Ball striking better
This evening, after dinner, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center. We’d had some very heavy rain in the afternoon, so the range was mats only. Did I mention I hate mats? The weather was warm and humid, no wind.
The ball machine was acting a bit weird, so I went first to the short game area to practice. I started off terribly, chunking them, hitting them thin, sh*nking one or two, then finally, started hitting a few decent wedge shots. I gave up on the lob wedge after the sh*nk and did all my work with the sand wedge. I chipped a few balls off the mounds with a pitching wedge, holing one. Next, I hit a few out of the sand, getting them all out, but really only hitting one really good shot to about a foot. I then hit a few out of the grass bunker from a severe uphill lie. I liked using a sand wedge for this shot instead of the lob wedge I’d been using.
Next, I went to the range to hit a small bucket off the mats. Did I mention I hate mats? Oh, yeah… Anyway, I started off hitting pitching wedges and then mixed in the 8- and 6-irons. I was striking the ball pretty respectably, so I got out the 4-iron. The first shot was hit a bit thin, but relatively straight. The next one was a snap hook (fortunately, my only snap hook of the day), but my next couple of shots were not good. Remarkably, I got my swing back and proceeded to hit a few more good shots. I then got out the hybrid and 5-wood, and hit a few with each club. I tended to hit these a bit thin, but at least they were straight and I did have one really good 5-wood just right of my target flag. I then got out the driver and pushed the first shot well right. Another push, so I got out the pitching wedge and alternated between the driver and the pitching wedge, and that straightened out the driver, though I wasn’t particularly pleased with any drive. Still, a very good practice with the full swing.
Finally, I went to the putting green and had a pretty mediocre practice. I just couldn’t seem to find my putting stroke. If you see it, send it home, please.