Joey's Golf Bag

I went to practice and play today at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. The weather was nice when I arrived, but rain had been falling all morning. A light breeze from the west was almost unnoticed.

I started out hitting short iron shots at the green in the center of the range. My distances started out short and lengthened to their usual (short) distances after I warmed up. Today, I was completely inconsistent, hitting a perfect shot to the center of the green, followed by a shot so poor that I wondered if that was me hitting the shot. I hit some fades and some draws with the short irons, and then hit a few balls with the longer irons, mostly soft fades or soft draws.

Next, I got out the SasQuatch 3-metal and hit a few, starting out with towering slices. I managed to get that under control and hit a few nice straight shots. I finished up with short wedge shots into the water just short of the center green. No sign of fat or thin wedges, but that would be the bane of my game today.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Hit into 3 bunkers today. On the first hole, managed to get out onto the green, but 2 putted from there. On the fifth hole, hit into the right bunker, had an easy bunker shot but hit it poorly about 2 ft. into the lip. From that very difficult lie, hit a good shot to 10 ft. from the hole. On the ninth hole, hit a 7-iron pin high into the left bunker, SW went over the green into the rough. Needs much work.
• Hit two of four fairways. On the sixth hole (my nemesis hole), hit a perfect fade into the center of the fairway, but it monster-bounced just to the right edge behind a tree. I hit a SW thin (again!) into the hazard. On the eighth hole, since I actually hit a 3-metal through the fairway and into the rough the last time I played, hit a perfect 23-hybrid into the center of the fairway. Unfortunately, it landed in a divot and a tree blocked the shot to the hole, so I had to play a 10-iron to the right of the hole. I hit a nice chip from there, but missed the par putt. On the second hole, hit a fade into the right rough; on the fourth, hit a draw into the left rough.
• Short wedge shots haunted me all day. The only great wedge shot I had today was on the 3rd, where I hit a pitching wedge to 8 ft, but missed the par putt.
• Putting was merely adequate. Although I had no 3 putts, I didn’t hit any putts beyond 5 ft.

Yes, I sucked again today, but had fun.

I went to GBGC to practice after work yesterday, to concentrate on my short game, which I’ve been neglecting lately as I’ve worked on my full swing. My guide for the short game is Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible. The weather was cool, around 55 degrees, very soft breeze from behind me, and sunny skies as the sun went down.

I spent most of my time hitting pitching, sand and lob wedges, trying to get good solid strikes on the ball. I had a problem over the last weekend hitting the ball fat, and now I’m trying to hit the ball “skinny” (but not thin). 😉 For the most part, I was successful, as long as I kept Dave’s mantra of “dead hands” and coordinated trunk and waist turns.

Of course, I wanted to see the ball fly, so I got out the SasQuatch 3-metal and hit some balls. At first, I was hooking the ball, just like last week. A few adjustments of my stance and I got the ball drawing perfectly or going straight. With the last few remaining balls, I went pin hunting on the blue and red flags, using the 7-iron to attack the blue flag and the 10-iron to attack the red flag. I hit the ball well, very slight fade or draw on the 7-iron and slight pushes with the 10-iron. My distance was somewhat longer than normal today, due in part to the soft breeze and in part to the fact that the fade has faded and replaced with straight or draw shots. I also hit the 6-iron and was pleased to see no fades at all, just straight or draw shots.

After finishing the bucket, I went to the short game area and hit short wedges with the sand and lob wedges, and spent about 20 minutes chipping. Distance control was poor on the sand and lob wedges, so I need to spend more time hitting these shots. Chipping improved over the practice so that near the end, most were in easy putting distance.

Next year should be a fascinating one for the LPGA, with teens Michelle Wie and Morgan Pressel joining the tour to do battle with Rookie of the Year and fellow teen golfer Paula Creamer.

ESPN reports that Morgan Pressel closes out amateur career with victory. A quote:

Morgan Pressel closed out her amateur career with a victory Wednesday, making a 10-foot putt on the second playoff hole to win her third straight Florida high school girls 1A tournament title.

