Bardles Journey to better golf

[tony@CIC]

15 minutes ago, Shankster said:

I’m no pro. But even just for entertainment factor, do yourself a favor and check out Seve’s Short Game video. Not saying you should use his technique, but it will get the wheels turning.

The short game should be the funnest part of the game. It is for me anyways. 100 and in is my favorite.

And the great thing about practicing chipping is you don't need to go to a range. You can do it in your back yard or in a local park. Get a hula hoop or whatever they call them today as a target and using the golf balls you normally game have at it. 

[Shankster]

And the great thing about practicing chipping is you don't need to go to a range. You can do it in your back yard or in a local park. Get a hula hoop or whatever they call them today as a target and using the golf balls you normally game have at it. 

Yep. My old back yard had no grass. Only old divots, I could hit a full 60° without breaking anyone’s windows. Full 56° when the neighbor was at work.... full 8 iron when he was on vacation...

But mostly worked on 40 yards and in.

[cnosil]

5 hours ago, bardle said:

My putting stroke and my chipping stroke are completely different animals so I'm not sure that the same flaws exist in both. Everything is different about the two from setup to stroke. I'm not saying there aren't flaws but I think I can improve my feel on distance in lag putts in the meantime while I wait for another lesson. But I'm open to other options and ideas of things I should do in the meantime to improve. Realistically I'll have a lesson middle of next month. 

From a putting perspective here are some things you can do indoors to improve direction and contact.  

1 - putt down a metal yardstick.  Use different length strokes and roll the ball down the yardstick.  Doesn't matter how far the ball goes,  you are just practicing getting the face angle correct no matter how long the stroke.

2- stand two tees up outside your putter head and make sure that your putter goes between the tees no matter how long of a stroke.  This will help ensure center face contact.   

3 - draw a line around your ball or partially around and roll it end over end.  

[romeopapazulu]

Good question. Here is a play by play of each hole as I remember it that might help for those that are interested:
1. 1 chip, 1 putt: 1 chip to inside 5 ft, made the putt. 
2. 3 chips, 2 putts: Thinned 2 chips across the green, got the 3rd one on, and 2 putted. 
3. 0 chips, 4 putts: Drove it ob, dropped, 3rd shot in was on the green from 165 or so but on the wrong side. 70 ft left to the pin with a big downhill shelf to the pin. Putt 1: Just try to get it to the shelf and let it roll down, Putt 2: left it short of the shelf. Tap it and let the shelf carry it past the hole. Putt 3: 7ft missed a foot to the left, Putt 4: Tap in. 
4. 2 chips, 2 putts: Par 3, Tee shot left of the green under the bunker. First chip: Thinned into the rake. 2nd chip: Didnt give it enough, just landed on the fringe and stopped. Putt 1: lag to 3 ft, Putt 2. Made the putt. 
5. 0 chips, 3 putts: 75 yard wedge shot close to the center of the green and rolled out to the other side. 35 ft to the pin. Left the first putt 8 ft short, 2nd putt to the edge, 3rd putt tap in. 
6. 1 chip, 2 putts: Chipping from 20 ft or so off the green. Left it 20 ft short, 2 putted in. 
7. 0 chips, 3 putts: One of my 2 GIR's of the day, Again left the lag putt way off line but had the right speed. missed the 6 footer and tapped in
8. 1 chip, 3 putts: Par 3, tee shot to the right of the green and above the hole on a mound. Chip past the pin, Lag putt missed to the left by 8ish feet, missed that putt as well and tapped in. 
9. 1 chip, 2 putts: Good chip to 10 ft, 2 putted in. 
10. 2 chips, 3 putts: Chipped up on to the green, ran it all the way across just off the fringe, Chipped back on from there to like 20 ft, and then somehow 3 putted, I dont recall the putting misses here. 
11. 1 chip, 3 putts: chip from just off the fringe, left the first putt really really short, like 15 ft and then 2 putted that. 
12. 0 chip, 2 putts: My other GIR and my only Par
13. 1 chip, 3 putts: Chipped from the fringe, lag put to a ridge that didnt run again. 2 putt from there 12 ft or so downhill
14. 1 chip, 2 putt:  Long chip from like 20 yards to the center of the green, 2 putted from there. 
15. 0 chips, 2 putts:  2 putted from 30 or so feet after a good approach from 115 or so to the center of the green. 
16. 2 chips, 2 putts:  Ended up on a hill way above the hole. I bladed it and almost ran it into the water on the other side. back up and just on the green from down there and a really long 2 putt to get in. 
17. 1 chip and 3 putts: Par 3 missed the green just short, Chipped it fairly close and just had a horrid putt past the hole and then ran it back past by a foot for a tap in 3 putt...
18. 0 chips and 2 putts: Good approach shot from 140 or so, very long two putt from like 40 feet. The final putt was probably 8 feet
 
