Broke 100, now bring on 90

[Kenny B]

12 minutes ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

 

1) meditation so I can learn to get in a low brainwave frequency state

Sometimes when I hit the ball, I think my brainwave frequency is too low.  

[Mr. Mushball]

On 8/20/2022 at 9:03 AM, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

 

 

Love me some Forest Hills. Let's play there some day.

 

 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

So I am going to reflect on the year itself and state some goals for the coming year.

Accomplishments:

Played my first tournament

Took 5 skillest lessons and improved my swing path and consistency as well as my short game

In the spring/summer got out to play at least nine almost once a week

Shot a personal best front nine (44) at Wildwood country club and could have broke 90 if not for a blow up hole on the back nine. I did play the whole round with one ball

Top 5 Shots of Memory:

#1 Forest Hills, From the tips on #1 drove the green and left myself with a 25ft eagle putt

#2 Rock Creek Country Club. Par 3 hole #3. Hit a 6 iron to 5 feet and made birdie.

#3 OGA Golf Couse Par 3 Hole #13, chipped in for birdie 

#4 Meriweather National Par 5 #5 Blind tee shot over trees and swap with OB sharp right. Hit a drive to dead center of the fairway leaving a Hybrid into the green.

#5 Eastmoreland Golf Course #1. Had a 60ft putt up hill and hit the put to 2 inches for a tap in par. @JFish350is my witness

Best moments of the year

1. Taking my daughter to the range

2. Seeing an eagle family walking up #9 at Meriweather

3. Seeing Mt Hood just after sunrise walking up Hole #14 at Forest Hills

4. Playing 18 holes with my dad riding. It was the first time I saw him since his open heart surgery and near death path the year prior.

5. Getting kicked off of a private course after practicing on the putting green for 90 mins before anyone noticed.

Looking Forward to 2023

Better Mental Game. Already focusing on meditation and course strategy. This will be a huge part of getting improved next year.

Getting Faster. Almost done with my Offseason program on fit for golf and will be moving into winter strength. As well, speed training is going really well. See the Off-season speed challenge for details.

Implementation of more random practice in my range sessions. More face impact work, strike work, shot shape work. Just basically having fun and working on calibrating my system and finding what works best. Figured now that I have my swing work in a better place, I can let natural athleticism kick in. There will still be some block practice is things get swirly and to focus on driver speed but those will not be the main focus.

Play in another tournament or two and gain more experience under pressure.

Enjoy the game more. This goes along with my mental game. I found if I just remember why I play, it makes it more fun and any mistakes that happen can easily be shaken off.

Handicap goal is to reach 10 by the end of the year. I know 11 strokes dropped is a lot in one year, but with all the work I am putting in, I think that can be accomplished.

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Mushball]

2023 hopefully will be my year to play under 100 normally and hopefully break 90.  Gonna start off the year with two challenging courses, which will probably make the rest of the year's venues feel pretty sad. 

On Monday 1/2/23 I have a round booked at Ghost Creek.  Probably played there about 22 years ago during vendor event sponsored by Sun Microsystems.  Had no idea how to play golf then, but did know how to drink the free booze and drive the cart around.  We nearly tipped it going down one of the hills.  Going to be tough given the weather looks to be a bit damp and from the white tees it's a 69.2/131 at 5956 yards.  Probably one of the toughest courses I'll have played by slope/rating.

Then, on Freaky Friday I have a time booked at Indian Wells Celebrity Course.  Playing from the whites it's a 69.1/123 and 6012 yards.  Should be a bit easier than Forrest Hills by the numbers.  However, given my handicap and hitting distance, I should probably play from the Green tees.  That puts it as a 5601 yard 66.7/118, or roughly equivalent to Glendoveer East from the Whites.  I'm expecting fewer hills though.

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Mr. Mushball

[Kenny B]

3 hours ago, Mr. Mushball said:

2023 hopefully will be my year to play under 100 normally and hopefully break 90.  Gonna start off the year with two challenging courses, which will probably make the rest of the year's venues feel pretty sad. 

On Monday 1/2/23 I have a round booked at Ghost Creek.  Probably played there about 22 years ago during vendor event sponsored by Sun Microsystems.  Had no idea how to play golf then, but did know how to drink the free booze and drive the cart around.  We nearly tipped it going down one of the hills.  Going to be tough given the weather looks to be a bit damp and from the white tees it's a 69.2/131 at 5956 yards.  Probably one of the toughest courses I'll have played by slope/rating.

