How'd you play?

[Kenny B]

Today I was the token male in our group.  Two couples we usually play with had AWOL husbands; one still recovering from knee replacement and the other left today on a business trip.  So, the better halfs joined my wife and I.  

I struck the ball better today than yesterday, but putting was not very good.  Our greens still show signs of being punched, and if the ball is not struck firmly, it comes up short or catches the edge of a punch hole and drifts off one way or the other.

40 (+3) on the front; should have been one shot better.  Not being fully stretched out, I didn't rotate very well on my wedge approach to #2 and like @sirchunksalot I shank the ball over a large grassy mound... led to a bogey on the hole at my course I birdie the most.

38 (+3) on the back for a 78.  I did make a tap-in birdie on the par 4 #14 after lipping out a birdie putt on #13, then lipped another birdie putt out on #15.  Finished with a bogey on the par 5 #18 after a great drive to the middle of the fairway at the dogleg.  Tried for the green from here...  

but came up short in the bunker; ended up bogeying the hole.  I have never tried for the green in two shots because I don't hit the ball far enough to have this look, mostly because of the prevailing wind.  I usually have to play a draw around that tree and end up in the fairway bunker.

 

[Chip Strokes]

horribly. tough course after a long layoff and i was hitting everything fat. 

i had a few great drives on the back 9 and a picture perfect approach on 14, but other than that, i was striking the ball terribly. 

the bright spot was the putter. i shot about 1,000 on the front 9 but had just 16 putts. 

[puttnfool]

Half decent range session today.  Trying to quit overswinging, mainly with the driver, and I felt like I made a little progress with it.

[sirchunksalot]

3 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... I think one of the most amazing things about this game is what you experienced never changes regardless of your ability. I played with an ex college player the other day and he was so frustrated that he missed 3 eagle putts and one rolled a good 7 feet past the hole and he missed the birdie. So for 3 holes he was 2 under and the next hole he faded one OB out of frustration and trying to hit it too hard and he said he felt like a beginner. I was shooting in the mid 70's for most of the winter before finding my form a few weeks ago and while I never seriously considered quitting the game, it just wasn't very much fun at all. Being outdoors walking in the warm/hot sunshine with good company and in the middle of the amazing desert wild life I couldn't complain but damm the actually playing was so frustrating. And I watched Nelly Korda yesterday look like she was ready to sell her clubs to anyone on the other side of the ropes and definitely was not having any fun. 

... So it happens to all of us but the flip side is so much more rewarding when we play well because we have had these miserable rounds where nothing seemed to work to compare them to. Hang in there!

I appreciate the kind words and the advice, Sam. I have nothing but the utmost respect for you, so thank you. 

 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

4 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

 

I'll be good, what I'm taking away from the round is my driver was good and I forgot to mention I putted decently. I had 19 with two three putts and one 1 putt. 

I

When ever you start shanking try doing the drill where you try to hit it off the toe like you did the other day. They were all dead center even though you were trying to hit if off the toe. For me, if I happen to shank one it means I am crowding the ball. I'll step away 1/2" and the problem is gone. You have roughly 2 to 2-1/2" of clubface from the hosel to the toe.  

[fozcycle]

Another bad day....left ankle ligament issues keep me from properly transferring my weight to the left side on my downswing...tennis elbow on my right arm...I could not get the clubhead on the ball.....total disarray. However, I did improve from the first day, by 1 stroke, shooting an 89.


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[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Shot an inconsistent 110 today. First drive with the super hybrid today was superb (went as far as my longest driver hit, see shot of the day). Everything fade city after that. First driver was great. Everything after was fade city. You get the picture. Looking forward to my driver fitting. Really contemplating lessons too.

Iron play was fairly solid (see shot of the day). Some mishits but some awesome balls too. Contemplating a 4h instead of my 4i but that is just today’s flavor of the week. Putting was for not as the greens were like playing plinko (punched and sandy).  I likely break 100 with the greens in normal shape as nothing would check and i left about 6 putt just at the lip. My 58 was Jekyll and Hyde. Some shots were great, some were WTF was that. Great to be out. 

[Kenny B]

11 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

Shot an inconsistent 110 today. First drive with the super hybrid today was superb (went as far as my longest driver hit, see shot of the day). Everything fade city after that. First driver was great. Everything after was fade city. You get the picture. Looking forward to my driver fitting. Really contemplating lessons too.