The 17-year-old Pressel, who finished second at the U.S. Women’s Open and won the U.S. Women Amateur this summer, represented Boca Raton’s St. Andrew’s School. She defeated Vicky Hurst of Holy Trinity Episcopal (Melbourne) in the playoff.

This morning I hit a small bucket of balls and played nine holes at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. The weather was warm and sunny, with a 1-club breeze from the southeast.

Practice was very mixed from the start. As I was hitting from a slight downhill lie, I hit a number of balls fat. The short irons were working well in practice, but never did get the 6-iron to straighten out. Practice with the 3-metal found me hitting mostly fades or straight shots (unlike what would happen on the course). I also took extra time to practice chipping and putting before playing.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• I had two excellent shots today. The first great shot was on the first hole with a 9-iron. The wind was very soft, so I aimed directly at the hole and hit the ball perfectly to eight feet just below the hole. I nailed the putt in the center of the cup for my first birdie in weeks. The second great shot was a 3-metal off the tee of the eighth hole. I actually hit it long enough that it rolled into the rough at the end of the fairway, leaving me a sand wedge to the hole.
• My putting was excellent today. I had only 13 putts all day and no 3 putts. I nailed the 8-footer on the 1st hole for birdie and a 20-footer to save bogey on the 4th hole. I had only 1 putt on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th hole. Great putting was the only thing that kept me from having one of the worst golfing days I’ve ever had.
• My sand and lob wedge play was atrocious all day. I hit a sand wedge clear over the green on 2, causing double bogey. I chunked so many sand wedges today that I lost count. I also hit a pitching wedge thin over the green and into the back hazard on the 3rd hole and ended up with double and hit a recovery pitching wedge too long into the hazard on the 6th hole. Wedge play and chipping, usually one of the better parts of my game, was the key reason for my poor score today.
• I used the Sasquatch 3-metal on all four par-4 holes today, hooking two of them and hitting one fat on the disastrous 6th hole. I redeemed myself on the 8th, where I hit the ball long enough to roll off the end of the fairway. Unfortunately, I chunked the sand wedge and made bogey.
• I really need to develop a low stinger to get out of the trees. I also managed to clip a branch on a beautiful 8-iron into the 9th hole that caused me to make bogey.

Despite all that (and losing my putter cover on the 6th hole — tracked it down after the round), I had a very enjoyable day of golf. The course is quite difficult, but you can score if you hit good shots. I only hit two great shots all day, and the result is the score you see stinking up this blog.

Today, I played the nine-hole course at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville, for the first time. Here is a brief review of each hole.

