MPR: The Single Digit Project

[sirchunksalot]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

I'm still awaiting Arccos's revision to my course's layout; I'm giving them another couple of days (it'll then be a month since I contacted them) until I send a check-in email to see if they're going to do anything with it.

Their current settings for my course are kinda killing me right now. I plugged my course rating and slope, along with my scores, into an online handicap calculator, and it gave me a 13ish handicap, which seems fair. I'm currently 86 over par for 99 holes, or about 15 over for every 18 holes.

And while I've acknowledged that my course is short (the back tees are only 6,100), Arccos still is not differentiating any sets of tees and thinks the blue tees are only 5,100 yards. I'm not sure what rating and slope it's using, but it's giving me an 18.2 handicap now, which would be about 6 shot increase over the end of last year.

Have you gotten in touch with Arccos about it? They're really good about fixing any issues you might have with your course. Usually need a photo of your scorecard to send once they get back with you, but they've been really helpful to me. 

[GolfSpy MPR]

22 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

Have you gotten in touch with Arccos about it? They're really good about fixing any issues you might have with your course. Usually need a photo of your scorecard to send once they get back with you, but they've been really helpful to me. 

Yep, like I was saying, I sent them all the course info about a month ago. They confirmed they received it in an email, but they've not made any adjustments yet.

[GolfSpy MPR]

The good news: Arccos replied yesterday and got my course information straightened. So far, everything looks pretty good.

The OK news: I had a deeply mediocre nine holes this morning (10 over), and my Arccos handicap dropped to 17.8, so it looks like the updated course data should help my pursuit of a single digit handicap.

The bad news: I had my worst ball-striking round that I can remember. I lost any feel for the low point of my swing and hit virtually every single full swing shot fat today. And not just a little fat: 4-6 inches behind the ball.

The good news: I was money once I got close to the green. Check out my Arccos handicaps for today's nine:

I think I had 14 putts today, including some really nice midrangers that fell. So if I could make a full swing and advance the ball with even a moderate amount of success, without my short game deciding to abandon me then, I'd be in good shape.

[GolfSpy AFG]

The good news: Arccos replied yesterday and got my course information straightened. So far, everything looks pretty good.
The OK news: I had a deeply mediocre nine holes this morning (10 over), and my Arccos handicap dropped to 17.8, so it looks like the updated course data should help my pursuit of a single digit handicap.
The bad news: I had my worst ball-striking round that I can remember. I lost any feel for the low point of my swing and hit virtually every single full swing shot fat today. And not just a little fat: 4-6 inches behind the ball.
The good news: I was money once I got close to the green. Check out my Arccos handicaps for today's nine:

I think I had 14 putts today, including some really nice midrangers that fell. So if I could make a full swing and advance the ball with even a moderate amount of success, without my short game deciding to abandon me then, I'd be in good shape.

This was your first round post-Planemate use, right?
Your ball-striking struggle is interesting to say the least if that’s the case. I wonder if you’re kind of between “feels” if that makes sense?
Keep at it and don’t be discouraged by one stretch of 9 holes.


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[GolfSpy MPR]

34 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

This was your first round post-Planemate use, right?
Your ball-striking struggle is interesting to say the least if that’s the case. I wonder if you’re kind of between “feels” if that makes sense?
Keep at it and don’t be discouraged by one stretch of 9 holes.


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This was exactly my thought. I'm slowly working through the PlaneMate protocols, which build up from partial swings. So far, I've not used any band other than the short pitch shot one. So I'm not shocked to have my full swing be confused by the mix of ideas.

[tchat07]

Keep up the great stuff though! This is extremely helpful, especially for someone like me. I have gone back and forth on getting the Planemate but had decided to get the price cut PXG. Decided against that so maybe I will see how you get on and try the Planemate out.

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[GolfSpy MPR]

An interesting development with the PlaneMate, and one I'm hoping isn't going to be a serious problem. Saturday, I did a bunch of PlaneMate practice. It was the first time I had done full swings with the PlaneMate, and I was amazed by the difference in my swing:

That night, I was awakened by a deep soreness in my chest (left pectoral). Didn't think a ton of it, went back to sleep.

