Joey's Golf Bag

I’ve built two new clubs, a Tom Wishon 949MC 7-wood and a 915F/H 9-wood. I’ve been trying to find a club to replace my mostly reliable Cleveland 3i HALO hybrid, but so far, any club I’ve made to replace it has not been able to displace the HALO. This time, it’ll go up against the 949MC 7-wood. I’ve also been unable to hit my 4-iron with any consistency, so I’m looking to replace it with the 915F/H set up as a 9-wood.

I built the clubs using the Tom Wishon Series 7-B2P Fairway shaft in regular flex and used the Golf Pride DD2 midsize grips on each. I swingweighted both clubs to D-1.

I also reduced the length of my Tom Wishon 525GRT driver from 45" to 44.25" and replaced the grip with the DD2 midsize as well.

Specs:

Photos (949MC 7-wood on left) and back of 915F/H 9-wood:

This morning, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. The weather was sunny and hot, a slight breeze from the north.

I put the iPod on 27/9 and started warming up with the pitching wedge. Immediately, it was clear things were not quite right. Unlike the last time I practiced, I wasn’t striking the ball particularly well; in fact, I hit a couple of sh*nks while I was warming up. Yeech! Things didn’t improve much after I’d warmed up, though I noticed that I was now hitting the ball closer to the hosel, so I adjusted by moving the club so that the ball was centered; I’d been setting up so that the ball was closer to the hosel.

I was a little frustrated at this point, so I took aim at a bucket someone had left on the range about 25 yds in front of me and started hitting short pitches at the bucket using the lob wedge. It soon became apparent that Tour Tempo wasn’t really good for me to pitch with. Once I turned off the iPod, my pitches improved dramatically and I hit the bucket once and just one-hopped one over it.

I turned the iPod back on and went back to hitting a mix of clubs, the pitching wedge, the 8- and 6-irons. I wasn’t particularly happy; although I was now striking the ball strongly, I had a hard pull left (very little sidespin for the most part). I then got out the hybrid and driver. With the driver, I first sprayed the ball around with a mix of draws and fades, and never really got it perfect. Distance was a bit short until I teed the ball a bit higher. I wasn’t happy with the hybrid either, so I went back and ran the Jim Flick reverse pivot drill. After a few of those, I teed up some balls and hit 8-, 6- and 5-irons, concentrating on hitting down on the ball. Finally, I hit a couple of good shots. A few more drivers and I was out of balls and very tired from the heat.

I sat down under the porch for a few minutes to rest, then went back to the putting green and hit chips with the 8-iron, pitching wedge and lob wedge. I did better with the pitching wedge (not a surprise since I usually use that club for chipping), but did pretty poorly with the lob wedge. I’ll need a lot more practice with the lob wedge before I start using that club for chipping.

Next, I hit three-foot putts until I hit 10 in a row. This took a while; my feel was not very good today. Finally, I ran speed drills, using a different line each time to work on reading the green as well. I picked a hole on the lower shelf above the first tee, and hit putts on a variety of lines, trying to improve my reads. After about 20 minutes of that drill, I went to the top of the green and practiced 30 ft down-hill putts with a 5 foot break. It took a few putts, but my last putt nailed the center of the cup and I called it a day.

Not a very good practice session today, but at least I worked on all my clubs. I’ll need a lot more practice this week as I’m playing the Cowboys Golf Club on Friday.

Tonight, after dinner, I went to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville to practice. The evening was warm, with only a slight breeze from the west.

I put the iPod on 27/9 and warmed up with the pitching wedge. It took only 2 or 3 balls before I was striking the ball pretty well. I then hit a few more just to make sure, and then got out the 9-, 7-, and 5-irons and rotated through those clubs. I was hitting the ball pretty well, no major defects other than occasional big pull-hook. Next, I got out the driver, 3-hybrid and 5-wood. I hit a couple of decent 3-hybrid shots, but never really got the 5-wood to work. After a few shots, that dreaded snap hook came back, so I decided to run some drills (Y-drill and L-drill from Tour Tempo) and a couple of the Jim Flick drill to get into the proper backswing position. Those drills helped; I then started striking the driver pretty well. I hit a quite a few balls with the driver, then went to the wedges and hit some balls with each of them. The fat shot was rare tonight, I’m happy to say. With the last remaining balls, I went through the odd numbered clubs and hit one or two shots with each, ending with a few drives.

My ball striking was more consistent tonight; I never really had a stretch where I missed a lot of shots. Indeed, the poor shots were scattered here and there, and I was always able to get my tempo back and swing well.

