I'm always firing golf balls back and forth in my yard - 35 yard pitch shots mostly.
Occasionally, I skull one into the woods - or into the house, or car. And once in a while, I'll intentionally smash one, or ten, irretreiveably into the trees. These are shag balls, so who cares right?
Just today I was pondering how many hundreds (more?) of golf balls I've sent into the trees....and I laughed that it is probably an *environmental catastrophe*, in the minds of some eco-pagans anyway.
Most ironically, look what headline was listed atop today's Drudge Report:
London, England (CNN) -- Research teams at the Danish Golf Union have discovered it takes between 100 to 1,000 years for a golf ball to decompose naturally. A startling fact when it is also estimated 300 million balls are lost or discarded in the United States alone, every year. It seems the simple plastic golf ball is increasingly becoming a major litter problem.
With an increasing number of golf balls discarded each year, the Danish Golf Association devised a number of tests to determine the environmental impact of golf balls on their surroundings.
It was found that during decomposition, the golf balls dissolved to release a high quantity of heavy metals. Dangerous levels of zinc were found in the synthetic rubber filling used in solid core golf balls. When submerged in water, the zinc attached itself to the ground sediment and poisoned the surrounding flora and fauna.
I'm a half step ahead of these Morons!
What's next, organic golf balls?
Tees made from recycled wood? Solar powered golf carts?
My *quiet* co-blogger, LeagueIslander, has broken out. His game has been on fire, all year long.
I asked, and he answered:
As for the golf swing, I must admit, this has been about my best ever year of golf. Especially since I have just 17 rounds in the handicap system since last September. Carrying a 3-handicap playing 1.5 times/month? That's pretty good.
I think two things have really helped me this year. One - starting in February - I have hit wedges almost exclusively when I've gone to the range. I usually keep a towel or glove under my left arm pit (so that I stay connected on the backswing and follow through), and try to cluster balls in groups at all different distances - up to about 120 yards. My primary focus is making a good, rhythmic swing, staying in a good posture, and getting my lower body started before my upper body at the start of my downswing. And of course, I try to figure out the swing length and speed that creates shots that fly 50, 60, 75, 85, and 100 yards. If I can cluster balls to those distances, I know I'm in good shape. If I can't, it sort of doesn't matter how well I drive it. I'll probably shoot 80.
The second thing: I have decided (discovered) that most of my missed shots are due to poor timing, or the sequence of body movements during the swing. When I miss, it's usually because my legs were too far out in front of my body, arms don't catch up, and bad timing through impact (ball usually goes right). Or, my arms and hands start before my lower body from the top of the swing, club closes on the way down, timing is bad at impact - ball goes left (or a wild push to right trying to make a last minute compensation). So when I hit wedges or other shots on the range, I think primarily of getting my lower body started from the top of the swing before my arms and hands. In fact, I will take practice swings by swinging back with my feet together, then stepping towards the target with my left foot to start the downswing (like a baseball player planting his front foot during the swing). This gives me the feeling of having the lower body lead the upper body.
This seems and sounds simplistic, but seriously, most of the time I spend on the range is dedicated to these two things: connection and control with the wedges; timing of the swing and letting the lower body lead. Of course I make sure that my grip is good, my alignment is correct, and posture is sound - but I hardly ever think about club position or anything else.
These thoughts have also helped while I play. When I make a few bad swings during the round (I always do), I simply make a few practice swings with a glove under my arm - getting my legs going before my arms and hands. I have gotten to a place - psychologically - where I believe that I do these two simple things properly, I'll hit good shots.
You see, LeagueIslander already had a picture perfect swing; he just needed to cure his inconsistency - those couple of holes that always arrive and threaten to ruin otherwise good rounds.
Me, I too have had my best year ever. I pretty much get a little better each year. Nonetheless, I've made few inroads against my inconsistency.
Next year I'm going to break out - just you watch!
