How'd you play?

[richk9holes]

Prov1s are a lot like my ex. Always leaves me eventually and I have to be really good to get in the hole.

[richk9holes]

I played Bey Lea GC today, Toms River Muni $23 walking at what the employee called "happy hour" price. Another course I know drains well after AM rain. Just opened recently for the season, aerated greens meant putting would be an adventure.

My streak of having high school girl's teams watching me as a gallery goes to 2 days in a row. Today was a local high school with 20+ girls (bravo for them) learning the game. I went off #10 it looked like the JV team had 4 or 5 groups going out on 1, but I skipped ahead of the Varsity team (assuming since they looked older) to play the back 9 in front of them. So the gallery was a varsity coach and 6 or 7 16-18 year old girls. No pressure.

Muscles McFlubski kept it in play right on the drive but overswinging put me behind a tree. Tried hero shot from 175yd, nope hit tree branch kick OB.

The rest of the details are in the week 26 Tournament thread.

[Jodrell]

Properly wet conditions today, especially for the front 9, but the new waterproof trousers worked well as did my new rain gloves. Shot 78 (par 33 course) which equals my best fit that course so pretty pleased )

[cnosil]

A little frustrated with my golf game over the past couple of weeks.  Tee shots and iron play have been pretty good which has been great.  Been hitting about the same number for fairways but GIR hit has been up by a few with decent proximity.  Short game shot contact has been ok,  just can't figure out my distances.   This was costly today;  had 5 shots roll back down hills resulting in longer shots that the prior shot.  Putting has been a total disaster with 4 more 3+ putts today and quite a few misreads.    Really need to get in some practice time;  I guess the extra evening light  is the one benefit of the time change

[Jim Shaw]

13 minutes ago, cnosil said:

A little frustrated with my golf game over the past couple of weeks.  Tee shots and iron play have been pretty good which has been great.  Been hitting about the same number for fairways but GIR hit has been up by a few with decent proximity.  Short game shot contact has been ok,  just can't figure out my distances.   This was costly today;  had 5 shots roll back down hills resulting in longer shots that the prior shot.  Putting has been a total disaster with 4 more 3+ putts today and quite a few misreads.    Really need to get in some practice time;  I guess the extra evening light  is the one benefit of the time change

the distance problems may be that it is colder out and you are not getting the carry distance, as for putting, there is a real opportunity there to lower your scores and possibly your index... 

[cnosil]

6 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

the distance problems may be that it is colder out and you are not getting the carry distance, as for putting, there is a real opportunity there to lower your scores and possibly your index... 

Today was 70 so temps probably weren't the reason;  just didn't hit it hard enough to get to the top of the slopes.  

Fixing my putting probably won't lower my handicap;  the struggles aren't normally part of my game.  I think the improved Iron play and more GIR is going to be more impactful.  

[Jim Shaw]

4 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Today was 70 so temps probably weren't the reason;  just didn't hit it hard enough to get to the top of the slopes.  

Fixing my putting probably won't lower my handicap;  the struggles aren't normally part of my game.  I think the improved Iron play and more GIR is going to be more impactful.  

Do you track your putts per round? 

[cnosil]

1 minute ago, Jim Shaw said:

Do you track your putts per round? 

no, i don't believe that is a useful stat to evaluate putting.

[Javs]

21 minutes ago, cnosil said:

A little frustrated with my golf game over the past couple of weeks.  Tee shots and iron play have been pretty good which has been great.  Been hitting about the same number for fairways but GIR hit has been up by a few with decent proximity.  Short game shot contact has been ok,  just can't figure out my distances.   This was costly today;  had 5 shots roll back down hills resulting in longer shots that the prior shot.  Putting has been a total disaster with 4 more 3+ putts today and quite a few misreads.    Really need to get in some practice time;  I guess the extra evening light  is the one benefit of the time change

Is your issue from about 60 yards and in? In addition, putting issues? If so, distance control with wedges is a common fault. Do you use the clock drill to control your wedge distances? 

Here are two videos that might help. 

