Joey's Golf Bag

This morning, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center on a warm, blustery day. I started out running the Jim Flick drill that I learned at the Swing Master clinic last Saturday, using the pitching wedge. I hit the ball pretty straight, so I moved on to the 8-iron, with which I started hitting hooks. I soon figured that out, but not before getting pretty frustrated. I finally started being able to distinguish when my swing was being afflicted with the reverse pivot.

I then started hitting iron shots normally, trying to keep the reverse pivot out of my swing. It was difficult to get the proper swing grooved, but I continued to work at it both with the irons, and later, with the driver and 5-wood. Whenever I hit a shot when the reverse pivot reappeared, I went back to the drill and hit a few balls. This was a long and painful process, but I was finally rewarded near the end of the practice, hitting long drives right down the middle. My final ball was a perfectly struck drive that followed the exact line and trajectory that I desire.

Since the short game area is still closed (due to reopen on April 1st), I went to the putting green and practiced putting, making sure to follow my routine exactly each time. I putted pretty well today, first hitting several short putts, then working my way out to 18, 24, 30 and 45 ft. I didn’t have any really poor putts today, especially, none of those inexplicable putts that are well short or way long.

My practice today started out really poorly, but I eventually figured out how to feel when I have reverse pivot in my swing, and how to correct for it. I think my ball-striking will be much improved once I get used to the correct swing.

This afternoon, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center on a cool, sunny, breezy afternoon.

I started off hitting the lob wedge at the red flagged green. I had some difficulty striking the ball cleanly at first, tending to hit the ball thin. I was a little frustrated, so I decided to hit bump and run shots with the pitching wedge, and that helped get my feel and tempo back. I hit a variety of low shots with all the wedges, and hit some nice gap and sand wedge bump-and-run shots at the white flagged green.

Next, I got out the long clubs and hit the ball over the blue flagged green. With the driver, I tended to hit draws or pushes, though did hit one monster slice and a moon ball. I then hit some good shots with the 5-wood and 3-hybrid off tees. I then went through a stage where I was hitting hooks with all of the longer clubs.

Next, I went back to the irons, starting with the 9-iron. At first, I was hitting pulls well left of the blue flagged green. After a few of those, I put the ball more forward in my stance and that seemed to help me straighten out my shots, and even get a little fade into them. I then went through the bag, trying to hit a good shot with each club. I succeeded in doing that, with the exception of a duck hook with the 4-iron. I then finished up the bucket by hitting the hybrid and 5-wood off the deck and then a drive or two.

Since the short game area is closed for renovation, I went to the putting green and practiced short chips with the 8-iron. At first, I hit all the shots thin and past the hole. It took quite a few chips, but I eventually worked it out and hit some nice chips, including one holed.

Next, I did a few speed drills, making myself redo any putt left short (my most common fault). I then practice long putts from 18 to 45 ft. I was pretty pleased with my putting practice today; I seem to be making some progress on fixing my primary fault, putting short. I also made myself be more consistent with my routine, making the same number of practice putts and making sure not to stay over the ball too long.

A strange and inconsistent practice, but I did manage a pretty good practice.

This afternoon after work, I had a few minutes, so I stopped off at Golden Bear Golf Center and spent 45 minutes working on putting. I should have spent some time on short putts, but I used the time to work on putts longer than 18 ft. My practice consisted of two drills, the first, dropping 3 balls at a specific distance, hitting all three putts and then cleaning up any that didn’t go in (which was most of them). I practiced putts out to 45 ft and did a pretty good job, except for the usual one or two that were inexplicably long or short. Next, I went through a nine-hole simulation around the putting green. I started remarkably well by nailing two 25-ft putts and lagging the third to about 6 inches. The next hole was about 20 ft away and I hit two of the three putts well, but left one long. The last hole was about 50 ft away and I hit two putts within tap-in distance but left one short by 5 ft and missed that one.

If I could just get rid of the inexplicable putts left well short or long, I’d putt really well. I need to spend a lot of time on short 3-4 ft putts as well.

This afternoon after work, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center. The day was warm and windy, with a brisk breeze from the southwest.

I warmed up by hitting pitching wedges towards the red flagged green. While the fat shot wasn’t as bad as the last practice, still hit a couple of fatties. Next, got out the 7-iron and was striking the ball pretty well but most shots were hooks or pulls, and my tempo wasn’t particularly great. So, got out the driver.

First drive was a slight fade, then a draw, then a perfect straight one. Next, I got out the 5-wood and hybrid and hit some shots off the deck, particularly well with the hybrid, a bit low but straight with the 5-wood. Also hit some shots off tees with both clubs, and hit some really nice shots. I then got out the 4-iron and started hitting some balls with it since my tempo was back under control.

