Joey's Golf Bag

This morning, I ventured into the blustery Texas sunshine to hit some balls at Golden Bear Golf Center. The wind was very strong from the south, blowing in at 2 or 3 clubs.

I warmed up with some 7-iron shots, striking the ball pretty well. I then moved on to my now usual 3-, 6- and 9-iron drill, hitting balls with alternating clubs. Today, since I was hitting the ball into the wind, any spin at all was exaggerated. Most of my shots today were drawing, probably more due to the strong wind, as any side spin at all keeps the ball from going straight. About 2/3 of my non-straight shots were drawing, the rest fades. After that drill, I added in the 3-metal and 21-degree hybrid clubs. I’ve not hit either club much in the past few weeks, but started to hit them pretty good today. My predominate shot with the hybrid is still a fade, but I was also able to draw a shot or two with the club. I also hit the 3-metal a lot better than I have in the last few weeks. I’m thinking it is time to go back to Hank Haney and play that tough nine-hole course again.

After those drills, I went pin-hunting, using a variety of clubs. This drill didn’t go as well as yesterday, as I caught a case of the hooks with the longer clubs, and also tending to pull the shorter ones.

Next up, with about 8 balls left in the bucket, I decided to see if I could develop a low shot to use into the wind. I tried it first with the 8-iron, using a 3/4 swing and reduced follow-through, ball back in my stance. The first few shots were hit fat, but I hit one or two nice ones with the 8-iron and also one with the 6-iron. I will see if I can add this shot to my repertoire.

I spent a few minutes chipping, but didn’t get my touch to work today, and, as time ran short, I headed home.

Today I went to North Texas Golf to practice and play nine. The day was very warm, partly cloudy, with a one-club breeze from the south.

I started off hitting 7-irons, working, as usual, on inside-to-square path and keeping my downswing smooth. I had trouble all day with keeping the path inside-to-square on any club longer than a 7-iron, but had pretty good success with keeping my downswing smooth. Practice started well, got crappy in the middle, and went well again at the end. I spent the first part of practice alternating 3-, 6- and 9-irons, but didn’t hit the longer clubs well today. After I went pin hunting, I started striking the ball well, hitting as many as 80% of the shots well during that drill. Next up, I went and hit about 40 shots with my wedges, starting out hitting long chips with the PW, moved on to hitting 20-50 yd shots with the sand wedge, and a few with the lob wedge. It’s been a few weeks since my touch was good, but it was very good today.

Next up was chipping practice. I had a middlin’ practice chipping, never really got grooved in. Finally, spent some time putting, but had trouble keeping the speed up, leaving most putts longer than 12 ft short. That would be the theme for long putts today as well.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. Today, I hit 5 greens in regulation, the best I’ve done in quite a while. Even with the one club wind, I was striking the ball pretty well today. I really had only one bad tee shot today, on the second hole, where I pushed the ball well right. At least I didn’t hook it in the hazard, like I did last week… The tee shot on the first hole was only off the green 3 inches, and most of the other holes I was able to putt from the fringe.
• Wedges. I hit only two wedge shots today, one of which I hit a bit fat and left a rather lengthy par putt on the 2nd hole, which I missed. The other was on the third hole, where I hit the SW long, actually hitting the flag (not the pole) and leaving a 15 ft putt for par, which I missed.
• Chipping. I hit only one chip today, putting from the fringe on the other holes where I missed the green. The chip on the seventh was perfect, leaving me a two foot par putt.
• Putting. Putting wasn’t very impressive today; I left nearly every long putt short by 4 or 5 ft. My short putting was good, though, having but a single three putt, on the 6th hole, where I lipped out a 6 ft putt for par.

I was very happy with my game today, as a 31 ties my best score on this course.

I practiced and played nine on Saturday at North Texas Golf. The weather was cool and sunny when I arrived, but became heavily clouded later. The wind was from the south, fairly light, one club at most.

I started off hitting 7-irons to get into rhythm and then switched to hitting alternating 3-, 6- and 9-irons. At first, I had very good tempo and was hitting the ball well. Later, I had a problem with pulling the 9-iron badly left of the target, or hooking the longer irons. I did hit a few fades with the 3-iron, but most were draws with the 3- and 6-irons. After that practice, I got out the 3-metal and wasn’t able to hit it well at all, hitting a mix of worm burners, fades, slices or hooks. Next, I got out the short irons and went pin hunting, trying to land the ball at the pin of the target greens. Again, mostly hitting the ball left of the target with all of the clubs.

