Joey's Golf Bag

Today after work, I had my third lesson with Alan at Golden Bear Golf Center. Today, I started with the driver and 3-metal. At first, while warming up, I hit the ball pretty well with the 7-iron, the 5-iron, the driver and the 3-metal. As I warmed up, Alan watched my shots and made only minor tweaks to my stance (more shoulder tilt away from the target) and swing (wants more forearm rotation on the downswing). Near the end of the session, I had problems with tension; just couldn’t get loose. Alan had me hit short 6-iron shots gripped well down and that helped get rid of the tension. He wants me to hit that type of shot frequently if my swing doesn’t feel right. I’ve been doing punch shots with the 8-iron, and he said that’s a good shot to use as well.

We next went to the bunker to start work on sand shots. I’ve never done much work in the sand and my technique has never been good. Alan taught me a new, simple technique that he teaches beginners, and it worked very well for me. Standing in the sand, ball centered in my stance with my toes buried in the sand below my heels. Full swing. Ball out of the sand every time but once in 10 shots. A miracle! Much easier than the techniques out of Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible.

A good lesson today, but I had hoped to show more improvement than I did.

Today after work, I went to the Golden Bear Golf Center to see if I could figure out why I couldn’t get the driver going on Sunday. I started out as usual hitting 7-irons into a strong 2-club breeze. My tempo was good, so I got out the 5- and 3-irons and hit some alternating shots. I hit the ball pretty well, hitting a lot of draws or very long, high hooks with the longer clubs (if only I could get that hook to go straight — I’d probably gain 20 yds). Next up, I got out the hybrid, and couldn’t hit that club at all, or the 3-metal or driver, just like on Sunday. Finally, I had an epiphany…

Following a link posted on Bomb Squad Golf, I read an interesting article on putting in Golf Digest about The Quiet Eye, which describes how good putters have “quiet eyes” when putting. I had planned to work on this technique on the putting green later in the week (time being short today). Since I was hitting the long clubs so poorly, I decided to try the same technique with the driver, focusing very carefully on the spot on the ball where I wanted to hit it. The first ball zoomed straight and true, with exceptional distance for me, even into the strong wind. Wow!!! I hit another, same result. Try it with the 3-metal. Perfect draw! I’m on to something, I’m thinking. I hit a few more balls with the driver and 3-metal, and although not all were perfectly straight, I saw definite improvement in the number of balls that would have hit the fairway.

I’ve only a few balls left, so I decide to go pin-hunting and see how this technique works with all the clubs. First up, the pitching wedge. Hit it fat. With the driver and 3-metal, I’ve been focusing on the spot I want to hit the ball, but that didn’t seem to work well for the wedge. Next shot, I focused on the front edge of the ball and hit a great shot, pulled just a bit, 85 yds into the strong wind. In fact, with the exception of a badly chunked 5-iron (I blame lack of concentration on that particular shot), I hit all the balls well, some with fades or draws, but with improved distance and better accuracy. I was hitting (I thought) a 4-iron at the blue flag about 190 yds away and hit what I thought was a perfect draw right at the flag but it came up a bit short. I’m a little stunned that the ball is a little shorter than I normally would hit a 4-iron into the wind, but then I look down and see it’s a 7-iron. Hey, not bad! Probably 20 yds farther than I usually hit a 7-iron, and into a 2-club breeze! I also hit a perfect 3-iron fade that carried 180 yds into the 2-club wind; that distance is a bit longer than I usually hit a 3-iron with no wind.

OK, maybe there’s something to this “quiet eye” stuff. More later, and tomorrow I will practice the technique with the putter as well.

I went to Hank Haney Golf Ranch this morning to practice and play nine. The weather was cool, with a slight breeze that didn’t affect golf at all.