As I was hitting the 4-iron, Alan walked up and I told him about my difficulties with the wedges. He checked my stance and had me bend my knees a bit more and put my feet closer together and I started hitting the wedges better. As he was leaving, I hit a spectacular hybrid shot and he said, “Last year, you couldn’t hit that shot”. That’s the truth!

Finished up by going through the bag and hitting all the clubs. I hit at least a decent shot with every club, even the 4-iron. My tempo died off at the end, but I was still happy to have gotten my wedges working again and my irons beginning to behave.

I then went to the putting green and practiced putts longer than 18 ft. I paid particular attention to my routine and taking practice putts to get the feel back in my putting. I’ve been neglecting my routine and I think that’s what’s made my putting suck the last two weeks even though I’ve practiced well.

I was pretty pleased with the practice today; just wish I’d had time to get to the short game area.

This afternoon, after work, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center. The weather was warm and sunny, with only a trace of a breeze.

I warmed up hitting pitching wedges toward the red flagged green. I hit the ball pretty well, with a fat shot or two thrown in, and most of the shots were pulled just left of the flag. Next, I got out the 7-iron and lined up to hit shots at the blue flagged green. I was striking the ball fairly well, but my shots were mostly pulls or hooks. The more I hit, the more the ball started to hook. I got out the 9-iron and went to work trying to get the path straightened out. Hoping to get the hook out, I put the ball a little farther forward in my stance and worked on getting a clean strike on the ball. For the most part I was successful, but still had that nagging hook or fat shot lurking to torment me. I then rotated in the 5-iron into the mix, but couldn’t seem to get a good strike on the ball.

I traded the irons for the long clubs. First up, I hit the 5-wood, and boomed a nice one at the yellow flagged green. I followed that up by hitting the hybrid and driver. All of these clubs I hit pretty well, the only miss was hooks with the driver. I even hit nice shots off the deck, which was little more than a 1/4″ long grass over very hard dirt. I was pretty pleased with the long clubs, I continue to improve with those clubs, as long as I resist the urge to kill the ball (that causes the dreaded hook monster to torment me).

I then went back to the wedges, hoping to get the fat out of my game. No such luck today, I seem to be digressing with the wedges. I think I’m going to need to get some instruction, and soon.

Finally, I got out the longer irons and worked on striking the ball with the ball more forward in my stance than I’ve been using, hoping to get the hook monster to stay away. I seem to have made a bit of progress, as I even hit a decent 4-iron at the end.

I’d planned to hit the putting green to practice, but found the green overrun by junior golfers, so I reluctantly skipped putting practice and hit the road.

This afternoon after work, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center on a cool, but sunny, afternoon. Only a slight breeze from the west was blowing.

I started off hitting gap wedges to the red flagged green. The first shot was slightly fat, but the next few shots were well-struck. I then got out the 7-iron and proceeded to hit high hooks well left of the blue-flagged green. A bit discouraged, I got out the driver and hit a high fade, followed by a high hook, and then a perfect drive right at the green flag. Now encouraged again, I got out the 5-wood and hit some shots. After two high fades, I started striking the ball perfectly straight and long. I then got out the hybrid, but never really hit it particularly well.

Next, I got out the 9-iron to work out my hooks. After a push, I hooked a couple of shots and then hit one very nicely. I then got out the 5-iron and again hit high hooks. I then alternated the driver, 5-wood and 5-iron, trying to get the hook out of my swing. I finally succeeded by letting my grip weaken a bit and swinging with a bit less tension. I then hit some very nice iron shots with the 9-, 7- and 5-irons. With the last few balls, I hit some more iron and hybrid shots, the irons well-struck but the hybrid shots were weak fades.

Next up, I went to the putting green to practice putting. I’ve been trying to swing more freely with minimal grip pressure. I ran the speed drill, putting the ball very cleanly, but a little longer past the hole than I prefer. I ended putting practice with some very nice putts from 30 ft, none of them more than 20″ from the hole.

A good practice on a beautiful afternoon; I was very pleased.

Yesterday after work, I practiced putting at the Golden Bear Golf Center. As I had only 45 spare minutes, I spent the entire available time practicing putting. I spent the first 30 minutes running speed drills, and the remainder of the time working on long distance putts at 30 and 45 ft. Aside from one or two putts either inexplicably short or long, my putting practice was quite good.

Now, if I could just take that putting onto the course…

This morning, on a very, very windy day, I hit a few balls at the Golden Bear Golf Center. The day started out heavily clouded, but the wind soon blew the clouds away and left the day sunny, but with a very strong wind from the west.

