How's your game!

dan_ep82

Out today in Navan with the brother, both of us are a bit under the weather so it was an experience to say the least.

Had a melt down on two holes and ended up with triple on a par 4 and then 4 over on another otherwise it was bogey with the odd par. Its the first time in a long time I seen the dreaded 8 on a score card.

Couldn't hit an iron to save my lift for a few holes or the driver.

Played another 9 and things looked up. Bombing the driver down the straight, good 3wood and 5woods off ground, irons came back somewhat just not where I'd like them to be.

Oh,did I mention the 50km gusts? It was fun hitting a 4i from 150ft out lol

Rikand

dan_ep82 wrote: »

Oh,did I mention the 50km gusts? It was fun hitting a 4i from 150ft out lol

4i - 150 FEET ?

Sounds like the gusts were a lot stronger than 50km

dan_ep82

Rikand wrote: »

4i - 150 FEET ?

Sounds like the gusts were a lot stronger than 50km

They were at times, a few where the ball got knocked off the tee and enough to tip over our bags a few times

* Ah, yards,not feet lol

charlieIRL

Ohh good god, talk about going back to the drawing board! Had a lesson tonight with Niall from progolf in athlone. Went to the range to pracfice only cause I can't go again before friday and he was there. Only things I was doing right was grip and swing tempo (he actually said I had an excellent consistent swing tempo) but everything else was all over the place!!! Thankfully basics were sorted very quickly and it clicked back into place so just to practice this again. Was leaning over the ball too much, swinging in to out too much, weight transfer wrong etc. Disheartening to hear this after you creamed 5 balls down the middle to show him where your swing is at! But still after swing feels alien but balls going straighter and longer so have to stick with it this time.

Keano

charlieIRL wrote: »

Ohh good god, talk about going back to the drawing board! Had a lesson tonight with Niall from progolf in athlone. Went to the range to pracfice only cause I can't go again before friday and he was there. Only things I was doing right was grip and swing tempo (he actually said I had an excellent consistent swing tempo) but everything else was all over the place!!! Thankfully basics were sorted very quickly and it clicked back into place so just to practice this again. Was leaning over the ball too much, swinging in to out too much, weight transfer wrong etc. Disheartening to hear this after you creamed 5 balls down the middle to show him where your swing is at! But still after swing feels alien but balls going straighter and longer so have to stick with it this time.

Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.
- Ben Hogan

redzerdrog

I haven't as much as a swung a club in over 4 month and even at the that the last month before the break I was playing some of the worse golf I ever played. I am due to play Greenore on Saturday and I am in two minds if I should torture myself my going to the range tomorrow evening first

FixdePitchmark

Real bad day, on the greens and around them.

I was on or on edge of the 2-3-4-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-17-18. And ended up with 28 pts - just a shocker for up and downs and putting was embarrassing.

Made 1 putt on 2 for Birdie.

So have a serious issue with putting at this stage. Changing putter again this week and changing grip too - anything to just get me out of this thing I'm in.

Sad in a way - as I'm playing as well as I have ever played with driver and irons - I was even able to punch, draw, fade on demand for certain shots.

You sort of leave feeling - I can't hit the ball any better - but can't score any worse.

The only positive is - I'm not losing the head on the course, losing bottle - I'm enjoying the game still. It is nice that part of the game is good - I just can't get the ball in the hole.

spacecoyote

Out for the captain's drive in at grange castle today. Was a 14 hole 4 ball mixed rumble.

Played really well off the tee, felt I was striking as well as ever. Hit 9/11 fairways, mostly 3 woods, but I wasn't losing any distance relative to my playing partners hitting driver.

Some longer irons were a little pushy when I was trying to hit too hard, but was getting a nice flight on them when I dialled them in a little.

Short game & putting was solid, made some good up & downs when necessary. Didn't hole many long putts but lagged well.

