Joey's Golf Bag

Last Friday, I played 18 at Tierra Verde Golf Course in Arlington. I shot a 96 (47 on the front, 49 on the back). I hit five fairways and five greens in regulation, had 38 putts total (three 3-putts). My driving was pretty bad, having three penalties off the tee. I only got up and down once. Putting and poor driving off the tee were my major difficulties.

I practiced at Golden Bear Golf Center on Saturday, mainly working on putting, as well as the longer clubs. On Sunday, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. I spent most of practice on the longer clubs and felt I was making progress on them Before I ran out of balls, I was hitting long pitches at one of the nets, and felt a severe twinge in my back. I wasn’t able to finish practicing as the right side of my lower back was throbbing in pain. My muscle spasms were back, the same ones that kept me from playing for two months last year. This time, I went home, put on the TENS machine, took some Aleve and did some stretches. The next day I felt better, but I decided not to hit balls, even though the weather was beautiful.

Last Tuesday, I felt fine, so I went to Golden Bear to hit some balls. I carefully warmed up and stretched. However, I’d hit a few balls with the sand wedge and had moved on to the pitching wedge, and again, had a nasty twinge in my back. Muscle spasm was back. This time, after the TENS machine, Aleve and stretching, I didn’t feel better. In fact, today, I worked from home in an effort to give my back time to heal, as sitting in a chair is painful after a while.

I’ve been diligently stretching my lower back and doing stengthening exercises and I’m beginning to feel better. As I’m scheduled to play golf at Stonebridge on the Hills course next Thursday with customers (in conjunction with the Byron Nelson tournament), I’m not practicing until then. I’ll keep up my stretching and exercises, and if the golf gods permit, I’ll be ready to go by then.

In the meantime, I’m building another driver…

Warm spring weather has arrived here in Big D, so I’ve been able to hit some balls the last two afternoons. Yesterday, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center. I started out on the putting green, and spent about 45 minutes working on my putting. The green is now mostly out of dormancy, and is rolling pretty smooth. I spent most of that practice time on speed drills, and it was one of my better practice sessions.

Next, I spent some time running the sand drill with the lob wedge, first with a chipping stroke and then with a pitching stroke. I hit a couple of balls out of the sand, getting them all out but not really very good distance control.

I collected some balls and worked on chipping and pitching with the lob wedge. My chipping was pretty good from shorter distances, but not very consistent from long range. My pitching was similar, good from short distance and not very consistent from medium distance. I didn’t hit many from long distance, and the ones I did hit weren’t stellar.

I got a medium bucket and went to the west end of the range. I’ve gone back to practicing with the 550c irons. These are, of course, much less forgiving than my 770CFE irons, but since I get much better feedback with these irons, I plan to continue to practice with the 550c irons, unless I’m playing that day. (In that case, the 770CFE irons go back in the bag.) I warmed up by hitting 3 balls with every other club. My ball striking was pretty good to start, but by the time I got to the longer clubs, I wasn’t particularly pleased. I never really was happy at all with my ball-striking this day. Even my short irons weren’t well struck, kept hitting fatties. The driver, well, yeech is the only word that fit.

This afternoon, I went to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch to practice. I got a large bucket and went to the range. I warmed up, badly, hitting bad shots with the sand wedge. It took about 10 balls before I hit any shots that I liked. I did finally start hitting good shots, and then something clicked when I made sure to put a little more weight on my left foot than my right, and then trying to get a late release. My swing eventually got a lot better, after I spent some time making quarter, half and three-quarter swings with the sand wedge, and then with the lob wedge. I then alternated every other club from the 9-iron through the 7-wood, and was pretty pleased with my ball striking. I got out the driver and 4-wood. The 4-wood I hit straight, but very low (was getting better distance with my high-flying 7-wood shots). The driver continues to be a disaster, either high slices or low hooks. Yeech!!!