Last night, I took a few quick swings with the PlaneMate in the garage. When I went inside, my chest was in severe pain. I'm thinking a strained a pec. Looking at the slo mo of my swing before and after the PlaneMate, there seems to be some possible explanation. Before, as I'm following through on my shot, my lead elbow would begin to hinge (and thus start absorbing some of the speed of the swing) earlier. Essentially, I'd reach the full extension of my arms at follow through, then they'd begin to fold, as I'd turn through into a finish.

With the PlaneMate, I hold my arms at full extension longer; they really don't begin to fold until my torso stops rotating. So that left pec (already at full extension) is absorbing a lot more of the swing's remaining speed.

Some of that is visible in these screen caps. In the swing on the left (without the PM), my left elbow remains in front of me; on the right, my elbow is extended behind my shoulder.

The pain subsided last night and hasn't returned today, but I'm likely going to baby it for the next couple of days.

[dlow206]

45 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

An interesting development with the PlaneMate, and one I'm hoping isn't going to be a serious problem. Saturday, I did a bunch of PlaneMate practice. It was the first time I had done full swings with the PlaneMate, and I was amazed by the difference in my swing:

That night, I was awakened by a deep soreness in my chest (left pectoral). Didn't think a ton of it, went back to sleep.

Last night, I took a few quick swings with the PlaneMate in the garage. When I went inside, my chest was in severe pain. I'm thinking a strained a pec. Looking at the slo mo of my swing before and after the PlaneMate, there seems to be some possible explanation. Before, as I'm following through on my shot, my lead elbow would begin to hinge (and thus start absorbing some of the speed of the swing) earlier. Essentially, I'd reach the full extension of my arms at follow through, then they'd begin to fold, as I'd turn through into a finish.

With the PlaneMate, I hold my arms at full extension longer; they really don't begin to fold until my torso stops rotating. So that left pec (already at full extension) is absorbing a lot more of the swing's remaining speed.

Some of that is visible in these screen caps. In the swing on the left (without the PM), my left elbow remains in front of me; on the right, my elbow is extended behind my shoulder.

The pain subsided last night and hasn't returned today, but I'm likely going to baby it for the next couple of days.

Swing is looking great man 

[GolfSpy BOS]

49 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

An interesting development with the PlaneMate, and one I'm hoping isn't going to be a serious problem. Saturday, I did a bunch of PlaneMate practice. It was the first time I had done full swings with the PlaneMate, and I was amazed by the difference in my swing:

That night, I was awakened by a deep soreness in my chest (left pectoral). Didn't think a ton of it, went back to sleep.

Last night, I took a few quick swings with the PlaneMate in the garage. When I went inside, my chest was in severe pain. I'm thinking a strained a pec. Looking at the slo mo of my swing before and after the PlaneMate, there seems to be some possible explanation. Before, as I'm following through on my shot, my lead elbow would begin to hinge (and thus start absorbing some of the speed of the swing) earlier. Essentially, I'd reach the full extension of my arms at follow through, then they'd begin to fold, as I'd turn through into a finish.

With the PlaneMate, I hold my arms at full extension longer; they really don't begin to fold until my torso stops rotating. So that left pec (already at full extension) is absorbing a lot more of the swing's remaining speed.

Some of that is visible in these screen caps. In the swing on the left (without the PM), my left elbow remains in front of me; on the right, my elbow is extended behind my shoulder.

The pain subsided last night and hasn't returned today, but I'm likely going to baby it for the next couple of days.

Hopefully just a little tender for being used differently.  I know when I start doing different workouts I get pretty sore for the next day or two as my body remembers what it's like work out.  

It's kind of amazing how different that looks.  Will be real interesting to see some on course swings after this.  I had been working for a while to get into a different position at the top of my backswing and I feel like I just actually started to do it on the course this year.  Once I get on the course I don't really think about my swing, so I get why its takes time.  Seems like this might be a great tool though from your early results.