On putting is it an alignment and setup issue or distance control? Maybe check your alignment and make sure your right palm is facing the target (for a right handed golfer). Distance control there are many drills to help. However, one is place a tee in the ground at 30 feet, 15 feet and 5 feet. Practice rolling balls to the tees. Take your stance look at the target and then hit the putt. This will help with distance. 

[chisag]

26 minutes ago, cnosil said:

A little frustrated with my golf game over the past couple of weeks.  Tee shots and iron play have been pretty good which has been great.  Been hitting about the same number for fairways but GIR hit has been up by a few with decent proximity.  Short game shot contact has been ok,  just can't figure out my distances.   This was costly today;  had 5 shots roll back down hills resulting in longer shots that the prior shot.  Putting has been a total disaster with 4 more 3+ putts today and quite a few misreads.    Really need to get in some practice time;  I guess the extra evening light  is the one benefit of the time change

 

... Always amazing how fine the line is between playing OK, playing really well and playing poorly. I have suffered a similar fate lately and while not 3 putting I am missing too many birdies along a few par saves because of misreads. These greens are diabolical to begin with and it seems every time I put the ball just inside the hole, it breaks out of the cup and when I play it just outside the hole, it stays right there.

... Always the case with these Gary Panks greens but lately he seems to have gotten the better of me. His theory on golf course design is generous fairways that slope toward strategic bunkers with plenty of chances to run the ball onto the green as he rarely puts bunkers in front of his desert courses unless it is a short hole. But he uses side mounds and the pull of the mountain to create illusions on the green.  A kid I played with studying to be a golf course architect took a class on Gary Panks designs and said "Panks tries to make you see breaks that aren't there and not see breaks that are". Just about no flat spots and putts 1 foot apart can do two different things. Subtle but when someone next to you has a 2" break to the right and yours breaks 1" to the left it gets frustrating. Have I mentioned how much I hate Bermuda greens? 

 

[Jim Shaw]

7 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... Always amazing how fine the line is between playing OK, playing really well and playing poorly. I have suffered a similar fate lately and while not 3 putting I am missing too many birdies along a few par saves because of misreads. These greens are diabolical to begin with and it seems every time I put the ball just inside the hole, it breaks out of the cup and when I play it just outside the hole, it stays right there.

... Always the case with these Gary Panks greens but lately he seems to have gotten the better of me. His theory on golf course design is generous fairways that slope toward strategic bunkers with plenty of chances to run the ball onto the green as he rarely puts bunkers in front of his desert courses unless it is a short hole. But he uses side mounds and the pull of the mountain to create illusions on the green.  A kid I played with studying to be a golf course architect took a class on Gary Panks designs and said "Panks tries to make you see breaks that aren't there and not see breaks that are". Just about no flat spots and putts 1 foot apart can do two different things. Subtle but when someone next to you has a 2" break to the right and yours breaks 1" to the left it gets frustrating. Have I mentioned how much I hate Bermuda greens? 

 

wow... as if the game isnt tough enough without architects creating illusions, yikes...

[chisag]

2 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

wow... as if the game isnt tough enough without architects creating illusions, yikes...

 

... Amen. Not a lot of mounding or slopes on the greens but a few tiers that are worse than they look. But his evil is subtlety. At twilite you can get down to eye level and see the almost imperceptible undulations like being far out on a calm ocean with very gentle rolling water. The set up from tee to green makes it playable for high index players (if they play the right tees) and the greens take their toll on low index players. I probably have 600 rounds on this course and constantly run across putts I am not sure where or if the putt will break. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say "How does that not break?" I could play free for the rest of my life and have enough left over to buy everyone drinks. He really is a diabolical genius. 

 

 

 

[Rickp]

8 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Always amazing how fine the line is between playing OK, playing really well and playing poorly. I have suffered a similar fate lately and while not 3 putting I am missing too many birdies along a few par saves because of misreads. These greens are diabolical to begin with and it seems every time I put the ball just inside the hole, it breaks out of the cup and when I play it just outside the hole, it stays right there.

