edingc's Work In Progress

[edingc 10,736]

The weather has turned to fall here in Michigan, and I’m ready to bring my golf season to a close. 

We’ll have at least one or two more weekends of decent temperatures, but with the amount of precipitation we’ve already received this fall, and more on the way, my course isn’t looking like it’s going to be fun to play (if it can be played at all) for the remainder of the season.

Despite playing golf occasionally for as long as I can remember, 2019 marked the first time I took the game seriously. I set a high bar for 2020 in doing so. I played 51 total 9/18 hole rounds this season, and I will finish the year with an unofficial (self-calculated) handicap of 11.2.

As a more tangible measure of progress, I went from routinely shooting in the mid-90s to being most often in the mid-80s, with a few lower rounds sprinkled in. In August, I shot 79 to break 80 for the first time in my life.

I’m starting this thread as a way to centralize a lot of my thoughts throughout the offseason, and I’m hoping it turns into more of a “state of my game” post (similar to those by other members) as we move into next season. I have some goals in mind for next year, so I’m starting this thread in part to keep me better focused on that quest.
 

[tony@CIC 20,754]

The weather has turned to fall here in Michigan, and I’m ready to bring my golf season to a close. 
We’ll have at least one or two more weekends of decent temperatures, but with the amount of precipitation we’ve already received this fall, and more on the way, my course isn’t looking like it’s going to be fun to play (if it can be played at all) for the remainder of the season.
Despite playing golf occasionally for as long as I can remember, 2019 marked the first time I took the game seriously. I set a high bar for 2020 in doing so. I played 51 total 9/18 hole rounds this season, and I will finish the year with an unofficial (self-calculated) handicap of 11.2.
As a more tangible measure of progress, I went from routinely shooting in the mid-90s to being most often in the mid-80s, with a few lower rounds sprinkled in. In August, I shot 79 to break 80 for the first time in my life.
I’m starting this thread as a way to centralize a lot of my thoughts throughout the offseason, and I’m hoping it turns into more of a “state of my game” post (similar to those by other members) as we move into next season. I have some goals in mind for next year, so I’m starting this thread in part to keep me better focused on that quest.
 

Nice progress in 2019, hitting that 11.2 index. What are your plans for 2020?


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[Mick Close 51]

Congrats on breaking 80, sounds as if you are progressing nicely. Looking forward to more updates when the weather over there allows you back out consistently.

[edingc 10,736]

21 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

Nice progress in 2019, hitting that 11.2 index. What are your plans for 2020?


Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Thanks! That's as good of a place to start as any, I suppose!

First, to recap a few loosely-defined goals I had for this year:

1) Play More Golf

Never mind the fact that "more" is a terrible qualifier for a goal, I definitely played more golf in 2019 than ever before in my life. I totaled 51 rounds this season. Honestly, I ended up playing a lot more than I anticipated coming into the year. Some of that is because I was selected to test the Callaway Epic Flash (thanks again, MGS!), but also because I ended up getting a very affordable membership at one of our local courses.

Additionally, I am lucky to work very close to a championship-caliber course and practice facility. I hit a bucket of balls and spent time in the short game area or putting green at lunch nearly every day from April to this past week.

2) Break 90

The last time I played golf consistently was my junior year of college. Playing three times a week for about 10 or 12 weeks in a row, I broke 90 once. I expected it would take some time before I’d ever do it again.

I ended up breaking 90 relatively early in the season, and I totaled 17 rounds of 90 or less out of 27 18-hole rounds played. I ended up breaking 80 once, too.

3) Walk Most of My Rounds

 

I bought a CaddyTek cart early in the season and walked almost all of my rounds. I even opted to walk when the rest of my foursome took carts on a few occasions. 

My goals for 2020 are more measurable. My hope is that by setting more specific goals, I will improve my game faster.

1) Hit 55 Percent of Fairways in Regulation

I hit about 44 percent of fairways this season. I’ve seen differing numbers out there, but some older stats by TheGrint put 10-15 handicappers as hitting 55 percent of fairways in regulation.

Removing scrambles and one round where I did not keep any statistics whatsoever, in only 13 out of 46 rounds did I hit more than 55 percent of fairways in regulation. In fact, I had more rounds (18) in which I hit less than one-third of fairways!