Then, on Freaky Friday I have a time booked at Indian Wells Celebrity Course.  Playing from the whites it's a 69.1/123 and 6012 yards.  Should be a bit easier than Forrest Hills by the numbers.  However, given my handicap and hitting distance, I should probably play from the Green tees.  That puts it as a 5601 yard 66.7/118, or roughly equivalent to Glendoveer East from the Whites.  I'm expecting fewer hills though.

 

Both Indian Wells courses are great... beautiful and tough.  keep it out of the wash!!  Have fun!!  Is that the only course in the area you are playing?

[Mr. Mushball]

9 hours ago, Kenny B said:

Both Indian Wells courses are great... beautiful and tough.  keep it out of the wash!!  Have fun!!  Is that the only course in the area you are playing?

Yeah, down there for work and only have the Friday morning to squeeze in a round.  Fly out that afternoon.  Got any suggestions for a future trip?

 

[Kenny B]

14 hours ago, Mr. Mushball said:

Yeah, down there for work and only have the Friday morning to squeeze in a round.  Fly out that afternoon.  Got any suggestions for a future trip?

 

There are tons of extremely nice courses in the Palm Springs area.  Hard to go wrong, but many are pricey.  PGA West/La Quinta and Classic Club were staples for the PGA Tour stop.  Both courses at Desert Willow are gorgeous. A little less expensive are the Gary Player and Pete Dye courses at Mission Hills.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Had a lesson with my coach and working on a few things. For driver specifically working on getting my lead shoulder under my chin and my trail hip from disengaging and then getting it to crunch down. 
For all clubs getting the lead shoulder to move out and away, the hands to drop straight down in the downswing. Also working on my plane by trying to avoid the alignment stick. Video is a 4i from this morning. Work in progress but better now than trying to fix things in season when I am trying to just play

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Had my first reporting nine today. Won’t go into the details I already posted earlier. 
 

Things I was proud off:

I played golf instead of golf swing. I didn’t care how far I could hit a club, but rather what can I do to get on the green. I am still working on the proper movements but it’s great to get the swing thoughts out and just play golf. 

I didn’t let emotion dictate my decisions. I stuck to a plan and executed. Meditation and breathing has really helped in this area.

Closest to the hole wins. Whenever I could I tried to get as close to the green as I could. Whether it was sending a punched 4w as far as I could or playing to back of green distances. Anything to leave me a potential chip  

Around the green and chipping were really great. No three putts, 100% from 10ft and in. Most chips got me within a few feet of the hole.

Driver stayed in play (only ball I lost was a thinned 6i into water on a par three). Distance not fully there due to swing changes and how wet it was.

Iron play was solid  I only had a few mishits but I was always able to advance the ball.

Comparing SG I am well on my way to making some good progress. 

2022

2023

[sirchunksalot]

40 minutes ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Had my first reporting nine today. Won’t go into the details I already posted earlier. 
 

Things I was proud off:

I played golf instead of golf swing. I didn’t care how far I could hit a club, but rather what can I do to get on the green. I am still working on the proper movements but it’s great to get the swing thoughts out and just play golf. 

I didn’t let emotion dictate my decisions. I stuck to a plan and executed. Meditation and breathing has really helped in this area.

Closest to the hole wins. Whenever I could I tried to get as close to the green as I could. Whether it was sending a punched 4w as far as I could or playing to back of green distances. Anything to leave me a potential chip  

Around the green and chipping were really great. No three putts, 100% from 10ft and in. Most chips got me within a few feet of the hole.

Driver stayed in play (only ball I lost was a thinned 6i into water on a par three). Distance not fully there due to swing changes and how wet it was.

Iron play was solid  I only had a few mishits but I was always able to advance the ball.

Comparing SG I am well on my way to making some good progress. 

2022

2023

Great job and I'm glad to see all the hard work you've been putting in starting to pay off. I know it's hard to not play golf swing, especially immediately after the off season where we tend to obsess over it. It's good to hear that your mental game was so sharp and that this was just a start to a fantastic golf season for you. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

57 minutes ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Had my first reporting nine today. Won’t go into the details I already posted earlier. 
 

Things I was proud off:

I played golf instead of golf swing. I didn’t care how far I could hit a club, but rather what can I do to get on the green. I am still working on the proper movements but it’s great to get the swing thoughts out and just play golf. 

I didn’t let emotion dictate my decisions. I stuck to a plan and executed. Meditation and breathing has really helped in this area.

Closest to the hole wins. Whenever I could I tried to get as close to the green as I could. Whether it was sending a punched 4w as far as I could or playing to back of green distances. Anything to leave me a potential chip  

Around the green and chipping were really great. No three putts, 100% from 10ft and in. Most chips got me within a few feet of the hole.

