Joey's Golf Bag

On Sunday, John and I managed to get in 9 holes before yet more crappy weather moved into Texas. We met on the range at Coyote Ridge around 2PM and hit a few balls to warm up. The weather was pretty nice at this point, low-60s and partly cloudy. I didn’t play particularly well, but I did manage to win a couple of skins off John. My drives tended to go right and my pitches tended to be long. The good weather didn’t last, though, on the 4th hole we had some cold rain come down for a few minutes. Fortunately, it didn’t last, and though the weather continued to get colder, at least it didn’t rain and we were able to finish up our 9.

On Monday and Wednesday after work, I managed to hit a few balls at Hank Haney (I had to put on my long underwear as the weather was quite cold, though sunny). My irons are gradually improving, but my driving wasn’t. This afternoon, after work, I considered hitting balls, but the clouds were rolling in and a few rain drops threatened. Instead, I decided to see if Mike Murray could fit me in. He could, so I went over to Golf Galaxy to get in a lesson.

I warmed up in the simulator, as no customers were using it. I stretched and then hit a few balls, poorly, with my 6-iron. I then switched to the driver and hit a few balls. Mike walked up just as I popped one off the heel. Oops. He had me hit a few more and all of them went left, which is unusual for me (I usually miss right). We went back to the instruction area to see what problem I’m struggling with this time.

Well, the problem was immediately obvious: poor hip turn. I thought I was turning my hips well, but the video clearly showed I wasn’t turning. Instead, I was moving my hips toward the ball instead of turning my hips properly. He had me hit short shots with my 6-iron. He showed me where the clubhead should be just after impact; I had the clubhead much too far around. We worked on those short shots for a while, concentrating on getting the clubhead into the right place just after impact, with my hands clearly in front of the ball at impact, and also making sure my head remained behind the ball at impact. We then worked on getting a proper hip turn. He wanted me to force my belt buckle toward the target after impact and to let the club release properly toward the target and not so much around my body. We worked on this for several more shots and the video showed great improvement. I then got out the driver and hit a few balls with the same swing thoughts and I hit the ball much more solidly.

We went back to the simulator, and hit some drives. My distance was considerably improved and the majority of my drives were nice draws. I was extremely pleased and happy with my progress in this lesson. The key will be can I get this swing to work once Mike is not watching me. I’ll find out soon enough, as I have a tournament this weekend in the GGA.

I’m looking forward to it.

This has been a strange week for golf. On Sunday, John and I went to Top Golf to hit balls in the relative comfort of a heated driving range, with interesting targets. I hit the ball poorly; too many swing thoughts from my lessons. On Wednesday, we managed to get in nine holes before the sun went down. Again, too many swing thoughts. I won only one skin. On Thursday, I had my fifth lesson with Mike Murray at Golf Galaxy. I told him about my golfing woes from the past week. We worked mainly on a slightly different setup (more shoulder tilt away from the ball) and then concentrated on getting my hands in front of the ball at impact. We also worked on getting a little more hip turn before impact. We spent the entire lesson on these two items, especially making sure that my right arm was bent at impact, and not straight. By the end of the lesson, I was beginning to my hands in front of the ball at impact on a full swing. I don’t think I’ve done that since I hurt my shoulder in late 2008.

Yesterday, after work, I made a quick run to Hank Haney to hit some balls before the sun went down. I hit a lot of balls, but not particularly well. Too many swing thoughts.

This morning, I played in the GGA tournament at Grapevine Golf Club. There was a frost delay, so I didn’t get on the first tee until about 12:30PM (my original tee time was 11:03AM). I had warmed up very nicely on the range, but didn’t know that there was a delay, so after I finished warming up, I discovered that it would be at least an hour before I teed off. Since it was cart path only, I decided to walk, so I loaded up my push cart. I prefer to walk anyway, but this is the first time I’ve walked in a tournament. We played Pecan followed by Bluebonnet.

