Day 37: Round at Balboa

Today I played Balboa. The last time I played Balboa, I shot a 93. My goal going into the round was 84. I ended up shooting an 87. I also had a pal with me who was shooting video on the round, so that was fun. I look forward to seeing how his camera work turned out. Once he sends it to me, I will put it up on the blog.

I had a front 9 score of 47. It was actually not as ugly as it sounds. It was a Par 37 (1 par-3 and 2 par-5's). It will sound uglier on paper than it actually was or felt. I only hit 3 of 8 fairways, but those fairways I missed were only a yard or two off the fairway - nonetheless, it was off the fairway. I was not on in regulation once - that hurt me a lot. I had 1 par, 6 bogeys and 2 double bogeys. I was hitting my drives well, hitting my irons fat (and 10 yards short), chipping well and putting okay. The scoring was not there, but it was not that ugly.

I shot a 40 on the back (Par 35) - sweet ginger. I still did not hit my irons that accurately (on in regulation 3 of 9 holes). I was striking the ball better on the back, just left or right of the green. I was chipping well! I will write that again because it feels so good to write those words - I was chipping well! I had three holes where I was not on in regulation, chipped it on and 1-putted for Par - amazing! The old golfer never chipped like that in the past. The new golfer is a good chipper. I need to continue to practice my chipping and work on getting it closer to always 1-putt, however, this was the first round in my life where I did not have a duffed chip - I love it.

I missed the green on both Par 3's, but managed to chip it on and 1-putt both times. I also birdied the 18th hole (Par 4) which was such a nice way to finish (always finish on a high note!). I only hit 3 of 7 fairways, but those I missed never got me into much trouble being only a couple yards off the fairway. I drove the ball very well averaging about 260~270 off the tee.

Round Stats:
Front: 47 Back: 40 - Total: 87
Fairways Hit: 6 of 15 (40%)
GIR: 3 of 18 (16.7%) - terrible
Total Putts: 29 (7 1-putts, 11 2-putts, 0 3-putts)

I was 6 shots better this time on Balboa (87) than I was that last time I played there (93). I felt really good after today's round due to my driving and chipping. Even though I did not shoot an 84, I finished strong with a 40 on the back 9. I have no doubt in my mind that if I would have hit my irons better today it would have been a much lower score. Nonetheless, I have something to look forward to for the next time I play.

Day 36 - Part 2: Twas the Night Before Balboa

I want to take this time, on the eve of my round, to think about the things I would like to accomplish during tomorrow's round. I'll cut to the chase - I want to shoot an 84. My pal and I have talked about this nice number in the past and there is an easy way to come up with it that makes it sound very attainable.

Make a goal for yourself to shoot 2 over every 3 holes. You can get to that +2 any way you want - say 1 par and 2 bogies, etc. I like this because it breaks down the course in little bite sized chunks. Keep your focus for 3 holes, take a mental break and then regroup for the next 3 holes. If you stay true to this and actually do it, you will finish +6 after 9 (42) and +6 on the back 9 for an 84.

The last time I played Balboa (Day 24), I shot a 93. So, I am asking myself to shoot 9 shots better this time around. That's a tall order, but one that I am ready for. In that last round, I ended up 4-putting the final hole - I will not let that happen this time - at worst a 2-putt, so there are 2 shots right there and only 7 to go. I figure that I can save 4 shots on the front and 3 shots on the back - badda bing - an 84.

This is roughly the half way point of my 80-day journey. Knowing this, it will be good to measure my results after this round to see where I am at and how close I am to my goal of breaking 80. I started this journey by shooting anywhere from 94 to 100, so I figure that if I can shoot anywhere in the mid-80's tomorrow, I will be right on track.

Day 36: Crankin' It 2 - Electric Boogaloo

Today my objective was two-fold: (1) focus on my rhythm, timing and tempo at the range and see if I could not greatly improve my accuracy, and (2) sand wedge myself to death at various distances and targets.

After such a good day at the range yesterday, I give this entry a title of 'Crankin' 2 - Electric Boogaloo'. Please enjoy Turbo's gravity-defying solo from Breakin' 2.



One thing that I have talked with my pal about is dialing in the sand wedge from 25 to 85 yards (about my max distance with the SW). If I look back on my statistics, I see about 1 chip almost every hole (of those holes that I am not on in regulation) and I know for a fact that chip comes from within 85 yards. The thought is that if I can get good at these shots, then I will be able to score a lot lower.

I had flags at about 75 yards, 60 yards, 50 yards and 40 yards. I just kept hitting at each of those targets. Rotating every two balls to a new target. I found that the 60-yard target was the toughest to have the ball land in front of. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my little swings and focused on having good tempo. One fun moment I had was that I hit the stick on the 75-yard flag and it hit the ground at what looked like a couple inches from the hole - that was fun. I tried to do it again, but was a few feet to the right - still a quality shot.

With my last 10 or so balls, I pulled out the driver and tried to recapture that same swing that I finished with yesterday. I couldn't find it - as I was hooking the ball a bit. I was pretty inconsistent with the direction of the shot, but making solid contact and putting the ball out there about 250+ yards. When I make good contact, my driver makes a fun sound. It's not too loud and ping-y - it's a good sound. My last ball was not great, so I snuck over the edge of the mat and grabbed another ball. That ball I hit well and I was able to finish on a good note.

I am playing tomorrow at Balboa and should take a moment to think about what I want to accomplish. I will put my thoughts in a new post.

Day 35: Crankin' It

Today, I was back at the range and letting it fly.

I warmed up with my 8-iron and then moved around in the bag quite a bit. I used my 60-degree, then grabbed my 3-iron, then picked up the hybrid over to the PW - so on and so forth. I was hitting the ball pretty well.

One thing I need to remember and it helps to go through it in the waggle is to hit my right elbow on my right hip prior to my address. This is my way of thinking about coming inside-out and keeping my right elbow in at impact. Anytime I do that I seem to either hit my target or come close to it.

I also need to always remember to square my shoulders to the target. I have a tendency to have my shoulders pointing way left of the target line, which also opens up my hips, which makes me come across the ball and promotes either a push right or the dreaded slice.

I used the ol' Fred Couples school of thought and saved my last 10-12 balls for my Driver. It took me a couple balls to get into the groove, but I finished by absolutely spanking the last 6 balls straight as an arrow - not sure if that has ever been done before by me. I noticed that my hands were really snapping the club head through at impact and the weight of the club head was carrying my body around to the finish. The more I would square my shoulders to the target, the straighter the ball would go.

It was both a liberating feeling and a spooky feeling to just let my hands go through the ball like that. I noticed that my follow through was a little flatter than normal. However, the ball-striking was fantastic and the shape of the shot was a bit low, but smoking hot. I like that. I am going to go back to the range tomorrow and finish again with the final 10-12 balls and see if I can't find that swing right away and drill all the balls like that.

Day 34: Intermediate Putting

After work, I went to Penmar to practice my putting.

After stretching, I started to hit the little putts with the 2 balls that I brought with me - distance between 2 and 3 feet. At the point when I made 10 in a row, I started kicking the ball out into that intermediate range of 5 to 15 feet. I will need to start draining a higher percentage of putts at this range in order to score well, so it is important for me to get down the feel for putts at all different ranges.

I did not take 10 footers over and over again - rather, I mixed up the distance in order to try and establish the required feel that I need for each putt. I took 6-footers followed by 12-footers followed by a 10-footer then a 4-footer. I have noticed that I am really hitting the 4-footers on in with great confidence. I also continue to have the Jack Nicklaus phrase going through my head prior to hitting the putt. Mr. Nicklaus would always say, 'Put a good stroke on it' - and that is what I am constantly trying to focus on. I rarely ever want to leave the putt short. Sometimes the lag is a good play, but 95% of the time you don't want to leave it short. Give the ball a chance.

I putted around for about 45 minutes which seemed like an eternity on the putting green. At one point I looked down at my watch and only 30 minutes had past. I looked back down at my watch at what seemed to be awhile later and noticed that only 5 minutes had passed since I last checked. Spending 45 minutes on the putting green is a great amount of time to spend to really get in a good practice.

Keeping true to an earlier post, I was set up about 15 feet out with a putt that broke about 2 feet left to right. I sunk both putts and decided that it was a perfect time to call it a day. Always finish on a high note!

I must say that out of all the shots in golf, I have gotten the best in the past 34 days at my putting. My stroke, my reads and my putting average have all gotten a lot better. It is the one facet of the game that you can easily notice a difference and I notice that I am getting better and better with each round.

Day 33: Back on the Range

I was excited to get back to the Range and start hitting balls again.

However, after I warmed up I noticed that I was not making solid contact. Soon thereafter, I started shanking balls again ('again' meaning how I finished in the bunker the previous night). It did not matter what club I took out of the bag, I could not hit a shot. It was awful and it was my worst nightmare come true. All timing, mechanics and everything felt terrible.

I walked over to the swing coach and told him about the terrible news that was unfolding before me. He told me to hit a couple balls. Welcome to Shanksville - Population: Me.

He had me put a green leaf under/behind the ball and hit it to see where on the club head I was making contact. After about 3 or 4 of these, I saw that I was making contact near or on the hosel! How awful! I was not even hitting the ball on the face of the club! What was going on? How could this happen?

He told me not to panic. He said that the bunker swing was causing me to change my path from inside-out to outside-in. He had me put down three balls all touching and in a line, so that the first ball was closest to me and the third ball was furthest away from me when standing at address. He then had me take away the middle ball. He told me to set-up like I was going to hit the third ball (furthest away from me). Then I would take the club away and proceed to hit the first ball (closest to me) on my downswing. I hit the first ball flush right down the target line. I did it again, second ball right down the target line. I ended up hitting the rest of my bucket of balls this way with the coach watching until the very last ball and I hit that well, too. Shanks be gone! I finished on a high note!

I was unable to find that exact drill on youtube, but I did find a nice drill from Hank Haney. Mr. Haney clearly demonstrates the reason for the shanks and shows us how to build a little wall on the right side of the golf ball with 4 golf tees. If you don't hit the tees, then it will be impossible to shank it.

Day 32: Chipping & Sand Play

I spent the late afternoon practicing my chipping and sand play. These are the 2 facets that are continually hurting my score. As I have stated previously, I have to make my weakest points my strongest points.

I have found that good chipping relies on having good tempo. I am focusing on this and I am good on the practice green. I just need to transfer this ability to chip well on the practice green onto the course where it matters.

I spent about 30 to 45 minutes chipping my 14 balls to all different distances varying from 5 feet (the toughest) to 40 feet (the easiest) using my SW. I had good tempo and I was happy about where the ball was finishing. I feel like I had good command on this club. Now I need to do this on the course.

The bunker was a different story. It seemed liked the more I practiced, the worse I got. So much so, that I screwed up my swing. Based on my lesson from last week in the bunker, I was taking an outside-to-in swing path and not making consistent contact. After about a half hour of struggles, I started chipping again and could not hit a single, solid chip. What happened? Not sure, but maybe I was just tired and felt like it was a good time to call it quits. It always stinks when you finish on a low note. I think it is important to always finish on a high note to keep you in a good mindset to make you look forward to picking it back up again.

I came home and hit up youtube for some good bunker play videos. Here is one from Gary Balliet that I liked:

Note the self: Never finish practice on a low note. Always finish practice on a great shot.

Day 31: Rest

I left the desert around 10am after having a nice breakfast with my pal. About 30 minutes outside of Palm Springs is a place called Cabazon – home of the outlet mall. I picked up 2 golf shirts for about $15.00 each - both had an original MSRP of $40.00 – great savings.

I made it home around 2pm and decided to lay low and rest – it was Sunday and smart money would say to lay low and rehydrate. It was good day to rest. It was only the 4th day in the last 31 that I have not picked up a golf club - so that averages out to be about 1 rest day every 7th or 8th day. I did, however, watch the final few holes of the RBC Canadian Open on TV, so that's gotta count for something.

I saw Carl Pettersson cruise to victory with his long putter. I have begun to see more and more people on Tour putt with belly putters and long putters. Apparently, it is more widely used on the European Tour than the PGA Tour, but fast gaining greater popularity (For more info on the long putter click here). One of the many reasons people use the long putter is that it puts less strain on your back as you are standing more upright with a long putter or belly putter versus being hunched over with the conventional putter (usually around 34-35 inches in height). Fred Couples moved to an upright putter because it was easier on his back. 

I am really beginning to like my own putter, so I am not changing any time soon. I would not be opposed to hitting that Odyssey i-Series #9 putter again to see if it is my current putter that I like or the refining of my putting stroke that I like. I will hit it again when I am at the golf store.

Day 30: Palm Springs - Tahquitz Creek

Today, we had a 7:30am tee time at Tahquitz Creek (for course info click here). They have two courses there and we played the Resort Course. We were all looking forward to a morning round in an effort to beat the desert heat. Even at that time, it was still in the low 90’s prior to teeing off. However, with the temp in the low 90’s it was considerably cooler than the previous day – it even felt pretty comfortable.

The starter was incredibly rude and super argumentative for 7am in the morning, but perhaps 50 years of desert sun and heat makes you that way. After we got past that, we were off.

For the second straight day in the desert, I hit the fairway, was on in regulation and 2-putted for par. I equate that to starting off a bowling match and getting a spare. You threw your first ball, left some pins up, but cleaned it up with your second ball. If I had made birdie on the first hole, it would have been like rolling a strike with some good pin action.

I answered that with a triple on the Hole 2 by yanking my drive left and taking a drop (penalty stroke) and hitting 3. I hit my 3^rd to the right side of the green, then fluffed an uphill chip short, followed by a nice second chip that rolled past the cup about 10 feet. I rifled my first putt up the hill and over the right side of the cup. Thankfully, it stopped somewhat quickly after going past the cup, so I was able to make a 2-footer for a 7. Ouch.

I came back to earth on Hole 3 after making par on the par 3, 160-yard hole – I missed a fairly long birdie putt, but was able tap in for par. I will save you the details of what went in to shooting a 43 on the front other than to mention my birdie on Hole 7. Birdies are still a rare occurrence in my game, so by carding one was nice. I will need to get much more familiar with birdies on my quest to breaking 80. I think I will need to have at least one if not two birdies per 9 holes. It seems like a tall order from where I stand now, but it's gotta happen more often. I look forward to making more birdies.

It was a rough and tumble 43 – I had 1 birdie, 4 pars, a bogey, 2 double bogeys and a triple bogey. I was all over the joint. I only hit 3 of 7 fairways, however only on Hole 2 did I find myself in big trouble off the tee. I was only on in regulation on 2 holes. I scrambled and made par on holes 5 and 9 – taking 2 skins for carding the beloved ‘Arnie’ – short for the ‘Arnold Palmer’ skin – which is never being in the fairway, not on in regulation, but still making Par – a great skin.

A big reason for my 43 was because I was making putts. I only had 14 of them on the front 9 – which included four 1-putts and no 3-putts.

Could I put something together today and shoot an 85 or 86? Nope.

I fell apart on the back 9. I only hit 1 out of 7 fairways. I took 3 shots from the bunker on hole 13 – a Par 3. And to destroy me mentally,  play came to a stop at the tee box on Hole 14. Earlier, we had 2 singles play through and now it was clogged up. Great work, starter. We waited at the tee box on 14 for about 7 to 10 minutes. That’s when you could stick a fork in me. I duffed my first shot after the long wait. My drive traveled a whopping 70 yards and had a trajectory of about 1 inch before tumbling and stopping just past the women’s tees. Not to worry, I took my second shot from only about 490 yards out – I tripled that hole.

So things were not exactly awesome on the back 9. I shot a 52 on the back – a full 9 shots worse than the front. I was on in regulation only once – Hole 17 – an awesome little Par 3. It was a 91-yard downhill shot with water surrounding the entire right side.  There was a fairly nice wind blowing right at us. It was an intimidating little hole to look down at and with the wind blowing at us made for a pretty crazy shot.

I decided to hit a solid SW and just crank it up into the wind – hard and high – and watch it free fall from eternity and plug itself a half a foot into the earth in the middle of the green. As could be expected, I swung harder than normal and pulled it left a mile in the air. It crashed down on the left side of a greenside mound. The ground was so dry and hard that the ball was able to hit the mound and roll onto the green and funnel towards the hole. I still was left with about a 20 to 25 foot putt standing well above the hole. I ended up making Par – my only green in regulation on the back 9. Great hole. Fun tee shot.

The back 9 was ugly. My final score was 95 (43-52) – ouch. If there is a sliver of a silver lining in that dark, dark cloud, it was that I did not 3-putt all day. Amen.

One thing I learned and this might have been a very valuable lesson to have learned. I need to have great patience and even greater mental stamina to overcome obstacles such as heat, or a bad hole, slow play, etc. I need to bounce back, refocus and get back to what needs to be done. I need to stay loose and get into the routine as soon as possible - trying to maintain that smooth rhythm that each shot calls for. This might very well be the most important thing I learned during my 2 rounds in the desert. So instead of harping on you, Mr. Desert, for your fatiguing and oppressive heat, perhaps I should thank you for teaching me a good lesson and showing me something I need to work on.

Day 29: PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course

Today we had a tee time at 2:30pm in Palm Springs at PGA West. We were playing the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course (to check out the course click here). The course was looking beautiful and pretty wide open. The golf carts they gave us were incredible. They were electric with a ton of juice and a huge GPS system that gave you a hole flyover as you drove up to the tee box. It gave an aerial view of the hole and showed you the distances to and over trouble.

Let me tell you one thing about playing in Palm Springs on July 23rd - it's hot. I'm pretty sure that I was sweating profusely prior to teeing off on the first hole. The temp must have been around 110 degrees.

I played the first hole like a gem. I drove the ball about 250 in the fairway and hit a wedge about 110 yards to the green. I missed my birdie putt long and tapped in for par. It was a good start to the round. I wish the entire round went that well. By the time I hit the 18th hole, I was completely out of gas. Completely. I think I took a 10 on the final hole. I stopped keeping track of my stats after the 9th hole when I found out that the course on my gps phone progam, golflogix, was a different course than I was playing, so my stats did not coincide with the holes. It showed that I eagled a Par 5 (which I would love to lay claim to) and double bogeyed a Par 3 - which I actually parred both. I believe I shot a 43 on the front - and strung together pars on 8, 9 and 10. But that's about as good as it got. I was fatigued by hole 12, out of gas by hole 15 and one step away from death on hole 18.

However, I drove the ball well on the front 9 and hit 5 greens in regulation. These two facets of the game, if executed, make the game so much easier. My drives and my irons both had a slight fade to them - evidence that I am still swinging on an out to in swing path. I need to continue to work on changing that to an inside to out swing.

It was an absolutely beautiful course. All 3 of us had a great time despite the heat. I would definitely like to come back to this course someday when I get better and make sure not play when it is 110 degrees out.

We are playing a different course tomorrow morning at 7:30am, so I am wondering if the difference in time will make a difference in my energy levels being that it won't be so hot that early in the morning.

Day 28: Chipping and the Sand Trap

I spent today practicing on chipping and taking shots from out of the sand trap. I only had about an hour to practice, so I split equal time on both.

I was great chipping. I was chipping my 14 balls to the short-side and then chip them to the long-side. I used my SW the entire time and was chipping the ball well. I left almost every ball within the 3-foot imaginary circle. So why can I not do this on the course? Tonight, my tempo was smooth and fluid and the balls were jumping off the club head, landing softly and rolling towards the hole. Perhaps I have overcome the yips?!? That would be something. It is 1 of 2 things in my game that is still incredibly shaky.

I could not say the same for my sand game. I was not terrible, but I was by no means good. I practiced putting down the two parallel lines like I did in my lesson. I focused on taking a 1/3 divot behind and a 2/3 divot in front of the ball. However, I was still inconsistent at where my club entered the sand. I will need a lot more time in the sand.

Tomorrow I go to Palm Springs and am excited to play with my pals. We will be playing 2 courses in 2 days. It will be hot, but it will be fun. One of the courses that we will be playing is the Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West. That course has more bunkers than I have ever seen. Great.

Day 27: A Lesson from the Old Pro

I took an impromptu lesson tonight. I did not plan on taking a lesson, but the old, swing coach came over right when I started hitting balls and next thing you know, I was standing in a bunker with him.

Before that, we were driving in his cart over to the bunker zone and he was telling me about compressing the sand against the ball and continued this story as we walked into the bunker. He used an upside down, old persimmon wood as a cane - using the old wooden club head as a knob. I noticed he was walking with an upside down iron in his other hand. He used the two clubs together like one would use a pair of crutches.

He continued to talk to me about the physics behind the sand shot and had me throw some balls from his shag bag into the bunker.

One of the balls landed near his foot and he turned over the iron in his right hand. While he was talked about sand compression, he took a nice, easy, one-handed swing and flopped the ball out of the bunker with the greatest of easy. The ball landed softly and rolled towards the cup. He said, ‘See. It’s as easy as that.’

He wanted me to open my stance a bit with the ball in the middle-front part of the stance. He told me open the face and to approach the ball from the outside and take a divot that was 1/3 behind the ball and 2/3 in front of the ball. He said that if you can do that, you will get the ball out of the bunker 99% of the time.

I was amazed at how fat (behind the ball) I hit each shot. The reason why I need to swing so hard to get the ball out of the bunker is a result of how far behind the ball I was hitting. As I took more and more sand shots, I realized how inconsistently I struck the ball from shot to shot.

He gave me a good drill to practice on working on the necessary swing. Draw two parallel lines about 6 inches apart from one another. Start on the far left side and go down the two lines swinging and starting your divot on that back line and hitting it through to the front line. All you need to do is take a nice, chip swing and swing evenly and steadily through the sand.

It sounds so easy if you have good tempo with your chip swing. This is my biggest problem. I still get ‘yippy’ with my chip swing. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I still get the ‘yips’ with my chips and in the sand and it just kills me. I need to focus almost all of my time from here on out chipping and getting out of the bunker.

After we hit about 40 balls we called it a day. I did not feel as if I was getting any better, however, I did hit a few nice balls out of the sand – but it was not a high percentage.

He watched me drive the ball and wanted me to hit each drive to a different spot - The first one between the first pole on the left and the third pole, the second one between the fifth and the seventh poles, then the third and fifth. He wanted me to focus on making a big, big back turn. During my take-away he would mutter, ‘big, big back turn’. I hit balls like a maniac because I was in a hurry to make it somewhere by 8:00pm.

My drives were okay – they were out there but all had a fade to them. I am so sick of seeing that type of ball flight. I want change now.

All in all, the lesson was okay. I think what was taught in the lesson was invaluable, but I was a little down on my inconsistent ball striking. I am not sure why some of the aspects of have to be so difficult. After some reflection, I came to the realization that it is a long learning process that requires a great deal of practice and repetition. I just need to continue to practice and to try to make the weakest parts of my game stronger – sometimes, it’s a painful process that requires a great deal of patience and perseverance. I do know that I am getting better and that is a good feeling – I just want to be much better, much faster. I am 27 days into my 80 day goal, I realize that I have come a long way, however, I also realize that I have a long, long way to go.

Day 26: Don't forget about me! I'm your putter!

During the round when you are within 100 yards, you need to pick a club and remember the appropriate swing for that particular yardage with that specific club and leave it as close to the hole as possible (or in the hole). Not only do you need to remember, but actually perform it.

My pal and I were talking today and he thought that it was important to vary each shot during wedge practice from 50, 75, 100 and 125 yards - every shot a different yardage with the same club to really get the feel of what swing is needed for each yardage. I think he is right. I think that is very important and when I hit balls tomorrow I will incorporate both rhythm, timing and tempo (the 5th Element) with my wedge at all of those yardages. I think his rationale can also be applied to putting.

So tonight I went over to the Penmar putting green to practice my putting.

During my round on Sunday, I used the putting stroke that I practiced all during my time in China.

In that round, I made some nice putts and I also left a few short that were on line but I did not give it enough juice. All that aside, I needed to practice more on an actual green as it rolls a little differently than on a carpeted hallway in a hotel room.

There was only 1 other guy on the big putting green, so I was able to set up camp with 3 balls and take the putting green pin out. I have come to really dislike putting into that pin in the hole on the practice green.

I rolled putts for about 40 minutes from lengths between 3 feet and 20 feet.

I tossed all 3 balls together in a similar direction after picking them up out of the cup. I would putt from wherever the balls landed - trying to get the necessary touch at the various lengths. I found that I over-read the breaks (leaving the ball on the high side) as I focused more on making solid contact with the ball. The added speed took a lot of break out of the putt.

After my 45 minutes, I felt good about most things putter. However, I realize the need for practicing your putting ad nauseum. If I was a professional golfer, I think I would putt for at least 15~20 minutes every day - perhaps begin and end every day with about a 10-minute session. I am not sure you can ever get too good at anything, let alone your putting. Tonight, I felt that my rhythm was pretty good. I accelerated through the putt - which made me realize that I did not have to bring the putter back as far. The farther I bring my putter back, the higher the propensity I have to push or pull the putt. My shoulders became more involved in the putting stroke when I focused both on my rhythm and accelerating through the putt.

I think on days that I don't hit balls, I will take up a 60-minute practice session that focuses on:
1) 5 minutes of warming-up/stretching
2) 10 minutes of putting
3) 20 minutes of bunker practice
4) 20 minutes of chipping practice
5) 5 minutes of putting to close it out

That sounds like a good practice to me. And because I need more help with this part of my game, I should be doing this practice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - I will then hit balls on Tuesdays and Thursdays. and play a round on either Saturday or Sunday. That sounds like a good strategy - I think it's a plan.

Day 25 - Part II: The Fifth Element - Rhythm, Timing and Tempo

What makes us stare in amazement at a professional golfer’s swing? There is something magical about the way they hit the golf ball that is amazing to the eye. It draws us in and makes us stare, but only for a couple seconds as we then switch our focus to watching the ball fly to its location. We stare at the swing. We watch the ball. Why do we stare at the swing? I have a theory.

For the better part of 90% of professional golfers, their swings are pretty much the same. Some people have funny looking swings (read Jim Furyk) or do a little thing or two slightly differently than others, but for the most part, almost all swings are the same to the half-trained eye.

Now take a look at the way all of your buddies swing. They all swing differently from one another, and all of their results vary, as well. You can’t see yourself, but if you could your swing would probably be a lot different from any other one of your buddies. Most of my buddies swing pretty hard – some of the time the ball is traveling pretty far, but most of the time it doesn’t in relation to how hard they swung.

Why can’t we consistently hit the ball as long and as straight as a professional golfer? 

I know it’s not strength alone (even though today’s professionals are very athletic and fit). I am pretty sure that I could take Tom Watson in a bar-room brawl, but yet he can consistently drive the ball 300 yards straight down the fairway compared to my 250-yard sliced drive. I would never think of doing such a thing to Mr. Watson, but it lamely demonstrates my point:  It is not strength alone that allows a pro to hit the ball so far. If you have the proper body mechanics, you can make the ball travel as far as it needs to go. If you couple proper body mechanics with strength, then the ball goes farther than you necessarily need it to go. Young, wiry Rickie Fowler weighs about 155 pounds and can hit the ball a mile.

In Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons, Hogan mentions the 4 parts of the golf swing – the grip, the set-up, the backswing and the downswing – and that was it. I strongly believe a good (i.e. the professional) golf swing relies on 5 parts. I feel like Hogan does not mention the 5^th and arguably the most important part of the swing – rhythm, timing and tempo.

You can have the 4 points that Hogan mentions in his book, but without the rhythm, timing and tempo, you are left with a swing that is inconsistent and will utilize the wrong muscles at the wrong time in order to make up for what has been lost. This is the world in which the amateur lives. It is a swing that is too choppy, some parts too fast and some too slow, often result in using our arms too much to try and make the ball go far. You need to have that 5^th and crucial element – rhythm, timing and tempo – to take your swing from ‘here’ to ‘there’. I firmly believe that without that final element, there will be a limit in which you will reach. If you play golf and want to hit the ball well and score under par, I believe you need that 5^th element.

Take a look at the way Louis Oosthuizen swings in real time. Here is a good angle of his swing from behind, but it is in slow motion. Please do yourself a favor and find a clip of his swing in real time.

His swing truly is a thing of beauty. It is so fluid and rhythmic – it is something akin to magical. The next time you watch golf on television, watch how smoothly the club goes back and the club comes accelerating forward with such a beautiful rhythm – on every shot. It doesn’t matter if it is from the tee box, a long iron, short iron, chip shot, bunker shot or putt – each shot has its own rhythm to it.

I felt that rhythm, timing and tempo in the bunker and on the chipping green yesterday. That made me think more and more about it today and when I got home I watched golf swings on the Golf Channel and sure enough – every single pro golfer had the same rhythm, timing and tempo with whatever shot it was that they were taking. It is a full commitment at address that in about a half second this machine is not going to stop for about another 10 seconds and those 10 seconds are going to be wild – controlled, yet extremely powerful and balanced - but wild.

We stare at the pro golf swing because they are doing something that we are not doing. They are hitting the ball with a certain rhythm, timing and tempo that we are not swinging with. Granted their mechanics are also much better (which are the 4 lessons in Hogan's book), however we can have the same or similar mechanics as a pro, too - but without the rhythm, timing and tempo, we will always be left with our own swings - for better or for worse.

The next time I play, I am going to think about my own rhythm, timing and tempo and see if I can't make something happen.

Day 25: Chipping & Sand Play – The Rhythm of the Night

Even though I only had two shots from the bunker on Sunday, I still feel like my sand play needs the most improvement. I always hear pros and commentators say how easy it is to hit from the sand and some players will actually aim for some bunkers on particular shots. So why am I such a moron from hitting out of the bunker? I take probably 20% good bunker shots and 80% bad bunker shots. I need to flip-flop that stat pretty quickly.

I also need work on the baby chips - the 15 to 25 foot chip - pins located front, middle and back. I need to learn those shots and be able to pull them off to leave me within 1-putt range. Heck, I want to even make a few of those chips and not even bring out my putter.

With these two things in mind - bunker shots and little baby chips - I went to work giving myself 20 minutes with each part of the game. I set the alarm on my phone to go off after 20 minutes.

Sand Play

It is funny to watch golf videos and read golf magazines that illustrate tips and then you go out and try them, but you still can’t get the same result as the pro does - maybe sometimes, but not with any regularity. You practice and practice and practice, but you just can’t figure it out – until all of a sudden you hit a good shot and realize what it was that you did. Often times, the moment of realization includes either a point mentioned in a pro tip that finally becomes crystal clear or some self-discovery that is made that shows you the correct 'way' and how to hit the shot again and again with good results.

Now, the golf swing is made up of thousands of teeny tiny movements and millimeters and milliseconds and to try and write about the perfect way to hit a golf ball might take a lifetime of explanation. However, the major points are always covered and I have found that my own moments of realization have not come from any video or magazine. You understand and mimic the fundamentals, but in order to make consistent, good results, you need to figure it out for yourself. The difference between ‘getting it’ and not ‘getting it’ might be closer than you might think. I feel that this is what I had just experienced while practicing in the sand trap.

Not one video I ever watched or article I ever read told me to keep a strong right hand through the sand.

It’s as if the right hand pushes the club head through the sand. I always had a strong left hand and the right hand came along for the ride - this led to inconsistent results. However, when I use my right hand to 'steer' the club head through the sand, I find the ball pops out of the bunker with minimal effort - as long as you do not decelerate the speed of the club head.

After 3 sets of hitting 14 balls out of the bunker, my alarm went off.
I felt like this was not enough time spent in the sand, but I will say this: where my shots landed in relation to the hole after my 3rd rotation were a heck of a lot closer to the pin than where those shots landed after my first rotation. Nonetheless, I need more work from the sand - especially in order to gauge my distances.

I also have found out something that is true with all golf swings, but it is most true with the bunker shot and chips - and that is keeping a good rhythm, tempo and timing. I will touch upon this in more detail in a later post, but wanted to mention it here. The better the rhythm, tempo and timing, the better the shot.
As this became more clear to me, I started to think about El Debarge and his celebrated 1985 song, "Rhythm of the Night".



Little Baby Chips
Nothing is more true about having good rhythm to produce a good chip shot.
Based on my round Sunday at Balboa, I found that I have the most trouble with little chips - between 15 and 25 feet with a short-sided pin. So this is what I focused on.

I set my alarm again for 20 minutes and set up shop with my 14 balls positioned about 15-feet away from a tight pin location. As I started to take practice swings, I envisioned the ball back in my stance (almost off my back foot) and a nice steady swing. I kept thinking about having a good rhythm.

After I addressed the ball, I would say to myself 'Little Baby Chip' as I swung back and through the ball. The saying 'Little Baby Chip' is 5 syllables but really about a 3 count. Pretty much the 'Little Baby' part was the back swing and the word 'Chip' happened at impact. By saying this with every chip shot, I developed a nice, consistent rhythm and tempo that produced a good, consistent shot - which I truly believe is the key to a good chip shot.

I moved back to about 20-feet and hit my next set of 14 balls. Then I moved back to about 25-feet for the next 14. I knew my time was nearing its end, so I went back to the 15-foot location and halfway thru that grouping, my time was up.

Even though I only practiced for a total of about 45 minutes, I feel that the quality of the practice was great. However, I did feel like it was short on both the bunker and the chips. Nonetheless, I now have more things to focus on next time I practice pertaining to both aspects of the game. On top of that, I now feel more confident hitting both types of shots even with this little amount of practice.

Day 24: Balboa Revisited - Post-Round Thoughts

One of the things that I remembered from the Couples article in Golf Magazine was that he said that he would take about 10 minutes and think about what happened over the course of the round. So as I was waiting for my car to cool down from that oppressive Valley heat (high 90’s), I thought about what went on during that round - what worked, what didn't work.

1) My irons need work

If I am sitting in the middle of the fairway after my tee shot, the very worst I should make is Par. I need to start aiming for the middle of the greens. Once I become better at my accuracy from the fairway, I will then focus on aiming at the stick – but for now, I should just aim for the middle of the green and try to 2-putt for par. Sometimes, I'm sure I'll stick it close and have a good birdie chance, but by all means, aim for the middle of the green. Focus on making the best shot that will make it safely onto the green given all of the factors - the rough, the lie, the wind, the slope, the hazards, etc. As an aside, three measurements that I have found that I really like is what the yardage is to the front, middle and back of the green. My next round, I will be aiming for the middle of the green with the yardage that puts it to the middle given the factors. I found that during the round, I was more often short than long, so if I am ever in between clubs, I will make sure to club up! 

2) My short game needs lots and lots of work

I took 2 out of a green side bunker, which led to a snowman (aka 8) on the scorecard. I can not say that it ruined my round because I missed at least 5 birdie putts when on in regulation - granted some of those GIRs had me far away from the hole with a putter in my hand.

I also fluffed a couple of chips. Those are fun. It's almost worse when your second chip after your fluffed chip is perfect with a beautiful swing. Why couldn't that happen the first time?

But more importantly, I did not chip it close enough to 1-putt.

If you miss the green in regulation, you need to be able to chip it close and save par. Most holes, I chipped it and although the chip wasn’t atrocious, it still left me out far enough where I did not make the first putt and then tapped in for bogey.

3) My driver was pretty good actually.

Did I hit it as far as I wanted? Not all the time, but my driver did not hurt me today. In the ‘olden days’, my driver used to get me into a lot of trouble, but not anymore (see what I am doing here? I am ridding the old swing from my mind). I will continue to get better with this club. I need to continue to groove in that swing and when I am comfortable with the proper mechanics and solid ball contact, I will add more power. I would like to make my driver swing ‘one louder’.

4) My putting was a little weak

I could use some more oomph in my putting stroke. I relied too much on downhill slope and I left a lot of putts short. However, I did make a couple nice medium length putts with a fair amount of break in them. I feel like I am reading the greens pretty well, but the stroke needs a boost of confidence.

Do I dare say this? My Driver needs the least amount of work at this time.

I am happy to see that focusing on improving something (driving) has paid off, however I have let the other facets of the game go unpracticed.  I need to figure out a routine where I touch on all parts of the game in about 1 hour.

Day 24: Balboa - Rocky-style

I was so excited to play today.

Much like James Brown, I was feeling good.

(Awesome video - and one question, was James Brown a real person?)

I was ready to see if my practice was about to pay off.

I made par on the first hole after hitting a drive down the middle of the fairway with a straight ball flight. Wow. I hit my approach to about 12 feet and proceeded to miss my birdie putt and tap in for par. This game is so easy. So easy.

I was brought back to normal after I bogeyed the 2^nd hole. It was a classic bogey, too. I hit a hybrid to the left side, just off the fairway around 100 yards out, but it was some pretty deep rough. I under-clubbed and left my approach about 15 yards short. I chipped on to the green (not within 3 feet) and 2-putted – classic bogey.

I doubled the 3^rd hole thanks to a lost ball (and an awful lost ball at that after I thought I ‘safely’ punched out to the 200-marker).

I will save everyone (mostly myself) from the agonizing details that went in to shooting a 93, but basically I had about 1 bad shot per hole. It might have been a bad approach, or a bad chip, or a weak putt, but it stems down to basically 1 out of 5 shots each hole was what I would call a ‘bad’ shot – that is, the ball did not do what I had conjured up in my mind.

Something that quite surprised me was that I was most consistent off the tee box. I ended up hitting 10 of 15 fairways. It looks like my practice with my driver is starting to pay off. It's either that or the Sniff n' the Tears song I was singing a couple days ago.

Round Stats:

46 Front / 47 Back – 93 Total

Ended with a 4-putt on the 18th hole after being on in regulation.

GIR – 27.78% - 5 of 18 holes

Made 3 medium range putts (7-14 feet)

35 total putts – 1.94 average per hole

Hit 10 of 15 fairways (66.67% - missed 2 to the left and 3 to the right)

6 Pars, 5 bogeys, 6 doubles, 1 quadruple bogey (ouch)

Day 22 and 23: Driver's Seat

Both days 22 and 23 had me at the range hitting mainly driver.

It made me think of the Netherlands band Sniff n' the Tears 1978 hit tune, Driver's Seat.

I am working out the driver swing and I have made improvements.

Over the course of these two days, I hit what would be equivalent to 3 buckets – I hit 1 large and 1 medium bucket on both days. A lot of people will tell you not to hit a lot of drives in a row for various reasons. I now can see why – it takes a toll on your body (back) and many people try and kill it, so over the course of 30 or more balls, fatigue sets in and body mechanics go to the wayside. However, I was not trying to kill it and just trying to figure out the swing that would leave me hitting the ball well and end with that perfect, balanced finish that you see the pros do on television.

I am hitting the ball left – I just need to always remind myself to ‘stay back’ and let the club come to the ball. When I do that, I hit the ball straight and pretty far.

One thing that I know I have down for sure is my pre-shot routine:

1) I swing the club loosely 3 times consecutively like a pendulum – paying close attention to bringing that club back on plane, torquing my right hip and coming thru on that same plane with an inside out swing path and turning my wrists over at impact. I think of the bag drill from earlier posts when I do this. It’s a good little routine to get your body loosened up.

2) I pick out a spot, a specific spot, in the distance. It might be the 100-yard marker in the distance – even if that 100-yard marker is 350 yards away – or a specific tree or anything and aim for that spot.

3) I put my club down behind the ball and gauge my proximity to the ball – if I can reach the ball when I lean forward a little bit, I know that I am at the right distance from the ball. I used to stand so much further away from the ball, but realized that promoted too much reaching, jumping, casting and all resulting in inconsistent contact. This was a major reason why I never knew what ‘guy’ would show up at the tee box – the guy who drives the ball fairly decent (10% of the time) or the guy who slices, hooks and pops-up drives (90% of the time).

4) I bring my feet together with the line between your feet forming a straight line all the way to the ball.

I turn my left foot out about 30 degrees (only by twisting my heel) and bring my right leg back so my feet are a little more than shoulder width apart. I have been taking more of a closed stance (placing my right foot behind my left foot) in an effort to keep my shoulders and hips more squarely pointed at the target (vs. opening my stance which opens my hips and shoulders to the target and causes me to come across the ball and promotes that beloved slice).

5) I put the club about 8 inches behind the ball, bend my knees a bit and look back at my specific target. All this time, I am adjusting my arms and getting my bearings by making the slight adjustments (aka the ‘waggle’). I am calling on memory and body to visualize what is needed in order to move all those body parts and end it with a nice, balanced finish. I last think I think to myself in this stage is 'keep your head behind the ball at impact'. This saying makes me tilt my spine back about 20 degrees and reminds me the rest of the way to stay behind the ball and sweep up on it. It is total muscle-memory recall at its finest.

6) Once I am all set, I make sure that before I start to take the club back, I am completely motionless in the perfect position – having great posture at address.

All of this takes about 20 seconds. I should actually have someone time me to see how long it actually does take. I have seen players complain about Ben Crane who is ‘working on it’ and still takes around 46 seconds. I know mine is not that long but I would like to be aware of it because nothing is worse than playing with a slow player. I am sure that the more you play, the faster you would get going from 'a' to 'b' in your pre-shot routine, but at the same time there is a natural rhythm to the way we do things, especially those things we do with any type of routine behind it. If someone timed you in the shower every day for a year, you would probably find out that you take relatively the same length of shower every day. So if you took a 5 minute shower everyday, there is a high likelihood that your showers are probably between 4 minutes and 55 seconds and 5 minutes and 5 seconds. Some days you might take a longer shower, but rarely do you take a shorter one. You throw out the rare long ones and you are probably left with an eerily spooky number that is exactly the same amount of time spent in the shower each day down to the second. But I digress.

After those 6 steps, my focus moves towards the swing (i.e. the take-away) – where I concentrate on taking the club back smoothly in conjunction with my arms, shoulders and hips all on the same, correct plane. I firmly believe that if you have made it to this point perfectly – from taking your driver out of your bag to the point in which you are bringing the club back per above, then you will have good odds of hitting the ball and seeing a good result.

And so it goes. I look forward to seeing how I hit them on the course.

Day 21: Back in the US and Back on the Course

I got back into Los Angeles around 2pm after about 25 hours of travel. I worked as long as I could before collapsing around 4:45pm. I slept for about an hour and a half and woke up refreshed and time for the Twilight rate at Penmar.
As soon as I checked in, I was up at the tee.

Hole #1 - Par 4 (Overall Score: Even)
I hit a solid 6-iron off the tee about 175 that left me on the left side of the fairway with a 110 yards in.
I played a soft cut with my pitching wedge that landed just past the cup and rolled to the back fringe.
I got to play my 8-iron China-practiced chip shot and rolled it to about 2 feet which allowed me to make Par.

Hole #2 - Par 4 (-1)
I smoked a 3-iron from the tee about 210 that even I was surprised by the shot - it was a gentle draw that ended up in the middle of the fairway. This left me about 110 to the middle of the green but the pin was located closer to the back, but the back edge of the green was only about 130.
I hit a nice 75% pitching wedge that landed pin high and rolled about 10 feet past the hole.
With my China-inspired Jack Nicklaus putting stroke, I rolled in a birdie.
I felt fantastic.

Hole #3 - Par 3 (-1)
The pin was in the middle of the green with the tee box up - the hole playing about 130 yards.
I pulled my wedge a wee bit and was found about 20 feet from the stick on the edge of the rough.
I used the 8-iron chip that left me about 3 feet and made the putt for Par.
I am loving the new chip!

Hole #4 - Par 4 (-1)
I hit a 6-iron to the right side that took a bounce right into the right leaving me about 125 out.
I hit a hard wedge right at the hole that hit pin high and had no back spin coming out of the rough - rolling off the green to the rough in back.
Once again, I hit my 8-iron wedge that left me about a 5 foot straight putt that I made for Par.

Hole #5 - Par 3 (Even)
I pushed my 5 iron to my right - bad swing - too much arms, no body/hips - old swing coming back to haunt.
I used my 60 degree and the ball landed around the hole and rolled past then off the green.
Used the 8-iron wedge that left me to tap in range for a bogey 4.
Mind you - 5 straight one putts - amazing.

Hole #6 - Par 4 (+1)
Terrible driver tee shot - got a hold of the ball but sliced the hell out of it - just disheartening.
I did not use the set-up or mechanics that I had learned previously - awful.
I was about 200 out, but in and around trees. I punched a 5-iron through the trees which left me about 40 out. I then flew a 60 degree that flew deep on the green about 25 feet from the pin.
I then 2-putted for another straight bogey - that's what happens when you don't hit the fairway.

Hole #7 - Par 4 (+2)
I hit a low stinger with my Driver that had a curve on it, but somehow landed in the middle of the fairway about 170 out. I crushed a 6-iron that landed in the right rough - deep rough about 30 feet from the pin.
I used my 60 degree and got under the ball - just popping it up and the ball traveled 10 feet - ouch.
Note to self: In green side deep rough, I need to use a sand wedge, pitching wedge or even a 9-iron to get that ball onto the green and roll to the hole.
I then had a fairly tight lie near the edge of the fringe in the first cut - which I again went to the 60 degree. I hit the ball flush and left my ball about 6 feet from the cup and drained the putt for my third straight bogey - sonuvabeach! I need to get back on track!

Hole #8 - Par 3 (+2)
The hole was playing about 146 according to my Golf Logix gps program on my phone.
I hit a nice 9-iron that landed pin high and left me about 10 feet away from the cup.
I rolled my birdie putt past the cup (over read the break) and tapped in for par - felt good to get back on track.

Hole #9 - too dark to tee off, so the round ended and I headed back to the clubhouse.

So in summary:
I played better then I have ever played at this course.
I have had more pars in the past, but I did not have any blow-ups and the quality of the shots were much better than ever. I see improvement which feels great. I still need to get the Driver working. That is still the area that I need the most help in, but that's okay - just need to focus on that in ensuing days.

Stats:
Holes Played: 8 (+2) - Overall Score 30 (Par 28)
Birdies: 1 (first one of the summer)
Pars: 4
Bogeys: 3
Putts: 10 (6 1-putts, 2 2-putts, 0 3-putts)

Days 17 thru 20: China Hotel Room Putting & Chipping

In the August issue of Golf Magazine, there is a good 2 page instruction on putting by the games premier putting expert, Marius Filmalter where he states that keeping your right elbow tucked in like Jack Nicklaus gives you a perfect path every time. Marius states that the position of the right elbow used by Nicklaus and others is something he see over and over again in good putting strokes.

He goes on to state in the article that he sees a lot of amateurs trying to power their putting stroke with their arms – causing them to move their right elbow out and away (a la the ‘chicken wing’) – losing the right elbow/torso connection and resulting in the putter rising up off the ground making it difficult to strike the ball squarely. Elbow separation is not a good thing and also happens when you try to bring the putter straight back and through.

So how do you fix the ‘chicken wing’ right elbow?

Marius says, ‘When you set up, keep your arms close by resting both elbows against the sides of your torso. As you take the club back, use more shoulders than arms, and keep your right elbow tucked…As you start your forward-stroke, maintain that right-elbow connection all the way to your finish. By pinning your right elbow like this you’re in better position to trace the correct path back to the ball and into your release which should start the ball on the line you intended. http://www.golf.com/golf/video/article/0,28224,2000008,00.html

When I finally got to China and checked into my room, I found that I had a great hallway to practice. I set a rocks glass 18 inches from the door and counted off 10 feet. I placed a ball sleeve at that 10-foot mark, so I would always know where my 10 foot mark was.

Below is a photo of my 10-foot path.

The lower left portion of the photo shows the ball sleeve marking the 10 foot mark. The five balls near the door surround the rocks glass which is being used as the cup. I laid a hand towel down at the foot of door, so when I go long, the neighbors wouldn't have to hear the 'clank'.

I had 5 balls, so I took 100 chips with my 8-iron (the Leadbetter way, more of a bump-and-run) and 100 putts with my elbow in.

I was consistent with the chips and found out that I needed to aim about 1 cup right of the hole as there was a little break the last foot to the hole.

Here are 2 pictures of one of my 5-ball chips.

Here is a close-up to show you the actual proximity to the hole.

As you can see by the close-up, all are within tap-in range.

I also found out that I really liked the putting stroke with the right elbow tucked in. It is much more of a shoulder swing and I found that I got into a groove where I was really striking the ball well after about 25 putts. I look forward to trying this new stroke out on the course.

So the long and the short of it is this, every morning and night I took about 100 to 150 putts and 100 to 150 chips in between emails for 4 days. I became interested in how close I could get my first ball as that would be very indicative of what would happen on a course when presented with that same shot. By Wednesday night (Day 4), I hit the cup with my first chip and ran it slightly passed the cup with my first putt.

Day 16: Travel Day

Day 16 was spent on a plane.
I left Los Angeles at 6:30am on Saturday morning and arrived in China on Sunday night, so Saturday was completely lost due to travel.
However, I am now in China and see that my 8-iron and Putter have arrived safely!

Day 15: Day Off Physically, but not Mentally

I did not practice today as I had to be home by 6pm for my girlfriend’s birthday party that was starting at 7pm. This was the second day in 15 that I did not have a club in my hands.

However, I got to talking to her boss’s boyfriend about golf at the party.

He’s a good shooter and told me that when he changed his swing last year, he went from a 3.5 handicap to a 7.0 – he also said that he went from never hitting a shank off the tee in 30 years to hitting about 40 during his learning period with his new swing. I could only image how difficult it must be for a 50-year old guy shooting in the mid-70’s to change his swing after 30 years and suffer the inconsistencies that it takes in order to groove in a new swing.

That gave me hope that what I was doing was the right thing to do. Not that I did not fully believe that what I was doing was right, but stories like this help to reinforce that what I am going through can be frustrating, painstaking, introspective, but rewarding in the end.

I was interested to hear him talk about how far he hits his irons. His 8-iron is my PW (130 yards). This fact told me that it isn’t about how far you hit the ball, but how you get up and down that contributes to your score.

I was also interested to hear that he hits a ‘natural fade’. I have heard this term come up more and more recently in the past week. Michele Wie hits a ‘natural fade’, as does Fred Couples.

In the August issue of Golf Magazine, Mike Chwasky interviews Couples in the magazine’s lead story. Couples imbues so many words of wisdom throughout the article. Couples says that when he was playing his best, he was hitting a very hard fade. But as he got older, he started hitting a draw as it was easier on his body. The article is fantastic. I reference what I think are some of the highlights below.

Couples on Putting:

‘Putting is the hardest thing in golf – if you can’t read a putt, you don’t have much of a chance.’

Couples on Practice:

‘I think it’s important to hit a fair amount of practice shots, but not with the driver every time…You’ll groove your swing much better with a mid-iron than a driver. If you can hit your 5 or 6-iron well, you should be able to drive it well.’

Couples on Power and Tempo:

‘In the modern game the long hitters will always be the best. Length is a huge deal now.’

‘I think a lot of amateurs hold the club too tight. The tighter you hold anything, the slower you’ll be. You really need to be soft and supple to create clubhead speed and power. When I am at address, you could walk up and take the club out of my hands easily. That’s how softly I hold it.’

‘If you want to improve your power, you need to work on your swing – that’s the best way to learn to swing harder.’

‘My tempo goes along with my relaxed approach to my grip and setup. When I take the club away, I just think about making a good backswing. I definitely don’t muscle up in preparation for a big drive, I just try and stay relaxed. Then the split second before impact, I try to hit it as hard as possible. It might not look like I’m putting a lot of effort into it, but I am – it’s just that my body is free of tension. After that, I let the club go completely and it naturally folds into a relaxed finished position.’

I think those words of wisdom from a true professional are priceless.

I need to really concentrate on being nice and relaxed at the set-up, making a good backswing and have that moment of power just before impact and then relax again into a nice easy follow through. I think those might be the words to live by when standing at the tee box. Thank you, Mr. Couples. You have always been one of my favorites to watch play golf.

Tomorrow, I leave for China for 5 days. I took and extra large bag with me that would fit my putter and my 8-iron. I also packed 5 balls and plan on practicing in my hotel room.

After 3-putting those last few holes last Sunday which kept me from being in the 80’s, this time spent putting and chipping with my 8-iron will be very much welcomed. 

Day 14: Driving Miss Daisy

I was really excited to get back after watching the video from yesterday.

I started using that bag drill from Mr. Watson from a few posts ago to promote the inside out golf swing before I hit balls. Its a great drill to feel the right hip extension/tension which tells you that you are at the top of your swing. It's an incredible feeling - at that point (the point in which your right hip is fully torqued, your back is fully facing the target, your chin is hitting your left shoulder, your arms are as far as they will go back which makes the club parallel to the ground - and then you just pull the whip around through the ball. Again, its an amazing feeling. I have heard pros talk about 'coiling' and 'uncoiling' with their driver - but I am feeling it with every swing, driver or iron. And it is good to start off with the bag drill to get that feeling. I will do this drill before every round to get that feeling.

I got a bucket and warmed up with my 8-iron. After I was good and loose, I pulled out the Driver.

Based off of yesterday, today I wanted a balanced finish - this shows that you had good mechanics through the swing. I also was not going to let my left cheek pass my marker about 4 inches behind the ball. I was not going to 'cast' my hands and I was not going to jump at the ball.

When I focused on these things coupled with a balanced finish, I was surprised at how less I needed to move my body to get a good result. Trying not to lean into or 'go after' the ball is a hard habit to break. Nonetheless, I was hitting the ball pretty darn good with my Driver. Once I got into a swing rhythm, I started to hit more balls straight, some balls left and very rarely hit one with a slice. Sometimes I would fall into too much of a mindless routine and break down and 'go after' a ball and every time I did that the slice would rear it's ugly head.

I was also surprised to see that the less hard I swung coupled with good body mechanics produced the best results. It would be a nice balanced finish as while watching the ball on its straight flight down the range. If the back flag is actually 239, I am flying my ball to about that spot and then with a roll I would be no less than 250 if not more with a big, long roll. I will take that all day. If I could hit that shot every time I pulled out my driver, I would be a happy, happy man. I know that once I get my mechanics grooved in, then I can add power. I am still far from that point. However, I was very fired up about the way I hit the driver. I have said that only but 1 or 2 times in my life. I am actually excited to pick that club up the next time and look forward to hitting it. I think I am feeling confident enough to say that with 66 days remaining, I will get better and better with my Driver to the point that it will help me on the golf course and not hurt me. It will give me a feeling of pleasure, rather than utter disgust. And that alone, might be worth this entire exercise.

After my bucket, I saw I had 12 minutes until the hour, so I grabbed two balls from my bag and my putter. I took a few 3 to 5 footers and was rolling them pretty well - nice and firm. I moved it out to 6, 8 and 10 feet and was making more than my fair share with the same solid stroke.

I then thought about how important it was to hit every putt firmly. If I am going to miss, I would like to miss past the hole, not short of the hole - even if it means going 2 feet past - 'At least it had a chance' - I know we have all said it before, but I now know the importance of that saying. The better I get at reading the break and hitting my line with a solid stroke, them more balls that are going to go in. Rocket Science. I know it sounds silly, but sometimes I think you have to have these realizations in order to take advantage of them and get better.

Correctly reading the break and correctly hitting along the line with a solid stroke will result in more made putts.

I finished on an ultimate high note that made me smile. I kicked the 2 balls out to about 20 or 25 feet and made both of the putts - firmly into the back of the cup. I felt like that was the perfect time to call it a day. Happy about my Driver and happy about draining those putts. A great day of practice.

I am making progress - I can feel it and see it.

Day 13: Driving Inconsistencies Continue

So the bag drill that I learned last night served me well as I warmed up with my irons today.
And the casting enlightenment helped a little bit when I took out the driver.
I was still inconsistent, however I hit a lot more drives dead left.
I think I am over swinging.
I need to learn how to swing my Driver and end with a nice, balanced finish - like I do with my irons.
I also need to focus on an inside-out swing path.
When Eric, the old swing coach, saw me hit a few balls, he had me think about that path - when I did, I hit it straight. As soon as Eric would leave, I would start hitting a pull-hook, a slice, a pop-up, some straight - you name it.
Even though I am not casting anymore, I still feel like I am 'jumping' at the ball.
I need to come to be completely still at address, keep my center of gravity behind the ball, swing up on the ball and strive for a nice balanced finish.
I found this great video by Rob Bernard that shows exactly what I think I am doing wrong and how I can fix it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnopJFvTa3Q&feature=related

NEVER LET THE LEFT CHEEK PASS THE GOLF BALL.

Eric also wants me to take a lesson with the Driver when I come back from Asia.
I think that might not be a bad idea.

The good news is that I feel like I have found the problem. Now, I just have to figure out the solution and groove it in. I have 67 days remaining and I must have patience.

Day 12: Driver, Driver and more Driver

Today I went to the range and hit a bucket of balls with the Driver.
I was upset by the way I regressed from Saturday to Sunday in the consistencies of my drives.
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of straightening out my drive, I had a round from the rough.

As usual,  I warmed up by stretching then hitting about 20 balls with an 8-iron to loosen out the kinks.
I then hit about 25 drives all pretty inconsistent. Some good, but mostly bad.
I did not hit 2 of the same shots in a row - that inconsistent.
A couple looked alike, but for the most part, all snowflakes.

I then hit a few wedges - PW and 60-degree - then back to the Driver.
I started to hit a few better balls when I went into a particular routine of: checking my feet, taking my grip, stepping back with the back foot, straightening out my hands with the club shaft and making it as if one was an extension of the other and formed a line and tilting my spine to the right about 20 degrees. I then took the club back on that same plane and tried to have the same plane on my downswing thru impact while staying back on the ball throughout. I proved to be good about 30% of the time. I was not comfortable with the swing plane - it felt a little too upright and stiff. However, I thought 'hey this is new and gave some good results, so maybe I will get used to it.' I finished the session and took down those notes.

I was not happy with my day at the range knowing that I did not solve the problem.
When I got home, I started doing some research.
I found out one of my problems: casting.
Casting is caused by shifting your hands forward in the transition from your back swing to your down swing causing you to go 'over-the-top' and 'outside-to-in' - creating the dreaded slice.
The term makes complete sense because the motion looks like you are casting a line with a fishing pole.
I found this incredible video pertaining to Casting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo3kKuIJnMQ&NR=1&feature=fvwp

I also found this drill from John Watson which was fantastic about promoting an 'inside-to-out' swing plane with your golf bag:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGRLdtDL-Uw&NR=1

After watching these two videos, I ran to my trunk and grabbed my clubs.
I have a spot in the courtyard where I can set up my golf bag and take a full swing.
I first tried it with my 8-iron and tried to focus on not casting and using an inside-to-out swing path.
I loved the feel of that swing and it definitely was not the swing I was using for my irons or my Driver. My iron swing has come close to that swing, but definitely not my Driver swing.

What I was able to do was come back on the plane and stretch my hips with my back at the target.
Then I could look back and see my shadow, but more importantly my body position.
I would then fire through on the same plane (aware of NOT casting) with my downswing avoiding the bag with that nice inside-to-out swing.
I really felt what is meant by using your body to create that club head speed.
When I was torqued up at the top of my swing, the more I fired my hips, the more my shoulders, arms and club wanted to come along for the ride. The faster I rotated my hips and swung those shoulders through, the louder that club sounded cutting through the air.
I must have taken 75-100 cuts - just getting down the feeling of that swing.
I then took a little break to stretch it out and take out the driver.
Doing the same drill, I just kept going back and forth, back and forth - firing that club head through on that good swing path and not casting.
The driver made an even greater sound as it cut through the air.
Now, I think now...I know what it feels like to swing the club correctly with the correct body mechanics.
It feels amazing and powerful.

I will do this drill before every bucket of balls I hit for the rest of my life.

Day 11: Rancho Park

When my gal told me she had to run some errands, it opened up the door to play again.

I went to Rancho Park as a single and got on right away.

The good news is: I shaved 2 strokes (shot a 91) - 11 strokes to go.

The bad news is: I was terrible off the tee box today - I regressed from yesterday.

I need to stay behind the ball and use my upper body more and my lower body less.

The other bad news was was that I was on in regulation the last 4 holes and only made par on 1 (I 3-putted 3 out of the 4 holes).

Despite being so poor off the tee box, I managed to scramble pretty darn well.

I was 9 over on the back (1 double, 7 bogeys and 1 par).

I only hit 3 of 14 fairways (just awful). However, the 3 fairways I did hit were really nice drives.

I was on in regulation 5 of 18 holes.

I putted like garbage - only had a single 1-putt and averaged over 2 putts a hole with those lovely 3 putts coming down the stretch.

I am right around bogey golf and that needs to change - starting with a good week of practice starting tomorrow thru Friday.

Day 10: Encino

I played with a pal at 6:00am on the 4th of July at Encino.
The long and the short of it was that I shot a 93 from the blue tees.
I need to shave 14 strokes from my game - that's the challenge.
The other challenge is that everything needs to get better.
I hit 8 out of 14 fairways (57.14%) - missing only 1 left and 5 right - so the slice is still in existence, however I drove the ball pretty well.
I was only on in regulation 2 out of 18 holes (11.11%), so that needs help.
I took 35 putts (1.94 average) and did not make any long putts.
I still gave away a lot of strokes around the greens, however I did not 3-putt all day.
I had 2 triple bogeys - both on long par 3's - I tried to kill my tee shots and it got me into trouble, not once but twice.
Nonetheless, I enjoy that I have a benchmark and I need to shave 14 strokes.

Day 9: Rest

Today was the first day that I did not swing a club...more to come later!

Day 8: Iron-man

Today was a day for the irons.

When I look back on the previous 7 days, I realized that I have not hit a bucket of balls with my irons yet.

Anytime I hit a bucket of balls, I warm up by stretching for about 4-5 minutes.

After stretching, I like to swing by holding 2 clubs (3 iron and 4 iron) together and take nice, easy swings - maybe 20 or 30 of them - just to get everything moving - hips, shoulders, back, arms, legs - everything.

When I feel that I am pretty loose, I put my 4 iron away, grab my 8 irons and proceed to lay my 3 iron on the mat pointed at a target 150 yards out - this allows me to line up my feet properly. I have had a real problem in the past by having an open stance which made me come over the top of  the ball a lot giving me that 'lovely' slice. By keeping my feet aligned, it helps me to make sure that my feet are perfectly lined up with my target line. Another problem with classic slicers such as myself is having my shoulders open at address which points me very left of my target line. I have been making a conscious effort to square up my left shoulder to my target. Both of these things were tough to do in the beginning - as you felt like you are going to hit the ball so far right, but after a while you get used to the timing and confidence of pointing 'right' - when in actuality you are pointed straight at your target - the way you should be.

I  take pretty slow and deliberate swings for the first 3 balls - just to get loose and get the feel of what I am trying to do - kind of like waking up my golf muscles a bit - and to make sure that I am hitting the ball squarely. After that, I start firing away.

Today, I felt good from the get go. I started hitting balls with a nice 5-yard draw. Because I am taking my hands, arms and club - all together - away on a plane, it is making me come back to the ball from the inside - the result is a ball, when well struck, having a nice draw to it. I did notice that when I am not fully warmed up, that I tend to try and hit the ball harder. After 20 balls, I grabbed my PW and try to hit the 100 yard marker. This gets me more into the rhythm of the swing. After hitting a couple 100 yard PW, I try to hit a 130 yard marker (my full PW) somewhere out there. I then go back to my 8 iron with that same 100 yard PW swing and really start hitting the ball well - I don't over swing.

Then I took my 5 iron, widen my stance a little (more like shoulder width or a little more apart) and made a conscious effort to take that nice easy swing and the result was a well hit ball traveling about 180 yards. As soon as I tried to hit the ball harder, I was all over the place. So I got back to that 'happy swing' - firm, not hard - and everything fell back into place.

I played around with my PW, SW and 60-degree. Something that helps me with my aim a lot is zeroing in on a specific spot that I am trying to hit - not a general area, but a specific spot. It helps me with my concentration and execution.

Something I paid no attention to - which was very bad of me - was seeing if my chin was hitting my shoulder.

I felt like I was aware of the fact that I was turning my shoulders more which was putting my back more at the target, but I was not aware if my chin was hitting my left shoulder at the top of my back swing. Next time I hit my irons, I have to be aware of that.

It was a good day hitting balls. I look forward to the next time.