What/How Did You Practice Today?

[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

8-10 yards and 54*

That's a tough shot with no green to work with.  If you on flat ground hitting to an elevated green, it takes a bigger swing; how big just takes practice to learn the feel, but I make sure I get the ball on the green.  Take my medicine and error long.  With my 60º it's almost a flop shot.  I really can't take more club because a lower trajectory makes the ball run out off the other side; green is long and narrow... which is why I miss on one side or the other a lot!!  Yes... I have gone back and forth over the green!!!  

The slope off the greens is also quite severe; can't see the putting surface even halfway down the slope.  When on the upslope, I used to use my 60º, but that's more like a 70-75º club when swinging along the slope; even my 54º is too much.  I've found that my 48º PW works pretty well with a normal pitch shot shape.  This is not something I can practice in our practice area; it has to be practiced on those holes.  

[Syks7]

Played for practice today.  I had the course pretty much to to myself today, (106 degrees!!!!) so I got to practice like the pros.  I managed a 41/40 81 with the main ball, but since I was hitting multiples after mishits (or to see if a different club or shot trajectory would work better) it definitely was not recordable.  It was a great practice session and I got to try out a lot of different shots including some fun hero shots. 

The best part of today though was greenside.  Trying a variety of shots with different clubs and different trajectories on full size greens that I play often with no pressure was enlightening.  I feel like I have a much better understanding of how the ball moves and reacts based on its trajectory into a given slope and will have a much easier time selecting the proper shot and club to get in tight and get up and down.  

A couple other items of note.:

I was testing a 4 hybrid as a replacement for my traditionally lofted 3 iron and the 3 iron fought back.  I've been ice cold with it lately (it's hard to hit well) but today I didn't mishit it once.  Go figure.  

My striking was excellent today.  Part of that was that I really got my hips to lead the downswing and generating clubhead speed when that happens is pretty effortless.   I honed in on it so that I can practice the 'feel' in the future.  No video, but I'd bet my impact position today showed my hips much more open to the target. 

Fun, but very hot day.  I wish I could practice on course more often.

Edited September 7, 2022 by Syks7

[Siamese Moose]

We have been deluged with rain (10+" since Friday night), so the putting and chipping greens at my range have not been mowed since Thursday. I use the chipping green as my warm up, but the roll out was so short that it was throwing my personal calibration off, so I ended that quickly. The grass tees were open, but so sodden that I skipped them (there were a few souls who were out there). I'm not really fond of mats, but that was the remaining option. At least at the mats each station has a TopTracer monitor, so I could play some virtual golf. I tried a new-to-me course, Bro Hof Stadium, and it killed me. The tee options are 5600 or 6400 (and up), and there's a number of long par 4s. Since TopTracer estimates my distance about a full club shorter than I get on the course, I got beat up. 

[edingc]

Just a really good range session at lunch today. Continuing to find out that I really have been far too much in my heels during my swing for years. I turn better and can actually stop my shoulders from ripping open on the downswing when I setup more toward my toes. Honestly, my best shots came when I felt like I was barely touching my heels to the ground.

(The caveat is that I can't go too much toward the toes because I need to stay in balance.)

I ended the session going all out with some 6 irons and found that emphasizing arm structure in my setup (firm but not stiff) keeps my from getting to armsy and helps me stay in sync, especially when I'm taking huge backswings and throwing everything I have at the ball.

[Golfspy_TCB]

Leading into my Club Championship Saturday/Sunday, I am doing a coaching session with my pro today.  Planning a light range session just to keep loose, and focus on chipping and putting - maybe play a few holes after to get some situational shots in.

 

[RichL85]

Thanks to the current heatwave, the course and practice areas were practically empty yesterday afternoon. Went after work, but like an idiot, left my glove at the office somehow. I usually only bring a few clubs with me to practice with after work, so yesterday it was the 7 iron and the 50 degree wedge. Spent about half of the time just working on tempo, basically hitting slow, full swing 7-irons to the 130 marker, and then wedges to around 65 yards. I've had a nasty habit of speeding up my tempo and transition some days, and those are usually the days I have major issues. Trying to think to myself that "slow is fast" seems to help. Focusing on a slower tempo and slow, even transition helps me to feel like I am accelerating more into impact rather than accelerating from the top and losing that speed early. 