I started off warming up with the pitching wedge, and the wind was hard right-to-left with a bit into me. My old nemesis, the fat shot, was evident from the first. So, I did what I’ve done when I can’t hit the wedge, I get out the driver. Got out the big stick and proceeded to pound balls at the green with the yellow flag. The wind wasn’t affecting the flight of the ball too much at this time, so my gentle fades were drawn back to the flag by the wind. I then took out the 3- and 5-woods and hit some balls, pretty well. I hit a few 5-woods off the deck, surprisingly straight though not long due to the wind.

Now, the wind was really starting to howl, so I thought it would be fun to see how far right I could hit the ball and have it draw back in the wind. I got out the 7-iron and tried to hit a fade at the right edge of the green with the blue flag. Hooked it instead and sent the ball high, the wind grabbed it and took it a good 40 yds left of the green. Wow!

Set up again for a fade, but aimed at the yellow flag. Hit the ball very high with only a trace of a fade, then the wind grabbed it and the ball landed just on the left edge of the green. That’s some wind!

Now the wind was howling so hard that I decided to hit the ball really high with the sand wedge. I swung very hard aimed at the right edge of the green with the red flag, the wind grabbed it and the ball landed right on the left fringe. Heh!

The wind was howling so hard it was pointless to continue, so I gathered my gear and headed home. Too bad the wind wasn’t behind me, it would have been fun to tee it up high and hit 300 yd drives. 😉

This afternoon after work, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center, on a wonderfully warm and breezy afternoon. I’d planned to have a full practice session, and I did manage to practice my full swing and short game, but no time for putting or chipping. The bunker is closed for renovation, so no sand shots possible.

I warmed up by hitting a few balls with the 7-iron. I was a bit rusty at first but soon started to hit the ball straight, but very high and short. Since I’ve been hitting the driver and the fairway woods pretty well, I decided to trot out the Toski driver, 3- and 5-woods that I built a while back with stiff shafts. I alternated the Nike SasQuatch driver with the Toski T-6 driver, and then alternated the Nike SasQuatch 3-wood and the Toski T-6 3-wood. Verdict: I still can’t hit a stiff shaft, so these clubs go back in the closet.

Next, I went through the irons, and I was pleased that I hit all the irons well except for the 4-iron (kept hitting low hooks) and the 5-iron was a bit mixed; otherwise, struck the ball quite well, though distance was shorter than usual. I then got out the wedges and worked on a variety of short wedge shots, including low bump and run shots with the pitching wedge. I definitely will need a lot more work before I use that shot on the course. I also had a pretty rough day with the wedges, hitting a lot of balls fat. I still have to get that worked out. I’m pleased with the new wedges when I do manage to put a good swing on the ball, but my wedge swing is really crappy at the moment and the concrete-hard ground on the range didn’t help.

I had a few balls left, so I got out the SasQuatch driver and really whaled on the ball. I hit the ball high and far (for me 😎 ), but had some difficulty getting properly aligned, which led to my main fault being a push.

I was pleased to see my iron swing pretty much back to normal today, I just wish I could get my wedge swing back in order. A good day of practice on a fine afternoon!

Yesterday afternoon, on a blustery sunny day, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center. I’d planned to make a full practice, but I ran out of time and worked mainly on wedges and the long clubs.

I started off hitting wedges (my new Tom Wishon CX Micro wedges), but despite spending significant time with the clubs, never really got the wedges working. Nothing to do with the clubs, my swing just stank from lack of practice. About half the shots were fine, the rest were hit fat. Some only slightly, but there were some digging-to-China fat shots that were really frustrating.

One thing I’ve been doing lately, if my wedges or short irons aren’t being well-struck, I’ll get my driver out and really pound the ball. That seems to get my rhythm back more quickly. This time, it worked again. After a stinky shot to start, I started pounding the driver pretty well, about half right down the middle and the rest a mix of fades or draws. I had only one high monster slice, but otherwise, the really bad shots were not present. I also got out the 3-wood and 5-wood and pounded some balls off tees. My first shots were topped, but I concentrated on taking the same swing as with my driver, and then I hit some beauties, even with the 3-wood. I also got out the 3-hybrid and managed some pretty respectable shots.

Despite really poor practice with the wedges (no reflection on the clubs themselves) and short irons, I was pleased that my long game continues to improve. Now, I’ll need to figure out my short clubs, again.

Range note: Golden Bear is renovating their large practice bunker. One new section is going to be especially deep, with Pete Dye-style railroad ties. Can’t wait to give it a try…