Next up, I went to the wedge target area and started hitting short wedge shots. Mostly, I had distance control issues, mostly long, and a few fat shots thrown in, which happens when I rush the downswing. I never did get the distance dialed in. I finished up practice chipping with the pitching wedge as the clouds threatened rain. I skipped putting practice and proceeded directly to the course, afraid I would be unable to get in nine holes if I waited any longer. Skipping putting practice would be painful…

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. Although I hit only two greens in regulation, my tee shots were good, except for the second hole, where I hooked the tee shot out of bounds. I played it as if the out of bounds were a lateral hazard, though, because there was another group closely behind, and I didn’t want to delay them. My distances seem to be getting a bit longer, as I hit the ball past the pin on 5 of the greens and was pin-high on the rest. I was within inches or feet of being on the green on three other holes, having a bad tee shot only on the 2nd hole and hit a pitching wedge off the tee on the 7th into the hazard (pin-high, as the pin was at the front of the green).
• Wedges. Only one wedge shot today (other than pitching wedges off the tee) was one I left short on the first hole.
• Chipping. I hit a great chip to 2 ft on the 5th hole, otherwise, chipping wasn’t great.
• Putting. One three putt today, on the 2nd. Otherwise, lipped out two birdie putts and hit a 10 footer for par on the 8th.

Except for the 2nd hole, I had a good day of golf. I shouldn’t have skipped putt practice, because it didn’t rain.

Today I went to practice and play nine at North Texas Golf. The day was beautiful, sunny skies, with a slight breeze from the south. I planned to practice everything: full swing, wedges, chips, putts. It has been more than a week since I last practice, due to the cold, rainy weather we’ve had lately.

I started off hitting the practice 6-iron blade I made a few weeks ago. The first shot was hit a bit thin, but the next few shots were pretty well struck, going a bit farther than usual. Once I warmed up, I pulled out the 3-, 6- and 9-irons, and proceeded to alternate shots with each. I was concentrating on an inside-to-square path and keeping the start of my downswing slow. I’ve found over the last few weeks, that if I do those two things well, I have a slight draw or straight shot with good (for me) distance.

Today, things were a bit weird. My usual problem, as with most beginning golfers, is the slice. Today, the slice was gone (with the exception of 2 or 3 shots with the hybrid or 3-metal) to be replaced with pulls (on short irons) and hard hooks with the longer irons. The better shots were straight or slight draws, with poorer shots tending to hook or pull. Occasionally, I would hit a push with no side spin at all. Distance was pretty good for me, as long as I kept the downswing slow and smooth. As soon as the downswing got quick, I tended to hit the ball a bit fat, which reduced distance.

Bad luck: after I had hit about 1/3 of a medium bucket, 60 junior golfers descended onto the range, covering it from one end to the other. I decided to finish practice with a few full wedges (about 5 balls each of the pitching, sand and lob wedges) and then hit the course, hoping to get going before the juniors got going.

No luck. I played the first hole (badly) and then made par (with an outstanding chip to 3 ft) on the second when the junior golfers fanned out all over the course. I’d (stupidly) assumed they would start off from the first tee, but instead send a group of 4 juniors (with accompanying adults) to each hole on the course. I gave up at that point and went home, bummed out.

Oh, well, everyone has to learn. Usually, the juniors play on Saturday, but the rainy or cold weather of the last two weekends must have pushed them to Sunday. Live and learn.

After work, I went to the Golden Bear Golf Center to hit some balls. The weather was warm, with a strong wind directly in my face. I planned to work exclusively on the mid and long irons today.

I started off hitting the 6-iron, trying to draw but hitting fades. My two main themes today was to make sure I didn’t rush my downswing, and to make sure to swing on the proper inside-to-square path. At first, I was rushing my downswing a bit, which caused the ball to fade. I had some difficulty getting my tempo right, so I went back briefly to hit some 9-iron shots, which helped get my tempo back. After that, I went back to the 6-iron and gradually worked my way down to the 3-iron, returning to the 6-iron whenever I had difficulty. I found that as long as I didn’t rush my downswing, I had pretty good success making the balls fly straight or draw slightly. Too much delay in the downswing caused hooks, rarely, and too quick lead to fades or worse. In general, this was the best day of mid and long iron work I’ve had in a while.

