Its been a crazy few weeks of golfing for me. I met 3 great people each week. Joe, Bob, Darryl.
Joe has been to Pebble Beach and recorded a HIO at Washington Township. Bob had the Callaway Big Bertha clubs that I have heard of but never seen, and now I want them = D. Darryl is not originally from NJ but he decided to visit Washington Township course for the first time and we paired up from the start. I am really happy to have met such great people on the course and in a way its another reason I enjoy going back is to meet new people and share experiences with someone else instead of sluggin around alone which is really lonely.
Each week has had some highlites I can never forget. I have had over 3 putts in the last 2 weeks that exceeded 10 feet in length that I made. I really feel like my putting has improved dramatically. I am very happy with it.
I am still Johnny Nerves on the tee and I play much better once the initial tee shot is over. I have had some really proud recovery shots that just gave me a smile and some confidence to move forward. I have so many things that I am thankfull I was able to do that it has kept me coming back each week for the past 3 weeks. Ill try to write a little more about all that I have been up to. I have purchased a Swing Trainer club and the Ben Hogan 5 lessons book. I am really working hard to improve my overall game so I hope I will continue to have positive stories to tell after each visit to the course.
Right now I feel like my recovery game has been going really well. I have learned that 9 times out of 10, taking a mulligan is usually a bad idea and I would have rather played my first shot where it landed. If I butcher a tee shot and it only goes 20 yards, I have proven that I can still get it to the green in 2 ( on a par 3 ) and I feel good about that, even if I dont get par, I still feel great because I recovered.
I can relate alot of things in golf to real life so I guess to me, a bad tee shot is basically no different then when things dont always go your way in any other situation, it stinks but you can choose to deal with it and work with what youve been given. Sometimes its easy to take a mulligan for a bad tee shot but I think it starts a bad habit. If all you ever take is the mulligans , how could you deal with getting out of those trouble shots? Its hard for me to say no to a mulligan, just as it is hard for me to cope with things when they dont always go how I had hoped but I have learned that usually things will work out and there was no reason to really worry in the first place.
I was able to calculate what I can hit currently with my clubs when I hit accurately.
PW - 100
9I - 110
8I - 120
7I - 130
6I - 140
4I Hyrbid - 150
These are roughly estimated give or take a few yards. I have hit the Hybrid less many times but a solid impact easily goes 150. Its definitly a step up considering I use to use a 7iron for 110yd par 3, which I can now use a 9 or PW. My Lob Wedge is a bit unpredictable but I think I only hit it around 60-75yds. I am very happy with these distances , I would really like a wood to go about 200yds. That would feel great.
It has been months since I have been on gofllink. I started playing golf again in June. Between Feb - June I hadnt played. Things have been going pretty well. I developed a bit of a new swing technique and while it may not be completely "fundamental" it works extremely well producing accurate distances between clubs and generally straight shots. In the past 4 weeks I have played about 5 times. My short game is improving alot and putting isnt as big as a concern as it once was. While on vacation I par'd a Par 5 by mistake. I actually was hitting towards the wrong green, I went left and landed on the right green! So, that was pretty awesome.
I cant drive the ball still, I have no practice with it so I would like to develop that. I would prefer to start with a high lofted wood. My problem comes from my swing and since irons are hit differently than woods, I can not transfer my swing over to the woods entirely.
If I can stay consistent with my irons/hybrid then I would like to add a wood into the mix for mostly the added distance.
Ive also begun looking in the Moe Norman Golf Academy and the one plane golf swing. I believe this type of swing would work for me since essentially I have simplified my own swing to work on more of a single plane with very a small backswing. I called an instructor and left a message so we shall see what happens.
Today had a slight break of weather and a bit of warmth decided to show up. We hit the greens in the afternoon and snagged the only sunlight the sky would give us untill the clouds covered it all up again.
I played the best round of golf I have ever played today. Words can not describe how happy I am with my progress, but all this practice has paid off. My putting has greatly improved and I am very happy with it. I entered my score card and am very pleased. I created my own pars for each hole on the course and exceeded my expectations for today.
Well in responce to Thistle, it has been quite some time since I last updated. Thanks for the reminder.
So lets see where things have gone....
Golf lessons ended in Mid- Nov but I still continue to practice when I can. A few weeks back the weather was so nice when I walked outside, I grabbed my bag and headed over to the course. I joined up with a few older guys and did 9 holes. Overall I played pretty well and hit most of my shots how I had wanted. I did something that I was extremely proud of and that was to hit two great 3 wood shots in a row ( which I cant recall ever doing ). Im still having issues with distance but I hope I can work on that soon. The cold weather and the wind has not made me want to go out and golf much these last 2 weeks though. Oh and putting still seems to get me but I have to work on controlling how hard I hit it.
On the plus side I recieved a free box of Titelist Pro V golf balls , they are like 45$ in stores, so I am saving them for a nice spring day when we hit the course.
I get cravings to just go hit some balls but with the weather it really keeps me inside. I started playing Utour golf online and won 15$ in a tournament! That was pretty exciting. As for now, if the cold and wind keep me in ... Utour & Albatross 18 keep me busy with some golf on my computer.
It was a pretty dissapointing day but I can blame it solely on me not warming up, not relaxing , and just and over confidence that I would hit them straight everytime. My downswings were terrible and I sliced the ball hard right. I didnt even relax enough to make great tee shots untill after almost 15 holes. I should have warmed up, streched and practiced a couple swings before hand but I think I threw myself out there and had a bad day. Its ok though, I know what I am capable of and I just didnt let myself get into that mode.
Im still searching for a budget set of irons. I may have found some. This week I need to stay focused at practice on the things I do right and improve upon that. My next course visit should be much better. I didnt even keep score since it was more for fun then for score.
Golf lessons went great this week. Last week was just alot of talk about what the following weeks will bring. This week we actually got down to hitting some balls at the range. My missing link to my swing was proper wrist movement. I still find it diffcult to pull it off correctly everytime but I do notice it working great the more I practice.
As far as clubs go I am applying some thoughts to them the same way I do with playing guitar. Keep it simple as much as I can. I dont need all the irons, a beginner or even an average player in my opinion really does not need the choice of 7 irons to confuse them unless its a crucial decision. For me I pick the odd numbers and bring only them. Thats only 4 irons, leaving my choices easier to make. I love the PW and feel very confident using it. From what I gathe,r casual play and short courses are a great place to bring more wedges over a full iron set. I will get new grips on the 5 & 9 iron and perhaps consider a hybrid to replace the 3. I am horrible with a driver and the woods. My ideal setup ( which is why buying a full set of irons is a waste for me) would be 3,5,7,9 irons , PW, SW, LW, Nice Putter. Im not even sure a 3 iron would be used and maybe a hybrid should replace as I hear many people do. I still feel I would do poorly with a hybrid this early on in my playing.