A couple of weeks ago, I flew down to Naples for my annual golf trip - the one with my South Philly jabronis.
Would you believe that guy, still barefoot and in his skivvies, drained the 30 footer for bogey AND went on to shoot a tidy even par?!?!?!
On Day 1, at Miromar Lakes, I got off to a very hot start - only four over through fourteen, but then...
I'll summarize my golf-year-ending trip when I get a chance. This time of year, with darkness and the cold weather descending in Boston, is always downright depressing.
Much of my recent practice has been focused on changing the *feel* of my left hand.
In fact, I am starting to think that one of the biggest differences between good golfers and Hackers is that the real players have so much more left-hand dominance throughout the swing - only the naked eye can't see it on account of there being two hands physically connected to the club.
Anyways, I played today in the rain and hit some really good shots - 18 or so by my count.
What *worked* today was standing further from the ball - see previous post - and making sure the club was coming back to the inside right away.
What also *worked* was a grip swing thought where I told myself to "push the right-side of my left hand toward the club....and to push the left-hand side of it toward the club". This is hard to describe. I guess I am squeezing the club so as to not let my wrist hinge initially, in either direction - as was my bad habit for years.
Nobody reading this is going to understand what I just said so I'll think about how to better articulate it. This blog is for me, anyway.
But for now, understand that I simply do not want the relationship between my left-hand, left wrist, and left forearm to change during the swing. A *straight left arm* is what those old pros used to teach - which I guess is almost the same thing. But I used to focus on the arm so much that not only did it induce unwanted tension, that I let the small muscles (wrist) flap around ever so imperceptibly, but nonetheless.
These days I am watching the pros carefully and noticing how consistent and how solid they keep the *left-arm through left-wrist through left-hand through clubface* geometry.
As I watch a guy like JB Holmes waggle his brains out I can't help but think the very essence of his swing is finding the right feeling in his left-hand.
Also, what about hitting balls one-handed? Can you do it? All the pros can pick up a club and easily smack shots with just their left-hand.
I'm thinking the inability to do so is a clear indication of insufficient, inconsistent, and improper left-hand grip action.
I can only do it a little bit. Everytime I try to practice it I get frustrated because the club just flips around, on the way back and on the way through.
Make no mistake, I've been working my tail off. Hitting the range at least 3 times per week.
Allow me to run down the process of a huge insight I just had:
Consistency is my problem. Not from round-to-round, but from shot to shot! I can hit one perfectly and the next one might shank. Or, I'll shank one, drop another ball and stiff it. This doesn't happen too often, but enough to ruin my scores.
So my game just comes and goes, despite the 20 years experience I have playing.
One thing I discovered from pounding all these balls recently is that my left hand was not firm enough. It was not in control as it should be. So I've tinkered with lengthening my left thumb and pressing down on it, with keeping the relationship between my left forearm and the shaft constant, and a few other *feel* strategies to get some more left hand dominance. You see, at the top of my swing I've never felt solid. I've never felt like I was in a position where I could effortlessly and confidently start my downswing. How could I achieve consistency if every swing felt different, right?
One thing I tried to achieve that solid feeling at the top was that Dave Pelz theory of trying to get my forearm precisely at either 7:30, 9:00, or 10:30 on each backswing. This works....but only to an extent.
When I was up in Maine and my driver deserted me....the trick that got me back in play was shortening my backswing.
Then, a few weeks ago, I shot a good round and drove the ball spectacularly by doing the precise opposite - I tried to take as big a swing, i.e. shoulder turn, as possible. I was seeing the clubhead over my left eye a la John Daly!
But then that stopped working.
This is what totally sucks about golf. All that effort, sweat, frustration, and false eureka moments and yet I have only marginally improved over all. Tantalizingly, I do get a smidge better every year.
However, I want to take a leap with my game. After all, there are scores of players better than me who haven't put in a quarter of the effort I have.
