Joey's Golf Bag

Today I practiced and played at Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. The weather was sunny, temperatures in the mid 50s. Only a soft wind was blowing and had no effect on any hole.

I decided to hit a small bucket before heading out on the course. I started out hitting 7-irons a little shorter than my usual distance. I then went to the 9-iron and started hitting the ball solidly. I then went to the 6-iron, where I hit slight fades or draws. I also hit mostly slight draws with the 5-iron. I followed that club with the SasQuatch 3-metal, hitting mostly slight pulls, until the last two balls, which were badly sliced. I then worked my way up in the clubs, hitting the 27-hybrid (slight fade), 6-iron (straight), 8-iron (straight), 10-iron (straight) and finally, pitching wedge (straight). Overall, with the exception of two shots with the 3-metal, was one of the best warmups I’ve had. Unfortunately, I didn’t hit the ball well on the course.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Summary of my day:

• Did not hit a single fairway today. On the second hole, I hooked the 3-metal into the net and had to take an unplayable. On the fourth hole, I hit the drive into the hazard. On the sixth hole, I sliced the drive toward the hazard, but fortunately hit a tree. On the eighth hole, I hit a 5-iron fat into the hazard on the left.
• Short irons were mixed today. Hit a 9-iron to 20 ft on the first hole and a pitching wedge to 20 ft on the third hole. On the fifth hole, hit a 10-iron fat and left the ball short in the rough.
• Long irons were poor. I sliced a 5-iron well right of the seventh hole and plugged another 5-iron into the hazard on the eighth. My 6-iron on the ninth was also sliced badly, leaving an unplayable lie under a bush. I was very surprised by my poor iron play today, as the practice before hand had been so good.
• Wedge play was mixed. Nice pitching wedge off the tee on the third hole to 20 ft. Hit a pitching wedge, from a drop in the rough, right over the pin a little long on the second hole. Hit a nice recovery pitching wedge from the rough on the sixth hole, but hit the remaining sand wedge short. My only trip into the sand on the fourth hole was terrible, hit the ball over the green.
• Chipping was poor except for a chip to 3 ft on the second.
• I had three 3-putts today, my worst putting performance in months.
• About the only thing I did well today was recover from penalties on the 2nd hole (unplayable lie) and the eighth (hazard).

A very poor performance today, yet I still had some fun.

On Sunday, I went to GBGC to practice everything; irons, woods, short game, putting. The day was cool and sunny when I got to the range, but it soon warmed up and I had to remove a light pullover after I warmed up.

I started out with the 9-iron, hitting 7:30 shots, working on hitting the ball solidly and without side spin. Results were mixed, it took probably 15 balls before I got the tempo right. (I had planned to work on tempo with my iPod, but that fizzled because it made me too tense having the beeps going.) I them moved on to 9:00 (half) swings, again with mixed results. I then hit some half swings with the 7-iron, again mixed results. In spite of the mixed results, this practice would pay off dramatically when I went to the short game area and hit short wedge shots.

Finally, I started hitting full swings and my synchronization of body and arms came together and I started hitting some good shots. I then went back to the 10-iron and worked my way down through the irons. I even hit some excellent 5-iron shots. Ironically, Alan, the pro who teaches the full swing clinic, stopped by and had me stick my butt out a little more. That worked nicely. When I got out the 3-metal, every shot I hit but one flew right down the middle of the fairway; the “bad” shot was merely a draw that curved left of the pin. The driver was a disaster (hooks), though, so I’m planning on trading it in on a SasQuatch “Lucky 13” driver shortly. I’ve never been able to hit the Callaway Titanium 454 consistently; I probably shouldn’t have gotten a 10 degree loft on that club.

I then went to the short game area and started hitting chips with my pitching wedge. My direction and distance control got better as I went on, but never really got grooved in. Next up was short wedge shots with the sand wedge and lob wedge, and then the shots improved dramatically. The sand wedge was really working well, distance control was very good, direction control was adequate. I had better direction control with the lob wedge, but distance was not quite as good as the sand wedge. This was probably the best day of wedge practice I’ve had in six months; I had only 1 fat shot out of 60 balls hit with the wedges.

Finally, I went to the putting green and got my putter working again. I started out hitting 3 and 4 foot putts. Next I went to my usual drill simulating 18 holes of golf, 3 sets of 6, 12 and 18 foot putts, 2 set of 9, 18, and 27 foot putts, and one set of 35 foot putts. I finished the session 3 under par, a pretty good day. I did have one three putt from 27 feet, but also punched one in from 27 feet, so it evened out. My speed control was especially good on the 35 ft putts; all were no farther from the hole than 3 ft.

Despite my poor start, I had one of the best days of practices I’ve had in months.

Today, I didn’t play, but instead went to the Golden Bear Golf Center to take the full swing clinic. The day was cool, 46 degrees, but the sun was shining brightly and only a soft breeze from the north, so it was very comfortable.

I was the only student 😉 so I got the full attention of the pro, Alan Niederlitz, for a 30 minute session. He started by having me hit some balls while he reviewed my swing. He confirmed that my setup, grip and alignment to the target were good. I started hitting balls with the 7-iron from a tee. He had me stop at the top, and then swing down. The only things he wanted me to do differently was more rotation of my forearms during the downswing and to complete the swing by bring my right leg fully around to face the target (less dragging of the right foot). Tempo, it seems, is my main issue right now, and that is what he wants me to focus on, and on that, we are in total agreement.

Time to get the iPod out and resume tempo training. I had dropped tempo training while I was getting my swing on the right plane. Now that it is, it is time to resume work on tempo.