[PMookie]

Sorry to hear about the pec pain, but, man, does that swing look GOOD! As was once said by a great man on SNL, “It’s not how you feel, it’s how you look!”

[BrownBearGolf]

I had that same pec pain once as well and I feel it came from playing everyday and practicing also. I would come in so steep that I was pounding that left pec and I didn’t recover for months. Hope you get it straightened out. 

[tchat07]

Might be how abruptly the swing is stopped by the band. Deceleration of your momentum makes a lot of sense in my mind. I often have a lot of pec tightness after I do a lot of swings. Normally just grab a tennis ball and find the knots. Hurts like the Dickens but normally feel better afterwards.

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[Grit Golf]

I’m so jealous of your short game! I’m having the opposite problem, I play skytrak virtual golf way too much and can shoot single digit on a 6500 yard virtual course with auto putting enabled pretty consistently, but I have absolutely no feel for pitching, chipping, or putting on a real golf course:



I shot an 88 with 5 “2 chips” and 6 “3 putts” on Sunday. I had a 4ft birdie putt lip out downhill that ended up a 3 putt bogie. It seems like when something is firing the other part is breaking down!



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[GolfSpy MPR]

36 minutes ago, Grit Golf said:

 

I’m so jealous of your short game! I’m having the opposite problem, I play skytrak virtual golf way too much and can shoot single digit on a 6500 yard virtual course with auto putting enabled pretty consistently, but I have absolutely no feel for pitching, chipping, or putting on a real golf course:



I shot an 88 with 5 “2 chips” and 6 “3 putts” on Sunday. I had a 4ft birdie putt lip out downhill that ended up a 3 putt bogie. It seems like when something is firing the other part is breaking down!



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Need a scramble partner?

[JohnSmalls]

Whoa that's quick change!   Swing is looking good!  I would venture to say as you progress towards the full swing with the trainer the consistency you had with the short game will find it's way into the full swing.  Looking forward to the results!

[GolfSpy MPR]

Haven't updated here in ages, so there's much to say, but this will just be short. After a 5-over 40 in a league match tonight, my handicap dropped under 12 for the first time in any app:

Right now, I'm hitting the ball as well as I have in a long time. A couple mistakes off the tee cost me some strokes tonight.

[GolfSpy MPR]

I'm way, way behind in updates here, but as of this morning's nine hole round, Arccos gives me the following handicap:

I've got a poll up on Twitter, but I'll ask here as well: what do you count as a single digit handicap? Anything under 10? Under 9.4 (so it rounds down to 9)? Or nothing higher than 9.0?

In any case, my game has been as solid as it's ever been. Today's round was a 5-over 40, and that was with an OB ball (by two feet!) on the 5th hole. Still struggling with off the tee, but I'm putting light's out (better than scratch, in Arccos's judgment). Very interested to see how swapping out irons (for the Sub 70 699 Pro test) changes my approach numbers.

[StrokerAce]

6 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

I'm way, way behind in updates here, but as of this morning's nine hole round, Arccos gives me the following handicap:

I've got a poll up on Twitter, but I'll ask here as well: what do you count as a single digit handicap? Anything under 10? Under 9.4 (so it rounds down to 9)? Or nothing higher than 9.0?

In any case, my game has been as solid as it's ever been. Today's round was a 5-over 40, and that was with an OB ball (by two feet!) on the 5th hole. Still struggling with off the tee, but I'm putting light's out (better than scratch, in Arccos's judgment). Very interested to see how swapping out irons (for the Sub 70 699 Pro test) changes my approach numbers.

Congrats dude!  That's a single digit in my book. 

