Joey's Golf Bag

This afternoon, I played 18 on a heavily overcast day, threatening rain, at the L. B. Houston Golf Course in Dallas. The course was in fairly good condition, considering the vast amount of rain that Dallas has endured for the past two months. We frequently had to take relief from standing water in the middle of fairways, and the greens were showing the stress of too much water. We also had to spray on mosquito repellant to dodge the monster mosquitos that were big enough to carry off small children.

Before going off around 1:45 PM, I putted a little and hit a few chips. I didn’t get a chance to hit any balls. Our foursome went around the course in a little over 4 hours. We had to wait on only one hole (the first) and we let a single player play through on the 10th. There was hardly anyone else on the course.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I was just awful off the tee, hitting only five fairways and two par-3 holes in regulation. I had very few well-struck shots with any of my long clubs.
• Approach shots. I hit only three greens in regulation, and two of those were par-3 holes. Pretty crappy.
• Wedges. I had six one-putt greens, and four of these were good wedge shots (mostly lob wedges). I also had some stinkers, such as the 13th hole, where I twice hit thin lob wedges across the green.
• Chipping. I had two excellent chips. On the second hole, I chipped to 3 ft and saved bogey. I also had a stellar chip to save par on the third hole, where I hit a really nice chip to a foot to tap in for par.
• Sand shots. None. I managed to stay out of the bunkers today.
• Putting. I had seven one-putt greens, and four three-putts. My best putt was a 20 ft putt I nailed for birdie on the 4th hole. I had a total of 33 putts, which is my best putting performance in a long time, but still pretty mediocre.

I didn’t play very well today, but I did manage to break 100. I did have fun out there, though, and that’s the point.

This week, I managed to slip in two and a half practices. On Monday, I had a full practice at the Golden Bear Golf Center. I started off hitting the ball poorly, had some really nice short iron shots in the middle of the practice, and finished off full swing practice poorly again. I also didn’t hit the ball well out of the sand on this day, tending to hit the ball thin and over the green. I did have a good session in the grass bunker, learning to hit balls on a severe upslope. I also had a pretty respectable putting practice as well, focusing mainly on speed drills with a bit of lag putting practice at the end. I wasn’t pleased with my ball striking on that day, or my sand practice, but at least my putting practice was pretty good.

This afternoon, after work, I managed to slip in 30 minutes of putting practice at the Golden Bear Golf Center. I mainly worked again on speed drills and finished up with some lag putting practice from 30 ft. I was pretty happy with my putting, but I still have one or two inexplicable putts that are either really long or really short. Curious…

Finally, after dinner, I went to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch to hit some balls. I got a medium bucket, intending to get in work on all the clubs in my bag. I started off hitting the pitching wedge quite well, then got out the 9-iron and hit some pretty nice shots with that club as well. I then got out all three CX Micro wedges and hit some full shots with each. Up to this point, I was striking the ball pretty well, good distance control and direction very good. I then ruined that by getting out the long clubs and rediscovering my reverse pivot, which caused those ugly high hooks to reappear. I did eventually work it out, but I had to go all the way back to the lob wedge and work my way back to the longer clubs before I managed to get rid of the reverse pivot, and that nagging hook.

Next, I hit a bunch of short wedge shots at a large bucket that someone had thoughtfully left in a nice position for short pitching practice. I hit about 20 balls from various distances and began to get back some feel with my lob wedge. At first, I hit the balls long, then I hit them short, and finally I got dialed in and hit some very close to the bucket. I then went back to hit my irons and began to strike them pretty nicely, feeling some nice lag with a strong click when hitting the ball. The balls had no side spin at all, although they weren’t all straight; most had a slight pull or push. I then hit a couple of drives, but never really got a really good strike on the ball until the last one, where I pushed a ball over the net to the 2nd green. Oops!

I was pretty pleased with my practices today, especially with my wedges getting back into shape. My short irons were also pretty good today, and my long irons are again getting better. I didn’t hit the hybrid, 4-wood or driver well tonight, though.

Tomorrow, I’m playing 18. It’ll be interesting to see if I can get back to at least breaking 100 again.

Yesterday, at Golden Bear Golf Center, I practiced on a warm sunny morning. There was no trace of a breeze, and the mosquitos were swarming. Fortunately, I had visited Wally World to get some mosquito repellant.

I started off hitting 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 wedge shots toward the red flagged green. My distance was inconsistent, but I expect to need a lot of practice before the wedges round back into shape. Next, I hit a few pitching wedges to gauge distance control. Distances were shorter than expected, but I expect they will improve as a get back into practice and my new workout routines take effect. I then went through the bag hitting a number of shots with each club. I tended to pull the short irons and push the longer ones. My best long club, again, was the 3i HALO hybrid; still need work to get the driver and 4-wood in gear. With the last set of balls, I hit some shots with randomly selected clubs; very inconsistent. My ball striking wasn’t sharp today, but I expect it will improve as I get back into a steady practice routine.

Next, I went to the putting green to the east of the clubhouse (the other green being closed) and spent 30 minutes practicing putting, mostly speed drills. My putting was not good until I developed a new putting routine, which consists of swinging the putter back and forth so that the clubhead doesn’t lead or lag my hands. Once I have that feeling, I put the putter head behind the ball and putt. This seemed to improve my speed immediately. I finished up putting with some putts from 30 ft and by the second set of 3 putts left all three balls no more than a foot behind the hole without any short. I was very pleased with my putting practice.

