What/How Did You Practice Today?

[BallsLeon]

Got up early to go to the practice facility this morning. Warmed up with 52⁰, dialing in my 100yd shot. Then played a quick sim round, fairly middle of the road performance for me today with biggest struggles off the tee box (mostly hitting thin).

Finally, spent about an hour rolling putts on the PuttView system after a disastrous putting performance this weekend. Swapped the 5g weights back out for the stock 15g weights in the putter, and it's back to feeling a lot more stable. Was using TM Tour Response balls and I can tell the roll is much improved from this weekend.
However, speed continues to be a struggle (why I was messing with weights int he first place) so I warmed up with a speed control drill. Putting one ball about 3ft, and then trying to putt just past the last ball until I'm across the green. Did a couple rounds of this, and then worked on the ladder drill with most of the alignment aides disabled (green contours and setup still on). The ladder consists of 8 putts from 3.5ft to 10.5ft on hole with slight uphill and right-to-left break. First couple rounds took quite a few putts to finally sink all 8, but by the third round I managed it in 11 putts (matching my previous best with all the alignment aides turned on). Next goal is to do it in 10 or less.

[donald86]

16 hours ago, Willie T said:

Day 26 (07 Feb 24) - Worked on setup-preshot focused on wedge play - greenside length shots - short pitches in the 5 - 25 yard range. 

This is by far the scariest shot for me. Inside 20 yards I've got almost zero confidence and I rarely practice because I hate it. 

[Jim Shaw]

3 minutes ago, donald86 said:

This is by far the scariest shot for me. Inside 20 yards I've got almost zero confidence and I rarely practice because I hate it. 

do you have a tendency to "skull" or "chunk" these shots? 

[StrokerAce]

the best golfers I see take little to no time standing over the ball.

the worst golfers I see stand over the ball forever before hitting it.

I'm working on taking less time over the ball... so far it's going well.

[donald86]

1 minute ago, Jim Shaw said:

do you have a tendency to "skull" or "chunk" these shots? 

I do on occasion but my problem is that I leave it short about 99% of the time 

[Willie T]

14 minutes ago, donald86 said:

This is by far the scariest shot for me. Inside 20 yards I've got almost zero confidence and I rarely practice because I hate it. 

That’s why I practice it as I found/find myself there more times than not.  Not only with wedges but also with “alternative” clubs like 8i or a hybrid.  I have found that it not adds to available shot options but greatly increases overall greenside confidence. 

[Jim Shaw]

13 minutes ago, donald86 said:

 I’m not going to lie, that is a “gut check” distance, even for the best in the world. 
I find, for me, it is a “trust” shot. And I work really hard on them, even then they are frustrating. 
If I were you I would watch some televised golf and see how the best in the word execute these. I see the best ones always have a good and consistent rythym, that might help you a bit. 
good luck… 

Ahh, so you make solid contact but leave it short, I

[donald86]

11 minutes ago, Willie T said:

That’s why I practice it as I found/find myself there more times than not.  Not only with wedges but also with “alternative” clubs like 8i or a hybrid.  I have found that it not adds to available shot options but greatly increases overall greenside confidence. 

Definitely need to get my confidence up around the greens. I used to love greenside wedges and I've just got to find that feel again.

[donald86]

3 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

Ahh, so you make solid contact but leave it short, I

My friend and regular playing partner is excellent around the greens and he has incredible rhythm...he's always trying to help me on this. Maybe I need to listen to him more

[BobBC78]

Practiced 10-yard (carry) chip shots in the yard today with my 58* SW. Setup a station with alignment rods: one aimed at the target (a towel) and the second along my stance line (slightly open). Went through routine, including a couple of practice swings to test the lie, before hitting each chip. Generally good results distance wise, but getting a consistent trajectory needs work. 

[kidwellj]

I hit 25 six foot putts and 25 eight foot putts.

[chisag]

5 hours ago, donald86 said:

This is by far the scariest shot for me. Inside 20 yards I've got almost zero confidence and I rarely practice because I hate it. 

