getting stuck when that elbow gets behind me.  Focusing on the feel of keeping that 'elbow' in front of my torso generated a pretty instantaneous jump in contact consistency and power.  No idea what it actually looks like, but it 'feel's like my elbow is already in the position I want (tucking in) and putting my wrist in position to cover the ball as I rotate to impact during the downswing.   Time to add a drill focusing on this to the practice list. 

Otherwise it was another decent practice session.  The little exec was empty (SoCal players bail at the slightest chance of rain)  so I got a chance to drop and practice some situational shots.  Mostly right around 200 yards and 60-90 yards.  I'm still not in the place where I'm going to take a swing aimed at the green from beyond 200 but am working my way there.  I'll settle for doing no damage to my round for now, but based on my 60-90 yard dispersion it's a better play for me to layup in the fairway than it is for me to be short sided in the rough around the green.  That aspect of my game is better lately but it's not ready to be heavily leaned on just yet.

Putting wise I had a solid day, decent lag putts, and a few 5-7 footers made.  I really focused on keeping my head down and watching impact.  It did wonders for putting a good roll on the ball and overall seemed to vastly improve consistency.  

[cjeffs12]

The range opened up today after a few days of rain. I focused on my preshot feel of club head outside hands when club shaft is parallel to ground in takeaway, think JT, then address then pull trigger. This feel and then swing is really starting to feel amazing, and produce amazing shots. The more I exaggerate, the better the swing. I hit 20 PW, 20 6 irons and 10 4 irons. I have greens I’m aiming and starting to keep track of each one’s misses in relation to green, this way I can see if I have patterns that I can use on the course. I finished with about 80 pitch shots, to various yardage targets, and clubs. My wedges have been a little cold, so it was good to get back to what really is a key part of my game. I only hit about 10 balls with driver. 

[RichL85]

Made some range time after work today since I've been neglecting practice way too much for the last month or so. It was a busy month, but I have a little time this week so took a few clubs to the range just to feel out the swing and see where it stands. I've come to the conclusion that certain teaching methods just don't work for me. I don't seem to do well with overly specific teaching methods that focus on things like positions or specific setup cues. I can't for the life of me actually make things like focusing on bowing the wrist work for me, and I can't consistently get comfortable with the idea of consciously triggering certain muscles at specific times in the swing. I'm normally a pretty technical person, but I've never been one to be able to make technical changes well when it came to sports. I've accepted my little glitches and triggers and learned to work with them. I think I'm at the same place with my golf swing after working on it a number of different ways over the past year and a half. 

I simply get more consistent results when I just let the tension go. Less thinking about things, keep moving, setup, let out a breath and just relax the whole body, then go while keeping everything as loose as possible. It's weird, but it works for me. Once I got that feeling sorted out, I worked on a lot of different distances with the wedge that I brought with me. I tend to tense up on those half swing wedges and it caused all kinds of contact issues, but I know that's a place I need to improve so I'm working on spending more time doing that. Overall I was pretty happy with the ball flight after a bit of time away from swing a club.

[acatalano32]

23 hours ago, Preeway said:

Are you finding the data from the MLM accurate so far?

The only thing I’m having trouble with so far is chipping, not sure if it’s because the sun was going down and the lighting was getting dark, but my 8i is between 160-165 and on the MLM2 it’s avg is 162. 7i on course is about 175-177 and it’s avg on MLM2 is 173. 5w is about 235-245, and it’s averaging 238 on the Mlm2 and all of that is carry.

with the small amount of time I have had to use it, I’m impressed with it, gonna try the simulation and combines this week weather permitting 

[cksurfdude]

9 hours ago, RichL85 said:

I don't seem to do well with overly specific teaching methods that focus on things like positions or specific setup cues. I can't for the life of me actually make things like focusing on bowing the wrist work for me, and I can't consistently get comfortable with the idea of consciously triggering certain muscles at specific times in the swing. I'm normally a pretty technical person, but I've never been one to be able to make technical changes well when it came to sports.

Yep, completely hear what you're saying! Also technically/analytically inclined but also don't do well with thinking about positions - I do much better working on a feel of a body movement.

Now this may be the flip side of the same coin (or even just semantics) but I know I've made more progress by practicing that way.

Good luck to you on your journey to better!!

 

[sirchunksalot]

I wanted to go hit some balls yesterday, but high winds killed my motivation. It was windy again today, but after talking golf a lot at work today I thought I would head over to the driving range.

I was driving by the course around the 8th hole and noticed the course was busy. I pulled into the parking lot and could not find a place to park. Nothing. 

I turned around and headed back home. I guess you could say I got in driving practice....to and from the course.

Tomorrow's another day and I'll head back over there then. It's not a big deal since it's about 10 minutes from the house. 

[IndyBonzo]

I went to the range and hit a small bucket into the driving wind in my face, comparing my Mizuno and Miura irons. Not sure I learned a whole bunch, other than the shafts feel very different. Both performed well and at least I got loose.  

[ColeM]

Call me booboo the fool but after I went to the gym today and decided that some range time post workout was a great idea. But I got an 80 ball bucket and worked my driver,5,6,7 on the range then worked on chipping and putting after the range time. 

The range did not go to well since I worked arms first 

[Fongle]

I normally grab a large bucket of balls at the range and work my way through my clubs from PW to 4i, hitting straight shots, fades, and (trying to hit) draws, then will hit one of my longer clubs like my driving iron, wood or driver, and then finish with short range feel shots with my wedges.

At home I have a Perfect Practice mat I use a lot, especially between calls at work, or on lunch breaks. I also practice fringe chipping shots on it, just to practice getting the right line and high/low launches.

[BobBC78]

Wedge practice (56* CBX FF2) using the "Umbrella" drill 2 balls each from 5, 10 and 15 yards. Lot's more work to do until I get all 6 in a row.