A couple of weeks ago I found some guy online who's selling a book/video titled The Efficent Golfer. You can go to his site and get a sample chapter emailed to you if interested.
Anyways, I found that because I was googling "how to properly videotape your swing" or something.
I still don't KNOW. But I think I just need a tripod set up to the correct height and I have to figure out how to put my digital camera on *shutter speed* (or *sport speed*).
Nonetheless, last week I plopped down my old camera on a bench behind the range and taped myself with the wedge and with the driver.
What I saw on the playback is what I've seen for years. A swing that gets outside and steep right away on the backswing. That's a flaw that I've only half-heartedly tried to correct. For some reason, I guess I didn't see it as that fatal.
But after seeing this off-plane action of mine for the umpteenth time, I started to watch the pros closely on this. Not a one of them took the club back like I did. Even Jim Furyk who someone told me takes the club back *steep* was flatter than me. Literally, my first move has been away from the ball, away from my body, and straight up. And I simply could not stop!
For a week I tried, and tried and tried. Why the heck couldn't I keep the club on the swing plane - EVEN FOR THE FIRST 10 INCHES BACK!!!???
I started to get really upset. I must be a complete Moron to not be able to correct the basic geometry of my swing.
Then I figured it out completely this past Sunday.
I had to stand further away from the ball. And not just a half an inch or a full inch.
No I was standing 2 whole inches too close to the ball.
It took more than a few duffs to get going. After all, my body has spent 20 years grooving a *crowded* swing. My hands couldn't possibly trust that they could deliver the club on the ball. But, eventually, they did.
My entire body felt different. I felt a power, a flex, in my legs never before experienced. With this new stance I could also really use my shoulders more predominantly.
Everything makes sense now. I was woefully inconsistent because my paths were off-plane.
My left arm/hand couldn't dominate the swing because of the outside path; the *pick-up* by the right arm/hand kept interfering with proper hand pressure. With my new, further-away-stance, the club naturally went straight-to-inside on the way back AND I could feel a controlling, powerful sensation in my left hand - the same one I was trying to manufacture before. Only this one came effortlessly.
Also, I realized that what worked about both *shortening* and *lengthening* my driver backswings was that both moves sort of got my left arm a bit more extended, and my swing a tad less steep - even it the paths were still slightly off-plane. So what excites me is that all of this makes sense now. I'm pretty optimistic that my improved stance is really going to elevate my game.
Next up, is ball position within the swing.
I admit it. If you ask me where in my stance I play each club....I really don't know. After 20 years I should really have this down to a science now.
Another insight I've made recently is that I don't set up my pitch shots with my hands far enough ahead of the ball.******
Also, I've distanced myself some more from the ball on the short game and when putting!
2.5 weeks until my annual Naples golf trip, my last hurrah for the season. I expect to have my best year down there yet. No excuses.
The first pic, to someone well-acquainted with Hackers, is at least partially decipherable.
However, this second one remains a jaw-dropping enigma:
He's left-handed, right? That club is a putter - yet it's seemingly spun around AND inverted.
And WhyTF are his knees bent so?
It is true though. Seventeen years ago a guy I know who's fluent in such matters pointed out to me that non-white golfers bend their left (lead) knee through impact.
But still, even that ethnic insight can't begin to explain the full-body spasm captured above.
Even though I was up at 4:30 am on Saturday....I decided not to play a round.
Instead, I went down to my course a bit later and practiced for a couple hours. Then I did the same on Sunday.
At the range I hit 90% wedges and 9-irons - both days.
At the putting green I just used my Putting Track from about 10 feet away.
And when chipping, I just used my 8-iron from the rough - to make the session difficult.
My full swing is taking giant leaps this year. After Sunday's buckets, I was pumping the ball straighter and more consistently than ever - even with my driver. I've discovered a whole new feeling to strive for in my left hand (at the top, and through impact) that's been easier to attain, and sustain, each week these last couple of months.
