So, today I was back to chipping, but not with the 60 degree and those nice soft, fluffy chips.
At Penmar on Sunday, I found myself just off the green a few times. Where I was about 1 foot in the rough and about 3 feet of fringe then the green - with the pin anywhere from 6 feet to 20 feet away from me.
Last night, I came across this video by David Leadbetter which I found incredibly enlightening and simple:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/cb-08ZBpsOMPNLzls0DDs12Pe_o9CqSgveC/david_leadbetters_tips_chipping/
The situation he shows is the same exact situation I found myself at Penmar. And now that I am cognizant of it, I am sure this situation comes up a lot during a round. So I set up my little station which had the pin located about 25 feet off the edge of the green, so with the fringe (3 feet) and rough (1 foot), I had about a 30 foot distance between me and the pin.
I grabbed my 9 iron and copied exactly what Mr. Leadbetter showed in the video - putting grip, narrow stance, move the hands, arms and shoulders as one unit and run the ball up to the hole. Leadbetter makes it look and sound so simple, because it is. I couldn't believe it. I was chipping balls well within the 3-foot imaginary circle. I had 14 balls and almost all of them I could have 1-putted. Amazing. The results were so amazing to me that I kept doing it over and over and over from different angles and distances and the results were all the same - I was chipping it tight. I couldn't believe it! I do not think I have ever had such command over a club and a shot in my life. This was truly an exciting moment for me. I must add that I did not use a glove - I realized that I like my hands to feel the club and the shot without the use of a glove. I had more 'feel'.
After about a half hour or so with my 9 iron, I switched to my PW and liked that, too. I got a little more loft with the PW with took some getting used to - had to give it a little more oomph - but alas, the David Leadbetter way had proven to be effective and consistent here, too. I used the PW for about a half hour before switching to my 60-degree a little farther out. I needed to change swings and go with a hinge-and-hold but I had the touch and the feel down - it was a nice rhythmic swing that produced nice results. I can not tell you how different the consistency of accuracy was with the 60-degree - after practicing for so long doing the Leadbetter technique - it was if the Leadbetter way paved the way for the feel needed for any type of chip and swing. Still, with the hinge and hold swing, I left balls 5 feet, 1 foot and 8 feet away. I left balls 5 feet left or 3 feet right. So as my chipping gets better and better, I see that I have something I can dial in and that is the 60-degree from about 40 feet out through a lot of rough.
All in all, it was a fantastic day of practice! I can not wait to chip again!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Day Five: The Big Sticks
Today I focused on the big sticks - Driver, 3-wood and Hybrid - however I warmed up with my 8-iron and hit about 15 balls to loosen up.
I pulled out my Driver and hit about 20 or 25 drives – at first, pretty inconsistently.
I was focusing more on the mechanics of the swing versus being fluid and loose. I wanted to make sure that I was making a full shoulder turn.
In the Ben Hogan book, he emphasizes that most people do not make a full shoulder turn and stated that all of his golf shirts are worn out on the left shoulder where his chin hits his shoulder. After I read that, I realized that most times I was not even hitting my chin with my shoulder. I was bringing my arms up instead of bringing them back and creating a wider arc.
Today, I was trying to focus on the plane of the swing – brining my arms back instead of up, turning my back to the target with my shoulders and having my left shoulder hit my chin at the top of my back swing.
Something that I need to continue to remember is to be very still during my swing. I feel like sometimes my head is moving around, which is pulling my body all around – ultimately, making me come through at the ball at all different angles - hence the inconsistency in my tee shots. In my quest to create a repeatable swing with consistent results, I need to keep my head completely still during the set-up, backswing and downswing.
After I worked up a little sweat with my Driver, I grabbed my 3-wood and hit it off the carpet. I am feeling really good about the way I am hitting this club. I take a stance that is about shoulder width apart. I bend at the knees as if my butt is propped up on a ledge. I take a flatter swing with a nice big turn and really come at the ball from the inside. For some reason, it is easier for me to come at the ball with this club from the inside out and I can see it - I am really smoking it - hitting a low screamer that lands well past the 200 marker and rolls for another who knows. Even though I am hitting this club well, I still have a hunch that my hips are a little late to the swing party. Hogan says to get your hips going first during the downswing (hips, shoulders, arms then hands in that order) and to rotate the hips as fast as possible through the shot. I feel like I am still a little slow in the hips and that if I was able to get my hips through, I would be able to have a little more accuracy with this club. Nonetheless, the slice is definitely going away. I maybe only saw it but a few times with this club today. I took about the same amount of shots with the 3-wood as with the Driver (20 to 25 balls).