Driver stayed in play (only ball I lost was a thinned 6i into water on a par three). Distance not fully there due to swing changes and how wet it was.

Iron play was solid  I only had a few mishits but I was always able to advance the ball.

Comparing SG I am well on my way to making some good progress. 

2022

2023

Good stuff man! Curious what app this is? Still looking for a good one to use. Going to give the Grint free trial a run but not sure I love it enough to purchase an annual pass

[cnosil]

1 minute ago, Jnoble89 said:

Good stuff man! Curious what app this is? Still looking for a good one to use. Going to give the Grint free trial a run but not sure I love it enough to purchase an annual pass

ShotScope. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

2 minutes ago, cnosil said:

ShotScope. 

Gotcha, thanks Chris. And that requires additional equipment, correct?

[cnosil]

55 minutes ago, Jnoble89 said:

Gotcha, thanks Chris. And that requires additional equipment, correct?

yep; multiple options are available.   I'll be honest, I tested it last year for MGS and it is a great product but it requires a lot of diving into numbers to figure out what to work on and it may not be a tool you need yet.   

If I were in your shoes,  I would track the Tiger 5 that is discussed in the DECADE program.  The article linked below explains.  Track them and see how you progress and figure out what you aren't able to meet all those metrics.   

https://golf.com/instruction/5-golden-scoring-rules-scott-fawcett/

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

2 hours ago, cnosil said:

yep; multiple options are available.   I'll be honest, I tested it last year for MGS and it is a great product but it requires a lot of diving into numbers to figure out what to work on and it may not be a tool you need yet.   

If I were in your shoes,  I would track the Tiger 5 that is discussed in the DECADE program.  The article linked below explains.  Track them and see how you progress and figure out what you aren't able to meet all those metrics.   

https://golf.com/instruction/5-golden-scoring-rules-scott-fawcett/

Agreed. @Jnoble89 here is some sample data. Takes some digging to understand what to work on is right. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

yep; multiple options are available.   I'll be honest, I tested it last year for MGS and it is a great product but it requires a lot of diving into numbers to figure out what to work on and it may not be a tool you need yet.   

If I were in your shoes,  I would track the Tiger 5 that is discussed in the DECADE program.  The article linked below explains.  Track them and see how you progress and figure out what you aren't able to meet all those metrics.   

https://golf.com/instruction/5-golden-scoring-rules-scott-fawcett/

 

54 minutes ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Agreed. @Jnoble89 here is some sample data. Takes some digging to understand what to work on is right. 

Thanks, guys. @cnosil I will check out that article and use that as a starting point! Definitely don’t want to overload myself with data at this point in my game. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

yep; multiple options are available.   I'll be honest, I tested it last year for MGS and it is a great product but it requires a lot of diving into numbers to figure out what to work on and it may not be a tool you need yet.   

If I were in your shoes,  I would track the Tiger 5 that is discussed in the DECADE program.  The article linked below explains.  Track them and see how you progress and figure out what you aren't able to meet all those metrics.   

https://golf.com/instruction/5-golden-scoring-rules-scott-fawcett/

Just read that article and literally every single one of those applies to where I am at currently in my game. Reading along and in my head I’m going, “yep, I can improve there.”

I had never seen this so I appreciate the share!

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

2 minutes ago, Jnoble89 said:

Just read that article and literally every single one of those applies to where I am at currently in my game. Reading along and in my head I’m going, “yep, I can improve there.”

I had never seen this so I appreciate the share!

Ya I just took a second look at this. I was 4/5 today. I’ll take that but know there is room to improve 

[Kenny B]

4 hours ago, cnosil said:

yep; multiple options are available.   I'll be honest, I tested it last year for MGS and it is a great product but it requires a lot of diving into numbers to figure out what to work on and it may not be a tool you need yet.   

If I were in your shoes,  I would track the Tiger 5 that is discussed in the DECADE program.  The article linked below explains.  Track them and see how you progress and figure out what you aren't able to meet all those metrics.   

https://golf.com/instruction/5-golden-scoring-rules-scott-fawcett/

Agreed!  Rules that make perfect sense.  I don't need anything to track data for me; I know where I am on the scale for each of these.  That is, if I am playing the same course all the time... which I do mostly.  On new courses or courses I play infrequently, I can get in trouble because I am not sure how to play holes to not lose strokes.  On my course I know if I get out of position, I know what's possible.  When unfamiliar greens are then added, the ability to produce a good round diminishes.