[tchat07]

I'm way, way behind in updates here, but as of this morning's nine hole round, Arccos gives me the following handicap:

I've got a poll up on Twitter, but I'll ask here as well: what do you count as a single digit handicap? Anything under 10? Under 9.4 (so it rounds down to 9)? Or nothing higher than 9.0?
In any case, my game has been as solid as it's ever been. Today's round was a 5-over 40, and that was with an OB ball (by two feet!) on the 5th hole. Still struggling with off the tee, but I'm putting light's out (better than scratch, in Arccos's judgment). Very interested to see how swapping out irons (for the Sub 70 699 Pro test) changes my approach numbers.

100% single digit! Congrats! Looking forward to your update especially for the putting because mine was brutal today!

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[xOldBenKenobiX]

On 6/3/2020 at 3:09 PM, GolfSpy MPR said:

The good news: Arccos replied yesterday and got my course information straightened. So far, everything looks pretty good.

The OK news: I had a deeply mediocre nine holes this morning (10 over), and my Arccos handicap dropped to 17.8, so it looks like the updated course data should help my pursuit of a single digit handicap.

The bad news: I had my worst ball-striking round that I can remember. I lost any feel for the low point of my swing and hit virtually every single full swing shot fat today. And not just a little fat: 4-6 inches behind the ball.

The good news: I was money once I got close to the green. Check out my Arccos handicaps for today's nine:

I think I had 14 putts today, including some really nice midrangers that fell. So if I could make a full swing and advance the ball with even a moderate amount of success, without my short game deciding to abandon me then, I'd be in good shape.

Keep the grind, those single digits will be here sooner than later. 

[xOldBenKenobiX]

On 7/28/2020 at 10:46 AM, GolfSpy MPR said:

I'm way, way behind in updates here, but as of this morning's nine hole round, Arccos gives me the following handicap:

I've got a poll up on Twitter, but I'll ask here as well: what do you count as a single digit handicap? Anything under 10? Under 9.4 (so it rounds down to 9)? Or nothing higher than 9.0?

In any case, my game has been as solid as it's ever been. Today's round was a 5-over 40, and that was with an OB ball (by two feet!) on the 5th hole. Still struggling with off the tee, but I'm putting light's out (better than scratch, in Arccos's judgment). Very interested to see how swapping out irons (for the Sub 70 699 Pro test) changes my approach numbers.

Well that was soon 

[BMart519]

Looking forward to a detailed update, congrats on the great progress this season! How much of the gains would you attribute to ball striking improvements from the PlaneMate on full swings vs chipping/short game? 

[GolfSpy MPR]

7 minutes ago, BMart519 said:

Looking forward to a detailed update, congrats on the great progress this season! How much of the gains would you attribute to ball striking improvements from the PlaneMate on full swings vs chipping/short game? 

Short answer: it's not a ton yet, because I've honestly not been doing much practice for the last month or so. I've played a lot of rounds, but I don't exactly recall the last time I had a dedicated garage session for practice.

The best part of my game by a mile has been my putting, which Arccos rates right now as better than scratch (+1.1). I'm averaging just under 32 putts per round, with a 31% 1-putt percentage.

The next best component of my game has been my chipping, but I want to get back to using the PlaneMate to continue to improve there. Ironically, I think the PlaneMate has actually made some of my pitches less good, but not through its own fault. Having built up a table of wedge distances with different swings, as the season has gone on, I'm finding that table to be less accurate: I'm hitting most of my wedges a bit further than what my table suggests. I think this is in part do to better contact, some of which is attributable to the better pattern from the PlaneMate.

[Wedgie]

Do you keep a regular handicap or just an Arccos handicap?

[GolfSpy MPR]

27 minutes ago, Wedgie said:

Do you keep a regular handicap or just an Arccos handicap?

Just Arccos. I just checked this week into getting a USGA handicap. Can someone explain why you have to have a participating home course to have a handicap? My local course isn't on the list, so I'm pretty much excluded from getting an official number.

[yungkory]

13 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

Just Arccos. I just checked this week into getting a USGA handicap. Can someone explain why you have to have a participating home course to have a handicap? My local course isn't on the list, so I'm pretty much excluded from getting an official number.