For my game, improving the accuracy of tee shots will dramatically affect my scores. My home course is heavily tree-lined. Poor tee shots are often left with no option other than to punch out back to the fairway. I punched out a total of seven times during the last round I played at my home course. That is seven strokes wasted on shots that did next to nothing to advance the ball toward the hole. (In my case, I ended up with a few extra strokes on top of those seven...). Simply keeping the ball in the fairway might have changed my score from the low 90s to something in the low-mid 80s.

2) Average 34 or Fewer Putts Per Round

I’ve posted around MGS a few times that I feel like I’m an OK putter, but I am starting to realize I might just be in denial!

Putts per round isn’t the best statistic in the world, but I do three-putt too often. I averaged over 35 putts per round in 2019, and not surprisingly, most of my lowest scores correlate with my best putting performances.

In 609 holes of putting recorded with GAME Golf, I three-putted 86 holes, or about 14 percent of the time. Now, I’m not a PGA Tour player, but even the worst three-putter on tour last year (Cameron Champ) three-putted only 66 times in 1,368 chances!

Bringing my total putts per round down will require me not only to become better at all facets of my putting, but also will require me to improve my short game from 30 yards and in. Too often I hit poor chips or pitches that still leave me with long and/or challenging first putts. Getting the ball closer to the hole when I miss the green in regulation should bring this number down quickly. 

3) Improve my Average Driver Carry to 250 Yards

Building consistency in my swing, specifically my driver swing, is a big priority for me. I had a few rounds this season where the driver was on fire, and I’d like to have more rounds like that in the future.

This goal is best measured on the range with my Swing Caddie SC200.

There is obviously a lot more to the game of golf than bombing the driver, but my hope is that increasing my swing speed and improving my mechanics helps throughout the bag, driver to wedge.

After all, carry is king, especially during my morning rounds and on a course as wet as mine is most of the year.

[edingc 10,736]

Top 3 Best/Favorite Holes of 2019

I picked through my GAME Golf rounds to find my top three holes from 2019. My low rounds this year resulted from lots of pars and not many bogeys, so naturally the handful of holes where I scored birdie or better made this a pretty easy search.

#1 - Eagle, August 25, Hole No. 3, Western Greens Country Club

Hole No. 3 at Western Greens is a long par five. You need to put your drive well right of the tree that guards the left side of the landing area to just have a good look at running the ball right up to the creek bed that is right in front of the green.

I smashed my drive 264 yards to the right side of the fairway and hit a great 6-iron 176 yards leaving me 52 yards to the pin. The green slopes back-to-front, left-to-right. I pulled my 54 degree wedge, hit a low shot right to the front left of the green and watched it roll up and in the cup for eagle!

#2 - Birdie, July 3, Hole No. 7, Western Greens Country Club

The owner of Western Greens calls No. 7 the hardest par 4 is West Michigan, and he has a great argument. The hole is almost entirely uphill, making the 428-yard dogleg left play much longer. You must put your drive over a hill and far from the left side which is protected by a line of trees that stop any chance of hitting the green in regulation. The approach into the green plays almost two clubs longer than the yardage, and the wind is often swirling at the top of the hill.

It had rained heavily the evening prior and the course was very wet. I hit my drive 244 yards over a pond created by the rain and had the drive stick down in the right fairway with a good look at the pin. I pulled a 5-iron from 177 yards and landed my second shot right on the front of the green. The ball rolled out to about 15 feet from the pin and I sank the birdie putt en route to a career low nine of 38.

#3 - Eagle, June 7, Hole No. 6, The Falls at Barber Creek

I took the day off of work to play with the in-laws, and had a blast at a new-to-me course.

No. 6 is a dogleg right par 5. Playing from the white tees with my father-in-law, I was able to take a good chunk of the dogleg out of play by driving over the water hazard on to the fairway beyond. By no means was it my best drive ever (236 yards), but it left me with about 140 yards to the green. I hit a perfect 9-iron that landed about a foot from the pin and rolled out toward the back of the green to about 20 feet.

The putt had multiple breaks, but I read the line perfectly and dropped in my first-ever eagle!