Spent another amount of time just hitting little punch shot draws. My typical ball flight is a little fade, but I'm trying to work on hitting a draw more often since the course I play at suits that shape better. I also like having options from a personal perspective. I was able to translate that into a couple of full shots, but pulled a few as well. Work in progress as usual. Called it shortly after that because I started developing a blister on my finger and didn't want to risk popping it. Lesson learned for me. Don't forget the glove!

[bens197]

34 years of playing golf I've never taken a formal lesson.  That changed today, I had 1 hour with Brian Jacobs as a gift from my brothers.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you open your mind to create change.  He was able to help me understand concepts and how they would relate to improving my swing.  I can not wait to get out and play next week to test out what we worked on.  

In short...ball position and alignment.  We spent a lot of time discussing and working through mechanics for my body type.  I always have had a natural tendency to stand open (shoulders left of target) with the club face open (right of target) and once I was able to trust what he was showing me, I was hitting irons better than I could imagine.  

The skill is there, it's finding someone who can communicate with you and show you the WHY.

[MDGolfHacker]

Thanks to my daughter joining the high school golf team, I've been spending a lot of time at the courses she's been playing at practicing. Lots of putting, chipping and range time. Spent 2 1/2 hours yesterday putting and another hour or so hitting the range. My range game is probably at a + level right now

[Golfspy_TCB]

21 hours ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

Leading into my Club Championship Saturday/Sunday, I am doing a coaching session with my pro today.  Planning a light range session just to keep loose, and focus on chipping and putting - maybe play a few holes after to get some situational shots in.

 

Following my previous post... good range session... worked through my bag starting with 3/4 shots with my gap and PW then to full swings 9iron, 7iron, 7wood, 3wood, Driver.  Swing is feeling consistent, which is what I was looking for.  The Pro and I took a mini tour of the course and found an open green to work on lag putting outside 30 feet, and routine inside 20 feet.  Then worked independently for another hour on the practice green.  Left with more confidence than I came with... so that is a win.

[GaryF]

Hit the range today. Had a really good session last week trying to fix a swing issue with my driver, made a lot of progress then played 9 last Friday and drove really well.   Got rained out on sat &sun.  Todays session was to reinforce ‘the fix”.  Also worked on baby pitches/chips with my 58 and putting. 

I’ll go in streaks with good drives and staying really connected. When things go well with the driver, I’ll hit straight, occasionally slight draw and occasionally a slight fade.  Over time I’ll get more fades and occasional strong fades, no draws, then as things worsen a slice here and there.  

The cause is over time on the last 1/3 of the backswing, in addition to rotating back, my arms will also draw the club back.  Very subtle as far as feel goes.  I might not even feel it, but the ball trajectory tells me everything I need to know.  Another contributing factor is during the down swing, I tend to want to lean slightly toward the ball with my back shoulder.  When I stay closed longer and in better balance is when I get a draw.  

For me, one of the best feelings of accomplishment I get is when something goes wrong, I’ll practice and work out the mechanics then translate it to the course.  While my drives last Friday were 100% really good, I didn't score well (45) but felt really good with the outing. 
 

Edited September 12, 2022 by GaryF

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Took my daughter to the range to get her out of the house. She was great getting balls for me and chatting. Was the best I hit the ball. Told her my targets and executed. Varied distance with different clubs. Did some shot shaping calibration. Ended up hitting 5 different clubs at a 112 yard flag. Was a lot of fun. 

[Kenny B]

16 hours ago, GaryF said:

Hit the range today. Had a really good session last week trying to fix a swing issue with my driver, made a lot of progress then played 9 last Friday and drove really well.   Got rained out on sat &sun.  Todays session was to reinforce ‘the fix”.  Also worked on baby pitches/chips with my 58 and putting. 

I’ll go in streaks with good drives and staying really connected. When things go well with the driver, I’ll hit straight, occasionally slight draw and occasionally a slight fade.  Over time I’ll get more fades and occasional strong fades, no draws, then as things worsen a slice here and there.  

The cause is over time on the last 1/3 of the backswing, in addition to rotating back, my arms will also draw the club back.  Very subtle as far as feel goes.  I might not even feel it, but the ball trajectory tells me everything I need to know.  Another contributing factor is during the down swing, I tend to want to lean slightly toward the ball with my back shoulder.  When I stay closed longer and in better balance is when I get a draw.  

