Joey's Golf Bag

This morning, at the crack of dawn, I practiced at The Practice Tee in Plano. The weather was rather warm by the time the sun came up, and there was no breeze at all.

The putting green was closed (it had just been sanded), so I started off at the short game area practicing short lob and X wedge shots. My first few shots with the lob wedge were scattered around, but I soon got my touch back and even holed two shots.

Next up, I went to the range and began hitting full pitching wedge shots. Mostly good, but almost all were a bit fat. I never really got that worked out. Next up, 7-iron shots. I started out making solid contact with the ball, but all my shots were fades. I then got out the 5-iron, and I’m hooking the ball. Hmmm… Next, 9-iron. Pushes. Wow, I’m consistently inconsistent. 🙄

The 3i hybrid and driver were next. My first drive was a booming slice, next one a booming hook. I eventually got that worked out to fades and draws, but the straight ball just wouldn’t show itself today. Most of my 3i hybrids were fades, when I wasn’t chunking them.

I had a fine day with my short game, but my long game was pretty pitiful. Not one of my better practices.

During lunch today, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center. The day was very warm, with a breeze from the north.

I worked first on wedges, starting with the pitching wedge and working my way up through the lofts. At first, I was striking the ball slightly fat, but got it worked out as I went through the wedges. Next up, I got out the long clubs and began alternating through them. It was clear that I wasn’t striking the ball on the sweet spot with the longer clubs, so I attached impact tape to the driver, 2i and 3i hybrids, 6- and 9-irons. Surprisingly, I was hitting the ball near the heel of each club. I reset my setup toward the middle of the clubface and began hitting the ball near the center of the clubface on each club.

That was the end of the good practice. Next came the bad.

Happy that I had been able with my new swing to get the impact point and my setup point to now line up, I went back to the wedges to work on making better contact with the ball. That’s when things got ugly. I hit everything fat. I changed ball position back, hit it fat; farther back, hit it fat; all the way back, solid contact, but now the ball was all the way to my right foot!

Normally, when I hit the ball fat, that means that I’m rushing the downswing. No matter what I did with the wedges today, fat, fat, fat! I finally gave up, completely frustrated.

I’ll try again tomorrow.

Jim, Jarvis and I practiced and played nine at the crack of dawn this morning before work, at The Practice Tee in Plano. We hit a few balls, putted and chipped, and then hit the course on this cool, partly cloudy, breezy morning.

Since I arrived before the fall opening time of 8AM, I chipped and putted until the ball machine was unlocked. I chipped a few dozen balls, tending to leave them a bit short (except for one or two that I skulled across the green). I then ran my usual putting drill, which went pretty well. By that time, balls were available, so I got a small bucket and started hitting 3/4 sand wedge shots, working on keeping my lower body still and my hip turn moderate. I had some difficulty with consistency in distance, though direction was pretty good. I then got out the 7- and 9-irons, and again had difficulty with getting a consistent strike on the ball with my “new, improved” swing (as usual, making a swing change makes me worse before it makes me better).

With my last few balls, I got out the longer clubs and hit some balls off tees with the 5-iron, 2i and 3i hybrids and the big stick. I struck the driver well, though tending to fade the ball. The hybrids were pretty poor, either hitting slices or chunking them. I hit some good 5-iron shots, though tending to draw them. Out of balls, we hit the course.

The course was in pretty poor condition due to the drought and on-going maintenance. The first hole is being reconstructed and is currently replaced with about a 50 yd first hole. Two other holes had half the green stripped off and the sod used to reconstruct the first hole. The fairways, if they can be called that, were a mix of bare spots and deep cracks from lack of rain. The greens were in pretty good condition, though the tee boxes were pretty much suffering from overuse and the drought.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I was pretty pathetic off the tee, hitting only one green in regulation on the 50 yd first hole with a 3/4 lob wedge. Mostly, I was short and right, as my “new, improved” swing isn’t, yet, “new and improved”. I also didn’t do a good job of judging the wind today, either.
• Wedges. Very mixed. Chunked one, hit a couple long and over the green. In general, yeech! 😐
• Chipping. I had one very nice chip to tap in distance, but otherwise not very impressive, as indicative of my score.
• Sand shots. None, didn’t hit into any bunkers today.
• Putting. The only positive note today was my putting, taking only 13 putts today and no three putts. The results could have been even better, as I lipped out at least 3 putts for par. My only birdie putt of about 11 ft was left 6″ short. My longest putt hit was a par putt from 15 ft on the 6th.