Feel like I'm getting towards being in the right place with my game. Have credit still for 2 more lessons, almost dont want to use them now, but I'm committed to getting the swing bang on right

mafc

Game is solid at the moment, Driving is consistent, 3/5 wood solid, 7 iron down is good. Chipping well & manage to get up and down more often than not. Putting well, never feel like I'm going to 3 putt although occasionley I do. Just need to concentrate more on the scoring irons & maybe more aggressive with birdie putts.

dan_ep82

A bit erratic at the moment, it changes from day to day.

Yesterday myself, the brother and a friend new to the game went out to Moor Park. We didn't take it too seriously so not my best scores (90 gross) although I got two birdies and was on for an Eagle once. That being said I had two triples.

Within the first 3 months of playing I noticed a massive improvement in my game, then a lull and again a bit of a jump lately. While looking back over some of my old data I realised both me and the brother have been hitting more fairways but losing a lot of distance off the tee.

We're happy with it as our scores have came down a lot from hitting fairways instead of OOB but we'd like to bring up our average drives with some consistency. On all the par 4's and 5's yesterday we had mini driving comps using the GPS shot measure mode to check.

In the end we found our recent average drives were going 200-220 yds carry which felt quite poor compared to our drives early on in the beginning of our "career". So we put as much into the drives as we could while still having some tenuous control yesterday. Averages we're 250-265 but not nearly as many on the fairway, although still in play. The conclusion was we have to practice more, maybe pull back a small bit so on other more dense course we don't get stuck behind a tree 30yds in front of our average only to have to play out.

The second hole on the course is 290 to the centre of the green, we both hit 5 balls. I got to within 10 yards of the front of the green 268yds I think and the brother got a lucky bounce and it ended on the back of the green at 295 the jammy git. If anyone watches Mark Crossfield I'm getting text messages every now and then with nothing but "Sneaky Long" wrote on them :rolleyes:

Surfing_Xboxer

playing very well these days...feeling like I have reached a turning point in my game... Won the winter league matchplay finals with my winter league team last sunday too.... buzzing at the moment !!!

Rikand

Hitting the ball 295 is serious going in the winter time, especially up from a 220 average.

i was going to ask was the difference between when you started and now, winter and summer but if you can still move it 270+ in cold winter conditions you must really have been backing off before

alxmorgan

Rikand wrote: »

Hitting the ball 295 is serious going in the winter time, especially up from a 220 average.

i was going to ask was the difference between when you started and now, winter and summer but if you can still move it 270+ in cold winter conditions you must really have been backing off before

Have a launch monitor session coming up on my driver.
Need to as I hit a 19 degree hybrid and my 9.5 degree driver on same hole the other day. I would have said both were pretty good hits. Less than 10 yards between them. Something not right.

ssbob

Rikand wrote: »

Hitting the ball 295 is serious going in the winter time, especially up from a 220 average.

i was going to ask was the difference between when you started and now, winter and summer but if you can still move it 270+ in cold winter conditions you must really have been backing off before

I'd agree with that, we were measuring quite a few drives going around on Sat, furthest was on the 3rd where both Charlie and myself hit one about 250metres but in the trees and the shortest was on the 4th where we hit about 185 metres but on the fairway. Wind and cold conditions make a huge difference.

Loire

Game is gone to pot. Hooking half of my drives, can't hit anything stronger than a 7 iron off the fairway and my putting (esp short putts) is poor.

Chipping well though

dan_ep82

Rikand wrote: »

Hitting the ball 295 is serious going in the winter time, especially up from a 220 average.

i was going to ask was the difference between when you started and now, winter and summer but if you can still move it 270+ in cold winter conditions you must really have been backing off before

I started just at the beginning of the winter weather (Spetember 2013) and I think its fair to say conditions were favourable up until at least October. From November on it was a bit of a decline.

Back then I was averaging, on a good hit which they're were far fewer, about 240-250 carry but I had the odd one longer but far more shorter. More often than not the longer ones went in behind tree's or OOB

In the last few months I've been swinging at about 50-60% in an effort to control my club face and path (over the top with an open face) and it worked wonders. My averages came up as I had far less OOB or 150ft slices, i was hitting it softer but finding fairways and knocking strokes off my shots. I think the problem as I seen it was the 50% drive became my 100%. You could even see it on my recorded swings, I was stopping half way through the backswing.