Next up was the new 21-degree hybrid club I built. I set the weights so that there was a neutral setting with two 8-gram weights. I never managed to get a reliable draw, hitting mostly fades or worse. I need to try a draw bias next, and see how that works out.

Next, I hit a few balls with the 3-metal, with poor results. Mostly, I hit skyballs or long fades. I never got the draw working, and never really had any consistency at all.

For the last 20 balls or so, I planned to pin hunt. I did pretty well with the short irons, but had trouble hitting fat with the wedges. I finally figured out that I was (again) rushing my downswing, which caused the fat shots. I did pretty well with the mid and long irons hunting pins, once I made sure to follow the proper inside-to-square path.

I had only a few minutes remaining to putt, and didn’t really get it grooved.

I had a good practice with the irons and struggled a bit with the wedges and woods/hybrids, but a good practice overall.

I practiced and played nine at the North Texas Golf Center today. The wind was howling from the west or north, anywhere from 1-3 clubs; otherwise, the weather was very nice and sunny.

Since it has been about 2 weeks since I was last able to practice, due to overseas travel and poor weather, I expected to have a pretty mediocre practice, and it was, for the most part. I spent most of practice trying to get the swing path on the proper inside to square path, and having little success at it. I finally got it working a little near the end of practice, but in general, was not a good practice day. I was hitting with the wind behind me, which greatly increased distances, hitting 9-irons as long as I usually hit 6-irons.

The wind was really howling at the end of full swing practice, and especially when I tried to hit short wedge shots. Basically, it was impossible to hit high wedge shots, as the wind took them and sent them sailing. I spent that practice time hitting long chips, a skill that I’ve allowed to lapse, as I prefer to come in high and soft. That type of shot was a complete impossibility today. I also spent a considerable amount of time practicing short chips as well (really my only successful practice today).

I spent a few minutes before hitting the course to practice putting, which I thought went well, except my long distance putting distances were all short. That trend would continue on the course.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. Despite my poor practice today, I hit the ball very well off the tee. My main difficulty was doping the wind, which I consistently under-compenstated for all day. On almost every hole, into the wind, I under-clubbed, and with the wind, over-clubbed. Also, when hitting against a side to side wind, I also under-estimated the effect of the wind. Thus, I was short into the wind, long with the wind, and left or right more than expected with a side wind. I hit only two greens in regulation, but never was more than 8 ft from the green on any hole.
• Chipping. Despite a very good practice, my chipping was pretty poor all day, mostly chipping short. I got up-and-down on only two holes today.
• Wedge shots. Other than off the tee, didn’t hit a wedge shot all day, since I was close to the green on every one I missed.
• Putting. In short, I sucked today. Three putted twice (four times if you count putting from the fringe). My distance control from 20 ft and in was very good, but beyond 20 ft, distance control was very poor, which led to the three putts. My score would have been much better if I had putted like I usually do.

Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want, so I’ll be a lot smarter about reading the wind after today.

The scorecard was burned ritually. This day will never be spoken of again.

After work today, I went to hit a few balls at the Golden Bear Golf Center. The weather was fabulously warm, calm winds, blue skies. I’m starting to appreciate global warming… 😉

Today, I concentrated on getting my ball flight back to a draw and had a hard time of it at first. I started out hitting half swings with a 7-iron to get my rhythm, but wasn’t making good contact with the ball. The problem seems to be inadequate rotation of my forearms, too much tension, and an outside-to-in path. So, I used some drills to work on each. After getting thoroughly warmed up, I started to hit some balls well, and went through my bag, hitting each club. Mostly, I did manage to correct the three faults listed and was able to get the ball to draw, and once, to hook. I even got the 3-metal working again, not without some difficulty.

Time ran short and I wasn’t able to putt, chip or hit wedges.

Today, I practice and played nine at Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. The weather was mid-50s and sunny, with a slight breeze from the east.

I started off hitting 7-iron shots to warm up. I was concentrating on three things today: a slower start to my downswing, an inside path, and a full turn during the backswing. I did well on everything but the inside path; I had a hard time getting into the groove today.