This morning, I went to the Golden Bear Golf Center to practice. The weather was cool, sunny and breezy.

I started out warming up with the sand wedge, trying to make clean contact and good tempo. I was pretty pleased with that club, so I got out the 9- and 7-irons to go with it. I worked pretty well with those clubs, having little trouble with fat shots that I had Wednesday. I concentrated today on making sure to accelerate through the ball and that swing thought seemed to help.

Next up, I got out the three longest clubs and started alternating them. I hit the 3i Halo pretty well today, though tending to push. The 2i Halo was a bit of a problem, as I hit several stinky shots with it and even a slice or two. The driver was very poor today, never really had good ball striking with the club, except when I hit pushes, which were really pushed far right.

I also ran the pin-hunting drill, making only 8 of 20 shots very good or better. My ball striking during the drill was pretty good, but I tended to push a lot of shots, and when I pushed them, they weren’t slight pushes, but very hard pushes well right.

My next drill was to run speed drills on the putting green. I spent about 30 minutes on this drill and I seem to be improving. I hit a lot of putts in the 6-18 ft range, and rarely missed from inside 9 ft.

Next up was a series of bunker shots. At first, I was taking too much sand and left the balls in the bunker. I got that sorted out, even holing one from the bunker. I then started hitting the shots a bit thin and sent a few just over the green.

I then hit 50 or so short lob wedge shots at varying distances, working on touch and distance, again working on accelerating through the ball. I had pretty good results with this drill, tending to have pretty good direction control but not that great on distance. My last drill was chipping with the pitching wedge, which I did pretty well, but still needs work.

All in all, a pretty good practice day. My main issues were with the longer clubs and hitting pushes with the medium and short irons. My short game continues to improve.

I got up before the sun this morning and practiced at The Practice Tee in Plano. When I arrived, I found that the facility had switched back to winter hours and didn’t open until 8AM. No problem, I spent the time putting and chipping until the ball machine was opened just before 8. I had a pretty good putting drill, running the speed drill over and over. I seem to be improving. I also spent a few minutes hitting short chips with the pitching wedge and seemed to have pretty good touch chipping.

After the ball machine was activated, I warmed up hitting short sand wedge shots, working on tempo and feel. I hit the ball pretty good to start and then had difficulty hitting the ball fat. Really fat. Digging to China fat. 😥

I then moved to hitting the 7-iron. At first, I chunked a few. Then I hooked a few. I played around with my stance, my grip, my posture, and never really felt comfortable over the ball. Finally, disgusted, I teed up a ball high and did the slot drill with a 6-iron and finally got good, firm contact on the ball, though drawing more than I would like. I then got out the big stick and pounded some balls, and that seemed to help my tempo, though I tended to hook. Then, disaster: I tweaked my lower back and had to stop.

I rested for a while and my back seemed better, so I went and hit some quarter-swing lob wedges, trying to get my feel back. I was still hitting the ball a little fat, though better than before. Finally, I forced my arms to fully extend, and began to hit the ball much better. As my back seemed OK, I got the driver back out and started punching some good ones straight down the middle, straight or with a slight draw.

Not my best practice, but at least it got better toward the end. My back seems fine now, too.

Tonight, after dinner, I went to the Golden Bear Golf Center to practice. The weather was cool and calm.

I started off hitting the sand wedge, starting out with half swings. I had difficulty getting my touch back with the wedges, but managed to get the ball going straight, if not the usual distance. I then got out the pitching wedge, 9-iron, 7-iron and 5-iron and alternated hitting those clubs. It took a lot of balls, but I did finally get the ball going straight again, after enduring innumerable hooks. I even overdid getting the club path back inside-to-square and hit some ugly shanks. 😯

I also got out the new Toski driver, 3- and 5-woods that I built; however, I hit the clubs so poorly that it wasn’t possible to evaluate them at all, so I gave that up.

The only drill that went well tonight was my putting speed drill, which I have been concentrating on the last few weeks. My feel wasn’t as good as it has been the last few practices, but even so, the distances that I miss putts has gotten smaller, so I’m making progress.