After typing all of this and reviewing the round in my head its pretty apparent to me that chipping proximity and lag putt proximity are the two biggest things holding me back. I don't typically thin chip shots so that stat is weird but a clear sign that I need to be really focusing on my chipping game if I am going to miss greens. Consistency on short putts seems paramount as well. 
I'm going to use this guys short game practice schedule as my guide and update it on a weekly basis to see how I'm improving. I do not use alignment sticks btw. 
[/url]  

Did you always use one clu. For the pitching and chipping? Is it a high lofted wedge? Or do you try and use a lower lofted club like an 8 when you are closer to the green?

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[bardle]

11 hours ago, Kenny B said:

Since you have to wait for a lesson...  just a few more 2 cents.  I'll be broke soon.  

When you chip, not pitch, does the clubhead pass the hands?  If it does, it's likely a flip; hard to make good contact and control distance.  People will have different views on this and some use these terms interchangeably, but mine is that a pitch shot has a release of the club like a mini-full swing and a chip shot doesn't.  When close to the green, a chip shot is easier to control than a pitch shot.

As with a chip, the hands should lead the putter head through impact.

When off the green... "Putt when you can, chip when you can't putt, pitch when you have to."

Actually it does sometimes if I'm trying to get the ball really high, thats probably not considered a chip though...I'll pay attention to this today. 

11 hours ago, Shankster said:

I’m no pro. But even just for entertainment factor, do yourself a favor and check out Seve’s Short Game video. Not saying you should use his technique, but it will get the wheels turning.

The short game should be the funnest part of the game. It is for me anyways. 100 and in is my favorite.

Watched a short chipping video of him last night and started his hour long short game video. I was not expecting the amount of detail that is in those videos but its exactly what I needed. Having never had a formal short game lesson I do whatever feels best, now I have a good baseline for setup and there are some serious gems in there too "Sometimes a bad putt is better than a good chip" 

11 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

And the great thing about practicing chipping is you don't need to go to a range. You can do it in your back yard or in a local park. Get a hula hoop or whatever they call them today as a target and using the golf balls you normally game have at it. 

last season I was using these big round styrofoam peices that came with our kitchen table when we bought it to protect the top. Worked perfect out in the yard as a target. ha. I try to keep my golf practice at a minimum when I'm home with the wife and baby. So I practice at the club on my lunch breaks and play once a weekend. 

 

10 hours ago, cnosil said:

From a putting perspective here are some things you can do indoors to improve direction and contact.  

1 - putt down a metal yardstick.  Use different length strokes and roll the ball down the yardstick.  Doesn't matter how far the ball goes,  you are just practicing getting the face angle correct no matter how long the stroke.

2- stand two tees up outside your putter head and make sure that your putter goes between the tees no matter how long of a stroke.  This will help ensure center face contact.   

3 - draw a line around your ball or partially around and roll it end over end.  

I may do #2 while I do my putting drills, thats a really good drill that I seemed to have never heard of before...

 

8 hours ago, romeopapazulu said:

Did you always use one clu. For the pitching and chipping? Is it a high lofted wedge? Or do you try and use a lower lofted club like an 8 when you are closer to the green?

Sent from my SM-A600A using MyGolfSpy mobile app
 

I always use a 56º for every shot around the green with no exceptions. I did that thinking it would increase my consistency but the Seve video I just watched had him basically putting with 9 iron from the fringe so I'll be changing that when possible.  

[Kenny B]

3 hours ago, bardle said:

I always use a 56º for every shot around the green with no exceptions. I did that thinking it would increase my consistency but the Seve video I just watched had him basically putting with 9 iron from the fringe so I'll be changing that when possible.  