So from that point of view its not really that much more, its only 30'ish yards more carry for double the effort and less accuracy.The difference is with the drying lately is I'm seeing bounce and roll,something I've seen very little of since last year. As for the brothers 295 (274 carry we measured) , he has a swing speed of 118 at 100% where as mine is about 108. We should both be seeing further drives but our connection is never optimal. If i can work in more accuracy with the longer drives I'd imagine my HC would tumble.

The missed eagle was a 260yd drive on a short par 5 that plugged and hopped back,then a 4i to the centre of the green,missed the eagle though

dan_ep82

ssbob wrote: »

I'd agree with that, we were measuring quite a few drives going around on Sat, furthest was on the 3rd where both Charlie and myself hit one about 250metres but in the trees and the shortest was on the 4th where we hit about 185 metres but on the fairway. Wind and cold conditions make a huge difference.

I got sun burned yesterday and played in a t shirt. It was really t shirt weather but it was very close so i'm sure the warmer weather was a help.Id say a strong breeze but no gale force to help. I find my longest drives are my higher ones but one a windy day,when playing into it it really hurts the distance, it can be had enough to get 200yds at times. Not only that, on a warmer day, with less layers on I can definitely swing faster and looser. Your not hunched over trying to keep warm or rushing the shot to get the game finished so you can get inside.

dan_ep82

alxmorgan wrote: »

Have a launch monitor session coming up on my driver.
Need to as I hit a 19 degree hybrid and my 9.5 degree driver on same hole the other day. I would have said both were pretty good hits. Less than 10 yards between them. Something not right.

It would be interesting to see if its your angle of attack, for a few weeks before I got on the launch monitor my old driver was going as far as my 5 wood, so about 200 yards but going really high. Turns out I was hitting down with the driver giving over 4k of spin which resulted in a really high flop shot lol

alxmorgan

dan_ep82 wrote: »

It would be interesting to see if its your angle of attack, for a few weeks before I got on the launch monitor my old driver was going as far as my 5 wood, so about 200 yards but going really high. Turns out I was hitting down with the driver giving over 4k of spin which resulted in a really high flop shot lol

Could be but it doesn't seem to be ballooning per se and I consciously work on my AOA with ball really far forward and a good bit of spine tilt.
Could be centeredness of contact but I guess we'll see.

FixdePitchmark

In my lowest moments I think - this trying to be a single figure golfer is just too much work.

Basically I've had 3 rounds struggling to break 30 points. I'd be better off, off 12 to 15 enjoying the game - I am enjoying it - but. Hitting OTT swings - hooks - fades - slices , having a fear of the greens and almost a fear of the game. It is a bloody game - there is more in life to worry about.

So today after another 29 points - I said ok , off to a pro - change putter grip , get talking to someone. So did all that.

Spent about 10 hours today at golf activity - like a full time job.

So a bit of a wall - but behind it all , I know I'm a determined little ****er - so that in a way is a positive realisation.

Found out what is wrong with swing and feel I have something to work off on putting.

Just talking to the pro helped - in life, you need advocates. If you can't be an advocate to yourself.

Barnaboy

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

In my lowest moments I think - this trying to be a single figure golfer is just too much work.

.... Spent about 10 hours today at golf activity - like a full time job. ...

You sound scarily like me :-) Although I haven't made it to single figures yet, that is the plan for this year... and for the first time in my life I'm truly believing that I will get there. Game has never been as consistent, but plenty of improvement still in me.

I've gone a bit mad with the practising and lessons in the last few weeks.

Rikand

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

In my lowest moments I think - this trying to be a single figure golfer is just too much work.

Always try to be the best that you can be!


Wimp!

galwaylad14

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

In my lowest moments I think - this trying to be a single figure golfer is just too much work.

