How's your game!

benny79

Yea with some new again sent you a pm.

alxmorgan

alxmorgan wrote: »

So ACC has come and gone
Great few days. Had a mare on day 1 but put two very good rounds together on days 2 and 3 in tough conditions.

Played a stroke comp at home on Sunday just gone and my long game was woeful. Played singles matchplay QF yesterday and wasn't expecting much after Sunday. Made a grip change on 18 on Sunday to strengthen left hand grip which resulted in best iron shot of the day. Stuck with that yesterday with fantastic results. Power and confidence was back. This was the way my grip used to be and I didn't change it consciously but must have done so to combat my tendency to miss greens left.

Anyway we had a great match and I ended up winning 2 & 1. Played as well as I ever have. He shot +3 off 10 and I still beat him !!! Short game was on fire and long game was back with a bang after grip change. Back to the level I was playing mid-winter which I have been struggling to repeat ever since.

So anyway about to take a 3 week break from golf for holidays but it feels great to know I can still do it. Was beginning to doubt myself after all the 0.1s. Not always going to be as good as yesterday but you need days like that to give you the will to keep going when things get bad. Smiling today anyway

So the 3 week break was great but took its toll on my game. Took a few rounds to get any feel back at all. Since then it's been pure inconsistency.

Played open singles in Kinsale last week and had 27 points. And that flattered me a lot. I was absolutely woeful.

Supposed to play Presidents Prize at home last w/e then but blew it off to play casual round with a mate. Hadn't seen him in a while and thought I was wasting my time with the way my game was anyway entering a comp.

Shot 78 for 43 points This game...seriously, just mad.

So started the year with a cut to 11.5 and one cut away from lowest ever handicap of 11. Since then its been all buffers and 0.1s so back to 13 now. Singles matchplay Semi coming up. No idea how that is going to go.

My game is like a lucky bag at the moment. No idea what's going to come out from day to day. Still got some confidence given the most recent round but it could really go either way.

Time for one final push before end of qualifying to start handicap going in the right direction again. God loves a trier

Finally joined my first club and have got 3 rounds in(9-15-10 holes) since.

I was told by the office worker "if you can play here you can play anywhere" and I can start to see why.
Course is pretty tough in terms of hazards, you wouldn't be long losing a heap of balls but my god can the weather be bad being on such high ground.
(Barna in Galway fwiw)

Being a poor student and with the course being so easy to lose balls I've found myself adding a lot of time to the round by looking in sweet spots.
I'm starting to build a cache but I guess ill need to balance this with playing and taking losses, no point looking for balls all the time though if I didn't look at all I'd be running out within 2 rounds.

My striking is very inconsistent which is to be expected I guess.
I think ill leave the driving range long term now as I was going twice a week and its impossible to replicate some of the conditions I've faced on course to the range mats.

My chipping and putting isn't as bad as I thought for a novice(and no opportunity to practice on the range) but the short irons are killing me as I'm really struggling to hit down on the ball(ground was soft and waterlogged the past two days so maybe its harder again) and have scuffed a fair few where I've taken ground well before the ball.

I'm getting out early so I'm able to play two balls at times and in basically just using the rounds as practice and repeating certain shots if the result was poor.

Going to keep at it 4/5 days a week for the rest of the year and do the whole GUI and that from next January.

My only real goal is to get consistent strikes on the ball, I can handle a wayward shot but not one that barely travels any sort of distance or catches fat and skids off.

Pars are about as good as I can aim for now as I broke my driver and I cant get it anywhere near in 2 shots(even with the driver I wasn't getting near in 2 on any medium-long 4s)
I guess ill pass a milestone when I hit my first non par 3 GIR.

P.S also learned a lesson the hard way today... Don't be walking over mounds carrying a bag in the wet.
I had just hit a good tee shot too, walked over the top of the mound to see my ball and wasn't long falling onto my arse coming down the other side... Lucky I'm only a young lad but also a sure fire way to break the a 3 wood or driver if there ever was one.

Keano

benny79 wrote: »

My game has turned around immensely since I changed Pro's(Again) & my summer slump, It really is hard to find a good Pro! Tee to green I'm hitting the ball very well. In the range I'm creaming everything even my 3 wood of the deck which I haven't been able to do in years!!! Just need to take it a bit more to the course but can see the signs already!