The Seve video is good; can't go wrong there.  The tees in the putting green by @cnosil is a critical drill to ensure that the face is square at impact.  On longer putts it will be more difficult to not hit the tees, but don't get discouraged; that's why you practice.  You are grooving a square stroke.

The 56º for every shot around the green may be a problem.  I understand why you would think that you would be more consistent using one club.  To be honest, I typically only use my 58º but I do it because of my course conditions. Your course conditions are likely different.  I do have some shots where I will use a 50º or a 9i when I have a longer shot, such as 10 feet off the green but 30 yards to the flagstick.

If you practice using multiple clubs like I posted earlier in this thread, then you will get a feel of how far each club rolls out for the same shot.  I think you will find that when you are, say 10 feet off the green, you will be more consistent to different pin locations using the same length of stroke with multiple clubs, rather than changing the length of stroke with the 56. Land the ball on the same spot about a yard onto the green.  When you get to the point where your distance control is much better, then you should be able to vary distance much better with one club.  That's when the fun begins!!

[bardle]

3 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

The Seve video is good; can't go wrong there.  The tees in the putting green by @cnosil is a critical drill to ensure that the face is square at impact.  On longer putts it will be more difficult to not hit the tees, but don't get discouraged; that's why you practice.  You are grooving a square stroke.

The 56º for every shot around the green may be a problem.  I understand why you would think that you would be more consistent using one club.  To be honest, I typically only use my 58º but I do it because of my course conditions. Your course conditions are likely different.  I do have some shots where I will use a 50º or a 9i when I have a longer shot, such as 10 feet off the green but 30 yards to the flagstick.

If you practice using multiple clubs like I posted earlier in this thread, then you will get a feel of how far each club rolls out for the same shot.  I think you will find that when you are, say 10 feet off the green, you will be more consistent to different pin locations using the same length of stroke with multiple clubs, rather than changing the length of stroke with the 56. Land the ball on the same spot about a yard onto the green.  When you get to the point where your distance control is much better, then you should be able to vary distance much better with one club.  That's when the fun begins!!

Yeah, in T-minus 60 minutes or so I'm gonna expirement with rolling some chips just like that from different lies. One of the drills is to get 8/10 within 3 ft from 30 feet chipping. If I can do that with my 56 in a reasonable time frame I'll also try it with say a 8 iron and see how much easier / harder it is for me.

[cnosil]

Yeah, in T-minus 60 minutes or so I'm gonna expirement with rolling some chips just like that from different lies. One of the drills is to get 8/10 within 3 ft from 30 feet chipping. If I can do that with my 56 in a reasonable time frame I'll also try it with say a 8 iron and see how much easier / harder it is for me.

Keep a log on how long it takes or the average distance. This will help you monitor progress. Over time.

[bardle]

Practice Update: 

Its annoying when I learn how bad I am at something I didn't think I was too terrible at. 

here is the google spreadsheet that I am using

I spent 20 minutes each on the first two things which was 

- Chipping 8/10 from 30 ft to inside 3 ft 

- Putting 25 in a row from 3 feet

I didn't complete either. For the first I got to 5/10 and the second I got to 11/25. 

I attempted the 20 in a row of 20 ft lag putts to inside 3 ft and got 4 in a row but that was it. On the Spreadsheet LT means Limited time, I only had about 5 minutes to try this one out. TIme really got away from me. 

Its incredible how much you can learn about your putting stroke when you hit the same put about 120 times in 20 minutes from 3 ft. I learned I lose focus really easily and that I have a tendency to pull my putts. So thats new information. As far as chipping goes, I'm just inconsistent about the spot I'm aiming too, contact was okay after I stopped thinning. Thanks Seve for the setup tips. 

@Kenny B I didn't try any 9 iron bump and runs or anything because I couldn't complete it with my wedge. Perhaps when I get a bit more consistent, I can work on those shots. Most of the scenarios I saw on the practice greens where I would use a bump and run, I would rather putt so there is that as well. 

