Joey's Golf Bag

This morning, I got up bright and early and went to Grapevine Golf Course to join the Grapevine Golf Association. I joined up to play a monthly tournament, the first of which is December 6th.

After I signed up, I went to North Texas Golf to practice my short game and play nine. I had a frustrating practice with the lob wedge, hit a few balls on the range, putted a few on the shaggy, dewy greens, and played. I finally figured out something on the range and now I’m striking the ball solidly, direction is a bit iffy, though.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

My round:

• First hole. Hit a slightly fat 8-iron right of the green in the grass bunker. Hit a chip too hard over the green, then hit a stellar chip to 9″ and tapped in for bogey.
• Second hole. Pushed a well-struck 8-iron pin-high but well right onto the 3rd tee. Played a perfect lob wedge to 2 ft and tapped in for par.
• Third hole. Hit a well-struck 9-iron pin-high but left, where it hit one of the railroad ties on the bunker and went dead left. I hit a nice lob wedge over the bunker to 7 ft and nailed the putt for par.
• Fourth hole. Pulled a well-struck 9-iron long and left of the green behind some small trees. Played a poor lob wedge shot to the fringe, chipped very nicely to about 9″ and tapped in for bogey.
• Fifth hole. Hit a fat sand wedge short into the grass bunker in front of the green. Hit a chip well short of the hole and three-putted for double. Yeech! Yeech! Yeech!!!
• Sixth hole. Hit a pitching wedge just short of the green, chipped very nicely to 2 ft and tapped in for par.
• Seventh hole. Hit a nice approach wedge to 11 ft and two-putted for par. The birdie putt didn’t even scare the hole.
• Eighth hole. I was between clubs, so I chose a 9-iron and planned to hit a 3/4 shot. Unfortunately, I pured the shot well over the hole into the hazard, as I didn’t allow for the wind. I took a drop, chipped to 2 ft and tapped in for bogey.
• Ninth hole. Hit a nice 8-iron pin-high left of the flag on the fringe. Hit a pretty good chip that went right over the hole but ran 6 ft by the hole. Missed the putt and tapped in for bogey.

Pretty stinky day off the tee, as I hit only one green in regulation, though two shots were just off the green. I hit a couple of nice chips and a couple of stinky ones, as well as two really nice lob wedges to tap-in distance. Though I had only 13 putts, I didn’t hit any beyond 7 ft.

At least I got my distance back.

Yesterday, I went to a swing clinic at the Golden Bear Golf Center. I’d decided that I had had enough of hitting the ball too high and short. The day was cool and sunny, with a strong wind from the east. I warmed up and my instructor came over and introduced himself. I’d not worked with him before. He had me hit a few balls with the 7-iron. First, he fixed my alignment, which was a little right of my target line. Then, he diagnosed my problem as taking the club back too much to the inside and too flat. That caused the swing to come in too steep and outside, and caused me to scoop at the ball. That made the ball go too high. He had me set my wrist-cock earlier, which had the effect of making the swing more upright, and then he had me try to hit the ball right of the target, to get the feel of the proper inside-to-square impact. It took a lot of swings but I managed to get the hang of it (it’ll take a lot of repetitions to get it ingrained). He then had me hit a few drives, hooked badly at first but managed to get the ball going straight once. He thought my shaft was not stiff enough. Since I was the only student this day, the lesson lasted about 45 minutes, which was really nice for $30.