After I ran out of balls, I went to the putting green to practice. It was clear from my starting chips that I wasn’t really able to concentrate any more, and after a lack-luster practice with the putter, went home. I had no energy left to putt.

On Saturday morning, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center. The day was warm and sunny with a slight breeze from the south.

I went to the range and warmed up using the pitching wedge, and mainly hitting chunky shots. Once I got dialed in, though, magic happened: I hit 10 near perfect pitching wedge shots at the white-flagged green, every one on the green and close to the flag. I’d have to say it was my best ball-striking with a pitching wedge that I’d ever had. That was the magic.

Unfortunately, it went down hill from there. I hit a good 7-iron or two at the blue-flagged green, but as I went lower in my bag, the worse the shots became. It got so bad that I went back to the pitching wedge to reload, but alas, the magic was gone. I hit every type of shot possible: low hooks, high hooks, worm burners, high slices, you name it. Yeech. I then spent some time with the driver; not much better. While I was launching the ball pretty well, I had a huge push and it took me many balls to get the push to straighten out. I ran out of balls before I really got my swing back.

Next, I went to the short game area to practice my wedges. There was a class of beginners clogging up the area, so the only open practice area was the bunker, so I hit a few shots out of it. My distance control was poor, but I didn’t leave any in the bunker. In the meantime, I’m dodging the occasional shank from the beginners and did eventually get hit in the leg; no damage done. My last drill was to go to the grass bunker and it a few chips from a severe uphill lie.

I then went to the putting green. I spent the first part of practice hitting 3-4 foot putts until I hit 10 in a row. Then I did speed drills with two balls, where I would move back 3 ft each time I hit two in a row. I made it out to 24 ft before I wasn’t able to hit two in a row. My last drill was lag putting from 30 ft, which I did pretty well.

By this time, I was worn out and sweating like a pig, so I called it a success and went home. Not a good day at the range (apart from a little magic with the pitching wedge) but I did have a good putting practice.

This evening, after dinner, I visited the Hank Haney Golf Ranch to practice. The weather was warm and humid, and except for a brief period around sundown, completely windless. I turned on the iPod, put on 27/9, and proceeded to warm up using the pitching wedge. After about 5 balls, I got my swing dialed in again, and I got out the 8-iron to hit a couple of balls. I was striking the ball pretty well, very few bad mis-hits, at worst, slightly thin or with a little fade. I then got out the 7-iron, hit a few more, then started alternating pitching wedges with the longer irons. I even hit some very nice 4-iron shots tonight (off of tees), and when I can hit a 4-iron, I know I’m swinging pretty well. Next, I got out the long clubs and alternated hitting balls with the long clubs mixed with 8-irons. The 3i hybrid I hit very well, the 5-wood and driver were mixed good and poor shots.

Next, I got out the wedges and hit full shots with each. I was very pleased with my wedge shots, as there was only one fat shot in the bunch, and many fine shots.

With the final set of balls, I went through the bag imitating a round of golf, such as hitting a driver, then a wedge (short par-4), driver, 5-wood, 9-iron (par-5) and a couple of irons off tees to simulate par-3 holes. About 70% of the shots were well struck, so I was very pleased with practice tonight.

Next, I went to the putting green and practiced reading the green and hitting longer putts, trying to lag the ball close. The putting green was upgraded during the spring and is now in fine shape, with lots of humps and hollows to allow virtually any type of putt to be tried. There were some treacherous hole positions, and I delighted in trying to read them. Much work to be done here. I’ll be doing most of my putting practice on this green in the future.

Tour tempo was really, really helpful in restoring my swing to something resembling a good golf swing. Tempo is the primary (but not the only) reason I’ve been hitting the ball poorly. I still need to fix my reverse pivot once and for all; it still sneaks in on occasion.

Overall, I was very pleased with my practice tonight.

Yesterday, on a hot, muggy Texas afternoon, I played 18 on the Lakes course at Firewheel. As I’d been hitting the long clubs poorly, I put my new Wishon Golf 525GRT driver and 949MC 4-wood back in the closet (not wanting to mark up the clubs with my crappy skyballs or drop-kicks) and got out my old Nike SasQuatch driver and Wishon Golf 915HL 5-wood. These clubs have suffered under my (lack of) golfing skills, so were already thoroughly marked up. I just couldn’t bear to mark up my new driver and 4-wood with my crappy swing.