 

... I think maybe you hate it because you rarely practice it.  In my teaching experience most short game issues arise from focusing too much on the results and not the process. I think most would agree most shots in golf are pretty easy without a ball to distract you. If your full attention is on making contact with a smooth swing/stoke the short game is pretty easy to execute. Without practice you may not always get it close, but you will hit a decent pitch/chip/putt. 

... Like many things in this crazy game not caring about the results gives you the best chance at success. Attempting to basically make the shot get close causes all kinds of problems. I would recommend practicing without a target. Drop some balls and just pitch/chip in the direction of the green without caring how far the ball travels. You are just looking to make solid contact and make a rhythmic pitch/chip. Once you start getting a feel for it, start trying to hit at the flag. If your problems return, go back to hitting shots with no target. 

...  I do believe virtually everything in golf should be target oriented. But you can't do that with faulty technique. So start hitting good shots with good technique and then start zeroing in on your target. 

[donald86]

1 hour ago, chisag said:

 

... I think maybe you hate it because you rarely practice it.  In my teaching experience most short game issues arise from focusing too much on the results and not the process. I think most would agree most shots in golf are pretty easy without a ball to distract you. If your full attention is on making contact with a smooth swing/stoke the short game is pretty easy to execute. Without practice you may not always get it close, but you will hit a decent pitch/chip/putt. 

... Like many things in this crazy game not caring about the results gives you the best chance at success. Attempting to basically make the shot get close causes all kinds of problems. I would recommend practicing without a target. Drop some balls and just pitch/chip in the direction of the green without caring how far the ball travels. You are just looking to make solid contact and make a rhythmic pitch/chip. Once you start getting a feel for it, start trying to hit at the flag. If your problems return, go back to hitting shots with no target. 

...  I do believe virtually everything in golf should be target oriented. But you can't do that with faulty technique. So start hitting good shots with good technique and then start zeroing in on your target. 

I'm going to be have to try this. I realized recently that when I get close to the green I get very target specific and that could be a root of my issue. Getting back to a good rhythm and technique will certainly help me out. Thanks for the idea

[cnosil]

23 minutes ago, donald86 said:

I'm going to be have to try this. I realized recently that when I get close to the green I get very target specific and that could be a root of my issue. Getting back to a good rhythm and technique will certainly help me out. Thanks for the idea

In the below video starting at 11:55 this reinforces what is being discussed: start with technique to get consistent launch  windows and then you pick out landing areas and get better results.     

 

 

[NubianRugby]

They closed the range early today for some reason, so I went down to the chipping area and hit 60 close in chips from the fringe to 5 yards from the green. I never hit this many chips in a row and got into a nice rhythm, coming through the ball with intention and getting them up in the air.

First 20 was with my 58 degree wedge, getting it up and having it stop quickly. Switched to my 50 degree while hitting the same stroke, rhythm, and setup and the ball was running out quite a bit more for the second 20 shots. Went back to the 58 for the last 20 to confirm I was actually stopping the ball. 

Over the course of the session I started concentrating on coming down on the ball and that seemed to pay dividends in terms of getting the ball up more consistently. Definitely good to start the season off by practicing stuff I had ignored last season. 

 

[Willie T]

Day 27 (08 Feb 24) - Continued the short pitches / chips work but added a visual I’ve used in the past to give a nice window to hit thru.  I used his little football goal post set up about 12yds out, with the pin target another 16 or so.  The goal (pardon the pun) was to hit thru the goal - and then have the ball run out to the pin.  Still worked on setup, club face position and working smoothly thru the ball.  Here’s a snapshot of the setup…

[Dweed]

To heck with practice today. I played hooky and hit the course.

[barney_bogey]

Back to the putting green today. 30 minutes on lag putts and alignment drills, one handed too. 10 minutes on 3 to 4 foot putts. That was boring.

20 minutes playing with new wedges. Love that new wedge sauce!

Then back to the sim to finish my wedge matrix.

Was a lovely day of practice.

Cheers
B

[sirchunksalot]

After work yesterday, I went to the range with a couple of friends. It was a bit cool and I was kicking myself for not remembering to pack a light jacket by the time we finished.

I was working on turning and not swaying in the backswing along with hitting committed shots. 

It wasn't perfect, but it's starting to get there. I need to work on strike and low point control. I hit a bunch of fat shots and some thin. I'm starting to see my swing speed come back, but not the distance associated with the speed. 