1. First hole is a 104 yd par 3 over water from an elevated tee. Today, the wind was blowing hard from left to right, so I got out the 9-iron, aimed 30 ft to the left of the hole and faded the ball about 8 ft above the hole. I hit the putt just a bit on the high side of the hole and tapped in for par.
2. Second hole is a 263 yd par 4 dogleg right. You can’t see the hole from the tee due to the forest on the right hand side. The landing area is very narrow and there is a bunker on the left side of the fairway that is not in play unless you are a junior golfer. Today, I planned to fade a 3-metal into the center of the fairway; instead, I hit a slight draw and rolled a foot into the rough on the left. My pitching wedge to the green was hit fat and landed short. I chipped with the sand wedge short and three putted (my only three putt all day).
3. Third hole is a 87 yd par three with a deep creek along the right hand side. Today the hole was playing about 83 yds to a pin hugging the right side of the green near the creek. That distance is between a PW and 10-iron for me, so I attemped to hit an easy 10-iron into the center of the green. Instead, I pushed it right and it went out of sight. Just in case the ball landed in the creek, I played a provisional with my pitching wedge, just short of the green. However, my first ball was in play in the rough behind the green, so I chipped with the pitching wedge. I hit the chip way too hard and it rolled over the green. I again chipped with the pitching wedge to 8 ft and two putted from there. Yeech!
4. Fourth hole is a 324 yd par 4 dogleg to the right. Again, you can’t see the flag from the tee, which is right next to the 3rd hole tee. There is thick forest on the right and the driving range net on the left. I planned to hit a 3-metal fade to the center of the fairway; instead, like the 2nd hole, I drew the ball slightly and the ball again rolled just into the left rough. I hit a 9-iron right at the flag, but it hit the top of a tall oak tree growing over the fairway and dropped down into the rough. I hit a sand wedge short of the green, chipped to 8 ft and two putted. Arrrggggg!!!
5. Fifth hole is a 100 yd par 3 playing to 86 yds today. There are bunkers on each side of the hole. I hit a 10-iron short, chipped short of the hole and 2 putted.
6. Sixth hole is a 303 yd par 4 dogleg right. The hole is not visible from the tee, as there is heavy forest on the right. I hit a 3-metal fat into the center of the fairway. Since the drive was well short, I couldn’t see the flag, so I planned to lay up to just in front of the green with a 7-iron. Instead, I chunked it into the right rough, where I had no play except to pitch out into the fairway, which I did with the sand wedge. I hit a sand wedge onto the green and 2 putted from 20 ft.
7. Seventh hole is a 159 yd par 3. Today it was playing a little shorter than that (didn’t write down the actual yardage). I hooked my 5-iron well left into some tall grassy plants that architects love to torture golfers with here in TX. I hit a provisional just in case I couldn’t find the ball, fading the 5-iron just to the right of the green, pin high. I did find the ball, but had to take an unplayable. My pitch to the green hit a branch of an overhanging tree and bounced into the fringe of the green. I pitched onto the green and 2 putted.
8. Eighth hole is a 271 yd par 4, dogleg left. The fairway is narrow with a creek along the left side that you must go over on your second shot. My 3-metal from the tee was straight down the fairway, but I popped it up high and had a 7-iron left to the green. I hit a good fade to the green, but it hit the branch of an overhanging tree, so I had to hit a short sand wedge off the fairway. Two putted from about 12 ft.
9. Ninth hole is a 169 yd par 3, but it was playing about 30 yds shorter today. I hit a fade pin high into the bunker on the left side of the hole, pitched out to 8 ft and lipped out the par putt. CRAP!

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Very enjoyable day today, despite my mediocre score. I’m going to play the course again tomorrow!

This morning, I ventured over to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville to practice and play nine. The weather was very cloudy and windy, threatening rain. The weather must have scared off my playing partners.

I started off hitting 10-irons into a 2-club wind toward the target green just beyond the water hazard. All were short, but I was shooting darts straight at the flag. Next up was the 9-iron, again short of the green, but right at the flag. Next up, 8-iron, perfect distance, hitting most of the shots right around the flag. In fact, for the first third of the bucket of balls, I was hitting the ball about the best I ever have.

I changed targets and started firing the 7-iron at the flag on the left side of the range next to the net and tree. Again, the first few shots were darts right at the flag, some fading, some drawing, some straight. However, when I got the 6-iron out, the balls were mostly fades, with an occasional slice thrown in. 5-iron was similar, only a few good straight shots. With the hybrids, I never got the draw working at all.

I changed targets to the farthest flag and got out the 3-metal. My shots were basically straight, slice, straight, slice over and over, until I finally got the draw working after about 4 cycles of straight/slice. The next few shots were straight or draws. I hit a couple of balls with the driver, all of which were straight but two were hit fat and popped high into the air.

Except for the hybrids, I had a pretty good practice today, and I decided to play nine holes. See next article for a review of the course and my day playing.

After work today, I stopped by the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville to hit some balls. The day was cool, sunny, with a slight breeze out of the east. After my euphoria of discovering that my grip was the primary reason I’ve been fading and/or slicing the ball, I was looking forward to starting to hit mostly straight or draw shots.

I started off hitting 9-iron shots onto the green in the center of the range, just behind the water hazard. My first shot was well over the green, as the tee location was just behind the water hazard. After warming up with a few 9-irons, some of them hit fat and into the water, I got out the 10-iron and also hit shots over the green. A full pitching wedge was about right, though, so I hit a few close to the pin or just over it.