I arrived at the course around noon, got some balls, and put on Tour Tempo at 27/9 on the iPod and proceeded to warm up. As usual, my wedges were fat until I warmed up and then well-struck. I then got out the 6-iron and hit some balls. Most were well-struck, and I was pretty happy with my swing. Next, I got out the Nike driver and worked on driving the ball. Not so good. I hit about every type of shot possible, a nice high hook, and booming slice and a low burner or two. Nothing to encourage me on the course…

Our foursome filled out and we went to the first tee to start our round. I volunteered to hit first. I hit a low hook that ended up in the under a tree, but in the fairway with a clear shot to the green. OK, not so bad, at least it’s playable. I don’t remember what transpired on the hole, but my scorecard says double. The second hole is a short par-3. I hit one close to the green, chipped poorly, leaving a 25 ft putt with a 12 inch break. I nailed it for par. The other three par-3 holes I bogeyed, two of which I hit the green, only to three-putt. The rest of the holes were just disasters. Anytime I hit a club longer than an 8-iron, I hooked it; any club shorter than a pitching wedge was either hit short or fat. There were a couple of exceptions, but that’s the trend: hit a pitching wedge, 9-iron or 8-iron, good shot; hit anything else, disaster.

The golf gods hate me.

By the eighth hole, I was making big numbers, like snowmen or baseball teams. This continued (except for par-3 holes) until I tripled the par-5 13th hole, and all my long clubs were banned from use. I read once that you should use the longest club gives you 80% probability of being in the fairway, and on this day, that club was the 8-iron. I tried the 6- and 7-irons, but they both betrayed me. So, 8-iron it was. Once I started using an 8-iron off the tee, I didn’t have worse than bogey on any remaining hole.

In summary, I can hit a pitching wedge, a 9-iron and an 8-iron reliably, and the rest of the clubs, well, suck.

I know exactly why I was hitting the ball poorly (my tempo gets quick), but I’ve been nearly incapable of getting back my tempo once lost. Even on the range, it can take 10 or 20 balls to get my tempo back once I lose it. This is most disconcerting.

The golf gods hate me.

This morning, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center on a warm, cloudy morning. There was a slight breeze from my back.

I started out hitting sand wedges at the red-flagged green. At first, I struck the ball poorly, but eventually got it together. I then hit some really fine pitching wedges, followed by a few 8-irons, then some 6-irons, and finally, two of the better 4-iron shots I’ve hit in a long time. That’s when things started to unravel. My swing deteriorated so much, that, in desperation, I got out the iPod, turned on 27/9 tour tempo, and started hitting 8-irons. Finally, I started striking the ball well again. Not perfectly, tending to pull the shots just a little, but mostly well-struck. I then got out the 6-iron and hit a few. Encouraged, I got out the driver… not pretty. I struggled to keep up with 27/9 and kept hitting moon balls. I put the driver away before I skymarked it. By that time, I’d run out of balls, so I went to putt.

My putting practice was good. I spent most of the time running speed drills and followed up with lag putts from 30 ft. I was pretty pleased with my putting.

Time ran out, but I was pretty happy with my practice today. Tomorrow: Firewheel.

This afternoon, I played 18 on a heavily overcast day, threatening rain, at the L. B. Houston Golf Course in Dallas. The course was in fairly good condition, considering the vast amount of rain that Dallas has endured for the past two months. We frequently had to take relief from standing water in the middle of fairways, and the greens were showing the stress of too much water. We also had to spray on mosquito repellant to dodge the monster mosquitos that were big enough to carry off small children.

Before going off around 1:45 PM, I putted a little and hit a few chips. I didn’t get a chance to hit any balls. Our foursome went around the course in a little over 4 hours. We had to wait on only one hole (the first) and we let a single player play through on the 10th. There was hardly anyone else on the course.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I was just awful off the tee, hitting only five fairways and two par-3 holes in regulation. I had very few well-struck shots with any of my long clubs.
• Approach shots. I hit only three greens in regulation, and two of those were par-3 holes. Pretty crappy.
• Wedges. I had six one-putt greens, and four of these were good wedge shots (mostly lob wedges). I also had some stinkers, such as the 13th hole, where I twice hit thin lob wedges across the green.
• Chipping. I had two excellent chips. On the second hole, I chipped to 3 ft and saved bogey. I also had a stellar chip to save par on the third hole, where I hit a really nice chip to a foot to tap in for par.
• Sand shots. None. I managed to stay out of the bunkers today.
• Putting. I had seven one-putt greens, and four three-putts. My best putt was a 20 ft putt I nailed for birdie on the 4th hole. I had a total of 33 putts, which is my best putting performance in a long time, but still pretty mediocre.