I hit the short irons well, although I had a tendency to pull the short irons, indicating a slightly over the top swing. The mid-irons were not very good, mostly fades or worse, slices. The long irons were bad during practice, and not much better during play.

I hit some short wedge shots during practice, and with the exception of some hit slightly fat, did pretty well. Again, many were slightly pulled.

I spent a few minutes putting to get the speed of the greens and then played nine.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. Hit only one fairway and two greens in regulation. I hit 4-irons on all the par-4 holes, except for the sixth hole. Even so, hit one in the hazard on the second and another into the hazard on fourth. I did manage to hit the fairway on the eighth hole with a 4-iron fade. The tee shot with the 3-metal on the sixth hole was launched very high and ended up in the right rough, where I had to lay-up into the fairway.
• Short irons. Hit two greens in regulation. Hit a nice 9-iron to 30 ft on the first hole and a pitching wedge onto the green on the third. My 9-iron after a drop on the second was hit the green but rolled off into the rough just over the green. Hit a perfect lay-up 9-iron on the sixth hole from the rough. My 7-iron from the fairway was pin-high on the eighth hole, but pushed into the rough just off the green. My 7-iron tee shot was also pushed, this time into the right hand bunker.
• Wedges. Mostly short today. Had one disastrous wedge from the rough on the eighth hole that flew the green; the return sand wedge ended up in the bunker.
• Chipping. Good chip on the fifth to save par. Otherwise, none were closer than 5 ft.
• Bunker shots. Had two balls in bunkers, got out onto the green to about 8-10 ft on both.
• Putting. Nothing good to say about putting today, as I hit none over 6 ft and managed to three-putt the third hole from 15 ft.

Despite the perfect weather, had a pretty poor golf outing today.

I hit a medium bucket of balls and played nine at Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville today. The weather was mid-60s, almost no breeze, partly cloudy.

I warmed up with my 6-iron, and then began to compare hitting the Big Bertha 6-iron to the Viper Ti-4 6-iron I built this week. It’s clear from hitting the club that it needs to be bent upright 3 degrees to match the Big Bertha club, as I hit the Viper with a fade nearly every shot, whereas I hit mostly straight or slight draws with the Big Bertha 6-iron. I decided to delay any further testing until I get the club bent upright.

I spent almost the whole practice session hitting the longer irons, even getting the 3-iron out for a few shots. I hit mostly straight shots today, some draws and some fades when I wasn’t concentrating. I hit the ball well when I made sure not to start my downswing too quickly. I also hit about a dozen balls with the SasQuatch 3-metal, generally fades; never got the draw working at all. I hit a few balls with the short irons, mostly straight or slight pulls. I hit a couple of full swings with the pitching wedge as well, and pulled it as well.

I then hit a few putts to get the speed of the greens (fast) and played nine holes with Dan, who I met on the range. He played very well today, scoring maybe 2 or 3 over par. Very impressive on this course, as the fairways are very narrow and the greens very small.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Driving. Not very good driving today, as I didn’t hit any fairways in regulation. On the 2nd, hit the 3-metal just into the hazard and had to take an unplayable as the ball was under a bush. On the fourth, hit a 4-iron just into the hazard and took a penalty drop. On the sixth, hit a 4-iron off the tee, fading it into the rough next to a tree. I had to pitch out from there into the fairway. On the eighth hole, hit a 4-iron just into the left rough.
• Short irons. Hit a fade on the first hole into the fringe of the green, leaving a 60 ft chip. On the 3rd, hit a pitching wedge just short of the green. On the fifth, hit a perfect 10-iron into the center of the green for my only green in regulation. I also hit a very nice 7-iron onto the green on the 6th hole to leave a 10-ft putt for par, which lipped out. My 9-iron from the rough on the 8th hole was hit a bit fat and was short of the green although perfectly in line with the flag. Hit a poor 5-iron off the tee on the 7th hole and a poor 7-iron off the tee on the 9th hole.
• Wedges. Hit poor sand wedge shots on the 2nd and 4th hole, which led to the triple bogeys on both. Hit a decent shot out of the sand on the 4th hole, though.
• Chipping. Hit a very good chip on the 3rd hole to 2 ft, the rest were not very close.
• Putting. No three-putts today. Lipped out putts for par on the 1st, 6th, and 9th holes. My only bad putt was on the 4th hole, on which I hit a downhill putt right off the green.

A very pleasant day of golf.