Not one of my better practices, though at least my putting continues to improve.

This morning I went to the Golden Bear Golf Center to work on my short game. The weather was sunny and very warm, with no breeze at all.

I warmed up with the pitching wedge, and then spent some time hitting full wedge shots with all my wedges, though sparingly with the X wedge. Aside from a fat or thin shot or two, I hit them very well this morning.

Next up, I got out the 8- and 6-irons and alternated them with the pitching wedge. My main issue today was slicing the ball (over-compensating for the draws I was hitting yesterday), but I soon worked that out and was hitting the ball pretty well.

I then got out the long clubs and alternated through them. At first, I was hitting hooks, then I was hitting pushes. I got the 3i hybrid going straight, but the driver and 2i hybrid strikes were all draws or pushes. I never really striped one down the middle with either club.

My final drill was the pin-hunting drill, which didn’t go very well, hitting only 7 of 16 balls very good or better.

I went to the putting green and spent half an hour working, again, on speed drills. This time I used 4 balls spaced a step apart, starting at the hole. I would hit those four balls, then move one step farther from the hole and run the drill again. I continued this drill until I was 12 steps from the hole (36 ft). In general, I left very few putts short and only two or three putts longer than 2 ft from the hole. Maybe I can take it to the course tomorrow.

Next up was the short game area. I spent about 30 minutes working on getting out of the sand. I was very inconsistent with this practice today; I’ll just have to not hit any bunkers tomorrow. My last drill was lofted wedge shots using the lob wedge. I spent another 30 minutes working on this club and finally got my feel back. I’m feeling good about this clubs again.

In general, a pretty good practice, although not my best. I’m as ready as I can be to conquer Arizona National tomorrow.

This morning, as the sun was rising, I practiced at The Practice Tee with some friends before work. The weather was cool and clear, with a 1-club breeze from the north. It was quite a change to practice in cool weather instead of the usual brutal Texas summer heat.

I warmed up with the 7-iron and then moved on to hitting the 8-iron, 6-iron and 4-iron. I had a bit of trouble getting a smooth swing going this morning. I just couldn’t seem to get moving very quickly. It took a while, but I finally started hitting respectible shots. Next up was the driver and hybrid (I left the 3-metal in the car, planning to try out my new Cleveland 2i HALO, but I ran out of balls). The hybrid I didn’t hit very well today, but the driver I hit pretty well, though an rare hook or slice slipped in.

I also put impact tape on the hybrid, 6-iron and driver to see if I’ve improved the number of strikes on the sweet spots of the clubs. I’m happy to report that my impact zones on all clubs has improved, moving closer to the sweet spots on all clubs. With the driver, I’m just to the inside of the center of the club (I had much difficulty in the past with toe strikes, that problem is gone), on the hybrid, I hit most shots on the center, but low on the clubface; with the 6-iron, the impact zone was at the right location but a bit low on the clubface. I’m pleased that I’ve improved from the toe strikes that plagued me a few weeks ago.

Next up, I ran a pin-hunting drill. My performance was subpar today, hitting only 7 out of 19 as very good (4) or excellent (5). The driver performed the best, 3/4 shots very good or better.

My final drill was more speed drills on the putting green; again, I had a very good putting practice. Maybe some day I’ll get that same performance on the course.

This morning, I went to the Golden Bear Golf Center to practice, under heavy clouds threating rain. There was a soft breeze from the north.

I warmed up with the 7-iron, and then switched to rotation of pitching wedge, 8- and 6-irons. After hitting a few rotations through those clubs, and hitting the ball pretty well (main defect today was hitting pushes or fades), I moved on to the longer clubs. I got out the driver, 3-metal and hybrid and worked on tempo with those clubs. I started off a bit rough, but soon had those clubs performing well. Again, the main fault I had today was pushing the ball well right, though I struck the ball well.

I then got out the wedges and rotated through them working on correcting the pulls and fat strikes that I had yesterday. I had pretty good success getting the pulled shots back to straight, but still had some difficulty hitting the ball fat. That happens when my tempo gets quick, and I’ve had to work hard on slowing down my tempo.

My last drill was pin-hunting, and despite some bad shots, had one of my better days where 10 of 20 shots were rated 4 or 5 on a 5 point scale. I was pretty pleased when I finished up that drill. By now, I’d run out of balls, so I went to the putting green to practice.