With the last 10 balls, I decided to see how many balls I could hit on the green just in front of the pond. The distance was a perfect 9-iron, so I got it out and hit 7 of 10 balls onto the green, hitting the balls very high so that they rolled out just a little after hitting the green. Two of the balls were hit right of the green and one just to the left. I was pretty pleased, as three of the shots were within 10 feet of the pin. I also hit two pitching wedges, to see if I could get enough distance with it to put the ball on the green. The first ball was hit fat and splashed down; the second was well-struck and ended up in front of the pin about 20 feet short of the pin.

I had planned to practice short chips and putting, but the putting green still has not grown in yet, so I skipped putting.

I was pretty pleased with my practice today, much better than yesterday. I’ll be playing a lot of golf this month, so I’ll need to get that dastardly driver working, and soon. The Dye course at Stonebridge Ranch awaits…

This afternoon, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville, on a sunny, warm spring day. There was a light, variable breeze that shifted in both strength and direction.

I started out hitting the new PCF Micro sand wedge to warm up, followed by the reshafted 770CFE pitching wedge, then working my way through the bag hitting every other club. I hit all the clubs well, including the 4-iron, but not the 4-wood or driver. I then hit several balls with each new iron, running down through the bag. It was immediately apparent that I hit the newly reshafted 770CFE irons better than I do the 550c irons, but I was surprised at how well I hit the 4-iron. Practicing and playing the 550c irons has made me a much better ball striker with the 770CFE irons. It looks like I hit all the iron pretty well with the 770CFE irons, whereas I can’t really hit the 4-iron well at all in the 550c set. So, I’d say my plan to practice with the 550c irons and play with the 770CFE irons is definitely the way to go, and that will be my plan moving forward.

I spent quite a bit of time working on the longer clubs today, especially the hybrid and 7-wood, which I’m hitting pretty well. I continue to struggle with the 4-wood and driver. The driver particularly mis-behaved today, hitting either low hooks or high slices. Yeech! 🙁

On the other hand, I continue to gain confidence with my new wedges, especially the PCF Micro WS lob wedge. I hit some really nice cut lobs with it off of fluffy lies, very consistent distance (other than one nasty one hit very thin). I also hit very nice cut lobs with the new PCF Micro sand wedge as well, so both clubs are now in the bag.

The putting green at Hank Haney continues to come out of dormancy, but I didn’t putt today, as it is still a bit bumpy and inconsistent. In a week or two it should be in good shape and a month from now should be back to the outstanding putting surface it was last year.

This afternoon, I put the PCF Micro WS lob wedge to the test at Golden Bear Golf Center. The day was heavily clouded and cool, with scarcely a trace of a breeze. I went to the short game area, where I ran the sand drill with the sand wedge, simulating chipping and then pitching. Next, I hit a few balls out the bunker to get warmed up. My first couple of shots out the bunker were well done, but left two in the bunker when I took too much sand. Still, I was pretty happy.

Next, I got out my new PCF Micro WS lob wedge. For the first test, I hit some short, up-hill chips off a tight lie (the bermuda grass is still largely dormant, but showing some green sprouts here and there). My first chip was a beauty: perfect trajectory and distance, the ball ended up 6 inches from the hole. I hit a few more chips at that hole and even got another ball closer. Next, I hit long chips at another hole on a tight, sidehill lie. Again, good control of trajectory and distance; I really had only one badly struck ball (hit thin). I moved on to hitting short and medium length pitches from an up-hill lie, and these shots were just magical. With seemingly little effort, the shots were very high with little roll after hitting the ground. I was very pleased.

Next, I got some balls and went to the range. I warmed up by hitting a few sand wedges, and then alternated clubs through the bag, hitting about 5 balls with each. The sand wedge shots were very good (except one fattie). I had a good warmup except for the longer clubs. I then hit a few full shots with the new lob wedge, and found that this club is more consistent in distance than my previous CX Micro lob wedge and definitely more forgiving on mishits. The new lob wedge has earned a place in my bag. I didn’t notice much difference in the PCF Micro sand wedge vs. my old CX Micro sand wedge, so the jury is still out on that club. Might need a playoff to decide…

Next, I got out the longer clubs and spent the rest of my available practice time alternating the hybrid, 7- and 4-woods and the driver. I struck the hybrid and 7-wood very well, but neither the 4-wood or the driver would cooperate today.

