GolfSpyt T's Round Report for 4/8/12

[Tony Covey MGS]

GolfSpy T's Round Report for 4/8/12

Just couldn't keep her out of the bag any longer

 

Course: McGregor Links, Wilton, NY

Holes Played: 18

Temperature: 63 degrees

Ball Used: Golf Spy T's Grab Bag

Lost Balls: 5 (UGLY)

Houses Hit: 0 (but I did hit a deck..does that count)?

 

Equipment Notes:

• No update on the 2012 gamer so the Nike VR Limited stays in the bag.
• Still carrying the RocketBallz Fairway, and starting to really see its value
• Pulled my 56* Solus FC-10 Wedge in favor of a 57* Miura Series 57 C-Grind. I've loved the Miura since I got it, but I've always had more confidence out of the bunker, and tighter lies with the Solus. I decided that was all in my head and decided to give the Miura another try. I just regripped it with a purple Lamkin REL 3Gen.
  
• Distance control with the Nike Method Concept putter is EXCEPTIONAL. Unfortunately, I can't quite figure out how to get it aligned, so I'm always missing to one side or the other.
• First round with the TRUE Linkswear PHX. I'm going to add my review to the thread, but the short version is I like the True Tours a lot better.
• It's Easter, so I got dressed up. PUMA Vivid Blue pants, PUMA Polo, and Mizuno Driver Cap. I love these pants. They look awesome...and they're super-lightweight and amazing comfortable (lots of stretch). They fit a bit slimmer than previous PUMA pants, but I don't feel restricted.

The only thing uglier than my actual golf swing is my fake, "I'm posing for a picture in my blue PUMA Pants", golf swing.

Round Notes:

• Iron play still abysmal...driver not as crisp as Thursday.
• Birdied the 1st hole...and then it all went downhill from there.
• Lost two balls on #2 (high slice with the RBZ followed by a low slice with the RBZ). Can't really blame the club, and from where I was, it was a stupid play anyway. #CourseManagementFail
• Made 5 on the par 3, 3rd...good tee shot, stayed right and got an unlucky bounce, and came to rest in a hazard against a tree root. Took 2 swings to get it on the green.
• #4 - On in 2, 3-putt. First one in a while...only one on the day. Tolerable considering I misjudged a putt I hadn't seen in 2+ years playing the course.
• #5 - Turning par 3s into Par 5s is no way to play this miserable game...but when you're irons don't work...
• #6 - RocketBallz proving its worth as a driver alternative, nearly as long, but less penal on bad swings. If I had the lead in a weekend going into Sunday, I could actually see leaving the driver out in favor of a 4th wedge (I do miss my 64*).
• #7 - 6
• #8 - Easy Par
• #9 - OB left, OB right, not even close to the green. After 2 more miserable irons shots...frankly, I lost count.
• #10 - Easy par
• #11 - Hooked a hybrid (and that was the good news).
• #12 - Beautiful drive, hooked a 6-iron into the woods, splashed the replacement into a hazard...still nothing good happening with the irons.
• #13 - Short par 3...low and off the toe, hit another for fun...more of the same.
• #14 - Another good drive, 9 iron well right...tried a 2nd ball just for fun...nearly landed on the first. Almost listed my Miuras on eBay while walking to the 15th.
• #15 - Big sweeping RBZ draw (HUGE tee shot, but a bit too far to the left of the fairway. Nicked a tree branch with a 6 iron, short right of the green from 265 with the RBZ. Hit a pitch, low and off the toe...AND THAT's WHEN I FIGURED OUT WHY I WAS'T HITTING MY IRONS WELL. My teacher has told me a few times that day to day the swing doesn't change that much. If something is horribly wrong, it's probably not the swing, my more likely something in the setup. I set up in the same spot I duffed my chip and noticed that the heel of the club was raised, as if they had been bent too flat. Some quick checking of things and I realized I had almost zero knee flex. How does something like that just creep into a golf swing?
• #16 Short drive offset by a well struck hybird that just got caught up in the wind a little bit, and landed on the wrong side of a slope. No biggie.
• #17 RBZ off the tee (17 is a hole where I tend to hang it open and hit it OB), tight draw...center of the fairway. Hooked a 6-iron (front bunker), dropped another and hit a very crisp iron shot to the back right edge of the green (too bad pin was front left). Good shot out of the bunker, but rolled on a me a bit...easy 2-putt.
• #18 Well struck push...pin high. A clean chip that I just didn't hit as hard as I should have. Easy 2-putt.