[ncwoz 2,440]

2 hours ago, edingc said:

Top 3 Best/Favorite Holes of 2019

I picked through my GAME Golf rounds to find my top three holes from 2019. My low rounds this year resulted from lots of pars and not many bogeys, so naturally the handful of holes where I scored birdie or better made this a pretty easy search.

#1 - Eagle, August 25, Hole No. 3, Western Greens Country Club

Hole No. 3 at Western Greens is a long par five. You need to put your drive well right of the tree that guards the left side of the landing area to just have a good look at running the ball right up to the creek bed that is right in front of the green.

I smashed my drive 264 yards to the right side of the fairway and hit a great 6-iron 176 yards leaving me 52 yards to the pin. The green slopes back-to-front, left-to-right. I pulled my 54 degree wedge, hit a low shot right to the front left of the green and watched it roll up and in the cup for eagle!

#2 - Birdie, July 3, Hole No. 7, Western Greens Country Club

The owner of Western Greens calls No. 7 the hardest par 4 is West Michigan, and he has a great argument. The hole is almost entirely uphill, making the 428-yard dogleg left play much longer. You must put your drive over a hill and far from the left side which is protected by a line of trees that stop any chance of hitting the green in regulation. The approach into the green plays almost two clubs longer than the yardage, and the wind is often swirling at the top of the hill.

It had rained heavily the evening prior and the course was very wet. I hit my drive 244 yards over a pond created by the rain and had the drive stick down in the right fairway with a good look at the pin. I pulled a 5-iron from 177 yards and landed my second shot right on the front of the green. The ball rolled out to about 15 feet from the pin and I sank the birdie putt en route to a career low nine of 38.

#3 - Eagle, June 7, Hole No. 6, The Falls at Barber Creek

I took the day off of work to play with the in-laws, and had a blast at a new-to-me course.

No. 6 is a dogleg right par 5. Playing from the white tees with my father-in-law, I was able to take a good chunk of the dogleg out of play by driving over the water hazard on to the fairway beyond. By no means was it my best drive ever (236 yards), but it left me with about 140 yards to the green. I hit a perfect 9-iron that landed about a foot from the pin and rolled out toward the back of the green to about 20 feet.

The putt had multiple breaks, but I read the line perfectly and dropped in my first-ever eagle!

Love it! I especially enjoy it cuz I've played those courses and know exactly what holes you were on.

And #7 at Western Greens is darn tough! I distinctly remember tripling that one...

[edingc 10,736]

9 hours ago, ncwoz said:

And #7 at Western Greens is darn tough! I distinctly remember tripling that one...

Was the hardest hole for me hands down this year. Scoring average of +1.4 from par. 

I went back through GAME Golf and pulled the actual scores. In 33 tracked times playing that hole, I notched one birdie, two pars, 18 bogeys, nine double bogeys, two triple bogeys and one quadruple bogey. I hadn't realized how many rounds went from being great to just average because of that hole.

 

[tony@CIC 20,754]

2 hours ago, edingc said:

Was the hardest hole for me hands down this year. Scoring average of +1.4 from par. 

I went back through GAME Golf and pulled the actual scores. In 33 tracked times playing that hole, I notched one birdie, two pars, 18 bogeys, nine double bogeys, two triple bogeys and one quadruple bogey. I hadn't realized how many rounds went from being great to just average because of that hole.

 

Great - detailed write up. Just curious what software/app are you using for your data? 

[edingc 10,736]

As of right now, I'm mashing together data from GAME Golf and TheGrint. The "Average Scores over Par by Hole Number" is directly from TheGrint's web interface.

I had to view each one of my rounds in GAME Golf to see my performance on hole No. 7, and then I tallied my scores and created the pie chart manually. One of my frustrations with GAME Golf is that I can't see my historical performance on a given hole. And, in general, the statistics other than yardage in GAME are generally lacking. One of the reasons why I'm considering a ShotScope for next year, actually.

[edingc 10,736]

Small correction to my original post -- due to an error in my calculations, my end of season handicap was higher than in actuality. I had neglected to multiply my final differential by .96. That artificially inflated my handicap some.

Correcting my calculations puts my end of season handicap at 10.7, which means at one point this summer I was at or awfully close to single digits. Very cool.