I’m really pleased with my new PCF Micro Wide Sole lob wedge. It’s kicked the CX Micro lob wedge out of my bag due to more forgiveness on chipping and pitching, and better distance control on full and partial swings. I’m really pleased with it. The new sand wedge hasn’t yet kicked the CX Micro from my bag, more testing will be required to determine the winner.

While I’ve been hitting my Wishon Golf 550c irons pretty good of late, I’ve decided that I’m not quite good enough a golfer yet to use these fine irons. However, these irons give me much more feedback on how I’m hitting the ball than the Wishon Golf 770CFE irons do, so I’ve decided to reshaft my 770CFE irons with True Temper Black Gold shafts (stiff flex, soft-stepped one club). I’m making all specs between the two sets of irons the same (swingweight, length, loft, lie, total weight) so that the clubs will feel about the same (they will sound different, though). In this way, I’ll practice with the 550c irons, to get the superb feedback that helps me improve in practice, and play with the 770CFE irons, to get all the forgiveness and better MOI for more consistent results on the course.

To this end, this morning, I reshafted my 770CFE irons with True Temper Black Gold stiff shafts, instead of the True Temper GS-75 shafts I’d been using. I’ve soft-stepped the shafts one club to match how I built the 550c irons and I’ll swingweight them, once the epoxy sets, to the same D-6 swingweight. I’ve also ordered the AW clubhead that I didn’t have in the 770CFE set, and I’ll put that club together when the head arrives.

This afternoon, I practiced at Golden Bear Golf Center, on a warm, sunny, breezy afternoon. I warmed up with the 7-iron, hitting the ball pretty well, then moving on to the 5-iron, 7-wood and driver. I hit all these clubs pretty well, so I got out the pitching wedge, 8-iron and 6-iron to work on my irons. Unfortunately, I wasn’t hitting the irons well at all. I decided that I needed to focus on getting my hands in front on the ball at impact. I placed a ball up on a tee and worked at getting a late release with good impact on the ball. It took quite a number of shots, but I did get my swing working well again, even down to the 4-iron. I finished up the bucket with a few wedge shots, but I’d lost the good impact and late release I’d had with the longer clubs. My right arm (especially my right elbow) felt sore, so I cut my practice short. I was pleased that I’d gotten back my lag, at least on the irons, but disappointed that I wasn’t hitting the wedges consistently. Much more to work on, obviously.

This afternoon, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville, on a breezy, sunny day. In direct contrast to my last practice, the wind was blowing strongly on my back.

I started off hitting a couple of 7-iron shots to warm up, followed by every other club, hitting about 5 balls each. I was hitting the irons pretty well, but not as good as on Monday. I then got out the pitching wedge, 8-iron and 6-iron, and then my shots weren’t good. I never really put my finger on the exact cause, but eventually, I figured out that I was practicing on a down-slope, and that had put something in my swing that caused me to hit poorly. I moved to another, flatter location on the range, and things got better. I had a really good practice session with the longer clubs, especially the driver. If I’d been on a course, more than 80% of the drives would have been in the fairway, so I was very pleased. I also hit a few good 4-woods (with a stinker or two thrown in).

Next, I went back to the irons to see if I could fix whatever was wrong earlier. I did manage to hit the ball better, even with a good, late release, but still wasn’t pleased, as I tended to hit the ball inconsistently. I hit a few short wedge shots with the sand wedge, trying to get my touch back. I hit a few good shots, but there were a disturbing number of fatties in the mix. I never did get that fixed, so I wasn’t particularly pleased with my practice.

Since the wind was howling, and the putting green still dormant (though looking a lot better after the heavy rain yesterday), I skipped putting and chipping. I’ll be really happy when the dormant bermunda grows back and I can really get my short game back into shape. The practice areas are really beaten up now, both at Hank Haney and Golden Bear, so it’ll be nice when the grass grows in again. Late February and March are not good short game practice times, because the dormant bermuda hasn’t been growng since late October. The grass is starting to green up again, and I expect to be back on the putting green and short game area in two or three weeks.