 

I'm struggling to stay committed to the swing changes I'm working on. When I focus off the tee the results are usually good, and even misses are playable. After struggling a bit with the RBZ out of the gate, it's become the club I use on holes where I otherwise would hit an 18* hybrid. It's certainly longer than that, and I'm quickly realizing that it's a club I can use to move the ball right to left without worrying about snapping one (at least it hasn't happened yet).

 

Posting starts 1 week from today. The last 3 holes gave me something to take into my next round. It feels like it's starting to come together.

[Matt Saternus]

That's a great point from your instructor about problems being in set up more than in the swing. Found that out myself recently. While beating a tremendous amount of balls on the LM for some upcoming ball reviews, I picked up a case of the lateral shots. I attributed it to hitting too many balls too fast and forgot about it...until the same shot showed up the next day. Got in the GolfTEC bay, took one swing and in two seconds saw the flaw in set up. Problem solved. Funny how it all comes back to really basic fundamentals.

[Addicted2Golf]

You rocking Miura players irons too? If so, maybe you would benefit from more forgiving clubs?

 

As I've mentioned in another post, I don't subscribe anymore to the whole "hitting butter knives makes you a better ball striker" thing. I took that advice last year and I lost a whole year of my golf life as a result. Golf is supposed to be fun and scoring is king. Everything else is just ego run amok.

 

With that said, you know more about golf equipment than I'll ever hope to T. So who am I to tell you what to play?

[Tony Covey MGS]

You rocking Miura players irons too? If so, maybe you would benefit from more forgiving clubs?

 

As I've mentioned in another post, I don't subscribe anymore to the whole "hitting butter knives makes you a better ball striker" thing. I took that advice last year and I lost a whole year of my golf life as a result. Golf is supposed to be fun and scoring is king. Everything else is just ego run amok.

 

With that said, you know more about golf equipment than I'll ever hope to T. So who am I to tell you what to play?

 

When I did the fitting, I wanted more than anything to end up in a set of Miura Tournament Blades. I actually hit them well-enough (crisp anyway), but the devil is almost always in the details, and it turns out slight mis-hits were spinning way too much (you do need to be nearly perfect with a true blade). With the CB-501s (and KBS C-Taper) the numbers were perfect. The more forgiving designs, even in the Miura lineup (PP-9003) also launched too high and spun a bit too much.

 

There's plenty of forgiveness in the 501s. Most GI clubs are designed to help get the ball in the air...that's never been my problem (too much air has been my issue), so I seldom get good results out of GI designs. The 501s have some perimeter weighting, but still launch the ball relatively low, and there's enough offset to keep the ball from leaking right.

 

Another consideration, if you look at what OEMs are doing to tweak the sweet spot (think Cobra's "E9" Technology)...they're designing for more forgiveness in an eliptical pattern...low heel, center, high toe. Low toe where I've been hitting is usually accounted for in a fitting. A little knee flex seems to have leveled out the iron, and put contact back into the center of the face. We'll see if it holds up through the next round.

[JohnBarry]

Love the full report on the play, wish I could stay sober enough during a round to remember all those details!!

[Addicted2Golf]

Another consideration, if you look at what OEMs are doing to tweak the sweet spot (think Cobra's "E9" Technology)...they're designing for more forgiveness in an eliptical pattern...low heel, center, high toe. Low toe where I've been hitting is usually accounted for in a fitting. A little knee flex seems to have leveled out the iron, and put contact back into the center of the face. We'll see if it holds up through the next round.

 

My problem is actually the opposite than yours - low heel. The three tee drill actually puts me back in the center. Line up a tee just off the toe and heel of your club along with one in the center. If you toe your shots, then try to clip the outside tee at impact. If you heel your shots, clip the inside tee. Start without a ball. Fixes me every time. To carry it on the course, I focus hitting the inside portion of the ball. Here's a video of the drill. Don't let the title fool you. It's not just for correcting shanks.

 

[SeeRed]

I was laughing with you through the round recap, I promise! Loved it..and can definitely relate. Good point about the setup, too. I had a case of the lateral shots on short wedges recently and was talking with a relative and long-time golf buddy about it. He piped up with "Lighten up on your grip there, He Man." Huh, it worked. Imagine that. KISS, right?

[SeeRed]

It's not just for correcting shanks.

Oh no you didn't! Shame sir, shame!