Unfortunately my short game has suffered as I've been putting the work in on my swing, Especially my putting which has been shocking but just need to put some work in on this & get more rounds under the belt. But feel my game is going in the right direction finally! Hoping to get to 15/16 before end of season just need everything to click & feel its not far away. Onwards and upwards.

After playing with you on Saturday I'm convinced you'll get to your goal. Put in the hard work and you'll be flying

Rikand

Putting has gotten so bad I've gone cackhanded. Find it brilliant for 5 feet and in. Jury is out on anything longer

redzerdrog

Playing horrendous golf at the minute, driver is killing me and have developed a hook from somewhere

Worst thing is even when I try play a hybrid or wood off the tee it is still hit and miss

charlieIRL

Rikand wrote: »

Putting has gotten so bad I've gone cackhanded. Find it brilliant for 5 feet and in. Jury is out on anything longer

I use my normal grip for long putts and cackhanded for all under 6 foot now. I holed every single short putt last Saturday!!

Keano

I do the same as charlie but my putting is shíte

slave1

Society round in Tullamore on Saturday, highlight of my day was birdie on 14, also snuck in a birdie on 3 and 13 to take first prize, quite surprised really as I've been playing the links mostly recently but it was a calm day and weather perfect and others faltered

kieran.

Keano wrote: »

I do the same as charlie but my putting is shíte

Says the man with 4 birdies on Saturday !!:)

benny79

kieran. wrote: »

Says the man with 4 birdies on Saturday !!:)

Agreed, As I bared witness to them

slingerz

president prize

5 birdies
4 lost balls
3 scratches
36 points

all i was missing for a while was a partridge in a pear tree

dan_ep82

First comp in a few months and predictably my worst round in a few months aswell.

23pts and scratched 6 holes

It kind of went like par/scratch/bogey/bogey/scratch/par/scratch etc

Nerves got the better of me I think, lost a few balls of the tee which hasn't happened in a long time and irons were nearly all rubbish.

Ah well

Did get to see some great golf, playing partner went around in -2

FixdePitchmark

I seem to hit walls when I get to my lowest handicaps.

Almost like , when I get to a goal, I take foot off. Even If I am not taking foot off. A strange thing. Has to be mental.

Have gone out on new handicap - not -played great or awful , but stuck from 32 to 34.

I'm having the odd OTT swing , the odd bad lag , I'm missing short putts.

I think the most serious thing is the short putts - missing about 3 to 4 a round. Will need to put work in here again - asap.

New Driver - Have had to raise loft on it - and leaking right , hitting it well, but not the same as my last driver. How I was hitting driver was a major building block to my GIR rate a month ago.

Low irons very good 8/10

Mid Irons very good 8/10

Short irons, biggest improvement this year - can hit stuff from 80 to 40 with far more confidence , but still behind players in my category here - 7/10

Putting - long putting 9/10
Putting - Short/ mid range 5/10

So all that adds up to 32 to 34.

So very close , and simple stuff to solve. But season sort of over.

Great year - would like one more good score , will try over next 3 weeks - as still qualifying around for me. But - in my heart, know putting not there to get a great one.

Not sure I'll see another year like it.

But still feel - I have more to do.

slingerz

Playing well enough biggest improvement has been course management and avoiding taking on the crazy shots

What has also helped is hitting the ball less hard and maybe going for a club more instead has allowed me a lot more control

Still massive room for improvement in the putting and chipping stakes. I think if I get that sorted single figures will be on the horizon

alxmorgan

alxmorgan wrote: »

So the 3 week break was great but took its toll on my game. Took a few rounds to get any feel back at all. Since then it's been pure inconsistency.

Played open singles in Kinsale last week and had 27 points. And that flattered me a lot. I was absolutely woeful.

Supposed to play Presidents Prize at home last w/e then but blew it off to play casual round with a mate. Hadn't seen him in a while and thought I was wasting my time with the way my game was anyway entering a comp.

Shot 78 for 43 points This game...seriously, just mad.

So started the year with a cut to 11.5 and one cut away from lowest ever handicap of 11. Since then its been all buffers and 0.1s so back to 13 now. Singles matchplay Semi coming up. No idea how that is going to go.

My game is like a lucky bag at the moment. No idea what's going to come out from day to day. Still got some confidence given the most recent round but it could really go either way.

Time for one final push before end of qualifying to start handicap going in the right direction again. God loves a trier

So I won the semi-final. I shouldn't have. I was hit and miss and he should have put me away but he faltered at the wrong moments and I held on mainly due to getting 8 shots.