[cnosil]

10 hours ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Ya I just took a second look at this. I was 4/5 today. I’ll take that but know there is room to improve 

It’s also how many of each you had.  Looking at my round yesterday:

• Bogeys on Par 5 - 2
• Doubles - 0
• No 3 Putts - 4
• No Bogey with 9 iron or less - 3
• No Blown Saves - 0

We can quickly see areas to work on and if I look at those over time I can see how I am progressing.  Yes they will overlap; I had less than 9 iron in on a par 5 and 3 putted for Bogey.  I know putting distance control and the resulting 3-6 footers hurt me so I need to focus there.   Just improving that should reduce the others.

 If you are getting doubles ask yourself why and work to improve that area of your game.

 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

4 minutes ago, cnosil said:

It’s also how many of each you had.  Looking at my round yesterday:

• Bogeys on Par 5 - 2
• Doubles - 0
• No 3 Putts - 4
• No Bogey with 9 iron or less - 3
• No Blown Saves - 0

We can quickly see areas to work on and if I look at those over time I can see how I am progressing.  Yes they will overlap; I had less than 9 iron in on a par 5 and 3 putted for Bogey.  I know putting distance control and the resulting 3-6 footers hurt me so I need to focus there.   Just improving that should reduce the others.

 If you are getting doubles ask yourself why and work to improve that area of your game.

 

Ah makes sense 

• Bogeys on Par 5 - 0
• Doubles - 2
• No 3 Putts - 0
• No Bogey with 9 iron or less - 2
• No Blown Saves - 4

so scorning club work, 25-50 yards in (blown saves). Blown saves here related to doubles. Lot easier to track. 

[BMart519]

Since scratch players average around 3 shots to get down from 90 yards in the fairway, you will always struggle with the "No bogeys from 150" in the tiger 5 and should adjust accordingly or treat it as least important of the 5 if you are leaving it at 150/9 iron. 

[cnosil]

11 minutes ago, BMart519 said:

Since scratch players average around 3 shots to get down from 90 yards in the fairway, you will always struggle with the "No bogeys from 150" in the tiger 5 and should adjust accordingly or treat it as least important of the 5 if you are leaving it at 150/9 iron. 

Good point.   I consider it simply a metric with a goal of reducing the number of occurrences.  The individual many not average 0 but could average 5.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Signed up for my second ever tournament. 5/27 at Chehalem Glenn.

https://www.chehalemglenn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6847/2018/02/Chehalem-Glenn-Scorecard1.pdf

I am excited for this. I have learned a lot since my first one last year and feel much more mentally prepared. Really focusing on skill building and troubleshooting in round the next couple weeks to make sure I am good to go in ~3 weeks.

 

 

 

 

[Manny]

Hey you must live out in the Beaverton area?

I am in Vancouver and have played many of the courses you have listed on your Grint

Go see my buddy Nick Marby at Forest Hills

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

5 minutes ago, Manny said:

Hey you must live out in the Beaverton area?

I am in Vancouver and have played many of the courses you have listed on your Grint

Go see my buddy Nick Marby at Forest Hills

I love Nick. Great guy. Actually playing there tomorrow. It’s harder for me to go for in person lessons with my schedule hence why I do Skillest. Nick is only available in late morning through the afternoon and that doesn’t fit my schedule. Btw if you ever want to play a round hit me up!

[Manny]

Thats cool that you know Nick!

I use Golf Now a lot and Quail Valley was on that, they are no longer on their web site, bums me out.

I do like Forest Hills a lot and have played there several times. I introduced my buddy to The Reserve and now he loves playing there.

Same with Ghost.

I will keep you in mind when I am out that way again

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

16 minutes ago, Manny said:

Thats cool that you know Nick!

I use Golf Now a lot and Quail Valley was on that, they are no longer on their web site, bums me out.

I do like Forest Hills a lot and have played there several times. I introduced my buddy to The Reserve and now he loves playing there.

Same with Ghost.

I will keep you in mind when I am out that way again

Thanks. I usually only do nine holes due to family needs and usually early in morning. Also like heron lakes, wildwood, Quail, really all of them. I am just down the road from the reserve but only played once. 
 

With Nick he knows his stuff but he also tried getting me to hit off a 4in tee with all clubs. Driver I sorta get but irons I didn’t agree. Regardless great guy, nice TrackMan setup. No BS about him either. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Thought I’d update here. Had my first tournament of the year Saturday. If not for the driver mishap I likely come close to a personal best. Here are some things I learned. 