This morning, I took my new swing to the North Texas Golf Center to hit a few balls, putt and play nine. The day was sunny and cool, with a brisk wind from the southeast. I warmed up by hitting lob wedge pitches, then hitting a few balls on the range. I struck the ball surprisingly well, considering I changed my swing yet again. I putted a few balls (the green was like shag carpet) and then played.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

My round:

• First hole. Hit a thin 9-iron right of the green. I hit a stellar lob wedge to 5″ and tapped in for par.
• Second hole. Hit a well struck 7-iron right of the green pin-high. Chipped poorly over the green, chipped poorly again to 18 ft and two-putt for double.
• Third hole. Hit a fat PW short and right, chipped to 7 ft and nailed the putt for par.
• Fourth hole. Hit a fat PW straight at the flag but short of the green. Hit a good chip to 4 ft and nailed the putt for par.
• Fifth hole. Hit an AW long and right. Hit a chip to 9 ft and lipped out the putt. Tapped in for bogey.
• Sixth hole. Hit a PW 18 ft right of the pin and two-putt for par.
• Seventh hole. Hit a 9-iron 24 ft left of the pin. Hit the first putt way too soft, missed the second and tapped in for bogey.
• Eighth hole. Hit a PW 15 ft right over the flag, left the birdie putt 6″ short and tapped in for par.
• Ninth hole. Hit a 9-iron dead shank 30 yards right of the flag. Hit a lob wedge just short of the green, chipped to 5 ft, missed the putt and tapped in for double.

Well, what a round. Got up and down 3 times for par, but chipped poorly after that. Putted pretty well except for the 3-putt on the 7th hole, in spite of the shag carpet greens. I hit only three greens in regulation, but that’s not too bad considering the wind and my swing changes.

Happy 19th Birthday, Michelle! See you on the LPGA Tour next year!

This morning, I played nine at North Texas Golf. The day was warm, sunny and blustery, with a variable wind from the south or southeast. I warmed up by hitting some pitches, short irons and a few putts, though the putting green had been scalped and was pretty much unputtable.

The wind was blowing pretty hard. In fact, on the 7th hole (with the tees well back), while I was preparing to tee off, I looked back to get my club. My push cart was gone! The wind had taken it and blown it nearly into the pond behind the 7th tee. With the brake on. Yes, the wind was a bit blustery today.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

My round:

• First hole. Hit a poorly struck 7-iron thin and right of the green. I hit a lob wedge to 18 ft and two-putt for bogey.
• Second hole. Pushed an 8-iron well right of the green, leaving me with a difficult pitch with the ball well below my feet. I hit it thin over the green, chipped to 5 ft, missed the putt and tapped in for double.
• Third hole. The wind was howling into me, so I used an 8-iron from pitching wedge distance and was still a 3 ft short of the green. I left my chip well short and two-putt for bogey.
• Fourth hole. Hit a 9-iron straight at the pin, but 30 ft short and two-putt for par.
• Fifth hole. Hit an AW pin-high but 18 ft right of the pin. Left the birdie putt a foot short and tapped in for par.
• Sixth hole. Hit a 9-iron 21 ft left and short of the hole, hit a good putt but misread it, and tapped in for par.
• Seventh hole. Hit a 9-iron over the green, chipped to 6 ft but missed the putt for par and tapped in for bogey.
• Eighth hole. Hit a PW to 21 ft over the pin, ran the birdie putt 4 ft past the hole and made the uphill breaker for par.
• Ninth hole. Hit an 8-iron into a strong wind pin-high but 33 ft left of the pin. Misread the putt, leaving it 6 ft below the hole. Hit the breaking putt right in the center for par.

I was pleased that I hit five greens, but displeased with my short game, as I didn’t get up and down even a single time. Also, none of my birdie putts even scared the hole. Still, hitting five GIR on a blustery day, where I had to club up or down 2 or 3 clubs, was pretty good.

Camilo Villegas won an exciting Tour Championship over Sergio Garcia on the first playoff hole. Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim just missed birdie putts to join the playoff.

Vijay, of course, won the FedEx Cup, posting any score got it done, and he did. Camilo finished second in the FedEx Cup, followed by Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim. Phil Mickelson finished sixth.

More at Villegas makes it two in a row at Tour Championship.

Too far behind to do anything about the FedEx Cup, Camilo Villegas put together a stirring rally Sunday that was good enough to win the Tour Championship in a playoff over Sergio Garcia for his second straight victory.