Basically I've had 3 rounds struggling to break 30 points. I'd be better off, off 12 to 15 enjoying the game - I am enjoying it - but. Hitting OTT swings - hooks - fades - slices , having a fear of the greens and almost a fear of the game. It is a bloody game - there is more in life to worry about.

So today after another 29 points - I said ok , off to a pro - change putter grip , get talking to someone. So did all that.

Spent about 10 hours today at golf activity - like a full time job.

So a bit of a wall - but behind it all , I know I'm a determined little ****er - so that in a way is a positive realisation.

Found out what is wrong with swing and feel I have something to work off on putting.

Just talking to the pro helped - in life, you need advocates. If you can't be an advocate to yourself.

That's great commitment I must say. Golf really can consume you sometimes, much more so than most sports because unlike in most sports, it's completely in your own hands.

However don't fall into the trap of thinking that once you make single figures you'll suddenly be happy and content in your golf. You won't be. You'll want to get to 8 and then 7 etc. and that's exactly how it should be. I started last year off 10 and finished it off 5, but now I still find the game just as frustrating as ever becuase all I can think about now is getting to 4! And if you told me at the start of last year I'd even get to 8 I'd have taken it!

I don't think anyone should ever happy with their level to be honest, there's always room for improvement and I think the day I stop trying to improve is the day I give up the game to be honest!

scubapro

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

In roundwest moments I think - this trying to be a single figure golfer is just too much work.

Basically I've had 3 rounds struggling to break 30 points. I'd be better off, off 12 to 15 enjoying the game - I am enjoying it - but. Hitting OTT swings - hooks - fades - slices , having a fear of the greens and almost a fear of the game. It is a bloody game - there is more in life to worry about.

So today after another 29 points - I said ok , off to a pro - change putter grip , get talking to someone. So did all that.

Spent about 10 hours today at golf activity - like a full time job.

So a bit of a wall - but behind it all , I know I'm a determined little ****er - so that in a way is a positive realisation.

Found out what is wrong with swing and feel I have something to work off on putting.

Just talking to the pro helped - in life, you need advocates. If you can't be an advocate to yourself.

Even single figure golfers have bad rounds fix ;-)

scubapro

FixdePitchmark

24 hours is a long time in politics and golf.

Rikand and Scubapro - ye were dead right . That was all a bit pathetic. Sitting here laughing at myself for last hour.
Nothing like the Boards lads to give you a good kick in the arse. I think Lowry should sign up here. We would have in the Master next year

Got a putter grip on that is so big it hardly fits in the bag (lol) :D - first two holes - bang , bang - a monster and a 7 footer on next hole.
Nothing like the honeymoon period.

Also got a lesson - and found out why my striking had gone so dodge. Not firing the hips at all - at start of downswing. Means there is little or no room to get into the pocket to approach ball from a good position. This is going to take a good bit of work. But even after 50 or so balls - could see what was up.

At the end was creaming irons - felt sorry for range balls

So great 24 hours. Even if much work needed - have a plan in place.

So thanks Boardsies - A bit like Pool

"You'll never walk alone here"

charlieIRL

Went to the range again tonight, should have stayed at home. Enough said.

Loire

Loire wrote: »

Game is gone to pot. Hooking half of my drives, can't hit anything stronger than a 7 iron off the fairway and my putting (esp short putts) is poor.

Chipping well though

Went to the range yesterday and I swear it was like a freak show. I have my first lesson in 5 years booked for next week and if that doesn't work, it's surgery

Rikand

Going to go to the range tonight for the first time in a long time. Wife is heading out of town for the night, so I'm a free agent

Danny dyers double

Got my first HC today , 21 . My best round was 24 over so I hope to be playing to my handicap soon enough .

My ball striking of late has been good from driver to wedge it just my short game that's needs alot more attention . But exciting times ahead now "I'm a real Golfer " with my card to prove it ðŸ˜႒ðŸ˜႒