One thing I JUST realized is that with my new, BIGGER swing, I have been finally able to keep my left arm straight at the top of my backswing. This ideal position has been elusive throughout my career. Up until now I had just assumed that I couldn't do it on account of my bad back (I've had invasive surgery for TOS).
But just this week I realized that I couldn't keep the left arm straight because my left hand was too *floaty*. So it wasn't my BIGGER swing that did anything great....it was my fixed left hand grip that not only allowed it, but IMPROVED it.
This makes some sense as I pore over the most comprehensive advice I've ever gotten:
From what i see from Face on....you got one hell of a swing. I wouldn't mess with it too much. The "faults" you have described (in my opinion) are idiosyncrasies...not really faults. With that being said, your left arm clearly bends because... -your middle does not move correctly -your lack of wrist set (leverage) As a result, your left arm bends to create a secondary leverage source (energy). Therefore, your left arm has to bend to make the backswing feel powerful. This is a short answer. Now...your wrists do not set properly because of your grip -left hand -palmy -lack of pressure points -lack of trigger finger -Right hand -lack of dish angle -lack of pressure points -lack of trigger finger. Your middle does not wind properly because... -your right hip is a bit high at address -lack ground pressure (you could be flat footed) so there isn't much to wind against. You see, there would be quite a few things you would have to do to remedy the bent left arm and still have your swing feel powerful. You have a great impact and deliver the club on a good angle so I wouldn't get caught up in in what you don't like about your swing....look at what you do right......there is a hell of a lot of good things going on there. Great job.
You see? That guy there pointed out some things about my left hand that could be making my left arm bend. I guess the problem was that I couldn't comprehend *precisely* what he was saying: palmly, lack of pressure points, lack of trigger finger.
Read the funny story behind that analysis on my other blog - Help, Please.
Now, one note on my chipping.
I already mentioned that I was using short irons from the rough to make my practice more interesting. I have a golfing buddy who's always advised what he calls *goof-around-golf* where one goes out and practices all sorts of unconventional shots with unconventional clubs. His reasoning, "You learn a lot about your swing this way."
So what have I learned?
Well, before I practiced this shot I would have thought it IMPOSSIBLE to make short pitch shots from buried lies in the rough to tight pins on fast greens....with an 8-iron!
I was wrong. But how would I have known? For 20 years I've been cheating on these shots with highly lofted clubs. Cheating myself that is....with easy practice.
Something that really helped my rhythm when chipping this past weekend was soley focusing on the length of my backswing. I guess it reduces handsiness because both hands *know* where to stop moving. It gave me a better a pause, better tempo, and produced solid shots.
This week I will skip the course again and practice some more.
ACTUAL CALLS RECEIVED AT THE PUBLIC GOLF COURSE ( Amherst , Mass. )
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: What are your green fees? Staff: 38 dollars. Caller: Does that include golf?
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Yes, I need to get some information from you. First, is this your correct phone number?
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Yes, we have a tee time for two weeks from Friday. What's the weather going to be like that day?
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Yes, I had a tee time for this afternoon but I'm running late. Can you still get me out early?
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Yes, do you have one of those areas where you can buy a bucket of golf balls and hit them for practice?
Staff: You mean a driving range? Caller: No, that's not it..,,,
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Yes, I'd like to get a tee time tomorrow between 12 o'clock and noon. Staff: Between 12 o'clock and noon? Caller: Yes. Staff: We'll try to squeeze you in.
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Do you have any open tee times around 10 o'clock? Staff: Yes, we have one at 10:15. Caller: What's the next time after that? Staff: We have one at 10:22. Caller: We'll take that one. It will be a bit warmer.
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: How much to play golf today? Staff: 25 to walk, 38 with a cart. Caller: 38 dollars? Staff: No, 38 yen.