Look for an e-club. We have one in Hawaii, run by the HSGA. I think the Grint is an e-club and that's how their handicaps are deemed legit?

 

Edit: https://pipestonecreekgc.com/join-e-club/

[ncwoz]

5 minutes ago, yungkory said:

Look for an e-club. We have one in Hawaii, run by the HSGA. I think the Grint is an e-club and that's how their handicaps are deemed legit?

 

Edit: https://pipestonecreekgc.com/join-e-club/

Yeah, I think you're right. At least that's how I understand it.

[tchat07]

Just Arccos. I just checked this week into getting a USGA handicap. Can someone explain why you have to have a participating home course to have a handicap? My local course isn't on the list, so I'm pretty much excluded from getting an official number.

I have mine through the Grint. I had same problem as you and chose the Grint. They have a new purchase policy dont remember the exact total but want to say it's like $15 a year.

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[GolfSpy MPR]

OK, time for a status update. And we'll start with the topline, which is confusion. I've either reached my goal, or I'm about where I've been for a season. According to Arccos, after last night's league match, this is where I stand:

Honestly, I'm stoked about this. I've played 36 (mostly 9-hole) rounds on Arccos this season. The first handicap it assigned me was 23 (winter rust!), and I've consistently worked it down to the current 9.1.

The confusion (as I've mentioned above) is that this is not a USGA official number, and I'm finding that most online tools have inaccurate information about our course. On the recommendation of many of you here, I also went ahead and loaded up my scores into The Grint. I haven't yet paid for a subscription ($20) to get an official handicap, but it's currently showing me in the 12–14 range.

I'm assuming the differences at attributable to course rating and slope. Earlier this year, I submitted a series of corrections to Arccos, including the yardage and rating/slope from my course's website (http://gogebiccountryclub.com/course/).

On its website, my course is:

• 6,030 yards long from the back tee
• Rated 67/113

The Grint lists my course at:

• 5,782 yards long
• Rated 68.2/115

Now, I have zero idea how or when the course rating for our course was established. I know that our course is short, but I've played with some good golfers. I don't see that a scratch player would ordinarily shoot 67 here. But maybe I'm wrong.

So all told, my handicap is somewhere between 9 and 14.

One solution: I need to try to play a few more rounds at courses other than my home course. Perhaps I'll aim to take advantage of fall rates when those start going into effect.

As for my game itself: it has been clear that putting has been the strongest aspect of my game this season.

I will attribute a lot of this success to spending quality time with my PuttOut. I have found a pretty direct correlation between time spent using my PuttOut and my best seasons of putting.

Wedge play has, for the most part, been improved since last season as well. The clock system has made my much more effective from 25–90 yards, though I'm due to re-calibrate my yardages. I've found that as the season has gone on, I'm having to make adjustments to the chart I have taped to my rangefinder. I think it's a combination of drier conditions on the course and improved striking by me, but my yardage chart is shorter than reality right now.

Approach play has a new wrinkle, since I'm now part of the Sub 70 699 Pro iron test. So far, I've played an 18-hole round irons-only (as part of the Cobra Challenge) and my 9-hole league match last night. The early returns are positive. They are an indisputable step up in feel. I've got more data-collecting to do, but I've got some optimism that on course, I'll strike them better than I did the giant G700s. Last night was a very positive sign: I didn't miss a single green short. I doubt I've ever done that in any round of my life before. I still need to tighten my dispersion just a bit. Greens are hard to hit at our course (they are very small and almost all sitting on domes that reject any imprecision).

Off the tee continues to be the bane of my game. The stats here are a bit skewed; we have a lot of doglegs and tight driving holes at our course that eliminate driver for me. For instance, our second hole is only 267 yards (par 4), but it's a full 90° dogleg. I'm not hitting more than a 9-iron off the tee to reach the middle of the dogleg. But I don't think Arccos knows that, and so it always thinks I'm hitting lame 130 yard drives on an easy hole.