... Always the case with these Gary Panks greens but lately he seems to have gotten the better of me. His theory on golf course design is generous fairways that slope toward strategic bunkers with plenty of chances to run the ball onto the green as he rarely puts bunkers in front of his desert courses unless it is a short hole. But he uses side mounds and the pull of the mountain to create illusions on the green.  A kid I played with studying to be a golf course architect took a class on Gary Panks designs and said "Panks tries to make you see breaks that aren't there and not see breaks that are". Just about no flat spots and putts 1 foot apart can do two different things. Subtle but when someone next to you has a 2" break to the right and yours breaks 1" to the left it gets frustrating. Have I mentioned how much I hate Bermuda greens? 

 

Bermuda

[CSiders12]

What're everyone's thoughts on simulators? This weekend, I was able to play a round on a simulator at a local sports bar. I am currently between a 2-3 handicap, so I expect to play relatively well. I shot +3, so I was relatively happy with that. I know that simulators aren't perfect, especially for short game and factoring in weather/conditions. Here in Iowa, we are on the brink of being able to play golf outside, so right now I am playing any kind of golf that I can. 

[cnosil]

10 hours ago, Javs said:

Is your issue from about 60 yards and in? In addition, putting issues? If so, distance control with wedges is a common fault. Do you use the clock drill to control your wedge distances? 

Here are two videos that might help. 

On putting is it an alignment and setup issue or distance control? Maybe check your alignment and make sure your right palm is facing the target (for a right handed golfer). Distance control there are many drills to help. However, one is place a tee in the ground at 30 feet, 15 feet and 5 feet. Practice rolling balls to the tees. Take your stance look at the target and then hit the putt. This will help with distance. 

i have generally always struggled with my short game.  My issue is generally contact and I basically follow what is described in the second video.  The problem from my round yesterday was getting the distance right with significant elevation changes.  The hole that I threw away a bunch of shots the green was 60+ feet above me with a false front and the ball was rolling back about 50 yards.  I finally made enough of an adjustment and carried the ball far enough to stay on.  I had the same problem on another hole but it didn’t take as many shots to get on the green. 
 

putting problems have been similar. Greens with lots of slopes combined with not being in great spots and having to judge distance with significant uphill and downhill portions of the putt.    The positive note is that I am hitting more greens from farther out and not having to hit lots of short game shots; which makes for wider dispersion patterns and obviously longer putts and higher putt counts.

 

10 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Always amazing how fine the line is between playing OK, playing really well and playing poorly. I have suffered a similar fate lately and while not 3 putting I am missing too many birdies along a few par saves because of misreads. These greens are diabolical to begin with and it seems every time I put the ball just inside the hole, it breaks out of the cup and when I play it just outside the hole, it stays right there.

 

Exactly,  my speed seems to be off and am playing greens that have lots of slopes and am just getting into the wrong spots so the balls are ending up 5,6,8 feet past the hole and hard to make all those second putts.  I also seem to be generating a bit more power in my stroke; maybe just mentally trying to get more putts to the hole, which has thrown distance control off a bit.  

[cnosil]

30 minutes ago, CSiders12 said:

What're everyone's thoughts on simulators? This weekend, I was able to play a round on a simulator at a local sports bar. I am currently between a 2-3 handicap, so I expect to play relatively well. I shot +3, so I was relatively happy with that. I know that simulators aren't perfect, especially for short game and factoring in weather/conditions. Here in Iowa, we are on the brink of being able to play golf outside, so right now I am playing any kind of golf that I can. 

I’d rather be on a course, but if a simulator is the only option they are fun.   While playing a course on a sim is fun and good for off season league play, I’d rather use the launch monitor to dial in distances with my clubs.  

[cnosil]

11 hours ago, Jim Shaw said:

Do you track your putts per round? 

 Here’s why I don’t believe it is worth tracking., I average 31 putts a round and last two rounds were 36 and 37.  I know that I didn’t putt well, but what does total count tell me I need to work on?

[EasyPutter]

33 minutes ago, CSiders12 said:

What're everyone's thoughts on simulators? This weekend, I was able to play a round on a simulator at a local sports bar. I am currently between a 2-3 handicap, so I expect to play relatively well. I shot +3, so I was relatively happy with that. I know that simulators aren't perfect, especially for short game and factoring in weather/conditions. Here in Iowa, we are on the brink of being able to play golf outside, so right now I am playing any kind of golf that I can. 