Since then my game has continued to be completely inconsistent. The 43 points seems a long time ago.

Played the final last Wed and to be honest I had zero expectations due to game being all over the place. I played as I had been. Went from birdieing the index 1 to knocking down drives to hand him holes. Lost 3 & 1 but to be fair he played super stuff. He lost a ball on 15 but for other 16 holes we played he was -1 off 9.

Played 4 ball better ball yesterday and I was woeful on the front 9. Partner had a pain in his back from carrying me. Then switch flipped and taking out the 17th (where I lost a ball off tee) I played the other 8 holes in level. Talk about a game of two halves. Mad stuff.

Year coming to a close as is regular golf due to family circumstances. Madness on the course, madness at home...all good

thelostboys23

Played sat morning in a casual round with friends and played the best golf i ever had. Finished +13 for the round playing off 19 and that included a horrendous 9 on the easier par 5 14th.
Round included three birdies which was my best ever birdie haul (three counts as a haul right?).

Cue sunday and playing a team comp and just awfully awfully bad. Started ok but just couldnt do anything right after a while and contributed very little to the scorecard.

Strangely can't wait to get back at it.

Dr_Colossus

Woods are costing me a lot of shots the past few weeks with poor strikes generally off the toe and uncontrolled direction with results just as likely to be a pull hook as a big push fade. Quite frustrating as I'm quite content with my iron shots/strikes although distance could be better.

Sun however was a real eye opener, played the Black Sun comp in Killeen Castle which is a beast at nearly 7,700 yards and the longest course in Ireland. Was out with 3 low handicappers from the north but one guy in particular playing off 1 was the best driver of the ball I've ever played with. He was immense off the tee and his score of 35pts was a joy to witness. He was carrying bunkers 290 yards out and was out driving me by 50-60 yards on most holes. A totally different game with a controlled swing speed of 121mph.

I'll never get anywhere near that but I need to work on increasing my own paltry 94mph swing speed. I realise increasing swing speed is an inordinately difficult task but hopefully over the winter should be able to at least get it over 100mph and push on next year and eventually lower my handicap which has been static at 7 for the past 2 years.

benny79

Dr_Colossus wrote: »

Woods are costing me a lot of shots the past few weeks with poor strikes generally off the toe and uncontrolled direction with results just as likely to be a pull hook as a big push fade. Quite frustrating as I'm quite content with my iron shots/strikes although distance could be better.

Sun however was a real eye opener, played the Black Sun comp in Killeen Castle which is a beast at nearly 7,700 yards and the longest course in Ireland. Was out with 3 low handicappers from the north but one guy in particular playing off 1 was the best driver of the ball I've ever played with. He was immense off the tee and his score of 35pts was a joy to witness. He was carrying bunkers 290 yards out and was out driving me by 50-60 yards on most holes. A totally different game with a controlled swing speed of 121mph.

I'll never get anywhere near that but I need to work on increasing my own paltry 94mph swing speed. I realise increasing swing speed is an inordinately difficult task but hopefully over the winter should be able to at least get it over 100mph and push on next year and eventually lower my handicap which has been static at 7 for the past 2 years.

Did you learn anything from him? I'd love to play with someone that low!
Just out of a matter of interest how do you intend to increase your swing speed? Gym Work? My swing is only in the 94mph mark but my Pro told me its the impact area that makes the difference in your distance! i.e a foot before and after the ball.

Boskowski

I'm only a modest enough hacker myself but I'd say a lot of us handicap golfers have room for gaining swing speed by improving their method rather than immediately thinking gym.

I play with really low guys on occasion and they all seem to be swinging with less effort than me.

Dr_Colossus

benny79 wrote: »

Did you learn anything from him? I'd love to play with someone that low!
Just out of a matter of interest how do you intend to increase your swing speed? Gym Work? My swing is only in the 94mph mark but my Pro told me its the impact area that makes the difference in your distance! i.e a foot before and after the ball.

No direct tips given but from observation he had a very solid base and a very smooth and well timed swing. His mate was playing of +1 but was having an off day and wasn't as long off the tee so not quite as impressive on this occasion. The 3 of them were very sound and a pleasure to play with so even though I struggled myself they made the day very enjoyable and insightful.

Boskowski wrote: »

I'm only a modest enough hacker myself but I'd say a lot of us handicap golfers have room for gaining swing speed by improving their method rather than immediately thinking gym.

I play with really low guys on occasion and they all seem to be swinging with less effort than me.

