What/How Did You Practice Today?

[Rob Person]

2 minutes ago, Willie T said:

Day 204 (9 Aug 24) - More putting today (via the hall obstacle course created by my grandson)…talking about working on the start line - 1st gate is 4” at 10’, 2nd is under the skateboard about 20’, 3rd narrowly misses the football around 30’ to the auto return cup at the end of the hall - on a hardwood floor (stimp off the scale fast).  Best I could do was an easy paced two-putt.  Really was a tough drill focusing on starting well. Here’s a photo of the trek: 

Awesome!  I'm having AI-One TESTING flashbacks  

[Willie T]

7 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Awesome!  I'm having AI-One TESTING flashbacks  

That grandson of mine has a devious mind in terms of layout…he would make a great designer of putter testing!

[BLSkee]

Since the newborn got here, all my practice is at home in the sim.

Last night was randomized chipping/pitching, between 20-60y.

Tonight I'll probably drill alternating draws and fades.

Does anyone here have a good practice routine recommendation for a former baseball player using a DIY sim? It's tough to mix it up when the lie off the mat is clean every time .. and I don't quite have the structured golf experience to put together a variety of workouts.

[pbclub]

Chipping and putting practice today. 3 days a week on this alone. Went well. Practicing this regularly really helps me notice the differences in the speeds of the green in a lot of conditions. Today for example was very fast because both the greens had been mowed but also we have not had any rain so they were hard and quick. 

[cksurfdude]

On 8/7/2024 at 3:51 PM, MBernGolfs said:

I have recently been thinking about my high school days when I used to hit my drives nice and high and straight.  Fast forward a decade, and my drives have become much lower than I'd like.

What's helped *me* (emphasized, avg bogey golfer who has not been playing since HS) hit the driver is.. 1. going to a lighter and softer flex shaft, and 2. going to a higher loft head.

YMMV etc but maybe go for a fitting or experiment with different shafts and hosel settings at the range to see what works better for you..?

...

@sevegolfs...

21 hours ago, TJ Hall said:

Just googled your wedge, it has a really thick sole.  Do you have any wedges with the thinner sole that might get through the sand easier?  Maybe try keeping the face a little more square (not open) to see if that makes a difference.

Yes agree with TJ - I also absolutely suck out of greenside bunkers and am currently trying a very wide sole and heavy wedge .. similar in intent to the Callaway Sure Out .. and they are designed to be hit square (with a square setup).

The only technique things I can suggest are a slow FULL swing - into a follow through like any other full swing - and don't force it and don't quit on it... Good Luck!!

[BradM]

Anyone ever put lead tape on your putter? I’m wondering if it will help prevent left misses by keeping the face squared?

[Rob Person]

1 minute ago, BradM said:

Anyone ever put lead tape on your putter? I’m wondering if it will help prevent left misses by keeping the face squared?

Plenty have used tape on their clubs.  On the AI-ONE thread one just used stick on wheel weights to balance his out.

[RichL85]

Hit the range yesterday after the gym. Probably not the best day to hit the range after a leg workout, but I have to fit it in the day where I can. Hit through the entire bag with most of try focus being on wedges and tee shot options. I've been struggling with the snap hook with driver a lot recently, so now I'm trying to feel like hitting a fade and it was working to straighten me out to a high draw instead. Something I would take on the course any day and be happy. Was also able to hit a little lower fade pretty easily so I feel like I've got something figured out for driver. 

Pretty much every time I come out of the range session with the same takeaway information for me. That is basically to step up and swing as quickly as possible. Not only do I usually have better contact, but my swing speed tends to be about 5mph faster. I'm sure it's mostly just that I get tense if I'm standing too long making sure my setup is right and all that nonsense. If I step up and keep my feet moving, one quick tap on the ground behind the ball and go, it helps me feel looser, who doesn't want some easy speed? 

[TJ Hall]

1 hour ago, BradM said:

Anyone ever put lead tape on your putter? I’m wondering if it will help prevent left misses by keeping the face squared?

@Lefty11 just got some tire weights on his to see how the additional weight felt.

[Lefty11]

28 minutes ago, TJ Hall said:

@Lefty11 just got some tire weights on his to see how the additional weight felt.

I added an extra 42 grams to my putter using tire weights. As an ex-baseball and hockey player, I'm accustomed to heavier bats and sticks, so I wanted to able to feel the putter in my hands.