I see you are new to posting in the MGS Forum so welcome in!

My problem with simulators is exactly what you have said, they are not perfect and for me it is the artificial turf hitting mat that always takes my clubhead speed down at moment of impact.  I know if I move it back slightly I get ball-turf contact in that order but going outside last week first time this year, I again found with ability to clip the grass to ground level the ball flew truer to what I love about watching the ball fly down fairway and bound onto green.

[Kenny B]

10 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Amen. Not a lot of mounding or slopes on the greens but a few tiers that are worse than they look. But his evil is subtlety. At twilite you can get down to eye level and see the almost imperceptible undulations like being far out on a calm ocean with very gentle rolling water. The set up from tee to green makes it playable for high index players (if they play the right tees) and the greens take their toll on low index players. I probably have 600 rounds on this course and constantly run across putts I am not sure where or if the putt will break. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say "How does that not break?" I could play free for the rest of my life and have enough left over to buy everyone drinks. He really is a diabolical genius. 

Sounds like the architect for our course.  Took me a year before I figured out that at some spots on some holes putts didn't break uphill.  Every now and then I still get fooled, but that's more likely old age memory loss.

[David Leighton Reid]

We had decent weather for a change on the weekend and I was able to play 18 holes each day.  I am 4.5 months post shoulder surgery and this was my first attempt at an easy full swing.  I shot 86 and 84 and made my first birdie of the year.  Life is good.  

[Invader Zim 315]

Sunny and 60 in New York yesterday = first local round of the year at West Sayville on Long Island. Great day, but being right on the sound made it windyyy.

 

Simple little 41-41 for an 82, with no doubles, just a lot of bogeys.  Pretty much right in my wheelhouse.  Honestly proud of that score as the offseason rust was REAL.  Cold topped 2 tee shots and was dealing with a set of the pulls with my irons.  As is the case with every single season, if I can get better feel with chipping, I truly think i can get down to a 5 at some point later this year.  Consistently failing to get up and down by leaving myself 7-10 footers instead of 3-5 is a killer.

 

Great day, great company, can't ask for more

[Kenny B]

11 hours ago, cnosil said:

A little frustrated with my golf game over the past couple of weeks.  Tee shots and iron play have been pretty good which has been great.  Been hitting about the same number for fairways but GIR hit has been up by a few with decent proximity.  Short game shot contact has been ok,  just can't figure out my distances.   This was costly today;  had 5 shots roll back down hills resulting in longer shots that the prior shot.  Putting has been a total disaster with 4 more 3+ putts today and quite a few misreads.    Really need to get in some practice time;  I guess the extra evening light  is the one benefit of the time change

Pretty frustrated with my game right now too.  I'm still wearing 5 layers of clothes and hands are always cold.  A couple of weeks ago I was getting up and down saving pars; this past weekend I either messed up a chip or the putt and in the end my scores went from high 70's to mid-80's.  Not happy.  I don't even get to spend time working on my issues; course closed for two days for aeration (greens and fairways) and it won't be worth a dang for several weeks.  Chips and pitches will hit the edges of the punches and bounce anywhere.  They put in enough sand initially, but with irrigation and wind... it's gone shortly.

[Paul Hedrick]

Since the beginning of the year,  I have not been able to play very much.  With the lousy weather, and some health issues with my golf partners, it has been hit or miss.  I was able to get a round in yesterday.  While my performance was certainly not up to what I consider my normal, it was not nearly has bad as I had anticipated.  Thankful for that!

[IndyBonzo]

We played Eagle Creek - Pines in Indy Sunday.  This is a 36 hole public course inside a state park with some wide open holes but a fair amount of hills and tight fairways too.  50-60 degrees, unexpectedly windy, and really wet from prior rains. 
 