Iron play was fairly solid (see shot of the day). Some mishits but some awesome balls too. Contemplating a 4h instead of my 4i but that is just today’s flavor of the week. Putting was for not as the greens were like playing plinko (punched and sandy).  I likely break 100 with the greens in normal shape as nothing would check and i left about 6 putt just at the lip. My 58 was Jekyll and Hyde. Some shots were great, some were WTF was that. Great to be out. 

From experience... don't automatically think a 4h replaces a 4i.  I think you will find that more than likely, a 5h replaces a 4i.  It would be a good idea to check that out at your fitting.  Hybrids typically fly higher and further than equivalent irons.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

1 hour ago, Kenny B said:

From experience... don't automatically think a 4h replaces a 4i.  I think you will find that more than likely, a 5h replaces a 4i.  It would be a good idea to check that out at your fitting.  Hybrids typically fly higher and further than equivalent irons.

Thanks. My 3H (19*) doesn’t follow that as it only has about 1/2 - 3/4 club more than my 4i (22*)

[sirchunksalot]

9 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

When ever you start shanking try doing the drill where you try to hit it off the toe like you did the other day. They were all dead center even though you were trying to hit if off the toe. For me, if I happen to shank one it means I am crowding the ball. I'll step away 1/2" and the problem is gone. You have roughly 2 to 2-1/2" of clubface from the hosel to the toe.  

I'll definitely focus on this the next couple of weeks, it worked fantastically on the range. I tried it once on the course and shanked it, so I abandoned it. I'm not planning on playing again for two weeks, I don't think they'll cancel this Saturday and I'm going to just relax Sunday. 

[Shapotomous]

I had a solid round last evening, 14 pars, 1 bird, 2 bogeys and a double for a 75.  The lost shots were solid hits with yardage mistakes rather than bad mis-hits so I didn't feel too bad about those.  32 putts on the still recovering bumpy greens as I finally was hitting the ball hard enough to get to the hole.  It played shorter as I didn't play from the tips since the league starts this week and I wanted to get my clubs down from the white tees.  Only 4 drivers on the front and quite a few wedges into the greens.

[cnosil]

Terrible golf continues; couldn’t hit my irons reliably. Golf is becoming pretty frustrating. Plus pollen season is in full swing so I spent most of the round sneezing and congested; yes I took allergy medicine before the round, so I am going to try and blame it in that.

[cksurfdude]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

Plus pollen season is in full swing

Yeah same problem with me .. my eyes tend to itch a bit and tear up so I have to stop and wipe them before every shot or putt...

[Kenny B]

35 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Yeah same problem with me .. my eyes tend to itch a bit and tear up so I have to stop and wipe them before every shot or putt...

Allergy season starts for me sometime in May, when the temps get into the high 90's and runs into Sept with the peak around early August when it's 100-110º.  I have the opposite problem.  My eyes don't tear up; they are dry and itchy.  I have to add drops all the time.  I don't have that problem when I leave this area.  It's even better in hot, dry places like AZ or Palm Springs.  

[Rickp]

Dodged rain for 9 holes, mostly drizzle. No birds but some solid Pars +4.
Greens looked like cauliflower in some places. Never putted on cauliflower, don’t recommend it.


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[cksurfdude]

So I had an interesting round that .. maybe? (hopefully!) .. will fulfill the pattern of "one step forward and two steps back" ...

Started out well with a solid tee shot into a good position on a visually daunting hole, then a good enough short second to hit the front of the green and a two putt par. Second hole a not-solid tee shot but into a good enough position followed by a thinned and faded second that juuuust stopped on the back edge of the back fringe of the green .. ran the first putt up and over the intervening ridge and then way past the hole downhill and onto the opposite fringe ...

Starting to notice a pattern quickly developing here..? 

3-putt bogey there; then #3 is a challenging Par 3 playing about 144 into a breeze. Did hit the shot solidly enough but maybe could've used one more club .. ball hung up a bit in the wind and came down juuuust on the green side of the deep bunker, but left me a fairly straightforward chip on which I managed to pull left a little, leaving me in a not so great spot to putt from but managed to get it reasonably close and did make the second one for another bogey.