What an easy way to shave a half stroke! 

[edingc 10,736]

I had the opportunity to go for an iron fitting yesterday at one of our local golf shops. During the "offseason," they run a special where the cost of a Trackman fitting is refunded with an additional 10 percent is store credit via gift card. So, for $60 I got a fitting and a $66 gift card I will most likely put toward some new golf shoes before next season.

I posted my new irons for the 2020 season over in the "What have you bought lately thread?" They are the Maltby PTM forged cavity backs, which I grabbed on eBay for basically a third of retail cost. But they came with shafts I did not want (UST Recoils), so the goal of my fitting was to find out what shafts work well for my swing.

Since the Maltbys are obviously not on any fitting cart, I checked all of the Maltby MPF listings and found the specs of the Mizuno JPX 919 Forged to be very similar. I explained the situation to John, my fitter, who was happy to oblige in fitting me using the 919 Forged head.

I first started hitting a few shots with my C300 7 iron to get a baseline, and then hit three shots with the Mizuno Shaft Optimizer 3D. I unfortunately did not get results from the Optimizer sent to me, but my 7 iron club head speed was 83 MPH with a 4 tempo. It recommended the following six shafts, in order:

1. AeroTech SteelFiber i110 Stiff
2. KBS C-Taper Lite 110 Stiff
3. KBS Tour 110 Regular
4. Project X LZ 5.5
5. Nippon Modus 3 105 Stiff
6. Dynamic Gold DG105 S300 Stiff

John first put me in the KBS C-Taper Lite and I got fantastic results right off the bat. I tried each of the other shafts but could not replicate the success I had.

Despite the 919 Forged being a degree weaker in loft, and the shaft being 1/2" shorter, I was able to match the distance of my C300s, eliminate some of my left hooky miss while also increasing launch angle, spin and descent angle. Basically, I hit the ball just as far, but higher and with more spin. 

It was a very eye opening experience getting to hit a bunch of different shafts. I am surprised to report, however, that the KBS Tour 90 Stiff I currently game would have been the second best option of the bunch I tried. I simply could not replicate the performance of the C-Taper Lite with any other shaft.

I found an excellent set of used C-Taper Lite pulls on eBay today and jumped on them. I still have all of the build work to do, but next season I will be gaming 4-GW Maltby PTM Chrome heads, C-Taper Lite 110 stiff shafts and Star Sidewinder grips. All will be bent to match standard Mizuno lies and length as the Optimizer recommended those as well.

The Mizuno Shaft Optimizer is a cool price of equipment, and my results speak to its accuracy!

 

[tony@CIC 20,754]

Small correction to my original post -- due to an error in my calculations, my end of season handicap was higher than in actuality. I had neglected to multiply my final differential by .96. That artificially inflated my handicap some.
Correcting my calculations puts my end of season handicap at 10.7, which means at one point this summer I was at or awfully close to single digits. Very cool.
What an easy way to shave a half stroke! 

Don't forget that beginning Jan 1st, the handicap calculation changes to the average of lowest 8 out of last 20 and is no longer multiplied by .96.


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[edingc 10,736]

3 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

Don't forget that beginning Jan 1st, the handicap calculation changes to the average of lowest 8 out of last 20 and is no longer multiplied by .96.


Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Yes, I'm going to need to update my spreadsheet once the new world handicapping system comes into effect. I have to do some more reading on the new equations.

[B.Boston 13,889]

I had the opportunity to go for an iron fitting yesterday at one of our local golf shops. During the "offseason," they run a special where the cost of a Trackman fitting is refunded with an additional 10 percent is store credit via gift card. So, for $60 I got a fitting and a $66 gift card I will most likely put toward some new golf shoes before next season.
I posted my new irons for the 2020 season over in the "What have you bought lately thread?" They are the Maltby PTM forged cavity backs, which I grabbed on eBay for basically a third of retail cost. But they came with shafts I did not want (UST Recoils), so the goal of my fitting was to find out what shafts work well for my swing.
Since the Maltbys are obviously not on any fitting cart, I checked all of the Maltby MPF listings and found the specs of the Mizuno JPX 919 Forged to be very similar. I explained the situation to John, my fitter, who was happy to oblige in fitting me using the 919 Forged head.
I first started hitting a few shots with my C300 7 iron to get a baseline, and then hit three shots with the Mizuno Shaft Optimizer 3D. I unfortunately did not get results from the Optimizer sent to me, but my 7 iron club head speed was 83 MPH with a 4 tempo. It recommended the following six shafts, in order:

1. AeroTech SteelFiber i110 Stiff
2. KBS C-Taper Lite 110 Stiff
3. KBS Tour 110 Regular
4. Project X LZ 5.5
5. Nippon Modus 3 105 Stiff
6. Dynamic Gold DG105 S300 Stiff

John first put me in the KBS C-Taper Lite and I got fantastic results right off the bat. I tried each of the other shafts but could not replicate the success I had.
Despite the 919 Forged being a degree weaker in loft, and the shaft being 1/2" shorter, I was able to match the distance of my C300s, eliminate some of my left hooky miss while also increasing launch angle, spin and descent angle. Basically, I hit the ball just as far, but higher and with more spin. 
It was a very eye opening experience getting to hit a bunch of different shafts. I am surprised to report, however, that the KBS Tour 90 Stiff I currently game would have been the second best option of the bunch I tried. I simply could not replicate the performance of the C-Taper Lite with any other shaft.
I found an excellent set of used C-Taper Lite pulls on eBay today and jumped on them. I still have all of the build work to do, but next season I will be gaming 4-GW Maltby PTM Chrome heads, C-Taper Lite 110 stiff shafts and Star Sidewinder grips. All will be bent to match standard Mizuno lies and length as the Optimizer recommended those as well.
The Mizuno Shaft Optimizer is a cool price of equipment, and my results speak to its accuracy!
 

I’ve been gaming c taper lites for the past several years and have loved them! I think you’ll enjoy them a lot. They have been very consistent for me. [emoji106]




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[tony@CIC 20,754]

10 hours ago, edingc said:

Yes, I'm going to need to update my spreadsheet once the new world handicapping system comes into effect. I have to do some more reading on the new equations.

I just posted under a separate topic a 'white paper' from Golf Genius on the new system 

 

[edingc 10,736]

The weather cooperated long enough for me to get out this weekend. Stealing an idea from the Cobra Connect challenge, I chose only five clubs to take with me in my pencil range bag and headed over to a local course who is charging $1/hole with cart for remainder of the year.

The clubs I took were: driver, 6 iron, 8 iron, 54 degree wedge and putter.

The course was pretty much empty (and in very rough shape), so I kept real score with one ball on the front nine and dropped a bunch of others throughout my round. I ended up shooting a legitimate 43 with the one "real" ball, thanks in large part to some pretty good putting (14 putts, no three putts). 

Why is this here and not in "How'd you play?" Well, since mid-September I had been fighting a bad case of the shanks. I patched together two not so great rounds to end the year, and did alright during my fitting last weekend, but going out this weekend I found what I had been working with when I was playing my best this season.

I hit a bunch of really nice shots and figured out a lot of things that have been missing from my game since early September. 

Unfortunately, my club choices weren't the best. I should have opted for my pitching wedge or 9 iron instead of the 8 iron. I had a bunch of shots from about 125 yards where I couldn't flight the 8 iron effectively (I tend to really pull the ball). And I had no correct club for either par 3 - I flew one green with the 6 iron and then laid up well short of another, where I would have needed to bunt my driver otherwise.

I was so happy to find my swing again. I just finished cleaning out the bag and polishing the irons - the season is officially over for me now, on a great note.

 

[edingc 10,736]

Getting in some work in the gym today. My goal is to lean out some more over the winter while working on increasing my flexibility and golf-specific strength. I also am throwing in some cardio because on more than one occasion I ran out of gas over the last five holes of my 18 hole walking rounds. 

So far I'm enjoying the Fit for Golf routine I purchased. It's nice to have a set direction and the exercises are well thought out. I've had to modify it a little to fit my schedule, but I can already tell it's going to help me a lot heading into next year.

 

[Trial&Error 214]

Reflections on my 2019: it was a total flop and dud for me. Coming off 2018, I had two goals or "hopes."