The most fun was playing with my best golf friend’s 10 yo son.  He is friendly, respectful, knows the etiquette, and has the best feel around the greens I have ever seen in a kid - way better than most adults.  I asked him what his strategy was before a 30 yarder.  “I’m going to hit a chip shot.”  Ok, right, but high and land it close or a bump and run or …?  “I guess I’m just going to hit a chip shot.”  “OK, then be an athlete,” I said. He hit a bump and run to 4 feet.  All day.  And he has that loose kid’s swing that always goes straight and long.  He is going to be seriously good at our beloved game.  

Personally, I did not score well, but there were big signs of promise.  No lost balls is a big one, meaning driver is more accurate.  Pars on hdcp holes 1 and 2. The highlights were a pair of knockdown 5 irons into the wind on 170 yard par 3’s which both offered decent birdie putts (both misses, sadly), and a 215 yard 4 hybrid into the longest par 4 on the course leading to par.     (That is the new Paradym X hybrid - and the first club I have built myself.  I will review it after more play but it’s definitely a keeper.). Putting on muni March greens in Indiana?  It’s like hitting wedges.  Slow and bumpy and tough reads. 


 

[Jim Shaw]

24 minutes ago, cnosil said:

 Here’s why I don’t believe it is worth tracking., I average 31 putts a round and last two rounds were 36 and 37.  I know that I didn’t putt well, but what does total count tell me I need to work on?

if your average is 31 then the count means you are a good putter, especially if you have 36-37 putting rounds, then to get a 31 average you have some great putting rounds in there. In your original post you mentioned your tee shots and iron play have been pretty good so from my couch you seem to think the only area of opportunity is making sure you hit the ball harder to get to the green, sounds like you have it figured out. 

[CSiders12]

26 minutes ago, EasyPutter said:

I see you are new to posting in the MGS Forum so welcome in!

My problem with simulators is exactly what you have said, they are not perfect and for me it is the artificial turf hitting mat that always takes my clubhead speed down at moment of impact.  I know if I move it back slightly I get ball-turf contact in that order but going outside last week first time this year, I again found with ability to clip the grass to ground level the ball flew truer to what I love about watching the ball fly down fairway and bound onto green.

Thanks! I have followed MGS for years and never got around to creating an account. I love this because I get to talk golf to people that share the same passion (and I think my fiance is getting tired of hearing it so much). 

I think we are about one week away from being able to play outside, which I much prefer. I just hope my first couple of rounds are as successful as my first few rounds on the simulator!

[TylorJudd]

Ended up pumping out a 78 yesterday. First championship 18 I've played this year and I walked so the last 3 holes I was pretty gassed. Ended up double, bogey, bogey. Can't do much about it haha at least it was warm!

[Reesedw]

I played Sat morning, with SWMBO at Highlander Golf Course in Wenatchee, WA. I had moments I was very happy with, and others not so much.. Windy but fairly nice, low 50's but the sun was out. The Greens are still not perfect, but rolled nicely. I on the other hand could not read a break to save my butt. must have 3 putted 4-5 times.. a couple of chucked chips and 2 lost balls added up to a nice easy 96.. not thrilled but had a lot to be happy with.. SWMBO on the other hand had 3 pars on the front 1 on the back, and shot a very nicely played 103. mind you she has only broken 100 1 time. Her Best round at this course is 102.. She wants to play better but her priority is being out side getting exercise and having fun.. So all in all it was a great day.. 

[Bryclops]

Played a few rounds over the past few weeks. Everything more than fifty yards from the green seems to be improving steadily. If I could just get my putting dialed, I think I’d finally break 100 and start making some real progress on my game. 

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, Jim Shaw said:

if your average is 31 then the count means you are a good putter, especially if you have 36-37 putting rounds, then to get a 31 average you have some great putting rounds in there. In your original post you mentioned your tee shots and iron play have been pretty good so from my couch you seem to think the only area of opportunity is making sure you hit the ball harder to get to the green, sounds like you have it figured out. 

Yep,  the last two rounds while extremely frustrating are not the norm.  I consider myself an average putter as I don’t typically have really good or really bad rounds and I don’t putt as well as my handicap range does in the 6-15 foot range.  That’s where the deeper dive into putting numbers becomes helpful.