I hit a small bucket of balls to warm up. Immediately, it was obvious that my tempo was not really good today. I tended to push the short irons, fade or slice the middle irons, and hook the longer clubs. I never got the driver to do anything but hook today, and I should have left that club in the bag. I did hit some pretty good 3-metals, but inexplicably used the driver instead of that club. What a mess!

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I did a very fine job off the tee on the par three holes, hitting four of five in regulation; the one I missed on the 7th hole was a mere foot off the green. Contrast that with the par four holes, where I missed every fairway (except the fourth hole, which rebounded off the net into the fairway) and even managed to hook a 4-iron into the left hazard on the 8th hole. The rest of misses were nasty duck hooks with the driver, including hooks into the nets on two and four (had to take an unplayable on the 2nd hole). The driver shouldn’t have come out of my bag today.
• Approach shots. Miserable performance on the approach shots today. On the second, pushed a pitching wedge right of the green. On the fourth, I pushed a 7-iron layup into the trees, and had a terrible time to reach the green in 4. On the sixth, where I had hooked the driver into the rough left behind those evil ball-eating grass bushes, I had a choice of trying to punch out through a mass of the grass bushes or go over a tall tree. I elected to go over the tall tree (given the number of balls I’ve fed those grass bushes), but just hit the top branches, and the ball fell into the rough on the right side of the green. On the eighth hole, after hitting a 4-iron into the hazard, dropped from the hazard, but had the ball well above my feet. My 5-iron chunked the ball into the hazard again.
• Wedges. I had a very good day from the tee with the wedges, hitting all three onto the greens. Other than the chunked layup sand wedge on the sixth, I had a good day with the wedges, though tending to be a bit long.
• Chipping. Surprisingly, I didn’t have a chip all day; I putted from the fringe on several holes.
• Putting. No three putts today, but still tended to leave putts short. I also holed two long par putts, but didn’t make any birdie putts, even the 9 footer on the fifth.

I was extremely disappointed with my play on the par-4 holes, but did have a very good day on the par-3 holes. If only I could play both well on the same day…

Yesterday, I practiced at Golden Bear Golf Center, hitting a medium bucket due to lack of time. After stretching, I hit 7-irons to warm up and then started hitting the longer irons. My practice on this day was pretty mediocre, with my tempo never really dialed in. I did have a good practice with the longer irons, and I also brought out the Snake Eyes hybrid to hit. In general, I hit the longer irons pretty well, but had some difficulty with the shorter irons and wedges, tending to hit them fat. Fortunately, my pin-hunting drill at the end of practice went pretty well.

This morning, I practiced and played nine at the North Texas Golf Center. Again, I hit the longer clubs pretty well, but the short irons and wedges gave me problems, hitting them fat, or hooking them hard left. Near the end of the bucket, I hit each club in succession, and did pretty well. I then followed up with a long session of chipping and a short putting session, before hitting the course.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I had very good distance control all day, hitting five greens in regulation, with two shots to 6 ft (unfortunately, missing both birdie putts). Two tee shots were pushed and two were pulled, the rest were on the green.
• Wedges. Mixed results, as I hit a good sand wedge on the first hole, hit one thin on the second out of bounds, and got out of the sand on the third, although not very close to the hole.
• Chipping. Pretty good chipping today, but not close enough to get up and down, unfortunately.
• Putting. Just pitiful. Three-putted the third and fifth holes, missed all five birdie putts, mostly short. Yeech!

A fine day for golf, too bad I putted so poorly today, or I would have had a very good score.

This afternoon after work, I went to the Golden Bear Golf Center to work on my long irons, driver and 3-metal. I also hit a few with my Ping 7 as well.

After warming up, I hit a few balls with my 7-iron, but my tempo was poor at first. I then got out the 9- and 5-irons, and my tempo got better. I worked on those clubs for a while, and then added the 3-iron. My tempo got much better and I was able to hit all the irons pretty well, even the 3-iron. Next up, I put the irons away except for the 3-iron and pulled out the driver, the 3-metal and the 7-metal. I hit the driver pretty well today, either straight or slight fades, with a slice or two thrown in when I rushed the swing. I also hit the 3-metal better than I have recently, though not as good as the driver. I also hit the 7-metal pretty well, but tended to fade, and if not careful, slice.