Villegas overcame a five-shot deficit by making six birdies over his last 11 holes for a 4-under 66, then beat Garcia with a par on the 233-yard 18th hole used in the playoff.

The 26-year-old Colombian, who had gone 85 starts on the PGA Tour without winning, picked up his second in a row with a finish that brought the gallery to life on a sunny afternoon at East Lake.

This morning, I practiced and played nine at North Texas Golf. The day was warm and sunny, with almost no breeze. I hit a few balls, working on the same Tour Tempo L- and Y-drills that I’ve been working on for the last couple of weeks. I putted a few and then played.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

My round:

• First hole. I hit a 9-iron to a center pin position a little long and right of the pin, chipped to about 2 ft and tapped in for par.
• Second hole. I hit an 8-iron 33 ft over the pin onto the green, and two-putt for par.
• Third hole. I hit a fat 9-iron well short of the green, hit a poor chip the right distance but well right of the pin. My putt was on the right line but a foot short. I tapped in for bogey.
• Fourth hole. I hit an AW 30 feet past the hole on the left fringe. I putted from the fringe and tapped in for par.
• Fifth hole. I hit a SW over the green up onto the bank behind the green. I chipped to 6 ft and missed the breaking putt and tapped in for bogey.
• Sixth hole. I hit a 9-iron over the green, narrowly missing one of those ball-eating grass monstrosities that terrorize the course. I’d planned to hit a pitching wedge, but grabbed the wrong club. I chipped short and two-putt a very difficult downhill putt.
• Seventh hole.Hit an AW over the green (again!), hit a chip to 2 ft and tapped in for par.
• Eighth hole. Hit an AW onto the green 27 ft short of the pin, and two-putt for par.
• Ninth hole. Hit a 9-iron long and right, chipped to two ft and tapped in for par.

My practice on improving impact by running the L- and Y-drills is working, as my distances are improving, as evidenced by flying four greens today. I’m going to need to recalibrate my distances. I also need to get in more short game practices to improve my chipping. My putting was good today, the shortest putt I missed was 6 ft and I had no 3-putts.

This afternoon, I played in a scramble tournament at Indian Creek Golf Club on the Lakes course. The weather was sunny and warm, with a slight breeze on a couple of holes. We played from the blue tees. My team won the tournament with a score of 60 (12 under par)!!! We went off on a shotgun start off the 16th hole. We were lucky in that there wasn’t another team on the 17th or 18th hole, so we were able to play about 6 or 7 holes before we caught up with the group ahead of us that started on the first tee. The most exciting hole for me was third hole, on which we made an eagle (that’s a first for me). We made 10 birdies, 1 eagle and 7 pars. This is by far the best scramble team I’ve been on.

Our score:

This tournament was four person teams, however, our fourth player did not show, so we rotated hitting the fourth ball between us. My contribution to the team score were: four drives that were the best on the team, three approach shots that were closest to the pin, and one 2nd shot on a par-5. I didn’t hit a single birdie putt, though. Both of my teammates were better players than me, so I was happy to contribute where I did. We hit all 18 greens in regulation, and two of the par-5 holes in two. This is the first time I’ve been on a winning team in a scramble event, and the first time that none of my putts mattered.