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: What do you have for tee times tomorrow? Staff: What time would you like? Caller: What times do you have? Staff: What time of the day? Caller: Any time. Staff: Morning or afternoon? Caller: Whenever. Staff: We have 16 times open in the morning and 20 open in the afternoon. Would you like me to read the whole list? Caller: No, I don't think any of those times will work for me.
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Do you have a dress code? Staff: Yes, we do. We require soft spikes. Caller: How about clothes? Staff: Yes, you have to wear clothes.
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Yes, do you have a driving range there? Staff: Yes. Caller: How much for a bucket of large balls? Staff: Sorry, we're all out of large balls. But we can give you twice as many small balls for the same price.
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Can I get a tee time for tomorrow? Staff: Sure, what time would you like? Caller: Something between 9 o'clock and 10 o'clock. In the morning, if possible.
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Do you rent golf clubs there? Staff: Yes, they're 25 dollars. Caller: How much to rent a bag?
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Yes, my husband just called me on his cell phone and told me he's on the 15th hole. How many more holes does he have to play before he gets to the 18th?
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Yes, do you have a driving range there? Staff: Yes. Caller: How much for a large bucket? Staff: Four dollars. Caller: Does that include the balls?
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Do you have a twilight rate? Staff: Yes, it's 15 dollars after 2 o'clock. Caller: And what time does that start?
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: Yes, I'd like some info about your golf course. Staff: OK, what would you like to know? Caller: I don't know, that's why I called.
Staff: Golf course, may I help you? Caller: My kids just came home with pockets full of range balls and said they stole them from your driving range. Would you like to buy them back?
Obviously the smart ass answering the phone kept a notebook nearby....
The worst *question* I ever got in the 9 years I technically worked at a golf course was this:
How big is your 9-inch pizza?
Had that layup thrown at me three separate times!
The most memorable time was when some dude asked me with his girlfriend beside him. I told him *....about 11 inches* or something and she keeled over laughing - and probably never trusted him with measurements again.
Last week I dumped my kids and wife off at a movie and hit a nearby driving range.
Though I bought a pile of balls, I mostly just hit wedges. I found a real groove when I was able to focus on having very quiet hands at the end of my backswing. The key was to keep them quiet on that first move downward - that night anyway.
I've also been goofing around with taking HUGE backswings. I mean ones where my club goes past parallel and I can see it near my left eye at the top a la John Daly.
Why do I do this?
Well, after hitting tons of half-wedges, I usually get my swing in a really good, smooth place. Then I whip out my driver and am really able to take monstrous, slow swings that are real head-turners on the range. The ball simply explodes off my club.
I played my regular round last Saturday, after my range session. I was simply all over the place. I hit bombs and stiffed some pins....and was also picking up on some holes.
But when I was finished, I was surprised to realize that in between snap-hooks and slices....that I managed 8 pars which is always a decent achievement on my extremely hard home course. So I had at least that to take away from the round.
Then, on Tuesday, I played Wachusett CC. It's a track that would invariably annihilate me as a young Hacker. I'd play my wide-open muni (Green Hill) and shoot mid 80s (when I was *on*) but then my uncle would take me to Wachusett, more of a real, tree-lined course, and it would smack me back down to reality, and up to the mid 90s.
But that was then; I'm a much, much better player now. This Tuesday I ate the course up. I shot a 78 despite carelessly bogeying 17 and doubling 18.
Why'd I play so well?
Well I was taking that incredibly big backswing with my driver from the first hole on. I tried to get my left shoulder as far under my chin as possible; I tried to see the clubhead next to my left eye; and I tried to start my downswing with those *quiet* hands from the range session while I kept the left shoulder wound as long as possible.
I was flat-out smashing the ball off the tee.
Wachusett also has one of the most *unfair* practice greens I've ever seen. It's literally carved into a hillside. I found it to be awesome practice trying to chip, pitch, and putt on it. To make my warm-up session even harder, I would only use my 8 and 9-irons for *flop* shots. I'm definitely going back to this practice green when in the area again. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that playing and practicing under extremely difficult conditions really pays dividends.