This afternoon, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville, on a very windy, cloudy day. The temperature was quite comfortable, but the wind was howling at 2-4 clubs into my face during the entire practice.

I warmed up with the 7-iron, striking the ball pretty solidly to warm up. I then hit about 5 balls each, starting with the pitching wedge and working my way down through the clubs until I got to the 7-wood. I then spent some time with the longer clubs, alternating the 5-iron, hybrid and 7-wood. I hit the 5-iron and hybrid very solidly; the 7-wood I tended to hit high fades that were magnified by the wind into slices.

I got out the driver and hit it pretty well once I got it grooved. My distance wasn’t very good, but considering the howling wind I was hitting into, wasn’t bad. Next, I spent some time hitting irons, running through the bag from the sand wedge all the way down to the 4-iron. My ball striking was the best I’ve done since my long Christmas vacation, so I was pretty pleased today.

Because of the howling wind and poor condition of the putting green, I didn’t putt. The putting green is beginning to come out of dormancy, so I expect it will be in good condition again in a few weeks.

One of my better practices. I hit good shots with every club in my bag, so I was pretty happy.

Yesterday, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville, on a fine, sunny, breezy afternoon. I found a spot on the range with a slight uphill lie and warmed up with the 7-iron. I spent the first third of the large bucket of balls alternating the 9-, 7-, 5- and 4-irons, working on getting a good impact position with good lag. I was striking the ball pretty well on this day, hitting even the 4-iron well. Next, I got out the long clubs and alternated the 4-hybrid, 7-wood and 4-wood, along with the 4-iron. I was very pleased; all of the clubs were generally well-struck, though the 4-wood remained a bit twitchy. The driver was an entirely different story; I either hit monster slices or duck hooks. Yeech! I used up the last third of the balls hitting pitches at a basket set in front of the pond, alternating approach wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge. My direction control was pretty respectable, but my distance control was definitely lacking.

This morning, I went to the Golden Bear Golf Center. The weather was heavily overcast, with a very strong wind directly in my face. I started out in the bunker, running the sand drill with the sand wedge with half swings. I then got out the approach wedge and practiced the sand drill while chipping. My final drill was 3/4 swings with the 7-iron. In general, I was pretty happy with the drill. I then hit a couple of balls out of the bunker. All got out, though distances were a bit long.

Next, I practiced chipping with the approach wedge and with the lob wedge. It took a few swings to get good impact, then I had a good chipping practice. I then went to the range to hit balls.

By now, the wind was really howling, somewhere around 30 mph, so strong I had to put my cap in the bag, because it kept getting blown off. I warmed up with the 7-iron. My first swing was very fat, and that threw up a bunch of sand, covering me from head to toe with sand. I got it together on the next few swings, and then alternated through the irons, even getting good lag with the 4-iron. For the first third of the bucket of balls, this was one of my better ball-striking days. I then moved on to the longer clubs, hitting balls with the 4-hybrid and 7-wood. I’d also brought along the 525FD 3-wood to give it a try. I started out hitting the ball very well with the long clubs, but soon my lag vanished and I started hitting low hooks. I got the irons back out to re-establish my lag, but it was hard going for a while before I got my lag back. I finished up the bucket with some pretty good 4-hybrid and 8-irons shots. Due to the howling wind, I didn’t make my usual visit to the putting green; it would have a been a pretty futile exercise.

My swing continues to improve, slowly. I’m now at the point where I get pretty good lag even down to the 7-wood, and I’m even able to hit the 4-iron pretty respectably. I’d say about 20-30% of my swings now have good lag, up from just a couple of swings per practice session only two months ago. I’m also able to get back to a good swing after some bad ones, which I’d previously had trouble doing. Now, if I can just get my swing reliable on the driver and 4-wood, I’d be a pretty good golfer.