While I was pleased that I warmed up well, I was very apprehensive on the first tee. Fortunately I striped my tee shot right down the middle, leaving me with a relatively short approach. I hit my approach pin-high, but right of the pin and two-putted for par. On the second hole, my tee shot was hit a tiny bit fat and I was short and left of the flag. I hit a nice chip and made a short putt for par. On the third hole, I hit yet another nice tee shot, but my approach shot was hit dead right into the crap above the green. I didn’t find the ball, took a drop and proceeded to make a mess of the hole, making triple. Still, I had a good nine, shooting 45 despite way too many swing thoughts.

On the back, things came a little undone. My short game gave up the ghost, and I either hit my wedges fat and short, or thin over greens. Ugly. Still, managed to get around in 53 despite two triples and a quad. I finished up by hitting the pin on the 9th hole on Bluebonnet and tapping in for bogey.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit 8 of 14 fairways and one par-3 hole in regulation. I had one penalty off the tee, a topped hybrid on Bluebonnet #4.
• Approach shots. I hit four greens in regulation. I had one penalty off an approach shot, a 7-wood hit dead right into the crap on #3 on Pecan. I was just off the green on several shots, so not so bad.
• Wedges. Wedges just ate my lunch on the back, either hitting them fat and short, or thin and over the green. Seriously stinky. My only memorable shot (after hitting an approach wedge so fat that the greens crew sent out a backhoe to fill in the divot) was a 1/2 swing approach wedge that hit the pin on #9 on Bluebonnet and dropped 3 ft away. By some miracle, I made the putt (for bogey).
• Chipping. I got up-and-down only four times, so I wasn’t particularly thrilled with my chipping. I tended to hit my chips long.
• Sand shots. I hit into only one bunker, a fairway bunker on #7 on Pecan. I attempted to hit a pitching wedge to the green, but the ball caught the lip and went back in. My second bunker shot was nicely hit onto the green.
• Putting. On the front, I had only 15 putts, but had four (!) 3-putts on the back. I had a total of 36 putts, pretty darn stinky.

Well, I played decently on the front, but my putting and wedges really stank on the back. Still, 98 was my best tournament score, and considering the very cold and cloudy weather, not too bad. I’ll probably be in the money.

Update: I came in 2nd gross for the tournament, and I’m now second on the leaderboard. 🙂

Yesterday, I took the afternoon off to go play at Grapevine Golf Club with John. The day was sunny, warm and blustery. We went off at 12:30PM on Bluebonnet and finished up on Mockingbird about 4 hours later. I didn’t keep the scorecard, but it wasn’t pretty, other than my driver was good all day. It felt so good, in fact, I used it on every par-4 and par-5 hole, even on my nemesis holes like #6 on Mockingbird and #2 on Bluebonnet. I hit 10 fairways, and all the ones I missed I still had playable lies. And, for only the third time ever, I had no penalties.

No penalties didn’t help, because the rest of my game this day was just awful. I did have a couple of good second shots on par-5 holes, but my iron play was just atrocious. I had only one green-in-regulation (a par-3 hole), my sand play was a complete and total disaster, and I had three 3-putts and only got up-and-down 3 times. I did make a couple of long putts, but I also missed two putts within 3 ft.

But at least I can hit the driver! My confidence with the driver was very high, and I found myself with shorter irons into the green than ever before. Not that having short irons helped, as I didn’t hit a good iron shot from the fairway all day, typically coming up well short, either hitting it very thin or very fat.

On the other hand, my lessons are going well. I had my third lesson with Mike Murray on Thursday, and although I’m making progress (evidence: my stellar driving yesterday), I still have much work to do to get rid of 5 years of bad swings. We’re working mostly on getting into proper position at the top of the backswing, and then making sure the clubhead is on the right path. This is mostly working with the driver / fairway woods / hybrid, and mostly not with the irons. I also need to be more aggressive with my hip turn on the downswing. I’ve definitely found the right instructor.

This week, I’m concentrating on short game and putting for the tournament next weekend at Grapevine Golf Club.