[Kenny B]

Practice Update: 
Its annoying when I learn how bad I am at something I didn't think I was too terrible at. 
here is the google spreadsheet that I am using
I spent 20 minutes each on the first two things which was 
- Chipping 8/10 from 30 ft to inside 3 ft 
- Putting 25 in a row from 3 feet
I didn't complete either. For the first I got to 5/10 and the second I got to 11/25. 
I attempted the 20 in a row of 20 ft lag putts to inside 3 ft and got 4 in a row but that was it. On the Spreadsheet LT means Limited time, I only had about 5 minutes to try this one out. TIme really got away from me. 
Its incredible how much you can learn about your putting stroke when you hit the same put about 120 times in 20 minutes from 3 ft. I learned I lose focus really easily and that I have a tendency to pull my putts. So thats new information. As far as chipping goes, I'm just inconsistent about the spot I'm aiming too, contact was okay after I stopped thinning. Thanks Seve for the setup tips. 
[mention=42521]Kenny B[/mention] I didn't try any 9 iron bump and runs or anything because I couldn't complete it with my wedge. Perhaps when I get a bit more consistent, I can work on those shots. Most of the scenarios I saw on the practice greens where I would use a bump and run, I would rather putt so there is that as well. 

It’s a start, or as Tiger always liked to say: “It’s a process.” Keep it up.

You inspired me today. Our course isn’t open yet, but the chipping/putting green is. So, I went there for 2 hours. I found out that after not picking up a club for 6 weeks, I suck!! By the end of the 2 hours though, it’s starting to come back. I think we can play on Friday, but I will be back out here on the green tomorrow.


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[cnosil]

4 hours ago, bardle said:

Practice Update: 

Its annoying when I learn how bad I am at something I didn't think I was too terrible at. 

here is the google spreadsheet that I am using

I spent 20 minutes each on the first two things which was 

- Chipping 8/10 from 30 ft to inside 3 ft 

- Putting 25 in a row from 3 feet

I didn't complete either. For the first I got to 5/10 and the second I got to 11/25. 

I attempted the 20 in a row of 20 ft lag putts to inside 3 ft and got 4 in a row but that was it. On the Spreadsheet LT means Limited time, I only had about 5 minutes to try this one out. TIme really got away from me. 

Its incredible how much you can learn about your putting stroke when you hit the same put about 120 times in 20 minutes from 3 ft. I learned I lose focus really easily and that I have a tendency to pull my putts. So thats new information. As far as chipping goes, I'm just inconsistent about the spot I'm aiming too, contact was okay after I stopped thinning. Thanks Seve for the setup tips. 

@Kenny B I didn't try any 9 iron bump and runs or anything because I couldn't complete it with my wedge. Perhaps when I get a bit more consistent, I can work on those shots. Most of the scenarios I saw on the practice greens where I would use a bump and run, I would rather putt so there is that as well. 

I like what you are doing.  My only suggestion would be that instead of trying to get X number in a row that you see how many out of 20 you can get in that circle when putting or average leave distance for chipping.  That will help to show progress over time.  

[bardle]

1 minute ago, cnosil said:

I like what you are doing.  My only suggestion would be that instead of trying to get X number in a row that you see how many out of 20 you can get in that circle when putting or average leave distance for chipping.  That will help to show progress over time.  

That's interesting. The one thing I'll say I like is that it forces me to do a lot of reps when I'm trying to hit a number. So your way I'll only putt that 3 ft putt 20 times. Where as if I force myself to make so many in a row like today. I probably putted it 100 or more times easily. Same with the chipping. I spent a full 20 minutes trying to hit that number where as if I had only done 10 or 20 that's not really practice to me. Just a status of how good or bad I am at it. 

What I may do is get a baseline using the method your talking about to track progress but I'm not sure when I'd do it or where I'd fit it in practice wise. 

[CarlH]

Be less focused on "the number" and more focused on the process.  Practice doesn't make perfect -- PERFECT practice makes perfect.

[romeopapazulu]

I would also check with someone that knows your course conditions and something about bounce on clubs to determine if you are using the right bounce on your wedge.  Your great detailed description of one of the last rounds indicated a lot of chunks or bladed chips.  Your technique might not be perfect, but you might also be bringing a C grind to an S grind fight.