My final drill was pin-hunting. In general, I hit the balls pretty well. My biggest issue was pushing the longer clubs; my alignment seemed a bit off today. I also hit some wedges at the red flag, and hit them pretty much on target, instead of pulling the shots, as I’ve tended to do recently.

I had planned to do some putting practice today, but the green was being watered, so I wandered over to the short game area and hit some short wedge shots. My short wedges were mixed, mainly long today.

A pretty good practice. I’m feeling more confident with my long irons and my driver is coming along nicely. Still need work on the 3- and 7-metal, and the short game needs some work to get it back to shape.

This morning, I went to practice at the Golden Bear Golf Center. The weather was warm and sunny, with a one- or two-club breeze from the south. My main keys today:

• At the top of my backswing, allowing gravity to pull my arms down to 9:00 before applying power to the swing;
• Having a brief delay at the top of the backswing before continuing down;
• Making sure to have a good athletic setup and “strong” grip;
• Having a smooth tempo free of tension;
• With driver, having a strong tilt away from the target with my spine (shoulder tilt).

After stretching, I warmed up by hitting 7-iron full and punch shots, not particularly well. I got out the 8-, 6-, and 4-irons and hit alternating shots, aiming at the blue flag about 135 yds away. My tempo was pretty shaky at first, but I managed to get it under control. After hitting a couple of good 4-irons, I got out the 3-iron, but never really managed to hit it any farther than the 4-iron.

Next up, I got out the SasQuatch driver and 3-metal, and also my Ping 7-metal, which I’ve not hit in some time. My first shot with the Ping was a very nice high fade, aimed at the yellow flag some 200 yds away. I didn’t get there, but that encouraged me to work on my long clubs. I alternated driver, 3-metal and 7-metal, with an occasional 3-iron thrown in the mix. I hit the driver pretty well today, getting about 185 to 200 yd carry into about a 1-club breeze. Most were slight fade or straight shots, maybe one or two draws. The 3-metal I didn’t hit very well today, tending to top the ball. I hit the 7-metal considerably better, tending to fade it.

The last twenty or so balls I used to go pin-hunting. I hit a couple of very nice 8-iron shots at the purple flag, a good 5-iron to the white flag, an excellent drive which nearly cleared the green with the yellow flag, and several fat wedges at the red flag. Nearly every wedge shot I hit today pulled left, that’s something I will work on this week. (I plan to pay particular attention to the wedges this week after my pathetic performance on Friday).

I spent some time on the putting green, hitting two balls at varying distances from the hole, to work on speed and line. Again, my main issue is leaving the ball short. Although that improved today, still need to get the ball 17″ past the hole, per Dave Pelz.

A good day of practice.

On Friday, I played 18 holes at Sherrill Park Golf Course in Richardson, TX. The morning was cool and cloudy, but eventually the clouds cleared and the day became sunny and warm.