But getting back to my driving....
This is what makes golf so darn frustrating. After weeks of hitting my tee shots sideways, I fixed my swing up in Maine by shortening my backswing. That only worked for a little bit.
So now the temporary solution is to take a huge swing????
I've really committed to practicing more and better these past few weeks. That great book I read really clarified the *hard work* foundation of success. For more it, read the end of this post.
I've been hitting the range a couple of times per week and I've been using Dave Pelz's putting track several times per week.
AND I'm trying to diligently articulate my swing thoughts here.
I played twice in the past week and also hit the range twice. Unfortunately I haven't been able to regain my insight; I hit the ball OK and high at times. Though I've clearly got a lot of work left to do if I think I'm ever going to *taste* elusive consistency.
One newer thing I addressed was the position of my hands heading into impact. Us wristy casters all have the same weak position at impact, i.e. club pre-released.
So I was just making sure my hands were ahead of the ball at impact. I did this by simulating a *stop* of my hands just beyond the ball. It had the effect of slowing down my downswing, delaying the hit so-to-speak, and, best of all, of making my ball striking purer.
It increased my trajectory and pushed my divot out closer to where it's supposed to be - ahead of the ball.
So in my tinkering I got ball high like I wanted but did so in a much different way. This didn't feel good at all. It felt *handsy* - the opposite of what I want - no matter the result.
I also goofed around with standing further from the ball - particularly on my driver. A while back I tried this with great success and thought I *finally had it*!
And I experimented with moving my hands both higher and further ahead at address. Sometimes I was able to hit the ball really solid doing this.
On days I play golf, before I go to sleep I always think over my round and count *good* shots.
So what's a good shot?
Well, anything solid and straight - no matter the outcome. Even putts can count.
I usually dump about 7-15 shots into this mental category after each outing.
Scoring, as we all know, is something else.
I've been in a serious scoring slump for the past 8 weeks or so. But curiously, my confidence is at an all time high.
You see, I've made some wholesale swing changes, some swing *realizations* that I'm trying to adopt. Hence the erratic play I've been offering up.
This past Saturday was a perfect example. I had Xs on the two of ther first three holes (triples or whatever) and a couple of *foul* tee shots later on. Still, I went home very excited about my play because I made two terrific birdies and hit a handful of tremendous shots in between duffs.
I think I've finally discovered the source of my consistent inconsistency. And I owe it all to this blog. As I was writing a previous post, it hit me that I let the club float in my hands, I basically let it go at the top of my backswing....ON EVERY SINGLE SHOT, putts included.
So I've been working on swinging with the deadest possible wrists with great success. [This feels, to me, like an intense squeezing at the top of the backswing.]
My course has five par-3s, four of which are very difficult, very penal.
For 20 years I've been either pushing or pulling mid to long irons. I knew I sucked with those clubs, but was unaware of the extent. After all, they are the toughest clubs in the bag to swing, right?
Turns out, my flippy wrists were not only adding irremediable inconsistency to these shots, they were DELOFTING the club. Maybe if I had only played with scratch golfers I would have been more conscious of how low my trajectory was?
Anyways, with my new swing, I have been able to positively SKYROCKET these longer irons, once in a while.
I hit a few last Saturday, two 4-irons and one 6 iron, so well, that I've been thinking about my epiphany all week. The 6-iron was so tight, so solid that a hefty crosswind didn't budge it even though it went extremely high. (That was one of my birdies.)
We see what happens next time out.
BTW, I've been using my Dave Pelz Putting Track a few times a week and it's helping.
Shaker Hills has been ranked the *Best Public Course* in Massachusetts. Above is the signature 13th hole - a short par-3 that drops a whopping 90 feet tee to green.
I drove 65 miles to play it early the other day. Alarm clock went off at 4am.
So, is the course good?
Yes, definitely. I can see how it the *critics* can rate it so highly.