Yesterday, John and I played 18 at Coyote Ridge on cool, but sunny morning. There was just a little 1-club breeze most of the day, from the south. We went off just after 11AM on a largely empty golf course and finished in 3-1/2 hours. We never had to wait until we caught up with a foursome on the 15th hole. And that group was moving fast enough that we really only had to wait a couple of minutes on 2 holes. I just love fast golf.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. While I didn’t have a great driving day, I did manage to get around the course without a single penalty. I didn’t keep stats (except putting), but I probably hit about 8 fairways. My best drive of the day was a wind-aided drive of nearly 300 yards on the par-5 4th hole, where I had 175 yards remaining to the pin.
• Approach shots. Not very good, as I hit only two non-par-3 hole in regulation (the par-5 4th hole and the par-4 12th hole). On the other hand, I didn’t have any penalties, so I’m not complaining (much!). Even my approach on the par-5 4th (going from the green in 2) wasn’t great, as I hit the rocks in front of the green and the ball bounced over the green (I did get up-and-down for birdie, though).
• Wedges. I didn’t really have a lot of wedge shots, but the ones I had were pretty stinky, with one exception. I was in the center of the fairway on both #6 and #17 with short wedge shots into the green. I hit the one on #6 pin-high right of the green, and chunked the one on #17, then hit a poor one to follow. My best wedge shot of the day was a lob wedge over a pine tree to less than a foot (nearly went in for eagle) on the par-5 #4 hole, where I tapped in for birdie.
• Chipping. I only got up-and-down twice, so pretty pathetic.
• Sand shots. I hit into 3 greenside bunkers and one fairway bunker. I got out successfully out of two of the three greenside bunkers (failing on #18 to get out on the first try). I got out successfully out of the fairway bunker on #15, but the ball went only a few yards.
• Putting. I did keep putting stats, having two 3-putts and two 1-putt greens, for a total of 36 putts. My speed was off all day. I nearly putted off the green twice.

Well, considering I’ve not practiced but once in the last two weeks, I’m not going to complain too much about a 95 on Coyote Ridge. And I beat John! 😉

On Saturday, I played the Grapevine Golf Association tournament at Grapevine Golf Club. We went off in a shotgun start just after the frost melted around 11AM and finished nearly 5 hours later. We played lift, clean and place, as there were significant wet spots on the course that left mud on the ball. We went off on Pecan #2.

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit only four fairways and had two penalties off the tee (into the water on #9 on Pecan) and lost in the brush to the right on #3 on Pecan). I also hit two of the four par-3 holes in regulation.
• Approach shots. I hit 5 greens-in-regulation, though two were on par-3 holes. I had a penalty on the 2nd shot on #9 on Pecan (ball into a pine tree for an unplayable) and my second shot into #3 on Bluebonnet went long into the woods (hazard). My best shot all day was a 7-iron approach between two trees and over the tree in front of the green on the goofy par-4 fifth hole on Pecan, where I overclubbed a bit and hit the ball 25 ft over the pin (made a difficult downhill putt for birdie, though).
• Wedges. I didn’t have to hit a lot of wedges, other than a few get-out-of-trouble shots.
• Chipping. My chipping was mixed. I got up-and-down 4 times, though not always for par. Mostly, I left chips short.
• Sand shots. I hit into only one fairway bunker, on the short, up-hill par-4 sixth hole of Bluebonnet. I hit a really nice 9-iron from the bunker, into a strong wind, to about 30 ft and two-putted for par.
• Putting. Oh my, how I sucked. Two 4-putts, two 3-putts, 37 total, only 5 one-putt greens. On the other hand, I hit a 25 foot, downhill, left breaking putt for birdie and bombed two other putts from more than 30 ft. But really, now can you three-putt from four feet?

Well, it was ugly, ugly golf. Very cold (I had long underwear, a long sleeve shirt, a hoodie and a rain jacket at the start, though it warmed up enough to ditch the rain jacket) and windy. On the other hand, I managed 1st place net (2nd gross) in D flight, so I’m not complaining to the golf gods.

Much.

If I could putt.