I also hit some balls with the 3-metal, and the only thing he changed was to put a bit more tilt in my shoulders (right shoulder a bit lower than with the irons). That seemed to help, all the balls went straight down the fairway. I hit the ball very well with the 3-metal, until after the session was over, and then it was ugly.

I also practiced putting, but never did get the feel working today. As my stomach was growling from lack of nurishment, I quit and got some food…

I hit some balls after work at HHGR in Lewisville after work today. The weather was cool and sunny, with a slight cold breeze from the west. The breeze diminished as the sun went down.

I started out hitting full 7-iron shots at the left hand green with the tree. Surprisingly, I was not starting out hitting fades, as usually happens, but draws or pulls, and occasionally, a hook thrown in. Similarly with the 5-iron, I was drawing or hooking. I had to really exaggerate over-the-top to make a fade happen today. Very strange. Even stranger was when I started hitting the short irons; fades or slices! I have no idea why my short irons were fading and my long irons were drawing… usually, it’s the other way around. I noticed that I may have been standing a bit farther away from the ball, and that seemed to reduce the fades / draws, but didn’t eliminate them. The only long clubs that faded were the hybrids, and both the 27- and 23-degree hybrids were slight fades only, no slices at all.

I also spent some time hitting 7:30 pitching wedges, trying to get back the finesse swing that worked so well in the spring. I had inconsistent striking of the ball, frequently hitting the ball fat or thin.

I also got out the 3-metal and the driver, and had a tough time, hitting mostly low hooks or pulls with both clubs. I ran out of balls before I got either club to straighten out.

Looks like it is time for another swing clinic. The only thing consistent about my swing is its inconsistency. One day, draws, next day fades…

I hit a small bucket of balls and played nine at Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville today. The weather was warm, soft breeze from the west.

During practice, I hit the clubs I normally hit while playing the course, namely, the 5-10 irons and 3-metal, along with a few full pitching wedges. Unlike yesterday, where I hit mainly draws and hooks, today I hit mainly straight balls and slight fades. My 3-metal practice was unusually good today, hitting straight balls almost exclusively, just to the right or left of the target green. After hitting balls, I practiced putting for a few minutes and started into the round.

For the first time, I played this course no worse than bogey golf. My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Summary of my day:

1. Hit a 9-iron right and long leaving a difficult 25 ft putt down hill. Hit a nice putt to 3 ft and tapped in for par.
2. Hit a 3-metal into the left side of the fairway, leaving a full pitching wedge to the hole. Pushed PW right into rough, chunked the chip into the fringe, and 3 putt from there, an ugly double.
3. Hit a 3/4 pitching wedge long into rough behind hole. Chipped long and 2 putted for bogey.
4. Drew a 3-metal into the center of the fairway. My 8-iron into the hole clipped a branch of an overhanging tree and dropped into the rough on the right side of the hole. SW came up short. Chipped to 5 ft and hit the putt for bogey.
5. Hit a 10-iron to 25 ft. 2 putted for par.
6. Pulled a 3-metal left, but it big bounced into the center of the fairway. However, trees on the right prevented a clear shot to the flag, so I planned a lay-up 10-iron to the front of the hole. Plans changed when I sliced it into the hazard on the right. Took a penalty from the lateral hazard, dropped from where the ball crossed the hazard, chipped to 6 ft, and hit the bogey putt.
7. Hit a 5-iron fat into the short grass in front of the green. SW short into the fringe. Chip hit the pin and I tapped in for bogey.
8. Hit a 5-iron a bit thin off the tee into the center of the fairway. Pushed the 9-iron approach shot to the right of the hole. SW hit a little long into the back fringe. Hit a poor chip and 2-putted for double.
9. Hit a slight fade 7-iron just right of the green. Hit a chip to 6 ft, but misjudged the break and tapped in for bogey.

I was pretty happy with the way I played today, considering I didn’t practice my short game this week at all. I hit all four fairways today, the first time I’ve ever hit all the fairways on this course. Chipping practice is demanded tomorrow; if it wasn’t for chipping, I would have had a very good day.

After work yesterday, I hit a bucket of balls at Golden Bear Golf Center. The weather was cool, with a very strong 2- or 3-club breeze directly in my face. I spent the practice session working on making the ball draw. In fact, it worked a little too well, as I ended up having a lot of hooks to deal with.

I started off hitting the 9-iron at the white flag at about 100 yds away. Because of the very strong wind, most of the shots were well short of the flag, most not even making the green. My first few shots were well-struck, but I then had some problems hitting the ball fat. I then moved on to the 7-iron, where the first hooks showed up. The severity of the hooks was definitely influenced by the wind. I hit very few fades on this day, in fact, the only shots that faded were hit with the hybrids.

After the 7-iron, I got out the 5-iron and hit some shots. Most were draws, some straight, no fades at all. The only bad shots were hit thin or fat. Next up was the SasQuatch 3-metal. I started off hitting snap hooks. One was so bad that the ball ended up a full 45 degrees to the right. I finally figured out that I was standing too far from the ball. Once I got it dialed in, I was hitting good shots with a slight draw or straight. Again, no fades.

I then hit some short wedge shots to get my finesse swing back in shape. I finally figured out that my hips were lagging my arms too much, causing me to hit behind the ball. Once I got synchronized, the shots were perfectly straight.

For the final balls, I hit a couple with each club, from the driver on down. I finally got the 23- and 27-hybrids drawing again. Again, the problem was standing too far from the ball.

No short game or putting practice today; I had only a limited amount of time. I was pretty pleased with my practice, getting the draw working again, finally!