Mixed results
Today, I visited the Golden Bear Golf Center to work on my full swing and get in some putting and chipping. When I arrived, the wind was howling in from the south at about 2 clubs. The weather was cool and cloudy.
I warmed up with some half swings with the 7-iron, concentrating on what I worked on yesterday with Alan. My biggest problem continues to be tension, and when I’m able to release that tension, I am able to hit the ball pretty well. Unfortunately, for most of the day, I didn’t hit the ball well, mostly, but not exclusively, due to tension. My biggest problem today, besides tension, was a smooth downswing. When I rush my downswing, I tend to hit the ball fat, and the club doesn’t fully release, so misses tend to the right. The only good thing to happen is that most of my misses were to the left, and not to the right.
After warmup, I alternated 3-, 6- and 9-iron shots. I had pretty good success with the 9-iron, but more limited success with the 6- and 3-irons. I also got out the 21-degree hybrid and the 3-metal for a few shots. Surprisingly, with the exception of one shot, the hybrid yielded either straight shots or draws. I had trouble getting the tempo down on the 3-metal, but did hit one or two good ones.
When I got down to a dozen balls, I went pin-hunting, and finally, my practice started to come together. I hit excellent shots right at the pin with a couple of clubs, but strangely, hit the 8-iron poorly. The shot of the day was with the SasQuatch 3-metal, hit directly at the blue flag, 175 yds straight into the 2-club wind. I teed up a ball, aimed at the middle of the green just to the right of the flag, and let go a nice smooth swing. The ball tracked directly where I aimed, drew toward the flag and landed softly just left of the pin. The ball rolled around the flag and ended up about 4 ft below the hole.
I practiced poorly all day, but that last shot cheered me right up. Next up, I spent a few minutes hitting some balls out of the sand. I got them all out, but two were hit thin and over the green. Next, I chipped a bunch of balls using the pitching wedge from lots of different distances. My touch was not great today, but it is improving.
Finally, I spent a few minutes on the putting green. I had pretty good speed control today, but reading the breaks was off.
A mixed practice today, but I can see the path to improvement on my full swing.