We did see these guys who wandered out on the range. 

We spent the last portion of the day on the putting green competing on who could two putt from one end of the green to the other. I can't say I did great, but we had a lot of fun trying. 

 

[BobBC78]

Did about 15-minutes of putting practice today inside; mainly Kenyon's gate drill (5.5 cm wide gate 12" ahead of the ball) to 3' and 4' targets. After a rough start, I got 20 in a row. 

[jbern]

Yesterday I was able to get out and play a round outside. I was really struggling with speed when putting almost the whole round. So the last four holes, I decided to walk off each put to figure out exactly how far my putt was and then adjusted a little for uphill/downhill. Every putt ended up within 3 feet. I think some of my issue was guessing the distances terribly. 

Now, I need to go to a chipping green to figure out chipping landing areas. I did not chip the ball close a single time yesterday. Strikes were good, but club selection and knowing how much roll out I was going to have was the issue. I didn't have a single greenside chip within 12 feet.

[cnosil]

5 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

 

 

 

Keep practicing those long putts.  Here is #11  at Royal new Kent.  Pin is often behind those bunkers and from the fairway is it 1-2 clubs extra.  

[BobBC78]

More chipping practice today, using the same practice station (alignment rods) and checking positions carefully with each practice stroke. I chipped about 20 balls with better face strike and trajectory than I had on Thursday, so making progress. 

[donald86]

On 2/7/2024 at 10:39 AM, donald86 said:

This off season I have been doing some over speed training and working on flexibility and mobility. As a small guy I'm trying to gain an edge anyway possible. 

Anyone here been doing over speed work?

Just a follow up to this, if anyone here is curious. Been using a prgr monitor that I borrowed from my friend and a knock off speed stick from Amazon. It was like $30. 

First round of practice I maxed at 98mph.

It's been 6 practice rounds over the course of 12 days and today I maxed at 102.2mph. 

Hopefully my work continues on this trajectory as well as translates to course performance.

[cksurfdude]

On 2/8/2024 at 6:52 PM, Willie T said:

Here’s a snapshot of the setup…

That is really great!!

Reminds me of a short game teaching tool is seen years ago .. and forgotten about .. instead of one crossbar picture a ladder type construction with 3 windows = hi, mid, low. Then beyond it were 3 target areas - making up 9 possible window x target combos!

 

[sirchunksalot]

On 2/9/2024 at 11:28 AM, cnosil said:

Keep practicing those long putts.  Here is #11  at Royal new Kent.  Pin is often behind those bunkers and from the fairway is it 1-2 clubs extra.  

I saw that some of the greens at RNK were looking and skinny, but I didn't realize they were that long. I'm glad you brought that up, I have problems with speed control once I get over 30 feet out. 

[cnosil]

11 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

That is really great!!

Reminds me of a short game teaching tool is seen years ago .. and forgotten about .. instead of one crossbar picture a ladder type construction with 3 windows = hi, mid, low. Then beyond it were 3 target areas - making up 9 possible window x target combos!

 

You could just do the Titleist Ladder Challenge

 

[cnosil]

4 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

I saw that some of the greens at RNK were looking and skinny, but I didn't realize they were that long. I'm glad you brought that up, I have problems with speed control once I get over 30 feet out. 

They are very undulating too.. so much so that if you are on the wrong level it will probably roll off the green...Number 6 is an example of that..   Some are pretty big and you can end up with lots of putts outside of 30 feet.   I have had rounds with multiple 60+ foot putts.  

Edited February 10 by cnosil

[sirchunksalot]

1 minute ago, cnosil said:

They are very undulating too.   Some are pretty big and you can end up with lots of putts outside of 30 feet.   I have had rounds with multiple 60+ foot putts.  

That's also good to know, I've watched a couple of videos on the course but I haven't found any that really shows how the green complexes are set up from the players point of view. Going into the search in YouTube, I was expecting for there to be more videos on the course. 

 

[Rob Person]

37 minutes ago, cnosil said:

You could just do the Titleist Ladder Challenge

 

I like that drill for height control,  is there a way to incorporate distance/landing speed (ball runoff) control?