Shanks for nuttin’
This morning, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. The morning was warm, with a breeze from the west. I warmed up on the range using my usual warmup, varied slightly to alternate the odd numbered irons. My first shots with the sand wedge were very ragged, but my shots improved as I got lower in the bag. My 5-irons were pretty good today, straight with a very high ball flight, but relatively short, as I was hitting into the wind. All of my long clubs were good today, especially the 4-wood and 3-wood. My driver was mixed; I started out with two long slices, straightened them out and then finished up hitting low draws.
I then spent some time on the short irons. I haven’t been hitting these clubs well of late, and it took me about 10 balls before I started hitting good shots with the 8-iron. I tried using Tour Tempo on the iPod, but that didn’t help at all, and seemed to make things worse. Eventually, I hit a few good ones and moved on to short wedge shots at the nets placed on the range just in front of the pond. One of the nets was straight up wind, and I had some difficulty getting the distance right due to the wind, but these balls were all pretty straight. The other net was nearly across the wind, so I had to compensate by aiming well left of the net. I hit many balls close to the nets, but other than one that hopped into the net on the first bounce, didn’t get any into the net. Then disaster: I started shanking the wedges. I would hit a good shot to the net into the wind, and then shank the one across the wind. I ran out of balls before I figured out what was wrong.
I went to the putting green to practice. I first tried hitting 10 putts in a row from 4 feet, missed on the seventh, then reeled off 10 in a row. Next, I ran my speed drill, but this time ran the drill so that I putted down hill. I had a nice putting drill out to 30 feet, and then practiced a few lag putts from 30 feet. I was pleased with my speed today; my green reading still needs practice.
Aside from the shanks, I had a pretty good practice today. I’m very pleased that my long clubs are getting better, but puzzled that my short irons are getting worse. I guess it’s time for another swing clinic.