[Jim Shaw]

2 hours ago, BradM said:

Anyone ever put lead tape on your putter? I’m wondering if it will help prevent left misses by keeping the face squared?

for some reason, and I don't know why, I seemed to see less lead tape these days than I did in the 70's and 80's... maybe better technology in building the putters?

2 hours ago, BradM said:

Anyone ever put lead tape on your putter? I’m wondering if it will help prevent left misses by keeping the face squared?

 

[bbreezy716]

Took the girlfriend to the driving range to get ready for our outing next weekend. My wedges and irons I hit very well, which I'm glad I still am dialed in on those. First hit of the day was my 60 degree wedge and it went about 90 yards. All was good until my hybrids. I used to hit my hybrids so we'll, now I cannot hit them to save my life. I honestly need to upgrade my irons soon and am thinking I will just get a 4-PW set and not carry hybrids. They have gotten much worse over the last year or so for me. My 3 wood was good off tee, but I still struggle getting good flight off the deck. I saw some improvement with my driver which has been giving me a bad slice lately. I've been tweaking my stance and I fixed my grip. I set the ball more forward in my stance the last few hits and saw some good hits. Last drive was 220 yards and straight as an arrow so that got me excited.

[cnosil]

5 hours ago, BradM said:

Anyone ever put lead tape on your putter? I’m wondering if it will help prevent left misses by keeping the face squared?

Yes,  I have put lead tape on a putter.    More weight will tend to slow down the heads rotation which will possibly help with the left miss.   You could also work on aim and hitting the ball where aimed skills.   

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, Jim Shaw said:

for some reason, and I don't know why, I seemed to see less lead tape these days than I did in the 70's and 80's... maybe better technology in building the putters?

 

Probably because there are so many putters of differing weights or have weight kits. 

[Willie T]

Day 205 (10 Aug 24) - Finally a course day, of course it was CPO (cart path only)….still some much needed time across the bag.  As I told the course pro, it was a try to keep it as close as possible to the cart path as possible - which I failed more times than not.  Still a solid round - 41 front/41 back.  No major blow-ups except for the dbl on 11  that went something like this - tee shot hit the overhanging tree by the cart path and forced a layup that led to a third flew about 10 yds long and just off the green that led to a pitch that came up short and two putt dbl….recovered nicely with back to back pars.  Was a fun and challenging kind of day that was fully relying on the Indi wedges and Millie, together they teamed up keep the putt total down to just 27 putts. Added a quick copy of the scorecard via Garmin App:

Edited August 11 by Willie T

[Chas c]

Spent about 3 hours today at the country club, hit about 100 balls at the range then putting and short game work. I'm (slowly) getting rid of the slice, but now I have a 2 way miss when I accidentally overcompensate, ESPECIALLY with my irons, but such is life. There were some high schoolers at the range today,  and I could hear them talking s*** about my accuracy when I was hitting my 4 iron. I was getting annoyed, but eh. I got to my fairway woods, and I showed those kids whats up. I've never been particularly athletic but I've always been strong. I hit a few 300+ yards drives and the kids started losing their minds, it was pretty damn funny, not gonna lie. Other than that, my short game is getting really good. I need to figure out how to translate this awesome wedge accuracy to my longer game. Probably need to get some lessons. I feel like a sub 90 round is coming soon though, once I get the penalties off the tee to a minimum.

[Jim Shaw]

spent 2 hours on the range today, concentrated on not bringing my takeaway too far inside the line and still being able to make solid contact.

I started hitting the ball solid however was 10 yards off target line pretty regularly, after a few more shots I realized my ball position was too far forward, I moved the ball back a bit in my stance and started getting more accurate results.

Once I started making solid contact and a bit better on line I went to my swing thought of "eye on the back of the ball, head still and follow through" I have had success with this in the past, and the combination of the ball position, solid strikes and my swing thought worked well so I will work on that process tomorrow... 

[Dweed]

On 8/10/2024 at 12:03 PM, BradM said:

Anyone ever put lead tape on your putter? I’m wondering if it will help prevent left misses by keeping the face squared?

I've played with that a little. Ended just getting a putter that had weights and I played with it a bit until I figured out a decent balance for my swing. You can do that with tape but it may take some time since it won't be exact. But it's possible.

[Willie T]

Day 206 (11 Aug 24) - Mirror work today, focused on overall rotation of torso in backswing and follow thru.  Added flaring of trail foot to enhance backswing rotation. 