I also agree with the recommendation to try out a bunch of shots with different clubs to see the rollout on each one.  The Pelz book has some good illustrations and tables for this.  In fact, I think I could pick out about 5 key things out of his 1100 page novel, and this would be one of those top five.  I could tell you a 5 iron is going to roll out more than a PW, and you would say "duh, I know that".  But to see the illustration and the few key clubs like a PW (50% flight, 50% roll) has been so key on my club selection around the green.  My improved chipping has helped hide how bad I am at putting!

[Kenny B]

4 hours ago, bardle said:

That's interesting. The one thing I'll say I like is that it forces me to do a lot of reps when I'm trying to hit a number. So your way I'll only putt that 3 ft putt 20 times. Where as if I force myself to make so many in a row like today. I probably putted it 100 or more times easily. Same with the chipping. I spent a full 20 minutes trying to hit that number where as if I had only done 10 or 20 that's not really practice to me. Just a status of how good or bad I am at it. 

What I may do is get a baseline using the method your talking about to track progress but I'm not sure when I'd do it or where I'd fit it in practice wise. 

When you start to see some improvement in getting the balls closer to your target, change it up a bit.  Vary your target for each shot.  Pick two of three targets; putt or chip a ball to one target, then hit the next ball to a different target.  Keep changing your distances for each shot.  You will be training your brain to adjust your swing each time.  It helps give you feel on the course.

[Kenny B]

One more thing... The Ball.

You haven't said what ball you are using for your short game practice.  I assume that you are using the same ball that you play with on the course.  I also assume that you only play one brand/type of ball on the course.  For short game practice, it's critical that you use the same ball.  Every ball reacts differently around the green; it's why they say that when choosing a ball to play golf, you always start around the green to see if the ball reacts the way you want.  Then move back to the fairway for iron shots, then to the tee for driver shots.  There is not a lot of difference between balls off the tee, but big difference around the green.

Don't practice short game with different balls, and certainly don't practice with range balls.  If you do, that will lead to inconsistent distances.  You will need to determine if you want to play a tour-type ball that spins a lot, or a two-piece distance ball that spins less.  Either one works, but since they react differently, it takes time to get used to one or the other.  It's why you don't want to mix them when practicing.

[bardle]

9 hours ago, Kenny B said:

One more thing... The Ball.

You haven't said what ball you are using for your short game practice.  I assume that you are using the same ball that you play with on the course.  I also assume that you only play one brand/type of ball on the course.  For short game practice, it's critical that you use the same ball.  Every ball reacts differently around the green; it's why they say that when choosing a ball to play golf, you always start around the green to see if the ball reacts the way you want.  Then move back to the fairway for iron shots, then to the tee for driver shots.  There is not a lot of difference between balls off the tee, but big difference around the green.

Don't practice short game with different balls, and certainly don't practice with range balls.  If you do, that will lead to inconsistent distances.  You will need to determine if you want to play a tour-type ball that spins a lot, or a two-piece distance ball that spins less.  Either one works, but since they react differently, it takes time to get used to one or the other.  It's why you don't want to mix them when practicing.

I use range balls for chipping because we have tubes of them at the chipping green and I can hit 30 at a time without retrieving them. Everyone does this so I'm not likely to change that immediately. They are high quality srixon balls but again..they are range balls, and I don't want to lose my real ones if someone else scoops them up while retrieving theirs on the other side of the chipping green. 

I haven't decided on a ball yet. I used all of my NXT Tours from last season and I've been playing on gift balls (TP5x and Pro V1) from christmas and birthday from relatives...once those run out I was considering going Srixon as I've liked the Z stars I've played in the past...Anyway thats a good note, what do you think the distance change could be in between tour level balls? I mean we're talking inches here, not feet right? I can't imagine a huge disparity between say a Z star and a TP5 on rollout and spin? but I'm also just making uneducated assumptions...

EDIT: Just ordered 48 Zstar XV's so I can have some consistency. I love Lostgolfballs.com... 

[bardle]

9 hours ago, Kenny B said:

When you start to see some improvement in getting the balls closer to your target, change it up a bit.  Vary your target for each shot.  Pick two of three targets; putt or chip a ball to one target, then hit the next ball to a different target.  Keep changing your distances for each shot.  You will be training your brain to adjust your swing each time.  It helps give you feel on the course.