For me, one of the best feelings of accomplishment I get is when something goes wrong, I’ll practice and work out the mechanics then translate it to the course.  While my drives last Friday were 100% really good, I didn't score well (45) but felt really good with the outing. 
 

Nice!!  It's really hard to correct a swing issue while playing on the weekend; we all want to play whenever we can.  It can be done, but it takes longer for a change to become permanent.  It's why pros do it in the off season.  Not playing last weekend and practicing all this week should reduce the stronger fades because the "staying closed longer" movement will begin to be your new normal.  Keep it up!

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Got back to the range to hit off grass. Played a simulated round for prep on Saturday. Got driver ball speed over 160 a couple times. Hit every club. Struggled only with 4i. Finally worked on driver face contact. 

putting green did lag and mirror work for 30 mins. Then 25 mins of pitching to various target from different lies with different clubs. Then the same for chipping practice. 

[GaryF]

3 hours ago, Kenny B said:

Nice!!  It's really hard to correct a swing issue while playing on the weekend; we all want to play whenever we can.  It can be done, but it takes longer for a change to become permanent.  It's why pros do it in the off season.  Not playing last weekend and practicing all this week should reduce the stronger fades because the "staying closed longer" movement will begin to be your new normal.  Keep it up!

It’s all about ‘feel’ for me and interpreting the driver trajectory.  Until a few years ago I didn’t have a hdcp, but a friend thought I was ~ mid-20s.  I always needed to hit the range about 3 times after a layoff, then would at last have respectable drives, until a few years ago, when I got desperate and got lessons. 

First lesson after watching me hit a 7 iron, we talked a lot.  He was trying to assess what I really wanted.  Told him I wanted to be decent and <20 hdcp.  Asked me if I was really committed to improving and willing to put in the work and make changes. When I said ‘yes’, he (light-hearted) said ‘with your swing, you don’t have a chance’. We both laughed and I really appreciated his frankness.    He totally rebuilt my swing from all arms to no arms.  3 lessons and a lot of work.  

At first lost a lot of distance, but stuck with it.  I also did a lot of reading and research.  Read Bobby Jones “On Golf” 3 times the last couple years, each time picking up different nuances. Eventually regained distance and ultimately enjoy golf more than ever.  I am 82% FIR but only 40% GIR.  Last year started focusing on wedge play and everything inside 100 yards. This year more short wedge play around the green. Putting still very much a work in progress.
 

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by GaryF

[Mr. Mushball]

14 hours ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Took my daughter to the range to get her out of the house. 

 

How did she hit?

 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

37 minutes ago, Mr. Mushball said:

How did she hit?

 

Lol. She wanted to watch and put balls on a tee for me. She hit one and had it go a few feet. Baby steps

[revkev]

The weather in Florida has been terrible. It’s one of the wettest September’s on record - without a tropical storm!!! That’s compared to scores of septembers with tropical systems. 
 

The weather has stunk.

 

I’ve had my lesson canceled 4 times in the past 3 weeks. Course and range gave had to close a couple of times. I’ve played twice this month.  Labor Day weekend.

So I dragged the hitting net out to at least hit sone balls live. Set the rapsodo up this evening and hit 5 8 irons on it, 5 7 woods. Hit them beautifully. 
 

I’ve got a lesson scheduled for Friday. Only a 70 percent chance of rain so maybe???

 

Regardless I’ve made headway 

[Rickp]

14 minutes ago, revkev said:

The weather in Florida has been terrible. It’s one of the wettest September’s on record - without a tropical storm!!! That’s compared to scores of septembers with tropical systems. 
 

The weather has stunk.

 

I’ve had my lesson canceled 4 times in the past 3 weeks. Course and range gave had to close a couple of times. I’ve played twice this month.  Labor Day weekend.

So I dragged the hitting net out to at least hit sone balls live. Set the rapsodo up this evening and hit 5 8 irons on it, 5 7 woods. Hit them beautifully. 
 

I’ve got a lesson scheduled for Friday. Only a 70 percent chance of rain so maybe???

 

Regardless I’ve made headway 

Hope you get the lesson in.  It’s been a tough month.

[Kenny B]

22 minutes ago, Rickp said:

Hope you get the lesson in.  It’s been a tough month.

Sounds like it was a good time to get a knee replaced.  

[Rickp]

6 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Sounds like it was a good time to get a knee replaced.  

I don’t know if there’s ever a good time.  
But I’m glad it’s done!!