Next, I took aim at the green on the left side of the range beside the net, hitting some 7-iron shots short of that green, some into the bunker in front of it. Most of the shots were pushed, with little or no side spin. After adjusting a bit, I hit some shots straight at the flag, but short of the green. I then pulled out the 6-iron and hit more shots, most also with little side spin. Again, more of the shots were pushed, but one or two drew nicely and landed left of the green or into the net. The 5-iron was a bit more difficult, most shots were fading. Next up was the 27-hybrid, which I mostly faded as well.

I got out the Sasquatch 3-metal and aimed at the farthest flag, which I’m guessing was about 180 yds from where I teed up. The first few shots were poor, either hooks or slices, but I soon found my rhythm and hit some nice shots over the flag into the net. My biggest problem today with the 3-metal was hitting sky balls, but they all went more or less straight. I did hit some draws, though, and some pulls, but few fades or slices.

Next up, I got out the mid-irons, and went pin hunting, without my customary aiming stick. First up was the 6-iron. The first shot was pushed, but the next one was right at the pin. Similar story with the 7-iron; the shots were straight or pushed, short of the pin. On the 8-iron, the first shot was pushed badly, but the next two were very well hit. The 9-iron was also right at the pin. With the 10-iron, I hit the first fat into the water, but the next shot was perfect. Finally, the last two balls were hit with the 27-hybrid, the first a fade, the second perfect, right at the pin.

I had some good improvement with my ball striking today, but still need to find just the right grip to make all the balls go straight or with a slight draw.

Today, after work, I went to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. This is my first visit to this facility, and a very nice one it is. There’s a large grass range and a nine-hole course. I didn’t know there was a nine-hole course here, or I would have played it, since it is the closest nine-hole course.

The day was very warm, record setting, in fact, for Big D in November. There was a breeze from the south, which is from left to right on the range.

Anyway, today I wanted to get the draw working and working well. Things went poorly from the start. Anything longer than a 7-iron was fading or worse, slicing. After hitting half the balls, with no better results, I went back to fundamentals. I thought my grip was good, but, just in case, I decided to overdo putting the grip into the fingers vs. the palm, and a miracle happened! First shot with the new grip, and bingo, instant draw! Finally, the cause of my fades and slices is revealed: I had the grip too much in the palm and not enough in the fingers. As long as I maintain light tension in my arms and body, my swing turned back into the long desired draw. Wow!!

I went back and hit the 3-, 5-, 7-, and 9-irons, to see how the ball draws. The 3-iron went straight, maybe a slight fade, the 5-iron drew slightly, the 7-iron drew nicely, and the 9-iron actually hooked!

Life is good again! Now I can tweak my swing back into shape, now that the cause of the fades and slices has been revealed to me.

I practiced today at GBGC. The day was very warm, sunny, wind from left to right across the range. I spent the morning working on fundamentals, finally discovering that my posture had digressed from a few weeks ago when I was hitting the long clubs well. After I fixed my posture, suddenly the ball started going straight again with the driver and 3-wood (review of the new Sasquatch 3-wood upcoming).

I spent the rest of practice in the bunker trying to reliably get out of the sand. I have spent little time practicing in the bunker. After much practice, managed to get out of the bunker about 50% of the time, but it wasn’t pretty, as many of the ones that got out were hit thin and shot across the green. But I got out. Much work to do in the sand. Whoever said sand shots are the easiest to make must be smoking crack.

On Saturday, I met Jarvis for practice and play. The weather was warm with a strong breeze from the north.

I spent half the practice session hitting short and medium irons, working on drawing the ball, as usual. I was drawing the ball pretty good today, but the wind made my draws straight and my straight balls fade. Next up, I practiced short wedge shots into the practice flags. I had good direction control today, but most shots were long. After that, I practiced chipping. Jarvis and I had a chipping content (he owes me lunch). A few practice putts and time to hit the course.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Shots from the tee, other than the first two holes, were mostly long today; I guess I overcompensated for the wind. Misses were to the left, so the draw is starting to become more natural.
• Chipping, despite the practice, was bad all day.
• Today was my worst day putting in recent memory; three 3-putts.

Nevertheless, the weather was beautiful and had a fun day.