I missed this comment. Some of the drills are oriented for this specifically. The par 18 chipping challenge for example is basically trying to get up and down from 9 different spots on the chipping green. For putting, the 10 foot putting game and the 3 and 6 foot compass games are a different putt each and every time. So hopefully that works.

Today I am going to attempt to do the Par 18 chipping game and the 3 foot compass, If I have time, I'll do the 6 foot compass as well. 

I think I'm going to limit myself to 15 minutes per game, that way I can get 3 in a day and hopefully get through most of the drills in a week. I may just skip the bunker drills for the first few weeks. 

[Kenny B]

2 hours ago, bardle said:

I use range balls for chipping because we have tubes of them at the chipping green and I can hit 30 at a time without retrieving them. Everyone does this so I'm not likely to change that immediately. They are high quality srixon balls but again..they are range balls, and I don't want to lose my real ones if someone else scoops them up while retrieving theirs on the other side of the chipping green. 

I haven't decided on a ball yet. I used all of my NXT Tours from last season and I've been playing on gift balls (TP5x and Pro V1) from christmas and birthday from relatives...once those run out I was considering going Srixon as I've liked the Z stars I've played in the past...Anyway thats a good note, what do you think the distance change could be in between tour level balls? I mean we're talking inches here, not feet right? I can't imagine a huge disparity between say a Z star and a TP5 on rollout and spin? but I'm also just making uneducated assumptions...

EDIT: Just ordered 48 Zstar XV's so I can have some consistency. I love Lostgolfballs.com... 

Tour balls...  you probably won't find much difference until your game improves.  It really becomes a matter of what feels the best for you. Besides a difference off your wedge, there is a difference off the putter.  Some feel harder; some feel softer.  

The TP5x and ProV1 will be different from the NXT Tour; the NXT will run out a little more, the amount depends on the club used, quality of the strike and length of the shot.  Zstars are good; there is a difference in feel between Zstar and ZstarXV.  

As far as range balls, there will be a big difference in rollout on the green between a tour ball and range ball; range balls just don't spin as much. I'm talking feet, not inches.  If you are using range balls to practice getting close to a pin, you will experience very different results on the course with tour balls.  Certainly, practice with range balls will help improve your stroke, and at this point that might be what you should focus on.  I sometimes use range balls on our pitching green, but only when practicing ball contact and ball flight control from different lies.  Otherwise I use my game balls.  I always use my game ball when practicing chipping, but we can do that on the putting green (no high chips allowed).   When your ball striking gets much better, I would focus on drills to get your game ball closer to the target.  I do that when no one else is on the practice green, or when the course is relatively empty, I will go on the course to a variety of holes to practice shots that I know I will see when playing a round.  That's the best practice you can do, IMO.

[bardle]

Practice Update 2: 

I was going to do the par 18 challenge but quickly realized I wasn't ready and I just redid yesterdays chipping drill of trying to 8/10 within 3 ft. 

I got 7 today so 2 better than yesterday and awfully close to completion, I even holed one of them. I was feeling a lot more consistent today and I tried from 2 different places that required 2 different shots, one a soft semi-flop and the other a low runner, the low runner I got 7/10 and the higher shot I got 6/10. 

Other drills were:

3 ft compass: 15/28 or 53% - PGA tour average is 99%

6 ft compass: 8/20 or 40% - PGA Tour average is 70.4%

The compass drills are what they sound like, 4 balls per hole at the cardinal points, and then switch holes so for the 3 footers I did 7 holes and for the 6 footers I did 5 holes because I ran out of time. The best part is each putt is different so it gives me a good feel for make % from those distances anywhere on the course. I'd really like to get those 3 footers over 80% and the 6 footers over 60%. That would likely completely eliminate my 3 putts or the most part. 

Getting better every day...I think...

EDIT: added PGA tour averages for those distance putts. 

[bardle]

Practice Update 3:

Today I spent the entire 40 minutes working on getting 20 putts in a row from 20 feet inside 3 ft. I putted 3 in a row at the same target and then chose a new target and the best that I did was 5/20 in a row. Clearly this is something I need to spend a lot of time on. 

I did notice that my big misses were generally due to bad reads or a poor stroke. And I confirmed that my tendency is to miss left and pull putts.

I am really enjoying spending all this time putting and chipping. Learning my tendencies and how to compensate for them is a pretty fun exercise. 