I then starting hitting the Hybrid. At first, I was hitting the ball fat and popping it up with the ball landing about 150 yards up. I then started choking up on the club a little bit and striking the ball a lot better. I would take the 3-wood stance (bend at the knees like your butt is on a ledge) but have the ball a little more left of center (not as far up as the heel of my left foot with my driver). It seemed like the flatter the swing I took, the more I had a tendency to get my hands through a little early and hook the ball.
Next time I hit this club at the range, I am going to focus on really going at the ball from the inside and extending through the shot as long as possible while releasing the club head. I have a feeling that as I get really comfortable with this club (not sure when) I will be able to really work the ball. Doesn't everyone say that Hybrids are so easy to hit? Well, I am far from that point, but I get the feeling that this is going to be the case after I have a chance to figure it out.
Nonetheless, I hit about 20 to 25 balls and was putting the balls out about 210, but the flatter the swing, the lower the trajectory. I was hitting it 210 and it was rolling some more (like the 3-wood screamer), so it was not a high, soft fluffy 210 that could back up if stuck on a green. The flatter swing produced a lot of topspin and no back spin. I think if I want that high fluffer that will stick, I will need to come at the ball a lot steeper, but I do not really want to worry about that yet - I am still trying to find that nice, consistent, repeatable, sound swing.
With the remaining 25 or so balls, I went back to the Driver. I thought about a David Leadbetter video I saw about the baseball swing drill (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc1kt6MASDY&feature=related) for the shape of the swing. This also helps with releasing the club head and turning your hands over. With the shoulder turn feeling pretty good now, I focused on trying to swing smoothly through the ball and not try and kill it. Well, I'll be damned - I started hitting some pretty solid shots down the target line. They weren't monster drives, but I liked the control. I figure that if I can get the hang of the swing that comes with keeping my head still and making that swing real smooth, then I can add power later. I just want to continue to make solid contact on a straight ball.
I felt good when I was done - I feel like I made good progress today.
I pulled out my Driver and hit about 20 or 25 drives – at first, pretty inconsistently.
I was focusing more on the mechanics of the swing versus being fluid and loose. I wanted to make sure that I was making a full shoulder turn.
In the Ben Hogan book, he emphasizes that most people do not make a full shoulder turn and stated that all of his golf shirts are worn out on the left shoulder where his chin hits his shoulder. After I read that, I realized that most times I was not even hitting my chin with my shoulder. I was bringing my arms up instead of bringing them back and creating a wider arc.
Today, I was trying to focus on the plane of the swing – brining my arms back instead of up, turning my back to the target with my shoulders and having my left shoulder hit my chin at the top of my back swing.
Something that I need to continue to remember is to be very still during my swing. I feel like sometimes my head is moving around, which is pulling my body all around – ultimately, making me come through at the ball at all different angles - hence the inconsistency in my tee shots. In my quest to create a repeatable swing with consistent results, I need to keep my head completely still during the set-up, backswing and downswing.
After I worked up a little sweat with my Driver, I grabbed my 3-wood and hit it off the carpet. I am feeling really good about the way I am hitting this club. I take a stance that is about shoulder width apart. I bend at the knees as if my butt is propped up on a ledge. I take a flatter swing with a nice big turn and really come at the ball from the inside. For some reason, it is easier for me to come at the ball with this club from the inside out and I can see it - I am really smoking it - hitting a low screamer that lands well past the 200 marker and rolls for another who knows. Even though I am hitting this club well, I still have a hunch that my hips are a little late to the swing party. Hogan says to get your hips going first during the downswing (hips, shoulders, arms then hands in that order) and to rotate the hips as fast as possible through the shot. I feel like I am still a little slow in the hips and that if I was able to get my hips through, I would be able to have a little more accuracy with this club. Nonetheless, the slice is definitely going away. I maybe only saw it but a few times with this club today. I took about the same amount of shots with the 3-wood as with the Driver (20 to 25 balls).
I then starting hitting the Hybrid. At first, I was hitting the ball fat and popping it up with the ball landing about 150 yards up. I then started choking up on the club a little bit and striking the ball a lot better. I would take the 3-wood stance (bend at the knees like your butt is on a ledge) but have the ball a little more left of center (not as far up as the heel of my left foot with my driver). It seemed like the flatter the swing I took, the more I had a tendency to get my hands through a little early and hook the ball.
Next time I hit this club at the range, I am going to focus on really going at the ball from the inside and extending through the shot as long as possible while releasing the club head. I have a feeling that as I get really comfortable with this club (not sure when) I will be able to really work the ball. Doesn't everyone say that Hybrids are so easy to hit? Well, I am far from that point, but I get the feeling that this is going to be the case after I have a chance to figure it out.