There are lots of elevation changes; tall trees line the fairways and preclude lofted recovery shots; the greens are fantastic; they are fast, sloped, and true; the clubhouse is nice; and it's relatively reasonable at $85 for a weekend round.
Despite some bursts of fantastic golf, I shot a disappointing 88 from the blue tees - which played a *long* 6500 yards on account of zero roll. I simply missed every single putt but one 10 footer on the first. This is a part of my game that's, still, in dire need of attention. I don't miss short putts and seldom 3-jack....I just don't EVER make midrangers or long bombs. Putting is 43% of the game, right? Over my golfing career I'll bet I haven't committed 5% of my practice time to it.
What's frustrating is that I KNOW what my problem is. It's handsiness once again. I flip the ball a bit; probably just enough to lessen solid impact; and just enough to twist the putterface at impact. Yeah, my misses are more to the right like a total bleepin' Hacker. That's it, my putting track is coming with me to the course every week henceforth.
It was tough to enjoy this round given my mediocre play, the long drive (got killed in *Cape Cod* traffic on the way back to boot), the five hours it took to play, and *cart path* only. Yeah the course was soaked from the preceding 6 weeks(!) of rain. I'm probably at risk of trench foot given how much of my past two weeks I've been walking around in saturated golf shoes. See my prior post.
Anyway, I can now cross this course off my list. I'd play it again but only if I was staying closer to it. There is another highly rated course in the same area called Red Tail that remains on the agenda.
By the way, anyone who thinks Shaker Hills is a *tough* course will be disabused of that misconception after playing Widow's Walk. Widow's is a good 5-10 strokes tougher depending on your handicap.
It's not bad. Point Sebago's golf course is ranked the best in Southern Maine according to Golf Digest.
I played the track four full times last week (3 eighteens and 2 nines) while *camping* there with my family.
It was completely underwater except for the greens which were surprisingly in good shape. So the 6,500 yards played rather long; and it was a tough slog with *cart path only*. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed my lonesome playing. That's right, I was the only one on the course most of the time. I didn't play one hole with another golfer; heck, I only played through one group all week. THIS is how golf is meant to be played!
As I said, the course played long from the incessant rain. Future readers take note that the past 5 weeks New England hasn't seen the sun more than a handful of times. Present-day readers know EXACTLY what I'm talking about - and they may never forget this horrible season.
The course was so long that it was extremely rare for me to pull less than a 7-iron out for my approach.
Nonetheless, my first round there was one of my all-time best. Having never played it before, and in those sloppy conditions, I shot 77.
My second round was *back to reality* - 88. Then I shot 81 and lastly 85.
By the end of the week I was fully spent and found myself aiming for the rough next to the cart path! I hadn't played 5 times in 6 days in probably 10 years.
I did plenty of tinkering, some successful, some otherwise, with my swing last week. I'll catalog my *thoughts* on my next post.
Today 48 year old Kenny Perry won the Travelers Championship with a record-breaking 22-under par total. Yet, even though there is NOTHING going on in the world of sports this time of year, ESPN's website doesn't mention the result. Click the image above to enlarge.
Furthermore, ESPN has buried the *golf* link on its site. No longer does my favorite pastime have a tab on the front page. It's actually quite a chore to find leaderboards and whatnot now.
Okay, no jokes about *what exactly was I doing?* with a sporadic 32 posts.
I started Marginalizing Hackers, and tried to get some help, because there were seemingly no good golf blogs out there. We were going to try to cover everything about the sport. But, bear in mind, that I have another blog that occupies my scant free time.
Now here's the change. I am going to post here my swing thoughts and struggles. Ben Hogan swore about the importance of keeping a notebook to remember what he was working on; what successes he had; etc.
After all, how many times have you gone into a golf rut for weeks that only ends when you remember a *fix* that has been needed before?
I know, me too.
So here goes....
Four weeks after setting a personal best at my home course, I have since been hitting it sideways.