1) See if I could get to scratch or anything in the 0.X range (coming off a low of 1.5 from 2018)

2) See if I could get my scoring average down 2 strokes from 2018 (78.05 2018)

(Edit and Addendum; not a "this year goal" but lifetime goal of cracking into the 60's which still continues to ELUDE me! I feel like it's out there waiting but I'm not getting any younger and 70 just isn't getting it done anymore......I need this in any season before I croak!)

Both went quickly unrealized, frustration set in quick, coupled along also with a summer bout of shanks and a low back injury in mid summer, I missed by a wide margin as to both. Results instead being 57 rounds with 78.5 scoring average (with rounds wildly between 71-91 on the year or 9 months), so strike one. And my handicap instead going up and see-sawing back and forth all year between 2.5 - 4.4.

Needless to say, I'm glad to be ending the year and get past this and hope next year is better.

For 2020, plan to keep training with Superspeed, this thursday I'm going in to get an TPI Physical screening and K-Vest Eval to begin the process in hopes to start to better understand what my physical limitations are (i.e mobility/flexibility/power) and hope to identify what I feel certain pains in my body and what of those (if any) is complicating my swing and well being. So I'm starting that chapter this week, in hopes to work to resolve and clean up any physical limitations I'm currently working around/compensating for.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Trial&Error

[edingc 10,736]

1 hour ago, Trial&Error said:

For 2020, plan to keep training with Superspeed, this thursday I'm going in to get an TPI Physical screening and K-Vest Eval to begin the process in hopes to start to better understand what my physical limitations are (i.e mobility/flexibility/power) and hope to identify what I feel certain pains in my body and what of those (if any) is complicating my swing and well being. So I'm starting that chapter this week, in hopes to work to resolve and clean up any physical limitations I'm currently working around/compensating for.

That's awesome! I'm going to give Fit for Golf and chance this offseason and maybe try out a TPI screening next fall/winter depending on how next season goes. I know Mike from FFG does online TPI screenings, but quite a few physical therapy places by me do as well for a nominal cost (~$200, I think).

[edingc 10,736]

Spent Friday evening and Saturday morning putting together the Maltby PTM 7 iron since the loft/lies were adjusted last weekend and my graphite shaft extractor arrived in the mail on Wednesday. 

On Friday, I pulled the head from the UST Recoil shaft it came on, cleaned out the hosel and epoxied in the C-Taper Lite pull I bought off eBay. Yesterday, I cut to length (37") and gripped it with a red Star Sidewinder I had purchased earlier this season.

My plan was to build the iron and then add tungsten weight stickers until I found a swing weight I was happy with, but that ended up not working out. Despite the PTMs having a universal hosel design (fitting both .355 and .370 shafts - my CTLs are .355), it was a very loose fit, so I decided to go with a brass shim. Combined with cutting to exactly 37", and basically a 1/4" cap on the Sidewinders, the 7 Iron swing weighted out to be D4 off the bat, and I didn't want to go any heavier.

Today, I was able to get up to our nearest heated range and give the iron a test, as it is low-mid 40s in my area now. I am ecstatic about how it performed. Very similar feel and performance to the JPX 919 Forged head I was fit with. While I love the opportunity to get out and hit some balls, this particular range uses extremely worn Nike range rocks and I don't put a ton of trust in any numbers my Swing Caddie puts out. But, on a good swing, I was seeing carry distances into the mid-upper 150s, which should work out to be better performance than I was seeing with the 919 Forged indoors when ball and temperature is accounted for.

Love the feel of the C-Taper Lites, which for me have a nice smooth delivery feel on impact. And I think I'm going to love the D4 swing weight. My Wilson C300s were D2 across the set, and I personally feel like I could feel the club head a little better throughout the swing at D4. Altogether the overall, static weight of the new 7 iron is only 8 grams heavier than the C300 7 iron, so I'm happy that worked out that way. And the Sidewinder grip is great. It has a slightly less tapered design than the Lamkin Crosslines I played this season, but not so much like a +4 design, which I did not like. 

The range has a Flightscope I can rent some time on, so I plan on doing that next time I get out there. 

As for my swing today, I was really happy to see my success from my final round last weekend carry over to today. I still have a long ways to go, but I am feeling good about making strides this offseason.