I must say that, because of the my previous disasters on 18-hole courses, I had a tough time sleeping, dreaming of all the bad things that had happened before. Not helping was the previous week’s disaster at Hank Haney Golf Ranch, where I had posted my worst score (that I’ll admit to, anyway, 😉 ). When I arrived at the course, I was very nervous and jittery. I warmed up by hitting a few balls, starting out with the 7-iron and hitting a few half and full swing shots. I then hit some longer irons and started to get pretty good tempo going. Finally, I pulled out the driver and hit one of the best drives I’d ever hit, a perfect draw right down the middle of the range. Elated, I went to the putting green, where the speed of the greens took some major adjusting before I putted well. Despite the speed, I still had a tendency to leave the putts short, and that problem would plague me all day.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I had a pretty respectable day with the driver today. On the first hole, I hit a high fade clear over the trees on the right into the 2nd fairway into a group of balls that had been hit off the tee by a group playing that hole. After they all hit, I went to the remaining ball, to find… not my ball! One of that group had played on with my ball! Oh well, I dropped another ball where mine had landed, hit a good shot over the trees back into the 1st fairway and played on, making a par on the 1st, my first ever par on a par-5 hole. On the second, hit a perfect drive down the middle. I ended up hitting six fairways, not very good, but pretty good for me. I also hit the green off the tee on the par-3 sixth and thirteen holes. On the 17th hole, hit a perfect 4-iron off the tee into a great position on the right hand side of the fairway.
• Fairway woods / irons. I only took the 3-metal out of the bag once, on the par-5 fifth. I had hit my drive into the left rough behind some trees. I had a good lie, so I attempted to hit a draw with the 3-metal. Complete disaster: I pulled the shot, hit a tree and ended up in the rough on the right side of fairway, where I had to punch out with an 8-iron. I had some very good approach shots with the 4-iron, hitting the center of the green on the 16th hole from 172 yds, and hitting another 4-iron from 175 yds pin high, but right of the green on the 17th. I chunked a 5-iron, but don’t remember which hole. I hit a perfect 8-iron from the fairway 15 ft right of the pin on the 18th, probably my best driving and approach hole all day.
• Short wedge shots. Not very good today. On the 10th hole, I hit a great drive just right into the rough to the left of the green, leaving an 80 yd shot to the flag. I promptly hit it thin over the green. My only great wedge shot of the day was on the third hole, where I knocked the ball to 2 ft to save bogey, following a second 7-iron tee shot right of the hole, after dumping the first one into the water. I hit into the sand on two holes and got out of the sand on both, but not close to the holes.
• Chipping. Not a good day at all, generally left the chips short due to the speed of the greens. This was one of the places where, had I done better, my score would have been a lot better.
• Putting. Not bad, my main difficulty all day was leaving putts short. I managed to 4-jack the ninth hole, though, after hitting the green in regulation. I missed all my birdie putts.
• Other items of interest. I had three penalties today, one on the par-3 third hole, where I sliced a 7-iron into the water. I had two penalties on the 12th: the first a booming hook off the tee over the trees on the left into the water. I also popped the drop into water on the other side of the fairway when my punch shot under the trees faded instead of going straight as I had planned. Made triple on that hole.

I had a tremendous day of golf today, breaking 100 for the first time by eight shots! The day could have been much better, but I’m extremely happy to have broken into double digits. This day validated all the hard work I’ve done this spring. I hope there are many more good days to come.

This morning, I went to Golden Bear Golf Center to practice. The weather was warm and sunny, with a soft breeze from the southwest.

Because of my poor wedge play yesterday, I started out in the short game area, working on short sand and lob wedges. I had pretty good touch today, but tended to be a bit left and long.

Next, I went to the range and started off hitting full 7-iron shots to get warmed up. I then got out the 5-iron and alternated those two clubs. Next up, I got out the 4-, 6- and 8-irons and worked on both full swing and low punch shots. I’m starting to develop a pretty good punch shot, but if I’m not swinging well, will tend to hit down too far and leave a big divot. In general, my iron shots were pretty good today.

Next up, I hit a number of full pitching and sand wedges, with a few lob wedges thrown in for good measure. I had some difficulty with pulling the shots, and had a few fat ones, until I got my tempo right.

Finally, I got out my 3-metal and driver, and that was a complete disaster. Either I was hitting low duck hooks, or I pushed the shots well right. Not a good shot to be found. I eventually realized the main problem was I was tired from all the balls I’d hit today. I’ll save the short game practice after full swing practice and avoid this difficulty in the future. As I was tired and the noon day sun was beating down hard, I skipped putting practice and got a milkshake at Diary Queen. 🙂

This morning, I practiced and played nine at Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. The weather was warm and cloudy, threatening rain. I got a medium bucket and started working on my irons.