When adversity hits, just let it come. You can’t change the outcome but you can keep focus. First five holes, I got some luck, but also showed the advantage of distance. On the first 3 holes, I had a wedge into the green. Hole three I got lucky.  Ball was hooked off the tee, somehow went through a patch of trees to other hole fairway and clear shot at the green. Hole four I got even more lucky. Pulled an 6i off the tee into a forest. Somehow got a very lucky bounce out into play. Salvaged a bogey after leaving a putt short. After my driver issue, I had a 6i approach veer too far left and hop into the water, ended up with a double bogey. Not terrible. The next hole got to me. Lost focus and skilled a nine iron of the tee into the water. Ended up a triple on a par three. I finally gained my focus and ended up paring the next hole. Then, my ninth hole lost focus and hooked my 4w into ob (my 4w has a 180* difference in shot shape from my driver off the tee, made me feel very uncomfortable). Had 5 pars on this nine. 46 on my first nine  without the loss of focus I could have shot under 40 for that nine.

my back nine, I was just afraid to hit putts hard enough  I had no pars. Got unlucky on some lies. learned to strike things easy when in a divot as you can get bad fliers. I choke my last nine to being my first true 18 of the year, not mentally adjusting for my driver not being usable. I did hit some damn good approach shots on taken do these holes, just couldn’t sink the putts.

I will say, the reason for diver confidence came from my range warmup  I was absolutely smoking it dead straight. Not where I wanted to be after my speed work but getting there.  Goal was to have on course closer to 115 since I was able to max out dry at 120 this winter.

 

Here is my 2022 (last nine rounds) vs 2023 SG. Overall my short game and putting has improved. A big plus. Approach game worse but my last few rounds it’s been coming around. One killer there is long irons off tees that I need to mentally grind through. Tee shots are worse this year. A lot due to early season struggles following speed training  after some lessons and swing work that is coming around. If my tee game was where I was last year, I’d be only -2 to a 20 handicap in SG. Once I can get a functional driver, I look forward to keep improving. I think my breakthrough will be coming soon. The technique work, skill building on the range, and improved course management should set me up well.

2022 SG, 9 rounds (mostly nines )

 

2023 to date 14 rounds (only one 18 hole round)

 

 

[fixyurdivot]

2 hours ago, Vegan_Golfer_PNW said:

Thought I’d update here. Had my first tournament of the year Saturday. If not for the driver mishap I likely come close to a personal best. Here are some things I learned. 

When adversity hits, just let it come. You can’t change the outcome but you can keep focus. First five holes, I got some luck, but also showed the advantage of distance. On the first 3 holes, I had a wedge into the green. Hole three I got lucky.  Ball was hooked off the tee, somehow went through a patch of trees to other hole fairway and clear shot at the green. Hole four I got even more lucky. Pulled an 6i off the tee into a forest. Somehow got a very lucky bounce out into play. Salvaged a bogey after leaving a putt short. After my driver issue, I had a 6i approach veer too far left and hop into the water, ended up with a double bogey. Not terrible. The next hole got to me. Lost focus and skilled a nine iron of the tee into the water. Ended up a triple on a par three. I finally gained my focus and ended up paring the next hole. Then, my ninth hole lost focus and hooked my 4w into ob (my 4w has a 180* difference in shot shape from my driver off the tee, made me feel very uncomfortable). Had 5 pars on this nine. 46 on my first nine  without the loss of focus I could have shot under 40 for that nine.

my back nine, I was just afraid to hit putts hard enough  I had no pars. Got unlucky on some lies. learned to strike things easy when in a divot as you can get bad fliers. I choke my last nine to being my first true 18 of the year, not mentally adjusting for my driver not being usable. I did hit some damn good approach shots on taken do these holes, just couldn’t sink the putts.

I will say, the reason for diver confidence came from my range warmup  I was absolutely smoking it dead straight. Not where I wanted to be after my speed work but getting there.  Goal was to have on course closer to 115 since I was able to max out dry at 120 this winter.

 

Here is my 2022 (last nine rounds) vs 2023 SG. Overall my short game and putting has improved. A big plus. Approach game worse but my last few rounds it’s been coming around. One killer there is long irons off tees that I need to mentally grind through. Tee shots are worse this year. A lot due to early season struggles following speed training  after some lessons and swing work that is coming around. If my tee game was where I was last year, I’d be only -2 to a 20 handicap in SG. Once I can get a functional driver, I look forward to keep improving. I think my breakthrough will be coming soon. The technique work, skill building on the range, and improved course management should set me up well.

2022 SG, 9 rounds (mostly nines )

 

2023 to date 14 rounds (only one 18 hole round)

 

 

Nice job Randy!  Love all the data.  Keep at it .