The pin-hunting drill scale:

I spent the entire time on the green running the speed drill, this time with 3 balls. I started off with 3 balls spaced 3, 6 and 9 ft from the hole, then moving out 3 ft, etc. I had an extraordinary day with this drill, making more than 60% of the putts out to 30 ft. I was very pleased with my putting practice today. Now, if I can just get that skill to work on the course…

This morning, I practiced and played nine at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. The day was warm, soft breeze from the west, and mostly sunny.

I started out hitting a small bucket of balls, warming up with the 7-iron and adding the 9-iron and 5-iron as I warmed up. I hit the ball a bit short to start, but soon had my swing grooved in. Next up, I got out the driver, 3-metal and hybrid. My driver was first hooking slightly, then fading slightly, and then right down the middle. I hit mostly draws or hooks with the 3-metal, and mostly straight or draws with the hybrid. My last drill was hitting full wedge shots with all the wedges; tendency was to pull the wedges, and also tended to hit them a bit fat. But, no more balls, so I went to the putting green to chip and putt.

Chipping was not very good today, but near the end hit some pretty good chips. Putting, on the other hand, was very good. I worked first on speed drills, putting four balls one step apart and then moving out one step and repeating the drill. My final drill, I nailed all four putts from 6, 9, 12 and 15 ft, probably my best performance in quite some time.

Time to play: there was quite a wait today, as two groups (one with two kids) were in front of me.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

How I played:

• First hole. I hit a 3/4 pitching wedge slightly fat and the ball ended up about 25 ft below the hole, but just on the green. I putted to about a foot and tapped in for par.
• Second hole. I hit a 6-iron a bit thin straight down the middle. I had about 60 yds to the hole, pulled my X wedge shot which hit on the down-slope and ended up in deep rough. I used a lob wedge to the green (around a tree) to 12 ft and hit the par putt.
• Third hole. I pulled a sand wedge shot well left of the hole, leaving a 45 ft putt, a double breaker. I left the first putt well short and three putted the hole.
• Fourth hole. I snapped hooked a driver into driving range net and had a very long second shot in deep rough. I hit a 7-iron into the middle of the fairway. I had a sand wedge left, which I pushed right, hitting the overhangin tree and the ball dropped into the right bunker. I punched out of the sand, leaving about a 12 ft putt, which narrowly missed and I tapped in for a double.
• Fifth hole. I pulled a sand wedge well left and the ball trickled off the green into the fringe. I chipped to 4 ft and hit the par putt.
• Sixth hole. I hit a high, arching draw into the ball eating bushes on the left side of the fairway. I took an unplayable, dropped in the rough, and pulled yet another sand wedge into the left bunker. I tried to play a soft lob wedge out of the sand, but it went long and rolled into the bunker on the other side of the hole. I played out of the sand to 4 ft and hit the putt for double.
• Seventh hole. I pushed a 7-iron well right of the green, where the ball hit an overhanging tree and dropped onto a down-slope in the rough. Chunked the lob wedge shot short of the green, chipped onto the green long and two putted for double.
• Eighth hole. I pushed a 6-iron well right, hitting yet another tree and the ball bounced well short into the fairway, leaving me 190 yds to the hole. I pulled the hybrid well left, hitting the top of a tree and dropping into the rough on the left side of the creek. I hit a 9-iron punch shot under the trees to the green, where it just trickled off. I had a difficult stance for chipping, but did chip to 4 ft, but screamed in agony when the putt ended up 1″ below the hole, which I tapped in for double.
• Ninth hole. Pushed a 9-iron right of the pin, which hit the green and spun back just into the fringe. Three putt from there, due to the first putt left short.

Hoping to redeem myself, I got another small bucket of balls and proceeded to hit all the shots that I’d messed up on the course. I started with the driver, hooking the first, fading the second, and then hitting some pretty good ones straight down the middle. I also hit some 3-metal and hybrid shots, hitting about half straight or slight draws, the rest hooks. I also hit some irons, hitting them pretty well, not pushing the way I did on the course. I finished up by hitting all my wedges, trying to get them to go straight. I mostly got the pull out, but also hit a few fat.

Not my best day on the course, but I can see a bit of improvement.