The rest of the round was a bunch of topped tee shots followed by what I'll call "serviceable" shots to get back into position.

The day's "fun" hole was a long Par 5 that runs through a valley with pretty steep and high sides on both sides. Sliced my tee shot off to the right, found it in a flat spot on the top of the ridge and clear of the trees; faded the second off to the right onto a steep what will soon become fescue-covered hill; got an 8i on it and got the ball to a few yards short of the front of the green - which led the first time I set foot on the fairway on that long Par 5 hole!!! 

Made bogey after blading the first chip-on attempt off the back of the green.....

Not sure and there's absolutely *no* reason why but I see to be carrying a lot of tension on the course... It was a nice day, pleasant temps, just my wife and I and no one behind us pushing us, etc. 
(..ya gotta get it together dude and just "swing your swing" ...)

[chisag]

20 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Made bogey after blading the first chip-on attempt off the back of the green.....

Not sure and there's absolutely *no* reason why but I see to be carrying a lot of tension on the course... It was a nice day, pleasant temps, just my wife and I and no one behind us pushing us, etc. 
(..ya gotta get it together dude and just "swing your swing" ...)

 

... Unless you have poor technique, there really is no reason to blade or fat a chip. (into sticky Bermuda the exception) It is an easy shot. Not easy to get close of course, but easy to execute and get somewhere round the hole in a 6-10 foot circle. Almost always the problem is concentrating on the result and not the process. Once you focus on the result, it is pretty easy to botch the process by lifting your head and looking up, dipping your knees, yanking the clubhead into the ball and just experiencing a timing/rhythm issue.

... OTOH just concentrating on making a smooth chipping stroke and good contact always gets you on the green and in the circle. There really is no need to look up to see how close you got the chip because you have plenty of time as the ball isn't going into the woods/water/bushes, so make sure you maintain your posture and then swivel your head to see your results. For some (many?) this means looking at you contact point and keeping your eyes down for a good 2-3 seconds to train yourself to not look or rise up at impact. Your job is to make solid contact with a consistent stroke, not get the ball close to the hole. If you do that you can kiss bladed chips good bye forever. 

[cksurfdude]

19 minutes ago, chisag said:

... OTOH just concentrating on making a smooth chipping stroke and good contact always gets you on the green and in the circle. There really is no need to look up to see how close you got the chip because you have plenty of time as the ball isn't going into the woods/water/bushes, so make sure you maintain your posture and then swivel your head to see your results. For some (many?) this means looking at you contact point and keeping your eyes down for a good 2-3 seconds to train yourself to not look or rise up at impact. Your job is to make solid contact with a consistent stroke, not get the ball close to the hole. If you do that you can kiss bladed chips good bye forever. 

Thanks for that!! That was most likely what I did - look up too soon, in addition to not setting myself up well enough on the upslope I was standing on. And yes - my primary goal at this point .. that I probably should repeat to myself as I'm setting up .. is to get it up and onto the green (somewhere, anywhere). Will def be working on this...!!

[chisag]

... Instead of the lesson folder I am posting this here since so many have problems on the green. For those of you struggling with your putter, here is a great drill. I have always believed a true pendulum technique gives you the best opportunity to have a repetitive putting stroke. Swing the putter back and forward at the same pace. To help in not accelerating the putter head to start the forward stroke, balance a dime on your putter flange and take your normal putting stroke. If the dime falls off you are starting the stroke with too much acceleration and distance control will always be a problem. If you can take a smooth stroke back and forth at the same speed, the dime will stay on the putters flange. Even those with a pop stroke can benefit from the drill as the dime should fall off closer to impact instead of the start of the forward swing. You can even do this with a 40 footer if you take a longer back swing. Really helps with your rhythm!

[MyWifesSwingCoach]

Yesterday was probably the greatest round I have ever had, I beat my best round of 76 with a 73. I drove the green on 2 with a 325yd bomb and two putted for birdie, bogeyed the par 3 3rd due to an under hit sand shot, another birdie came from the par 5 542yd 10th after another 300+yd drive with a 9i and two putt, the double on 16 had me pretty disappointed but was able to recover with a birdie on 18... Then my Wife told me to turn off the golf game because it was time for dinner...