Be that as it may, my new driver combination is improving: the Epic Flash Sub Zero with the Aldila Rogue White 80X. When it's on, I've hit some of my best drives ever: last night in league, I had several good ones for me, including one that went 280. But that remains a work in progress.

So here I am: I'm either at my goal or not. Either way, I see routes for additional improvement, and the grind continues.

[ncwoz]

50 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

OK, time for a status update. And we'll start with the topline, which is confusion. I've either reached my goal, or I'm about where I've been for a season. According to Arccos, after last night's league match, this is where I stand:

Honestly, I'm stoked about this. I've played 36 (mostly 9-hole) rounds on Arccos this season. The first handicap it assigned me was 23 (winter rust!), and I've consistently worked it down to the current 9.1.

The confusion (as I've mentioned above) is that this is not a USGA official number, and I'm finding that most online tools have inaccurate information about our course. On the recommendation of many of you here, I also went ahead and loaded up my scores into The Grint. I haven't yet paid for a subscription ($20) to get an official handicap, but it's currently showing me in the 12–14 range.

I'm assuming the differences at attributable to course rating and slope. Earlier this year, I submitted a series of corrections to Arccos, including the yardage and rating/slope from my course's website (http://gogebiccountryclub.com/course/).

On its website, my course is:

• 6,030 yards long from the back tee
• Rated 67/113

The Grint lists my course at:

• 5,782 yards long
• Rated 68.2/115

Now, I have zero idea how or when the course rating for our course was established. I know that our course is short, but I've played with some good golfers. I don't see that a scratch player would ordinarily shoot 67 here. But maybe I'm wrong.

So all told, my handicap is somewhere between 9 and 14.

One solution: I need to try to play a few more rounds at courses other than my home course. Perhaps I'll aim to take advantage of fall rates when those start going into effect.

As for my game itself: it has been clear that putting has been the strongest aspect of my game this season.

I will attribute a lot of this success to spending quality time with my PuttOut. I have found a pretty direct correlation between time spent using my PuttOut and my best seasons of putting.

Wedge play has, for the most part, been improved since last season as well. The clock system has made my much more effective from 25–90 yards, though I'm due to re-calibrate my yardages. I've found that as the season has gone on, I'm having to make adjustments to the chart I have taped to my rangefinder. I think it's a combination of drier conditions on the course and improved striking by me, but my yardage chart is shorter than reality right now.

Approach play has a new wrinkle, since I'm now part of the Sub 70 699 Pro iron test. So far, I've played an 18-hole round irons-only (as part of the Cobra Challenge) and my 9-hole league match last night. The early returns are positive. They are an indisputable step up in feel. I've got more data-collecting to do, but I've got some optimism that on course, I'll strike them better than I did the giant G700s. Last night was a very positive sign: I didn't miss a single green short. I doubt I've ever done that in any round of my life before. I still need to tighten my dispersion just a bit. Greens are hard to hit at our course (they are very small and almost all sitting on domes that reject any imprecision).

Off the tee continues to be the bane of my game. The stats here are a bit skewed; we have a lot of doglegs and tight driving holes at our course that eliminate driver for me. For instance, our second hole is only 267 yards (par 4), but it's a full 90° dogleg. I'm not hitting more than a 9-iron off the tee to reach the middle of the dogleg. But I don't think Arccos knows that, and so it always thinks I'm hitting lame 130 yard drives on an easy hole.

Be that as it may, my new driver combination is improving: the Epic Flash Sub Zero with the Aldila Rogue White 80X. When it's on, I've hit some of my best drives ever: last night in league, I had several good ones for me, including one that went 280. But that remains a work in progress.

So here I am: I'm either at my goal or not. Either way, I see routes for additional improvement, and the grind continues.

I can echo some of your confusion with course/slope ratings. We've got a few courses around here that are admittedly short, but suuuper narrow. They're all listed a lot easier than I would think they should be. I don't know near enough how they come to rank courses, but it almost feels like they don't do a great job rating certain types of courses.