On Sunday afternoon, I played 18 at Coyote Ridge Golf Club on a sunny, warm afternoon. The course was in good condition, with fast fairways and greens. The greens were a bit bumpy from the last aeration, but not too bad.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I had a mixed day off the tee. I hit nine fairways, using a variety of clubs including the driver, thriver, 4-hybrid and 5-iron. I hit only one of the par-3 holes in regulation, though I was just a foot off the green on the 7th. I had one penalty off the tee on the 2nd hole, where I hit a huge booming hook with the driver onto someone’s roof. Oops!
• Approach shots. I didn’t do particularly well with approach shots, tending to hit longer clubs with a hook and shorter clubs with a push. I hit three of the four par-5 holes in regulation, with wedges or short irons. The remaining GIR was on a par-3 hole. I had one penalty on an approach shot, when I hooked a 4-hybrid into the swamp next to the 8th fairway (I’d hit a sky ball on the drive, which is why I had to hit a hybrid into the green). My goofiest approach shot was a hybrid from a tall mound on the 4th hole. I had a severe uphill lie, and I launched the ball high into the air, where it landed on the green about 40 ft from the hole. On the 17th hole, I hit a six iron off the tee and was just in the left rough. Because of trees, I didn’t have a straight shot at the green, so I hit a high hook with the 8-iron that curved a good 30 yds to the left and landed just off the right edge of the green. That was a cool shot.
• Wedges. I had a mixed day with the wedges, tending to be a bit short.
• Sand shots. I didn’t hit into any bunkers.
• Chipping. Mixed day chipping. The good: I chipped in for birdie from the rough on the 7th hole. The bad: I chunked one about 2 ft on the 9th hole, and then hit a second chip two feet from the pin. Most of my chips were a bit long, as the greens were faster than I usually encounter. I got up and down six times, though not usually for par.
• Putting. Mixed on putting as well. Although I had 31 putts, I missed a couple of short putts, though I did hit a couple of long putts. I had two three putts: again, the bane of my golf is three-putting holes I reach in regulation, and yes, both were GIR. AAAIIIEEEYYYY!!!!

I wasn’t too happy with my play on the front nine, but I did pretty well on the back, so I left the course happy.

Michelle, congratulations on making the LPGA Q-school finals yesterday. More in Michelle Wie does it right.

Michelle Wie was 1,744 miles from golf's Valhalla on Friday, but she was happy and possibly on her way to something mystical of her own.

On a sweltering, sunny day in the quiet of the Coachella Valley, with the eyes of the golf world focused east on the men and the Ryder Cup in Louisville, Ky., Wie made it through the semifinals of qualifying for the LPGA Tour.

Playing at the Mission Hills Dinah Shore Course in Rancho Mirage, she shot a one-under-par 71, totaled an eight-under 280 for the four-day event and easily gained a spot among the top 30 for the tour's final qualifying event in Florida in December. Get through that and you have the right to play on the tour all of 2009.

Last Sunday, John and I played 18 at North Texas Golf, going around twice on a gorgeous, sunny day. Due to rain from Hurricane Ike on the previous day, the range was not open, and we weren’t able to warm up before we played.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I wasn’t able to warm up, and it showed with my poor performance off the tee. I hit only 5 of 18 greens (I’d hit 5 of 9 the last time I’d played this course). My worst two shots: a pull out of bounds on the 2nd hole (first time around), and a dead shank on the 6th hole (second time around). I had all sorts of faults, but the main one was poor trajectory control, as I was hitting the ball way too high, which left me short on many holes.
• Chips. I had some good chips, as I got up and down six times (not always for par). My finest shot was on the sixth hole. I’d shanked the tee shot onto the middle of the 7th “fairway” in some deep rough, but I hit a nearly perfect 40 yd sand wedge to two feet and tapped in for birdie.
• Sand shot. None, as I didn’t hit into any bunkers.
• Putting. On the first nine, I had 15 putts, including a three-putt on the eighth hole. On the second nine, I had 18 putts, which included 2 three-putts, both on greens I hit in regulation. I was not happy with the way I putted, although I was pretty respectable on the first nine, but the second nine was really poor. And there is simply NOTHING I hate worse than 3-putting a green I hit in regulation.

Not getting a chance to warm up was really disappointing, as I almost have never played a round of golf without hitting some balls to get loose. Afterward, the range was open and we did get to hit a few balls. I worked out whatever faults I had and hit some nice balls on the range. I’ll need to figure out how to get my swing going when I’m not able to hit some balls before a round.