I’ve practiced a couple of times since my last practice post, none of which were particularly good. Because of a very busy work schedule, I rarely have time after work these days to practice, so I try to fit in two practices on the weekend.

Yesterday, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center, on a chilly, but sunny, day that gradually warmed up into a really fine afternoon. I started out on the range, hitting 7-irons to warm up. Alan Niederlitz stopped by to say hello, and I hit a couple of shots for him. I spent most of that practice session working on tempo and dynamic impact, but didn’t really start hitting the ball well until the end of the bucket. I then practiced on the putting green, and it wasn’t one of my better putting practices, tending to hit the ball well past the hole. This is an improvement over my usual fault of leaving it short, so I wasn’t disturbed by this new fault. I finished up by running the sand drill in the bunker and then hitting a few sand shots with the lob wedge. I left only one ball in the bunker; out of about 12 shots, 10 were good ones.

This afternoon, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville on a flawless winter afternoon, sunny, warm, not much wind. When I arrived, there were only a few people on the range; by the time I finished up on the range, it was packed from one end to the other, and there was a class at one end and some sort of special event on the other. I warmed up with the 7-iron, then moved on to alternating approach wedge, 9-iron, 7-iron and 5-iron. I had problems striking the ball on the toe and hitting hooks. I tried moving the ball back in my stance, which helped with the toe strikes, but didn’t get rid of the hooks. Finally, I figured out that my hooking problem was caused by being too passive on my lower body. Once I started driving toward the ball with my right knee and making sure to fully shift my weight to the left on the downswing, the hooks straightened out and I began to hit straight shots. Encouraged, I got out the 7-wood and 4-hybrid and began to hit some pretty decent shots with them. Next, the ultimate test: I got out the driver, which had been vexing me for weeks. My first shot was a bit low but right down the middle. As I got more comfortable, I started booming them into the net. The ball flight was mostly a push or a push fade, but very controlled and good trajectory. I was pretty pleased.

I skipped putting, as the green is still dormant and barely puttable, and crowded with people. Not my best practice today, but at least the long clubs are resembling golf shots now.

This afternoon, after work, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center. The afternoon was warm, but heavily clouded, with a 1 to 2 club breeze in my face.

The short game area is in pretty poor shape now due to dormant bermuda (just been scalped and sanded), but I decided to hit some balls anyway. I started out in the deep grass bunker hitting a few balls nested deep in the dormant bermuda rough. My touch was very poor and I didn’t really chip the ball well out of the grass bunker. I then went into the sand bunker and ran the sand drill using my lob wedge (the sand bunkers are in perfect condition). I hit a few balls out of the sand, poorly at first, but then got my swing grooved and hit a few good ones close to the hole. Next, I practiced pitching with the lob wedge, but never really felt comfortable over the ball and my results were pretty pathetic. I was about to give it up, and then holed one. OK, it went in, but I wasn’t particularly happy with my pitching at all.

There was a huge crowd of junior golfers on the putting green getting some lessons, so I skipped putting and got a large bucket of balls and went to the range. At first, I had difficulty, hitting thin shots, but I soon got my swing working and proceeded to hit shots into the teeth of the wind at the blue-flagged green. Normally, that green would have been a 7-iron, but with the wind, I had to hit a 5-iron. I hit the longer clubs surprisingly well today, hitting the green with about 1 out of 3 shots. Indeed, I was hitting the 5-iron better than the 9-iron today, and about as well as I was hitting the 7-iron.

I spent much of practice time rotating through the irons, even getting out the 4-iron and hitting a couple of good shots with it. I also got out the 4-hybrid and hit some very good shots, but also a number of hooks. I struck the ball pretty well but my direction control was pretty poor. I did get out the driver for a few shots, but put it away as I only was able to hit either high booming slices or low duck hooks. Yeech!

Still, although the driver refused to co-operate, my irons continue to improve. I’m still in a funk with my wedges, though, hitting some good shots, some fat shots and some thin shots. Completely inconsistent, in other words.