This morning, Jack, John and I played 18 at the Cowboys Golf Club. We went off at around 10AM and finished 4-1/2 hours later. The day was mostly overcast, without much wind, with temperatures in the lower 70s.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit only 2 fairways and had three penalties off the tee, two on the 18th. I also hit 3 of the 4 par-3 holes in regulation, though.
• Approach shots. Today was a pretty good day for approach shots. I hit 4 GIR in addition to the 3 GIR on the par-3 holes. I had two penalties, one off the second shot on the par-5 13th hole, where I hooked one left into the hazard, and another hooked into the pond on the par-4 16th.
• Wedges. I hit a couple of good wedge shots, one of which where I got up-and-down for bogey after hooking the approach into the pond on the 16th (wedge to 3 ft). However, my putting wasn’t good enough for some of my wedges or chips.
• Sand shots. I was in two greenside bunkers and didn’t get up-and-down on either one.
• Chipping. I got up-and-down for par from deep rough on the par-3 15th hole. I also hit a terrible chip over the green on the short par-4 14th hole.
• Putting. In a word, terrible. I had four 3-putts on the front, but did better on the back. I hit only one of my eight birdie putts and had 37 total putts.

How good could the day have been if I’d hit more than one of my eight birdie putts? Still, 43 on the front is my second best score ever on a par-36 nine. I was still pretty happy with the way I played, considering I’ve not practiced since before my last GGA tournament.

Yesterday, I played in the AJ Harper tournament in the Grapevine Golf Association at Grapevine Golf Club. We went off in a shotgun start around 7:30AM in the second group off the 4th hole on Mockingbird. The weather was quite cold, and a heavy dew covered the course. Due to heavy rain previously, the cart-path only rule was in effect, and that made play especially slow. It took more than five hours to finish the round. By the 10th hole we played, the sun had warmed things up enough that I was able to strip down to short sleeves and enjoy the nice fall weather.

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit seven fairways, but unfortunately, none of the par-3 holes in regulation. I had two penalties off the tee, both balls lost in the woods on big pushes with the driver.
• Approach shots. Because the course was wet and soft, there was no rollout at all, so I was hitting longer clubs into the greens than usual. I hit only one green-in-regulation, the par five 5th hole on Bluebonnet. In many cases, I was just off the green, so things weren’t as bad as it seems. I did have one penalty on an approach, from the middle of the fairway, a ball lost in the hazard behind the green on #7 of Bluebonnet.
• Wedges. I hit some really nice wedge shots, and wasted nearly all of them on missed short putts. Really short putts.
• Chipping. I hit only a few chips, but got up-and-down only twice. I wasted some good chips on missed short putts. Really short putts. On the short par-3 #7 hole on Mockingbird, I hit a stellar, downhill chip in the rough on the mound to the left of the green to 2 ft, and missed the putt for par.
• Sand shots. I was in three greenside bunkers. On Bluebonnet #1, I hit a really nice bunker shot to 6 ft, and on another hole, hit a really nice bunker shot to two feet. I missed those putts. My third bunker shot was well past the hole, but it was a long difficult shot and I wasn’t really that disappointed.
• Putting. Ah, putting! How bad can it possibly get? I turned a round of 92 into a round of 99. I had a 4-putt, yes, a 4-putt, from 6 feet on #1 on Bluebonnet after a really good bunker shot. I ended up with an 8 on that hole. I had four other 3-putts to go with my 4-putt, and at least two of those I missed 2 foot putts. 40 putts total, how pathetic is that?

Equally inexplicably, I came in 4th on gross score and 3rd on net. D flight, of course.

Why do I play this game?

This afternoon, we played golf at Firewheel on the Old Course. The weather was breezy, heavily overcast and muggy, with the temperature in the upper 60s. The course was very wet and muddy from all of the rain we’ve had recently. We went off in a fivesome at 3:30PM. The course had only a few groups on it, so the pro shop let us go off as a fivesome instead of two groups.

We ran out of daylight and only finished 16 holes.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. Pretty pathetic, as I hit only 4 fairways of the 12 par-4 or par-5 holes. On the other hand, I did hit 2 of the 3 par-3 holes in regulation, the closest of which was a 7-iron to 6 ft on #4. I missed the birdie putt.
• Approach shots. Not very good. I hit only one green-in-regulation, other than the two par-3 holes I hit in regulation. I tended to be short today, or hit into bunkers. On the other hand, I was nearly on in two on #13, where I just a 4-hybrid into the green and had just a chip onto the green on that par-5 hole.
• Wedges. I didn’t hit many wedges today, I was mainly chipping or hitting from greenside bunkers.
• Chipping. Other than a chip-in for par on #12, my chipping was atrocious. I either left the ball well short, or I hit it thin well past the hole. It was stunningly bad considering how much time I spent chipping yesterday. I got up-and-down only once other than the chip-in.
• Sand shots. I hit into several greenside bunkers. I got out cleanly except on #9 where my first bunker shot never got out, but I got up-and-down on my second. I hit into one fairway bunker. I should have just pitched out, but I went for the green with the hybrid, but the shot didn’t clear the lip and the ball went only about a 100 yds down the fairway.
• Putting. My putting wasn’t good today, either. I left a lot of putts short and missed all three of my birdie putts, including an easy 6 foot uphill putt. My only one-putt green was number #9, where I holed a 6 footer after a bunker shot.

