Remember a few short weeks ago when I complained about "softball-itis"? Went out today on 90 minutes notice to a course I'd never played before and shot an 86. A few duffs and some lipped out putts even inflated THAT score a bit. I knew I had it all in me, just never figured I'd put it together that well in the same day so soon!
(For the record, here's the course I played, for any of you Ohioans: http://www.ohiogolfguide.com/page.ph...d=51&pagenum=1 Its a bit out of the way from Columbus, but WELL worth it. Tee, fairway and greens were all in great shape, and despite a few questionable calls on the layout, a very enjoyable course to play!)
Congratulations on a great round! It's about time you traded that Demarini in for your golf clubs! Your softball buddies might not be impressed with your score, but we sure are. Keep up the good work!
Thanks guys! Just down to one softball league, so that might help. Alot of it is really just teeing it higher and letting my swing happen. Apparently I have an "unorthodox" backswing, to the point that it looks like I'm going to hit a baseball, and I feel my arms come almost flat across my body sometimes on my follow through, but if it keeps working off the tee, I'll take it. My irons have REALLY helped me out, and I've been putting better, too. 36 putts for this round, and like I mentioned earlier, 3 or 4 that *just* broke off the lip.
The good news is, I'm moving out of state in a few weeks, so I'll be getting alot of "last rounds" in before I go, I'm sure.
Great round, tonyg! I love to hear success stories! I have a feeling we'll be hearing more success stories from you!
It's funny: lots of times it seems people do well under the circumstances you describe (short notice, new course, maybe a long layoff or whatever). I'm starting to wonder what it is. Maybe people who play on short notice didn't have time to get nervous or out-think themselves? Maybe people playing a new course have low expectations or (out of caution) make better course-management decisions? I don't know what it is, but I'm not surprised to hear that you did well. I am happy for you, though!
I don't know what it is either, Jim, though as I mentioned in my scramble thread, I really felt it come around that day, and I just stayed consistent today. I think I know that I have the swing in me, and when I just get up there and hit it, I can do it, but when I think about position and placement and backswing and whatever, its a no go. The iron play is what's REALLY hooking me up. I only had two holes all day where I didn't have at least a putt for par. Heck, I darn near dunked a 6-iron from the rough!
One thing I've done recently that I haven't done in the past is spend more time on the putting green. Before, the only time I'd go there would be to pass the time waiting for my turn on the tee, now I'll stop by there, if only to putt 6 or 7 times, just to take a breather between getting out of the car and swinging away. Don't know if that helps, but it seems to have *some* results! :)
Nice softball reference. You must have played some to know about them high end bats.
If you use a ball, and you keep score....I've played it and officiated it. I used to complain about the high costs of bats, until I started buying golf clubs!
maybe the 86 last week wasn't a fluke afterall... I played another new (to me) course Sunday morning, and even with a triple-triple-double (OUCH!) finish, I shot 94. Most of that finish was thanks to a combination of trees, then after the trees, not playing "smart golf". A few really poorly hit long irons brought me back to earth after some very nice tee shots, but I was again getting off the tee VERY well. I still need to get the putts down. I think I only had one three-putt, but EVERYthing else was a 2 putt. I need to get some of those first putts to start dropping.
One thing I've noticed is that I'm hitting my irons great off the tee on par 3's, but almost without fail, it goes straight left. Not a slice, really, its got a great trajectory, but heads straight left. Nothing more frustrating than ending up pin-high, but 15 yards left of the green.
If you're righthanded and hitting the ball straight left you're pulling the ball, the result of an outside-to-inside the line swing. If you're a lefty, you're pushing the ball, probably an inside-to-outside swing without coming through with your hands. I mention this because you said you weren't hitting a "slice" to the left. The only way that you could hit a "slice" to the left is if you are lefthanded. Righthanded players slice and fade to the right, and hook and draw to the left. Lefties are just the opposite.
Ball position could be an issue here too, tonyg. Experiment a little bit to see if ball position changes your results. You also want to check the alignment of your shoulders, hips, feet, and clubface to make sure that you're square to the target.
It sounds like you're doing great! Keep up the positive progress!
I mention this because you said you weren't hitting a "slice" to the left. The only way that you could hit a "slice" to the left is if you are lefthanded.
oops! I meant "hook". I'm a righty. I guess I was picturing every other shot I hit that slices, and got it backwards.
thanks for the tips. I've worked on alignment and even throughout a round, thought I had it straightened up, only to tee up on the next par 3 and hit it straight left again. Go figure!
The good news is the place I'm moving into in Indy next month has an "executive" course within a couple miles. 3,800 yards or so, I think. That should help straighten that out.
keep working at your game, and dont let your head drop! i promise you will shoot many more scores better than 86!
thanks Gaz! I know I can go lower, I figured I'd be there at the START of the season this year, with the way I started out, but I'm just happy to be getting back there, and have it feel somewhat consistent!!
Tony,
I'm encouraged about your game. Reason is that you're breaking 100 on a new course and while not making good decisions when you're in trouble. Those two things can be fixed real easy. My game improved (from about 20 hdcp to current 15) when I started (1) playing about half my golf on the same course, so I could build some "local knowledge" and (2) not trying for the hero shot when I was in trouble. Those hero shots will kill ya (but some people I know and like enjoy playing that way, which is OK for them).
Tell ya what. Next time you play, go to a place you've been before and throughout the round, whenever you're in trouble, play something conservative to get yourself back in the game. When in trouble, I'm always telling myself, "Take yer medicine!"
July 19th, 2004, 08:02 PM
Keep up the good work! 
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