A full practice session
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.