Next, I went to the short game area and practiced bunker shots from the new bunker with railroad ties (a la Pete Dye). My first shot didn’t exit the bunker, but I saw what I did wrong and all the rest of my shots were well executed. I still need to work on distance control, but my immediate goal was just to put the ball onto the green near the pin, and that was successful. For my final drill, I went to the grass bunker and hit chips from an uphill lie. I was also pleased with that practice.

A very good day of practice yesterday. I will be going to practice every other day while my lower back continues to recover from injury, and then I’ll be able to get back to more frequent trips to practice.

This afternoon, Jarvis, Anton and I played nine-hole Skins Game at the Lake Park Executive Course in Lewisville. The rain clouds finally parted this afternoon and the sun beat down on the soaking wet course. The mosquitos swarmed. You would think we were playing golf in the swamp. The 18-hole course was closed because of the wet conditions.

We went off about 4:45 PM. My day:

• Hole 1, 160 yd par 3 playing to 168 yds. I hit a perfect 5-iron shot to 10 ft pin high, but missed the birdie putt and tapped in for par to win the hole.
• Hole 2, 118 yd par 3 playing to 97 yds, I hit a gap wedge just short of the green, chipped with the pitching wedge to 6 ft and made the putt to win the hole.
• Hole 3, 152 yd par 3 playing to 143 yds. I sliced a 7-iron into the water and lost the hole to Jarvis, who made bogey.
• Hole 4, 350 yd par 4. I hit a hooking drive left of the cart path, with a clear shot at the hole from 115 yds. I hit an 8-iron well over the hole (normally, I would hit a soft 9-iron at this distance, but my clubs were well short last time I practiced… live and learn), chipped past the hole, leaving about 15 ft for par. Left the putt two ft short and tapped in for bogey, but still won the hole.
• Hole 5, 370 yd par 4. I hit a low drive off the heel into the center of the fairway, leaving 168 yds to the hole. I hit a 5-iron a bit thin, left and just short of the hole. I chipped to about 8 ft below the hole and two-putt for bogey, winning the hole. That would be the last hole I would win today.
• Hole 6, 154 yd par 3 playing 155 yds. I hit a 6-iron pin high but right of the green. I chipped short and two-putted for bogey, tying the hole with Anton.
• Hole 7, 146 yd par 3 playing 144 yds. I hit a 7-iron onto the green about 30 ft short of the hole. I then managed to 3-putt for bogey, but still tied the hole with Anton.
• Hole 8, 130 yd par 3 playing 123 yds. I hit a 9-iron really fat and lost the hole to Jarvis, who parred the hole and won 3 skins.
• Hole 9, 144 yd par 3 playing 142 yds. I hit an 8-iron really fat (again!) and lost the hole to Anton, who picked up double money on the last.

Assessment:

• Tee shots. I hit two greens in regulation and one of two fairways. Basically, I had 6 good tee shots and 3 stinkers.
• Approach shots. I over-clubbed on the 4th hole but hit a good shot. My other approach, a 5-iron was hit a bit thin but still a good shot just left of the green.
• Wedges. Just pitiful. I need lots of practice with my wedges to hit them well, and I haven’t practiced.
• Chipping. Pretty good today. I got up and down with a nice chip on the 2nd hole.
• Putting. Not very good. The longest putt I hit was about 6 ft and I three-putted three times. Yeech!!!!!

Not my best day on the course, but I had a really good time, never got frustrated or upset, even though I hit some bad shots and putted poorly, and got eaten alive by mosquitos. And my back felt fine all day, even though we walked the course. I’m back!

Yesterday, I practiced for the first time since June 17. I had managed to re-injure my back (not while golfing) the day after my last practice, so apart from some putting practice on the carpet, I’d not hit a ball since then. A few trips to the physical therapist and much stretching and exercising, I’m feeling good enough to go golfing again. Alas, the weather is simply terrible here in Dallas; it has been raining nearly every day for more than a month. It has rained so hard on occasion that the golf courses look more like swamps than fairways and greens.

I went to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch on a cloudy, humid day, dodging rain showers and mosquitos. I stretched, paying particular attention to my lower back, and then warmed up by hitting a few pitching wedges at the center green just over the pond. My first few shots were pitiful, but I soon warmed up and hit some decent shots, shorter than usual, and also high ball flight. I then went through the bag, hitting a couple of shots with a selection of clubs. The only clubs I hit well were the longer ones, but my distance was quite short. I didn’t really want to swing hard at the ball and my tempo was off all day. I also had the fats with the sand wedge and never really got over them. I limited myself to a small bucket as I didn’t want to overdo my first practice back from injury.

Next, I went to the green to practice putting. I wasn’t very pleased with my putting, being inconsistent with both direction and distance. Unlike my last practice, where my putting was very good, I never got the ball rolling consistently. I’d made the mistake of getting out my old putter and stroking a few balls; that seemed to throw off the beautiful stroke I’d developed since I built my Wishon S2R Model 3 putter. The old putter went back into the closet. I also practiced chipping, but it took a lot of chips before my touch and feel started returning.

Yesterday was a pretty poor practice, but I was happy to be mostly healthy again so that I can get back to regular practice and playing schedule. The only good thing about the injury is that I’ve been working out each day with stretches and exercises that should improve my golf as much as keep the back injuries away.