+1, gym use can be of benefit in terms of strength and flexibility but if you're moderately fit will be of little noticeable benefit in terms of your golf swing. I already go to the gym frequently enough so I'm not really going to find any simple solutions there. My own problems stem from a tendency of sliding rather than rotating the hips plus I have a terrible habit of casting the club on the down swing which is costing me mph.
Fixing years of bad habits is a problem so trying to hold lag into impact is going to be a severe challenge. I think I've plateaued with my current swing set up so I think it's worth the effort as a means of trying to improve. I'll at least give it the winter and see how I progress so hopefully frustration doesn't get the better of me and force me to abandon the game altogether.

Boskowski

I gave up thinking I could deliberately hold lag and all that super technical lark and come around to the idea that I simply have to refine my method especially timing. As the saying goes if you want to hit it longer, hit it better not harder.

WheresMyPar

My Game is good at the moment, so fighting with the idea do I put work in during the winter to change my swing or just enjoy the game,
Work life balance kids wife etc, maybe I will just enjoy the fresh air and the game I have,

Rikand

WheresMyPar wrote: »

My Game is good at the moment, so fighting with the idea do I put work in during the winter to change my swing or just enjoy the game,
Work life balance kids wife etc, maybe I will just enjoy the fresh air and the game I have,

I have elected to go for this.

I was sick for a lot of the summer and it's made me realise there are more important things in life than trying to keep myself off a relatively low handicap and going foot to the floor to achieve that all the time.

The Big Easy

Have been putting a lot of work into my game. Too much as it turns out. Have strained the tendons on my left hand and have to shut it down for a while.

Working on my takeaway mainly as this was getting me in the wrong position at the top. It's painstaking - literally - to correct and nothing but reps will.

Injury couldn't have come at a worse time as had finally hit form and won back to back opens (posted on the other thread). No birdies but more importantly no scratches and looking forward to putting down a par for 2 sometime soon :pac:

Driving is in really good shape but am sure to screw that up once I figure I can squeeze another ten yards out of it :rolleyes:

Lost my 64 degree Vokey in Dunmurry - some will say a blessing but I could actually use it honest - replaced it with a new Cleveland 60 degree but was shanking it to begin with until I put in a lot of effort to get used to it.

Put in back to back 3 hour days at the range and practise area last weekend before winning the comps so sometimes hard work pays off :pac: All in all beginning to see results and dying to play but can't

What a game

dines08

Pretty abysmal last few months. A dose of the Shanks followed by very inconsistent contact with irons. Driving the ball very well. I was praying for the season to finish to go get a lesson and start working hard on fixing where I went wrong. First lesson was an eye opener, going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Currently 6 days into a drastic grip change, from ultra strong back to neutral. Posting this hoping somebody here has gone through the same grip change and can tell me it won't always feel and be this horrendous. Somebody... Anybody? Please

JIdontknow

dines08 wrote: »

Pretty abysmal last few months. A dose of the Shanks followed by very inconsistent contact with irons. Driving the ball very well. I was praying for the season to finish to go get a lesson and start working hard on fixing where I went wrong. First lesson was an eye opener, going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Currently 6 days into a drastic grip change, from ultra strong back to neutral. Posting this hoping somebody here has gone through the same grip change and can tell me it won't always feel and be this horrendous. Somebody... Anybody? Please

I had a strong grip (and currently (gradually) changing, gradually bringing right hand over to the left more to a more neutral grip. Its probably not the correct thing to do but I am gradually changing it, bit by bit. Were your bad shots a draw / hook, and now finding you are fading/slicing the ball with the new grip change? I find with new neutral grip on the back swing it feels like the club face is completely open and on the downswing only closing at the last stage before impact, must say though when I do hit them good with new grip they do go pretty straight, have lost a little difference though but not too much, maybe half a club or a club at most.

dines08

It's the first lesson I've had but there'll be a lot more. It's the most drastic change I have to make so it feels awful. I've been to the range 3 times to bed it in and every shot is weak, ballooning and slicing. The shorter clubs are starting to straighten out a bit and by straighten out I mean they are just straight pushes rather than slicing.

dos29

My game is bipolar at the moment.
I just played par-scratch-par-scratch-par to start a round that pretty much continued in that vein.
My game needs medication.

Milk_Tray

I need mental help with my game, had 2 birdies and 4 pars today.. felt good didnt try too hard... scratched 5 holes and ended up with 30 points. cant figure this out, so inconsistant!!! ARGH!