[KCLeo12]

Love seeing this. I am excited to follow along in your progress. If you need and tips or help feel free to message me.


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[palvord]

1 hour ago, bardle said:

Practice Update 3:

Today I spent the entire 40 minutes working on getting 20 putts in a row from 20 feet inside 3 ft. I putted 3 in a row at the same target and then chose a new target and the best that I did was 5/20 in a row. Clearly this is something I need to spend a lot of time on. 

I did notice that my big misses were generally due to bad reads or a poor stroke. And I confirmed that my tendency is to miss left and pull putts.

I am really enjoying spending all this time putting and chipping. Learning my tendencies and how to compensate for them is a pretty fun exercise. 

Reading through this thread is making me anxious for the weather to cooperate so I can begin practicing again as well.  Keep up the great work.  Your dedication to this process is admirable.

[bardle]

1 minute ago, palvord said:

Reading through this thread is making me anxious for the weather to cooperate so I can begin practicing again as well.  Keep up the great work.  Your dedication to this process is admirable.

Hey Thanks, It is hard to fight the urge to hit balls at the range, but theres no better way to spend my lunchbreak then being out in the sun and putting and chipping golf balls...Especially after the cold rainy winter we've had. 

[palvord]

Just now, bardle said:

Hey Thanks, It is hard to fight the urge to hit balls at the range, but theres no better way to spend my lunchbreak then being out in the sun and putting and chipping golf balls...Especially after the cold rainy winter we've had. 

Take advantage of the opportunity for the free practice.  Saves you $ and shaves strokes off of your game.

And, I'm incredibly jealous that this is how you get to spend your lunch break.  

[bardle]

1 minute ago, palvord said:

Take advantage of the opportunity for the free practice.  Saves you $ and shaves strokes off of your game.

And, I'm incredibly jealous that this is how you get to spend your lunch break.  

Well I joined a club so its not exactly free, but I am definitely getting my moneys worth either way...

[bardle]

Round Update: 

I played a fantastic round today. 29.4% of greens and 64% of Fairways. Only 2 penaltes on the round. Striking my irons well for the most part. 

I also had 46 putts....

Chipping was okay. I 3 putted 10 holes though. I 2 putted alot of holes that I should have 1 putted. I just had no touch on the greens. Some we're short. Some we're long. It was a mess. I'm at a loss.

I'll just continue to practice I suppose and see what happens. I'm gonna have to take it to the next level. Putting at home on carpet with a yardstick, tees between the cluhead to make sure I square it correctly, etc. 

Shot a total of 105...

I still managed to get 2 pars though! 

 

[CarlH]

Putting:  Get control of distance.  Distance is more important than the line.  You've got to get the first putt close to the hole so that the 2nd one is manageable.

[cnosil]

4 hours ago, bardle said:

Round Update: 

I played a fantastic round today. 29.4% of greens and 64% of Fairways. Only 2 penaltes on the round. Striking my irons well for the most part. 

I also had 46 putts....

Chipping was okay. I 3 putted 10 holes though. I 2 putted alot of holes that I should have 1 putted. I just had no touch on the greens. Some we're short. Some we're long. It was a mess. I'm at a loss.

I'll just continue to practice I suppose and see what happens. I'm gonna have to take it to the next level. Putting at home on carpet with a yardstick, tees between the cluhead to make sure I square it correctly, etc. 

Shot a total of 105...

I still managed to get 2 pars though! 

 

I agree with the prior poster,  you have to figure out distance control since I am assuming that is why you are 3 putting.  

[bardle]

40 minutes ago, CarlH said:

Putting:  Get control of distance.  Distance is more important than the line.  You've got to get the first putt close to the hole so that the 2nd one is manageable.

 

24 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I agree with the prior poster,  you have to figure out distance control since I am assuming that is why you are 3 putting.  

Agreed. I've read a synopsis of the big takeaways from unconscious putting and have been doing some research all weekend into drills and ideas to putt better. Im starting to wonder if it's my mental state.

Two weeks ago I wanted so badly to be good at hitting my irons and I practiced them.so much and I just couldn't hit them on the course but my putting was average.

Today all I cared about was putting and I was striking irons very well but just too in my head on the putts and my putting was well below average for me. 

Golf is an interesting game...