Nonetheless, I hit about 20 to 25 balls and was putting the balls out about 210, but the flatter the swing, the lower the trajectory. I was hitting it 210 and it was rolling some more (like the 3-wood screamer), so it was not a high, soft fluffy 210 that could back up if stuck on a green. The flatter swing produced a lot of topspin and no back spin. I think if I want that high fluffer that will stick, I will need to come at the ball a lot steeper, but I do not really want to worry about that yet - I am still trying to find that nice, consistent, repeatable, sound swing.
With the remaining 25 or so balls, I went back to the Driver. I thought about a David Leadbetter video I saw about the baseball swing drill (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc1kt6MASDY&feature=related) for the shape of the swing. This also helps with releasing the club head and turning your hands over. With the shoulder turn feeling pretty good now, I focused on trying to swing smoothly through the ball and not try and kill it. Well, I'll be damned - I started hitting some pretty solid shots down the target line. They weren't monster drives, but I liked the control. I figure that if I can get the hang of the swing that comes with keeping my head still and making that swing real smooth, then I can add power later. I just want to continue to make solid contact on a straight ball.
I felt good when I was done - I feel like I made good progress today.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Day Four: Chipping
Today, I spent one hour and fifteen minutes doing what I do worst - chipping.
I had a small patch of green that was probably 16 feet deep and about 20 feet wide.
I set up a marker six paces in from the edge of the green. I then put 8 tees in the ground that formed a three foot circle around my center marker. I set up a spot 25 feet from the edge of the green - so, from my spot to my marker was about 30 feet.
I had 12 balls and started chipping with my 60-degree (Titleist Vokey with a 10 degree bounce). I wanted to see how many balls I could land in my 3-foot circle.
It took me the first couple rounds to get down the feel and to learn how to strike the ball consistently.
The shot called for me to pop up the ball and try to land it around the 25 foot area (edge of the green/fringe) - any more juice and it would roll past the hole and out of my 3-foot range.
As the chipping practice went on, I noticed that if I opened up the face, placed the ball in the front of my stance, and shifted my weight more on my left side, I could get a good result - a nice, doughy, fluffy chip. The best chips had nice back spin that I could see as the ball traveled towards the target.
I also noticed how important a good rhythm was with the swing plane. Take the club back around 30% with a wrist hinge and then bringing my arms thru the ball. The better the rhythm, the better the shot.
After I hit about 100 chips, I was starting to get a good feel for this distance and shot. I was landing about 6 out of 12 balls in my circle and 10 or 11 out of 12 balls on the green. There would always be about 1 or 2 balls that I under/over hit that would fall short/long of the green. I think that as time goes on during this 80 day exercise, I will need to be chipping 10 of 12 balls into my circle. Obviously the goal is 100% to within 3 feet, but I could see leaving 1 or 2 just outside the 3 foot range, whereby I would need to make a 4 or 5 foot putt instead of a putt within 3 feet.
It will be fun to see my progress come day 70 - as this is currently the weakest part of my game.
I had a small patch of green that was probably 16 feet deep and about 20 feet wide.
I set up a marker six paces in from the edge of the green. I then put 8 tees in the ground that formed a three foot circle around my center marker. I set up a spot 25 feet from the edge of the green - so, from my spot to my marker was about 30 feet.
I had 12 balls and started chipping with my 60-degree (Titleist Vokey with a 10 degree bounce). I wanted to see how many balls I could land in my 3-foot circle.
It took me the first couple rounds to get down the feel and to learn how to strike the ball consistently.
The shot called for me to pop up the ball and try to land it around the 25 foot area (edge of the green/fringe) - any more juice and it would roll past the hole and out of my 3-foot range.
As the chipping practice went on, I noticed that if I opened up the face, placed the ball in the front of my stance, and shifted my weight more on my left side, I could get a good result - a nice, doughy, fluffy chip. The best chips had nice back spin that I could see as the ball traveled towards the target.
I also noticed how important a good rhythm was with the swing plane. Take the club back around 30% with a wrist hinge and then bringing my arms thru the ball. The better the rhythm, the better the shot.
After I hit about 100 chips, I was starting to get a good feel for this distance and shot. I was landing about 6 out of 12 balls in my circle and 10 or 11 out of 12 balls on the green. There would always be about 1 or 2 balls that I under/over hit that would fall short/long of the green. I think that as time goes on during this 80 day exercise, I will need to be chipping 10 of 12 balls into my circle. Obviously the goal is 100% to within 3 feet, but I could see leaving 1 or 2 just outside the 3 foot range, whereby I would need to make a 4 or 5 foot putt instead of a putt within 3 feet.
It will be fun to see my progress come day 70 - as this is currently the weakest part of my game.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Day Three: Assessment of Game
So today I played Penmar with my pals to see where my game is at and how far I have to go.
It turns out that I have a long way to go.
I played pretty much bogey golf - which is where I normally am.
I made par on the Par 4 #9 hole which was probably the best hole I played all day.
I pushed my drive right (mind you I did not slice the ball which was big for me) and left me about 125 away in the rough with a side hill lie (the ball above my feet). I hit my PW to the front 1/3 of the green with the pin in back. I had about a 30 foot uphill putt for birdie and left it about 5 feet short, so I was left with a little bit of a knee-knocker. I struck my second putt well and on my line, but it was breaking left faster than I thought and just slid in the side door for my Par. I needed every inch of that cup to save Par.
I really need the most work on my short game. I chipped poorly today and realized that I need to get every chip close enough to one putt. I was only on in regulation once (Hole #9) and ended up bogeying a lot of holes because I would proceed to 2-putt most of the holes. I had 2 doubles, 6 bogeys and 1 Par - a long way to go.
Nonetheless, I look forward to practicing my chipping this week. I have to take the weakest part of my game and make it my strongest. But that is the beautiful thing about golf: you can always assess your game and identify the weakest part and work on it to make it stronger.
Basically, there are 5 facets of the game and below I have graded myself:
1) Driving - B - I still had a little bend to my drives, but found the fairway or first cut that did not kill my approach on 5 tee boxes
2) Iron Play - C - barely on in regulation and had a couple bad tee shots on the Par 3's - one with a 4 iron and one with an 8 iron
3) Chipping - D - left myself too many long putts after my chips. I did have a good soft floater on Hole #3, but was very inconsistent with my chipping. Needs that most improvement.
4) Sand - N/A - did not hit into the sand
5) Putting - C+ - did not make any putts over 5 feet, but had good speed on 75% of my putts today, left a couple putts short. One thing I noticed was that my aim is improving - I hit a couple putts over the edge of the cup where I was lined up, I just mis-read the break.
So tomorrow I will go to the driving range - maybe not even buy a bucket of balls - rather, chip for an hour or so. 77 days to go...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Day Two: Leisure Putting
I was on the putting green at Penmar today just before 7:00pm. I knew I had about an hour and a half left of sunlight.
I've heard somewhere that 60% of your shots come around the green, so it never hurts to work on the putting game.
About 6 or 8 weeks ago, I finished reading the Phil Mickelson book 'Secrets of the Short Game' in which he spent a good deal on putting. One of the many anecdotes that book offers was Phil stating that so many things can go wrong with your putting stroke that you just might actually make a long putt from time to time - your line could be off, you pull the putt, under estimate the break but hit it too hard to take it out and actually jar the putt. He states the importance of getting the ball on the correct line and using the correct stroke. He also stated that a drill he does is try and hit 100 3 ft putts in a row. If you miss, you start over at 1.
So tonight I spent a good deal of time on trying to get down the rhythm of putting a good stroke on the 3 foot putt. I did this for about 20 minutes or so with 3 balls.
I used 3 Taylor Made Burner TPs which is what I am currently using on the course. I want to get the exact feel of the cover of the ball on the practice green as I am going to be using on the course. I have found that different balls all react and feel differently off the putter face of the putter, so I want to get the exact feel of putts at different lengths with the same ball. I have a feeling that later on in this exercise, I may be changing to a different ball as my short game improves.
I also have my eye on a new putter. I grabbed a putter in the Roger Dunn putting area where there are probably 500 different kinds of putters all lined up. I grabbed an Odyssey Black Series I #9 style putter and after about 10 or 12 putts thought it was money. And then I looked under the blade and it was 'money' - it retailed for about $229.00! Now, it has been awhile that I have been in the market for a putter, but man oh man, when did putters get so expensive?!? Nonetheless, I liked the feel and rolled about 10 straight 12 footers that felt effortless and got on line and held it the entire way. It felt a lot better than my current putter. Nonetheless, the price tag has me wanting to see if I can get some better feel with my existing putter by focusing on improving my stroke. Someday, I will get that putter - but tonight and for the near future, I will focus on my good ol' trusty putter.
I then kicked it out to 8, 10, 15 and 20 footers for another 45 minutes or so.