I didn’t play very well today, but I did manage to break 100. I did have fun out there, though, and that’s the point.

This week, I managed to slip in two and a half practices. On Monday, I had a full practice at the Golden Bear Golf Center. I started off hitting the ball poorly, had some really nice short iron shots in the middle of the practice, and finished off full swing practice poorly again. I also didn’t hit the ball well out of the sand on this day, tending to hit the ball thin and over the green. I did have a good session in the grass bunker, learning to hit balls on a severe upslope. I also had a pretty respectable putting practice as well, focusing mainly on speed drills with a bit of lag putting practice at the end. I wasn’t pleased with my ball striking on that day, or my sand practice, but at least my putting practice was pretty good.

This afternoon, after work, I managed to slip in 30 minutes of putting practice at the Golden Bear Golf Center. I mainly worked again on speed drills and finished up with some lag putting practice from 30 ft. I was pretty happy with my putting, but I still have one or two inexplicable putts that are either really long or really short. Curious…

Finally, after dinner, I went to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch to hit some balls. I got a medium bucket, intending to get in work on all the clubs in my bag. I started off hitting the pitching wedge quite well, then got out the 9-iron and hit some pretty nice shots with that club as well. I then got out all three CX Micro wedges and hit some full shots with each. Up to this point, I was striking the ball pretty well, good distance control and direction very good. I then ruined that by getting out the long clubs and rediscovering my reverse pivot, which caused those ugly high hooks to reappear. I did eventually work it out, but I had to go all the way back to the lob wedge and work my way back to the longer clubs before I managed to get rid of the reverse pivot, and that nagging hook.

Next, I hit a bunch of short wedge shots at a large bucket that someone had thoughtfully left in a nice position for short pitching practice. I hit about 20 balls from various distances and began to get back some feel with my lob wedge. At first, I hit the balls long, then I hit them short, and finally I got dialed in and hit some very close to the bucket. I then went back to hit my irons and began to strike them pretty nicely, feeling some nice lag with a strong click when hitting the ball. The balls had no side spin at all, although they weren’t all straight; most had a slight pull or push. I then hit a couple of drives, but never really got a really good strike on the ball until the last one, where I pushed a ball over the net to the 2nd green. Oops!

I was pretty pleased with my practices today, especially with my wedges getting back into shape. My short irons were also pretty good today, and my long irons are again getting better. I didn’t hit the hybrid, 4-wood or driver well tonight, though.

Tomorrow, I’m playing 18. It’ll be interesting to see if I can get back to at least breaking 100 again.

Yesterday, at Golden Bear Golf Center, I practiced on a warm sunny morning. There was no trace of a breeze, and the mosquitos were swarming. Fortunately, I had visited Wally World to get some mosquito repellant.

I started off hitting 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 wedge shots toward the red flagged green. My distance was inconsistent, but I expect to need a lot of practice before the wedges round back into shape. Next, I hit a few pitching wedges to gauge distance control. Distances were shorter than expected, but I expect they will improve as a get back into practice and my new workout routines take effect. I then went through the bag hitting a number of shots with each club. I tended to pull the short irons and push the longer ones. My best long club, again, was the 3i HALO hybrid; still need work to get the driver and 4-wood in gear. With the last set of balls, I hit some shots with randomly selected clubs; very inconsistent. My ball striking wasn’t sharp today, but I expect it will improve as I get back into a steady practice routine.

Next, I went to the putting green to the east of the clubhouse (the other green being closed) and spent 30 minutes practicing putting, mostly speed drills. My putting was not good until I developed a new putting routine, which consists of swinging the putter back and forth so that the clubhead doesn’t lead or lag my hands. Once I have that feeling, I put the putter head behind the ball and putt. This seemed to improve my speed immediately. I finished up putting with some putts from 30 ft and by the second set of 3 putts left all three balls no more than a foot behind the hole without any short. I was very pleased with my putting practice.

Next, I went to the short game area and practiced bunker shots from the new bunker with railroad ties (a la Pete Dye). My first shot didn’t exit the bunker, but I saw what I did wrong and all the rest of my shots were well executed. I still need to work on distance control, but my immediate goal was just to put the ball onto the green near the pin, and that was successful. For my final drill, I went to the grass bunker and hit chips from an uphill lie. I was also pleased with that practice.

A very good day of practice yesterday. I will be going to practice every other day while my lower back continues to recover from injury, and then I’ll be able to get back to more frequent trips to practice.