I didn’t play well on the front, but recovered nicely on the back, making 3 pars in 6 holes.

This morning, John and I played 18 at Coyote Ridge. We went off about 11:30AM and finished around 3:40PM. The day was cool, mid-60s, cloudy and windy when we went off. The clouds parted and we enjoyed partly sunny skies after the 10th hole.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. Other than one 7-wood hooked into the hazard on the 9th hole, I had a good day off the tee, hitting nine fairways and one par-3 hole in regulation. I also had to take an unplayable on #5 from under a small pine tree, but I still managed a bogey on the hole.
• Approach shots. I hit three greens in regulation today on par-4 or par-5 holes, plus the par-3 third hole from the tee. I was pretty irritated with myself today, as I was in the middle of the fairway and chunked short- or mid-iron shots, one into the hazard on #10.
• Wedges. I had a decent day with the wedges, getting up-and-down three times with wedge shots. I tended to be a bit long today on the wedges.
• Chipping. My chipping really let me down today; I left so many chips well short and only managed to get up-and-down with a chip once.
• Sand shots. I was in only two greenside bunkers today. On the 16th hole, I hit a 7-iron into the bunker, leaving a long bunker shot to the flag. I hit a pretty nice bunker shot about a foot short of my target, and the ball plugged hard up against the lip. I closed the face of my sand wedge and swung very hard. The ball popped straight up and ended 3 ft from the hole. I made the putt for bogey. On the 18th hole, I had another very long bunker shot. This time, I flew the ball to the pin but it rolled just off the green. I putted from off the green and finished that hole with bogey.
• Putting. Putting was pretty mediocre today. I missed all four birdie putts, had two 3-putt greens and got up-and-down five times, so I had a total of 33 putts.

I was pretty happy with the way I played today. My driving was pretty good, though my short game and putting suffered from lack of practice. Still, I won 7 holes to Johnnie’s 5, so it was a good day. My 4-wood from 220 yds on #3 was one of the finest shots I’ve ever hit.

This afternoon, I played golf on a cold, cloudy afternoon. There was a one-club breeze from the north. We played skins (no carry-over); I only won 2 holes.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I was booming the driver, but the ball wasn’t always going straight. I hit four fairways and two par-3 greens in regulation. I had one penalty off the tee, on the 11th hole, where I pushed one into the hazard.
• Approach shots. Not very good. I didn’t hit any greens in regulation, apart from the two par-3 holes. However, I did hit some pretty respectable approach shots, but my short game was completely non-existent today, so my scoring was terrible. I had two penalties on approach shots, dunking two balls in the water on the ninth.
• Wedges. I wasn’t pleased with my wedges today at all, hitting a couple over greens or into bunkers.
• Chipping. Chipping, usually a strength, was poor today as well; I got up-and-down only twice all day.
• Sand shots. I hit into one fairway bunker and two greenside bunkers. I hit a pretty good 4-hybrid out of the right bunker on the 15th hole, leaving me a simple approach wedge to the green. I got out cleanly from the greenside bunkers, but not close enough to the hole to get up-and-down.
• Putting. Simply terrible. I had three 3-putts and only two 1-putt greens.

Well, not a good day on the course. After all the rain we’ve had for the past week, the course was cartpath only. I would have preferred to walk, but Coyote Ridge doesn’t allow push carts and carrying a bad is too hard on my back. The course was playing very long due to the wet fairways, as the ball didn’t roll out at all. I haven’t been able to practice for more than a week, and it showed.