I warmed up with the 7-iron today, hitting 3/4 swings and a punch shot or two. I had pretty good rhythm early, but after I switched to alternating 9-, 7- and 5-irons, had a rough period where I hit the ball poorly. I then went back to practicing punch shots, and started to get a little tempo going.

All that vanished when I got the SasQuatch driver out. I hit the driver extremely poor today, low duck hooks, worm burners, high slices; anything but straight. Yeech!!! 🙁 By this time, I had only a few balls left, and it started to rain a little. I waited it out and then hit the remaining balls with my sand wedge toward a flag on the far left of the range. About half I hit fat, the rest I hit well. Pretty much the theme: half good, half bad.

I then putted some, trying to get good speed, and then hit the course. Since my swing changes haven’t fully kicked in, I don’t really have a good idea what my distances are anymore, other than I’m about 20 yds longer than I used to be. So I guessed… 😐

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots: Very poor off the tee today. On the first hole, hit a 10-iron into the bunker on the right (probably should have used the PW). On the second, hit a duck hook with the driver into the water. On the third, hit a PW clear over the green into the back hazard (probably should have hit SW). On the fourth, hit a draw with the driver well left of the fairway, hit a tree but ended at a spot that left a clean lie and clear shot at the hole. On the fifth, in a heavy down-pour, hit a PW thin over the hole into the water behind it. Hit the next PW perfectly to about 15 ft. On the sixth, hit a low draw with the driver that ended up two feet left of the fairway with a good lie in the rough. On the seventh, hit a high slicing 5-iron that hit a tree and kept the ball out of the hazard. On the eighth, hit a 4-iron hook that flew the hazard on the left and ended with a clear shot at the green. On the ninth hole, playing at 160 yds, hit a 4-iron that sliced high into the hazard; hooked the second tee shot onto the cart path. There it is: nine tee shots, 4 penalties. OUCH!
• Approach shots. I had a very good day with approach shots on the par 4 holes, probably my best day ever. On the second, after a drop from the hazard, hit a 5-iron that dropped just short of the green when it hit the only branch that could be hit (I’m really, really good at that….). On the fourth, hit a high, perfect 5-iron fade, perhaps my best 5-iron shot ever, from 160 yds out of the rough to 15 ft from the flag. On the sixth, hit a perfect 8-iron fade from about 110 yds high over a tree to 7 ft. On the eighth, hit an 8-iron punch shot beneath the trees to 20 ft (ball rolled up against the fringe of the green. I was still grinning when I got home after playing the par 4 holes so well.
• Wedge shots. Yeech! Hit two PWs off the tees into hazards. On the first, didn’t get out of the bunker with the first SW, hit the second one thin over the green. Hit a decent SW pitch from there. Hit a decent SW pitch onto the green on the second, but the ball rolled just off the green. Hit a decent SW off a bare lie on the 7th that rolled onto the fringe. Hit a decent SW after relief from the cart path on the ninth.
• Chipping. Had only one chip today, on the third hole after a drop from the hazard, rolled over the green and I putted from there.
• Putting. I had birdie putts on three of the four par-4 holes, but missed them all from inside 20 ft, but made all the par putts. Had a three-putt from 15 ft in the heavy rain on the fifth hole.

Well, despite a mediocre score, I was still proud of the way I played the par-4 holes, even if I did stink up the par-3s.

Augusta, GA — In an stunning, exclusive report from Augusta National, home to The Masters, Joey’s Golf Bag reports that Tiger Woods today shot a 54 during a practice session, achieving golf nirvana, and will retire permanently from golf. Said the whiskered one, “Having shot 54 at Augusta, I have nothing left to achieve in golf, so I am putting away my clubs forever.” He is later reported to have said he’ll be running for president in 2008 on the Libertarian Party ticket, saying “I’ll be the youngest president in history”.

His amazing score card: