Day 1,367 - Continual Quest for Improvement

It's been almost 4 years since I set out on the quest to break 80 in 80 days. Although I did not reach my goal in that time period, I have broken 80 about a dozen time since then. Every time it happens, it feels satisfying; however, it does not take long to think about all the shots you left out on the course in that particular round.

When I started on the path to try and break 80, I was a 23 handicap. As I type this, my handicap index is listed as 9.7. That is about 13 shots better a round today then when I started four years ago, so I guess that is something to be proud of. I have some good rounds and some bad rounds and the rest are what I would call very pedestrian - in the low to mid-80's.

It has been 1,367 days since my quest to break 80 in 80 days ended. However, my quest for improvement has not ended. On Saturday, I recorded the lowest round of my life - a 74 (+2). Not only was it the lowest score I ever posted, but also the 'cleanest'. I had 4 bogeys, 2 birdies and 12 pars - and both sides of the course were pretty much identical: 2 bogeys and 1 birdie going out and the same coming back in. When I look back on that round (Saturday, June 7), I can only recall 3 shots that I would like to have back: the first was a missed putt from about 2 feet and the other two were both 3-woods from the fairway (both 2nd shots from the fairway on Par 5's). The putt I missed was my lone 3-putt - of which I hit the fairway off the tee, hit the green with my approach and missed my first putt a little long and then missed the 2 foot comebacker for a 3-putt bogey. Awful. On both of my 3-wood shots, I was quick in the transition and armsy/handsy at the bottom. I smothered the first and pushed the second off the toe - neither got me in much trouble and in both cases, I ended up making par. Nonetheless, I could have and should have been near the green or pin with a look at eagle on both shots. Instead, I had to wedge on and two putt.

My deficiencies lie in greenside bunkers and pitching the ball. My irons can be great or they can be bad and I struggle with a case of the shanks from time to time. I would have to say that the best parts of my game are driving from the tee and chipping. My putting comes and goes, but more often than not, I two putt - regardless of the distance from the pin on my first putt. And I have way more 1 putts than I have 3 putts, so all in all, I am fairly satisfied with my putting. I have noticed a strange correlation in that the more greens in regulation I hit, the more putts I will take over the course of a round. I used to shoot higher scores with lesser putts. Now, I shoot lower scores with more putts - so, I guess the secret to going really low is having a high percentage of GIRs coupled with a low number of putts. Someday.

When I started out 4 years ago, I stated that I suffered from a slice on 90% of my drives. Today, I fight a nasty hook. However, I am beginning to hit draws and fades when I want and nothing gives me greater satisfaction than pulling off the shot I want, when I want. My biggest problem lies in the fact that after almost 4 years, I still do not have a swing that golfers would call 'grooved' - namely with my irons. Having said, I still am not good from the greenside bunker (no bunkers around to practice) or with my pitching (no grass ranges around to practice). On days that I shoot a low score, everything works and I feel that I have figured it out. On days that I shoot a high score, nothing works and I feel as if I have no idea how to swing a club. The highs are so high and the lows are so low. I guess the only thing that I have really learned over 4 years is that in order to play well, you need:
1) To be tension free everywhere (no unruly tension in your hands, wrists, arms, shoulders) - especially in the hitting area
2) Great rhythm/tempo (leisurely back swing and smooth transition all the way to a balanced finish)
3) The body and arms to work together (let the big muscles do the heavy lifting - never, ever swing with your hands - especially from the top).
4) Avoid eating a hot dog at the turn

So, I will focus on these 4 things as I continue the process of improvement. My new goal is to break par before my birthday (September 13 / 95 days / about 12-13 rounds). I really believe that I can do it - as I thought I was going to, at least, shoot even par on Saturday - but in order to reach this new goal, it is going to take getting better at all facets of the game: My driver is in a good place, my irons need more consistency (finding the groove/slot), my pitching and greenside bunker play need a lot of work and my chipping and putting could both use one or two notches of improvement.

So here we go again!

New Year / Re-invigoration

January 2, 2014

I have always had a problem with swinging with my arms and releasing the club head early - not maximizing club head speed, lag, etc., so I have been concentrating on getting my hands in front of the ball at impact.

Martin Chuck - one of my favorite online teachers - has a great drill pertaining to keeping your hands ahead at impact while using your body pivot to square up the club face (not your hands).
Here is Martin's video:


I have never been a great pitcher of the ball. I often hit is fat, or thin, but most often fat.
I have been searching for quite awhile and have come up empty on most occasions. I unknowingly got caught fanning the face wide open and trying to manipulate the club back to square with my hands.

As I watched this video and started taking cuts, I realized how much the body squares up the club face automatically when you pivot (or turn) correctly. Ben Hogan states that you need to trust your body and arms and not your hands to do the work. I now know what this means.

So after I hit a couple hundred balls using the small swing, I started to blend that feeling into a full swing and could tell that my ball compression was getting much better.

Because I used to be so 'handsy' with the swing, I never felt comfortable with opening the face of the golf club on my take-away as that would lead to making it more difficult to close on the way down - and would lead to high, lame fades and not having my hands in a good place (ahead of the ball) at impact. So I used to go back very 'shut' like Steve Stricker and the swing felt mechanical and not fluid.

However, this drill allows you to have (what I feel) as an 'open' club face and once you feel that ever so vulnerable feeling of having the club face open at the top of the swing, it forces your to square up the club face by using your pivot in order to square up the club face. The end result is that (1) the club stays in front of your body more and (2) once you pivot, your hands stay ahead of the ball at impact.

This might be the big breakthrough I needed in order to pitch the ball with better results, as well as deliver a more solid blow to the golf ball with my irons by having my hands ahead at impact.