In 1 hour and 15 minutes, I took about 200 to 250 putts - all at my own comfortable pace. Near the end, I would take a couple practice swings prior to hitting each putt from about 10 feet to try and focus on my stroke. I am playing my ball forward of center and striking it pretty well. I am trying to use more of my shoulders with better posture - as I see Tiger on tv with such beautiful putting posture - lots of shoulders, arms and hands working like one unit - each one a function of the other.
Tomorrow I am playing Penmar with a handful of pals - it is the local Par 32, 9-hole course. It has 5 Par 4's and 4 Par 3's. Holes 6, 7 and 9 are driver holes, so I look forward to trying to poke a couple drives out into the Fairway and collecting a good score. This will be the first time in this journey that I will be on a course, so it will give me an idea as to where I need to focus. Penmar is a good place to focus and practice on all types of shots that a big 18 hole course would present (except water).
More to come after tomorrow's 9!
Friday, June 25, 2010
What's In My Bag?
1) Driver - Taylor Made R5 - 9.5 degree (regular shaft)
2) 3-wood - Taylor Made - 15 degree (regular shaft)
3) Hybrid - Ping - 19 degree (stiff shaft)
4-11) 3i thru PW - Wilson Fat Shafts (at least 16~17 years old - steel shaft)
12) SW - Cleveland - 57 degree
13) SW/LW - Titleist - 60 degree
14) Putter - Never Compromise (at least 16-17 years old - same putter poor Jean van de Velde used during his 1999 British Open collapse at Carnoustie - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dR1pkCGY80)
2) 3-wood - Taylor Made - 15 degree (regular shaft)
3) Hybrid - Ping - 19 degree (stiff shaft)
4-11) 3i thru PW - Wilson Fat Shafts (at least 16~17 years old - steel shaft)
12) SW - Cleveland - 57 degree
13) SW/LW - Titleist - 60 degree
14) Putter - Never Compromise (at least 16-17 years old - same putter poor Jean van de Velde used during his 1999 British Open collapse at Carnoustie - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dR1pkCGY80)
Ball - Taylor Made Burner TP
My Purpose
I have never been good at golf. I have played for years and never really dedicated myself to the game. I have always been a fairly athletic person and thought I knew how to swing a club, but I would always be pretty inconsistent when I would go out and play. Some shots went right, some went left and very few went straight - but those that went straight were a thing of beauty.
I chalked up my inconsistencies to a lack of playing. I truly thought you needed a club in your hand all the time in order to be good. I now have learned that I was wrong. Very wrong. You do not need a club in your hand all the time in order to be good. You need to know how to swing the club correctly in order to be good. That is why you can play with a guy who grew up playing as a kid, was on the golf team in high school, has not played a single round this year and goes out and fires an 84 and beats you by 14 strokes.
I am the guy that loses by 14 strokes.
I usually shoot anywhere from 94 to 100 - sometimes lower and sometimes higher if I am having a long day out there. I have only broken 90 a few times in my life - and only once from the blue tees.
I can hit the ball. I can't always hit the ball straight, but I can hit the ball. I slice my drives 90% of the time. I skull chip shots that leave me farther away from the hole than before my shot. I three putt. I slice, I hook, I hit it fat and thin, I pull and I push. Sometimes I overswing, other times I decelerate.
But sometimes...sometimes...something magical happens. Sometimes I stripe a drive on a Par 5, then hit a long iron that gets on the green in 2. I then give an eagle putt a chance and end up tapping in for birdie. Sometimes I spin a 60 degree wedge from 50 yards out to cozy up next to the pin. There have been the near hole-in-ones, the lipouts from the sand, the truly amazing shots that make you so, so happy. Those are the very moments that make it all worthwhile. Seeing the shot you want to make, going up to the ball and making it happen - just how you pictured it in your mind. Those moments are truly magical. And they don't happen all that often.
I have been playing golf more and more lately and I became overly frustrated by not being able to improve the way I wanted to. I started watching you tube videos, reading magazines and articles on how to hit certain shots. And I finally realized that I did not know the mechanics behind hitting certain types of shots.
So now I have decided to finally learn the mechanics of the golf swing, my golf swing. I want to learn how to hit the fairway with my driver, learn how to get rid of my slice and learn how to hit my 3 iron 'on the screws'. I want to chip it tight and one putt. I want a sand save. I want to give every birdie putt a chance. Hell, I want more birdies.
I am giving myself 80 days to break 80.
Today is June 25 and Day 80 will be September 13 (which oddly enough is my also my Birthday - totally unplanned, so it must be a sign).
I am putting it upon myself to doing whatever it takes to break 80 in 80 days starting today - Day 1.
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