[BradM]

On 8/10/2024 at 5:15 PM, cnosil said:

Probably because there are so many putters of differing weights or have weight kits. 

So I bought some weights but the screw seems odd, anyone know where to get the tool?

[Lefty11]

I just worked on some putting on my mat.  I’m going to hit the range tomorrow.  

[cnosil]

17 minutes ago, BradM said:

So I bought some weights but the screw seems odd, anyone know where to get the tool?

Looks like a torx wrench. 

[Jawmusique]

Working on setting club in correct spot in the backswing.  I can make practice swings great, but then go to hit balls on the chorus and notice myself coming inside.

[TJ Hall]

2 hours ago, BradM said:

So I bought some weights but the screw seems odd, anyone know where to get the tool?

On the Odyssey Ai-ONE putter, the wrench for my driver also fit the weight for the putter.

[Gravenor]

Spent the day dialling in my yardages.

Recent swing changes have meant my stock yardages have changed recently - (Slower tempo, compressing the ball more at impact).

Got nearly 200 balls at the range and hit 10 "flush" shots with each club in my bag to give myself the most repeatable and relevant data. I then calculated the "mean" value of each individual club based on the data I had collected, and then multiplied that number by 1.1. The reason for this is I am assuming the range balls travel, on average, 90% of the typical distance of my gamer ball.

I've posted the results of "total distance" below if anyone is interested!

Total Distance Yardages

Driver: 273 yards

4-Wood: 244 yards

4-Iron: 222 yards

5-Iron: 209 yards

6-Iron: 184 yards

7-Iron: 171 yards

8-Iron: 161 yards

9-Iron: 142 yards

PW: 122 yards

52°: 110 yards

56°: 88 yards

60°: 69 yards

Does anyone have any experience of calculating this differently, or any opinions relating to gapping on the top part of my bag? Look forward to hearing your responses!

[Willie T]

Day 207 (12 Aug 24) - scoring club work today in the backyard.  Started with the 8i and hard foam balls.  Worked on ball positioning and shot shape to specific target points.  Good session on getting the balls within 20’ diameter circle.  Moved to 50deg Ping Eye2 working on greenside style pitches.  Still love breaking this wedge out from time to time.  Never fails to remind me why these were so lauded in their day.  Good session…

[Dweed]

2 hours ago, gravenor said:

Spent the day dialling in my yardages.

Recent swing changes have meant my stock yardages have changed recently - (Slower tempo, compressing the ball more at impact).

Got nearly 200 balls at the range and hit 10 "flush" shots with each club in my bag to give myself the most repeatable and relevant data. I then calculated the "mean" value of each individual club based on the data I had collected, and then multiplied that number by 1.1. The reason for this is I am assuming the range balls travel, on average, 90% of the typical distance of my gamer ball.

I've posted the results of "total distance" below if anyone is interested!

Total Distance Yardages

Driver: 273 yards

4-Wood: 244 yards

4-Iron: 222 yards

5-Iron: 209 yards

6-Iron: 184 yards

7-Iron: 171 yards

8-Iron: 161 yards

9-Iron: 142 yards

PW: 122 yards

52°: 110 yards

56°: 88 yards

60°: 69 yards

Does anyone have any experience of calculating this differently, or any opinions relating to gapping on the top part of my bag? Look forward to hearing your responses!

Could try a 3 wood and 5 wood instead of 4 wood and 4 iron

[Gravenor]

Just now, Dweed said:

Could try a 3 wood and 5 wood instead of 4 wood and 4 iron

I was thinking along the same lines - maybe drop my 4-Wood down closer to a 3-Wood, and then add a 7-Wood and drop it to what would be a 6-Wood(ish) loft? Needs some experimenting I think.

[Dweed]

Had a little time after the tire rotation/tire monitor sensor replacement before I had to pick up the grandboys for their Dr's appt. Hit a nearby range. Was very happy with the results. Shots felt good and solid with the 9I, 7I, 5I and 3metal. Not as concerned with distance as those range rocks vary so much. Was happy with the direction, basic height and divot.  I was really impressed with my ability to shape shots with my 7 iron...at least this one shot. It started out left as I had intended and curved right about 20 yards...but then curved left about 20 yards and ended curving right again. I have never seen that kind of movement illusion. What a hoot.

[Overspark07]

Opened the new (to me) clubs when I got home from work and had to stop at the range to try them out. Hit 5-7 balls with each of 4-AW to get a feel for distances and tendencies.