My tee shot, which had been, not only splitting fairways, I was drawing it around doglegs at will....my tee shot has deserted me.
I think this past Saturday I may have figured it out after a post-round range session. My backswing was simply getting too long. More than I can count this one bad habit has been my downfall. If only I had *shorten backswing* tattooed on my arm!
Now for my short game:
Right now I am concentrating mightily on my left hand and its relationship with the club - throughout the swing.
Like most Hackers, I am and have been for 20 years....*wristy*. I pick the club up a little on the way back; the club *floats* in my hands at the top/end of my backswing; AND I flip the hands a bit through impact.
But, as a single-digit handicapper, my wristiness is quite subtle. In fact, I had to diagnose this problem completely on my own as none of the many talented golf buddies of mine has ever even mentioned my *handsy-ness*.
So, I am trying to keep the relationship between my left hand - up through almost the elbow - completely constant on my pitching (and chipping, and putting). It's not a death grip, though it feels like one. What I mean by that is that I think a strong grip in golf isn't one that applies a lot of direct pressure to the club. I think a *strong* or *firm* grip is one that doesn't let the club float in the hands on the way back; it doesn't allow the wrists to hinge or the hands to help at those points in the swing where a Hacker is most prone, i.e. at the initial takeaway, on the transition from backswing to downswing, and through impact.
I guess the mental image that I am using, is that I want my hand to feel like a piece of iron welded to the club.
And don't misunderstand. One needs really muscularly strong hands to pitch in this manner. But, if little girls on the LPGA Tour can do it, then we all can.
When any swing thought like the above is introduced, the risk is always added tension. One thing I've discovered to combat it is to focus on my shoulders. After gripping the club more *intensely*, I am trying to remember that the grip just holds onto the club. I am reminding myself to really turn my shoulder (get the left one almost under the chin) when pitching. So far these competing tips have worked nicely together.
But I still have to focus on taking the club straight to inside on the way back. My tendency is to take the club way outside on my pitches. I've watched the pros and NONE of them ever make the horrible swing path that I've grooved.
Why do I take the club so far outside? I am really not sure. I've tried standing an inch further back from the ball to no avail. I've also tried holding the club more vertically (hands higher) at address - also to no avail. Maybe my clubs aren't fit properly? After all, I just bought the set of Tommy Armour 855s as is and have done no research into the specs or my own measurements.
Tonight I was out pitching in my back yard and succeeded in finding a nice groove. I was focusing on my *iron* grip like I mentioned above; and I was using my shoulders nicely to get a crisp, heavy pop on the ball that went straight up and fell straight down with zero side-spin.
What I really discovered - I mean remembered - was to incorporate my abdominal muscles on each shot.
Yes, abs and X-Factor on 15 yard pitches. Worked like a charm, tonight anyway.
My goal is to become a pure, big-muscle golfer. Only they are capable of *consistency*.
As for my putting....that's been a problem recently too.
I have to find some time to use my Dave Pelz putting track. It works, but not when it's gathering dust!
So you get the drift. This blog is now my personal golf notebook. Hopefully I can keep it up, and shave a few strokes off my game.
A puerile golf buddy of mine, late into the extra beer-drinking nine, used to urinate in the hole. Then from the tee he'd eagerly watch the next foursome (our jabronis); he'd keel over laughing at the first guy who made a putt and had to pick the ball out of his Coors Light urine.
Me? When golfing I pee behind the *comfort station*.
Above is allegedly some failed Greg Norman golf/housing *development* in Bakersfield, CA. It was called McAllister Ranch and the interesting story is here.
And here's a great article on the plight of Central Massachusetts golf courses and country clubs - Economy Plagues Plenty Of Courses.
The *money* quote:
The good news is if you have the money, you can probably join any golf club you’d like. The bad news is you most likely don’t have the money.
And even beyond that reality, country club memberships, in the Northeast anyway, make ZERO financial sense.
